Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (A To : All From : Daryl Stout Date : Fri Mar 15 2019 09:36 am Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2159, for Friday, March 15th, 2019 Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2159, with a release date of Friday, March 15th, 2019, to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a QST. A weather net on DMR assists during a "bomb cyclone." A QRP pioneer becomes a Silent Key - and the ARRL helps the FCC target rules violators. All this and more, as Amateur Radio Newsline Number 2159, comes your way right now. ** BILLBOARD CART ** DMR WEATHER NET ASSISTS IN COLORADO 'BOMB CYCLONE' NEIL/ANCHOR: Our top story this week is the Colorado "bomb cyclone" that struck in the American West. The Northern Colorado DMR group regularly uses Brandmeister TalkGroup 31083 whenever hazardous weather threatens the region, but the hams' severe weather net was put to the ultimate test on the 13th of March when a bomb cyclone blizzard struck. According to Matt, K0LWC, nearly 50 amateurs checked in between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. Mountain Time from QTHs throughout Colorado as well as Wyoming, Nebraska, and Kansas. They passed on road conditions and closures, power outages, and weather conditions. The net also submitted weather reports to the National Weather Service in Boulder, and gave Colorado State Patrol reports of stranded motorists. Matt said the talkgroup was carried constantly on a number of northern repeaters in the state, as well as in Cheyenne, Wyoming. He told Newsline that the Colorado Digital Multiprotocol bridge allowed users on Yaesu Fusion and D-STAR to also access the talkgroup, even without a DMR radio. Matt wrote: [quote] "Very cool bridging of digital protocols making the talkgroup technology agnostic!" [endquote] He said even with 200,000 people having lost power, the DMR technology remained operational and resilient. Said Matt: [quote] "That's a good sign for the stability of DMR, and its use in the future for EMCOMM." [endquote] ** SILENT KEY: QRP PIONEER GEORGE DOBBS G3RJV NEIL/ANCHOR: Fans of low-power operating are grieving the death of a leading amateur in the field of QRP. With those details, here is Jeremy Boot, G4NJH. JEREMY: A pioneering figure who made popular low-power communications, and the founder of the G-QRP Club, has become a Silent Key. The Rev. George Dobbs, G3RJV, died in England on the morning of 11th March, following a period of failing health. George had freely and regularly shared much of his expertise in numerous radio books and publications, such as his "Carrying on the Practical way" in the Practical Wireless magazine, and the QRP section in RadCom, the Radio Society of Great Britain's monthly journal, where he was also a columnist. He visited many local amateur radio clubs to give talks, and encouragement on low-power operating. He also wrote for the quarterly SPRAT - which stands for Small Powered Radio Amateur Transmissions - a magazine produced by the G-QRP Club, which George founded in 1974 - at which time, to be considered QRP, power levels could not exceed a 3 watt limit at the transmitter - later to be raised to 5 watts in the mid-1980s. George was a retired vicar in the parish of Sudden near Rochdale in the north west of England. According to a posting by Rob, G3XFD, on the Southgate Amateur Radio News website, his death was attributed to pneumonia that failed to respond to antibiotics. George Dobbs, RIP. For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jeremy Boot, G4NJH. (SOUTHGATE, the G-QRP CLUB) ** U.S. AMATEUR WHO OWNS WASHINGTON STUDIO IN BATTLE OVER RUSSIAN BROADCASTS NEIL/ANCHOR: A drama is playing out in Washington, D.C., involving a commercial radio studio owned by a U.S. amateur, Russian broadcasters - and Justice Department officials. Kevin Trotman, N5PRE, has that story. KEVIN: A Florida amateur radio operator and the U.S. Department of Justice have been locked in a battle over whether the ham, who owns a broadcast studio in Washington, D.C., needs to register as a foreign agent. Arnold Ferolito, K2PEV, owner of RM Broadcasting LLC, sells time on 1390 AM in Washington to Russian-funded media group Sputnik radio. Justice officials have been working to compel the broadcasters to comply with the 1938 Foreign Agents Registration Act. According to a recent Washington Post report, Sputnik's parent company, the Russian news agency, Rossiya Segodnya has already registered, but Arnold Ferolito has refused, telling the Washington Post that individuals should be able to do business in the United States without this kind of government interference. The 76-year-old amateur radio operator filed a lawsuit last October against Justice officials, describing the relationship between Florida-based RM Broadcasting, and the Russian media group [quote] "an arms-length commercial business transaction." [endquote] His suit states that he is not acting as a foreign agent. FCC records show that Arnold is also licensed as a General class amateur radio operator, who has a New Jersey address. According to the Washington Post story, justice officials have filed a countersuit, charging that Ferolito's broadcast of Sputnik news content is being directed and controlled by the Russian group. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Kevin Trotman, N5PRE. (WASHINGTON POST) --- SBBSecho 3.06-Win32 * Origin: RadioWxNet: The Thunderbolt BBS tbolt.synchro.net (801:1/2) þ Synchronet þ Temple of Doom BBS - tod.eothnet.com .