Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (B
To   : All
From : Daryl Stout
Date : Fri Apr 05 2019 09:35 am

WASHINGTON LAWMAKERS GRILL OFFICIAL'S WIFE ABOUT HAM RADIO

NEIL/ANCHOR: A congressional panel in Washington, D.C., recently questioned
the wife of a federal official about her ham radio activity. Andy Morrison,
K9AWM, has those details.

ANDY: A recently released transcript reveals that Republican members of
Congress had asked the wife of a ranking Justice Department official
whether she was using her amateur radio license to communicate with
Russia - specifically to monitor transmissions about Russian interests in
Donald Trump's 2016 presidential bid.

Nellie Ohr, KM4UDZ, is the wife of the Justice Department's Bruce Ohr. She
is a Technician class licensee. She told Republican members of the House
Committee on the Judiciary she became a ham as part of her involvement as
a volunteer in the local Community Emergency Response Team. She was being
interviewed at the time by members of Congress in closed-door questioning
Oct. 19, 2018. The transcript was recently made public in the U.S. media,
including the Atlanta Journal Constitution, a daily newspaper in Georgia.

The Fairfax County, Virginia woman was quoted in the published report as
saying [quote] "I saw an ad for the community emergency response training,
and I thought, now is a good time for me to do it." [endquote] She said
the emergency team's training was sponsored by the Department of Homeland
Security, and the local fire department.

When asked directly by one lawmaker whether she had ever communicated with
anyone in Russia using ham radio, she indicated that the Tech license is
the lowest level license, and that there are few frequencies available for
overseas contacts.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Andy Morrison, K9AWM.

(ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION)

**

NEW ZEALAND TRAFFIC STOP LEADS TO RADIO VIOLATIONS

NEIL/ANCHOR: In New Zealand, use of a handheld radio on the wrong
frequencies, led to one motorist's encounter with police - and the
nation's telecommunications regulator. We hear more from Jim Meachen,
ZL2BHF.

JIM: A New Zealand man received a different kind of traffic ticket
after police said he had been using an HT in his car for unlicensed
radio communication on police channels. Local media reports say the
motorist, Elvis Johnstone of Tauranga, was given a $2,250 fine, for
having been found with a Baofeng UV-5R tuned to the Northland Police
Channel. Poice had stopped his car last year on the 24th of August,
when they discovered the radio, and noticed the frequency on which it
was set. Charges were laid by Radio Spectrum Management for the
violation of the Radiocommunications Act of 1989. The $3,000 fine
imposed was discounted to $2,250 by an early guilty plea, and also
covers court costs. The news report notes that since then, RSM has
acted to halt the use of unrestricted radios, and last October,
introduced regulations barring the unauthorised import, sale and
distribution of unrestricted two-way radios.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Meachen, ZL2BHF.

(RADIO SPECTRUM MANAGEMENT)

**

RADIO AMATEUR CAPTURES CRUISE SHIP'S DISTRESS CALL

NEIL/ANCHOR: A ham radio operator captured the saga of a ship in
distress, off the coast of Norway, and shared it with media. Jeremy
Boot, G4NJH, has the details.

JEREMY: The dramatic distress call of a Norwegian cruise ship, stranded
in storm-tossed weather in late March, was captured and recorded by a
ham radio operator in Norway. The Viking Sky had 1,373 passengers, and
crew on board, when it was crippled by power loss, engine failure, and
hazardous weather, while off the Norwegian coast. Reports in Norwegian
media indicated wind gusts of 43 miles an hour, and wave heights
exceeding 26 feet, or about 8 metres. According to a report in the USA
Today newspaper, the ship had to drop anchor in order to avoid being
dashed on the rocks.

Broadcasters in Norway and Sweden reported that a radio amateur had
intercepted the communications. They had been provided with his
recording, but they did not state his identity.

The ship, which sailed from Tromsø in northern Norway, had been bound
for southern Norway in bad weather, when the engine failed, and the
vessel listed, taking on water. More than 10 hours of helicopter air
evacuations took 464 passengers off the ship, but once the engines were
able to be re-started, it was able to continue its journey to a
Norwegian port.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jeremy Boot, G4NJH.

(SOUTHGATE, USA TODAY)

**

NOMINATE OUR NEXT YOUNG HAM OF THE YEAR

NEIL/ANCHOR: Please don't forget Amateur Radio Newsline's Young Ham of
the Year Award. The honor is named in memory of Newsline's Bill Pasternak,
WA6ITF. We are currently accepting nominations of candidates. Information
about eligibility is available on our website, arnewsline.org, under the
YHOTY tab. You can download a nomination form, which is due back to us
before midnight on May 31st. The award will be presented on August 18th
at the Huntsville Hamfest, in Huntsville, Alabama.

**

BREAK HERE:

Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline,
heard on bulletin stations around the world, including the K6SOA repeater
in Laguna Beach, California, on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. Pacific Time.
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