Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (A
To   : All
From : Daryl Stout
Date : Fri Aug 30 2019 11:37 am

Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2183, for Friday, August 30th, 2019

Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2183, with a release date of
Friday, August 30th, 2019, to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST. Ham radio helps reunite one family in India
a decade later. An amateur satellite plays a role in a dramatic
rescue in Texas -- and youngsters in Romania get their first taste
of Summits on the Air. All this and more, as Amateur Radio Newsline
Number 2183, comes your way right now.

**

BILLBOARD CART

**

HAMS PREP FOR HURRICANE

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: We open this week's report with breaking news. As
Newsline went to production on Thursday, August 29th, the storm
known as Dorian, was moving from the Caribbean, and was set to hit
Florida by Monday, September 2nd. The Hurricane Watch Net expected
to activate late on Saturday, August 31st, according to net manager
Bobby Graves, KB5HAV. We will have updates on Newsline's Facebook
page, and hope to have a full report in next week's newscast.

(HURRICANE WATCH NET)

**

AMATEURS KEEP COMMUNICATIONS ALIVE IN FLOOD-RAVAGED KERALA

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: We turn next to south India, where floods wiped out
all critical modes of communication except for one: amateur radio.
For that story, we turn to John Williams, VK4JJW.

JOHN: The Malabar Amateur Radio Society in India, reports that its
repeater system provided critical connections in some parts of the
Indian state of Kerala, in early August, after a landslide disrupted
all communication lines throughout the region, including mobile phone
servers. The state had been hard-hit by flooding, and even the radio
system used by local police had failed. The ham radio society told
The Hindu newspaper that when word of the landslide hit, the
communications cut-off was anticipated. Fortunately, the local amateurs
had participated in a number of disaster management drills, and were
prepared.

The Malabar Amateur Radio Society told the newspaper that this was a
repeat of the kind of support the hams provided during the 2018 floods.

The Malabar Amateur Radio Society has other good news to report: the
group will be setting up what is believed to be India's first Digital
Voice Repeater station utilising D-STAR. The solar-powered station is
expected to become a crucial part of the group's strategy the next time
disaster strikes the region.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm John Williams, VK4JJW.

(THE HINDU)

**

HAMS HELP REUNITE FAMILY IN INDIA

STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Elsewhere in India, hams helped family members find one
another, after more than 10 years of separation. Here's Jason Daniels,
VK2LAW, with details.

JASON: A man who was living on the streets of West Bengal, India, before
being admitted to a state-run hospital there, was reunited with his
family in Tamil Nadu, after a separation lasting more than a decade. It
was amateur radio that helped bring him home. Janaki Raman, who had been
in the hospital for about two years, was reconnected with his relatives,
after hospital authorities contacted the West Bengal Radio Club, in the
hope of learning more about the man, who was largely nonverbal. The
club's secretary, Ambarish Nag Biswas, VU2JFA, told the Hindu newspaper
that because the man did not say much, it took time to learn what language
he spoke, and, by that, identify his home region. He said hams in South
India were contacted to make further connections, however, after it was
determined that he spoke Tamil. Police arrived at the family's village
in Tamil Nadu, and according to the newspaper account, Janaki's mother
recognized him from the photos the officers were carrying.

Janaki Raman was expected to be returning home, just as Newsline went to
production.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jason Daniels, VK2LAW.

(THE HINDU)
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