Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (A To : All From : Daryl Stout Date : Fri Dec 27 2019 09:23 am Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2200, for Friday December 27th, 2019 Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2200, with a release date of Friday, December 27th, 2019, to follow in 5-4-3-2-1. The following is a QST. In the Philippines, hams brace for another typhoon. Radio helps an Indian family reunite after 50 years -- and neighbors obstruct another amateur radio tower in the U.S. All this and more, as Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2200, comes your way right now. ** BILLBOARD CART ** HAMS RALLY AS TYPHOON PHANFONE HITS PHILIPPINES STEPHEN/ANCHOR: We begin this week with breaking news. As Newsline went to production, Christmas Day brought misery and destruction once again to the Philippines. JoJo Vicencio, DU1VHY, told Newsline in a Christmas Eve email that Typhoon Phanfone (fan-PHONE) had moved in. Iver, DV6ILA, who was operating QRP inside a church, was already reporting severe flooding in the province of Capiz. Jojo said hams in the Philippines Amateur Radio Association's Ham Emergency Radio Operations Network had activated. They reported that the island of Samar and Tacloban (TOCK-LOW-BON) City had already lost power and cell phone service, some as a direct action by the power companies. He said hams were continuing to monitor the 40 metre band, where they were conducting emergency operations at 5 p.m., 7 p.m. and 7 a.m. local time, and also monitoring typhoon status via the government's weather bureau and social media. Newsline will continue to follow this story, and post updates on our Facebook and Twitter accounts. (JOJO VICENCIO DU1VHY) ** INDIAN FAMILY REUNITED AFTER 50 YEARS STEPHEN/ANCHOR: This next story is about the timeless power of amateur radio. In India, it's what led to a family reunion, that ended a separation that spanned more than 5 difficult decades. Graham Kemp, VK4BB, has that story. GRAHAM: An elderly man who'd gone missing from home in his 20s - and for whom a death certificate in the meantime had been issued - is back home with his family in Odisha, India, with the help of amateur radio operators. The West Bengal Radio Club's secretary, Ambarish Nag Biswas, VU2JFA, had noticed the 75-year-old resting on a bench. Though the man did not speak to him, Ambarish befriended him over time, bringing him food, a blanket, and a mosquito net. When the man finally spoke, and said his name was Charu, Ambarish recognized that he was from Odisha. He contacted a ham there - Dushyant Kumar Das - who was able to track down the man's family home, based on his memories of what it looked like 57 years ago, the last time Charu had been there. Dushyant found the location, and eventually tracked down Charu's younger brother, Ajay, who recounted how after Charu had gone missing, and could not be located, had been declared dead. The Odisha hams relayed the Charu's return. Subir Datta, VU3ZSD, president of the West Bengal Radio Club, told the Millennium Post, "We are happy to help a person to reunite with his family after so many years." For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Graham Kemp, VK4BB. STEPHEN/ANCHOR: We remind our listeners that the West Bengal Radio Club was recently chosen Newsline's inaugural International Newsmaker of the Year for 2019. (MILLENNIUM POST) ** CONTEST UNIVERSITY IN DAYTON NOW ACCEPTING STUDENTS STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Students have already begun registering for Contest University at the 2020 Dayton Hamvention. Contest University will be held on Thursday the 14th of May, one day before Hamvention itself opens on the fairgrounds in Xenia, Ohio. Classes will be held at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Dayton. Organizers expect to post the course outline shortly. Interested hams should visit the website at contestuniversity dot com (contestuniversity.com). This coming spring will mark the university's 14th year in Dayton. Don't wait too long: Organizers report that last year's registration was a sellout. --- SBBSecho 3.10-Win32 * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - tbolt.synchro.net (801:1/2) þ Synchronet þ Temple of Doom BBS - tod.eothnet.com .