Subj : Newsline Part 3
To : All
From : Daryl Stout
Date : Fri Feb 03 2017 09:27 am
NETS OF NOTE: THE YEAR OF THE ROOSTER
PAUL: The Chinese calendar tells us that the Year of the Rooster has just
begun, but if you ask one enthusiastic bunch of hams, they'll tell you the
Year of the Rooster has been going on since 1957. Amateur Radio Newsline's
Caryn Eve Murray, KD2GUT, talked with the Chief Rooster of the Rooster Net
for the latest story in our series, "Nets of Note."
CARYN: A flock of hams has been roosting on 80 meters for more than 60
years and yes, that's something to crow about. So says Chief Rooster Mike
Errigo, WB3EQW, also known as Rooster Number Four hundred eleven.
MIKE: "The Rooster Net started just with a bunch of guys getting together
on 75 meters back in the late 50s. One of the wives of one of these guys
in this group said 'You guys get up early and you talk so early in the
morning, you must be like a bunch of roosters.' And that's where it got
its name, and that's where it got its start."
CARYN: Check-ins and chat begin every day just as the sun comes up. To
avoid ruffling feathers, though, there's no talk of sex, politics, or
religion.
MIKE: "We hope we're just a fun group. We don't do emergency communications
and we'll clear the frequency if the ARRL needs it, or it is needed for
some emergency. We're just a ragchew group."
CARYN: Of course, there a few membership requirements. You need to be alert
by 6 a.m. Eastern time, complete 20 check-ins in a 90-day period and, oh
yes, there's that very formal Rooster initiation ceremony.
MIKE: "Stand up on the back of your chair, flap your wings, announce your
call and crow like a rooster, remembering that this is radio, this isn't
television. The Lone Ranger when he was on radio, much as we hate to admit
it, probably didn't have a horse in the studio when they made their show.
It's the same with us. It's just theater of the mind."
CARYN: On this net, the early bird gets the frequency. Well, sometimes.
For more information, visit theroosternet.com or find them at 3990 kHz any
morning. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Caryn Eve Murray, KD2GUT.
ANCHOR/PAUL: Meanwhile, if you know of a net with an interesting story to
tell, email us at newsline at arnewsline.org and we might just feature it
as one of our next Nets of Note.
**
AUSTRALIAN HAMS MARK HISTORIC WW2 BOMBING
PAUL: In Australia, the 75th anniversary of the Japanese bombing of Darwin
is being marked with a special event station. Amateur Radio Newsline's
Graham Kemp VK4BB has details:
GRAHAM: Japanese air raids on Darwin and northern Australia during World
War II marked the single largest assault on the nation by any foreign
power. It was an attack that practically destroyed the city. Special event
callsign VI8BOD will commemorate this important piece of wartime history
as the Darwin Amateur Radio Club begins operations on Saturday, February
18th, out of an old Qantas Hangar in a Darwin suburb. The station will be
on the air until the 28th of March.
The special operation is a reminder of what happened on February 19th, 1942
as Japanese aircraft staged two air raids, planned and led by the same
commander who had directed the earlier attack on Pearl Harbor.
Twenty-one of the 46 ships in Darwin Harbor were sunk in the first raid,
and two more were sunk off Bathurst Island. In response to the Japanese
assault, hundreds of thousands of members of the U.S. military were
stationed in the Northern Territory.
The Darwin club, VK8DA, has been meeting since 1966 in the Top End.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Graham Kemp, VK4BB.
(WIRELESS INSTITUTE OF AUSTRALIA, NATIONAL ARCHIVES OF AUSTRALIA,
DARWIN AMATEUR RADIO CLUB)
**
WORLD OF DX
In the world of DX, listen for Leo, PP1CZ, who is on the air from Fernando
da Noronha Island until the 8th of February. He is operating on 80 through
10 meters using mainly CW, but some SSB and RTTY as well. His callsign is
PY0F/PP1CZ. Send QSL cards via Club Log OQRS.
Until February 14th, you can work a group of Italian operators using the
callsign TL8TT from the Central African Republic. They are on all bands
160 - 10 meters. Logs will be uploaded to Logbook of The World.
Harald DF2WO is signing as 9X2AW from Kigali, Rwanda this month until
March 11th. Send QSL cards to M0OXO.
