Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (B
To : All
From : Daryl Stout
Date : Fri Jan 24 2020 11:36 am
RADIO GETS READY FOR ANNUAL AM RALLY
STEPHEN/ANCHOR: As modern as SDR may be, amateurs still appreciate
radio's legacy -- in this case, its earliest voice mode. Get ready for
a rally on AM. Jack Parker, W8ISH, has the details.
JACK: Ham radio operators are getting a chance to turn back time, at
least for a little while, between the 1st and 3rd of February, during
the fourth annual AM Rally. It doesn't matter whether your rig is a
new piece of SDR equipment, or a homebrew rig with vacuum tubes, a
trusty old boat anchor, or something somewhere in between. It also
doesn't matter whether you get on 160 metres, 6 metres, or any of the
amateur frequencies in between. You can run as few as 5 watts, or take
your power to the legal limit. This event is all about celebrating
amplitude modulation - and celebrating the hams who opt in for the fun
of it on that weekend. In addition to awards in different categories,
there will also be special recognition for longest transmission heard,
lowest power used, most unique equipment, and working W1AW, the
headquarters station of the ARRL, one of the sponsors, along with Radio
Engineering Associates, and iNetRadio.
Visit the website at amrally dot com (amrally.com) for more details.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jack Parker, W8ISH.
**
GERMAN AMATEURS GRANTED ACCESS TO 4 METRE FREQUENCIES
STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Hams in Germany who grew accustomed to making contact
on 4m are once again able to enjoy those QSOs. We hear more from Ed
Durrant, DD5LP.
ED: Amateur radio operators in Germany have again been granted use of
part of the 4 metre band through to the end of 2020. Holders of a
Class A licence, will be permitted to transmit using any mode on
frequencies between 70.150 and 70.200 MHz, under the same conditions
that were in place during 2019. This means only horizontally polarized
antennas may be used, and a maximum effective radiated power of 25 watts.
Use of special call signs, portable operation, and remote-controlled
stations are not being permitted. Detailed logs must be kept of all
contacts. Use of the 4-metre band by hams in Germany was halted in 1957,
and amateur use was only returned on a temporary basis starting in 2014.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, this is Ed Durrant, DD5LP.
**
NETS OF NOTE: THE HAM STRINGS NET
STEPHEN/ANCHOR: Our occasional series "Nets of Note" returns this week.
Paul Braun, WD9GCO, tells us why QSOs here can be music to a radio
operator's ears.
PAUL: This week's "Nets of Note" feature should really be titled, "Net
of Notes", since it�' all about a regular gathering of musicians called
"The Ham Strings Net." I spoke with net control/founder Scott DeMatteo,
W3GTR, about how it all came together:
DeMATTEO: In Spring of 2019, myself and a few other gentlemen were talking
on 40 meters one evening. We were all talking, when one of them asked me
about my callsign, W3GTR, and I said the "GTR" is a vanity callsign for
"guitar", because I kinda have an obsession with guitars - I play them
and collect them. And he goes, "Well, I'm a bass player and I own a music
store out in Ohio, or used to own a music store out in Ohio!" And then,
this other gentleman from Florida was talking with us, and he's a
musician and before you know it, every night we'd get together and more
and more musicians were showing up! And, I'm thinking "this is a weird
thing, you know. We're all ham radio operators, but we're all musicians -
there must be a correlation there." So, I said to them one night, "Well,
why don�t we get a net going? And seeing as we're kinda meeting regularly
anyway, why don't we make it a little more official, and try to get some
people in from the outside involved in it?" They thought it was a great
idea.
PAUL: The net's name was suggested by the wife of one of the members, and
they all agreed that since most of them played stringed instruments, it
was perfect. The net meets on Monday evenings around 7.223 Mhz from 0030
to 0200 UTC.
For more information, look for them on Facebook as The Ham Strings Net.
The only requirement to join is that you have a valid license. For
Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Paul Braun, WD9GCO.
**
BREAK HERE:
Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline,
heard on bulletin stations around the world. This week, we welcome
shortwaveradio broadcasting from Germany into the UK, Ireland, and
western Europe. Hear Newsline on 3975 kHz on Saturdays at 2100 UTC; on
Sundays at 10:00 and 21:00 UTC, and on Mondays at 09:00 UTC. For other
hours, and a schedule of broadcasts on 6160 kHz, see the printed version
of this script on our website arnewsline.org.
[DO NOT READ - FOR PRINT ONLY: Saturdays: 21:00 UTC on 3975 kHz;
Sundays, 10:00 UTC on 3975 kHz and 6160 kHz, 14:00 UTC on 6160 kHz
and 21:00 UTC on 3975 kHz. Mondays, 09:00 UTC on 3975 kHz and 6160 kHz;
18:00 UTC on 3975 kHz and 23:00 UTC on 3975 kHz; Wednesdays at 14:00 UTC
on 3975 kHz and 6160 kHz]
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* Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - tbolt.synchro.net (801:1/2)
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