[Attachment(s) from James KB7TBT included below]

Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2056 for Friday, March 24, 2017

Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2056 with a release date of Friday, 
March 24 2017 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.

The following is a QST. South African hams take on the rising noise 
floor. AM mode gets its day in the sun -- and you'll go nuts for the 
world's smallest homebrew transmitter. All this and more as Amateur 
Radio Newsline Report 2056 comes your way right now.

**

BILLBOARD CART

**
SPEAKING UP (LOUDLY) ABOUT RISING NOISE FLOOR

PAUL/ANCHOR: We begin this week's newscast with this report on noise. 
The noise floor is rising on the bands and so are the efforts at 
mitigation. In South Africa, a detailed study is about to get under way 
and the South African Radio League is in search of input and expertise 
to assist, as we hear from Amateur Radio Newsline's Jim Meachen ZL2BHF.

JIM: In South Africa, it's time to start making some noise - some 
complaining noise - to help make the bands more hospitable for amateur 
radio. The South African Radio League is forming a study group to 
monitor the rising RF noise floor on the bands and to identify ways to 
mitigate noise from manmade sources that impacts the radio frequencies.

The radio league is collecting information from radio amateurs who may 
have expertise or interest in providing input to the study in 
preparation for a workshop being held on the 22nd of April. The open 
meeting will take place at the National Amateur Radio Centre in Cape Town.

For more details about the workshop on the rising noise floor, or to 
express interest in being a part of the noise study, send an email to 
sarlregwg-at-sarl-dot-org-dot-za (sarlregwg@sarl.org.za)

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

**

FROM DUBLIN TO NEPAL AND BACK AGAIN

PAUL/ANCHOR: Call it a success! The Irish DXpeditioners who went to 
Nepal are back home, returning with more than 30,000 QSOs completed, as 
we hear from Amateur Radio Newsline's Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

JEREMY: The Irish DXpedition 9N7NEI reports that it has completed its 
goal of more than 30,000 QSOs during 10 days of operation before going 
QRT on March 19. The team's shutdown came just in time - it was right 
before a major power outage, the team reports on its website. In fact, 
much of the DXpedition was plagued on and off by power outages, 
electrical storms and noise issues. There were bright spots however, 
that had nothing to do with a sky illuminated by lightning: Operators 
got to celebrate St. Patrick's Day at the team's QTH at the Sojourn 
Himalaya Resort in Nepal. They also played host to a number of guests 
including three students and their teachers from the Sweden's Sando 
Rescue College, who had come to learn the logistics of setup and 
operations, especially with a dozen operators on the air.

The team is grateful of course for exceeding its QSO goal and counts 
itself lucky even as it counts those 30,366 contacts. All that remained 
was the 22-hour trip back to Dublin.

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

(9N7NEI WEBSITE)

**
THE GOOD OLD DAYS OF AM ARE BACK

PAUL/ANCHOR: If you've never tried AM mode, now's your chance. Whatever 
the age of your rig, this time-honored voice communication mode is about 
to have an event all its own. Here's Amateur Radio Newsline's Heather 
Embee KB3TZD with more.

HEATHER: What could be better than high-fidelity amateur radio? Nothing! 
How about enjoying this through a contest known as the AM Rally, which 
takes place the weekend of April 1st and 2nd. The weekend of AM QSOs not 
only pays homage to the oldest form of voice modulation, which predates 
SSB, but encourages all amateurs - even first-timers who've never used 
AM mode - to switch their rigs out of SSB. Hams are asked to experience 
the rich sound their contacts have when their signals contain a carrier 
with double sideband - perhaps for the first time in their operating 
careers. The action is happening on 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, 10 and 6 meters 
and there's an opportunity to earn certificates as well as learn more 
about this historic mode of transmission. Hams with transistorized rigs, 
home-brew rigs, boat anchors, software-based rigs and many other types 
of equipment can participate. Even military rigs and rigs converted from 
AM broadcast qualify; there are separate categories for each type. 
Please visit www-dot-amrally-dot-com (www.amrally.com) for details, 
operating frequencies and information about logging software.

Even if you're too young to remember the good old days of AM, if you're 
licensed, you're old enough to go back in time for just a few hours and 
experience AM.

For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Heather Embee KB3TZD.

(CLARK BURGARD N1BCG)

**

NETS OF NOTE: THE BROTHERS NET

PAUL: Newsline's occasional series, Nets of Note, takes a look at some 
unusual on-air gatherings. This week's find is from Amateur Radio 
Newsline's Neil Rapp, WB9VPG.

NEIL: On this week's "Nets of Note, we meet Phil Henline, KB0OPR, one of 
the founding brothers of the Brothers Net on 40 meters. These guys know 
how to throw a party... I mean... a net.  Phil tells us how it all got 
started.

PHIL: The net started quite by accident. My younger brother got me into 
ham radio. Our father passed away in '93. He bribed me with my dad's 
Kenwood 520S and a tuner and said "if you get your general license I'll 
give those to you." So I got my license. I got on one night. I don't 
remember what frequency it was, and I heard about three fellows 
chatting, and I heard this one fellow say that he lived in Indiana but 
he was originally from Wisconsin. So when they finished, I contacted him 
and we had a little chat and we discovered that we each had brothers 
still living in Wisconsin that were hams. So we would make contacts 
every Saturday morning, and that went on for probably about six or eight 
months. Then one day my brother Kurt said, "We should start a brothers 
net."

NEIL: Very soon, though, the net was opened to everyone, brothers or no 
brothers. And it just started to grow. Now there are 944 members in 41 
states and 32 countries. Each night has a different theme.

PHIL: Monday night we do what we call tube night, which is old radio 
night. You don't have to have an old radio to join us, but if you do 
we'd like you to fire it up. Every other Tuesday night is Route 66, 
where we talk about nothing but cars and Route 66 and things of that 
nature.  The opposite Tuesday night we have what we call rocket science 
night. And we have another NCS that is into the scientific area, and he 
does a net around that.

NEIL: Wednesday night is Canadian night. Thursday is for astronomy, 
Friday is for trivia. Saturday is well, wide open! This net even has its 
own mascot!

PHIL: My brother, Kurt, WA9KMB, in Medford, had an eagle nesting in one 
of the trees on his property. So we called him Rudy, and eventually we 
decided we should have a mascot.  So Kurt found this beautiful stuffed 
eagle that's about maybe 2 foot tall, very attractive, and we have what 
we call a "handshake" every year. So every first week in June, we go to 
Russellville, Kentucky to K4ELO. He has a farm there, and he hosts it. 
We have about 40 people a year. And, Rudy the mascot then gets auctioned 
off. Whoever wins Rudy has to take Rudy with them wherever they go and 
they have to photograph Rudy in all these different places. They'll 
submit the photographs to me, and I'll keep a constant slideshow going 
on our website.

NEIL: For some brotherly advice, try the Brothers net on 7.192 at 7 pm 
Eastern Monday through Saturday.  And you can check out the pictures of 
Rudy and get more information at their website, w9bro.net.

Reporting for Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Neil Rapp WB9VPG.

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.

**

BREAK HERE:

Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio 
Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world including the 
KD5DMT repeater of the Benton County Radio Operators club in Centerton, 
Arkansas, which transmits Newsline at the end of its regular Thursday 
evening net.

**

A YOUNG HAM OF THE YEAR REMEMBERS 2011

PAUL/ANCHOR: For the past few weeks we've been reminding you that it's 
time to submit your nominations for this year's Amateur Radio Newsline 
Bill Pasternak Memorial Young Ham of the Year Award. But our words can 
only go so far and only say so much. So let's hear some words instead 
from Alabama's Kaitlyn Cole KS3P. She was our youngest winner, at age 
11, in 2011.

KAITLYN: Hi, I'm Kaitlyn Cole KS3P and I was the 2011 Amateur Radio 
Newsline Young Ham of the Year. It was a gerat honor to be chosen as the 
recipient of this internationally known award. I was the youngest person 
to receive it at the age of 11. This award made it possible for me to be 
an example to other young hams and the award also shows the amateur 
radio community that young people are the future of amateur radio and 
that we are doing great things in public service and technical 
innovation along with being enthusiastic ambassadors for amateur radio. 
I am really looking forward to meeting the 2017 Bill Pasternak WA6ITF 
Amateur Radio Newsline YOung Ham of the Year at the Huntsville Hamfest. 
73 from Kaitlyn KS3P.

PAUL: Thank you Kaitlyn, we're proud of all you've accomplished. If any 
listeners know of a promising your amateur like Kaitlyn, visit our web 
page at arnewsline.org and click on the YHOTY tab to download a 
nomination form. Candidates must be 18 or younger and reside in the U.S. 
or any of its possessions or Canada. Application deadline is May 31. 
Find more details on our website.

**
GREATER HOUSTON HAMFEST'S HAPPENING

PAUL/ANCHOR: If anyone knows how to stage a hamfest, it's Houston. The 
Greater Houston Hamfest and ARRL Texas State Convention isn't exactly an 
event of modest proportions. Hams who attend on Saturday March 24 and 
Sunday March 25 are likely to remember plenty about the two days of the 
group's 16th annual hamfest. The principal speaker will be Tim Duffy 
K3LR, who is the chief operating officer of DX Engineering. He will also 
be at the helm of two technical sessions - one on the K3LR superstation 
and a second one on the value a reverse beacon network has for DXers and 
contesters. Joe Eisenberg K0NEB, the kit editor for CQ Magazine, will 
also lead a kit-building class for beginners.

So come to the hamfest at the Fort Bend County Fairgrounds in Rosenberg, 
Texas. Stay for the fellowship and the forums and oh yes, the two 
balloon launches. Things are looking up!

For more details, visit houstonhamfest.org

(RON LITT K5HM)

**

WHEN ALL THE WORLD'S A TRANSMITTER

PAUL/ANCHOR: If it feels like the whole world is on the air on April 
18th, perhaps that's because hams are marking World Radio Day. What's 
that? Amateur Radio Newsline's Jason Daniels VK2LAW explains.

JASON: If propagation is good, your signal is getting through and the 
QSL cards are filling up your mailbox, you might feel like every day is 
World Amateur Radio Day. Officially however this once-a-year event takes 
place on April 18th, the date in 1925 marking the formation of the 
International Amateur Radio Union in Paris. So if you feel you're in 
need of a special occasion to operate, this is the one.

World Amateur Radio Day is set aside for IARU members to show public 
pride in being a radio operator by contacting hams worldwide as a 
gesture of global friendship. The Bahrain Amateur Radio Group will 
operate for several days as A91WARD with a special QSL card for the 
event. The Puerto Rico Field Day Group will be on the air on Amateur 
Radio Day itself as KP4FD. Australia's Albury Wodonga Amateur Radio Club 
will be operating for three days as VK2EWC.

For the third consecutive year, the World Friendship Net will also be 
part of the action. The net is operating on ECHOLINK conference server 
*WORLD* and IRLP node 9251. Last year it logged more than 300 check-ins 
from 33 international stations and 18 different countries during its 10 
hours of operation, making it the largest event on VOIP/ECHOLINK.

For Amateur Radio Newsline I'm Jason Daniels VK2LAW

(IARU)

**

In the world of DX, a team of radio amateurs from the Netherlands will 
be operating from Liechtenstein as HB0/homecall between the first and 
8th of April. The operators are Mans/PA2HGJ, Robert/PA2RDK, 
Frank/PA3CNO, Paul/PA3DFR, Henry/PA3HK, Gert/PE0MGB and Piet/PE1FLO. 
Listen for them on all bands between 160 and 10 meters. They'll be using 
mainly CW and some SSB/Digital modes. Much of their activity will be on 
the new 60m band. Send QSL cards via PE1FLO.

Another ham is also operating from April 1st through the 8th. Bill K9HZ 
will be operating from his villa in St. Lucia. He can be found on 160 
through 6 meters using CW, SSB and RTTY. He is especially interested in 
contacts into Alaska and Montana in the United States, to complete his 
8P WAS. Send QSL cards to his home call sign. He also uses LoTW, ClubLog 
and eQSL.

There are a few days left to contact Franz, OE2SNL, who is active until 
the 30th of March working from Grenada as J3/OE2SNL. You can hear him on 
160 through 10 meters. Send QSL cards to his home callsign.

(OHIO PENN DX BULLETIN)

**

KICKER: TRANSMITTING, IN A NUTSHELL

PAUL: We end this week's newscast with the story of a very miniature 
homebrew transmitter that was a tough nut to crack. Well....maybe not. 
The transmitter is actually a very simple device for sending CW. It 
operates QRP, drawing its power from a 9-volt battery. Of course, it's 
so tiny that the battery actually has to be outside the device: the 
transmitter is housed inside a walnut shell! Its creator, Jarno (YARN-O) 
de Haan PA3DMI in Amsterdam, just happens to really like walnuts -- and 
the ones he was eating from his neighbor's tree inspired him to follow a 
design he had seen for a tiny CW transmitter. As he told Amateur Radio 
Newsline in a recent email: QUOTE "looking at the design and eating 
walnuts got me thinking what if....." ENDQUOTE

What if, indeed. He found four very tiny crystals on the Internet for 
$10, added a few other super-small components, then added the most 
miniature hinges he could find that would allow the nut to open and 
close. When he hooked it up to a dummyload, out came 50 to 60 milliwatts!

After he posted a video of it on YouTube, the website Hackaday.com took 
it viral. The rest is Internet and ham radio history. Followers have 
gone, well.....nuts over it. As for Jarno (YARN-O), he's inspired now to 
do more. He wrote Newsline to say: QUOTE: "I still have about a half 
kilo of walnuts so I could make a receiver, an antenna tuner, a new 
walnut CW-key - the possibilities are endless." ENDQUOTE

Amateur Radio Newsline congratulates Jarno (YARN-O) on revolutionizing 
the wireless world of walnuts and asks that he please write us again 
when he's had his first successful QSO with a squirrel.

**

NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Alan Labs; Amateur News Weekly; the ARRL; 
Clark Burgard N1BCG; Hackaday.com; Hap Holly and the Rain Report; the 
IARU; Irish Radio Transmitters Society; 9N7NEI Website; Ohio-Penn DX 
Bulletin; QRZ.COM; Southgate Amateur Radio News; Ted Randall's QSO Radio 
Show; WTWW Shortwave; and you our listeners, that's all from the Amateur 
Radio Newsline. Please send emails to our address at 
newsline@arnewsline.org. More information is available at Amateur Radio 
Newsline's only official website located at www.arnewsline.org.

For now, with Caryn Eve Murray, KD2GUT, at the news desk in New York, 
and our news team worldwide, I'm Paul Braun WD9GCO in Valparaiso Indiana 
saying 73 and as always we thank you for listening.

Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2017. All rights reserved.

***

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