Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (D) To : All From : Daryl Stout Date : Fri Mar 23 2018 10:00 am WORLD OF DX NEIL/ANCHOR: In the world of DX, be listening for Sergio, IZ3NXC, operating as 9A8NXC, from Pag Island, from March 30th through April 2nd. You can find him on 80/40/20/15/10 meters, using SSB, and the Digital modes. QSL via ClubLog's OQRS or via IK3GES direct. Members of the Curva do Rio Group will be using the call sign PR2CI, from Couves Island, between April 6th to 8th. Find them on 80-10 meters, using CW, SSB, and the Digital modes. QSL via the Bureau, ClubLog's OQRS, or LoTW. For direct, via PY2AE, with self-addressed envelope, and two dollars in U.S. currency. In Belize, find Victor, WB0TEV, active as V31VP, until the 27th of March on 80-10 meters. He plans to operate some RTTY, with a special session focusing on Asia, starting around 2200z on March 26th. Send QSLs to V31VP via WB0TEV, direct, by the Bureau, or ClubLog's OQRS. No LoTW or eQSL. (OHIO PENN DX) ** KICKER: PUTTING THE 'HAM' IN HAMSTER NEIL/ANCHOR: Our last story this week is about a talented and tiny pet - and it may at long last shed light on why it's no coincidence that the first three letters of "hamster" spell "ham." With that story, here's Paul Braun, WD9GCO. PAUL: Some people enjoy the sound of Morse code. Some don't. But what about our little furry friends? Has anyone asked them? Kurt Zoglmann, AD0WE, had wanted to learn Morse as a child, but didn't really pursue it until recently. He then discovered something strange during his practice sessions. ZOGLMANN: You know, I noticed after a while that our little hamster, Waffles, she'd normally wake up around 11 o'clock at night, but she would wake up early, whenever I would start practicing. I didn't really think too much of it. I noticed that when they're happy or excited, that they have a tendency to chirp, so I started putting two and two together that the frequency of the chirp was not too far away from my preferred frequency on practicing with Morse code. (1:05) PAUL: Zoglmann couldn't actually ask Waffles what she was thinking, but has a theory: (:05) ZOGLMANN: From little Waffles' perspective, I think she probably was mistaking it for a nearby hamster, that was just extraordinarily happy, and she wanted to know what all that was about. PAUL: Zoglmann would have been tempted to just write it off as a strange behavioral quirk in Waffles. However: ZOGLMANN: After her passing, we decided to get another hamster. Because the same behavior started to happen, I was like, "This is just so weird to be a coincidence!" so that inspired me to write a cute story to try to capture the call of hamster being Morse code. PAUL: Zoglmann figured that he should have some illustrations to go with the story, so he asked his husband, an artist, to draw a few. He ended up with a painting of a hamster working a straight key. Who knows? Given enough training, perhaps the new hamster can help out during contests. Will probably need a much smaller key, though. Or a teeny-tiny paddle. How would that be logged? AD0WE/H for "hamster"? For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Paul Braun, WD9GCO. NEIL/ANCHOR: Just a postscript here -- next time you're in a QSO with another ham using CW, before you accuse their station of having a "chirp" in the signal, it pays to ask first if their hamster needs adjusting. ** NEWSCAST CLOSE: With thanks to Alan Labs; the ARRL; the Amateur Radio Organization of Indonesia; the BBC; CQ Magazine; Hap Holly and the Rain Report; the IARU; the Irish Radio Transmitters Society; New Zealand Association of Radio Transmitters; Ohio-Penn DX Bulletin; Radio Society of Great Britain; Southgate Amateur Radio News; Ted Randall's QSO Radio Show; Wireless Institute of Australia; 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 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 Neil Rapp, WB9VPG, in Bloomington, Indiana, saying 73, and as always, we thank you for listening. Amateur Radio Newsline(tm) is Copyright 2018. All rights reserved. --- SBBSecho 3.03-Win32 * Origin: RadioWxNet: The Thunderbolt BBS wx1der.dyndns.org (801:1/2) þ Synchronet þ Temple of Doom BBS - tod.eothnet.com .