Subj : Amateur Radio Newsline (C) To : All From : Daryl Stout Date : Fri Nov 19 2021 09:17:24 BREAK HERE: Time for you to identify your station. We are the Amateur Radio Newsline, heard on bulletin stations around the world, including the KA1AAA repeater and Echolink Conference server in Bradenton, Florida, on Sundays at 0000 UTC. ** FRANCE DROPS FEE FOR AMATEUR EXAM DON/ANCHOR: There is some good news for candidates for the amateur radio exam in France: They can put away their wallets. Jeremy Boot, G4NJH, gives us the details. JEREMY: Candidates for the amateur radio exam in France no longer pay a fee for the test and the operator certificate. France's National Frequency Agency made the announcement recently on its website, advising hams who have already paid that they may be eligible for reimbursement. The qualifying terms of that reimbursement will shortly be posted on the agency's portal. Letters will also be sent out to qualify amateurs, enabling them to apply for a return of the fees. This announcement is the latest reduction in costs for ham radio operators in France. In 2019, the ANFR removed the annual fee for the radio licence itself. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jeremy Boot, G4NJH. (SOUTHGATE, ANFR, ICQ PODCAST) ** NETS OF NOTE: THE ILLINI NET'S BUSY WITH POSTGRADUATE ACTIVITIES DON/ANCHOR: Our occasional series, "Nets of Note," looks at how and where hams gather on the air. Paul Braun, WD9GCO, introduces us to a dedicated collective of university alumni with an especially dedicated net control. PAUL: We love to celebrate our seniors in the hobby, and Earl Finder W9CGZ, at 98 years old, definitely qualifies. Yes, he's been licensed since 1947, but what brought him to our attention was the fact that he's been running the Illini Net out of Champaign/Urbana, Illinois daily since 1976! According to Finder, it all started when he retired: FINDER: When I retired, I made arrangements with a ham who had lived here but moved to California to get on the air the next day. And we did - we thought we’d just get on the air once in a while, but eventually it got to the point where we were on there every day! Eventually it got pretty widespread around the country with a lot of people from Champaign/Urbana, Illinois where I live, and graduates from the University of Illinois, and people who were stationed at Chanute Field for many years and little by little it just grew until we had quite a few people from all over the country who would check in. PAUL: Finder told me it's not just for U of I graduates or people from that area: FINDER: We have all kinds of people - we have PhDs, research scientists, NASA engineers, we've had people contact us while flying airliners over the US, military pilots while they were in the air, people on ships and on-the-road truck drivers, too. All kinds of people. PAUL: If you want to check out the Illini Net, it starts every day at 11:30 AM Central on 14.320MHz, plus or minus. Sounds like a great way to meet a wide variety of hams. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Paul Braun, WD9GCO. ** WORLD OF DX In the World of DX, be listening for the callsign HF150KCH and 3Z150PO (Three Zed One Fifty Pee Oh), activated by the Klubu (Clue-Boo) Lacznosci (Watch-Nawgee), SP2KFQ, from their club station until November 30th. The activation is part of the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the first railway line in Chojnice (Hoy-Kneetsuh), where their club station is located. QSL to the PZKBureau OT09 to SP2KFQ. See the club's QR Zed webpage for details on how to apply for the award for the 150th anniversary of the railway line. Be listening for Vladimir, OK2WX, who is on the air as 5H3WX from Zanzibar until the 3rd of December. Listen on 80 through 10 metres where he will be using CW and SSB. Send QSLs to HA3JB. Listen for John Paul, KN6NNF, in Uganda where he is using the callsign 5X3Z on 20 and 10 meters using FT8. QSL to 5X3Z via LoTW. (OHIO PENN DX) --- SBBSecho 3.14-Win32 * Origin: The Thunderbolt BBS - Little Rock, Arkansas (954:895/7) .