It's time once again for The Weekender. This is our bi-weekly departure into the world of amateur radio contests, open source conventions, special events, listener challenges, hedonism and just plain fun. Thanks for listening and, if you happen to get a chance, feel free to call us or e-mail and send us some feedback. Tell us how we're doing. We'd love to hear from you.

73 de The LHS Crew

Russ Woodman, K5TUX, co-hosts the Linux in the Ham Shack podcast which is available for download in both MP3 and OGG audio format. Contact him at [email protected].

There are some very good Ham Blogs and websites out there if you are prepared to take the time to search them down.

One person that always inspires me with his enthusiasm for Real HF Mobile radio, is Dave G4AKC.








Dave often takes off to the front of Blackpool promenade, on either his bike, or his recent electric trike towing a trailer load of equipment behind him, that puts most shack's to shame. His late night shift on the cold sea front, or early mornings well wrapped up, quite often produces some long path and rare DX surprises that you wouldn't get from the home QTH, due to a good signal bounce off the sea water and lower noise being out in the open making reception far easier.

The G4AKC website https://www.g4akc.co.uk/  where you can learn more about his exploits has now been added to my Blog  right hand panel "Sites that do it for me links".

Another good Blog link EI7GL for Ireland has also been updated in "My Blog List" link again on the right hand panel.


Steve, G1KQH, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from England. Contact him at [email protected].

Welcome to Episode 302 of Linux in the Ham Shack. In this short topic episode, the hosts discuss the potential end of Kenwood in the amateur radio market, emcom in Montucky, Storm Area 51, HF on satellites, a huge update for PulseAudio, the Linux 5.3 kernel and much more. Thank you for listening and have a fantastic week.

73 de The LHS Crew

Russ Woodman, K5TUX, co-hosts the Linux in the Ham Shack podcast which is available for download in both MP3 and OGG audio format. Contact him at [email protected].

Here is this week’s space weather and geophysical report, issued 2019 Sep 16 0139 UTC.

Highlights of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 09 – 15 September 2019

Solar activity was at very low levels. No spots were observed on the visible disk. No Earth-directed CMEs were observed in available coronagraph imagery.

No proton events were observed at geosynchronous orbit.

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit was moderate to high levels throughout the summary period due to influence from multiple CH HSSs. A maximum flux of 8,450 pfu was observed at 09/1745 UTC.

Geomagnetic field activity ranged from quiet to active levels. An isolated period of active was observed on 09 Sep in response to a positive polarity CH HSS increasing solar wind speeds to ~525 km/s. Isolated unsettled conditions, associated with further enhancements from multiple positive polarity CH HSSs, were observed on 12-15 Sep. Quiet conditions were observed over the remainder of the summary period.

Forecast of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 16 September – 12 October 2019

Solar activity is expected to be at very low levels over the outlook period.

No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit.

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to reach high levels on 16-19 Sep and 27 Sep – 12 Oct. Moderate levels are expected from 20-26 Sep. All enhancements in electron flux are due to elevated wind speeds from multiple, recurrent, CH HSSs.

Geomagnetic field activity is expected to range from quiet to G2 (Moderate) storm levels. G2 conditions are likely on 27-28 Sep; G1 (Minor) conditions are likely on 29 Sep; active conditions are likely on 30 Sep and 02 Oct; unsettled conditions are likely on 16-18 Sep, 23 Sep, 26 Sep, 01 Oct, 03 Oct, 06 Oct, 10 Oct and 12 Oct. All enhancements in geomagnetic active are in response to the anticipated influence of multiple, recurrent CH HSSs. The remainder of the outlook period is expected to be mostly quiet under nominal solar wind conditions.

Don’t forget to visit our live space weather and radio propagation web site, at: http://SunSpotWatch.com/

Live Aurora mapping is at http://aurora.sunspotwatch.com/

If you are on Twitter, please follow these two users: 1. https://Twitter.com/NW7US 2. https://Twitter.com/hfradiospacewx

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Be sure to subscribe to our space weather and propagation email group, on Groups.io

https://groups.io/g/propagation-and-space-weather

Spread the word!

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Links of interest:

+ Amazon space weather books: http://g.nw7us.us/fbssw-aSWSC
+ https://Twitter.com/NW7US
+ https://Twitter.com/hfradiospacewx

Space Weather and Ham Radio YouTube Channel News:

I am working on launching a YouTube channel overhaul, that includes series of videos about space weather, radio signal propagation, and more.

Additionally, I am working on improving the educational efforts via the email, Facebook, YouTube, Tumblr, and other activities.

You can help!

Please consider becoming a Patron of these space weather and radio communications services, beginning with the YouTube channel:

https://www.patreon.com/NW7US

The YouTube channel:
https://YouTube.com/NW7US

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Tomas Hood, NW7US, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Nebraska, USA. Tomas is the Space Weather and Radio Propagation Contributing Editor to 'CQ Amateur Radio Magazine', 'The Spectrum Monitor', and 'RadioUser UK Magazine'.

Mount Herman (W0C/FR-063) is a popular Summits On The Air (SOTA) peak near Monument, CO. It is The Most Radio-Active Mountain in Colorado and recently popped onto the worldwide 50 Most Popular Summits. The summit elevation is 9063 feet (2762m) and the grid locator is DM79mb.

Access to the summit is not difficult and most of the locals know how to find it without a problem. However, there are a few things that can trip up a first-time activator.

Most people will get to Monument via I-25, taking the main Monument exit (Exit 161). Go west on 2nd street through the old downtown area, over the railroad tracks to a stop sign at Mitchell Road. Go left (south) on Mitchell Road and then right (west) onto Mount Herman Road (FS 320).  Shortly after entering the national forest, you will probably see a sign that says Mt Herman Trailhead. THIS IS NOT THE TRAILHEAD YOU WANT. Keep going on Mt Herman Road.

Mt Herman Road angles left (going south) at the intersection with Red Rocks Drive. At this point, reset or check your odometer as it will help you find the actual Mt Herman Trailhead (see map below). Continue on Mt Herman Road for 2.6 miles, where the trailhead is off to the right as the road curves left.

The condition of Mt Herman Road varies considerably from year to year. Most of the time the road is OK for high-clearance 2WD vehicles. Sometimes it deteriates to easy 4WD. The road and trail are often usable in the winter months but it depends greatly on recent temperatures and snowfall. The road is not maintained in the winter so definitely 4WD required.

Trailhead

The actual trailhead is not that well marked, hence the need to watch the odometer. However, on most summer days, there will be cars parked at the trailhead. Parking is informal, just a gravel area off on the right side of the road.

The trail to the summit is 1.2 miles one-way and 800 feet vertical. Make sure you make the first turn,  about 500 feet from the trailhead, that takes you up the mountain. There is another trail that continues straight  at this point, which may throw you off.  There are a few steep sections where the loose granite marbles can make the trail slippery. Hiking boots with some tread on them are recommended and trekking poles can be helpful, too.

At the summit, there is a fire ring where people sometimes camp out overnight. The hike is popular, so you’ll probably have other people stopping by. There is plenty of room in the activation area, so I set up my radio gear some distance from the actual summit.

Mt Herman is a wonderful hike with great views (even if you don’t want to do a SOTA activation). With a superb radio horizon, it is also first-rate place to make radio contacts.

73 Bob K0NR

The post Hiking Mt Herman SOTA (W0C/FR-063) appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

Bob Witte, KØNR, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Colorado, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

In this episode, Martin M1MRB is joined by Leslie Butterfield G0CIB, Edmund Spicer M0MNG, Matthew Nassau M0NJX, Dan Romanchik KB6NU and Ruth Willet KM4LAO to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin M6BOY rounds up the news in brief and this episode’s feature is Rob Sherwood from Sherwood Engineering.

ICQ AMATEUR/HAM RADIO PODCAST DONORS

We would like to thank Neil Connor (M6CUE), Frank Westphal ( K6FW) and Charles Riley (G4JQX) and our monthly and annual subscription donors for keeping the podcast advert free. To donate, please visit - http://www.icqpodcast.com/donate

- ARRL HF Band Planning Committee Reactivated - VDSL - PTA Imposes Restrictions on Radio Amateur - Radio Hams Track Interfering Signals - Good News for Amateur Radio Two Metre Band - Hamvention to Stay at Xenia for next 5 Years - AMSAT-LU PicoBalloons Travels around the Globe - North Korea tests DRM on Amateur Radio Band - GB100GP Active for Jamboree on the Air

Colin Butler, M6BOY, is the host of the ICQ Podcast, a weekly radio show about Amateur Radio. Contact him at [email protected].

AmateurLogic.TV Episode 134 is now available for download.

In this episode, George found some neat items at the Huntsville Hamfest. Emile builds the COMM Pi CD Archiver with remote control. Tommy creates an IP address Emailer to keep track of your IP address when you are away. Plus we announce the details of the AmateurLogic.TV 14th Anniversary Contest.

1:58:22

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George Thomas, W5JDX, is co-host of AmateurLogic.TV, an original amateur radio video program hosted by George Thomas (W5JDX), Tommy Martin (N5ZNO), Peter Berrett (VK3PB), and Emile Diodene (KE5QKR). Contact him at [email protected].