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This video features stunning clips of the Sun, captured by SDO from each of the five years since SDO’s deployment in 2010. In this movie, watch giant clouds of solar material hurled out into space, the dance of giant loops hovering in the corona, and huge sunspots growing and shrinking on the Sun’s surface.

April 21, 2015 marks the five-year anniversary of the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) First Light press conference, where NASA revealed the first images taken by the spacecraft. Since then, SDO has captured amazingly stunning super-high-definition images in multiple wavelengths, revealing new science, and captivating views.

February 11, 2015 marks five years in space for NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, which provides incredibly detailed images of the whole Sun 24 hours a day. February 11, 2010, was the day on which NASA launched an unprecedented solar observatory into space. The Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) flew up on an Atlas V rocket, carrying instruments that scientists hoped would revolutionize observations of the Sun.

Capturing an image more than once per second, SDO has provided an unprecedentedly clear picture of how massive explosions on the Sun grow and erupt. The imagery is also captivating, allowing one to watch the constant ballet of solar material through the sun’s atmosphere, the corona.

The imagery in this “highlight reel” provide us with examples of the kind of data that SDO provides to scientists. By watching the sun in different wavelengths (and therefore different temperatures, each “seen” at a particular wavelength that is invisible to the unaided eye) scientists can watch how material courses through the corona. SDO captures images of the Sun in 10 different wavelengths, each of which helps highlight a different temperature of solar material. Different temperatures can, in turn, show specific structures on the Sun such as solar flares or coronal loops, and help reveal what causes eruptions on the Sun, what heats the Sun’s atmosphere up to 1,000 times hotter than its surface, and why the Sun’s magnetic fields are constantly on the move.

Coronal loops are streams of solar material traveling up and down looping magnetic field lines). Solar flares are bursts of light, energy and X-rays. They can occur by themselves or can be accompanied by what’s called a coronal mass ejection, or CME, in which a giant cloud of solar material erupts off the Sun, achieves escape velocity and heads off into space.

This movie shows examples of x-ray flares, coronal mass ejections, prominence eruptions when masses of solar material leap off the Sun, much like CMEs. The movie also shows sunspot groups on the solar surface. One of these sunspot groups, a magnetically strong and complex region appearing in mid-January 2014, was one of the largest in nine years as well as a torrent of intense solar flares. In this case, the Sun produced only flares and no CMEs, which, while not unheard of, is somewhat unusual for flares of that size. Scientists are looking at that data now to see if they can determine what circumstances might have led to flares eruptions alone.

Scientists study these images to better understand the complex electromagnetic system causing the constant movement on the sun, which can ultimately have an effect closer to Earth, too: Flares and another type of solar explosion called coronal mass ejections can sometimes disrupt technology in space as well as on Earth (disrupting shortwave communication, stressing power grids, and more). Additionally, studying our closest star is one way of learning about other stars in the galaxy.

Goddard built, operates and manages the SDO spacecraft for NASA’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington, D.C. SDO is the first mission of NASA’s Living with a Star Program. The program’s goal is to develop the scientific understanding necessary to address those aspects of the sun-Earth system that directly affect our lives and society.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXN-MdoGM9g

Watch this amazing explosion on the Sun. From sunspot complex 1226-1227 comes an X-ray Flare peaking at a magnitude of M2.5 at 0640 UTC on 7 June, 2011.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQMrRu8BWDo

This X-ray flare hurled a massive coronal mass ejection (CME) toward the Earth. This not-squarely Earth-directed CME is moving at 1400 km/s according to NASA models. The CME did not deliver even a noticeable glancing blow to Earth’s magnetic field late June 8th or June 9th.

What can be seen clearly in this movie is one of the most spectacular prominence eruptions ever observed. In fact, one could call it a “prominence explosion”. The prominence material expanded to a volume some 75 times as big across as the earth!

This X-ray flare also triggered an S1-level solar radiation storm, causing a long-lasting polar cap absorption (PCA) event. A polar cap absorption (PCA) event affects the propagation of a shortwave radio signal as it makes its way over the polar regions. In short, radio communications on lower shortwave radio frequencies become more difficult, as those radio signals are absorbed by the ionosphere (in the D-region) over the polar regions.

What does this mean in real-world communications? Trans-polar airline pilots may find it more difficult to communicate with regional air traffic control, shortwave radio listeners who want to hear a broadcast from a country by receiving a transmission from a country by way of a transmission beamed over the pole (like, from Europe into the USA via the North Pole), or other such communications, will find those signals all but gone. The stronger the PCA event, the higher the frequencies absorbed over the polar regions, with the greatest absorption occurring at the lower frequencies.

This movie spans the period of time from 0300 UTC through 1556 UTC, and is composed of the 171-Angstrom, 304-Angstrom, and 335-Angstrom wavelength views as captured by the filters of the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA). In this movie, the AIA instruments capture the Sun’s extreme ultraviolet light and reveal a very large eruption of cool gas. It is somewhat unique because at many places in the eruption there seems to be even cooler material–at temperatures less than 80,000 K.

The following is a linked video that is part of this event: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4CsjcUGoaw

Watch as we zoom out to see a total view of the June 7, 2011 moderately-powerful X-ray Flare and Prominence Eruption. This movie will give you a full perspective of the immense size of this prominence eruption as it spews out away from the Sun.

The X-ray Flare peaked at a moderate magnitude of M2.5 at 0640 UTC, but unleashed a huge prominence eruption. The massive cloud of plasma was ejected out into interplanetary space, but missed the Earth. This movie stars with a “close-up” view by the Solar Dynamics Observatory at a combined wavelength view at 94 and 304 Angstroms. Then, the movie views the event further back through the eyes of the COR1 spacecraft (with the SDO AIA 304 image superimposed in the middle). Next, we zoom out to the COR2 spacecraft and superimpose the COR1 and SDO views. Then, we zoom further back to the H1 view… and finally look again at the event close-up.

More info: http://sunspotwatch.com/

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Source: SDO AIA NASA SOHO

Well, thankfully, this is not happening during this contest weekend: one of the largest sunspot regions during this Sunspot Cycle 24, and one of the biggest in several decades, gave us quite a show, back in October 2014.

Five major X-class (very strong) and a number of moderate and “mild” solar x-ray flares erupted from a single sunspot region – this video covers the time period of October 19-27, 2014, as captured by NASA’s SDO spacecraft. This is from what has been one of the biggest sunspot regions in a number of decades.

Between October 19 and October 27, 2014, a particularly large active region on the Sun dispatched many intense x-ray flares. This region, labeled by NOAA as Active Region (AR) number 12192 (or, simply, NOAA AR 12192, and shortened as AR 2192), is the largest in 24 years (at that point in Solar Cycle 24).

The various video segments track this sunspot region during this period (Oct. 19 – Oct.27, 2014), during which we can see the intense explosions. There are five X-class flares during this time, and NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), which watches the sun constantly, captured these images of the event.

Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth’s atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however — when intense enough — they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel.

When referring to these intense solar eruptions, the letter part of the classification, ‘X’, means, ‘X-class’. This denotes the most intense flares, while the number, after the classification letter, provides more information about its strength. For example, an X2 is twice as intense as an X1, an X3 is three times as intense, and so forth.

Solar Images Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center & SDO

http://SunSpotWatch.com ~ http://NW7US.us

73 de NW7US

Well, folks, it's hard to put a description on this episode. We talk about our usual range of topics, but there is so much more thrown in that we can't even begin to enumerate it all. One thing that can be said, however, is that this episode was FUN. We hope you enjoy it all the way to the end. Apologies for the first 20 minutes or so of Pete's microphone audio. We promise, it does get better. THANK YOU for being a listener. We do this all for you.

73 de The LHS Guys

HOT PAW 

MORSE CODE DECODER FOR I PHONE

Hot Paw Morse Code Decoder

Screen Snap of Hot Paw Morse Code Decoder

I recently installed a ham radio station in my truck. Since then I’ve been having a lot of fun with it, using SSB mostly, since that is a novelty for me. Most of my operating has been using CW, but taking a side trip into PSK occasionally. Logging is somewhat cumbersome in a truck. I used big elastic bands to attach a small clip board to my leg so I could quickly write down a call sign and very basic information. This information would be then transferred to a computer log at home. I tried using the computer in the truck also, and that proved even more cumbersome, having the laptop jammed into the steering wheel.

I like to use a keyboard to send code but no matter what I used, it was a bit awkward in the truck. At the very least, the laptop stays put when its jammed into the steering wheel.  Using the passenger seat would require my changing the radio head orientation, the antenna control and paddles which are all set up for easy use from the drivers seat.

Occasionally I’d switch to CW and fumbled for a pen to write down a call sign, time, and band. The guy I was chatting with on 40 meter CW was running just a tad too fast for me to copy ‘everything he sent’, so I missed some of it. It seems that the ‘buffer in my brain’ is smaller than I’d like it to be and with FIFO being the rule, the beginning of a word vanishes as I copy the ending.
(FIFO, First In, First Out’) Some folks may complain that using a ‘decoder’ is cheating somehow. Yes, for a contest, but for every day QSO’s its not cheating at all. If you don’t like it, don’t use it!

I discovered this app and tried it last night for the first time. Wowzah, can it copy code! Just lean it up against your radio, or just near it,  and it copies CW. This is a really great help when someone is sending just a ‘tad faster’ than my ability to copy ‘everything’! Its also handy to ‘get the entire call sign’, while I was fumbling with other things in the truck! It works pretty well even in poor band conditions, and has Farnsworth Method as well as regular copy. It has ultra high speed copy, but I have not tried it. 1oo WPM code is hard to come by on the air.

This proves very useful in the truck, but my guess is that other hams will find it handy in other ways.

Three band HT Radio, 2 Meters, 70 CM and 6 Meters

“I hate this radio”

Have you ever said this?

I certainly have. Some radios are a joy to use. They are intuitive, easy to use and you don’t ‘NEED THE MANUAL’ every time you want to change something!

HT’s seem to be the most ‘user hostile’ radios available to hams. I know! All HT radios should have certain things, VFO, on off knob/button, volume control and keypad, and in my opinion, they should not be so difficult to use that you need to read the manual every time you want to do, what should be a simple task; change CTCSS tone of a repeater, for example!

When HT’s were reduced in size, they became more complicated to use. Menu systems were instituted. They were further reduced in size and menus were multi-layered! How many times have I yelled at my HT after holding button a for 1 second, then within 4 seconds, tried to press button 2, for 1 second but no more than 2.5 seconds, while doing 3 pirouette turns on my left foot, only then, can I use my radio. That same button has 3 functions now a days. Press it once for one thing, press it again within a specified number of seconds and you get another function. Press and hold it and you get yet another option.

Enter the English Translation, manual! Poorly translated from Japanese, but at least its in English!  (With many pertinent things omitted!)

Why do manuals go to great lengths to tell you in great detail everything that you ‘don’t want to know’ and will most likely never use or use very seldom?

But tell you want you NEED TO KNOW, naw!  Tell you how to ‘undo’ something? That would make it too easy!

Actually, I really like this VX5-R HT from Yaesu. It’s a love/hate relationship, however! So very handy, it fits in the palm of my hand, has lots of memories, and many many nice features. Accessing those features is not always easy, especially without the manual right in front of you. If you ever push the wrong button, and send it into ‘never-never-land’, its hard to un-do what you just did! One thing that was left out of the VX 5 is a memory clear feature!  That omission makes life with this radio difficult at best!

You cannot return a designated memory channel to its ‘no data’ state. The only thing you can do from the radio itself is to overwrite that particular memory with another frequency!

2 Meter IC V8000

I’m not picking only on Yaesu!

This Icom V 8000 is the most ‘User Hostile’ radio that I have ever owned.

Not only is it difficult to use, but it has problems as well. The mic is notorious for a mechanical problem with the PTT button, and the external speaker jack does not work well. Unfortunately, the external speaker jack is where you have to plug the programming cable in to program the radio. The Icom program for doing this is also ‘user hostile’ BTW!

Editing and Cloning Software RT Systems I bought software and cable from RT systems to program and manage the Icom T 70-A. The HT and its programming software arrived yesterday.

IC T 70 programming software and cable

Icom T70 A with spare battery, left, drop in charger, and speaker mic

 The Icom T-70-A, is the replacement radio for the Yaesu VX 5

It will replace the VX5 as my ‘go to’ HT. Just last night, I picked up the Yaesu VX5 the wrong way, mashed some buttons on its face and sent it into never-never-land!  Try as I may, I could not undo it with normal button press. Since the radio has an RT Systems program and cable on its way, I went nuclear, and reset the processor. Finally, the radio was operational once more. It needs programming of course but the display is no longer stuck!

It programmed the Icom T 70-A radio to my specifications with only a cursory reading of the manual. The radio is intuitive, easy to use and has some great features. RT Systems Programming Software and Cable

IC 7100 with Touch Paddles

Funny, I just installed an Icom 7100 mobile HF/VHF/UHF/MF radio in my truck. That radio was ‘done right’ by the manufacturer! Its easy to program and use, so there is no need to keep the manual handy for simple tasks. I run mobile CW/SSB and VHF repeaters with it. If there were any UHF in the area, I’d have that programmed in there too. Its a joy to use!

This photo shows the IC 7100 on a modified clip board held in place with bungee cords. So far, I have not seen the need for programming software. That said, there is an SD card on board this radio. It can save the settings to the SD card. I have not explored this avenue yet. It would be nice to keep a copy of the settings on an SD card and on my laptop for future use. Something unexpected can happen. Spare radio data would come in very handy then. Replacing all the settings would be very easy with the programming/clone software. RT systems sells that one too.

Do you have a radio that you love to hate? 

Portable, Ground Plane for 2 Meters made with BNC antennas

that you can ‘take down’

Its a compact ground plane antenna for portable use!

2 Meter Ground Plane Portable Gizmo Antenna in Operation 2

This antenna is built on a 2 inch washer. Holes were drilled in the washer to accommodate 4 radials. The center hole for the BNC to BNC connector was already there, but had to be reamed out. This (male to male) connector is where the coax from the radio is attached on the bottom of the washer. It also serves to hold (the center radiator element)! 

(Note: The radiator, in the center, needs to attach to a BNC MALE connector, the cable from the radio also needs a BNC MALE connector. I used a male to male adapter for this purpose. It didn’t fit tightly so I used an old bike inner tube to cut a small spacer for taking up the slack. I’d have used a metal washer for ‘fitting’ the adapter, but I had already make 3 trips to the hardware store, so I used what I had)

Gizmo Portable Antenna 

without the cover

Center Post of BNC Connector for the Radials are Shorted to the Shell Side

I used BNC female connectors from, Digikey, a good source for components! The center post of this connector is shorted to the ‘shell side’ to provide a ground plane with all the radials!

The 24 inch antennas from China were purchased on Ebay! CHEAP!  The 2 inch washer is from the local hardware store. Everything fits on this washer, a 2 inch space, but the center coax is tedious to attach with all the radials in place, especially if you have big fingers.

The Cap is from a spice bottle!

I live alone so it was not a problem! LOL

Spice Bottle Cover

I love to use things for which they were never intended! This spice bottle cap is a good example of this. At this point, I’m not sure if I’ll seal it to the top BNC antenna radiator element or not? If I seal it (with hot glue, maybe) , the cap becomes permanently attached to the radiator element, and would be difficult if not impossible to remove. The whole idea here is to use this antenna as an impromptu portable antenna!

2 Meter Ground Plane Portable Gizmo Antenna Hanging from a Taped Tie Wrap

A tie wrap is used to ‘hang’ the antenna. Its hanging from a hook on my porch at the condo. I put 50 watts into it to get a repeater 10 miles away. SWR was 1:1 This is a portable antenna! Its not meant to be a permanent one. If you have ever needed a 2 meter antenna that you can pull up into a tree with a string or rope, this is it! Hauling it up 40 or 50 feet on a rope will get you better results than at ground level.

There is a joke that says, have you ever seen a golfer with only 1 club? Ham radio antennas are in the same category as golf clubs. You just can’t have too many! 

All the elements can be removed for easy storage and transport, (radials as well as the vertical element)! I’m sure some clever ham will come up with a suitable case for this entire assembly. If I had one of those nifty clear plastic shipping tubes, I’d store in that! I’ll be on the lookout for one!