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International Ham Radio News & Opinion

LHS Episode #358: The Weekender LIII

24 July 2020 | by Russ K5TUX | Leave a Comment (0)

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].

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LHS Episode #357: Lethal Weapon

21 July 2020 | by Russ K5TUX | Leave a Comment (1)

Welcome to the 357th installment of Linux in the Ham Shack. In this episode, the hosts talk about the new amateur radio youth database, Mortty, the Icom IC-705, an open-source COVID-19 tracker, TrueNAS, SDR++ and much more. Stay safe and sane out there and thank you for listening.

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].

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Weekly Propagation Summary – 2020 Jul 20 16:10 UTC

20 July 2020 | by Tomas NW7US | Leave a Comment (0)

Here is this week’s space weather and geophysical report, issued 2020 Jul 20 0242 UTC.

Highlights of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 13 – 19 July 2020

Solar activity was very low throughout the period. No active regions with sunspots were observed over the past week. The passage of a slow-moving CME from 08 Jul was observed on 13-14 Jul. Near the end of the period, a faint, slow-moving CME was observed off the western limb in STEREO-A imagery beginning at around 19/0524 UTC. Analysis of this event remains underway at the time of this writing.

No proton events were observed at geosynchronous orbit.

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit was at normal-to-moderate levels throughout the period.

Geomagnetic field activity reached active levels between 13/0000-0900 UTC due to a combination of positive polarity CH HSS and CME (08 Jul) effects. Quiet to unsettled conditions were observed on 13 Jul. Quiet conditions were observed throughout the remainder of the period.

Forecast of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 20 July – 15 August 2020

Solar activity is expected to be very low throughout the outlook period.

No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit.

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to be normal-to-moderate throughout the outlook period.

Geomagnetic field activity is expected to be quiet to unsettled on 23-24 Jul and 31 Jul-01 Aug. Quiet conditions are expected to prevail throughout the rest of the period.

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!

– – – – – – – – – – – – –

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

Visit, subscribe: NW7US Radio Communications and Propagation YouTube Channel

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ICQ Podcast Episode 329 – Radio Questions Answered

19 July 2020 | by Colin M6BOY | Leave a Comment (0)

In this episode, Martin M1MRB is joined by Dan Romanchik KB6NU, Edmund Spicer M0MNG 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 Radio Questions Answered.

ICQ AMATEUR/HAM RADIO PODCAST DONORS

We would like to thank Daryll McCaffrey, Ed Efchak (WX2R), Andrew Whybrow (M0IRU), David Bowie, Ed Jones (K8MEJ), Phil Heckingbottom (VK6ADF), Dino Papas KLØS, Gayln True Hall and two anonymous donors along with our monthly and annual subscription donors for keeping the podcast advert free. To donate, please visit - http://www.icqpodcast.com/donate

- Successful Foundation Webinar - 5000 km plus Opening on 144 MHz from Cape Verde Islands to Europe - PRESENTER OPINION: The Rebirth of HF? - The Uncertain Future of Ham Radio - Proposed Shortwave Station in Illinois Prompts an Objection - DIY Weather Satellite Ground Station - UK National Hamfest 2020 Cancelled - European SOTA Activity Day 19th September 2020 - ILLW on Track for 2020

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

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Hunting For NDBs In CLE258 – Pick Five!

18 July 2020 | by Steve VE7SL | Leave a Comment (0)

Next weekend's CLE is something a little different. Listeners are asked to pick five frequencies only, to listen on, and then find as many beacons as they can!

During these stressful times, CLE258 might provide some much needed distraction for you.

I'm sure most listeners will find their own strategy for picking their five frequencies. Will it be the five that have given you the most loggings? The five that have provided the most loggings in North America or Europe? Will it be the five that are not being bothered by your stronger pest signals? Choose wisely and enjoy the challenge.

'CLE's are 'Co-ordinated Listening Events, and NDB DXers around the world focus their listening time on one small slice of the NDB spectrum.

From CLE coordinator Brian Keyte (G3SIA), comes the following CLE info:

Hello all

Here are the final details for this weekend’s unusual Coordinated Listening Event.

We are each invited to choose, for our own listening, FIVE PRECISE FREQUENCY SETTINGS in the NDB range.

Days: Friday 24 July - Monday 27 July

Times: Start and End at midday, your LOCAL time

Target: NDBs (including any UNIDs) heard using your choice of any FIVE frequency settings at least 10 kHz apart in the range 190–1740 kHz

For each of your chosen frequencies, use of a wide filter, or no filtering, will allow you to hear the NDBs within a few kHz on either side. The signals will depend on the time of day and the aerial(s) that you are using, etc. You could choose a frequency setting like 345.6 kHz if you wanted (i.e. you are not limited to whole kHz).

What frequencies would be good ones for hearing several NDBs in your own situation?

Many of us away from Europe will find this more of a challenge, though if you are in the Southern Hemisphere your mid-winter conditions should help.

It will add extra interest for everyone if, before the CLE, you could say in an email to the List the five frequencies that you hope to use. (In the Results we shall probably flag where listeners were using pre-selected frequencies). Of course your choice of a frequency will not stop any other listeners from using it too! Each of your five frequency settings should remain exactly the same throughout the Event.

Please send your final CLE log (before Wednesday) to the List, if possible as a plain text email and not in an attachment, showing 'CLE258' and 'FINAL' in its title.

Please include with every one of your loggings:

# The date (or just the day 'dd') and UTC (days change at 00:00 UTC).

# kHz - the beacon's nominal frequency.

# The Call Ident.

It is important to show those main items FIRST - any other optional details such as Location, Distance, etc. go LATER in the same line.

You could show the loggings in frequency order, with the receiver’s frequency setting on a separate line before each of the five groups of loggings.

Don't forget to give your OWN location and details of your receiver and aerial(s), etc.

If you have a very basic receiver such as a ‘1AD’ and probably home made, you will know that its wide bandwidth often receives several signals at the same time. That might be a good candidate to use for listening on one or more of your frequencies. However, be aware that aerial changes and adjustments can alter its tuning very significantly. To correct for that, try to use a reference NDB, ‘mid-distance from you’ so that it is audible all the time and keep it tuned to a low audio note so that the actual central receiving frequency doesn’t alter (or use an external signal generator set to the chosen frequency).

Please make sure that any waterfall facility on the receiver is not being displayed.

If you have advanced recording facilities you COULD of course record everything during the CLE and do no live listening. However, please bear in mind that we should each stick to the five frequencies that we’ve selected in advance. While playing back recordings, the receiver’s frequency should always be set to one of your five pre-selected frequencies and not be changed to enhance a possibly difficult-to-hear signal.

Good listening!

Brian and Joachim

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Brian Keyte G3SIA ndbcle'at'gmail.com

Location: Surrey, SE England (CLE coordinator)

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If you wish you could use any one remote receiver for your loggings,

stating the location and owner - and with their permission if required.

A remote listener may NOT also use another receiver, local or remote,

to make further loggings for the same CLE.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

These listening events serve several purposes. They:

determine, worldwide, which beacons are actually in service and on-the-air so the online database can be kept up-to-date

determine, worldwide, which beacons are out-of-service or have gone silent since the last CLE covering this range

will indicate the state of propagation conditions at the various participant locations

will give you an indication of how well your LF/MF receiving system is working

give participants a fun yet challenging activity to keep their listening skills honed

Final details can be found at the NDB List website, and worldwide results, for every participant, will be posted there a few days after the event.

The NDB List Group is a great place to learn more about the 'Art of NDB DXing' or to meet other listeners in your region. There is a lot of good information available there and new members are always very welcome. As well, you can follow the results of other CLE participants from night to night as propagation is always an active topic of discussion.

You need not be an NDB List member to participate in the CLEs and all reports, no matter how small, are of much value to the organizers.

Remember - 'First-time' logs are always VERY welcome!

Reports may be sent to the NDB List Group or e-mailed to CLE co-ordinator, Brian Keyte (G3SIA), whose address appears above. If you are a member of the group, all final results will also be e-mailed and posted there.

Please ... give the CLE a try ... then let us know what NDB's can be heard from your location! Your report can then be added to the worldwide database to help keep it up-to-date.

Have fun and good hunting!

Steve McDonald, VE7SL, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from British Columbia, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

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AmateurLogic 145: Saturday In The Park

18 July 2020 | by George W5JDX | Leave a Comment (0)

AmateurLogic.TV Episode 145 is now available for download.

We’ve got Summertime outdoor Ham Radio fun. Emile and friends at the W5SLA club do Field Day from a new location. Tommy’s unconventional Field Day. Join George, Tommy, and Ray for Saturday in the park with a great group of new portable antennas. Mike introduces the Grove Beginner Kit for Arduino. At this low price, even Emile is impressed.

1:14:58

Download
YouTube

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].

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Where have you gone G1KQH?

18 July 2020 | by Steve G1KQH | Leave a Comment (1)

Many have wondered why there has been no output from me on this Blog? Quite simply, I have not had the time of late to play Amateur radio, or update my Blog. As I have stated previously there are family issues I am having to deal with on a daily basis, which have been taking up most of my spare time and which are still on going and maybe for sometime yet?

Some of you recently sent me emails regarding the G3LEK key, and requests for links to my Blog, I will get around to replying to you all.

So here's hoping you have all have managed to dodge the virus and have stayed safe? I suppose by luck it has not been at critical levels in the area where I live, and we have been thankful for that, although it has added further restraint to our lives.

So for now I leave you with a photo of the person behind the Blog, something for you all to throw darts at when you are next in the shack. I hope to be back at the hobby not too long into the distant future.

73's Steve..

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

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