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Weekly Propagation Summary – 2018 Mar 12 16:10 UTC

12 March 2018 | by Tomas NW7US | Leave a Comment (0)

Here is this week’s space weather and geophysical report, issued 2018 Mar 12 0049 UTC.

Highlights of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 05 – 11 March 2018

Solar activity was very low throughout the period.

No proton events were observed at geosynchronous orbit.

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit reached moderate levels on 10 Mar with normal levels observed through the remainder of the week.

Geomagnetic field activity reached active levels late on 09 Mar and early on 10 Mar due to the combined influences of a coronal hole high speed stream and a weak transient solar wind feature.

Forecast of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 12 March – 07 April 2018

Solar activity is expected to continue at very low levels 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 reach high levels on 18-25 Mar with moderate levels expected on 17, 26-30 Mar. Normal flux levels are expected throughout the remainder of the outlook period.

Geomagnetic field activity is expected to reach G1 (Minor) geomagnetic storm levels on 18 and 26 Mar and active levels are expected on 15-17, and 21 Mar due to the influences of multiple, recurrent coronal hole high speed streams. Generally quiet and quiet to unsettled conditions are expected for the rest of the outlook period as a nominal solar wind regime prevails.

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

Check out the stunning view of our Sun in action, as seen during the last five years with the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXN-MdoGM9g

= = = = =

BOOK SALE: Space Weather and Sun Science – get these from Amazon, and help us stay online!

NOTICE: When you buy this (or any item after starting with this link), you are helping us keep our SunSpotWatch.com and other resources “on the air” (up and running!). In other words, you are helping the entire community. So, check out this book:

Here is the link to Amazon: http://g.nw7us.us/fbssw-aSWSC

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LHS Episode #213: HF Antenna Woes

12 March 2018 | by Russ K5TUX | Leave a Comment (0)

Welcome to Episode 213 of Linux in the Ham Shack. In this episode, the hosts discuss the proper installation of HF antennas, the HF Voyager project, FT-8 DXpeditions, Ubuntu 18.04 and Discourse, picking OSS licenses, the new release of WSJT-X and much more. 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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Amateur Radio Weekly – Issue 197

10 March 2018 | by Cale K4HCK | Leave a Comment (0)

The HF Voyager Project
Jupiter Research Foundation Amateur Radio Club has integrated an HF transceiver with an autonomous ocean-going drone. Our mission is to deploy a ham radio station that roams the world’s oceans while providing an opportunity for amateur radio operators everywhere to make contacts with rare locations.
JRFARC

ARRL repurposes AM broadcast transmitter for Ham Radio use
Thanks to a joint effort by ARRL and the Vintage Radio and Communications Museum of Connecticut (VRCMCT), a classic Gates BC-1T AM broadcast transmitter will enjoy a second life on the Amateur Radio bands for occasional use under W1AW.
ARRL

Alexa Skill: Band conditions
This skill uses the information from http://www.bandconditions.com/ and can help Amateur Radio operators quickly get information about current band conditions on a scale from “dead” to “great.”
AC4PA

How to make a MMDVM Digital Repeater
After following this article you will be able to put together a multimode amateur digital repeater that can be connected to the internet for world wide digital communication.
San Antonio Digital Radio Club

The Army’s costly quest for the perfect radio continues
The decisions that the Department of Defense made about its “radios of the future” more than 20 years ago are still having an impact on the communications gear the military services purchase today.
Ars Technica

Will the FCC sink pirate radio in Colorado?
Word spread quickly about the mysterious unmarked black SUV parked at a highway exit just outside the town of Ward, CO.
Westword

Valerie, NV9L, is Amateur of the Year
Hotzfeld is a co-host of the netcast Ham Nation and has created several how-to videos on YouTube for the ham radio community.
ARRL

The QCX 5W CW Transceiver from QRP Labs
The board is top quality, and comes with the two SMT devices already soldered on. They are the Si5351, which is the heart of the synthesized VFO, and the FST3253, which is used for the quadrature sampling detector. Inside the red packing is the LCD module.
AA7EE

Solar power in a can
Already designed to resist the elements, [bennelson] is using a 50cal. ammo can for a portable enclosure. Inside, he’s siliconed a 15AH, 12V lead-acid battery in the centre to maintain balance and to leave room for the wiring and storage.
Hack A Day

Veteran long distance walker to use 2m on his latest 900 mile walk
Fifty-nine year old Paul Truswell, M3WHO, of Macclesfield, Cheshire, will shortly be starting a 900-mile walk south to north across Great Britain.
Southgate

Video

Ham radio helps WA9SZL find his voice
Johnnie Mayfield began using ham radio when he was young, and the hobby has helped in real emergencies, including the time he spent days relaying information during a blizzard.
WRAL

Amateur Radio Weekly is curated by Cale Mooth K4HCK. Sign up free to receive ham radio's most relevant news, projects, technology and events by e-mail each week at http://www.hamweekly.com.

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Need a Vacuum Tube?

10 March 2018 | by Richard AA4OO | Leave a Comment (0)

Superstore for Vacuum Tubes

When I started restoring my Heathkit HW-101 I thought it might be difficult to find replacement tubes. I initially only looked on eBay for tubes but then I was directed in a boat anchor forum to the vacuum tube superstore... findatube.com

Bob Dubush offers tubes at prices well below what you'll find on eBay. When you order from findatube you'll receive NOS (new open stock) tubes in their original boxes and may receive them in a nifty original store display box... Ah I can smell the 1950's

He also carries hard to find tubes like the 6GW8 at far better prices than what you'll find on the 'Bay.

So if you've been looking for a good source for all your classic vacuum tube needs visit...

That's all for now...

So fire up that high voltage power supply and warm your shack the old fashioned way

Richard AA4OO

Richard Carpenter, AA4OO, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from North Carolina, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

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Oscilloscope now on the bench

9 March 2018 | by Richard AA4OO | Leave a Comment (0)

Tektronix 475 Oscilloscope and Android Signal Generator App

When I was debugging problems with my Ten-Tec Century/21, and especially my problematic one-watter kit, I needed to see more than DC voltages. I carried my problem stuff to my friend Paul to see what his scope and signal generator revealed.

Why would a ham need a scope? Audio and RF are both AC (alternating current) and a voltmeter alone doesn't offer much insight into that world of voltage across time and phase.

I almost bought an inexpensive digital scope last year, then thought better of it. Then I almost bought a featured digital scope and checked my wallet and thought better of it. A good digital scope in the 100 Mhz and up range from reliable sources costs upwards of $500. On the other hand, older professional scopes that have been well maintained and kept in calibration are excellent choices and will last a lifetime. You do give up handy on screen cursors for measurements, so you have to count divisions by hand and do the math. You also don't have digital storage in a digital scope, but smart phone cameras and video can make up for that.

When I saw this recently calibrated Tektronix 475 listed in the classifieds on eHam.net for a nice price, I decided it was time to step into the world of visualized AC.

Watching a capacitor charge 250 times a second
The lines are a bit wide because the signal source was noisy

Tek 475 Specs

The Tektronix 475 is a portable (30 lbs), dual-trace oscilloscope with dual time-bases similar to the 465, but with 200 MHz bandwidth and a maximum vertical sensitivity of 2 mV/Div. It is all solid-state except for the CRT. It was introduced in November 1972.

This scope cost $3,000 when it was new. Now you can find them in good condition for less than $200.

Bandwidth -- 200 MHz (475), AC cutoff 10 Hz, switchable BW limit 20 MHz
Rise time -- 1.75 ns (475)
Deflection -- 2 mV/Div to 5 V/Div, 1-2-5
Cascaded mode -- 400 μV/Div, 50 MHz with CH1 input connected to CH2 VERT SIG OUT
Time base -- 10 ns/Div to 500 ms/Div, 1-2-5, and ×10 magnifier
Input impedance -- 1 MΩ // 20 pF
Triggering -- 0.3 Div (int) or 50 mV (ext) to 40 MHz, increasing to 1.5 Div/250 mV at 200 MHz; AC coupling >60 Hz; LF REJ >50 kHz, HF REJ <50 khz="" li="">
X bandwidth -- 3 MHz
Z axis input -- 5 Vp-p, 50 MHz
Calibrator -- 1 kHz, 30 mA / 300 mV square wave
Outputs -- CH2 Vert Signal Out, 20 mV/Div into 1 MΩ or 10 mV/Div into 50 Ω; A and B +GATE OUT, +5 V; Probe power jack
CRT -- 8 × 10 cm², P31 phosphor (P11 opt.)
Power -- 110, 115, 120, 220, 230 or 240 VAC ±10%, 48-440 Hz, max. 100 W

Real knobs and switches

One advantage of an analog scope is that there is a labeled switch or knob for every function. No need to dig through menus to figure out how to do something. To me this is the a true advantage to finding a well calibrated, analog scope.

An oscilloscope needs a function generator

An scope let's you visualize AC within a circuit, but when you testing something you often need to inject AC into that circuit. That's the role played by a function generator. Function generators allow you to choose a frequency and a wave type (sine, triangle, square, etc.), or sweep across frequencies.

In general, the higher the frequency they support the more they cost.

If you have a mobile device you can get one that uses your headphone jack as output up to 22 kHz for free...

For a free app it is very nice. It outputs sine waves very well, triangle waves are a bit soft pointed and square waves are for entertainment purposes only. But it is free so I won't complain. In the image below you can see the oscillations as it tries to generate a square wave but the audio amplifier of the mobile device just doesn't have that kind of control.

Frequency Generator App set to 1 kHz

Square Wave?

Square waves are not

Reduce the time base to zoom in

Yea, square wave.... not so much

The square wave is bad but sine and triangle waves look good until the frequency get's near the top of the range or the amplitude is raised too high.

Sine Waves look good

Triangle waves are on as well until you go up in frequency

The free app is inadequate for bench testing

While I appreciate that this would be a useful, portable signal generator for testing audio circuits, I'll be ordering a purpose-built function generator because generating clean square waves is an important test signal to be clean. I also will need a generator that works above audio frequencies, hopefully up the the IF frequencies of the some of the equipment I'm testing.

Only the beginning

Having an oscilloscope is a new adventure for me. I have another 1-watter kit ready to build that I've been holding off on because I wanted a scope for troubleshooting. In the meantime I'm using the scope to watch transistors trigger and measure the timing circuits I'm building and learning how to control the scope. The Tektronix 475 is a feature-rich analog scope. If you plan to fix your own equipment or do some homebrew electronics work a scope can come in handy.

That's all for now

Sow lower your power and sample it with a scope

72/73
Richard AA4OO

Richard Carpenter, AA4OO, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from North Carolina, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

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What? ARRL Petitions FCC to Expand Privileges of Technician-Class Amateur Radio Operators

6 March 2018 | by Tomas NW7US | Leave a Comment (26)

I have my opinion on ARRL asking FCC to grant more HF privileges to Technician-class licensees.

I verbalize them in this video:

[embedyt]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWSAvDWE3Js[/embedyt]

After you hear my comments, please leave your comments.

Thanks, 73 de NW7US dit dit

Visit, subscribe: NW7US Radio Communications and Propagation YouTube Channel

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WØC Summits On The Air Dinner

6 March 2018 | by Bob KØNR | Leave a Comment (0)

It is time for another W0C (Colorado) Summits On The Air dinner!

2017 W0C SOTA Dinner: (left to right) Wayne AD0KE, Brad WA6MM, Caleb W4XEN, Carey KX0R, John N0TA, Curtis KC5CW, Mark N0MTN, Joyce K0JJW, Steve K7PX, Al KH7AL, James KI0KN, Walt W0CP

2017 W0C SOTA Dinner (left to right): Joyce K0JJW, Steve K7PX, Al KH7AL, James KI0KN, Walt W0CP, John N1OIE, Steve WG0AT, Wayne AD0KE, Brad WA6MM, Caleb W4XEN and Carey KX0R.

Last year, we had 15 people get together for an informal dinner in south Denver (Lone Tree): Steve WG0AT, Wayne AD0KE, Brad WA6MM, Caleb W4XEN, Carey KX0R, John N0TA, Curtis KC5CW, Mark N0MTN, Bob K0NR, Joyce K0JJW, Steve K7PX, Al KH7AL, James KI0KN, Walt W0CP and John N1OIE. It was so much fun meeting people and swapping SOTA stories that we are going to do it again this year.

Wednesday March 21^that 6 pm
Chili’s, 10460 Park Meadows Dr, Lone Tree, CO 80124-5413

Dinner details:
No agenda, no organization, just have fun, pay for your meal
Please wear something with your name/callsign (name tag, shirt, cap, etc.) to aid in making connections

Please send this to anyone you know that might be interested.
RSVP back to Bob K0NR: [email protected] so we have an accurate count for the reservation.

I hope to see you all there!

73, Bob K0NR

The post WØC Summits On The Air Dinner 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].

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