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I ended my April 18th postsaying “I would blog about a follow up regarding my hard drive backup adventure”, so here it is….. For my backup program I decided on Acronis 2016 as it’s very user definable and from what I have seen on the internet user friendly as well. In the past I have download some free programs (can’t remember the program names off the top of my head) that had been very confusing and frustrating. In the end I just removed them from the PC and never really got around to setting up any other backup program. Oh and the answer is a huge YES when asked have if I had ever been caught with a PC meltdown and no backup! Funny thing………..just before I installed Acronis 2016 on my PC my Western Digital 7 year old drive gave up the ghost! You know what they said…..”Timing is everything” and this time my timing was wayyyyyyy off. This post is just about the backup program and not the hard drive melt down adventure, I will save that for my next post. ^. Here are some of the questions I asked myself regarding a backup:

1. Why even bother with a backup, it’s not a business computer, I have no crucial financial documents, I don’t store any pictures on my PC………let me stop here and say “have you EVER had to re-install you amateur radio software?” I just did and have done in the past, all I can say is “it can be a real pain in the ass”. You find a new respect for….

• Getting your software to seamlessly work with your rig again.
• Hoping your Eqsl, LOTW or Clublog is up to date so you don’t lose contacts.
• Sending out emails to get passwords so downloaded programs I paid for will work again.
• All your software’s niffy macros you worked so hard to tweak are now gone.
• Revisiting the virtual comport software program that worked well and now you have to figure it out again….the problem being you forgot how you got it to work great last time.

2. So answering a loud and clear “YES” to the above question it’s time to check out the backup programs out there. I found lots of them and as stated earlier I wanted to avoid at all costs complicated ones. I chose Acronis 2016 and there are lots out there that I imagine are better or just as good but this is the one I chose. For me Acronis was easy to understand, walked you through your backup in detail and it worked!
3. Where was I going to back up too……….my new hard drive is partitioned but it makes no sense to back up on the same drive that could end up failing? I have a second drive in my PC (Seagate 1TB) and that was my choice.
4. Step 3 just seemed too easy and the more reading I did the more it was driven home……backup to more than one place and preferably 3 places! I ended up choosing my network Western digital 3TB external drive and a Western Digital passport USB drive. Oh and just for the record I have no connection to Western Digital…..:) From my readings one choice should be a “cloud” type storage. For me it was just too pricey and I have these drives at home and ready to use.

1. I did a full backup of the drive including system reserve portion. This backup will always be kept as is, this way I have a copy of the drive just after a clean install of the OS and all programs.
2. I have scheduled an incremental backup for once per month as I don’t change too much on my PC over the course of a month so I felt this length of time should be fine. I use Log40m and configured it to auto upload my QSO’s to club log, Eqsl and LOTW so I will not have uto be concerned with updating my log file it will be store in 3 places online.
3. Each time a back is done the program will perform a “validation” of the backup. Having said this I have found when a failed validation has happened and I run it again the backup will then pass? Not too sure what’s up with that and may need more investigation.
4. The PC is set to shut down once the backup is completed, this way I can leave and go to work.
5. I receive an email once the backup is done along with a report.
6. I did have the software set to repeat the backup if the validation fails but I found the software can get into a “loop” of backing up all day if a continued failed validation persists.

Stories you’ll find in our May, 2016 issue:

Wi-Fi Radio Primer Part 2: Review of Stand Alone Wi-Fi Radios
By Thomas Witherspoon K4SWL

Wi-Fi radios, by and large, look like traditional radios; they typically have backlit digital displays, front panel buttons to recall memories, and an internal speaker. They function like them, too, in that they play radio stations––but there’s where the resemblance stops. Streaming lnternet audio, and their dependence upon an aggregator to do this, sets them entirely apart. This month Thomas looks closely at some popular Wi-Fi radio choices to find the good, the better and the expensive.

Piggy Bank Ham Radio Part 2
By Cory GB Sickles WA3UVV

Last month, Cory introduced you to the possibilities of getting involved and having fun with ham radio on the HF bands—using (among other things) CW (Morse code), some ingenuity and networking with fellow hams to get started—all within a target budget of less than $100. This month, he explores some of the details of putting together your first station, including a simple antenna you can build, complete with an inexpensive QRP tuner for just $25 as well as tips on making that first CW contact.

Saving AM Broadcasting in North America
By Mike Kohl

For decades the AM broadcast industry has slipped further and further behind what it thought was its main competition: FM broadcast radio. Now, with satellite radio and Internet streaming taking more market share with each passing year, AM radio is frantically looking for a way to bail out a sinking ship. Mike outlines some of the options available to the oldest sector of the broadcast industry through regulation and market incentives. But, will any or all options be enough?

Becoming Radio Active when the Rubber Hits the Road
By Richard Fisher KI6SN

Many hams spend more time in their cars than in their shacks, leading to the notion of going mobile and not just for 2-meters. But it’s not nearly as easy as you might think. Trying to get an HF signal out of a moving, noisy, metal shack using impossibly short antennas are only a few of the difficulties to be overcome. Richard examines the mobile operations of a few of the most successful road operators to find out how to do it right.

TSM Reviews:
Comet CA-500 MKII Antenna Analyzer and A Pair of Cans for your Radio Pleasure
By Mark Haverstock K8MSH

There’s an old saying in ham radio: if you can’t hear ‘em, you can’t work ‘em! A good pair of headphones (sometimes referred to as “cans”) can make the difference in working DX or just being enjoying a QSO in a noisy home environment. Mark takes a look at two popular headphone sets: Audio Technica’s BPH1S broadcast headset and Heil Sound’s Proset Elite amateur radio headset. Both have their advantages and both are under $200.

Scanning America
By Dan Veenaman
Calvert, St. Mary’s (MD) and Lewis (NY) Counties

Federal Wavelengths
By Chris Parris
Summer Vacation Scanning

Utility Planet
By Hugh Stegman NV6H
HF in Death Valley

Digital HF: Intercept and Analyze
By Mike Chace-Ortiz AB1TZ/G6DHU
International ALE Networks

HF Utility Logs
By Mike Chace-Ortiz and Hugh Stegman

Digitally Speaking
By Cory Sickles WA3UVV
New DV Gear from the LMR World

VHF and Above
By Joe Lynch N6CL
Summits on the Air

Amateur Radio Insights
By Kirk Kleinschmidt NT0Z
Forgotten Antenna Fundamentals and Other Curious Tidbits—Part 4

Radio 101
By Ken Reitz KS4ZR
Channel Master’s FlatWave TV Antenna; Help for 3M’s WorkTunes Radio

The World of Shortwave Listening
By Jeff White
Spanning Two Continents and the Mediterranean: Turkey and Cyprus on Shortwave

The Shortwave Listener
By Fred Waterer
“Isle of Music,” BBC, RHC and More

Amateur Radio Astronomy
By Stan Nelson KB5VL
Revisiting Radio Jove with a Low Cost Computer

The Longwave Zone
By Kevin O’Hern Carey WB2QMY
Longwave Beacons: the Ideal DX Target

Adventures in Radio Restoration
By Rich Post KB8TAD
Not Another Heavy Hammarlund HQ-129X!?

Antenna Connections
By Dan Farber AC0LW
Antenna Height Above Ground

The Spectrum Monitor is available in PDF format which can be read on any desktop, laptop, iPad®, Kindle® Fire, or other device capable of opening a PDF file. Annual subscription is $24. Individual monthly issues are available for $3 each.

It was another pretty active month on the radio for me and my KX3.  I have now operated portable 22 times – with my goal being 45 for the year – I think I will make it no problem!

I continued this month really having fun with the SKCC QSO’s and chasing members for my first 100 SKCC contacts so I could claim the Centurion Award.  I ended the month with 83 total contacts toward my ‘C’ – just 17 more and I will be there.

With WES coming up this weekend I should be able to get there in short order!

So here is the recap on the MONTHLY numbers:

Total QSO’s all modes: 81

Total CW QSO’s: 75
Total PSK31 QSO’s: 6

Total SKCC QSO’s: 65

I apologize to those I have worked but have not documented here on the blog during my portable operations – but sometimes lack of time gets the best of me!

A couple DX highlights from this month – I worked ZL2BLQ in New Zealand on 15 meters and LW3EX on 10 meters with just 5 watts and my portable QRP antenna from a local park!

Even with these poor propagation conditions, I am still having a blast with just 5 watts and a wire!

It was another pretty active month on the radio for me and my KX3.  I have now operated portable 22 times – with my goal being 45 for the year – I think I will make it no problem!

I continued this month really having fun with the SKCC QSO’s and chasing members for my first 100 SKCC contacts so I could claim the Centurion Award.  I ended the month with 83 total contacts toward my ‘C’ – just 17 more and I will be there.

With WES coming up this weekend I should be able to get there in short order!

So here is the recap on the MONTHLY numbers:

Total QSO’s all modes: 81

Total CW QSO’s: 75
Total PSK31 QSO’s: 6

Total SKCC QSO’s: 65

I apologize to those I have worked but have not documented here on the blog during my portable operations – but sometimes lack of time gets the best of me!

A couple DX highlights from this month – I worked ZL2BLQ in New Zealand on 15 meters and LW3EX on 10 meters with just 5 watts and my portable QRP antenna from a local park!

Even with these poor propagation conditions, I am still having a blast with just 5 watts and a wire!

Here is this week’s space weather and geophysical report, issued 2016 May 02 0421 UTC.

Highlights of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 25 April – 01 May 2016

Solar activity was reached low levels this period. A total of seven low-level C-class flares were observed through the week, four of which were from Region 2535 (N05, L=124, class/area=Hax/60 on 24 Apr) and the remaining three were from Region 2539 (N16, L=084, class/area=Eai/100 on 01 May). A pair of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) associated with flare activity from Region 2535 were observed in LASCO C2 coronagraph imagery at 28/0216 UTC and 28/0636 UTC, but did not impact Earth as anticipated.

No proton events were observed at geosynchronous orbit.

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit reached moderate levels on 25-30 Apr and was at normal levels on 01 May.

Geomagnetic field activity was quiet on 25, 28-29 Apr, quiet to unsettled on 26-27, 30 Apr, and quiet to active on 01 May.

Forecast of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 02 May – 28 May 2016

Solar activity is likely to be low with a slight change for M-class flares (R1-R2 (Minor-Moderate) Radio Blackouts) on 03-16 May due to return of old Region 2529 (N09, L=342) which produced an isolated M6 flare (R2-Moderate Radio Blackout) last rotation. Very low to low levels of solar activity are likely through the remainder of the period.

No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit.

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is likely to reach high levels on 11-13 May with normal to moderate levels expected for the remainder of the outlook period.

Geomagnetic field activity is expected to reach G1-G2 (Minor-Moderate) geomagnetic storm levels on 02 May due to an enhanced solar wind environment and prolonged southward magnetic field orientation. G1 (Minor) geomagnetic storms are likely on 11 and 20 May with active levels likely on 10, 12, 14, 19 and 21 May due to the influence of recurrent coronal hole high speed streams (CH HSSs). Quiet to unsettled field activity is expected throughout the remainder of the period.

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