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Here is this week’s space weather and geophysical report, issued 2016 Apr 11 0439 UTC.

Highlights of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 04 – 10 April 2016

Solar activity was at very low levels on 04-05 April with low levels observed from 06-10 April as Region 2529 (N09, L=341, class/area, Eki/820 on 10 April) began its transit across the solar disk. The region emerged as a large bipolar group that produced 15 low level C-class flares during the period. The largest flare was a long-duration C2 at 09/1342 UTC, however it also produced another long-duration C1 flare at 10/0934 UTC. Other activity included a 10 degree filament eruption, centered near N18E29, that erupted beginning at approximately 10/1000 UTC. An associated CME was observed off the NE limb at 10/1100 UTC. The CME is currently being analyzed, however it is likely that little to no impacts will occur given its location and direction.

No proton events were observed at geosynchronous orbit.

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit was at high levels from 04-07 April with normal levels observed from 08-10 April. The highest flux value observed for the period was 3,924 pfu at 05/1605 UTC.

Geomagnetic field activity ranged from quiet to (G1) minor storm levels. Solar wind parameters were at mostly nominal levels through the period until a solar sector boundary crossing (SSBC) occurred around 07/1737 UTC. During this time, total field increased to a maximum of 13 nT while the Bz component deflected southward for approximately 8 hours reaching a maximum of -13 nT. The geomagnetic field responded with G1-minor storm levels late on 07 April through early on 08 April.

Forecast of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 11 April – 07 May 2016

Solar activity is expected to be at low levels with a slight chance for M-class (R1-R2, Minor-Moderate) flares until Region 2529 rotates off the NW limb on 21 April. Very low levels are expected from 22 April through 03 May. Low levels are expected once again from 04-07 May with the return of Region 2529.

No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit.

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to be at high levels on 15-18, 24-28, and 30 April – 02 May due to coronal hole high speed stream (CH HSS) influence. Normal to moderate levels are expected for the remainder of the outlook period.

Geomagnetic field activity is expected to be at unsettled to active levels on 12-15, 23-26, and 29-30 April with G1-minor storm levels likely on 13-14 and 29 April due to recurrent CH HSS activity. Unsettled to active levels are also likely on 04 May due to activity associated with an SSBC.

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/

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Get the space weather and radio propagation self-study course, today. Visit http://nw7us.us/swc for the latest sale and for more information!

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This weekend was the monthly SKCC Weekend Sprintathon (WES), and I was really looking forward to working this.  I had hear there was lots of activity, and a great way to pick up additional SKCC member QSO’s as I work towards my Centurion (100 contacts).

Map of contacts – most were on 40 meters (PR was on 15 meters, only 15 meter contact) – map by http://www.qsomap.org/

So I was up and at it at 7:00 AM local Saturday morning (12:00 UTC).  Long story short, the bands really stunk here in Kansas the entire weekend.  All total I probably was able to work about 8 hours of the contest.

I ended up making 24 contacts, 16 states/provinces (including Puerto Rico and France) for a total score of 774 points – all QRP at 5 watts with the KX3 and my 20/40 dipole that lays on my shingles on the roof.

I used the SKCC Logger program, and it made life really easy!

I dug out an old J-37 key that my father had, and it was a real pleasure to use!

J-37 Key – KX3 on 3D printed stand my son made for me!

I added 16 new SKCC numbers, so right now I am sitting at 59 – just 41 more to go for my Centurion.

I will definitely be back next month!  This was really fun, and if you’re worried about your CW skills, this is the perfect event for you.  Nice and slow – not the break-neck speed of most CW contests!

This weekend was the monthly SKCC Weekend Sprintathon (WES), and I was really looking forward to working this.  I had hear there was lots of activity, and a great way to pick up additional SKCC member QSO’s as I work towards my Centurion (100 contacts).

Map of contacts – most were on 40 meters (PR was on 15 meters, only 15 meter contact) – map by http://www.qsomap.org/

So I was up and at it at 7:00 AM local Saturday morning (12:00 UTC).  Long story short, the bands really stunk here in Kansas the entire weekend.  All total I probably was able to work about 8 hours of the contest.

I ended up making 24 contacts, 16 states/provinces (including Puerto Rico and France) for a total score of 774 points – all QRP at 5 watts with the KX3 and my 20/40 dipole that lays on my shingles on the roof.

I used the SKCC Logger program, and it made life really easy!

I dug out an old J-37 key that my father had, and it was a real pleasure to use!

J-37 Key – KX3 on 3D printed stand my son made for me!

I added 16 new SKCC numbers, so right now I am sitting at 59 – just 41 more to go for my Centurion.

I will definitely be back next month!  This was really fun, and if you’re worried about your CW skills, this is the perfect event for you.  Nice and slow – not the break-neck speed of most CW contests!

My poor-man’s 10 MHz reference based on the Ublox Neo-7M GPS module didn’t always receive GPS satellites. Since I rely on reception indoors, conditions were sometimes too marginal to lock the oscillator output to 10 MHz. Inspired by the QRPlabs GPS module of Hans Summers (G0UPL) with its large 6 x 6 cm PCB groundplane, I therefore decided to do something similar.

The first picture shows the unit with the 8.5 x 6.5 cm single-sided PCB ground plane attached with double-sided tape. It definitely helped make indoors reception in my shack much more reliable. In addition to the improved conditions for the patch antenna, it probably helps too that the antenna now is shielded from the digital circuitry of the GPS module, the 10 MHz pulse shaper, and the USB interface. I also added a small LED to the right so that I could see from the outside whether the GPS locks properly.

The second picture shows the interior prior to adding the ground plane.

This post is a continuation of these other posts about the 10 MHz reference:

1. Just good enough 10 MHz reference (3 Oct 2015)
2. Better with SMA (15 Oct 2015)
3. Curing amnesia in the 10 MHz GPS reference (19 Nov 2015)

My poor-man’s 10 MHz reference based on the Ublox Neo-7M GPS module didn’t always receive GPS satellites reliably enough. Since I rely on reception indoors, conditions were sometimes too marginal to lock the oscillator output to 10 MHz. Inspired by the QRPlabs GPS module of Hans Summers (G0UPL) with its large 6 x 6 cm PCB groundplane, I therefore decided to do something similar.

It definitely helped make indoors reception in my shack much more reliable. The first picture shows the unit with the 8.5 x 6.5 cm single-sided PCB ground plane attached with double-sided tape. The picture below shows it prior to adding the ground plane. I also added a small LED to the right so that I could see from the outside whether the GPS locks properly.

This post is a continuation of these other posts about the 10 MHz reference:

• Just good enough 10 MHz reference (3 Oct 2015)
• Better with SMA (15 Oct 2015)
• Curing amnesia in the 10 MHz GPS reference (19 Nov 2015)

Hello, fellow amateur radio and Linux enthusiasts. Welcome to the latest edition of Linux in the Ham Shack. In this episode, your intrepid hosts discuss spy radios, the Heard Island DXpedition, the physics of antennas, new Linux releases and more. We've even thrown in an interview with John Hays, K7VE, of Northwest Digital Radio about their great new Pi hat. There's so much information it's a double episode. Don't miss a single action-packed second.

73 de The LHS Crew

Economists see scarcity, supply and demand as fundamental forces in a market. Items that are scarce demand a higher price while items that are easy to obtain tend to have a lower price.  A diamond is an example of something that is relatively scarce (and in demand) so it commands a high price. In contrast, wood is generally available and is much less expensive than diamonds.

Then there’s the concept of artificial scarcity. If some items can be made scarce (or even just appear scarce), the price will tend to increase. For example, if I own all of the banana trees on an isolated island, I could reduce the available supply of bananas and command a higher price from all of the banana eaters there. Or maybe I start screening bananas for quality and I put a special sticker on them to brand them as special.

We have a case of artificial scarcity in ham radio, called the DXCC list. This list defines what is considered a separate country when chasing DX. (Actually, the correct term is entity, not country.) For example, Hawaii (KH6) and Alaska (KL7) are considered separate entities even though they are part of the United States. (See Is Alaska a Country?) For someone chasing DXCC entities, because Alaska is on The List, a radio contact with Alaska becomes more desirable. It’s kind of like putting a “premium sticker” on a banana to indicate that it is special.

In my imagination, the DXCC list resulted from a bunch of hams sitting around drinking beer and bragging about how many countries they had worked. One guy, Larry says he just worked Hawaii, bringing his total to 125 countries. His buddy Leroy says, “You can’t count Hawaii because it’s part of the US of A.”  To which Larry says, “You bet I can count Hawaii…and Texas too. It’s a whole ‘nuther country.” Clearly, we are going to need an official list to keep track of what counts as a country.  A more credible version of how the list got established is captured in this article from the October 1935 QST.

Of course, the two main factors that drive scarcity of DXCC entities is the ham radio population and ease of access. Radio contacts are easy to make with entities that have an active ham population. If an entity doesn’t have many active hams but is easy to get to, someone will probably put that location on the air once in a while.  On the other hand, some locations are unpopulated and really difficult to get to. These are not only on The List, they are on The Most Wanted List.

Kingman Reef (KH5) was just deleted from The List, instantly changing it from one of the most desired contacts in amateur radio to a big giant Why Bother. You see, there used to be 340 countries on the list but now there’s only 339. Kingman Reef will now be considered part of Palmyra/Jarvis, so it still has value for DXCC, just a lot less.

As I write this article, there is a major DXpedition (VKØEK) operating from Heard Island, an unpopulated island near Antartica. The only reason those guys are there is that Heard Island is on The List. Take a look at their web site and you’ll see how much time and energy has gone into activating this lonely island. Drop it from the list and suddenly a radio contact with this location is a lot less in demand.

So try to keep this all in perspective. There are lots of radio contacts out there to be made, some more interesting and desirable than others. It is appropriate and necessary that we have the DXCC list, to provide consistency in how we count countries, I mean entities. But really, it all traces back to Larry and Leroy arguing about who worked the most countries.

Thanks to the dedicated DXpeditioners that put these rare locations on the air.

73, Bob K0NR

The post DX, Artificial Scarcity and The List appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.