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Here is this week’s space weather and geophysical report, issued 2015 Jul 13 0408 UTC.

Highlights of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 06 – 12 July 2015

Solar activity began at moderate levels. Region 2381 (N14, L=074, class/area Eko/550 on 08 Jul) produced a pair of M-class flares on 06 Jul; an M1/Sn at 06/0844 UTC and an M1/2n at 06/2040 UTC. Activity was low from 07-11 Jul. Region 2381 produced the majority of the low level C-class flares from 07-09 Jul while Region 2385 (N08, L=106, class/area Dao/110 on 11 Jul) produced the C-class flares on 10-11 Jul. Solar activity decreased to very low levels on 12 Jul. Several filament eruptions were observed throughout the week but none of them were on the Sun-Earth line.

No proton events were observed at geosynchronous orbit.

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit was at normal to moderate levels for the majority of the period with the exception of 09-10 Jul when high levels were reached due to effects from a coronal hole high speed stream (CH HSS).

Geomagnetic field activity began the week at active levels due to effects from a waning CH HSS on 06 Jul. Mostly quiet conditions were observed from 07-09 Jul with the exception of isolated unsettled periods on 07 and 09 Jul. Activity increased to active to minor storm levels from 10-11 Jul due to effects from a recurrent positive polarity CH HSS. Quiet to unsettled conditions finished out the period on 12 Jul as CH HSS effects began to subside.

Forecast of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 13 July – 08 August 2015

Solar activity is expected to be at very low levels with a chance for C-class flares and a slight chance for M-class flares from 13-15 Jul. Very low to low activity is expected from 16-26 Jul after Region 2381 rotates around the west limb. Activity is expected to increase to low levels with a chance for M-class flares for the remainder of the period as old Region 2378 (S15, L=084) and Region 2381 return to the visible disk.

No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit.

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to be at normal to moderate levels on 13 Jul. Moderate to high levels are expected from 14-17 Jul following CH HSS effects. Normal to moderate levels are expected to return from 18 Jul-02 Aug. Moderate to high levels are expected again from 03-05 Aug followed by a return to normal to moderate levels from 06-08 Aug.

Geomagnetic field activity is expected to be at quiet to unsettled levels on 13-14 Jul due to residual CH HSS effects. Mostly quiet conditions are expected from 15-30 Jul. Quiet to active levels are expected from 31 Jul-02 Aug with minor storm levels expected on 01 Aug due to a recurrent negative polarity CH HSS. Mostly quiet conditions are expected to return from 03-05 Aug. Active to minor storm conditions are expected from 06-07 Aug due to a positive polarity CH HSS followed by quiet to unsettled conditions on 08 Aug as effects subside.

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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

AmateurLogic.TV Episode 80 is now available for download.

George, Tommy and Wayne head back to the country for Field Day. We tried a few new things this year that worked out pretty well. Plus your viewer emails and more.

1:16:20

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Last evening Dave K1SWL, Tim W3ATB and I were at Bailey’s Island in Maine. We were there for Lobstercon… an annual QRP gathering at Cooks Corner. After dinner we went to the shore at Lands End. I set up a quick wire and worked Italy, Greece, and the Czech Republic before the mosquitoes carried us away.

As the sun went down we ate dinner at Cook’s Lobster House. The view was the very best.

Then we drove a few miles east to where the sea meets the land… Tim parked the truck with the back toward the beach. The view is breathtaking.

We ran a wire from the tail gate down to the beach. At most the wire was only 3 or 4 feet off the ground. I put the KX3 on the rocks and stood on the sand. I tuned across 20 meters, but didn’t hear many stations… so I switched to 30 meters.

I1ULJ/8 in Italy was calling CQ. I answered Sal and he gave me a 559. I knew I wasn’t strong because I had to send my call a few times… but we completed a good exchange. I had smiles on my face and mosquito bites behind my ear. I didn’t care. Then I heard SV2/RW3AL in Greece finishing up a QSO and I called. This time I received a 339, but that was fine. Again we had a good exchange. The next QSO was the best.

Now I switched back to 20 meters to see if anything had changed. There was OK2RJC in the Czech Republic just booming in. Jiri was calling CQ and I knew he’d hear me. When I answered I received a 589 and I received a “congrats on UR QRP signal.” I folded up the log book and put everything back in the pack. The darker it got, the more mosquitoes showed up to feed. We were exuberant….. with the salt air, the smell of the sea, the view, and the cross-Atlantic QSOs.

Thanks to W3ATB and K1SWL for photos.

In this episode, Martin M1MRB / W9ICQ is joined by Ed Durrant DD5LP ,Martin Rothwell M0SGL and Chris Howards (M0TCH / N4CTH) to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin M6BOY rounds up the news in brief, and this episodes feature is the second part of our Ham Radio Friedrichshafen Review.

• Ham Radio Skills for Dresden Students
• Thai Licenses Invalidated
• Ofcom take action in Cambridge
• Disabled Teen Helped by Ham Radio
• WSPR station with RF Board and Raspberry Pi
• New World Distance records on 2.3 and 3.4 GHz Amateur / Ham Radio Bands
• Ham Radio Deluxe Team Grows - UK Member Added
• AREN Honoured by Cork County Mayor

In this episode, Martin M1MRB / W9ICQ is joined by Ed Durrant DD5LP ,Martin Rothwell M0SGL and Chris Howards (M0TCH / N4CTH) to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin M6BOY rounds up the news in brief, and this episodes feature is the second part of our Ham Radio Friedrichshafen Review.

• Ham Radio Skills for Dresden Students
• Thai Licenses Invalidated
• Ofcom take action in Cambridge
• Disabled Teen Helped by Ham Radio
• WSPR station with RF Board and Raspberry Pi
• New World Distance records on 2.3 and 3.4 GHz Amateur / Ham Radio Bands
• Ham Radio Deluxe Team Grows - UK Member Added
• AREN Honoured by Cork County Mayor

When Aaron Parks KC8FQD was having trouble learning Morse code, he complained about some of his frustrations to his wife, Dr. Jessica Parks. As an expert in memory and cognition with a PhD in experimental psychology, she immediately recognized a few ways he could dramatically improve his learning speed and retention.

Working together they created Skilman Introduction to Morse Code with a companion program called Morse Code Speed Builder: 5 to 12 Words Per Minute.

Based on the Farnsworth method, they designed it from the ground up to be different than other programs on the market. “The course is structured to walk you through the learning process step by step so you don’t get lost along the way. The individual exercises are designed to encourage engagement and participation,” he says.

Since launching the program this spring, they’ve already managed to create quite a buzz. “We’re pleased to have more than 150 happy customers so far and sales continue to accelerate,” he says. “So far, the feedback has been strongly positive.”

The program comes on 6 compact discs and the files can be loaded into an MP3 player for convenient playback. When you buy the program, you also get the digital files to use immediately if you don’t want to wait for your CDs to arrive.

Whether you decide to use their program or study on your own, they’ve put together a few tips to help you learn Morse code more effectively:

1) Divide your study into chunks that will fit into short-term memory

Eventually you’ll want to commit Morse code to your long-term memory, but before that it’ll have to go through your short-term memory. Work on 3-4 characters at a time. Once you think you have those committed to long-term memory, go on to the next group.

2) Practice meaningful rehearsal

This may sound obvious, but you won’t get far by putting a code tape on in the background and hoping to learn by osmosis. You’ve got to be an active participant in learning. Meaningful rehearsal is what moves those characters from short-term memory to long-term memory. So favor interactive exercises over passive ones.

3) Stay engaged by using a variety of exercises

If you do the same thing over and over, it’ll get boring and your eyes will glaze over. At the very least, mix up sending and receiving practice. They’re both important if you plan to get on the air and they’ll reinforce each other. If you zone out, you’re wasting your time.

4) Commit to a couple of short study sessions every day

A short study session is about 20-30 minutes. It may seem crazy, but it’s well known that human attention only holds up about that long. Once your attention falls off, you’re not getting a good return on the time you’re investing. Cramming works in the short-term, but for long-term retention, it’s better to space out your learning evenly over time. If you make it a part of your routine and work on it a little every day, you’ll get a little better every day — but one or two daily sessions is enough.

5) Don’t get discouraged by the interference effect

When you start out learning Morse code, the first several characters you learn will come pretty easy, but all of a sudden it changes. Everything slows down like it’s a struggle just to learn a single additional character. And what’s worse, it may seem like the ones you already know are getting harder to recall. Lots of people give up at this point.

Surprisingly, this sudden drop-off in apparent learning is actually good news. The reason why the new characters don’t come as easy is because the ones you already know are interfering with learning them. You have to have really learned those characters to have them interfere with learning more so you know that you must have already made significant progress.

Interference effect goes both ways, though. The new characters you’re learning interfere with the old ones. While it seems like all progress has ceased, you really must be learning the new characters to be experiencing this type of interference. This is the point where having a good attitude, a solid routine, and engaging exercises will really help.

Editor’s note:
Aaron and Jessica have graciously allowed AmateurRadio.com to give away the first hour of their Introduction to Morse Code course to our readers at no charge to help you get started. Good luck!

Skilman Introduction to Morse Code – Lesson 1 (24:02) Download
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Skilman Introduction to Morse Code – Lesson 2 (24:32) Download
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