AmateurRadio.com

JT-Stephenville, NL courtesy: www.google.ca/maps/

Conditions this past weekend were surprisingly good, considering the time of year. I must admit that I was expecting three nights of summer thunderstorm QRN combined with summer-like propagation. Happily I encountered neither.

The sun has been very quiet for the past couple of weeks, leading to low K and A indices and favorable DST numbers. Best catch was 'JT-390' in Stephanville, Newfoundland.




DD UTC kHz Call      Location
--------------------------------------------------------------
23 08:00 385 WL Williams Lake, BC, CAN
23 08:00 385 UWL New Castle, IN, USA
23 08:00 385 QV Yorkton, SK, CAN
23 07:00 385 OCC Yakutat, ALS
23 08:00 385 MR Pacific Grove, CA, USA
23 10:00 385 EHM Cape Newenham LRRS Apt, ALS
24 07:00 385 3M Drayton Valley Industrial, AB, CAN
23 08:00 386 SYF St. Francis, KS, USA
23 06:00 386 HAU Helena, MT, USA
24 08:00 388 MM Fort Mc Murray, AB, CAN
23 08:00 388 JW Pigeon, AB, CAN
24 07:00 388 GLY Clinton, MO, USA
23 08:00 388 CRK Spokane, WA, USA
23 08:00 389 YWB Kelowna, BC, CAN
23 06:00 389 TW Twin Falls, ID, USA
24 08:00 389 CSB Cambridge Muni, NE, USA
24 06:00 390 JT Stephenville, NL, CAN
23 08:00 390 HBT Sand Point Apt, ALS
23 10:00 390 AES Northway, ALS
23 08:00 391 EEF Sisters Island, ALS
23 08:00 391 DDP Vega Baja, PTR
23 08:00 391 4W Kelsey, MB, CAN
23 08:00 392 ZFN Tulita, NT, CAN
23 08:00 392 PNA Ralph Wenz Field Apt, WY, USA
25 08:00 392 ML Charlevoix, QC, CAN
23 11:00 392 BAJ Sterling, CO, USA
24 08:00 392 AGZ Wagner, SD, USA
25 10:00 392 XVG Longville, MN, USA
25 10:00 393 TOG Togiak Village Apt, ALS
23 08:00 394 RWO Kodiak, ALS
23 08:00 394 DQ Dawson Creek, BC, CAN
23 08:00 395 YL Lynn Lake, MB, CAN
23 08:00 395 ULS Ulysses Apt, KS, USA
23 08:00 395 L7 Estevan, SK, CAN
23 08:00 396 YPH Inukjuak Apt, QC, CAN
23 08:00 396 CMJ Clam Cove - Ketchikan IAP, ALS
23 08:00 397 ZSS Yellowhead (Saskatoon), SK, CAN
23 08:00 397 SB Petis - San Bernardino, CA, USA
23 08:00 398 YOD Cold Lake, AB, CAN
23 08:00 398 3D Cumberland House, SK, CAN
23 05:00 399 ZHD Dryden, ON, CAN
23 05:00 399 SRI St George, ALS

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

From Producer Skeeter Nash N5ASH: this is a Facebook post from Sunday, 5/24/15 by the Amateur Radio Newsline Facebook page administrator, James Pastorfield KB7TBT:

Hi folks, got some bad news to report:
A few days ago Bill Pasternak WA6ITF was admitted into the hospital. He is currently in ICU and stable. I have not directly talked to bill but i am in constant contact with Dave Booth KC6WFS who has been with him every day. Bill has said that "it was ok to mention his situation to you and to understand if the reports are a delayed". 

Bill is still listed under critical condition, please put him in your thoughts and prayers. 
I will keep everyone updated...

73
James-KB7TBT

Bill's health is the most important thing right now. However, I know that he is also very concerned about the ongoing production of the weekly Newsline reports. During Bill's previous extended hospital stay earlier this year, he reached out for help with producing the newscast. I stepped forward, and we got it back up and going. At the time, it was not a problem for me to do, time-wise. I was doing the Morning Drive show on KTPK-FM (Country Legends 106.9) here in Topeka, and had time in the afternoon to devote a few hours to editing and producing the audio. Bill was able to write the scripts; first from the rehab facility, then from home once he was released.

However, in mid-March, I was promoted to Program Director of KTPK, in addition to still holding down Morning Drive. This has resulted in many 12+ hour days (as we are in a ratings period), which has severely limited the time I have available to produce Newsline. Now, with Bill in ICU for an indefinite amount of time, there is no way I would have time to write the script, assign the reports, etc., let alone edit and produce the finished newscast. Therefore, at least for now, Amateur Radio Newsline will be on hiatus.

With all that said, I am sending out an appeal for help. Bill has--over 37-plus years of production--set the bar very high in terms of quality, both in the writing and production of Newsline. The attempt has always been to produce a newscast that is on-par with any national radio network newscast, and this has been accomplished over 37 years by an all-volunteer staff. These volunteer hams include many, such as myself, who have worked as broadcast radio/TV professionals. We have looked upon Newsline as not only a service to the hobby we enjoy, but also as a "labor of love." It certainly has been for Bill, ever since its early days as the "Westlink Radio Report."

IN ORDER FOR NEWSLINE TO RESUME PRODUCTION, WE NEED VOLUNTEERS FOR THE FOLLOWING POSITIONS:

1. WRITER/ASSIGNMENT EDITOR: This requires a time commitment to gather amateur radio-related news stories from our various sources, and re-write them for broadcast. You must be fluent in "ham-speak." This person would also network with our anchors and reporters all over the globe, assigning them as they are available to record the anchor track and "actuality" reports for each week's newscast. A background in broadcast news writing/production and a passion for amateur radio are must-haves. An ideal candidate might be a retired broadcasting pro who is a licensed, active radio amateur.
2. PRODUCER/EDITOR: In this position, you would be responsible for gathering audio from our volunteer anchors and reporters, and edit together a seamless, network-style newscast that can run up to approximately 27 minutes in length. Audio files will be retrieved from a Dropbox folder. A background in broadcast audio production and digital editing, the ability to edit for time, and an ear for audio quality are required. Access to digital editing software (i.e., Pro Tools, Adobe Audition, Gold Wave, Audacity, etc.) is required. Time commitment would be approximately 2-4 hours per week, on average.
3. ANCHOR/REPORTER: We would like to add a few voices to our current roster of volunteer anchors/reporters. As you can imagine, these positions require a clear, pleasant speaking voice, with the ability to deliver a natural-sounding, authoritative read. There is a rotating roster, which means you might be called upon once every few weeks to help. Anchors are sent the full script (usually by Wednesday each week), and record an approximate 20 minute (+/-) anchor track. A good quality microphone is needed for both anchors and reporters, as you may be asked to handle either task. Audio should preferably be recorded monaurally, and saved as a good-quality MP3 file.

Again, I must emphasize these are VOLUNTEER positions (no pay). In keeping with Bill's high standards for the quality of this production, I am asking for any amateur operators interested in joining the Newsline team to please submit a resume`, so that I can get an idea of your background/experience. Also, for those interested in the Producer/Editor position, a brief sample of audio you've edited would be helpful. For the Anchor/Reporter positions, I am also asking for a resume` and audio sample. If you would simply like to take a story from a previous Newsline report and read it as if you were anchoring or reporting, that would be fine. Scripts can be found in previous posts on this website. A minute or so of audio will suffice.

If you would like to be considered, please email your submissions to: [email protected], with "NEWSLINE HELP" in the subject line.

I realize that I'm asking a lot for unpaid, volunteer positions. I am treating this (somewhat) as if you were applying for a position at my radio station; the reason being, Amateur Radio Newsline has a tradition of being as close to a professional-sounding production as possible. Many hams have expressed how important Newsline is to them each week, so I am committed to maintaining the standards set by Bill Pasternak over these many years. Thanks for understanding that I am looking for serious inquiries, only. Please also understand that unless someone steps up to fill these positions, the Amateur Radio Newsline will cease production...possibly permanently. I know that's NOT what Bill, or any of the rest of us involved in it, would like to see happen...but that's just the reality of the situation. Thanks, and ~73~ from N5ASH.

Here is this week’s space weather and geophysical report, issued 2015 May 25 0854 UTC.

Highlights of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity
18 – 24 May 2015

Solar activity was at low levels from 18-23 May with very low levels observed on 24 May. Only low level isolated C-class flaring was observed during the period originating from Regions 2349 (S21, L=002, class/area Dao/060 on 24 May), 2351 (N22, L=330, class/area Cso/020 on 20 May), and 2353 (N07, L=344, class/area Dao/060 on 24 May). Region 2339 (N13, L=129, class/area Fkc/900 on 08 May), which was very productive last period, decayed as it quietly rotated around the NW limb on 18 May. Region 2349 emerged on the visible disk on 18 May, but did not show any significant growth until 23 May. Region 2353 emerged on 21 May and exhibited growth through the end of the period. However, both regions only managed 60 millionths of coverage by the end of the period. No Earth directed coronal mass ejections were observed.

No proton events were observed at geosynchronous orbit.

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit was at normal levels on 19 and 24 May, moderate levels from 20-23 May, and at high levels on 18 May.

Geomagnetic field activity ranged from quiet to major storm conditions. The period began under the influence of a co-rotating interaction region followed by a positive polarity equatorial coronal hole high speed stream (CH HSS). Total field increased to a maximum of 18 nT at 19/0052 UTC while the Bz component fluctuated between +13 nT and -15 nT late on 18 May through early on 19 May. Solar wind increased to near 575 km/s by midday on 19 May before slowly returning to nominal conditions by late on 20 May. The geomagnetic field responded with minor to major storm conditions late on 18 May through early on 19 May. Quiet to unsettled levels were observed on 20 May. A return to quiet conditions occurred on 21 May and persisted through the end of the period.

Forecast of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity
25 May – 20 June 2015

Solar activity is expected to be at very low to low levels. A chance for moderate levels exists from 30 May through 11 Jun with the return of Region 2339.

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 with high levels possible from 31 May-01 Jun, 04-06 Jun, 10-12 Jun, and 16-20 Jun due to recurrent CH HSS effects.

Geomagnetic field activity is expected to be at unsettled to active levels from 28-30 May, 02-03 Jun, 07-11 Jun, and 13-15 Jun with possible minor storm levels on 08-09 Jun due to recurrent CH HSS effects.

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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I have been too unwell to do this recently, but not long before my brain bleed (Sept 2013) I was amazed at optical communications over the horizon, non line of sight (NLOS) using clear air scattering.

The inspiration for all my optical experiments came from Stuart Wisher G8CYW who did a great series in RadCom a few years ago.

Testing optics

My home made transmitter only consumed about 0.7W from a red LED bought on the internet. My homemade RX and TX used homemade optics based around cheap drain pipes and cheap magnifying glasses. The whole RX and TX were simple and low cost. Only simple test gear was needed too. It is a bit like microwaves, but easier to build and test.

There was no sign at all of the TX beam in the sky.  All alignment used dead reckoning with some panning at the RX end to find the TX.

Using free PC software and QRSS3 helped as bandwidths as low as 0.37Hz were possible.

When fitter I want to try infra-red LEDs instead.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/optical/481thz-nlos.

Roger Lapthorn, G3XBM, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Cambridge, England.

(…continued from Part 1)

This year I stayed in downtown Dayton, at the Dayton Marriott.  It was my first experience driving in downtown Dayton as last year I stayed at a hotel close to Hara north of town.  Dayton has obviously seen better days, and folks walking the streets living in poverty is a common sight.  Driving through downtown Friday morning I wondered what the locals thought of all the vehicles with antennas driving by for one weekend out of the year.  Do they know anything about amateur radio?  The word Dayton to us means amateur radio Mecca, but to them Dayton is just the place they live day in and day out, trying to eek out a living.  They were likely born here, will die here, and probably will not get to see much of the world outside of Dayton.  I think back to my childhood growing up in backwoods Pennsylvania, and I’m thankful for the people and opportunities I had that made me successful and steered me away from several perhaps less fortunate alternative realities.  Amateur radio was undoubtedly a positive influence, one that got me to where I am technically and professionally today.

Dayton has overhead electric wires for trolleys.  I can’t recall ever seeing this in my travels.  I didn’t see any trolleys, however there were several city buses using the overhead electric wires.  I wondered what it would take to equip an electric car with poles to attach to the electric lines and and get free energy for your vehicle (evil grin).  

Electric Avenue

Last year I promised myself that in 2015 I would spend less time on the flea market and more time on the floor and in forums.  I was partially successful, attending one additional forum this year, the Clandestine Spy forum.  This was a standing-room only presentation covering the equipment and techniques used by the Resistance during WWII.  There were a lot of photographs.

The AMSAT forum covered all the activities and projects the organization is working on, of which there are many.  In the Fox 1 program there are four or five satellite projects in progress and at various phases.  The big news was the potential for a geosynchronous payload, something satellite aficionados have been fantasizing about for decades.  The amount of work that goes into these projects from an engineering, fundraising, political, and project management perspective is mind-boggling.  It can’t be understated how complex this is.  It is indeed rocket science.  The expertise and human resources behind all this is impressive, and I can’t imagine the amount of time AMSAT volunteers and officers spend on this, as most undoubtedly have day jobs in engineering, technology, and science fields.

AMSAT Forum

One speaker in the AMSAT forum presentation touched upon something that really struck a cord with me and others.  Kids often see amateur radio operators as just operators.  What really sparks interest in kids are experimenters and experimentation.  What AMSAT is doing is experimentation, and at an extreme level.  Space is interesting to kids, but it’s difficult to be hands on with it due to the very nature of it, and these satellites and the projects AMSAT is leading gives them access to this.  AMSAT goes beyond providing flying repeaters for amateurs, but also partners extensively with universities, government agencies, and K-12 schools.

Where to find Fox 1

This is not meant to belittle other activities within amateur radio, but I don’t think most people realize just how complex and far-reaching the activities of AMSAT-NA and other AMSAT organizations around the world are, and the benefit this offers to amateur radio today and into the future.  While ragchewing, contesting, and DXing are traditional staple activities within amateur radio, the work of AMSAT has real world impact, and this is a vehicle for getting new people into amateur radio, ones that will likely stick around for the long haul.  Case in point, sitting behind me during the presentation were two young guys, both from Virginia Tech and recently licensed.  They are involved in an AMSAT project writing software for one of the birds.  In talking with them it was clear they were very intelligent and they had a passion for what they were doing.  Undoubtedly they will get high-paying engineering jobs upon graduating.  Will they ever pick up a microphone or CW key?  Maybe not, but satellite work has them hooked and it looks great on a resume. As one AMSAT speaker half jokingly quipped, there is no free launch. All of this costs money, and a lot of it.  AMSAT is continually seeking donations and new members.  With my annual membership running out, I decided to take the plunge and sign up for a lifetime membership.

The Ballonsat forum was quite interesting and was well attended with a good number of movers and shakers who frequently launch, track, and recover balloons and payloads.  A new area covered was pico balloons which are smaller balloons with extremely lightweight and small payloads.  Several people have been launching these around the world with great success, some traversing the globe five to ten times.

Friday night I attended the DX Dinner and got to network with movers and shakers in the DX world.  It was worth the cost of the meal as I won a Comet antenna analyzer door prize.  Not surprisingly, K1N was announced as the the DXpedition of the year.

DX Pileup

While I lamented about about flea market Neanderthals in the first part of this article, there were positive social aspects to the Hamvention.  One morning walking in the crosswalk across the road going into Hara I observed an attendee thanking a black police officer stationed in the street for his service as a police officer.  At lunch I could strike up a friendly conversation with anyone, total strangers.  Folks stopped me to take a picture of my Morse code key tee shirt, many commented and laughed about it.  There continues to be a sense of camaraderie in amateur radio.  For this I’m thankful.

Flea Market Pedestrian Mobile

The ARRL area was superb.  ARRL folks should be commended on the layout and organization of their area.  They have all the bases covered and all booths within the area were well staffed.  I brought a stack of QSL cards in for DXCC checking.  The staff there did a great job of helping me out, after figuring out I initially screwed up my paperwork.  I’ll continue to say it, but despite ARRL’s flaws and our disagreements, we are truly lucky to have such a hardworking organization within amateur radio.

ARRL Area

Those often annoying, sometimes threatening death machines known as rental scooters continue to roam the Hamvention.  I don’t know if it was that I’ve become more accustomed to them or there truly are less of them, but it sure seemed to me that there weren’t as many as last year.  What’s happening to the scooter people?  Are they dying off?  Are they disappearing during the Hamvention?  Inquiring minds want to know. Undoubtedly the liability insurance for such an activity would be expensive, but I would love to have a scooter demolition derby some Hamvention afternoon.  Folks could rent dilapidated scooters or bring their own pimped-out scooters for a battle royale of destruction and excitement.  (Hamvention committee members, I can make this happen, you know where to reach me.  I want a cut of the profits from beer sales. :-)

….to be continued…

This article was originally published on the Radio Artisan blog.

Anthony, K3NG, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com.

Hello, LHS listeners! We are back again with another exciting installment of our show. In this episode we discuss logging, general purpose and contesting, a new single-board computer project, retro gaming, a pop-up terminal for Linux, digital voice, software defined radio and much more. Thanks for listening, and remember: Get on the air!

73 de The LHS Guys

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].

Some years ago I attempted to see how few components were needed to communicate on 10m. The Lesser Chirpy was the best I could manage. This was a derivative of The Chirpy, which worked, but had far too much chirp!

Looking at the circuit I see I could save 1 component by replacing C1 and C2 by preset C’s and shorting out C3. This would allow the TX-RX offset to be set. If one was made a variable rather than a preset the RX-TX offset could be adjustable.

Since being ill I have not tried the rig. A limitation was the limited RX sensitivity, meaning only stronger stations would be workable.  However, the rig does work and is very simple. Another possibility is to switch to an external RX but allow the internal RX to be used when signals are strong enough. The TX power is certainly enough to span the Atlantic and work all over Europe.

The secret to low chirp on 10m is the use of FSK rather than CW. Essentially the TX changes frequency rather than go from RX to TX every time. This means full break-in is not possible in such a simple circuit. Can you do better? If so, I’d love to see the schematic please. I make no great claims for my circuit, which is an amalgam of ideas. Pure fun!

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/chirpy .

Roger Lapthorn, G3XBM, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Cambridge, England.