Ham Radio Update

May 19, 2013 08:33 AM - ICQ Podcast -- Series Six Episode Ten of the ICQ Podcast has been released. News Stories include :-

British Amateur Radio Lighthouse Society Change
Help Hurricane Net Control Stations
Cambodia and possible Myanmar op
VK9 now SOTA classified
New 24 GHz EME world record
South Africa allocates two 5 MHz channels
VO-52 satellite completes eight years in orbit
VK hams invited to use VI 103 WIA
Raising the public profile of Amateur Radio
Isle of Man special callsign
SSB using a Raspberry Pi
HamTV from the International Space Station

North American report from Frank Howell (K4FMH) and Martin Butler (M1MRB & W9ICQ) discusses Squelch Systems

May 19, 2013 08:33 AM - Southgate ARC -- As part of the April 2, 2013, visit to South Sudan by a delegation headed by the Foreign Minister of Finland, several supporting elements were discussed. Just three weeks later, there was a high-level presentation, with relevant endorsements, made to the South Sudan government

May 19, 2013 08:33 AM - Southgate ARC -- Members of the PJ4G club station will be active from the 'Radio House' on Bonaire (SA-006, WLOTA LH-1279) during the CQWW WPX CW Contest (May 25-26th)

May 19, 2013 08:33 AM - Southgate ARC -- Dan, HM2DMR, plans to activate the following Honduran IOTA Islands between late May to July (dates depend on Navy permission)

May 19, 2013 08:33 AM - Southgate ARC -- Hannes Coetzee, ZS6BZP, reports that the solar activity is expected to be at moderate levels. The sun is peppered with several large sunspots but only AR1748 has a delta class magnetic field that harbours enough energy for X-class flares

May 19, 2013 08:33 AM - Southgate ARC -- NASA announced on May 13, 2013 that AMSAT's Fox-1 spacecraft has been assigned for launch in 2014 on the ELaNa XII mission. The expected orbit is 470 x 780 km at 64 degrees inclination. This orbit has a lifetime of about 11 years

May 19, 2013 08:33 AM - Southgate ARC -- The Wireless Institute of Australia has lodged a submission to the ACMA, Australia's regulator, concerning the High Power Trial

May 19, 2013 08:33 AM - Southgate ARC -- The planned DXpedition to Heard Island has been rescheduled for January, 2015. The primary reason for this decision was the cost of using the preferred vessel, the Marion Dufresne to put the team on Heard Island for the required time

May 19, 2013 08:33 AM - Southgate ARC -- A large number of South African Radio League members have already registered to operate on the 5MHz band

May 19, 2013 08:33 AM - Southgate ARC -- A six session presentation sponsored by NIDXA and DX-u, in conjunction with the 61st W9DXCC DX Convention

May 19, 2013 07:32 AM - WA7BNM Contest Calendar -- 0800Z-2000Z, May 25

May 19, 2013 07:32 AM - WA7BNM Contest Calendar -- 2000 local - 2359 local, May 25

May 19, 2013 07:32 AM - WA7BNM Contest Calendar -- 0000Z, May 25 to 2359Z, May 26

May 19, 2013 07:32 AM - eHam.net News -- The Israeli radio regulator has decided to grant 5 MHz temporary permissions on an individual application basis. Eight channels are available to General and Extra Class license holders.

May 19, 2013 12:34 AM - ARRL -- Hamvention Saturday got off to a rousing start. By late morning the aisles in the indoor exhibitor areas were crowded to the point where movement was difficult at best. ARRL Member Forum Among the first forums of the morning, the ARRL Member forum was filled to capacity. After an introduction by Great Lakes Division Vice Director Dale Williams, WA8EFK, Ohio Section Manager Frank Piper, KI8GW, dis...

May 18, 2013 11:34 PM - ARRL -- Hamvention Saturday got off to a rousing start. By late morning the aisles in the indoor exhibitor areas were crowded to the point where movement was difficult at best. ARRL Member Forum Among the first forums of the morning, the ARRL Member forum was filled to capacity. After an introduction by Great Lakes Division Vice Director Dale Williams, WA8EFK, Ohio Section Manager Frank Piper, KI8GW, dis...

May 18, 2013 08:32 AM - Southgate ARC -- Using a special event call sign, 9A1GEO, six members of Radio Club 'Croatian Flora Fauna' will be active during the event named Geoparks Communication Weekend in order to bring awareness and importance of Croatia's first proclaimed beautiful Geopark "Papuk", (Nature park Papuk, 9AFF-014)

May 18, 2013 08:32 AM - Southgate ARC -- Rotary International (RI), the world's first Volunteer Service Organisation, is holding it's annual convention this year in Lisbon, Portugal, June 22nd - 26th

May 18, 2013 08:32 AM - Southgate ARC -- We are pleased to announce that Newton le Willows Amateur Radio Club (MX0NRC) has been re-formed and will meet for the first time on Wednesday 22nd May

May 18, 2013 08:32 AM - Southgate ARC -- The New Indian Express reports there is a way to be connected in an exclusive social network totally free of cost - Amateur Radio

May 18, 2013 08:32 AM - Southgate ARC -- More balloons carrying 70cm transmitters will be launched this weekend, among them are STRATODEAN and STS-3 PICO

May 18, 2013 08:32 AM - Southgate ARC -- This is, after all, the peak of the current solar cycle, or close to it, so no surprise that solar indices are up. But based on past solar cycles, many of us expected more

May 18, 2013 08:32 AM - Southgate ARC -- The Global Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Conference (GAREC) is on June 25-27 in Zurich, Switzerland, timed to precede HAM RADIO, Europe's largest Amateur Radio gathering in Friedrichshafen, Germany on June 28-30

May 18, 2013 08:32 AM - Southgate ARC -- The Israeli regulator - the Ministry of Communications - (IMOC) has decided to grant 5 MHz/60m temporary permission on an individual application basis

May 18, 2013 07:33 AM - eHam.net News -- The WIA has lodged a submission to the ACMA concerning the High Power Trial. The WIA submission is based on responses received from trial participants following a call for information, and also on its own observations. The WIA's submission (below) notes that the trial appears to have gone very well, with licensees generally having a sound understanding of the self-assessment process and the use of EMR assessment tools. The WIA also notes that it is not aware of any incidences of interference to other spectrum users, or an increase in interference to other Radio Amateurs, or an increase in the noise floor on affected amateur bands. Many responders noted that the advantage of the higher power was most evident in contesting, when many stations are calling on the same frequency and all at once, and the relatively small 3-4 decibel increase in radiated power (from 400W pX to 1kW pX) can make all the difference in being heard.

May 18, 2013 07:33 AM - eHam.net News -- Peter Brown became a silent key on the 8th of May 2013 - He had only recently chalked up the century - he was 100 years old. Peter was a WIA stalwart, being the national contest manager during the 70~80s. He was behind the introduction of the WIA Contest Trophy, one that was before its time - these days with results of contests able to be produced much more quickly the trophy has been reintroduced in 2012/13 a fitting tribute to his love of the hobby. The trophy bears his name and callsign and will be awarded at the WIA AGM in Perth this year after an absence of some 25 years. It is believed by his friends that Peter was first licensed in the early 1950's. There is evidence that he was issued with Amateur Radio licence QA.244 on 12 May 1963 so we can say with some certainty that he has been licensed for well over 50 years.

May 18, 2013 07:33 AM - eHam.net News -- DAYTON, Ohio (WDTN) - Nearly 25,000 amateur radio operators from around the world are expected at the 62nd Annual Dayton Hamvention May 17-19 at the Hara Complex.

May 18, 2013 07:33 AM - eHam.net News -- Three consumer smartphones that were sent into orbit around Earth last month snapped some incredible photos of our planet from space. The images were snitched together as part of NASA's PhoneSat initiative, which aims to show how existing technology could be incorporated into powerful low-cost satellites. Named Alexander, Graham and Bell, the trio of tiny cube-shaped PhoneSats was launched into orbit during the inaugural test flight of Orbital Sciences Corp.'s Antares rocket on April 21. Each PhoneSat had a smartphone for a brain. Alexander and Graham : both PhoneSat 1.0s : were battery-powered and carried a Nexus One smartphone running Goggle's Android operating system. Bell was a more advanced PhoneSat 2.0, built around a Nexus S smartphone running on Android. The nanosatellite was also outfitted with solar panels and a two-way radio that allowed engineers to control the satellite from the ground. What's perhaps most remarkable is that they were cheap. The three PhoneSats cost just $3,500 to $7,000 each; most satellites can cost upwards of $1 million. As part of this demonstration, the smarthphones' cameras captured photos of Earth and converted them into image-data "packets" to be beamed back on the amateur radio spectrum. These packets were then decoded and put together by the PhoneSat team and amateur ham radio operators.

May 18, 2013 07:33 AM - eHam.net News -- A huge explosion on the sun will deal Earth a glancing blow Friday but should not pose a threat to the planet, scientists say. The sun storm erupted late Tuesday during a powerful solar flare -- the fourth unleashed by a single sunspot in just 48 hours -- and hurled a massive cloud of charged particles out into space at millions of miles an hour. Such eruptions -- known as coronal mass ejections, or CMEs -- can wreak havoc if they hit Earth squarely, temporarily disrupting GPS navigation, satellite communications and power grids. But this one isn't aimed directly at us, so there's no cause for alarm, experts say.

May 18, 2013 12:35 AM - ARRL -- Hamvention Friday opened in the midst of dense fog. Fortunately, the fog burned off before noon. Attendence seemed high for a Friday with indoor exhibits swamped with amateurs soon after the doors opened at 9AM. The ARRL Expo area drew a substantial crowd with popular activities such as the W1AW 75th anniversary exhibit, the Youth Lounge and spectral purity testing courtesy of the ARRL Lab. Of c...

May 17, 2013 09:33 PM - eHam.net News -- This is, after all, the peak of the current solar cycle, or close to
it, so no surprise that solar indices are up. But based on past
solar cycles, many of us expected more. The latest forecast predicts
a peak for this cycle in Fall 2013, but of course that will be
determined afterward, and based on a long running average of sunspot
numbers. So don't miss this one. Don't wait until a year after the
peak, then lament not being on back when. Today may have the best
Spring propagation for a long time.

May 17, 2013 07:34 PM - eHam.net News -- (Dayton, OH - May 17, 2013) -- CQ magazine today announced its 2013 Hall of Fame inductees, adding two members each to the CQ DX and Contest Halls of Fame along with eight new members of the CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame.

May 17, 2013 03:33 PM - ARRL -- Since we are now at (or close to) the peak of Solar Cycle 24, it is no surprise that the solar indices are up. The latest forecast predicts Solar Cycle 24 to peak this fall, but that will be determined after the fact, and it will be based on a long running average of sunspot numbers. This past week, the average daily sunspot numbers increased by more than 34 points, rising to 156.1, while the a...

May 17, 2013 03:33 PM - ARRL -- By Stan Horzepa, WA1LOU Contributing EditorHere are some online tools to help you answer that question.As a fan of VHF and UHF operating, I often seek out mountaintop locations so I can work some DX, unimpeded by manmade objects and Mother Nature's higher hills. And while I appreciate the view, I often wonder how far away the horizon is.I discovered a great article about this topic years ago and...

May 17, 2013 02:34 PM - Southgate ARC -- CQ magazine today announced its 2013 Hall of Fame inductees, adding two members each to the CQ DX and Contest Halls of Fame along with eight new members of the CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame

May 17, 2013 01:33 PM - ARRL -- CQ magazine announced its 2013 Hall of Fame inductees on May 17, welcoming eight new members into the CQ Amateur Radio Hall of Fame, including former QST Managing Editor Joel Kleinman, N1BKE (SK), who helmed QST from 2001 until his untimely death in 2012. In addition, CQ named two new members to the CQ DX Hall of Fame and two new members to the CQ Contest Hall of Fame.Kleinman came to the Leagu...

May 17, 2013 08:33 AM - Southgate ARC -- Space Weather reports that a coronal mass ejection (CME) hurled into space by the X1-flare of May 15 might deliver a glancing blow to Earth's magnetic field on May 17

May 17, 2013 08:33 AM - Southgate ARC -- Three VOA Museum board members visited the Voice of America in Washington, D.C. this week and learned more about VOA and its role worldwide today

May 17, 2013 08:33 AM - Southgate ARC -- The RSGB website has been updated with further information on Ofcom's plans for the 2300 and 3400 MHz bands

May 17, 2013 08:33 AM - Southgate ARC -- A statement about Fixed Penalty Fines written by Ofcom Enforcement Policy Officer Jim McNally has been published in RadCom

May 17, 2013 08:33 AM - Southgate ARC -- The UK Met Office will be keeping a close eye on the Sun over the coming days after a recent surge in its activity

May 17, 2013 08:33 AM - Southgate ARC -- The Dayton Daily News reports nearly 25,000 amateur radio operators from around the globe will visit Dayton this weekend for the 62nd annual Hamvention

May 17, 2013 08:33 AM - Southgate ARC -- The team explore three different Remote Control options to control a station from anywhere in the world

May 17, 2013 08:33 AM - Southgate ARC -- Justin G0KSC, founder of InnovAntennas, will be attending the VUSHF meeting in Sweden at the end of this month where he will present on 2 subjects

May 17, 2013 08:33 AM - Southgate ARC -- Icom America announces information for the 2013 D-STAR QSO Party, an annual contest that promotes fellowship with amateur (ham) radio operators from around the world through D-STAR, 'Digital Smart Technologies for Amateur Radio'

May 17, 2013 07:33 AM - WA7BNM Contest Calendar -- 1900Z-2030Z, May 23

May 17, 2013 07:33 AM - eHam.net News -- Emergency communications in and out of Green Isle and throughout the area were recently improved thanks to the efforts of area ham radio operators. A group of ham radio operators recently installed a low-voltage ham radio UHF repeater atop the Green Isle municipal water tower, 135 feet off the ground. The new repeater will provide and repeat a signal. It will serve Sibley, western Carver, northern Nicollet, northern Le Sueur and western Scott counties. It fills in a "communications black hole," said Green Isle resident Don Burgess, a ham radio operator and member of the Sibley County Skywarn team. Ham radio signals operate at a different level than the 800-megahertz signal police, firefighters and paramedics use, Burgess said. The repeater can be used for communications in the event of an emergency during events like Belle Plaine's Scenic Byway Half-Marathon, Bar-B-Que Days and other area events. If a storm knocks out electricity to the area, solar-powered backup batteries will keep the repeater working, Burgess said. He said the need for a repeater in eastern Sibley County came to light in the summer of 2010 when many tornados and frequent severe weather plagued the region and state. Burgess recalled a baseball tournament at Irish Yard in Green Isle where severe weather sent fans scurrying for cover in the Green Isle Community Center.

May 17, 2013 07:33 AM - eHam.net News -- The following is a Q-S-T. Hamvention 2013 is
here; D-Star and kids become an important
part of Hamvention; Russian Radar invades 80
meters; a California ham seeks signatures for
petition on public warning legislation; the
Hurricane Watch Net says it could use more
Net Control Stations; registrations for
International Lighthouse and Lightship
Weekend ramp up and the tale of some newly
developed self healing integrated circuit
chips. All this and more on Amateur Radio
Newsline report number 1866 coming your way
right now.

May 17, 2013 05:32 AM - eHam.net News -- This week's bulletin was made possible with information provided by
CS5CRE, F5TRO, NC1L, The Weekly DX, the OPDX Bulletin, 425 DX News,
The Daily DX, DXNL, Contest Corral from QST and the ARRL Contest
Calendar and WA7BNM web sites. Thanks to all.

May 16, 2013 08:35 PM - ARRL -- After much testing, the ARRL will release a new version of Trusted QSL, the open-source development project responsible for developing and maintaining the three Logbook of the World (LoTW) client-side applications: TQSL, TQSLCert and the TrustedQSL library. After six weeks of public beta testing, version 1.14 is ready for official release and will be available for download from the ARRL website...

May 16, 2013 01:33 PM - WA7BNM Contest Calendar -- 0230Z-0300Z, May 17

May 16, 2013 08:32 AM - Southgate ARC -- Radio Amateurs of Canada (RAC) is pleased to announce that we are now seeking applications for grants from Amateurs across Canada

May 16, 2013 08:32 AM - Southgate ARC -- A new Yahoogroup has just been launched which is designed specifically for those interested in working special event stations

May 16, 2013 08:32 AM - Southgate ARC -- Tony K2MO has made a short video showing image transfer with Griff NB6Z using the amateur radio data mode MFSK-16

May 16, 2013 08:32 AM - Southgate ARC -- The ARRL report on the Mars Lander Amateur Radio Robotics Exploration Activity (MAREA)

May 16, 2013 08:32 AM - Southgate ARC -- There will be a Belgian Flora and fauna activation on Saturday, the 18th of May

May 16, 2013 08:32 AM - Southgate ARC -- Weekly IOTA News - compiled by Klaus, DL7UXG of the Deutscher Amateur Radio Club

May 16, 2013 08:32 AM - Southgate ARC -- A letter from radio amateur Doran S Platt III K3HVG has been published in the Washington Times

May 16, 2013 08:32 AM - Southgate ARC -- Once again members of Telford and District Amateur Radio Society will be portable with the callsign GX6ZME/P on Saturday 18th May from Stokesay Castle in Shropshire

May 16, 2013 08:32 AM - Southgate ARC -- To celebrate 103 years of the Wireless Institute of Australia (the world's oldest national amateur radio society), the Central Coast Amateur Radio Club in New South Wales, Australia have been given the priviledge along with several other VK clubs and individuals to operate under this special call sign

May 16, 2013 08:32 AM - Southgate ARC -- It's time for the 2013 Dayton Hamvention broadcast! Please join us during our live, online broadcast of the Dayton Hamvention this week

May 16, 2013 08:32 AM - Southgate ARC -- 2013 marks the Centenary of the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) the 20,000 strong body that represents Britain's radio amateurs. The RSGB is pleased to announce that its Patron, HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, KG, KT will be joining the Society for Centenary Day at the National Radio Centre at Bletchley Park on 5 July 2013

May 15, 2013 07:35 PM - Southgate ARC -- On the 16/17th May 2013 the Lincoln Short Wave Club are operating a Special Event Station in memory of the Air Crew and German civilians killed during the now-famous 617 Squadron's raid on the great Ruhr dams of Germany. The station will be on RAF Scampton's bomb dump, which is where Barnes Wallis's famous 'bouncing bombs' would have been delivered on 16th May 1943

May 15, 2013 06:36 PM - ARRL -- The FCC issued a Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture and Order (NAL) on May 14 in the amount of $18,000 to Nathaniel Johnson of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania for failing to make his Citizens Band (CB) station available for inspection by the FCC and for failing to comply with the restricted hours of CB station operation. The FCC first received complaints in January 2012 concerning interferenc...

May 15, 2013 05:35 PM - ARRL -- By H. Ward Silver, N0AX n0ax@arrl.netWho can resist taking a long look at the vintage veterans sitting along the aisles of the flea markets? Hey, I'm talking about the radios, not the attendees! "Big iron" is making its comeback with Johnsons and Hallicrafters and Swans shoulder-to-shoulder at the hamfests. Before you test your lumbar regions by lugging one home, you might want to exercise your ...

May 15, 2013 07:34 AM - eHam.net News -- Sometime later this year, Twin Ports kids will be placing a long-distance call. A very long distance. The Duluth Children's Museum on Saturday announced details of its plans for amateur radio contact with the astronauts aboard the International Space Station. The 10-minute live forum will connect participants at the museum with the crew members 250 miles above the Earth's surface. It's made possible by Amateur Radio on the International Space Station, a venture by NASA and other international space agencies to coordinate radio contacts between the space station and educational organizations. The museum's Rich Jaworski said it's a little unusual for a museum to be approved for a space station call. "It is mostly geared toward schools," Jaworski said. "We figured we are an informal hands-on learning organization. We deal with a lot of students in the Twin Ports region." The museum will have a series of workshops, special events and camps this summer leading up to the event, which probably will happen sometime this fall, Jaworski said. They'll learn the approximate date of the contact about six to eight weeks in advance and the exact date only about a week ahead of time, he said. They'll have to be prepared whether it's a school day or not.

May 15, 2013 07:34 AM - eHam.net News -- MANASSAS, Va. -- Hundreds of Amateur Radio Operators from across Virginia, Maryland and the DC area will come to Manassas to participate in the 39th Annual Manassas Hamfest, which is being sponsored by the Ole Virginia Hams Amateur Radio Club, Inc. The Ole Virginia Hams (OVH) Amateur Radio Club, Inc. will sponsor the 39th Annual, American Radio Relay League sanctioned, Manassas Hamfest on June 9 at 7 a.m. Amateur Radio Operators, also known as "Hams", from around the National Capital Region will come together to share in tailgating (the buying, selling, and trading of used amateur radio equipment) on the Prince William County Fairgrounds. A number of special events and forums are also planned during the Hamfest, to include: A youth lounge for the younger Hams to meet; forums on DSTAR, the National Traffic System (NTS), and Amateur Satellite; Fleet Watch; and the Civil Air Patrol HF Truck. The Mount Vernon Amateur Radio Club VE Team will be hosting a testing session for people who want to become an FCC licensed Amateur Radio Operator, starting at 8:30 a.m. While this is a social event for the ham community, we also are trying to increase our operating knowledge and promote Amateur Radio to the general public. This is a good opportunity to investigate this exciting hobby, and learn the many ways we have expanded beyond the "radio of old".

May 15, 2013 07:34 AM - eHam.net News -- The sun, it seems, is in overdrive. Late Monday night, the sun unleashed its third major solar flare in 24 hours -- the biggest and most powerful solar storm of the year, so far. This latest sun storm erupted Monday at 9:11 p.m. EDT and registered as an X3.2 solar flare, one of the strongest types of flares the sun can release, space weather officials said. It came on the heels of two other recent X-class solar flares on Sunday night and Monday, all of which were sparked by a highly active sunspot on the sun's far left side. Officials at the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center in Boulder, Colo., appeared amazed at the intense activity from the crackling sunspot. "Clearly an extraordinary active region is making its way fully onto the visible disk," SWPC officials wrote in a morning update today (May 14). "Can it keep up this hectic pace?" Two of the three recent solar flares have been associated with massive explosions, called coronal mass ejections, which flung super-hot solar material into space at millions of miles per hour. Because the sunspot firing off the flares is not yet facing Earth, the solar eruptions pose no threat to satellites and astronauts in orbit, NASA has said.

May 15, 2013 07:34 AM - Southgate ARC -- Icom America will be attending this year's Dayton Hamvention at Hara Arena in Ohio and will showcase their new ID-51A portable and IC-7100, D-STAR ready, mobile radios

May 15, 2013 07:34 AM - Southgate ARC -- NASA announced Monday, May 13 that AMSAT's Fox-1 FM transponder spacecraft has been assigned a launch in 2014

May 15, 2013 07:34 AM - Southgate ARC -- On Tuesday, David Willetts, UK Minister for Universities and Science, and Jean-Jacques Dordain, ESA Director General, unveiled the Agency's first UK facility: ECSAT, the European Centre for Space Applications and Telecommunications, located at the Harwell Oxford campus

May 15, 2013 07:34 AM - Southgate ARC -- It seems traffic road cones are being fitted with transmitters operating in the amateur radio 433 MHz band

May 15, 2013 07:34 AM - Southgate ARC -- This year, InnovAntennas America will have booths 196 and 197 in the North Hall and will be displaying an extensive line
of HF, VHF and UHF high-performance antennas

May 15, 2013 07:34 AM - Southgate ARC -- The WRTH editorial team are pleased to announce that the Summer (A) Season broadcast schedules file is now available to download for free

May 15, 2013 07:34 AM - Southgate ARC -- Issue 3 of the new, free ATV magazine CQ-DATV is now available as an electronic download

May 15, 2013 07:34 AM - Southgate ARC -- Solar activity is high. During a 24 hour period straddling May 13th and 14th, the sun unleashed three X-class solar flares. These are the strongest flares of the year so far, and they signal a significant increase in solar activity

May 15, 2013 07:34 AM - Southgate ARC -- Cartoonist Matthew Inman, creator of The Oatmeal, raised $1,370,461 by crowd-funding to set up a museum honoring the great scientist Nikola Tesla

May 14, 2013 05:34 PM - ARRL -- At its annual meeting last month, the Yasme Foundation's Board of Directors elected Ward Silver, N0AX, as its new President. Silver will replace Wayne Mills, N7NG, who has resigned. Mills, founder of DX University, was named as the new DX editor of CQ magazine earlier this year. In recognition of Mills' many years of service to the Yasme Foundation and DX University, the Yasme Board of Director...

May 14, 2013 03:33 PM - ARRL -- The February 1984 operation to TI9CCC (Cocos Island) has now been approved for DXCC credit. In the past, radio amateurs who have submitted this operation on a DXCC application had it rejected due to an "incorrect date period." According to DXCC Manager Bill Moore, NC1L, the date issue has now been resolved: "If you had this operation rejected, and your confirmation falls within February 15-28, ...

May 14, 2013 01:34 PM - ARRL -- NASA has been doing some exciting explorations of Mars with robots, currently Opportunity and Curiosity, which are maneuvered on the Martian surface by remote control. These robots collect and analyze soil samples and relay the results of these distant experiments back to Earth. While students can learn about these experiments in newspapers, scientific journals, on the Internet or TV, wouldn't ...

May 14, 2013 08:33 AM - Southgate ARC -- Space Weather report a sunspot on the sun's eastern limb is crackling with powerful X-class solar flares

May 14, 2013 08:33 AM - Southgate ARC -- Three members of the International Space Station Expedition 35 crew undocked from the orbiting laboratory and returned safely to Earth Monday, May 13, wrapping up a mission lasting almost five months. The departure marks the beginning of Expedition 36

May 14, 2013 08:33 AM - Southgate ARC -- SU8N Nelson's Island IOTA AF-109 and World Lighthouse DX-Pedition (WLOTA 2694)

May 14, 2013 08:33 AM - Southgate ARC -- The North Texas e-News reports the Grayson County Amateur Radio Club (GCARC) will be hosting a special event radio station, W5I, in honor of Armed Forces Day on Saturday, May 18

May 14, 2013 08:33 AM - Southgate ARC -- AMSAT Hamvention activities and displays are planned to take place in the Ball Arena, and outside in the Satellite Demonstration Area just outside the Ball Arena entrance

May 14, 2013 08:33 AM - Southgate ARC -- John, KL7JR, is once again requesting that if you or any of your radio friends, SWL or Ham operators, have worked or heard any Arctic or Antarctic stations, he would love to hear from you for his monthly Arctic and Antarctic DX column

May 14, 2013 08:33 AM - Southgate ARC -- The Northern Ohio DX Association (along with Janeen Hire, W8ZET) will once again sponsor a Hospitality Suite (17th year) at this year's Dayton Hamvention

May 14, 2013 07:33 AM - eHam.net News -- SHERMAN, Texas -- The Grayson County Amateur Radio Club (GCARC) will be hosting a special event radio station in honor of Armed Forces Day on Saturday, May 18, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Perrin AFB Museum in Denison. The radio station, identified on the airwaves by the special callsign W5I, will operate on both the 17 meter and 20 meter amateur radio bands. These radio frequencies are capable of communicating with other radio operators both across the country and in many international locations. The public is invited to visit and watch the station in operation. Local operators (hams) will be on hand to discuss what Amateur Radio is and does, and to answer any questions.

May 14, 2013 07:33 AM - eHam.net News -- Joseph J. Schroeder Jr. was a student at New Trier High School during World War II when a neighbor who was a radio operator in the Merchant Marine told him that if he took the school's course in radio code, he'd "never carry a rifle." Mr. Schroeder went on to pass both the class and the amateur radio exam, and at 16 received his call sign, W9JUV, which over the next 67 years would become legendary in ham radio circles.

May 14, 2013 07:33 AM - eHam.net News -- Certain assertions in Randolph J. May's piece on the new FCC nominee may be a bit premature ("A historian for the FCC," Commentary, May 10). Specifically, Mr. May has relegated Samuel F.B. Morse's venerable Morse Code to the history books. The fact is, Morse code is still in wide use throughout the world.

May 14, 2013 07:33 AM - eHam.net News -- GREENBELT, Md. (NASA GODDARD) -- On May 12, 2013, the Sun emitted a significant solar flare, peaking at 10 p.m. EDT. This flare is classified as an X1.7, making it the first X-class flare of 2013. The flare was also associated with another solar phenomenon, called a coronal mass ejection (CME) that can send solar material out into space. This CME was not Earth-directed.
Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however -- when intense enough -- they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel. This disrupts the radio signals for as long as the flare is ongoing - the radio blackout associated with this flare has since subsided. "X-class" denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength. An X2 is twice as intense as an X1, an X3 is three times as intense, etc. This flare erupted from an active region just out of sight over the left side of the Sun, a region that will soon rotate into view. This region has produced two smaller M-class flares as well. The May 12 flare was also associated with a coronal mass ejection, another solar phenomenon that can send billions of tons of solar particles into space, which can affect electronic systems in satellites and on the ground. Experimental NASA research models show that the CME left the sun at 745 miles per second and is not Earth-directed, however its flank may pass by the STEREO-B and Spitzer spacecraft, and their mission operators have been notified. If warranted, operators can put spacecraft into safe mode to protect the instruments from solar material. There is some particle radiation associated with this event, which is what can concern operators of interplanetary spacecraft since the particles can trip computer electronics on board.

May 14, 2013 07:33 AM - eHam.net News -- We explore three different Remote Control options to control a station from anywhere in the world. George and Tommy prepare for Dayton Hamvention.

May 13, 2013 08:33 PM - Southgate ARC -- Quite a good week and as usual better at the weekend. A variety of calls topped each day, but VK9NT (Norfolk Is.) was always there about along with loads of others, E20WXA (Bangkok), A35UD (Tonga), 7Q7FOC (Malawi), FO/KH0PR (French Polynesia) to but a few

May 13, 2013 06:35 PM - ARRL -- The digital version of the June issue of QST is now available to ARRL members. The digital edition includes many features not available in the print version, such as:Watch video overviews of the following shack accessories: ACOM 1500 HF and 6 meter amplifier. Elecraft KAT 500 automatic antenna tuner. Array Solutions AS-419 switched band-pass filters. Every issue of QST is filled with the news...

May 13, 2013 06:35 PM - Southgate ARC -- Due to E-mail pressure from our ex-pats in Australia and New Zealand, GB70DAM will be operational on CW now from 1300 UTC on the DX section of the 40mtr Band for at least one hour +- pileup

May 13, 2013 05:35 PM - ARRL -- By Stan Horzepa, WA1LOU Contributing EditorThis week, Surfin' highlights a Morse code kit-building project in an Oregon middle school.When I was a student, the only technical gadget in the building was a cranky 16 millimeter projector that our teachers used to show films like Hemo the Magnificent and The Unchained Goddess.Today's typical classroom is filled with computers, laptops, tablets and -...

May 13, 2013 09:35 AM - Southgate ARC -- Weekly IOTA (Islands On The Air) News - compiled by Tedd Mirgliotta, KB8NW, editor of the Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin

May 13, 2013 08:34 AM - Southgate ARC -- About 250 contesters will attend the Contest University (CTU) USA this coming Thursday (May 16) in Dayton, Ohio. Starting at 8:00 AM EDT there will be a live webcast available from the CTU website

May 13, 2013 08:34 AM - Southgate ARC -- A look back at events that made history this week - compiled by the Summerland Amateur Radio Club of Lismore, NSW