eHam.net News

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It Takes Civilians to Make LA's Emergency Preparedness Work:

Posted: 29 Jan 2016 04:01 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/36073


GELFAND'S WORLD -- This is the next in a series of articles about emergency
preparedness. We stress the attempt to bring the public up to a level of
preparation that will be required should we have to deal with a major
earthquake. The Emergency Preparedness Alliance met again last weekend,
this time to discuss disaster communications. Some of what we heard
involved technical sounding stuff like the organization of two-way radio
networks. Some of it involved learning about sending emergency messages up
and down the line through organized chains of command. It turns out that
there is plenty of room for us civilians in the emergency communications
process, provided we make the minimal effort to get an amateur radio
license. We learned about programs that train people in as little as a day.
There is also the Family Radio (FRS) system which does not require a
license, and will be ideal for getting emergency messages out over a range
of perhaps a few blocks. The goal is to have a few thousand of us equipped
at the FRS or ham radio level so that we can provide ultra-local eyes and
ears in the event of a true emergency.


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2016 Capital City Hamfest:

Posted: 29 Jan 2016 04:01 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/36072


The annual Capital City Hamfest starts this weekend, January 29th and 30th.
The hamfest is a gathering of Amateur Radio operators and vendors. There
will be many dealers selling amateur radio products and flea market
vendors. There will be amateur radio license testing on Saturday, startign
at 8:00am.


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Tech Review Roundup: Software Defined Radios:

Posted: 29 Jan 2016 04:01 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/36071


If you are a Technophile, Raspberry Pi Tinkerer, or Ham Radio Operator,
then these SDR's (Software Defined Radios) are right up your alley. First
up is the HackRF One, an open source SDR. This device has some pretty
impressive technical specifications. First off, this is not just one of
your regular garden variety receive-only SDR; this bad boy can also
transmit. On top of that, its transmit/receive frequency bandwidth covers
an impressive 1Mhz - 6,000MHz (6GHz). That covers the entire HF, VHF, and
UHF ham radio spectrum plus a lot more on top of that. The HackRF is a
half-duplex transceiver, which means it can transmit or receive but not
both at the same time. Unfortunately, the transmit power output is fairly
wimpy at only 10mW, depending on what frequency you are on. Luckily, an
amplifier can easily remedy this little shortcoming.


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Propagation Forecast Bulletin #5 de K7RA:

Posted: 29 Jan 2016 08:23 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/36070


Average daily sunspot numbers increased from 46 to 57.3, and average
daily solar flux went from 100.7 to 106. Geomagnetic indices were
also higher, with planetary A index going from 9 to 11.6.