eHam.net News

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Radio History Made at Palm Springs American Legion:

Posted: 30 Dec 2015 04:07 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/35871


The American Legion hall in Palm Springs is hard to find if you don't know
exactly where to look. Designed by the architectural firm of Albert Frey
and John Clark, the Owen Coffman Post 519 War Memorial building sits on the
east side of Belardo Road, facing the O'Donnell Golf Course, on land
obtained from Austin and Pearl McManus for $9.90. The post was chartered in
1939 and its first commander was Earl Coffman, who served in France during
World War I. He was the son of Nellie Coffman, founder of the Desert Inn.
In the early days, the group held its meetings in the Fiesta Room at the
hotel. Nearly 70 years after the first broadcast from the American Legion
hall, a group of legion members have restored the booth to its almost
original luster. The men -- members of the legion's amateur radio club --
have been working on the project for about the past seven months. "This is
where they recorded -- and it was live broadcast, hard-lined into Los
Angeles -- where it went on the air," Tom McLean told me during a recent
tour of the post. "We kept the original colors, which was battleship gray,
World War II (era) -- and the white ceilings," he said. "We kept everything
original -- we wanted to preserve everything. Then we got an FCC license
for an amateur radio club here." Glenn Morrison, who has been a Ham radio
operator for nearly 50 years, did some checking on the Internet and found
that K6TAL, a "vanity call" -- think vanity license plate -- was available.
K is for U.S., 6 is for California and TAL stands for The America Legion.


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Strong Solar Storm to Hit Earth Before New Year's Eve:

Posted: 30 Dec 2015 04:07 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/35870


NOAA just extended the G3 (Strong) solar storm watch through New Year's
Eve, as the energy hitting Earth is expected to hit later than expected,
and continue in intensity. January 1st, New Year's Day, will now see a
minor G1 storm as the system last longer than first expected. No word yet
on peak viewing times for the aurora. NOAA is predicting a strong "G3"
class geomagnetic storm. The rating system classifies the magnetic fields
created by these solar events on a scale of G1 to G5. A G3 storm like what
will hit this week can create fluctuations in power grids, cause radio
blackouts in the higher latitudes, and even affect GPS reception. A less
common G4 storm would create northern lights visible in California.