eHam.net News

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IARU Promotes Emergency Communications:

Posted: 14 Feb 2016 04:03 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/36176


International Amateur Radio Union President, Tim Ellam VE6SH/G4HUA told the
Global Forum on Emergency Telecommunications that Amateur Radio is probably
more relevant now than it was 25 years ago. The International
Telecommunications Union event GET-2016 was held in Kuwait City on January
26-28 with a slogan of 'Saving lives'. In an interview at the conference
Tim VE6SH/G4HUA said: "We're so dependent now on all kinds of systems of
communications - everyone has a cell phone, everyone is used to using the
Internet - but they're not used to what happens when those systems go
down." He further said: "Amateur Radio is there. It relies on somewhat old
fashioned technology, but there are also advancements in technology that we
rely on." Hams can use computer-based digital techniques to pass message
traffic at very low power levels and under poor propagation conditions. Tim
VE6SH/G4HUA said: "Amateur Radio has kept pace by developing new ways to
communicate."


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Hams Part of Emergency Exercise:

Posted: 14 Feb 2016 04:02 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/36175


The US National Guard had its Operation Seismos, an earthquake drill on
February 3-6, and used radio amateurs to transmit messages as it accessed
community disaster resources. The National Guard 213th Forward Support
Company at Cedar City Utah, the Sheriff's office, City Police, Fire
Department, local hospital and the Rainbow Canyon's Amateur Radio Club were
involved. Iron County Emergency Management Coordinator John Higley,
describes how the messages, to and from the Emergency Coordination Centre,
included some innovative techniques. Don Blanchard WA7GTU of the Rainbow
Canyon's Amateur Radio Club said that about 160 radio amateurs who were in
contact with each other including the hospital.


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How Astronomers Count Sunspots:

Posted: 14 Feb 2016 04:02 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/36174


In 1847, at a small observatory in Bern, Switzerland, a man called Rudolf
Wolf started counting sunspots. He worked diligently, peering through a
telescope every day, if he could, and recording the number of spots he
observed. Curious about how the number of sunspots varied over time, he
later compiled all the sunspot data he could find, going back to the year
1700. It turned out to be one of the most important records of all time.
Today, all sorts of models use this record to predict things like the
climate, the orbit of satellites, and the stability of power grids. One
solar physicist I work with says that, other than the Dow Jones, the
sunspot number is the most relied-upon index in modern society. Wolf's
record is called the International Sunspot Number. The Sunspot Index and
Long-term Solar Observations (SILSO) group, based at the Royal Observatory
in Belgium, continues to compute it to this day. But last summer, SILSO
announced a brand-new sunspot record -- and, in doing so, broke a 150-year
old tradition. To find out why, we begin at the beginning.


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Amateurlogic Episode 87 is Released:

Posted: 14 Feb 2016 11:37 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/36173


Tommy explores FLDigi with his Icom IC-7100
and Mac computer. Peter's Introduction to
Satellite TV Pt 2. Emile visits Hammond
Hamfest and Crossband repeats. Plus lot of fun
and a few headaches.