eHam.net News

///////////////////////////////////////////
Going to Great 'Wavelengths' for the Community:

Posted: 07 Jul 2016 05:33 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37130


A group of men sit in a dark, muggy room at Baldy's Diner east of La
Vernia. A thunderstorm has cut off the power, effectively bringing the
restaurant to a halt, since the cooks are no longer able to prepare food.
The outage hasn't affected the group, though. A situation like this barely
raises an eyebrow among the members of the Wilson County Amateur Radio
Club, whose devices continue to bounce strange noises around the
room. "We've got a waterfall!" exclaims Louis Stanton, as blue wave
patterns begin to flow down the screen of his laptop. These wave patterns
are visualizations of the signals the operators are receiving through the
rainstorm. The laptop is connected to a ham radio, which in turn is
connected to an antenna outside, albeit under the patio roof because of the
lightning. The whole system is being powered by a generator the size of a
small briefcase. At first glance, this appears to be just a bunch of guys
getting together to revel in their shared hobby. That would only scratch
the surface, however, as they also are members of their local Community
Emergency Response Team (CERT), federally certified volunteers trained in
basic disaster response skills -- one of eight teams in a 50-mile radius
and 2,600 teams nationwide. "The model boils down to neighbors helping
neighbors," said Frank Dickey, Wilson County CERT coordinator and ham radio
enthusiast. "We are trained to do the basic things to keep people alive
until first responders arrive on the scene." CERT volunteers who are
certified in ham radio operation have the additional responsibility of
keeping channels of communication open when the power system fails.


///////////////////////////////////////////
Kids Crucial to Future of Amateur Radio:

Posted: 07 Jul 2016 05:32 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37129


Communication with the rest of the world has become so simple these days,
we often take it for granted. Need to find out how to reach someone? We
have a mini-computer in our pocket. Want to know what is happening on the
other side of the state? Hop on the internet and you can find out. But what
would you do if a disaster wiped out cell reception and made the internet
inaccessible? That was just one of subjects the Stanwood Camano Amateur
Radio Club (SCARC) covered Saturday, June 25, during its annual Amateur
Radio Field Day at the Stanwood Camano Community Fairgrounds. Field Day is
a national contest where amateur - also known as ham - operators try to
make contact with as many other operators as possible. For this year's
Field Day, SCARC decided to focus more on educating the public about
amateur radio than on the competition, club president Fred Laun said.
Community members were encouraged to arrive at the Stanwood Camano
Community Fairgrounds around noon and participate in an educational drill
demonstration led by the Camano Island Community Emergency Response Team.
The drill showed participants how to contact first responders with the
radios in case of emergency and how to evaluate and care for injured
persons. Radios can be valuable in emergency situations because they can be
up and running on generators or batteries within minutes of a power outage,
SCARC Secretary Sue Ryan said. Ryan estimates that in the case of a natural
disaster, the club could get its radios running within two to three hours
of disaster striking. This would be pivotal in getting information off of
Camano Island, if it were to become inaccessible due to a natural disaster.


///////////////////////////////////////////
Find Out More About the Beautiful World of Ham Radio Community:

Posted: 07 Jul 2016 05:32 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37128


Some beginners may feel confused not knowing how to get started. Ham radio
certainly need some special skills and knowledge. However, they are easily
obtained. For example, there are many occasions when amateur radio
operators under 10 had no difficulties in getting license and passing all
necessary exams. The only thing you ill certainly need is a piece of
engagement and interest in the topic in general. DX ham radio is not just
about talking to each other. A huge part of being a ham include
communication, sharing experience and helping other people who also want to
become a part of this global community. For this reason, more and more
special groups and memberships appear unite DX enthusiasts. The regularly
gather together to share some of the latest ham radio news, operating
experience, knowledge and some other useful things you will take the
advantage in future. These communities often arrange special classes for
rookies who are preparing for their FCC examinations. You can join them
online or visit your local gathering spot.


///////////////////////////////////////////
Radio Operator Visits Lake Mead as Part of Year-Long Quest:

Posted: 07 Jul 2016 05:31 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37127


While Bob Murray was taking the long drive from Virginia Beach, Virginia,
where he lives to Las Vegas to see a Garth Brooks concert he drove by Lake
Mead National Recreation Area and saw an opportunity to participate in one
of his favorite hobbies: ham radio. Ham radio, also know as amateur radio,
is a hobby in which people around the world contact each other using only
radio equipment. Ham radio requires no internet connection or cellphone and
works by bouncing radio signals off the atmosphere. Murray is not your
typical ham radio hobbyist. He is part of a group of radio operators who
set up shop in national parks to make contact with each other across the
country in a yearlong event called National Parks On The Air. When Murray
drove by Lake Mead he knew he had to set up his ham radio and make contact
with the 57 other national parks in America. "It was so simple to set up
shop here," Murray said. "I just asked some of the rangers if I could set
up my ham radio here and they were thrilled I asked." Lake Mead is the
eighth national park Murray has activated this year for National Parks On
The Air.


///////////////////////////////////////////
There Aren't Any Sunspots on the Sun Right Now:

Posted: 07 Jul 2016 05:30 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37126


PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) -- This week temps in the Portland metro area are a
bit below normal. But that has nothing to do with the fact there are
currently no sunspots on the sun. "Today we are free of sunspots on this
side of the sun," PSU physics professor Jack Straton told KOIN 6
News, "but, of course, you can never know what's on the other side." The
sun goes through solar cycles. Its surface changes between periods of
increased and decreased sunspot production. "A sunspot is a place when the
magnetic field pokes out of the sun and comes back in and so you'll always
find them in pairs," Straton said. "(In an) 11-year period it goes up to
really intense to a very few," Straton said.


///////////////////////////////////////////
DX News -- ARRL DX Bulletin #28:

Posted: 06 Jul 2016 05:00 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37125


This week's bulletin was made possible with information provided by
TA3J, W3UR, QRZ 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.


///////////////////////////////////////////
This Week In Radiosport:

Posted: 06 Jul 2016 05:00 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37124


This Week In Radiosport:


///////////////////////////////////////////
FCC Investigating Amateur Radio, Commercial Application Processing Glitch:

Posted: 06 Jul 2016 05:00 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37123


The FCC information technology staff is continuing to look into why the
Universal Licensing System (ULS) Electronic Batch
Filing (EBF) system has stopped processing at least some -- and perhaps
all -- Amateur Radio exam session files and applications.


///////////////////////////////////////////
Amateur Electronic Supply Closing After 59 Years in Business:

Posted: 06 Jul 2016 05:00 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37122


Amateur Electronic Supply (AES) will close its
doors at the end of July after 59 years in business. No reason has been
given for the decision to close the business. AES has been a premier
player among Amateur Radio equipment retailers for decades, as well as
a major presence at Dayton Hamvention and other events. Various media
outlets were informed of the closing in a brief e-mail message on July
6, but word of the closing has not yet appeared on the retailer's
website or Facebook page.


///////////////////////////////////////////
Past ARRL Roanoke Division Director, Honorary Vice President W4PWF, (SK):

Posted: 06 Jul 2016 05:00 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37121


Past ARRL Roanoke Division Director Dennis Bodson, W4PWF, of Arlington,
Virginia, died on July 1. He would have turned 77 this month. Bodson
had been recovering from recent surgery, but his death was unexpected.


///////////////////////////////////////////
The Doctor Will See You Now!

Posted: 06 Jul 2016 05:00 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37120


Are Linear Amplifiers Really Worthwhile? Find out by checking out the
current (June 30) episode of the "ARRL The Doctor is In" podcast.
Listen...and learn!


///////////////////////////////////////////
National Parks On the Air Update:

Posted: 06 Jul 2016 05:00 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37119


August 25 is the actual day of the National Park Service's 100th
anniversary. Many national parks around the country will be celebrating
with events and public outreach. For ham radio operators, setting up a
National Parks on the Air (NPOTA) activation
would add a nice flair to these celebrations. Reach out to a park and
ask if they would like to include a National Parks on the Air component
to any Centennial celebrations they are holding on August 25. If they
say yes, then get ready for an adventure!


///////////////////////////////////////////
IARU HF World Championship July 9-10 is Mid-Year Contest Centerpiece:

Posted: 06 Jul 2016 05:00 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37118


The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) HF World Championship over the
July 9-10 weekend is the
highlight of the mid-2016 contest calendar for radio amateurs around
the globe. W1AW/9 in Illinois and NU1AW/6 in California will represent
the ARRL and the IARU Secretariat, respectively, as headquarters (HQ)
stations. W1AW/9 will operate from the stations of Craig Thompson,
K9CT, on CW, and Valerie Hotzfeld, NV9L, and Jerry Rosalius, WB9Z, on
phone. NU1AW/6 will be on the air both from the station of Ken Keeler,
N6RO, and from the Stanford University Radio Club's W6YX.


///////////////////////////////////////////
ARRL 600-M Experiment Reports 202,400+ Hours, Zero Interference Complaints:

Posted: 06 Jul 2016 05:00 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37117


The ARRL 600 Meter Experiment being carried out
under the WD2XSH Part 5 Experimental license reports that no
interference complaints have been received from other services
operating in the 465-515 kHz band over the course of more than 202,400
hours of operation, nor was interference from other operations an issue
for any of the experiment's participants.


///////////////////////////////////////////
Juno Spacecraft That Heard Hams Say 'Hi' Now Orbiting Jupiter:

Posted: 06 Jul 2016 05:00 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37115


NASA's Juno spacecraft, which in 2013 listened for earthbound radio amateurs
sending "HI" in coordinated, very slow-speed CW, now is circling
Jupiter. In a first-of-a kind for an interplanetary spacecraft, Juno
was able to detect 10 meter
Amateur Radio signals on October 9, 2013, as it looped past Earth for a
gravity-assisted boost on its way to Jupiter. Juno arrived at the solar
system's largest planet on July 4.


///////////////////////////////////////////
Doug Zwiebel, KR2Q, Named CQ World Wide DX Contest Director:

Posted: 06 Jul 2016 05:00 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37114


Longtime CQ World Wide (CQ WW) DX Contest Committee member Doug
Zwiebel, KR2Q, of Randolph, New Jersey, has been named Director of the
CQ World Wide DX Contest, CQ magazine Publisher
Dick Ross, K2MGA, has announced. Zwiebel succeeds Randy Thompson, K5ZD,
who had served for the past 4 years.


///////////////////////////////////////////
Handiham Program's Sister Alverna O'Laughlin, Ex-WA0SGJ, (SK):

Posted: 06 Jul 2016 05:00 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37113


Handiham stalwart Sister Alverna O'Laughlin,
ex-WA0SGJ, of Rochester, Minnesota, died on May 30. She was 84. Sister
Alverna joined the then-fledgling organization in its earliest days,
when founder Ned Carman, W0ZSW, came up with the idea of sharing
Amateur Radio with people who have disabilities.


///////////////////////////////////////////
In Brief...

Posted: 06 Jul 2016 05:00 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/37112


Balloting to Begin for AMSAT Board of Directors: The 2016 candidates
for the AMSAT Board of Directors have been chosen, and ballots go out
to members this month. The candidates are Tom Clark, K3IO; Clayton
Coleman, W5PFG; Mark Hammond, N8MH; Bruce Paige, KK5DO, and Paul
Stoetzer, N8HM. AMSAT members will elect three voting Board members --
the seats going to the three candidates receiving the most votes. Two
alternates will also be chosen, based on the next highest number of
votes received. Ballots will be mailed to the AMSAT-NA membership by
July 15 and must be received at the AMSAT office by September 15. The
current AMSAT-NA Board members are Barry Baines, WD4ASW; Tom Clark,
K3IO; JoAnne Maenpaa, K9JKM; Lou McFadin, W5DID; Jerry Buxton, N0JY;
Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, and Bob McGwier, N4HY -- Thanks to AMSAT News
Service