eHam.net News

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Propagation Forecast Bulletin #11 de K7RA:

Posted: 17 Mar 2017 07:46 AM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/38838


There haven't been any sunspots since March 3, other than March 5,
when one sunspot appeared for only one day. Also, solar flux values
have recently dipped below 70, for the first time since the other
side of this solar cycle.


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Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2055 for Friday, March 17, 2017:

Posted: 17 Mar 2017 06:26 AM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/38837


The following is a QST. A longtime amateur supplier of crystals is closing
its doors. South African youngsters find new friends on the air -- and hams
climb to summits around the world to face challenging contacts. All this
and more as Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2055 comes your way right now.


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Amateurlogic 102 is Released:

Posted: 17 Mar 2017 06:27 AM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/38835


Peter repairs a Laptop Screen, Emile builds a
Cheap Beacon, George continues the 433 MHz
Saga, and special guest John Ossi, N3DRH has
part 2 of 2 on Karl Jansky, the Father of
Radio Astronomy.


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Amateur Radio Groups to Send a Balloon to the Stratosphere and Back:

Posted: 16 Mar 2017 06:12 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/38834


Many UC Berkeley students have sky-high ambitions, but this weekend some
are going to new heights. Members of the East Bay Amateur Radio Club and UC
Berkeley's radio club are teaming up to launch a high-altitude balloon to
near-space, and they are inviting the public to come track its journey. On
Saturday, March 18 the group will launch the helium-filled latex weather
balloon from Memorial Glade on Cal's campus at 10 a.m. and then, using
software that tracks the balloon's location, chase after it in their cars.
The balloon is expected to reach an altitude of 90,000-100,000
feet. "People tend to get finicky about what the absolute definition of the
edge of space is, but that's the edge of space," said the East Bay club's
Martin Rothfield, a retired communications professional. The balloon will
be outfitted with GoPro cameras and a radio. A UC Berkeley microbiologist
will also load it up with scientific gear, to collect air samples from the
flight. The radio sends signals to a network of ham radios connected to the
internet. The location information is available in real-time to anybody
with internet access. But ham radio hobbyists were around long before the
digital age. UC Berkeley's amateur radio club, W6BB, is more than 100 years
old. The Richmond-based East Bay club, the sponsor of Saturday's launch,
was started more than 50 years ago. Ham radios are often used for
long-distance and emergency communication, and the local club members
volunteer as safety officers stationed throughout Bay Area bicycle and foot
race courses where cell phone service is unreliable. The Cal club and the
East Bay club joined forces for a balloon launch two years ago as well.


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Powell River Amateur Radio Club Provides Community Service:

Posted: 16 Mar 2017 06:11 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/38833


Hobbyists contribute to medical, maintenance and emergency communication
situations: A dozen hams, or amateur radio enthusiasts, met at their usual
headquarters, a clubhouse filled with aviation memorabilia, for Powell
River Amateur Radio Club's annual general meeting on Wednesday, March
8. "For a long time, Powell River didn't have a place to train with ham
radio," said longtime member Russell Storry. According to Storry, the club
originally acquired a space at a local fire hall, but access was difficult
due to security concerns. Storry said relocating to a shared space in the
Westview Flying Club (WFC) clubhouse was a big step up for the radio club.
Since moving to its current headquarters, the club has installed radio
antennas on the roof and acquired a communications trailer. Storry said the
radio club participates in a yearly field day where off-grid operating
conditions are simulated and stations from around the world contact one
another over a 24-hour period. "Lots of people become involved with the
club," said Storry. "I'd say about half of the people who receive their ham
licence in Powell River acquire it through the club." Lucy Achibank, a
director with the club, became involved through one of its open houses. "My
husband was involved and he had his licence," she said. "I started studying
and received mine through the club." Achibank said the club provides access
to ham-radio infrastructure, guest speakers, training for unlicensed
enthusiasts and designated examiners. It also participates in local events,
she said, including being on standby for the Terry Fox Run. "If a runner is
having a problem, we can report by radio and relay it to medical services,"
said Achibank. She added that amateur radio is a hobby for many of its
members, but it also provides an important service in the community.


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9 Things You Didn't Know About the History of the Distress Signal:

Posted: 16 Mar 2017 06:11 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/38832


For well over a century, maritime vessels have used wireless communications
technology to make distress calls to coastguards and boats in their
vicinity. Before the invention of wireless communications, ships had to
rely on flares and semaphore flags to transmit messages. Once out of visual
range of the shore and other boats, crews were effectively on their own,
perhaps never to be heard from again if disaster struck. This all changed
in the late 19thcentury thanks Guglielmo Marconi's (above) invention of
wireless telegraphy - his first public transmission of wireless signals was
made from the site of what is now BT Centre. Wireless telegraphy enabled
electromagnetic messages to be sent and received via Morse code and gave
troubled ships a lifeline for the first time.


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VK6WIA -- NewsWest, 19 March 2017:

Posted: 16 Mar 2017 06:13 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/38831


In this week's edition of NewsWest we have information of Amateur Radio
activities including World Amateur Radio Day, the Jakarta DX Contest and an
update from Ham College. There is our regular diary of the weeks meetings.
No news is complete without Roy's helpline, but unfortunately Roy's
circumstances this week mean that the hasn't been able to record his usual
segment. Hopefully he'll be back next week. There is a report that our
hobby's regulator, the ACMA may be considering auditing the WIA. There is a
round up of the proxy situation for the WIA AGM and also if you are more
comfortable sitting at your radio than dealing with a company audit I
attempt to explain what an audit is about and how it is performed. Which
reminds me, you will have noted the announcement that the WIA office was
closed for some days this week so that the audit could take place. That's
is strange as I have had an email exchange with the auditor in the last few
days. He informed me that only a planning meeting had so far happened, I
wonder what was actually occurring at WIA HQ? No doubt time will tell.


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Foundations of Amateur Radio -- #93:

Posted: 16 Mar 2017 06:13 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/38830


What does a resistor have to do with a stick? Commonly the size of a grain
of rice with
pretty colours, a resistor is a regular item
in many electrical devices. This week in
Foundations of Amateur Radio I take a look at
how ice-cubes, electrons, sticks and
resistors describe what is going on inside an
electrical circuit without once using a
joule, a coulomb or more familiar terms like
Volt, Ampere and Ohm.


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DX News -- ARRL DX Bulletin #11:

Posted: 16 Mar 2017 10:51 AM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/38829


This week's bulletin was made possible with information provided by
XE3N, 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.


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ETH060 -- QRP Operations:

Posted: 16 Mar 2017 10:52 AM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/38818


Hello everybody and welcome back to the
Everything Ham Radio Podcast! In this
episode we are going to talk about QRP
Operations, we talk about some upcoming
events/contests and hamfests over the next
two weeks and wrap it up with some news
from around the hobby!