eHam.net News

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Wichita Man, (KD0IIF) Hopes to Win Lottery; Lightning Strikes Instead:

Posted: 31 Mar 2012 04:13 AM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/28010


Like a lot of other Americans, Bill Isles bought Mega Millions lottery
tickets on Thursday.
Later he joked with a friend that he had a better chance of getting struck
by lightning than winning the record jackpot. That night, Isles walked out
into his backyard and got struck by lightning.
"It was like, flash, bang, instantly," he said. Isles, 48, wasn't hit
directly, but a jolt was strong enough to knock him face-first to the
ground, start his muscles twitching, make his heart beat irregularly and
scramble his thoughts. Isles knows about lightning. He is a volunteer with
Skywarn, a national organization of volunteers who provide local
information about severe weather to the National Weather Service. On
Thursday night, as storms moved through the Wichita area, Isles decided to
go outside at his duplex at 6320 E. Orme, southwest of Kellogg and
Woodlawn, and contact some of his storm-spotting buddies in the field on
his hand-held ham radio. When he went outside about 9:30 p.m., the night
looked harmless enough. "It looked like things were far enough off to the
north, and there were only just a few raindrops," Isles said. "I would hear
thunder, but I didn't see anything close. I thought I was OK." He remembers
talking to a couple of friends on his radio.
"One minute I'm sitting there talking, and the next minute I'm down on my
face," he said.
There was no warning, no feeling of an imminent electrical shock, no hair
standing on end.


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Communication Key when Weather Strikes:

Posted: 30 Mar 2012 05:44 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/28009


MOUNT VERNON -- When severe weather hits, maintaining lines of
communication between responders is vital, but what if the towers are down,
the cellular networks are compromised and the electrical power is out? When
all else fails, amateur radio operators step up to the plate and get the
messages through. Arlin Bradford, president of the Mount Vernon Amateur
Radio Club and assistant emergency coordinator with the Knox County Amateur
Emergency Radio Service talked with the News about the roles amateur radio
operators -- called hams -- play in the event of a natural disaster. First,
hams assist in monitoring local weather conditions.


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Titanic Exhibition to be Shown in New Tredegar:

Posted: 30 Mar 2012 05:42 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/28008


NEXT week an exhibition featuring a radio operator who received the SOS
signal from the Titanic, will be shown in New Tredegar. The County Borough
museum, the Winding House in New Tredegar opens its fascinating new
exhibition on Friday April 6. The Titanic, the Mill and the Signal: Artie
Moore and Titanic's SOS, focuses on amateur radio enthusiast, Artie Moore
from Gelligroes Mill, who received RMS Titanic 's SOS signal, on his
home-made radio receiver. The new exhibition will also explore the story of
Titanic and some local links in this 100th anniversary year of her sinking.


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Amateur Radio Plays Major Role in Severe Weather Alerts:

Posted: 30 Mar 2012 05:41 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/28007


The Capital Area Amateur Radio Emergency Response Team (CAARERT) was formed
in direct response to the events of September 11th, 2001. Comprised of
amateur radio operators, the volunteer group's sole purpose is to organize
for emergency response. A part of that commitment is to provide storm
spotting operations, called SKYWARN for Sangamon and Menard counties. John
Anderson (W9TRC) is the current president of the organization. We talk
today with its past president, Dick Drew. His callsign is K0HMO.


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City Relaxes Rules for Personal Antennas:

Posted: 30 Mar 2012 05:40 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/28006


OTTAWA -- A compromise between the city and amateur radio enthusiasts means
they'll get a bit more freedom to put up private antennas on their houses
and in their yards, city council agreed Wednesday. The city doesn't
directly regulate antennas on private property: that's Industry Canada's
job, but the federal department gives municipalities a chance to say what
they think. The rules are primarily meant to regulate cellphone towers,
which companies like Bell and Rogers are building more and more of to try
to keep up with demand for smartphone service, but they cover amateur radio
antennas as well and ham radio operators said they were too restrictive.
The compromise lets personal antennas be erected in front or side yards in
urban or suburban neighbourhoods as long as they're shorter than 15 metres,
less than three inches across and set back at least 1½ metres from property
lines. (The rules are looser for bigger lots.) Bigger antennas would
require public consultations so the neighbours could have their say before
the city came up with its position.


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Propagation Forecast Bulletin #13 de K7RA:

Posted: 30 Mar 2012 04:00 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/28004


Eight new sunspot groups appeared this week, but the average daily
sunspot number declined four points to 71.1. Average daily solar
flux rose by less than two points to 103.7.


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NZ4O MF (300-3000 KC) RX Prop Fcst 20-14:

Posted: 30 Mar 2012 03:59 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/28001


The NZ4O MF (300-3000 KC) Radiowave Propagation Forecast #2012-14 has been
published at 0000 UTC on Friday March 30, 2012, valid 0000 UTC Saturday
March 31, 2012 through 2359 UTC Friday April 06, 2012.