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The K7RA Solar Update
(Nov 13, 2009)
-- Sunspot region 1029 disappeared after October 30, but not because it faded away -- it was transiting over our Sun's western horizon on its trip around the back side. Six days after it was gone, a new region -- region 1030 -- appeared for several days, November 5-7. On November 8, this region had faded away and seemed like other weak spots we've seen over the past couple of years, except they appeared for one day with a sunspot number of 11. Sunspot region 1030 ran for three days with sunspot numbers of 15, 16 and 11. But then on November 9, the sunspot region re-emerged, with sunspot numbers of 14, 13, 11 and 11 through November 12. Full Story |
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Feature: Surfin': The Real Pirate Radio
(Nov 13, 2009)
-- This week, Surfin' visits the high seas where pirate radio once made its home. Full Story |
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STS 129: Stocking the International Space Station
(Nov 12, 2009 [REVISED Nov 13, 2009 10:12 ET])
-- Besides taking spare parts to the International Space Station (ISS) this coming Monday, the space shuttle Atlantis (STS-129) will deliver the module antennas for Columbus -- the laboratory built by the European Space Agency (ESA) and host of two Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) antennas. Full Story |
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ARRL Sweepstakes Takes to the Phone Bands Next Weekend
(Nov 12, 2009)
-- The SSB portion of the ARRL November Sweepstakes -- the premier domestic HF contest -- takes place next weekend, running 2100 UTC Saturday, November 21 to 0300 Monday, November 23 (or 4 PM Saturday to 10 PM Sunday EST). According to ARRL Contest Branch Manager Sean Kutzko, KX9X, the event -- first called "The January Contest" -- started back in 1929 as a competition for handling formal traffic messages. "Sweepstakes is one of the oldest traditions in Amateur Radio," Kutzko said. "The contest exchange contains more elements than usual, an homage to the traffic-handling days of yore. If you have never participated in Sweepstakes, you are really missing out on some serious fun!" Full Story |
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Late Season Tropical Storm Ida Comes Calling on Gulf Coast
(Nov 12, 2009 [REVISED Nov 17, 2009 11:03 ET])
-- With only weeks to go before the end of the 2009 hurricane season, Tropical Storm Ida formed off the coast of Nicaragua, making landfall as a hurricane in the morning hours of November 5. The storm lost significant strength as it moved through Nicaragua and Honduras, only to reemerge in the Caribbean a day later, impacting El Salvador and Mexico. Ida gained strength, becoming a Category 2 storm with winds peaking at 105 miles per hour in the Gulf of Mexico. The path for Ida at this point was clearly toward the Gulf Coast of the US, with a projected landfall somewhere between Louisiana and the Florida panhandle. As Ida's path became more focused, Amateur Radio operators and ARES® groups concentrated on increasing their level of readiness should there be a need to respond. Full Story |
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WRTC 2010 Organizers Announce Teams
(Nov 11, 2009)
-- Last month, after a grueling selection process, the organizers of the 2010 World Radiosport Team Championships (WRTC) selected the 44 team leaders who will compete in the event next year. These 44 team leaders, representing all six continents, have each chosen a partner. The rules state that while the leader's partner may be from a different call sign area, they must be from the country as the leader. WRTC, held every few years, takes place during the IARU HF World Championships, July 10-11. In 2010, WRTC will be held just outside Moscow. Full Story |
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Atlantic Division to Host Webinar
(Nov 10, 2009)
-- Periodically, the ARRL’s Atlantic Division hosts a "webinar" -- an interactive Web-based seminar, designed to facilitate communication between a small number of presenters and a large remote audience using the Internet. On Friday, November 13 at 9 PM EST, Chuck Blocher, PhD, KC2IQV, will present a webinar entitled The Emotional Go Kit: Are You Prepared? "As hams serve as emergency and public service communicators, we prepare our Go Kits and necessary gear to provide essential communications," said webinar sponsor ARRL Atlantic Division Director Bill Edgar, N3LLR. "How prepared are you concerning your emotional wellness during one of these events? This webinar addresses the emotional well-being and preparedness for those Amateur Radio communicators who participate in emergency and public service situations." Please click here to register for this informative, interactive Internet meeting. Link to this item |
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Norwegian Amateurs Receive New Privileges
(Nov 9, 2009)
-- As of November 6, radio amateurs in Norway were granted privileges on three new bands, as well as primary status on the extended 40 meter band and a frequency extension on 12 meters. According to IARU Vice President Ole Garpestad, LA2RR, Norwegian amateurs received new secondary user privileges on 60 meters (5.260-5.410 MHz), the 600 meter band (493-510 kHz) and in five blocks in the 4 meter (70 MHz) band. Amateur Radio operators in Norway will also enjoy upgraded privileges on 40 meters, moving from secondary to primary users between 7.100-7.200 MHz and 1000 W output. They have also received a new secondary allocation from 24.740-24.890 MHz in the 12 meter band, expanding upon Norway’s existing primary allocation of 24.890-24.990 MHz. Garpestad said that “minor adjustments” were also made in the SHF (3-30 GHz) and EHF (30-300 GHz) portions of the band. “Congratulations to our Norwegian colleagues,” said ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ. “The new domestic allocations in Norway are consistent with the present and future spectrum requirements for the Amateur Service as determined by the IARU Administrative Council. We hope that other administrations will consider taking similar steps.” Link to this item |
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The K7RA Solar Update
(Nov 6, 2009)
-- In addition to the sunspot group 1029 that graced us from October 23-30, a new Solar Cycle 24 spot -- 1030 -- just emerged on Thursday. It is currently in a maximally geo-effective position (in other words, in the center longitudinal meridian as viewed from Earth), and may provide some enhancement for the ARRL CW Sweepstakes this weekend. On Thursday, the daily sunspot number was 15. Sunspot numbers for October 29-November 4 were 19, 13, 0, 0, 0, 0 and 0 with a mean of 4.6. The 10.7 cm flux was 76.7, 75.2, 75.1, 72.3, 71.4, 71.5 and 71.4 with a mean of 73.4. The estimated planetary A indices were 7, 11, 1, 2, 2, 0 and 0 with a mean of 3.3. The estimated mid-latitude A indices were 5, 8, 1, 2, 2, 1 and 1 with a mean of 2.9. Full Story |
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Feature: Surfin': Homebrewing Today
(Nov 6, 2009)
-- This week, Surfin' takes a look at some state-of-the-art homebrewing. Full Story |
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Feature: DX the Hard Way
(Nov 5, 2009)
-- March 18, 1945. We could tell the war was going in our favor, but we were still in some danger in the Pacific. My best pal, Franz Butler, and I were stationed aboard a DE, destroyer escort, as radiomen. I was first class. Franz was second class. One night it happened. It’s always in the back of your mind, but when it happens, it takes you by surprise — and then some. Full Story |
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Idaho School Incorporates ARISS into Curriculum
(Nov 5, 2009 [REVISED Nov 6, 2009 09:57 ET])
-- With more than 500 Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) contacts conducted, thousands of students have experienced intriguing science and technology lessons -- plus the thrill of speaking with an astronaut who was on the International Space Station (ISS). According to ARRL ARISS Program Manager Rosalie White, K1STO, each school uses the ARISS events in different ways. From school to school, ARISS volunteers see a great range in the types of activities around the event, including integrating the activities into each grade level's curriculum. The lesson in common to all schools includes discussions on what Amateur Radio is, what ARISS is and how the worldwide ARISS Team works together. Full Story |
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More Cosponsors for HR 2160
(Nov 4, 2009)
-- Earlier this week, two more Congressional Representatives -- André Carson (D-IN-7), and C.W. Bill Young (R-FL-10) -- pledged their support for HR 2160, The Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Enhancement Act of 2009, bringing the total number of cosponsors to 31, including original sponsor Sheila Jackson-Lee (D-TX-18). HR 2160 is also sponsored by W. Todd Akin (R-MO-2), Michael Arcuri (D-NY-24), Roscoe Bartlett (R-MD-6), John Boozman (R-AR-3), Madeleine Bordallo (D-Guam), Geoff Davis (R-KY-4), Bob Filner (D-CA-51), Scott Garrett (R-NJ-5), Bart Gordon (D-TN-6), Brett Guthrie (R-KY-02), Maurice Hinchey (D-NY-22), Michael Honda (D-CA-15), Mary Jo Kilroy (D-OH-15), Tom Latham (R-IA-4), Zoe Lofgren (D-CA-16), Blaine Luetkemeyer (R-MO-9), Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI-11), Charlie Melancon (D-LA-3), Candice Miller (R-MI-10), Dennis Moore (D-KS-3), John Olver (D-MA-1), Bill Posey (R-FL-15), Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA-46), Bennie Thompson (D-MS-2), Michael Turner (R-OH-3), Peter Welch (D-VT), David Wu (D-OR-1) and Don Young (R-AK). On the Senate side of Capital Hill, S 1755 -- also called The Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Enhancement Act of 2009 -- cleared the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee with a favorable recommendation by voice vote. It now proceeds to committee staff to prepare the report for the full Senate.Click here for information on how to encourage your Congressional representative to sponsor HR 2160. Link to this item |
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George E. Smith, AA2EJ, Wins Nobel Prize
(Nov 3, 2009)
-- Around 5:30 on the morning of October 6, George E. Smith, AA2EJ, of Barnegat, New Jersey, got a phone call that changed his life: He had just found out he had won the Nobel Prize in Physics for 2009 "for the invention of an imaging semiconductor circuit -- the CCD sensor." Smith will share the prize money with two other recipients: Charles K. Kao, of Standard Telecommunication Laboratories in the United Kingdom and Chinese University of Hong Kong in Hong Kong, China, and Willard S. Boyle, of Bell Laboratories. Each recipient will receive a diploma, a medal and a document confirming their share of SEK 10 million (about 1.4 million US dollars); Kao will receive 50 percent, while Smith and Boyle will each receive 25 percent of the monetary award. Full Story |
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MARS Cuts Ribbon on New Pentagon Station
(Nov 3, 2009)
-- A military institution designed to provide emergency communications has moved to new quarters in the Pentagon. On October 21, John G. Grimes, the former Assistant Secretary of Defense for Networks and Information Integration, cut the ribbon on the new Military Affiliate Radio System (MARS) station, now located on the fifth floor of the Pentagon. The facility -- manned by the Pentagon Amateur Radio Club (PARC) -- is packed with amateur radios, radio-telephone patches, computers and data links. "This is a great facility, manned totally by volunteers," Grimes told the crowd who came to see the new station. "It's a crucial capability for our country." Full Story |
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