http://www.eham.net/ eHam.net Newsfeed http://www.eham.net/articles/40762 http://www.eham.net/articles/40762 The Royal Oak Historical Museum is having a preview party fundraiser for its upcoming new exhibit on how communication has advanced over the years to the smartphone. Physical artifacts of the many forms of communication over the years, along with photos and stories are part of the exhibit. Included in the showing are the advances from the semaphore, wireless, Morse code, magic lantern and stereopticons to radios, TV, telephones and more. Mon, 29 Jan 2018 16:11:21 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/40761 http://www.eham.net/articles/40761 Dan Wantuck and other members of the Pueblo Amateur Radio Club held their Winter Field Day exercise Saturday at the South Side Walmart. The event tested radio operators' emergency communication skills during the unique environmental and atmospheric conditions that occur during winter. Mon, 29 Jan 2018 16:08:32 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/40760 http://www.eham.net/articles/40760 Despite all of the best efforts and intentions by Greene County, the Greene County Agricultural Society and Hamvention, we have learned the anticipated new building will not be constructed in time for Hamvention 2018. The prefab sections bid on and architecturally required are currently backlogged. We expect construction to be delayed until after our show and the Greene County Fair. We expect completion of construction yet this year and ready for our use in 2019. We regret this; however it is well out of our control. Mon, 29 Jan 2018 16:10:32 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/40759 http://www.eham.net/articles/40759 FAIR LAWN -- It was 52 degrees on snowless muddy fields, but amateur radio operators made the best of a good situation participating in winter field day exercises Saturday. It is the first year the Fair Lawn Amateur Radio Club joined the winter event, run by the National Association for Amateur Radio. The January exercise was added three years ago so "hams" could practice emergency communications under adverse winter weather conditions. The association has been carrying on summer field day practices each June since 1933 for what are now an estimated 40,000 operators. Mon, 29 Jan 2018 00:01:55 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/40758 http://www.eham.net/articles/40758 Nestled among palm trees at the Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens near Pasadena, Calif., there's a mysterious, metallic structure that curls like a nautilus shell. It's called the Orbit Pavilion, and it was created by a team of artists at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratories, or JPL. Step inside the 17-foot-tall structure and you'll hear otherworldly sounds triggered by the tracking signal of 19 orbiting satellites above Earth. "All day long they move all around you," says artist Dan Goods. "It's much like listening to a bird sort of flying across the sky. And in this particular case, it's satellites that are helping us understand the Earth." Back in 2013, during its mission to Jupiter, NASA's Juno space probe was set to make a brief pass near Earth, and Goods hatched a plan: Ham radio operators around the world would team up and contact the spacecraft in Morse code. "We ended up getting thousands of people all around the world to all signal at exactly the same time, and we had them say, 'Hi,' " he recalls. "... We got the data back, and we could actually hear them. But when you hear the sound, it's beautiful because it really is these thousands of people from around the world all working together to do something. And it says 'Hi.' " Mon, 29 Jan 2018 00:01:17 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/40757 http://www.eham.net/articles/40757 Scott Tilley is an amateur visual and radio astronomer whose hobby is tracking satellites -- specifically, classified spy satellites. As detailed at his blog Riddles in the Sky, he recently stumbled across something unusual: a NASA satellite that has been lost in space since 2005, happily chattering away to anyone who would listen. Luckily, Tilley was. Tilley was on a hunt for Zuma, the secret Air Force spy satellite that was launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on January 7, but failed to achieve orbit. No one knew what Zuma was or what its mission was, but initial reports suggest that the Falcon 9 had no part in the mission failure, and it may have been due to the uncoupling procedure designed by Northrop Grumman, which built the satellite. If the spacecraft is indeed operational, it could resume its mission by monitoring Earth's northern auroral zone. "At the very least it made for an interesting Saturday afternoon in the radio room," said Tilley. Mon, 29 Jan 2018 00:00:37 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/40755 http://www.eham.net/articles/40755 GLENN RESEARCH CENTER, Ohio -- Astronaut Jack Fischer's favorite word is Awesome. And why not? If your job consists of rocketing into orbit aboard a Soyuz spacecraft and spending 136 days on the International Space Station (ISS), the word awesome is probably an accurate descriptor. Shortly after arriving at the ISS on April 5, 2017 as part of Expedition 51, Fischer and his new crewmates gathered for a brief video communication session with ground controllers and the astronauts' families. When Fischer's wife asked him how it felt to finally be in space, Fischer replied without hesitation, "It's a burrito of awesomeness smothered in awesome sauce, baby! It's so beautiful." Fischer shared this same enthusiasm and passion for his work during a visit last week to NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. The visit was part of Fischer's official post-mission debriefing following his return from ISS Mission 51-52 on Sept. 3, 2017. Fischer is visiting a number of NASA centers not only to share his recent experiences in space, but to talk with and thank some of the scientists and engineers who contributed experiments and hardware to his mission. Also on hand to see Fischer at NASA Glenn were groups of Girl Scouts from northeast Ohio who had spoken to Fischer during his mission via the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) program. The effort is a cooperative effort between volunteer ham radio operators and NASA that connects young people to astronauts orbiting aboard the ISS. Fischer spoke to the Girl Scouts on June 23 of last year, during a summer camp event that attracted more than 400 people. Sun, 28 Jan 2018 00:02:59 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/40754 http://www.eham.net/articles/40754 The FT8 keyboard-to-keyboard text mode has taken over from the weak signal JT65, which had been previously favored. The WIA Statistician Marc Hillman VK3OHM in analysing the award system data says about 20 per cent of all QSOs in 2017 were in the FT8 mode. The WIA does not issue DXCC on the basis of FT8 mode alone. QSO using FT8 mode would contribute to the "Digital" mode section. However, Marc VK3OHM finds there are 7 people who have achieved 100+ DXCC entities using the FT8 mode only. Sun, 28 Jan 2018 00:02:48 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/40753 http://www.eham.net/articles/40753 A new satellite called Global Observations on the Limb and Disc, or GOLD, was sent aloft this week to study the upper boundary of the Earth's atmosphere, where space begins. It is a very active and poorly studied region where weather from our planet meets weather from space. The very top layer of our atmosphere, from 80 to 900 kilometres up, is poorly studied because it is too high and thin for aircraft or balloons to fly through. Yet the upper portion is where some satellites and the International Space Station travel. The extremely rarefied air in this region interacts directly with powerful radiation from space, and is bombarded by high speed electrically charged particles streaming out from the sun called the solar wind. One beautiful side-effect of this onslaught from above is the eerie display of the aurora, the northern and southern lights. The GOLD instruments will scan this region from high above. It will monitor interactions that go beyond aurora, measuring chemical changes taking place in the uppermost regions of our atmosphere. Sunlight is so powerful at this altitude that it can strip electrons away from atoms, creating ions, which are electrically charged. Together, those ions are called the ionosphere. Ham radio operators are able to bounce their radio signals off this charged layer to communicate halfway around the planet. Sat, 27 Jan 2018 00:03:26 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/40752 http://www.eham.net/articles/40752 James Malone, founder of Total RF and a global visionary in the field of live wireless video and audio systems, passed away unexpectedly on January 25. He is is survived by his wife Anna Malone, mother Marie Malone Street, four children, Shannon, Erin, Justin, and Tara, and two stepchildren Kasia Parker and Greg Buczkiewicz. In 1991, Malone was a founder of Total RF, one of the first companies offering technology to TV stations and networks that gave them an unsurpassed ability to cover breaking news and sports. Considered a grand master of the application of wireless technology to the art of broadcast production, Malone and Total RF were presented with nine Emmy Awards over the years for Technology Innovation and Production Excellence. His career began at KYW-TV and then he spent 13 years at WCAU in Philadelphia, where his entrepreneurial fervor ultimately took hold. A lifelong ham radio enthusiast and operator (WA3LBI) he was an important part of the national network of radio "first responders." Sat, 27 Jan 2018 00:03:17 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/40748 http://www.eham.net/articles/40748 NZART is pleased to announce that it has negotiated with RSM and the New Zealand Defence Force to obtain a licence to allow limited operation by ZL amateur operators on 60 m on a trial basis. Fri, 26 Jan 2018 23:59:03 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/40747 http://www.eham.net/articles/40747 Kristen McIntyre, K6WX, of Fremont, California, has been appointed Pacific Division Vice Director, ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR, has announced. The appointment came upon the recommendation of Director Jim Tiemstra, K6JAT, who succeeded long-time Pacific Division Director Bob Vallio, W6RGG, upon Vallio's election as ARRL Second Vice President. Fri, 26 Jan 2018 13:34:08 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/40746 http://www.eham.net/articles/40746 AMSAT Vice President-Operations Drew Glasbrenner, KO4MA, has declared that Fox-1D (AO-92) is now open for general Amateur Radio use. That word followed an announcement from AMSAT Vice President-Engineering Jerry Buxton, N0JY, that AO-92 had been commissioned and formally turned over to AMSAT Operations. Fri, 26 Jan 2018 13:32:12 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/40745 http://www.eham.net/articles/40745 Low solar activity continued over the past reporting week (January 18-24) with zero sunspots visible after January 19. Average daily sunspot number changed from 7 over the previous seven days to 3.3 this week. Average daily solar flux was down slightly from 70.7 to 70. Geomagnetic indicators were also quiet. Fri, 26 Jan 2018 13:31:43 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/40744 http://www.eham.net/articles/40744 Even in the digital age, at least one 'retro' form of communication still remains popular. Amateur Radio. Otherwise known as Ham Radio. "There are more ham radio operators now than ever before," said Tom Pachner, manager of Ham Radio Outlet on Milwaukee's northwest side. "We're quite happy." One reason for the popularity is the civic duty, according to Pachner. Ham radios continue to be used for disasters. "Hams (short for ham operators) will deploy and provide emergency communications," Pachner explained. "If cellphones go out, if the internet goes out, if electricity goes out, we're ready." Plus, he says it's the most unique way to meet someone. Fri, 26 Jan 2018 00:00:54 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/40743 http://www.eham.net/articles/40743 And this reader says digital and analog radio are like oil and water: Fri, 26 Jan 2018 00:00:45 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/40742 http://www.eham.net/articles/40742 This week's bulletin was made possible with information provided by EA1HEO, The Daily DX, the OPDX Bulletin, 425 DX News, DXNL, Contest Corral from QST and the ARRL Contest Calendar and WA7BNM web sites. Thanks to all. Thu, 25 Jan 2018 16:49:15 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/40741 http://www.eham.net/articles/40741 Just Ahead In Radiosport: Thu, 25 Jan 2018 14:42:41 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/40740 http://www.eham.net/articles/40740 Incumbent ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR, has been re-elected by the League's Board of Directors for a second term. The Board convened for its Annual Meeting January 19-20 in Windsor, Connecticut. President Roderick, the League's 16th President, received 9 votes, while the only other nominee, New England Director Tom Frenaye, K1KI, received 6 votes. Thu, 25 Jan 2018 14:42:30 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/40739 http://www.eham.net/articles/40739 Meeting January 19-20, the ARRL Board of Directors adopted a motion to a review the entire code of conduct for Board members, known officially as the ARRL Policy on Board Governance and Conduct of Members of the Board of Directors and Vice Directors. ARRL Officers, Directors, and Vice Directors will review the code of conduct and complete a final draft version by mid-May for the July Board meeting. Thu, 25 Jan 2018 14:41:24 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/40738 http://www.eham.net/articles/40738 The ARRL Board of Directors has conferred the 2018 International Humanitarian Award jointly on the Amateur Radio population of Puerto Rico -- served by ARRL Section Manager Oscar Resto, KP4RF -- and the radio amateurs of the US Virgin Islands, served by ARRL Section Manager Fred Kleber, K9VV. Radio amateurs in Puerto Rico and in the US Virgin Islands aided in the relief and recovery after a punishing hurricane season in the Caribbean. Thu, 25 Jan 2018 14:40:52 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/40737 http://www.eham.net/articles/40737 "Antenna Wire" is the topic of the current (January 18) episode of the "ARRL The Doctor is In" podcast. Listen...and learn! Thu, 25 Jan 2018 14:39:52 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/40736 http://www.eham.net/articles/40736 The ARRL Board of Directors approved a motion to amend the DXCC Rules, when it met January 19-20. Section II, Subsection 1 of the DXCC Rules now will include a new Subsection (d): The entity has a separate IARU member society and is included on the US State Department Independent States in the World. Thu, 25 Jan 2018 14:39:32 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/40735 http://www.eham.net/articles/40735 ARRL invites nominations for awards that recognize educational and technological pursuits in Amateur Radio. Nominations are also open for the League's premier award to honor a young licensee -- the Hiram Percy Maxim Award. Thu, 25 Jan 2018 14:39:01 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/40734 http://www.eham.net/articles/40734 The Amateur Radio Emergency Data Network (AREDN -- pronounced "R-den") project team has donated several pieces of High-Speed Multimedia Mesh (HSMM) hardware to the ARRL Laboratory. HSMM technology has evolved rapidly in recent years, due to the development efforts of the AREDN open-source project. Thu, 25 Jan 2018 14:38:43 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/40733 http://www.eham.net/articles/40733 Commissioning and testing continue of the L-Band Downshifter and the University of Iowa's High-Energy CubeSat Radiation Instrument (HERCI) on the new Fox-1D (AO-92) CubeSat. AO-92 could be available for general use by week's end, AMSAT said. The co-launched French PicSat CubeSat is seeking telemetry reports. Both were carried into space from India on January 12. Thu, 25 Jan 2018 14:37:29 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/40732 http://www.eham.net/articles/40732 Club Log author and UK radio amateur Michael Wells, G7VJR, has reported that data compiled from 8,000 Club Log users indicates the proportion of FT8 usage relative to other modes has risen dramatically since FT8's introduction last year. Every few years, Wells has posted charts depicting mode usage on the amateur bands, based on log data uploaded to Club Log. Graphs he posted last week show the proportion of contacts on each mode for the last 20 years and then for the last 12 months. Thu, 25 Jan 2018 14:36:36 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/40731 http://www.eham.net/articles/40731 For many years, unidentified radio broadcasts have been transmitting coded messages, using numbers, such as "6-7-9-2-6 or 5-6-9-9-0." Even today, tuning across the HF spectrum typically will yield a "numbers station," a mechanical-sounding voice (male or female) methodically announcing groups of single-digit numbers for minutes on end. According to Radio World, you may have tuned into a spy agency's numbers station transmitting coded instructions to their minions worldwide. Thu, 25 Jan 2018 14:36:04 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/40730 http://www.eham.net/articles/40730 In Brief... Thu, 25 Jan 2018 14:35:34 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/40729 http://www.eham.net/articles/40729 Tastefully restored Orange Train Depot Museum at 1210 West Green Avenue was a perfect setting on a perfectly sunny, chilly day to host the Orange Amateur Radio Club's 70th anniversary Saturday and Sunday. Accompanying the sign advertising the club's two day event, numerous radio antenna populated the depot grounds, making it possible for club members working their radios inside to reach far and wide in their search for contacts throughout the county, and well beyond. Inside the depot where travelers used to wait for their train to arrive, antenna wire draped to myriad radio equipment connections set up on folding tables snug against brick and paneled walls, with operators hunched over in close conversation with one another about technical aspects of their passionate hobby, and more than a few focused intently on seeking out just the right setting on their equipment to hone in on a wave length to successfully transmit and receive to another radio operator far away. "There's nothing magical about it," said President of the Orange Amateur Radio Club Rocky Wilson said. "We are dealing with pure science, physics, and weather conditions." "Even without high powered equipment, if weather conditions are right we can talk to other radio operators on the other side of the globe because of how radio waves bend through the atmosphere." Wilson described amateur radio operators helping pass along information during the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Wilson said, "Red Cross shelters were set up throughout the area that housed Katrina refugees. At each Red Cross shelter we had a HAM radio station and we shared information throughout the network. If one location was full but another had room, we were able to help direct the flow of people to resources they needed." Wed, 24 Jan 2018 13:03:19 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/40728 http://www.eham.net/articles/40728 The 24-hour national amateur radio Winter Field Day is set to kick off Saturday, Jan. 27 at 1 p.m. at the Copperas Cove Civic Center, located at 1506 W. Ave. B. The day is held for local amateur radio operators to work together in conjunction with local emergency management agencies to practice their skills in the event of an emergency. The event will run for 24 hours and has a lineup of free workshops that are open to the public, as is the entire event. Winter Field Day is being conducted by Copperas Cove's amateur radio club, the Cove Repeater Association, in conjunction with the City of Copperas Cove's Division of Emergency Management, the Copperas Cove Police Department, the Copperas Cove Fire Department, along with representatives from the Texas Department of State Health Services, the Capital Area RAC and Coryell County Emergency Management. Wed, 24 Jan 2018 13:02:48 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/40727 http://www.eham.net/articles/40727 Here's another update for the unofficial history, Army MARS at 90, and it covers an awesomely productive 12 months, at least in the author's estimation. Tue, 23 Jan 2018 00:00:00 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/40726 http://www.eham.net/articles/40726 The International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region 2 Executive Committee has named Dennis Stice, WI5V, of Oklahoma City, as the new HF Beacon Coordinator for the region. Former Region 2 HF Beacon Coordinator Bill Hayes, WJ5O, stepped down on January 19, after 10 years in that position. Tue, 23 Jan 2018 16:15:01 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/40725 http://www.eham.net/articles/40725 The ARRL Board of Directors approved a motion to amend the DXCC Rules, when it met January 19-20. Section II, Subsection 1 of the DXCC Rules now will include a new Subsection (d): The entity has a separate IARU member society and is included on the US State Department Independent States in the World. Tue, 23 Jan 2018 16:09:51 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/40724 http://www.eham.net/articles/40724 Schofield Middle School's Amateur Radio Club upped it frequency again. The club, which has placed first in national ham radio competitions against much larger schools, reached a new milestone Thursday. Four members of the club, called the Ram Ham Radio Club after the school's mascot, passed their FCC test and earned their FCC Tech Licenses. For their hard work, Andrew Guerry, Anna Matson, Lance Rolka and Piper Woodward received a new radio and a certificate from the club's sponsor, the North Augusta Belvedere Radio Club. "It's quite an accomplishment because this is the largest number of students that we've had to pass and have gotten their technology licenses," said Richard Nelson, the club's faculty sponsor who teaches keyboarding and computer applications. "Without the help, too, of the North Augusta Belvedere Radio Club and their volunteers, who are called our Elmers, we would not be able to do this. So I'm very proud of our students and their hard work." Tue, 23 Jan 2018 00:02:16 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/40723 http://www.eham.net/articles/40723 Hannah Gulick grew up wanting to be a writer. Then, while taking a project-based class during her sophomore year of high school in Spirit Lake, Iowa, she discovered astronomy. "I was put in the gym with a star dome and told to learn the constellations and about nebulas and asteroids," the University of Iowa sophomore says. "Then I took a college astronomy course through Iowa Lakes Community College and thought I could definitely see myself doing this and being able to benefit the field." The University of Iowa sophomore has wasted no time in making her mark not only on the UI campus, but on our galaxy and beyond. Before the end of her second year at the UI, two satellites on which she has worked will have been launched into space. In addition to those and other research projects, she also traveled to Norway in January 2018 to attend a five-day intensive "rocket school," in which she and another undergraduate student learned how to design and build an instrument and successfully operate the instrument on a rocket after it has been launched. "Phil (Kaaret) mentioned that we should get certified in ham radio, and we were all like, 'Sure,' but no one did, except Hannah," LaRocca says. "She said, 'I'll get this app and study and take the test.' Now she's certified." Having an amateur radio operator license is coming in handy on another satellite project: the HERCI instrument on the Fox-1D CubeSat, which was launched Jan. 11, 2018, on an Indian rocket. Kaaret says Gulick will use ham radio at the UI's ground control station on the roof of Van Allen Hall to receive and analyze data from the satellite. She also may command the satellite. Tue, 23 Jan 2018 00:01:32 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/40722 http://www.eham.net/articles/40722 The past decade has seen a rapid increase in the use of unmanned aircraft systems ("UAS") (sometimes, though unusually inaccurately, called "drones"). The integration of UASs into the national airspace continues to be an area of major attention for the FAA and industry proponents. While the FAA naturally plays a crucial role in this process, UASs by definition, are unmanned. As such, it is equally critical that UAS manufacturers ensure compliance with all applicable requirements of the Federal Communications Commission ("FCC), as evidenced by the FCC's recent civil penalty imposed against Lumenier Holdco LLC (f/k/a FPV Manual LLC) ("Lumenier"). Lumenier sold a series of UASs that were marketed purportedly as constituting Amateur Radio equipment. Generally speaking, equipment that is for amateur use is typically exempt from FCC certification requirements. The problem, however, was that many of Lumenier's UASs did not operate on approved frequencies and operated on frequency bands reserved for federal aviation navigation and communication (amongst other unapproved bands). Further, even some of UASs that operated in approved frequencies still used unauthorized transmitters which exceeded the authorized power limit (1 watt) for model aircraft. Tue, 23 Jan 2018 00:00:44 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/40721 http://www.eham.net/articles/40721 FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Amateur radio vendors and operators gathered this weekend to discuss evolving technical aspects of the field that help with emergency backup communications. The Fort Myers Amateur Radio Club hosted the event. While it's a hobby for many, amateur radio communications can be essential in times of need when other communications systems go down. The Fort Myers Amateur Radio Club was deployed during Hurricane Irma to support emergency communications with Lee County departments. Mon, 22 Jan 2018 00:03:52 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/40720 http://www.eham.net/articles/40720 Born blind, Robert Ranney has countless friends he can reach over his ham radio, but he spent the past 20 Christmases alone. That changed this year. In the video above, his new friend describes how he helped her fill a void, as well. Mon, 22 Jan 2018 00:03:43 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/40719 http://www.eham.net/articles/40719 Amateur radio operators helping with emergency communication all over the Island are now better equipped to do so -- and will soon also have additional infrastructure in place to also make the best use of it. Shaun Koopman, protective services coordinator for the Strathcona Regional District, says the installation of a "digital node" up on Mount Washington will add a huge amount of capacity and integration within the communications system should there be an emergency in our region. Paul Peters, chair of the Mid-Island Emergency Radio Coordination Team, which has been overseeing the implementation of this and other communications initiatives, agrees with Koopman, saying the key to amateur radio operators being able to best be of help in an emergency response situation is two-fold: interoperability and standardization. Sun, 21 Jan 2018 00:01:23 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/40718 http://www.eham.net/articles/40718 Radio waves will be crackling for 24 hours Jan. 27-28 as amateur radio enthusiasts couple with area agencies for the Emergency Management Winter Field Day. Gary Young, Copperas Cove deputy fire chief and emergency management coordinator, outlined the event as a simulated disaster, where there is a communication failure. "The ham radio operators will be tasked with establishing a communication medium and maintaining it for 24 hours." Sun, 21 Jan 2018 00:01:13 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/40717 http://www.eham.net/articles/40717 Schofield Middle School's Amateur Radio Club upped it frequency again. The club, which has placed first in national ham radio competitions against much larger schools, reached a new milestone Thursday. Four members of the club, called the Ram Ham Radio Club after the school's mascot, passed their FCC test and earned their FCC Tech Licenses. For their hard work, Andrew Guerry, Anna Matson, Lance Rolka and Piper Woodward received a new radio and a certificate from the club's sponsor, the North Augusta Belvedere Radio Club. "It's quite an accomplishment because this is the largest number of students that we've had to pass and have gotten their technology licenses," said Richard Nelson, the club's faculty sponsor who teaches keyboarding and computer applications. "Without the help, too, of the North Augusta Belvedere Radio Club and their volunteers, who are called our Elmers, we would not be able to do this. So I'm very proud of our students and their hard work." Sat, 20 Jan 2018 00:02:57 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/40715 http://www.eham.net/articles/40715 THREE candidates traveled from Brighton and East London to complete their amateur radio training in Leigh. Sarah, Chris and Alkesh joined local amateur radio group Essex Ham at the Leigh Community Center in Elm Road, to complete the tests required to allow them to get an amateur radio license and be able to send messages around the world. Fri, 19 Jan 2018 00:19:51 +0000 http://www.eham.net/articles/40714 http://www.eham.net/articles/40714 In 1964, the late solar researcher Patrick McIntosh launched an ambitious effort to track sunspots -- relatively cool, dark blotches on the Sun caused by disturbances in the star's magnetic field. He traced sunspots and other solar surface features from daily photographs, creating a map of the full Sun approximately every 27 days. This led to important advances in the prediction of solar flares and helped to reveal the large-scale organization of the Sun's magnetic field. Now scientists are working to preserve and digitize McIntosh's project, a uniquely consistent record of solar activity over 45 years. The Sun's magnetic field is driven by the interior flow of hot plasma, or electrified gas, which creates a magnetic generator called a dynamo. McIntosh's records showed that the location and number of sunspots and filaments -- huge arcs of dense plasma that appear as dark lines on the Sun's surface -- are indicators of just how this dynamo works. By carefully documenting the position and number of sunspots over time, for example, McIntosh's record illustrated how the Sun's entire magnetic field flips polarity every 11 years. The number of visible sunspots helps researchers predict this flip: When the Sun emits more X-ray and ultraviolet radiation, a period called the solar maximum, the number of sunspots peaks. When solar activity dwindles during the solar minimum, sunspots dwindle. McIntosh's maps were unique for also tracking the position of filaments and other features that also change as the magnetic field evolves, drifting poleward or toward the Sun's equator at different stages of the solar cycle. Fri, 19 Jan 2018 00:19:05 +0000