Southgate Amateur Radio News

Category: Site Pages Published: Thursday, 12 March 2020 Written by Super User

Amateur Radio Daily

19 March 2024

An aggregate of Ham Radio related news.
  • AO-73 Back in Eclipse Mode

    AMSAT reports that FUNCube (AO-73) is once again operating in eclipse mode after spending several weeks in safe mode. The satellite was placed in safe mode in late February to give its batteries a rest.

    Source: AMSAT

  • Microwave Activity Day

    On Saturday, April 6, 2024, between 08:30 – 12:30, the West Carleton Amateur Radio Club (WCARC) will be having a Microwave Activity Day (MAD) on the grounds of the Diefenbunker: Canada’s Cold War Museum. The Diefenbunker is at grid square FN15xi.

    MADs are events when amateur radio operator microwave enthusiasts get out into the field and set up their portable stations to test, align, and hopefully establish two-way communications with other microwave aficionados. They offer an opportunity to amateurs who are curious about microwave operations to learn more. All are welcome. We hope to see you there!

    Source: West Carleton Amateur Radio Club

  • Halifax Resolves Special Event

    By Barry Evans (N4WFU)

    Amateur radio operators from surrounding areas will assemble at Halifax, North Carolina on April 11-13, 2024, to activate special event station N4C. They will operate several Ham stations, using voice, cw (morse code), and digital modes, to communicate with as many other hams, around the world, as possible. This activity is to commemorate the signing of The Halifax Resolves, which occurred on April 12, 1776.

    The Halifax Resolves was the first written instrument, in existence, leading to US independence from England. It was approved unanimously at the Fourth Provincial Congress gathered at Halifax, NC. It authorized the NC delegates, being sent to the Continental Congress, to vote for, and encourage other colony’s delegates to support independence from England. This led to the US's Declaration of Independence being adopted and signed on July 4, 1776.

    Hams around the world that make contact with this special event station, can request a QSL card confirming the contact, by sending a self-addressed, stamped envelope to:

    Barry Evans, N4WFU
    P. O. Box 1533
    Roanoke Rapids, NC 27870

    A certificate suitable for framing is also available for a donation of 5 US dollars to offset its cost. If possible, please include an address label if requesting the certificate.

    Source: N4WFU

  • HamCation Sets Attendance Record

    From HamCation PR:

    From February 9 to 11, 2024, the Orlando Amateur Radio Club hosted the 77th annual Orlando HamCation at the Central Florida Fairgrounds and Expo Park in Orlando—an 87-acre lakefront fairground. HamCation enjoyed splendid weather throughout the weekend, with temperatures hovering around the mid-seventies and no rainfall. This year's attendance reached a record high of 25,321, making 2024 the largest attendance in HamCation history.

    We would like to express our gratitude to all the visitors and vendors for their participation in this fantastic show.

    Source: HamCation

  • Hamvention Announces 2024 Award Winners

    By Michael Kalter (W8CI)
    2024 Hamvention® Awards Nomination Awards Chair

    Special Achievement Award – Anthony Luscre K8ZT

    Anthony Luscre, K8ZT, is from near Akron, OH and was first licensed in 1981. He has been a QRP operator, contester, and teacher throughout his career in amateur radio. He updated to Amateur Extra in 2000. Anthony is active on HF and VHF/UHF, using CW, phone, and digital. His QRP contacts now top 115,000. He has consistently finished in the top ten of various major contests and finished first in the World and US in both CQ Worldwide Phone and CW QRP categories multiple times. As a bonus, his QRP DXCC total recently topped the 328 mark, and he has completed 11-band WAS.

    Between licensing classes, club programs, webinars, hamfests, conferences, youth & school radio demonstrations and other in-person and online talks, Anthony has presented over 500 sessions since the beginning of COVID-19. He has presented multiple times for Contest University, QSO Today Expo, and at Dayton Hamvention. He does a weekly class, “The Joy of Operating,” for the Long Island CW Club. Anthony serves as ARRL Ohio Section Youth Coordinator and is an officer in his local radio club. He enjoys writing as well as speaking and has prepared articles for a variety of publications, including CQ Magazine (column “Ham Radio Explorer”), DX Engineering blog “On All Bands” and developing an online course “Introduction to Contesting” for the ARRL Learning Network.

    Technical Achievement Award – Ward Silver N0AX

    For the past 15 years Ward has been the Lead Editor of the ARRL Handbook and the ARRL Antenna Book, and a primary author of all three ARRL License Manuals and study guides from 2004 until his retirement in 2023. He wrote the well-received “Grounding and Bonding for the Radio Amateur” (now in its 2nd edition) and “Ham Radio for Dummies” (now in its 4th edition). His monthly QST column, “Hands-On Radio” ran for 180 issues and has now been published in book format. The recent ARRL book, “Here to There: Radio Wave Propagation” includes his contributions including being its editor. He gives many online and in-person presentations and is a two-time recipient of the Bill Orr Technical Writing Award, as well.

    An electrical engineer, he designed microprocessor-based products and medical devices for twenty years before beginning a second career as a teacher and writer. Licensed since 1972, he is a co-founder of the World Radiosport Team Championships, and was inducted into the CQ Contest Hall of Fame in 2015, with numerous top scores and records. He is President of the Yasme Foundation (yasme.org) and is also a board member of the HamSCI collaborative research group (hamsci.org). Ward’s primary interests in amateur radio include radiosport, antenna design, and supporting his local emergency response team.

    Club of the Year – The Young Ladies’ Radio League (YLRL)

    The Young Ladies’ Radio League, Inc (YLRL) is proud to be celebrating its 85th Anniversary this year. With members from all over the world, the organization has been involved in everything from contests to emergency events to helping new hams get licensed and, on the air, as well as everything in between. Established in 1939, YLRL has been found at Hamfests and Conventions all over the world and has been proud to have had a booth at Hamvention® since the 1950’s and a YL Forum since the 1960’s.

    Women helping women in Amateur Radio is a mission statement for this organization, but there are also contest and award opportunities for the OMs who support their YLs. YLRL has the motto QRV-I AM READY and they are ready to assist in the radio community.

    Amateur of The Year Award – Edward Engleman KG8CX

    Edward Engleman, KG8CX, is from Menominee, Michigan. He is the co-founder of the Young Amateurs Communications Ham Team (YACHT). Ed was first licensed in 1991 and reached Amateur Extra class in 2000. He has been a member of the ARRL since 1991. He serves his home club, the Marinette & Menominee Amateur Radio Club, as a VE. Ed’s background as an elementary educator and principal for 33 years was instrumental in developing the talents he now uses in his work with young amateurs. His major objective is to help create and develop enjoyment and skill in communications/technology via ham radio activity through its many modes, and to encourage friendships with other youth hams. Membership in YACHT, callsign K8KDZ, has grown steadily. There were 47 new members in 2023 alone.

    Many of the YACHT youth have given presentations at past Hamvention® and Hamcation youth forums conducted by Carole Perry. A number of the youth members have been awarded national recognition for their ham radio activity and accomplishments. Besides the development of youth presenters, YACHT has echo link sessions 6 evenings a week and club activity encourage participation in all modes of amateur radio. Ed is proud to be part of the future of amateur radio by paying forward his interest in amateur radio by developing the next generation of hams.

    Source: Hamvention

  • OzarkCon 2024 Promotes QRP Activities

    OzarkCon 2024 celebrates all things QRP over a 2 day conference located in Branson, Missouri. This year's con will take place April 5th and 6th. Conference includes:

    • Kit Building
    • Dummy Load QSO Party with Prize
    • Open Music Session
    • Vendor & Swapfest Tables
    • OzarkCon University
    • Wackey Key Contest
    • Homebrew Contest
    • Presentations on leading edge activities and technologies
    • Door Prizes

    Source: OzarkCon

  • Pop-Up Net Celebrates National Pi Day

    By John (W2JLD)

    Join us on a ROC-HAM pop-up net celebrating NATIONAL PI DAY on 3.14.24 on Echolink ROC-HAM conference 531091 and on Allstar 2585, 47620, 47918, 531310 March 14, 2024 at 500PM EDT / 2100 UTC... where we will talk about fascinating PI facts and how they effect us today. We have a special event callsign.

    Stop by and enjoy some great fellowship and learn interesting facts about pi.

    Source: ROC-HAM

  • March-April 2024 Communicator

    By John (VE7TI)

    It's been called 'the best club newsletter on the planet'... The March-April 2024 Communicator, digital periodical of Surrey Amateur Radio Communications is now available for viewing or download.

    Read in over 150 countries, we bring you 120 pages of Amateur Radio content from the Southwest corner of Canada and elsewhere. With less fluff and ads than other Amateur Radio publications, you will find Amateur Radio related articles, projects, profiles, news, tips and how-to's for all levels of the hobby.

    You can view or download it as a .PDF file at: https://ve7sar.blogspot.com/2024/02/the-march-april-2024-sarc-communicator.html

    Source: Surrey Amateur Radio Communications

  • ARDC Quick Hits

    Source: ARDC

  • Operators Wanted for World Autism Awareness Week

    The 2024 World Autism Awareness Week special event is seeking volunteer operators world-wide. A dozen plus callsigns will be on the air April 1 through 7.

    Interested volunteers can email hamradioevents [at] gmail.com with AAW 2024 - I Want To Help as the subject line.

    See the W2A QRZ page for more details.

    Source: W2A

  • Heil Sound founder Bob Heil Silent Key

    Founder of Heil Sound and avid champion of the amateur radio community, Bob Heil passed away according to the Heil Sound Facebook Page: “Bob fought a valiant, year-long battle with cancer, and passed peacefully surrounded by his family,”

    Heil was the inventor of the famous Heil Talk Box used memorably by musicians like Joe Walsh, Peter Frampton, Slash, Richie Sambora and others. He was invited to exhibit his innovations at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He also was an active member of the amateur radio community.

    Heil was also a regular host of the Ham Nation podcast.

    Source: RadioWorld

  • Patagonia in 2024

    Patagonia in 2024

    By Jim Talens, N3JT

    Nina and I normally take our overseas trips these days in the form of organized tours to countries with large cities that feature great museums, have fascinating history – and where I know ham radio operators and can meet them astride the tour schedule. But Patagonia, which is essentially the southern part of South America consisting mostly of Argentina but also some of Chile, has little of any of those. It is a relatively desolate kind of place at first glance, with few cities, hardly any notable museums, and few hams. Sure, I have worked stations in Ushuaia (Argentina), El Calafate (Argentina) and Punta Arenas (Chile) over the years, but not in recent months. So why Patagonia? Because it is reportedly filled with great natural beauty and the sorts of sights I could never experience elsewhere. Convincing Nina to go was a minor challenge because the tour description included Zodiac rides, hikes to glaciers and long mountain passes, and 4 days of possibly rough sailing through the fjords and waterways near Cape Horn. I could not understand why this did not attract her! What did convince her were the cool temperatures and her interest in seeing penguins, beautiful mountains, and glaciers. So off we went on January 7, 2024, flying nonstop from Miami to Buenos Aires, where our tour group of 21 would assemble and begin its adventure. I should mention here that a principal reason for preparing this article, apart from sharing our travel experience with others, is to record what we experienced for ourselves.

    This trip, organized by Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT) for January 7-21, provided only two evenings free of organized activities, one in Ushuaia and the other in El Calafate, both within Argentina. All other evenings involved scheduled dinners with our 21-person tour group, one dinner with a local family in Ushuaia and the rest aboard our 200-passenger boat that would later take us to Cape Horn, into the Magellan Strait and through part of the Darwin Passage. In the weeks prior to departure, I tried to get in touch with several hams I had worked in these towns but schedules conflicted so we could not arrange any eyeball QSOs, though along the way I did spot two tribanders. More about that later.

    Neighbors delivered us midday to a Tri-Rail train station near our home in Boynton Beach. The last stop is the Miami International Airport, which apart from some walking at the airport turned out to be an efficient and cost-effective option over a taxi or Uber. Our 9-hour non-stop flight from Miami to Buenos Aires left at about 8:30 pm. Sleeping on the flight proved elusive. The plane was a Boeing 787 and I think they reduced the seat spacing so that only a small child can find a comfortable position for so long. I guess I must have dozed off because I only got through the first third of Barbi when I awoke with a leg cramp a few hours later.

    We arrived at our Marriott hotel in the early morning, too early to access a room and nap so we took a walk along the awakening avenues of downtown Buenos Aires. Adrenalin always fuels energy for the first day of such trips. By 5 pm the other members of our tour group had arrived, leading to the usual introductory meeting where each person notes how many trips they have made with OAT, their own backgrounds, and what they looked forward to seeing in Patagonia. There were 4 physicians in our group, which was unusual, and I was the only attorney (or engineer) among us. We began our acculturation with a tango lesson taught by a professional dancer and bandoneon player. I am not inclined to enjoy dancing, but this was actually rather fun. Soon, though, it was time for us to separate ourselves from our group and meet with Claudia, a museum tourguide we met in Buenos Aires 6 years earlier with whom I remained in contact. A featured cuisine in Buenos Aires is of course their beef, which is very tasty and half or less the cost we would normally pay. To illustrate, we chose a top restaurant in the city and ordered sizeable ribeye steaks, wine, sauteed vegetables, huge salads and dessert, all for about $90 including tip. Claudia could never afford such a meal so we were pleased to liven her culinary experience. I tend to be a mafist (a person who does not eat mammal meat) so this was quite the excursion in cuisine for me.

    The next day our group toured Buenos Aires, where I had been twice before, culminating in a dinner at a local family’s home where we discussed Argentine economic and political issues. OAT makes its trips adventures in a variety of ways, including meals with locals. There would be another such meal in Ushuaia. The dinner in Buenos Aires was at a neighborhood apartment and consisted largely of salad, meatballs, and mashed potatoes, with alfajores (a sweet cookie) for dessert, and of course Malbec wine. One cannot help but feel sorry for the people in a country that experienced 200% inflation in 2023 and has a history of horrid dictatorships marked by some 30,000 missing political activists (Desaparecidos), most of whose bodies have not been found. Because of the economy and corruption, massive demonstrations, and the leading generals’ incompetence in the Malvinas (Falklands) war, democracy was restored in 1985. But since then, there has been a succession of ineffectual leaders and a seemingly intractable economy. The recently elected president, Javier Milei, seems to produce a highly polarizing reaction among Argentines. From those we spoke with, mostly better educated people, Milei is a disaster. But the Peronistas did not have answers, either.

    The next morning, we boarded our Aerolineas Argentinas flight for a 3-1/2 hour flight from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia, Argentina, the southern-most city in the world located. The city is the largest in Patagonia and sits along the Beagle Channel on the Isla de Tierra del Fuego. See Foto 1.

    Foto 1. Ushuaia, the southern-most city on the planet with a population of some 87,000.

    This was the beginning of our Patagonian adventure. We posed for photos in the dock area before a huge “Ushuaia” block structure, and later walked along the nearby Beagle Channel shore that consists of rounded, glacially-worn stones. A local guide provided us with more details about the Malvinas war, how ill-prepared the Argentine navy was, and the underlying reasons for starting the war (yes, for the generals in power to distract public attention from the Desaparecidos and the economy!). Some 600 Argentine soldiers died (and 255 Brits). Argentina remains less than pleased that Chile sided with Britain over this one, partly because Chile feared a possible Argentine attack for other reasons. Both Argentina and Britain have arguments for sovereignty over the Falklands but the British have been on the islands for the last 200 years. During the guide’s discussion we got our first taste of the strong winds that would characterize much of our Patagonia visit. Interestingly, the temperatures in summer do not go much below the mid 40’s (5C), and in winter rarely below 25 degrees (-3C), but the wind is worst during summer. We were then on our own until dinner so we visited the Maritime Museum, Prison Museum, Museum of Art, and 2 preserved early homes. The Maritime Museum had excellent displays of Patagonian birds and animals, dioramas of native cultures and history of the region, including stories about sea adventures like those of Shackleton. The Prison Museum was partially converted to art booths for sales and display. Some booths featured descriptions of notorious inmates with colorful histories.

    That evening we had our second local-family dinner, this one offered by a couple long resident in Ushuaia. Their home was quite lovely, with multiple rooms and great views. But this was just the warmup because Ushuaia was the embarkation point of our Ventus Australis boat trip of four days, taking us to glaciers and waterways most of us had only read about in featured adventure stories and in our tour catalog.

    We were delayed in departing the port at Ushuaia by several hours due to high winds that made docking the incoming Ventus Australis vessel risky. We all walked together to a restaurant about a mile away and had a nice dinner. It is interesting that I cannot remember hardly any of the meals of our trip with greater specificity than that they were good. I always chose fish or chicken, sometimes pasta, but regret to admit that I always ate the invariably very tasty desserts. Later I will describe the one dessert I clearly remember, and why. By the time our dinner was finished the Venus Australis had docked and we boarded. During the evening we sailed eastward in the Beagle Canal and then south through Murray Channel, and Nassau Bay toward Cape Horn, the southernmost point of South America, where so many ships were lost over the centuries. See Foto 2. It is very rough water because of the convergence of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and the winds that are funneled by the Andes. We were fortunate that the weather was not bad, but it was bad enough to prevent us in the morning from boarding the Zodiacs (rigid inflatable boat used to transport people from cruise ships to land) and standing on Cape Horn. I remember trying to walk down the hallway of the ship and essentially bouncing from wall to wall with the waves. Fortunately, Nina and I had Scopolamine patches and so were never seasick, which we most assuredly would have been. See Foto 4 (lighthouse at Cape Horn).

    Foto 2. Display in the ship’s quarterdeck showing our path aboard ship from Ushuaia (Argentina) to Punta Arenas (Chile).

    Heading north again, we stopped at Wulaia Bay, where Charles Darwin stopped during his voyage with the Beagle. It is a stunningly beautiful area, lush with great views. The next day we took Zodiacs to two glaciers, Pia and Porter. There were 10 or 14 people aboard each Zodiac, and we approached quite close to the glaciers, different in their positioning in the mountains and the way they calved. Some glaciers are solely on dry land and so ice falls off them into the water; others are longer and extend into the sea, calving both from underneath and above. See Fotos 5, 6 and 7. We also visited the Condor Glacier, where we saw many condors. See Foto 8.

    Foto 3. View of Wulaia Bay, and the Ventus Australis.

    Foto 4. Cape Horn lighthouse from our ship.

    Foto 5. Walking towards Pia Glacier.

    Foto 6. A typical view to the majestic Atlas Mountains (not the Andes).

    Foto 7. Nina and Jim in front of a glacier. Either Pia or Porter, I cannot remember!!

    Foto 8. Andean condors.

    We made several additional stops at glaciers and overlooks, but of great interest was the stop on Magdelena Island in the Magellan Strait to see the Magellanic penguins. They are clearly not afraid of people and in fact will walk up and presumably challenge you as you get too close to their nests, though the path we had to follow is many feet away from the nests. There is no vegetation so they dig shallow burrows. See Fotos 9 and 10. Note that the penguins taste like chicken. (Just kidding; making sure you are reading everything!)

    Foto 9. Magellanic penguin on Magdalena Island, in the Magellan Strait.

    Foto 10. A penguin pileup.

    Our next stop in the Magellan strait was Punta Arenas, a city in Chile of about 125,000 people. It was the demarcation point of our sea voyage and the beginning of the final land portion of our tour, which would include visits to Torres del Paine National Park, Porto Natales, and El Calafate. Punta Arenas has a lovely, multiple-vessel outdoor museum (Museo Nao Victoria) featuring recreations of the Beagle (Darwin’s ship), the Chilean Schooner Ancud that claimed the tortuous Strait of Magellan for Chile, and a replica of the lifeboat that saved Ernest Shackleton’s team. See Foto 11.

    Foto 11. Replica of Ferdinand Magellan’s Nao Victoria.

    We left Punta Arenas and headed by bus north to Porto Natales, which borders Torres del Paine National Park, at its center the Cordillera del Paine, the series of tall mountains that give such majesty to the rivers, lakes, and overall landscape of this area. The park is a transition area between the Magellanic subpolar forests and the Patagonia Steppes. Our hotel was essentially a spa with a lovely indoor pool and fantastic views of the mountains. We hiked for about 90 minutes and saw a variety of wildlife, including condors, guanacos (cousins to llamas), rheas, crested caracara birds, and gray fox. See Foto 12. The Paine Massif consists of granite mountains that emerge suddenly from the Patagonia steppes and are capped by crumbling sedimentary rock. They are only some 12 million years old. The sedimentary rock and magma collided violently through tectonic motion and were thrust upwards, later worn to the current striking pattern by Ice Age melting.

    One thing we missed here (and elsewhere on the trip, actually) was a view of the southern sky at night. Most of the Milky Way is visible only from the Southern Hemisphere and I had looked forward to seeing that sky, but we were either too tired to stay up so late (remember, there are only a few hours of darkness at night that far south in summer) or there was cloud cover. We also visited a sheep farm, ate lamb chops, and watched shearing. Warming temperatures have led to reduced grass for sheep so that the future of sheep farming is at great risk in Patagonia. We stopped at Lago Pehoé, a beautiful place adjacent to a mountain river cascade. It is notoriously windy in that area and our visit was no exception. In fact, they closed the path to the overlook as we exited because winds were more than 60 mph. Several people had to crawl to safety, and one of our group (notably the tallest among us) fell, cutting his face in several places. Our final stop was El Calafate on the northern edge of Patagonia. The area is named for the indigenous Calafate bush, which is a small, tart berry that produces the best dessert I think I have ever had. It was so good I dedicated a photo to it! See Foto 13. It is much like tartufo, the Italian dessert that consists of a round scoop of vanilla ice-cream with a maraschino cherry in the middle, all covered with dark chocolate. This Patagonian killer-dessert is a step up from tartufo. It is made from calafate ice cream (with berries in it) covered by dark chocolate. It is not available in Buenos Aires or anywhere else outside Patagonia. The route to El Calafate required us to change buses at the Chilean-Argentine border. We were now in Argentina again.

    Foto 12. Torres del Paine Massif. A massif is a compact group of mountains.

    Foto 13. Calafate ice cream made from calafate berries (Magellan barberry, or berberis microphylla). I have a photo of the dessert untouched, but this gives you a better view!

    We went by bus a few miles west of El Calafate in the Los Glaciares National Park to see the Perito Moreno Glacier, a pristine site some 200 feet above Lake Argentino. It was named after Francisco Moreno, a 19th-c Argentine explorer who played a role in resolving a border dispute between Argentina and Chile in this area. We watched calving (no, not the birth of cows!): large sections of ice falling into the sea; and we were able to walk along catwalks to see the glacier from different heights and angles. It was quite impressive. See Foto 14. We also took a horseback ride in the scenic area of our hotel. I even succeeded in picking a few calafate berries along the way from atop the horse. The woman riding the horse behind mine kept yelling at her horse to stop putting its nose up my horse’s butt, but her horse apparently was not fluent in English.

    Foto 14. Perito Moreno Glacier.

    The next day we headed to the airport and flew back to Buenos Aires. Several of us had luggage that weighed more than the 33-lb. limit for flights within Argentina, but our tour company paid the overage (which turned out be about $7 per person). The limit internationally is higher so that was no problem, of course. Include a few souvenir rocks from Patagonia and you can increase the weight of your suitcase easily! I am told they frown on smuggling Magellanic penguins into the luggage.

    We had one final day in Buenos Aires. Our tour included an excursion by boat in Tigre, part of the Paraná Delta adjacent to Buenos Aires. There are dozens of interconnected waterways featuring vacation homes and secluded residences accessible only by boat. We had no notion of this aspect of life in Argentina so close to Buenos Aires. Nina and I enjoyed a final steak dinner and headed to the airport for our overnight flight home.

    Now a word about ham radio during the trip: I saw two triband antennas, one in El Calafate and the other in Ushuaia, but no meetings ensued. We walked from our hotel to the house in Ushuaia where earlier I had seen a tower and beam from our bus, but nobody was home. The ham’s next- door neighbor greeted us and told us the ham was out, which I could tell because his car was gone! I left my card on the front door with my email address but never heard from him. The neighbor further noted that the ham’s wife just passed away and he was perhaps visiting his family. Between Google Maps and my walk, I think I found his call sign. The other antenna, in El Calafate, was on a street I recorded, but no El Calafate ham on QRZ.COM is listed with that street name. Nevertheless, a ham in El Calafate who was away at the time of our visit later told me his call sign. So it goes.

    Unfortunately, one of our group tested positive for Covid at the beginning of the trip. He wore an N-95 mask and ate at a separate table. We still were in close quarters in the bus and when walking, however. By the end of the first week there were 4 members similarly situated, some with no symptoms but testing positive, others coughing. By the end of the trip at least half were coughing, though Nina and I seemed to have it the worst (despite having all the inoculations plus RSV and flu shots). We wore our N-95 masks but at the Buenos Aires airport several people moved away from us in reaction to our prolonged coughing outbursts. We took what medications we could and survived the flight to Miami, where we walked to the Tri-Rail train, rode to our local station, and took an Uber home. We have since fully recovered.

    This trip was excellent, far more fascinating and fulfilling than we had anticipated. Part of that is due to the excellent program and tour-guides of the company we chose, but underlying it all is the land itself, filled with wildlife, desolation, beauty, glaciers, wind, and history. It is the “other part of the world” most people might never see, but should. Even if ham radio is not part of it!

    For some fotos of the trip: https://photos.app.goo.gl/5qDjHmVVN9zwn9p87

    February 1, 2024

    Source: N3JT

  • Nachugunta Island IOTA Expedition a Success

    A group of amateur radio operators successfully activated Nachugunta Island in an effort to promote emergency communications preparedness through engagement with local schools and ham radio operators world-wide.

    The expedition ran HF and satellite operations totaling 4,000 contacts from ham radio operators across the globe.

    Source: Press Information Bureau

  • AO-73 to Temporarily Pause Transponder Operations

    After a good period of transponder activity FUNcube batteries need a short rest. We plan to switch the transponder OFF between March 3rd to 15th subject to operational conditions. The satellite will be placed Safe mode and will still provide low power telemetry

    First launched in 2013, AO-73 (FUNcube-1) is a popular satellite among amateur radio operators taking advantage of its VHF to UHF transponder. The satellite also transmits telemetry data which is used as an educational component in schools.

    Source: AMSAT

  • HAARP to Transmit Experiments February 28 Through March 3

    The High-frequency Active Auroral Research Program (HAARP) will be conducting a research campaign February 28-March 3 UTC, with operating times specified in the table below. Operating frequencies will vary, but all HAARP transmissions will be between 2.8 MHz and 10 MHz. Actual transmit days and times are highly variable based on real-time ionospheric and/or geomagnetic conditions. All information is subject to change.

    These experiments will help lead to a greater understanding of the production and enhancement of ELF/VLF waves, as well as lay groundwork for future studies of satellite interactions with space plasma. For more information on ELF/VLF wave generation with HAARP, see the online HAARP FAQ at https://haarp.gi.alaska.edu/faq.

    Source: EI7GL

  • ARDC Testing VPN Service

    In an interview recorded at Hamcation 2024, ARDC discussed a VPN service currently in testing that would provide access to 44Net from essentially any VPN enabled device.

    John Hays (K7VE) showed a GL-iNet Puli (GL-XE300) portable LTE gateway capable of running the VPN.

    ARDC's VPN service is currently in testing utilizing the open-source WireGuard VPN protocol. A public beta is planned for later in 2024.

    Source: AA0Z

  • World Wide Patagonia DX Contest February 25th

    The World Wide Patagonia DX Contest (WWPDXC) takes place over a 24 hour period beginning at 00:00 UTC February 25th. Sponsored by Argentine amateur radio operators, all radio amateurs from across the world are invited to participate in this inaugural event.

    Multiple categories, certificates, and plaques will be available.

    Full rules are available on the WWPDXC website.

    Source: WWPDXC

  • Packet Digipeater on ISS is Active

    Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) reports word from NASA that packet operations are once again functional. Since the report, several hams have confirmed packet activity.

    Source: ARISS

  • Brandmeister Adds TETRA Based Network

    Brandmeister recently integrated a TETRA based network to their flagship Brandmeister DMR network.

    TETRA improves upon DMR by utilizing 4 timeslots, full-duplex conversations, and superior voice quality.

    More details are available at https://tetrapack.online/.

    Source: Brandmeister

  • ESA Continues to Support Geostationary Satellite Project

    On Sunday February 4th, Frank Zeppenfeldt of the European Space Agency (ESA) gave a presentation at FOSDEM 2024 encouraging feedback from amateur radio operators on the subject of a potential follow-up geostationary satellite to QO-100.

    The satellite communications group of the European Space Agency (ESA) would like to support the collection of requirements, ideas and designs for a follow-up of [QO-100] in collaboration with IARU and various AMSAT communities. We would like to collect lessons learned and ideas on a QO-100 follow up, and trade-off some design together with amateurs, industry and ESA.

    A geostationary satellite proposal for portions of Europe and North America was proposed in late 2023.

    Source: FOSDEM

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