PlanetHam.org - Ham Radio Blogs

W O W ! - W2LJ

w2lj@arrl.net (Larry W2LJ) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 23:48:00 +0000

When I called home and spoke to my wife today, while I was at work, she informed me that I had received a "huge box from some foreign country" in the mail. I had to scratch my head on that one for a few seconds; but then I realized it was my QSL cards from Gennady UX5UO. They came after only three (not 4) weeks.!

When I got home from work, I was like a kid on Christmas morning. I opened the box and saw, without a doubt, that these are the most beautiful QSL cards that I have ever had in 30 years as a Ham. They are a touchdown ..... a home run ..... a GRAND SLAM home run!

The workmanship is EXCELLENT (capitals intentional) and the entire process was completely hassle free and satisfying. The paper stock is substantial - not "paper thin" and flimsy. The glossy finish is the perfect touch; and I am so glad that I spent the few extra bucks and went from the "economy" to the "luxury" category.

I am telling you right now, I will NEVER go anywhere else for QSL cards other than UX5UO. Fantastic quality at a more than reasonable price. How can you argue with that?

73 de Larry W2LJ

Follow cqwpx on Twitter - CQ WPX Contest

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 22:14:53 +0000

I am experimenting with Twitter as a way to help people get behind the scenes of managing a major worldwide contest such as CQ WPX. Follow the full year journey through processing 7000+ logs, generating the results, managing the web site, and answering questions about the rules. I may also report the occasional joy or frustration that comes with the job. Visit http://twitter.com/cqwpx

Official announcements will continue to be made on the cqwpx.com web site and blog at http://www.cqwpx.com/blog/

The Twitter feed is just for fun and education. If you follow along, feel free to send me comments about what you read or learn!

Field Day 2009 - K2DSL

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 21:55:47 +0000

I was exhausted after I got home and was very busy at work all week and after I got home so it’s a bit delayed, but here’s my summary of Field Day.

I operate Field Day with the Bergen Amateur Radio Association club which operates as K2BAR. We operate from the local county EOC center which isn’t far from where I live. We setup in the parking lots that surround the building. This year we operated as a 4F station with the following:

20m CW station with a tribander on the roof of the building
GOTA station that was using a multiband dipole
80m SSB/CW station with an 80m loop around the parking lot
40m SSB/CW station with a 40m dipole or double zepp
20m/15m/10m SSB station with a tribander on a tower
6m station with a 6m yagi on a tower

Things got started around 8am when some folks met at the EOC to get started and others met where we store our equipment. We had all the equipment loaded into multiple vehicles and on the way to the site within the hour. This year we were assembling just 1 tower for the 6m beam and the tribander was going on a tower loaned by the county police. The tower is a powered retractable and tilting tower that is on a trailer. It worked exceptionally well for the tribander.

While folks were getting the wire antennas and antennas for the tower set up, I went around the other side of the building to help with the tribander that was to be used on the 20m CW station. What transpired wore me out. They wanted to lift the assembled tribander and secure it to the EOC tower. I must have climbed up/down that tower 4 times. With trees in the way we ran into issues getting it up where we wanted, so it was disassembled and sent up in pieces. We assembled it on the roof of the facility and then tried to lift secure it to the tower. We again ran into issues with the branches as we tried to hoist it up. In the end, we left it on the roof (2+ stories above the ground) pointed due west. We’re now exhausted.

By the time we finished with the 20m CW antenna, the rest of the wire antennas and beams were up and the stations were getting setup. We had some lunch and finished up getting the stations setup for operating. The club uses CT for logging which I don’t like but it is what they are comfortable with so we have laptops at each of the stations. We spent the day operating and I spent all my time at the 40m SSB or 20/15m SSB stations with some 6m thrown in when I wanted to relax since there wasn’t much action there.

Once it started to get darker and the lights kicked on, we had a big problem! It turns out there is one large light that is having an issue staying on and when it is resetting and in the process of coming back on, we have a S9 noise level on a few of the stations. Once the light came on, the noise stopped. Unfortunately, the cycle was 10 mins of noise and 5 mins of no noise before it started again. Once that noise kicked in, it was hard work pulling signals out and then like magic, when it stopped, it was shooting fish in a barrel.

In the evening I had the pleasure of meeting N2WKS who is a local operator but not a member of the club. Zev is an experienced contester with a great ear and it was a joy to watch him work the pileups. Zev stayed around into the wee hours of the morning. I took a nap in my car from 3am to 6am. When I woke up it was light out and the noise was gone.

I spent the rest of Sunday operating 20m and a little 6m before we shut down things to tear down. I headed back over to the other side of the building, climbed the tower, dismantled the tri-bander which was on the roof and lowered the parts down to the ground. Then I came down the tower and helped with breaking down the rest of the site. By 4pm Sunday we were done unloading all the equipment and I was heading home.

Field Day is a blast and I really enjoy but it sure is a workout, especially when you stay and operate the entire time after spending a few hours setting things up. But with it being so tiring, I absolutely can’t wait again until next year. My goal next year is to have the 20m/15m station outdo the number of QSOs the 40m station makes. I think we could have done it this year if the noise didn’t smack us down all night on 20m while the 40m station wasn’t impacted.

Here’s the score summary:

Band	QSOs
6m SSB	77
15m SSB	86
20m CW	193
20m RTTY	16
20m SSB	619
40m CW	419
40m SSB	630
80m CW	109
80m SSB	281
GOTA SSB	111
SAT SSB	1
Alt Power CW	6
Total	2548

73,
K2DSL

French Guiana confirmed - K2DSL

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:39:29 +0000

I’ll get around to writing up something about last weekends Field Day in the next couple days.

Today I noticed that FY5KE in French Guiana confirmed some contacts we made last October. Since they are the only contacts I have logged with that DXCC, these QSLs on LoTW nets me another new one confirmed.

Also today in the mail I received a QSL card direct (via EB7DX) from 5B4AIF in Cyprus for a contact in early May.

73,
K2DSL

ARAN July Membership Meeting - ARA of Nebraska

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:33:30 +0000

QTH: Adams County Red Cross Building
415 N. Kansas Ave.
Hastings, NE 68901
Date: July 15th, 2009
Time: 7:00pm

Featured Topic/Demonstration: To be determined.

Central Nebraska Radio Club 48th Annual Hamfest and Steak Fry - ARA of Nebraska

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:30:37 +0000

Central Nebraska Radio Club
48th Annual Hamfest and Steak Fry

July 25-26, 2009

Victoria Spring State Park
(Seven miles east of Anselmo, Nebraska)

More Information http://www.ctwsoft.com/...

Pioneer Amateur Radio Club's 12th Annual Flea Market - ARA of Nebraska

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 20:28:16 +0000

Pioneer Amateur Radio Club's
12th Annual Flea Market

Saturday, July 18, 2009
9am-12:30pm

St. Charles Parish Center

8th and Locust Sts. North Bend, NE

$2 donation at door
Vendor setup at 7:30am
8-foot space $5 in advance or $7 at door

[url=http:/...

Episode 24: 100 Degree Field Day - AmateurLogic.TV

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 19:49:32 +0000

AmateurLogic.TV Episode 24 is now available for download.
Spend the day with Jackson Amateur Radio Club and see how they approached Field Day 2009 in the heat of Summer. Meanwhile it’s Winter for Peter in Australia with a very interesting demonstration of early Mechanical Television. Plus viewer email and lots of fun.

52:13

View or Download

View in web browser YouTube

Update - EI5IX

noreply@blogger.com (EI5IX - PADRAIC) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:18:00 +0000

First of all my apologies for not updating this thing in a while I have been quite busy
I was traveling for the last month but unfortunately didn't get to play any radio.

I also recognised that it is a year since I first started blogging on here and a year on we are still here. Happy Days :)
Okay so here's and update of some of the news from the Emerald Isle!

ComReg Consultation on the 2300 to 2400 MHz Band

ComReg has published a consultation paper on the
release of spectrum in the 2300 to 2400 MHz band. The
paper is Document 09/49 of 15 June and is available in
the Publications section of the ComReg website at
www.comreg.ie This band is an amateur secondary
allocation.

The IRTS will in due course prepare a response to this
consultation paper and we would encourage interested
individuals and radio clubs to do so as well. Licensees
who have views which they wish to have reflected in the
IRTS response should communicate by e-mail to
ei7cd /at/ gofree.indigo.ie Responses to the consultation
paper must be submitted before 5 p.m. on 29 July next.

80m Counties Contest

There was once again a big turn out for the 80m
Counties Contest, although maybe not quite the
numbers active on New year's Day. It would appear
around 80 stations participated from twenty-eight
counties. Conditions were good with strong signals
from many stations.

The AREN demonstration station at the Civil Defence
Headquarters in Roscrea was very successful and a DVD
video of the exercise is being put together for
interested parties. In that regard, if any of the
stations that were portable on the day have photos or
video of their operation, Seamus EI8BP would be
grateful to receive a copy of same with a view to
including any suitable clips.

We hope the exercise sparked your interest in AREN who
are always keen to involve more operators and swls in
their activities. Contact them via their website
www.AREN.ie where you will find more details of their
activities. Our thanks to all who made the effort to
come on the bands during the afternoon.

IRTS VHF/UHF Field Day

The IRTS VHF/UHV Field Day will be held over the
weekend of the 4-5 July. The Committee in trying to
improve the contest has decided to add extra bands in
the restricted section.

Up to now the Restricted Section was 144MHz only. Now
you can use any single band of the VHF/UHF bands.

Rule 5.2 will be changed to read:

Restricted Section
A. 50MHz
B. 70MHz
C. 144MHz
D. 432MHz
E. 1296MHz

There is still only one single band permitted in this
section but now you have a choice of which band you
want to try in the contest.

We do hope this will spur some more activity from the
clubs and individuals in the VHF/UHF Field Day.

Sligo 2m Repeater

The 2m Sligo repeater is scheduled to undergo an
engineering upgrade and maintenance, this process will
take up to a month to complete.

AMSAT on Twitter!!

The Amateur Satellite organisation AMSAT is now on
Twitter.

AMSAT now has a Twitter account, and can be found at
http://twitter.com/AMSAT

To begin with, they may be mostly about AO-51 and AO-7.
All are welcome to follow us on Twitter says Drew K04MA
from the AMSAT Bulletin Board.

SOUTH AFRICA GIVES NEW PRIVELEGES ON 40 AND 20

South African radio amateurs now have full access to
the spectrum 7.000 to 7.200 MHz. Changes to both 40 and
20 meters were made final. In addition to the
modification on 40, ZR licensees now also have access
from 14.225 to 14.350 MHz.

DX News

EA1/EI7GK.

Paddy EI7GK will be QRV from his daughter's house in
Mexico during July. Listen out for XE1/EI7GK on 14.268
MHz SSB + or - QRM.

Past experience shows the best time for propagation
between EI and XE is early morning 06.00 to 08.00.
Irish time. Remember that Mexico is 6 hours behind EI.
Paddy will be delighted to work EI and GI stations.

VE3MOON

This special callsign was approved by Industry Canada
for use in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the
landing of men on the moon on 20 July 1969.

It will be in use from 14 July 2009 until 27 July 2009.
eQSL or paper cards via VE3OIJ (Bureau or Direct).

History This Week

1819 The bicycle patented by W.K. Clarkson, Jr. of New
York City.

1934 US President Franklin D. Roosevelt established the
Federal Communications Commission FCC

1863 First gaslights come on in Adelaide, South
Australia.

1885 C Bell and C.S. Tainter applied for a patent for
the gramophone.

1925 Patent for the frosted electric light bulb filed
by Marvin Pipkin.

Thanks to the IRTS for the above information.

NEWS ELSE WHERE!

Apollo 11 - Amateur Radio Moonbounce Commemoration

The Amateur Radio mooonbounce operations last weekend as part of the commemoration of 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 landing in July 1969, proved to be a great success.

A report on the event can be seen at:

2009 World Moon Bounce Day has Been an Amazing Success!
http://echoesofapollo.com/

Southgate - A Ham Radio Weekend for Talking to the Moon
http://www.southgatearc.org/news/june2009/
moonbounce_weekend.htm

IARU HF World Championships: Coming to a Radio Near You - ARRL

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:51:00 +0000

Radiosport fans are gearing up for the summer's biggest competition: The IARU HF World Championships. Calling the 24 hour long contest "an HF operator's delight," ARRL Contest Branch Manager Sean Kutzko, KX9X, explained that the contest will allow amateurs plenty of opportunity to work DX from all around the globe on CW and SSB, as well as make QSOs with many IARU Member-Society club stations and officials.

Togo: Jul 22-30, 2009 -- 5V7PRF -- QSL via: LotW - NG3K-ADXO

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:47:45 +0000

Jul 22-30, 2009 -- Togo -- 5V7PRF -- QSL: LotW -- Source: I1FQH (Jul 2, 2009) -- By I1FQH fm Kpalime; 80-10m; mainly CW, some SSB; 100w; Spiderbeam, vertical, dipoles

ke2yk - KE2YK

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:34:09 +0000

Wellesley Amateur Radio Society participates in ‘Field Day’
Wellesley Townsman – MA, USA
Photo by Lowell Bursch By Staff reports The Wellesley Amateur Radio Society participates in “Field Day” each year (sometimes in Wellesley, sometimes in …
See all stories on this topic

Kansas City Star

Raytown Amateur Radio Club Field Day
Kansas City Star – MO,USA
The Raytown Amateur Radio Club participated in Field Day, an annual 24-hour emergency preparedness exercise held in the US and Canada the fourth weekend in …
See all stories on this topic

Amateur radio volunteers test emergency communication skills in …
Seminole Chronicle – Oviedo,FL,USA
By Matt McKinley | July 01, 2009 When disaster strikes, amateur radio operators are often the first to provide information and observations to responders. …
See all stories on this topic

Winter Park/Maitland Observer

Pilots of the airwaves
Winter Park/Maitland Observer – Winter Park,FL,USA
But on the last weekend of June every year, they go global, challenging amateur radio clubs worldwide to see who’s the great communicator on the airwaves. …
See all stories on this topic

Jul 01 ARRL In Action: What Have We Been Up to Lately?
ARRL – Hartford,CT,USA
Along with a group of volunteers, ARRL Sales and Marketing Manager Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R, promoted Amateur Radio to the 70000 people who attended Maker …
See all stories on this topic

2008 ARRL Annual Report Now Available
ARRL – Hartford,CT,USA
“As ARRL began 2008, the main question facing us was whether the growth spurt that the Amateur Radio Service had enjoyed the previous year would continue,” …
See all stories on this topic

Ham radio operators communicate with world
Valencia County News Bulletin – Belen,NM,USA
He’s one of many amateur radio operators, also known as hams, who participated in this year’s National Field Day for Amateur Radio on Saturday. …
See all stories on this topic

Family: Tower victim not one to take risks
South Bend Tribune – South Bend,IN,USA
Contrary to the impression some might have, Matt Severin, public information officer for the Blossomland Amateur Radio Association, said Field Day is not …
See all stories on this topic

Amateur radio operators assist emergency service
Bethany Beach Wave – Bethany Beach,DE,USA
Instead, it was the voice of an amateur radio operator — a private citizen working with the police to improve emergency communications in the event of a …
See all stories on this topic

Jul 01 It Seems to Us: Support HR 2160!
ARRL – Hartford,CT,USA
Steve Israel of New York introduced the Amateur Radio Communications Consistency Act to require reasonable accommodation of amateur communications in …
See all stories on this topic

Google Blogs Alert for: amateur radio

Georgia-Florida SKYWARN: KBOX [012105]: Preliminary Local Storm …
By Jay Reid
07/01/2009 M2.10 INCH NEWPORT RI AMATEUR RADIO. RAINFALL 2.10 INCHES IN 45 MINUTES. 0228 PM HEAVY RAIN WESTERLY 41.37N 71.81W 07/01/2009 M4.50 INCH WASHINGTON RI AMATEUR RADIO. STORM TOTAL RAINFALL. 0231 PM FLOOD NEW BEDFORD 41.66N …
Georgia-Florida SKYWARN – http://georgia-skywarn.blogspot.com/

My bleat about Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB)
By callum
This really is a desperate time for Amateur Radio but most of the culprits will die before the real shit hits the fan in 15-20 years time. Where’s the clear communication strategy? Where’s the resource to implement? …
MØMCX – http://www.m0mcx.co.uk/

NQ3X – Radio Free Raubsville – OMG!!1!
By NQ3X
… Entertainment Music Culture News & Politics Technology. Interest, Region, Site & User, FAQ, Email, IM Info. Recent Entries · Archive · Friends · User Info. NQ3X – Radio Free Raubsville – OMG!!1! Amateur Radio from Raubsville, PA …
NQ3X – Radio Free Raubsville – http://nq3x.livejournal.com/

N4EMG: CQ from North Carolina: Mandatory vacation and ham radio
By Ed N4EMG
So, trying to make the best of a crappy situation I decided to take a trip to Atlanta and visit Ham Radio Outlet. Last year, while working near Cleveland, I visited AES, so this was a good opportunity to compare. …
N4EMG: CQ from North Carolina – http://n4emg.blogspot.com/

Momentum Progress To A Healthy lifestyle: Fitness Journal
By Deborah
We have one dog, a puppy named Annie. She is a lab-mix. Her color is yellow or(cream). I am a Wakefield skywarn amateur radio net control operator for district 5. Whick includes Portsmouth, Norfolk, Chesapeake and Va. Beach. …
Momentum Progress To A Healthy lifestyle – http://momentum-moments.blogspot.com/

Field Day Fun - KE2YK

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 15:29:39 +0000

By Matt McKinley | July 01, 2009

When disaster strikes, amateur radio operators are often the first to provide information and observations to responders. Sometimes, they are the only line of communication in a crisis during electric failures.

On June 27-28, volunteer members of the Lake Monroe Amateur Society (LMARS) tested their radio emergency communication skills using only generators and batteries as part of a 24-hour nationwide emergency preparedness exercise.

LMARS was stationed at Central Winds Park in Winter Springs for the event, which ran from 2 p.m., Saturday, to 2 p.m., Sunday. The club used its new Mobile Communications Command Trailer, and members operated on six different modes of communication, including phone, satellite, digital communications, slow scan TV (sending pictures through airwaves), a GOTA (allows visitors to “get on the air”) and even Morse Code.

Calling out the club’s call letters (N4EH), “November-Four-Echo-Hotel, November-Four Echo Hotel,” members operating the 10- and 15-meter repeaters, or voice radios, made contact in states in the northeast like New York.

“At dusk, they can make contact with as far as Japan and Australia,” said Norm Lauterette, public information officer for LMARS.

Click Here For The Full Story

Enthusiasts Keep Ham Radio Alive: - eHam.net News

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:56:37 +0000

Amateur radio operators tend to be easy to spot, said Jason Foster, president of the nonprofit Montgomery Amateur Radio Club. With one or several antennas up to 100 feet tall outside their homes, or even on top of their cars, amateur radio operators, also known as "hams," are often thought to be older people who are not ready to embrace modern communications technology. Over the weekend, 25 hams participated in the Field Day at Montgomery College's Germantown campus. The event drew hams of all ages who competed against hams from around the country to try to make as many contacts with other hams as they can in 24 hours from temporary stations set up in trucks. The participants proved hams aren't outdated, though instant messaging, texting, and social networking Web sites such as Facebook and Twitter are the rage. But according to Allen Pitts, spokesman for the American Radio Relay League, the national association for amateur radio operators, the hobby is gaining popularity -- and technological advancement. About 100,000 of the 665,000 licensed hams in the U.S., received their license in the last four years and more hams are experimenting with digital technologies, Pitts said. Hams are licensed by the Federal Communications Commission to use radio frequencies located above AM frequencies to broadcast for a variety of purposes, including providing back-up communication for emergency response organizations, weather reporting, participating in worldwide and national contests, and simply chatting with other hams.

Hazelwood Widow, 88, (W0AKI) Connects to Others Worldwide via Ham Radio: - eHam.net News

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:55:19 +0000

Hazelwood radio operator connects to others worldwide: Helen Schlarman wasn't hamming it up when it came to broadcasting directions to James McDonnell Park from her amateur radio station, call letters WOAKI. Her voice was clear and concise. "I have to do this periodically," Schlarman said Saturday while seated under a warm pavilion crowded with other ham radio operators. The St. Louis and Suburban Radio Club was holding a two-day "Field Day" at the park - part training exercise, part showcase for ham radio - as part of Amateur Radio Week nationwide. At 88, Schlarman, of Hazelwood, is the oldest member of the club, but she says she's a novice behind the microphone.

How To Hear Radio Signals From Jupiter: - eHam.net News

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:47:17 +0000

Jupiter is a source of powerful bursts of natural radio waves that can produce exotic sounds when picked up on Earth using simple antennas and shortwave receivers. Even though human ears can't hear the radio waves directly, they make an exciting listening experience when converted to audio signals by a receiver. It's not E.T. phoning home. The shortwave radio signals from Jupiter aren't a sign of extraterrestrial intelligence. The emissions are generated naturally by plasma instabilities in Jupiter's magnetosphere. Pulsing power beam. Most space physicists say that ionized gas in the upper atmosphere above Jupiter's magnetic poles sometimes behaves like a powerful radio laser or maser. The radiation can be so intense that Jupiter frequently outshines the Sun as a source of radio energy at ham radio wavelengths.

This Week on the Radio: - eHam.net News

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:44:36 +0000

This Week on the Radio:

It's Official: Julius Genachowski Sworn In as FCC Chairman: - eHam.net News

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:44:19 +0000

On Monday, June 29, US Supreme Court Justice David Souter -- in one his last official duties on the high court -- swore in Julius Genachowski as the new Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. Genachowski, who clerked for Souter after finishing law school, will complete the four years remaining in the term of outgoing FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein. On June 25, the US Senate confirmed both Genachowski and current FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell -- Genachowski for his initial term and McDowell for his first full term.

IARU HF World Championships: Coming to a Radio Near You: - eHam.net News

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:44:03 +0000

ARRL In Action: What Have We Been Up To Lately? - eHam.net News

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:43:41 +0000

This feature -- including convenient Web links to useful information -- is a concise monthly update of some of the things ARRL is doing on behalf of its members. This installment covers the month of June.

Fresh Air, Friends, Food and Fun Abound for 2009 ARRL Field Day: - eHam.net News

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:42:58 +0000

It's an event that some groups take very seriously, planning all year long for. Still, others just use the date to get together, make a few contacts and enjoy each other's company.

What's New at Dayton 2009 -- The Unabridged Version: - eHam.net News

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:42:41 +0000

The July 2009 issue of QST had a one page overview of some of the major pieces of equipment introduced at the Dayton Hamvention. There is no way a single person can track down everything on display that's new in the time available, but QST Technical Editor Joel Hallas, W1ZR, did find quite a bit more -- much more than can be squeezed into the available QST page.

Larry E. Price, W4RA, Honored at Ham Radio 2009 Convention in Germany: - eHam.net News

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:42:24 +0000

Larry E. Price, W4RA, was honored at an evening reception following the first full day of Ham Radio 2009 convention activities in Friedrichshafen, Germany on Friday, June 26.

ARRL Continuing Education Course Registration: - eHam.net News

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:42:01 +0000

ARRL Continuing Education Course Registration remains open through Sunday, July 26, 2009, for these online course sessions beginning on Friday, August 7, 2009:

2008 ARRL Annual Report Now Available: - eHam.net News

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 14:41:47 +0000

The ARRL Annual Report for 2008, now available online and in print, reviews the major events of the year and documents the renewed growth of both the ARRL and the activities of the Amateur Radio Service. In 2008, the ARRL experienced a growth in membership, ending the year with 154,627 members, an increase of 0.7 percent from 2007. The growth was the greatest among International members and in the League's Northwestern, Rocky Mountain and Delta Divisions.

Video: My Field Day -- Making The Local News! - eHam.net News

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 13:46:02 +0000

This is the segment from the Local channel 6 Time Warner news which was broadcasted on July 1st 2009.

Fresh Air, Friends, Food and Fun Abound for 2009 ARRL Field Day - ARRL

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:48:00 +0000

It's an event that some groups take very seriously, planning all year long for. Still, others just use the date to get together, make a few contacts and enjoy each other's company. No matter how you view it, ARRL Field Day is fun!

k9zw - K9ZW

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:47:07 +0000

“CQ Field Day this is VA3CSA aboard the International Space Station” was the call Marty KC9JGE heard. As the “Mr Satellite” for the Mancorad W9DK Field Day effort, he had personally built the antennas & programed the equipment. When VA3CSA came back to W9DK … well read Marty’s account in his PDF write up! PDF FILE [...]

oarcbob8 - VA3QV

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 12:29:20 +0000

While doing some surfing this Morning I found these pictures on the Ottawa Amateur Radio Club Website.

The links to the picures are HERE

But here are a choice few that involve me…

Diane shot this one even before I got off my bike after the ride there.

Supervising the installation of the 6m beam and the 2m beam

Anyway I believe that Diane Bruce VA3DB was the talented photographer for these shots. If you check with their website (the link is mentioned above) you will see the first of the shots from Field Day.

There were a few cameras and recorders there so no doubt there will be more pictures in the future

73bob

Gone Missing - KE9V

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:09:01 +0000

It was seventy-two years ago this very day, on July 2nd, 1937 that during an attempt to circumnavigate the globe by airplane, Amelia Earhart disappeared over the central Pacific Ocean somewhere near Howland Island.

Though her disappearance has been investigated as much as any other 20th century event, there has never been any undisputed evidence to indicate whatever became of Earhart, her navigator Fred Noonan or the Lockheed Electra 10E aircraft they were flying in.

This is a strange coincidence since I intend to go missing later today as well. I’ll be on vacation for the next several days and posting to the blog will be suspended.

If you’re a first time commenter, your comments may be held until the next time I’m online to approve them.

With any luck, my disappearance won’t become a 21st century mystery.

Wishing you a wonderful holiday weekend!

W4H Special Event - AJ4IJ

noreply@blogger.com (Robin B.) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:43:52 +0000

Hey Everyone!

Don't forget to be on the lookout for the 470 Amateur Radio Group's Fourth of July QSO Party Special Event.

Listen for W4H from July 1st until July 9th from 1700z to 0300z.

Frequencies, thereabout, will be 14.260, 7.260, 28.400, 3.960 mhz +/- 20 khz.

If you contact W4H, please QSL to the operator you contacted.

Happy Fourth of July!

Field Day 2009 - AJ4IJ

noreply@blogger.com (Robin B.) — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 10:27:03 +0000

I know I should have posted this earlier in the week, but it's been crazy playing catch up around here.

Field day was a success, despite the Jeep needing a new water pump and some hoses. We got her patched up enough to run us up in the field, but she's still not feeling well. Now her timing's off, and she's failing to idle correctly. *sad face* Poor little Jeep. She still needs quite a bit of work.

There was also a lot that went wrong once we got up there. We discovered first thing that someone had stolen one of our antenna ropes that we use to lift the wire in the air. We made due though, because we're hams, with a length of camo rope and a sports drink bottle, and subsequently produced quite a few laughs and "HEAD'S UP!"s.

Once that was up, we ate our quick and fancy field day supper. Yum.

After eating, we got to work on getting the radio set up and everything in order. That went pretty smooth, although we did have issues with using the Traveler headset in conjunction with an external speaker on the FT450 we had brought with us. So, we ended up just using the hand mic and having an extra person to log the contacts. That also worked more smoothly this year, but I give props to the table for that. We took a larger table this year - 6 feet in fact - and although it was heavy, awkward to load, and potentially hazardous to the health of the Jeep window while bouncing up the ridge-side, it was efficient and gave us tons of elbow room.

Matter of fact, the table wasn't the only thing new we took. This year, having learned from the past, we took two fans (totally sweet in the 90 degree heat), the new FT450 (smaller, functional, done a great job, but I missed the fish finder on our radio), the little netbook, an Air Card that allowed us to have Internet connection, a lamp that DIDN'T run on batteries (last year, our lamp died halfway through, this year we collected beetles with our 100w bulb), and the shortwave radio -- which we found good use for later in the evening.

Clover seemed to enjoy herself as well. She loves the field. We took her frisbee this time, and she played until late in the evening. This picture was taken right before she crashed out on us. haha

And I have to add that the bugs were horrendous this year. Worse than last year. I'm making a note now to take some of those bulbs that don't attract bugs for next year.

Tim worked so many Field Day stations that I can't remember how many. I had searched, and piled, and pulled all the stuff out at home. Had stuffed, piled, tucked, and shoved everything in the Jeep. Had pulled, tugged, and dropped everything out on arrival. Then set up while Tim was going back down for the rest of the family. So, to be quite honest, I was so exhausted once I was there, I only made 6 contacts and one was a dupe. I had fun regardless.

Later in the evening, Tim called in to WMRI to tell them about our Field Day. Shortly after midnight they called back and put him on the air.

After that, Ashby wanted to play radio. She did a great job, making quite a few contacts for herself.

And I guess it was shortly after 1 o'clock am that the generator finally started begging for more gas. At that point, we all decided it was time to pack up. So we did, minus the antenna, which we went after on Sunday.

In all, even though we had plenty of set backs, Field Day was fun. But now I'm exhausted again just thinking about it.

73!

Tony's 10-metre band report - Southgate ARC