Phil Temples

Amateur Radio Operators Needed for Help with Solar Eclipse Project

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From ARRL News:

The Case Amateur Radio Club, W8EDU, the club station at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, is asking for amateur radio operators to help with a research project centered around the April 8, 2024, solar eclipse.

W8EDU club member Adam Goodman, W7OKE, said the project centers around studying the effects of the eclipse on propagation to better understand the recombination time of the ionosphere.  

“To do this, we are recruiting North American amateur stations interested in recording the Canadian time standard station CHU (Canada’s WWV) for two weeks surrounding the eclipse,” added Goodman. “Anyone with a KiwiSDR or a rig that can interface with analysis/recording software such as Fldigi is encouraged to reach out to us to participate.”  

W8EDU club member and project software manager Maris Usis, KE8TXG, said that while the software is simple to use, there is some detailed work involved. “We can help make it easier and there are good online instructions as well,” said Usis.  

All of the participation details are on the club’s website at https://w8edu.wordpress.com/chu-eclipse-data-collection/.  

W8EDU club faculty advisor David Kazdan, AD8Y, said the research project has received positive attention from the ARRL Collegiate Amateur Radio Program community, the Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI) community, and Case Western Reserve University’s engineering deans. “It is already a truly international effort, and we are collaborating with more than 20 stations across the continent, from collegiate and high school stations, to a representative from the Radio Amateurs of Canada, to a station in Mexico,” said Kazdan.  

The 2024 solar eclipse will over Mexico, the United States, and Canada. ARRL is a partner with HamSCI to help promote this opportunity for radio amateurs to participate in an active science experiment, through the Solar Eclipse QSO Party.

 

Upcoming 2024 New England Flea Markets

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Photo of ham radio flea marketThere are a number of flea markets and hamfests occurring in New England in 2024.  Here are just a few. For a complete list of events registered with ARRL, visit <https://www.arrl.org/hamfests/search/page:1/Location.division_id:NE/model:Event>.

 

02/17/2024 – Algonquin Amateur Radio Club Flea Market

Location: Marlborough, MA
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: Algonquin Amateur Radio Club
Website: http://n1em.org
Learn More

Hampton Inn

HAMFEST/CONVENTION

02/24/2024 – HAM-CON, ARRL Vermont State Convention

Location: Colchester, VT
Type: ARRL Convention
Sponsor: Radio Amateurs of Northern Vermont
Website: http://www.ham-con.org
Learn More

Castle of Knights

HAMFEST/CONVENTION

03/02/2024 – 35th Amateur Radio & Electronics Hamfest

Location: Chicopee, MA
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: Mount Tom Amateur Repeater Association
Website: http://www.mtara.org
Learn More

Henniker Community School -Cafetorium

HAMFEST/CONVENTION

03/17/2024 – Contoocook Valley Radio Club Hamfest/Flea Market

Location: Henniker, NH
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: Contoocook Valley Radio Club
Website: http://www.K1BKE.org
Learn More

St. James Masonic Lodge

HAMFEST/CONVENTION

04/06/2024 – Seacoast Amateur Radio Flea Market

Location: Hampton, NH
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: Port City Amateur Radio Club
Website: http://www.w1wqm.org
Learn More

Southington High School

HAMFEST/CONVENTION

04/07/2024 – Southington ARA Hamfest

Location: Southington, CT
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: Southington Amateur Radio Association
Learn More

Moultonborough Function Hall

HAMFEST/CONVENTION

04/13/2024 – Lakes Region Spring HamFest 2024

Location: Moultonborough, NH
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: Lakes Region Repeater Association
Website: http://w1bst.org
Learn More

Our Lady of Lourdes Parish Hall

HAMFEST/CONVENTION

04/13/2024 – SECARS Auction

Location: Gales Ferry, CT
Type: ARRL Hamfest
Sponsor: Southeastern CT Amateur Radio Society
Website: https://secars.org
Learn More

YLRL YL-OM Contest, February 17-18, 2024

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YLRL 85th anniversary logoThis weekend (Feb. 17-18) is the YL-OM Contest, sponsored by the YLRL (Young Ladies Relay League). It’s a fun event and you only need TEN valid contacts to be eligible for an award! YLs count only OMs and OMs count only YLs. Phone and CW are scored as separate contests. Digital contacts (RTTY, FT8, etc.) count as CW. It’s a simple exchange and you can download a template in N1MM. Submissions should be in cabrillo format. See full details at https://ylrl.net/contests/ or email Diane at vicepresident@ylrl.org. 73, Diane K2DO

33, Diane K2DO
Life Member ARRL
vicepresident@ylrl.com
hamyl@aol.com
Diane Ortiz – 917-364-9127
www.YLRL.net

HAM-CON 2024, ARRL Vermont State Convention, February 24, 2024

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HAM-CON 2024, the ARRL Vermont State Convention, will be held Saturday, February 24.

HAM-CON is a fully hybrid show, meeting live at the Hampton Inn in Colchester, Vermont AND also ON-LINE at http://ham-con.org/ If you are not in a position to join us live, you have the opportunity to join us from the comfort of home!

We have a great line-up of speakers and events. These include:

Considering a New HF Rig? – NC0B
Grounding and Bonding – N0AX
Winning the WRTC – VE3DZ
HAM-SCI Solar Eclipse – N1XGB
ARRL Forum – AB1OC
The KI1P Ham Van – KI1P

In addition we will also have the W1V Special Event Station, the DMR table, Tech table and N1YD Science Demonstration.

And, not seen at any other Ham Event anywhere, we have GAME SHOWS:

Who Wants to Run a DXpedition?
The Weakest Radio Link

All this and a flea market and hundreds of hams from the North Country. It is a GREAT WAY to spend your Saturday morning!

Advance sale tickets are only $7 – a real special deal considering the cost of everything these days. If you plan to attend, we also have a special room rate at the Hampton Inn. But you must act soon as the special rate for the hotel ends February 10 and the special rate for HAM-CON ends February 15.

Full details on HAM-CON are at  http://ham-con.org/

To buy tickets go directly to: http://ham-con.org/hamconpay.html

Please be sure to let your ham radio friends know about HAM-CON!

So, Don’t sit home thinking about Ham Radio. Instead join us for HAM RADIO FUN at HAM-CON 2024!

The First Amateur Radio Station on the Moon, JS1YMG, is Now Transmitting

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From ARRL News:

02/02/2024—The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) successfully landed their Smart Lander for Investigating Moon (SLIM) on January 19, 2024. Just before touchdown, SLIM released two small lunar surface probes, LEV-1 and LEV-2.LEV-2 collects data while moving on the lunar surface, and LEV-1 receives the data.

The JAXA Ham Radio Club (JHRC), JQ1ZVI, secured amateur radio license JS1YMG for LEV-1, which has been transmitting Morse code on 437.41 MHz since January 19. The probe uses a 1 W UHF antenna with circular polarization and is transmitting “matters related to amateur business.”

Radio amateurs have been busy analyzing JS1YMG’s signal, with Daniel Estévez’s, EA4GPZ, blog introducing the method and extraction results for demodulating Morse code from the signal, as well as extracting the code string.

It’s unclear how long signals will be heard. JAXA has said that SLIM was not designed to survive a lunar night, which lasts about 14 days, and is due to return in a few days.

SLIM was launched on September 6, 2023, and landed on January 19, 2024, with the mission of analyzing the composition of rocks to aid research about the origin of the moon. SLIM’s landing made Japan the fifth country to achieve a soft touchdown on the moon. The landing was achieved with exceptional precision — within 180 feet of its targeted touchdown location.

NEAR-Fest XXXV Changes and News (UPDATED January 27, 2024)

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NEAR-Fest logoMike Crestohl, W1RC, writes on January 27, 2024:

Dear Friends of NEAR-Fest:

Please note this is an updated announcement. Please disregard any other notices you may have read.

Our Spring 2024 hamfest, NEAR-Fest XXXV, will be held on Thursday April 25th and Friday April 26th 2024. There will be no hamfest activity on Saturday due to an unfortunate scheduling conflict with the Deerfield Fairgrounds. We had originally announced that the event would take place only on Friday but due to popular demand and the cooperation of the Deerfield Fair Association we are pleased to announce this new full two-day schedule.

Our 2024 Fall NEAR-Fest XXXVI is scheduled for October 11th and 12th and will be the same as always for the past eighteen years, on Friday and Saturday.

The gates will open on Thursday morning at 7:00 AM for PREPAID TICKET HOLDERS ONLY so you might want to buy your tickets online well in advance starting February 1st 2024 on our Web site, www.near-fest.com, or in March at the Ham Radio Outlet store in Salem NH and at Ross Hochstrasser’s Clock Shop in Whitman MA and get your favorite spot. NEAR-Fest XXXV will end at 3:00 PM on Friday.

Prepaid ticket holders will line up and enter via Gate C as we did in the Fall. They MUST have ALL of their needed tickets and inside parking passes or they will be sent to Gate F. This includes all Campers, RVs, tenters, who MUST also have their overnight camping passes as there will be NO tickets or passes sold at Gate C. Anyone needing to buy tickets or parking passes will go to Gate F and will be admitted starting at 8:00AM. Once the line has entered at Gate C it will close and all others entering the grounds will proceed to Gate F.

For this event only admission per person is $10.00 whether you buy your ticket online or in advance or at the gate. Overnight parking and tent passes are $15.00 regardless of whether you plug into an electric outlet or not. Campers, RVs and overnight stayers will go directly into the Fairgrounds as we will not be using the campgrounds this time. The cost of the pass for RVs, Campers, Motorhomes, etc, is $30.00. All vehicles that remain in the Fairgrounds overnight (after 9:00 PM) will require an overnight parking pass in addition to an inside parking pass for Friday.

Everyone over 21 will need an admission ticket except unlicensed spouses, active duty military, full-time students (with ID) and other valid pass holders.

If you buy something big and heavy in the flea market one of our volunteer staff members will be glad to transport it and you to your vehicle at no charge as we have been doing for many years. As always inside parking for disabled persons is free of charge and they may use a single person “mobility device” as well. NEAR-Fest reserves the right to limit the use of golf carts and “other power driven mobility devices” due to safety concerns and potential liability issues.

Please visit our Web site, www.near-fest.com, or our Facebook page, NearFest NH for any further updates. We apologize for any inconvenience that this modified version of NEAR-Fest may have caused but it is only for this time. We appreciate your indulgence and understanding.

See you at Deerfield!

73,

MisterMike, W1RC