Search

Title

Author

Body

Manager


Manager - AB7RG
Manager Notes

News

In Brief...

by AB7RG  2023-03-02
In Brief...

Middle Tennessee Amateur Radio Society Hamfest Set for March 11:

by AB7RG  2023-03-01
MTARS, the Middle Tennessee Amateur Radio Society, will hold its annual "hamfest" on Saturday, March 11, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the First United Methodist Church, 208 West Lauderdale Street in Tullahoma. A "hamfest" is a gathering of amateur radio enthusiasts (also known as "hams"), and others with an interest in computers, electronics, and technology to buy, sell, and exchange amateur radio equipment, parts, computers, accessories, and information. The hamfest is sanctioned by the American Radio Relay League, the national association for amateur radio.

Earthquakes Inspire Mid-Island Residents to Learn Emergency Radio Skills:

by AB7RG  2023-02-28
With the recent deadly earthquakes in Turkiye and Syria top of mind, people on Vancouver Island are getting prepared with emergency communications. A group in the Comox Valley is planning ahead and says amateur radio operators will be a sought-after commodity if an emergency strikes. "In every major disaster that we know of there is always, for some period of time, a mass communications failure," said Scott Goodman, an emergency radio coordinator. Should such a natural disaster happen in the Comox Valley, Goodman and his team of volunteers will keep communication links with the outside world. "We've provided essentially seven simultaneous streams of communication that will allow command and control communication with the provincial government," he said.

NSF and ARDC Grants Support HamSCI Workshop:

by AB7RG  2023-02-26
The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a nearly 50,000 dollars grant to Nathaniel Frissell, Ph.D., assistant professor physics and electrical engineering at The University of Scranton, to support "The Ham Radio Science Citizen Investigation (HamSCI) Workshop 2023." He also received a grant of just over 25,000 dollars from Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) to support the workshop. The HamSCI Workshop 2023 will take place Mar. 17 and 18 at The University of Scranton and the historic Radisson at Lackawanna Station. "The HamSCI Workshop plays a unique and important role in the development of both the amateur radio community and the scientific workforce," said Dr. Frissell, who noted there are more than 770,000 licensed ham radio operators in the U. S. and about 3 million worldwide. "Each year, the workshop brings together many young student researchers and experienced scientists, engineers and amateur radio operators in an environment where they can share ideas and learn from each other." The HamSCI is a collective of professional researchers and licensed amateur radio operators (a.k.a. hams) with the objective to foster collaborations between the amateur and professional communities for the purposes of advancing scientific research and understanding, encouraging the development of new technologies to support this research, and to provide educational opportunities for the amateur radio community and the general public.

Council Rock South Students Headed Out of This World on Ham Radio:

by AB7RG  2023-03-01
In early May, members of the Council Rock High School South Amateur Radio Club will go otherworldly for the third time in eight years by making contact with astronauts on the International Space Station via a Ham Radio hook-up. Club members warmed up for the momentous occasion on a recent afternoon at the Northampton school by talking with fellow students and amateur radio enthusiasts from outside Pennsylvania. With the aid of adult technical advisors from various local amateur radio organizations, the CR South club members made radio contact with fellow students from Canada, Michigan, Tennessee and other places.

Hold Onto Your Satellites: The Sun is About to Get a Lot Stormier:

by AB7RG  2023-03-01
On Friday, February 17, a part of the sun erupted. A piercingly bright flash of light -- a solar flare -- shone briefly from the left limb of our star, where it was captured in an ultraviolet image by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory spacecraft. "It wasn't the largest in history by any means, but it was a significant X flare," Thomas Berger, a solar physicist and director of the Space Weather Technology, Research, and Education Center at the University of Colorado Boulder. (The "X" refers to the letter grading system of solar flare intensity, which ranges from minor A-class to severe X-class flares. "Solar flares of that magnitude will generally cause some radio-interference on the sunlit side of the Earth for an hour or two," he says. Ultimately, this one was fairly mild -- the most powerful solar flare ever recorded, in 2003, was more than 100 times more powerful by comparison -- and did not cause any major problems. That said, we're about to enter a more volatile chapter in the sun's 11-year cycle of magnetic activity. Solar flares are one of three major forms of solar-eruption activity, along with coronal mass ejections and radiation storms, which are likely to increase in frequency over the next few years, according to Berger.

New RSGB Youth Champion Appointed:

by AB7RG  2023-02-27
Liam Robbins, G5LDR has been appointed as the new Youth Champion for the RSGB. He gained his Foundation Licence in 2021 and his Full Licence in late 2022. Liam's volunteering experience includes being a Scout Leader for eight years and a motorsport Marshal for three years. He plans to encourage the use of amateur radio to local Scouts and spread this to a wider area, using the benefits gained locally as an example of best practic

From Social Activity to Lifeline: Thermal Belt Amateur Radio Club:

by AB7RG  2023-02-25
FOOTHILLS -- The earthquakes in Turkey and Syria are reminders of how natural disasters can knock out critical communication infrastructure. That's where amateur radio, also known as ham radio, can be a critical lifeline to help guide emergency responders and inform victims. It's also why the local Thermal Belt Amateur Radio Club trains for such events.