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Colleton Tested All Backup Communications Systems:

by AB7RG  2023-03-18
The final day of the week-long statewide exercise was held Saturday, 11-March. The last day generally encompasses communications as Counties and State agencies utilize alternate means to communicate with each other. During disasters, normal methods of communications are sometimes disabled or damaged. Colleton tested all backup communications systems, portable repeaters, the backup 9-1-1 Center, and all radios covering most frequencies from Amateur/Ham Radios, low band to 800 MHz and satellite. The tests were conducted to familiarize personnel with the use of the different systems and to test the coverage and range of each.

Radio, Computers, and the Temporal Prime Directive:

by AB7RG  2023-03-18
On the night of September 2, 1956 -- the day before Labor Day -- my parents parked their Willys Aero in front of a TV store in Fayetteville, NC. It was a warm late-summer evening, and they were prepared to wait until the store opened at 8 a.m. the next day. They were there to buy a TV and a UHF converter. Whatever he said, my dad was intrigued. So after my parents got home (with their new TV and UHF converter) and got some sleep, he started learning what he could about ham radio. I imagine he would have gotten hold of some issues of the CQ Amateur Radio magazine, and he certainly would have acquired the latest edition of the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) Radio Amateur's License Manual, which was (and still is) the standard textbook for the FCC's license exam. He learned the required electronics theory and basic Morse code proficiency, and before long, he had his license.

Out of This World! Lanai Kids Get Picked for Live Q&A with ISS Astronauts:

by AB7RG  2023-03-17
HONOLULU -- Every year, a handful of U.S. schools are chosen from among many that apply to interview astronauts aboard the International Space Station. The program called ARISS is a joint venture between NASA and amateur radio. This year, Lanai Elementary School got one of the golden tickets.

Just Ahead in Radiosport:

by AB7RG  2023-03-16
Just Ahead in Radiosport:

Eruption on the Far Side of the Sun was so Powerful its Shockwave Hit Earth

by AB7RG  2023-03-18
The Sun has been spitting out some pretty powerful eruptions in the last few weeks, but one that took place a few days ago is a real doozy. On March 12, Sun-monitoring spacecraft recorded a huge amount of material blasting away from the far side of the Sun from a coronal mass ejection. Detected as an expanding cloud, or halo, of solar debris, it raced away from the Sun at exceptionally high speeds of 2,127 kilometers (1,321 miles) per second. The Sun spitting out flares and coronal mass ejections is nothing new, but this one was something special. Usually, eruptions on the far side don't tend to hit Earth, since they're facing the opposite direction; but this one was so intense that satellites orbiting our planet picked up the signal of particles from the eruption accelerated by the eruption's shockwave right into our corner of space.

Propagation Forecast Bulletin #11 de K7RA:

by AB7RG  2023-03-17
Six new sunspot groups emerged over the past week, two on March 9, another on March 10, one more on March 12, and another two on March 14. Sunspot numbers and solar flux declined this week. Average daily sunspot numbers softened from 143.6 to 118.7, and average daily solar flux from 181.6 to 153.6.

DX News -- ARRL DX Bulletin #11:

by AB7RG  2023-03-16
This week's bulletin was made possible with information provided by AA3B, KK9A, The Daily DX, 425 DX News, DXNL, Contest Corral from QST and the ARRL Contest Calendar and WA7BNM web sites. Thanks to all.

St. Patrick's Day Radio Event:

by AB7RG  2023-03-16
The Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) will host the annual Saint Patrick's Day Award event beginning Thursday, March 16, 2023, at 1200 UTC through 1200 UTC on March 18.