Oops!
I am remiss. I completely missed Sam-Dave, KD2T, reporting at the May PARS
meeting that he had received the CQ Magazine WAZ Award (Worked All Zones),
Mixed Mode. Thanks to Bill Michne, WM3X, for letting me know. As Bill
pointed out, WAZ is a big deal–confirmed contacts, in all 40 zones world
wide. Congrats Dave!
VHF CONTEST THIS WEEKEND
(Parts extracted from the ARRL Letter for May 28, 2015)
It’s time for the ARRL June VHF contest, this coming Saturday and Sunday.
Participants in the US and Canada (and their possessions) work stations in
as many different Maidenhead grid squares as possible, using the bands above
50 MHz. Stations outside the US and Canada may only work stations in the US
and Canada (and their possessions). Stations in KH0-9, KL7, KP1-KP5, CY9,
and CY0 count as W/VE stations and may be worked by DX stations for contest
credit.
The June VHF Contest occurs at the start of the summer sporadic E season
when intense openings on 6 meters and even 2 meters are possible. It’s a
whole new world of propagation possibilities that also include tropospheric
ducting, aurora, and even meteor scatter and moonbounce. With many HF
transceivers on the market equipped for 6 meters and sometimes for other
VHF/UHF bands, getting on the air for this event is easier than ever….
The ARRL June VHF Contest begins at 1800 UTC on Saturday, June 13, and
continues through 0259 UTC on Monday, June 15.
The most simple antenna will work during a band opening. A 6M
dipole is just under 10 feet long and if up at 18 feet will do just great.
Put one together and give 6 Meters a try. Listen on 50.125, Upper Side
Band, the 6M calling frequency for activity. Then make your contact and move
up if you are going to chat. You won’t find many chatting during the big
contest!
For more info on the contest go to http://www.arrl.org/june-vhf
SOLAR NUMBERS TODAY
NOAA reported that solar activity was very low during the 24 hours ending
yesterday at 5 pm local. The largest recent solar event was a B7 flare
observed at 08/0603Z. There are 9 numbered sunspot regions on the disk
facing Earth. The sunspot count this morning is 136, a big jump from the 47
reported by NOAA last week. The Solar Flux Index (SFI) is 137, also well up
from the 94 in our last PARSgram. The forecast shows the SFI rising a little
to 145 today and holding through Wednesday. According to the Space Weather
Prediction Center, solar activity is expected to stay low through Wednesday
with a 1 in 5 chance for an M-class flare each day
Last week I failed to report that the previous on Thursday, May 28, the
daily sunspot number was 11. This is the lowest non-zero sunspot number
possible. This means there was just one sunspot region visible. There are
no sunspot numbers between 1 and 10 because there is a value of 10 for each
sunspot region. A value of 1 is added for every sunspot in the region.
Last year we had only one “zero day”. Before that you have to go back to
2011 when we had two.
The Earth’s geomagnetic field was quiet yesterday but became active
overnight. The geomagnetic field is expected to vary between active and
quiet today, unsettled to minor storm levels Tuesday, and reach active
levels on Wednesday. The K-index was reported by NOAA to be a unsettled 4
at 0800 local this morning–it reached a stormy 6 three hours earlier. All
of this geomagnetic activity is due to solar winds spilling out of a large
coronal hole. The storms should most affect the polar regions giving the
folks there quite a light show.
THIS WEEK’S DX CHALLENGE
BAHAMAS, C6. Operators AA7A, K2KW, W4KZY and WO7R will be QRV as
C6ANS, C6ATA, C6AKX and C6AWO, respectively, from Mermaid Point in
Ten Bay, Eleuthera, IOTA NA-001, Grid Square FL15wc, from June 7 to
15. Activity will be on 6 and 2 meters and 70 cm. They will be QRV
as C6ATA in the upcoming ARRL June VHF contest. QSL via operators’
instructions.
QSO QSO CORNER
This is the place to post contacts with DXpeditions, Special Event
Stations, or special QSO’s you would like to share.
In keeping with the VHF theme, I have to note that last Wednesday I had the
good fortune to be the first contact on 6 Meters for Christian, VE2VAE, up
near Quebec City. He was overjoyed to receive a 55 report for his station.
He operates only QRP and he was on battery power with his little Yeasu
FT-817 offering only 2 1/2 watts max to a homebrew three element Yagi up
about 18 feet in his backyard. An ex-COBOL programmer, he now drives an
articulated 120 passenger city bus. Anyway, we chatted for about 15 minutes
before the signals faded. An interesting guy. — Jim
OTHER ACTIVITY ON THE RADIO:
This info is extracted from the ARRL Letter, from the WA7BNM Contest
Calendar, the ARRL Contest Update or the ARRL Contest Corral. You can
receive the Letter weekly via email as a member of ARRL :
* 13/0000Z – 14/1559Z DRCG WW RTTY Contest
* 13/1100Z – 13/1300Z Asia-Pacific Sprint, SSB
* 13/1200Z – 14/1200Z Portugal Day Contest CW,PH
* 13/1200Z – 14/2359Z SKCC Weekend Sprintathon CW
* 13/1500Z – 14/2100Z QRP ARCI QRP Shootout CW, Ph
* 13/1600Z – 14/1600Z REF DDFM 6 Meter Contest CW, Ph
* 13/1800Z – 15/0259Z ARRL June VHF Contest
See the ARRL Contest Branch page
ARRL Contest Update http://www.arrl.org/The-ARRL-Contest-Update/ and the
WA7BNM Contest Calendar
for more info. Looking for a Special Event station? Be sure to check out the
ARRL Special Event Station Web page
a LIST OF STATE QSO PARTIES, see
http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/stateparties.html. (State QSO parties
and the W1AW Centennial Stations are a great way to get those last states on
your Worked All States (WAS) Award list.)
HAM EQUIPMENT FOR SALE, TRADE, OR WANTED
——————–
* FOR SALE — Yaesu FT 450 Transceiver, MD 100 desk mike and a Pyramid
35 amp power supply. All for $650 and can be seen in action at my QTH to
check it out. All you will need is an antenna to be on the air. Charlie
Overcash, WA4GSI, charlie@dockline.net or 252-249-1257. (20150601).
* FOR SALE–Hank Aaron WB4ROA, long time PARS member is moving. He is
selling much of his equipment. Brian Shepard K4LTE is handling the sale.
For a Yaesu FT-2000 and other Yaesu transceivers, DMU-2000 for $500, / RF
Mu-tuning kit 80/40m band for $300.00, and RF Mu-tuning kit 30/20m band for
$300.00.
Command Technologies Commander Amplifier 2KW for $1500.00.
Yaesu-7800R 2M/70cm Transceiver for $150.00.
Heil Headset Pro Set Quiet Phone with HC-5 mic for $80.00, retailed for
$155.00.
MXL Studio Condenser Microphone MXL-2003 for $100.00, retailed for $163.00.
Heil Hand Switch for $25.00.
Foot Switch for $20.00.
Array Solutions Six Pack ( remote antenna switch) 2 radios-6 antenna ports
per radio for $300.00, retailed for $450.00.
Array Solutions Rat Pack (remote antenna switch) 6 antenna positions for
$100.00, retailed for $250.00.
Astron SL-11 pwr supply for $50.00, retailed for $89.00.
Bencher Keyer for $150.00.
Plus lots of coax and cables-most coax uses N-connectors and were
professionally made by Cable X.
PL259 adapters for .50 cent ea. (28-total)
UHF Male Crimp (type PL259) connectors $2.00 ea. (37-total)
Type N Male crimp for RG8 $2.00 ea. (15-total)
PL259 Connectors $1.00 ea. (16-total)
PL259 UHF Male to female tee adapter connectors, $4.00 ea. (total-9)
BNC Male to UHF female connectors, $2.00 ea. (total-2)
Added items–
Palstar zm30 digital antenna analyzer, $200.00
ICOM M1V VHF Handheld radio with HM-125 speaker microphone and a new BC-119N
desk top charger, $175.00
Aceco FC-6002 RF Tracer, $150.00
Contact Brian at k4lte2@centurylink.net or at his cell 252-670-5531.
(20150511, 20150518)
* FOR SALE– MFJ-1796 1/2 wave vertical, 2-40 meters, except the 2 and
6 meter radiators have been misplaced. No guarantee they will be found. Does
come with manual and spare radiators. Has 2 QSOs to its credit. Includes a
couple 10 foot pipes for mounting. Assembled, and elements already trimmed.
SWR depends on location and height. $130, which is half the new price. The
price will come down until someone buys it.
Jim Scheer, W4NLD, Jim.scheer@gtri.gatech.edu, or cell or text at
253-876-3733 (20150420)
* FOR SALE — Shakespeare 5309-R VHF Antenna.Used.23 Feet.Two
piece.West Marine $599.00.Best reasonable offer.Ralph AC2GR 252-649-1212
(20150330)
* FOR SALE–[ Remaining major items from estate of Jim Reynolds,W4YLO.
Proceeds go directly to his widow, Peggy.]
ICOM PS-125 25 amp pwr supply. Orig. price $399
Price is $175.
ICOM PW1 High Frequency Linear Amplifier – HF/50 MHz All Band 1+kW
out. Automatic antenna tuner built-in. This was bought on Jan. 7,
2012,and has had little use. Has orig. box, manual, remote head and
cables. Original price $4,649.95 (cc invoice available).
Will sell for $3000 firm, – pickup in New Bern, can ship but buyer pays.
FOR INFO OR PIX contact Al, W8UT, email anchor@ec.rr.com
(20150330,20150413, 20150420)
——————–
(Send me your amateur radio related items for sale, trade, or wanted for
listing in the PARSgram. PLEASE let me know if your listing is no longer
needed. ITEMS listed will EXPIRE AFTER 90 DAYS unless I hear
otherwise.–Jim).
UPCOMING REGIONAL HAMFESTS:
A complete list can be found on your PARS Website, www.n4prs.org
PARS CALENDAR:
* Jun 20, Field Day Planning Meeting, Saturday,9:30 am, Brantley’s Village
Restaurant, Oriental, Mike Marsh, K4NLC, (252) 636-1257
* Jun 27-28, ARRL Field Day, Saturday, 2 pm – Sunday, 2 pm. Neuse Drive,
Oriental. Mike Marsh, 636-1257 or mike@marshconsulting.org
* Jul 25, PARS Monthly Meeting, Saturday, 9 am, Brantley’s Village
Restaurant, Oriental. Bill Olah, KR4LO, 249-0287 or w_olah@yahoo.com.
PARS NETS:
* Mondays, Pete’s “Swamp Talk” roundtable, around 8:15 pm local,
28.463 MHz plus or minus, USB. This is an informal forum originally
established to assist our new Hams. The frequency is in the 10M voice
segment open to technician licensees and above. Radio related
topics/questions/issues welcomed.
* Wednesdays, Pamlico Emergency Net Practice and Rag Chew, 7:30 pm,
Oriental Repeater, 147.210 + (PL151.4).
PARS WEB SITE:
https://www.n4prs.org/
Web Master is Larry Wall, KK4SEO, wallmailbox@yahoo.com.
PARSgram ITEMS
We are always looking for items of interest to PARS members to put in
the PARSgram. If you run across a timely item or think of something you
believe would interest our folks, please send it to me. Thanks.
Jim AI4WL