PRESIDENT’S SOAPBOX
Field Day is still a month and a half away, but it’s not too early to
think about purchasing your Field Day gear. You can save some money by
purchasing your gear through PARS. Here’s how it works. Go to
www.arrl.org/shop/FieldDay/ and select the items you want to buy. Then
send your list of items to me or to VP Bruce, K4ONC. We’ll pool
everyone’s list into one large order, and PARS will pay the shipping.
You just pay for your items and tax. But don’t wait too long, as we
will put the order in by June 1. _…_ Wood is a wonderful material
that can be used for a lot of things. Aircraft isn’t one of them. Some
of you may remember Howard Hughes’ plan to build a huge airplane out of
wood to carry troops across the Atlantic during WWII. This 300+ feet
wingspan eight engine behemoth actually flew…once…for about a mile.
Well, now we’re in the space age and someone is going to build a real
satellite out of plywood to test whether wood is a good material for
making spacecraft. When I first read about it I checked the dateline on
the article to be sure it wasn’t April 1. But sure enough it’s real. It
will be a one unit cube sat, 10 cm (that’s 4 inches) on a side, and
carry amateur radio and other experiments. In addition to the antennas
it will deploy a selfie stick to take pictures to monitor the condition
of the wooden covering as it is exposed to the extremes of day/night
temperature variations and the continuous bombardment by microscopic
dust particles. It seems like a lot of time, money, and effort to get
the same information they could get by towing a piece of plywood on a
string out the backside of the International Space Station. Just
sayin… …_._ de WM3X, Bill Michne, 252-249-1175, drmichne73@gmail.com.
SOLAR NUMBERS TODAY
NOAA reported solar activity was very low during the 24 hour period
ending yesterday at 5 p.m. local. There is one numbered sunspot region
on the Sun facing Earth this morning. Solar activity is expected to
continue to be very low through Wednesday. On Sunday the observed Solar
Flux Index (SFI) at Penticton was 73. (Last Sunday it was 76.) The index
is predicted to register 73 today rising to 77 on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The SFI 90 day trailing average is still 76.
The Earth’s geomagnetic field was quiet yesterday. NOAA expects
conditions to be quiet to active today, reach minor storm levels Tuesday
and then be unsettled to active Wednesday. According to
spaceweather.com, the plasma from two relatively minor coronal mass
ejections is expected arrive May 18-19 and disturb the Earth’s magnetic
field. The estimated Kp-index of 2 reported at 5 a.m. local this morning
reflects our current quiet geomagnetic conditions.
For the next several days expect fair daytime and good nighttime
operating conditions on 80 and 40 meters, fair on 30 and 20, poor on the
higher bands. Conditions continue to improve despite the forecast for
the higher bands. Over the past week we’ve been seeing 20 Meters open
from before dawn through late evening. Around 8 am most mornings, we
find not only European but also strong FT8 signals from the Western
Pacific and Asia, mostly Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia. Although
there has been significant daily Es activity on 6 Meters in Europe, the
band has yet to open regularly in North America.
For an explanation of the numbers used in our PARSgram, see the
excellent article written by Carl Luetzelschwab, K9LA at
http://arrl.org/the-sun-the-earth-the-ionosphere.
HAM EQUIPMENT FOR SALE, TRADE, OR WANTED
For listing in the PARSgram send me your amateur radio related items
that are for sale, trade, or wanted. PLEASE let me know when you have
have sold your item or your listing is no longer needed. Listings will
EXPIRE AFTER 90 DAYS unless I hear otherwise.–Jim.
* FREE TO A GOOD HOME. Vintage Weston Selective Analyzer (Multimeter),
Model 665, Type3. Contact Charlie, WA4GSI, at charlie@dockline.net
(20210503)
PARS CALENDAR:
* May 29, PARS MONTHLY MEETING, Saturday, 9am, Brantley’s Village
Restaurant, Oriental. For more info, contact Bill Michne, WM3X,
252-249-1175 or drmichne73@gmail.com.
* Jun 26-27, ARRL Field Day, Pamlico County Shrine Club, NC-306,
Grantsboro. For more info, contact Bill Michne, WM3X, 252-249-1175 or
drmichne73@gmail.com.
* Jul 31, PARS MONTHLY MEETING, Saturday, 9am, Brantley’s Village
Restaurant, Oriental. For more info, contact Bill Michne, WM3X,
252-249-1175 or drmichne73@gmail.com.
LOCAL NETS OF INTEREST TO PARS MEMBERS:
* Wednesdays, Pamlico Emergency Net Practice and Rag Chew/ARES, 7:30
pm, Oriental Repeater, 147.210 + (PL151.4).
* Thursdays, “DownEast/Pamlico Six Meter Net”, 8 pm local, 50.200 MHz,
USB. A non-directed open net to promote operation on the ‘Magic Band’.
(For more nets see www.arrl.org/arrl-net-directory-search )
PARS WEB SITE: https://www.n4prs.org/
Our Web Master is Paul Jodoin, K4MMB, 561-308-3456, PARSwebman@gmail.com
PARS YOUTUBE CHANNEL–N4PRS RADIO
Videos of recorded PARS Meetings, presentations, and club activities can
be viewed on on the N4PRS Radio YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpEMfxc7PQixT0rr5xEKtyQ
COVID-19 INFO
For the latest information from the COVID-19 Community Task Force, “I’m
Going Outside, do I still need a mask?”, click on this link:
https://mailchi.mp/e2ef967c6ebf/im-going-outside-do-i-still-need-a-mask?e=adb5dfd6c4
NOTE: The COVID-19 Community Task Force (CCTF) is a volunteer
organization established to engage the community in responding to the
COVID-19 Pandemic and to support and augment the County’s efforts. The
information shared by the CCTF is not an official communication from
Pamlico County, its Health Department or the Pamlico County COVID19 Task
Force.
73 and please stay safe, Jim AI4WL
——
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