PAMLICO AMATEUR RADIO SOCIETY (PARS) DECEMBER 2013 MEETING NOTES
Business was nil at the Christmas End of Year Gift Exchange Breakfast at
Brantley’s last Saturday. The folks who made the meeting had shopped or dug
into their bookshelves, junk boxes, and attics to find some neat stuff to
bring. Attendance was a bit light, but it was good to talk Ham radio and
exchange seasons greetings with our fellow Hams. As we enter the new year
Bill Olah, KR4LO continues as President and “Wally” Wallace KK4ASP, will
keep our finances straight as Treasurer. They will be assisted by a newly
elected Vice President, “Randy” Davis K4WRD. Thanks go to Tom Corwin
KI4NSP, Past Vice President, for his devoted service to our club. Happy New
Year!
THE DX CODE OF CONDUCT
As we start the New Year, it is a good time to remind ourselves of how we
should operate as we work through the pile-ups to reach those DX stations on
our most wanted list:
I will listen, and listen, and then listen again before calling. [This is
the only way to hear if the DX station is working split and where he is
listening for us.]
I will only call if I can copy the DX station properly.
I will not trust the DX cluster and will be sure of the DX station’s call
sign before calling. [It’s amazing how many yahoos connect with the DX
station and then ask for its call sign!]
I will not interfere with the DX station nor anyone calling and will never
tune up on the DX frequency or in the QSX slot.
I will wait for the DX station to end a contact before I call. [This problem
seems to be getting worse. Calling before the stations clear just adds to
the confusion.]
I will always send my full call sign. [Many DX stations no longer answer to
only a suffix.]
I will call and then listen for a reasonable interval. I will not call
continuously. [Another worsening problem.]
I will not transmit when the DX operator calls another call sign, not mine.
I will not transmit when the DX operator queries a call sign not like mine.
I will not transmit when the DX station requests geographic areas other than
mine. [It seems this relates to the problem of not listening.]
When the DX operator calls me, I will not repeat my call sign unless I think
he has copied it incorrectly.
I will be thankful if and when I do make a contact.
I will respect my fellow hams and conduct myself so as to earn their
respect.
[For more on the Code, go to www.dx-code.org. There is also guidance for
DXpeditions and DXstations that offers clues on how best to get through
to them.]
SOLAR NUMBERS TODAY
NOAA reported that solar activity was moderate during the 24 hours ending
Sunday night at 5 pm local. The largest solar event of the period was a M3
event observed at 29/0756Z from Region 1936 . There are currently 6 numbered
sunspot regions on the disk. The Sunspot count this morning is 119, up a bit
from 111 last Monday. The Solar Flux is 137, about the same as last Monday.
The Solar Flux is expected to stay between 140 and 135 through Wednesday.
NOAA predicts Solar activity is likely to be low with a 1 in 3 chance for
M-class flares each day through New Years Day.
The Earth’s geomagnetic field was quiet over the weekend. The estimated
planetary K-index at 7 am local today was 1. Geomagnetic conditions are
expected to be quiet for the next two days. The field could turn unsettled
on Wednesday. Solar wind flowing from a large coronal hole could reach Earth
on Jan 2-3 increasing noise levels.
DX CHALLENGE FOR THE WEEK
[ know, not really DX but worth reporting with this special year coming
up –ed.]
SPECIAL EVENT STATION. W100AW, ARRL HQ Station. Look for special
call W100AW to begin operations from the ARRL Headquarters Maxim
Memorial Station at 0500Z on 1 January. See the ARRL Web site for
more information about QSLing and about the Centennial QSO Party.
SPECIAL EVENT STATIONS. W1AW, Centennial Stations. Look for W1AW/4
in North Carolina, and W1AW/8 in West Virginia to be on the air
starting at 0000Z on 1 January. They will be active until 2359Z on
7 January. First off as W1AW in North Carolina from January 1-7 will be
Howard Hoyt, N4AF, of Blounts Creek in Beaufort County. For times,
frequencies and rules, go to the Centennial QSO Party website at
http://www.arrl.org/centennial-qso-party
QSO CORNER
This is the place to post contacts with DXpeditions, Special Event
Stations, or special QSO’s you would like to share.
All quiet in The County…. Did everybody go fishing?
OTHER ACTIVITY ON THE RADIO:
This info is extracted from the ARRL Letter, from the WA7BNM Contest
Calendar or the ARRL Contest Corral. You can receive the Letter weekly via
email as a member of ARRL :
* Jan 1 — ARRL Straight Key Night
* Jan 4-5 — ARRL RTTY Roundup
* Jan 5 — Kids Day
Also, if you don’t run with the Oriental Dragon on New Year’s Eve, the
Lighthouse Christmas Lights QSO Party continues until January 1. The ARRL
Straight Key Night, AGB New Year Snowball Contest, QRP Fox Hunt
(0200Z-0330Z, Jan 1), SARTG New Year RTTY Contest, AGCW Happy New Year
Contest and the AGCW VHF/UHF Contest are all scheduled for January 1.
Please see December QST, page 66, January 2014 QST, page 81 and the ARRL and
WA7BNM contest web sites for details.
All dates & times, unless otherwise stated, are UTC.
See the ARRL Contest Branch page <http://www.arrl.org/contests/>, the ARRL
Contest Update http://www.arrl.org/The-ARRL-Contest-Update/ and the WA7BNM
Contest Calendar <http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/index.html> for more
info. Looking for a Special Event station? Be sure to check out the ARRL
Special Event Station Web page<http://www.arrl.org/special-events>. For a
LIST OF STATE QSO PARTIES, see
http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/stateparties.html. (State QSO parties
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: Equipment from estate of W4EHF–
IC-725 HF All Band transceiver orig box manual 295.00
IC-756 Pro HF/50MHz All band Transceiver orig box manual 1100.00
IC-756 Pro II HF/50MHz All Mode Transceiver no box manual 1300.00
FT-270 R/E VHF FM Transceiver box manual 95.00
MFJ-949E Deluxe versa Turner box manual 100.00
Contact Bill Finch, AI4TN, 252-341-3189, finchwc@gmail.com (20131223)
——————–
* WANTED Microphone that will work with an Icom Transceiver, IC-745. Please
contact Charlie Overcash, WA4GSI, at 249-1257 or
charlie@dockline.net. (20131202)
——————–
* NEW FOR SALE Cushcraft R 7 antenna, $125 Please
contact Charlie Overcash, WA4GSI, at 249-1257 or
charlie@dockline.net. (20131230)
——————–
(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).
PARS CALENDAR:
* Jan 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. An informal forum originally established to assist
our new Hams, this freq. is in the 10M voice segment open to technician
licensees and above. Radio 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 think
would interest our folks, please send it to me. Thanks
And again, a Happy, Healthy, Prosperous, and Peaceful New Year to you all!
73, Jim AI4WL