2014 ARRL FIELD DAY RESULTS ARE OUT
Check out your December issue of QST starting on page 73. The League
reports that 47,428 folks participated in the 2014 ARRL Field Day weekend in
June. They operated from mountain tops, emergency operation centers, parks,
homes, and as we did, even from vacant lots, all across America and beyond.
Our Pamlico Amateur Radio Society made 519 QSO’s and scored 2,278 points
during the event– yes, a few less than our 584 QSO’s and 2620 points last
year. No matter. These are pretty decent numbers when you consider we
operated only during the daylight hours and had limited operations on
Sunday. Lots of fun, lots of good food and lots of “ham talk”. Over 46 PARS
hams, visitors, and guests enjoyed some great weather without pesky
mosquitoes–thanks to Charlie O.–during our laid-back operation just back
from the edge of the beautiful Neuse River. Some even learned a few letters
in Morse Code.
SKYWARN APPRECIATION DAY, FIRST WEEKEND IN DECEMBER.
SKYWARN Appreciation Day is coming up on Friday, Dec 5th from 7pm
through Saturday, Dec 6th at 7pm at the National Weather Service office just
off US-70 on Roberts Road in Newport. Head over, get the tour, and spend
some time operating the office’s HF station in the annual NWS QSO Party.
SKYWARN Recognition Day began in 1999 by the National Weather Service and
the American Radio Relay League. It celebrates the contributions that
volunteer SKYWARN radio operators make to the National Weather Service. The
official webpage for the event is: www.wrh.noaa.gov/mtr/hamradio. For more
information contact John Hopkins, KJ4JPH, or Janice, KJ4JPE, at
hopkinszoo1@msn.com. Drop one of them a short email to let them know you
are coming so the Newport folks can plan.
SOLAR NUMBERS TODAY
NOAA reported that solar activity reached high levels during the 24
hours ending Sunday afternoon at 4 pm local. The largest solar event of the
period was a M5 event observed at 16/1748Z from Region 2209 . There are
currently 5 numbered sunspot regions on the disk. The sunspot count this
morning is 91 up from the 78 reported by NOAA last Monday. The Solar Flux
Index is 172 up 40 from the 132 in last week’s PARSgram. It is expected to
stay around 170 through Wednesday. According to the Space Weather Prediction
Center, solar activity should continue to be moderate with a 25% chance for
X-class flares and a 65% chance for M-class flares each day through
Wednesday. HF Radio blackouts on the sunlit side of the earth reaching the
R1 level are likely during the next 24 hours.
The Earth’s geomagnetic field activity ranged from unsettled to active
during the 24 hour period ending yesterday afternoon. The geomagnetic field
is expected to reach minor storm levels today, be active on Tuesday and
range from quiet to unsettled on Wednesday. The K-index was reported by NOAA
to be a quiet 2 at 0700 local this morning.
According to Spaceweather.com, returning sunspot region AR2192,
re-numbered AR2209 for its second trip across the face of the sun, has
sufficient energy for X-class solar flares. It was AR2192 that produced six
X-flares in late October. The sunspot is growing again and poses a renewed
threat for strong eruptions. In the past 24 hours, the active region has
produced a series of increasingly intense M-class flares. The M5 flare
yesterday at 1748Z (1248 EST), apparently caused an HF radio blackout on the
daylit side of Earth that lasted some tens of minutes. Did anyone in Pamlico
County notice?
THIS WEEK’S DX CHALLENGE
ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS, VU4. Krish, W4VKU and Pai, VU2PAI are
QRV as VU4CB from Campbell Bay, IOTA AS-033. Afterwards, a large
group of operators will be QRV as VU4KV from Neil Island, IOTA
AS-001, from November 16 to 30. Activity will be on 160 to 6 meters
with five stations active. QSL via operators’ instructions.
QSO CORNER
This is the place to post contacts with DXpeditions, Special Event
Stations, or special QSO’s you would like to share.
The folks that ran the TROMELIN DXpedition are on the ball. Their logs are
not only on Club Log, but their contacts are already posted in LOTW! Some
of our PARS folks made the log for multiple band slots. Dick K4JJW worked
them on 7 bands, all but 160m and 12m. Dave N4ENE worked FT4TA on at least 4
bands. Some of us found it tough going just to confirm the Island on one
band… very rewarding nonetheless.
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 :
* Nov 21 NCCC RTTY Sprint
* Nov 21 QRP Fox Hunt
* Nov 21 NCCC Sprint
* Nov 21 YO International PSK31 Contest
* Nov 22-23 LZ DX Contest
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
and the W1AW Centennial Stations are a great way to get those last states on
your Worked All States (WAS) Award list.)
SPECIAL EVENT STATIONS. W1AW Centennial Stations W1AW/1 in Rhode
Island, W1AW/5 in Mississippi and W1AW/KH8 in American Samoa are QRV
until 2359z on November 18. In addition, W1AW/4 in Florida and
W1AW/5 in Arkansas will be QRV starting at 0000z on November 19.
They will be active until 2359z on November 25.
(Courtesy of the ARRL DX Bulletin)
HAM EQUIPMENT FOR SALE, TRADE, OR WANTED
——————–
* FOR SALE–DRAKE R-8A communications receiver in like-new condition; no
cosmetic flaws, all knobs and meters intact, nesting spiders chased out.
Asking price $500. Comparable to those on Ebay advertised at $695.
HLA 300 Plus solid state HF linear amplifier; all bands 10-160,
automatic band selection and tuning, excellent condition. Asking price $500.
Comparable items available on the internet in lesser condition for sale at
$600-700.
Contact Jamie King KJ4JK at (252) 514-7497or kj4jk@arrl.net (20141006)
* FOR SALE– NEW LIST of remaining items from Jim Reynolds’ (W4YLO)
station–Jim Reynolds W4YLO is in a care center with late stages of
Parkinson’s disease. His wife would like to sell his shop tools and
equipment and gain back the garage. If you have any interest in these items
please call me, Ed Valentine, and set up a visit time to view them.
– Sorenson Power regulating transformer. 1000VA – About 60 lbs.
– Radial Arm Saw 14 inch blade. Delta. Extra Blades
– Parts of a 6 meter beam. $10
– 6 mtr cavity transmitter. $15
– Dentron Super Tuner ( Rated very good tuner in QRZ) $125
– MFJ 261 Dummy Load. 15 watts, 100 watts Peak. New $42 Sell for $20.
– B&K Scope 30Mhz with 4 Tektronix Probes.. Make offer.
– Logic probe for TTL & Cmos $5
Jim Reynolds equipment is clean and tested. Nonsmoking house.
– Icom 756 Pro 2 Transceiver w PS $1300
– Icom IC 7600 transceiver purchased new 3 years ago, little used, $2800
– Icom PW-1 KW amp. $3650
– Icom SP21 speaker $75
All manuals & cables & original boxes.
– Icom Receiver IC-R70 with service manual. 100 Kc. to 30 Mhz. Like new.
$295
– Icom AH4 Antenna Tuner $190
– Xantrex True Charge Dual 20 Amps. with remote battery monitor $175
– Xantrex 1500 watt Inverter. $125
– Steel work Table on wheels with compartments. 3ft. w x 5ft. long x 4ft. h
Heavy.
– HP Photosmart Scanner Printer HP8450 with Software & Cables
– HP Scanner HP3570 with Software & Cables
Contact Ed Valentine W2YPM at 252 637-3161 or
w2ypm@earthlink.net for information and pricing.
(20140602/20140804/20140929/20141103/20141110/20141117)
——————–
(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 HAMFESTS:
* February 7, 2015: Richmond Frostfest, Richmond Raceway Complex,
Richmond, VA, http://www.frostfest.com
* April 4, 2015: 43rd Annual RARSfest/North Carolina State Convention,
Raleigh Amateur Radio Society, State Fairgrounds,
Raleigh, NC, http://www.rars.org/rarsfest
PARS CALENDAR:
* Nov 29, PARS Monthly Meeting, Saturday, 9 am, Brantley’s Village
Restaurant, Oriental. Bill Olah, KR4LO, 249-0287 or w_olah@yahoo.com.
* Dec 27, PARS Christmas Breakfast & Gift Exchange, Saturday, 9 am,
Brantley’s Village Restaurant, Oriental. Bill Olah, KR4LO, 249-0287 or
w_olah@yahoo.com.
* Jan 5 – Mar 2, Monday evenings, PARS General Class License Preparation
Course, Sea Harbour Yacht Club on Harbour Way in Oriental. TO REGISTER FOR
THE COURSE contact Bill Michne, WM3X, at 252-249-1175 or by email at
billmichne@embarqmail.com. DON’T WAIT to register, class space is limited!
* Mar 2, 2015, Amateur Radio License Exam Session, Technician, General, and
Extra, Monday, time TBA. Sea Harbour Yacht Club on Harbour Way in Oriental.
For more information, and TO REGISTER FOR THE EXAM, contact Bill Michne,
WM3X, at 252-249-1175 or by email at billmichne@embarqmail.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
belive would interest our folks, please send it to me. Thanks.
73, Jim AI4WL