Month: January 2018

Skynet 1-27-18 Soviet Space History & Constellation Lepus the Hare 9PM CT

Tom Uncategorized

5556174159SKYNET!!!! 9PM CT – 10:30PM CT

Saturday’s Topic: “Soviet Space History” and “Tour of the Constellation Lepus the Hare”

Net Control: Billye KF5PDS

Afterglow Movie 10:30PM:
“Star Trek: The Original Series” (1966-1969)

2-Meter Repeater W5FC: 146.880MHz, PL 110.9, –
Echolink: W5FC-R, node 37247.
Video Stream: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/skynet2
& Facebook “DARC Skynet Astronomy Net”
Audio Stream: http://pokeys.doomdns.com:8000
Yahoo Groups: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/skynet
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/groups/306498286059167/
Saturday’s DARC SkyNet is at 9PM CT.

Discussion topic of the evening.

Soviet Space Continued

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Tech Net News 01-27-2018

Tony NT5TM Uncategorized
ve7til image recovery image3
Credit: VE7TIL

The sun is shining and the DARC is on the air! Our Winter Field Day site is operational…call us on HF, on 146.88, or come out and see us in person. Just a reminder: our operation must end not later than 10 PM, but we might end sooner; be sure to call us on the repeater if you’re planning on a late visit.

There are two well-known contests in progress right now: the CQ WW 160-meter CW contest, and Winter Field Day! I hope you’re participating in one or the other.

Fox 1-D (AO-92) is now commissioned and open for use! But, if you listen for the “squawks” from the packet radio on the ISS to remind you when it’s overhead, you’ll be out of luck: the ISS packet system is off-line for now.

The ARRL Board of Directors  announced that theye will be reviewing some rules that were causing controversy in the amateur radio community.

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Winter Field Day 2018: GO

Tony NT5TM Uncategorized , ,

greenlight

It looks like the rain will be over before the event begins, so Winter Field Day is a GO for this Saturday, January 27th, 2018. Setup will begin at Dreyfuss Point at 10:00 AM, operating will begin at 1:00 PM, and the Lecture and Lab will take place at about 11:00 AM.

For the Lecture and Lab, we’ll be doing a 2-meter antenna build. Bring $5.00 and your choice of connector to fit an RG-58 cable…you’ll be building a neat roll-up J-pole. A soldering iron might be helpful, but we should have some there. Even if the official time is 11:00 AM, we’ll keep materials around for anyone who comes out and wants to add a great antenna to their HT or portable rig.

Not only will the rain be gone, but the weather should be sunny and warm. Come on out and join us!

 

Tech Net News 01-20-2018

Tony NT5TM Uncategorized , ,

Australian flag_2Don’t forget that Winter Field Day is right around the corner! The DARC Lecture and Lab will be taking place at the same time and location, but keep an eye on the weather: both events are shine-only.

There’s only one big event on the contest calendar right now: the ARRL January VHF contest is in-progress now; it ends at 03:59 UTC on the 22nd.

The FCC reports that it will be open at least for the first part of the current partial government shutdown.

January 26th marks Australia day, which is not a holiday I usually remember…but Australian amateurs will be operating with a special prefix. See who you can work!

Finally, there’s now a WSPR beacon in Antarctica, at the Wegener Institute’s Neumayer Station III. Erin has photographed one of their DC-3s flying over Dallas…that institute gets around.

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Tech Net News 01-13-2018

Tony NT5TM Uncategorized
mars images pia22077-1041
NASA/JPL-Caltech/UA/USGS

The contest calendar is quiet…but 2018 is getting well underway. Please don’t forget to pay your dues. No bucks, no Buck Rogers!

Winter Field Day is coming up faster than you think; January 27th is not far off. W1AW will be participating, and so will W5FC. Please sign up and let us know you’re interested. Our WFD participation is shine-only…but if the weather is good, it will be a fun day, with Lecture and Lab taking place at the same time and place.

2018 will be a good year for special event operations. Members of the Italian Amateur Radio Association are operating a series of special event stations to commemorate milestones in the history of radio science, and NASA on the Air should be active throughout 2018. It’s hard for me to determine when individual NASA centers will be active, but they have a Facebook group, and at least two Twitter hashtags you can watch.

EDIT: Romie, AC9KV, reminded us that the Cowtown Hamfest is coming up next weekend. Head on over an have some fun!

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Tech Net News 01-06-2018

Tony NT5TM Uncategorized , ,
John-Young-Gemini
Credit: NASA

I hope your new year is off to a good start! Contests and operating activities are beginning to appear once again. The Italian QRP Club’s quarterly operating event is drawing to a close at 23:59 UTC tomorrow, and the very popular ARRL RTTY Roundup is going on right now. The roundup involves more than just RTTY—you can use PSK31 and PSK63, too. You’ve got until tomorrow, early evening…get to work at having fun!

It’s been good to see that many club members have been paying their dues on-line. There’s a link in our right-hand menu. Dues are the lifeblood of the club. Please pay yours!

UPDATE: you can read more about Tabby’s Star, mentioned by N5BB…and read the latest scientific paper on the star at arxiv.org.

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