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.

In the world of science:

Amateur operator and satellite enthusiast Scott Tilley, VE7TIL, has used radio to find a defunct NASA satellite that went off the air in 2005. It might not be so defunct after all.

After a successful static-fire test, the launch date of the first Falcon Heavy has been set at February 6th. Russia’s famous UR-500 Proton rocket, once meant to be part of a “universal launcher” system, has “fallen on hard times,” though.

Astronomers are not happy about the new space disco ball, even though it won’t be around for long.

On the other hand, the oldest known human fossil outside of Africa has been around for a long time indeed. It’s 50,000 years older than anything similar.