Don’t forget that our next Lecture and Lab, on Saturday, May 28th, will focus on the low cost software-defined receivers we introduced in April. These things are fun! I’m not sure if we’ll have any more for sale, but they’re easy to get on-line and and they’re addictive to play with.

On the air, you can check out some of the operating activities going on now, including the Arkansas QSO party and the CQ-M International DX contest.

In ham news:

The Armed Forces Day crossband communications test is winding down, but you might still be able to catch the historic naval station NSS on the air.

The third public test of the FT8 DXpedition mode has been a success, paving the way for this mode to be used on the KH1/KH7Z Baker Island DXpedition in June.

And finally, don’t worry: although there are informal nets now taking place in Hawaii,  normal communications are working very well and there’s no need to avoid any particular “volcano eruption net” frequencies.

In news from the world of science:

It’s the Year of the Bird! And it’s also spring, so there are lots of young birds around. Does the baby bird you see need help? Here’s a great guide from the Audubon Society! Many little birds don’t need our help…but some pretty big ones do; it’s important to learn about the kind of bird you want to help.

The technology news site Ars Technica has a great follow-up story about the ongoing cleanup at the Fukushima Daiichi I reactor complex; it’s worth your time, if you’re interested in nuclear power.

The newest version of the Falcon 9 rocket had a successful flight this Friday!

When black holes gather at the center of the Milky Way, they cluster not single spies, but in battalions.

And yes, NASA really does plan to send a helicopter to Mars. And no, I don’t understand how that’s going to work in Mars’s incredibly thin atmosphere…but it’ll be awesome if it works.