Our next club meeting, on April 2nd, 2019 will be Old Timer’s Night! Come on out and see what makes ham radio keep on ticking.

We now have TWO swap shop items listed, if you’d like a like-new HF rig or antenna.

Texas State Parks on the Air is coming up on April 13th and 14th. Plan your trip, or get on the air from home!

Remember, we’re always looking for more ideas for our Lecture and Lab programs. Got something you’d like to try? Let us know!

UPDATES: Bill, N5BB compiled a list of all the links that were mentioned during the net! Read on below to view them.

DX Atlas software:
http://www.dxatlas.com/

VOACAP (Voice of America) propagation prediction website:
http://www.voacap.com
http://www.voacap.com/hf/

APRS reporting of VHF propagation:
http://aprs.mennolink.org/

And don’t forget the APRS reporting site and APRS-IS network:
http://aprs.fi
http://www.aprs-is.net/

The Garland General class is still available, even though it started this past week. Information on this page:
https://k5qhd.shutterfly.com/training

FCC Commercial Radio Operator License Program:
https://www.fcc.gov/wireless/bureau-divisions/mobility-division/commercial-radio-operator-license-program

In news from the world of ham radio:

WWV “The Tick” will now feature announcements of on-going ham/military interoperability exercises.

Do you work at a school or volunteer at a museum? ARISS is about to accept proposals for ISS communication events in 2020.

Closer at hand, there will be more slow-scan TV transmissions from the ISS on April 1st and 2nd.

In news from the world of science:

It’s still not clear if most dinosaurs will made extinct by a huge asteroid impact, giant volcanoes, disease, or some other cause. But it’s pretty clear that the giant asteroid impact 66 million years ago was a terrible thing. Now, scientists have identified fossils that preserve traces of the rain of molten glass from the very day of the event.

Beware the bite of the alligator gar! It doesn’t just bite…it sucks you in, too.

Scientists have begun to study how bird feeding affects humans. Apparently, we worry more about sick birds and cat predation if we feed birds. This is somewhat less than shocking, of course.

Remember the cute, crazy-looking pangolin from last week? Well, its good to know that a big bust of pangolin scale traffickers has just taken place.

Overlooked by most of us, there’s an amphibian apocalypse going on, and it’s not clear what can be done about it. It’s a scary time for those who like or study frogs.

And finally, the recent news about the planned all-female spacewalk at the ISS has highlighted a longer-term problem: NASA is running out of spacesuits, the ones they have are really old, and there’s no solution in sight. The pressure suits worn during launch and landing are much simpler and less versatile…and they provide no substitute.