PRESIDENT’S SOAPBOX
Had a great PARS meeting today. Most of the discussion focused on
having the club sponsor a balloon flight similar to those recently
conducted by Lor, W3QA. The plan is to use the flight as an educational
tool in the local schools in support of their STEM programs. You might
recall that we did a similar program a few years ago with the Advanced
Placement Physics class at Pamlico High School, introducing students to
amateur radio and making contacts through satellites. That program was
successful, but shortly thereafter our faculty advocate left the school.
We will have to find a new faculty member willing to promote the
project to the school administration. The goal will be to launch the
balloon this coming winter. _…_ de WM3X, Bill Michne, 252-249-1175,
drmichne73@gmail.com.
PAMLICO AMATEUR RADIO SOCIETY (PARS) July 31, 2021 MEETING NOTES
* Twenty-one PARS members, visitors and guests attended the 9 am
breakfast meeting chaired by President Bill Michne, WM3X, at Brantley’s
Village Restaurant.
* No one reported a new DXCC or WAS or a license upgrade.
* Bill presented Wally’s treasurer’s report. The club is solvent.
* Propagation Report: Solar activity currently low. With no sunspots
for the third day in a row, the solar flux dropped to 76. The 90 day
average is 79. The geomagnetic field was reported to be quiet by NOAA
but members thought the HF bands were noisy lately, particularly 40
meters… Cuban jamming? 6M has continued to be active, although with
fewer openings into Europe.
* Mike Marsh, K4NLC, our ARES coordinator, reported 4 net training
sessions in July for 16.1 mh. The simplex and 10 meters connectivity
test on the 14th went well although 10 meters proved to be a unreliable
band for cross county comms. Six meters will be tried next. Mike and
Bruce described the differing focus of ARES and AUXCOMM. AUXCOMM, with
DHS support is the recognized alternative for EOC’S statewide while ARES
remains the means for local condition reporting. AUXCOMM has significant
training and certification requirements while ARES does not. Bruce,
K4ONC, has picked up the county AUXCOMM lead, while Mike will continue
to coordinate the ARES net and training. Mike asked members to check-in
to the ARES net via WinLink. He again reported improved WinLink
connectivity with the new Vara mode. [Vara is a high performance HF
software modem. The free evaluation version although slower, is probably
adequate for most users-ed].
* Paul, K4MMB, reported the club web site (www.n4prs.org) this month
had 208 visitors who looked at 604 pages; for the year, 1772 visitors.
The repeater page remains the most visited.
* Field Day. Bill reported 5 members spent Saturday afternoon in his
shack, 2 of them passed their tech exams and spent some time learning
about contesting and the FT8 mode. Several other members operated from
their home stations. Member scores will be aggregated by ARRL yielding a
PARS club score that will be reported in the Dec 2021 issue of QST.
* License courses continue. Bill is now tutoring one student. Fall
courses are being considered, possibly at the General and if requested,
the Extra level. PCC and the Oriental Town Hall are possible locations.
* Sam/Dave KD2T proposed naming a suitable event after our long time
PARS member, Glenn Everest, N4LV, mentor to many and good friend to us
all. All present agreed.
* Lor, W3QA, updated the group on the short flight of NC4ES-4. Launched
on July 10th, it quickly reached 44 thousand feet and then disappeared,
cause unknown. Lor and Matt, W2UV, are looking at larger stronger
balloons, different pay loads. Next launch likely in Winter season–
better weather for balloons.
* Gerald, KN4CKL, mentioned being a VE where eager 12 and 15 year olds
earned their licenses and that brought about a discussion using a
balloon launch to get young people into ham radio.
* Bruce, K4ONC, then moved that PARS sponsor a launch and that the
launch be an educational activity that includes amateur radio. The
motion passed.
* There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 10:07 am.
SOLAR NUMBERS TODAY
NOAA reported solar activity was very low during the 24 hour period
ending yesterday at 5 p.m. local. There are no reported numbered sunspot
regions on the Sun facing Earth this morning. Spaceweather.com reports a
new spot emerging. If it does not hold together, this will be the fifth
day in a row with no sunspots. The Prediction Center expects solar
activity to be very low through Wednesday. On Sunday the observed Solar
Flux Index (SFI) at Penticton was 75. (Last Sunday it was 82.) The index
is predicted to be 72 today, tomorrow and Wednesday. The SFI 90 day
trailing average is still 79, the same as last Monday.
The Earth’s geomagnetic field was quiet yesterday. NOAA expects
conditions to be quiet today, tomorrow and Wednesday. The estimated
Kp-index of zero reported at 5 a.m. local this morning reflects our
current very quiet geomagnetic conditions.
We can expect fair daytime and good nighttime operating conditions today
on 80 and 40 meters, fair on 30 and 20, and poor on the higher bands.
The Magic Band is doing it again, at least for some 6 meter fans
tonight. As I write this Sunday evening, folks in the western mid-west
are working Spain and other folks in the eastern mid-west are working
stations in Japan. Then there is another bunch of stations in the
mid-west working each other. Here in the sometimes black hole Southeast,
there’s nothing going on according to dxMaps. Just as well. With all the
lightning close by, it’s better to leave the antenna disconnected.
For an explanation of the numbers used in our PARSgram, see the
excellent article written by Carl Luetzelschwab, K9LA at
http://arrl.org/the-sun-the-earth-the-ionosphere.
HAM EQUIPMENT FOR SALE, TRADE, OR WANTED
For listing in the PARSgram send me your amateur radio related items
that are for sale, trade, or wanted. PLEASE let me know when you have
have sold your item or your listing is no longer needed. Listings will
EXPIRE AFTER 90 DAYS unless I hear otherwise.–Jim.
* NEW Free. 1930’s AM Radio in cabinet. Worthy restoration project. If
interested contact Priscilla Wormell, N4TNP, at rpwormell@embarqmail.com
(20210802)
* For Sale. SCS PTC-IIex Modem licensed with PACTOR III. This modem
functions as it should and comes with the installation guide, the USB to
RS232 cable and the CD. This modem was recently in use on my IC-7300,
until I upgraded. In very good condition and works great. The 9095 cable
available from Farallon Electronics or HRO. $550. Bruce, K4ONC@aol.com,
252-626-2730 (20210719)
PARS CALENDAR:
* Aug 28, PARS MONTHLY MEETING, Saturday, 9am, Brantley’s Village
Restaurant, Oriental. For more info, contact Bill Michne, WM3X,
252-249-1175 or drmichne73@gmail.com.
* Sep 25, PARS MONTHLY MEETING, Saturday, 9am, Brantley’s Village
Restaurant, Oriental. For more info, contact Bill Michne, WM3X,
252-249-1175 or drmichne73@gmail.com.
LOCAL NETS OF INTEREST TO PARS MEMBERS:
* Wednesdays, Pamlico Emergency Net Practice and Rag Chew/ARES, 7:30
pm, Oriental Repeater, 147.210 + (PL151.4).
* Thursdays, “DownEast/Pamlico Six Meter Net”, 8 pm local, 50.200 MHz,
USB. A non-directed open net to promote operation on the ‘Magic Band’.
(For more nets see www.arrl.org/arrl-net-directory-search )
PARS WEB SITE: https://www.n4prs.org/
Our Web Master is Paul Jodoin, K4MMB, 561-308-3456, PARSwebman@gmail.com
PARS YOUTUBE CHANNEL–N4PRS RADIO
Videos of recorded PARS Meetings, presentations, and club activities can
be viewed on on the N4PRS Radio YouTube Channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpEMfxc7PQixT0rr5xEKtyQ
73, Jim AI4WL
——
This email is sent to members and friends of the Pamlico Amateur Radio
Society. We are pleased that you asked to receive our weekly newsletter
and hope that you enjoy reading it. If you no longer wish to receive the
PARSgram please let us know by reply email or by email to
jth350@embarqmail.com.