ARRL FIELD DAY 2015 THIS COMING WEEKEND
As in recent years, the PARS site will be along the river on Neuse Drive in
Oriental, just down the street from the town beach. The event offers the
opportunity to demonstrate our capability for emergency communications
through practicing off-the-grid operations. The primary objectives will be
to inform the public about the capabilities of amateur radio and to
introduce the younger generation to the hobby. Come by to operate one of
the three “contest” stations–two HF, one VHF–at a time convenient to you
and then stay for dinner. If you have not been active on HF or are a new
ham, start with the Get-On-The-Air (GOTA) station.
The annual PARS social will be on Saturday, June 27 across and up the
street from the operations site at the Overcash residence around 5:30 pm;
$12 per person for the DINNER of fried chicken with all the fixins.
RESERVATIONS ARE NEEDED for ordering purposes; bring your family, bring your
friends.
MIKE NEEDS YOUR DINNER RESERVATION NLT WEDNESDAY, JUN 24 to get the final
count to Brantley. Bring chairs if you plan to sit outside on the porch and
enjoy the sunset.
Please park along the street on the town side. And please, do not block the
driveways.
For more information, reserve an operator slot time, or to reserve
your dinner(s), contact Mike Marsh at 252-636-1257, or
mike@marshconsulting.org.
UPDATED Schedule– Local Time
0800 Friday 26 June, early start to avoid the heat — Antenna/Tent
Set-up
0800 Saturday 27 June — Equipment Set-up and Test
1400 Saturday 27 June — Operations Begin
1730 Saturday 27 June — Social and Annual Dinner
1400 Sunday 28 June — Operations Close & Site tear-down.
SOLAR NUMBERS TODAY
NOAA reported that solar activity was moderate during the 24 hours ending
yesterday at 5 pm local. The largest recent solar event was a C7 flare
observed at 22/0519Z. There are 2 numbered sunspot regions on the disk
facing Earth. One is soon to rotate off the face of the Sun. The sunspot
count this morning is 79, well down from the 119 reported by NOAA a week ago
at this time. The Solar Flux Index (SFI) is 136, about the same as the 132,
in our last PARSgram. The forecast shows the SFI dropping each day until
Wednesday when it should be around 125. According to the Space Weather
Prediction Center, solar activity is expected to be moderate through
Wednesday with a 1 in 5 chance for X-class flares and even better chance for
M-class flares each day.
Spaceweather.com reports that one of the biggest sunspot regions of the
current solar cycle, AR2371, is directly facing Earth. The active region has
an unstable magnetic field that holds energy for strong explosions. NOAA
forecasters estimate a 70% chance of M-class solar flares and a 30% chance
of X-flares today.
The Earth’s geomagnetic field reached active levels yesterday. The
geomagnetic field is expected to reach active storm levels today,
major storm levels Tuesday, and return to just active levels on Wednesday.
A coronal mass ejection (CME) is heading directly for Earth. It is expected
to reach Earth sometime on today, June 22nd. Also, the Earth is inside a
stream of solar wind that is disturbing the geomagnetic polar regions. The
K-index was reported by NOAA to be a unsettled 4 at 0800 local this morning.
Expect higher noise levels on the HF bands early this week.
Thanks to ionospheric E-layer propagation, action on VHF was good last
week with 6 Meter band openings daily . On Sunday afternoon, after lots of
activity to the south and Midwest, we were blessed with double hop paths
out to California–a very nice Father’s Day gift!. K6DXA in Nuevo, K6SMF
in Canoga Park, and N6KN in Rancho Palos Verdes were the loudest stations
heard in Whortonsville. N6KN, although 2366 miles away, was the strongest
peaking at 10 over 9. Let’s hope the favorable conditions continue through
the Field Day weekend.
HIS WEEK’S DX CHALLENGE
TIMOR-LESTE, 4W. Operators Hide, JI1AVY and Seihachi, JA7LU will be
QRV as 4W/JI1AVY and 4W/JA7LU, respectively, from June 24 to 30.
Activity will be on 160 to 6 meters using CW, SSB and RTTY. QSL to
home calls.
QSO QSO CORNER
This is the place to post contacts with DXpeditions, Special Event
Stations, or special QSO’s you would like to share.
No reports from around the County….
OTHER ACTIVITY ON THE RADIO:
This info is extracted from the ARRL Letter, from the WA7BNM Contest
Calendar, the ARRL Contest Update or the ARRL Contest Corral. You can
receive the Letter weekly via email as a member of ARRL :
* 26/0145-26/0215Z NCC RTTY Sprint
* 26/0230-26/0300Z NCCC Sprint
* 27/1200-28/1200Z His Maj. King of Spain Contest, Ph
* 27/1200-28/1200Z Ukrainian DX DIGI Contest, Dig
* 27/1800-28/2100Z ARRL Field Day
See the ARRL Contest Branch page
ARRL Contest Update http://www.arrl.org/The-ARRL-Contest-Update/ and the
WA7BNM Contest Calendar
for more info. Looking for a Special Event station? Be sure to check out the
ARRL Special Event Station Web page
a LIST OF STATE QSO PARTIES, see
http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/stateparties.html. (State QSO parties
and the W1AW Centennial Stations are a great way to get those last states on
your Worked All States (WAS) Award list.)
HAM EQUIPMENT FOR SALE, TRADE, OR WANTED
——————–
* FOR SALE — Yaesu FT 450 Transceiver, MD 100 desk mike and a Pyramid
35 amp power supply. All for $650 and can be seen in action at my QTH to
check it out. All you will need is an antenna to be on the air. Charlie
Overcash, WA4GSI, charlie@dockline.net or 252-249-1257. (20150601).
* FOR SALE–Hank Aaron WB4ROA, long time PARS member is moving. He is
selling much of his equipment. Brian Shepard K4LTE is handling the sale.
For a Yaesu FT-2000 and other Yaesu transceivers:
RF Mu-tuning kit 80/40m band for $300.00, and RF Mu-tuning kit 30/20m band
for $300.00.
Command Technologies Commander Amplifier 2KW for $1500.00.
Yaesu-7800R 2M/70cm Transceiver for $150.00.
Heil Headset Pro Set Quiet Phone with HC-5 mic for $80.00, retailed for
$155.00.
MXL Studio Condenser Microphone MXL-2003 for $100.00, retailed for $163.00.
Heil Hand Switch for $25.00.
Foot Switch for $20.00.
Array Solutions Six Pack ( remote antenna switch) 2 radios-6 antenna ports
per radio for $300.00, retailed for $450.00.
Array Solutions Rat Pack (remote antenna switch) 6 antenna positions for
$100.00, retailed for $250.00.
Astron SL-11 pwr supply for $50.00, retailed for $89.00.
Bencher Keyer for $150.00.
Plus lots of coax and cables-most coax uses N-connectors and were
professionally made by Cable X.
PL259 adapters for .50 cent ea. (28-total)
UHF Male Crimp (type PL259) connectors $2.00 ea. (37-total)
Type N Male crimp for RG8 $2.00 ea. (15-total)
PL259 Connectors $1.00 ea. (16-total)
PL259 UHF Male to female tee adapter connectors, $4.00 ea. (total-9)
BNC Male to UHF female connectors, $2.00 ea. (total-2)
Added items–
Palstar ZM30 digital antenna analyzer, $200.00
ICOM M1V VHF Handheld radio with HM-125 speaker microphone and a new BC-119N
desk top charger, $175.00
Aceco FC-6002 RF Tracer, $150.00
Contact Brian at k4lte2@centurylink.net or at his cell 252-670-5531.
(20150511, 20150518, 20150622)
* FOR SALE– MFJ-1796 1/2 wave vertical, 2-40 meters, except the 2 and
6 meter radiators have been misplaced. No guarantee they will be found. Does
come with manual and spare radiators. Has 2 QSOs to its credit. Includes a
couple 10 foot pipes for mounting. Assembled, and elements already trimmed.
SWR depends on location and height. $130, which is half the new price. The
price will come down until someone buys it.
Jim Scheer, W4NLD, Jim.scheer@gtri.gatech.edu, or cell or text at
253-876-3733 (20150420)
* FOR SALE — Shakespeare 5309-R VHF Antenna.Used.23 Feet.Two
piece.West Marine $599.00.Best reasonable offer.Ralph AC2GR 252-649-1212
(20150330)
* FOR SALE–[ Remaining major items from estate of Jim Reynolds,W4YLO.
Proceeds go directly to his widow, Peggy.]
ICOM PS-125 25 amp pwr supply. Orig. price $399
Price is $175.
ICOM PW1 High Frequency Linear Amplifier – HF/50 MHz All Band 1+kW
out. Automatic antenna tuner built-in. This was bought on Jan. 7,
2012,and has had little use. Has orig. box, manual, remote head and
cables. Original price $4,649.95 (cc invoice available).
Will sell for $3000 firm, – pickup in New Bern, can ship but buyer pays.
FOR INFO OR PIX contact Al, W8UT, email anchor@ec.rr.com
(20150330,20150413, 20150420)
——————–
(Send me your amateur radio related items for sale, trade, or wanted for
listing in the PARSgram. PLEASE let me know if your listing is no longer
needed. ITEMS listed will EXPIRE AFTER 90 DAYS unless I hear
otherwise.–Jim).
UPCOMING REGIONAL HAMFESTS:
A complete list can be found on your PARS Website, www.n4prs.org
PARS CALENDAR:
* Jun 27-28, ARRL Field Day, Saturday, 2 pm – Sunday, 2 pm. Neuse Drive,
Oriental. Mike Marsh, 636-1257 or mike@marshconsulting.org
* Jul 25, PARS Monthly Meeting, Saturday, 9 am, Brantley’s Village
Restaurant, Oriental. Bill Olah, KR4LO, 249-0287 or w_olah@yahoo.com.
PARS NETS:
* Mondays, Pete’s “Swamp Talk” roundtable, around 8:15 pm local,
28.463 MHz plus or minus, USB. This is an informal forum originally
established to assist our new Hams. The frequency is in the 10M voice
segment open to technician licensees and above. Radio related
topics/questions/issues welcomed.
* Wednesdays, Pamlico Emergency Net Practice and Rag Chew, 7:30 pm,
Oriental Repeater, 147.210 + (PL151.4).
PARS WEB SITE:
https://www.n4prs.org/
Web Master is Larry Wall, KK4SEO, wallmailbox@yahoo.com.
PARSgram ITEMS
We are always looking for items of interest to PARS members to put in
the PARSgram. If you run across a timely item or think of something you
believe would interest our folks, please send it to me. Thanks.
Jim AI4WL