VOICE OF AMERICA RADIOGRAMS
Pete, AG7C, passed along a heads-up about ongoing experiments by the Voice
of America (VOA) with digital text and image broadcasts over shortwave
radio. Transmitted from the Edward R. Murrow Greenville Transmitter Station,
a 30 minute digital broadcast is repeated several times during each weekend
at different times and frequencies. Programs differ each week. This past
weekend, the VOA Radiogram included news about international media from
VOA’s “sister” broadcasters Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL) and
Radio Free Asia (RFA). One of the short pieces was a report on Russia’s
surprise exit from the International Radio Broadcast world. These digital
programs are produced and presented by Dr. Kim Andrew Elliott (KD9XB) from
the VOA studios in Washington, DC. Transmitted in several MFSK modes, the
signals are easily received from the station not more than 50 miles LOS from
Oriental.
VOA Radiogram transmission schedule
(all days and times UTC)
Sat 1600-1630 17860 kHz
Sun 0230-0300 5745 kHz
Sun 1300-1330 6095 kHz
Sun 1930-2000 15670 kHz
All via the Edward R. Murrow transmitting station in North Carolina.
For more info and signal reports from around the world, go to
http://voaradiogram.net/.
NEUSIOK TRAIL RUN COMMUNICATIONS HELP NEEDED
The Neusiok Trail Run is being held for a third year in the Croatan National
Forest on Saturday, January 4th, 2014. Communications support is required
for safety and event control. The Neusiok trail is 21.5 miles long running
from the Pine Cliff Recreation area on the Neuse river (Just East of Marine
Corps Air Station Cherry Point) to Oyster Point Campground east of Newport,
NC. Completing the course abundant with wild life and leg twisting obstacles
will be a big challenge for the runners. More information can be found on
the race website: http://www.neusioktrailrun.com/Home.html. If you can find
the time to help at one of the command points or outposts during this worthy
event please contact Brandon at 252-933-5373 or Jerry Jones, KF4ASE at
910-265-3724, kf4ase@ec.rr.com.
SOLAR NUMBERS TODAY
NOAA reported that solar activity was low during the 24 hours ending Sunday
night at 5 pm local. The largest solar event of the period was a C2 event
observed at 15/0913Z December. There are currently 8 numbered sunspot
regions on the disk. The Sunspot count this morning is 158 well up from 83
last Monday; the Solar Flux is 156 down 10 from last week’s number. The
Solar Flux is expected to stay about the same through Wednesday. NOAA
predicts Solar activity to be low with a chance (25 to 30%) for M-class
flares through Wednesday. A pair of Earth-facing sunspots, AR1917 and
AR1918, have ‘beta-gamma’ magnetic fields that hold energy for moderately
strong solar flares. Any eruptions from them would affect Earth’s
ionosphere and magnetic fields.
The Earth’s geomagnetic field was quiet to unsettled over the weekend. The
estimated planetary K-index at 7 am local today, 25 November, was 1.
Geomagnetic conditions are expected to be quiet for the next three days
unless those eruptions occur.
Jon Jones, N0JK who writes The World Above 50 MHz column in QST, advised
last week that,
“The Winter 6 meter Es season is underway. Tuesday Dec. 10 – 6 meters was
open before sunrise (1230 UTC) from KS, NE to Florida, and strong Es from W1
to Florida.” There is some hope for a decent Winter season after all.
DX CHALLENGE FOR THE WEEK
SOUTH AFRICA, ZS. Members of the South African Radio League are QRV
with special event call sign ZS9MADIBA for the next 30 days to
commemorate the life of Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela. QSL via
operators’ instructions.
From the ARRL Letter for December 12, 2013–
On the Air: Mandela Special Event Station on the Air
To commemorate the life of the late former president of South Africa
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela, the South African Radio League (SARL) is
sponsoring special event station ZS9MADIBA for a period of 30 days. “Madiba”
is Mandela’s Xhosa tribal name. Mandela, who served from 1994 until 1998 as
South Africa’s first black president, died December 5 at the age of 95.
“The South African Radio League, its council and members join the world
in mourning the loss of South Africa’s greatest statesman, Nelson Rolihlahla
Mandela,” the SARL said on its website. “Let us continue to remember and be
encouraged by the so many positive things for which he stood. While we mourn
his passing, we celebrate his life and the lessons he taught us and the
world.”
Contacts will be confirmed via Logbook of The World (LoTW), and the SARL
will issue a special QSL card. — Thanks to The Daily DX; SARL
QSO CORNER
This is the place to post contacts with DXpeditions, Special Event
Stations, or special QSO’s you would like to share.
All quiet in The County….
OTHER ACTIVITY ON THE RADIO:
This info is extracted from the ARRL Letter, from the WA7BNM Contest
Calendar or the ARRL Contest Corral. You can receive the Letter weekly via
email as a member of ARRL :
* Dec 20, 0001Z – Jan 1, 2359Z Lighthouse Christmas Lights QSO Party,
HF&VHF
* Dec 21, 0000Z – Dec 21, 2400Z Feld-Hell Rudolph Hell Sprint, HF
* Dec 21, 0000Z – Dec 22, 2400Z OK DX RTTY Contest, HF
* Dec 21, 1400Z – Dec 22, 1400Z Croatian CW Contest, HF
* Dec 22, 1800Z – Dec 22, 2359Z ARRL Rookie Roundup, HF, see
http://www.arrl.org/contests for rules
* Dec 26, 0000Z – Dec 26, 0200Z SKCC Straight Key Sprint, HF & VHF
All dates & times, unless otherwise stated, are UTC.
See the ARRL Contest Branch page <http://www.arrl.org/contests/>, the ARRL
Contest Update http://www.arrl.org/The-ARRL-Contest-Update/ and the WA7BNM
Contest Calendar <http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/index.html> for more
info. Looking for a Special Event station? Be sure to check out the ARRL
Special Event Station Web page<http://www.arrl.org/special-events>. For a
LIST OF STATE QSO PARTIES, see
http://www.hornucopia.com/contestcal/stateparties.html. (State QSO parties
are a great way to get those last states on your Worked All States (WAS)
Award list.)
HAM EQUIPMENT FOR SALE, TRADE, OR WANTED
——————–
* WANTED Microphone that will work with an Icom Transceiver, IC-745. Please
contact Charlie Overcash, WA4GSI, at 249-1257 or
charlie@dockline.net.(20131202)
——————–
(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).
PARS CALENDAR:
* Dec 28, PARS Monthly Meeting and Gift Exchange, Saturday, 9 am,
Brantley’s Village
Restaurant, Oriental. Bill Olah, KR4LO, 249-0287 or w_olah@yahoo.com
* Jan 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. An informal forum originally established to assist
our new Hams, this freq. is in the 10M voice segment open to technician
licensees and above. Radio 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.
Photos of the Nov 20th PARS trip to the VOA transmitter site near
Greenville, NC have been posted. If you have photos of PARS activities
please send them to Larry with a short description .
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 think
would interest our folks, please send it to me. Thanks
Jim, AI4WL