PARS HOLIDAY BREAKFAST MEETING AND “GIFT” EXCHANGE THIS COMING SATURDAY
This will be our final gathering for the year. The “program” will be the
exchange of small gifts not to exceed $10 or so in value. These presents
should be related to ham radio in some way. Put your imagination to work,
see what you can find then wrap it and bring it to the meeting. After you
go through the pile and make your choice, then comes “show and tell”. If
you already have a widget like the one you opened, swap it for something
else. A fun time. See you at the meeting on Saturday, December 27th, 9 am,
at Brantley’s Village Restaurant in Oriental. This a family affair. Spouses
and kids are invited to join us for breakfast and the fun. Of course, there
is no need for them to bring a gift to exchange. See you Saturday….
Again, please park along the side or out back. Thanks.
NO WEDNESDAY NIGHT NET THIS WEEK,
NEXT PAMLICO EMERGENCY NET (ARES) PRACTICE, JAN 7, 2015
Due to Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve falling on Wednesday nights this
year, there will be no practice net until Wednesday January 7, 2015. Hope
to hear you then.
The Pamlico Emergency Net normally meets Wednesday nights at 7:30 pm
local time on the Oriental repeater (147.210 MHz, CTCSS/PL tone 151.4,
standard offset). Contact Mike Hurm, K4HPS, at 252-249-1122 or at
mhurm@aol.com for more information about the net and the Pamlico County
Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) program.
GENERAL CLASS LICENSE UPGRADE COURSE–
PLEASE PASS THIS ALONG TO ANY YOU THINK INTERESTED
PARS’ amateur radio General Class upgrade course is scheduled for Monday
evenings beginning January 5 and ending March 2 with the exam to be held at
Pamlico Community College, 5049 Highway 306 South, Grantsboro, NC 28529.
THIS IS A CHANGE IN LOCATION. We will be using Room 412 in the Brinson
Building, the middle building of the complex. The classes will run
6:30-8:30 PM. Students do not need a Technician Class license to take the
course, but must pass the Technician Class exam before taking the
General Class exam. [They may do both at the same exam session.] The
course fee is $30.00, which includes the textbook, the ARRL General Class
License Manual, 7th edition. If you choose to obtain the textbook on your
own, the course fee is waived. The exam fee is $15.00. To register,
contact Bill Michne by phone (252-249-1175) or email
(billmichne@embarqmail.com).
MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM THE LAND OF SANTA CLAUS
Received from Lapland and passed along by Dave, N4ENE:
Over a period of several years, Santa Claus has appeared on Amateur Radio
bands to bring cheer to the whole world, adults and children alike, with the
thrill of hamcasting from Santa Claus Land (SCL) and even talking directly
to kids of all ages all over the world.
Santa himself at OH9SCL in the capital of Lapland, and OF9X, Santa’s
communication arm, will again be active on all bands. But this Christmas,
Santa goes beyond his normal mission and welcomes you and your children to
join him in the spirit of World Vision <www.worldvision.org>.
This is to bring Christmas also to needy children on all continents and this
year specifically in Albania. Radio Arcala and World Vision UK have signed
an agreement for cooperation aimed at increasing the value of Amateur Radio
in society at large. The worthy cause directly involves amateurs in Albania
as well. You can join the mission at <http://qrz.com/db/of9x/> via a World
Vision link and also find Santa’s ClubLog and spot windows.
Additionally, contacting both OH9SCL and OF9X this Christmas will earn you
an attractive Santa World Vision Award at no cost following your email
request to of9x@sral.fi.
The activity starts on Friday, December 19 and ends on the last day of the
year, December 31. All bands, CW/SSB/RTTY, will be used, typically some 25
kHz from the band edge. When the station is operating on 20M SSB around
14.225 kHz, Santa’s audio and video will occasionally be streamed at
<www.ustream.tv/channel/of9x-tv>.
Those participating in the OH9SCL activity are Ynsky, OH9KL; Tuomo, OH9JML;
Jarmo, OH9EGH; Juha, OH9MM and Kimmo, OH9MDV.
At the controls of OF9X you will find Olli, OH0XX; Ville, OH1JD; Timo,
OH1NX; Jaakko, OH1TX; Raimo, OH2BCI; Pertti, OH2BEE; Martti, OH2BH; Mari,
OH2FPK (YL); Jyri, OH2KM; Arto, OH2KW; Pertti, OH2PM; Pekka, OH2TA; Pauli,
OH5BQ; Veijo, OH6KN and Kim, OH6KZP.
Our Vision for Every Child, Life in All its Splendor – Our Prayers for Every
Heart and Soul
QSL via OH2BH
NEW MORSE CODE HELPER
Dave, N4ENE, also sent along a pointer to a new little program from our
friends at N3FJP Software. (PARS uses Scott Davis’ N3FJP Field Day logging
program each year.) Anyway, CW Teacher 1.0 is now available and for FREE.
On his web page, Scott says that the program will teach you Morse Code
at your own pace. With this program you set the sending rate at 18 WPM or
higher so that you learn the characters at a functional speed, The big
diffierence between Teacher and other most other programs is that the
software will send you each character, one at a time, and wait for you to
respond. There is zero rush. The entire emphasis of the software is teaching
the association of a sound with a letter. Another plus, since copying CW
with a keyboard is what you will be doing when you are CW contesting, this
software helps you become comfortable transferring what you
hear to your keyboard directly as well.
The emphasis of this software is teaching Morse code from the absolute
beginning, It works on MS Windows XP,Vista, Win 7 and Win 8. You can find
it at http://www.n3fjp.com/cwteacher.html. Thanks Dave
dit-dah-dit-dah-dit-dah
SOLAR NUMBERS TODAY
NOAA reported that solar activity reached moderate levels during the 24
hours ending yesterday at 4 pm local. The largest solar event of the period
was a M1 flare observed at 21/0732Z from Region 2242. There are currently 9
numbered sunspot regions on the disk. The sunspot count this morning is 159
down a few from the 175 reported by NOAA last Monday. However, the Solar
Flux Index is 206, well up from the 166 in last week’s PARSgram. According
to the Space Weather Prediction Center, solar activity is likely to be at
moderate levels with a 40 % chance for X-class flares during the next three
days (22 – 24 Dec). There is a 85 % chance for M-class flares. Radio
blackouts reaching the R1 level are expected today for the sunlit side of
the Earth.
The Earth’s geomagnetic field activity has been active during
the past 24 hours. The geomagnetic field is expected to vary between
unsettled and minor storm levels today and then quiet to unsettled on
Tuesday and Wednesday. It already reached minor storm levels this
morning and then quieted down. The K-index was reported by NOAA to be a
quiet 2 at 0700 local this morning. Geomagnetic storms reaching the G1 level
are expected during the next 24 hours. They will particularly affect the
polar regions.
THIS WEEK’S DX CHALLENGE
OGASAWARA, JD1. Koji, JI1LET and Take, JA1UII will be QRV as JD1BOI
and JD1BON, respectively, from Chichi-jima, IOTA AS-031, from
December 22 to January 2, 2015. Activity will be on 80 to 6 meters
using CW, SSB and RTTY. QSL to home calls. [With all the folks that visit
and operate from Ogasawara, it would seem easy to log this island entity
some 620 miles directly south of Tokyo, Japan. For some reason, not
so. –Jim]
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. No reports heard from The County this week.
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 :
* December 24 — SKCC Straight Key Sprint
* December 26 — DARC XMAS Contest (SSB, CW)
* December 27 — RAC Winter Contest (SSB, CW)
* December 27-28 — Iron Ham Contest (SSB, CW, Digital)
* December 27-28 — Stew Perry Top Band Distance Challenge (CW)
* December 27-28 — Original QRP Contest (CW)
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
and the W1AW Centennial Stations are a great way to get those last states on
your Worked All States (WAS) Award list.)
SPECIAL EVENT STATIONS. W1AW/3 in Maryland, W1AW/KH6 in Hawaii and
W1AW/4 in Georgia are QRV until 2359z on December 23. In addition,
W1AW/3 in Pennsylvania and W1AW/0 in Iowa will be QRV starting at
0000z on December 24. They will be active until 2359z on December
30. (Courtesy of the ARRL DX Bulletin)
HAM EQUIPMENT FOR SALE, TRADE, OR WANTED
——————–
* WANTED — If anyone has a General Class License Manual, 7th ed., they are
not using, I could use one for the duration of the course, January 5 through
March 2. Contact Bill Michne, WM3X, at 249-1175 or
billmichne@embarqmail.com. (20141215)
* FREE — Coax. Belden 8281 video cable (blue jacket), 78 ft piece; RG-59U
two pieces (yellow jacket). Pick up in Morehead City or New Bern, contact
Stephen Freeman, KK4JOP, 252-725-3845. (20141215)
* FOR SALE — WIRE ANTENNA — “Radioworks” Carolina Windom 40 — Specs
and installation requirements can be found on the Radioworks site. Total
length is 66 feet. This antenna is 4+ years old but was only in the air 1
year. Requires a tuner (or an older radio with real tuning knobs). Although
wire is weathered, the balun and matching unit are like new, and all
connections were kept sealed where required. Retails new for about
$140……..yours for $40 CASH, … no offers please. Picture available
on request. Located in Greenville, with free delivery to Oriental.
Contact Don Corley, WA4DX , at 252-916-7085. (20141208)
* FOR SALE–DRAKE R-8A communications receiver in like-new condition; no
cosmetic flaws, all knobs and meters intact, nesting spiders chased out.
Asking price $500. Comparable to those on Ebay advertised at $695.
Contact Jamie King KJ4JK at (252) 514-7497or kj4jk@arrl.net (20141006)
* FOR SALE/FREE– Last items from Jim Reynolds’ (W4YLO)
station. Jim Reynolds W4YLO is in a care center with late stages of
Parkinson’s disease. His wife would like to sell his shop tools and
equipment and gain back the garage. If you have any interest in these items
please call me, Ed Valentine, and set up a visit time to view them.
– Free, Two large paper format printers. With software and cables. Come
look and take.
– One HP3570 Scanner 8/12 X 10 inch, software and USB cable. $10.
– Dentron Super Tuner ( Rated very good tuner in QRZ) $145.
– Radial Arm Saw 14 inch blade. Made by Delta With a few blades. $250.
– Sorenson Power Regulating Transformer. 6 in x 6 in x 18 in long @ 75 lbs.
1000VA $20.
– Icom AH4 Antenna Tuner $250.
– Bird Power Meter Replacement Slug Socket and in-out connectors $65
– Xantrex True Charge Dual 20 Amps. With remote metering. $165.
– Xantrex 1500 Inverter. $98.
Contact Ed Valentine W2YPM at 252 637-3161 or
w2ypm@earthlink.net for information and pricing.
(20140602/20141222)
——————–
(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 HAMFESTS:
* February 7, 2015: Richmond Frostfest, Richmond Raceway Complex,
Richmond, VA, http://www.frostfest.com
* April 4, 2015: 43rd Annual RARSfest/North Carolina State Convention,
Raleigh Amateur Radio Society, State Fairgrounds,
Raleigh, NC, http://www.rars.org/rarsfest
PARS CALENDAR:
* Dec 27, PARS Christmas Breakfast & Gift Exchange, Saturday, 9 am,
Brantley’s Village Restaurant, Oriental. Bill Olah, KR4LO, 249-0287 or
w_olah@yahoo.com.
* Jan 5 – Mar 2, PARS General Class License Preparation Course, Monday
evenings,6:30-8:30 PM, Room 412 in the Brinson Building,Pamlico Community
College, 5049 Highway 306 South, Grantsboro. TO REGISTER FOR THE COURSE
contact Bill Michne, WM3X, at 252-249-1175 or by email at
billmichne@embarqmail.com. DON’T WAIT to register, materials need to be
ordered!
* Jan 31, PARS Monthly Meeting, Saturday, 9 am, Brantley’s Village
Restaurant, Oriental. Bill Olah, KR4LO, 249-0287 or w_olah@yahoo.com.
* Mar 2, 2015, Amateur Radio License Exam Session, Technician, General, and
Extra, Monday evening, time TBA. Room 412 in the Brinson Building, Pamlico
Community College, 5049 Highway 306 South, Grantsboro. For more information,
and TO REGISTER FOR THE EXAM, contact Bill Michne, WM3X, at 252-249-1175 or
by email at billmichne@embarqmail.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.
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.
Merry Christmas Everyone!
Jim AI4WL