PAMLICO AMATEUR RADIO SOCIETY (PARS) NOV 28, 2015 MEETING NOTES
* Twenty-three PARS members and guests attended the breakfast meeting
Saturday chaired by President Bill Olah, KR4LO.
* There was no treasurer’s report.
* Mike Hurm,K4HPS, our ARES EC, reported 4 ARES sessions in November taking
9.7 man-hours.
* The VHF bands have been quiet for weak signal operations (SSB/CW/DIG),
but it is time to start paying attention. The Winter E-skip Season is near.
* Dick Goodwin K4JJW and Glenn Everest N4LV both talked about working the
DXpedition stations on Willis Island this month.
* Greg, KM4DZM, asked for photos of the recent Fox Hunt and Heritage Day to
post on the PARS Web Site, www.N4PRS.org
* The meeting date for the Christmas Gift Exchange was confirmed as
Saturday, December 26, 2015.
* Bill again advised that the Bi-Laws are under revision to add the
information needed for Federal Tax Exemption as a non-profit organization.
Changing annual election to the November meeting is also being
considered. Those elected would begin their term in January.
* Setting a date for the next Fox Hunt was set aside until the December
meeting. There appeared to be no clear preference from the members present.
* Thanks went to the VE’s and especially to Mike Marsh and Bill Michne for
organizing the November 16th VE Session/FCC License Exam.
Congratulations went to those who gained their license or upgraded. At the
meeting was Hunter Albert, Mike’s grandson, who passed his exam for
technician. Also present were Tom Hill KM4OLR who upgraded to General and
Mike Marsh K4NLC who upgraded to Extra. Jan Dique KK4LSQ was also recognized
for her upgrade to Extra.
* Dick Goodwin K4JJW recently confirmed his latest DX contacts to reach
2,300 DX entities. That’s a lot of DXCC Band and Mode Awards!
* There was no new business nor discussion offered from the members
at the meeting.
* Bill reminded all that the very short December business meeting is to be
followed by the annual members holiday gift exchange. New, used, old, ham
related wrapped items valued at $10 or less are pooled, then picked by
lottery number. They then can be swapped.
REMINDER–ARRL DUES GOING UP JANUARY 1, 2016
In case you missed it, we want you to know that your ARRL dues (1 year
membership) are going up $10 starting 1 January 2016. Longer term
memberships are also increasing. If you are renewing your membership through
the club–and even if you do it separately–you might want to do it soon.
Wally sent PARS renewal applications to all current members last week. You
should have yours by now. Get it back to her by mid-December so you can
insure getting the lower membership rate. Remember, if you renew through
PARS, we are able to retain two dollars of your ARRL renewal for your club’s
activities. Here’s the old and new dues schedule:
http://www.arrl.org/membership-levels
If you are not currently a member of the Pamlico Amateur Radio Society
(PARS) and wish to become one please contact our Treasurer, Wally Wallace ,
KK4ASP, at 410–804-1750 or send her an email at wallandwill@gmail.com. She
will happily send you our membership materials.
SKYWARN APPRECIATION DAY, THIS COMING SATURDAY.
SKYWARN Appreciation Day is coming up on Saturday, Dec 5th from 7am through
7pm at the National Weather Service office just off US-70 on Roberts Road in
Newport. Head over, get the tour, and spend some time operating the
office’s HF station in the annual NWS QSO Party. SKYWARN Recognition Day
began in 1999 by the National Weather Service and the American Radio Relay
League. It celebrates the contributions that volunteer SKYWARN radio
operators make to the National Weather Service. John Cole, the Newport NWS
Warning Coordination Meteorologist, is planning on conducting a Basic
Spotter class that morning. They will have pizzas, drinks and cookies for
lunch. The official webpage for the event is:
www.wrh.noaa.gov/mtr/hamradio. For more information contact John Hopkins,
KJ4JPH, or Janice, KJ4JPE, at hopkinszoo1@msn.com. Drop one of them a short
email to let them know you are coming so the Newport folks can plan.
SOLAR NUMBERS TODAY
NOAA reported that solar activity was very low during the 24 hours ending
yesterday at 4 pm local. The largest recent solar event was a B8 flare
observed at 0850Z this morning. There are 4 numbered sunspot regions on the
disk facing Earth. The sunspot count this morning is 47, down almost 30 from
the 76 reported by NOAA last week. The Solar Flux Index (SFI) is 97, well
down from the 123 in last week’s report. According to the Space Weather
Prediction Center, solar activity is expected to continue to be very low for
the next three days with only a chance for C-class flares during the period.
The NOAA forecast has the SFI dipping and then rising slightly to105 on
Wednesday.
The Earth’s geomagnetic field varied from quiet to unsettled over the
weekend. Expect quiet to active conditions today, reach minor storm levels
Tuesday and then unsettled to active condtitions Wednesday. The Kp-index
was reported to be a 4 at 0700 local this morning. Geomagnetic storms
reaching the G1 level had just occurred raising the Kp index to 5 three
hours earlier. A coronal mass ejection arriving earlier than anticipated
associated with a minor eruption of Earth-facing sunspot region AR2459 may
be the cause. More storms at the G1 level are expected. Giving us increased
noise on the HF bands, they will mostly affect the higher lattitudes.
With stormy conditions possible, try the higher 17 and 15 Meter bands.
THIS WEEK’S DX CHALLENGE
4S, SRI LANKA. Operators Bernd/DK7TF and Jurgen/DH6ICE will once again
be active as 4S7DLG from Sri Lanka until December 6th. Activity should
be on all HF bands, CW and SSB, using a TS-480 into a Hexbeam and GP.
QSL via DK8ZZ.
QSO CORNER
This is the place to post contacts with DXpeditions, Special Event
Stations, or special QSO’s you would like to share.
Both Dick K4JJW and Glenn N4LV worked VK9WA, Willis Island, mostly using CW.
They also found success using the higher bands, 15 and 10 meters, during the
morning hours here.
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 :
* 04/2200-06/1600Z Dec ARRL 160 Meter Contest, CW
* 05/0000-05/2359Z Dec TARA RTTY Melee, RTTY
* 05/0600-05/0800Z Dec Wake-Up! QRP Sprint, CW
* 05/2300-13/2300Z Dec AWA Bruce Kelley 1929 QSO Party, CW
see www.antiquewireless.org
* 06/0000-06/2359Z Dec Ten-Meter RTTY Contest, RTTY
* 06/2100-06/2259Z Dec CQC Great CO Snowshoe Run, 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
AU2, INDIA (Special Event). Look for special event station AU2JCB to be
active between November 27th and December 13th. Activity will be on 40-10
meters using SSB. Suggested frequencies are (depending on the propagation):
7040, 7150, 14210, 14310, 21350, 28510 and 28545 kHz. If higher bands
are open, operations will be on those bands. The operator will be Surabhi,
VU2DSI. QSL direct (with 2 IRCs) to VU2DSI. Operations are to celebrate
the 157th anniversary of the birth (November 30th) of Sir Jagadeesh Chandra
Bose, India’s great scientist and inventor who they consider the “Father
of Wireless Communication”. For more details, see the following Web page
at: http://www.qsl.net/vu2msy/JCBOSE.htm
DX EXPERIENCE
We’re trying something new courtesy of Jamie, KJ4JK. Every few weeks we’ll
put up a new “experience”. You might learn something new and then have fun
if and when you make the contact. Here’s the second one:
The world’s most populated city . Shanghai …
At a whopping 24,150,000 permanent inhabitants,
Shanghai is the only city that is home to over 24 million people in one city
If you make a successful contact, notify Jamie King KJ4JK and he’ll put you
on the eligible list for the prize.
mailto:KJ4JK@ARRL.NET (20151109)
HAM EQUIPMENT FOR SALE, TRADE, OR WANTED
——————–
* SOLD– 100 ft. 600 ohm low loss ladder line…
* FOR SALE –SGC SG-2000 transceiver with tuner, asking $800. Gill
Grabowski KB1GHA, 339-832-4257 or grabg1@aol.com. (20150907)
——————–
(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:
* Dec 5, SKYWARN Appreciation Day, Saturday, 7 am to 7 pm, National Weather
Service Forecast Office, Newport, NC. John Hopkins KJ4EJH
hopkinszoo1@msn.com
* Dec 26, PARS Monthly Meeting and Christmas Gift Exchange, Saturday, 9 am,
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/
* Chief Editor and Administrator is Greg Wadsworth KM4DZM, 252-322-1033 or
gwadsworth1@ yahoo.com
* 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