PARS BREAKFAST MEETING THIS COMING SATURDAY
Our next meeting will be at 0900 this Saturday, Apr 24th at Brantley’s
Village Restaurant on Broad Street in Oriental. Please park on the side
or out back. Our meetings are held the last Saturday of each month
except June when the club participates in the annual ARRL Field Day or
when in conflict with a major holiday. We hope to see you all there. For
more information contact Pamlico Amateur Radio Society President Bill
Michne, WM3X, 249-1175 or drmichne73@gmail.com.
PRESIDENT’S SOAPBOX
Well, I think we are beginning to turn the corner on this covid thing.
We will have our April monthly PARS meeting as usual at 9:00 AM on
Saturday, April 24, at Brantley’s restaurant. A full breakfast menu
will be available. We will meet in the back room as usual. That room
can easily accommodate the 50 person limit on indoor gatherings. That
should not be a problem, as our attendance usually only runs to 25 or
30, and some will not attend this meeting by choice. The main topic for
discussion will be the start of our Field Day planning. _…_ For the
last 25 years or so US amateur radio operators have been required to
operate their stations in compliance with the safety guidelines defined
by the FCC. While we could perform a full safety evaluation, most
amateurs were exempt from doing so as long as their output power was
below the guideline level for a particular band. Well, all that is
about to change. Beginning May 3, 2021, all amateurs will be required
to perform a safety evaluation of their station, unless they are exempt.
The easiest way to be exempt is to limit your output power to one
milliwatt or less. That’s right, one MILLI-watt! Not only that, each
time you make a change in your station that changes your safety profile,
such as a new more powerful transmitter, an amplifier, or a new antenna,
you are required to perform a new safety evaluation before putting the
changed station into service. But not to worry how to do it. The FCC
and the ARRL are here to help. The FCC’s “2019 Report and Order” (153
pages) and ARRL’s book “RF Exposure and You” (316 pages) give simple
descriptions of the process, and are available as free downloads. I
wonder if I’ll have to do an evaluation of my 700 watt 2450 MHz signal
generator that I just installed in the shack for reheating my coffee. …_._
TIME TO RIDE THE EASTERN EXPRESS
When you wake up this morn the Eastern Express is at 42000 ft. over
Southern Iran, just after passing over the Gulf of Oman, slowly riding
the wind heading east. The Express, better known as NC4ES-2 by its call
sign, is a SBS-13 balloon with filled with about a cubic foot of
hydrogen and hauling a little WSPR-MODE tracker transmitter on 14.09715
MHz with about 20 milliwatts of power. Our own Lor Kutchins, W3QA, and
Matt McMahon, WU2V, are the master-minds behind the Express. The Express
was launched (if that’s the correct term) last Monday morning from
Greenville. Sunday morning, after eight days at around 42,000 ft. she
had just passed by Sumarra, Iraq, and about 6362 miles from where she
started. A couple of us have been tracking the Express. Gary, N3Z3,
heard it last from here Friday when it was 3650 miles away. Given that
NC4ES was putting out 20 milliwatts this works out to 18,252 miles per
watt. Very impressive! (Of course, as Lor pointed out, the Express being
at 42K ft. helps a bit.) On Sunday, it was still being heard by 18 or so
Europeans and a couple of Russian hams. There may be fewer hearing it in
the next several days until it can be heard in Indonesia, Australia, or
maybe, Japan. Lor has been sending out daily reports. They have been
compiled and you can read them later today on our own N4PRS.org web
site. Will it circumnavigate? Let’s hope so. To Lor and Matt, a big
job-well-done! You too can follow the Express at
https://aprs.fi/#!call=a%2FNC4ES-2&timerange=432000&tail=432000
SOLAR NUMBERS TODAY
NOAA reported solar activity was very low during the 24 hour period
ending yesterday at 5 p.m. local. There is one numbered sunspot region
on the Sun facing Earth this morning. According to spaceweather.com look
for more activity mid-week. Solar activity is expected to continue to be
very low through Wednesday with a chance for C-class flares. On Sunday
the observed Solar Flux Index (SFI) at Penticton was 78. (Last Monday it
was 73.) The index is predicted to register 78 today and then 75 on
Tuesday and Wednesday. The SFI 90 day trailing average is still 76.
The Earth’s geomagnetic field was quiet to active yesterday. NOAA
expects conditions to be quiet to active today, quiet to unsettled
Tuesday, and then quiet on Wednesday. The estimated Kp-index of 3
reported at 5 a.m. local this morning reflects our current quiet
geomagnetic conditions.
For the next several days expect poor daytime and fair nighttime
operating conditions on 80 and 40 meters, fair on 30 and 20, poor on the
higher bands.
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 you have 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.
Still nothing. Send me one.
PARS CALENDAR:
* Apr 24, PARS MONTHLY MEETING, Saturday, 9am, Brantley’s Village
Restaurant, Oriental. For more info, contact Bill Michne, WM3X,
252-249-1175 or drmichne73@gmail.com. WM3X, 252-249-1175 or
drmichne73@gmail.com.
* May 29, 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
GET TESTED IF YOU FEEL YUCKY
From the Pamlico County COVID-19 Task Force: You should get tested for
COVID-19, even if you think you are just experiencing allergies. We know
of people in the county who HAD BEEN VACCINATED, thought they had
allergies, and then tested positive for COVID-19 when they were required
to get a test for a medical procedure. We also know of people who
waited too long, and had to be hospitalized. The new variants are of
concern. For more see:
https://mailchi.mp/e24717ac2493/get-tested-at-the-first-sign-of-symptoms?e=adb5dfd6c4
73 and please stay safe, Jim AI4WL
——
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