PARS BREAKFAST MEETING THIS COMING SATURDAY
Our next meeting will be in the back room of Brantleys Village
Restaurant on Broad Street in Oriental at 0900 Saturday, February 22nd.
Please park along the side or out back. We hope to see you all there.
Come early for breakfast with your fellow hams. For more information
contact Pamlico Amateur Radio Society President Bruce Perkins, K4ONC,
252-626-2730 or K4ONC@aol.com
Likely hear lots about the Great Eastern Balloon Race, local repeater
happenings, Mike’s Winlink RMS and more. Always lots to talk about plus
a chance for a Brantleys Gift Certificate.
FOR THE 19 FEB 2025 WEDNESDAY NIGHT NET (PCN):
Please use the normal Winlink Net CHECK-IN form. Wayne, KO4OJC, should
be at the controls, otherwise Mike, K4NLC. BTW, Wayne reported that
there were 20 net check-ins and 17 Winlink check-ins for last
Wednesday’s (12 Feb) Pamlico Communications Net. Questions? Contact
Bruce Perkins, K4ONC, 252-626-2730 or K4ONC@aol.com
NORTH CAROLINA QSO PARTY
Our North Carolina QSO Party is coming up next Sunday, February 23rd.
That’s the day after our February PARS meeting. The objective for NC
Hams is “to activate as many NC counties as possible and to make contact
with everyone”. Here’s what you need to know… The party is from 10 am
to 8 pm on Sunday, Feb 23, 2025. The exchange is call sign and county,
“Pamlico” or “PAM” for us. Signal report is optional. Bands are 80/75
through 2M; no 160 or WARC bands. Modes include phone, CW, Digital.
FT8/4 is treated as a special activity in 2025. The complete rules are
at www.ncqsoparty.org/rules.
SO WHERE ARE THEY NOW?
This may be the quickest lapping by any of the Greenville balloons. At
first report at 1048 EST Sunday morning, N4PRS was near Huston TX, NC4ES
near San Antonio, both heading east at about 95 mph. Given they had gone
nearly all the way around the earth, it’s an amazingly tight race back
to cross the Greenville launch point longitude. At 1318 EST and farther
east, the PARS balloon was about 250 miles ahead but anything can
happen! K4ONC, KR4LO, K4JJW, W3QA, WU2V, AI4WL and others nearby all
heard their tiny 20Mw signals.
Most recent signal reported from NC4ES on Lu7aa this Monday morning at
0718 placed her in grid GM19, well off shore, truckin’ east. N4PRS has
yet to awake. As to which passed over the line first, we’ll have to
await Matt’s “official” report…
Get the details from Matt, WU2V, and follow the high-flyers at:
https://easternhpc.com/nc4es-pico-balloon-information-page/
SOLAR NUMBERS TODAY
NOAA reports that solar activity was low during the 24 hour period
ending yesterday at 4 p.m. local. The Space Weather Prediction Center
expects solar activity to be low through Wednesday with a chance for
M-class flares and a slight chance for an X-class flare.
There are 12 numbered sunspot regions on the Sun facing Earth this
morning. There were 11 last Monday, 8 the Monday before.
Sunday’s noon Solar Flux Index (SFI) observation at Penticton was 185,
last Sunday’s was 163. The index is predicted to measure 185 today, 185
Tuesday and 180 on Wednesday. The much more important SFI 90 day
trailing average was 192 yesterday. It was 191 last Sunday.
The geomagnetic field was unsettled to active yesterday. The SWPC
expects the field to be quiet to active today and Tuesday and then quiet
to unsettled on Wednesday. The planetary K-index at 7 a.m. this morning
was 2.33 indicating quiet conditions.
No real change for us operators. Expect mostly good conditions to
continue. Look for poor conditions during the day on 80 to 40, fair to
good at night; good day and night on 30 to 15; and good day, poor at
night on 12 and 10M. Best on 15 and 17. Go to
https://www.n4prs.org/looking-up/ for the latest observations.
DX THIS WEEK–
Extracted from ARRL’s ARLD007 DX news and DXWorld.net:
–ST. PIERRE AND MIQUELON, FP. Freddy, F4HEC will be QRV as FP/F4HEC
from February 16 to 25. Activity is on 80 to 6 meters using CW and SSB.
–GALAPAGOS ISLANDS, HC8. Edgar, K2IN is QRV as HD8CW.
–MARSHALL ISLANDS, V7. A group of operators will be QRV as V73WW until
23 Feb. Activity will be on 160 to 6 meters using CW, SSB, RTTY, FT8,
and FT4
–CHRISTMAS ISLAND, VK9X. A group of operators will be QRV as VK9XU from
February 18 to March 4. Activity will be on 160 to 6 meters using CW,
SSB, RTTY, and other digital modes with three stations active around the
clock.
HAM EQUIPMENT FOR SALE, TRADE, OR WANTED
Send me your amateur radio related items that are for sale, trade, or
wanted and your contact information. PLEASE let me know when you have
have sold your item or if your listing is no longer needed. Listings
will EXPIRE AFTER 90 DAYS unless I hear otherwise. Thanks, Jim.
–FOR SALE: Kenwood TS-50 hf transceiver 80 thru 10, 100 watt with
external kenwood tuner $400. Also a 6Meter 3 element beam $50. Contact
Bob, WA2FIS, at 732-533-8387. (20250113)
PARS CALENDAR:
* FEB 22, PARS MONTHLY MEETING, Saturday, 9am, Brantley’s Village
Restaurant, Oriental. For more info, contact Bruce Perkins, K4ONC,
252-626-2730 or K4ONC@aol.com
* MAR 1, PAMLICO COMMUNICATIONS TEAM (PCT) MEETING, Saturday, 9-10:30am,
Oriental VFD Station 19 on Straight Rd vic. NC-55. All are welcome. For
more info, contact Bruce Perkins, K4ONC, 252-626-2730 or K4ONC@aol.com
REPEATER/NODE STATUS
(See www.n4prs.org/frequencies/ for set-up)
N4ONC VHF FM Oriental — Operational
N4ONC (old KR4LO) UHF FM Oriental — Operational
NC4ES VHF DMR Arapahoe (NC4ES Network) (147.285MHz+ CC1) — Operational
NC4ES VHF FM Arapahoe (147.285MHz+CTCSS ENC 88.5Hz/DEC 100Hz)–Standby
NC4ES UHF DMR (NC4ES Network) Florence — Operational.
WM3X-ONC VHF C4FM/WIRES-X NODE Oriental (145.530 simplex)– Operational.
LOCAL NETS OF INTEREST TO PARS MEMBERS:
* Mondays, “Pamlico 10 Meter Net, 7:30 pm local, on or near 28.464 MHz,
USB. A non-directed net for technicians and above. Radio
topics/questions/issues welcomed.
* Wednesdays,”Pamlico Communications Net”, 7:30 pm local, N4ONC
(Oriental) VHF Repeater, 147.210+ (CTSCC Tone Squelch 88.5). A directed
net open to all. Net activates on call during emergencies.
* 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 WEBSITE: https://www.n4prs.org/
Our Web Master is Paul Jodoin, K4MMB, PARSwebman@gmail.com
73, Jim AI4WL Editor
——–
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