My Dog

Something happened to my dog tonight, I am not for sure what. She ran around the house, jumped on the couch, then her eyes rolled and she fell off the couch. Her body stiffened and then she quit breathing. Almost like a seizure. We called every vet in Muskegon and none would see her. Got to wait till Monday and see our vet. Some of the vets would see her if we had been under their care currently. No humanity anymore.

TERRESTRIAL GAMMA-RAY FLASHES

There's a mystery in the skies of Earth. Something is producing bright flashes of gamma radiation in the upper atmosphere of our own planet. A spacecraft called 'Firefly' is going to investigate:
full story.

Contest this Weekend.

The 2010 Winter Field Day will be held from 1700 UCT (12:00 noon EST) Saturday January 30, 2010 through 1700 UCT (12:00 noon EST) Sunday January 31, 2010. The object of the event is familiar to most Amateur Radio operators: set up emergency-style communications and make as many contacts as possible during the 24 hour period. The rules encourage as many contacts on as many bands and modes as possible, because during a real emergency, the most important factor is the ability to communicate, regardless of band, mode or distance.

There is also the CQ World Wide 160-Meter Contest.

I do not know how much contesting I will do but plan on being out there.

NASA WEB CHAT

Later today (Friday, Jan. 29th) NASA planetary scientist Barbara Cohen will answer your questions about the Moon and Mars during a live web chat hosted by the Marshall Space Flight Center. Click here to join the discussion, which begins at 3 pm EST (2000 UT).

BIGGEST FULL MOON OF THE YEAR

If you think tonight's Moon looks unusually big, you're right. It's the biggest full Moon of 2010. Astronomers call it a "perigee Moon," some 14% wider and 30% brighter than lesser full Moons of the year.

Johannes Kepler explained the phenomenon 400 years ago. The Moon's orbit around Earth is not a circle but an ellipse, with one side 50,000 km closer to Earth than the other. Astronomers call the point of closest approach "perigee," and that is where the Moon will be Friday night through Saturday morning.

A good time to look is around sunset when the Moon is near the eastern horizon. At that time, illusion mixes with reality to produce a truly stunning view. For reasons not fully understood by psychologists, low-hanging Moons look unnaturally large when they beam through foreground objects such as buildings and trees. Why not let the "Moon illusion" amplify a full Moon that's extra-big to begin with? The swollen orb rising in the east may seem close enough to touch.

ISS SSTV experiment

ISS SSTV experiment The Russian Federal Space website lists the International Space Station (ISS) MAI-75 experiment (Slow Scan TV on 145.800 MHz) taking place from Wednesday January 27 to Friday January 29. This may mean Amateur Slow Scan TV (SSTV) may take place on one or more of these days. Previous activations of the SSTV system have produced some good images that can be seen on the ARISS SSTV picture gallery site.

The ISS puts out a strong signal on 145.800 MHz FM and a 2m handheld with a 1/4 wave groundplane antenna will be enough to receive it. The FM transmission uses 5 kHz deviation which is standard in much of the world.
Many FM rigs in the UK can be switched between wide and narrow deviation FM filters so select the wider deviation. Handhelds all seem to have a single wide filter fitted as standard.

Free PC sound card Slow Scan TV software such as MMSSTV can be used to display the pictures and you can use software such as the IZ8BLY Vox Recoder to save the audio for later decoding if you are away at work.

Russian Federal Space - ISS Experiments January 25-31 (Google English)
http://tinyurl.com/yhy49t4

Information on the MAI-75 SSTV experiment
http://www.energia.ru/eng/iss/resear...cation-26.html

How to access the ISS Slow Scan TV
http://www.marexmg.org/fileshtml/howtoisssstv.html

Free Slow Scan TV Software MMSSTV uses your PCs Soundcard
http://mmhamsoft.amateur-radio.ca/

IZ8BLY Vox Recoder, enables you to record the signals from the ISS on 145.800 MHz while you're away at work
http://xoomer.alice.it/aporcino/VoxRecorder/

ISS Real Time Tracking (tick draw footprint)
http://www.n2yo.com/?s=25544

Amateur Radio on the International Space station (ARISS) SSTV picture gallery
http://www.amsat.org/amsat/ariss/SSTV/

ISS Fan Club
http://www.issfanclub.com/

AMSAT-UK publish a colour A4 newsletter, OSCAR News, that is full of Amateur Satellite information.
Join online at https://secure.amsat.org.uk/subs_form




source

AO-7 distance record

This is pretty cool. I have not worked any satellites as of late. It is a blast.

Joe Spandler K3SZH and Francisco Ramires PY2OV achieved a 7736 km QSO using the 70cm to 2m transponder on the 35 year old Amateur Radio satellite AO-7 believed to be the furthest contact within the Americas but just short of the world record. During January the distance record for AO-7 has been repeatedly broken. First, on January 2, Luciano Fabricio PY5LF worked Pierre van Deventer ZS6BB
More...

ALL EMCOMM STATIONS

TO: ALL EMCOMM STATIONS
FROM: D W THORNE, K6SOJ, WRRL-1
DATE/TIME: JAN 14, 2010 1940Z
SUBJECT: HAITI DISASTER SPECIAL BULLETIN NR 2

INFORMATION GATHERED FROM VARIOUS SOURCES -- DISSEMINATE AT WILL

ADDITIONAL AMATEUR FREQUENCIES that may be active with EMERGENCY traffic:
3977, 3985, 7265, 7290, 14265, and 14300 kHz.

REMINDERS:
Avoid transmitting within 3 kHz (on either side) of these frequencies except for EMERGENCY or PRIORITY traffic.

Normal protocol for major disasters is NO INBOUND "Health and Welfare" (W) or Routine (R) traffic for a minimum of 72 hours. There are only 143 (est.) licensed amateurs in Haiti. Only one or two stations are known to be QRV. It will probably be much longer before any inbound DWIs (Disaster Welfare Inquiries) can be handled or processed. Even when W or R traffic addressed to Haiti can be accepted, it may be many weeks before relief agencies have information or means to contact survivors and reply.

RECOMMEND: EMCOMM traffic stations my accept message traffic...but advise the originating person/party that it will be held until a means to forward/deliver it can be established. (After Hurricane Katrina there thousand of DWIs that were never delivered.)

SUGGEST: EMCOMM operators advise persons with DWIs to contact U.S. Dept. of State, the American Red Cross or the Salvation Army (they all have websites for this purpose) and follow the instructions provided.
BULLETIN from JAN 13:
All radio amateurs are requested to keep 7045 kHz and 3720 kHz clear
for possible emergency traffic related to the major earthquake in Haiti.

International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region II Area C Emergency
Coordinator Arnie Coro, CO2KK, reports that as of 0245 UTC on January
13, nothing had been heard from radio amateurs in Haiti, but that the
above frequencies were being kept active in case any Haitian hams
manage to get on the air, and in case of other related events in
surrounding areas, including aftershocks and a possible tsunami.


NOTE:
7045 is CW only. (RTTY and data is also legal in the U.S.)
3720 is CW and phone (LSB) in U.S. and is limited to advanced and extra class amateurs

Haiti Update

1. The emergency in Haiti: More medication is urgently required Allies of Aktion Deutschland Hilft provide emergency aid Bonn, Germany, 14 January 2010. Extensive aid measures of the member organisations of relief organisation Aktion Deutschland Hilft have begun for the victims of the earthquake in Haiti. World Vision is distributing first-aid kits, clothing, blankets and water bottles. Handicap International is also preparing to distribute food and has strengthened its team with logisticians and physiotherapists. "The poorest of the poor have been affected and the children in particular are suffering from the catastrophe. " It was still school time as the earthquake struck; therefore many children are now searching for their parents. We are caring for these children," reports Harry Donsbach from World Vision, management board of Aktion Deutschland Hilft. The only functional hospital in Port au Prince is the Adventist Hospital of Haiti of the member organisation ADRA. Colleagues from Haiti are reporting that the hospital is completely full and that there is not enough medication. Together with action medeor, HELP is on the way to Haiti with a health kit containing medication. Additionally, a two-person team of the organisation and assessment teams from ASB and the Johanniter are also on the way to determine which assistance is the most urgent in Haiti. A medical team of the Malteser organisation is also on its way and will tend to the supply of emergency medical care for the victims of the earthquake. Today, World Vision is sending out two pilots from the United States with medical aid which contains plastic sheets, tents, blankets, water containers and cooking sets. The medical aid has been able to be sent out quickly as it was actually meant for the forthcoming floods in this geographical area.

2. A Haitian Red Cross official estimated today that 45,000 to 50,000 people perished in the shattering earthquake Tuesday, as President Obama pledged US support of $100 million for what he said is likely to be one of the biggest relief efforts in history. Desperately needed aid began arriving from around the world this morning, the Washington Post reports. An Air China plane carrying a Chinese search-and-rescue team, medics, and tons of food and medicine landed at Port-au-Prince airport before dawn, along with three French planes with aid and a mobile hospital, officials said. A British relief team arrived in neighboring Dominican Republic, the AP reports. Bodies lay everywhere in Port-au-Prince, as survivors, many severely injured, set up camps, salvaging mattresses, plastic chairs, bits of cardboard and food from the rubble. Others streamed on foot into the Haitian countryside, where wooden and cinderblock shacks showed little sign of damage, passing ambulances and UN trucks racing in the opposite direction. "This is much worse than a hurricane," said a doctor's assistant working at a makeshift triage center set up in a hotel parking lot. "There's no water. There's nothing. Thirsty people are going to die."

Haiti Earthquake Nets

Haiti Earthquake: "It's Chaos, I'm Telling You -- It's Real Chaos"
On Tuesday, January 12 at 4:53 PM Haiti time (2153 UTC), a magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit 10 miles (15 kilometers) west of Port-au-Prince, the island nation's capital. Communications in and out of Haiti have been disrupted. The ARRL encourages US amateurs to be aware of the emergency operations on the following frequencies: 7.045 and 3.720 MHz (IARU Region 2 nets), 14.265, 7.265 and 3.977 MHz (SATERN nets), and 14.300 MHz (Intercontinental Assistance and Traffic Net); the International Radio Emergency Support Coalition (IRESC) is also active on EchoLink node 278173.
Full Story

Haiti; Immediate Health Priorities

The severe earthquake that has struck Haiti and the Dominican Republic has inflicted large-scale damage, including on hospitals and health facilities, and large numbers of casualties are feared.

Immediate health priorities are:

- search and rescue of survivors trapped underneath rubble;
- treatment of people with major trauma injuries;
- preventing the infection of wounds; and
- ensuring breast-feeding is continued.

Communicable disease control will be another major concern in coming days. WHO is working with local authorities, United Nations agencies and humanitarian partners to respond to the emergency. More specifically, WHO is supporting the government to best coordinate the international health assistance to the country. WHO is also collecting data on the health impact of the earthquake to disseminate to other humanitarian aid providers. In addition, WHO is deploying an initial 12-member team of health and logistics experts to the affected locations. The WHO experts being sent include specialists in the management of dead bodies, mass casualty management, specialist in health services and coordination of emergency health response. The WHO experts being sent include specialists in the management of dead bodies, mass casualty management, specialist in health services and coordination of emergency health response. UN buildings, including the WHO premises, have suffered damage in the magnitude 7.0 earthquake, which struck on 12 January, the main force of which being felt 17 kilometres south-west of the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince. Haiti is a country that has already suffered from years of humanitarian crisis and natural disasters, including a series of hurricanes that battered the country in 2008.

Paul Garwood
Communications Officer
Health Action in Crises
World Health Organization

Earthquake Net Frequencies

Earthquake net frequencies - 7045, 3720 kHz - Please keep clear

All radio amateurs are requested to keep 7045 kHz and 3720 kHz clear for possible emergency traffic related to today's major earthquake in Haiti.

International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) Region II Area C Emergency Coordinator Arnie Coro, CO2KK, reports that as of 0245 UTC on January 13, nothing had been heard from radio amateurs in Haiti, but that the above frequencies were being kept active in case any Haitian hams manage to get on the air, and in case of other related events in surrounding areas, including aftershocks and a possible tsunami.

The following is from an e-mail from CO2KK:

A few minutes after the earthquake was felt in eastern Cuba's cities, the Cuban Federation of Radio Amateurs Emergency Net was activated, with net control stations CO8WM and CO8RP located in the city of Santiago de Cuba, and in permanent contact with the National Seismology Center of Cuba located in that city.

Stations in the city of Baracoa, in Guantanamo province, were also activated immediately as the earth movements were felt even stronger there, due to its proximity to Haiti. CO8AZ and CO8AW went on the air immediately, with CM8WAL following. At the early phase of the emergency, the population of the city of Baracoa was evacuated far away from the coast, as there was a primary alert of a possible tsunami event or of a heavy wave trains sequence impacting the coast line at the city's sea wall ...

Baracoa could not contact Santiago de Cuba stations on 40 meters due to long skip after 5 PM local time, so several stations in western Cuba and one in the US State of Florida provided relays. CO2KK as IARU Region II Area C Emergency Coordinator, helped to organize the nets, on 7045 kHz and also on 3720 kHz, while local nets in Santiago de Cuba and Baracoa operated on 2 meters.

As late as 9,45 PM local time 0245 UTC we have not been able to contact any amateur or emergency services stations in Haiti.

Amateurs from the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Venezuela were monitoring the 40 meter band frequency, that I notified to the IARU Region II executive Ramon Santoyo XE1KK as in use for the emergency, requesting that 7045 kHz be kept as clear as possible..

We are still keeping watch on 7045 kHz hoping that someone in Haiti may have access to a transceiver and at least a car battery to run it.

All information that has so far come from the Cuban seismologists tell us of a very intense earthquake, and also of the possibility of other events following.

Following the advice of the geophysicists, we are keeping the 7045 and 3720 kiloHertz frequencies active until further notice.

Working the Radio & Cooking on the Grill

Working the radios this afternoon, made contacts on 15, 20 and 40 meters. What a gorgeous day we have today.
Seared a Boston Butt on the grill then we put it in the smoker. That will be after church dinner. Putting a few T-bones on the grill later along with some k-bobs for tonight's dinner.