Friday, April 15, 2011

Special Temporary Amateur Call Signs for Royal Wedding

RSGB has agreed with Ofcom arrangements for all UK Radio Amateurs to opt to use special call-signs for a period of eleven days beginning on the date of the marriage of H.R.H. Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton, 29th April 2011.


Use of the special prefix, which is "GR", "MR" or "2R" is conditional on allocation of a Notice of Variation to the License (NoV) which can be quickly obtained via a simple process on this RSGB web site, which also contains all relevant information.


The last date and time for application is 18:00 BST on Tuesday 26th April 2011. All NoVs which are approved by Ofcom will be provided by close of business on Thursday 28th April 2011. No postal applications will be accepted and all NoVs will be sent by Email to the address supplied as part of the application.
For more info, Click Here

KD8BIG & Articles of Interest

Hello all, still dealing with health issues and hoping to feel more like sitting at the desk soon. I really hate using the lap-top while in the recliner or in bed.
I am hoping to write up a few reviews next week on the HEIL Pro Set Plus, Yaesu FTM 350 AR and the MFJ 1279M Deluxe Multimode Sound Card Interface. It has been a while since I have done a review, mine or someone else's.

This weekends contest.
NCCC Sprint LadderApr 15
Holyland DX ContestApr 15-16
TARA Skirmish Digital Prefix ContestApr 16
ARLHS Annual Spring Lites QSO PartyApr 16-24
ES Open HF ChampionshipApr 16
CQ Manchester Mineira DX ContestApr 16-17
Feld Hell SprintApr 16
Michigan QSO PartyApr 16-17
EU Spring Sprint, SSBApr 16
EA-QRP CW ContestApr 16-17
Ontario QSO PartyApr 16-17
YU DX ContestApr 16-17
ARRL Rookie Roundup, SSBApr 17
Run for the Bacon QRP ContestApr 18

Articles of Interest;
Contest;
Dayton 2011 Contest Dinner
Dayton ConTest University - CTU USA 2011
WRTC 2014 Team Selection Critera Released
2010 WWSA Update
New Amateur Radio Operators Organization
98th Anniversary of the Titanic Disaster
Amateur Radio;
Big B to brush up his ham radio skills
ARNewsline Report 1757 -- April 15 2011:
ZM Amateur Radio prefix for Rugby World Cup
When Pig's Fly Special Event Stations
Amateur radio enthusiasts set to run Speyside special
Elementary School Students Make Contact with Astronauts

My Stamp Collecting Blog

Counter Added January 1, 2011

free counters

HOW TO READ PROPAGATION NUMBERS

The A index [ LOW is GOOD ]

  • 1 to 6 is BEST
  • 7 to 9 is OK
  • 11 or more is BAD

Represents the overall geomagnetic condition of the ionosphere ("Ap" if averaged from the Kp-Index) (an average of the eight 3-hour K-Indices) ('A' referring to amplitude) over a given 24 hour period, ranging (linearly) typically from 1-100 but theoretically up to 400.

A lower A-Index generally suggests better propagation on the 10, 12, 15, 17, & 20 Meter Bands; a low & steady Ap-Index generally suggest good propagation on the 30, 40, 60, 80, & 160 Meter Bands.

SFI index [ HIGH is GOOD ]

  • 70 NOT GOOD
  • 80 GOOD
  • 90 BETTER
  • 100+ BEST

The measure of total radio emissions from the sun at 10.7cm (2800 MHz), on a scale of 60 (no sunspots) to 300, generally corresponding to the sunspot level, but being too low in energy to cause ionization, not related to the ionization level of the Ionosphere.

Higher Solar Flux generally suggests better propagation on the 10, 12, 15, 17, & 20 Meter Bands; Solar Flux rarely affects the 30, 40, 60, 80, & 160 Meter Bands.

K index [ LOW is GOOD ]

  • 0 or 1 is BEST
  • 2 is OK
  • 3 or more is BAD
  • 5 is VERY VERY BAD

The overall geomagnetic condition of the ionosphere ("Kp" if averaged over the planet) over the past 3 hours, measured by 13 magnetometers between 46 & 63 degrees of latitude, and ranging quasi-logarithmically from 0-9. Designed to detect solar particle radiation by its magnetic effect. A higher K-index generally means worse HF conditions.

A lower K-Index generally suggests better propagation on the 10, 12, 15, 17, & 20 Meter Bands; a low & steady Kp-Index generally suggest good propagation on the 30, 40, 60, 80, & 160 Meter Bands.

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