Feeling Better

First day in a couple of weeks that I feel this good. Hoping to get out today to see my parents and maybe to a couple of stores.

SPECIAL CALL TO ACTION

From:
ARRL Great Lakes Division
Director: James Weaver, K8JE
k8je@arrl.org

You may recall that the US Senate passed bill S. 1755 unanimously and sent
it to the US House of Representative for further action. This bill is the
first step toward overriding CC&Rs that prevent so many amateurs from
installing antennas on their own property. There seems to be little doubt
that S. 1755 will be adopted by the US House of Representative provided the
House Committee on Energy and Commerce forwards it to the floor of the House
for a vote.

Here is where you come in. We need every member possible to send two fax
messages in support of the bill. One message is to Committee Chairman Henry
Waxman and and the other is to Committee Minority leader Joe Burton urging
them to release the bill from Committee. In this strategy, we are not
asking you to write to your Representative at this time. Our intent is to
get the bill out of committee.

I strongly believe our goal will be accomplished provided every ARRL member
who can get to a fax machine will help us fill the offices of the Committee
leaders with fax messages.

Please copy the following message, add your personal information and make
any other changes you may wish, and send the two faxes within the coming day
or two.

The fax number for Chairman Waxman is: 202-225-2525
The fax number for Congressman Barton is: 202-225-1919

With your help and the help of any others you may be able to get to join in
our effort, we will take the first step toward having a Federal PRB-1 law
that covers all restrictions against antennas.

If possible, please also e-mail or USPS mail copies of your letters to Great
Lakes Division Legislative Action Chairman John Meyers, NB4K
(nb4k@arrl.org), 218 Cory Ln., Butler, KY 41006. John will collect these
letters and letters we receive from other sources and forward them to John
Chwat, our Washington lobbyist, to use when he visits Mr. Waxman and Mr.
Barton. The main thing, though, is to fax letters toCongressmen Waxman and
Barton.

The letter follows.


Dear Chairman Waxman and Ranking Member Barton:

As one of more than 680,000 Amateur Radio licensees throughout the United
States, I urge your support for passage of S.1755, the "Amateur Radio
Emergency Communications Enhancement Act," which is pending in your
Committee. This bill directs the Department of Homeland Security to
undertake a study on the uses and capabilities of Amateur Radio
communications in emergencies and disaster relief.

S. 1755, a bipartisan bill sponsored by both Chairman Lieberman and
Ranking Member Collins, passed without opposition in the Senate Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on November 4, 2009. On December
14 it passed by unanimous consent on the Senate floor. It was referred to
your Committee on the following day.

This bill promotes and encourages the valuable public service, disaster
relief, and emergency communications provided on a volunteer basis by
licensees of the Federal Communications Commission in the Amateur Radio
Service, by undertaking a study of the uses of Amateur Radio for
emergency and disaster relief communications, by identifying unnecessary or
unreasonable impediments to the deployment of Amateur Radio emergency and
disaster relief communications, and by making recommendations for relief of
such unreasonable restrictions so as to expand the uses of Amateur Radio
communications in Homeland Security planning and response.

Please pass S.1755 and send it to the House floor and to PresidentObama for
signature.

If you or your staff have any questions, please feel free to contact John
Chwat, the Washington, D.C. representative of the American Radio Relay
League, Inc., 703-684-7703 or by e-mail to john.chwat@chwatco. com

Sincerely,

[name, address]

ARRL International DX

The ARRL International DX is this weekend. I might go out to the local club, MAARC/ W8ZHO
and work it. Depends on how I feel.
I did play on the radio today for a short time. Then I ended up taking a much needed nap.
My wife told me to order whatever it is I want. I have 500 to spend, I guess it will be the KAM XL first then the Rig-Blaster Pro at a later date.
Why the KAN XL first? Because it cost more. It is easier to ask the wife for 300 dollars vs. asking for 450 dollars.

March 2, 2010

I’m considering on moving my blog to a more suitable format. I have so much information to send out at times and utilize many web forums, groups and social networks.
No decisions have been made yet, just exploring my options. I do not know if a dot com site is the answer, it maybe, I will know soon.

I played radio today for a while. I was on 20, 40 and 160 meters. I also did some satellite work. Made about 20 contacts on all bands combined.

Chile Earthquake Net Frequencies

Following the 8.8 earthquake that struck southern Chile early Saturday, Feb. 27, IARU, Region 2 and the Red Chilena Nor Austral de Servicio (RECNA) suggests radio amateurs monitor EmComm frequencies for earthquake and tsunami information:

SSB frequencies:
10 meters - 28.300, 28.500 MHz
15 meters - 21.200, 21.350 MHz
20 meters - 14.200, 14.350 MHz
40 meters - 7.050, 7.095 MHz
80 meters - 3.738, 3.750 MHz

The Hawaii Tsunami Frequencies will be
40M 7.088
80/75M 3.888

Chile Earthquake/ Volcanoes

A huge magnitude-8.8 earthquake struck Chile early on Saturday, killing at least 82 people, knocking down homes and hospitals, and triggering a tsunami that rolled menacingly across the Pacific. TV Chile reported that a 15-story building collapsed in the hardest-hit city of Concepcion, where buildings caught fire, bridges collapsed and cracks opened up in the streets. Cars turned upside down lay scattered on one damaged highway bridge. Residents huddled in streets full of rubble of masonry and glass from destroyed homes. Many were terrified by powerful aftershocks and desperately trying to call friends and family. Tsunami warnings were posted around the Pacific, including the U.S. state of Hawaii, Japan and Russia. Interior Minister Edmundo Perez said 82 people were confirmed dead, and that more deaths were possible, but he didn't expect the toll to rise much higher. Telephone and power lines were down, making it difficult to assess the full extent of the damage close to the epicenter. Chile is the world's No. 1 copper producer, and the quake halted operations at two major mines. "Never in my life have I experienced a quake like this, it's like the end of the world," one man told local television from the city of Temuco, where the quake damaged homes and forced staff to evacuate the regional hospital. The U.S. Geological Survey said the earthquake struck 70 miles (115 km) northeast of Concepcion at a depth of 22 miles (35 km) at 3:34 a.m. (0634 GMT). The capital Santiago, about 200 miles (320 km) north of the epicenter, was also badly hit. The international airport was closed for at least 24 hours as the quake destroyed passenger walkways and shook glass out of doors and windows. Chile's main copper producing region and some of the world's largest copper mines are in the far north of the country near its border with Peru, but there are also major copper deposits near Santiago.

Large earthquakes sometimes cause nearby volcanoes to erupt. Volcanoes within 200 km radius of the earthquake epicenter include: Nevados de Chillan, Resago, Lomas Blancas, Nevado de Longavi, Laguna del Maule, San Pedro-Pellado, Cerro Azul, Descabezado Grande, Calabozos, and Planchon-Peteroa.

Hawaii Officials to Evacuate Coastal Areas
HAWAII MAP
Coast Guard Asks Ships to Leave Hawaiian Ports
LIVE SHIP TRACKING

MI - Muskegon County Weather Alert 10:34:25 AM Feb, 21, 2010, Sun

MI - Muskegon County Weather Alert 10:34:25 AM Feb, 21, 2010, Sun

Posted using ShareThis

Muskegon SkyWarn Training Today

Spring 2010 Skywarn Training
February 20, 2010. Muskegon, MI
9:00am EST.
Muskegon Community College Room 1100 Stevenson Center
221 S. Quarterline Road
Muskegon, MI 49442

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/grr/skywarn/training/

Todays View

All that white in Michigan is snow cover. Not a cloud in sight today.

I was gonna work the radios today but ended up re-arranging some things.
That and the stamp collection took some time today.

SUNSPOT WATCH

Sunspot 1045 is fading away, but sunspot 1046 is rapidly growing to take its place as behemoth du jour. This 2-day movie from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) shows the see-saw action: Both sunspots pose a threat for isolated M-Class solar flares. According to NOAA, the total probability of such an eruption in the next 24 hours is 30%. The chief effect of M-flares on Earth is to ionize our planet's upper atmosphere. This can alter the normal propagation of radio signals, boosting some frequencies while suppressing others. Radio listeners should be alert for blackouts and sudden ionospheric disturbances (SIDs).

Are TGFs Hazardous to Air Travelers?

Terrestrial gamma-ray flashes (TGFs) surge through thunderstorms at about the same altitude where commercial airliners fly. Do these blasts of gamma-radiation pose a hazard to air travelers? Researchers discuss the possibilities in today's story from Science@NASA.

GPS set for problems from the Sun

Researchers say the Sun is awakening after a period of low activity, which does not bode well for a world ever more dependent on satellite navigation.
The Sun's irregular activity can wreak havoc with the weak sat-nav signals we use.
The last time the Sun reached a peak in activity, satellite navigation was barely a consumer product.
But the Sun is on its way to another solar maximum, which could generate large and unpredictable sat-nav errors.
More...

Garmin GPS: Year 2010 bug - possible pitfall for APRS Ops

This might be interesting to all GPS users - especially APRS operators. There seem to be a year 2010 bug with some Garmin devices. When switching on date and time are calculated wrong. But making it even worse almanac data is also lost. So it needs to search for all satellites whenever it is turned on (cold boot). Indeed the whole celestial mechanics is wrong: trying to display sunset
More...

Huge Snow Storm

Many of you already are aware of this. Huge storm to hit the east coast of the United States.

Powerhouse snowstorm to wallop the East... Developing...
Watches/Warnings...
RADAR...
Virginia declares state of emergency...
Snow clean-up burden for cash-strapped states...

EARTH-DIRECTED ERUPTION?

NASA's STEREO-B spacecraft is tracking four active regions strung across the eastern hemisphere of the sun. Click on the image below to set the scene in motion--and keep an eye on number 4.

The movie shows an eruption of unstable magnetic loops. The blast occured around 0130 UT on February 5th and may have hurled some material in the general direction of Earth. (Our planet is off the right edge of the image.) The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) has a direct view of the blast site and it may be able to help evaluate this possibility.

UPDATE:
There is a gap in SOHO image data spanning the time of the eruption. At present, there is no sign of a major CME heading toward Earth, but a lesser cloud could be en route. Polar sky watchers should be alert for auroras on or about Feb. 8th.