eHam.net News
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Teen Takes Lead on Call to International Space Station:
Posted: 15 Nov 2013 04:10 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/31239
ALAMO -- More than 100 students sat on the playground of Rancho Romero
Elementary School on Wednesday morning staring into the clear, blue sky,
waiting for their 10-minute date with an astronaut. Many watched in rapt
anticipation for one of the two 14-foot antenna towers perched atop one of
the school's buildings to tilt into motion. That, they were told, would be
the first sign they had made direct contact with the International Space
Station. Flying some 250 miles above them, American astronaut Mike Hopkins
was ready to take their call, and ready to be quizzed about his life in
space. "This is going to be the biggest science experiment we've done with
the school -- and my career as principal," proclaimed Skye Larsh, principal
of Rancho Romero. The lead engineer in the whole grand experiment: 16
year-old Rebecca Rubsamen, of Alamo, a sophomore at Bentley School in
Lafayette who built her own VHF radio and crafted two large antennas in her
backyard with the help of her father, Reid Rubsamen, who is also an amateur
radio enthusiast. A licensed amateur radio operator, Rebecca wanted to
return to her elementary alma mater to let students talk to astronauts in
space. She applied for permission to do the direct contact through NASA's
Amateur Radio on the International Space Station program. Since 1983, the
program has connected schools and universities with astronauts in space to
encourage interest in math and science -- and youth to become future
astronauts. NASA grants about 50 such permissions a year for amateur radio
enthusiasts to make contact with the International Space Station. This
year, there have been about 68 granted internationally. Rancho Romero's is
one of 20 in the United States this year and just the third in California,
said Ashle Harris, a NASA spokeswoman.
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Ham Radios Still Relevant Today:
Posted: 15 Nov 2013 04:10 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/31238
The century-old science of radio transmissions and antennas seem archaic
compared with the cellphones and tablets of today. However, James Boyer,
known by his call sign KB9IH, says that most of the time, amateur radio
operators are waiting for the world to catch up. "The general public may
not be aware that we are at the forefront of technology," Boyer says. "We
reinvent modes of communication all the time. Amateur radios are
essentially the original cellphones - that's where the technology came
from." The Allen County Amateur Radio Technical Society's 41st annual Fort
Wayne Hamfest and Computer Expo will welcome thousands of amateur radio
operators from Indiana, Michigan, Illinois and Ohio on Saturday and Sunday.
Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, has prevailed in the digital age,
with more than 700,000 licensed operators in the U.S. today.
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Ronnie Talkington Communicated with His Mom Frequently while in Vietnam:
Posted: 15 Nov 2013 04:10 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/31237
MANNINGTON -- While he was in Vietnam defending his country, Mannington
resident Ronnie Talkington made sure he wrote and talked to his mother as
often as possible. "She was having a pretty rough time because my brother
had passed away when he was in the service, and it wasn't long after that
that I was sent to Vietnam," he said. Talkington said he made calls from
Vietnam to Mannington when he could. He and his mother also communicated by
tape recordings. "I would tell her some of the things I was doing. I told
her everything that I could because there were some things I couldn't tell
her," he said. "I would ask how things were at home in Mannington."
Talkington said his mother would also tell him that she loved and missed
him. But going into the military was something Talkington wanted to do. It
all started in 1968, while Ronnie Talkington was a student at Fairmont
State. He took a semester off from college and enlisted into the Army in
May 1968. "By enlisting, I was able to get my choice of what I wanted to
be," Talkington said. "When I went into the service, I took engineering."
Talkington headed to Fort Knox for basic training. From there he went to
Fort Belvoir, Va., for Advanced Individual Training (AIT) in heavy
equipment and industrial engineering. At the top of his class, Talkington
was given the opportunity to choose his assignment. "I selected Spain but
ended up in Sacramento, Calif.," he said. During his time in Sacramento,
Talkington ran an Army Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS). "It was a
ham radio station that transferred calls from the boys in Vietnam to their
parents or loved ones here in the United States," he said. Talkington said
he even performed a wedding ceremony through the radio. "We had radios that
allowed us to talk like we were sitting right next to each other," he
said. "But you could only get signals during a certain time of the day."
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Two Sunspots Seen Coming and Going Across the Sun:
Posted: 15 Nov 2013 04:10 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/31236
Two large, complex sunspots are moving across the face of the sun. One,
which produced considerable solar activity in the past weeks, has almost
rotated off completely. A new sunspot rounded into view on Nov. 11, 2013
and is now making its way across the Earth-side of the sun. An active
region can contain one or more sunspots. The National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration numbers active regions consecutively as they are
observed on the sun.
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Willow Cell Tower Collapses as Mat-Su Drafts New Rules:
Posted: 15 Nov 2013 04:10 PM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/31235
A huge wind gust blew over a nearly 200-foot-tall telecommunications tower
near Willow in late October.The rare tower toppling -- one of the first
ever reported in the Valley -- happened as the Mat-Su Borough gets ready to
revisit the contentious issue of regulating the construction of tall
towers, including those that provide cell phone service to a growing
population. The borough removed all regulations for tall towers two years
ago and, amid public criticism, last year reinstated an old ordinance as a
placeholder. Mat-Su Borough Mayor Larry DeVilbiss in October 2012 created
the five-member Tall Towers Advisory Committee to help write permanent new
regulations. The committee is finished with the job, except for one hotly
debated question expected to be decided at a late November meeting:Should
tall towers come with setbacks to protect nearby residents?Absolutely, says
committee member Rick Brenden. Especially given what happened in
Willow. "It reinforces my point. Towers do fall long and flat and they
shouldn't be placed near homes," Brenden said Thursday, the day after he
visited the tower site with Mat-Su Assembly member Jim Sykes. "My point is,
if you put up a tower on your property, keep it on your property. If you
want it over your house, that's your business."Brenden, a ham radio
operator who represents industry on the committee, supports setbacks equal
to the height of a tower, coupled with binding agreements offered to
adjoining property owners if the tower could fall on their land.
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Propagation Forecast Bulletin #46 de K7RA:
Posted: 15 Nov 2013 09:47 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/31231
Solar activity remains robust. Yesterday, Thursday, November 14 the
daily sunspot number rose to 234, a number not seen since the last
blast of the second peak of the previous solar cycle, exactly a
decade ago.
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Amateurlogic 60 is Here:
Posted: 15 Nov 2013 09:48 AM PST
http://www.eham.net/articles/31230
AmateurLogic.TV 60: FreeDV, JT65 and Raspberry Pi File Server is now
available for download.