QRZ Forums - Amateur Radio News
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Delfi-n3Xt CubeSat engineer died on MH-17
Posted: 30 Jul 2014 01:25 AM PDT
http://forums.qrz.com/showthread.php...7&goto=newpost
Fatima Dyczynski CEO and Director of Xoterra Space.jpgDelfi-n3Xt CubeSat
engineer died on MH-17
25 year-old Fatima Dyczynski,
CEO, founder and project manager of Xoterra Space, was an Aerospace
Engineer, thought leader, scientist, creative space enthusiast, motivated
entrepreneur, public speaker, all world traveller and absolute futurist
She perished July 17, 2014 on flight MH-17 over
Ukraine.
Fatima was Operations Engineer for the Delfi-n3Xt
CubeSat which carried an amateur radio linear transponder. Delfi-n3Xt was
successfully launched in November 2013.
She presented the paper ‘A novel business model to
substantiate the commercial viability of a CubeSat constellation for
advanced Earth Observation and monitoringÂ’ at the International
Astronautical Federation Conference 2013 (IAC-13) in Beijing and had been
planning to present a paper this September at IAC-14 in Canada.
It is reported her ultimate dream was to journey to
Mars as an astronaut.
Watch Let's make space personal: Fatima Dyczynski at
TEDxGroningen 2013
Xoterra Space
http://www.xoterraspace.com/the-team/
Vibrant life of young space engineer cut short on
MH17 flight
http://www.smh.com.au/world/vibrant-...720-zv0wy.html
Delfi-n3Xt
http://amsat-uk.org/2013/11/23/delfi...e-november-22/
http://www.southgatearc.org/news/201...ed_on_mh17.htm
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Attached Images
Fatima Dyczynski CEO and Director of Xoterra Space.jpg
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Planning and Operating a Special Events Station - 2014
Posted: 29 Jul 2014 06:33 PM PDT
http://forums.qrz.com/showthread.php...4&goto=newpost
In May of 2010, I wrote a QRZ article about Planning and Operating a
Special Events Station (SES). A lot of time has gone by and I have some
more experience I wish to share. And I received additional suggestions from
amateurs who read the previous article. So consider this a rewrite of the
previous article. I apologize in advance if parts of it seem like they are
from the previous article. – Fred, WB4AEJ
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Special Events Stations are a means to add more excitement to the pursuit
of amateur radio operation. They are educational and can be a lot of fun.
Some of the ‘old timers’ frown on it and say that chasing QSL cards is not
what amateur radio is all about. They try to put down those who focus on
chasing QSL cards. I am an ‘old timer’ as a twenty word per minute Extra
class operator with nearly forty years in amateur radio. And I say shame
on them.
While I agree that chasing QSL cards is not what amateur radio is *all*
about, I believe that chasing those cards gains radio experience that
results in better operators. This is better for the amateur radio service
as a whole. Once one gains that operating experience, the sky is the limit.
When asked why your club hasnÂ’t sponsored any Special Events Stations, the
answer you will often get is ‘We don’t know how to do it!’. I am here to
resolve that issue for you.
Choose a significant event so it can draw interest. If you choose to do an
event that is insignificant to most, it will not get much attention. And
your efforts will not yield much in the way of results.
More often than not, a Special Event finds you, not the other way around.
When I lived in Maryland, our local community college was having a science
fair each year. I was contacted and asked if our club could sponsor an
exhibit at the science fair. I took it up with the membership and the
board of directors and got their approval. I registered our special event
and we operated as SES N3S for the event. Then we began doing it each year
for the short time I remained there.
I contacted a history professor at New Mexico State University to find out
if there was a person from or event that took place in New Mexico that
would be significant to the original founding of this nation. If so, I was
going to offer to run it as a special contact for the 13 Colonies. I had
doubts when I emailed him. And he confirmed that he knew of no such person
or event. That just confirms my statement of the previous paragraph.
In my previous article on Special Events Stations, I was honored to have it
reviewed by Ken Villone, KU2US. Ken was the mastermind of the now annual
’13 Colonies’ Special Event. You can find out more about ‘13 Colonies’ a
their Web site. Ken pointed out that it all comes down to planning if you
are going to have a successful Special Event Station. I say Ken is right.
Plan your SES well in advance. DonÂ’t wait to the last minute to throw it
together. It can be done, but the approach often fails to yield the best
results.
Since I moved to Las Cruces six years ago, I discovered that MVRC (Mesilla
Valley Radio Club, our local radio club) was providing communications on
the White Sands Missile Range each year for the annual Bataan Memorial
Death March Marathon. After I had been a member for just under a year, I
proposed that we operate a Special Events Station for Bataan as well. I
got with George (KD5OHA, who runs communications on the marathon course
during the event) and together we contacted the folks who plan and run the
marathon each year. We got their blessing and IÂ’m proud to say that we
have operated that Special Event as K5B for the last five years. I have
already reserved K5B for next yearÂ’s marathon. As long as I continue to
live here, I mean to see that K5B continues to be heard from New Mexico to
honor the victims and survivors of the Bataan Death March.
When the final space shuttle flight was taking place, a group of amateur
radio operators were operating SES N4S near the Kennedy Space Center for
the duration of the shuttle flight. Since we are the nearest club station
to the NASA facility at White Sands, we were contacted by amateurs from N4S
and asked to operate an SES for the duration of the launch. Regrettably,
it was very last minute. But we put it together and had quite a few
contacts. We operated as N5S for the duration of the event (not
continuously as we did not have the ‘staff’ to run it 24x7). And yes, we
did fill all QSL requests with a very nice card that WØWGA put together for
us.
Anyone can apply for a Special Events Call Sign so long as he or she is a
licensed amateur operator of any class. Even a novice can apply. For most
operations, I recommend that it be obtained by someone with at least a
general class license because the general class bands are nearly always the
best place to operate Special Events Stations. Remember that whatever
bands you will be operating on that the class of operator requesting the
call must include privileges on those bands or special identification will
be required. That can be complex and slow down your operation.
Registering a 1x1 call is free. Remember than a club call is not as
attention getting. Be aware that a 1x1 may normally be registered only for
a maximum of 15 days. An extension can only be granted only in exceptional
circumstances. For example, had the final shuttle flight lasted for more
than fifteen days, we would have requested that the ARRL VEC give us that
extension. However, it did not go that long and we didnÂ’t have to make
that request. If you know that the event will go for more than 15 days,
contact the VEC in advance of applying for your 1x1 call and explain why
you will need more than fifteen days. Seeking their advice before applying
will help to address the issue.
Go to http://www.1x1callsigns.org to apply. Click on the ‘Search 1x1
CallsÂ’ link. Set your start date for today and the end date for a month
from today. When I did that just now, I found Special Events that honor
the Navajo Code Talkers, International Lighthouse and Lightship Weekend,
the Battle of Fort Stevens, and the list goes on. When you register your
Special Events call, your event will be listed as well. You really should
be reading some of these listings before you register your station as it
will help you know how to you write your own SES listing.
When you select the ‘Request 1x1 Call’ link, you will find the 1x1 request
form in front of you. Use it to provide the required information. Select
a call that reflects upon your event. ‘K5B’ was used because the B stood
for Bataan, the 5 is the district in which the marathon took place. And
many of the victims and survivors of the march were from this area as
well. We chose 'K' because it was a popular amateur prefix.
You can choose ‘N’, ‘K’, or ‘W’ as a prefix. Any single digit numeral
(Ø-9) can be next. The suffix letter can be any alphabetic character (‘A’
through ’Z’) except ‘X’. I’m not really sure why using the ‘X’ isn’t
allowed.
There are a number of VECs (Volunteer Examiner Coordinators) that can
process your request and assign your 1x1. They include ARRL, W5YI-VEC,
W4VEC-VEC, WCARS/VEC, and Laurel ARC, Inc. Any one of these can process
your request. IÂ’ve always used ARRL because they are very prompt in
handling these requests. But it is up to you as to which VEC you ask to
process and approve your request.
While the description doesnÂ’t show up in the search, it really is needed
for the VEC to understand the details of your event when approving your
1x1. If you have a URL to a Web page that gives information about your
event, be sure to include it in the event description.
After you have submitted your request, it can take several days and maybe
as much as a week before the chosen VEC approves your request. Be
patient. They will notify you by email once it is approved.
Someone pointed out to me [during the comments on my previous SES article]
that you must be careful when selecting an event. If it has any commercial
purpose or if money is collected for the event, it may be unacceptable in
the eyes of the FCC. Most events are just fine. But a few may be
problematic. Use good judgment and operate within Part 97 rules. If you
are not sure, contact your VEC or the FCC and seek their advice before
applying for your 1x1 call. Thanks to NA4IT for this information.
You should be able to find an artist in your radio club. If you offer a
QSL card or a certificate for contacting your station, it should be
attractive and contain photos or artwork pertaining to the event. Our club
artist is Elden, WØWGA. He has made some beautiful QSL cards from photos
and from artwork.
DonÂ’t be in a hurry to print your QSL cards, though. It is usually a big
mistake to print them before the event. You will need an image of the card
to display [with ‘SAMPLE’ in big letters on it] on your Web page. And you
donÂ’t yet know how many cards you will need. The time to print them will
come well after the event has concluded. I will show you how to get the
cards cost effectively. So keep reading.
I gave a list of ways to publicize your event in my previous article. Here
they are again with some additional ones.
1. Create a Web page with the Special Event information on it.
2. Ask QST to include it in their listing of Special Events Stations
(contact them at least four months in advance).
3. Email other countryÂ’s Amateur Radio Publications and ask that your
Special Event be included in their journals (RSGB, WIA, RAC, etc.). They
will probably need four months as well.
4. Send it over amateur radio mailing lists.
5. QRZ has a forum entitled, ‘Contests, DXpeditions and Special
EventsÂ’. This is a wonderful place to publicize your event.
6. Arrange to list your 1x1 call in the QRZ database shortly before
the event. Contact QRZ directly if you need help gaining control of that
listing. Be sure to release control of it after you send your QSL cards.
7. Contact other radio clubs and ask them to share the information
with their membership.
8. Ask your ARRL Section Manager and other ARRL Section Managers to
spread the news.
9. Contact Amateur Radio Newsline. Be sure to write up a blurb for
them to broadcast for you.
10. Put up a sign at area hamfests in the months prior to the event to
publicize it.
It is important to be complete and clear when publicizing your event.
Include all relevant information. Are you providing a QSL card? Are you
providing a certificate? Tell them how to request your Special Events QSL
card or certificate. Usually that is by sending you their QSL card and an
SASE (Self Addressed Stamped Envelope) to your address or your club
address. Be sure to tell them what size envelope you need (Number 6 ¾ (3
5/8” x 6 ½”) for QSL cards or Number 10 (4 1/8” x 9 ½”) for certificates
(you will fold the certificates into three parts to put them in the
envelope). Always ask them to use Forever stamps as that reduces the
possibility that someone will send an SASE with the wrong amount of postage
on it (it has happened to us despite our request that they use Forever
stamps).
Publish which frequencies you will operate near and the dates and times you
will be operating. State that you will be operating ‘as nearly as possible
toÂ’ the frequencies you publish (publishing a frequency does not guarantee
that you will be able to use it. You may need to move up or down to find a
clear spot). Try to use general class bands. Using the advanced class
bands will prevent general class stations from calling. Using the extra
class bands could also prevent advanced class stations from calling in
addition to general class stations. Remember to consider their frequency
limitations. If you are trying to attract DX stations, please consider
that their frequency limitations may not be the same as ours when you
choose your frequencies. If your focus is on working DX stations, you may
have to do some homework when selecting your operating frequencies. Try to
find out what the operating bands and license limitations are in that
country. Contacting their equivalent of the ARRL (RSGB, WIA, RAC, etc.) to
inquire might be a very good way to go.
Using DX Summit to list your station and the frequency you are currently on
is another way of attracting attention. Try to use it while you are
operating. Click on ‘Sign In/Register’ to create a user name (your call
sign) and password [if you don’t already have one]. Then click on ‘Send
SpotÂ’ to enter your call sign, password, your 1x1 call, frequency, and a
brief description of your event. Once you press the ‘Send’ button, your
information will be displayed on DX Summit so that other stations will be
able to quickly locate you. You may want to put the URL to your QSL
information in that description field. Remember you are limited to
thirty-four characters.
Having the QSL information on your Web page can speed things up when you
exchange contacts. Give them your URL so they can get the full
instructions. Also include your operating frequencies, dates, and times on
your Web page. Also put the mailing address for them to send their QSL
request. Be sure to add ‘U.S.A.’ to the end of your address for the
benefit of the DX stations. I often suggest that they put the Special
Event call on the lower, left corner of the outer envelope (an ‘outer
envelopeÂ’ is the envelope containing the other stationÂ’s QSL card and
SASE. When you open the outer envelope, you should find both inside it).
This helps separate the clubÂ’s business mail from the SESÂ’s QSL requests.
Also tell them the deadline to request your SES QSL and that they should
allow four to six weeks from that deadline to receive the SES QSL card.
For DX stations, I suggest that you request that they send you their QSL
card if they are reachable via bureau. Tell them you will send their SES
QSL card via the ARRL Outgoing QSL Bureau. Say that you will not be
accepting their QSLs from the incoming QSL bureau because it could be a
year or more before you would receive them and that the cards will no
longer be available by then.
Give the DX stations the option of sending an SASE with sufficient return
U.S. postage for international mail if they donÂ’t want to wait for the
bureau. Since some countries do not accept cards from the ARRL Outgoing
Bureau, those stations will need that option if they want your card. You
can suggest that they send you enough cash to pay for the return postage.
But even that can be difficult since U.S. currency is very hard to get and
expensive in a number of countries.
The U. S. Postal Service recently discontinued using International Reply
Coupons (IRCs). So the option of using IRCs for return postage with DX
stations is no longer available.
It is very important that your operators be able to answer questions about
the event. For K5B, I took it upon myself to read a book written by one of
the Bataan survivors who told the story of Bataan. I also attended a
planning meeting with the folks at the White Sands Missile Range to gain
insight into events that would take place during the marathon.
Keep a good log of all contacts. It is best to use a logging program.
This allows you to sort by call sign, date, and/or band and print the log
for use when it is time to process QSL requests.
Have plenty of operators available and let everyone take turns. When
possible, have someone else keep the log for the operator.
Proper identification of a 1x1 Special Events Station requires that you
give the 1x1 call every ten minutes and at the end of your transmissions.
In addition, you must give the trusteeÂ’s call sign (your call or your
clubÂ’s call if thatÂ’s what you used to register the 1x1) once per hour.
You really should keep the contacts brief when you find yourself in a
pileup. Courtesy is important as you roll on to the next station. During
times of low traffic, take the time to talk about the significance of the
event you are operating for. This could attract more attention to your
event.
Use the three by three calling method. Call 'CQ' three times, say ‘from’
or ‘this is’, and give your SES call sign three times. Repeat this process
two more times and then listen for calling stations. When you are in a
pileup, change to the 1x1 method. ‘CQ Bataan from K5B’ is what I used for
1x1.
When being hammered by an enormous number of stations, there are two
effective methods to alleviate congestion. The first method is to ask them
to call by call area. Say, ‘Stations from call area one call now’. Once
you work all the stations from call area one, move on to call area two, and
so on.
The second method is to listen for their call signs and then pick out one
or more. Then call them one at a time. This works but continuously
separating calls from stations that are walking all over each other can be
a trial in itself.
Collect the log and hold onto it once youÂ’ve completed your event. The
information it contains will be needed when you prepare your QSL cards.
This past year, we used a Web application known as ‘Cloudlog’ on our club
Web site so we could have our members operate K5B and make log entries from
their home stations into a common database and greatly increase operation
and the number of contacts. Thanks to KØSKW, MØVKG, MØVFC, M1BXF, and
W5ISP for providing it as open source for use by the ham community. We
will likely be using it again in 2015.
Most QSL companies require a minimum order of five hundred or a thousand
cards. Even so, this can be the most expensive method. A personal or club
station may find this cost effective. An SES rarely needs that many.
Unless you get enough requests to need five hundred or a thousand QSL
cards, there is a better way. The ratio of the QSL requests we received to
actual number of contacts we made was about twenty-five per cent. That
seems to be the norm. So if you have four hundred contacts, you can expect
to get about a hundred QSL requests.
Count the number of requests you received in the mail. Then count the
number of DX stations you worked. Add those two numbers together and then
add fifteen to twenty per cent more to that number. You can consider this
an accurate count of how many cards you need.
Our local printing company printed our cards four to a page using
cardstock. They printed our artwork in color on the front and our QSL
Report and address fields in black and white on the back. Then they cut
the cards into 3 ½” x 5 ½” (the cards should never be larger than that. If
they are, they become difficult for you to put into the SASEs or for the
QSL collectors to put in their binders).
The cost can be quite reasonable and varies according to the quality of
paper that is used. Since QSL cards are essentially post cards, you should
use cardstock or the equivalent. The first year we operated K5B, we were
charged forty-five cents per page of cardstock to print our cards and an
additional charge of between two and three dollars to do the cutting.
LetÂ’s assume you need two hundred and twenty-five cards. Round it up to a
number that is evenly divisible by four. In this case, that is two hundred
and twenty-eight. Since there are four to a page, dividing two hundred
and twenty-eight cards by four cards per page yields fifty-seven pages.
Multiplying fifty-seven by forty-five cents yields twenty-five dollars and
sixty-five cents. Adding three dollars for the cutting yields twenty-eight
dollars and sixty-five cents. So you can see that it can be done quite
cost effectively at a cost of less than thirty dollars.
Provide a couple of the QSL cards to those who sponsored the event. You
should also give a couple to your club historian. Elden, WØWGA recently
put up a bulletin board in the MVRC club house with all of the QSL cards he
has made for our Special Events Stations.
At your ‘QSL Party’, pour out your bin so the outer envelopes are placed
into a pile on the table. The Special Events cards should also be placed
there. Put your Special Events log where everyone can reach it. Place
your now empty plastic bin on the floor next to the table. YouÂ’ll also
need a trash can to place the outer envelopes in as you open them. Put
your rubber stamps with your return address and the name of the event on
the table as well [if you have them].
Discard the outer envelope and keep the QSL and SASE. You should fill out
your blank SES card or certificate from the information in the log and not
from the other stationÂ’s QSL card. Place your now completed SES QSL card
or certificate in the SASE and seal it. If the SASE does not contain a
return address, use your return address rubber stamp on the upper left hand
corner of the SASE. If you have a rubber stamp with the name of the event,
stamp it between the return address and the stamp (otherwise, write your
1x1 call in the lower left hand corner of the SASE). Be sure not to rubber
stamp over the Forever stamp as the Postal Service might consider that the
ink on the stamp means the stamp has already been used and return the SASE
to you.
Place each now sealed SASE in the bin or box that you used to keep the
outer envelopes in before taking them to the post office.
Repeat the steps of the last two paragraphs until you have filled all the
requests.
Have someone take the plastic bin to the local Post Office and mail the
SASEs. Use a Post Office that will postmark the SASEs in the same city of
the event (Las Cruces, New Mexico for the Bataan Memorial Death March
Marathon).
Go through the log and list the DX stations you worked. Find out which
ones are reachable by the ARRL Outgoing QSL Bureau. For the stations that
are reachable, fill out a card for each one. Follow the instructions on
the ARRL Outgoing QSL Bureau Web site. Usually, this requires proof of
ARRL membership or affiliation, a check for the required amount (two
dollars for up to ten cards or three dollars for up to twenty cards (for
more than twenty cards, look at their rates on their Web site), and the
cards sorted in alphabetical order by prefix. If you want to send cards to
the other DX countries, you will have to decide if you want to foot the
bill for the postage or wait and see if they send you their QSL card and
see what arrangements can be made to get your card to them. If you really
need their QSL card [for DXCC as an example], you should send them an SASE
with enough postage from their country sufficient for international mail.
I used to purchase foreign stamps from a stamp collectorÂ’s store for this
purpose. Go to the post office Web site for their country and find out how
much postage is required to mail the SASE from the DX country to the United
States. Then find an online or local stamp store to purchase that much
foreign postage from them. Put the postage on your SASE and put it and the
SES QSL card in an outer envelope with enough U.S. postage for mail to that
country.
You will receive late requests from those who did not promptly mail their
request. Any QSL cards for the event that are left over should be kept on
hand to fill those requests. If you are out of cards when you receive a
new request, remember that they were told what the deadline was and they
missed it. For Johnny come lately requests it is first come, first
served. The instructions you published for getting a QSL card clearly
stated that. If you are out of cards, it is their fault, not yours.
The artwork on your QSL card or certificate should always take great pride
in the event and in amateur radio. Remember that it is the only proof that
your event ever took place. And you should never use the artwork more than
once. Each year, you should have a new photo or artwork. And put the date
and the sequence of the event on your card or certificate (21st Annual
Bataan Death March Marathon, 22nd Annual Bataan Death March Marathon,
etc.). You should have a reputation for good artwork. That will go a long
way towards bringing them back each year.
I received a suggestion that it is not a good idea to list your personal or
club call as a ‘QSL Manager’ for a 1x1 station. Since the 1x1 call may be
used many times in a single year, you might get deluged with QSL requests
for contacts that were not with your station. Thanks to K3KO for this
suggestion. N4KC made a similar suggestion.
Another suggestion was to upload your logs to LOTW or eQSL. Thanks to KJ8O.
TA2RX suggested considering sending QSLs for one hundred per cent of your
SES contacts. This could be expensive but might be worth it depending upon
your preferences or circumstances. You could put postage directly on the
QSL cards at the post card rate to save some money and then mail them.
MØDCD suggested giving newly licensed operators a chance to operate the SES
station. Remember that even unlicensed persons can operate as long as they
are supervised by an operator of the proper class.
This article is based upon my experience running three Special Events
Stations (N3S, N5S, and K5B) and the suggestions I received from the
comments of my previous article. Thanks to KØSKW, K3KO, KJ8O, KU2US,
MØDCD, MØVFC, MØVKG, M1BXF, N4KC, NA4IT, TA2RX, and W5ISP for their
suggestions. And thanks to WØWGA for the artwork he does to support K5B
each year and to the artwork for N5S and MVRCÂ’s artwork.
Please join us by calling K5B next year on March 22, 2015. Check out our
K5B Web page for details.
73, and happy operating from WB4AEJ.
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Space Weather Videos now available
Posted: 29 Jul 2014 11:14 AM PDT
http://forums.qrz.com/showthread.php...e&goto=newpost
The Space Weather Prediction Center, in cooperation with several partners,
has produced four space weather videos. The first is an introduction to
space weather. The next three address the impact of space weather on
communications, GPS, and power.
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Pixel Techologies Re-brands as InLogis
Posted: 29 Jul 2014 09:08 AM PDT
http://forums.qrz.com/showthread.php...s&goto=newpost
The Company
InLogis (formerly Pixel Technologies) was founded in 2000. Firstly engaged
in XM Satellite Radio signal distribution and new product awareness
consulting, the Company then expanded into high-quality, professional AM/FM
and HD radio antennas and distribution accessories. In 2012, we moved a
step further in entering the cellular signal market, providing
second-to-none customized signal coverage systems for both residential and
large-scale commercial applications. Utilizing all of the InLogis product
line, we are now major providers of equipment for the Automotive OEM
Infotainment Test System market. For Government Agencies and for
Amateur/Ham Radio enthusiasts, our highly acclaimed shielded magnetic
receive-only loop antennas remain the top-of-the-line best sellers.
-
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Ham Radio Themed Movie Short featured at Film Festival in Seward, Alaska
Posted: 28 Jul 2014 09:52 PM PDT
http://forums.qrz.com/showthread.php...a&goto=newpost
My friend Corliss Al1G presented this as an entry in the short film
competition at the Balto Film Festival in Seward AK this past weekend
(7/26/14). I thought the folks here ..especially the cw ops would enjoy it.
http://vimeo.com/98907045