December 20, 2007 by kb3ljm.

The solar physics community is abuzz this week. No, there haven’t been any great eruptions or solar storms. The source of the excitement is a modest knot of magnetism that popped over the sun’s eastern limb on Dec. 11th, pictured below in a pair of images from the orbiting Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO).

It may not look like much, but “this patch of magnetism could be a sign of the next solar cycle,” says solar physicist David Hathaway of the Marshall Space Flight Center.

For more than a year, the sun has been experiencing a lull in activity, marking the end of Solar Cycle 23, which peaked with many furious storms in 2000–2003. “Solar minimum is upon us,” he says.

The big question now is, when will the next solar cycle begin?
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December 20, 2007 by kb3ljm.

Ameritron builds the most popular RF linear amplifiers on the market today. Come with us behind the scenes to see what’s inside them and how they are built. It’s the Ameritron Amplifier factory tour, where you will learn all about these tube type and solid state amplifiers.

Enjoy this 28:30 of Ham radio fun for your Christmas holiday viewing.

Episodes may be downloaded or watched at either Google Video, Youtube or: http://www.amateurlogic.com

http://www.eham.net/articles/18223

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December 20, 2007 by kb3ljm.

The ARRL DXCC Desk is pleased to announce the addition of St Barthelemy (FJ) to the DXCC List, making the island entity number 338 with an effective date of 14 December, 2007. Cards with contacts dated December 14, 2007 or after will be accepted for DXCC credit. New card submissions for St Barthelemy will not be accepted until January 1, 2008 in order to allow time for administrative adjustments.

http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2007/12/19/100/?nc=1

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December 19, 2007 by kb3ljm.

Airlines all over the world are being warned to check to make sure there’s actually oxygen in their aircraft oxygen systems after an embarrassing mix-up by Qantas Airlines at Melbourne International Airport. For ten months, crews have been filling airliner oxygen systems from a nitrogen cart that’s supposed to be used to fill tires. The mistake went unnoticed until a couple of weeks ago when an observant aircraft engineer spotted service workers using the cart. “He was walking around the plane and asked what they were doing. When they said they were topping up the oxygen, he said, ‘No you’re not, that’s a nitrogen cart,’” an unnamed source told The Age. As anyone who works with industrial gases knows, oxygen tanks have different fittings than other gases to prevent exactly this kind of mix-up. However, when the crews discovered the fittings on what they thought was their new oxygen cart didn’t fit, they swapped them for the ones on the old cart they were retiring. Of course, Australian officials are looking into the error and Qantas has been busy notifying other airlines that use its services in Melbourne. Hundreds of aircraft may be affected.

http://www.avweb.com/eletter/archives/avflash/1016-full.html#196776

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December 18, 2007 by kb3ljm.

The Australian Communications and Media Authority has issued what might be the longest special event callsign in the history of amateur radio. The Blue Mountains Amateur Radio Club has been granted the callsign VI 2 B M A R C 50, to commemorate the club’s 50th anniversary. VI2BMARC50 will be on-air from 18 to 28 January 2008.

Details of the operating schedule and QSL information will be posted on the club’s website at http://www.bmarc.org/.

http://www.rsgb.org/news/hl4.php.

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December 13, 2007 by kb3ljm.

Red Hat Inc (RHT.N) has postponed until January the launch of a new Linux software product for personal computers that would directly compete with Microsoft Corp’s (MSFT.O) Windows operating system.

Introduction of the software, which would also compete with Novell Inc’s (NOVL.O) Suse Linux software and would initially be sold in developing countries, had previously been delayed twice.

Red Hat Chief Executive Matthew Szulik had said in September that he expected to get the new product on the market by the end of November.

Late on Monday, spokeswoman Leigh Day said the company planned to release the software in January, five months after the original target date of August that it had promised customers.
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December 13, 2007 by kb3ljm.

The non-profit Foundation for Amateur Radio (FAR) is now accepting applications for 55 academic year 2008-2009 scholarships to assist radio amateurs pursuing higher education. The deadline to apply is March 30, 2008. FAR fully funds three of scholarships and administers 41 others without cost on behalf of various club and individual donors; grant income funds the remaining 11 awards. Amateur Radio licensees pursuing a full-time course of study beyond high school and accepted by or enrolled in an accredited university, college or technical school are eligible to apply. Scholarship grants range from $500 to $3000, and preference in some cases goes to applicants living in particular geographical areas or pursuing certain studies. Non-US residents are eligible to apply for some of the scholarships. FAR encourages clubs — especially those in California, Delaware, Maryland, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin — to announce these scholarship opportunities at meetings, in newsletters, during training classes, on nets and on their Web sites. More information and an application form may be requested by letter via e-mail or by sending a QSL card postmarked prior to March 30, 2008, to FAR Scholarships, PO Box 831, Riverdale, MD 20738. Headquartered in Washington, DC, FAR consists of more than 75 area Amateur Radio Clubs. FAR is devoted to promoting the interests of Amateur Radio and those scientific, literary and educational pursuits that advance the purposes of the Amateur Radio Service.

http://www.arrl.org/?artid=7894

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December 13, 2007 by kb3ljm.

“Reagan Washington National and Washington Dulles airports now have Wi-Fi Internet service. The service costs $9 a day. Subscribers of the Wi-Fi service by Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile and AT&T won’t have to pay the fee. Access to the airports’ Web home pages, which provides flight arrival and departure information, is free for all.” Metropolitan Washington Airports press release (PDF file).

http://blogs.usatoday.com/sky/2007/12/airport-check-2.html

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December 13, 2007 by kb3ljm.

200 Meters and Down, by Clinton DeSoto, remains one of the most popular Amateur Radio historical works ever printed. Published in 1936, the book chronicles the beginning of ham radio in the United States and the challenges it faced in the first 30 years of its existence. The book was originally published without an index, which made it somewhat difficult for readers (historians in particular) to navigate the wealth of information. All that has changed thanks to Tom Hart, AD1B. Hart has painstakingly indexed 200 Meters and Down and the results of his work are now available for free downloading in PDF format on the ARRLWeb site. 200 Meters and Down is still available for purchase from the ARRL online store or by calling 1-888-277-5289.

http://www.arrl.org/?artid=7897

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December 13, 2007 by kb3ljm.

Scientists think they have discovered the energy source of the spectacular color displays seen in the northern lights.

New data from NASA’s Themis mission, a quintet of satellites launched this winter, found the energy comes from a stream of charged particles from the sun flowing like a current through twisted bundles of magnetic fields connecting Earth’s upper atmosphere to the sun.
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