Mikhail Kornienko, RN3BF selected for ISS

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Created on Wednesday, 28 November 2012 14:18

Russian Cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko, RN3BF, of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and NASA Astronaut Scott Kelly have been selected for a one-year mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS) in 2015.

According to NASA, the mission will include collecting scientific data important to future human exploration of our solar system and to understand better how the human body reacts and adapts to the harsh environment of space as NASA plans for missions around the Moon, an asteroid and ultimately Mars.

Kelly and Kornienko will launch aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft from Kazakhstan in spring 2015 and will return to Kazakhstan in spring 2016.

ZL9HR still in rough Sea's

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Created on Wednesday, 28 November 2012 13:14

The ZL9HR operation will be delayed due to bad weather in the southern ocean. They at anchor south of Stewart Island waiting for the weather to clear. Initially they expected to arrive at Campbell Island on Friday, but the weather giving further problems today.

This latest update this morning; ''We are still at Stewart Island the weather is still bad the waves are 11 meters high. We will be leaving tomorrow morning 29th of November for Campbell Island and hope to be there Saturday morning and start operating late that day''.

Penumbral lunar eclipse....TODAY !!

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Created on Wednesday, 28 November 2012 08:41

On November 28, 2012 the moon will slide through the Earth’s pale outer shadow or penumbra, resulting in a penumbral lunar eclipse.

A penumbral lunar eclipse occurs when the Earth moves between the Sun and Moon but the three celestial bodies do not form a perfectly straight line. The Earth revolves around the Sun and the Moon circles the Earth. During Full Moon, the Earth passes roughly between Moon and Sun.

Click here to see the event from the Slooh Space Camera who will webcast it live from The Canary Islands.

Solar Activity

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Created on Thursday, 22 November 2012 11:49

A big new sunspot (AR1618) has emerged near the center of the solar disk, and it is crackling with strong M-class solar flares.

NOAA forecasters estimate a 70% chance of more M-flares today, and a 15% chance of powerful X-flares.

If the rapid growth of AR1618 continues at this pace, the Thanksgiving holiday (USA) and the next few days could be filled with stormy space weather!

For the none-radiio hams reading this, the sun is a star, a hot ball of glowing gases at the heart of our solar system. Its influence extends far beyond the orbits of distant Neptune and Pluto.

Without the sun's intense energy and heat, there would be no life on Earth. And though it is special to us, there are billions of stars like our sun scattered across the Milky Way galaxy which also influence heavily the regions around them.

Passenger helps land Aircraft

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Created on Thursday, 22 November 2012 10:42

A Lufthansa Boeing 747 was landed by a passenger this week, after its co-pilot fell ill. The aircraft involved in the incident, registration D-ABVH, is shown left.

According to dnaindia.com, the 264 passengers on the flight from Newark to Frankfurt appeared to have a lucky escape on Monday morning, as there was another trained pilot amongst them who could land the plane. Once this was discovered, flight tracker teams were swiftly made aware of the changes and the plane was diverted for a safe landing in Dublin.

On planefinder.net we saw flight LH403 (callsign DLH403) land at Dublin shortly after 05:30 local time.

Read more by clicking the green banner

Read more: Passenger helps land Aircraft

V26B destroyed by Fire

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Created on Thursday, 22 November 2012 10:11

Team Antigua is saddened to announce that the V26B contest station was totally destroyed by fire on Sunday, November 18, 2012. 

Luckily, no one was seriously hurt.  The station Owner, Roy V21N, received minor injuries due to smoke inhalation but is OK now.

This station was used by John G4RCG and Bruce KI7VR back in 2006 (V26G). As of now, the future of the station is uncertain.  It may be possible to rebuild it, as the antennas and towers were  not damaged.  However the interior and all equipment, tools and spare parts were totally destroyed.

Click here for pictures of the fire.

Tnx to Brian N3OC & good luck to all Team V26B attempting to resurrect the Station in the months to come

***Update below, click the green tab ;

Read more: V26B destroyed by Fire

3 Amateurs back from the ISS...

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Created on Wednesday, 21 November 2012 14:59

Late on Sunday, November 18 (0200 UTC Monday, November 19), a Soyuz spacecraft carrying Expedition 33 Commander Suni Williams, KD5PLB, and Flight Engineers Yuri Malenchenko, RK3DUP, and Aki Hoshide, KE5DNI, landed in the steppes of Kazakhstan, returning them safely to Earth from the International Space Station (ISS) after 127 days in space.

Just before leaving the ISS, the trio bid farewell to their fellow crewmates -- NASA astronaut Kevin Ford, KF5GPP, and Russian cosmonauts Evgeny Tarelkin and Oleg Novitskiy -- and closed the hatches on Sunday at 2:15 PM EST. When the Soyuz undocked from the station’s Rassvet module at 5:26 PM, it marked the end of Expedition 33 and the beginning of Expedition 34 under the command of Ford.

Williams has spent a total of 322 days in space during her two long-duration missions. She previously served aboard the station as an Expedition 14/15 flight engineer from December 9, 2006-June 22, 2007. She has completed almost 51 hours of spacewalking time over seven spacewalks, including the three she conducted during Expeditions 32 and 33.

Click the Green Banner to read more on this Blog entry..

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PTØS On-Line Log updated..

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Created on Friday, 16 November 2012 08:41

Update from the team - Log updated, 12517 QSOs loaded

Strong winds and large swells continue but the weather is fine otherwise. We are now running three stations during the day and two during the night.

The very limited Internet bandwidth is a major problem as we have trouble (and large expense) uploading the logs. Also, we do not have enough bandwidth (and time) to deal with individual log search requests. We intend to make log corrections once we are back on land, but until then the logs are as published. If you can not find your QSO in the log, please work us again: it will not be a dupe! Also, we are unable to upload pictures at this time.

Today we will do maintenance on the main (160 - 10) vertical, as a large wave has almost knocked it down during the night. Also, we need to move some of the RX antennas as the Brazilian Navy crew is doing their work on the structures we have attached them to. We are also working on a dedicated 10 m vertical to run on that band when 6 meters is not open.

Because of the lack of room, we do not have space to sleep during the day. Because of that, and the daytime workload, we are getting very tired. (I fell asleep at the key on 160 two or three times last night. Sorry if it caused any confusion.)

International DX Fair

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Created on Friday, 16 November 2012 08:26

Not likely i'll be attending but I am sure someone from the UK will?

Anyway......The International Fair Radiocommunication takes place in Brazil. It's the only event dedicated exclusively to radio in their country and this year it reaches its sixth year.

2012 brings major changes and innovations to a greater number of companies to showcase their latest innovations and technologies as well as cover a large number of visitors from all over Brazil and abroad.

Check out the Araucaria DX Group website by clicking here.

CWJF DX Group - CQMM Brazil

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Created on Friday, 16 November 2012 08:07

All 781 Logs received on 2012 are now public and open for download.

Get ready for CQMM DX Contest 2013. Visit list of 2012 Logs here.  Final Results will published on CQ Magazine (Portuguese version), then after 60 days complete result will be published on the web.

The CWJF Group began in the 80's with the ideas of an excellent telegrafist, our dear friend Julio (PY4AG) who with customary cordiality taught those interested in practice of morse code.

Read more about the CWJF DX Group by clicking the green read more banner.

Read more: CWJF DX Group - CQMM Brazil

EPC PSK63 QSO Party 2012

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Created on Wednesday, 14 November 2012 13:13

The 7th EPC BPSK63 QSO Party 2012 takes place this coming weekend.

The European PSK Club has the honour to invite the radio amateurs all over the world to participate in the EPC PSK63 QSO Party. The objective of the competition is to establish as many contacts as possible between radio amateurs around the world by using the BPSK63 mode.

Everybody can work everybody for QSO and multiplier credit. MixW statistics files by R3BB for PSK63 QSO Party: http://www.digitalrus.ru/Files/StatsEUEPC.zip

Hurricane devastates home of CO8LY

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Created on Wednesday, 14 November 2012 08:21

Hurricane Sandy hits southeastern Cuba - 25 October 2012.

It began by hitting Santiago de Cuba at 00.00hrs and lasted until 03.00 hrs. Winds hit 285km/h (176.7MPH) and in the process, devastated the home and Ham station of Eduardo CO8LY.

Images - below of the damage to the home of Eduardo/CO8LY are courtesy Frank/EA7ADH. Original satellite image of Sandy from NOAA National Hurricane Center; arrow added to show location of CO8LY QTH. Eduardo and his family - 2002 (courtesy F5JJA) Yves/F5JJA & Eduardo/CO8LY at Eduardo's station at his home ... after the storm.  

Click the green 'read more' for the full report.

Read more: Hurricane devastates home of CO8LY

St Peter & St Paul Rocks - PT0S Update

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Created on Wednesday, 14 November 2012 07:17

From the team; We now have three stations up and working. We are active from 160 to 6 meters. The weather is nice but hot and huge swells continue hammering the rocks, preventing us from getting to Cabral. One wave has completely swamped the base of our main antenna and its antenna coupler during high tide. The point to keep in mind that the antenna stands on a rock about 12 meters above the water. Working on the rocks, erecting antennas or pulling cables, is extremely difficult. We are all exhausted: sleeping 3 or 4 hours per night and working all day in the heat. Once we are done with the major construction items, we hope to get some rest (and perhaps operate a bit more sharply).

At this point we have very limited Internet access and can not post pictures yet. We hope to have something better later.

Yesterday we spent hunting for noise sources and building more RX antennas. We have found several noise sources, which we have been able to filter with some success. A big thanks goes to Jim, K9YC, who, with great foresight, has donated a big number of large ferrite cores (Fairite #31). We have now only 4 cores left, but the noise is down by 25 dB on 160 meters. Click the green 'read more' for the full report.

Read more: St Peter & St Paul Rocks - PT0S Update

VU3BPZ/P at Bharati Station

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Created on Wednesday, 14 November 2012 07:04

The members of 1st Winter Over Team at new and most advanced Indian Research Base “Bharati”, East Antarctica are now eagerly waiting for return voyage after successful completion of all assigned task.

The 13 members outgoing Team tested all the new installation, facilities, processes and technology under the leadership of Dr. Rupesh M. Das.

Apart from this, some scientific activities in the field of Geomagnetism and Space –weather were also conducted to investigate the response of Polar region space environment system during the adverse space weather phenomenon.

Also, the station is well connected with the world  wide HAM community and the credit goes to Antarctic and HAM veteran operator VU3BPZ.

Nasa & the Rubber Chicken ;-)

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Created on Saturday, 10 November 2012 07:48

NASA has found a cure for a common phobia--the fear of asking "stupid" questions. It’s not a pill.  No therapy is required.  The cure is a rubber chicken !!

School kids and even their teachers can find themselves tongue-tied when they come face to face with an astronaut or astrophysicist but no-one minds talking to a chicken. NASA's ambassador is named “Camilla” and is taking classrooms by storm.

Outfitted in her own personal spacesuit, Camilla travels far and wide to meet with kids at schools, science centers, and even sci-fi conventions.  She helps break the ice for astronauts and other space-celebrities when they meet the general public.

Total Eclipse of the Sun

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Created on Saturday, 10 November 2012 07:38

People from around the world are converging on the coast of northeast Australia.  The attraction isn't the Great Barrier Reef, just offshore, or the surrounding rain forests full of wildlife and exotic plants. They're going to see a total eclipse of the sun.

On the morning of 14^th Nov. (Australia time), about an hour after sunrise, the Moon will pass directly in front of the sun. Residents and visitors of the city of Cairns, also known as the Gateway to the Great Barrier Reef, will enjoy an early morning eclipse lasting 2 minutes with the sun only 14 degrees above the eastern horizon.

After totality is over, the moon's shadow will sweep out across the South Pacific Ocean, tracing a line thousands of miles long across uninhabited waters, reaching almost, but not quite, the coast of South America. Back on the beach, scientists will be taking a first look at their data while tourists starting thinking about breakfast--and snorkeling in the reef.  For all concerned, it's a great way to begin the day.

P29VCX Solomon Islands IOTA OC-135

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Created on Thursday, 08 November 2012 10:28

Thanks Hans for the third new IOTA in the same amount of weeks whilst on your Papua New Guinea trip.

Emirau Island (OC-103) in the St. Matthias IOTA Group, Tatau Island (OC-099) in the Tabar IOTA Group and today, Buka Island (OC-135) in the Solomon Island IOTA Group. Lets hope the final one (OC-205) goes well in the coming days. Thankfully I have the Woodlark group confirmed from your trip back in 2009. That brings me to #547 IOTA (W).

i feel I must also thank the tuner for his prolonged activity on Hans' frequency. You made such an impact it was truly amazing, I stayed for ages listening to you and it really did make my day, hope you sleep well you prat!

New to Qsl'in? How to request a Qsl Card

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Created on Thursday, 08 November 2012 08:25

A few recent arrivals in the way of Qsl requests have made me wonder, 'do we really know how to make a Qsl card request?'. You may be a newcomer to the hobby who finds the whole process of requesting Qsl Cards very daunting indeed.

Well, in an attempt to help both older and newer people in the hobby, I have compiled a page on my website which I hope will attempt to answer most of the common questions.

Please take a look and if you feel it is of benefit then feel free to comment. So many times people fall foul of this proceedure so I hope this helps, at least a little!

Click here to read the article.

US Postal Service to phase out IRCs

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Created on Thursday, 08 November 2012 07:03

If the US Postal Service (USPS) gets its way, it will no longer sell International Reply Coupons (IRCs) after 27th January 2013. According to the October edition of the Federal Register, there is not sufficient demand for the USPS to continue offering IRCs to customers; however, per the Universal Postal Union (UPU) regulations, the USPS must continue to exchange (redeem) IRCs that have been purchased in foreign countries and presented at USPS facilities. The current Nairobi model is valid through 31st December 2013. Comments on this proposed change will be accepted through 23rd November 2012.

IRCs provide foreign addressees with a prepaid means of responding to inquiries, solicitations or other types of communications -- such as QSL cards -- that are initiated by US senders. IRCs are exchangeable for postage stamps by postal administrations in member countries of the UPU. Each IRC is equivalent in value to the destination country’s minimum postage price for an unregistered airmail letter. The purchase price is in the US is currently $2.20 per IRC.

**Click this link for information on the UK's plans for this subject.

LoTW still Off Line

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Created on Wednesday, 07 November 2012 12:27

Logbook Of The World (LOTW) is still off line today. The team are working on a solution but this message posted on their site this morning still shows its clearly a big headache for them ;

''The ARRL Logbook of the World Server is temporarily off-line. Service will be restored as soon as possible.

2012-11-06 1355Z: Logbook team is investigating the issue. Any problems - This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. ''

Fingers crossed its not too serious and hope for a solution to it soonest.

Lenticular Clouds over WA

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Created on Wednesday, 07 November 2012 12:04

Are those UFOs near that mountain? No -- they are multilayered lenticular clouds.

Moist air forced to flow upward around mountain tops can create lenticular clouds. Water droplets condense from moist air cooled below the dew point, and clouds are opaque groups of water droplets. Waves in the air that would normally be seen horizontally can then be seen vertically, by the different levels where clouds form.

On some days the city of Seattle, Washington, USA, is treated to an unusual sky show when lenticular clouds form near Mt. Rainier, a large mountain that looms just under 100 kilometers southeast of the city.