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DXER Ham Radio DX News

The latest dx news/current propagation and more. Visit mike's Amateur Radio Page at www.qsl.net/swlham

Friday, June 30, 2017

Today’s Sun (artificially-colored in purple) seen at the...



Today’s Sun (artificially-colored in purple) seen at the 211-angstrom wavelength (Extreme Ultraviolet, or EUV), as viewed by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA).

At this wavelength, at a wavelength not seen by the un-aided eye, we observe this full-disk AIA image through the 21.1 nm (211 A) filter. This Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) waveband is used to monitor active regions in the solar corona.

The image is a ‘false color image’, meaning that observed data are in a range outside of what human eyes can see, so the data are digitally recast into colors that emphasize physically important features. This view is created from data gathered by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) satellite that flies above Earth’s atmosphere in an inclined geosynchronous orbit.

Emissions captured in this image come from iron (Fe), a trace element in the solar atmosphere that emits Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) light when heated to temperatures in excess of one million deg K. In the solar corona the temperatures are so high that most chemical elements have lost many of their electrons. Some of the remaining electrons still attached to the atom emit EUV radiation in narrow wavebands or lines.

The 21.1 nm filter (also called channel or bandpass) is dominated by emissions from highly ionized iron: 13 times ionized (missing 13 electrons) iron–Fe XIV. Other ionization levels of iron also contribute. The roman numeral descriptors are consistent with spectral notation: the level of ionization for a given roman numeral is one unit larger that the actual number of missing electrons. Additionally there may be some contribution from hot thermal plasma when solar flares are present. The temperatures associated with this level of ionization is about 2 x 10^6 K.

The bright regions in this image correspond to regions of closed magnetic field loops that trap the hot, emitting plasma. Large bright regions are often called active regions. The dark regions correspond to cooler temperatures and possibly to locations where magnetic field lines open into the heliosphere, and thus, do not trap hot plasma.

With this image, we can monitore active regions.

View live data and images at http://SunSpotWatch.com

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CSUN's CubeSat Launches from ISS and Contributes to NASA Research:

Many CubeSats are like prodigal children when launched from the International Space Station into Earth's orbit: The miniature satellites leave home and are never heard from again. Not CSUNSat1. This mini satellite has performed like a dutiful child this summer, calling home at least twice a day to California State University, Northridge and doing all of its homework. After months of preparation and waiting, on April 18, electrical and computer engineering professors Sharlene Katz and James Flynn and their students cheered with relief as NASA launched CSUNSat1, the university's first stellar explorer, to the International Space Station (ISS). The cube-shaped satellite is about the size of a shoebox and launched from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., aboard the OA-7 Cygnus spacecraft SS John Glenn, propelled by an Atlas V rocket. It took four days to reach the space station, where astronauts unloaded and prepared the satellite and other payload for deployment. In mid-May, Katz and Flynn got word that NASA was ready to launch CSUNSat1 into orbit to start its mission. Then on May 18, the ISS crew deployed the mini satellite into low Earth orbit. Once it had safely cleared the massive space station, CSUNSat1 was allowed to power up and begin its mission operations and experiments. Later that night, the satellite made its first pass over the CSUN ground station, designed and built from scratch (like the CubeSat itself) in the corner of an electrical engineering lab in Jacaranda Hall. It was a tense and historic moment for CSUN. Katz and Flynn waited quietly in the ground station with several of the more than 70 students who have worked for four years to bring this project to life -- and to orbit. The device was designed in partnership with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena to test the effectiveness of JPL's energy storage system to help explore deep space in extremely cold temperatures. At 11:21 p.m., CSUNSat1 came up over the horizon, within range of the large, custom-built antenna on the roof of Jacaranda Hall. Katz, Flynn and their students and alumni held their breath. Then, they heard it: the first contact from the beacon, the long and short tones of International Morse Code. In addition to programming it to send data back to CSUN, the engineering team had built the satellite to broadcast its status every three minutes as it circles Earth, using Morse Code. "It is unfortunate that many CubeSats go up there, and they're never heard from. You can imagine how those students and researchers must feel," Flynn said. "It's like sending your child into the world, and it doesn't write home. You never know what happened to it. [When I heard the beacon], I felt like eight tons was off my shoulders. I was elated." "It [broadcasts] a letter B at the beginning of the beacon that tells us the experiment is ready to be run," added Katz, who noted that she and Flynn chose old-school Morse Code for the stellar traveler because it works when computerized data fails -- and because both professors happen to be fluent in Morse Code, thanks to a passion for ham radio in their teen years.

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Rotary gives $5,000 for Better Lamorinda Emergency Communications:

A $5,000 dollar Orinda Rotary Club donation will boost the effectiveness of wireless communications throughout the Lamorinda area. The recipient is the Lamorinda Area Radio Interest Group, an amateur radio club serving the community's event and emergency communication needs. The gift paid for a system of LARIG-built radio repeaters in Lafayette, Moraga and Orinda. These hilltop repeaters boost incoming signals from walkie-talkies and other radios and effectively overcome the losses caused by distance and hilly terrain. Each site has two repeater systems (each one with a radio receiver, transmitter, controller and antenna). One is for amateur radio band frequencies, the other for Family Radio Service and General Mobile Radio Service frequencies.

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Efforts of Amateur Radio Operators are Making a Difference:

When a windstorm knocked out power to thousands of households in a six-county region in March, the fragility of the modern communications most of us have become accustomed to was obvious. "With the major windstorm everyone lost power and a lot of people in the region were cut off," said Joseph Gangi, Jr., of Albion. "But we were still able to communicate and get information out there to truckers and people on the roads about road conditions and hazards." Gangi was able to communicate via amateur radio (also called ham radio). He's the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) Coordinator for Orleans County and founder and president of the Community Amateur Radio Club -- a group of about 12 members from Orleans County that meets monthly at the Hoag Library in Albion, Orleans County. During the windstorm, members disseminated information about accidents, downed power lines and missing stop signs to the Orleans County Sheriff's Department and other operators. Their equipment was run via emergency power (battery backup and solar power) from their homes.

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The Sun is Set to 'Change Form' as NASA Says Solar Minimum is On the Way:

The sun is heading into a period known as solar minimum, during which activity at the surface will 'change form.' In this time, certain types of activity, such as sunspots and solar flares will drop -- but, it's also expected to bring the development of long-lived phenomena including coronal holes. According to NASA, solar minimum could also enhance the effects of space weather, potentially disrupting communications and navigation systems, and even causing space junk to 'hang around.' The sun follows roughly an 11-year cycle. While sunspots were relatively high back in 2014, they're now heading toward a low point expected in 2019-2020, according to NASA. This is called solar minimum,' said Dean Pesnell of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD. 'And it's a regular part of the sunspot cycle.'

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Prepping for the Big One:

Hundreds of participants from more than 40 agencies volunteered their weekends to test the limits of their emergency service equipment and their own training at the Cape Blanco Airport north of Port Orford, said Deb Simon, the public information officer for the training. While the various emergency service agencies train independently for disasters, it's rare that they get to work together. The Triton32 exercise allowed them to do just that. Pilots and flight nurses spent three days flying to outlying airports in Curry County to pick up "patients" -- in this case, they were "paper patients," not real people -- transport them to the Cape Blanco Airport where their injuries were evaluated and, based on that triage, send them inland for treatment. On the ground, local firefighters worked alongside federal military agencies. Communications towers were erected. Piles of paper in the Logistics tent were checked and double-checked for correct data. Ham radio operators in Port Orford crammed into the backs of pickups, in tents, in dens throughout the counties.

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Who's Listening? Hams Ask:

COURT HOUSE -- "CK N2CMC. How copy KC5OLN? QSL." It's not a foreign language, but text Bill "N2CSA" Cole saw on his digital ham radio's screen. He joined nearly 40,000 other ham radio operators across the U.S. June 24 for a Field Day event demonstrating the science, skills, and service ham radio operators might need in abnormal situations under less than optimal conditions. Cole joined a dozen or so other Cape May County Amateur Radio Club members as they participated in the most popular ham radio event since it began in 1933 by the Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL). For 24 hours, the operators reached out to contact colleagues, share logistical information and track how many they spoke with in a language that can be traced to the start of Morse Code. Cole, of Lower Township, and Art Schaper, of Cape May, were set up in the 4-H Fairgrounds Lockwood Building, testing their digital equipment as part of the event. Using their radios, generators provided power, and antennae set up on the grounds, they could text, send pictures or video files. Those would be important items that could help agencies determine the breadth of disasters and what type of emergency response is needed.

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DX News -- ARRL DX Bulletin #26:

This week's bulletin was made possible with information provided by KV1J, QRZ DX, the OPDX Bulletin, 425 DX News, The Daily DX, DXNL, Contest Corral from QST and the ARRL Contest Calendar and WA7BNM web sites. Thanks to all.

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Just Ahead In Radiosport:

Just Ahead In Radiosport:

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Latest TEC map from NASA. What is TEC? Total Electron Content...



Latest TEC map from NASA. What is TEC? Total Electron Content (or TEC) is an important descriptive quantity for the ionosphere of the Earth. TEC is the total number of free electrons integrated between two points, along a tube of one meter squared cross section, i.e., the electron columnar number density. Affected by solar activity, Total Electron Content (TEC) describes the total number of free electrons present within one square meter between two points (i.e. between the receiver and satellite involved in measuring TEC).

These maps are also used to monitor ionospheric weather, and to nowcast ionospheric storms that often occur responding to activities in solar wind and Earth’s magnetosphere as well as thermosphere.

View live data and images at http://SunSpotWatch.com

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And: Check out the stunning view of our Sun in action, as seen during the last five years with the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXN-MdoGM9g

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The following is the weekly propagation bulletin from W1AW /...



The following is the weekly propagation bulletin from W1AW / ARRL (posting on 20170630 21:10 UTC):

QST de W1AW
Propagation Forecast Bulletin 26 ARLP026

From Tad Cook, K7RA Seattle, WA June 30, 2017 To all radio amateurs

SB PROP ARL ARLP026 ARLP026 Propagation de K7RA

Not much change in the numbers since last week, but all indicators were lower. Average daily sunspot number moved from 29.4 last week to 20.3 this week, and average daily solar flux went from 74.6 to 73.6.

Average daily planetary A index went from 9.4 to 6.9, and mid-latitude A index from 8.1 to 7.4.

Predicted solar flux is 72 on June 30 through July 7, 75 on July 8-14, 76 on July 15-16, 75 on July 17-19, 74 on July 20-22, 72 on July 23-24, 77 on July 25-28, then 74, 73 and 72 on July 29-31, 73 on August 1, 74 on August 2-3, 75 on August 4-10 and 76 on August 11-12.

Predicted planetary A index is 5 on June 30 through July 1, then 12, 20 and 10 on July 2-4, 5 on July 5-12, then 20, 12 and 10 on July 13-15, 5 on July 16-20, then 10, 12, 10 and 5 on July 21-24, 10 on July 25-26, 5 on July 27 through August 8, then 20, 12 and 10 on August 9-11 and 5 on August 12-13.

Tomas Bayer of the Deptartment of Geomagnetism at the Budkov Observatory sends this Geomagnetic activity summary:

‘Next week, we expect at most quiet to unsettled level conditions only with a single active episode. The active episodes are possible about June 30 and also at the end of forecast period.

'Geomagnetic activity increase is possible because of a small equatorial coronal hole. Nevertheless, we expect the greater activity increase at the start of the next weekly forecast, i.e. after July 7.’

From F.K. Janda, OK1HH of the Czech Propagation Interest Group:

'Geomagnetic activity forecast for the period June 30-July 26, 2017.

'Geomagnetic field will be: Quiet on July 1, 4-5, 17 Mostly quiet on July 2, 12, 16, 18-20, 24 Quiet to unsettled July 6-7, 10-11, 15, 25-26 Quiet to active on June 30, July 3, 8-9, 14, 21-23 Active to disturbed on July 13

'Amplifications of the solar wind from coronal holes are expected on July (8,) 9-17, (18, 21,) 22-24, (25)

'Remarks: - Parenthesis means lower probability of activity enhancement and/or lower reliability of prediction. - As a result of ongoing changes to the configuration of active areas on the Sun, reliability of forecasts is temporarily lowered.’

Dean Pesnell of NASA says the upcoming solar minimum (over the next few years) will bring longer lasting coronal holes: http://bit.ly/2sn0Duy

This report is from N8II in West Virginia:

'Going back to June 17, I operated in the WV QSO Party and conditions were disturbed which may have actually improved conditions for me into the states.

'I worked a total of 892 QSOs with 619 on 20M SSB in 8.3 hours between 1600Z and 0200Z, with 49 states (no calls from Alaska, but about 6 from Hawaii!), 11 WV counties, and 14 DXCC countries without looking for EU which was fairly loud from 1800Z-2300Z.

'There was excellent sporadic-E until about 2400Z with some still toward the Gulf Coast and FL after that. 20 phone featured direct ionospheric propagation at some time to all states except AK (maybe), MD, DE, and PA. I was called at one point from Roanoke, VA which is about 165 miles away and in the first 4 hours I worked many stations in NY and New England. There was apparently no F2 above 20M except to the south on 15M, but I did work Puerto Rico on 10M double hop Es.

'The other propagation highlight was working a VK2 in Australia on 20 SSB in the 2300Z hour via SHORT PATH, a first in 47 years of hamming during the Aussie morning; long path QSOs are pretty common around 2100-2300Z except in our summer. I used my 80M dipole in lieu of the 5 element Yagi or tribander fixed south at times on 20 to get more omni directional coverage as the skip was short in all directions. Many NY stations were loudest off the back of my triband Force 12 Yagi at 60 feet (signals from high angle).

'There was good Es from MI to MN around noon on the 18th on 10M. The highlight of the week was a multi hop Es opening to Europe on the 19th working F5RAG in France first at 2111Z also working Spain, England, and Ireland (tremendous rapid QSB from in the noise to S5) until 2127Z when F5RAG said hello again at S7 (best signal) then working Northern Ireland an hour later. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday were pretty quiet with little 28 MHz Es with a few openings into TX including 2 Dallas area QSOs on 6M around 1500Z on the 21st.

'Field Day was spent between home and K8EP in the field operating from near the foot of a mountain to the west (not the greatest location) near Martinsburg, WV. I can never remember a FD when the sporadic-E was so widespread in different directions on 15 and 10M for such a long duration as 2017!

'There was a high noise level at K8EP on 20M which was found to be a noisy computer power supply after I left Saturday, but I was very aware of Es to the west on 20 starting around 2230Z working many MI and 9th call area stations with OH as the evening progressed as well as some QSOs into New England. When I returned to home and fired up at 0215Z, I found W3AO on 15M (distant local) in MD first and Bob, W3IDT reported some Es, but 'things are slowing down.’

'Having not worked 15 phone, I started a fast paced run with plenty of callers, but prop was limited to mostly W5s (TX was rather weak), 9s, and 0s (no CO, ND, SD) and 4s in GA, FL, AL, and TN. I switched to 20M around 0300Z and had nearly perfect coverage to my west from the 9th area and beyond and south from SC, and TN and beyond running a big pile up with many west coast QSOs. Two KL7s in AK called in with loud signals! Without the Es, skip would have been very long by 0300Z, so many QSOs may have been Es on the east end into F2 out west.

'I returned to the air at 1446Z and single hop Es could not have been much better in all directions on 15 and 10 meters through 1720Z! I stayed on 10 until 1613Z working stations as close as NY, CT, MA, OH, OH (mobile) and KY. The band was wide open to New England, but QSO rates into the 9th and 0 call areas with 4s and 5s to boot were much better.

'I worked CO and AZ on double hop Es, no Dakotas. 15M was even that much better than 10 working stations as close as EPA (about 150-200 miles away), NJ, NY, all of New England, OH, KY, and NC. I was called via double hop Es from CO, AZ, NV, CA (many, mostly San Francisco south), and WA as well! In 5 hours total time I worked 557 QSOs, 272 on 15M and 195 on 10M.

'The few times I checked 6M, there was surprisingly not much Es.

'73, Jeff N8II FM19cj Shepherdstown, WV’

Harry Rudolph, WX8C of Grand Blanc, Michigan sent this Field Day report:

'Operated from SE Michigan with battery power, running around 75 watts to an all band dipole. Early Sunday afternoon, local time, made 42, 6 meter contacts from New England to Florida and then along the Gulf Coast and stretching to West Texas. Most stations were loud.’

Rich Zwirko, K1HTV of Amissville, Virginia sent this 6-meter report:

'On June 25th, for the second time in this month, 50 MHz signals from Japan were copied at the FM18ap Virginia QTH of K1HTV. The first signal heard on June 9th was at 2149Z from JR1LZK. The last Japanese station heard was JA9SJI, 2 hours and 22 minutes later at 0011Z June 10th!

'Of the 142 minutes between the start and finish of the UTC June 9/10 opening: - 25 different JA stations were copied during 42 different minutes. - The PSKreporter website reported that 7 stations in Japan copied K1HTV. - 126 lines of data were received from Japanese stations. - 2-Way QSOs were completed with JH4UYB and JG1TSG.

'During the UTC June 9/10, 2017 opening, 3 or more JA stations were copied during their one minute transmit periods at:

UTC - Nr. of stations 2243 - 7 2247 - 4 2249 - 5 2305 - 10 2307 - 8 2309 - 6 2311 - 4 2313 - 4 2315 - 8 2317 - 7 2319 - 8 2321 - 5 2323 - 5 2325 - 4 2335 - 5 2339 - 3

'The second 50 MHz opening between Japan and the K1HTV QTH occurred on June 25 but was much shorter than the one earlier in the month, lasting only 10 minutes. Again, using the JT65 mode, the first station, JP1LRT, was copied at 2325Z and the last copied, ten minutes later at 2335Z was JA7QVI. Using the JT65 mode, 7 different JA stations were received, JP1LRT, JO1ALS, JK1SQI, JM1IGJ, JE1BMJ, JN1GTG and JA7QVI. I was unable to make any 2-Way QSOs during this opening.

'Earlier in the month on June 12th at 1450Z, I copied a CQ by 4X4DK in Israel on the 50.276 MHz JT65 frequency. But his signals quickly disappeared in a few minutes before a QSO could be made.

'On June 19, JT65 transmissions from TY2AC in Benin were copied at 1216, 1220 and 1252 UTC. After completing a QSO with another station, Nic copied my call but lost commercial power and the use of his PA. He came back on the air running only 100 Watts using a small backup generator, but was too weak to copy here. By the time commercial power was restored, the propagation had changed, so the contact could not be completed.

'The next day, June 20, was another exciting but frustrating day on the Magic Band. I copied 9K2OD in Kuwait calling CQ at 1324 and 1326 UTC. After a fellow PVRC member, John, K3AJ, worked Osama, I again called. 9K2OD reported on the cluster that he had heard me, but we were unable to complete the 2-Way QSO because the propagation had changed and his JT65 signal faded into the noise.

'I can’t wait for the K1JT software development team to complete their work on a new digital mode that can better handle rapidly changing multi-hop propagation that is experienced by 6 Meter DXers.’

And finally, a report from Scott Bidstrup in Costa Rica:

'The latest on propagation from down here in the single-digit latitudes:

'This year’s sporadic-E season on 6 meters here in Central America at least, has been short but spectacular. It began way later than usual, but certainly made up for lost time, with reliable openings into W4, starting around the end of May. By the end of the first week in June, we had been seeing propagation into Europe on an almost daily basis, at least until about a week ago, when the openings have begun to die down, both in frequency and intensity.

'Phil Phillips, TI5/N5BEK and I have been taking full advantage of this, with my working two new European countries on 6m and his working several more, sometimes working the same stations for several days running. The first European opening of the season this year was a spectacular one, which, of course, happened during my morning nap - when I got up and came into the shack to check the decodes in the activity window on WSJT-X, I astonished and dismayed to discover that I had just missed working both Gibraltar and Slovenia - proof positive that, on 6m at least, when you snooze, you can sure lose. Big time.

'In discussing this during our early morning coffee klatch on 75m a few days ago, Phil and I concluded that it’s not that the band has been in spectacularly good shape this year, in fact it’s probably been poorer than in most recent years. Rather, it’s been that the JT65 protocol makes the very weak openings sufficient to establish QSOs where none would have otherwise been possible on SSB or even CW. Contacts into both Belgium and Germany this year with my peanut-whistle station running 60 watts into a 5/8 vertical, would not have been possible on SSB, and unlikely even on CW - but when a QSO can be completed at a signal-to-noise ratio of -25dB, much more is possible. JT65 has improved my 6m country and states totals rather significantly this year, particularly for Europe. So far, I’ve had only one SSB contact into Europe this year, but have had an abundance of JT65 contacts. Increased states totals, too, have been made possible by the use of JT65 - I’ve added several new states to my total since getting on JT65 late last year. Even better results will likely happen when the new, faster protocols that Joe Taylor is working on, are finally ready for 6m prime time and become widely adopted.

'MSK144 via Es extension has produced some interesting results here on 6m recently as well. There are very few stations on MSK144 within one-hop range of me as you would expect (in fact, other than Phil, I don’t know of any), mostly because the population is so sparse within the one-hop range, so trying to do meteor scatter within the one-hop range is pretty much a waste of time, and trying to do a coincident double-hop means working against the stubborn laws of probability. I’ve left the receiver running for a week at a time and have not seen a single decode other than tests and CQs from Phil.

'But when there is heavy sporadic-E activity along the Gulf Coast, the situation can be quite different - decodes of Stateside stations, usually in the Midwest, can occur with regularity, and Phil has managed several contacts with that method, though I have not managed it yet so far. I was the first to see a signal (from NZ8D), and try as we might, we were not able to complete, but Phil was the first to manage a two-way contact via this mode from here.

'Clearly what is happening is the meteor burst near us is being extended via another hop with the aid of a sporadic-E cloud over the northern Gulf of Mexico. So far as I know, Phil’s success with this mode is the first from Central America.

'The low bands haven’t been anything to write home about lately, as one might expect from the rather dismal solar activity. Tuning around the 20m band in mid-day has revealed our mid-day blackout, particularly intense in the summer months, to be reduced in intensity compared to recent years - doubtless the result of a lessening of the intensity of the D-layer ionization that causes it.

'Occasional signals, mostly from South America and Western Europe occasionally hit S9, which is pretty good for our mid-day break, but there simply aren’t a lot of them. Frequently I can tune from one end of 20m to the other and never hear more than a half dozen signals, and those from the States are typically in the S3-S6 range. What a contrast from my memories of the peak of Cycle 19 as a child, when I could tune across any band and never hear a gap anywhere from one end of the band to the other, on any band I tried. But that was at higher latitudes (southern Idaho). The good news is that this year, the mid-day break has been beginning later and ending earlier than in past years.

'A quick tune across both 15m and 10m as I am writing this at 1230 in the afternoon failed to reveal a single signal on either band. It’s beginning to look like it’s 20m or nothing these days, particularly at mid-day. A check of 17m revealed a single JT9 signal. That was it. Under conditions like this, it’s gotta be monster beams or forget it. But a bit later in the day, when the D-layer absorption has gone down, the band will open into Europe and signals can become quite strong, even spectacularly so at times. One must be patient. And take one’s naps at midday - and hope that 6m doesn’t open while you’re doing it.

'73, Scott Bidstrup TI3/W7RI’

If you would like to make a comment or have a tip for our readers, email the author at k7ra@arrl.net.

For more information concerning radio propagation, see the ARRL Technical Information Service web page at, http://ift.tt/1bXLmvi. For an explanation of numbers used in this bulletin, see http://ift.tt/1bXLlHQ.

An archive of past propagation bulletins is at http://ift.tt/1bXLlHS. More good information and tutorials on propagation are at http://k9la.us/.

Monthly propagation charts between four USA regions and twelve overseas locations are at http://ift.tt/1cYhR1b.

Instructions for starting or ending email distribution of ARRL bulletins are at http://ift.tt/1cYhR1d.

Sunspot numbers for June 22 through 28, 2017 were 23, 22, 28, 20, 19, 17, and 13, with a mean of 20.3. 10.7 cm flux was 73.7, 73.7, 74.1, 73.7, 73.7, 74.1, and 72.1, with a mean of 73.6. Estimated planetary A indices were 6, 5, 9, 11, 7, 5, and 5, with a mean of 6.9. Estimated mid-latitude A indices were 8, 6, 8, 11, 9, 5, and 5, with a mean of 7.4.

Check out the stunning view of our Sun in action, as seen during the last five years with the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXN-MdoGM9g

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Today’s Sun (artificially-colored in red) seen at the...



Today’s Sun (artificially-colored in red) seen at the 304-angstrom wavelength (Extreme Ultraviolet, or EUV), as viewed by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA).

At this wavelength, at a wavelength not seen by the un-aided eye, we can see the Sun through the 30.4 nm (304 A) filter. This Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) waveband is used to monitor the chromosphere and lower transition region. It is useful to see plasma and filament activity, including filamet eruptions and coronal mass ejections (CMEs).

The image is a “false color image’, meaning that observed data are in a range outside of what human eyes can see, so the data are digitally recast into colors that emphasize physically important features. This view is created from data gathered by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) satellite that flies above Earth’s atmosphere in an inclined geosynchronous orbit.

Emissions captured in this image come from helium (He), the second most abundant element in the solar atmosphere. Singly ionized Helium (He II) emits Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) light when heated to temperatures of ~70,000 deg K. In the upper solar atmosphere the temperatures are so high that most chemical elements have lost many of their electrons. The remaining electron, which is still attached to the atom, emits EUV radiation in narrow wavebands or lines when it is in an excited state.

The 30.4 nm filter (also called channel or bandpass) is dominated by emissions from singly (once) ionized helium which has missing 1 electron–He II. The roman numeral descriptor is consistent with spectral notation: the level of ionization for a given roman numeral is one unit larger that the actual number of missing electrons. The temperatures associated with this level of ionization is range from 6 x 10^4 K to 8 x 10^4 K.

The bright regions in this image correspond to regions of closed magnetic field loops that trap the hot, emitting plasma. Large bright regions are often called active regions. The dark regions correspond to cooler temperatures and possibly to locations where magnetic field lines open into the heliosphere, and thus, do not trap hot plasma.

View live data and images at http://SunSpotWatch.com

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Here is the current forecast discussion on space weather and...



Here is the current forecast discussion on space weather and geophysical activity, issued 2017 Jun 30 1230 UTC.

Solar Activity

24 hr Summary: Solar activity was at very low levels. Region 2664 (N18W52, Hsx/alpha) continued its decaying trend and produced no flare activity over the past 24 hours.

Forecast: Solar activity is expected to continue at very low levels with a slight chance for C-class flares all three days (30 Jun-02 Jul).

Energetic Particle

24 hr Summary: The greater than 2 MeV electron flux continued at normal to moderate levels and the greater than 10 MeV proton flux remained at background values.

Forecast: The greater than 2 MeV electron flux is expected to continue at normal to moderate levels all three days (30 Jun-02 Jul) and the greater than 10 MeV proton flux is expected to remain at background levels.

Solar Wind

24 hr Summary: Solar wind parameters indicated nominal conditions. Total magnetic field strength ranged from 3-6 nT and the Bz component reached a maximum southward deflection of -5 nT. Solar wind speeds steadily declined from 450 km/s to near 340 km/s by the periods end. Phi angle was predominantly oriented in the positive sector.

Forecast: Solar wind parameters are expected to remain at near-background levels on days one and two (30 Jun - 01 Jul). An enhancement is anticipated late on day three (02 Jul) due to the arrival of the 28 June CME.

Geospace

24 hr Summary: The geomagnetic field was quiet.

Forecast: The geomagnetic field is expected to be mostly quiet over days one and two (30 Jun-01 Jul). Unsettled to active conditions are expected late on day three (02 Jul) due to the anticipated arrival of the 28 June CME.

Don’t forget to visit our live space weather and radio propagation web site, at: http://ift.tt/17yXOGK

Live Aurora mapping is at http://ift.tt/2lYUS2h

If you are on Twitter, please follow these two users: + http://ift.tt/1iWH4ta + http://ift.tt/1wJXm19

Check out the stunning view of our Sun in action, as seen during the last five years with the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXN-MdoGM9g

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DR0F Neuwerk Island. From DXNews.com

DB1WA, DL1MRD, DM4DL and DM5HF will be active from Neuwerk Island, IOTA EU - 127, 28 - 31 July 2017 as DR0F.

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Today’s Sun, seen through a filter of...



Today’s Sun, seen through a filter of ‘visible’ light (remember: NEVER look directly at the Sun!), as viewed by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), by the Helioseismic Magnetic Imager (HMI). This image is known as a 'continuum’ image; a continuum image is formed by filtering portions of the visible light part of the spectrum. The SDO HMI is designed to study oscillations and the magnetic field at the solar surface, or photosphere.

The continuum images allow us to track the evolution of sunspots. These images are important as they allow us to better understand the dynamic nature of the solar atmosphere.

View live data and images at http://SunSpotWatch.com

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Today’s graph, plotting the SESC sunspot number, the...



Today’s graph, plotting the SESC sunspot number, the 10.7cm Radio Flux, and the Estimated Planetary A Index, for the last 30 days.

The numbers are:


   Date    | Sunspots | 10.7-cm Flux |  Ap 
==========================================
2017/06/29 |     12   |     72       |   5
2017/06/28 | 13 | 72 | 5
2017/06/27 | 17 | 74 | 5
2017/06/26 | 19 | 74 | 7
2017/06/25 | 20 | 74 | 11
2017/06/24 | 28 | 74 | 9
2017/06/23 | 22 | 74 | 5
2017/06/22 | 23 | 74 | 6
2017/06/21 | 35 | 74 | 4
2017/06/20 | 34 | 74 | 3
2017/06/19 | 26 | 74 | 5
2017/06/18 | 27 | 75 | 10
2017/06/17 | 28 | 75 | 15
2017/06/16 | 28 | 74 | 25
2017/06/15 | 28 | 77 | 4
2017/06/14 | 11 | 74 | 5
2017/06/13 | 11 | 75 | 8
2017/06/12 | 0 | 75 | 8
2017/06/11 | 0 | 74 | 17
2017/06/10 | 0 | 75 | 4
2017/06/09 | 0 | 74 | 5
2017/06/08 | 12 | 74 | 4
2017/06/07 | 13 | 76 | 5
2017/06/06 | 18 | 75 | 5
2017/06/05 | 22 | 79 | 5
2017/06/04 | 23 | 78 | 3
2017/06/03 | 22 | 78 | 9
2017/06/02 | 19 | 78 | 5
2017/06/01 | 18 | 76 | 7

For complete live data and images visit http://SunSpotWatch.com

Be sure to share this post, to spread the love!

Get the space weather and radio propagation self-study course, today. Visit http://nw7us.us/swc for the latest sale and for more information!

Check out the stunning view of our Sun in action, as seen during the last five years with the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXN-MdoGM9g

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6V/DC4CQ Senegal. From DXNews.com

Franz, DC4CQ will be active from Senegal, 30 July - 11 August 2017 as 6V/DC4CQ.

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Did you know? Here’s a space weather and radio...



Did you know? Here’s a space weather and radio propagation educational tidbit – from http://SunSpotWatch.com – at 14:00 UTC on 2017-06-30:

PCAs typically last anywhere from about an hour to several days, averages around 24 to 36 hours. PCAs cause ionization of lower ionosphere at polar regions, results in heavy absorption of HF radio signals.

The absorption associated with PCA is measured by an instrument known as a riometer. PCA appears first over the polar regions, then expands equatorward to a magnetic latitude of approximately 65 degrees. PCA events cover the entire polar region down to about a geomagnetic latitude of 65 degrees.

Don’t forget to visit our live space weather and radio propagation web site, at: http://SunSpotWatch.com

See the live aurora mapping is at http://ift.tt/2lYUS2h

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Southgate Amateur Radio News

Southgate Amateur Radio News

Region 1 Intruder Watch Reports the Usual Suspects:

Region 1 Intruder Watch Reports the Usual Suspects:

13 Colonies Special Event | Southgate Amateur Radio News

13 Colonies Special Event | Southgate Amateur Radio News

The K7RA Solar Update

The K7RA Solar Update

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'Germany Welcomes the World' to Friedrichshafen's Ham Radio 2017:

'Germany Welcomes the World' to Friedrichshafen's Ham Radio 2017:: 'Germany Welcomes the World' to Friedrichshafen's Ham Radio 2017:
from The ARRL Letter on June 29, 2017
Add a comment about this article!

'Germany Welcomes the World' to Friedrichshafen's Ham Radio 2017:

"Germany Welcomes the World" is the theme of the 2017 edition of Europe's major annual Amateur Radio gathering, known simply as "Ham Radio" but more commonly called "Friedrichshafen," the city on the shores of Lake Constance where it takes place each summer. ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR, will head a League contingent to the event, which this year runs from Friday, July 14, until Sunday, July 16. The show was rescheduled from June, due to a schedule conflict at the Friedrichshafen Fairground (Messe Friedrichshafen), where Ham Radio is staged.

Others on the ARRL team attending Ham Radio/Friedrichshafen will be ARRL Radiosport Manager Norm Fusaro, W3IZ; ARRL Marketing Manager Bob Inderbitzen, NQ1R, and ARRL International Affairs Vice President Jay Bellows, K0QB. Expected to be on hand from the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) will be IARU President Tim Ellam, VE6SH/G4HUA; IARU Secretary David Sumner, K1ZZ, and IARU Region 1 President Don Beattie, G3BJ, as well as others from Region 1. ARRL and IARU will have separate booths at Friedrichshafen.

US Amateur Radio examinations will be offered on July 15 at Ham Radio by an ARRL Volunteer Examiner team. The session will get under way at 9 AM on the 5th floor of the Administration Building at Messe Friedrichshafen. Contact k2pz@arrl.net Manfred Lauterborn, K2PZ, for more information.

The 42nd edition of Ham Radio will feature some 200 exhibitors from 30 countries, including around 70 associations. This year, the German Amateur Radio Club (DARC) will celebrate the 45th anniversary of the founding of the Amateur Radio center

A25NPD Botswana. From DXNews.com

Neven, LZ1COM inform dxnews.com that he will be active from Botswana 14 - 16 July 2017 as A25NPD.

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Today’s Sun (artificially-colored in yellow) seen at the...



Today’s Sun (artificially-colored in yellow) seen at the 171-angstrom wavelength (Extreme Ultraviolet, or EUV), as viewed by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA).

At this wavelength, at a wavelength not seen by the un-aided eye, we observe the Sun with the 17.1 nm (171 A) filter. This Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) waveband is used to monitor the corona and upper transition region. With this filter, we can see the myrid of massive magnetic field lines, from simple to complex, that weave and twist throughout the Sun.

The image is a ‘false color image’, meaning that observed data are in a range outside of what human eyes can see, so the data are digitally recast into colors that emphasize physically important features. This view is created from data gathered by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) satellite that flies above Earth’s atmosphere in an inclined geosynchronous orbit.

Emissions captured in this image come from iron (Fe), a trace element in the solar atmosphere that emits Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) light when heated to temperatures in excess of one million deg K. In the solar corona the temperatures are so high that most chemical elements have lost many of their electrons. Some of the remaining electrons still attached to the atom emit EUV radiation in narrow wavebands or lines.

The 17.1 nm filter, or channel, is dominated by emissions from highly ionized iron: 8 times ionized (missing 8 electrons) iron–Fe IX. The roman numeral descriptors are consistent with spectral notation: the level of ionization for a given roman numeral is one unit larger that the actual number of missing electrons. The temperatures associated with this level of ionization is about 6 x 10^5 K.

The bright regions in this image correspond to regions of closed magnetic field loops that trap the hot, emitting plasma. Large bright regions are often called active regions. The dark regions correspond to cooler temperatures and possibly to locations where magnetic field lines open into the heliosphere, and thus, do not trap hot plasma.

View live data and images at http://SunSpotWatch.com

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Latest TEC map from NASA. What is TEC? Total Electron Content...



Latest TEC map from NASA. What is TEC? Total Electron Content (or TEC) is an important descriptive quantity for the ionosphere of the Earth. TEC is the total number of free electrons integrated between two points, along a tube of one meter squared cross section, i.e., the electron columnar number density. Affected by solar activity, Total Electron Content (TEC) describes the total number of free electrons present within one square meter between two points (i.e. between the receiver and satellite involved in measuring TEC).

These maps are also used to monitor ionospheric weather, and to nowcast ionospheric storms that often occur responding to activities in solar wind and Earth’s magnetosphere as well as thermosphere.

View live data and images at http://SunSpotWatch.com

Follow: http://ift.tt/1iWH4ta and http://ift.tt/1wJXm19

Facebook: http://NW7US.us/swhfr

And: Check out the stunning view of our Sun in action, as seen during the last five years with the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXN-MdoGM9g

We’re on Facebook: http://NW7US.us/swhfr



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5N7ATI/4 – Bonny Island, AF-076

NEWS UPDATE — The short 5N7ATI/4 activity to Bonny Island AF-076 brought 53 QSOs in the log. Uli used a TenTec Scout and GPA on 20m in SSB. Log is uploaded on Club Log and the supporting material is sent to IOTA committee. There is no further activity planned. If someone wants more information, please […]

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DX_206.pdf

DX_206.pdf

This weekend: RAC contest and Venezuelan Indipendence contest

CSUN's CubeSat Launches from ISS and Contributes to NASA Research:

Many CubeSats are like prodigal children when launched from the International Space Station into Earth's orbit: The miniature satellites leave home and are never heard from again. Not CSUNSat1. This mini satellite has performed like a dutiful child this summer, calling home at least twice a day to California State University, Northridge and doing all of its homework. After months of preparation and waiting, on April 18, electrical and computer engineering professors Sharlene Katz and James Flynn and their students cheered with relief as NASA launched CSUNSat1, the university's first stellar explorer, to the International Space Station (ISS). The cube-shaped satellite is about the size of a shoebox and launched from Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., aboard the OA-7 Cygnus spacecraft SS John Glenn, propelled by an Atlas V rocket. It took four days to reach the space station, where astronauts unloaded and prepared the satellite and other payload for deployment. In mid-May, Katz and Flynn got word that NASA was ready to launch CSUNSat1 into orbit to start its mission. Then on May 18, the ISS crew deployed the mini satellite into low Earth orbit. Once it had safely cleared the massive space station, CSUNSat1 was allowed to power up and begin its mission operations and experiments. Later that night, the satellite made its first pass over the CSUN ground station, designed and built from scratch (like the CubeSat itself) in the corner of an electrical engineering lab in Jacaranda Hall. It was a tense and historic moment for CSUN. Katz and Flynn waited quietly in the ground station with several of the more than 70 students who have worked for four years to bring this project to life -- and to orbit. The device was designed in partnership with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena to test the effectiveness of JPL's energy storage system to help explore deep space in extremely cold temperatures. At 11:21 p.m., CSUNSat1 came up over the horizon, within range of the large, custom-built antenna on the roof of Jacaranda Hall. Katz, Flynn and their students and alumni held their breath. Then, they heard it: the first contact from the beacon, the long and short tones of International Morse Code. In addition to programming it to send data back to CSUN, the engineering team had built the satellite to broadcast its status every three minutes as it circles Earth, using Morse Code. "It is unfortunate that many CubeSats go up there, and they're never heard from. You can imagine how those students and researchers must feel," Flynn said. "It's like sending your child into the world, and it doesn't write home. You never know what happened to it. [When I heard the beacon], I felt like eight tons was off my shoulders. I was elated." "It [broadcasts] a letter B at the beginning of the beacon that tells us the experiment is ready to be run," added Katz, who noted that she and Flynn chose old-school Morse Code for the stellar traveler because it works when computerized data fails -- and because both professors happen to be fluent in Morse Code, thanks to a passion for ham radio in their teen years.

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Rotary gives $5,000 for Better Lamorinda Emergency Communications:

A $5,000 dollar Orinda Rotary Club donation will boost the effectiveness of wireless communications throughout the Lamorinda area. The recipient is the Lamorinda Area Radio Interest Group, an amateur radio club serving the community's event and emergency communication needs. The gift paid for a system of LARIG-built radio repeaters in Lafayette, Moraga and Orinda. These hilltop repeaters boost incoming signals from walkie-talkies and other radios and effectively overcome the losses caused by distance and hilly terrain. Each site has two repeater systems (each one with a radio receiver, transmitter, controller and antenna). One is for amateur radio band frequencies, the other for Family Radio Service and General Mobile Radio Service frequencies.

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Efforts of Amateur Radio Operators are Making a Difference:

When a windstorm knocked out power to thousands of households in a six-county region in March, the fragility of the modern communications most of us have become accustomed to was obvious. "With the major windstorm everyone lost power and a lot of people in the region were cut off," said Joseph Gangi, Jr., of Albion. "But we were still able to communicate and get information out there to truckers and people on the roads about road conditions and hazards." Gangi was able to communicate via amateur radio (also called ham radio). He's the Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES) Coordinator for Orleans County and founder and president of the Community Amateur Radio Club -- a group of about 12 members from Orleans County that meets monthly at the Hoag Library in Albion, Orleans County. During the windstorm, members disseminated information about accidents, downed power lines and missing stop signs to the Orleans County Sheriff's Department and other operators. Their equipment was run via emergency power (battery backup and solar power) from their homes.

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The Sun is Set to 'Change Form' as NASA Says Solar Minimum is On the Way:

The sun is heading into a period known as solar minimum, during which activity at the surface will 'change form.' In this time, certain types of activity, such as sunspots and solar flares will drop -- but, it's also expected to bring the development of long-lived phenomena including coronal holes. According to NASA, solar minimum could also enhance the effects of space weather, potentially disrupting communications and navigation systems, and even causing space junk to 'hang around.' The sun follows roughly an 11-year cycle. While sunspots were relatively high back in 2014, they're now heading toward a low point expected in 2019-2020, according to NASA. This is called solar minimum,' said Dean Pesnell of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD. 'And it's a regular part of the sunspot cycle.'

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Thursday, June 29, 2017

Prepping for the Big One:

Hundreds of participants from more than 40 agencies volunteered their weekends to test the limits of their emergency service equipment and their own training at the Cape Blanco Airport north of Port Orford, said Deb Simon, the public information officer for the training. While the various emergency service agencies train independently for disasters, it's rare that they get to work together. The Triton32 exercise allowed them to do just that. Pilots and flight nurses spent three days flying to outlying airports in Curry County to pick up "patients" -- in this case, they were "paper patients," not real people -- transport them to the Cape Blanco Airport where their injuries were evaluated and, based on that triage, send them inland for treatment. On the ground, local firefighters worked alongside federal military agencies. Communications towers were erected. Piles of paper in the Logistics tent were checked and double-checked for correct data. Ham radio operators in Port Orford crammed into the backs of pickups, in tents, in dens throughout the counties.

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Who's Listening? Hams Ask:

COURT HOUSE -- "CK N2CMC. How copy KC5OLN? QSL." It's not a foreign language, but text Bill "N2CSA" Cole saw on his digital ham radio's screen. He joined nearly 40,000 other ham radio operators across the U.S. June 24 for a Field Day event demonstrating the science, skills, and service ham radio operators might need in abnormal situations under less than optimal conditions. Cole joined a dozen or so other Cape May County Amateur Radio Club members as they participated in the most popular ham radio event since it began in 1933 by the Amateur Radio Relay League (ARRL). For 24 hours, the operators reached out to contact colleagues, share logistical information and track how many they spoke with in a language that can be traced to the start of Morse Code. Cole, of Lower Township, and Art Schaper, of Cape May, were set up in the 4-H Fairgrounds Lockwood Building, testing their digital equipment as part of the event. Using their radios, generators provided power, and antennae set up on the grounds, they could text, send pictures or video files. Those would be important items that could help agencies determine the breadth of disasters and what type of emergency response is needed.

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DX News -- ARRL DX Bulletin #26:

This week's bulletin was made possible with information provided by KV1J, QRZ DX, the OPDX Bulletin, 425 DX News, The Daily DX, DXNL, Contest Corral from QST and the ARRL Contest Calendar and WA7BNM web sites. Thanks to all.

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Just Ahead In Radiosport:

Just Ahead In Radiosport:

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Ham Radio Poised to Retain 76-81 GHz Band, Sharing with Vehicular Radars:

In a draft Report and Order (ET Docket No. 15-26) to be considered at its July 13 open meeting, the FCC has proposed lifting a nearly 2-decade-old suspension of Amateur Radio access to 76-77 GHz, giving the Amateur and Amateur-Satellite services access to the full 76-81 GHz band on a secondary basis. The FCC also reduced Amateur Radio's status from primary to secondary in the 77-77.5 GHz segment, to match the rest of the 76-81 GHz band, and it imposed a uniform power-level limit for users of the band. The draft Report and Order concluded that Amateur Radio and vehicular radars will be able to successfully share the millimeter-wave band with minor adjustments in the Amateur Service rules. A goal of the proceeding has been to expand and consolidate the spectrum available worldwide for 76-81 GHz radar operations. It would bring the US Table of Allocations into line with decisions at the 2015 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-15) and make the entire band available internationally for vehicular radars operating in the Radiolocation Service (RLS).

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'Germany Welcomes the World' to Friedrichshafen's Ham Radio 2017:

"Germany Welcomes the World" is the theme of the 2017 edition of Europe's major annual Amateur Radio gathering, known simply as "Ham Radio" but more commonly called "Friedrichshafen," the city on the shores of Lake Constance where it takes place each summer. ARRL President Rick Roderick, K5UR, will head a League contingent to the event, which this year runs from Friday, July 14, until Sunday, July 16. The show was rescheduled from June, due to a schedule conflict at the Friedrichshafen Fairground (Messe Friedrichshafen), where Ham Radio is staged.

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ARRL Foundation Announces Two New Scholarships:

Starting in 2018, the ARRL Foundation will offer two new scholarships for radio amateurs pursuing post-secondary education. They have been established by the Medical Amateur Radio Council (MARCO) and by the Shenandoah Valley Amateur Radio Club (SVARC).

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Region 1 Intruder Watch Reports the Usual Suspects:

International Amateur Radio Union Region 1 Monitoring System (IARUMS) volunteers continue to document many of the same signals intruding on Amateur Radio bands -- some of them audible in other parts of the world, according to the latest editions of the IARUMS Region 1 newsletter.

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The Doctor Will See You Now!

"Generators" is the topic of the current (June 22) episode of the "ARRL The Doctor is In" podcast. Listen...and learn!

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ARRL to Sponsor 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season Webinar:

The ARRL will sponsor a 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season Webinar on Monday, July 17, at 8 PM ET (0000 UTC on Tuesday, July 18). The approximately 90-minute session will address the role of Amateur Radio during the 2017 Hurricane Season. Anyone interested in hurricane preparedness and response is invited to take part in this online presentation.

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Pikes Peak ARES at Right Place, Right Time:

Members of Pikes Peak ARES (PPARES) -- Region 2, District 2 of Colorado ARES) were supporting the Mountain Top Cycling Club's annual Experience Ride on June 17, when a motor vehicle collision occurred at an intersection where a race rest stop was located. Three PPARES members on site -- Dan Huber, KN0MAP; Matthew Tuttle, KD0YBE, and Dean Buckhouse, KB0VVA -- were able to respond to the accident, which involved a passenger car and a pick-up truck.

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W8CDX Takes Field Day Back to Its Roots:

Some younger radio amateurs may not realize that ARRL Field Day has been a staple operating event for more than 80 years. Former ARRL Communications Manager F. E. Handy, W1BDI, is credited with conceiving "International Field Day" in 1933, although it wasn't until the following year that he described it as the "test of the emergency availability of portable stations and equipment" we know today. For Field Day 2017, the crew at the Karns City Amateur Radio Club, W8CDX, once again took Field Day equipment back to the 1930s -- a time when the notion of "portable" applied only loosely to equipment of the era. Last year, W8CDX used a National HRO-5 receiver and a style of transmitter similar to something that could have been used at that first Field Day. This time, everything was home built.

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In Brief...

ARRL Seeking Additional Vintage DXpedition Logs for Archive: ARRL continues to solicit paper logs of prominent DXpeditions that took place predominantly in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, for inclusion in The DX Log Archive Endowed by JA1BK.

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Today’s Sun (artificially-colored in purple) seen at the...



Today’s Sun (artificially-colored in purple) seen at the 211-angstrom wavelength (Extreme Ultraviolet, or EUV), as viewed by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA).

At this wavelength, at a wavelength not seen by the un-aided eye, we observe this full-disk AIA image through the 21.1 nm (211 A) filter. This Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) waveband is used to monitor active regions in the solar corona.

The image is a ‘false color image’, meaning that observed data are in a range outside of what human eyes can see, so the data are digitally recast into colors that emphasize physically important features. This view is created from data gathered by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) satellite that flies above Earth’s atmosphere in an inclined geosynchronous orbit.

Emissions captured in this image come from iron (Fe), a trace element in the solar atmosphere that emits Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) light when heated to temperatures in excess of one million deg K. In the solar corona the temperatures are so high that most chemical elements have lost many of their electrons. Some of the remaining electrons still attached to the atom emit EUV radiation in narrow wavebands or lines.

The 21.1 nm filter (also called channel or bandpass) is dominated by emissions from highly ionized iron: 13 times ionized (missing 13 electrons) iron–Fe XIV. Other ionization levels of iron also contribute. The roman numeral descriptors are consistent with spectral notation: the level of ionization for a given roman numeral is one unit larger that the actual number of missing electrons. Additionally there may be some contribution from hot thermal plasma when solar flares are present. The temperatures associated with this level of ionization is about 2 x 10^6 K.

The bright regions in this image correspond to regions of closed magnetic field loops that trap the hot, emitting plasma. Large bright regions are often called active regions. The dark regions correspond to cooler temperatures and possibly to locations where magnetic field lines open into the heliosphere, and thus, do not trap hot plasma.

With this image, we can monitore active regions.

View live data and images at http://SunSpotWatch.com

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Latest TEC map from NASA. What is TEC? Total Electron Content...



Latest TEC map from NASA. What is TEC? Total Electron Content (or TEC) is an important descriptive quantity for the ionosphere of the Earth. TEC is the total number of free electrons integrated between two points, along a tube of one meter squared cross section, i.e., the electron columnar number density. Affected by solar activity, Total Electron Content (TEC) describes the total number of free electrons present within one square meter between two points (i.e. between the receiver and satellite involved in measuring TEC).

These maps are also used to monitor ionospheric weather, and to nowcast ionospheric storms that often occur responding to activities in solar wind and Earth’s magnetosphere as well as thermosphere.

View live data and images at http://SunSpotWatch.com

Follow: http://ift.tt/1iWH4ta and http://ift.tt/1wJXm19

Facebook: http://NW7US.us/swhfr

And: Check out the stunning view of our Sun in action, as seen during the last five years with the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXN-MdoGM9g

We’re on Facebook: http://NW7US.us/swhfr



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FT3YL – Adelie Land, Antarctica

NEWS UPDATE about François FT3YL, courtesy Clipperton DX Club: Radio from Adelie Land is very, very, very difficult and more difficult if you’re a newbie. François is still in Adelie Land, but he was not able to be active as he wanted. Remember that Adelie Land is very close to south geomagnetic pole, so he has […]

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RI0LI Leontyeva Island Medvezhyi Bear Islands. From DXNews.com

R2DG, R7AA, UA6EX will be active from Leontyeva Island, Medvezhyi (Bear) Islands, IOTA AS - 022, 22 - 30 July 2017 as RI0LI.

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Today’s Sun (artificially-colored in red) seen at the...



Today’s Sun (artificially-colored in red) seen at the 304-angstrom wavelength (Extreme Ultraviolet, or EUV), as viewed by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA).

At this wavelength, at a wavelength not seen by the un-aided eye, we can see the Sun through the 30.4 nm (304 A) filter. This Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) waveband is used to monitor the chromosphere and lower transition region. It is useful to see plasma and filament activity, including filamet eruptions and coronal mass ejections (CMEs).

The image is a “false color image’, meaning that observed data are in a range outside of what human eyes can see, so the data are digitally recast into colors that emphasize physically important features. This view is created from data gathered by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) satellite that flies above Earth’s atmosphere in an inclined geosynchronous orbit.

Emissions captured in this image come from helium (He), the second most abundant element in the solar atmosphere. Singly ionized Helium (He II) emits Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) light when heated to temperatures of ~70,000 deg K. In the upper solar atmosphere the temperatures are so high that most chemical elements have lost many of their electrons. The remaining electron, which is still attached to the atom, emits EUV radiation in narrow wavebands or lines when it is in an excited state.

The 30.4 nm filter (also called channel or bandpass) is dominated by emissions from singly (once) ionized helium which has missing 1 electron–He II. The roman numeral descriptor is consistent with spectral notation: the level of ionization for a given roman numeral is one unit larger that the actual number of missing electrons. The temperatures associated with this level of ionization is range from 6 x 10^4 K to 8 x 10^4 K.

The bright regions in this image correspond to regions of closed magnetic field loops that trap the hot, emitting plasma. Large bright regions are often called active regions. The dark regions correspond to cooler temperatures and possibly to locations where magnetic field lines open into the heliosphere, and thus, do not trap hot plasma.

View live data and images at http://SunSpotWatch.com

We’re on Facebook: http://NW7US.us/swhfr



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Here is the current forecast discussion on space weather and...



Here is the current forecast discussion on space weather and geophysical activity, issued 2017 Jun 29 1230 UTC.

Solar Activity

24 hr Summary: Solar activity was at very low levels. Region 2664 (N18W39, Cso/beta) underwent decay and produced a long duration B1 flare with an associated partial halo CME. Coronal dimming was observed in AIA/193 imagery around Region 2664. Further forecaster analysis and WSA/Enlil modeling are needed to determine whether the CME is Earth-directed and if so, the timing of the event.

Forecast: Solar activity is expected to continue at very low levels with a slight chance for C-class flares all three days (29 Jun-1 Jul).

Energetic Particle

24 hr Summary: The greater than 2 MeV electron flux continued at normal to moderate levels and the greater than 10 MeV proton flux remained at background values.

Forecast: The greater than 2 MeV electron flux is expected to continue at normal to moderate levels all three days (29 Jun-1 Jul) and the greater than 10 MeV proton flux is expected to remain at background levels.

Solar Wind

24 hr Summary: Solar wind parameters were indicative nominal conditions. Total field strength ranged primarily from 3 to 5 nT and the Bz component underwent only weak deviations. Solar wind speed was between 400 and 450 km/s. The phi angle was mostly positive.

Forecast: A small, isolated positive polarity CH HSS is anticipated to rotate into a weak Earth connected position on day one (29 Jun), causing a minor increase in solar wind speed. This weak enhancement is likely to decrease as the CH rotates away from a geoeffective position, but waning effects from the CH HSS may cause a slightly disturbed IMF to continue into day two (30 Jun). A return to more ambient, background like conditions is expected by day three (1 Jul).

Geospace

24 hr Summary: The geomagnetic field was quiet.

Forecast: The geomagnetic field is expected to be quiet, with a few isolated unsettled periods on days one and two (29-30 Jun) due to responses associated with the disturbed solar wind environment. The overall planetary response is expected to be quiet on day three (1 Jul).

Don’t forget to visit our live space weather and radio propagation web site, at: http://ift.tt/17yXOGK

Live Aurora mapping is at http://ift.tt/2lYUS2h

If you are on Twitter, please follow these two users: + http://ift.tt/1iWH4ta + http://ift.tt/1wJXm19

Check out the stunning view of our Sun in action, as seen during the last five years with the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXN-MdoGM9g

We’re on Facebook: http://NW7US.us/swhfr



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9M4IOTA – Pangkor Island, AS-072

A team consisting 9M2OOO, 9M2AIS, 9M2VDX, 9M2ZDX, 9M2ODX, 9M2ROL, 9M2UDE, 9M2JEP, 9M2AGC & 9W2FQP will be active from Pangkor Island AS-072 as 9M4IOTA during July 22-24, 2017. QRV on 80-10m, CW/SSB/Digi. QSL via 9M2OOO.

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BY4JN – Lingshan Island AS-150

An 20-man Chinese team will again be active from Lingshan Island AS-150 as BY4JN during the IOTA contest (July 29-30, 2017). QSL via BI4IIZ.

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Daily solar report: Current Sunspot Cycle 24 Activity and Space...



Daily solar report: Current Sunspot Cycle 24 Activity and Space Weather

Sunspot count: Sun Spots: 13 as of 06/28/2017 10.7-cm Radio Flux: 72 SFU (SFU=Solar Flux Units) Estimated Planetary A-index (Ap): 4 | K-index (Kp): 1

Solar Wind: 408 km/s at 3.0 protons/cm3, Bz is 0.0 nT (Jun 29, 2017 at 1816 UT)

X-ray Solar Flares: 6h hi [B1.3][1227Z 06/28] 24h hi [B1.3][1227Z 06/28]

Background X-ray Level, Last Six Days

Jun 28 2017 :: A5.2 Jun 27 2017 :: A5.3 Jun 26 2017 :: A5.2 Jun 25 2017 :: A4.6 Jun 24 2017 :: A4.5 Jun 23 2017 :: A5.1

Global HF Propagation Conditions for 1800Z on 29 Jun, 2017 High Latitude: Normal Middle Latitude: Normal Low Latitude: Normal

Geomagnetic Latitude Ranges: High: 60-90 degrees, Middle: 20-60 degrees, Low: 0-20 degrees

For live data and images, visit http://SunSpotWatch.com

This report has been prepared by your space weather and radio propagation reporter, Tomas ( amateur radio operator, NW7US, http://NW7US.us )

Check out the stunning view of our Sun in action, as seen during the last five years with the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXN-MdoGM9g

We’re on Facebook: http://NW7US.us/swhfr



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Spiderbeam at HAM RADIO 2017

Spiderbeam have been the longest running advertiser on DX-World.net so it’s only fair we publish their Friedrichshafen Press Release in full.  Only two weeks until HAM RADIO 2017 takes place in Friedrichshafen on July 14-16th  http://ift.tt/1utMNyK! You will find us at booth number A1-409, we will exhibit together with Appello Funk, Vibroplex/INRAD, ERC-Rotor Control. This year we will […]

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Today’s Sun, seen through a filter of...



Today’s Sun, seen through a filter of ‘visible’ light (remember: NEVER look directly at the Sun!), as viewed by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), by the Helioseismic Magnetic Imager (HMI). This image is known as a 'continuum’ image; a continuum image is formed by filtering portions of the visible light part of the spectrum. The SDO HMI is designed to study oscillations and the magnetic field at the solar surface, or photosphere.

The continuum images allow us to track the evolution of sunspots. These images are important as they allow us to better understand the dynamic nature of the solar atmosphere.

View live data and images at http://SunSpotWatch.com

We’re on Facebook: http://NW7US.us/swhfr

Twitter feeds:
http://ift.tt/1iWH4ta and http://ift.tt/1wJXm19



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Today’s graph, plotting the SESC sunspot number, the...



Today’s graph, plotting the SESC sunspot number, the 10.7cm Radio Flux, and the Estimated Planetary A Index, for the last 30 days.

The numbers are:


   Date    | Sunspots | 10.7-cm Flux |  Ap 
==========================================
2017/06/28 |     13   |     72       |   5
2017/06/27 | 17 | 74 | 5
2017/06/26 | 19 | 74 | 7
2017/06/25 | 20 | 74 | 11
2017/06/24 | 28 | 74 | 9
2017/06/23 | 22 | 74 | 5
2017/06/22 | 23 | 74 | 6
2017/06/21 | 35 | 74 | 4
2017/06/20 | 34 | 74 | 3
2017/06/19 | 26 | 74 | 5
2017/06/18 | 27 | 75 | 10
2017/06/17 | 28 | 75 | 15
2017/06/16 | 28 | 74 | 25
2017/06/15 | 28 | 77 | 4
2017/06/14 | 11 | 74 | 5
2017/06/13 | 11 | 75 | 8
2017/06/12 | 0 | 75 | 8
2017/06/11 | 0 | 74 | 17
2017/06/10 | 0 | 75 | 4
2017/06/09 | 0 | 74 | 5
2017/06/08 | 12 | 74 | 4
2017/06/07 | 13 | 76 | 5
2017/06/06 | 18 | 75 | 5
2017/06/05 | 22 | 79 | 5
2017/06/04 | 23 | 78 | 3
2017/06/03 | 22 | 78 | 9
2017/06/02 | 19 | 78 | 5
2017/06/01 | 18 | 76 | 7
2017/05/31 | 11 | 74 | 4

For complete live data and images visit http://SunSpotWatch.com

Be sure to share this post, to spread the love!

Get the space weather and radio propagation self-study course, today. Visit http://nw7us.us/swc for the latest sale and for more information!

Check out the stunning view of our Sun in action, as seen during the last five years with the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXN-MdoGM9g

We’re on Facebook: http://NW7US.us/swhfr

Get your copy of the self-study space weather and radio propagation course: http://nw7us.us/swc



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ZF2NH Grand Cayman Island. From DXNews.com

Max, I8NHJ/N5NHJ will be active from Grand Cayman Island, IOTA NA - 016, 8 - 15 July 2017 as ZF2NH.

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Did you know? Here’s a space weather and radio...



Did you know? Here’s a space weather and radio propagation educational tidbit – from http://SunSpotWatch.com – at 14:00 UTC on 2017-06-29:

During a geomagnetic storm, there will be aurora in the northern and southern polar regions of the Earth. A Polar Cap Absorption (PCA) event is the result of intense ionization produced by energetic protons. A Polar Cap Absorption (PCA) event occurs over the polar regions (North and South Poles), and are produced by energetic protons which originate from class of large solar flares known as proton flares.

Proton flares (very strong flares) successfully accelerate protons to a good fraction of the speed of light. Energetic protons from proton flares reach Earth only minutes to hours later. Energetic protons reach Earth, spiral around, down magnetic field lines of Earth, penetrate into atmosphere.

Don’t forget to visit our live space weather and radio propagation web site, at: http://SunSpotWatch.com

See the live aurora mapping is at http://ift.tt/2lYUS2h

If you are on Twitter, please follow these two users:



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V73/WW6RG Kwajalein Atoll Marshall Islands. From DXNews.com

Randy, WW6RG will be active again from Kwajalein Atoll, IOTA OC-028, Marshall Islands 24, 26 July and 21, 23 August 2017 as V73/WW6RG.

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KU9C/VP9 N2OO/VP9 VP9HQ Bermuda Islands. From DXNews.com

Bob N2OO and Steve KU9C will be active from Bermuda Islands, 6 - 11 July 2017 as N2OO/VP9 and KU9C/VP9.

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The FREE DX-World Weekly Bulletin #206

Here’s the latest FREE DX-World Weekly Bulletin brought to you by Bjorn, ON9CFG. 14 pages packed full of info! Download here.

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N2OO/VP9 & KU9C/VP9 – Bermuda

Look for Bob, N2OO and Steve, KU9C to be active from Bermuda as N2OO/VP9 & KU9C/VP9 between July 6-11, 2017. QRV from the QTH of VP9GE on HF bands + 6m / satellites. During the IARU contest (July 8-9) they will sign as VP9HQ. QSL via H/cs; VP9HQ (2017) via KU9C.

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WW6RG/KH9 Wake Island. From DXNews.com

Randy, WW6RG will be active again from Wake Island, IOTA OC-053, 20 July and 17 August 2017 as WW6RG/KH9.

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ZF2NH – Cayman Islands

Max, I8NHJ (N5NHJ) will be active from the Wyndham Reef Resort, Grand Cayman as ZF2NH between July 8-15, 2017. QRV on 20-6m mostly CW, some Digi. QSL via N5NHJ / LoTW.

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Today’s Sun (artificially-colored in yellow) seen at the...



Today’s Sun (artificially-colored in yellow) seen at the 171-angstrom wavelength (Extreme Ultraviolet, or EUV), as viewed by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA).

At this wavelength, at a wavelength not seen by the un-aided eye, we observe the Sun with the 17.1 nm (171 A) filter. This Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) waveband is used to monitor the corona and upper transition region. With this filter, we can see the myrid of massive magnetic field lines, from simple to complex, that weave and twist throughout the Sun.

The image is a ‘false color image’, meaning that observed data are in a range outside of what human eyes can see, so the data are digitally recast into colors that emphasize physically important features. This view is created from data gathered by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) satellite that flies above Earth’s atmosphere in an inclined geosynchronous orbit.

Emissions captured in this image come from iron (Fe), a trace element in the solar atmosphere that emits Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) light when heated to temperatures in excess of one million deg K. In the solar corona the temperatures are so high that most chemical elements have lost many of their electrons. Some of the remaining electrons still attached to the atom emit EUV radiation in narrow wavebands or lines.

The 17.1 nm filter, or channel, is dominated by emissions from highly ionized iron: 8 times ionized (missing 8 electrons) iron–Fe IX. The roman numeral descriptors are consistent with spectral notation: the level of ionization for a given roman numeral is one unit larger that the actual number of missing electrons. The temperatures associated with this level of ionization is about 6 x 10^5 K.

The bright regions in this image correspond to regions of closed magnetic field loops that trap the hot, emitting plasma. Large bright regions are often called active regions. The dark regions correspond to cooler temperatures and possibly to locations where magnetic field lines open into the heliosphere, and thus, do not trap hot plasma.

View live data and images at http://SunSpotWatch.com

We’re on Facebook: http://NW7US.us/swhfr



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PX0F – Fernando de Noronha

Fabio, PP5BZ will again be active from Fernando de Noronha as PX0F. QRV this time during the CQ WW CW contest (November 25-26, 2017). QSL via H/c.

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Stats ‹ dxerhamnews — WordPress.com

Stats ‹ dxerhamnews — WordPress.com

Southgate Amateur Radio News

Southgate Amateur Radio News

Latest TEC map from NASA. What is TEC? Total Electron Content...



Latest TEC map from NASA. What is TEC? Total Electron Content (or TEC) is an important descriptive quantity for the ionosphere of the Earth. TEC is the total number of free electrons integrated between two points, along a tube of one meter squared cross section, i.e., the electron columnar number density. Affected by solar activity, Total Electron Content (TEC) describes the total number of free electrons present within one square meter between two points (i.e. between the receiver and satellite involved in measuring TEC).

These maps are also used to monitor ionospheric weather, and to nowcast ionospheric storms that often occur responding to activities in solar wind and Earth’s magnetosphere as well as thermosphere.

View live data and images at http://SunSpotWatch.com

Follow: http://ift.tt/1iWH4ta and http://ift.tt/1wJXm19

Facebook: http://NW7US.us/swhfr

And: Check out the stunning view of our Sun in action, as seen during the last five years with the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXN-MdoGM9g

We’re on Facebook: http://NW7US.us/swhfr



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PX0F Fernando de Noronha. From DXNews.com

Fabio, PP5BZ will be active again from Fernando de Noronha Archipelago, IOTA SA - 003, in CQ WW DX CW Contest 25 - 26 November 2017 as PX0F.

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29/06/2017 – WCA & COTA-DL pedition of DJ2OS/P to Water Castle Senden and Water Castle Kakesbeck

– Peter DJ2OS will active on the 29th of June from 8:30 till 9:30 UTC from Water Castle Senden, WCA: DL-02844, COTA-DL: WNB-008 and from 10:30 till 11:30 UTC from Water Castle Kakesbeck, WCA: DL-02877, COTA-DL: WNB-041. He plans to work only SSB on 40 meters as usual: between 7130.0 MHz and 7150.0 MHz starting at 7.131 MHz. Please spot him in the DX Cluster if you hear. QSL via bureau or direct. 73 & 11! [tnx info DJ2OS]



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Wednesday, June 28, 2017

Today’s Sun (artificially-colored in purple) seen at the...



Today’s Sun (artificially-colored in purple) seen at the 211-angstrom wavelength (Extreme Ultraviolet, or EUV), as viewed by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA).

At this wavelength, at a wavelength not seen by the un-aided eye, we observe this full-disk AIA image through the 21.1 nm (211 A) filter. This Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) waveband is used to monitor active regions in the solar corona.

The image is a ‘false color image’, meaning that observed data are in a range outside of what human eyes can see, so the data are digitally recast into colors that emphasize physically important features. This view is created from data gathered by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) satellite that flies above Earth’s atmosphere in an inclined geosynchronous orbit.

Emissions captured in this image come from iron (Fe), a trace element in the solar atmosphere that emits Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) light when heated to temperatures in excess of one million deg K. In the solar corona the temperatures are so high that most chemical elements have lost many of their electrons. Some of the remaining electrons still attached to the atom emit EUV radiation in narrow wavebands or lines.

The 21.1 nm filter (also called channel or bandpass) is dominated by emissions from highly ionized iron: 13 times ionized (missing 13 electrons) iron–Fe XIV. Other ionization levels of iron also contribute. The roman numeral descriptors are consistent with spectral notation: the level of ionization for a given roman numeral is one unit larger that the actual number of missing electrons. Additionally there may be some contribution from hot thermal plasma when solar flares are present. The temperatures associated with this level of ionization is about 2 x 10^6 K.

The bright regions in this image correspond to regions of closed magnetic field loops that trap the hot, emitting plasma. Large bright regions are often called active regions. The dark regions correspond to cooler temperatures and possibly to locations where magnetic field lines open into the heliosphere, and thus, do not trap hot plasma.

With this image, we can monitore active regions.

View live data and images at http://SunSpotWatch.com

We’re on Facebook: http://NW7US.us/swhfr



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Latest TEC map from NASA. What is TEC? Total Electron Content...



Latest TEC map from NASA. What is TEC? Total Electron Content (or TEC) is an important descriptive quantity for the ionosphere of the Earth. TEC is the total number of free electrons integrated between two points, along a tube of one meter squared cross section, i.e., the electron columnar number density. Affected by solar activity, Total Electron Content (TEC) describes the total number of free electrons present within one square meter between two points (i.e. between the receiver and satellite involved in measuring TEC).

These maps are also used to monitor ionospheric weather, and to nowcast ionospheric storms that often occur responding to activities in solar wind and Earth’s magnetosphere as well as thermosphere.

View live data and images at http://SunSpotWatch.com

Follow: http://ift.tt/1iWH4ta and http://ift.tt/1wJXm19

Facebook: http://NW7US.us/swhfr

And: Check out the stunning view of our Sun in action, as seen during the last five years with the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXN-MdoGM9g

We’re on Facebook: http://NW7US.us/swhfr



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Tony's 10m Band Report

Tony's 10m Band Report

Today’s Sun (artificially-colored in red) seen at the...



Today’s Sun (artificially-colored in red) seen at the 304-angstrom wavelength (Extreme Ultraviolet, or EUV), as viewed by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA).

At this wavelength, at a wavelength not seen by the un-aided eye, we can see the Sun through the 30.4 nm (304 A) filter. This Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) waveband is used to monitor the chromosphere and lower transition region. It is useful to see plasma and filament activity, including filamet eruptions and coronal mass ejections (CMEs).

The image is a “false color image’, meaning that observed data are in a range outside of what human eyes can see, so the data are digitally recast into colors that emphasize physically important features. This view is created from data gathered by the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) satellite that flies above Earth’s atmosphere in an inclined geosynchronous orbit.

Emissions captured in this image come from helium (He), the second most abundant element in the solar atmosphere. Singly ionized Helium (He II) emits Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) light when heated to temperatures of ~70,000 deg K. In the upper solar atmosphere the temperatures are so high that most chemical elements have lost many of their electrons. The remaining electron, which is still attached to the atom, emits EUV radiation in narrow wavebands or lines when it is in an excited state.

The 30.4 nm filter (also called channel or bandpass) is dominated by emissions from singly (once) ionized helium which has missing 1 electron–He II. The roman numeral descriptor is consistent with spectral notation: the level of ionization for a given roman numeral is one unit larger that the actual number of missing electrons. The temperatures associated with this level of ionization is range from 6 x 10^4 K to 8 x 10^4 K.

The bright regions in this image correspond to regions of closed magnetic field loops that trap the hot, emitting plasma. Large bright regions are often called active regions. The dark regions correspond to cooler temperatures and possibly to locations where magnetic field lines open into the heliosphere, and thus, do not trap hot plasma.

View live data and images at http://SunSpotWatch.com

We’re on Facebook: http://NW7US.us/swhfr



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Here is the current forecast discussion on space weather and...



Here is the current forecast discussion on space weather and geophysical activity, issued 2017 Jun 28 1230 UTC.

Solar Activity

24 hr Summary: Solar activity was very low. Region 2664 (N18W25, Hsx/alpha) underwent decay and was inactive. There were no Earth-directed CMEs observed in available satellite imagery.

Forecast: Solar activity is expected to be very low with a slight chance for C-class flares over the next three days (28-30 Jun).

Energetic Particles

24 hr Summary: The greater than 2 MeV electron flux was at normal to moderate levels. The greater than 10 MeV proton flux remained at background levels.

Forecast: The greater than 2 MeV electron flux is expected to persist at normal to moderate levels for the next three days (28-30 Jun). The greater than 10 MeV proton flux is expected to persist at background levels throughout the forecast period.

Solar Wind

24 hr Summary: Solar wind parameters were nominal throughout the period. Solar wind speed was between 440 - 475 km/s. Total field strength was between 1 and 5 nT while the Bz component dropped as low as -3 nT. Phi angle was predominantly positive throughout the reporting period.

Forecast: Solar wind parameters are expected to reflect a nominal solar wind environment through day one (28 Jun). Late on day two (29 Jun) and early into day three (30 Jun) there will likely be a minor enhancement from a positive polarity CH HSS.

Geospace

24 hr Summary: The geomagnetic field was at quiet levels.

Forecast: The geomagnetic field is expected to be mostly quiet for day one (28 Jun). Quiet to unsettled conditions are likely late on days two and three (29-30 Jun) due to the anticipated influence from an equatorial, positive polarity CH HSS.

Don’t forget to visit our live space weather and radio propagation web site, at: http://ift.tt/17yXOGK

Live Aurora mapping is at http://ift.tt/2lYUS2h

If you are on Twitter, please follow these two users: + http://ift.tt/1iWH4ta + http://ift.tt/1wJXm19

Check out the stunning view of our Sun in action, as seen during the last five years with the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXN-MdoGM9g

We’re on Facebook: http://NW7US.us/swhfr



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