Category - Blog

Thanks to all who supported us in the Antarctic Activity Week (AAW) 2012.

We had a great time and had some nice DX with good runs into JA and the Far East on 12 and 15m, plus quite a lot in Far East on 10M. This year we tried different modes with PSK modes also very productive. After 7 days casual operating we worked 2479 stations so many thanks indeed.

Qsl Cards are available via M0OXO. Please have a look at our OQRS page and request either Bureau or Direct options (Paypal available). It is NOT necessary to send your card but we are always happy to receive them.

Well its official !

UK Post Offices have now stopped issuing International Reply Coupons (IRC’s).

I tried at two main Branches locally today and both confirmed they have been axed.

There is a some hope though as they will still be valid for mailing as normal and the Post Office are still happy to accept them for that purpose.

The brightest planets in the solar system are lining up in the evening sky, and you can see the formation—some of it at least—tonight.

Go out at sunset and look west. Venus and Jupiter pop out of the twilight even before the sky fades completely black.  The two brilliant planets surrounded by evening blue is a beautiful sight.

If you go out at the same time tomorrow, the view improves, because Venus and Jupiter are converging.  In mid-February they are about 20 degrees apart.  By the end of the month, the angle narrows to only 10 degrees—so close that you can hide them together behind your outstretched palm.  Their combined beauty grows each night as the distance between them shrinks.

A special night to look is Saturday 25^th February when the crescent Moon moves in to form a slender heavenly triangle with Venus, Jupiter and the Moon as vertices.  One night later, on Sunday 26^th, it happens again. This arrangement will be visible all around the world, from city and countryside alike.  The Moon, Venus and Jupiter are the brightest objects in the night sky; together they can shine through urban lights, fog, and even some clouds.

After hopping from Venus to Jupiter in late February, the Moon exits stage left, but the show is far from over.

In March, Venus and Jupiter continue their relentless convergence until, on the 12^th and 13^th of March, the duo lie only three degrees apart—a spectacular double beacon in the sunset sky.

Click the image above for a Video account!

Well let’s hope things remain good over the weekend.

After a very poor start to the day again the bands seem to have awoken this afternoon with some nice DX around lunchtime as the stations check their equipment prior to the ARRL DX Contest this weekend.

Here is a snippet so far, fingers crossed it stays this way at least this afternoon and weekend.

PZ5RO (new 10 & 12m CW),

PJ4/NK1Z (new 15m CW),

PJ4/WA1Z & V44KAI (both new 10m CW),

8P9CS (new 17m CW),

VR2OP and HC2/W7SE (both new 12m CW)

😉

In North America, for the first half of this year’s winter, the big news was warm temperatures and lack of snow. Ski resorts were covered in bare dirt, while January temperatures in southern California topped July highs!

Then, out of the blue, Europe got clobbered: Over the past two weeks, temperatures in Eastern Europe have nose-dived to -30 degrees Celsius (-22 degrees Fahrenheit). Blizzards and the bone-chilling cold have resulted in the deaths of over 550 people so far, with rooftop-high snow drifts trapping tens of thousands of villagers in their homes and cutting off access to entire towns. It has even snowed as far south as North Africa.

NASA climatologist Bill Patzert of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory explains what happened: “A couple of weeks ago, Mother Nature did an about face. The tight polar vortex that had bottled up the cold arctic air in the beginning of winter suddenly weakened. Cold air swept out of Siberia and invaded Europe and the Far East.” Now the vortex is weakening.

With “the AO (Click here for information about Arctic Oscillation) Index going negative,” as an expert or weather-nerd might put it, cold air escapes from that whirlpool and heads southward, resulting in the killing extremes now plaguing the other half of the planet.

Astronomers using the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope have found a cluster of young blue stars surrounding a mid-sized black hole called HLX-1.

The discovery suggests that the black hole formed in the core of a now-disintegrated dwarf galaxy. The findings have important implications for understanding the evolution of supermassive black holes and galaxies.

Astronomers know how massive stars collapse to form small black holes a few times the mass of the Sun. However, it is not clear how supermassive black holes, which can have masses of millions or even billions of times the Sun’s, form in the cores of galaxies.

One idea is that supermassive black holes may build up through the merger of small and mid-sized black holes, a view supported by a new study using Hubble.

UX5UO Qsl Print is now issuing Blank Qsl Cards.

Demand has been such that these cards can be bought is very small batches of 10, 20, 50, 100, 200 pcs, no problem. If you are interested have a look here and scroll down the page for pricing and designs.

As usual if you are interested please contact M0OXO for more details.

These cards will be held in stock with M0OXO and can be issued within 24 hours from order.

Thanks to the PS5F Team for IOTA number 521 this morning from Santana de Foro, Brazil.

Signals weak and 4/4 at best but good ears on the ops. enabled me to log it successfully!

Imbituba is one of the most attractive beach destinations in Brazil. Best known as the home of Brazil’s Southern Right Whale Project and as a great place for surfing, windsurfing and kitesurfing.

Imbituba has beautiful beaches ranging from a more urban atmosphere to rustic, pristine beaches. Central Praia da Vila (Village Beach), great for whale watching, bodyboarding and surfing. It faces two islands – Santana de Fora and Santana de Dentro. The latter can be reached on foot during low tides.