Category - Blog

The Radio Society of Great Britain and Ofcom have reached agreement on the optional use of special callsigns for two significant events during 2012.

For the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, all UK amateur stations will have the option of applying for a variation to their licence if they wish, to use a special prefix for a five week period. This will add or substitute the letter “Q” in the place of the Regional identifier in the callsign (MQ0OXO, GQ4RCG etc).

For the period of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, a similar facility will exist for a seven week period, using the letter “O” (MO0OXO, GO4RCG etc)

Furthermore, calls in the series GB2012aaa will be available for Special Event Stations relating to the Olympics and licences will be issued for four “flagship” stations using the prefix 2O12a where “O” is the letter O, and a is a single letter relating to the location of the station.

If you are considering Qsl Cards for thois event for personal, special event or club activities, Qsl Cards for these events are already being made to UX5UO Qsl Print. Details of special costs, batch sizes and style of cards can be found on the UX5UO Website or email me (M0OXO) to discuss.

Flying past Saturn’s moon Dione, Cassini captured this view which includes two smaller moons, Epimetheus and Prometheus, near the planet’s rings.

The image was taken in visible light with Cassini‘s narrow-angle camera during the spacecraft’s flyby of Dione on 12th December, 2011. This encounter was the spacecraft’s closest pass of the moon’s surface, but, because this flyby was intended primarily for other Cassini instruments, it did not yield Cassini’s best images of the moon. 

Dione (698 miles, or 1,123 kilometers across) is closest to Cassini here and is on the left of the image. Potato-shaped Prometheus (53 miles, or 86 kilometers across) appears above the rings near the center top of the image. Epimetheus (70 miles, or 113 kilometers across) is on the right.

This view looks toward the northern, sunlit side of the rings from less than one degree above the ring plane. The view was acquired at a distance of approximately 67,000 miles (108,000 kilometers) from Dione. Image scale is 2,122 feet (647 meters) per pixel on Dione.

Active sunspot 1401 erupted yesterday, 19th January around 16:30 UTC, producing an M3-class solar flare and a full-halo coronal mass ejection (CME). The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory recorded the cloud expanding almost directly toward Earth

Analysts at the Goddard Space Weather Lab say strong geomagnetic storms are possible when the cloud arrives this weekend. Their animated forecast track predicts an impact on 21st Jan. at 22:30 UT (+/- 7 hrs).

The cloud is also heading for Mars, due to hit the Red Planet on Jan. 24th. NASA’s Curiosity rover, en route to Mars now, is equipped to study solar storms and might be able to detect a change in the energetic particle environment when the CME passes by.

It was a nice suprise to receive this Certificate through the door yesterday!

1st place in Wales CQWW WPX last year for Single Op. 10M SSB category.

I entered the Contest using my Contest Call MW0X (M0X when in ‘G’) from the Club Station of the StrumbleHead Contest & DX Group in
Wales.

Congrats also to Chris G1VDP who took the 15M Band 1st place and also Anthony MW0JZE who took 1st place whilst on the Island of Jersey as MJ0JZE.

Overall a good Contest for the StrumbleHead guys!

Well along with 10 other Qsl Managers I am pleased to say that my part in the T32C qsl’in process is well under way.

Around 950 letters have been sent out to day which equates to almost 5000 of the 203,000 qso’s I have managed to confirm. The 9 other managers are also processing a similar amount.

You should find your card sitting on your doormat in the near future!

Qsl is via G3NUG

Trevor VK0TH reports today that future activities whilst he is on Macquarie Island are in doubt after very bad operating was apparent thisd morning. Trevore reports;

Operator behaviour has become a problem. JA and EU stations constantly calling over other stations, don’t hear or jam and have turned a fun hobby into a stressful environment. I worked over 200 JA stations today (13/14 January) and when sending “NO JA” in the call it all got very ugly.

I will be QRT for the next few days while I re-evaulate how much radio I will continue doing while on Macquarie Island and how it is done. My apologies to those that wanted VK0/M. I can’t see this behaviour changing and I’m not willing to spend my free time doing something that is no longer fun. My apologies, Trevor.

You shouldn’t be the one who has to apologise Trevor!

For many years, researchers have been collecting Vesta meteorites from “fall sites” around the world. The rocks’ chemical fingerprints leave little doubt that they came from the giant asteroid. Earth has been peppered by so many fragments of Vesta, that people have actually witnessed fireballs caused by the meteoroids tearing through our atmosphere. Recent examples include falls near the African village of Bilanga Yanga in October 1999 and outside Millbillillie, Australia, in October 1960.

“Those meteorites just might be pieces of the basin excavated when Vesta’s giant mountain formed,” says Dawn PI Chris Russell of UCLA.

Russell believes the mountain was created by a ‘big bad impact‘ with a smaller body; material displaced in the smashup rebounded and expanded upward to form a towering peak. The same tremendous collision that created the mountain might have hurled splinters of Vesta towards Earth.

”Some of the meteorites in our museums and labs could be fragments of Vesta formed in the impact — pieces of the same stuff the mountain itself is made of. Vesta formed at the dawn of the solar system, “Billions of years of collisions with other space rocks have given it a densely cratered surface.”

The surface around the mountain, however, is tellingly smooth. Russell believes the impact wiped out the entire history of cratering in the vicinity. By counting craters that have accumulated since then, researchers can estimate the age of the landscape.

Sad news from the CY0 Sable Island team received today;

Hi Everyone-

Unfortunately, we had to postpone the Sable Island CY0 DXpedition due to
the landing area on the island being under water. A winter storm with
20+ foot swells pushed water onto the sand “runway” on Wednesday
evening. Al Wilson, the OIC on Sable, made an assessment of the landing
area yesterday. Ron and I talked with Al and there was no possibility of
a flight to the island in the next five days. After that, it would
depend on how quickly the water would drain from the landing area and if
any other storms affect the island. At that point, we decided to
postpone the DXpedition.
Needless to say, we are extremely disappointed that we have had to postpone the DXpedition. We have learned first-hand there is really no season of the year that is ideal for flights.

Late yesterday morning, we met with Ted of Maritime Air. Ted advised it has been the worst year he has experienced as far as scheduling flights. Maritime Air provides logistical flight services to Environment Canada on the island.

Even though we are disappointed, we are not defeated. Maritime Air allowed us to store our gear to help facilitate our next attempt. We are discussing two options with the Sable Island station.

We appreciate your interest in the DXpedition. We have received a lot of encouragement from DX’ers around the world. Continue to check the DXpedition website for updates.

www.cy0dxpedition.com

73,

Ron AA4VK
Murray WA4DAN

THE tiny South Pacific nation of Samoa will jump forward in time this week – all in the name of trade.

At the stroke of midnight on December 29, time in Samoa will leap forward to December 31 – New Year’s Eve. For Samoa’s 186,000 citizens, Friday, December 30, 2011, will simply cease to exist.

The time jump back to the future comes 119 years after some US traders persuaded local Samoan authorities to align their islands’ time with nearby US-controlled American Samoa and the US to assist trade with California.

But the time zone has proved problematic in recent years, putting Samoa nearly a full day behind neighbouring Australia and New Zealand, increasingly important trading partners with the island nation. In a bid to remedy that, the Government passed a law in June that will move Samoa west of the international dateline, which separates one calendar day from the next and runs roughly north-to-south through the middle of the Pacific Ocean.

Under a government decree, all those scheduled to work on the non-existent Friday will be given full pay for the missed day of labour. Initially strongly opposed by Samoa’s opposition Tautua Samoa Party, the law to make the dateline switch won support after leader A’eau Peniamina told the nation’s Parliament: “It’s a change that benefits the people. Prime Minister Tuila’epa Sailele Malielegaoi earlier said it would strengthen trade and economic links with Australia, New Zealand and Asia.

Being a day behind the region has meant that when it’s dawn Sunday in Samoa, it’s already dawn Monday in adjacent Tonga and nearly dawn Monday in nearby New Zealand, Australia and increasingly prominent east Asian trade partners such as China. “In doing business with New Zealand and Australia, we’re losing out on two working days a week,” the PM said. “While it’s Friday here, it’s Saturday in New Zealand and when we’re at church on Sunday, they’re already conducting business in Sydney and Brisbane. “Today we do a lot more business with New Zealand and Australia, China and Pacific Rim countries such as Singapore.”

It’s the second big economic modernising move by the governing Human Rights Protection Party in recent years, following its switch to driving on the left side of the country’s roads in 2009, another move to align it with the two regional powers. Supporters said at the time the change made it easier for Samoans in Australia and New Zealand to send used cars home to their relatives. Opponents predicted major traffic problems, but they never happened.

So far, only Samoa’s small Seventh Day Adventist Church has indicated a major problem for its congregation, which traditionally begins celebrations for the Sabbath on Friday night and continues through Saturday.The Seventh Day Adventist parish in Samoa’s Samatau village has decided it will continue to observe the Sabbath day on Saturdays despite changes forced on the church by the westward switch of the dateline.

The original shift to the east side of the line was conducted in 1892 when Samoa celebrated July 4 twice, giving a nod to Independence Day in the US. The date line drawn by mapmakers is not mandated by any international body. By tradition, it runs roughly through the 180-degree line of longitude, but it zigzags to accommodate the choices of Pacific nations.

Hi all, hope that Santa brings you lots of goodies for Christmas 🙂

Well what a Year, I have been very very busy making Hexbeams! Lots of you would have already had you Hex and some are on the list waiting patiently! Many thanks for your understanding.

I have started a facebook page for the Hexbeams which you can find here;

http://www.facebook.com/pages/G3txq-Hexbeam/327564770606177

I have also added some pictures that I have had on my page but I need more pictures from you!!!! Please if you have some pictures of your Hexbeam please please please send them to me so I can post on the Facebook site 🙂

In 2011 I took some time off making Hexbeams to do some traveling with my K3, KPA 500 and Hexbeam, details below. Please check out the links for more information;

March 2011 I was QRV as MJ0JZE on Jersey EU-013

June 2011 QRV as MC0SHL on Ramsey Island off the West coast of Wales EU-124
http://www.mc0shl.com/blog/viewpost/220.html

September 2011 I was lucky enough to be invited to Timor Leste as 4W6A on Atauro Island OC-232, what a trip, 41000 QSO!
www.4w6a.com

What will 2012 bring?? Well I am going to be very active again and hope to be QRV somewhere in the Pacific in late 2012, more news as I can announce it 🙂 I hope to meet some of you on air in the near future, please call into me if you see me on the cluster or if I am on my travels!!

Happy Christmas and a Healthy new year!!!

73’s Ant MWØJZE

The ONLY UK Manufacturer Of The G3TXQ Broadband Hexbeam!