In the log this week
* MVARC Monthly Meeting and Breakfast Recap
* DXpedition Update: ZS8W Marion Island
* MVARC Nets on the Air
* What's happening with DX?
* Solar Activity Update
* Upcoming Contests
* Interesting Online Radio Content
MVARC Monthly Meeting and Breakfast Recap
Photo Courtesy Corey KN4YZY
Last weekend we had our breakfast and monthly meeting. Once again we had a great turn out for breakfast and a great time was had. Michael KQ4RUO and Joseph WB8KMJ brought in a battery system with a solar charging setup and gave it away at the breakfast to another lucky member. After breakfast we made it over to our monthly meeting where we had a fascinating presentation from Andy K1RA about "Multi-band, Multi-Mode Digital Decoding and Reporting Using SDRs". Andy showed us how he built his station and how he shares that data with amateur radio operators around the world. He also had some insights on how someone starting out can learn more about SDRs and get started. Thanks to Andy K1RA for his talk, and for everyone who joined us to make it such a fun morning. We hope to see you at the next one.
DXpedition Update: ZS8W Marion Island
Image of SA Agulhas with Penguin Courtesy Wikimedia Commons - CridF, CC BY-SA 4.0
Yuris YL2GM has arrived at Marion Island and has begun operations as of April 27th. His travel on the ship S.A. Agulhas II was delayed by a day from the port of Cape Town, South Africa, leaving on the 18th. The ship arrived at Marion Island on April 22nd but weather made disembarkation impossible. It wasn't until April 27 that Yuris was able to take a flight to the island and begin his operations. He got 9,957 QSOs in his club log before announcing yesterday that he will be off the air for up to 3 days to make repairs to antennas. So expect him to be back on the air in about 2 more days.
Yuris is planning to be active on 160-6 meters on CW, SSB, and FT8 through May 16, 2025. You can see more updates from Yuris at https://www.dx-world.net/zs8w-marion-island/ and check the ZS8W Club Log at https://clublog.org/logsearch/ZS8W.
MVARC Nets on the Air
* 2 Meter FM Net: Tuesdays at 7 PM [146.655/- MHz (141.3 Hz PL Tone) ]
* 2 Meter Digital Net: Immediately Follows 2 Meter FM Net [146.655/- MHz C4FM]
* MVARC Slow Speed CW Roundtable: Saturday and Sunday at 7:30 AM [3.565 MHz CW]
* MVARC Cherry Tree Net: Saturday and Sunday at 8:30 AM [3.920 MHz LSB]
What's Happening with DX
There will be a lot of DX on the air in the next week. Stations on the air will include Tubuai Island in the Austral Islands (TX9A), Marion Island (ZS8W), Cabo Verde (D44TWO, D44ZZI, Angola (D2TX), Marcus Island Minami Tori Shima Islands (JG8NQJ/JD1), Majuro Atoll Marshall Islands (V73MT), Solomon Islands (H44MS), and Antarctica (DP0GVN).
A calendar of DXpeditions can be found at https://dxnews.com/calendar/
Solar Activity Update
As we go to press the Solar Flux Index (SFI) was 153 and the estimated sunspot number was 78. Over the last week the SFI has decreased. Solar activity has been at moderate levels recently and there are 5 numbered sunspot regions visible here on Earth. Solar wind has been slightly enhanced with a high speed of 460 km/s. Geomagnetic activity is expected to be at quiet to unsettled levels today with quiet to active levels forecast tomorrow. Kp index values today are expected to be below 4. Solar wind is expected to be normal today with enhancement tomorrow with the arrival of a coronal hole high speed stream and negative polarity. Minor G1 storms are expected tomorrow as a result. The chance of solar radiation storms at the S1 or greater level is low at 1%. R1 to R2 radio blackouts are possible with a predicted probability of 50%. R3 or greater blackouts are unlikely with a 10% chance predicted. There is a reasonable chance of 6 meter propagation, so keep an eye on the band and spotting clusters to be ready for openings. HF conditions have been favorable overall. It remains a fantastic time for amateurs of all license classes to get on the air and work the world.
Good sources of real-time solar information include https://www.spaceweatherlive.com/ and https://solarham.com/. A good overview of conditions can be found at https://dx.qsl.net/propagation/. To see D-layer absorption data and associated radio blackouts, visit https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/d-region-absorption-predictions-d-rap. To see real-time Maximum Usable Frequency (MUF) and Critical Frequency (foF2) information from radiosonde data, visit https://prop.kc2g.com/.
Upcoming Contests
On the contest calendar this weekend we can look forward to the 10-10 International Spring Contest on CW, the RCC Cup, the SBMS 2.3 GHz and Up Contest and Club Challenge, the Microwave Spring Sprint, the ARI International DX Contest, the F9AA Cup on PSK, the 7th Call Area QSO Party, the Indiana QSO Party, the Delaware QSO Party, the New England QSO Party, the WAB 7 MHz Phone Contest, and the MIE 33 Contest. As always the K1USN SSTs, MSTs, and CWTs will also be on the air.
The full contest calendar with events and exchanges can be found at https://www.contestcalendar.com/weeklycont.php
Interesting Online Radio Content
Kevin W1DED talks to Bdale KB0G about ARDC and the 44 Net -
Josh KI6NAZ talks about an FCC filing for a potential 100 W amplifier for the upcoming Yaesu FTX-1F all-band all-mode QRP rig -
Matt M0DQW takes a look at the new HF-009 Portable Antenna -
Dan WD4DAN gives us a tour of his shack -
Mike K8MRD puts up a Spec5 Solar Meshtastic Relay -
Josh KK4WDP bikes up the C&O Canal to activate POTA with his XYL -
IMSAI Guy tears apart a Collins Mechanical Filter -
Mark KD7DTS gives an intro presentation on how to activate SOTA -
Walt K4OGO takes a look at a new version of the ATU-100 antenna tuner -
A blast from the past - an ARRL made film from 1970 "This is Ham Radio" -
Hayden VK7HH takes a look at the Quansheng TK11 -
Kevan 2E0WMG uses an AliExpress antenna with a Slidewinder coil -
Steve KM9G takes a look at the TinySA Ultra+ Spectrum Analyzer -
Josh KI6NAZ speculates about a possible new radio from Lab599 -
Lucas W1BTR takes a look at an assortment of cheap radio gear from AliExpress to see if they are junk or worth it -
Kevin KB9RLW finds a way to have two simultaneous CAT connections to an IC-705 -
Walt K4OGO makes a groundplane antenna with 5 telescopic whips -
Kevan 2E0WMG activates a new island by kayak -
Matt M0DQW shows how to add WiFi control to an antenna rotor -
Forrest KI7QCF gives his thoughts on paddles and keys ahead of Hamvention -
Simon VA7BIX uses a mylar blanket as a reflector with a vertical antenna to great results -
Walt K4OGO builds a Rybakov antenna from his new book -
Rob N1NUG takes a look at the SI4732 pocket radio -
Duff WA7BFN gives us the latest edition of the LICW Podcast -
Mike K8MRD likes the programmability of a bluetooth enabled LiFePO4 battery -
Sean W9FFF visits the Modern Morse factory to see how they machine their paddles -
Dugbo KD7DUG makes a CW contact on 2 meters with the Quansheng UVK5 for SOTA -
Matt M0DQW takes a look at a new SDR based TV software for DATV -
Michael KB9VBR adds a 4:1 to make the REZ Scout antenna do better as a delta loop -
Steve KM9G takes a look at a 280 Ah LiFePO4 battery -
Kevin W1DED talks with Tim K3LR about Contest University -
Mike K8MRD takes a look at the REZ Scout as a linked dipole -
Josh KI6NAZ compares the QRP Labs QMX, Xiegu G106, zBitx, and Tr(u)SDX -
Vince VE6LK takes a look at internet connectivity for the zBitx -
That's it for this week.
Best 73,
Ed
N2EC
