Propagation Forecast Bulletin 28 - July 14, 2000 Solar activity rose substantially this week. Average sunspot numbers compared to the previous week rose nearly 68 points to 244.6, and average solar flux rose nearly 39 points to 207.5. A strong solar flare around 1037z on Wednesday sent a bubble of electrified gas, or plasma, toward the earth at more than 2 million miles per hour. Effects of the blast are being felt on Thursday, and a second more powerful wind is expected to arrive on Friday. This could be bad news for the Pacific 160 Meter Contest this weekend, although possible aurora could prove interesting for the 6 Meter Sprint. There is a good chance that any geomagnetic upset may decline through the weekend though. These flares originate in sunspot group 9077, which is large and magnetically complex. It harbors energy for powerful solar flares which could erupt on Thursday or Friday. For late updates, visit www.spaceweather.com. Another URL that bears checking is www.qsl.net/w3df. Dan has put together some great links of interest to propagation and sun watchers, including a chart which compares solar cycles 19 through 23. Go to http://www.qsl.net/w3df/sol_f0.html and click on ''Cy 19-23 Comparison.'' You will see that the current cycle is not as bad as cycle 20, but weaker than cycles 21 or 22, and of course nowhere near the biggest one of all, cycle 19. The author suffered through cycle 20 as a teenaged ham in the 1960s, but as a small child heard the effects of cycle 19, which peaked in the late 1950s. Father's low band VHF FM business radio in the company car brought in unfamiliar voices from all over the country to our home in California's San Joaquin Valley. The three daily 2000z flux values reported by the Penticton observatory for July 10-12 were 244.5, 241.6 and 314.6. Because they were flare enhanced, the NOAA Space Environment Center and the U.S. Air Force collaborated to come up with more realistic solar flux numbers, which were 215, 225 and 230. The lower numbers are the ones used here in our weekly summary. The latest prediction shows solar flux peaking on Friday around 230, then drifting down below 200 by July 18, and reaching a short term minimum around 165 from July 23-26. The next expected peak in solar flux is around August 6-9. Expect geomagnetic conditions to remain active. Based on the previous solar rotation, there are no predicted days over the next month when the planetary A index is expected to be in the single digits. Sunspot numbers for July 6 through 12 were 210, 226, 260, 262, 232, 281 and 241 with a mean of 244.6. 10.7 cm flux was 174.3, 187.1, 210, 211.3, 215, 225 and 230, with a mean of 207.5, and estimated planetary A indices were 7, 8, 7, 7, 19, 31 and 12, with a mean of 13.

Powerful Solar Flare Triggers Radiation Storm Space Weather News for July 14, 2000 This morning an X5-class solar flare, one of the most powerful flares of the current solar cycle, triggered a proton storm in the neighborhood of our planet. Just after the eruption, coronagraphs on board the ESA/NASA Solar and Heliospheric Observatory recorded a full halo coronal mass ejection heading toward Earth at greater than 1000 km/s. Please visit http://www.spaceweather.com for details and updates on this developing story.

The following Alerts and Warnings are in effect: sr@hfradio.org The following Alerts and Warnings are in effect: Magnetic A-Index greater than 50 Watch for 15 Jul 2000 UT Comment: K-indices of greater than 6 are possible beginning at 1800 UT on 15 July Magnetic A-Index greater than 50 Watch for 16 Jul 2000 UT Comment: K-indices of greater than 6 are possible beginning at 1800 UT on 15 July Magnetic A-Index greater than 50 Watch for 17 Jul 2000 UT Comment: K-indices of greater than 6 are possible beginning at 1800 UT on 15 July Magnetic K-Index of 6 Observed 14 Jul 2000 from 15:00 to 18:00 UT Comment: None More: http://hfradio.org/propagation.html

An Extreme Geomagnetic Storm is Underway Space Weather News for July 15, 2000 A powerful shock wave from the fast-moving July 14th coronal mass ejection has arrived in the neighborhood of Earth. An extreme geomagnetic storm was underway at 1900 UT (3:00 p.m. EDT) on July 15th. If conditions persist as they are now, aurora could be visible at middle (and possibly even equatorial) latitudes. The best time to view aurora is usually near local midnight. In this case, sky watchers are advised to look for aurora as soon as night falls. For more information and updates please visit http://www.spaceweather.com Readers are invited to send pictures of tonight's aurora and the July 16, 2000, total lunar eclipse (visible across the Pacific Ocean) as an email attachment to phillips@spacescience.com for possible posting on spaceweather.com and/or spacescience.com. For more information about the lunar eclipse: Pacific Lunar Eclipse http://spacescience.com/headlines/y2000/ast14jul_1m.htm

SFI=213 up from 204 | A=118 up from 29 | K=9 up from 8 at 2100 on 15 July. SAF: moderate to high, GMF: at minor to severe storm levels Aurora Level: 10 Solar Wind: 257.2 km/s at 0.7 protons/cc More: http://hfradio.org/propagation.html

SEVERE GEOMAGNETIC STORM: Kp Index is at 9. A Index is 118. We are in a catagory G5 Storm. NOAA's Space Weather scale indicates the following effects: Power systems: grid systems can collapse and transformers experience damage. Spacecraft operations: extensive surface charging, problems with orientation, uplink/downlink, and tracking satellites. Other systems: pipeline currents reach hundreds of amps, HF (high frequency) radio propagation impossible in many areas for one to two days, satellite navigation degraded for days, low-frequency radio navigation out for hours, and the aurora seen as low as the equator. The Proton Monitor on the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory is registering solar wind speeds in excess of 900 km/s The wave of solar particles - known as a solar proton event - is already four times more intense than any other event detected since the launches of SOHO in 1995 and ACE in 1997. At mid-afternoon (UT) on July 14th, the storm of particles from the Sun was still intensifying. More: http://hfradio.org/propagation.html

Propagation Forecast Bulletin 29 - July 21, 2000 This has been quite a week for solar activity, with blasts of solar wind dominating space weather news. Saturday was the big day for HF radio blackouts and aurora, with the planetary A index jumping to an incredible 152 and the mid-latitude A index at 148. The planetary K index, updated every three hours, was at 9 for three readings on Saturday. A K index reading of 9 over a 24-hour period would be equivalent to an A index of 300. This is big, really big. These numbers are associated with an extreme geomagnetic storm that was nearly off the scale. On Friday one of the most powerful solar flares of the current cycle triggered a storm of protons directed toward earth. The Solar and Heliospheric Observatory recorded a full halo coronal mass ejection heading toward earth at greater than one-million meters per second. Check out animations of this event at http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/data/CME/. There are only a few events of this magnitude in the average solar cycle. The only factor that probably impeded a spectacular aurora visible far down into the U.S. was that this is the summer season. A dark evening sky would reveal a rich tapestry of northern lights. Of course, it being winter in the southern hemisphere, bright displays were reported in Australia and New Zealand. The author made a weak attempt Saturday night, walking barefoot into the middle of the street and trying to peer north past city lights, but no auroral glow was visible. Seattle is north of the 47th parallel, and although there were no local reports of aurora, there were observations as far south as 40 degrees in Europe, Asia, and parts of Eastern North America. If you point your web browser toward http://www.sec.noaa.gov/info/kp-aurora.html you will see a nice map from the June, 1968 issue of Sky and Telescope which shows how far south aurora may be visible depending on the planetary K index. What is not clear from this map is whether it shows how far south the edge of the aurora extends, or how far south it is visible when looking north. Another coronal mass ejection emerged on Wednesday, July 19, but the predicted effect is uncertain because the ejection may not be aimed squarely at earth. On Thursday the planetary K index went up to 6 for several hours, but by the end of the UTC day it was 3. The planetary A index for Thursday was 43, and the College A index, recorded in Alaska, was 57. The latest forecast shows the planetary A index rising to 50 on Friday, then dropping to 20 and 15 and then 10 on Saturday through Monday. Solar flux peaked for the recent short term at 252.9 on Thursday, and is expected to drop to 245, 235, 230 and 225 on Friday through Monday. The next short term minimum is predicted around July 28 at 170, followed by another peak above 200 around August 6-9. The author has received many more inquiries recently asking for explanations of the various parameters reported in this bulletin. Although the explanations were repeated six weeks ago, it is probably time to run them again, and they follow this paragraph. Feel free to send questions to the author via k7vvvarrl.net. Amateur Radio operators who use HF generally like increased sunspots because they correlate with better worldwide radio propagation. When there are more sunspots, the sun puts out radiation which charges particles in the earth's ionosphere. Radio waves bounce off of these charged particles, and the denser these clouds of ions, the better the HF propagation. When the ionosphere is denser, higher frequencies will reflect off of the ionosphere rather than passing through to space. This is why every 11 years or so when this activity is higher, 10 meters gets exciting. 10 meters is at a high enough frequency, right near the top of the HF spectrum, that radio waves propagate very efficiently when the sunspot count is high. Because of the wavelength, smaller antennas are very efficient on this band, so mobile stations running low power on 10 meters can communicate world wide on a daily basis when the sunspot cycle is at its peak. There are also seasonal variations, and 10 meters tends to be best near the spring or fall equinox. The sunspot numbers used in this bulletin are calculated by counting the sunspots on the visible solar surface and also measuring their area. Solar flux is measured at an observatory in British Columbia using an antenna pointed toward the sun tuned to 2.8 GHz, which is at a wavelength of 10.7 cm. Energy detected seems to correlate with sunspots and with the density of the ionosphere. Other solar activity of concern to HF operators are solar flares and coronal holes, which emit protons. Since the charged ions in the ionosphere are negative, a blast of protons from the sun can neutralize the charge and make the ionosphere less reflective. These waves of protons can be so intense that they may trigger an event called a geomagnetic storm. The Planetary A index relates to geomagnetic stability. Magnetometers around the world are used to generate a number called the Planetary K index. You can hear the Boulder K index updated every three hours on WWV, or by calling 303-497-3235. A one point change in the K index is quite significant. A K index below 3 generally means good stable conditions, and above 3 can mean high absorption and poor reflection of radio waves. Each point change reflects a big change in conditions. Every 24 hours the K index is summarized in a number called the A index. A one point change in A value is not very significant. A full day with the K index at 3 will produce an A index of 15, K of 4 means A of 27, K of 5 means A of 48, and K of 6 means A of 80. You can find an explanation of these numbers on the web at http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/stp/GEOMAG/kp_ap.html. The number reported here is the Planetary A index, which is a worldwide average based on the K readings from a number of magnetometers. The numbers reported on WWV are the Boulder K and A index, measured in Colorado. Generally the higher the latitude of the measuring station, the higher the K and A indices reported. This is because the effects of geomagnetic instability tend to concentrate toward the polar regions of the globe. Currently we are near the peak of the solar cycle, so conditions are generally better because of the increased ionization of the ionosphere. But along with the increased sunspots come more solar flares and coronal holes, producing disturbed conditions. Sunspot numbers for July 13 through 19 were 240, 243, 229, 268, 335, 343 and 342 with a mean of 285.7. 10.7 cm flux was 231.9, 203.9, 213.1, 218.9, 228.3, 261.9 and 249.9, with a mean of 229.7, and estimated planetary A indices were 33, 35, 152, 46, 9, 13 and 15, with a mean of 43.3.

And, back again.... No real activity during the last geo storm - there was supposedly band openings in TX but I didnt work any and no contacts on 2m SSB. when is the next one? de AA9IL

Soon, Mike, and I shall let you know as soon as I do!! I stayed up looking for both Comet Linear and the Aurora and saw nothing.

(If I could predict the next coronal mass ejection (CME) I would be a wealthy and classified person!)

If you could predict CME's, Id think you were working on the HAARP project. Or, at least simulating geo storms in the upper atmosphere. Back down on earth, the need to do the across the lake propagation experiments is high on the list. The weather just seems right for such stunts. Just need to schedule with someone on the Michigan side. Speaking of HAARP and such, ever heard of the International Tesla Society - used to publish a magazine on weird science stuff including those govt conspiracy projects. There is probably a web page covering this group. Needless to say, a good place to look for info on Scalar Waves and generating signals at the earth's resonant frequency. de Mike radio cosmo international

Yup....plenty of weird stuff in the "real" world about Tesla including "the Philadelphia project. Protecting my identity by assuming the guise of a mild-mannered Geo conference host...Maaarcia

Mike, here's one for you, or did you know about this frequency?! Unknown Submarine Volcano Volcano Islands, Japan 22-27 N, 138-141 E Robert Dziak at the NOAA/Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory in Newport, Oregon reported that 10 Hz band-limited tremor was detected from the Volcano Islands area after a 6 month hiatus (Bulletin, v. 24, nos. 11 and 12). The current episode of signals began at 0800 UTC on 13 June, but were loudest at 0100-0200 UTC on 14 June. The tremor tracks to presumed submarine volcanism at an uncertain volcano. Information Contact: Robert P. Dziak, Oregon State University/NOAA, Hatfield Marine Science Center, 2115 SE OSU Drive, Newport, OR 97365 USA (Email: dziak@pmel.noaa.gov; URL: http://newport.pmel. Noaa.gov/).

Propagation Forecast Bulletin 31 - August 4, 2000 Solar activity for last week (July 28 - August 3) was mostly at low levels. A minor M-class flare from region 9090 occurred on July 28. Several new regions (9110, 9111, 9112, 9113, 9114, and 9115) emerged later in the week. Region 9114 produced a C7 flare and associated CME on August 2. The 10.7 cm solar flux, following the sun's 27-day rotation period, decreased to a minimum of about 155 at the beginning of last week. Solar flux is forecasted to steadily climb to a maximum of about 240 around mid-August. A comment about 10.7 cm solar flux - although 10.7 cm solar flux is easy to measure because the Earth's atmosphere is transparent at that wavelength, energy at 10.7 cm is about 1 million times less energetic than the true ionizing energy. Thus 10.7 cm solar flux contributes nothing to the formation of the ionosphere. But it is an indicator of the general activity level of the sun, and smoothed solar flux values (a 12 month running average) correlate very well with smoothed sunspot numbers (SSN). Solar activity for next week (August 4 - August 10) is expected to be at moderate to high levels. Isolated M-class flares are expected, along with a chance for an isolated major flare. Historically the equinox months (September and March) give us the greatest amount of magnetic storms due to the orientation of the Earth at these times with respect to the solar wind. Thus expect an increase in storms up to mid-September, then a gradual decrease after that to a minimum in December. Cycle 23 continues its march upward, with a peak forecasted by the end of the year. For details, see the web site referenced in last week's bulletin (http://www.sec.noaa.gov/weekly/index.html). The latest SSN data is 113 for January 2000. The estimated SSN for the month of August is 120. Cycle 23 appears to be similar to, but just a bit higher than, Cycle 20, which peaked at an SSN of 110. This level of activity, while not approaching that of Cycles 22 and 21, will still give us excellent conditions on the higher HF bands as we progress from Summer to Fall and into Winter. Sunspot numbers for July 27 through August 2 were 174, 163, 183, 138, 123, 139 and 153 with a mean of 153.3. 10.7 cm flux was 162.4, 157.8, 153.2, 149.9, 147.9, 149.4 and 150.6, with a mean of 153, and estimated planetary A indices were 9, 30, 27, 10, 19, 15 and 14, with a mean of 17.7.

Greetings All I would suspect the SLF crowd and earthquake monitoring bunch got some good integration signals from that volcano. New web page - check oug www.vlf.it No new info otherwise on this end - started pulling out parts for a 5.7ghz transverter that is close completion. Weird weather info tho - we have been having some strong thunder storms pass through the area. One day, it was very balmy and hot prior to a big storm front pushing through. Went driving and watched the outside temp shoot from the 80's to 101 in one area - some kind of heat cell? Of course, after the storm hit, the temp dropped down to the 70's. Have to do some research on that. 73 de Mike

WOW!!! The conspiracy theorists would have a field day with temperature inversions like that! Let us know what you discover! You do know about the mass coronal emissions headed this way?! Posted it next door on 34 today.

and yet another one... SFI=187 up from 181 | A=49 up from 26 | K=3 at 2100 on 11 August. SAF: low to moderate, GMF: at active to minor storm levels Aurora Level: 9 Solar Wind: 645.3 km/s at 4.0 protons/cc SFI=187 | A=56 up from 49 | K=6 up from 3 at 0000 on 12 August. SAF: low to moderate, GMF: at active to major storm levels Aurora Level: 10 Solar Wind: 627.8 km/s at 10.8 protons/cc

Ham Radios in Space NASA Science News for August 21, 2000 Ham radio operators are notorious for their love of long-distance radio chats. Now, thanks to NASA's SAREX program, hams and students on Earth can enjoy the ultimate long-distance radio experience by contacting astronauts in orbit. FULL STORY at http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2000/ast21aug_1.htm?list

Propagation Forecast Bulletin 34 - August 25, 2000 Solar activity took a big dive over the past week, with sunspot numbers dropping to 84 on August 22 and 23. Although NASA's Spaceweather.com reported that the Boulder sunspot number has not been this low in this calendar year, our records from past bulletins show that it has been lower than this several times in January. Boulder sunspot numbers, which are the ones reported weekly in this bulletin, were 69 on January 1 and 2, 77 on January 3, 81 on January 29 and 82 on January 31, 2000. Does this drop mean that the peak for the current cycle has passed? Not at all. There are many wild variations in solar activity over the course of the average 11 year cycle, and the only real way to determine the peak or the minimum is to look back at a moving average many months later. The quieter sun did present some advantages for HF operators, because while the activity was lower, the earth's geomagnetic conditions were quieter as well. The College A index, from Fairbanks, Alaska, was mostly in the single digits, and there were 19 three-hour periods over the week when the College K index was actually 0, lower than the planetary K index at any time. This is significant because the higher latitudes have greater geomagnetic instability at times of heightened solar activity. During this week the area near the Arctic Circle, at least in Alaska, was quieter than the average for the entire planet. Conditions look quieter for the near term as well. Solar flux is probably bottoming out over the next few days, with predicted values for Friday through Tuesday at 128, 128, 130, 132, and 135. Predicted planetary A index looks quiet as well, with unsettled conditions possible for August 30 through September 3. Solar flux for the next few weeks is expected to peak at only 175 near September 7-9. This is based only on what is known about activity during the previous rotation, and any new activity could change this. The fall equinox is less than one month away (September 22), and soon we should see a transition from summer to fall conditions. Daytime absorption on the upper bands and atmospheric noise on lower frequencies should be lessened, and stronger signals should be the rule for this equinox at the peak of solar cycle 23. AE4TM sent along a web link for his experiments using Pactor with ionospheric observations. Check out his web page at http://home.earthlink.net/~ae4tm/hamradio.html and send him your feedback. Another interesting link was received this week. Check http://www.discovery.com/cams/sun/uv.html to see a live webcam from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory which is updated every 12 minutes with a new ultraviolet solar image. Sunspot numbers for August 17 through 23 were 252, 231, 209, 150, 132, 84 and 84 with a mean of 163.1. 10.7 cm flux was 177.1, 169.5, 157.1, 152.4, 151.4, 144.2 and 136.9, with a mean of 155.5, and estimated planetary A indices were 11, 6, 6, 7, 12, 5 and 11 with a mean of 8.3.

Ok, and back again.... Another part of the radio telescope has been found - a 1.1 to 1.2 GHz phase locked brick oscillator - this requires an external source to get lock. Hopefuly this is a 'quiet' oscillator (i.e. low phase noise) otherwise I will have to resort to 'plan B' whatever that is.... This oscillator will be good for a hydrogen line receiver (1.4ghz). With fall/winter coming up, plenty of time to be cooped up in the house to work on projects. 73 de Mike p.s. - most recent Sky and Telescope has an interesting article on detecting gravity waves - more details to follow....

How fantastic that progress is by leaps and bounds now rather than by things measured by micrometers! You will know soon enough if you are doing your searching "silently" - neighbors seldom suffer in silence! I found another site to listen to some of the goodies Mike will be hearing in his quest of things not normally discernable by the human ear... http://216.156.129.123/home/

Howdy howdy Yea, it will be interesting to see the reaction to the 8 foot solid aluminum dish in the back yard. Thats scheduled for after the spring thaw tho... (2001 - an appropriate year to start the search) Until then, all the work will be indoors - building receivers and such - I might try to whip together a VLF loop antenna for winter listening. BTW, there is quite a bit of VLF activity in the UK on 137khz. There has also been research on VLF beacons conducted by AMRAD - dont have their URL but a search on AMRAD will turn up the pages. Finally, a couple of good articles on the Magnetosphere in CQ magazine. 73 de Mike radio cosmo international

Aloha Mike, the man from RCI, Thanks for the heads-up on the activity in the UK (from whence commeth your latest hernia and boat anchor...) I think I need to climb back onto the roof with emery paper, sharp knife, wire strippers and soldering iron plus a bunch of shrink tubing and duct tape to fix the corroded antenna downlead connection to the rooftop trap dipole. It has gotten to the point where wiggling does not work and I am sure the next time I wiggle it will disconnect it altogether. Marcia, fluxing my way to aural fulfillment....

Hey Marcia I take it that you are crunching for seti@home? Might be phun to post what part of the sky you are doing analysis on. Oy - forget what its like to have salt air to corrode the antenna - we just have acid rain from Chicago. Get hold of some RTV cement and liberally coat the solder connections. That should help. 73 de Mike radio cosmo international currently crunching: from 18hr 23' 56" RA 13deg 35' 24" 1.419472626Ghz (splish splash in the water hole...)

Well, judging how fast the old P90 is cranking, this data reduction will take a while.... Good reason to get a Beowulf cluster up and running.... crunch crunch crunch pull back mechanical tabulation handle crunch crunch.... de Mike

Currently crunching my 76th block of data (1193 hours on...) 5 hr 3' 7" Right Assention, +10� 13' 47" Declination recorded on Fri, June 16th 16:15:03 GMT Thanks for the tip on protecing the new solder joint... Yeah not only do we have salt air, we also have mother nature's very own acid rain when the volcano fumes are wafted in this direction and it rains. Cannot believe how it corrodes glass! I hate to think of metals which are so much more reactive...

sigh...Ascention...

Base Frequency: 1.420556641 GHz Doppler drift rate: -6.7730 Hz/sec Best Gaussian: power 1.49, fit 5.172 (have no idea what that last refers to... what is a fit??!) I gather you are also receiving data from Arecibo?!

Yep, the data is from Arecibo. Just started crunching on data again but this is gonna take a while. I figure it will be nice to analyze data parallel to building my system. Of course, the frequency stability and sensitivity will be a far cry from the big dish but it should collect some good sky data (given I overcome drifty receivers, man made noise, internal system noise, dish pointing, etc. etc. etc....) Should be fun! 73 de Mike radio cosmo international

Looking forward to seeing how your dish data compares with Arecibo's...hardly in the same league of course. Not eveyone has has a bunch of mountains in their back yard into which to set a super-sized radio telescope dish...!!! Please let us know how it progresses. I am salivating at the thought and I can see atleast 7 world class telescopes from my front yard!!! If only they'd build one closer to the house...

Howdy howdy Marcia and Geo-ites Well, still cranking on the FFT's - so far no unique modulation patterns although there is some distinct noise sources that are showing up - have to take the RA/DEC coordinates from Arecibo and see what part of the sky they are pointing at. I wonder what the data display looks like for folks who are actually pointing at galactic noise sources. Seven telescopes? Tres cool. One of the neat things about living near a major research site. Lots of inspiration. Next on my 'to buy' list will be an A to D converter to collect data to load on my PC. The ones with low resolution are not too expensive - have to check out the radio astronomy parts web pages. Then, get a feed horn for the dish - I could build one if I had some reasonable metal working skills but I dont... I could solder a couple of coffee cans together since they are at about the right frequency. Major inspiration for me today was driving around and listening to Pink Floyd's 'Astronomy Domine' and 'A Saucerful of Secrets'. Appropriate space music.... 73 de Mike Radio Cosmo International

Pink Floyd ain't all that bad, but I am giving Napster a real go through getting my stock of 80's rock from Moody Blues to Arrowsmith and Elton John. They can inspire the most primal and lofty urges depending on the company I am keeping and the job at had at the moment....=) Arecibo is sending me 6hr 34min 22 sec RA..... +9 degrees 6 minutes 35 seconds Declination at the moment. How odes that compare with yours??? Wonder if my low latitude matters compared with yours...!

The 'Floyd is for those spacey pondering moments. Tonite I picked up some techno and dance remix stuff plus some rowdy garage punk at a Chicago northside cd store before going to the local used book place to sift through astronomy text books and chess strategy tutorials. Guess I shift on musique tastes quite a bit... BTW, the date on my data block was June 15 04:38:03 2000 - still crunching the same block from a couple of postings ago. One thing Im going to save some extra $$ for is a faster CPU! If you check out the Society of Amateur Radio Astronomers home page, there is a link to a radio astronomy supplies to get an idea of some of the components available. These include hydrogen line receivers and Jupiter receivers. I will probably buy the feed horn and A-D converter but will build up the receiver from scratch. The LNA will be in kit form if I can find it otherwise will have to go with factory built. Rock On! de Mike radio cosmo international

You sound as eclectic in music as I am. I used be entirely classical - Bach and Telemann up reluctantly through Stravinsky and Copland. Lately I have discoverd how great some of that 80's stuff really is..and since I also love baseball I have Dan Fogarty's Centerfield Hey, the Moody Blues used the London Symphony Orchestra for their background music!!! Will be eager to know when you get higher power for your CPU. 700 MHz sucks the data out of the air. Tis a wonderful thing, power!!!

I had the hardest time with classical music of the Early Twentieth Century, such as Schoenberg and Charles Ives. To me it sounded, at first, like a cross between a jackhammer and sewer backing up. It is what can be termed an "acquired taste".

Spectacular Solar Eruption on Sept 12, 2000 Space Weather News for Sept 12, 2000 http://www.spaceweather.com On Tuesday, Sept. 12, less than 24 hours after the sunspot number plunged to its lowest value of the year, the Sun unleashed a surprising full-halo coronal mass ejection (CME). The leading edge of the CME could reach Earth on Thursday, Sept 14. Forecasters estimate a 30% chance of severe geomagnetic disturbances (possibly including aurora) at middle latitudes when the shock front arrives. For more information and images, please visit http://spaceweather.com

Cheryl, that is hilarious!!! My thoughts exactly. I was offended by the composer who wrote "7 minuites of silence" until I heard "avant guarde" music. Oxymoron of the most nasty sort. I was offended more by the noise than the silence!

Oops! Not sending you my composition 'noise and misunderstanding' then. definitely a child of the 60s!

The CME has entered the Ionosphere! Look for Aurura tonight!!! SFI=151 up from 133 | A=7 down from 9 | K=1 at 2100 on 14 September. SAF: low to moderate, GMF: at quiet to major storm levels Aurora Level: 7 Solar Wind: 333.2 km/s at 1.7 protons/cm3 More Info and Unsubscribe at http://hfradio.org/propagation.html

There was supposed to have been a geomagnetic storm within the last 24 hours. Does anybody know anything about it?

Yup....read the above two posts. the was a major CME (Coronal Mass Ejection) on the 12th...

Check for Aurora tonight!!! SFI=175 up from 159 | A=18 up from 12 | K=3 down from 4 at 2100 on 16 September. SAF: moderate to high, GMF: unsettled to active Aurora Level: 8 Solar Wind: 386.0 km/s at 10.4 protons/cm3 More Info and Unsubscribe at http://hfradio.org/propagation.html

16 September, 2000 Two full-halo coronal mass ejections (CMEs) occurred on September 15, 2000, and a third CME on September 16, 2000 has been observed as the brightest of the three. These were associated with solar flares (M5-class for the latest of the three CMEs). Due to the complex delta magnetic field in the Sunspot group 9165, there is a good chance for further eruptions. Those who wish to experience Aurora (visual as well as the radio propagation mode) should be on the lookout from this point forward. At the time of writing, the Aurora index is 10, the highest level. :ALERTS: Magnetic K-Index of 4 Warning valid from 16 September, 2000 1800Z to 17 September, 2000 1500Z. Magnetic A-Index greater than=30 Watch for 19 September, 2000Z. Magnetic A-Index greater than=30 Watch for 20 September, 2000Z. Report by NW7US More: http://hfradio.org/propagation.html

All I can tell you from the Latitude of Hawaii is that Radio Australia was almost intelligible last night (listening to the Olympics) due to the "noise" Aurora level is down but the solar flux is higher than ever...! SFI=204 up from 182 | A=33 up from 28 | K=2 down from 5 at 2100 on 18 September. SAF: low to moderate, GMF: at active to minor storm levels Aurora Level: 5 Solar Wind: 667.8 km/s at 0.8 protons/cm3 More Info and Unsubscribe at http://hfradio.org/propagation.html

Mike, how's your Seti@home doing? Mine is working on its 92nd block of data (almost finished) in 1406 hours 57 minutes 22hr 15' 10" RA + 25 deg 45' 0" Dec 1.420800761 GHZ Be sure you are running the 2.04 version - is is much speedier!

Does anyone know how or if the current Geomagentic storm affects these transmissions? It certainly must...!

A Whale of a Sunspot Space Weather News for Sept. 21, 2000 http://www.spaceweather.com The biggest sunspot to come along in 9 years is now rotating toward the center of the Sun's disk. Visit http://www.spaceweather.com to find out how this huge spot compares to other sunspots in history and how to safely view the sunspot for yourself. SpaceWeather.com

check it out here

or.... http://sec.noaa.gov/solar_images/current_fdha_stamp.gif

Aloha Mike...I need you input. I get a guy in California running Seti@home now and he has a few questions - some a little tongue-in-cheek, but I told him I'd ask the resident expert. Will you let me know what to tell him...Please? * What makes them think ET transmits on normal frequencies... I mean even Star Treck uses sub space... a feasible concept. * Ask him why the Seti's think ET would use technology we are familiar with * If someone shot a standard radio signal into space, I think it would decay before it got out of the galaxy *I would think that cosmic radiation would fairly much wipe out a signal Mahalo for thinking about it...

Propagation Forecast Bulletin 38 - September 22, 2000 Last week's bulletin reported that the sun was almost spotless, with one day's sunspot number the lowest since February of last year. Now this week we can report the appearance of sunspot 9169, the largest observed in nine years. The area of this spot is a dozen times the area of the earth's surface, and what should make it interesting for HF radio is that it is rotating toward the center of the sun's earth-facing hemisphere, which aims its effects right toward us. A large sunspot such as this can produce big solar flares, but so far this one, although magnetically complex, seems quiet. This week's big one measures 2,140 millionths of the visible solar disk. The largest sunspot recorded in the twentieth century was in 1947, and it measured 6,132 millionths of the solar disk. You can see more information about big sunspots at http://www.spaceweather.com/sunspots/history.html . Solar flux has been much higher this week than predicted. Last week's bulletin projected a solar flux around 170, but by Sunday it was above 180 and the next day over 200. The projected solar flux for the next five days, Friday through Tuesday, is 230, 235, 235, 230 and 225. Planetary A index for those same days is expected to be around 10, 10, 10, 15 and 12. So for this weekend we not only have the autumnal equinox, which is a great time for HF propagation, but solar flux and sunspot numbers are increasing as well. This means good conditions, as long as geomagnetic activity stays low. Geomagnetic activity was anything but low on Sunday and Monday, when the effects of several solar flares were felt. Planetary A index for both days was 40 and 45, and K indices were as high as 7. The College A index, recorded in Alaska, was 59 on September 17, and the College K index was 8 during one period. This was indicative of a severe geomagnetic storm as well as an aurora at that time. Over the next few weeks expect the higher frequencies, especially 10 meters, to improve as we change to fall conditions. Last week's bulletin mentioned a chart showing solar cycle progress. Check out another chart showing activity over the past few months on Jan Alvestad's Solar Activity Report at http://www.dxlc.com/solar/ , or the past year of Daily Effective Sunspot Numbers at the NW Research Associates site at http://www.nwra-az.com/spawx/ssne-year.html . For an explanation of Effective Sunspot Numbers, which are based on ionospheric F-layer observations rather than solar observations, see http://www.nwra-az.com/spawx/ssne.html . Sunspot numbers for September 14 through 20 were 109, 113, 148, 146, 154, 140 and 171 with a mean of 140.1. 10.7 cm flux was 150.8, 159.4, 174.6, 181.5, 203.8, 207.1 and 211.4, with a mean of 184.1, and estimated planetary A indices were 6, 10, 21, 40, 45, 27 and 13 with a mean of 23.1.

Possible aurora this week Space Weather news for Sept. 26, 2000 http://www.spaceweather.com A solar coronal mass ejection that left the Sun on Sept. 25th could strike Earth's magnetosphere on Wednesday and trigger mid-latitude aurora. The timing is good because the Moon will reach its new phase on Sept. 27th, affording dark skies for aurora watchers. For more information, please visit http://www.spaceweather.com SpaceWeather.com

Propagation Forecast Bulletin 39 - September 29, 2000 Solar flux and sunspot numbers were up over the past week, while average geomagnetic indices were lower, which is always a happy condition for HF radio enthusiasts. Solar flux peaked at 232.2 on Friday and sunspot numbers peaked at 255 on Sunday. Average sunspot numbers for the week were up nearly 87 points, and average solar flux rose by almost 39 points, when compared to the previous week. The sunspot number is calculated by counting the visible sunspots and factoring in their size, so a significant factor was sunspot 9169, reported in last week's Propagation Forecast Bulletin ARLP038 as one of the largest seen in many years. It is now fading as it rotates off of the visible solar disk. We were lucky not to have a great deal of flare activity from this magnetically complex spot. K4WY sent a web reference concerning this particular sunspot. Check http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap000925.html . The most active geomagnetic day over the past week was Tuesday, when the planetary A index was 21. Planetary K index was 4 during most of the day, but Alaska's College K index, which is usually higher because of the polar region proximity, was as high as 6. College A index was 37 for the day. Friday and Saturday were the quietest geomagnetic days, with A indices in the single-digits, Planetary K indices at 2 and 3, and mid-latitude K indices at 1 and 2. Fortunately for HF enthusiasts, this was also the period when the sunspot count and solar flux were the highest, which often is not the case. Geomagnetic indices should remain stable over the next few days, with planetary A indices predicted at around 10. On Monday through Wednesday the A index is forecast at 12, 15 and 12, probably based on the previous solar rotation. This indicates an unsettled to active geomagnetic conditions, with higher absorption of HF radio signals, particularly in the higher latitude or polar paths. Solar flux is expected to decline over the next few days, with Saturday at 190 and Sunday around 180. For the short term, flux values should reach a minimum near 155 around October 7-9, then head above 200 again around mid-month. We have now passed the autumnal equinox, and are experiencing Fall HF conditions. 10 and 12 meter operators should expect great propagation, at least when the K index as reported by WWV is 3 or less. Openings follow the sunlight, with propagation to the east in the morning and toward the west later in the day. 15 meters should offer plenty of worldwide openings as well, but also later into the evening after 10 meters has closed. Worldwide 20 meter openings should be available around the clock. As the northern hemisphere moves further from the summer season, 160 and 80 meters should improve with shorter days and less of the static commonly associated with summer. Judging by recent email, it is time to repeat the occasional explanation of the various numbers and indices that are cited in this weekly bulletin, which appears below. Questions and comments are always welcome at k7vvv@arrl.net. Amateur Radio operators who use HF generally like increased sunspots because they correlate with better worldwide radio propagation. When there are more sunspots, the sun puts out radiation which charges particles in the earth's ionosphere. Radio waves bounce off of (refract from) these charged particles, and the denser these clouds of ions, the better the HF propagation. When the ionosphere is denser, higher frequencies will refract from of the ionosphere rather than passing through to space. This is why every 11 years or so when this activity is higher, 10 meters gets exciting. 10 meters is at a high enough frequency, right near the top of the HF spectrum, that radio waves propagate very efficiently when the sunspot count is high. Because of the wavelength, smaller antennas are very efficient on this band, so mobile stations running low power on 10 meters can communicate world wide on a daily basis when the sunspot cycle is at its peak. There are also seasonal variations, and 10 meters tends to be best near the Spring or Fall equinox. The sunspot numbers used in this bulletin are calculated by counting the sunspots on the visible solar surface and also measuring their area. Solar flux is measured at an observatory in British Columbia using an antenna pointed toward the sun tuned to 2.8 GHz, which is at a wavelength of 10.7 cm. Energy detected seems to correlate with sunspots and with the density of the ionosphere. Other solar activity of concern to HF operators are solar flares and coronal holes, which emit protons. Since the charged ions in the ionosphere are negative, a blast of protons from the sun can neutralize the charge and make the ionosphere less refractive. These waves of protons can be so intense that they may trigger an event called a geomagnetic storm. The Planetary A index relates to geomagnetic stability. Magnetometers around the world are used to generate a number called the Planetary K index. You can hear the Boulder K index updated every three hours on WWV, or by calling 303-497-3235. A one point change in the K index is quite significant. A K index reading below 3 generally means good stable conditions, and above 3 can mean high absorption and poor reflection of radio waves. Each point change reflects a big change in conditions. Every 24 hours the K index is summarized in a number called the A index. A one point change in A value is not very significant. A full day with the K index at 3 will produce an A index of 15, K of 4 means A of 27, K of 5 means A of 48, and K of 6 means A of 80. You can find an explanation of these numbers on the web at http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/stp/GEOMAG/kp_ap.html. The number reported here is the Planetary A index, which is a worldwide average based on the K readings from a number of magnetometers. The numbers reported on WWV are the Boulder K and A index, measured in Colorado. Generally the higher the latitude of the measuring station, the higher the K and A indices reported. This is because the effects of geomagnetic instability tend to concentrate toward the polar regions of the globe. Currently we are near the peak of the solar cycle, so conditions are generally better because of the increased ionization of the ionosphere. But along with the increased sunspots come more solar flares and coronal holes, producing disturbed conditions. Sunspot numbers for September 21 through 27 were 198, 248, 216, 255, 215, 223 and 233 with a mean of 226.9. 10.7 cm flux was 225.1, 232.2, 225.2, 224.5, 225.6, 223.6 and 204.7, with a mean of 223, and estimated planetary A indices were 9, 7, 7, 10, 16, 21 and 11 with a mean of 11.6.

Aurora Watch + An Unusual Asteroid Space Weather News for Oct. 3, 2000 http://www.spaceweather.com Ongoing geomagnetic activity could intensify on Wednesday or Thursday when an Earth-directed solar coronal mass ejection arrives in the neighborhood of our planet. With the Moon just past New, it may be a good time for stargazers to watch for dark-sky aurora. In other news, a Near-Earth Asteroid that passed our planet in September appears to be a binary space rock. See http://spaceweather.com for amateur video of the asteroid racing through the sky on October 2nd. For more information and images, please visit http://SpaceWeather.com

A Geomagnetic Storm on October 5th Space Weather News for Oct. 6, 2000 http://www.spaceweather.com An interplanetary shock wave buffeted Earth's magnetosphere on October 5th and triggered a strong geomagnetic storm. Skywatchers in Canada and the northern tier of US states spotted red- and green-colored aurora for hours before local dawn on Thursday. The disturbance subsided after nearly 21 hours of high activity. For more information about the event and pictures of the aurora, please visit http://www.spaceweather.com.

Propagation Forecast Bulletin 40 - October 6, 2000 Average solar flux and sunspot numbers were off for the week, while geomagnetic indices were up, the result of coronal mass ejections and the subsequent solar wind. Average sunspot numbers were off by nearly 43 points and solar flux was down nearly 28 points. A series of coronal mass ejections kept things lively, with two days (Saturday and Wednesday) when the planetary A index reached 45. This is an indication of a geomagnetic storm. Until daybreak on Thursday, October 5, auroral lights were spotted as far south as latitude 43 degrees. This was probably the result of a solar coronal mass ejection on October 2. The NASA ACE spacecraft recorded an interplanetary shock wave at 0240z on October 5. Effects are expected to fade over the next few days, with the planetary A index predicted for Friday through Wednesday at 35, 15, 10, 10, 12 and 12. Solar flux is expected to reach a minimum during this period with a 10.7 cm flux value at 150. Predicted flux values for Friday through Wednesday are 170, 160, 150, 150, 150 and 160. Solar flux is expected to rise above 200 again after October 16, and peak around 215 from October 18-22. Because September 30 marked the end of the third calendar quarter of 2000, it is time to review quarterly averages of solar flux values. The average daily solar flux for July 1 through September 30 was 181.9, one point lower than the earlier quarter, 182.9. The first quarter of this year had an average daily solar flux value of 180.5. This seems to indicate a fairly flat average solar flux value for this year, which was predicted to be the peak year for this solar cycle. These values are higher than the solar flux levels for 1999. Average solar flux for September was 182.1, which is an improvement over August, which was 163.1. Average monthly solar flux values since the beginning of this year were 159, 174.1, 208.2, 184.2, 184.5, 179.8, 200.5, 163.1, and 182.1. Readers who use Scott Craig's Solar Data Plotting Utility noticed that it would not suck up data from last week's Propagation Forecast Bulletin ARLP039. This is because of wording in the bulletin that confused the automatic data gathering feature in the software. Scott is writing a revision to the code so that it will not have that problem in the future, if ever that particular sequence of words that caused the problem is used again. Of course you can manually edit the data file to update the solar flux and sunspot numbers. You can also check http://edge.net/~scraig/index.html or specifically http://edge.net/~scraig/sol.htm for an update. Look for something beyond the current version, which is 3.08w. G3LDI wrote to inquire about a source for solar flux, A index and K index data over the past year. To get this data, go to the Space Environment Center's FTP server at http://sec.noaa.gov/getftp.cgi , then click on the Indices, Events and Region Data line, then click on Solar, Particle and Geomag Indices beginning Jan 1994. Sunspot numbers for September 28 through October 4 were 211, 164, 155, 157, 190, 196 and 216 with a mean of 184.1. 10.7 cm flux was 202.3, 192, 193.6, 201.6, 202.6, 192 and 184.1, with a mean of 195.5, and estimated planetary A indices were 12, 7, 45, 13, 11, 37 and 45 with a mean of 24.3.

Here Comes the Sun (again) Space Weather News for Oct. 10, 2000 http://www.spaceweather.com Early this morning magnetic fields around sunspot AR9182 became unstable. A nearby solar filament explosively collapsed and a coronal mass ejection is now heading toward Earth. There could be aurora and other geomagnetic disturbances later this week when the leading edge of the CME hits our magnetosphere. For more information and animations, please visit http://www.spaceweather.com -

Greetings Marcia and the Geoites Sorry for falling off the face of the Earth but have been slightly distracted with work (annoying but it does pay the bills...), grad school, and a trip to PA for Microwave Update 2000. Got lots of neat mmWave components to fuel the passion and projects. Anyway, to answer your questions... Why the frequencies we use.... When the search started years ago, it was logically decided to check around the 'water hole' frequencies (1.4ghz) bounded by the resonant frequency of hydrogen and hydroxyl. Plus, the available dishes/receivers were already set up for those frequencies. Why would 'ET' use technology we are familiar with? Well, we are using the technology we have available for galactic monitoring - microwave, mmWave, Xray, UV, optical. Would the radio wave diminish in the galaxy? No - The radio astronomy community has equipment that monitors signals light years away. If signals faded within the bounds of a galaxy, then we would never see any stars or other sources beyond our own. Would the signal be lost in cosmic noise? Thats one of the interesting things about radio astronomy. You are basically listening to -Noise-. Thus, one has to differentiate between man made and terrestrial noise sources and those that are galactic. You are listening to noise on top of noise.... But since the noise sources are 'loud' against a 'cold' sky, one can pick them out, so to speak... These are ultra distilled answers to complicated questions. I would suspect checking with web sites such as the seti league and seti.org as well as the NRAO and Society for Amateur Radio Astronomers web pages for a more complete (and probably enlightening) discussion. Anyway, glad to be back into the fray - will try to be a bit more frequent in the future - plus have some results on the 24ghz system and another distraction - the interface of a GPS engine to a PC for various and arcane experiments.... 73 de Mike Radio Cosmo International

I knew you'd come up with all the Right Stuff! Thanks, Mike... Some answers I knew but could not have put as well, and others escaped me. Now were all sitting at your enlightened feet (ow wherever they sit for enlightenment...) Many thanks! Grad school and you are NOT at Penn State??? *gasp* Oh well, if you are brilliant (as I know you to be) any source of degree will stand you in good stead. Wondering what the advanced work entails... MS in some sort of Engineering would be my guess. PhD? Go, Mike!

Howdy Marcia and the Geo-ites Boy - kinda wish I was going for the PHd now... but the MS CS is keeping me busy ;) After looking at my hastily compiled answers, I realized I didnt adequetly answer a couple of them. So, anyway - some more mumbo jumbo... If someone did shoot a regular radio signal, would it ever get out of the galaxy? Well, depends on what you mean by a 'regular' signal - Watts, Kilowatts, Megawatts, etc.... Humans have been sending signals into space since the invention of radio. Now, radio signals do diminish over distances. Lets treat space as a perfect medium for the propagation of radio signals (which, it does a pretty good job....) Anyway, what you get into is what type of receiver on the other end is there to pick up that signal? What is its MDS (minimum discernable signal) it can hear - this will depend on several things - the noise figure of the receive system, the gain of the antenna, integration times, etc. I think we are still getting signals back from Pioneer - it should be out of our solar system by now. I think the power output is 10 watts in the X band (9-10ghz). What this is all leading to is if 'ET' is transmitting a beacon - would they use very high power and a substantial antenna. Is it omni directional or tightly focused in a beam from a cluster of dishes? If the answer is yes to both, and the signal originates reasonably close star clusters, then our largest dishes could possibly pick up a signal. If the signal originates from 'close in' (in space terms) and the power was significant, then maybe even the smaller SETI dishes will pick it up as well. I once read an article about what distances an Arecebo dish could communicate with a comparable system - have to look that up sometime.... Of course, then you get into all the unknowns - what is the modulation scheme, what frequency is it on, etc. A nice fantasy would be that Pulsar stars were 'created' for the sole purpose of being a beacon using natural materials..... How do you tell that the signal is intelligent and extraterrestrial? Well, you have to look at the pattern of the signal - does it have a fast or slow doppler shift, can it be confirmed by multiple stations in different parts of the world that can also confirm the signal characteristics and origin from their respective locations. If you search the Seti League page, there should be an article on 'Anatomy of a SETI Hoax' where there are good discussions with example data of what an ET signal is NOT. So, a little more data or mumbo jumbo for what its worth.... 73 de Mike radio cosmo international

Oh Mike!!! You did it!!! Thank you! *gratutde by the bucketsful* and a big *HUG* for your attention to details. THanks (knew most of that but cvould not have put it so well...) Onem ust MS the CS before he can PhofD...one step at a time, m'dear, and all good wishes!

Holy cow...been at this for far too long today... Mike, One must MS the CS before he can Ph of D... and I am stll trying to get voice on line...

Sun Sample Return Mission Nears Launch NASA Science News for October 12, 2000 The science payload for NASA's Genesis spacecraft, which will collect samples of the solar wind and return them to Earth, is now complete. FULL STORY at http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2000/ast12oct_1.htm?list89800

Interplanetary Shock Wave Passes Earth -- Aurora Likely Space Weather News for Oct 12, 2000 http://www.spaceweather.com NASA's ACE spacecraft recorded an interplanetary shock wave heading toward Earth on October 12th at 2145 UT (5:45 pm EDT). Sky watchers should be on the alert for aurora between the times of local sunset on Oct. 12th and sunrise on Oct 13th. The bright full Moon will likely outshine faint aurora, but intense geomagnetic storms can produce auroras that are visible in spite of lunar interference. For more information, please visit http://www.spaceweather.com

Cool an aurora! I saw them when I lived up in Ettrick Wisconsin many years ago. It was an awe inspiring sight. We lived up on a ridge in a 16 by 32 army tent way out in the woods. And the sky was so incredibly clear that far out in the boonies.

I saw red and green aurora in Ohio when I was just out of college - and out in the boonies visiting my sister. Amazing to see! Would love to hear the booming noises they make (audible not radio interference)... maybe some time...

Propagation Forecast Bulletin 42 - October 20, 2000 The rise in solar flux for that was predicted this week in last week's Propagation Forecast Bulletin ARLP041 did not happen. Last week's bulletin stated that by October 18 and 19 we should see a short term peak in solar flux around 220. Instead, solar flux rose slightly over the weekend, then dropped below 160, and on October 18 and 19 it was 151.1 and 157.8. These short range predictions are based upon the previous solar rotation, plus what sunspot regions can be seen rotating toward the center of the solar disk, as well as a bet placed upon whether the activity in each region is increasing or decreasing. The current outlook is for a slowly and modestly rising solar flux, with the values for Friday through Monday at 160, 160, 165 and 170. The latest best guess is for solar flux to peak for the short term at only 190 on October 29 and 30, then decline to 145 around November 5. Geomagnetic conditions are expected to remain fairly stable on Friday and Saturday, but planetary A index my rise to 20 and 25 on Sunday and Monday. Geomagnetic indices are expected to calm down after that, but become unsettled to active around October 30 through November 1. It has been some time since Propagation Forecast Bulletin ARLP032 on August 11 when we last presented a path projection. This weekend we have two. One is for the VK/ZL Oceania CW Contest, and the other is for the RSGB 21/28 MHz CW Contest. The points of origin for each path will be pretty general, one for the center of the continental U.S.A, one for the East Coast, the other for the West Coast. The solar flux value used will be 160, which represents an average of values over ten days, including the projected values for October 20 and 21. The date used for the prediction is October 21.

And, back again.... Finally tested out the new 10ghz transverter on receive - next comes packaging and hopefuly a test before the winter winds blow off the lake and no more outdoor radio foolishness until 2001. 24ghz is next on the complete list - just need to kit out the oscillator and start bolting waveguide. And, just crunching away on Seti data.... 73 de Mike radio cosmo international

You...me too re SETI... Wheee!! Amazing what 700MHz will do for your crunching!!! Great to hear you are getting data with you 10 ghz lashup. What does winter have to do with it? I know it affects transmissions but I never noticed the difference here. Is that because I am in the tropics and therefore hopeless?! Watch out for the CME.

700mhz would be very cool. Ok, big debate question - more radio parts or a faster computer? Thats a tough one. re winter: -40 degree windchill is enough to keep me away from the lake. Although.... 24 and 47ghz are great bands during low humidity days (especially when all the moisture is frozen out) Enjoy those warm january days - I'll be huddled in front of the fire bottle gear listening to 160 and 75 meter AM. Of course, there will be plenty of time to build up the rest of the microwave gear. There IS a contest in January for VHF and up - roving during that one is kind of like the Iron Man and Iditarod of the vhf-microwave radio world. 73 de Mike radio cosmo international

decisions...decisions... Yes..alas Why does it have to be OR instead of AND?! Reality check dictates such things. Let's see, one trip across the pond and a nice boat anchor...hmmm.... no, would have done as you did. I did not have the other choice. Enjoy your bottle gear and let us know how the sensitivity to aurorae is. should be really active tomorrow... What is this stuff about negative figues as regards wind chill temperatures? Another planet? Will my warm thoughts help? You have them!

Geez, you roam in wx like that? I'll be listening and running ice cubes down my arms trying to 'feel your pain'...

I'm glad he clarified this: Thought for Friday, Oct 27, 2000 TFTD-L@TAMU.EDU * Albert Einstein, when asked to describe radio, replied: "You see, wire telegraph is a kind of a very, very long cat. You pull his tail in New York and his head is meowing in Los Angeles. Do you understand this? And radio operates exactly the same way: you send signals here, they receive them there. The only difference is that there is no cat."

Propagation Forecast Bulletin 43 - October 27, 2000 Average solar flux for the past week was exactly the same as the previous week. It was 160.9 for the past week, and 160.2 for the week previous. Average sunspot numbers dropped about ten points. Solar flux is rising, and is expected to peak on November 2 around 190. But the main interest among many radio amateurs is the forecast for this weekend, when the CQ Worldwide DX Phone Contest commences. Unfortunately, on October 25 a full halo coronal mass ejection was detected blasting away from the sun, and effects may be felt this weekend. The predicted planetary A index for Friday through Monday is 10, 15, 15 and 12. This does not signal terrible conditions, but the outlook for Saturday and Sunday is for unsettled to active geomagnetic conditions. Solar flux for the same four days is predicted at 175, 175, 180 and 180. After the November 2 peak in activity, solar flux is expected to bottom out around 155 on November 6 or 7.

We are into the initial stages of the CME. These two arrived almost simulatneously! SFI=182 up from 176 | A=12 up from 4 | K=2 down from 3 at 2100 on 28 October. SAF: low to moderate, GMF: unsettled to active Magnetic K-Index of 4 Warning valid from 28 Oct 2000 0700 to 29 Oct 2000 1500 UT Aurora Level: 7 Solar Wind: 400.9 km/s at 15.1 protons/cm3 More Info http://hfradio.org/propagation.html SFI=182 | A=17 up from 12 | K=5 up from 2 at 0000 on 29 October. SAF: low to moderate, GMF: at active to minor storm levels Magnetic K-Index of 4 Warning valid from 28 Oct 2000 0700 to 29 Oct 2000 1500 UT Aurora Level: 7 Solar Wind: 402.4 km/s at 10.2 protons/cm3

All-Ham Crew is ISS-Bound A Russian Soyuz rocket carrying the all-ham International Space Station Expedition 1 crew blasted off October 31 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Amateur Radio operation from the ISS is expected to debut by mid-month. The crew will spend four months aboard the ISS. On board the Soyuz are US astronaut and Expedition 1 Commander William ''Shep'' Shepherd, KD5GSL, and Russian cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR. The Soyuz is expected to dock with the ISS November 2. Shepherd, 51, is only the second US astronaut to go into space aboard a Russian launch vehicle. The Soyuz lifted off from the same launch pad where the space race began 43 years ago this month with the launch of the Sputnik 1 satellite. The Amateur Radio on the International Space Station--or ARISS--initial station gear already is aboard the space station. It will be installed temporarily in the Zarya Functional Cargo Block of the ISS and will permit operation on 2 meters--FM voice and packet. Tentative operating frequencies are: Worldwide downlink for voice and packet, 145.80 MHz: worldwide packet uplink, 145.99 MHz; Region 1 (Europe) voice uplink: 145.20 MHz; Region 2 and 3 voice uplink, 144.49 MHz. Crew members may use their personal call signs or one of the ''club station'' call signs issued for ISS use--NA1SS, RZ3DZR, or DL0ISS. For ARISS information and updates, visit the ARISS Web site, http://ariss.gsfc.nasa.gov/.

Cool, I'll be listening on 145.55, the freq the astronauts use. And the ones you mention of ours. 145.2 and 144.49. Wow! Good stuff Marci!

Thanks! I'll be listening, too! Thanks also for the additional frequency!

For those wishing to watch live coverage http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/countdown/video/video45m.html

Previous article posted in Radio Conference of interest here: Get your ears on! ISS ham gear cleared for takeoff The way has been cleared for the Amateur Radio gear destined for use aboard the International Space Station to be launched into space. The initial amateur gear is scheduled go up to the ISS on mission STS-106 aboard the shuttle Atlantis on September 8. As part of the multinational Amateur Radio on the International Space Station project, the gear will be stowed aboard the ISS for use by the Expedition 1 crew, set to come aboard in late October. ''We have been working for years to bring the first ISS hardware to fruition,'' ARISS Administrative Chairman Frank Bauer, KA3HDO, said this week. ''It looks like the final issues that have held us back are now over, and we are moving ahead toward the launch of the initial hardware on STS-106.'' Bauer said three events over the past couple of weeks were key to moving the ARISS project forward. The first was the launch and docking of the Russian-built Zvezda Service Module that eventually will house the ARISS gear. In addition, Bauer said, a series of RF, power-up and other tests on the amateur equipment were successfully completed in Russia, thanks to Lou McFadin, W5DID, of ARISS and AMSAT and Carolynn Conley, KD5JSO, of NASA. He said NASA also signed off on the required flight safety package, giving the go-ahead to release the amateur hardware for flight aboard the upcoming shuttle mission. The Expedition 1 crew will consist of three amateurs: US astronaut Bill Shepherd, KD5GSL, and Russian Cosmonauts Sergei Krikalev, U5MIR, and the recently licensed Yuri Gaidzenko, whose call sign was not available. To be available to the first crew, the ARISS initial station gear will be installed temporarily aboard the ISS Functional Cargo Block. It will use an existing antenna that's being adapted to support FM voice and packet on 2 meters but not on 70 cm. Eventually, the ARISS gear will find a more-permanent home aboard the Zvezda Service Module. A Russian call sign, RZ3DZR, has been issued for the ISS ham radio station. The ARRL and AMSAT have been providing leadership and consulting services for ARISS. ARRL Field and Educational Services Manager Rosalie White, K1STO--a member of the Space Amateur Radio EXperiment Working Group--says this is an exciting moment for the project, which has one goal of letting students on Earth communicate with the ISS inhabitants via Amateur Radio. ''All of the hard work from the many volunteers is starting to pay off,'' she said. ''We have so many people to thank--all of the AMSAT volunteers, ARRL people, the NASA folks--so many of whom are hams. But seeing the youth of the United States and other countries benefit is our reward.'' Bauer says the astronauts and cosmonauts plan to take some time off for educational outreach contacts with schools, even during the busy years of ISS construction that lie ahead. Bauer says access to Amateur Radio also is considered a morale booster for ISS crew members who will be in space many weeks at a time. As the International Space Station takes its place in the heavens,'' Bauer said, ''the Amateur Radio community is prepared to do its part by helping to enrich the experience.''

Asteroids Galore (and a coronal mass ejection) Space Weather News for Nov. 2, 2000 http://www.spaceweather.com While asteroid Toutatis garnered plenty of attention as it passed by Earth on Halloween, a newly-discovered space rock named 2000 UK11 glided by almost 10 times closer than Toutatis during the early morning hours of Nov. 1st. Asteroid 2000 UK11, which was briefly visible through amateur telescopes, is rapidly fading. But if you missed it, don't worry. There's an even brighter near-Earth object (NEO) on the way: 2000 UG11. Like Toutatis and 2000 UK11, there is no danger of a collision with 2000 UG11, which will pass 6 times farther from Earth than the Moon. Amateur astronomers with 8 inch or larger telescopes and CCD cameras can spot the fast-moving NEO early next week as it grows brighter than 14th magnitude. In other news for sky watchers, SOHO coronagraphs recorded a solar coronal mass ejection yesterday that could strike Earth's magnetosphere and trigger geomagnetic activity this weekend. For images and animations of the asteroids and yesterday's CME, please visit http://www.spaceweather.com.

These are not colorful names like Lowell-Biederman or something. I thought they named them after the discoverers.

They name them after prominent astronomers...living or dead. Comets are always named after their discovers.

Howdy howdy A good investment (or freeware if you can find it...) is a satellite tracking package. One such is Instantrack which is described at the AMSAT web page www.amsat.org With this application, you can track satellites including MIR, the ISS, and the amateur satellites. The amsat board also has the kep elements to load into the tracking software. I have used this software to track low earth orbit satellites - nothing like watching the satellite footprint cross into my geographic area and hearing the satellite beacon coming in on the downlink - then 15 minutes of high speed QSO's with other hams on the satellite. This would comprise of sending a burst of 'dits' and spinning around the frequencies until finding my signal - then calling CQ. This madness would go on until loss of signal. Anyway, once the ISS is operational, the tracking software will come in handy for predicting when the space station will make a flyover. Since the station will be line of sight, signals will be very strong - simple 5/8 wave verticals on 2 meters will provide a good signal. 73 de mike radio cosmo international

Thanks Mike!!! Here are a few satellite tracking URLs to try out for your area http://spacelink.nasa.gov/Instructional.Materials/Multimedia/Satellite.Tracking/.index.html and this killer site: http://www.nlsa.com/

Good point you made about listening to the frequencies I listed above. They are FM frequencies and are strictly line of sight. If you cannot see the satellite or space station, neither can your radio.

http://www.amsat.org and I will post the Keplerian data here from now on: Keplerian Bulletin 84 - November 3, 2000 Decode 2-line elsets with the following key: 1 AAAAAU 00 0 0 BBBBB.BBBBBBBB .CCCCCCCC 00000-0 00000-0 0 DDDZ 2 AAAAA EEE.EEEE FFF.FFFF GGGGGGG HHH.HHHH III.IIII JJ.JJJJJJJJKKKKKZ KEY: A-CATALOGNUM B-EPOCHTIME C-DECAY D-ELSETNUM E-INCLINATION F-RAAN G-ECCENTRICITY H-ARGPERIGEE I-MNANOM J-MNMOTION K-ORBITNUM Z-CHECKSUM AO-10 1 14129U 83058B 00305.01290756 -.00000384 00000-0 10000-3 0 7100 2 14129 26.7222 303.7829 6009247 97.2062 330.5402 2.05870124102757 UO-11 1 14781U 84021B 00308.21668696 .00004235 00000-0 66836-3 0 3452 2 14781 98.0013 268.9945 0011412 24.6167 335.5585 14.72865666892769 UO-14 1 20437U 90005B 00308.55830010 .00000606 00000-0 24845-3 0 5650 2 20437 98.3934 10.8160 0010847 159.4099 200.7553 14.30555357562796 AO-16 1 20439U 90005D 00307.76197337 .00000716 00000-0 29008-3 0 3636 2 20439 98.4332 17.1082 0010810 165.7762 194.3728 14.30645995562702 LO-19 1 20442U 90005G 00306.74375718 +.00000738 +00000-0 +29718-3 0 03696 2 20442 098.4510 019.6823 0011630 168.3007 191.8450 14.30881732562644 FO-20 1 20480U 90013C 00306.91012867 -.00000005 +00000-0 +53304-4 0 02819 2 20480 099.0728 051.6432 0540584 103.4921 262.6980 12.83282019502947 RS-12/13 1 21089U 91007A 00306.90858958 +.00000191 +00000-0 +18565-3 0 02877 2 21089 082.9188 083.6059 0030180 100.0802 260.3761 13.74228202488592 UO-22 1 21575U 91050B 00306.93976715 +.00000803 +00000-0 +27934-3 0 00946 2 21575 098.1424 327.2835 0008109 138.8672 221.3129 14.37885820487716 AO-27 1 22825U 93061C 00308.51819640 .00000562 00000-0 24218-3 0 8502 2 22825 98.3892 0.2506 0007834 208.6031 151.4723 14.28261526370364 IO-26 1 22826U 93061D 00308.16976623 .00000645 00000-0 27451-3 0 8435 2 22826 98.3929 0.6094 0008033 214.4539 145.6118 14.28417132370349 KO-25 1 22828U 93061F 00306.69662848 +.00000676 +00000-0 +28480-3 0 08284 2 22828 098.3880 359.3791 0009012 197.6165 162.4707 14.28826398338309 RS-15 1 23439U 94085A 00308.12578659 -.00000024 00000-0 52829-3 0 4992 2 23439 64.8185 315.7925 0167904 265.3795 92.7930 11.27539717241179 FO-29 1 24278U 96046B 00306.76524319 +.00000076 +00000-0 +11585-3 0 04018 2 24278 098.5742 196.4603 0350592 230.7887 126.1640 13.52745288207899 TO-31 1 25396U 98043C 00308.56470039 -.00000044 00000-0 00000+0 0 4043 2 25396 98.7105 22.5581 0003023 57.0700 303.0771 14.22799728120473 GO-32 1 25397U 98043D 00306.90738260 -.00000044 +00000-0 +00000-0 0 03773 2 25397 098.7091 020.6270 0002514 087.1820 272.9655 14.22480512120241 ISS 1 25544U 98067A 00308.81250000 .00018454 00000-0 21627-3 0 2454 2 25544 51.5723 149.6973 0005972 139.0991 37.7385 15.61556636111818 SO-35 1 25636U 99008C 00307.92723670 .00001347 00000-0 36786-3 0 2489 2 25636 96.4517 118.4091 0153521 102.3162 259.5272 14.41540289 89076 UO-36 1 25693U 99021A 00308.38529108 -.00000140 00000-0 24524-6 0 3558 2 25693 64.5616 45.8793 0050460 277.5124 82.0271 14.73543462 82812 Keplerian bulletins are transmitted twice weekly from W1AW. The next scheduled transmission of these data will be Tuesday, November 7, 2000, at 2330z on Baudot and AMTOR.

ok...next time just posting the ISS and the decoder....

Propagation Forecast Bulletin - November 4, 2000 Solar activity was up for the past week. During the CQ Worldwide DX Phone Contest, geomagnetic activity rose through the weekend, reaching storm levels on Sunday. Both the mid-latitude and planetary K indices reached 5, and the A indices were 24 and 26, respectively. The Alaskan College K index, which is higher during high geomagnetic activity due to its high latitude, was 6 over two periods and the A index was 41 for Sunday, indicating a severe geomagnetic storm. No doubt contest operators in Fairbanks experienced dead HF conditions. Average sunspot numbers were up nearly 19 points and average solar flux was up nearly 26 points compared to the previous week. Last week's Propagation Forecast Bulletin ARLP043 mentioned a predicted solar flux peaking around 190 on November 2. The noon flux reading at Penticton on Thursday was 196.3, but flux values are now expected to peak around 200 on November 3 or 4. Solar flux is expected to decline below 190 by November 8, then reach a broad minimum around 160 between November 11-17. A coronal hole has been developing in the center of the solar disk facing earth, and this could cause some unsettled geomagnetic conditions over the next few days. Currently the planetary A index is predicted at 20 for November 4 and 15 for the next day, followed by quiet conditions until November 10 when it may be 15 again. A planetary A index of 15 is also predicted for November 13 and 15, and on November 17 and 18 the projected A index is 20 and 25, based on the previous solar rotation. Average solar flux for October was 167.7. For June through September it was 179.8, 200.5, 163.1 and 201.7.

Leonid Meteor Balloon Rises Again NASA Science News for November 9, 2000 A team of NASA scientists and ham radio amateurs will loft a weather balloon toward the stratosphere on Nov. 18th to record the sights and sounds of the 2000 Leonid meteor shower. Readers can follow the balloon flight thanks to a live webcast at LeonidsLive.com. FULL STORY at http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2000/ast09nov_1.htm?list89800

Hey Marcia and Geoites Another cool balloon site to check out is EOSS Edge of Space Sciences - there is a whole ham radio subsect interested in balloon launches, transmitting environmental data, video, and gps tracking information. This page will lead to other interesting balloon topics/pages as well. Mike radio cosmo international

Thanks, Mike! http://www.eoss.org/ Check out the links! There is great stuff in there!

Mike, I have been remiss. Now you are properly Lei'd. My gratitude expressed in flowers fragrant and fresh from Hawaii to the cold north He'e (red) Muck Orange (green) Tuberose (white)

ISS crew completes installation of Amateur Radio hardware According to Will Marchant, KC6ROL, the International Space Station crew has completed installation of the Amateur Radio hardware in the Functional Cargo Block. With the successful execution of engineering tests today, the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) project has passed a significant milestone. The initial two passes were tested at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center (GCTC) ham shack R3K in Star City near Moscow. The control operators were Sergej Samburov, RV3DR, and Vladimir Zagainov, UA3DKR. Sergej is the Russian delegate to the ARISS team. Subsequent tests at the NN1SS station at the Goddard Space Flight Center (Greenbelt, MD) and the W5RRR station at Johnson Space Center (Houston, TX) were equally successful. Engineering tests with the packet rig still need to be organized. The crew, while still very busy, expressed their interest and support of Amateur Radio activities on the ISS. It seems likely that over the next few weeks, as the crew's schedule settles out, amateurs may be able to look forward to more Amateur Radio activity from humanity's latest foothold in space.

Phase 3D Launch Slipped By One Day The highly anticipated launch of the AMSAT Phase 3D Amateur Radio satellite has been delayed by a last-minute technical glitch. Acting Phase 3D Project Leader Peter Guelzow, DB2OS, reported from the launch site at the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, that a problem with a microwave link has delayed the launch for 24 hours. The satellite was to go into space early on November 15 UTC. The troublesome link only affected the telemetry between the PanAmSat PAS 1R commercial payload and the ground facility. It had nothing to do with the operation of Phase 3D. PAS-1R is the mission's primary payload. Guelzow said the telemetry link problem was promptly repaired, but by then, it was too late to resume the countdown to make the required launch window. The launch agency Arianespace described the problem as an ''anomaly in the ground-based telemetry system'' for the PanAmSat PAS-1R satellite, which is installed atop the Ariane 5. Jean-Charles Vincent, the head of Arianespace's Kourou facility, said the problem was pinpointed in the umbilical mast on the Ariane 5 mobile launch table. ''We detected the anomaly this afternoon, and decided on the one-day postponement to provide sufficient time to resolve it,'' he said Tuesday. The decision to delay happened before Arianespace crews began fueling the main stage. Also aboard the launch vehicle with P3D and the huge PAS-1R communications satellite are the smaller British STRV-1C and 1D mini-satellites. Vincent said both the launcher and its multisatellite payload are in a safe mode, enabling the countdown to begin again Thursday. The launch window remains the same--opening at 0107 UTC and closing at 0203 UTC (10:07 PM until 11:03 PM Kourou time) on November 16. In the planning, design and construction phases for the past several years, Phase 3D promises to usher in a new era in Amateur Radio communication. Once in its final orbit high above Earth, Phase 3D--the largest Amateur Radio satellite ever built--will offer capabilities unavailable on current amateur satellites.

Anyone heard the ISS Hams yet? I have not....

W1AW to participate in meteor scatter/APRS experiment ARRL Maxim Memorial Station W1AW again will participate in a meteor-scatter experiment by attempting to bounce APRS packets off the ionized particles resulting from the Leonids meteor shower. Beginning at 2100 UTC on November 17 through November 20, W1AW will operate WinAPRS-equipped stations on 6 and 2 meters. W1AW will monitor and beacon on 53.530 MHz and 147.585 MHz continuously, transmitting its grid square. On 6 meters, W1AW will use an ICOM IC-756 running 100 W with an MFJ-1278 TNC. On 2 meters, W1AW will use an ICOM IC-271 at 45 W with a AEA PK232 Multimode controller. An article ''Leonids Meteors for the Regular Guy'' by Ev Tupis, W2EV, is available to ARRL members on the ARRL Web site, http://www.arrl.org. Also see ''An Automated Meteor-Scatter Station'' by Tupis in November 1999 QST. QSLs will be available for all stations receiving W1AW's APRS beacons. An SASE is requested.

WOO HOO! Phase 3D is up! For the complete scoop, check out www.amsat.org Its going to be a bit of time before the transponders are switched on (talking months) since the satellite has to be positioned into its proper orbit. Then the systems will have to be activated and tested out. Now time to get the mode S (2.4ghz) and mode L (1.2ghz) transverters up and running. de AA9IL Mike

Yes indeedy!!! Phase 3D is In Orbit! In what was described as a ''spectacular nighttime launch,'' the next-generation AMSAT Phase 3D Amateur Radio satellite blasted off from Earth on schedule November 16 at 0107z. Hitching a ride aboard an Ariane 5 vehicle, Phase 3D was among four satellite payloads heading off into orbit from the European Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana--just five degrees north of the equator. ''It was a textbook launch,'' said Phase 3D Mission Director and AMSAT-DL Executive Vice President Peter Guelzow, DB2OS. Guelzow, who's filling in for Phase 3D Project Leader Karl Meinzer, DJ4ZC, said that from launch through separation about 45 minutes later, ''all received telemetry indicates the launch went perfectly, and our satellite appears to be in very good health.'' When Phase 3D was successfully deployed by the Ariane 5 launcher at 0153z, cheers erupted from the AMSAT team monitoring the flight's progress from the Arianespace control room. Newly elected AMSAT-NA President Robin Haighton, VE3FRH, hailed the news of the launch. ''You know, this really is the start of a new era in ham radio,'' Haighton said. He called the design, building and financing of P3D by international volunteers ''a great achievement.'' A ''general beacon'' was said to be transmitting on approximately 435.450 MHz. Earlier today, the Phase 3D PSK beacon turned up on 145.898 MHz--slightly different from the expected frequency. It was monitored by Norbert Nothoff, DF5DP, transmitting telemetry--including text blocks. ''We had some concern earlier this morning because the satellite didn't show up on the expected frequencies and hence missed any sign of life from the bird,'' Nothoff said. The Ariane 5 placed Phase 3D into geostationary transfer orbit, from where it will be nudged into its final elliptical orbit. It was the last of the four payloads to be ejected into orbit by the launch vehicle. The satellite is not expected to be ready for general use for about nine months. Initial housekeeping tasks were under way in the hours following the launch and separation. To move P3D from the geostationary transfer orbit, the satellite's onboard arcjet motor will burn intermittently at perigee over a 270-day period, with final inclination and apogee adjustments made by the spacecraft's 400 Newton motor. Once these maneuvers are completed and three-axis stabilization is achieved, the solar panels will be deployed. At that point, Haighton said, it's anticipated the satellite will be fully operational for use by Amateur Radio operators around the world. The satellite's initial orbit puts it some 585 miles above Earth at the closest point. Phase 3D's final elliptical orbital configuration will put the satellite some 2500 miles away from Earth at its nearest point, and some 29,500 miles at its farthest. At 630 pounds and some 20 feet across when the solar panels are deployed, Phase 3D is the largest Amateur Radio satellite ever put into space. The launch culminates years of planning, design and construction as well as an ambitious fundraising campaign. The ARRL was among the major contributors to the Phase 3D project. Three other satellites--the giant PanAmSat PAS-1R communications satellite and the smaller STRV-1C and 1D satellites--joined AMSAT Phase 3D for the ride. Haighton's immediate predecessor as AMSAT-NA president, Keith Baker, KB1SF, told AMSAT News Service that he was ''delighted'' by the news of the Phase 3D launch. ''I have no doubt that today will be regarded as one of the greatest days in the history of Amateur Radio,'' he said. AMSAT-NA Board Chairman and past AMSAT-NA President Bill Tynan, W3XO, was among those keeping a close ear on the launch activities and participating in the AMSAT Launch Information Service. ''I can't begin to tell you how happy I am to see P3D in orbit,'' said Tynan. ''It's been a long time, a long road--a bit rough at times,'' Tynan observed. For more information, visit the AMSAT-NA Web site, http://www.amsat.org.

Yes indeed-ie! I guess I can wait a few more months to get the transverters built up (have almost all the parts...) Getting too cold to do anything outside anyway - today, the WX was 31 deg F with snow flurries. The one neat thing is that there will be some great nights for sky watching when the temp goes sub zero (usually -25 degrees without the windchill). All the moisture and gunk in the sky just seems to vanish and the stars look incredible. Aside from LEO satellite contacts, the last major DX I did was on AO-13 several years ago. Using mode B, I was able to hear some interesting (and work as well) DX. Cant wait till P3D is fully functional. The portable sat microwave station can finally be realized. 73 de Mike radio cosmo international