Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Most Amazing High Definition Image of Earth Ever - Blue Marble 2012

Photostream here
Credit: NASA/NOAA/GSFC/Suomi NPP/VIIRS/Norman Kuring

HAMs Asked to Listen for RS-39 Sat

The Chibis-M microsatellite, also known as RS-39 (RadioSputnik 39), was jettisoned from the Progress M-13M cargo spacecraft Tuesday evening (UTC). The satellite is designed to study atmospheric phenomena such as Terrestrial Gamma Ray Flashes (TGFs) associated with lightning. RS-39 has CW beacons on 435.315 and 435.215 MHz and amateurs are asked to submit reception reports via email to the Space Research Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences at amateur-rs39@chibis.cosmos.ru. Each report will be acknowledged with a special QSL. The CW telemetry format is available here. Telemetry decoding software written by Mike Rupprecht, DK3WN, can be downloaded here.
This is a sample of the signal (Record made Gustavo Carpignano)
source ARRL

Friday, January 20, 2012

How to See the Moon: Telescope Viewing Tips


IO5ANT: Antarctic Activity Week

Per la 9° Settimana Attività Antartica 2012 La sezione ARI di Siena installerà una stazione radio all interno del Museo Nazionale dell Antartide sito nella nostra città. Il nominativo speciale sarà IO5ANT WAP-210. Nuova QSL 100% via Bureau a IW5EFX.

Thursday, January 19, 2012

425 toolbar..5800 and counting !



toolbars have been installed so far !

Powered by Conduit

5800 installazioni della 425 toolbar

Powered by Conduit
Oggi abbiamo raggiunto le 5800 installazioni della 425 toolbar. Per chi non avesse letto i miei post precedenti la toolbar che ho disegnato grazie alla Conduit permette di semplificare le ricerche di informazioni nel nostro hobby radioamatoriale prevedendo già alcuni comandi ridondanti. Ad esempio oltre alle ricerche qrz, bollettini 425, spot dx, si possono vedere il webcluster dxwatch, gli rss feed aggiornati, il link diretto ai maggiori siti ham, la dxpedition map, una chat, yahoo e msn messenger e molto altro ancora. Si installa per browser Explorer e Firefox. Ben 623000 sono le operazioni fatte tramite la toolbar da chi l'ha installata finora. Non male vero ? Per installare questo utilissimo strumento gratuito andate qui.

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Orbital Debris Quarterly News

The Orbital Debris Quarterly News (ODQN) is a quarterly publication of the NASA Orbital Debris Program Office. The ODQN publishes some of the latest events in orbital debris research, offers orbital debris news and statistics, and presents project reviews and meeting reports, as well as upcoming events. Illustrating graphs, charts, photographs, and drawings support the articles and provide a detailed understanding of the topics.
Each issue is available as a downloadable PDF file. HERE is the January 2012 issue.

SA-024/SA-071 IOTA DXped

A Brazilian and Italian team will activate both Comprida Island (SA-024) and Peruhibe Island (SA-071) between January 30th and February 9th. All the team will operate with the call PR2I. Operators will be : Leopoldo/I8LWL, Paki/IZ8GDO, Vespe/IW8EZV, Angelo/PY2VA and Toni/PY2YW. The team need sponsors, supporters, individual contributors. Info and log on line : http://www.i8lwl.it  QSL via IK7JWX (not I8LWL).

Monday, January 16, 2012

Twisst - tweeting ISS passes near you

Seeing the International Space Station fly over your head is a magical experience.
It crosses your sky often, but if you want to see it, you'll need to know when exactly to look up. Twisst sends you an alert on Twitter when you will be able to see ISS. Twisst uses the location you entered in your Twitter bio.

Start following @twisst

CG3B - Special Event callsign


CG3B- Special Event callsign,Niagara Peninsula ARC , for the 200th Bi-Centennial of Friendship between Canada and the United States of America. Between 2012 and 2014 there will be different special event callsigns active. Special QSL cards will be printed for each station, QSL manager is VE3FOI, Dave Digweed, all contacts will receive QSL via Bureau system , If you want a direct QSL card, pse send $2.00 USD for non-Canadian Contacts, Canadian Contacts send SASE. The time period for this operation is from July 01-to July 31st 2012, we will be taken part in the Canada Day Contest on July Ist, special location will be at Fort George Niagara on the Lake, Ontario, Canada.73 Dave VE3FOI

Life is simple


Thanks I5JHW

FK/I5JHW the QSL


Thank you John, I5JHW

Friday, January 13, 2012

Building a Three-Penny Radio

A crystal radio is nice because it needs no power, and the materials can all be home-made or at least found around the house. But the crystal radio needs a big antenna, and a good ground, and so is not very portable.
To get away with using a much smaller, portable antenna, we will need to amplify the tiny signal it receives. This requires a portable power supply, such as a battery.
Our next toy is a portable radio. It can be powered from a tiny 1.5 volt battery, or from a battery made from copper wire and aluminum foil sitting in a glass of lemonade, a soft drink, or a beer, or by a few small commercial solar cells.

The top 100 easiest IOTA

The top 100 easiest IOTA based on the % claimed (in order by REF). Source IOTA

Ref. No. Group Name DXCC
AF-003 Ascension Island ASCENSION ISLAND
AF-004 Canary Islands CANARY IS
AF-006 Diego Garcia Island CHAGOS
AF-007 Comoro Islands COMOROS (D6)
AF-013 Madagascar MADAGASCAR
AF-014 Madeira Archipelago MADEIRA IS
AF-016 Reunion Island REUNION
AF-017 Rodrigues Island RODRIGUEZ IS
AF-018 Pantelleria Island ITALY
AF-019 Pelagie Islands ITALY
AF-022 St Helena Island ST HELENA IS
AF-023 Sao Tome Island SAO TOME & PRINCIPE
AF-024 Seychelles - Inner Islands SEYCHELLES
AF-027 Mayotte Island MAYOTTE
AF-049 Mauritius Island MAURITIUS IS
AN-010 South Shetland Islands SOUTH SHETLAND ISLANDS
AN-016 Antarctica ANTARCTICA
AS-003 Sri Lanka Island SRI LANKA
AS-004 Cyprus Island CYPRUS
AS-007 Honshu Island JAPAN
AS-013 Maldive Islands MALDIVE IS
AS-015 Pinang State group WEST MALAYSIA
AS-018 Sakhalin Island ASIATIC RUSSIA
AS-019 Singapore Island SINGAPORE
AS-020 Taiwan Island TAIWAN
AS-076 Shikoku Island JAPAN
AS-078 Hokkaido Island JAPAN
EU-001 Dodecanese DODECANESE
EU-002 Aland Islands ALAND IS
EU-003 Eastern Azores group AZORES
EU-004 Balearic Islands BALEARIC IS
EU-005 Great Britain ENGLAND
EU-009 Orkney SCOTLAND
EU-012 Shetland and Fair Isle SCOTLAND
EU-013 Jersey JERSEY
EU-014 Corsica Island CORSICA
EU-015 Crete Island CRETE
EU-016 Dalmatia South group CROATIA
EU-018 Faroe Islands FAROE IS
EU-019 Franz Josef Land FRANZ JOSEF LAND
EU-021 Iceland ICELAND
EU-022 Jan Mayen Island JAN MAYEN
EU-023 Malta group MALTA
EU-024 Sardinia Island SARDINIA
EU-025 Sicily Island ITALY
EU-026 Spitsbergen Island [ AKA Svalbard Island ] SVALBARD IS
EU-028 Toscana (Tuscany) Region group ITALY
EU-031 Campania Region group ITALY
EU-032 Poitou-Charentes Region group FRANCE
EU-053 Market Reef MARKET REEF , SWEDEN
EU-057 Mecklenburg-Vorpommern State group FED REP OF GERMANY
EU-114 Guernsey group GUERNSEY
EU-115 Ireland (Ireland / Northern Ireland) IRELAND , NORTHERN IRELAND
EU-116 Isle of Man ISLE OF MAN
EU-117 Malyy Vysotskiy Island MALYJ VYSOTSKI IS (R1MV)
NA-002 Caicos Islands TURKS & CAICOS IS
NA-005 Bermuda Islands BERMUDA
NA-015 Cuba (main island and coastal islands not qualifying for other groups) CUBA ADIF:CM , GUANTANAMO BAY
NA-016 Cayman Islands CAYMAN ISLANDS
NA-018 Greenland (main island and coastal islands not qualifying for other groups) GREENLAND
NA-021 Barbados BARBADOS
NA-022 Anguilla ANGUILLA
NA-023 British Virgin Islands BRITISH VIRGIN IS
NA-024 Grenada GRENADA
NA-027 Newfoundland Island (main island and coastal islands not qualifying for other groups) CANADA
NA-029 Prince Edward Island (include satellite islands) CANADA
NA-032 St Pierre and Miquelon Islands ST PIERRE & MIQUELON
NA-033 San Andres Island SAN ANDREAS & PROVIDENCIA
NA-096 Hispaniola HAITI , DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
NA-097 Jamaica JAMAICA
NA-099 Puerto Rico PUERTO RICO
NA-100 Antigua and Barbuda ANTIGUA & BARBUDA
NA-101 Dominica DOMINICA
NA-102 Guadeloupe GUADELOUPE
NA-103 Montserrat MONTSERRAT
NA-104 St Kitts and Nevis ST KITTS & NEVIS
NA-105 St Martin [ AKA Sint Maarten ] SINT MAARTEN
NA-106 Virgin Islands VIRGIN IS
NA-107 Martinique MARTINIQUE
NA-108 St Lucia ST LUCIA
OC-001 Australia AUSTRALIA
OC-005 Norfolk Island NORFOLK IS
OC-013 Rarotonga Island S COOK IS
OC-019 Hawaiian Islands HAWAII
OC-021 Java Island INDONESIA
OC-026 Guam Island GUAM
OC-032 New Caledonia Island NEW CALEDONIA
OC-036 North Island NEW ZEALAND
OC-038 Chatham Islands CHATHAM IS
OC-042 Luzon Island PHILIPPINES
OC-086 Northern Mariana Islands MARIANA IS
OC-088 Borneo (East Malaysia / Brunei / Indonesia Kalimantan) BRUNEI , INDONESIA
OC-134 South Island NEW ZEALAND
SA-001 Easter Island EASTER IS
SA-002 Falkland Islands FALKLAND IS
SA-003 Fernando De Noronha Archipelago FERNANDO DE NORONHA
SA-004 Galapagos GALAPAGOS
SA-006 Bonaire Island [ AKA Remnant Leeward Netherlands Antilles ] BONAIRE
SA-011 Trinidad TRINIDAD & TOBAGO
SA-036 Aruba ARUBA

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

On the situation with the spacecraft "Phobos-Grunt"

Possible area of ​​the fall - "strip" of 51.4 degrees north latitude to 51.4 degrees south latitude, is shown in the diagram. Press Service of the Russian Space Agency

LZ1818MOG and "ALL BULGARIAN SAINTS" award

Between 1-st and 31-st of January 2012, Bulgarian Radio Club BLAGOVESTNIK LZ1KCP, will use the special callsign LZ 1818 MOG which has been created in honour of Bulgarian Saint Martyr Onufrii Gabrovski.

LZ 1818 MOG counts for "All Bulgarian Saints" awardand 10 points towards "St. Teodosii Tyrnovski" award.


DIPLOMA „ALL BULGARIAN SAINTS - 2012”

To obtain the Diploma it is necessary to establish:

For European stations 10 QSO (SWL reports), and for stations outside Europe - 5 QSO (SWL reports) with different memorial callsigns dedicated to Bulgarian Orthodox Saints.

For 2012, these callsigns are 12:

LZ 1818 MOG from 01.01.2012 till 31.01.2012
LZ 1401 SET from 01.02.2012 till 29.02.2012
LZ 1784 SIB from 01.03.2012 till 31.03.2012
LZ 1437 MGS from 01.04.2012 till 30.04.2012
LZ 907 SKB from 01.05.2012 till 31.05.2012
LZ 1515 PSB from 01.06.2012 till 30.06.2012
LZ 1822 MIT from 01.07.2012 till 31.07.2012
LZ 916 SS from 01.08.2012 till 31.08.2012
LZ 1737 SSS from 01.09.2012 till 30.09.2012
LZ 1814 MIS from 01.10.2012 till 31.10.2012
LZ 1620 PPZ from 01.11.2012 till 30.11.2012
LZ 1500 PNB from 01.12.2012 till 31.12.2012

The cost of the Diploma is 10 IRC (or 5 EUR) and it can also be obtained free of charge in electronic form by e-mail. Please send applications to: lz3ga@abv.bg

For paper version of the Diploma please send: 10 IRC to P.O. Box 36, Karlovo, 4300 BULGARIA, or 5 EUR to the PayPal account: lz1zf@abv.bg

QSL cards are not necessary, only an extract from the log.

For each year Diploma will be issued with a separate numbering: No / 2012and etc.

Only memorial callsigns will be changed and Diploma can be obtained every year for QSO’s within period from January 01 till December 31 for the relevant year.

TM10E special event station

TM10E is a special event station commemorating the 10thanniversary of new currency in Europe since the 1st of January 2002. Working TM10E, gives you a wild card for the EURO AWARD.

EURO AWARD RULES

EURO award By F5KTU Tulle Radio Club Manager F5RBB

The EURO Diploma is edited by the Tulle Radio Club to commemerate the10thanniversary of new currency in Europe since the 1st of January 2002. Rules : Contact or listen to one station from each of the member countries of the Euro zone in total 17 countries.

5B: Cyprus, 9H : Malta, CT : Portugal, EA : spain, EI : Eire, ES : Estonia, DL : germany, F : France, I : Italy, LX : Luxemburg, OE : Austria, OM : Slovak Rep., ON : Belgium, OH : Finland PA : Holland, S5 : Slovenia, SV : Greece,

A contact with the station TM10E counts as a wild card in the case where you are missing two countries. All bands and modes are accepted except via repeater. QSOs to take place between 01 january 2012 and 31 december 2012 midnight GMT. Applications for the diploma to be sent before 31 december 2013. Send only a qso list ; no QSLs are required. A lovely aluminium plaque is awarded (23x18cms). Cost : 20 € or 25 IRCs or 25 $. Paypal Accepted . Award manager : F5RBB (f5rbb@wanadoo.fr ) VERVECHE Patrice, F5RBB les gouttes19800 GIMEL LES CASCADES France

HA100CGCDH special callsign


This is a special callsign running by HA0MO from January 1st to December 31 in 2012. The occassion is the Centenarian Greek Catholic Diocese of Hajdudorog. Take a virtual walk in the cathedral: http://www.digicart.hu/vs_photos/krpano/hajdudorog-tour.html

5P12EU award

Denmark is from 1 January to 30 June 2012 chairman of the European Union. There are present 27 countries in the European Union.
Danish amateur radio stations will be active with the call sign 5P12EU during the leadership, and the call will only be active in the period between 1 January and 30 June 2012.

Gold award: QSO on 7 different bands regardless the mode
Silver award: QSO on 5 different bands regardless the mode
Bronze award: QSO on 3 different bands regardless the mode

All QSOs must be worked from the same call sign to get the award.

If you have worked us and want the award, you can get the award by:

- Sending an e-mail to Award Manager OZ4CG (E-mail award@5p12eu.dk). Then you will get an e-
mail back with the requested award attached which you can print it out yourself. This is free of
charged.
- Send a letter to QSL Manager OZ0J to get the award by letter and mentioned with award you want.
First award to one address cost USD 10 or 3 IRC to cover our costs for printing the award and for
envelope and return postage. You can also pay via Paypal on our homepage www.5p12eu.dk If you
have any questions about our award please contact us at award@5p12eu.dk

Please check that you are in our log before you send your award request.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us at info@5p12eu.dk

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

New island in the IOTA AS-009 group

A new island is forming in the Red Sea. About 60 kilometers (40 miles) from the coast of Yemen, an undersea eruption began in mid-December 2011.



NASA image by Robert Simmon, using ALI data from the EO-1 Team.

The UK Space Agency is seeking a motivated graduate

The UK Space Agency is seeking a motivated graduate for work placement as a press officer to cover a 6 month maternity leave. The post is based at the Agency's offices at Polaris House in Swindon, and will start in late January/early February 2012.

source

Top DX spots/spotters (December 2011)

SPOTS
Rank Spots Callsign
----- ----- ----------
  1    859  V31NB
  2    852  EM0RSE
  3    820  GJ6UW
  4    782  ZK2V
  5    658  E44PM
  6    607  9L0W
  7    574  W5CW
  8    483  SX100A
  9    467  VK0TH
 10    456  SU9VB


SPOTTERS
Rank Total Callsign
----- ----- ----------
  1   6158  W3LPL
  2    736  K6III
  3    726  N4VN
  4    632  R3RT
  5    561  VA2GU
  6    538  HA6VH
  7    528  AA5AU
  8    521  RK9UE
  9    503  UA9UDX
 10    416  ES4RX


source

Wednesday, January 04, 2012

CryoSat app: ice data at your fingertips

Discover ESA’s ice mission, track it in real time and obtain the latest measurements with the new CryoSat application. CryoSat is measuring the thickness of polar sea ice and monitoring changes in the ice sheets that blanket Greenland and Antarctica.

The CryoSat iPhone and iPad application – or CryoSatApp – is now available at Apple's App Store.

Credits: ACS/ESA