Wednesday, April 24, 2019

Where is 10 meters open? #hamradio #ARRL


Ten Meters is one of my favorite bands. Even when it's not "open", it's frequently open. With the sunspots on the rise, so should the activity on the band increase.


Have you found http://ten-ten.org/daily_nets.html yet? Nets listed there will help determine if the band is open. If you look at http://www.qsl.net/steelcity/nets/whichnet.html, one will see a search box that lets you know which nets are in operation.

http://www.dxwatch.com/dxsd1.php?f=92 or http://hamspots.net/10/ will also give you DX Cluster spots, just for 10 meters.

At http://www.vhfdx.info/spots/warnings.php, one can get email alerts when six meters is open. If SIX is open, it's almost a given that TEN is open.

http://www.dxmaps.com/spots/map.php?Lan=E&Frec=28&ML=M&Map=W2L&DXC=N&HF=N&GL=N also offers a map of openings AND the ability to post spots all in one place.


There's a number of 10 meter software defined radios that one can use to see where's the band is open. Two are dedicated to the "Beacon Band".

http://userpages.troycable.net/~wj5o/bcn.htm is a list of beacons on Ten. Tune here to see where the band is open, even when it's not.

Ten Meters is one of my favorite bands. Thankfully, there's plenty of tools to take some of the Magic out of the Band.  What is your favorite band?

Wednesday, April 17, 2019

#HamRadio Twitter #FF recommendations

At least once per month, a Tweet does out recommending Friday Followers.



If you were to edit this list, who would you include?

Who would you leave out?

Why?



Wednesday, April 10, 2019

Have a plan for less than 13 minutes. #Skywarn #hamradio #OKwx #KSwx

The current average lead-time for tornado warnings is 13 minutes.

You have 13 minutes, at the most, to receive a warning from the National Weather Service and act on it.

How will you get your warning?  Professionals encourage three ways.

1.  Local government text and email alerts such as the service provided by Cowley County Emergency Management.  If your local government doesn't provide this service, there are a number of free services that do. WeatherCall costs $10 per year.

2.  Local AM/FM/Television media.  Don't hate them for breaking into your programming.  It's required.  You need a BATTERY-Powered receiver for when the power goes out.

3.  Ham Radio clubs partner with the National Weather Service to relay reports.  This is part of the Skywarn program.  Of course, ham radio is not required to participate in Skywarn, but who "you gonna call" when the power goes out.  Many offer feeds on Broadcastify so you can listen without needing a license.

4.  Even Newspapers offer text alerts.

5.  Twitter ... many National Weather Service offices tweet information beforehand and many other services offer warning via this method and Facebook.

There are others.  All told, there's a number of different ways listed above.  This is the first and last mention of sirens.  What are your three?




Wednesday, April 03, 2019

#Skywarn and #hamradio

Do you have three ways to get information from the National Weather Service?

The Weather Service, for years, have reminded folks that Weather Radio is reliable but it can fail.  Local media may be broadcasting during an ice storm but your AM/FM/Television may not receive the signal during the power outage.

It's important to have three ways to call, text information to the National Weather Service.  Ham Radio is a reliable method, even on simplex, when the repeaters fail.  

Is amateur radio part of your communications plan?

Automatic Packet Reporting
System is useful to send text
messages also.



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