Vol. 2 Nr. 2 Ozone Amateur Radio Club February 2011 Proudly Serving St. Tammany and The Northshore Since 1964

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1 Vol. 2 Nr. 2 Ozone Amateur Radio Club February 2011 Proudly Serving St. Tammany and The Northshore Since 1964 The QRM T ARISSat -1 On Way he ARRL and NASA websites announced that a Soyuz-U rocket was launched on January 28 th from the Baikonur Space Center is Kazakhstan carrying a Russian Progress M-09M International Space Station (ISS) supply vehicle. Contained among its two and a half tons of cargo was the new AMSAT ARISSat-1 ham satellite. The Progress cargo module successfully docked with the ISS in the early hours (UTC) of the 30 th. Two Russian cosmonauts Flight Engineers, Dmitry Kondratyev and Oleg Skripochka, are scheduled to undertake an EVA on Feb. 16 th that will include the hand launching of the ARISSat-1 satellite. The 66-pound ARISSat-1 is the first in a series of educational satellites being developed by AMSAT, NASA Office of Education's ISS National Lab Project, the Amateur Radio on ISS (ARISS) working group, and RSC-Energia. In addition to its amateur radio satcomm transponders each ARISSat also will carry up to five student experiments, transmit still frame pictures of Earth using four on-board video cameras, transmit student greetings in their native languages, and a CW tracking beacon. Further details about ARISSat-1, including a colour transponder frequency guide, are available from the AMSAT website at: T Amateur Radio Legislation Reintroduced in Congress he proposed Amateur Radio Emergency Communications Enhancement Act that died at the end of the 111th Congress has been reintroduced in the current Congressional session in both the House and the Senate. The earlier bill while passing in the Senate did not move out of the House committee for a vote by the full House of Representatives. The ARRL Letter reports that ARRL CEO David Sumner, K1ZZ is... hopeful that this early start (of the current bill) will lead to success in the new Congress. The legislation was introduced in the House (HR 82) by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX-18) and in the Senate (S 191) by Sen. Joe Lieberman (ID-CT) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME). The legislation would direct the Secretary of Homeland Security to study the uses and capabilities of Amateur Radio communications in emergencies and disaster relief and to identify and make recommendations regarding impediments to ham communications, such as the impact of private land use regulations on residential antenna installations. The QRM encourages all OARCians to contact their Senate and House representatives to become a sponsor of of the bill (HR 82 or S 191) and/or support its passage out of committee and passage into law. The findings from the proposed study could seriously impact on our ability to See Bill p.4

2 Vol. 2, NO 2 The QRM February of 5 The Editor's Corner The QRM is the official Newsletter of the Ozone Amateur Radio Club (OARC), Slidell, Louisiana It might seem long way off 5 months but now is the time to review your hurricane Editor..... Willie Wulf, K5CHC preparedness plan. If you don't have one, OARC 2011 Officers begin it now. While a preseason storm is not President Tom McCullough, KD5GFG an every year event, they do happen and it can Vice-President..Wayne Tamborella,KC5DEZ happen again this year. And remember, early Secretary Frank Skiles, WA5VCS season tropical storms can rapidly spring up Treasurer John Guthans, AA5UY and be at your door the next day. The Ozone Amateur Radio Club is proud to be an Preparedness planning certainly does mean ARRL affiliate club. checking your antennas, generator, batteries, Meetings are held on the 1 st and 3 rd Thursday each and gear, both fixed station and mobile. But month starting at 1930hrs local. Our club building is more importantly, it also means planning how located on the corner of 4 th and Cousin Streets next to the Slidell Courthouse in Old Town Slidell. Visitors you and your family will react to an are always welcomed. approaching storm. Consider what you must Stations and Nets: OARC maintains several HF do both in terms of remaining at home or and VHF/UHF stations at its club building. It evacuating to a safer location. Remember, regularly operates a two meter repeater on your family's safety is your first priority. MHz + using PL of A 2 mtr net meets each Any preparedness plan must consider three Friday evening at 1930 hrs. Our HF Alligator net may be found on 3925 Khz LSB beginning at 1900 things. First, what must you do to maximize hrs., A 10 meter net also is called on MHz your family's safety. What you must do to starting at 2000 hrs. The club also maintains and prepare your property to weather the operates W5SLA at the Slidell Weather Bureau Office. destructive forces of a tropical storm or Officers may be contacted through at hurricane. Finally, what you must do to survive its immediate aftermath. OARC@W5SLA.net There are numerous hurricane preparedness or by snail-mail to : Ozone Amateur Radio Club, To Do lists available; both printed and on-line. P.O. Box 553, Review several of these lists and come up with Slidell, LA a consolidated To Do list. Use this list to plan ahead. Everyone in the family needs to know what he or she needs to do before, during, and after a storm. Everyone needs to have available those items required to carry out the plan including a copy of the To Do check list. Everyone in the family should know what needs to be done, be prepared to do it, and than do it before it is too late. I speak from long experience.

3 Vol. 2, NO 2 The QRM February of 5 Around the Web This column will appear from time-to-time to pass on websites that may be found interesting and useful to fellow OARCians. If you know of such a website send along the subject of the site, a brief description of what it provides, why you think it may be of interest or useful, and the link to bring it up. We all know of such interesting and useful sites. Most importantly, don't assume everyone who might be interested in it already knows about it. That is seldom the case. So send us the info. Our address is: qrmeditor@w5sla.net. Your help is always needed as a source of material and is gratefully appreciated. It is not always easy to fill these pages with interesting and useful stuff. ~ This link will take you the STEREO Science Center homepage. STEREO is a pair of satellites that provide a 24/7 3D view of the Sun from NASA's Solar and Terrestrial Relations Observatory. Each satellite circles the Sun in Earth orbit. Satellite A precedes Earth and B follows it (Fig.1) in orbit around STEREO continued the Sun. In turn this a view of almost the entire surface of the Sun. Fig.2 shows what Fig. 2 Satellite B Satellite A each of the STEREO satellites sees. STEREO provides a lot of information about activity on and near the the Sun. There are four separate instrument packages mounted on each STEREO spacecraft. More next month on how your can contribute to research using data from STEREO and a sister satellite called SOHO. So the next time you see a propagation article that says a active sunspot will be emerging from behind the Sun you know how they know. ~SK~ Fig. 1 Satellite B (blue), Satellite A (red) Continued Oops...! In the January 2011 issue we incorrectly spelled W5DGM's last name. The correct spelling of Dominic's last name is Mitchum. We sincerely regret our error. The Editor

4 Vol. 2, NO 2 The QRM February of 5 AARA 2011 Rayne Hamfest The Acadiana Amateur Radio Association will hold its 51st Annual Hamfest on March 11th and March 12th, 2011 in Rayne, Louisiana. The AARA has provided the following information about this always popular up-coming annual event. The hamfest schedule will be the same as last year. It will open to the ham community as well as general public at 5:00 pm. until 8:00 pm On Friday, March 11th and again at 8:00 am until 2:00 pm Saturday, March 12th. Dealers, vendors, swap tables, and flea market participants can begin setup from 9:00 am until 5:00 pm Friday and 7:00 am until 8:00 am Saturday. The AARA's famous Hamfest Crawfish Boil with the ever popular Fais-Do-Do and dancing. Due to the high cost of crawfish this time of year, it is recommended that those planning to partake in the crawfish boil pre-register no later than by February 20th, so the price and quantity of crawfish to be purchase can be locked in. The price of crawfish this year will get each participant 4 lbs. of the delectable crustaceans plus seasoned potato and corn. There is no guarantee that crawfish servings will be available on Friday, March 11th. Any crawfish remaining after 6:30 pm Friday will be sold on a first come first sold basis. This year the Rayne Lions Club will be furnishing all of the food and drinks. They will have many items to choose from and the proceeds from this goes to their charitable projects, please support them. Rayne's 700+ RV site next to the hamfest center is available without reservations. Sites with 30 amp or 50 amp hockups, water and sewage connection or dump are available. So as they say, come early and leave late. Visit the area and enjoy the fine foods and the many attractions of Acadiana. Remember, the deadline to pre-register or order your crawfish boil tickets is February 20, Visit the Acadiana ARA 2011 Hamfest web site at: for more information and pre-registration from.. BBC Shortwave World Service to SK I don't know about you, but I was a shortwave listener or SWL'er long before I obtained my ham ticket. Like most kids in the mid-40's I listened to the adventure serials on the local AM stations. My family also had a shortwave radio because my Dad was a merchant seaman and we knew that shortwave was a good source of world news. We often tuned into the BBC World Service broadcast late in the evenings. Listening to the World Service was a real adventure. for a six year old and it continue to be so as I grew up. I have continued to listen today. I still get some of the feeling of adventurer whenever I listen over shortwave although I regularly listen to it over the internet and almost every night broadcast over the Mississippi Publish Broadcasting service relay station in Biloxi (WAMH-FM, 90.3 MHz). A story last week in the Guardian Online included a BBC press release that because of budget cuts the World Service was being cut. Initially, shortwave broadcasts of the World Service in five to seven languages were being discontinued. The release also stated that all shortwave World Service broadcasts service would gradually terminated. For many both the adventure and a reliable news source will come to an end. Begun in 1939, the World Service broadcasts were the voice of residence to the impressed of Europe and Asia throughout WW II. It was the voice of the West along with the Voice of America during the decades long Cold War. Now, another symbol of what we knew will be coming to an end. Bill from p.1 provide our primary public service mission that in the end justifies the allocations of spectrum for our use. Don't wait; do it now. Additional details are available from the ARRL at its homepage or just Google the individual bills.

5 Vol. 2, NO 2 The QRM February of 5 This page reserved for YOUR contribution. Remember, The QRM is YOUR newsletter. Without YOUR contributions it will remain blank. You can Help to make it better. There are several things YOU can do that will help to improve it: Tell us what you would like to see in The QRM. Pass on news items you think other members may find of interest. Remember, every- one doesn't get or read every ham magazine; printed or on- line. Just remember to always provide your source. Write a brief review of that new piece of gear. Tell us how you became a ham. Send along a picture of your shack, neat or not. Tell us a little about yourself. Mast of us only know that you are interested in ham radio. We probably don't know much if anything about you or your other interests. The Editor