Sunday, December 30, 2018

Cortland Hamfest - Marathon, NY - Saturday 1/12/18


One of the first Upstate NY Hamfests of the new year!

WHAT:    Cortland Winter Hamfest
WHEN:    January 12, 2019, 7am - Noon
WHERE:  Marathon Civic Center, 16 Brink St. Marathon NY

Sponsored by the Skyline Amateur Radio Club of Cortland, NY

Admission: $5.00 each, 12 and under free. Tables: $5.00 each plus admission

Please note: We are unable to offer VE testing this year.

More info: http://www.arrl.org/hamfests/sarc-winter-fest

Directions: (Signs will be posted)
From Syracuse (north): I-81 south to Marathon exit 9. Turn left on to Route 11 south. At the traffic light, turn right on to route 221 west. Turn left on to Peck St. immediately before the green steel deck bridge.
From Binghamton (south): I-81 North to Marathon Exit 9.Turn left on to route 221 west. Go straight through the traffic light. Turn left on to Peck St. immediately before the green steel deck bridge.
From Ithaca: Route 13 east to route 38 south to route 221 east. Turn right on to Peck St. immediately after the green steel deck bridge.

--
Andrew C Slaugh KB2LUV - Secretary

Friday, December 28, 2018

Listen to VE0JS on her RTW sailing attempt

Jeanne Socrates - Maritime Mobile on her Round The World (RTW) Record Setting Sail 


Jeanne Socrates; VE0JS is about 3 months into her around-the-globe voyage that could set a new world record. The 76-year-old sailor set sail from Victoria BC, Canada in early October aboard her 38-foot sail boat.Jeanne is attempting to the be the oldest person to sail solo, unassisted and non-stop around the globe. She already holds the record as the oldest woman to circumnavigate the globe.

Socrates has made two attempts to be the oldest person to sail alone, but has experienced several challenges during her initial voyages. Well underway on her current attempt, Socrates officially crossed the equator on November 4th and the tip of Africa on December 20th.


If all goes according to plan, Socrates is aiming to circumnavigate the globe in eight months which would bring her back to Victoria in May of 2019. Check out her progress, radio schedule and other trip details on her QRZ link below:

Jean's QRZ page:
https://www.qrz.com/db/VE0JS/?mlab=

Check out her latest status update on her blog: 
https://svnereida.com/blog


Saturday, December 22, 2018

Holiday Serenade on Sideband Set from Antarctica


Each year, volunteers at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, celebrate the holidays by serenading those at the remote, Antarctic field camps via HF radio. This year, ham radio operators and SWLs around the world are invited to listen in and email listener reports. The broadcast will be on Sunday, December 23, 2300 UTC [6pm EST] (December 24, 1200 New Zealand Time), on 7,995 kHz USB.

Email reports to Nathaniel Frissell, W2NAF. Request QSLs via W2NAF on QRZ.com.

(from the ARRL website)


McMurdo Station is a real-life U.S. Antarctic research center on the south tip of Ross Island, which is in the New Zealand-claimed Ross Dependency on the shore of McMurdo Sound in Antarctica.

McMurdo Station webcams and info:
https://www.usap.gov/videoclipsandmaps/mcmwebcam.cfm

More station info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McMurdo_Station

Sunday, December 16, 2018

Canadian National Parks On The Air - 2019

Much like the NPOTA 2017 here in the USA, Canada will begin its own version on January 1st 2019.


From the CNPOTA web site:

Well hello hams from all over the world. Welcome to the Canadian version of working Parks and Historic Sites managed by Parks Canada. This is the brainchild of a small dedicated group of Hams in the Halifax, Nova Scotia area. We are all volunteers and we have a $0.00 budget to make all this happen.

We needed and received moral support from Radio Amateurs of Canada ( RAC ) and Parks Canada to welcome hams to come and operate at Historic Sites and Parks as listed elsewhere on this site. It is also very important to have Hams from all over the world chasing these adventurous operators  while operating in these Parks & Histor

More info at: https://cnpota.ca/

Thursday, December 13, 2018

Shortwave News and Information - SWLing Post blog

I know a lot of people say that shortwave listening is dead, but I would tend to disagree. Though its not what it once was, there is still a lot of interesting content out on the low bands. If you want to know the real state of SWL and get the latest news and reviews, we would suggest you check out the SWLing Post blog (https://swling.com/blog/ ).

The SWLing Post is a community of shortwave radio and amateur radio enthusiasts sharing shortwave radio reviews, news, broadcasting, pirate radio, numbers stations, interviews, and much more.

They aim to provide quality content in the form of:
- Everything radio, with a focus on the HF/Shortwave portions of the spectrum
- International broadcasting news
 - Amateur radio news
- Interviews
- The internet and, specifically how it influences radio broadcasters
- The history and future of shortwave radio
- Shortwave radio reviews

Wednesday, December 5, 2018

Great Radio publication!


I recently received my December issue of The Spectrum Monitor (TSM). I really look forward to getting this publication each month! I am a charter subscriber since its beginning in 2014. It is very similar to the former Monitoring Times magazine which discontinued publication in 2013.
Check out TSM on their web site at: http://www.thespectrummonitor.com/index.aspx

TSM is usually around 100 pages and is packed with the latest on Amateur Radio, Shortwave, Scanning, Satellites, Radio/TV, Vintage radio, etc. The news and articles are always up to date and relevant. TSM is available only in PDF format and can be read on any device capable of opening a PDF file. I read TSM both on my tablet and PC. I also occasionally print out interesting articles that I might need for future reference in the shack.

The TSM publisher, Ken Reitz KS4ZR, is the former managing editor, features editor, columnist and feature writer for Monitoring Times. As well as a former feature writer and columnist for several other publications. TSM has some very experienced and talented writers that do a great job of covering many interesting topics each month! (learn more about the TSM staff here: http://www.thespectrummonitor.com/about-us.aspx )

Check out an older SWLing blog post review of TSM: https://swling.com/blog/2014/12/the-spectrum-monitor-only-24-for-a-years-subscription/

Saturday, December 1, 2018

Winter Field Day - January 26-27, 2019


Its not too early to start planning for Winter Field Day 2019. Winter Field Day is coming up on January 26-27, 2019 and is an opportunity to hone your winter outdoor operating skills.

Purpose: To encourage emergency operating preparedness in the winter.

When: Winter Field Day runs for 24 hours during the last full weekend in January each year from 1900 UTC (2pm EST) Saturday to 1900 UTC (2pm EST) Sunday. For 2019, the dates are January 26th and 27th. On all the bands and modes, except the WARC bands.

Winter Field Day rules: https://www.winterfieldday.com/rules


We are back! The Winter Field Day Association brings you Winter Field Day.

Join Us on Saturday, January 26 at 1900z (2:00 PM EST) until Sunday, January 27 at 1900z (2:00 PM EST). 

We have changed the rules so now it will be similar to ARRL Field Day. For example the exchange will be WX4ET 1O TN, for the Multi Ops. It will be by the number of stations, for example WX4TN 10O TN.




Operate solo, in pairs, or as a team (multi) from home, a remote location, indoors, or outdoors... it's up to you! Earn bonus points for outdoor operation, non-commercial power, and remote locations. Winter Field Day is a perfect opportunity for your club or team to put together an outing.

Check us out on the web at www.winterfieldday.com and we are also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/groups/winterfieldday/

If you post on Twitter and/or Facebook, use the hashtag #WFDA19

Hope to hear you calling CQ WFD on the bands on Winter Field Day 2019 !!!!