I got this email from Paul, KF5MJJ, this is an excellent propagation tool! He says:
My favorite is VOACAP:
http://www.voacap.com/prediction.html
Gives future forecasts of MUF based on input of sending and receiving station QTH on global map. Once set up you just click the “run prediction” button and it gives color coded MUF plot against UTC over 24 hours for the chosen month. Takes a bit of getting used to to zoom and move points around, but with a little practice gives good results. Times are in UTC, which is 6 hours ahead right now until daylight savings goes into effect.
Date: Saturday, March 3, 2012
Time: 8AM to 1:30PM — registration begins at 7 AM
Location: Ft. Bend County Fairgrounds, Rosenberg, TX About 30 miles S/W of downtown Houston
Food: Amazing food (breakfast and lunch) will be available and provided by the Larkins Family DX Kid’s Cafe.. Yummy !!
Admission: $5, Children under 14 free. Each paid admission receives 1 free door prize (RED) ticket
Tables: Tables are only $10 each and $5 more if you want power at your tables, if you must have power please get your tables early..Last year the indoor tables were sold out, you can register your tables online Click here Over 120 indoor tables will be available. Pre-registration for sellers allows choice of tables ahead of time and power (500W) if requested at time of pre-registration.
Tailgating: This year we have free tailgating. There is plenty of room at the fairgrounds for this. Buyers will have early access to tailgate sellers before main hall opens at 8 A.M. (Sorry, only service animals allowed.)
Door Prizes (2012): (RED TICKET) Each paid entry will include one door prize ticket, door prizes will be announced throughout the day, those prizes unclaimed will be given away near the end of the hamfest.
Raffle (2012): Raffle (BLUE tickets) for the GRAND PRIZES are separate from the door prize tickets and are available inside for $1.00 each or 6 for $5.00. list of prizes
VE (Ham radio) Testing – Registration for testing will begin at 8AM. Actual testing will commence at 9AM with another session beginning at 10:30. You will need a photo ID, Your ORIGINAL license, and a copy of your License (if upgrading) and $15. Testing is on-site in the Sheriff Department Training Classroom just inside the front gate. Due to the small size of the testing room, tests can only be given to 12 people at a time, we will test as long as it takes to accommodate everyone that shows up for testing! For more information contact John Moore, kk5nu, jwm@hal-pc.org .
FOX Hunt – $100 cash prize!! A fox hunt will be held at 10AM , this is a hunt for a hidden transmitter{s) which will be on the fairgrounds.fox hunt will be held at 10AM , this is a hunt for a hidden transmitter{s) which will be on the fairgrounds..
THE ARRL 10 METER CONTEST — GET ON WHILE THE BANDS ARE HOT!
Ten meters — in case you haven’t heard, is alive in a big way! That
means that the ARRL 10 Meter Contest — coming up the weekend of
December 10-11 — is going to be the one of the best we’ve seen in
years! During this event, many propagation modes will be available:
Sporadic-E will help you work stateside stations, a touch of meteor
scatter in the morning will give you split-second chances to work
stations — you’d better be quick, though! — and DX stations will be
plentiful, thanks to the return of F2 propagation. ARRL Contest Branch
Manager Sean Kutzko, KX9X, said that he keeps hearing from numerous
hams who have been licensed only three or four years, telling him that
they’ve never experienced a 10 meter opening because they weren’t
licensed during the last solar cycle peak: “A common phrase I’m hearing
is, ‘Now I understand what all the Old-Timers in my club were talking
about — 10 meters is great!’ With a concentration of activity for the
contest, there will be an opportunity for the first time in several
years to experience the beauty of a wide-open 10 meter band. With so
much excitement worldwide over the great conditions, the 2011 ARRL 10 Meter Contest could see the highest level of participation in a very
long time!”
I was surfing the BTARS site tonight and ran across this article about the Navy radios we have in our JLFSHS, the RBB and RBC models. It also talks about the matching transmitter. http://www.na5dv.org/?page_id=30
Let me know if you’d like to operate them sometime. Our RBB model is dead but the RBC works very well! It tunes 4 to 27 MHz.
Many thanks to Del, W5QQ for providing this report.
This year marked the 27th anniversary of the Wings Over Houston Air Show. As usual, it was fantastic! The Wings Over Houston Air Show is the fourth largest air show in the United States, and it is always a spectacular show and event.
For Katy Amateur Radio Society (KARS) members the air show is a public service opportunity. It is their opportunity to support a high visibility event by participating in a very dynamic and sometimes high tempo administrative ground support and logistics communications role using their Amateur Radio equipment. When you participate in the Wings Over Houston Air Show you will come away with the strong sense that you have been of service to the Air Show, and that the event management truly appreciate your service. Public service does not get any better.
Mark your calendar for next year’s Wings Over Houston Air Show
26, 27 and 28 October 2012
The 2011 Wings Over Houston Air Show was absolutely spectacular, and some of our members were there supporting the show as a part of the volunteer Amateur Radio communications team. Those that I know of were Scott Reeve, KT5SR, Joe Peet, N5IDF, Sachiko Peet, W5IDF and Del Partridge, W5QQ. It was the second year that Joe and Sachiko worked the show. For Scott and Del it was their fifth year participating in the Wings Over Houston Air Show.
For those of you who were unable to participate this year I have included a link so that you can read about all of the featured performances. http://wingsoverhouston.com/woh_performers.htm and http://www.wingsoverhouston.com/woh_schedule.htm. Be sure to go to these listed URLs and read about what you missed at the 2011 Wings Over Houston Air Show. If you did not see it you missed out. If you didn’t participate as a communicator you really missed out.
Even though it seems impossible to top the 2011 Wings Over Houston Air Show, you can bet that plans are already well underway to make the 2012 Wings Over Houston Air Show even better. This year marks the 100th anniversary of Naval Aviation. For the 2012 Wings Over Houston Air Show the unequaled aerial demonstration team, the United States Navy Blue Angels will be the featured performance. This will be your chance to see the F-22 Raptor, in addition to a line-up of military and civilian air show features that you won’t see anywhere else. Mark your calendar now. Don’t miss this opportunity.
Become part of the Amateur Radio Communications team that supports the 2012 Wings Over Houston Air Show. You’ll use your Amateur Radio skills and see a fantastic air show.
Joe, please be advised the Boy Scout JOTA event went very well. You should be proud of our club.
Mike Brannan prepared and presented a great introduction to the radio merit badge and Ham radio for the scoutmasters. The following hams helped out Saturday : David Land, Charlie, Ron, Peter, Tom, Phil, and I.
We had about 10 scouts and 4 adult leaders. David, Ron, and Peter ran the radio room demo. Charlie brought his go box station and demonstrated it in the training room. The hands on morse code went great.
We received an invitation and request to participate in their district camporee next spring, to set up a station in the field.
Several scouts and scouters want to know dates for when we will conduct the merit badge course. They will contact Mike Brannan.
I’m sorry to say we had ‘no takers’ today for our VE Session. Our 3 VEs were there but no one came to take the test.
We did have a good turn-out for the Boy Scouts which will be covered in another posting.
73, Dave KD5FX
