01/14/2020

ARRL’s new On the Air podcast for those just getting started on their amateur radio journey, will debut this Thursday, January 16, with a new podcast posted each month. The podcast is a companion to the new bimonthly On the Air magazine, which is already on its way to member subscribers. On the Air magazine editor Becky Schoenfeld, W1BXY, will be the host of the new podcast. Both the podcast and the magazine are aimed at offering new and beginner-to-intermediate-level radio amateurs a fresh approach to exploring radio communication.

Listeners can find the On the Air podcast at Blubrry, Apple iTunes (or by using your iPhone or iPad podcast app (search for On the Air), and Stitcher (or through the free Stitcher app for iOS, Kindle, or Android devices). Episodes will be archived on the ARRL website.

Each On the Air podcast will take a deeper dive into the articles and issues raised in the magazine, including advice and insight on topics covering the range of amateur radio interests and activities: radio technology, operating, equipment, project building, and emergency communication.

Supplementing On the Air will be a new Facebook page for those who share a love of radio communication and are looking to learn and explore more about their interests.

The biweekly Eclectic Tech podcast for experienced radio amateurs will launch on February 13. Hosted by QST Editor Steve Ford, WB8IMY, Eclectic Tech will highlight topics involving amateur and non-amateur technology, offer brief interviews with individuals involved in projects of interest to amateurs, and include practical information of immediate benefit to today’s hams. Eclectic Tech will be available via iTunes and Stitcher.

The ARRL Mags apps including QST and On the Air are now live on Apple iTunes and Google Play. The digital edition of On the Air magazine is now live and linked from the On the Air page on the ARRL website

Source: ARRL News

As previously posted, over the next few months, we will be featuring information about our 50 States.

As a Worked All States net, it may be interesting to refresh our memories about the states we hear and/or work on the net. This week we will focus on the state of Georgia, the fourth state to ratify the constitution.

Georgia was founded by James Oglethorpe on Feb. 12, 1733. It was the thirteenth of the 13 original colonies. Georgia became a state on Jan. 2, 1788. Georgia has had 5 capitals:

• Savannah (1777-1785)
• Augusta (1786-1789)
• Louisville (1789-1807)
• Milledgeville (1807-1867)
• Atlanta (1868-present

• State Flower – Cherokee Rose
• Crop – Peanuts
• State Song – “Georgia On My Mind”
• Nicknames – Peach State, Empire State of the South
• Tree – Live Oak
• State HAM – AI4IL
• Georgia is home to the oldest state park in the nation
• Georgia is the largest state east of the Mississippi River
• Georgia was the 4th state to join the Union in 1776 and the 5th to join the Confederacy in 1861
• Wesleyan College in Macon was the first college in the world chartered to grant degrees to women

Coca-Cola was invented in May 1886 by Dr. John S. Pemberton in Atlanta, Georgia. The name “Coca-Cola” was suggested by Dr. Pemberton’s bookkeeper, Frank Robinson. He penned the name Coca-Cola in the flowing script that is famous today. Coca-Cola was first sold at a soda fountain in Jacob’s Pharmacy in Atlanta by Willis Venable.

These are just a few of the interesting facts about Georgia. Have fun working GA as you pursue your W.A.S. or any of the GERATOL Awards and endorsements, that require you contact the Peach State.

From: Larry Phillips – W0FP

We had one nomination for each office.

A motion was made to elect the nominees to office as there were no additional nominations made from the floor.

So our newly elected officers are:

Chairman         W0FP    2026

Vice Chairman  KE9TC  2437

Secretary         AA0ZP  1932

Treasurer          KJ8W    2594

ThanksFrosty

The GERATOL Board of Directors has recently approved a new award for members to pursue. The award is called the “GERATOL INVITATIONAL AWARD”. No GERATOL number is required to complete this award, so all may participate in working toward its completion.

PURPOSE:  To provide all net members, but especially our regulars, an opportunity to pursue a fun, yet challenging award, this season and if necessary next season.   

In addition, the purpose of this award, and perhaps the most important aspect of the award, is to create a level of activity on the net, which results in multiple states checking into the net throughout the upcoming season/s beginning this November, as approved by the GERATOL Board.

DURATION: The Invitational Award is expected to have a finite duration, and will be attainable from November of 2019 through April of 2020.   However, should conditions remain marginal this 2019/20 season, the Board has elected to review the award status, and if need be, extend this award out through 2021. 

ELIGIBILITY: Any amateur radio operator, with Extra Class operating privileges.

REQUIREMENTS: To successfully complete the award a successful applicant for the award must:

1. Invite, then successfully contact at least 25 stations in the Extra Class portion of the 80M ham band (3.6-3.7Mhz), and/or during the GERATOL Net on 3.668 Mhz.
2. Must work an additional 25 stations in the Extra Class portion of the 80M ham band, or during the GERATOL Net on 3.668 Mhz, that were invited there by other operators.
3. At least 25 different states need to be represented by the 50 QSO’s completed in items 1 and 2 above.
4. All QSO’s must be logged, and then listed on the “Invitational Award” application, and submitted along with $5.00 to the Net Awards Manager, KJ8V.  (See GERATOL Website for additional information, and application form)
5. No GERATOL number is required to work toward this award.

RULES:

1. Qualifying QSO’s for item 1.  The invited station must confirm he/she was invited by the station working him/her.  Successful exchange of signal reports and call signs.  All QSO’s must be made in Extra Class portion of Ham Band 3.6-3.7MHz
2. Qualifying QSO’s for item 2.  After being identified as an “invited” station by another net member, a successful QSO would also consist of exchange of signal reports and call signs.
3. All QSO’s must be made in Extra Class portion of Ham Band 3.6-3.7MHz. Applicant must successfully work, by exchange of call sign and signal reports, a minimum of 25 states from items 1 and 2 above.
4. Stations who identify themselves as being “invited” by a net member to the NCS, must identify which member invited them.  The member identified by the invited stations will be the ONLY station allowed to work the invitee, at that time, in order to keep the net check-in process at reasonable levels.   If the invited station agrees to remain on frequency for the net, any other stations may of course work him/her by getting on the work list or if the NCS allows them to work that station before a work list is taken. If they had also invited them, they can add this QSO to their Item 1 total, when they successfully work them, or their Item 2 totals, if they successfully work them, but did not invite them. 
   • It will be the Net Control Stations prerogative, to determine how many stations may or may not work the invited station, prior to a formal “work list” being taken.
   • All decisions on this are final, as determined by the NCS
   • Should anyone need the “Invited” station to complete 48, 49 or 50 for the basic award, or other endorsement or award completion, as always, the operator needs to alert the NCS by stating “48”, “49” or “50”

THANK YOU:

                It is our intention to provide a special THANK YOU to those stations who came on frequency that were invited up by our net members.  We will be talking more about this, as the Award is approved and operators begin working toward it.

Have fun, and above all, enjoy working toward the new award, while bringing new friends and old acquaintences on to the net frequency.

As previously posted, we will be featuring information about our 50 States. As a Worked All States net, it may be interesting to refresh our memories about the states we hear and/or work on the net. This week we will focus on the state of Pennsylvania.

Pennsylvania is the 5^th most populous, the 33^rd most extensive, and the 9^th most populated state. It is located in the northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. Pennsylvania attained statehood on December 12, 1787, becoming the 2^nd state to join the union.

Pennsylvania (nicknamed: the Keystone State) has 67 counties. The state’s capital is Harrisburg. Pennsylvania is the second state, after Delaware, to ratify the Constitution of the United States of America. The Liberty Bell, an iconic symbol of American Independence, is located in Pennsylvania. The bell can be seen in the Liberty Bell Center in Independence National Historical Park. The bell was commissioned from London in 1751 by the Pennsylvania Provincial Assembly. The bell was rung at the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence.

Before the establishment of Washington D.C. as the permanent capital of the United States of America; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania was the nation’s capital between 1790 and 1800s. Did you know that on September 27, 1777, Lancaster, Pennsylvania served as the country’s capital for just one day?

PENNSYLVANIA FIRSTS:

The first computer in the world–The Electronic Numerical Integrator and Computer–was invented at the University of Pennsylvania in 1946.

The first Zoo in the U.S. was opened in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on July 1, 1874.

The first public library was founded by Benjamin Franklin in 1731 in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia is also the place where the first American Flag was sewn in 1777 by Betsy Ross.

These are just a few of the interesting facts about Pennsylvania. Have fun working PA as you pursue your W.A.S. or any of the GERATOL Awards and endorsements, that reuire Pennsylvania.

As previously posted, we will be featuring information about our 50 States. As a Worked All States net, it may be interesting to some, to refresh their memories about the states we hear and/or work on the net. We start the series off with Delaware, often referred to as the “FIRST” state.

Delaware is known as the first state in the United States because it was the first of the original 13 colonies to ratify the Constitution that formed the U.S. government. Prior to this unification, the 13 colonies were all under British rule.

Delaware’s history, however, stretches back much father than its position as the first state. The first Europeans to settle the region were the Dutch, in 1631. They set up a trading post in the area, within a year, however, the original settlers were dead from conflicts with local Indian tribes. In 1638, the Swedes successfully established Fort Christina, the first permanent settlement in Delaware. The Dutch settled in the Delaware Valley again in 1651, establishing New Castle and eventually capturing Fort Christina. After changing hands a few more times, the settlement came under permanent English control in 1674.

Delaware shares a semi-circular border with Pennsylvania. The border was drawn at the time of the original land grants to William Penn from King Charles II and the Duke of York.

The Lady Bug is Delaware’s official state bug.

The Blue Hen chicken is the official state bird. The hens were noted for their fighting ability. Delaware is sometimes referred to as the Blue Hen State.

The peach blossom is Delaware’s official state flower and has prompted Delaware’s nickname as the peach state.

Delaware nicknames include:

The First State; The Small Wonder; Blue Hen State; The Diamond State

So when working a Delaware station, you can dazzle them with your knowledge of their state. Have fun.

Our net history, which may be found on the website as chronicled by Ed Corey, K7OC #1875 reflects the roots of the GERATOL Net. It is of course, primarily a Worked All States net. Check out Ed’s Historical Summary under the HOME button on the tool bar.

As we know, thousands of proud GERATOLers have successfully completed their WAS by working and confirming QSO’s with all 50 states in the Extra Class portion of the 80 Meter band. I wonder how many of us are aware of the history behind those 50 states we worked or are attempting to work. Over the next several months, we will share some interesting facts about our 50 states.

Above is a typical blank map, depicting the 50 states, and used by many operators over the years, as they colored in the states they worked, then confirmed. It is a quick way to determine which states are worked, confirmed or still needed.

Regarding the fifty states, the first state to ratify , and then be admitted to the union was Delaware in 1787 and of course, the last being Hawaii in 1959. A span of 172 years. Hard to believe, especially for the younger folks who don’t recall the addition of HI and AK, who were both admitted in 1959. There are four states that are officially listed as a “Commonwealth” vs a State. Those are: Kentucky, Virginia, Pennsylvania and Massachusetts.

Of course prior to our constitution, we had the original 13 colonies.Seeking independence from England and the British Crown, thirteen American colonies declared themselves sovereign and independent states. Their official flag is shown below. The original 13 consisted of: VA, MA, NH, MD, CT, DE, N.C., S.C., N.J., N.Y., PA, GA and R.I.

We will launch the information regarding our 50 States in the not too distant future. We hope you will enjoy the information, and don’t be bashful about submitting information, corrections, etc. by posting a “comment” to the upcoming POSTS.

WOMEN ON THE RADIO – A ‘FIRST’ WITH A PURPOSE

Listen for a special team of YLs from around the world this month. They’re not just on the air to collect QSL cards, as Jeremy Boot G4NJH explains.

“An international team of YLs is working together through the month of November to put the first “Women on the Radio” Award in the logbooks – as many logbooks as possible. The award and the inaugural event behind it are the creations of Angeles EC1YL who is the founder of the international group Women on the Radio, in cooperation with Erica IZ-ZERO-EIK (IZ0EIK), the editor of QTC magazine which is produced by the Italian Radio Amateurs Union.”

The significance of this event being run through November is also to publicize the United Nation’s ‘International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women’ on November the 25th.

Hams, especially YLs, are encouraged to compete for this award by gathering at least 60 points through contacts with any of the 13 members of the team. They include YLs in the UK, the Philippines, Spain, Italy, the Czech Republic, Chile and the United States.

They are calling “CQ CQ Women on the Radio Award.” For additional details visit w-o-t-r-a dot home dot blog (wotra.home.blog)

Source: Amateur Radio Newsline – Jeremy Boot G4NJH.

I was having problems through out this year on my transmit and could not figure out what it was. We thought we had the issue solve by tracing a loose connection inside the lighting arrestors. Then the problem reared it ugly head again. It is very intermittent. The guy who helps me with my maintenance on my gear can not get to it until midweek. We are going to do some more testing and I will be off the air until we are in testing mode or it is fixed.

If anyone needs Indiana please be patient with me or send me an email and I will let you when I am back on the air.

73
Steve AC9GK

TWO SOLAR CYCLES ARE ACTIVE AT THE SAME TIME:

Solar Minimum is here, and it is very deep. During this quiet nadir of solar activity, something happens that might surprise you: Two solar cycles become active at the same time. Recent shots of the surface displayed this counter-intuitive phenomenon:

This image from NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory shows two active regions on the sun–one north of the equator and once south. These are not sunspots. Instead, they are “hot spots” where magnetic fields have gathered with just enough intensity to bottle-up some glowing-hot plasma, but not quite enough strength to create a full-fledged sunspot.

The magnetic polarity of these two hot spots identifies them as members of different solar cycles (see: Hale’s Law). The southern hot spot comes from old Solar Cycle 24. The northern hot spot comes from new Solar Cycle 25. Adjacent solar cycles always overlap during Solar Minimum and, indeed, this is happening right now.

If forecasters are correct, Solar Cycle 25 will gain strength in the years ahead, ultimately dispatching old Solar Cycle 24. A new Solar Maximum comprised entirely of Solar Cycle 25 sunspots should arrive as early as 2023. Source of article on Solar Cycles: Spaceweather.com

(My comments) So look at the bright side gang. Cycle 24 may be approaching the end of it’s cycle, and Cycle 25 may just be starting up. There are two schools of thought, some suggesting Cycle 25 will be even weaker than 24, and others like the one by Solar physicist Dibyendu Nandi and his Ph.D .student Prantika Bhowmik, are suggesting 25 will be stronger. I’m betting on these guys !! ha ha Based on their model, they expect Cycle 25 to start rising around December of 2019 and peak in 2024. We shall see.

Meanwhile, let’s just hope the noise floor does not continue to rise !!! Ever try listening to your AM car radio these days ? The proliferation of poorly installed and maintained “Solar Farms” in my rural area, is wreaking havoc on reception. How about in your neck of the woods ?