Ash Chaabane, 3V/KF5EYY, reports that a new Reverse Beacon Network (reversebeacon.net) node has been successfully installed in Tunisia. There will soon be an Algerian and Libyan node when logistics permit. The Tunisian node consists of a DX Engineering ARAV4-1P active vertical antenna (see the photo, contributed by Ash), a Red Pitaya 122-16 SDR, and CW Skimmer software by VE3NEA. You can see the stations reported on several bands by the new node at https://dxcluster.ha8tks.hu/azimuthal_map/index.php?c=3V/KF5EYY&t=de. This node was part of a Yasme Foundation (yasme.org) project to install more RBN nodes in out-of-the-way places not currently home to a receiver. The project aims to support both the amateur radio community and spaceweather/geophysics research community with propagation information from around the world and raise awareness of amateur radio's long-standing history of supporting science. Additional nodes are planned for the Caribbean, South Pacific, and Russia, while other groups are installing nodes in Australia.
Video recordings of the third annual HamSCI Workshop are now available through the Ham Radio 2.0 YouTube Channel. The 2020 HamSCI Workshop for amateur radio operators and professional scientists was held Friday and Saturday, March 20-21, 2020, virtually on Zoom at The University of Scranton. The theme of the workshop was “The Auroral Connection,” and included addresses by guest speakers, poster presentations, and demonstrations of relevant instrumentation and software.
If you’ve come to https://k9la.us because of your interest in propagation, the following is a mini-guided tour to help you navigate to the material you’re interested in. The home page gives a basic introduction, and new items and relevant old items are listed here (usually at the beginning of each month). On the left side of the home page are links that contain material specific to certain aspects of propagation in our Amateur Radio hobby. The Monthly Feature link offers articles about a myriad of topics. These topics are often tied to observations of ionospheric propagation and measurements of solar and ionospheric data. Some important topics that have been covered are the new sunspot numbers (the April 2016 document), the ongoing study of gravity waves and travelling ionospheric disturbances (the March 2020 document) and a look at propagation on our 630-meter and 2200-meter bands (the December 2018 document). As a side note, many HamSCI participants are involved in the gravity wave/TIDs studies.
HamSCI is seeking volunteers, especially in the Eastern Hemisphere, to help us collect data during the annular solar eclipse on June 21. There will be two data collection periods: A practice/control period on June 14 for participants to get their stations in order, and the main data collection period from June 20-22 UTC.
Much of HamSCI research looks at communications in the High Frequency (HF, 3-30 MHz) radio bands. The HF bands allow for both global communications and techniques for remote sensing the ionosphere and space. The HF bands have seen a resurgence in recent years, as new modulation techniques are developed and people realize the importance of diversifying their communications infrastructure. Paul Denisowski, KO4LZ, engineer for Rohde & Schwartz North America recently wrote a white paper entitled, "The Rebirth of HF". This paper is made available here with permission from Dr. Ulrich Rohde, N1UL. Also available is a presentation by Dr. Rohde on Emerging Trend in 5G, IoT and SDR.
The 2020 HamSCI Workhop will go on! We are moving to an all-digital workshop using Zoom Webinar Services. Registration and participation is free and open to all. Exact details on how to register and participate will be posted to hamsci.org/hamsci2020 no later than Wednesday, March 18th. To prepare and make sure you are ready to participate in the 2020 HamSCI Workshop, please visit the Zoom Website and create free account.
As of March 11, 2020, we have continued to monitor the coronavirus situation and find that it is no longer feasible to hold an in-person HamSCI workshop this year. This has been a very difficult decision to make, as a tremendous amount of planning and effort by many people have gone into preparing for the workshop. We will refund all registrations for this event. Please take this time to cancel any travel arrangements you may have made to attend the workshop.
Registration is now open for the third annual HamSCI Workshop. The 2020 HamSCI Workshop for amateur radio operators and professional scientists will be held Friday and Saturday, March 20-21, at The University of Scranton. The theme of the workshop is “The Auroral Connection,” and will include addresses by guest speakers, poster presentations and demonstrations of relevant instrumentation and software. All ham radio operators, scientists, and people interested in ionospheric and space physics are welcome to attend.
The TangerineSDR is the TAPR-HamSCI joint project to create a software defined radio that meets the joint needs of the amateur and scientific communities. The TangerineSDR is slated to be at the heart of the high-performance version of the HamSCI Personal Space Weather Station. In his January/February 2020 QEX article, TangerineSDR Chief Architect Scotty Cowling WA2DFI explains the requirements and use cases of the TangerineSDR. Full text of the article is availble here. Reprinted with permission; copyright ARRL.
This week, many HamSCI members are presenting their research at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall Meeting in San Francisco. The AGU Fall meeting is one of the largest geoscience meetings in the world, and consists of about 24,000 attendees. The scientific program includes sessions pertaining to all areas of geophysics, including space weather, the solar wind, auroral activity, the ionosphere, and the neutral atmosphere. Below is a list of selected presentations and sessions being given by HamSCI members, or of general interest to ham radio operators. The complete scientific program is available here.
Read more for a selected list of presentations by and/or of interest to HamSCI.
