NJ2X

Mark your calendars.  The Dayton Hamvention® 2012 "Internationally Connected" event will be held on May 18-20 2012 at the Hara Arena in Dayton, OH.

Since 1952 Hamvention® has been sponsored by Dayton Amateur Radio Association (DARA). For many years it has been the world's largest amateur radio gathering, attracting hams from throughout the globe.

Interested in learning more about the Hamvention® experience? Check out this collection of Hamvention® resources on the internet.

An FCC Amateur Radio Technician Class License provides privileges that include all VHF/UHF amateur bands as well as limited operations in certain HF bands (80, 40, 15m bands using CW and 10m CW, voice, and digital modes). 


Some of the activities that Technician licensees enjoy:
Using a small 2 meter band hand-held radio to communicate with other hams in and around their local area.Operating with different modes such as FM voice, digital modes with computers, television, single-sideband voice, and Morse code.Making international radio contacts via satellites.Making contact with astronauts on the international space station.Building and using radio equipment - DIY.Experimenting with antennas, radios, modes, ..."Fox hunting" which is a sport where participants use radio direction finding equipment to locate hidden transmitters.Setting up a location reporting radio (APRS) which uses a radio and GPS.Volunteering with local emergency response organizations to provide radio communi…

Time for some 10m fun under excellent conditions.  The average daily sunspot numbers more than doubled over the previous week's average, rising 73 points to 144.7. Average daily solar flux
was 133.9, an increase of nearly 29 points.  10 meters should be great fun this weekend.
Ten-Ten Spring Digital Contest--Digital, from Apr 28, 0001Z to Apr 29, 2359Z. Bands (MHz): 28. Exchange: Call, name, county & S/P/C, 10-10 number. Logs due: 15 days. Rules

Guglielmo Marconi's was born this day on April 25, 1874 and changed the world forever with his groundbreaking work in radio.

One of the top 10 most important assets to have during a crisis is communication and the information that can be acquired through communication.  Communication can make the difference between life and death in some situations.  It is easy to recognize the high level needs for communication:
Communicate with your family and friendsCoordinate with people that can help youAcquire information about what is happening in your immediate areaAcquire information about what is happening nationallyObtain information from alternative sources (not just the official channels) We are entirely too dependent on infrastructure and services in our daily life and take continuity for granted.  Each new disaster demonstrates that "essential" infrastructure and services are surprisingly fragile and go down when we seem to need them most.
Mobile phonesInternetElectrical gridNatural gasPublic waterSewage treatmentPublic transportationFirePoliceLocal broadcasting (TV and radio) Being well-prepared for …

The next Frequency Measuring Test is scheduled for Thursday, April 19, 2012, beginning at 10 PM EST (0200z, April 20, 2012). Transmitting sites are operated by K5CM, W8KSE, W6OQI and WA6ZTY. The frequencies are near 3575, 7055 and 14055 kHz.  The data entry site for the April 2012 FMT can be found here.  More information on FMT measuring techniques can be found on the K5CM website.

100 years ago today, the RMS Titanic sank in the North Atlantic Ocean on April 15, 1912 after striking an iceberg during its maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York City, USA.

Starting at 12:15 AM Morse code distress signals were sent via radio by Jack Phillips from the Titanic (call sign MGY) including the Marconi standard CQD, "— · — · — — · — — · · " and the German standard SOS, "· · · — — — · · ·". 

CQD CQD CQD CQD CQD DE MGY MGY MGY MGY MGY MGY position 41.44 N. 50.24 W

We were saddened to learn that Jack Tramiel, founder of Commodore International recently passed at the age of 83 years.

Commodore played an important role in development of our interest in computers.  We had the pleasure of working with the early Commodore PET and later the Commodore Amiga 2000.