Podcasts about earth moon earth

GB2RS News Sunday the 3rd of December 2023 The news headlines: ITU World Radiocommunication Conference 2023 update Youth country representatives sought YOTA month has begun   The 2023 World Radio Conference has reached the halfway point in its four-week deliberations. After numerous meetings, the 23cm topic has made progress at the sub-working group level, and the outcome is expected to progress up the WRC committee structure for adoption. Meanwhile, attention is also being paid to a wide variety of other current and future agenda proposals where amateur frequency allocations are in scope, from HF and VHF upwards into the microwave bands. IARU President Timothy Ellam, VE6SH arrived to support the amateur radio team at the Conference and was able to record an ITU interview which is available online. The RSGB special focus page continues to have regular updates and additional details. You can find the page at rsgb.org/wrc-23 The RSGB is looking for four licensed radio amateurs to help raise the profile of wireless communication amongst young people. Initially, we're looking for RSGB members based in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to engage young people in the hobby. Volunteers in these new roles will represent the RSGB at externally organised events and will plan and deliver outreach events. If you have plenty of ideas, a passion for getting young people involved in amateur radio and experience of running small-scale events, we would be very keen to hear from you. For full details of these roles visit rsgb.org/volunteers and for an informal discussion please email RSGB Board Director, Ben Lloyd, GW4BML via gw4bml@rsgb.org.uk Youngsters on the Air month has now begun. Callsign GB23YOTA is active for the duration of the month, with a range of groups, clubs and individuals having reserved operating slots. Cray Valley Radio Society is active with the callsign between 12 pm and 6 pm today, the 3rd. Tomorrow, Monday the 4th of December, Wick High School is the first of several schools this week to be operating GB23YOTA. It will be on the air between 8 am and 5 pm. Sandringham School will be active on Wednesday the 6th of December between 8 am and 4 pm, as well as Mallaig High School who will be hosting the callsign on Thursday the 7th of December between 8 am and 3 pm. Finally, for this week, the RSGB National Radio Centre will be operating as GB23YOTA on Saturday the 9th of December between 9 am and 5 pm. Remember to listen out and have a QSO with a young radio amateur on the air. If you'd like to get involved, you've still got time. Email Jamie, M0SDV at yota.month@rsgb.org.uk to register your interest or ask for further information.  The latest RSGB 2023 Convention video to be released is three presentations in one, on the topic of the 23cm band. Barry Lewis, G4SJH talks about amateur and RNSS coexistence in the 23cm band, then John Worsnop, G4BAO considers how the possible RNSS changes will affect narrow band DX and Earth Moon Earth operation. Finally, Dave Crump, G8GKQ looks at the future of ATV on the 23cm band. These presentations were given before the WRC23 conference, and final arrangements will depend on the WRC23 outcome. You can watch the presentation on the RSGB YouTube channel at youtube.com/theRSGB The last of the RSGB's Tonight@8 webinars for 2023 is on Monday the 11th of December. It focuses on amateur radio construction and the RSGB Construction Competition. Jenny Curtis M7JNY, Colin Murray GM4EAU, and David Law G0LBK will talk about the projects they worked on and why they decided to submit them to the RSGB Construction Competition in recent years. If you're interested in trying something new or are wondering whether to submit your construction project to the RSGB competition, this webinar is for you! Watch live on the RSGB YouTube channel or special BATC channel and ask questions via the live chat. To find out more go to the RSGB website at rsgb.org/webinars The RSGB Emerging Technology Coordination Committee members will be taking a break from processing Notices of Variation and enquiries from the 20th of December until the 3rd of January. They will reply to emails after that but please be patient as they work through any backlog. When G-QRP Club Secretary Dick, G0BPS, heard about the Radio Communications Foundation initiative to pay for 60 RSGB Foundation exams taken by young people in full-time education, he asked if the Club could help out. The Club Committee, minus Chairman Steve G0FUW, who is also an RCF Trustee, agreed to sponsor an additional ten exams. The RCF now has the funds and awaits applications from young people who would benefit from a little help in getting started in amateur radio. The G-QRP Club is devoted to low-power communications and has over 4,000 members, mostly in the UK, but also in pretty much every corner of the world. Further information can be found at gqrp.com   And now for details of rallies and events The Bishop Auckland Radio Amateur Club Rally is taking place today, Sunday the 3rd of December. The event is happening at Spennymoor Leisure Centre, High Street, Spennymoor, County Durham, DL16 6DB. The doors open at 10.30 am, with disabled access from 10 am. For more information contact bdingle@hotmail.co.uk Also taking place today, the 3rd, is the Royal Wootton Bassett Swapmeet and Auction in Swindon, Wiltshire. There will be approximately 25 tables of items available from private sellers as well as bring-and-buy tables. The auction will include around 300 lots. Location details and event times are on the Event Location page at bvws.org.uk The Mid Devon Amateur Radio and Computer Fair will take place on Saturday the 9th of December. The venue will be Winkleigh Sports and Recreation Centre, Mid Devon, EX19 8HZ. It will run from 9 am to 2 pm. Entry is £3 but there is no charge for partners and under 16s. For more information, or to book a table, contact Phil, G6DLJ via email at philbridges@hotmail.com The Sparkford Wireless Group Tabletop Rally, in aid of the RAIBC, will take place on Thursday the 28th of December from 9.30 am to 1 pm. The event will be held at Davis Hall, Howell Hill, West Camel near Yeovil, Somerset, BA22 7QX. Entry is £3 and free parking and refreshments will be available. For more information, email Bob via wjh069@gmail.com   Now the Special Event News Datta, VU2DSI is active as AU2JCB until the 11th of December to commemorate the birthdate of Indian physicist and radio pioneer Jagadish Chandra Bose who was born on the 30th of November 1858. He will operate SSB on the 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10m bands, and FM on the 10 and 6m bands. QSL direct to his home call. A60WRC is the special callsign in use by members of the Emirates Amateur Radio Society during the ITU World Radiocommunication Conference 2023 which is ongoing until the 15th of December. Individual operators may append a serial number to the special callsign, and operate as, for example, A60WRC/1. See QRZ.com for more information. Special event station VP8FLY is operating throughout the month of December to mark the 75th anniversary of the Falkland Islands Government Air Service. For more information visit QRZ.com   Now the DX news Burkhard, DL3KZA is active as YB9/DL3KZA from Sumbawa Island, OC-150, until tomorrow, the 4th of December. QSL via home call, direct or via the bureau. Maurizio, IK2GZU is active as 5H3MB in Tanzania until the 8th of December while doing volunteer work at the Ikelu Hospital and Ilembula Orphanage. In his spare time, he operates SSB, CW and digital modes on the 80 to 10m bands. QSL via Club Log's OQRS, Logbook of the World, eQSL, via IK2GZU directly or via the bureau.   Now the contest news Today, the 3rd, the 144MHz Affiliated Societies Contest runs from 1000 to 1400UTC. Using all modes on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Tuesday the 5th of December the 144MHz UK Activity Contest runs from 2000 to 2230UTC. Using all modes on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. Also, on Tuesday the 5th of December, the 144MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 1955UTC. Using FM on the 2m band, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. On Wednesday the 6th, the 144MHz FT8 Activity four-hour Contest runs from 1700 to 2100UTC. Using FT8 on the 2m band, the exchange is a report and four-character locator. Also, on Wednesday the 6th, the 144MHz FT8 Activity two-hour Contest runs from 1900 to 2100UTC. Using FT8 on the 2m band, the exchange is a report and four-character locator. Stations entering the four-hour contest may also enter the two-hour contest. The UK Six Metre Group's Winter Marathon started on Friday the 1st of December 2023 and runs until Wednesday the 31st of January 2024. Using all modes on the 6m band, the exchange is signal report and locator. The ARRL 160m Contest started at 2200UTC on Friday the 1st of December and ends at 1600UTC today, Sunday the 3rd of December. Using CW on the 160m band, the exchange is your signal report. American and Canadian stations also send their ARRL or RAC section. The ARRL 10m Contest starts at 0000UTC on Saturday the 9th of December and ends at 2359UTC on Sunday the 10th of December. Using CW and Phone on the 10m band, the exchange is signal report and serial number. American, Canadian and Mexican stations also send their state or province code.   Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA, and G4BAO on Thursday the 30th of November 2023 We were lucky last week – the solar flux index remained quite high and, after the geomagnetic upsets around the 25th, we had settled conditions, with the Kp index below two. Unfortunately, it looks like that is all about to change. On Tuesday the 28th, two M-class solar flares and associated coronal mass ejections caused a plasma cloud to be directed towards Earth. It is expected to catch up with an earlier coronal mass ejection, or perhaps arrive shortly thereafter. Moderate G2 storming with a chance for strong G3 storming can therefore be expected, with an increased Kp index. If this wasn't bad enough, a very large coronal hole is rotating into an Earth-facing position as well. This became geo-effective on the 2nd of December, and we can therefore expect any associated plasma in the solar wind early next week. Just how bad it will be is hard to say as it will largely depend on the interplanetary magnetic field of the plasma coming off the Sun. If it's north-facing we might just dodge the bullet but, if it is south-facing, we can expect significant auroral displays and propagation to match. Either way, it will be worth keeping an eye on solarham.net and also the upper HF bands for signs of auroral-type activity. After an initial surge in the MUF, we can expect band conditions to decline for at least a day or two. So, all in all, then, we can expect the bands to be disrupted at the end of this weekend ending the 3rd of December. Next week NOAA predicts the worst will be over by the 8th of December, but we are in uncharted territory and can expect anything to happen. So, work the HF DX if and when you hear it! On a side note, we are now heading towards winter propagation conditions so expect to hear DX activity on Top Band and 80m at night and especially around sunrise. The 40m band may also throw up some surprises during late afternoon.   And now the VHF and up propagation news The weak but cold easterly pattern is providing some sharp frosts, and scattered showers suggest that Tropo is not likely. However, the overnight cooling temperature inversion inland, or anywhere away from the East Coast, could see temporary Tropo develop overnight and up to about mid-morning. The showers themselves are mostly fairly shallow and don't look wonderful from a rain scatter perspective. All of this changes by mid-week as low pressure starts to dominate again and really takes control for the rest of the coming week. This will bring stronger winds, spells of heavy rain and a return to milder air again. It does not, however, encourage thoughts of Tropo becoming a big player next week! Don't forget to check in the early mornings for random meteor scatter opportunities and keep an eye on the Kp index for possible aurora. This is the better option with such an active Sun at the moment and, as we said earlier in the HF report, seems to be a strong player as we finish this first weekend of December. For EME operators, Moon declination is positive and falling, going negative on Thursday the 7th. Monday the 4th is apogee when the Moon is furthest away so expect path losses to be at their highest. 144MHz sky noise is low all week. And that's all from the propagation team this week.

E3A Electromagnetic waves: Earth-Moon-Earth communications, meteor scatter, microwave tropospheric and scatter propagation, aurora propagation, ionospheric propagation changes over the day, circular polarization. 55:43

E3A Electromagnetic waves: Earth-Moon-Earth communications, meteor scatter, microwave tropospheric and scatter propagation, aurora propagation, ionospheric propagation changes over the day, circular polarization. 55:43

E3A Electromagnetic waves: Earth-Moon-Earth communications, meteor scatter, microwave tropospheric and scatter propagation, aurora propagation, ionospheric propagation changes over the day, circular polarization. 55:43

Doug K6JEY returns to talk about Earth Moon Earth operations.   Show notes to come.

Ham Radio EME with a Portable, Small Dish - EME is Earth-Moon-Earth, basically bouncing a signal off of the moon for communications. In this video Rex, VK7MO, shows us his small and portable setup with a dish for Ham Radio communications.

Ham Radio EME with a Portable, Small Dish - EME is Earth-Moon-Earth, basically bouncing a signal off of the moon for communications. In this video Rex, VK7MO, shows us his small and portable setup with a dish for Ham Radio communications.

GB2RS NEWS Sunday the 1st of March 2020 The news headlines: Guidance for limiting exposure to EMF US amateurs respond to 3.4GHz threat Ofcom’s policy on two-letter callsigns Following last week’s launch of an Ofcom Consultation on EM Field exposure, the RSGB has released a briefing paper for all UK amateurs. This gives more details as the proposals involve a change to licence conditions for any station operating with greater than 10W EIRP. The Society has formed a team to prepare a considered response to Ofcom’s Consultation and will be offering further guidance ahead of the 15th of May deadline. The briefing paper is available at www.rsgb.org/emc-papers. A proposal by the FCC in the USA to remove the entire amateur 3.4GHz allocation without compensation has seen strong opposition as ARRL, AMSAT and hundreds of individual amateurs have filed comments in response to a current consultation. The ARRL highlighted decades of active usage and experimentation including mesh networks, amateur television, weak signal long-distance communication, Earth-Moon-Earth or moonbounce communication, propagation research and emerging amateur satellite developments. In its comments, ARRL argued that it would therefore be premature to remove the current secondary amateur radio allocation. The FCC is also inviting comments on changes to the 5.9GHz band that has an amateur allocation in the USA. Ofcom has recently updated its website to clarify its policy relating to the issuing of callsigns with two-letter suffixes. The notes can be found at tinyurl.com/gb2rs-ofcomcall and selecting Amateur Radio Callsign Allocation. The first lecture as part of the Marconi Centenary 2020 has been announced by the Chelmsford Civic Society. Professor Danielle George has kindly agreed to speak at Anglia Ruskin University, Bishop Hall Lane, Chelmsford, CM1 1SQ on Tuesday the 31st of March at 2pm. The lecture is free to everyone but must be pre-booked. Go to https://tinyurl.com/eventbrite-marconi. The coronavirus has impacted a couple of DXpeditions due to a requirement to spend 14 days in quarantine in Hawaii or Guam before entering some of the smaller Pacific island nations. Swains Island, OC-200, and T30ET from Tarawa Atoll, OC-017, are postponed until the autumn, and planning for Pulap, OC-155, and Satawal, OC-299, both new Islands in Micronesia is on hold. The next section in the 2020 SOTA Challenge is the Digital Voice and will take place in the first week of March. All SOTA QSOs completed on DMR, C4FM, D-Star or FreeDV will automatically attract scoring credit in the Challenge. As repeaters and gateways are not valid for SOTA contacts, all QSOs will need to be simplex. There is substantial C4FM activity planned in the Shropshire Hills today, the 1st of March, and in the Clywydian Hills on Saturday the 7th of March. On the evening of Monday the 2nd of March, there is a SOTA DV activity night. Several activators will be out on the summits with DV modes and will be supported by Stockport RS and Macclesfield & District RS, chiefly on C4FM mode on the 2m band. On the evening of the 4th of March, another SOTA DV activity night takes place, this time supported by the Lancashire-based North West Fusion Group. This will be mainly on 70cm C4FM. For more information about Summits on the Air please visit www.sota.org.uk. And now for the details of rallies and events for the coming week Today, the 1st of March, the Exeter Radio & Electronics Rally will be held in America Hall, De la Rue Way, Pinhoe, Exeter EX4 8PW. Doors open at 10.30am, 10.15am for disabled visitors, and admission £2 with under 16s free. There will be trade stands, a Bring & Buy and catering is available on site. Details from Pete, G3ZVI on 0771 419 8374 or by email to g3zvi@yahoo.co.uk. The Pencoed ARC Table-Top Sale scheduled to take place on the 8th of March has been cancelled. The next rally in the diary is the 35th Wythall Radio Club Hamfest on the 15th of March. Please send details of your rally and event plans as soon as possible to radcom@rsgb.org.uk – we give you valuable publicity online, in RadCom and on GB2RS, all for free. And now the DX news from 425 DX News and other sources Rudi, DK7PE will be active as CP6/DK7PE from Santa Cruz, Bolivia until the 6th of March. He will operate CW with a focus on the low bands. QSL via his home call, direct or via the bureau. Yuri, R2DY, Pavel, R2DX and Eugene, RW3FB will be active as EX0QR from the southern shore of Lake Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan between the 6th and 17th of March. They will operate CW, SSB and digital modes on the 160 to 10m bands. QSL via Club Log's OQRS, or via R2DX either direct or via the bureau. Hans, DK8RE, Wolf, DL1CC and Wies, SP1EG will be active as MH0ESP from Jersey, EU-013, between the 7th and 16th of March. QSL via SP1EG. HP1DAV, HP3AK, G4BVY, G4CLA and GD4XUM will be active as H33K from Volcan in Panama between the 2nd and the 13th of March. They will operate CW, SSB and FT8 on various HF bands. QSL direct to HP1DAV; the log will be uploaded to Logbook of The World and Club Log. Phil, N2HX will be active holiday style as PJ4/N2HX from Bonaire, SA-006, between the 1st and the 15th of March. He will operate SSB, RTTY and FT8. QSL via his home call. Now the special event news We have received no details of special event stations operating this week. Please send special event details to radcom@rsgb.org.uk as early as possible to get your event publicised here on GB2RS, in RadCom, and online. Now the contest news On Monday, the 80 Club Championships take place between 2000 and 2130UTC using datamodes only. The exchange is signal report and serial number. On Tuesday the 144MHz FM Activity Contest runs from 1900 to 1955UTC, using FM only. It is immediately followed by the all-mode 144MHz UK Activity Contest from 2000 to 2230UTC. The exchange for both contests is signal report, serial number and locator. The UK and Ireland Contest Club 80m contest runs from 2000 to 2100UTC. This is the SSB leg and the exchange is your 4-character locator. Next weekend the ARRL International DX contest runs for 48 Hours from 0000UTC on the 7th to 2359UTC on the 8th. Using the 1.8 to 28MHz bands the exchange is signal report and transmitter power. US stations also send their State and Canadians their Province. The 144/432MHz contest takes place between 1400UTC on the 7th and 1400UTC on the 8th. Using all modes, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The UK Microwave Group’s Low Band Contest takes place next Sunday, the 8th, from 1000 to 1600UTC. Using all modes on the 1.3 to 3.4GHz bands, the exchange is signal report, serial number and locator. The Worked All Britain 3.5MHz contest takes place next Sunday, the 8th of March, from 1800 to 2200UTC. Entries need to be with the contest manager by the 18th of March. The exchange will be RS plus serial number plus WAB square. Full details of the rules and methods of entry may be obtained from the WAB website www.worked-all-britain.org.uk. Now the radio propagation report, compiled by G0KYA, G3YLA and G4BAO on Friday the 28th of February. Interest in the VP8PJ DXpedition to the South Orkney Islands remains high. The team has now been on the island for one week and many UK amateurs have worked them. At the moment, it looks like beams and linears are the norm for a reliable contact, although they have been heard in the UK on 17 and 20 metres FT8 at -10dB SNR in the afternoon using just loft-mounted dipoles. As they work their way through the pile ups more opportunities to work them may become available. They are currently due to remain on the island until the 5th of March. As always, the point-to-point facility at rsgb.org/predtest will give you an indication of the best times to work VP8PJ from the UK. Conditions have been quite settled with the Kp index moving between one and zero. The Sun continues to remain spotless with a solar flux index of 71. As this report is being prepared there are two small coronal holes on the Sun that are rotating into an Earth-facing position. If these develop, they could cause the Kp index to rise this weekend due to their associated high-speed solar wind streams. This may result in a pre-auroral HF enhancement. Otherwise, NOAA predicts the Kp index may rise again to four on March the 4th and 5th, presumably due to a returning coronal hole. We are now heading towards the Spring equinox, which is a good time for north-south HF contacts. With the Commonwealth Contest on Saturday the 14th of March this may be a good time to try as you won’t have any competition from continental contesters. And now the VHF and up propagation news. It feels like 'groundhog day' for the VHF/UHF propagation prospects with another week of unsettled weather on the way. There are likely to be several occasions when low pressure systems pass by northern Britain, thus bringing strong winds to Scotland again, but with some windier spells in the south too, though mostly not as strong. The principal outcome of this weather pattern is that it leaves no room for high pressure to develop over the UK and therefore no chance of Tropo for yet another week. As before, that means that potential exists for some rain scatter activity on the GHz bands using the heavy rain, hail and snow as good scatter points. Sometimes individually from fast-moving small shower clouds, but also from larger areas like active weather fronts making it easier to latch onto the scattering area. The upper air patterns continue to show strong ‘winter’ jet streams nearby or over the country, so this leads to the slim chance of ‘out-of-season’ sporadic E on 10m and 6m, especially if using the digital modes and, if forced to pick a favoured direction, it would probably be south towards EA and CT. Moon declination reaches maximum mid-week and path losses are falling with perigee a week on Tuesday, so a good week for EME. 144 MHz sky noise reaches 500K on Tuesday but is generally low for most of the rest of the week. There are no meteor showers peaking in the coming week, so keep looking for random meteor scatter QSOs around dawn. And that’s all from the propagation team this week.

Today on Space Radio:We found the Earth! It's on the moon. Oh.Can antimatter be a source of energy?,Does the Milky Way have an active black hole?,Why science is trustworthy,and more!Join the show recording every Thursday at 4pm ET by calling 888-581-0708. More info available at www.SpaceRadioShow.com.Support the show on Patreon.Follow on Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube.Big thanks to my top Patreon supporters this month: Robert R, John, Evan T, Matthew K, Helge B, Justin, Matt W, Justin G, Kevin O, Duncan M, Corey D, Kirk B, Barbara K, Neuterdude, Chris C, Tanya D, George, Tim R, Neil L, Gordon M, Joe R, Neil P, Gabriella G, Tom S, Bryan D, Irene P, Dustin R, Matt C, Iothian53, Steve P, Debra S, Ken L, Alberto M, Ron W, Chris L, Mark R, Alan B, Stephen J, David P, John F, Maureen R, Frank T, Craig B, Jesse A, Ron S, Steven L, Mark R, Jackie R, Ulfert B, Hector P, Dave L, Stace J, S Stark, Richard K, Vladimir Z, Carol S, Stephen M, Grace M, Jeremy K, Russell W, Thomas S, David B, Tamara F, Robert B, and Fr Bruce W!Produced by Greg Moebius at WCBE Radio Columbus.Hosted by Paul M. Sutter, astrophysicist at The Ohio State University, and the one and only Agent to the Stars.

In Can You Ever Forgive Me? Melissa McCarthy stars as Lee Israel, the best-selling biographer of celebrities such as Katharine Hepburn, Tallulah Bankhead, Estee Lauder and journalist Dorothy Kilgallen. In the early 1990s - when she was in her early 50s - Lee found herself unable to get published because she had fallen out of step with the marketplace. Unable to pay the rent (or the vet bills for her beloved cat) she turned her art form to deception, aided by her loyal friend Jack Hock (Richard E. Grant). You Know You Want This is the debut collection of short stories from Kristen Roupenian whose short story, Cat Person, became a viral sensation after being published by the New Yorker in December 2017. It became their most read story ever, with more than 2.6 million hits and counting. Included in this collection alongside 11 new stories which are described as examining "the pull and push of revulsion and attraction between people." Winner of the 2018 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, Martyna Majok’s Cost of Living receives its highly anticipated UK Premiere at Hampstead Theatre starring Adrian Lester and directed by Ed Hall. John, a wealthy, brilliant, and successful PhD student with cerebral palsy, hires Jess, a recent graduate who has fallen on hard times, as his new carer. Across town, truck driver Eddie attempts to support and re-engage with his estranged wife, Ani, following a terrible accident that has left her quadriplegic. As four very different lives collide and entwine, roles are unapologetically flipped, reversed and exposed - who is actually caring for whom? A Place That Exists Only in the Moonlight: Katie Paterson and JM Turner at the Turner Contemporary Gallery in Margate is the largest UK exhibition of Scottish artist Katie Paterson to date - paired by the artist with a group of works by JMW Turner. Works by Paterson included in the exhibition are Vatnajökull (the sound of), Earth-Moon-Earth and a new work, Cosmic Spectrum, the result of working with scientists Paterson creates a spinning wheel which charts the colour of the universe through each era of its existence. And a look at two recent reality television releases; the BAFTA nominated BBC 3 series Eating With My Ex - in which former couples are reunited over dinner to pick over the bones of their failed relationships - and Channel 4's Flirty Dancing which aims to match singletons based on their love of dance. Each hopeful will learn half a routine, taught by Dancing on Ice judge and Diversity star Ashley Banjo, which they will perform as a couple when they meet for the first time. Podcast extra recommendations Simon: Paul Weller - True Meanings, Fiddler On the Roof at The Menier Chocolate Factory, David Bramwell- The Cult of Water Kate: Pamela by Samuel Richardson and Fleabag on BBC3 Alex: Tessa Hadley -Late In The Day Tom: Peep Show on All 4 and Karl Marlantes -Matterhorn

Today on Space Radio:We found the Earth! It's on the moon. Oh.Can antimatter be a source of energy?,Does the Milky Way have an active black hole?,Why science is trustworthy,and more!Join the show recording every Thursday at 4pm ET by calling 888-581-0708. More info available at www.SpaceRadioShow.com.Support the show on Patreon.Follow on Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube.Big thanks to my top Patreon supporters this month: Robert R, John, Evan T, Matthew K, Helge B, Justin, Matt W, Justin G, Kevin O, Duncan M, Corey D, Kirk B, Barbara K, Neuterdude, Chris C, Tanya D, George, Tim R, Neil L, Gordon M, Joe R, Neil P, Gabriella G, Tom S, Bryan D, Irene P, Dustin R, Matt C, Iothian53, Steve P, Debra S, Ken L, Alberto M, Ron W, Chris L, Mark R, Alan B, Stephen J, David P, John F, Maureen R, Frank T, Craig B, Jesse A, Ron S, Steven L, Mark R, Jackie R, Ulfert B, Hector P, Dave L, Stace J, S Stark, Richard K, Vladimir Z, Carol S, Stephen M, Grace M, Jeremy K, Russell W, Thomas S, David B, Tamara F, Robert B, and Fr Bruce W!Produced by Greg Moebius at WCBE Radio Columbus.Hosted by Paul M. Sutter, astrophysicist at The Ohio State University, and the one and only Agent to the Stars.

What use is an F-call? Recently I talked about a digital mode that had the ability to give you an estimated gain of 13dB over Analogue FM. It's the equivalent of gaining more than 2 S-points or like turning up your transmitter power from 10 Watts to 200 Watts. Of course, the receiver at the other end doesn't all of a sudden see their S-meter go up and neither does the power draw from your transmitter spike. The actual transmitted power is still the same and the actual received power is also the same. What's going on for this magic to happen? If you've ever listened to Morse code, not to understand it, I'm not there yet either, but just to hear it, you'll notice that you can detect individual dits and dahs at a very low signal level, much lower than it would be possible to hear an SSB signal in the same environment. The reason that happens is because your ear only needs to detect the presence or absence of a tone. Once you can hear the tone, you can work out how long each tone is and then your brain can decode a dit or a dah. Do that enough and you can decode a letter, then a word, then a sentence. So, under Morse conditions there are two basic variables, a tone or not and the length of that tone. If you had a great filter you could make it possible to filter out all but the wanted signal, making it possible to hear even weaker signals. What we're really talking about here is something called a signal to noise ratio. That is, the difference between the background noise, coming from the atmosphere, the neighbours and the radio itself, and the signal, or the Morse code you're trying to detect. The simpler the signal, the easier it is to hear. Of course there are limitations. You can only key so fast, your radio can only key on and off so fast, etc. What if you could key your radio differently? What if you used multiple tones, could you get the same effect? If you look at JT65, a weak signal digital mode, originally designed to do Earth-Moon-Earth communications, but now widely in use on HF, it does exactly that. Instead of on and off, it uses 65 tones to encode information. It uses a whole lot of mathematics, error correction and the like to ensure that each of these tones is decoded correctly and the message is either conveyed entirely, or ignored. Doing this allows JT65 to work in an environment where the noise is higher than the signal. And get this, the performance is entirely dependent on the software decoder in the receiver. What that means is that as we figure out how to improve software signal processing, the performance of JT65 will get better. The rabbit hole goes deep when you start digging and I can assure you, this just scratches the surface. I'm Onno VK6FLAB

What use is an F-call? In the past I've talked about the difference between the various types of Amateur License in Australia. The three main types in use today in order of increasing privilege are Foundation, Standard and Advanced. The Foundation License, referred to as an F-call, since the first letter after the state number is the letter F followed by three letters, is the beginners license. It allows you to use up to 10 Watts, use some bands and basically dis-allows any digital modes - other than hand-keyed Morse. Other restrictions are that you can only use commercially available radios and you can only home brew stuff outside the radio, power supplies, antennas, SWR meters, etc. The Standard License, considered a step-up from Foundation, allows for 100 Watts, more bands and all digital modes. As a Standard Licensee you can supervise another operator, run your radio under computer control and home brew everything. The Advanced License, the so-called Pinnacle of Amateur Radio Licensing in Australia, is identical to the Standard License in many ways. You get access to 400 Watts, can apply for a kilowatt license, use all Amateur Bands and apply for power to do Earth Moon Earth bounces. The education part of the Advanced License is more onerous, some say considerably more so, than that of a Standard Call, but I'm not at the point where I can comment from personal experience about this. There is a natural progression from Foundation to Standard to Advanced, but the breakdown of Amateur Licences in Australia seems to indicate that Foundation Licensees appear to be skipping the Standard Licence in favour of the Advanced one. I don't have historical data to comment either way, but time will no doubt tell. Why do you hold the License that you do? I'm Onno VK6FLAB

What use is an F-call? If you've ever sat at home wanting to listen to HF but you're radio is out of commission, worse still, you haven't yet got a radio, or your antenna is a project in progress, I stumbled on a way to have your cake and eat it too. I was hunting for examples of a pile-up and I'd found in the past radios that had been hooked up to the Internet that you could tune and listen to. Today I stumbled across something of a different magnitude altogether. Something called Software Defined Radio on the Web, or websdr. A group of amateurs at the Technical University of Twente put up the worlds first websdr in 2007. It was conceived in an attempt to connect the 25m radio telescope in Dwingeloo to the world, for radio amateurs doing Earth Moon Earth or EME contacts, it snowballed from there. So, now you can go to websdr.org, pick from a list of 40 receivers around the planet and listen to what ever frequency is within the station's range. The Twente receiver does 0 to 29MHz, there are UHF, VHF and GHz receivers to be found. The software runs a Java Applet that sits in your web browser displaying either a waterfall or spectrum scope and you can see the whole band at the same time. On your normal radio, you tune to 7.093 and have a listen. If you hear nothing, you move the dial and try again, rinse and repeat until you hear a station calling CQ. With SDR, you can see all frequencies at the same time. The software allows you to switch between modes, so you can decode the signal as AM, LSB, USB, FM, CW, what ever you want. You can set the bandwidth and play with the tuning, all while others are doing the exact same thing on their computer with what ever frequency they're using. Your own radio does one frequency at the time, SDR does them all at the same time and you can zoom in and out, scan around and find the elusive 10m contacts. With one look at the display you can see if 10m is active right now, or if it's a dead duck. The web site again is websdr.org, check it out, use it to tune your pile-up skills for the next contact, or use it to find a station you like, turn on your own radio and have a QSO. Nothing stopping you from turning on several, all tuned to the same frequency and see what the propagation around the world is like either. I'm Onno VK6FLAB