Watch this amazing explosion on the Sun. From sunspot complex 1226-1227 comes an X-ray Flare peaking at a magnitude of M2.5 at 0640 UTC on 7 June, 2011.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KQMrRu8BWDo

This X-ray flare hurled a massive coronal mass ejection (CME) toward the Earth. This not-squarely Earth-directed CME is moving at 1400 km/s according to NASA models. The CME did not deliver even a noticeable glancing blow to Earth’s magnetic field late June 8th or June 9th.

What can be seen clearly in this movie is one of the most spectacular prominence eruptions ever observed. In fact, one could call it a “prominence explosion”. The prominence material expanded to a volume some 75 times as big across as the earth!

This X-ray flare also triggered an S1-level solar radiation storm, causing a long-lasting polar cap absorption (PCA) event. A polar cap absorption (PCA) event affects the propagation of a shortwave radio signal as it makes its way over the polar regions. In short, radio communications on lower shortwave radio frequencies become more difficult, as those radio signals are absorbed by the ionosphere (in the D-region) over the polar regions.

What does this mean in real-world communications? Trans-polar airline pilots may find it more difficult to communicate with regional air traffic control, shortwave radio listeners who want to hear a broadcast from a country by receiving a transmission from a country by way of a transmission beamed over the pole (like, from Europe into the USA via the North Pole), or other such communications, will find those signals all but gone. The stronger the PCA event, the higher the frequencies absorbed over the polar regions, with the greatest absorption occurring at the lower frequencies.

This movie spans the period of time from 0300 UTC through 1556 UTC, and is composed of the 171-Angstrom, 304-Angstrom, and 335-Angstrom wavelength views as captured by the filters of the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA). In this movie, the AIA instruments capture the Sun’s extreme ultraviolet light and reveal a very large eruption of cool gas. It is somewhat unique because at many places in the eruption there seems to be even cooler material–at temperatures less than 80,000 K.

The following is a linked video that is part of this event: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4CsjcUGoaw

Watch as we zoom out to see a total view of the June 7, 2011 moderately-powerful X-ray Flare and Prominence Eruption. This movie will give you a full perspective of the immense size of this prominence eruption as it spews out away from the Sun.

The X-ray Flare peaked at a moderate magnitude of M2.5 at 0640 UTC, but unleashed a huge prominence eruption. The massive cloud of plasma was ejected out into interplanetary space, but missed the Earth. This movie stars with a “close-up” view by the Solar Dynamics Observatory at a combined wavelength view at 94 and 304 Angstroms. Then, the movie views the event further back through the eyes of the COR1 spacecraft (with the SDO AIA 304 image superimposed in the middle). Next, we zoom out to the COR2 spacecraft and superimpose the COR1 and SDO views. Then, we zoom further back to the H1 view… and finally look again at the event close-up.

More info: http://sunspotwatch.com/

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Source: SDO AIA NASA SOHO

Stories you’ll find in our August, 2015 issue:

HF Air Monitoring: Understanding NOTAM Information
By Tony Roper

International air-route safety is everyone’s concern, no more so than with those who use the world’s air space daily—military, commercial and civilian aircraft. To help, the world’s aviation authorities make available Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) widely available. These notices tell all pilots what to expect along their regular routes across oceans and continents. But, they also give clues to air monitoring enthusiasts as to what type of aircraft may be in the air and on the air. Tony explains how to unravel NOTAM information to learn when and where to listen.

TSM Reviews: Whistler WS-1080 P-25 Phase I and II Scanner
By Chris Parris

The last few years have been revolutionary for the world scanning radios. In additional to the great technical strides that the manufacturers have pushed to the electronics market, some names in the scanner world have disappeared and new names have come to the forefront. One name new to the world of scanning is Whistler, of Bentonville, Arkansas. Prior to this, Whistler had previously been known for their line of radar detectors, GPS devices and power inverters, but no scanners. Chris takes a close look at this very capable scanner.

Advanced Radio Noise Filtering using DSP
By Geir Laastad LA6LU

Using the signal of a Norwegian Non-directional Aeronautical Beacon (NDB) Geir shows us how it is possible, in some cases, to achieve almost 100 percent noise-free radio reception with advanced use of Digital Signal Processing (DSP) technology. Using a combination of built-in filters and outboard DSP speakers, Geir describes techniques that are most effective for narrow band CW reception, but will also improve the reception of SSB or AM signals.

Digitally Speaking: Digital Voices on HF Part 1
By Cory GB Sickles WA3UVV

When most hams think of digital voice operation, they think of VHF and UHF repeaters. To be sure, that covers where the vast majority of digital voice QSOs take place. While simplex 2-meter and 70-cm activity is out there, in most areas it subsides once one or two repeaters are established in a given area. But, there are plenty of frequencies on HF where proponents of each digital methodology have established a foothold. Cory tells us where those frequencies are and what you need to get on the air.

Multiple Satellite Reception from a Single Ku-Band Dish (Part 2)
By Mike Kohl

Last month Mike walked us through the theory behind multiple feed horns on a stationary Ku-band dish for reception of Free-to-Air satellite signals. In Part 2 he shows how it’s done; crowding as many as 12 feed horns on one 1.8-meter Ku-band satellite dish that can see 12 satellites positioned from 89 degrees West to 119 degrees West. It requires making a custom feed support and takes meticulous adjustment to get it all right, but so worth it!

Scanning America By Dan Veenaman
Scanning Wisconsin; FCC Field Office Shuffle

Federal Wavelengths By Chris Parris
US Navy HYDRA Systems

Utility Planet By Hugh Stegman NV6H
What’s up with SKYKING?

Digital HF: Intercept and Analyze By Mike Chace-Ortiz AB1TZ/G6DHU
Irish Navy HF Operations

HF Utility Logs By Mike Chace-Ortiz and Hugh Stegman

Amateur Radio Insights By Kirk Kleinschmidt NT0Z
Gensets and UPSs: Play it Smart!

Radio 101 By Ken Reitz KS4ZR
2015 Field Day Report and the C64 Today

Radio Propagation By Tomas Hood NW7US
Sunspots Got You Down? You Can Still Work the World

The World of Shortwave Listening By Robert Wagner VK3VBW
Radio Verdad – Small Voice, Big Heart

The Shortwave Listener By Fred Waterer
Kid’s Shows, BBCWS and CRI

Amateur Radio Astronomy By Stan Nelson KB5VL
Noise in Radio Astronomy

The Longwave Zone By Kevin O’Hern Carey WB2QMY
You Have Questions…

Adventures in Radio Restoration By Rich Post KB8TAD
A Classic Pair of Heathkit Hi-Fi Twins
Part 1: the AJ-11 Tuner

The Broadcast Tower By Doug Smith W9WI
What Happened to WOWO

Antenna Connections By Dan Farber AC0LW
Soldiering on after a Microburst

The Spectrum Monitor is available in PDF format which can be read on any desktop, laptop, iPad®, Kindle® Fire, or other device capable of opening a PDF file. Annual subscription (12 issues, beginning with the January 2015 issue) is $24. Individual monthly issues are available for $3 each.

In this episode you’ll learn:

• how really, really, really important your letters to your representatives are, but especially if you send them through ARRL HQ
• that your HOA rules and deed restrictions are not a ‘private contract’ being abrogated by the federal government through this bill
• how one ham in Mississippi was the catalyst for getting this bill into the Senate
• what the FCC thinks of anything that uses RF anymore
  • but that Chris Imlay W3KD still needs to work with those guys, so he chooses his words carefully
• and more (yeah, sure, every pitch includes the words “and more,” but this time there’s a lot more)

HamRadioNow is available as an audio podcast. You’ll need to load this address into your podcast app:

http://HamRadioNow.tv/hrnrss.xml

73, Gary KN4AQ

There is great entertainment value in ABC-TV’s Jeopardy! program. This author sees educational opportunities everywhere; wouldn’t it be great to be able to play a game like this for a club program or for a review session after a licensing- exam course? A student at Siena College provided a template for a quiz game in PowerPoint; our junque box was large enough for construction to proceed. After two full evenings at the workbench, Ham-Radio Jepperdee was born.

My hardware includes push-buttons, lock-out circuitry, lights, and a sounder. DC power is provided by a wall-wart to terminals shown as circles on the left edge of the schematic. I have constructed both a 6-volt version and a 12-volt version of Jepperdee, and I’m currently building a second 12-volt unit. (I gave one to a cousin who is a teacher.)

The electromechanical relays at the heart of the project are not state-of the-art, but they were immediately available. Anyone wishing to build a device like mine may choose to use solid-state circuitry. The speaker symbol on the right of the figure is used to denote an attention-getting alarm.

Although it can stand alone, my quiz-game gadgetry is more fun when paired with Ham-Radio Jepperdee PowerPoint software. Submitted along with this article is a complete game file. Slides 1 and 2 are introductory; slide 3 is instructional; slide 4 is the circuit diagram (perhaps worth describing during a presentation); slides 5 and 6 are the game boards. The rest of the slides complete the game, and they include many features of the familiar TV show.

Left-clicking on any numerical entry on the game board yields a question; the very next frame gives the answer. [Exception: a player may get the Daily Double banner; the slide gives on-screen instructions.] It requires almost no effort to change the wording on any frame of the PowerPoint; the game can be changed as drastically as necessary to suit any purpose.

Ham-Radio Jepperdee (attached) is meant to be entertaining. On ARRL’s web site at http://www.arrl.org/instruction-exam-practice-and-review, one can find several exam-prep Jepperdee games whose questions have been taken from current question pools. These are entertaining and educational.

Thanks to Phil G4HFU (see earlier post) I have been reacquainted with the old PW adverts that got me dreaming over 50 years ago. I wonder if other blog readers can point me in the direction of old UK magazines and adverts? I was first interested in radio and SWLing in the early 1960s.

Back then, the world was a very different place. The Beatles were still in the future.  We lived under the constant fear of all out nuclear war (I was terrified in the 1962 Cuba crisis) and most amateur DX was by CW or AM. Although RTTY was around, most digital modes were not. Magazines like Practical Wireless, Radio Constructor and Short Wave Magazine were filled with goodies I drooled over, but could not afford. Even now I do not like parting with money for amateur gear unless there is a good chance of getting very many years of good service from it.

Yes, I am trying to sell books. I admit that right up front. That is how I feed my family and pay for Ham gear!

But I also have another purpose in the two new Amateur Radio books I have just published. I continually meet folks who either have considered joining the Ham Radio ranks but simply never followed through. And others who did all the work to get a license, maybe bought a two-meter HT, but never really went any farther in getting the most from our wonderful hobby.

OK, I realize what we all love so much is not everybody’s cup of tea. But I also believe that many who never develop into active Hams drop by the wayside because of four basic roadblocks…real or perceived. (And I am NOT including trepidation about passing the license exam. Anyone too timid to try the test probably wouldn’t take the next steps anyway.)

They are:

1) Putting together a station that would offer a complete and satisfying on-air experience.

2) Putting up an outside antenna.

3) Knowing what to say and do once on the air that would not get them ridiculed.

4) The jargon that has developed over the first century of Ham Radio’s existence.

In my new book, GET ON THE AIR…NOW!, I try to give practical, realistic advice on each of these stumbling blocks. I hope I have been successful because I want to see our hobby continue to grow and prosper.

One way I tackled obstacle #4–the one about jargon and gobbledygook–was to include in the book a complete Amateur Radio dictionary. As I compiled that section, I came up with far more terms than I expected–more than 1400 terms, 1600 definitions, and hundreds of web links–so I decided to not only make the dictionary a part of GET ON THE AIR…NOW! but publish it as a separate stand-alone book. It is cleverly titled THE AMATEUR RADIO DICTIONARY and is, I am confidently claiming, the most complete ham radio glossary ever compiled.

You can see info on both books at www.donkeith.com/hamradio/amateur-radio. The books are available wherever books are sold and in all e-book formats as well as in paperback.

But please consider my thoughts on those four hurdles that I believe keep many prospective Hams on the sidelines. If you agree, jump in and become a mentor, advise newcomers (or old-timers who never get on the air) on overcoming them, and help our wonderful hobby to continue to grow as we dive head-foremost into its second century.

73,

Don N4KC
www.n4kc.com
www.donkeith.com