Some of my ham radio habits are focused on operating mobile.

Some of this probably came from watching the Andy Griffith show when I was a kid.
Deputy Fife is a great role model.

Click here to watch the video.

The post Deputy Fife: Radio Operator appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.

Here is this week’s space weather and geophysical report, issued 2018 Jun 11 0344 UTC.

Highlights of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 04 – 10 June 2018

Solar activity was mostly at very low levels with an isolated C-class flare observed at 06/1100 UTC from Region 2712 (N15, L=176, class/area Csi/080 on 28 May) from just beyond the West limb. The solar disk was spotless from 06-10 Jun. No Earth-directed coronal mass ejections (CMEs) were observed during the reporting period.

No proton events were observed at geosynchronous orbit.

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit reached high levels throughout the period with a maximum flux of 19,491 pfu observed at 06/1705 UTC.

Geomagnetic field activity ranged from quiet to active levels over the period. Solar wind speed was in decline from a negative polarity coronal hole high speed stream (CH HSS) on 04-05 Jun with solar wind speeds declining from approximately 630 km/s to near 450 km/s while total field ranged from 2 nT to 9 nT. The geomagnetic field was at quiet levels on 04-05 Jun. By midday on 06 Jun, an enhancement in total field was observed reaching a maximum of 11 nT at 07/0635 UTC. The Bz component reached a maximum of -8 nT at 06/1820 UTC. The geomagnetic field responded with quiet to active levels on 06 Jun and quiet to unsettled levels on 07 Jun. By 08 Jun and through the rest of the period, solar wind speeds were at nominal levels with solar wind speeds at 400 km/s or less and total field at 5 nT or less. Quiet conditions were observed on 08-10 Jun.

Forecast of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 11 June – 07 July 2018

Solar activity is expected to be at very low levels with a slight chance for isolated C-class flares from 11 Jun-01 Jul with the return of old Regions 2711 (N06, L=288) and 2712 (N15, L=176) to the visible disk.

No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit.

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to reach high levels on 11 Jun and again from 28 Jun-07 Jul due to CH HSS influence.

Geomagnetic field activity is expected to be at unsettled levels on 12-14 Jun and 19 Jun due to weak CH HSS effects. Unsettled to active levels are expected on 27-30 Jun with G1 (Minor) geomagnetic storm levels likely on 28-29 Jun due to recurrent CH HSS effects.

Don’t forget to visit our live space weather and radio propagation web site, at: http://SunSpotWatch.com/

Live Aurora mapping is at http://aurora.sunspotwatch.com/

If you are on Twitter, please follow these two users: 1. https://Twitter.com/NW7US 2. https://Twitter.com/hfradiospacewx

Check out the stunning view of our Sun in action, as seen during the last five years with the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXN-MdoGM9g

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BOOK SALE: Space Weather and Sun Science – get these from Amazon, and help us stay online!

NOTICE: When you buy this (or any item after starting with this link), you are helping us keep our SunSpotWatch.com and other resources “on the air” (up and running!). In other words, you are helping the entire community. So, check out this book:

Here is the link to Amazon: http://g.nw7us.us/fbssw-aSWSC

We’re on Facebook: http://NW7US.us/swhfr

Be sure to subscribe to our space weather and propagation email group, on Groups.io

https://groups.io/g/propagation-and-space-weather

Spread the word!

= = = =

BOOK SALE: Space Weather and Sun Science – get these books from Amazon, and help this service stay online!

NOTICE: When you buy this (or any item after starting with this link), you are helping keep SunSpotWatch.com and other resources “on the air” (up and running!). In other words, you are helping the entire community. So, check out these books:

Here is the link to Amazon: http://g.nw7us.us/fbssw-aSWSC

= = = =

If you are on Twitter, please follow these two users:

1) https://Twitter.com/NW7US

2) https://Twitter.com/hfradiospacewx

= = = =

HOW CAN YOU HELP?

I am working on launching a YouTube channel overhaul, that includes series of videos about space weather, radio signal propagation, and more.

Additionally, I am working on improving the educational efforts via the email, Facebook, YouTube, Tumblr, and other activities.

You can help!

Please consider becoming a Patron of these space weather and radio communications services, beginning with the YouTube channel:

https://www.patreon.com/NW7US

The YouTube channel:
https://YouTube.com/NW7US

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In this episode, Martin M1MRB is joined by Chris Howard M0TCH, Martin Rothwell M0SGL, Dan Romanchik KB6NU and Ed Durrant DD5LP  to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin M6BOY rounds up the news in brief, and this episode’s feature covers interviews from Ham Radio 2018 with Kenwood, Yaesu, ELAD and the World Radio Team Championship.

• Brown University CubeSat Now in Space

• Ham Kids Build - Learn Tech Skills

• Chinese Equipment Driving Down Prices?

• Hamvention Used AM Information Radio Station

• Young Radio Ham Makes Own Integrated Circuits

• FREEDV v 1.3 - 700D Mode HF Digital Voice

• ARRL Articles Of Association and By Laws

• FIFA Football World Cup Amateur Radio Special Event Stations

• Bulgarian First CubeSat Deployed from ISS

AmateurLogic.TV Episode 118 is now available for download.

No matter how many hamfests you’ve visited, it’s hard to top the excitement and variety of gear you’ll find at Hamvention. Join AmateurLogic as we visit Hamvention 2018. We found some unique new products you won’t want to miss. How about a LTE PTT handy talkie that covers all of the US, Canada, or Mexico. Or an Android cellphone with built in DMR radio. We’ve also got the scoop on one of this year’s top food choices. As well as visits and updates from a few friends you’ll recognize.

1:24:47

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YouTube

The new cool digital mode for amateur radio is FT8, made possible by Joe Taylor/K1JT and the WSJT software. At first, FT8 seemed like just the next digital mode to try but it is turning out to have a bigger impact than that. Jeff/KE9V recently posted about the popularity of FT8 here:

FT8 is so far out in front that other digital modes are a foregone conclusion. CW only remains relevant because of its popularity in contests. Even phone, the Holy Grail of wannabe HF operators everywhere, is a nearly forgotten mode compared to FT8.

This reminded me of some of the classic research on adoption of new innovations. What are the factors that cause a new thing to really take off versus languish on the shelf? How do these apply to the quick adoption of FT8?

Diffusion of Innovations

In Diffusion of Innovations, E. M. Rogers lists five factors will influence how quickly a new innovation gets adopted:

Relative Advantage: The degree to which the innovation is superior to ideas it supersedes.

If an innovation is clearly superior to the present way of doing things, people will be more likely to adopt it without too much concern about its usefulness. If it’s not clearly better, people will tend to question whether it is worth the trouble of changing.

Compatibility: The degree to which the innovation is consistent with existing values, past experiences, and the needs of the user.

If an innovation is similar to existing practice and blends in well with user needs and expectations it is more likely to be adopted.  If it requires change on the part of the user or represents an inconsistency with the user’s past experience, it may be rejected.

Complexity:  The degree to which the innovation is relatively difficult to understand and use.

The more complex something is, the more likely people will reject it because “it’s just too much trouble.”  Understandable ideas will tend to be considered more carefully and are more likely to be adopted.

Trialability:  The degree to which an innovation may be tried on a limited basis (in other words, without committing to full-scale, total operational change.)

The easier it is for an individual or organization to try something out without being fully committed, the more likely they will give a new innovation a try.  If the innovation can only be tried with full-scale change and great expense, it will tend to get rejected.

Observability:  The degree to which the results from the use of an innovation are visible and easily communicated to users and other decision-makers.

If the results of an innovation are difficult to measure or see, rejection is more likely.  If the results are clearly visible, then the adopting individual or organization can more easily correlate the results to the innovation.  Generally, a decision-maker wants to be sure that the intended results can be measured, otherwise how can the innovation be evaluated?

Adoption of FT8

It is very clear that FT8 has a strong relative advantage to other modes. Just listen to the many comments from hams like “the band conditions are really bad but I’m still making contacts.” One could argue that FT8 is not that compatible with existing operating habits (think CW or SSB) but the mega-trend of using “sound card modes” is a huge enabler. For some time now, hams have been using the PC platform as a digital signal processing engine, using the sound card to handle the analog-to-digital conversion (and back). Perhaps this traces back to PSK31 as one of the major forces that caused hams to connect their transceivers to their computer. In that sense, FT8 is very compatible with existing sound-card-enabled stations, making it strong on compatibility and trialability. Just load up the WSJT-X software and give it a try. Of course, observability is strong too…now I’m making QSOs when I wasn’t before.

There is a bit of a learning curve with FT8, which could be a barrier to adoption. You need to learn the software and fiddle around with the settings to make it work. But for many hams, this is not a barrier but a fun challenge to take on. Most of us like to try new things, as long as they aren’t too frustrating.

The final point I’ll make is that the popularity of FT8 reinforces my contention that Ham Radio Is Not For Talking. FT8 is all about making a radio contact and does not enable conversations. Sure, most hams like to talk (usually about radios) but when the bands are poor they like making radio contacts via FT8. Making QSOs is king.

Those are my thoughts. What do you think?

73, Bob K0NR

The post FT8 Adoption: The New Cool Thing appeared first on The KØNR Radio Site.