International Museum Weekend

International Museum Weekend

I stumbled across this annual event which has been turned into an amateur radio special event and is spread over a number of weekends in Jun.  

Looking at the list of participants at http://radio-amateur-events.org/IMW/stations.htm it seems a mainly UK based event, but it is touted as being an international one.  

Maybe some of our ZL museums should have a special event station and call sign.  MOTAT in Auckland is definitely one that comes to mind.  Even our local little Settlers' Museum could be activated.

This is the main story:  http://www.radio-amateur-events.org/IMW/

Here are a couple of sites for the event :
http://www.qsl.net/sz2t/j42ose/j42ose.html

https://donegalgathering.com/june/international-museums-weekends/

https://www.gb0snb.com/2015/06/international-museums-weekends/

http://www.nj2bb.org/museum/

NZ Postage Costs rise again on 1 July 2018

The NZ Postal charges for an international envelope are going up again on 1 July 2018. 

The old "Two Green Stamps" will no longer cover the cost of postage, and really hasn't for the last 18 months. 

I suggest all New Zealand hams update their QRZ.com pages and ask for three green stamps to cover the increased cost of postage.

ARRL Handbook

I recently acquired a new (2018) ARRL Handbook.  It is crammed with facts and figures, but unlike the old handbook that I have, a 2010 one, there are no projects to make.  Projects and additional reading material are mentioned, but you have to download them from the ARRL.  

On the ARRL shop page, it’s another US$49.95, but the handbook contains a code that gives you 100% discount and you get about an 800MB PDF file to download.  

The code in the Handbook can be used only once, so if you ever buy a second hand ARRL Handbook, where there is a code on the second page, make sure you get a copy of the download from whoever is selling it.  The file has an installer, but that's not really essential as all the useful data is in PDF format.

With the combination of the handbook and the download, there is certain a stack of information to keep you busy in the evenings, when the propagation is low.

Ham Speak and the Meaning of Ham Life

Have you ever wondered where the use of 73 or the Q codes came from?

Here's a website where you can spend an hour or two, learning the history of the ham terms that are in common use today.

http://www.ac6v.com/73.htm 

It's only 25 pages, so it worth printing it out to study.  Remember, there will be a test on it on Monday.

73

ZL1LC

West Mountain Radio Quarterly

Check out  http://www.westmountainradio.com/pdf/Quarter-2-2018.pdf

This issue includes:

* Teach your Old Radio New Tricks: Shortwave Radio

* FT8 Operating Guide

* Product Spotlight: ISOpwr+

* Digital Mode Happenings

Note for Dave - You need the ISOpwr+ for your external battery and charging system

FT8 DXpedition Mode Trial 5 May 2018

Here's an extract from an ARRL email on the trial of the DXpedition mode of FT8.  Unfortunately it's at unearthly hour for ZLs. Note that the latest version of FT8 is rc4 A third public test of the developing FT8 "DXpedition Mode" is set for Saturday, May 5, the WSJT development group has announced. A fourth "release candidate" is now available, and participants in the May 5 public test should install WSJT-X version 1.9.0-rc4 beforehand. "Once again, the goal is to simulate a rare DXpedition pileup by having many stations ('Hounds') calling and trying to work a designated pseudo-DXpedition station ('Fox'). Everyone participating in the test must use WSJT-X v1.9.0-rc4," Joe Taylor, K1JT, said on behalf of the WSJT development team. Taylor urged participants to "read, understand, and carefully follow" the FT8 DXpedition Mode User Guide, which contains some operating procedure details that differ from earlier versions of the beta mode software. "If you have legitimate access to more than one call sign (spouse, a club call, or whatever), please feel free to call and work each Fox more than once," Taylor said. "The more Hounds, the better; we want the test pileup to be as deep as possible." The third public test will include three 1-hour sessions. UTC Frequency Fox Call Sign Operator 1400 14.090 MHz W1/KH7Z N1DG 1500 14.090 W7/KH7Z AA7A 1600 14.090 K1JT K1JT Any last-minute instructions will be announced on the Ping Jockey Relief chat page. Installation packages for WSJT-X v1.9.0-rc4 on Windows, Linux, Macintosh, and Raspbian Jessie have been posted on the WSJT website. Participants are asked to report their test results and any problems encountered to the WSJT-X development lists on sourceforge.com or to the Yahoo WSJT-X Development Group reflector. You must be a subscriber in order to post to these lists. The third beta release of the new DXpedition Mode has been tested over the past several weeks, including during a public test on April 7. "A few additional bugs were identified and corrected, and the -rc4 release also includes some minor enhancements," Taylor said. "A general availability (GA) release of WSJT-X version 1.9.0 will be announced at a suitable time, probably in the near future. After that you should stop using any -rc# release candidate."

5MHz Becoming Popular and FT8 Taking Over

60 metres

With hams in NZ being allowed to use the 5MHz band, here are a couple of pages that may be of interest.

<tinyurl.com/GB2RS-0514B>

<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/60-meter_band>

And here's the NZART FAQ with all the local details

<http://www.nzart.org.nz/info/60m/60m-faq/>

And the application form <http://www.nzart.org.nz/assets/info/60m/60m-Sub-Licence.pdf>

FT8 Taking Over

Check out the Present and Future with <www.ei5di.com/jt.html>