CCARC NEWS 15-30
THE PERIODIC NEWSLETTER OF THE CENTRAL COAST AMATEUR RADIO CLUB
ISSUE No 15-30 18th September 2015
In this Issue:
- MWRS FLAGPOLE Contest
- Two Aussie Balloons Carrying Ham Radio Payloads Launched from California
- Dipole and Inverted V Antenna Basics
- History This Week
- Broke & fixed
- Reminders
1. MWRS FLAGPOLE Contest
September 19th. A fun competition with emphasis on portable operation. The competition immediately follows international “Talk like a pirate Day “. Operate using a portable antenna across multiple modes. Flagpoles are the central theme to this competition and talking like a pirate (or dressing like one) will help your points haul.
http://www.mwrs.org.au/fb-events/international-flag-pole-aka-talk-like-a-pirate-comp/
http://www.talklikeapirate.com/
2. Two Aussie Balloons Carrying Ham Radio Payloads Launched from California
Foil party pico balloon launcher Andy Nguyen, VK3YT, couldn’t resist the opportunity during a work assignment on the US West Coast to release a couple more balloons carrying Amateur Radio payloads. Working for a month at San Jose, Nguyen on September 12 released his out-of-sequence PS-54 mission, carrying a solar powered APRS/Olivia payload feeding a 10 mW transmitter, to test the local environment. He thus became the first to launch such balloons in both the Southern and Northern hemispheres. Nguyen described his debut US flight as “zooming right past the San Francisco Golden Bridge at 8000 meters before spending a day bouncing along the West Coast of California.
“The weather was a bit too rough,” he said. “The tiny balloon took a few dives before gaining altitude again at sunset, then went silent again, though possibly due to antenna damage from the beating it took during the day.” Nonetheless, PS-54 popped up again 3 days later. By 2300 UTC on September 16, the balloon was at 29,238 feet over Kansas and moving east at 45 MPH. This northern hemisphere APRS-only maiden flight was followed by another.
Nguyen released mission PS-53 on September 13, this time carrying a payload transmitting WSPR and JT9 on HF. During a period of favorable propagation, it was tracked by US stations as well as by trackers from as far away as Australia and New Zealand.
Upon leaving San Jose it drifted north to Sacramento, then east across the border into Nevada, covering some 725 km. That balloon now appears to have been lost in desert country, however, due to envelope failure.
Nguyen’s exploits and expertise have captured the imaginations of many US trackers, who mainly follow latex weather-type balloons until they burst and crash to ground. — Thanks to Jim Linton, VK3PC
Source: ARRL News
3. Dipole and Inverted V Antenna Basics
In this video Dave Tadlock KG0ZZ explains how dipole and inverted V antennas work and how to build an hf antenna. Includes tips for construction, mounting and tuning
Watch Dipole and Inverted V Antenna Basics
Source: Southgate AR News
BROKE & FIXED
The Kariong antennas have been damaged and are being repaired.
REMINDERS
This section lists important announcements and possibly items from previous CCARC NEWS editions that are still current and may need your input:
Anyone reading this on the website who is not yet a member of the CCARC, please consider joining by emailing ccarc at ccarc dot org dot au for full details.
For submissions to this newsletter from CCARC club members please email the editor news-editor at ccarc dot org dot au
For what’s coming up in the next few months at the CCARC, please check the club calendar, accessible from the header on any page on the website.
Dave VK2DLS … News & Publicity Officer …
