Ham Radio Services Long Beach California

Explains a lot about what Ham Radio offers.

Live Weatherstream from KI4HEE

The weather station is up and live on weatherunderground. All & all, a very pain free experience. The Weatherwise WS-2080 is impressive, & worth the sub $100 pricetag. I'll be crafting a product review over the next few days for the APN Newsletter and blog, and here, so stay tuned! Meanwhile, go check out the weather conditions around the KI4HEE Hamshack on the edge of Red Hill!

Ham Radio Field Day 2012 is here!

The Scamp Shack in 2005... it'll do it again this weekend too!

The day of days of all of Ham Radio is upon us! Ham Radio Field Day! This weekend, June 23 & 24, Hams all across the nation take their Ham Radio gear and demonstrate operating under field conditions.

The versatile nature of Ham Radio... to set up and operate literally anytime, anywhere, is a valuable aspect of the hobby, and a vital skill of the Amateur Radio Service. From the beginning of radio, Hams have often served as last resort communicators in a disaster, and the ability hasn't lessened in importance today.
That's why the last weekend in June has been traditionally been field day, where Hams take to the field to set up tents, trailers, generators, antennas in the trees, and communicate all over the country.


 This weekend I'll be participating with my friends in the Grand Strand Amateur Radio Club as we set up field operations on the grounds of The American Red Cross Building on the old Myrtle Beach Air Force Base, in Myrtle Beach SC. We will be operating on several ham bands under our club callsign W4GS. Interested in finding out more about Ham Radio or even get a chance to operate? Come join us, we'll start setting up early Saturday morning and start operating by 2PM, and will be operating all night long and into Sunday afternoon. Stop by, have a burger & dog, cool drink and check out how it's done "in the field". '73 KI4HEE

Solar Flare Heads to Earth

Incoming Full-Halo CME
Incoming! The new WSA-Enlil Solar Wind Prediction is calling for a direct CME impact during the middle of tomorrow (March 8). The solar wind is expected to increase to over 800 km/s and Strong Geomagnetic Storming will be possible. This plasma cloud is the result of the X5.4 and X1.3 Solar Flare event very early this morning. In the new movie below, you can see that the plasma cloud is Full-Halo and heading this way.


Arrival Time Update Please note that the expected arrival time of the plasma cloud will be between 0600-1000 UTC.(1AM-5AM EST) This means sometime after 2am EST, we can expect the first signs of the incoming Coronal Mass Ejection   READ MORE HERE

RADIO BLACKOUT INDICATOR

Future MIT Student Launches APRS tracked High Altitude balloon to 91,000 FT!

Erin AK4JG, from Georgia writes: "I decided to send my Tube to the edge of space! I turned it into an Amateur Radio High-Altitude Ballooning project. I used two GPS-equipped ham radio transmitters (APRS) using the callsigns AK4JG-11 (me) and K4ETY-11 (my dad) to send out position packets from the Tube so I could track it on the ground. (The thing I'm soldering in the beginning is one of the trackers.) My dad and I made custom antennas for the radios for the flight. (You see one of them at the bottom of all the footage from the TubeCam.) The camera mounted to the Tube ("TubeCam") for the ride was a GoPro Hero camera, taking 960p HD video. The balloon was an 800 gram weather balloon, filled with Helium. We launched the payload around 1 pm from Lumpkin, GA on January 16, 2012. The entire flight from launch to landing lasted nearly 2 hours. Maximum altitude was approximately 91,000 feet. It landed just east of I-75 and south of Cordele, GA. Ironically, it decided to land in a small patch of trees surrounded by cotton fields. (We were aiming for the fields.) Luckily, it wasn't very high up and we were able to recover everything safely. It was fun!" (: The background song is "Circuit" by Sonic Adventure Project, courtesy of BeatPick.com.

The DIY Magic of Ham Radio

Sea Water Antenna

Here's a method to get around antenna restrictions... build a fountain in your front yard...

Ham Radio & Hurricane Preparedness goes together

This news report from Myrtle Beach Station WBTW News 13 describes Ham Radio's contribution to Hurricane Preparedness. It also features yours truely in a rare on-camera interview. (And the camera didn't even break!)

4 Ham Operators killed in deadly crash

Four Radio Amateurs Killed in Plane Crash While En Route to CQWW Phone Contest -via www.arrl.org

Just after take-off -- around 6:30 AM on Thursday, October 21 -- a twin-engine plane carrying four Amateur Radio operators crashed into the woods, only 250 yards off the end of the runway in Jedburg, South Carolina, about 20 miles northwest of Charleston. The plane -- piloted and owned by Peter Radding, W2GJ -- carried Ed Steeble, K3IXD, Dallas Carter, W3PP, and Randy Hargenrader, K4QO. The four men were on their way to the Bahamas to operate in this weekend's CQ World Wide Phone Contest as C6APR, competing in the Multi/2 category.
Radding, of North Charleston, South Carolina, was 69; Steeble, of Summerville, South Carolina was 68; Carter, of Laurel, Delaware, was 67 and Hargenrader, also of Summerville, was 55. All were ARRL members; Radding and Steeble were Life Members.
According to Dorchester County Coroner Chris Nisbet, the four hams had made this trip before with Radding piloting the plane. Nisbet said Radding had flown to Delaware to pick up Carter earlier in the week.
"How quickly can a joyous event -- setting off with close friends in anticipation of a weekend of intense radio activity -- turn to unfathomable tragedy," said ARRL Chief Executive Officer David Sumner, K1ZZ. "As we mourn the loss of these four well-known members of our global Amateur Radio community, our hearts go out to their families."
Dorchester County Administrator Jason Ward characterized the crash site 250 yards east of the runway as "extremely severe" and that the plane was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived; investigators were hindered by the flaming wreckage and "charred foliage" at the scene A crew from the county public works department had to create a path to the wreckage. Chief Deputy Sheriff Sam Richardson said there was damage to treetops in the area of the crash. The coroner said it appears the severity of the crash, and not the fire, is what killed the men.
One of the victims was found beneath some of the wreckage, Ward said. Debris was spread around an area several yards wide at the crash site, and the wrecked plane was apparently upside down, he said.
It was extremely dark when the plane took off, Ward said. Airport Manager Don Hay said the weather was clear at the time. "[Radding] was a very experienced pilot who knew the area," Ward said. "He had been flying for over 40 years." Nisbet said Radding filed a flight plan detailing his route and who was on board, but the plane never climbed high enough for those plans to be activated.
Radding's neighbor, Jim Deaton, said the man and others planned to stop in Florida, pick up more passengers and then head to the Bahamas.
Stella Bazzle, who lives about a half-mile from the airport, described to The Summerville Journal Scene what she heard right before the plane went down: "The motor sounded like it was coming over the house. I heard the first explosion...then the second (explosion) wasn't as loud." She described the engine noise as "kind of a funny noise, like a grinding type thing." Bazzle said she then heard ambulances and called her neighbor, who'd heard similar noises.
Carter, Steeble and Radding were members of the Potomac Valley Radio Club (PVRC); Carter and Radding were also members of the Frankford Radio Club (FRC). PVRC President Ken Claerbout, K4ZW, told the ARRL that he was "stunned and saddened" when he heard the news of the crash: "I had several e-mail exchanges with Dallas over the last two weeks about our Sweepstakes effort. He spoke with excitement of the group's trip to C6 for CQWW SSB and vowed to be on for Sweepstakes CW. He said he might have to work during Sweepstakes SSB, but if not, he would be there! Dallas joined PVRC in 1963. Ed was also a very active member of PVRC before moving to South Carolina. Ed joined PVRC in 1992 and is a past chairman of our Northwest Chapter. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the friends and families of all four gentlemen. Another stark reminder of how fickle life can be." -- Thanks to the many friends of these four hams, the Associated Press and The Summerville Journal Scene for the information.

-Map and Aircraft info courtesy of Charleston SC newspaper, The Post & Courier

Their full article posted here...

You can catch SSTV images from the ISS

A message sent by Marc, PD4U in Holland came this news tidbit... The Russians have started their MA-75 experiment again, and thus SSTV pictures can be received from the International Space Station in Robot36 on 145.800 MHz FM

Check out Marc's webpage for more info and some great photos taken from the International Space Station. SSTV Slow Scan Television is a early method of sending images via radio. Ham Operators use free software like MMSSTV to send and receive images. If you haven't tried it or seen it in action, by all means give it a try, especially if you can catch a SSTV QSL photo from NA1SS on the ISS.

20 Meters may have been weak but our contacts were STRONG

Despite marginal conditions on 20 Meters, tonights second edition of the American Preppers Radio Net was a complete success.

The Net had at total of 8 check-ins, from Connecticut to Texas, from Florida to Ohio, and points in between.

Here's the contacts of the 2nd. American Preppers Network Radio Net:
KI4HEE Bob SC Net Control
N1FBF Bob CT
N5JXM Bill TX
KE5VOX Rene TX
KG4RSF Mark FL
KD8JPQ Jeff OH
K4DMH Dave WVA
K1DEC Don MA

This is the second net done on 20 meters to date. It is expected that the net will be conducted on another band next week, which one, as yet undetermined. Check back to this blog in the coming days for an announcement as to what band the net will be held. It is being considered that the net schedule may be expanded to include different bands, different days, and different times to accomodate all involved.

We indeed like to welcome all who participated in tonights net, it wouldn't have been possible without you.

Also of note, the American Preppers Radio Net Blog was established today. The APRN Blog will be the central point of information for the Radio Net, providing additional net information, contact reports, as well as topics covering a wide variety of issues regarding conmmunications. Be sure to join the activities on The American Preppers Radio Net Blog.

Any comments or suggestions are indeed welcome, as time goes on, look for this net to become a intergal part of your American Prepper experience.

'73 Bob KI4HEE

American Preppers Network Net # 1

The first-ever Ham Radio Net of the American Preppers Network was conducted on the 20 Meter Band on 14.228 Mhz. at 9 PM EST. tonight.

With David W4DMH in West Virginia serving as Net Control, and myself, Bob KI4HEE his able assistant, a total of 10 ham operators checked into the net, eight of whom learned about the American Preppers Network and it's Blog for the first time.

I wish to recognise the following stations as the first check-in's of the first net.

1. W4DMH David West Virgina
2. KI4HEE Bob South Carolina
3. W8BNL Tom Michigan
4. KE5SLV Phil Arkansas
5. N2SEQ Joe New York
6. KD8KFQ John West Virgina
7. N8TAH Kevin Ohio
8. K8DRP Daniel Michigan
9. W5RAW Ray Texas
10. W4VDW Kevin Ohio

TOTALS: 10 check ins 1 traffic

Congratulations to everyone who checked in and made this net possible. Look for more news here about where & when there'll be another American Preppers Network on the air.

07/13/09 40 Meter QSO's

Despite the snap crackle pop of atmospherics due to the rainstorms across the region, I gathered quite a number of good contacts from the deep south into the central midwest. Checked into the North American Traffic & Awards Net on 7.195 and logged several stations including good signals in Texas, Indiana & Oklahoma.

Early this morning I made my first 40 meter contacts in AM mode. All in all, a very good day with Ham Radio. 73 KI4HEE

Contact Log for Sunday, July 12 2009

I'm going to try to post the results of my contacts on Ham Radio on a continual basis now that I have Google Earth able to plot the stations I work. It's a good way to depict the scope of coverage that is on Ham Radio.

Tonight's activity was all on 40 Meters, there was one DX contact: Martin OE3WMA in Austria was 57 copy into South Carolina & he received me 57 as well.

Local Hams to participate in National Ham Radio Emergency Test June 27-28

(Myrtle Beach, SC 24 June 2009) – Whenever there is a disaster, reports of ham radio operators providing critical communications in emergencies world-wide is common. On the weekend of June 27-28th., local ham radio operators will be operating under simulated emergency field conditions outside the Horry County American Red Cross Center on the old Myrtle Beach Air Force Base, to exercise their emergency communication skills.

Thousands of Ham Radio operators will be showing off their emergency capabilities nationwide during the two day event.

With a long history of providing critical communications after a disaster, Amateur Radio – often called “Ham Radio” - is often the ONLY way remaining by which people could communicate. When trouble is brewing, ham radio people are often the first to provide critical information and communications.

On the weekend of June 27-28, the public will have a chance to meet and talk with ham radio operators and see for themselves what the Amateur Radio Service is about. Showcasing the newest digital and satellite capabilities, voice communications and even historic Morse code, hams from across the USA will be holding public demonstrations of their emergency communications abilities.

This annual event, called "Field Day" is the climax of week long "Amateur Radio Week" sponsored by the ARRL, the National Association for Amateur Radio. Using only emergency power supplies, ham operators will construct emergency stations in parks, shopping malls, schools and back yards around the country. Their slogan, "When all else fails…”is more than just words to the hams as they prove they can send messages in many forms without the use of phone systems, internet or any other infrastructure that can be compromised.

Local Field Day activities will be conducted by members of the Grand Strand Amateur Radio Club outside the Horry County American Red Cross Center, 2795 Pampas Dr. Myrtle Beach, SC. The Public is invited.



Photo Caption: Local Ham Radio Operators practice Emergency Communication Field Conditions at a Ham Radio Field Day. This years event will be held Saturday & Sunday June 27th. & 28th. at the Horry County American Red Cross Building, on the old Myrtle Beach Air Force Base. Photo Credit: Robert Hawkins