Dagens radioutflykt gick till naturreservatet Nackareservatet och den delen som ligger i Nacka kommun (en liten del av reservatet ligger i Stockholms kommun). I SMFF-sammanhang heter reservatet SMFF-1098.
Det blev en del kontakter, främst på 80-metersbandet men även på 6/10/12-metersbanden, med stationer runt om i Sverige.
Med dagens kontakter har jag nu kvalificerat mig för SMFF-diplomet.
Den 30 augusti 2020 aktiverade jag tillsammans med SM0OEK Jaan naturreservatet Älvsjöskogen. I radiosammanhang är området ett Swedish Flora and Fauna-område, förkortat SMFF med nummer 8511. Dels var det min första SMFF-aktivitet och dels var det första gången som SMFF-8511 aktiverades.
22 kontakter på 80 meter SSB genomfördes främst med stationer i närheten och med stationer söderut.
Detta var definitivt inte min sista SMFF-aktivitet!
RSGB
Not everyone has room for a mast and HF Yagi. In this webinar Steve, G0KYA looks at alternatives for small gardens, including both commercial and home-made variants. He’ll also talk about testing antennas using WSPR and modelling them using MMANA-GAL.
ARRL
Stations bearing call signs that promote the “stay-at-home” message and the value of social distancing and isolation have sprung up during the COVID-19 pandemic, with some 150,000 messages of support shared around the world. An on-air gathering over the June 6 – 7 weekend will offer a further opportunity for stay-at-home stations and radio amateurs to share greetings in a contest-like framework, looking toward the day that restrictions will ease, eventually making the stay-at-home injunction obsolete. The patron of the STAYHOME radio campaign is Finland’s Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto, and the worldwide activity has the endorsement of International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) President Tim Ellam, VE6SH/G4HUA, and the United Nations Amateur Radio Club.
ARRL
The nearly 46-year-old AO-7 amateur satellite made a remarkable contact possible on May 4 between Diego Feil, LW2DAF, in Buenos Aires, Argentina (GF05rk), and Tom Ambrose, ZS1TA, in Cape Town, South Africa (JF95fx). The contact spanned 4,329 miles across the South Atlantic, with both stations aiming at only 2 or 3 degrees above the horizon.
RSGB
As all planned YOTA 2020 events have been cancelled until September, a new programme called YOTA Online has been developed.
This will be a monthly livestream gathering, free to all participants and available afterwards as a recorded version.
In each meeting, the YOTA team will present different topics and answer questions from the YOTA community.
There will also be opportunities to share stories of recent YOTA events.
The first meeting will be on 28 May 2020.
ARRL
Two new Chinese amateur radio satellites are expected to launch on September 15. CAS-7A and CAS-7C follow in the wake of numerous amateur radio satellites put into space by CAMSAT. CAS-7A, a 27 kilogram microsat, will carry several transponders, including a 15-meter-to-10-meter (H/T) linear transponder, and a 2-meter-to-70-centimeter (H/U) linear transponder. CAS-7A also will include a V/U (2 meters to 70 centimetres) FM voice transponder. According to the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU) satellite coordination site, CAS-7A is planned to have CW beacons on both 10 meters and 70 centimetres, 4.8k or 9.6k GMSK telemetry on 70 centimetres, and a 1 Mbps GMSK image data downlink on 3 centimetres for an onboard camera.
ARRL
History appears to have been made on April 7, when an operator at D4VHF in Cape Verde off the African Coast and Burt Demarcq, FG8OJ, on Guadeloupe in the Caribbean completed a contact on 70 cm using FT8 — a distance of 3,867 kilometers (2,398 miles). This would mark the first transatlantic contact on that band that did not involve satellites or moonbounce. The most likely mode of propagation was marine ducting, with the signal being trapped close to the ocean surface.
ARRL
The Hamvention QSO Party, a sort of virtual Dayton Hamvention®, will take place on the HF bands on May 16, which would be the Saturday of the now-canceled event.
Let’s celebrate the many years we have all had at the Great Gathering we call Hamvention.
Tim Duffy, K3LR, and Michael Kalter, W8CI
RSGB
Saturday, 18 April 2020 is World Amateur Radio Day, this year marking the 95th anniversary of the International Amateur Radio Union (IARU).
Around the world, amateur radio special event stations will mark the event on the air, starting on the 18th at 0000UTC and continuing until the 19th at 2359.
The theme this year is Celebrating Amateur Radio’s Contribution to Society and the Covid-19 pandemic casts the event in a different light than in years past.
A few short weeks ago, many of us could not imagine the levels of isolation that we are now dealing with and the sacrifices of many on the front lines of the pandemic. As we have done in past challenges to our society, amateur radio will play a key part in keeping people connected and assisting those who need support.
IARU President Tim Ellam, VE6SH/G4HUA
