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Sunspots number forecast and hf propagation prediction
- Written by ik1hge
- Category: News
To state it simple, more or less we have understood that the propagation on amateur radio bands, especially those in the HF range, depends on the quantity of sun spots (Sn, Sunspots number): more the sunspots (higher Sn) means better propagation of electromagnetic waves and higher maximum usable frequency (MUF). The wise Old Men tell us that this sunspots number or, better, its daily and monthly mean, in the long term has a cyclic trend, that is it reaches a peak in a relatively short time, and then it has a long decay, which lasts several years, with a low sunspots number resulting in mediocre propagation. Such a trend, is recurring roughly every eleven years as we observe in the following chart showing the monthly mean susnspots number in the latest five cycles.
Poor us, we are now living the long low sunspots tail of the 24th solar cycle - few sunspots, low propagation… 
What we all wonder is: when the sunspots number is going to grow again? In other words: When is the new solar cycle going to begin? And, even more interesting: When is the propagation going to improve so that we could finally have DXing from our normal QTHs, with affordable power and antennas? To answer those questions, we get some help from the predictions published by prestigious research institutes.
Here following, I report two graphs, made available by the Royal Observatory of Belgium - Brussels - that show:
Above: predictions dated 2019 January 8; below predictions udatrd monthly. Credit: SILSO data/image, Royal Observatory of Belgium, Brussels.
G3TXQ Silent Key
- Written by ik1hge
- Category: News
With great sadness I am reporting that, after a long fight against illness, on December 30th, 2018 Steve, G3TXQ passed away. Steve was, and still is a very popular radio amateur all over the world for various reasons. Here, I want to remind all of us his dramatic inprovement of hex beam antenna and his hard work about baluns.
His death is a tremendous loss to the world wide amateur radio community.
I offer my condolences to Steve's family.
Here following, the announcement appeared on Steve and his wife's website:
Replacement of RJ45 modular mic connector
- Written by ik1hge
- Category: Non categorizzato
Broken connector and damaged mic chord
| Wire color | Function |
| Black | FAST |
| White | GND |
| Red | PTT |
| Yellow | MIC |
| Copper | MIC GND |
| Blue | 5V |
| Not connected | Up |
| Not connected | Down |
Needed tools:
- Crimper for RJ45 modular connectors (very cheap in a DIY shop)
- RJ45 connectors (I bought ten pieces for 90 Euro-cents in a DIY shop)
- Cutter
- A caliper or whatever you have to measure a length of 15 mm
- Soldering iron
- Soldering wire
- Five minutes of time
Remove the thick black sheeve for a length of 15 mm. Twist the bare copper wire to make it a little stiffer. You might want to add a very little drop of solder to its tip. Not too much because, if the wire becomes too hard, it won't be crimped. If you removed the connector hood from the cable, put it back where it was.
Insert the wires end into the receptacles of the RJ45 modular connector in the right order. Push them in so that their ends go all the way down, against the wall at the bottom of the connector. Insert the RJ45 connector into the crimper with the due care not to pull any of the wires off. Tighten the handles of the crimper… Release… That's it. Now plug the connector in, and test the microphone with your transceiver. If everything is ok, unplug, slide the hood along the cable so that the connector fits it precisely.
Done!
Enjoy amateur radio!
Source: ik1hge.com
For reproduction of text and images, cite ik1hge.com and provide backlink to this website.
Emergency earthquake Abruzzo 2009 (Italy)
- Written by ik1hge
- Category: News
There we were. October 2009, operators in the radio shack Direzione Comando e Controllo, Guardia di Finanza. Coppito (AQ). Greetings to my friends from Friuli Venezia Giulia (ARI Udine and Monfalcone, if I remember well) and to my friends from Piedmont, ARI Turin.
Read more: Emergency earthquake Abruzzo 2009 (Italy)
HEXBEAM
- Written by ik1hge
- Category: Antennas
I am surveying the Hexbeam antenna market. For the moment, I've found:
https://www.g3txq-hexbeam.com/ (MW0JZE)
http://www.eantenna.es/?page_id=3146 (acquired by Wimo)
http://eaxbeam.com/shop/index.php
Italian radio amateurs now on 60 meters band (5 MHz band)
- Written by ik1hge
- Category: News
At best of my knowledge, starting on November 3rd, 2018, italian radio amateurs will be allowed to transmit on 60m band with maximum 15 W e.i.r.p., from 5351.5 kHz to 5366.5 kHz. Contacts made before November 3rd, 2018 should be neither legal nor recognizable as DXCC credits, records, awards, etc.
Italy is on 5 MHz band too!
ER/IK1HGE QSLing
- Written by ik1hge
- Category: Moldova ER/IK1HGE
UPDATE 2018-11-05
The QSL shop shipped all the requested QSLs to me. I filled out all the QSLs to be sent out via bureau. I hope that the local bureau sevice will ship the cards to the national service by the end of the year. Im sorry but I can't send QSLs to countries that do not have a bureau service. Wherever I realized that the card recipient is a "Direct only" or a "LotW" one, I did not fill out the QSL card; for those stations, I'm "Direct only" as well. ER/IK1HGE is not on LotW.
I replied to further direct QSL requests and I sent the so called green stamps back to the sender. At present, there are no outstanding requests. Obviously, I'm still available to reply to any new direct request.
Unless unexpected events occur, all activities for 2017 and 2018 operations from Moldova are completed and there will not be any further update.
Thank you everybody!
73's de ER/IK1HGE Roberto
UPDATE 2018-10-08
The print shop gave me some laser printed QSLs that I used to reply to all direct QSL card requests received untill now. So, all direct cards requested have been sent out on Oct 6th, 2018. I still have a few cards for incoming requests.
For cards via bureau: I'm still waiting for the print shop to run the production lot and deliver the 1000 cards to me. I know you are patient, otherwise you wouldn't choose the bureau service .
UPDATE 2018-09-11
ER/IK1HGE's logbook is complete and uploaded in Club Log. Read here below and then check your call in the module here aside (on the right).
ORIGINAL POST 2018-09-08:
I'm almost done with uploading ER/IK1HGE's logbook in ClubLog. Only three days of operations are still missing in the logbook, however I will upload the remaing data soon. Verify if you are in the log through the Log search "ER/IK1HGE" in the right column of this web page and, if you think you should be in the log but the system says that you are not, then send me the qso data through the "Contacts" page of this web site, it is surely mi fault when copying the notes from the minute to the data base.
I will notify all the progresses in QSLing in the "Moldova ER/IK1HGE" pages (see the Menu here on the right).
73's
ER/IK1HGE
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