Bank Swallows

These little birds come to our home every year. Yesterday was the first day I have seen them (Apr. 14th, 2017) They nest in a bluebird house but after  they leave the bluebirds take over the house. It is a sure sign of Spring when they arrive.I call them Bank Swallows but there are other names that people call them like Sand Martins. Read about them at Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sand_martin

Taken in my back yard

444 miles per watt on 30 meters

It was just before sunset at my location (QTH) and just after sun rise at Perth Australia, this is called the gray line in Ham radio lingo. As I do many times I checked the propagation of the different radio bands. I found the 10 Mhz. (30 meters) band was my best chance for working longe distances (DX). I switches the 30 meter antenna to the transceiver clicked the mouse on the computer to the transmit mode. The funny sounds of JT65 mode called CQ DX WB9OTX EM79. The computer called for about 50 seconds the turned the transmitter back to receive. A 50 seconds wait then there it appeared on the monitor, WB9OTX VK6LC -06. This told me a fellow Ham in the far West of Australia was calling me. My report sent back to him was a -08 a very respective signal strength for the both of us. When we both signed off with our best regards (73) I used the computer to log the contact then a look at QRZ, a database of all radio amateurs. This told me VK6LC was located just a few miles South of  Perth, Australia. this was a distance of 11,100 miles from my antenna here at Versailles, Indiana. I was using only 25 watts of power and my antenna was a 1/4 wave that is gronnd mounted with 20 1/4 wave radial wires. A very simple 23 foot aluminum tube. (pictured above)
If you would like to see the station of VK6LC CLICK HERE
This little story is very common to Radio Amateurs. Its like fishing, you never know what you will catch when you put out your call, But Western Australia is a real big fish on the 30 meter band.
73, Jack WB9OTX

Lots of Ham Radio Photos

Top 20 15 10 Bottom 17 12 Meters

Click HERE to see the pictures

(Japan) Bataan Death March April 9, 1942

74 Years Ago

A burial detail of Filipino and prisoners of war uses improvised litters to carry fallen comrades at Camp O'Donnell, Capas, Tarlac, 1942, following the Bataan Death March.

Read  the full article


From: wikipedia.org/

WORKING THE GRAY LINE

The "grey line" is a band around the Earth that separates daylight from darkness.  Propagation along the grey line is very efficient.  One major reason for this is that the D layer, which absorbs HF signals, disappears rapidly on the sunset side of the grey line, and it has not yet built upon the sunrise side. Ham radio operators and shortwave listeners can optimize long distance communications to various areas of the world by monitoring this band as it moves around the globe.
See a grayline realtime map

Paul Harden, NA5N on Grayline
Read his full story


Earth imagery derived from the NASA Blue Marble