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

Catch a Falling Star

50 Mhz. Meteor scatter is a new mode for me. After about 50 yrs. in the Ham Radio hobby this is one that I have missed. I found communicating via a streaking meteor is much easier than I expected. I was never too excited running 6 meters in the past, but this is a new challenge. If you can transmit 25 watts or more, have a computer, and some time you can work other stations via a meteor trail. Don't give up if you are not going to be one of the big gun boys. I have made contacts with 25 watts and a dipole antenna.
But it takes time and patience The bigger the antenna and higher wattage will increase contacts and slow wait time. Give it a try, Its habit forming.
......... Jack WB9OTX
A beginner’s guide to meteor-scatter communicat


See another Page

AIR DRONE CRAZE

http://www.airdronecraze.com/

See my Drone Fly

image from
https://pixabay.com/en/photos/drone/

Equinox, Eggs in the balance

The egg being the most literal and obvious of all fertility symbols, ancient eggish customs survive not only in the form of egg rolling and Easter eggs, but also in the quaint superstitious belief, most often attributed to the Chinese, that you can stand a raw egg on end during the equinox. Apparently this derives from the notion that, due to the sun's equidistant position between the poles of the earth on the first day of spring, special gravitational forces apply.

From a skeptical point of view, the first objection that comes to mind is the fact that there's another equinox on the first day of autumn. Why is there no talk of balancing eggs on end in September? Secondly, while it's true that on both equinoxes the earth's axis is perpendicular to the sun, so day and night are of exactly equal length, there's no scientific reason to suppose that that alignment has any appreciable effect on gravitational forces here on earth. Thirdly, if the equinox can cause this curious anomaly, why aren't there others? Why don't we hear talk of being able to stand broomsticks, pencils, lollipops, or toothpicks on end?

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Chuck Berry Dies at 90

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Berry

Pi Day - March 14

Pi Day is an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π (pi). Pi Day is observed on March 14 (3/14 in the month/day date format) since 3, 1, and 4 are the first three significant digits of π. In 2009, the United States House of Representatives supported the designation of Pi Day.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Weather Snow Rain & etc.

How Much Will It Snow

Get the total Forecast

Radar 1

Radar 2

Made in USA

The Made in USA mark is a country of origin label indicating the product is "all or virtually all" made in the United States. The label is regulated by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).

In general, goods imported into the United States must have a country of origin label unless excepted, but goods manufactured in the United States can be sold without any sort of "Made in the USA" label unless explicitly required. Requirements to label domestic content include automobiles and textile, wool, and fur products. Any voluntary claims made about the amount of U.S. content in other products must comply with the FTC’s Made in USA policy.
Read MORE

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pitcairn Island

I seen the Pitcairn Is. group VP6EU on 30 meters JT65 this morning.(3/5/17) I called several times but the West Coast  guys beat me out every time. I think they leave today. Oh Well I have them on SSB and several bands, but this was many years ago. This was when Tom Christian was still alive and making a good living off QSL cards. I sent my dollars just like every one else. The call I worked Pitcairn Is. with was VR6TC The TC was for Tom Christian. The cards I had were red tint instead of blue tho.

VR6TC Tom Christian 1935 - 2013

This was in the early 1970s - lots of great radio memories back then.

https://www.qrz.com/db/WB9OTX

...... Jack WB9OTX

Thanks to:
JH1IFS for the use of his QSL card. 
The Telegraph newspaper

The Yaesu FTDX 560 My 2nd transmitter

I had saved and saved to upgrade from my Heath HW-16 to a better radio, luckily I found a Yaesu FTDX 560 at the Strikers Grove Ham Fest in Ross,  Ohio, this was in the early 70s. The 560 was only a year or two old and the price was with in my budget. It came with the matching speaker and external VFO. I had a home brew two element 15 meter yagi constructed from old TV antennas and a bradcast band varible capsiter mounted on a roof top tripod, no rotor but pointed at Japan it was a pile up every evening after work. It was a slight bit hard hearing on 10 meters but a receive preamp cured this problem. I worked the world with the home brew beam and a fan dipole. One quirk that took some getting use to was the reverse reading S-meter, but after a short time it was un-noticeable. This was about the end of the Yaesu tube era. It was a great radio but I traded it for another glow in the dark Drake R4B and T4XB that severed me well for many years. I have not seen a Yaesu FTDX 560 in years at a Ham Fest, but if I seen one I may bring it home just to remember some of my very early fun years in Ham Radio. .... My QRZ WB9OTX page


Stock image from :
RigPix

Nikola Tesla

Everything you ever wanted to know about Nikola Tesla

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikola_Tesla




From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Photos of Presidents of the United States

See them HERE

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Versailles Indiana Drone Footage

400 ft. above the Versailles State Park Dam Drone is a DJI Phantom Standard - Pilot Ty Demaree

400 foot above WB9OTX'S QTH

My son Ty was the pilot flying my drone above my home here in Versailles, Indiana. .... Jack

Antarctica Vostok Station KC4/N2TA

A nice thrill came today just at twilight (gray line) The Russian Amateur Radio station at Vostok call sign KC4/N2TA returned my call on a frequency of 5.357 Mhz. mode JT65. This is a rare contact for this 60 meter band. I was using a 46 Foot vertical antenna with 20 grown radials and power of 25 watts. It is difficult to even talk to Europe on this band so Antarctica is a great contact.
Read more HERE

Vostok Station (Russian: Ста́нция Восто́к, translit. Stántsiya Vostók, pronounced [ˈstant͡sɨjə vɐˈstok], literally "Station East") is a Russian (formerly Soviet) research station in inland Princess Elizabeth Land, Antarctica. Founded by the Soviet Union in 1957, the station lies at the southern Pole of Cold, with the lowest reliably measured natural temperature on Earth of −89.2 °C (−128.6 °F; 184.0 K).[1] Research includes ice core drilling and magnetometry. Vostok (Russian for "east") was named after Vostok, the lead ship of the First Russian Antarctic Expedition captained by Fabian von Bellingshausen (the second ship Mirny captained by Mikhail Lazarev
became the namesake for Mirny Station).

Image courtesy of NASA
Vostok text by wikipedia.com

Copy and Paste - How to

Too many computer users have no idea how to use Copy and Paste
See this video to know how. See it full size on YouTube