Author Archives: Robert Shank

Update 27 August 2026: Newly updated forecast with Full Sun Map and GEOCHRON current conditions segments! I have also included the 5-Day Outlooks below. Now open to the public. Original Post: 26 August 2026: Hi All! Solar activity is getting more interesting by the moment! It is clear we are in the middle of a Rossby surge, which has caused multiple new regions to emerge quite quickly over the past few days. This is why we now have 4 partially Earth-directed solar storms headed our way, with a promise of more! All of these storms thus far have launched at or near Region 4513, which is by far the most active of the big flare players on the disk right now. However, new Regions 4518 and 4519 are not far behind and are already firing low-level flares. I go over all of this and more in my new Solar Storm… Continue reading →

Overview This transcript documents our July 10th club meeting, featuring opening remarks, a moment of silence for a deceased member, club business including the absence of a raffle, and a presentation by Rob Hansen W6RH on emergency communications through ACS and ARES. The meeting also included an extensive recap of a recent Field Day event, detailing activities, results, volunteers, and future plans. Key Points Takeaways

Overview This transcript covers a meeting or presentation discussing the Ventura County Amateur Radio Club (K6MEP) and broader American Radio Relay League (ARRL) topics. Key discussions include the club’s recent ARRL website contest award, ARRL financial health, operational challenges, membership trends, cybersecurity issues, and future initiatives. The presentation also highlights the role of the ARRL as a representative body for amateur radio operators and its support for the hobby. Key Points Takeaways

Advice from multi-station operators on how to minimize intermodulation and RFI. Conrad Trautmann, N2YCH ARRL Technical Editor, Keith Elliott W6KME Contributor and Member VCARC and CVARC ARRL Field Day in California Now, let’s apply these principles to your club’s Field Day operations, or to any multi-station portable operation. Keith Elliott, W6KME, from the Conejo Valley Amateur Radio Club, AA6CV, in southern California has successfully run Field Day for his club for 3 years using 23 stations that are able to operate at the same time. Antennas Keith maximizes use of the space allowed in the Field Day rules and selects antennas that will provide maximum isolation between one another, providing good signals aiming north/northwest. By lining up the three identical HF antenna arrays end to end, the nulls at each end of the dipoles aim at each other, minimizing the amount of RF getting into the adjacent array. They use… Continue reading →