Pres Says – December 2024

Time change, cooler weather, shorter days, nuisance amounts of rain, 2 elections, VE session, and Thanksgiving.  Whew!  November was full, and here we are racing through December. Decemberfest is right around the corner!  Instead of our regular club meeting at Grace Lutheran Church, in December we will be having a Decemberfest dinner and celebration at Black Bear Diner in Ventura.  Cost for club members in good standing (paid up for club year 2025), plus up to 1 guest is $20 per person.  Non club members, or attendees above the member+1 guest, will be charged  $39.  We currently have 55 people signed up, doors open at 6:30pm and food will be served by 7pm.  There will be trivia, a slide show of the year’s activities, a gift exchange, and the Monday Night Net raffle drawing!  It will be a fun way to end the year.  If you haven’t yet let us… Continue reading

The shape of light: Scientists reveal image of an individual photon for 1st time ever

News in Space.com By Victoria Atkinson Using a groundbreaking new technique, researchers have unveiled the first detailed image of a photon — a single particle of light — ever taken. Researchers in Birmingham have created the first image of a photon, a lemon-shaped particle of light emitted from the surface of a nanoparticle. The theory that made this image possible, reported Nov. 14 in the journal Physical Review Letters, enables scientists to calculate and understand various properties of these quantum particles — which could open up a range of new possibilities across fields such as quantum computing, photovoltaic devices and artificial photosynthesis. Light’s quantum behavior is well established, with over 100 years of experiments showing it can exist in both wave and particle form. But our fundamental understanding of this quantum nature is much further behind, and we only have a limited grasp of how photons are created and emitted, or of how they change through space… Continue reading

SCOTUS Agrees to Review Appellate Ruling on Congress Giving the FCC Too Much Power

(Redstate.com By Becca Lower | 2:41 PM on November 23, 2024 suggested by Clement Alberts KM6OKZ) The United States Supreme Court has agreed to take up a review of the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals’ ruling, on a case that could help curb federal power that’s been allowed to spiral out of control during the Biden-Harris administration. via the NYT: The Supreme Court, which dealt a major blow to the power of federal agencies in June, agreed on Friday to consider another: whether Congress violates the Constitution by delegating broad discretion to them. The so-called nondelegation doctrine has been largely dormant since 1935, when the Supreme Court struck down New Deal laws for granting too much leeway to agencies with insufficient guidance. …. The new dispute concerns an $8 billion fund that helps pay for telephone and broadband services for poor people and residents of rural areas. Overseen by the Federal Communications Commission, the Universal Service… Continue reading

Pres Says – November 2024

Pres Says – November 2024 Remember when Halloween was far away?  We are now almost a week past it. Remember when Thanksgiving was so far away? It’s just over 3 weeks from now.  Remember when Decemberfest was so far away?  Yeah, that’s coming up quick!  But I am getting ahead of myself. The month of November is important for our club as we hold elections for officers.  So not only do you get to vote for our next President of the US, two days later you get to vote for our club’s next president, vice president, treasurer, secretary and board members.  So far most of the nominees are familiar incumbents, but we have some new folks too running for office..   Current club members (paid up for 2025) are eligible to vote and run for office, and we have 3 ways for you to vote.  #1 – In-person at our November… Continue reading

Pres Says – Oct 2024

It’s October!  We’re in the last quarter of 2024 and we have a lot of holidays in the next 3 months ahead of us.  Weather has been pretty nice, and though I keep hearing about a heat wave coming, so far our temps have been mild.  That said, I can feel that Autumn is here. Speaking of weather, hurricane Helene has demonstrated why 2-way radio, especially ham radio, is still important and relevant. I’ve read the emails and visited links from the ACS/ARES Groups.io page about isolated people and towns, and how ham radio has been the only way for folks to get the help they need and messages sent out.  In preparation for this article, I checked to see if communication was still a problem, and sure enough it still is.  Even though cell providers have deployed mobile cellular nodes, and many workers to repair damaged fiber optic lines… Continue reading

Bilirakis and Pallone Introduce the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act (suggested by Clement KM6OKZ )

Washington, D.C.:  Earlier today, Representatives Gus Bilirakis (R-FL), Chairman of the Innovation, Data, and Commerce Subcommittee, and Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ), Ranking Member of the Energy and Commerce Committee, introduced the AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act of 2024.  This bipartisan and bicameral legislation recognizes that AM radio is an essential communication tool during emergencies, and for decades has been a source of news, entertainment, sports, and music for tens of millions of drivers. As such, the legislation directs the Department of Transportation to require automakers to include AM broadcast radio installed as standard equipment in new motor vehicles, ensuring access to AM broadcast stations, or digital audio AM stations, in every car at no additional cost.  “In order to maximize public safety and ensure continued access to every available option, it is critical to have a robust and widely accessible communication infrastructure in place to alert Americans during emergency situations and natural disasters,” said… Continue reading

VP Says – Sept 2024

Image of Jacques KN6VVQ

Hello Ventura County Hams, Summer is great: the family is all out of school, we get to go hang at the beach, travel out of town, and enjoy not having to do – or grade – homework. And while I will mourn the passing of the educational summer now that those around me are firmly established back in the classroom, it does leave slightly more time for radio related activities. So, what is on the horizon? Have you been wondering why we are at the peak of the solar cycle with record high SFI numbers, but propagation seems to be… not great? I posted a link to an article by Tomas, NW7US, to our club’s Groups.io page that explains why summertime in the Northern Hemisphere wreaks havoc on propagation. It’s not an overly technical read, and I hope you find it as informative as I did. Why Is Propagation on… Continue reading

Pres Says – Sept 2024

Boston Dynamics Spot with person

September 2024 President’s message Welcome to September – we’re in the last 1/3rd of the year.  Kids are back in school, which should make my commute to work easier, and soon we’ll be seeing pumpkin drinks sold everywhere.  There are only 3 more club meetings before Decemberfest and our last picnic for the year is less than 2 weeks away.  Fall equinox comes just days afterwards, and our days will be shorter than the night for 6 months.  If you’re wondering if you missed reading the August 2024 Prez Says post, you most certainly did.  Of course I helped by not writing one.  I tried no fewer than 3 times but could not muster enough energy or words to complete any of them.  Have you ever had that one project that you just can’t get around to completing?  No? Just me? I am writing this message two days after The… Continue reading

Nasa Makes Discovery ‘As Important As Gravity’ About Earth (By Sarah Knapton August 29, 2024 as featured in Yahoo!news “The Telegraph” Suggested by Clement KM6OKZ)

Scientists have now discovered that Earth has three energy fields – James Cawley A new planet-wide electric field that is as fundamental to Earth as gravity has been discovered in a major scientific breakthrough. The ambipolar electric field, which begins 150 miles above the planet, has been described as a “great invisible force” that lifts up the sky and is responsible for the polar winds. The polar winds interact with the jet streams to help drive the majority of weather patterns across the globe. Until now, the field had only been theorized, but a Nasa team, which includes scientists from the University of Leicester, has now sent a rocket into the field and measured it for the first time. It means Earth now has three energy fields: gravity, the magnetic field (which shields the planet from cosmic radiation), and the ambipolar electric field. Dr Glyn Collinson, the principal investigator of the Endurance Mission at… Continue reading

The Worst Solar Storm in History and What It Would Do Today

By Reynier Squillace, suggested by Clement KM6OKZ On the evening of Aug. 28, 1859, a telegraph in New York took on a life of its own. As its operator, J. C. Crosson, fought to transmit messages, the current fluctuated wildly. The battery that powered the machine was supposed to supply a steady direct current. Now, it was as though something else had gotten into the wires, at one moment draining them of all charge and at the next, overwhelming the circuitry with electricity. Bemused, Crosson threw open the doors to his office and saw a sky painted green and red. Streaks of light descended toward the horizon, lighting up the evening in ethereal shades. Crosson’s was not the only telegraph upset by the strange electromagnetic disturbances. Operators in France found their transmissions likewise overwhelmed by interference. When they tried to disconnect the devices from their batteries, sparks leapt out. In… Continue reading