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

Electromagnetic Oddities by Reese West KQ6TT

Some time back I wrote about the E-field not being continuous in radiated fields.  I had been taught that they were.  Recently, I returned to that idea to take a look at it.  Remember that all I write is not of published quality.  It is stream of thought as I think about it.  Also, most is just first draft quality in writing.  So, here I have returned to take a look at radiated fields.  Let us look at a radio frequency field radiated from an antenna.  Visualize the globe of the earth with latitude and longitude lines on it.  Place a very short antenna at the center of the globe with the antenna orientated on a line between the poles.  The E-field then radiates outward toward the surface of the globe just like the longitude lines.  The magnetic fields radiate outward like the latitude lines. If we chose a point… Continue reading

WHAT CAUSES THE MAJOR THEORICAL ERRORS BY PHYSICISTS?

By Reese West KQ6TT Disclaimer: I cannot do all the math some physicists do.  I find most of their work to be a waste of time.  But some dedicate their lives to so called research.  I spent my life in engineering in order to have a family.  Now that I am in very old age (93), I took a look at their work. Where do the atomic (quantum?) physicists go wrong?  Let us take a look. Once they have a mathematics approach that seems to fit the data, they stop and wrongfully think they have solved the problem.  I bought a book on their work that states that at least three times they had the mathematics right, but the theory proved to be incorrect.  They do that a lot.  They have the marvelous ability to ignore their own theories when convenient. Let’s start with the double slit experiment.  That monumentally… Continue reading

Served Agency Requested Assistance During Field Day by Robert KM6RSS

ARRL Field Day 2024 logo

On Field Day Sunday morning, at about 10:00 AM, I observed an Oxnard Police car drive into the parking lot and stop across from my (Burt’s) pop-up. Since we have many members in our club who are Auxiliary Communications Service (ACS)/ Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES), the Oxnard Police Department are one of our served agencies and we always welcome them to visit us for Field Day and other events. The sergeant approached me and identified himself as Sergeant Jason Radcliffe KN6JYL. Sergeant Radcliffe mentioned that the Oxnard police dispatcher had noticed interference on frequencies they used (Channel 1 and 2, with Jeremy KN6JMD supplying the specifics of 154.875 and 155.745 with a PL tone of 100 Hz). I had been working the 2, 1.25 and 0.770 meter bands but had stopped my QSOs while the officer was discussing the issue. I contacted Dave, Jeremy and Phil and, together, we… Continue reading

Field Day 2024 Photos

Field Day 2024 is now in the history books. The Oxnard College location was once again was a nice place to spend 24+ hours with fellow club members and visiting hams. It was great to see everyone spreading out and setting up your stations, helping others, and watching and hearing you all operate. The food was great (thank you meals and menu planning committee folks) and big thanks to the folks at the end that helped tear down and clean up. I believe we left the place in better condition than when we arrived. If you took photos, please share them! You can either email me photos or send me a link to a file sharing location and I can get them up on the website. Meanwhile here’s photos that Robert took during Field Day 2024. Enjoy! Dave AI6VX

Ventura County Board of Supervisors Declares June “Amateur Radio Month” on June 18, 2024

ARRL Field Day 2024 logo

Waiting for the Amateur Radio Proclamation to be Announced by Supervisor Kelly Long District 3 Chair of the Board of Supervisors Jeff Reinhardt AA6JR Public information Coordinator ARRL – Santa Barbara Section listens as Rob Hanson W6RH Ventura County ACS Radio Officer and Ventura County ARES District Emergency Coordinator speaks to the Board of Supervisors about the Auxiliary Communications Service and Amateur Radio Emergency Service community service. Andy Ludlum K6AGL Assistant Section Manager ARRL – Santa Barbara Section presents details of amateur radio volunteers and projects in the Ventura County community. Jeff Reinhardt AA6JR Public information Coordinator ARRL – Santa Barbara Section presented a slide show about amateur radio and its contributions to the nation as well as our local communities. This slide depicts three club’s Field Day locations and Jeff invited all attendees to come out and see for themselves how emergency communications can be established under field conditions.