FROM THE PARADE STAND
By Tim McGillen/N9CA   2021 LCARC President
March  2021
 Congratulations & thank you to George Suprenant/N9GWS our new 2021 Club Vice President.

Past Program. Thank you to February Club Meeting program co-presenters: Joe Cirone/W1SPY ARRL ARES EC for District one, Jim Mohring/KB9WWM Indiana Section ARES Emergency Coordinator, and Jimmy Merry/KC9RPX  ARRL Indiana Section Manager. Their topic was: Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES), EmComms, and SkyWarn  in NW Indiana District 1.
Joe/W1SPY has assured me that he is streamlining District One ARES and ARES training to make it easier for volunteers to join in. Joe has also created a great new website.   www.ARESd1.com

March Club Board meeting will be via ZOOM: Tuesday March  9th at 7:00pm.  A ZOOM link will be sent to all Club members.

March General Meeting wil be via ZOOM: Friday March 12th at 7:00pm. A Zoom link will be sent to all Club members and posted on www.W9LJ.org.

March General Meeting Program: Slow Scan Amateur TV   How to use free "MMSSTV" software app and download. As seen on Youtube.

2021 Club Dues are still only $20. Help support your local HR Club. LCARC, PO Box 90, Crown Point IN 46308.  Licensed amateurs, who have never been a member of LCARC, can join with 2021 membership dues waived.  Applications at  www.W9LJ.org   or email thru Club’s website.

LCARC Information Net  a fun informal net. Wednesdays at 8:00pm on either the Club’s VHF (147.000) or UHF (442.075) repeaters pl 131.8. A great way to stay in touch with local hams. If you haven’t logged in, you are missing out.  Non-member logins are welcome

ARRL Podcasts Schedule
The latest episode of the On the Air podcast (Episode 14) takes a deeper dive into the subject of HF antenna tuners, including some shopping tips.
The latest edition of Eclectic Tech (Episode 27) features a discussion of virtual audio cables, plus a chat with Clint Turner, KA7OEI, about extremely slow CW, otherwise known as QRSS.
The On the Air and Eclectic Tech podcasts are sponsored by Icom. Both podcasts are available on iTunes (iOS) and Stitcher (Android), as well as on Blubrry – 
On the Air | Eclectic Tech.

QSO Today Virtual Ham Expo   REGISTER NOW  (control enter)
·         Coming to your desktop, laptop, and tablet: Starts March 12th, 1800 PST for 48 Hours and "on-demand" download until April 12, 2021  Tickets  just: $10.00
SPEAKERS   PRIZES   BUILD-A-THONS    EXHIBITORS     STORE     LOUNGE

INTERESTING HR NEWS
VE7TIL, of Roberts Creek, British Columbia, has snagged another signal from deep space. His latest conquest has been to copy the signal from China's Tianwen-1 (pronounced "tee-EN-ven") probe, which went into orbit around Mars on February 10. Tilley told Spaceweather.com that the probe's X-band signal was "loud and audible."
"It was a treasure hunt," Tilley told Spaceweather.com. He explained that while the spacecraft did post its frequency with the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), it was too vague for precise tuning (X band is between 8 GHz and 12 GHz).
Launched last July, Tianwen-1 represents China's first Mars mission. It consists of an orbiter and a rover, which will land on the Martian surface in May or June 2021
Tilley has also picked up signals from NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, and the United Arab Emirates Hope probe, both orbiting Mars some 124 million miles away.
He uses a homemade 60-centimeter dish and relies on software-defined radios (SDRs) to accomplish the task.  Read an expanded version.
 
Solar Cycle 25: NOAA predicts it will peak in 2025 (+/- 8 months) with a peak flux level of 115 similar to Solar Cycle 24. Current Solar Flux has dropped to 72 from 80  just a few months ago. For reference, the Solar Flux low point was 68 in early 2020.

Predicted planetary A index remains at 5.   

Check out K9LA’s solar predictions on the web. A comprehensive K7RA Solar Update is posted Fridays on the ARRL website. For more information concerning radio propagation, visit the ARRL Technical Information Service, read "What the Numbers Mean...," and check out K9LA's Propagation Page.

Weekly HR Webinar: “Amateur Radio Roundtable” with guests from around the world. Join at www.W5KUB.com  Every Tuesday night 8:00pm CST. Simulcast:  WBCQ shortwave at 5130 kHz.

UPCOMING RADIO SPORTS
CQWW 160 meter SSB Contest February 26 thru 28th. Visit:   www.CQ160.com
FYI: 160 meters is typically a night time band for DX. “Grey-line propagation” is very useful. With Grey-line propagation, one can make contacts North and South +/- of an hour of the setting or rising SUN. Typically, from the US, signals East toward Europe peak about mid-night and then reception swings South then finally West to the Pacific about dawn.

NORTH AMERICAN QSO PARTY – RTTY.  1200 CST Feb 27 to 1159 CST Feb 28   www.ncjweb.com  
FYI: The North American QSO Parties are favorites of beginners and seasoned operators alike. The NAQPs are low-power only (no amplifiers allowed) which makes for a lot more breathing room on the bands. The 12 hour format allows participants to do some great contesting, yet still have time for other activities during the weekend.

ARRL INTERNATIONAL DX CONTEST – SSB  Begins 6:00pm CST Friday March 13 and runs through 0559 CST Sunday.     www.ARRL.org

NORTH AMERICAN RTTY SPRINT The March 13 RTTY Sprint will begin 1 hour earlier, at 2300 UTC instead of 0000 UTC. It will end at 0259 UTC. An earlier start time will give participants in the north and east a larger window for 20-meter activity.  www.ncjweb.com or www.ARRL.org

CQWW WPX SSB Contest   SSB: March 27-28, 2021 Starts: 0600 CST Friday Ends: 0559 CST Sunday    Visit:   www.cqwpx.com
 Mark your calendars.  See you on ZOOM!


73, Tim/N9CA

By Tim McGillen/N9CA   2021 LCARC President
February 2021

Thank you Robert Clark/WA0WAS for presenting the January 8th Zoom Club program. The topic was how Verizon and other telecoms restore service after a natural disaster. The planning along with talent of the response teams that go about this work is incredible. Thank you again Robert.

February Club Program: February 12th at 7:00pm topic “The Amateur Radio Emergency Service (ARES), EmComms, and SkyWarn  in NW Indiana District One’. The Presenters will be Joe Cirone/W1SPY the ARRL ARES EC for District one, Jim Mohring/KB9WWM the Indiana Section ARES Emergency Coordinator, and Jimmy Merry/KC9RPX our ARRL Indiana Section Manager. A ZOOM link will be sent to all Club members. The ZOOM Link is also posted on  www.W9LJ.org
Joe/W1SPY has assured me that he is streamlining District One ARES and ARES training to make it easier for volunteers to join in. Joe has also created a great new website.   www.ARESd1.com
February Club Board meeting will be via ZOOM on Tuesday February 9th at 7:00 a ZOOM  link will be sent to all Club members.

2021 Club Dues are still only $20. Help support your local HR Club. LCARC, PO Box 90, Crown Point IN 46308.  Licensed amateurs, who have never been a member of LCARC, can join with 2021 membership dues waived.  Applications at  www.W9LJ.org   or email thru Club’s website.
 
LCARC Information Net  a fun informal net. Wednesdays at 8:00pm on either the Club’s VHF (147.000) or UHF (442.075) repeaters pl 131.8. A great way to stay in touch with local hams. If you haven’t logged in, you are missing out.  Non-member logins are welcome

ARRL Podcasts Schedule
The latest episode of the On the Air podcast (Episode 13) features a discussion with Curt Laumann, K7ZOO, about his success in boosting activity at the University of Arizona amateur radio club.
The latest edition of Eclectic Tech (Episode 26) discusses synchronous AM reception and includes an interview with Dave Tipping, NZ1J, about a novel approach to boost foxhunt participation.
The On the Air and Eclectic Tech podcasts are sponsored by Icom. Both podcasts are available on iTunes (iOS) and Stitcher (Android), as well as on Blubrry -- On the Air | Eclectic Tec

HR NEWS
Balloon Launched by Pella Students Makes 3rd Trip Around the Globe
KNIA-KRLS Radio (Iowa), December 28, 2020  www.kniakrls.com
 
Predicted solar flux for the next 30 days is 76. 
Predicted planetary A index is 5.    Check out K9LA’s solar predictions on the web.
 
UPCOMING RADIO SPORTS
Winter Field Day is January 30 - 31, sponsored by the Winter Field Day Association (WFDA), "a dedicated group of amateur radio operators who believe that emergency communications in a winter environment is just as important as the preparations and practice that is done each summer, but with some additional unique operational concerns." CW and SSB only. INFO www.winterfieldday.com
 
The CQWW 160 meter CW contest  Jan 29th Friday  through Sunday the 31st. Visit www.CQ160.com   for details.
 FYI:  This time of year, the 160m band has relatively low amounts of atmospheric noise. The band plan is CW from 1800 – 1830 KHz. The so-called DX window is 1825 – 1830. Typically, DX stations work split frequency.  For instance, they may transmit CW between 1825 – 1830 kHz, but listen for stations calling them on another frequency that they announce with their “CQ”. After sending their CQ and call sign they might add “5u” or “10d” after their call sign meaning they are listening up 5 KHz or down 10 kHz for you to call to them.
 
North American CW Sprint February 14th (Valentine’s Day)  Lasting only four hours and using only the 80, 40 and 20-meter bands, these contests demand that participants be on their toes at all times. The Sprints’ unique QSY requirements eliminate the usual approach in many contests of dominant stations sitting on one frequency and running others.  2300UTC – 0259UTC visit www.ncjweb.com    or  www.ARRL.org 
 
School Club Roundup    Feb 8th to 12th . 5 days! visit www.ARRL.org 


Orlando HamCation  radio contest AND online webinar event February 13 - 14 will take the place of what would have been the HamCation 2021 in-person show.
The online event will include youth, technology, contesting, and vendor webinar tracks. ARRL will also present two webinars on Saturday, February 13.
Live, online prize drawings are also scheduled during the HamCation Special Edition online event.  Visit  www.ARRL.org   or  www.hamcation.com
 
CQWW WPX RTTY contest Feb 13-14  0000GMT – 2359GMT  visit  www.cqwpxrtty.com
 
ARRL International CW DX Contest Feb 20th – 21st visit  www.ARRL.org
 
CQWW 160 Meter SSB Contest  Feb 26th – 27th  visit www.CQ160.com
FYI: 160 meters is typically a night time band for DX. “Grey-line propagation” is very useful. With Grey-line propagation, one can make contacts North and South +/- of an hour of the setting or rising SUN. Typically, from the US, signals East toward Europe peak about mid-night and then reception swings South then finally West to the Pacific about dawn.
 
North American QSO RTTY Party February 27-28. Visit  www.ncjweb.com 

FYI: The North American QSO Parties are favorites of beginners and seasoned operators alike. The NAQPs are low-power only (no amplifiers allowed) which makes for a lot more breathing room on the bands. The 12 hour format allows participants to do some great contesting, yet still have time for other activities during the weekend.
 
February is busy month to be sure. Don’t forget about Valentine’s Day on the 14th.  Mark your calendars! See you on ZOOM.
73, Tim/N9CA

FROM THE PARADE STAND
By Tim McGillen/N9CA   2021 LCARC President
January 2021

Happy New Year Every Body

New Club Website! Delete any old Club browser website history. Navigate to the new site www.W9LJ.org and memorize the new one. IMHO, I think it not only looks fantastic, but has better drop downs. Constructive suggestions are welcome.
January 8th LCARC physical meeting has been cancelled due to the resurgence of Covid-19 concerns. There will be a virtual Club ZOOM meeting instead. Watch your email for a ZOOM invitation in your email. The ZOOM meeting begins at 7:00pm.
How-to ZOOM: at about 6:50pm, click on the ZOOM link sent to your email or copy that link and paste it into your web browser search line, then click “enter” on your keyboard. If you do not have ZOOM already, you will be asked “Download ZOOM Yes or NO”. Choose “YES” to proceed. On the next ZOOM screen choose “join with video, audio, or both” then click  "join meeting"  In the meeting, there are your very own ZOOM control icons, mouse over and click to turn your own video or audio on and off. Finally, on the right side of your computer screen is an area you can mouse over to and type/send text message questions.
Please, mute your microphone until you have a question. Background noise is distracting.

2021 Club Dues are well… due. Just $20.  Send to: LCARC, PO Box 90, Crown Point IN 46308.  Licensed amateurs, who have never been a member of LCARC, can join with 2021 membership dues waived. Go to W9LJ.org for an application or email the Club’s website.

LCARC January Board Meeting: Tuesday January 5th at 7:00pm. Watch your email for a ZOOM e-vite.

LCARC Information Net An informal net. Wednesdays at 8:00pm Club VHF (147.000) and UHF (442.075) repeaters pl 131.8. A great way to stay in touch with Club members. If you haven’t logged in, why not? Non-member logins welcomed.

LCARC Simplex Net on 146.520 immediately after the LCARC Information Net. (alternate is 146.540 if 146.520 is busy).

HR NEWS

Solar Flux: In spite of lower sunspot numbers, the average daily solar flux increased slightly from 82.1 to 82.8. (Solar Flux minimum was… 68 one year ago)

Predicted solar flux: 82 - January 1 to 6th , 84 - January 7 to 12,  84 - January 13 to 20, and 86 - January 21 to 23rd.  15m & 10m are often open midday. While there are beacons transmitting on 10m (28.200 – 28.300 MHz) I listen for FT8 at 28.074

NOAA Solar Cycle 25: predicting a slow start, but anticipates a peak solar flux maximum of 95 – 130. Solar Flux will be higher than the past three 11 year cycles.
International Space Station; ARISS slow scan TV -- frequency to watch will be 145.800 MHz, using SSTV PD-120 mode. A helpful addition to the ARISS website is a "Current Status of ISS Stations," which reports the present or coming operating mode of ARISS radios in the Columbus and Service modules. Click on "General Contacts" and then "Current Status of ISS Stations" on the drop-down menu of the ARISS website to access the reports.
Reverse Beacon Network (RBN) is taking advantage of a grant from the Yasme Foundation, in cooperation with Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC), to add 15 more nodes. RBN is a global system of software-defined radio receivers that monitor amateur radio bands and report CW, RTTY, and FT4/FT8 signals to a central, searchable database.

Hmmm?:  Phil Karn/KA9Q President of Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) has publically confirmed they received $108 million from Amazon for 4 million amateur radio TCP/IP addresses ($27 per IPc4 address). Amateur Radio Digital Communications (ARDC) is a non-profit California corporation.

ARRL Volunteer Monitor (VM) Program volunteers spent more than 6,100 hours poring over the amateur bands in the  3rd quarter 2020. The VM Program issued 15 Good Operator Letters. "Volunteers are in the chair monitoring, recognizing exemplary operators and admonishing those who need to pay closer attention to their operating practices”. The VM Program referred two cases to the FCC while accepting two cases from the FCC for investigation. 
 Contest University to Host ZOOM Propagation Summit Radio propagation experts will share their knowledge during a Propagation Summit, sponsored by Contest University (CTU) On January 23, 2021. The presentation schedule includes: "Update on the Personal Space Weather Station Project and HamSCI Activities for 2021" with Nathaniel Frissell, W2NAF, at 11 AM EST (1600 UTC); "Solar Cycle 25 Predictions and Progress" with Carl Luetzelschwab, K9LA, at noon (1700 UTC); "Maximizing Performance of HF Antennas with Irregular Terrain" with Jim Breakall, WA3FET, at 1 PM EST (1800 UTC), and "HF Ionospheric Propagation" with Frank Donovan, W3LPL, at 2 PM EST (1900 UTC). Registration is free. An Icom IC-705 will be raffled off as a door prize. The winner must be present on Zoom to win.
RADIO SPORTS:

Straight Key Night January 1st  This 24-hour event is not a contest; rather it is a day dedicated to celebrating our CW heritage. Participants are encouraged to get on the air and simply make enjoyable, conversational CW QSOs. The use of straight keys or bugs to send CW is preferred. Visit ARRL.orgKids Day January 2nd  Twice a year, ARRL offers an event designed to promote Amateur Radio to our youth. Share the excitement with your kids or grandkids!  Visit ARRL.org for; the exchange, frequencies, reporting, and certificate.
The ARRL RTTY Roundup January 2nd – 3rd. If you're new to RTTY or digital modes, in the RTTY Roundup, operators worldwide contact and exchange QSO information with other amateurs using Baudot RTTY, PSK, FT8/FT4, ASCII, AMTOR, and Packet. Automated operation is not permitted; each claimed contact must include contemporaneous direct initiation by the operator on both sides of the contact. Visit ARRL.org
VHF Contest January 16-18th: All US, Canadian Stations, and possessions. All legal modes are permitted. CW, SSB, MSK144, FT8 and FM-Only are gaining popularity - other popular modes include PSK31, FSK441 and JT65.  Visit ARRL.org
73 everybody!   See you on ZOOM. Tim/N9CA