By Stan Horzepa, WA1LOU
Contributing Editor

This week, Surfin’ considers the previous 499 installments of Surfin’. 

When I was a kid, I remember The Kid hitting his 500th home run. That was a real big deal back then, because Theodore Samuel Williams was only the fourth player to become a member of the exclusive 500 club, joining Babe Ruth (with 714 home runs), Jimmie Foxx (521) and Mel Ott (511)....

ARRL Roanoke Division Assistant Director Charles Wright, W4PED, of North Augusta, South Carolina, passed away June 21. He was 84. An ARRL Life Member, Wright was a founding member of the North Augusta-Belvedere Radio Club (founded in 1955). A US Army Air Corps veteran, he served in the India-Burma theater during World War II. Wright was a graduate of Lynchburg College with a degree in chemistry...

Little did I know how ham radio would enrich my life by introducing me to new experiences and wonderful friends. Perhaps the most valuable contribution ham radio made to my life was to teach me, at a very early age, that I could achieve anything if I were willing to work at it.

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The burned skeletal remains of Gary Haas, N5VGH, and his wife Linda were found in a charred camper on a remote ranch in eastern New Mexico on the morning of Wednesday, August 4. Authorities believe they were killed by escaped convicts, along with an accomplice, who had escaped from an Arizona prison on July 30. Authorities said that the Haas’ bodies and camper were found by a rancher on his pro...

With the rip-roaring success of the first-ever ARRL Rookie Roundup this past April -- modeled on the popular Novice Roundups from a decade or two ago -- the ARRL is pleased to announce that a second Rookie Roundup is this coming this Sunday, August 15 from 1800-2350 UTC.

“We’re happy that the Rookie Roundup is once again upon us,” said ARRL Contest Branch Manager Sean Kutzko, KX9X. “This event g...

On August 9, the FCC denied two Petitions for Rule Making: one to prohibit what the petitioner called “the false or unauthorized use of an Amateur Radio call sign,” and one to wishing to expand privileges on the 15 meter phone band for General and Amateur Extra class licensees.

Eric R. Hilding, K6VVA

Eric R. Hilding, K6VVA, of Morgan Hill, California, filed a Petition for Rule Making in November ...

In July 2010, the ARRL launched a newsletter called Spectrum Defense Matters to keep its members information on issues related to the protection of Amateur Radio frequencies. This newsletter -- published on the ARRL Web site a few times each year -- will cover both domestic and international topics. Your financial support is vital to support ARRL’s work to protect your operating privileges by c...

Almost 300 lighthouses in more than 40 countries and territories -- from Argentina to Wales -- will be on the air for 2010 International Lighthouse/Lightship Weekend (ILLW), organized by Scotland’s Ayr Amateur Radio Group (AARG). The event, held for the 12th year in a row, takes place Saturday, August 21 0001 UTC through Sunday, August 22 2359 UTC. While not a contest, the ILLW is more of a QSO...

When the Dayton Hamvention® opens May 20, 2011 for its 60th consecutive year, its theme -- Global Friendship -- will reflect an important part of ham radio, said 2011 Hamvention General Chairman Michael Kalter, W8CI: “The theme emphasizes how the technology continues to bond Amateur Radio operators from all over the world.”

The first official meeting of the 2011 Hamvention committee chairmen is ...

On July 13, the ARRL filed its comments in response to the FCC’s Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in ET Docket No. 10-98. The NPRM was issued in response to an ARRL Petition for Rule Making -- RM-11353 -- filed in October 2006. In its 2006 Petition, the ARRL had sought modest improvements in operating privileges in the so-called “60 meter” band, which presently consists of five channels on ...

Acting on behalf of an ARRL member in Midwest City, Oklahoma -- who had been sent a notice by the town asserting that he was in violation of a town ordinance regarding radio frequency interference (RFI) -- the ARRL notified Midwest City officials that only the FCC is empowered to regulate such matters. Two weeks after ARRL General Counsel Chris Imlay, W3KD, sent the letter to town officials, Mi...

The last time the annual Perseid meteor shower happened during a run of moonless nights -- known by astronomers as “dark time” -- was in 2007; there is a new moon on August 10, so this is a prime time to view a spectacular sky show. Not only are the meteors fascinating to watch, they also leave short-lived streams of ionized gas in their wake. As hams have known for years, these meteor trails a...

The last time the annual Perseid meteor shower happened during a run of moonless nights -- known by astronomers as “dark time” -- was in 2007; there is a new moon on August 10, so this is a prime time to view a spectacular sky show. Not only are the meteors fascinating to watch, they also leave short-lived streams of ionized gas in their wake. As hams have known for years, these meteor trails a...

On August 4, 2010, the ARRL filed a Petition to Deny Applications with the FCC to deny 68 pending Public Safety Pool license applications associated with the ReconRobotics Video and Audio Surveillance System. Each license application is accompanied by a waiver request to permit operation of the devices in the 433-445 MHz band. The applications were coordinated by APCO International Inc Licensin...

Sunspot numbers and solar flux declined this week, with the average daily sunspot numbers down more than 15 points to 20.3, and the average daily solar flux down nearly 4 points to 81.4. These are the numbers from last Thursday through this Wednesday, July 29-August 5. A new sunspot group emerged Wednesday, and three more appeared on Thursday. Sunspot numbers for Wednesday and Thursday were 27 ...

By Stan Horzepa, WA1LOU
Contributing Editor

This week, Surfin’ suggests scattering signals during the Perseids meteor shower.

Meteor burst communications -- also referred to as meteor scatter communications -- is a radio propagation mode that exploits the ionized trails of meteors during atmospheric entry to establish brief communications paths between radio stations up to 1400 miles apart.

The nex...

It was quite a busy weekend for our Sun. During the late hours of Friday, July 30, a magnificent coronal mass ejection (CME) billowed away from the eastern limb of the Sun; the source of the blast was apparently sunspot 1092. On Sunday, August 1 at approximately 0855 UTC, Earth-orbiting satellites detected a C3-class solar flare, and again, the blast came from sunspot 1092. At about the same ti...

In July, the FCC released a Report and Order (R&O) that amended Part 97 -- more specifically Section 97.113 -- stating that government entities sponsoring disaster and emergency drills will no longer need to apply for a waiver to hold these drills. Additionally, employees who wish to participate in non-government-sponsored drills and exercises may do so under certain conditions. Part 97 is the ...

In July, the FCC released a Report and Order (R&O) that would allow amateurs to participate in government-sponsored disaster preparedness drills without a waiver, as well as permit employees, under certain circumstances, to participate in non-government drills on behalf of their employer. In today’s edition of the Federal Register, the FCC issued a Final Rule that the effective date of these ne...

A group of 4th graders at Greeenville Elementary earn their Technician tickets as part of their school's program to become a NASA Explorer School.

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