Ria's Ham Shack News for May 15
Dayton Hamvention, Health and welfare - LU9OY, Ocean science meets radio, Archiving radio, Radios in a box on the way to Ducie and more!
Have a hot news tip? Send it to ria@n2rj.com.
In this issue:
It’s time for Dayton Hamvention!
Health and Welfare - Azucena Albarracin, LU9OY SK
Ocean science meets radio! - My visit to Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Archiving radio - the Internet Archive’s Digital Library of Amateur Radio grows and grows
Radios in a box on their way to Ducie Island
Coronation activities in the UK still running
FLARC “Kawfee Tawk” - A Visit to the Sun and the Ionosphere - May 19
It’s time for Dayton Hamvention!
It’s that time of year again! Dayton Hamvention is once again coming up and will be held from May 18 - 21 at the Greene County Fairgrounds in Xenia, Ohio.
The theme this year is “innovation.”
Some on social media have noted that equipment manufacturer Kenwood has requested booth space. This does NOT necessarily mean that they will be there but you never know. Kenwood has been notably quiet lately and hams have been wondering about their interest in the amateur radio market. That said, I am hoping for some new gear from them!
Speaking of innovation…
New products unveiled recently include the Icom IC-905, which is now shipping to early orders, and the Icom ID-50A. The IC-905 brings easy, turn-key access to the SHF bands and uses an innovative remote transceiver powered over ethernet, whereas the ID-50A brings a lower cost D-STAR option.
Health and Welfare - Azucena Albarracin, LU9OY SK
(Source: Carlos Almirón LU7DSY and yl-beam newsletter)
One of Argentina’s most recognizable female voices on the airwaves is now a silent key. Azucena passed away on April 13, 2023, who was the widow of Tamburú, LU9OY at her home in the Salteña capital. She was one of Salta's most recognised voices in the last half-century, She spent hours every day on the 20 meter band, where she was very popular not only in her own country Argentina, but also in Chile and Uruguay.
She was born in Formosa on March 10, 1928 and raised her family in Salta. She was the mother of Ida, Rosi and Raúl, and had eight grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. She became a radio amateur in the early 1960s during the AM era, being one of the first women with a license, alongside Nelly Lopez LU5OX (SK) of Methane.
After retiring as a teacher, she found in a Kenwood TS 120 to be her best friend for meeting countless colleagues, mainly on 14.230 MHz where she was very popular. Using only a half-wave dipole antenna, she was very knowledgeable and this allowed her to approach any topic of conversation. She was one of the most respected callsigns in Salta.
Her 90th birthday celebration drew many hams who traveled from far and wide. Sadly, about a year ago, her health issues caused her to have to step away from the microphone.
Ocean science meets radio! - My visit to Scripps Institution of Oceanography
I recently took a visit to the Scripps pier in San Diego, where we met many marine scientific activities along with radio science. Have a look!
Archiving radio - the Internet Archive’s Digital Library of Amateur Radio grows and grows
Now into the tens of thousands, the Digital Library of Amateur Radio & Communications continues to grow. It now contains many amateur radio newsletters, some of which were never published on the internet, radio shows, podcasts and many historic archives.
Radios in a box on their way to Ducie Island
If you know DXpeditions, you may know some of these callsigns: 9V1YC, AA1V, AA7A, CT1EEB, KY7M, KO8SCA, K1DG, K6GFJ, K6TD, K6MM, ND2T, N1DG, PY5EG, W1RM, W8HC.
These are famous DXpeditioners and all of the above will be transmitting from Ducie Island on the upcoming VP6A DXpedition. However, what is different this time is that none of them will be traveling there, and instead operating from the comfort of their shacks. Only W6IZT, KN4EEI and AA7JV will be on the island, and even so only for initial setup. They will be operating from the comfort of a nearby boat.
How can this be? This DXpedition will be deploying four “radio in a box” (RIB) systems. These are weathertight boxes which contain complete stations that can operate up to 1kW.
The concept was successfully tested on the recent FO/AA7JV DXpedition and this is the first time that it will be tested on a full DXpedition.
Here is a video on the concept (courtesy NIDXA):
Coronation activities in the UK still running
According to the RSGB, there are several activities still running to commemorate the coronation of King Charles III.
In particular, the GB23C callsign is open for individual radio amateurs and clubs to use. You can register via the GB23C web page .
FLARC “Kawfee Tawk” - A Visit to the Sun and the Ionosphere - May 19
A Ham Primer to The October 14 th Annular Solar Eclipse”
(Ed Efchak, WX2R and FLARC)
This year and next will feature a solar eclipse in North America – a rare series of events not repeated in our lifetimes. Study of the Sun and the Earth will be the focus on pure science that ham radio will participate with the ionosphere of primary interest. Citizen-science collaboration with organizations such as HAMSCI for the 2023 annular solar eclipse in October is a good example of that partnership.
Our presenter is Ron Wilcox KF7ZN.
So, save the date – FRIDAY, May 19, 2023 at 19:30 PM EDT – for this important and always timely discussion.
On ZOOM:
www.zoom.us, Meeting ID: 871 9030 4080, Passcode: kawfee
By Phone:
Dial: +1-646-558-8656 Meeting ID: 871 9030 4080 Passcode: 400613
For more information, please visit the club’s website at http://www.FairLawnARC.org or call 201-791-3841.
Now returning the frequency to general amateur use…
That’s it for this week! If you are at Dayton, drop me a line at ria@n2rj.com.
Peace and 73!