Date: Fri, 18 Feb 94 04:31:02 PST
From: Ham-Space Mailing List and Newsgroup <ham-space@ucsd.edu>
Errors-To: Ham-Space-Errors@UCSD.Edu
Reply-To: Ham-Space@UCSD.Edu
Precedence: Bulk
Subject: Ham-Space Digest V94 #33
To: Ham-Space
Ham-Space Digest Fri, 18 Feb 94 Volume 94 : Issue 33
Today's Topics:
Daily IPS Report - 11 Feb 94 (2 msgs)
Daily IPS Report - 18 Feb 94
Guide to the Personal Radio Newsgroups
It's Official: GPS Anti-spoofing Is Now on Continuously
MIR frequencies, AM or FM ?
Oscar 13 Questions
Weekly IPS Report - 18 Feb 94
Send Replies or notes for publication to: <Ham-Space@UCSD.Edu>
Send subscription requests to: <Ham-Space-REQUEST@UCSD.Edu>
Problems you can't solve otherwise to brian@ucsd.edu.
Archives of past issues of the Ham-Space Digest are available
(by FTP only) from UCSD.Edu in directory "mailarchives/ham-space".
We trust that readers are intelligent enough to realize that all text
herein consists of personal comments and does not represent the official
policies or positions of any party. Your mileage may vary. So there.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 17 Feb 1994 14:58:56 GMT
From: agate!howland.reston.ans.net!pipex!uknet!strath-cs!cen.ex.ac.uk!jmvasnie@network.ucsd.edu
Subject: Daily IPS Report - 11 Feb 94
To: ham-space@ucsd.edu
dave@eram.esi.com.au writes:
> IPS RADIO AND SPACE SERVICES AUSTRALIA
> Daily Solar And Geophysical Report
> Issued at 2330 UT 10 February 1994
> Summary for 10 February and Forecast up to 13 February
> IPS Warning 03 was issued on 03 Feb and expires today.
> -----------------------------------------------------------
>
> 1A. SOLAR SUMMARY
> Activity: low
>
> Flares: none.
>
> Observed 10.7 cm flux/Equivalent Sunspot Number : 094/040
>
> 1B. SOLAR FORECAST
> 11 February 12 February 13 February
> Activity Low Low to moderate Low to moderate
> Fadeouts None expected None expected None expected
>
> Forecast 10.7 cm flux/Equivalent Sunspot Number : 090/034
>
> 1C. SOLAR COMMENT
> Previously flaring region (M class) has yet to appear.
> -----------------------------------------------------------
>
> 2A. MAGNETIC SUMMARY
> Geomagnetic field at Learmonth : ???
>
> Estimated Indices : A K Observed A Index 9 February
> Learmonth 21 3333 5442
> Fredericksburg 27 32
> Planetary 30 34
>
>
> 2B. MAGNETIC FORECAST
> DATE Ap CONDITIONS
> 11 Feb 20 Active.
> 12 Feb 20 Active.
> 13 Feb 20 Active.
>
> 2C. MAGNETIC COMMENT
> Magnetic activity did not decline as expected, futher active periods
> are now expected. Another recurrent disturbance is expected Feb
> 14-15.
>
> 3A. GLOBAL HF PROPAGATION SUMMARY
> LATITUDE BAND
> DATE LOW MIDDLE HIGH
> 10 Feb fair-normal fair-normal poor-fair
> PCA Event : None.
> 3B. GLOBAL HF PROPAGATION FORECAST
> LATITUDE BAND
> DATE LOW MIDDLE HIGH
> 11 Feb normal fair poor
> 12 Feb normal fair poor
> 13 Feb normal fair poor
> 3C. GLOBAL HF PROPAGATION COMMENT
> Propagation conditions are now expected to remain fair for
> mid lats and fair-poor at high lats until Feb 16.
>
> -----------------------------------------------------------
>
> 4A. AUSTRALIAN REGION IONOSPHERIC SUMMARY
> MUFs at Sydney were about 15% below predicted monthly values
>
> T index: -4
>
> 4B. AUSTRALIAN REGION IONOSPHERIC FORECAST
> DATE T-index MUFs
> 11 Feb 10 10 to 15% below predicted monthly values.
> 12 Feb 20 About 10% below predicted monthly values.
> 13 Feb 20 About 10% below predicted monthly values.
>
> Predicted Monthly T Index for February is 30.
>
> 4C. AUSTRALIAN REGION COMMENT
> Ionosphere did not recover as expected yesterday, probably due
> to continuing magnetic activity. Another disturbed period is
> expected Feb 14-16.
> --
> Dave Horsfall (VK2KFU) VK2KFU @ VK2OP.NSW.AUS.OC PGP 2.3
> dave@esi.COM.AU ...munnari!esi.COM.AU!dave available
------------------------------
Date: 18 Feb 94 02:09:56 GMT
From: munnari.oz.au!newshost.anu.edu.au!sserve!usage!metro!news.ci.com.au!eram!dave@network.ucsd.edu
Subject: Daily IPS Report - 11 Feb 94
To: ham-space@ucsd.edu
In article <CLDIy8.7HG@cen.ex.ac.uk>,
jmvasnie@cen.ex.ac.uk writes:
| dave@eram.esi.com.au writes:
| > IPS RADIO AND SPACE SERVICES AUSTRALIA
| > Daily Solar And Geophysical Report
| > Issued at 2330 UT 10 February 1994
| > Summary for 10 February and Forecast up to 13 February
[ Entire report deleted ]
Yes, I did write that...
--
Dave Horsfall (VK2KFU) VK2KFU @ VK2OP.NSW.AUS.OC PGP 2.3
dave@esi.COM.AU ...munnari!esi.COM.AU!dave available
------------------------------
Date: 18 Feb 94 01:01:18 GMT
From: munnari.oz.au!newshost.anu.edu.au!sserve!usage!metro!news.ci.com.au!eram!dave@network.ucsd.edu
Subject: Daily IPS Report - 18 Feb 94
To: ham-space@ucsd.edu
IPS RADIO AND SPACE SERVICES AUSTRALIA
Daily Solar And Geophysical Report
Issued at 2330 UT 17 February 1994
Summary for 17 February and Forecast up to 20 February
IPS Warning 06 was issued on 17 Feb and is current for
20-23 Feb.
-----------------------------------------------------------
1A. SOLAR SUMMARY
Activity: low
Flares: none.
Observed 10.7 cm flux/Equivalent Sunspot Number : 106/055
1B. SOLAR FORECAST
18 February 19 February 20 February
Activity Low Low Low
Fadeouts None expected None expected None expected
Forecast 10.7 cm flux/Equivalent Sunspot Number : 110/060
1C. SOLAR COMMENT
None.
-----------------------------------------------------------
2A. MAGNETIC SUMMARY
Geomagnetic field at Learmonth : quiet to unsettled
Estimated Indices : A K Observed A Index 16 February
Learmonth 10 2222 3332
Fredericksburg 12 16
Planetary 10 15
2B. MAGNETIC FORECAST
DATE Ap CONDITIONS
18 Feb 10 Quiet to unsettled.
19 Feb 12 Quiet to unsettled.
20 Feb 18 Unsettled to active.
2C. MAGNETIC COMMENT
None.
3A. GLOBAL HF PROPAGATION SUMMARY
LATITUDE BAND
DATE LOW MIDDLE HIGH
17 Feb normal normal fair-normal
PCA Event : None.
3B. GLOBAL HF PROPAGATION FORECAST
LATITUDE BAND
DATE LOW MIDDLE HIGH
18 Feb normal normal fair
19 Feb normal normal fair
20 Feb normal fair poor
3C. GLOBAL HF PROPAGATION COMMENT
NONE.
-----------------------------------------------------------
4A. AUSTRALIAN REGION IONOSPHERIC SUMMARY
MUFs at Sydney were 10 to 15% above predicted monthly values
T index: 54
4B. AUSTRALIAN REGION IONOSPHERIC FORECAST
DATE T-index MUFs
18 Feb 55 About 15% above predicted monthly values.
19 Feb 50 About 10% above predicted monthly values.
20 Feb 20 About 15% below predicted monthly values.
Predicted Monthly T Index for February is 30.
4C. AUSTRALIAN REGION COMMENT
None.
--
Dave Horsfall (VK2KFU) VK2KFU @ VK2OP.NSW.AUS.OC PGP 2.3
dave@esi.COM.AU ...munnari!esi.COM.AU!dave available
------------------------------
Date: Tue, 15 Feb 1994 12:00:25 GMT
From: news.mtholyoke.edu!news.unomaha.edu!news@uunet.uu.net
Subject: Guide to the Personal Radio Newsgroups
To: ham-space@ucsd.edu
Posted-By: auto-faq 3.2.1.2
Archive-name: radio/personal-intro
Revision: 1.5 12/18/93 14:15:53
Changes: new mailing lists, .packet rmgroup, and .policy updates
(Note: The following is reprinted with the permission of the author.)
This message describes the rec.radio.amateur.*, rec.radio.cb, rec.radio.info,
and rec.radio.swap newsgroups. It is intended to serve as a guide for the new
reader on what to find where. Questions and comments may be directed to the
author, Jay Maynard, K5ZC, by Internet electronic mail at
jmaynard@oac.hsc.uth.tmc.edu. This message was last changed on 18 September
1993 to add the mailing lists for the new rec.radio.amateur newsgroups, to
note the rmgroup of rec.radio.amateur.packet, and to officially retire some
(in)famous threads of discussion on rec.radio.amateur.policy.
History
=======
Way back when, before there was a Usenet, the Internet hosted a mailing list
for hams, called (appropriately enough) INFO-HAMS. Ham radio discussions
were held on the mailing list, and sent to the mailboxes of those who had
signed up for it. When the Usenet software was created, and net news as we
now know it was developed, a newsgroup was created for hams: net.ham-radio.
The mailing list and the newsgroup were gatewayed together, eventually.
As the net grew, and as packet radio came into vogue, packet discussion began
to dominate other topics in the group and on the list. This resulted in the
logical solution: a group was created to hold the packet discussion, and
another corresponding mailing list was created as well: net.ham-radio.packet
and PACKET-RADIO, respectively.
These two groups served for several years, and went through Usenet's Great
Renaming essentially unchanged, moving from net.ham-radio[.packet] to
rec.ham-radio[.packet]. Readership and volume grew with the rest of the
network.
The INFO-HAMS mailing list was originally run from a US Army computer at
White Sands Missile Range, SIMTEL20. There were few problems with this
arrangement, but one was that the system was not supposed to be used for
commercial purposes. Since one of hams' favorite pastimes is swapping
gear, it was natural for hams to post messages about equipment for sale
to INFO-HAMS/rec.ham-radio. This ran afoul of SIMTEL20's no-commercial-use
restriction, and after some argument, a group was created specifically
for messages like that: rec.ham-radio.swap. This group wasn't gatewayed to
a mailing list, thus avoiding problems.
While all this was happening, other folks wanted to discuss other aspects
of the world of radio than the personal communications services. Those
folks created the rec.radio.shortwave and rec.radio.noncomm newsgroups,
and established the precedent of the rec.radio.* hierarchy, which in turn
reflected Usenet's overall trend toward a hierarchical name structure.
The debate between proponents of a no-code ham radio license and its opponents
grew fierce and voluminous in late 1989 and 1990. Eventually, both sides grew
weary of the debate, and those who had not been involved even more so. A
proposal for a newsgroup dedicated to licensing issues failed. A later
proposal was made for a group that would cover the many recurring legal issues
discussions. During discussion of the latter proposal, it became clear that it
would be desirable to fit the ham radio groups under the rec.radio.*
hierarchy. A full-blown reorganization was passed by Usenet voters in January
1991, leading to the overall structure we now use.
After the reorganization, more and more regular information postings began to
appear, and were spread out across the various groups in rec.radio.*. Taking
the successful example of the news.answers group, where informational postings
from across the net are sent, the group rec.radio.info was created in
December, 1992, with Mark Salyzyn, VE6MGS, initially serving as moderator.
In January, 1993, many users started complaining about the volume in
rec.radio.amateur.misc. This led to a discussion about a second
reorganization, which sparked the creation of a mailing list by Ian Kluft,
KD6EUI. This list, which was eventually joined by many of the most prolific
posters to the ham radio groups, came up with a proposal to add 11 groups to
the rec.radio.amateur hierarchy in April 1993. The subsequent vote, held in
May and early June, approved the creation of five groups:
rec.radio.amateur.digital.misc (to replace .packet), .equipment, .homebrew,
.antenna, and .space.
The Current Groups
==================
I can hear you asking, "OK, so this is all neat history, but what does it
have to do with me now?" The answer is that the history of each group has
a direct bearing on what the group is used for, and what's considered
appropriate where.
The easy one is rec.radio.amateur.misc. It is what rec.ham-radio was renamed
to during the reorganization. Any message that's not more appropriate in one
of the other groups belongs here, from contesting to DX to ragchewing on VHF
to information on becoming a ham.
The group rec.radio.amateur.digital.misc is for discussions related to
(surprise!) digital amateur radio. This doesn't have to be the common
two-meter AX.25 variety of packet radio, either; some of the most
knowledgeable folks in radio digital communications can be found here, and
anything in the general area is welcome. The name was changed to emphasize
this, and to encourage discussion not only of other text-based digital modes,
such as AMTOR, RTTY, and Clover, but things like digital voice and video as
well. The former group, rec.radio.amateur.packet, should be removed by
September 21st, 1993. It is obsolete, and you should use .digital.misc
instead (or the appropriate new mailing list, mentioned below). The group
has .misc as part of the name to allow further specialization if the users
wish it, such as .digital.tcp-ip.
The swap group is now rec.radio.swap. This recognizes a fact that became
evident shortly after the original group was formed: Hams don't just swap ham
radio gear, and other folks besides hams swap ham equipment. If you have radio
equipment, or test gear, or computer stuff that hams would be interested in,
here's the place. Equipment wanted postings belong here too. Discussions about
the equipment generally don't; if you wish to discuss a particular posting
with the buyer, email is a much better way to do it, and the other groups,
especially .equipment and .homebrew, are the place for public discussions.
There is now a regular posting with information on how to go about buying and
selling items in rec.radio.swap; please refer to it before you post there.
The first reorganization added two groups to the list, one of which is
rec.radio.amateur.policy. This group was created as a place for all the
discussions that seem to drag on interminably about the many rules,
regulations, legalities, and policies that surround amateur radio, both
existing and proposed. Recent changes to the Amateur Radio Rules (FCC
Part 97) have finally laid to rest the Great Usenet Pizza Autopatch Debate
as well as complaints about now-preempted local scanner laws hostile to
amateurs, but plenty of discussion about what a bunch of rotten no-goodniks
the local frequency coordinating body is, as well as the neverending no-code
debate, may still be found here.
The other added group is rec.radio.cb. This is the place for all discussion
about the Citizens' Band radio service. Such discussions have been very
inflammatory in rec.ham-radio in the past; please do not cross-post to both
rec.radio.cb and rec.radio.amateur.* unless the topic is genuinely of interest
to both hams and CBers - and very few topics are.
The rec.radio.info group is just what its name implies: it's the place where
informational messages from across rec.radio.* may be found, regardless of
where else they're posted. As of this writing, information posted to the group
includes Cary Oler's daily solar progagation bulletins, ARRL bulletins, the
Frequently Asked Questions files for the various groups, and radio
modification instructions. This group is moderated, so you cannot post to it
directly; if you try, even if your message is crossposted to one of the other
groups, your message will be mailed to the moderator, who is currently Mark
Salyzyn, VE6MGS. The email address for submissions to the group is
rec-radio-info@ve6mgs.ampr.ab.ca. Inquires and other administrivia should be
directed to rec-radio-request@ve6mgs.ampr.ab.ca. For more information about
rec.radio.info, consult the introduction and posting guidelines that are
regularly posted to that newsgroup.
The groups rec.radio.amateur.antenna, .equipment, .homebrew, and .space are
for more specialized areas of ham radio: discussions about antennas,
commercially-made equipment, homebrewing, and amateur radio space operations.
The .equipment group is not the place for buying or selling equipment; that's
what rec.radio.swap is for. Similarly, the .space group is specifically about
amateur radio in space, such as the OSCAR program and SAREX, the Shuttle
Amateur Radio EXperiment; other groups cover other aspects of satellites and
space. Homebrewing isn't about making your own alcoholic beverages at home
(that's rec.crafts.brewing), but rather construction of radio and electronic
equipment by the amateur experimenter.
Except for rec.radio.swap and rec.radio.cb, all of these newsgroups are
available by Internet electronic mail in digest format; send a mail message
containing "help" on a line by itself to listserv@ucsd.edu for instructions
on how to use the mail server.
All of the groups can be posted to by electronic mail, though, by using a
gateway at the University of Texas at Austin. To post a message this way,
change the name of the group you wish to post to by replacing all of the '.'s
with '-'s - for example, rec.radio.swap becomes rec-radio-swap - and send to
that name@cs.utexas.edu (rec-radio-swap@cs.utexas.edu, for example). You may
crosspost by including multiple addresses as Cc: entries (but see below). This
gateway's continued availability is at the pleasure of the admins at
UT-Austin, and is subject to going away at any time - and especially if
forgeries and other net.abuses become a problem. You have been warned.
A Few Words on Crossposting
===========================
Please do not crosspost messages to two or more groups unless there is genuine
interest in both groups in the topic being discussed, and when you do, please
include a header line of the form "Followup-To: group.name" in your article's
headers (before the first blank line). This will cause followups to your
article to go to the group listed in the Followup-To: line. If you wish
to have replies to go to you by email, rather than be posted, use the word
"poster" instead of the name of a group. Such a line appears in the headers
of this article.
One of the few examples of productive cross-posting is with the rec.radio.info
newsgroup. To provide a filtered presentation of information articles, while
still maintaining visibility in their home newsgroups, the moderator strongly
encourages cross-posting. All information articles should be submitted to the
rec.radio.info moderator so that he may simultaneously cross-post your
information to the appropriate newsgroups. Most newsreaders will only present
the article once, and network bandwidth is conserved since only one article is
propagated. If you make regular informational postings, and have made
arrangements with the moderator to post directly to the group, please
cross-post as appropriate.
--
Jay Maynard, EMT-P, K5ZC, PP-ASEL | Never ascribe to malice that which can
jmaynard@oac.hsc.uth.tmc.edu | adequately be explained by stupidity.
"If my car ran OS/2, it'd be there by now" -- bumper sticker
GCS d++ p+ c++ l+ m+/- s/++ g++ w++ t+ r
--
73, Paul W. Schleck, KD3FU
pschleck@unomaha.edu
------------------------------
Date: 17 Feb 1994 02:11:28 GMT
From: agate!overload.lbl.gov!ux5.lbl.gov!dprsm@ames.arpa
Subject: It's Official: GPS Anti-spoofing Is Now on Continuously
To: ham-space@ucsd.edu
What is anti-spoofing? Does this mean that we are now getting a
scrambled signal? (which I think we've been getting all along?);
or does it mean that the powers-that-be have come to their senses
and turned off the signal jitter?
------------------------------
Date: 17 Feb 1994 14:05:57 GMT
From: library.ucla.edu!agate!howland.reston.ans.net!cs.utexas.edu!math.ohio-state.edu!jussieu.fr!univ-lyon1.fr!elendir@network.ucsd.edu
Subject: MIR frequencies, AM or FM ?
To: ham-space@ucsd.edu
Hello,
I've heard that the MIR station used the 143.625 MHz for Earth control.
Do you know which mode they use ? AM, FM or SSB ?
Thanks for any info,
Vince (11 weeks and waiting ...)
--
------------------------------
Date: 17 Feb 94 16:25:35 GMT
From: news-mail-gateway@ucsd.edu
Subject: Oscar 13 Questions
To: ham-space@ucsd.edu
The cheapest way to go is a 8-12 turn helix for 432 uplink and the Quagi
for downlink.
The following chart is a design by W3PM for the 2m downlink for AO-13.
Frequency 145.900 # of Elements 8 Units are Cm
Length Spacing Boom Pos
Reflector 218.122 0.000 0.000
Driven Ele 205.740 52.705 52.705
Director # 1 90.487 39.529 92.234
Director # 2 90.011 83.185 175.419
Director # 3 89.535 43.974 219.393
Director # 4 89.059 65.722 285.115
Director # 5 88.582 65.722 350.837
Director # 6 88.106 65.722 416.560
Total Length 4.166 M
I recently acquired a 6 element quad for 2m (~ 6 feet long) and a quick check
the other nite seemed to show some good promise. I need to do a better
comparison between it and my KLM-14C for high squint angles,weak signals etc.
The S band downlink on AO-13 is approximately 2400 Mhz. Again you can build
a small dish (2-4 ft) or a 16-22 turn helix. The helix is probabily a better
choice rather than the 2 ft dish. The main cost for S band is the preamp and
downconverter. Down East microwaves sells kits/finished products in the range
of $90/$200. SSB electronics has finished products in the $200-$400 range.
The high priced SSB stuff has very low noise temperatures and would suit the
small dish or short helix. W3PM has the Down East kits on a 20 turn helix and
the signals are pretty good. (By the way W3PM is available at w3pm@amsat.org
and is the ham I bother with all my questions :) )
end
the views expressed here are the author's
C. Harper harper@huntsville.sparta.com or kd4qio@amsat.org
KD4QIO
SPARTA Inc (205) 837-5282 x1216 voicemail
4901 Corporate Drive (205) 830-0287 FAX
Huntsville AL 35805
"we have met the enemy and he is us." w. kelly
------------------------------
Date: 18 Feb 94 01:02:03 GMT
From: munnari.oz.au!newshost.anu.edu.au!sserve!usage!metro!news.ci.com.au!eram!dave@network.ucsd.edu
Subject: Weekly IPS Report - 18 Feb 94
To: ham-space@ucsd.edu
11 FEBRUARY - 17 FEBRUARY 1994
Issue No 07
Date of issue: 18 February, 1994
INDICES:
Date 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
10cm 093 098 098 101 104 105 106
A 38 27 30 28 26 16 ( 12)
T 20 26 36 48 72 41 54
SUMMARY OF ACTIVITY
February 11
Solar activity was very low.
The geomagnetic field at Learmonth (WA) was unsettled 00-09 and
21-24UT, and at storm levels at other times.
Ionospheric F2 critical frequencies at Sydney were near predicted
monthly values, with Sporadic E blanketing at 08UT.
February 12
Solar activity was very low.
The geomagnetic field at Learmonth (WA) was unsettled to active,
apart from minor storm levels 12-15UT.
Ionospheric F2 critical frequencies at Sydney were near predicted
monthly values
February 13
Solar activity was low.
The geomagnetic field at Learmonth (WA) was unsettled to active,
apart from minor storm levels 18-21UT.
Ionospheric F2 critical frequencies at Sydney were near predicted
monthly values until 16UT, apart from enhancements of 15-40% from
11-15UT, and 15-30% depressed from 17UT onwards.
February 14
Solar activity was very low.
The geomagnetic field at Learmonth (WA) was unsettled to active,
apart from minor storm levels 15-18UT.
Ionospheric F2 critical frequencies at Sydney were near predicted
monthly values until 09UT, and enhanced by 15-30% thereafter.
.SK
February 15
Solar activity was very low.
The geomagnetic field at Learmonth (WA) was unsettled to active,
apart from minor storm levels 12-15UT.
Ionospheric F2 critical frequencies at Sydney were 30-60% enhanced
until 06UT, 15-30% enhanced 07-18UT, and near predicted monthly
values thereafter.
February 16
Solar activity was very low.
The geomagnetic field at Learmonth (WA) was unsettled to active
Ionospheric F2 critical frequencies at Sydney were near predicted
monthly values with spread F during local night.
February 17
Solar activity was low.
The geomagnetic field at Learmonth (WA) was quiet to unsettled
Ionospheric F2 critical frequencies at Sydney were 10 to 15% above
predicted monthly values
FORECAST FOR THE NEXT WEEK (18 - 24 FEBRUARY)
SOLAR: low
GEOMAGNETIC: active 20-23 Feb due to a coronal hole
IONOSPHERIC: near predicted monthly values, MUFs are then expected
to be depressed 15-20% during the coronal hole activity
--
Dave Horsfall (VK2KFU) VK2KFU @ VK2OP.NSW.AUS.OC PGP 2.3
dave@esi.COM.AU ...munnari!esi.COM.AU!dave available
------------------------------
End of Ham-Space Digest V94 #33
******************************
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