Archives

A few of the WCARA members activated the Cowan Lake State Park on October 12th as part of the Parks on the Air(POTA) program. The temperature was a little cold but it was sunny. A great day to be outside and play radio with some friends (KB8ZYE, W8ND, KD8VRX, KE8CIE, W8LTR & KE8JWE). We learned a few lessons, don’t cross coax, test the gear before hand, limit the number of variables. Operating portable is always challenging, we never know what challenge we will be facing that day… that’s part of the learning. We can only get better by practicing these types of operation. Thanks to everyone that helped and contributed to this activation.

This year WC8VOA will be participating in the CQ WPX contest as a YARC partner hosting station. This means we have a few youth guest operators at the station to learn more about contesting. Our goal to teach our guest operators the tips & tricks of contesting and most of all HAVE A GOOD TIME!

YARC stands for “Young Amateurs Radio Club”, part of the club is to introduce youth to contesting via their Youth Contest Program(YCP). You can find more information on their website. YARC

All QSO’s are worth points for this contest, we want to hear from everyone. Look for us on the bands.

Good luck & 73.

Once again this year the Voice of America Museum of Broadcasting  hosted Jamboree on the Air (JOTA) for any Scouts that want to participate.

We made over 80 contacts from 22 different states and 9 countries.
We are looking forward to next years event.  Thank you to all the helped with the event.

WC8VOA operated the ARRL Get Your Park ON! event this past Sunday, October 14th.

Click here for more information

The VOA Museum and WCARA were well represented at iSPACE Day.

Click here for more information

As most of you already know, Chris(KD8YVJ) and Jocelyn(KD8VRX) are headed to Costa Rica(TI5) as part of the Youth DX Adventure(YDXA) from August 3rd until the 8th.  You can find out more about the trip and YDXA from the YDXA Website.

Members of the Current Team.

There’s also a Twitter account that will show the frequencies and activities:
@YDXA2017
** You do NOT need a Twitter account to see their status/updates

Be on the lookout for KD8YVJ/TI5, please feel free to spot them on the cluster.

In commemoration of the 20th Anniversary of ARISS, a Slow Scan Television (SSTV) event is planned for Thursday, July 20 starting around 21:25 UTC.  The event plans to feature images from ARISS activities both past and present. This opportunity should cover most of the world during the operation period.

The event plans to use a computer on the ISS Russian Segment, which stores images that are then transmitted to Earth using the ham radio, specifically the onboard Kenwood TM D710 transceiver. Those receiving the images can post them at https://ariss-sstv.blogspot.com/ for viewing by the public.

The 20 year history of ARISS will be displayed through a collection of 12 unique images sharing the amazing accomplishments of ARISS over the last two decades. SSTV signals will be sent to earth at 145.80 MHz using FM. The SSTV mode of transmission is expected to be PD 120 (PD 180 may be a second option). The event is expected to continue over a two day period.

Since it’s inception, Amateur Radio on the International Space Station (ARISS) has provided students an opportunity, through ham radio, to engage in conversation with orbiting astronauts and inspired many to seek careers in science, technology, engineering and math. Consider how you might inspire students in your area through this chance to capture images directly from space to their computers.

Please note that the event, and any ARISS event, is dependent on other activities, schedules and crew responsibilities on the ISS and are subject to change at any time.

While preparations are being finalized please check for new and the most current information on the AMSAT.org and ARISS.org websites, the AMSAT-BB@amsat.org, the ARISS facebook at Amateur Radio On The International Space Station (ARISS) and ARISS twitter @ARISS_status for the latest information on this event.

You can use the AMSAT website to do ISS Pass Prediction for your area.
You will need software to decode the pictures, for the PC there’s MMSSTV. You can also decode the pictures from your smartphone, yep there’s an App for that. I use CQ SSTV for iOS(Apple), there’s also Robot36 for Android.

Good luck!

On Saturday October 8th iSPACE students in Cincinnati were able to talk to astronaut Kate Rubins (KG5FYJ) aboard the International Space Station with the help of our club and the VOA Museum.  The contact only lasted 10 minutes but I’m sure everyone will remember this exciting QSO for a very long time.

Jocelyn (KD8VRX) & Sharon (iSPACE)	Chris (KD8YVJ)

Cincinnati Enquirer Article/Video:
http://cin.ci/2eeN2ya

The local community TV (ICRC TV) posted the full event on Youtube.

Italian Telebridge Station Video:

73,
Jocelyn
KD8VRX