On the Web : February 2006

If you enjoy reading 'On the Web', your ham radio club can publish this column on an exchange basis with SJRA. Contact Ted, , for the exchange details.		Our contributions to the South Jersey Radio Association club bulletin "Harmonics" includes lengthy Web addresses. As the URL's can be difficult or a nuisance to type into your Web browser, the postings here should make it easier to get to the Web sites SJRA members are interested in. Look for the posting at w2xq.com at the time "Harmonics" is scheduled for delivery in the south Jersey area. Questions, suggestions or contributions are always welcome.
		Solar X-rays  Geomagnetic Field  N 3 K L

The 2006 Field Day Rules
The SJRA Field Day Site entrance is on Lower Main Street, Marlton, opposite the Indian Springs Golf Course.
GPS (Global Positioning System) coordinates are N 39° 53.162', W 74° 53.486', or use these maps.
Mapquest is almost a 'net standard, but the Google map looks very good.

Sex!

Did I get your attention? If you have children or grandchildren, this is probably the most important Web site I've seen in years. Ed, KB2MEC, a regular on the BEARS W3BXW 440 networked repeaters, sent out his find of the National Sex Offender at familywatchdog.us that displays locations, on a map, of registrants, schools and playgrounds by simply entering a ZIP code. New Jersey participates; a very few states do not. Reading through the pages, I recognized one of the site founders as a man who has appeared on CNN and Fox News Network when missing kids are the focus of the story.

Orbiting Radios

Unless you were on another planet, every active radio amateur heard about SuitSat. For more than a year, AMSAT worked on building and stuffing a battery-operated radio into an old Russian spacesuit. On January 26, NASA's press release broke the story and mainstream media picked it up.

Transmitting on 145.990 MHz, it was expected to be easily heard on the smallest of receivers. The suit was tossed overboard on 3 February at 2220 UT or so, but the transmitter failed after two orbits. Suspicions are that the batteries could not stand the cold of outer space.

The AMSAT, NASA and ARRL Web sites all have stories on the project and its aftermath. Reception reports, such as they are, are listed on suitsat.org and links to news stories on other Web sites are at the bottom of the home page.

NASA's Johnson Space Center has its own Web site, and there is a page to help people determine when the Space Station (ISS) is flying overheard. For those not so technically inclined to use the popular NASA ISS/satellite tracking sites, this appears to be a good start: www.jsc.nasa.gov/sightings.

Quickies

Some users of Windows will not use Real's RealPlayer for reasons of "taking over the computer" or fear of spyware. While I have no problems with Real now (on the Mac) or in the past when running Windows systems, I found a firm that offers an alternative package. K-Lite at www.codecguide.com has Real- and QuickTime-capable codecs. User beware -- I have not tested the Windows-only software -- and be sure to read all the information and back up your PC before you install the software. The open source MediaPortal www.team-mediaportal.com software also looks interesting. It is described as an application for turning your Windows PC into an advanced multi-media center.

Dan's Yaesu Modification Website at home.comcast.net/~sllewd, covering the VX-1R, -2R, -5R and -7R, is now static. The Webbie signed off on 4 January with a note "thanks to all - it's been a fun ride." I don't know how long the Web site will remain on line. If the material is of interest to you, you could use something like Adobe's PDF to capture the pages and turn them into a readable one-piece document.

Listen to shortwave, ham radio, air traffic control and air bands around the world via the Internet. Tune into www.dxtuners.com and listen. If you have a spare radio and a Linux OS, SM7NHC would like you to join the network. He'll do the setup remotely.

The "ShortURL" service at the eb.cx Web site, reviewed in the August 2005 column, that disappeared last month has reappeared. It has a new design, so it appears to be back in service.

Read a very funny story written by a SI writer. He took his first -- and last -- ride in an F-14 fighter jet. The URL is probably too long to type in (go to our Web site for a live link) but here it is: sportsillustrated.cnn.com/inside_game/magazine/life_of_reilly/news/1999/09/14/life_of_reilly.

Do you remember when you were a kid and someone said "if you dig a hole, you'll come out in China" and you dug -- for days -- and all you came up with dirt and rocks? Now find out where you would surface if you had dug that hole. Get the answer at grad.icmc.usp.br/~cipriani/bighole.php.

Interested in the radio listening hobby? Time is growing near for the annual gathering of the faithful in Kulpsville, PA. See last month's column or check out swlfest.com for details.

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Revised 12 February 2006

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