On the Web : August 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

Quickies

Leon Grauer (N0TAZ, ex-KC2NEM) writes "Why pay for the ARRL directory on CD when you can just go here for info? rptr.amateur-radio.net/arn/rptr/index.html. One flaw. Few, if any, of the listings provide the offset direction. Hope this is helpful." It sure is helpful. K1IW, author of the Web page, searches the official coordinating records and returns everything in a radius from the start point one enters, out to whatever distance you specify. Default selection is 50, 222 and 440 MHz, but you can also look at 50, 902 and 1280 MHz. Optionally you can search the FCC records for AM, FM and TV stations. Another page by K1IW lists all the coordinators.

Searching the FCC records can be pretty daunting as there is much information scattered through the various bureaus. However, if K1IW searches are too restrictive in terms of types of radio services, drop this page link into your high-profile bookmarks: FCC Search Tools: www.fcc.gov/searchtools.html. In one form or another you can search specific services or a range of frequencies, and there are plenty of reference tools to explain terminology. Pay particular attention to the section on General Menu Reports (GenMen) that enables searches across databases and services.

Shortly after last month's column went to "press" in which I asked for feedback on lightning protection (as a result of a strike here) word came from SJRA members KC2TN and KC2HDR. Vicious lightning storms produced strikes on the same night at both stations. Stan lost an antenna on the tower and DSL service, and Joe suffered significant loss. A strike on the tower destroyed an Icom transceiver, three computers and a boatload of accessories. I'm really sorry to hear this. Again, I ask: if you have tips on lightning protection, or know of resources, please send them to me for compilation in a future column.

In the last two editions of "On The Web" I told you of changes in the call and location of the K2BU—Tabernacle 145.150 repeater. Now it is K2AX in Winslow, and I put together a brief Web page for Mark. Dial up w2xq.com/k2ax and have a read. Consider it a work in progress. More changes are coming in the near future. And watch for a DX Net coming this fall on Sunday nights.

Do you have an older scanner that cannot monitor the 800 MHz State of New Jersey trunking radios or tune in the new Burlington County police radio system? Rather than place the scanner on a shelf to gather dust, consider listening to some frequencies that perhaps you hadn't thought of before? The small uncontrolled airports all over southern New Jersey come alive on the weekends, and K2CGH tells me the Unicom frequencies of 122.70, 122.80, 122.90, 122.95, 123.00, and 123.05 MHz are busy with chatter. Jeff has given me a number of interesting aero links which I'll post -- watch our RSS news feed for an announcement -- and have a peek at the Red Lion Airport data at www.airnav.com/airport/N73 as an example of information to supplement what you hear. Red Lion and the two airports in the Medford area use 122.8 MHz. McGuire AFB (KWRI) approach and departure are on 124.15, 363.8 and 388.20 MHz. By the way, let's hope you do not hear traffic on 121.50 or 243.00 MHz. Those are the Emergency channels. Oh yes, everything is in the AM mode.

The Israeli-Hezbollah war continues to grow. The USA television news networks' coverage as best provides snapshots of events. If you'd like to see what the press in the Middle East and around the world has to say, I'd recommend you read the news directly from the sources within the countries and regions involved. Here's a list of press agencies, news sources and associations: mysite.verizon.net/trscons/bm_nx-sp-wx.html#nx. Perhaps you'll find these sources as interesting as I do, and more complete information than what we see on the television screen.

Stay cool this summer. And remember that we have these columns posted on w2xq.com — you do not have to type the long Web addresses into your Web browser.

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Revised 6 August 2006

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