The 14th Annual SKYWARN Recognition Day Set for December 1

The 14th Annual SKYWARN Recognition Day (SRD) Special Event will take place Saturday, December 1, 2012. SRD is co-sponsored by the ARRL and the National Weather Service (NWS) as a way to recognize the commitment made by Amateur Radio operators in helping to keep their communities safe. According to SRD Coordinator David Floyd, N5DBZ, Amateur Radio operators can visit their local participating NWS office, working as a team to contact other hams across the world throughout the 24-hour event on 80, 40, 20, 15, 10, 6 and 2 meters, as well as 70 centimeters.

The idea for the first SRD took shape in the summer of 1999. Meteorologist-in-Charge of the Goodland, Kansas NWS office Scott Mentzer, N0QE, tried to find a way to recognize the valuable contributions storm spotters make to the National Weather Service. “Since many of those storm spotters were also hams,” Floyd told the ARRL, “it seemed like a natural fit for the recognition to be centered on Amateur Radio.” With the approval of NWS headquarters and a commitment to participate from many local NWS offices across the country, the first National Weather Service Special Event took place on November 27, 1999.

Floyd said that feedback from that first event was “overwhelmingly positive” from both the NWS staff and the local ham clubs: “Many local club members who came to that first event had never visited an NWS office before. When they came for the special event, they learned the value of their reports and how they were used in conjunction with existing technology.” And so began an annual tradition. The following year, 85 of the 122 NWS offices -- almost 70 percent -- participated in the event, making nearly 24,000 QSOs.

In 2001, the name of the event was changed to SKYWARN Recognition Day, a name Floyd said better relayed what the day was all about: “Each year since the inception of SRD, the number of NWS offices participating with local ham clubs has increased; more than 100 offices sign up each year to take part.” In keeping with the NWS setting, stations are asked to include a weather report of their location in their exchange.

In 2011, the NWS office in Melbourne, Florida -- WX4MLB -- topped the QSO list with 1604 QSOs; the Lincoln, Illinois office (WX9ILX), with 980 QSOs, placed second. The Melbourne office also contacted the most NWS offices, at 81, with the Lincoln office placing second, with 70.
The 2012 SKYWARN Recognition Day will be held on December 1 from 0000 UTC-2400 UTC. In the past, NWS offices have contacted all 50 states and more than 40 countries during the 24 hour event. Even if you make just one QSO to an NWS office, you are eligible to receive a certificate. Submit a list of the station(s) you worked (along with a self-addressed stamped envelope) to SKYWARN Recognition Day, 920 Armory Rd, Goodland, KS 67735. Many NWS offices also send out special QSL cards for this event. If you haven’t yet joined in the fun of SKYWARN Recognition Day, make 2012 your year to do so!

For more information about severe weather reporting and SKYWARN, including a state-by-state listing of SKYWARN websites, check out the ARRL publication Storm Spotting and Amateur Radio (ISBN: 978-0-87259-090-8, ARRL Order No. 0908, retail $22.95 plus shipping) is available from ARRL publications dealers and from the ARRL Online Store (telephone 860-594-0355, or toll-free in the US 888-277-5289; www.arrl.org/shop; pubsales@arrl.org).

N0D - - Special Event Station celebrating The End of the world!

N0D - - Special Event Station celebrating The End of the world!
That’s right, the end is finally near.  According to one of the three Mayan Calendars, the End of the world will occur on Dec 21, 2012. To celebrate this literally once in a lifetime event, Special Event Station N0D (Now Zero Days) will be activated on 10-80 meters and on several satellite passes for three days during and after(?) the end of the world.   December 20; is a celebration of the end of the world. December 21, the day of destruction, we will be on the air as long as possible.  December 22nd, that is a little iffy right now. 
Amateur radio stations around the crumbling globe are invited to contact N0D, who will be operating from a secret, undisclosed location.   Our operating schedule may be a little erratic as destruction rains down upon us and as long as our antennas hold out.   Those of you who may be looking skyward for the end of the world, N0D will be operating on several satellite passes. 
This will provide cosmic, maybe even intergalactic coverage for the end of the world as we know it.  Thanks to Allen, our Doomsday press release has been picked up by the Amsat News Service and will be carried in a future bulletin in about a week or so.
You can celebrate Doomsday by contacting N0D directly on the air.
QSL with SASE to KK5W.  If Doomsday actually does happen, we regret that a QSL will not be possible so hold on to your SASE until the 22nd at least.  Check out our website for a preview of the N0D QSL card. 
Amateurs can also become an official Doomsday station by registering on our website.  You will be given a registration number and the authority to identify yourself as “Official Doomsday Station” followed by your Doomsday number.  Official Doomsday stations will receive the Doomsday Station Certificate.
It is not entirely clear exactly how it will happen. Will it be a cataclysmic shift in the earth’s magnetic field, Global Warming on steroids, earthquakes, volcanoes floods, global thermonuclear war, meteor collision, the 10 plagues of Egypt UFO invasion who knows? There are scientists, soothsayers and philosophers on both sides of the question.  Either way it will be an event worth remembering.. . .or maybe there will be no one left to remember it?
More information is available on the Official N0D website, www.nowzerodays.com
You can also e-mail the N0D team at N0D.Doomsday@gmail.com.   Check our website for the latest updates.  www.nowzerodays.com

Great writeup on HF mobile antennas

Written by NC0B, Denver Colorado.

http://www.sherweng.com/documents/HFMobileAntennas-sm.pdf

ARRL Says 'Thank You' to Veterans:

On Sunday, November 11, here in the US and abroad, we will celebrate Veterans Day, also called Remembrance Day or Armistice Day. Originally a holiday that marked the end of World War I -- the "War to End All Wars" -- this day has been set aside to honor all who have served their country. It was on November 11, 1918, on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month, that Germany signed the Armistice, formally ending the hostilities that had been ongoing since 1914.

The ARRL would like to take this opportunity to thank our service veterans. Whether they served on active duty or reserve, during peacetime or time of conflict, they served their county with honor. We also would be remiss if we did not remember the families of those veterans who kept the home fires burning bright; without their love and support, our veterans would have indeed been alone.

ARRL Headquarters has its share of service veterans: Assistant VEC Manager Perry Green, WY1O (Army); Technical Editor Joel Hallas, W1ZR (Army); News Editor S. Khrystyne Keane, K1SFA (Coast Guard); Instruction and Resource Coordinator Nathan McCray, K9CPO (Navy); DXCC Manager Bill Moore, NC1L (Army); Reprints Specialist Tony Nesta, AA1RZ (Navy); Membership and Volunteer Programs Manager Dave Patton, NN1N (Navy); Technical Relations Specialist Jon Siverling, WB3ERA (Army); Field and Regulatory Correspondent Chuck Skolaut, K0BOG (Air Force), and Education & Technology Program Coordinator Mark Spencer, WA8SME (Air Force).

Thank you for your service -- your sacrifice and the sacrifice of your fellow service members is not forgotten.