Amateur Radio Newsline Report 2037, Friday, November 11, 2016
Amateur Radio Newsline Report Number 2037, with a release date of Friday,
November 11 2016 to follow in 5-4-3-2-1.
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The following is a QST. Lebanon awaits the licensing of its first new hams
in years. Ham radio's the star in a film produced by a team from the U.S.
and Cuba -- and our lead story: An important radio telescope in West
Virginia faces shutdown. All this and more as Amateur Radio Newsline's
Report #2037, comes your way right now.
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BILLBOARD CART HERE
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GREEN BANK OBSERVATORY IN DANGER OF CLOSING
PAUL/ANCHOR: Our top story this week brings word that the National Science
Foundation has been asked to unload the Green Bank Observatory in West Virginia,
the world's largest fully steerable radio telescope. Here are
the details from Amateur Radio Newsline's Jim Damron, N8TMW.
JIM/ANCHOR: The largest fully steerable radio telescope in the world --
along with its entire facility in the National Radio Quiet Zone at Green
Bank Observatory in Green Bank, West Virginia has an uncertain future, including
the possibility of being dismantled. The 100-meter radio
telescope has been in operation since 2001, when it was built to replace
a previous radio telescope that collapsed in 1988. It operates in a
frequency range of 0.1 to 116 gigahertz. Radio telescopes study
naturally-occurring radio light from stars, galaxies, black holes, and
other astronomical objects.
The Green Bank Observatory has helped scientists worldwide in the study
of celestial objects that give off radio waves - enabling researchers to
learn more about the universe. It is open year-round, with 40,000 visitors
a year, and has been in operation for over half a century.
Now, the National Science Foundation, which funds the observatory, is
being asked by the government to consider divesting itself of the
facility. So, it is considering several options: Continue National
Science Foundation funding for science-focused operations. Continue to
operate the facility by collaborating with funding from private and
public partners with reduced National Science Foundation funding.
Collaborate with interested parties for operation of the site as a
technology and education park. Mothball the facilities -- that is,
suspending operations in a manner such that they could resume at some
future date. "Deconstruction" of the facility, followed by "site
restoration."
Two public meetings were planned for Wednesday, November 9, at the Green
Bank Observatory, for comment on the proposed changes. However, public
comments can be sent by E-mail until November 25, 2016 to
envcomp-AST-greenbank@nsf.gov with a cc to eis@gbobservatory.org.
Subject should read "Green Bank Observatory"
You may Google "Proposed Changes for Green Bank Observatory" for complete
details.
The Green Bank Observatory is an asset to the worldwide science community,
and it is hoped support will be shown for its continued uninterrupted operation.
For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Jim Damron, N8TMW, reporting from
Charleston, West Virginia.
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SUPER MOON DOESN'T ALWAYS BRING SUPER CONTACTS
ANCHOR/PAUL: Speaking of celestial things relevant to hams, let's consider
this month's supermoon. I recently did -- and I was joined by an expert.
There has been a lot of talk about the upcoming so-called "supermoon" on
the evening of November 14th. A "supermoon" is when the moon passes much
closer to the Earth than is usual, and it appears to be much bigger. Some
are questioning how this will affect moonbounce, or E-M-E amateur
communications.
I spoke with Al Katz, K-2-U-Y-H, who is very active in moonbounce, about
the upcoming event. Will it have any effect?
AL KATZ: It has virtually no effect. You can still bounce radio signals
off the moon, even at HF. I know a Japanese EME'er who's got very nice
echoes at 21 megahertz/15 meters so it can be done. The reason that people
aren't as interested in it, of course, is that you can regularly work long
distances all the time, and the advantage of getting these weak signals
off the moon - and they're still weak signals, even at 15 meters - even
under bad conditions, you're still better off using skip and propagation,
if your only interest is working an interesting place, which is one of the
exciting parts of amateur radio.
PAUL: Then according to Katz, it's interesting to watch, but otherwise
it's business as usual?
AL KATZ: That is correct. It's beautiful, and you see a full moon,
especially when it's near a horizon, and it looks enormous, and it even
looks more enormous during a "supermoon" - I've viewed supermoons
myself - but this is not the only one, they come along fairly regularly.
PAUL: So take a few moments on the evening of the 14th to walk outside and
take a closer look at the Moon. And, then go back inside and bounce some
radio waves off of it. For Amateur Radio Newsline, I'm Paul Braun, WD9GCO.
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