Understanding HamClock's Take Off Angle (TOA) and MUF-RT and MUF-VOACAP Maps

If you're a long time HamClock fan like me you'll appreciate these videos on how to use TOA (Take Off Angle) and MUF VOACAP information in your hamshack.  Take a look at these two great videos just made available by Brian Wilkins of HamClock Heaven on Facebook as well as Open Hamclock Backend (OHB), one of the great backend server projects which have rapidly stepped up to be the successors to the original Clear Sky Institute (CSI) backend.  (CSI was the originator of HamClock and its backend ‒ which is where all its information feeds from) but recently shut down due to the untimely passing of Elwood Downey, WB0OEW, its creator.  (OHB is the backend that I use and recommend as it is open source.)

Learn and enjoy!

Free Weekly Zoom Amateur Radio Operating Class Starts on April 2

A free, weekly, 3-hour Amateur Radio Operating Class on Zoom will begin on Thursday April 2 and will run through June 18.  Sessions will be 2 to 3 hours long beginning at 6:30 PM. EASTERN time. Typically, two topics are covered per evening.  The presenters will be folks very experienced in the various subjects.

A detailed syllabus will be published before the classes begin.

Attend them all, or any that you like, but you must register for the classes. To receive registration information, contact K3RA at roland.anders@comcast.net. 

Subjects will include:

• All About Operating--A general Introduction
• Amateur Radio Organizations--Local to International
• Ham Radio Operating Awards
• DXing-History and Tips from the Experts
• QSLing-How to get that needed confirmation for DXCC or WAS
• VHF/UHF Weak Signal Work and "Roving"
• Image Operating--Slow Scan and Fast Scan TV
• Remote Station control over internet
• Learning CW in the no-code era
• Digital Modes--From RTTY to FT8 and beyond
• Contesting--How to get started, tips for the beginner and intermediate contester
• Logging Software--What's available, how to use
• Propagation--A general intro to HF Propagation with emphasis on the declining phase of the current solar cycle
• Amateur Satellites--How to get started
• Portable (backpacking) operation and POTA--Tips from an expert
• Setting Up a Modern (or not so modern) HF Station
• Lightning Protection and Grounding
• Traffic Handling
• Public Service, Emergency Communications

Roland, K3RA teaches Free Zoom classes for the Technician, General, and Extra Class licenses on Thursday evenings except during the summer.   Anyone interested can email K3RA for information. Tech classes start each September, General in late October, and Extra in January.  Roland also moderates an "Operating Seminar" following the Extra Classes which features experts in various subtopics of the hobby.  

 

A Visit to Italy's Begali Keys Factory

Begali Keys are known to morse code operators throughout the world as first class instruments, and works of art.  Here is the story of one ham's recent visit to the storied Begali factory in Italy.

After three years of learning and improving my CW, I bought my first Begali key at Orlando HamCation in 2023. I used this key as I became progressively more partial to CW over any other mode. It somehow became a physical piece of motivation for me to always improve my CW skills.

Not only have I enjoyed operating at home with my Begali key, but also at the YOTA camps I’ve attended. The Begali family has donated keys to the YOTA organizations in both Europe and the Americas and is a big supporter of youth in amateur radio. For any non-YOTA camp trips that I’ve been on, my Begali key comes along as well in case there’s a chance for me to do CW. So, it was no surprise this past summer that while packing for my exchange year in Germany, the key was one of the first pieces of amateur radio equipment to go on the list.

When I packed it, though, I had no idea I’d have the opportunity to visit the Begali factory and see exactly where and how my key had been made.

During my fall break from school, my host family and I took a trip to Italy. We could travel there relatively quickly from their home in southern Bavaria. A few weeks before our trip, I reached out to Bruna Begali, KI2RTF, to let her know we would be close by and to see if she would be interested in catching up while we were there. To my surprise and delight, she graciously offered to give us a tour of the Begali Keys factory.

We accepted the offer and started our trip to Italy with a visit to Brescia, where the company has been producing keys for more than 60 years. It was about a two-hour drive from where we were staying in Trento, Italy. When we arrived at the small but very impressive factory, we were first warmly greeted outside by the dogs, and then by Bruna and her father—company founder Piero, I2RTF.

Here I am at the factory with Bruna Begali, KI2RTF, and Piero Begali, I2RTF.

After greeting everyone, we sat down and had coffee while we chatted about the basics of the production process and key points in the business’s history. Then we watched the steps involved in producing a CW key. Each key begins as a block of metal, gradually taking its shape through numerous cutting and chiseling processes.

The Detroit to Finland Connection

Finnish DXers log WCHB(AM) from a remote cabin in northern Lapland

DXers Mika Mäkeläinen, Timo Metso and Jari Luoma in Lapland, Finland

Two Finnish radio enthusiasts captured the signal of 1 kW Michigan AM station 1340 WCHB(AM) from a remote cabin above the Arctic Circle, some 4,200 miles away.

Jari Luoma and Timo Metso, who describe themselves as enthusiastic long-distance signal enthusiasts (DXers) in their early 60s with a four-decade passion for medium-wave listening, accomplished the feat on Feb. 7, from their remote DX cabin located in the village of Inari.

(Listen to the audio capture of WCHB from Lapland)

They reached out to Crawford Broadcasting for a verification email, and Chief Engineer Michael Kernen confirmed the recording was indeed WCHB, licensed to Royal Oak, Mich., broadcasting on its “graveyard” signal.

The equipment, including the Perseus SDR, at the northern Lapland remote DX setup, which netted 1340 WCHB(AM)

“We’ve heard from several DXers in Finland, but they usually catch the 50 kW WMUZ(AM) on 1200 kHz,” Kernen said.

The duo’s remote cabin in northern Lapland, Finland is more than 700 miles from their homes in the south and approximately 250 miles north of the Arctic Circle.

“The site is exceptionally quiet in terms of radio interference, thanks to its isolation from populated areas,” Luoma and Metso wrote to Kernen.

Their setup includes an over 4,000-foot-long Beverage antenna, carefully oriented to optimize reception from North and South America. They use a Perseus SDR receiver to capture the signals.

The northern lights, as seen from the remote DX cabin in Lapland

While the northern lights weren’t visible during the actual reception, the pair noted they were a stunning presence during the construction of their remote station.

The WCHB reception was far from an isolated incident for Luoma and Metso. They also successfully verified a reception of Lander, Wyo.’s KOVE(AM) last month.

John Travolta’s Old Boeing 707 Could Fly Again

After nearly a decade of anticipation, John Travolta’s former Boeing 707 is on the move to its final destination—a public display at the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS) Aviation Museum at Australia’s Shellharbour Airport (YSHL).

The actor, pilot, and Living Legends of Aviation inductee—also a former ambassador for Qantas Airways and Bombardier’s Learjet, Challenger, and Global business aircraft—is not flying the luxury jet, which was the original plan when he donated it to HARS in 2017. Instead, a crew of three aircraft restoration specialists disassembled the aircraft at Brunswick Golden Isles Airport (KBQK) in Georgia and loaded it on a ship this week.

The plane is scheduled to arrive in Australia, where it will be reassembled for display, by early May, HARS said Monday. Some components, such as the engines and tail fin, have already been shipped.

Though the aircraft is not in flying shape, Travolta said in an earlier statement that he flew a Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation that HARS “restored to flying condition from almost nothing.”

Nicknamed “Connie,” it is the last remaining flying example of that model.

“The aircraft currently requires a lot of work to be restored to a safe flying state and having seen first hand the dedication and passion of people at HARS, I have no doubt this beautiful and historical aircraft will be flying again,” Travolta said.

Travolta and Aviation