WWV Geoalert Is Saved!

According to the NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center web site, the 18/45 minute "Geoalert" broadcast will not go away in September after all!

The original "WWV Replacement Instructions" at this link have been replaced by the following:

SWPC is no longer planning to discontinue the broadcast of its synoptic Geo-Alert products on the WWV and WWVH radio stations. SWPC plans to continue this service for the foreseeable future.

Additionally, updates to the content of this product are underway as a result of the feedback process. For example, in addition to providing the current, daily solar flux at 2800 MHz, we are evaluating adding more frequent observations at 2695MHz. Other improvements to the message content will also be evaluated. Stay tuned to this site for the latest status on these updates.

For additional comments or questions, please email us at swpc.wwv@noaa.gov.

Night of Nights 2011 Official Announcement

From R. Dillman, MRHS:

[Details are subject to change. Check our Web site at http://www.radiomarine.org for updates.]

Each year the MRHS commemorates 12 July 1999, the date on which the supposed last commercial message was sent in the US. On that date we pick up the thread, keep the faith and maintain the traditions of maritime radio communications so that the skills and traditions of all the radiotelegraphers who came before us will be maintained.

While MRHS station KSM is on the air every Saturday, on Night of Nights we originate stations KPH and KFS in addition to KSM. We hope that other stations will join us on the air this year including KLB and WLO.

You can participate by listening or by visiting the ex-RCA receive site (details below) to see the action in person. If you'd like to operate K6KPH just bring your key. No license required! If you have a commercial radiotelegraph license bring it along. You can sit the circuit at KSM and have your license endorsed for coast station service.

Here are the details of the event:

Date: 12 July 2010 Pacific time, 13 July gmt

Doors open: 3:00pm Pacific time

On air time: 5:01pm Pacific time, 0001 gmt

Station and frequency information (subject to change):

-----

KPH

KPH will transmit on 426, 500, 4247.0, 6477.5, 8642.0, 12808.5, 17016.8 and 22477.5kc.

MF and 22Mc will be on Henry transmitters, rest of KPH HF on 1950s vintage RCA K and L sets.

KPH operators will listen for calls from ships on ITU Channel 3 in all bands. The Channel 3 frequencies are 4184.0, 6276.0, 8368.0, 12552.0, 16736.0 and 22280.5kc on HF and 500kc on MF.

Reception reports may be sent to:

Ms. DA Stoops
P.O. Box 381
Bolinas CA 94924-0381
USA

-----

KFS

KFS will transmit on 12695.5 and 17026.0 -

12695.5 will be on a 1940s vintage Press Wireless PW-15, formerly at the KFS transmitter site in Palo Alto, CA and one of the transmitters on the air on 12 July 1999. 17026.0 will be on a Henry transmitter.

KFS will listen for calls from ships on HF Channel 3 (see KPH listing for frequencies).

Reception reports may be sent to:

Ms. DA Stoops
P.O. Box 381
Bolinas CA 94924-0381
USA

-----

KSM

KSM will transmit on 426, 500, 6474, 8438.3 and 12993kc.

We don't have enough antennas to accommodate the other KSM frequencies when KPH and KFS are on the air. A failure of any of the RCA transmitters may cause a KSM transmitter to be diverted to cover KPH.

KSM will listen for calls from ships on 500kc and HF Channel 3 (see KPH listing for frequencies).

Reception reports may be sent to:

Ms. DA Stoops
P.O. Box 381
Bolinas CA 94924-0381
USA

-----

To be confirmed

WLO

WLO will transmit on 2055.5, 4343.0, 8658.0, 12992.0 and 16968.5kc

WLO will listen for calls from HF Channel 3(see KPH listing for frequencies).

Reception reports may be sent to:

WLO Radio
7700 RINLA AVENUE
MOBILE, ALABAMA 36619
USA

-----

To be confirmed

KLB

KLB will transmit on 488, 500 (A1 & A2), 8582.5kc

KLB will listen for calls from ships on 500kc and 8368.0kc.

Reception reports may be sent to:

WLO Radio
7700 RINLA AVENUE
MOBILE, ALABAMA 36619
USA

-----

K6KPH

K6KPH, the MRHS amateur station, will transmit and listen on 3550, 7050 14050 and 21050kc for KPH, KFS and KSM reception reports.

Professional operators will be at the key and commercial procedures will be used. But please don't hesitate to call, no matter what your code speed or experience level may be.

K6KPH verification reports may be sent to:

Ms. DA Stoops
P.O. Box 381
Bolinas CA 94924-0381
USA

-----

Remember, this is a public event. If you are in the area you are invited to join us at the RCA receive site, 17000 Sir Francis Drake Blvd in the Point Reyes National Seashore north of San Francisco. If using a computer mapping program add "Inverness" after the address above even though the station is well beyond that town.

Doors open at 3:00pm Pacific time. Snacks will be served. Tours of the transmitting station may be arranged for "true believers" by appointment only.

VY 73 de MRHS

NASA Announces Final Shuttle Schedule

NASA Press Release:

June 28, 2011

Candrea Thomas
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-867-2468
candrea.k.thomas@nasa.gov

Stephanie Schierholz
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
stephanie.schierholz@nasa.gov

MEDIA ADVISORY: M11-133

NASA ANNOUNCES PRELAUNCH EVENTS AND COUNTDOWN DETAILS FOR FINAL SHUTTLE FLIGHT

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- News conferences, events and operating hours for the news center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., are set for the final space shuttle launch.

Atlantis is scheduled to liftoff at 11:26 a.m. EDT on July 8, to begin the STS-135 mission to the International Space Station.

A NASA blog will provide countdown updates beginning at 6:30 a.m. on July 8. Originating from Kennedy's Launch Control Center, the blog is the definitive Internet source for information leading up to liftoff.

During the mission, visitors to NASA's shuttle website can read about the crew's progress. As Atlantis' flight concludes, the NASA blog will detail the spacecraft's return to Earth. For NASA's launch blog and continuous mission updates, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

Detailed lists of countdown milestones, news briefing times and participants, and hours of operation for Kennedy's news center and media credentialing office are available at:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/news

The NASA News Twitter feed will be updated throughout the shuttle launch countdown, mission and landing. To follow, visit:

http://www.twitter.com/nasa

Free wireless Internet access is provided at the Kennedy Press Site news center and annex. Instructions for wireless access will be available at the news center. Due to the volume of users, accessibility may be limited. Reporters should bring a backup.

For NASA TV streaming video, scheduling and downlink information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

-end-

NASA Sets Launch Date For Final Space Shuttle Mission

NASA Press Release:

June 28, 2011

Candrea Thomas
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-867-2468
candrea.k.thomas@nasa.gov

Stephanie Schierholz
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
stephanie.schierholz@nasa.gov

RELEASE: 11-193

NASA SETS LAUNCH DATE FOR FINAL SPACE SHUTTLE MISSION

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Space shuttle Atlantis' Commander Chris Ferguson and his three crewmates are scheduled to begin a 12-day mission to the International Space Station with a launch at 11:26 a.m. EDT on July 8, from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The STS-135 mission is the final flight of the Space Shuttle Program.

The launch date was announced Tuesday at the conclusion of a flight readiness review at Kennedy. During the meeting, senior NASA and contractor managers assessed the risks associated with the mission and determined the shuttle and station's equipment, support systems and personnel are ready.

Atlantis' STS-135 mission will deliver the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module filled with supplies and spare parts to sustain space station operations after the shuttles are retired.

The mission also will fly the Robotic Refueling Mission (RRM), an experiment designed to demonstrate and test the tools, technologies and techniques needed to robotically refuel satellites in space - even satellites not designed to be serviced. The crew also will return an ammonia pump that recently failed on the station. Engineers want to understand why the pump failed and improve designs for future spacecraft.

The crew consists of Commander Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley, and Mission Specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim. They are scheduled to arrive at Kennedy on Monday, July 4, for final launch preparations.

STS-135 is the 135th shuttle mission, Atlantis' 33rd flight and the 37th shuttle mission to the station.

For more information about the STS-135 mission, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle
For more information about the space station, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/station

-end-

Excalibur Pro Update

The new Winradio Excalibur Pro is now listed in the Grove catalog for a price of $1,649.95 US. The entry states that advance orders are being taken.

More Details on Winradio Excalibur Pro

Well, it looks like the Winradio WR-G33DDC Excalibur Pro is considerably closer to market. As we know, it has been vapor for quite some time, but now one has been shown at the recent Dayton Hamvention.

Winradio has also updated the spec sheet. As promised, this is indeed the high-end version of its digital down-conversion design for a software defined radio (SDR).

The specs, though not verified by any independent testing yet, are quite remarkable. But, since it's a DDC design, so is the demand on computing resources. A 2 GHz dual-core processor is the absolute minimum, and a 2.4 gig quad-core is required for full features. I would also imagine that, when you're in full rock and roll processing the 4-MHz RF bandwidth in real time, that your desktop supercomputer is not good for much else.

The software appears to offer some powerful features. Winradio claims that its spectrum analyzer can display up to the radio's entire 9 kHz to 49.99 MHz bandwidth simultaneously in real time, while you also receive three simultaneous and completely independent signals.

No US prices or availability dates are known here. A price of 1800 Euros has been published by a foreign dealer. At the current exchange rate, that works out to a cool $2600 American.

Hurricane Hunter Season Begins

As of June 1, the 2011 Atlantic hurricane season is in progress. The first TCPOD (Tropical Cyclone Plan Of the Day) was issued yesterday. In fact, it did order investigation of an area of interest in the Gulf of Mexico. This daily product is available from NOAA's NHC Aircraft Reconnaissance page, which is here:

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/reconlist.shtml

.

Hurricane Hunters are US Air Force Reserve personnel who fly specially outfitted WC-130J aircraft on long missions which make repeated passes through tropical disturbances at 10,000 feet while returning weather and position data to the National Hurricane Center in Florida. The radio call sign is TEAL.

In hurricanes, they fly cross-shaped patterns that pass through the eye, where they drop a weather instrument called a dropsonde. This parachutes down to the sea, transmitting the whole time while the sonde operator records its data.

This mission began in 1944, but it still provides essential ground truth that has been shown to increase the accuracy of hurricane forecasting.

NOAA also flies some aircraft reconnaissance missions, in various types of aircraft depending on altitude.

Flights increase in large hurricanes that may threaten land, when more frequent fixes are needed.

NATO PSYOPS Are Back

Yesterday morning (around 1000 UTC), the usual NATO psychological operations messages were heard throughout Europe on 10125 kHz USB. This is in the middle of the 30 meter amateur band, but one should remember that existing utilities were grandfathered in when amateurs got to use this segment. It's said to be a Lybian government frequency.

This morning, same time frame, various voices and languages were heard on 9376 kHz USB, again throughout Europe. Signals were weak/readable in Norway.

Earlier transmissions of this nature have been aimed at Lybian military personnel, usually sailors, who are loyal to Ghadafi. These personnel are advised, on repeating voice loops, to stand down and go home, rather than face destruction.

WX4NHC Air Test Is June 4

From ARRL:

05/23/2011

The annual WX4NHC On-the-Air Station Test from the National Hurricane Center (NHC) in Miami will take place Saturday, June 4, 1300-2100 UTC (9 AM – 5 PM EDT). “The purpose of this annual station test is to test all of our radio equipment, computers and antennas using as many modes and frequencies as possible in preparation for this year’s hurricane season,” said WX4NHC Assistant Amateur Radio Volunteer Coordinator Julio Ripoll, WD4R. “This is not a contest or simulated hurricane exercise.”

WX4NHC will be on the air on HF, VHF and UHF, plus 2 and 30 meter APRS. Suggested SSB frequencies are 3.950, 7.268, 14.325, 21.325 and 28.525 MHz, +/-QRM. Ripoll said that WX4NHC will mostly be on 14.325 MHz, but will make announcements when the station changes frequencies. WX4NHC also will be on the VoIP Hurricane Net 1700-1900 UTC (IRLP node 9219/EchoLink WX-TALK Conference) and on South Florida area VHF/UHF repeaters and simplex. Stations looking to participate in the annual station test may be able WX4NHC on HF by using one of the DX spotting networks, such as the DX Summit website.

Entire story here.

STS-134 Tanking Continues

Fueling of the external tank continues. The count is on schedule for a 8:56 a.m. EDT (1256 UTC) launch. Astronauts are awake and suiting up.

Weather has a 70 per cent chance of allowing launch.

No specific frequencies have been reported yet for the Booster Recovery Vessels. Frequencies reported on recent missions include 5711, 6751, 7665, 7833, 9043, 9132, 10780, 11104, 11548, 13212, and 14837 kHz USB.

Armed Forces Day Update

Due to the flood emergency in the US, the Army Corps of Engineers has changed its plans from those shown in the original schedule for the communication tests:

A quick note - due to regional flooding in the St. Francis River basin, the WUG-231 operation from the W.G. Huxtable Pumping Plant in Marianna, AR will not be possible. Instead, look for WUG-2/B which will be operating from Memphis, TN. Frequencies will remain the same as for WUG-231 operation.

Jim Pogue - KH2AR

STS-134 New Countdown Details

From NASA:

Liftoff is planned for 8:56 a.m. EDT on Monday, May 16, to begin the STS-134 mission to the International Space Station.

A NASA blog will provide countdown updates beginning at 3:30 a.m. May 16. Originating from Kennedy's Launch Control Center, the blog is the definitive Internet source for information leading up to liftoff.

During the mission, visitors to NASA's shuttle website can read about the crew's progress and watch the mission's four spacewalks live. As Endeavour's flight concludes, the NASA blog will detail the spacecraft's return to Earth. For NASA's launch blog and continuous mission updates, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

Detailed lists of countdown milestones, news briefing times and participants, and hours of operation for Kennedy's news center, and media credentialing office are available at:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/news

The NASA News Twitter feed will be updated throughout the shuttle launch countdown, mission and landing. To follow, visit:

http://www.twitter.com/nasa

2011 Armed Forces Day Communication Test

The annual Armed Forces Day crossband event and other special operations are tomorrow, May 14. Again this year, these are a week earlier than the actual observance of Armed Forces Day, which comes during the Dayton Hamvention.

From the Official Bulletin:

The annual celebration features traditional military to amateur cross band communications SSB voice and Morse Code tests. These tests give Amateur Radio operators and Short Wave Listeners (SWL) an opportunity to demonstrate their individual technical skills, and to receive recognition from the appropriate military radio station for their proven expertise. QSL cards will be provided to those stations making contact with the military stations.

MILITARY-TO-AMATEUR CROSS BAND SSB & CW TEST CONTACTS.
Military-to-Amateur cross band operations will take place on the dates/times in ZULU (UTC), and frequencies listed below for each station. Voice contacts will include operations in single sideband voice (SSB). Some stations may not operate the entire period, depending on propagation and manning. Participating military stations will transmit on selected Military MARS frequencies and listen for amateur radio stations in the Amateur bands indicated below. The military station operator will announce the specific amateur band frequency being monitored. Duration of each voice contact should be limited to 1-2 minutes. The following stations will be transmitting on MARS frequencies listed below which are provided as "Window/Dial Frequency" in kHz.
Some stations will use CW to provide the opportunity to check in by Morse Code.

Army Stations
STATION: AAZ (14 May 1400Z - 15 May 0300Z)
Frequency Emission Amateur Band
4038.9 kHz LSB 80M
6913.0 kHz LSB 40M
14.402.0 kHz USB 20M
13.996.0 kHz USB 20M
18.211.0 kHz USB 17M
7577.0 kHz CW 40M
13.507.0 kHz CW 20M
7639.5 kHz RTTY 40M
13512.5 kHz MT-63 20M
Location: Fort Huachuca, AZ
Address:
Commander NETCOM/9th ASC
ATTN: NETCOM-OPE-M (MARS) (31)
2133 Cushing Street
Ft. Huachuca, AZ 85616-7070
POC: Mr. Dewayne Smith
DSN: 821-7324
Commercial: (520) 533-7324

STATION: AAC (14 May 1300Z - 15 May 0100Z)
Frequency Emission Amateur Band
3348.5 kHz LSB 80M
7363.0 kHz LSB 40M
13.910.5 kHz USB 20M
27.788.5 kHz USB 10M
Location: Lexington, KY
Address:
HQ 3RD BDE, 95TH DIV (IT) MARS STATION
Barrow Army Reserve Training Center
1051 Russell Cave Pike
Lexington, KY 40505
POC: Barry Jackson, AAR4BZ
Commercial: (859) 227-0137

STATION: ABH (14 May 1600Z - 15 May 2300Z)
Frequency Emission Amateur Band
3350.0 kHz LSB 80M
4441.5 kHz LSB 80M
4792.5 kHz LSB 80M
7360.0 kHz LSB 40M
7721.5 kHz LSB 40M
8040.0 kHz LSB 40M
14402.0 kHz USB 20M
14438.5 kHz USB 20M
14487.0 kHz USB 20M
17443.0 kHz USB 17M
17592.5 kHz USB 17M
20976.0 kHz USB 15M
20558.5 kHz USB 15M
Location: Schofield Barracks, HI
Commander, 396th Signal Company
30th Signal Battalion, 96857
POC: WO1 William Pemberton
Commercial: (808) 655-3387

STATION: WAR (14 May 1200Z - 2400Z)
Frequency Emission Amateur Band
4020.9 kHz LSB/CW 80M
7314.0 kHz LSB/CW 40M
14438.5 kHz USB/CW 20M
27991.0 kHz USB/CW 10M
Location: Pentagon, Washington, DC
Address:
Pentagon Amateur Radio Club
ATTN: AFDCBT
PO Box 2322
Arlington VA 22202
POC Mr. Gary Sessums
Station telephone:
Commercial: (703) 693-8423 DSN 223-8423

STATION: WUG-231 (14 May 1300Z - 15 May 0200Z)
Frequency Emission Amateur Band
4032.9 kHz LSB 80M
7.424.0 kHz LSB 40M
6.826.0 kHz LSB/CW 40M
14.486.0 kHz USB 20M
14.663.5 kHz USB/CW 20M
20.973.5 kHz USB/CW 15M
Location: Memphis, TN
Address:
USACE Memphis District Office
ATTN: Jim Pogue
Public Affairs Office Room B-202
167 N. Main St.
Memphis, TN 38103-1894
POC: Mr. Jim Pogue
Commercial: (901) 544-4109

NAVY/MARINE CORPS STATIONS

STATION: NAJ (14 MAY 1200Z - 15 MAY 0400Z)
NAVMARCORMARS RADIO STATION, GREAT LAKES, IL
FREQUENCY EMISSION AMATEUR BAND
4011.5 KHZ LSB/MT63 80M
7376.5 KHZ LSB 40M
14467.0 KHZ USB 20M
21758.5 KHZ USB 15M
ADDRESS: MR. DAVID OUELLETTE/NNN0ASG
6148 WEST CUTLER RD
DEWITT, MICHIGAN 48820
COMMERCIAL: (517) 515-6080

STATION: NBL (14 MAY 1200Z - 15 MAY 0400Z)
NAVMARCORMARS RADIO STATION, GROTON, CT
FREQUENCY EMISSION AMATEUR BAND
4041.5 KHZ LSB 80M
7371.5 KHZ LSB 40M
14391.5 KHZ USB 20M
20623.5 KHZ USB 15M
POC AND ADDRESS: ROBERT VETH, DIRECTOR REGION ONE
4 LANTERN LANE, CHELMSFORD MA 01824-1316
COMMERCIAL: (978) 256-5264

STATION: NNN0ASF (14 MAY 1200Z - 15 MAY 0400Z)
NAVMARCORMARS RADIO STATION, NNN0ASF
FREQUENCY EMISSION AMATEUR BAND
4014.0 KHZ LSB 80M
7394.5 KHZ LSB 40M 1200-2359Z, 0200-0400Z
7394.5 KHZ LSB PSK31 40M 0000-0200Z
13974.0 KHZ USB 20M 1200-1800Z, 2000-0400Z
13974.0 KHZ USB PSK31 20M 1800-2000Z
20997.0 KHZ USB 15M
POC AND ADDRESS: NAVMARCORMARS RADIO STATION NNN0ASF
KEN KEEHNER, PO BOX 224, BENNINGTON KS 67422
COMMERCIAL: (785) 488-2241COMMERCIAL: (978) 256-5264

STATION: NNN0CQQ (14 MAY 1500Z - 15 MAY 0400Z)
EX-USS MIDWAY MUSEUM SHIP MARS STATION
FREQUENCY EMISSION AMATEUR BAND
4003.0 KHZ LSB 80M
7351.5 KHZ LSB 40M
14463.5 KHZ USB 20M
20936.0 KHZ USB 15M
POC AND ADDRESS: JOSE GARZA, NNN0XBQ
9789 PASEO MONTRIL, SAN DIEGO CA 92129-3910
COMMERCIAL: (858) 484-0469 CELL: 858-254-0175

STATION: NUW (14 MAY 1500Z - 15 MAY 0400Z)
NAVMARCORMARS RADIO STATION, NAS WHIDBEY ISLAND, WA
FREQUENCY EMISSION AMATEUR BAND
4044.0 KHZ LSB 80M
7381.5 KHZ LSB 40M
13528.5 KHZ USB 20M
20952.5 KHZ USB 15M
POC AND ADDRESS: NAVMARCORMARS RADIO STATION
MR. DIGGER O'DELL, 260 W. PIONEER FSC BLDG.
NAS WHIDBEY ISLAND, WA 98277
COMMERCIAL: (360) 675-2823 DSN: 820-8038

STATION: NWKJ (14 MAY 1200Z - 15 MAY 0400Z)
FREQUENCY EMISSION AMATEUR BAND
4010.0 KHZ LSB 80M
7348.0 KHZ LSB 40M
14478.5 KHZ USB 20M
20994.0 KHZ USB 15M
ADDRESS: EX-USS YORKTOWN (CV-10)
PATRIOTS POINT MARITIME MUSEUM, SC
C/O FRED HAMBRECHT/NNN0GBS
129 INDIAN TRACE COURT
GILBERT, SC 29054
COMMERCIAL: (803) 657-3602

STATION: NWVC (14 MAY 1200Z - 15 MAY 0400Z)
FREQUENCY EMISSION AMATEUR BAND
4O41.5 KHZ LSB 80M
7389.0 KHZ LSB 40M
13826.0 KHZ USB 20M
20678.5 KHZ USB 15M
ADDRESS: USS LST 325
840 LST DRIVE
EVANSVILLE, IN 47713
POC: PERRY BALLINGER, NNN0VNO
COMMERCIAL: 330-932-8612/330-705-8449

Endeavour Launch Scrubbed for APU Problem

Fri, 29 Apr 2011 09:18:33 AM PDT

Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach has scrubbed today's STS-134 launch attempt because of an issue associated with Auxiliary Power Unit 1 heaters. There will be at least a 48-hour scrub turnaround while engineers assess the issue. NASA Television will air a news conference later this afternoon.

STS-134 Count Underway

NASA:

Preparations for space shuttle Endeavour's launch are continuing as planned at NASA Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A. STS-134 Commander Mark Kelly and his crew also are continuing their prelaunch activities. Liftoff to the International Space Station is scheduled for 3:47 p.m. EDT Friday.

The weather forecast calls for a 70 percent chance of favorable conditions at launch time, according to Shuttle Weather Officer Kathy Winters. The only concerns for launch may be the crosswinds at the Shuttle Landing Facility and a low cloud ceiling associated with a front moving into Central Florida.

The rotating service structure (RSS) is scheduled to be retracted at 7 p.m. today but may be delayed because of possible storm activity over the center. Teams will have about a four-hour leeway for the storms to clear out with no affect on Friday morning's external tank fueling, now planned for 6:22 a.m.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is in the process of performing an aerial survey of yesterday's brush fire, which was southeast of the Turn Basin and about three miles from the launch pad. The brush fire now is fully contained, and the plan is to burn off the remaining fuel within the fire area to help eliminate any smoke on launch day.

Links:

For NASA's launch blog and continuous
mission updates, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

Detailed lists of countdown milestones, news briefing times and participants, and hours of operation for Kennedy's news center and media credentialing office are available at:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/news

The NASA News Twitter feed will be updated throughout the shuttle launch countdown, mission and landing. Four of Endeavour's crew members -- Johnson, Chamitoff, Fincke and Kelly -- may post updates from the mission to their Twitter accounts. To follow, visit:

http://www.twitter.com/NASA

http://www.twitter.com/Astro_Box

http://www.twitter.com/Astro_Taz

http://www.twitter.com/AstroIronMike

http://www.twitter.com/ShuttleCDRKelly

For NASA TV streaming video, scheduling and downlink information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

WWV Geoalert to Cease in September!

The US NOAA Space Weather Prediction Center has issued the following bulletin pertaining to the WWV "Geoalert" at 18 minutes after the hour:

On 06 September 2011 the Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) will discontinue the broadcast of its synoptic Geo-Alert products on the WWV and WWVH radio stations starting with the 12 UTC products. These products are operationally available via the following two other mechanisms:

*SWPC's Product Subscription Service at https://pss.swpc.noaa.gov.
The WWV product can be found under the "Forecast and Summaries" section.

* SWPC's Web page - http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/ftpdir/latest/wwv.txt

Customer comments and questions related to the cessation of this service can be directed to SWPC by sending email to swpc.wwv@noaa.gov by 30 June 2011.

I would imagine that this decision was made for the usual government budget reasons, since practically everyone, myself included, gets the numbers over the Internet. Still, it's kind of sad to watch everything on the radio go away one piece at a time.

Amateur High-Altitude Balloon DOES NOT Launch Tonight

The launch is postponed per ARRL:

The Project Blue Horizon 5 high-altitude transatlantic balloon flight originally scheduled for Friday, April 22 [UTC, tonight in Pacific time], has been postponed to April 27 - 29.

The Project Blue Horizon team is attempting to break current Amateur Radio high-altitude balloon records for distance (3361.81 miles) and duration (49 hours, 45 minutes). The payload will be carried beneath a 54,000 cubic foot capacity helium-filled balloon cruising between 85,000 and 100,000 feet.

During the flight amateurs worldwide are encouraged to monitor the N2XE CW telemetry beacons at 7.1023 and 10.1466 MHz. The balloon is also equipped with an APRS beacon at 144.39 MHz using the call sign KC2ZJH. Amateurs can send reports via e-mail to PBH15.data@gmail.com. More information about the program is at the Project Blue Horizon website. Launch and flight updates will also be available on Twitter.

K6HPH & KSM On-Air for International Marconi Day

K6KPH, the amateur station of the Maritime Radio Historical Society, will be on the air for this year's International Marconi Day on Saturday 30 April.

K6KPH will use the transmitters of ex-Marconi, ex-RCA coast station KPH at the 1913 Marconi site in Bolinas, California. Operators will be at the 1929 ex-RCA receive site at Point Reyes, California.

Several volunteer operators, will be manning the K6KPH operating positions. Among these will be ace operator Rick Wahl, ex-NMC, ex-KPH.

Hours of operation:

1700 - 2359GMT

Frequencies:

3550.0
7050.0
14050.0
21050.0

Transmitters will be Henry commercial HF5000D units except for 7050.0 which will be using a 1950s vintage RCA transmitter. TPO for all transmitters will be 1.5kW.

Visitors are welcome. The receive site is located at 17400 Sir Francis Drake Blvd., Inverness, California (the station is actually well past Inverness but that's the town name that works with most on-line mapping programs).

Coast station KSM will also be on the air with the usual press and weather service on all Morse and RTTY frequencies.

For details on IMD see:

http://www.gb4imd.org.uk/

For details on K6KPH and KSM see:

http://www.radiomarine.org

International Marconi Day is April 30!

This year's International Marconi Day is Saturday, April 30, beginning at 0000 UTC and going until 2359. Details are at http://www.gb4imd.org.uk/ .

IMD is held annually on the Saturday closest to the birthday of Guglielmo Marconi. It provides an opportunity for amateurs around the world to make point-to-point direct contact with historic Marconi sites. An award is given for working these.

Stations operate on or near these sites. These are all around the world. Here's the organizers' list (not all are confirmed):

CW1GM Punta Del Este City, Uruguay
DA0IMD Borkum Island
EI0IMD  County Cork - Mizen Head
EI0MAR Martello Tower, Co Dublin
EI4MFT Clifden, County Galway
F5JYD/IMD Wimereux, France
GB0CMS  Caister, Norfolk
GB0MBS Dorchester, Dorset
GB0MGY Harlow, Essex
GB100MWT Sandford Mill Chelmsford
GB1PBL Portland Bill, Dorset
GB2GM Poldhu Cove, Cornwall
GB2M Lochboisdale Marconi Wireless Station
GB2MB  Haldon Hill, Exeter, Devon
GB2MD Radio Society of Great Britain
GB2MT Writtle, Essex
GB2OWM Orkney Wireless Museum
GB2SFL South Foreland Lighthouse
GB2SJ Souter Point Lighthouse
GB4FPR Fort Perch Rock.NB (On 500 KHz CW also)
GB4HMD Holyhead, North Wales
GB4IMD Nr. Falmouth, Cornwall [CRAC Station]
GB4M Daventry
GB4MBC Flatholm Island
GB4MBP Bass Point, The Lizard, Cornwall
GB4MD Waunfawr, Wales
GB4MDI Lavernock Point
GB4MHS Oxford
GB4MIW  Alum Bay, Isle of Wight 
GB4MPC Marconi Point, Cullercoats
GB5FHC Fraserburgh, Scotland
GB5LT Calshot, Nr. Southampton
GB6MD Brean Down, Somerset
GB8IMD Netheravon Camp, Salisbury Plain
GB8MD Tywyn, Wales
I0KHP/IMD Villa Dei Principi, Civitavecchia 
I4CDH/IMD Bologna
II4SM Sasso Marconi
IY0GA Capo Figari, Golfo Aranci, Sardinia
IY0IMD Forte Michelangelo, Civitavecchia
IY0ORP Rocca di Papa, Rome
IY0TC Torre Chiaruccia, Santa Marinella, Rome
IY1MR Rapallo, Genova
IY1SP La Spezia
IY1TTM Sestri Levante
IY4FGM Villa Griffone, Pontecchio, Bologna
IY5PIS Coltano, Pisa, Italy
K2NJ  Somerville, New Jersey 
K6KPH Bolinas, Point Reyes,Ca
KM1CC Wellfleet, Cape Cod, Mass.
MN0MRG Ballycastle, Northern Ireland
N2MO Wall, New Jersey
OE11M  Vienna, Austria
PA6IMD Gouda, The Netherlands
TF3IMD Hofdi, Reykjavik, Iceland
VE1IMD Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, Canada
VE2CRD Drummondville, Quebec, Canada
VK2IMD Wahroonga, NSW, Australia
VO1AA Signal Hill,St Johns,Newfoundland 
VO1BZM Newfoundland, Canada
W1AA/MSC Nantucket Island, Mass.
W2LIS Long Island
W2MRC Somerset, New Jersey
W2RC/IMD Rocky Point, NY
W8K Elberta/Frankfort, Michigan
WA1WCC Chatham, Mass

STS-134 Countdown Events

NASA ANNOUNCES STS-134 PRELAUNCH EVENTS AND COUNTDOWN DETAILS

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- News conferences, events and operating hours for the news center at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., are set for the final scheduled launch of space shuttle Endeavour. Liftoff is targeted for 3:47 p.m. EDT on Friday, April 29, to begin the STS-134 mission to the International Space Station.

Endeavour's crew members are Commander Mark Kelly, Pilot Greg H. Johnson and NASA Mission Specialists Mike Fincke, Drew Feustel and Greg Chamitoff and European Space Agency Mission Specialist Roberto Vittori.

A NASA blog will provide countdown updates beginning at 10:30 a.m. April 29. Originating from Kennedy's Launch Control Center, the blog is the definitive Internet source for information leading up to liftoff.

During the mission, visitors to NASA's shuttle website can read about the crew's progress and watch the mission's four spacewalks live. As Endeavour's flight concludes, the NASA blog will detail the spacecraft's return to Earth. For NASA's launch blog and continuous mission updates, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

Detailed lists of countdown milestones, news briefing times and participants, and hours of operation for Kennedy's news center and media credentialing office are available at:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/news

The NASA News Twitter feed will be updated throughout the shuttle launch countdown, mission and landing. Four of Endeavour's crew members -- Johnson, Chamitoff, Fincke and Kelly -- may post updates from the mission to their Twitter accounts. To follow, visit:

http://www.twitter.com/NASA

http://www.twitter.com/Astro_Box

http://www.twitter.com/Astro_Taz

http://www.twitter.com/AstroIronMike

http://www.twitter.com/ShuttleCDRKelly

For NASA TV streaming video, scheduling and downlink information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

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