Other interesting and useful links

• Are you an old codger?  Do you know one?  If so, you'll likely find him swapping lies and useless information on the Old Codger Net Monday nights over on 146.910 MHz.  The OCN meets every Monday about 7:30 PM or so on the Short Mountain Repeater.  For more information, visit their website at oldcodger.net
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• Wilson ARC Field Day 2006 was featured in the two local papers, The Wilson Post and The Lebanon Democrat.  Two very good articles featured photos and details about the annual event and promoted the club and amateur radio to the local communities.  Thanks to The Wilson Post's Richie Bouton and the Lebanon Democrat's Kimberly Jordan for the great coverage.  Images of the articles appear on our web site here: FD Media. 
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• Field Day 2006 has come and gone.  Lots of folks operate FD in all sorts of configurations.  One club station heard FD was operating 22A.  That's TWENTY-TWO transceivers on the air simultaneously!  Most stations were running only one or two radios.  Check out this neat FD summary from NA5U: www.arrl.org/news/features/2006/06/22/1/?nc=1
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• So you're itching to try 6M... or you want to work on that VUCC?  Well the E-Skip season is upon us.  Be sure to visit these two sites for up-to-the-minute activity on 50 MHz and above.  First, near real-time maps of radio activity on 6M in North America is at  www.vhfdx.net/spots/map.php?Lan=E&Frec=50&Map=NA   Then, check out the 50 MHz Propagation Logger at www.dxworld.com/50prop.html .  When the Magic Band opens, this second site gets fast and furious.
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• Ludwig does Morse   Music to my ears.  Make sure your PC speakers are on:  www.zerobeat.net/morse505.html
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• Fascinating account of a mysterious TVI in 1958 in Templeton, CA.  Of particular interest to amateurs.  www.valleyradioclub.org/TEMPLETON.htm
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• Manualism on video (by the talented N6TV) http://rawilson.googlepages.com
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• Study and become certified in the FEMA Emergency Management Independent Study Courses (it's free).  Prepare for the Homeland Security and ARRL mandated future requirements of all ARES volunteers (Sept 2006).  Required courses include:
    -  IS-100 (Intro to Incident Command System) and
    -  IS-700 (Intro to National Incident Management System). 
  Visit www.training.fema.gov/emiweb/IS/ for more information.
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• Work NA1SS the International Space Station on 2M.  You too can QSO with the International Space Station using almost any 2M FM radio.  Some have done it with an HT.  The guys on the ISS listen at 144.490 MHz and transmit at 145.800 MHz (both FM).  It's an odd split, but most modern FM radios can handle it.  The trick is knowing when the station is overhead.  Check out these two websites for help with that:  www.issfanclub.com  and  science.nasa.gov/temp/StationLoc.html   Good luck! 
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• Map of Hams by Zip Code.  Yet another amateur call sign mapping service via the ARRL using Yahoo maps.  Point your browser to: www.arrl.org/fcc/hamszip.html?zip=  and enter the Zip Code.
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• Map of Hams by Zip Code.  Wonder who lives there?  If it's a ham, you can find out using this cool mapping utility provided by Vanity HQ. (Look for N4MC's Ham Locator on the Vanity HQ home page). Just enter a Zip Code, wait for the map to render, then click on the blue pins for name, call sign and address.  http://www.vanityhq.com/
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• Miles Per Watt / Distance Calculator.  Find the distance between you and another amateur radio station (or city) or the MPW (Miles Per Watt) of that QRP QSO?  Visit N9SSA's Distance / MPW Calculator at:  http://www.hoffswell.com/n9ssa/mpwcalc.html
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• Weekly Fox Hunts (20M in summer, 40 & 80M in winter).  There are pelts with your call sign on them waiting to be bagged.  It's the best 90 minutes of Amateur Radio fun all week.  For details visit:  http://www.qrpfoxhunt.org
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• Improve your CW copying skills, brush up on your Technician or General class theory and engage in serious QRP discussions and projects at this informative and educational web site by an extraordinary amateur radio operator, Chuck Adams - K7QO. http://www.k7qo.net
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• Save those Altoids tins.  You can build almost all your radio gear in them.  Don't believe me, check out N5ESE's cool web site including, among many interesting things, his adventures with Altoids  http://www.io.com/~n5fc/altoids_display.htm
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• Earth and Moon Viewer.  See what the Earth would look like from the Sun, Moon and man-made satellites, and much more.  www.fourmilab.to/earthview/vplanet.html
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• Learn more about RFI.  Try the ARRL Continuing Education Program  Radio Frequency Interference course (EC-006). www.arrl.org/cce/courses.html#ec006
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• Online Calculators.  Forgot that formula?  This web page has a free on-line calculator for almost any application. www.rfcafe.com/references/calculator_links.htm
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