The CW Net is growing

We're having a great time building this net...  Tonight a new roster of check-ins.. We reached eight stations.

They were:

• Al, KB7TBC
• Skip, KJ7OYQ
• Brian, KE7WB
• Dick, W9BFP
• Bob, WB7QOU
• Paul, KD7EJI
• Jeff, W7BRS
• and net control Jim, K7NCG

We're sending 10-12 wpm to make sure everyone can copy.  And it works.  Everyone is copying and in fact it's great to see the CW.

NTMN CW Net -- Record Turnout

We had a great turn out on the Tuesday night CW Net..    Six operators joined and shared a bit of news and practiced with the key.

They were:

Al, KB7TBC

Skip, KJ7OYQ

Dick, W9BFP

Bob, WB7QOU

Jeff, W7BRS

and net control Jim, K7NCG

CW Net

The CW Net we hold on TUESDAY at 28.040 MHz at 7:30 Pacific is still going !! 

 But we're still hearing the same stations join and participate. 

 A couple of notes to encourage you to join us: 

• We run at 12-13 wpm max.  In fact it actually is about 10 wpm on most cases.  We do not go fast.
• It's fairly slow copy (partly to deal with band-conditions and partly to make sure early CW users can copy well). 12 wpm is good clear copy. 
• We want you to try to check in. Just check in. 

When you get the call for status (QRU?) and there is nothing to report (or you don't want to report) just send QRU. 

QRU means two things: 

When asked with a question mark, it means "do you have anything?" example: QRU ? 

 QRU without a question mark means: "I have nothing for you." answer: "QRU" (I have nothing) 

So let's suppose the Net Control Station is: Dick W9BFP and the station that is called next for status is Jeff W7BRS, the exchange looks like this.  The part YOU send is in BOLD, and the part NCS sends is in RED:

W7BRS W9BFP QRU?

W9BFP W7BRS QRU K 

W7BRS W9BFP THX JEFF, OK

Meaning: 

Hey Jeff, this is Dick, do you have anything? 

Dick, this is Jeff, I do not have anything. 

Hey Jeff, this is Dick, Thanks, we'll move on now.

At least you were checked-in, got called, and sent a simple "QRU" (I have nothing). Of course if you do have something.

Check in to the NTMN, we'd love to hear from you even if it's just "QRU".

"Second Breakfast"

The Second Breakfast (otherwise known as the South End Breakfast) went off pretty well.

After a bit of negotiating with the staff at the Sammamish Cafe, we got a table for four.

Those attending were:

• Mike, KF7GGM.
• Dick, W9BFP and XYL Karen
• and Jeff, W7BRS

We had a great time talking about the 10 meter net, radios and other fun things.

Not a big gathering, but we made a good show of it.

The next "Second Breakfast" will be on May 6th (first Saturday of the month) and the location is tentatively scheduled to be at the Sammamish Cafe, but that may change.  

Watch this space for details.

All are welcome.

Good DX on Net

For the Northwest Ten Meter Net, DX can be as close as Idaho, California, Oregon.

We were lucky tonight on March 15, 2023 to have several "DX" stations check in to the NTMN.

WL7UP

KL5NE

and WL7BER from Alaska

NH2BV from New Mexico

This was really good.  The propagation has been interesting on 10 meters and the recent CME that caused some unsettled conditions might have a lot to do with it.   We'll be watching the space weather reports for some analysis.

But, just wanted to thank the "DX" stations for checking in and making a call with us on the Pacific Northwest Ten Meter Net.

A Penny for your Sunspot

What is the Sunspot Number? It is not the number of sunspots. 

"What?? How do we interpret this ubiquitous number then?  How in the blazes is Sunspot Number not the same as Number of Sunspots?"

"Pull up chair.. I'll tell you.."

The Sunspot Number is actually derived from a formula. The formula yields a number.  

That number -- the result of the calculation is what we call the  Sunspot Number.

The formula is as follows

R  =  k (10g + s)

• R is the sunspot number.
• g is the number of sunspot groups on the solar disk.
• s is the total number of individual spots in all the groups.
• and k is a variable scaling factor (usually <1) that accounts for observing conditions and the type of telescope (binoculars, space telescopes, etc.). 

To do this yourself,  find s, and g.  Assume k = 1 for sake of argument.

Enter your calculator these steps:

1. 10 multiplied by g
2. add that product to s
3. multiple that sum by k

That's the Sunspot Number.

Scientists combine data from lots of observatories -- each with its own k factor -- to arrive at a daily value.

So, observatories count the number of groups (g),  they count the number of spots in each group and add those up (s), and based on the conditions and type of telescope used they assign a scale factor (k).

R =   k (10g + s)

When folks talk about the Sunspot Number, what they are referring to is usually R.   Unless they are explaining the value s (total number of spots), the R value is what we usually are talking about when we say Sunspot Number.

According to historical data and approximations, if the question still is "Well, how many sunspots are actually there?"   The rule of thumb is to take R, (the Sunspot Number) and divide by 15.  That's a close approximation of the number of actual sunspots based on historical records.

Email Reflector

We have a reflector... and it leads to a question...

https://groups.io/g/ntmn/message/1

To see more follow the link.  

Thanks.