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Amateur Radio Operators and Weather Spotting:

Posted: 08 May 2012 05:02 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/28250

He hadn't planned on being the club's guest speaker Monday, but then George  
Shields hadn't planned on being an amateur radio operator until his high  
school physics teacher suggested it. Sometimes, things just happen. And  
when the unexpected happens -- like a flood, tornado, severe storm that  
disrupts normal communication venues -- amateur radio operators, like  
Shields, step in and hit the airwaves. After his planned speaker was called  
out of town, Shields, who was responsible for planning Monday's program at  
the weekly Kiwanis program, took the podium and explained his longtime  
hobby as an amateur radio operator.

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Amateur Radio Operators Train For Emergencies:

Posted: 08 May 2012 05:02 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/28249

Local amateur radio operators participated Friday and Saturday in a  
simulated emergency drill involving emergency management offices and state  
emergency operations centers in Texas and five other states. The exercise  
was conducted to test backup communications needed after a large solar  
storm had resulted in widespread power outages and failure of the Internet  
and cellular networks. "It went well," said Joe Thompson, ARES (Amateur  
Radio Emergency Service) emergency coordinator for Guadalupe County. "It  
was very successful both from the standpoint of what we achieved and what  
we need to work on." Members of ARES are licensed amateur radio operators  
who volunteer their time and equipment to help when normal communications  
fail or become inadequate, Thompson explained. Besides ARES members, the  
exercise involved MARS, the Military Auxiliary Radio System and RACES, the  
Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service.

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Monster Sunspot Threatens To Unleash Powerful Solar Flares:

Posted: 08 May 2012 05:01 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/28248

An enormous sunspot group has taken shape on the surface of the sun,  
hinting that our star may soon start spouting off some powerful storms. The  
huge sunspot complex, known as AR 1476, rotated into Earth's view over the  
weekend. It measures more than 60,000 miles (100,000 kilometers) across,  
researchers said. Scientists with NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory  
mission, a space-based telescope watching the sun, dubbed the solar  
structure a "monster sunspot" in a Twitter announcement.

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13 Colonies Special Event July 1-5 2012:

Posted: 08 May 2012 04:52 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/28247

The 2012, 13 Colonies stations will operate from 12:01 AM Eastern  
(0401Z),on July 1st, (That's one minute after midnight, early Sunday  
morning, July 1st) to 11:59 PM Eastern (0359Z July 6) ending on July 5th  
(One minute to midnight, late Thursday night, July 5th).

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New Kenwood TS-990S:

Posted: 08 May 2012 04:58 PM PDT
http://www.eham.net/articles/28236

The Kenwood TS-990S featuring a dual TFT display and dual receiver will  
cover the HF amateur bands plus 6 meters. This radio will be the  
top-of-the-range flagship model in the Kenwood Amateur radio line-up. A  
prototype is expected to be on display at the 2012 Dayton Hamvention. RF  
power is adjustable from 2 to 200 watts. This radio features a built in  
automatic antenna tuner and built in AC power supply. It has a serial port,  
USB ports and Ethernet port.