[HCRA] KB6NU's Column for February 2012

[Larry - WB1DBY]

Interesting reading:


> Hi, all--
>
> Here's my column for February 2012.  Please note that some of the text 
> needs to be bold. Everything between the <bold> and </bold> tags should be 
> in a bold-faced font.
>
> 73, Dan KB6NU
>
>
>
> The Extra Class Question of the Day
>
> by Dan Romanchik, KB6NU
>
> As many of you already know, I have written study guides for the Tech and 
> General Class license exams (www.kb6nu.com/tech-manual). Until now, 
> however, I've shied away from writing an Extra Class study guide. The two 
> main reasons for this is that the material is much more complicated and 
> there's a lot more of it.
>
> This year, however, the NCVEC is updating the Extra Class question pool, 
> and I've decided to bite the bullet and do it. So, I'm now in the process 
> of writing a No-Nonsense Extra Class Study Guide.
>
> After I got started on this, I had a D'oh! moment. It occurred to me that 
> instead of just publishing this material in the study guide, I could also 
> post some of it to my blog (www.kb6nu.com). So, now I have the "Extra 
> Class question of the Day" feature on KB6NU.Com.
>
> In reality, it's usually more than just a single question because many of 
> the questions are on the same topic. That's OK, though, because in 
> reality, I don't post these every day. So, it all works out. Having said 
> all that, here's an example. The correct answer to the question is in 
> bold.
>
> Extra Class question of the day: meteor scatter
> Amateur radio operators use many different ways to get signals from one 
> spot to another. Perhaps one of the most interesting is meteor scatter 
> propagation.
>
> Meteor scatter propagation is possible because when a meteor strikes the 
> Earth's atmosphere, a cylindrical region of free electrons is formed at 
> <bold>the E layer</bold> of the ionosphere. (E3A08) <bold>28 - 148 
> MHz</bold> is the frequency range that is well suited for meteor-scatter 
> communications. (E3A09)
>
> Unfortunately, these ionization trails are relatively short-lived, so to 
> communicate via meteor scatter, you need to either be able to detect when 
> these paths are available or be transmitting when the paths are available. 
> <bold>All of these choices are correct</bold> when talking about  good 
> techniques for making meteor-scatter contacts (E3A10):
>  - 15 second timed transmission sequences with stations alternating based 
> on location
>  - Use of high speed CW or digital modes
>  - Short transmission with rapidly repeated call signs and signal reports
>
> For more information on meteor scatter, go to:
>  - G3WZT’s Meteor Scatter page (www.qsl.net/g3wzt/g3wzt_ms.html)
>  - RSGB’s Meteor Scatter page (www.rsgb.org/psc/meteor-scatter.php)
>
> For more Extra Class questions of the day, go to www.kb6nu.com.
>
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> When he's not trying to figure out how he'll be able to finish writing the 
> No-Nonsense Extra Class License Study Guide, Dan, KB6NU is station manager 
> at WA2HOM (www.wa2hom.org), the ham radio station at the Hands-On Museum 
> in Ann Arbor, MI. If  you have a particular question that you'd like him 
> to make a "question of the day," e-mail him at cwgeek at kb6nu.com