[SFDXA] KB6NU's Column for February 2012

[Bill]

Hi, all--
Here's my column for February 2012. 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.

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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