Boy Scouts of the Philippines Center
181 Natividad Almeda-Lopez Sts, Ermita, Manila 1000, Philippines
(opposite SM Manila)
QSL Bureau Address:
PO BOX 4083
1000 MANILA
PHILIPPINES
tel: 974 1986
fax: 481 7632
Go to the District News Page for the latest info in your District, including VHF nets.
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Reasonable rates apply for long term commercial ads.
President's Monthly Digest
| To keep all members informed of the latest happenings and news, our new President, Ramon Anquilan DU1UGZ, has started the President's Monthly Digest. To view the January edition, please click HERE. |
2010 PARA Hamvention & 17th International Grand Eyeball
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Hosted by FLARE |
Co-Hosted by COMPASS |
June 4-6, 2010
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For all the information please click on the logos above. |
Cycle 24 Update 1/6/10
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courtesy of KH6/K6MIO, from Moon Net group |
| This plot shows the
northern and southern R indices through December 2009. The
northern hemisphere shows a clear jump in activity that
continued to increase through October, November, and December
(and appears to be continuing into January); and it is
tracking quite close to the Cycle 23 northern-hemisphere trajectory. Even more encouraging is that in November and December, there is a similar jump in the southern hemisphere R, which appears to be approaching the Cycle 23 track. The current, very preliminary, indications continue to suggest that solar maximum may occur around the Northern Hemisphere winter of 2012-13, if normal rules apply (they may not). |
DX Marathon
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The CQ DX Marathon is a year-long activity, beginning at 0001 UTC January 1 and ending at 2359 UTC December 31. Each year’s event is separate. Any authorized amateur frequency may be used. Contacts through repeaters or satellites are not allowed for credit, nor are contacts with maritime or aeronautical mobile stations. All contacts must be made entirely over amateur radio frequencies—i.e., Echolink-type contacts do not count. Any authorized amateur mode may be used. Three modes will be recognized in the DX Marathon—CW, SSB, and Digital. All modes other than CW and SSB will count as Digital. Submissions with all contacts utilizing a single mode will be recognized. Now that Cycle 24 appears to be on an upswing according to the article above, you have no excuse not to participate in this activity. For more details please click on the link below... http://www.dxmarathon.com/Contestrules2010/DX Marathon Rules Dec09.pdf |
6m band now available in Bahrain
| Good news from
Bahrain....Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (TRA) has released
6 meter for amateur radio. This fantastic news is confirmed by the
long anticipated press release of the new national band plan. Radio
Amateurs in A9
were trying for many years to get access to 6m, a dream which has
finally come true. We got exclusive use of 50.000MHz - 50.500MHz as
primary users, and shared use of 50.500MHz - 52.000MHz. Other minor
changes to band plan include access to new upper part of 40m band,
and UHF band. Bahrain's national band plan can be seen on TRA
website:
http://www.tra.org.bh/en/home.asp
and PDF file of the plan can be directly accessed on this link:
http://www.tra.org.bh/en/pdf/KingdomOfBahrainNationalFrequencyPlanFianl.pdf (Page 15-16) shows 6m. We would like to thank TRA for their major step forward and their continuing support the to our small group of radio amateurs. 73 from Dr Mohamed Ali Albufalasa (A92GR) Secretary, Amateur Radio Association of Bahrain (ARAB) |
New PARA Forum
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A new Forum and Bulletin Board has been created now that we have a larger server space. This Forum is open to all comers but requires one time registration. Many of the old forum posts will gradually be migrated over to this new forum and bulletin board. Please click PARA Forum to register and visit our new Bulletin Board. The old Forum for PARA members only will be retained until the topics have been migrated to the new board. If you don't know what "Forum" means please look it up in a dictionary. It is not a website, it is a place for your voice to be heard, whether questions about any topic relating to ham radio or PARA, or advice for newbies, or just something you want to post in the various topics to be found in the PARA Forum to start a conversation or thread about something that interests you. |
PARA Anniversary
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The 77th PARA Anniversary activities were held on 21st November and the event was very well attended, surprising even the organizers! Almost 200 hams from all over the country representing all Districts were at the event. Please click on the above for more. Many thanks to Jojo, DU1VHY for the pictures. Some more pictures, courtesy of Aries Almera (DV1VNU), can be viewed by clicking HERE.... If you have any pictures you would like to have linked from here please contact the webmaster. |
Golf Tournament
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| The 1st PARA Presidents Golf Tournament was held on November 20th, the day before the PARA Anniversary, at the Club Intramuros Golf Course. The tournament raised nearly P250,000 before expenses. |
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A major sponsor was my phone, which provided 5 cell phones to use as raffle prizes for the following day's anniversary. |
Butch carving out another bunker, as if there weren't enough hazards on the course already! |
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To see more pictures from the event please click on the tree... with thanks to DU1KC |
Broadband over Power Line, BPL
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Is this something we should be concerned about? Well, BPL is now becoming established in the Philippines and will shortly be trialed in Malabon. BPL uses HF frequencies and has been shown to cause severe interference to VHF & HF receivers/transceivers such as used on amateur radio frequencies as well as government and civil agencies. |
PARA Board Resolution
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WHEREAS, there is a need to adopt an icon that would officially represent the sponsorship of the PARA Annual National Convention; WHEREAS, this icon shall be passed from one District sponsor to the next District host during the culmination of every PARA Annual National Convention conducted; WHEREAS, the most appropriate icon that could be adopted for this purpose is a microphone as it is the most common object used by all ham radio operators; WHEREAS, the first turn over activity shall be conducted during the 2010 PARA Annual National Convention at Tagaytay City wherein the symbolic microphone shall be handed over by the PARA President and the District V Director, the host District in the year 2009; WHEREFORE, be it resolved as it is hereby resolved to adopt a symbolic icon, a microphone, to be handed over from one District host to another at the end of every PARA Annual National Convention; RESOLVED further that the 2009 District V Director be given the task and the privilege to provide the said icon together with its proposed inscription within ten (10) days from approval hereof, to be presented to the PARA Board for approval and adoption; RESOLVED finally that the first symbolic turnover shall be made during the 2010 PARA Annual National Convention in Tagaytay City to be handed over by the PARA President and the 2009 District V Director. Manila, 18 June 2009 |
Mystery of the Missing Sunspots, Solved?
| June 17, 2009: The sun is in the pits of a century-class solar minimum, and sunspots have been puzzlingly scarce for more than two years. Now, for the first time, solar physicists might understand why. At an American Astronomical Society press conference today in Boulder, Colorado, researchers announced that a jet stream deep inside the sun is migrating slower than usual through the star's interior, giving rise to the current lack of sunspots. |
| PARA now has a Facebook page. To join the group please click on the Facebook logo above. If you are not yet a member of Facebook you will be given the option to create an account. See you there! |
NOAA Predicts Solar Cycle 24
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A new active period of Earth-threatening solar storms will be the
weakest since 1928 and its peak is still four years away, after a
slow start last December, predicts an international panel of experts
led by NOAA's Space Weather Prediction Center. The panel predicts
the upcoming Solar Cycle 24 will peak in May 2013
with a daily sunspot number of 90. If the prediction proves true,
Solar Cycle 24 will be the weakest cycle since number 16, which
peaked at 78 daily sunspots in 1928, and ninth weakest since the
1750s, when numbered cycles began. The panel also predicted that the lowest sunspot number between cycles—or solar minimum—occurred in December 2008, marking the end of Cycle 23 and the start of Cycle 24. If the December prediction holds up, at 12 years and seven months Solar Cycle 23 will be the longest since 1823 and the third longest since 1755. Solar cycles span 11 years on average, from minimum to minimum. An unusually long, deep lull in sunspots led the panel to revise its 2007 prediction that the next cycle of solar storms would start in March 2008 and peak in late 2011 or mid-2012. The persistence of a quiet sun since the last prediction has led the panel to a consensus that the next cycle will be "moderately weak." An updated sunspot forecast graph can be seen on http://www.para.org.ph/propagation.htm also check out http://solarcycle24.com/ |
Current Solar information is shown on the Propagation Page
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As Solar Cycle 24 has now started it pays to keep your eye on various web pages that show solar information. We have collected some of this information and it is displayed on our Propagation Page. You can also see from the Cycle graph on http://www.para.org.ph/Dynamic Prop.htm that the forecast sunspot numbers and the actual numbers up to December 2008 are quite different which explains the poor propagation of late. |
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Regular Seminar Schedule See the Local News page for more details Seminars for aspiring amateurs are conducted regularly. Those who are interested in attending please check firstly on the PARA news page for news of upcoming seminars. Please contact the PARA office for more details and confirmation. tel: 974 1986 email: dx1par@yahoo.com Local clubs are encouraged to conduct their own seminars to help their members to upgrade as well as introducing new members to the hobby. Assistance will be given to clubs so please contact Dolores at PARA HQ for more details. |
PARA Website
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The para.org.ph domain name and web hosting service is being funded by PARA President Ramon DU1UGZ, as well as some donations from others (see donors page). We are now looking for more contributions from members to continue running the PARA web site. Any amount will be gratefully accepted and the more the better of course so that we can keep the web site going for many years. Please contact the PARA secretariat if you feel you can contribute. Maraming salamat po.... |
DU HAMS IN DXCC HONOR
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The latest ARRL Honor Listing (17th January 2010) includes several prominent DU Hams. Highest among DU hams is Robin Go, DU9RG with 345 confirmed entities in the Mixed category and 345 on Phone. DU1KT is listed with 341 confirmed entities worked on Phone. As of 17th January 2010 , there are a total of 338 current DXCC. 329 confirmations are required for entry to the DXCC Honor Roll. Included in the Honor Roll is a ham sporting a portable DU call. Clarence Green, WB5LBJ/DU, is an Extra Class operator based in DU6. He is listed with 341 confirmed entities in the DXCC Honor Roll Mixed Category and 340 on Phone. DXCC stands for the DX Century Club Award given by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL). DXCC entities are not political territories but are defined in the DXCC rules. So there can be more than one entity in a country. In the Philippines, the Spratly Group is a separate DXCC entity designated as 1S. The latest DXpedition to Spratly was conducted by DXØJP. Another entity in the Philippines is the disputed Scarborough Reef designated as BS7. There was a DXpedition to the reef recently with the special call DXØS granted by NTC to the Philippine Amateur Radio Association (PARA), Inc. |
To find out more and to subscribe to the K9YA Telegraph click here....
Inside the February 2010 Issue...
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Autochenilles Across Asia
By Philip Cala-Lazar, K9PL |
Latest Ham Radio News from around the World
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Government Links
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| "I am often asked how radio works. Well, you see, wire telegraphy is |
H4A/LARA webmistress |
| like a very long cat. You yank his tail in New York and he meows in |
(now at 12wpm Morse speed!) |
| Los Angeles. Do you understand this? Now, radio is exactly the same, |
click on the photo for more |
| except that there is no cat." | |
| Attributed to Albert Einstein |
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