12/27/03

Home Page of Greg Buchwald, K9QI

Amateur Radio and Astronomy…

During 2000 and 2002, I was fortunate enough to be able to do astronomy under the dark skies of Namibia.  At 5000 feet AMSL, and with 65 degree, 5% humidity days, and temperatures falling just to freezing at night in June and July of each year, the skies at Tivoli Farm are welcoming to an amateur astronomer like myself.  In addition to enjoying the fine skies at night, I was issued the call V51/K9QI during each trip.  Despite poor band conditions during this time of the year on each trip, I was able to make many European contacts, as well as contacts across Africa.  I also was able to make nearly daily contacts with a group in Southern California.  Once again this year, I hope to return to Tivoli in the hopes of setting up a remote observatory that will be available for use by students as part of the Hands-On-Universe project.  I also volunteer time at Yerkes Observatory, operated by the University of Chicago, and home of the world’s largest refracting telescope, the great 40 inch Hale refractor.  Please enjoy a few pictures of the stark, but beautiful surroundings in Namibia.

               The Dunes of Soussosvlei – The Namib Desert, Namibia

           Eta Carina Nebula                           Earth’s Shadow at Sunset                    Sunset on an Acacia Tree

        A really big kitty, actually, a cheetah                       They make great pets and watch “dogs”!!!

Solar Astronomy and Solar Eclipses

The Sun is our closest star.  It is responsible for  the unusual propagation effects we witness on all bands from 160 meters to at least 6 meters.  Without it, we would not have the unpredictable, yet exciting cross country contact potential we enjoy at 50 MHz, and we would also not be completely shutdown by a huge X-class flare as we were a few years back during the November SSB Sweepstakes.  The sun is an interesting object to view, either with a broadband filter, during which times you are able to see the sunspots – magnetic storms on the sun, or with a narrowband filter such as a Daystar 0.6A Hydrogen Alpha filter.  The latter allows a person to see and photograph granulation on the surface of the sun and prominences on the edge of the disk of the sun.  Usually, filters are required to view the sun safely; without a filter permanent loss of vision would occur in a very short time due to burning of the retina by infrared radiation.  There is one time, however, when the sun can be safely viewed without a filter.  That time is, of course, during the total phase, or totality of a solar eclipse.  At this one unique point in time, the moon will completely cover the disk of the sun, blocking the dangerous, bright light from reaching the earth.  It is at this time that one can witness the awe and beauty of the corona – the rarified gaseous outer layer of the sun which is usually drowned out by the photosphere.  It is also the time at which, for a few seconds, one can see the chromosphere, glowing in a hot pink light.  Eclipses are rare.  Typically, there is a visible eclipse on the surface of the earth once every 18 months or so.  But, they are not always in easy to get to places.  I have traveled with veteran solar eclipse “chaser” Joel Harris (Twilight Tours – LA) to see 4 total eclipses so far in my lifetime.  Unfortunately, I started chasing eclipses late and missed some easy ones such as Winnipeg, Canada in 1981 and Baja Mexico in 1991.  I also missed going to the Altiplano region of Bolivia in 1994.  It was after seeing photos from that eclipse, and talking to Dave Stevens, a fellow amateur astronomer, that I decided to try to chase one myself.  Another friend, and respected amateur solar astronomer, Gordon Garcia, hooked me up with Joel Harris.  My first total was in February, 1998.  We traveled to Punta Fijo, a small peninsula in the Caribbean Ocean in Venezuela, about 60 miles from Aruba.  For 3 minutes and 42 seconds, we were awed by the spectacular beauty of the sun’s corona.  Hooked on that experience, we have since chased eclipses in Harput, Turkey; Fringila Farm near Lusaka, Zambia; and the outback of Australia about 100 miles from the coast or Ceduna.  I have also witness 2 annular eclipses – eclipses that would be total, except that the moon is too far from the earth to block the entire disc of the sun.  Since the moon varies in distance from the earth from 230,000 to 260,000 miles, and since the moon moves through a +/- 5 degree tilt with respect to the plane of the sun and earth, eclipses don’t occur often, nor are they always total.  It is through a very lucky chance of fate that the sun, at 93 million miles from the earth, and the moon at about 250,000 miles from the earth, both appear to take up 0.5 degrees of arc in the sky.  When everything lines up just right, an eclipse will occur somewhere on the face of the earth.  The fun is getting there!  The next eclipse to hit the US is not until 2017, so, until then, one must travel to see them.  This presents an excellent opportunity to enjoy ham radio from remote places, as well as learn the customs and take in the culture of other peoples around the world.  I am posting a few total and annular eclipse photos, but hope to post some video in the very near future.

  The shadow of the eclipse just touching the earth as it just lifts off from the surface.  Australia, 2002

A closer view of the corona during the Australian     A spectacular view of an annular eclipse at sunset

     Total eclipse of 4 Dec. 2002 by Joel Harris           south of Puerto Villarta. Photo by Carter Roberts.

 The corona during totality in Zambia, 2001.             A solar prominence during totality, 2001.

                                                       Photos by Joel Harris.

The Dayton Hamvention – An Annual Event!

  Construction of the new Dayton Radio-Mobile                The Crew Arrives the Hamvention Fleamarket Site

       Mounting the UHF Antenna on the mast…                                  Repeater System Checkout

              And, of Course, it is NOT Dayton without a Few Mammatos Clouds to Keep Us on Our Toes!!!

            The Mast is up and we’re on the air!                                     A 1954 Motorola VHF-LB Base - $20!

FOOD and LIBATIONS are ALWAYS IMPORTANT at the Hamvention!!!!!

        Enjoying a great meal at the Lone Star                        Enjoying a cold one after a long day…

There is no better place to eat than at a friendly, corner Waffle House!

                               Sara, our dinner waitress during the 2003 Hamvention

             Michelle, our breakfast waitress during the 2002 Hanvention

       Angie served us breakfast and wise cracks                  Lindsey Lou, waitress extraordinaire

              during the 2003 Hamvention                                  at the 2001 Dayton Hamvention

 Hotdogs in the rain are okay, but..........................nobody eats a Waffle House breakfast like Roy!

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end…….

                              Home again, at KB9ZPN’s QTH, after another successful Hamvention

From left to right: Jim Taylor WB8HMD, Mark Anthony K9AM, Roy Minnich KB9ZPN, and myself K9QI.