Saturday Morning Coffee Breaks on ZOOM

9 Dec

WARA is testing holding our Saturday Morning Coffee Breaks by using the Zoom platform. This will be very informal in place of the breakfasts that we can’t hold right now. The first Zoom meetup was very well received, and there was a sense that the group wanted it to continue.

Saturday Zoom meetings provide a chance to say “Hello”, meet and put faces to people we only hear on air, swap stories, and have a “Show and Tell” if you have a new piece of kit you want to brag about.

All members should have received an email with the login information. I hope to see you next Saturday morning, March 20th at 10:00AM, PST  

Brent Besse VA7BNB, WARA President

The magnetic classification of sunspots

7 Dec

HF communications are affected by sunspots. Their number is growing with the new solar cycle #25. There are eight classifications of sunspots. You will find them below.

The different classificationssunspot with magnetic classification

  1. α – Alpha:
    A unipolar sunspot group.
  2. β – Bèta:
    A sunspot group that has a positive and a negative polarity (or bipolar) with a simple division between the polarities.
  3. γ – Gamma:
    A complex region in which the positive and negative polarities are so irregularly distributed that they can’t be classified as a bipolar Sunspot group.
  4. β-γ – Bèta-Gamma:
    A bipolar sunspot group but complex enough so that no line can be drawn between spots of opposite polarity.
  5. δ – Delta:
    The umbrae of opposite polarity in a single penumbra.
  6. β-δ – Bèta-Delta:
    A sunspot group with a general beta magnetic configuration but contains one (or more) delta sunspots.
  7. β-γ-δ – Bèta-Gamma-Delta:
    A sunspot group with a beta-gamma magnetic configuration but contains one (or more) delta sunspots.
  8. γ-δ – Gamma-Delta
    A sunspot group with a gamma magnetic configuration but contains one (or more) delta sunspots.

Check out more info on sunspots at SpaceWeatherLive.com

WARA 2020 Annual General Meeting Report

30 Oct

The WARA 2020 AGM was held on Tuesday Oct. 27, 2020. Due to COVID-19, it was a “virtual” meeting conducted by a telephone conference call using a teleconference system provided by Trevor Peirce, VE7TAV. After one technical issue during the first few minutes, the meeting progressed smoothly and orderly. We received reports from the President and directors. COVID has had an effect on all club operations including cancelling all of the public service events. Our treasurer Brian Summers VE7JKZ presented a detailed report and a budget reflecting the changes to our income stream. The budget was passed by a majority vote. Thank you Brian. We also held elections. There were 4 incumbents and nominations for 2 new Directors-at-large. See ve7vic.ca/executive/ for the updated board list. New “Directors-at-Large” Board Members are

  • Glenn Lindsey VE7GRQ – HF Stations
  • Don Tolson VE7ATJ – Education

I would like to thank all of the members who attended the meeting and all the people who have supported the club the past year, Respectfully Brent VA7BNB, President WARA