ALERT NEWSLETTER – March 2021

Hi Everyone,

The Birminghamfest is almost here, and I hope you can attend.

Due to the Covid-19 situation, this year’s Birminghamfest will be an outdoor tailgating event.

This will be held in one of the parking lots at the Trussville Civic Center on Saturday, March 6 from 8 AM to 2 PM.

There will be no admission charges, though donations to the BARC will be welcome.

You will need to bring your own tables and chairs and canopies as well as any food and drink. No electricity will be provided. Inside restrooms will be available.

For more information go to http://birminghamfest.org/

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Helpful Ham Hints From An Old Goat

Amateur Radio is an ever changing, ever evolving hobby. Change is normal and desirable if our hobby is to remain relevant and keep pace with 21st century needs, circumstances and technology

Changes are not always pain free nor welcome by all and as is the case in any area of life, there will always be those who have been involved in the hobby longer who will assure the newcomers that everything is now miserably mushy compared to “the good old days when we had to slog uphill through the snow during the August blizzards to take our tests, make our own vacuum tubes, wire and that WE had to prove that WE knew actually something, blah, blah and blah”.

Truth is we barely knew anything after studying for the tests and everything we learned we learn afterwards over the months and years. The test is merely the key that unlocks the door. What you do after entering is largely up to you. Some enter ham radio for one reason and gravitate toward other interests. Someone getting into the hobby “strictly for emergency communications” may eventually end up being the DX King of Kilowatt Alley on 20 meters. Or, those entering wanting to work the world may end up running the club repeaters and experimenting with new digital modes instead. It’s all good.

My fellow Old Goat hams oftimes moan and groan about the licensing procedures of today. But, what are prospective hams to do? They have to take the test that the FCC mandates TODAY, not the one it mandated in 1977. If you go to the examiner and say “give me a test from the 1970’s, when the REAL hams were passing REAL tests”, well, at the least it won’t work, and at the most security or the sheriff may escort you out.

While some of my fellow Old Goats gain some sort of glee by telling new hams that they know less than nothing, they seem to forget that day when they were new a new ham and some crusty old codger gave them the exact same left hand of fellowship that they are now giving, and that they really should be behaving on a higher plane and setting a better example.

One problem that has been expressed by both old and new hams is that with the current “one day ham cram and test” method is there is no mentoring or Elmering resources available for new hams. There is no one to lead newcomers in how or why things do and don’t work or how to effectively take advantage of the new opportunities of the new world they are entering.

Now, due to the consequence of Covid-19, online testing has been implemented. On online forums many of the new hams that have used this method, which is perfectly valid according to the FCC by the way, have never had any actual personal contact with an experienced ham radio operator. Every step has been done remotely. They have no examples to follow, just a test study guide. They want to learn, but, who will teach them?

So, we come to this month’s article. The following are hints, hopefully helpful, to give a little guidance to hams, new and old.

Let’s go back in time for a moment to the fall of 1977. A teenager named Mark was sitting in the radio room of a graying ham he had just met named Jim Bonner, K4UMD. We talked and I explained that I wanted to become a ham, and he explained how he would help me.

Jim showed me his equipment and began explaining the world of ham radio. The very first thing he said was “if you are going to be ham radio operator, you will need to have thick skin.”

One thing that new hams discover to their dismay is that ham operators are the same cross-section of humanity as you will find any other arena of life. You have nice hams, helpful hams and friendly inclusive hams. You also have grouchy hams that are having a bad day, crotchety hams that will tell you to get off their radio grass, a few nuts and a few vocal jerks, aka “Lids”. In other words, hams are just a regular sample of normal sorry humanity, warts, pickles and all.

Early in my 43 years of ham radio I quit the hobby four times. In each case it was due to some nitwit giving me the “treatment” on the air, and in each case my absence was not more than 24 hours in length, after Jims words would reverberate in the back of my mind “have thick skin,” and I reminded myself that psych evals are not part of the amateur radio licensing process. I quit quitting about 30 years ago when I decided that the opinions of the mentally infirmed carried little weight and realizing that jerks are equal opportunity offenders. Red, yellow, black and white, they are jerks to all in sight and that it was just my turn to be pummeled. And, that it could be worse, as some poor soul was married to the schlub.

It actually became funny – with a few occasional exceptions.

So to new hams I say: “Life has never claimed to be fair, so don’t be surprised if you run into a creep along the way.”

To older hams I say: “Don’t be that creep.”

So let’s begin by talking about operating procedures.

To initiate a contact on VHF or UHF normally an operator will not call CQ on a repeater as on HF, though on simplex a very brief CQ is considered acceptable.

On a repeater you simply give your call sign or using my call as an example, you can say “WD4NYL, anyone around?” If someone is listening and is free to talk, they will answer.

If you are calling a specific station, you give his or her call sign and then yours. “KZ4XYZ from WD4NYL. You around Bill?” Or, if you hear someone saying “KZ4XYZ listening”, just give your call sign and if he is still there he will answer. You do this in that order, not the other way around, by giving your call sign and then his. There is a station I hear occasionally calling a KF4 call and then giving a WD4### call. I know the gentleman with the WD4### call and it isn’t him. Is he bootlegging a call or does he just have the process confused and is calling bassackards? I don’t know, and since I am at work when I hear this, I can’t get on the air and ask.

At this point I will also mention that occasionally I hear people give their call sign and getting no response they make some snarky remarks as if it is a personal insult that no one will talk to them and they sign off in a huff.

Why were they unsuccessful?

It could be they are fishing in the wrong pond, or in the right one, but, at the wrong time.

Just because there is a repeater and just because you can hit that repeater it is absolutely no guarantee that you will ever contact someone. There are repeaters, especially on UHF that are some of the best deserted repeaters you will ever find. No one uses them. Haven’t for years, but, there they are, faithfully IDing away. This that always been the case, and as popular as the myth is, it is not a sign that “oh woe is us ham radio is dying” as some would joyfully have you to believe.

The most active repeaters in Jefferson County are 147.140 MHz and 146.880 MHz. In Shelby County it’s 146.980 MHz. The most active simplex frequencies are 146.520 MHz, 146.555 MHz and 146.580 MHz.

The most likely times to find stations to talk to are during the morning and evening drives to work and possible midday at lunch. This is simply because, with the exception of retirees, everyone is either at work or in school.

Also, know that where the Birmingham and Shelby county ham populations are by and large friendly, there are some cities, particularly those with warring ham clubs, where that may not be the case. It’s political, not personal. Just be forewarned.

Club repeaters and repeaters and frequencies where ARES, Skywarn and other Nets meet are usually good hunting grounds.

Now let’s talk HF.

Occasionally on HF I will hear “CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, from WD4NYL” and then resumes “CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, from WD4NYL”

The guy never contacts anyone, no matter how long he calls or frustrated he becomes. Why? Because the dummy won’t stifle himself long enough to give anyone a chance to answer, that’s why.

What should you do? The recommended procedure is call CQ 5 to 10 times, give your call sign twice and then LISTEN – carefully. I’ve had stations call me 30 seconds or more after I quit and frankly had given up. He was waiting to see if anyone else called and it took him a couple of seconds to switch some switches, tweak and tune. We had a very long enjoyable chew of the rag, which we never would have if I had tried the Woody The Woodpecker method of calling CQ endlessly as demonstrated above.
Now one difference between VHF and HF is the way you should call a station. On HF if you want to call a particular station ALWAYS give their call first and then yours. Don’t just give your call sign and assume he knows that you are calling him. He doesn’t know if you are calling him or if he is hearing the tail end of a contact that he didn’t realize was in progress.

What if you wish to call CQ? First call “QRZ is this frequency in use” or simply “is this frequency in use” and LISTEN for a couple of seconds and repeat. Then if you hear nothing blast away.

One thing I have always found interesting about HF is how many times a band will appear dead, yet the maritime, shortwave or aeronautical bands just above and below the band are crawling with activity. How can there be that one big dead spot? Simple, the band isn’t dead at all; just everyone assumes it is since they hear nothing. Start blasting some CQs and see if you can stir up attention.

Don’t be quick to give up either. You want to make yourself obnoxiously obvious so people can find you. To totally misquote survival teacher John “Lofty” Wiseman, who discussed dressing in bright colors so rescuers can find you, “you want to stick out like poop on a pool table.”

Here are some other hints, while I am preaching:

Sermon 1# – Learn the band.

If you are trying a new band, listen to the band for a while. Learn the band’s characteristics. What signals are usually there? When does it “open” and to what direction?

Learning these things will give you an edge DX wise by letting you know what to expect and when to expect it.

Are you on the right frequency? Try calling a net on the wrong repeater or the wrong day, both of which I have done and you quickly learn not to expect too much success.

Sermon 2# – Key the microphone and take a breath before you speak.

Stated somewhat weirdly, radio and repeaters can be thought of as a collection of valves, switches, relays and constrictors which control a flow of current, much like the flow of a river. All of these components take a certain amount of time to do their job of controlling the flow, force and direction of current. The more complicated the system becomes, the longer this time delay becomes.

A transmitting station has to determine the correct transmitting frequency, the proper power level, control the audio rate, insert the proper tones or subtones and switch from receive to transmit mode.

This takes time.

The receiving station has to determine the correct frequency, switch between transmit to receive, decode the tones or subtones to release the squelch, and activate the audio amplifiers that feed sound into the speakers and the speakers have to vibrate to produce the sound.

This too takes time.

If you go through a repeater or a linked system, the equipment has to do all of the above, at each stage of the link, adding yet more time delay.

The net result is, if you simply key the microphone and speak, you may not be allowing these systems enough time to activate and do their jobs, which will result in the first part of your transmission being clipped out.

Every radio has a certain amount of lag time. The amount of time will vary with each radio. Some models are faster, some slower and there is nothing you can do to speed up the process.

Thankfully the “workaround” to this problem is simple.

Just key the microphone, take a breath and then talk. This will allow enough time for the chain reaction to take place

At my place of work they never remember this. The company radio will blurb out “phfft…come in” and various departments have to call and say “who was that for?”

Learn by bad example, key & take a breath. It will work better that way.

Sermon 3# – Don’t “quick key”, but, leave a second or two pause between transmissions.

Someone may have an emergency and desperately need to access the repeater, and may not be able to wait all day until someone finally runs out of steam. You can actually be endangering someone’s life by being, as our CB brethren used to say, a “ratchet jaw” or “bucket mouth”.

Also, don’t assume that because there is a “courtesy tone” on a repeater that the repeater timer resets when the tone sounds. On some repeaters it does reset, on others it simple means the other station has stopped transmitting. If in doubt, let the carrier drop completely. This way you won’t “time out the repeater” and it automatically shut down.

Keeping transmissions reasonably short will help also.

Sermon 4# – Don’t monopolize conversations in a “roundtable” or group.

Let the other operators have a chance to join in the conversation. They may want to add something to the discussion also.

There are numerous times I have been in a group conversation and two of the eight stations start monopolizing everything, not letting a word in edgewise and after numerous times of trying to speak and no one letting me, I usually just give up and mosey on to other more interesting things and let them have their budding romance to themselves.

Sermon 5# – Learn how to politely break into a conversation.

Unless it is an emergency, don’t just interrupt a conversation, call some station, and then take over the frequency starting a new conversation.

Instead ask if you can make a call, make your call, and then either go to another frequency or arrange to talk to the person once the frequency is clear.

If you want to join the conversation, give your call sign in the break between transmissions, they SHOULD acknowledge you and let you join.

If you are one of the stations in the conversation and another station attempts to join in, DO NOT do as I recently heard on a repeater. A conversation was ongoing, another station gave his call sign and the two stations completely ignored him and five minutes later at the end of their contact when he called again one of the operators said “we heard you; we just wanted to finish our conversation.”
That not only was the epitome of rudeness and poor operating procedure, but, also potentially tragic, as the person breaking in could have had an emergency and by them not acknowledging him lifesaving help would have been delayed or denied.

As it is, the ham, who has been on the air many years, simply said “well, okay” and being a patient soul, ignored the slight and continued talking to him.

Sermon 6# – Make sure that your audio level is correct.

Some stations have audio so loud that it punctures your eardrums. Others are so faint that you have to turn the volume wide open and then a station with normal audio comes on and again you ears take a beating.

This is especially prevalent with users operating multiband radios, where the operator turns the audio up to get more power while using SSB and forgets to turn it back down for FM operations.

You might, when talking to two or more stations ask them what audio level sounds the best. Remember that this depends on both the volume of you voice and the way you hold your microphone.

This too will vary with each radio make and mode, and sometimes you have to experiment to get it right.

Sermon 7# – Avoid “CBisms”

Why don’t we step on some toes for a moment? 146.88 MHz isn’t the “Eighty Eight”, 146.555 MHz is not “The Triple Nickle”, you have a name not a “handle” or “a personal”, and please don’t “ten four” me.

On the other hand, I’m not going to jump on someone if they say 10-20 or 10-4. The gent may be the police officer who is driving behind me and debating whether my busted taillight is worth the trouble of a stop and a ticket or not.

Plus, I don’t get any sadistic satisfaction in being the Radio Police anyway. Whether that is a good attitude to have or a bad one, I don’t know. It does help prevent ulcers though.

Sermon 8# – Use “standard ITU phonetics”.

Net control stations become trained to quickly recognize ITU phonetics. Let someone “get cute” by saying “this is Witch Doctor Four Nice Yeller Lemons” and it will completely derail the net control’s thought processes and bring the flow of net operations to a screeching halt, forcing the net control to stop and to get the guy to repeat his call the right way.

Some nets will not acknowledge you if you don’t adhere to the standard phonetics.

Sermon 9# – Avoid “Old Goat-isms”.

I remember back in 1980 when some old soak “gave me the treatment” for having passed the Extra exam, 20 WPM code and all. “Why, when I took my test back in 1962 you had to build a radio, smelt the wire, mine the ore, blah, blah, blah, blah.”

I remember thinking “Yeah, but they’ve invented dirt since then, you old goat”.

I was very discouraged. Was this what I had studied so hard for? Then I looked up his call and he had a “Conditional Class” license, which was the equivalent of a General Class, but, given by a volunteer examiner. Then I was steaming mad and wanted to find him again and ask if indeed “any idiot could pass todays tests” and he did could not upgrade, what did that make him?

I never hear him again and he passed away a few months after.

To our new hams just know that every one of us has “gotten the treatment”, at one time or the other. So if someone calls you a “No Code Digital Weather Wacko” don’t worry about it. It just goes with the territory.

To the older hams I say, whether you agree with the current testing methods or not, make new hams “feel at home”. Let them know that they “belong”. Remember that YOU were a “brand new” ham once yourself.

If they make a mistake or two, just remember when YOU did (and still do) a masterful job of messing up every now and then and just smile and help them.

Maybe someday they will help you also.

Sermon 10# – Avoid “Young Squirt-isms”.

This is a “trial and error” hobby. Some of us Old Goats do know a thing or two, based on past experience, successes and failures. Some folk can gently point things out that need pointing out, some are just gruff and irritating but still completely right.

I remember getting hacked off when someone nastily said my audio “sucked pond bottom”, then after I got over my mad spell, I checked things out and found that the sorry old coot was right.

Also, there is an old saying “sell the sizzle, not the steak”. Just because something is advertised with flashy pictures, supposed rave reviews and is touted as “the newest cutting edge technology”, it doesn’t mean they are telling the truth.

That antenna may look like it was designed for Moonbase Alpha, but, the truth is that Old Goat telling you to put up an antenna designed for World War I zeppelins instead may be giving you good advice.

That’s why it’s good to have a mentor.

These are just a few things we can work on. Just as we have to “tweak” a knob every now and then to make a radio operate better, we need to tweak ourselves every now and then also, so we will become better operators.

Then we can, as the preacher in the old country church once said, teach our “brethren and cistern” also.

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Mark’s Almanac

Originally called Martius, March is the third month & first month of the Roman calendar. March is named for Mars, the god of war, and was the start of the military campaign season.

The beginning of “Meteorological Spring”, which is based on changes in temperature and precipitation, not the solar angle, is March 1

March is a wet month. Most floods occur in March and rainfall averages around 6 inches.
Tornadic activity sharply increases in March with there being an increase of 2.2 times the number of tornadoes over the February amount. The focal point for this tornadic activity is the Gulf States.

March is the hail maximum for the Deep South. This is due both to the number of thunderstorms & due to the freezing level still being near the surface. This allows hail to form at lower altitudes and reach the ground intact, as opposed to summer months, when the freezing level is higher and near surface level temperatures are higher melting the hail into liquid before impact.

North Atlantic Tropical activity remains at a minimum. From 1851 to 2020 there has been only one Hurricane to occur. A 100 MPH unnamed Hurricane which affected the Lesser Antilles in March 6- 9, 1908. Some sources also cite a pre-Civil War Tropical Storm also occurring, but others do not.

South Atlantic Tropical activity doesn’t have a sharp peak as the North Atlantic season does in September, however currently March has a thin lead in activity, as from 1957 – 2019 there have been 11 identified Tropical Systems, including the only known South Atlantic Hurricane – Hurricane Catarina which struck Brazil March 28, 2004.

Brazilian authorities at first were unwilling to admit that Catarina was a hurricane, for up until that time is was considered impossible for the South Atlantic to generate a tropical system, due to wind shear, cold sea surface temperatures and the lack of storm systems from which a storm could develop. With extensive damage from an impossible storm looking at them, they finally reluctantly agreed that maybe NOAA’s opinion was right.

Meanwhile, back in Alabama…

Killing frosts are gone and the last average frost is on March 16.

March is a snow month for Alabama & there is a 45% chance of snow up to one inch, and an 8% chance of one inch or more.

The good news is that there is hope on the horizon as Spring will arrive at Vernal Equinox on March 20 at 9:37 UTC or 4:37 AM CDT.

The Sun will shine directly on the equator and there will be nearly equal amounts of day and night throughout the world. This is also the first day of fall, or Autumnal Equinox, in the Southern Hemisphere.

Remember to get the eggs out, as it is said that you can stand eggs on their ends at the hour of equinox.

You might also think about the Aurora, for Auroras love equinoxes. At this time of year, the interplanetary magnetic field or IMF can link up with Earth’s magnetic field, prying open cracks. Solar wind then pours in to fuel displays of the aurora borealis with no geomagnetic storm required. Researchers call this the Russell-McPherron Effect, named after the physicists who first described it in the 1970s

If you do see them be cautioned though, for among some northern Native American tribes it is said that as you are looking at the northern lights do not wave sing or whistle at them. Alerted to your presence the spirits of the lights will come down and take you away.

This month sees the return of Ruby Throated Humming Birds and the Giant Yellow Sulfur Butterflies that migrated south during the Fall.

Days grow longer as the Sun’s angle above the noonday horizon rapidly increases from 49.0 degrees at the beginning of the month to 60.7 degrees at the end. Daylight increases from 11 hours 28 minutes on March 1 to 12 hours 30 minutes on March 31.

Sunrise and sunset times for Birmingham are:

March 1 Sunrise 6:16 AM Sunset 5:44 PM
March 15 Sunrise 6:58 AM Sunset 6:55 PM
March 31 Sunrise 6:36 AM Sunset 7:07 PM *Daylight Savings Time

Why the sunrise is later midmonth as opposed to the first and the last of the month is due to a combination of the quirks in the Earth’s orbit, it’s axial tilt and it being near equinox affecting the length of day based on sunlight as opposed to the measurement of time based on the Earth’s rotation.

Daylight Savings Time begins at 2 AM on March 14. So remember to “spring forward” one hour. This, of course means I will lose one hour of “beauty sleep”, which is something I desperately need.

I don’t particularly care for Daylight Savings Time. I share the same opinion I found on the “Republic Of Lakotah” website:

When told the reason for daylight saving time the old Native American said…
“Only a white man would believe that you could cut a foot off the top of a blanket and sew it to the bottom of a blanket and have a longer blanket.”

Saint Patrick’s Day is Tuesday March 17, and you better participate by wearing a Touch O’ The Green or you will be plagued by leprechauns and gnomes. Not a pleasant experience, I can assure you.

Looking skyward, the Sun, magnitude -26.8 is in Aquarius.

At the beginning of the month Mercury, magnitude 0.5 in Capricorn, is very low in the bright dawn and is fading rapidly.

On March 2 Mercury will be at “dichotomy” or half phase and on March 5 he will pass within 0.6 degrees of giant Jupiter, who is eight times as bright.

On March 6 will reach his highest point in the sky or Greatest Western Elongation, when he will be 27.3 degrees above the eastern horizon. This is the best time to view Mercury since it will be at its highest point above the horizon in the morning sky. Look for the planet low in the eastern sky just before sunrise.

He will reach his furthest distance from the Sun, or Aphelion on March 13, when he will be 43.4 million miles from our parent star.

Venus, magnitude –3.9 in Capricorn, is hidden in the glare of the Sun.

On March 26 she will pass behind the Sun, or be in “Superior Conjunction”.

Earth, magnitude -4.0, as viewed from the Sun, is in the constellation Aquarius.

Mars, magnitude +0.8, in Taurus, will be near the Pleiades Star Cluster on March 4th, and will lie between the Pleiades and Hyades Star Cluster, which makes up the head of Taurus The Bull, on March 5 high in the west in early evening.

Upper left of Mars shines Aldebaran, which appears to be essentially the twin of Mars in brightness and color. It is a good chance to demonstrate the truism that “stars twinkle, planets don’t”.

In a telescope Mars, which is currently being invaded by human space probes, is a tiny bright blob.

Dwarf Planet Ceres, magnitude 9.3, is in Aquarius.

Jupiter, magnitude –2.0 and Saturn, magnitude 1.4, in Capricorn are very low in bright dawn, but rising a little higher and becoming less difficult to see each morning. Look very low in the east-southeast about 30 minutes before sunrise and plan to use binoculars.

Uranus, magnitude 5.8, in southwestern Aries, is far below Mars in early evening.

Neptune, magnitude 8.0 in Aquarius, is lost in the western evening twilight and will pass behind the Sun on March 10.

Dwarf Planet Pluto, with his five moons shines at a dim 14.4 in Sagittarius.

Dwarf Planet 136108 Haumea, its ring and moons Hiʻiaka and Namaka, shines at a faint magnitude of 17.3 in Bootes.

Dwarf Planet 136472 Makemake with his moon faintly shines at magnitude 17.2 in Coma Berenices.

Dwarf Planet 136199 Eris and her moon Dysnomia is barely visible in the most powerful telescopes at magnitude 18.8 in Cetus the Sea Monster

4352 planets beyond our solar system have now been confirmed as of February 8, per NASA’s Exoplanet Archive http://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/

The Moon will be at Perigee or her closest approach to Earth on March 1, when she will be 227,063 miles from Earth.

Last Quarter Moon, or when the moon has only the Eastern side illuminated, will occur March 5.

New Moon will occur on March 13 at 4:23 AM CDT or 10:23 UTC. The Moon will be located on the same side of the Earth as the Sun and will not be visible in the night sky. This is the best time of the month to observe faint objects such as galaxies and star clusters because there is no moonlight to interfere.

The Moon will be at Apogee or its farthest distance from Earth on March 17, when she will be 251,812 miles from Earth.

First Quarter Moon, or when the moon has only the Western side illuminated, will occur March 21.

March’s Full Moon will occur on March 28 at 12:49 CST or 18:49 UTC. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as “Worm Moon”. So called because the rains disturb the earthworms & they are seen wiggling around after the rains.

This moon has also been known as the Full Crow Moon, the Full Crust Moon, the Full Sap Moon, and the Lenten Moon.

The Moon will be at her closest distance from Earth or perigee at 223,887 miles on March 30.

Celestial carnivores are emerging from hibernation. After dinnertime at this time of year, five carnivore constellations are rising upright in a ragged row from the northeast to south. They’re all seen in profile with their noses pointed up and their feet (if any) to the right. These are The Great Bear, Ursa Major in the northeast, with the Big Dipper as its brightest part, Leo the Lion in the east, Hydra the Sea Serpent in the southeast, The Lesser Dog, Canis Minor higher in the south-southeast, and The Greater Dog, bright Canis Major in the south.

Sirius, shining at magnitude −1.46, the brightest night time star, blazes high in the south on the meridian, in Canis Major by about 8 or 9 p.m. Using binoculars, you will find a fuzzy spot 4 degrees south of Sirius, directly below it when the constellation is directly South. Four degrees is somewhat less than the width of a typical binocular’s field of view.

That dim little patch of gray haze is open star cluster Messier 41, a small gravitationally bound group of 100 stars about 2,200 light-years away, and moving away from us at 869 miles per second. Sirius, by comparison, is only 8.6 light-years away.

Canopus, shining at magnitude -0.72, making it the second-brightest star after Sirius, lies 36° almost due south of Sirius. That’s far enough south that it never appears above the horizon if you are above latitude 37° N, such as southern Virginia, southern Missouri and central California. Luckily we lie south of that latitude, with our horizon lying, in the case of Central Alabama, around latitude 33°.

Canopus is located in the southern constellation Carina, The Keel, part of the defunct constellation Argo Navis, the ship of Jason and the Argonauts who searched for the Golden Fleece.

The constellation of Argo was introduced in ancient Greece. However, due to the massive size of Argo Navis and the sheer number of stars that required separate designation, Nicolas Louis de Lacaille divided Argo into three sections in 1763, including Carina, the Hull or Keel, Puppis, the Poop Deck, and Vela the Sails.

In the 19th century, these three became established as separate constellations, and were formally included in the list of 88 modern IAU constellations in 1930.

Canopus, 313 light years away, crosses low above the horizon, due south just 21 minutes before Sirius and is worthy of a peak.

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This month’s meeting will be on March 9 at 7PM.

The meeting will be done remotely as was last month’s meeting. Details and instructions will be issued as the time nears.

I hope to see you there!

Mark Wells
WD4NYL & WRJE893
Editor
ALERT Newsletter
Wd4nyl@bellsouth.net

Mark’s Weatherlynx
Weather Resource Database
www.freewebs.com/weatherlynx/

Hi Everyone,

The Birminghamfest is almost here, and I hope you can attend.

Due to the Covid-19 situation, this year’s Birminghamfest will be an outdoor tailgating event.

This will be held in one of the parking lots at the Trussville Civic Center on Saturday, March 6 from 8 AM to 2 PM.

There will be no admission charges, though donations to the BARC will be welcome.

You will need to bring your own tables and chairs and canopies as well as any food and drink. No electricity will be provided. Inside restrooms will be available.

For more information go to http://birminghamfest.org/

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Helpful Ham Hints From An Old Goat

Amateur Radio is an ever changing, ever evolving hobby. Change is normal and desirable if our hobby is to remain relevant and keep pace with 21st century needs, circumstances and technology

Changes are not always pain free nor welcome by all and as is the case in any area of life, there will always be those who have been involved in the hobby longer who will assure the newcomers that everything is now miserably mushy compared to “the good old days when we had to slog uphill through the snow during the August blizzards to take our tests, make our own vacuum tubes, wire and that WE had to prove that WE knew actually something, blah, blah and blah”.

Truth is we barely knew anything after studying for the tests and everything we learned we learn afterwards over the months and years. The test is merely the key that unlocks the door. What you do after entering is largely up to you. Some enter ham radio for one reason and gravitate toward other interests. Someone getting into the hobby “strictly for emergency communications” may eventually end up being the DX King of Kilowatt Alley on 20 meters. Or, those entering wanting to work the world may end up running the club repeaters and experimenting with new digital modes instead. It’s all good.

My fellow Old Goat hams oftimes moan and groan about the licensing procedures of today. But, what are prospective hams to do? They have to take the test that the FCC mandates TODAY, not the one it mandated in 1977. If you go to the examiner and say “give me a test from the 1970’s, when the REAL hams were passing REAL tests”, well, at the least it won’t work, and at the most security or the sheriff may escort you out.

While some of my fellow Old Goats gain some sort of glee by telling new hams that they know less than nothing, they seem to forget that day when they were new a new ham and some crusty old codger gave them the exact same left hand of fellowship that they are now giving, and that they really should be behaving on a higher plane and setting a better example.

One problem that has been expressed by both old and new hams is that with the current “one day ham cram and test” method is there is no mentoring or Elmering resources available for new hams. There is no one to lead newcomers in how or why things do and don’t work or how to effectively take advantage of the new opportunities of the new world they are entering.

Now, due to the consequence of Covid-19, online testing has been implemented. On online forums many of the new hams that have used this method, which is perfectly valid according to the FCC by the way, have never had any actual personal contact with an experienced ham radio operator. Every step has been done remotely. They have no examples to follow, just a test study guide. They want to learn, but, who will teach them?

So, we come to this month’s article. The following are hints, hopefully helpful, to give a little guidance to hams, new and old.

Let’s go back in time for a moment to the fall of 1977. A teenager named Mark was sitting in the radio room of a graying ham he had just met named Jim Bonner, K4UMD. We talked and I explained that I wanted to become a ham, and he explained how he would help me.

Jim showed me his equipment and began explaining the world of ham radio. The very first thing he said was “if you are going to be ham radio operator, you will need to have thick skin.”

One thing that new hams discover to their dismay is that ham operators are the same cross-section of humanity as you will find any other arena of life. You have nice hams, helpful hams and friendly inclusive hams. You also have grouchy hams that are having a bad day, crotchety hams that will tell you to get off their radio grass, a few nuts and a few vocal jerks, aka “Lids”. In other words, hams are just a regular sample of normal sorry humanity, warts, pickles and all.

Early in my 43 years of ham radio I quit the hobby four times. In each case it was due to some nitwit giving me the “treatment” on the air, and in each case my absence was not more than 24 hours in length, after Jims words would reverberate in the back of my mind “have thick skin,” and I reminded myself that psych evals are not part of the amateur radio licensing process. I quit quitting about 30 years ago when I decided that the opinions of the mentally infirmed carried little weight and realizing that jerks are equal opportunity offenders. Red, yellow, black and white, they are jerks to all in sight and that it was just my turn to be pummeled. And, that it could be worse, as some poor soul was married to the schlub.

It actually became funny – with a few occasional exceptions.

So to new hams I say: “Life has never claimed to be fair, so don’t be surprised if you run into a creep along the way.”

To older hams I say: “Don’t be that creep.”

So let’s begin by talking about operating procedures.

To initiate a contact on VHF or UHF normally an operator will not call CQ on a repeater as on HF, though on simplex a very brief CQ is considered acceptable.

On a repeater you simply give your call sign or using my call as an example, you can say “WD4NYL, anyone around?” If someone is listening and is free to talk, they will answer.

If you are calling a specific station, you give his or her call sign and then yours. “KZ4XYZ from WD4NYL. You around Bill?” Or, if you hear someone saying “KZ4XYZ listening”, just give your call sign and if he is still there he will answer. You do this in that order, not the other way around, by giving your call sign and then his. There is a station I hear occasionally calling a KF4 call and then giving a WD4### call. I know the gentleman with the WD4### call and it isn’t him. Is he bootlegging a call or does he just have the process confused and is calling bassackards? I don’t know, and since I am at work when I hear this, I can’t get on the air and ask.

At this point I will also mention that occasionally I hear people give their call sign and getting no response they make some snarky remarks as if it is a personal insult that no one will talk to them and they sign off in a huff.

Why were they unsuccessful?

It could be they are fishing in the wrong pond, or in the right one, but, at the wrong time.

Just because there is a repeater and just because you can hit that repeater it is absolutely no guarantee that you will ever contact someone. There are repeaters, especially on UHF that are some of the best deserted repeaters you will ever find. No one uses them. Haven’t for years, but, there they are, faithfully IDing away. This that always been the case, and as popular as the myth is, it is not a sign that “oh woe is us ham radio is dying” as some would joyfully have you to believe.

The most active repeaters in Jefferson County are 147.140 MHz and 146.880 MHz. In Shelby County it’s 146.980 MHz. The most active simplex frequencies are 146.520 MHz, 146.555 MHz and 146.580 MHz.

The most likely times to find stations to talk to are during the morning and evening drives to work and possible midday at lunch. This is simply because, with the exception of retirees, everyone is either at work or in school.

Also, know that where the Birmingham and Shelby county ham populations are by and large friendly, there are some cities, particularly those with warring ham clubs, where that may not be the case. It’s political, not personal. Just be forewarned.

Club repeaters and repeaters and frequencies where ARES, Skywarn and other Nets meet are usually good hunting grounds.

Now let’s talk HF.

Occasionally on HF I will hear “CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, from WD4NYL” <he waits ¼ of a second> and then resumes “CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, CQ, from WD4NYL”

The guy never contacts anyone, no matter how long he calls or frustrated he becomes. Why? Because the dummy won’t stifle himself long enough to give anyone a chance to answer, that’s why.

What should you do? The recommended procedure is call CQ 5 to 10 times, give your call sign twice and then LISTEN – carefully. I’ve had stations call me 30 seconds or more after I quit and frankly had given up. He was waiting to see if anyone else called and it took him a couple of seconds to switch some switches, tweak and tune. We had a very long enjoyable chew of the rag, which we never would have if I had tried the Woody The Woodpecker method of calling CQ endlessly as demonstrated above.
Now one difference between VHF and HF is the way you should call a station. On HF if you want to call a particular station ALWAYS give their call first and then yours. Don’t just give your call sign and assume he knows that you are calling him. He doesn’t know if you are calling him or if he is hearing the tail end of a contact that he didn’t realize was in progress.

What if you wish to call CQ? First call “QRZ is this frequency in use” or simply “is this frequency in use” and LISTEN for a couple of seconds and repeat. Then if you hear nothing blast away.

One thing I have always found interesting about HF is how many times a band will appear dead, yet the maritime, shortwave or aeronautical bands just above and below the band are crawling with activity. How can there be that one big dead spot? Simple, the band isn’t dead at all; just everyone assumes it is since they hear nothing. Start blasting some CQs and see if you can stir up attention.

Don’t be quick to give up either. You want to make yourself obnoxiously obvious so people can find you. To totally misquote survival teacher John “Lofty” Wiseman, who discussed dressing in bright colors so rescuers can find you, “you want to stick out like poop on a pool table.”

Here are some other hints, while I am preaching:

Sermon 1# – Learn the band.

If you are trying a new band, listen to the band for a while. Learn the band’s characteristics. What signals are usually there? When does it “open” and to what direction?

Learning these things will give you an edge DX wise by letting you know what to expect and when to expect it.

Are you on the right frequency? Try calling a net on the wrong repeater or the wrong day, both of which I have done and you quickly learn not to expect too much success.

Sermon 2# – Key the microphone and take a breath before you speak.

Stated somewhat weirdly, radio and repeaters can be thought of as a collection of valves, switches, relays and constrictors which control a flow of current, much like the flow of a river. All of these components take a certain amount of time to do their job of controlling the flow, force and direction of current. The more complicated the system becomes, the longer this time delay becomes.

A transmitting station has to determine the correct transmitting frequency, the proper power level, control the audio rate, insert the proper tones or subtones and switch from receive to transmit mode.

This takes time.

The receiving station has to determine the correct frequency, switch between transmit to receive, decode the tones or subtones to release the squelch, and activate the audio amplifiers that feed sound into the speakers and the speakers have to vibrate to produce the sound.

This too takes time.

If you go through a repeater or a linked system, the equipment has to do all of the above, at each stage of the link, adding yet more time delay.

The net result is, if you simply key the microphone and speak, you may not be allowing these systems enough time to activate and do their jobs, which will result in the first part of your transmission being clipped out.

Every radio has a certain amount of lag time. The amount of time will vary with each radio. Some models are faster, some slower and there is nothing you can do to speed up the process.

Thankfully the “workaround” to this problem is simple.

Just key the microphone, take a breath and then talk. This will allow enough time for the chain reaction to take place

At my place of work they never remember this. The company radio will blurb out “phfft…come in” and various departments have to call and say “who was that for?”

Learn by bad example, key & take a breath. It will work better that way.

Sermon 3# – Don’t “quick key”, but, leave a second or two pause between transmissions.

Someone may have an emergency and desperately need to access the repeater, and may not be able to wait all day until someone finally runs out of steam. You can actually be endangering someone’s life by being, as our CB brethren used to say, a “ratchet jaw” or “bucket mouth”.

Also, don’t assume that because there is a “courtesy tone” on a repeater that the repeater timer resets when the tone sounds. On some repeaters it does reset, on others it simple means the other station has stopped transmitting. If in doubt, let the carrier drop completely. This way you won’t “time out the repeater” and it automatically shut down.

Keeping transmissions reasonably short will help also.

Sermon 4# – Don’t monopolize conversations in a “roundtable” or group.

Let the other operators have a chance to join in the conversation. They may want to add something to the discussion also.

There are numerous times I have been in a group conversation and two of the eight stations start monopolizing everything, not letting a word in edgewise and after numerous times of trying to speak and no one letting me, I usually just give up and mosey on to other more interesting things and let them have their budding romance to themselves.

Sermon 5# – Learn how to politely break into a conversation.

Unless it is an emergency, don’t just interrupt a conversation, call some station, and then take over the frequency starting a new conversation.

Instead ask if you can make a call, make your call, and then either go to another frequency or arrange to talk to the person once the frequency is clear.

If you want to join the conversation, give your call sign in the break between transmissions, they SHOULD acknowledge you and let you join.

If you are one of the stations in the conversation and another station attempts to join in, DO NOT do as I recently heard on a repeater. A conversation was ongoing, another station gave his call sign and the two stations completely ignored him and five minutes later at the end of their contact when he called again one of the operators said “we heard you; we just wanted to finish our conversation.”
That not only was the epitome of rudeness and poor operating procedure, but, also potentially tragic, as the person breaking in could have had an emergency and by them not acknowledging him lifesaving help would have been delayed or denied.

As it is, the ham, who has been on the air many years, simply said “well, okay” and being a patient soul, ignored the slight and continued talking to him.

Sermon 6# – Make sure that your audio level is correct.

Some stations have audio so loud that it punctures your eardrums. Others are so faint that you have to turn the volume wide open and then a station with normal audio comes on and again you ears take a beating.

This is especially prevalent with users operating multiband radios, where the operator turns the audio up to get more power while using SSB and forgets to turn it back down for FM operations.

You might, when talking to two or more stations ask them what audio level sounds the best. Remember that this depends on both the volume of you voice and the way you hold your microphone.

This too will vary with each radio make and mode, and sometimes you have to experiment to get it right.

Sermon 7# – Avoid “CBisms”

Why don’t we step on some toes for a moment? 146.88 MHz isn’t the “Eighty Eight”, 146.555 MHz is not “The Triple Nickle”, you have a name not a “handle” or “a personal”, and please don’t “ten four” me.

On the other hand, I’m not going to jump on someone if they say 10-20 or 10-4. The gent may be the police officer who is driving behind me and debating whether my busted taillight is worth the trouble of a stop and a ticket or not.

Plus, I don’t get any sadistic satisfaction in being the Radio Police anyway. Whether that is a good attitude to have or a bad one, I don’t know. It does help prevent ulcers though.

Sermon 8# – Use “standard ITU phonetics”.

Net control stations become trained to quickly recognize ITU phonetics. Let someone “get cute” by saying “this is Witch Doctor Four Nice Yeller Lemons” and it will completely derail the net control’s thought processes and bring the flow of net operations to a screeching halt, forcing the net control to stop and to get the guy to repeat his call the right way.

Some nets will not acknowledge you if you don’t adhere to the standard phonetics.

Sermon 9# – Avoid “Old Goat-isms”.

I remember back in 1980 when some old soak “gave me the treatment” for having passed the Extra exam, 20 WPM code and all. “Why, when I took my test back in 1962 you had to build a radio, smelt the wire, mine the ore, blah, blah, blah, blah.”

I remember thinking “Yeah, but they’ve invented dirt since then, you old goat”.

I was very discouraged. Was this what I had studied so hard for? Then I looked up his call and he had a “Conditional Class” license, which was the equivalent of a General Class, but, given by a volunteer examiner. Then I was steaming mad and wanted to find him again and ask if indeed “any idiot could pass todays tests” and he did could not upgrade, what did that make him?

I never hear him again and he passed away a few months after.

To our new hams just know that every one of us has “gotten the treatment”, at one time or the other. So if someone calls you a “No Code Digital Weather Wacko” don’t worry about it. It just goes with the territory.

To the older hams I say, whether you agree with the current testing methods or not, make new hams “feel at home”. Let them know that they “belong”. Remember that YOU were a “brand new” ham once yourself.

If they make a mistake or two, just remember when YOU did (and still do) a masterful job of messing up every now and then and just smile and help them.

Maybe someday they will help you also.

Sermon 10# – Avoid “Young Squirt-isms”.

This is a “trial and error” hobby. Some of us Old Goats do know a thing or two, based on past experience, successes and failures. Some folk can gently point things out that need pointing out, some are just gruff and irritating but still completely right.

I remember getting hacked off when someone nastily said my audio “sucked pond bottom”, then after I got over my mad spell, I checked things out and found that the sorry old coot was right.

Also, there is an old saying “sell the sizzle, not the steak”. Just because something is advertised with flashy pictures, supposed rave reviews and is touted as “the newest cutting edge technology”, it doesn’t mean they are telling the truth.

That antenna may look like it was designed for Moonbase Alpha, but, the truth is that Old Goat telling you to put up an antenna designed for World War I zeppelins instead may be giving you good advice.

That’s why it’s good to have a mentor.

These are just a few things we can work on. Just as we have to “tweak” a knob every now and then to make a radio operate better, we need to tweak ourselves every now and then also, so we will become better operators.

Then we can, as the preacher in the old country church once said, teach our “brethren and cistern” also.

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Mark’s Almanac

Originally called Martius, March is the third month & first month of the Roman calendar. March is named for Mars, the god of war, and was the start of the military campaign season.

The beginning of “Meteorological Spring”, which is based on changes in temperature and precipitation, not the solar angle, is March 1

March is a wet month. Most floods occur in March and rainfall averages around 6 inches.
Tornadic activity sharply increases in March with there being an increase of 2.2 times the number of tornadoes over the February amount. The focal point for this tornadic activity is the Gulf States.

March is the hail maximum for the Deep South. This is due both to the number of thunderstorms & due to the freezing level still being near the surface. This allows hail to form at lower altitudes and reach the ground intact, as opposed to summer months, when the freezing level is higher and near surface level temperatures are higher melting the hail into liquid before impact.

North Atlantic Tropical activity remains at a minimum. From 1851 to 2020 there has been only one Hurricane to occur. A 100 MPH unnamed Hurricane which affected the Lesser Antilles in March 6- 9, 1908. Some sources also cite a pre-Civil War Tropical Storm also occurring, but others do not.

South Atlantic Tropical activity doesn’t have a sharp peak as the North Atlantic season does in September, however currently March has a thin lead in activity, as from 1957 – 2019 there have been 11 identified Tropical Systems, including the only known South Atlantic Hurricane – Hurricane Catarina which struck Brazil March 28, 2004.

Brazilian authorities at first were unwilling to admit that Catarina was a hurricane, for up until that time is was considered impossible for the South Atlantic to generate a tropical system, due to wind shear, cold sea surface temperatures and the lack of storm systems from which a storm could develop. With extensive damage from an impossible storm looking at them, they finally reluctantly agreed that maybe NOAA’s opinion was right.

Meanwhile, back in Alabama…

Killing frosts are gone and the last average frost is on March 16.

March is a snow month for Alabama & there is a 45% chance of snow up to one inch, and an 8% chance of one inch or more.

The good news is that there is hope on the horizon as Spring will arrive at Vernal Equinox on March 20 at 9:37 UTC or 4:37 AM CDT.

The Sun will shine directly on the equator and there will be nearly equal amounts of day and night throughout the world. This is also the first day of fall, or Autumnal Equinox, in the Southern Hemisphere.

Remember to get the eggs out, as it is said that you can stand eggs on their ends at the hour of equinox.

You might also think about the Aurora, for Auroras love equinoxes. At this time of year, the interplanetary magnetic field or IMF can link up with Earth’s magnetic field, prying open cracks. Solar wind then pours in to fuel displays of the aurora borealis with no geomagnetic storm required. Researchers call this the Russell-McPherron Effect, named after the physicists who first described it in the 1970s

If you do see them be cautioned though, for among some northern Native American tribes it is said that as you are looking at the northern lights do not wave sing or whistle at them. Alerted to your presence the spirits of the lights will come down and take you away.

This month sees the return of Ruby Throated Humming Birds and the Giant Yellow Sulfur Butterflies that migrated south during the Fall.

Days grow longer as the Sun’s angle above the noonday horizon rapidly increases from 49.0 degrees at the beginning of the month to 60.7 degrees at the end. Daylight increases from 11 hours 28 minutes on March 1 to 12 hours 30 minutes on March 31.

Sunrise and sunset times for Birmingham are:

March 1 Sunrise 6:16 AM Sunset 5:44 PM
March 15 Sunrise 6:58 AM Sunset 6:55 PM
March 31 Sunrise 6:36 AM Sunset 7:07 PM *Daylight Savings Time

Why the sunrise is later midmonth as opposed to the first and the last of the month is due to a combination of the quirks in the Earth’s orbit, it’s axial tilt and it being near equinox affecting the length of day based on sunlight as opposed to the measurement of time based on the Earth’s rotation.

Daylight Savings Time begins at 2 AM on March 14. So remember to “spring forward” one hour. This, of course means I will lose one hour of “beauty sleep”, which is something I desperately need.

I don’t particularly care for Daylight Savings Time. I share the same opinion I found on the “Republic Of Lakotah” website:

When told the reason for daylight saving time the old Native American said…
“Only a white man would believe that you could cut a foot off the top of a blanket and sew it to the bottom of a blanket and have a longer blanket.”

Saint Patrick’s Day is Tuesday March 17, and you better participate by wearing a Touch O’ The Green or you will be plagued by leprechauns and gnomes. Not a pleasant experience, I can assure you.

Looking skyward, the Sun, magnitude -26.8 is in Aquarius.

At the beginning of the month Mercury, magnitude 0.5 in Capricorn, is very low in the bright dawn and is fading rapidly.

On March 2 Mercury will be at “dichotomy” or half phase and on March 5 he will pass within 0.6 degrees of giant Jupiter, who is eight times as bright.

On March 6 will reach his highest point in the sky or Greatest Western Elongation, when he will be 27.3 degrees above the eastern horizon. This is the best time to view Mercury since it will be at its highest point above the horizon in the morning sky. Look for the planet low in the eastern sky just before sunrise.

He will reach his furthest distance from the Sun, or Aphelion on March 13, when he will be 43.4 million miles from our parent star.

Venus, magnitude –3.9 in Capricorn, is hidden in the glare of the Sun.

On March 26 she will pass behind the Sun, or be in “Superior Conjunction”.

Earth, magnitude -4.0, as viewed from the Sun, is in the constellation Aquarius.

Mars, magnitude +0.8, in Taurus, will be near the Pleiades Star Cluster on March 4th, and will lie between the Pleiades and Hyades Star Cluster, which makes up the head of Taurus The Bull, on March 5 high in the west in early evening.

Upper left of Mars shines Aldebaran, which appears to be essentially the twin of Mars in brightness and color. It is a good chance to demonstrate the truism that “stars twinkle, planets don’t”.

In a telescope Mars, which is currently being invaded by human space probes, is a tiny bright blob.

Dwarf Planet Ceres, magnitude 9.3, is in Aquarius.

Jupiter, magnitude –2.0 and Saturn, magnitude 1.4, in Capricorn are very low in bright dawn, but rising a little higher and becoming less difficult to see each morning. Look very low in the east-southeast about 30 minutes before sunrise and plan to use binoculars.

Uranus, magnitude 5.8, in southwestern Aries, is far below Mars in early evening.

Neptune, magnitude 8.0 in Aquarius, is lost in the western evening twilight and will pass behind the Sun on March 10.

Dwarf Planet Pluto, with his five moons shines at a dim 14.4 in Sagittarius.

Dwarf Planet 136108 Haumea, its ring and moons Hiʻiaka and Namaka, shines at a faint magnitude of 17.3 in Bootes.

Dwarf Planet 136472 Makemake with his moon faintly shines at magnitude 17.2 in Coma Berenices.

Dwarf Planet 136199 Eris and her moon Dysnomia is barely visible in the most powerful telescopes at magnitude 18.8 in Cetus the Sea Monster

4352 planets beyond our solar system have now been confirmed as of February 8, per NASA’s Exoplanet Archive http://exoplanetarchive.ipac.caltech.edu/

The Moon will be at Perigee or her closest approach to Earth on March 1, when she will be 227,063 miles from Earth.

Last Quarter Moon, or when the moon has only the Eastern side illuminated, will occur March 5.

New Moon will occur on March 13 at 4:23 AM CDT or 10:23 UTC. The Moon will be located on the same side of the Earth as the Sun and will not be visible in the night sky. This is the best time of the month to observe faint objects such as galaxies and star clusters because there is no moonlight to interfere.

The Moon will be at Apogee or its farthest distance from Earth on March 17, when she will be 251,812 miles from Earth.

First Quarter Moon, or when the moon has only the Western side illuminated, will occur March 21.

March’s Full Moon will occur on March 28 at 12:49 CST or 18:49 UTC. This full moon was known by early Native American tribes as “Worm Moon”. So called because the rains disturb the earthworms & they are seen wiggling around after the rains.

This moon has also been known as the Full Crow Moon, the Full Crust Moon, the Full Sap Moon, and the Lenten Moon.

The Moon will be at her closest distance from Earth or perigee at 223,887 miles on March 30.

Celestial carnivores are emerging from hibernation. After dinnertime at this time of year, five carnivore constellations are rising upright in a ragged row from the northeast to south. They’re all seen in profile with their noses pointed up and their feet (if any) to the right. These are The Great Bear, Ursa Major in the northeast, with the Big Dipper as its brightest part, Leo the Lion in the east, Hydra the Sea Serpent in the southeast, The Lesser Dog, Canis Minor higher in the south-southeast, and The Greater Dog, bright Canis Major in the south.

Sirius, shining at magnitude −1.46, the brightest night time star, blazes high in the south on the meridian, in Canis Major by about 8 or 9 p.m. Using binoculars, you will find a fuzzy spot 4 degrees south of Sirius, directly below it when the constellation is directly South. Four degrees is somewhat less than the width of a typical binocular’s field of view.

That dim little patch of gray haze is open star cluster Messier 41, a small gravitationally bound group of 100 stars about 2,200 light-years away, and moving away from us at 869 miles per second. Sirius, by comparison, is only 8.6 light-years away.

Canopus, shining at magnitude -0.72, making it the second-brightest star after Sirius, lies 36° almost due south of Sirius. That’s far enough south that it never appears above the horizon if you are above latitude 37° N, such as southern Virginia, southern Missouri and central California. Luckily we lie south of that latitude, with our horizon lying, in the case of Central Alabama, around latitude 33°.

Canopus is located in the southern constellation Carina, The Keel, part of the defunct constellation Argo Navis, the ship of Jason and the Argonauts who searched for the Golden Fleece.

The constellation of Argo was introduced in ancient Greece. However, due to the massive size of Argo Navis and the sheer number of stars that required separate designation, Nicolas Louis de Lacaille divided Argo into three sections in 1763, including Carina, the Hull or Keel, Puppis, the Poop Deck, and Vela the Sails.

In the 19th century, these three became established as separate constellations, and were formally included in the list of 88 modern IAU constellations in 1930.

Canopus, 313 light years away, crosses low above the horizon, due south just 21 minutes before Sirius and is worthy of a peak.

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This month’s meeting will be on March 9 at 7PM.

The meeting will be done remotely as was last month’s meeting. Details and instructions will be issued as the time nears.

I hope to see you there!

Mark Wells
WD4NYL & WRJE893
Editor
ALERT Newsletter
Wd4nyl@bellsouth.net

Mark’s Weatherlynx
Weather Resource Database
www.freewebs.com/weatherlynx/