The next public service event is the Cochranton Area Fair Parade on Wednesday August 3rd, 2011.

Amateur radio operators will help check the parade lineup using a simplex 2 meter frequency.

If you can volunteer, checkin on the nightly 9pm net and let your voice be heard.

Attention all Amateur Radio Emergency Service Operators, please fill out and submit a new ARES application even if you have already filled it out prior to 2011.

Interested in becoming an amateur radio operator or want to upgrade?

The local VE team offers test sessions locally at St. Brigid's social hall on Arch Street in Meadville, PA

please pre-register for the next session by contacting ww3s@zoominternet.net

A large number of contacts were achieved and we will likely place very high in the class 2A for Western Pennsylvania.

If you would like to become a member Click on this link for an application. Print it off, fill it out, and mail it in or bring it to the next meeting.

We hold club meetings the third Tuesday of each month.

The next meeting of the Crawford Amateur Radio Society is Tuesday August 16, 2011 at 7:30pm. We will meet at St. Brigid's Church Social Hall on Arch Street in Meadville.

Club Dues are $15.00 for 2011 C.A.R.S. P.O. Box 653 Meadville, PA 16335.

In its heyday, the Commodore 64 was one of the most successful home computers made, shipping more than two million units a year for almost a decade after its release. Although exact numbers don't exist, experts estimate that the company sold between 15 and 30 million Commodore 64 computers. It was used in many packet radio setups and it just may reappear in your hamshack.

Barry Altman, president and chief executive of Commodore USA, said he purchased the Commodore trademark in September of last year with the goal of reviving the company and offering a product that no longer exists.

The new Commodore 64, which will begin shipping at the end of the month, has been souped up for the modern age. It comes with a 1.8 gigahertz dual-core processor, an optional Blu-ray player and built-in ethernet and HDMI ports. It runs the Linux operating system but the company says you can install Windows if you like. The new Commodore is priced between $250 to $900.

Severe Thunderstorm and Tornado Warnings are also simulcast on the 145.13 repeater when they are issued for Crawford County, PA Skywarn Storm Spotting is probably one of the most active activities for amateur radio operators. Get ready for the next outbreak of severe weather, download the National Weather Service skywarn report form.

The Crawford County Amateur Radio Emergency Simplex Radio Frequency is 147.525 When an event requires an activation of a net on simplex this is the frequency that will be used and 146.52 will be used for a calling frequency and should not be used to run a net in Crawford County. The Sunday night Emergency Communciations Net will now use the new 147.525 frequency when that alternate frequency is tested.

check out the National Weather Service radar system called Ridge 2. Viewed using google maps at radar.srh.noaa.gov

NOAA Weather Radio Transmitter in Meadville is on 162.475
With special receivers you can be alerted to severe weather information using codes specific only for the counties you want.

The Amateur Radio Emergency Service, ARES, is 75 years old. This program provides "ham radio" emergency communications for agencies such as the American Red Cross, Salvation Army, countless Emergency Operations Centers and other responders in the worst of times.

The fastest way to turn an emergency into a disaster is to loose communications. In events from ice storms to Hurricanes, when normal communications systems were down or overloaded, the Amateur Radio operators of the ARES programs filled requests for communications aid. Over the years the program name and equipment has changed but the vision remains. In the first hours and days of a major event, Amateur Radio is often the source of initial information on the type, scope and reactions needed to save lives.

Recognition of this capability led to formal agreements with DHS, FEMA, NOAA and other federal, state and local agencies. The first mention of an organized Amateur Radio emergency response organization appears in the September 1935 issue of QST Magazine

You can hear and download the full 4 minute version of this report at www.arrl.org/ares-anniversary

During a recent geomagnetic storm, a brief but intense G2-class event, amateur radio operator Peter Brogl of Fürth, Germany, experienced a strange phenomenon. Forty-six seconds after he transmitted his call sign at 7 MHz, he received an echo of his own transmission. "At first, I thought someone was playing tricks on me," says Brogl, "but I changed frequency, re-keyed my call sign (DK6NP), and got another echo." This went on for more than an hour, enough time for Brogl to make several recordings. First reported in 1927 by Norwegian civil engineer Jørgen Hals, long-delay radio echoes are rare and poorly understood. Unusual propagation conditions linked to solar storms is one of many possible explanations. Listen to the audio of the echoes

Long Delayed Echo's are not a new phenomena. They were first reported in 1927 by Norwegian civil engineer Jørgen Hals but happen rarely and are not really understood. Most researchers believe that unusual propagation conditions linked to solar storms may be one of many possible explanations.

National Public Radio (NPR) recently broadcast an excellent story on amateur radio and how it's thriving in the 21st century on the program called "All Things Considered." You can listen to the story and read an article at the NPR website.

Future HT batteries may last much longer thanks to a new technology that utilizes silicon for lithium-ion batteries. Graphite substrate is what has been used up to now, but the newly developed process, uses a silicon-containing gel. It is applied to the graphite substrate material working as a buffer, cushioning the big changes in volume of the silicon during the uptake and transfer of lithium ions.

The new material can store more than double the quantity of lithium ions without changes to the battery lifetime. The new findings came to light in the "NanoPoliBat" EU project. They have been recently submitted to the patent office by researchers together with their co-operation partner Varta Microbattery. (Science OnLine)

Organic solar cells have many advantages over the conventional silicon cells typically used for large-scale energy production. Not only are they are considerably thinner and more flexible but are also less expensive and quicker to produce. As such, they are well suited for powering everyday devices which are not in constant use such as sensors or electrical appliances. The procedure to produce these new cells has been patented and the results were published in a recent issue of the journal Applied Physics Letters. (ScienceDaily)