Topics and links for the broadcast of 10-01-2021 11:00 am (CEST)

How to escape the data hungry cloud services while using home automation
(for radio amateurs)

I am currently investigating the use of advanced wireless communication techniques for a 'smart home' without compromise in a secure and interference-free manner. The focus of this research is on safe use, in which the use of cloud services is completely banned, interference in the field of wireless communication is limited as much as possible and the security of the wireless protocols is examined.

That is why I want to start up a workgroup that will deal with the following matters if there is sufficient interest. This information will be shared so that other radio amateurs can also take advantage of it.
- Faults in wireless communication and how to detect and eliminate them.
- Keeping automated systems safe for home use
- Hacking and securing home automation systems and products related
- Home automation in the shack and its useful use
- analyzing a mesh network
- alternatives to cloud services
- blacklists and whitelist of commercial products for home automation (radio interference and security issues) and how to prevent vendor lockin
- Stepping out the cloud and how to do that
- sending in new or unknown devices to the workgroup for an analyses report on radio interference and security issues and details how to use them (only for members of the this workgroup)

Who can join this workgroup? Basically everyone that is a radio amateur and is intrested in these topics. You can join as an active member or passive member (no strings attached). You can register via mail pd4z<at>amsat.org, with a short description of the topics you want be conducted in our future analysis. At the moment our workgroup is rather small but extremely active.

RSG news (send by PC5D)

On the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the Greek Independence there this year to obtain an award. more info on the website sv2rck.gr/200YEARS

Another Italian award is available on the occasion of the official registration of the ship under the name Elettra in 1921. Elettra is the ship on which Marconi has conducted many experiments. This year, a different special event will be held every month. Details at www.arifidenza.it

Were you one of the 19,000 people who attended 8 webinars last year RSGB's Tonight? The 2021 series begins:

The next RSGB webinar Tonight at will be tomorrow, Monday 11 January eight. This time Steve G0FUW and Pete N6QW will be talking about amateur radio construction. Despite what many people think, it is you build own radio equipment is still a very popular aspect of it amateur radio. In this presentation we will share some ideas about it how to get started and give some examples of this self-built equipment, using hardware and software. View live and ask questions on the RSGB YouTube channel at www.youtube.com/theRSGB

Propagation and radio weather (send in by PC5D)

Amateurs from Uzbekistan will soon be allowed to compete on the 60m band. It concerns the usual 15 kHz, but with maximum power of 100W.

We started the new year with zero sunspots and a solar flux index around 75. The STEREO probe has no spots yet seen on the back of the sun, but we know these can arise suddenly.

The HF propagation has been relatively poor, with seasonal ionospheric increase of the critical and maximum useful frequencies during the day. The critical daily frequencies have generally been in the 4.5 to 5.5 MHz range, dropping below 3.5 MHz on most evenings. This means that 80m is no longer suitable for local NVIS contacts as the evening goes on, which is normal for this time of year.

The maximum usable frequencies during the day over a 3,000 km path have exceeded 18 and even 21MHz on most days, with the winter Sporadic-E being the main DX mode on the higher 12 and 10 meter bands. There has been a remarkable F2 layer opening at 28MHz, but we will need a little more sunspot activity to make the band gaps more reliable.

NOAA predicts a solar flux index of 75 or possibly slightly higher, and a Kp index of up to two. So comparable conditions without any real highlights. Take advantage of the long nights for the lower bands, such as 1.8, 3.5, and 7MHz. There is also a smaller winter Sporadic-E period with possible openings at 10m and 6m, especially FT8, but CW and SSB are not impossible.

Power supply articles on ARRL

We often use the term “power supply” to denote a piece of equipment that will process the electrical power from a source, such as the ac power mains, by manipulating it so the device output will be acceptable to other equipment we want to power. The common form of the power supply is the familiar direct-current power supply, which will power a transmitter, receiver, or other of a wide variety of electronic devices. Often a topic of discussion among hams, power supplies are required by almost every type of consumer and Amateur electronic device you’ll likely encounter in a home or shack. They often make great homebrew projects, especially for beginners.

In the strictest terms, however, the power supply is not actually a source, or “supply” of power, but is actually a processor of already existing energy. Therefore, the old term “power supply” is becoming obsolete, and a new term has arisen to refer to the technology of the processing of electrical power: “power conditioning .” By contrast, the term “power supply” is now used to refer to devices for chemical to electrical energy conversion (batteries) or mechanical to electrical conversion (generators). Other more exotic varieties include thermoelectric generators (TEGs) and radioactive thermoelectric generators (RTGs). More can be read on the ARRL website.

The biggest blow in more than ten years on the EU power grid as reported ENTSO-E (reported by PC5D)

January 08, 2021 ∙ With which it all started, that is still not clear. But on the afternoon of January 8 at 2.05 pm, the grid frequency in the entire CE block of the ENTSO-E grid dropped by 260 mHz to 49.74 Hertz. Such a fast and deep drop is rare. Clearly, a few gigawatts of production had fallen off the grid unexpectedly - so much so that even the entire European FCR reserve was barely surviving. The complete article (dutch) can be read at Hoogspanningsnet.