‰  NOW 40 WPM  ‰

THE SAME MYSTERIOUS NOISE IN CERTAIN WEATHER CONDITIONS ON THE WEST
COAST OF VANCOUVER ISLAND AND LINKED IT TO CHARGING AND DISCHARGING
WATER DROPLETS.  PETER MARTINEZ, G3PLX, IDENTIFIED THE NOISE AS ST.
ELMOS FIRE.  GIVEN THE GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION OF THE FIELD DAY SITE AND
THE WEATHER CONDITIONS, THIS SEEMS THE ONLY LOGICAL EXPLANATION.
THERE WAS NEVER A DROP OF RAIN AND THE WIND WAS NOT STRONG.  THERE
WAS NEVER ANY SIGN OF A THUNDERHEAD OR LIGHTNING, JUST CLOUDS RI ‰

JAVA SPECTRUM ANALYZER AND SCANNING RF SEISMOGRAPH V1R4 THE SCANNING
RF SEISMOGRAPH IS THE LATEST RELEASE IN THE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM OF
THE MDSR GROUP.  THE MAIN SCREEN IS SHOWN IN FIGURE 7.  THE COMPUTER
INTERFACE SEPARATES THE SCANNER SETUP FROM THE DISPLAY.  ALL THE
FUNCTIONALITY OF THE AMPLITUDE CORRECTING SPECTRUM ANALYZER IS STILL
THERE, BUT HIDDEN IN THIS WINDOW DISPLAY.  FOR MORE DETAILS ON HOW
TO SET THIS PROGRAM UP AND HOW TO INSTALL IT ON THE COMPUTER, GO TO
THE MDSR WEBSITE.  ALSO CONSULT THE INCLUDED PDF HELP DOCUMENT.  YOU
MAY ALSO FIND IT USEFUL TO JOIN THE MDSRADIO YAHOO. USER GROUP AND
POST A MESSAGE.  USING THE SCANNING RF SEISMOGRAPH, OR HOW TO FIND
PROPAGATION SETTING UP THE SCANNING RF SEISMOGRAPH IS VERY SIMPLE,
BECAUSE IT OFFERS EASY TO USE PRESETS FOR THE FREQUENCIES MOST
AMATEURS WILL WANT TO MONITOR, ESPECIALLY IF THE OPERATOR IS USING
DIGITAL MODES OR MERELY WISHES TO OBSERVE STANDARD TRANSMISSIONS
SUCH AS WWV.  ONCE THE FREQUENCIES ARE SET, PRESSING START SCAN
LAUNCHES THE SCANNER AND THE RECORDER.  THE SCANNER IS DESIGNED TO
RUN INDEFINITELY, BUT ALSO HAS A PAUSE/RES BUTTON SO THAT THE SCAN
CAN BE STOPPED AND LATER RESUMED IF THE OPERATOR DECIDES TO USE THE
TRANSCEIVER FOR TX/RX OPERATIONS.  INTERESTING FINDS USING SCANNING
RF SEISMOGRAPH  ALL THE EVENTS RECORDED FOR THIS ARTICLE WERE
RECORDED DURING THE STANDARD.

OPERATION OF THE STATION.  ANY ANTENNA CAN BE USED TO MONITOR RF
CONDITIONS.  MY STATION USES A HY GAIN 18HTJR OMNI DIRECTIONAL
MULTIBAND ANTENNA.  WARNING LEAVING THE STATION CONNECTED DURING A
THUNDERSTORM WITHOUT PROPER LIGHTNING PROTECTION CAN BE HAZARDOUS TO
YOUR LIFE AND PROPERTY.  IT IS NOT SAFE TO OPERATE ANY EQUIPMENT
CONNECTED TO AN ANTENNA WHILE A THUNDERSTORM IS WITHIN 10 MILES 16
KILO METERS.  MEASURING THE EFFECTS OF A PASSING THUNDERSTORM EARLY
EVENING ON MAY 26, 2016, THE GREATER VANCOUVER AREA WAS TREATED TO A
RARE THUNDERSTORM.  THE MDSR TEAM GOT LUCKY AND THE RF SEISMOGRAPH
WAS RUNNING AUTOMATICALLY AND UNATTENDED.  FIGURE 8 SHOWS THE
LIGHTNING SPIKES CLEARLY DETECTED ON SEVERAL BANDS.  THE BUILDUP OF
ENERGY IN THE TROPO SPHERE WAS VISIBLE AT LEAST 2 HOURS BEFORE THE
STORM HIT SHOWN LEFT OF THE DURATION OF THE STORM MARKER.  DURING
THE 2 HOUR STORM, THE NOISE LEVEL OF THE 40 METER BAND JUMPED WAY
UP.  IN THIS PARTICULAR STORM, THE LIGHTNING PASSED LAST, MOSTLY
SEEN IN THE GREEN SPIKES 80 METERS.  JUST AFTER 2200, A BIG
LIGHTNING STRIKE MADE EVEN THE 17 METER BAND JUMP.  AT 2215, THE
NOISE OF THE 40 METER BAND DROPPED ALMOST

‰  END OF 40 WPM TEXT  ‰ QST DE W1AW  ƒ