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THIS PROGRAM 382 OF SHORTWAVE RADIOGRAM WILL BE BROADCAST 20-25 DECEMBER 2024, AND REPEATED 27 DECEMBER-1 JANUARY 2024/2025.

Welcome to program 382 of Shortwave Radiogram.

I'm Kim Andrew Elliott in Arlington, Virginia USA.

Here is the lineup for today's program, in MFSK modes as noted:

1:43 MFSK32: Program preview (now) 3:18 MFSK64: Our Holiday Spectacular: 18 images, each 150 x 150 pixels 27:59 MFSK32: Closing announcements

Please send reception reports to radiogram@verizon.net

And visit http://swradiogram.net

We're on swradiogram.bsky.social now

And X/Twitter: @SWRadiogram

Shortwave Radiogram now changes to MFSK64 …

Before RSID: <<2024-12-21T23:03Z MFSK-32 @ 7780000+1500>>

This is Shortwave Radiogram in MFSK64 …

Welcome to the Shortwave Radiogram Holiday Spectacular for 2024 and (for one day) 2025.

Again this year we feature commercial light-pole decorations, of the type displayed in downtowns and shopping centers.

This year's decorations are from Holiday Outdoor Decor of Allentown, Pennsylvania. On this web page, you can see the price of all these decorations … https://holidayoutdoordecor.com/pole-mount-displays/

And so, with best wishes for the Season, we begin our Holiday (ahem) Spectacular …

Bell with Holly …

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Boot with Candy …

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Candle Wreath …

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Diamond Snowflake …

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Double Candle Scroll …

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Elegant Pointsettia …

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Enhanced Christmas Tree …

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Enhanced Candy Cane …

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Leaping Buck …

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Menorah …

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Lighted Santa Head …

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Ornament … Sending Pic:150x150C;

Saluting Soldier …

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Silhouette Holly Cluster …

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Snowflake Cascade Wreath …

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St. Nick …

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Tree Wreath …

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Triple Pointsettia

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Shortwave Radiogram returns to MFSK32 …

Before RSID: <<2024-12-21T23:27Z MFSK-64 @ 7780000+1500>>

This is Shortwave Radiogram in MFSK32 …

Transmission of Shortwave Radiogram is provided by:

WRMI, Radio Miami International, http://wrmi.net

and

WINB Shortwave, http://winb.com

Please send reception reports to radiogram@verizon.net

And visit http://swradiogram.net

X/Twitter (for now): @SWRadiogram

I'm Kim Elliott. Please join us for the next Shortwave Radiogram.

@swradiogram

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The WL2K node came back into the house from the garage. I don’t think it liked the power out there. The power tools don’t care but the Pi had troubles. Direwolf kept loosing communication with the USB sound card. No issues in the house. So, perhaps we’ll move to phase 2 and some lite field tests in its proposed location. I’ll miss the easy radio check in as it’s going to live in a town some 20 miles east but the population there could use it and I can reach HF nodes as needed.

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Here is the lineup for today's program, in MFSK modes as noted:

1:43 MFSK32: Program preview (now) 2:53 MFSK32: Mathematician solves the moving sofa problem* 7:48 MFSK64: Are buildings made of wood sustainable? 13:16 MFSK64: This week's images* 27:52 MFSK32: Closing announcements

with image(s)

Please send reception reports to radiogram@verizon.net

And visit http://swradiogram.net

We're on swradiogram.bsky.social now

And X/Twitter: @SWRadiogram



From Phys.org:

Mathematician solves the moving sofa problem

by Bob Yirka December 11, 2024

A mathematician at Yonsei University, in Korea, claims to have solved the moving sofa problem. Jineon Baek has posted a 100+-page proof of the problem on the arXiv preprint server.

Most people who have moved their place of residence have encountered the the moving sofa problem—it comes up when attempting to carry a couch around a corner. What is the largest couch that can be carried around a given corner without getting stuck? This problem was posited mathematically by mathematician Leo Moser back in 1966, and until now, has remained unsolved.

Moser's initial thoughts centered on the possibility of developing a proof showing how mathematics could be used to solve any such problem using a given shape of a plane as it was moved around a right-angled corner of an empty space (such as a hallway) that was one unit in width.

In his work, Baek chose the Gerver sofa as a demonstration shape. The Gerver sofa is a mathematical construct developed by Joseph Gerver, a professor at Rutgers University, in 1992. It is basically a cuboid with a U-shaped front, a flat back with rounded edges and flat, front-facing arms.

After first, clearly defining the problem, Baek applies mathematical tools to move through the proof step by step before eventually arriving at the answer: For a hall of 1 unit, a Gerver sofa's maximum area can only be 2.2195 units. As part of the proof, Baek also narrowly defined the shape of the Gerver sofa he was using. Thus, different interpretations of the sofa shape would result in different answers.

Because the shape of the sofa is clearly defined at the outset, the answer Baek found could conceivably be used in the real world by people attempting to move a couch around a corner—though it would have to conform to the interpretation of a Gerver sofa as defined in the proof.

As with all such math proofs, Baek's will have to undergo scrutiny by other mathematicians to ensure his proof is correct and actually results in the optimal solution to a given problem.

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Image: The movement of a moving sofa in the perspective of hallway (top) and sofa (bottom) …



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Shortwave Radiogram now changes to MFSK64 …

 Before RSID: <<2024-12-14T23:07Z MFSK-32 @ 7780000+1500>>



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From TechXplore.org:

High rises made out of wood? What matters in whether 'mass timber' buildings are sustainable

by Brent Sohngen The Conversation December 11, 2024

A material that's been around since people built shelters—wood—is increasingly being proposed for low- and mid-rise buildings.

Companies behind these "mass timber" projects say that wood is a lower-carbon alternative to steel or concrete and brings other benefits, such as faster construction time and lower cost than concrete and steel. Advocates say the wood materials, made of compressed layers of wood with glue, offer good fire safety as well.

As an economist who studies forestry and natural resources, I took an interest in this building trend when I heard that a local bar on campus was going to be replaced by a 13-story building made out of wood.

I see any increase in the use of wood in buildings as positive for reducing the substantial carbon footprint of buildings. But it is critical to consider where wood is sourced and whether forests are managed sustainably.

The work forests do

One way that researchers assess the environmental footprint of a product or service is called a life-cycle analysis, which calculates the cradle-to-grave impact.

One life-cycle analysis found that using mass timber in a 12-story building in Oregon had an 18% lower global warming impact compared with constructing the building with steel-reinforced concrete. The carbon emissions benefits are even greater when comparing timber with steel for low- and mid-rise buildings. In these studies, the global warming benefits mostly result from lower emissions in sourcing, transporting and manufacturing the material for these large wood buildings, compared with steel or concrete components, rather than efficiencies in heating or cooling or disposal of the materials at the end of the building's lifespan.

On a global level, the raw material for mass timber—forests—absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, making them an important carbon "sink."

Tree cutting is one of the most widespread disturbances in forests, yet, after accounting for all harvesting, fires, land use change and other disturbances, forests in the United States still remove a net 754 million tons of CO2 per year from the atmosphere, an amount equivalent to 13.5% of U.S. emissions. Globally, the picture is similar, with forest growth removing 2.6 billion tons of CO2 more from the atmosphere than the combined effect of all wood harvesting, deforestation, forest fires and other disturbances.

Although today forests are a net CO2 sink in the U.S.—taking in more carbon from the atmosphere than released through disturbance—before the middle of the last century, they were a big source of carbon emissions. Back then, farmers converted land to agriculture, foresters cut old-growth trees to produce lumber, and forest fires raged. Carbon losses in the U.S. were so large that land-based emissions around the turn of the 20th century were on par with emissions from deforestation in tropical regions today.

Over the past 100 years, the trend has reversed, as forests have removed far more CO2 from the atmosphere than they have released. One reason for this transition has been a sustained increase in crop yields, which has allowed for greater farm output on fewer acres. As a result, grain prices fell in real terms and farmers abandoned less productive lands, allowing forests to return. These regrowing forests, in turn, removed carbon from the atmosphere.

Abandonment was not the only reason trees regrew in the U.S. Even as foresters were still sawing their way through old-growth stocks in the first half of the 1900s, some foresighted forest landowners began planting trees because timber scarcity was growing, as evidenced by timber prices rising at 3% to 4% per year. By the 1950s and 1960s, over a billion acres were being planted annually in the U.S., and today, the area planted is double that.

Economics of forest management

To examine whether wood is sustainably sourced, rather than contributing to higher carbon emissions, it is instructive to consider the economics of forest management.

A shift toward using wood rather than other materials in low- to mid-rise building designs will drive demand for wood products, resulting in both more harvesting and more planting. Any increase in harvesting carries risk, including an increase in carbon emissions, habitat loss, and other impacts. Perhaps the most evident effects happen when surging demand causes logging in sensitive ecosystems, critical habitats or old-growth forests. If lost, ecosystem services like biodiversity are often impossible to replace.

Carbon may be less of a worry because it can be returned to forests through regrowth. However, some critics maintain that harvests deposit CO2 in the atmosphere for the period between a timber harvest and forest regrowth, resulting in a massive CO2 emission.

There is considerable debate about this "excess" emissions hypothesis. Other research into the effects of increased wood demand illustrates that both harvesting and regeneration increase when demand rises. When timber investments are modeled alongside harvesting, carbon stocks in forested lands increase when wood demand ratchets up. This finding is not new. The example of the last century reveals that elevated timber demand and higher wood product prices strengthen incentives for landowners to intensively manage commercial forests—plant more acres, improve varieties, shift species mixes, fertilize, control drainage and manage competition.

The sustainability of mass timber will also be determined by which forests supply this new demand. It is unlikely that much of this new harvesting will happen on the 42% of U.S. forests owned by various units of government.. Many of these forests are either administratively protected—for example, as a wilderness area—or are remote and costly to access. Where cutting is allowed, logging is slowed by the considerable planning, impact assessment and public involvement required.

Even many private landowners have gotten into the habit of protecting for the purpose of environmental services. Today, over 37 million acres of private land in the U.S. are enrolled in conservation easements, which limit what current and future owners can do with their land. Not all of these protected lands are forests, but where they are, new demands for mass timber are unlikely to result in more harvesting.

Aside from these legally protected lands, forest protection happens in many private forests simply because many forest owners are inattentive or they have strong preferences for wildlife and benefits other than timber revenue. As a result, research has found that nonindustrial landowners as a whole are unlikely to expand cutting even if demand does grow substantively.

Full text: https://techxplore.com/news/2024-12-high-wood-mass-timber-sustainable.html

 

This is Shortwave Radiogram in MFSK64

Please send your reception report to radiogram@verizon.net

This week's images …



Lake Toolondo Aurora, Australia, part of the Northern Lights Photographer of the Year collection (in this case Southern Lights). https://tinyurl.com/29cuvdmn …

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A light show with Christmas tree at the Grand-Place in Brussels, November 29. https://tinyurl.com/2ykf4seq …

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A very red sunset seen from Northwest Washington DC on December

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Red berries bring some color to winter at the Tyler Arboretum near Philadelphia. https://tinyurl.com/2ahp6fjg …

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Dogs on the National Mall in foggy Washington DC, with the Smithsonian Castle in the background, December 10. https://tinyurl.com/24syvgj9 …

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"Olive oil and water droplets" from BBC pictorial on the theme of fluids. https://tinyurl.com/27vjfpxb …

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Christmas lights on a tree at the Westonbirt Arboretum in England. https://tinyurl.com/24z34smt …

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Our painting of the week is "At Close of Day" by Maxfield Parrish (1941). https://tinyurl.com/25dkw33w …

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Shortwave Radiogram returns to MFSK32 …

 nUl p1eotR o0gR Before RSID: <<2024-12-14T23:27Z MFSK-64 @ 7780000+1500>>



This is Shortwave Radiogram in MFSK32 …

Shortwave Radiogram is transmitted by:

WRMI, Radio Miami International, wrmi.net

and

WINB Shortwave, winb.com

Please send reception reports to radiogram@verizon.net

And visit http://swradiogram.net

Twitter: @SWRadiogram or twitter.com/swradiogram

I'm Kim Elliott. Please join us for the next Shortwave Radiogram. @swradiograms-blog @swradiogram

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@swradiogram

Dave Clark Five was the image from the Mighty KBC shortwave broadcast this time! MFSK 64. 5950 AM Sunday 08DEC24 1830J 2330Z using FLDigi my Xeigu and a G5RV antenna.

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What a difference a few days and a few MHz make! Too bad I got in late and didn't copy it all.

@swradiogram

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Reception was pretty terrible tonight. Listening to the Friday morning 0030 Zulu time broadcast on 9265 AM.

Here is the lineup for today's program, in MFSK modes as noted:

1:42 MFSK32: Program preview (now) 2:48 MFSK32: BepiColombo spacecraft flies by Mercury again 6:16 MFSK64: Using smartphones to study the ionosphere 10:14 MFSK64: This week's images 27:58 MFSK32: Closing announcements

Please send reception reports to radiogram@verizon.net

And visit http://swradiogram.net

We're on Bluesky now: swradiogram.bsky.social 

From Phys.org:

BepiColombo's fifth Mercury flyby

by European Space Agency December 2, 2024

On Sunday 1 December 2024, BepiColombo flew past the planet Mercury for the fifth time, readying itself for entering orbit around the solar system's mysterious innermost planet in 2026.

The spacecraft flew between Mercury and the sun, getting to within 37,630 km from the small planet's surface at 15:23 CET. This is much farther than its first four flybys of the planet, when BepiColombo flew as close as 165–240 km from the surface.

What made this flyby special is that it was the first time that BepiColombo's MERTIS instrument was able to observe Mercury. This radiometer and thermal infrared spectrometer will measure how much the planet radiates in infrared light, something that depends on both the temperature and composition of the surface.

This was the first time that any spacecraft measured what Mercury looks like in mid-infrared wavelengths of light (7–14 / &etiometers). The data that MERTIS will collect throughout the mission will reveal what types of minerals the planet's surface is made of, one of the key Mercury mysteries that BepiColombo is designed to tackle.

BepiColombo's other science instruments will monitor the environment outside Mercury's magnetic field. Among other things, they will measure the continuous (but changeable) stream of particles coming from the sun known as the solar wind.

The other instruments switched on during this flyby are the magnetometers MPO-MAG and MMO-MGF, the MGNS gamma-ray and neutron spectrometer, the SIXS X-ray and particle spectrometer, the MDM dust monitor and the PWI instrument that detects electric fields, plasma waves and radio waves.

BepiColombo, a joint mission between ESA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), will be the second and most complex mission ever to orbit Mercury. It comprises two science orbiters: ESA's Mercury Planetary Orbiter and JAXA's Mercury Magnetospheric Orbiter. While on their way to Mercury, the two orbiters are both attached to the Mercury Transfer Module.

Shortwave Radiogram now changes to MFSK64 …

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This iahortwave Radiogram in MFSK64

Please send your reception report to radiogram@verizon.net H m rSH4rhIo( baQ Boulder

Engineers transform smartphones into instruments for studying space

By Daniel Strain November 13, 2024

That ordinary smartphone in your pocket could be a powerful tool for investigating outer ssweiea

In a new study, researchers at Google and CU Boulder have transformed millions of Autofid phones across the globe into a fleet of nimble scientific instruments - generating one of the mos­oMdetKÁx eaps to date of the uppermost layer of Earth's atmosphere.

The group's findings, published Nov. 13 in the journal Nature, might help to improve the accuracy of GPS technology worldwide Hmfold. The research was led by Brian Williams of Google Researnt /×nir ehxed Jade Morton, professor in the Anntd ×. Smead oeYe8nt of Aerospace Engineering Sciences at CU Boulder.

"These phones can literally fit in your palm," Morton said. "But through crowdsourcing, we can use them to change the way we understand the space environment."

She and her colleagues used the GPS sensors that come standard in every smartphone to collect dat,tfw 4trt1-ehet?ere warped signals coming from satellites. In the process, they were able to view phenomena in the atmosphere, such as blobs high above the planet known as "plasma bubbles," in never-before-seen detail.

The group released its data publicly so that anyone can watch how the atmosphere swirW ad h shifted over about eight months. "Collaboration is c [ral to scientific progress and to our scientific research at Google," said Lizzie Dorfman, product lead for Science AI in Google Research. "Dr. Morton's expertise was essential to this research, and it has been an absolute pleasure working with her as a visiting researcher and collaborator."

Eye on the ionosphere

The study puts new focus on the ionosphere, a wispy layer of the atmosphere that stretches moeliN[e`t¥ eDtÓc(oblGace.

It's a volatile arena: Heratoc ´itfrom the sun constantly beat down on the 6mosphere, s1 P its molecules and atoms into a soupy mix of charged particles - what scientists call a plasma. It also never stays still.

"At 2 o'clock in afternoon, there are a lot more charged particles in the ionosphere because the sun is at its strongest," Morton said. "But at night, the sun is on the other side of the planet, so we have very few charged particles."

That fluctuation can play havoc with GPS technology.

Morton explained that the technology works through a sort of stopwatch in space: Satellites thousands of miles from Earth first beam radio waves to the planet. Your phone then pinpoints your location by measuring how long it takes those signals to reach the ground.

Scientists try to account for how the ionosphere mit shift that timing by mapping this region of space using radar dishes on the ground. Currently, however, they can onlyXateRt 14% of the ionosphere at any one time. As a result, GPS devices may miss your exact location by anywhere from a few to several dozen feet.

"There are a lot of applications that require a lot of accuracy - for example, landing aircraft," Morton said.

Bubbling up

In the current fc, n, the researchers landed on an unusual idea: RatheÏea ivy on expensive radar dishes, they could map the ionosphere using a suite of sensors that already existed in every country on Earth: Android phonea¦

The ionosphere maps are created using aggregated measurements of the radio signals between satellites and the receivers in some qa eivices. Privacy protections ensure tcese measurements do not identify any contributing individual devices.

In particular, th&easfo}he phones toqk in real time how the ionosphere stretches out radio waves coming frn s­tellites.

The team reported that, on its own, this worldwide fleet could observe roughly 21% of the ionosphere - potentially doubling the accuracy of GPS devices worldwide.

"Millions of phones together can do a much better job of2onitoring the atmosphere than our ground network," Morton said.

The group's maps also capture the ionosphere in brilliant detail.

In May 2024, for example, a powersitt solar storm struck Earth just as the group's cell phones were looking upxn the hours that followed, huregions of atmosphere, or "plasma bubbles," containing low concentrations of charged particles formed above parts of South Ameri°hose bubbles then rose through the ionosphere like wax in a lava lamp.

Morton, for her part, says the study shows the untapped potential of the everyday technologies that many people take for granted.

"I have spent my lifetime building dedicated instruments to do scientific research," Morton said. "But as technology advances in our society, we see all these sensors at our dispo2 Ôea t have a lot more power than we ever imagined."

https://www.colorado.edu/tv /2024/11/13/engineer, àida nsmartphones-inste , P+p¶; fh9eHn tR#l rh+Yd eµh ¯er di1dtfrtwave Radiogram in MFSK64

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You’ll need to turn up the volume to hear the announcer at the beginning talking about what’s getting sent. Then you can see the MFSK 64 and the image come on in. This was received via short wave radio on December 1, 2024 5950 AM radio.

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Turkey day SSTV

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@swradiogram 23NOV24 7780 AM 2300z Before RSID: <<2024-11-23T23:01Z MFSK-32 @ 7780000+1500>> 

Welcome to program 379 of Shortwave Radiogram.

I'm Kim Andrew Elliott in Arlington, Virginia USA.

Here is the lineup for today's program, in MFSK modes as noted:

1:45 MFSK32: Program preview (now) 2:53 MFSK32: Social platform Bluesky welcomes X users 7:29 MFSK64: Germany assumes sabotage after data cable damaged* 10:44 MFSK64: This week's images* 27:33 MFSK32: Closing announcements

with image(s)

Please send reception reports to radiogram@verizon.net

And visit http://swradiogram.net

We're on X/Twitter now: @SWRadiogram

 tkk nalwt 

From AP via TechXplore.com:

What is Bluesky, the fast-growing social platform welcoming fleeing X users?

November 16, 2024

Disgruntled X users are again flocking to Bluesky, a newer social media platform that grew out of the former Twitter before billionaire Elon Musk took it over in 2022. While it remains small compared to established online spaces such as X, it has emerged as an alternative for those looking for a different mood, lighter and friendlier and less influenced by Musk.

What is Bluesky?

Championed by former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, Bluesky was an invitation-only space until it opened to the public in February. That invite-only period gave the site time to build out moderation tools and other features. The platform resembles Musk's X, with a "discover" feed and a chronological feed for accounts that users follow. Users can send direct messages and pin posts, as well as find "starter packs" that provide a curated list of people and custom feeds to follow.

Why is Bluesky growing?

Bluesky said in mid-November that its total users surged to 15 million, up from roughly 13 million at the end of October, as some X users look for an alternative platform to post their thoughts and talk to others online. The post-election uptick in users isn't the first time Bluesky has benefited from people leaving X. The platform gained 2.6 million users in the week after X was banned in Brazil in August—85% of them from Brazil, the company said. About 500,000 new users signed up in one day in October, when X signaled that blocked accounts would be able to see a user's public posts.

Across the platform, new users—among them journalists, left-leaning politicians and celebrities—have posted memes and shared that they were looking forward to using a space free from advertisements and hate speech. Some said it reminded them of the early days of Twitter more than a decade ago.

Despite Bluesky's growth, X posted after the election that it had "dominated the global conversation on the U.S. election" and had set new records.

Beyond social networking

Bluesky, though, has bigger ambitions than to supplant X. Beyond the platform itself, it is building a technical foundation—what it calls "a protocol for public conversation"—that could make social networks work across different platforms—also known as interoperability—like email, blogs or phone numbers.

Currently, you can't cross between social platforms to leave a comment on someone's account. Twitter users must stay on Twitter and TikTok users must stay on TikTok if they want to interact with accounts on those services. Big Tech companies have largely built moats around their online properties, which helps serve their advertising-focused business models.

Bluesky is trying to reimagine all of this and working toward interoperability.

Shortwave Radiogram now changes to MFSK64 …

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From Deutsche Welle:

Germany assumes sabotage after Baltic Sea data cable damaged

November 19, 2024

German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said on Tuesday that the damage to an undersea data cable running from Germany to Finland was likely due to sabotage.

The damage to the C-Lion1 cable was first reported on Monday with officials saying the 1,173-kilometer (729-mile) line had been cut, although the impact would probably not be noticeable for most people.

Sweden's Civil Defense Minister Carl-Oskar Bohlin also reported on Monday that a second undersea cable had been damaged, according to the French press agency AFP.

The incident occurred in the same maritime region where the Nord Stream pipelines were sabotaged in 2022 following Russia's invasion of Ukraine earlier that year.

'Can't all just be coincidences'

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Europe would remain united in light of the hybrid threats following the cut in the fiber-optic cables in the Baltic Sea.

"We are now also experiencing this in Germany … with cyber attacks, with the surveillance of critical infrastructure, parcels suddenly exploding when transported on planes and yesterday … a data cable between Finland and Germany which probably also affected Sweden," said Baerbock. "These can't all just be coincidences."

What else did Germany say about the damaged Baltic Sea cable?

"No one believes that these cables were cut accidentally. I also don't want to believe in versions that these were anchors that accidentally caused damage over these cables," Pistorius said before a meeting with EU defense ministers in Brussels.

"Therefore, we have to state, without knowing specifically who it came from, that it is a 'hybrid' action. And we also have to assume, without knowing it yet, that it is sabotage," he added.

While Pistorius was unable to produce any evidence for his suspicions, his Estonian counterpart Hanno Pevkur also said it was not a "natural cause" based on their preliminary information.

A joint statement from the German and Finnish Foreign Ministers on Monday evening said: "Our European security is not only under threat from Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, but also from hybrid warfare by malicious actors."

Additional reporting by Teri Schultz.

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Image: Map showing route of the CLion1 cable between Germany and Finland …

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This is Shortwave Radiogram in MFSK64

Please send your reception report to radiogram@verizon.net

This week's images …

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From the Microscopic Photo Competition: The crystalline pattern of a big cotton padded jacket. https://tinyurl.com/2b4zbozm …

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Banded demoiselle damselflies perching on a blade of grass. https://tinyurl.com/27karzm4 …

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A fruit seller opens early in the morning as smog covers Lahore, Pakistan, November 14. https://tinyurl.com/277b5kz8 ….

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The Xiling Gorge Estuary, in the Yangtze River, at sunrise in Yichang city, Hubei province, China, November 10. https://tinyurl.com/24uqw9of …

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The sunrise sky and a ship on the forth as seen from Kirkcaldy Prom, Scotland. https://tinyurl.com/239h3eq4 …

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Looking like an abstract painting, Chris Fukuda's photo of the Beaver Supermoon taken from the Steel Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey. https://tinyurl.com/26ownd64 …

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Last of the autumn colors at the Westonbirt Arboretum in Gloucestershire, England. https://tinyurl.com/26oz2ryu …

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At the Morton Arboretum near Chicago, the "Winter Radiance" display pays tribute to the big bluestem prairie grass native to the Midwest, using "eco-friendly" LEDs. https://tinyurl.com/26r36cwm …

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Our art of the week is a geometric icon design by Dalius Stuoka. https://tinyurl.com/26fovkcw …

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Shortwave Radiogram returns to MFSK32 …

 rwtef s¢R Before RSID: <<2024-11-23T23:27Z MFSK-64 @ 7780000+1500>>



This is Shortwave Radiogram in MFSK32 …

Shortwave Radiogram is transmitted by:

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I'm Kim Elliott. Please join us for the next Shortwave Radiogram.



Before RSID: <<2024-11-23T23:28Z MFSK-32 @ 7780000+1500>>

Thank you for decoding the modes on Shortwave Radiogram.

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ZOF

The BLACK SWAN NET uses Z codes rather than Q codes so they are interoperable with government agencies. It takes some getting used to after 30 years of the Q codes!

Net control asked me to relay data last night and I understood and complied. A newbie from a state away and QRP.

They really are a great group and a super resource if you want to get good with digital auxiliary communication nets.

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378 of Shortwave Radiogram

Here's the text from this week's @swradiogram for you that missed it.

Welcome to program 378 of Shortwave Radiogram.

I'm Kim Andrew Elliott in Arlington, Virginia USA.

Here is the lineup for today's program, in MFSK modes as noted:

1:37 MFSK32: Program preview (now) 2:44 MFSK32: Antimatter can travel by truck 5:28 MFSK64: Why is the oboe used to tune an orchestra?* 11:51 MFSK64: This week's images* 28:02 MFSK32: Closing announcements

with image(s)

Plfdt dt tu reoMpkeports to radiogram@verizon.net

And visit http://swradiogram.net

We're on X/Twitter now: @SWRadioget°Hox` t"e5 

From Science News:

Antimatter could travel by truck, a test with protons shows

By Emily Conover November 8, 2024

A truck full of antimatter would make for a seriously epic road trip. And scientists are now one step closer to hauling the substance by motor vehicle.

Scientists at the European laboratory CERN have demonstrated the ability to transport a cloud of subatomic particles aboard a truck, using protons as a stand-in for their antimatter counterparts, antiprotons. These particles have the same mass as protons but opposite electric charge.

Several experiments at CERN study antiprotons to check for any unexpected discrepancies with their matter partners. Such studies, scientists hope, could lead to a better understanding of why matter is common but antimatter is rare, a major physics mystery.

But antiprotons are a precious resource — CERN, near Geneva, is the only place where the particles can be trapped and studied. Scientists would like the option to take them elsewhere, to access outside equipment and ideal experimental conditions.

Antimatter is a delicate substance, annihilating upon contact with normal matter. So it must be suspended by electromagnetic fields in a vacuum chamber. Scientists with the BASE-STEP project designed a trap that could do that while bumping along down the road and that was small enough to fit on a truck.

Physicists used the trap to successfully schlep a cloud of 70 protons on a trip of about 4 kilometers around the laboratory site and back again, CERN announced October 25. A future experiment will test antiprotons, with the eventual goal of distributing them to labs throughout Europe.

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From Phys.org:

Why is the oboe used to tune an orchestra? And other questions about tuning, answered

by Kathleen McGuire, The Conversation November 11, 2024

The iconic sound of an orchestra tuning is highly recognizable, even for those who've never set foot in a concert hall. Many of us first tt otk+tt L\ney Tunes cartoon.

Have you ever wondered why the oboe begins the tuning? How is th‚ starting note decided? With access to electronic tuning devices, along with advancements in materials and manufacturing enabling instruments to better sustain their pitch, is the tuning ritual still needed? What is the purpose, beyond building excitement or signaling tconductor's entr¢ce?

Whether or not professional orchestras' tuning rituals are required, there is someinherently comforting about it for audiences.

Enter the oboe

The earliest orchestras, in the Baroque era, comprised a non-standard set of instruments. One combination could have been a harpsichord, a few string players (violin, viola, viola da gamba), one or more wind instruments, and perhaps even timpani.

As the number of string players grew in the orchestra, the flute replaced the quiet recorder.

The oboe brought complex, contrasting overtones, plus a limited yet stable tuning range controlled mostly by a pair of "fixed" reeds.

These factors made the oboe the practical choice as the tuning instrument in the Baroque era.

By the 1800s, the size and instrumentation were much like the modern orchestra. An order was added to the tuning ritual, with each "family" of instruments taking its turn to tune with the oboe.

When a fixed-pitch instrument, such as an organ, was included with the orchestra, the oboe would be tuned to it before the ritual began.

These tuning traditions continue today.

Constantly retuning

The tuning ritual heard by the audience is just the tip of the iceberg. Many instruments need micro-tuning adjustments throughout a performance.

Tuning can also slip, which may be caused when string or brass instruments need to use a mute. The mute lowers the volume and adds a different tonal quality, but it can also slightly alter the pitch of the instrument.

Tuning is also affected by changes in temperature or humidity as the instrument warms while being played or cools due to external changes.

Consider the weather during the opening ceremony of the 2024 Paris Olympics—it would have been challenging to keep the instruments in tune in the rain and extreme humidity.

Depending on the instrument, sometimes when the pitch slips it cannot be adjusted mid-performance.

In a recent concert I conducted at St Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne, the yidaki was slightly out of tune after being perfectly in tune two hours earlier in rehearsal. The difference? The yidaki's wood was affected by a sudden drop in temperature when a thunderstorm came through mid-concert.

Pipe organs suffer the same fate at the mercy of the weather with their large, metal components.

What makes an 'A'?

The traditional tuning note is A. This stems from the open A string being common to all orchestral string instruments.

The oboist plays a long A when instructed by the concert master—usually the lead violinist—who stands and indicates to the oboist and then to each section of the orchestra when it's time to tune.

The string players tune their A strings, from which they can tune their other strings. In turn, other sections of the orchestra also tune to A. When the tuning ends and the instruments are silent, the orchestra is ready to perform.

This all seems straightforward, but there are variations on what an A should sound like. An audio frequency of A=440 hertz (Hz) is considered standard or "concert" pitch, although this is a fairly modern concept.

Tuning forks were invented in Europe in the early 1700s, around the same time as the emergence of orchestras. Based on tuning forks and organs remaining from the 18th and 19th centuries, such as Beethoven's tuning fork, historians have identified concert pitches ranging from 395 to 465Hz.

Efforts to standardize concert pitch at A=440Hz arose in the 19th century, further reinforced in the 20th century.

Today, the pitch used may be decided by historically informed performance, adopting the likely tuning from when the music was composed. Giuseppe Verdi, for instance, campaigned for Italy to adopt concert pitch A=432Hz. Using the slightly lower tuning for Verdi's Messa da Requiem is justifiable, allowing for the choir to execute extended high passages more comfortably.

In the 1960s, conductor Herbert von Karajan decided the Berlin Philharmonic sounded "brighter" when tuned to A=443–444Hz. This trend continues today for several prominent orchestras: The New York Philharmonic tunes to A=442Hz, and the Vienna Philharmonic to A=443Hz.

Changing rituals

Is the tuning ritual essential? It depends.

Earlier this year I saw Wicked. The orchestra tuned very quickly. Practicalities can trump ritual—especially on days with matinee and evening shows, each running almost three hours.

Symphony orchestras comprise mostly acoustic instruments. In contrast, modern musical theater orchestras often include electronic instruments and a rhythm section, with synthesizers that don't need tuning.

Compared with a large auditorium, a pit may have fewer temperature fluctuations. When needed, pit players use electronic tuning devices. Some play multiple instruments in each performance, which are tuned in advance and during the performance.

Despite contemporary advancements, the tradition of an orchestra tuning in the presence of an audience is a special, transcendent moment, unique to the live concert experience.

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Well guess who has two thumbs and runs his Vibroplex like a guy using two thumbs….made the roll in QST magazine for field day!

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We had one pass this evening while they were transmitting postcards from the international space station by slow scan television.

It came in a little fuzzy, cleared up as the spaceship reached apex here, and then fuzzed out again as they went over the North Atlantic.

Baofeng HT + roll up J pole hung in the upstairs window was the setup to feed the decode on an old laptop.