TY - Generic T1 - Quality of AM Radio Reception at Night and Daytime for Future Use in Natural Disaster Situations T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2024 Y1 - 2024 A1 - Alexandre Takio Kitagawa AB -

Brazil has more than 10,500 radio stations, which broadcast live sports, music, services and entertainment. It is estimated that 86% of the Brazilian population listens to radio programming, making it, therefore, a more adaptable communication vehicle for use in different media and situations, such as the possibility of using it to transmit alerts and warnings in situations of natural disasters. The objective was to compare the propagation of AM radio transmissions at night and during the day with commercial receivers, also, to prove, with a simple methodology and at a reduced cost, problems and advantages that may occur in transmissions on the aforementioned frequencies, instigating research scientific research with students from an elementary school in Brazil. The receptions were carried out by the students during the day (9:00 and 12:00) and at night (7:00 and 00:00) using two receivers, one powered by batteries and the other by a battery (car receiver) and recorded for later group analysis adopting the SINPO code methodology. The results showed that several commercial AM radio stations were received at night, but during the day it was not possible to receive reception at any of the times analyzed. During the night, many distant stations could be captured, which negatively influenced the reception of the stations studied, but could be used to explain the propagation of the electromagnetic wave, the presence and performance of the Ionosphere and its characteristics. Due to the propagation behavior of the electromagnetic wave of AM radio stations, which has some peculiarities when compared to commercial FM stations, the use of this band in the region under study, in the case of alerts and warnings of natural disasters, must be better analyzed to ensure satisfactory results are obtained.

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2024 PB - HamSCI CY - Cleveland, OH ER - TY - Generic T1 - QRV: Newbie YL Perspectives on Becoming a Ham Citizen Scientist T2 - HamSCI Workshop 2021 Y1 - 2021 A1 - Laura Brandt A1 - Elizabeth MacDonald A1 - Connie Atkisson AB -

An aurora scientist, a teacher, and a museum educator walk into a ham radio class…and end up with more than just their Technician licenses! Dr. Liz MacDonald, founder of the aurora citizen science project Aurorasaurus, approached licensing as a plasma physicist, while 5th grade teacher Connie Atkisson and Laura Brandt, the Aurorasaurus project manager, had little prior experience with physics. The different ways they approached the process in 2020—and their various goals for being licensed—provide useful context for the evolving broader community and for citizen science. Join Liz and Laura in conversation about the surprises they encountered while studying for their licenses, how aurora and amateur radio citizen science can collaborate more closely, and ideas drawn from classroom teaching and museum education that hams can use when reaching out to the general public. 

JF - HamSCI Workshop 2021 PB - HamSCI CY - Scranton, PA (Virtual) ER -