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Current Feature Articles   Nov 20 The Amateur Radio Crossword Puzzler   Nov 20 Adventure in the Arctic: VO2A Expedition to Labrador   Nov 20 Surfin': More Radio Piracy on the High Seas   Nov 16 Youth@HamRadio.Fun: Fall Magic   Nov 13 Surfin': The Real Pirate Radio   Nov 06 Surfin': Homebrewing Today   Nov 05 DX the Hard Way   Nov 02 ARRL In Action: What Have We Been Up to Lately?   Nov 01 It Seems to Us: It Doesn't Just Happen   Oct 30 Surfin': Mapping Up ARRL Products: Instructor Support (More) Understanding Signals -- This Stamps in Class guide shows you how to generate, view and measure a variety of wave forms with the Parallax USB Oscilloscope and BASIC Stamp-controlled circuits. The ARRL Instructor's Manual for Technician and General License Courses -- NOW designed for both Technician and General Class. Includes CD-ROM. Basic Electronic Morse Code Keyer Kit -- Build a Morse code keyer kit and experience the project-building fun! What's a Microcontroller? Parts Kit and Text -- Incorporates a variety of fun and engaging experiments using motion, light, and sound. Basic Electronics Course and Kit -- The Basic Electronics Course and Kit is intended for those teachers and instructors that want a ready resource that they can adapt to their instruction of electronic fundamentals. The materials include a PowerPoint presentation and instructor's script. The course is designed around affordable components, prototyping board, and VOM and uses Understanding Basic Electronics as the associated reference (sold separately).

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This week, check out some handy online tools to help you find our manned spacecraft almost instantaneously.

Find our space station and space shuttles by visiting the NASA’s Human Space Flight (HSF) — Orbital Tracking Web page.

As you know, Amateur Radio and NASA have had a long-term relationship. Many hams around the world work on NASA projects and have actually worked hams aboard NASA spacecraft. Now that America’s space shuttle project is getting back on-track, here are the pertinent NASA Web pages that you can use to follow the International Space Station (ISS) and space shuttle missions.

To read the very latest news, visit the NASA — ISS and NASA — Space Shuttle Web pages. To actually locate the position of the ISS and the space shuttle, visit the Human Space Flight (HSF) — Orbital Tracking Web page. There, you can view a map that displays the current location of the spacecraft. By clicking on the Sighting Opportunities button or going directly to the HSF — Realtime Data Web page, you can find out when the spacecraft will be visible over your town.

Have fun and be part of the “real thing” in your own shack!

Thank you, Carl Zelich, AA4MI, for co-writing this week’s Surfin’. Until next time, keep on surfin’.

Editor’s note: Stan Horzepa, WA1LOU, collects tools, and someday he intends to use every tool in his accumulation. To communicate with Stan, send him an e-mail or add comments to his blog. By the way, every installment of Surfin' is indexed here, so go look it up (whatever it may be).

Previous: The Amateur Radio Crossword Puzzler

Next: The K7RA Solar Update