mystery aircraft

At night, from my 925-foot perch on the west rim of the Connecticut River Valley, I can see the headlights of planes lined up as they approach BDL from Long Island Sound to the south. Typically, I can simultaneously see the headlights of two planes, sometimes three planes, each separated by the requisite airspace that such maneuvers require.

Some nights they pass to the east of my location on a straight up the river valley approach to BDL. Other nights they veer to the west off that straight up the river valley approach and end up passing directly overhead on a roundabout approach to BDL. (When they fly overhead, they are so low that I can hear them lower their landing gear in preparation for landing.)

Last night, I took the Pies out for last call at 10:05 PM and I saw three planes lined up on their approach to BDL. As I waited for the dogs, the first two passed to my east on the straight up the river valley approach to BDL.

The third plane was different; its headlights were not what I typically see. Usually, I see only one large point of light per plane until the plane passes more closely. The third plane had two large points of light side-by-side connected by a lighted horizontal bar (see my accompanying drawing).

When I originally saw it, I assumed it was traveling toward me, like a pair of connected headlights, but then I realized it was traveling along the horizon and I was viewing it from its side with one globe of light at its front end and the other globe of light at its rear end.

It flew along my horizon starting at approximately my south-southeast, moved west and then north, the whole time remaining about 40 degrees above my horizon. I lost it in the trees to my north-northwest.

The craft was too far away to see anything but its lights. Its speed was typical for the airliners I usually see.

There were one or two other distant planes in the area at the time and they were so distant that I could not tell which direction the faint jet engine sound I heard was coming from, i.e., from the mystery craft or the other distant planes.

Early on, I thought it might be a helicopter because it looked so unusual, but even at a distance, helicopters have an unmistakable sound and I did not hear that when I saw the mystery craft.

I am stumped as to what I saw last night. Any solutions to the mystery would be appreciated.

Surfin': Finding DX

In this week’s Surfin’, find out how to find the rare ones (and not so rare ones). Then come back here to post your comments, if any.

By the way, Surfin’ is a weekly column published on ARRLWeb features Web sites related to Amateur Radio, specifically, and radio, in general. If you have any suggestions for Surfin’, please contact WA1LOU using the e-mail link to the right.

Hacking the XO laptop

Here is an article about Hacking the XO laptop.

Surfin': Building from Scratch

In this week’s Surfin’, find out how to build something from practically nothing. Then come back here to post your comments, if any.

By the way, Surfin’ is a weekly column published on ARRLWeb features Web sites related to Amateur Radio, specifically, and radio, in general. If you have any suggestions for Surfin’, please contact WA1LOU using the e-mail link to the right.

new telescope

For Christmas, my family bought me a new telescope, a Celestron NexStar 130 SLT. It is a 130 mm reflector with a "fully computerized altazimuth mount."

It is not something that was on my wish list. My Christmas wish list typically includes some books, DVDs, CDs, and nothing that is very expensive. If my family wants to buy me something expensive, they try to figure what to give me that will be a hit.

In early November, the explosion of Comet Holmes rekindled my interest in astronomy. I followed the progress of the comet using my old refractor telescope. One night, I was lazier than on most nights and instead of hauling my refractor outside, I used my father's old binoculars and was surprised that the binos did a better job than my scope. I must have mentioned that fact to my wife and/or daughter and they decided that I needed a new telescope and chipped in with my sister to buy the aforementioned Celestron reflector.

The weather has not been to kind as far as breaking in the new telescope. Since Christmas, there have been more nights with fog, clouds, and precipitation than there have been clear nights, but this past week, I managed to find some clear skies and put in some good time getting acquainted with the new scope.

Last night, I viewed the Moon until the clouds moved in. I went to bed, but could not sleep, and when I got up to get a drink of water, I noticed that the sky was clear and Saturn was visible. So, I took the scope outside and viewed Saturn in my pajamas until the clouds moved in again. (What Saturn was doing in my pajamas, I'll never know!)

An online review of my scope recommends getting a Barlow lens "to give the magnification necessary to view detail on the planets." I'm all for that, so I started shopping around for such a lens.

Celestron has a Barlow lens for $60. I found the very same lens on eBay new for $24. I bought it and with shipping, cost me half its list price!

The lens is being shipped from Pennsylvania, so I hope to have it in a few days, and weather permitting, be able to try it out (and report my findings here).

MacLoggerDX 4.3.3 released

Dog Park Software is pleased to announce that version 4.3.3 of MacLoggerDX has been released and can be downloaded here.

What's New in this version:
* Elecraft K3 Driver.
* Fix for DXCC 9M
* Ten-Tec Argo V S-Meter fix.
* Yaesu FT-450 VFO Select fix.
* Yaesu FT-450 Power report fix.
* Added FJ St. Barthelemy.
* Band Plan digital modes fixed.
* TS-480 use data connector for software transmit.
* IC-703 Digital modes & report power setting.

Surfin': Buying the Farm

This week’s Surfin’ discusses how to avoid buying the farm when hamming on the road. Read it here, then come back here to post your comments, if any.

By the way, Surfin’ is a weekly column published on ARRLWeb features Web sites related to Amateur Radio, specifically, and radio, in general. If you have any suggestions for Surfin’, please contact WA1LOU using the e-mail link to the right.

buying the farm

I almost bought the farm yesterday.

I am driving to work on the interstate in the right hand lane at the posted speed limit (65 MPH), which is how I usually drive during the rush hour when there are a lot of frantic drivers on the road driving like maniacs. Another car in front of me is doing the same, meanwhile most of the other vehicles on the interstate are passing us in the two lanes to our left.

I notice the car in front of me momentarily swerve into the breakdown lane, then it swerved back into the driving lane after encountering the bumper strip. With that I decided to slow down and put more space between us. I am in no hurry, my exit is about a mile away, so I am not going to worry about adding an extra 30 seconds to my commute.

A tractor trailer passes me in the center lane. As it passes the car in front of me, the car begins to swerve into the center lane and the rear wheels on the right side of the tractor trailer catch the left front side of the car in front of me.

I can't believe my eyes, but I know that all hell is about to break loose 500 feet ahead of me and I hit the brakes.

The tractor trailer never stops. When the car hit its rear wheels, it probably felt like a flea bumping into an elephant.

On the other hand, the car careens out of control across the three lanes of the interstate, onto the center median, and comes to a stop on top of the man-made hill in the center of the median facing traffic at a right angle.

I lucked out and the car did not end up in my lap. There were no cars in the other as the car crossed the interstate, so everyone lucked out except the driver of the car that swerved into the tractor trailer's wheels.

My car came to a stop in the breakdown lane exactly across the highway from the car where it landed on top of the hill in the center median.

I had no cell phone to call in the accident. I was not going to try and walk across three lanes of traffic to see if the driver of the car needed help especially since other cars were now stopping along side the center median to offer assistance. So, I eased back into traffic and went to work.

Wow!

I don't know what caused the car to swerve as it did. The car had a red, white, and blue out-of-state license plate that I did not recognize. Had the driver been on the road too long and was falling asleep at the wheel? Or was the driver distracted using a cell phone or an iPod, consulting a map, putting on makeup?

I don't know and probably never will, but that close call provided me with an education and I promised myself that I will never be distracted using a cell phone, iPod, ham radio, etc., while driving in the future, and I will be even more alert of the other drivers around me.

transmitting from a plane

Here is an excellent article about the current status of using a transmitter aboard an airplane. This article deals specifically with cellphones, but you can apply it to other transmitting devices like Amateur Radio handheld transmitters.

Surfin': Sixteen Thousand Cards and Counting

This week’s Surfin’ looks at a collection of 16,000 QSL cards. Read it here, then come back here to post your comments, if any.

By the way, Surfin’ is a weekly column published on ARRLWeb features Web sites related to Amateur Radio, specifically, and radio, in general. If you have any suggestions for Surfin’, please contact WA1LOU using the e-mail link to the right.