Non-Ham Participation in Observing the Eclipse's RF Effects

By Ward Silver, N0AX

If you are not a ham radio licensee - how can you participate in monitoring the eclipse?  Perhaps you are looking for a demonstration of the impact the eclipse will have on radio signals.  Maybe you are looking for an experiment that a group can perform without specialized equipment.  Regardless of your background, this article from the July issue of Nuts and Volts magazine explains the eclipse's effect on radio propagation without too much technical detail.  You can use an AM radio or World Band radio in several ways that are sure to demonstrate what happens when the Sun's ray are blocked from the Earth's atmosphere.  You can log the observed effect on signals or you can just listen while you're watching the eclipse unfold.  The article shows you easy ways to experience the eclipse in a whole new way and it may pique your interest in getting involved with radio science as a career or a hobby.

Link to Nuts & Volts article: http://www.nutsvolts.com/magazine/article/the-solar-eclipse-and-ham-radio