{"id":13512,"date":"2015-06-18T19:36:55","date_gmt":"2015-06-18T23:36:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/?p=13512"},"modified":"2015-06-18T19:36:55","modified_gmt":"2015-06-18T23:36:55","slug":"swling-post-dxpedition-at-pari-is-all-systems-go","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/06\/swling-post-dxpedition-at-pari-is-all-systems-go\/","title":{"rendered":"SWLing Post DXpedition at PARI is all systems go!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"DSC_0884\"<\/a>Some of you may recall a post I published last year regarding a shortwave and medium wave DXpedition<\/a> at the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute (PARI)<\/a>,\u00a0a 200-acre radio astronomy observatory and former NASA tracking station located deep in the mountains of western North Carolina.<\/p>\n

Since this is the first event of its kind, we’ve been working closely with PARI staff to put the DXpedition together. \u00a0And come together, it has.<\/p>\n

I’m pleased to announce that we’ve now received the official go-ahead:\u00a0we’re clear\u00a0to launch the\u00a0(first-ever!) 2015 SWLing Post\u00a0<\/em>DXpedition, which will\u00a0<\/strong>take place Friday, October 9, through Sunday, October 11. \u00a0Come join us!<\/strong><\/p>\n

PARI will soon post the official registration form on their website<\/a>; of course, I’ll post an update when this form is\u00a0ready.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, those of you who may be\u00a0interested in attending, keep reading…and do join our dedicated email discussion group (more info below)<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A few DXpedition details…<\/h2>\n

\"DSC_0916\"<\/a><\/p>\n

As I mentioned last year<\/a>, PARI has agreed to\u00a0handle all of the event’s arrangements, and will even provide a limited number of basic shared dormitory rooms to the first registrants who request them. An event fee will\u00a0pay for facilities and PARI staff (see below);\u00a0modest profits, should there be any,\u00a0will benefit PARI\u2019s worthy science\u00a0education mission.<\/p>\n

We are fortunate to be sharing the beautiful PARI campus with with a larger party of amateur astronomers, aka, a “star party,” taking place\u00a0the same weekend;\u00a0the DXpedition will benefit from this in terms of expanded facilities access. An additional\u00a0benefit is that we can share our passion for radio with members of the star party, while learning a little about astronomy from their members.\u00a0 And for those of us who enjoy both, all the better.<\/p>\n

Costs<\/h3>\n

The costs associated with the event are as follows:<\/p>\n

Registration fee<\/strong>: $100<\/p>\n

Lodging: <\/strong>On campus, the fee is\u00a0$50 per night, per person, in a shared dormitory room; or\u00a0$20 per night, per tent or\u00a0travel trailer\u00a0(no hook ups, though electricity is available).\u00a0Want to come along, but not interested in roughing it? You’ll find\u00a0numerous comfortable\u00a0hotels and inns within a 30-40\u00a0minute drive of PARI’s mountain campus.<\/p>\n

Meals<\/strong>: Catered meals will be provided for\u00a0a modest charge\u00a0to be determined (PARI is working with local food services to arrange our meals currently). Of course, you can always bring your own food and prepare it on-site, as well. \u00a0The campus has a lunchroom with a microwave.<\/p>\n

The PARI campus and accommodation<\/h3>\n

\"DSC_0934\"<\/a><\/p>\n

PARI\u00a0was formerly\u00a0a NASA tracking station, and following that,\u00a0a Department of Defense monitoring facility. \u00a0Because of the remote nature of the campus, basic on-site dormitories were built; scientists use these throughout the year as they conduct their research, and the shared\u00a0rooms\u00a0are\u00a0available upon request.<\/p>\n

\"Typical<\/a>

Typical PARI dorm room (click to enlarge)<\/p><\/div>\n

The dormitories are conveniently located in the heart of the 200-acre campus, and sleep about four to each room. \u00a0These are simple facilities, and\u00a0no private rooms are offered. Bathrooms (with showers)\u00a0are shared, and separate buildings house men\u00a0and women; thus the dormitories\u00a0may\u00a0not\u00a0<\/em>be the best\u00a0option if you plan to bring a spouse, a large family, or young children.<\/p>\n

Of course, if you enjoy\u00a0camping and\/or star-gazing, you can pitch a tent (just $20\/night), or park your travel trailer on campus (also just $20\/night). Note that this is not a travel\u00a0park, thus hook-ups for travel trailers are not supplied, although power is available.<\/p>\n

For those who prefer not to\u00a0camp\u00a0or stay in a shared room, the nearby mountain town of Brevard, NC (approximately 35\u00a0minutes from PARI by car) is a charming small town offering\u00a0numerous hotels, bed-and-breakfasts, and other comfortable private accommodations. PARI often recommends the Hampton Inn in Brevard<\/a>, NC. Hotels.com<\/a> and AirBnB<\/a>\u00a0offer\u00a0alternatives.<\/p>\n

Receivers, antennas, and other radio equipment<\/h3>\n

\"DSC_0904\"<\/a>DXpedition participants should\u00a0bring their own receivers, antennas, and accessories. If you wish\u00a0to bring an SDR or tabletop receiver, there are quite a few places on campus where you’ll have access to power. At least one main listening post will be set up under cover, as well, for our participants.<\/p>\n

Feel free to bring any type of receiver you like.\u00a0A few potential\u00a0participants\u00a0have noted\u00a0that they plan\u00a0to bring a portable receiver only, and that’s absolutely fine–this is your<\/em> DXpedition, your chance to sit back and listen to your\u00a0radio without distraction, so any radio you choose to bring is the right one.<\/p>\n

Of course, a few SDRs, tabletops, and portable receivers will be available for participants to try out, so if you can’t bring your own receiver, please let me know in advance;\u00a0I’ll try to reserve a time slot for you to use one of the available rigs.<\/p>\n

SWLing Post DXpedition email group<\/h2>\n

\"DSC_0838\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We have created an email discussion group<\/a> for the DXpedition. If you are seriously considering joining the DXpedition, click here to become a member of\u00a0the group<\/a>\u00a0as this is the place where we’ll organize and make further plans.<\/p>\n

Since this is the first time the SWLing Post<\/em> and PARI have sponsored a DXpedition, we’re certainly trail-blazing here. My sincere hope is that\u00a0this event will lead to future DXpeditions…not to mention, real friendships among our readers and fellow SWLers.<\/p>\n

Looking forward to the\u00a0DXpedition–we’ll see you at PARI in October!<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some of you may recall a post I published last year regarding a shortwave and medium wave DXpedition at the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute (PARI),\u00a0a 200-acre radio astronomy observatory and former NASA tracking station located deep in the mountains of western North Carolina. Since this is the first event of its kind, we’ve been working […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[81,399,3,43,1409,1154,854],"tags":[1031,2224,2280,2281,4082,3917,3918],"class_list":["post-13512","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-events","category-dxpeditions","category-news","category-shortwave-radio","category-specials","category-travel","category-updates","tag-dxing","tag-dxpedition","tag-pari","tag-pisgah-astronomical-research-institute","tag-shortwave-radio","tag-swling-post-dxpedition","tag-swling-post-dxpedition-at-pari"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pn3uc-3vW","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":15085,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/10\/swling-post-dxpedition-at-pari-this-weekend\/","url_meta":{"origin":13512,"position":0},"title":"SWLing Post DXpedition at PARI…this weekend!","author":"Thomas","date":"October 7, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"If you've registered for, and plan to attend, the PARI DXPedition, please make sure you've joined our Yahoo Group.\u00a0 This is where we're finalizing details and communicating about the DXpedition, noting any changes, updates, etc. \u00a0 If you've tried to contact me recently and haven't gotten a response yet (sorry\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Current Events"","block_context":{"text":"Current Events","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/current-events\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"PARIdish","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/PARIdish-1024x638.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/PARIdish-1024x638.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/PARIdish-1024x638.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11005,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2014\/10\/dxpedition-at-a-radio-astronomy-observatory-want-to-join-me\/","url_meta":{"origin":13512,"position":1},"title":"DXpedition at a radio astronomy observatory: Want to join me?","author":"Thomas","date":"October 12, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday evening, prior to my presentation at the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute (PARI), I took the opportunity to do a little portable shortwave listening on the PARI campus. One of the great things about listening to shortwave, mediumwave or longwave at a radio astronomy site is the blissful absence of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "AM"","block_context":{"text":"AM","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/am\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"PARI-West","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/PARI-West-1024x682.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/PARI-West-1024x682.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/PARI-West-1024x682.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15717,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/11\/video-shortwave-listening-and-radio-astronomy\/","url_meta":{"origin":13512,"position":2},"title":"Video: Shortwave listening and radio astronomy","author":"Thomas","date":"November 21, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"On Thursday I attended an event at the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute (PARI)--location of the 2015 SWLing Post DXPedition. During a break, I had a couple of free hours, so I reached in my messenger bag and pulled out the Sony ICF-SW100: a radio that has quickly surpassed all others\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "EDC"","block_context":{"text":"EDC","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/edc\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Sony-ICF-SW100","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Sony-ICF-SW100-576x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Sony-ICF-SW100-576x1024.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Sony-ICF-SW100-576x1024.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":15113,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2015\/10\/a-quick-pari-dxpedition-update\/","url_meta":{"origin":13512,"position":3},"title":"A PARI DXpedition update","author":"Thomas","date":"October 10, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"The SWLing Post DXpedition at PARI is going very well. \u00a0We started yesterday around noon with beautiful fall weather; late last night, it started raining but that hasn't dampened our spirits today. Despite the wet, chilly weather, Gary Donnelly (above) has been logging numerous shortwave stations during the day and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "DXpeditions"","block_context":{"text":"DXpeditions","link":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/category\/dxpeditions\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Mark Fahey, scanning the bands with his WinRadio Excalibur\/Surface Pro 2 combo","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/MarkFahey-WinRadio-1024x576.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/MarkFahey-WinRadio-1024x576.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/swling.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/MarkFahey-WinRadio-1024x576.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":27633,"url":"https:\/\/swling.com\/blog\/2017\/08\/solar-eclipse-2017-in-the-path-of-totality\/","url_meta":{"origin":13512,"position":4},"title":"Solar Eclipse 2017: In the path of totality","author":"Thomas","date":"August 20, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Tomorrow, we will be experiencing a total solar eclipse here in the mountains of western North Carolina. Instead of enjoying the eclipse at home, I will be volunteering as a docent at the Pisgah Astronomical Research Institute in Rosman, North Carolina. 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