URGENT MESSAGE FROM TOMAS / NW7US (June 18, 2011): I need to replace TWO batteries in the APC Battery Backup units in the SunSpotWatch.com / HFRadio.org server farm. The existing batteries have failed, so they will no longer provide backup power to the servers. The total cost is about $290.00 - and I need to raise this money as soon as possible, before we have a power failure (which is probable due to the summer storms that come through the area). Please consider a donation, today, to help toward this fund.
MAJOR NEWS (June 2011): We've moved the server farm to a new location with better power and bandwidth. The move went very well. Also, we are
trying to build the NEW server - we are just short of the new memory. Here are pictures of the new server:
New HFRadio.org Server Slideshow. Here is
a link to the new server memory that we need - if someone is interested in donating this memory, it would allow us to move forward! Thank you, to all who have helped, so far... to help, you can donate:
In general, this service needs help, every month, as the cost of running this web service comes out of my pocket, and times are very difficult at this time. I need your help like never before, in order to keep the server up and running. Please, DONATE TODAY, if at all possible. Thank you!
Hello! I'm Tomas Hood, NW7US, the creator and host of HFRadio.org and SunSpotWatch.com (and other related sites). This website and the related services are free of charge, and is offered without obligation. The funding primarily comes out of my own pocket. The monthly cost of operation is about $210 USD -- not always easy for me to swing.
HFRadio.org has been active since about 1998 offering live propagation information,
Shortwave listening resources,
discussion forums about radio, space weather, and many more resources useful to the radio hobbyist and space weather enthusiest. I am blessed that the work I have done, and the resources I offer, have become so incredibly popular! The propagation center (see
the Propagation page), for instance, is just one of the major resources I offer for free to the general public. The traffic and usage grow everyday. The site has been and continues to be reviewed and mentioned in major radio magazines, and many club newsletters, and so on. This is appreciated! I am very pleased to see that my efforts are useful to so many people. As an extension of my hobby, my goal is to continue improving the resources of this website, increasing its usefulness to you.
THANK YOU!
I want to
thank all of you who make this site so successful. In addition, a small number of you have already contributed to the operations fund. I appreciate your patronage and your contributions! At any time that you have a question or comment, please
provide a bit of feedback.
As you might know, I own the servers, and pay all of the expenses to keep this domain on the 'net. There are monthly expenses for bandwidth, electricity and server maintenance, as well as rental of the co-location. These expenses never go away. In addition, I have to keep up with the demand placed on the hardware, so I try to upgrade the hardware on a regular basis. I upgrade the software, and I program new software tailored to the needs of the site. The hfradio.org servers are located on very high bandwidth connections. Each month, I pay hundreds of dollars to keep this service available. YOUR HELP IS ALWAYS APPRECIATED. I hope that, in addition to just keeping the bandwidth paid for, I can sometime in 2011 upgrade the server to a much faster CPU with a good helping of memory and disk space. THIS IS ALMOST READY -- I just need to purchase the memory.
PLEASE DONATE, TODAY - AND HELP KEEP HFRadio.Org / SunSpotWatch.Com Alive!
(See below for additional and different ways you can send your help in support of this service)
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YOUR HELP IS ALWAYS NEEDED
Times are rough. As a sole proprietor, I have had very rough going through these tough economic times.
If you have the means to support the site with ten dollars, or maybe twenty or fifty dollars, please do so. Your consideration and support of this public service insures the health and growth of HFRadio.org. Not only do I want to keep things running, but I wish to replace an existing server with a faster CPU and more memory, and to upgrade sections of the system software. This is not cheap and I wish I could afford to do it alone but I can't.
If the hobby you enjoy and the service I provide is important to you then please contribute. Please feed your family first, pay your bills, and so forth. And then, if you are able, become a partner of the HFRadio.org system by being a contributor. For the cost of a trip to the movies, you can insure that we are able to continue being here when you expect us to be and providing the knowledge base of the hobby we are known for. To our non-US friends, I understand the problems of economies, exchange rates and regulations. Contribute if you can but if you can't that is OK also.
PLEASE contribute now before you forget, and don't think that because you don't contribute it won't matter, because it will. To the past and recent contributors, thank you again for the help. I cannot tell you how much it is appreciated.
Do know that this donation IS NOT tax-deductable. We are *NOT* a tax-deductable charity or organization. This is a public service, but we are NOT a 501(c)(3) - your donation IS *not* tax-deductable.
There are several ways that you can directly support my effort. One is to send your donation,
payable to TOMAS HOOD, by normal Postal route to:
NW7US - HFRadio.org
c/o Tomas Hood
Post Office Box 1980
Hamilton, Montana 59840-1980
Another way is to make your donation by using PayPal. The payment will be to
HFRadio.org, which is my business name as set up with PayPal.com. The fund is set aside to pay for this website and the eAlert service operations. Please click on the following button. It will take you to PayPal.com where you can fill in the amount you wish to donate. Thank you.
