Ham Radio 2016
Greetings ham radio operators, all is well in V4 land, and getting better.
Ham radio is alive and growing. Earlier this year ham operators agreed to establish a brand new executive in the ham radio society. The new management is guided by the revised constitution which took some years to complete and implement. Under the new constitution the society should grow into the entity that is required in these new economic and technological times. I believe that as long as the membership set their sights on the goals they seek to achieve nothing will stand in their path. In these days creativity and innovation are key ingredients when you live in these Islands of very limited resources, but nothing is impossible for the people in our St Kitts and Nevis.
Ham radio on personal and individual levels in V4 continue to grow up slowly. Motivation is provided by the older ham radio operators who have their own ham radio stations. In the past the driver to ham radio was the club radio station and club house. V4 had been out of both for a very long time. But even without these necessities the radio society has been able to attract at least 5 new members every year when they received their ham radio license. I believe that with the correct scientific approach we can move up from 5 members annually, and we are all actively working on this.
In late 2015 I made a decision to focus on ham radio, particularly to do whatever was necessary, to grow ham radio in V4 land. I had no idea where to begin so I decided to add ham radio posts to my Facebook page. That motivated me and also some of my viewers. They began to learn about ham radio. Post included videos from YouTube, and information from www.qrznow.com, ARRL and other ham radio entities that posted on Facebook.
In addition to this I decide that I would get an HF radio that would allow me to be mobile/portable so that I could practically demonstrate ham radio in the field and anywhere. I decided to use the Flex-1500 radio and got one for this process. The Flex-1500 was ideal because it is the cheapest portable HF radio available, all that is needed is a laptop or any compatible computer. On the market is also the Elecraft KX3 which is 40% more expensive, but can work right out of the box and no computer is needed.
In early 2016 the ham radio society installed a new executive committee with an aim [among other things] to grow ham radio in V4 land. So I am working with the ham radio society to make this idea a reality. This does not prevent me from using my Facebook pages to propagate ham radio. In addition to this I occasionally email messages to all the members of the society's email list under the caption "v44kf update". The main purpose is to inform and to motivate members, to keep ham radio on their minds.
So where is ham radio going. Well, for me, earlier this week, with help from my brother V44KK, we moved the 40-meter top and bottom hatted vertical antenna to another location 10-feet away. I no longer have to tangle with the branches of the Moringa tree as I spread out the hats, top and bottom. THe 80 meter hatted vertical is down and under redesign. I am still undecided whether to reinstall it as 32-feet or extend it to 43-feet or 45-feet. 80-meters is an interesting ham band and I am developing an interest in it. On 40-meters the vertical is 23-feet tall.
Earlier today Henry, V44KW, passed by with his Rig Experts Analyser and tested the 40-meter vertical antenna. We have a bit more work to do on it. I have already advertised that the antennas will be available for a couple weeks for any ham with an interest to bring their radio and test out the antenna. I know that some hams will hear new signals. This should motivate them to improve on their home antenna system.
A great ham radio station is all about the antenna which can pull in the signals you want to hear and the radio to listen to that signal. I have given all my ham radio equipment away both Drake and Kenwood to deserving ham radio operators. . They were great, fantastic pieces of ham radio gear, but I am now forced to move up to better ham grade equipment, and my point of reference is the receiver data table, and the rigs at the top of the table. I am also aware that I live in kilowatt alley and I have to arm and defend myself well against qrm or else dog will eat my supper.
Not 100-meters to my South is a ham operator with a tower and fully loaded station. On my North are four ham radio operators, the closest one about 400 meters, with a tower and fully loaded station. The Kenwood 940SAT is too old to handle these fully loaded stations. I need to operate, like 10 KHz to 15 KHz away from these fully loaded station and not be bothered by them. Kilowatt alley is very real when you live on a DX island like V44. Imagine what the alley will be like when more hams are added to the list within the next few months.
http://www.sherweng.com/table.html
I am not aware that any V4 ham radio operator uses any of the receivers found at the top of the receiver data table. I conclude that their equipment choices are not based on performance. Nothing is wrong with obtaining a radio that satisfy your desires and makes your day. I have gone past the fancy looks of ham radio equipment, and only see the public specifications. It is true that some of the fancy looking radio have good specs, but that does not land most of them in the top 3 or 5 receivers in the world. If I did not live in kilowatt alley, I would go for another brand, maybe something made in Japan.
As far as I am concerned the only radios to buy for ham radio, if you live in kilowatt alley like me, are those made in the USA. I get the impression that the USA makers listen to ham radio operators and try to meet their needs. That does not seem to be reflected in the non USA made equipment. Living in kilowatt alley is one thing, but when you live on a DX island like V44 you need to have equipment that can hear a fly rubbing its legs on a piece of aluminum tubing on the other side of the world. There are some DX stations that cannot even run 100-watts, and we need to hear them to.
My choice for equipment that work for me are Flexradio and Elecraft.
http://www.elecraft.com/
http://www.flexradio.com/
There are many YouTube videos that demonstrate various aspects of these radios.
It is important to get the best headphone that you can afford. When working real DX you want to get up close and personal with the DX station and a loud speaker does not cut it. When you are DX operating for a few hours you also need a great pair of headphones. I have found that the Heil Pro Set headphones work for me. I am now moving up to the Pro 7
http://www.heilsound.com/amateur/
For most hams the antenna is the heart of the station. They say that this is what determine the outcome, and they may be correct. Over the years I have experimented with many antennas from beams to delta loops, to slopers. Some worked very well indeed. Recently I came across the simple half wave vertical dipole with top and bottom hats. This antenna has worked better than all other simple antennas that I have tried over the years. No antenna as simple has performed better. None. I am working stations that my neighbour 400-meters away cannot hear. Some interesting information on this antenna.
http://www.iol.ie/~bravo/low_band_antennae.htm
There are those ham operators who are not given to building their own antennas. They prefer to buy a brand name ready made antenna and install it. Nothing is wrong with that at all, and I would do that too, if I did not have to pay International Shipping which could be somewhere between one and two dollars per pound, and import duty and tax which could be as high as 55%. Import duty and tax is charged on the CIF of the antenna. For ready made antennas and antenna parts my favorites stores are
http://www.force12inc.com/
https://www.dxengineering.com/
Late last year I discovered an antenna which I believe would allow me to check out the low bands. In all my years of ham radio I never had any interest in low bands like 160 and 80 meters. I live on a City lot and that cannot support any real antenna for 160 meters. An 80-meter vertical antenna is a tight squeeze, and a tighter squeeze for a radial or two. Elevated radials of sorts are preferred for 80-meters. Quite accidentally I came across the AS-SAL-30, Shared Apex Loop Array, and it changed my outlook on the low bands, because this antenna could now fit onto my City lot. Here are a couple links to check out this antenna
http://www.widebandloop.com/
http://www.arrl.org/files/file/QEX_Next_Issue/Sep-Oct_2012/Bauman_QST_10_12.pdf
http://www.arraysolutions.com/as-sal-30
So ham radio is still on the move, here, there and everywhere.
The sun never ever goes down on ham radio.
So never ever let the sun go down on your ham radio.
Have a great ham radio day
73
Keeth
Ham radio is alive and growing. Earlier this year ham operators agreed to establish a brand new executive in the ham radio society. The new management is guided by the revised constitution which took some years to complete and implement. Under the new constitution the society should grow into the entity that is required in these new economic and technological times. I believe that as long as the membership set their sights on the goals they seek to achieve nothing will stand in their path. In these days creativity and innovation are key ingredients when you live in these Islands of very limited resources, but nothing is impossible for the people in our St Kitts and Nevis.
Ham radio on personal and individual levels in V4 continue to grow up slowly. Motivation is provided by the older ham radio operators who have their own ham radio stations. In the past the driver to ham radio was the club radio station and club house. V4 had been out of both for a very long time. But even without these necessities the radio society has been able to attract at least 5 new members every year when they received their ham radio license. I believe that with the correct scientific approach we can move up from 5 members annually, and we are all actively working on this.
In late 2015 I made a decision to focus on ham radio, particularly to do whatever was necessary, to grow ham radio in V4 land. I had no idea where to begin so I decided to add ham radio posts to my Facebook page. That motivated me and also some of my viewers. They began to learn about ham radio. Post included videos from YouTube, and information from www.qrznow.com, ARRL and other ham radio entities that posted on Facebook.
In addition to this I decide that I would get an HF radio that would allow me to be mobile/portable so that I could practically demonstrate ham radio in the field and anywhere. I decided to use the Flex-1500 radio and got one for this process. The Flex-1500 was ideal because it is the cheapest portable HF radio available, all that is needed is a laptop or any compatible computer. On the market is also the Elecraft KX3 which is 40% more expensive, but can work right out of the box and no computer is needed.
In early 2016 the ham radio society installed a new executive committee with an aim [among other things] to grow ham radio in V4 land. So I am working with the ham radio society to make this idea a reality. This does not prevent me from using my Facebook pages to propagate ham radio. In addition to this I occasionally email messages to all the members of the society's email list under the caption "v44kf update". The main purpose is to inform and to motivate members, to keep ham radio on their minds.
So where is ham radio going. Well, for me, earlier this week, with help from my brother V44KK, we moved the 40-meter top and bottom hatted vertical antenna to another location 10-feet away. I no longer have to tangle with the branches of the Moringa tree as I spread out the hats, top and bottom. THe 80 meter hatted vertical is down and under redesign. I am still undecided whether to reinstall it as 32-feet or extend it to 43-feet or 45-feet. 80-meters is an interesting ham band and I am developing an interest in it. On 40-meters the vertical is 23-feet tall.
Earlier today Henry, V44KW, passed by with his Rig Experts Analyser and tested the 40-meter vertical antenna. We have a bit more work to do on it. I have already advertised that the antennas will be available for a couple weeks for any ham with an interest to bring their radio and test out the antenna. I know that some hams will hear new signals. This should motivate them to improve on their home antenna system.
A great ham radio station is all about the antenna which can pull in the signals you want to hear and the radio to listen to that signal. I have given all my ham radio equipment away both Drake and Kenwood to deserving ham radio operators. . They were great, fantastic pieces of ham radio gear, but I am now forced to move up to better ham grade equipment, and my point of reference is the receiver data table, and the rigs at the top of the table. I am also aware that I live in kilowatt alley and I have to arm and defend myself well against qrm or else dog will eat my supper.
Not 100-meters to my South is a ham operator with a tower and fully loaded station. On my North are four ham radio operators, the closest one about 400 meters, with a tower and fully loaded station. The Kenwood 940SAT is too old to handle these fully loaded stations. I need to operate, like 10 KHz to 15 KHz away from these fully loaded station and not be bothered by them. Kilowatt alley is very real when you live on a DX island like V44. Imagine what the alley will be like when more hams are added to the list within the next few months.
http://www.sherweng.com/table.html
I am not aware that any V4 ham radio operator uses any of the receivers found at the top of the receiver data table. I conclude that their equipment choices are not based on performance. Nothing is wrong with obtaining a radio that satisfy your desires and makes your day. I have gone past the fancy looks of ham radio equipment, and only see the public specifications. It is true that some of the fancy looking radio have good specs, but that does not land most of them in the top 3 or 5 receivers in the world. If I did not live in kilowatt alley, I would go for another brand, maybe something made in Japan.
As far as I am concerned the only radios to buy for ham radio, if you live in kilowatt alley like me, are those made in the USA. I get the impression that the USA makers listen to ham radio operators and try to meet their needs. That does not seem to be reflected in the non USA made equipment. Living in kilowatt alley is one thing, but when you live on a DX island like V44 you need to have equipment that can hear a fly rubbing its legs on a piece of aluminum tubing on the other side of the world. There are some DX stations that cannot even run 100-watts, and we need to hear them to.
My choice for equipment that work for me are Flexradio and Elecraft.
http://www.elecraft.com/
http://www.flexradio.com/
There are many YouTube videos that demonstrate various aspects of these radios.
It is important to get the best headphone that you can afford. When working real DX you want to get up close and personal with the DX station and a loud speaker does not cut it. When you are DX operating for a few hours you also need a great pair of headphones. I have found that the Heil Pro Set headphones work for me. I am now moving up to the Pro 7
http://www.heilsound.com/amateur/
For most hams the antenna is the heart of the station. They say that this is what determine the outcome, and they may be correct. Over the years I have experimented with many antennas from beams to delta loops, to slopers. Some worked very well indeed. Recently I came across the simple half wave vertical dipole with top and bottom hats. This antenna has worked better than all other simple antennas that I have tried over the years. No antenna as simple has performed better. None. I am working stations that my neighbour 400-meters away cannot hear. Some interesting information on this antenna.
http://www.iol.ie/~bravo/low_band_antennae.htm
There are those ham operators who are not given to building their own antennas. They prefer to buy a brand name ready made antenna and install it. Nothing is wrong with that at all, and I would do that too, if I did not have to pay International Shipping which could be somewhere between one and two dollars per pound, and import duty and tax which could be as high as 55%. Import duty and tax is charged on the CIF of the antenna. For ready made antennas and antenna parts my favorites stores are
http://www.force12inc.com/
https://www.dxengineering.com/
Late last year I discovered an antenna which I believe would allow me to check out the low bands. In all my years of ham radio I never had any interest in low bands like 160 and 80 meters. I live on a City lot and that cannot support any real antenna for 160 meters. An 80-meter vertical antenna is a tight squeeze, and a tighter squeeze for a radial or two. Elevated radials of sorts are preferred for 80-meters. Quite accidentally I came across the AS-SAL-30, Shared Apex Loop Array, and it changed my outlook on the low bands, because this antenna could now fit onto my City lot. Here are a couple links to check out this antenna
http://www.widebandloop.com/
http://www.arrl.org/files/file/QEX_Next_Issue/Sep-Oct_2012/Bauman_QST_10_12.pdf
http://www.arraysolutions.com/as-sal-30
So ham radio is still on the move, here, there and everywhere.
The sun never ever goes down on ham radio.
So never ever let the sun go down on your ham radio.
Have a great ham radio day
73
Keeth
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