V4 ham radio accelerates
Greetings, welcome to another ham radio blog from the shack of V44KF, on St Kitts-Nevis, the most beautiful islands in the Eastern Caribbean.
This blog will be brief as I am only permitted a few minutes on the computer every day.
Christmas is coming as usual. I do not know how many ham radio operators will get the 'santa syndrome' this year, given the global situations and changes. I am of the view that irrespective of the global conditions a real ham radio operator will always produce his dated 'santa list. This is something that I have done every year and it has always worked for me. Santa may come early or late, maybe the next year, but 'santa' always comes. This works for my ham radio and my photography to, and it may work for you ... anyway, you have nothing to lose, so give it a try.
Early in 2016 Amateur Radio in St Kitts and Nevis experienced a boost when members of the St Kitts Nevis Anguilla Amateur Radio Society decided to rebirth their Society with a new hand picked executive. Since then ham radio has accelerated in St Kitts and Nevis.
Right now the the St Kitts Nevis Anguilla Amateur Radio Society, sknaars for short, is hoping to open up their customised shipping container which will represent the Emergency Operating Center for Disaster and Emergency Operations, during Hurricanes, severe weather conditions, earthquake, Tsunami, etc., Headquarters General Office, Meeting Room, Ham Radio Lab, etc.
Here is a snap I took last week at the society headquarters site. No inside views of the container are available until the official opening in another week, or three.
This is the start of a new life for the society. Over the past 40 years the society was given two Government abandoned buildings, but unfortunately developers came along and evicted us and our assets from these choice properties. Fast forward to 2016, and our life long partner, Red Cross, has allowed us to place our own container in a corner of their yard for the time being.
There is another Government abandoned building on the other side of the road opposite to the Red Cross, which I pray that the Government will donate to the cause of our ham radio society headquarters. From 1973 to now I believe that it is time the Government show support for the amateur radio society, knowing what the amateur radio society can and will do in the event of a real disaster and emergency, like when there is no electricity or communications on the islands. Ham radio is the only way to establish and maintain communications with the outside world.
The abandoned building on Adams Hill that I believe is large enough to house the St Kitts Nevis Anguilla Amateur Radio Society [SKNAARS] in 2016 and beyond.
I was on the Christmas and the santa clause list for ham radio. Recently I have been talking to some hams about equipment and it seems like the Icom IC 7300 has caught their attention. So on this past weekend I spent a few hours on YouTube looking at the IC 7300 and a few other rigs. A few years ago I fell out with Icom over my IC-745 transceiver and bought a Kenwood TS-940SAT. I know that Icom makes great radios, but the Kenwood was easier to update and modify, and that I rather liked. My TS-940SAT had all the mods done to it and the INRAD filters added so it was really out sight and I could hear almost anything, everywhere.
Fast forward to recent times, and time to look for a more modern equipment. I am interested in performance first, and my reference is the receiver data table.
http://www.sherweng.com/table.html
A few years ago I developed a love for the Flexradio gear and almost got myself a Flex 3000. The Flex SDR radios were all in the top 10 of the receiver data table and their prices were also great. This is the future. This is the way to go. So my short list for santa includes the Flex 6300 or Flex 6500. I don't need an amplifier, the radio and a few accessories is all that I need.
After the last weekend I am now liking Icom again. I have not looked at any new equipment for the last few years because I notice that all the foreign receivers are not cutting it anymore, the USA receivers are better. If you are just a regular ham radio operator any rig will do you good, but when you live in kilowatt alley [like me] or you want to work the DX on the far side of the world, the receiver has to be of a category that allows that to happen. Even some of the best and most expensive foreign radios in this batch may fall short.
I rather like the IC 7300, it could make my short list for christmas 2016. QRP is my focus going forward. My YouTube weekend viewing proved very interesting and I will share a few links with you. I am also looking at my Elecraft radios again. I once thought that one hf radio would be enough for me, but I have realized that I need at least three radios in the shack to adequately cover my scope of ham radio.
I planned to keep this short so I will end here for now and continue next time. There is a lot of ham radio to talk about, and pictures to share.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eMirPqRyj0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8p0Murzx3C4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpszqNMR6_U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAL2lmpapjM
[to be continued ..]
This blog will be brief as I am only permitted a few minutes on the computer every day.
Christmas is coming as usual. I do not know how many ham radio operators will get the 'santa syndrome' this year, given the global situations and changes. I am of the view that irrespective of the global conditions a real ham radio operator will always produce his dated 'santa list. This is something that I have done every year and it has always worked for me. Santa may come early or late, maybe the next year, but 'santa' always comes. This works for my ham radio and my photography to, and it may work for you ... anyway, you have nothing to lose, so give it a try.
Early in 2016 Amateur Radio in St Kitts and Nevis experienced a boost when members of the St Kitts Nevis Anguilla Amateur Radio Society decided to rebirth their Society with a new hand picked executive. Since then ham radio has accelerated in St Kitts and Nevis.
Right now the the St Kitts Nevis Anguilla Amateur Radio Society, sknaars for short, is hoping to open up their customised shipping container which will represent the Emergency Operating Center for Disaster and Emergency Operations, during Hurricanes, severe weather conditions, earthquake, Tsunami, etc., Headquarters General Office, Meeting Room, Ham Radio Lab, etc.
Here is a snap I took last week at the society headquarters site. No inside views of the container are available until the official opening in another week, or three.
This is the start of a new life for the society. Over the past 40 years the society was given two Government abandoned buildings, but unfortunately developers came along and evicted us and our assets from these choice properties. Fast forward to 2016, and our life long partner, Red Cross, has allowed us to place our own container in a corner of their yard for the time being.
There is another Government abandoned building on the other side of the road opposite to the Red Cross, which I pray that the Government will donate to the cause of our ham radio society headquarters. From 1973 to now I believe that it is time the Government show support for the amateur radio society, knowing what the amateur radio society can and will do in the event of a real disaster and emergency, like when there is no electricity or communications on the islands. Ham radio is the only way to establish and maintain communications with the outside world.
The abandoned building on Adams Hill that I believe is large enough to house the St Kitts Nevis Anguilla Amateur Radio Society [SKNAARS] in 2016 and beyond.
I was on the Christmas and the santa clause list for ham radio. Recently I have been talking to some hams about equipment and it seems like the Icom IC 7300 has caught their attention. So on this past weekend I spent a few hours on YouTube looking at the IC 7300 and a few other rigs. A few years ago I fell out with Icom over my IC-745 transceiver and bought a Kenwood TS-940SAT. I know that Icom makes great radios, but the Kenwood was easier to update and modify, and that I rather liked. My TS-940SAT had all the mods done to it and the INRAD filters added so it was really out sight and I could hear almost anything, everywhere.
Fast forward to recent times, and time to look for a more modern equipment. I am interested in performance first, and my reference is the receiver data table.
http://www.sherweng.com/table.html
A few years ago I developed a love for the Flexradio gear and almost got myself a Flex 3000. The Flex SDR radios were all in the top 10 of the receiver data table and their prices were also great. This is the future. This is the way to go. So my short list for santa includes the Flex 6300 or Flex 6500. I don't need an amplifier, the radio and a few accessories is all that I need.
After the last weekend I am now liking Icom again. I have not looked at any new equipment for the last few years because I notice that all the foreign receivers are not cutting it anymore, the USA receivers are better. If you are just a regular ham radio operator any rig will do you good, but when you live in kilowatt alley [like me] or you want to work the DX on the far side of the world, the receiver has to be of a category that allows that to happen. Even some of the best and most expensive foreign radios in this batch may fall short.
I rather like the IC 7300, it could make my short list for christmas 2016. QRP is my focus going forward. My YouTube weekend viewing proved very interesting and I will share a few links with you. I am also looking at my Elecraft radios again. I once thought that one hf radio would be enough for me, but I have realized that I need at least three radios in the shack to adequately cover my scope of ham radio.
I planned to keep this short so I will end here for now and continue next time. There is a lot of ham radio to talk about, and pictures to share.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eMirPqRyj0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8p0Murzx3C4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpszqNMR6_U
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uAL2lmpapjM
[to be continued ..]
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