Forward hard into February
Welcome to the new month. All Thanks and Praise to GOD for allowing us to see another month. Condolences to the family and friends of the Silent Keys, their contributions to ham radio locally and international will never be forgotten. We will keep building on our amateur radio to the best of our ability. We thank those amateur radio operators who daily work overtime for us, making amateur radio possible especially in the remote parts of the world. There are people still coming against amateur radio, and we must never, ever forget that. Regrettably, everybody in this world is not our friend. Enough said.
So, how did ham radio turn out for you in January? Don't beat up yourself if you did not move it along, that happens to all of us. Take a deep breath, refocus and plan that you will take your amateur radio another step this month. One step at a time. I met an amateur radio operator a couple days ago, and he was excited, because he had ordered an HF transceiver, which he expected to arrive in V4 shortly. I shared his excitement, because I know that very soon there will be another DX voice on the ham radio bands to give a V4 contact to the hundreds of amateur radio operators, waiting around the world, because they still need to make a contact with Saint Kitts-Nevis, V4 land.
Irrespective of what some people may think about the illegal RF interference, noise and frequency jamming that amateur radio now experience on some of the amateur radio frequencies in Saint Kitts, I am of the view that we, the ham radio operators, and those persons with an interest in amateur radio, need to keep active, up-to-date, and continuously plan and grow our knowledge of amateur radio, instead of playing dead and acting dead, just because amateur radio and the amateur radio operators are being victimized and "thrown under the bus", so to speak.
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=2859016311009957
No illegal situation last for ever. Never. And all amateur radio operators in V4 will need [and are expected] to carry on from where they left off. It is only a matter of time. So let us press on and see where our ham radio can go. The more we know about ham radio the better for us. Remember to bookmark anything interesting discovered on the Internet. Continue to explore YouTube, learn and bookmark as you go. These are just a few of the links that help me to keep up with ham radio.
2. https://www.facebook.com/DXWorld.net/
4. https://www.facebook.com/QRZNow/
5. https://www.dxmaps.com/spots/mapg.php
6. https://www.facebook.com/DXMAPS/
7. https://www.dit-dit-dit.com/
9. https://www.facebook.com/groups/feed/
Join a Facebook Group or two. I find the groups quite informative and educational, especially antenna construction. In the Caribbean we do not have the antenna restrictions like many other parts of the world. Groups also allow us the opportunity to interact with hams, and to set up schedules for DX contacts. Our ham radio can experience a positive boost, just what we may need. I have joined a few of these Facebook amateur radio groups, including
10. https://www.facebook.com/groups/w5kub
11. https://www.facebook.com/groups/506619486586670
12. https://www.facebook.com/groups/472448559783975
As we enter the post covid19 environment, some of us may feel the urge to add another radio to the station. Last month I checked the specifications of tested radios on the Receiver Test Data table at Sherwood Engineering Inc. http://www.sherweng.com/table.html to find where the latest radios placed. Not every radio manufactured is listed here. To date about eighty-seven [87] transceiver receivers were tested and rated in order of performance. This data helps me to determine which radio I should consider next. My primary interest is in making DX contacts under tough band conditions. My receiver is at position # 27 in the table.
[to be continued]
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