V44KF

   screenshot of 10 meters around lunchtime Saturday 02 December 2023. Greetings Amateur Radio Operators, All, from V44KF, It has been a long time, though it seems like just yesterday we were here blogging about ham radio in V4 and the region. The hurricane season ended a couple days ago, but weather is still the prime talk and they are now adding earthquakes to the chatter. But all is well in V4 and getting better from my perspective. But some may disagree with me, because I sport an optimistic attitude. Regrettably many people are letting other peoples pessimistic attitude get the better of them. This is a hard topic for many so I will just leave it there.  While I am blogging this I am listening to a G1 station that I contacted few minutes ago. He said that he visited SKB some years ago on a cruise. It is indeed great to speak to someone who has visited our country and have many pleasant memories. This was a DX moment for him so he could not hang out and rag chew, but I guess we may

We are into a new season as the official hurricane season ends with November. For those of us who favour DX, the winter months are our friend. This winter season the  V44KF radio station plans to be active. We are in the process of building and testing a few antennas to cover the ham radio bands from 40 meters to 6 meters. Before the pandemic we had 80 meter requests, but the smart meter interference blocked and jammed  transmissions of 80 meters and 40 meters. Nothing has changed for the last 5 years or so, and the smart meter RF interference is still blocking and jamming the ham radio signals. We were hopeful that this would change with the new political administration, after the general elections, but nothing so far. Anyway next month, is my time to talk directly with the Minister of Electricity and the Minister of Telecommunications and to see what is the plan to resolve these illegal and lawless violations of the the International Telecommunications Regulations. The smart meter RF

  It is that time of year again, the seasonal changes which affects ham radio propagation in the north hemisphere. I am looking forward to see what will make my days. This year should be different because we are rolling up towards another peak of the sunspot cycle. Hams are reporting making DX contacts with low power. This is cycle 25 and it is looking good so far, and expected to get better. This is a contact making opportunity that no young hams should let pass. Young is in reference to the length of time being a ham radio operator. This is the season when some folks treat themselves to gifts, that they have done without for the last year or years. Some folks were saving to buy that dream radio, the one that you looked at everyday. I go a step further and make a poster print of the radio I need and stick it on the wall next to my computer. When the radio finally drops into the radio room, the picture on the wall is replaced by a new picture of some much needed ham gear. This is how s

The Allure of the Seas at Port Zante, Basseterre, Saint Kitts. 2022-01-02.  Picture made from a second floor bedroom window at V44KF. I do not have the  answer. As we begin the New Year some of us are asking that question, and also where do we go from here? As an amateur radio operator for some years, I have formulated a plan which forces my amateur radio development and progress every year, irrespective. Amateur radio is ongoing, and one can never run out of amateur radio activities. Durng the last sunspot cycle when the bands were dead for some operators, they turned to the digital modes rather than go to sleep or play dead, just because the ham bands appeared dead. Ham radio operators should always have a plan, because amateur radio is a hobby that affords it.   There are amateur radio operators who are watching and waiting on other amateur radio operators, while there are others who are charting their our amateur radio course, rather than watching and waiting for someone to break s

What do you do when the people who you trust to make it happen for you, seem to conspire with those who set out to ensure that it does not happen for you? This is the case of Amateur Radio in the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis. October 7th 2021 will make another year that the NTRC seem to have proven that is cannot effectively enforce its duty of keeping the frequencies used for amateur radio telecommunication services in the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis, free and clear from RF interference, noise and frequency jamming. On October 7th 2019 a "cease and desist" order was given to the electric company for illegally generating RF interference on unauthorised frequiencies. To date I am not aware that the electric company has stopped generating the RF interference that jams the frequencies rendering them then unusable for amateur telecommunications services.  Nothing more needs to be said about this illegal RF interference matter plaguing our amateur radio telecommunic

  It is not over yet, and even after the official close of hurricane seson, it is not done. Storms and hurricanes have wisited our location way out of season, in the past, and almost every day there is an historic return of something we have forgotten a long time ago. This seems all part of the 'new normal' we were being introduced to a year ago. Everything has to be treated as 'new' because it will never be business as usual ever again. This also means that our amateur radio has to be treated as 'new', because there are now 'protocols' to follow, but fortunately, no 'protocols' can be established for certain aspect of amateur radio, so many of us can still enjoy our ham radio as it was, and hopefully will forever be. Amateur radio participation is taking off with the introduction of the 'new normal' lifestyle, the ham radio scientists are still looking for the triggers which are making amateur radio so popular at this time during and aft

 A few months ago I decided to reduce making comments on the lawless approach of the Government in relation to our amateur radio problem of RF interference caused by a business entity owned by the Government. I believe that twelve [12] comments a year is enough to remind ourselves that we are fighting injustice and lawlesness in our amateur radio hobby.  Some people would feel that a weekly reminder might be more helpful. Nevertheles, the plight of amateur radio operators in our country have attracted the attention of amateur radio operators around the world. Our country Saint Kitts and Nevis [V4], is still a much needed country contact for many amateur radio operators around the world. The amateur radio operators resident in our country [V4] are not active enough at any time, and amateur radio operators from various foreign countries visit Saint Kitts an Nevis in order to provide the much needed contact that is needed. There are some amateur radio operators who visit Saint Kitts and N

  All Is Well, as this week V4 takes new steps in addressing the covid within our borders. Let us be there for our brothers and sisters who are part of the covid teams. Our PRAYERS are with them 24x7 as they provide National Service with undeniable and undisputed distinction. Amateur Radio has a unique role to play in any aspect of Emergency Disaster, and is almost always on alert during this season. A few miles down the road the V88 amateur radio operators of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines are dealing with an active Volcano, and in a few days the 2021 Atlantic Hurricane Season begins on June 1. All amateur radio operators in this Caribbean region is undergoing practical training, whether we like it or not. We do not know when covid will end, neither the V88 volcano activity, let us PRAY that this is a quiet hurricane activity year. This is a testing time for amateur radio in this region.  In recent times I suggested that all amateur radio stations should have, and that all amateur r

  The great outdoors where an amateur radio operator in our Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis can experiment with any antenna design so long as it does not cause any interference with anyone else. However, there is no protection for the amateur radio operator from RF interference generated by certain business operations  in Saint Kitts, even though the law of the land declares that the interference is illegal, and the authority charged with upholding the law has requested the entity to cease generation of  the interference. This interference has  been going on since about 2017. It is all about talk, talk and more talk, and nothing is being done. Occasionally there seems to be some sort of activity which could give an impression that something good is happening, but then the noise seem to get worse. Personally, I have stopped stressing over this interference situation, but I am leaving this matter in the hands of the Master who I believe will fix this in due time. In between time it i

Welcome to another month end. Things are happening, and seem to be moving fast in certain ham radio areas. Let us keep the momentum, continue hardening the foundation, so that our energy fail not. Always remember that there are negative elements working overtime against us, but we on the right side of history, helping our brothers and sisters, all over the planet, in times of their greatest need. That is the serious nature of our commitment to amateur radio. In peace times, like now, we prepare for the Atlantic Hurricane Season, starting up in less than 100 days time. I suspect that V4 will be better off this season as I heard through the grapevines that many more ham radio operators have acquired an HF radio. Everyone already has a VHF radio or two, the 2-meter net is active, so we are good to go. But while we wait for the season to change let us enjoy today to the max. For some of us that is making contact with ham radio operators on the far side of our Earth. In my case the focus is

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

Greetings ALL,  [a] Happy New Year.  We are all pleased that 2020 is now behind us. [b] Please excuse my treating this blog as a business document. I am of the view that we need to treat all that we do very seriously until the world is rid of this "pandemic". Ham radio is still our hobby, we still love doing what we do in our spare time, but I am just taking my ham radio more seriously than before. Everything around us are not like before. In our Caribbean there is an active volcano just miles down the street in Saint Vincent, J8 land. Things are not like before, and we need to be aware, and ready for any eventuality, anytime. We must know what we can do, what is expected of us, and how to do it effectively. I am getting the impression that we are just watching the movements. If that is true then that is bullshit, and every Caribbean ham radio organization should be on alert, even though nothing blows yet. Of course, this is my personal view,  and everyone is free to disagree

https://www.nhc.noaa.gov/ The Atlantic storm/hurricane season ends on November 30, and we are now over the season's peak. I am now planning the installation of my DX antennas. I say installation instead of re-installation, because my radio station operations will change from last year. I do not plan to put us the same six [6] antennas as before, and the main reasons are [a] on 40 and 80 meters there is significant illegal Radio Frequency interference caused by a local business operation, which has REFUSED to stop generating a band of illegal Radio Frequency signals which are affecting other legal radio frequency users, even after the NTRC, [the legal authority given the responsibility for  keeping the radio frequencies free from all and any illegal radio frequency  transmissions,] has issued the offender with a cease and desist order. On Independence Day I saw the following news item on Facebook, it was also on YouTube. It  explains what is happening to amateur radio and amateur ra

The amateur radio antenna is the most important piece of hardware in the radio station. Wherever a  radio frequency signal is transmitted or received an antenna is necessary. No antenna, no signal. The quality of the antenna does affect the quality of the signal received, and in amateur radio that is more important than many of us believe. Whether we are into a Disaster and Emergency Operation, or into a fun day, trying to contact someone on the other side of the planet, the antenna we use is critical. There are many software programs that are used by commercial radio frequency managers who usually want to get the best consistent signal level between two or more points at particular times of the day. However, amateur radio designed software is available to those of us who wish to invest and experiment. Many of us save the funds and just invest in the best antenna that we can. There is a lot of tabulated historical data available and we are smart enough to use it. Most times we only hav

 Amateur Radio in V4 is definitely moving with operators willing to invest in new equipment. Some people may suffer temporary hardships due to the global situation but that does not seem to unduly affect amateur radio operators who may already have nearly all that they need. This is the time for those operators to specialize on their operating mode[s], and focus on what additional equipment they need to perfect their art. If an operator is into the digital modes, focus on what is needed, if anything, to carry your digital mode operating to the next level. https://www.kenwood.com/usa/com/amateur/ At the other end of the scale, new operators or persons interested in the hobby need to acquire good background knowledge and information and to determine early what mode[s] they may ultimately operate. There is no hard and fast rule, you are free to do your own thing. After over 50 years of amateur radio I am still to try the digital modes. CW, Morse code is not needed for licensing, but some