V44KF

Happy New Year. Everyone is dreaming about what they can do with their Ham Radio for 2024. In our part of the word that depends on the amount of money a ham radio operator wishes to put into the hobby to make it work. I have discovered that in these times a person has to exhaust all the options before spending the hard earned cash. Of course if cash is not an issue, no problem, spend as you go. There are a set of people singing the daily song that hard times are coming soon. There will be worldwide shortages of everything, and we are beginning to see it happen. Some people will be affected, and some people more than others. It behooves all of us to know which side of the river we are on, and take the necessary precautions. Ham radio equipment is still unable to replace food and other daily requirements for survival. So be very careful when planning, and try to make the best long term decisions with a positive impact on survival. Becoming a ham radio operator is not a problem, what seem

  Another pile up on 17-meters in the late afternoon, after 17.00 local, 21.00 GMT.  That is the nature of DX. I could not hear the DX station, but I could hear  the stations calling, piling up. I did not have propagation to the DX station, only to the callers. A few minutes later the frequency went dead. I suspect that the DX station went QRT. Recently I have heard many DX stations going QRT because the XYL had called them for supper. That is very good in times like these. I guess that many of us wish that we had an XYL to call us away from the radio because it was suppertime. It is a cultural thing. I know that some of us in times past had supper, and other meals and snacks served in the shack while we were on the radio. We only ate when we got a break, when the propagation changed, and allowed us to take a bite. Those were the days when we dried out the list, we worked everyone who could hear us. The callers did not know when the next opportunity to work V4 would come, and you could

  Greetings. Happy New Year. Congratulations and Welcome. Let us take a moment to observe the "silent keys", our ham radio brothers and sisters who left us in 2022. Just a few days ago we lost V44KO, Lawson, a senior ham radio operator. We will all miss him for the invaluable contributions he made to ham radio and the Saint Kitts Nevis Amateur Radio Society in V4. He will always be remembered by the ham radio brothers and sisters. I am certain that much will be written about his ham radio life and style in the days to come.  A new wave of ham radio begins now. Many ham radio operators will make the usual resolutions to do more about their ham radio this year, but truth be told for many of us only the spirit is willing. I have been there so I know. Take action on your ham radio, do something because talk is cheap. Make an investment in your ham radio if you can. Show yourself that you are serious. Only practical ham radio will get us anywhere, resolutions and talk do not. For

  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

It is the middle of October, Christmas and Carnival are shaping up nicely. People are pleased to have the return of the customary Christmas and Carnival activities and festivities which the last government had stopped. Of course that only stopped people from going onto the street, but everyone had their own personal Christmas and Carnival. Long story short, things have changed, and we are back to normal. It is expected that we will act responsibly in everything that we do, and institute and maintain our own protocols, because we are a serious people. I am still awaiting the official announcement from the regulating authority of amateur radio, with respect to the interference generated by the electricity company, which blocks and jams transmissions in some of the HF amateur radio bands. I see that the Minister of Telecommunications, and of Electricity was quite busy overseas attending conferences. He has returned but still conducting his familiarization exercises within his various mini

  Every day brings us closer to the day when the RF interference, noise and frequency jamming generated by the electric company goes away permanently. The Minister responsible for the utilities is still familiarizing with the offices and staff under his ministries, and so we need to afford him time t get a good grasp of the areas of  responsibility under his charge. I am confident that when this RF interference matter comes up, or is brought to his attention, this RF interference matter will not be swept under the carpet as it was before by the last administration. I am willing to wait three [3] months, until the end of the hurricane season, November 30, before I begin to forcibly agitate for resolution.  I suspect that the Amateur Radio Society may also have a resolution timeline on this matter. This blog is about ham radio and how we can help our brother and sisters in the ham radio hobby to be the best amateur radio operators that they can be. We are all aware of the limitations tha

  It is now two weeks after the general elections in Saint Kitts and Nevis, and I can begin to see that the end of our ham radio problem of interference, noise and frequency jamming on some of the HF radio frequencies allocated to the Amateur Radio Service is in sight. It has been a few years that I have not been able to make any DX contacts on the 40 and 80 meter amateur radio bands, and I am looking forward to catching up on HF DX on these HF bands. Regrettably during the pandemic ham radio also took a beating, and many older hams are now silent key, but new hams have taken over. In V4 we did not lose any ham radio operators during the pandemic, but new hams were added to the amateur radio fraternity. The ham radio outlook in V4 is changing, and has changed significantly, but the amateur radio society is obliged to run amateur radio licensing training classes for those persons interested in attaining an amateur radio license. This of itself is great, but V4 now has to get these amate

 We are now down to two [2] days before the general elections for a new government in Saint Kitts and Nevis. This government has not done anything for me, and I look forward to getting a new government in place in three days time. My needs are simple. Get rid of the RF interference on the amateur radio frequencies. The RF interference is generated by skelec, as it originates from the smart meter system of the electricity company. The electric company has refused to stop generating the illegal RF interference, even though the NTRC, the alleged guardian of the Telecommunications industry in Saint Kitts and Nevis is on their case. I say alleged, because they have been unable to get skelec to comply with their cease-and-desist order. This also proves that skelec is above the law, and can do whatsoever it pleases with the blessings of the ministers of government. A very sad state of affairs in Saint Kitts and Nevis. But that reign of lawlessness can be ended soon if the voters of the Federa

 We are in the middle of July, continuing to prepare for the hurricane season, but ham radio continues to thrive and flourish, irrespective of the doom and gloom mouthed by some hams who I suspect should know better. I do not know what is wrong with them, but it seem to be a phase that some people go through. I notice that the fallout of the pandemic has sent many hams into retirement, and health care facilities that do not allow them to be as active as they once were. It is a dramatic lifestyle change, and I do empathize and hope that the ham fraternity could fabricate a system that would allow this growing number of ham radio operators, to remain active on-the-air for years to come. This does not happen in the Caribbean with a different culture and geography. Ham radio is taking off as the world continues to embrace the passing of the pandemic, and everyone gets more comfortable accepting their new normal lifestyle. Last week Yaesu introduced the world to their third transceiver in t

  WOW!! It is July already, so let us get this show on the road. Welcome to all amateur radio operators, well wishers, supporters, all. A few matters passed by my shack, as we call our amateur radio station, last month which I will briefly touch. This is my view and you are advised to seek the views of other ham radio operators, draw your conclusions and make your decisions. All ham radio stations need feedline, and most radios and antennas use coaxial cable. Some hams use 50 ohm coax cable some use 75 ohm coax cable. Personally, I prefer the 75 ohm coax cable, because it works good for me and it was available. There is much more to it, and you may be lucky to find it in the right text book. Remember that dipoles are 72 ohm. I suspect that  most hams used the coax cable that is available to them, and the radio manufacturers just designed the radios to match it. Check to see if your radio can only use one cable or if it can use a range of cables, then you know how to proceed.  It does n

  Looking North West from the gallery of V44KF Amateur Radio Greetings from the QTH of V44KF. In the picture above is the 34-foot tall vertical used for the experimental 20-meter EFHW [end fed half wave] antenna. While testing the antenna my ongoing research indicated that the EFHW was not as good, by a long shot, as the half wave vertical that I used over the past few years. Not saying that the EFHW is no good, but compared to what I have it it just not as good, and in most cases by 2 or more 's' units. The EFHW seems to be a great antenna if you can't get up anything better to work DX. I am into working DX, that radio station on the other side of the world, not rag chewing with the hams down the block. As a DX station in V4 land this is what it is all about. All amateur radio transceivers are great in their own right, but the station antenna is what makes the ham radio station tick. Antennas seem to be the biggest problem for radio stations, because there seems to be the