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

  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

 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

  The end of the second quarter in 2022 is almost upon us, ushering in another year of the Atlantic Hurricane Season. In Saint Kitts and Nevis no one is considering the season seriously as people are engaged in the excitement and heartbreak of an election campaign two years ahead of schedule. This campaign ends in the next couple weeks and we get back to living. In the picture above is one of my vertical antennas due a makeover as we prepare for the next Atlantic Hurricane Season. June to November, with the peak around August to September, and most of us hope that this year will be like those of recent times. However this year could be different and we still need to be ready and prepared early. Most people let the storm and hurricane preparation run from year to year, and just touch up and improve durability as necessary. That is a strategy that I see practiced in another island, and it seems to work for them. In Saint Kitts and Nevis this is not the norm, as most of us build and rebui

  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

The "new normal" continues to roll in for November and it may not be as bright as imagined. Every country has its version of 'new normal' for the citizenry, some are easy and some are hard, and it depends on whether you are old or whether you are young. No matter your status, everyone will be affected by the 'new normal' and its mentality. This is driven by the people in authority, some who do not understand but think they do, and others who understand but are totally excluded from the process. This is not unique to any place but just the way that globalism rolls in these times. Our world has changed irretrievably, we cannot go back, so it is forward ever, for all of us and our amateur radio, and that applies to every amateur radio operator and for every country on our planet. This is not the first time that we are adapting, so this should not be difficult unless we make it so. There are always people who resist change, including even some amateur radio operat

All amateur radio operators are affected by the present pandemic in many ways. We stand with all our brothers and sisters as they go through these changing times. Let us keep our ham radio operations active, and keep our mind focused and head level as we weather our personal storms. We hope that we can assist each another when help is needed. A new season is coming , we do not know how it will pan out. Let us keep positive and focused. I follow a few amateur radio groups on Facebook, and view some of the issues and questions raised. I suspect that some of these issues and questions may also be raised by the new ham radio operators who may read this blog. In 50-years of ham radio I have seen and proved a few things, which may be helpful to someone willing to experiment. I am still learning, as we all are. We never stop learning in ham radio. Antenna experiments are fun, if you have the correct tools. In 2020 I got a RigExpert antenna analyzer, which opened up a new world of antenna expe

  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

Greetings ham radio operators, all Ham radio is alive and well in V4 land. From my ham radio station V44KF in St Kitts at #35, I wish all ham radio operators, supporters, friends and even haters/enemies, continued prosperity and great health for 2018. This is my first post for this year, so permit me a minute to express my thanks to all who helped to carry my ham radio up to another level in 2017, and to express condolences to the family and friends of those ham radio operators who have passed to the great beyond. Ham radio in St Kitts and Nevis rose to a new level in 2017. Many of us were lucky to be part of the process. Ham radio continue to rise in 2018, but there are a few issue that want to threaten our sanity. Over the years I have seen many issue like this,  so I can tell you that we just have to dig our heels in, maintain our focus and any insanity will find its way out through the door. The picture of the St Kitts Nevis Anguilla Amateur Radio Society [SKNAARS]  HQ/EOC