V44KF

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...

We are looking at the new year in days. The question is, what did you achieve in 2020?  And the next question could be, what do you plan to achieve in 2021? From the amateur radio operator there is always a positive response. The past we can speak about, and comment in "hindsight", but the future is not given to any of us, we could [1] make a physical determination based on our present knowledge of our circumstance, or [2]  just create a wish list of everything we would like for ourselves. Most of us prefer the second option, and spend quite a bit of time day dreaming in this mode. That is quite natural and necessary, because all we need to do is to convert every dream into reality, and we have the GOD given ability to do just  that. We also call this day dreaming imagination. Everything begins there. FAITH. If you need the scriptural data we can discuss that later. Over the years I have been encouraging amateur radio operators to create their personal wish list of everyt...

In this season we cannot afford to be left behind, no matter your reason or excuse. This is not a heartless viewpoint as some may see it, but one of reality and optimism. I am following the established protocols remaining in place, and tremendously enjoying myself. Amateur radio is my hobby, and communicating with people around the world is what I do. I suspect that over the last six [6] months, many people have taken the opportunity to change their hobbies, pastimes, even though some never tire at watching TV reruns and playing video games. I suspect that a few of them may even have tried various aspects of amateur radio. I am informed that two [2] new SDR radios were imported into V4 land for two established amateur radio operators. I am pleased to see that operators are embracing the SDR technology, and are serious enough about amateur radio to continue growing the art and hobby, even in the face of the covid-19 and its alleged hardships. Smart people will always recognize the i...

snap of sknaars operating table March 7, 2020 March 7th 2020 made five [5] months since the National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission of Saint Kitts and Nevis, the NTRC,   issued a cease and desist order to the utility company, telling them to stop transmitting illegal radio frequency signals on the international short wave radio frequencies used by other radio services inside and outside of the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis. As I scribe this I am not aware that the utility company has stopped transmitting the illegal radio frequency signals that cause RF interference, noise and frequency jamming to other radio services inside Saint Kitts and Nevis. Five months ago on October 7th 2019, the NTRC, issued the order to stop the utility company from making these illegal signal transmissions, but the utility company seems to have just brushed the NTRC aside, and continues to generate the illegal RF interference, noise and frequency jamming signals. I suspe...

Bay Road, Basseterre, Saint Kitts. West Indies Today is a great amateur radio day for me, V44KF, in the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis. The Saint Kitts Nevis Anguilla Amateur Radio Society in its 46th year held its AGM on Tuesday February 4th 2020, and elected a new Executive. First, CONGRATULATIONS to the new Executive, and I expect that they would seek to carry our Amateur Radio Society to a new level. I know that they will, and I expect many FIRSTS  for our Society. Going forward our Society has to incorporate modern business practices if we are to avoid the problems we have weathered over the years. We all need to come to grips with the fact that our Amateur Radio Society is a non-profit organisation, and amateur radio could be a very expensive hobby. I think it would be helpful if we can think about the many ways that we and our Society can attract the assets that we need to make our Amateur Radio the best in the world. I am a senior citizen and I am will...

Today is another nice, bright, beautiful sunny summer day in Saint Kitts. The ideal visitor destination this time of year, for guests of the Anthem of the Seas, the Norwegian Epic and the Viking Sea, three cruise liners berthed at the Port Zante Cruise Piers in Basseterre, the Capital City of the Federation. Amateur Radio Operators frequently visit our island on cruise liners, but I am told that ham operators cannot use their amateur radio equipment on the cruise liners. It is their liner and they make the rules, but smart amateur radio operators get a license from the countries that they plan to visit, so that they can operate their amateur radio equipment, mobile, portable or otherwise, when they are on the island.  I am happy for these visiting amateur radio operators because there is practically no RF interference, noise or frequency jamming on their signals when they operate from the beaches, or the hilltops in Saint Kitts. View of Port Zante cruise port from the lawn up o...

Greetings to all Amateur Radio operators and all persons interested in the Amateur Radio hobby at home and overseas. Do you know that the country of JAPAN has over 1.29 million Amateur Radio operators? Is it that they know something that we do not? Why do the Japanese people take Amateur Radio that seriously? Nobody else in the world is that serious. I suspect that if we get serious about Amateur Radio we can learn something that we can adapt to our SKN environment. No point trying to invent the wheel again. Can I give you an exercise, find out why over one [1] percent of the Japanese population are Amateur Radio Operators? You may discover something that we can scale down and apply to our Saint Kitts and Nevis. http://www.n0hr.com/ham_radio_population.htm For 2020 I am still into trying to develop and grow Amateur Radio in Saint Kitts and Nevis. This is what an Amateur Radio Society is supposed to do. Saint Kitts and Nevis is a member of the IARU, who is about developing ...

V44KF shack under construction In the last six [6] months since my last blog many things have happened to Amateur Radio in Saint Kitts and Nevis. The most important was that of the NTRC, the Telecommunications regulator, in early October 2019, notifying the electric company that their smart meters system was causing RF interference, and that they should "cease and desist" from causing that radio frequency interference immediately. That give me hope, and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. The notice that I saw also instructed the amateur radio operators to inform the NTRC as to the RF interference experienced at their radio stations. To date the RF interference at my radio station V44KF has not gone away. I am encouraging our amateur radio station operators in Saint Kitts to kindly update the NTRC as requested, so that the NTRC can continue to do their job effectively, providing us with frequencies that are free and clear of any RF interference. The picture a...

Greetings Ham Radio Ops, all, This is just a coincidence, that this blog is now an annual event, but going forward I will change that. There is a lot to say about ham radio, as we seek to introduce our ham radio operators to the world, and the world to our ham radio operators in V4, St Kitts and Nevis. Since my last blog many things have happened, and you can catch up on all the action, and get up to speed on the amateur radio society's Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/ST-KITTS-NEVIS-ANGUILLA-AMATEUR-RADIO-SOCIETY-146131718557/ The amateur radio society is moving fast forward, working to put many things in place, as quickly as we can. Working fast is the order of the day, because we have to be as safe as possible soonest. No one wants to be caught pants down between June and December. Hurricanes are not like before. Irma and Maria did not adversely affect St Kitts, Nevis or Antigua in 2017, so we are not taking any chances in the years ahead. It is regrettable tha...