V44KF

This content first published at V44KF.spaces.live.com on 30th September 2008 ******************************************* Last week I finally acknowledged the fact that 'old rigs never die' ... but they can most certainly be killed by their owners through a lack of knowledge. The resurrection of old rigs can come with a cost but it is my preferred option. From 'old rigs never die 2' posted here on 27 April 2008, I made two observations. [a] The ham rigs with the best receiver specifications were made in the USA and [b] more than half of the ham rigs with performance figures above the minimum specification for the standard ham radio receiver, were manufactured before 2004, and were no longer in production. So it is a fact that more than half of the top ham radio receivers that meet today's high quality receiver specifications are old rigs, with most of them dating past 7 years. Among the many things that hams are good at, it is telling the ham equipment manufacturers

This was first published at V44KF.spaces.live.com on 27th April 2008. ***************************************** The ham radio equipment makers have to market a new rig every year if they want to stay in business or be forced to follow in Kenwood's footsteps. Given today's technology some of the new high tech rigs seem very overpriced while others with apparently better receiver specifications are still priced to suit the average ham radio operator's pocket. No matter the price tag all rigs are treated equally, and usually end up on the test bench in various institutions like ARRL and Sherwood Engineering Inc, to verify the 'claimed' and published performance data, and of course to see how they stack up against each other. In light of the latest Receiver Test Data table, dated 15 February 2008, produced by Bob Sherwood of Sherwood Engineering, http://www.sherweng.com/table.html, I may have to change this blog subject because these old rigs seen to have something extr

This content first published in V44KF.spaces.live.com on 26th December 2007 ****************************************** This is the season for rum and fun in the sun for some of my friends. However, I have an increasing number of friends who do not celebrate the Christian Christmas. This is now something new for some of us, but it is not in our place to question.our friends beliefs or point of view, but to respect them, and in this particular case to avoid any discussion on any aspect or topic tangential to that system of belief. Taking a line from the ham radio license guidelines, one should refrain from discussion of religion and politics, probably because these tend to support the most controversial subjects. Be that as it may, my friends and I converse, sometimes profoundly on various matters which sometimes touch on religion and politics, without descending to a doctrinal level and therefore we never have cause for mutual disagreement or disrespect. I am fortunate to have friends w

This content originally published in V44KF.spaces.live.con on 18th December 2007. ************************************************ As you get older and wiser you recognize that age is just a number, and the Might Sparrow was right, yet again. After a while, unless you are one of those self centered egotistical persons we are blessed with as friends or associates, you reach the point of almost forgetting that you have the traditional birthdays to celebrate. Actually you may be preempting something as you are that much closer to the end, because the beginning is eternally lost in history, and there is nothing you can do about it. I think you can call this reality. The real world situation that some of us seem to feel does not exist just because we think so. Thinking does a lot of things to and for us and may even play a significant part in your reality, but you better get this reality thing right, because your life and survival or maybe even your existence on the planet could depend on i

This was first published in V44KF.spaces.live.com on 17th December 2007 ********************************************** Every now and then reality hits some of us very hard. Only yesterday you saw your neighbor or friend and today you hear he/she has vito excedo, passed on. Of course that is something that we must all do someday, whether we have prepared for it or not, we are born to die. But the question may be what can we do while we are waiting for the inevitable. Some people may never think about 'life and living' in their lifetime. I am no philosopher and can only speak to my own 'situation' and maybe share some observations and experiences from my life's journey up to this point. Some people spend more time planning the future than trying to live in the present, and it is usually too late when they wake up and realize that they missed living in the present only after it has become the past. I hope that all my friends can spend their time wisely living to the ma

This was first published in V44KF.spaces.live.com on 3rd December 2007 *************************************** Old and older rigs never die. They get victimized by their owners who might be trying to play keep up, or who feel they have to update their radio station to maintain a level of communications compatibility with their ham counterparts on the other side of the world. But most of the old rigs are compatible and could be made even more compatible with the 'modern' stuff with just a little effort and a couple components. But most modern day hams have more money than time so they go on eBay and bid for a good deal. The hams on a tighter budget resort to trade in sometimes for a not so old radio. I believe the trade in business is getting licks, but that is the nature of business. I had two amateur radio photo albums here. The 'Today and Yesterday' album highlighted some of the rigs used by ham radio stations in St Kitts and Nevis over the last 40 years, as far as I

This was first published at V44KF.spaces.live.com on 25th November 2007. ************************************************ 16 months later, and yet there is no sign on the horizon of a simple antenna than can out perform the 20 bucks home brew double tee, top and bottom loaded, vertical dipole antenna. Some of my ham radio buddies are running from building this antenna just because I am pushing it, but whatever they construct and tryout fall far short and will continue to fall short. Eventually they will accept the fact that a 'vertical antenna' is a 'vertical antenna' and it will always perform the same way every time no matter where or how. And if they really want to work DX on the other side of the world for pennies, without a tower and a beam on the low bands, this is the only way to go. Just like the sun rises in the East and sets in the West, no matter where you go on the planet, this short top and bottom loaded vertical dipole antenna will work superbly. Because