V44KF

The 2021 Atlantic Hurricane Season officially closes, and so begins, for most of us, the period of "any other business". Speaking from my own experience of over 50 years, most hams just seem to take a break, a recess, until the next hurricane season. Amateur radio is a hobby and we should not be unduly perturbed because hams do not think like us. Everybody presents their personal brand of ham radio.  I am comfortable with, and work with all those who think like me, and act like me. Amateur radio should be a contuinuous flow of activity, from seasom to season.  https://www.noaa.gov/news-release/active-2021-atlantic-hurricane-season-officially-ends?fbclid=IwAR2mfpSnJxyEGoofgJfx4sIBTuQxJHInhIs0MLFbuLMd6D6aF_4sXXKASmc   My amateur radio continues with the instalation and testing of new antennas, based on recently acquired infirmation from a research document. I welcome the information because I am now able to install all my vertical antennas on the ground, rather than in 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...

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...

 The Independence 38 celebration is gone, and we are now watching an Atlantic Hurricane named "SAM" bearing down on the Caribbean. This is the nature of Caribbean life, good days and better days. This does not have a negative impact on amateur radio. Amateur or Ham Radio benefits when the weather is like this, as the ham radio operators prepare to do what they have trained to do in this season. June 1, is the start of the Atlantic Hurricane Season and September is now past the half way mark. By this time of year, everyone and everything should be ready and in place. Historically our 'visitation' is usually August to September. I hear the nighly 2-meter net since the season started, and when the weather gets severe, the latest local weather reports are added. Just a couple weeks ago ten [10] more amateur radio operators passed the license requirement set by the NTRC, National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission who administers Telecommunication in Saint Kitts and ...

 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 Ki...

 We are moving on. A couple weeks out of lockdown and we are full speed ahead. Lockdown should not slow down or stop our ham radio, but everyone has a different recaction to the same stimulus. When our mobility is under threat we all experience adverse reactions. At V44KF, I got into the planning and building mode. I developed an interest in the EFHW, "end fed half wave" antenna. Many people seem to build it like an inverted "VEE" or a long wire of sorts, but I am interested in it as a vertical. Vertical antennas, installed correctly and properly, posses the lowest signal take off  angle. The half wave vertical has a lower take off angle than the quarter wave vertical. Check your vertical antenna handbook for take off angle data, or knock yourself out with a 'Google search' for "vertical antennas take off angles". 40-meters is my favorite band, 7.0 mhz  to 7.3 mhz, but that amateur radio band is not useable for amateur radio communications because ...