Author Archive
Solar Storms to Hit Earth Over Next Few Days
August 7th, 2011 | 
Author: Three large solar explosions will cause magnetic storms to hit earth over the next few days, according to Reuters.
More interesting is this quote from the article:
“The 1859 solar storm hit telegraph offices around the world and caused a giant aurora visible as far south as the Caribbean Islands. Some telegraph operators reported electric shocks. Papers caught fire. And many telegraph systems continued to send and receive signals even after operators disconnected batteries, NOAA said on its website.”
Whoa.
HamAuction.com Up For Grabs
A little birdie let me know that an interesting web address is up for auction today. The Internet domain name, hamauction.com, is at a little over $300 at the moment. For those looking to set up a ham radio-related site, not a bad name!
For those who are interested, it’s being offered up for auction by the domain registrar. Apparently the former owner didn’t pay the renewal fee, so now it goes to auction to the highest bidder. There’s a good lesson here — if you own your own web address, don’t forget to keep your e-mail address current so that you get the renewal notices. Even better, pay a few years ahead so that you don’t wake up one morning and your domain name is gone!
Anyway, here’s the link.
Smiley Antenna Always Delivers
I’m not shy about expressing my opinion if I feel that I’ve been wronged by a company or product. Amateur Radio operators are the ultimate social network. Hams talk — quite literally. If you market a product or service to hams, you must be prepared to have every aspect put under a microscope. If you create poor products, or don’t stand behind them, you had better be prepared to find another line of work. While I can think of a couple of examples in our hobby where crappy companies continue to survive, it is mostly due to the lack of a suitable replacement. While I’m quick to complain, I’m also quick to offer up well deserved praise.
Enter Smiley Antennas. I’ve been buying their products for many years. They are well constructed, high quality, and customer service is always top notch. If you’ve never purchased one of their antennas for your HT, I believe that you are really missing out. In fact, whenever I buy a new or used HT, the first thing I do is throw away the stock antenna and replace it with a Smiley. Their 270A Dual Band antenna is small, sturdy, and really makes a big difference, especially when I’m trying to hit those distant 440 machines. In my opinion, it’s the best $22 you can spend to improve your signal.
I recently had a need for a customized HT antenna for a very specific application. Within a week of ordering it, I had it at my door. A custom HT antenna built to order. Incredible.
I couldn’t recommend this company more. Check them out at http://www.smileyantenna.com or you can call them at 1-800-527-5439.
It’s always a pleasure to recognize publicly a company that goes above and beyond.
Does Burt make some good points?
If you’ve never heard of Burt Fisher, K1OIK, then you’ve probably been living under a rock. Well, not quite. But the video above has garnered well over 90,000 views in the couple of years it has been online. In the world of Internet video, that’s fairly respectable. How does he do it? By making fun of just about every aspect of our beloved hobby, that’s how!
Many people will view the video and get upset. Or they’ll be offended. Or annoyed. Don’t worry, that’s just what Burt was hoping to accomplish! But there is something more to this video than just some jerk on the Internet with an axe to grind. More than trying to tick anyone off, I think he’s trying to get you to think. To turn a critical eye on what we do and why we do it. To self-evaluate and change the parts of Amateur Radio that don’t make sense or that are self-destructive. He makes some good points. Some may not like his condescending style, but do you know why he’s so annoying? He’s very often right.
Yaesu FT-60: Speaker Mic Complaint
Don’t get me wrong. I love my little Yaesu FT-60 dual-bander. Before this radio, I always owned Kenwood HTs and they were great. But I couldn’t pass up this little gem for under $200. Yes, it has a NiMH battery instead of lithium ion like those new Wouxuns. No, it doesn’t have cross-band repeat like some of those other HTs. But it’s reliable. It’s small. And it’s a great value.
Why am I complaining? I hate the speaker mic jack. Specifically, I hate that whenever I use my speaker mic it always starts to fall out of the jack a little bit. Not a big deal, right? Well, unfortunately as the plug starts to come out (and we’re talking just a millimeter or two), it keys the transmitter until you notice it. If you have a big mouth like I do, this can be a problem. Besides potential embarassment, you run the risk of interfering with other QSOs. And if you’re running EMCOMM, for which this radio is very popular, it could interfere with more important traffic than run-of-the-mill ragchewing.
This sort of thing never happened with my Kenwood rigs with their two-plug (3.5mm/2.5mm) connections versus Yaesu’s all-in-one single (3.5mm) stereo phone plug. It’s compact, yes. But it’s not as stable. And trying to jam everything into one plug creates problems like this.
Has anyone else noticed the same problem? If so, have you developed a fix for this wandering plug (short of a tight rubber band around the radio)?
My Collins Radio Equipment Is For Sale
I’ve finally decided to sell my Collins S-line station. Trust me, it’s not a decision I’ve made lightly!
I absolutely love this equipment. In fact, it’s my dream rig. I just don’t have the time to devote to working HF and I don’t see that situation improving anytime soon. I know that someone will be able to make very good use of it.
If you are interested, or know of someone who is, please pass this along!
Collins 32S-3A Ham Radio Transmitter
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120737000467
Collins 75S-3C Ham Radio Receiver
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120737004368
Collins 30L-1 Ham Radio Linear Amplifier
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120737009082
Collins DL-1 Ham Radio Dummy Load
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120737012242
Collins 312B-4 Ham Radio Station Control
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120737015978
Collins 516F-2 Ham Radio AC Power Supply
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120737020097
(Update: I’m sorry to report that all the equipment has now sold. Thanks for your interest!)
