AmateurRadio.com

I first noticed these antennas a few months ago. They look interesting. I’m looking forward to getting my hands on one and trying it out.

Here is the press release…

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

British Antenna Company InnovAntennas Appoints First American Dealer

Glade Park, Colorado – January 23, 2012 – The full line of high performance HF, VHF and UHF amateur radio antennas from fast-growing British company InnovAntennas are now available to customers across the United States via Hamilton, Ohio’s R&L Electronics.

“Our customers have been hearing about the outstanding performance of InnovAntennas’ designs from their amateur radio friends overseas, reading about them in European journals such as DUBUS and from a handful of ‘early adopter’ American hams who couldn’t wait and purchased InnovAntennas products direct from the UK,” said R&L Electronics’ Roger Smallwood. “We are proud to be the first American retailer to represent this exciting new brand.”

InnovAntennas was launched in 2011 by Justin Johnson, G0KSC, after his hobby of designing antennas for his personal use led to a flood of requests to “make one for me” from amateur radio operators who recognized that Johnson’s designs outperformed they could buy in a store. Today, InnovAntennas is building antennas at a former boat factory in Canvey Island, England and selling its products directly via InnovAntennas.com and via a network of dealers in Europe, Australia, and now, the United States.

InnovAntennas’ highly regarded designs include LFA (Loop Fed Array) and OP-DES (Opposing Phase –Driven Element System) Yagis. Performance of GOKSC designs routinely top the charts in their boom-length class on the survey of ‘moonbounce” antennas –“EME-ers” are among the ham world’s most demanding operators –compiled by VE7BQH and available online.

InnovAntennas America’s William Hein said “We selected R&L as our first American dealer due to their commitment to customer service, deep inventory, high order fill rate, great history, product knowledge and enthusiasm for InnovAntennas’ approach to design and construction. We look forward to a long, productive relationship with the gang from HAMilton OH!”

R&L’s Roger Smallwood added “We work hard to have all ham radio products in stock and ready for immediate shipment. From a 50 cent connector to the thousand dollar radio, our customers will receive the same fast service at a great price. No one likes to hear that an item is out of stock or it will be drop shipped from the manufacturer. We already know InnovAntennas are high quality products and will be very well known in the USA in a short period of time. Our goal is to have it in stock when you are ready for it!”

Yes, I am still alive. With the end of the year and the end of a semester at school there was too much going on to sit down and write something properly. But if you have followed the blog on my website you know I have been a bit busy with the hobby after all. The itch has to be scratched somehow.

Chinese New Year is upon us, which means a lot of festivities here in Asia. Expect some more activity on the bands from China and Taiwan as this is the only time of the year that people get some longer time off from work. The coming year is the year of the Dragon and I live in Longtan (meaning Dragon Lake) so my new QSL card will have to be based on a dragon as well. Stay tuned.

After a busy half year it was time to relax a bit and so we went to the southern tip of Taiwan last week. Temperatures were such that the kids could play on the beach and me and my wife could lounge on deck chairs. I didn’t take a radio with me, but still had an interesting encounter with amateur radio.

In the taxi to the National Museum of Marine Biology and Aquarium I noticed the driver had a 2m/70cm rig in his dashboard. So I asked him for his call sign. Instead he gave me his on-air handle. So I asked him again, explaining that when he applied for a licence he got himself a call sign beginning with BM (which is the prefix for the third or entry class station licence). He didn’t remember, because it was over ten years ago that he took the exam and why use a call sign anyway, everybody knew him by his handle? He only uses his rig to communicate with other drivers to warn where the police has put up speeding and alcohol checks.

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how amateur radio works in Taiwan. Or as I saw it on a Taiwanese forum: “The third class licence is simply to legalize the ‘sausages‘ out there.” CB radio, but with a licence. Happy Chinese New Year to you all!

Recently, I made a complaint on a well known ham forum concerning derogatory posts regarding God and Religion. I was practically told by the Administrator and Manager of the site in a PM that If I didn’t like it I could lump it! He then proceeded to insult God and Religion himself and so it became obvious that such remarks were a reflection of him and how he ran his site.

My question to hams: Should there be tighter controls over what is said on such forums?

I know blasphemy laws do not exist in the United states and are incompatible with the Constitutional provision for ‘Freedom of Expression,’ but surely forums like this are international in nature and include hams of all religious faiths.

As a journalist I believe in freedom of expression but feel this must be tempered with the protection of inalienable rights, including religious belief.

I would be interested to hear what others think?

Time sure flies. We are fast approaching the fifth anniversary of the end of Morse code testing for U.S. amateur radio licensing. Prior to February 23rd 2007, an applicant to the amateur radio service that was interested in world wide communication needed not just exhibit a smattering of radio theory, but was also required to demonstrate a deftness in the manly art of telegraphy. A lot of predictions were made, from the death spiral of ham radio into the swirling cesspool of citizens band, to an actual heaven on earth brought about by a genius class, who, once freed from the shackles of a five word per minute test, would be able to deliver ham radio to the promised land. So how did it wash out? It turns out everyone was a little bit right.

A lot of new blood was brought into the hobby, in fact the number of U.S. licensees recently broke the 700,000 mark. Among our new brothers (and sisters!) are some really sharp children of the computer age. I’m of the era when the internet was just a clever system of pneumatic tubes, so I look forward to picking the brains of these nerds. More operators also bring different points of view that make for interesting QSO’s. I’d even call some ex CB’ers true radio men.

The floodgates also let in a few mopes. Five years later many are still on their HT talking about getting on the HF bands. Most of those that made it really aren’t much of a threat to the airwaves though, feeding their signal into a slinky just isn’t likely to cause an international incident. We shouldn’t throw the babies out with the bath water though. Microphone shyness, or other commitments shouldn’t be construed as a lack of dedication to the radio art. My own on air blunders have been met only with kindness. A warm hand on the shoulder can lead these guys down the right path. Ah the true path.

So what about CW? Alive and kicking! To the uninformed Morse’s code probably seems rearward looking, like a trip to the renaissance fair, or perhaps a route 66 tinplate sign hanging in the garage. Of course CW has a heritage and it’s traditions, but it’s beauty isn’t trapped in history. Just because 32,000 years ago one of our forebears recorded the glories of a hunt on the walls of a cave, it certainly doesn’t make capturing a likeness with pencil and paper any less lovely. CW gives the operator not just the chance to buy something, but the chance to be something. CW is the mode of craftsmanship. When Tut’s tomb was prized open, the world wasn’t admiring the desicated bones or the incestuous bloodlines of the boyhood king. It was (and still is ) in awe of the craftsmanship of the workmen that filled that time capsule. I don’t expect Morse telegraphy, or even ham radio, to stoke the furnace in everybody’s loins, but Marconi’s gift gives every ham the chance to craft signals that will still be coursing through the aether long after the four winds have reduced the pyramids to the finest powder. To me that’s pretty darned cool.

“CQ, CQ, Panama Canal.”

What? Is he kidding? Is that some kind of special event station?

You might hear some strange QSO’s on the air this year as hams work to earn the DXCC Diamond Challenge, commemorating the 75th anniversary of the DXCC award. To earn the award you have to contact 100 or more of the countries that were on the first DXCC list 75 years ago.

Many of the countries from 1937 no longer in exist. That creates some interesting challenges when pursuing this award. The ARRL has a list of current entities to represent former countries from 1937 on their website. Work Ethiopia to get credit for Abyssinia. For the former Belgian Congo, you can work Democratic Republic of the Congo (9Q), Burundi (9U) or Rwanda (9X). How easy is that! The city of Kaliningrad (RF2), which is its own DXCC entity today but politically part of Russia, gives you credit for 1937 Germany, when it was known as Konigsberg. There are some oddities in the list.

My personal favorite is the Canal Zone (KZ5), which of course is now part of Panama. To qualify for the CZ credit, you have to work an Panamanian (HP) station that is within 8 kilometers of the canal.

How would that work? Let’s You might try . . .”CQ, CQ, Panama Canal within 8 KM”…. Or “CQ HP

This is one recent phone contact

ME: QRZ, QRZ HP only.

[I’m thinking. Maybe I’ll get lucky.]

HP Station: HI OM UR 59 here, Name is Ralf. BTU.

[ Hmm…So far, so good…]

ME: Thanks for coming back to me Ralf. What is your exact QTH? Are you within 8 KM of the canal? Over

HP Ralf: What canal? UR 59 hr too. Over.

[I’m thinking maybe Ralf is really in Honduras(HR) or he needs a map.]

ME: The Panama Canal, You know, the big ditch where all the boats go. BTU Ralf

HP Ralf: Oh that canal. I don’t know. I haven’t looked lately. Does that matter? BTW, WX is blah, blah, blah. Rig here is . . .blah, blah, blah. Antenna is blah, blah, blah. Do you want my Grid Square? How about you? Over.

(Obviously Ralf missed the e-mail. Let’s cut to the chase Ralf]

ME: That’s great Ralf. Yes its for a new DXCC award.

HP Ralf: Man, I never heard of that one! That’s some crazy award. I don’t do kilometers, how many feet is that?

[ARGHH! OK, maybe we are getting somewhere at last.]

ME: Its about 26,200 feet. Over

HP Ralf: Sorry OM, there was some bad QRM that time. A lot of guys are calling me like I’m some rare DX all of a sudden. Say again, how many feet is that?

[Panic is setting in.]

ME: 26,200. 26 Two zero zero.

HP Ralf: That is a lot of feet dude. Don’t think I have a tape measure that long. Do you mean from the center of the canal?

[Getting desperate.]

ME: Can you just estimate?

HP Ralf You mean guess? I guess so.

ME: Cool, Good enough for me. Got you in the log. Thanks Ralf. 73

You don’t need confirmations, its on the honor system. You can find the rules at

http://www.arrl.org/news/arrl-diamond-dxcc-challenge

A list of the entities and the corresponding countries today is available on the ARRL web site at:

http://www.arrl.org/files/file/Diamond%20DXCC/DXCC75_Entity%20List%20TABLE_1_3x.pdf

Good Luck and have fun.

73,

Ron, AE5NO

A short video RXing PI9ISS

Andre Kuipers is a Dutch astronaut in space at the ISS at the moment. Since he’s Dutch he is the operator behind the HAM radio when skeds are made with Dutch and Belgian schools. His call is PI9ISS. Today he was answering some questions from Belgian students. I knew that the contact was actually made from Belgium this time so there was a chance to receive him. Since I was on the job I was not able to listen to the full session but managed to hear some of the overs. Of course my colleague had to listen to it as well, actually at first he didn’t even believe it was Andre from space till he listened a few overs.  The signal was most of the time full scale, after 10 minutes it went down fast and I lost PI9ISS in the noise.

Radio Netherlands relaystation entrance

Well I was home this afternoon cleaning the temporarely radioshack a bit. And had of course the radio on receive. I suddenly heard PJ4B from Bonaire Isl. on 12m SSB in a small pile-up. PJ4B was again transmitting from he Radio Netherlands Relay station site and used the commercial antennesystem. They told that it had a gain of 21dB over a normal dipole. Very nice steady signal peaking S7 here on the horizontal loop antenna. They were asking another Dutch station (PE2MC) what the difference was between signals of PJ4C and their signal. I couldn’t hear what Marco was telling but it must be a large difference as I couldn’t even hear PJ4C who was a few KHz down. Well, PJ4NX Peter was on the mike when he was calling for Dutch stations, so I had a easy chance to make the QSO.

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