AmateurRadio.com

If you mention that you are a radio amateur to any Norwegian who was old enough to watch TV in the mid 70’s then he is bound to respond with LA8PV. This was the callsign of the fictious figure Marve Fleksnes in the comedy the “Radiot”. To bad for the poor guy who actually was given that callsign some years later. I had contact with him on CW (= morse) in 2002 just after I got my license and I just couldn’t believe that anybody actually was using that particular callsign.

The first of three cuts can be viewed in the embedded Youtube video. Unfortunately I couldn’t find any clip that was subtitled in English, but the first minute or so is almost silent and is about the joy of getting a replacement DF1987B (sic) tube for his transmitter. The tube is supposedly plugged into the output tube socket of a Quad II audio amplifier and then he is ready to go on the air. Later one gets a glimpse of his AR88D receiver.

As the story goes, the Norwegian Post and Telcom Authorities, had marked off LA8PV as a callsign that shouldn’t be used. But due to a mistake they blacklisted LA8PW instead. I had contact with LA8PV almost every year up to and including 2007, but have never had it since. I understand why now, because QRZ.com says that the real LA8PV finally must have given up and gotten the new call sign, LA2WRA, on 4 Jan. 2008. I don’t envy him the fate of having been made LA8PV, and fully understand why he finally abandoned that callsign.

The source for much of this story is a Swedish discussion page on hamradio.se. Marve Fleksnes and LA8PV also aired on Swedish television and were very popular there as well.

Sverre Holm, LA3ZA, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Norway. Contact him at [email protected].

And I’m not talking about antennas …….

Larry Makoski, W2LJ, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Jersey, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

The 50MHz and higher Es season seems to have taken a while to get started this year. For the last week or so, there have been some openings, but I’ve missed them.

This weekend, I’ve at least managed a couple of contacts. The first, yesterday, with Max the cat’s help was a local one; M0RSE. A special call to promote morse code operated by members of FOC. Yesterday afternoon and evening there was some Es, but I didn’t get on until later. I was pleased to work CT1BXT for my first Es of the year.

You may remember that MW0IAN very kindly gave me a portable whip to work with the Palstar 50MHz handheld. It occurred to me this morning that it should work very well with the FT817, so I will try that on bike portable expeditions this summer. Thanks Ian!

Tim Kirby, G4VXE, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Oxfordshire, England. Contact him at [email protected].

I finally took the plunge. I am just getting back into building my own radio gear after a few years off the wagon operating primarily QRO commercial gear. As I have built gear in the past, I found it very satisfying to put something together that works and then use it to make QSO's. However, while I was away from the kit building scene there was a step change in the technology of radio components and the methodology to build them, that is SMD, (surface mount devices). These are very small capacitors, resistors, diodes, etc... that greatly reduce the size of whatever you are building. Let me repeat, very small. They are tweezers and magnifying glass kind of small. I would say simply, that I was very intimidated by this change. However I wanted to learn.

When Steve, KD1JV, kitted another run of his MTR (Mountain Top Rig), I wanted one. It is however an SMD kit, but I thought why not take the plunge. However when the kit arrived with its cool looking case and I looked at the components I thought maybe I should have someone else build this kit. I didn't want to ruin such a cool radio with my learning mistakes. So I outsourced that one. However, I still wanted to learn SMD construction. Somehow I felt like a QRP wimp because I couldn't build SMD projects. So, what to do?

As I searched the QRP kit world, I found the perfect project. The SMK-2, a kit from Doug Hendricks, www.qrpkits.com, is a 300mw, 40m crystal controlled transceiver. It is specifically designed for SMD training. So I ordered the kit.


Mike Crownover, AD5A, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Texas, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

RBN spots (click to enlarge)

The weather once again was great and I wanted to take the Alexloop out onto my back deck to see  how it would do once again. The other day I had no spots at all but this day was a complete different story. I was operating  my KX3 at 3 watts. The antenna as was already mention is the Alexloop mounted on a tripod. I called CQ on 20m,30m and 40m it was the late afternoon and nothing could be heard at my end at all. I was spotted only in the States but conditions have not been all that great. I did hear some American stations on 30m but they were just at the noise level. By the spots on the Reverse Beacon Network my signal is getting out! I am excited to see how this antenna does once the condition improve.
Mike Weir, VE9KK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Brunswick, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

Series Six Episode Nine of the ICQ Podcast has been released. News Stories include :-

• The P5 Project
• RILGES East Sussex Repeater Group
• New Amateur Radio Club for Bath
• New QRSS/WSPR ham radio kit
• Free WARD certificate
• South African Hams to get 472 kHz license
• ZB2TEN beacon is now fully operational
• Ham Radio 50 MHz operation in New Zealand
• MB7IDA - Danbury Echolink frequency change
• Taxi drivers fined for using GPS Jammers
• Norfolk Island
• Isle of Skye activation
• Queen's Award for Wood & Douglas

Leslie Butterfields (G0CIB) joins us to discuss International Amateur / Ham Radio Beacon Project plus Austalian report from Ed Durrant (VK2JI) and our new north American correspondent Frank Howell (K4FMH)

Colin Butler, M6BOY, is the host of the ICQ Podcast, a weekly radio show about Amateur Radio. Contact him at [email protected].

Series Six Episode Nine of the ICQ Podcast has been released. News Stories include :-

• The P5 Project
• RILGES East Sussex Repeater Group
• New Amateur Radio Club for Bath
• New QRSS/WSPR ham radio kit
• Free WARD certificate
• South African Hams to get 472 kHz license
• ZB2TEN beacon is now fully operational
• Ham Radio 50 MHz operation in New Zealand
• MB7IDA - Danbury Echolink frequency change
• Taxi drivers fined for using GPS Jammers
• Norfolk Island
• Isle of Skye activation
• Queen's Award for Wood & Douglas

Leslie Butterfields (G0CIB) joins us to discuss International Amateur / Ham Radio Beacon Project plus Austalian report from Ed Durrant (VK2JI) and our new north American correspondent Frank Howell (K4FMH)

Colin Butler, M6BOY, is the host of the ICQ Podcast, a weekly radio show about Amateur Radio. Contact him at [email protected].