AmateurRadio.com

Goodbye crazy driving

The new temp antenna

I have been very busy these past few weeks and my lack of blog posts can testify to that. Julie and I have been bouncing around some very big ideas. We have some very exciting plans ahead of us that will both help our over all well being. It also will bring about some huge changes with my hobby but I am very happy to say that it's a challenge I can meet. Both Julie and I have over an hour drive each way to work. We get up very early, get home late and to be early each evening. Then there is the winter months with the snow and crazy driving. We have decided to put our home up for sale here in the country and move to Toronto. We will be living in a condo as our kids have moved out and are doing just fine. This means downsizing both with our home belongings and my ham radio. We want to get a place that is in Toronto and over looks Lake Ontario. Both Julie and I are very excited about this and with this move I will be 10 min's from work and Julie 15 min's. We will have a fantastic board walk just steps from out condo. It thrills us that all the advantages of the city will be not an hour away but minutes.
So how does this affect radio for me.....well my Attic DX EE has been sold and already is taken down! Not to worry I still have my Alexloop that I can set up in my radio room until we sell and move. I have some gear for sale and it is slow but sure selling. I have sold the Sub receiver in my Elecraft K3 as I will be very limited with antennas in the new place. I don't have any room for an antenna for a sub receiver.  So I have been going over antenna options in a condo. There are far and few BUT one main advantage I will have that I don't have now is height! In the condo we are looking at the 11th floor and
up. I am thinking of using at first my Alexloop and then going to the MFJ loop antenna. This will be a new adventure in my QRP ham radio challenge.

Mike Weir, VE9KK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Brunswick, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

Having seen some interesting tweets from Colin G6AVK about some good activity on 472khz WSPR over the last couple of days, I thought I would leave my receiver running overnight.

The results are not bad, although I’ve done better. I don’t think I’ve heard G3WCB before, so nice to hear a new station and always good to hear the Dutch stations.

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

We are rapidly approaching the first anniversary of the strange disappearance of the Lost Island DX Society (LIDS) as first reported on this blog. The LIDS were last heard from via the  Fi-Ni Report on September 18, 2012, reporting on the Talk Like A Pirate Contest.

Most people have given up the search for the LIDS, given the extended period of time they have been missing. One consistent rumor circulating in the DX community is that the LIDS were trying to join the Amsterdam Island DXpedition (FT5ZM) for a January 2014 activation of that island. Unfortunately, the LIDS did not realize that the island is in the middle of the Indian Ocean and not in Amsterdam. As the story goes, they had already bought nonrefundable airline tickets to Europe before they found this out. It seems that they may try to recover with a Summits On The Air (SOTA) activation, if they can find a hill high enough within walking distance of their Amsterdam hotel.

Fearing that the LIDS are simply lost somewhere in Europe, a group of hams is petitioning the White House to launch a surveillance drone to find them. As one ham said, “They’ve got them dang drones flying around spying on everyone, they might as well do some good.”

I agree completely. If nothing else, Do It For The Children.

73, Bob K0NR

Bob Witte, KØNR, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Colorado, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

AmateurLogic.TV Episode 58 is now available for download.

George, Tommy and Wayne’s adventure at the Huntsville Hamfest. We had a great time visiting with old and new friends and seeing new products. Peter has some footage from the 2013 DATV QSO Party. An update on our 8th Anniversary Contest and more.

1:08:39 of Amateur Radio Entertainment
Download

View in web browser: YouTube

George Thomas, W5JDX, is co-host of AmateurLogic.TV, an original amateur radio video program hosted by George Thomas (W5JDX), Tommy Martin (N5ZNO), Peter Berrett (VK3PB), and Emile Diodene (KE5QKR). Contact him at [email protected].

Tonight I planned a sked with PE1BVQ Hans with JT9 on 2 meters. And yes, I heard the JT9 signal of Hans, unfortunately, he didn't hear my signal. I only have a vertical for 2 meters, and there is 116 km between us. My antenna is without any gain. ;-) But is was nice trying. Thanks Hans!

Test with different power levels. 10 Watts was still strong enough, 5 Watts: no trace at all. You should expect some power level of -20dB. Nice trying. Maybe also a sked with Bas PE4BAS in the future when his new shack is ready.

In the early morning I was calling CQ on 40 meter with JT9. No takers, but spotters.

Paul Stam, PC4T, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from the Netherlands. Contact him at [email protected].

Its no secret that the amateur radio population is, on average, a little older than the current population's average age. That is a nice way of saying that we are older. With age many things accrue to us, wisdom, grandchildren, pensions and other good things. However there are some other things we tend to inherit as we get older that aren't so good including a few more health risks. We have a few extra pounds, our cholesterol goes up and we aren't in the same condition as we once were. We all know the story if we are more than 40 years old.

Recently, a very active SOTA activator who had probably 80 or 90 summits to his credit suffered a heart attack while on a climb. These events are always a little sobering because we aren't so different in age. It isn't intuitive that an active individual would be a heart attack candidate. The fact is he had 100% blockage in one of his arteries. My son is an MD and explained that the body will build it's own bypass system over time, so 100% blockage means that the main artery was blocked, but there were several smaller bypass blood vessels that were at least transporting some blood, but obviously in the case, not enough.

There were two lessons to learn from this incident. The first in the preventive part. After say, age 50, we should have a full blown physical at least every other year, complete with an EKG that will check you heart capacity and function. If you have to borrow money to pay for the physical, you should do it. A physical is not an expense, but an investment that will yield a nice return in the form of additional years to enjoy all the things you have worked for in your life. We should do some exercise at least 4 times a week, even if it's just walking for 30 minutes. If you aren't currently exercising, get the physical first and if you are exercising don't assume that you don't have issues. The example above should be enough evidence to convince you of that. One health issue associated with ham radio is that we can do it sitting down which isn't necessarily good from a health perspective.

The second lesson from this is the pound of cure. If  you are involved in outdoor activities, hiking, biking, etc.. carry a small first aid kit and include aspirin in the kit. This will help to temporarily mitagate heart attack symptoms until help can arrive. Get a book on outdoor first aid and understand what you can do when you are miles away from help and have a medical emergency. There are even several apps available for your smart phone that give solid first aid advice.

The outcome of the incident above was a good as you could hope. His hiking buddy was calm and solicited help from other hikers, one of which had some aspirin in his pack. They had cell service and could call 911 and the victim was flown to a hospital where a stent was put in. (If no phone service, have a 2m rig with the local repeaters in the memory) He is much better and should be able to get back to climbing soon. His recovery is due, in no small part, to the alert reactions of those around him.

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