News/Blogg Archives 2004 / 2005 / 2006 / 2007 / 2008 / 2009
18-10-06 7 days, zero sunspots.
Well I am still finding it hard to make time for the radio as I am still trying to get the QTH as normal as possible since the home improvements, which are still going on but in a far smaller scale (just daft little jobs left now). Any free time I do have I am spending on my Xbox 360, playing games, having fun and generally chilling and relieving stress.
Mind you as we have not had a single sunspot for the last 7 days I doubt I am missing any thing. According to the forecasts it is set to continue this way for a lot longer yet. Previous cycle minimums have had zero sunspots for 6-7 weeks in a row, so could this finally be the real sunspot minimum? Only time will tell.
Contacts I have made since my last update have been with the following stations R7C/4, IU1WFS, 7S2S, LZ1900K and EM1OM.
Still had no time to write an in depth review of the IC-7000, but rest assured I will. At the same time I keep finding the features on the IC-7000 to be extraordinary. The filtering as an example, is so good its difficult to describe how good it is.
28-09-06 Home improvements.
Well Since the last update I have not had much time to play radio. I had to dismantle the shack and take the antenna down as we have been getting a lot of work done on the house.
We have had new windows, heating, boiler, re-wire, bath and a fitted kitchen. All that remains to be done now is the new doors, tiling and some plastering and joinery work to finish off.
Since my last update I have only managed 5 contacts, these being YT6A, II8M, S50FIRAC, LZ2KV and EA5/ON4LO/P. II8M and EA5/ON4LO/P where made using the TH3 in the loft with only 2 elements on. Each time I broke a pile up and got through with a single call.
Will be more active in the next week or so as the building work gets closer to completion.
06-09-06 July, August activity or lack of it.
I looked through a graphic representation of my log for this year and noticed a huge downward spiral in July and especially August. This trend seems to be the same for the past few years and I wondered why.
Well it didn't take me long to realise. This lack of activity is due to the summer holidays and the fact that I prefer to spend time with my kids than play radio.
Well now the kids are back at school and I have a new radio so no doubt I will be seeing more activity as long as the conditions allow it. I was surprised by the conditions last night as I heard a few South America stations. Well things can only get better and according to some experts the new Cycle has started and according to others the old one hasn't ended yet. Either way we have a long way to go before conditions are great again.
05-09-06 New DXCC
Well had a few contacts this evening. Had contacts with EW8AM (Belarus) and SV1UT (Greece), but by far the best contact was with 9Y4NZ in Trinidad Tobago. This was a new DXCC country for myself and considering the poor conditions of late was a big surprise.
I have sound bite of the majority of my IC7000 contacts but have not had time to upload them.
04-09-06 990 staying?
Well the guy who wanted the 990 has changed his mind but only while he thinks it over as he has concerns over the availability of parts should the 990 develop any faults. I fully understand his concerns and if the 990 stays I will not be worried because I still love the radio and I will just use it for data modes and CW.
When I received his email I was disappointed and relieved at the same time. Disappointed because I had boxed her up and made ready to post, relieved because I got to use that fantastic radio again, and if the truth be known I don't really want to part with the 990, but the money would be useful to fill some of the gap left by the purchase of the IC7000.
03-09-06 More contacts.
Today I had two contacts on the IC7000. One with 9A/OM5AA (Croatia) and W2IRT (USA) who was also using an IC7000. We had a good chat about the fantastic filtering. Peter W2IRT also had a fully filtered FT-1000 but even he remarked that he finds the RX on the little Icom IC7000 better.
31-08-06 Love it even more.
I used to think my 990 was one of the best radio's around, but then I compared it to some modern technology. The 990 was a 1991 vintage radio and I have to say; compared to the new and very young IC-7000, the 990 really showed it's age, especially on receive.
Don't get me wrong I would have a 990 again, any time; but it would be only as a back up radio. The IC-7000 with all of it's bells and whistles leaves the 990 in the dark. I was never a big fan of DSP, but DSP has come along so much in the past few years that I find it hard to imagine using a radio with out it now. Bare in mind that unless you are getting at least 32 bit DSP technology at the IF stage then forget it. I have used radios with DSP before such as the IC-746, IC-706 MKII and MKIIG, TS-870 and TS-2000. Not one of them gets close to the IC-7000, in fact none of them on RX as far as I am concerned could beat the good ole 990, hence why I owned her so long.
Well the king is dead; long live the king. The IC-7000 is missing two things. I would love to have it in a bigger box with all it's features controlled by a button or a knob and I really miss an auto ATU. However if the IC-7000 was in a bigger box with all it's features controlled by a button or a knob and had an auto ATU than it would cost a lot more than £1000 and would probably be called some thing else like an IC756ProIII or IC-7800. Yes it is that good.
Had a couple of contacts today with 4U1ITU at United Nations head quarters in Geneva. Also had a contact with 9A3YM. Both stations commented on how good I sounded.
I have added a picture of the IC-7000 in the my equipment page. I am really looking forward to Sunday so I can spend a full day putting the IC-7000 through it's paces
30-08-06 Contact before work.
Had a contact with ES15L before I had to leave for work this morning. He advised how good I was sounding. Would have loved to stay in the shack all day but that wouldn't pay the bills.
28-08-06 Icom IC-7000, first impressions.
Well when I arrived home yesterday I immediately set up the IC-7000 next to the 990.
When I initially heard the IC-7000 I thought something was wrong. The receive was very quiet. Switched over to the 990 and I was getting S3-S5 of noise. so I scanned 20 mtrs and found a 59 signal. Tuned the Icom to the same frequency and switched the antenna over to the Icom. There was the same signal at 59 but no noise with it.
I decided to reset the CPU on the Icom so it was back to factory settings. I performed the reset and still the RX was quiet, but wait, the RX was not quiet it just didn't receive any noise. I had no DSP turned on and had the bandwidth set the same as the 990, but the Icom received no noise compared to the 990. For around 3 hours I played with the RX filter settings and DSP. It is fantastic. Far better than I expected. I did a quick TX and monitored my audio via my 990, the TX audio was also amazing and that was from the stock mic.
Well the 990 got boxed up and made ready to send to it's new owner. I had some great times with the 990 and it was faultless. I would not hesitate to own another one.
Any way back to the IC-7000. Had my 1st contact with the IC7000 with Steve 9A2YM and Steve advised that I sounded fantastic.
I am finding some great features on this radio. The RX filter settings are amazing and the DSP is phenomenal. I will do an in depth review ASAP. I will also add some photo's soon.
27-08-06 Major Change.
Well it's been a while since my last update and things have really changed.
The FT-990 has almost gone to a new home and will do so in the next week. The FT-736 is leaving for pastures new this week and the Behringer audio kit has gone (again).
I decided I was spending way too much time with the hobby so decided to slim the shack down to one radio. I narrowed it down to one of three radios. Icom IC-756Pro, Icom IC-7000 or a Yaesu FT1000MP. The main priority now for me was HF, then 6 and VHF/UHF didn't really enter the equation but would be a bonus.
I advertised my 990 and 736 on various web sites both for sale and as part of an exchange for one of the three radios I had decided upon. I noticed a wanted add for some Behringer audio processing kit. I answered the wanted add and the Behringer kit was snapped up. 1 down 2 to go.
I had lots of part exchange offers regarding the 736 and both the 990 and 736 together but nothing took my fancy. I also received a lot of emails from people trying to grab a bargain by offering me stupidly low prices.
At the same time I was trying to make deals with various people to get a radio that I required, but with out success. After 1 week I had only sold the Behringer kit, so I decided I would give the 990 and 736 till the end of today and if they hadn't sold I would keep them and try and sell them at a later date. At the same time I would still purchase one of the radios I was looking for. Well within a couple of hours the 736 was sold and a cheque was on it's way me.
I found an IC-7000 in Leeds being sold by Bob, G7PAF but unfortunately he was asking a little more than I was prepared to pay and Bob was not interested in any thing I had to offer in exchange. I also found two 756 Pro's at the price I was willing to pay but the major drawback was they where located to far away for me to try before I could buy. So back to the Hunt.
I then found an FT-1000MP on the ML&S website at a fair price. Only problem was I do not have a credit or debit card in which to pay for the goods. So up stepped a work colleague and he offered to use his own card to buy the radio and I just give him the cash. So ML&S where phoned and I asked if I was to purchase the FT-1000MP at £795 would they do free delivery? The advisor who was called Jason took my number and advised me he would call me back.
Good to his word Jason called me back and advised that they would not be able to offer free delivery, but they would only charge me £15. I was very disappointed by this but decided to carry on and order. I explained to Jason that although the radio was for me I would not be paying for it. This created a problem because as my colleague had never had any dealings with ML&S before they would need a faxed copy of proof of address for fraud prevention purposes. This proof had to be in the way of a utility bill or a Bank Statement.
Well now we hit a snag. All my colleague had with him as proof of address was a letter from the NHS. Unfortunately this was not good enough for what ever reason. So I decided to leave it and advised Jason that I would call back the following day to proceed as my colleague advised he would bring a statement in to fax to ML&S. I then realised that I would not be in work the following day (24-08-06) as it was my day off, so it was decided to leave it till Friday and hope the radio would still be there.
Well I got home on Wednesday night and reposted my adds for the 990 advising that I was only going to advertise for a few more days before boxing it away. I also noticed that Bob G7PAF had reduced the price of his IC-7000 a little. So I decided to make Bob an offer and he accepted. All I had to do now was figure out a way of getting to Leeds. I made a few phones calls to a few friends and just had to wait on a decision.
Well early Friday morning I was advised I had a lift for Sunday (today), so I notified Bob straight away. When I got in Friday night I had some messages regarding the 990. I passed my details on and I got a phone call the following day and now the 990 is sold also.
Well today came and off to Leeds I went thanks to my good friend Adrian, M1BOC. We stopped at Bobs for around 1 hour while I played with the IC-7000 and while he made a few contacts to show me the radio working. All in all I was impressed with the IC-7000 and paid my money. Cheers Bob (G7PAF).
Arrived back home at around 3pm and Adrian being the sort of guy he is would not take any money for petrol. Cheers Ade your a star.
See update tomorrow for impression on the IC-7000.
16-07-06 Not to much to report.
Well I have not done much radio wise apart from play with my audio settings. I am very settled on the settings I use now and I have had some outstanding reports regarding my audio. I have also spent some time updating the Hi-Fi SSB page.
Since my last update I have worked the following stations.
Today DL9RG (Lost due to QSB), DF7ZM and a good old rag chew with Keith 2E0JKD, all 20mtrs.
13-07-06 I had one contact with CU7X on 20mtrs and on the 13-07-06 I had one contact with HB0/PA5MW on 6mtrs.
11-07-06 I had 6mtr contacts with EH6CC, F5EOT and F6GPT. I also workedLA7YX and MI0MSR on 20mtrs. MI0MSR complimented that my audio sounded so good he had to talk to me.
Well that's all for now.
09-07-06 New look to the shack, Back in to HIFI SSB Audio.
Well the last few days have seen some changes to the shack. The TS-711E, TS-120S and PS-30 are set to be sold. These are being sold to make way for some new Behringer Audio Kit which I purchased off Phil 2E0BBP yesterday. Cheers Phil and thanks for bringing the kit over. It's great to get back in to the audio side of things.
My shack is now starting to look like it used to and my audio is sounding almost as good as it used to. I have added a couple of pics to the My Equipment page of how the shack looks now.
I have had some great contacts on 6mtrs since my last update I also worked some good into G propagation this evening.
Stations worked since my last update are as follows.
Today on 6mtrs I worked EH5FKX/1, IZ5DKO/5, IZ1DNJ, F6GPT and F1MOZ. On 20mtrs 2E0JKD twice, G0NMP, 2E0LIB and G4FQW. Had 1 contact on 2mtrs with 2E0OCE who was testing a new antenna.
On 07-07-06 I worked HB9EP (New DXCC), IK1SOW, EA6SX, F6GPT, IW3GXW, IZ5EME, IW1AZJ, DL6MFK and IK2DZN all on 6mtrs with 10 watts.
On 05-07-05 I Worked ZP6CW in Paraguay (new DXCC) on 20mtrs CW.
04-07-06 Changes to BR68, Goodbye RA17.
Ofcom have announced some changes to the BR68 which will come into force from the 1st of October. I won't go into the details here, but look here for more info and view the PDF doc here.
When I have had sufficient time to digest the info I will comment.
Well its been a while since my last update. I have done a lot but not a lot radio wise.
Had my 40th birthday, worse ever birthday. It was rubbish, but at least I had a good drinking session a couple of days later.
I have sold the RA17 to Ian 2E1RDX, pleasure meeting you mate. Have lots of other kit for sale with buyers for some. Will also be getting some audio kit shortly from 2E0BBP. Cant wait to use some nice Behringer kit again.
Only had a few contacts since my last update. They have been DL5MEV, OD5NH, and DJ3HJ. Thats all.
23-06-06 New Radio.
Thanks to Colm 2E0OCE I now have another of my dream radios in my shack. Along with the 990 I always wanted an FT-736R and now I have one.
CHEERS ONCE AGAIN MATE. TOP MAN.
Click here to view pic or visit My Equipment page
21-06-06 Long time no update.
I must apologise for the lack of updates, but the World Cup has taken over my life for a bit so I haven't done much radio wise any way. I have also got back into game consoles in a big way with the purchase of an X-BOX 360 and some new games for my PS2.
Any way getting back to radio. Contacts I have had since my last update are as follows, DR2006F, DQ2006H, DQ2006P (now hav all DQ stations for World Cup Award), DH7ZP, DL1JU, RU6DX/P, ZB2FX, EE7WFC, DR2006C DR2006P, UA6AF/P, DR2006E(now have all DR stations for world cup award), DK3EU, DF3IS, DJ4IB, DG1OJ, DK6BT, DK9VX, DL1HRN, DK0ZAB, DL1EFY/P and finally 2E0OCE..
I may shortly be selling some equipment to make room for other kit. Looks like the TS-711E will be going along with the Adonis AM-308, Kenwood PS-30 and TS-120S, Racal RA17, Jaybeam TB3 Antenna.
Hopefully I will be getting some new audio kit and a new radio soon, hence the need to make space.
04-06-06 Lots of Germans today.
Had an early morning contact with NM1KY on 20mtr SSB. This station was on a submarine. Had contacts on 20mtr SSB with ON4GDV/A in Goe Castle Reference LG-053, DG0GCS, DB7BR, DJ7CI, special call ON4BRN/LIGHT, ON84WMM, DQ2006C again, 8S0HRA on an Ice Breaker, DL0MBO, DQ2006J, DL2MRK, DL7RML on 10mtrs and finally DL5ZBS. Finished the night off with a quick rag chew with 2E0JKD and 2E0OCE.
03-02-06 More contacts today.
Had contacts with DR2006C 20mtr CW and another DQ2006? on 40mtr CW but for some reason it failed to save in my computer log due to a crash. Also had a contact IQ1SP and 4N150JA on 20mtr SSB.
02-06-06
Only has 2 contacts today. DQ2006W 20mtr SSB and DR2006H 20mtr CW
01-06-06 BIG BIG BIG BEAM
Well Spent the afternoon erecting the Jaybeam TB3 tri-band beam with some help from 2E0OCE. Wow what a beast. This antenna is massive. I had attached the reflector to the boom and I was just finishing attaching the director to the boom when my next door neighbour appeared in his garden and asked (in jest) why I was putting a rugby goal up? I knew what he meant, this antenna is big, not quite rugby goal size but not miles away hi hi.
Well after I had finished getting the driven elements on it was time to try the beast. Because of the size of my garden (small) and the size of the beam (big) and because of other items in the garden (the kids swings and a brick shed) I could only point the antenna 2 ways. North East or South West. So as the antenna was pointing South West for South America I left it there hoping to give it a try with some DX. Well I turned on the 990 and the one thing I noticed straight away was the lack of noise. I was expecting to hear a lot of noise due to the antenna being on the floor, but there was no noise.
A few EU stations where on 20mtrs but no South America. I called YT0TESLA a few times but no luck, mind you he was on the back and side of the beam. I decided to switch the director and reflector around so the beam would be pointing North East. One shout later and YT0TESLA came straight back with a 59 report. Wow what a difference the direction made even though I was not pointing directly at him. Unfortunately there was no DX to be heard to the North East either so I decided to dismantle the antenna.
Before I did that I requested the XYL had a look to se what she thought. Well on seeing the antenna a few expletives came out of her mouth followed by no chance are you putting that up.
Well I am working on her. Next time I am off work I will take a photo of the beast of an antenna in the garden.
29-05-06 Poor Conditions
At the time of typing this update 1324 BST the bands have been pretty poor and I have had 1 contact with DQ2006U. I am happy to say though that the bands are starting to improve so watch this space.
Well I ended up having a good rag chew with 2E0JKD and 2E0OCE on 20 mtrs SSB. I also had contacts with J48PJ (EU-174) Thasos Island 20mtr CW, ED8CID a special call for Canary Island Day 20mtr SSB, LZ130B (Bulgeria) 20mtr SSB and P40A (Aruba) on 20mtr CW.
28-05-06 New Antenna & Not Much Activity.
Today I was given a great antenna by my good friend Keith 2E0JKD. The antenna is a Jaybeam TB3 Tri-band 3 element beam for 20 15 and 10. It looks an absolute monster and can't wait to erect it.
Cheers Keith (2E0JKD), as soon as the VK's and ZL's are being worked expect to be passed through mate. You are an absolute diamond geezer and when ever I can return the favours I will.
Well due to the WPX CW contest SSB was a bit thin on the ground for contacts. I had contacts with SV9GPV and also had my 1st ever 30mtr contact with OH0B via good old CW. My last contact was with Pedro (CX5BW) in Uruguay. I have now had 3 contacts with Pedro.
27-05-06 Active?
It has been 10 days since my last update and at long last I have managed to get active on the bands.
Today I have had one contact, but what a great contact. I worked PJ2T on 20 mtr CW in Netherlands Antilles.
Below is a history of what I have been doing radio wise.
* * * * *
26-05-06: Day off today, but the xyl was away so had to fit the radio in between looking after the kids. I managed to work TM7NM (IOTA EU-054) and DQ2006Y on 20mtr SSB before having a quick natter to Colm 2E0OCE on 2 mtrs. First time on 2 for me in about 6 weeks. I nearly forgot how to use theTS-711. After the quick natter it was back to what I love best, HF. Worked DR2006S and DR2006D on 40mtr CW and then I worked DQ2006Z on 40mtr SSB. I then went on to 20 and worked DQ2006B on SSB and then LU1FAM on CW. Argentina another new DXCC.
* * * * *
25-05-06: Once again had another contact before I went to work and once again it was with a World Cup Special Event, DQ2006V on 40mtr SSB. After work I had contacts with IF9FI (IOTA EU-054) and DQ2006R on 20mtr SSB. Then on 20mtr CW I had a contact wit DR2006G. Then back to 20mtr SSB and DR2006O. I then switched back to CW and worked TK/F5TIL. I decided to give 40mtrs a try and worked DQ2006G and DQ2006K on CW. I went back to 20 for a final visit before I closed down and I worked DQ2006A on SSB
* * * * *
24-05-06:Contact with DR2006K before I went to work. After work had contacts with the following stations. DQ2006X on 20mtr SSB. TK/F5RRS on 20mtr CW (Corsica, new DXCC). 7X0RY on 20mtr CW (Algeria, new DXCC). A45XR also on 20mtr CW (Oman, new DXCC). JX9NOA on 20mtr SSB (Jan Mayen Island, yet another new DXCC). DQ2006E on 40mtr CW, S56P and DQ2006D on 20mtr SSB.
* * * * *
23-05-06: Had contacts with more World Cup Special Event Stations. DQ2006O and DQ2006F on 20mtrs SSB. DQ2006N, DQ2006T, DQ2006I and DR2006N on 40mtrs SSB and finally DQ2006S, DR2006B and DQ2006L on 40mtrs CW.
* * * * *
22-05-06: Loaned a mic from work. It's an M-Audio Nova. Thought I would give it a try as it is a very nice looking mic with great spec. I also needed to lend my old mic pre-amp from 2E0OCE (cheers mate) as the mic needed phantom power.
My 1st contact was with DR2006T (Special Event for the World Cup), but I think this was either a call sign mistake or a pirate as no DR2006T stations are part of the World Cup special events.
Next I spoke to my close friends 2E0JKD and the very rare 2E0OCE. Keith reported the mic had a lot of bottom, not too much but a lot compared to how I normally sound. To combat the bottom I turned on the 990 RF FSP (compression) and adjusted the carrier point to get a higher toned audio. Keith advised me that the audio sounded great with the carrier point set to 20. Other reports confirmed this.
I then monitored my audio through my old TS-120S and I liked what I heard, in fact I liked what I heard so much I have decided to buy the mic and some other Behringer audio kit to go with it.
Next I spoke to club station 4O3T and finally I spoke with 2E0OCE again. All contacts were on 20mtr SSB.
* * * * *
21-05-06: Managed contacts with CU7/DH3NB on the Azores, this is a new one for me. Also had a contact with special event station EG7CC.
17-05-06 New one and site updates.
Well tonight I had a new DXCC contact with WP4BL in Puerto Rico. He gave me a 59 report while I got him at 57.
Over the next week or so I am slimming down the site a bit due to being low on space. I have already removed the archived sound bites and I will be removing the QSL page and also the Hi-Fi SSB page as I am no longer active in that side of the hobby. I have also removed content from my main home page to free up space. You will no longer find my old motorbike pictures via my main home page.
I am also going ro remove the archived news files. I am keeping copies of all these pages though, so should any one require any information I have previously posted then don't hesitate to ask.
Off work tomorrow so I hope to have a good play on the radio.
14-05-06 1 week on.
Well I have only had 2 contacts since my last blogg entry. I had a contact early yesterday morning on 40 mtrs with DQ2006M a special event for the coming World Cup and this afternoon I had a contact with Keith 2E0JKD on 10 mtrs cw, it was great to be back.
I have not bothered too much with the radio due to work and having a cold which has done it best to prevent me doing things. Thankfully I am well on the road to recovery and feel almost 100%. Wednesday night (10-05-05) was the UEFA cup final which my beloved Boro lost. So I drowned my sorrows and I suffered on Thursday.
I must say congratulations to Ray, M3RDO on passing his intermediate exam, well done Ray look forward to working you with your new call.
20:15bst, just had a contact with LZ06KM on 20mtrs SSB. Also Updated QSL page as I received an eQSL from IY4W.
My site is now full so I am going to delete most of the archived content and remove the Hi-Fi SSB page. I may remove the QSL page also.
07-05-06 QSL's and Cold
Well I have received a few cards via the Buro, they were from MS0WRC/P, T90HQ, R3A, VE3LKA, YT0HQ, YT80HQ, K3ZO and DA0HQ. I have also received an eQSL from LA5SJA, see QSL page.
Have not done much radio at all due to this cold I have been fighting. After a long day at work the last thing on my mind is playing radio.
05-05-06 Rare IOTA, Special Call.
Had a rare IOTA contact this evening with LA5SJA on EU-141 to find this small Island go to the extreme North East side of Norway just above where Norway joins the EU side of Russia and look for Vardo. Vardo is on the small Island. There was a big pile up for this Island and I managed to break the pile up in three shouts.
I am currently speaking with Ofcom regarding a NOV which will allow me to use a special call. I want the call to celebrate Middlesbrough FC's first ever appearance in a major European cup final. I may have left it too late to get the call in time for the game but we shall see.
Watch this space
04-05-06 Few Contacts Today.
Haven't done much radio once again due to work but it was my day off today so played a little radio between od jobs in the house, doing the garden, watching Sky Sports News about Steve McClaren and fighting a cold.
Worked the following stations on 20mtrs USB, CO8LY, SP0TPFK, 4L8A and lastly I worked Keith 2E0JKD on 10mtrs CW. Click call to hear sound bite. I didn't manage to get a sound bite of CO8LY as I didn't have the programme running to record one.
01-05-06 Quiet Day, but Full of Cold.
Well May day has been quiet for me except when I have been coughing and sneezing due to waking up full of cold. The kids and the XYL where at a party so I took advantage of being in on my own and played a bit of radio.
Up to now (20:46 BST) I have only managed 5 contacts, but 2 of those are new DXCC countries. I have spent the best part of the day just looking for that rare DX. I have heard a few but to weak for a QSO.
I have had 20mtr contacts with special events IQ3UD (SSB), RK50SAB (SSB) and YT0TESLA (CW). The new DXCC contacts where also on 20mtrs SSB with a very strong 9+40dB ES5TV and also with 4J5A. Click call sign to hear sound bite or visit sound bite page.
22:20 BST. Not long ago had a contact with DL2AMT/P from EU-042 on 40mtrs SSB. Click call to hear sound bite or visit sound bite page.
23:57 BST. Had a fantastic 20min QSO with Ray W1RAY who answered my CQ NA call. Ray was a booming 9+20dB signal and was a pleasure to work. Click call to hear sound bite or go to sound bites page.
30-04-06 Great Contact and Flying Visit.
I haven't been very active due to my new job so I am trying to make the most of the bank holiday weekend.
Had a flying visit off Keith (2E0JKD) and he kindly donated a 2mtr and 70cm co-linear. He is no longer active on 2 etc so he said I could have the antenna. Cheers once again Keith.
Had a contact on 17mtrs SSB with JH1OCC (Japan). This was a great contact as my antenna isn't supposed to resonate on 17. He was 55 to 57 on me and he gave me a 55 report. This is another 1st for me. It was the 1st time I have made contact with Japan on SSB.
Had another contact in to Turkey with TB0DX on KOSRELIK island, AS-123 at 59, click call sign for sound bite or visit sound bite page.
Had a contact with AC8G/KP2 on US Virgin Isles, click call for sound bite. The sample is a bit poor due to QSB. Just after this QSO he was a very strong and solid 59.
Contact was also made with 12 years old Max, UR7HTZ. To work this young man was a privilege. His operating procedure is fantastic and he could show a lot of so called experienced HAMS how to operate correctly. His English is very good and I sure hope when my son is 12 he is able to operate to the same high standard. Click call to hear sound bite.
Last contact of the day was once again with TB0DX on 40mtrs CW at 599.
24-04-06 Still Here, thankfully.
Well it was almost QRT time, but thankfully I am now back in the ranks of the employed.
I must thank 2E0JKD for his outstanding help and support throughout the 8 weeks I have been out of work. Keith has done every thing to try and get me employment with suggestions of where to apply and in also putting my name forward. Keith is also probably the sole person who has kept me sane during what has been a very stressful period for me.
Thanks Keith, You are an absolute star, a gent and an asset to this hobby. It's a pleasure to call you a friend.
Last time I used the radio was on 22-04-06 and I only had 2 contacts on 20mtrs with IY4W on SSB and 5B4AGC on CW.
2300 BST, Had 2 contacts tonight. JW4GHA (IOTA REF EU-027) Bear Island, Svalbard, and also HB0/IK1WEG.
19-04-06 Almost Time to go QRT.
Well it is almost time for me to go QRT due to not having any job. I will shortly be selling the radio kit and cancelling my internet connection as it is one bill I can do with out.
It's very depressing. The thought of no radio after almost 11 years of being a Radio Amateur. But what can I do? The bills keep coming and soon the wolves will be at the door. Unless a job comes up in the next couple of days I will have no option than to sell my radio kit.
I can't see me coming back to the hobby either. It took me a long time to get the gear I wanted and that was before I had a family to support.
I have only had 1 contact today. That was with a very strong YT1BB who was 59+25dB when we first started the QSO. He was using 2 Steppir 5 element beams, 1 pointing short path to USA the other long path. He turned both antennas towards me and WOW my radio started to scream for mercy as his signal went as high as 59+50dB.
AMAZING.
18-04-06 Yet Another Rare First.
Had a contact with 5T6BT in Mauritania. This was a difficult contact as I was getting a lot of noise on the band and the QSB was very heavy, but we kept at it and got the contact. The funny thing was how well his signal improved after I had struggled to hear him. During the QSO he was a 56-7 and I had a noise level of S5 which he kept drifting into due to the QSB. After the QSO he became a good s7 with little QSB. Typical really.
17-04-06 Single HF Contact
Only had one HF contact today. That was a good old CW rag chew session with Keith 2E0JKD. Had a football match to go to so didn't do any radio after this contact..
16-04-06 Poor Conditions.
Well HF conditions where poor today. I only had 2 contacts and they were with CT1DQV on 20mtrs SSB and EG4DIR on 40mtrs CW. EG4DIR is a special call for International Amateur Radio Day.
Today I changed the audio intro on the main page and I have also updated the eQSL page.
15-04-06 Ultra Rare Contact.
HF propagation has been poor the last few days so I have not done a lot of HF work, but I had a few contacts today.
I worked 2 special calls, SX2P and YT64WRTC. No sound bites recorded.
However the best I worked today has to be the DXpedition to Western Sahara, S01R. It took me 35 minutes of calling to finally break the pile up, but for such a rare country it was well worth the wait. Click call to here sound bite or click here to go to sound bite page.
23:24 BST
Just had a contact on 40 with Andy YR1A, click call to hear sound bite of visit sound bite page
12-04-06 Ofcom Licence Fee Proposal.
Ofcom have released a consultation document relating to the proposed Licence for Life.
Please read the full document by clicking here.
I like the fact that I will be saving money, not a lot granted but better in my pocket than some one else's.
However, I cannot help but feel this is going to lead to bigger things that will harm our great hobby. I sure hope I am wrong. But what argument will we have if they want to make further changes?
11-04-06 Copying Pictures.
I have had to take the step of marking my pictures with my call sign due to an increasing amount of them appearing on websites with out any acknowledgement of where the picture came from. Some people are even stating that the picture is of their own equipment. The picture of my 990 and my old SWR meter appears on a Turkish forum with the poster claiming them as his own equipment.
Well I consider it a compliment when people do this. When people copy it is generally because the things they are copying are good. Whether this be pictures, designs or just idea's. So thanks for copying but next time try acknowledging where the picture, idea, design etc etc originated from.
10-04-06 eQSL
Well received an eQSL from 9M2CNC and I have added it to my eQSL page immediately. Click here to go to eQSL page.
09-04-06 2E0JKD with more gifts.
Had a surprise visit off 2E0JKD Keith today. There I was just leaving a neighbours house when I spotted Keith pulling up in his nice new motor.
Keith had come round to donate a manual tuner to my shack, an MFJ-941E. Cheers mate it is very much appreciated and will come in very useful in the shack for various jobs.
I have not done any radio today as I had a football match to attend, the least said about that the better.
08-04-06 Another 1st thanks to CW. More eggs.
Well it took a while but I have finally had a contact with Japan all thanks to CW and the fact that the JIDX contest was on. There were a lot of Japanese stations to choose from but there was also a lot of QSB making it difficult copy 100% what was being sent.
I had a contact with JH4UYB on 20mtrs. He gave me the usual contest report of 599.
Had more eggs delivered off Keith 2E0JKD. Thanks mate, don't know why I missed you as I was in. You must have a ladies knock hi.
20:22bst
Another CW contact on 20, UA3YAR/P Special call for Russian Aviation, 599.
21:26bst
The new ones keep coming thanks to CW, just had another 20mtr contact with 3B8MM on the Island of Mauritius. Fantastic.
07-04-06 2 Great SSB DX Contacts, 2E0JKD, Eggs &10mtr CW.
22:45bst
Just had a contact with Pedro CX5BW in Uruguay on 20mtrs SSB, this is the 2nd time I have spoken to Pedro. Click call to hear sound bite or visit sound bite page. Also earlier I had my 1st contact with Malaysia. 9M2CNC also on 20mtrs SSB. Unfortunately I was using my Mini Disc to grab a sound bite and the disc ran out of space just before I made the contact, so you will just have to believe me. Or check out his call on QRZ and check my call against his log when it is put online. Hi Hi
Well haven't done a lot for the last 5 days apart from apply for more jobs and visit Keith 2E0JKD also did a bit of labouring work for a friend of mine who is a plumber.
On Wednesday I was picked up by Keith 2E0JKD and taken to his QTH. While there he introduced me to the delights of Corona lager and to his sexy looking FT-1000MP Field. I set up a few bits of software for him to use in conjunction with his radio and for payment he gave me some extra large eggs which where double yolkers. He also gave me a Kenwood TS-120S and PS-30 PSU with a Leson mic.
He got the TS120s as part of a deal with a local HAM and it turned out to have a few faults. RX is very low, ALC does not function and the output power will go to full 100 watts on 80mtrs, 50 watts on 40mtrs, 15 watts on 20mtrs and on the remaining bands of 15 and 10mtrs it is less than 5 watts. Moral here Keith is don't trust anyone. Along with the 711 the TS120s will give me something to do during these long boring jobless hours.
Radio wise all I have done is operate CW with Keith on 10mtrs, in fact up to today he is the person I have had any form of communication with on the radio. Today I also had a chat with 2E0OCE test his new end fed that Keith had configured. Worked a treat.
Cheers Keith for the radio and the amazing tasting double yolk eggs. They have all gone now and they went down a treat. Nice meeting your son Dale and his XYL. Tell him to take care over in Kosovo.
Well the job situation is now desperate and if I don't have a job in the next 2 weeks then the site may have to come down as I will have to have my internet connection disconnected to save money. The internet is a luxury I can do with out till I get another Job.
The Radio's may also end up going because the bills don't stop coming in. If I go another 4 weeks with out a job then the hobby will be coming to an end . I have applied for that many jobs I can't even remember what they are. I have applied for another 6 this morning as well as made a few phone calls. And if I end up long term unemployed then I am in deep in trouble and I dread to think what will happen.
Well fingers crossed.
02-04-06 CW provides another 1st
Once again CW has provided me with another outstanding DX contact. Tonight at 2123 (UTC) I made contact with VP2E in Anguilla part of the Leeward Islands group on 20mtrs.
Also had a contact on 40 mtrs with EA9EU Ceuta/Melilla. Immediately after this contact the propagation died, so I just got him in time.
Amazing.
01-04-06 Another 817 QRP contact, 711 update.
Well yesterday I had another contact on the Yaesu FT-817. I spoke to EA6AFE, once again using 5 watts into the Delta Loop. Click the call to hear the Sound bite, or visit the sound bite page. The sound bite is in a new style, I hope you like it.
I must point out that the 817 is 2E0OCE's and I have it here to test with a manual ATU and a Linear.
The 711 is a slow process of elimination. For the past 2 days I have been concentrating on the RX issue using a small fan off a PC CPU heat sink in various positions on the board to cool components and see what happens with the signals. All evidence is pointing at a small area on the IF board or a small area on the AVR board. Thankfully the components in that area are cheap to replace so I may just replace them all. They're about 6 transistors with the most expensive being around £3.
I have also had the 711 on a power meter and it is only putting out 15 watts. This I suspect is one of the amps prior to the driver. I will test them as soon as possible. More as and when.
30-03-06 817 QRP contact, 711 update.
Had a QRP contact on a Yaesu FT-817 (2E0OCE's) using 5 watts in to EU-170 (Dalmatia North group), the station was 9A4A. Click call to hear sound bite. The Delta Loop really proved it's worth, I only gave 1 call and he came back to me.
I have found another fault on the 711. The problem is on RX, if the unit is left on for long periods a component starts to break down and signals get weaker. E.G. I monitored GB3IR repeater yesterday and it started off at 9+20 dB when the 711 was 1st switched on, after 4 hours of RX only the signal was s3. The signals still sounded strong but the S meter was only reading S3.
That problem will probably be the hardest to resolve but I will do it. Hopefully getting the loan of a power meter so I can start investigating the power out issue.
More news as and when.
28-03-06 Coming and Going and contact with Lebanon.
Yesterday I purchased a Kenwood TS-711E from an old friend Neil (M0MJT). The radio had a few faults, but was going for a good price so I purchased it. Picture in My Equipment page.
The 3 faults where as follows.
1, Power out only max of 15 watts instead of 25.
2, Up button on front panel does not work.
3, RF and ALC meter goes full scale
on TX even on SSB.
I have been unable to check the power out as yet because I do not have a power meter for use on 2mtrs. I will get a loan of one to put it to the test. The first thing I will try is realignment as instructed in the service manual, hopefully it is as simple as that, but the chances are it is one of the 2 small 0.3 watt amps that are in place before the driver to the main RF amp.
The up button actually needs replacing, some one has tried to repair it with super glue and have used way to much so it is now glued solid and will not move. I will remove the button to see if I can get it to function again but I doubt it.
The RF and ALC issue I resolved with in an hour of having the radio back at my home QTH. It was a simple adjustment to be made. The good old 711 service manual that I downloaded pointed me in the right direction for it, as it also did for the power problem.
1st impressions.
The radio is outstanding on
RX the audio is
excellent. On TX even though (as far as I know) she isn't putting out full power
I can still easily activate repeaters in my area even on low power. I have only
spoken to 2E0OCE on the 711 and he told me TX audio was a bit tinny compared to
how I normally are but very clean and clear. The set is a doddle to use and I
have only needed to glance through the manual in order to learn how to programme
the memories and use features such as the Digital Code Squelch (not that I ever
will).
Things I don't like up to now are the lack of an external processor control and no sub audible tones, but this is a radio that was around before the digital age took off so I suppose the sub audible tones are not an issue. I also don't like the fact that the during TX fan is on more than it is off. It isn't the quietest fan I have heard and it gets annoying, it may only need some lube.
I will do a full in depth review once I have had the 711 longer. I have sold the Yaesu FT-290 to M1BOC and my 30 watt 2mtr linear to 2E0OCE to help pay fill the hole the 711 has left in my wallet. Thanks must go to 2E0OCE for buying the linear, among other things and to M1BOC for taking me to where the 711 was located.
Had one contact today in to the Lebanon with OD5NH on 20mtrs, I have now spoken to him 3 times. Click on call for sound bite. I have also added a QSL to the QSL page.
Had another contact tonight on the 711 with 2E0JKD and 2E0PEL, both gave the radio glowing audio reports.
26-03-06 Racal RA17 & New Radio.
Well a few days ago I dug out my old Racal RA17 receiver from my mothers loft. Brought it back to the shack and opened her up and removed and reinserted the valves to make sure none had come loose through the short drive from my mothers to my own QTH.
I fired the Racal up on to standby and left her for around 5 minutes to warm the vales. Turned the switch to man and tuned on to 40mtrs. Wow I forgot how good these old valve sets sound and how little noise they pickup. This radio had been in storage for the last 5 years and she fired up and received with no problems. They sure don't make them like this any more. See My Equipment for a picture.
I am soon going to sell my Racal and my FT-290 as I have a new radio coming. The new radio is a Kenwood TS-711E 2mtr multi-mode, I hope to have this radio in the shack tomorrow and I am really looking forward to it.
I haven't been active on the radio this weekend as there has been a big contest on HF all weekend and I'm really not in the mood for 59 blah blah blah QRZ for every QSO.
I no longer have my mobile shack, due to my employment status I cannot afford to run a car so I have let it go. Will get another as soon as I start to work again.
23-03-06 Cliffy Laid To Rest, CW contact.
Today was Cliff's (G3XDI) funeral. Unfortunately I was unable to attend, but my thoughts where there. RIP Cliffy OM, you may be SK but you will remain with us.
I had a contact on 40mtrs CW late this evening with TC3A Special Contest Call of Balkan Contest Club in Karacabey - Asiatic part of Turkey. I also dedicate this contact to G3XDI. Farewell Cliffy.
20-03-06 G3XDI Funeral Details Confirmed.
York Cliff
On March 14, peacefully in hospital (Radio Ham G3XDI) Cliff aged 75 years, of Middleton Hall, Middleton St George, formerly of Salter's Lane, dear brother of Lily and Elsie and their families. Funeral service to take place on Thursday 23, At English Martyrs Church, Hardwick at 10.45am, prior to internment at Durham Road Cemetery. Friends please meet at church.
18-03-06 Contest
Well the started off normal. Had a couple of contacts with some special events, LZ128LO (128 years liberation of Belgium) and SY05AIA (5 years of Athens International Airport).
At 12:00 the bands got busy with a contest. A quick investigation revealed that this was the Russian Contest so I though I would give a few contester a few points. I spoke with the following. All contacts on 20mtrs unless stated.
001=RW9HA, 002=OH4A, 003=RX9TL, 004=IK3SCB, 005=UP9L, 006=RK3WWF, 007=RA1AGL, 008=RK2FWA, 009=S52GP, 010=LY4A, 011=UW6G, 012=SP5VYI, 013=LY4AA. 014=RK6CK, 015=OE8YDQ, 016=YL2KO, 017=RN3ZC, 018=TA1FA(A first time contact with Turkey), 019=RL3A, 020=4L6AM, 021=CN2R, 022=UX21O, 023=4Z5LZ, 024=LZ9W, 025=RW6HX, 026=UZ2FWA, 027=UR31FD, 028=VE3MIS, 029=NO2R, 030=EA5KV, 031=KB1H, 032=KC2PGG, 033=IZ7EDQ, 034=DJ8OG(40mtrs), 035=DJ5MW(40mtrs), 036=DQ4W(40ntrs), 037=SP9KDA(40mtrs), 038=WA4TII.
That's all for now, not great compared to those I heard in the thousands, but I don't care, not aiming to win. Hopefully I will grab a few more tomorrow before it finishes at 12:00.
17-03-06 G3XDI Update & New Guestbook.
Received the following details from G0WRP via M0DNN regarding G3XDI's Funeral.
Church service is Thursday 10.45 at Invalid Martyr's Church, Hardwick, followed by internment at Durham road cemetery. Details will be confirmed on Monday.
While it was my turn for baby feeding duties I finally got the new guestbook online and transferred the content from the old one.
Unfortunately due to spam entries I had to take steps to stop the spam and a new guestbook was the best thing to do. The new guestbook has protection from spam bots so all should be clear from now on. Thanks to all who have taken the time to sign, it's appreciated.
16-03-06 CQ calls and Cuba
Not done too much today apart from look for jobs. Put out another CQ call on HF for North America this afternoon, but once again it was another 20 minutes wasted. I must be speaking the wrong language.
This evening 22:00 I had a great SSB contact on 20mtrs. KG4WW in Cuba. Click call to hear sound bite or visit sound bites page. Yet another first for me, I have now had 9 firsts this year and 8 are new countries. Solar minimum ? I love it.
Actually if you are wondering why there has been some great DX this month then look no further. I have the answer.
It is due to the start of vernal equinox. This is a good time for HF propagation, even with few sunspots, as the southern and northern hemispheres are equally bathed in the sun's radiation. The conditions should remain like this for a while yet, so try and make the most of it. It is at times like these that the DX clusters really come in to there own, make good use of them and you will find that elusive DX. I have, and 9 firsts later I want more.
2329; Contact with EM5U on 40mtrs CW 599.
15-03-06 Life goes on.
01:24; I can't sleep and so I looked for CW DX and found P40D (Aruba) on 40mtrs and made the contact. I have a sound bite just click the call or visit the sound bite page.
02:00; Another CW contact on 40 with V25OP (ANTIGUA/BARBUDA - LEEWARD ISLANDS). Ain't CW brilliant?
Cliffy G3XDI back in his day loved CW. These two contacts are dedicated to him and it's fitting that they're two great CW DX contacts that are my 1st contacts with Aruba and Antigua/Barbuda (Leeward Islands).
Had 1 other CW contact today with 4N0NS, special event station in Serbia Montenegro. Just before this QSO I tried calling CQ ASIA for 20 minutes but got no reply. In all my days as a radio ham I have only had one CQ called answered on HF. Not sure what I am doing wrong. I could hear Asia with little problems but the pile ups to work the guys where a bit daft so thought I would just call for Asia instead. Well no luck.
14-03-06 SAD NEWS.
Tonight just before 9pm I was informed by Pam G0WRP that Cliffy G3XDI has passed away today at 12.20pm. This is a sad loss as Cliffy was a great character who will be missed. I will place details of arrangements for those who wish to pay their respects on here and I will advise as many as possible regarding this sad event on the air.
Pam informed me that he was taken ill a couple of days ago. Once I know more I will post details.
RIP CLIFFY
The rest of today's Blogg just doesn't seem appropriate now.
13:00 Did some experimenting today with the noise from the downstairs TV and my sons TV. Couldn't find any way of reducing the noise from the downstairs TV but I have managed to quieten a fair bit of the noise my sons TV put on to HF. I have ran a separate earth in to the TV and it reduced the noise by 3 S points on the HF bands it affected and totally disappeared from 6mtrs. Tried an earth on the downstairs TV but could not find any where to connect the earth too. Will live with it for now as it is mainly affecting the higher HF bands which are inactive currently.
Had a contact today with MJ/K3PLV on Jersey and GP0STH on Guernsey. Both contacts where on 40mtrs. Only got one sound bite so click the call to hear it or visit the sound bite page.
15:58 Had another contact into Jersey on 40mtrs, this time using CW to MJ/N1NK. Ain't CW great?
17:27 Had a great contact with A61Q in United Arab Emirates on 20mtrs CW. Yes CW is great. 1st contact with UAE for me.
The bands have been great during this evenings grey line. Lots of DX to be heard.
12-03-06 Very Quiet
Well the bands have been very quiet all weekend. A few spots of DX here and there but not a lot. The best I have done this weekend was a contact into Asiatic Russia with RW9HA located in Tomsk-City which is located above the tip of China between Kazakhistan and Mongolia. Also had a CW contact with RS14IPA which was a club call for the International Police Association radio club.
08-03-06 South Africa, Noise, Sunspot Minimum & Guestbook removal.
Had a great contact this evening on 20mtrs with ZS6CCY (South Africa), I was only scanning through the band and I heard him calling for Europe so I jumped at the chance and gave him a call. He came straight back to me at 5-7 with a 5-7 report, but I was getting s5 of noise and there was a lot of fade on his signal so I didn't hold it for long with him. Click the call to hear a sound bite, albeit noisy.
After that QSO I decided to run a wire to the case of the PC from a radiator pipe to earth the case. Well the noise dropped to an s2. So I moved the PC to attach the wire to the case and as I moved the PC the noise dropped again to s2 and stayed at that. I am now going to experiment with an earth to the PC, the Monitor and also to the TV's that have been causing me so many noise problems.
Well it looks like February was the start of sunspot minimum. Get ready for a quiet 2006, especially through the summer.
For more information click here.
I will shortly be removing the guest book. This is due to an increase in SPAM entries posting links to VIAGRA, MEDS, and PORN. I contacted the host of the guestbook over 1 month ago and have not had a response so I am going to programme my own or find another one. I will transfer all the entries over as soon as I have another one setup.
Tonight I updated the QSL page.
05-03-06 ARRL DX Contest.
14:13
Well yesterday before I went out for a long drinking session and a football match I had a few contacts with USA and Canada, taking advantage of the amount of North American stations on the air during the ARRL International SSB DX Contest. I had contacts with VY2TT, NN3W, VY2ZM, KC1XX, W3BGN, N3HBX and K3CR. Click the call to hear a sound bite or visit the Sound Bite page.
So far today I have had another 3 contacts with North America, K3OOO, N1DD and KT1V. I hope to get a lot more before the ARRL Contest finishes.
20:00
Had more ARRL contacts with K1RX, N3KS, W3LPL, VE3EJ, VE6WQ, W1QA, W7WA (West Coast), K1UQ, K0TV, K7RI (West Coast), VC3A and K3WW.
I managed to get a sound bite of every contact today, but for some reason only a few saved correctly, the others where all corrupt. A bit peeved off because I was really wanting to get the West Coast contacts on line.
23:00
Still getting contacts into North America for the ARRL International SSB DX Contest. I have had a contact with N3RS on 40mtrs split. RX frequency was 7.195 and TX was 7.027. So who says a 20mtr Delta Loop won't work on 40mtrs? The audio isn't great as I was getting a lot of noise from my sons TV but I made the contact and that's the main thing.
03-03-06 New Mic.
Well today I got myself an Adonis AM-308 base mic. I did a deal with my Alinco hand held with G0GLH (Terry) for the Mic. Cheers Terry the mic is a cracker and sounds fantastic on my 990.
I am looking forward to more stateside contacts this weekend as it's the ARRL International DX contest on SSB this weekend. Wonder if I can make as many SSB contacts stateside as I did CW ones 2 weeks ago. Won't be playing radio all weekend though because I have a football match to go to and I am having a night out with ex work colleagues.
02-03-06 Nothing much happening.
10:30am,
Well HF has been almost as quiet as a library for the past few days and today is no exception. I have been more active on 2mtrs this week than at any time this year speaking with 2E0JKD, 2E0BBP, G0MHE, G0KVL and G4ABM. Topic of conversation has mainly been antenna and radio related as you would expect from this hobby.
I am getting an Adonis AM-308 base mic tomorrow. Doing an exchange deal with my Alinco hand held for it.
Oh while I have lots of spare time I have been trying to figure out the little problem I have on my FT-290. For some reason on SSB when you TX you had to wait a second before your TX audio started to be heard. Well it turns out that the hand mic was the problem so I have now wired the Turner Expander 500 up to the FT-290 and it works fine. The mic that I got with the radio was a Tait hand mic, obviously it is not suited to the 290. I have tried a standard Yaesu mic and the Turner and the radio is working 100% now.
Well time to go shopping, 73's
27-02-06 Quiet on HF,
Well up to now 13:23, HF has been quiet. I has just started to come to life on 20mtrs and I have had one contact with 9A15DX, click here to hear sound bite or visit Sound Bite page.
Removed the welcome message from the main page. It is not needed and to be honest it's a bit long in the tooth now.
Ok I have re-added the welcome message due to Keith (2E0JKD) protesting over it's removal. What I have done is made it so it doesn't play every time the main page is opened.
26-02-06 More 2 and CW.
Once again HF hasn't been great for DX so spent a fair bit of the day on 2 again talking to 2E0BBP, 2E0JKD, G0KVL and M0MJT.
Had a CW contact on 20 mtrs with 4O3ANT.
Added some pictures to My Equipment page.
Not long ago had a contact with WX3B on 20 mtrs. I have added a Sound Bite, click here to hear sound bite or visit Sound Bites page.
25-02-06 2 Metres.
HF was pretty poor today so just had a chat to 2E0BBP and 2E0JKD.
24-02-06 Officially Redundant.
Well today as expected I was made redundant from work. So I am going to have a couple of weeks enjoying time with the family and playing a bit more radio. After the 2 weeks I will be getting my head down and looking for a new job.
Didn't play radio today.
20-02-06 Made the most of the day.
Well today was my last day off before I go back to work to probably be made redundant, and I made the most of it.
Had some fantastic contacts and got a few sound bites along the way too.
I had contacts on SSB and CW today with several special events to mark Antarctica week IU8ANT, II8ANT, II4ANT, IR1ANT, II7ANT, and IO8ANT on cw. I have sound bites of several of the ANT stations, click on the call signs or see sound bites page.
I also had contacts with ZA5G, YU7TESLA on cw and UR9IDX.
19-02-06 Even More CW.
Well didn't manage to get back on HF CW last night. Ended up talking to Phil 2E0BBP on 2mtrs till just after midnight. I did manage 1 CW contact before I went to bed and that was on 40 mtrs with K3LR.
Today I made more ARRL CW DX CONTEST contacts on 20 with the following stations, N6AR, K0LUZ, KC1XX, K3CR, K4EU, W0AIH, NY3A, K1RX, NY4A, K1XM, W3PP, K4RO, K2DM and K4EA.
I have loved CW for the past 2 days and can now see why the old timers defend it so much. However I still believe it should not be tested on now to gain access to HF.
18-02-06 More CW.
At the time of writing this 1742 GMT I have had 11 contacts on 20 mtrs. One of them SSB the rest are CW. Decided to help contesters today and blazed a trail through the lower part of 20 using CW for the ARRL International CW DX Contest. I have loved it. All my CW contacts where in to the USA with the following stations; W3LP, NE3H, KQ3F, K1UQ, K3ZO, N2YO, W1AO, KB1H, W1MU and K3ZZ.
My sole SSB contact today was with a special event LZ13ARDF for the 13th ARDF World Championships.
I have only stopped because I was getting hungry and have to cook for the family tonight. I hope to continue later.
17-02-06 CW Contact.
Well I have had a busy day today. My self and the XYL went and registered the birth of our second son. We have called him Matthew James. We then did a bit of shopping and came home as we were getting visitors.
When we got in there was a letter waiting for me from work. As I have been off on leave they sent me a letter advising me that I may be being made redundant. I have to attend a meeting at work next Tuesday to discuss the situation and those being laid off will be told Friday.
So any one know any jobs going. I will have a go at anything.... Well almost.
On the radio side of things I had my 1st CW contact tonight on 40 mtrs. Contact was with YZ150T. To hear a sound bite click here or visit the sound bite page.
14-02-06 Ofcom, Reform of ham radio licensing.
Ofcom today announced their intention to reform amateur radio licensing.
So come October 2006 licenses will be valid for life. It had to happen and I am not concerned by this but what I am concerned about is what will be next?
A summary is below. To view the full document visit http://www.ofcom.org.uk/consult/condocs/aradio/statement/statement_amradio.pdf
Executive summary Reform of amateur radio licensing 1.1 This Ofcom statement sets out our new approach to the licensing of amateur radio.
1.2 It follows on from Ofcom’s consultation on amateur radio licensing that was launched on 26 May 2005.
1.3 As a result of the consultation, Ofcom has decided to implement the following reforms:
To issue lifetime amateur radio licences which will remain valid for as long as the licence details remain correct or until such time as the licence is either revoked by Ofcom or surrendered by the licensee. There shall be no end date on the amateur radio licence. Such licences will be personal to the licensee and will not be transferable. To provide an online, web-based, self-service licensing service as an alternative to the postal service. To issue electronic licences (probably PDF®(-1-) documents) to users of the online, web-based, self-service licensing service. Users of this service would print a hard copy of the licence which must be kept at the main station address. To continue to make paper licences available (but subject to a small administrative charge). To modify the original proposal by requiring licensees to validate their licence details at least once every five years in order to maintain their lifetime licence. Ofcom’s full policy decision is set out on page 7.
1.4 At present the Radio Licensing Centre (RLC), a wholly owned subsidiary of Royal Mail Group plc, processes amateur radio licences. However, it is Ofcom’s intention that from 1 October 2006 (the intended implementation date), all amateur radio licences will be issued by Ofcom. Licences issued, renewed or amended on or after the implementation date will be subject to the revised licence terms and conditions (above).
1.5 Any licences which are due to expire before the implementation date must be renewed by contacting the RLC. Licences issued, renewed or amended before the implementation date will be subject to existing licence terms and conditions.
1.6 Ofcom believes that the new approach to amateur radio licensing will reduce unnecessary bureaucracy and cost associated with this important hobby. Ofcom regards the amateur radio community as a key radio spectrum user group and wishes to see amateur radio prosper.
1.7 This policy statement summarises the views expressed during the consultation, provides Ofcom’s response to these views and sets out our decision regarding the future of amateur radio licensing. The statement also summarises the results of the research carried out by MORI and describes how this has been balanced against the views expressed during the consultation process.
1.8 The 12 week consultation closed on 18 August 2005. Ofcom received 1,466 responses during the consultation period, many of which were in favour of Ofcom’s key proposals although the majority were in favour of maintaining the existing licensing regime but with a proposed extended renewal period of five years.
1.9 In addition to the consultation process, on 26 May 2005, MORI sent a questionnaire and accompanying material to 4,500 amateur radio licence holders. The survey sought licensees' views on Ofcom's proposals and also gathered other information such as membership of societies.
1.10 MORI received 1,572 completed questionnaires by the closing date of 20 June 2005 which showed that when licensees were asked specifically whether they supported or opposed Ofcom issuing licences that remain valid for the life of the licensee, 58% claimed to support this move.
1.11 Ofcom has carefully considered representations about the proposals that it has received from stakeholders. Each consultation response was considered with equal weight, regardless of whether the response was attributed to an individual or organisation, published anonymously or submitted as a confidential response.
13-02-06 More Spam.
Well I have had to re-add the email address field into the guest book because without it the guest book is being over run by idiot spammers.
Haven't done any HF today. I just haven't been in the mood.
12-02-06 QSO Party Contact
Had a contact with KB1SO in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, USA. This was a QSO party and I have added a sound bite. To hear the sound bite click here or visit the sound bite page. At the time I got the recording QSB hit his signal so he doesn't sound very strong but he was mainly 59+.
With regards to the spam in the guestbook, it seems to have stopped. I will try removing the need for an email address, but if the spam starts again I will need to re-add that field.
09-02-06 Spam.
Well my guest book has started to get hammered by spammers leaving fake entries with lots of URL addresses to medication sites. Well dear spammer you're the only ones who need medication, get a life. The emails everyone gets from people like you are bad enough.
May be the guestbook hosts are making extra money by allowing this to happen. If the spam persists I will find another host for the Guestbook. So far today I have deleted about 20 entries.
Well had some more spam entries. So I have taken the step to only allow submissions to the guestbook that include an email address. Sorry for this, but if that doesn't stop the spam I am looking for a new guest book.
08-02-06 Played Radio
Well today I got my 1st chance to play radio since the baby was born. I didn't do a lot as I used the free time to do a few jobs and catch up on some sleep. I had a contact with a special event, 9A650C, and that's about all I have done radio wise.
Spoke to two friends tonight who have decided to get back on the air.
Welcome back Neil, M0MJT and Craig, G0KVL.
06-02-06 Second Son Finally Arrives.
Well last night (05-02-06) at 9.45pm my second son was born. He weighed in at a very healthy 9lb 1oz. Mother and child both doing great.
05-02-06 Quiet day.
Well I had a nice and quiet day this afternoon. Didn't do much radio but had a nice contact with WB1GQR. I have added a sound bite, to hear it click here.
03-02-06 Links updated.
I have removed the link to Mods.DK, I do not agree with them charging for content. Manuals are copyright material, mods have been freely submitted by individuals. I sent them an email asking why they had decided to charge for content and they didn't reply, so why should I provide a link to the site for free.
I have also removed all the dead links on the links page. Not many were dead but the few that were are now removed.
Doubt I will be active this weekend. I have football to go to tomorrow (Saturday) and the Super Bowl is on Sunday night, so I may get some activity on HF on Sunday afternoon. Of course that all depends on whether or not the XYL goes in to labour or not. She is now officially 10 days overdue and if there is no sign of the baby by Monday 06-02-06 she will be taken into hospital and induced.
31-01-06 More contacts.
Well had my second contact with OD5NH, I first had a QSO with him on 01/06/04, so the 2nd contact has been a long time coming.
Had another contact with USA Virgin Isles KP2/OK5DX (or did I?). Every thing seemed in order with this contact. Lots of QSB and he was sounding about the same as KP2/W8GEX I made contact with yesterday, also propagation was running that way, but 2 people on DX Summit said he was a fake. I might add they where the only ones, everyone else was spotting him as a genuine station. Time will tell.
Also had a contact with 7S2AT.
The bands have been great today, I heard very weak signals from Somalia, Tanzania, China, Argentina, India, Puerto Rico and lots of strong signals from North America.
Had two contacts on 40 metres tonight. YU1XA and T77EB. Just goes to show, you can use a 20 metres loop on 40. I have added Sound Bite's, click here to go to sound bite page.
30-01-06 Another two first's.
Well today I made contact with KP2/W8GEX on Saint Croix, US Virgin Islands on 20 metres. This is another 1st for me and once again I am happy with the contact. I first heard him at 11:10am and I made the contact at 12:11pm. There was a lot of QSB on the band and sometimes I couldn't hear him at all, there was also a large pile up.
I stayed patient and called when I could hear him strong enough, my patience paid off and after 1 hour I finally got a reply. In all I probably only called him about 10 times due to the amount of QSB and sometimes the pile up was huge.
Also had a contact into Tunisia, 3V8DLH on 17 metres. This contact is another first. Loving the bands at the moment.
I forgot to get recordings of these contacts so unfortunately no sound bites.
29-01-06 Iceland and mods.dk.
Well I have had my 1st contact with Iceland. I made contact with TF3ZA today, I am very pleased. I have added a sound bite for the contact. To hear the sound bite please visit the sound bite page or click here.
What has happened to Mods.dk? Now you have to be registered to view most of it's content and then you are restricted to view 1 article per day and only download 1 manual every 7 days. In order to gain access to more information you have to pay. I have sent an email asking why they have made the changes and I will see what they say.
I fully understand that it costs money to host a site but to charge for content that has been freely submitted is wrong in my opinion. Thankfully mods.dk is not the only place you can get information regarding radio modifications and manuals from.
22-01-06 Two Contacts.
Not having much time to play radio at the moment. The new arrival is due any time now so getting ready for G7VOT jnr MKII. Today I had 2 contacts on HF. HG1S and DP5Z.
Well that's about it. Watch this page for further news on the arrival of G7VOT jnr MKII.
14-01-06 Handy
Well yesterday 13-01-06 I took delivery of an Alinco ALM-203E handheld complete with various accessories which are as follows;
ELH-24B 30 watt Linear Amplifier.
EDC-1 Charging
Stand.
EMS-20 Speaker Mic.
EPB-5N Ni-Cd Battery.
EDH-25 DC/DC converter.
Also
included was a AA battery pack and an AC charger for the Ni-Cd battery.
All the
equipment except the linear is boxed and the majority of the equipment looks in
unused condition.
I must thank Steve (G6TJC) for holding on to this equipment for me while I got Christmas out of the way and I must also thank him for the speed in getting the kit to me once he had received payment.
THANKS FOR THE BARGAIN STEVE.
I will post pictures ASAP.
Not a lot of activity on HF today, although saying that some North America stations are very strong.
11-01-06 Archives
Tonight I archived the News/Blogg from 2005. It can still be viewed using the link above.
Will soon be archiving last years Sound bites.
10-01-06 1st HF contact.
Made my 1st HF contact of 2006 tonight outside of G (2E) land.
I had a contact on 40 with a Special Event YU150NT with a report of 59 in and out. This was a surprising contact as my 20mtr loop shouldn't really work on 40 at all.
Have not had time to archive last years content but will try to this weekend.
07-01-06 1st Contact of 2006.
I haven't been very active so far this year, had my 1st contact on the bands today with 2E0OCE on 2mtrs and 10mtrs FM.
05-01-06 Software and 2005 Archives.
Was browsing through eHam the other day and came across an interesting article about Beacons. Within this article was a link to a website where you could download a programme called Beacon Track. See Software page for the link to the site. This programme will be invaluable in finding which bands are open now the solar minimum is almost upon us.
Well now we are in a new year I will soon be archiving all of the 2005 News (Blogg). I will be doing this in the next week or so when I have a few entries into the 2006 News (Blogg). I will also be archiving all the 2005 Soundbites.
All that remains now is to wish you all a great 2006.
