Stealth Monkey

This is VERY funny. (cut and pasted from the Ham Radio Safari blog)

BBC Radio Player

I've developed a fondness for the British Broadcasting World Service. When I was a kid, I remember the sounds of Big Ben and their broadcast over the shortwave bands. I've always enjoyed their programing. I consider it one of the best in the world.

But shortwave listening is becoming more difficult every year because of budget cuts, poor propagation, and increasing electrical interference. Some major international broadcasters have ceased transmitting all together, and many others are limiting their transmissions to the weekends.

For those reasons, I feel the future of most radio stations will be on the world wide web. There's both good and bad for this mode. Obviously, if you don't have web service, you don't have anything, and if someone decides to "pull the plug" on the electrical grid, we're all "up the creek". But what it is, is what it is....This is the wave of the future, weather we like it or not.

I found a neat gadget yesterday that allows you to choose many "different" streams of the BBC at the click of a button. I've added it to the right side of my blog. I usually have something playing in the background whenever I'm surfing the web.

I can't think of a better station to listen to. I hope you enjoy it also.

20 Meter DX Field Day

I spent this afternoon "out in the field" with my portable station. The solar flux was 90, the A index was 1, and the K index was 0....all the indicators for a good radio day, especially in the field, away from the electrical noise in town.

But I never dreamed it would be THAT good of a day!

I set up at a city park just outside of town, on the highest point, with some nice trees for an antenna support. As always, I set up for 30 meters with a dipole. Everything went perfect today. It was a "first shot" with the slingshot, and I had the antenna in the air in just a few minutes.

It took only a few more minutes to arrange my table and battery and I was on the air.

But not much on 30 meters....I heard a clear 3 watt beacon (W0ERE) and a station in Florida but not much else.

So I switched over to 20 meters and found it ALIVE with DX stations.

It took a few extra minutes to drop the 30 meter dipole and exchange it with my end fed Zepp. (some people call this antenna an end fed dipole), I re-tuned and immediately heard KN6ZA in Paradise California. Sounded just like he was beside me.

Right after this QSO, I heard WI5C in Arlington Texas. Fantastic signal and we chatted for a bit and then closed because I wanted to listen for some distant stations.

A few minutes later I heard IK6BGT in Italy with an even stronger signal. Justin was on the far side of the "boot" and coming in just like a local. He congratulated me on my QRP status.

A few minutes later, LY3X in Lithuania kicked my socks off...I was beginning to feel really proud of my portable station sitting on a hill in good old West Virginia.

Just when I thought I couldn't get much better, I worked UW5ZM in the Ukraine. Wow....what a day.

About that time, my cell phone rang. It was my brother coming home from work. He could hear the dots and dashes in the background, I said "Is this anything important" -- He said "No"--just wanted to say hello and sounds like you're on the radio---I said yes...having a blast up here in the park---I said-- "I got'a go, I'll call you right back". Then I listened in amazement as I heard a familiar K6AA calling from San Pedro California.

If you look back a few entries on my blog, you'll notice that call sign, as the one I worked a few weeks ago, while aboard the LST 325 (WW2LST) when I visited it, in Marietta Ohio. My Dad was with me and I was fortunate enough to use the ships radio for this contact.

Today....we must have talked for 15 minutes about this eerie "second meeting" on the band. It was spooky.....The club station was again on the air, we happened to be on the same frequency, at the same time. We re-hashed me walking the past club station a few years ago when my wife and I were walking to Huntington beach via an old railroad trail.

To make it more eerie, when I returned this afternoon, from my field operations, their QSL card was on the table.

Radio doesn't get any better than it was for me today. Maybe the dog bite, and the way it turned out had something to do with it?

Good Karma I suppose.

Stealth Radio

I'm disappointed that some operators criticize the "stealth" mode of operation. I have several friends that operate this mode and see nothing wrong with preserving the skyline and the property values of my neighbors. And it's not necessary to have an unsightly array of aluminium tubing and steel wires running all over your property to have fun with this hobby. I call those "lightening rods".

I operate this mode because I'm forced to use an indoor antenna. It's a "must" due to restrictions in the "historic district" where I live. But I have a lot of fun with my station and the neighbors have no idea that I'm a ham radio operator. (other than seeing the 'tags' on my car).

I call this criticism "belated blathering" because it serves no purpose other than allowing the ham who has spent thousands of dollars on equipment, to justify themselves and feel successful in the hobby.

Some of us choose not to do that.

Every time I walk the shores of the Hudson River in New York City, I glance up at the skyscrapers with the hope of seeing one of my friends antennas. I've worked him a half dozen times with his random wire hanging out an apartment window. I have another friend that operates from hotel rooms, all over the east coast, from Florida to Pennsylvania. I recently worked a station in the mid west that was using his "rain gutters" for an antenna. I've worked stations in tents, sailboats, trains, and once listened to a pilot flying from Cancun to Phoenix at 35,000 feet. He was having a chat with a fellow in England.

The point I'm trying to make is that it's not necessary to spend thousands of dollars on equipment to have fun in this hobby. Some of us choose not to do so.

And that's OK.

I'm Going to Live After All

After the "dog bite" Saturday afternoon, I made a doctor appointment this morning. There wasn't an infection at the bite site, but my calve muscle was still bruised, and was very sore this morning. I called the doctor at 9:00 am and got an appointment at 2:30pm. I arrived at 2:15 and saw a nurse. I saw the doctor at 3pm and was out of the office by 3:30.

My wife, and several of my friends and family members were worried about "rabies" and I thought it would be good to set their minds at ease. (and leave me alone) My sister is a professional sanitarian and has dealt with this on the job. I was beginning to feel like a squirrel on the first day of hunting season.

I got the "all clear" signal from the doctor today.

My temperature was actually a little below normal. (a very good sign) with little irritation in the bite area. Of course, the muscle is still bruised, but considering the size of the dog, it's to be expected. It's going to be sore for a few more days.

The Doc suggested keeping in touch with the owners for another week. She also suggested (if this ever happens again) to demand the Veterinarians name, address, and phone number and to personally contact the Vet to verify the information. (in other words, don't take anyones word for it) We reviewed my inoculation history going back the last several years and after looking at those, she agreed it would be difficult for me to catch the common cold in the next few years. My tetanus shot was still current so no booster necessary.

Have a nice day and pay the receptionist before you leave the building.

No...I'm only kidding about that.

Actually, I use the Veterans Administration for my health care (the government run socialized medicine program). And while I have the podium, let me put in a good word for them. I use the VA clinic, not because it's the cheapest (which it is by far) but because it's the BEST medical care in this valley.

It's VERY well managed.

If I had gone to a "private doctor"...

#1. I would have been in the waiting room (for at least an hour) filling out an insurance form.

#2. I would have then seen a (pretend to be a nurse) who would have taken another 15 minutes taking a detailed medical history.

#3. I would then be taken back to the waiting room and forced to watch "FOX" news on the giant large screen TV.

#4. I'd get to see the doctor (if I was lucky) in another hour.

#5. I'd see the doctor and he would have given me a tetanus shot, an antibiotic shot, and scheduled me for an x-ray. (to keep from being sued in court)

Then the receptionist would demand about $150 bucks for services rendered.

Oh...by the way, I'd get another bill for the x-ray, and another bill from the person that "read" the X-ray.

I'd be really lucky to get in and out of a "private office" in under two hours.

I won't "spell it out" but you should get where I'm coming from with this entry. I don't have a problem with "socialized medicine".

Getting back to the dogs, I didn't want to appear overly confident, but they were well groomed, sheltered, and obviously healthy . The owners were genuinely concerned about me, cleansed the wound, and offered bandages etc. That's a pretty good sign they're honest and good folks.

I guess today was just a "safety check".

Dog Bite in the Country

I took off on the bike this morning with the intentions of riding a few miles in the city. But the weather was so cool, and I felt so good, I headed "out in the country" a few miles towards a little town just outside the city limits. For safety, I traveled the back roads as much as possible. It's about a 20 mile ride (round trip) to this little town.

As with most country rides, there's usually a "bad" section of road between small cities. Today was no exception and I needed to brave a major highway with very little bike space between it and the guard rail. Traffic being light, when I entered a major intersection, I sprinted as quickly as possible to the next exit. I had a sense of confidence as I exited the highway without a mishap.

I spent a few moments in the town, exploring the side streets along the river, and then rode out of this town and through some beautiful pasture land where a herd of cows gathered under a tall sycamore tree.

I was now in real country.

On the return trip, I hated the thought of braving that busy traffic on the highway again, so I decided to explore another avenue with the hopes of riding down the railroad tracks or along the river.

That was my first mistake.

Life is different in the country. It's common for country people to have a dog or two on a farm and as I approached the river, the road came to an abrupt halt. There was nothing to do except stop, dismount, and back track my path towards the busy highway.

That was my second mistake.

Across the field, I saw two large dogs approaching me. I wasn't alarmed. I'm comfortable with most dogs and consider myself a decent judge of character when it comes to body language. I was off the bike and didn't have time to turn and ride off quickly. I should have stooped down and grabbed a hand full of rocks.

That was my third mistake.

It could have been much worse. I'm disappointed that I wasn't able to maneuver myself into a better position to avoid the dogs. I could have defended myself, if it had been only one, but two big dogs were a bit too much for me. One of them got me on the right calve around knee high as I attempted to place the bike in a defensive position. After the bite, I was able to gather a hand full of rocks and send them both scattering for home.

I just wasn't quick enough.

The strange thing about this attack was there wasn't so much as a bark. It really caught me off guard. The body language didn't indicate a confrontation. The smaller one circled behind me and just "bit"......just for the hell of it.

As I stood there for a few moments, cursing the situation and tossing a few more rocks, off in the distance I noticed a small boy on a bike heading my way. I could tell he was concerned about me. I discovered quickly it was his dog and fortunately, (according to his parents) had been vaccinated.

It wasn't a bad bite. (this is sort of thing is like an occupational hazard with bicyclist in the country) It's not the first time I've been bit. I guess the really sad thing about this event was that I didn't have my "dog spray" with me. A good dose of "spray" on the end of the nose, and into the eyes, will stop even the most vicious of dogs. It's harmless for the most part and would have worked in this situation.

The father, mother, son and I talked for awhile as they poured plenty of hydrogen peroxide over the bite area. There's a very small puncture wound in my right calve muscle and some other small marks just under my knee. It's pretty mild for such a large dog. We cleaned the entire area with some paper towels. They offered some band-aids but I felt it better to air the wound.

I guess I'm more embarrassed than anything else because of this incident. This was a "territorial dispute" and nothing more. People in the country can't always pick up the phone and call the sheriff in an emergency. Dogs are one of the best burglar alarms money can buy in the country.

They will watch the dog for a few days while keeping him chained close to the house. I don't expect any problems. I travel a lot and have current immunizations for everything except the common cold. I've had a recent tetanus shot and unless I see signs of infection, I'll ignore it for the most part. The calve muscle is a little sore this evening but that's to be expected.

My next bicycle ride in the country will include a new can of "pepper spray". It's the best thing for both me and the dog.

25,000 Hits

I started this blog, the very last of 2008, as a way to encourage others to enter the ham radio hobby. I've been licensed for a little over 15 years but didn't get "radio active" until retirement. What a difference that has made....

My stat counter jumped to a little over "25,000 hits" this morning, and I get a good percentage of return readers. That's encouraging to me, and I feel I may have helped a few people to enter this hobby. There are SO many different modes of radio, and SO much room for fun. Morse code is by no means the only mode available to hams today. There are dozens.

I wanted to take a few moments and thank those that regularly read about my enthusiasm with radio and simple stations. It's nice to know you're listening. I'm sort of fixed on code at the moment and rarely use a microphone. But everyone has their "place" in this hobby.

As an example:

There's a little small caption on the current band-plan charts now. It states that CW can be used on any portion of the radio spectrum. Few take advantage of the "fine print" on the charts.

I awoke early this morning, around 2:30 am, and tuned into upper portion of the 40 meters CW band. There were a couple of SSB stations there. I switched to the SSB mode, set the radio in the "split mode"--with SSB on the first VFO, and CW on the second.

All perfectly legal since 7125 MHz was in my "general portion" of the band. (He could have been right in the middle of the normal SSB section too and it's still a legal transmission on my part). I tried several times to work F5VTY in Southern France (couldn't find the call in a data base) but he either didn't hear me, or wasn't a CW operator. I've heard several European and Caribbean SSB stations in this portion of the bands over the last several months.

It's a shame more SSB ops either can't, or won't, acknowledge the call sign of a distant operator using Morse code. (I actually dropped my membership in one club because of this) I don't think it's difficult to set the radio into a split mode using two VFO's.

I did it successfully, many years ago, on a 40 meter Canadian Maritime net. The net control operator called for any station, any mode, for check in's for the shipping net in Canadian waters and I jumped at the chance to make a contact with Morse code. He felt the same, and we were both elated with the contact. He got a real "kick" out of my QRP station being able to communicate with him and the other ships.

That little caption about CW use covering the entire radio spectrum can be a BIG deal under the right conditions.

Thanks again to all those who read this blog regularly, your're missing a lot of fun if you don't pursue this hobby. It's the greatest hobby in the world.