IZ4AKS » eng

S04R: making waves from a charming place

IZ4AKS — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 19:42:07 +0000

I’m proud to have a good friend in the team, an it is a pleasure to announce that an international team composed by EA1CJ, EA1KY, EA2RY, EA3EXV, EA5RM, EA7AJR, F9IE, IN3ZNR, UT7CR and UY7CW will be on the air from Western Sahara from April 12th to April 17th using S04R (sierra zero four radio) callsign. The Operation will take place on all bands from 10 to 160 meters either SSB, CW and digital modes. The Qsl manager for the expediton will be EA5RM. EA5BZ will be the pilot station and additional info is already available on S04R Web at www.dxfriends.com.

Problems in managing too many passwords

IZ4AKS — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 22:28:04 +0000

Bank account, mobile’s pin, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, frequent flyer programme, MySpace, my personal blog, Messenger, Google calendar, Yahoo groups, Flickr, ad also some nice hamradio resources: LOTW, QRZ.com, UltraDx, my favourite Forum…How to Remember all the Password? Let me introduce the solution: Clipperz!
Clipperz is a free and anonymous online password manager. Local encryption within the browser guarantees that no one except you can read your data.

Enjoy the convenience of Clipperz “direct logins” and access web services with just one click.
Clipperz is not just a password manager, it’s a personal online vault for any kind of sensitive data, from burglar alarm codes to confidential notes. Hamradio or not, Clipperz will store and save all Your precious data 24 hours a day. Lear more about it; smart tools can be useful also for the amateur radio operators!

Aurora from space

IZ4AKS — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 22:47:00 +0000

Aurora can affect propagation conditions over the polar routes and is often used to enhance VHF propagation, especially at 50 MHz and sometimes the 144 MHz Amateur bands. At times of auroral displays, HF radio signals traveling over the polar route will develop a distinctive warbling sound. You can often hear these effects on 14 MHz SSB signals that have followed the great circle route over the polar region.
During intense auroral activity, HF propagation down to the 3.5 MHz band can be affected. And if you are lucky enough to be in the right place, you can watch the spectacular visible auroral displays in the night-time sky (source hamradio-online.com).

Discovering hamradio in Kuwait

IZ4AKS — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 03:00:38 +0000

The State of Kuwait is a sovereign emirate on the coast of the Persian Gulf, enclosed by Saudi Arabia to the south and Iraq to the north and west. Let’s hinterview Hamad 9K2HN, to discover the dx scene in this emirate.

IZ4AKS: Hamad, Your signal is always very strong and You are the world famous Kuwaiti DXer, can you tell something about yourself? what are your working conditions and when did You start to love amateur radio and contesting?

9K2HN: First let me thank you for this interview, I have start Ham Radio on 1993 with very small setup 4 element tribander and 100w, and now after 15 years I have 4 towers covering from 160m to 10m. I started contesting on 1995 with a great help of my good friend Luca Ik2NCJ he was in a trip to Kuwait and we entered CQWW DX in October together as M/S and this was my first contest, since then I always try my level best not to miss any major contest.

IZ4AKS: Can You describe the DX scene in Kuwait?

9K2HN: Kuwait is great place to operate from, it semi rare country, so you always will have a pile up but manageable and can be controlled, I have noticed lately that the amount of CW & RTTY operation in Kuwait is very small compared to the past years, so I have been enjoying being one of the few operate these modes.

IZ4AKS: From Your side what are the three most wanted DXCC entities in each continents?

9K2HN: The most wanted DXCC for me is in North America are FO0 Clipperton Is., KP1 Navassa Is. And KP5 Desecheo Is. And in Antarctica VK0M Macquari Is, 3Y/b Bouvet Is all the rest are already worked.

IZ4AKS: Do You want to tell something about your country to all the people that are planning holiday or business trip in Kuwait? What You want to suggest them, and…there is a club station where they can operate?

9K2HN: For sure everyone is welcome to visit Kuwait and our club is open every day from 5 pm till 9pm and there they can meet many 9K’s our weekly meeting is on Tuesday of every week. At this time let me thank you for this interview and I hope I gave good picture about my self and Kuwait. 73’s

QTH for rent in Curacao

IZ4AKS — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 11:35:58 +0000

PJ2T is probably the most famous QTH that every operator can rent for a contest. Discover together what is the potential of this location and the easiest way for a dream to become reality.
IZ4AKS: PJ2T is a world-famous station, when did You start to work on this project? How many are the team members?
W0CG: I can’t take all the credit because the house was built in 1970 by W1BIH (PJ9JT) and John used it for decades as a contesting location. I cam along in 2000 when he had become too old to continue and was lucky to be able to buy the place from John. We now have 19 members in our CCC club group and we all help in keeping the station working well.
IZ4AKS: What is the actual setup of the station? Is it complete to work in each contest category (also M/M) ?
W0CG: We have four full stations. Each is an FT-1000 MP or Field, with linears Titan I, Titan II, Titan III and an LK-800 from Radioteam Finland. There’s also capability on 2 and six meters. The station has good Internet connectivity with DSL, and there is digital TV from the U.S., Holland, and South America. We can do M/M by setting up an extra station or two on tables in the shack, b But it is very difficult. It works much better as a M/2 station.

IZ4AKS: A team of radio amateurs interested to rent the QTH, what kind of steps has to follow? And what is the price list of PJ2T?
W0CG: I coordinate the rental visits, so it begins with an E-mail to me at ghoward@kent.edu . In general, the total cost of a week’s rental is about USD1650, plus or minus a little bit depending on the contest and the number of people coming.

IZ4AKS: There are also operators not involved in the world of contest. If They are dreaming moment of huge pileup but also the relax of a dxpedition in a pure holiday style, what they can find renting PJ2T? There is a place near the shack to “store” the wife (HI)?
W0CG: Wife storage is built in! There is a small resort hotel “next door” to the station, about a half kilometre walk down a quiet road. Sunset Waters Beach Resort has a nice beach, SCUBA shop, restaurant, and most watersports available for XYLs and kids while the OMs are on the air. www.sunsetwaters.com The rooms there are not five star, but it is clean and a very friendly resort to visit.

IZ4AKS: What are the procedures to have a valid PJ2 licence? Is it possible to have brand new PJ2 callsign or it is mandatory to transit as PJ2/Home-callsign?
W0CG: CEPT nations simply can sign like PJ2/I2UIY…. For a contest, it is possible to get a callsign of the form PJ2_ that is valid for the 48 hours of the contest. It only costs USD 61 for the license, but application needs to be made about three months ahead. www.pj2t.org under “Amateur Licensing” explains how to do it and has a downloadable form.

IZ4AKS: Fortunately, there is not only radio in life. What your guest can’t miss to visit in Curacao?
W0CG: the big draw in Curacao is it is WARM. The sun and warm weather are there 365 days a year (almost) and that’s the best reason to go there. The second reason is that we have the nicest people in the world. The island vegetation is not attractive – it is sticky bushes and cactus, but underwater Curacao has some of the best SCUBA diving.