Thank You TX5C

Thank you TX5C for your courage, tenacity, and operating skills. Your DXpedition fired my imagination bringing vivid images of far flung tropical islands into my shack. I enjoyed listening to your proficient CW operators on 30-, 20-, 17-, and 15-Meters all of whom are a credit to ham radio.

Your willingness to confront spartan living conditions, face down life threatening storms, and suffer miserable heat to deliver a new DXCC counter is deeply appreciated.

Your DXpedition brought into my shack another dramatic image. One not spoken about and probably forgotten on the world. I can take refuge in my comfortable home but they must live day in, day out in a home full of garbage. I feel a sense of responsibility and duty to speak about the beaches of Clipperton Atoll.

Steve Hammer, K6SGH who became known as 'Hammer Time' on my blog captured an on-going ecological disaster. His photographs revealed to the ham radio community something that reaches beyond a mere QSO and new DXCC counter. A fragile ecology bearing the ever increasing weight of global garbage.

Steve said in his journal entry dated 12 March 2008, "It seems to me that a program, using volunteers and money from charitable organizations, could be devised to begin to deal with this problem."

He is right and such a program is needed as soon as possible. I can't celebrate a QSO knowing that global garbage infests the habitat of Clipperton Atoll.

I'm contacting Steve after this blog posting. Interestingly, he is a resident of Santa Barbara and we understand the value added to humanity when beaches are kept global garbage free.

If you are reading this blog please consider the following proactive steps toward realizing Steve Hammer's vision.

• Email Steve in support of his groundbreaking vision.
• Discuss K6SGH's message with other like-minded ham radio operators.

Thank you TX5C and the great team of operators who brought so much joy into my shack. I fully endorse and advocate for some type of Clipperton Atoll clean-up project as suggested by Steve Hammer, K6SGH in the future.

73 from the shack.

NSL V #3 Results

I dig operating low-power, low-profile especially with a 700-foot, 58-degree ridgeline running eastward. However there is a clear shot to the Pacific. My contesting QTH is out there, somewhere, and we will find it.

The new antenna made from PVC, #18 AWG stranded copper wire, 44-feet total length, fed with 450-Ohm ladder line performed well and I look forward to more daylight as summer approaches. I cut the antenna for 30-Meters and support the system with a 12-foot wooden mast and a flag pole holder. Photographs to follow in the near future.

I worked a pair of east coast stations, one west coast, and one mid-west station during the Northern California Contest Club (NCCC) sponsored NS Sprint Ladder (NSL) last night. A total of four stations and four multipliers on 40-Meters for the evening. I went with 40 only and it was a mistake. Twenty meters pumped. Remember to check propagation charts and not the gut. Just not enough experience to make that kind of call.

Results.

Band--Raw QSOs--Valid QSOs--QSO Pts--Pts/Q--Mults
-------------------------------------------------------------------
40--4--4--4--1.00-- 4
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Totals--4--4--4--1.00--4

The fastest 30-minutes in RadioSport flew by at the speed of photon powered sprint shoes. I'm taking a 'bye' on next week's action. The crew is getting ready for CQ WPX SSB. There's a nice pile-up on 30-Meters right now. Who is it?

Contest on.

Christian DL6KAC said, "Glad you like the site..."

Innovation and creativity are supercharging Ham Radio. The ZS8T DXpedition website is a prime example of individuals reaching beyond the box. Logos, wallpaper, really simple syndication (RSS) feed, discussion board, and more. That's wow-factor cubed.

Petrus, ZS6GCM has an unofficial fan club at KA3DRR. Who knows what records Petrus will break during his one year operation on Marion Island?

My thanks to Christian, DL6KAC and the other website construction engineers (Stan, MM0NDX and Col, SQ8X) for delivering passion, excitement, and innovation.

73 from the shack.

ZS8T DXpedition Website Rocks!

The new gold standard for DXpedition websites. Remarkable. Stunning. This is one that brings you back for more.

Don't miss the action at ZS8T-Marion Island. Stellar job Christian, Col, and Stan!

73 from the shack.

Ray VK4ZW said, "Operating skill is the first priority."

Read Ray, VK4ZW's comment on Click and Operate--Is CW Skimmer The Future?

Lots of discussion regarding CW Skimmer but it is a tool that will wait. I do see Skimmer's utility but competency and regard for the soul of RadioSport takes the forefront. Thanks Ray for leaving your comment.

Contest on.

NSL V #3

My preferred meal prior to running the fastest 30-minutes in RadioSport. A big stack of ribs slathered in ole Kentucky barbecue sauce along with a stack of home fries. NS Sprint sponsored by the Northern California Contest Club (NCCC) kicks off tomorrow evening at 7:30 PM (Pacific Standard) and the contest is a lot of Ham Radio fun. I'm looking forward to trying out my new antenna that Bill, N6ZFO and I built over the weekend. It's an almost rotable doublet given I'm feeding the antenna with 450-Ohm ladder line. NS Sprint rules click here. Stay tuned as I work my way through the rib stack. Thank's Alex Bar-B-Q in Shell Beach! Hope to see you in the sprint log tomorrow night.

9M6/N1UR Spratly DXpedition

Ed, N1UR and Christine, KB1PQN a husband and wife team are on their way to Spratly Island. This is Christine's first ever DXpedition according to Ed's 9M6/N1UR Spratly DXpedition website. Their DXpedition isn't a kilowatt instead they will transmit from Spratly using 100-watts only.

Very cool. Very challenging. And right on. This is why I plan on chasing the 9M6/N1UR signal this weekend. This DXpedition is one for low-power, low-profile operators spanning the globe.

Check out Ed and Christine's blog as well.

73 from the shack.

Keith, W4KAZ--Leaves Comment

Keith, W4KAZ leaves comment here.

Thanks Keith and I miss album oriented FM radio. I was a big fan of Thomas John who disc jockeyed for WSRD in the late -70s and early eighties. Thomas John flew the station through the evenings and I just kicked back in my shack listening to his line-up.

Jethro Tull--sitting on a park bench! I can't forget The Who as well and the Alan Parson Project's I-Robot. Throw in some Steely Dan and that was an evening on the FM dial. Call me a throw-back kinda of guy.

I'm not listening to FM at all these days preferring amplitude modulation (AM) instead. There is the Internet and I'll follow up on a Google search for album oriented radio. Thanks again Keith for your comment.

73 from the shack.

The Novices

I'm taking a walk down Ham Radio memory lane this afternoon. The time is the late-1970s when album oriented radio ruled the frequency modulated (FM) airwaves and I listened to WSRD 'The Wizard' out of Youngstown, Ohio. If I tried hard enough and bent my FM dipole antenna just right, the sounds of WMMS 'The Buzzard' in Cleveland shook my shack.

The soundtrack delivered by The Wizard and The Buzzard provided the backdrop for a group of young Ham Radio operators growing up in Sharon, Pennsylvania. We were quite a collection of youthful exuberance coming from all walks of life. There was Ken, Brian, Scott, Dan, Ed, Dan, Ray, and myself. We were all in high school when Pink Floyd released The Wall and Led Zeppelin ruled the world.

I grew up in a mill worker's home and my Dad welded those behemoth tank cars that ply our railroads. He worked for General American Transportation Corporation in Masury, Ohio. It was the peak of steel production and the open furnace of Sharon Steel painted the night sky orange. The steam whistle of the General Electric plant sounded shift change for all of Sharon as well. That was a snippet of life in the heart of steel country.

On the other hand, every group has a center of gravity, and for the Novices it was one man with a gleam in his eye. In fact, I credit him, for calling us the Novices. He was the 100-foot tower of RadioSport experience and enthusiasm. Who can forget Drake C-lines and their bluish glow in the heat of RadioSport competition? I remember sitting next to him during the ARRL 10-Meter contest on a wintry western Pennsylvania night. He ran stations and I furiously maintained the dupe sheet. I ran out of pencil lead before he ran out of stations. I knew that the signal of RadioSport would forever resonant in my heart.

Some like Ken, Brian, and Scott upgraded to Advance class but a few like Dan, Ed, Ray, Dan, and I populated 7.100 through 7.150 on Friday and Saturday nights. Eventually, we upgraded to General but we sapped the marrow out of the novice bands before hand.

We had a blast working distant states like California and Washington at midnight. We chatted about who worked what DX and I talked about 40-Meters. I owned 40-Meters as a novice. For some reason, my dipole kicked butt on that band and I liked working Europe around midnight. I tuned my HW16, anytime of the day, and a crowded band greeted my headphones.

Meanwhile, The Novices gathered at the Sharon Senior High school Amateur Radio Club Station, WB3CSO. It was all about style on the CW keyer and who got what country confirmed. These things seemed like big deals then and that spurred me forward. A Kenwood transceiver was a status symbol for the Novices but I operated a mill worker's Heathkit HW16 with class. Long live that 40-Meter dipole as well.

The sounds of The Wizard and The Buzzard played on. The rulers of FM like Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin faded from the dial. Change inevitably followed the Novices. Some went to college and others went into the military. Those summer memories of Scott, Brian, Ken, Dan, Ed, Ray, and our center of gravity with RadioSport gleam lives on much like WMMS and WSRD.

73 from the shack-a-delic.