Advanced Amateur Radio Exam

Greetings to All!

Its been a long time since I blogged, this is because I have been very busy studying for the advanced amateur radio licence examination. I am extremely pleased to be able to share with you the fantastic news which I received earlier today which is....... I passed!

My new Call sign is M0YKS.

YO HO HO..... Its That Time Again!

Late Night Opening On 80M

During the last hour of the day just before bedtime I like to tune around the bands to see what stations I can hear coming in to my amateur radio station. The past couple of weeks most evenings have found the majority of the bands have been closed and the little bit of late night activity has been mainly on the lower bands such as 40m & 80m. On the lower bands late on I have worked and heard many US Hams coming in well up on 40 meters and I have heard one or two good ones coming in great on 80m at around midnight local time staying open throughout the night until I am back up early for work listening over breakfast.
Last night before I hit the sack I heard CU7MD at 11.50 utc on 3.790MHz who was up at 5/9 with very few takers responding to his CQ call.

I listened for while and decided to give Jose - CU7MD from Azores Islands a shout back where I was heard at his end with a matching 5/9 report. I was running my FT-1000MK V MP and Carolina Windom 80m antenna system which is only up at around 25ft above the ground. I was pleased with the Windom's performance as was I pleased with my YAESU radio which always serves me well. Later I looked Jose - CU7MD up on QRZ.com and was chuffed to find my callsign logged on Jose QRZ page in a log containing the last 10 stations to be worked by Jose
.

Hope to work some more late night wintery DX openings on 80m and 40m over the coming months before we head into spring. 73 Happy Ham'ing!

G4KQJ "King, Queen, Jack"

As I listened to the weekly GB2RS news broadcast I heard the sad news that Bill - G4KQJ had passed away last week at the age of 87 and a half after he had recently been poorly.
G4KQJ had read the RSGB news for over twenty five years and was always a 5/9+ signal up on 145.525MHz from his amateur radio news station GB2RS which was located in Brighouse, West Yorkshire. Bill known as King Queen Jack, was a first class amateur radio operator and a very good news reader who always had time for a rag chew before and after the RSGB news broadcast. Bill had a wealth of experience in many topics but the ones that I remember the most and had the many pleasures of discussing and listening about were of his many years of service in the Royal Air Force. Bill was originally from the south of England but fell in love with a northern girl from nearby Bradford, He settled up north and he became a respected fellow Yorkshireman. G4KQJ was a amateur radio friend who I spoke almost weekly with for over 10 years, we never actually met but I will miss hearing him on the air as will lots of other local radio amateurs. R.I.P Bill, our thoughts are with Bill's family and friends.

The Return Of The FT-100

Since my YAESU FT-100 came back from the rig docs I have been itching to change it back over into my mobile station. The FT-100 had a technical issue a couple of years back which turned out to be a number of dry joints. I have had my FT-100 in service since 2004 /M and really like this particular radio, I prefer the FT-100 screen size over the FT-857 especially the signal meter which is much better on the FT-100 in my opinion. Don't get me wrong, I have to say that the FT-857 is also a good mobile rig and has served me well as my spare whilst out and about in the DX Machine. But the FT-100 is my preferred radio of the two for every day mobile operation, so my FT-857 is better off back in the shack coupled to my Tri band vertical next to my other lovely YAESU Radios. In the DX Machine I have already been working stations loud and clear with the FT-100 earlier today during the work journeys on my favourite mobile band which is 20m. I will be back in the mobile and on 20m again in the morning at around 8.00 - 8.30 utc and then at around 17.00 utc homeward bound.

The weekend gave us all the opportunity to get outside in the great outdoors where I got to demonstrate my old YAESU FT-470 "handie" in action to my lovely daughters and faithful hound. We listened in to a qso on a local repeater hooked up to IRLP where two Hams from the US were coming through nicely. I should be out and about and active on the Air over the weekend again WX permitting.
It was also my lovely camera woman/YL Louise (M3TLL) birthday, so we had plenty of visitors, cake and fun.

 In the meantime the family are all sleeping and the clock is ticking, its shack time where my FT-1000MP is pulling in some nice signals from across the Atlantic up on 40m, it is time for me to have a play! 73 Happy Ham'ing

Engineering and Electronics Class

ICE - Industrial Centre Of Excellence
One of the courses I am delivering at the College where I work comprises of Engineering and Electronics (ICE). The ICE students on this course are into their second year of having me as their tutor and so far they have developed skills in MIG, MMA and TIG Welding, Metal craft and Fabrication, Plasma arc cutting, Sheet metal and are currently focusing on Electronics. So far my students have built basic soldered circuits using boards, resistors, diodes, and LEDs, as well as Morse keys which work with buzzers. The students have also been learning about amateur radio and responded well to sending messages to each other in Morse on their home brew kits. Over the past few weeks they have come on very well with their soldering ability and have moved onto the final project which is a Digital FM receiver. The FM radio receivers are quite nice kits and it was very exciting when the first student to successfully complete the receiver had radio 1 coming in loud and clear earlier this morning.

Building A Multi Band Dipole
As I mentioned, I have been trying my best to promote amateur radio into the syllabus and have had a good response form the ICE students towards the hobby. In today's lesson the students finished assembling a home brew multi band dipole which had elements cut for 20m, 17m, 15m, 12m, 10m and the 2 meter band.

The students rigged the dipole up as a temporary installation about 2 meters above the ground, I had brought my antenna analyser allowing the students to check the elements were resonant on the dedicated bands, the rest was up to me. I hooked up my YAESU FT-817 which had been recently repaired with a new bnc socket fitted and two new PA finals, all courtesy of LAM Communications.
As soon as the little FT-817 was powered up we heard lots of stations coming in great up on 20 meters. We didn't have enough time to try all the bands so I concentrated on 20 meters and soon came across a Belgium  station calling CQ, I explained to my students that it would be unlikely that we would make the trip into Belgium using only 2 watts but I was determined to try and would have a good go! Amazingly I was heard on my first call /QRP and I was able to maintain a qso into Belgium for over 15 minutes using the antenna built by my students who were totally impressed by it all! I promised them I would take in my Cushcraft MA5B mini beam and a bit more power (FT-890) but that's only after they design and build a portable tilt over mast to support the antenna. Are target date for the completion of this project will be for National Science week March 2015 when we will hopefully be active on the bands from the college. 73

Update's To The 2E0HTS Ham Radio Main Site

I added another way of viewing my Ham Radio Main Site's Guest Book by creating a second book simply entitled "View The 2E0HTS Guest Book," both books can easily accessed and are pictured below. They are available for anyone including non Hams and can be found attached to the front page of my Ham Radio Main Site

Its early days but so far I have received a good response, Thank You! To all who have dropped by and left a comment and name. Don't forget to sign and say hello! Best 73 de Simon 2E0HTS.

Sad News

I just read the sad news that G4ILO Julian Moss has passed away after a long illness, I will always remember the banter and encouraging comments Julian always left for me on many of my blog posts. He will be truly missed by many and our thoughts are with his wife and family.

Early Riser

Its half term at the College where I work so I am off for the week, my youngest daughter Martha has been wide awake since 6 am so I thought I might get up out of bed and show her some early morning DX. 20 meters was not open yet and 80 meters was closing down, however up on 40 meters things were happing and I worked W3DIY loud and clear 5/8.

I was running my FT-1000mp into my Hustler vertical and received a nice report from Rick who was booming in.

CQ World Wide DX Contest 2014

The CQ World Wide DX is my favourite contest it is the best way to work lots of DX from all around the world on the HF bands. This year I had lots of fun as did one of my Daughters Elsie, I let her join in with her own DX Zone chart to fill in each time I worked a zone. This proved to be a good idea, she really enjoyed it and kept asking me to get another! This was the best encouragement that any Ham dad could ask for during any contest h.i.
As a single low power operator I had a real blast and ended up working into 21 different zones which included 46 different Countries logged by the time the contest had ended.

The 21 Zones I managed were worked on 10 and 15 meters, I also made QSO,s on 20, 40 and 80 meters toward the end of the contest. Conditions were reasonable throughout the entire 48 hour contest, I have known even better conditions in past contests but I am more than happy with the performance of my main amateur radio station during this CQ WW (2014). I worked 21 zones back in 2011 when I had recently moved to this location. My previous high score before that was up at my holiday shack on the Moors which was 18 Zones. I am very happy with 21 this time but need to try a bit harder next year and get a few more!

The 46 Countries I worked in this years WW CQ DX Contest Include:
1.European Russia, 2.Canary Is, 3.Italy, 4.Cyprus, 5.Germany, 6.Hungary, 7.Kuwait, 8.Switzerland,
9.United State, 10.China, 11.Croatia, 12.Venezuela, 13.Brazil, 14.Spain, 15.Turkey, 16..Argentina,
17.Morocco, 18.Madagascar, 19.Ascension Is, 20.Madeira, 21.Nicaragua, 22.Canada, 23.Aruba,
24.Finland, 25.Asiatic Russia, 26.Kazakhstan, 27.Georgia, 28.Belarus, 29.Romania, 30.Israel,
31.Barbados, 32.French Guiana, 33.Iceland, 34.Alaska, 35.Colombia, 36.Curacao,
37.Turks & Caicos Is, 38.Cuba, 39.Bulgaria, 40.Serbia, 41.Hungary, 42.Croatia, 43.Czech Republic,
44.Belgium, 45.France, 46.Ireland. (Only 290 more to go! lol)
I am looking forward to next years CQ WW already I definitely enjoyed myself this year!

Here's Another Thank You aimed at All who have visited my ham radio site and signed the Guest book! Best 73 de 2e0hts Simon & Family.

http://2e0hts-hamradio.weebly.com/

Last but by no means the least! Happy anniversary to my loving partner Louise - M3TLL for putting up with me for another year making it 9 years and still going strong!

Download - 2e0hts CQ WW DX Zone Check List

Just in case you wanted a copy, I made this years CQWW Zones check-list available to download or share.

Working Into ZL4AA From My DX Machine

A nice start to the working day as I drove my DX Machine I worked special event station ZL1AA.
ZL1AA was celebrating 90 years since they first worked into the UK. Follow the link to read the full story.  ZL1AA came in well at around 7.15 utc up on the 20m band with a 5/9+ signal to my FT-857, I received a 5/9 report back!

Mobile Again!

Its been almost 3 months since I got injured on my Motorcycle and I am almost back to my usual self. My torn quadriceps is on the mend and is becoming less painful day by day. I am enjoying being back at work and I am also pleased to be able to continue my latest DX-Machine project which is coming on strong!
I have been active on HF from my new van on 20, 15 and 10 meters where I have had many successful QSO's into VK, USA and throughout Europe. The YAESU FT-857 and my old Maldol mono bander's are still performing well for me, I have yet to experiment with the other bands which I am well equipped for with antenna's such as the large Hustler mobile antenna with loading coils for 80, 40, 20, 17 and 15 meters as well as the rest of my trusty Maldol's.

I have produced a part 2 video of my "DX-Machine" which shows the latest installations and improvements to the van such as its passenger privacy tinted windows, stainless steel bling, lots of carpet, some joinery work and some very comfortable home made beds/seats. See the latest mods and also some big signals from Japan up on the 15 meter band in the video below.



Other news: I recently paid a visit to my old radio club Keighley Amateur Radio Society KARS) . I had decided that now that my family is established and doing just great, it would be nice to be able to renew my membership and become a member of the club again. I also took the plunge and finally booked the advanced amateur radio exam to sit in January. It was great to catch up with some old friends at the radio club and I was made very welcome by the new Club Chairman and Committee, I am looking forward to my next trip up there.
Well that's about all for now, I hope to catch some of you on the bands from my "DX Machine" or perhaps my comfy armchair in my shack soon. Until my next post 73 and Thanks!

SSTV From RS0ISS

I have been back to the docs regarding my injured leg that I obtained during my recent motorcycle accident.The Doc said I must take it easy as I have damaged the quadriceps in my knee which explains the pain and swelling I am getting! Anyway rest is what I have been doing and of course playing radio is a good way to keep happy as I heal!
Whilst being active I have worked some great stations from Europe to Australia on 40m, 20, 17 and 10 meters. The bands are up and down but can be pretty good if the timing is right. Earlier today I was checking ISS on 145.800 MHz when I heard a burst of SSTV coming in well. I wasn't set up to decode the signal at the time but I did manage to record the transmission from ISS on my mobile phone, using its voice recorder. Later I plugged it into my pc and decoded it directly from my phone using MMSSTV. As you can see pictured above, it worked out quite well. I hope to catch some more Images from ISS tomorrow if RS0ISS is active! 73

This Years Summer Break Started With A Bang!

My summer leave from work did not start so well as I was knocked off my motorcycle on the way home from work back in July. I survived with a few aches, knocks, bumps and bruises but never the less was fortunate not to get too seriously injured. The bike however was a right off! A real shame as I have looked after my Suzuki Bandit for 12 years and it was an absolute minter.

As you can imagine I have been feeling stiff, sore and fed up with myself and my usual happy holidays was not quite as happy as it should. With this in mind my better half told me to go out and buy something cool to get my mind off of things, so I took her advice and came back with a new vehicle. I chose something that would benefit the family as well as myself and with this in mind I got a Ford Transit Van. The reason why I chose the Transit was because its a good size of vehicle to be able to convert into a day van/tourer and the Transit van has a good reputation for reliability as well as economy with a 2.0 litre turbo charged diesel engine.

TRANSIT Van Conversion work commences
 The conversion so far has gone well with a flying start thanks to my old CB pal Kevin aka "Tom Thumb" whom I first met on the CB back in 1981. Kevin has always been a good friend and he has been helping me out since my motorcycle spill. He is a gas engineer by trade and a dab hand at too many things to list, he also has a fully converted Transit which is very nice indeed. With his help we made an immediate start on my new van which involved ripping out the original board and racking, replacing it with acoustic sound proof cork, fresh timber and some warm carpet.

Sound proofed as well as insulated before the sheets go down.

A nice base to start things off with!

Insulation and sound proofing into the sides which will keep things warm and snug in the back.

Elsie is well impressed with her new "camper" so much she was so keen to help, under strict supervision with the scissors of course.

Kevin putting in a good days work as he finishes laying the carpet, very nice indeed Thanks buddy!

My turn now, I grabbed a bargain from ebay which was the seats pictured below for my beautiful girls Elsie and Martha, which I fitted with the assistance of my welding equipment and workshop skills.

Finally, well until the next stage. I fitted my YAESU FT-857 Transceiver using the separation kit and home-brew bracket out of my Toyota which is now My YL Louise's new wheels of steel.

 A close up of the dash mounted mobile YAESU radio in my new van.

 Off we go on our travels in our new DX Machine keeping reasonably local for now and yes I am feeling a lot happier and my injuries - stiff neck, back and a bashed knee are getting better day by day thanks to the physiotherapy sessions arranged by my motorcycle insurance broker,who  is doing a good job for me so far.

 The view isn't too bad either!

 Happy days are ahead for sure for all of us as we all enjoy our new vehicle and the rest of the summer holiday.

So far the performance from the Ham radio DX Machine has been good as I have made some good radio qso's from the newly installed equipment. I made a video below showing the Ham equipment working and it also shows the antenna set-up that I am using with my FT-857.

The next stage of work on the van will be getting the side panels out and some nice privacy tinted glass in which will enable a better view in the back. I am also on with designing a pair of rear benches which will incorporate storage area and also be able to change into a bed. Stay tuned for more.... & best 73 as usual!