Ham Radio Operator - M0YKS

Some of the 2017 CQ World Wide SSB Contest caught on video at my radio shack.

After a great weekend of CQ World Wide contesting I ended up with 103 countries and 21 zones with almost 400 qso's in my log. Conditions were reasonable and I had lots of fun whilst operating on and off throughout the 48hrs. A video will follow shortly. Best 73.

I just spent a couple of hours checking out my radio equipment making sure everything is nipped up tight, I also gave the radios and accessories a wipe down and dust off. I re-positioned the layout which ended up with a more user friendly line up which lines up better with my comfy chair! The CQ WW Contest is on for 48 hours this weekend and starts this evening at midnight local time, I wont be operating for 48 hours but I do plan on getting a good lengthy duration of contest fun. I wouldn't say I was much of a contest operator as compared to others but I do enjoy the CQ WW contest as it is the best one in my opinion to catch some new distant countries in the log, and for that reason I will be once again participating over the weekend aiming to smash my record of 22 out of 40 zones. Last year was lots of fun but poor band propagation with only a few long distant stations and the 10 meter band never opened up at all at my end. Hopefully this years conditions will be slightly impro

I recently wrote an article that was published in one of West Mountain Radio quarterly ham radio news letters - The Beacon. I have been enjoying testing out the PWR Check device over the past couple of months and was very pleased to see my story appear in their news letter - The Beacon  Five Reasons Why I Love Ham Radio So Much Many Thanks to everyone at West Mountain Radio. Best 73.

My windom antenna has been in an inverted vee configuration for the last twelve months, I have carried out a few experiments with the antenna supported by the off center fed balun but have found the vee configuration far too noisy on reception.So today I managed to get the windom back to horizontal and in a straight line. I also increased the antenna height above the ground from 20 feet to around about 30 feet sloping slightly at both ends to around about 20 feet at each end. To make life easy I got out my 30 ft telescopic pole and attached a homemade hook into the top of the pole for easy hanging. The fiberglass pole is the quickest way for me to get a hook up high without too much trouble and with a steady hand its simple enough to extend with the antenna attached. The neighbors probably think I am going fishing, maybe flying fish? Anyhow up she goes, where it stops no one knows! The face of concentration as I 'hook a duck' at 30 feet, I am aiming the pole

As I hit the sack I had a last look out at my antennas as they dance about in ex hurricane Ophelia's footprint. So far so good, I'll try to sleep but it's a bit on the noisy side so tomorrow morning could be slightly more grumpy than usual. On that note I'll say 73 and fingers crossed that the antennas don't suffer to badly.

It's been a good weekend regarding band conditions as I have been busy working world wide on the 17 and 15 metre band. There has been some nice signals coming through which have provided lots of quality qso's as I played ham radio. My two daughters are growing up quickly and are always eager to get involved in anything that dad does, so I decided to treat them to a day out with some super heroes and other cool characters. We payed a visit to our local football club Bradford city where the Comicon was on. A fun time had by all. Best 73 happy DX

6Y5IC     Jamaica Wenty Bethune Kingston 10 Jamaica It was well worth checking the 20m band before bed as I worked into sunny Kingston Jamaica. A place that I have visited and hope to return soon, I have lots of friends up and down the island so it is a special treat to get 6Y5IC in the log.

I have been using the PWRcheck analyser for a couple of months now and decided to share my views regarding the findings. The device is manufactured by West Mountain Radio and is constructed well in a cool case that's nice and neat with simple enough connections and controls. The device is definitely a handy tool that can be used in the shack, portable or mobile with any radio as well as other uses. For example, I measured how much power my motorcycle batteries held and how long my van battery would power my FT-857 whilst camping. The feature I like the best is the wattage reading which has been very useful. I have a cheaper type of HF amplifier made by RM. The PWRcheck allows me to monitor the power output of the amp and hopefully avoid blowing outputs. The digital display can be navigated through easily enough using the front panel mounted switches. It also has backlit on or off option to keep any portable battery drain to a minimum. I tend to use the PWRcheck

Well that was all over a bit too quickly was what I thought as I returned to the workplace after my summer break. We enjoyed our time on the isle of Anglesey and had lots of good wx. I also made a few nice qso using my DX machine on 2 meters and 40 meters which was something a little bit different as I nearly always operate 20 meters from the mobile. The island is a great location for radio and holidays as it is very quiet and peaceful with excellent radio reception due to zero noise and qrn. M3TLL - Louise also enjoyed the location as she gazes across at Pen mon Lighthouse and Puffin Island with the assistance of my grandfather's binoculars. At the present moment I am at work staying back a couple of hours as it is a brand new college year next week and I have to be here incase we receive more enquiries regarding enrolling onto one of my engineering courses. I will be out in the car park into the DX machine straight after I'm done and will be tuning my radio i

It's 8 years since I constructed the IO - 10 El Sat antenna that is still holding up well in the moor top winds and winters. It just goes to show how well homebrew projects can work as well as the comercial ones that cost an arm and a leg. I have been working a few lighthouse stations that are currently on the air and managed to catch a couple of nice DX station last night from the cabin. I also had some good contacts on VHF using my old YAESU FT-2600m where I made contact with a special event station, a new operator practising from a radio club as well as some local stations that I haven't made a qso with for a couple of years. The WX up here on Baildon Moor is sunny with showers and plenty of wind as our summer holidays continue for another week or so. I will be active as MW0YKS mobile from the beach next week. 73

Back at the home QTH. The homemade loop has been down a while after a storm took it from it's tree supports. I jumped over the garden wall into the woodland at the back and managed to get the wire delta loop up into the trees nice and high. After a couple of goes I ended up with a very good triangle with equal leg proportions which I secured well. The SWR reads 1:5 so I'll leave it at that and give it a blast. The delta loop antenna is used with my old FT-890 which I have on when I'm hanging out I in the dining room which just so happens to be a lot. Maybe I should bring the main shack Into the dinning room but to keep the peace I better not! I already have a nice corner filled with hifi amplifiers, turntables big speakers and a neat second station. 73

I'm entering week two of my summer holidays and so far it's been great. We made it to GM Scotland last week and enjoyed excellent weather whilst camping in the Mk7 DX machine. I worked a few stations on 20m and enjoyed the zero noise levels whilst listening to some nice DX. I'm up at my cabin on the Yorkshire moor this evening and have worked into Canada earlier having a nice qso with VE3YJ,  I heard VK3MO and LU3MCJ as well as CO8NDZ coming in loud and clear on my favourite band 20m. Listen out and keep an eye on my blog for the next outing. I'll be on air from Baildon Moor tomorrow morning. Best 73. Thanks M0YKS

Here is a video of my latest mobile amateur radio station in action!