Malcolm (KH6MSH) forwarded a review to the EARC net control station list written by one Brad Boutan. It was for a Yaesu FT-7900R mobile dual band radio. (I have its older cousin, the FT-7800R – it was my primary radio until my FT-857; it’s now part of my go-kit.) I have to admit, I had a pretty good laugh at first. But reading it again, some of the stuff is just plain false. It basically showed a fundamental lack of knowledge about what ham radio is. So, in case you happen on across this review, I hope this sets the record straight. Let’s address his bullet points one by one:

First the bad news. 1. Transcever [sic] does not have CB frequencies. I was under the false impression that it did…

I have more bad news for you, dude. CB is CB, ham is ham, and on the airwaves, never the twain shall meet…legally, that is. CB has its own FCC band (11 meters), and although it’s a close neighbor to the ham radio 10-meter band, if a ham radio transceiver is legal in the U.S., it cannot include 11 meters. Nor can a type-compliant CB radio transmit on 10 meters. So if you’re looking for a radio that can transmit on CB, look elsewhere. Like, an actual CB radio. Next.

2. Documentation inadequate for proper sellection [sic] of antenna, and power supply.

The documentation for a ham radio presupposes that you have a license. And having a license implies that you passed the Technician class exam, which covers the basics of antennas and DC power in some length. True, some of this stuff comes from learning from other hams, but even then, if you went through the Technician exam, you have the basic knowledge to understand what antenna you need – you’ll have the basics of SWR (and why it’s a bad thing); you’ll understand why your quarter-wave vertical mobile antenna needs a pizza pan to work, and so on. You can even make your own. And you’ll know that you need 12V to run it. So, if you need to be told what kind of an antenna you need – you need to pass the exam first.

3. Inadequate public notice of requirement for U.S. government license.

Oh, come on. Hams put their callsigns on display for the world to see – especially on their cars. Not all radio users have government issued callsigns, which implies that it’s something special, and maybe (gulp) needs government approval? I’ve known for a while that hams needed licenses, and getting one was on my bucket list for a while until I finally got it in 2007.

Now, this criticism could apply to some radio services, such as the General Mobile Radio Service (GMRS). You wouldn’t know, on reading the packaging on those two-way radios in your local Best Buy or Wal-Mart or what have you, that you need a license. I’m talking about those radios that boast about a 10-15 mile range. (Which, by the way, is only true under ideal conditions – that is, true line of sight or flat ground. Add mountains, obstructions, or buildings, and you’re lucky to get 2 miles at most.) You can use the radio out of the box on the Family Radio Service channels at the FRS power limit of half a watt, but to legally use the full power, you need to apply to the FCC and pay a little-more-than-nominal fee of about $80. (For comparison, with some time and effort, you can get your ham license for as little as the typical exam fee of $14. And if you’re really adventurous, you could run the table, go from zero to Extra in one sitting, and pay as little was $42.)

But ham radio is not one of those. It’s not a secret that hams need licenses. And if it’s news to you…well, what can I say?

4. Again inadequate documentation for proper user friendly operation of all features of Transcever [sic].

OK, I’ll concede that owner’s manuals are not the most user-friendly things in the world. That said, learning all the bells and whistles of any piece of equipment takes work. The most essential function is transmission, and that’s pretty much the same across all radios. But there are essential skills in ham radio that you need to know, but the specifics of doing so may vary from radio to radio. For instance, knowing how to set your radio between repeater/duplex mode and simplex mode. Or memorizing frequently used frequencies. Or learning how to listen on the “reverse” – i.e. the input frequency of a repeater.

You do need to read your manual. I hope our reviewer friend knows how.

5. Non disclosure of Manufacturer (ie. is it from a Hostile nation with computor [sic] circuitry designed to malfunction or other harmfull [sic] acts.)

The manufacturer is pretty clear – it’s Yaesu. They’re a well-known name in radio communication and particularly among hams. All the radios I use are made by Yaesu. They’re not the only one out there (their competitors, ICOM and Kenwood, come immediately to mind), but they’re well respected. By the way, they’re a Japanese company, so I don’t think they’re going to harm anyone, unless you really, sincerely think that Pearl Harbor will ever happen again.

6. Has permenant [sic] auto shut off of Transmitting capability if FCC detects ANY operator transmitting without a license. Even if a one time, 5 second transmission is made, results in auto shut off. Even on very obscure frequencies. … Unite [sic] must be taken to Ham shop to reset trip.

OK, here’s what I picture – the FCC constantly monitoring 2 meters, and seeing if anyone is transmitting unlicensed so that – BOOM – they can send some weird signal that short-circuits their radio and turns it into an expensive paperweight.

And if you believe that, can I interest you in some prime land on the slopes of Kilauea?

<sarcasm>I’m sure the FCC can tell if someone has a license just by listening to their transmission for a mere five seconds.</sarcasm>

I’m also sure the FCC has better things to do than to do that. And I’m sure that they’re not going to fine you $5,000 if you momentarily lapse and drop your callsign after 10 minutes and 2 seconds.  They’re not THAT strict. However, if you habitually forget to ID, or do other things that are no-nos, the FCC can take complaints and take action. Hams will defend their frequencies against abuse.

The whole licencing scheme is a scam of Freedom of Speech Right, and Right to Public Access.

Freedom of speech has never been absolute. You’ve heard of shouting “Fire!” in a crowded theatre, right? (The ham bands have an equivalent: falsely declaring an emergency on the air.) And right of public access? The roads are publicly available, but you still need your driver’s license to operate a motorized vehicle on them. Safety, safety, safety. I talk about the hows and whys of ham radio licensing at length here, but suffice it to say that if you transmit unlicensed and break some of the rules in the process, you’re going to sound like a total fool, you’re going to have quite a few hams ticked off at you if your transmission causes interference, and you’ll probably attract the attention of the friendly neighborhood FCC.

In the end, dude, no one is forcing you to go into ham radio. If CB is more your speed, more power to you (up to 12 watts, of course). And next time, you might want to read up on ham radio before actually purchasing one. And yes, I know you actually purchased it. Amazon says so.

This past August was the first time I participated in the Hawaii QSO Party. That weekend on Saturday, I paid the QTH of Randy KH6IB a visit, where members of the Emergency Amateur Radio Club were hanging out for the next band opening. I got on the mic for a little while and worked a few stations for KH6CE, so I got credit as an operator. Then once conditions started improving, I headed back home, fired up fldigi, and got ready to work some stations that afternoon. As you probably know, I’m a big fan of PSK31, and have made most of my contacts that way.  And the HQP is one of the relatively rare contests that not only allow PSK31, but actively encourage it by giving you triple the QSO points.

All told, I got 13 PSK31 contacts and 4 SSB contacts, 688 points total. Of course, I didn’t believe that I would win anything with that measly amount. The stereotypical contester puts out a kilowatt of power so just about anyone around the world can hear him. So was I surprised when Joe AH0A gave me this at the last meeting:

Yep, third place in Honolulu County for single operator low power (less than 150 W). The first place op had around 17,000 points, and the second place op had 2,000 points. So I was about two orders of magnitude below them. Still, third place is third place.

In a way, though, I’m kicking myself a bit about those four SSB contacts so I could get the multipliers for Kauai and Ford Island. Without them I would have lost just four QSO points and two multipliers, leaving me with 546 points. That still would have been the best performance on PSK31 statewide. D’oh!

Still, I had a lot of fun at the HQP. Any contest that allows PSK gets a gold star in my book. Next year at the Hawaii QSO Party, I think I’ll keep my big mouth shut and let my fingers do the talking.

Kalawao County, Hawaii, home to the former Hansen’s disease settlement on Kalaupapa, is one of the smallest counties in the United States, both by population and by land area – according to the 2010 census, only 90 people live on the 13 square miles on the northern tip of Molokai. There are only eleven patients left in the settlement and about 25 staff members living there as well. The small population also makes the county one of the most sought-after spots in the United States. Until very recently there were no hams in Kalawao County (two new Technicians passed their exam about a month ago), and there have been no hams capable of doing HF (shortwave) communications since the 1960s.

Five amateur radio operators are now in Kalaupapa preparing to work other stations around the United States and abroad as part of the Hawaii QSO Party this weekend. (QSO is amateur radio speak for a two-way radio contact.) These operators are Joe Speroni (AH0A), Jim Yuen (WH6GS), Bev Yuen (AH6NF), Kimo Chun (KH7U), and Ron Hashiro (AH6RH).

For more information on the Kalawao County DX-pedition, visit Ron Hashiro’s page.

CQ CQ CQ de <other guy> <other guy> <other guy> k

I’m not picky about who I work on PSK31, so I responded using my macro:

<other guy> <other guy> de WH7GG WH7GG WH7GG kn

The response caught me off guard a bit:

WH7GG DE <other guy> UR 599 k

Normally at this point one would see a bunch of pleasantries in addition to the signal report: the station’s QTH, his name, his grid. And usually it’s via a macro on the digital software that automatically sends this info, and one would respond in kind. Still, this response in this situation came across like walking up to someone at a party and saying, “Hi, whatever-your-name-is, I hear you.”

I had to check for a minute. There are no PSK31 contests I know of, not that I’ve seen on the waterfall. This guy is not on a DXpedition or working a special event sign. Still, I sorta got the message that he wanted just the REAL basics, so I responded, free-typing:

<other guy> de WH7GG ur 599 in Hawaii also k

Then came his response back.

WH7GG TU QSO <other guy> QRZ? k

Ummmm…OK, so you don’t care about my name or where I’m from. In fact, I’m not even a human to you. All I am to you is a call and a signal report. I got the message, loud and clear.

I later looked up his info on QRZ.com, and saw this note at the bottom:

Quick note : sorry guys looking for a ragchew etc (especially digital modes) I just need call and report (min. required for a valid QSO)

I am always doing other stuff when on the radio (working on the side), unless when I’m contesting.

So no need for name, qth, antenna, pet’s name, grid, club number, favorite color, year when born, month when conceived, etc.etcetc I dont even read that

Thanks a bunch !!

That didn’t sit well with me. Of course, he does have the right to make contacts however he darn well pleases. And yes, during contests, DXpeditions, and such, brevity is key. The point of those is to make as many contacts as possible, bam bam bam bam bam. In the short time I’ve been on HF, I’ve worked contests before on voice and on PSK31, and know the drill. Exchange calls, signal reports (in a contest you’re always 59 to the other guy and vice versa), and your required other piece of info, and move on.

Still, not all of ham radio is a contest. Not all situations call for a QSO stripped down to its bare essentials. Especially on HF, where you’ll run into hams from all walks of life and all countries and cultures of the world, it’s good to be open.

And it is worth noting that there ARE humans on the other end.

Truth be told, even on voice I have yet to master the art of the ragchew. In my case it’s more of a rag-nibble. I’ll exchange signal report, name, QTH, maybe weather, maybe talk about my rig, maybe another comment or two, but then I’ll let the other station go. I’m not very talkative in real life, and ham radio is no different. Still, when I’m working someone, he or she has my full attention, as it should be even in face-to-face conversation. And I’m polite as I can possibly be. After all, I understand that his impression of me is based how I conduct myself on the air.

I often find that being from Hawaii and having a KH6-region call sign opens up a lot of conversation possibilities. On voice and PSK, I often find that saying I’m from Hawaii elicits fond memories of a visit here, or if not, a desire to do same. Similarly, say you’re from Oregon, and I’ll wax poetic about the natural beauty of the Northwest, my time at Lewis & Clark College, and my many trips since then.

I really wonder what this guy is like in person. I wonder what sort of impression people get of him when they work him on the air. Sure, he must be a contester extraordinaire, with skills as polished as that. But it must be REALLY boring to have a conversation with him, if his ham persona outside contesting reflects real life. Does he have a life outside ham radio? I wonder, too.

Still, I find that, what with all the other things I do on vacation, sometimes I hardly touch the HT. Today is my last day in Portland for this trip, so I decided just to check out the bands on the HT. While scanning up and down the 2 meter band I happened across 146.70 (pl 100), and caught the tail end of a “YL net.” YL, in ham speak, means woman (“young lady”).

Yes, I know, I’m no YL, but when I heard two OMs (“old men”) check in, I figured it would be OK for this OM to check in. (In ham speak, men are always old regardless of age, and women are forever young.) So I called, “whiskey hotel seven golf golf, portable whiskey seven.”

I must have caught net control off guard since she asked for my call again. Maybe she was wondering why a 7 station is signing portable W7. I did get a nice warm welcome once I said that I was visiting from Hawaii.

Anyway, it was nice to be able to use the radio on vacation. I really should make it a habit to use it more often when I’m out and about on the mainland. Maybe next trip.

However, when ham radio operators in the United States and Canada have a Field Day, it actually has a more specific meaning. It refers to the ARRL and RAC Field Day, held every year on the last full weekend of June (June 25 and 26 in 2011). On that day, thousands of amateur radio operators get out from their home locations (hence the name – getting out “into the field”), set up stations running on emergency power, and operate for a 24 hour period. In its basic form it’s an emergency communication exercise – you never know where you’ll be setup in a communications emergency; you probably will not have commercial power readily available; and you want to be able to operate for as long as possible with the equipment you have.

But while Field Day serves an important role in preparation for emergencies, hams have a whole lot of fun as well. Here are some clips of the last Field Day the Emergency Amateur Radio Club had with their sister club, the Koolau Amateur Radio Club.

EARC/KARC Field Day 2011 on YouTube

You can read more on Bill’s career in his profile in the July 2007 issue of the EARC’s Wireless Dispatch.

We’ll miss you, King Henry Six Queen X-Ray. RIP.

An author at Gizmodo asked that question and came up with some possible ways to go about it:

A golden plaque or record has a kind of aesthetic appeal to it, and letting there be light can make one feel nice and biblical, but the best way to transmit messages is using radio waves. Visible light is energetic, but it has a very short wavelength. That short wavelength can get scrambled as it goes out through space. Though the universe is most famous for being a horrible, soul-shattering void, it’s also pretty dusty. Dust in space, or on the planet you’re trying to reach, scatters short wavelengths. Longer wavelengths move through dust clouds without getting splattered all over the place and made unnoticeable.

If you want to try transmitting messages at higher ends of the spectrum, try broadcasting at the frequency 1420 megahertz. This is the frequency at which hydrogen vibrates. Not every society is going to have a base ten number system. Not every civilization is going to use certain frequencies for cell phones, and not every song will sound the same through a different atmosphere. But it’s unlikely that whatever corner of the universe the signal ends up in will have a more basic atom than hydrogen. This is the way to get a civilization to notice you.

Unfortunately, 1420 MHz is not in the amateur bands, at least not in IARU Region 2. The closest you can get is the upper end of the 23 cm band (1240-1300 MHz).

Of course, hams can contact each other via moonbounce, and the article does mention one of the earliest attempts at EME transmission, Project Diana (3 kW at 111.5 MHz with a 24 dB gain antenna). It’s an interesting read nonetheless.

One thing I found interesting is that we may be transmitting less radio waves out into space:

Some astronomers have speculated that, as we move from radio waves to fiber optics and internet connections, we might be currently ‘going quiet’ to alien astronomers. What’s more, the radio waves we do send out are less powerful, because receivers are more accurate. As a planet, we’re shutting up. But at least this means you’ll have little competition.

So could a legal limit signal beamed up to the sky reach a faraway planet? Hey, who knows?

How about having a QSO (radio contact) with at least one person over 365 days? One ham in the UK (also named Keith, by the way), is attempting to do just that, by any means necessary. Good luck to you, Keith!

Once I was up and running on 20 meters, I had been playing with PSK31 receive, by getting a PSK31 terminal program such as HamScope and hooking the laptop up to the radio with a simple mini-plug to mini-plug audio cable. Last Friday, I received my new RigBlaster Plug and Play from West Mountain Radio, and hooked it up to the laptop. There’s a bit of a learning curve there – besides hooking up the audio cables, you have to hook up the USB, find out where the virtual COM port went, then plug it into the PSK31 program for the PTT.

But after doing that, the contacts just kept rolling in. I got my first two-way contact that evening, with a special event station in Argentina, LT5D. Later, I worked ZL3TRR in Christchurch, New Zealand, and in the short contact we talked a bit about the quake that happened that week.

To give you an idea – I had been up and running for two weekends, and during that time I made about eight voice contacts. (Of those, I was only able to log five of them…the paper on which I wrote the details of the other three went missing.) But in one weekend, I was able to eight DX PSK31 contacts (two each from Russia and Japan; one each from Argentina, New Zealand, and Australia; and one mainland-side), and one more local contact.

And that wasn’t all – I made four more contacts this week as well – one each from Russia, Japan, New Zealand, and Australia. So 12 total so far.

Didn’t have much luck tonight on PSK31 – for some reason I was having better luck on voice. Worked a DXpedition (T30AQ), and another station in Australia (VK4VN).

Will go into more detail on my new PSK31 setup in another article, but I’ve been having a great time on the HF bands lately. And the sunspots are on the upswing. Looks like I got into HF at just the right time.