Alan - You aren't missing anything. The Miracle Whip is an inefficient antenna. It will not do better than your short piece of wire hooked to an antenna tuner. It will probably do worse. The only miracle is that they can sell it for such a high price.
For short antennas, the radiation resistance of an antenna decreases as the square of the length. So an antenna that is half as long will have a quarter the radiation resistance. As the radiation resistaance goes down it starts to be comparable, or less than the loss resistances, so much of the power input to the antenna is dissipated in the loss resistances and the efficiency goes down. Way down.
The SWR is low in large part due to the high loss resistance of the antenna.
It is not the current as such that does the work in an antenna, but rather the sinusoidal motion of the individual electrons in the antenna wire that cause time varying electric fields in space and hence electromagnetic radiation.
Someone in G land, whom I think is on this list, has plans for a homebrew "Miracle Whip". At least he admits it is an inefficient antenna, unlike hte commercial version. If you want to experiment with this inefficient antenna, I suggest that you try the homebrew model nand save yourself a bundle.
For short antennas, give the PAC-12. With a modest ground, it will outperform the Miracle Whip.
Dr. Megaacycle KK6MC/5
James R. Duffey KK6MC/5
Cedar Crest NM 87008 DM65
Saturday, July 30, 2005
Tuesday, July 26, 2005
Ham Jokes
YOU MIGHT BE A HAM IF........
1. YOUR WIFE SAID "LETS GO SEE AUNT ANNA AND YOU THOUGHT SHE SAID ANTENNA!
2. YOUR WIFE SAID "COULD YOU CUT THE GRASS?" AND YOU THOUGHT SHE SAIDPOUND THE BRASS!
3. YOUR WIFE SAID "WE'VE BEEN INVITED TO BREAKFAST AND YOU THOUGHT SHESAID HAM FEST!
4. YOUR WIFE SAID "SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH THE CHECK BOOK AND YOU THOUGHT SHE SAID LOG BOOK!
5. YOUR WIFE SAID "IS MY SEAM STRAIGHT? AND YOU THOUGHT SHE SAID, " IS MYBEAM STRAIGHT?'
A HAM NAMED ELMER LIVED WITH HIS XYL NAMED SUE. WHILE AT THE QTH ONE NIGHT, SUE SUDDENLY WENT QRT. (DIED). ELMER PICKED UP THE PHONE, AND CALLED 911 AND REPORTED THAT HIS WIFE HAD JUST DIED AND COULD SOMEONE COME OVER TO PICK HER UP. THE OPERATOR ASKED FOR HIS ADDRESS AND ELMER SAID HE LIVED ON THE END OF EUCALYPTUS LANE...SHE ASKED HIM TO SPELL THAT. THERE WAS A LONG PAUSE ON THE END OF THE LINE AND THEN ELMER SAID. "HOW ABOUT I JUST DRAG HER OVER TO OAK STREET AND YOU MEET ME THERE"!!
HEARD ON 2O METERS
"Yesterday, my XYL said she'd leave me if I didn't give up ham radio.Over."Two elderly hams had been friends for many decades. Over the years they had shared all kinds of activities and adventures on the ham bands. Lately, their activities have been limited to meeting a few times a week to play cards. One day they were playing cards when one looked at the other and said, "Now don't get mad at me.....I know we've been friends for a long time.....but I just can't think of your name and your call.! I've thought and thought, but I can't remember them. Please tell me what they are." His friend glared at him. For at least three minutes he just stared and glared at the gray haired old man.. Finally he said, "How soon do you need to know?
An elderly ham and his XYL were on a cruise and it was really stormy. They were standing on the back of the boat watching the moon, when a wave came up and washed the old woman overboard. They searched for days and couldn't find her, so the captain sent the old ham back to shore with the promise that he would notify him as soon as they found something. Three weeks went by and finally the old man got a fax from the boat.
It read:"Sir, sorry to inform you, we found your wife dead at the bottom of the ocean. We hauled her up to the deck and attached to her posterior was an oyster and in it was a pearl worth $50,000 . .please advise" The old man faxed back: "Send me the pearl and re-bait the trap!"
Three brothers ages 92, 94, and 96 live in a house together. One night the 96 year old draws a bath. He puts his foot in and pauses. He yells down the stairs and says "Was I getting in or out?"
The 94 year old yells back "I don't know. I'll come up and see." He starts up the stairs and pauses. Then he yells "Was I going up the stairs or down?"
The 92 year old HAM is sitting in front of his HF rig and listening to his brothers. He shakes his head picks up the mic and says "I sure hope I never get that forgetful." He knocks on wood for good measure. He then yells into the mic, "I'll come up and help both of you as soon as I see who's at the door".
Electricity originates inside clouds. There, it forms into lightning, which is attracted to the Earth by golfers.After entering the ground, the electricity hardens into coal, which, when dug up by power companies and burned in big ovens called 'generators,' turns back into electricity...where it is transformed by TV sets into commercials for beer, which passes through the consumers and back into the ground, thus completing what is known as a "circuit"........Dave Barry
1. YOUR WIFE SAID "LETS GO SEE AUNT ANNA AND YOU THOUGHT SHE SAID ANTENNA!
2. YOUR WIFE SAID "COULD YOU CUT THE GRASS?" AND YOU THOUGHT SHE SAIDPOUND THE BRASS!
3. YOUR WIFE SAID "WE'VE BEEN INVITED TO BREAKFAST AND YOU THOUGHT SHESAID HAM FEST!
4. YOUR WIFE SAID "SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH THE CHECK BOOK AND YOU THOUGHT SHE SAID LOG BOOK!
5. YOUR WIFE SAID "IS MY SEAM STRAIGHT? AND YOU THOUGHT SHE SAID, " IS MYBEAM STRAIGHT?'
A HAM NAMED ELMER LIVED WITH HIS XYL NAMED SUE. WHILE AT THE QTH ONE NIGHT, SUE SUDDENLY WENT QRT. (DIED). ELMER PICKED UP THE PHONE, AND CALLED 911 AND REPORTED THAT HIS WIFE HAD JUST DIED AND COULD SOMEONE COME OVER TO PICK HER UP. THE OPERATOR ASKED FOR HIS ADDRESS AND ELMER SAID HE LIVED ON THE END OF EUCALYPTUS LANE...SHE ASKED HIM TO SPELL THAT. THERE WAS A LONG PAUSE ON THE END OF THE LINE AND THEN ELMER SAID. "HOW ABOUT I JUST DRAG HER OVER TO OAK STREET AND YOU MEET ME THERE"!!
HEARD ON 2O METERS
"Yesterday, my XYL said she'd leave me if I didn't give up ham radio.Over."Two elderly hams had been friends for many decades. Over the years they had shared all kinds of activities and adventures on the ham bands. Lately, their activities have been limited to meeting a few times a week to play cards. One day they were playing cards when one looked at the other and said, "Now don't get mad at me.....I know we've been friends for a long time.....but I just can't think of your name and your call.! I've thought and thought, but I can't remember them. Please tell me what they are." His friend glared at him. For at least three minutes he just stared and glared at the gray haired old man.. Finally he said, "How soon do you need to know?
An elderly ham and his XYL were on a cruise and it was really stormy. They were standing on the back of the boat watching the moon, when a wave came up and washed the old woman overboard. They searched for days and couldn't find her, so the captain sent the old ham back to shore with the promise that he would notify him as soon as they found something. Three weeks went by and finally the old man got a fax from the boat.
It read:"Sir, sorry to inform you, we found your wife dead at the bottom of the ocean. We hauled her up to the deck and attached to her posterior was an oyster and in it was a pearl worth $50,000 . .please advise" The old man faxed back: "Send me the pearl and re-bait the trap!"
Three brothers ages 92, 94, and 96 live in a house together. One night the 96 year old draws a bath. He puts his foot in and pauses. He yells down the stairs and says "Was I getting in or out?"
The 94 year old yells back "I don't know. I'll come up and see." He starts up the stairs and pauses. Then he yells "Was I going up the stairs or down?"
The 92 year old HAM is sitting in front of his HF rig and listening to his brothers. He shakes his head picks up the mic and says "I sure hope I never get that forgetful." He knocks on wood for good measure. He then yells into the mic, "I'll come up and help both of you as soon as I see who's at the door".
Electricity originates inside clouds. There, it forms into lightning, which is attracted to the Earth by golfers.After entering the ground, the electricity hardens into coal, which, when dug up by power companies and burned in big ovens called 'generators,' turns back into electricity...where it is transformed by TV sets into commercials for beer, which passes through the consumers and back into the ground, thus completing what is known as a "circuit"........Dave Barry
Thursday, July 14, 2005
PHILIPPINES HAMS MAY LOOSE 70 CM
Hams in the Philippines are wondering how long it will be before they are ordered off of the 70 centimeter band. This, after that nations National Telecommunications Commission announces the inclusion of all of that band inn spectrum it is considering being made available for broadband wireless networks.
The regulatory agency made the suggestion in a Memorandum titled "Frequency Band Allocations for Broadband Wireless Access." The surprise was the inclusion of 410 to 495MHz in nine bands. This includes the Amateur and Amateur Satellite spectrum including the internationally agreed to allocations.
Jose Mari Gonzalez, DU1JMG, is the Manilla based president of PARA which is the Philippines National Amateur Radio Society. He says that PARA opposes both the memorandum and the potential loss of 70 centimeters. He notes that 430 to 440 MHz includes the international amateur satellite band. He says that if and when the Philippines National Telecommunications Council decides to remove 70 centimeter access from Ham Radio that his organization will file an official complaint to the IARU. This would likely lead to a complaint by the IARU to the International Telecommunications Union that would hopefully warn the NTC not to change the internationally agreed frequency allocations.
For its part, the Philippines National Telecommunications Council says it proposes to reallocate spectrum for broadband wireless networks in line with the thrust of the government to promote and facilitate the development of information and communications technology. Right now only about 5% of the population in The Philippines has access to the Internet, much less broadband, and this is partly due to the lack of infrastructure.
(VK3PC)
The regulatory agency made the suggestion in a Memorandum titled "Frequency Band Allocations for Broadband Wireless Access." The surprise was the inclusion of 410 to 495MHz in nine bands. This includes the Amateur and Amateur Satellite spectrum including the internationally agreed to allocations.
Jose Mari Gonzalez, DU1JMG, is the Manilla based president of PARA which is the Philippines National Amateur Radio Society. He says that PARA opposes both the memorandum and the potential loss of 70 centimeters. He notes that 430 to 440 MHz includes the international amateur satellite band. He says that if and when the Philippines National Telecommunications Council decides to remove 70 centimeter access from Ham Radio that his organization will file an official complaint to the IARU. This would likely lead to a complaint by the IARU to the International Telecommunications Union that would hopefully warn the NTC not to change the internationally agreed frequency allocations.
For its part, the Philippines National Telecommunications Council says it proposes to reallocate spectrum for broadband wireless networks in line with the thrust of the government to promote and facilitate the development of information and communications technology. Right now only about 5% of the population in The Philippines has access to the Internet, much less broadband, and this is partly due to the lack of infrastructure.
(VK3PC)
Wednesday, July 13, 2005
Battery Power
From: eudamac3
To: Ray (VU3ORN)
Sent: Wednesday, 13 July, 2005 6:24 AM
Subject: Battery Power
You should be able to do these calculations yourself.Battery capacity is rated in ampere*hours. A substantial car battery is good for 65 AH. That means 65 amps for one hour, or one amp for 65 hours. That's a SIZABLE battery. Some smaller car batteries are but 25-30 amp hours. An old battery can be as poor as 5AH and still start a car, unless the car needs a LOT of cranking. Old batteries are deficient in amp hours. If "mom's old car battery" was replaced because it was not really starting the car reliably, then it's probably way low in amp-hour capacity.
Anyway, here's how the calculations worked for me one year.Rig was a Kenwood - don't remember model, one of the early solid state rigs. This was a "full power" 100W solid state radio.
RX current consumption: 2.5 amps TX current consumption: 22 amps at 100W CW carrier Got those numbers from the owner's manual.
The one added number that would be nice to have is "TX current consumption with no carrier". That's when the radio is in transmit mode, but you're not actually pushing on the key (or speaking into the microphone). For the radio I was using, I measured this value at 5 amps.Then, figure some duty cycles in percent.For hard-core contesting, RX=50%, TX=50%During the transmit time, figure "no carrier" for 50% and "full carrier" for 50% (that's the statistical norm for CW - SSB is actually a bit more gentle on the battery, but we'll figure this conservatively) - that means 50% of the time we're in RX, 25% of the time it's TX no carrier, and 25% of the time TX with full carrier.Multiply the current draw times the % of time that you're drawing that much. Total % must add up to 100%. The number you'll end up with is amp-hours required PER HOUR. Then multiply by # of hours of operation desired.RX: 50% X 2.5 amps = 1.25 amp-hours per hourTX no carrier: 25% X 5 amps = 1.25 amp-hours per hourTX full carrier: 25% X 22 amps = 11 amp-hours per hourTotal here equals 13.5 amp-hours per hour. If we want to run a full 24 hours on Field Day, then it's 24 X 13.5 amp-hours, or 324 amp-hours total required. I would need five large car batteries for my entire weekend of operating. Maybe only four, since I did do this very conservatively (actually spend more than 50% of the time listening, for instance).Now, this was for an FD I did WAY back in 1977. I did not know the actual car battery amp-hour capability. So, here's what I really did. I had a car, and a spare battery. I added "jumper posts" to the car - 1/2" bolts, attached to a phenolic plate, located some distance from the battery, but still under hood. These went in parallel with the cables connecting car battery to alternator. I brought two sets of jumper cables. I drove the car to the FD site, and set up camp. I set the rig up on the spare battery. I removed the "main" battery from the car, setting it on a hunk of wood a few feet from the car, but jumper-cabled back into the car. I then ran the radio until the "spare" battery died. At that time, I started the car (the "main" battery was jumper-cabled in, remember?). I then used the second set of jumpers to attach the "spare" battery to the car. I was careful to make the final connection to the jumper post under hood so the spark did not occurnear the battery. Now I have the car running, with a "full" and "empty" battery connected. I disconnected the "full" (otherwise known as "main") battery, being careful to avoid sparks near the battery. Now, put the "main" battery at the operating station, and go at it. After an hour, shut off the car. Operate until "main" battery dies, and do the car-start/battery-swap routine again. I only had to battery-swap twice.One variable that I did not include - at what terminal voltage does the rig quit operating? Some "full power" HF rigs are famous for insisting on at least 12V, and will shut down quickly below that.Now, just for grins, let's do this again, but use the Elecraft K2 QRP rig. I'll do this thing conservatively again. I picked the K2 only because Elecraft gives more detailed specs and technical data than almost anybody else, and the K2 seems to be used by many contesters, not just QRP operators.RX current consumption 0.25 ampsTX current consumption 2 amps (at 10 watts output)Elecraft's website does not specify the current consumption of the K2 when in TX mode but not transmitting, so I'll dispense with that analysis.RX: 50% X 0.25 amps = 0.125 amp-hours per hourTX: 50% X 2 amps = 1 amp-hour per hourTotal = 1.125 amp-hours per hourFor a 24 hour field day, the total is 27 amp-hours.This should be within the capabilities of a medium-sized car battery in good condition.You could test your car battery, by the way. Charge it fully, and connect an automobile headlight to it, and see how long you go before the battery voltage drops below 11 volts. Most auto headlights have a wattage rating on them. Divide that number by 12 to get the amps draw. For instance, my VW's headlights are marked "60 watts", so they are 5 amps. If my car battery runs them for only 2 hours before the battery voltage is below 11, then I only have 10 amp hours in the battery - which is a pretty dead battery.Assuming a fairly efficient QRP rig, if you only got two hours of operation, this suggests the battery is delivering less than 3 amp hours of capacity. You'd have gotten more lifetime by stringing 8 "D" alkaline cells in series together and it's time to scrap that battery!In fact, I'm quite certain that I can get roughly 6-8 hours out of my 6 watt 2 meter rig, with a heavy amount of transmitting (relaying information for a bicycle race) with a single charge on my 2.2 AH NiMH batteries.It's worth spending $30 to $40 for a brand new car battery, to be kept trickle charging in the garage (never in the house), or maybe $20 for a 7AH sealed lead acid battery.Boy, this is reminding me of the days when I tried to homebrew a battery powered go-kart using old car batteries. I learned very quickly that by the time a car battery seems weak in a car, it's useless for anything else, too.Yeah, get a new battery.Thanks for letting me ramble......FM
To: Ray (VU3ORN)
Sent: Wednesday, 13 July, 2005 6:24 AM
Subject: Battery Power
You should be able to do these calculations yourself.Battery capacity is rated in ampere*hours. A substantial car battery is good for 65 AH. That means 65 amps for one hour, or one amp for 65 hours. That's a SIZABLE battery. Some smaller car batteries are but 25-30 amp hours. An old battery can be as poor as 5AH and still start a car, unless the car needs a LOT of cranking. Old batteries are deficient in amp hours. If "mom's old car battery" was replaced because it was not really starting the car reliably, then it's probably way low in amp-hour capacity.
Anyway, here's how the calculations worked for me one year.Rig was a Kenwood - don't remember model, one of the early solid state rigs. This was a "full power" 100W solid state radio.
RX current consumption: 2.5 amps TX current consumption: 22 amps at 100W CW carrier Got those numbers from the owner's manual.
The one added number that would be nice to have is "TX current consumption with no carrier". That's when the radio is in transmit mode, but you're not actually pushing on the key (or speaking into the microphone). For the radio I was using, I measured this value at 5 amps.Then, figure some duty cycles in percent.For hard-core contesting, RX=50%, TX=50%During the transmit time, figure "no carrier" for 50% and "full carrier" for 50% (that's the statistical norm for CW - SSB is actually a bit more gentle on the battery, but we'll figure this conservatively) - that means 50% of the time we're in RX, 25% of the time it's TX no carrier, and 25% of the time TX with full carrier.Multiply the current draw times the % of time that you're drawing that much. Total % must add up to 100%. The number you'll end up with is amp-hours required PER HOUR. Then multiply by # of hours of operation desired.RX: 50% X 2.5 amps = 1.25 amp-hours per hourTX no carrier: 25% X 5 amps = 1.25 amp-hours per hourTX full carrier: 25% X 22 amps = 11 amp-hours per hourTotal here equals 13.5 amp-hours per hour. If we want to run a full 24 hours on Field Day, then it's 24 X 13.5 amp-hours, or 324 amp-hours total required. I would need five large car batteries for my entire weekend of operating. Maybe only four, since I did do this very conservatively (actually spend more than 50% of the time listening, for instance).Now, this was for an FD I did WAY back in 1977. I did not know the actual car battery amp-hour capability. So, here's what I really did. I had a car, and a spare battery. I added "jumper posts" to the car - 1/2" bolts, attached to a phenolic plate, located some distance from the battery, but still under hood. These went in parallel with the cables connecting car battery to alternator. I brought two sets of jumper cables. I drove the car to the FD site, and set up camp. I set the rig up on the spare battery. I removed the "main" battery from the car, setting it on a hunk of wood a few feet from the car, but jumper-cabled back into the car. I then ran the radio until the "spare" battery died. At that time, I started the car (the "main" battery was jumper-cabled in, remember?). I then used the second set of jumpers to attach the "spare" battery to the car. I was careful to make the final connection to the jumper post under hood so the spark did not occurnear the battery. Now I have the car running, with a "full" and "empty" battery connected. I disconnected the "full" (otherwise known as "main") battery, being careful to avoid sparks near the battery. Now, put the "main" battery at the operating station, and go at it. After an hour, shut off the car. Operate until "main" battery dies, and do the car-start/battery-swap routine again. I only had to battery-swap twice.One variable that I did not include - at what terminal voltage does the rig quit operating? Some "full power" HF rigs are famous for insisting on at least 12V, and will shut down quickly below that.Now, just for grins, let's do this again, but use the Elecraft K2 QRP rig. I'll do this thing conservatively again. I picked the K2 only because Elecraft gives more detailed specs and technical data than almost anybody else, and the K2 seems to be used by many contesters, not just QRP operators.RX current consumption 0.25 ampsTX current consumption 2 amps (at 10 watts output)Elecraft's website does not specify the current consumption of the K2 when in TX mode but not transmitting, so I'll dispense with that analysis.RX: 50% X 0.25 amps = 0.125 amp-hours per hourTX: 50% X 2 amps = 1 amp-hour per hourTotal = 1.125 amp-hours per hourFor a 24 hour field day, the total is 27 amp-hours.This should be within the capabilities of a medium-sized car battery in good condition.You could test your car battery, by the way. Charge it fully, and connect an automobile headlight to it, and see how long you go before the battery voltage drops below 11 volts. Most auto headlights have a wattage rating on them. Divide that number by 12 to get the amps draw. For instance, my VW's headlights are marked "60 watts", so they are 5 amps. If my car battery runs them for only 2 hours before the battery voltage is below 11, then I only have 10 amp hours in the battery - which is a pretty dead battery.Assuming a fairly efficient QRP rig, if you only got two hours of operation, this suggests the battery is delivering less than 3 amp hours of capacity. You'd have gotten more lifetime by stringing 8 "D" alkaline cells in series together and it's time to scrap that battery!In fact, I'm quite certain that I can get roughly 6-8 hours out of my 6 watt 2 meter rig, with a heavy amount of transmitting (relaying information for a bicycle race) with a single charge on my 2.2 AH NiMH batteries.It's worth spending $30 to $40 for a brand new car battery, to be kept trickle charging in the garage (never in the house), or maybe $20 for a 7AH sealed lead acid battery.Boy, this is reminding me of the days when I tried to homebrew a battery powered go-kart using old car batteries. I learned very quickly that by the time a car battery seems weak in a car, it's useless for anything else, too.Yeah, get a new battery.Thanks for letting me ramble......FM
Tuesday, July 12, 2005
Pamban Island Expedition (AS-173) to Rameswaram Town
Pamban Island Expedition (AS-173) to Rameswaram Town
By B. L. Arasu Manohar, VU2URJuly 12, 2005
By B. L. Arasu Manohar, VU2URJuly 12, 2005
Rameswaram town is a very old and a historic place of pilgrimage from the times of the Epic Ramayana. The present population is about 38,000, and the daily floating population is many times over. It was earlier connected only by a railway bridge called Pamban Bridge. A 2.2 km long pre-stressed concrete road bridge called Indira Gandhi Bridge, across the sea, parallel to the Railway Bridge, has improved the tourist and pilgrim traffic. There are quite a number of tall towers with three blade type of windmill electric power generating units installed in the coastal area.
A very important landmark in the town is the majestic composite (concrete and steel) type television tower of Doordarshan, over 200 meters tall, prominent in the skyline. The town is located at approximately 79 degrees 22 minutes E, 9 degrees 17 minutes N (Grid Locator MJ99qh), on Pamban Island in the south Indian peninsula, in the Palk Strait/Bay. There are many smaller islands, including Kurusadai, Sangala and Pumarchan, close by, but special permission from the Forest Department is required to visit them.
This area of Palk Bay felt the fury of a cyclone between 17 and 24 December 1964 that devastated the town of Dhanushkodi from where regular steamer service was run to the Sri Lankan port of Talaimannar. The cyclone completed its fury after washing away a passenger train between Rameswaram and Dhanushkodi, killing hundreds of the passengers. This Pamban Island Expedition was dedicated to the memory of all those who lost their lives. The QSL card also has this dedication.
Satellite picture of a portion of the Palk Strait between Mainland India (at left) and Sri Lanka (at right).
The view while proceeding from the mainland to Pamban Island. From the top of the Indira Road Bridge, the left shows a Scherzer type, meter gauge (1000 mm gauge) steel railway bridge, which opens up, as cantilevers, to pass maritime traffic.
The main entrance to the holy temple at Rameswaram, facing the sea. All Indian temples have a gopuram, a tapering square or rectangular structure, seen from long distances, to identify the location of the temple.
The world famous Thousand Pillar corridor of the Temple at Rameswaram.
The group of operators at Pamban Island-Rameswaram Town. Sitting, left to right: OM RamaRaju, VU2RMJ; YL Sarla, VU2SWS; OM Arasu, VU2UR; OM Rajan, VU3WIA; OM Durai, VU2NDR. Standing, left to right: OM Nadan, VU2KGN; OM Vittal, VU2VIT; OM Mandraselvan, VU3RRU; OM Ravi, VU2FBI; OM Guru, VU2GUR; OM Prasad, VU3YFD.
OM Rajan, VU3WIA, handling SSB QSOs and logging by OM Arasu, VU2UR.
OM Prasad, VU3YFD, for all SSTV and PSK31 QSOs.
The banner of the Rameswaram IOTA operation.
Schoolchildren listening to the talks at the demonstration, with others seated.
Top left: District Collector Mr Sellamuthu IAS, and DIG of Police Mr Alexander Mohan IPS, as the chief guests in the demonstration. OM Arasu, VU2UR, addressing the gathering. Top right: OM Rajan, VU3WIA, addressing in simple Tamil to all the children and general public. Bottom left: OM Vittal, VU2VIT, presenting a Kenwood Amateur Radio Map of the World to the District Collector, for the Ramanathapuram Amateur Wireless Association. Bottom right: Mr Alexander Mohan IPS, DIG of Police, addressing the gathering.
Why did the Rameswaram IOTA operation wait for such a long time, despite all the basic necessities being readily available? It is difficult to answer. The members of the Ramanathapuram Amateur Wireless Association were contacted earlier at the Hamfest at Chennai in 2002. OM Durai, VU2NDR, was the contact person along with OM Satya, VU2LR, and they did try to see something coming up with Dr Selvam, S79BBC and facilities available with him. As it was not an island, as recognized by the IOTA HQ, the discussions had dropped off. They picked up momentum when OM Vittalji, VU2VIT and OM Rama Raju, VU2RMJ came on the scene and started grouping the amateurs with this interest and set a target date for the Island Expedition. We had regular chats on 7070 kHz in the mornings and arrived at the dates of 23 to 31 August 2004. No invitations were sent to anyone to join the group, nor was any interested person denied entry to the group.
With that broad outlook, a group of 13 operators joined together to make the pioneer team. The applications from everyone in the group for special call sign AT0RI, for the period 23 to 31 August 2004, with a temporary change of location were requested. The Wireless Planning and Coordination wing of the Ministry of Telecommunications was very kind to grant permission. VU2FBI, VU3RRU, VU2GUR, VU2UR, VU2VIT, VU2NDR, VU2JVA, VU3YFD, VU2LR, VU2RMJ, VU2KLG, VU3WAI and VU2KGN formed the officially permitted group for this island expedition.
Some History
A brief historical detailing of the Amateur Radio activities in the coastal islands of India is not out of place. The states of West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Gujarat have territorial waters with some islands. IOTA HQ listed all the islands into their respective Indian state groups in their Directory, which formed the reference data for anyone to use to plan a DXpedition.
The earliest Indian coastal island operation was the one organized by OM Bernard, VU2BMS/DL2GAC/H44MS with hams from Bangalore and Mangalore to St Mary Island of the Karnataka State Group. This operation got the number AS-096 for its activity.
In the late '90s, OM Arasu, VU2UR was very enthusiastic about the IOTA program and had applied for the Participation certificate of IOTA-Millennium Award of 2000. SWL Vis, VU-0020 and VU2UR applied for the basic IOTA-100 award. After receiving the award, interest was further ignited. In the month of January every year (between the 10th and 17th), the Calcutta VHF Amateur Radio Society, at the request by the State Authorities, was attending to the traffic problems on Sagar Island, when hundreds of people go there for the Sagar Mela for a holy dip in the confluence of Ganges River with the Bay of Bengal. On one such occasion, OM Horey, VU2HFR and others were contacted by VU2UR and told about the IOTA program and Sagar Island being a listed unnumbered island of the West Bengal State group. The group took it seriously and worked HF, along with VHF, and provided all documentation to IOTA HQ in a very short time, and achieved the number AS-153.
The Mangalore Amateur Radio Society, with OM Sri, VU2SBJ, in the lead, took up a second expedition to the St Mary Island. Then, they tried a bigger adventure in planning and executing their next island expedition to Sacrifice Rocks of the Kerala State Group. This was indeed the toughest of the coastal island expeditions in India so far, and the group did a fantastic job and achieved the number AS-161.
Then followed the saga of another adventurer by name OM Basappa Arabole, VU2NXM. He jumped in to activate some island in the Maharashtra State group and selected Janjira Island. He got the permission of the Ministry and just before departure, came to know from IOTA HQ that this island cannot be accepted as it is an island in an enclosed bay. With that reply also in mind, OM Basappa did go to the island and operate from there but, unfortunately, he made only a few QSOs and returned. By that time, IOTA HQ had revised its listing of islands of the Maharashtra State group and added Butcher and Elephanta Islands. This boosted morale and OM Basappa planned another attempt, this time to Butcher Island with a special call AT0BI from the Ministry. The Mumbai Port Trust Authorities refused landing permission, advising that it is a "restricted" area and Amateur Radio activity can as well be carried out at Elephanta Island. Immediately, a request to the Ministry for a change of location to Elephanta Island with the same special call, AT0BI, be granted, was faxed. It was, again, the most understanding Officers of the Ministry who rescued us by granting permission. Thus, the first phase of Elephanta Island was carried out and the number AS-169 for the Maharashtra State group was obtained. OM Basappa, VU2NXM, with his small dedicated group, did a second phase operation also to Elephanta and had given the island chasers a second chance at a QSO from 23 to 26 July 2004.
Permission is Granted
Coming back to the Pamban Island Expedition, the Tamil Nadu State Authorities granted permission and accommodation in the first floor of the Taluk Office building at Rameswaram for the expedition operation and demonstration of Amateur Radio in times of disasters on 28 August. The collector of Ramanathapuram showed a lot of interest in encouraging all this, and getting the press, radio and television authorities for the demonstration. The foursome, OM Rajan, VU3WIA; OM Prasad, VU3YFD; OM Guru, VU2GUR, and OM Arasu, VU2UR, left Tirupur on 22 August by road and arrived at Rameswaram by 1930 IST the same day. Rameswaram town had a fluctuating voltage between 195 to 235 V, 50 Hz. The weather was humid with humidity hovering from 60% in the daytime to about 90% late at night. The temperature was about 30 degrees C during the day and about 25 degrees at night.
Just after dinner, these four started assembling the basic inverted V antenna and finished the assembly of the antenna and the layout of the equipment by 1830 UTC 22 August. As the permission was effective from 23 August, the team jumped to work the anxious island chasers right after 1830 UTC, and on 7 MHz CW they contacted over 120 DX stations before they hit the sack. After breakfast on 23rd, the assembly of the Cushcraft MA5B, three element, five band antenna (covering 20, 17, 15, 12 and 10 meters) was taken up by the owner, the visually handicapped OM Rajan, VU3WIA. By 0700 UTC, the beam antenna, the G5RV, the Diamond D-130 VHF/UHF antenna and an HB9CV for satellite work, were assembled. From then on, there was, nothing but pileup on every band and mode. Slow-scan TV and PSK31 were also used to give a few island chasers QSOs in these modes. OM Roger, G3KMA was kind enough, amidst his busy working schedule, to come on 14,260 kHz at 1731 UTC 24 August and advise us of the provisional number AS-173 for Pamban Island.
Chaos
While working SSB on the various bands, it was "chaos" from the European stations. A very strict directional CQ call to NA W/VE and JA were given and Europeans had to be "ignored" to work some of these areas. Even while working Europeans, the island chasers were not listening to our instructions and caused unnecessarily heavy QRM to everyone. Then on, we were forced to work Europe, also in random order/prefixes so that all, especially the weaker ones, get a chance. Even then, there were still a few obstinate callers. There were quite a number of "brickbats and bouquets" expressed on the operating frequencies in a number of exchanges. But the operator of AT0RI continued amidst all these and gave QSOs. There were the usual multiple QSOs from some clever operators and we had to tell them to QSY as we have them on our logs.
This was continued on the day of the demonstration, 28 August 2004, also on the first floor of the Taluk Office Building, and the big gathering of schoolchildren, State government officials and the general public had a question-answer session and a number of display items on the walls were eagerly read and understood. The District Collector, Mr Chella Muthu IAS, presided over the program and Mr Alexander, DIG of Police who was also present spoke to the audience. The IOTA operators and the guest operator YL Sarla also spoke in the Tamil language. The program was covered by the press, radio and TV correspondents in the regional language.
The beam along with the other equipment of OM Rajan, VU3WIA, were dismantled on the 29th, as packing them safely and securely was a major concern and Rajan wanted to do it himself, very meticulously. His assistant and driver Amal, did all the heavy lifting, etc. Thereafter, a few of the operators went in for their religious work to be performed at Rameswaram seaside and taking the holy waters from the 24 different wells on the temple premises. All this took considerable time. An advance returning party with OM Rajan, VU3WIA, in the lead, left Rameswaram. The other operators who were interested in local chats and PSK31 QSOs remained until the last minute of the permission was complete. Then on 1 September they fanned out to their respective QTHs from Rameswaram, bringing the Island expedition to a close.
2500 QSOs/85 Countries
The expedition achieved around 2500 QSOs (putting all the modes together) to all the continents (except Antarctica), covering about 85 countries. The QSL route was given in the QRZ.com Web page, and the QSLs were pouring in, well before we printed the cards. The information about those envelopes that were pilfered and there was no return postage left, the details of QSLs sent, etc, are being shown in the same QRZ Web page to help all the island chasers with the latest information. For this Island Expedition also, YL Vani, VU2LYX, gladly printed the QSL cards and served as a QSO verifier and Manager. The system is working well and the DX operators are pleased with the service.
In addition, all the documentation required by IOTA HQ for formalizing the number AS-173 for Pamban Island from provisional status have been completed.
We thank all those lucky enough to have made QSOs with AT0RI, and we sympathize with the hundreds of others who missed out because of the lack of discipline on the bands. All those who forced multiple QSOs with us could have given someone else a chance for a QSO. The expedition station, barefoot and with a wire antenna, if swarmed like this, can get very few QSOs. Fortunately, we were not on batteries, but on ac power. But at Elephanta this QRM caused us an undue battery drain to complete every call sign. We were not a multinational/ multioperator/multitransmitter station with linear amplifiers to put out a punching signal wherever we transmit.
Thanks
The operators are highly indebted to the Collector of Ramanathapuram, the staff of Project House where our eating arrangements were taken care of, and the Ramanathapuram Amateur Wireless Association for all the help and encouragement.
We also thank all the other visiting amateurs from South India who had the first hand view of what a pileup is, and what an island expedition is, etc. We also thank all those VUs from all over India who took an interest in the whole activity, had QSOs with us and had asked about how they can also organize an island expedition from their state. So, gentlemen, please keep your fingers crossed for the other States of India activating some island in their territory. You may potentially look out for the West Coast States of India, where Goa and Gujarat can turn up surprises.
All the very best, good luck, good chasing of Indian Coastal Islands, and 73.
http://www.arrl.org/news/features/2005/07/12/1/?nc=1
Monday, July 4, 2005
Non-Ham QSO in 40M Ham Band
Dear Hams,
Today morning when I was scanning the 40M Ham Radio Band (7.000 MHz - 7.100 Mhz) at 07:30 am IST, I found some non-ham QSO going on at 7.038.5 MHz. There are more than 5-6 transmitting stations. They are not using any callsign for identifying themselves. Only they asking another station by calling city name. They are mainly doing QSO in between BERELI, MORADABAD, VARANASI, RAIBERELY & KANPUR and also some other city name. I can't follow their messages properly, but they are announcing or forecasting some numeric figures. Their language was Hindi.
I monitored that QSO till 8:00 am IST. Primarily they are using that 7.038.5 MHz in USB Mode. But some stations QSYed to LSB on same frequency for their urgent QSP.
All stations are coming at my end 59. But some stations even 59+40dB on my HF TRX display. My antenna is inverted "V" for 20 Meter.
I presumed that these stations from Uttar Pradesh Water Department. Because last year, during these heavy rain / monsoon months I heard some QSOs going on 40M Ham Band, same day-time. That time they were declaring the water lavel of the Ganges of various cities besides the river.
73s to you and happy monitoring.
Today morning when I was scanning the 40M Ham Radio Band (7.000 MHz - 7.100 Mhz) at 07:30 am IST, I found some non-ham QSO going on at 7.038.5 MHz. There are more than 5-6 transmitting stations. They are not using any callsign for identifying themselves. Only they asking another station by calling city name. They are mainly doing QSO in between BERELI, MORADABAD, VARANASI, RAIBERELY & KANPUR and also some other city name. I can't follow their messages properly, but they are announcing or forecasting some numeric figures. Their language was Hindi.
I monitored that QSO till 8:00 am IST. Primarily they are using that 7.038.5 MHz in USB Mode. But some stations QSYed to LSB on same frequency for their urgent QSP.
All stations are coming at my end 59. But some stations even 59+40dB on my HF TRX display. My antenna is inverted "V" for 20 Meter.
I presumed that these stations from Uttar Pradesh Water Department. Because last year, during these heavy rain / monsoon months I heard some QSOs going on 40M Ham Band, same day-time. That time they were declaring the water lavel of the Ganges of various cities besides the river.
73s to you and happy monitoring.
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