Not bad for a Ham since Oct 2010!!!
Wednesday, 22 February 2012
Monday, 20 February 2012
Spotted all over the world!!!
I spent the whole of yesterday glued to my rig. Not because there was any major DX or because of any contests, but purely because of the fun I was having. Now this hasnt happened to me in quite a bit.
I had been using a Xmas pressie I got from Tony ( the hubbie). I had been using PSK31 on 40m all along with a dipole antenna, but was getting tired of the variation of stations I was receiving. Tony swapped the antennas, the beam was connected to the Kenwood and the dipole temporarily placed in the Icom. I couldn't believe the increase in activity on the bands!
There were many firsts for me yesterday including using all of the bands 20-6m. I was elated, the amount of calls to be answered, so much so that at one point the waterfall looked like a swimming pool, signals everywhere!
A major first for me was the use of 30m, a band that I had never considered using previously but I was pleasently surprised at the amount of ops on seeking contacts. I had great fun and was like a child at Xmas.
The only drawback for me was having to collect DXCC'S from the beginning all over again as no doubt I shall be looking for a digi award into the future. The biggest surprise to me though was seeing the map on psk reporter highlighted with a rainbow of colors from all parts of the globe !! I was in my element!
In all I made close to 70 contacts yesterday on PSK, my furthest being Brazil and Argentina. It was a really fun radio day, wih my signal being spotted all over the world!
I had been using a Xmas pressie I got from Tony ( the hubbie). I had been using PSK31 on 40m all along with a dipole antenna, but was getting tired of the variation of stations I was receiving. Tony swapped the antennas, the beam was connected to the Kenwood and the dipole temporarily placed in the Icom. I couldn't believe the increase in activity on the bands!
There were many firsts for me yesterday including using all of the bands 20-6m. I was elated, the amount of calls to be answered, so much so that at one point the waterfall looked like a swimming pool, signals everywhere!
A major first for me was the use of 30m, a band that I had never considered using previously but I was pleasently surprised at the amount of ops on seeking contacts. I had great fun and was like a child at Xmas.
The only drawback for me was having to collect DXCC'S from the beginning all over again as no doubt I shall be looking for a digi award into the future. The biggest surprise to me though was seeing the map on psk reporter highlighted with a rainbow of colors from all parts of the globe !! I was in my element!
In all I made close to 70 contacts yesterday on PSK, my furthest being Brazil and Argentina. It was a really fun radio day, wih my signal being spotted all over the world!
Monday, 9 January 2012
HAPPY NEW YEAR .....or is it?
Hey there peeps,
Firstly, let me take this opportunity to wish you a very happy 2012, hope this one is better than the last few.
In relation to weather, what the hell is happening at the minute? Storms, winds of up to 120km per hour and broken antennas. Mine avoided any major damage, well partially because its been sitting in its cradle position for the past few weeks but my poor co-linear on the roof had died a poor death this winter, the poor things needs to be retired and laid to rest..... and to be replaced by a new one.
My news evenings have gone by the wayside for the present time due to this bereavement but all shall be restored once we manage to get a new one up there!
A few of my friends (both on here and Facebook) have suffered at the hands of the ferocious winds. Poor Anthony's antenna snapped and had to be replaced and I have to say Im impressed with the speed in which he had it up and running again, if I had blinked I would've missed it lol.
Other than that, all is good on the western front, xmas was a quiet one, apart from the mental kids of course, by the time the 28th came I was ready to go back to work for a rest!!! New Year's Eve came and went and even on New Year's Day I was impressed with the amount of posts of DXCC's being worked by hams across the board. I haven't gotten back into it yet, but the year is young.
One of my xmas pressies I got were data cables from my hubbie (amongst other things of course). I think they're brilliant. I was playing with them for ages, and since I like typing too, this is even more up my alley, you can "macro" away whilst doing other things!!!! Thanks Tony!
So I'm off now to relax for the rest of the evening, hope to catch some of you in the very near future!
Ciao for now
Lisa
Sunday, 25 September 2011
Open Sesame!!
Hey there peeps,
Well, I had finally decided to hog the rig officially (sorry Tony) over the past weekend, and as luck would have it the bands decided they were going to open for me lol.
I decided to operate over Friday night and during today (I had to take a break on Saturday lol) and made about 100 contacts over the few hours. A few new DXCC were up for grabs for me to include St. Pierre & Manquelin, Uruguay and Malaysia on 10m and Market Reef. I have never even heard of the first and last one. I had to consult Google Maps to locate them.
I have yet to upload them to HRD so im anxious to see how many DXCC's I have worked (not to get this confused with confirmed). I am now coming up to my first anniversary of being a licensed ham (30th Oct) and to date I have worked about 1,197 contacts and approx 110 DXCC's ( on the last count). It will be interesting to see how many Ill have in the log by the time the year is up.
In saying that, there are a few DXCC's I missed out on, despite trying and trying. 4W6A is one I had been trying to get, a DXepedition to Timor Leste which a few of the lads I know have managed to contact. It seems that any time I spot them on the cluster, they are too light for me to hear, yet I have tried to see if, by complete act of god, they might hear me.
African stations also seem to be elusive to me, I have heard a number of them on this weekend, Central Africa, Madagascar, Congo, but I have yet to manage to work them. As with the VK's and the ZL stations, maybe there is a certain time of day when activity is plentiful, and its probably when Im at work HI.
So back I go to see if I can manage to scrape another few into the log.
Ciao for now,
Lisa, EI9GSB
Well, I had finally decided to hog the rig officially (sorry Tony) over the past weekend, and as luck would have it the bands decided they were going to open for me lol.
I decided to operate over Friday night and during today (I had to take a break on Saturday lol) and made about 100 contacts over the few hours. A few new DXCC were up for grabs for me to include St. Pierre & Manquelin, Uruguay and Malaysia on 10m and Market Reef. I have never even heard of the first and last one. I had to consult Google Maps to locate them.
I have yet to upload them to HRD so im anxious to see how many DXCC's I have worked (not to get this confused with confirmed). I am now coming up to my first anniversary of being a licensed ham (30th Oct) and to date I have worked about 1,197 contacts and approx 110 DXCC's ( on the last count). It will be interesting to see how many Ill have in the log by the time the year is up.
In saying that, there are a few DXCC's I missed out on, despite trying and trying. 4W6A is one I had been trying to get, a DXepedition to Timor Leste which a few of the lads I know have managed to contact. It seems that any time I spot them on the cluster, they are too light for me to hear, yet I have tried to see if, by complete act of god, they might hear me.
African stations also seem to be elusive to me, I have heard a number of them on this weekend, Central Africa, Madagascar, Congo, but I have yet to manage to work them. As with the VK's and the ZL stations, maybe there is a certain time of day when activity is plentiful, and its probably when Im at work HI.
So back I go to see if I can manage to scrape another few into the log.
Ciao for now,
Lisa, EI9GSB
Thursday, 15 September 2011
Another Rally Good Success!!!
Hey all,
So we had our annual rally last Sunday and it was a brilliant day. Everyone was ready to go at about 11.15am so we opened the doors and let the bargain hunters in!
There was a great turnout again this year, and everyone was in high spirits.
I got the great job of admission, so it gave me a chance to meet everyone coming in. Because Im new enough to the hobby (11 months) I am still not familiar with some of the people I speak to, now give me a callsign and Id know you a bit quicker. I had people chatting to me and it took me a few minutes (or them to tell me) to realise who I was speaking to, but nevertheless I managed to meet some of the lads I chat to on a regular basis.
I also had a mission, to get myself an antenna for my car and the mount to go with it. See as a YL operater, I have encountered a problem that most hams wouldnt be aware of. Since I am also a mother and a wife, I need to be able to do things like food shopping, picking things up for the kids for school etc so the problem I was running into was that when I had Tony's car, the antenna was too high for the car parks, barriers on certain roads etc and used to bang something ferocious when I drove to Tesco etc, so much so I had to pull the car over and either bend the antenna (which it is capable of doing) or take it off altogether.
So my hunt was on and it didnt take me long to come across the perfect antenna for 2m and 70cms. It is a little 1/4 wave antenna, only about 30cms long maybe, and fits perfectly on my car. So now I dont have to worry about banging. I also got a Watson mount for the boot and hey presto, Im set to go on 2m & 70cms.
So I was happy with my purchase. When the rally came to a close, and the traders had packed away, we went for a few drinks in the bar and had a great finish to the day. I have to say congrats to all the people involved in the day, it was another brill time, and I went home smiling.
Ciao for now
73, Lisa EI9GSB
So we had our annual rally last Sunday and it was a brilliant day. Everyone was ready to go at about 11.15am so we opened the doors and let the bargain hunters in!
There was a great turnout again this year, and everyone was in high spirits.
I got the great job of admission, so it gave me a chance to meet everyone coming in. Because Im new enough to the hobby (11 months) I am still not familiar with some of the people I speak to, now give me a callsign and Id know you a bit quicker. I had people chatting to me and it took me a few minutes (or them to tell me) to realise who I was speaking to, but nevertheless I managed to meet some of the lads I chat to on a regular basis.
I also had a mission, to get myself an antenna for my car and the mount to go with it. See as a YL operater, I have encountered a problem that most hams wouldnt be aware of. Since I am also a mother and a wife, I need to be able to do things like food shopping, picking things up for the kids for school etc so the problem I was running into was that when I had Tony's car, the antenna was too high for the car parks, barriers on certain roads etc and used to bang something ferocious when I drove to Tesco etc, so much so I had to pull the car over and either bend the antenna (which it is capable of doing) or take it off altogether.
So my hunt was on and it didnt take me long to come across the perfect antenna for 2m and 70cms. It is a little 1/4 wave antenna, only about 30cms long maybe, and fits perfectly on my car. So now I dont have to worry about banging. I also got a Watson mount for the boot and hey presto, Im set to go on 2m & 70cms.
So I was happy with my purchase. When the rally came to a close, and the traders had packed away, we went for a few drinks in the bar and had a great finish to the day. I have to say congrats to all the people involved in the day, it was another brill time, and I went home smiling.
Ciao for now
73, Lisa EI9GSB
Monday, 5 September 2011
Rally, Rally, Rally
Hey there ham radio peeps (or in the words of the Inbetweeners "special radio friends :p)
The countdown is on, 6 days to the event of the year, the NCRG radio rally, held at Blarney Golf Resort at 1130am on Sunday next.
I cant wait, lots of bargains to be had, or a one stop shop to reinvent the shack, either way its gonna be epic. Im gonna be on the door doing what I do best, handling money and chatting, hope to meet you there (if I dont know your face, dont be afraid to introduce yourself, I dont bite.....much)
So Im off for now, have admission tickets to organise.
Talk to ya soon (hopefully with a few new bits), ciao for now
Lisa, EI9GSB
The countdown is on, 6 days to the event of the year, the NCRG radio rally, held at Blarney Golf Resort at 1130am on Sunday next.
I cant wait, lots of bargains to be had, or a one stop shop to reinvent the shack, either way its gonna be epic. Im gonna be on the door doing what I do best, handling money and chatting, hope to meet you there (if I dont know your face, dont be afraid to introduce yourself, I dont bite.....much)
So Im off for now, have admission tickets to organise.
Talk to ya soon (hopefully with a few new bits), ciao for now
Lisa, EI9GSB
Tuesday, 30 August 2011
And we're off!!!!
Hey there,
So we have adjusted the capacitor hats, tightened all the screws and brought down the antennamast........and hey presto it works!!!!! Our beam is back in business and sitting proud 40ft in the air.
Tony has just tested it on a station in Brazil .. and got a report of 58 from him.
So now the fun is on, lots of stations on the way into my log, shame Im a bit busy this afternoon (my eldest child is 12 today) but otherwise Tony would be getting a push outta "the chair" in order for me to conquer the world again.
Now to have a look at the mini rotatable dipoles for 40m, with the NCRG rally coming up on the 11th Sept, it might be the best time to accost some of our resident traders and grab ourselves a bargain..... in the interest of experimentation of course.
Right Im off of birthday business so ciao for now
Lisa, EI9GSB
So we have adjusted the capacitor hats, tightened all the screws and brought down the antennamast........and hey presto it works!!!!! Our beam is back in business and sitting proud 40ft in the air.
Tony has just tested it on a station in Brazil .. and got a report of 58 from him.
So now the fun is on, lots of stations on the way into my log, shame Im a bit busy this afternoon (my eldest child is 12 today) but otherwise Tony would be getting a push outta "the chair" in order for me to conquer the world again.
Now to have a look at the mini rotatable dipoles for 40m, with the NCRG rally coming up on the 11th Sept, it might be the best time to accost some of our resident traders and grab ourselves a bargain..... in the interest of experimentation of course.
Right Im off of birthday business so ciao for now
Lisa, EI9GSB
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