Amateur radio...

[TXiceman]

Any of you fellows on the other side of the pond Ham Radio operators?

Band conditions have opened 20M a few times over the past week and I have heard a few European stations as well as Crete, Japan and Hawaii from Houston, Texas.

Time here has been about 10 to 11 PM Central Standard time (about Zulu -6), So it is a bit early over there.

73's

KE5DFR

Ken

[chillin out]

Any of you fellows on the other side of the pond Ham Radio operators?

Band conditions have opened 20M a few times over the past week and I have heard a few European stations as well as Crete, Japan and Hawaii from Houston, Texas.

Time here has been about 10 to 11 PM Central Standard time (about Zulu -6), So it is a bit early over there.

73's

KE5DFR

Ken
Whats your frequency Kenneth?

LOL

Chillin:):)

[TXiceman]

I've been up and down the 20M and 40M bands. If you have a particular frequency, let me know and I will see what happens.

Ken

[chillin out]

LOL...sorry mate that was a joke.

Have you heard of a music band called REM?

One of their greatest songs was called "whats the frequency Kenneth".

Chillin:):)

[TXiceman]

Sometimes English does not translate across the big pond. Two nations split by a common language?

I mostly listen to the older county and western. The new music and the new C&W don't agree with these old ears.

Love your stick figure fight.

Oh and wanted to point out that after destroying the evidence...get a pint, not a cuppa....cheers. Oh how I love the European beers. The Americans are brain washed into drinking swill.

Ken

[chillin out]

I mostly listen to the older county and western. The new music and the new C&W don't agree with these old ears.
You should always keeps your options (and ears) open, in my book a good song is a good song.

You would not believe the range of music on my PC, everything from rap to country to rock. The only music I am not keen on is classical, I don't understand the words and it just sounds like screaming.

Try listening to a completely new type of music each day, you never know... you just might like it.

Chillin:):)

[The MG Pony]

geting a good skip are ya, back when I had a CB rig going I was geting a skip from hawie, got one transmission through and lost the bounce, I could hear just not transmit, lol, all the trucker said was "Suprised you can hear us here" tried to respond, but lost it. Ah well, got me self an RFDF in the KHz range for sea nave, other then that never got into ham.

[TXiceman]

The Ham tickets is a bit more work, but a lot more fun. I can run up to 1500 watts legally on the ham bands.

About 20 years ago, when I had a CB (legal 5 watts), I would get torn up with illegal stations coming in on skip. We were living in Toronto and heard a trucker in South Texas and managed to get back to him. Surprised the ****ens out of me. It was just skip.

With the ham radio, we live for skip and wait for a new sun spot cycle.

i guess I am the only Ham radio operator on here.

Ken

[The MG Pony]

I had a 150 watt kicker on the base station, so I was packing a bit of heat with the set up. All stollen though :(

[TXiceman]

I am looking to get about a 500 watt amplifier for my base station. I have a ground mounted, 6-band vertical and a 10 through 80 meter off-center-fed dipole at 30'. My most distant contact has been 400 Km of Moscow.

Other than Ham radio, me and the XYL enjoy our RV (caravan to those on the other side of the pond). We have a vintage (28 year old) Silver Streak trailer, 30' long and pull it with a 2002 F350 7.3L diesel pickup. The SS is a lot like the Air Stream, only they were a bit more upscale than the Air Stream.

I used to home brew beer, but don't do that any more. I like to brew stouts and porters with the occasional ale....problem was I also liked to drink them. Now it is easier to buy them here. Found I could not give away the home brew, except to the few that liked real beer. Americans are brain-washed to drink, Bud Lite, Miller Lite or Corona. I'd just as soon drink water as that swill.

Ken

[NH3LVR]

I used to home brew beer, but don't do that any more. I like to brew stouts and porters with the occasional ale....problem was I also liked to drink them. Now it is easier to buy them here. Found I could not give away the home brew, except to the few that liked real beer. Americans are brain-washed to drink, Bud Lite, Miller Lite or Corona. I'd just as soon drink water as that swill.

TXiceman;
Am in total agreement with that last statement.
If you start brewing again feel free to send ME a few bottles.
I do not brew much anymore, and when I do I prefer to keg rather than bottle. Bottling is a lot of work. Usually put up 15 Gallons for Christmas time.

[The MG Pony]

I brew in Kegs! Does that count?

Here home brew is prevailant.

[monkey spanners]

In quite fancied having a go at making whisky after a holiday in scotland (and numerous distilery tours:D) I'm sure i could make a working still and condenser out of some copper pipe etc. doubt i could wait 10 years to test the results though:rolleyes:

Jon

[TXiceman]

The longest I had to wait for a beer to finish in the bottle was almost a year from the day I put it in the primary fermenter. Took about 2 weeks in the primary and 4 weeks in the secondary. It was an Imperial Stout fermented with champaign yeast. Finished at 11.5% alcohol and it was so smooth.

Ken

[on4hf]

Hi there,
Nice to see radio amateurs on this forum.
Greetings from Belgium.
Eric - ON4HF.

[kg4yub]

greetings fellow amatuers 1st post .never know what you will find playing with computer just joined REF ENG [transport] regards 73s butch

[TXiceman]

With band conditions like they have been recently, I have not worked any DX in a while. A while back I worked Moscow on 20M early evening here. Managed to get England once, Sicily, and then South America. This is from the Houston, Texas Area.

I run a Kenwood TS830S, 100 watts, manual antenna tuner, Hustler 6BTV ground mounted vertical and a Carolina Windom 80 dipole. I need to rehang the dipole and get it up a bit higher and away from the house. The vertical does netter for me on 10M through 40M. The dipole for 80M.

73's
Ken