Near Crash in My Latest Bicycle Mobile video - check it out!

Yesterday, I rode to another area in Ouachita Parish on my bicycle.  


This time I went to the Eastern side of Cheniere Lake (area 1).


See what happens when I head down a steep hill with inadequate brakes.


I also head over to a pond that is full of alligators.

Ham - Amateur Radio - Frequencies can be used for Hurricane Situation Emergency

Hurricane Frequencies


On frequency 14.325 is The Hurricane Watch net.  It is now Saturday morning and I'm streaming this net live over the internet.  Visit my 'Live ke5utn channel' link located (in the links section) on the sidebar of this page. 

On the frequency of 14.280 there will be nets at 12 noon, 3pm, 6pm and 9pm for folks trying to get in contact with others form around the hurricane affected area. I think these will be eastern times.


I’m not sure how effective these nets will be, but I picked this info up on the maritime mobile net this afternoon.


For mobile stations needing to get health and welfare, emergency or priority traffic passed along, you can try 14.300 USB - the MMN (maritime mobile net) from about 8:00 am to about 10:00pm Eastern time.


There are formal traffic nets that will be glad to take your traffic. Two I know of are Monday through Saturday at 10:30am Central time and 1:30Pm on Sunday- central time - on 7.280 MHZ


Also, on 7.243 every day. At 3:30 pm.


Usually, there will be a SATERN (Salvation Army Team Emergency Radio Net) on multiple bands. You can try 7.265 14.265 and in the evenings try 3.977.7.


There are nets on 3.925 at 6:30pm daily central time, and I think I heard of a hurricane net on 3.935 at 8:00pm. Central (not sure about the purpose of this one.)


If you know of other frequencies, please leave the info in a comment. Thanks.

This Week's Ham Operator Highlight: Herman, KN5GRK

This week's Ham Highlight is for KN5GRK, Herman.  He's a ham who does a fine job as net control for the Louisiana Traffic Net and the Gulf Coast Single Sideband net.  I look up to him because of his ability to handle the nets, and he always conducts himself with dignity and respect on the air.  My hat is off to KN5GRK.

Here is his interview:

1. What is your qth & when did you become a ham?My QTH is Lafayette, Louisiana and was first licensed in 1956 as a Novice.

 

2. What or who inspired you to get involved in the hobby?I became interested in electronics while in junior high school, then when I went to high school, joined their ham radio club which was W5RFS in Little Rock, AR.

 

3. Did you have an Elmer? If so, who was he and what do you remember most about him?My major Elmer was Weldon Bryant W5FCM who lived down the street from me in Little Rock.  Weldon had his radio shack in his
Ford station wagon.  He did TV work during the day and in the evenings, he would hook up his dipole to his mobile station and work
until the wee hours in the morning.  He played the harmonica and was very, very, good - so good he had auditioned for Jerry Adler.

 

4. What equipment do you run?Transceiver is a Icom 706 MKIIG, Yaesu FL 2100B Amp,  MFJ 989C Versa Tuner II for HF and a Icom 2100H for 2 meters.  Antennas are 75 meter inverted "V" at 30 feet.  Hi-Gain TH3 tri-bander at 30 feet on Rhon 25 tower with Hazer and Ham IV rotator.  Ringo Ranger for 2 meter.   More information can be found on qrz.com.

 

5. What part(s) of the hobby gives you the most satisfaction?Just meeting people on the air.  Contacting Special Event stations.  Doing some Public Information via my e-mail reflector.

 

6. What is your proudest amateur radio related accomplishment, if any?
Being the "LA Section Ham Radio Operator of the Year for 2010" is my greatest accomplishment, working all states on phone and digital are a couple of other feats I am proud of doing.

--------
Do you have any suggestions for a ham highlight?  If so,  leave a comment or sign my guestbook.  Indicate who you want to highlight and why. 

You can either give me the person's e-mail address, or send these questions to the person yourself.  After they are answered, e-mail them to me at ke5utn@yahoo.com. 

KE5UTN - Station Update (Home Video)

Here's my latest video.  I talk about what I hope to accomplish and some equipment additions in my shack.

MFJ Delux Versa Tuner II Giving me Fits

Well, I’ve been trying to use a new antenna tuner. No, its not ‘actually’ new, but it is new to me.


It’s a MFJ Deluxe Versa Tuner II and it has the 2 crisscrossing needles. One is transmitter power, the other is SWR.


I traded out a Dentron Jr. tuner for the MFJ, and the jury is still out on my opinion.


I have not been able to quickly determine upon which letter the inductor should be placed for a given band. The directions say not to select inductor settings while being keyed up, so I can’t watch my radio power meter now the way I could with my dentron.


The result is much longeer tune-up times… If I can get it tuned up at all.


I do manage to get it tuned quickly on 20 meters, but none of the rest of the bands; 10, 12, 15 or 17 seem to want to cooperate.


I guess there’s a learning curve on this new-to-me tuner, so I’ll exercise more patients and record my successful inductor letters/band settings.


Have you ever had this problem?

Thumbs up to my Score in the IARU HF Championship 2010: 1st Place Award came in Today

I participated in the IARU HF Worldwide Championship last year, and finally received an award today.


This is great because I wasn’t expecting to win any thing.


The certificate I received was first place in the Low power, single operator, phone only - classification for Louisiana Section, zone 7.


I thought I was something special as I bragged on myself at this evening’s club meeting, so you can imagine how I felt when two other guys at our club meeting had similar awards.


K5ER, Received first place, Louisiana section, zone 7 for medium power mixed mode (If I remember right), and another Ham got the award for Louisiana, high power either phone or mixed mode. I can’t remember those details either.


I’m just kidding about thinking I was special, but I was really happy that I could claim an award alongside those fine hams… and in the same contest.


This is the first contest I ever participated in that I actually submitted the log.


Will I compete again? Yes. I really did have a lot of fun on this contest. Maybe too much.


Getting involved in this contest was like reading a good book… I didn’t want it to end, and my XYL couldn’t drag me away from it.


If you never participated in a contest, I suggest you give it a try before you pass judgment on contesters.

Amateur Radio Aboard the International Space Station - From their Perspective (Video)

NA1SS flies over U.S. and records what they here in this video as they transverse a portion of our country and head into the Gulf of Mexico. 

This is pretty cool.
______________

Original 13 Colonies Special Event 2011

ORIGINAL 13 COLONIES

INDEPENDENCE WEEK

SPECIAL EVENT

July 1st-5th 2011

NY-NJ-RI-GA-PA-NH-SC-VA-CT-DE-MD-MA-NC

5 DAYS - NEW TIMES in 2011!


The 4th of July, 2011 lands on a Monday, which means that you can work us starting Friday through Tuesday. Due to popular demand, we will run the event all 5 days like in 2010. Times will be: 12:01 AM Eastern start on July 1st, (That's one minute after midnight, early Friday morning, July 1st) to 11:59 PM Eastern ending on July 5th (One minute to midnight, late Tuesday night, July 5th).

Link to Website Showing All the Information.

2011 Field Day Video, Northeast Louisiana's Twin City Ham Club (TCHC)

T took the pics and shot the video in this very low budget production of the day's activities.


The tower that stands up by itself is pretty cool - Great job Carlos.

Really Cool Homebrew Towor Erector for Field Day‏, Special Events and Emergencies

This project was Conceived and constructed by Carlos, KB5YEG a start, Louisiana ham and Farmer.

The erector enables a single person to set up a 30 foot tower by himself. As you can see, the tower is very stable and capable of supporting quite a load.


PROJECT BACKGROUND:


He saw an old fertilizer –tank-hauling-trailer discarded in the weeds at a business. When he asked about it, they said he could use it as long as he wanted.


Carlos said:

 “ When I saw it, this idea popped into my mind. I had to get it operating again which was not difficult. It just required some rewiring since the fertilizer had corroded the control wiring.

I designed and built the tower assembly and mounted it on the trailer.

Sonny (KF5FAS seen in the picture below) and Gene( KC5WS) provided the tower sections.


All the metal and parts (except the tower) came from the farm scrap-pile and donations from friends.

Total cost: about $100.00 including parts to get the hydraulic pump working.”

Here are the pictures:

Antenna Project? Beware of Summertime Heat

Well my fellow Hamsters summertime is here and temperatures have soared near or over the century mark in many parts of the country.

 That said, please be aware that the temperatures we are experiencing can cause serious heat injuries.


Below is a Youtube video covering heat injuries. Although the nurse in the video is talking about this subject related to children, this info also applies to adults.


This is great information. Pay attention when you are out on field day and when working on antennas and such. Ham radio is a fantastic hobby, but don’t get n trouble in the summer heat.