Dayton 2007 – Breakfast as the only one under 300 Countries

Ok this one wasn’t on the official list of Dayton activities, but is an example of the sort of fun that seems to happen spontaniously at Dayton!

On Saturday Morning I was invited to breakfast to hear about Collins Boat Anchors and to talk DX with several long time DXers – George W9EVT, Joe W9JUV and others who I didn’t catch their callsigns.

I was rather stunned to learn that all of these gents had well over 300 countries confirmed.

Of course all had been hams continuously since a time before I was born.

The commonality of their experience seemed to be:

 Stick-at-it – they all had spent years enjoying DXing

Awareness – they all seemed aware what DXpeditions were in the works.

Use of CW – every one of these gents were proficiant at CW, and used it.

Simply Equipment that WORKS, leaving twiddling & fussing to those more interested in technology than operating.

Shacks that were accessable or in the living space of their home – seems they kept their radios as close at hand as a pianist would keep their practice piano.

I am sure there were more lessons that I could have learned from these gentlemen, as the priviledge to hear how they did DX was a treat.

This is the second to last planned post of my Dayton notes – like this unplanned breakfast, my Dayton was full of 100’s of small bits of learning, lots of comradship and was a great time!

73

Steve
K9ZW

Dayton 2007 – SWODXA DX Dinner

Friday Night at Dayton (May 18th) I attended the SWODXA – Southwest Ohio DX Association hosted the Dayton DXCC dinner.

Of course there was a DXCC countdown, with lots of folk with stunning numbers of confirmed countries!

VERY humorous presentation by Dr Bedlar (aka N0WX Ward Silver) in slides was really a treat. If Ward N0WX’s alter-ego Dr Bedlar didn’t make you smile…. well….

Some Dinner Pictures have been posted. The spokeswoman from India was a charming speaker.

The Daily DX did a write up they have been sharing – and you can read it here.

A good time had by all!

73

Steve
K9ZW

iCard Series – No. 11

73

Steve
K9ZW

Dayton 2007 – Yaesu’s Bluetooth 2m/440 Weatherproof Rig

Proudly Displayed on the Handlebars of a Harley Motorbike, Yaesu was definately showing off its new FTM-10R.

Here is Yaesu’s Marking Bumpf:

The exciting newly designed FTM-10R Mobile 2m/70cm Transceiver is packed with innovative features that operators have been dreaming of for years. Great new appearance with keys and indicators that are illuminated with very bright LEDs. The bright ocean blue negative type LCD display is easy on your eyes.

Super compact detachable front panel is ready to go with your motor vehicle! The unique Waterproof/Dustproof Front Operation Panel is designed to support All-Weather Outdoor Activity in a manner never before possible. Detach the front panel with one-touch release when transmitting! The detachable front panel may be separated from the main chassis, and attached to a flat metal surface with the magnetic mounting bracket. The microphone and PTT button are built into the front panel.

This front panel meets the IP57 standard – waterproof at 3 ft (1 m) for 30 minutes and protection against dust – making the FTM-10R the perfect outdoor communications and entertainment package.

NB: Use of a communication device with a display while driving may be prohibited in some states and some countries.

Rugged Construction – take the FTM-10R/E where the action is!
Compact and Light Weight
Heavy Duty Yet Easy to Operate…Even with Gloves!
Plenty of RF Reliable Power Output
Industry 1st – Detachable waterproof front panel
Industry 1st – AF Dual Monitor function..also connect your IPod!
Industry 1st – Intercom to communicate with fellow passengers
Industry 1st – Automatic Volume Control
Industry 1st – Receive and Transmit Text Messages
Industry 1st – Unique Delay VOX function
Industry 1st – Bluetooth accessories!
Independent AM/FM broadcast receiver
High power 8-watt PA communications with optional speaker
Smart Key on front panel for quick access to most important functions
Club Channel Monitor
Smart Search
500 Channel Band Group Memory System
Automatic Range Transponder System
Event Timer Stopwatch
Wireless Cloning
Time-out Timer

—-

Now for my impression – this rig looks good! It wasn’t possible to really have a play with it in the exhibition hall, but the generalities look excellent.

The main radio body is NOT waterproof, so for many installations a waterproof location for the body will need to found or created.

The head is weather-proof and in the display was well integrated into the Motorcycle’s sound system.

It will be very interesting to read the first field reports on this rig. I’m definately interested in putting one on my BMW K-100LT once I figure out how to incorporate a bluetooth setup into my helmet.

73

Steve
K9ZW

Dayton 2007 – Dinner with the XMatch Tuner Designer

After the Contest University, a number of those of us who Blog about Amateur Radio met for beers, and a larger impromptu group ended up talking together.  Eventually we decided to go to dinner and one of that dinner group was Paul Schrader N4XM, the designer of the XMatch Antenna Tuner.   With his life long friend Dr Hill KK4JE, Paul was kind enough to tell us about his tuner and his take on amateur radio.

I have to admit I’d not come across the XMatch previously, as it is promoted by Paul N4XM’s low-key method of letting those using the XMatch simply tell about how it has worked for them.

The design is innovative to the point that Paul was able to secure a United States Patent #4,763,087 issued August 9, 1988 for his XMatch Impedance matching network.

Later I was to learn that Paul N4XM was also one of the DX Dinner Sponsors!

You can check out N4XM’s XMatch Website for more information.

It was a lovely evening out and great to have such creative & clever Amateurs in the group.

73

Steve
K9ZW

US Island Program Expands – Special Announcement

Hot off the US Islands Program’s reflector:

The Committee of the USi Awards Program has voted to expand the program to cover U.S. Territories and Protectorates. These are listed in a separate area of the list titled, what else, U.S. Territories and Protectorates. This has been broken into 6 sub-areas; American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, and U.S. Minor Outlying Islands.

The new part of the list is linked from the top of the Islands Directory (http://www.usislands.org/directory/directory.html), as there is no link from the map, or this link will take you directly there: (http://www.usislands.org/directory/directory.html#TP)

Also, the first of these islands has already been qualified by KP2/KL7USI & KP2/KL7JR. The qualified island is St. Croix – VI002S.

If you know of any island that needs to be added to the list, please let me know. I.e. you qualified it or plan to qualify it.

Also, since we recognize retro-qualification of an island, if you qualified an island in any of the 6 new sub-areas let me know, so we can give you credit. Include the date you qualified it.

73 – Ted – W8TTS
USi Qualifications Manager

73
Steve
K9ZW