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Re: [HCDX] Dxers Unlimited´s weekend edition for 15-16 March 2008
Radio Havana Cuba
Dxers Unlimited
Dxers Unlimited´s weekend edition for 15-16 March 2008
By Arnie Coro
Radio amateur CO2KK
Hi amigos radioaficionados … welcome to the weekend edition of Dxers
Unlimited, from beautifully sunny Havana, Cuba. I am Arnie Coro, radio
amateur CO2KK, inviting you all to join me for about seventeen minutes
of on the air and also on the web time, plus the now regularly available
option of reading the scripts of this program by subscribing to one of
several Internet radio hobby mailing lists, including the Ontario DX
Association Yahoo mailing list .
Here is today’s show first item, that sounds like ditto from the mid
week edition of the program…Another week of very little solar activity
reported by scientists, who continue to sit and wait for the expected
increase in the number of sunspots from the new cycle.
So far, the new sunspots are not happening, and the daily solar
microwave flux continues to be at extremely low levels, registering
bottom low 69 units on Friday.
Item two: Now were just a few days away from the spring equinox here in
the Northern Hemisphere, and already we are seeing somewhat better
propagation conditions especially just after sunset local time. Item
three: Cuban radio amateurs are getting ready for the upcoming CQ Radio
Amateur magazine worldwide WPX contest, one of the most popular ones in
the world. The main reason for the popularity of the CQ WPX contest is
that it provides operators with a unique opportunity of increasing their
worked DX entities, so it is possible during the WPX contest to add
quite a few new ones to your log.
This Saturday at the Plaza Radio Club here in downtown Havana, I will be
meeting again with newcomers to the hobby that started to receive their
lessons in electronics, rules and regulations, radio wave propagation
and communications procedures last week. The training course is
programmed to last until May and the radio amateur operator’s tests will
take place in June. We call this training program by its own special
name, for us it is The Radio Amateurs Academy and it counts with
experienced certified instructors selected among the nation’s first
class operators, the ones that are on the air with the CO, the Charlie
Oscar prefix.
At the request of several listeners, let me repeat that Cuba has four
prefixes for its stations registered at the ITU, that include CL, used
or the beginner’s license, the CM intermediate class amateurs , CO used
for the first class licensees and the T4 prefix that is only assigned to
special event stations.
More information about our wonderful radio hobby here in Cuba and in the
world after a short break for station ID… I am Arnaldo, Arnie, Coro,
radio amateur CO2KK in Havana…stay right here on this same short wave
frequency or at our world wide web site that has English language
programming from 05 to 07 hours UTC… I will be back in a few seconds…
……
Yes, you are listening to Radio Havana Cuba, the spring equinox is
always a good time to start tuning around for new stations. Amateur
radio operators have now s yet another incentive to go on the air… the
new Clipperton Island DX callsign TX5C expedition is on the air, with
high hopes of making a good showing as the just finished Ducie Island
outstandingly successful DX expedition achieved.
As I have always told you here, amateur radio expeditions to put on the
air remote places are a great incentive for Dxers and the dream of any
devoted Dxers is always fixed at having the unique opportunity of taking
part on one of the real prominent DX expedition. During my half a
century long amateur radio career,I remember in 1994, when a group of
Cuban and American radio amateurs activated a special station to
participate in the American Radio Relay League summer VHF contest, the
ARRL most important yearly event devoted to the promotion of operation
on the VHF, UHF and Microwave bands.
The 1994 VHF contest entry of CO0FRC from the Bellomonte cliff
overlooking the Florida Straits with a great team of operators won the
first place for DX stations entering the event, and we were able to make
some firsts , like the first microwave amateur radio contact between
Cuba and the USA.. We did make a large number of two way radio contacts,
mostly on SSB phone, and at that time we had no digital modes equipment
available. A VHF contest taking place now, will require the use of
advanced digital communications modes, as they are becoming more and
more popular among participating operators.
Si amigos , yes my friends , oui mes amis, a corrected figure, several
reliable sources claim that the number of radio amateurs around the
world is now exceeding the three millions mark, and a great number of
them regularly enjoy communicating using their own equipment and
antennas, sometimes from the most unique locations, like from the
International Space Station orbiting the Earth, or from a yacht sailing
around the world under the helm of a single crew member or as I stated
here earlier while flying aboard an airliner cruising at thirty seven
thousand feet, something that only airline pilots that are also ham
operators are able to do… and let me add that many senior captains and
copilots that are ham operators, do it more often than what you may
think, because as a very good friend of mine that seats on the left hand
seat of wide body jets likes to say… cruising at high altitudes over the
world’s oceans can be really boring, due to the high degree of
automation of modern aircraft !!! Aeronautical mobile, from a hang
glider, a paraplane parachute or a wide body jet is equally enjoyable
and is one of the more than 80 ways that people enjoy amateur radio!!!
……
Yes amigos, we do QSL, we do verify well written and documented
reception reports, something that is very easy to do, you will only need
to send us an e-mail to arnie at rhc dot cu that includes the date,
time, frequency, signal intensity and short description of the program
content at the time you were listening. Of course that you can add
whatever comments you may think will be useful to us, and that’s the way
that Dxers Unlimited´s worldwide audience has helped to shape this show
so that it will be attractive to the most diverse audiences, from radio
experimenters to the beginner short wave listener that has just bought a
small portable radio and that today is listening to short wave signals
for the first time ever… You can also send your signal reports ,
comments and ideas on how to improve our programs , as well as any radio
hobby related questions VIA AIR MAIL to Arnie Coro, Radio Havana Cuba,
Havana, CUBA… and now here is our next item of the weekend edition of
Dxers Unlimited… Our very popular technical topics section of the
program now ranking third place among our worldwide audience…
By the way, ASK ARNIE is still la numero UNO, the most popular part of
the show, closely followed by the HF and low band VHF propagation update
and forecast, that according to your e-mail messages, postcards and
letters as well as on the air reports is extremely useful when hunting
for DX… and then in third place is this one, Technical Topics just
starting now… Technical topics today will be presenting a segment about
amateur radio operators that are adapting the now very commonly
available in many countries WI-FI microwave computer communications
systems for ham radio use. WI-FI frequencies are very near an amateur
radio band, making the conversion of that type of equipment fairly easy
for technically minded operators that are then able to enjoy high
quality local digital communications links with fellow amateurs at very
low cost and without the difficulties previously faced when attempting
to homebrew microwave communications equipment !!!
……
This is Dxers Unlimited´s weekend edition coming to you from sunny
Havana, where this Saturday many ham radio operators provided
communications support for the annual Terry Fox marathon race. The Terry
Fox event has taken place here for the past ten years and has become a
very popular race among runners that render tribute to the Canadian who
showed the world what a cancer patient could achieve with his
extraordinary will and persistence. The Terry Fox run is not a marathon,
because the longest distance that runners have to span is three
kilometers, but it does require the help of radio amateurs to coordinate
efforts within the route followed by the runners. Among the fifteen
radio clubs of our metropolitan area, one at every municipality of the
City of Havana province…a lot of enthusiasm developed to participate in
the Terry Fox run, as it provides an excellent opportunity to test our
readiness in case an emergency has to be dealt with. Weather here this
Saturday is simply gorgeous, with a clear blue sky , and the temperature
is expected to go up to almost 30 degrees Centigrade or 86 degrees
Fahnrenheit…At the Habana del Este Club that is one of the more
enthusiastic of them all, amateurs started to deploy their equipment at
around five o clock in the morning !!! The so called internal 2 meter
frequency , of each radio club will be the one used for providing
support to the Terry Fox run.… The internal simplex frequencies have
proven to be an asset because they do help a lot to develop local
communications between radio amateurs that live in the same area and at
the same time alleviate traffic from the 2 meter band repeaters. The
City of Havana province has als access to another long range repeater,
located outside the metropolitan area, The 145.470 repeater can be
accessed using handy talkies from locations that continue to amaze me,
despite the fact that it is about fifteen miles away from city center.
Many City of Havana radio amateurs use a portable J pole antenna
homebrewed from a short length of 300 ohms TV twinlead. It is a very
simple portable antenna for the two meters band FM transceivers of handy
talkies that helps to access the far away repeaters.
QSL on the air, si amigos, QSL on the air to the many RHC listeners that
have written to me asking for more information about Cuba’s AM and FM
radio broadcasting stations… So following the request, I will tell
continue this new segment of Dxers Unlimited with more information about
stations broadcasting from Central Cuba. In Santa Clara City on 840
kiloHertz CMHW , known to its listeners as LA DOBLEVE is now on the air
with a new solid state high energy efficiency transmitter that is
capable of 125 percent positive peak modulation. La DOBLEVE can be heard
not only in Villaclara province , but also in neighboring Cienfuegos,
Sancti Spiritus and Matanzas… And talking about Matanzas, the new
frequency for the provincial station´s main transmitter is 1060
kiloHertz, again Radio Veintiseis, from the center of Matanzas province,
with its new solid state transmitter on 1060 kiloHertz providing
excellent coverage of the whole of Matanzas province, part of Cienfuegos
and the southwestern area of La Habana province. The two new
installations form part of a program now in progress to upgrade the AM
medium wave band facilities by replacing the obsolete vacuum tube
transmitters with new energy efficient equipment that is also capable of
125 percent positive peak modulation, something that increases the
coverage of the stations as compared with what could be achieved with
the old transmitters.
..................................
And now amigos, as always at the end of the program, here is as always
and absolutely free, Arnie Coro´s HF plus low band VHF propagation
update and forecast… Solar activity is expected to continue at very low
levels, with solar flux between 68 and 70 units, but again, the equal
illumination of Planet Earth during the spring equinox will certainly
improve short wave propagation during the next three to five weeks
amigos… So, enjoy it !!!
See you all at the midweek edition of the program Saturday and Sunday
UTC days… and don´t forget to send your signal reports , comments about
the program and radio hobby related questions to arnie at rhc dot cu. Or
VIA AIR MAIL to Arnie Coro, Radio Havana Cuba, Havana, Cuba
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