Radio Shack going?

Radio Shack is a familiar name in the USA, but maybe not for much longer? This news from Steve G1KQH yet again. I hope you can access the link as sometimes ARRL links can only be seen by ARRL members.

Is this the end of Tandy’s original owner? 

http://www.arrl.org/news/view/radioshack-s-long-slow-downward-slide-nears-the-end

73 Steve

http://www.g1kqh.talktalk.net/

Looking at some of the range claims by Radio Shack for their handhelds I expect they get lots of returns from very disappointed customers.    I am sure that these ranges are achievable from hill and clifftop, ideal,  locations, but such ideal conditions are rare.  In the UK and the rest of the EC  such claimed ranges would be illegal. Much more realistic would be ranges of 0.5 to 2 miles at best, and often far less.  Caveat emptor!

ARRL membership renewal - no thanks

Living in the UK, last year I joined the ARRL so I could access the digital edition of QST. I shall not be renewing. Why? Well, the ads are the same, more or less, as those in RadCom and Practical Wireless and there are better articles in SPRAT. Most of all it took over a week to sort my access out when I mislaid my password. The online help was, for me, useless. No, I am happy to let others join their national amateur radio society but I shall not be renewing my ARRL membership. I remain an RSGB member and GQRP Club member.

ARRL 10m contest this weekend

A reminder that the annual ARRL 10m contest is this coming weekend. Conditions are likely to be good on 10m, so this is a good chance to work some worldwide DX. Next year with the decline in sunspot numbers, this is not likely to be as good. Unfortunately my operating time will be very limited because of visitors.

ARRL renewal - no thanks!

Today, I got this email from ARRL. I have no plans to renew my membership, although I am still an RSGB member. It took a week to help me renew access to QST. Their online help was useless and it took a week to get anyone to help me. I was left unimpressed. Sorry, but no thanks.

You asked us to remind you by e-mail when your membership was about to expire. That time is coming.

Our records indicate that your ARRL membership will expire on Feb 28, 2015.

In order to receive uninterrupted delivery of QST, your membership journal, you need to renew 45-50 days prior to your membership expiration date.  I wouldn’t want you to miss an issue, nor any of the other membership benefits and services, such as:

- access to the members-only features of the ARRL Web site
- participation in the ARRL e-mail Forwarding Service (arrl.net)
- answers to your questions on FCC rules and regs
- help with antenna, tower and zoning problems
- participation in DXCC and other ARRL contests and awards
- our outgoing QSL service
- low-cost equipment insurance
- preferred subscription rates for ARRL's technical magazine, QEX

and much more!

It's a snap to renew. Visit http://www.arrl.org/join/WE1A to renew at our Web-Site with a credit card or download a membership application to mail. You can also call us toll-free to join at: 1-888-277-5289 (US Only). International members call (860) 594-0338.  Please renew today.

73,
David Sumner, K1ZZ
Chief Executive Officer

ARRL propagation forecasts

For those of you who subscribe to the ARRL (not everyone does and I have no plans to renew my subs next year),  the weekly propagation forecasts make interesting reading.  Even more interesting are the archived old forecasts, so we can see just how good conditions are compared, for example, with the same time in 2007.  As I mentioned before, if you are not an ARRL member you will not be able to follow the link, I believe.

ARRL members see http://www.arrlrg/w1aw-bulletins-archive/ARLP054/2007 .

Why am I not renewing my digital subscription with ARRL? 
Earlier in the year I could not use my password and it took a week to sort it out. The online help was no help at all. It took several emails before anyone actually helped me. Most of QST seems to be ads similar to those in UK magazines. I cannot see the value in continuing ARRL membership. In summary, the ARRL seemed a pretty useless organisation. I was NOT impressed.

GQRP Club membership is much better value in my view.

ARRL 10m contest - mid December

As I have missed the CQWW SSB contest for 2 years now, I hope that I can be on for the ARRL 10m contest, Dec 13-14th. This contest lasts the full weekend and is all mode. As 10m is my favourite band of all, this should be a good one. As far as I know, we are free that weekend. I rarely enter contests to win. Rather, I enter HF contests to work new DXCC countries, or states and Canadian Provinces. I am no real DX chaser! My entry (if I remember and assuming I am free) will be strictly QRP as I have no gear capable of more than 5W pep.

See http://www.arrl.org/10-meter .

ARRL - thank you (in the end)

7 days and 5 emails later my ARRL user name has finally been reset, so I can now access the ARRL site once again with my 1 year paid subscription. Why did it take so long? Goodness only knows. 7 days should have been just a few minutes.

I wanted to say something good about the ARRL but this total fiasco has rather left me speechless and lost for words to adequately say how I feel.  They should have done better - NO excuses.

At least I can again access the ARRL site. As far as I can tell the site was muddled by having had a 90 day free trial membership before becoming a fully paid up member. Why it took 7 days to sort, goodness only knows!

ARRL:  1/10 for effective member support. I'd wanted to say something nice but just cannot,honestly. I just hope others fare better than I did.  Why cannot you reset your user name online? Their online help is flawed if you lose you user name as I did in a PC crash.

In my experience the RSGB does a much better job at supporting its members.

ARRL website - crap!

Don't lose your user name or ID or you may never get in again!

I was a 90 day guest member, decided to join for one year on a special offer. Lost my user name (PC crashed) so asked ARRL for help getting back in to read QST etc.. 6 days later (6 DAMN days!!!!) and not a single reply from ARRL. What a load of tossers!  They have now had 3 emails.

Next year, it is very unlikely I shall rejoin.  This level of member support is totally pathetic. I am not at all impressed with their "help". If you lose you user name it appears the on-line help does not help at all, but (so far) neither does emailing ARRL!

How can a national society's website be totally inaccessible to paid up members? How come ARRL is so bad at supporting its members?

472kHz in the USA - when?

Anyone know what the problem is in the USA (with the FCC I assume) that is holding up the release of the 472-479kHz band to amateurs in that country? It rather makes the USA look like a backward 3rd world failed state, incapable of passing what should be a simple piece of legislation! I am sure that many in the USA are waiting with bated breath for the release of this fascinating new band that most of us have been able to enjoy for some months now.

Come on FCC - are you a mice or men?

ARRL DX CW contest

Until I read about it on G4ILO's blog, I'd quite forgotten about this big contest. Rather late on Sunday afternoon and evening I decided to have a go and see what could be worked on 40 and 20m. Although I managed a few US contacts with the 2.5W QRP I do find CW contests hard work: people send SO fast and by the time I've called with my straight key they've usually already had another QSO.  I suspect many these days use keyboards and auto keyers most of the time in contests. Actually I quite enjoy the odd SSB contest as I can talk (nearly) as fast as anyone else. Even with 2.5W SSB it is surprisingly easy to make contacts in a big contest, especially late in contests when the big guns are looking for new stations to work.  Overall, I prefer experimentation, but a contest just for fun can be quite cathartic.

ARRL 10m contest (48hrs Dec 8-9th)

A reminder that the ARRL 10m contest is on next weekend (not this) over the full 48 hours Dec 8th and 9th. As conditions on 10m are pretty good right now this will be a good chance to work a fair number of US, Canadian and Mexican states and provinces, even with QRP levels in CW or SSB. I'm away on the Saturday but hope to be on for the Sunday.

Digital QST

Although not (yet) an ARRL member I am tempted join to get the new digital version of QST magazine. A sample of this new digital version is available from the ARRL website.

QST has been a very useful source of data going back to around 1916. I well remember thumbing through the copy in Plymouth library when attending  RAE lessons at Plymouth Tech way back in 1966.

Amateur radio postage stamps

The excellent Southgate Amateur Radio News page today mentioned that Luxemburg is bringing out a postage stamp to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the Luxemburg radio society. See http://www.southgatearc.org/news/march2012/amateur_radio_stamp_for_luxembourg.htm .  This got me wondering how many other countries have issued stamps with an amateur radio theme? I recall the USA doing a ham radio stamp in the mid-1960s.

Wondering if there were others I did a search on Google images for amateur radio postage stamps. Interesting.

ARRL SSB DX contest

Although there are US stations coming through on 15m, I've not yet heard any on 10m. Signals from LU1UM on 10m but nothing yet from North America. Sunspot count is high but conditions on 10m do not sound that good. Just worked N2PP on 15m SSB when using 10W to my 28MHz halo!

2010 ARRL International DX Contest

Conditions on 15m were good enough for some solid CW QSOs across the pond this afternoon. Worked stations in New Hampshire, Connecticut and Virginia when running 5W QRP. I did also check up on 10m but didn't hear any stations when I listened between 1600-1720z.