previous page (<< Navigate archives) QSL cards will be replied as soon as I got back my printer. Now my printer is lent to someone. One Eye Monster RF Liquid Tin can QRX Hold on a minute (Hold on a minute, I will call you again) I will call you again in..(QRX 5 minutes)MENTION YOUR CALL SIGN SLOWLY AND CLEARLY Pull the big switch(Closing down the station) Q-Codes are for CW Morse PractiseDownload 9M2ARCW TrainerSOP Guidance 1Taj Visit Time AttendanceThe Grand TraditionExtended Topics ( VK Trip) Roger is not over. CB'er and pirates use it to mean over. In USA old hams condemn new hams using CB lingo. Clandestine Radio Top ranking CW Man How to know ourselves How Patient Are You It's Not A Ham Without CW Ajaran Sesat MAS Do No Fly To New York Abusing A Club Station Short Live Excitement Maybank Rejects Credit Card Application Take Care of Your Health Amplifier By AA8V The Old Jargon Is Dead LET ME TELL YOU THE BAD THING ABOUT INTERNET - There are more cheaters and robbers on the internet running after your money in many ways. I would sense many are Africans dressing in European dress disguise as beautiful women or handsome young men looking for preys. Many fell. Beside hacking the e-mail server to get your e-mail, they also involves themselves in various friend finders stuffs and even in face book. You may get an email from a beautiful lady saying that she is from a mix blood family whose mother once live in Malaysia. She would correspond with you several time exchanging pictures, expressing her love. Finally she would say that she is coming to Malaysia and need a little plane money. Out of your love you invite her to your abode and made elaborate preparation and send her not only the airfare but extra green pieces. At the end you discovered that you are conned. Though ham radio might contain a few con men but it is not widespread. You only all the time be bothered by the Indonesian pirates on 40 if you are a CWer. There has been attempt by a negligible number to cheat but the fellow ham quickly took an action to publicly discredit those guys. Or softly we would whisper to fellow hams not to trust so and so with money or purchasing equipments for him. But internet has no boundary of cheaters. There are women looking for partner with a view to marriage were left pregnant by the cyber friends. Today the internet chat could be dangerous. You can fall prey at any time. I have always insisted that people must be screened to qualify for a ham ticket. It is within our control. Quality could be enhanced if a non-English ham could speak English. Some quarters believe English that English speaking person think differently from those non-educated person, the truth of which is very remote. But certainly English speaking hams would enjoy ham radio more. Technologically Ham Radio is inferior to the Internet. Many find it comfortable and at ease during the group chat. There is another bad thing about the internet is something that I like to see; the pornography. There are millions of free movies you can download, giving you the impression that people in the world has nothing to do but live 24 hours with sexual act. Kids are accessed to these free movies. Our wives will get attracted to some huge John and may be dreaming to taste it one day. Some may want to experiment with wives swapping. Thirdly national security could be weakened by the Internet. Schools and office like to use e-mail and other stuffs to send stuffs which are detrimental to national security and even the government. Most head of departments are not smart enough to think about it. With radio frequency chips it is more vulnerable. I would not say internet and computers are really 100% useful. Today your email is read by the police. Our websites are observed. Nothing is secret. CLANDESTINE RADIO Clandestine Radio station had been very dangerous to a certain countries. During the Emergency Period there were several radio stations that were targeting their attacks on Malaysia. The authority encountered them with jamming devices. Though most of the clandestine radio operated outside the country the government would not want any local illegal anti government radio station. Expensive equipments were purchased to monitor the air waves. Before the independent, the local people in Indonesia used the radio equipments as a mean of communication. Because of the temporary in nature and it was all over the country the Dutch had a hard time in controlling it. And when 'People's Power' took the street during Marcos's period, ham radio were used to call the people to raise against Marcos government. In the era of the states of the arts technology, Communist countries still control and watch ham radio closely. Security wise it could pose a potential danger to the national security. As compared to the internet radio poses less danger. Intelligence gathering process is easier thru the internet. Internet lines can be jammed. Digital signals can be hijacked. Military stuffs and secrets passing thru the lines and radio wave can be intercepted by foreign countries and the microchip makers. That's the reason in the good old days many military messages were transported by human beings. Today there is no more clandestine radio attacking the country and the politicians. Yet there is a new form of danger; the terrorists, the possible political conflicts and the drug menace. We can't just simply ignore about it. The criminals want to have communication equipments which can monitor the police activities. They can escape before there is any raid. Short distance communication equipments would be handy to the courier of drugs and weapon smugglers. The propaganda has shifted to blogs. Blogs have been turned into a battle flat form between the government and those against it. In fact the government can use the flat form to rebut and counter attack any accusation. Educated people read them and weigh the truth. But the government has the advantage of using the radio and TV media to appeal to the public and plan what and how to brainwash. A pure ham will not want to know and care about anything controversial. He just want hamming. He invests thousand of dollars for antenna and other equipments. He hunts for DX stations both on CW and SSB. But the authority should always be aware of the potential danger. Top TOP RANKING CW MAN In my mind the best CW man in Malaysia is 9M2ZN. My judgment is based on the errorless high speed sending and his ability to copy at the speed of about 50 wpm. I would consider Mazwan, a teacher, a new ham as compared to those those old timers. Other flawless CW ham is 9M2YP, Yee, whom I have not heard for a very long time. My assessment on Yee is incomplete because I have not heard Yee on high speed Morse. Our legend Eshee has not been on the band for quite a long time. I have never seen him working the 45-60 wpm Morse yet. New hams who passed the CW are scared to come on. My suspicion is they do not have confidence in reading even the 12 wpm. 9M2MGL is disappearing both on SSB and CW. So is 9M2AGC who could go more than 18 wpm. At the moment only 9M2GET seem dare to venture DXing even with this mode. How do I know whether a person really knows CW ? Simple. A question asked never get any answer though it is repeated several time. CW is not merely sending. You need to know what the other side is sending too. You can always say QRS or 'PSE SLOW DOWN' when you can't copy. Never try to send fast just because you can do so, if you can't copy at the speed you are sending. Otherwise even without any QRM or QRN you are going to say QRM QRM or QSB QSB. Usually people would know that you can't copy not because of the QSB, QRN or QRM. So send slow Morse. There will be people coming back to your slow call. It is good to find a sparring partner. I prefer to practice high speed Morse with Mazwan, not with foreign station. Mazwan already knows my weaknesses and strength. I can't send fast though how hard I tried due to my slow muscle response. They call it neuromuscular co-ordination. Ageing is one of the factors. Exercises can help to speed it up. But 9M2ZN could send a perfect message in plain language while CW rag chewing. And may be I am wrong to put Mazwan on the top. But I think Malaysia's best is 9M2ZN. Hams should be able to quickly reply after the transmission is passed. They should try not to write message and send by reading it. Don't let the other side wait. Some professionals need to write first because they were trained that way, to ensure they send the right message. Because we are not originally from police, military or ship to shore people, then we must learn to see the words in our mind. True that the clarity of the spelling is vital. Long words with complicated spelling do give problem. At time we only write these words for reference. CW skill cannot be required by reading or talking. But by practicing. Practice makes perfect. Top HOW TO KNOW OURSELVES ? Most of us, including me, are still living under the coconut shell even after more than 12 years of formal education, and despite being told over and over again. I realize how small my world and vision is when I watched the republic Of China, CCTV9, yesterday on the English Speaking Contest. The participants were from universities and polytechnics. I was amaze at the fluency and the choice of words as well as their perfect slang. There was not even a slightest of Chinese essence in words pronounced. Some sound pure British and some pure Americans. Then we know we are more deeply by looking at the others. Most of us know the Chinese as a group who want to maintain it's national identity; the Chinese and the tradition, the lion dance and no Western. China did not progress by merely dancing with the dragon. It leaps to the outer space by the seriousness in acquiring knowledge and the positive attitudes. The students who study foreign languages speak the languages with profound pronunciation and grammar. Are we saying the Chinese are not nationalistic because they do not ignore foreign language and even had the English Speaking Contest ? I have been telling time and again that I have been almost dumb in English. And later I found out there are many other hams who were like me but continue to struggle expressing themselves on the ham band. Calling other people unpatriotic is just dismissing the progress of those Asian countries like China who had beaten us by leap and bound. In many ways we can learn more about ourselves by learning about the others. If we look at Indonesia we might see ourselves as a little better in attitudes. If look at America, China and Korea we see ourselves far behind in mentality, technology and positive attitudes. Last night I happened to watch a soccer match between Kedah and Kelantan. The crowds were unhappy with the referee and the linesman. Many shouted and threw curse used all the bad words they can hurled on. A old man kept on cursing the linesman. One group of young men behind me shouter ,"Sabar Pak Long..Saba Pak Long..."( be cool uncle..be cool uncle..) Of course I did not expect those young people to say that. While those who curses the referee only saw thru one angle, there were a few who were not blind. I saw Kedah did not play well and the coach did not even care about the teaching of basic and tactical move. Today the teaching of computer program is in English. I do not go against it because I believe it can help the students very much. If I can learn computing thru the internet, the students can gather much info and knowledge from the web site too. New hams who has acquired their license must not be discourage to use English on the ham band, especially the young ones who are having the bright and better future. If we can't talk English, we talk Malay but never chase people who speak English away. The MCMC should touch on the issue of language, Q-Codes, manners, attitudes beside the rules and regulation when giving briefings to the new comers. New hams should always be reminded that they are carrying Malaysian flags and the ambassador to Malaysia. They represent the people and the government. They must be the first class ham. Remember, we are not Indonesians. I don't mean to create enemies but that's what the 40 meter and most frequencies are all about; Indonesian pirates even on the WWWV. People cannot be demanded to keep quite about the Indonesians pirates on 40 meter band. We don't look at Indonesia as our mentor. We can' see much of ourselves by looking at them. We must not encourage pirates and must not disgrace those who speak English. Top HOW PATIENT ARE YOU Hams must not be rude and must always be patient. Yet I remember hearing hams scolding the Russian hams during the days of Russian helicopters. At that time every ham believed that the helicopter sound came from Soviet Union, The very strong disturbance disrupt almost the whole DX band. The DX band at that time was 20 and 15 meters. Today the Southeast Asian hams are expected to tolerate the Indonesian pirates who cover 7.000 to 7.029. I can't be a good ham because I can't tolerate them. I can't help but to blame the authority and compare the pirates with the regular Indonesian hams to see whether they have identical behaviors. It is a bad thing for me but I can't be patient and be calm at all time. It is true that ham frequency does not belong to anybody. No wonder the Indonesian allows their pirates to go all over the ham band. But I did not old Malaysian hams rudely or not would sit on frequencies used by our neighbor. Out of a 'Gentleman's Agreement' we stay out frequencies like 7.045, 7050, 7055 and many others. We are happy that they can run their net well and keen to support them. On the other hand frequencies we use to run our net were not spared. Finally after many years I chose 7.043 thinking we can find some tranquility. Instead while we are using the frequency, we hear people tuning, counting numbers using high power and even come and sit on it. When our fellow hams asked to QSY I told them tat we can't keep on being a fugitive. I remember being cheated while in Jogjakarta when we paid for the hotel booking which was rejected when we reached the hotel. And the spate of thefts in our areas. And finally our plane was hurled with stones and our aid was taxed. OUR AID WAS TAXED. That was a long time ago but I will always remember it. And even our flags were burned. That is not to talk about the fate of Tabung Haji's ivestment. How to respect when the bad happenings are still on ? When 7.000 was used by them we all can tolerate. Certainly you can't say their regular hams operate on the CW portion on phone ? I am very sick. The disease of a hatred wide spread even to those innocent people, people who are not hams and people who adore those other people. Though Osama was the enemy yet the United States began to distrust all the Muslims; the Hydrogen bombs were dropped in no-war zone. The other day when my friend asked me to visit Jakarta, I simply refused. Jakarta did not cause me any paint but the pirates do. The radio authority of Indonesia does. Just type "corrupt Indonesian" in the yahoo search engine and see what the world has on the corruptions there. I would not go and spend my money in countries that burnt our flags and encourage radio piracies. Top IT'S NOT A HAM WITHOUT CW I tend to agree with those opinions which say there is no ham without CW. While I am typing this my radio is parked on 7.015 a CW mode. What do I listen to ? A group of Indonesian pirates rudely making noise on the ham band. Like those many others who imitate the Indonesians pirates, I would put these people under the same roofs. One loves the other hoping to get favor and the other loves their friends for some unknown reason. The CBers in USA are known to use vulgar words while driving trucks. Generally they are not hams and do not know Morse codes. People just like to be grand. They can't be radio announcer or a dee-jay, so they would use ham gear to announce things on the air. They want to be hams but could not learn CW, so they attack CW. They want to hams but could not learn electronics, so they use the ham bands and talk like a ham. I want to be Professor but I am too stupid, so I use the free blog writting nonsense thinking I am one. Many American hams who became ham without CW are training themselves in CW and want to be a real ham, the full pledge ham. But as always, we can call ourselves with anything we want and other people can call use by anything they want. The split in sects is something inevitable. They want to call themselves ham, they can do so. So they have pride with the very long mobile antenna on their cars. People like me do not even recognize the word silent key to be given to any dead man. Silent key is a word to be given to those who have been using CW key once in a while. That is the symbol of ham radio. Ham is about dit and dah. You don't agree with me ? I won't cast you aside. I am not forcing you to agree with me. Neither can anyone took my belief away from my mind. It's not a ham without CW. Which CBer use Morse on 27 MHZ ? On 10 meters ? Yes, there are many hams who work on 10 meters. If you don't want to associate No-CW guys with CBers theen No-CWer can be associate with the Car Parking Attendant or The Majlis Bandaran people, and now even the nasi lemak seller is using ham gear to communicate with their home. But the kings are pirates who pride themselves as some great guys. Or else open a new world for the No-CW guys. Give some grand name to it and allow them to roam the world as well with due respect. Do away with RAE and Morse but don't call them ham. Any suggestion for some glamour call ? Top AJARAN SESAT All over Malaysia the state authority is getting alert to watch the movement which it called 'Ajaran Sesat'. Ajaran Sesat is the teaching which is contrary to the original or real teaching of Islam. Recently there were several arrests in Putrajaya and Selangor. One of the most famous of the leader is Ayah Pin preaching the Kingdom of the Sky. Ajaran Sesat or False Teaching does not only happen in religion but also in Amateur Radio. The followers consist of new hams who just got their licenses. The widespread of Ajaran Sesat is due to the lack of initiative and control of the authority who wants the radio matters to be overseer by the hams and radio clubs. The system thinking itself is swaying from the right path and hence the virus continue to grow. After a long usage and practices people will be saying they are not wrong and will do anything to protect the teachings. When the MCMC put emphasize in the Q-Codes, the body does not show enough experience in Amateur Radio. The MCMC should remove questions on Q-Codes in the RAE altogether and arrange them together with CW exams. Choose only the regular Q-Codes that CWers always used during communication and put the question in the answer sheet of CW listening session. The sample is shown here: CW ANSWER SHEET Write down the meaning of the Q-Codes here QTH ______________________________ QRT ___________________________________ QRU ___________________________ QRZ ______________________________ QRX ___________________________________ QRS ___________________________ ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Write Morse Below Every year we hear of new stuff on ham band. The word Canopy is still heard. MCMC must insist that hams must used plain language. IARU does give attention to what is meant by plain language and it has been defined. It is better for a ham to use My Location instead of QTH or Hold On A Minute instead of QRX, My Wife rather than My XYL. One new ham told me that QRU means signing off. I had to explain the usage of QRU telling him what it means. Hams that are very proficient in CW uses the Q-Codes at the right time and in the right place. Once in a while when they come on phone they tend to carry along a few Q-Codes with them. The Islam must first look at Al-Quaran, then Sunnah. Then the ulama will meet to discuss what is not found in both. The ham radio operator has the IARU guideline and other publishing. Hams are advised to refer to these publications rather than asking their friends. The Indonesians are not the source of reference but the IARU publication is. There is Kedah Malay word to be used with some people. The word is 'ketegar' which is similar to 'arrogance'. They just simply feel reluctant to open the book in front of them. Then they teach the others. We just feel sad that the Ajaran Sesat of Ham Radio has penetrated the once grand hobby. Top THE DIFFERENT BETWEEN KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL How smart am I ? How much knowledge do I have ? Do I understand things ? The answer is I am a dumb, real moron. I don't have much knowledge. So are many other people like me, lack of knowledge. But I can always look for information quickly by a click of a button. I been writing computer programs this way. We can read on medical, science and engineering. Of course the next question that follows is do I understand what I read ? The answer is not all. I have to really imagine some abstract concepts, which some I cannot graps. It takes some form smartness to understand all things I read. A skill cannot be obtained or amass by reading. Even how much we understand, we cannot acquire the skill. We have to learn by doing, repeatedly until we are good at it. A doctor could not be called a doctor if he just pass written exam but cannot carry any form of operation. In the modern days a skill is considered as a form of intelligence different from mental intelligence. Some people are gifted in making things even without learning or training. To operate a radio a person do not have to have either knowledge or skill. Buy a walkie-talkie and give it to your 5 year old kids, and see what they will do with it. Then why do we need RAE ? Historically a ham must have a profound technical knowledge on radio because a ham was expected to be able to construct a good working transmitter. He needed the knowledge on VFO, oscillators, mixers, modulators, balance modulator, amplifier and antenna. Even to repair an equipment one has to know and trace which could be the faulty section. Today a radio operator just buy everything he wants. Then why the RAE ? Every examination or a test must have a purpose. What are testing for ? Certainly for knowledge ? It has to be a relevant knowledge. Good questions should focus on the common usable errors. Follow by the application procedures and rules. And there are techniques of forwarding the relevant questions. But RAE here does not seem to have any philosophy behind it. However I would accept it base on the tradition perspective. While those knowledge can be acquired even without examination, some people are just lazy to refer to the authoritative literature. So we have all the technical and non-technical knowledge, does it mean we are the authority in amateur radio ? An expert in electronic who knows much more than the ham could not claim he is the authority too. Say the expert pass his RAE with A++++ and then tomorrow he says "Thank you for passing the PTT to me...." The tradition says a ham must have a CW skill. This is something which one cannot read. A million books read would not instill the skill in himself. There are many people who work hard to acquire the skill. Having acquired it will make him a complete ham by tradition. If a PHD holder claims to be smart ham when he does not know CW, my mind just simply cannot accept it. A knowledge can be obtained easily but a skill needs to be instilled in a person by practice. I respect hams skill in CW and knowledge and capable of constructions. It is not rare among the Americans but rare among the Malaysians. I already traced a few hams of this category. One person says, a ham must be able to rag chew. But I told him, no. A ham must have CW skill. Top MAS DO NOT FLY TO NEW YORK ? I used to fly to New York by MAS including on 777. We hear good stories during the period of Aziz as MAS chief and the worst during Tajuddin Ramli. Then came the Jala which I heard something bad too. When I plan to go to Dayton for the Hamvention, I first looked at MAS. But I could not find any flight to New York. Under United States only Los Angeles is listed. What went wrong. But I had had several bitter experience with the airline, which I hurled big curses each time. One of them was about food. As always the air hostess would ask 'beef or chicken ?' When it came to my turn I said 'beef'. 'No more beef', came the reply. I told her that I did not take chicken. That was it. She went away to the next person leaving me hungry for the whole flight. It was the long distant flight. On China airline when there was no food that I could east the air hostess asked, "Can I take you bread ?" Simple ,wasn't it ? Without the Haj and Umrah flight MAS could suffer more. Nobody talks of the pay cut of the top managers. They should be paid as much as the pilot or lesser as long as the air line do not make profit. It looks like MAS took the step of cutting flights to unprofitable routes. The cheapest airline to the United States remain the China Airline. No Foreign International carrier flies direct to Dayton. The embarkation ports would either be Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco or Chicago. The last time I went to Dayton, We port of entry was Los Angeles where we stopped for a week and traveled to Las Vegas and Mexico. Then we took the domestic airline, the United Airline. American domestic airline always delay. During the last visit the delay was ONE day. When the announcement was made the passengers just sigh and relax. It looks like the delay is not something strange. Nobody would provide free food or drink for any delay. You pay from your own pocket. In such a case our Malaysian carriers seem to be better than the American Airline. If MAS is sold to private company, I am sure things would be different. You may be able to fly to New York again and proceed to Hamvention in Ohio. Top ABUSING A CLUB STATION A club station is not for anyone to operate. Some guys think they are so good ham operators that they simply go to a club and call CQ without following the rules of managing and operating a Club station. A person may have been working 10000 DX stations on 10 meters, but that does not qualify him to master the club without following the International Rules of the station. The argument is very simple. Almost everyone know how to ride motor cycles especially the kampong boys of 7 to 10 years old. They have been doing so for several years. Does that qualify them to ride motorbikes forever without a license ? A club station must be opened and closed by persons assigned to take care of the clubs. They are the full pledge hams. He should be there to ensure that all the rules are followed and proper SOP are followed. Managing a club station is not easy. The concept of encouraging amateur radio by allowing rules to be broken is something sad in amateur radio history. It is sad and awkward if the police scolded and punished those who reported crimes. Remember, once the public was accused of not co-operating with the police. But such things seem to be happening today. You report and you get it. We don't encourage people to become hams by licensing the pirates, by encouraging them to go on HF and operate club stations without the station masters. We don't do it because we are in civilize world. Unless we run our country as a tyrant. Are we tyrant ? Our Minister always mention we go by the Rule of Law. The authority can change the rules of the club station if it wishes but it has to published clearly for everyone's perusal. The world can look at it as well. The rules of the club must be displayed near the rig. It would be better for a 9M2 to operate as portable rather than using the club call sign if he is not a caretaker. But worst that had happened before a club station assigned special call signs to the members. The matter was reported to the authority. Ask the authority of the action taken. 9M2 should show good example. Just because one has been a ham for 15 years does not mean one can lead the new comers to break rules. We don't sell ham gears to unlicensed people and we follow proper procedure in importing ham gears. A government servant breaking rules is something serious and no a playful thing. What more if he uses the government properties for advertisement. Top JAKARTA - Aksi penyokong Indonesia yang tidak menghormati lagu kebangsaan Malaysia, Negaraku ketika pasukan kebangsaan Malaysia menentang Vietnam dalam pusingan kelayakan Piala AFC Futsal di sini, Isnin lepas, mengakibatkan Persatuan Sepak Bola Seluruh Indonesia (PSSI) didenda AS$5,000 (RM 17,006). Tindakan itu diambil oleh Gabungan Bola Sepak Asia (AFC) setelah pengurus pasukan Malaysia, Datuk Hamidin Mohd. Amin membuat bantahan rasmi mengenai kejadian itu kerana kelakuan itu telah mencemarkan maruah sebuah negara The topic has nothing to do with Ham Radio. But indirectly it has. It is about the culture and the history, about politeness and babarism, about what is happening on the radio zone. What you need to do is just to observe and hear. We can't stopped anyone to insult us and treated us like morons. But we have to make sure our people would not follow those culture of disrespect and rude behavior especially on the ham band. We have been hearing people who can't differentiate between the rights and the wrongs, the good and the bad. Didn't 40 meter has been a bad band where people just follow the sending of CW signals and called CQ without the call sign ? These are the stories of ill mannered people with radio transmitters. And they love to imitate the Indonesians slang. The corrupt and ungrateful culture shall never be forgotten. It never ends. It will continue as long as they can't make money out of us. Did you not read the news about the payment you must make before you marry one of their girls. They want RM170,000. They burned our flags. Hurled stones at our military plane. Worst occupying the ham bands with songs and all sort of stuffs as if the ham band belong to them. Of course there are exceptions to the general rules. Not everyone agrees to the barbaric behavior even from people of the same stock. It says we can't generalize things. If we don't like Bush, we can't hate all the Americans. Likewise one cannot generalize that all Muslims are terrorists. There are ten of thousands of killers and murderers who are not Muslims. Yet people interpret persons with beards and robs as outcasts. People in the correct state of mind will not imitate and adore those who continue to act foolishly against the others and behave rudely on the radio band. The whole stock is accontable and responsible for the doing of heir own siblings. Top SHORT LIVED EXCITEMENT The decay of hams in Malaysia comes fast. When first awarded with the ticket chatting went on almost the whole day especially on mobile . Slowly fading occurs and a little later it vanishes completely. The period of decay varies from person to person. Some took a few years and some several months. Many stations seem to disappear totally after 5 years. What could be the reason ? One is the nature of a person. He is a quiet person and does not like to talk. He would speak when necessary. He became a ham because his friends induced him to be one. Some of these people were known to pass their call signs for others to use. Occasionally he would come on when going mobile. Out of topic is closely related to the lack of knowledge. When a knowledge is only confined to his world of work or profession, he could not be invoked to discuss other topic. He can't even ask question on matters strange to him. But he would express a lot when he is asked about his job. Most of the time you would hear people repeat the same thing when talking especially in a group communication. Every time they will give signal report and then pass the transmission to the others. Eventually boredom would creep in and the decay starts to take effect. Fail to acquire CW proficiency and can't speak English. Because of those, the boundary of ham radio is limited. A few would put up a high antenna looking for stations in Indonesia to talk. To go on 10 meter a limited English speaker would not find much excitement later just by exchanging report and giving name. At the early stage they would go for DXing and later found it to be boring too. An English speaking ham can venture more into rag chewing and exchanges information on the working condition, and other stuffs. The reluctance to speak English for fearing criticism from peer hams hinders further excitement. Many hams still find internet communication interesting as compared to ham radio because of the impressive technology of audio, video and digital. The visual conferencing with clear image made internet to be more superior to the radio. Internet could gather more friends faster. It is economical, fast and informative. We see many names on the internet are hams whose voice are unheard on the air. Talking of myself, I find that the continuous excitement is giving by CW. The challenge is there everyday and it really test our patience. I am fighting hard against myself to improve my speed in both copying and sending. The practice continues until I can acquire enough skill to work DX stations. Till now I dare not work foreign stations because they are too fast. International CW is less than 12 wpm is very rare these days. If I stop working on this mode it would mean I am killing the excitement of ham radio. Each day I oscillate between CW and SSB. Allow me to give a little remark on the pirates; why they are there everyday not getting bored ? I believe that in poor countries when youths are jobless radio can keep them off the street and can take them away from drugs. At home when nothing to do they would hang onto the microphone singing, talking love and say anything just to pass the day. Many have their own broadcast stations at home. They become dee-jay and find excitement in their own ways. Today we seldom hear the first batch of 9Ws. Or we do not hear them at all. Even the second batch are not heard. Even those who only work ISS or RTTY will soon experience decay. The decay of the very old hams is inevitable because of ageing. When their antenna dropped down, that will be the end of it. No more climbing. When their rigs went kaput, that will be the end too. Many are waiting to sail to the next world. Top MAYBANK REJECTS MY CREDIT CARD APPLICATION Maybank rejects my credit card application probably because of my financial standing. But I have been a client of the bank since I retired in 2003. The government forcefully put my retirement payout in this bank for some reason or te other, not in the bank where we received our monthly salary. This means I cannot hire a car if I were to visit USA. My intent to visit Dayton in May has gone into stray. Somewhere in my web page I wrote about the bank sending me insurance schemes of all sort from time to time. The health insurance was extended to 65 years of age, which of course surprised me. Insurance companies prefer younger and healthier people to join the scheme. When I computed carefully I found the bank could make big money by extending the scheme. I also found that many payouts had to be made to people of below 50. Credit card is of course not my interest. I applied for it because of the requirement in car rental. I need to rent car to drive from New York to Dayton. Unless someone with the credit card is willing to travel with me. Rusli has indicated that his family would be visiting China at that time. Then I have to put off my trip to Dayton. For many years I have been to USA alone without renting a car but my movement is limited. To go to distant places you need to take a bus or a plane. The bus is expensive though comfortable. Compare with our express busses and other public transports, ours is 10 or more time cheaper. Am I unfortunate ? NO. If I don't get it then I just don't go. Hamfest does not mean everything. I could always go somewhere else. Shall I choose other bank to keep my money ? NO, because I don't have much money either. Top TAKE CARE OF YOUR HEALTH A couple of days ago one of the loudest voice on Ham Radio was strike by the killer disease called stroke. 9W2TZ did not want to believe he suffered from stroke, thinking his left part of the face was effected by a kind of virus. Today the doctor confirmed the blockage has been there for some time. Hanafi's stroke is mild but it is dangerous enough to kill a person if one does not think it is something serious. True everyone will die, the older ones like me will go first. A HAM had said that 9Ms are waiting to go to the grave yet we have been hearing the young hams around 40s have been leaving us. God gives and God takes. But God also asks us to work hard even for good health. Common diseases today like diabetes and heart are alarming. Food is one of the killers. We are what we eat. Excessive sugar intake can be fatal in a long term. But most of us think we are healthy and fit. So we never go for medical checkup, especially people involve in sports. These killers would attack you whether you are young, old, sportsman or otherwise. I was sad to hear friends who are much younger leaving us so soon. Of course we prefer the immediate death to paralysis. I myself am the same. I prefer to die rather then experiencing a prolonged illness. When we die our wives can re-marry and kids can have new fathers, otherwise they will follow our sufferings. Certainly we need to avoid the unnecessary while we can. If you are scared to go to the hospital then buy some measuring instrument to check your blood sugar, pressure, cholesterol or any other gadgets. The moment you find your blood-sugar reading is 7 and above and your HBP is 150-160+ for several days, you need to go to either the clinic or hospital near you. NO KAMPONG medicine, please. Won't I die with these medicines and regular checkup ? History has indicated 'YES'. While I am waiting to die, I have been hearing younger people passed away. You make your own choice, whether to ignore the health care or start to monitor your health. Hanafi will be in hospital for a few more days. I wish him a speedy recovery. Top LINEAR AMPLIFIER BY AA8VDetail descriptions of the project can be found on http://faculty.frostburg.edu/phys/latta/ee/wing813amp/813schematic.html Top THE OLD JARGON IS DEAD In the old days we used to say 'Ham radio keeps a husband at home'. Wives regarded their husbands are having a second woman to play with and were happy to see their husbands at home. Man used to think that he was the king and the master and wife had no right to question him where he went and what he did outside the home. In man places there were 'ronggeng'. Some old coffee shops were hiring women called 'Pelayan' to attract more customers. That was the kind of flirt a husband could have in those days. Keeping husbands at home was not a simple task then. The wives of Hams could boast to their friends and neighbors that ham radio keep their husbands at home. Of course there is a big BUT. A man who likes women and flirting would continue to do so no matter what. However hamming could occupy time. We tend to stay at home rather than going to coffee shop. Old coffee shop was very popular those days, a kind of a club or a meeting place where people discuss politics and other topics. Going to coffee shop with 'Pelayan' would give more fun with women but the pocket would go dry fast. Today situation changes. We heard of hams gathering and meeting every night at certain spots. Of course wives are told where the husbands are going and the wives also feel safe because the meetings only involve fellow hams. Hence to say that ham radio keeps a husband at home has become a false statement. Today the jargon is dead. Hamming is not merely talking. SWLing has been a part and parcel of it. People listen to broadcasting and other communications, searching for Morse stations and try to copy the messages, modified the radio to listen to police or possibly military stuffs. A big number would buy communication receivers. Communication receivers contain BFO which is used to listen to SSB and Morse signals. Being busy with these activities wives had to call their husbands for meals. There was a Penang ham who was keen in CW. He would go CW. In spite of staying at home his wife did not trust him. I think he must be a Romeo and had been mentioning woman's name in his sleep. So the wife secretly learn Morse code though she was not a ham just to spy on her husband. The secret was only out when the wife found that there was no contact with any woman and there were no love talk. True that ham radio post less danger as compared to computer. Computer provide dating, sex meet and other form of flirts. There are numerous illicit sex as a result of the modern internet system. Husbands or wives can sneak out quietly to have those relationships. Lucky of me that I do not believe in computer dating and knowing a person thru cyber space. Hams are not only with ham radio per se. Hams also facilitate the gadget with at least a PC for logging, referring to QRZ.COM, looking for circuits and of course quietly would search for adult materials and flirting women. Technology OH Technology...it has shaped mankind, changing their culture, tradition and character. Computer is more dangerous though more advance and sophisticated. For that reason I repeatedly say that we can't compare to ham radio at any other time. Ham Radio has it's own tradition. You want some other form of communication without having to sit for Morse exam then go Skype or Yahoo conference. You have the video and the voice come along. Giving a good treatment to ham radio and carrying the ancient tradition ham radio should keep a husband at home, no point of daily eyeballing after the daily rigorous and vigorous chat on the band. Top
One Eye Monster RF Liquid
Tin can
QRX Hold on a minute (Hold on a minute, I will call you again) I will call you again in..(QRX 5 minutes)MENTION YOUR CALL SIGN SLOWLY AND CLEARLY
Pull the big switch(Closing down the station)
Q-Codes are for CW Morse PractiseDownload 9M2ARCW TrainerSOP Guidance 1Taj Visit Time AttendanceThe Grand TraditionExtended Topics ( VK Trip)
Clandestine Radio Top ranking CW Man How to know ourselves How Patient Are You It's Not A Ham Without CW Ajaran Sesat MAS Do No Fly To New York Abusing A Club Station Short Live Excitement Maybank Rejects Credit Card Application Take Care of Your Health Amplifier By AA8V The Old Jargon Is Dead
LET ME TELL YOU THE BAD THING ABOUT INTERNET - There are more cheaters and robbers on the internet running after your money in many ways. I would sense many are Africans dressing in European dress disguise as beautiful women or handsome young men looking for preys. Many fell. Beside hacking the e-mail server to get your e-mail, they also involves themselves in various friend finders stuffs and even in face book.
You may get an email from a beautiful lady saying that she is from a mix blood family whose mother once live in Malaysia. She would correspond with you several time exchanging pictures, expressing her love. Finally she would say that she is coming to Malaysia and need a little plane money. Out of your love you invite her to your abode and made elaborate preparation and send her not only the airfare but extra green pieces.
At the end you discovered that you are conned.
Though ham radio might contain a few con men but it is not widespread. You only all the time be bothered by the Indonesian pirates on 40 if you are a CWer. There has been attempt by a negligible number to cheat but the fellow ham quickly took an action to publicly discredit those guys. Or softly we would whisper to fellow hams not to trust so and so with money or purchasing equipments for him.
But internet has no boundary of cheaters. There are women looking for partner with a view to marriage were left pregnant by the cyber friends. Today the internet chat could be dangerous. You can fall prey at any time.
I have always insisted that people must be screened to qualify for a ham ticket. It is within our control. Quality could be enhanced if a non-English ham could speak English. Some quarters believe English that English speaking person think differently from those non-educated person, the truth of which is very remote. But certainly English speaking hams would enjoy ham radio more.
Technologically Ham Radio is inferior to the Internet. Many find it comfortable and at ease during the group chat.
There is another bad thing about the internet is something that I like to see; the pornography. There are millions of free movies you can download, giving you the impression that people in the world has nothing to do but live 24 hours with sexual act. Kids are accessed to these free movies. Our wives will get attracted to some huge John and may be dreaming to taste it one day. Some may want to experiment with wives swapping.
Thirdly national security could be weakened by the Internet. Schools and office like to use e-mail and other stuffs to send stuffs which are detrimental to national security and even the government. Most head of departments are not smart enough to think about it. With radio frequency chips it is more vulnerable. I would not say internet and computers are really 100% useful. Today your email is read by the police. Our websites are observed. Nothing is secret.
CLANDESTINE RADIO
Clandestine Radio station had been very dangerous to a certain countries. During the Emergency Period there were several radio stations that were targeting their attacks on Malaysia. The authority encountered them with jamming devices. Though most of the clandestine radio operated outside the country the government would not want any local illegal anti government radio station. Expensive equipments were purchased to monitor the air waves.
Before the independent, the local people in Indonesia used the radio equipments as a mean of communication. Because of the temporary in nature and it was all over the country the Dutch had a hard time in controlling it. And when 'People's Power' took the street during Marcos's period, ham radio were used to call the people to raise against Marcos government.
In the era of the states of the arts technology, Communist countries still control and watch ham radio closely. Security wise it could pose a potential danger to the national security.
As compared to the internet radio poses less danger. Intelligence gathering process is easier thru the internet. Internet lines can be jammed. Digital signals can be hijacked. Military stuffs and secrets passing thru the lines and radio wave can be intercepted by foreign countries and the microchip makers. That's the reason in the good old days many military messages were transported by human beings.
Today there is no more clandestine radio attacking the country and the politicians. Yet there is a new form of danger; the terrorists, the possible political conflicts and the drug menace. We can't just simply ignore about it. The criminals want to have communication equipments which can monitor the police activities. They can escape before there is any raid. Short distance communication equipments would be handy to the courier of drugs and weapon smugglers.
The propaganda has shifted to blogs. Blogs have been turned into a battle flat form between the government and those against it. In fact the government can use the flat form to rebut and counter attack any accusation. Educated people read them and weigh the truth. But the government has the advantage of using the radio and TV media to appeal to the public and plan what and how to brainwash.
A pure ham will not want to know and care about anything controversial. He just want hamming. He invests thousand of dollars for antenna and other equipments. He hunts for DX stations both on CW and SSB. But the authority should always be aware of the potential danger.
Top
TOP RANKING CW MAN
In my mind the best CW man in Malaysia is 9M2ZN. My judgment is based on the errorless high speed sending and his ability to copy at the speed of about 50 wpm. I would consider Mazwan, a teacher, a new ham as compared to those those old timers. Other flawless CW ham is 9M2YP, Yee, whom I have not heard for a very long time. My assessment on Yee is incomplete because I have not heard Yee on high speed Morse. Our legend Eshee has not been on the band for quite a long time. I have never seen him working the 45-60 wpm Morse yet.
New hams who passed the CW are scared to come on. My suspicion is they do not have confidence in reading even the 12 wpm. 9M2MGL is disappearing both on SSB and CW. So is 9M2AGC who could go more than 18 wpm. At the moment only 9M2GET seem dare to venture DXing even with this mode.
How do I know whether a person really knows CW ? Simple. A question asked never get any answer though it is repeated several time. CW is not merely sending. You need to know what the other side is sending too. You can always say QRS or 'PSE SLOW DOWN' when you can't copy.
Never try to send fast just because you can do so, if you can't copy at the speed you are sending. Otherwise even without any QRM or QRN you are going to say QRM QRM or QSB QSB. Usually people would know that you can't copy not because of the QSB, QRN or QRM. So send slow Morse. There will be people coming back to your slow call.
It is good to find a sparring partner. I prefer to practice high speed Morse with Mazwan, not with foreign station. Mazwan already knows my weaknesses and strength. I can't send fast though how hard I tried due to my slow muscle response. They call it neuromuscular co-ordination. Ageing is one of the factors. Exercises can help to speed it up. But 9M2ZN could send a perfect message in plain language while CW rag chewing. And may be I am wrong to put Mazwan on the top. But I think Malaysia's best is 9M2ZN.
Hams should be able to quickly reply after the transmission is passed. They should try not to write message and send by reading it. Don't let the other side wait. Some professionals need to write first because they were trained that way, to ensure they send the right message. Because we are not originally from police, military or ship to shore people, then we must learn to see the words in our mind. True that the clarity of the spelling is vital. Long words with complicated spelling do give problem. At time we only write these words for reference.
CW skill cannot be required by reading or talking. But by practicing. Practice makes perfect.
HOW TO KNOW OURSELVES ?
Most of us, including me, are still living under the coconut shell even after more than 12 years of formal education, and despite being told over and over again. I realize how small my world and vision is when I watched the republic Of China, CCTV9, yesterday on the English Speaking Contest. The participants were from universities and polytechnics. I was amaze at the fluency and the choice of words as well as their perfect slang. There was not even a slightest of Chinese essence in words pronounced. Some sound pure British and some pure Americans. Then we know we are more deeply by looking at the others.
Most of us know the Chinese as a group who want to maintain it's national identity; the Chinese and the tradition, the lion dance and no Western. China did not progress by merely dancing with the dragon. It leaps to the outer space by the seriousness in acquiring knowledge and the positive attitudes. The students who study foreign languages speak the languages with profound pronunciation and grammar. Are we saying the Chinese are not nationalistic because they do not ignore foreign language and even had the English Speaking Contest ?
I have been telling time and again that I have been almost dumb in English. And later I found out there are many other hams who were like me but continue to struggle expressing themselves on the ham band. Calling other people unpatriotic is just dismissing the progress of those Asian countries like China who had beaten us by leap and bound.
In many ways we can learn more about ourselves by learning about the others. If we look at Indonesia we might see ourselves as a little better in attitudes. If look at America, China and Korea we see ourselves far behind in mentality, technology and positive attitudes.
Last night I happened to watch a soccer match between Kedah and Kelantan. The crowds were unhappy with the referee and the linesman. Many shouted and threw curse used all the bad words they can hurled on. A old man kept on cursing the linesman. One group of young men behind me shouter ,"Sabar Pak Long..Saba Pak Long..."( be cool uncle..be cool uncle..) Of course I did not expect those young people to say that. While those who curses the referee only saw thru one angle, there were a few who were not blind. I saw Kedah did not play well and the coach did not even care about the teaching of basic and tactical move.
Today the teaching of computer program is in English. I do not go against it because I believe it can help the students very much. If I can learn computing thru the internet, the students can gather much info and knowledge from the web site too. New hams who has acquired their license must not be discourage to use English on the ham band, especially the young ones who are having the bright and better future. If we can't talk English, we talk Malay but never chase people who speak English away. The MCMC should touch on the issue of language, Q-Codes, manners, attitudes beside the rules and regulation when giving briefings to the new comers. New hams should always be reminded that they are carrying Malaysian flags and the ambassador to Malaysia. They represent the people and the government. They must be the first class ham.
Remember, we are not Indonesians. I don't mean to create enemies but that's what the 40 meter and most frequencies are all about; Indonesian pirates even on the WWWV. People cannot be demanded to keep quite about the Indonesians pirates on 40 meter band. We don't look at Indonesia as our mentor. We can' see much of ourselves by looking at them. We must not encourage pirates and must not disgrace those who speak English.
HOW PATIENT ARE YOU
Hams must not be rude and must always be patient. Yet I remember hearing hams scolding the Russian hams during the days of Russian helicopters. At that time every ham believed that the helicopter sound came from Soviet Union, The very strong disturbance disrupt almost the whole DX band. The DX band at that time was 20 and 15 meters. Today the Southeast Asian hams are expected to tolerate the Indonesian pirates who cover 7.000 to 7.029. I can't be a good ham because I can't tolerate them. I can't help but to blame the authority and compare the pirates with the regular Indonesian hams to see whether they have identical behaviors. It is a bad thing for me but I can't be patient and be calm at all time.
It is true that ham frequency does not belong to anybody. No wonder the Indonesian allows their pirates to go all over the ham band. But I did not old Malaysian hams rudely or not would sit on frequencies used by our neighbor. Out of a 'Gentleman's Agreement' we stay out frequencies like 7.045, 7050, 7055 and many others. We are happy that they can run their net well and keen to support them. On the other hand frequencies we use to run our net were not spared. Finally after many years I chose 7.043 thinking we can find some tranquility. Instead while we are using the frequency, we hear people tuning, counting numbers using high power and even come and sit on it. When our fellow hams asked to QSY I told them tat we can't keep on being a fugitive.
I remember being cheated while in Jogjakarta when we paid for the hotel booking which was rejected when we reached the hotel. And the spate of thefts in our areas. And finally our plane was hurled with stones and our aid was taxed. OUR AID WAS TAXED. That was a long time ago but I will always remember it. And even our flags were burned. That is not to talk about the fate of Tabung Haji's ivestment.
How to respect when the bad happenings are still on ? When 7.000 was used by them we all can tolerate. Certainly you can't say their regular hams operate on the CW portion on phone ?
I am very sick. The disease of a hatred wide spread even to those innocent people, people who are not hams and people who adore those other people. Though Osama was the enemy yet the United States began to distrust all the Muslims; the Hydrogen bombs were dropped in no-war zone. The other day when my friend asked me to visit Jakarta, I simply refused. Jakarta did not cause me any paint but the pirates do. The radio authority of Indonesia does.
Just type "corrupt Indonesian" in the yahoo search engine and see what the world has on the corruptions there. I would not go and spend my money in countries that burnt our flags and encourage radio piracies.
IT'S NOT A HAM WITHOUT CW
I tend to agree with those opinions which say there is no ham without CW. While I am typing this my radio is parked on 7.015 a CW mode. What do I listen to ? A group of Indonesian pirates rudely making noise on the ham band. Like those many others who imitate the Indonesians pirates, I would put these people under the same roofs. One loves the other hoping to get favor and the other loves their friends for some unknown reason. The CBers in USA are known to use vulgar words while driving trucks. Generally they are not hams and do not know Morse codes.
People just like to be grand. They can't be radio announcer or a dee-jay, so they would use ham gear to announce things on the air. They want to be hams but could not learn CW, so they attack CW. They want to hams but could not learn electronics, so they use the ham bands and talk like a ham. I want to be Professor but I am too stupid, so I use the free blog writting nonsense thinking I am one.
Many American hams who became ham without CW are training themselves in CW and want to be a real ham, the full pledge ham. But as always, we can call ourselves with anything we want and other people can call use by anything they want. The split in sects is something inevitable. They want to call themselves ham, they can do so. So they have pride with the very long mobile antenna on their cars.
People like me do not even recognize the word silent key to be given to any dead man. Silent key is a word to be given to those who have been using CW key once in a while. That is the symbol of ham radio. Ham is about dit and dah. You don't agree with me ? I won't cast you aside. I am not forcing you to agree with me. Neither can anyone took my belief away from my mind. It's not a ham without CW. Which CBer use Morse on 27 MHZ ? On 10 meters ? Yes, there are many hams who work on 10 meters. If you don't want to associate No-CW guys with CBers theen No-CWer can be associate with the Car Parking Attendant or The Majlis Bandaran people, and now even the nasi lemak seller is using ham gear to communicate with their home. But the kings are pirates who pride themselves as some great guys.
Or else open a new world for the No-CW guys. Give some grand name to it and allow them to roam the world as well with due respect. Do away with RAE and Morse but don't call them ham. Any suggestion for some glamour call ?
AJARAN SESAT
All over Malaysia the state authority is getting alert to watch the movement which it called 'Ajaran Sesat'. Ajaran Sesat is the teaching which is contrary to the original or real teaching of Islam. Recently there were several arrests in Putrajaya and Selangor. One of the most famous of the leader is Ayah Pin preaching the Kingdom of the Sky. Ajaran Sesat or False Teaching does not only happen in religion but also in Amateur Radio. The followers consist of new hams who just got their licenses.
The widespread of Ajaran Sesat is due to the lack of initiative and control of the authority who wants the radio matters to be overseer by the hams and radio clubs. The system thinking itself is swaying from the right path and hence the virus continue to grow. After a long usage and practices people will be saying they are not wrong and will do anything to protect the teachings.
When the MCMC put emphasize in the Q-Codes, the body does not show enough experience in Amateur Radio. The MCMC should remove questions on Q-Codes in the RAE altogether and arrange them together with CW exams. Choose only the regular Q-Codes that CWers always used during communication and put the question in the answer sheet of CW listening session. The sample is shown here:
CW ANSWER SHEET
Write down the meaning of the Q-Codes here
QTH ______________________________ QRT ___________________________________ QRU ___________________________ QRZ ______________________________ QRX ___________________________________ QRS ___________________________
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Write Morse Below
Every year we hear of new stuff on ham band. The word Canopy is still heard. MCMC must insist that hams must used plain language. IARU does give attention to what is meant by plain language and it has been defined. It is better for a ham to use My Location instead of QTH or Hold On A Minute instead of QRX, My Wife rather than My XYL.
One new ham told me that QRU means signing off. I had to explain the usage of QRU telling him what it means. Hams that are very proficient in CW uses the Q-Codes at the right time and in the right place. Once in a while when they come on phone they tend to carry along a few Q-Codes with them.
The Islam must first look at Al-Quaran, then Sunnah. Then the ulama will meet to discuss what is not found in both. The ham radio operator has the IARU guideline and other publishing. Hams are advised to refer to these publications rather than asking their friends. The Indonesians are not the source of reference but the IARU publication is.
There is Kedah Malay word to be used with some people. The word is 'ketegar' which is similar to 'arrogance'. They just simply feel reluctant to open the book in front of them. Then they teach the others. We just feel sad that the Ajaran Sesat of Ham Radio has penetrated the once grand hobby.
THE DIFFERENT BETWEEN KNOWLEDGE AND SKILL
How smart am I ? How much knowledge do I have ? Do I understand things ? The answer is I am a dumb, real moron. I don't have much knowledge. So are many other people like me, lack of knowledge. But I can always look for information quickly by a click of a button. I been writing computer programs this way. We can read on medical, science and engineering. Of course the next question that follows is do I understand what I read ? The answer is not all. I have to really imagine some abstract concepts, which some I cannot graps. It takes some form smartness to understand all things I read.
A skill cannot be obtained or amass by reading. Even how much we understand, we cannot acquire the skill. We have to learn by doing, repeatedly until we are good at it. A doctor could not be called a doctor if he just pass written exam but cannot carry any form of operation. In the modern days a skill is considered as a form of intelligence different from mental intelligence. Some people are gifted in making things even without learning or training.
To operate a radio a person do not have to have either knowledge or skill. Buy a walkie-talkie and give it to your 5 year old kids, and see what they will do with it. Then why do we need RAE ? Historically a ham must have a profound technical knowledge on radio because a ham was expected to be able to construct a good working transmitter. He needed the knowledge on VFO, oscillators, mixers, modulators, balance modulator, amplifier and antenna. Even to repair an equipment one has to know and trace which could be the faulty section.
Today a radio operator just buy everything he wants. Then why the RAE ?
Every examination or a test must have a purpose. What are testing for ? Certainly for knowledge ? It has to be a relevant knowledge. Good questions should focus on the common usable errors. Follow by the application procedures and rules. And there are techniques of forwarding the relevant questions.
But RAE here does not seem to have any philosophy behind it. However I would accept it base on the tradition perspective.
While those knowledge can be acquired even without examination, some people are just lazy to refer to the authoritative literature.
So we have all the technical and non-technical knowledge, does it mean we are the authority in amateur radio ? An expert in electronic who knows much more than the ham could not claim he is the authority too. Say the expert pass his RAE with A++++ and then tomorrow he says "Thank you for passing the PTT to me...." The tradition says a ham must have a CW skill.
This is something which one cannot read. A million books read would not instill the skill in himself. There are many people who work hard to acquire the skill. Having acquired it will make him a complete ham by tradition. If a PHD holder claims to be smart ham when he does not know CW, my mind just simply cannot accept it. A knowledge can be obtained easily but a skill needs to be instilled in a person by practice. I respect hams skill in CW and knowledge and capable of constructions. It is not rare among the Americans but rare among the Malaysians. I already traced a few hams of this category.
One person says, a ham must be able to rag chew. But I told him, no. A ham must have CW skill.
MAS DO NOT FLY TO NEW YORK ?
I used to fly to New York by MAS including on 777. We hear good stories during the period of Aziz as MAS chief and the worst during Tajuddin Ramli. Then came the Jala which I heard something bad too.
When I plan to go to Dayton for the Hamvention, I first looked at MAS. But I could not find any flight to New York. Under United States only Los Angeles is listed. What went wrong. But I had had several bitter experience with the airline, which I hurled big curses each time. One of them was about food. As always the air hostess would ask 'beef or chicken ?' When it came to my turn I said 'beef'. 'No more beef', came the reply. I told her that I did not take chicken. That was it. She went away to the next person leaving me hungry for the whole flight. It was the long distant flight.
On China airline when there was no food that I could east the air hostess asked, "Can I take you bread ?" Simple ,wasn't it ? Without the Haj and Umrah flight MAS could suffer more. Nobody talks of the pay cut of the top managers. They should be paid as much as the pilot or lesser as long as the air line do not make profit. It looks like MAS took the step of cutting flights to unprofitable routes. The cheapest airline to the United States remain the China Airline.
No Foreign International carrier flies direct to Dayton. The embarkation ports would either be Los Angeles, New York/Newark, San Francisco or Chicago. The last time I went to Dayton, We port of entry was Los Angeles where we stopped for a week and traveled to Las Vegas and Mexico. Then we took the domestic airline, the United Airline.
American domestic airline always delay. During the last visit the delay was ONE day. When the announcement was made the passengers just sigh and relax. It looks like the delay is not something strange. Nobody would provide free food or drink for any delay. You pay from your own pocket. In such a case our Malaysian carriers seem to be better than the American Airline.
If MAS is sold to private company, I am sure things would be different. You may be able to fly to New York again and proceed to Hamvention in Ohio.
ABUSING A CLUB STATION
A club station is not for anyone to operate. Some guys think they are so good ham operators that they simply go to a club and call CQ without following the rules of managing and operating a Club station. A person may have been working 10000 DX stations on 10 meters, but that does not qualify him to master the club without following the International Rules of the station. The argument is very simple. Almost everyone know how to ride motor cycles especially the kampong boys of 7 to 10 years old. They have been doing so for several years. Does that qualify them to ride motorbikes forever without a license ?
A club station must be opened and closed by persons assigned to take care of the clubs. They are the full pledge hams. He should be there to ensure that all the rules are followed and proper SOP are followed. Managing a club station is not easy.
The concept of encouraging amateur radio by allowing rules to be broken is something sad in amateur radio history. It is sad and awkward if the police scolded and punished those who reported crimes. Remember, once the public was accused of not co-operating with the police. But such things seem to be happening today. You report and you get it.
We don't encourage people to become hams by licensing the pirates, by encouraging them to go on HF and operate club stations without the station masters. We don't do it because we are in civilize world. Unless we run our country as a tyrant. Are we tyrant ? Our Minister always mention we go by the Rule of Law.
The authority can change the rules of the club station if it wishes but it has to published clearly for everyone's perusal. The world can look at it as well.
The rules of the club must be displayed near the rig. It would be better for a 9M2 to operate as portable rather than using the club call sign if he is not a caretaker.
But worst that had happened before a club station assigned special call signs to the members. The matter was reported to the authority. Ask the authority of the action taken.
9M2 should show good example. Just because one has been a ham for 15 years does not mean one can lead the new comers to break rules. We don't sell ham gears to unlicensed people and we follow proper procedure in importing ham gears. A government servant breaking rules is something serious and no a playful thing. What more if he uses the government properties for advertisement.
Tindakan itu diambil oleh Gabungan Bola Sepak Asia (AFC) setelah pengurus pasukan Malaysia, Datuk Hamidin Mohd. Amin membuat bantahan rasmi mengenai kejadian itu kerana kelakuan itu telah mencemarkan maruah sebuah negara
The topic has nothing to do with Ham Radio. But indirectly it has. It is about the culture and the history, about politeness and babarism, about what is happening on the radio zone. What you need to do is just to observe and hear. We can't stopped anyone to insult us and treated us like morons. But we have to make sure our people would not follow those culture of disrespect and rude behavior especially on the ham band. We have been hearing people who can't differentiate between the rights and the wrongs, the good and the bad. Didn't 40 meter has been a bad band where people just follow the sending of CW signals and called CQ without the call sign ? These are the stories of ill mannered people with radio transmitters. And they love to imitate the Indonesians slang.
The corrupt and ungrateful culture shall never be forgotten. It never ends. It will continue as long as they can't make money out of us. Did you not read the news about the payment you must make before you marry one of their girls. They want RM170,000. They burned our flags. Hurled stones at our military plane. Worst occupying the ham bands with songs and all sort of stuffs as if the ham band belong to them.
Of course there are exceptions to the general rules. Not everyone agrees to the barbaric behavior even from people of the same stock. It says we can't generalize things. If we don't like Bush, we can't hate all the Americans. Likewise one cannot generalize that all Muslims are terrorists. There are ten of thousands of killers and murderers who are not Muslims. Yet people interpret persons with beards and robs as outcasts.
People in the correct state of mind will not imitate and adore those who continue to act foolishly against the others and behave rudely on the radio band. The whole stock is accontable and responsible for the doing of heir own siblings.
SHORT LIVED EXCITEMENT
The decay of hams in Malaysia comes fast. When first awarded with the ticket chatting went on almost the whole day especially on mobile . Slowly fading occurs and a little later it vanishes completely. The period of decay varies from person to person. Some took a few years and some several months. Many stations seem to disappear totally after 5 years. What could be the reason ?
One is the nature of a person. He is a quiet person and does not like to talk. He would speak when necessary. He became a ham because his friends induced him to be one. Some of these people were known to pass their call signs for others to use. Occasionally he would come on when going mobile.
Out of topic is closely related to the lack of knowledge. When a knowledge is only confined to his world of work or profession, he could not be invoked to discuss other topic. He can't even ask question on matters strange to him. But he would express a lot when he is asked about his job. Most of the time you would hear people repeat the same thing when talking especially in a group communication. Every time they will give signal report and then pass the transmission to the others. Eventually boredom would creep in and the decay starts to take effect.
Fail to acquire CW proficiency and can't speak English. Because of those, the boundary of ham radio is limited. A few would put up a high antenna looking for stations in Indonesia to talk. To go on 10 meter a limited English speaker would not find much excitement later just by exchanging report and giving name. At the early stage they would go for DXing and later found it to be boring too. An English speaking ham can venture more into rag chewing and exchanges information on the working condition, and other stuffs. The reluctance to speak English for fearing criticism from peer hams hinders further excitement.
Many hams still find internet communication interesting as compared to ham radio because of the impressive technology of audio, video and digital. The visual conferencing with clear image made internet to be more superior to the radio. Internet could gather more friends faster. It is economical, fast and informative. We see many names on the internet are hams whose voice are unheard on the air.
Talking of myself, I find that the continuous excitement is giving by CW. The challenge is there everyday and it really test our patience. I am fighting hard against myself to improve my speed in both copying and sending. The practice continues until I can acquire enough skill to work DX stations. Till now I dare not work foreign stations because they are too fast. International CW is less than 12 wpm is very rare these days. If I stop working on this mode it would mean I am killing the excitement of ham radio. Each day I oscillate between CW and SSB.
Allow me to give a little remark on the pirates; why they are there everyday not getting bored ? I believe that in poor countries when youths are jobless radio can keep them off the street and can take them away from drugs. At home when nothing to do they would hang onto the microphone singing, talking love and say anything just to pass the day. Many have their own broadcast stations at home. They become dee-jay and find excitement in their own ways.
Today we seldom hear the first batch of 9Ws. Or we do not hear them at all. Even the second batch are not heard. Even those who only work ISS or RTTY will soon experience decay. The decay of the very old hams is inevitable because of ageing. When their antenna dropped down, that will be the end of it. No more climbing. When their rigs went kaput, that will be the end too. Many are waiting to sail to the next world.
MAYBANK REJECTS MY CREDIT CARD APPLICATION
Maybank rejects my credit card application probably because of my financial standing. But I have been a client of the bank since I retired in 2003. The government forcefully put my retirement payout in this bank for some reason or te other, not in the bank where we received our monthly salary. This means I cannot hire a car if I were to visit USA. My intent to visit Dayton in May has gone into stray.
Somewhere in my web page I wrote about the bank sending me insurance schemes of all sort from time to time. The health insurance was extended to 65 years of age, which of course surprised me. Insurance companies prefer younger and healthier people to join the scheme. When I computed carefully I found the bank could make big money by extending the scheme. I also found that many payouts had to be made to people of below 50.
Credit card is of course not my interest. I applied for it because of the requirement in car rental. I need to rent car to drive from New York to Dayton. Unless someone with the credit card is willing to travel with me. Rusli has indicated that his family would be visiting China at that time.
Then I have to put off my trip to Dayton. For many years I have been to USA alone without renting a car but my movement is limited. To go to distant places you need to take a bus or a plane. The bus is expensive though comfortable. Compare with our express busses and other public transports, ours is 10 or more time cheaper.
Am I unfortunate ? NO. If I don't get it then I just don't go. Hamfest does not mean everything. I could always go somewhere else. Shall I choose other bank to keep my money ? NO, because I don't have much money either.
TAKE CARE OF YOUR HEALTH
A couple of days ago one of the loudest voice on Ham Radio was strike by the killer disease called stroke. 9W2TZ did not want to believe he suffered from stroke, thinking his left part of the face was effected by a kind of virus. Today the doctor confirmed the blockage has been there for some time. Hanafi's stroke is mild but it is dangerous enough to kill a person if one does not think it is something serious.
True everyone will die, the older ones like me will go first. A HAM had said that 9Ms are waiting to go to the grave yet we have been hearing the young hams around 40s have been leaving us. God gives and God takes. But God also asks us to work hard even for good health.
Common diseases today like diabetes and heart are alarming. Food is one of the killers. We are what we eat. Excessive sugar intake can be fatal in a long term. But most of us think we are healthy and fit. So we never go for medical checkup, especially people involve in sports.
These killers would attack you whether you are young, old, sportsman or otherwise. I was sad to hear friends who are much younger leaving us so soon.
Of course we prefer the immediate death to paralysis. I myself am the same. I prefer to die rather then experiencing a prolonged illness. When we die our wives can re-marry and kids can have new fathers, otherwise they will follow our sufferings.
Certainly we need to avoid the unnecessary while we can. If you are scared to go to the hospital then buy some measuring instrument to check your blood sugar, pressure, cholesterol or any other gadgets. The moment you find your blood-sugar reading is 7 and above and your HBP is 150-160+ for several days, you need to go to either the clinic or hospital near you. NO KAMPONG medicine, please.
Won't I die with these medicines and regular checkup ? History has indicated 'YES'. While I am waiting to die, I have been hearing younger people passed away. You make your own choice, whether to ignore the health care or start to monitor your health. Hanafi will be in hospital for a few more days. I wish him a speedy recovery.
Detail descriptions of the project can be found on http://faculty.frostburg.edu/phys/latta/ee/wing813amp/813schematic.html
THE OLD JARGON IS DEAD
In the old days we used to say 'Ham radio keeps a husband at home'. Wives regarded their husbands are having a second woman to play with and were happy to see their husbands at home. Man used to think that he was the king and the master and wife had no right to question him where he went and what he did outside the home. In man places there were 'ronggeng'. Some old coffee shops were hiring women called 'Pelayan' to attract more customers. That was the kind of flirt a husband could have in those days. Keeping husbands at home was not a simple task then.
The wives of Hams could boast to their friends and neighbors that ham radio keep their husbands at home. Of course there is a big BUT. A man who likes women and flirting would continue to do so no matter what. However hamming could occupy time. We tend to stay at home rather than going to coffee shop. Old coffee shop was very popular those days, a kind of a club or a meeting place where people discuss politics and other topics. Going to coffee shop with 'Pelayan' would give more fun with women but the pocket would go dry fast.
Today situation changes. We heard of hams gathering and meeting every night at certain spots. Of course wives are told where the husbands are going and the wives also feel safe because the meetings only involve fellow hams. Hence to say that ham radio keeps a husband at home has become a false statement. Today the jargon is dead.
Hamming is not merely talking. SWLing has been a part and parcel of it. People listen to broadcasting and other communications, searching for Morse stations and try to copy the messages, modified the radio to listen to police or possibly military stuffs. A big number would buy communication receivers. Communication receivers contain BFO which is used to listen to SSB and Morse signals. Being busy with these activities wives had to call their husbands for meals.
There was a Penang ham who was keen in CW. He would go CW. In spite of staying at home his wife did not trust him. I think he must be a Romeo and had been mentioning woman's name in his sleep. So the wife secretly learn Morse code though she was not a ham just to spy on her husband. The secret was only out when the wife found that there was no contact with any woman and there were no love talk.
True that ham radio post less danger as compared to computer. Computer provide dating, sex meet and other form of flirts. There are numerous illicit sex as a result of the modern internet system. Husbands or wives can sneak out quietly to have those relationships. Lucky of me that I do not believe in computer dating and knowing a person thru cyber space.
Hams are not only with ham radio per se. Hams also facilitate the gadget with at least a PC for logging, referring to QRZ.COM, looking for circuits and of course quietly would search for adult materials and flirting women. Technology OH Technology...it has shaped mankind, changing their culture, tradition and character. Computer is more dangerous though more advance and sophisticated. For that reason I repeatedly say that we can't compare to ham radio at any other time. Ham Radio has it's own tradition. You want some other form of communication without having to sit for Morse exam then go Skype or Yahoo conference. You have the video and the voice come along.
Giving a good treatment to ham radio and carrying the ancient tradition ham radio should keep a husband at home, no point of daily eyeballing after the daily rigorous and vigorous chat on the band.