 Click here for a PDF copy of the report |
Hawaii and Pacific Section Report - July 2016Hi all, As we look around the islands at our Amateurs' activities, it is amazing to find the breadth and depth of Hawaii Hams contributions. Merv Schweigert (K9FD) is QRV on 630 meters from Molokai using the FCC issued experimental call WH2XCR on CW and JT65 with remarkable results. We have an ATV enthusiast in Maui, Jim Andrews (KH6HTV), actually a "snow bird" whose family spends winters in Maui. See Jim's story about ATV in Colorado and how it's integrated into EMCOMM. |
 |
|
Alan's (KH6/AD6E) Hawaii Internet CW Class of four students graduated this month. Take a look at his students' comments and consider joining his next class. Looks like it is a great way to learn CW! The Hawaii QSO Party is this month, a chance to operate when other stations are pointing their antennas to Hawaii. Check out the information about this event. Periodically we are reminded that Part 97 rules are important if we are to share the Amateur freqeuncy allocations. Those that don't follow the rules can have fines imposed and/or have licenses revoked. See the story below about an FCC $25,000 fine given a ham for intentional interference. We continue to look for local news about Amateur Radio activities in Hawaii. If you have anything you’d like to share, please pass it on. Aloha es 73, Joe Speroni |
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
K9FD/KH6 on 630 Meters! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
You probably have heard some buzz about the 630-meter band by now. For the past few years it has been full of signals and it's been a lot of fun learning about propagation on the low frequencies. It is not uncommon for over 80 stations to be active during a winter evening, most of them on WSPR, some on CW and some on JT9. The ones transmitting are doing so with an experimental Part 5 license that is easy to obtain by application to the FCC. Hopefully there will be a new ham band on the 475 kHz frequency by the end of this year and then anyone with a ham license will be able to transmit. But in the meantime receiving is free and if you get hooked filing for Part 5 FCC license is easy. To start receiving use almost any antenna you have already. I use an 80-meter dipole up 40ft fed with ladder line. I short the ladder line at the shack, put a coil between it and the receiver so that it resonates on 475 kHz. Many hams are using E-probe antennas that are only a couple inches long and hung from a tree or other support outdoors. They work very well and cover a wide frequency range. For transmit I see a large variety of antennas; short antennas work surprisingly well. Most have top loading wires to help make them more efficient. Currently I use a 160-meter Inverted L, only about 70 ft. vertical and the other 70ft sloping. Strong wind broke my other top hat wires so I am using what is left until repairs can be made. To tune this from 1.8 MHz to 475 kHz, I have a large variometer from an old airport beacon set up, it is a large coil with a rotating smaller coil inside, and you can add or subtract inductance by tuning the internal coil. Others use homemade variometers or just large tapped coils to do the job. Most modern general coverage radios will tune below 500 kHz so all you need to receive is to attach an antenna. To transmit with a Part 5 license, some modern radios will output a small signal at that low frequency. It’s easy to amplify with a homemade single transistor amplifier, or there are a couple people building them you can purchase from. I use a Elecraft K3. With the new synth board upgrade, the radio will tune down to 100 kHz. You also need the general coverage module KBPF3-A. The older KBPF can be used with a modification that Elecraft has on the web page. The K3 is also able then to transmit a 1mW signal out of the transverter jack on the rear. I use the 1mW to drive a one transistor amplifier to 100 watts. Most activity is WSPR mode, I leave mine run all night daily and check the results on the WSPR net web page. It shows who decoded you and who you have decoded.  What is surprising is there is propagation on those low frequencies over the entire year. Winter of course is the time for better conditions and more activity. Many suffer from bad QRN in the summer months, but so far I have a daily path to VK that has been up to CW signal strength. JT9 QSOs are easily done with Part 5 to Part 5 QSOs taking place. So far I have been able to decode or be decoded in Australia, Japan, Canada, all over USA, Cayman Islands etc. And this is with 1-watt ERP power at the antenna. The USA guys are bridging the Atlantic into Europe quite often during winter. My goal for next winter is to make it over the pole into Europe. With the reports of extreme low sunspots coming out all the time, and the downturn in the cycle, now is a good time to look into the low bands. Just for grins fire up the receiver and load WSPR on the computer, monitor an overnight session and see what you can copy. It seems to be addictive. Check the web for info. KB5NJD has an excellent page and blog; so do many others. 73 Merv K9FD/KH6 Link to KB5NJD Website - http://njdtechnologies.net Link to Weak Signal Propagation Reporter Network Website - http://wsprnet.org | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Our "Fabulous" Hawaii Incoming QSL Bureau | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
I had the pleasure of learning about our Hawaii QSL bureau this past month. Barbara (NH7FY) has been handling our cards for the past eight years with an Aloha service that goes well beyond that offered by mainland bureaus. How many cards are involved? Here are the statistics for the entire period Barbara has handled our cards - Mar 2008 thru Jun 2016.
 Barbara gets cards from QSL bureaus all over the planet, including the ARRL outgoing bureau, and sorts them by island and call sign. Thoughtful hams who want their cards delivered by mail maintain an account to cover postage or provide SASEs (Self-addressed Stamped Envelopes) so periodically when there are enough cards to justify using the postage, she mails them directly to the Ham's QTH. That's about as far as a "normal" QSL bureau goes. But Barbara uses other volunteers to hand deliver cards to Amateur Radio Clubs on the Big Island, Oahu and Kauai. That step is extra work, but it gives local hams an opportunity to save on postage. Serious DXers/contesters can get hundreds of cards in a period which can be expensive to mail, so the bulk mailing service of an incoming QSL makes sense! For Oahu clubs, Barbara passes cards to Chuck Epperson AH6SC) who travels frequently between the Big Island and Oahu, who then gets help from Warren Munro (KH6WM) and Kevin Bogan (AH6QO) to relay them to Ned Conklin (KH7JJ), who runs a mini-QSL bureau for Oahu ham. Well not so mini if you consider the cases of cards Kevin faithfully brings to Oahu club meetings. Quite a team that needs our thanks! After a suitable period, cards that are not picked up are returned to Barbara for "official" disposition. Mitch Oishi(NH6JC) has been handling cards for hams on the Garden Isle. Barbara does all of her processing with good management office tools - index cards, a pad of paper, paper clips, a stapler, a calculator, many many rubber bands, post-it notes everywhere. No computer needed, except to look for mailing address on Internet when hams haven't provided them! Just good organization makes for a well-oiled operation! We need to put in a plug for the ARRL QSL Bureau department in Newington too! The department headed by Roseanne Lawrence (KB1DMW), with the help of Sharon Taratula, provides Barbara support and funding for extraordinary expenses involved in running the KH6 QSL Bureau. Still hams who want their cards can help by keeping her informed about how they would like distribution handled,
The ARRL QSL Bureau is not limited to ARRL members. Any Hawaii Amateur can participate, so please pass this information along to ham friends who might find the service useful. Have questions? Barbara invites you to contact her by email at nh7fy@yahoo.com or by phone at 808-982-9126. Link to ARRL Outgoing QSL Bureau Information:
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
ATV Enthusiast in Hawaii | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Jim Andrews (KH6HTV) has built an extensive ARES ATV network in Colorado involving ATV repeaters and deployable backpack stations that can provide high definition digital video to served agencies in the state. The success of the network has sparked interest throughout the US triggering Jim to put together a web site to make low cost components for ATV stations available in one place on Internet (www.KH6HTV.com). When I found out about Jim's activity I asked him to write a short article explaining his ATV projects and he quickly agreed. -- Joe/AH0A. Aloha KH6 Hams Please allow me to introduce myself. I am Jim Andrews, KH6HTV. I am a retired electronics engineer and "snow bird". Janet and I live in Boulder, Colorado during the summer and on Maui in the winters. I have been active with amateur Television (ATV) and also ARES since the mid-70s. Joe, AH0A, Pacific Section Manager asked me to describe our use of ATV in the Boulder County ARES (BCARES) for Hawaii hams. Starting in 1990, the Boulder Sheriff asked BCARES to include ATV in its provided services. Prior to that time, we provided only the usual HF and VHF voice and packet radio, and we very rarely were ever called upon for emergency communications. We soon developed a cache of ATV equipment at the EOC / 911 center including several back pack portable ATV transmitters, a portable TV repeater and also a permanent TV repeater on a mountain overlooking the city of Boulder. Once we had ATV capability, the Sheriff, Police and Fire depts. in the county called upon BCARES numerous times every year for assistance, primarily for ATV. Among the various incidents at which we have provided ATV, have included: major forest fires, floods, Univ. of Colorado student riots, anti-war protest rallies, Halloween (similar to Lahaina's), Univ. of Colorado football games, annual Memorial Day 10K race (50,000 runners), visits from major political dignitaries, etc. We also have a sub-group of specially trained ham volunteers that are an integral part of the Sheriff's SWAT team and respond on every SWAT call-out to provide ATV video for the SWAT commander. Until recently, all of our ATV has been done using analog, NTSC, TV, mainly on the 70cm band. This was "fast-scan" TV with commercial broadcast quality, standard definition (480i), color and sound in standard broadcast, 6 MHz channels using Vestigial Upper Sideband modulation (VUSB-TV). We also used 4 MHz deviation FM-TV on the 33cm, 23cm & 13cm bands (900MHz, 1.2GHz & 2.4GHz), but mainly for point-to-point, microwave links. Our 70cm, back pack portable units were 1 watt transmitters, using either rubber duck, flexible antennas mounted on our TV camera tripods, or Yagi antennas for more difficult locations. The TV repeaters used 10 watt transmitters. For cameras we used ordinary, consumer grade, inexpensive camcorders. In our back packs, we carried 12V 11-amp-hour gel cell batteries. They typically gave us several hours of 100% duty cycle service. In normal use, the TV transmitter is turned on and runs continuously. Ordinary TV receivers were used tuned to cable channels 57, 58, 59 or 60, which are in the ham 70cm band. Oftentimes, we would have four TV transmitters on the air simultaneously on each of these four channels. At the EOC or other remote command post, we had a specially built TV receiver to receive all 4 channels and with a quad processor display all 4 images on a single large, flat screen TV monitor. More recently, we have transitioned over to running high definition (1080P), digital TV (DTV). We are still using the same 6 MHz channels, mainly in the 70cm band. We are NOT using the USA commercial, digital TV broadcast standard of 8-VSB (ATSC). Instead, we are using the European, terrestrial, broadcast TV standard called DVB-T. It is far superior technically compared to 8-VSB. We have achieved astonishing success with DVB-T, even with low powered (300mW) transmitters. It far outperforms the old analog NTSC-TV. Now we never have snowy pictures, nor images with ghosting. We always have perfect, hi-definition images. The old analog TV receivers required an input stronger than -60dBm for a perfect picture (RF in s/n = 40dB). Now with a DVB-T signal as weak as -95dBm we get a perfect digital picture. We are now receiving pictures from locations we were never able to get an analog TV picture from in the past. Our best DVB-T DX so far has been 77 miles from Cheyenne, Wyoming to Boulder. This was done using a 10-watt transmitter and simple 6 element Yagi antennas for transmit and receive.  The photo above shows the 70cm, DVB-T transmitter currently used by BCARES. It consists of an inexpensive ($250), hi-def. camcorder, a Hi-Des model HV-100EH, DVB-T modulator ($560) and a KH6HTV Video model 70-7B, RF Linear Power Amplifier ($340). The amplifier has 3 selectable RF power levels of 3 watts, 1 watt or 300mW. The modulator is available on-line directly from the manufacturer, Hi-Des in Taiwan (www.hides.com.tw). The linear amplifier is available from KH6HTV Video (www.kh6htv.com). The equipment is extremely easy to use, far easier than your normal 2m HT! It is essentially "plug-n-play". The only control on the amplifier is the RF power level switch. The only control on the frequency synthesized modulator is the channel selector up/down buttons. The modulator covers from 50 to 1350MHz, thus including the amateur 70cm, 33cm and 23cm bands in one unit. To receive DVB-T requires the use of a set-top box receiver and an antenna. This is no more complex than using the set-top box from Oceanic Time Warner for cable TV. Hi-Des supplies these receivers. Their model HV-110 sells for $169. Other receivers can be found on the internet for under $100. Some amateurs have also had success using $10 USB TV tuner dongles on their PC computers. Best 73 de Jim/KH6HTV, Maui For additional details about BCARES and DVB-T, I refer you to the June, 2015 issue of QST, pages 42-44, for my article entitled "DVB-T: A Solution for ARES Television Operations". I also have a large number of application notes about ATV and DTV on my web site: www.kh6htv.com Link to Jim's ATV Web site - http://www.kh6htv.com | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Hawaii QSO Party | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
An opportunity to get your feet wet in contesting is coming up later this month. The Hawaii QSO Party is a special contest. It makes Hawaii HF operators available to the world to make contacts with our special and somewhat rare place. We get to be the center of attention for a while and can give back to our fellow amateurs at the same time by confirming their contacts with KH6. Eight Hawaii clubs sponsor the contest. They believe this provides a way for new operators the chance to learn from local, more experienced hams. Do your part. Provide your guidance or seek the help of other hams. I’m sure it will be rewarding. This year HQP runs from Friday August 26th 6PM to Sunday 6PM, with stations allowed to operate up to a maximum of 18 hours. Contacts can be made on 160, 80, 40, 20, 15, or 10 meters using CW, SSB or digital modes. Contest rules are posted at http://www.HawaiiQSOParty.org. You may use your station or team up with someone and use theirs. How about a short field trip to a beach? Set up a vertical antenna within a quarter to a half wave length to the water or as close as you can get. This can maximize your signal in the direction of the water. Below is a link to a story about “DXpedition Antennas for Salt Water Locations”. Hawaii beaches can add a lot to your signal; something to learn about if ever you have to use HF for emergency communications. There are a number of articles in QST and CQ Magazine regarding use of vertical antennas near salt water. It can be as simple as an end-fed wire up to a tree to vertical Yagi arrays or Half Squares and Bobtail Curtains. The key is being close enough to salt water to get the ground reflection it provides. If you have questions, drop me an email. 73, Aloha Kimo Chun, kh7u@arrl.net | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Hawaii ARES is Growing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Around this time of year, the increased news about storms and hurricanes reminds us Amateur Radio can be called upon to play a role in emergencies. The ARRL sponsors ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency Service) made up of Amateur Radio operators, who register their equipment and qualifications for possible community assistance during emergencies like major hurricanes. Many of us remember the important role Amateur Radio played when Iniki hit Kauai in 1992. Trained ARES operators can be called on to provide volunteer communications services in times of disaster or civil emergency. Hawaii ARES is segmented into four counties, each organized into districts having an assigned District Emergency Coordinator (DEC). Members participate in net operations (on-the-air information gathering), exercises and training, activities organized at the district level in Hawaii. ARES is open to all Amateur Radio operators. You don't need to be a member of the ARRL to join ARES. Please join us! Amateur Radio operators can enroll in the Hawaii Amateur Radio Emergency Service by selecting the "Register New Member" menu item under the Members menu on the Hawaii ARES web site. Best 73 de Clem Jung, KH7HO | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Battleship Missouri Radio Room | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The radio station on the Missouri is a real asset for Oahu hams. If you get checked out by the radio room staff, learn the procedures and the location of all the switches, you can have easy access to operate. Visitors from the outer islands are also welcome to contact Bill to make arrangements to visit - Joe/AH0A  From the Battleship Missouri Radio Room Group If you’re traveling the Islands, please stop by and visit “Radio Central” if you haven’t already done so. You can operate KH6BB by appointment and information can be found on QRZ.com. We welcome radio visitors from around the world every month. We would like to see you in our visitor log too. Radio is open for inspection every Tuesday from 9 a.m. to noon and other times by appointment. You can drop in anytime unannounced for a look by asking at the tour desk. Visitors to the radio room are considered volunteers and free ship entrance is arranged. Take a preview look by visiting KH6BB.ORG for some great pictures. Aloha and 73’s from the “Mighty Mo” 73's, Bill, KH6OO@arrl.net | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Hawaii CW Class Graduates! | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hi all, Just a quick note to let you know that four hams have passed the Level 1 CW class:
Bill is going for his General ticket upgrade Aug 6, at the Maui EOC. All four have made their initial CW QSOs on the air. The next CW Academy starts January 2017. Although the main CW Academy classes for that time are already full, KH6 hams may be able to get a "local" KH6 class if there is enough support. Classes meet via Skype. More information: http://www.cwops.org/cwacademy.html Aloha, Alan (AD6E) I asked Alan's students to give us some feedback on using Internet to learn CW. I have to be honest that I was surprised by the detailed replies. A lot of great comments about Alan's efforts to help interested hams gain a new skill - Joe/AH0A Lopaka, WH6DYN I improved dramatically because of the course. My copying proficiency and sending reliability improved so much that it makes my skill level prior to the course look meager. Alan was an excellent instructor and it was a fun group of Hams. The class is challenging. It demands a high level of commitment. I found that if I did not practice sending and listening code at least 20 minutes a day, I fell noticeably behind the pack. This is one of the advantages of taking the class -- it disciplines you to study. The class is similar to a challenging spoken-language class I once took. It forced me out of my comfort zone by challenging me to speak clearly and listen quickly with a group of peers. Although it's painful at times, it gets you competent faster than any other method. Another thing the class shows you is that, like other languages, CW is a lifelong skill. I've just begun the journey and I'll need to continue using it as much as possible to improve. I, like others, have assumed that you just get "good" and are done. It helped to hear the instructor talk about their own deficiencies and desire to improve. Bill, WH6EXE I am new to Ham radio but I learned many important points of study of CW from Alan, who has a great deal of experience and knowledge of the subject. I don’t think there is a better CW teacher in Hawaii. Alan was great! We did have minor technical issues with Skype, but as a group, we worked together and worked them out. I was able to meet other Hams, and had fun!!!! I highly recommend this class to anyone interested in learning or improving CW skills!!! Chuck, KH6DL I tried over a year to relearn Morse Code. I would go so far then get discouraged, sidetracked, or distracted for weeks at a time. I was getting nowhere! When Alan, AD6E/KH6TU, offered a CW Academy class (a program by CWOps) for Hawaii Hams I jumped on the opportunity. Alan’s class offered me the structure, guidance, and training aids that I needed to get my CW skills back. Meeting twice a week gave me short term goals, which kept me focused. The method of training and the training aids we used were easy to use and made learning the code easy. Also, having other hams to learn with kept the training interesting. I highly recommend taking Alan’s CW Academy course when it is offered again. Alan is a great mentor. He gives his advice freely, offers constructive comments and other guidance to make that first CW contact stress free. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Amateur Radio Clubs on Facebook | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The Kauai and Maui Amateur Radio Clubs have excellent Facebook pages with current activities. Relatively easy to update, these social media sites are starting to enter our realm of communication. Web sites have been important; still are. They can be a source of structured information about your club, but updating can be a high maintenance activity. Social media has focused on ease of submission so information tends to be current. It can get out of hand though with posts arriving at a rate that makes reading a chore. Both the Kauai and Maui Facebook pages look well balanced, IMHO. Check them out to get some ideas for your club! | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Hawaii Winlink Update | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The big Winlink news this month is FCC NPRM (Notice of Proposed Rule Making) WT Docket 16-239, acting on the ARRL "symbol rate" petition, appears to move us in the direction of permitting PACTOR-4 data speeds in the US ham bands, doubling effective data rates for owners of those modems. The proposed rule suggests that digital bandwidth limitatios on HF bands be implicitly replaced by the bandwidth capabilities of SSB transcivers, about 2.8 kHz. Have an opinion about wider bandwidth digital on HF and the benefits of higher data rates? You have a chance to make comments to the NPRM on the FCC web site until about September 27th. Here are the steps to submit an express filing comment:
Seven Hawaii station checked into KH6SP this month, six last. That makes ten stations total who have demonstrated the ability to handle Winlink email traffic using Winmor. We'd like to expand Winlink capabilities in Hawaii. If you have the time why not try to use your SignalLink HF capability and connect to KH6SP. It might turn out to useful if Internet fails in your area?  | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
FCC Levies $25,000 Fine on W6WBJ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The FCC has imposed a $25,000 fine on William F. Crowell, W6WBJ (ex-N6AYJ), of Diamond Spring, California, for intentionally interfering with the transmissions of other radio amateurs and transmitting prohibited communications, including music. The penalty represents the full amount proposed in a December 2015 Notice of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture (NAL), and, the FCC said in a lengthy August 2 Forfeiture Order (FO), “is based on the full base forfeiture amount as well as an upward adjustment reflecting Mr Crowell’s decision to continue his misconduct after being warned that his actions violated the Communications Act and the Commission’s rules.” “Mr Crowell does not deny that he made the transmissions that prompted the NAL in this proceeding, but argues, in large part, that those transmissions were protected by the First Amendment of the Constitution,” the Forfeiture Order said. In his responses to the NAL, Crowell not only argued that the enforcement action was directed at the content of his transmissions, which were protected by the Constitution, but were justified on the basis of other operators’ actions. “Alternatively, Mr Crowell maintains that someone else caused the interference or transmitted prohibited communications at issue in this proceeding,” the FCC said. The FCC demurred. “It is well-established that regulation of radio in general does not violate the First Amendment or {the Communications Act},” the Commission's Forfeiture Order said, “and courts have made clear that this conclusion applies to the Amateur Service as well.” Prompting the December 2015 NAL were complaints by members of the Western Amateur Radio Friendship Association (WARFA), which conducts nets three times a week on 75 meters. Crowell had argued that the WARFA Net monopolized the frequency and refused to let him check in. The Enforcement Bureau recounted that its agents and the High Frequency Direction Finding (HFDF) Center monitored Crowell’s transmissions during the WARFA Net on 3908 kHz on August 25 and August 27, 2015. The agents and the HFDF Center observed Crowell’s Amateur Radio station “intentionally interfering with other amateur licensees by transmitting on top of other amateurs, and repeatedly interrupting amateurs using noises on the WARFA net, recordings and music, so as to not allow them to transmit on 3908 kHz,” the Forfeiture Order said. “Specifically, between 7:45 PM and 9:45 PM PDT, on both August 25 and August 27," the FO continued, "the Agents and the HFDF Center observed at least a dozen instances, lasting from 30 seconds to at least 4 minutes each, of Mr Crowell intentionally transmitting on top of and repeatedly interrupting amateurs on the WARFA net.” The Enforcement Bureau concluded that Crowell “willfully and repeatedly” violated the Communications Act and FCC rules “by intentionally causing interference to other Amateur Radio operators and transmitting prohibited communications, including music.” The Bureau said that after reviewing Crowell’s arguments, it found no reason to cancel, withdraw, or reduce the penalty it had proposed last December. Crowell has a long-standing relationship with the FCC Enforcement Bureau. In 2008 the FCC designated his license renewal application for hearing, alleging that he had caused intentional interference, interrupted others’ communications, transmitted music, and made one-way transmissions, including some containing “indecent language,” the FCC said. His license, which expired in 2007, has not been renewed, but Crowell may continue to operate while his application is pending. http://transition.fcc.gov/Daily_Releases/Daily_Business/2016/db0802/DA-16-877A1.pdf | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Hawaii July Intruder Report | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The July Intruder Report, slim as it may be this month.
Bands have not only been poor condition wise but pretty quiet out here, especially since RIMPAC was taking place. Maybe all intruders stopped to listen to the US Military instead? Only "noise" was the giant helicopters invading Molokai for hours at a time. They are very loud; can be heard rumbling miles away. When they come over the QTH they shake the windows and provide a new form of QRN. There are also quite a few jets, which is unusual to hear on Molokai. We survived the hurricanes passing by; rain was about 6 inch from the last storm, but no damage here. 73, Merv K9FD/KH6, WH2XCR |