Author: admin

Since my Heil set doesn’t work with the FT891 radio, I attached a Yaesu microphone under the headphones to have my hands free for logging contacts.

I checked my antennas and it seems that 10m yagi will tune on 6m band with SWR 1:1.8. So, I think we can try 6m sometime especially to Japan. Please send me email when you see opening between VK2/VK4 and Japan.

Because Lord Howe Island has large bird population and they are not shy, the island has ban on cats, pigs, rats, goats, rabbits, snakes, mice.

Few pictures taken from Malabar Hill 208 m asl. (except for the last one)

On 3rd September I plan to remove my 15m yagi and to place 10m yagi on the same mast. Thus all who need 15m contact please hurry up. After 3rd there will be no 15m anymore.

When I walked to the nearest grocery I spotted such a view. Maybe good for QSL?

My ICOM 7300 designed for SSB operation is damaged. Futhermore the power supply is burnt out. What else can I expect… ?

I planned to start working on the bands on August 27th, but surprises with my QTH meant I'll likely start the next day. The only place I could mount the antennas was near a large, old steel mast with steel guy wires and two large steel dishes, which caused my antennas to detune and degrade their SWR. Furthermore, there are a few trees nearby, which made things difficult.

I spent all day adjusting the antennas to the surroundings.

I will use multichannel (Fox/Hound) or SuperFox mode on frequencies listed in “Frequencies” menu.

Due to the internal coding algorithm, the WSJT-X software can have some operational issues with longer and compound callsigns (VK2/SP9FIH, VK9/SP9FIH). The SuperHounds may see something like: < . . . > in place of a callsign, or perhaps even a totally different callsign. (The software uses a 10-bit hash algorithm on the callsign, and it may resolve to some other callsign that hashes to the same value). Please do not be confused if you see strange callsign on your display.

After Lord Howe I plan to visit Christmas Island from 19th September till 3rd October. Callsign will be VK9/SP9FIH.

Lord Howe is a small island with short runway, therefore passenger baggage is limited. That means I will work only on a few upper bands.