Similar to the recent retraction of the permits in New Zealand, the ACMA decision not to support amateur use of the 60 m band in Australia is a slap in the face. Invalid arguments and even secrecy were brought forward to support the decision. Why is 15 kHz of spectrum with only 15 Watts radiated… Continue reading »
Today, I received very sad news about expiry of the 60 m trial licenses in New Zealand. On October 24th, the 60 metres band in New Zealand will become silent. I very well remember the first contacts back in January 2018 and at the time, I did not know about the very good propagation between… Continue reading »
Not too long ago, a pre-owned Icom IC-7100 was acquired, as a replacement for the IC-706 mk II. Although the 706 is a small, versatile and a “value for money” little devil, it has its habits. On 2 metres, the frequency drift is very annoying and way too excessive for narrowband digital modes. Even in… Continue reading »
There were times when there was only one type of amateur radio licence. One had to pass a technical exam and a Morse code test, because telegraphy was the standard operation mode. Later on, a separate licence became available without the Morse test and only gave access to VHF and up. My first exam was… Continue reading »
During last winter, I have been very busy with the process of buying a second home in France. For several years, this was in the making and last November, the decision was made to acquire an old farm in the department Haute-Marne, about midway between Nancy and Dijon (grid square JN27). From my home in… Continue reading »