Penang Amateur Radio Club (PARC)

Automatic Information Terminal Service

2008-03-02T18:38:00.009+08:00

Do you ever wonder what you can do with your 2m rig beside having QSO with fellow hams on 2m? Most of the rigs in the marketl have a range of 137 MHz ~ 174 Mhz. Some include the airband as well and so, the range is from 108 Mhz to 174 Mhz. I haven't met anyone who is stupid enough to utter words like "You are not supposed to listen to those frequencies outside of 144 Mhz ~ 148 Mhz". Idiots exist no matter where you are, but some are just trying to portray the holier-than-thou image. Anyway, airband monitoring is something fun to do.

One very interesting broadcast on the airband is the ATIS (Automatic Information Termnal Service). Here in Penang, you will be able to listen to 2 ATIS stations. Here are the samples.

122.750 MHz AM / 230.100 MHz AM:
Butterworth terminal information Hotel
Time 0400 UTC
Runway 36 open VFR
Wind 310 degree 03 knot
Visibility 10 kilometer
Present weather hazy
Cloud scattered 2000 broken 28000
Temperature 29
Dewpoint 24
QNH 1011 hectopascal or 29.85 inches
On first contact Butterworth ground approach acknowledge received information Hotel.

126.400 MHz AM:
This is Penang terminal information X-ray
Time 1130
Duty runway 22
Surface wind 230 degree 07 knot
Visibility more than 10 kilometer
Weather hazy
Few charlie bravo 1700 direction northeast and east scattered 14000 broken 27000
Temperature 28
Dewpoint 24
Humidity 77 percent
QNH 1008 hectopascal or 29.79 inches
Be advised 63 hotel closed due to construction work

The above were just what I heard and might not be accurate. Anyway, enjoy yourselves monitoring the airband. You are encouraged to monitor the airband and you might save many lives someday, who knows? The aircraft emergency frequency is 121.500 MHz AM.

73.

Malaysia, Truly Boleh!

2008-01-26T21:30:00.000+08:00

Let's keep trumpeting that we are now a developed country. Yes, we can do anything! The "Malaysia Boleh!" catch phrase has gain much notoriety after all these years of craps. The "latest" bull shit which has been around for a few years though, is "Cemerlang! Gemilang! Terbilang!" (Excellence! Glorious! Outstanding!). So, this is just another "same shit, different day" thing.

Let's look at ourselves first. Let's say we missed the very last RAE organized by the tuck shop. The waiting time will be about 6 months for the next one since RAE is held twice a year. OK, maybe we don’t have that many hams, so let's group more together and concentrate the exams at a few examination centers.

After you have taken the RAE, there will be a waiting period of about 2 to 3 months for the paper to be graded. Then, you will get your result in the mail. The license application must come with the declaration of secrecy of wireless communication, and another referral letter signed by 2 old men who hold class A license. This will take you another week at least. Finally, you submit you application. Lo and behold, another few months waiting time, nothing you can do except checking your mailbox, the snail mailbox everyday.

Overall, it takes you almost a year to get your class B license. Yes, RAE is just for class B because in order to get the class A license you need to pass your CW test. The prerequisite is to hold class B license for one year. Again, CW test is held at a different schedule from the RAE. This sucks even more as you have to go to Cyberjaya for the test.

When it comes to examination fees, it cost you RM50. Once you have passed, the license fee is RM 24 per year, while the processing fee is RM 60 for each application. Naturally, people will apply for the maximum license period because it is still the same RM 60 that you have to pay, no matter it is 1 year or 5 years. OK, let's take a 5-year license and we end up paying RM 180. Wait a minute, don’t forget the fee you paid to the Pesuruhjaya Sumpah (Commissioner of Oath) which is RM 4, for that declaration of secrecy of wireless communication. To renew for another 5-year period, it will cost you another RM 180.

From the day you decided to be a ham till 10 years later, you have to fork out RM 414 (RM 410 is paid to the tuck shop). I think this gives you an impression that we don’t pay taxes. Everything costs money here and it is damn expensive, considering the amount we make every month.

Back in the 70s, our economy was better than Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan. Our GDP was much higher them. Now, we have to use Ghana for comparison. In the very near future, we will be running out or choice. By then, maybe Zimbabwe will be best candidate. Sorry, I really can't use Pakistan, I have to use United States for comparison today. Let's see how FCC is licensing hams…

First of all, go to ARRL website and do a search for exam. They are held everywhere throughout the country. I would say, exams are held at least twice a month within certain location, such as within 20 miles. Check it out yourself. Many Volunteer Examiners (VEs) allow walk-in, but I would suggest that you should take the effort to make an appointment. Oh yeah, you don't have to take leave from your day job since most of the exams are held at night.

On the night of the exam, all you need to do is bring a photo ID (drivers license, passport, etc.), and USD 14.00. You might want to write a check (cheque) payable to "ARRL VEC". That's it. You may start by taking Element 2 for Technician Class. If you pass and you think you can go on, then take Element 3 (General Class). Finally, you can also attempt Element 4 (Extra Class) as well.

Once you are done, you will be issued the Certificate of Successful Completion of Examination (CSCE) signed by 3 VEs on the spot. Submit the application to FCC tomorrow and you will get your 10-year license with a sequentially assigned callsign in about a week. It is "online", OK?

In summary, in Malaysia, it takes about 1 year to become a ham and it costs you RM 414 (USD125) for 10 years. In the US, it takes about 3 weeks to become a ham and it costs you RM 46 (USD 14) for 10 years. Please don't get me started into talking about getting rigs. You should have already known the red tapes here. By the way, you shouldn’t reason with people who can't take feedback or criticism. All you get is, "Kalau tak suka, keluar dari Malaysia!!!" (If you don't like it, get out of Malaysia!!!). On the other hand, some idiots can't figure out why there is brain drain in the country.

73.

Apa Guna Mari ?

2007-05-22T01:30:00.000+08:00

It took me quite a while not just to complete, but to decide what to blog about the annual craze of AGM. As usual, people will go mad and that is not new. If I am going to repeat the same old crap like the year before, it wouldn’t be fun anymore, right?

Well, "Apa Guna Mari?" (What is the use of coming?) will be the theme for the 2007 AGM. Many readers would be disappointed that this entry will not be long enough to entertain. I have just 2 highlights of the year though.

First of all, the turn out was pretty much reduced. Quite a number of people that I talked to before the AGM told me that they have given up hope on the society. Talking in terms of risk assessment, the question will be, what is the impact if hams are without a society? This thing always has a chain effect, and keep reinforcing each other unless we continue to have "faith" in the society. Anyway, there were many not renewing their membership this year and thus, not showing up.

On the other hand, many trouble makers were not making it here this round. These people are not contributing to the proceeding of the AGM but just to add idiotic comments and try to start a fight or something with other members. Come on, grow up. This is no longer the 60s or 70s where the fist rules. If you can’t reason well and convince people, it is time for you to catch up with more sleep rather than going to the AGM as a clown. Talking about SYSTEM, Save Yourself Some Time, Energy, and Money. That's why, Apa Guna Mari? Why bother to come then?

The council election is always the climax of the party. Meritocracy rules at least here in this society. The second highlight was nonetheless about the infamous newsletters made up of photocopied old materials back in the 70s. Time has changed, people are talking about fractal antenna these days. So, what was so interesting at the AGM? The newsletter guy suffered from a humiliating no-confidence defeat and was kind of voted out. Even days before the AGM, many people had been talking about "reformasi"… hahaha. For the rest of the story, please ask your friends.

Oh yeah, before I forget, I would like to share one interesting concept in the mind of Malaysians. Everyone knows that it is kind of hard to get rigs in here in this full-of-red-tapes country. In order to improve the system itself, ask any Mat Salleh, the ultimate goal is not to have human intervention. Please feel ashamed if we need to call someone to get rigs released.

The system has to be improved to the level that it becomes pretty much automatic such as the ham radio license by sekolah kebangsaan mat motor (the tuck shop la…) is good enough to import rigs. Not that you have to call a Tun or a Tan Sri to get your rig to be released. "Special human intervention" is not and should not be seen as improvement. Ah, again, if control is not there, it will be prone to misuse and abuse. Sorry, third world mentality.

As promised, I will make this short and stop here. Thanks to all the members who keep the society in check and keep it running well. Not forgetting the old dogs or old guards (take this as a compliment, OK?) who keep doing due diligent and challenge the council every now and then. Good job!

Congratulations to the new council! "The people" will do a performance review for you guys in the next AGM. Gambatte kudasai! Wareware wa dekiru!!!

73.

Phonetic alphabets in Bahasa Malaysia

2007-04-01T23:30:00.000+08:00

In the spirit of Malaysia Boleh, demi memperjuangkan kedaulatan bahasa kebangsaan kita, pengleng emecher lehlew klab brings you the phonetic alphabets in our national language. This is a preliminary draft and is subject to kutukan, cacian, dan sebagainya.

Ayam
Biawak
Cacing
Dugong
Ekor
Firdaus
Golek
Hantu
Ijazah
Jepun
Katak
Lembu
Mata
Nenek
Orang
Ponteng
Quebek
Roti
Sukan
Tengah
Untung
Virus
Wangi
X-ray
Yakin
Zirafah

Sekian terima kasih.

BERKHIDMAT UNTUK NEGARA.

Epi Apple Fool. Oops, sorry, Happy April Fools' Day!

Tujuh Puluh Tiga.

Chinese phonetic alphabets

2007-03-27T01:19:00.000+08:00

Almost every ham is pretty "proficient" in the phonetic alphabets, i.e. the Alpha, Bravo, Charlie ... Zulu stuff. "Certain quarters" or "pihak-pihak yang tertentu" make it compulsory to spell your callsign using the phonetic alphabets. As I blogged before, maybe their monitoring skill is so poor that they need it badly even on 2m band...

On HF, you might hear hams using another set sometimes. America, Boston, Canada, Denmark, England, France, Germany, Honolulu, Japan, Kilowatt, London, Mexico, Norway, Ocean, Pacific, Radio, Santiago, Tokyo, United, Victoria, Washington, Yokohama, Zanzibar. Well, fine! Every country has its own set of phonetic alphabets. In certain languages, it is also necessary to have phonetic alphabets for letters not found in A to Z.

Recently, I found the phonetic alphabets set used by the Chinese Armed Forces. Here you go:

Hanyu Pinyin - (Simplified Chinese) - (Traditional Chinese)

Aiya - (哎呀)
Boli - (玻璃)
Ciqi - (瓷器)
Desheng - (得胜) - (得勝)
Egu - (额骨) - (額骨)
Fuzhuang - (服裝)
Geming - (革命)
Heping - (和平)
I:Yifu - (衣服)
J
Keren - (客人)
Leguan - (乐观) - (樂觀)
Mofan - (模范) - (模範)
Nali - (那里) - (那裡)
Ouyang - (欧阳) - (歐陽)
Polang - (破浪)
Q
Riguang - (日光)
Sixiang - (思想)
Tebie - (特別)
U:Weida - (伟大) - (偉大)
V:Wudao - (舞蹈)
W:Wuzhuang - (武裝)
X
Yisheng - (医生) - (醫生)
Zidian - (字典)

Note: J will be pronounced as "jay", Q as "cue", and X as "axe". (^.^)

Qi shi san (七十三).

Listening to lehlew

2007-03-26T23:38:00.000+08:00

Long time no blog, that is for sure. On the positive side, this is a result of me practising The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. I am setting the right priority, I am allocating enough time to work on things that belong to Quadrant II. Seriously, I procrastinated many times too. Sometimes, the idea came but by the time you login to Blogger, the idea just went away. Maybe I am prioritising wrongly today but anyway, I think this blog deserves an update. I think I should post more entries spontaneously in the near future.

As hams, we can't help not monitoring the band, especially the 2m band while mobiling. It is kind of fun to have friends keeping you accompanied while you are driving. While idiots on the road are swearing and exchanging sign languages, we hams rag chew on the band, be it simplex or on the repeater. It is always good to hear the voices of your friends.

On the other hand, the on-going QSO topic on the repeater is not always to your liking. You might just prefer to be on monitoring mode. Some might be bored hearing people exchanging the same greetings over and over again, asking about lunches and dinners, and then 73. Some could be bored to death with some not-so-techinical-details, you know, some people trying to show off a little. At certain times, when you hear people talking in codes, you are sure that you are not welcomed to join the QSO. Nevertheless, going on air is fun most of the time!

So, during those periods when you don't feel like monitoring the 2m band but you want to listen to something, you can always turn on the FM lehlew. I know some people also hate listening to Ah Lians and Ah Bengs talking Benglish, Manglish, or Singlish on the local FM lehlew. Fear no more. Here are the alternatives. Don't you remember that you have AM lehlew as well? Use it, don't let it go to waste.

I have no idea about East Malaysia, but here in West Malaysia, I don't think there is any station broadcasting on the AM band. Well, I have been listening to the Voice of America on 1575 kHz recently. They have got pretty good programming from 7:30 pm to 8:00 pm local time (1130 UTC ~ 1200 UTC) and of course, this coincide with my travel back home from the salt mine. From 11:30 pm to 12:00 am (1530 UTC ~ 1600 UTC), Voice of America is broadcasting on Special English.

Other than that 2 slots, it would be hard for me to stay on 1575 kHz unless I start to learn Pasa Thai, Tieng Viet, Bangla, etc. Again, fear no more. We can get Zhong Yang Ren Min Guang Bo Dian Tai (中央人民广播电台) with programs all the way from Beijing on 1134 kHz. I am not sure where the transmitter is located at. It will be great to find out someday. Enough being said, start listening to AM lehlew today!

73.

Tuck shop website hacked

2006-10-01T12:00:00.000+08:00

Lehlew pengyiu is a fan of our famous Malaysian blogger, brother Ooi and will try to visit his Screenshots once a day to get interesting information which you might not see in mainstream media.

It was reported that today, the 1st day of the 4th quarter in the year 2006, our beloved tuck shop website was hacked again. Notice that brother Ooi used the word "again" which means this is not the first time intruders gained access and defaced the website.

I don't know how many times it was hacked before, but I had seen once myself. It happened on March 8, 2005. The website was "updated" with the title "Permintaan maaf dari Kerajaan Malaysia" (Apology from the Government of Malaysia). Some texts and 2 flags were added too. This was in conjunction with our government action on deporting illegal immigrants back to Indonesia.

On one side, we Malaysians are helping our neighbour, providing their people with jobs here. We also unreservedly sent aids when natural disaster struck. Many illegals obtained citizenship (not just permanent residence) status due to some kind of wierd policy which I am not going to debate here. Everyone knows, I dont have to reiterate it. The hacker wrote "Hidup Indonesia... Ganyang malaysia". Alright, thank you very much. Don't blame them.

On our side, it is kind of a national disgrace when a ".gov.my" site was hacked. Some people look at it as something trivial, but to certain people, they consider this as waging war against our country, Malaysia.

Let's see first. I don't know how the people at the tuck shop will react to today's incident. Give them the benefits of doubt. I have high confidence that they will do a thorough investigation, plug the hole, nab the real culprits, and prosecute them to the fullest extend of the law.

I hope they don't resort to blame-storming. Blame the outsource vendor that maintain the website? Shoot the messenger? Instead of solving the problem openly, point fingers at whistle blowers. Ah, that's the culture here, not a surprise. Please don't do this. In martial arts, our sifu told us to thank those who managed to deliver blows to you. You learn through the hard way and will never forget. Don't be "pelanduk lupakan jerat" because those hackers might strick again. Beef up the website security, "sediakan payung sebelum hujan".

73.

Angry General Meeting

2006-04-30T12:30:00.000+08:00

Greetings! I am still alive. Just did not have the time allocated to blog for the past 2 months. I think it is right time to post some updates to this blog. Otherwise, search engines might rank lehlew lower and lower. Besides, this also indicates that I have not abandoned my interest in blogging.

So, on the last Sunday in the month of February, we first attended the Excessive General Meeting at 9:00 am sharp. Must always refuse to serve wanted to make sure the proposed amendments to the constitution will be voted, no more postponement. Things went on very well and we adjourned for a tea break. Many members took the opportunity to have eyeball sessions with each other, some for the very first time.

Angry General Meeting started after that. One of the highlights was that, this year we had a VIP from macam macam to give a speech and to declare the opening of the meeting. This guy brought up a few points which some I agree with while some were not making sense at all. The "illegal rig" issue was brought up and well, if we look into the root cause of it, this is most likely caused by red tapes. We are licensed hams, and if not all, most of us know how to behave ourselves. Think about it, how much we can do things illegally? Yaesu is phasing out the VX-5R and coming out with VX-6R. However, the VX-5R is not even in the list of "approved" rigs. Instead of paying RM30, we have to fork out RM180 to stimulate illegal rigs in malaysia. Damn! Come on, do your work! You are the one who make it hard for hams and indirectly, illegal.

Another comment was that, this guy tried his very best to speak English, but most pronunciations and sentences were "broken". However, I think this is not necessary, just speak in Bahasa Malaysia. As a citizen of Malaysia, we should be proud of our national language. Although there were quite a number of Chinese Malaysians around, it was not necessary to use English. Maybe this was prompted by the presence of an American guest.

Meeting continued and there were not much problem this time. It could be due to the fact that there was no council election this year. There were less participation from double headed snakes this year. The group that came last year making hoo-haa was having a smaller team size this round, and also more appropriate in manners. Professionalism was demonstrated without hiding much shit in behind. Personally, I think some of them should be given a chance to be in the council as they have so much energy to drive things going.

The council members took turns to announce good news to the members. There were significant amount of activities and achievements which should be applauded.

The best strategy was adopted by the Minister of Finance. I guess he read the Sun Tzu Art of War. As usual, the person who were very well verse with numbers spent a lot of time helping to scrutinize the accounts. Later, the updated financial statement was distributed. Hey, they had been corrected! Now, the challenge was to have this person gone through the whole thing again. Don't forget that our friend was a manager in the same line last time.

One of the members brought up something which I believe, made many old timers with higher licensing class "angry". Yo, we're gonna eat into your playground without learning to sort out the alarm clock beeps. Pros and cons here. I would say, as long as licensees of lower classification do not disgrace Malaysian hams with stupid operating procedures and lehlew ingrik, that is good enough to allow them to play along on HF. Perhaps, with a narrower range of bands. Don't get me wrong, I am still a supporter of Chinese Wine.

Aha, we finally had something indirectly taking on double headed snakes and those standing on the fence. Unfortunately, as a supporter, I didn't see enough members supporting the motion. Fine, at least someone brought this up. Probably, it is again raised by one of the outspoken members. In our culture of high context and suppressed emotion, people don't get much excitement. We are talking about the Pledge of Allegiance here. Hey, people from a stupid tarzan ran amok think that you are crazy. Really hope to see someday, all members will be united for the cause of the society.

Another member then plagiarized what President John F. Kennedy said during his inaugural address, "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country". Yes, replace the word "country" with the "society name". I think this is a good point which all members should ponder upon.

In the past, we used to hear the council telling members to "write" to them officially. A member posed a question to the President whether emails are accepted. Haha... good question. There is no xxxxx@xxxxx.org.my email address. Well, the President said that it is considered to be official if members leave comments on the society website. We will see...

Finally, an angry member stood up and commented on the achievements reported by council members. Why all these activities were not reported in the newsletter? Why blame members for not submitting articles for publication? The guy in charge of newsletter should not sit there and wait. Come on, write some "regular" columns, and actively go and get members to write articles. Even if there is none, there are so many activities and achievements to be reported.

Before we adjourn this meeting, we have good and bad news. OK, shoot. Bad news first. As we are concerned with your health, we will not be serving nasi briyani with high cholesterol mutton curry this year. The good news is, all members will be getting RM10 cash so that you can buy whatever that is good for you. This is a society health message brought to you by must always refuse to serve.

73.

Antenna design 最高境界

2006-02-05T08:40:00.000+08:00

The art and engineering feat of antenna design to the highest level of perfection. That is the "最高境界" in Chinese.

73.

Happy New Year

2006-01-29T21:45:00.000+08:00

Happy New Year to all the Chinese, Korean, Mongolians, Vietnamese, and all those celebrating the lunar new year. The Chinese maintain a complex and interesting "agriculture" calendar which is based on the movements of the Sun and the Moon. Therefore, calling it a lunar new year might not be that accurate. Anyway, it is the first day of the Chinese New Year today. May the year of the dog brings health, wealth, and prosperity to all the readers of this lehlew blog.

Gong Xi Fa Cai !

73.

The latest addition - GPS

2006-01-28T13:30:00.000+08:00

Chinese New Year is a festival that could be associated with "mass human migrations". Those celebrating the new year will make their way home to have the reunion dinner with their parents, pretty much similar to Thanksgiving in the United States.

The journey of traveling home is definitely exciting and fun. In Malaysia, most of the people will travel by car. In the older days, we only had the faithful cassette player as an entertainment gadget. There was no FM radio then. I am sure you could approximate the year. Yes, In the 80s. As time goes by, more and more stuffs were being added to car. We have FM radio with RDS, and some have a 10 CD-changer connected to it. A recent trend brings the FM transmitter and MP3 player that reads from a thumb drive. Some have VCD or even DVD player with cute LCD display.

On a niche segment of population, there are ham radios in the car. Some even have an all-band, all-mode mobile transceiver, such as IC-706MKIIg. Worldspace satellite radio that operates on the L-band is uncommon but we definitely cannot rule out that some people installed it in their tin can. You can’t compare with XM radio or Sirius but at least, you have an alternative if you are bored with Benglish or Ah Bengs and Ah Lians talking on local lehlew stations.

So, the latest addition to my tin can is a USB Global Positioning System. It plugs into the USB port on the laptop. Instead of having its own tiny LCD display like the conventional hand held GPS, this USB GPS has the whole laptop LCD monitor as its display. While I haven't have the time to download and check whether the free Malaysia and Singapore map is compatible with this guy, this was a perfect opportunity for me to test the GPS.

Although there is no map, this guy is able to provide a lot of useful information. It shows the traveling speed, bearing, date and time, elevation, and even which few satellites this guy is getting the signals from. Not to leave out the longitude and latitude as well. New toy to play with for this new year. Hi! Hi! Pretty good performance. This only thing that I amused me is the elevation. Even though I am stationary at one location, the elevation could fluctuate between 150 ft. and 250 ft.

Enjoy your holiday and have a safe and sweet journey home. Berhati-hati di jalan raya. Biar lambat asalkan selamat.

73.

Silent key

2006-01-25T23:30:00.000+08:00

Obituary:
It is with great sadness to inform the ham community that old boy 9M2SMS (previously 9W2YY) passed away this morning. Brother Tee Jenn Juan was a friend to many of us and will be deeply missed. May he rest in peace. My condolence to his family. God bless his soul and help his family to cope with the situation.

73.

Eyeball in Oregon

2005-12-24T23:50:00.000+08:00

I actually typed this blog offline on Microsoft(r) Office OneNote(tm) 2003 before Christmas. I was still in Oregon then. Therefore, I feel that I should use back the original date this blog was written.

It is Christmas Eve tonight. I went to Tillamook Cheese factory this morning with some friends. I had been to this place back in the year 1999. Things have not changed much, but prices have increased. Since it was Christmas Eve, there were not many visitors. We took our time to see the process thoroughly this time, read most of the information boards, and watched the demo video as well. We drove north along Highway 101 for about 6 miles and reached Bay City. This is the place to buy fresh seafood. Pacific Oyster, as the name of the company implies, you should know what we were looking for.

We continued heading north and reached Cannon Beach in the afternoon. Even though it rained along the journey, we did stop at Rockaway Beach to enjoy the beautiful scenery. Cannon Beach was fantastic and the wind was blowing strong too. You have to be there to see for yourself. We were back in the evening and had Christmas Eve dinner at a friend's house with his family.

Come on, give me a break. Forget about ham radio! No, I'm just kidding.

During my stay in Oregon, I managed to have an eyeball QSO with K7POS. It was a sunny afternoon where I saw those ham radio antennas on the roof of his tin can. So, I put a note on the windshield and I received an email reponse from this gentleman. I also had the opportunity to meet NM7B. I discovered even more about emergency radio communication. It was really great to eyeball these two great old men. Thanks for the hospitality and all the information related to ham radio in Hillsboro.

Not forgetting to mention about the visit to Ham Radio Outlet in Tigard. I found out that almost all the employees are ham radio operators. So, I believe they really know what they are doing. I bought "something" from NA3VY. Feeling satisfied, I went on to Woodburn Factory Outlet to do my shopping, but obviously with "less cabbages to peel".

Merry Christmas and 73.

Look ma, no repeaters!

2005-11-11T21:15:00.001+08:00

"Look ma, no hands!" is a common exclamation by American kids to get their mothers attention to show off their skill in riding a bicycle without holding the handle bar. For the past two months, it was reported on a popular blog that monitoring or trying to kerchunk some repeaters in the Mud Tributary will make you alert your mom, "Look ma, no repeaters!".

It was Lajiawula who told me that some there are some standoffs bewteen a few hams and the national body council members. Sharing is loving, so he told me to go and read that particular blog immediately. Reading that particular blog is kind of interesting, not the blog entry itself but comments from readers, both anonymous and registered users. Those threads are getting hotter and hotter with some users really being honest and voice their opinions. Some can been seen as adding kerosene to fire, but that make people wanting to go back and follow up. That's where the fun comes from!

Things were going fine during the Virgo period. When the sun sign was approching Libra, due to some mismatch of horoscope (or horror-scope), things started to go wrong. Repeaters were down unexpectedly, stricken by lightning despite having multiple lighthing arrestors. Going into Scorpio, repeaters were still unable to be resurrected. People's sentiment is growing, the blog is flaming, riot is coming. Those blog entries belong to the Libra and Scorpio sign were taken offline. Maybe, some could be planning a "coup d'état"...

When they know that Euro will be replacing the national currencies of the BAFFLING PIGS (Belgium, Austria, Finland, France, Luxembourg, Ireland, Netherlands, Germany, Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Spain), they keep some coins and notes as souvenirs. So, once you found out the people removed their blog entries, go and look for your best friend, Google cache. It is still there, save it for rememberance. It could be as valuable as our RM1 coins which will be demonetized in December this year.

Ham radio is just a hobby, please don't turn something good into rivalry and bloodshed. Then, to what extend you should care and what not? It is not your involvement, it is not you doing things for free on your own time, it is not your love towards the hobby and the society, it is not your technical knowledge. It is also not the number of years being involved in the hobby. I believe it is how you fit into the whole team, the ham community itself, being a team player, sometimes have to even "disagree and commit". There is no "I" in "team". But ego kills everything. Learn first to follow before learning to lead. On the other hand, those who lead people to nowhere, it is time to go fishing. Don't hang on there repeating new constitution, repeater linking, membership lapse and inconsistencies, society website, etc. in every AGM annually. Hard feelings? The truth always hurts.

It is time to experiment with 2m single side band. 73.

Low hanging fruit

2005-10-26T22:15:00.000+08:00

When people go to an orchard, they will always start with low hanging fruit first. It is just in front of their eyes. If you don't pick it, other people will pick it. Well, an experience picker will start from the top because starting from the bottom, or starting low actually makes the picker's job harder. If you start from the top, the bag behind you will be full by the time you come down. You don't have to carry a bagful while climbing the ladder higher and higher. Besides, experience picker will choose the ripe ones to pick. Those ripe ones are usually high up on the tree where they are more exposed to the sun.

People used to talk about the tuck shop monitoring our QSO. The candyman will definitely pull back the ticket when we say something stupid. Come on, this is obviously low hanging fruit. For every "over", callsigns are required in the beginning and the end. To make it even simpler for them to monitor, we are required to spell it in standard ITU phonetics. Not many people will use the 10m, 6m and 70 cm bands, and therefore, monitoring is not hard, concentrating mainly on 2m band, I guess.

Please, please use your 3 million dollar high tech truck to nab those illegal long range cordless phones. Detain the importers, distrubutors, retailers. Confiscate all their rigs, charge them to the fullest extend of applicable law. Then, publish the accomplishment or achievement on the front page of all major newspapers. We pay our annual license fees and we took the oath before the commissioner of oath. Those pirates didn't. Start working on these high hanging fruits now, and pick them before they become rotten.

73.

Ski mask policy

2005-10-25T21:30:00.000+08:00

While explaining to the public about our beloved ham radio hobby, people used to ask us very interesting questions. One of them is, "what is the different between chatting with people on the radio and chatting with people on the internet?". There are many answers to this simple question. In fact some people can write a book or get a PhD by researching for the answers, I am exaggerating. Hi Hi.

Seriously, one "direct" answer I would give is that we hams are all "licensed". In contrary, as in the famous New Yorker cartoon, "on the internet, no one knows that you are a dog". Everything in this world has both pros and cons, Yin and Yang, etc. It depends on your paradigm looking at things. First of all, ham radio is definitely a very good hobby for kids to pick up. There are tons of learnings in it, be it technical or procedural. As parents, you can be sure your kids are not talking to paedophiles in private (as in ICQ, or other chat software). This is because the airwaves are monitored by many hams, SWLs, and the tuck shop. We knew that on air, no one should talk about business, sex, politics, religion, race, and any other sensitive issues.

On the other hand, the cyberspace remains the last frontier where you have the freedom of speech. Due to cultural differences, some people could not differentiate between freedom of speech and harassment. An American gave me an example on freedom speech. He said he can stand in front of the White House and burn the Star Spangled Banner, and no one can touch him. Sharing your religious belief with a co-worker could land you in a workplace harassment lawsuit. So, the idea is there should be no intrusion of privacy. Well, this is a bit off topic.

Coming back to the point, the cyberspace is now the only place where you can speak your mind, pen your thoughts, and share your ideas. Some people made a Declaration of Independence of Cyberspace, but it is constantly under threat from those who are actually weak and afraid of the masses. These people can always accuse you of anything from inciting racial hatred to sodomy. Therefore, I am pretty sure you know that on the internet, you have to adopt some form of "ski mask policy". It is all about ideas not an identifiable person. Again, here are my two cents about maintaining anonymity on the internet.

73.

Why 50 ohm? - Part 2 of 2

2005-09-21T00:00:00.000+08:00

Many years back, I attended a seminar on RF measurment conducted by Agilent Technologies, Innovating the HP Way at the Equatorial Hotel. The presentation material was binded as a nice book having the catch phrase "Strong Basics Today For Tomorrow". The presenter touched a little on this interesting topic too.

First of all, we must not confuse characteristic impedance (Zo) with impedance (Z). The former is a function of the physical cross-section dimension and dielectric constant (Er). It is never a function of length and frequency. Therefore, the characteristic impedance will always remain the same even when length and frequency changes. This is true for all the RF transmission line, which could be coaxial cable, waveguide, micro-strip, strip line, coplanar, wire-over-ground-plane, twisted pair, etc.

The characteristic impedance for a coax line can be caculated using,
Zo = (60/sqrt(Er))*ln(D/d),
where d is the diameter of the center conductor,
and D is the inner diameter of the cable shield.

Characteristic impedance of 30-ohm is found to be the best for maximum power-carrying capability. On the other hand, lowest attenuation can be achieved with the characteristic impedance of 77 ohms. Therefore, 50-ohm is chosen as a compromise between minimum loss and maximum power handling.

From the information gathered from e-panorama.net, it was mentioned that in the early days, the 77-ohm characteristic impedance was acheived using air as the dielectric. Low attenuation is also the over-riding factor for the selection of 77-ohm. This resulted in hardware of certain fixed dimension. When polyethylene, with the dielectric constant of 2.3 is used to fill the air line, the characteristic impedance becomes approximately 51 ohms. For "precision purposes", 50 ohms and 75 ohms are used instead of 51 ohms and 77 ohms.

This also explains why the Ku-pan and the C-kuali on the roof are connected to the decoder using 75-ohm RG-6U coaxial cable.

Well, there is one more reason for the use of coaxial cable with 50-ohm characteristic impedance. A quarter wave antenna with drooping (bent downwards) quarter wave radials at 42 degrees to the horizontal exhibits a feed point impedance of 50 ohms. I was also told that the Marconi antenna (a quarter wave antenna with a perfect ground) is also having an impedance of 50-ohm. Anyway, note that this is impedance, not characteristic impedance.

OK, too much crap for tonight, and it is time to get some sleep. 73.

Why 50 ohm? - Part 1 of 2

2005-09-20T01:00:00.000+08:00

Back in the old days where people had just started to have Local Area Network in the office, the Thin Ethernet was the popular choice. It was widely used becuase it was one of the simplest and cheapest implementations. It is also known as the 10 Baseband 2 or the IEEE 802.3a. All computer are connected to each other on RG-58 coaxial cable using the BNC T-connector. One end of the bus is terminated with a grounded 50-ohm terminator, while the other end has an ungrounded 50-ohm terminator. On Saturdays, I followed some friends, who owned a small "IT solution" company, to perform LAN installation at those small/medium industry (SMI) companies. That was back in the year 1993 ~ 1995.

RG-58 coaxial cable has been long enough before the invention of Thin Ethernet. As you and I know, it is the transmission cable used by many hams. It is the life line between the rig and the antenna. Besides RG-58, there are RG-174, RG-223, RG-8, Belden 9913, etc. Other than they are all coaxial cables, they share one thing in common, i.e. they are all having the characteristic impedance of 50 ohms.

When I started to involve in this ham radio hobby, the "why 50-ohm" question is revisited. In the quest for an explanation, I never stop asking people on this topic. Many tried their best to share, thank you very much. Some, on the other hand, tried to bull shit or tried to beat around the bush.

seh-jai-ming: Why do we use 50-ohm coaxial cable?

dai-mah-seng: It is for matching purpose. If you use coaxial cable with other value, your SWR will be high.

seh-jai-ming: Why they choose the value of 50-ohm ?

dai-mah-seng: Because it is the standard.

seh-jai-ming: How do they come out with such a standard?

dai-mah-seng: All the cable manufacturer decided to standardize it.

seh-jai-ming: Why don't they choose other value?

dai-mah-seng: It is because 50-ohm is the output impedance of the transceiver.

seh-jai-ming: Why the output impedance of the tranceiver must be 50-ohm?

dai-mah-seng: So that, there will be no reflection of the transmitted power.

seh-jai-ming: Why not make everything to be, let's say, 40-ohm?

dai-mah-seng: No, because 50-ohm gives the lowest SWR.

seh-jai-ming: If everything is 40-ohm, then you will also get the lowest SWR too, won't you?

dai-mah-seng: Where can you find 40-ohm coaxial cable?

seh-jai-ming: If you make 40-ohm as the standard, I am sure you will be able to get 40-ohm coax.

dai-mah-seng: Lima Lima coming in, talk to you later.

seh-jai-ming: 73.

Kerchunk

2005-08-16T00:40:00.000+08:00

Ask any hams that you know of to name one thing that they don't like in ham radio. Most likely that they will tell you it is "kerchunk". This happens mainly on 2m FM repeaters. Kerchunk is when someone presses the PTT button for a short while, triggering the repeater, but have no intention to talk to anyone. People who kerchunk are not necessarily those without amateur radio license, hams also kerchunk the repeater.

The first category are those who press the PTT when there is no one is talking on the repeater. They are lonely and they feel good when they hear the repeater's squelch tail or the courtesy beep. These people are trying to satisfy themselves. We can equate them to doing masturbation. However, the different is that when they press the PTT, they disturb other people who are monitoring. Some hope for kerchunk reply by another fellow kerchunker. Then, they will exchange kerchunks until one of them exhausted (their thumbs get tired).

After that, we have another type of people who kerchunk because they are "shy" or "timid". So, they kerchunk as a way to figure out whether their rig is working, and the repeater is working. It is too troublesome to call for radio check and to mention their callsigns. Maybe, some secret projects are in progress. They are doing this only when they do not hear anyone on air. A sub group of this, are those who test the SWR of their antenna using the repeater frequency with the tone set as well. This really annoys people.

The third group consists of those who kerchunk just immediately after someone tried to make a call. Their intention is to annoy the guy who try to make a contact. To the guy who made the call, it seems like someone is trying to reply him but failed. In actual, it was the joker who kerchunked the repeater. People will try to tell that they are not accessing the repeater well, and the joker will try to kerchunk again. They feel good because someone notices their key-up. On the other hand, some hams will refrain from answering the caller because they are afraid of being mistaken as kerchunkers.

The more annoying one will be those who make a key-up during the 3-second pause between QSO. This creates an impression that someone is trying to break into the QSO, or trying to join the QSO. It really disrupts the smoothness of the communication. Most hams are courteous enough to give breakers the priority. However, these cowards are misusing the chance given to them.

Besides those who kerchunk, there are also jammers. This group will just PTT whenever they like. Some feels good when they managed to jam someone's transmission. They do this as some kind of "revenge". Besides, some jammers are pressing the PTT to purposely jam others when they don't want something to be known to other hams. I mentioned this in the stray dogs post.

Someday, we can organize a kerchunk day (like a field day), and have the public to kerchunk the repeater as well. Another idea is to use repeater kerchunking as a 2 wpm CW. Maybe it could be a good idea to have the Kerchunk All Continent award, or KCC (kerchunked 200 repeaters) award as well. Haha... just kidding.

I heard the tuck shop has a 3-million truck but I really wonder whether they can really help tracking down these annoying kerchunkers. Come on, do something, the air will be cleaner when we can kick those who PTT and say "hello hello hello" off the band.

73.

MARTS website

2005-07-04T00:30:00.000+08:00

A fellow ham alerted me that the MARTS website has been revived. Please take a look at http://www.marts.org.my/. Even though most of the links are not working, at least it is now very much presentable. I believe this one is a good start. The previous one was really a disgrace to all Malaysian hams. Kudos to those who had breathed new life to it, and also to those who are still improving it. Thank you very much!

Repeater linking with VoIP

2005-06-25T09:00:00.000+08:00

Everybody knows that the coverage of any 2m repeaters are limited. It depends on the location of the repeater, height above sea level, transmission power, antenna, terrain, and many other factors as well. Anyway, 2m band is still the most popular band used by hams all around the world. Most hams made their first PTT on 2m band. In the past, Malaysian class B hams are limited to the 2m band only. Even though the tuck shop has opened up the 70cm, 6m, and 10m bands, the 2m band is still preferred as 2m rig is the cheapest among all. There is no 6m and 10m FM repeater around, and there is only one official 70cm repeater in the country. Naturally, people continue to stick to the much-loved 2m band.

When it comes to having QSO with hams in another "part" of the country using 2m band, people came up with the idea of repeater linking. Once upon a time, people link repeaters through RF and this method definitely requires some amount of funds, manpower, and "connections" to get it realized. Everybody knows that there is one group that has successfully linked their repeaters. The main group that suppose to represent the interest of all hams in Malaysia have been talking about it, and is still talking about it. To be fair, one repeater had been up on the hill for quite sometime for this purpose. Learned that this repeater had got its call sign already. Good job! At least, we see something is moving. Thanks.

While waiting for people to talk about money, time, resources, bureaucracies, ownerships, recognitions, politics, some hams decided to do "something". These hams don't mind spending their own money, using their own rigs, giving out portion of their broadband Internet bandwidth to link some of the repeaters. Hats off to them!

When repeater linking through the internet was first introduced, FCC is kind and understanding enough not to kill innovation. As hams, FCC stance on this is really welcomed and beneficial to the ham communities, I think. However, this raises some questions though.

First of all, let's take this example. A ham from the United Stated are not allowed to transmit in Malaysia and vice versa because there is no reciprocal licensing agreement between the two countries. With repeater linking vis Echolink, eQSO, or any other similar software, a ham in US can link to a link or repeater in Malaysia. The US callsign will be heard in Malaysia. Is this legal? No one talks about this at this moment. In my opinion, this is OK. However, it really depends on the objective of hams licensing. What is the purpose of RAE? If the objective is to ensure everyone transmitting is having the right equipment and setup, transmitting the right amount of power, not causing interference, this is definitely OK. The guy who is actually transmitting RF is the Malaysian with the Echolink gateway, not the American.

When someone has an Echolink simplex gateway setup, can this guy still go on air? Interesting question to debate. What if someone setup an Echolink repeater gateway, on its own or patch to the existing repater frequencies pair? Another gray area to talk about. If people wants to prevent foreign hams from reaching Malaysian repeaters, what about those from neighbouring countries who beam high power to Malaysia? What if more and more hams setting up Echolink gateway while we have just a mere 4 Mhz bandwidth (144~148 MHz) to share? Will there be fightings among groups?

Well, I would say those questions are not important if hams behave themselves and try their best to adhere to the "Amateur's Code". The first one being "Considerate... never knowingly operates in such a way as to lessen the pleasure of others". We share this world, sharing the frequencies are just part of life. To me, those unanswered questions remain insignificant unless someone is trying to kill this hobby.

So, happy linking and continue making friends around the world via linking with Voice over Internet Protocol technology. 73.

Stray dogs

2005-03-25T17:13:00.000+08:00

This blog has nothing to do with the poor boy mauled by a Rottweiler recently. The boy was lucky enough to survive the incident. I would strongly urge the parents of the boy to take legal action against the owner of the bitch as soon as possible.

On the other hand, Australian slang, or the Aussie Strine was invented by convicts in the older days. They wanted to disguise thier language so that the authority could not understand what they were talking about. As a legacy, the contemporary Australian English is littered with idioms, similes and invented words that make it one of the world's most advanced English dialects.

In the world of ham radio and citizen band, operators had also invented many jargons. For example, in the CB slang, "I saw a kojak with a kodak" means there are police officers manning speed trap with radar gun. The tuck shop is a shop that sells candy, but in ham radio slang, it is the FCC (in the US) or MCMC (in Malaysia), i.e. the authority who issues the license. I guess the reason is to "get away" even though the QSO had been recorded. You can always argue that you are referring to the real thing.

So, what about "stray dog"? Well, I am not sure whether it is already a ham jargon. If not, I would like to coin this term here. Stray dog has no license tag around their neck, and in ham radio, "stray dog" could be equated to pirate who transmits without a license or ham who transmits without mentioning callsign. Here is a story (or satire) about stray dog.

While most of the 9Ws are busy with their Chinese Wine practice sessions, there are also some who still go on air finding new ragchew partners. Of course, some 9Ms are also busy pushing Chinese Wine down their students' throat. There was one particular ragchew session that was polluted with stray dog recently. Many hams were having round robin on that fateful day. Someone was asking another ham regarding a parrot that he heard. Well, in the ham community, it is always great to share. Some do not aware that we are sharing the frequency, sharing repeaters everyday. When the good samaritan came back to share the music note of the parrot, a copulating stray dog came in and step on the poor guy. The bastard barked that the music note could not be shared, that particular parrot belongs to a group that had gone astray. "Make love to" you, son of the bitch, "shoo" "shoo", stay away from this parrot.

Well, these stray dogs that have gone astray are fanatics. They are racist as well. Go and find out yourself by looking at the dog food label. It is only fit for dogs. I understand that a parrot is considered as a private property. This is especially true in Uncle Sam land. However, the stupid parrot is not registered with the tuck shop. Come on, even it is meant for a limited herd, don't bark, speak words that homo sapiens can understand politely. Respect is something reciprocal, and is earned from your diplomatic skill. No hard feeling when there is mutual respect. Everyone will understand your situation. However, that stray dog did not exercise its skill in order to achieve the result. After all, the music note of the parrot could be filtered. So, what's the big deal here? Oh yeah, I forgot, you can't teach an old dog new trick. WTF?

I hope that this incident where a stray dog barking at the wrong tree does not deter any hams from pursuing their interest. Just ignore stray dogs in the future. You can't take away people's freedom. We learned from Viktor Frankl that there were always choices to make. Every day, every hour, offered the opportunity to make a decision, a decision which determined whether you would or would not submit to those powers which threatened to rob you of your very self, your inner freedom; which determined whether or not you would become the plaything of circumstance, renouncing freedom and dignity to become molded into the form of the typical inmate.

Calling all hams, come and make the streets safer and cleaner. 73.

The latest craze in town - Charlie Willie

2005-03-09T11:55:00.000+08:00

Today (March 9 ,2005) is the closing date for the application to sit for the Morse Code test. The tuck shop will be conducting the test on the 29th, 30th, and 31st of this month as well. I would like to wish all those going for it "Good luck!".

On certain repeaters, there is CW training being conducted. Thanks to those 9M's who are spending their time and effort to bring up a new generation of 9M's. Tabik! (Salute!) On other repeaters, the amount of QSOs seem to have reduced tremendously. The best explanation is that people are busy preparing themselves for this coming battle. Listening to the dits and the dahs, listening to the rhythm, etc. In my opinion, transmitting (sending) CW is easier than receiving (copying). This is mainly because you can control what to send, but you cannot anticipate what is being sent from others, especially when it is made up of random characters.

While people keep practising, it is important to be aware and be alert to the surroundings. Some people listen to CW until they fall asleep. There are all kind of free software out there on the Internet to be downloaded to assist you on CW training. Remember not to turn it on too loud. Otherwise, your neighbour might come knocking on your door and ask, "Mr. 'name withheld', you forgot to turn off your alarm clock ka?"

By the way, it is possible to learn up CW in less than a month. Our friendly uncle share with us an inspirational and motivational "kisah benar" the other day. One day while we was still lying on the bed in the hospital, another ham (who is also our friendly uncle) signed him up for CW test. Friendly uncle #2 left friendly uncle #1 a note telling him not to get mad at him or at the nurse, but instead, start practising. CW test is exactly one month from that fine day. Of course, they passed the test, and they live happily ever after.

Something from Empire Strikes Back,

(Luke looks over at Artoo, who is rocking urgently back and forth in front of him. Waddles closer to Luke, chirping wildly, then scoots over the edge of the swamp. Catching on, Luke rushes to the water's edge. The X-wing fighter has sunk, and only the tip of its nose shows above the lake's surface)

Luke: Oh, no. We'll never get it out now.
(Luke stamps his foot in irritation)

Yoda: So certain are you. Always with you it cannot be done. Hear you nothing that I say?
(Luke looks uncertainly out at the ship)

Luke: Master, moving stones around is one thing. This is totally different.

Yoda: No! No different! Only different in your mind. You must unlearn what you have learned.

Luke (focusing, quietly): All right, I'll give it a try.

Yoda: No! Try not. Do. Or do not. There is no try.

So, for those going for the CW test at the end of this month, remember, "there is no try", do your best! Good luck! May the force be with you! 73.

Alpha Golf Mike

2005-02-28T17:01:00.000+08:00

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet" was a phrase from Shakespear's Romeo and Juliet. You may call it Annual General Meeting, Alpha Golf Mike, or even America Germany Mexico. To me, it is All Gone Mad. "Society name withheld" AGM by any other name is still notorious for its unproductive council-bashing sessions.

It started normally with agenda being followed in the beginning. After the morning tea break, it was the time to talk about the election of the new council members and counting of ballot papers. One guy stood up and voice his dissatisfaction where some nominees were disqualified as their membership had lapsed. Shit started to flow out like the current council was elected not following the constitution, setting a precedence. Another guy brought up the Akta Pertubuhan and asked the council to follow the constitution. Some disputes the PO Box address used in sending the ballot paper. Another joker twisted the word that the council gives a go ahead to break the law, while one more used the Registrar of Society to threaten the council. Then, a clown popped out and told grandfather stories. The council was held in a deadlock and those jokers continued to rat hole the meeting in order to waste time. People talked, shouted and debated while the council kept listening emphatically. The room was full of emotion.

On the other hand, someone took membership fees from members but did not submit to the treasurer. This guy came out and gave an explanation. "Em sai gai sik, gai sik jik see yim sik, yim sik jik see mou chut sik".

These jokers had all kind of views, opinions, and suggestions. Hey, please contribute by helping the council, not barking at the wrong tree. NATO, no action talk only. These clowns are there to create havoc, very counter-productive. Some members said that we gave the council mandate to make decision to carry on with the agenda, and not wasting time anymore.

A few troublemakers also chanted the slogan, " I love 'society name', I love 'society name' ". Nevertheless, the best parts was a member came out to the front pointing finger at one of the council members, challenging him for a one-on-one full contact free sparring. Some members rushed to the front to restrain him and calmed him down.

Come to the accounts part, another member who was knowledgeable in that area stood up barking at the treasurer. This member scrutinized every details of the accounts which was a good thing. However, the AGM was not an appropriate place. If you have the expertise, why don't you offer your expertise in reviewing the accounts. Why moan during the AGM? Maybe this member is trying to show off. If asked to do, might just like the saying "kong jau thin har mou dik, jou jau mou lang wai lik".

One of the members shot the whole AGM sessions with his Sony camcorder. I don't see any problem for him to sell RM 5 VCD soon.

I managed to refrained myself from going up to the mic and add on the the shit. Otherwise, I will be one of those clowns as well. Many members walked out of the room to take some fresh air. Better environment to eyeball, make new friends, meet old friends, and exchange technical and contact information, etc. Lunch is ready. Some members started to help themselves while the debates were still on in the room. Wow! Hot and fragant nasi briyani, chicken, fish, mutton, vegetables, fruits, and drinks. Yummy! This was the best part of the meeting after all... hehehe.

After the lunch, we went back to the meeting hall and continue with the AGM, with the newly elected council members taking seats. Congratulations to you guys! Wish you all the best and hope you will serve the members even better. May the force be with you!

73.

Hams come and go

2005-02-15T21:59:00.000+08:00

More and more poeple are getting their callsigns. However, I am sure you noticed that it is not necessary that more and more people are having QSO on air. Some hams come and go. Some hams bought expensive Yaesu VX-7R, the silver color one, which is also submersible but only went on air for less than 3 minutes in a year. Some thought that ham radio is a replacement for cellphone and they later found out that they are wrong. Some hams like to talk using a rubber duckie antenna only, and they found out that they are not holding the repeater, and give up. This kind of "hangat hangat tahi ayam" behaviour is not restricted to hams, it happens to all kind of hobbies. What's the problem here? It is not the hobby itself, but the attitude of those who take up the hobby.

In my opinion, ham radio is a pretty unique hobby. It has many faces, and people like to do one part more that some other parts. Some like to make new friends over the air, some prefer to rag chew with old friends, some go on HF pounding CW every evening, some spend hours experimenting with homebrew stuffs such as antennas, some collect QSL cards the same way people collect stamps, some get addicted to fox hunting, etc.

I don't think we need to encourage more people to take up this hobby. People who like it will take it up. I don't believe there will be more people becoming hams when CW requirement is abolished. Is there any data to show otherwise? However, I believe it is important to do some promotions because this hobby is not realy well known. In every school, there is always a Kelab Seni, Kelab Elektronik, Kelab Musik, Kelab Taekwondo, etc. but a Kelab Radio Amateur is hardly to be found. I think we should tackle this part, "invade" schools and get students to participate as one of their co-curriculum.

I had QSO with a few hams from VR2 land (Hong Kong) on 15 meter band yesterday. They told me the same story where the number of hams do not get increased even though Hong Kong SAR government no longer require CW as one the the condition for ham licensing.

By the way, MCMC published a discussion paper with the subject "Review of Amateur Radio Services in Malaysia" in the beginning of this month. To all hams, please do your part providing your feedback by 12pm on March 1, 2005.

Enjoy this hobby and 73.

Some updates from Folsom, CA

2005-01-14T14:58:00.000+08:00

A good friend of mine who is currently in Folsom, California took the ham radio examination last night at WT6G QTH. I am sorry to know that my friend failed. I am sure that he had done his best. The test consists of 35 multiple-choice questions and you have to answer at least 26 questions right. On the other hand, he passed his Malaysian RAE before going on assignment. At least, he can still go on air when he comes back to the home land. Well, it is not the end of the world, keep trying, man! Have a nice day and 73!

The salt mine penguin's parrot

2005-01-12T21:56:00.000+08:00

I found it! I did kerchunk it and I got a response. Of course, I am not going to disclose the downlink, shift and tone here. The interesting part is not the technical aspect of it. I am trying to imagine what if those salt mine penguins found out that I can listen and even talk to their parrot.

I guess they will make a big fuss over it, call this kind of activity all sorts of names and even try to associate it with negative words like immoral, malicious intend, illegal, intrusion, crime, etc. They might even convince the management to give me a love letter. Yes, I am referring to people with this kind of mind set, which I think the brain is already half dead. They are just wasting oxygen.

First of all, they should understand the technology itself. It is plain analog voice over UHF. What does this mean? Well, even a TV can be modified to receive the transmission. Secondly, CTCSS is pretty much standard, and people can scan from all the available tones. If it is really meant to be private, please use digital mode plus encryption. At least, this will buy some time before being cracked by people who love challenges. Otherwise, please do not stupidly think that nobody is monitoring. The tuck shop publishes the figures of the parrot's mouth and ear on their website. Who are there to be blamed?

This applies to those scanners with blocked cellular band. Before the digital GSM becomes popular, the 850/900 MHz region for cellular band is a favourite entertainment avenue. In order to make sure the stupid public is convinced, a bunch of semi-smart people thought of blocking the cellular band on scanners and even make a law to make listening illegal. This happened in Uncle Sam land. This is the same kind of stupidity I am trying to relate to the salt mine parrot thing. OK, the law is in place now, but the analog 900 MHz cellular signal is still on open air. Do you really think that there is no rig that can receive cellular conversation anymore? Do you really think that people will not do a mod the their scanners? Do you really think that the law protects the privacy of your conversaton? OK, make all scanners illegal then. Do you think that nobody can listen to the cellular phone conversation anymore? The same paradigm applies to those analog 900 MHz and 2.4 GHz cordless phones. It's a dilemma, isn't it? Have you heard of double sided sword? You have to trade your privacy with convenience. Else, please use the old phone with entangled cord.

Happy scanning and 73!

Vanity callsign

2005-01-11T20:30:00.000+08:00

Unlike the FCC, Malaysian ham radio operators can choose their own vanity callsign without extra charges as long as it is not taken by anyone. First come first serve. FCC requires you to pay some premium which I think is still affordable. Here are some that I thought of and could be used as a reference:

India Lima Yankee - I Love You
Mike Bravo Foxtrot - My Best Friend
Bravo Mike Golf - Be My Guest
Mike Tango Tango - Mou Tak Ting (Cantonese)

There are also people who prefer vanity callsign like LUV, FUN, ETC, IBM, FAT, and so on... As far as I know, WIN, ACE, EAT, and of course, CPU have been snapped up. Anyway, Sierra Echo X-ray will not be issued as this is mentioned in one of the documents on the tuck shop website. I would also think that people at the tuck shop will not issue callsigns like PAS, DAP, PKM, ASS, TIT, FUK and those with political, religious, race, sexual and negative connotations. For a Cantonese guy, TNS and LLM should be avoided at all cost, while a Hokkien guy should stay away from KNN or TLP. A grey one here, WTF which could represent World Taekwondo Federation or something else. So, think and ask those old hams before submitting the form.

On the other hand, new kids out there has to be careful too. If one is going to apply for OSO, think twice. Oscar Sierra Oscar is innocent enough but when you read the letters, it will sound like Old Ass Hole. Don't say I didn't warn you!

Happy hamming and 73!

Eyeball QSO

2005-01-11T17:26:00.000+08:00

As the day goes by, more and more new hams accessing the repeater, announcing their callsigns. The ham community is growing again, and we are making new friends on the air. Later down the road, there will be eyeball sessions in order to satisfy people curiosity. Depending on the number of people, other common hobbies that they are having, and any special restrictions*; a rendezvous will be selected so that everyone can have round-table together and even some "tanni" as well.

"Hey, Ah Huat ar... you face doesn't match your voice la..."

"I thought you are a tall guy."

"You sounds like a 60-something old man on the air."

"Oh... lu si [callsign1] hor... Wa si [callsign2] arr. An juar? Ho seh bo? Lai lai, chiak chiak chiak..."

"Your lehlew mana tempat beli one?"

"I think I have seen you somewhere before"

"Uoo hami kangtau bo?"

"OK, I see. You are working at [multi-national company]. Could you help me buying a rig from your saltmine?"

"What is your Lima Lima number?"

These are some of the interesting QSO during eyeball sessions. Everybody is usually very happy to meet each other face-to-face for the very first time. After glugging more "tanni" into the tummy, some started to sing songs, tell dirty jokes, dance, like they have known each other for many years.

The next few days after any eyeball sessions, the repeater will be unusually quiet. Most probably people already have enough QSO during the eyeball and need a rest. This is something that we went through before. For newcomers, don't be shy, just come out and play!

*special restrictions = allergy to pork and alcohol, cannot kill for food, etc.

Please don't do this at home!

2005-01-05T17:59:00.000+08:00

An exaggerated ugly side of ham radio QSO. One fine day on a 2m repeater far away,

Stupid newbie: Kohling! Kohling! Enly stesen? Lis is "callsign1" stenby.

Old man: "callsign1" this is "callsign2". Good day! Welcome to the band. Go ahead with your traffic.

Stupid newbie: I doonlow enly trefit, I no ailea, I no driving now, I at home.

Old man: Roger! Roger! QSL that you are at home at this moment. Have you eaten your lunch? Over to you "callsign1" this is "callsign2".

Stupid newbie: Aiya! My lem no Roger la... My lem Mister Ah Huat! I eat morning liao, afternoon no eat. Over!

Old man: OK, sir. Copy your handle loud and clear. You audio is Q5, full quieting. Congratulations to you for getting your license. Please do come on to this repeater frequency as often as you like. Back to you "callsign1" this is "callsign2".

Stupid newbie: No kopi la... I link teh lis morlin and eat pau oso. Over!

Old man: "callsign1" this is "callsign2" returning. OK, I got you, no worries. Thank you for this wonderful QSO and will catch you further down the log. I would like to make this my final round and you have a nice day! "callsign1" this is "callsign2" listening for your final. 73.

Stupid newbie: okeh, lex time tok tok on lehlew again. Dankiu. You gif me 73, I gif you larble, 146. Bai-bai.

Old man: (Luckily I have HF privilege, I think I had better switched over to 40m from now on)

A new batch of hams

2005-01-04T11:17:00.000+08:00

It had been a busy fortnight since I last blogged, and many events had taken place since. Time really flies, but only when you are occupied. You will feel the satisfaction when tasks were completed. Like removing a rucksack from your back.

First of all, good news from the ham radio community in Malaysia. The results for the last RAE held in November 4, 2004 was release on Christmas Eve. This means a lot to many people as this could be one of their best Christmas gifts. These people studied hard, worked hard with their elmers, and of course, listened to QSO to gain real life experience. I share their pride and joy too.

Congratulations! Good job! Well done! Excellect! Fantanstic!

You may find the RAE 2004 results here. Find your national registration identity card (NRIC) number and good luck! For those who failed, this is not the end of the world. Try again. These two words "try again" makes me think about the "snake and ladder" game. There is no loser, someone might reach the 100th square first, but if you keep the dice rolling, you will reach there everntually. You might reach there a little later than some people, but there are also others who haven't reached yet. Life is full of ups and downs, so does the game which is full of snakes and ladders.

Thomas Alva Edison once said, "Genius is one per cent inspiration and ninety-nine per cent perspiration. Accordingly, a genius is often merely a talented person who has done all of his or her homework". If you did your homework, and had given your best, no problem, there is always another RAE on the way.

If you didn't do your homework, then shame on you! Even though you passed your RAE by luck, please don't go on air! Well, I understand that you are a newbie, and you may ask "anything" that you want to know, BUT not those already in the RAE syllabus. It shows that you know nothing and your ham license is just a piece of worthless toilet paper full of shit. Hey, many people are monitoring out there. Foreigners who are monitroing might think that either you bribed the officer at the tuck shop or Malaysian hams have no standard at all. What a disgrace? Please QRT and sell your rig off immediately. Use FRS radio instead.

Back to good news. Those who have a rig before the ticket (license), it is time to press the PTT button. I know you have waited for quite sometime and can't resist the temptation to start talking. Go ahead man, make a general call, CQ CQ CQ. The ham community likes to talk to people with new callsign. This is a hobby that you can make friends over the air. Ham radio has been around long time before the arrival of the Internet. One of the major difference is that all hams are licensed whereas virtually anyone can open a account with ICQ. Since all of us have to go through stringent test, you can be sure most of the hams are enthusiasts in homebrewing gadgets and antenna. There are a lot of things to be learned from those experienced old men out there. Enjoy this hobby!

Message in a bottle

2004-12-19T01:25:00.000+08:00

My Christmas present last year was my amateur radio license. I took the RAE in August 2003, took some people three months to process the results, thus I got my result in November. Well, it took another month to get the application form, find 2 class A license holders as referees, go to the Commissioner of Oath, etc. Finally, my license was ready for collection on Dec 24.

Yeehaw!!! I can PTT now!

It is interesting to note the feeling of "doing it for the very first time". Hey, what are you thinking of? I am referring to the "mic-shy" thing. Some studies show that people are more afraid of public speaking than death. I guess this is applicable to new ham radio operators as well. Some people might dispute this, but at least, I felt really nervous talking on the air the day I got my license. I was aware that I was heard within the coverage of the repeater and of course, there were many strangers on the air too. All kinds of people, some are really keen to talk to newbies; but some are "pure listeners", monitoring only. One more thing, everbody wants to be successful for the very first time. So, I called up a friend on the land line, requested him to stand by the repeater frequency, waitng for my call. We really had a nice QSO. After a while, someone requested to join the conversation. I learned to pass the mic in the round robin style, quite challenging for a newcomer. Well, old hams are always good to new kids on the block. Another callsign to be recorded in the log book.

After talking to those you know, it is time to talk to those you don't. Many ways to do that, joining into people's QSO, call someone that had just finished a QSO with another guy, or make CQ call. A good old ham told me that you will be surprised that there are actually a slient majority monitoring. These people just listen and will never PTT. Hmm... interesting. Of course, after you get used to 2m, you will start to make CQ call whenever you are "mobiling", some kind of entertainment to keep you awake while driving. People fear of failure, people fear of rejection. When there is no one on the air responding to your CQ call, some people might get disappointed easily. A good old friend shared that, on the air, we should not have that kind of attitude. Keep trying. Hey buddy, this is not a cellphone. Even though you call, people might not hear you. It could be your rig itself not transmitting enough power to hit the repeater, or you friend has QRT. Sometimes on HF, someone on the other side heard you and he tried to reply you, but you can't hear him due to many factors, especially the band condition, propagation, etc. So, don't be disappointed, this is just a hobby.

This had led me to relate amateur radio to the practice of putting message in a bottle and throwing it out to the sea. Firstly, your bottle might be just floating around and not going anywhere. Secondly, even if your bottle is being carried away by the sea current, it might not reach the shore. There are many more possibilites such as the bottle is trapped in the fisherman net, someone picks it up but doesn't understand you message, etc. Going all the way, even if the guy who picks up the bottle and replies, there is no guarantee that the bottle will come back to you. Hahahaha... what a primitive hobby?

If you keep yourself positive and give people the benefits of doubt, you will be happy to be part of the ham radio community. Otherwise, you will be complaining, groaning, swearing, and not to forget "blame-storming". Again, keep your mind open, help each other as much as possible, and show the spirit of hams. You can't change the world, you change yourself. You go out and make a different, answer CQ call. Winston Churchill said, "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give". Make sense? Maybe... it is up to you. Anyway, enjoy this hobby! 73.

In the beginning was the word

2004-12-18T15:01:00.000+08:00

In the beginning was the word, ... , and the word was radio. Japanese are well known with their method of representing foreign words with Katakana. Due to the fact that the Katakana set of characters could not accomadate most of the syllables in English, many foreign langauge words are being turned into Engrish. Of course, the example I am going to share here is the word "radio", which is pronounced as rajio (ラジオ).

You may get many hits if you try to search for the word "rajio" on Google but I bet you can't find any results being returned with the word "lehlew". The natives of the Pearl of the Orient call this communication tool as "lehlew". Well, enough for today, will continue this topic someday... 73.