Moving Blog

Friends, I decide to change my main web to blog mode. So, I will leave this blog and start reporting any story to you on there. Maybe this is my last post (but this blog will continue to present) here. And sure you can post your comments there and even subscribe my story later (hope you will, hi hi).
Please don't hesitate to post comments. But promise me to put your name (and callsign if you have it). If no, I will consider to remove your comments. Just to make sure you're friend of mine.
Today, Saturday afternoon, I will depart to Grobogan, QTH of YB2DX to join his team for JIDX SSB. Reports, pictures and log search will available after I'm home on my main blog.

Happy contesting es 73
de Riv YB3TD

Miss CQWW SSB 2007

Feel very uncomfortable today, jealous with you all guys who can participate CQWW SSB today. Yesterday I try to build inverted L as suggested by KA3DPW and add Trio AT-130 to eliminate TVI. But still no luck to me, TVI still appear. I want to cry at the moment, know I will miss great contest this week.
For you that such lucky can have fun, enjoy it. Jon YB2ECG, you should set your own new record this year, even condx is not too helpful. If you met YB2ECG, you can say hi to him at his blog at www.yb2ecg.web.id
I hope I can join CQWW CW next month from somewhere else or at one friend station.

Good Luck to you all and have fun !
73 de Riv YB3TD

Using Roof As Radials

My new house is still in build progress. Surprising me when I visit yesterday, developer gave me a light stainless steel construction roof. You can see the form is pyramidal. And every crossing section from top to bottom. If we watch it from above, will look like multibands quad.
I have a plan to install a vertical on pyramidal top ( I think it will be a 40m monoband vert) and using my roof as radials. But not sure about performance. So my question is can I use this metallic roof as radials? I just think this case is similar with using car as radials. But this time is different on form and constructions. Also how effective the system will be.
Appreciate if you can give me suggestions. I will write my report after I put my vert up after January 2008.
Thanks for visit my blog.

My SKCC Membership

Just receive email from Gordon N6WK informing SKCC accepting my application to join the club and assign #3408 as my membership number. Thanks Gordon.

Already heard about SKCC several times. And co-incidentally found their mailing list at yahoo yesterday. No need to long thinking, I send request to join command to the groups. Only 2 days waiting, they now accept me as member.

SKCC (stands for Straight Key Century Club) is a club for CW enthusiast, but different on key usage, we only accept straight key or bug to keying. So for QRS hams, join this club is very challenging and sure will increase your mastering CW code. As you know, using straight key will limit our speed to maximum 15 wpm(my opinion). More than 15, our keying will sound strange and possible to increase error rate. So 12 wpm is fun speed.

Find the web at http://www.skccgroup.com and explore. You can find lots of useful info. You can join mailing list with send request to skcc-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
. Process is very fast.

SKCC is very active club. We make first date on every month as 24 Hour Monthly Operating Event. We can meet another SKCC friends at this time and exchange our SKCC number. Also the mailing list is very active. Daily posting usually more than 30 emails.

Also congrats to my fellow YC3RCJ Rudi. Also become new member and assign #3415. Still search maybe these are another YB who already join. As Aug 27, 2007, SKCC already issue 3425 membership number, since founded on January 2006.

Okay hope to see on the band soon. My station will be ready on January 2008.

73 de Riv

New Propagation Cycles Start?

Reading KH6BZF and K7RA abt sunspot activity this week, make me start to be happy. They inform, sun surface are clean. So we just wait one spot appear (one is enough) and it will be the starting point of what we call cycle-24.

When sunspots are maximum, the sun surface will be peppered with spot and massive gas explosion from sun surface that sometimes carried by solar wind toward earth.
So, sit back and relax for several weeks, then propagation will improve. It's give me enough time to prepare my new shack to be operable, after my house progress done.
Picture above, I took from www.dxlc.com

See you on next cycle.

Rapidshare suggestion

Rapidshare name is very famous on internet. This time I will share what I've found use this service. Sorry not related with radio amateur but I think you should to know.
Last page before start downloading is options which servers would you like to use to download. I found that every server is have different load traffic. So, if you need to get best downloading rate, you have to check which server have lowest traffic. Just pick one, enter verification you-are-human-or-not code and enter. wait abt 10 seconds. If you think rates is too slow, back to previous page and choose another one, repeat until you satisfy with rate. At working hour, sometimes very difficult to get high rate and we have to satisfy with below 10 kbps rate. But at weekend, get rate below 20 kbps is wierd, something wrong with your connection.
This suggest is work only for free acc. I don't know for payed acc. Heard that payed acc give much better offers.

Last week, I visited Memorial Ship at Surabaya. This is a submarine, whiskey class, USSR product. Powered by diesel engine, located at right of town center. Ship name is KRI (Kapal Republik Indonesia) Pasopati. You can see, it has reg number 410. This ships group then replace with 209 type, made in Germany.

Visiting this ship reminding me about one radio amateur event that QRV from memorial ship. I don't know what is the rules, but if this 410 meet qualifications, I hope someday one team can join that even.

Ticket is very cheap, only 60 cents USD per person. We will watch movie about this ship story. Movie is in Bahasa language and no text-translation. And then we can enter the 410. Start from front torpedo launcher, go to middle room, and quit at rear launcher. I can't imagine, live daily with only 40 cm bed wide, and very compact rooms. Sure no windows. Very different description with submarine movies like Crimson Tide. But I think close enough with U-571. Same age sub.

No Chance to Bawean

Another 2 ship accidents close to Bawean OC-197 this week make me decide to forget Bawean trip for IOTA contest this year. Just read that news on local paper, no victim luckily. Worst thing is World Metrological inform weather will going worse for next several weeks. They said a high-pressure low-temp air condensed at Pacific. Potentially sending high-speed wind to my area. Not surprise of that, I can see this morning is very windy here. Maybe this La Nina is had corellation with global warming.
So, good luck to you all that can join nice contest from exotic places. I hope you will enjoy. Meanwhile, I just sitting here try to catch contest as an SWL :-(((

YB3TD new call

Just phoned by local Secretary, inform my license is done. So it's legal now using my new call YB3TD, replacing my previous YB2MTA. Next step is setting up station. This would be not so easy since I live in rent-house, afraid my neighborhood will be shocked watch HF antenna. My own house not ready yet, developer said it will be ready at December.
Bawean Isl OC-197 is not too far from here. But weather is very windy lately days. 2 ferry accidents happens in this week. Last event accident is on Lombok strait, carry 3 Germany tourist. All safe, include ferry crews. These things make me nervous if want to cross Java sea. Bawean is abt 90 miles away from here.
Hope can join contest as soon as possible. See you guys.

New Callsign

Moved from YB2 at Nov 2006, now I live here with my family at YB3, Gresik city, abt 20 km north from Surabaya, capital of East Java. Since my moving is permanent, there is no chance to keep my previous callsign, YB2MTA. I already send new callsign application to local authority at early May 2007. And until today there is no news abt it. I was reserving YB3TD as my new call. But since no license approval, mean no activity. Just listening on my FT-7800 at 118.3 MHz AM mode, Surabaya Tower.
Very high expectation to join IOTA contest from Bawean Isl. OC-197 this July, but no hope due weather (and no license also). Several ferry accidents lately days here in Indonesia, shrinking my guts to over Java sea.
I will post my logs (and hope another friends logs) on my web www.yb3td.com. Sorry that if you feel my web full with Google Adsense, but I need that to run my web (and hope someday adsense will funding me to new islands).
Please feel free to contacting me for any kind purposes, commence, suggestion, critics (I love it), or just say Hai Riv. My email is riv[at]yb3td.com or alternate yb2mta[at]gmail.com. Unfortunately gmail not offer 5 characters email addr. So, still search what nice email addr with gmail. Or maybe can you help me with ideas.
Hope to see you on the bands. Soon. I hope.......