HAGAL INTERNATIONAL

Israel Ham News

3

conducted by Ron Gang 4X1MK

March - April 2007

THE 4X6KJ REPORT

Social Event Dinner:

The special evening in Hebrew “Iruah Chevrati” as previously mentioned was organized by the IARC. The evening was in all aspects a extremely nice evening. The hall was pleasant, music moderate in decibels, the food was excellent and the service was worth the famous “douze point” or translated from the French ‘twelve points’.

The only downside of the affair was, that most of the invited amateurs, remained elsewhere. They just did not show up, But again for those that did attend, it was a pleasant evening. Almost everyone received a “prize” from the on the spot raffle that was organized.

At the IARC Social Event – photo by 4X4GT

Study Course:

A new course, for amateur radio is underway, at the moment there are seven students. The course started the beginning of February at the IARC Office. Those interested, can still join, remember it is never too late to learn. Interested persons should contact or send an e-mail to 4x6kj@iarc.org

The course is expected to start with the theory part – electric & electronics within weeks, just after the Pesach Holidays.

DXCC:

As mentioned in the previous issues, DXCC cards can be “field checked” at home (in Israel). I must say, that it keeps me busy, as many DXers keep adding “countries” to their already existing award. For more information feel free to ask: 4x6kj@iarc.org Remember there are a few rules to adhere too. Cards for 160 meter, or older than 10 calendar years, or deleted countries can not be “field checked”.

New 2007 Membership Cards:

Have been distributed to those that have paid their membership for the year 2007, For those that have not yet fulfilled their obligation, can still do so, after the Treasurer has received your payment, will the membership card as well as the new CD-Rom disk be send to your home address.

The new “data disk” is the work of Tsachy 4Z4TL, who compiled an amazing variety of information, also on the disk a short video film, the brainchild of Uri 4Z5FG in memory of mentor Ahron 4X1AT (silent key).

To “Morse” or not to “Morse”:

The fact is that the World Wide cancellation of the CW requirement for HF, in many Countries, has gone into effect. The IARC is still struggling with the question what to do?

We have asked the membership for their opinions, and many have answered the call. The executive is now going through all the answers, trying to come up with some results. If there is still somebody who has good ideas that are helpful, please let us know.

One thing can be said, for any decision that will be taken, there is no way of return to the former. Speaking for myself, I do not take this issue without due consideration. It has far more consequences than we can think off at the moment.

Antennas:

Radio amateurs are being harassed by certain municipalities about their antenna constructions (towers or masts). The sentence most frequently heard is:

“This ugly construction obstructs the view!” And in a number of cases the Court has issued an order to remove the “unsightly” and “repulsive” structure to an otherwise unblemished view.

I would like to know, if there is anyone out there in the wide world that knows about a definition that explains the word “unsightly” or can describe “beauty”. I thought that ugly or beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

I call upon all amateurs to join and help us in the fight to have the right to erect an amateur radio antenna as our hobby requires.

Remember there is no radio without an antenna, and in case of emergency or any kind of disaster, amateur radio is the ONLY one that can communicate or call for help.

- de Joseph 4X6KJ

- . . . –

WITH 4Z4DX IN INDIA

VU3RSB Sarah, local guard, AA4NN Joe and 4Z4DX Dov.

In January 2007 I applied for the callsign VU3DOV to the WPC and VU2RB. Then I contacted my friend IZ8CCW from the MDXC Club in Italy of which I am a member and asked him to help me design a website which would represent my activities and frequencies and a daily sked for everyone on 14.195 at 1500 GMT.
I finally left Tel Aviv for Bangalore via Delhi on the 16th of January 2007. I met my good friend Kumar VU2BGS and daughter Kiriti in Bangalore and spent the day with them, sightseeing and visiting his shack and family. On the evening of the 17^th I was at the club meeeting in the QTH of VU2LNN ,VU2LBW,VU2LX and other ham members. I met Arasu VU2UR after 15 years of his Holyland Award activity and 15 Holyland contests. I met VU2ZAP in his home.

Raj was my first QSO with India on six meters. I received from him my first VU7LD QSL.

VU2BGS and  DOV-4Z4DX and ARASU-VU2UR WITH HIS 400 SQURES  ON HIS HOLYLAND AWARD.

But the beginning was not that easy. The procurement of the license was long and tedious. I had to make my applications again and again for the license.

Well, we started our tour and headed to Mysore. We visit the palace, museum and did sightseeing, saw the big zoo by day and night. Next place was Ooty. We saw the tea factory and tea museum, rose gardens, new farms for flowers and large parks. Then went to Coimbatore and met VU2GDG, my friend Gopal. He was in VU7 and VU4 in the early 80’s. Gopal was my first QSO on 160M in 1984. We took the bus to Alleppy (the Venice of India). We met VU3TCA and took the ship for sightseeing in the rivers. In Cochin we saw the first church in India, St. Francis near Fort Cochi which Vasco de Gama first built. Later we visited the Jewish cemetery in the little Jewish town,  the place of the Jewish synagogue, Mattancherry of Kerala. We met a few Jewish families. Then we QSYed to Kovalam Beach with Krishna VU2KUC, one of the loveliest sandy beaches in the world, to meet Norbert VU2RBQ - DJ9RB. This QTH is in Lighthouse IND-121 and 25 meters above the Ocean.

Then I flew to VU7 and saw how the great hams made 100,000 QSOs from this rare island. I met the leader, Frank DL4KQ and his XYL, PA2R and his YL, PA3EWP-VU2MYH and his secretary, VU3RSB - om Sarah, AA4NN-Joe with his great setup for the low bands, F6IIT and F5CWU.

Then i picked up my baggage and boarded our train to Goa beach, rajistan State, the beautiful cities of jaipur, Pushkar, Udaipur and then to Rishikesh on the Holy Ganges river and to Indian Himalaya.

Dov 4Z4DX at Raj’s VU2ZAP Bangalore shack.

In New Delhi I was in the Indira Ghandi Museum and saw the station and hand-key of the late Rajiv Ghandi -VU2RG.

What a wonderful really memorable journey.

73, Namaste de Dov VU3DOV - 4Z4DX

ADVICE FOR WORKING IN A PILEUP by Dov Gavish 4Z4DX

Those of us who have been in the pile-ups for the recent operations from various rare places have surely noticed that not all operators behaved very well. If you are in the pile to work the DX please follow these simple advices:

First listen on the frequency to find out the callsign and where and how the DX station listens. Never, never, never ask on the stations frequency. Do not tune on or near the DX frequency

When the DX station has finished a contact give your full callsign once and quickly. Avoid calling a second time – always give the DX plenty of time to come back – he will call again if he wants people to come calling.

If the station has copied part of a call don’t call again if it is not 100% obvious that what he has copied is a part of your call. Your interest must be for the DX station to finish that contact ASAP and pick up the next caller.

If the DX calls for a specific area or number don’t call if you are not in that group. Use the time to try to find out how the DX listens – if he listens on the same frequency for several contacts or if he always moves to a new frequency and if so in what direction – that is much more useful than complaining on the DX frequency.

If the DX frequency is jammed try to locate the jammer but never any comment on the frequency. I would like to suggest that comments be made on a frequency on the opposite side of the DX listening frequency say 5 to 10 kHz away. Don’t blame any specific country even if all the trouble comes in the same language and remember that the worst jammers don’t use there own call.

If you are in the pile to make it difficult for us, remember that we will find you.

- . . . –

A CALL TO ARMS

Recently, the “harassment “ of innocent amateurs with regard to antenna installations is on the rise. More and more of our members find themselves in struggles with the local and regional authorities. Even after receiving the authorizations of radiation safety, non-interference to civil aircraft, structural correctness, etc., the amateurs are faulted by arbitrary aesthetic considerations that rule out the legality of the antenna structures on the grounds of damaging the landscape.

At the last IARC council meeting, the case of Hanan Tzabar 4Z1DZ was aired. An application to the appeals commission in Ramla caused a ruling against him on the grounds of “damaging the landscape” in spite of the fact that he already possessed all the necessary permits, including one from the city hall. His story apparently represents the present side times and possibly those to come. The IARC council knows of a few other cases.

The council intends to take care of the subject in order to bring a change to the negative attitude against us, if by means of legislation or legal precedents. The course of action has not yet been decided upon or chosen. We have received an assurance from the Ministry of Communications to aid us and support the activities to be initiated. It is clear that there will be costs, and the council will try to locate financial support.

The council has designated this activity of being of primary priority, and will hold additional urgent deliberations in order to determine a team, the tasks and goals to be achieved in this matter. In any case, the aid of the IARC membership to the council is vital and we request from anyone who can aid us by any means to do so: legal precedents, rulings, recommendations of contact people, volunteering, etc. At present we have two volunteers to lead the special team. Nominations and ways to incorporate the council in its activities will be discussed in a special session on March 20^th.

-a free translation from the minutes of the previous meeting of the IARC council as reported by Tsachy 4Z4TL.

- . . . –

IS UP AND RUNNING

It looks like Azar 4X6MI has a winner. A few months ago we gave you a preview of how the business of sending real QSL cards was being revolutionized. Well now it has become reality…

To get started, one logs into www.globalqsl.com. If you decide to register and buy your first, say, 100 QSL cards, then you download the QSL card editor. I can say that a lot of work has gone into this, and after having been frustrated by the earlier beta version (one of the joys of being a beta tester!), the present version is a pure joy to use. You simply design your own QSL card as YOU want it to be… In my case I uploaded a photo I took of my antenna tower sporting the national flag and superimposed my call letters in white. On the flip side, I uploaded a self-portrait image, printed in my personal information along with my Holyland and Maidenhead Locator squares. You have a zillion fonts to choose from. A space is left blank where the QSO information will be added. You can also choose all kinds of symbols, flags and insignia to add. The sky is the limit.

Now, the beauty of this is that at any time you can change your QSL design, as the cards are printed only when they are needed to be sent. You also upload designs for other callsigns you may happen to hold. This is the time to kindle those latent artistic talents you have.

When the time comes to start “filling out” QSL cards, you have two options… manual and uploading of an electronic ADIF log. Your reporter is the old-time paper log type, so I logged into the Global QSL site, and started the manual process. It took a while to get the hang of it, yet after a few score entries, I found that I can now enter the information just as easily (and much more legibly!) and fast as I can write ‘em out by hand.

This should really shine with you electronic log whiz-kids, where you don’t have to type in anything…. just transfer your log entries. No matter what method you use, you review your entries to make sure that they’re correct, authorize the affair, and there’s nothing left to do. The good folks at Global QSL will send out your cards to the QSL bureaus, or for a reasonable added fee, they will go direct to your contact.

How do the cards look? I personally haven’t seen how my design came out in the real world yet. (And I’m rather full of anticipation, as I’ve sent myself a card via the bureau to find out!) I have seen other cards that have come from the shop of Azar 4X6MI, and I can say that they are truly first class – thick high-gloss stock with excellent full-color on both sides. I had suggested that he make a cheaper model available on thinner stock and in black and white only, yet at this time Azar wants to go only with the high-class product, so that’s what you get!

There are all kinds of neat features built in and to be discovered… one is that if you have multiple QSOs with a station, say in a contest and on different bands, the system will automatically put up to five entries together on one QSL, so you’ll be charged for one card, even though you’re confirming five contacts. It sorts the cards by callsigns, and you can keep track of them from your desktop (also incoming cards from Global QSL). As well, you can manage up to ten secondary callsigns with different QSL designs.

The Global QSL service was just released a week before writing this (beta testing and fine-tuning has been going on since the summer). I was told that already over a hundred people from around the world have signed up, and it looks, if we can say so this early in the game, that the venture is headed for success.

I wish Azar and his team Godspeed with the project. It will be indeed interesting to see all the creative designs hams will be turning out. This should make QSLing a lot of fun.

- . . . –

That’s it for now! A beautiful Spring (and Autumn to our Southern Hemisphere readers). Get those antennas up for the Holyland Contest and let’s hear you! 73!