Showing posts with label KD8BIG. Show all posts
Showing posts with label KD8BIG. Show all posts

Monday, July 17, 2023

I’m back…😎

 It has been a long while.

In 2015 I got caught up in the social media nightmare. I created a Facebook page and a few groups for amateur radio. In the beginning, it was fun and enjoyable. After a couple of years the shine went away. Then the world of politics took over social media and it hasn’t been the same.


I’ve left it behind and decided to come back here.

I’m not sure how long I’ll use this platform. I do have a dot com account that has been under construction for several years. I should get it completed before the end of the year.


As for content. I plan to share my adventures in amateur radio and other hobbies that I’m active in.


Stay tune…

Monday, May 11, 2015

Field Station (1)

Today I spent some time working on my field station.
I'm hoping to get to to Pere Marquette Beach in the next few weeks and see what kind of DX I can work.
I also plan on doing several night time field setups this summer.

As of right now I'm not sure which antenna I will use, I leaning towards my MFJ-1798 which will operate 10 bands -- 75/80, 40, 30, 20, 17, 15, 12, 10, 6 and 2 Meters.
The MFJ-1798 is a great antenna that requires no ground or radials!
Making it a great field antenna.
I hope to work your station.

As for what radio I will be using, I will be using my Yaesu FT- 897D.

I will be posting more info as I plan with dates.

I hope to add your station to the log book. 

Wednesday, January 14, 2015

Michigan: Contact Governor Snyder Now and Urge Him to Sign SB 789 into Law

It is imperative that you contact Governor Rick Snyder (R) today and urge him to sign Senate Bill 789 into law. Anti-gun organizations are attempting to use their money and influence to force Governor Snyder to veto this important pro-gun legislation.  It is important that you contact Governor Snyder and respectfully urge him to stand up for your Second Amendment rights and sign SB 789 before Friday, January 16th.

Senate Bill 789, which passed the legislature by significant margins, seeks to create a more efficient and uniform concealed pistol licensing process for all Michiganders. The NRA, along with other pro-Second Amendment organizations and numerous law-enforcement officials, support the signing of SB 789.

Last year, SB 789 proceeded through the legislative process without serious opposition. The bill was posted for public consumption. Hearings were held to allow for public testimony. Stakeholder concerns were voiced and their opinions were addressed. Now, only after the bill has passed the legislature and is sitting on the Governor’s desk, groups that were given nearly a year to publicly voice their concerns are attacking this legislation based on misinformation about its content.

Over the past two weeks, numerous media outlets and anti-gun organizations have attacked SB 789 based on a false assertion that the bill requires concealed pistol licenses to be issued to persons subject to personal protection orders for domestic violence or stalking. This statement and belief, whether genuine or manufactured, grossly misrepresents the contents of the bill and current Michigan law regarding personal protection orders. Simply put, if an individual is a domestic-abuser and has been charged or convicted as such, or a judge has made a determination that the individual should not be allowed to purchase or possess a firearm, that person will be prohibited from receiving a concealed pistol license under SB 789. No exceptions.

Furthermore, these anti-gun organizations are purposely omitting the fact that SB 789 was written to provide enhanced protections for victims of domestic violence. Under the proposed law, an individual who petitions the court system for a personal protection order automatically qualifies for a temporary, emergency concealed pistol license. The NRA advocated for this provision and supports it based on the belief that victims of these heinous acts should be able to avail themselves of all legally available methods to ensure their personal safety and the safety of threatened family members. 

We hope that you will join the NRA in supporting SB 789. Please contact Governor Snyder and respectfully urge him to sign SB 789 into law. Let him know that the opinions of out-of-state, anti-gun elitists are not welcome, nor are they appreciated in Michigan.

Governor Rick Snyder
517-373-3400
Email

Saturday, July 5, 2014

World War II Field Phone

I received this U.S. Army Field Phone from a friend. 

We are thinking it is WWII.

Thoughts?







Tuesday, June 24, 2014

Quote for Today

I found this quote many years ago in a family members bible that was given to me. 

Nothing marked in it. No personal notes.

Just a book marker that read this quote. 


"Be true to yourself, help others, make each day your masterpiece, make friendship a fine art, drink deeply from good books - especially the Bible, build a shelter against a rainy day, give thanks for your blessings and pray for guidance every day."


Saturday, June 21, 2014

Tubes

I bought this entire kit of tubes for $10.00 dollars.


I know, what to do with them? I have many projects in mind.

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Get on the Air with HF Digital

I received my "Get on the Air with HF Digital" today. Lots of great info.

Friday, March 7, 2014

DX Code of Conduct

I ( KD8BIG ) am a supporter of the. DX CODE OF CONDUCT

I will listen, and listen, and then listen again before calling.
I will only call if I can copy the DX station properly.
I will not trust the DX cluster and will be sure of the DX station's callsign before calling.
I will not interfere with the DX station nor anyone calling and will never tune up on the DX frequency or in the QSX slot.
I will wait for the DX station to end a contact before I call.
I will always send by full call sign.
I will call and then listen for a reasonable interval. I will not call continuously.
I will not transmit when the DX operator calls another call sign, not mine.
 will not transmit when the DX operator queries a call sign not like mine.
I will not transmit when the DX station requests geographic areas other than mine.
When the DX operator calls me, I will not repeat my call sign unless I think he has copied it incorrectly.
I will be thankful if and when I do make a contact.
I will respect my fellow hams and conduct myself so as to earn their respect.

Monday, January 27, 2014

KD8BIG Update

Hello all,

I hope for those of you in the Mid-West USA have enjoyed the winter this year.
I have recorded 82.4 inches of snow at my home.
Just a couple of inches difference from the local airport about 7 miles to the South West.

Sorry for the lack of post.
I've been dealing with health issues for the last several weeks and have not been on the computer as much as I have ben on the iPad.
I can blog from the iPad but it is difficult for me to get comfortable and the touch screen is so sensitive. Having severe tremors dose not help either. 
I seem to spend more time using Twitter and Facebook on the iPad.

I hope to be posting more regularly as I get over this cold/flu.

Best Regards
Mark de KD8BIG

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Horns and Booms

Gabriel, is that you?

It is 3:49am January 22nd and I woke up to my beagle growling. At first I thought she was having a dream, then it saw her looking out the window.
I heard a horn, like a train horn from outside. I looked out several windows all sides of the house and could not determine the direction of the horn other than from the sky.
A half hour after the horn a loud boom came from under the house. It was a unique low tone boom that shook the house and awoke my daughter.
Then the horn started again for about 2 minutes.

Mark Strait
Amateur Radio Operator
Call Sign  (KD8BIG)
Muskegon, Michigan

Saturday, June 1, 2013

Deluxe CB Radio

You have to love it when you are out hitting garage sales and flea markets.
I have come across many kinds of sellers. 
Today I met an arrogant SOB to say the least.
I was looking at an old phonograph player/stereo made by Zenith.  He gave me the idiot speech, telling me it was an antique worth a thousand dollars and was willing to let it go for half, 500 bucks FIRM!!
As I was shaking my head and leaving something had caught my eye, a Kenwood TS-530S.
I walked over to it, picked it up and the guy told me it was a Kenwood Deluxe CB radio. LOL
I asked him what he wanted for it and he said 50 bucks! He also said, “I do not know if it works because his police scanner antenna would not work with it”.
I thought about how he treated me on the Zenith and said, bummer, I only have ten dollars.
He said……..SOLD!!!!!!!!!
WOW!!!!
 Now to hook it up and see what I have.

Sunday, May 19, 2013

KD8BIG "Places to Visit"

Being an Amateur Radio Operator I have experienced meeting so many people on-line.
I'm referring to sites like Twitter, Facebook, Skype, Ham Radio Nation, CQ Friends etc.
One of the cool things about being on the internet is the photos that are sent to me.
So, I decided to add a new Label on my Amateur Radio Blog (http://kd8big.blogspot.com/ )
titled "Places to Visit"
Many of the photos are sent to me via
Twitter, Facebook, Skype, Ham Radio Nation, CQ Friends etc. (KD8BIG)
If I post a photo that is copyrighted by you and you do not want me to post it please let me know
and I will remove it.

Enjoy the blog~
73 de KD8BIG Mark Strait.

Saturday, August 25, 2012

Mountain Man of Amateur Radio.

West Michigan's Amateur Radio Mountain Man
KD8BIG- Mark Strait

Sunday, March 11, 2012

Amateur Radio QRP on Facebook

Come and join in the conversation or just take notes if you like.
A new Facebook page, Amateur Radio QRP
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Amateur-Radio-QRP/242560105830171

QRP operation means transmitting at reduced power levels while aiming to maximize one's effective range while doing so.

Description
Most amateurs use approximately 100 watts of power, and in some parts of the world like the US, can use up to 1500 watts. QRP enthusiasts contend that this is not always necessary, and doing so wastes power, increases the likelihood of causing interference to nearby televisions, radios, and telephones and, for United States' amateurs is incompatible with FCC Part 97 rule, which states that one must use "the minimum power necessary to carry out the desired communications."

VHF/UHF Antenna

I’m looking to purchase one of the following?

CUSHCRAFT A270-10S BEAM 5ELE EA.

A270-6S 2M/440 DUBAND BEAM 3 EL. EA BAND

DB-218SAT VHF/UHF OSCAR LINK SYSTEM

Any thoughts?
73 de KD8BIG facebook
https://www.facebook.com/pages/KD8BIG/165613683505542

Thursday, March 8, 2012

KD8BIG

The last two weeks have been difficult for me.
I think I am over the rough patch for now and hope to get back to regular postings.

Yesterday I received a phone call from one of the W8ZHO Club directors; he had asked if I would be interested if I would like to be NCS once a month. I accepted the offer so now I will be NCS for the W8ZHO 2 meter net every third Wednesday of the month.

Other than that I have not done anything on the radio except some listening here and there. I hope to get back into the DX swing soon.
I am also considering eQSL, LoTW and others that are available. I will be looking into these this week and next before deciding what to do.

Saturday, November 19, 2011

KD8BIG / jinglemonster

I really love it when a fellow blogger finds my site. It is even more gratifying when they ask me to help promote their site.
Their Blog is located in my blog list~ Check them out.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
Hi,

I came across your blog, KD8BIG, while reading another radio blog. It’s a really cool site. Nice work!
I help run a blog on a jingles website, where we do have plans to regularly feature different radio stations. You can check out our first featured radio station here.
Since we do share a common interest for radio, I was wondering if you could help us out by putting a link on your site? We can return a link to yours if you'd like?
Please let me know if you’re interested.
Cheers!
www.jinglemonster.com.au
http://jinglemonster.com.au/our-blog/

Friday, November 11, 2011

VETERANS DAY 2011


"To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country's service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations."

My Stamp Collecting Blog

Counter Added January 1, 2011

free counters

HOW TO READ PROPAGATION NUMBERS

The A index [ LOW is GOOD ]

  • 1 to 6 is BEST
  • 7 to 9 is OK
  • 11 or more is BAD

Represents the overall geomagnetic condition of the ionosphere ("Ap" if averaged from the Kp-Index) (an average of the eight 3-hour K-Indices) ('A' referring to amplitude) over a given 24 hour period, ranging (linearly) typically from 1-100 but theoretically up to 400.

A lower A-Index generally suggests better propagation on the 10, 12, 15, 17, & 20 Meter Bands; a low & steady Ap-Index generally suggest good propagation on the 30, 40, 60, 80, & 160 Meter Bands.

SFI index [ HIGH is GOOD ]

  • 70 NOT GOOD
  • 80 GOOD
  • 90 BETTER
  • 100+ BEST

The measure of total radio emissions from the sun at 10.7cm (2800 MHz), on a scale of 60 (no sunspots) to 300, generally corresponding to the sunspot level, but being too low in energy to cause ionization, not related to the ionization level of the Ionosphere.

Higher Solar Flux generally suggests better propagation on the 10, 12, 15, 17, & 20 Meter Bands; Solar Flux rarely affects the 30, 40, 60, 80, & 160 Meter Bands.

K index [ LOW is GOOD ]

  • 0 or 1 is BEST
  • 2 is OK
  • 3 or more is BAD
  • 5 is VERY VERY BAD

The overall geomagnetic condition of the ionosphere ("Kp" if averaged over the planet) over the past 3 hours, measured by 13 magnetometers between 46 & 63 degrees of latitude, and ranging quasi-logarithmically from 0-9. Designed to detect solar particle radiation by its magnetic effect. A higher K-index generally means worse HF conditions.

A lower K-Index generally suggests better propagation on the 10, 12, 15, 17, & 20 Meter Bands; a low & steady Kp-Index generally suggest good propagation on the 30, 40, 60, 80, & 160 Meter Bands.

Terms of Service

[In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit, for research and/or educational purposes. This constitutes 'FAIR USE' of any such copyrighted material.]
I am not responsible for any thing that happens to your mental health, computer and all personal property because you visited my site.
This site is a collection of some things sent to me by e-mail, obtained from other blogs and the internet. If there is a picture or quote that is copyrighted to you let me know and I will remove your item .
Thoughts expressed in my blog are just that . I give My Opinion on the many events, products and how too, reported by the media and other web-sites.
Do not use this blog site to obtain weather events or disasters information. What I post may not be correct. Always get information from the proper media, weather (NWS)(NOAA)
Pacific Tsunami Warning Center and USGS sites