Kicking it off

 With sunnies

Out with my grandson breaking in a new rod of his

Nothing big but had a fun day

Our local ponds are

Loaded with sunnies, catfish and some LMB

Flyrod will be out next time

Snow Ice and Wildlife!

Angry Birds
 

Sdr ++

Currently I threw up a EFHW in the trees behind our home and setup an rtl-sdr with my laptop

May pull the trigger on a transceiver over the winter but just want to get my current radios usable and accessible after rearranging fish with a new 50gallon tank!

Going beyond

This past few months I have been deconstructing my ham station in preparation for reviving my saltwater fish experience and to clean up my overall shack. I had a lot of “projects” that I realized I just did not have the expertise to complete, nor did I really have the motivation to upgrade my test bench and skills in order to dive into them. I had an old tentec pm3a, a Heath twoer, and a Tentec century 21. All of which “worked” but needed serious TLC to get into optimal working order. In addition I had an old Icom 706 and a Yeasu FT-817 configured and actually working for satellites.

All those are gone (or going in the case of the Yeasu).  What’s left? I currently have a 2/70 groundplane mounted on the corner of my house for listening in to a little satellite stuff with my D72A ht, and also have a 2/70/23cm HT the Alinco DJG7 which will provide some entertainment from time to time.

What’s next? I’m leaning towards an sbitx v3 25 watt rig (is that QRP?). The very cool aspect is the ability to control remotely which will allow me to leave it setup by the fish tanks yet operate from my main computer. Very promising and looks like the direction I will head.

Keep plugging away, 73, KA2CZU

Soldersmoke

 Encouraging all 3 of you looking at this to check out the soldersmoke blog:

https://youtu.be/DQBojTLL7VY?si=K73i7NWnZEyIhc8h

APRS Windows Client - update Nov 1 2025

The only client I could find and use for windows is UI View 32, old as heck but it kinda works with my TH-D72A.

Kinda.

I cannot get it working in KISS mode for whatever reason, that’s my second fail as I had tried using Xastir with the D72A, had it working for a while then somehow messed up the installation and never got it working again. This seems to be a pattern with me.

The “Almost” system configurator.

Well with UI View, I do have normal mode working where I can monitor traffic and graphically display it, can interface with the D72A with the terminal but to send messages, I need to use the D72A keyboard directly. Bummer. No current documentation is out there either.

——

Update I can work this combo in standard APRS mode, since apparently UI-VEW32 does understand enough of the D72A command protocol to actually interact. On APRS Thursday I have been able to make some contacts. Been kind of enjoyable checking in on the net. The downside is its “only” packet. But still good to see all the traffic.

Delays

 Apologies for the one or 2 of you who actually follow this once active blog.

I just realized it's been totally 100% neglected since the spring. Bad on me.

Have been doing a variety of stuf chasing fish but not too too active with a change
in schedule and some various health issues that took priority.

Perhaps I can kick this off for the fall.

Raygun

 I have to put this out there: does anyone really care one iota about raygun and the failed breakdance in the Olympics? (in itself, it was a one and done event anyways)

Wemoc flies

 Went ahead and started tying some catskill flies: dark cahills and a fly called the Wemoc fly (similar but using grizzly hen tips for wings, instead of “wood duck”

I’m not the greatest Tier, but feel these are fishy enough for some back-of-the-class trout to eat.

Dusting off the Soldering Iron

 I finally decided to try my hand soldering again.

First step was some light soldering building a digital clock kit. PC board; an IC socket. Plenty of capacitors. Letting solder flow, it was fun and worked first time.

Next step was restoring a broadcast radio receiver. Recapping is not easy for a newcomer to the art, but there are web sites out to help guide.

Apple: please fix the file manager

 

Chat AI on Bing - pretty amazing

 Just tried out a new feature included in the EDGE browser of an AI powered bing tool.

I entered a brief outline of a trip to Israel that our family made in 1996, giving only sparse details about our travel from NJ to Israel.

This is what I entered:

report about my trip to Israel.

we departed from Middletown, NJ by bus to JFK airport and departed for Tel Aviv

Upon arrival we met our tour guide and spent two weeks viewing the Holy Land

Note that in fact our guide's name was David, however this is so common a name that it was just a surprising coincidence that the chat bot chose that name for our tour guide!

This is what was generated:

I have always wanted to visit Israel, the land where Jesus walked and taught. That's why I was so excited when I got the opportunity to join a group of fellow Christians on a tour of the Holy Land. In this blog post, I will share some of the highlights of our amazing trip.

We departed from Middletown, NJ by bus to JFK airport and boarded a flight to Tel Aviv. The flight was long but comfortable, and we enjoyed watching movies and chatting with each other. We arrived in Tel Aviv in the evening and were greeted by our friendly tour guide, David, who would accompany us throughout our journey.

For the next two weeks, we traveled across Israel, visiting places of historical and spiritual significance. We saw the ancient city of Jerusalem, where we walked along the Via Dolorosa, prayed at the Western Wall, and explored the Temple Mount. We also visited Bethlehem, where Jesus was born, Nazareth, where he grew up, and Capernaum, where he performed many miracles. We also went to the Sea of Galilee, where we took a boat ride and imagined Jesus walking on water and calming the storm. We also visited the Mount of Beatitudes, where he delivered the Sermon on the Mount, and the Garden of Gethsemane, where he prayed before his arrest.

One of the most memorable moments of our trip was when we visited the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which is believed to be the site of Jesus' crucifixion, burial, and resurrection. We felt a deep sense of awe and gratitude as we entered the sacred place and touched the stone where his body was laid. We also had a chance to celebrate Easter Sunday in Jerusalem, which was a very special experience. We attended a sunrise service at the Garden Tomb and sang hymns of praise and joy.

Our trip to Israel was more than just a vacation. It was a spiritual journey that brought us closer to God and to each other. We learned a lot about the history and culture of Israel, but more importantly, we felt the presence and love of Jesus in every place we visited. We came back home with a renewed faith and a deeper appreciation for the Bible. I am so thankful for this opportunity and I hope to visit Israel again someday.

FT-4 on Satellite

 Finished a process of learning and setting up Gpredict on my Mac to control my 2 radios to be used for Satellite.

After several tests, I’m getting close. Gpredict tracks Doppler on both radios and I was able to use wsjtx to drive FT-4 through FO-29’s transponder uplink 2m via the IC-706

Bad news was that although I could hear my signal on the downlink on the FT-817, that WSJTX instance did not decode anything.

Still a work in progress.

Here is my setup:

Shack Rebuild (continued)

 Got the first phase done. Not everything connected, specifically the hf digital setup, no cw keys, rotor controllers. But it’s a start

Shack Rebuild

 2022!

I never imagined getting here, especially under the surreal conditions of “work from home” and “Covid” that most in the world are experiencing.

After “operating”, limited as it was, for so long with my “shack” such that it is, I found a creep of cables, radios, computers, Walmarts, and much else that started to cramp my ability to be flexible and really know what I had, what I wanted to do, and change from one mode to the other.

My layout or a while consisted of several radio that really need work, as well as a TNC that needs configuration and cabling to be useful.  Pictured are my Ten-Tec Mighty Mite 3, as well as a Clegg “Two-er” both of which need to be checked out before possibly going on the air.

The TNC is an MFJ multi-controller which operates via putty-connection from an unpictured computer but otherwise was not connected to a current radio setup for use.

In addition to that already pictured, I have a new Ten-Tec century 21 to check out and use, a TH-D72A laying around which I was using for occasional ISS packet and a pi-noelec SDR combo for downloading satellite images.

No mention of the FT-736R which is (shudder) still up in the attic, a vintage National Radio speaker cabinet to pair with the century 21 (or whatever) and cabling for an Elk log periodic 2/70 antenna for satellite use, with corresponding az/el controllers, nor my Butternut 6BTV vertical for HF. Also not pictured was a new Ambient weather console.

All things considered, I decided it was time to “rebuild”, label and organize. Hopefully the end result will be a bit more asthetic, flexible and ergonomic.

One goal was to allow more visibility of the Redone table.

In the process, I am going to label coax and other cables for ease of use down the road:

For my own sanity and to help document this for my own enjoyment, I hope to keep this blog somewhat updated. Been very lax in posting over the years, perhaps this will be a fresh start to blogging as well!

73, KA2CZU

Country Prefix List

 HAM RADIO

INTERNATIONAL PREFIX LIST

 

PREFIX	COUNTRY	CQ-ZONE	ITU-ZONE
A2	Botswana	38	57
A3	Tonga Isl.	32	62
A4	Oman & Muscat	21	39
A5	Bhutan	22	41
A6	United Arab.Emirates	21	39
A7	Qatar	21	39
A9	Bahrain	21	39
AP t.m. AS	Pakistan	21	41
BS7	Scarborough Reef	27	50
BV	Taiwan	24	44
BV9P	Pratas	24	44
BX t.m. BZ	China	23,24	42,43,44
C2	Rep.of Nauru	31	65
C3	Andorra	14	27
C5	Gambia	35	46
C6	Bahamas	08	11
C9	Mozambique	37	53
CE	Chili	12	14,15,16
CE9, KC4	Antarctica	13	73
CEo	Easter Isl. (Paaseiland)	12	63
CEo	San Felix Isl.	12	14
CEo	Juan Fernandez Isl.	12	14
CM,CO	Cuba	08	11
CN	Morocco	33	37
CP	Bolivia	12	12,13,14
CT	Portugal	14	37
CT3	Madeira Isl.	33	36
CU	Azores Isl.	14	36
CV-CX	Uruguay	13	14
CYo	Sable Isl.	05	09
CY9	St.Paul Isl.	05	09
D2, D3	Angola	36	52
D4	Rep.of Cape Verde (Kaap Verdische)	35	46
D6	Comoros	39	53
DA t.m. DM & Y	Germany (Duitsland)	14	28
DU, DZ	Philippines	27	50
E3	Erythrea	37	48
E4	Palestina	20	39
EA t.m. EH	Spain (Spanje)	14	37
EA6 t.m. EH6	Balearic Isl. (Mallorca, Ibiza, Menorca)	14	37
EA8 t.m. EH8	Canary Isl.	33	36
EA9 t.m. EH9	Ceuta & Melilla	33	37
EI, EJ	Ireland	14	27
EK	Armenia	21	29
EL	Liberia	35	46
EP, EQ	Iran	21	40
ER	Moldova	16	29
ES	Estonia (Estland)	15	29
ET	Ethiopia	37	48
EU, EV, EW	Belarus	16	29
EX	Kyrgystan	17	30, 31
EY	Tajikistan	17	30
EZ	Turkmenistan	17	30
FA t.m. FF & TM	France	14	27
FG	Guadeloupe	08	11
FH	Mayotte	39	53
FJ, FS	French St. Martin	08	11
FK	New Caledonia	32	56
FM	Martinique	08	11
FO	French Polynesia	32	63
FOo	Clipperton Isl.	07	10
FOo	Marquesas	31	63
FOo	Austral Isl.	32	63
FP	St. Pierre & Miquelon	05	09
FR	Reunion	39	53
FR/J	Juan de Nova	39	53
FR/G	Glorioso	39	53
FR/T	Tromelin	39	53
FT8W	Crozet Isl.	39	68
FT8X	Kerguelen Isl.	39	68
FT8Z	Amsterdam & St. Paul Isl.	39	68
FW	Wallis & Futuna Isl.	32	62
FY	French Guiana	09	12
G, GX, M	England	14	27
GD, GT, MD	Isle of Man	14	27
GI, GN, MI	Northern Ireland	14	27
GJ, GH, MJ	Jersey	14	27
GM, GS, MM	Scotland	14	27
GU, GP, MU	Guernsey & Dep.	14	27
GW, GC, MW	Wales	14	27
H4	Solomon Isl.	28	51
H4o	Temotu Province	32	51
HA, HG	Hungary	14	28
HB	Switserland	14	28
HBo	Liechtenstein	14	28
HC, HD	Ecuador	10	12
HC8, HD8	Galapagos Isl.	10	12
HH	Haiti	08	11
HI	Dominican Rep.	08	11
HK, HJ	Colombia	09	12
HKoM	Malpelo Isl.	09	12
HKoS	San Andres & Providencia	07	11
HL, HM, DS	South Korea	25	44
HP, HO, 3E	Panama	07	11
HR, HQ	Honduras	07	11
HS, E2	Thailand	26	49
HV	Vatican	15	28
HZ, 7Z	Saudi Arabia	21	39
I, IA t.m. IZ	Italy	15,33	28, 37
ISo, IMo	Sardinia	15	28
J2	Djibouti	37	48
J3	Grenada	08	11
J5	Guinea Bissau	35	46
J6	St. Lucia	08	11
J7	Dominica	08	11
J8	St. Vincent	08	11
JA t.m. JS	Japan	25	45
JD1M	Minami Torishima	27	90
JD1O	Ogasawara	27	45
JT,JV	Mongolia	23	32
JW	Svalbard Isl.	40	18
JX	Jan Mayen Isl.	40	18
JY	Jordan	20	39
K, W, N, AA t.m. AK	USA	3, 4, 5	6, 7, 8
T8 KC6	West Caroline Isl. Belau	27	64
KG4	Guantanamo Bay	08	11
KH1	Baker & Howland Isl.	31	61
KH2	Guam	27	64
KH3	Johnston Isl.	31	61
KH4	Midway Isl.	31	61
KH5	Palmyra & Jarvis Isl.	31	61, 62
KH5K	Kingman Reef	31	61
KH6, KH7	Hawaii Isl.	31	61
KH7K	Kure Isl.	31	61
KH8	American Samoa	32	62
KH9	Wake Isl.	31	65
KH0	Mariana Isl.	27	64
KL7	Alaska	01	01, 02
KP1	Navassa Isl.	08	11
KP2	Virgin Isl. (Maagden Eilanden)	08	11
KP3, KP4	Puerto Rico	08	11
KP5	Desecheo Isl.	08	11
LA, LN	Norway	14	18
L, LU, LW	Argentina	13	14, 15, 16
LX	Luxembourg	14	27
LY	Lithuania (Litouwen)	15	29
LZ	Bulgaria	20	28
OA, OC	Peru	10	12
OD	Lebanon	20	39
OE	Austria (Oostenrijk)	15	28
OG, OH, OI	Finland	15	18
OHo	Aland Isl.	15	18
OJo, OHoM	Market Reef	15	18
OK, OL	Czech Republic	15	28
OM	Slovak Republic	15	28
ON t.m. OT	Belgium	14	27
OX	Greenland	40	05, 75
OY	Faroe Isl.	14	18
OZ	Denmark	14	28
P2	Papua New Guinea	28	51
P4	Aruba	09	11
P5	North Korea	25	44
PA, PB, PD, PE, PI	The Netherlands	14	27
PJ2, 4, 9	Neth. Antilles Bonaire, Curacao	09	11
PJ7, 5, 8	St. Maarten, Saba, St. Eustatius	08	11
PP t.m. PY	Brazil	11	12, 13, 14 ,15
PPo ,PYoF	Fernando de Noronha	11	13
PPo, PYoS	St. Peter & St Paul's Rocks	11	13
PPo PYoT	Trindade & Martim Vaz. Isl.	11	15
PZ	Surinam	09	12
R1FJ*	Franz Josef Land	40	75
R1MV*	Malyj Vysotskij Isl.	16	29
S2	Bangladesh	22	41
S5	Slovenia	15	28
S7	Seychelles	39	53
S9	Sao Tome & Principe	36	47
So	Western Sahara	33	46
SA t.m. SM	Sweden	14	18
SN t.m. SR, 3Z	Poland	15	28
ST	Sudan	34	48
SU	Egypt	34	38
SV, SZ, J4	Greece (Griekenland)	20	28
SV5, J45	Dodecanese (Rhodos)	20	28
SV9, J49	Crete	20	28
SV2A, SY	Mount Athos	20	28
T2	Tuvalu	31	65
T3o	West Kiribati	31	65
T31	Cent. Kiribati	31	62
T32	East Kiribati	31	61, 62, 63
T33	Banaba Isl.	31	65
T5, 6O	Somalia	37	48
T7	San Marino	15	28
T9	Bosnia - Herzegovina	15	28
TA, TB, TC	Turkey (TA1 behoort tot Europa)	20	39
TF	Iceland	40	17
TG, TD	Guatemala	07	11
TI, TE	Costa Rica	07	11
TI9	Cocos Isl.	07	11
TJ	Cameroon	36	47
TK	Corsica	15	28
TL	Centr. African Rep.	36	47
TN	Congo	36	52
TR	Gabon	36	52
TT	Chad	36	47
TU	Ivory Coast	35	46
TY	Benin	35	46
TX	Chesterfield Islands	39	53
TZ	Mali	35	46
UA,1,3, 4, 6, RA - RZ	European Russia	16	19, 29, 30
UA2, RW2	Kaliningrad	15	29
UA-UI,8,9, o, RA - RZ	Asiatic Russia	16, 17, 18, 19	21, 27, 30, 33
UJ t.m. UM	Uzbekistan	17	30
UN t.m. UQ	Kazakhstan	17	29,30,31
UR t.m. UZ EM, EO	Ukraine	16	29
V2	Antigua & Barbuda	08	11
V3	Belize	07	11
V4	St. Kits, Nevis	08	11
V5	Namibia	38	57
V6	Frenche State of Micronesia	27	65
V7	Marshall Isl.	31	65
V8	Brunei	28	54
VE, VC, VO, VY, CI	Canada	01 t.m. 05	02 t.m. 09
VK	Australia	29, 30	55, 58, 59
VK9C	Cocos Keeling Isl.	29	54
VK9L	Lord Howe Isl.	30	60
VK9M	Mellish Reef	30	56
VK9N	Norfolk Isl.	32	60
VK9W	Willis Isl.	30	55
VK9X	Christmas Isl.	29	54
VKo	Heard Isl.	39	68
VKo	Macquarie Isl.	30	60
VP2E	Anguilla	08	11
VP2M	Montserrat	08	11
VP2V	Brit. Virgin Isl.	08	11
VP5	Turks & Caicos Isl.	08	11
VP6	Pitcairn Isl.	32	63
VP8	Falkland Isl.	13	16
VP8, LU	South Georgia Isl.	13	73
VP8, LU	South Orkney Isl.	13	73
VP8, LU	South Sandwich Isl.	13	73
VP8, LU,HFo, CE9	South Shetland Isl.	13	73
VP9	Bermuda	05	11
VQ9	Chagos	39	41
VS6, VR2	Hong Kong	24	44
VU	India	22	41
VU4	Andaman & Nicobar Isl.	26	49
VU7	Laccadive Isl.	22	41
XA t.m. XI	Mexico	06	10
XA4 t.m. XI4	Revilla Gigedo	06	10
XT	Burkino Fasso	35	46
XU	Kampuchea	26	49
XW	Laos	26	49
XX9	Macao	24	44
XZ, XY	Myanmar ( Burma)	26	49
YA	Afghanistan	21	40
YB t.m. YH	Indonesia	28	51, 52, 53,54
YI	Iraq	21	39
YJ	Vanuatu (New Hebrides)	32	56
YK	Syria	20	39
YL	Latvia (Letland)	15	29
YN	Nicaragua	07	11
YO t.m. YR	Romania	20	28
YS	ElSalvador	07	11
YU, YT, YZ, 4N,4O	Yugoslavia	15	28
YV t.m. YY	Venezuela	09	12
YVo	AvesIsl.	08	11
Z2	Zimbabwe	38	53
Z3	Macedonia	15	28
ZA	Albania	15	28
ZB2	Gibraltar	14	37
ZC4	British Sov. Base on Cyprus	20	39
ZD7	St.Helena	36	66
ZD8	Ascension Isl.	36	66
ZD9	Tristan Da Cunha & Gough Isl.	38	66
ZF	Cayman Isl.	08	11
ZK1N	Norht Cook Isl.	32	62
ZK1S	South Cook Isl.	32	62
ZK2	Niue	32	62
ZK3	Tokelau	31	62
ZL, ZM	New Zealand	32	60
ZL7	Chatham Isl.	32	60
ZL8	Kermadec Isl.	32	60
ZL9	Auckland & Campbell Isl.	32	60
ZP	Paraguay	11	14
ZR t.m. ZU	South Africa	38	57
ZS8	Marion & Pr. Edward Isl.	38	57
1A	Sov. Mil. Order of Malta	15	28
1S, 9Mo	Spratly Isl.	26	50
3A	Monaco (Monte Carlo)	14	27
3B6, 3B7	Agalega & St. Brandon	39	53
3B8	Mauritius	39	53
3B9	Rodrigues Isl.	39	53
3C	Equatorial Guinea	36	47
3Co	Annobon Isl. (Pagalu Isl.).	36	52
3D2	Fiji Isl.	32	56
3D2C	Conway Reef	32	56
3D2R	Rotuma Isl.	32	56
3DAo, 3D6	Swaziland	38	57
3V	Tunesia	33	37
3W, XV	Vietnam	26	49
3X	Guinea	35	46
3Y5	Bouvet	38	67
3Yo	Peter 1 Isl.	12	72
4K, 4J	Azerbaidjan	21	29
4L	Georgia	21	29
4P t.m. 4S	Srilanka	22	41
4U1ITU	I.T.U. Geneve	14	28
4U1UN	Hq. United Nations	05	08
4W	East Timor	28	54
4X, 4Z	Israel	20	39
5A	Libya	34	38
5B, C4, P3	Cyprus	20	39
5H, 5I	Tanzania	37	53
5N, 5O	Nigeria	35	46
5R, 5S	Madagascar	39	53
5T	Mauritania	35	46
5U	Niger	35	46
5V	Togo	35	46
5W	Western Samoa	32	62
5X	Uganda	37	48
5Y, 5Z	Kenya	37	48
6V, 6W	Senegal	35	46
6Y	Jamaica	08	11
7O	People's Rep. Of Yemen	21	39
7P	Lesotho	38	57
7Q	Malawi	37	53
7T t.m. 7Y	Algeria	33	37
8P	Barbados	08	11
8Q	Maldives	22	41
8R	Guyana	09	12
9A	Croatia	15	28
9G	Ghana	35	46
9H	Malta	15	28
9J,9I	Zambia	36	53
9K	Kuwait	21	39
9L	Sierra Leone	35	46
9M2, 4	West Malaysia	28	54
9M6, 8	East Malaysia	28	54
9N	Nepal	22	42
9Q, 9T	Rep. of Congo	36	52
9U	Burundi	36	52
9V	Singapore	28	54
9X	Rwanda	36	52
9Y, 9Z	Trinidad & Tobago	09	11