Many due to Drew (W8MHV) who shares the next visitor submit:
by Drew (W8MHV)
I journey to Southeast Asia annually and normally have just a few weeks in Thailand, however this 12 months we deliberate on an extended keep. My XYL (N8MHV) has household in Thailand and we personal a rental in downtown Bangkok. This 12 months I used to be intent on getting my Thai ham license; I’ve by no means beforehand been licensed there.
You may be shocked to know that Thailand doesn’t make it simple for an informal American customer to be awarded a ham license, regardless that the nation has a bilateral settlement with the US on licensing.
For starters, you should have a visa for a protracted keep. A customer can keep in Thailand for 30 days with no visa, and I’ve at all times restricted my keep accordingly. However this 12 months we stayed for of two months and getting a visa was obligatory. That wasn’t particularly tough as soon as my Thai-speaking spouse helped determine the required paperwork. In Thailand my spouse’s calls to authorities places of work led to a contact with the Radio Newbie Society of Thailand (RAST). As soon as I joined the group, they helped push via the applying and award of the license.
The RAST Secretary whose nickname is Prime was a really nice assist. I felt like this was an enormous achievement as there are fewer than 1,000 ham licensees with HF privileges in a rustic of about 70-million.
QRP working from anyplace in Southeast Asia requires nice endurance. It’s because should you function in a DX location, then everybody you’re employed is DX to you, as by definition there are few if any native stations!
I introduced my newly-acquired Elecraft KH1 for on-air use. Its tiny measurement made it simple to pack for abroad journey. It labored flawlessly, however the built-in whip antenna was far much less helpful than a 20.5 foot random wire with counterpoise I included in my package.
In my twelfth flooring rental noise ranges had been horrible—sometimes S7, however on the high of the constructing on the twenty fourth flooring there’s a backyard the place the noise ranges had been a manageable S3. See the photograph above.
I additionally operated from an island within the Gulf of Thailand at a resort and noise ranges there have been much more quiet, as you’ll anticipate. Additionally, this was a snug working location because the photograph reveals.
Throughout my keep propagation situations had been poor largely and I struggled to work any stations. A typical instance is my closing evening in Bangkok I repeatedly referred to as a station in Hong Kong whose sign was about S5, however I by no means acquired a solution. It was in regards to the closest station I heard, however the sign path was about the identical as the space between New York Metropolis and Caracas, Venezuela.
I’ve operated from different Asian places with QRP radios many instances and the outcomes have diverse, mainly relying on the sorts of antenna I might erect. Typically it has been lonely, different instances management of an enormous pileup has been a problem.
Lastly, just a few ideas in regards to the KH1.
It’s an unparalleled performer for its measurement. It has most options you’ll need and its ergonomics are good. The weakest level was the paddle set, and since returning, I’ve changed them with the KM4CFT aftermarket set. That stated, in my journey to Thailand subsequent 12 months, I believe I’ll take a KX2. It gives just a few extra options at a small improve in packing measurement.
Thanks for listening es 73 de W8MHV
