International Code-Ham Club is only in my mind. The purpose is to safeguard morse code internationally. The club draws it's own syllabus for a certain profiency and conduct its own test to those who want to be the members. The ICHC also could produce books and other publications, sell ham radio equipments, and open hostels throughout the world. Members enjoy 25-30 percent discount for all ICHC products.

The ICHC conducts free morse code class to amateurs and non-amateurs. Those who pass CW at 5wpm can apply for membership. Since the world is looking at the USA as the Godfather, I think somebody out there should think about it.

NOW AND BEFORE - Has everything gone a complete change ? Even in the age where public sex and nudity is no more a taboo, there are still people who hold the old tradition and ethics. In USA the Amish and Mormon are still away from the mainstream soceity. The progress in technology has yet to wait for the birth of androids. Before androids become dominant in numbers, human beings do not change much. Their physiology and emotional makeup are still the same. 

Looking at MARTS before licence B and MARTS of today the make up of it's members is the same. They are human beings. But what is happening inside it looks to be different. In the good old days there were not much quarrels. AGM were places and time for eyeball. People had fun. On the other hand today MARTS's AGM is the time to throw dissatisfaction, even a near brawl had nearly taken place. One of the reasons is that people are smarter today. They question things, splitting hairs, dissecting and microscopic observation of what's going on. The usual item of focus is financial. Before the members did not ask much questions. If asked people would accept the answer amicably. I heard the recent meeting had a problem on accounting.

The basic of accounting is to record all transactions; input and output. They call them debit and credit. All documents should be well kept. Expenditures must abide by the rules; what are allowed and what are forbiden, the maximum amount, the requirement for approval, quotations, etc. Every cent must be accounted for. Clarity in the statement of account to the members would reduce the chance of being attacked. Though computer records can help, the hard copy stuffs must be there. There must be an account book, receipts, local orders and all documents. Keep them away from rats and white ants.

Now people are more critical. Before life was not so hectic. Before we ask our mother to look for ouer spouse. Now we get the chance to test run our spose. Before MARTS counsil members were young. Now those use to be counsil members are waiting to visit the Black Hole.

SURELY THE AUTHORITY WILL NOT TAKE THE BLAME - Our neighbor somewhat lodge a complaint about 9W2 stations causing disturbances to their repeater. We were asked whether 146.390 is one of our repeaters. But that is their repeater frequency. We don't know what exactly had happened. But our boys should remember not to point our antenna to their repeaters and use their repeater among ourselves. We can talk to them using their repeaters but not to monopolise it for ourselves.  Also what had happened on 20 meters was a station, 9M4G, was heared to call CQ. This callsign itself  is already funny. Is it a club or a repeater  ? It should not be 'ikut suka' callsign. 'Ikut suka' means no systematic way of running an organization. Can this callsign be used as a personal callsign ? 

Last time I was the only one who said 'sekarang macam-macam boleh jadi' but now many others have said the same thing. The worst is soon to happen. It had already happened recently but not by the Malaysian. There was a quarrel over the usage of a frequency. Two stations were claiming the frequency belong to them each. WHY ? I am sure these are no-code guys, the newcomers who do not know the proper SOP. I say so because old hams were not heard quarreling over this matter because they usually would listen first before calling CQ and asked whether the frequency is in used. If after calling and suddenly he hears someone talking, he would quickly back off.

The above two cases happened. Do you think the authority will take the responsibility ? Look at the happenings in the world of Malaysian politics today, you can only see fingers all over pointing away at other people. Even the broom donator pointed his finger at other people when all of his brooms disappear.

UBUNTU - Starting Ubuntu on my own is just like CW without any help. My first sight of UBUNTU is it is very ugly, unlike Windows. I did not install it right when it came to network stuff. Then when I run it the DOS like screen came up. It mentioned the word 'sudo'. This is my first time hearing this word. Ubuntu itself sonds strange, now the sudo. No windows. No icons.

Those of you learning new things like CW for the first time will find it difficult as well. We need to do some work. We got to organize ourselves and do the planning especially on time management. 

Besides reading I have to look for people with UBUNTU's experience. Yet I have to do much on my own. Those who had passed the morse test had to struggle very hard themselves. I believe if we do it we will be successful.

QTH AND LOCATION - QTH is a CW code and location is to represent the place we stay. Because QTH is being used by many in phone, the world generally accept its usage. But today many hams are using location instead of QTH. Recently I heard mobile stations using QTH to indicate current location. So every other time the 'QTH' changed. One minute the QTH is in Alor Star, another minute QTH is in Pendang etc. In the course of the communication the QTH changes more than 10 times. Now, imagine you are mobiling on HF and talking to one DX station; are you going to tell him that your QTH is Alor Star, then Pendang, then Gurun ? GOD he will get confuse, very confuse. The persons who used the Q-code may be correct but out of so many years in hamming this is the first time I heard a mobile QTH. If you have been working DX stations, you don't hear a person's QTH changes from place to place.

I do not say it is wrong. But as you know Malaysia's tradition is changing to 'Malaysia Boleh'. Now we hear QRX when a person sign, QSL mode report as F1A, J3E etc instead of SSB or CW, 9M2 and 9M4 for club stations. If you choose to use QTH to tell your current location while mobiling by all mean go ahead.

The conservative is urged to restrain himself from using codes with new meanings but to follow tradition.

MOBILE AND PORTABLE

I have never expect such a question would be brought up. But it did. My description here will be base on what was use to be not what it should be. Last time a radio amateur licence was issued to a person to be operated at a given address, meaning you cannot operate anywhere else. This gave rise to an issue of a person moving away from the present address momentarily or permanently. If a person's location has changed permanently he should request for the change of  address.  Legal or otherwise, it has been a practice that when a person is not operating from his house (as in address) he used the word portable after his callsign. The portable is to indicate that he is somewhere else not from his home. Portable is as good as the base station but only at different address.

If a person wanted to put a station on his car, wagon, or a caravan he must apply for a mobile licence. The plate's number will be wriiten in the mobile document. He cannot not operate in another car. A person mobiling though at a different location is doing the communication while mobiling. He is using a mobile station. A station cannot be  mobile and  portable at the same time.

Then more things came up and more terms were used. The term temporary mobile is used when a person going mobiling stopped somewhere for a cup of coffee or to a rest room. I think those new terms were invented just for the sake of convenience.

Aeronautical and maritime mobile are used by persons given permission to set up the stations. If you go on a ship, you cannot talk using maritime mobile. You need to ask the permission of the captain to operate the radio but you cannot use your own callsign. You need to get permission from the relevant authority.

Carrying handies like cowboys and operate everywhere used to be barred by the authority.

Today the Malaysians are very fortunate and lucky because the authority does not address the issues of mobile stations.

Usage of QRX -  QRX means 'I will call you again at...' or 'When will you call me again'. You usually say 'QRX one ( one second or one minute )....QRX 15 minutes I am going to make a cup of coffee..".  Some literature defines QRX as 'Hold on a minute, I will be right back". The Wikipedia difines it as "Hold on a minute, I will be right back..".  The Cylopedia.com has a similar meaning.  So is nodework encylopedia.com .QRX does not mean 'I am going QRT but I am not closing down the station'. In fact on phone several essays suggeste that it  is better not to use codes made for CW. If you want to sign just say you want to sign. You can monitor after signing. You can also go to fish market after signing. If you pull the big switch then you switch off your station. Sometimes you say '..see you again further down the log..'. Log can mean the logbook. His station will be the last station when you contact him. Then there will be another last station and last and last; further down the log. Remember it will be better for you to mention QRX followed by the time frame. If you say 'QRX 10 seconds..." you must call the station you are contacting in 10 seconds time. Of course plus-minus 10 seconds.  If you are not sure how long, you can say "Please QRX for a few minutes, I got a land line..." or "QRX for a while, I'll be back after I finish my job" . Other words which you can use is 'please stand-by','hold on'. Or you can say ' I am signing but I will be monitoring'.  Sadly enough now 9M2s are using QRX to mean QRT and Temporary QRT.  QRT does not mean 'closing down the station'. It means '...stop sending..'. Your radio can still be on. But if you pull the big switch, your radio is off. DO READ SEVERAL ARTICLES CAREFULLY BEFORE PREACHING WITH CERTAINTY.

WHAT ON EARTH IS HAPPENING ? - A Minister is called 'Mat Rempit'. Bad people are given attention and rewarded. Blame game among the top politicians, and it is getting worse. Illegal satelite disks are every where. Prices spiralled. Broom for present. You know even zakat money was not spared. It was used for politics and personal expenses.

Is this due to the global warming ?  The heat might have affected the brain causing some imbalances in judgment faculty and making value system decayed. People refuse to be accountable and reject responsibility. Ham radio which was once a hobby is now becoming a lucrative trade. Though any misdeed was pointed to the oganization in charge, no one will want to bear it. The disease penetrates the political parties as well. 

Read every newspaper in Malaysia and almost all would mention the word 'arrogance'. Political people, and head of government departments could not run away from such accusation of being 'arrogance'. Persons with power are usually arrogant. Chaos cuts across human flatforms.

Once upon a time a holly place like a mosque is highly respected. Today young boys steal it's properties and demage some structures. Desrespect of shrines, holly places, laws and regulations, and leaderships destroy our human values. Big efforts to instill understanding and respect of human life and welfare do not show sign of effectiveness. 

Imagine when those characters come to radio. I hope politicians do not politicise ham radio and people do not seek political leverage to gain something. Using a repeater by political body and disallow the others from using it is one of the example. Arranging political campaign using ham radio is another. Rude remarks by persons who hide their identity and the failure of authority to intercept the culprits added up to the confusion.

In actuality a good but unpopular work can be carried out with ease if tacts and smiles are used ; a police officer can say with a smile "Sorry, sir, I am just doing my duty". Carrying out a duty to enforce a law is something which has to be done and will not create hatred if it is done properly. If the authority is too kind and prefer to exercise its humane principal, it is better just to abolish the RAE. And let us declare that every happenings, funny or not, is a norm in today's world. 

The hams and the authority should  ponder  and see whether we have any value left. Old hams must not expect any respects from anybody. You are just an ordinary man. If holly places, rules of law, and leaders are not respected, what do you expect. The authority should not expect people to fear its warning when even God's house is plundered.

PSE SLOW DOWN -  There are still many old hams around the world. Hearing ability declines, and memory deteriorate.  On the other hand newer hams are younger people with good reflexes, the neuro-mascular co-ordination is quick and the hearings are in good shape. The problem with the younger people is that they tend to give their name just 'Mad Kamal'. 'Mat Kamal' does not sound so strange as compared to 'Votosky' or 'Gutternberg'. But to the European or Japanese 'Mat Kamal' is a strange name.

An amateur does not use a long name. 'Mal','Ki','Lok' or 'Mad' is shorter. Even then you have to spell your name slowly and if possible repeat it 2 or 3 time. Do not make assumption that among the local stations quicky is not a problem. You should know that AM and SSB are at stake when a far distance lightning strikes. QRN can hamper good copy. Hence slowing down helps alot. So please slow down when giving your name.

If you insist that you can do whatever you want then nobody can stop you. Do what you want and say whatever you like.

THE RIGHT TO BE A MORON - There is no act of law to stop anybody to be a moron. If anybody prefer to be a moron let him be. To be fair , a stupid person or any moron should not ask the other guys to be like him. Esteem problem person with an autocratic mind would not be able to control himself when he feels very low and inept. In the West quarrel over the air was due to self-esteem problem. It has repeatedly been said that ham radio did not start in Malaysian jungle. It started in the West and it is given to the international community. Though a person is encouraged to learn English, it does not stop the non-English speaking people from enjoying it. If you still cannot learn English yet you have a strong desire to work DX then go CW. The behaviour to pass remark when people speak English is interfering in other people's affair. Of course we are not born English, neither do we born with Western products and inventions. Ham radio does not come together with us. Don't use it because it is Western. So are the rest with other  western inventions. A moron wrapped with western dress and culture and eat western food, take western medicine thinks that he can convert all those to Malay just by talking Malay. If a person detests Bush cursing him in Bahasa make the person a greater moron. Go and fight America with a parang and a kapak.

If Mandarin or dialects are spoken, what actions can be taken according to what act in the regulation ? Within the near future younger generation of Malaysians will be able to converse and write in Mandarin and probably Tamil. You want to wage a holly war against it ? Does speak Malay make you more Malay and you become a good and respectable person ? 

It will be to harsh to say that if one cannot understand English one should not be a ham. You are lucky the MCMC introduces paper in Bahasa for RAE. For many decades RAE was held in English and earlier not even in objective format.

No wonder some industries reject candidates from certain institutions just because of the poor performance during the job interview. And as for the work attitudes they do not want the local people.

In the recent SPM result there are many students with good results but merely obtained a 7 in English. Many institutions already close their doors to these people. 

It is also reported that when two persons were learning morse on simplex frequency a moron would come in causing unneccessary disturbances like pressing the PTT or passing unwelcome remarks. He does not want the others to become better and smarter. On the other hand the smart person does not care about the moron because any person has the absolute right to be a moron.

In a democratic country one has the right to be anything as long as it is not a crime and does not disturb other people. 

9W2, LET'S WORK CW - I am very keen to work CW with 9W2 stations. Surely there are a few stations want to test and practise their morse. Here is what you can do. People in KL can go to MARES. Let one 9M2 opens up the station in CW and you can continue from there taking turn. While your friend is sending and receiving, you copy down what you hear. 15 minutes for each person may be ample. Those without the club can go to any 9M2's house and operate from there. Many of us went to 9M2's house to operate ham radio when we were not licence yet. 9W2TZ did the same thing as well. Several persons came to my house several time before they got their ham tickets. Before 9M2CIO got his 9M2, I did work him CW from a field day station. It will be fun especially when a mistake is made. Your friend will correct you. Just for your info, the Indonesians who are in class B are active on CW. Sunday will be a nice day.

IS THE BEHAVIOUR NORMAL AMONG A CERTAIN RACIAL GROUP ? - After the election verbal battles still continue. Please observe the racial group that quarrel most. Also the action of revenge taken by some group. Is this the characteristic of these people ? But the same racial stock seems to be stable on the opposite sides. Whatever, true or not, such thing create a mental image of a racial characteristic. False of course. BUT that is what is pictured in the controversial movie recently. Though there is no proof yet whenever someone pressed the PTT on repeater while people are talking the false mental image prop up. Observation will continue in many other activities; who use radio for political purposes ? Who like to use four letter words and the like on the air ? Who chase out people speaking English ? Percentage of deliquency, Mat Rempit, raguter..... In law mere suspect is not taken into account. The problem with the world is that we can't stop people from thinking what they want to think. With bad behavior people know that such people exist, either among hams or non-licencees. Their kids will inherit the traits. The father of a pig will produce a pig in any form. 

If you don't like to hear people talking then switch off your radio. That is what many of us are doing. Last time PTT was pressed when sombody talks about morse code. In fact when people were practicing morse on simplex frequencies there were people who jammed those frequencies. These sick people can behave sickly on the DX band also. It will somehow be known who are the responsible guys. Figures will acertain the racial stock of problem makers. 

The situation is bad enough now. If it is added to it, it will remain there for decades. The prejudice will be very difficult to scrap. 

Last time I read a blog on the happenings in Terengganu. Someone wrote something like 'Hey...look , people are laughing at us...' Then she went on scolding the people who were laughing. THINK ABOUT IT. THINK.

THE MINDSET - In USA the radio authority is FCC. In Malaysia it is the MCMC. The number of people in the regulatory body is very much smaller than the ordinary people. Like politics each person is reading the other's mindset. Powerful people tend to underestimate the layman. With the power invested in them, they would create policies which sometimes insult citizen's mind. Political scientists used to study the mind and the IQ of nations' leaders and the leadership. Some radio enthusiasts are studying the mind of people in the radio authority. Who make the components of the FCC or MCMC ? What are their educational background ? Who are their friends and relatives ? Do their deccissions have anything to do with their families or friends ? How long have they been radio operators ? What or who influence them in setting up policies ?

In Malaysia there are several things that some people find them difficult to understand

                                      - The allocation of callsigns - 9M8Z, 9M2V8, 9M2 and 9M4 for repeaters and club stations
                                      - The repeater for those who do not have callsigns but own VHF rigs
                                      -  Opening some HF frequencies to 9Ws including 3.5 mhz ?
                                      - Some stations are allowed to operate in foreign countries with Malaysian callsigns without the
                                        prior consent of the authority in that country
                                      - What is written on the apparatus assignment differ from person to person even among the 9M2s

7.043.00 - We don't claim this frequency is ours. I have been studying this frequency for years. It was empty. So on 12/12/2002 I took this frequency and start to call CQ. I stayed on there till today. I did not want to occupy 7045,7050,7055,7060 etc. because I respect the users though they are not there. Then for the last few days I heard some other stations were using it. It is OK because it is base on first come first serve basis. Today 31st, March 2008, Saito was tuning on the frequency. I  and 9M2LC joined in. Then we heard several stations came to sit on us. One guy was probably using linear to chase us out. One interesting thing that I notice these guys are using Q-Code like our 9W2s are using; QRX to mean signing off. No wonder the other days I heard 2 old timers of that nation discussing the new guys using wrong Q-Code and were attacked when advised. I also read articles about some guys in USA using frofane language on the air. Is this ham radio ? Pirates who became ham ? CBers who became ham ? New Malaysian hams like to go DXing. How long will they do DXing ? By the time they are looking for local stations and DX band close down, they will find all frequencies have been occupied.

If you know 7.050 or 7.055 is being used as a net at 6 pm, are you going to sit on the frequency at 5.45 pm and drag on until 7 pm ? Out of courtesy we don't do that. If the frequency is not in use then it is OK to use it. But it is very impertinent to sit on it when others are using it. Hams off shoot of pirates may do it. No wonder they use Q-Codes according to their own will.

The FCC has recently (1998) said something like "We don't want to be bothered with examining hams and registering exam results". 

KILL HAM RADIO AND CB - In Malaysian context, let's burry CB and Ham Radio altogether and open only one category of radio enthusiast. Call it by any name. This mean NO-RAE and NO-CODE. In practice there is no different between them today. The only different is the radio jargon. Those who go for volumn will find the number will increase rapidly. BUT we can't force any people to talk to us. If anyone refuse to talk to you, that is his choice. You just cannot label him. He might only prefer to choose his own brand, person of same taste and like. 

The band is open to all. Just buy any rig and talk. If the MCMC does not provide callsign then invent one. Even the government has been thinking of abolishing national exam like PMR, SPM, STPM to allow everybody to enjoy university education. What you learn in schools and universities are not actually found in your workplaces. Most things can be learned by yourself at home.

The segregation of mankind using qualification, education, race, economic status etc is not democratic. So it is with the CBers and the hams. CW and RAE are tools for segregations. Salaries should be paid on work done; the lesser the work the less the pay should be. Laborers should be given more salary than the teachers, clerks or professors. They work harder under the hot sun. It is just fair for them.

Getting rid of CB,ham,RAE and CW gives equal opportunity to all. Think of a suitable name. RFA ? ( Radio For All ) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SO YOU PREFER HAM RADIO ? Ham radio is a package. You can't take some and discard the rest. It has to have RAE, CW, ethical operators, rules and regulations to be followed. Take one away the pyramid will fall, and it has to be called by other name. Knowing CW is not because it is very important but because it is in a package. It is put in the package because it recognizes ham radio with any other type of radio. In fact it is a pride of ham radio. Yes it is hard and challenging. The ITU should bury ham radio if it thinks CW is irrelevant. If the inventors come back alive they will not agree with the ITU. It is a copyright. But there is nothing that you can do now except to stay among yourselves until every member goes silent key. AND you can deny the name Ham Radio being used in radio hobby now. Because people are looking at the relevancy of the requirements to the practice then you will have to believe that RAE has no relevancy too. So abolish it. Since you don't have any right over your authority ( FCC ) then your desire to see ham radio live forever will fade. If they still want to call it ham radio let them do so. No person shall call himself a ham if he does not know CW. Recently only 4 out of 24 pass CW test. Someone said it was only about 8 wpm. Why  failures ? Briefly speaking, CW needs decipline and endurance to learn. Therefore it can be used to filter the quality and the less quality ham. Go and read more articles on how tp pass CW.

SO YOU PREFER FREE FOR ALL ? Free for all is a concept that everyone has equal opportunity of using radio communication gears on any band ( band now for ham and CB) without any RAE and CW. Everyone can communicate in whatever manner and format without restrictions. More of the citizens can enjoy and we can save phone cost too. So far the authority is still mummed about it. You will have to push it thru so that it will materialise. In Malaysia people already can buy tranceivers freely and talk freely also. The authority knows about it but stay silence. Manners and ethics could be formulated as time goes. BUT it is wise if you don't disturb those real ham operators by staying away from the CW portions of the specterum and do not cause disturbances while they are chatting. Show them some respect. You can learn CW if you want to for the enhancement of your knowledge. I am sure the other group will accept you also in the CW mode of communication. But CW is not relevant to ham radio anymore. The skill is not required important. Not everyone can learn or have the time to learn it. Doing away with RAE and allocate licences to those interested after a few hours of  tutorials is good enough.Go fight for no RAE. Good luck.

IF GEORGE BUSH COMMANDED FCC WILL HE GIVE A LICENCE TO OSAMA BEN LADEN FOR THE SAKE OF FRIENDSHIP ?