[Elecraft] OT - American hamming in UK

[Stephen Farthing]

Mike,

1. Please do bring a rig with you. I am sure you will be rewarded with loads
of contacts. 

2. In the UK we have a mains voltage of 240 Volts 50 Hz and a different
mains plug. You will need to ensure that the 12 volt DC PSU you bring with
you will cope with the 240 volt supply. A simple US to UK travel plug
adaptor will suffice and you can get these at the airport or at a high
street shop. Over here we have a chain of shops called Maplin which are
somewhat like Radio Shack which sell the adaptors plus wire for antennas and
connectors. However they are not strong on components. 

2. When I travel in the USA with my QRP buddies Jan G0BBL and M0PUB, we only
take simple QRP kit and use laptop power supplies which cope with both US
and UK voltages. However the current output of these will be insufficient
for your K2/100 but possibly not if you remove/do not use the PA. If you do
buy yourself a new switch mode PSU get it in the USA as you will pay lots
more for it over here - we have a blanket tax of 17.5 percent on most things
over here - one of the reasons why we come to the USA to buy stuff. (OT A
pair of levis that cost me $15 in Wallmart in Arkansas costs £85 over here).

3. If you are flying from London to Scotland using one of the budget
carriers (Ryanair, Easyjet) you will be charged extra for anything except
hand luggage. So travel lightly if you can.

4. I have travelled all over the US and Europe with ham Radio stuff and
never had a problem at an airport. I normally take mine in a laptop case or
in a rucksack as hand luggage. The worst that has happened is I got a bag of
stuff I bought at Pordenone last week hand searched on departure from Marco
Polo airport, probably because it had an ATV RX/TX in it. If you are polite
to the staff the problem invariably goes away. 

5. Re antennas - roach (crappie in the USA?) poles are widely available from
Angling shops over here and cheap. I normally use a Norcal Doublet made out
of speaker wire (Bell wire in the colonies?) which in essentially a 44 foot
doublet and support it with a roach pole and connect it via a balun to the
ATU of whatever rig I use - which mostly is an FT817 and an Elecraft T1 as
the K2 is a bit too bulky for me to travel with. 

Hope this helps. Let me know if you need anything else.

Regards,

Steve G0XAR - Norwich - England 

-----Original Message-----
From: elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net
[mailto:elecraft-bounces at mailman.qth.net] On Behalf Of Mike Geddes
Sent: 30 November 2007 03:01
To: Elecraft
Subject: [Elecraft] OT - American hamming in UK

To my friends across the pond (and here in the states): My son and I are 
traveling to UK in mid-February to visit some family and see the country. 
Flying in to London, then heading north to Newcastle and points beyond, 
ending up in N. Scotland.  Some of my ham buddies are encouraging me to take

a rig and do some hamming to try and make some contacts back in the states. 
If I do, I will be taking my K2/100 for the job. I have some questions in 
this regard:

1) Do you think it will be more trouble than it is worth trying to get radio

gear through security, customs, etc?  I will have it secured in a Pelican 
type case with custom fit foam.  Just don't want a hassle in trying to get 
it in and out of the country.  2) Suggestions for a nice portable 20a 
switching power supply?  I am looking for a smaller unit I can include in 
the case with the radio. And it must have 110/220v power options.  I saw an 
Alinco that seemed to fit the bill. I welcome your ideas.  3) What type of 
power plug adapter would I need to fit the receptacles in your fair land? 
4) What antenna would you suggest . . . I am thinking about a 20 and/or 40 
meter coax fed dipole. Again, open to suggestions.  5) Any licensing tips or

suggestions?  From what I read it appears there is a reciprocal agreement in

place.  I just need to make sure I have a my license and a copy of the 
agreement.

Sorry if an off topic post like this is inappropriate here. I do know there 
are a number of UK hams (and Elecraft brothers) on this reflector and 
thought they may have some helpful insight.  As well as you yanks that have 
maybe already done some hamming from UK.

Thanks and 73,
Mike
N4JX

K1/4  #2319
K2/100  #6042



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