Posted by Jim on October 9, 2008
Searching the web, I located a few more Skamarakas family members and their ham radio license call signs - this includes -
LY3NHN Kestutis Skamarakas Vilniaus 1 Raseiniai 4400
LY3NHO Zydrunas Skamarakas Vilniaus 1 Raseiniai 4400
I located these from the LY Callbook
© Lithuanian Amateur Radio Society (LRMD)
Novemner 16, 2001
lrmd@qsl.net
That is just great to come across. I keep making that offer to any Skamarakas. If we are related - and you know we are, there are so few of us. Mary Anne has our geneology traced all the way back and forward. So from Ed and John here in America, to our distant kin back in Lithuania, drop en email. Need a website or an email address - just holler Labas!
Jim Skamarakas
W1SKA
Sveikatą!
Posted by Jim on September 17, 2008
I finished reading QST - the ARRL magazine June 2008 issue. A ton more to finish and catch up on. nd this is just the magazines I brought with me this trip to try and read. We are signed back up for 9 magazines at home, all for Anna to read and use with the kids as she needs them. Thanks to Delta Airline miles that were low enough for magazines but not high enough to buy a ticket.
Posted by Jim on August 11, 2008
N2GS Gregory J Szpunar 13 Chesterfield Dr Chester, NJ 07930 is an idiot or a clown. What kind of idiot sends a postcard to a total stranger in a bougs contact card with a stupid message of “Morse code is basic radio it will live on X CW has purpose and gives pride 73 PAT WB5NKD”
First, I don’t care
Second, the FCC doesn’t care - thats why they don’t require morse code for ham radio licenses…at all
Third, the rest of the world doesn’t care
If you have a hobby doing morse code, do it with your friends. And most importantly, grow up. To attempt to insist that people care about code simply because you old man are alone in your basement waiting for someone to chat with because your old wife hid the Viagra so she doesn’t have to have you mount her and come in 5 seconds because of your other condition, don’t think the rest of the world cares.
Ham Radio is a hobby and it needs new and young people in it. That means the exact opposite of stupid, ignorant old fucks that think you have to know morse code or you suck. Ham Radio wasn’t popular in the 50’s when you got into idiot. It wasn’t that major popular in the 1970’s - that was CB radio. It is a hobby that I enjoy. I enjoy the technical knowledge and the fun of chatting with others in social conversations. I don’t enjoy idiots and clowns who try and tell other people who to enjoy their free time.
So tell us WB5NKD Pat, are you an idiot, a clown or just an old stupid fuck without a clue? PATRICIA A GARVIN 3409 SW 20TH OKLAHOMA CITY OK 73108-4015 USA. Is this what passes for cool in your circle of idiot friends, “Hehe - I sent a postcard to a stranger. I am so bill bad ass.” ?
And lastly, your postcard just pollutes the environment. So apparently you don’t give a shit about the environment.
Posted by Jim on May 20, 2008
——————————————————————————–
From: Jim Skamarakas
Sent: Tuesday, May 20, 2008 6:17 PM
To: KJMWEB@fcc.gov; Michael.Copps@fcc.gov; Jonathan.Adelstein@fcc.gov; dtaylortateweb@fcc.gov; Robert.McDowell@fcc.gov
Subject: FCC database being using to generate junk mail
Commissioners,
It has come to my attention that as a FCC licensed amateur radio operator ‘ham’, my entry in the FCC database is public. This is 100% understandable and acceptable. But what private businesses are doing with this database is a disgrace and having a negative impact on the environment.
The current FCC ham database provides no option for individuals to opt in to share their information with merchants, vendors or resellers. In just the few short weeks since I was licensed, I personally have received 3 pounds of junk mail. Speaking to these vendors has gotten mixed responses from:
-the blunt “to bad, your info is public so deal with it”
-the more blunt “just throw it in the trash if you don’t want it”
-the cooperative “we will add you to our do not mail list”
-the honest “I will add you to stop sending you future junk mail, but if you upgrade or make any changes at the FCC, you will be re-added to our marketing database again”
-the clueless “what’s wrong with getting catalogs in the mail?”
In this day and age of environmental impact, it would be a minimal effort to modify the FCC database listing to include a single field for No Commercial solicitations. By setting this additional entry in the ULS database, and setting it to NO by default, individuals could choose to update their information and if they so choose, update the field to a value of YES. This puts the decision to receive these offerings in the hands of the individuals and sets everyone to a default opting out, allowing them the opportunity to OPT-IN.
Now we all know that some businesses have no concern for the environmental impact of their junk mailings, or of personal opinions of US Citizens. They see the FCC database are their own personal free marketing database. Anything that you can do to make this difficult or impossible to continue would only be of benefit to the citizens of the United States of America.
I respectfully ask you ladies and gentleman to take the time and review what can be done and take that action. A simple addition of a single field to the ULS database, setting all entries to OPT OUT, and allow individuals to update their information to OPT IN, will have a significant and positive impact on our society as a whole. And that is the forwarding thinking leadership and socially positive actions we know you want to do for this great country.
Sincerely
James R Skamarakas
W1SKA
Posted by Jim on May 18, 2008
Just wanted to thank these three for their time at the testing center last month. I have W1SKA, and would be interested in hearing when your club is holding any meetings. It is not that far to get across the bridge.
You should have let me know to put my address as NO COMMERCIAL MAIL so I would have know ahead of time about these junk mailers off the FCC database 
Posted by Jim on May 17, 2008
Do not do business with W4MPY The QSL Man. This individual engages in low level stunts to solicit business by leaching addresses off of the FCC database of records. He sends out junk mail cards advertising his business. This unsolicited junk mail is an insult. First, the actual QSL card is nothing but an advertisement for their business. This form of stunt only serves to harm the ham radio community by dragging a purely commercial enterprise into a hobby.
To help stop this sort of inappropriate content, I have filed Postal form 1500 to stop the inappropriate mailings and have a Probibitory order issued aganst them.
What is a QSL card? It is a way for ham radio operators to confirm contacts they make on the air. For years it was proof for contests, and a ham shacks wallpaper. This guy just degrades it into the lowest form. And not by dealing with me, but by blindly mailing everyone regardless of age, religion, affiliation or choice. He just sends it to everyone with no sense of care for the receiver as a person.
To add insult to injury, they include on the card the web address and email address. If you have access to the Internet, and wanted to find this business, you can do so easily. Instead Wayne makes the decision to be on the low end of business and send out unsolicited junk mail. Do not do business with them as long as this policy continues.
The QSL Man
PO Box 73
Monetta, SC 29105-0073
W4MPY
Wayne Carroll
682 Mount Pleasant Road
Monetta, SC 29105
803-685-7117
W4MPY@qslman.com
Where is this QSL card? Stamped RETURN TO SENDER REFUSED Please remove from your mailing list, and put back out for the post office to return at their own expense. Thanks Wayne for paying for first class postage both ways.
Have a nice day.
Hmm 73 doesn’t fit…what is the short hand for fuck off?
Jim
Now, from the environmental stand point, ham radio is to help and serve in times of emergency and need. Not to abuse the planet with trash advertising to every name that crops up on a database. I was issued a technician, a general then a new call sign. Does he flood the landfill with three of these pieces of trash just for me alone?
Posted by Jim on May 16, 2008
There is a wave of posts from people who think they are some how better then others who have recently obtained their license, because they know morse code. This is funny because rather then welcoming people into the hobby, they mock them. That is just sad.
.. .._. / -.– — ..- / -.-. .- -. / .-. . .- -.. / - …. .. … / .- -. -.. / - …. .. -. -.- / -.– — ..- / .- .-. . / … .–. . -.-. .. .- .-.. / ..-. ..- -.-. -.- / — ..-. ..-.
And short sighted since a license today does not indicate your level of knowledge in anything beyond the small number of questions asked. It does not test wether I have taught code to others at 13WPM, or that I learned it 30 years ago for the first time. It does not test my knowledge of signal lights, singal flags, or even the color of smoke to indicate the type of fire or how to put it out. On the practical side it does not test my ability to operate a radio while also piloting a plane, or working on a boat as a dive master. And on the technical side the exam does not verify that I have years of electrical education from soldering, tubes, building meters, receivers , transmitters, troubleshooting to the component, right on up to building computers and a lot of physics and theory knowledge.
It tests basic profeciency to get you started. What you do from there and how much more you learn is up to you. And if you stay on the air or give it up is in a big way dependent on the other hams you encounter. As an exciting and fun hobby with a stigma of old men locked in dark closets talking to other lonely old men in dark shacks somewhere else, this sort of attitude is negative beyond measure.
Get off my lawn you young whipper snapper with your mics and voice and talking things. It is sad that in a small hobby like ham radio there exists a sub group of ignorant people who are trying to mock others who joined in the past few years after the FCC followed the rest of the world and dropped the morse code exam requirement. How much smaller do these people want to drive the ham radio community town in society today then it already is? When you are only a handful of people, you can’t afford to chop off any fingers.
Posted by Jim on May 12, 2008
Finally broke in my new Yaesu FT-817ND tonight with a rag chewing session with Mike and Jennifer on 145.4500 MINNETONKA repeater net which seems to link multiple repeaters in the Minnesota / Wisconsin. Mike was 100 miles south of me and Jennifer was 110+ miles east over Echolink. Mike was surprised I was worried about a signal from the 31st floor of a downtown hotel. But when we all signed off, the frequency was dead quiet. That’s the fun of ham radio - you never know who you will meet from where or on what band or time of the day. It is always a fun hunt.
It was great to have the chat and also great to have the confirmation of the radio working. I now have a frequency to chew the rag on in the morning drive to work…if I catch anyone else on the band
Posted by Jim on May 4, 2008
I bit the bullet, and took my wife down to HRO in New Castle, DE.
I picked up the Yaesu FT-817ND. While looking at it, one of the people behind the counter asked us to hold on, went out to their car, brought their rig in and we had a fully charged unit to see the screen size.
From a number of reviews I read, this is a small rig, so that means small buttons and not a lot of them. Which means, all menu driven. The friendly rep did not happen to know HOW to change the screen size or color, but said exactly what I have read as a pro AND a con “Its here in the menu somewhere, let me find it”
I picked up a few accessories, because you can’t go shopping for toys and not get the extra little pieces to go with it -
The Yaesu FT-817 carrying case
A 12V car charger / adapter
ARRL Repeater Directory
The SuperAntenna MP-1 http://www.superantennas.com/html/mp-1_portable.html a small, portable HF antenna
The matching break apart small tripod
They were even nice enough to suggest another band attachment for the antenna as a Chirstmas gift. I did not get the 80 Meter Coil Extender. Lets get some use on the other bands before anothe rotpional device gets picked up.
Now to figure out what to do with the thing next
I took this picture, and packed it back up. I’ll start reading the manual on Monday night, and charge it during the day at work. Too little time at home to spend learning the new equipment.
Posted by Jim on May 2, 2008
I am looking for a ham radio. All of the Heathkit base HF stuff is long gone, as is the 30′ tower. This is a complete starting from scratch.
I made the following post on the QRZ forums, and am interested in the responses I get -
Now I am not looking for a specific brand or model recommendations, thats like asking which is better Coke or Pepsi. And we all know the answer is they are both bad for you, just drink water.
Yes, soda is a horrible thing. It rots your teeth, increases your appetite, fattens your ass, and wastes money and resources for a drink. Just drink water
I decided to go with a handheld. I travel with my job every week and want something I can take with me to use when at the customers city and bring back and forth in my laptop bag or small suitcase. That makes small size a top item on the selection list.
Does anyone have a list of handheld features and a scale to help weight them or set them in the must have / nice to have / things that are fluff and don’t matter or you features 99% of the hams will never use.
Being realistic, I just want to be a little bit educated when I go shopping. I don’t want to walk out with purchase in hand and get home to find out I forgot to buy a battery charger, or got a radio that doesn’t work with Bluetooth or connect to a PC over USB, or one that can only be used on certain frequencies on days that start with W.
No matter what I get I am sure I will have a great time with it, and learn so that if I don’t hit the mark, I will be an even pickier and more educated buyer for the next piece of gear. I no a lot about the features in cars I like not from auto reviews, but from all the cars I have owned, rented and driven for hours. Hands on experience is a wonderful teacher.
I really am interested in the features that are must haves and the ones that 99% or more never use. I honestly don’t think I can take a mobile HF rig with me on a plane every week and set it up in a rental car.
