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: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] 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 _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [email protected] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com _______________________________________________ Elecraft mailing list Post to: [email protected] You must be a subscriber to post to the list. Subscriber Info (Addr. Change, sub, unsub etc.): http://mailman.qth.net/mailman/listinfo/elecraft Help: http://mailman.qth.net/subscribers.htm Elecraft web page: http://www.elecraft.com
