RobH

I completely forgot to mention. Disaster relief communication is a big thing here, well there are more disasters so its to be expected. PARA does a lot with this. There are local nets on VHF weekly. I can't hear any here. And 7.095Mhz is the HF one. Its all announced on facebook page by PARA.

I started out when I bought a small crystal set when I was 13, My dad found a first world war booklet about making crystal sets. so I started making short wave versions, and used to listen at night in bed. Thats when I found amateur radio. The local hams used to chat every night on top band, it fascinated me I didn't know what they were talking about, technical discussions ,this went on for a long time, and I gradually learned more an more, there was a local government surplus shop where there was tons of components, military radios, which I would vist to buy parts and learn a bit more about radio. When I started work as an apprentice instrument maker ( No they don't make instruments, as such. but electro/mechanical items. we made military radios) there was a scrap yard where PCB boards and components could be bought for pennies. I had progressed to ex government receivers and a proper aerial and an earth. hearing stations all around the globe. I joined the army and used motor bikes to get around. Old motor bikes have been my love for most of my life. I only stopped when I came here. When I got older I didn't ride so much, so it was not such a problem, but I do miss my machine shop and the availability of all that goes with making things. I took my amateur radio exam when I got out of the army and got married, but old bikes were still my main interest which grew and grew over the years. I knew that I would need some sort of hobby when I came here, so when the wife came back here to find us a lot too build a house, she was told to find a lot with tall palms that was big, up a mountain. we got a ready built house, no palms and no mountain. but its nice here so I don't complain, but its a big lot so any aerial can fit. I have a 2 wavelength horizontal loop on 160, balanced feed and it tunes top band to 10. The local club DX3OC does a lot with the scouts and has a yearly Jota thing with them, not so good for me as I don't speak Tagalog. This also applies to VHF/UHF which is nearly all Tagalog, nearly all the locals dont speak English well not as I know it, So it makes it really hard work to have a QSO. there is very little SSB, in Bagio there is some activity I am told. So HF for me. As far as women are concerned there are a lot more on air here than there are in the UK, the proliferation of the Bofeng seems to have affected this, the low cost has brought a lot more people into the hobby here. Unfortunately it has also brought the amount of bootleggers up to a high amount, there are many more of them than there are of us, With little or no enforcement, it has now become unenforcible. Which makes VHF/UHF useless for meThere are a few rich (by Philippine standards) people on HF with modern rigs who do speak English. as far as repeaters go I can't access any from here. There are very few digital repeaters.. I can hear one but don't have any equipment to access it. And I am not prepared to spend on it.

Don't think you can get a reciprocal foundation license. They asked for a full licence when I got mine. But worth an email to PARA to find out for sure. The Philippine version of the foundation licence is for 2M and they have just allowed 70 cms. Thats all you get.

You need to be careful of bringing in radio transmitters. The licence here has the serial numbers of all the rigs on it. the reciprocal licence is the permit to posses and to import. of course the bootleggers just go out and buy what they want. Its a typical Philippino arrangement. Just like road traffic.. The exams are spread about around the country so you wouldn't have to go to Manilla, its just the nearest one to me, a 5 hour bus trip. might see if I can get a full Philippine licence without jumping through all the hoops when I go to renew the reciprocal. I should have my SRRV by then but I am not holding my breath, Cant see why not if you are living here permanently. HF is very popular, especially with some of the new digital modes, FT8 you can work the world on 100 watts, but for me its an automated system with computer to computer on HF. I like computers but not so much integrated with radio. And I use a Mac not much software for radio. Para don't seem to have a database for clubs, because of the low numbers of hams here the clubs are well spread out mostly citys. I found the local one on facebook. The other thing they don't have is a very detailed band plan especially for VHF/UHF. well its the Philippines its what to expect. I am lucky here we have a big lot, I have a 2 wavelength horizontal loop on 160 M fed with open wire, and a balanced ATU. and an Icom 7610, 7200 and a 7100, which I might sell. We are at 15 meters ASL with mountains on 3 sides, pretty but not so good for VHF I can reach just south of Manilla nothing in the other directions

Hi Tommy. I have a reciprocal licence, my original licence is UK. You need to email PARA they will give you all the requirements. Its not terribly expensive or difficult but you need your home country valid licence. They do like you to Join PARA which is useful. I had an antenna stuck in customs for 3 weeks, because they didn't know the rules, email to PARA here in 2 days. they also prefer you to get a Philippine licence, but I won't take 5 trips to Manilla to do the exams. I finished all that in 1976.I am just too old to do it all again. The 2 Meter and 70 Cms bands are not policed, lots and lots of bootleggers, so bad I dont use either now. Buying equipment, second hand stuff is mostly cheap Chinese hand helds or 30 year old crap, best to import, beware of the customs they make it up as they go along. Check Australia or the US for best prices. Very little HF stuff for sale here. No towers or antennas available. the population here is about 100 million, 8 thousand hams, 98 percent VHF/UHF only even those that have the full licence can't afford the equipment UK 65 million 60 thousand hams.

When we moved into this house the water stank, I spoke to the landscaping guy who said he cold fix it, our original well was 25 feet deep.Theyy then proceeded to hammer 2 inch GI pipe into the ground , that was a sight to see scaffold about 10 feet high with 2 men and an enormous block of steel with a guide rod thumping it up and down when they got to 60 feet the water was tested using Guaybano leave crushed up add the well water, turns blue if its bad. Another 20 feet of pipe tested again the leaves were clear water. drinkable, I tried it it was OK. 1.5 inch blue plastic pipe down inside the 2 inch ( both pipes had a series of holes drilled at the end, the blue plastic had fine gauze around it) connected to a 1.5 HP pump to a 500 Litre pressure tank on the ground. It works well. Thing to bear in mind that the tank doesn't fill to the top there is air trapped, probably only a ¼ full, every few months it needs draining and fresh air added. This gives the water pressure when the pumps not running. If the pump short cycles (off and on over a short time) it needs air adding to the tank. Problem is the tanks here dont have a vent at the top to let the water out quickly.

Yes I have read this thread, but I seem to have forgotten most of it, I'm old well that's my excuse. I have been here for just over a year. I also try to avoid driving here, I would probably drive more if I knew that there was some chance finding parking when I arrived. I make the wife take a tricycle to go shopping, its amazing how much stuff they get on a tricycle, I had 5 X 35feet bamboo poles delivered by tricycle, I bet that was fun going through the town, no flag on the back. One of the best ones I saw was a load of rebar on a tricycle with the back dragging on the ground sparks everywhere, probably a foot shorter by the time he got home. Traffic enforcement would probably help to improve driving standards.

Getting a drivers licence here is a joke, when I went to the LTO , my wife went with me (I am not allowed out on my own incase I get taken away by strange women) She thought it would be a good idea to have a drivers licence, so she got a student licence and was told to come back in 6 months to get a full licence, she's never driven anything in her life, although she claims to have ridden a bicycle. I can never relax driving here you need to be super alert all the time. The thing that really bugs me is the complete lack of road markings. no stop lines. Tricycles that go from a main road to a side road will often cut the corner and be on the wrong side of the road. Well as they say its more fun in the Philippines.

I bought a house from a British expat who was returning to the UK on health grounds. It has a fireplace with chimney and has a hood over the top of the chimney, we get no bugs, but its as hot as hell in the living room kitchen 10M x 10M. I had 2 of the rotary ventilators fitted to the roof, not the really massive ones, about 16 inches diameter of the vent pipe. This has made a difference to the heat in the living room, I might get a massive one added as it does seem to work just not as well as I would like. wether they would resist a tornado is another matter. The roof is corrugated steel red in colour, and has aluminium bubble wrap on the inside. The walls are 8 inch hollow blocks which do get warm. the loft space is substantially cooler, A ventilator in the living room ceiling would probably work OK but the Chinese ones are all 50 Hz and will burn out quickly on 60 Hz, and I can't seem to find one with a shutter to close off for the air con, and none are big enough diameter.

Thanks very much guys. We will be flying Phil Air the wife likes the food and to get there as quick as possible. Best regards Rob

Hi all, new member here. I am going to retire to the Philippines this coming August. My wife is a Fillipina, and I intent to get a SRRV when I get there, my wife will be travelling with me when we leave the UK, so I will get a BB Visa, Question is do I need a throw away ticket when I arrive ? Regards Rob