Hank Ellis mentioned in another thread wondering what we can do for Cuban hams now the blockade is being lifted. I took it upon myself to ask Arnie what we could do.

Almost instantly I got a reply.




Dear amigos;

Yes it is very nice to see things moving in the right direction for the
first time in decades !
In the not too distant future we may, for example, do something similar to what yours truly helped to organize way back in 1994
and participate with a joint team in one of the main contests, especially if we can install the contest station at a nice seaside location !!!
When I was in high school my other favorite hobby was sailing,
and as a matter of fact I won several sailboat races or regattas
as we call them here. At that time, way back in 1955,56 and 57
several American yachtsmen came for the Star Class sailboats
mid winter championship that took place here in Havana seafront
during February.
Well amigos, perhaps we can also organize an VHF/UHF Antenna
Competition , or a workshop on how to homebrew QRP rigs.
Would you like to see the description of my latest QRP rig
built using as many recycled parts as possible ?  Parts recycled
from Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs, computer motherboards
and UPS power supplies, TV sets etc... when properly desoldered
preserving them from excess heat, and then testing them to be sure they are OK... provide up to 80 percent of the electronic components
to build your own SUPER ISLANDER MARK V ... !!!
BTW, I have traveled to the USA in order to participate at two
VHF Conventions, and both events proved to be excellent opportunities to meet very nice people and help coordinate emergency communications efforts during the hurricane seasons.
That lead to receiving the appointment to be the IARU Region II
Area C Emergency Coordinator, a position I am still holding that
requires a lot of work when hurricanes, floods and earthquakes
impact from Mexico to Barbados !!!
73 and DX
Arnie Coro
CO2KK
[email protected]
[email protected]
Phone 53-7- 883 05 60

Color me impressed!

If only Cuba was inhabited by this sort of creature alone.

He has my countenance.

Posted Via AR15.Com Mobile

The blockade is still in effect. There is a federal law, passed by congress, signed by the president that states the blockade will remain in effect until both of the Castro brothers are out of office. The chance of that law being overturned is none.

What BHO has done here is crack open the first hint of relations. Mainly US citizens can visit under educational visas which sorta was the case already. US citizens can now spend their money in Cuba which was flat illegal before. It will take some drilling to see what is and is not acceptable. ETA: Found something.

Well done sir.

Arnie and I are on the same band. I was thinking a trip there discussing VHF propagation and antennas with an emphasis on 6m. Homebrew workshop with guys who have been building SSB rigs out of dixie cups and hairballs would raise the state of the art of radio in the US where at lot of us have become appliance operators.

Again, well done. We'll see where this goes.

While he seems a nice guy, Arnie is a diehard Fidelista. That said he has done great things for poor hams from poor countries.

It is OK, I have liberal friends also.

And I listen to music written by liberals.

He's not voting in my State...his politics don't bother me.

What can we do for Cuban hams? DO NOT send any "green stamps".  Do NOT put call signs, sender or recipient on
envelopes.  Those will for sure be opened, anything of value removed and pocketed, the rest discarded.

If you want to give something to a Cuban ham, and have his email, with his permission give him an account at eQSL.

Jup

I wish they would have their own Perestroika and a revolution to follow. Communism/Socialism is a dead end street.
I always wanted to visit Cuba. It can be done if I fly from Canada but I'm a bit paranoid.
There was a ride report on ADVRider.com about a husband a wife riding their dual sport motorbikes through Cuba. I think they were forbidden to bring cell phones and any GPS capable devices into the country. They were allowed to bring cameras and took a lot of pictures. It's a beautiful country.

When you think about it, it IS inhabited by nice creatures.

The average Cuban is no different than anyone else. He just wants to be left alone to raise a couple of kids and live his life. They're not all a bunch of raving socialists just like all Americans are not a bunch of capitalist dogs looking to steal pensions from little old ladies.

is he a Commie, though?  serious question.  sounds like you know him fairly well.  is he, like the above poster said, a diehard Fidelista, or a silent dissenter?

i wonder how many of each there are on the island.

Having had beer fueled conversations with many foreign nationals at the World Freefall Convention over the years I have come to the conclusion that the average Joe, Jose, or Jan just wants to go to work to provide for his family, come home and have a beer, and be left the hell alone. The politics is just noise and you have to work the system no matter what your prefix is.

As for our subjects political leanings, I don't know and I don't care. I focus on the radio art and leave the politics out of it.

This.

Ham radio is where I go to get away from politics etc.

The rules specifically forbid political stuff IIRC.  Or at least strongly discourage it.

It all depends on whether he is a card carrying communist or a commie at heart. In a country like Cuba, being a member of the communist party is like having a GED diploma or a social security number. You can't have a good job if you are not a member. They may talk politically correct in fear of being prosecuted. Most don't really believe in all that crap and simply want to live a good life and provide for their family. Now, being a communist at heart is different. I think there are just as many or more of them living in the US than in Cuba. Big Zero is probably one of them.

I think that's more custom than a hard and fast rule.



 

Something about the government not restricting political speech.



 

I got banned from a repeater in Charlotte because I expressed my political views while talking to a friend. Apparently some big city democrats did not like what I said.

Repeaters are individually owned, they can do that (their repeater, their rules). The government doing it, that is different...so far --they are working on getting the "fairness" doctrine back.



 

Maybe the Cubans will get some new propaganda for the back of their QSL cards now that Obama released these guys.

I could not find the ride report I was talking about but found another one. An American guy travels through Cuba on his BMW motorcycle. Reading these ride reports can be addictive.
His Cuban adventures begin at around page 45 and it gets very interesting on page 55
Here is a link to the ride report: LINK to page 45

Well there goes my productivity for the day.  

Hopefully The house/senate in JAN has the balls to not allow this.

Truth is the blockade has done nothing but make a bunch of people a little more miserable.

I'd bet that McDonalds etc (American corporations) can do more to change a place than just about anything else can.

WHen the bombs, bullets and blockades fail, send in the real culture killers. Coca Cola, McDonald's up front!!!

It worked so well in the Middle East.