Really, I should make a video of my experiences of using the QRP Labs QMX+ transceiver. My voice is poor, which is why I have been reluctant.
Really it represents great value and will be even better when the firmware allows SSB, expected later. I use SSB occasionally, but use FT8 far more nowadays.
UPDATE 1027z: 355 stations have spotted my QRP FT8 from the QMX+ in the last 24 hours. See map.
Thank you for all the help, which I think has resolved my issue.
I now have "sleep" when connected to a PSU set to "never" in settings, so it should never go to sleep unless I ask it to do so.
Since doing the latest Windows update, I get the impression that the PC closes down after a certain time. A new sign-in is needed. If correct, does anyone know how to stop this please?
As you may know, I put the rig beaconing on WSPR or FT8 and monitor on a different PC in the lounge, popping into the shack if anything needs adjusting. To get into the shack takes a few seconds only.
Is there a default setting that can be turned off?
This morning I was puzzled why I was getting no output on 20m FT8 with the QMX+. Disabling the SWR protection solved the mystery as the SWR exceeded 3:1 and this was preventing TX. I turned the protection back on as 20m is a band I rarely use.
On 6m FT8, I had 4 spots of my QRP from the QMX+. I am still getting insufficient audio on 6m FT8 RX. This still requires further investigation.
As an experiment I quickly tried the QMX+ on 6m FT8. Power was about 3W and several UK spots were obtained with the V2000 vertical omni. For some reason the RX level on 6m appears too low. Further investigation is needed.
So far, I have tried it on 15m, 10m and 6m. I wonder if it would work on 8m? Maybe I should try it on 160m FT8 with the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground assuming the match is good.
Just for fun, I tried the QMX+ on 15m. It was not for long. Several Es spots of me. Looking at the bars on the TX monitor I would reckon about 3W power.
Recently I erected 2 small bird tables with the aim of attracting more smaller birds and fewer large ones. This seems to have failed as the jackdaws have found a way! Robins seem to be very attracted to the dried mealworms.
It’s too soon to tell if swift numbers are down here, but we have not sat out in the garden much this year.
One good idea would be to automatically reduce power when beaconing WSPR to avoid stress on the PA when the PA can be on continuously for almost 2 minutes.
UPDATE 1540z: Success! My first transmission with the QMX+ (10m FT8) resulted in 18 spots across Europe. This was using CAT control. I have a lot more to learn, but this is a good start.
UPDATE 1651z: 3 QSOs in quick succession! All called me on FT8. In all, spotted by 49 stations.
The whole hedge has now been trimmed. I feel more tired than before!!
I got one second hand and was amazed how far I could work on a very basic antenna. Prior to getting my Liner-2, I had only used QRP AM and FM rigs. Most nights I found I could contact stations hundreds of kilometres away.
Later many used the ICOM IC-202 with a 30W amplifier and Tonna 9 el antenna.
These days the bands at VHF are far quieter as people have other ways of chatting (the internet) and working DX (FT8).
See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/vhfuhfmicrowaves/vhfuhf-commercial-rigs/belcom-liner-2
So far I have not tried TX.
At the moment I am familiarising myself with the menu system. So far, so good. It would appear that the diodes in the supply line drop the voltage to the rig to a safe 9V.
Tomorrow, I hope to try 10m or 6m FT8 or WSPR TX.
Amateur Radio Weekly brought to our attention the Rigpix database. If you have not noticed it, it is a very useful site for information about rigs including photos and specs..
See https://www.rigpix.com/ .
Once again I am trying 10m WSPR at 10mW. So far, 2 spots by EA8BFK (2880km). This looks like F2 rather than Es.
UPDATE 0935z: No further spots of my 10mW 10m WSPR TX.
In the UK, the NHS, providing free health care at the point of delivery, was created in 1948. It revolutionised health care. In recent years, the NHS has struggled. Waiting lists are long and people are living far longer. In many other countries the health service is better.
In my view the UK NHS is a great idea, but it needs a root and branch review looking at health services across the world to find what works best for everyone. We need to aim that the UK NHS should be the very best in the world.
In the past, I have personally experienced the NHS at its best and worst. In my view, throwing more and more money at it is NOT the answer.
Both health and social security need serious attention.
In the last few weeks we have received 3 letters through the post from Anglian Water saying how much we owe them or are in credit.
The good news is that all show us in credit. The bad news is they are all different! I am pretty sure all are generated by a computer, without human involvement.
What will the next bill be? I expect it will say we owe them hundreds!
This was made about 12 years ago . It was later cased and blown up by mistake!! It has been on before but shows things don’t have to be complex.
My beacon was re-synced to internet time this morning.
UPDATE 1945z: No spots all day.
UPDATE 1935z: 87 spots of me today.
UPDATE 2014z: 96 spots of me today.
Compared with a few days ago, the impression I am getting is that the Es in Europe is not as good. With Es, things can rapidly change.
See https://www.tvcomm.co.uk/g7izu/radio-propagation-maps/europe-sporadic-e/ .
My strategy did not work!
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| My 630m transverter |
It seems many radio amateurs are becoming "appliance" operators rather than experimenters as was the case many years ago. This is sad.
Experimentation is still happening, although not so much with amateur radio. It would appear the spirit of early amateur radio is still there on the ISM bands.
Personally, I think amateur radio will die a slow death in the next 20 years merging with CB and true experimenters will increasingly not be from the radio amateur community.
The roses look good too this year.
Although my last attempt with 10mW ERP on 630m WSPR was not too great, I am tempted to try again this evening and overnight. Last night I stuck with 6m FT8.
Although with Es things can very rapidly change, today does not look too great. At the moment I shall remain on 6m QRP FT8 and 10m QRP.P WSPR.
See https://www.tvcomm.co.uk/g7izu/radio-propagation-maps/europe-sporadic-e/ .
To me, it seems very improbable that many of the long Es paths are multi-hop. Yes, some might be, but I think it is much more probable these are some sort of chordal hop Es.
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| Stations spotted here in the last day on 6m FT8 |
UPDATE 0952z: From the spots of my QRP, I can see evidence of European Es.
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| 6m QRP FT8 spots of me this morning |
UPDATE 1900z: No spots today.
It was refreshing to see someone who got active by creating his own ground station.
This week we are remembering the dreadful events of D-Day in June 1944. I cannot imagine the sheer terror of those brave solders landing in Normandy. Many must have feared they would be dead in the following few minutes.
This makes the events in Ukraine and the Middle East even sadder. None of the waste of human life is needed. Why can't people live in peace with each other? It would seem that aggression of this kind is sadly part of the human condition and we seem incapable of learning from history.
What Hamas did on October 7th 2023 was evil, but so are deaths of over 36000 Palestinian people.
All I wish is that people can live at peace with their neighbours. Nobody is ever perfect. Let's just accept our differences and failings.
On the face of it, it offers DX over a good proportion of the planet, without fading, linears, beams or towers. Antennas are small, can be low and are fixed.
I very much doubt the Japanese big manufacturers will do anything as the satellite footprint does not cover Japan or the USA.
It is many years since I did any CB operation. I think the last time was testing a couple of single channel hand portables. I guess that was in the 1990s.
I see on this week's Amateur Radio Weekly that there is a field day for "freeband" enthusiasts at 11m. The legality of this is not known although there is an ISM band around here.
How much power can legally be used will depend on where you are. In the UK, it looks like the limit is 100mW ERP according to IR2030.
Although I get a few spots a week with this tiny power, I get very few spots overall. Maybe there are fewer people using 10m WSPR?
My conclusion is this is just too little power. It is surprising to me as I was expecting to be spotted more often on Es, as signals can be very strong. I suspect that much of the time I am below the noise floor with many stations. For now, I shall stick with this power on 10m WSPR.
UPDATE 1209z: No spots. Next week, I may try 10mW on 10m WSPR to see if that is better.
I decided to stay on 6m QRP FT8 overnight. In all, 386 people spotted my 2.5W 6m FT8 to the V2000 vertical omni antenna. The band did not open (for me) to the USA, which I was hoping for. Almost all of these spots were Es.
UPDATE 1021z: 121 stations have already spotted my QRP 6m FT8 signal this morning. There seems to be plenty of Es about.
It was hard to avoid the impression that most attendees are boring old farts (BOFS) which are mainly old white males. This does not bode well.
Although today has been my best day this season on 6m, the Es map (see below link) would suggest otherwise.
See https://www.tvcomm.co.uk/g7izu/radio-propagation-maps/europe-sporadic-e/ .
UPDATE 1106z: It has just suddenly changed!
My 10m WSPR beacon was re-synced to internet time just after breakfast. No spots.
Just 14 spots of my 2.5W 6m FT8 so far, all in the UK.
UPDATE 1056z: 134 spots of me so far. Strong Es is now evident.
Just 3 stations spotted me overnight. I shall carry on a little longer, although I suspect the season is drawing to a close, especially with my 10mW ERP.
At the moment I am doing two experiments.
Firstly, my 500uW (0.5mW) 10m WSPR beacon is on.
Secondly, I am trying 2.5W FT8 on 6m.
Every day I get Es spots from Europe with my 6m QRP FT8. 10m WSPR at 500uW is proving far harder with just a few spots a week being average.
In theory WSPR works with signals having a far worse S/N than FT8. However, WSPR needs almost 120 seconds for a TX burst whereas FT8 needs just under 15 seconds.
I suspect that the longer time to successfully decode a WSPR signal and the fact that a 500uW signal is probably buried in noise is working against me.
See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/homebrew/8040m-pixie-and-micro80-transceivers .
My 10mW ERP 630m WSPR was turned on at about 2145z . So far just spotted by a single station.
In no way can (or should) I express views on how the people of the USA should vote for their president in November. They will rightly vote for the person they choose. But I am puzzled. Let me explain.
The following have been notified to me. Always check if travelling a long way.
Sunday June 9th - Junction 28 Radio Rally, Alfreton, DE55 7BD. Contact j28rally@snadarc.com .
Sunday June 9th - Mendips Rally, Farrington Gurney, BS39 6UA. Contact mendipsrally@hotmail.com .
Amazon, the online delivery service, is like a UK wheat spread in that some hate it and some love it. Over the years we must have ordered hundreds of items. Only once has a delivery ever gone wrong, and that was just to an address a few doors away.
I recall my wife trying to buy some very ordinary nail scissors from our local chemist. She was told they had none and would be getting none in. She went on Amazon and got them delivered next day to the door at a lower price.
Yes, shopping patterns are changing, with many people preferring the convenience of home delivery. Many retailers will close or adapt.
Today I wanted some wood filler, forgetting I had given my last to our son. I went on Amazon and two tubes will be delivered to my door tomorrow for less cost than 1 tube at our local DIY store. Delivery is free.
Yet again, my 500uW 10m WSPR is turned on.
UPDATE 2020z: No spots all day today.
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| Stations spotting my 2.5W 6m FT8 today |
UPDATE 1103z: 30 spots of me today, mostly Es.
UPDATE 2000z: 52 spots of me today.
At the moment the Es does not look to great, yet my QRP 6m FT8 has been spotted by 17 stations already!
See https://www.tvcomm.co.uk/g7izu/radio-propagation-maps/europe-sporadic-e/ .
My 10mW ERP 630m WSPR is on and will remain on overnight. At 2145z 2 stations have spotted me.
Last night was the first TV debate between the leaders of the 2 main political parties. If you can imagine what 2 cats fighting over a dead bird is like, that was it. Sad, pathetic.
All parties make promises in the run-up to a General Election. Come the election all these will be forgotten, or there will not enough money. What is certain is that whichever party governs, tough times are ahead. Either taxes have to rise, or public services will be cut, or both. Saying either of these things is a vote loser.
Come the General Election I shall be tactically voting for the least worst party. My heart says Green,but I know they have no chance in our constituency.
My prediction? Labour will be the governing party, but the majority will be smaller than expected. The minor parties may well hold the balance of power. I also expect closer ties with Europe since BREXIT has turned (as some expected) into a dreadful mistake. I am sure some expected a UK like the 1950s forgetting just how inter connected the world now is.
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