More 10m WSPR

Late this afternoon I was on 10m WSPR again with 2W and the Par 10/20/40 antenna. Yet again, the band was wide open to the USA and Canada with plenty of spots in both directions. Really, at present, 10m WSPR is too easy as DX is always there when I look.

UPDATE 1840z:  2.5 hrs after dark the 10m band was still wide open to the USA but then the transatlantic path suddenly died out.

Stroke

Walking at Anglesey Abbey today

My recovery from my stroke continues to frustrate me: although walking and swallow continue to improve, I have a feeling of sickness and nausea nearly all the time I am awake. Also I continue to be very clumsy when it comes to building.  Putting screws back in the FT817 case after fitting the TCXO-9 was a nightmare. I dread to think how I'd get on with any substantial building project.  For now, most of my experiments are with the kit and antennas already in place.

Any day now I am expecting the DVLA to tell me I cannot drive for 12 months. Luckily I applied for, and got, a blue disabled badge which means we can park nearer to the entrances at National Trust  places and supermarkets when shopping.

Transatlantic reception on 474.2kHz WSPR last night - 5888km

It had to happen and did (eventually) last night. WG2XJM (EN91wn) at 5888km was copied 3 times during the night on MF just using the FT817 (no preamp) and the untuned Par 10/20/40 antenna. Signal levels were not great, but as to be expected, at around -30dB S/N. 

So far this season, this set-up has now copied 25 unique stations in 8 countries and 2 continents on 474.2kHz WSPR.

Unique MF WSPR spots over last 2 weeks

TCXO-9 fitted

This afternoon I fitted the (loaned) TCXO-9 into my FT817. A sign of how my stroke is making me clumsy still, getting the screws back in to the FT817 cover was really hard work, when it should have been easy. TCXO calibration seems spot on. Tonight I am trying to decode G3WKW on 2m WSPR, so far without success even though Bob's signals are clearly visible on the WSPR screen.

UPDATE 2045z:  a solid decode of G3WKW (134km) at -24dB S/N no doubt aided by planes over N.London. At least with a warmed up rig fitted with a TCXO-9 my calibration on 2m is spot-on now.

Someone, asked me to measure RX current before/after fitting TCXO-9. Sorry,but I forgot and will not now do this because of my stroke and issues with fitting screws to the FT817 case - at present some things are just too hard for me.

New DX on 472kHz RX

As of now on 474.kHz WSPR RX, I am up to 24 unique station reports with best DX 1269km from LA1TN in Norway (JP33SA). I still think transatlantic reception (i.e. of a W) is possible if conditions are very good one night.

As an experiment, I may try to excite my PAR end-fed via a ferrite loading coil on TX this weekend to see who can copy me. This would be a very compromised TX antenna.

UPDATE 8.2.14: I cannot find the ferrite rod, so this TX experiment will have to wait.

TCXO-9

Yesterday,  I have received a TCXO-9  0.5ppm TCXO to fit inside my FT817. This has come from G3WKW, an old colleague, on loan. He may need it back.

In the next few days I hope to fit this to see what difference it makes, particularly on 6m and upwards. Stability should be much better ( x2).

I think it just plugs into a socket on the FT817 but may need to be netted against WWV or a GPS locked VHF beacon, after giving it time to stabilise first.

Has anyone tried this TCXO?

Most popular QRP transceiver kits?

I am wondering what people believe represents best value for money in QRP kits. Rigs like the KX3 are excellent products but, here in the UK at least, are VERY expensive indeed. One can buy an FT1200 100W rig or IC-7100 for the same price as a fully loaded KX3 here.

Rigs like the BitX  20 or 17m SSB transceivers,  are good value (<£200) and look easy to make from Hendricks Kits. Then again there are several very low cost kits from Kanga and from Walford amongst many.

Some are prepared to invest a lot on a QRP kit whereas others want to spend very little. What kit(s) have YOU enjoyed and do you feel represent good value for money? At the end of the day, the rig has to be genuinely useful. Some lower cost kits have VpERY compromised receivers making the end products of limited value, such as the Pixie. The Pixie and Micro80 were fun to make but (in my view) let down by the RX parts. I did not use a kit to build mine.

10m and 2m AM in band plans

I appear to be rapidly losing friends and think I am now effectively banned from the GQRP Yahoo Group.

Why? Because I have made public (GQRP , Dom Baines, the RSGB General Manager and a letter to RadCom) my view that 29 to 29.1MHz should remain the key 10m AM slot which it has been for YEARS and YEARS. I also believe the 2m AM centre of activity (144.55MHz) deserves more than a (begrudged, anti-AM?) foot note in the 2m band plan. To the RSGB it would appear AM is a dirty word.  If I am wrong on this I could be forgiven for thinking so judging by the negative AM comments in the 2m band plan and the total lack of understanding WRT 10m AM currently.

QRP AM rigs are easy to make, cheap to buy (ex-PMR AM rigs almost given away) and a good introduction to amateur radio. I do accept it is not for all.

I am sorry to be a pain, but the RSGB band plans make no sense WRT AM on 10m and 2m currently and I felt compelled to make my voice heard.

472-479kHz in Poland

See this email:

Hi All!

New band 630m in Poland, the official regulation:

http://download.pzk.org.pl/public/KTPC/Dz.U.03.02.2014_Poz.161_KTPC.pdf

472-479kHz, power 1W EIRP

73! Marcin SQ2BXI

The same document confirms the secondary allocation of part of the 4m band too. 

The 630m band is available in Poland from Feb 18th 2014.

FT817ND UK price

Last year the Yen was around 130 to £1 whereas now it is about 165 to £1, an improvement of around 27 %. It was 174 to £1 a short while back. If  this translated to end user price, an FT817ND that retailed at £535 (with VAT) should now retail at closer to £421 but the best price is still way over £500 .  

Me thinks the UK dealers are taking us all for total idiots. 

Yes, I accept the Japanese costs may have risen because of supply shortages, but the exchange rate improvement should have SLASHED prices. Demand a very good discount if paying cash. Don't  ever tell me a UK dealer has a hard life. Dealers, please pass on your savings to us your faithful customers.

Over 1000km on 474.2kHz

Reception this evening of LA4ANA at 1042km (JO59cu) is a new personal WSPR distance record on RX this season on the 472-479kHz band. I think LA4ANA is using a version of my little transverter too. This is the 21st unique station copied so far on the band with a far from ideal RX antenna (untuned Par 10/20/40 end-fed). This is the 7th country copied too. I am hopeful of copying SM6BHZ if he comes on and don't now rule out transatlantic reception one night if conditions are very good. There are also a few EA stations yet to be copied.

Unique 474.2kHz WSPR spots on RX this winter as of Feb 4th 2014

Remembering that first QSO on 500kHz

Strange how one forgets things. My very first MF QSO, on 500kHz some years ago, was keying the antenna lead of my small AF/LF/MF generator. Power can only have been in the low mW level (at best) and both drift and chirp were terrible but it worked over the path to G6ALB 3km away in the next village. Antenna was not properly tuned and way too short.

474.2kHz TX - soon again, I hope

Up to now this winter I have confined my MF activity to receive only as I have had no suitable system of antennas for TX. Andrew G6ALB is ordering me some earth rods, so I hope to put in place a better earth-electrode "antenna" for 474.2kHz TX soon, possibly with Andrew's help. My recent stroke more or less put a stop to ladder, antenna and earth-electrode work sadly. I am improving but have a way to go still yet. I have managed to prune a few roses, but just this exhausted me! A visitor today (for 45 mins only) left me breathless.

It will be interesting to see how a longer baseline earth-electrode system works at the new QTH on MF   I had great success with the 20m baseline system at the old QTH in earlier years and the new one SHOULD be longer.  It will also be interesting to compare performance on LF and VLF. A lot depends on buried pipes and cables. The position of the new earth rods should be optimal in the space I have.

MePads and MeSquares

Someone asked me where I get these useful pads to stick to copper laminate for bread boarding. Well go to http://www.qrpme.com where you can find both varieties for $10 a sheet. They make any breadboard look so much neater and easier to build. You break out individual pads to use them.

There are a lot of pads on a single sheet (see above). A couple of each type (pads to join discrete parts and pads for ICs) should keep the average builder going for 12 months. They are much simpler than a PCB for small build runs and nearly as neat. You just stick individual pads onto the copper laminate where you need a pad.

See Dave Richards AA7EE's web pages of excellent examples of how to use these pads effectively. His layouts look superb.

http://www.pbase.com/daverichards/image/150083520/original.jpg

474.2kHz WSPR RX totals

The last few weeks have been very successful with respect to 474.2kHz USB WSPR receive.  I have been using just my untuned Par 10/20/40m antenna.  So far 20 unique station reports, which is close to all the active stations in Europe. The evening of Feb 3rd saw IQ2CJ in the log too at 989km - best RX DX yet this season.

20 unique WSPR RX spots on 474.2kHz in last few weeks

Wind Farms - good or bad?

On my Facebook page I asked a simple question: am I alone in LIKING on-shore wind farms?

Although I would not like to be right next to one, I find wind farms good additions to our 21st century life. They look natural, are graceful and elegant. Some folks violently disagreed. Do you have a view?  BTW I live about 10m from a 200 year old corn windmill.

474.2kHz WSPR this evening

Although the 630m 200Hz wide WSPR sub-band is busy, most stations in range this evening seem to be listening. I am listening too as I have no TX antennas currently and cannot erect any until I am fitter (stroke). I am hearing a good number of the active TX stations and will leave the set-up running overnight.

630m WSPR stations copied 2.2.14

New version of WSJT-X

A new version of WSJT-X has been released.. See http://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/K1JT/wsjtx.html  .   As the webpage says:

WSJT-X implements JT9, a new mode designed especially for the LF, MF, and HF bands, as well as the popular mode JT65.  Both modes were designed for making reliable, confirmed QSOs under extreme weak-signal conditions.  They use nearly identical message structure and source encoding.  JT65 was designed for EME (“moonbounce”) on the VHF/UHF bands and has also proved very effective for worldwide QRP communication at HF; in contrast, JT9 is optimized for HF and lower frequencies.  JT9 is about 2 dB more sensitive than JT65A while using less than 10% of the bandwidth.  World-wide QSOs are possible with power levels of a few watts and compromise antennas.  A 2 kHz slice of spectrum is essentially full when occupied by ten JT65 signals.  As many as 100 JT9 signals can fit into the same space, without overlap. WSJT-X offers a "bi-lingual" operating mode in which you can transmit and receive JT65 and JT9 signals, switching between modes automatically as needed.  Displayed bandwidth can be as large as 5 kHz.  If your receiver has as upper-sideband filter at least 4 kHz wide, you can have all the typical JT65 and JT9 activity on screen at once, available for making QSOs with a click of the mouse.  Even with standard SSB-width IF filters, switching between JT65 and JT9 modes is quick and convenient.  Be sure to read the online WSJT-X User's Guide.

Future plans
Plans call for future versions of WSJT-X to include the other popular modes from WSJT: JT4, ISCAT, and FSK441.

2m WSPR - Sunday

Already I see G3WKW's 20W of 2m WSPR (134km) is appearing on my screen at 0902z at -22dB S/N. As there are 4 UK stations active on 2m WSPR I wonder if I shall see, or be seen, by others too?

Stability is the main issue with the FT817's warm-up drift. The trick is to check GB3VHF's dial frequency as this GPS locked. Use the same offset on WSPR and one should be spot on. A 0.5ppm TCXO would help too, but not worth the outlay. I  have a similar issue (not as great) at 6m where I always set the rig 40-60Hz low after allowing it to stabilise. This seems to get 6m WSPR pretty close.

At 0956z  I see my 2W WSPR to the halo has been spotted by G8XWR in IO91oc at 150km. That is encouraging as it is the far side of Guilford and Farnham and further away than Bob. I notice strong Doppler, so probably aircraft reflection.

Lae in the afternoon G3WKW swapped to a lower loss feeder and his signal increased and he began to copy my QRP signal.

In all it was a successful day on 2m WSPR but my drift issue does need to be improved. The DX spots are due to aircraft reflection (when Doppler suits - i.e. little) and the SW package mentioned below helps to predict best opportunities.

144MHz WSPR spots sent and received today (2W and halo)

Retry on 2m WSPR

G3WKW ( Hampshire 135km) and I exchanged 2m WSPR reports eventually a few weeks ago . Since then, Bob has fixed a very stable reference to his rig to remove drift so we are currently repeating the test, this time using vertically polarised antennas. My V2000 vertical has considerably more gain than my horizontal halo whereas Bob has much less gain. We may swap back to horizontal later. Bob is using 10-20W and I am using 2W.

I see G4SMX has spotted a German (DB0XIT) on 2m WSPR this afternoon at 453km and an ON station even copied GI earlier. Despite the strong Doppler, stations ARE managing long ranges on 2m WSPR.

UPDATE 2300z: 2 decodes of G3WKW at 50, then 20W and LOTS of traces with LOTS of Doppler that would not allow  decode. My 2W to halo seen by G6AVK (78km) tonight but no decodes (yet) at G3WKW. These were with horizontal polarisation.

The last 24 hours on 472kHz RX

Not having a suitable TX antenna for 472kHz I have been WSPRing (RX only) on the MF band using my untuned Par 10/20/40 end-fed antenna. In all, 10 unique stations were spotted including F  and DL.

472kHz unique RX WSPR spots over the last 24 hours with untuned Par antenna

A new 5MHz band?

At WRC-2015 one of the possible discussion points is new 5MHz ham band to replace the messy channels allocated in some countries. Although I have held a 5MHz NoV for some time I have still to transmit at 5MHz.

One of the downsides of WRC-2015 is the possibility of losing access to the 10GHz band.

All these decisions are a long way off but your national society may get a chance to comment on proposals. Take the opportunity to add your voice if these decisions matter to you.

472kHz WSPR RX

Rather than go on VHF, I decided to take a look at 472kHz WSPR after a break of over 4 months because of my illness. I have no MF antennas currently so just received on my untuned Par 10/20/40m end-fed antenna. The usual suspects (!) are still about and RX reports (I think) little different to those with the earth electrode antenna.

472kHz band WSPR RX this evening to 2130z

20m WSPR success

I am about to turn off my 20m 2W WSPR  but results have been good, as an example 11 spots from a single transmission at 1802z with the majority of reports being transatlantic.

Crystal sets

It is some time since I built a crystal set, but these are great fun and very easy to build.  Remember you are using the TX station for all power. There are no DC supplies in a crystal set.

Most designs are still for Medium Wave reception, but I had most fun with short wave designs based around T50-2 (red) or T50-6 (yellow) toroids which allow small hi-Q coils to be wound. Larger T68 or larger diameters are also suitable.

There are PLENTY of resources on the internet (just Google "crystal set" ) but a typical one is:
http://www.mds975.co.uk/Content/crystalsets2.html .  Never assume crystal sets are useless: I have copied stations (not via relays) directly from all over the world including All India Radio, Radio Australia and Cuba.  The short wave design  used just a handful of parts. Signal levels will be in 500uV to 2mV region. A good crystal set design can detect down to about 400uV or less, but a lot will depend on your earpiece(s) and your ears. One has to ride QSB as some distant stations appear to be co-channel with less distant stations.

It would be fun to build a multi-band (LW, MW, SW and  VHF) design some day. There are even designs for Band II FM using slope detection. They should work well on VHF aircraft band which is still AM with local airports and planes. I have never seen an aircraft-band design. You can always add a small audio amp, but this rather defeats the purpose of a crystal set.

See also my own website about crystal sets :https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/crystalset .

73kHz band in the USA

In recent days and nights European LF enthusiasts have been looking, with some success, for the transatlantic transmissions in the 73kHz band from W4DEX and others who have been granted special permits  QRSS60 transmissions have been copied well in Germany by Marcus Vester DF6NM and others. See http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/26404526/df6nm_74kHz.jpg

With the right kit (and stability) almost anything appears to be possible.

WSPRnet database was down

This morning, the WSPRnet on-line database has been out of action, so it is not possible to see who is receiving transmissions. This is a handicap of WSPR: when the database works it is a great asset and help, but when down for any reason, the whole fun of WSPR disappears. At best, WSPR is really a QRP BEACONING system, not really a 2-way communications system. JT65-HF and JT9-1 are ideal for QRP 2-way communications on HF.

 As of 1500z, the database was still struggling - but there occasionally.

Health Update

I have now been out of hospital for almost a month following my stroke, so thought I'd better update you on progress.

Well the good news is my walking is coming along quite well. Although I still need a stick, the Zimmer frame is now almost unused.  My wife and I do a 10 minute walk around the Close daily.  A couple of weeks ago I managed a 1 mile walk at Anglesey Abbey (NT). My main issue when  walking is giddiness. This is I believe improving. Another issue is feeling sick inside at certain times of the day. I sleep (usually) very well and for a long time at night. Getting around the home, even a stick is more for psychological support. I can get around OK apart from feeling giddy.

The BAD news is Community Stroke Support. I was told 1-2 week visits would be the norm, but I was, this week, told the waiting list is 13 weeks and I was 13th on the list! The CST refuse to leave messages on the phone and had I not chased them up, I would  never have known my status! This part of my post hospital recovery is PATHETIC.

My experience is NHS clinical care is usually excellent but simple communications around the NHS is appalling. If this was the private sector and MY company several people would be SACKED without delay. Really, communications in the NHS is APPALLINGLY bad generally. This is my experience, my wife's and my daughter-in-law's. It HAS to improve. The sad thing is so little needs to change to make it good and save money and give patients and families a better experience.

I have written to the DVLA but don't yet know how long they will withdraw my driving licence, but I assume for 12 months. I now have a blue disabled badge which allows easier parking when my wife drives us to the shops and National Trust properties.

Swallow is slowly improving. I eat a Weetabix and banana at breakfast and pureed food lunch and tea. I am also on an 8 hour liquid feed.

Overall, I am making progress steadily on all fronts, still doing my exercises more despite the NHS than thanks to the NHS. My own doctor and local surgery have been excellent. At the current rate I can expect to be back to near normal health in the late summer.

Today, Thursday, I wrote  an email of complant to the local NHS ,copied  my MP, James Paice MP. I am pleased to report the NHS listened and I got some positive action this afternoon (speech and language lady coming to my home this coming Monday).  It should not be necessary to do this to be heard. What if I was 85 and suffering from dementia?

Excellent amateur VLF reception

OK2BVG has been having very good results on 8.270kHz picking up Uwe DJ8WX. Note timescales of the plot are in many hours. The wideband noise blocks are nighttime when reception is more challenging.

OK2BVG's reception of DJ8WX on 8.270kHz

Bye 6m, hello 20m

After over a day on 6m with just G8EPA and G4IRZ in the log on 6m, I have QSYed to 20m WSPR. I have not tried 20m for a few weeks. Already transatlantic spots are in the log and best DX spot of me is at 8307km in DM09 square (KI7CI) so far with 2W.  Not sure what happens on 20m in the evenings, but plenty of transatlantic traffic still at 2112z, which is hours later than on 10m. Overnight and Thursday were handicapped by WSPRnet being down , or very flaky.

PA1SDB on VLF

PA1ASB has been active recently on VLF and on his site he has a grabber showing what signals he has/is copying around 8.270kHz  which is the new favoured spot. This is below 8.3kHz and so falls in the unallocated part of the spectrum as 8.970kHz is now within the  spectrum reserved for sferics research.  Most amateur VLF TX stations are now operating around 8.270kHz. Here in the UK I believe it is legal for ANYONE to TX below 8.300kHz  as long as no harmful interference is caused to allocated services above 8.300kHz. This is my view, not a legal statement. I have asked OFCOM to clarify.

Also of note on these pages are the .SDR configuration files for Spectrum Lab software. It is ESSENTIAL to use Spectrun Lab or very similar software to detect anything at any range. See http://www.qsl.net/pa1sdb/index.htm . I suggest that, if you want to build a VLF amateur RX, to base your configuration files on those given on these pages.

My own experience is that 420uHz or less bandwidth is essential to see any trace of amateur VLF signals integrated over many hours. 42uHz is better. In both cases you have to lock to a VLF MSK signal, Russian Alpha beacons or GPS for excellent stability. This is all sorted out with the .SDR file automatically. You may be surprised  how stable a RX you can make very simply.

Our windmill in action

As you may recall, last summer we moved to a bungalow right next to Burwell's 200 year old windmill, which is being fully restored thanks to a National Lottery grant. The video shows the 4 (new) sails being tested earlier today as seen from our lounge window. It is very impressive.

Right next door is the local museum (excellent) which is open Thursday and Sunday afternoons from Easter until late October and WELL worth a visit.

The windmill appears to wobble because Google removed the video's shakiness -in reality it is very stable.

6m - no good today

After a full day on 6m WSPR not a single entry in the log.Even the spots by G4IKZ,were last evening!  Even othersmdid not seem to be doing very well either.

Meanwhile, 10m was in good shape yet again with lots of transatlantic stations copied and worked by G4NUA, a friend in Cambridge.

I'll keep 6m WSPRing for another day, and hope for better solar conditions tomorrow.

73kHz UK access?

According to my interpretation of the latest UK frequency allocation table, one can use the old 73kHz band without a license as long as the output is less than 72dBuA/m at 10m under inductive devices rules. Perhaps someone can tell me if I am wrong. A very low ERP is not a handicap as amateur antennas tend to be VERY inefficient.

See http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/spectrum/spectrum-information/UKFAT_2013.pdf

6m F2 DX

Unless it was a band error, yesterday early morning G4IKZ 18km west of me was spotted on 6m WSPR in Australia over 17000km away by rare 6m F2 propagation. Nick uses about 6dB more power than me and a Moxon beam whereas I use a V2000 vertocal with near unity gain on 6m. I am currently on 6m and living in hope! Solar activity does NOT look promising though.

FT817ND - the perfect QRP radio?

For some time I wondered why Yaesu had not replaced the FT817ND with a more recent model. Then, of course, the penny dropped. This radio, although not perfect, is a good buy at around £500 in the UK.   Basically this is still a very good little radio. Expect a further price drop with the latest £:yen exchange rates.

All it needs are better batteries, auto-ATU and a speech processor, all which can be easily added to the FT817. The KX3 is twice the price of the FT817 and this does NOT include 2m and 70cms all mode. No, for me it will be a second FT817, this time the ND version plus another auto-ATU.

At some point a newer version may appear, but the current version regularly scores well in the eHam reviews (4.8/5) because those who own the radios know just how good they are. Of all the radios I have ever owned and used, the FT817 is the very best, without doubt. Someone called it the "Swiss army knife" of radios.

See the Yaesu brochure at : http://www.yaesu.com/downloadFile.cfm?FileID=618&FileCatID=154&FileName=FT%2D817.pdf&FileContentType=application%2Fpdf

G4KPX

If you get a chance, look at the WSPR spots for Richard G4KPX. Unless he has made recent changes Richard uses QRP with indoor loop antennas and achieves excellent results on every band he uses. For example, his 0.5W 10m log includes a couple of VKs and a good array of stateside stations.  Even on 472kHz he achieves good results.

Back on 10m

After a night looking on 160m RX I came back to 10m TX/;\RX WSPR at 1000z this morning. After a quiet start I am (again) being spotted by 4X1RF and am seeing a station in S.Africa ZS4A (9357km) and Japan JG1KGS (9512km). The band is in good shape yet again. In the afternoon, the band was (again) wide open to the USA and Canada.

UPDATE 1904z:  For me here, the 10m band was STILL open transatlantic at 1904z, VERY late indeed and way after dark..

Top Band WSPR

For a change this evening I've been looking on 160m WSPR with my totally untuned Par 10/20/40m antenna and my FT817.  It is quite amazing what this far from optimised set-up can pick up (see below):

Unique 160m RX WSPR reports since yesterday afternoon

I am unable to TX on 160m, so this is just what I have been able to spot. Best DX was OH6HRX at 1814km.

JT65-HF QSOs on 10m

Today (in between doing the RSPB annual bird count) I had some digital QSOs on 10m with Europe and N. America. The mode works with weak signals but it takes several minutes to complete a QSO. I also tried JT9-1 but there was no activity when I was on. WSPR is easier but does not really support 2-way QSOs whereas JT65-HF and JT9-1 both do.

JT65-HF QSO today