137kHz receive challenges

Several people have emailed me about receiving signals on 136/137kHz. Now I'm certainly not greatly experienced in this, but a few things I've picked up from others are worth passing on:

• Many HF rigs are deaf on 136kHz, for example the FT817, although this is less deaf if you switch IPO to "on" on 136kHz. A small preamp may help as long as this is selective and doesn't increase overload and intermod from strong out-of-band stations. 
• The receiving antenna may have to be directional e.g. a small loop/preamp to allow local noise sources to be nulled. 
• DCF39 on 138.830kHz sending FSK data with a burst every 10 seconds is a good indicator of receiver performance: it should be a good strong signal in the UK. 
• Ultimately it is S/N rather than noise figure that matters on this band.
• Be prepared to use PC software such as Spectran or Argo to look for weak QRSS mode signals.

Here, I'm using the deaf FT817 (no preamp) with my 80sq m transmitting loop facing W-E at the moment and this is able to receive G8IMR's 20mW ERP WSPR beacon most of the time (188km) despite not being in the main direction of the loop. I've also copied G3XIZ, G3XDV, G3YXM and G3KEV on the band, the last being on CW. So, even a poor receiver can produce results, but it is really worth optimising the set-up (including here at G3XBM) to get more decent results. This is on the agenda.

VE7-JA QSO on 136kHz

JA7NI and Scot VE7TIL completed a trans-pacific QSO on 136kHz this morning, a first between Canada and Japan.  DX is 7162km. This was the result of many months of hard work and planning and followed several previously unsuccessful attempts.

7th new reporter on 137.5kHz WSPR

M0BMU copied my 137.5kHz QRP WSPR signal today giving me -19/-20dB S/N, which is quite a good report. Distance is 69kms. This is now the 7th unique station reporting my WSPR beacon. I'm still hoping for a report from outside of the UK soon, but suspect I'll have to increase the ERP beyond the current 20uW level to achieve this. The consistent signal report from Jim should allow me to calculate ERP based on field strength at a good distance. This will allow me to check the accuracy of my ERP measurements much nearer to home.

Sub-9kHz Amateur Radio group: 100+ members already

Since creating this new group on Saturday it already has over 100 members. Now we need to see some postings from people actually doing activity down there in the "Dreamer's Band".

See http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/sub9khz/

A good evening on 500kHz

This evening I was well pleased with my simple 500kHz transverter and the vertical wire loop antenna in the garden producing around 2mW ERP. The map shows stations that reported me on WSPR including LA3EQ at 769km, which is the best DX so far on the loop. The loop doesn't seem to be that directional surprisingly.

137kHz QRP transverter (provisional schematic)

Attached is a first draft of the 137kHz QRP transverter schematic. The values are not all correct or optimised on the circuit. Also the RX preamp has still to be added, but this is what I'm proposing to do. The TX is working pretty well (best DX 148km) and produces around 5W from the PA which runs cool and 20uW ERP. An updated version will appear on my website later. It may even get put in a box soon!

500kHz ERP with the vertical loop antenna

Results on 500kHz WSPR with the vertical 80sq m area loop (made from 1mm diameter wire) are very good with signal reports from G3XIZ this evening of +4dB S/N. M0BMU has given me - 4dB S/N. This leads me to believe the ERP of the system is now somewhat higher than with the short Marconi vertical. Based on earlier calculations I think my ERP, in the best direction, must be about 2mW now, some 6dB more than it was.

6th unique WSPR reporter on 137kHz

This autumn is beginning to look a bit like last year when I was taking my first tentative steps on 500kHz WSPR: each week would land me a few new reports from more distant stations. This autumn my challenge is 137kHz WSPR and so far I've been copied by 6 different stations: G6ALB, G3XIZ, G3XVL, G3WCD, G3YXM and, this evening, M0FMT. Best DX remains G3YXM at 148km. Not bad for a true QRP station with less than 5W from the PA and less than 20uW ERP with the transverter just a breadboard on the desk and the ATU sitting on the bedroom table.

Also today I copied G8IMR, Andy Talbot's QRP beacon from Southampton on 137.530kHz.

Sub-9kHz Amateur Radio (Yahoo group) formed

This new group is for anyone interested in amateur radio communications below 9kHz in the so-called "Dreamer's Band".  See http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/sub9khz/

VLF DX transmission with earth electrode transmission (49.6km)

DK7FC's 8.97kHz DFCW transmission received at 49.6km

Stefan DK7FC has informed me that he has successfully transmitted the message "CU" in DFCW on 8.97kHz to Michael Oexner at a distance of 49.6km. His TX puts out 250W into a 600m spaced earth electrode pair with a current into the antenna of about 0.5A. This is definitely far field reception. Stefan's earth electrode antenna is capable of further improvement, so he is expecting more successes shortly with it.