Even more fascinating 472kHz experiment

Following on from yesterday's tests, today I started a further test using an earth electrode "antenna" on 472kHz WSPR.

This time I used 2 ground rods in the soil separated by 15m of wire (fed directly from the transverter output at 50 ohms) and powered entirely from a battery supply - PC, FT817, transverter, SignaLink interface - so that there was no connection whatsoever to the house mains earth or copper pipes in the house. The power out would have been slightly lower (lower supply voltage) and the baseline 25% shorter.

472kHz earth electrode "antenna" system in garden

So far, results are almost identical to those obtained yesterday when one side of the earth electrode system was connected to the copper pipes in the home on one end.

My best DX WSPR report this evening with 10W RF out from the transverter into the 15m separated electrodes is G0KTN at 210km. ERP is in the low mW region at best. On RX DJ8WX has been copied at 643km.

Although a large Marconi antenna will be far better, this set-up certainly works and gives highly credible results. Considering just how simple this is I hope others experiment with the earth electrode "non antenna" and see how they get on.

UPDATE: Best DX report of my few mW ERP signal with 15m spaced earth electrodes was from DL-SWL at 701km. I am copying lots of signals including SM6DHZ and DK7FC even after breakfast time. Amazing.

Analysis of 472kHz antenna tests today

With several hundred WSPR spots of my QRP signal received today on 472kHz, I have tried to do a crude analysis of the difference in performance between my short (1/100 wavelength long) Marconi and my earth electrode (ground) antenna. I did this using MS Excel. Now I have forgotten most of the things I knew about Excel, so this is basic stuff here!

I plotted the maximum and minimum signal reports for each type of antenna for a number of different reporting stations and plotted a graph showing the difference and the angle the station is from me to see if there was a clear directionality in the earth electrode system.

Analysis of signal levels with short Marconi and Earth Electrode antenna at 472kHz

Conclusion? I'm not sure, although the difference between the 2 antennas varies from as little as 0.5dB (PA3ABK) up to 16dB (M1GEO) with an average additional loss of around 7dB. Can you see any indication of directivity in the earth electrode antenna? I am assuming the Marconi is omni-directional, which of course may not be the case.

Not bad for an antenna that is invisible to the neighbours and still is capable of getting reports (so far) to 701km away with a few milliwatts ERP.

Codar AT5 transmitter

Image on G3XTZ's Radio Museum website

Way back when I was first licenced for VHF/UHF only in early 1967 as G8AWG, I used to operate under supervision at the HF station of Bill Honeywill G4PJ in Salcombe on 160 and 80m. Bill Had an old KW Viceroy TX and a Codar AT5, which was "state of the art" in its day.

The AT5 was a small valve TX producing around 10W on 160m and 80m. Using the AT5 we could work right up the English Channel in daylight on AM and CW over a mostly sea path.  I noticed a page about the AT5 on the W3EEE website and it took me back 45 years.

Image on G3XTZ's Radio Museum website

There was a companion RX called the T28 which I owned at one time - I got it as a university prize for writing one of the better final year theses - which was made using a couple of Mullard modules. The T28 was nothing special, but did make a useful tunable IF for my 2m converter used to copy signals from Oscar 6 and Oscar 7 amateur satellites.

Nowadays in a volume less than half that of these rigs one can have a complete multi-mode HF-VHF-UHF transceiver with performance far exceeding the AT5 and T28. We forget how much our hobby has changed.

Earth electrode TX/RX antenna at 472kHz

Signals received on 472kHz WSPR using the earth electrode "antenna"

This afternoon I've been experimenting with my 20m spaced earth electrode system (used at 8.97kHz VLF), but this time on 472kHz WSPR. One electrode is an earth rod at the bottom of the garden and the other is a connection to the copper pipes in the home. Although I need to analyse results more carefully after an overnight run, the system certainly works with spots of my TX already received across England and from Holland. G4HJW 9km away is as nearly strong on the earth electrode system as on my vertical Marconi.

UPDATE 1715gmt: just been spotted by DL-SWL at 701km!!!

I honestly do not understand why this system - with wire no higher than 1.5m in the air running along the fence between the earth rods - works as well as it does. This is a short video showing the system in operation.

The ERP with the earth electrode system cannot be more than around 5mW which makes the performance all the more remarkable.

Some of the TX reports this afternoon with the 472kHz earth electrode system

Half century reached on 472kHz with 10mW ERP

After less than a week on the 472kHz band, I see that my tiny QRP signal has now been copied by 50 unique reporters in 8 countries so far with the best DX over 1000km.

If anyone thinks they have no chance on this new MF band then please note my antenna has just 6m outside the house which is vertical - the other 6-8m is in the loft against copper pipes and wires. This wire is just the coax to my 10m halo taped to the aluminium pole and my ground just my central heating copper.  ERP is around 10mW from my transverter producing around 10W (i.e. about 30dB antenna efficiency loss because of the short size and compromised feed). The ATU is still just a ferrite rod coil on my desktop! I tune the antenna for maximum current and do not have an SWR meter for this band ( when matched the PA runs cool and the antenna current is highest).

My apologies for the small type size below, but I had to reduce the browser size to get all the reports on a page I could screen capture. Getting a signal out on MF is honestly not difficult at all.

50 unique reports on 472kHz WSPR so far with 10mW ERP

In the next few days I want to try my earth antenna (20m spaced earth electrodes connected by a wire only 1.5m above ground) used on VLF earth-mode TX to see how reports compare. Tests on 500kHz suggested reports were around 8dB down on my loop used at that time, but I have not yet compared results against my compromised 1/100 wavelength high vertical. It will be intriguing to see how I get on.

First JT9-1 QSO on 472kHz

This afternoon I had my first digital 2-way QSO on the new 472kHz band using JT9-1 mode created by K1JT. The contact was with G3ZJO in IO92. Solid -15dB S/N reports were exchanged. I am still getting to grips with the JT mode procedure.

QRP JT9-1 QSO with G3ZJO today on the 472kHz band

 I also tried to work G3KEV on CW but he was unable to hear my QRP signal. I will try for more JT9-1 QSOs over the weekend.

Chinese all-mode, all band handheld for under £300

The Yintong HVU1 is an all-mode, all band 1.8-1296MHz handheld designed as a real competitor to the FT817, KX3 and Ten-tec Argonaut VI and priced at around £299 in the UK and $299 in the USA. It comes with a 3 year warranty.

Small in size (about 80% the volume of the FT817) with Li-Ion battery, internal auto-ATU, OLED colour display, speech processor, DSP audio processing, with full support for digital modes like PSK31, JT65 and other WSJT modes. Power out is 5W pep on all bands apart from 1296MHz where the power is 2W pep. Control of the rig by PC is via USB. Free CD software is supplied with the rig to allow easy memory programming and to set up digital mode interfacing.

It is just about everything QRPers have been looking for at a price that people can afford, except that I woke up and realised I'd been dreaming.

Happy New Year everyone .............and dream on.
                                                                                                   

First CW QSO on 472kHz

Although my local noise level is a little lower on 472kHz than on 500kHz it is still not low, so working stations with the current TX antenna (using it on RX and TX) is not the best of set-ups. Nonetheless, this evening I had my first 2-way QSO (on any band) of 2013 and this was on 472.5kHz CW with G3XIZ in Biggleswade. We exchanged 579 reports, although I was rather generous with my report really because of the local SMPSU noise. Also heard was G3YXM who was rather weaker than Chris.

I am now continuing with WSPR beaconing and will run the beacon (TX and RX) through the night for the first time on the new MF band. So far my best DX report is from Germany, but I would dearly love to be copied, if just once, by TF3HZ in Iceland. Haldor is monitoring and it is just about at (or just beyond) the limit of range with my 10-20mW ERP.  With QRP I have learned that nothing seems to be impossible with a bit of perseverance and good luck.

Hello 472kHz!

Today I did my first proper transmissions on 472-479kHz, although I did operate for a few hours before Christmas when there was some confusion over the NoV start date. Results today have been excellent with just ~10mW ERP from the short vertical antenna.

14 unique stations reporting my QRPp WSPR today on 474.2kHz

 Best DX is 990km, a very promising start on the new band. In addition, I appear to be suffering less noise on the new band than on 500kHz so I have been able to copy 6 unique WSPR stations so far.

In summary, a good few hours on the new band.

Goodbye 500kHz - it was good to know you.

This evening the 500kHz band is being withdrawn from UK amateurs at midnight, as it is in most other countries too, to be replaced by the 472-479kHz band. So, this evening is the end of an era.

With 2 young grandchildren staying with us for a few days (and using the shack as a bedroom), opportunities to get on the band have been very limited, but I did manage an hour of WSPR beaconing around tea time tonight as my way of saying "farewell" to the band. There were plenty of stations active as the reports below indicate.

So, I'll be QRT for a few days then starting up on 472kHz, although if I get a chance I shall be WSPRing during some of the day on New Year's Day.

Stations receiving my 10mW ERP 500kHz WSPR signals this evening