Ten-Tec Argonaut VI 1-10W QRP HF transceiver

In my recent QRP rig comparison I omitted the Ten-Tec Argonaut VI.

http://cdn2.bigcommerce.com/server1500/ooh0w/products/358/images/724/539_web_photo__37987.1373600182.1280.1280.jpg

By all accounts and reviews this is a CLASSY little HF radio, with very good performance figures in a neat and simple desktop design. People have compared its performance to the Elecraft K2,although it is considerably smaller. Size wise it is little larger than the FT817ND. The major drawbacks in the UK are price(see below) and the lack of 60m, 12m and 6m coverage. (No 2m or 70cm coverage too). If these are not important considerations and you want a small desktop QRP radio then the Argonaut VI may be worth considering.

See http://www.tentec.com/argonaut-vi-qrp-1-10-watt-transceiver/
and http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/10849 

In  the UK Waters and Stanton supply this rig, but the current price is £999.95, which is very expensive compared with its competitors, even though a very nice transceiver.

500mW tests on 10m

In preparation for building the Ultimate 3 WSPR beacon for 10m, today I was using 500mW RF on transmit. Reports from LZ and IT9 this morning looked promising. I suspect my current 10m antenna (the Par 10/20/40) may not be that brilliant or is directional.  A vertical may be a better choice.

Currently it seems MUCH harder getting spots with 500mW than with 1 or 2W RF. Probably the signal is being buried under others?

In the afternoon the band opened to the USA and Canada with reports from the usual suspects, but less often than with higher powers. The band closed transatlantic today here at around 1640z.

500mW 10m WSPR spots received today

Wintertime Es on 10m?

In amongst the DX calls today I notice callsigns from 4 European countries. I assume the propagation was F layer or F layer backscatter, but it could be wintertime Es which peaks in the northern hemisphere around Dec and Jan. Signal levels suggest Es may be more likely. All the more reason to use WSPR to seek out fleeting Es openings that might otherwise go unnoticed at any time of the year.

X1M 5 band QRP rig for £250?

See http://www.radioworld.co.uk/catalog/x1m_5-band_qrp_transceiver_kit_platinum_edition-p-11014.html?gclid=CMW2oamQg7wCFWcUwwodgyAAjQ  at £329.

This small Chinese transceiver is available for £329 from Radio World (and probably others).

To me, it still looks cheap and nasty, basically an immature product. The time will come (and quite soon) when Chinese QRP rigs will mature and steal the business from the "big boys" from Japan. The Yaesu FT817ND and the Elecraft KX3 will soon be under BIG price pressure.

The best price is reported to be £250 - a LOT less than its competitors.

Ultimate 3 beacon - GPS module

The GPS module for the Hans Summers WSPR beacon to provide QTH locator and very accurate timing is now back in stock so I have ordered one. It needs a 3.2V regulated supply.

Reduced 10m power from 2W to 1W on WSPR

The Ultimate 3 WSPR beacon kit (on order) gives about 130mW out from a 5V PA supply on 10m. Using a 12V PA and more FETs in parallel should lift this to >1W out, so today I have been using 1W out to see what spots I get. Actually, so far, results are much the same as with 2W.

1W 10m  unique WSPR spots today

UPDATE 1244z:  10m band just opened to the USA. Absolutely no problems getting stateside spots at 1W rather than 2W.  Tomorrow I shall use 500mW. Stateside spots ended for me at 1716z.

10m - wide open again

Yet again my favorite band is wide open to Israel, S.America and to North America. Conditions on the band have been excellent for weeks.

UPDATE 1730z:  Band still open transatlantic, 1 hour after dark here, but sounds dead at 1800z.

Bandplan annoyances

Do people who write band plans never actually operate? This morning I saw the latest RSGB band plans in Feb 2014 RadCom and almost tore up the magazine.

For example, and yet again, 10m AM which to my certain knowledge has occupied 29.0-29.1MHz  for YEARS and YEARS and YEARS is not even mentioned and 144.55MHz,which has been the 2m AM centre of activity for many years is mentioned begrudgingly just in a footnote as if AM  was disgusting! Yet we have a FAX calling frequency! Why is the RSGB so blatantly anti-AM?

Frankly I am appalled. Idiots.

10m transatlantic - yet again

10m is again wide open across the Atlantic again this afternoon. In fact, since coming out of  hospital on Jan 3rd it has been wide open more or less every afternoon that I have checked. Sunspot count remains good.

1710z:  10m band was still wide open across the Atlantic, then someone turned the lights off here!

Australian QRP reports on 3 bands

Today VK6XT copied my 2W WSPR signal on 10m at 14719km. This now means my QRP WSPR has been copied in Australia on 10, 20 and 40 m these last few weeks. HF conditions are clearly in good shape of late.