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.