Echolink QSO

Just had a very FB QSO with a USA station via a New Jersey repeater using Echolink. This was a chat. He even managed to understand my poor voice!

VLF DX tests with earth-electrode antennas

Stefan DK7FC is transmitting 75W into an earth-electrode "antenna" and seeing if he leaves a trace on the RX at Todmorden in the UK.

"Hi VLF,

I'm sitting in my car while writing this email. I'm in JN39WI96GX and i transmit on 8270.000 Hz with a GPS locked signal generator into an about 450 m long earth antenna using two guide rails as the earth electrodes on both ends. On each end there are 16 (18) massive T-T poles holding the guide rail, providing a super good earth coupling. I measured that they are connected to each other.
The transmitter is on the air since 9:08 UTC running 550 mA with just 75 W DC inout power into my hand warm lossy linear mode VLF PA!

I'm amazed about the low losses! At DC i got 447 mA at 50.9 V. The wire is 0.4 mm diameter so it has 63 Ohm. That means the ground loss is just 50 Ohm !!!! Amazing! And i have no efforts to build up a ground connection here, i just need to connect the wire. Since the wire losses are higher than the ground losses, i can get maybe 2 dB more signal when buying some better wire. I already found a source that offers 0.75 mm^2 100 m loudspeaker cable (i.e. 200m wire)for just 13 EUR....

BTW i even have an ugly old scope here which is battery powered. I can see that the phase of voltage and current is slightly inductive, maybe 30 deg or so. So i could series resonate the antenna with some C. This is for the next experiment...

The signal becomes visible on my grabber now, in 424 uHz and also some bright pixels in the 3.8 mHz window.

I'm going to stop the carrier at 10:08 UTC, after 1 hour. Then i'll continue on 5.17 kHz!
BTW the antenna , if it works like a real loop, is beaming directly to Paul Nicholson ;-)

73, Stefan"

WSJT-X version 2.0 coming

Amateur Radio Weekly points out that there will be some significant changes to FT8 and MSK144 when v2.0 is released, probably around the end of the year. Beta testing has still to be done. This news first appeared on the ARRL site.

UPDATE 1302z July 31st: Title changed. I had it wrong!

See http://www.arrl.org/news/view/significant-changes-in-store-for-ft8-and-msk144-with-wsjt-x-version-2-0?utm_source=amateur-radio-weekly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter

Bob G3WKW has pointed me to the original source http://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/k1jt/wsjt-x_v2.0.txt

80m WSPR using HAARP antennas and 80kW

Southgate News has a piece about 80m WSPR tests using the massive HAARP antennas and huge powers up in Alaska. This may well be worth looking for.

At one time this was a US government facility, I believe, and the centre of all sorts of conspiracy theories!

See http://southgatearc.org/news/2018/july/listen-out-for-haarp-wspr-80m-transmissions.htm#.W1xyh_ZFzIU

10m WSPR TX

Yet again, I am on 10m WSPR TX (500mW) as the antenna is free. No spots yet.

UPDATE 1340z: 23 spots so far today, all Denmark and Germany.

UPDATE 1834z: FY5KE (7110km) spotted my 10m WSPR beacon at teatime. This is my best DX today.

UPDATE 2010z: 14 different stations have spotted me today. Time to go QRT.

Granddaughter and strawberries - NOT amateur radio

We spent a week in north Norfolk last week on holiday. The picture shows our granddaughter enjoying strawberries with her mum and French grandma. We ate outside most days.

Sunspots -- Saturday July 28th 2018

Solar flux is 67 today and the SSN remains zero.  A=4 and K=2.

6m FT8

As there are no storms expected today I shall probably give 6m FT8 a go shortly.

UPDATE 0845z: Best DX on 6m FT8 RX is UT4XU (1963km).

UPDATE 0958z: Best DX on 6m FT8 RX is now A45XR (5794km) in Oman in the Middle East. As this station is being very widely reported in Europe and Japan, I think this is genuine.

UPDATE 1350z: Plenty of 6m FT8 Es with stations all over Europe, Israel, the Gulf States and the Canaries spotted on 6m FT8 RX. Nothing from the Americas spotted here yet today.

UPDATE 2004z: Even now there is Es on 6m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 2024z: I was going to turn the rig off, but there are still USA stations being called by "real" stations with beams, so I decided to stay on, at least for now.  I am hopeful that even my very modest station might detect some of these DX stations on 6m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 2107z: I was right. KB4MRX (7072km) in Florida, USA spotted. Now WP4G (6803km) in Puerto Rico in the Caribbean.

Rain at last - NOT amateur radio

The last time I saw rain here in Burwell was in May. Already the storm has arrived and we have rain.

A Toast - NOT amateur radio

Whilst in north Norfolk this week we celebrated our 47th wedding anniversary with one of our sons, his children and his French in-laws. The latter bought us champagne and a surprise hamper. It was a good week with excellent weather.