On October 24th there will be a transmission from the historic SAQ in Sweden. Quite a few test their VLF systems with this. I have a QSL card from them from a transmission several years ago. It is on my shack wall.
21 Oct 2020
10m FT8 RX
At the moment I am on the poorer indoor loop, which is the one used on 20m, 17m and 15m. It sits on the shack windowsill. I reckon it is about 6dB inferior to the dedicated 10m loop made with copper thin bore pipe. Although I think my chances are low, I have left the kit running on 10m FT8 RX "just in case". It would be good to spot something!
UPDATE 0840z: Not surprisingly, nothing spotted.
UPDATE 0855z: Amazingly, EI9JF (488km) spotted.
UPDATE 0821z: Now G0PQO (50km) and G0FWX (160km) also spotted. No real DX yet, but I am pleasantly surprised to spot these stations already on 10m FT8.
UPDATE 1358z: 18 stations have spotted me today on 10m FT8 RX.
UPDATE 2035z: 5 people spotted my 2.5W 10m FT8 to the poorer indoor loop antenna and I have spotted stations in the USA and South America as well as all over Europe.
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Earth-electrode "antennas" in the ground
Quite often I hear people tell me they have no space for LF or MF antennas. Rubbish!
For many years I have used my earth electrode "antenna" on VLF, LF and MF. It won't be as good as a big antenna, but it works remarkably well. Even my wife does not know it is there! Neither do the neighbours.
On 472kHz WSPR I get copied in Norway most nights with less than 10mW ERP with mine.
See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/antennas/earth-electrode-antennas
Overnight on 630m WSPR RX
Overnight, I left my 630m WSPR kit running. Many more spots from the stations copied in the evening although no-one new. My conclusion is the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground appears fine. Next job is mending that PA in the transverter. Stations logged in Norway, Poland, Italy and Spain plus many other European nations.
20 Oct 2020
Shoe boxes - NOT amateur radio
630m WSPR RX
There may be 2 issues with my 472kHz (630m) QRPP setup.
As mentioned in the last post, I suspect the IRF510 PA device is damaged. My transverter gives 12W into a 50 ohm load, but the measured ERP is less than 10mW. Despite this, I was able to get to Norway most nights last winter.
There may also be a break in my earth-electrode "antenna".
As a first step, I am on 472kHz WSPR RX overnight. If this works, it probably means the earth-electrode "antenna" is intact. If this is the case, I may be able get on TX again just by mending the PA device. If this fails, I shall replace both the IRF510 and the wire in the garden.
UPDATE 1830z: With F and DL already spotted, initial results are encouraging.
UPDATE 2130z: I think the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground is fine, judging by results this evening. I shall leave the RX on overnight, although I have spotted far more than I expected.
Mending 472kHz transverter
Late last winter I think I managed to destroy the PA MOSFET in my 472kHz transverter. I must have had a very poor match for a very long time! Mending this is a job for the weeks ahead. In the past this has been mainly used for WSPR.
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