Simple 3 transistor DSB transceiver for 28MHz

Stephen Walters G7VFY has reminded me of a simple 28MHz DSB transceiver from Japan . I think I have mentioned this before, but it is so simple and elegant that a second outing is called for.

3 transistor DSB transceiver

See: http://www.cqpub.co.jp/hanbai/books/15/15061/15061_p.180-181.pdf .

Windows Updates and (late start) 10m WSPR

This morning , I assumed I was on 10m WSPR but instead I discovered the (new Windows 8.1) PC was doing a Windows update and was quietly waiting for me to restart the computer! This I did at around 1300z after which I was back on 10m WSPR.  Sunspot count is down to 83 with "disturbed conditions" today so I would expect 10m conditions at 2W to be more difficult.

PY2RN 10m WSPR spots early afternoon today

My first spot today at 1318z is of PY2RN (9550km) running 5W.  Excellent reports both given and received.

Interesting that even at 1822z, not a single spot exchanged with North America, well here at least. All 10m propagation, for me, is in the N-S direction so far today. More like quieter years. Others with better low angle antennas may have done better.

Non line-of-sight (NLOS) 481THz paths from home QTH

Before venturing out, I have been trying to plot possible NLOS paths with the optical TX at home (inside) and the RX at a convenient roadside spot at a moderate (local) distance. One possible path is VERY remote down very uneven fenland roads which would have to be navigated in the dark with my wife driving the car. I am thinking about her driving the car. I am not allowed to drive as a result of my stroke.  Many of the NLOS paths are blocked by nearby houses and trees. It is a surprisingly hard task.

 Back to Google Earth to see where might be worth trying. From previous tests it is necessary to aim very carefully.

Southern Brazil PU3RRW 10m WSPR

PU3RRW (10652km) was spotted 3 times (so far) this evening. This station in GF38tf  is about as far south as one can get in Brazil and was a massive +9dB S/N for 5W on WSPR at times.

I wonder if TEP  propagation was helping to give signals this strong on 10m.

More transatlantic 10m

Atlantic

10m is still (mainly) open to the USA and Canada from just before lunchtime, local time. The sunspot number continues to decline, but 10m propagation remains in great shape. Even 6m should be good for TEP from southern latitudes. The MUF near Brazil was 47MHz yesterday, so only a bit short of that needed for 6m TEP.   

PY2RN (9550km) has been spotted on 10m WSPR several times already today. Southern Brazil is a long way from the UK but it is mostly a sea path.

10m oddity

10m WSPR early morning April 11th 2014

WA2YUN has just been spotted by lots of us in Europe, including me, at around 0908z. His reported locator is RK39hh which is near Wake Is in the Pacific. I suppose this is JUST possible at 11946km (especially early mornings) but it is more probable he is reporting the wrong locator. It is too early for transatlantic propagation - very odd.

KH9/WA2YUN is shown as Wake Is, so this is probably genuine.
See: http://www.dxcoffee.com/eng/2012/03/07/kh9wa2yun-wake-island/ 

WA2YUN/KH9 QSL card

A glutton for punishment? 474.2kHz WSPR

I have just gone back on to 474.2kHz USB dial WSPR with 5mW ERP from the 15m spaced earth-electrode antenna. I must be a glutton for punishment!

So far this evening I have seen a couple of different Dutch stations and I have been seen a couple of times by PA3ABK/2 (306km) and once by F1AFJ (607km). The kit will be left on overnight to see if any new stations turn up.

 

WWV at 25MHz

The Southgate Amateur Radio News Page reports that WWV (Fort Collins) is experimenting at 25MHz for the first time since 1977 for a limited time.

See http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2014/april/wwv_now_conducting_experimental_broadcasts_on_25_mhz.htm#.U0bjPygvk2A .

6m TEP in the Far East and 10m propagation today

Looking at the 6m spots on WSPRnet.com I note the many trans-equatorial spots of VK4TVL by JF1PSS (6176km) with some being of incredible strength (+11dB S/N ) and no drift at all. The VK is running 20W, but even 2W would be enough. Local time looks like early evening.

Over here, I can see no South African or other African WSPR stations active making 6m TEP attempts here a waste of time.

Later unique 10m WSPR spots of my 2W until 1744z.

No great DX here this morning on 10m with EA8/DL9XJ best DX at 2981km  (single hop F layer). There are also a couple of GDX stations at 162 and 184km.

The first transatlantic spot was at 1108z when W4HFZ was copyable at 6819km. He was using 5W. There are other 4 area stations being copied too. The pattern this afternoon is similar to previous days on 10m.

My best DX today is FR1GZ (9724km) at 1550z. Just now I was spotted by VE6ODQ (6640km) in DO34ir (Athabasca).

XP3A - Nook, Greenland on 10m WSPR

For some reason (Win 8.1?) I have had issues today uploading my WSPR spots (that is of others) to the database. I have restarted the software and reset the clock and now all seems to be OK.  Among the first uploads was a strong signal from XP3A in Nook, Greenland at 1932z.. Although strong (+4dB S/N) there was -4Hz Doppler on the signal, perhaps because the signal was coming through the Auroral Oval?

XP3A's QSL card

This was the first time I have seen/heard Greenland on 10m WSPR but I was lucky enough to work Greenland on 15m SSB handheld with my FT817 in my back garden some years ago on just a base loaded whip with  a counterpoise!   I think the mode then was double hop Es. It was an easy QSO. Being able to move the antenna for best signal helps.

Interestingly, a VE4 was suffering -4Hz Doppler just now (signal again passing through auroral oval?). I often see large Doppler shifts on signals crossing the Equator (e.g. on FR1GZ) and I assumes this is due to moving F layers (spread F) as signals cross the magnetic Equator. I would expect TEP signals to have considerable Doppler too.

Phlatlights

When I have repeated my over-the-horizon NLOS optical (red LED) tests at 481THz using LEDs bought from Hong Kong, I must remember to try my Phlatlights which are about 10dB stronger.  I bought these nearly 2 years ago and have not yet fired these up! The ones I have already have heatsinks so it should be quite easy to use these for QRSS3 tests. In theory it should mean aiming a little less critical or greater range when "on-beam".

At 8.7km over the horizon with a clear sky, QRSS3 signals were about 10dB S/N with the 10mm HK LEDs, so with Phlatights and the same optics (100mm lenses) signals should be much stronger. More tests for when I am fitter.

10m today - still good

http://www.hanssummers.com/images/stories/ultimate3/1/5.jpg

All afternoon I have been receiving WSPR spots for my 2W WSPR transmissions.  Up to now ALL spots have been from transatlantic stations in the USA. The band is still in good shape.   The sunspot count is drifting gradually downwards (94 today) but, for now at least, HF conditions on the higher bands like 10m remain generally good.

This weekend I may make a start on my Ultimate 3 WSPR beacon kit (see image above on Hans Summers' site).  This is a complete (no PC needed) beacon kit for modes like WSPR and QRSS3 and very reasonably priced even if buying the GPS timing kit too. Mine cost £37 including postage from Japan with GPS.

I feel a bit better than I did and less clumsy. We'll see.

10m yesterday - a remarkable day

10m yesterday was quite remarkable here.

Nothing at all was seen until mid-afternoon and then the band just opened wide!  K9AN (6505km) last spotted my 2W signal at 2308z, which is after midnight local time and HOURS after the band has normally died out. It had been dark for hours. One wonders if this was F2 or even multi-hop Es? I wonder what was happening on 6m transatlantic?  I must check.

Even this morning conditions are encouraging with US7ISA (2634km) spotting my 2W as early as 0750z - very early and much earlier than stations were coming through yesterday. This is eastern Ukraine. Probably F layer but could, I guess, be early Es propagation.

5MHz band - RSGB notice

See http://rsgb.org/main/blog/uncategorized/2014/04/08/important-update-5-mhz-band/ .

The primary user is carrying out some exercises in the next few days and amateurs (secondary users) are asked to use the channels we have carefully to avoid interference to the primary users.

So far, I have only used the band for WSPR on a couple of occasions. It was fun.

Successful 481THz garden tests

Today I repeated my optical tests across the garden receiving signals on my RX with both 600 ohm phones and Spectran software with QRSS3. This time the tests were very successful with signals at least 40dB over noise when scattered off distant bushes (0.34Hz BW).   I think we are nearly ready for the NLOS tests again!

10m late starting today

10m WSPR this afternoon

10m was very slow to get going today and it was not until 1404z that OZ7IT was spotted on WSPR.  Then, there was some some choice DX such as TJ3TS (5478km) and PY2RN  (9550km), the latter who spotted my 2W first at 1446z and several times later in the afternoon.  A few hours later K9AN (6505km) was coming through. Most DX is N-S and transatlantic almost absent. There were some more US stations on later.  ZS6PCO (9100km) was spotted at 1712z. After 1834z most spots are of my 2W from stations in the USA.  It is almost as if someone turned the switch on late today!

Some of the early evening 10m WSPR spots by stateside stations

UPDATE 2130z:  10m is still wide open to the USA. This is quite remarkable after the appalling conditions in the morning.

Later in the cycle, when there are far fewer sunspots, the band will come to life only very briefly and sporadically. In many ways these will be MORE interesting times. This is as long as WSPR operators hold faith with the band even when days go by with not a signal to be heard. I have regularly heard S.Americans on SSB in the solar minimum years. WSPR should be a lot easier.

481THz QRSS3 beaconing across the garden

Last night I fired up my 481THz optical kit with poor results: I think the RX unit may have a flat PP3 battery? On the Spectran display the QRSS3 signal bounced off trees and bushes should be very easy to spot, but for an unknown reason, I was struggling.  I shall recheck all the kit today. The kit has to be well focused and working well to work DX non line of sight (NLOS), which is my plan soon.

My stroke symptoms (poor balance and clumsiness) are really not helping: tasks that were very easy last year are very hard this, well at present they are.  Before my wife and I venture out into the dark fens, I want there to be a good chance of success, which means good and thorough preparation.

All quiet on 10m so far today

Overnight I left my 10m WSPR kit running to see what happened overnight, The last logged station was EA8/LA3JJ at 2018z last evening, so no overnight openings and no GDX around. Perhaps people turn off 10m at night. I usually do and QSY to a lower frequency like 472kHz.

It is now 1247z with a sunspot count of 106 and the 10m band is still quiet with me: no WSPR spots of my 2W signal and no spots of other people yet either. If conditions were good I would have expected some activity from the East already. In southern Europe conditions look better.

See later post for what happened in the afternoon when the band came alive.

481THz QRSS3 beacon

This afternoon I dug out my optical QRSS3 beacon, PSU and optics. In the coming days I intend to test this locally from my shack by scatter off local walls and trees with the RX head, 100mm optics and Spectran software in a different room.

If all is working well, I shall ask my wife to drive me to an NLOS (over the horizon) location at 6.18km to see if the signal can be received. This is the first optical test in many months.

At the moment I am struggling with quite simple stuff because of my stroke. I am still so clumsy.

10m WSPR - April 7th 2014

After another disappointing session on 474.2kHz WSPR overnight with lots of spots from G6AVK and PA3ABK/2 but from no-one else, I have returned to 10m WSPR this morning.

Like yesterday, things have started off very quietly, probably as solar activity is just beginning to go past the peak and we are moving towards summertime conditions (less E-W and more N-S plus EU Es activity). The solar forecast is for "normal" HF conditions with a sunspot count of 127. K=2. No doubt the usual suspects will be visible soon?

UPDATE 0906z: Just spotted my PC was not connected to the internet - now corrected.  FR1GZ (9724km) has been seen multiple times and has copied me too. This is N-S propagation. No signs yet of EX1UN who was a consistent signal on 10m yesterday.

UPDATE 1020z:  UA9OTW (5136km) is a decent signal with 1W.

UPDATE 1242z:  No sign of any stateside stations yet,  but a -2dB S/N report from  LZ1OI .

UPDATE 1346z:  At last USA stations are appearing on 10m. The transatlantic 10m path is open today.  N5CSC (8009km) has exchanged spots with me. There are others too. I am still using 2W.

UPDATE 1704z:  10m still well open to the USA.

UPDATE 1848z:   This was the last time I noted transatlantic signals here this eveing.

UPDATE 2020z:    Still good 10m signals from EA8/LA3JJ (500mW) coming through although a few minutes later the band seems to have closed for any DX.

Non line of sight (NLOS) 481THz light

My attention is turning back to 481THz (red light) and slightly lower frequency (IR) light communications over the visible horizon (NLOS). From the new QTH there is a good local marker (roof top chimneys on a house in the High Street) for a 6.18km NLOS path to the place I used to go to check VLF earth-mode at limit range. If I can set things on the right beam heading from home,  I then have to persuade my wife to drive me out there after dark where the roads are VERY bumpy and rough - it is way out in the fens - to see if I can pick up QRSS3 signals using Spectran software. This is where I really miss not being allowed to drive (because of my stroke) myself.

10m WSPR

Not as many stations being copied as in the last few months and only G3JKV (123km) copying me so far today. 4X1RF who always seems to copy me seems not to be on right now on 10m. We'll see how things develop later in the day, but is this the start of the very slow slide down to the minimum? Must just go and move frequency about 10Hz in case I am sitting under a big station.

Recent 10m WSPR spots

UPDATE 1130z:  Just exchanged 10m WSPR spots with FR1GZ (9724km) on Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean. He is using 5W and me 2W.  Conditions must still be reasonable. No stateside signals seen yet.

UPDATE 1300z:   G7FYO (162km) is being copied  but with -3Hz shift, suggesting aircraft reflection. This is a new direction too (IO82), nowhere near London's busy airports. These inter-G spots will be our 10m "bread and butter" in a few years' time when the long DX wanes.

UPDATE 1425z:  Interesting that not one stateside station copied yet here today so far. A few Europeans are reaching the USA, but not me. It looks as if transatlantic DX will not be seen here today now.

Later 10m spots - note absence of stateside stations

Disappointment on 474.2kHz last night

After a promising start, last night was a damp squib on 474.2kHz WSPR with just 3 unique reports of my signal and all of these from people who have spotted my 5mW ERP before.

474.2kHz WSPR spots overnight with5mW ERP - disappointing

I have now returned, again, to 10m WSPR with 2W ERP. Until I extend my baseline on 474.2kHz, I think there is little new to explore on MF.

Return to MF

As of about 30 minutes ago I have returned yet again to 474.2kHz WSPR with my 15m spaced eartb-electrodes and about 5mW ERP. 

UPDATE 2100z: Already this evening I have been spotted several times by G3WCB (101km) and PA3ABK/2 (306km). A promising start to the evening and night but would like lots more UK reports!

VE3GEN - colossal 10m signal, and G7JVN

Running 2W RF,  VE3GEN is a huge WSPR signal today at +4dB S/N, implying he would be copyable with low milliwatts. LZ1OI is 10dB stronger still.  Even my own 2W is +1dB S/N right now at 1542z with KB9AMG at 6300km. Just goes to prove how good 10m can be on a good day.

Intrigued by me copying G7JVN (JO00) who is 154km south of me. Just what 10m mode is this? -23dB is not too bad a signal.  I'd be surprised if aircraft scatter was involved, so could it be tropo?  Drift on his signal was large at 2Hz, but the actual received signal showed a near continuous, but frequency varying signal, no sign of Doppler or  multiple signal returns as commonly seen with aircraft reflections. Similarly, G3WKW at 134km copid earlier in the day, but we believe this WAS an aircraft crossing the path (no Doppler). I suppose G7JVN could have been an aircraft crossing the path too?

Anytone 5555N and 6666 10m rigs

I am still on the lookout for a decent dedicated 10m multi-mode to use on my favorite band on SSB and CW mainly. There are a couple of new Anytone rigs at around £159 and £199 depending on power output. I need to watch for reviews of these, but both look neat units.

See http://simonthewizard.com/2014/03/14/anytone-at-6666-at-5555n-more-videos-online/ for a few videos.

Both are sold by Nevada, who also sell the President Lincoln II for around £259. The latter seems to have more features but is considerably more expensive.

474.2kHz WSPR overnight

A slightly better session on MF last evening and overnight with a few more UK stations in the log, but still way down on earlier attempts. I am trying again tonight with 5mW ERP from the 15m earth-electrode antenna on 630m, but for now have gone back to 2W on 28.1246MHz WSPR - much easier going!

Unique MF WSPR results overnight 5mW ERP

Wikipedia on QRP

Wonder what Wikipedia has to say about QRP operation?

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/QRP_operation .

I find Wikipedia a great resource and have, in the past, contributed a few entries.

Back on 474.2kHz - yet again

I am having another go with the 15m earth-electrode antenna and 5mW ERP on 474.2kHz WSPR this evening. Unless UK and near continent activity picks up, it could be another fairly fruitless evening.

Certainly it is a lot easier getting DX spots on 10m.

UPDATE 1810z: Not long ago M0PPP was a reasonable signal at -23dB S/N on 474.2kHz WSPR. He is in the Barnsley, Yorks area (IO93gm) and should be "off the side" of my earth-loop. Midway through his TX burst there was a slight break and frequency shift too.

UPDATE 1940z: My only reports so far are from G6AVK (78km) again. I am copying F5WK (364km).

10m WSPRing again

This afternoon I have returned to 10m WSPR. There are lots of transatlantic reports of my signal, as well as reports of my 2W signal from Russia and Brazil.  Not sure if it is a Win 8.1 issue or just the V2 WSPR program playing up but I seem to be NOT uploading spots I see at my end. Perhaps the internet service is very weak in my shack?

UPDATE 1545z:  Restarting the program and re syncing the clock fixed it. Anyone know how to change how often the PC clock is sync'ed to internet time in Win 8.1? I need to increase the frequency I think. I don't even know how to find the control panel in Win 8.1 !

Unique 10m WSPR spots received so far this afternoon

Oscar 6 and 7

http://ukamsat.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/oscar-7-amateur-radio-satellite.gif?w=593

Many years ago when I lived in Cambridge I recall listening for the 2m transponder outputs from thse satellites at the topmost end of the band. Using my "Oscarlator" - a paper based calculator one could predict passes in range.  The best ones were late at night way out west over the Atlantic, when, for a few minutes Ws and VEs could be heard.  Also copyable was HB9HB, a 70cms beacon that got translated to 2m. I never transmitted via satellites then and used a homemade 2m converter feeding an old T28 Codar receiver. Happy days back in the 1970s. I gather Oscar 7 is still up and (sort of) functioning.

See http://www.qsl.net/pe1rah/oscarlator.htm .

630m - quiet overnight

The lack of G stations on 474.2kHz WSPR was very apparent overnight. My log is very sparse.

Unique 474.2kHz WSPR spots oveernight

From reports given and received, a lot more could have been achieved with more activity.  When I install my longer baseline earth-electrode system,  I'll have another try. I am dependent on others to help me with this because of my stroke.

Amateur satellites

I have only ever had one single SSB contact via an amateur satellite and that was one with a 29MHz downlink many years ago. I cannot recall the satellite or the uplink frequency. I have not bothered since but don't doubt I could have QSOs with a 70cm/2m transponder.  I see from the Southgate amateur radio news pages that the transponder on the FUNcube-1 satellite is to be switched on tomorrow for the weekend.

630m - very quiet so far

With so little local and semi-local activity, I am getting no WSPR results so far this evening on the 630m band. This is more to do with low activity than the earth-electrode antenna system. Lack particularly of G activity is a serious issue: I shall have to abandon the band (with QRP ERP at least) unless more Gs and nearer continentals become active.

UPDATE 1830z:  PA3ABK/2  (306km) was a strong -8dB S/N at 1814z. No-one else!

UPDATE 1915z:  a few spots of me by G6AVK (78km).  No-one else so far this evening.

UPDATE 1940z:  F4DTL (431km) and DF2JP (461km) spotted.

MF again and plans for VLF

This evening, I am re-trying my 15m baseline earth-electrode "antenna" on 474.2kHz WSPR (approx. 5mW ERP) but at the moment there is a distinct lack of in-range stations. I shall keep the system running until tomorrow to see who appears.

The next test may be WSPR at 8-9kHz earth-mode with the same antenna. I may persuade G6ALB to appear on VLF WSPR (3km + away). The match here needs better optimising at VLF.  Presently the earth system looks more like 300ohms resistive at 474.2kHz - a lot higher than at the old QTH.

10m WSPR with new PC

10m WSPRing again now, but with the new Win 8.1 Dell Inspiron 15R PC and 2W RF from the FT817. Immediate success this morning with reports from Russia and Japan in the very first transmission slot. All seems to be well with the new PC.

I am spotting lots of EU stations too as well as PY2WG (9562km) and it is not yet 0930z.

UPDATE 1300z: LZ1OI  is putting in a huge WSPR signal today and I am wondering if this is via Es rather than F layer? 

UPDATE 1350z: as well as transatlantic stations, there are more Europeans in the 10m log today.

WSPR with new Win 8.1 PC

I had a surprise today: my Inspiron 15R does NOT have a touch sensitive screen after all. Dell assure me I did not order, or pay for such a screen  This is not an important feature.

The next surprise was a sort of malware program called "optimizer pro" which managed to install itself and wanted me to buy a subscription to reomve hundreds of errors. A free call to 0800 028 2660 ( the FREE Dell support number) soon had this removed and the PC fully checked remotely. WSPR, Spectran and Ccleaner all installed and worked without issues. Ccleaner is a recommended free download to do the same and a lot more. I run Ccleaner regularly to check PC health.

I tried WSPR on 20m and 10m and the software ran without issues under Win 8.1. A nice surprise with Win 8.1 was that the PC's clock is already sync'd to an internet time server so that timing was not an issue with WSPR. No need to install special software for this purposes.

As far as I can see, Win 8.1 seems to do all I need.

Our bungalow from the top of the Burwell windmill next door

Our bungalow from up the windmill next door

In my present (wobbly balance) state of health because of my stroke , I cannot climb up the inside of the fully restored windmill (above) that is right next door to us.  This morning, our son managed a sneak preview and he took some photos of our bungalow from the very top floor of the mill.

You may see my V2000 vertical and 2m halo on the garage roof if you look at the blown up photo. You may JUST be able to see my HF Par end-fed wire too but you will need to look carefully at the full sized photo.

For the second time this year, a party of school children is visiting the museum, and windmill. The windmill has its official opening on Sunday April 13th.

See http://www.burwellmuseum.org.uk.btck.co.uk/StevensMill

The windmill, next to our bungalow, is the highest spot in the village. The church, about 400m away, is on the second highest ground.

A friend has suggested I string a 472kHz antenna up to the top of the windmill! Actually I don't need this - I prefer the view as it is.

Burwell Church from up the windmill

AM and SSB available to UK CBers from July 1st 2014?

According to the Rocket Radio website, AM and SSB will be allowed for UK CB users (for the first time) from July 2014. There will no doubt be a spate of multi-mode rig sales before then. I have no data on frequencies yet. Rigs like the President Lincoln II are 28-29.7MHz only and it is NOT legal to modify these for CB coverage. I guess they will have to get OFCOM type approval for CB versions in the next few months?

New PC due any time now.

According to the tracking data, my new Dell PC has been dispatched from their factory and should be here soon. Assuming all is well, I shall load Spectran and WSPR software and start WSPR tests again. My shack is currently out of action as it is housing my little granddaughter's cot. They go home tomorrow. We will miss them as they have been nice company.

UPDATE 1700z: The new PC has arrived.  I shall start configuring it tomorrow when the grandchildren have gone home.