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.
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| 144MHz WSPR spots sent and received today (2W and halo) |
2 comments:
Interesting results Roger. Ive been considering trying my old FT-290mk1 for WSPR if I can stabilise it enough. I'll look into it
The AirScout software http://www.airscout.eu/ has a PDF manual on it's Downloads Tab. It is interesting to see where the aircraft are that are causing the Doppler but it ignores those "behind" the station which will be illuminated by your Omni antenna.
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