Bye 6m, hello 20m

After over a day on 6m with just G8EPA and G4IRZ in the log on 6m, I have QSYed to 20m WSPR. I have not tried 20m for a few weeks. Already transatlantic spots are in the log and best DX spot of me is at 8307km in DM09 square (KI7CI) so far with 2W.  Not sure what happens on 20m in the evenings, but plenty of transatlantic traffic still at 2112z, which is hours later than on 10m. Overnight and Thursday were handicapped by WSPRnet being down , or very flaky.

PA1SDB on VLF

PA1ASB has been active recently on VLF and on his site he has a grabber showing what signals he has/is copying around 8.270kHz  which is the new favoured spot. This is below 8.3kHz and so falls in the unallocated part of the spectrum as 8.970kHz is now within the  spectrum reserved for sferics research.  Most amateur VLF TX stations are now operating around 8.270kHz. Here in the UK I believe it is legal for ANYONE to TX below 8.300kHz  as long as no harmful interference is caused to allocated services above 8.300kHz. This is my view, not a legal statement. I have asked OFCOM to clarify.

Also of note on these pages are the .SDR configuration files for Spectrum Lab software. It is ESSENTIAL to use Spectrun Lab or very similar software to detect anything at any range. See http://www.qsl.net/pa1sdb/index.htm . I suggest that, if you want to build a VLF amateur RX, to base your configuration files on those given on these pages.

My own experience is that 420uHz or less bandwidth is essential to see any trace of amateur VLF signals integrated over many hours. 42uHz is better. In both cases you have to lock to a VLF MSK signal, Russian Alpha beacons or GPS for excellent stability. This is all sorted out with the .SDR file automatically. You may be surprised  how stable a RX you can make very simply.

Our windmill in action

As you may recall, last summer we moved to a bungalow right next to Burwell's 200 year old windmill, which is being fully restored thanks to a National Lottery grant. The video shows the 4 (new) sails being tested earlier today as seen from our lounge window. It is very impressive.

Right next door is the local museum (excellent) which is open Thursday and Sunday afternoons from Easter until late October and WELL worth a visit.

The windmill appears to wobble because Google removed the video's shakiness -in reality it is very stable.

6m - no good today

After a full day on 6m WSPR not a single entry in the log.Even the spots by G4IKZ,were last evening!  Even othersmdid not seem to be doing very well either.

Meanwhile, 10m was in good shape yet again with lots of transatlantic stations copied and worked by G4NUA, a friend in Cambridge.

I'll keep 6m WSPRing for another day, and hope for better solar conditions tomorrow.

73kHz UK access?

According to my interpretation of the latest UK frequency allocation table, one can use the old 73kHz band without a license as long as the output is less than 72dBuA/m at 10m under inductive devices rules. Perhaps someone can tell me if I am wrong. A very low ERP is not a handicap as amateur antennas tend to be VERY inefficient.

See http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/spectrum/spectrum-information/UKFAT_2013.pdf

6m F2 DX

Unless it was a band error, yesterday early morning G4IKZ 18km west of me was spotted on 6m WSPR in Australia over 17000km away by rare 6m F2 propagation. Nick uses about 6dB more power than me and a Moxon beam whereas I use a V2000 vertocal with near unity gain on 6m. I am currently on 6m and living in hope! Solar activity does NOT look promising though.

FT817ND - the perfect QRP radio?

For some time I wondered why Yaesu had not replaced the FT817ND with a more recent model. Then, of course, the penny dropped. This radio, although not perfect, is a good buy at around £500 in the UK.   Basically this is still a very good little radio. Expect a further price drop with the latest £:yen exchange rates.

All it needs are better batteries, auto-ATU and a speech processor, all which can be easily added to the FT817. The KX3 is twice the price of the FT817 and this does NOT include 2m and 70cms all mode. No, for me it will be a second FT817, this time the ND version plus another auto-ATU.

At some point a newer version may appear, but the current version regularly scores well in the eHam reviews (4.8/5) because those who own the radios know just how good they are. Of all the radios I have ever owned and used, the FT817 is the very best, without doubt. Someone called it the "Swiss army knife" of radios.

See the Yaesu brochure at : http://www.yaesu.com/downloadFile.cfm?FileID=618&FileCatID=154&FileName=FT%2D817.pdf&FileContentType=application%2Fpdf

G4KPX

If you get a chance, look at the WSPR spots for Richard G4KPX. Unless he has made recent changes Richard uses QRP with indoor loop antennas and achieves excellent results on every band he uses. For example, his 0.5W 10m log includes a couple of VKs and a good array of stateside stations.  Even on 472kHz he achieves good results.

Back on 10m

After a night looking on 160m RX I came back to 10m TX/;\RX WSPR at 1000z this morning. After a quiet start I am (again) being spotted by 4X1RF and am seeing a station in S.Africa ZS4A (9357km) and Japan JG1KGS (9512km). The band is in good shape yet again. In the afternoon, the band was (again) wide open to the USA and Canada.

UPDATE 1904z:  For me here, the 10m band was STILL open transatlantic at 1904z, VERY late indeed and way after dark..

Top Band WSPR

For a change this evening I've been looking on 160m WSPR with my totally untuned Par 10/20/40m antenna and my FT817.  It is quite amazing what this far from optimised set-up can pick up (see below):

Unique 160m RX WSPR reports since yesterday afternoon

I am unable to TX on 160m, so this is just what I have been able to spot. Best DX was OH6HRX at 1814km.

JT65-HF QSOs on 10m

Today (in between doing the RSPB annual bird count) I had some digital QSOs on 10m with Europe and N. America. The mode works with weak signals but it takes several minutes to complete a QSO. I also tried JT9-1 but there was no activity when I was on. WSPR is easier but does not really support 2-way QSOs whereas JT65-HF and JT9-1 both do.

JT65-HF QSO today

10m - Australia and USA early morning!

Just checked my WSPR spots with 2W on 10m so far this morning (to 1045z) and delighted to see I was received by VK3OER at 16743km and several spots from KD0VWO at 7408km. I have never been spotted in the USA so early in the day! Perhaps this is long path? I see I have spotted JA and VK stations too.

2W 10m WSPR 26.1.14 morning to1045z

10m WSPR still running this evening

Even though the last Stateside DX finished around 1724z, I have left my 2W 10m WSPR kit still running in the hope of catching some 10m GDX this evening, So far nothing heard or seen on the screen.

Heathkit HW8 QRP HF CW Transceiver

Looking back on all the rigs I have owned over the years, the Heathkit HW8 must be up there near the top of the list. I bought mine secondhand ready built in totally unmodified state. It stayed in its original state all the time I owned it. It was eventually sold back to its original owner when I bought a Yaesu FT7 I believe.

https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/hw8/hw8a.jpg?attredirects=0

I could go on the air most days and be sure to work something including plenty of DX on 15m. There are lots of mods on the net but as it is it performs pretty well.  It gets a good score in the reviews on http://www.eham.net . The power out was around 2-3W and the RX a decent direct conversion design. Style-wise it was typical Heathkit - very neat on the desktop. I used mine with the Heathkit PSU.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/hw8 .

These days, the HW8 is hard to find and not cheap, for good reasons.  I liked the looks and performance of mine and regret selling it. I actually preferred it to the 4-band superhet based Elecraft K1 CW rig. If you own no other radios, you can do a lot worse than the HW8. It just works well.  A couple of watts of CW is quite enough to work DX on 20 or 15m as well as loads of UK and EU stations on the lower bands.

JT9-1 QSO on 10m

This evening at 1650z I had a first QSO, in a long time, on 10m JT9-1 digital weak signal mode with 2W RF following my CQ call on 28.078MHz USB dial.  The 2-way QSO was with N8HTG at 5937km.

My calls were also received by several other USA stations such as WO4R, KQ8M and WC0Y according to the PSKreporter website.

JT9-1 is about 2dB less sensitive than WSPR, but it allows 2-way contacts to be made. Using WSJTX software the QSO was straightforward.

Incidentally, K9AN was still copying my 2W 10m WSPR at 1724z which is late in the evening.

10m WSPR Success

Yet again 10m is wide open and USA spots are "ten a penny" this afternoon at 2W. The band has been in good shape now for many weeks. In a moment I am going to swap to JT9-1 to get some 2-way contacts in the log. My speech is still too poor (because of my recent stroke) for SSB, FM or AM.

4X1RF's RX system?

This station in Israel seems to copy my WSPR beaconing on ANY band and at ANY power down to 5mW. I have no idea what he uses on RX but he must be situated in a nice and quiet radio environment to hear so well. Now I EXPECT to be copied in Israel and think my gear is faulty if I am not!

Auto-ATUs for FT817ND

Until it started to misbehave recently, I have used the Elecraft T1 auto ATU with my 12yr old FT817 with good results. Its main use has been to resonate end-fed wire antennas on HF bands.  I always struggled on 160 and 6m.

Does anyone know how the LDG  Z817 auto-ATU compares? It is larger  than the T1 but less expensive.

What would  YOU recommend? I intend to get a new FT1817ND (as a second radio) and auto-ATU, then to fix the old ATU.

Second peak for cycle 24?

It looks more and more likely that cycle 24 is going to have a second peak with a greater magnitude than that of the first peak of Feb 2012. Today the sunspot count is 150. It will take several months before the smoothed sunspot number is known, but the indicators are good.

Recent excellent conditions on 10m are further evidence of good times. Since home from hospital (Jan 3rd) 10m has been open to N.America every afternoon that I have listened.

As the slope down to the minimum is more gradual than the ascent to the peak(s), we can expect decent HF conditions for a few years to come.

The new peak is not great and we may we be heading to a Maunder Minimum with very little sunspot activity for perhaps 40-50 years. Enjoy these HF conditions while you can  because we may not see them again in our lifetimes.

See http://www.solen.info/solar/ .

UPDATE 1300z:  My first report from the USA (running 2W WSPR) was as early as 1244z, indicating a VERY early 10m stateside opening today at my very low power level.. Conditions remain excellent on 10m.  7088km, not bad.

JT65B - limited 2m success this evening

This evening, I managed to successfully copy G3WKW in Hampshire on JT65B digital weak signal mode on 2m, although Bob only copied a few pings from me, so no QSO. We will be trying JT9-1 soon. One of the issues is lack of experience with the JT65B software package. Bob was running up 40W to a beam whereas I was just using 2W to the halo. The power difference mattered. I think with patience and more time we could have completed a 2-way QSO.

This experiment makes me think that I need more VHF power if I am to take the 2m band seriously. Somewhere around 50W to a small beam is probably what is needed to regularly work decent ranges with weak signal modes in flat conditions.  Working 2m with 2W and a halo is fun but this is a case where more power would be more fun.

JT65-HF

In an attempt to brush up on my JT65 message techniques, I shall try a few QSOs today with JT65-HF (basically JT65A). I've used this mode before successfully. Then it will be back to 2m and JT65B to see if I can make that work.

JT65 is a very weak signal mode for 2-way communications, unlike WSPR which is essentially a 1-way  beaconing mode but WSPR will work with even weaker signal levels.

UPDATE 1645z: Plenty of EU and USA stations heard on JT65-HF around 28.076MHz,  but none raised for a QSO.  Moved to 28.078MHz for JT9-1 but band was dropping out.  Will try on HF again tomorrow AM.

JT65B on 2m

This evening I had an unsuccessful JT65B sked on 2m with G4DCV in Aldershot. I was using WSJT 9.7 software. Although I could hear his JT65B tones well (and his CW) I could not once decode his callsign in JT65B despite Paul using 200W. Later I checked with GB3VHF and was easily able to copy callsign and QTH locator in JT65B mode. I shall have to try this mode again until  I succeed. I have used JT65-HF successfully on several occasions. Paul could receive me despite me using just 2W to a halo at around 135km.Several times the WSJT 9.7  reported a runtime error and closed the program.

If anyone has any ideas why I did not decode Paul's transmissions please let me know.

6m GDX

Late evening yesterday and today I have returned to WSPR with 2W to the V2000 vertical on 50.293MHz WSPR. G4IKZ 18km west of me is monitoring with a Moxon antenna and despite polarisation differences gets a strong signal from me. G8EPA (61km) is about -22dB S/N with me. No other stations copied so far. Stations in Holland and Germany are too far for tropo and I have not seen any evidence (yet anyway) of wintertime Es on 6m. I keep hoping to copy some GDX from further afield.

UPDATE WED EVENING:  Having been on 6m ALL DAY LONG and only heard G8EPA  (61km)  I have QSYed back to 10m WSPR and intend to be on with 2W overnight and all tomorrow.

UK 2m beacon back in service

GB3VHF, which was off air because of a PSU issue went back on the air again on Monday Jan 20th. Up here in Cambridgeshire it is a moderate signal on my halo and very useful as a 2m propagation indicator. At its original Wrotham site it was once much stronger (S9 +). The beacon also TXs in JT65B allowing reception at great range.

See http://www.gb3vhf.co.uk/ .

Elecraft T1 ATU gone intermittent

http://www.elecraft.com/T1/T1_photo_b1.jpg

After 8 years of good service (kit bought 2005), my Elecraft T1 auto ATU seems to be playing up and it does not want to match SWRs of around 2:1 on 40m and on other bands. I have had this issue (not tuning) before, so will have to take it apart to see what is amiss. I am going to buy another one (or a Z817 from LDG) anyway. Means I cannot pull  my slightly off-tune Par 10/20/40 antenna in on 40m. Antenna is cut too long and because of my poor health/stroke I cannot climb a ladder to adjust it.. When the ATU works it is very good indeed. Battery lasts 12 months or more and the ATU is very small - pack of playing cards in size. Ideal for the FT817 and good for up to 20W.

10m 100mW WSPR

Today I WSPRed on 10m with 100mW RF, which is a little below the output of the unmodified Ultimate 3 WSPR beacon kit. Plenty of European and near east spots (best 4X1RF 3519km) received this morning, and transatlantic propagation after lunch. First transatlantic 100mW report at 1312z was from VE3SWS 5532km away to the north of the Great Lakes and the next from KZ8C 6290k away at 1334z and ND6M at  6914km.  Best DX report with 100mW was WA5NGP at 7878km. 100mW is obviously enough to lift me above the noise floor for several stations both sides of the Atlantic, unlike with 5mW. Reports from 4 continents today with 100mW.

10m 100mW spots received today

My last transatlantic  reception was VE3SWS at 1812z (way after dark), but the last report of my 100mW signal was at 1522z. Sunspot number 131-136 today.

Magic (well nearly) on 40m

This evening on 40m I returned to 2W out WSPR to my low Par 10/20/40 antenna. Initially the reports were from G4IKZ who is 18km west of me and they were not brilliant.  I was about to go QRT when my very next reports were from Western Australia (VK6XT) at 14719km and Tasmania, Australia (VK7BO) at 17244km.

Such is the MAGIC of HF propagation. With my low antennas I think 2W is a sensible WSPR RF power level. I have already proved that as low as 5mW gets some reports even with my antenna, but 2W is the level I really need to check propagation. It may well be much lower power if your 40m antenna is half decent.

Overnight there were plenty of stateside reports too. 40m is a good " all round the clock" WSPR band.

QRPp WSPR and small antennas

One thing the last few days of 5mW WSPR beaconing has taught me is others must be using better antennas than me.

At 5mW I am really struggling, whereas, for some, DX reports still flow in at this very low power level. All my antennas are low and compromised which is why 1-2W is a more sensible level for me. I suspect my ERP is lower than other QRPp stations when I use 5mW RF. Nonetheless, it was an experiment well worth doing.

In the end, 4X1RF at 3519km was my only report with 5mW on 10m.  I had no luck with transatlantic reports despite myself copying plenty of US and Canadian stations yet again,even with a 20dB attenuator in circuit.

From tomorrow I propose to run 100mW RF on 10m being much the same as the unmodified Ultimate 3 kit, although I intend to run 1-2W on my final version.

UPDATE 1700z:  10m closed transatlantic at 1700z.

10m 5mW WSPR so far

After beaconing at 5mW WSPR on 10m all afternoon, I have received not a single spot so far.

20dB attenuator directly on 500mW output of FT817 (note chokes on ground side)

I have copied many stateside stations today and yesterday. On Monday morning my 5mW 10m beacon as spotted by 4X1RF at 3519km, a new 5mW DX record for me. RX reports suggest reception in N.America of the 5mW beacon might  be possible, but no luck as yet.

10m WSPR spots, 5mW TX and RX via 20dB pad

40m 5mW Summary

After leaving the 5mW 40m WSPR beacon running for 24 hours, this is the summary.

In all I received 7 spots in that period with the best DX being a single report from Italy and a couple of reports from Denmark.

In all, quite an interesting exercise with very low power.  Clearly  my signal was sitting in the noise most of the time, being just over the noise floor on a few rare occasions for very small number of stations. I am convinced that 2W RF is a better level to aim for in any dedicated WSPR beacon. Even with a 20dB pad in series with the FT817 output, I was still copying stations from near and far including VK6XT on 40m. On TX it was much harder to be copied.

 40m 5mW WSPR spots received

Still, with my modest, low, 40m antenna 1183km is not bad with just 5mW. See later post about 10m results.

BitX 20m and 17m single band SSB kits

If you are looking for a basic 10W pep rig for 20m (or 17m) you can do a lot worse than build a BitX kit from Hendricks QRP kits.The basic "no nonsense" design came from India but these kits are well documented and on a neat PCB. See http://www.qrpkits.com/bitx20a.html  . The full kit is $180 in the USA.

Image is at http://www.qrpkits.com/images/tn_bitx20acase1.jpg

Hendricks do a number of other (mainly CW)  kits of interest.

Moonbounce or EME

This is a part of our hobby I have never done and am unlikely to do. Moonbouncers are a special breed with excellent equipment carefully optimised, low noise preamps and usually lots of power and a big steeraable antenna capable of tracking the moon in the sky. I am full of admiration for those who take the time and effort to overcome the immense technical challenges. With new digital modes EME is a little easier and some people with single horizontal yagis and more modest power are able to work larger stations off the moon. For me, it is all a step too far though. I shall stick to VLF, LF, MF, lightbeams, QRP and WSPR.

5mW on 40m WSPR

With considerable difficulty (because of my stroke) I made a 20dB attenuator to reduce my 500mW down to just 5mW. This attenuator is right at the FT817's output coax connector. It also reduces the RX signal by 20dB too of course. Let's see what happens!

Normally such a small project would take just minutes but I found the whole job hard work taking at least twice as long. In the same way, PC work takes me longer as I am forever correcting  typos.

My 5mW has been spotted locally once and in Denmark 853km away on 2 occasions and once in Holland. Results are in line with expectations so far. Sunspot count still good at 95. The last report of my 5mW signal was at 1744z. It must just be popping out of the noise with a few stations, rarely. I'll leave running overnight to see what happens.

On RX I see I spotted VK6XT, even with a 20dB pad in the antenna line.

RX reports (mine) with 20dB pad in line on 40m

40m 5mW WSPR spots this afternoon

Best Amateur Radio and SWL apps

The excellent Southgate ARS News page had a link http://wp.me/pn3uc-2cL to the best apps for smart phones (iOS and Android). If you have such a device some of these apps are worth considering.

500mW on 40m WSPR

Following on from the 500mW 10m WSPR tests yesterday and the 2W 40m WSPR tests overnight,  I am now going down to 500mW WSPR on 40m to see what spots I get. Initial results are encouraging with plenty of western European spots at 500mW to the (inadequate) antenna.

40m 500mW WSPR spots this morning

Optical Comms in Vancouver Canada

This morning I received an email from Steve, VE7SL, reporting on his experiments with VE7CA over a 2-way distance of 54km using red LEDs.  They are doing really well and Steve is writing an article for a Canadian journal. They seem to have been encouraged by my own modest efforts,which I hope to restart before too long. At present my poor fitness and temporary inability to drive because of the stroke are real handicaps.

Image of optical path spanned from VE7SL

40m WSPR this evening

As 10m has closed here, I've moved my WSPRing to 40m at 2W RF.  The band sounds quite quiet here, but I have been spotted in Israel (4X1RF) at 3519km as well as in plenty of European countries. I am also spotting plenty of others on the band even though my low Par antenna cannot perform brilliantly on the band. A few weeks ago my 1W out on 40m was spotted in Australia with the same Par antenna.

Morning update: Overnight some Stateside DX was in evidence.

40m unique WSPR spots (36) with 2W since last evening

Ten-Tec Argonaut VI 1-10W QRP HF transceiver

In my recent QRP rig comparison I omitted the Ten-Tec Argonaut VI.

http://cdn2.bigcommerce.com/server1500/ooh0w/products/358/images/724/539_web_photo__37987.1373600182.1280.1280.jpg

By all accounts and reviews this is a CLASSY little HF radio, with very good performance figures in a neat and simple desktop design. People have compared its performance to the Elecraft K2,although it is considerably smaller. Size wise it is little larger than the FT817ND. The major drawbacks in the UK are price(see below) and the lack of 60m, 12m and 6m coverage. (No 2m or 70cm coverage too). If these are not important considerations and you want a small desktop QRP radio then the Argonaut VI may be worth considering.

See http://www.tentec.com/argonaut-vi-qrp-1-10-watt-transceiver/
and http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/10849 

In  the UK Waters and Stanton supply this rig, but the current price is £999.95, which is very expensive compared with its competitors, even though a very nice transceiver.

500mW tests on 10m

In preparation for building the Ultimate 3 WSPR beacon for 10m, today I was using 500mW RF on transmit. Reports from LZ and IT9 this morning looked promising. I suspect my current 10m antenna (the Par 10/20/40) may not be that brilliant or is directional.  A vertical may be a better choice.

Currently it seems MUCH harder getting spots with 500mW than with 1 or 2W RF. Probably the signal is being buried under others?

In the afternoon the band opened to the USA and Canada with reports from the usual suspects, but less often than with higher powers. The band closed transatlantic today here at around 1640z.

500mW 10m WSPR spots received today

Wintertime Es on 10m?

In amongst the DX calls today I notice callsigns from 4 European countries. I assume the propagation was F layer or F layer backscatter, but it could be wintertime Es which peaks in the northern hemisphere around Dec and Jan. Signal levels suggest Es may be more likely. All the more reason to use WSPR to seek out fleeting Es openings that might otherwise go unnoticed at any time of the year.