The last 24 hours on 472kHz RX

Not having a suitable TX antenna for 472kHz I have been WSPRing (RX only) on the MF band using my untuned Par 10/20/40 end-fed antenna. In all, 10 unique stations were spotted including F  and DL.

472kHz unique RX WSPR spots over the last 24 hours with untuned Par antenna

A new 5MHz band?

At WRC-2015 one of the possible discussion points is new 5MHz ham band to replace the messy channels allocated in some countries. Although I have held a 5MHz NoV for some time I have still to transmit at 5MHz.

One of the downsides of WRC-2015 is the possibility of losing access to the 10GHz band.

All these decisions are a long way off but your national society may get a chance to comment on proposals. Take the opportunity to add your voice if these decisions matter to you.

472kHz WSPR RX

Rather than go on VHF, I decided to take a look at 472kHz WSPR after a break of over 4 months because of my illness. I have no MF antennas currently so just received on my untuned Par 10/20/40m end-fed antenna. The usual suspects (!) are still about and RX reports (I think) little different to those with the earth electrode antenna.

472kHz band WSPR RX this evening to 2130z

20m WSPR success

I am about to turn off my 20m 2W WSPR  but results have been good, as an example 11 spots from a single transmission at 1802z with the majority of reports being transatlantic.

Crystal sets

It is some time since I built a crystal set, but these are great fun and very easy to build.  Remember you are using the TX station for all power. There are no DC supplies in a crystal set.

Most designs are still for Medium Wave reception, but I had most fun with short wave designs based around T50-2 (red) or T50-6 (yellow) toroids which allow small hi-Q coils to be wound. Larger T68 or larger diameters are also suitable.

There are PLENTY of resources on the internet (just Google "crystal set" ) but a typical one is:
http://www.mds975.co.uk/Content/crystalsets2.html .  Never assume crystal sets are useless: I have copied stations (not via relays) directly from all over the world including All India Radio, Radio Australia and Cuba.  The short wave design  used just a handful of parts. Signal levels will be in 500uV to 2mV region. A good crystal set design can detect down to about 400uV or less, but a lot will depend on your earpiece(s) and your ears. One has to ride QSB as some distant stations appear to be co-channel with less distant stations.

It would be fun to build a multi-band (LW, MW, SW and  VHF) design some day. There are even designs for Band II FM using slope detection. They should work well on VHF aircraft band which is still AM with local airports and planes. I have never seen an aircraft-band design. You can always add a small audio amp, but this rather defeats the purpose of a crystal set.

See also my own website about crystal sets :https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/crystalset .

73kHz band in the USA

In recent days and nights European LF enthusiasts have been looking, with some success, for the transatlantic transmissions in the 73kHz band from W4DEX and others who have been granted special permits  QRSS60 transmissions have been copied well in Germany by Marcus Vester DF6NM and others. See http://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/26404526/df6nm_74kHz.jpg

With the right kit (and stability) almost anything appears to be possible.

WSPRnet database was down

This morning, the WSPRnet on-line database has been out of action, so it is not possible to see who is receiving transmissions. This is a handicap of WSPR: when the database works it is a great asset and help, but when down for any reason, the whole fun of WSPR disappears. At best, WSPR is really a QRP BEACONING system, not really a 2-way communications system. JT65-HF and JT9-1 are ideal for QRP 2-way communications on HF.

 As of 1500z, the database was still struggling - but there occasionally.

Health Update

I have now been out of hospital for almost a month following my stroke, so thought I'd better update you on progress.

Well the good news is my walking is coming along quite well. Although I still need a stick, the Zimmer frame is now almost unused.  My wife and I do a 10 minute walk around the Close daily.  A couple of weeks ago I managed a 1 mile walk at Anglesey Abbey (NT). My main issue when  walking is giddiness. This is I believe improving. Another issue is feeling sick inside at certain times of the day. I sleep (usually) very well and for a long time at night. Getting around the home, even a stick is more for psychological support. I can get around OK apart from feeling giddy.

The BAD news is Community Stroke Support. I was told 1-2 week visits would be the norm, but I was, this week, told the waiting list is 13 weeks and I was 13th on the list! The CST refuse to leave messages on the phone and had I not chased them up, I would  never have known my status! This part of my post hospital recovery is PATHETIC.

My experience is NHS clinical care is usually excellent but simple communications around the NHS is appalling. If this was the private sector and MY company several people would be SACKED without delay. Really, communications in the NHS is APPALLINGLY bad generally. This is my experience, my wife's and my daughter-in-law's. It HAS to improve. The sad thing is so little needs to change to make it good and save money and give patients and families a better experience.

I have written to the DVLA but don't yet know how long they will withdraw my driving licence, but I assume for 12 months. I now have a blue disabled badge which allows easier parking when my wife drives us to the shops and National Trust properties.

Swallow is slowly improving. I eat a Weetabix and banana at breakfast and pureed food lunch and tea. I am also on an 8 hour liquid feed.

Overall, I am making progress steadily on all fronts, still doing my exercises more despite the NHS than thanks to the NHS. My own doctor and local surgery have been excellent. At the current rate I can expect to be back to near normal health in the late summer.

Today, Thursday, I wrote  an email of complant to the local NHS ,copied  my MP, James Paice MP. I am pleased to report the NHS listened and I got some positive action this afternoon (speech and language lady coming to my home this coming Monday).  It should not be necessary to do this to be heard. What if I was 85 and suffering from dementia?

Excellent amateur VLF reception

OK2BVG has been having very good results on 8.270kHz picking up Uwe DJ8WX. Note timescales of the plot are in many hours. The wideband noise blocks are nighttime when reception is more challenging.

OK2BVG's reception of DJ8WX on 8.270kHz

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.