Ok, not quite antenna meltdown but possibly not too far from that. You know, or at least have reason to suspect, that there’s something wrong with your antenna system if the SWR starts to vary during transmissions. I have noticed this in the past few weeks but thought little of it, other than to touch the ATU (SEM TranZmatch z-match) between transmissions to see if it was getting warm, which it wasn’t.
A few words by way of explaining my normal way of operating. Mindful of having a relatively weak signal I tend not to call CQ a lot unless I’m working PSK31. I find it more productive to work stations that I can hear, strong or weak, because I at least have some chance of a QSO if there is at least one way propagation.
Read more…
Dean Amateur Radio antenna, ATU, propagation, SEM TranZmatch, SWR, z-match
I noticed a few weeks ago a ham I worked had a link to HRDLog.net on his website and an extract from his online log similar to what I hope will display below this blog entry. This log extract is provided by HRDLog.net through a simple script they generate once you upload your log to their website.
I quite like this facility as it means you can include a little of your recent band activity on your website or blog really easily. The upload to the HRDLog.net website just requires that you export your log data in ADIF format which most logging software should do. I’d appreciate any thoughts and comments from anyone who has been using HRDLog.net for any length of time.
www.hrdlog.net
Dean Amateur Radio HRDLog
I fired up the rig on 40m last night, around 9:40pm local time, just to see what was around. I tuned slowly up the band and eventually found a bit of a pile-up between 2 and 3 kHz up from 7.008MHz where I heard 3B8MM (on the island of Mauritius in the Indian Ocean).
I listened for a while and 3B8MM was peaking about S5 with me and dipping down to S0 so not the best of chances of a QSO. Undeterred I decided to send my call a few times whenever his signal peaked. He was moving around a bit in terms of where he was listening, variously stating either 2 or 3 up as one or the other became too crowded.
Around 10:30pm I though I had him when he came back (in what felt like a response to my call in terms of timing) with a G0? to which I replied with my call again, hoping to hear him come back with G0RIF 599…but no, nothing. I listened but heard nothing. I sent my call again but I reckon he’d moved on because he was soon calling CQ again and working another station. I stayed on frequency for another 10 or 15 minutes but he was fading so I decided it was a fight best left for another day.
Close (or so it felt), but no cigar. Some you win, some you lose. C’est la vie!
Dean Amateur Radio, Life... 3B8MM, CW
I like chasing DX and I’m always interested to see what DXpeditions are planned for the months ahead. A good resource for this information is provided by Bill Feidt, NG3K, on his website. The ‘Announced DX Operations’ page lists most of the scheduled DXpeditions.
I regularly scan the listed operations to see if there are any scheduled to DXCC entities I need. There usually are! I then break this down into those I ‘expect’ to be able to work and those I don’t expect to be able to work, based on my setup and my experience of relative strength (or absence of) signals heard from those parts of the world.
I then also consider which modes the respective operations prefer because I know I’m unlikely to work many on SSB, due in large part to my operating mostly at night when the rest of the house is asleep, but also due to my relatively poor signal. I find that CW really is my best option most of the time!
Read more…
Dean Amateur Radio DX, DXCC, dxpedition
Finally got them. Peaking S7 with me and still working a big pile up I tried a few spots between 2 and 4 up from his frequency of 7.004MHz but eventually got him 4.5 up in a relative quiet spot.
Update (14:30 on the 9th): I’m in their online log which has been updated this morning.
Update (18:13 on the 11th): Just got them on 20m CW too! 
* CW and about 90 watts of RF into my wet bit of string!
Dean Amateur Radio CW, dxpedition, YI9PSE
Sorry folks but this is yet another YI9PSE post. But, unless I work them before they leave Iraq, this will be the last YI9PSE post. Honest.
I’m writing this blog entry in response to a number of discussion threads I’m seeing, DX cluster comments, and my own experiences around the YI9PSE DXpedition, still active from Iraq and scheduled to be on the bands from Kurdistan in the north of the country until the 12th of April.
I think many people are surprised by how difficult it’s proving to be getting a QSO with YI9PSE. Their website may have led many (me included) to assume that they’d be loud on many bands to most parts of the amateur radio world (the website says that they have ‘amplifiers’ and ‘gain antennas’). This isn’t the case (based on my own experience and that of many others). It seems that they have been subjected to circumstances in Iraq they weren’t expecting and poor band conditions (partly due to the recent solar storm we’ve all been subjected to). This has led to widespread frustration with many bemoaning the lack of those anticipated big signals from YI9PSE.
Read more…
Dean Amateur Radio, Life..., Totally random dxpedition, Journey (The band), K5M, VP6DX, YI9PSE
I have previously mentioned my failed attempt to upgrade my radio interface unit. The proposed replacement unit on that occasion was one of the very smart G3LIV Isoterm Multimode interfaces.
G3LIV Isoterm Multimode
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Despite my own best advice I have now done the deed and replaced my old SB-2000 unit with an Isoterm Multimode and this time I am happy to report that all went well and everything works at least as well as before the change.
You may well wonder why I bothered to try again having had the problems last time and having made a very public statement to the effect I really shouldn’t be trying to fix something that wasn’t broken. The answer is simply this - the G3LIV interface is a better fit in my setup when you consider how I like to operate and which modes I prefer.
Having had terrific help and support from Johnny (G3LIV) in identifying and resolving the issue I’d seen first time around (FSK RTTY wasn’t working) I was confident that I’d see no such problem this time…and so it proved. |
The unit is now installed and all modes tested and working with the respective software - CW (CWType), PSK31 (Airlink Express*) and FSK RTTY (Airlink Express). The SB-2000 will now be sold off to cover the cost of the new arrival. Job done!
* I will be writing a review of the Airlink Express software in a later post. I only recently discovered the software and I’m liking it a lot. Works well for PSK31 and FSK RTTY. More soon.
Dean Amateur Radio, Pictures CW, FSK, FT-950, G3LIV, PSK31, RTTY
Listening in to 20m a lot today and 17m at times hoping to hear a good signal from Iraq. Checked CW, RTTY and SSB on all the spotted frequencies - nothing.
Conditions were a bit grim yesterday but seem worse today. I’m seeing many others reporting nil heard with them so not just me.
Maybe 40m tonight…maybe…
Dean Amateur Radio CW, RTTY, SSB, YI9PSE
You may or many not know that YI9PSE are now active from northern Iraq. Well, I mentioned this DXpedition in an earlier post back in February and today was the first chance I’ve had to try and work them. Suffice to say the pile-ups were huge and it was hard work!
Suriname in South America
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I have heard YI9PSE today on 20m SSB at anything from strength 1 to strength 9, on 17m SSB between strength 1 and strength 7, 30m CW between strength 1 and strength 9 and 30m RTTY (all too briefly) at a consistent strength 7 to 9.
Despite all of this I have been unable to crack the pile-ups to get a contact. There are MANY stations calling YI9PSE and they are reporting EU stations at 30dB over 9 with them! One UK station had been trying for several hours and he was told by YI9PSE that he was 10dB over 9 and was still hard to hear under the EU wall of signals. I suspect my puny signal will only get through once the pile-ups thin out after a few more days of operations.
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But, there was some consolation in the form of another all time new one worked in the form of PZ5RA (Ramon) in Suriname on 17m RTTY. I’d been trying to work YI9PSE on 30m RTTY but he’d gone off air before I could snag him so I QSY’d to 17m where PZ5RA was good solid copy with me. Working simplex he was getting through a steady stream of EU stations but he wasn’t hearing me. Luckily he soon moved to working split and within 10 minutes of that I was in the log for country number 176. Now…let’s see if I can log YI9PSE before they’re all done.
Dean Amateur Radio, Pictures PZ5RA, RTTY, Suriname, YI9PSE
Love them or hate them but you certainly can’t ignore them. On this day in 1975 Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded the company we now know as Microsoft (known then as Micro-Soft) in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
I’d wager there aren’t many companies setup in the past 35 years that have had anywhere near the same impact on the lives of many (or indeed most) of us.
Google…Apple…? I can’t think of another one right now…can you?
Dean Blog, Totally random history, Microsoft