I wrote back in June that I was making good progress toward working 100 countries since moving to Lichfield in September of 2008. Well I can now report that coming out of the CQWW CW contest this past weekend I have now reached that milestone - 100 countries worked from this location.
The details are 100 countries worked with 74 on CW, 66 on RTTY and 60 on SSB. This includes 8 all time new ones in the form of Anguilla, Desecheo Island, St. Maarten & St. Eustatius, Bermuda, United Arab Emirates, Alaska, Montserrat and the British Virgin Isles.
This brings the overall numbers to 170 worked with 119 on CW, 122 on data modes (RTTY & PSK31) and 111 on SSB. Here’s to the big push towards 200!
Dean Amateur Radio, Blog CW, DXCC, G0RIF, Lichfield, RTTY, SSB
From SpaceWeather.com:
Two sunspots (1032/1033) are emerging in the sun’s northern hemisphere. Both are members of new Solar Cycle 24. Sunspot 1032 appears to be the reincarnation of old sunspot 1029.
Dean Amateur Radio, Blog Solar Cycle 24, sunspots
I arrived home from work this evening to find a QSL card arrived from Des, ZS1ZY, in the Cape Province, South Africa.
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This is for a SSB contact back in late September when operating portable from Barr Beacon, just north west of the city of Birmingham (which I wrote about at the time in this blog entry).
I sent my QSL card direct to Des at his home address, about a week or two after the contact, enclosing a return addressed envelope and an international reply coupon (IRC). Receiving a return card so quickly deserves a big thank you so “thanks Des!” and 73 until the next time.
You can see this and other cards from Africa here.
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the colourful ZS1ZY QSL card
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Dean Amateur Radio, Blog, Pictures IRC, portable, QSL
Recent receipt of a few nice QSL cards got me to looking back through my amateur radio station logbook. It shows that September 2009 was a mostly inactive month so far as amateur radio was concerned. ‘QRT’ is amateur radio terminology for ’shutting down’ or ’station off air’ - hence the title of this post.
My logbook shows that between the 29th of August and the 26th of September I didn’t log a single station! I seem to recall that I was a little bit deflated by what I described ‘CQ fatigue’ prior to that period. Maybe I just needed a bit of a break from amateur radio!
My portable operations from Barr Beacon and a brief foray in the CQWW RTTY contest at the end of September certainly made up for that lack of activity with some good contacts and signs of improved conditions on the shortwave bands.
The results of all of that are that I have a number of outbound QSL cards to complete and send to either the RSGB bureau or to the respective stations direct. I can then look forward to the return cards arriving sometime next year with a bit of luck!
In other news, this little update also represents a minor landmark in my blog - the 100th post.
Dean Amateur Radio, Blog portable, Q-codes, QRT, QSL, RTTY
curtain antenna in use by 5N0OCH
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Bodo (DL3OCH) is in Nigeria involved in the construction of a new shortwave broadcast facility for the ‘Voice Of Nigeria’. While there he is QRV as 5N0OCH until October 2009. He currently has a great signal into Europe by virtue of his being able to use the huge curtain antenna at the radio station (an array of 16 dipoles aiming north - see picture).
I hadn’t paid much attention until recently because I already have a QSO with 5N47NDP from 2008 but a few nights ago I spotted his RTTY signal and thought I’d try for a QSO, since when I have tried (without success) on 20m RTTY and 12, 30 and 40m CW!
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Despite the fact that Bodo is in Nigeria until October and is active most evenings, the pile-ups are still huge and there are many stations working him time and time again, much to his dismay. He is now shaming the guilty parties with a ‘599 dupe’ report. He is also making repeated requests both on his web page and on air that people don’t dupe, hopefully allowing weaker signals to be heard amongst the pile.
I will persevere to get a QSO with Bodo because I figure the pile-ups will eventually abate and it’d be a new one for me on both CW and RTTY should I get either or both of them in the log.
Dean Amateur Radio, Blog, Pictures 5N0OCH, CW, DL3OCH, RTTY
You may or may not have noticed that I’ve changed the title of my blog. It now makes it quite clear whose blog it is and what the content relates to.
I also thought it appropriate I highlight the amateur radio aspects because they did seem to be taking over anyway. Over half of all posts to date (38 of 67 at the time of writing) are amateur radio related!
Dean Amateur Radio, Blog blog, G0RIF
I have received email notification from Martin Lynch & Sons that my Yaesu FT-950 was dispatched today. It should arrive tomorrow while I am out at work so I’ll look forward to unpacking it and getting it setup tomorrow night.
There is a new radio-to-computer interface box being shipped with the radio, the MyDel SB-2000, this enables PSK31 and other soundcard data modes, FSK RTTY, CW keying and rig control. It’s going to be an ongoing setup and configuration exercise through the rest of the week and into the weekend but it’s good to know that the radio is finally on its way!
Dean Amateur Radio, Blog CW, FSK, FT-950, PSK31, RTTY, SB-2000, Yaesu
You may have noticed that my site now has a rotating list of links in the sidebar. This uses the ‘Better Blogroll’ widget built by Jon Dyer. His blog page detailing the use of this really neat widget is here.
I like it because you can configure it to display a fixed number of links that are refreshed each time the page loads. The links shown are chosen at random from those entered in the ‘Links’ section of your Wordpress Dashboard.
Dean Blog blog, Blogroll, links
Clear blue skies & soaring temperatures outside but I managed several hours on 20m with brief excursions to 15 and 40m. I managed to work 2 all time new ones in the form of A62A (UAE) and VE3DZ/VP9 (Bermuda) and the overall QSO/country count for my modest first day effort was 91 contacts in 43 different countries.
Day two is now well underway but as it’s another beautiful day we’re off visiting family for a BBQ so not sure at this stage if I’ll add to my day 1 numbers. Even so, I’m very pleased with the haul so far especially after a little antenna surgery immediately prior to the contest…of which more in a later post.
Dean Amateur Radio, Blog BBQ, contest, morse code, WPX
Today I attended my first Lichfield Bower. The Bower is well known in Lichfield and nearby areas. It is a festival held each spring on a bank holiday. It is about 800 years old. A statute of Henry II of England (1134-1159) ordered that all men capable of bearing arms should be inspected by the magistrates. To enable him to do this Henry set up a Commission of Arraye which had every year to submit to the king, a return of all the men-at-arms available throughout the kingdom.
Bower morris dancers
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Since there was no standing army, this was a way to find out how many men could fight in a war. The men would then march through the streets and retire at a ‘Bower House’ for roast beef and spirits. This ensured a good turn-out. These musters were known as the Courtes of Arraye, and in Lichfield the Courte of Arraye was always held on Whit Monday.
The Lichfield Bower parade was (and still is) accompanied by morris dancers with drum and tabor and by people from the churches carrying figures of saints garlanded with flowers (known as ‘posies’).
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After the Reformation, the figures of saints were replaced by the tableaux representing different trades, but the term ‘posie’ was still used to describe them.
By the time of James II the country has a standing army, famous regiments such as the Coldstream and Grenadier Guards and the Royal Scots were already in existence. It was decided that the Commission of Arraye was no longer needed and it was abolished in 1960. At this time the Courts of Arraye ceased to exist throughout the country, except in Lichfield where the inhabitants decided that as they enjoyed Bower Day so much they would continue to observe it, which they continue to do to this day.
Most of the ancient features of the Bower still survive – the Court of Arraye is held in the Guildhall, when the Mayor inspects the ‘men-at-arms’, the procession through the streets includes the morris dancers and military bands, and the place of the posies has been taken by the tableaux mounted on lorries and trailers. But, as in the past, the principal feature of the Bower is a jolly good day out for all.
Dean Blog, Pictures bower, Lichfield