Author Archive
“Armchair Copy”
October 19th, 2012 | 
Author: When I was last active on HF, in 2003, I hadn’t experienced the transient pleasures of a strong 10m opening. The solar cycle was way down on the current crescendo.
For the second day running, I’ve been receiving strong, clear, frequency modulated signals from far afield that sound as if they’re just down the road. Using my FT-817 (5W) and a small Miracle Whip antenna I had a fantastic QSO into Greece. Only a little QSB here and there presented any challenge. I tuned lower in the band to hear a W2 station calling CQ using AM – well I just had to try! I’m actually quite staggered he heard my signal, but obviously not strong enough to discriminate any speech. That would have been expecting too much.
Today on 29.620 the New York repeater, KQ2H, was booming in at 5/9+, of course. European stations a few hundred miles or less apart, were talking to each other via a lengthy transatlantic trip. The FM capture effect ensured that my QRP signal wasn’t fully heard, though I suspect I accessed the repeater more than once.
I’ll look forward to a little more 10m FM while it lasts. Congratulations if you’ve enjoyed a DX ‘armchair copy’ this week.
Cracking the Whip…
The Miracle Whip, that is.
I only acquired my fantastic Yaesu FT-817 to give me 5W of SSB on V/UHF from windswept Welsh hilltops. I couldn’t resist a second-hand bargain of a Miracle Whip to see what I could achieve with QRP on the HF bands.
The ‘817 and Miracle Whip
It’s a classic Fred-and-Ginger combination that has been blogged, reviewed and You-Tubed extensively along with other rig/telescopic antenna double-acts. Yes, it’s only 57” of radiating metal with a rather good tuner at the base, but thanks to the current propagation conditions it at least enables you to experience the miraculous. Its advantage lies also in its simplicity. It means you’ll use it because it connects, extends and tunes in seconds. I like that! Connect. Extend. Tune.
I’ve been having fun with the ‘817 on my lap, indoors, running off its own batteries (=2.5W max) and chatting to stations on the higher bands in places such as St. Petersburg and the Ukraine with 5/9 reports. You simply can’t get this thrill with a big station. It’s reconnecting to the magic of radio – which is a real miracle every time a contact comes out of the ether. I’m even moved to ‘Tweet’ a new QSO with excitement! (@MW0DNK).
I’ve started at 10m, sliding my way down the bands as the challenge rises. Using 5W (external battery) I managed a QSO with Algeria yesterday on 15m, 4/3. I finally cracked 20m with a shorter, brief contact to Spain. I had a 5m counterpoise wire connected this time.
On 40m I’m simply not heard, at least not yet. This is where I need to start learning some CW skills. This will open up the lower bands for me. Until then, living on the Isle of Anglesey, I might head to a beach and try getting some salt water under my portable station to see if I can crack the ‘40m SSB phono challenge.’ Listen out for me.
Connect. Extend. Tune.
On 2m the antenna is a ¾ wave. I’ve no idea what the radiation pattern is for this length, but it seems to work very well. Unfortunately the antenna is just short of a ¼ wavelength at 6m, so perhaps a wire clip-on extension is the answer.
It was with sadness that on visiting the Miracle Antennas website I saw an announcement about the passing of the company founder and product inventor, Robert Victor, this year. It seems he’s left us a wonderful legacy. Vy 73, OM.
Cracking the Whip….
The Miracle Whip, that is.
I only acquired my fantastic Yaesu FT-817 to give me 5W of SSB on V/UHF from windswept Welsh hilltops. I
couldn’t resist a second-hand bargain of a Miracle Whip to see what I could
achieve with QRP on the HF bands.
 |
| The '817 and Miracle Whip |
It’s a classic Fred-and-Ginger combination that has been
blogged, reviewed and You-Tubed extensively along with other rig/telescopic antenna
double-acts. Yes, it’s only 57” of radiating metal with a rather good tuner at
the base, but thanks to the current propagation conditions it at least enables you to experience the miraculous.
Its advantage lies also in its simplicity. It means you’ll use it because it
connects, extends and tunes in seconds. I like that! Connect. Extend. Tune.
I’ve been having fun with the ‘817 on my lap, indoors,
running off its own batteries (=2.5W max) and chatting to stations on the
higher bands in places such as St. Petersburg and the Ukraine with 5/9 reports.
You simply can’t get this thrill with a big station. It’s reconnecting to the
magic of radio – which is a real miracle every time a contact comes out of the
ether. I’m even moved to ‘Tweet’ a new QSO with excitement! (@MW0DNK).
I’ve started at 10m, sliding my way down the bands as the challenge rises. Using 5W
(external battery) I managed a QSO with Algeria yesterday on 15m, 4/3. I
finally cracked 20m with a shorter, brief contact to Spain. I had a 5m
counterpoise wire connected this time.
 |
| Connect. Extend. Tune. |
On 40m I’m simply not heard, at least not yet. This is where
I need to start learning some CW skills. This will open up the lower bands for
me. Until then, living on the Isle of Anglesey, I might head to a beach and try
getting some salt water under my portable station to see if I can crack the
‘40m SSB phono challenge.’ Listen out for me.
On 2m the antenna is a ¾ wave. I’ve no idea what the
radiation pattern is for this length, but it seems to work very well.
Unfortunately the antenna is just short of a ¼ wavelength at 6m, so perhaps a
wire clip-on extension is the answer.
It was with sadness that on visiting the Miracle Antennas
website I saw an announcement about the passing of the company founder and
product inventor, Robert Victor, this year. It seems he’s left us a wonderful
legacy. Vy 73, OM.
QRP v QRO – Blood on the Floor?
The mighty, omnipotent sun that our precious emerald and sapphire orb circulates is nearing the crescendo of its eleven year repeat-performance.
For the first time since 2003, I have revisited the high frequencies: the short waves of equal delight and frustration that ebb and flow with the days, seasons and years. Back then, I worked the world with 10 Watts and a rather long wire antenna. I stayed up all night sometimes to listen to the magical waxing and waning of distant continents on 80m. It was like listening to a sublime symphony. Having moved to a new house with more limited prospects for creating a good HF antenna system, I turned my back on these noble frequencies to chase the excitement of VHF and UHF.
Ironically, the drive for portable operation at V/UHF has led me to flirt with HF again. It’s the inevitable purchase of arguably one of the best amateur radios ever manufactured, the Yaesu FT-817. Five delightful Watts from top band, all the way to 70cm. MF to UHF. Sea level to mountain top. CW to FM, with all modes in between. What a gem of beautifully packaged, miniaturised happiness.
FT-817 tuned to 10m
With 5W of HF readily to hand, I’ve hastily run 10m of vertical wire in the back garden to listen to a more contemporary performance of a classic favourite. Happily, 10m has truly sprung into life. This morning I’ve just completed a QSO from home (Wales) to Greece with 5W at both ends. Deep joy. A quick bargain has even brought a Miracle Whip into the ensemble – just experimenting for fun.
But scanning through the bands in general I’m noticing a tendency to transmit at powers of 1kW and above, whatever the band, whatever the conditions. Abrupt reports of 5/9+ are exchanged with a seemingly insatiable appetite to amass as many transient contacts as possible. Then there are the pile-ups. Those ungentlemanly bun-fights where the loudest (or largest bank account and electricity bill) wins. I’m sure that there are whole streets in Palermo where the lights actually dim when DX from Pago Pago is heard on 20m.
We’ll never know if was possible to work Pago Pago with QRP because we were never given the chance. This is on SSB at least. CW operators have a greater appreciation of low power. This is an old argument that will attract equal venom and praise from our electromagnetic community. But I do believe that as technology advances, there is a global drive for efficiency. Low power is in fashion and with solar conditions as they are, we should all be ‘turning the wick down’ a little bit, shouldn’t we?
I do believe that when the sun takes its rest, there is a place for high power, particularly on the more difficult bands. There – you see? I’m not anti-QRO at all. I’m just advocating using (as your exam tells you) the minimum amount of power necessary to maintain a comfortable QSO.
QRP v QRO – Blood on the Floor?
The mighty, omnipotent sun that our precious emerald and
sapphire orb circulates is nearing the crescendo of its eleven year
repeat-performance.
For the first time since 2003, I have revisited the high
frequencies: the short waves of equal delight and frustration that ebb and flow
with the days, seasons and years. Back then, I worked the world with 10 Watts
and a rather long wire antenna. I stayed up all night sometimes to listen to
the magical waxing and waning of distant continents on 80m. It was like
listening to a sublime symphony. Having moved to a new house with more limited
prospects for creating a good HF antenna system, I turned my back on these
noble frequencies to chase the excitement of VHF and UHF.
Ironically, the drive for portable operation at V/UHF has
led me to flirt with HF again. It's the inevitable purchase of arguably one of the
best amateur radios ever manufactured, the Yaesu FT-817. Five delightful Watts
from top band, all the way to 70cm. MF to UHF. Sea level to mountain top. CW to
FM, with all modes in between. What a gem of beautifully packaged, miniaturised
happiness.
 |
| FT-817. 5W on 10m. |
With 5W of HF readily to hand, I’ve hastily run 10m of
vertical wire in the back garden to listen to a more contemporary performance
of a classic favourite. Happily, 10m has truly sprung into life. This morning
I’ve just completed a QSO from home (Wales) to Greece with 5W at both ends.
Deep joy. A quick bargain has even brought a Miracle Whip into the ensemble –
just experimenting for fun.
But scanning through the bands in general I’m noticing a
tendency to transmit at powers of 1kW and above, whatever the band, whatever
the conditions. Abrupt reports of 5/9+ are exchanged with a seemingly
insatiable appetite to amass as many transient contacts as possible. Then there
are the pile-ups. Those ungentlemanly bun-fights where the loudest (or largest
bank account and electricity bill) wins. I’m sure that there are whole streets
in Palermo where the lights actually dim when DX from Pago Pago is heard on
20m.
We’ll never know if was possible to work Pago Pago with QRP
because we were never given the chance. This is on SSB at least. CW operators have a greater appreciation of low power. This is an old argument that will
attract equal venom and praise from our electromagnetic community. But I do
believe that as technology advances, there is a global drive for efficiency.
Low power is in fashion and with solar conditions as they are, we should all be
‘turning the wick down’ a little bit, shouldn’t we?
I do believe that when the sun takes its rest, there is a
place for high power, particularly on the more difficult bands. There – you see?
I’m not anti-QRO at all. I’m just advocating using (as your exam tells you) the
minimum amount of power necessary to maintain a comfortable QSO.
FT-790R, 1W of Forlorn Hope? Part II
I’m treasuring my multimode, single band transceiver of
yesteryear. They really ‘don’t make them like that any more’. When the FT-790R
was manufactured, the UK still happily built cars that broke down and
industrial action was a continuing popular pastime. Thank goodness the Japanese
manufacturing success story was at its zenith.
In my previous blog, FT-790R,
1W of Forlorn Hope? I outlined my trepidation, my dreams and anticipated
joy of achieving hilltop 70cm SSB contacts over phenomenal distances. This was
in the face of an antagonist old-timer who thought a little too much RF had leaked
into CPU of my head. So what was the reality?
Since taking delivery of the ‘790, I’ve managed to test most
of the functions. With a radio of that age I shouldn’t have been surprised that
the front panel illumination bulbs have long since ruptured their once-bright
filaments, probably in the early 1990’s. A simple removal and refit of the
battery tray, which holds eight ‘C’ cells was required to reconnect the
internal power.
 |
| Powered by 8 'C' cells |
Straight away, I connected a spare telescopic antenna for 2m
to the front panel BNC and gave a call on FM. I enjoyed two great local
contacts with stunning audio quality. Excellent audio reports came back too. Two
quick tests with local station John GW4ZPL confirmed that SSB was working fine,
albeit a little off frequency with his TS-2000 shack-in-a-box. Then we tried CW
(my first CW attempt, ever). Apparently John hadn’t heard ‘chirp’ like mine
since working Russian stations in the 1980’s! Luckily the operation manual
comes with a full schematic diagram. I’ll have a look and see if a key click
filter is misbehaving, for example.
Realistically speaking, I do know that a random 1W call on 70cm SSB is unlikely to attract an
answer under normal conditions. My plan was to get to a modest local hilltop
with a small beam antenna. If there was any tropospheric enhancement or lift,
all the better. Unfortunately, the Welsh weather of late prevented this.
Following the advice of Tim, G4VXE,
a competition evening would give me a fighting chance.
Casually having a chat on D-STAR the other evening, someone
mentioned that a 70cm activity evening was due to start in around half an hour
at 20.00. No time to get up a hill and where the heck was my BNC to SO239
adaptor when I needed it to hook up my homebrew 9 element beam? So, if you can picture
me leaning out of the upstairs window with a small, non-resonant, telescopic
antenna pointing out at a jaunty angle, then this was my big chance. My only chance, so far.
 |
I scanned the SSB portion of the band. Nothing. I twiddled
the telescopic antenna and re-scanned. Nothing. But then, a quick call in a
clipped English tone and a GD (Isle of Man) callsign. After a couple of failed
attempts, antenna adjustment, more leaning out of window, the received signal
came up to 5,9. The other station adjusted to my offset frequency and SUCCESS!
- Gave me a 5,4. He said he was using 400W and a 23 element beam that wasn’t
even pointing my way. The distance was around 73 miles or 117km, admittedly mostly
over a great sea-path.
He’d been calling out rather robotically but had a
chuckle and warmly wished me 73 when he heard about my operating set up. I
forgot his callsign in the excitement and my bemused YL heard a whoop of joy
from downstairs.
 |
| Anglesey to the Isle of Man |
For every person that has told me that an FT-817ND would be
the ideal rig for me (and it would), there has been another that has regretted
getting rid of their FT-2/6/790R. My FT-790R is a solid, brick-like joy to own.
When I get up to a hilltop to try it out again, I’ll be supremely hopeful!
Mic Clickers: Easy 3-Point Guide.
And I’m not talking about the clicking of computer mice
here. I’m talking about the highly vexatious and irritating habit of jamming
people, mainly on 2m FM by others. Sometimes this escalates to music-playing
and verbal abuse. They are here and here to stay. Thankfully there aren’t many
of them, but we’ve nearly all heard one from time to time. What to do?
Don’t worry! I’ve compiled a quick, easy and memorable 3-point guide on what to do if you
encounter any wireless abuse. Feel free to print this out and place it above
your rig:
1. DO NOT acknowledge any interference
2. DO NOT acknowledge any interference
3. DO NOT acknowledge any interference
Clear enough? Self-evident? One would blooming think so. However, I’ve regularly heard some less-than-fully-brain-QRV amateurs :
1. Acknowledge the interference, repeatedly
2. Provide the abuser with a useful and accurate signal report
3. Articulate ‘entertaining’ anger and frustration to encourage further abuse
Once you can grasp the simple, blinding reality that these abusers only do this to elicit a response – provide them with that response and they will continue, satisfied and emboldened. Deny them that response and they will, eventually, cease and desist. I promise you.
In my beloved country of Wales, we have a legend that the
entire army of Owain Glyndŵr, rebel leader and last (Welsh) Prince of Wales (1400
– 1415 AD) lies sleeping in a hidden cave in the mountains, waiting for the
call to defend the country once more. I have heard amateurs say
on-air ‘that a group of detecting stations’ was out-and-about and would quickly
track down the offender with their accurate yagis and Jedi-like triangulation
skills. Oh. Would this mythical radio foxhunting elite be the band of 2m septuagenarians
who only exit their shacks to eat, make tea and perform vital bodily functions,
would it?
 |
| Owain Glyndŵr, detection genius. |
It’s equally remarkable and disturbing how some people even
enter into one-sided psychological games with their abusers, labouring under
the misconception that they are cleverer than the offenders who must be
naturally stupid. They are not. Threats of ‘I know who you are’ (when you
don’t), reports to government agencies (who don’t care or are too busy), Owain
Glyndŵr’s sleeping detection-army – I’ve heard it all. Don’t rely on the fact
that you’ve passed a foundation exam that a five year-old girl passed last
month will guarantee you intellectual superiority in this case. The same goes
for intermediate and advanced licence holders for that matter.
Break any of my 3-point
guide rules and you’ve lost before you’ve begun.
In my next blog: How
to deal with pesky competition stations…….
