Author Archive
AI Analysis of Logs for Antenna Directionality
December 21st, 2025 | 
Author: Where is this dang thing pointing?
Wire antennas generally have directionality broadside to the antenna but multi-band antennas have "lobes" of directionality that vary greatly as you go up in frequency from their fundamental frequency. I can generate a KML file of my contacts from the Log4OM logging software, but it is a bit overwhelming and I don't have the ability to break it down by band.
I wondered what Google Gemini AI would determine from evaluating the contacts from my LOTW logs and how that differed from the theoretical directionality of the antenna. I have over 2800 logged QSOs in LOTW that I provided for evaluation.
I have made a lot of contacts when portable but I paper log those and they rarely make it back into my electronic logs, so nearly all of these logs are from my station operation and 95% of those have been on the 80m OCF.
I have made a lot of contacts when portable but I paper log those and they rarely make it back into my electronic logs, so nearly all of these logs are from my station operation and 95% of those have been on the 80m OCF.
Gemini provided me with this evaluation
- 80m: Broad "figure-8" pattern with maximum radiation broadside to the wire at 55° (NE) and 235° (SW).
- 40m: A "four-leaf clover" pattern. Your strongest performance is at 45° and 315°, perfectly hitting Europe and the US Midwest.
- 20m: Four sharp lobes that pull closer to the wire axis. Your log shows high-gain "spikes" at 35° (Europe) and 330° (West Coast).
- 10m: Eight or more very narrow lobes. Your 10m contacts are extremely directional, primarily clustering at 50° and 130°.
I then asked Gemini to evaluate how my log results differ from the theoretical directionality of the antenna. In general the results match the theoretical performance of the antenna. I also asked it to include the results from 30m and 17m in this analysis:
- 80m, Broad Figure-8, Strongly Biased NE/SW: Contacts cluster at 55° and 235°. Coverage is broad but noticeably stronger toward the Northeast US/Canada. High: Matches the broadside radiation of a dipole.
- 40m, 4-Leaf Clover, 4 Strong Peaks: Contacts are highly concentrated at 45°, 135°, 225°, and 315°. You are successfully hitting Europe and the US West Coast via these distinct lobes. Very High: Confirms the 2nd harmonic pattern.
- 30m, Distorted 6-Lobe, NW Dominant: You have a massive cluster toward the Northwest (330°). This band is notoriously asymmetrical on an OCF antenna, and your log shows you've "found" the dominant lobe. Moderate: The theoretical pattern is messy; your data simplifies it.
- 20m, 4 Long, Sharp Lobes, Sharp Spikes: Contacts are extremely localized at 35° (Northern Europe) and 330° (Washington/Oregon). This matches the narrowing of lobes as frequency increases. High: Matches the "tilting" of lobes toward the wire axis.
- 17m, 6 Very Sharp Lobes , Strategic Clusters: Contacts cluster at 13° (New York/New England) and 225° (Mexico). The narrowness of these clusters indicates you are operating within high-gain "fingers" of radiation. High: Confirms the 5th harmonic pattern.
- 10m, 8+ Needle-Thin Lobes, Pinpoint DX: You have specific, isolated successes at 50° and 130°. Many other directions show "nulls" where no contacts were made. Moderate: High-QSB (fading) makes this band less predictable.
Conclusions
Using AI to provide me with analysis of my antenna directionality was certainly faster than manually breaking down all the data and plotting it myself. I can also see how much I'm likely missing on 20m and 10m due to the severe directionality of the few lobes. I would be well served by having separate antennas for those bands, but I am very limited where I can put outdoor antennas given the lack of tall support structures at my house. The OCF works because the tallest thing in my lot is the peak of my roof and I have too short a distance to the tree in front of my house for a fan dipole to work.
I did look at some tools for evaluating directionality based on logs such as https://qsomap.org but the ones I found are visual and require manually evaluating the graphics. There are likely other tools that would do what the AI is doing but I'm not aware of them yet. Please leave a comment if there are log analysis tools that you use for this purpose.
I did look at some tools for evaluating directionality based on logs such as https://qsomap.org but the ones I found are visual and require manually evaluating the graphics. There are likely other tools that would do what the AI is doing but I'm not aware of them yet. Please leave a comment if there are log analysis tools that you use for this purpose.
The analysis of the 30m being severely clumped showed me that I could likely do better using my attic antenna for that band, but I had pretty much given up using the attic antenna years ago due to high receive noise given it's proximity to all the noise in the house. Now that I have a Loop on Ground receive antenna that allows for quiet receive I will begin using the attic antenna for transmitting and try to determine how its directionality differs for the for the WARC bands that the 80m OCF is extremely inefficient on.
That's all for now,
Lower your power and raise your expectations, or let AI tell you what you should expect.
DE AA4OO - Rich
Loop on Ground (LoG) Receive Antenna
Dirt Shark Antenna
How a Humble Wire on the Ground Can Transform Your Radio Listening
Ever find yourself locked in a frustrating battle, wrestling with all those fancy knobs and buttons on your shiny radio to bring a signal out of the noise, just to catch a faint whisper from that station that started out copyable? Or that elusive DX station is sending a call that you just can't copy because the SNR is like 3-6 dB. You're not alone. Our primary antennas often become indiscriminate collectors – drawing in not only the desired signals but also a relentless barrage of buzzing, static, and digital hash. In our increasingly noisy world, the conventional antenna, while a decent transmitter, can become a veritable noise vacuum.
My Noisy, Old-Faithful 80m OCF
My homebrew 80m OCF has been a very good antenna for me at my QTH. I replaced my 40m OCF with it over 10 years ago. Ice and wind have broken its supports a few times over the years but it has continued to be a good performer for me on all bands except 30m. I still get regular reports where the receiving station is hearing me better than I'm hearing them.
Even with all that praise, it always has been subject to noise. The balun is supported by a rope connected at the apex of my roof, so it is right up against my home. My house is full of electrically noisy stuff, the worst of which is a treadmill worthy of an all-band WW2 radio jammer and a HVAC that has a noisy blower and gas furnace igniter that wipes out 5kHz segments on 20m in regularly spaced sections. My neighbors have something that turns on and off and gives me a nice S8 noise in segments across 40m and 80m, usually happening after I've begun a QSO.
I enjoy a challenge as much as anyone but I realized I could do better. I wanted an antenna optimized for receive rather than transmit.
Receive Only Antennas?
While researching, I read about a number of receive only antennas.
- Magnetic loops- Too fiddly to re-tune when you change bands
- Beverage - Give me land, lots of land
- LNA augmented, phased verticals - Money, money, money
- Loop on Ground - Cheap, but they can't possibly work
Loop on Ground Antenna
Enter an unlikely Receive Only Antenna, known as the "Loop-on-Ground" (LoG). It’s a marvel of minimalist design – nothing more than a simple loop of insulated wire. Its genius, however, lies not in boosting signals, but in not hearing noise.
Think of the LoG as a more approachable, compact cousin to the venerable Beverage antenna. Harold Beverage's experiments in the 1920s, involving long wires hugging the ground, revealed the potential for noise rejection and clear signal reception that the LoG continues to explore.
So why would 60 feet of wire oriented as a square, fed at a corner, pressed into the ground and covered by your lawn make a good receive antenna? Haven't we always been told that antennas work better, the higher they are?
A Loop on Ground (LoG) antenna rejects noise by primarily responding to the magnetic field of radio waves, not the electric field, making it less sensitive to common electrical interference from household devices (like TVs, computers, power supplies) that create strong electric fields. Its low-to-the-ground placement also helps it "see" less local electrical noise, effectively acting as a directional antenna with deep nulls, especially when oriented away from noise sources, significantly improving the Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) for weak signals, according to KK5JY.Net.
How to Make One
The keys to the success of the antenna is making sure it is electrically isolated. Build a transformer using a binocular core with 5-6 turns (I used 6) of 30 AWG magnet wire connecting the wire and 2 turns going to the coax (instructions on KK5JY's site).
The coax thus becomes electrically isolated from the antenna. I forgot to take a picture before I sealed up the box with RTV but the photo above is from Bob's site. Stripping the enamel and soldering 30 AWG magnet wire is a challenge for me, especially in that small enclosure but I sorted it out. I filled my enclosure with RTV to secure the core and make it extremely difficult to work on in the future :)
I used 60 feet of my surplus, insulated telephone wire, bonded 2 stainless steel terminals to the ends and laid it out in the suggested pattern to align with my TX antenna. I have it placed about 25 feet away from my house in the back yard. It is about 50 feet away from my 80m OCF. It is secured using ground staples to hold the wire down into the grass. It literally disappears in the yard. I mean seriously disappears. I didn't have the transformer with me when I laid out the wire and stapled it, and when I came back out it took me 5 minutes to find the wire. You want to use a very small transformer enclosure so that it sits low in the ground so that your lawn mower won't destroy your hard work.
I used 75 feet of weather resistant RG6 75 ohm TV coax to get it back to my grounding point by the house where it goes into an arrestor before I use another 75 feet of coax to get it back up to my operating position.
I used coax seal on the connections both to the transformer and the arrestor.
Results
At my station I run it to my SDRPlay, using the SDR Antenna Switch and Front End protector I built 8 years ago.
I clearly see signals on the SDRUno display that don't even appear on my Yaesu FT-DX10 waterfall connected to the 80m OCF. The FT-DX10 has one of the best receivers in ham radio at this time, so it can dig those invisible signals out (barely) if I tune to what I see on the SDR, but if I switch to the audio from SDRUno they can be heard clearly.
Signals are being picked up by the LoG that are lost in the noise and are invisible on the waterfall of the FT-DX10 no matter how much I fiddle with the display gain and display peaking filters. But I can work them when I find them because that 80m OCF is a good performer as a TX antenna.
Similar to how I configured the SDRPlay to work with my Ten-Tec Eagle; SDRUno is feeding an IQ signal to CW Skimmer. CW Skimmer acts as my cluster server and my logging software shows me what I don't see on the Yaesu's waterfall. I click a station, either in CW Skimmer's display or from the cluster list and the FT-DX10 tunes to the station.
If I can't hear it on the DX10 it is a bit of a pain to turn off the IQ output from the SDR and send it's audio to a speaker rather than CW Skimmer, but I can work the station receiving on SDRUno and transmitting from the DX10.
Flipping the IQ on/off and changing the output is annoying so I have found a used DX-Engineering RTR-1A that I plan to put in series with the SDRPlay allowing the DX10 to listen on the LoG and transmit on the OCF, while protecting the SDR. I'll make a video showing the results when it arrives.
Conclusion
I had read mixed results from other hams on forums discussing using Loop on Ground antennas so my expectations were not super high. Maybe hams who aren't getting good results could try re-orienting their receive loops or maybe the transformer wiring could use improvements. Maybe they just don't have as much local noise as I do, but for my station this is a game changer.
While I've had mixed feelings about my DX10 I will admit that it hears and cleans up noise far better than my Ten-Tec Eagle and KX3 ever did, but I didn't know what I was missing. Since I had the waterfall on the DX10 I had stopped just slowly moving the VFO across the band. I would just tune to a signal I saw on the waterfall. I had no idea there was so much hiding in the noise.
"Now I see" said the blind man
That's all for now,
So lower your power and raise your expectations... Or build a receive only antenna and see what you were missing.
73 AA4OO
Begali Intrepid
The Perfect Bug?
In the Western World we are consumers. Advertising drives us to think we'd be a bit happier if we had that new "thing", whatever the thing is. It drives much of our economies and unfortunately keeps many burdened in debt.
That's certainly a pessimistic way to begin this but let's be honest. No one needs a ~$580 morse code key. Most of us are handy enough to make a straight key out of stuff laying around the house for free. I have a number of very fine keys that I've purchased used. I've purchased most of them for well under $70, including my 1970s Standard Vibroplex Bug.
So... having a key that is easy to operate; a key that disappears under your hand is an enjoyable thing.
Operating a Bug correctly, or more precisely in a manner that is pleasing to the person copying your code is more difficult than operating paddles with an electronic keyer. When the bug was invented it was a tool used by professional telegraphers. There were no electronic keyers, and having a tool that allowed them to send good code for hours on end with less mechanical stress on their bodies than a straight key was important, and they sought the best tool they could afford to allow them to do their work.
But no one reading this is a professional telegrapher, because that ship has sailed.
For those of us that choose to use a Bug, we do so for different reasons. For me, I enjoy the control I have in forming my characters, as well as the extra level of difficulty in sending good code. Why would I want it to be more difficult? Well, why do we do anything that is challenging. Being challenged is fun. It drives me to improve. It takes my mind off of things that might otherwise crowd my thoughts if I were not doing something challenging that is also fun.
I have operated a bunch of different bugs at my club gettogethers, from different makers. They all have a different feel. They all intrigue or annoy their user. I have two Vibroplex Bugs at my station. I've previously written about them. They each have advantages and challenges but they share the same design and they have more in common than they do differences.
A New Design
Fortunately for amateur radio operators there are still new keys being developed, and in this case a new design for a semi-automatic key that has a markedly different design from most of the bugs that came before.
The Begali Intrepid is distinctive in a few ways:
- The pendulum hinge is at the rear of the key rather than the middle
- The adjustments are all based on magnets rather than springs
- The dwell for the dits has a real control, rather than using various pieces of foam, string or clips to change dwell time
- The dit contact is a sprung plunger that always remains centered on the contact rather than brushing against it at various angles
- The split lever mechanism operates at the center of the key placing the DAH and DIT contacts much closer to one another than a traditional bug
- There is less mass in the pendulum itself than a Vibroplex Bug
- It has a sprung, nylon wheel damper that doesn't clatter
- It weighs a TON (well about 6 lbs) and feels welded to the desk without having to use non-slip material or using spit to semi glue them in place (yech, yes I use spit to hold my keys to my desk)
I've not had the chance to try the GHD fully automatic bugs, nor their bugs that use optical contacts. That would be interesting, but they still fundamentally follow the Vibroplex model.
You'll notice there are spare holes. I assume they are to allow the frame to be used for left handed operation.
Preparing for Use
The Intrepid ships with a cable but there's nothing to plug it into on the key. It's up to the owner to solder the connections. I understand that some transceivers require different plug wiring but in general they are fairly common. Be prepared to spend some time soldering under the key to wire it up.
I had some spare 1/8" plugs for projects, and with some heat shrink tubing and a couple pieces of wire I created a tidy connector for the male to male cable shipped with the key.
In Use
I spent about 2 hours practice sending into the practice oscillator that I built. I had a Vibroplex Deluxe Bug next to it that I alternated with. The range of DIT speeds on the Intrepid is impressive. Other makers like Vizkey have created bugs with a similar range of adjustment, and the Deluxe Bug I use has a Vari-Speed that can match the Intrepids speed range, bu the Intrepid is easier to quickly adjust and more importantly can be done one-handed. It will comfortably go from about 15 wpm up to 35 wpm and with the dwell adjustment makes changing speeds and keeping the DIT dwell correct, is singular. I don't think any bug can match it in that respect.
It did require a change in how I operate. The Vibroplex Bug fingerpieces stick out further and I have the habit of placing my index finger out over the top of the Bug. The Intrepid doesn't allow for that. I have to curl my index finger down to avoid hitting the bracing for the pendulum.
Because there is less mass in the pendulum it operates with a much lighter touch than Vibroplex Bug. The pendulm movement is initated with less force and due to the isolation of the pendulum from the paddles you don't feel the pendulum moving as you do with a Vibroplex. I kinda like the feedback I get from Vibroplex pendulum. The Intrepid feels more like a single paddle key with an electronic keyer than a bug.
Because of the how the lever is split in the middle, the actual DAH contact is almost dead center in the key rather than toward the front. It is far closer to the DIT contact than a bug. I have no way to describe it other than to say it feels as if the DAH and DIT operations are more similar than they are different.
I tend to pivot at my wrist when I operate a Vibroplex bug, to control the timing of DIT to DAH transitions. That doesn't seem to be as necessary with the Intrepid. Again, it feels more like a paddle than a Bug.
The DIT contact is a sprung plunger that is always centered. This is one of the biggest problem areas on a Vibroplex Bug and Begali has masterfully designed the proper contact. Most Bug operators spend more time adjusting the U-spring to try and get proper contact than any other part of the key. I assume this level of precision is just not something that Vibroplex wanted to spend the time on in manufacturing.
The sprung teflon damper makes for clatter free operation. No more ker-thunk as you transition from DITS to DAHS. They key is markedly quieter in operation than any other Bug I've tried. The only other key that comes close is the right-angle Vizkey.
Conclusions?
This is a very fine piece of engineering. It will take me months to decide if stick with it over a Vibroplex Bug, but for now I'm thinking it was a fine birthday gift.
That's all for now
So lower your power and raise your expectations.
Rich, AA4OO https://hamradioqrp.com
Ham Radio – QRP 2023-04-25 01:28:00
TX Relay, Power and TX REQ IN
R&L Electronics sent me a SCU-28 10-pin DIN cable by accident and were nice enough to let me keep it. Consider shopping from those guys. They offer great communication and good prices.
This cable is typically used to wire connections for an external amplifier. I don't have an external amplifier but I wanted to make use of the +12v power and transmit relay for the protection relay I built for my SDR-Play a few years ago.
Wiring the Break Out Box and TX-REQ-IN
So I used my last spare plastic project box, some female phono jacks and found a push-button that I'd cut off of some other project in my junk box and went to work.
I used some shrink wrap for the momentary switch for the TX-REQ-IN pin.
I wired up 3 phono jacks... One for the TX relay, another for the +12v out, and one for the ALC control in case I ever do get an amp. I safed the other wires for future use inside the project box.
Partial Success
I connected the box and verified that I was getting power for the relay and that the Relay Switch operated
In my opinion Yaesu screwed the pooch on this one. I don't see any reason why they wouldn't operate like they do with their bigger brethren radios when the TX-REQ-IN is grounded. Some subsequent forum searching turned up posts from others that confirmed that the FT-DX10 does not properly respond to that signal.
My Elecraft KX3 and Ten-Tec Eagle both have a "TUNE" button that sends a low power tuning signal regardless of what the current power setting is at and there's no reason that the FT-DX10 shouldn't do the same. Having to dive into a menu to change the power setting for tuning an external matching unit is just silly in this day and age.
I have confirmed that my box is working the relay properly to my SDR-Play. I reference the relay I built to protect the front-end of the SDR-Play in this post https://www.hamradioqrp.com/2017/02/spruce-up-basic-transceiver-with-sdr.html
That's all for now.
So lower your power and raise your expectations
Rich AA4OO https://www.hamradioqrp.com/
Portable Ops in Comfort
Towable Shack
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| Working my rolling shack portable station from air-con comfort |
We've had a few RV's over the years, but for some reason I've never thought to operate from inside the RV. I have always tossed a wire over a tree and operated from a picnic table or from my camp chair, as here...
But I thought, "Hey, I have a 12v power supply built-into the RV and the built-in ladder makes a nice solid mount for an antenna mast."
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| Early try with a military fiberglass pole mast |
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| Now I use a Flagpole Buddy with a 30 foot telescoping mast |
Here's a link to the flagpole buddy... link
Our RV has a Converter / Inverter with a spare 25 amp 12v circuit. I tapped into that and ran a power pole wire to the dinette table.
The camper had a coax outlet to watch a TV outside the camper... that's obnoxious. So I cut the cable TV coax and crimped on a UHF connector, and ran that to the dinette table. I simply attach my coax from outside the camper to cable TV coax adapter to get the antenna connection inside the camper. Wallah, coax through the wall with no drilling. The cable TV coax run from the dinette to the wall outlet is only a couple feet so it's not really impacting the impedance of the coax run to the antenna.
I've tried a couple of antenna's and have settled on my end-fed 44 foot wire fed with a 9:1 balun and some clip on radials. I pull the antenna wire through top end of the telescoping mast with kite string, counter-weighted with a heavy sinker. That keeps the wire taught from the end-fed point up to the top of the mast and out at an angle.
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| Gone RF fishing with a 30 foot pole and a big sinker. |
The Elecraft KX3 and Ten-Tec Eagle will both match a bent spoon with their auto-tuners and have no trouble with the end-fed on 40m and above.
For a portable key I use my Palm Radio Single paddle. Either magnetically attached to the steel side of the Eagle or just held with one hand while operating with the KX3.
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| Palm Radio Single Paddle |
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| On the Eagle the Palm Radio Single magnetically attaches to the side |
One thing I find interesting about operating while "camping" (if you call towing a small house to a campground camping) is that I seem to also work a suprising number of other stations that are operating from a campground.
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| Note the power and antenna connections under the table |
The KX3 can stay on the dinette and doesn't take much room. Keeping the footprint small and the earbuds in, keeps the XYL happy when operating during an outing.
I worked a number of stations on 40m, 30m, 20m and 10m this weekend. It's always fun to tell a station that you are portable, even if you are essentially operating in your home away from home.
Thats all for now.
Lower your power and raise your expectations
Rich AA4OO HamRadioQRP.com
Benefits of the Yaesu XF-130CN 300 Hz Crystal Roofing Filter
Do You Need That Filter?
The Yaesu FT-DX10 comes standard with a 500 Hz crystal (xtal) roofing filter, but offers an optional 300 Hz roofing filter. Should you purchase the optional filter?
The 300 Hz roofing filter is twice the size of the 500 Hz filter so it must be twice as good right?
If you casually switch back and forth between the two filters on a noisy band, it sounds like the 300 Hz filter markedly improves selectivity and quiets the noise. But try this: Select the 500 Hz filter and narrow the bandwidth (using the bandwidth control) to 300 Hz, then switch to the 300 Hz filter.
When you digitally narrow the bandwidth of the 500 Hz filter to 300 Hz you will "hear" the same reduction in noise as you have cut out 200 Hz of higher frequency sound. Engaging the 300 Hz filter lowers the volume a bit (3-6 dB) due to insertion loss.
So what you are actually "hearing" when you switch back and forth between the filters without changing the digital bandwidth is the reduction of the higher frequency noise that can be accomplished using the bandwidth control alone with the 500 Hz filter.
So, from a selectivity standpointthe 300Hz filter doesn't gain you anything over using the digital filtering with the 500 Hz filter. The real benefit should come in the form of adjacent signal rejection. So let's look at that.
In the video below I demonstrate the signal rejection of a 40 dB over S9 adjacent signal to a weaker S3 - S5 signal.
From the video you can hear that there is a very small demonstrable difference in strong signal rejection when using the 300 Hz optional filter, but the difference is so small that I doubt many of us would find practical benefit over simply narrowing the DSP bandwidth while using the 500 Hz filter. Even when contesting. The digital filtering built into the FT-DX10 is really, really good when using the included 500 Hz roofing filter alone.
Yes, I spent the $200 for the optional filter thinking it would help, but I wished I had known what I do now. I would have $200 for some other nifty radio gadget to spend instead.
That's all for now.
Lower your power and raise your expectations
Richard AA4OO
Yaesu FT-DX10
Shiny new Rig -- Yaesu FT-DX10
I ordered my FT-DX10 from R&L Electronics this week, along with a 300Hz Yaesu Crystal filter from Ham Radio Outlet, because R&L didn't have the crystal filter in stock. This is my first order from R&L and I'm happy with their communication and slightly lower prices than the major equipment providers. They also included an R&L Electronics branded 30A 12v supply for only $40, and I always seem to need a separate power supply.
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| FT-DX10 next to the KX3 |
Initial Impressions
It has been over 12 years since I used a Japanese brand transceiver. Compared to the Elecraft KX3 and Ten-Tec Eagle the FT-DX10 has a higher level of fit and finish. The case, buttons and switches have a high grade feel.
I had previously not been able to physically see one of these radios and if I had I may have passed due to the way you physically interact with the radio. The button placement is decidely cramped. Even though the KX3 and Eagle have significantly smaller front pannels, they both have good spacing between their buttons and knobs compared to the FT-DX10. All the front panel space used by the FT-DX10's large display definitely reduces the space for physical controls.
I probably touch the AF/RF knob more than any part of the radio. It is small. It is slightly smaller even than the AF/RF knob on the compact KX3, and much smaller than the control knobs on the Eagle. It's proximity to the VFO has resulted in me accidently moving the VFO off-frequency multiple times. I would have preferred Yaesu have a smaller VFO knob to make more room for the physical control surface.
Related to the "cramped" controls, I find myself regularly locking the VFO on this radio. I've never needed to do that on another radio and it's a bit frustrating. I'm assuming I will become more familiar with the placement and reduce my incidental presses with practice.
In Use
Audio
The audio from the built-in speaker sounds okay on SSB but is very muddy on CW. I tried playing with some of the EQ controls but I think the large cabinet space under the speaker is just creating a bit of a CW echo chamber at the 450Hz frequency that I like to listen to code at. CW output at a higher frequency doesn't have the muddy problem but I've developed a painful sensitivity listening CW at higher frequency. I'm now using an old Vertex mobile speaker on top of the radio and that has cleaned up the CW audio.
Similarly, when using headphones I hear a lot of high frequency hiss even when the audio is turned completely down. It requires an in-line resistance (outboard volume) or use of higher impedance headphones to eliminate the hiss. I know a lot of older hams have lost much of their higher frequency hearing but I'm not there yet.
The "sound" of CW from the radio when gain levels are properly managed and the digital noise reduction is employed is quite nice. It is MUCH better than the audio of the Elecraft KX3 but still not quite as good as the audio from the Ten-Tec Eagle. The only thing I can say about it is that it sounds less musical than the Eagle. At some point I will hook up an audio scope to both and compare the audio waveforms. For now I don't mind listening to it but I haven't had the chance to spend hours listening.
Button mashing
I was concerned about how many times I would have to enter the menu during operation and so far I'm fairly pleased. There are physical buttons for most of the functions I want to perform during a QSO. I had considered buying the less expensive FT-710 rather than the DX10; but the MPVD (Multi-Purpose-VFO-Outer-Dial) on the DX10 provide a lot of value by having an additional control ring. By having both a function knob tied to one of a dozen different functions, as well as being able to assign a function to the MPVD I find that I don't often have to go into the menu.
Compared to my Ten-Tec Eagle it is easier to operate because the dual-use buttons on the Eagle are perpetually in the wrong mode for me. Compared to the Elecraft KX3 it is about on-par usability wise.
I wish it had a dedicated knob for power but I understand that I am likely in the minority of people who start nearly every QSO at QRP levels then raise power if needed. Speaking of QRP, 5 watts is as low as the RF power can be set. The Eagle will go down to one watt and the KX3 will go down to 1/10 watt.
I am still a little confused about the APF (Audio Peaking Filter) functionality. The button goes through 2 presses in CW mode and the second press seems to do something different but I'm unsure what that is. The manual doesn't mention a second press.
The APF is not as effective as the APF on the KX3 at pulling out a weak signal, but the KX3's APF is very strong and makes the signal sound weird. I don't normally leave it on. The FT-DX10 APF doesn't negatively impact the sound of the signal but doesn't pull it out as much either. Mabye there's something else in the menus I haven't seen yet.
Features
FT-DX10 DNR (Digital Noise Reduction / as opposed to 'Do Not Resuscitate') works very well on CW. It works much better than the NR (Noise Reduction) on the Eagle or KX3 for CW. You have to play with the different DNR levels on any particular QSO to find the right match, but once you do it works very well. I don't think it works as well on SSB as the NR on the Eagle, but blows away the NR on the KX3 on SSB.
The display, ah yes the display. The display is large and colorful. I tried using the 3DS (Three Dimension Waterfal) for about 30 minutes and while it is mesmerizing I don't find it as useful as the standard veritical waterfall. In particular, when there are static crashes the historical 3D waterfall image creates a tall "wall" that makes it very hard to see the signals before and after the static crash. Since we've had a lot of thunderstorms in the surrounding states (on Thursday evening one storm was producing 443 strikes a minute) it makes that 3D waterful useless.
The standard waterfall is quite useful although precisely selecting the signal with you finger is very hard, so the mouse needs to be used.
The internal tuner is matching all the bands on my 80m Windom including 30m which, according to my Elecraft W1 meter is 5:1. It shouldn't be able to perform a match on that since it's advertised as a 3:1 tuner yet it's working. YMMV.
The CLAR RX/TX (Clarifier) is what everyone else calls a RIT and it works very well. When pressed the MPVD ring makes adjustment quick and easy and it both lights up the button as well as has an indication in the display so you don't forget it is engaged.
The ZIN (Zero In) is essentially the same feature as the SPOT function on the KX3 and it works very well to automatically zero beat a CW station. I think it actually works better than the KX3's SPOT.
I haven't had need to work Split operation with it yet, but it has a button labled TXW which is a momentary button allowing you to listen to the transmit frequency which I think is nicer than having to swap the VFO's back and forth like I do on the Eagle. However, it's not quite as spiffy as the KX3 allowing you to hear VFO A in one ear of your headphones and VFO B in the other.
As far as standard memories, its operation is a bit disappointing. My Eagle and KX3 store both VFOA and VFOB frequencies when I save a memory, but the DX10 is only saving the VFOA frequency. On the other radios I like to quickly jump up to SSB by simply pressing the VFO A/B swap but here I have to store that as a different memory. That seems like an oversight, so I'm probably doing something wrong.
Nits
My biggest dislikes so far are related to how noisy it is in CW operation. The T/R (transmit/receive) relay is very noisy. Not in the same clacky league as the Heathkit HW-101 but still very noisy. In full QSK it sounds like an old school typewriter in the radio. My KX3 has silent PIN-Diode switching and the Eagle has a very quiet relay, nearly silent, so to hear the clacking doesn't put me in a happy place. I've sinced changed my normal full break-in use to semi-break in and lengthened the timeout to 500ms. I really, don't like that. I do very conversational CW and like to hear the other station wanting to break-in or hear if I've accidentally infringed on someone. I feel like I'm keying a repeater.
The other noisy thing is the fan. The fan comes on even when not transmitting and it's quite noisy. Compared to the Eagle which has internally baffled fans that you never hear and the KX3 has no fans at all; it creates a much noisier environment. I wish they'd placed the fan inside the chasis like the Eagle so that it wasn't so loud. I understand that again I'm in the minority. Most operators are used to nosiy relays and noisy fans or have an amplifier running that sounds like a Window Air Conditioner, but I'm used to a very quite operating environment.
Headphone use would mitigate both the noisy relay and fan noise but many times I'm just doing casual operating and listening through the external speaker.
It has an "external display" connector to go to an external monitor but the resolution is 800x640. That's like early 1990s monitor resolution. Anything bigger than a 15" external monitor results in a great deal of pixelization on the display. They could have upscaled the display to eliminate the pixelization which would make the external display looks less cheesy.
CW Decode works, sorta. The radio was advertised as supporting CW decode. The decoder covers up the waterfall and you have to exit decode to see the waterfall. I do use CW decode on the KX3 if I'm trying to get a DX station that is sending his call at over 30wpm, and the KX3 displays about 12 characters of information while leaving everything except the VFOB frequency visible. It's very useful on the KX3 and quite accurate. The decoder on the FT-DX10 shows paragraphs of decoded CW. I just want it for a quick assist, not to read 30 minutes of ragchew content from two ops. The other issue with the DX10 CW decode is that you have to set the CW speed in the menu to match the speed or the accuracy is really poor. Most decoders just figure it out. Even the ardruino decoder I built works better. I just wish it displayed a single line in the bottom of the screen.
While we're on CW, it has a CW "memory keyer" function but you have to display the menu and touch the screen to send a CW memory during the QSO. The memory keyer menu covers up most of the waterfall and going into any other menu function makes the "contest keyer" disappear. There is a FH-2 keypad that I believe operates without having the menu displayed. It's a very pricey $100 for a box with buttons connected to different resistance values, so I'll probably build one. For now I'm using my external memory keyer, which also allowed me to have my manual keys in series with the external keyer output so I can use both mechanical keys and my paddle at the same time.
My KX3 has two key inputs and so does the Eagle, so while I knew the DX10 didn't have two key inputs it is still something I'd miss if I didn't use an external keyer.
Lastly, this is a NIT for me but I can't find anything on the interwebs that says other people have this issue. I cannot get the radio to reliably interface with OmniRig. I use OmniRig to interface my radio with Log4OM and other software. I have searched and searched and others are not having this issue. I am using the most recent FTDX10.ini configuration file for OmniRig and have it configured with the same serial port settings that work with N1MM (38400, N, 8, 2, Handshake, Low). It is perplexing. OmniRig continuously loses connection to the radio. So this is likely some local PC / software problem I have that I shouldn't blame the radio for. I even performed a full reset to no avail.
Conclusion
This is the first new HF radio I've ever purchased. I've been licensed to use HF bands for about 16 years at this point, but I've only owned 6 other HF rigs in that time; all purchased used. I've owned a number of Yaesu VHF mobile and handheld radios but only one HF and that was the FT-857D. The FT-857 was a good, portable HF/VHF/UHF radio but due to the limited front panel space and very early DSP implementation was really on the struggle bus when used for HF.
For me this was a very expensive purchase. So expectations are high. I knew it was missing some features my other radios already had but I'd hoped the shiny display would make up for it. At this point it's a mixed bag. I do like the DNR very much and I can get clean sounding audio out of it using a external speaker, but that's about the only positive. The clacky T/R relay and noisy fan are a major Debbie Downer at this point.
I know that since I'm primarily a CW operator most of the issues are unique to CW. If I used Digital modes or did a lot of SSB I'd probably be thrilled with this radio. If I can figure out the rig interface problems I may try some digitial modes again and maybe it would seem more shiny. (I know I use the word "Shiny", a lot... It's because there was a Sci-Fi Series on a decade ago called Firefly. The chief engineer used that word for anything she thought was cool or nice... I have sort of adopted it)
I'll give it some more time and see how it works with weak signals. So far, I've only made a few dozen contacts and less than a dozen extended ragchews due to lots of lightning in my area. It's really a toss-up at this point as to whether the shiny stuff outweighs the musical audio, and slent operation of my Eagle.
That's all for now.
Lower your power and raise your expectations
73s Richard AA4OO
