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For some time I have been interested in the all-in-one type WSPR  transmitter. A fellow blogger Paul PA0K posts his WSPR adventures using the SOTAbeams WSPRlite model. This unit is no longer available and when I did a web search I found very few units on the market. The unit I  purchased was the Zachtek WSPR Desktop transmitter. The desktop transmitter has great reviews on Eham. The YouTube videos I watched about this product emphasized its compact size, works right out of the box, is easy to set up and can run independently without a PC. 

The unit I ordered was the 80m to 10m WSPR desktop. The package came from  Sweden and was at my door in under 6 days. Along with the Desktop device, you also get a USB to USB-micro cable and a GPS antenna with a 3m cord with an SMA connector. If you do plan to order one of these units be aware you will need an SMA to SO239 pigtail as it does not come with the unit. They can be ordered at Zachtek's website. Fortunately, I had one as it is used with my NANO VNA unit. 

Needed cable

Some of the selling points for me were:
- It's small size.
- Great reviews.
- Option to run it with or without a PC.
- Easy setup software available on Zachtek site.
- An LED light on the unit that indicates good or bad GPS lock, when transmitting and when idle.
- Automatic band switching.
- The unit is not affected by an extremely high SWR.

It was time to connect up the unit and I went to Zachtek and downloaded the operating software. I connected the unit to my PC via the USB to micro cable for the first time setup of the WSPR desktop, I connected the  GPS antenna and connected my Hustler 4BTV to the antenna port via the  SO-239 to SMA connector.  I entered my call in the box provided and selected the bands I wanted the unit to work on. As a side note, there is also a download for USB to serial driver but I already had that and it was working with no problems with my NANO VNA. I then pressed the start button on the software. I was supposed to see GPS information and the device status. Instead, I saw absolutely nothing.

Nothing happened

 I tried changing the USB port I was using, I then downloaded and installed the USB to serial driver from Zachtek as maybe it was a more up-to-date driver. I tried again and nothing happened. I know my NANO VNA has no issues working on my PC and using the USB to serial port driver, maybe a Win10 update messed things up. I connected the NANO VNA via its USB cable and it came to life. I then plugged the VNA into the same port the WSPR desktop was plugged into and it worked fine. I plugged the NANO VNA into the cable that came from Zachtek and the NANO VNA refused to start! I  plugged the WSPR desktop into the NANO VNA USB cable and the unit came to life. The device status came up and the GPS showed connection status. The issue was the USB-Micro cable from Zachtek it was defective right out of the box. I informed Zachtek of this a few days ago but as of yet, I have not heard back. 

The unit sprang to life

 Once the cable issue was solved the unit worked like a dream. In my next post the result of a 24-hour WSPR run with my Hustler 4BTV as well why the heck did I get this thing and how is it going to help my contesting adventures?

 Now and then I hit the sweet spot regarding my CW progress. For a while now I have jumped up to 38wpm contesting style CW. At this point in my practice time, I make around 2-4 mistakes per 10-minute session but then a perfect score happens and I am thrilled. I agree that in an actual contest sending CQ contest at 38wpm may hamper more than help as some folks come across this speed and move right along. If you are spotted the station will know your call and if it's a generic exchange  (CQ zone or ITU zone) you may get a hit from more stations. If you are sending a progressive serial number you may get pasted up more than contacted. In CW contests when calling CQ contest my speed varies from 30-34wpm and depending on the contest down to 28wpm. As always if a station comes back to me at a slower speed than I am sending I tap my page down key and that drops my CW speed in N1MM+ contest software. 

So why you ask am I practising at 38wpm? For me, it's all about keeping the mind sharp and working the grey matter with high-speed CW does the trick for me. Today's results put a big smile on my face....until I go at it again and reality sinks in with a few mistakes.

This ground rod took forever to pound in.

I had the opportunity in the spring to pick up free of charge 2 copper-clad 8-foot ground rods free of charge as long as I picked them up. It was about an hour's drive for me but free ground rods were well worth the trip. Also, I was able to meet one of the hams from our contest club and have a coffee and a nice chat. As things go I had many things to do around the house and installing ground rods was low on the list.  Well, September was here and I did not want to wait any longer and the decision was made to pound in two ground rods.
I did some online searching for ways to install ground rods and one way was to rent a tool that basically pounds them in. It's like a concrete hammer drill but for ground rods. I contacted the local building store who rented them and I was told for 1/2 day it was about 250.00!!!! Well, it first was time for plan B to see how that worked out. Plan B was to put the ground rods in on my own steam! Online there were many videos of folks who lifted the ground rod and slammed it into the ground. They kept doing this and added water into the hole as they went along. When the ground rod was close to the surface they used a hammer for the rest.  Another common thread in the videos was best case was to do this job after a few days of rain as this also helped out. As plans would have it did rain here for a few days and just after the rain I thought "It's a nice day to pound some ground rods in". Out I went with my trusty water bottles, work gloves and lots of ambition. I have to say the first ground rod at the base of my Hustler 4BTV went in very easily. So bubbling with confidence I moved to the second location which was for a ground rod that was to ground my station.
This spot was not as smooth going, the first attempt came to an abrupt stop at about the 4-foot mark. The only thing I could figure was I hit a tree root from one of our Maple trees. The second attempt was a charm BUT it was not easy going. I added water and slammed the ground rod down and it did go in but very very very slowly. Finally, success and both ground rods were in and connected to the antenna and the other to a ground bus in my shack.

 

The news is out the new Icom IC 7760 is out with a bit of a lunch bag letdown feeling among hams.  As Rob Sherwood put in on the 7610 groups io site:

"Unless I am missing something, why would I "upgrade"  from a 7610 to a 7760? With minimal details at this point, why would the lab numbers be noticeably better?"

Some of the highlights are: 

A separate control head from the RF deck. This is nice to see and you can move the rig around the house but the specs say it requires a gigabit Ethernet connection to function. 

200 watts power output.  

15 separated bandpass filters. (7610 has 13)

The addition of a 2.4-inch sub-display for filter display or band stacking and so on.

A preset FT8 menu for the Digi fans. 

4 antenna inputs. (7610 has 2)

Other than a few other minor stuff it basically is a 7610 but for double the price. But if an extra 100 watts, 2 extra bandpass filters, 2 extra antenna ports and an easy FT8 setup rev's your engine then the extra money is well spent I guess.
Here is the link from Icom with all the details and you can judge for yourself.
Icom IC 7760

 It's nice we are in the upswing regarding our solar cycle but along with that comes an active sun both in a good way and not so good way.  This weekend is the running of the WAE CW contest and well the solar flux index is off the scale at 306 the sun had a few hiccups over the past few days in the way of solar flares directed toward Earth. The flares tossed out some juice (ionizing radiation) toward us and more specifically right into our ionosphere layer D! We now have a D layer that has become a suction cup for HF radio signals. How does all this translate into a CW contest you ask.....well I'm calling "CQ contest"  and no one comes back to you. When someone does come back to me due to this peculating of the ionosphere at one point they are S8 and then gone! But I can say the solar gods are fair about things in that conditions are like this all over. No sense getting upset about it as this is all part of the solar puzzle that at times we enjoy and other times we spend time doing none ham things. While at the same time checking back in now and then to see how conditions are. 

All of us are at one place or another in our CW journey and with each path there are up and down times. Times when things connect and other times when there is a disconnect. If you think about it this is not just CW that operates this way. When you are learning to drive one day you can parallel park like a pro and the next day you could not do it if your life depended on it. Learning the times table back in school and you are great with the 9 times table....then in class, you are asked 9x7  and you go blank. Well, going beyond ICR can be the same way. Is there something beyond ICR you ask.....by golly Miss Mollie there is! 

Learning is an adventure no matter what you are challenging yourself with. I am a firm believer that to keep the mind, body and spirit healthy you need to be challenging yourself. This brings me to the next step beyond ICR.  It is the art of words and Q codes training and it is different from  ICR. In my humble opinion, I do feel you should master ICR before you jump into word and Q code recognition.
If you have ICR pretty much happening for you the next step is instant recognition but with a twist. Your brain is very powerful and I can't emphasize this enough. Now understand when I say powerful it does not necessarily mean this next step is going to be a breeze. Remember you have trained your brain to hear a letter or a number and recognize the sound and in a split second.
Now your brain is going to hear QTH, OP, WX, RIG and so on it has been conditioned to tell you Q  T  H. Well it is time to change it up again but not to worry your brain can compartmentalize things with practice. 

How does this new adventure work you ask? Let's go in reverse for a moment and go back to when you were learning ICR. You knew dit dit dit dah sound was "V" as you hear each dit and dah but for  ICR to work that was just too slow and you would get lost and get behind. Oh, which reminds me of the art of copying behind....but that is another post.... moving from copying each dit and dah to ICR you had to speed up the sending of each letter so it was impossible for you to hear each dit and dah but a sound. Learning the sound of each letter was the key.  The brain can handle that with no problem as you know if you have a grip on  ICR. 

Words and Q codes instant recognition is the same, you have to speed things up a little but just a little. Your brain has to hear what QTH sounds like and not Q  T  H. Impossible you say...I bet we all know CQ and 73 at any speed and don't hear the ICR equivalent of each letter. Your brain will put the new word and Q codes in a new compartment in your brain. Soon you will train your brain for words and Q codes. Keep reviewing your ICR as well and in time both will blend into one compartment in your brain.  The key to word and Q code instant recognition is speed up the sending just a bit. You want to hear the sound and each letter as ICR.

As for programs for learning words and Q codes, there are many programs out there that will send you anything a different speeds. If you have mastered ICR you will be aware of some programs that worked for you and chances are they also will function as word and Q code trainers as well. Just like with ICR work with some words or Q codes and then move on to more once those are familiar and then add more. Another excellent way to learn is to also turn the power on your rig to zero and practice sending the words and Q codes you are learning. The more involved your body is in learning the easier moving ahead will be.  

If you have any questions either leave a question in the comment section or email me and my email on my blog.

As ham radio operators no matter what mode you operate one major contributing factor regarding success or failure is the Sun. Propagation reports can be found on the internet, some with cool pictures and others with just lines of data. Things such as solar flares, coronal mass ejection (CME), solar wind and the list goes on. Being able to look at propagation data and interpret it is beneficial. An understanding can help us realize that not all solar flares, CME and high solar wind can mean poor conditions. I found a great site that goes through many areas that make up a propagation report. At some points yes it can get into too much detail but overall I found it to be very informative.
Understanding propagation can be very interesting and also can help you understand the data that is shown.
Here is the LINK to a site that gives great information about propagation.

Here are some propagation sites: 

Solar Ham 

Current ham radio conditions