Author Archive
Hard work reaps rewards………
March 21st, 2023 | 
Author: I was always told from a young age "something worthwhile ALWAYS requires hard work" That has stuck with me and at times when I was about to throw in the towel a voice inside said, "it requires hard work". I am so thankful that I had an amazing job that gave me benefits and a pension for life BUT I worked my ass off for it.
For me CW is worthwhile and at this point in my ham radio adventure CW contesting has attracted me. Each day I practice my code on a few contest simulators and pileup simulators. Today for the first time I had a perfect score! Now that may not happen again tomorrow, this week or this month BUT today the score was perfect.
Improving the Hustler 4BTV antenna
My Hustler 4BTV antenna has been working great for me and I have no complaints about it at all. With being close to the ocean we often get windy days. The wind gusts can reach 80km per hour and during that time I would take the 4 BTV down and store it in the shed. A company called DX Engineering sells some custom-made add-on kits for the Hustler vertical antennas. DX Engineering offers a reinforced lower section for the antenna. I have noticed even during 60 km winds the antenna sure does sway a lot. I bit the bullet and ordered the heavy-duty lower section. It was shipped the next day and the order status was sent from start to finish. To replace the lower section is very straight forward and the only step that needs to be done is a measurement from the 10m trap section down to where the lower section starts. If you match this distance up then there should be no need to return the antenna.
The measure distance was 2 inches and I marked it with a sharpie pen. I then loosened the screw clamp and removed the lower section. I then cleaned the 10m trap tubing and reapplied some anti-seize, I then move the new lower section up to the mark and secured the screw clamp. Once the antenna was placed back on the lower base section it was time to check out the SWR. It was a pleasure to see the antenna's SWR characteristics had not changed.
We have had some windy days since then and the new lower section sure has made a difference with stability of the antenna. I am very pleased with the purchase. Unless we have winds over 80Km will I take the antenna down.
Measure and mark
Old lower section removed
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| Anti-seize applied |
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| All back together and ready to go. |
A pleasant surprise….
From time to time over the past week, I have seen 3B7M dxpedition spotted on the DX Heat Cluster and most of the time I either did not hear them or they were at or below the noise floor. I knew they were there as the pile-up was alive and well and responding with their call signs hoping to make it into 3B7M log. Yesterday they were spotted on 15m at their usual CW watering hole of 21.005 and as with all dxpedition they were operating split.
Before setting up my radio in split operation I wanted to make sure I could hear 3B7M. As I listened they did top out at S4 at times and that was good enough for me to give them a go. With my radio configured to split operation the next task was to watch my waterfall and see who 3B7M was contacting. With VFO A in my left ear (3B7M) and VFO B in my right ear (the pileup) I paid attention to who 3B7M was calling and then looked at the pile up on the waterfall to see the lonely signal that was coming back to him. The problem here was call signs not even close to the one 3B7M was calling were throwing their calls out again.
It took about 10 mins to figure out where 3B7M was dropping his call, now having said that there are a lot of radios with waterfalls out there now and they too have ferreted out 3B7M's pattern. Now the game is to figure out when we're exactly to drop my call. Most of the time it's just luck that you drop your call at the right time and right place! There are times in the waterfall you see stations running a KW or more signified by a bright red line on the waterfall as well as splatter. During those times I just rest as there is no use jumping in and getting nowhere.
It took about 20 minutes but I did finally hear 3B7M call "VE9KK 5NN". Now call me a bit skeptical but I have had times when I think that was my call or just one close to it? So I never get too excited until I check their online long which most dxpeditions have now and see if I am in it. This morning I checked and there I was in the log.
Finally, I am not sure why but there seems to be a new operating practice when it comes to dxpeditons and that is DQRMing (deliberate QRMing) In the past there have been those who forgot to put their rigs in split and transmit on the dxpetions calling frequency and I have been guilty of that! Also, those by mistake are tuning up their amp on top of the dx station as well. BUT recently I have unfortunately witnessed outright DQRMing. In the case of 3B7M I heard stations sending a series of fast CW dits over top of 3B7M or sending a series of the letter "V". I am almost positive they were intentional as this QRM was only sent when 3B7M was sending out a call sign they were seeking to make contact with. The DQRM was consistently dropped at just the right time each and every time. Fortunately, they grew tired of their childish behavior and moved on to something else.
A weekend of radio.
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| Not often is this seen on 10m |
VE9KK the world of CW blog would not be complete if I did not partake in the ARRL International CW
DX contest. As always I skipped the opening session Friday evening mainly because my limit is 40m and due to the time, I would have limited operating time before the band closed down for the evening. The contest was very well attended along with great propagation numbers. Now having said that on Saturday the space weather numbers were off the charts and some in my local contest group felt it could had been an error on WWV's part as they were showing 343 and other sites such as Dominion observatory were in the 160s. In any case, the numbers were great and in most logs including mine, 10m displayed the largest contact numbers as sure sign propagation was good.
For about 90% of the contest I ran and when it go slow I did some search and pounce. Now running in a contest like this you get HUGE pile-ups and it showed me I have to get more serious with pile-up practices using software such as Morse Runner. I have to be honest in saying at times the pile-ups were overwhelming and hard to pick out any call.
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| The action on a map view |
My Hustle 4BTV worked like a dream and at times my SNR numbers in Europe were great according to the Reverse Beacon Network. One of the challenges was to find an empty spot to call CQ contest. Often I would have to find a new spot as other ops would unknowingly move in. Not a big deal as it's all part of contesting. Entering these contests always helps out my CW skills to improve my skill but towards the end of the contest on Sunday evening I pulled the plug at 23:30 UTC with only a 1/2 hour to go. I was not hearing code anymore just noise and simple calls like M2T were a challenge so it was time to end things and go have a nice glass of red wine and relax.
One of the highlights was contacting fellow blogger Bas PE4BAS on 10m and 15m.
Major contest action this weekend!
This coming weekend is the annual ARRL CW DX international contest. This contest covers the whole weekend and is very well attended by some very nice DX and rare DX as well. Last year during this contest I was using my EndFed antenna and this year I will be using my Hustler 4BTV vertical antenna.
If you are a CW contester this is a must-contest for you. If you are not a contester but into CW this also can net you some nice DXCC contacts. The exchange is simple, your 599 report and your State or Province and that's it. The DX station will send their 599 and the power they are using.
Let's say your CW is a bit rusty and contest CW speed is beyond your comfort zone. Well, do what I used to do years ago use a spotting network to find the rare stations. This way you get their call and tune them in, now use a CW decode program such as MRP40 which was the one I used to use. It sets up via your sound card and decodes up to 60wpm. I found it very accurate and there is a full feature trial version available. Now you can read the machine gun code like a pro!
As for contest software N1MM+ is free and many setup videos are online for most rigs. So there you go with a little effort you can stack up some nice DX over the weekend.
Who knows maybe you will rekindle the love for CW and start a new adventure in ham radio.
PACC contest
I have read on a few blogs from the Netherlands about a contest called PACC it has been around since 1955 and is a mixed contest of CW and SSB. So there is a mode available that most hams would feel comfortable with.
It is always on the 2nd weekend of February and lasts for 24 hours. On Saturday afternoon I was able to get some radio time in and I found several Dutch PACC contest stations on the bands. I set up my contesting software N1MM+ for the contest and in I went. The exchange for the Non-Dutch (me) is a signal report and QSO number. For the Dutch station, I was to receive a signal report and a 2 letter province code, of which there were 12.
I found the contest to be very relaxed and I only took part in CW mode, nothing against SSB but it would help if I had a mic but I do not so it was CW all the way. I was able to make contacts from 10m to 40m with at times some deep QSB but readable most times. It was a very part-time effort and I only made 16 contacts as I had other things going on around home I had to get back to.
I did breeze over the rules but missed the part about a 10-minute band change rule. If you made a contact on a certain band you had to stay on that band for 10 minutes. Well for me that was not the case and the penalty was me going from the category of Single Op CW low power all band to Multi op two transmitters mixed category. Oh well, live and learn! I have attached my score and the contacts I made.
VE9KK the world of CW 2023-02-02 20:02:00
January is now in the rearview mirror and weather wise there was a mix of very warm weather (for January) of plus 12C, days with freezing rain and the occasional snowstorm of 37cm. I had a good month for radio, I was involved in some contests, WRTC competition more on that in another post. Then just some good all-around DX AP5A Barbados, S01SW Western Sahara, 5B4AMX Cyprus and CO8NMN Cuba.
The space weather has been fantastic of late with some very surprising openings on 10m. Now into February by 2 days we have had cold weather. Last evening it was -25C and on Friday evening -30C with a wind chill of -47! I am staying indoors so bring on the DX!!
