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The “George Batterson 1935 CW QSO Party” – Summary

May 3rd, 2025 | Author:


The first George Batterson CW QSO Party has concluded and the results are in! The "GB" was introduced to honor George Batterson (W2GB), who along with Bruce Kelley and Linc Cundall formed the Antique Wireless Association (AWA) in 1952.

For those familiar with the AWA's popular '29 Bruce Kelley QSO Party (BK), the GB differs only by the style of transmitters permitted. Transmitter designs as well as the tubes used must have been available in 1935 or earlier and, unlike the BK, the use of crystal-controlled transmitters is not only permitted but encouraged! There are no restrictions on the type of receiver used.

It is anticipated that activity in the GB will continue to grow as more amateurs become aware of it. In spite of terribly poor propagation, the initial GB found 20 participants from both Canada and the USA, making trans-continental contacts on 20m and below. Some of the results and participant's comments are shown below.

One of the most enthusiastic operators was Jake, KC7WXD, near Reno, Nevada. Jake did not let having an output power of just 3 watts spoil his fun!

Jake, KC7WXD

A new convert to vintage radio activity, Jake constructed a beautiful Tri-Tet oscillator using an 802 and homebrew plug-in coil forms made on his 3D printer.

Transmitter details here

"I had a great time with the inaugural George Batterson 1935 QSO Party! One of the most enjoyable parts of these events is getting to research, plan, and build a vintage transmitter. It's a great opportunity to learn and connect with history. For the GB 1935 event I chose to build a 59 tube powered Tri-Tet transmitter from the 1935 ARRL Handbook. I later switched to the 802 tube (after some minor rewiring) as it was easier on my crystals. For the event, I made QSOs on 80, 40, and 20m. Despite the poor band condx, I had a great time with the new event this year! I got a total of 6 contacts:

 80m: WB2AWQ 

40m: VE7SL and WB2AWQ 

20m: VE7SL, VA7MM, and VE7CNF 

I am definitely looking forward to the next event!"

Have a listen to how Jake's 3W on 20m sounded here in VE7 land (the frequency changes are by me tuning the receiver).

Also down near Jake, was Howie, WB2AWQ in Reno, making 5 contacts on 80 / 40 with a MOPA, Hartley and a TNT GB combo. As much as I hunted for Howie, I never managed to catch him on either weekend.

"Hi Steve! First time in the George Batterson, was good! Yes I normally work you in all the various old tyme contests! But the GB took place the second weekend on the first two nights of Passover, then the first weekend I had family commitments. I ended up running some of my stuff from the BK weekend (had to put a 40M coil on my 211 rig) because I ran into severe issues trying to create a 35 style rig.  But I made a few contacts, one across the country in NC, the rest were sort of local. But band propagation wasn’t the greatest. Overall, the GB is fun, and I hope it is kept alive. Nice to have some different tubes, and of course, crystals to work with. Hoping to create a twin rail style rig using a pair of 10s and a 42 xtal driver. Will send pix when I do."

211B '29 Hartley at 25W - 40m


Original 1921 Hartley (80m) with 10s at 25W

Back in eastern Canada, Lou, VE3AWA held down the fort on 80 and 40, making 11 QSOs with his widely-admired TPTG P-P 210 transmitter as well as a TNT at 10W.

VE3AWA P-P 210s TPTG

Although the GB is not presently a 'contest', if it were, W8PU would have to be the top-dog when it came to QSO totals. Gary in Ohio made an impressive 18 contacts, working 90% of the active participants, in spite of the terrible propagation. Gary managed all 3 VE7s on 20m as well as snagging a rare 20m QSO with NE1S! 

W8PU's GB arsenal consisted of a MOPA (20W), Hartley (6W), Tri-Tet (10W) and a P-P 59 Jones Oscillator (12W).

W8PU's P-P 59 Jones

W8PU's 20m Hartley uses a 27. It sounds like a Collins!


Larry, NE1S in NH, put his 8W Tri-Tet to work, wringing out 5 contacts including VE3 on 80 and W8PU on 20. Unfortunately, tax time kept Larry restricted to just one weekend of the GB.

NE1S  160-20m Tri-Tet 

Larry's beautiful 'Old Buzzard' operating bench

Tom, WA9CW in WI, had great success with his 80m 6a6 P-P Jones crystal oscillator at 5W out. Working Ohio, Rhode Island, and North Carolina shows that nothing too elaborate is needed to have fun. It seems like the P-P Jones circuit was as popular in the GB as it was back in the 30s!

"Here is a pic of the Jones 6a6 Push-pull rig that I was using.  

I think I could have made more GB qsos if both leads of my doublet had been hooked up. Didn't realize that I was operating with a crippled antenna till the party was over. Three GB QSOs and checked into the MI Traffic Net with the 6a6 Push-pull and a one legged antenna on 80M. That's a real testament to the little rig. I'll be ready on 40m and 80m with a good antenna  next year. Thanks to the organizers for a great qso party." 

WA9CW - 6A6 Jones P-P 80m xtal control

Bruce, WK3A in MD, put in an amazing performance with his Jones P-P oscillator using a 53. This workhorse design produced 12 QSOs between 80 and 40m and included the highlight of the GB for me ... working Bruce on 40m on weekend two when conditions were slightly better. I think Bruce must have a pretty good antenna and location!

"Thanks for the signal reports Steve. I put a great deal of time and effort into getting the most power out and good signal sound. 
Actually have a QRP wattmeter, so yes, the 80m output is 7 watts and the 40m output is 8 watts. Of course depends on xtal activity. I did fracture one xtal during the shake down, it was 7.071, a not useable spot anyhow due to Digi people there all the time. 

It uses a #53, as the power supply I built powers other 2.5v Hartley's and it has an adjustable slider power resistor to use it for 2 tube #27's or 1 tube #53 and keep the filaments at 2.5 v. It has two optimized tank coils for 80m and 40m. A series variable was put in place to find the correct wire turns and coupling, then a fixed mica cap added in series to make it plug and play on both bands.

Please find attached GB Log, total of 12 contacts. There could have been more but alas, again, some of the participants were not tuning around for the Xtal control guys.

I think it is time to "create" another TX, one for 20m. It would be great to get some east coast action for the west coast ops."

WK3A - Jones P-P using a 53 on 80 / 40m

W8KGI, Jim down in New Mexico had rough conditions and unfortunately managed only one GB contact. He converted his '29 MOPA to xtal-control just for the event, something that others may like to consider as well. His conversion info will be found here, towards the bottom of the page.

"I'm attaching my log for the recent George Batterson 1935 QSO Party - with all of one contact.  I spent several hours on the air both weekends, and the only contact I managed was with Steve, VE7SL on 20 meters on 4/13.  There were plenty of signals on both 20 and 40, but I heard only Steve working the GB. 

Honestly, this seems like just one more AWA-style event where contestants are limited to such low power that their signals just don't make it out west to New Mexico and beyond.  And limiting transmitters to 1935 or earlier and to 25 watts max of course cuts out rigs using slightly newer 6L6s and 807s which could easily generate at least 5 dB more output. 

For me, AWA events generate so few contacts that they really aren't worth the effort.  In this GB and the recent JR I made all of one contact each.  By contrast, in the last Classic Exchange I logged 49 contacts."

Please don't give up on the GB Jim. Conditions were particularly poor out west and hopefully there will be even more activity next time out.

N1EPJ, with operator Rob at the New England Wireless & Steam Museum, fired up an original, very old MOPA, putting RI into the log of five very happy GBers on 80m.

"N1EPJ, plans to use a crystal controlled set from Gil Johnson, W1DZ. This one has a UX-210 tube for the RF oscillator, and an RCA-247 pentode tube for the Crystal oscillator. Is this an XOPA? We modified it so that we can use commercial crystals. One of our volunteers recently made a power supply for it. We will try it for the first time soon."


More details here


KD8TUR, Dave in OH, made 3 QSOs with his Hartley.

"Hi Steve!   Really enjoyed the GB!  I only had a few QSOs, but I missed out on the first half.  I can send a pix of my trusty Hartley.  Tnx to you and Gary for trying to get this going, ( I know it is a lot of work.)  Hope the next one brings more Ops!!   Want to QSO wid you then!" 

KD8TUR 10 Hartley


KN4RRQ, Tom in VA, used his Hartley for 7 hard-earned 40m contacts. The 'four-holer' uses P-P parallel 27s in a unique design. Another highlight for me was working Tom on 40m.



Out west, three VE7s were active, hoping to encourage easterners to stay up later than usual!

VA7MM, Mark, ran his 10-Y TNT on 160 through 20m to snag 11 contacts. 


"VA7MM operated both weekends in the George Batterson QSO Party. Station equipment used included:

• TX: 1929 TNT Transmitter, Type 10-Y triode, 10W input, 3W RF output, regulated power supply.

• RX: Modern, Yaesu FT-817 portable.

• Peripherals:  Power/SWR meter, antenna tuner, band filters, T/R switch, keying interface, straight and electronic keying.

• Antenna: multi-band dipole at 100 feet above ground level.

It was exciting to start off the GB with a QSO on 20m with W8PU at the outset, thank you for the QSO.

Jake, KC7WXD, with his crystal controlled 1935 TriTet was an easy QSO on 20m. Near the end of the first weekend, I squeaked in a 40m QSO with Howie, WB2AWQ, during rapidly declining band conditions.

Locally, QSOs with VE7CNF and VE7SL added to my log on the 160, 80, 40 and 20m bands. VA7MM wrapped up the GB with a total of eleven QSOs of which ten were on the first weekend and one on the second weekend.

Thank you for organizing this first event in memory of George Batterson, W2GB."


VA7MM's GB setup

Toby, VE7CNF, also managed 11 contacts on 160 through 20m using his unique MOPA. It's a Colpitt's Oscillator with P-P 45s putting about 4W into a P-P 45s power amplifier. DC input to the amplifier is 25W. It really sounds wonderful on all bands! 

KB0ROB, Harold in MN had 3 QSOs on 80m using his Colpitss MOPA. Although he managed contacts with NC and MD, I never did hear Harold or anyone else on 80 other than locals as conditions here were truly awful.

VE7SL's GB efforts were split into a weekend of crystal control and a weekend of the Hull Hartley. A total of 14 QSOs were made, 9 being on crystal control.The highlight for me was working recent arrival KC7WXD in NV on both 20 and 40, with his newly minted Tri-Tet and working Bruce, WK3A in MD with his little 53 Push Pull Jones on 40m.

For the crystal controlled weekend I used a P-P Jones with 6F6s at about 8W out on 80 and 40m. On 20m I used a Tri-Tet, also with a 6F6, at about 4W out. On weekend two, the Hull Hartley was used on 160-20m.

P-P Jones used 6F6s

Tri-Tet used a single 6F6 on 20m

I'm calling a 'success' for the first-ever GB '35, with 20 stations participating and 15 logs officially submitted. Thank you all for your interest and effort! With the first one under our belt and a few tweaks, the next one should be even more fun ... all of the changes and details for the next one can be found right here. 

Hooked Early

April 17th, 2025 | Author:

Originally published in 2015, one of my favorite memories.

                    ********************

courtesy: http://www.arrl.org/






I still have a vivid memory of the day I discovered (and bought) my first QST magazine. It was in February, 1959, and I had recently turned 11 years of age.

It seems I was doomed from a very tender age and, as it turned out, there was little hope of recovery. 

It was a Friday night and I had gone with my parents, as we did every Friday night following dinner, to the Eaton's department store in downtown Vancouver.

courtesy: http://www.thespec.com/
Eaton's had a new and modern supermarket-style grocery store on their bottom floor which stayed open until 9PM. As my parents did the grocery shopping, I would take the escalator to the 4th floor magazine racks and on that particular night, spotted the fate-determining issue hiding beside the Popular Electronics, Radio-TV Experimenter, Electronics Illustrated, Radio News, White's Radio Log and other nefarious radio publications designed, in part, to lure the allowance money from the pockets of wide-eyed youngsters like myself, already beginning to show symptoms of the dreaded radio-bug.

I recall debating to spend my small allowance on the costlier QST (55 cents) or the cheaper (40 cents) Popular Electronics. I found the technical-looking cover too overpowering, bit-the-bullet, and shelled-out for the QST ... that extra 15 cents forever sealing my fate.

As I sat in the back seat of the car (a '53 Chevy Sedan), waiting for my parents to finish their grocery shopping, I browsed through the QST. In truth, I understood very little but was particularly captivated with the station photographs in Rod Newkirk's "How's DX" column. One photograph in particular has remained in my memory through all these years, that of a young-looking "HS1JN" at the operating position from his exotic location in Thailand, along with Newkirk's equally enchanting description ... powerful stuff for a young mind eager to soak-up all of this new 'radio' stuff. 

courtesy: http://www.arrl.org/
HS1JN's homespun 40-watt sender and S-40 receiver function faithfully on 20 c.w. in Bangkok where the OM is an officer in the Royal Thai Navy's research lab. After warming up on a fast WAC, HS1JN now aims for WAS and DXCC honors.


A recent internet search turned up snippets of information about the young Naval Researcher, Jamnong Saowanna, now SK, who eventually rose to the rank of Captain in the Thai Navy and was later instrumental in legitimizing amateur radio in Thailand. Apparently, back then, ham radio in Thailand had been unsanctioned and not officially approved by the government. HS1JN's original QSL also shows up, in the collection of K8CX, shown below.

courtesy: http://hamgallery.com/qsl/

Note that it's the same card shown taped to the front panel of HS1JN's homebrew transmitter in 1959. The K8CX card, for a 15m CW QSO with W6FMK in 1969, shows that OM Jamnong was by then running 500 watts along with a Collins KWM-2 ... quite a step up, but not nearly as alluring as his 'homespun 40-watt sender' and Hallicrafters S-40 receiver. 

After absorbing as much as I could from my single copy of QST, I began making weekly visits to the downtown library via bus, every Saturday morning, as it was there that I discovered I could peruse their huge bound collection of QST magazines, and borrow the latest issues, just for the asking! As well, they had a stockpile of colorfully-covered Radio Amateur Handbooks that spanned the past two decades ... it couldn't get any better. 

It was at this time that I changed my listening interests from the international shortwave broadcasters and began listening to hams on my old General Electric tombstone, particularly on 20m phone on weekend nights, as the band would be open all night long ... monster Cycle 19 had just peaked and propagation was nothing short of amazing. 



Between the February QST and the old GE, I never really had a chance.

Catching Up With QSLs

April 1st, 2025 | Author:

It’s been sometime since I have posted some of my incoming QSLs as I've been waiting arrival of the last one of my 6m winter DX season cards to arrive, which it finally did yesterday!


Unfortunately the peak of Solar Cycle 25 arrived a little ahead of time, peaking in the early fall rather than later or in early winter which is much more favorable for higher F2 MUFs. Nevertheless, some interesting days were to be had if the propagation patterns were followed closely, particularly after a solar event. Hopefully we will see a second peak of the cycle later this fall as most cycles have a double peak … if it comes in this summer, it’s not going to be of much help for 6m fans.

I started the 2024 6m sporadic-E season with a confirmed DXCC total of 110 countries and hoped to add at least one or two new ones via chordal-hop E or via F2 in the fall. My hopes were indeed met but if the cycle had peaked a few weeks later, the fireworks would have been something much more exciting.

The summer chordal-hop E openings to Europe and possible new countries are rare and usually short-lived but I got fortunate on July 8th. My very rare 'CQ DX' on the non-domestic FT8 frequency of 50.323 brought an immediate reply from OH0Z in the Aland Islands in the Baltic Sea for DXCC #111. His was the only signal heard for a long time as his many CQs went unanswered.


Other than a few JA openings that stretched further to South Korea and China, that was the extent of this summer's DX on 6m. It was one of the poorest in many years.



With the early October solar flux in the low 300s, the F2 MUF finally reached 50MHz here on the west coast allowing a QSO with Roberto, YS1RS to be easily completed. Although on FT8, signals were very loud on both ends and a CW or phone contact could have readily been made. Unfortunately, most stations on 6m are now reluctant to change mode in the middle of an opening (including me), as almost all of the good stuff is now firmly entrenched in the FT8 mode. Roberto was 6m DXCC #112. Roberto visited me about 15 years previously and I sent him back to El Salvador with all of the parts needed to build a Paraset and an Ameco AC-1 clone ... which he did. A Paraset to Paraset QSO should be next on our list!



The solar flux began to drop soon after, hitting the 150s at times, but began to pick up once again. 
The band continued to produce openings to South America, Japan and the east coast and on November 1st, XT2MD in Burkino Faso was worked with strong signals both ways ... DXCC #113




Soon after, the solar flux began to drop once again, hitting a low 130 before starting to slowly rise once more. One solar rotation after working XT2MD, the flux was back into the low 200s and a short opening to Africa produced DXCC #114 with C5T in The Gambia, demonstrating that November can produce good F2 MUFs without as much flux as in previous earlier fall months.


Other than a few good transcontinental openings into early December, it seemed like most of the fireworks were over as the flux retreated once again. Although there have been spotty openings into March of this year, so far nothing new has shown up. Is that it for Cycle 25? Time will tell.

One all time new DXCC on HF was recorded, earlier in May ... FT4GL on Glorieuses Island in the Indian Ocean northwest of Madagascar, was worked on both 15 and 20m, sadly on FT8 in spite of his strong CW-level signal.



FT4GL was overall DXCC #340 (including a few deleted entities)


A few earlier utility cards that I have not reported yet are shown below, proving there is still life beyond the ham bands and the challenge of QSLing is not yet dead!

JOHR 1287 kHz on Japan's northern Hokkaido Island

HBC (Hokkaido Broadcasting Company) are good QSLers



                                      
JG2XA University CW Sounding Beacon 5006 kHz / 8006 kHz



Akashvani (ex-All India Radio) 15050 kHz


Akashvani continues to be a reliable QSLer



Radio Taiwan is another reliable QSLer





NTSC, China's 'WWV', can often be heard
with its CW ident around dawn on 5.000 MHz.



Time to get busy listening again to see what's out there ... if the Sun ever stops messing things up!



Finding Your Best Crystal Radio ‘DX Diode’ (Part 2)

December 23rd, 2024 | Author:


Readers may recall my summertime blog, "Finding Your Best Crystal Radio ‘DX Diode'". It described a theoretical method I tried in order to see which of several dozen diodes might emerge as the best of the show, or in crystal radio DX circles, the ‘Holy Grail Diode’!

The grading system revolved around the combination of several factors … the diode’s measured forward-voltage (Vf), the weakest signal level detectable from an RF oscillator (whose level could be varied) and the diode's current when detecting a fixed-level signal on 1220 kHz. These values were used to derive a numerical ranking that I called ‘Vdx’, which would hopefully rank the best overall performers!

It’s not unreasonable to think that diodes with a very low forward voltage (Vf) combined with the ability to detect the weakest signal from the signal generator, might likely be the best diodes in the bunch … or are they?

These tests capacitively-coupled the oscillator signal directly into the crystal radio’s antenna tuner, which then coupled them into the detector stage. Using the methodology described in the earlier blog, the 48 diodes under review were narrowed to the ‘top 10’ likeliest best performers.

This time, actual ‘on-the-air’ signals would be used to compare diodes against each other in real time. A closer look at the top candidate diodes was made over several days and evenings as the days grew shorter and darkness arrived earlier.

My DX set has provisions for comparing a current good performing diode against two others.

 

In this arrangement, shown above, the current ‘best diode’ is mounted in the center switch position so that an immediate comparison can be made between it and the other two in real time.

A weak groundwave signal from Seattle, with a slow fade rate, was used initially but nighttime skywave signals were found to be most useful. Several  hours were spent tuned to 2800 watt CKBI in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan on 900 kHz. Their C&W format meant that most of the time they were broadcasting music, which I've found is always much easier for the ear-brain to detect in the noise floor than are spoken voices.

So what did I eventually find out? My original ranking methodology concluded that the best overall diode of the many dozens was the Sylvania JHS 1N3655A, a 40-year old microwave mixer diode.


The observations of the CKBI signal strength were by ear-brain only and no actual levels were measured since signal levels were usually too weak to measure on my detector's micro-ammeter. Measurements may yet be undertaken using an oscilloscope or by using an audio amplified output to compare signal voltage levels.

So … would my diode-ranking order and testing methodology hold up when actually using the diodes in a hi-end, low-loss crystal radio system when connected to an actual antenna?

I started ‘A-B’ comparisons against what has always been a reliably good performer mounted in the center position, a fairly modern twenty-year old  1N34A.

As noted above, the #1 rated diode (with my Vdx rating of 66) was the 1N3655A microwave mixer diode. Although it did not produce the loudest signal (diode current) compared with others, it had an exceptionally low Vf of .18V and its weak-signal detection level was good although not the lowest. Like a few others, it detected the nearby UHF data stream ‘clicks’ from a nearby Wi-Fi modem, often a characteristic of a good performer.

I was somewhat aghast when my #1 ranked 1N3655A was immediately outperformed by the modern 1N34A, ranked 44 out of 49! The 1N3655A was not just poorer than the 1N34A, it was very poor by comparison ... hmm ...was my selection process really that far off?

Diode #2, also with a low Vf of .197V was also poorer than the 1N34A, whose Vf was an unimpressive .375V.

And so it went for the most part, with my top 10 choices! Most of them were equal to the 1N34A but nothing stood out while listening to real on-air signals until I got to the three ‘curiosity’ diodes, originally tested at the very end.

The 38th-ranked Soviet-era D18, a military grade germanium in a glass ‘50s-style' package, was compared next. Earlier testing had shown it to produce a loud signal (higher current) but combined with its high Vf of .366V led to a low overall ranking.

Surprisingly, the D18 produced a noticeably better signal than the 1N34A and was moved into the #1 position.


Next up was the FO-215, often touted as the Holy Grail diode. It compared favorably with the D18 but was no better. Some have found that paralleling two FO-215s produced even better results but I did not find that to be the case.
                                                                                

The third diode was a very old Sylvania 1N34A from the 50s, possibly one of the earliest in production. It had an unimpressive Vf of .335V but did produce a loud signal in earlier testing. It detected the signal from Saskatchewan equal to or perhaps slightly better than the D18 … it was hard to say for sure. It was certainly no worse!

 

These last two were both made in the 50s … was there something different about the way they were made? Was the germanium different back then? How did they perform so well when their Vf was so high? It almost appears the opposite of what might be expected.

Seeing the above behaviour, I couldn’t pass up the chance of testing the 48th ranking diode, a beautiful black NOS Rogers 1N34A, probably another product of the 50s. Its Vf was truly discouraging, at .401V and the reason I had mostly ignored it in the past. It was put up against the D18.

 

I was astounded to find that not only was the vintage black beauty better than the D18, it was a LOT better! The ‘just barely’ detectable CKBI signal popped out of the noise to become one that was easy to hear! I had to rock the ‘A-B’ switch back and forth many times just to enjoy the big difference!

Out of curiosity, I tested the last-ranking diode (Vf of .444V) and it truly was deaf, with not even a sound emitting from the phones … so at least I got that one right!

What is obvious now is that the method I used to rank the diodes was flawed. These results have brought up several questions for me that I had never considered previously … far more questions than answers!

Takeaways? I've found that there's a lot about diodes that I don't know and need to learn about! I’ve learned that a diode’s Vf value is not an indicator of its weak-signal detection capability in crystal detectors (in spite of what some You Tube videos might try to convey). I've learned that when detecting a weak signal, the diode is operating below its Vf value which helps explain why a high Vf value does not mean a poor detector or a low Vf does not mean a good detector. Low Vf values were a well considered number when ranking my diodes … an apparent mistake.

Further to this, the diode is operating within its ‘square law region’ when detecting the weak signals we seek. When operating in this region, it means that increasing the input signal by 5 times (for example) will increase its output by 25 times. Similarly, decreasing the input level by 5 times will result in a 25 times drop in output. The importance of reducing as many losses as possible in the antenna tuning stage along with the detector stage itself can certainly pay fast dividends when it comes to weak signal detection. Conversely, ignoring system losses will very quickly reduce performance.

Also ignored in my system was diode capacitance, diode operating impedance, reverse leakage and no doubt some characteristics I'm not even aware of. Diodes with lower C will have fewer losses than those that are higher. I wonder how much of a factor was this in my overall unexpected results! The diode’s internal resistance when detecting a signal is a factor that I did not consider. The method of determining this value is complex but it may explain some of what I noticed.

There appears to be something different with older diodes that makes them great performers … larger junction? Germanium quality?

A final take away ... with enough knowledge, one can measure every tiny detail about a given diode without actually using it. No doubt a ranking list of diodes going through such rigorous scrutiny could zero-in on the top few. What's the BEST diode to use? It's probably the one that seems to work the best in your particular detector, until a better one comes along ... but it appears you can't go too far wrong with a very good 1N34A ... even in 2024!


 

The George Batterson 1935 QSO Party

December 15th, 2024 | Author:

VE3AWA - TPTG 210s

After the most recent running of the AWA’s Bruce Kelley 1929 QSO Party, a group of dedicated ‘29 enthusiasts and builders were hoping to see a second Spring edition to provide another opportunity to use these wonderful vintage designs on the air. They might sound pretty awful by today’s standards but for the average ham, these were considered state-of-art in 1929.

We approached the AWA regarding a second BK, but for a number of reasons, were turned down. All was not lost however, when Contest Coordinator, Joe Fell (W3GMS), suggested that we pursue a slightly different angle … something that would honor the third original AWA founder that had yet to have his memory honored in the form of a contest … the late George Batterson, W2GB
 
The three of us, Lou (VE3AWA), Gary (W8PU) and myself (VE7SL), immediately took Joe’s suggestion to heart and got busy building a contest!
 
The final details for the spring running of the George Batterson 1935 QSO Party can be found in the link below. It is an event similar to the BK but with a couple of exciting new opportunities … any tubes that were available before (and including) 1935 may now be used. 
 
53 / 6A6

Any commercial transmitters for the same time period may also be utilized. And unlike the BK, crystal controlled transmitters may also be used, something that was very popular in the 30’s.


It is hoped as well, that the QSO Party will catch on quickly and encourage some new homebrewing activity among AWA members and others. With the flood of new tubes and circuit designs, the 30s was an exciting time to be a radio amateur!


The 1935 Radio Amateur's Handbook


For contest dates, rules, logsheets and other helpful links, CLICK HERE.

Please pass the word out (or the link to this blog) to fellow hams that might be interested ... start searching designs, warm-up those soldering irons and hit the workbench!
 
Hope to see you all in the “GB”.

YADD – Maritime HF Activity Revisited

October 12th, 2024 | Author:

Before the HF maritime CW bands were closed back in the ‘90s, I spent many enjoyable hours listening to ships and maritime coastal stations all over the world while they exchanged CW messages or sent position and weather reports using the old AMVER system. It was a constant delight to hear various ship Radio Officers (ROs) using their keyers, bugs and good old hand keys to demonstrate their unique fists to the world, especially when using the latter two! Fists ranged from simply superb to downright awful, making one wonder if the ship’s oiler had been enlisted to send the nightly traffic! It was particularly interesting to plot their positions, as many of the vessels eventually showed up in the Port of Vancouver, an easy drive to where I was living at the time.

 
I often mailed reception reports to ship ROs and had a few invitational ship tours when they arrived in town. I was always impressed with the ship’s radio shack as well as the vessel's onboard cleanliness. Most were truly spotless!
 
Several years ago I wrote a blog describing my use of YADD, [Yet Another DSC Decoder] a brilliant piece free software written by the late Dirk Classsens. At the time I had been unaware that there was still a huge amount of HF maritime activity and that every large commercial vessel involved in deep sea travel was still on the air after all these years!
 
A look back at the earlier blog will explain many of the important things you might want to know about YADD and how to use it.
 
I recently fired YADD up again last week to see what was being heard and what I might be missing during these high sunspot days of Solar Cycle 25.
 
Some of the interesting catches, to me at least, began with a 2135Z decode of ‘CQ2283’ the bulk carrier AGIOS GEORGIOS S calling another vessel on 12577.0 kHz.
 
At 41,000 tons and 225m, she's a big ship, earlier named the ICARUS

Flying under the flag of Portugal, she was bound for Kakinda, India, and almost at the antipode from my location


The AGIOS GEORGIOS S nears Kakinada, India, in the Bay of Bengal


Next was the container ship MOL CHARISMA, C6WN8, calling RCC Australia (Canberra), also on 12577.0 kHz.
 
MOL CHARISMA - 21,000 tons and 316m long

Registered in the Bahamas, the MOL CHARISMA was in the Aleutian Island chain
near Dutch Harbor, Alaska, bound for Prince Rupert, BC.
 


The general cargo vessel MAHO CORAL, 3FEP4 (Panamanian registry) was heard twice, calling the nearby oil tanker, ORIENT CHALLENGE, 9V5083 (Singapore registry) on 12577.0 kHz. A response was heard eight seconds after the second call.
 
The MAHO CORAL - 127m


The ORIENT CHALLENGE - 183m

I was surprised and delighted to see that the ship being called was right behind her and both were just around the corner from me in Boundary Pass, heading for Vancouver!
 
About to enter BC's Gulf Islands enroute Vancouver

It was great to see the pair from my window about an hour later as they passed the Roberts Bank coal and container port. 

A switch to 16804.5 kHz found the CMA CGM MAUI calling the coastal station in Valencia, Spain.
 
 
CMA CGM MAUI, a true leviathan - 154,000 tons 366m length


At the time of my intercept, the French-registered CGM MAUI (FMYR) was off the southern tip of Italy, anchored at Valletta, Malta, in the Mediterranean Sea.




Next was the crude oil tanker YANNIS P, calling Guam Radio on 16MHz. After transiting the Suez Canal, she was in the Red Sea, bound for Singapore.
 

 

Yannis P - 81,000 tons, 274m

Registered in the Marshall Islands (radio call V7A2246), the YANNIS P was hauling Russian oil from Ust-Luga to Singapore, a very long voyage! Her 0019Z transmission on 16804.5 kHz was made at 0319 local time in the Red Sea, demonstrating the great HF propagation to be had during these solar-peak years.
 
Shortly before my local sunset, I decided to drop down to the MF range for the evening and listen on 2187.5 kHz, not really expecting to hear too much. I was surprised to immediatley see a decode from the BBC XINGANG (V2GC3), a 125m long general cargo ship registered in Barbados.


 
The BBC XINGANG was at anchor in the St. Lawrence River, not far from Montreal ... a surprising catch for 2 MHz as the sky was still bright here on the west coast.


An all-night listen produced several hundred ships, mostly calling each other, in all likelihood to comply with their mandatory daily DSC system test. Ship positions ranged from the US east coast, to the Gulf of Mexico and west into the Pacific. Only one coastal station of note was heard, that being the one on Kamchatka Island, Russia. As conditions improve, I plan to do more overnight listening on this frequency as there are numerous coastals in the Far East that make for challenging DX targets.

All of the signals logged to date have been heard on my Yaesu FT-1000mp and simple half-sloper wire antennas. Listening has been from the east shore of Mayne Island, BC, midway between Vancouver and Vancouver Island in the Strait of Georgia.



My home on Mayne is a wonderful location for radio as it is extremely quiet and located right on the ocean. My best direction favors the east while my poorest is to the west, due to Vancouver Island. The path to Asia has a good saltwater start but eventually runs into Vancouver Island and parts of the BC mainland before reaching the open ocean. 

As good as this spot is, it truly pales in comparison to that of fellow DXer, Walter Salmaniw, from Victoria. Walt also has a home in Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands) located at the northern tip of the island.

Dream location!

From here, Walt has recently been listening on the DSC frequencies as well, using a 450' N-S unterminated (bi-directional) Beverage antenna next to the ocean. With nothing but saltwater for hundreds of miles, Walt's reception on all bands is truly mind-boggling. His 2 MHz overnight run, netted dozens of ships in Asia as well as coastals from the Far East! On 16 MHz, for every single ship that I was able to decode over-the-pole from the middle east, Walt would log a half dozen or more. When not in Haida Gwaii, Walt can listen remotely from his home in Victoria ... truly the best of both worlds! 

As mentioned earlier, some of my fondest radio memories were those times spent listening to HF maritime CW activity. Many 'prepared form cards' or PFCs were sent to the ships or coastal stations heard, with an amazingly high return rate. These prepared QSL cards left blank spots for the recipient (Radio Officer) to fill in. They were often returned along with several pages of handwritten letters.













The 'lakers' were very reliable QSLers



Laker STEWART J CORT

If you miss the maritime HF activity or want to collect some new maritime QSLs, the opportunity still exists ... but instead of sending a reception report in care of the ship's Radio Officer, it will now need to go to the ship's Electronics Officer (ETO) or to the Captain. Reports can be sent to the ship's company who will then forward them to an upcoming port of call.

There is an an active group of DSC maritime DXers in Groups.io DSC-List, where loggings are posted daily. The group also has several helpful files and guides that will be of interest to those getting started. 

One of the group members, GM4SLV, has set up a wonderful website called YaDDNet devoted to collecting and posting listener's decoded loggings in realtime. One of YADD's features is the ability to automatically upload decoded signals, similar to PSK Reporter. It's an easy 30-second job to configure YADD to upload your spots to the net. His site also contains the latest MMSI look-up file used by YADD which is updated in real time from the latest log postings ... presently at 72,626 vessels!

Clicking on any of the uploaded ship names displayed in the real time YaDDNet log, automatically takes you to an online vessel-tracking site which usually has a picture of the ship along with all of its information, including its present position.

If you set up YADD to do some listening, I'd strongly urge you to also set it up so that your decoded spots are uploaded to the YaDDNet page in real time. Your latest logs will also keep the MMSI database up-to-date for all YADD users worldwide.

Good luck with your maritime listening or QSLing. Who says there's nothing interesting to be found on shortwave radio anymore!

Finding Your Best Crystal Radio ‘DX Diode’

July 20th, 2024 | Author:


Over the past few weeks I’ve had time to examine many dozens of diodes, mostly germanium, in my crystal radio diode collection. Many of them were removed from equipment built in the '50s and '60s (old diode matrix boards), some are vintage NIB 1N34As while others are modern SMD Schottky style diodes.

 
There are numerous excellent websites such as this one by Dick Kleijer or  SV3ORA's site  ... all describing elaborate ways to determine which diode is ‘the best one’ (the holy grail diode!) for crystal radio work. Most methods use a vigorous, somewhat complex test procedure plus a lot of math, most of which is well beyond my old brain, in attempts to flesh out each diode’s inherent characteristics ... as the sites referenced above illustrate, the simple appearance of a crystal diode belies its complexity and determining  diode behaviours can be more challenging than one might suspect.

My testing procedures were much more basic, and in the end, may hopefully reveal the best diode in my collection. I think one needs to undertake this with the understanding that there really is no overall ‘best' crystal radio diode but rather, only a diode that is best for your particular system and what works best in my system may not necessarily be the best one in yours.
 
My plan was to measure a few diode behaviors, shrink the list of candidates and then compare them against each other in my system's high-Q tank circuit.
 



My first step was to measure Vf or the forward voltage needed to ‘turn the diode on’. This can usually be determined to reasonable accuracy by using the diode test function on most digital multimeters. I’ve always supposed that the diode with the lowest Vf  turn-on threshold would probably be the most sensitive, but is it the only factor? Hopefully my tests would indicate if anything else is in play.
 
The next task was to determine the minimum signal level of a 1000 Hz modulated carrier on 1400 kHz that could be detected by each candidate diode. An RF probe was used to measure the level of signal capacitively coupled into my crystal radio’s antenna tuning stage which was then lightly coupled  into the detector stage, using the diode under test. No importance was given to the actual base level of this signal other than to note the level at which it could first be detected by ear (using sound powered phones) and making sure the coupling distance between stages remained the same for all diodes under test. This allowed me to compare weak-signal diode ‘sensitivity’ to the diode’s previously measured turn-on point or Vf value. Would the diode with the lowest Vf also be the most sensitive when used in a detector circuit composed of complex impedance, resistance, reactance and capacitance values that the test diode would be looking into?
 
The RF signal coupling was adjusted so the injected carrier could be varied between 0 and 10mV as measured on the RF probe. For each diode, the signal level was slowly increased from ‘0’ until the 1400kHz tone-modulated AM signal could first be detected.
 
The lowest 'first detected' signal level was .6mV while the highest level required 3.4mV, representing a pretty good range of diode behaviours. There were 49 different diodes in the test pool.
 
Four of the 49 diodes detected the .6mV signal, six detected the signal at .7mV, and nine first detected the signal at .8mV. The remainder required a still higher level of injected signal. The average level of first detection was 1.2 mV.
 
Of the four .6mV ‘best detectors’, their turn-on Vf values ranged from .15V to .38V while the .7mV and .8mV detectors had a Vf between .181V and .40V!
 
It seemed, not surprisingly, that generally the higher the Vf turn-on threshold, the greater was the level of signal injection needed for first detection … but evidently using the Vf value alone to determine the ‘best diode’ was not the hard axiom I had always assumed it to be!
 
Since a low Vf was not necessarily needed for good sensitivity, would there by any other tests that might indicate best performance?
 
The next trial was to measure actual diode currents in my hi-Q detector while receiving a lightly-coupled constant level input signal (1400kHz) to see how this value related to Vf. Measured diode currents (Id) varied from 9uA to 14uA for the same level of input signal, with the diode having the lowest Vf also producing the lowest current level ... hhhm! There was more to this than I expected, but generally, the lower valued Vf diodes tended to produce the most current and consequently the louder headphone signal … but not always! Some diodes with a Vf as high as .46V yielded high currents!
 
This now begged the question, “Does the higher current diode with a higher turn on (Vf) prove to be a better overall performer than the diode that turns-on early but produces a weaker signal?” What is the relationship between diode current and weak signal detection?
 
The next step was to express the relationship mathematically by calculating the ratio between the diode’s Vf and the level of diode current  (Id) measured in the previous test (Id / Vf). Each diode could then be assigned a number (Vdx) that might possibly indicate it’s true performance potential in my own system.

The diodes with the highest Vdx values would then be A-B tested under real receive conditions to see if any (or just one!) particular winner(s) might emerge … and if Vf was as critical as initially believed.
 

The Vdx values proved most interesting and seemed to account for some of the anomalies noted in earlier measurements with some of the higher Vdx values coming from diodes not necessarily with a low Vf. I’m hoping that this sorting concept properly takes into account both turn-on level (Vf) and current level (Id), since a higher level in either number will compensate for a lower level in the other. Vdx values ranged from 23 to 66, with seven diodes in the higher 53-66 range.



Click Image For Larger View


All of the 49 diode's test parameters were put onto a spreadsheet and listed in order of their Vdx value.


Click Image For Diode Spreadsheet Data


The highest Vdx assignment of 66 went to my 40-year junkbox resident, a JHS Sylvania 1N3655A microwave mixer diode. It will be interesting to see if it really is the best of the lot! Although it did not produce the loudest signal (Id) compared with others, its Vf turn-on was an impressive .181V and its weak-signal detection level was good although not the lowest. A couple of the UHF diodes exhibited the interesting behaviour of picking up the UHF data stream 'clicks' from my nearby wifi booster. The 1N3655A was one of them.
 
1N3655A Vf = .181V Id = 12uA Vdx = 66
   

Diode #2, with a Vdx of 62, is a mystery diode with a very low Vf of .197V. It was slightly louder and oddly enough, dug down slightly further than the 1N3655A, which had a slightly lower Vf. Although I don’t recall specifically, I suspect the diode may have been removed from a VCR front end many years ago.
 

Mystery diode  Vf =.197V  Id = 12.2uA Vdx = 62
 

Diode #3 with a Vdx of 61 is a modern SMS7630 Schottky microwave detector diode in an SMD package. Although it did not produce a competitive level of loudness (Id) in the diode current test, its shockingly low Vf turn-on of .147V and weak-signal detection threshold were the best of all diodes tested. Before testing, all SMD diodes were mounted on small PC boards in order to attach leads.
 

SMS7630 Schottky  Vf = .147V  Id = 9uA Vdx = 61


Diode #4 (Vdx of 60) is an ISS98, another modern Schottky microwave detector. I recall seeing this diode recommended for good performance in an FM crystal radio detector. Its sensitivity level was excellent.
 

ISS98 Schottky Vf = .211V  Id = 12.5uA Vdx = 60


Diode #5 (also with a Vdx of 60) appears to be a normal germanium of unknown type. I suspect it was used as an RF mixer since it was found on a small printed circuit board with three others, connected in a diode ring configuration typically seen in balanced RF mixers. It produced high current as well as good weak signal capability. 
 

Mystery diode Vf = .22  Id = 13.2uA Vdx = 60


Diode #6 (Vdx of 55) also looks like a germanium of unknown type with a body striping of gray-white-green-gray. If the last band is ignored, this could be a 1N895, a UHF germanium diode. It shows the typical internal cat-whisker type of junction often seen on the 1N34 germaniums.
 

Mystery diode Vf = .238V  Id = 13uA Vdx = 55


Diode #7 with a Vdx of 53 is marked as a ‘95481’ on a green body. It had excellent sensitivity and produced a strong signal (Id), elevating it to the top tier to be looked at more closely.


'95481'  Vf = .246V  Id = 13uA Vdx = 53


Diode #8, another germanium mystery, earned a Vdx of 49 due to its fairly high Id level.



Black 'T'. Vf = .258V  Id = 12.5uA  Vdx = 49


The rather beat-up looking Diode #9 is marked with what appear to be house numbers, '1846' and '6628'. I believe this was pulled from an old portable radio's FM section many years ago. Interestingly, like some of the UHF mixer diodes, '1846 / 6628' detects my high speed modem data stream clicks. Additionally, this tortured specimen produced the highest level of signal among all 49 diodes, with an Id of 14uA.


Vf = .294V  Vdx = 48 Vdx = 14 (Schottky?)


Diode #10 appears to be the brother of Diode #8 with a Vdx of 48. Although it has a lower turn-on point and was a better weak signal detector, it did not produce as much Id as its sibling, dropping it one notch lower on the list. Like its brother, it also has the mystery 'T' marking. Both are most likely unmarked 1N34As.

Vf = .252V  Id = 12 Vdx = 48


As well, three other diodes garnered my interest. Although they ranked lower than I expected, all had previously been found to be good detectors in my system. Their lower ranking may be a hint that my system of grading is not a valid method of determining best performance. All three will be given a harder look in the upcoming elimination tests.

The first is the germanium FO-215. Often touted as 'the holy grail' crystal radio diode but I have never found it to be particularly outstanding. Maybe my system has a lower Q than it really needs in order to show its stuff. This diode is shown on the bar graph above as #11. During testing, it appeared much less capable of weak signal detection than most others but its low Vf and high Id elevated its overall ranking.

Vf = .272V  Id = 13uA  Vdx = 48


The second diode is the Soviet-era D18, a military-grade germanium in a glass '50s-style package. I have previously found it to be a very good detector but its high turn-on level lowered its ranking. The D18 appears on the bar graph as #12.



Vf = .366V  Id = 12.2uA Vdx = 33


The third diode is a vintage Sylvania 1N34 from the 50s and likely one of the first 1N34s to be manufactured. Although it produces a loud signal, its Vf was higher than expected. As I recall, it was salvaged from an old parted-out Heathkit.  It appears on the bar graph as #13.


Vf = .335V  Id = 13uA  Vdx = 39


As mentioned earlier, one can measure and calculate a large amount of data for crystal diodes while they sit passively on the bench but they really need to be mounted, tested and compared in the actual system in which they will be used. Comparing diodes 'A-B' style in real time with weak signals may be better than any measurements made on a diode being bench-tested. 

Will a new ‘holy-grail’ emerge from the pile? This type of testing requires a lot of careful listening so time will tell. 

Testing will be ongoing over the summer / fall months ... stay tuned for the final results, hopefully in time for the fall DX season!
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