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The horizontal loop has been repaired. I lost 3 glasfiber mast parts, they are broken and cannot be repaired. I can probabely use them to make a tripod or so, I’ve seen that somewhere on the web. The loop is now at 7m and I got a better feeling about the mechanical strength this time. I decided not to repair the beam, it is too heavy for a aluminium mast and although I didn’t test it I don’t think it gives me an advantage in for example working DX in any direction at low height compared to my vertical. I really need to get my versa tower up again so I can install a beam for 10m like it should be. Well, in January it’s time to have my agenda and that of my XYL filled with the upcoming contests I really want to take part in. This is my list:

• 11/12-Feb:PACC contest
• 24/25-Mar: CQWW WPX SSB contest
• 1/2-Sept: Fieldday contest
• 29/30-Sept: CQWW RTTY contest
• 27/28-Okt: CQWW SSB contest
• 11-Nov: PA-beker contest
• 18-Nov: Friese 11 steden contest
• 24/25-Nov: CQWW CW contest
• 4-Dec: 10m RTTY contest
• 10/11-Dec: ARRL 10m contest

Collage of photos, click to enlarge.

Actually it’s a pity the beam has gone before I could make any tests. One of the loop antenna supports snapped and I had to cut the wire. But I can overlook the damage. My most important all band vertical is still working. And it’s nothing compared to the damage my “neighbour” station PA1A has. His 150ft (45m) Rohn tower with yagi antennas has snapped. He has been lucky it did not fall on his new house, don’t know what happened to the yagis exactly. Actually same thing (cause) happened to me if you take a look at the photo, although  my “tower” was only 16ft (5m). What I learned already this new year is that “high towers catch much wind”. I extended my loop antenna from just 7m to 8m heigth last year and it didn’t work out. Sometimes a little difference has a huge impact on the construction. I’ll repair the loop and will take it to just 7m again to be on the safe side. We can’t joke with nature and since I live near the coast wind can sometimes be very malicious.

Windchart  from PA1A website: 34m/s=120km/h

Since I didn’t want the beam lying in the grass the whole winter I did temporarely mount it on a 4m pole. I have it in a fixed position to the USA now. It’s far to low to give good performance but still it equals the vertical already in that direction. Merry Christmas everyone…

JT65 HF with webSDR

It’s cheating I know. But considering I still had my thoughts about my 5W 40m signal being received in daylight by VP8DMH Mike in Antarctica. It came across my mind that Mike could have been testing with a webSDR located in Europe. Is that possible, as JT65 is time related and internet has a bit delay. So, I would like to test it and set up JT65 with a webSDR in the USA. At the middle of the day I reported some American JT65 calls to PSK reporter. So, you cannot always believe spots via the internet. Although received by radio, the reporting station can be everywere, propagation or not! With that in mind I mailed Mike down on Antarctica, I wished to solve the mystery. Did he use a webSDR in Europe or his own receiver?

Here our small conversation: 

On 23/Dec 04:15, BasLev wrote:

> Hello Mike,

> 

> I hope you don’t mind writing you but I have something on my

> mind that I would like to solve.  I was received by your

> station at 20-12-2011 see my

> blogpost:?http://pe4bas.blogspot.com/2011/12/40m-jt65-surprise.html

> But since you were in daylight and far from the greyline this

> would be impossible in my opinion.  You also wrote??on

> QRZ.com?your equipment would not arrive before christmas.  It

> could be received by a SW receiver of course. But it could also

> be that you were listening/decoding via a webSDR?

> 

> Can you help me out with this??

Hi Bas,

Thanks for the mail.  My main radio is indeed on the ship, and

won’t be with me for another week or so, but I do have my FT-817

with me, and I’ve been using that for WSPR and JT-65A in the

meantime.

As for propagation, strange things happen down here!  We have a

suprisingly good nighttime path to the EU on 40m, even though

it’s 24-hour daylight here at the moment.  I recently did some

tests over a few days using WSPR, which I wrote about here:

http://clarkema.org/posts/2011-12/2011-12-12-propagation-videos.html

You might be interested in the video linked at the bottom of the

4th paragraph, which shows propagation from here to Europe as

night falls.

I did make a couple of European JT65 QSOs on teh 20th as well as

just listening, so hopefully I’ll see you in the log at some

point.

73,

— 

Mike, VP8DMH

P.S. my location given the pskreporter website is out of date; my

current QTH is HB64ok.

A very fast reply and amazing that I can just e-mail to someone in Antarctica. So he did receive me on his FT-817. And he even made a few QSOs to Europe. And most interesting of all he has his own blog and actually does something usefull with the WSPR data. I was really surprised and can recommend this video. It gives a nice insight in the Antarctic propagation. Anyway, e-mail still is the best way to verify if you want to be certain a station heard your signal, especially in suspicious situations. Internet can be usefull but also very misleading and that concerns not only amateurradio !!

A small JT65 cheat..

I was using JT65 this evening with 5W from my FT817 on 40m. Antenna was the 84m loop. The surprise was my signal being received by VP8DMH at the Halley Research station, Brunt Ice shelf, Antarctica. Didn’t see hime making QSOs so I guess he was just listening!

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