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Last weekend I enjoyed running my 1W WSPR system up on 7MHz and was surprised by just how far it went. I wondered how a 1W CW signal would fare this weekend on the same band, given the activity in the CQWW CW contest. The activity of course is both a good thing; plenty of people to call and a bad thing; lots of interference.

After I’d finished writing my Practical Wireless column today I tuned up 7MHz and checked the output was set at 1W. I did what the low power guys recommend and called the loud ones. After all, if they’re way over S9, I shouldn’t be *that* many dB down!

First in the log was EA2EA, quickly followed by DF0HQ. RX4W, 9A1A, YL9W and OG2A all get the ‘Golden Ears’ award! By that stage I’d lost interest, having proven that it worked, but made a note to try 7MHz later when it opened to the USA.

I was curious whether 28MHz would be open. Certainly not in a major way, but I could hear some African activity and some meteor bursts from European activity. I kept tuning up and down waiting to see what would appear. What appeared was PJ4A. They took a little working, but after a minute or two I had them in the log. Also coming in from the Caribbean were ZF1A (great to hear, as I’ve operated from there!) and KP3Z though I only heard those two briefly. Some US stations were heard, though not worked; KC1XX, W4SUL, AD4ES and K1TO amongst others. An hour or so later, I checked the band again and was interested to hear C5A coming through. To my surprise, and how often does this happen when you run 100W to a vertical, they came back first call.

After supper, I thought it was time to see if I could work the US on 7MHz with 1W. KC1XX was the poor unfortunate I picked. But we did it! It took a few repeats but the team there pulled all the information out and I was glad to hear that they took a lot of care to make sure they’d got the information ok. Next time guys, I promise I’ll call with higher power and make an easier QSO for you.

I enjoyed the 1W challenge. No doubt Justin will be pleased I played ‘real radio’, but I suspect that my next 1W operation will probably be on WSPR again!

I have not been keeping up with the development of the controversial ROS digital mode as for reasons given in earlier posts I decided it was not something I wanted to use. However a recent post in the Yahoo digital modes group brought to my attention a development that seems rather alarming. The ROS software has recently included an anti-jamming switch the purpose of which is described as “improves rejection against strong CW and Beacons interferences.”

Polite usage of the amateur bands require that you check the frequency is in use before making a call so no-one should be jamming anybody. Furthermore, no-one should be using ROS in the CW or beacon sub bands. So what exactly is the purpose of this switch and why should anyone need it?

Perhaps an inkling of what may be going to happen can be drawn from some of the comments relating to the performance of the anti-jam switch, for example:

• “The New ROS/2000 passed the test successfully during the CW Contest last weekend.”
• “More test with the New ROS/2000 in other hostile environment. This time during a PSK63 Contest on Sunday.”

As I said all along (indeed, this was my original objection to the use of this mode) ROS is just too wide for use in the narrow digital allocations of the HF bands. There just isn’t the space for it, unless it remains a niche, occasionally used mode, which clearly its developer and supporters don’t intend it to be. As another comment in the ROS forum states: “The bands will fill up once people realize how good this mode is.”

The development of anti-jam techniques suggest that ROS is being readied to engage in war with users of other modes. When users can’t find a clear frequency they will just operate on top of other modes. The principal claimed advantage of the wide ROS mode is that it enables contacts to be made under similar weak signal conditions to JT65A but that it permits keyboard chats to take place rather than the basic exchange of signal reports and locators. So it appears that a vast swathe of spectrum space is going to be made unusable for other modes simply so that people can exchange brag files.

We need strict regulation of digital modes on the amateur bands. The days of gentlemen’s agreements are over. There are too many modes competing for limited spectrum space, and too many hams who aren’t gentlemen.

Years ago here in the States, a company called Folgers aired TV commercials in which they replaced the coffee in fine restaurants with Folger’s Crystals, an instant coffee.  The premise was the product was so good, patrons wouldn’t know the difference.  I’m sure the advertising campaign was a boon to Folgers as years later you will once in awhile hear someone say about secretly replacing something with Folger’s Crystals.

For years Linux advocates have been promoting the use of Linux in the hamshack, often bragging how their shacks are 100% “Windows free.”  As I have mentioned in past blog articles, I’ve attempted several times over the past eight or more years to migrate totally to Linux in the shack and have been unsuccessful each time.  I’m no dummy when it comes to Linux.  I have used it since 1995 when nearly all tasks were done in the bash shell and XWindows was a cumbersome novelty that was difficult to configure and was scorned by many.  Being able to copy and paste something from one app to another or configure something by right-clicking it was a luxury light years away.

Each time I get involved in these discussions about Linux in the shack (the most recent on QRP-L.org), several people will say that Linux does have enough amateur radio applications to replace Windows.  But there’s a caveat that none of these evangelists seem to grasp: the functionality of Linux logging and contesting applications doesn’t come close to Windows counterparts.  I often use three applications as the “yardsticks” by which Linux logging and contest applications should be measured against: Ham Radio Deluxe, DXLab, and N1MM.  These are all free programs so there can’t be any debate about evil corporations making a profit developing the software.  The self-proclaimed “world’s best Linux logging program”, CQRLog, is a fine program with a very clean interface that does basic logging, award tracking, and rig control.  It’s a great program if that’s all you want to do, but it’s not an equivalent to HRD or DXLab.  On the contesting front, I don’t know of any Linux program that comes close to what N1MM does.  Quite simply, if one intends on using Linux exclusively in the hamshack they have to lower their expectations and requirements for logging and are between a rock and a hard place when it comes to contesting.

Digital aficionados are in luck, however.  Fldigi is a wonderful multi-protocol digital modem program that is as good as or even better than Windows digital modem programs.  Unfortunately the arcaneness of the Linux sound system can cause much heartache and sorrow, but the program itself is superb.

Frequently in these discussions the instability of Windows will be mentioned.  If one believed all of the rants about how bad Windows is, one would think a Windows box with an uptime of several hours is a rare thing and Windows machines are plagued with thousands of viruses a day and running anything beyond Solitaire is an exercise in torture.  Patching and updating is an endless treadmill requiring hours of attention each week.  I’m not sure where this view comes from, but desktop Windows has been quite stable since XP and reasonably maintained Windows servers can be expected to run for years with few problems.

Replacing restaurant coffee with Folger’s Crystals fooled restaurant patrons because it actually had the same taste, appearance, and aroma of restaurant coffee.  Linux ham applications right now can replace Windows digital modem functionality, but those wanting a full-bodied cup of logging or contesting applications are out of luck.  I wish Linux amateur radio advocates would realize that not everyone is willing to live with limited functionality in order to use a non-Windows operating system.  Linux may be a viable alternative operating system, but the current crop of amateur radio applications are not slam-dunk alternatives to Windows applications like some claim.

Not too much time to spend here today, but I just saw an interesting blog from Sivan, 4X6IZ about getting WSPR to ‘frequency hop’. In other words, you could operate on several bands at the same time!

Have a look here

Clever!

Just wanted to wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving.  If you are traveling across the country, across town or just across the room (like me), please be safe about it. 

Have a great holiday weekend!

Jerry

I think I may have discovered one of the best kept secrets in radio. I have been thinking, off and on, about how to make a very low power 2m FM transmitter in order to get weather data into my APRS system wirelessly. A circuit using the Motorola MC2833P chip is quite easy to build, and I even have one in my parts box, but a custom crystal to multiply up to 144.800MHz would cost about £25 to be made which just isn’t worth it.

One day I was browsing looking at various APRS articles and came across a tracker someone had built using a VHF transmitter module from Radiometrix. I had come across this site before but thought that a) these modules were only for transmitting digital data not the AFSK that we use, b) they were not manufactured for amateur frequencies and c) they were not available in one-off quantities for individual private purchasers. I submitted an enquiry, stating that I was interested in purchasing one TX1 low power (10mW) module on 144.800MHz if the price was within my amateur budget, and was amazed to be informed that they would be happy to offer the module for £13.00 plus carriage and VAT, with a lead time of five days. In total it came to not much more than £20 which is amazing considering many professional electronics suppliers specify a minimum order value greater than that.

The picture of the module is much larger than it actually is – the pins are the standard 0.1in spacing. As I am nowhere near actually needing to use it at the moment, I hooked it up on the breadboard to give it a quick test. The module does indeed accept an audio input: as described in the data sheet you should bias the input pin and then feed it with audio at a couple of volts amplitude via a blocking capacitor. I lashed it up to my FoxTrak APRS tracker and a braaap was received and decoded by my 2m APRS gateway which was enough of a test to be going on with.

There are several other products with interesting ham radio applications on the Radiometrix website. The HX1 is a high power (300mW) version of the module I bought. With the addition of a PA I could turn my FoxTrak into a standalone tracker. Even by itself it would probably have quite a decent range from the fell tops. Also of interest is the SHX1 which is described as “a small multi-channel 25kHz narrow band VHF transceiver with up to 500mW RF power output, usable for 144MHz band amateur applications.” I think you could build a little hand-held transceiver with one of these, just for fun.

Many of these products aren’t in the online shop so you can’t find out the price or buy online, which is probably just as well as I could see myself ordering some more of these toys for something to play with over Christmas. I would certainly be interested to hear from anyone who has used, plans to use or has some ideas for using any of these little radio modules from Radiometrix.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Don’t forget that the Handiham Internet remote base stations are available for members to use throughout the upcoming holiday week.

The Handiham office will be closed Thursday, November 25, and Friday, November 26 for an extended Thanksgiving holiday. We will reopen on Monday, November 29. Wednesday, November 24 we close early.

Even though this is a holiday week, the Handiham nets will go on as usual at their regularly-scheduled times. If a net control station is not available, we will have a roundtable conversation on the frequency. Sometimes I think that there is even more amateur radio activity on holidays, simply because those folks who might ordinarily be at work will instead have an opportunity to head for the ham shack and get on the air. Of course if you have guests at your home, you need to be polite and see to their needs first. Hey, maybe they would like to see your radio equipment and learn about amateur radio!

Earlier this week I spoke with a Handiham member who was asking if we still have a 20 m net. Well, the 20 m net is listed on many websites as still being active, but it has really fallen out of use during the lengthy sunspot minimum. Now that we are coming into a period of higher solar activity, we will start the 20 m net again. The net time is Monday morning at 9:30 AM United States Central Standard Time. Our net always stands down if the Salvation Army Net is on the frequency. The 20 m frequency is 14.265 MHz. Please join us on Monday morning and let’s see if there is interest in continuing this net or if we should take a look at a different time and frequency. To summarize:

Things to remember about the Handiham 20 meter net:

We meet on 14.265 MHz SSB Net time is Monday at 9:30 AM Central Standard Time Net control station needed; volunteers welcome! Everyone is welcome – you don’t need to be Handiham Radio Club member. We always stand down for the Salvation Army Net if they happen to be on the frequency.

I have to admit that I am not all that thrilled with a Monday morning net on 20 m. The band is probably not going to be open to the West Coast all that well, and in the early days when the net time and frequency was originally chosen, it was truly the bad old days for people with disabilities and they were usually stuck at home during the day without jobs. Today is different and many people with disabilities, including Handiham members, have regular employment and are thus not available for a daytime net. Nonetheless, we will soldier on and try the daytime net again and see what happens. In the for-what-it’s-worth department, the daytime EchoLink net does actually offer the possibility of people to check in via computer from their place of employment, hopefully during break time! So I do think that we have daytime activity covered pretty well. It is still the evening 75 m net that needs testing, and we will begin doing that tonight at 8 PM, just one half hour after the Wednesday evening EchoLink net begins. That will give the EchoLink net control station a chance to announce that the 75 m net will be starting at 8 PM United States Central Standard Time. Let’s plan to be on 3.715 MHz, plus or minus QRM. I do need to remind you that this frequency is in the Advanced Class portion of the 75 m band. You must have at least an Advanced Class license to transmit on 3.715 MHz, although anyone, licensed or not, is free to listen on that frequency. As we go ahead and develop this net, we can always change the times and frequencies if that should prove necessary. If there is no net control station available at any given net time, we can just have a friendly roundtable on the frequency. Please feel free to use the Internet remote base stations to check in or to listen, especially if skip conditions for your part of the country (or world) do not favor 75 m. Remember that the EchoLink feature is available for listening.

I’m not going to make any promises about when I will be able to participate in nets this week, although I’m certainly going to try to get on the air as much as I can. We are going to have a house full of guests that will include extended family, and my son Will, KC0LJL, is driving back home from university with three Japanese exchange students who will stay with us over the extended Thanksgiving holiday. You can bet that it’s going to be pretty busy around my QTH, but you never know when you might be able to introduce a new person to amateur radio, especially if they can get on the air and talk to someone from their home country!

So, from the staff, volunteers, members, and supporters of the Handihams, we wish you a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday, and we hope to hear you on the air!