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Barn Door Wide! Hunting For NDBs In CLE253

18 February 2020 | by Steve VE7SL | Leave a Comment (1)

This weekend's upcoming CLE event will be the "Barn Door" listening event.

Participants are required to use receivers without the usual narrow filters. Some of the older tube radios can do this easily as can most homebrew receivers ... especially the regens!

If you've never listened to the NDB band with a wide bandwidth, it is a fascinating experience! If conditions are normal, you can typically hear a half dozen or more signals, all at various pitches, vying for your attention. It's almost as if you have plunked yourself down in the middle of the NDB forest of signals, and they are coming at you from all directions.

Many choose to use one of their homebrew receivers for this event, often as simple as a '1AD' or a '1 Active Device' circuit.

From organizer Brian Keyte:

Hello all

Here comes our sixth 'Barn Door' Coordinated Listening Event.

Between us there will be a great variety of ‘Back to Basics’ receiver

types in use. Maybe this is an opportunity for you to bring back to life

that old receiver that has been collecting dust for so long!

    Days:      Friday 21 to Monday 24 February 2020

    Times:    Start at Midday on Friday 21st, your LOCAL time
                   End at Midday on Monday 24th, your LOCAL time

    Frequencies:   Centred on 360 kHz (see below)

    NDBs:     NOT MORE than 100 'normal' NDBs including any UNIDs
                    (That is not intended to be a target to reach)

We are all asked to listen with NON-SELECTIVE receivers - i.e. with a WIDE

filter or NO filter. Your 'barn door' should be open wide so you could hear,

at the same time, any NDBs 2 kHz away on both sides of your receiver

setting - E.g. NDBs on 348, 349, 350, 351 and 352 kHz with the receiver

set to 350 kHz.

You could listen with:

Whichever you choose, use the same receiver throughout the CLE.

If your choice of receiver includes a waterfall please use only the

audio output for your listening. You could even cover part of the

screen if there is no other way of stopping or hiding the waterfall.

Unfortunately the use of Pskov – and probably of recordings – is

not appropriate for this CLE.

You choose how wide a RANGE of frequencies you will listen in, CENTRED

ON 360 kHz. You could choose 350-370 kHz , 330-390 kHz, 260-460 kHz, etc.

(That allows each of us to choose a +/- range with enough NDBs to

match our equipment's capability. It will also allow us to compare our

loggings in the Combined Results, at least around 360 kHz).

Logs should show not more than 100 NDBs please (if more than 100

the harvester program will 'drop' the loggings furthest from 360 kHz).

We’ll summarise everyone's equipment on the first page of the combined

results, so please describe:

The RECEIVER/AERIAL you used and the FILTER(s) selected and,

if homebrew, the number of active devices used, transistor types, etc.

All the usual procedures for making logs apply:

Send your CLE log to NDB List, not in an attachment.

Please show on EVERY LINE of your log:

# The full date (or Day No.) and UTC (the day changes at 00:00 UTC).

# kHz - the beacon's nominal published frequency, if known.

# The Call Ident.

Show those main items FIRST on each line, before other optional details

such as Location, Distance, etc. Please send your complete log with

CLE253 and FINAL in the Subject line.

Whether you are a first time CLE-er or a regular, always make your log

interesting to everyone by giving your own location and do feel free

to share any comments you have on this unusual event.

Joachim or I will send the usual 'Any More Logs?' email at about 2000 UTC

on Tuesday 25th so that you can check that your log has been found OK.

Make sure your log has arrived on the List at the very latest by 09:00 UTC

on Wednesday 26th February.

We’ll try to complete making the combined results a day or so later.

However you choose to take part, we hope you will find your 'back to basics'

listening enjoyable and worthwhile.

Brian

------------------------------------------------------------------

From: Brian Keyte G3SIA ndbcle'at'gmail.com

Location: Surrey, SE England (CLE coordinator)

-------------------------------------------------------------------

P.S. NOT FOR YOU?

Listening without narrow filters is not going to revolutionise our hobby!

But there ARE some unexpected benefits and advantages:

1. Hearing several beacons on a few adjacent frequencies at the same time

becomes easier as you get practice at recognising them by listening to their

very different audio tones. At first, when listening to a random frequency

setting, you may hear just one or two beacons. But after listening for a

little while you realise that there are three - - four, maybe more, all of

them audible without altering any of the receiver controls.

It is a skill that gives satisfaction as you improve.

2. Hearing multiple beacons like that can be useful because, with no extra

tools, you can hear NDBs over a wide frequency range much more quickly than usual, perhaps spotting the arrival of new UNIDs or the return of occasional beacons. (To protect your hearing, keep your receiver gain controls fairly low, except around very quiet frequencies).

3. With normal listening it is easy to miss any NDBs that have abnormal

carrier frequencies or non-standard offsets. With 'Barn Door' listening

they won't escape because everything is let through.

4. When using a wide filter, you may be surprised by hearing some

Broadcast Station signals (e.g. harmonics) among the NDBs and you will

be able to identify them.

With a narrow filter, often you may not recognise an AM signal as audio

- it just sounds like nondescript 'hash' affecting a wide range of frequencies

around the central carrier.

Maybe listeners will report some other good things about their barn door

listening during the CLE - and probably some bad things too!

Do join in if you can.

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

These listening events serve several purposes. They:

determine, worldwide, which beacons are actually in service and on-the-air so the online database can be kept up-to-date

determine, worldwide, which beacons are out-of-service or have gone silent since the last CLE covering this range

will indicate the state of propagation conditions at the various participant locations

will give you an indication of how well your LF/MF receiving system is working

give participants a fun yet challenging activity to keep their listening skills honed

Final details can be found at the NDB List website, and worldwide results, for every participant, will be posted there a few days after the event.

The NDB List Group is a great place to learn more about the 'Art of NDB DXing' or to meet other listeners in your region. There is a lot of good information available there and new members are always very welcome. As well, you can follow the results of other CLE participants from night to night as propagation is always an active topic of discussion.

You need not be an NDB List member to participate in the CLEs and all reports, no matter how small, are of much value to the organizers.

Remember - 'First-time' logs are always VERY welcome!

Reports may be sent to the NDB List Group or e-mailed to CLE co-ordinator, Brian Keyte (G3SIA), whose address appears above. If you are a member of the group, all final results will also be e-mailed and posted there.

Please ... give the CLE a try ... then let us know what NDB's can be heard from your location! Your report can then be added to the worldwide database to help keep it up-to-date.

Have fun and good hunting!

Steve McDonald, VE7SL, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from British Columbia, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

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LHS Episode #326: Ni Hao, Moto

18 February 2020 | by Russ K5TUX | Leave a Comment (0)

Hello and welcome to the 326th installment of Linux in the Ham Shack. In this short-topic format show, the hosts discuss a major win for Motorola, the FCC and 5.9GHz, operating practices in Australia, iText, FreshRSS, GridTracker and much more. Thank you for listening and please, if you can, donate to our Hamvention 2020 Fund.

73 de The LHS Crew

Russ Woodman, K5TUX, co-hosts the Linux in the Ham Shack podcast which is available for download in both MP3 and OGG audio format. Contact him at [email protected].

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Contest Morse Code, Computers, and an Icom Rig

18 February 2020 | by Tomas NW7US | Leave a Comment (4)

This past weekend (third full weekend in February, February 15-16, 2020) is the ARRL International CW Contest (ARRL DX CW link: http://www.arrl.org/arrl-dx ). This is interesting to my study of radio signal propagation as a columnist and as an amateur radio operator because of the contest objective: “To encourage W/VE stations to expand knowledge of DX propagation on the HF and MF bands…” This contest is a good way to get a feel for current propagation–though there are caveats.

Speaking of Morse code and the CW mode on our amateur bands: those of you using CW during contests, do you send by hand or by computer? Do you copy the code by head, or do you use a computer for decoding?

Do you use a computer for Morse code operation?

Just curious about those of you who use CW. Do you send by hand or computer? Receive by head or computer?

In most contests like the ARRL DX CW contest, I copy by ear, and send mostly by rig keyer. If needed, I use a single paddle key with the Icom rig’s internal keyer to answer unique questions and so on.

Below is a quick demo of using the internal Morse code keyer in my Icom IC-7610 transceiver.

V47T, in the Saint Kitts and Nevis Island in the Caribbean, is calling CQ TEST in the ARRL DX CW contest.

Using the programmable virtual buttons, in which I programmed my callsign, NW7US, and other info, I answer and make a complete contest QSO.

In activity like the Straight Key Century Club (SKCC – https://SKCCGroup.com) K3Y special event, it is all manual. I send my Morse code using a WWII Navy Flameproof Signal Key, and decode with my ears. It is contextual for me.

[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vm8UJst6umA[/embedyt]

How do you do contesting Morse code? Bonus question: How do you do logging while doing contest operation?

73 es best dx = de NW7US dit dit

Visit, subscribe: NW7US Radio Communications and Propagation YouTube Channel

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ARRL DX CW contest.

17 February 2020 | by Mike VE9KK | Leave a Comment (0)

It was nice to see the bands very active with DX for me it was from 15m to 40m. The Endfed I have at the moment will not get me onto 80m BUT the new Endfed I purchased (going up in warmer weather) will give me 80m and maybe more. This year I spent a bit more time in the chair operating than I usually do. I was operating as a single operator, all band and low power (100 watts)
Score breakdown:

I was not able to snag any rare DX and in fact, I really only heard manly Europe, nothing from the middle east or Asia this year. During the late afternoon on 15m, I had Central and South America open up and I was able to get some contacts from there in the log. I only made 126 QSO's I was in and out of the chair and I really have to get to the point in my CW career to feel comfortable calling CW contest and stop the search and pounce only routine. The only Murphy moment I had was when my Bluetooth keyboard's rechargeable battery when dead. I had to hunt down my USB keyboard before continuing in the contest. The lesson learned here is to set the Bluetooth aside and use the USB keyboard for contesting. The next contests in my schedule are the North and South Carolina QSO party contests the first weekend in March.

Mike Weir, VE9KK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Brunswick, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

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Weekly Propagation Summary – 2020 Feb 17 16:10 UTC

17 February 2020 | by Tomas NW7US | Leave a Comment (0)

Here is this week’s space weather and geophysical report, issued 2020 Feb 17 0312 UTC.

Highlights of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 10 – 16 February 2020

Solar activity was very low throughout the period. No active regions with sunspots were observed and no earth-directed CMEs were detected.

No proton events were observed at geosynchronous orbit.

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit reached high levels on 10-11 Feb and reached moderate levels on 12-16 Feb.

Geomagnetic field activity was generally quiet with isolated periods of unsettled activity.

Forecast of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 17 February – 14 March 2020

Solar activity is expected to be very low throughout the outlook period.

No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit.

The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to reach high levels on 05-09 Mar with normal to moderate levels expected for the remainder of the period.

Geomagnetic field activity is expected to reach G1 (Minor) geomagnetic storm levels on 04 Mar with active levels expected on 26 Feb and 05 Mar due to multiple, recurrent CH HSSs. Generally quiet and quiet to unsettled conditions are expected to prevail for the remainder of the outlook period.

Don’t forget to visit our live space weather and radio propagation web site, at: http://SunSpotWatch.com/

Live Aurora mapping is at http://aurora.sunspotwatch.com/

If you are on Twitter, please follow these two users: 1. https://Twitter.com/NW7US 2. https://Twitter.com/hfradiospacewx

– – – – – – – – – – – – –

Be sure to subscribe to our space weather and propagation email group, on Groups.io

https://groups.io/g/propagation-and-space-weather

Spread the word!

– – – – – – – – – – – – –

Links of interest:

+ Amazon space weather books: http://g.nw7us.us/fbssw-aSWSC
+ https://Twitter.com/NW7US
+ https://Twitter.com/hfradiospacewx

Space Weather and Ham Radio YouTube Channel News:

I am working on launching a YouTube channel overhaul, that includes series of videos about space weather, radio signal propagation, and more.

Additionally, I am working on improving the educational efforts via the email, Facebook, YouTube, Tumblr, and other activities.

You can help!

Please consider becoming a Patron of these space weather and radio communications services, beginning with the YouTube channel:

https://www.patreon.com/NW7US

The YouTube channel:
https://YouTube.com/NW7US

Visit, subscribe: NW7US Radio Communications and Propagation YouTube Channel

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ICQ Podcast Episode 318 – South Essex Rally Review

16 February 2020 | by Colin M6BOY | Leave a Comment (0)

In this episode, Martin M1MRB is joined by Chris Howard M0TCH, Martin Rothwell - M0SGL, Frank Howell - K4FMH and Bill Barnes - N3JIX to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin M6BOY rounds up the news in brief and this episode’s feature is - South Essex Rally Review.

ICQ AMATEUR/HAM RADIO PODCAST DONORS

We would like to thank our monthly and annual subscription donors for keeping the podcast advert free. To donate, please visit - http://www.icqpodcast.com/donate

- ARRL Expands its Roster of Online Discussion Groups for Members - Undersea Expedition Planned to Retrieve Titanic’s Radio Gear - Bletchley Park- Build a Radio Receiver - Mysterious Radio Signal from Space is Repeating Every 16 days - French look at 3-Tier CEPT ham radio structure - RSGB Train the Trainer - New Amateur Extra Question Pool Released - Turn the bands Green for St Patricks Day

Colin Butler, M6BOY, is the host of the ICQ Podcast, a weekly radio show about Amateur Radio. Contact him at [email protected].

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Hallicrafters HA-1 Electronic Keyer

16 February 2020 | by Richard AA4OO | Leave a Comment (0)

High Voltage Electronic Keyer from 1960

I've been interested in getting my hands on a Hallicrafters HA-1 since the first time I saw one online. A 60 year old (as of this writing) all-tube keyer weighing in at 7.5 lbs. Everyone needs one, right?

The HA-1 uses a mercury wetted relay capable of switching up to 500v circuits. Wow! It employs four 12AU7 tubes to perform the mark-space morse timing and uses an OA2 and OB2 tubes for power regulation.

They always auctioned for more scratch than I thought was reasonable or were so beat up that I assumed it had been buried in a damp basement since Eisenhower was president.

I finally won an auction for one that was in reasonable cosmetic condition and fully expected to have to overhaul the electrolytics and out-of-spec capacitors but I lucked out and received one that had been recently overhauled with new power caps and even had replacement polys. The only issue was the the sidetone circuit was kaput because a neon bulb used in the relaxation oscillation circuit had broken its leads at some point (maybe during shipping) and was rattling around in the case when I received it.

Fortunately I had an old neon bulb in my junk box. It was socketed rather than having the leads, but I soldered some leads to the socket and installed it where the other had broken off. Wahlah, sidetone audio restored.

What an electronic keyer was like 60 years ago

After reading the manual and adjusting the circuit balance and element weighting, I had a go with it. I found that it kept eating a DIT when it followed a DAH in a character like K or N. I eventually realized that I was hitting and releasing the left paddle (dit paddle) before the current DAH was completing.

A keyer without DIT / DAH memory

Then it hit me... this tube circuitry doesn't have an "memory". Modern, digital keying circuits have a memory as to what paddle was pressed while the current element is being completed, but this old electronic keyer is using all its tube goodness to complete the timing for the current element. So in the case of a DAH, it doesn't have a place to buffer that I've pressed and released the DIT key while it was completing the DAH. I have to be holding the DIT paddle after it's completed the DAH for it to recognize and begin the DIT element.

That really calls for a change in my paddle usage. My brain needs to keep in mind the length of DAHs so that I don't rush and release a following DIT before the current element completes. This is a bigger problem below 25wpm given the longer length of the DAHs.

The Hallicrafters HA-1 manual states that the keyer is different from other electronic keyers and requires "a knack" to use effectively. I think I've discovered whereof it speaks.

I practiced for about 30 minutes and then tried some on-air CW QSOs. They were rough. Leaving DITS out of K's, C's, Q's and N's and other such letters really changes what you're saying... C's become M's... K's become M's (mmm... M&Ms) N's become T's... Anyway, you get it. Very frustrating for both the sender and the receiver.

As luck would have it, one of the stations I worked was also using an old Hallicrafters keyer. Did I know because he was dropping DITs ? No, I was telling him about the "new" keyer I was using and he responded that he was using one as well and went on to extoll it's virtues.

So I plan to use it and not relegate it as a shelf queen. I figure with enough practice it will actually improve my technique and probably improve my bug fist as well since it causes me to be far more conscious of my inter-element timing when forming characters.

Conclusion

If you have a good, modern keyer and don't need to key high-voltage tube gear, I can't really recommend that you run out and find a Hallicrafters HA-1. But if your taste runs toward the eclectic and you want a really, large electronic keyer with no memory functions that consumes 30 watts of power whenever it's on and provides you with a wonderful tube smell, and also requires soldering to hook-up the line to connect to an external transmitter... then this is the key for you.

Plus it looks just like H.A.L. from the Space Odyssey

That's all for now

So use a keyer with more wattage than your QRP station to get those extra DX contacts.

DE AA4OO

Richard Carpenter, AA4OO, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from North Carolina, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

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