Another small celebration in the shack. I wasn't sure the time was right to spend much time chasing South Sandwich with a QRP signal. I usually save that  attempt for the last day or two of a big expedition and the VP8 guys are still working to satisfy a lot of demand. In fact I did try earlier in the day and just rationalized, after calling for a while, that the pile-up was still too big. The other deterrent to my thinking was that they just weren't that loud. As a rule of thumb I figure the DX needs to be 559 or better for them to hear my QRP signal. However as the sun went down I checked the 20 meter pile up on the Elecraft P3, hmm, not too big on the screen. Their signal was probably only an S3, what the heck, let me have a go, as my British buddies would say. I turned the K3 down to 5 watts, hit the split button and started listening on the second VFO. I found him and followed him up for 4 or 5 QSO's and then he came back to me, just like he does with the big guns, AD5A 599:-) That was when the small celebration broke out.

I love this radio stuff.



Mike Crownover, AD5A, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Texas, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

Another small celebration in the shack. I wasn't sure the time was right to spend much time chasing South Sandwich with a QRP signal. I usually save that  attempt for the last day or two of a big expedition and the VP8 guys are still working to satisfy a lot of demand. In fact I did try earlier in the day and just rationalized, after calling for a while, that the pile-up was still too big. The other deterrent to my thinking was that they just weren't that loud. As a rule of thumb I figure the DX needs to be 559 or better for them to hear my QRP signal. However as the sun went down I checked the 20 meter pile up on the Elecraft P3, hmm, not too big on the screen. Their signal was probably only an S3, what the heck, let me have a go, as my British buddies would say. I turned the K3 down to 5 watts, hit the split button and started listening on the second VFO. I found him and followed him up for 4 or 5 QSO's and then he came back to me, just like he does with the big guns, AD5A 599:-) That was when the small celebration broke out.

I love this radio stuff.



Mike Crownover, AD5A, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Texas, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

I’m going to use it as an excuse but really it isn’t….The shack is cold (Its a garage really) and the thought of going in there really wasn’t that appealing. We’ve had some pretty miserable weather since the end of November and its been a full time effort just to go out and walk the dog. I’d also taken on the mechanical build of the SatNOGS project as part of the club project and that took up way more time that I thought. Now that’s finished it was time to get on with a few things of my own.

First things first, looking at the Minima digiatl board it seemed like something that could be built and tested in an afternoon. I was nearly right, in the interim I had lost / put in a safe place, the LM1117 3.3v regulator and didn’t have a spare (Like I keep spares of stuff like that, I’m not a professional you know).

Built what I could and here is the result. Stone me it actually powered on an worked first time, but there isn’t any power to the Si570 and that’s a whole different ball of solder.

Onwards and upwards

Alex Hill, G7KSE, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Cumbria, UK. Contact him at [email protected].

Reading blogs and operating JT65-HF

I flipped the switch on the radio this afternoon to 20m CW and it was dead! There were some very faint stations basically at the noise level and to hear them I had to engage the Audio Peak Filter. Thinking it was DX calling CQ I was very surprised to hear both calls were from the States! That kinda gave me an idea of the band conditions for CW and I then moved onto JT65 HF on 20m and it was nice to hear many op's. Most of the calls on the waterfall were from the U.S and that's just fine considering the propagation, I did see one station from Spain being decoded. I did make contact with KB0PPQ in Kansas City and while waiting to make another contact I was reading PE4BAS Bas's blog.  Have radio and multi tasking!
Mike Weir, VE9KK, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Brunswick, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].

When anyone says QRP they always relate to the Low Power side of our hobby and the GQRP Club  founded by the Rev George Dobbs (G3RJV), over 40 years ago. Some may not know that George has written columns and many pages for technical radio hobby magazines over the years.

One being is Practical Wireless which he has written on average a two page monthly article for the last 20 years or so, called "Carrying on the Practical Way". The series consisted of simple electronic projects which could be built up out of a scrap box of components on a dark Winters evening. The projects have always proved to be very useful and popular, whether just a simple Colpitts oscillator, amplifier, low Pass filter. Or  maybe something a bit more technical to  get you on the air! A Receiver and a QRP Transmitter along with some simple test equipment to help you prove what you had built was functional, accurate and even transmitting a carrier. All which were covered by his simple designs in the series.


I had wrote to PW several years ago, asking them to collate the pages together and release this as a book, as it had been one of the most useful and methodical technical series, I thought this had fell on deaf ears?

 However, recently G3RJV retired from writing for Practical Wireless, and they have now decided the time was right to release the entire series on disk in PDF format.



Mine arrived in the post this morning, and it's something I will be busy looking over in my spare time, as some of the articles I have missed as I have a hole in my PW collection.
 
Carrying on the Practical Way is available from PW publishing LTD for £15 plus postage. Click on this Link for further details. Please note! I have no connection with PW so please don't contact me.

I recommend this series to the novice and those just starting out in electronics, or even the mature converted like myself. There is something in it for everyone, timeless, simple understandable electronics, that is a bonus in the shack and it is well worth a purchase.



Steve, G1KQH, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from England. Contact him at [email protected].

When anyone says QRP they always relate to the Low Power side of our hobby and the GQRP Club  founded by the Rev George Dobbs (G3RJV), over 40 years ago. Some may not know that George has written columns and many pages for technical radio hobby magazines over the years.

One being is Practical Wireless which he has written on average a two page monthly article for the last 20 years or so, called "Carrying on the Practical Way". The series consisted of simple electronic projects which could be built up out of a scrap box of components on a dark Winters evening. The projects have always proved to be very useful and popular, whether just a simple Colpitts oscillator, amplifier, low Pass filter. Or  maybe something a bit more technical to  get you on the air! A Receiver and a QRP Transmitter along with some simple test equipment to help you prove what you had built was functional, accurate and even transmitting a carrier. All which were covered by his simple designs in the series.


I had wrote to PW several years ago, asking them to collate the pages together and release this as a book, as it had been one of the most useful and methodical technical series I had ever read. I thought this had fell on deaf ears? However, recently G3RJV retired from writing for Practical Wireless, and they have now decided the time was right to release the entire series on disk in PDF format.



Mine arrived in the post this morning, and it's something I will be busy looking over in my spare time, as some of the articles I have missed as I have a hole in my PW collection.
 
Carrying on the Practical Way is available from PW publishing LTD for £15 plus postage. Click on this Link for further details. Please note! I have no connection with PW so please don't contact me.

I recommend this series to the novice and those just starting out in electronics, or even the mature converted like myself. There is something in it for everyone, timeless, simple understandable electronics, that is a bonus in the shack and it is well worth a purchase.



Steve, G1KQH, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from England. Contact him at [email protected].

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