In this episode, Martin M1MRB / W9ICQ is joined by Ed Durrant DD5LP ,Martin Rothwell M0SGL and Matthew Nassau 2E0MTT to discuss the latest Amateur / Ham Radio news. Colin M6BOY rounds up the news in brief, and this episodes feature is  - Running a Special Event.

• Passing (SK) of Bill Pasternak WA6ITF
• New VK balloon Circumnavigates the Earth
• German Museum Joins Museums on the Air
• The Morse Mouse - Educational Fun with Ham Radio
• Britain's Pirate Radio Stations
• Tytera TYT MD-380 DMR handheld
• Radio Call Saves SOTA Climber
• Bletchley Honour for Morse Code Interceptor
• Australian Foundation Licence due for Review
• Lotto Grant to buy Radios for Blind
• Swedish 160m Proposal

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

AmateurLogic.TV Episode 79 is now available for download.

Tommy puts the DHAP MiniMega together. Peter visits Adelaide. George builds the Scope Squid Plus your viewer emails and more.

1:11:00

Download
YouTube

George Thomas, W5JDX, is co-host of AmateurLogic.TV, an original amateur radio video program hosted by George Thomas (W5JDX), Tommy Martin (N5ZNO), Peter Berrett (VK3PB), and Emile Diodene (KE5QKR). Contact him at [email protected].

10m has always been my best band. I have lost count of the DXCC totals with QRP SSB. Chasing countries has never been a real activity of mine, although I still get a “kick” from working a new country.

At sunspot peaks it supports world-wide DX with QRP and simple wire antennas. Even in the quiet solar years there is often some DX to be found and usually late April to September there is sporadic-E (Es) to be found with good signals over ranges up to around 1500km and sometimes further. These are for the northern hemisphere.  There tends to be a smaller Es peak around December/January.  It is the reverse in the southern hemisphere. It is quite normal to hear USA stations by Es in the summertime, but usually openings are not for long.

If 10m is quiet it is worth checking CB frequencies (11m) as a “band open” sign. Often CB can be busy when 10m is quiet due to lack of activity.  Thanks to Steve VE7SL for this good advice.

At night and in the quiet years it is an ideal band for local nets on FM or AM. At 1.7MHz wide it is big band so all modes can be supported.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/10m_op .

Roger Lapthorn, G3XBM, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Cambridge, England.

Yes, it is possible to hear a long way on a crystal set. The equipment needed can be extremely simple too.  What is needed are a good pair of ears and sensitive headphones.   My ears are getting old and if I can hear this DX then younger ears certainly can. I have found a low cost very high impedance crystal earpiece worked well. You may have better headphones?

Copying amateurs, most of whom use SSB, is more difficult. Remember, a simple crystal set is only able to envelope detect, although in the USA 75m AM signals are regularly copied at great range. Some SSB signals on 10m Es should be strong enough to envelope detect. Based on my tests, if stronger than 500uV to 1mV the signals should be copyable. Quite a few signals can be this strong.

See  https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/crystalset .

Roger Lapthorn, G3XBM, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Cambridge, England.

Amateur Radio Weekly is curated by Cale Mooth K4HCK. Sign up free to receive ham radio's most relevant news, projects, technology and events by e-mail each week at http://www.hamweekly.com.

 

 

 

As much as I hate to admit it, for a few short weeks every summer, I become ... get ready for it now ... a CBer! Now I'm not talking about what might typically come to mind when thinking about CBers ... for me it's more of a love-hate relationship. You see, the 27MHz CB band, and 27.385MHz in particular, happens to make one of the best indicators of Sporadic-e openings on the face of the planet. Unlike the vast empty wasteland that 10m becomes during the summer, the 11 meter band is jam-packed full, with thousands of operators ... and some days it seems as if they are all on the 27.385 MHz (LSB) calling frequency.

With my receiver quietly running in the shack, the frequency can suddenly jump to life, with hundreds of stations calling each other in a matter of seconds. Sometimes it's like a switch has suddenly been thrown to 'ON'. This is not too hard to understand as the present suspected cause of Es is sudden high speed wind-shear within the E-layer. Have a quick listen to what the calling frequency can suddenly sound like:


Now the beautiful thing is that strong Es on 11 meters usually heralds the possibility of 6m also opening via the same mode ... usually 30 minutes or so later if it's going to happen. Often a CQ on a seemingly 'dead' 6m band in the direction of the 11m Es, will produce a response from an equally surprised operator at the other end.

I don't think I've ever heard Es on the 6m calling frequency without hearing Es on 11 meters beforehand. It's been my experience that the band always opens from low to high, in terms of frequency, so it just makes sense to listen lower (11m) to get a heads-up for what is likely soon to follow on the magic band. As well, knowing that there is 'zero' Es on 11m, can let you rest assured that nothing will be happening on 6m via Es ... at least for the time being.

If you haven't already tried it and have a second receiver that can be put to use as an 'Es-monitor', you might be pleasantly rewarded. Even though knowing that the band will soon open might rub a bit of the magic away, I think it's still well worth it!
Steve McDonald, VE7SL, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from British Columbia, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].