AmateurRadio.com

Judy and I made a quick Father’s Day bicycle excursion to Old Hill Village. It was a glorious day. Blue sky, windy, as clear as a day could be. I worked Italy, Slovak Rep., W1AW/0 in MN, Scotland, and Belarus… all on 17 meters.

We parked on the south end and rode our bikes north through the woods. A thrush sang a remarkable song as we passed a beautiful cove on the river. We stopped in a field about a mile in, and I tossed a wire into an old butternut tree. It’s a place I’ve stopped many times before.

I set up the KX3 at 5W to a 33 foot wire over the branch. I heard Fabio IZ8JFL in Italy right away. We exchanged quick 599s and I tuned around.

I sat in the grass right at the edge of the old road. There was enough wind to keep the mosquitoes away!

Here’s my log:

15 Jun-14 1940 18.080 IZ8JFL CW 599 599 Italy
15 Jun-14 1950 18.068 OM5XX CW 579 599 Slovak Rep
15 Jun-14 1953 14.030 W1AW/0 CW 599 599 MN
15 Jun-14 1956 18.080 GA3WUX CW 569 599 Glasgow
15 Jun-14 2003 18.086 EW1HI CW 599 599 Belarus

The view from my operating position was great. I gazed across a field on this side of the river toward Knox Mountain in Sanbornton where I often operate.

We stayed about a half an hour soaking in the sunshine and then headed home. Judy made a strawberry shortcake for Father’s Day!

Jim Cluett, W1PID, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Hampshire, USA. Contact him at [email protected].

In the last few minutes I have moved back to 10m WSPR from 6m. On 6m I was still getting GDX spots but no Es. On 10m there is still Es about and already I have been spotted by SA6BSS (1059km) and am spotting LB9YE (1533km), decent DX across Europe.

I have reset the clock on internet time and will leave 10m running through the night. We’ll see how early the first 10m Es and F2 start appearing, as long as the PC does not crash!

Sunspot count was 159 today (pretty good) with 20-30MHz propagation “normal”. Let us hope tomorrow will be similar and we get some F2 propagation on 10m.

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

I had a great time today competing in the 2nd RSGB 144MHz Backpackers contest. I entered the 10W Hill Toppers (10H) section since I could operate from the comfort of the car and I could use the FT857 as the Hill Toppers section in the RSGB contest allow operation up to 10W.

The Backpacker (3B) section and the concurrent Practical Wireless 144MHz QRP Contest are limited to just 3W. Normally the FT857 can only be lowered to 5W but by applying a negative voltage to the transceivers ALC line via the accessory socket the transmitters output can be lowered. This method is detailed here it is a simple circuit and I will make one up in due course, I didn't have the parts to make one in time.

Anyway I digress, firstly I had to find a suitable hill top that wasn't too far from home. I wanted somewhere quiet and minimised the risk of any confrontation with societies undesirables. A quick look on the local Ordnance Survey map and I spotted a viewpoint symbol.

1:50,000

1:25,000

It isn't exactly a mountain at just 82m above sea level but is nearby and seemed quiet when I drove out to inspect it. It is the Maplebeck View Point and has a metal plate highlighting hills and structures that can be seen from the 'summit' sadly the overgrown hedges did limit the view but it did seem a decent spot with an off road parking area and picnic tables.

The viewpoint

The information plate on the viewpoint

I now needed to sort out the equipment. Operation from a motor vehicle is permitted but all equipment used during the contest must be battery, wind or solar powered. So I made a trip to grab the spare leisure battery from our caravan and the cast iron parasol stand to act as a base for my pole, the antenna would be the Sandpiper 3 element Delta Beam I used in the Lake District.

battery wedged behind drivers seat

Parasol stand and painter's telescopic pole

Operating from the passenger seat, FT857 on dashboard

Antenna up

I had the FT857 on the dashboard and sat in the front passenger seat, the pole was within easy reach out the window and I had fitted a small pointer on the pole so I knew which way the antenna was pointing, so could turn it by hand.


I was initially quite nervous setting up as it turned out the road was actually quite busy and I was getting a lot of quizzical looks from passersby, but once I got going I just ignored them and enjoyed the contest a lot. A number of walkers asked what I was up to and it seemed the viewpoint was a stop off on a MG owner's outing this morning.


I made a reasonable amount of contacts, given most people were operating QRP with some decent distances. I did suffer one brain fade and missed another potential locator square when the other station repeated my report back and I blindly wrote it down and then lost them before I was able to correct it.

At one point I thought I would have to pack up as I was getting huge static crackles and pops which were due I think to some nearby high tension electricity pylons and what appeared to be a gathering storm, there was some brief rain but it quickly dissipated.

Next month I am looking forward to the VHF National Field Day and the 3rd Backpackers Contest as a number of members of the South Kestevan ARS are keen to have a serious attempt.
Andrew Garratt, MØNRD, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from East Midlands, England. Contact him at [email protected].

The Elekraft KX3 has become my shack in the bed. It is connected to the antenna using 10 m cable from eBay. Olga takes radio upstairs to charge batteries. I wish the charger had a tricle charge so we could leave radio connected to power continuously.

Julian Moss, G4ILO, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Cumbria, England. Contact him at [email protected].

FT817ND QRP transceiver

I have owned an FT817 practically since it was first released in the UK back in 2000. The FT817ND was bought this spring as a second QRP rig along with a Z817 auto-ATU.  The transceivers are mostly used at home. They are ideal for digital modes.

In my view, the FT817ND is the very best rig available. My FT817ND was just under 500 pounds for cash, brand new with 2 yrs warranty. The nearest rig (about 5 times larger!) was the FT7 10W radio which did not cover WARC bands, much of 10m , 6m, 2m or 70cm.

The FT817ND could be further improved in several ways but if 5W (or less) is all you need, then this is an excellent radio. The KX3 is no doubt a better radio but is far more expensive (here in the UK) and is less suited for home use in my view. For the price of one fully loaded KX3 you can buy two FT817ND’s in the UK.

If you have never owned an FT817ND you don’t know what you’ve been missing.

As a plug for QRP, going from 100W to 5W is about 2-3 S-points. So if 100W would have been 59 you’d still be 56 at least with 5W. What’s all the fuss about high power? I have worked THE WORLD on SSB with just  2.5W to simple wire antennas (no beams!).

My FT817’s have been used on VLF,  LF and MF with home-brew transverters and on all HF and VHF bands working some impressive DX.

There is a myth that QRP is “hard”. Let me tell you that is rubbish. Sometimes power helps, but that is rare. Mostly QRP is just plain good fun – making the hobby all new again. The most I use these days is 5W, and more often far less. QRP is great fun.

Go for it!

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

1642z and CN8LI (2113km) has just spotted my 1W ERP again on 6m WSPR via Es. This is the teatime peak in Es – right on cue.

UPDATE 1736:  CN8LI has spotted me 5 times (so far) this teatime at up to -14dB S/N. That makes 7 times so far today. When the propagation is there, signals are often strong.  Doppler was -2Hz on his strongest report – moving Es clouds?  G8JNJ/A was spotting me (184km) at 1724z.

UPDATE 1940z:  CN8LI has been gone now since 1708z.  I think the Es has gone and just GDX currently. G0OQK is a new GDX spotter (I think) at 98km at 1846z. There have been so many GDX reports that I am forgetting which stations are new ones.

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

This was a question I was asked earlier today. Someone thought it was an exotic digital mode. It is not.

GDX means “best DX in the UK” , nothing more.

If you live in the UK it is probably a phrase you know. If you live outside the UK then it may be a phrase you’ve maybe never heard of before or were too embarrassed to ask.

In the same way ODX means “best overall DX”.

UPDATE 1545z:  Just 6m locals and GDX this afternoon. No Es here since CN8LI lunchtime.  May be more teatime?

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