Posts Tagged ‘K3’
Spring is here!
May 1st, 2013 | 
Author: Testing a new build of WSJTX for K1JT I hopped on to 10m and was surprised to see a strong signal. It soon revealed itself to be SM6NZV who gave me a +8dB report on my 5 watts.
This reminded me that it is May 1 today, the start of Spring and usually also the start of the Sporadic-E season. I tuned around on 6m and heard a couple of weak stations on my dipole, also a couple of stronger GMs working stations I could not hear.
I thought about installing the SDR-4+ as a panadapter for the K3 which had been one of the things I had intended to use it for. But something was amiss and I didn’t have control of the receiver’s frequency. I think the settings had got hosed, probably when I was playing around with using a USB DVB dongle as an SDR. I have no idea how to get it working again and I started getting stressed about it so I decided to abandon the idea.
SDRs are not for me, or at least not those that use a PC for a user interface. Windows is just too fragile, though if Linux is any better it’s only because there are fewer things to install on it in the first place!
Instead I will set up scanning on the K3 to scan a section of the 6m band. I always forget how to do this so I had to dig out the manual. Load the start frequency into VFO A and the end frequency in VFOB, make sure the mode and frequency are what you want and store it in a memory. I used memory 6 for 6m scanning.
To start a scan you just recall memory 6 (M>V, 6) and press and hold SCAN. I’ll probably forget that sequence of button presses as well so I looked up the CAT commands in the K3 Programmers Reference (SWT23;SWT29;SWH41;) and stored it in a KComm shortcut. I’ll probably make one for 2m as well though the chances of hearing any 2m Es up here are slim indeed. Last year I don’t think here was a single opening that extended this far north on 2m.
Which non-English Morse characters are the most important ones?
The Morse code for the 26 letters of the English language and the digits, you can find everywhere, e.g. here on Wikipedia. All one-, two-, and three-symbol combinations are in use.
In the international alphabet all but four of the four-symbol combinations are used. They are:
| Morse | German ++ | Norwegian/ Danish | Spanish | Esperanto | Polish 16.3.2014 | Greek | Russian | Arabic |
| ·-·- | Ä | Æ | – | – | Ą | – | Я | ع |
| —· | Ö | Ø | – | – | Ó | – | Ч | ز |
| ··– | Ü | – | – | Ŭ | – | – | Ю | – |
| —- | Ch | – | Ch | Ĥ | – | Χ | Ш | ش |
The two or three first German letters are used in many other languages also, e.g. Swedish, Finnish, Turkish, Hungarian etc.
All other characters use five symbols. These are the ones that I have been able to find:
| Morse | Norwegian/ Danish/ Swedish/Finnish | French | Spanish | Esperanto | Polish 16.3.2014 | Icelandic 16.3.2014 |
| ·–·- | Å | À | – | – | – | – |
| ·-··- | – | È | – | – | Ł | – |
| ··-·· | – | É | – | – | Ę | – |
| -·-·· | – | Ç | – | Ĉ | Ć | – |
| -··-· | – | Ê (also /) | – | – | – | – |
| –·– | – | – | Ñ | – | Ń | – |
| ···-· | – | – | – | Ŝ | – | – |
| –⋅-⋅ | – | – | – | Ĝ | – | – |
| ⋅—⋅ | – | – | – | Ĵ | – | – |
| –··- | – | – | – | – | Ż | – |
| ··–· | – | – | – | – | – | Ð |
| ·–·· | – | – | – | – | – | Þ |
There are also six-symbol combinations in Polish: Ź which is –⋅⋅-⋅ (ZN) and Ś which is ⋅⋅⋅-⋅⋅⋅ (SB). The German Wikipedia even lists a Morse code for the double S: ß, ⋅⋅⋅–⋅⋅ or SZ, but I believe two consecutive S’s work well or even better.
I recently asked on the Elecraft list if the K3 Morse decoder could support some of these letters, and I asked specifically about Ä/Æ, Ö/Ø, Å, and Ü. These are the four which are shown in the first figure in the upper right-hand corner of this post.
Sources:
Overmodulated JT65 on HF?
Sometimes it is crowded on JT65 on HF due to too little bandwidth. When only 2 kHz is available and each signal needs 175 Hz that’s understandable. But then others seem to complain that some overmodulate their transmitters so that they occupy more than the 175 Hz, making it even harder to fit an extra signal in the band.
My first impression from using the new JT9 mode is that the problem is much smaller there than for JT65, so maybe something like what I am discussing here has been done in the decoder software. But as far as I know, the source code has not been releasted into the public domain yet by K1JT, so I cannot verify it now.
But it seems clear to me that what looks like splatter has much less to do with overdriving and overmodulating transmitters than one may think, and more to do with the particular way that the spectral estimate is found in the JT65 decoder software. Combined with the variable propagation which is an intrinsic feature of HF and which may create a highly variable signal strength, this is what seems to create the spillover.
The Elecraft Effect
Heard this on the radio the other day on my way to work. Does it explain, at least in part, the popularity of Elecraft products?
In other news, the blog has been silent for a while, but that doesn’t mean things haven’t been happening. I have a couple of challenging projects that have been taking up the usual blogging time. Stay tuned!
Antenna switch
I played in the 80 Meter QRP Foxhunt tonight and was quite successful. I ended up bagging both pelts, but it was a close call.
Jim N0UR in MN was first in the bag and was pretty easy. He was using the “standard” 1 kHz “up” split and it was just a matter of working him.
Ray K9XE in IL was another matter. Ray was loud, but was buried under some even louder local QRN. I wasn’t getting a feel for hearing Ray, no matter how I adjusted the K3. With time running out, I decided to switch on over to the KX3. Both radios are new to me, but over the past few months I have acquainted myself with the KX3 just a bit more.
In a matter of minutes, using the Dual Watch feature, and by adjusting the passband tuning, I was able to isolate Ray’s signal. I was also able to determine his split via Dual Watch, as mentioned before, and nabbed his fur with six minutes to go.
There are various reasons that I prefer the K3 as my main station rig. One of the best features, for me, is the built in antenna switch. I can switch between the vertical and the wires in an instant, and use whichever antenna is best suited for the job.
The KX3 only has the single antenna input. To switch between all my antennas, I will have to acquire a better antenna switch than what I currently have. I am thinking of perhaps a Daiwa or a Diamond. In the past, I had been using a no name, bargain brand switch with my K2. Quite by accident, I had found out that when I removed my Butternut from the antenna switch, and connected the vertical directly, the difference was like night and day. Due to the poor quality of that particular switch, it was as if I had an attenuator in line. Needless to say, that switch got tossed. The remaining one that I am using now, is better quality but only has two positions – I need at least three.
I think a Diamond or Daiwa will do a better job and will allow me to use the KX3 more often from the shack. It’s a great rig for Fox hunting!
73 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!
Taking stock
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times ……”
Mr. Dickens could not have written more appropriate words to describe my 2012. I have never been a big reveler of the New Year holiday; but this year, I am quite eager and pleased to see the ushering in of a new year and with it, new beginnings and new possibilities.
2012 was not all depression, sadness and tears, however. It did have highlights, particularly with regard to Amateur Radio. The KX3, which I had so diligently saved up for, and ordered on the first night of availability in December of 2011, arrived at the end of May. For me, it has lived up to and has exceeded my expectations. I am quite happy with it and am so glad that it is an available part of the W2LJ “radio stable”. Quite unexpectedly, a K3/10 joined the ranks as well. I hadn’t dreamed of or intended purchasing one – but consider this to be my dear Mom’s last gift to me. It is an amazing radio; and I am so lucky and fortunate to have use of both of these fine pieces of gear.
The inaugural 2012 NJQRP Skeeter Hunt was an integral part of my year. Once again, so many thanks to George N2APB and Joe N2CX and the entire NJQRP Club for agreeing to sponsor this new operating event. Also thanks to Bob W3BBO who helped me ruminate and come up with some of the details for this new outdoor QRP sprint. I had such an enjoyable time assigning Skeeter numbers, actually operating in the event and then collecting and tabulating and posting the results. I am so happy that my fellow QRPers seemed to have as good a time as I did, and I eagerly look forward to the 2013 edition of the Skeeter Hunt.
I got two new antennas up in the air this year. My venerable G5RV finally made way, after a dozen or so years, for the 88’ EDZ antenna. Later in the year, post-Sandy, the W3EDP went up to join it in the W2LJ antenna garden. Too small to be a “farm”, the antenna garden consists of the Butternut HF9V and the two aforementioned wires. I pray these wires will last as long as the G5RV did. There were plenty of hurricanes and nasty winters and wind storms that the G5RV made it through – may these two new wires be as resilient.
I have to include as one of this year’s highlights, my decision to purchase the PAR END-FEDZ 10/20/40 antenna. This simple wire is a delight for portable QRP ops. It’s super easy to deploy as a sloper or inverted “L”. It tunes up with nary a problem and is neatly and easily storable in my “Go Bag”. I can’t think of any downsides to this antenna. It’s well worth the price and comes along with instructions on wire lengths to cut so that you can use it for other bands, if you so desire. This antenna, as well as my Buddistick have become my aerials of choice for portable QRP ops.
Due to all the unfortunate events which took place this year, and their aftermath, I was not able to actually get on the air nearly as much as I had intended. I actually had “a QSO a Day” going until the middle of February, when events started taking unexpected turns. From that point forward, “unexpected” became the norm for 2012, and as a result, severely curtailed my on-the-air time My major 2012 New Year’s Resolution, to complete the ARRL’s Diamond DXCC Challenge, didn’t even come close to happening. So as 2013 arrives, I am going to tempt fate once more, and will try for a QSO a Day in 2013. I am not so foolhardy as to think I will be able to pull it off, but I will do my best – hence my ever present New Year’s Resolution “To get on the air more”!
In addition to day-to-day operating, managing the Skeeter Hunt and sending out notices for The Run For The Bacon each month, this blog (which will be entering its 9th year in 2013) has become a huge part of my Amateur Radio experience. It is a most enjoyable part of Ham Radio for me, and I want to extend my deepest and most sincere thanks to all of you out there who take time out of your busy day to read this and share the Amateur Radio world with me. You are the best friends a Ham could ask for. You all have helped me to deal with what would have otherwise been a most sorrowful year. A very Happy, Blessed, Joyous and Prosperous New Year to all of you!
Lastly, I hope you all enjoy Straight Key Night tonight and tomorrow. W2LJ will be hanging out near and at the various QRP “Watering Holes” (I will spot myself on QRPSPOTS, so be sure to look out for me). I will be using my Vibroplex Original as my aging wrists just can’t stand up to a classic straight key any longer. If we have the good fortune to work each other, please excuse my less than stellar “Bug fist”. I haven’t had much practice lately!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP – When you care to send the very least!
20 November
Today my main rig has spent even more time on other things than WSPR. Besides trying to work some PSK31 DX I have also been testing a beta release of K3 firmware. This new version has an improved CW decoder that is a bit less finicky about settings. It works very well but is still beaten by the Windows program MRP40 which I regard as the gold standard for CW decoders. As Wayne N6KR says, the MRP40 algorithm is probably ten times more sophisticated and the K3 MCU doesn’t have enough code space for it.
I’ve been interested in Morse decoders since the first home computers and can remember keying in a program listing in BASIC from a QST article in the late 70s. Later I wrote a decoder in Hisoft Pascal which ran on my ZX Spectrum. It actually decoded strong, perfectly sent Morse but it was not reliable enough to be useful. More recently I tried implementing a Morse decoder in KComm but it was a total failure.
I didn’t have a lot of success with PSK31 DXing on 10m either. I only made two contacts but I heard what would have been two new South American countries: HC7AE in Ecuador and CE4BRO in Chile. I didn’t need to look up HC in a book as I remember from my teenage SWLing days hearing HCJB Quito, the Voice of the Andes!
I think band conditions were better today but they supported more propagation from Europe so there were higher QRM levels (and lower operating standards 😉 ) I moved up the band to try and get away from all the IMD products but hardly anyone was listening up there so it was a bit futile.
Someone who did hear my CQ calls was Vito IZ7DMT. He was a whopping signal but was signing IZ7DMT/QRP. He told me he was running 5 watts from an FT-817 and was rather indignant that I wouldn’t use the illegal /QRP suffix during handovers. Nice QSL though!
Here is the result of today’s WSPRing:
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| 10m WSPR spots @ G4ILO 20 November 2012 |
