G4NKX RADIO PAGES

20m Wspr

2012-02-07T14:50:00.001Z

Did some Wspr’ing today earlier on10m and was basically drawing a blank, but when I looked very closely at the display there was a very faintest of faint traces appearing, disappearing – then re-appearing , it was FR1GZ in Mauritius, and for half an hour the marginal propagation shifted this way NNW/SSE and he appeared in my list – I think it’s termed “Trans Equatorial Propagation” ?! correct me if I’m wrong.

I also noticed other smaller groups of close-by stations were copying each other – presumably ground or direct wave.

I then decided to check down the bands 24mhz, 21mhz, 18mhz, finally 14mhz which looked very busy, so busy in fact positively crawling!

Capture from todays Wspr session

I dont recall 20m being this busy and in amongst those reporting my 5w transmissions were VK4TMH W3CSW KF3BH VK5ADE VK3BDK 4Z4TJ My original intention was to test the I-Pro vertical dipole and with the use its had on these modes AND Cw and NEVER exceeding 50w cw the haul of “Dx” stations either heard or worked has been impressive to say the least and if I were THAT keen on “chasing” !!! Well I DONT I am happy to work “Dx” as and when – I dipped out on T32C strangely on their first weekend, and that was the strongest I’d heard them – about 5/5 SSB but could not be bothered to plug in the mic (It’s under lock and key) Only joking…!

Propagation

I notice current solar activity has dropped off – we’re into Feb now and a mile away from September figures where the solar flux peaked out at 190 on the 24th last year – Sunspots were 208 during early November, as we speak the SFI is 112 A:Index 4, K:Index 3

I dont thing this is going to be the big one at all, in fact I reckon it’s going to be a short cycle, if you remember it was slow to get going.

Next year 2013 is my predicted peak, so I am going to try and make the best of it and get out there /P and have some fun – I hope it’s a hot summer !

Psk31 Today

2012-02-06T13:48:00.001Z

Today for a change I was hanging out on the Psk channels as I was up very early and thought I might catch a few Dx stations on - or different calls anyway - that proved to be the case, but THE B I G miss of the day was VK3AMA - I was just lurking on or around 28.120 and I just happened to glance up at the screen and spotted him just finishing his call so I jumped in, he seemed a workable strength but would my 25w make the trip ?... No it would'nt, so I bumped it up to 35w and called him again, there was a pause and he continued then disappeared completely - strangely when I looked on Hamspots I was the only one who had spotted him - so after that I just took it casually and switched bands without ANY DX at all, so had to content myself with more "Local" contacts.

Giovanni IN3GNV in Bolzano.IT. was an interesting contact - I think for the first time we broke out of the "Macro Syndrome" and it turned into a "Rag Chew", I actually enjoyed it but had to have my wits about me without cocking up ! (Anyone for Psk125 Qso) LIVE keyboard to keyboard ?
Did'nt think so....!
Would be interesting to see how others have their "macros" set up so you can "Chain Link" the important bits
Any Takers ?
Going to try some more Psk later - I guess it's all time consuming but it's the learning bit thats fun.

Opera Problem ?!

2012-02-01T22:48:00.001Z

Been very active this week listening to CW, plus the odd bit of Psk and constantly trying to keep up with the ever changing Ros, AND Opera, what a fascinating piece of software...
Now - is it just ME, or is there a problem with Opera v1.2.0 up?
Antenna or locator information being tagged on to the end of lines ?

Ros mode–First timer

2012-01-14T00:25:00.001Z

Well after much playing , monitoring, and seeing whats what I called CQ – and CO2DC came straight back – my 20w to a dipole doing it’s stuff then ! Tnx Jesus for the contact - great first qso for me with the new version.
It’s getting late, but I can retire with a broad smile and dream about more Dx tomorrow
So pleased…

Working Cuba with ROS

Space-The final Frontier

2012-01-13T15:56:00.001Z

If your anything like me – wondering what happens next now the “Space Shuttle” has retired, seems we wont have to wait long to see private enterprise launch the next generation of Space craft – could be 2012 see’s the launch of proper space travel – February see’s the Falcon 9 carrying an unmanned Dragon capsule to the ISS with food, clothing, and supplies – it will be the first time a privately owned craft will have visited the Space Station.

Others will be getting in on the act, Sierra Nevada Corporation is currently building and testing a “Space Plane” called Dream Chaser (Smaller version of the space shuttle), apparently it too will supply the ISS, but will also offer commercial passenger services to and from orbit, this is funded by NASA.

Also in on this new Space generation is Virgin Galactic and the Space Ship II craft, already in “Test Phase” and undergoing drop tests, they are also testing a new Hybrid rocket which they are hoping will be ready for flights in 2013 – I read also somewhere there is already a “Carbon Fibre” engine already in existence (Less than half the weight of current engines).

Aerospaces Xcor single passenger space craft The Lynx could also be ready for flights as early as 2013, so the race will be on for the first commercial fee-paying customers for sub-orbital space flights between Virgin and Xcor – so although we may have seen the last of the Space Shuttle, there’s plenty going on – lots to look out for, and 2012 looks like seeing space travel/flights become a reality

E-Qsl Gone Mad?

2012-01-12T09:25:00.001Z

I had not visited the site for some while, mainly because I had not been doing any "Digital" comms, and any CW contacts would have been batched and sent at some time in the future, but as I'd recently had notification of an incoming card, I thought I'd better check it out - what I normally do is check each card off as they arrive check them against my log and then save them to my "DigiQsl" folder, that might sound oddball but I like to keep them (some I even print )
Of course I realize this can be automated from within HRD and have used this method in the past by syncing the logs, but I get impatient and do three or four at a time - today we had 10, bizarrely three were dated 1986/7, some 25 years ago - and I had to reject one as it was not even in the log. I have had this before on odd occasions but not three at a time - has the system gone mad?
Could be some folks were just checking through their logs filling in the gaps I guess, just seemed odd... Also just had a quick look and have 39 countries ONLY confirmed using the E-Qsl system so we need to gear up quick !

Ros Re-Visited

2012-01-11T13:33:00.001Z

I know there was MUCH debate earlier last year with the (Then) new "Ros Digital" mode and I did say as it was "rather Broad-Spectrum", I would not use it - however I DID play with it and had a few contacts at low power (20w), I think I did use 5w too and I remember the case of the "Phantom" Qso which actually turned out to be another "G" with the same suffix.. apart from that I was impressed with the way it worked, with calling stations appearing in the top left hand side of the screen automagically announcing their presence, bit like a built in cluster, and I have to say apart from the many Spanish stations using it there seemed to be a lot of Dx too.
Pity my version expired and went into self destruct ! so I did not bother updating until yesterday, a new version 6.x.x with many fixes, updates etc... although I STILL cannot quite get to grips with what must be the weirdest user interface imaginable - that has NOT changed - still it WAS without doubt the EASIEST to set-up! My TS590S WAS listed under set-up, AND it was detected instantly, unlike some of the other Digital programs out there - Wspr JT65 Fldigi and the other configurable s were all straight forward - all apart from the fact I was not getting ANY indication of output from the rig, or Alc - Strange I thought.
Anyway it was late so just left it running and monitored activity (Also when you just monitor it "appears" to put you in auto Swl mode).

The "No output" from the 590 was bugging me so I thought, I'll pop into HRD and check it (HRD Always works)... did it hell ! Still no output or indication of... checked all the levels in & out both on the rig, and W7, which we all know is rather quirky with regards to USB audio codecs - it was now scratch your head time.
I know, I'll re-install the USB com port driver - so off to the Kenwood site for a fresh download - re-install, still nothing... THEN it occurred to me, RESET! Just over a week ago I updated the Radio's Firmware and all the associated menu items for "Digi" work were ok apart from one, and I had completely forgotten about it, item #63 USB, which had defaulted to ACC2 accessory jack.
Having re-set and altered the levels we're good to go again but it just goes to show how easy it is to upset the whole thing - if I remember next time I think there is an option to save all current settings before you do an update which might avoid this occurring again... How could I have missed something like that ?
I'll be aware next time though.

Storm

2012-01-03T06:44:00.001Z

Typical UK Weather - yesterday I finally put up the antennas - today at 5:00am in pitch black, they came down again, not blown down I might add - just precautionary !
I awoke to hear this wild wind banging around outside and decided it just too risky to leave them up so went out and lowered the I-Pro - the dipole fixture seemed ok as I had already lowered it.
The only thing to really worry about is the remaining fence panels left standing from the earlier December storms which I have still not repaired.
Hope it passes soon

!st of the year

2012-01-02T19:15:00.001Z

Phew - thats the New Year seen in - now back down to business, getting on air that is _ It has been quite a busy time for us this year especially as we took that December break down in EA8 - so now it is time to get re-acquainted with the "Radios", first up, today we had a beautiful sunny day with temperatures up around 12c (In January) !! and after our New Year visitors had left I went out and re-assembling the newly cleaned and polished I-Pro antenna and positioned it ready for testing (No Problems there - good match from 20m up) so will take a look at the bands tomorrow.
I noticed also that Paul PC4T has closed his blog (Much disappointment)... I always read Pauls blog first and was a gauge as to what conditions were like, and I'm sure there will be many others that will miss Pauls "Daily Reports", however he does use Twitter, I have had a Twitter account for a while under a different name but never really got the best out of it, also it's limited to 140 characters only - I will give it a go but its too restrictive for me - the big bonus though is the abilty to connect and send via PC, Laptop, Phone, Xbox etc... we'll see, I might get used to it.
So, Tuesday it's all systems go and back to normal - last but not least, the new year resolution here is "Get on Air More"

Cu on the bands 73'

Good Luck 2012

2011-12-27T11:35:00.001Z

Today is a Bank Holiday and I'm taking a few moments to catch up on things, Radio/Computing has taken a back seat this month in the build up to Christmas and we decided to take a break a few weeks back and spent a while in EA8 for some winter sunshine, I did not take a rig with me this time as on our last outing to these sunny Isles it became clear you really need a larger antenna - I remembered we had quite a lot of static too and EU seemed just out of reach... anyway it was fabulous break although the xyl's concerns over her pre holiday test's were never too far away in our thoughts, thankfully upon returning those fears were to prove negative (Big sigh of relief).
My new video camera got left behind and was kicking myself as the volcanic scenery was stunning...
We had a weather station set up on the premises and the local temperature was around 18c at night time and averaged out at 23c during the day, during one day it actually reached 29c which was amazing considering it was December and it certainly did not feel like we were building up for Christmas...
I had been reading of the awful storms that were hitting Europe but I'd had the forethought to remove ALL external antennas, which were safely stored in the garage cleaned polished and ready for action upon my return, however it did not quite work that way as when we arrived back we found the front fence had been ripped out (posts and all) and looked for all the world as though a mini Tornado had passed through (more work)... indeed it still needs doing but will get it done soon after the new year.
Then of course we needed to get the shopping and Christmas preparation done - which we did but I skimped a bit on some of the cleaning tasks, so all in all it ended up a very busy month - The Christmas passed quietly but now we are gearing up for New Year visitors and celebrations - also looking forward to getting back into the radio's in the New Year.
Good Luck and Health to all, cu all sn - HAPPY NEW YEAR 2012

JT65 CRASHED

2011-11-28T22:35:00.001Z

And it kept on crashing ! Absolutely no idea why - I was just checking out some of the "Radio" software, as I had'nt used JT65 for a little while I wanted to see if it was still functioning and I also wanted to check if the TS590S would still talk to it - it came up with "Floating Point Errors" continually and just disappeared off screen - very strange as the last time I had used it (albeit a while ago now) it had been fine and appeared stable under W7 - I tried a re-install (twice), no good, so looked for and update and I found reference to an update from v 1.07 to v1.08 but there had been a problem with it and had been withdrawn - fortunately I did find the new update v 1.09.3 which must have been very recent, so I downloaded and installed it - all's well again, so if I want to have a quick play with JT I can, I get very frustrated when things just stop working for no apparent reason, the only thing I can think of is that I had been playing around with "Logging Programs" recently and may have inadvertantly erased a shared file, but W7 usually tells you and gives you the choice of whether to keep it or not and I am usually very careful about deleting system files - so v 1.09.33 appears to be ok now.

Back to Basics

2011-11-22T15:20:00.001Z

It does seem an age since my last post but there have been other things to do and frankly there has not been too much in the way of radioactivity on which to report - the best time for radio is during late evenings/early morning - 160/80/40 and 30m are the bands most likely to be open and I STILL prefer 40m - I always listen on this band as you get quiet spells and suddenly hear W's and PY's at good strength - mostly workable - The last month or so I have been getting back to basics, honing my Cw skills on both receive and sending and I am glad to report quite an improvement having apparently been up against the 15-20wpm wall for the last 10 years - it's just me I guess ! No Pain no gain and getting in a rut and the general "Lack" of Cw and too much fiddling with these "Digimodes" so I have been sitting back and opening the mind and letting it flow - of course you have to find some decent sending first! Years ago I did take the chair on a few occasions during FD contests and was beginning to show signs of becoming a reasonable cw op but I let it slip :-( but persistence is paying off and copying much bigger "chunks" of text at up to 30wpm (thereabouts...) holding it is another thing but it proves practice works - I will continue in this fashion now and am enjoying Cw again and give all this fangled digi stuff a wide berth for a bit - I have even got my old hand key out and surprisingly find I can send at the same speed, or faster than I was with an electronic keyer - where that came from I know not because I have not used a hand key for years but I will practice just for the novelty.

The return to using Linux was NEVER very far away and I tried about 7 Linux distros last week either Live, or from a USB stick and after much downloading and testing decided once again on Ubuntu - this time it has a completely different interface which at first I did'nt like but since putting it on my Samsung "Netbook" I am growing to like it - I have it dual boot with W7 starter, and defaulted to boot Linux first - the things that previous ubuntu versions had issues with, (Printers, Scanners, Cameras, Tablets, Webcams, and USBdevices etc... ) ALL worked right out of the box WITHOUT the need to install third party or "EXTRA DRIVERS" - Wow ! at least in my case anyway - for a change everything worked - AND I can print documents wirelessly over the network on both my Pixma4500 deskjet or the Samsung Laser - all from the comfort of the sofa !!
For those with the Canon Lide 210 USB Scanner - the current online document on the ubuntu site states it will not work - IT DOES.
Lots of fun to be had with this distro...!

Burying Cables

2011-11-08T15:35:00.001Z

Today was a must day to start getting the cables buried – the inclement weather did not deter me and having made my purchase of “Large Conduit” from the local store I set to work – my aim was to bury the cables under the exposed runs on the lawn and pin the rest of the cables to either the house walls, and around the perimeters of the flower /shrub beds tucked under (hopefully") out of sight ? I measured and cut the required lengths and inserted the cable “with ample space for the PL259’s” then slotted the pipe/cable into the soil which I had cut to a depth of 4 inches, this turned out to be a bit messy but as it was still raining it did make the job quite easy – the pipe inner diameter was larger than the plug so threaded with ease and the beauty of it is will be easy to fish a new cable through later – other parts of the garden I’ll be using 4 or 5” soil pipe for long runs of RG213, RG8X, and remote tuner – again it will then be very easy to add or replace the cables by fishing them through – as it stands now I have done the first bit and re-connected the vertical – and I have also encased the feeder wire up to the base of the antenna in case you know who takes a shine to it – I might also have to do the same to the earthing side – I also need to replace the chewed radials but thats fine – I can do that later – as it is I thought the Swr had gone haywire when I tried it but the tuner was set in by-pass, all bands except 20m are fine – certainly workable.

This is WAR

2011-11-07T12:38:00.001Z

Yesterday I picked up a few bits at a radio rally in London, a new 43 foot pole, some ground stakes, and one of these ready made (out of the box) end fed antennas (my thinking was portable qrp up on the pole 10m set-up) so this morning I did just that out the back here and worked into Minsk EU1DC ALEX – Tnx fr 579. Hmm Swr not bad 1.2:1 so it IS at least working.

But the trouble started when I went to compare signal strengths on my other recently installed “Sandpiper MV5+3 vertical” which to be fair had been working quite well up until last friday at least – upon switch over the silence was ear shattering ! Something amiss here… I quickly tuned across all the other bands and compared signals (or lack of)…. signals were w a y down I went straight out to inspect the feeder – it leaves the shack and is tucked in close around the base of the building (in this case) and winds it’s way across a lawn to the back of a shrubbery and there sure enough my worst fears were confirmed as you can clearly see:-

I suppose it’s my own fault for just leaving the cables unprotected in the open – my original plan was to get as many of the feeders into long runs of buried 5” piping which enabled easy access for additional cabling or replacements – plus, I should have taken more heed of an incident a couple of weeks ago when I left a dipole on the lawn that was totalled by the “Foxes” (They’re more like Wolves around here) and somehow I just ignored it ! They even hacked up and gnawed some of the radial wires too:

They even sniffed around the base of the antenna and had a go at the earth wire too connecting the radials etc.… so all in all not too happy with this situation, so it’s WAR from now on and frankly I’d hoped they would have moved on during late July/August but they appear to be hanging around and dont know why – we did have a Fox problem 5 years ago with the constant fouling, ripping up flower beds, eating our strawberries and such – but I managed to block off areas of the garden but this year some of the hedging has died back leaving larger gaps for them to enter Grrr I’m wishing now I’d taken action earlier and buried those darned cables in pipe – all is not totally lost, rather than replace the whole run I’ll cut out the “chewed” section and join it – some of the cabling will have to be pinned to the walls now, and try to bury as much out of sight as I can, I just did not think they would go for it ! Wrong.

How do I actually get rid of them ?

20 Meter QRP Transceiver Kit - TenTec

2011-11-02T21:51:00.000Z

20 Meter QRP Transceiver Kit - TenTec

MV5+3 Update

2011-10-26T23:07:00.001+01:00

Worked a few stations tonight on this “Compact” vertical antenna using 50w of CW from the FT450D on 30m - working nicely around EU including SV1 LZ DL PA , and the highlight of this evenings session was Rob W1MK in Boxford Mass with a 569 – not bad at all and remember – (50w) – the extra radials make a difference - also made a few contacts on 10m this afternoon, mostly EU but if tens open tomorrow will be on the “Mode”.

Thanks Rob for the nice report:-

Rob W1MK – thanks to Qrz.com

Sandpiper MV5+3 Compact vertical

2011-10-26T08:30:00.001+01:00

A second multiband (type) antenna was needed to mainly use for “Low Power” operations using the FT450D, and more likely used for Wspr operations and as Paul PC4T had been getting some impressive results with his new MV5+3 from Sandpiper, I decided to go for it since it was well priced I thought for a compact multibander.
Originally I wanted to set it up near, or on my garage but thinking about it we will be having renovations going on next year so decided to ground mount it elswhere but it meant removing my 60m dipole – which was not actually getting much use anyway.
This antenna covers 40m up to 6m with a choice for either 10 or 12m (I chose 10m).
Construction is ok, and the quality of tubing is comparable to other antennas I’ve used such as HyGain, but looking at it I had doubts about the way the inductively loaded radials attach to a collar that slips over the tube and they tighten in opposition to each other.

This is probably THE weak point of this antenna although this is the MK V I feel this might be improved on and would have doubts about its ability to withstand the elements especially the strong south westerly winds we get here on the coast – but I decided to mount it on the ground and it’s in a sheltered position, also less likely to get our feathered friends perching on those radial attachments.

This is the arrangement for the radial attachment – they screw in against the main tube and you have to make sure they all line up centrally – in my view this is not ideal, perhaps they could have expanded on this idea to include a much beefier tight fitting collar to allow the studs to screw in fully, as it is they only screw in partially and the tendency is to over tighten .

The instruction sheet supplied is vague but adequate, and the basic measurements given are for the lower ends of all the bands, I later discovered during set-up these were a mile out and in two instances had to cut the radials shorter

Straight forward connection by PL259

Having removed my 60m dipole I used the same mount (one of those beefy clothes pole stakes from B&Q) banged into the ground and a stub pole around 2 feet long to which the antenna is attached, also I put in a 4 foot length of copper pipe as a ground to which I will attach extra radials – I set it in position and went into the set-up using an antenna analyser – having previously read that this antenna was fiddly to set up I was wondering how some people had managed to unbox/assemble/and have it running in 10 mins ? on all bands ? Your having a laugh…! good hour I reckon ! checking through all the bands I did get reasonable matches, but would still have to use an antenna tuner.

Ground mounting – no radials yet

40m – it’s lowest operating band (I was not expecting much on here) SWR was 1.2:1 and was very surprised, as was 30m at 1.1, best I could manage on 20m was 1.4, 17m was 1.7, 15m was 2.1, 10/6m were both around 1.9 - all bands were set in the CW sections – so clearly I need to have another look to see if I can lower these figures but it’s a starting point. – I have added extra ground radials for 20/30m and have made CW contacts into PA, DL. the big test for me was 40m – comparing it to my 40m dipole there was no discernable difference on Rx at all with perhaps a slight drop in noise levels but signals about the same – there was a difference on 30m though – signals up over a dipole and less noise – all the other bands seem fine and as you would expect the higher bands especially 15/10m work well - this is not a “DX” antenna, it’s physically small at 2.7m but at the price it’s a decent compact antenna - ideal if your garden is on the small side - I will be using it over the next month or so on CW with my FT450D (As used by T32C) I’ll also add some more radials which I’m sure will help things along – I’m sure I’ll have more to say on it’s performance in due course – best part about my installation is you can’t see it. (Hidden behind shrubs)

10M WSPR

2011-10-12T08:06:00.001+01:00

Yesterday I tried 10m wspr again as the previous sessions were disappointing although there had been band activity the day before - My thoughts were that the I-Pro antenna was perhaps not performing well on 10m.

I changed my tune yesterday very early on as a couple of VK6's and a VK4 appeared on CW so I thought I'd let wspr do it's magic on 10m, propagation changed around lunch time and was producing many spots from the USA - in fact my biggest haul of reports on ten !
Below is just a snapshot of yesterdays activity.
Now a question for you - is there a way of entering or loading this "Data" into a program or Database to sort and list the information, such as listing DXCC entities/callsigns, distance,grid squares etc... I notice there is a problem downloading csv or xml files at the moment - it would be interesting seeing how others USE this data... short of manually entering into a spreadsheet or something it all seems rather time consuming and tedious - your ideas welcomed.

2011-10-11T00:07:00.000+01:00

Well since finishing the "small" job for my Sister-in-Law a few weeks back I thought I would have had more time to get Blogging and doing the radio stuff, but it has not worked out that way, plus I do seem to have got out of the habit of checking the blogs in the morning - and to be honest I have not had much inclination recently to get on the radio - listening to some of the "antics" of the pack chasing T32C beggars belief, however today I thought I'd get the TS590S fired up and do some Wspr, I started on 10m and though there appeared to be stations around early afternoon it was disappointing so switched late afternoon to 20m, and glad I did VK2, VU, VE6, W's galore so yes , conditions were very good I'd say and this is the first time I'd really put the TS590S/I-Pro combination to the test.

The I-Pro should have come down over a month ago when I should have been erecting a 100' doublet, but the mast I ordered has STILL not arrived (Now 2 months) :-( not happy... but the I-Pro has been turning up a few surprises so might leave it up after a pre-winter check, it does seem to work very well on 20/17m but deaf on 10m - Today was encouraging and fun to see all those W's listed

T32C Pile

2011-10-01T10:25:00.001+01:00

What a pile too – at app’x 0700 UTC on 14187 SSB, I was reading T32C at 3/4, and later peaking up to a 4/5 - I did have to go out and he was still running at 0900, I have absolutely N O intention of chasing the pack with my basic set up here and most certainly not with SSB, I might attempt a proper contact using CW later on in the month when the “Big Guns” ease off a bit – let me say also here I am staggered at the “Moronic” antics of some stations ! Whistling, Breathing, Cooing, and Tuning, and still some of these guys are using the wrong frequency LISTEN ! most DXpeditions run split – read the manual for your radio and learn.

I wont even bother looking at the Phone end again, reckon I’ll stick to CW, much easier !

Remember the DX Code of Conduct? Link

T32C

2011-09-28T10:23:00.001+01:00

Expect huge pile-ups starting at the weekend as the hunt for T32C gets under way.

Latest Here

Activities

2011-09-22T08:13:00.001+01:00

Since I've had a bit more time this last week or so It's been really good to be able to at least spend SOME time listening around on the bands - unfortunately earlier last week we had the solar flares which caused extensive Blackouts on most bands and I recall 20m having just two very weak/watery signals on one morning, but true to form a couple of days later things improved quickly and the bands have livened up very well to the extent of both 12 AND 10m opening up - hearing VK's JA and USA at very good strengths plus others, long may it continue !

I was planning to remove the I-Pro antenna but there has been a big delay with my new mast which STILL has not arrived so the new antenna projects are still on hold however, the I-Pro has been giving a very good account of itself with excellent contacts into CO, W, VE, nearly all have been 58/59 both ways CW capped last night with a 59, both ways into VU - again on CW running 50w from the TS590S - this radio is very, very nice to use and with silky smooth operation AND audio - compare that to my FT450D which although very good, has a much harsher audio on receive - and apparently on transmit also, which no doubt could be improved by using a decent desk or boom mic, and maybe the addition of external EQ.

Last weekend I decided to hang my quick and dirty dipole for 60m on one of my "shorter" fiberglass poles, so dodging the showers I managed to get it up ok and fix the two sloping legs to a fence, looking at it, it's no where near high enough with the centre at about 23 feet, but I have now established it works !
When the new mast is up we'll see how that same dipole performs at 60'

New Look

2011-09-11T17:16:00.001+01:00

A while back I mentioned here that I would be undergoing a shack renovation, which included replacing the radio's and making some additions - the main reason for change was the somewhat "Cluttered" look on the desk - I wanted to give it a "Cleaner" look, which meant removing the small pine unit I made earlier this year to house equipment - I chose to keep it handy though as I may be able to use it later on sometime, so for now it's in the workshop.

Here's the old look:

A bit cramped and untidy

Here's the streamlined desk top:

Much better now I can see what I'm doing and everything is accessible - I wiil eventually move the Yaesu Power supply powering the TS590S underneath with the other one which feeds the FT450D/FT817 and/or accessories ... there is also a two tier paper rack underneath to the right to keep clutter off the desk - as you can see I dont have a lot of space and I have a feeling I'm going to outgrow this during next year - what you cannot see are two colour printers/Scanner/TS830/FT817/Computer Plus numerous extra's I keep boxed - Might struggle to find room for an Amp !
Outside we have an I-Pro Home multibander, with which I have made some good Dx contacts this is due to be mothballed, however I'm ALWAYS changing antennas and feeders these days so they DO NOT get a chance to weather and corrode, too many times in the past I have been caught by poor performance issues and suddenly finding the Swr has gone through the roof, only to find one half of the feeder has detatched itself, or is so badly corroded - No More, I check and replace my feeders every year (or Less) especially the RG58 types - There is NO point using old - poor - blackened - corroded feeder, shame it does not have a longer life - 9-12 months and it's useless. !!
On a more positive note - Dinner is served.

All systems GO!

2011-09-09T23:18:00.001+01:00

Been a good while since I posted here, the "small job" that's been keeping me away for so long turned out to be a "Marathon", but now it seems we might have a green light for the radio activities to resume, (For a while at least...) also of course it will mean I get the chance to catch up on whats been going on here for a bit - these last three months have been a bit frustrating and I am itching to get back on the air.

The newly modified wideband TX for 60M on my FT450D was completed but I STILL have not been able to get antennas up - last weekend's WX was kind and three attempts to raise a G5RV over the limb of a neighboring Oak failed, unable to fix it far enough back on the branch using a well extended roach pole, and an 18M mast I ordered has not shown up yet, so we keep waiting!
The land next to me has some rather large Oaks and Poplar's which might be good for 80M/160M antennas - we'll see.
with these "Larger" antenna projects it seems perhaps ones imagination plays a big part - we're also looking to use a remote antenna tuning system so we can keep the system balanced at the feedpoint, especially with these Doublet type antennas.
Now - Back to 20M.

DX

2011-08-25T15:04:00.001+01:00

It was getting on a bit and having spent a while listening to QST transmissions on 20m decided to spin down the band and found a "Pile", now I'm not usually into Pile-ups as my simple dipoles and verticals dont usually cut it, but tonight they did - CO6RD in Cuba and a commemorative call H77REX in Nicaragua which is actually a new one for me - This on the I-Pro antenna !!!! both working split on CW.
Cannot complain about that.

73'

FT450/Dodgy Jacks

2011-08-24T15:03:00.002+01:00

Cheapo Jack Sockets - installed on this radio, owners of the 450 will no doubt have spotted this problem, I did last year when I made up a lead for my key, the plug inserted ok - but do you think I could get it out ? after much ado I did manage to extract it (Darn near broke it) - seems some 3.5mm jack plugs have a larger ridge on them making life "Difficult" removing them after - I had meant to post about this problem earlier but dismissed it, thinking perhaps it was me? However I spotted this link on one of the 450 reflectors which explains.
Come on Yaesu - you can do better than this - sadly the LATEST model FT450D is the same - wonder if the FTDX5000 has the same NAFF sockets? while we're here the DSP/SEL knob is wonky on both my 450's (Extended spindle)??? this is actually a nice little radio but it has some rough edges (R o u g h) !!

http://ws4e.blogspot.com/2011/08/ft-450-jack-repair.html

Cheers:

Faroes

2011-08-20T16:45:00.001+01:00

I had been doing some work in the Garden today and was itching to get in and take a look at the bands – scrolled through the bands and found 12m was open and an OY (Faroes) was calling on CW – it’s a new one for me (on ANY BAND) m y newly re-installed FT450D ( Now with Wideband TX) was quickly tuned and I snagged him – NOT “DX” in terms of distance but nevertheless he’s in the log – I am pleased as several “DX” stations have got away of late including W6VX KH6MB JY5HX 7Z1HL FK8CP . . . . !

Tnx Carsten Qsl on it’s way Direct:

Pic – From QRZ.com - Carsten in his Shack

August Update

2011-08-19T10:02:00.001+01:00

Have been very busy during this week, however I spent some time listening on the bands last evening and again this morning on 17 and 20m and since purchasing a new pair of headphones it's opened up a whole new world of "DX" For years now I have only listened to my radio's through a small communications loudspeaker I purchased from the old Tandy stores many moons ago, and I drifted away from working "DX" because the stations sounded too far distant, so I contented myself to working stations I could "Hear", mostly EU, by cutting out ambient room noise it's easier to pick out those weaker signals - this takes me back to my 40m night shifts working the Caribbean and USA - so it's headphones from now on - and the TS590S receive is great.
Also, whilst working Qrp over the last 10 years or so I have to say it's been fun and WILL continue using Qrp/Low Power where appropriate but in the quest to add a few more countries to my list its QRO from now on, I have got the bug again and CW IS the way to go, what a great mode that I have been neglecting for some years now !
My NOV application for 60m was granted last week so will be working toward getting on this band very soon - The FT450 has had the wideband TX mod done so we should be good to go - looking forward to using Wspr on 60m.
I tackled the shack desk last week by removing the shelf above the desk and put some feet on it to stand the monitor on - this raises it above the radio gear and looks a whole lot tidier (I'll post a pic or three later) just need to re-arrange the equipment until I'm comfortable with it
Planning slightly ahead - Winter months will be upon us before we know it so looking at ways and means of getting a huge 264 foot Topband antenna up in some land running alongside our drive - my thinking is along the lines of somehow stringing it up in the huge poplar/oak trees however will require a remote tuner and up to around 100m of cabling - plan B might involve erecting an inverted "L" but it's a project I need to measure up and think about.
Isn't radio fun ? - So enjoy it over the weekend................

73'

Nov 5Mhz

2011-08-10T09:52:00.001+01:00

Have been hearing some stations using 5Mhz recently and after a visit to a friend of mine (Robert) G3RCE persuaded me it might be worth considering applying for the Nov (Notice of variation).
The TX needs opening up on the 450D and its a mod I can do locally - should be interesting as I'll be able to use Wspr Psk and Cw - early indications are that its good for inter G working - but early days yet, so we wait in anticipation.

BLACKOUTS

2011-08-10T08:27:00.001+01:00

Yesterday I was listening to ne of the nets that come up on 80m which concluded and I’d noticed the signals were fading off – I checked 40m and there was nothing across the entire band, same on 30m, 20m had two VERY weak cw stations and nothing on any other band, in fact I was wondering if the antenna had disconnected ! I even checked the other radio on the vertical – apparently there had been an X-class flare earlier in the morning, this would be around 09:00.

This morning signals were well up and noise levels have dropped off on 80m, I have heard bands fade off before but not like this – seemed as though the entire HF spectrum was affected and it lasted for a few hours as when I checked again 4 hours later the bands had improved somewhat.

Damn it !

2011-07-30T00:15:00.001+01:00

Ever started a job and this happens?

Well today it happened and it always seems to happen when your in a hurry to get the job done as I had to take the xyl to the Dentist of all things !

I decided to check the main station earth connections just outside the shack and install another 4 foot copper spike – upon tightening this happened – as luck would have it, quickly going to my emergency box I found an exact match – as I am located on the ground floor the lengths are short - about 5 feet.?

Maybe I was a bit too enthusiastic !!

Shack Newcomer

2011-07-28T23:24:00.001+01:00

Today I did no operating – I just have not had the time and the summer seems to have flown by and I still have not started on the shack re-vamp although we have made several new additions including antennas, tuners, plus the new Kenwood radio and I had been thinking of changing the FT450 (Back up radio) so after some though decided to go out and do a swap (well – not quite swap) !! So we have landed the new FT450D, essentially the same as the original radio though I notice some menu items have disappeared or changed, it now includes 300/500Hz CW filters, and it has a re-designed front panel with new slightly larger knobs with silver embellishing – and the main tuning knob seems a tad larger and has a rugged rubber feel, but quite smooth (some questioned the size of the tuning knob but now the rig has front feet it raises the front so it’s not a problem, and (Yes) it now boasts Backlit front buttons ! In the subdued light of my cave you can quite clearly read the front’s of the buttons – even the 590S hasn’t got that – the receiver seems more sensitive as I’m sitting here listening to QST on 14.04763 and both 450 & 590 are on exactly the same frequency readout – spot on.

So this week end I will be air testing the new radio for the first time and will be looking on 10 and 6m.

I am still a way off finishing this “Small” job, and cannot wait to resume normal service on here – still I have managed to squeeze in the odd bit of CW here and there (No Digimodes)

I suppose next thing we’ll all be thinking of is 80m / Topband !

Isn’t radio a fun hobby !

Oh forgot to mention the pics were taken with my New Kodak Playsport HD Pocket Video camcorder which does stills at 5Mpixels – whilst not as good as my Sony I think they’re good enough for this. (More on that later)

Cheers and Beers.

10m Inactivity !

2011-07-21T10:36:00.001+01:00

I have been managing to mainly monitor 10m early in the mornings for half an hour or so, as in the distant past I remember working JA’s on an apparently empty band – no such luck though – I think conditions have been poor of late and the solar flux had seemed to go into reverse !

This morning, as a couple of days ago I listened across the 10m Beacons including those on 28.200 and heard the following from this Qth

SV2AHT - I0KNQ - IZ0KBA - 4X6TU - GB3RAL all between 07:00 – 08:00 UTC

But the CW end of the bands remained quiet – I have been sitting here working on the computer with 10m in the background for over an hour now and still nothing so I decided to put out a call in the hope of raising someone – still nothing yet the band was obviously open, you could clearly hear the background noise – I checked the beacons again. still there !

Obviously a very large proportion of the Amateur fraternity choose to ignore the vast open spaces of 10m on the basis that if there’s no band activity present – then it’s closed.

Not so - LISTEN.

Afternoon Assembly

2011-07-17T22:50:00.002+01:00

This afternoon I found myself in the Garage/workshop tidying up and had one of those moments when I looked into my “Radio” junk box and found the components required to make up a “Balun” project that I had been planning during last year but never started ! just recently I had been looking at erecting a different antenna – I had looked at the “Doublet” for a start, but last week I found an old article in the “UK Practical Wireless” on the old G5RV !! so I was thinking along those lines – either way a 1:1 Balun (Choke) would come in handy so the half finished one I had in my box was pulled out – It is of the “Ugly” type made up of 18-21 feet of RG58 which was wound on UPVC pipe – how much ? I was’nt sure so stripped it all of to check, (it was 21’) so I re-wound it and started from scratch – I had to poke around the workshop to find the other bits to start but after a couple of hours came up with this design (There are plenty of these around I’m sure)

It consists of about a foot of upvc piping 1.75”, Dia app’x , with end caps drilled to take two post type terminals, and one SO239 chassis socket, and 18-21’ of RG58 50 ohm coaxial cable (RG213 was a bit too heavy for this) but might make another (Big Boy) later on 5” pipe.
The terminals are soldered up and end caps sealed (Glued) up and the whole thing covered in Black electricians tape – I could say this is my prototype – I have not tested it yet – I had difficulty in getting the ends on as the RG58 would not push down enough into the tubing and so there was a risk of shorting the terminals but this seems to be ok.
This will be placed “Immediately Outside the shack” to take the 450 ohm ladder line from my doublet/5RV with a length of about 10 feet of coaxial into the Tuner/Rig – the preferred method would be to feed direct to a balanced ATU but would mean having to hack the wall again so it’s easier to gain shack entry with the existing aperture.
So that was my Sunday Radio Job - the Doublet/RV will have to wait a bit now.

Profi-2 Paddle

2011-07-02T23:06:00.001+01:00

If your “Main” interest in amateur Radio” is shouting into a “Mic” click away NOW !

I have recently returned to my roots and re-discovered the total JOY of using CW – after all it IS a digital mode…! it’s either on or off.

My recent acquisition of the Begali key is a joy compared to my poor old Bencher BY2 which I had previously regarded as being “Top quality”, it suffered damage some while back taking a tumble and damaged the paddles – I could probably restore it but just felt the need for change, and I feel the Begali was a great move - it is beautifully smooth and firm.

I visited an old friend of mine recently and he loaned me (Yes loaned) a Profi 2 by Schurr Morsetasten, I wont go into £ s d but the website describes this key as being machined from a solid block of surgical quality Brass coated with a trade secret polymer that resists wear, staining, and pitting with years of use – the finish IS superb as you’ll see in the pics alongside my Begali – it’s a beautifully crafted piece and in use it feels firm, yet light and when you wind it up (a bit) as most “Paddle” user’s will agree you get into a sort of “Rythmn” and the tendency for me is to start “Slapping” the paddles, it is here that this particular key falls short – this is purely a “Touchy Feely” thing and I start to feel uncomfortable with it - it does not have that “Positive” feel of the Begali" and it’s owner is correct in saying that the Paddles have a bit of “Give” – just looking at this key makes me drool and I could certainly get used to it but having the opportunity to compare the two side by side I actually prefer the Begali’s Feel - only a CW op would tell the difference, it’s very small but it’s there – I reckon perhaps it’s the perspex paddles and that perhaps if they were to be replaced by similarly quality machined and finished aluminium it might add that extra something.

That said – these keys ARE a masterpiece, crafted with with precision and a wonderful showpiece on the desk, my love for modern keys is growing.

The Profi is the Gold Plated one in the Pic.

Upgrade under way

2011-07-02T00:52:00.001+01:00

Latest addition here is the Kenwood TS590 - and what a delight to use, superb audio on receive even on 80m listening to some of the late night nets – armchair quality, I feel like I have a new pair of ears – the receive noise level is very low and can hear stations otherwise lost, as compared to the FT450 which is quite noisy by comparison – Setting it up and driving it is another thing – the Dsp filtering is on a par with mid/high end radios - and the layout is very well thought out - they have a winner here.

I also have a separate Ldg 200pro tuner – very quick and all those memories !!

This afternoon I ripped out the old radio racking and set up a temporary desktop until I get my finger out and build some more shelving – more on that later – but we’re operational at least.