AmateurRadio.com

Its probably not news to many people but whilst I was thinking about a suitable site for the UKAC 144Mhz contest next Tuesday (4th December) I remembered about a coverage prediction programme called Radio Mobile.

Now seeing as things on the internet are steadily replacing things on the desktop I had a go with comparing sites with the model outputs. As a contest novice I am entering in ‘in the spirit of’ contesting. Any site needed to be quite close to home and easily accessed / operated from.

Radio mobile confirmed what you’d expect, the site closest to home that I can get to with the car isn’t the best but its a whole load better that operating from the house. So armed with the knowledge that I’ll get some contacts at least I’ll take the plunge and aim not to be at the bottom of the pile.

The key kit will be

1. A warm coat (its 20.00UTC – 22.00 UTC) – So it’ll be chilly

2. FT817 and extra power supply – Seeing as it runs out of puff within a few minutes

3. Sotabeams 3 element yagi and fishing pole

4. A flask of tea and chocolate hobnobs

The output from a 4w Tx at the Sandwith site is below. More than enough to get a couple of contacts I hope.

We’ll have to see how I get on next week, but if you’re in earshot listen out for the weedy signal from Cumbria (rather than the stronger on from G4VFL, who has nabbed the Corney Fell site – perhaps I should tramp up Scafell Pike to out do him on height!)

At the back end of last week I set Faros off and running to listen into the various NCDXF beacons.

All is not well

The set up of rig, Signalink, sound card (either as a usb or internal) is inconsistent at best and not hearing anything at all at worst. After a few days of twiddling and mucking about I am at a loss. I’ve never really got the thing going with my ft817 and frankly don’t want to spend a whole heap of time trying to sort it out. Perhaps I’ll go back to it once I’ve had a chance to think about it a bit more.

Here’s what’s stumping me:

Computer – More powerful than the one it used to run off 24/. Both internal and usb sound cards have failed to get any signals. in fact the usb sound card made the software act very oddly. Audio in directly from the rig…no difference. Adjusting the volume makes no observable difference.

Rig – CAT OK, timing OK, audio out OK

The software is reporting 100% QSB which I don’t recall from the last set up so I can only surmise that it doesn’t like the two options for the sound card. Time to take a break from it.

The NCDXF beacon network may not be as popular now that WSPR has hit the mainstream but I think it still has a purpose.

For me, the benefit of programmes like Faros gives life to a receiver that wouldn’t otherwise be used. Yes, you can do the same with WSPR but because it’s a more robust system means that just because my pc can hear a station. Doesn’t mean I can work them.

Beacons,on the other hand , give you a reason to listen out. For example, if I can’t hear the Northern Ireland 2m beacon, GB3NGI on 144.482Mhz then chances are I will not be successful putting out a CQ call and expecting to get some DX (DX for me is probably a lot less in mileage terms than you might think at my QTH).

So I’ve resurrected the NCDXF beacon monitor and the results are on the Beacon pages. I hope they are still useful. Time will tell but it looks like the soundcard / rig combo isn’t working too well as its reporting 100% QSB and nowhere near as many spots as I would expect it to. I remember the software being quite precise about the signal input and I spent many hours waiting then adjusting.

Pencil is mightier than the keyboard…discuss

I’m a pen and paper kind of guy at heart but thought I’d try and find an electronic solution, just in case my pencil breaks and my phone is the only workable solution.

Bet you’ve never heard that before.

Well after a lot of scratching around I found VK Port-a-log. It is an android solution so tough luck fruit based phone users. A really easy to use solution for those who carry a phone. The screenshot below is pretty neat and from the original website. Well worth checking out. To get it you need to be able to install the .apk from the Yahoo Group. Thats a bit of a pain but hey ho no big deal really.

But I still like a pencil!!

Of course you do, it is the most versatile solution. But adding the data into the SOTA databse can be a slow process. So here is another Windows tool that is really very good. I’ll run through the idea.

Log as normal with a pencil and pen. Instead of getting home and logging via the website. Use Fast Log Entry (FLE) instead. This uber geeky method by DF3CB allows you to type the information as you need and then export a SOTA compatible csv file ready for upload. I found it really quick and easy to use. Here is a screen shot from the authors website so you get the idea.

Type in the left using the tags to identify what it is you are saying. Press F5 and hey presto the log appears on the right of the screen. There is a sample file to crib from.

So thats me sorted for this years mini adventures into the fells. Once again, very happy to use these great tools. Thanks to both the developers for making stuff that works just as we want it.

Martin Harrison, G3USF has passed on the latest issue of the 6 and 10 report which is in its usual place. I hope you enjoy it and don’t get too jealous of Costas’ very full log

I took this week off as it was the kids half term and the great British weather meant that not much of it was spent outside. The idea was to get out on the bike and get on the air on the fells. Not a chance! Time for a bit of radio with the helpful hands of a 4 year old and a bored 6 year old.

The shack PSU had packed up again and after wrestling with it for a few hours I gave up and took the Atmega 328 IC out of my Arduino Uno after programming it with the MSF clock code to attempt to build a very bare bones design that will be my first PCB since about 1990, when I made a truly iconic lights on reminder for my non existent car at University.

The video is just me powering up the clock and getting quite excited that it worked. Enjoy.

It may not be to everybodies taste but one thing for sure is the case contest brings out just about every size and shape of gun. Myself, I’m more of a pea shooter with either my homebrew Cobwebb antenna and 100W being fed to it through some wet coax.

Stations from Greenland to Antarctica were on the clusters and quite a few were actually coming through onto the rig. Fewer still made it into the log, but a few hours in front of the rig gave me the thrill of the chase.

I’m fairly certain I couldn’t spend that long in front of the rig, rubber stamping the qso’s but I’ve never seen 10m so busy. If I’m really honest it was great. If the band’s were empty I’d be worried they’d take them off us.

Now then, how am I going to sell my new car and get that new rig/antenna/mast/amp….etc