Author Archive
The 2019 Novice Rig Roundup (NRR)
February 26th, 2019 | 
Author: 
One of the most enjoyable operating events of the year is fast approaching — the Novice Rig Roundup or ‘NRR‘. Technically, it is a contest, but I have the feeling that most participants think of it as just a lot of fun and a nice opportunity to hear and work some of the great old ‘classics’ of the past — rigs that were used when they were teenage Novices or rigs that they could only drool about owning, back in those formative years when they each discovered the magic of radio.
Once again the bands will be alive with the sounds of Heath AT-1s, DX-20s, DX-35s, DX-40s and DX-60s, Johnson Adventurers, Eico 720s, Drake 2NTs, Knight T-50s and T-60s, Ameco AC-1s and of course, an endless variety of lovingly-constructed homebrew delights and … a full 9 days to celebrate the ‘good old radio days’ of their teen years, as many of us remember them.
The dates to remember are 0000 UTC March 2 to 2359 UTC March 10 and this multi-day opportunity is, for me, what makes the NRR so enjoyable. With a nice diversion from the usual ‘contest frenzy’ associated with standard weekend operating events, the NRR can be enjoyed throughout the week, whenever you choose to participate. If last year’s operating patterns continue, you should find activity at any time of the day … and even more as sunset arrives.
With the fast-approaching solar minimum, we will be hard-pressed to relive the glory days of worldwide 15m propagation, as even last year’s event proved to be tough on this band. With a little luck and, hopefully, a well-timed solar flare, we may get lucky! If you operate during the daylight hours, please get on 15m and give it a shot … and be sure to announce your activity on the NRR’s sked and chat page here, so that others will know where to find you, especially if you are rock bound in true Novice fashion. With our present spotty conditions, we need all the help we can get and the sked page proved a very valuable asset during last year’s affair.
Although technically not required, if you plan to participate it’s best to obtain your own NRR number, which is an easy 30-second process.
Additionally, there is an online logger where participants can post their daily log. The nifty logger also keeps track and figures out your score as it goes and no ‘after contest’ log needs to be submitted. If you plan on submitting a log, the logger is a requirement. The logger will also require you to set up a ‘log-in’ and once again, a simple 30-second process will take care of that from here. If you used the logger last year, you will have to set it up again for this year as the old system has been changed.
Stations may run either crystal-control or VFO or can switch between either method … the online logger will keep track and score things appropriately.
All of the rules and information can be found on the NRR’s excellent website. As well, the soapbox comments and station pictures from last year’s NRR may provide the inspiration that you need to spark-up your own activity in this year’s event … from what I can tell, this year will be bigger and busier than ever!
There is also a dedicated NRR Yahoo Group, often the source of much valuable discussion but there is a now HUGE group of great NRR chat and activity now on Facebook’s NRR Group here. I avoided Facebook for many years and have now discovered that it is an excellent forum for real time chat and information exchange … one can still choose to maintain a very low profile and avoid unwanted interaction if set up correctly.
In 2017 I ran my homebrew Longfeller in the (now eliminated) QRP category, and had a ton of fun. You can read about it here. Last year, I refurbished a nice Drake 2NT that had been gathering dust in the basement for over 25 years and ran it during the 2018 NRR. You can read about my activity and some of the rigs encountered during last year’s fun here.
If you have access to the web while operating, be sure to bookmark and check into the NRR’s realtime chat page. Many ops that are crystal controlled will announce their operating frequencies, making it easier for you to find them … sometimes way up or down from the normal NRR watering holes of ~ 3550 – 3650 kHz, 7100 -7125 kHz, 21.100 – 21.150 MHz and 28.114, 28.120 MHz … and don’t forget to check the colorburst crystal frequency of 3579!
‘CQ’ers should always remember to tune up and down the watering hole for replies from other NRR stations that may be crystal controlled and not able to answer you on your own frequency!! This is extremely important and a real reminder of what was common practice back in the Novice days.
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| courtesy: Harry – VE7AIJ |
Harry’s homebrew 6AQ5 crystal oscillator (Feb ’55 Popular Electronics) and Hallicrafters S-53, pictured above, allowed him to work the world back in the amazing radio days of Cycle 19. Let’s relive some of that excitement in the closing days of Cycle 24 … in the NRR!
You still have time to get that old clunker on the air but if that’s not possible, you can join the fun with your modern rig as well … all are welcome to jump in and have a great week of radio-fun. I think you will be surprised, just as I was last year, how good some of these old classics can sound … and you’ll hear some great bug-fists as well.
As indicated on the NRR website, this is “more of an EVENT than just a typical contest … once again taking our OLD ham radios off the shelf and putting them to use again! “
See you in the 2019 NRR!
Hunting For NDBs In CLE241
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| ZWW - 215 courtesy: VE3GOP |
For those unfamiliar with this monthly activity, a 'CLE' is a 'Co-ordinated Listening Event', as NDB DXers around the world focus their listening time on one small slice of the NDB spectrum.
Never tried the CLE? If you've ever been wondering what can be heard 'below' the broadcast band, this weekend would be a great time to give a listen and enter your first CLE!
A nice challenge in this one is to hear 'ZWW' on 215 kHz located near Winnipeg, Manitoba. It's a 25-watter and is well-heard throughout North America. Listen for its CW identifier on 215.388 kHz (repeated every 10 seconds), with your receiver in the CW mode .
MF propagation this week has been good and signals in this frequency range should be propagating well if things stay undisturbed for the weekend.
When tuning for NDBs, put your receiver in the CW mode and listen for the NDB's CW identifier, repeated every few seconds. Listen for U.S. NDB identifiers approximately 1 kHz higher or lower than the published transmitted frequency since these beacons are modulated with a 1020 Hz tone approximately.
For example, 'AA' near Fargo, ND, transmits on 365 kHz and its upper sideband CW identifier is tuned at 366.025 kHz while its lower sideband CW ident can be tuned at 363.946 kHz. Its USB tone is actually 1025 Hz while its LSB tone is 1054 Hz.
Often, one sideband will be much stronger than the other so if you don't hear the first one, try listening on the other sideband.
Canadian NDBs normally have an USB tone only, usually very close to 400 Hz. They also have a long dash (keydown) following the CW identifier.
All NDBs heard in North America will be listed in the RNA database (updated daily) while those heard in Europe may be found in the REU database. Beacons heard outside of these regions will be found in the RWW database.
From CLE organizer Brian Keyte, G3SIA, come details via the The NDB List Group:
Hello all,
Our 241st Co-ordinated Listening Event is next weekend.
Do join in if you can. First-time CLE logs will also be very welcome.
Days: Fri. 22 Feb. - Mon. 25 Feb., Midday-Midday, your local time
Frequencies: NDBs from 190 - 239.9 kHz
PLUS: Normal NDBs with carriers on 'half-way' frequencies ‘nnn.5 kHz’
(from 190.5 - 999.5 kHz)
Both halves are for everyone to try.
Away from Europe many of the frequencies below 240 kHz are busy with
NDBs. In Europe there are very few, but some DX ones might be heard
from North America and maybe from a few other places.
The normal NDBs which have carriers on the 'half-way' frequencies
e.g. 267.5 OPW, 333.5 VOG, 370.5 LB, 390.5 ITR, 433.5 HEN (not DGPS)
are scattered across Europe but there are very few of them elsewhere.
'Hot spots' are ENG and ITA.
These half-frequencies usually give comfortable QRM-free listening
and probably some good catches as a result.
America has only one or two (e.g. 381.5 SJX in MI) but East and West
coasters might hear some DX ones.
We last used these 'rules' for CLE225 in November 2017.
Please look out for the Final Details about two days before the CLE.
73
Brian
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Brian Keyte G3SIA ndbcle'at'gmail.com
Location: Surrey, SE England CLE Coordinator)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
- determine, worldwide, which beacons are actually in service and on-the-air so the online database can be kept up-to-date
- determine, worldwide, which beacons are out-of-service or have gone silent since the last CLE covering this range
- will indicate the state of propagation conditions at the various participant locations
- will give you an indication of how well your LF/MF receiving system is working
- give participants a fun yet challenging activity to keep their listening skills honed
The NDB List Group is a great place to learn more about the 'Art of NDB DXing' or to meet other listeners in your region. There is a lot of good information available there and new members are always very welcome. As well, you can follow the results of other CLE participants from night to night as propagation is always an active topic of discussion.
You need not be an NDB List member to participate in the CLEs and all reports, no matter how small, are of much value to the organizers.
Remember - 'First-time' logs are always VERY welcome!
Reports may be sent to the NDB List Group or e-mailed to CLE co-ordinator, Brian Keyte (G3SIA), whose address appears above. If you are a member of the group, all final results will also be e-mailed and posted there.
Please ... give the CLE a try ... then let us know what NDB's can be heard from your location! Your report can then be added to the worldwide database to help keep it up-to-date.
Have fun and good hunting!
Mr. Carlson’s Lab – A YouTube Treasure
I recently watched two superb YouTube videos. The first described exactly how to determine the 'shielded' side of a fixed capacitor and the importance of knowing this information.
As you have probably noticed, most modern fixed capacitors no longer indicate the 'grounded' end or the lead going to the internal shielding. At one time, the capacitor's polarity was commonly marked with a band on one end but this is no longer the case ... even though one side is indeed still the shielded side. Depending on exactly what part of the circuit your fixed capacitor is being used in, connecting it in the reverse direction (shield going to signal side), can introduce hum, RF pickup, instability and generally result in poorer capacitor / circuit performance ... and all it takes to determine which lead is which is an oscilloscope!
The second video I viewed shows the process used to resurrect a Yaesu FT-1000MP in truly terrible condition. In a very professional step-by-step process the video shows the logical and systematic approach at making the radio better than new.
Both videos are done by a truly gifted engineer, Paul Carlson, VE7ZWZ, and are exceptionally well done ... the quality one would expect to have to pay for rather than freely view on YouTube.
If you visit Paul's YouTube channel, you'll find a host of other radio and audio-related videos and I guarantee that you will learn something of value ... and probably hang around to watch several more. They are really well done.
CLE240 Results
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| courtesy: NOAA |
Last weekend’s CLE240 saw mediocre propagation for North America and European listeners alike.
It seems that our monthly CLE schedule continues to be synced with the Sun’s monthly rotational period that has been regularly lining us up with the same massive coronal hole, elevating earth-directed solar wind speeds now for several months.
Several CLE participants in the USA commented on the lack of any propagation into BC, further fueling my long-held belief that BC seems particularly sensitive to any geomagnetic activity in the auroral zone to our north. The auroral activity always seems to dip further to the south here for some anomalous reason, as listeners just a few hundred miles to the south or southeast see far less absorption than is observed here.
With a few exceptions, the main effect of these conditions is to largely kill the normal east-west propagation path and just allow single-hop signals from the south or the SE/NW to dominate. Typically, the path to the Pacific is not affected and can often be enhanced.
As a side observation, this past weekend was also the CQWW 160m DX contest and, as one left-coaster commented, conditions were the “worst seen in 10 years”. One would expect to see much better conditions and a much quieter Sun at this point in the solar cycle!
With fingers crossed for better propagation during the next CLE, here is what was logged over the three-night listening event from my location here in BC’s Southern Gulf Islands using a Perseus SDR and an Inverted-L antenna resonated to 400 kHz:
26 05:00 385 QV Yorkton, SK, CAN
26 07:00 385 OCC Yakutat, ALS
26 09:00 385 MR Pacific Grove, CA, USA
26 09:00 385 EHM Cape Newenham, ALS
27 07:00 385 CPZ Chaparrosa Ranch, TX, USA
26 07:00 386 SYF St. Francis, KS, USA
26 09:00 386 HAU Helena, MT, USA
26 06:00 388 OK Preston, OK, USA
26 07:00 388 MM Fort Mc Murray, AB, CAN
26 07:00 388 JW Pigeon, AB, CAN
26 06:00 388 CDX Somerset, KY, USA
26 06:00 389 YWB Kelowna, BC, CAN
26 04:00 389 TW Twin Falls, ID, USA
26 07:00 389 CSB Cambridge, NE, USA
26 07:00 390 HBT Sand Point, ALS
26 11:00 390 AES Northway, ALS
26 04:00 391 TK Telkwa, BC, CAN
26 11:00 391 GXD Nacogdoches, TX, USA
26 07:00 391 EEF Sisters Island, ALS
26 06:00 391 DDP Dorado, PTR
26 09:00 392 ZFN Tulita, NT, CAN
26 05:00 392 PNA Wenz, WY, USA
26 05:00 392 ML Charlevoix, QC, CAN
26 08:00 392 FMZ Fairmont, NE, USA
26 10:00 393 UKS Kosrae, FSM
26 04:00 394 RWO Kodiak, ALS
26 07:00 394 DQ Dawson Creek, BC, CAN
26 07:00 395 YL Lynn Lake, MB, CAN
26 04:00 395 ULS Ulysses, KS, USA
26 07:00 395 5V Drumheller, AB, CAN
26 07:00 396 YPH Inukjuak, QC, CAN
26 05:00 396 CRS Corsicana, TX, USA
26 05:00 396 CMJ Ketchikan, ALS
26 07:00 397 ZSS Saskatoon, SK, CAN
27 12:00 397 SB San Bernardino, CA, USA
26 10:00 398 YOD Cold Lake, AB, CAN
26 06:00 398 3D Cumberland House, SK, CAN
26 11:00 399 ZHD Dryden, ON, CAN
26 11:00 399 SRI Pribilof, ALS
A summary of results for all participants can be found here, at the ndblist info site.
Hunting For NDBs In CLE240
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| OO-391kHz - Oshawa, Ontario courtesy: VE3GOP |
This coming weekend will see another monthly CLE challenge. This time the hunting grounds will be 385.0 - 399.9 kHz.
For those unfamiliar with this monthly activity, a 'CLE' is a 'Co-ordinated Listening Event', as NDB DXers around the world focus their listening time on one small slice of the NDB spectrum.
A wonderful challenge for listeners in North America is to hear little OO - 391kHz, located in Oshawa, Ontario. It puts out only 7 1/2 watts but has been logged on both coasts as well as in Europe! Listen for its USB CW identifier (with your receiver in the CW mode) on 391.396 and its LSB ID on 390.595 kHz.
MF propagation this past week has been good and signals in this frequency range should be propagating well if things stay undisturbed for the weekend. As usual however, a large coronal hole has returned to its monthly CLE position and its weekend effects are still unknown.
When tuning for NDBs, put your receiver in the CW mode and listen for the NDB's CW identifier, repeated every few seconds. Listen for U.S. NDB identifiers approximately 1 kHz higher or lower than the published transmitted frequency since these beacons are modulated with a 1020Hz tone approximately.
For example, 'AA' near Fargo, ND, transmits on 365 kHz and its upper sideband CW identifier is tuned at 366.025 kHz while its lower sideband CW ident can be tuned at 363.946 kHz. Its USB tone is actually 1025 Hz while its LSB tone is 1054 Hz.
Often, one sideband will be much stronger than the other so if you don't hear the first one, try listening on the other sideband.
Canadian NDBs normally have an USB tone only, usually very close to 400 Hz. They also have a long dash (keydown) following the CW identifier.
All NDBs heard in North America will be listed in the RNA database (updated daily) while those heard in Europe may be found in the REU database. Beacons heard outside of these regions will be found in the RWW database.
From CLE organizer Brian Keyte, G3SIA, come details via the The NDB List Group:
Hello all,
Our 240th Coordinated Listening Event is less than a week away.
We can now forget all about pyramids and relax with a straightforward
event. Whether you are a keen propagation watcher or just a
take-what-comes listener, please join in.
Days: Friday 25 January - Monday 28 January
Times: Start and end at midday, your LOCAL TIME
Range: 385.0 - 399.9 kHz
Please log all the NDBs you can identify that are listed in that range
(it includes 385 kHz but not 400 kHz) plus any UNIDs you find there.
We last used this frequency range for CLE224 in October 2017.
Please send your final log to the List (no attachments and ideally
in a plain text email) with ‘FINAL CLE240’ in its title.
Show on each line:
# The Date (e.g. '2019-01-26' etc. or just '26' )
# The Time in UTC (the day changes at 00:00 UTC).
# kHz - the nominal published frequency, if known.
# The Call Ident.
Please show those main items FIRST. Other optional details such
as Location and Distance go LATER in the same line.
As always, of course, tell us your own location and brief details
of the equipment that you were using during the Event.
We will send the usual 'Any More Logs?' email at about 18:00 UTC
on Tuesday so that you can check that your log has been found OK.
The combined results should then be completed within a day or two.
You can soon find full details about current and past CLEs from the CLE page
http://www.ndblist.info/cle.htm It includes access to CLE240 seeklists
for your part of the World, prepared from the previous loggings in Rxx.
Good listening - enjoy the CLE.
Brian and Joachim
---------------------------------------------------------------
From: Brian Keyte G3SIA ndbcle'at'gmail.com
Location: Surrey, SE England (CLE coordinator)
---------------------------------------------------------------
(If you would like to listen remotely you could use any one remote
receiver for your loggings, stating its location and owner and with their
permission if required. A remote listener may NOT also use another
receiver, local or remote, to make further loggings for the same CLE)
These listening events serve several purposes. They:
- determine, worldwide, which beacons are actually in service and on-the-air so the online database can be kept up-to-date
- determine, worldwide, which beacons are out-of-service or have gone silent since the last CLE covering this range
- will indicate the state of propagation conditions at the various participant locations
- will give you an indication of how well your LF/MF receiving system is working
- give participants a fun yet challenging activity to keep their listening skills honed
The NDB List Group is a great place to learn more about the 'Art of NDB DXing' or to meet other listeners in your region. There is a lot of good information available there and new members are always very welcome. As well, you can follow the results of other CLE participants from night to night as propagation is always an active topic of discussion.
You need not be an NDB List member to participate in the CLEs and all reports, no matter how small, are of much value to the organizers.
Remember - 'First-time' logs are always VERY welcome!
Reports may be sent to the NDB List Group or e-mailed to CLE co-ordinator, Brian Keyte (G3SIA), whose address appears above. If you are a member of the group, all final results will also be e-mailed and posted there.
Please ... give the CLE a try ... then let us know what NDB's can be heard from your location! Your report can then be added to the worldwide database to help keep it up-to-date.
Have fun and good hunting!
The 2019 Winter “Classic Exchange”
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| W7OS - Radio Club of Tacoma working the CX |
The "CX" encourages participants to use older vintage gear including any homebrew equipment, both receivers and transmitters. A unique scoring system provides bonus points for various equipment and combinations as well as encouraging 'repeat contacts' when you switch to different equipment.
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| W8KM and his wonderful vintage station |
No vintage gear? ... no problem! All amateurs are invited to participate and get in on the fun no matter what they are using and submit their scores.
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| K3MD's Heathkit AT-1 and Hallicrafters HT-37 ready for the CX |
The CX is a low-key relaxing affair and the 'extra' Tuesday operating period should encourage a lot of midweek activity from the vast numbers of retired operators who cherish and run older gear.
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| Lots of combos ready at W4BOH's CX setup |
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| K6ZI, Las Vegas - WWII ARC-5s ready to go |
A summary of the Fall 2018 CX and soapbox comments, along with some wonderful vintage-station eye candy, may be found here.
For complete details of the upcoming event, see the web site announcement here.
If you've never entered the Classic Exchange, why not give it a try this year as it truly is a case of 'the more the merrier' ... and eastern operators, make sure to keep the porch light on for those out west!
Radio Bench Fun!
Every once in awhile I’m reminded of the magic of radio and why this hobby is so much fun!
For the past week and a bit, in between power outages of up to four days, I’ve been optimizing a circuit from the December ‘36 ‘Radio’ magazine.
It looked like it might be something that would be fun to use during the weeknight NRN (Novice Rig Nights) activities ... a Jone’s-style push-pull crystal power oscillator using a pair of 6V6s. The original article called for 6L6s but my power supply can probably not provide much more power than is already coming from the 6V6s and these will likely be easier on my few precious novice-band crystals.
The circuit is lashed-up on my very well-worn 'aluminum breadboard', which is peppered with numerous convenient holes punched or drilled for mounting various crystal sockets, tube / coil sockets, variable caps etc ... it really looks awful but allows easy parts swapping to test out different configurations.
This afternoon I had the thing perking to my satisfaction, along with a very sweet-sounding CW note, using my WWII - era 7121kc crystal. Everything looked good into the dummy load so I connected the 40m antenna through the tuner, clipped the bug to the cathode resistor and at about 40 minutes before sunset, sent a short ‘CQ’, hoping for a nearby local but not really expecting a reply ... now this is the magic part.
My CQ was immediately pounced-upon by John, N2BE, on the other side of the continent, in New Jersey! I shook my head at the dangling pile of clip leads and just-barely soldered components clamped in the bench vice and had to smile when he gave me a 589 report! John was working the AWA's Linc Cundall CW Contest, where rigs must be pre-1950 designs or builds. I was happily able to give him a legitimate point, using my 1936 Jones oscillator!
At 400V on the plates, the little lash-up puts out 18 watts and seems to be about 45% efficient ... not too bad for a power oscillator. As well, the crystal current must be low as it keys nicely and doesn't sound stressed.
I’ll soon be rebuilding the little transmitter into something more presentable, probably similar to my Tri-Tet-Ten, using the short-lived but visually attractive mid-30’s building style that mated a shiny aluminum plate to a nice wooden base.
Stay tuned ... I’ll hopefully have it completed over the next few weeks and will be looking for some 80 / 40m NRN Monday night fun!
