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NPOTA – Brrrrrrrrr!
19 January 2016 | by We got a light dusting of snow yesterday, which was a prelude to today. It was sunny and clear, but the winds were blustery and our high temperature for the day was reached last night at Midnight. Ever since then, the temperatures have been dropping. As I type this, it's currently 16F (-9C) outside. While I activated NPOTA, it was 24F (-4C).
I headed out at 11:40 AM to the Washington-Rochambeau National Historical Trail TR23, which we know as Old Raritan Road in Scotch Plains, NJ. I wanted to set up at the historic Frazee House, but that part of Old Raritan Road is currently blocked off for repaving. I settled for operating at the entrance to the Ashbrook Country Club golf course in steady. It's right on the trail, as you can see from the photo above. At the entrance to the golf course is the remnants of a cannon that was used in the Battle of Short Hills in June 1777, as seen in the photo below.
Set up was easy, I've done it so many times at lunchtime at work that I could do it in my sleep. The cold made things a tad more difficult, though; but I was ready to get on the air at Noon (1700 UTC), just as I had planned.
I started out on 20 Meters, using the Buddistick. It really helps to bring a cell phone along on these kind of outings. Having a smart phone enabled me to go onto the DX Summit Website and self spot. Within a few seconds of sending the spot, I was busy handling QSOs. There was never a really deep pileup, but there weren't many lulls either. When a lull hit, I used the opportunity to either change bands, or turn on the car to warm it up a bit. As an experienced QRPer, and being used to working weak signals, you get into the mindset to avoid as much background noise as possible. While I was operating, the engine was off. I would rather be a bit cold than miss another QRPer because of engine noise.
After 20 Meters, I operated on 17 Meters for a while. I had wanted to use 18.086 MHz, but I could tell that was pileup territory for one of the DXpeditions. So I "QRL"ed on 18.072 MHz, and not hearing any answer, I camped out there for a while.
When the Jeep interior cooled down as to start becoming uncomfortable (I'm ALL about comfort!), I took the opportunity to warm the interior up, and to switch from the Buddistick to the 40 Meter Hamstick. I get a better match with the Hamstick, only 1.3:1, which is lower that the 1.8:1 that I get with the Buddistick. I still have to work on finding the ideal combination of arms and whip length for 40 Meters on the Buddistick. 40 Meters was as productive as 20 Meters. Most of the QSOs were made on those two bands, although 17 Meters was not a slouch by any means.
I called it a day at 3:00 PM (2000 UTC) just as I had planned. In the end, I made 88 QSOs, which is actually way better that any Bumblebee or Skeeter outing that I have had, and is not bad for 5 Watts to less than full sized antennas. My best DX was California, Arizona, Puerto Rico and two stations from Belgium. I worked a few of you readers that I know from here, and I thank you heartily for those Qs. I also worked my best friend and Ham Radio mentor, Bob W3BBO. I worked QRP notables Steve WG0AT, Guy N7UN, fellow QRP Fox hunter Chris KQ2RP, and I also worked Kay Craigie N3KN, outgoing President of the ARRL.
But the best QSO of the day was when I worked Dave KD2FSI, who I logged for at Jockey Hollow on Saturday. This was perhaps Dave's second or third CW QSO, maybe? It was a blast to be there and to hear his fist on the air!
All the QSOs have been uploaded to LoTW. I can't wait to activate another NPOTA entity. The bug has really bit now. As the seasons change, and the weather gets warmer, the strategy will change from antennas mounted on the Jeep, to perhaps wires tossed in the trees. The best is definitely yet to come! Thank you Sean KX9X and the ARRL for sponsoring this great program!
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Larry Makoski, W2LJ, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from New Jersey, USA. Contact him at [email protected].
Hunting For NDBs In CLE 203
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| RB-350kHz - courtesy: http://www.ve3gop.com/pict.htm |
This coming weekend will see another CLE challenge, this time in the 20 kHz slice from 350.0 - 369.9 kHz.
A nice catch for North American listeners, as well as for over-the-pole Europeans, is 'RB' - 350kHz, in Resolute By, Nunavut. Its big 3,000-watt signal has been heard all over Europe and in NA from Hawaii to New England. If you haven't participated in one of the monthly CLE activities before, this midwinter event might be just the right time to get started ... the low geomagnetic activity of late looks very encouraging.
From CLE coordinator Brian Keyte (G3SIA), comes the following reminder:
Hi all:
No Specials - just an ordinary Listening Event is only a week away:
Days: Friday 22 January - Monday 25 January
Times: Start and End at midday, your LOCAL time
Range: 350.0 - 369.9 kHz
Just log the NDBs that you can identify having their nominal (published)
frequencies in that range, plus any UNIDs that you come across there.
We last concentrated on these frequencies during CLE186 in Sept 2014.
Please send your CLE log to the List (no attachments and ideally in a
plain text email) with CLE203 at the start of its title. Show on each line:
# The Date (or Day No: 27 to 30)
# The Time in UTC
# kHz - the nominal published frequency, if known.
# The Call Ident.
Please show those main items FIRST. Any other optional details such
as Location and Distance go LATER in the same line.
If you send any interim logs, please also send a 'Final' (complete) one.
And, of course, tell us your own location and brief details of the
equipment that you were using during the Event.
You can find full details about current and past CLEs from the CLE page
http://www.ndblist.info/cle.htm including access to the CLE203 seeklists (soon) for your part of the World prepared from the loggings on Rxx.
Good listening - enjoy the CLE.
Brian
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From: Brian Keyte G3SIA: <ndbcle'at'gmail.com>
Location: Surrey, SE England (CLE co-ordinator)
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(If you would like to listen remotely you could use any one remote
receiver such as http://websdr.ewi.utwente.nl:8901/ 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
Final details can be found at the NDB List website, and worldwide results, for every participant, will be posted there a few days after the event. If you are a member of the ndblist Group, results will also be e-mailed and posted there.
The very active Yahoo ndblist 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.
If you are contemplating getting started on 630m, listening for NDBs is an excellent way to test out your receive capabilities as there are several NDBs located near this part of the spectrum.
You need not be an ndblist member to participate in the CLEs and all reports, no matter how small, are of much value to the organizers. 'First-time' logs are always VERY welcome!
Reports may be sent to the ndblist or e-mailed to either myself or CLE co- ordinator, Brian Keyte (G3SIA), whose address appears above.
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.
Steve McDonald, VE7SL, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from British Columbia, Canada. Contact him at [email protected].
Digital Mobile Radio (DMR) Free PDF Guide
For awhile now, I’ve been wanting to get a Tytera MD-380 or Connect Systems CS-750 (or CS-700) in order to learn more about how Digital Mobile Radio (DMR) really works.
To be honest, I’d been having a very hard time wrapping my head around the differences between analog FM and DMR. All of these (relatively) new terms for us old hams including tiers, talk groups, two-slot TDMA, zones, code plugs — they really didn’t make sense to me.
Last night I downloaded and read a free 28-page PDF guide called the Amateur Radio Guide to Digital Mobile Radio by John Burningham W2XAB available on the TRBO.org website. It made everything come together for me. If you’ve been interested in getting into DMR, download this and read it tonight. Well worth the hour it took!
The world of Digital Mobile Radio can be a little complicated, but it opens a whole new world once you understand it. Don’t let the future pass you by!
Thank you, John! What a service to the Amateur Radio community.
Matt Thomas, W1MST, is the managing editor of AmateurRadio.com. Contact him at [email protected].
Weekly Propagation Summary – 2016 Jan 18 16:10 UTC
Here is this week’s space weather and geophysical report, issued 2016 Jan 18 0131 UTC.
Highlights of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 11 – 17 January 2016
Solar activity ranged from very low to low levels. Very low conditions were observed on 11-14 January and again on 16-17 January. Low levels occurred on 15 January with a few weak C-class flares observed from Region 2480 (N02, L=125, class/area Eso/190 on 10 Jan). A 14 degree long filament, centered near S30W03, erupted between 14/1803-2048 UTC. An associated coronal mass ejection (CME) was visible in SOHO LASCO imagery beginning at 14/2324 UTC. Analysis, and subsequent WSA-Enlil model output, determined a potential glancing blow could impact Earth early on 19 Jan.
No proton events were observed at geosynchronous orbit.
The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit was at high levels throughout the summary period.
Geomagnetic field activity began the period on 11-14 January at quiet to active levels due to effects from a negative polarity coronal hole high speed stream (CH HSS). Quiet conditions persisted on 15-17 January. ACE satellite parameters indicated a maximum wind speed reading of 662 km/s at 12/0711 UTC. By period's end, wind speeds had declined to about 330 km/s. Total field (Bt) reached a maximum reading of 10 nT late on the 10th and generally ranged between 3-7 nT for a majority of the period. The Bz component varied between +/- 7 nT from late on the 11th through early on the 13th. Through the remainder of the period, Bz did not vary much beyond +/- 4 nT. The phi angle was in a predominately negative (towards) orientation through midday on 16 January when a rotation to a more positive (away) sector was observed.
Forecast of Solar and Geomagnetic Activity 18 January – 13 February 2016
Solar activity is expected to be at very low levels with a chance for C-class flares throughout the outlook period.
No proton events are expected at geosynchronous orbit.
The greater than 2 MeV electron flux at geosynchronous orbit is expected to be at high levels on 18, 23-26, 29-31 January, 01-06 and 09-13 February. Normal to moderate levels are expected for the remainder of the outlook period.
Geomagnetic field activity is expected to be at unsettled to active periods on 18-19 January due to possible glancing blow effects from the 14 Jan CME. Unsettled to active levels are expected on 22-23, 28-29 January, 02-03 and 07-09 February due to recurrent CH HSS effects. Predominately quiet levels are expected for the remainder of the outlook period.
Don’t forget to visit our live space weather and radio propagation web site, at: http://SunSpotWatch.com/
Live Aurora mapping is at http://aurora.sunspotwatch.com/
If you are on Twitter, please follow these two users: + https://Twitter.com/NW7US + https://Twitter.com/hfradiospacewx
Get the space weather and radio propagation self-study course, today. Visit http://nw7us.us/swc for the latest sale and for more information!
Check out the stunning view of our Sun in action, as seen during the last five years with the Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXN-MdoGM9g
We’re on Facebook: http://NW7US.us/swhfr
Visit, subscribe: NW7US Radio Communications and Propagation YouTube Channel
Yaesu, where is the FT-817’s successor?
As a proud owner of Yaesu gear going right back to an FT7 in 1979, I wish them well. In recent times, life has been very hard for them, and they seemed to lose their way. Today, they still face a threat from China and many of their radios are struggling to compete on price. I was totally amazed at their stupidity at not bringing an FT817 successor to market as we approached the solar peak.
It is rumoured that an FT817 successor will be announced at Dayton in May this year. Like many around the world, I hope they do. There is (was?) a vast market for this product as the original FT817 is now very very old. To do a successor would be so easy. Yaesu – get real and release this product before you lose the market. To not put too fine a point on this, I think if you do not, then you risk bankruptcy within 5 years.
My recommendations to Yaesu are:
1. Design in Japan but make in China (but with excellent quality control in place from the start).
2. Launch a successor to the FT817 soon.
3. Look at your product range and rationalise it.
You must survive. This is the real world.
Roger Lapthorn, G3XBM, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from Cambridge, England.
LHS Episode #160: Tipsy Cow Tipping
Welcome to Episode #160 of Linux in the Ham Shack. In this episode, minus one VE2XPL, your hosts discuss amateur radio scholarships, the demise of a legendary kit maker, several Linux tutorial sites, a new web-based SDR resource, WSPR, a logger for Android and much, much more. Thanks for listening, and Happy New Year!
73 de The LHS Crew
Russ Woodman, K5TUX, co-hosts the Linux in the Ham Shack podcast which is available for download in both MP3 and OGG audio format. Contact him at [email protected].
Get a taste of the RF coming and going
Elecraft CP1 - A tasty RF treat
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| Elecraft CP1 Kit |
Couple what?
Ah, so if your new to this like me you might be asking what does a coupler do? Well it sorta listens in on the signal going out (forward) and reflected (back) and is able to send an attenuated sample of the signal to other devices. It attenuates the sample by either 20db or 30db depending on how you build the kit.The 20db version is good for signals 25 watts and less so that's the way I built it. It was easy to build but my glue under the second toroid wasn't strong enough and you can see it popped up a bit. Also the Elecraft instructions had one confusing instruction concerning mounting the toroids. The instructions say "... When wound and mounted correctly, the enamel wire will emerge from the top of each core and connect to the top hole at each inductor location". Well when you wind a toroid only one of the wires can "emerge from the top of the core" while the other comes from underneath. This confused me for a minute until I finally just went on with the install. Anyway, if you're a stickler for following instructions that one may cause a moment of pause...
The switches for the two outputs forward, reflected (J3, J4) are in the up position when they are not in use. When the switch(es) are in the up position the 50 ohm 3 watt resistor(s) take the place of the switched off output. Don't disconnect an output and leave the switch in the bottom position. I'm not sure what will happen... maybe nothing, probably a bit of a mismatch on the SWR, or maybe it could be like "Crossing the streams" in Ghostbusters. Your mileage may vary.
My uses for a coupler
My old Ten-Tec Century 21 has an analog VFO dial that gives me a good guess at where I'm at but I use an external frequency counter to give me more information. I had it sorta rigged my frequency counter to sample the signal from RF leaked on the shield but I didn't really know how much power I was sending to the counter so this coupler allows it, as well as other devices, to be safely connected to the transmitted signal.I also plan to use the coupler for IMD tests using a oscilloscope and other projects. It's handy device to have in your collection.
My confusion
But in the end - It works
Richard Carpenter, AA4OO, is a regular contributor to AmateurRadio.com and writes from North Carolina, USA. Contact him at [email protected].
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