Posts Tagged ‘amateurradio.com’
Having fun on the "Magic Band"
June 2nd, 2016 | 
Author: In April I installed a second-hand HB9CV for 6m, primarily for use in the UKAC VHF contests but I hoped to use it during the upcoming sporadic 'E' season.
Still a relative newcomer to the hobby (only licensed at end of 2013) I had little experience of the 50MHz/6m band and have been mostly met with static whenever I did turn the dial to have a listen but happily that has changed in the last few weeks.
I knew that 6m can be an interesting, unpredictable almost unique band. Being at the lower end of the VHF spectrum it exhibits the usual characteristics of VHF communication, mostly short range line-of-sight contacts since 50MHz is usually well beyond the maximum usable frequency (MUF) for normal 'F-layer' ionospheric propagation utilised by the lower bands. However solar activity and other factors can trigger other types of propagation, in fact the band can support just about every form of propagation possible and is the main reason why it has become known as the "Magic Band"
One interesting form of propagation is sporadic E, or popularly referred to as Es. Small clouds of unusually ionised atmospheric gas form in the lower E-layer of the ionosphere (located at altitudes of 90 to 160 km). These clouds 'bounce' the radio waves allowing long-distance communication at VHF frequencies, sometimes multiple hops are possible giving extreme DX. One advantage of sporadic E over other forms of propagation is that it allows low-power QRP communication. As its name suggests, sporadic E is not a normal occurrence but can happen at almost any time. It does display a seasonal pattern with activity peaking in the summertime most noticeable in mid-to-late June.
I had turned the antenna to the East and have been running WSPR on and off over the last month on 6m with no luck, just the odd spot from the UK. I was in the shack one Saturday evening and was tuning around on 6m and heard some Italian stations calling CQ on SSB. I tried my luck and answered (using 50W) and was amazed to be heard, working a couple of stations in quick succession then suddenly the opening closed mid contact with another station. I was hooked!
Over the past few weeks I have caught a few more openings and have managed to work (in no particular order) Latvia, Croatia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Serbia, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Poland, France, Spain, Austria, Canary Islands and Finland - using a combination of voice on SSB and the JT65 digital mode.
Using JT65 has been particularly interesting since it allows me to 'remote operate' from work otherwise I would miss most of the 'Es'. Being able to monitor the waterfall and see the signals gaining and falling in strength during the minute long transmission is particularly fascinating.
Using the PSKReporter website I can see the location of all the stations I could hear and was being heard by. This map shows activity over the couple of hours on the 26 May using just JT65.
I have joined the UK Six Meter Group (UKSMG) to find out more about this "magic band" and their website is full of lots of information and resources along with the magazine Six News for subscribers.
Still a relative newcomer to the hobby (only licensed at end of 2013) I had little experience of the 50MHz/6m band and have been mostly met with static whenever I did turn the dial to have a listen but happily that has changed in the last few weeks.
I knew that 6m can be an interesting, unpredictable almost unique band. Being at the lower end of the VHF spectrum it exhibits the usual characteristics of VHF communication, mostly short range line-of-sight contacts since 50MHz is usually well beyond the maximum usable frequency (MUF) for normal 'F-layer' ionospheric propagation utilised by the lower bands. However solar activity and other factors can trigger other types of propagation, in fact the band can support just about every form of propagation possible and is the main reason why it has become known as the "Magic Band"
One interesting form of propagation is sporadic E, or popularly referred to as Es. Small clouds of unusually ionised atmospheric gas form in the lower E-layer of the ionosphere (located at altitudes of 90 to 160 km). These clouds 'bounce' the radio waves allowing long-distance communication at VHF frequencies, sometimes multiple hops are possible giving extreme DX. One advantage of sporadic E over other forms of propagation is that it allows low-power QRP communication. As its name suggests, sporadic E is not a normal occurrence but can happen at almost any time. It does display a seasonal pattern with activity peaking in the summertime most noticeable in mid-to-late June.
I had turned the antenna to the East and have been running WSPR on and off over the last month on 6m with no luck, just the odd spot from the UK. I was in the shack one Saturday evening and was tuning around on 6m and heard some Italian stations calling CQ on SSB. I tried my luck and answered (using 50W) and was amazed to be heard, working a couple of stations in quick succession then suddenly the opening closed mid contact with another station. I was hooked!
Over the past few weeks I have caught a few more openings and have managed to work (in no particular order) Latvia, Croatia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Serbia, Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Poland, France, Spain, Austria, Canary Islands and Finland - using a combination of voice on SSB and the JT65 digital mode.
Using JT65 has been particularly interesting since it allows me to 'remote operate' from work otherwise I would miss most of the 'Es'. Being able to monitor the waterfall and see the signals gaining and falling in strength during the minute long transmission is particularly fascinating.
Using the PSKReporter website I can see the location of all the stations I could hear and was being heard by. This map shows activity over the couple of hours on the 26 May using just JT65.
I have joined the UK Six Meter Group (UKSMG) to find out more about this "magic band" and their website is full of lots of information and resources along with the magazine Six News for subscribers.
Enjoying the journey
There's an active post on the ARRL NPOTA Facebook page, where someone is lamenting the fact that some of the NPOTA Activators are not loading up their logs to Logbook of the World in a "timely" enough manner to his satisfaction.
I think we have to keep in mind, that for many of the Activators, this is not a "free" exercise. Maybe they have to pay to get into a National Park, perhaps not. Destinations a long way from home involve gas, wear and tear on the car, perhaps even lodging and meals. There are also other considerations that don't involve money, but still involve expense. Time away from home, friends and family. These all factor into the equation.
Yes, Activators are putting the Parks on the air, because they want to. No one is holding a gun to their heads. So they pretty much ignore the personal expense because they're having a good time and are getting some personal satisfaction from doing their activations. At the same time, they are giving all the Chasers something invaluable, too. They are giving you a good time! They are providing you with something fun, something exciting, and new.
There have been anecdotes told of those who have their dwindling interest in the hobby rekindled because of NPOTA. In my own personal experience, I had a dormant Ham come up to me while I was activating the National Gateway (RC08) at Sandy Hook, NJ. He saw my antenna and me, sitting at my little table, putting The Hook on the air. He bicycled up and introduced himself with this name and call and proceeded to ask me "What's going on?" He then proceeded to tell me how he was licensed, but was inactive. I in turn, explained all about NPOTA and portable ops. Not only was his interest in the hobby rekindled (you could tell by "that look" in his eyes), but he also brought his young son over to take a look. You could almost see the light bulb go off over his head. To him, the idea of not being stuck in a Ham shack, but being able to be operate outside in the sunshine, with the breeze in his hair struck a resonant chord with him. It was almost like he never thought of the possibility before.
Let's also not forget that NPOTA is not a contest. Yes, there's a Leader Board and yes, stats are being kept; but that doesn't mean that NPOTA is radio sport and nothing else. If anything, it's an operating event - designed by the ARRL to put a new, shiny face on our wonderful hobby.
With that, I'm going to go off on a tangent here, and am going to state my personal opinion that Amateur Radio has gone somewhat off the rails and has become too much "radio sport". We worry too much about DXCC tallies and contests in general. Look, I'm as guilty as anyone else in that regard, as I run a QRP contest each August ........ but what's happened to the rag chew? When was the last time you had a QSO with a DX station that was more than "599 TU"? When was the last time you talked about the weather with a foreign Ham, or about some other subject not related directly to radio?
I remember when I was a Novice in the late 70s, and actually had conversations with DX stations! I know, unheard of, right? And the QSL cards I received actually contained friendly letters, sometimes with photos of the DX Ham's station or hometown. Why have we largely gotten away from that? That was the best part of the hobby!
Before I get accused of contest bashing - let me state that radio sport has its time and place. There are people that exist only for that - and that's fine. That's another facet of this hobby that is perfectly legitimate. However, it seems to me that we've let a little bit too much of that mentality creep into the rest of our hobby. We worry too much about scores, standings and results. I think what we need to do is slow down and enjoy the journey and not worry so much about the destination.
The journey is the fun part and the destination should be the fond memories of the things we enjoyed along the way. We need to exist for each other, not just for standings, results, wallpaper and trophies.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
I think we have to keep in mind, that for many of the Activators, this is not a "free" exercise. Maybe they have to pay to get into a National Park, perhaps not. Destinations a long way from home involve gas, wear and tear on the car, perhaps even lodging and meals. There are also other considerations that don't involve money, but still involve expense. Time away from home, friends and family. These all factor into the equation.
Yes, Activators are putting the Parks on the air, because they want to. No one is holding a gun to their heads. So they pretty much ignore the personal expense because they're having a good time and are getting some personal satisfaction from doing their activations. At the same time, they are giving all the Chasers something invaluable, too. They are giving you a good time! They are providing you with something fun, something exciting, and new.
There have been anecdotes told of those who have their dwindling interest in the hobby rekindled because of NPOTA. In my own personal experience, I had a dormant Ham come up to me while I was activating the National Gateway (RC08) at Sandy Hook, NJ. He saw my antenna and me, sitting at my little table, putting The Hook on the air. He bicycled up and introduced himself with this name and call and proceeded to ask me "What's going on?" He then proceeded to tell me how he was licensed, but was inactive. I in turn, explained all about NPOTA and portable ops. Not only was his interest in the hobby rekindled (you could tell by "that look" in his eyes), but he also brought his young son over to take a look. You could almost see the light bulb go off over his head. To him, the idea of not being stuck in a Ham shack, but being able to be operate outside in the sunshine, with the breeze in his hair struck a resonant chord with him. It was almost like he never thought of the possibility before.
Let's also not forget that NPOTA is not a contest. Yes, there's a Leader Board and yes, stats are being kept; but that doesn't mean that NPOTA is radio sport and nothing else. If anything, it's an operating event - designed by the ARRL to put a new, shiny face on our wonderful hobby.
With that, I'm going to go off on a tangent here, and am going to state my personal opinion that Amateur Radio has gone somewhat off the rails and has become too much "radio sport". We worry too much about DXCC tallies and contests in general. Look, I'm as guilty as anyone else in that regard, as I run a QRP contest each August ........ but what's happened to the rag chew? When was the last time you had a QSO with a DX station that was more than "599 TU"? When was the last time you talked about the weather with a foreign Ham, or about some other subject not related directly to radio?
I remember when I was a Novice in the late 70s, and actually had conversations with DX stations! I know, unheard of, right? And the QSL cards I received actually contained friendly letters, sometimes with photos of the DX Ham's station or hometown. Why have we largely gotten away from that? That was the best part of the hobby!
Before I get accused of contest bashing - let me state that radio sport has its time and place. There are people that exist only for that - and that's fine. That's another facet of this hobby that is perfectly legitimate. However, it seems to me that we've let a little bit too much of that mentality creep into the rest of our hobby. We worry too much about scores, standings and results. I think what we need to do is slow down and enjoy the journey and not worry so much about the destination.
The journey is the fun part and the destination should be the fond memories of the things we enjoyed along the way. We need to exist for each other, not just for standings, results, wallpaper and trophies.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Enjoying the journey
There's an active post on the ARRL NPOTA Facebook page, where someone is lamenting the fact that some of the NPOTA Activators are not loading up their logs to Logbook of the World in a "timely" enough manner to his satisfaction.
I think we have to keep in mind, that for many of the Activators, this is not a "free" exercise. Maybe they have to pay to get into a National Park, perhaps not. Destinations a long way from home involve gas, wear and tear on the car, perhaps even lodging and meals. There are also other considerations that don't involve money, but still involve expense. Time away from home, friends and family. These all factor into the equation.
Yes, Activators are putting the Parks on the air, because they want to. No one is holding a gun to their heads. So they pretty much ignore the personal expense because they're having a good time and are getting some personal satisfaction from doing their activations. At the same time, they are giving all the Chasers something invaluable, too. They are giving you a good time! They are providing you with something fun, something exciting, and new.
There have been anecdotes told of those who have their dwindling interest in the hobby rekindled because of NPOTA. In my own personal experience, I had a dormant Ham come up to me while I was activating the National Gateway (RC08) at Sandy Hook, NJ. He saw my antenna and me, sitting at my little table, putting The Hook on the air. He bicycled up and introduced himself with this name and call and proceeded to ask me "What's going on?" He then proceeded to tell me how he was licensed, but was inactive. I in turn, explained all about NPOTA and portable ops. Not only was his interest in the hobby rekindled (you could tell by "that look" in his eyes), but he also brought his young son over to take a look. You could almost see the light bulb go off over his head. To him, the idea of not being stuck in a Ham shack, but being able to be operate outside in the sunshine, with the breeze in his hair struck a resonant chord with him. It was almost like he never thought of the possibility before.
Let's also not forget that NPOTA is not a contest. Yes, there's a Leader Board and yes, stats are being kept; but that doesn't mean that NPOTA is radio sport and nothing else. If anything, it's an operating event - designed by the ARRL to put a new, shiny face on our wonderful hobby.
With that, I'm going to go off on a tangent here, and am going to state my personal opinion that Amateur Radio has gone somewhat off the rails and has become too much "radio sport". We worry too much about DXCC tallies and contests in general. Look, I'm as guilty as anyone else in that regard, as I run a QRP contest each August ........ but what's happened to the rag chew? When was the last time you had a QSO with a DX station that was more than "599 TU"? When was the last time you talked about the weather with a foreign Ham, or about some other subject not related directly to radio?
I remember when I was a Novice in the late 70s, and actually had conversations with DX stations! I know, unheard of, right? And the QSL cards I received actually contained friendly letters, sometimes with photos of the DX Ham's station or hometown. Why have we largely gotten away from that? That was the best part of the hobby!
Before I get accused of contest bashing - let me state that radio sport has its time and place. There are people that exist only for that - and that's fine. That's another facet of this hobby that is perfectly legitimate. However, it seems to me that we've let a little bit too much of that mentality creep into the rest of our hobby. We worry too much about scores, standings and results. I think what we need to do is slow down and enjoy the journey and not worry so much about the destination.
The journey is the fun part and the destination should be the fond memories of the things we enjoyed along the way. We need to exist for each other, not just for standings, results, wallpaper and trophies.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
I think we have to keep in mind, that for many of the Activators, this is not a "free" exercise. Maybe they have to pay to get into a National Park, perhaps not. Destinations a long way from home involve gas, wear and tear on the car, perhaps even lodging and meals. There are also other considerations that don't involve money, but still involve expense. Time away from home, friends and family. These all factor into the equation.
Yes, Activators are putting the Parks on the air, because they want to. No one is holding a gun to their heads. So they pretty much ignore the personal expense because they're having a good time and are getting some personal satisfaction from doing their activations. At the same time, they are giving all the Chasers something invaluable, too. They are giving you a good time! They are providing you with something fun, something exciting, and new.
There have been anecdotes told of those who have their dwindling interest in the hobby rekindled because of NPOTA. In my own personal experience, I had a dormant Ham come up to me while I was activating the National Gateway (RC08) at Sandy Hook, NJ. He saw my antenna and me, sitting at my little table, putting The Hook on the air. He bicycled up and introduced himself with this name and call and proceeded to ask me "What's going on?" He then proceeded to tell me how he was licensed, but was inactive. I in turn, explained all about NPOTA and portable ops. Not only was his interest in the hobby rekindled (you could tell by "that look" in his eyes), but he also brought his young son over to take a look. You could almost see the light bulb go off over his head. To him, the idea of not being stuck in a Ham shack, but being able to be operate outside in the sunshine, with the breeze in his hair struck a resonant chord with him. It was almost like he never thought of the possibility before.
Let's also not forget that NPOTA is not a contest. Yes, there's a Leader Board and yes, stats are being kept; but that doesn't mean that NPOTA is radio sport and nothing else. If anything, it's an operating event - designed by the ARRL to put a new, shiny face on our wonderful hobby.
With that, I'm going to go off on a tangent here, and am going to state my personal opinion that Amateur Radio has gone somewhat off the rails and has become too much "radio sport". We worry too much about DXCC tallies and contests in general. Look, I'm as guilty as anyone else in that regard, as I run a QRP contest each August ........ but what's happened to the rag chew? When was the last time you had a QSO with a DX station that was more than "599 TU"? When was the last time you talked about the weather with a foreign Ham, or about some other subject not related directly to radio?
I remember when I was a Novice in the late 70s, and actually had conversations with DX stations! I know, unheard of, right? And the QSL cards I received actually contained friendly letters, sometimes with photos of the DX Ham's station or hometown. Why have we largely gotten away from that? That was the best part of the hobby!
Before I get accused of contest bashing - let me state that radio sport has its time and place. There are people that exist only for that - and that's fine. That's another facet of this hobby that is perfectly legitimate. However, it seems to me that we've let a little bit too much of that mentality creep into the rest of our hobby. We worry too much about scores, standings and results. I think what we need to do is slow down and enjoy the journey and not worry so much about the destination.
The journey is the fun part and the destination should be the fond memories of the things we enjoyed along the way. We need to exist for each other, not just for standings, results, wallpaper and trophies.
72 de Larry W2LJ
QRP - When you care to send the very least!
Inverted L
I have been lacking the ability to operate on the lower HF bands, while my small 'multi-band' OCFD could be used on 40m trying to use it on 80m was nigh on impossible with my ATU. As you would expect even if matched for a useable VSWR the actual performance has been compromised.
I needed a cheap and relatively unobtrusive solution and I found one in Len Paget's (GM0ONX) design for an inverted L. The full details were printed in the Practical Wireless magazine several years ago and PDFs are available for download from Len's website. The designs make use of coaxial traps, one for the 80m version, two if you want to add a top-band (160m) option.
Opting for the smaller 80m version I set about building one. Using an old fibre-glass fishing pole about 5m high at the far end of the garden tucked behind the summer house which I could collapse down and then retract the wire elements when not in use so hiding it from view.
The fun and interesting part was building the trap. They are formed by coiling some coax, in this case RG58, round a former such as plastic waste pipe. I had a bit of scrap pipe but it was 32mm not the 40mm diameter type described in the article, thinking it couldn't make 'that much difference' I built one using the same number of turns but the resultant antenna wasn't anywhere near resonant according to the analyser.
I decided I needed to test the trap's frequency response. I found a YouTube video by Dave Tadlock (KG0ZZ) where he demonstrates using a MFJ 'Grid Dip Meter' adapter on an MFJ antenna analyser to test coaxial traps.
The adapter consists of nothing more than a coil of wire on a suitable former so I made my own to use with my AW07A analyser. It worked a treat and I discovered my trap was way off frequency. In the mean time I had located a useful PDF document by David Reynolds (G3ZPF) which informed me I actually needed 180cm of RG58 round a 32mm pipe to make a suitable 7MHz trap, so I made another.
I made a small video showing the traps and how I tested them.
The resulting antenna seems to perform well, but it does sag a little due to the weight of the trap and wire and the flimsiness of the pole. But I have made a number of contacts on it and used it during the RSGB 80m CC Datamode contest a few weeks back. It was my first go at this contest but once I got the hang of operating it was great fun.
I needed a cheap and relatively unobtrusive solution and I found one in Len Paget's (GM0ONX) design for an inverted L. The full details were printed in the Practical Wireless magazine several years ago and PDFs are available for download from Len's website. The designs make use of coaxial traps, one for the 80m version, two if you want to add a top-band (160m) option.
Opting for the smaller 80m version I set about building one. Using an old fibre-glass fishing pole about 5m high at the far end of the garden tucked behind the summer house which I could collapse down and then retract the wire elements when not in use so hiding it from view.
The fun and interesting part was building the trap. They are formed by coiling some coax, in this case RG58, round a former such as plastic waste pipe. I had a bit of scrap pipe but it was 32mm not the 40mm diameter type described in the article, thinking it couldn't make 'that much difference' I built one using the same number of turns but the resultant antenna wasn't anywhere near resonant according to the analyser.
I decided I needed to test the trap's frequency response. I found a YouTube video by Dave Tadlock (KG0ZZ) where he demonstrates using a MFJ 'Grid Dip Meter' adapter on an MFJ antenna analyser to test coaxial traps.
The adapter consists of nothing more than a coil of wire on a suitable former so I made my own to use with my AW07A analyser. It worked a treat and I discovered my trap was way off frequency. In the mean time I had located a useful PDF document by David Reynolds (G3ZPF) which informed me I actually needed 180cm of RG58 round a 32mm pipe to make a suitable 7MHz trap, so I made another.
I made a small video showing the traps and how I tested them.
The resulting antenna seems to perform well, but it does sag a little due to the weight of the trap and wire and the flimsiness of the pole. But I have made a number of contacts on it and used it during the RSGB 80m CC Datamode contest a few weeks back. It was my first go at this contest but once I got the hang of operating it was great fun.
Inverted L
I have been lacking the ability to operate on the lower HF bands, while my small 'multi-band' OCFD could be used on 40m trying to use it on 80m was nigh on impossible with my ATU. As you would expect even if matched for a useable VSWR the actual performance has been compromised.
I needed a cheap and relatively unobtrusive solution and I found one in Len Paget's (GM0ONX) design for an inverted L. The full details were printed in the Practical Wireless magazine several years ago and PDFs are available for download from Len's website. The designs make use of coaxial traps, one for the 80m version, two if you want to add a top-band (160m) option.
Opting for the smaller 80m version I set about building one. Using an old fibre-glass fishing pole about 5m high at the far end of the garden tucked behind the summer house which I could collapse down and then retract the wire elements when not in use so hiding it from view.
The fun and interesting part was building the trap. They are formed by coiling some coax, in this case RG58, round a former such as plastic waste pipe. I had a bit of scrap pipe but it was 32mm not the 40mm diameter type described in the article, thinking it couldn't make 'that much difference' I built one using the same number of turns but the resultant antenna wasn't anywhere near resonant according to the analyser.
I decided I needed to test the trap's frequency response. I found a YouTube video by Dave Tadlock (KG0ZZ) where he demonstrates using a MFJ 'Grid Dip Meter' adapter on an MFJ antenna analyser to test coaxial traps.
The adapter consists of nothing more than a coil of wire on a suitable former so I made my own to use with my AW07A analyser. It worked a treat and I discovered my trap was way off frequency. In the mean time I had located a useful PDF document by David Reynolds (G3ZPF) which informed me I actually needed 180cm of RG58 round a 32mm pipe to make a suitable 7MHz trap, so I made another.
I made a small video showing the traps and how I tested them.
The resulting antenna seems to perform well, but it does sag a little due to the weight of the trap and wire and the flimsiness of the pole. But I have made a number of contacts on it and used it during the RSGB 80m CC Datamode contest a few weeks back. It was my first go at this contest but once I got the hang of operating it was great fun.
I needed a cheap and relatively unobtrusive solution and I found one in Len Paget's (GM0ONX) design for an inverted L. The full details were printed in the Practical Wireless magazine several years ago and PDFs are available for download from Len's website. The designs make use of coaxial traps, one for the 80m version, two if you want to add a top-band (160m) option.
Opting for the smaller 80m version I set about building one. Using an old fibre-glass fishing pole about 5m high at the far end of the garden tucked behind the summer house which I could collapse down and then retract the wire elements when not in use so hiding it from view.
The fun and interesting part was building the trap. They are formed by coiling some coax, in this case RG58, round a former such as plastic waste pipe. I had a bit of scrap pipe but it was 32mm not the 40mm diameter type described in the article, thinking it couldn't make 'that much difference' I built one using the same number of turns but the resultant antenna wasn't anywhere near resonant according to the analyser.
I decided I needed to test the trap's frequency response. I found a YouTube video by Dave Tadlock (KG0ZZ) where he demonstrates using a MFJ 'Grid Dip Meter' adapter on an MFJ antenna analyser to test coaxial traps.
The adapter consists of nothing more than a coil of wire on a suitable former so I made my own to use with my AW07A analyser. It worked a treat and I discovered my trap was way off frequency. In the mean time I had located a useful PDF document by David Reynolds (G3ZPF) which informed me I actually needed 180cm of RG58 round a 32mm pipe to make a suitable 7MHz trap, so I made another.
I made a small video showing the traps and how I tested them.
The resulting antenna seems to perform well, but it does sag a little due to the weight of the trap and wire and the flimsiness of the pole. But I have made a number of contacts on it and used it during the RSGB 80m CC Datamode contest a few weeks back. It was my first go at this contest but once I got the hang of operating it was great fun.
Listen to the music
Comparing CW audio
The Elecraft KX3 and the Ten-Tec Eagle
The bands were very poor today from my home and finding stations to operate were few and far between, especially at QRP power. So I thought I'd take a break from operating and create a brief video demonstrating the CW audio differences between the Ten-Tec Eagle and the Elecraft KX3.
The radios
The Elecraft KX3 and Ten-Tec Eagle don't have much in common apart from having DSP architectures and both being from American radio manufacturers. The Eagle is devoid of bells, whistles and has no-menus. On the Eagle, what you see is all you get, as opposed to the KX3 which has multiple kitchen sinks stuffed into it's tiny enclosure.
Setup
Both radios have their pre-amps off and DSP bandwidth set to 500 Hz. I have the RF gain reduced by about 15dB on each radio since turning up the RF gain on a noisy day like today just makes for white noise.
During the video I operated the NR (noise reduction) button on the Eagle to demonstrate how it makes a signal pop and in the same manner operate the APF (audio peaking filter) on the KX3. I end the demonstration by reducing the DSP bandwidth down to about 100 Hz on each radio. The Eagle has both 600 Hz and a 300 Hz IF filters so it gets a bit of insertion loss when I pass through the 300 Hz setting. There were no adjacent signals so the IF filtering wasn't doing anything for either radio in this case.
The audio from the Eagle is coming from its built-in speaker, while on the KX3 I'm using an iHome external, self-powered, speaker. The KX3 has an abysmal internal speaker and there's little point in trying to listen to it compared to a radio with a real speaker. In my opinion that speaker is one of the few serious flaws in the KX3.
After I shot the video I realized that there was a bit of a bias against the Eagle's audio because the microphone in the camera was below the top of the Eagle's case and thus wasn't directly hearing the cabinet speaker, whereas it was in direct view of the external speaker connected to the KX3. The Eagle's audio sounds crisper than this in person when your ears have a straight shot to the speaker.
Subjective listening
Audio is a very subjective thing because people can hear the same thing very differently so I won't comment on my opinion on which I prefer.
I would however be curious to hear other's opinions.
That's all for now
So lower your power and raise your expectations
73/72
Rich, AA4OO
You have two ears but only one mouth
Listen more than you send
In honor of Mothers Day this weekend here in the U.S. we recall what our wise Mothers told us...
Listen more than you talk because God gave you two ears but only one mouth
Learning CW is more about learning to copy what you hear than sending. So listen, listen, listen.
Listening to on air CW QSOs using your own HF radio...
Of course the best CW copy practice comes while listening to stations using your own HF radio and having on-air QSOs. So make the most of your opportunities to listen to live QSOs from your home station.
Find conversations that are at different speeds for your practice copy. In my experience, when I only practice copying higher speed CW for a time, my ability to recognize slower CW gets rusty so practice copying all speeds. I was worked by a station some months back when I was sending at only 13wpm who came back on the second exchange and replied that I was too slow to copy and he quit the QSO. I don't want to be like that.
Along with copying QRS stations, practice copying stations that are well above your comfortable copy speed in order to stretch yourself. You will likely miss much of the conversation but your ability to start recognizing common words and abbreviations will increase. Another side effect I find is that when I listen to a 25wpm (well above my present copy speed) exchange between two operators who have equally strong signals, I'll usually copy one station better than the other. I try to figure out why that's the case. Something about that operator's style is easier to copy and when I discern why that is, I try to emulate it.
I want to be able to copy all speeds of CW; both to encourage new QRS operators and ragchew with the QRQ old-timers.
Find conversations that are at different speeds for your practice copy. In my experience, when I only practice copying higher speed CW for a time, my ability to recognize slower CW gets rusty so practice copying all speeds. I was worked by a station some months back when I was sending at only 13wpm who came back on the second exchange and replied that I was too slow to copy and he quit the QSO. I don't want to be like that.
Along with copying QRS stations, practice copying stations that are well above your comfortable copy speed in order to stretch yourself. You will likely miss much of the conversation but your ability to start recognizing common words and abbreviations will increase. Another side effect I find is that when I listen to a 25wpm (well above my present copy speed) exchange between two operators who have equally strong signals, I'll usually copy one station better than the other. I try to figure out why that's the case. Something about that operator's style is easier to copy and when I discern why that is, I try to emulate it.
I want to be able to copy all speeds of CW; both to encourage new QRS operators and ragchew with the QRQ old-timers.
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| On Air Practice |
Listen to on air CW QSOs using remote radios
When you don't have hands-on access to an HF radio or when propagation is poor at your QTH web SDR stations are great resources for CW copy practice.
Web SDR stations are accessible from http://websdr.org and allow you to listen to CW anytime you have access to the internet. Web SDR stations are available from around the world, potentially from countries you haven't been able to regularly hear from your QTH. So it allows you to hear different sending styles from around the world.
Web SDR stations are accessible from http://websdr.org and allow you to listen to CW anytime you have access to the internet. Web SDR stations are available from around the world, potentially from countries you haven't been able to regularly hear from your QTH. So it allows you to hear different sending styles from around the world.
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| Web SDR station |
Listen to machine generated CW
When live CW is unavailable you still have machine generated CW as an option. Practice copy of machine generated CW is a pale comparison to actual CW QSOs but it has it's uses and it's always available. The Morse Trainer App for Android devices offers most features standard in other learning applications plus a built-in list of randomized top English words and an e-book reader.
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| Morse Trainer app for Android |
Sights and sounds
This following video demonstrates the copy methods above.
So listen more than you send and your CW copy, as well as your interpersonal skills, will improve with practice at listening.
That's all for now
So lower your power and raise your expectations
73/72
