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On Sunday I decided to move from CW to digital and see how my small antenna setup preformed using JT-65.  I first made sure the software and the rig would "talk" with each other. The software I use is WSJT-X by K1JT along with Win4K3 suite for rig control. I find K1JT's software very easy to use, it has been some time since I used it but I had no issues getting it up and running. I then went to PSK reporter to see which bands were preforming well. I ended up choosing 20m, I did bounce around to 15m, 17m and 30m but ended up staying with 20m. My power was set to 5 watts and the antenna was my trusty MFJ 1788 loop antenna. I am in a condo on the 6th floor which seems to be a good hight for the antenna. The only issue I have is other tall condo's to the left and right of me and one right dead centre. I had called CQ for about 4 hours off and on and the PSK reporter did show my signal was getting out. I was pleased with the results as with CW the Reverse Beacon network at the best of times only gave me between 3 to 10 hits that were all state side and fairly local to me as well. I was very pleased to be heard in the Netherlands and European Russia! Below is a screen shot of the results using PSK reporter.
 I also wanted to mention that on Saturday I tried to run WSPR and I say "tried" as I had ZERO spots reported and that was after having it up and running for several hours. I was not sure if something was wrong with my setup. I again was using WSJT's program and it showed no issues. My power was set to 1 watt and I ended up raising that to 4 watts but still no one heard my signal. I was pleased to see a decent response to my JT-65 effort and I then knew my signal was getting out.

My work station and my assistant...sleeping.

I find as most do that as you get older somethings get harder to remember! It's like that for me with ham radio at times bouncing from CW to the different digital modes can be a memory game.
Some of my memory games are:
1. Removing cables from a piece of equipment thinking I have a photographic memory....only when it       comes time to re-connect the picture is blank!
2. Running  digital software and an issue comes up.....I know its happened before and it's a easy fix if I could only remember the dam fix!
3. When software is not playing well together and it's a com port issue....I will be darned if I can remember what com port goes where!
4. A real good one for me is  some of my software share the same virtual comports it's always a brain teaser to figure out what software can and can't work together!
It was now time to address the above issues the Easter weekend was here and I have some extra time on my hands.

Murphy strikes

To solve the first issue was very straight forward but again I just could not seem to put aside the time. I got out my label machine and labeled the cables and also wrote out on a document what goes where. There has been some very frustrating times with my Elecraft kX3 trying the digital modes and it's not working. After checking everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) I simply plugged one of the interfacing cables into the wrong jack on the KX3.

Starting the labeling

To deal with the 2nd issue I now have a document going over the settings and  common problems I have had and the fix for them. One issue I have had in the past was with Fldigi, I start the program up and hit transmit to check my ALC level. Instead of getting a solid 4 bars the ALC is pulsing from 2 bars to 5 bars. The simple fix (when I remembered) is for some reason my transmit is on the edge of the digi mode band. This causes the funky ALC reading. The fix is to  just move your transmit to more centre on the band and your good to go.
Ah yes the 3rd issue....the comport circus! I have found that software does have a mind of it's own and I have had on occasion comports get changed around. So now I have a master list of what comport is for what software.
Finally number 4.......for rig control software I use Win4k3suite and you have available up to 4 virtual  comports. Thats fine if you only have 4 programs you would like to use along side Win4k3suite. As for me I have a few more than just 4 programs mind you Im not using them all at the same time but you have to be aware to not run 2 programs that share the same virtual comports.....or.....things will just not work. To help me out I made a list of what programs and their virtual comports.

would not start it just got hung up and I had to do a force shutdown. I tried a few things but just could not get the program to run. I then installed it on my wife’s Macbook pro laptop and it operated withouta hitch! The only thing I can figure is my Macbook is a bit older and may not be up to the task. I was on the internet to see if I could see what the issue might be but could not find anything. I am going to email the company and see what their input is. On the weekend I was not interested in troubleshooting or emailing for an answer I just wanted to get the program up and running. With the program installed on both PC’s and it was time to make the link. It is very straight forward to do, you open the program on each PC. You are given a 9 digit ID number on each PC and since I want to use my laptop to control my main PC on my laptop I enter the 9 digit ID number from my main PC and press “connect to partner”. I then enter a password (setup during program install) and in no time I have full control of

My remote PC operation

my main PC from my laptop. Note: if you want to have control of your laptop from your main PC justenter on your main PC the 9 digit ID number shown on your laptop and press “connect to partner” along with the password. After using this program several times I can honestly say it works flawlessly and very smooth. I was able to open Win4k3suite and WSJT-X and make contacts with JT-65 from my laptop. There was absolutely no latency issues, lockup or programs refusing to operate or open. One great piece of news is if you use Teamviewer for personal use the program is FREE!! If any of my readers has ever wanted to toy with remote desktop operation or you are using a program that has issue give Teamviewer a go!

Rear view before the mod's

Soldered jumpers

In an order to simplify my digi setup with the Elecraft KX3 I wanted to take advantage of my Singnalink USB unit. I currently use it along side of my Elecraft k3 for digi mode operations and I have thus become accustom to how it works. So it only made sense to also use it with the KX3 setup. One major issue I had to see if I could overcome was modifying the Singalink USB device to work with 2 radios? The issue was that the Signalink USB has to be internally wired (by the user)to work with a specific rig and I wanted it to work with 2 rigs! Before even going forward with this adventure I had to open up the Signalink unit and do some long overdue maintenance. The Signalink was purchased used and for some reason the previous owner soldered the jumper wires that configure the unit to work with a specific rig. These jumpers are designed to be plug and play, this way you can reconfigure the unit to other radios if you change your rig over time. The 16 pin IC DIP socket was melted and of no use for what I had planned for it. I set the socket up for my Elecraft k3 and these wires I had to solder in as the socket would not allow the “plug and play” feature due to the previous owner. These wires had to be cut out and then the fun job of removing the 16 pin socket! I have built many kits in the past including 2 Elecraft k2’s. As all kit builders can attest to no matter how careful you are mistakes happen. When the mistake happens of soldering a part in the wrong place……the removal of said part can either go well or very bad! I have had it go both ways and as a kit builder one investment that has saved me many a time is the Hakko 808 de-soldering pump. I used it to remove this 16 pin socket and when finished it looked like nothing had ever been installed on the board. I have tried spring loaded de-soldering pumps and the solder wicks but the Hakko solder pump make all jobs painless. Now with the new 16 pin socket soldered in it’s time to look into making the Signalink work with 2 radio…………coming up in my next post “ how I made this happen and it’s working very well”

After the Hakko 808 is done

Win7 working smoothly on my Mac bookpro

I have been operating JT-65 lately and as most of you know who use this mode it offers a nice time management bonus……between exchanges of info you can multi task. I have taken advantage of this with blog writing, surfing the net and updating LOTW as well as EQSL. I wanted to take it a step further by utilizing my KX3 and the living room! I wanted to bring JT-65 and possibly PSK-31 to the recliner in the other room. First off I tried to use a netbook that I had gathering dust but it was just way to slow, it’s very good for email and such but not multitasking of rig software. I then decided to move my Mac laptop into the world of ham radio…but….with a small hitch. I had a copy of Parallel Desktop 8 I was using some years ago, it allows you to load windows on your Mac PC and you can switch between Mac and Windows you then have the best of both worlds. When your PC starts it starts in Mac format with a desktop icon that allows you to enter the Windows world! I loaded the program without issue and then loaded on my Win7 Pro and now I have a Mac book-pro that can run both OS’s. The main reason for doing this is to utilize my many Windows based ham programs. I have tried the free software on the internet for dual OS’s but have found they just don’t do the job. Here is what has happened up to this point I “attempted” to load Win4k3suite but I was informed that my window 7 did not have Net Frameworks 4 installed. Finding and installing this simple program was a frustrating experience. The Microsoft links just did not seem to work, I was told the “site was no longer available. Other sites (and I have experienced this many times in the past) gave you the impression you were downloading Net frameworks 4 but it turned out it was some other commercial program. When I finally and I mean FINALLY found the program it just plain refused to load! A Google search informed me this is not unusual and Microsoft has a fix that I downloaded and all worked fine then. At this point I just have Win4k3suite loaded and ready for install. This will get my rig control up and going and then it’s time to install WSJT-X software, A PSK software and then finally Meinberg NTP time server software.

Reading blogs and operating JT65-HF

I flipped the switch on the radio this afternoon to 20m CW and it was dead! There were some very faint stations basically at the noise level and to hear them I had to engage the Audio Peak Filter. Thinking it was DX calling CQ I was very surprised to hear both calls were from the States! That kinda gave me an idea of the band conditions for CW and I then moved onto JT65 HF on 20m and it was nice to hear many op's. Most of the calls on the waterfall were from the U.S and that's just fine considering the propagation, I did see one station from Spain being decoded. I did make contact with KB0PPQ in Kansas City and while waiting to make another contact I was reading PE4BAS Bas's blog.  Have radio and multi tasking!