Wednesday 27 November 2013

Logger32 gets a rig control panel

Maybe I missed it before, but I think that this is a recent facility.

 The picture below shows a screen capture during CQWW-CW.  Logger32 is on the left hand screen and N1MM and DX Atlas are on the right hand screen.  Both Logger32 and N1MM are communicating with the K3 via LP Bridge.  This allows the use of both the DX cluster on Logger32 and the Reverse Beacon Network on N1MM to find new stations and multipliers.
Previously I used K3-EZ to control functions on the K3, but that consumed valuable screen estate..  OK, you could actually use the K3's front panel (!!) - but that would be too easy.
Here is an enlargement of the new Logger32 radio control panel.  You can programme up to 36 buttons.  It is easy to programme the macros such as:
$command MD2;BW0270;$ - to get USB with 2700Hz bandwidth
$command SWT19;$ - to "tap" the ATU tune button
$commandSWT13;SWT13;FT1;UPB7;RT0;XT0;$ - to get a split "UP5".  i.e. copy VFO A to B, enable split, set VFO B 5kHz above VFO A and set the RIT and XIT to 0.  This probably needs a command to enable the SUB receiver but I haven't done that ---- yet.


CQWW 2013 - CW

Wow !!!!  28MHz is still humming.  I decided to do a 10m single band entry as the band is only open from 7am (ish) until 1800 (ish) and it doesn't trash the entire weekend.

After the SSB leg, I decided to put the end fed vertical up again.  However I got deflected on the Friday and ran out of daylight.  So the antenna wasn't up until 10am on Saturday morning and I lost about three hours there.  I managed to get the vertical somewhat higher this time and the base was above the house ridge line with the top at around 45 feet.

Well in about 12 hours of operation I worked 374 QSOs in 91 countries and 28 zones for circa 108k points.  I never did decide whether I was country hunting, trying to achieve maximum rate or maximising the score.  So I probably failed on all counts.  All operation was search and pounce so an overall rate of 32Qs per hour isn't too bad.  Only one all time new country was worked - Honduras, but my 10m country score benefited considerably and now stands at 148.  Another 21 countries were heard and called but not worked due to pile-ups and conditions.  These were CT, DU, GI, GW (!!!!), EL, EU, FJ, J8, OA, OH0, OM, OY, OZ, PJ7, TF, TI, YN, ZF, 3V, 9M2 and 9M8.  So had I had a strategy it could have been a 100 country weekend.

And it gets better!!  I got up early on Monday morning prior to taking the antenna down and managed to bag the XZ1J expedition for another all time new country.