tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79206636124649719732024-03-05T10:36:22.181+00:00G4BVY's BlogG4BVYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05165698545927412574noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920663612464971973.post-35512090294881003672014-11-03T09:23:00.000+00:002014-11-03T09:23:08.351+00:0050MHz AFS<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkProVMg-2hLkE5DiRKHYgts-ygxZt2_Au08fXA8RyezP7XS5TqSWkE9GnE6PKQA3_CtpuxwoVJ2t9ZBISyEipo1-Y8tKaxNUNy7P6DdOp_NDTQ6XQOLAO5fW451pcB0GldRfRfxLZnc8Y/s1600/IMG_0097_resize.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a>Following arm-twisting from the Bristol CG to make sure that we had a good selection of stations on the air, Dave (G4FRE) and I spent time undertaking site surveys to find a reasonable /P site. <br />
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My normal Welsh site was rejected as it is very close to one of our other team members and there is absolutely no point in mutually wiping each other off the air.<br />
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Eventually we revisited the site above Dorstone that we used to use about 25 to 30 years ago. And the farmer remembered towing my Ford Fiesta out of the field in the mid 80s !<br />
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It was exceptionally windy and keeping the antenna pointing in the required direction was hard work. Note the rope to the reflector end of the boom! Conditions were not good but 94 QSOs were made and we eventually managed a GM about 10 minutes before the end.<br />
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And then. 10 minutes before the end it started to rain. But at least this caused the rainbow above.<br />
G4BVYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05165698545927412574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920663612464971973.post-21139215386738370622014-11-03T09:13:00.001+00:002014-11-03T09:13:05.456+00:00RSGB ConventionA new venue and what an improvement. There was a good selection of talks across a number of themed streams. We had a breakaway VHF meal for 16 at the Shoulder of Mutton - continuing the event from the Horewood House days.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivpbpwHXpDNx92uvkjPUR9hOQGvRsSoPBylxq76iTPfheAWS6REbrY-LCYZNZ8Y08TEA-4A1AIhym7HGtYhrtjHPEt0SIiSfSRHusLY5lA6b1zAsZ8PRQAZO_pN5gPNyNIfBP1lLixjUjO/s1600/2014+6m+cup_resize.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivpbpwHXpDNx92uvkjPUR9hOQGvRsSoPBylxq76iTPfheAWS6REbrY-LCYZNZ8Y08TEA-4A1AIhym7HGtYhrtjHPEt0SIiSfSRHusLY5lA6b1zAsZ8PRQAZO_pN5gPNyNIfBP1lLixjUjO/s1600/2014+6m+cup_resize.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a></div>
One reason for attending was to be presented with the SMC 6m Cup for winning the Single Operator section of the 2014 50MHz Trophy. It came as a surprise when looking at the previous winners engraved on the trophy to be reminded that I had previously won the cup six years in succession from 1994 to 1999 !!G4BVYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05165698545927412574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920663612464971973.post-61363550606945425852014-11-03T09:06:00.002+00:002014-11-03T09:06:25.716+00:00Dunsfold Wings and Wheels<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSew7M5hhAznZ2YeZZG8Dpvs_e-obYPE3ewOwjGXgH_Hej_sVtREfdgA0zPaxZUhci1lCKgxLrb9cMtnpjfgVQvW1xhqUo0eCSeSFlD6O5DOAjevTpJ8pBvrgkYRoU6uuNm1eJIQdYO-Y2/s1600/Img_9455_resize.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSew7M5hhAznZ2YeZZG8Dpvs_e-obYPE3ewOwjGXgH_Hej_sVtREfdgA0zPaxZUhci1lCKgxLrb9cMtnpjfgVQvW1xhqUo0eCSeSFlD6O5DOAjevTpJ8pBvrgkYRoU6uuNm1eJIQdYO-Y2/s1600/Img_9455_resize.jpg" height="213" width="320" /></a>WOW - this is a sight that none of us will ever see again. What an amazing sight with the UK and Canadian Lancaters flying in tight formation. What a sound as well - eight Merlin engines. Even the commentators were overcome and lapsed into silence - now when did that last happen?!<br />
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Continuing the theme of nostalgia of UK air power - an old, very noisy, friend appeared and performed an impressive flying routine.<br />
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The quality of the flying display participants was such that the gates were locked at 11am with a nine mile queue of aspiring attendees still outside.<br />
<br />G4BVYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05165698545927412574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920663612464971973.post-66732912655731447482014-06-24T14:35:00.002+01:002014-06-24T15:24:08.560+01:0050MHz Trophy 2014This event used to be one of my favorites and I had a string of successes in the 1990s. The last time I put on a "proper" station was 2007 (see www.g4bvy.com/contests). And then I did the 6 hour section in 2010. So it was time to "do it properly" again. My only concession was to go with a main array of 2 * 5 element NBS yagis and a single 5 element Tonna. (The full system had a pair of Tonnas for the second array but takes even longer to build !!).<br />
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So forget all of the pre-event testing and vehicle packing, this is still a mammoth undertaking. Leaving home at 08:30 on Saturday morning, it takes 90 minutes to get there and five hours to build the station. (Then there is a contest - see below). Then it takes two and three quarter hours to disassemble and pack it up, a thank you call to see the farmer followed by the drive home to arrive at 19:00 on the Sunday. Thankfully the weather was dry all weekend and the was more cloud cover than forecast which kept me a bit cooler.<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNYuuzDkLuboZ7WeBcmqAPx3EXedPI0Py1ABFUJsYM-U3Zolqxp07262Xts9qNsZ27zcmbCYSVulaz7yhmRBlMXK6cnA-78mU9ZGo6GYzD5ZLAHcRsoJBsBr_4-QA92M71th2UXKUgR9xa/s1600/IMG_9082_resize.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNYuuzDkLuboZ7WeBcmqAPx3EXedPI0Py1ABFUJsYM-U3Zolqxp07262Xts9qNsZ27zcmbCYSVulaz7yhmRBlMXK6cnA-78mU9ZGo6GYzD5ZLAHcRsoJBsBr_4-QA92M71th2UXKUgR9xa/s1600/IMG_9082_resize.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNYuuzDkLuboZ7WeBcmqAPx3EXedPI0Py1ABFUJsYM-U3Zolqxp07262Xts9qNsZ27zcmbCYSVulaz7yhmRBlMXK6cnA-78mU9ZGo6GYzD5ZLAHcRsoJBsBr_4-QA92M71th2UXKUgR9xa/s1600/IMG_9082_resize.JPG" height="265" width="400" /></a><br />
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OK - enough of the logistics - how about the contest ?! Well here is the main antenna system on its 36 foot mast under construction. Remember that this is single operator so that is me holding the antenna up while taking the photograph ?!<br />
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And this is the full system with the second antenna array. This is looking North East and you can just spot the Malverns on the horizon to the right of the main mast. The first test is to usually see if you can receive on both systems and that the pair gives a stronger signal. Panic (?!) - I was hearing completely different signals on the two antenna systems. Yes - they were pointing in the same direction - not !! One was east and the other one was west !!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxuZDoVRvQbXgxsWIuwNk91QnqcGu1pHX8y5JOPAk1AZCmRCsvbWWK9PHpfZ8rE3qu3AL6h1veXhLnnBZxawBAb6vHwwRWty2KgoE64DYl9WATb55-dkrbu_O9emYIG9WVaJutLqKOAkVk/s1600/IMG_9100_resize.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxuZDoVRvQbXgxsWIuwNk91QnqcGu1pHX8y5JOPAk1AZCmRCsvbWWK9PHpfZ8rE3qu3AL6h1veXhLnnBZxawBAb6vHwwRWty2KgoE64DYl9WATb55-dkrbu_O9emYIG9WVaJutLqKOAkVk/s1600/IMG_9100_resize.JPG" height="266" width="400" /></a> And then there is the station. Note the extremely comfortable operating position complete with extra padding!<br />
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The event got off to a swift start with 60 tropo contacts in the first hour. Then at 15:24 the Propagation God switched the sporadic E on. No weak stuff first like there usually is, but bang - there you are! The Es lasted for about two and a half hours and there were two, or maybe even three, reflecting centres. The main one gave activity mainly into Italy, Croatia, Serbia and surrounding countries. The second one was into Spain. So with the two systems it was two different pileups - one in each ear ... decisions decisions!! There was also a more minor event at the same time into Sweden. And that was the end of the main excitement. There was a tropo enhancement into PA and ON and one ON called me to say that I had been a very steady S7 for hours on end. At dusk on Saturday evening there was a very visible inversion.<br />
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So in all I operated for about fourteen and a quarter hours. It would have been 15 but the K3 developed an interesting fault where it would not receive or transmit !! I worked a total of 487 stations in 122 squares and 33 countries. The only one missing on the map is the best DX which was the Canaries at 2865 kms. <br />
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<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">9A</span></div>
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<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">13</span></div>
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<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">EI</span></div>
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<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">3</span></div>
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<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">LA</span></div>
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<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">3</span></div>
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<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">SP</span></div>
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<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">4</span></div>
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<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">CN</span></div>
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<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">1</span></div>
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<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">F</span></div>
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<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">25</span></div>
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<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">LZ</span></div>
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<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">SV</span></div>
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<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">1</span></div>
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<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">CT</span></div>
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<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">2</span></div>
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<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">G</span></div>
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<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">267</span></div>
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<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">OE</span></div>
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<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">4</span></div>
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<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">TK</span></div>
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<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">1</span></div>
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<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">DL</span></div>
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<td nowrap="" style="border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">3</span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">GI</span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">1</span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">OH</span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">1</span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">UR</span><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;"></span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">4</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 4;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-left: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">E7</span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">1</span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">GM</span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">3</span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">OK</span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">1</span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">YO</span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">8</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 5;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-left: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">EA</span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">24</span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">GU</span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">4</span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">ON</span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">15</span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">YU</span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">12</span></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 6;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-left: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">EA6</span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">1</span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">GW</span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">9</span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">PA</span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">9</span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</td>
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<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 7;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-left: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">EA8</span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">1</span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">HA</span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">8</span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">S5</span></div>
</td>
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<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">4</span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="height: 12.75pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</td>
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<br /></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr style="height: 12.75pt; mso-yfti-irow: 8; mso-yfti-lastrow: yes;">
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-right: none; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">EA9</span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">2</span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">I</span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">41</span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">SM</span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10.0pt;">8</span></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border: none; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</td>
<td nowrap="" style="border-bottom: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-left: none; border-right: solid windowtext 1.0pt; border-top: none; height: 12.75pt; padding: 0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; width: 48.0pt;" valign="bottom" width="64"><div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
</td>
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<br />G4BVYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05165698545927412574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920663612464971973.post-5254081421157401612014-06-24T13:42:00.004+01:002014-06-24T13:42:54.457+01:00Apathy has ruledWell the blog seems to have taken a back seat in recent times.<br />
<br />
So you haven't heard about:<br />
1. The March 144/432MHz when I took my 70cms system to G4TSW to investigate the 144MHz QRM into the 70cms system that plagued VHFNFD in 2013. Well - we confirmed that we have a big issue and didn't find a solution! Though the preamps work fine in the shack if you can put up with the added cable loss?! And then we had a weather event during the takedown and I haven't been as wet for a long time.<br />
<br />
2. The First 50MHz contest. G4FRE returned from Dallas for a family wedding and managed to arrange dragging me out on this one during his short stay in the UK. A pleasnt event with good weather from Ankerdione Hill.<br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
3. The CQ WPX CW contest at the end of May. <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> <span>I was sort of arm twisted into this
one by a friend (G4FJK) who I narrowly beat in the CQ-WW-CW contest in November last
year. </span><span>We decided that we would both do a
single band entry on 10 metres using assistance - i.e. the cluster, reverse
beacon network etc. I would be using 100 watts to my end fed half wave vertical
with the base at about 30 feet. Tim would be using 100 watts to a 4 element
beam - but he claims not to be a CW operator !!</span>
</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>After the euphoria of the 10 metre
conditions over the winter, this was a reality check. Signals around
Europe varied from massive to very weak. Africa, Asia and
Oceania were virtually non-existent. For the first time ever in an
HF contest I did not work a single station in either W or VE. Interestingly the
VOACAP online propagation predictor got that just right. There were a lot of
South American stations on. Most of them were very weak. Had I not been used
to listening to white noise on VHF and UHF, this would have been an interesting
challenge. Whether this was F layer or multi-hop Sporadic Es I'm not sure as
there were openings on 6m at the same time and that is definitely multi-hop Es.
</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>Given the band was not packed, I
found the combination of the pan adapter and the RBN spots in the N1MM band map
to be a very effective way of identifying new people to work.
</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>It is quite surprising now looking
at the log to discover that I only actually operated for a total of eight and a
half hours - it seemed much more than that. Though I did manage to watch both
the Monaco qualifying and race as well as both the
Championship and League One play off finals!.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>Most of the operating was search and
pounce as I really struggled to get a run going when calling CQ. An amplifier
or an antenna with gain would have been a massive boost under these conditions.
So, I managed 211 QSOs into 52 countries. Of these 171 were Europe, 24 were
South America, 9 Asia, 6 Africa, 2 North America (actually the Caribbean), and
one into Oceania. </span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>Given that prefixes are multipliers,
a lot of really obscure callsigns appear on the band. I think the best I worked
was 4X266POPE !!!! Why 266 ?</span></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></span><div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span>As you will have guessed by now, I
was soundly thrashed by Tim who worked 299 QSOs - I really think that the beam
helped under these conditions. Still my overall 2014 score has increased to 138
countries and amazingly I've worked 108 on 10m so far this year.
</span></span></span></div>
G4BVYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05165698545927412574noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920663612464971973.post-67208965783102204832014-01-28T21:12:00.000+00:002014-01-28T21:12:35.936+00:0080m Affiliated Society Contests - the good and the badThis year to a bout of apathy I stayed at home for the two legs of the 80m AFS. So it was the K3 barefoot to a 66 foot long doublet. The doublet had to be replaced the day before the CW leg as the guy who took the top out of the silver birch also managed to break the antenna! Using the Spiderpole it is really easy to accurately place a rope over the wanted fork in the tree.<br />
<br />
The good:<br />
The CW leg was good fun. With this system there is little point calling CQ early on. So in search and pounce, the first hour netted 54 Qs and the second hour 59. From then on it was a mixture of CQ and S&P. I finished the event with 188 QSOs which is only 40 less than 2013 with a full size higher antenna in the Swan back garden. With the K3 filters it was always possible to find a "clear" frequency.<br />
<br />
The bad:<br />
Before the SSB leg people were staking their frequency claims from mid-morning onwards. With only 125kHz to play with it is always going to be challenging. I started late due to the poor system and two sweeps of the band took an hour and netted 54 QSOs. From that point onwards it was downhill and a case of waiting for new stations to find a CQ frequency. The best quote I saw was "<span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">it felt like a rave in a shipping container with people
banging the sides with sledgehammers" !! </span></span>The end was a disappointing 90 QSOs and a remembering of just why I usually avoid this one.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />G4BVYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05165698545927412574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920663612464971973.post-70463608938816086082013-12-18T16:29:00.002+00:002013-12-18T16:29:37.456+00:00ARRL 28MHz Contest<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">With
the sunspot cycle still humming and 10m lively during the week, it was
time to plan on being active during the ARRL 28MHz contest. I actually
planned in advance
for this one and had the vertical up and tested prior to it going dark
on
Friday. I even played with the tapping point on the torroid to improve
the
match. I’m getting more practiced at getting the Spiderpole mast up in
the
garden and the top of the pole was at 50 feet this time and it was
visible over a far greater area!! Excellent – time for a
beer or two.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Propagation
predictions indicated that the band would open at about 0700 and die at
about 1800. So on Saturday morning I was on the band at
0715 and had my first QSO. When I called the second station the
computer
crashed – and I mean died – no blue screen of death – just dead !! To
cut a
long story short I was getting an intermittent high SWR on the vertical
and I
assume the resultant RF in the shack was bombing the PC. So the
vertical had to
come down. It turned out to be a whisker of coax braid flapping around
in the
breeze so it was easy to fix, but it probably cost me a few
hours.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Conditions
were quite
different to the CQWW a few weeks ago, or maybe it was that there are
far less
expeditions for this event. Saturday was spent searching and pouncing
on CW, mainly Europeans in the morning as I'd missed any chance of the
DX to the east sorting tha antenna out, and then the band opened up well
to the States in the early afternoon. As predicted the band died just
after 1800.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">On
Sunday I was up at 0700 again and managed to work a few stations to the
east
– VK, JA, BV. But I always seem to miss out to the east and I failed to
work
9V, JT, NH2 and VR. I tried a few CQs during the morning but never
seemed to
get a run going. There was one exception when I held a frequency for
about 40
minutes and worked 50 stations. Then a loud Russian with an appalling
signal
CQ’d in my face so that was the end of that. Then conditions went
strange for a
while with multiple echoes on both Far East signals as well as some
of the nearer European ones which made CW copy very difficult. At 1pm I
seemed
to have worked most of the stations on CW so I had a play on SSB for 90
minutes. (This was mainly due to the antique ARRL rule that says
assisted single operators go into the multiple operator mixed mode
category - so you may as well pick up a few multipliers!)
I think that I have now remembered why I hate HF SSB contests! Later
the path
opened up well to the US and it was easy picking them off.
Then, at around 1700 (an hour early?!), just when I was homing in on my
self imposed QSO target,
the band fell off a cliff and died.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">So the
numbers:</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">(Remember this is 100
watts into a vertical – no beams – no linears !!!!)</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">CW 435
QSOs</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">SSB 62
QSOs</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">So I just missed the
500 total target.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">Countries 69</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">US States 46 (inc DC) –
with Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, North Dakota and
Utah being the elusive ones. In total I worked 255 VE’s
and W’s.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">A total operating time
of just over 13 hours for an average of 38 Qs/hour.</span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: navy; font-family: Arial; font-size: 10pt;">A very enjoyable event and probably the last one of these for a number of years. </span></span></div>
G4BVYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05165698545927412574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920663612464971973.post-14909127310063494132013-11-27T12:10:00.000+00:002013-11-27T12:43:25.709+00:00Logger32 gets a rig control panelMaybe I missed it before, but I think that this is a recent facility.<br />
<br />
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. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNyyp1Qn16yEntiJBvQ_31ITnH3bohU-gpVX1aBT-L-sIUad_G7UxL4yfwMR3vqQG5MQ-3InIF2Pih4CUd_BpKx68J4FO0Kvcmjr7IU_ehSV0QDjAd08k1H5wzQtvVFlAngKNDnR5GQYNC/s1600/CQWW+CW+2013-1-resize.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNyyp1Qn16yEntiJBvQ_31ITnH3bohU-gpVX1aBT-L-sIUad_G7UxL4yfwMR3vqQG5MQ-3InIF2Pih4CUd_BpKx68J4FO0Kvcmjr7IU_ehSV0QDjAd08k1H5wzQtvVFlAngKNDnR5GQYNC/s640/CQWW+CW+2013-1-resize.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfrjW6auhABEIISW6M0J5LBiPS0rHlnR-WIuwD6IwFZ_OkllDWPa8G2vrHQkXJgYQn5nm4NZd1LF7UMh0BSi3GTc6Y-gGsPV3jMx1afzstIZCxIdpI2O88uOS0RPtggT7k0LOm7bddi479/s1600/Logger32-radio+control+panel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="106" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfrjW6auhABEIISW6M0J5LBiPS0rHlnR-WIuwD6IwFZ_OkllDWPa8G2vrHQkXJgYQn5nm4NZd1LF7UMh0BSi3GTc6Y-gGsPV3jMx1afzstIZCxIdpI2O88uOS0RPtggT7k0LOm7bddi479/s400/Logger32-radio+control+panel.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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:<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">$command MD2;BW0270;$</span> - to get USB with 2700Hz bandwidth<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">$command SWT19;$</span> - to "tap" the ATU tune button<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;">$commandSWT13;SWT13;FT1;UPB7;RT0;XT0;$</span> - 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. <br />
<br />
<br />G4BVYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05165698545927412574noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920663612464971973.post-84230071723784930802013-11-27T11:50:00.003+00:002013-12-02T13:26:44.837+00:00CQWW 2013 - CWWow !!!! 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.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3z1opqGrzcqYp03SygWC7jVq0Ye1YNE-YwuFh6NH-4LwSNgKY46PSApZSUuk0UMFxZFAK33rkYoWoBXwGHtqEhxc0g0j-Ew2Ex0dQw3ZcSTuipTOKUZedituaz2Nw91CxF8hsU2JKqZjq/s1600/IMG_8131-resize.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3z1opqGrzcqYp03SygWC7jVq0Ye1YNE-YwuFh6NH-4LwSNgKY46PSApZSUuk0UMFxZFAK33rkYoWoBXwGHtqEhxc0g0j-Ew2Ex0dQw3ZcSTuipTOKUZedituaz2Nw91CxF8hsU2JKqZjq/s320/IMG_8131-resize.jpg" width="213" /></a>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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />
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.<br />
<br />G4BVYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05165698545927412574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920663612464971973.post-35276865142218465182013-10-29T08:39:00.001+00:002013-10-29T08:39:42.808+00:00Portable in the back garden (again!) - CQWW SSBAs conditions had been humming on 28MHz throughout the week, I decided to concentrate on that band. While the usual doublet antenna sort of works, could I do better within the constraints of time available and space?<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXFRRoxG5bR5srvMm32EgkbysXXMquJmw7LYbSwTSTdOBzdwUobTrJIQEA5kxD2jhWJPNoNBA_N1Yt_6NAoMeAzWDwAB2ryvj1yFUYXk4bC9h4F_jDlumYhaSdaxwywBfW42HoRWF7ErGe/s1600/IMG_8018-resize.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXFRRoxG5bR5srvMm32EgkbysXXMquJmw7LYbSwTSTdOBzdwUobTrJIQEA5kxD2jhWJPNoNBA_N1Yt_6NAoMeAzWDwAB2ryvj1yFUYXk4bC9h4F_jDlumYhaSdaxwywBfW42HoRWF7ErGe/s320/IMG_8018-resize.jpg" width="219" /></a></div>
I had experimented with half wave end fed verticals during one of the Pacific DXpeditions a couple of years ago with very mediocre results. I now believe that was due to the cheap "fibreglass" mast being either lossy or conductive. <br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2KbxS03jr84kd9qTzD-Rg-XT2IWTo9RfFsPpjTA427PxsyaXjsBqoS8CNWQC-WtVTmo7H3TgcOyWWPjQY7gQgJu2z5kFiAOTBdHc0hZe1B9DElN6y5xUhvbHiR7r5G4YKE3pC2WT2VRq0/s1600/IMG_8019-resize.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2KbxS03jr84kd9qTzD-Rg-XT2IWTo9RfFsPpjTA427PxsyaXjsBqoS8CNWQC-WtVTmo7H3TgcOyWWPjQY7gQgJu2z5kFiAOTBdHc0hZe1B9DElN6y5xUhvbHiR7r5G4YKE3pC2WT2VRq0/s320/IMG_8019-resize.jpg" width="213" /></a>So this time the 20m Spiderpole (not at full extension!) was used. The bottom of the antenna is in the plastic bag above the tree line in the top picture at about 20 feet.. The matching circuit was thrown together at the last minute and was based on the parallel tuned circuit used for the last attempt on 18MHz. The torroid now classes as "unknown type!" and had 16 turns on it with a two link winding - the 8:1 ratio mentioned in many articles. For the available variable capacitor this was way too much inductance so the winding was reduced to 10 turns. This allows tuning from below 14MHz to above 30MHz which makes for a good general purpose tool for future experiments. Links windings didn't work well to provide a good match so using the network analyser I tried a number of tapping points to get a good match. This was somewhere between 1.5 and 2 turns.<br />
<br />
Does it work? - WOW !!!! On longer paths it was 2 to 3 S points better than the doublet. On nearer European signals it was better on most signals.<br />
<br />
Due to lack of time, and a failure to get up early enough on Sunday for the Far East, I was only active for about five and a half hours. All operation was search and pounce - there is no point me calling CQ in an HF SSB event with 100 watts and a wire antenna!! The band was full from 28.2 to 29.2 MHz. I worked 201 stations in 45 countries. North and South America produced excellent signals, though for some reason the Caribbean signals were rather weak. Even a number of W7's were worked which is normally a black spot for me.<br />
<br />
Bring on CQWW CW and the ARRL 28MHz !!<br />
<br />G4BVYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05165698545927412574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920663612464971973.post-46963698920973375332013-10-16T08:47:00.001+01:002013-10-29T14:57:50.769+00:00RSGB ConventionI spent two days at the RSGB Convention this year. Most of the time was spent manning the RSGB Contest Committee stand with a steady stream of visitors. Due to the RSGB "policy" of issuing multiple conflicting programmes, I unfortunately missed the talk on surface mount construction. However, I did just manage to get into a very packed room for Sam's talk on his new 70MHz transverter - very impressive.<br />
<br />
However, the main reason for attending was to collect the Surrey Trophy for winning the Open section of VHFNFD with the highest ever overall score. Rather than attending the formal dinners, the Pembrokeshire Contest Group and the Tiverton (SW) Club organised their own dinner at the Shoulder of Mutton - just up the road from Horwood House.<br />
<br />
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<br />
The Surrey Trophy winning team of: Martin, GW3XJQ; Nigel GW0IRW; Peter GW4VRO; Tim G4FJK; Irene; Dale G3XBY, me; Stewart GW0ETF; Steve GW0GEI. Unfortunately Gordon GW6TEO could not attend.G4BVYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05165698545927412574noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920663612464971973.post-64317403056168572242013-07-21T22:29:00.002+01:002013-07-21T22:29:54.003+01:00"Portable" in the back gardenI never got my act together for the 4m Trophy contest and I haven't got an antenna at home. So ....... time to erect a temporary antenna.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4uNMwnFXDCMkDk83mheQgkJlLx7NICsspCLW3tjU-UX1oSI1ZsPu7Pc8ZdLfy6JqR-44XXSogvSuqsvP9vMq_Ee7mATKaBAJp5QBv8SgdktkcX3ZWHCii5YRN7dPDag3vNdFwznlto3Hf/s1600/IMG_7419_resize.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4uNMwnFXDCMkDk83mheQgkJlLx7NICsspCLW3tjU-UX1oSI1ZsPu7Pc8ZdLfy6JqR-44XXSogvSuqsvP9vMq_Ee7mATKaBAJp5QBv8SgdktkcX3ZWHCii5YRN7dPDag3vNdFwznlto3Hf/s320/IMG_7419_resize.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
This is the G0KSC 6m/4m 4+4 element design carefully modelled and tweaked to work with 9.5mm tube elements rather than the original 12.5mm elements. Seen here on a 20 foot scaffold pole surrounded by houses and trees. GB3ANG was audible throughout the weekend.<br />
<br />
The contest started with a band with Sporadic-E into eastern Europe. In the first hour 8 QSOs were made into HA, OK, S5 and 9A. Tropo conditions were average and certainly favoured those in the North. Forty one contacts were made in the first 4 hours and then the antenna was removed to make way for the BBQ !!<br />
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G4BVYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05165698545927412574noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920663612464971973.post-3985539549193002502013-07-10T08:11:00.003+01:002013-07-10T08:37:46.120+01:00VHFNFD - WOW !!To celebtrate the RSGB Centenary the Weather and Radio Gods got together to produce a spectacular VHFNFD. Clear blue skies and the best conditions I've heard on 70cms for many a year. I provided the 432MHz station for the Pembrokeshire Contest Group in IO71OP. Again this was a single operator experience involving all setup, operating and tear down. The two new HA8ET preamps worked flawlessly and, given the strengths of some of the DX, definitely improved the performance of the system. <br />
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Conditions were excellent into SW France and Spain throughout the event and into PA/ON/DL/OZ/LA during the Saturday evening. In all 199 QSOs were made into 54 squares with an average distance of 501kms. The best contact was into JO62 at 1207kms and there were 31 contacts >900kms.<br />
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It could have been much better but interference from the 144MHz station lost the majority of the first four hours of the event. Then to cap it all, I got 200 yards out of the field and suffered a front tyre blow out. Where is the jack - that would be under all the kit you have just packed into the Land Rover!<br />
<br />G4BVYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05165698545927412574noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920663612464971973.post-74394150784338961022013-07-04T20:31:00.000+01:002013-07-04T20:31:07.259+01:00Homebrew PCB - do theory and practise agree? Two years ago I was arm twisted to provide the 432MHz ststion on VHFNFD for the new Pembrokeshire Contest Group.
I could write a book on the trials and tribulations of resurrecting a system that hadn't been powered up for probably ten years plus. One challenge was to turn it into a twin system transmitting into two antenna arrays. This required an unequal power split as the two PAs needed different power levels. After some frantic last mninute experimentation, a coupled line power splitter was made by hacksawing some copper board to make the two lines and supergluing them to an earth plane - it worked remarkably well. The split was about -11dB. The design was created using the coupled lines model in QUCS.
Roll the clock on two years - can we do better in terms of a power splitter? A lower split of around -8dB would be nice, but would that be physically possible with very closely spaced lines? The design was done in QUCS, implemented in DesignSpark and then the board produced using my homebrew UV exposure unit. The design called for lines 12.5 thousands of an inch apart.<br />
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The interesting part was just how long it took to etch the narrow gap between the lines. I normally reckon about 90 seconds to etch a board. It took a further eight minutes to etch that fine gap. Looks good but does it work?</div>
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The impedances look good on the network analyser but sadly the coupling is about -11.5dB. I nor actually believe that coupled lines reach a limit at around this degree of coupling.</div>
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I will try the old hacksaw produced version and this rather better looking version on the VHFNFD site to compare performance. But an interesting exercise to use two software packages and the home PCB facility to produce a nice looking product. </div>
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G4BVYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05165698545927412574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920663612464971973.post-43301155798879275922013-06-16T13:25:00.004+01:002013-06-16T13:28:17.362+01:00ADSL drop outs caused by 80m - cured ?It took a while but I finally realized that the sporadic multiple ADSL drop outs coincided with the 80m club championship contests!! The "short - term" cure was to turn off the router during these events!!
It took even longer to find a cure. Various ferrites had no effect but by a process of elimination the pick up was on the telephone line input to the router. Interesting given that the telephone feeds in this area are buried. Though a colleague did a professional study on this a few years ago and reports that the attenuation to buried cables is less than 10db.
Finally I built the ADSL filter described by G3VMW at <a href="http://qso365.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/ADSL-filter.pdf">here</a><br />
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I haven't had the chance to measure it - but - it works. According to the router statistics the line attenuation has gone up by a dB and I may have lost 500kbps on my line rate, but I can now run 100 watts on 80m without any drop outs. In the past 10 watts clobbered the router.
G4BVYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05165698545927412574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920663612464971973.post-18146917235076480482013-06-14T21:24:00.002+01:002013-06-14T21:24:43.714+01:00Power Relays for 432MHz Mast head Preamp?? HA8ET for his new masthead 144MHz preamp uses miniature power relays rather than expensive coaxial relays to save on costs. He claims to be able to run 1kW without frying the preamp. Correspondence with Gyula revealed that he hadn't tried the same technique on 432MHz !!
So can it be done? The relays he used appear to be obsolete but the RT114012 is a close equivalent. Initial tests on a rats nest lash up showed an through loss through two relays of about 1.3dB and a return loss slightly worse than 10dB - not good. !! So what happens if you at least try reasonable construction techniques?<br />
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OK - thrown together and that track probaly isn't 50 ohms. But ..............<br />
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The through loss is now down to just under 0.3dB and the return loss 15dB so its "nearly" there. The isolation to the RX port is only 18dB but that is to be expected - and there will be a second relay shorting this port during TX. A "Mk1 screwdriver short" gives an isolation of just over 40dB.<br />
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Unfortunately this is now tantalizingly close and would save having to remove two CX120 relays from a power amplifier!!!<br />
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G4BVYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05165698545927412574noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7920663612464971973.post-80141728568177452552013-05-14T13:34:00.001+01:002013-05-14T13:34:07.659+01:00The blog is bornToday is May 14th 2013. I said I'd never have a blog. But here it is ........G4BVYhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05165698545927412574noreply@blogger.com0