Planet Ham (English)

This evening the VLF natural noise receiver in Todmorden, UK is buzzing with whistlers in addition to the almost continuous stream of tweeks. Whistlers are audible frequency descending tones caused by the dispersion of a lightning triggered impulse as it travels along magnetic field lines. At the moment I'm hearing about one whistler every 2 minutes.

Today a company called GreenKits announced a line of QRP rig kits that are designed to fit the nature of QRP kit building while being environmentally friendly.

Dick Rich, founder of GreenKits said "We discovered that most QRP kit builders build kits not because they want or need another QRP rig.  Far from it.  In our initial market feasibility study we found several hams that had 20 or more monoband rock-bound 40 meter QRP rigs, but were eager to build more 40 meter rigs.  The primary motivators for buying and building QRP rigs was to be part of a fad and impress other QRP rig builders.  Most hams only have one or two or even no QSOs on newly built rigs before they are tossed into a desk drawer."

Rich has designed a rig that lasts just long enough after powered up to make a few contacts and then the rig nonviolently self-destructs into a pile of harmless biodegradable ash, with a slight emission of hydrogen.  The ash can be dumped into a garden or houseplant pot and the QRPer doesn't have to worry about storing or hiding the unused rig so his wife doesn't ask why he spent money on a rig he'll never use regularly.

GreekKits has created email reflectors for support of the rigs and also to give builders a place to brag about the contacts they made, or even didn't make.  Each kit comes with a one time usable password that gives the builder ten days of access to the reflector.  Once the password expires, the builder is banished from the reflector forever.  Rich says this prevents flame wars about what serial number kits are better than others.  GreenKits has an online virtual shrine where customers can worship company founders and kit designers.  Virtual flowers can be purchased and placed at the feet of an online statue of founder Rich.  Rich says, "We didn't think of the shrine, one of our customers did.  We weren't really excited about the idea but several customers really bugged us to do it, so we did."

Rich noted that business is doing well, despite the recession.  "We've even released a transceiver called the ESP that doesn't actually transmit any RF.  It's selling like hotcakes.  Surprisingly, we have customers who have announced on the rig reflector that they have made contacts.  One guy has even achieved Worked All States with it and one ham worked Russia with the rig using a three foot loaded whip antenna in a basement apartment.  I think this speaks volumes about the quality and performance of our kits."

Updates on the Chile Earthquake are available here. Note that, there is much less focus on Emergency Communications than the reports for Haiti.  Most likely because the Chile government has been more involved in the needs assesment on the ground and defining their own requirements.

How did the titans of RadioSport in the 70s score inside the Box or achieve a world record score without our modern version of spotting networks? How did they manage without the availability of today's technology such as software controlled radios, switching boxes for single operator 2 radios, or CW Skimmer capable computers?

Perhaps, hours and hours, of skill development in front of the radio, continually improving antenna systems, melting solder on the workbench, and listening to the airwaves for nearly the same amount of time.

Spotting Networks.
Brockman and Cox (1979) stated, "All of a sudden the adrenaline is flowing. The eyes are now bright and intense. In a flash our hero has his VFO zeroed in on the prize. There, on 40 CW, is zone 23! But who? Not to be denied, our hero plunges in with his call. As he comes up for air, he hears the prize once more. JT1AN." (p 43)

Today, the art of listening before taking on the flash swarm generated by spotting networks, is in need of serious re-purposing. The proliferation of junk data is reaching epic proportions as described in various RadioSport reflectors. The utility of the networks, at least in my estimation, is in slow decline. One that, if, left on its own in its present configuration, may harm Box scores and world record attempts.

In 1978, OH2BH piloted CT3BZ in the Madeira Islands, to a new single operator all band world record held only for a year by Dick Norton, N6AA who operated 9Y4AA. Additionally, according to Brockman and Cox, for the first time ever a single band entrant broke the one million point barrier (1979). Jorge, LU8DQ accomplished the impossible.

It was a tremendous year for those seeking world or continental records.

599 Never Dies.
Are we still having this conversation? Apparently, we are, because in 1978 many operators according to the article lobbied the committee asking them to jettison the report. It was suggested that the committee would look into the matter.

RadioSport Ethics.
Computerized logging begins its slow march toward dominating RadioSport. However, in its infancy, an alphabetized cross check reference list was required. Padded logging plagued log checkers then like the unsavory method of rubber clocking in the 21st Century.

On the other hand, one entrant miscopied JA callsigns to the tune of 20 percent of the log total, according to Brockman and Cox (1979); it was unacceptable. The voice of history suggested everyone concentrate on accuracy and not as much on speed.

Conclusion.
They managed to compete and win without the aid of flash swarms generated by spotting networks. Perhaps, back in the day, data traveled slowly weaving itself through VHF/UHF links while a team of spotters carefully listened on high frequency. One's reputation was on the line while waiting for an opportunity in the pilot's seat.

I'm convinced a new spotting platform is needed for the longevity of the sport. One that will correct errant oft times malicious data which may lead to irreparable damage when chasing a world or continental score.

My take away in a sport that cherishes speed is one can be accurate and speedy however accuracy trumps speed ever time.

Lastly, will we ever retire 599?

73 from the shackadelic on the beach.

Reference: Brockman, L. N6AR, Cox, B. K3EST (October, 1979). CQ Magazine: 1978 CQ World Wide DX Contest: C.W. Results. pp. 43 - 53.

Call it envy, call it wonder, call it what you will. I was listening to the local VHF repeater on the way home and was listening to a few guys discuss their latest plans to purchase new HF gear. And these guys weren't buying to replace boat anchors. These guys are replacing state-of-the-art radios they just bought a couple of years ago.

My question is ..... how do they do that?

I must truly be poor or overly frugal or something (cheap!); but in my 30+ year Ham career, I have never changed rigs like I change my socks, shirt or underwear. My K2 is going on six years old this year. I had my Icom IC-751A for a decade before I parted with it. Before that, I had my Heath SB-104A and an Icom IC-730 for over ten years. I will admit that I had my Novice gear for only a few years before I built the SB-104A.

I guess for some, a fun part of this hobby is to horse trade equipment. I guess that's just not my style. But I sure wouldn't mind if a K3 happened to fall off a UPS truck and landed in my lap! I'd never get rid of the K2, though. I made THAT mistake by selling the SB-104A and my HW-8. If I had to do that all over again, I wouldn't. In my experience, there's something regrettable about parting with a piece of equipment that you built with your own two hands. You have a history together.

Maybe I'm just corny and overly sentimental.

I sure wish I had the financial resources to even consider doing it, though!

72 de Larry W2LJ

This contest was a lot of fun.  I ran the whole time using the new Yaesu FT-450.  I must say it performed quite well.  The receiver is much quieter than the Alinco DX-70 it replaced and the IF DSP functions really helped separate out the weak signals.  All in all, I am quite impressed with it!   I was disappointed that I couldn’t keep my hands free by using my headset.   I had made an adapter for my Heil BM-10 headset but was disappointed to have some AC hum on the audio.  That sent me back to the hand mic thus slowing my logging and QSO rate.

The propagation was definitely better than recent years.  Lots of good activity into Europe on 40, 20 and 15 meters.  I made only a few Qs on 10m and 80m.  As usual, I only operated about 1/3 of the contest but still managed a couple hundred QSOs.  Below is the QSOMap plot of my QSOs.

I had experimented with PowerSDR/IFStage software last year with the K3, but the old version didn't support a 64-bit computer, which I'm running. So I let it alone for a few months and checked the web site Sunday and there is a new version, 1.19.3.4, that supports the bigger computer, so I downloaded it. As with all software upgrades, it didn't work right at first, but that's half the fun of this stuff. I soon figured out I'd have up upgrade the LP Bridge software as well, and after I did that, it still didn't work. Then came an hour of trying different combinations, and looking carefully at all the setup fields, and suddenly, I saw the problem. I checked the right box, and it works great. The PowerSDR, combined with the LP-Pan Panadapter, gives me a nice panadapter and computer. Here's a short video of it in action.

Ok, a little off topic but you never know, there are already quite a few amateur radio apps for the iPhone. I bet there are some hams out there now already thinking about apps and the new iPad.

Nick G4IKZ has just sent me this link to G0SXC's QRZ.com page showing his massive yagi for 28MHz. It has a boom length of 78 feet and a gain of 13.1dBd. Remember that each element is about 16 feet long, so you get an idea what a monster this is. I bet his neighbours must love him! This also explains why Kevin is such a consistent signal in East Anglia some 200 miles away.

That is all.

I didn't plan to produce a schematic of the Nano-40, the tiny 40m CW transceiver I built based on Roger G3XBM's 80m XBM80-2 design as modified by Alan VK2ZAY as I don't claim any originality for the circuit. I provided the original sources and discussed the changes I made to the circuit and thought that other builders would follow the same path.

But it seems that if I don't provide a circuit diagram then I am going to keep on being asked for one. So I have patched a copy of the circuit diagram produced by Alan to show what I ended up with. I hope that will keep everyone happy.

A few weeks ago fellow blogger Dominic M1KTA wrote that he was selling off some unwanted projects from his shack, including some unbuilt or part-completed kits. A little while ago he wrote: "I have decided to stop selling off project builds now and I am keeping hold of everything until a rally when I can sell them in person as I have had a complete nightmare after selling one of the projects over the internet to someone I believed was capable of finishing it and has demanded I rebuild and re-align it after they hacked about with it themselves to the point where it no longer functions, they melted the pcb connectors and filed away part of the pcb and at least one track in the process to attempt to squeeze it into a box that was too small and demanded a paypal refund. I am never again selling a 'built' project over the internet it is too risky for me."

I have bought things before, either at rallies (hamfests) or from ads in RadCom, that were found not to work and sometimes revealed some astonishingly ham-fisted handiwork inside. The purpose of some modifications defied understanding. I either fixed them myself or wrote it off to experience.

The idea that someone could buy an unfinished kit and then try to make the seller liable for their inability to complete it just beggars belief. It seems some members of this hobby have no shame and no pride.

I told Dom he should publish the callsign of this so-called amateur as a warning to other sellers to steer clear. I know I would.

Been on 10m this morning using WSPR at 2W. During the last hour  the 5W signal of G3JKV near Dorking has been received several times at a distance of 123kms. Although there's some aircraft scatter visible on the signal, I think this is mainly tropo propagation.

This week’s tech tip is for those of us who are a little… absent-minded sometimes, like myself! How many times have you left your thumb drive plugged into the computer you were working on, walked away, and forgot about? A bunch? None? Well… I don’t care, you want this program anyways. PendriveReminder (click to download) is a little program that reminds you every once in a while to unplug your thumb drive, and you can set it to auto-run when you plug your thumb drive into the computer. Just download it, put it on your thumb drive, run it, and click the “Auto Run” button so that it starts when you plug in your thumb drive.

After a long research on antenna makers websites I’ve produced a quick reference chart to compare most popular HF multiband vertical antennas.

This table will help me on choosing my next vertical antenna.

Populatrity of antennas has been decided by visiting eham reviews, qrz.com forums, and other local ham radio communities.

Price comparison has been done by quering eruopean dealers, and asking for better quotations without considering delivery costs but including VAT where needed.

Attached to this post you will find a PDF file with the full technical comparison.

Links to official web sites:

• Cushcraft R8
• Hy-Gain AV640
• Butternut HF6V
• Gap Titan
• Eco 7+

Download my  Vertical Antenna Comparison Chart

The K3 is almost finished. All that’s left to do is install the 100-watt PA and the fans. As a QRP rig, it is complete and I’ve had two QSOs with it.

I’ll put the PA in Wednesday after work, do final alignments and it should all be done at that point. Rather than disconnecting the FT840 right away though, I plan on doing some A/B tests with the two rigs just to allow me to get a real world idea of how much better the K3 is.

My rotary encoder arrived from the Czech Republic today so building up my next ATS-3 will be the next project on the block. The plan is to build it as a non-portable rig, ie a bigger case, bigger buttons, the rotary encoder and a Volume knob.

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Later this week I hope to submit my application to OFCOM for a special research permit (NoV) to test at VLF frequencies below 9kHz. Things are moving on at a pace in Germany with several stations gearing up to carry out some serious radiated tests (i.e. not by induction or conduction) and some new DX records below 9kHz are expected to be set. There is a lot of  discussion on the LF reflector about antennas, loading coils, loops and elevated loops using grounded electrode pairs. See also my webpage on this at http://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp/Home/10khz

and good weather are an exciting combination. Please read Jim W1PID's latest QRP adventure.

The past few days have been gorgeous here in NJ, too. Highs have been in the 50s and the snow from just a week ago is now just a memory, pretty much. There are a few patches here and there, especially where it was plowed into piles in parking lots; but for the most part, it's all gone.

In fact, yesterday, I saw the first few robins of Spring on a neighbor's lawn. The iris plants on the side of the house are looking less wilty and more robust. They won't bloom until late April or early May, perhaps; but you can tell they are on their way back.

And for me that means that portable QRP season is sooner rather than later. We have QRPTTF coming up in late April and my thoughts are more and more concentrating on another wonderful season with the K1 and the Buddistick outdoors in the warm sunshine. This season, I plan to experiment with some end-fed antennas, also. The quicker the set up, the more time for operating, which is the "Main Event", so to speak.

Hooray for Winter coming to a close! I know we can still get some cold and messy weather; but we're over the hump now - we even move the clocks ahead one hour this coming weekend.

72 de Larry W2LJ

I'm back. Did you miss me? I was busy this weekend with the ARRL DX Phone contest, which was a lot of fun. I worked 50 stations in 30 countries, many of which were new ones for me. Some of...

We had quite a busy weekend, but I managed a few minutes on the air. I walked up to the allotment field on Saturday afternoon to measure for a polytunnel. The field is at the top of the ridge that runs through Longworth and I took my E-92 handheld with me and was scanning around. I heard GB3EH on 433.200 which was a repeater I'd not heard before. GB3EH turns out to be on Edge Hill near Banbury (I looked up the details on my phone, whilst I was out!). Interestingly, GB3EH didn't seem to have CTCSS access and, as I couldn't remember how to do a 1750hz tone on the E-92, I tried the time-honoured method of whistling the repeater up (I favour a glissendo whistle which, hopefully, passes through 1750hz at some point! - a trick taught me by my old friend Evan, G3CJ who sadly passed away several years ago).

Malcolm, G8NRP mentioned in an e-mail to me that he'd been at G3PIA on Saturday afternoon working some very strong German stations. I didn't get to check 144/432MHz SSB before Saturday night/Sunday morning. I had some nice contacts, though nothing terribly distant. PA6NL were the best DX for me on 432MHz, coming up to a good S9 as they turned the beam in this direction.

I received news this morning from Elaine, G4LFM at RSGB that Norman's funeral will be held on Monday, 22nd March at Croydon Crematorium at 13:30. I promised to pass the information on to anyone that might want to attend.

Years ago, a posting to QRP-L announced an upcoming kit that was gonna kick ass and take names on 20-meter CW.

Its virtues were extolled far and wide. Terms like “bullet-proof front-end” were tossed around. It was a soon-to-be-legend. It was gonna be the subject of a Ken Burns documentary (just kidding). It was going to launch a new line of QRP kits and the company producing them.

It was the Norcal 20.

It was a dud.

Nothing wrong with it being a dud, mind you – that ain’t the point here.

But what was wrong was the horn-blowing pronouncement by Doug Hendricks KI6DS, singing the praises of a rig that wasn’t. Claiming performance characteristics that weren’t.

In an exchange of emails with Doug at the time, after the flaws of the radio became readily apparent, he told me he was merely repeating the claims and expectations of the kit’s designer.

In other words, he was taking the claims of someone else and vocalizing them as if they were his own. Credibility erodes.

I’ve regarded Doug with a healthy amount of skepticism ever since and it is with an equal dose of disappointment that I learn that the Fort Tuthill 80’s subsequent versions will be offered for sale through him.

If you’re interested in an unbiased opinion of two Norcal 20’s, scroll down to the end of this review and read the conclusion. While doing so, recall (if you were around then) the numerous praises with which this kit was…..”effusively”…..announced.

Was Doug lying? I have no way of knowing. What I do know is that he made claims that, given the outcome, he had no way of knowing – yet he made them anyway.

What motivated him to take on the Town Crier role for someone else’s design? My opinion is to help launch Red Hot Radio (go ahead – click on it), the soon-to-be-defunct company selling the re-named Norcal 20.

Let’s call it “wishful thinking, projected“.

To be fair, the bar is set pretty high among QRP kit vendors. Pre-Norcal 20 kits from Norcal, Wilderness Radio, Emtech, Oak Hills Research, Elecraft, Small Wonder Labs…all have excellent reputations, and deservedly so.

They sell good quality kits and they back ‘em up.

No excuses; no excuses needed.

I hope future customers of the Fort Tuthill kits, the PRF3’s, et al, will be as well-respected by QRPKits as they are by other kit vendors. When you willingly take money in exchange for a good or service, those from whom you take it are entitled to your best integrity.

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Imagine how long 2 meters signals can be heard? 40 to 50 kms or upto 300 kms? But VU2JRT, OM Jagdish from Surat is receiving Gandhinagar repeater signal 340 to 350 days in a year which is 300 kms.

Courtesy : GIAR Hamfest souvenir 2007

Today I finally completed the little 40m CW transceiver based on Roger G3XBM's 80m XBM80-2 design as modified by Alan VK2ZAY and further modified by me to work on 40m. I tried to think of a name for it that would acknowledge both these sources of inspiration, but I couldn't come up with anything snappy, so in the end I named it the Nano-40 because it is very small and works on 40 metres.

The circuit is essentially the same as the one given by Alan VK2ZAY with a few component changes determined empirically while the rig was on the breadboard to allow for the fact that it is working on 40m instead of 80m. There is only one stage of low pass filtering instead of two, as I described in an earlier post. This seems to be quite adequate. I checked the output waveform using my new oscilloscope and it looks nicely sinusoidal. I also used an MPSA13 Darlington transistor instead of a 2N3904 in the audio stage for a bit more sensitivity and gain.

With the component values I chose the little rig gives 150mW output on a 12V supply or about 75mW using a 9V PP3-style rechargeable battery. There is no sidetone, but it has full QSK. Using my Elecraft XG1 test oscillator I found that a 1uV signal is just about audible. However, bearing in mind that you can receive all activity around 7.030MHz plus and minus the limits of your hearing, a workable signal would need to be a bit stronger to stand out from the crowd!

The circuit was built on to a small piece of Veroboard and the result is shown above. In case anyone wants to try to replicate it, the reverse side of the Veroboard showing the breaks in the copper is shown below.

The rig was built into a small translucent blue project box. The box I ordered for the project turned out to be just a bit too small for comfort. It was not quite high enough for the crystal, so I had to cut away part of the circuit board so the crystal could be mounted with its base below the board itself. The space was also a bit too tight for the connectors. Consequently final assembly took much longer than it would have done using a larger enclosure.

A fair bit of "fine tuning" with a file was needed to adjust clearances which were down to the last millimetre. With the lid on there is not enough room for the spring loaded contacts of the two 3.5mm jack sockets to fully open so the key and earpiece plugs are a tight fit. There was not enough space for a power socket to be fitted internally so after a lot of thought that was eventually resolved by super-glueing a PCB-mounted power socket to the side of the case.

Although I had tested the circuit prior to assembling it into the case there was a heart sinking moment when I applied power and heard no signals at all. Close inspection showed that I had a solder bridge across the antenna socket. This was quickly removed and then the transceiver was found to perform as well as it always did.

I have put out a number of CQs with the little rig but have yet to make a contact with it. Because I don't live in a densely populated area I don't have any nearby hams to make a sked with to prove that it really works. You don't build a rig like this to make a lot of contacts, of course, you do it to prove that it is possible to make a fully functional transceiver this simple and this small. Nevertheless I do hope to make a QSO with my little Nano-40 one day.

In the most recent SPRAT (#141 Winter 2009/2010) Tony, G0EBP, presents a simple two transistor, one audio IC, transceiver.  This caught my eye as it was using a MOSFET as the power amplifier (PA) on transmit and a mixer on receive. This use of a component in two different ways intrigued me (something that Steve [...]

This evening my 500kHz QRP WSPR signal managed to reach DL3NDR despite the antenna system being "downgraded" yesterday: the spiral top hat has gone and in its place is the 28MHz halo with 5m coax feeder. ERP is I believe some 6dB lower at around 500uW, yet it still gets this far.

This small key is part of a WWII Field Telephone Set D.MK.V. As you can see the set is in very fine condition and complete. It came up at a flea market many years ago and I dug it out of storage yesterday to have a good look at it. The original field telephone called the “Fullerphone” was developed during the First Great War by Captain A. C. Fuller.

From a document by Louis Meulstee, PA0PCR - 1915 . . . the British and German armies were densely packed in their trenches, at places only a matter of yards apart. Communication was mainly by telephone and various Morse buzzer telegraph instruments, connected by a single wire and earth return. During mid-1915 the Germans were extraordinarily well informed of Allied plans. Espionage was suspected but an interned British civilian brought back the information that induction from cables led to overhearing. Experiments carried out within the Allied lines left no doubt of the cause of the leakage.

The solution to the overhearing problem came toward the end of 1915 from Captain (later Major General) A.C. Fuller, who invented the Fullerphone, a small direct-current Morse telegraph instrument. In October, Fuller brought two prototypes to 5 Corps in Flanders. His invention was tested on a five-mile loop of cable, part of which ran in the water-filled moat of Ypres with a 10-ohm leak to earth. The prototypes worked well. They were obviously the answer to the problem of overhearing by induction which had brought the British Expeditionary Force almost to a standstill in terms of signals.

Working principle of the Fullerphone
The Fullerphone is essentially a DC Morse telegraph instrument with high sensitivity. Morse signals can he sent and received by the same instrument, no send-receive switch being used, so "break-in" working is possible. When sending, a very small direct current flows through the line and the receiving instrument. A readable signal is produced with a current of only 0.5 microampere!

To make the DC Morse signals audible, Fuller added an interrupter for changing the steady current into an intermittent current, suitable to produce a tone in a pair of headphones. The result is that dots and dashes sent by the key at the far end are received as short and long notes at the receiving end. Fuller completed the circuit by inserting capacitors and LF chokes to keep the current in the line relatively constant.

Features of the Fullerphone
Fullerphone signals cannot be overheard by induction or earth leakage and can be tapped only by the direct connection of a similar instrument to the line. The Fullerphone can be used simultaneously with a telephone or buzzer telegraph on the line. Working via leaky or very long cables is possible. However, the normal range for reliable communication under field conditions is 25 to 35 miles. Much greater ranges are possible under special conditions (e.g. open-wire lines in the desert) or by putting in a minor circuit change.

During 1939 a newly designed Mk IV model went into service. It was more sensitive than its predecessors, with a more easily adjustable buzzer/interrupter, and simpler to use as it carried no telephone set. Small modifications, such as radio-interference suppression of the buzzer and insertion of a crash limiter across the phone jacks to limit line static, were carried out on the Mk IV model.

Tobruk-1942... A row of Mk.IV Fullerphones in use at an Australian headquarters in the Western Desert

In 1943 a tropicalized version was issued. This Mk V model had a similar circuit but tropicalized components. The Mk VI Fullerphone, the last type built, was completely tropicalized and immersion-proof.

The D.MK.V was used by British, Canadian and United States forces during the war.

Cases arose where a submarine cable circuit was available but the necessary telegraph terminal equipment was found totally destroyed or was not immediately available. To ascertain to what extent Fullerphones could be used on submarine cables of various lengths, trials were carried out in 1943 by Cable & Wireless Ltd. at request of the British War Department. The results exceeded any expectation; ranges of up to 700 miles were obtained with faint but readable Morse signals at a maximum of 20 words per minute.

So there you have it – a very interesting story about an innovative piece of communications gear developed almost 100 years ago and used in two World Wars.

Links:

The Fullerphone

Additional Photos