Sunday 25 November 2012

136kHz QRSS DX then a Disaster!

11-12 November: Conditions were good and DK7FC was received well by JA7NI at Japanese sunrise (see picture below). Unfortunately, my own QRSS120 transmission was not visible.

I then ran QRSS120 (extremely slow Morse with a dot length of 120 seconds) overnight on 136.17175kHz. VE1VDM received my signals, but not very strongly (see the lower trace on the picture of his grabber below).

Reception at TF3HZ was excellent for several hours as can be seen by the traces below.


The lower picture shows that my transmission had a problem around 0250, recovered, then stopped completely just after 0300UTC.

The reason was a fire in my main loading coil which sits in a large plastic box on top of a flat roof extension to the house.The coil was completely destroyed and there was significant damage to the extension roof, the adjacent conservatory and the gutter and soffit above.
All that was left of my loading coil and its box

The back of the house is a mess

So the bad news is I am off the air for a while, but the good news is I was insured. Oh, and I am still alive.

Friday 16 November 2012

My 136kHz DX Activity 6-11 November

6-7 November: My Op32 was received by RV3APM at 1822UTC.

I transmitted QRSS90 (90 second dot length) overnight on 136.1718kHz and was visible on TF3HZ's receiver grabber from 1830 until 0830 UTC (see sample below). The slightly stronger (brighter) signal above mine is G3KEV. I also checked the grabbers of JA7NI and VE1VDM but nothing was seen.



7-8 November: My overnight Op32 transmission was received by TF3HZ (2139 to 0731UTC) and RV3APM (2139 to 0411UTC).

8-9 November: My overnight Op32 transmission was received by TF3HZ, RN3AGC and SM2DJK.

10-11 November: I received Op32 from RN3AGC at 2156UTC. My own transmissions were received by TF3HZ, RN3AGC and SM2DJK.

Friday 9 November 2012

WSJT-X Activity on 136kHz

The two-way data mode WSJT-X has sparked quite a bit of interest, and several stations have been active and some have made two-way contacts. The software is still experimental and not 100% reliable yet. Most activity is on the faster modes WSJT9-1 and WSJT9-2, but there have been some experiments up to WSJT9-30 (30 second transmission length).

I have logged DF2JP, G1SLE, DF6NM, DK7FC and G8HUH.

Tuesday 6 November 2012

New LF/MF mode WSJT-X

W1JT, author of weak signal communications software such as WSPR, announced in late October a new data mode for 136 and 477/500kHz operation. WSJT-X uses multi-tone FSK and therefore does not need a linear transmitter. It does, however, require a way of converting audio to 136 or 477/500kHz RF, for instance an SSB transmitter capable of generating RF at this frequency or via a transverter from HF to LF. More information is available from here, together with how to download the free software.

Like WSPR it can be used in SWL mode (only a receiver and soundcard are needed), though as the software is experimental it does not yet include internet reporting. The main difference with WSPR or Opera modes is that it allows real two-way contacts to take place, exchanging whatever information you want in small bursts.

Several speeds (sub-modes) are currently available: WSJT9-1 has one-minute long transmissions, WSJT9-2 two seconds and so on with five, ten and thirty second sub-modes installed. To decode a station, the transmit ands receive stations must be switched to the same sub-mode. The longer-duration sub-modes contain the same amount of data, but can be received at lower signal-noise levels.

WSJT-X is in the early stages of development so it has a few rough edges, but it has the capability of being the new two-way weak signal mode on the 136 and 477/500kHz bands.

Monday 5 November 2012

136kHz DX 24-26 October

24-25 October: I transmitted Opera32. My best DX was SM2DJK (1780km).

Opera32 DX achieved by others included UA0AET received by JA8SCD (4161km).

25-26 October: I transmitted Opera32. My best DX was TF3HZ (1858km).

Friday 2 November 2012

136kHz DX 11-18 October

I was away from home during this period, but I left the radio and a laptop monitoring Opera32 mode. Unfortunately, conditions were very poor, expecially between 13 and 15 October, following a major solar flare.

The only DX received by me was: 11 Oct: 2018UTC RA3YO

Opera32 DX achieved by others included:
12 Oct:
UA4WPF received by UA0SNV-1 at a signal/noise ratio of -40dB which is at the low limit of Op32 reception.
13-15 Oct: Nothing over 2000km.
16 Oct:
UA4WPF received by UA0EAT-1, UA0SNV-1 and M0LMH.
RN3AGC received by M0LMH and M0PPP.
17 Oct: UA4WPF received by UA0SNV-1.
18 Oct: Nil.

136kHz DX 8-9 October

8-9 October: I transmitted Opera32 beacons at 2045 and 2315UTC. Reports were received from seven stations in just three countries (G, DF and PA).
My best DX was DK7FC (681km) - a very poor result.

Opera32 DX achieved by others included:
PA0A received by RN3AGC (2019km), RX3QFM (2219km) and RX3DHR (2117km).
PA0WMR received by RX3QFM (2309km).

Thursday 1 November 2012

136kHz DX 6-8 October

My blog updates have been delayed recently due to spending some time away and problems with my computer. I hope to catch up over the next few days, but some of the next few posts may be less detailed than usual.

6-7 October: I transmitted Opera32 beacons at approx 1hr 10min intervals from 1700 until 0700UTC. Reports were received from 14 stations in 8 countries (M, F, PA, DF, TF, R, LA and SM). A bumper night!
My best DX was RV3APM (2470km) and RX3QFM (2681km).
My brief receiving sessions produced PA0A, DF2JP and RX3QFM.

The best Opera32 DX achieved by others was RX3QFM received by M0LMH (2708km).

7-8 October: I transmitted Opera32 beacons at approx 1hr 10min intervals from 1230 to 1545UTC.
Reports were received from eight stations in five countries (G, DF, F, R and SM).
My best DX was RV3APM (2470km), RX3QFM (2681km) and RN3AGC (2483km).
My receiving sessions produced PA0A, DF2JP, G8HUH and RN3AGC (at 1733 and 2120UTC).
:
The best Opera32 DX achieved by others was:
UA4WPF received by UA0SNV-1 (2889km) and by M0LMH (3375km).