Conditions Improving; Pipeline to Norway

From LA3JJ's WSPR blog: The development of our hobby is amazing, some new things will catch on very fast. I was thrown into this WSPR thing late November last year and must admit that I have not had many “real QSO’s” since then. And my wife also appreciates this as I can in a greater extent be a part of the real world while I am enjoying my hobby. She noticed the change, so I explained some of the changes. “Oh, so you are just talking to robots now, well that’s a strange development!”


The sunspot count is 55, solar flux is at 91 and I've noticed an improvement in propagation on 30 meters. Yesterday at 0656 UTC my 20 mW DSB sig was received in North Carolina by AB4SF. And 30 seems to be staying open later than it has been -- it used to close pretty suddenly when the sun went down, but my little beacon has been picked up through most of the last two nights by one station -- and only one station -- LA3JJ (seen above). It is kind of weird, this pipeline to Norway. All through the day I'll be getting reports from stations all over Europe. Then the sun goes down and all of them lose me... except LA3JJ, who continues to receive my sigs until around 0400 UTC. This chart shows what is happening:

Timestamp	Call	MHz	SNR	Drift	Grid	Pwr	Reporter	RGrid	km	az
2010-02-11 03:56	I0/N2CQR	28.126052	-25	-1	JN61fv	0.02	LA3JJ	JO59bh	1943	356
2010-02-11 03:28	I0/N2CQR	28.126052	-30	0	JN61fv	0.02	LA3JJ	JO59bh	1943	356
2010-02-11 03:24	I0/N2CQR	28.126052	-25	0	JN61fv	0.02	LA3JJ	JO59bh	1943	356
2010-02-11 03:22	I0/N2CQR	28.126054	-26	0	JN61fv	0.02	LA3JJ	JO59bh	1943	356
2010-02-11 03:16	I0/N2CQR	28.126052	-21	0	JN61fv	0.02	LA3JJ	JO59bh	1943	356
2010-02-11 03:14	I0/N2CQR	28.126052	-25	0	JN61fv	0.02	LA3JJ	JO59bh	1943	356
2010-02-11 03:12	I0/N2CQR	28.126052	-24	0	JN61fv	0.02	LA3JJ	JO59bh	1943	356
2010-02-11 03:02	I0/N2CQR	28.126052	-27	0	JN61fv	0.02	LA3JJ	JO59bh	1943	356
2010-02-11 02:58	I0/N2CQR	28.126052	-21	0	JN61fv	0.02	LA3JJ	JO59bh	1943	356
2010-02-11 02:28	I0/N2CQR	28.126052	-27	0	JN61fv	0.02	LA3JJ	JO59bh	1943	356
2010-02-11 02:18	I0/N2CQR	28.126051	-26	0	JN61fv	0.02	LA3JJ	JO59bh	1943	356
2010-02-11 02:12	I0/N2CQR	28.126053	-24	-1	JN61fv	0.02	LA3JJ	JO59bh	1943	356
2010-02-11 02:10	I0/N2CQR	28.126051	-24	0	JN61fv	0.02	LA3JJ	JO59bh	1943	356
2010-02-11 02:04	I0/N2CQR	28.126050	-25	0	JN61fv	0.02	LA3JJ	JO59bh	1943	356
2010-02-11 01:46	I0/N2CQR	28.126050	-25	0	JN61fv	0.02	LA3JJ	JO59bh	1943	356
2010-02-11 01:44	I0/N2CQR	28.126049	-24	0	JN61fv	0.02	LA3JJ	JO59bh	1943	356
2010-02-11 01:40	I0/N2CQR	28.126049	-29	0	JN61fv	0.02	LA3JJ	JO59bh	1943	356
2010-02-11 01:36	I0/N2CQR	28.126049	-28	0	JN61fv	0.02	LA3JJ	JO59bh	1943	356
2010-02-11 01:30	I0/N2CQR	28.126049	-25	0	JN61fv	0.02	LA3JJ	JO59bh	1943	356
2010-02-11 01:28	I0/N2CQR	28.126050	-24	0	JN61fv	0.02	LA3JJ	JO59bh	1943	356
2010-02-11 01:26	I0/N2CQR	28.126050	-27	0	JN61fv	0.02	LA3JJ	JO59bh	1943	356
2010-02-11 01:24	I0/N2CQR	28.126050	-27	0	JN61fv	0.02	LA3JJ	JO59bh	1943	356
2010-02-11 01:22	I0/N2CQR	28.126050	-27	0	JN61fv	0.02	LA3JJ	JO59bh	1943	356
2010-02-11 01:18	I0/N2CQR	28.126049	-27	0	JN61fv	0.02	LA3JJ	JO59bh	1943	356
2010-02-11 01:16	I0/N2CQR	28.126051	-24	0	JN61fv	0.02	LA3JJ	JO59bh	1943	356
2010-02-11 00:02	I0/N2CQR	28.126052	-29	0	JN61fv	0.02	LA3JJ	JO59bh	1943	356
2010-02-10 20:16	I0/N2CQR	10.140144	-27	0	JN61fv	0.02	OK4AS	JN89ex	948	17
2010-02-10 20:14	I0/N2CQR	10.140144	-25	-1	JN61fv	0.02	OK4AS	JN89ex	948	17
2010-02-10 20:10	I0/N2CQR	10.140144	-25	0	JN61fv	0.02	OK4AS	JN89ex	948	17
2010-02-10 20:06	I0/N2CQR	10.140144	-27	0	JN61fv	0.02	OK4AS	JN89ex	948	17
2010-02-10 20:02	I0/N2CQR	10.140143	-24	0	JN61fv	0.02	OK4AS	JN89ex	948	17
2010-02-10 20:00	I0/N2CQR	10.140143	-22	-1	JN61fv	0.02	OK4AS	JN89ex	948	17
2010-02-10 19:54	I0/N2CQR	10.140144	-26	-1	JN61fv	0.02	OK4AS	JN89ex	948	17
2010-02-10 19:48	I0/N2CQR	10.140147	-30	0	JN61fv	0.02	IZ0INA	JN61gv	7	90
2010-02-10 19:48	I0/N2CQR	10.140143	-22	0	JN61fv	0.02	OK4AS	JN89ex	948	17
2010-02-10 19:44	I0/N2CQR	10.140144	-27	-1	JN61fv	0.02	OK4AS	JN89ex	948	17
2010-02-10 19:34	I0/N2CQR	10.140144	-23	-1	JN61fv	0.02	OK4AS	JN89ex	948	17
2010-02-10 19:14	I0/N2CQR	10.140144	-24	0	JN61fv	0.02	OK4AS	JN89ex	948	17
2010-02-10 19:06	I0/N2CQR	10.140152	-26	0	JN61fv	0.02	PA0LSK	JO21ur	1207	337
2010-02-10 19:04	I0/N2CQR	10.140152	-25	0	JN61fv	0.02	PA0LSK	JO21ur	1207	337
2010-02-10 18:58	I0/N2CQR	10.140152	-28	0	JN61fv	0.02	PA0LSK	JO21ur	1207	337
2010-02-10 18:58	I0/N2CQR	10.140152	-23	0	JN61fv	0.02	DF3VW	JN39hk	953	334
2010-02-10 18:54	I0/N2CQR	10.140152	-28	0	JN61fv	0.02	DF3VW	JN39hk	953	334
2010-02-10 18:44	I0/N2CQR	10.140152	-28	0	JN61fv	0.02	PA0LSK	JO21ur	1207	337
2010-02-10 18:40	I0/N2CQR	10.140152	-26	0	JN61fv	0.02	PA0LSK	JO21ur	1207	337
2010-02-10 18:36	I0/N2CQR	10.140153	-30	0	JN61fv	0.02	DF3VW	JN39hk	953	334
2010-02-10 18:32	I0/N2CQR	10.140152	-26	0	JN61fv	0.02	PA0LSK	JO21ur	1207	337

Query time: 0.010 sec

KPH: Maritime Radio History

That's OM Dick Dillman at the controls of maritime radio station KPH in Bolinas, California. Bob, W8SX, sent me an mp3 recording of a show that Dick did for public radio station KWMR. It is about the magic of radio, and about the efforts of Dick and his friends to preserve an important element of radio history. You will also hear about spy stations, the Linconshire poacher, SKY KING and much more. You guys will like this program. It will fit nicely in those iPods and mp3 players:

http://www.g4aqg.sussex.ac.uk/IRT.mp3

More info on station KPH can be found here:

http://radiosquirrels.net/gallery/show?keyword=kphhistory

Drake 2-B Goes Digital with WSPR

7 spots:

Timestamp	Call	MHz	SNR	Drift	Grid	Pwr	Reporter	RGrid	km	az
2010-02-06 16:04	DK9MS	10.140210	-11	-1	JO40tm	2	I0/N2CQR	JN61fv	983	166
2010-02-06 16:04	PA3BTI	10.140271	-8	0	JO22og	5	I0/N2CQR	JN61fv	1276	152
2010-02-06 16:04	DL9DAC	10.140246	-4	0	JO31qi	20	I0/N2CQR	JN61fv	1120	158
2010-02-06 16:02	DL6NL	10.140262	-20	2	JO50cb	0.1	I0/N2CQR	JN61fv	924	168
2010-02-06 16:00	DF6DBF	10.140279	+1	-1	JO31si	10	I0/N2CQR	JN61fv	1116	159
2010-02-06 16:00	M5LMY	10.140248	-14	1	IO91oi	5	I0/N2CQR	JN61fv	1455	131
2010-02-06 16:00	DL1EEZ	10.140201	0	0	JO31qi	20	I0/N2CQR	JN61fv	1120	158

Query time: 0.002 sec

 Until this weekend  have been "transmit only" on the WSPR system, running the world's only homebrew double sideband WSPR rig (please correct me if I'm wrong).  I'm also running one of the most low-powered of WSPR stations (20 mW). 

I've been feeling a bit guilty about my "transmit only" status.  I felt like I wasn't doing my fair share in the WSPR effort.  I was sort of a digital free-loader. 

So Saturday I decided to do some receiving.  I fired up the old Drake 2-B.  I ran a lead from the headphone jack of the receiver into the audio in of my old Tecra 8100 (running Linux Ubuntu Jaunty Jackalope). Antenna was a pathetic little end-fed wire.  The only tricky part was getting the Drake on the precise freq.  I just put my WSPR transmitter on 10140200 Hz and then put the bandpass in USB 2.1 kHz.  I found the computer clock was off a bit (I had neglected to run the ntp program), but once that was taken care of signals started pouring in.  And reports were automatically uploaded to WSPR HQ, and appeared on-line (see above).

I was very pleased to receive DL6NL's 100 milliwatt signal.  OM NL is well known in the QRSS/WSPR world.  A picture of one of his more QRO rigs appears above.  A shot of his balcony Microvert antenna (the white thing at the end of the dark indicator line) appears below.  

Haiti: Dominican Hams Help

The video (from a phone patch the day after the quake) gives you a real sense of how bad it is. It was good to see that hams from the Dominican Republic were going over to help out. See below.

From: http://spectrum.ieee.org/telecom/wireless/hams-in-haiti/1
BY Anne-Marie Corley // January 2010

... Which leads to the other difference in Haiti: The country is home to very few amateur operators in the first place. Though there are around 100 to 120 ham licenses active for Haiti, according to Pitts, only about seven or eight operators were actually in Haiti as far as the ARRL can determine. According to Bill Pasternak, the president and cofounder of the Amateur Radio Newsline, which broadcast audio from one ham operator outside Port-au-Prince soon after the earthquake hit, most of the operators who have Haitian licenses aren’t even Haitian but rather missionaries and aid workers who travel in and out of the country.
Pitts says that the ARRL has heard from only a few operators, most from outside Port-au-Prince, though one operator did radio in from the city just to let the organization know he was alive. ”The ones that were there did all they could,” Pitts says, ”but we haven’t heard from all of them.” It is likely that some were killed, Pitts speculates. Others may have been concerned with safety, McPherson suggests, so hams in Haiti have been ”on and off the air,” he says.
To help out, hams from the neighboring Dominican Republic have traveled into Haiti several times to set up equipment, despite being attacked by looters last week. They set up a 2-meter analog repeater high on a mountain close to the Haiti–Dominican Republic border. The repeater takes in weak signals—even one from a clip-on radio putting out just 5 watts—and rebroadcasts those signals on a different frequency and at a higher power.
Dominican operators installed a second repeater near the airport in Port-au-Prince and were expecting a third to arrive from ARRL Tuesday, which they will likely put in the region southeast of the capital.

”They’re doing really good work,” Pitts says of the Dominican helpers, ”getting things where they need to be and coordinating with other teams.”
Pitts adds that the international nature of ham radio is well suited to emergency missions like this one. Hams in Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Florida, and Puerto Rico, among others, were on the air and listening for any signals soon after the earthquake. ”Nobody was going to hiccup without being noticed,” Pitts says. And because they talk in radio code, language barriers don’t matter as much. ”We all have the same language,” Pitts says. ”We’re used to talking with each other.”
The embedded hams in Salvation Army recovery teams work, too, McPherson says, because they can tap into the entire amateur radio community. Nonofficial operators, for example, who may hear an embed trying to reach Haiti or to call out, may help relay a signal. ”It’s like [all the] amateur community is listening, standing by to help,” McPherson says.
The lesson to be learned, according to Pitts, is that ”in a situation or population where amateur radio is encouraged and present,” hams can provide better and faster information during a major disaster, which allows a faster response. ”That golden 48 hours is where the hams really can shine, if they’re there.”
So while cellular and Internet communication return ever so slowly to normal (or better than normal), what Haiti might also want to invest in is a few more homegrown radio operators.

SolderSmoke Podcast 121

 http://www.soldersmoke.com

5 February 2010
Into the Apennine snow! 
Technical troubles 
Roadkill computers
Luddite Curmudgeonism
Mars and Andromeda from Sabina
Telescopes and Olive Oil
Math and Electronics
Crashing R/C planes
5X5JD and the Uganda Tuna Tin
AA1TJ's diode amplifiers
Rotating parts boxes
MOVIE REVIEW: Avatar (2.5 Soldering Irons)
MAILBAG  

PA1ZZ Gets Ticket in Southern California

A while back we reported on the Californian travails of long-time listener Rogier, PA1ZZ.   We are happy to report that OM Rogier has joined the ranks or U.S.-licensed radio amateurs and is preparing to wiggle the ether with the FB rig pictured above. 

Hey Bill,

Since the FCC doesn’t like it if you use the foreign license as a Permanent resident. I took the plunge and passed the technician and general exams in one day.

So here I am KJ6ETL QRV from San Mateo, CA.

One day I will do the Extra class but that's for later. First I have to study for my career, hobby comes 2nd…

I still had my DSW-II build from a kit when I was living on Bonaire. But never managed to get in the air due to the lack of a dummy load to tune the final stage and a very strong HF signal from a local US religious broadcast station (50KW) aiming at South America and the Radio Netherlands relay station. Both put so much HF in the air that my SWR meter needle was pushed in the corner without my transmitter hooked up…

Now, years later, I polished the March R3A paddle and finally tuned the DSW-II. Next step will be to hang an invisible 20mtr band dipole on our balcony (hoa’s….) and see what happens.

Since my morse skills are very rusty and antenna and power are rather limited I might want to jump ahead and start with the digital modes...

Smiles across the wires,

Rogier

15% off on SolderSmoke -- The Book

Lulu is running a sale today.  You can get SolderSmoke at 15 percent off by using the coupon code SHADOW when you check out of the Lulu site.   It is better for me if you get to Lulu via Amazon.  Here is the link:

H1N1? No. 72N73!

Wow, Jeff REALLY has a bad case of 72N73 (aka "The KNACK").  He's actually piping the SolderSmoke podcast into one earphone of his cockpit headset.  (I hope the gong doesn't cause any problems!)  Maybe the lady next store will start to like that strange voice from Rome coming in on 88.3 FM...
 
Bill: 
I have been a devoted Soldersmoke fan since I found it about a year ago on a new HamInfoBar application that I installed on my Internet Explorer (yes, the Dark Side!). I have started back at SS #1 and working my way up…wonderful podcasts, Bill!
Waiting to get Ubuntu installed on my shack PC so I can gleefully delete Internet Explorer!
Have been a ham for 35 years now, operating all modes from HF, digital HF (including WSPR on 30 meters) through AMSAT satellites and of course VHF and UHF. I recently retired as a sales executive from IBM after 27 years, so have more time to follow my life-long passions.
Shortly after listening to Soldersmoke for the first time, I noticed a strange feeling after sitting by my PC for a few hours. Thought it was just neck strain from peering at the PC and your Blogspot, but after a few days it remained. My medical background (Ph.D. in Neuroscience) led me to the conclusion that a nervous system virus I had contracted when I was 13 had been dormant in my nervous system peripheral ganglia for these many years, but has re-emerged and re-infected me. That virus is the 72N73 virus, or more commonly known at THE KNACK! Yes, Soldersmoke has activated that bad boy virus once again and I am on the hunt for projects to complement my Old Spice after shave with that 'other' cologne, Eau de Soldersmoke!
Since I like to listen to Soldersmoke as I walk around the house, decided to get the Weller soldering station out and I 'protoboarded' and then built a small two transistor 20 mW FM transmitter on 88.3 MHz (unused channel in Dallas) to transmit Soldersmoke through my whole house stereo system. Works great. However, my neighbor next door (12 feet away) who has a small yagi antenna for her stereo system asked my why every Friday evening the jazz station on 88.5 MHz she loves to listen to has some guy rambling on for hours about some electronics projects in Rome??? Did that jazz station change formats on Friday evenings? (Woops...............better get my frequency counter out once again!).
You will be glad to know that I listen to SS on my IPOD as I fly (on longer trips) on WWII vintage aircraft to air shows around the country. I volunteer at the Cavanaugh Flight Museum in Dallas (www.cavanaughflightmuseum.com) and usually fly right seat or rear seat depending on the plane.  I modified my communications headset to listen to Air Traffic Control on one earpiece and SS on the other earpiece. So, yes Bill, you do get interrupted by Air Traffic Control advising us of new radar vectors! You can view additional pictures of me flying with Cavanaugh at my www.qrz.com pages.
Just purchased SS, The Book and having a ball reading your antics of years past. BTW, I just joined GQRP and got a nice note from Tony Fishpool. I had mentioned that it was due to SS that I found GQRP and joined up. Tony sent me a nice note and indicated "Yes, Bill is worth every penny that we don't pay him for GQRP advertising!!
Other interests include flying large radio controlled aircraft, astronomy (purchasing an Orion 10" Dobsonian next week to supplement my 10x50 binoculars), satellite tracking, and weather satellite imaging directly from American, Chinese, and Soviet polar orbiting satellites. High Power Rocketry (average flights to 10,000 feet) round out my technical interests.
Bill, don't want to make this email too long, so let me say 73's, and will plan on future correspondence as I release more Soldersmoke around my shack.
Send me best to Billy (Soldersmoke Mailbag, It's Awesome...Indeed!!).
Eagerly awaiting Soldersmoke, The MOVIE!!!!!


By the way, no Chingales (sp?) in Dallas, but we do have our share of Armadillos laying dead by the roadside.


73s,
Jeff
N5ITU
In Dallas, TX.

Quiz Question for Knack Victims

Hey Bill,

I know you have the knack . . . so I'm coming to you.
I've got 31 years of ham radio experience, on top of 16 years experience in the Wireless Telecom industry, that said I have a tech question that has really got me stumped. Maybe the answer is just too obvious.

Here it is: About 2 years ago an electrical engineer/ham radio operator/nuclear engineer threw the following question by me (I've yet to get back to him with my answer). Maybe you, or some of your listeners know the answer.

Knack Question: For yagi antennas only one (yes, sometimes two) element is electrically driven/xmit. Instead, why aren't all of the elements (simultaneously) electrically driven/xmit (vs parasitically driven)? Now the stumper - according to the engineer supposedly the answer excludes the following as the answer(s):

• Impact to antenna gain,
• The need to have any type of phasing harness
• Impact to transmit horizontal beam width (directivity).

Any idea what the answer might be? What am I missing?

QRSSing again, AA1TJ's new page

As I mentioned earlier, computer problems have delayed the SolderSmoke podcast (don't worry, parts are on the way).  They have also knocked me off the WSPR system.  So I switched over to QRSS mode and am now pumping out about 20 milliwatts of upside down sloooooooooow FSK on about 10140050 Hz.  (Don't you like how in QRSS you find yourself giving the frequency not in kilos or megas, but in just plain Hertz?   If I get into a retro mode I may start giving them in cycles.) During daylight hours in Europe you should be able to watch my little signal arriving at ON5EX's station in Belgium.  Just look down on the right on this page for a live view of Johan's receive screen.


VA3STL has some good QRSS stuff on his blog:  http://va3stl.wordpress.com/



I noticed this morning that Mike, AA1TJ has moved and updated his very fine site.  Check it out: 
http://www.aa1tj.com/radio.html
Be sure to click on the link that lead to info about Mike mountain-top work site.  Like I said, truly the kind of job that Knack victims dream about.

Rumor has it that Dan's Small Parts is back in operation after a winter break.

More Mars (with olive oil)

No podcast this week. I have two excuses: 1) Computer problems (a long, sad story), and 2) we were once again out in the Sabine Hills. Above is another look at the olive grove QTH. That solar panel thing on the right is an automatic weather reporting station installed by the Region of Lazio. Those trees behind the weather station are olive trees.

We had clear skies this past weekend, and with Mars approaching full opposition, I had the telescope out. We got some better views of Mars than we had last week. When the atmosphere (ours!) would settle down a bit I could make out some of the dark "canali." The Northen polar cap was very visible. The moon was bright (first quarter I think) and so I was wondering if we'd be able to see the M31 galaxy in Andromeda. Even with the moon close in the sky, I had no trouble finding the galaxy using my old Soviet-made 7X50 binoculars. We also looked at the North America nebula in Orion's sword (very appropriate as we had Canadian friends with us).

My telescope (above) has a simple but effective Dobsonian mount. (This system is named for the amateur astronomy guru John Dobson -- interesting guy.) The 'scope basically slide on teflon pads. These pads need a bit of lubrication from time to time. Mine were getting a bit sticky, so I started to look around for something to to grease the teflon. The solution was literally all around me:

Worked like a charm!

Also got on the air with the HW-8 and worked stations on 80, 40, and 20, including two QRP stations.

Does Math Lead to Understanding?

In "SolderSmoke -- The Book" I describe the quest for deep understanding of the circuits that we build and use. There is some discussion in the book of the role of mathematics in this quest. A while back a reader e-mailed me on this subject. In the hope of stimulating a discussion, I'll present the key paragraph from that e-mail here (the author will, for now, remain anonymous):

I appreciate your quotes from Feynman, Asimov, etc. about not
really being able to fully understand everything. As a math teacher
I can say that one of the biggest misunderstandings about math
is that it "explains" the phenomena of physics and engineering.
(Science and math teachers are notorious for saying to a student
who has just asked a "why" question things like, "well the math is
a little bit more complicated than what you can handle right now.
Wait untilyou have had a year or so of calculus.") In reality it's
the exact opposite! The math equations actually hide the answers.
They are very good at accurately describing phenomena, or at
predicting what will happen next, but they can never answer the
question of why one equation works and another does not. We
get very comfortable with allowing the familiar math equations
to hide our inability to really answer the "whys."

This really resonated with me. In my effort to get a better grasp of mixer theoy a lot of people seemed to be simply pointing me to the trig equations, and equating a knowledge of those equations with an understanding of how the mixer circuits really work.

Of course, I don't mean to be anti-math here, but I thought the e-mail on the limits of mathematics was very interesting. In "Empire of the Air" Tom Lewis wrote, "At Columbia, Edwin Howard Armstrong developed another trait that displeased some of the staff and would annoy others later in life: his distrust of mathematical explanations for phenomena of the physical world. All too often he found his professors taking refuge in such abstractions when faced with a difficult and seemingly intractable conundrum... Time and again as an undergraduate at Columbia, Armstrong had refused to seek in mathematics a refuge from physical realities."