Twin Peaks

I was enjoying the twin peaks this weekend. No, not some late season skiing. No, I’m not talking about that 1990 TV mini-series….which I really liked BTW. I tend to take to television shows that are a little, well, let’s say off-beat. I also enjoyed Picket Fences and the series Northern Exposure….but I digress. The twin peaks I'm referring to is the image you see on RTTY software, the result of RF energy that manifests itself into Radio Teletype. This weekend the Volta contest took place and RTTY sub-bands, at least on 20 and 40 where I hung out, were chattering with activity.
This contest has been around 44 years and is named in honour of Alessandro Volta, an Italian physicist who died back in 1827 but is credited with developing the first electric cell in 1800.

There are a number of RTTY contests throughout the year, and I try to dabble in as many as possible. I’m still a neophyte in this mode, having sent my first ‘ritty’ signal maybe five years ago. As with many of the digital modes tough, I find the operating quite pleasurable, primarily because these modes are well suited to modest stations with lower power. I’m able to make decent contacts, across North America or across the oceans without too much trouble. Running between 60 and 80 watts into my simple windom, I was able to work some decent Dog-Xray from the Hawaiian Islands (KH6GMP) to Poland (SP3GHX), the latter on 40 meters, where I find it difficult to make a DX-haul on phone. I even managed a contact with a station in Sardinia, which according to my logging software is a separate DXCC entity from Italy, so I also got to chalk up a new country (better dust off the QSL cards!).

I always get excited about working KH6-land, regardless of mode. I think it’s the mental image I have of the ham there operating from a little grass shack while being served an exotic drink in a carved-out coconut by a lovely Polynesian woman doing the Hula while Don Ho plays the ukulele. (Sorry about the stereotype….I’m sure there are some hams in far off lands who have a mental picture of the VE operator they’re working squatting in an igloo chewing on raw seal meat).

Back to the Volta contest….truthfully, I didn’t work that many stations, due to the usual time constraints of the weekend, but the short time spent was well worth the effort.

Prior to the personal computer becoming a common accessory in the ham shack, operating RTTY involved some pretty heavy-duty hardware that, when operating, could shake your foundation loose or at least send the dog into a barking frenzy. Of course, modern software applications have made this wonderful mode accessible to anyone who can jam an interface between their rig and USB port (or sound card). If you want more info about RTTY, check out this great primer by AA5AU.

I also love operating PSK31, which was the first digital mode I dabbled in a few years back. The incredibly efficient use of spectrum and, again, relatively low power you’re able to use make it the perfect match for the average ham who is not a ‘big gun’. So if you’re an amateur radio operator whose power is the stock “full half-pint” (100 watts) with a basic antenna and are frustrated by trying to be heard on SSB, give the digital modes a shot. Most of the basic software is available as free downloads. And……let’s not forget that original digital mode, CW. Still one of the best ways to punch through a signal with low, or even very little power. But, if your CW skills are just not there, no fears….there’s software for that too! (Insert shriek of horror from the CW purists). I do my best to manually transmit CW with my paddles, but I do admit, I’m usually running the receive software as insurance for times when the QRM interferes with my

brain trying to concentrate on that one signal, especially in contest situations.

Hey, I just received two packs of QSL cards via the bureau this past week. Perhaps we’ll chat about that next time.

‘til then 73 & keep the RF pumping.

Yes.....I'm still around!

Well…..hmmm, let’s see, over six months since a post....egad! When I started this blog last March, I promised myself I would try for a new post once a week. That schedule was maintained fairly well through the spring and summer, but then ran afoul in the fall. Truth is, I’m a busy guy! Work and family concerns, especially during the fall and winter months, mean much less time spent hammin’.

It’s May now. Ironically, summer isn’t exactly prime time for traditional HF contacts as the longer daylight hours means less good DX opportunities, especially on bands above 20 meters. Alas, that’s when things at work back off a bit for me and I have a little more time for RF pursuits.

For my throngs of readers out there in the Blogosphere (okay I’ve probably lost everyone with the posting drought, but maybe someone will stumble upon it from one of the hotlinks out there), here are what few radio highlights I’ve had since last fall.

Christmas DX to the North Pole
My little '2nd harmonic' Kaden (turning the big 0-5 in a few weeks!) had a contact with Santa Claus back in December. We even used his callsign VA3KDN for the occasion. No he doesn’t hold the Guinness record for being the youngest licenced amateur radio operator (who is the youngest licenced tot anyway?), Daddy decided to get an auxiliary callsign a few years ago that kinda works with his name. Should he actually want to pursue his ticket down the road, I can transfer the call to him. He may very well not be interested in the hobby (my older son didn’t take much of a shine to it), but imprinting positive ham radio experiences at a young age like a talk with big guy at the North Pole can’t hurt! Kudos to the guys with the ONTARS net who make this very special contact possible every year for many young hammies.

Contests
I did manage to spend the odd half-hour here and there making a few contest contacts. The bands were swarming with QRM in March as one of the “biggies” took place…the ARRL DX contest, SSB version. What was the most often heard expression on the air for this one?... “5-9 Kilowatt” I don’t know why the H-E-double hockey sticks I bother with these contests. With a mere 100 watts into a wire, the frustration level often runs high. But every so often, my pip-squeak signal manages to find its was through the ether to a far off land. If lucky, I won’t have to repeat my call sign ten times using every variation on phonetics I can think of…. “Negative, it’s Victor’s Eating 3 Crazy Hamsters!" Then, or course, getting my 5-9 signal report (err, why did I have to clarify my call and exchange 18 times then?). I particularly enjoyed working those seemingly few DX stations that were running just 100 watts (kindred spirits!). Most of the time their signals were maybe S3 or 5 (yes…I gave them a 5-9!), but in most cases they probably had the advantage of a decent directional antenna.

CW vs. Phone & special calls
I’m starting to prefer the CW contests, where it seems I have a much easier time making contacts, although I desperately need a better CW filter than the stock one that’s in my little FT-897.

Hopefully I’ll be able to spare a little time for the Continuous Wave version of the WPX contest coming up later this month. I don’t think there are any special prefixes available to Canadian hams this year. Last year I signed as XM3CH. Actually in the SSB WPX recently I made a handful of contacts as VG3KDN (borrowed the kid’s call!). The special prefix was to commemorate the Vancouver Winter Olympics.

Managed to miss the Ontario QSO Party in mid April due to a family commitment. I used to really enjoy this contest, but haven’t seriously taken part in the past few years. I think it was 2002 when I actually managed to scoop the award for my county. Then again, I think I was one of maybe three stations on from ‘HAS’ (Hastings County).

I did a presentation recently at our local ham club on EchoLink. I operate an EchoLink simplex link at the college’s amateur station VE3ALC. It’s been on the air a little over a year now only a few of the local hams had checked it out. Of course with EchoLink you can operate directly from your computer. The local simplex node is usually connected to a small network of other links and repeaters in the greater Toronto area, Niagara region and even to a couple of repeaters in British Columbia. All you need to do is key the mic on the local 2-meter frequency on which I have it operating…and every once in a blue moon, someone will actually come back to you! I’ve noted from the systems electronic log that there have been some interesting users connecting from places like Hong Kong and Indonesia…places I can only dream of working on HF! Unfortunately these stations were connecting in the middle of the night local time, so I doubt that they got a response to any call.

That’ll do it for now. I could go on, but I’ll save that for another post which should appear quicker than it took for this one. Thanks for checking in and happy hamming!

Ode to the ham fleamarket

If you’ve been even a semi-regular reader of this blog….my sincere apologies that it’s been almost seven weeks since something new has appeared. Since September, life has become very busy, with classes beginning again at the community college where I work along with the demands of an active 4 1/2 year old who just started school himself!

Consequently, there hasn’t been much time for ham radio. The light in the shack might get switched on about once a week for a quick dial spinning session. A few 2 meter contacts in the car to the local guys, or the occasional mobile EchoLink QSO via the local node I operate, and that’s been about it. As the season progresses, and the weather dictates we keep ourselves sequestered in the warmth of our homes, I suspect there may be a bit more time to get on the HF bands more often.

Back to the blog…I have no shortage of ideas for topics….just a shortage of the most precious commodity of all….time!

I did have the opportunity to partake in a time honoured ham tradition this weekend…. the ham radio fleamarket. It’s actually been a couple of years since I made a pilgrimage to one of these events, so I was quite enthusiastic to gas up the mobile, fill the travel mug with some java from a favourite coffee emporium, and head west-bound 401 towards Markham, a suburb of Toronto for a flea market hosted by the York Region Amateur Radio Club.

It’s about a two hour drive from HQ, so hitting the road by 7am was essential to get there in time for the 9am opening. Let’s face it, if you can’t get there within an hour of opening time….don’t bother! Reminds me of the first such event I ever attended 22 years ago, a few months before getting my licence. Not knowing anything about hamfest culture at that time, and seeing the event was advertised to be open from 9am to 2pm, I decided to drop by about 12:30pm. I found it odd that there was no one at the main entrance to collect to admission fee, and then disappointed to see most of the vendors had either left, or were in the midst of packing up. Lesson learned.

I had nothing particular on my shopping list for this quest (the wish list….that’s entirely different). So my contribution to boosting the economy was limited to the admission fee (actually that was covered by my passenger…thank’s Dave, VE3UGT!), four tickets for the super draw (guys, I’m still waiting for the phone call), and some good quality wire and associated lugs, nuts and connectors to finally do a proper install on my mobile rig (the cigarette lighter adapter has been a source of embarrassment). Bought that stuff from a start up company specializing in such accessories, Armitron Power Products. Oh yea, the hamfest grub. I passed on the traditional hotdog for a muffin and some gawd-awful coffee (seriously, have you ever had good coffee at one of these things?....to the club’s credit this swill was free).

Some hamfest coffee should come with a warning of what you're about to endure

For me, attending these events is as much about meeting up with some old faces as it is about looking for any deals. I managed to see several guys from the Ontario DX Association, but didn’t see anyone from my old club, the North Shore Amateur Radio Club of Oshawa. I’m sure there were some members there, just none who may remember me from 17 years ago(!) Anyway nice to meet up with some of the folks I haven’t seen in a while, also glad to see I’m not the only one getting greyer.

A few observations:
-The hamfests I’ve been to in the past decade or so are all getting smaller. Less vendors, and in some cases it appears less attendees. Ironically there have never been so many licensed amateurs, and the choice of amateur products has never been so plentiful.
-Some vendors of used gear need a reality check with pricing. I saw a few deals, but the asking prices on many of the used rigs seemed high. Why would I pay $125 for a 15 year old 2 meter rig, when I can walk over to one of the retail vendors and pick up a brand new one on sale for $129?
-The classic or ‘vintage’ stuff is way too expensive. I know some of these oldie-but-goodie rigs are sought after, but you have no idea of how many mods, or how much tinkering has happened under the chassis of these old gems.
-Too much stuff that has nothing to do with radio. Why in the world would I want a cell phone from 1990 that’s the size of a brick…and wouldn’t work on today digital systems anyway? Okay for some computer-related items, but really, who really would have any practical use for a Tandy or Commodore anymore!
-How do I say this gently?...Some (only a few but they stand out) should really consider a shower before coming to these events.

Hmmm….didn’t mean for all those to be negative in tone! Ham radio fleamarkets really are a part of the amateur radio culture that I hope will continue to survive. What beats a morning spent with an auditorium full of like-minded folks to paw through some gear, oggle the new stuff, and have some eyeball QSOs? Well worth the price of admission.

Lamenting the end of summer '09

Holy cow, where did it go? I’m sure that’s a common remark during the last weekend of summer (I know…summer’s not over from a seasonal standpoint until September 21, but for practical purposes, it’s pretty much a done deal). But really, doesn’t it seem like summer passes as fast as an extra hot burrito?

I work at a community college, so I consider summer to be a four-month period starting the beginning of May. While my job entails me working throughout the summer months (except for three weeks vacation), the quieter halls and slightly slower pace makes it a time to treasure.

In this part of the world, folks did a lot of complaining about the “summer that never was”….weather-wise. I actually didn’t mind the cooler temperatures as I’m not a huge fan of super hot and humid conditions, but it did rain a little too much. On the plus side, my new rain barrel was never empty and I didn’t use a drop of city water on the garden (why my water bill was more than normal remains a mystery).

On the radio side, summer tends to be when many hams have less time to sit in the shack twiddling the dials…something to do with family commitments and yard work….sheesh. Although I was balancing that also, my level of activity was probably its highest in at least five years. My little 2nd harmonic is another year older, and while he still demands (and boy can he demand!) a lot of attention from myself and the XYL, it seemed I was able to steal a little more time in my comfy basement shack.

A few neat things that took place radio-wise for me:
-Acquiring a new (well, new to me) HT...the Yaesu VX-6R (still learning those menus).
-I took some time to try to better understand the characteristics of propagation and the solar cycle…exactly when will that promised Solar Cycle 24 start anyway??
-Speaking of propagation, I was able to log quite a few 6 meter contacts and give my relatively new tri-band vertical a bit of a workout. There were a number of impressive openings, and I was lucky enough to be around for at least a few of them.
-I also tried out a new mode. Again, I’ll say new-to-me as this is a very old mode…. Hellschreiber, Feld Hell, or simply Hell. Despite its sinister name (thanks to the guy who invented it back in the 20’s), it’s a fascinating way of communicating. I joined the Feld Hell club and have enjoyed a few contacts during its monthly sprint events.
-Field Day is always a highlight and I enjoyed my brief outing with the local club. Hopefully next year I won’t be asked to attend a family function the same weekend!
-I finally designed a new QSL card. Truth is, although I’ve had my present callsign since 2004, I hadn’t gotten around to getting a new card made up. I also began tidying up the backlog of eQSLs in my in-box.
-I casually took part in a few contests and finally installed some proper contest logging software.

Now, I did intend to do a little improvement to my main HF antenna, which is a simple Carolina Windom…but that’s yet to happen. Being a good ham, I’ll probably wait until the first snow to get that project done.

73 summer of 2009.

QSL cards, will tradition prevail?

I recall as a young pre-ham teen, admiring the wallpaper in a few of the ham shacks I managed to see. All those different colourful post-card sized cards adorning the wall with call signs prominent, many with exotic pictures or artwork was very appealing and it seemed no ham shack would be complete without such a wall of fame. Of course, I’m talking about the QSL card, at one time considered the final courtesy of an amateur radio contact. These also served the very practical purpose of confirming the contact, which could be applied towards the many awards available to amateur radio operators.

Indeed, after finally becoming licenced, and those first few precious cards came in the mail, the QSLs quickly found a prominent place on the wall of my small shack. If wasn’t too long though, before I ran out of wall space and became selective of which cards to put up, limiting the modest display to the most eye appealing or ones from DX locations. The rest were filed in a box, or a photo album.

Having not been an active awards chaser, I must admit, in the past decade or so, I’ve not been too diligent about sending out cards. I try to reply when one is received in the mail, either direct or via the bureau, but unless it was a particularly unique contact, or DX locale, I generally don’t send out a card. A big part of it is the time consuming maintenance issue, and the expense of postage if going direct. Even organizing cards to send out to the bureau I find a bit of a labourious task. Or….maybe I’m just lazy.

I’ve also noticed a trend, at least from the many pictures you can see online of other ham shacks, that displaying QSL cards on the wall has become more of a rarity. Maybe it’s a desire for a cleaner and tidier look or maybe it’s a bit of pressure from the better half, who may not appreciate the aesthetic beauty of the cards. Whatever the reason, these shacks just see a bit bare to me. In my case, the cards serve as a way to cover up a concrete wall (the joys of a basement shack). None-the-less for hams who are lucky enough to have an above-ground radio room, in many cases, the cards do not seem to be a favourable addition to the décor. Perhaps some Feng Shui consultant has determined they just totally through the off the chee in the room.

Despite my admittedly lackadaisical attitude towards QSL cards, I do like them and am currently trying to get caught up. But one has to wonder with the advent of things like eQSL (which I must admit has its appeal to me) and Logbook of the World (which qualifies as a confirmation of a QSO without the pretty paperwork), is the act of traditional QSL-ing on the way out?

Happiness in a warm tube radio

Modern radio equipment is pretty incredible. So many features in ever increasingly smaller packages. I enjoy using the modern rigs, and have several on my wish list, but nothing beats the style and warmth of the old radios. While I only have a couple of beloved boat anchors on the amateur radio side, I have several broadcast radios that I’ve casually collected over the years. Not a huge collection…just as well as space to display these beauties is very limited. It all started about 1986 when I picked up a beautiful Westinghouse, circa 1933, at a local (non-ham) flea market. Over the next couple of decades, the collection has grown slowly. I love the look of the old wood radios, the art-deco styling of radios from the 30s and 40s, the sleek look of the Bakelite radios. These radios have personality, character, style, even sexiness. Okay maybe I’m getting a little carried away on that last one, but they sure look sweet compared with those boom boxes of today.

Many serious collectors are also into restoration. One day, I’d like to be, but right now, I just admire them. Unfortunately several are in need of TLC and only a few actually work well enough to listen to. I’ve been slowly picking up various pieces of test equipment at hamfests over the past several years with the intention to start some repair and restoration. However, by the time I get around to it, the test equipment may also qualify as vintage…necessitating me to buy some newer test equipment to repair the old test equipment to fix the old radios. Ooo, this could quickly become a vicious circle.

Over the coming weeks I plan to post photos of my modest collection, starting with the table-tops, then the floor models, portables and communications receivers. So, if you like the ‘oldies but goodies’ tune back soon. My first vintage radio, and still my favourite, purchased in 1986. A Westinghouse, circa 1933. It has a place of honour in my office at 91X-FM, Loyalist College.

"I'll be up in a minute Honey, I'm checking for Sporadic E"

I actually said that to my XYL yesterday on one of my numerous trips to the basement shack to see if there was any trace of activity on 6 meters (Oops, I’m Canadian, that would be 6 metres). BTW my better-half is used to having radio lingo thrown at her to qualify my need to descend to the depths where my little, but cosy, radio nook is located….although I don’t think I’ve used the Sporadic E excuse before. She may actually have thought I was looking for fungus growing on the basement floor, or some foot condition that might require treatment.

The frequent 6m checks were due to this weekend's CQ World-Wide VHF contest. If there was any type of propagation happening on either the 6 or 2 meter band this weekend, it would be very evident by the sheer number of people who would be on the air. Well this time the sun just wasn’t cooperating. At least in this particular Maidenhead (FN14) the activity was little to zilch. Parked on the SSB calling frequency 50.125 MHz, I heard the odd signal rise above the abyss, but very few that managed to register a notch on the S meter. Judging by the activity on a DX cluster I was monitoring, Europe had a decent go of it, but action in North America was pretty minimal. Undoubtedly there were a few openings here and there for some and I’m sure a few folks managed some good contacts. I see a few east-coast stations managed Trans-Atlantic QSOs. On CW I heard one US station trying to get the attention of an SP (Poland)…although I couldn’t hear the DX station.

Like the rest of my station, the antenna set-up for 6m is pretty modest. Although the tri-band vertical I now have up in the air for 6m, 2m and 70cm is a vast improvement over the little 2m whip I used to have perched on top of the garage that loaded up nicely on 6 (and I DID manage a fair number of QSO’s with that little antenna). The only contact I managed this time actually took place on Friday night, before the contest started, with a station about 100 miles (160 km) to the north-east, probably due to some Aurora judging by how fluttery the signal sounded.

Back to the sun…the whole ‘science’ of how propagation works, especially with bands like 6m and higher is quite fascinating, but rather confusing for the novice. Like many things there are some great on-line resources. One of my favourites is http://www.solarcycle24.com/, maintained by VE3EN. It’s a great quick reference to see if ole sol is sending some “radio sunshine” our way.

Here's a list of some other useful sites that explain, predict, or otherwise simplify the propagation phenomenom. This is is by no means complete, and if you know of a useful site, please let me know by posting a comment.

73 & Good DX!

http://www.arrl.org/w1aw/prop/ A good place to get the propagation conditions and predictions for the upcoming week.
http://ecjones.org/propag.html Despote being written by a Professor of Physics (who is a ham) this explains propagation theory in a fairly easy-to-understand way.
http://www.anarc.org/wtfda/propagation.htm Although written more with the FM/TV DXer in mind, Glenn Hauser does an excellent job of explains the different types of propagation.
http://www.ac6v.com/propagation.htm A good portal to all sorts of sites about propagation.
http://www.hamradio-online.com/propagation.html Another good portal.
http://dx.qsl.net/propagation/ Some quick data on current conditions, including sular flux, A & K indexes, solar winds and a three-day forcast.
http://www.spaceweather.com/ Not specifically directed to the radio amateur, but tonnes of useful information about what the sun is up to.