I am just an average guy

I imported all the postings of the old blog into the new blog, included all comments. Nothing is really lost, only some visitors, maybe. Not everyone is alert enough to change the blogroll. Sometimes I see in other blogs old URL’s of blogs that doesn’t exist any more. Maybe my blog is a bit boring. But I can’t always bring big news. Though, there is enough traffic to my blog to hold on. The few readers who are commenting so now and then are fellow hams with a blog also. I had 8600 visitors in March this year. My last blog had 752 postings and 2328 comments.

50% are comments that I gave on the comments that I get. It’s a average of 3 comments a day. Conclusion: only 0,5 % of my visitors leave a comment. It’s a relative normal percentage of reactions that blogs normally get. My blog is more an online logbook/journal. As K3NG said once: the normal “I did this today” blog. That’s my blog. If someone like it, OK.

My blog is an average blog. Nothing special. I let people know what I have worked. Not with the intention to be competitive. Because as a QRP operator with average antennas, I know there is always someone out there who work more DX and have better equipment and antennas. I am just an average guy who is playing with his radio.

SSB

When I read the blog of Mads LA1TPA about his QRP SSB activities, and how successful he was, I thought : today I try SSB also. My first half year I was back again from a long absence, I was working only with 5 watt SSB. Worked 76 DXCC with it, and my antenna was only a Miracle Whip with 10 meter wire attached. Solar Flux was always 70 or lower! Anyway, I heard on 20 meter BU2AU, Taiwan. He didn't hear me. I would be a new DXCC for me. Alas. I worked IZØOWO much more closer, he gave me a 59 report. Then I heard RW3XZ Alex (see photo) calling CQ. He came back for me. He was running 100 watts, but when I told him I was working 5 watt, he lowered his power also to 5 watt, and we made a two way SSB QRP QSO. So for all the folks who don't like Digi Modes and can't work CW, there is always a good contact possible with SSB.

This morning I worked UT5NM on 14.060 both with 5 watt CW. With JT65A I worked two stations from Kazakhstan on 20 meter: UN9LBF and UN6QC (near the Chinese Border) and HL/WX8C is a new DXCC: South - Korea. The QSO was a bit difficult because someone was QRM-ing.

Painting & sun

The weather was fine, good temperatures for painting outside. Some maintenance activities that had to be done. We have summertime now. We have +2 hours from UTC. From 17 h UTC I was active on 15 meter with JT65A. A lot of activity there. I worked 3 stations: WBØZPW from Kansas, AI7W from Oregon, and 9J2KK from Lusaka, Zambia for the 3rd time. In the meantime I have been reported by a lot of stations (Reverse Beacon reports) most of them from the USA. A few hours before I worked RN4NAA/QRP on 14.060 with CW. Today a sunny day again. Yes!

WSPR tab

Well, the weather is real fine. Sunny and temperatures up to 12 C. But it will not last. But as long as it stays that way I enjoy it very much. Good times for WSPR in the mean time. I made a WSPR tab. A short explanation what WSPR is, but I made 2 links to the data base of the latest 50 reported and heard. I also give a review of the the 'worked' DXCC with WSPR 5 watt.

Last night I was running WSPR on 15 meter. Best DX was WA6MTZ from California, USA. It is the first time I am reported from California. A lot of other station from the USA and Canada reported me.

New DXCC on 10 meter

In the late afternoon I was running WSPR on 10 meter. I received a station from EA8 and PU2TXZ Brazil, for the first time. Within 6 minutes I received him and he reported me. It almost look like a QSO. Now I have 10 DXCC countries on 10 meter WSPR.

Strange

On photo VK3ZPF, he reported me on 30 meter last night with WSPR. After 20 hours UTC DX came in on 30 meter. At daytime I was running WSPR on 10 meter. I saw all kind of activity, e.g. Brazil and Argentina. I did look at other amateurs WSPR list and they received nice stations, but I don't. My antenna seems to be dead. What was wrong? I don't know. It was very strange. Anyway, I was successful on 30 meter. This morning I also was reported in Australia: VK1UN. A distance of 16.550 km. So far I am heard at the other side of the world (Australia) on 40, 30, 20 and 10 meter band. Not bad for 5 watt QRP.

Next challenge will be VK on 80 meter with 5 watt. And 17, 15 and 12 meter, but that must not be difficult.

VK on 10 meter again

I was reported by VK6TQ from Perth, Australia again on 10 meter today with 5 watt WSPR. Also FR1GZ from Reunion island and PA0O. On 20 meter BPSK31 I worked EA7IPP from Sevilla and RX3XP from Russia on 17 meter. I had a very nice day, sunny and temperature 15 C. I was reading a book in the garden about Near-Death Experiences. It feels like heaven ;-) Meanwhile the rig is running WSPR on 20 meter. Isn't that fantastic?

With BPSK31 I worked on 17 meter UR5FLP and RZ3DZ. With JT65A on 20 meter RA1ZN. I tried to work VU2BGS, but too many stations were calling him. I was spotted by K7RE (SD) W1LIC (ME) VE3ODZ, KC2CK (NY) N4ST (VA) N2DP (NJ) ZS1IL, NT5HS (SD).

Testing the End fed wire for other bands

When you take a good look, you can see the antenna of IZ2DMV Stefano near Monza. I worked him on 40 meter with BPSK31 with the Hy End Fed mono band antenna for 20 meter. I tuned it for other bands and it works fine on 17, 30 and 40 meter as well. I never really tried before. I read that more amateurs are using the mono band antenna with a tuner. On 15 meter or higher the results are poor. On 8o meter I can't tune it. So I will test the antenna on 40, 30 and 17 meter this week. I also worked 9A1CCB on 40 meter this afternoon. With the dipole I was WSPR-ing on 10 meter. I was only reported by 4X6IZ from Tel Aviv, Israel and PA0O. The MUF was about 24 MHz so it must be Es. Yesterday I worked on 20 meter BPSK31: UA4CA and UR8MH.

WSPR on 30 meter tonight. 5 watt into the Hy End Fed antenna.

On 40 meter I worked GØTBR Roger from Staffordshire, England with 5 watt SSB. On 15 meter this afternoon I worked RX3DTN, RV3PV, UR4MHI and UR7IKX with PSK31.

I will place at the bottom of every posting the today's Solar Flux and Sunspot number. I realised that when I read an old posting, I didn't know what the SF was that particular day.

How much power is needed?

If P2 produces twice as much power than P1, the difference in dB is
10 log (P2/P1) = 10 log 2 = 3 dB.
If P2 had 10 times the power of P1, the difference in dB would be
10 log (P2/P1) = 10 log 10 = 10 dB.

When I work with JT65A, and I will get with 5 watt a -30db report, and it is a borderline case to copy me, so I want to be heard, I must increase my power with 8 db (that means 32 watts) to get a -22 db report. That will be fine for JT65A. More is not needed. The JT65-HF software is capable to decoded my signal. Based on your reception report you can decide how much power is needed to be heard. With 30 watts and JT65A I have worked Australia and new Zealand, That is the other side of the world for me, only with a 10 meter end fed wire on 20 meter. Because of the logarithmic curve it’s silly when someone with a 100 watt rig buys a 200 watt rig. The difference between the two is only 3 db, nobody will really notice. If we want to be ‘green’ amateurs, than we have to reduce our power level to 5 watt or lower. 5 watt is a fine starting point. When your opponent station can copy you, than decrease your power with 10 db, if not increase to a maximum of 30 watts. That is what I meant with low power = a maximum of 30 watts. For JT65A is more power not really necessary. 15 watts or so is a nice average power level. For a lot of QRP-ers it’s a matter of principle, not more than 5 watts. Not be heard? Just waiting for the next opportunity.

On this video you can hear and see a sked with PE4BAS on 80 meter. With 100 watt he is 59+20 db on my S-meter. When he reduces his power with 20 db, to 5 watt, he is still S9 on my S-meter. We live 168 km from each other.

And now something else

I was looking if I could work some DX this morning, with JT65A on 20 meter. And yes, there it is: Australia, VK4BDJ David from Black River, Queensland. Distance 15.066 km. Also spotted by ZL3GA, EX2U and VK2POP.

Proliferation of digital modes?

Too many digital modes? That’s the question. There are approximate 13 digital modes. Contestia, DominoEX, Hell, MFSK, MT63, Olivia, PSK, QPSK, RTTY, ROS, WSJT modes, Thor and Throb. It must be crowded on HF, or isn’t? Well, the most used digital mode is PSK31.

Number 1 of the digital modes is PSK31, the most used. The speed of PSK31 is average, about 52 wpm. The bandwidth is small 31 Hz. That’s pretty nice. And there is enough good software to run PSK31.

PSK10 is almost not in use but is very small in bandwidth but too slow, about 18 wpm. Only MultiPSK supported PSK10. But as you know MultiPSK is user unfriendly. If you want to combine 'small' bandwidth and higher speed than PSK63 is a good option.

PSK63 is perfect on the higher bands as 12 and 10 meter for Es propagation. But there is always a but, when you tell a story. Sensitivity. The sensitivity of PSK modes is not that great. The maximum sensitivity for PSK31 is about -10 db.

PSK63 about -7 db. When compared with JT65A, the sensitivity of JT65 have reached -30 db. (I think the best there is at the moment) ROS claimed that they could have -30 db, but I have never seen a report that goes beyond -24 db. Not bad at all, but too wide.

PSK10 can reach -18 but only a few users worldwide. A good second place for most used digital mode is for RTTY. But why? Maybe it has to do with nostalgia. It is a less sensitive mode, only about -5 db. Not suitable for QRP because you have to put a lot of power in your finals to be heard. And the bandwidth is 450 Hz.

Because of lack of space on HF it is necessary to use small bandwidth modes. Modes like ROS, Olivia 500/16, Contestia 500/16, Olivia 500/4, and RTTYM 500/16 are too wide, and will not be recommended for daily use. RTTY is average in bandwidth and speed comparison.

JT65A become more popular in use. It is extremely sensitive (-30 db) the bandwidth is comparable with RTTY, but in daily use the band is crowded sometimes because they only gather around the pre-arranged dial frequencies -/+ 1 KHz. It’s perfect in use with QRP and very low power. A lot of hams don’t understand the principle when they use more than 50 watts with JT65A.

MFSK16 is comparable with PSK31. Only it’s slower and have more bandwidth then PSK31. When we look to performance of digital modes and the percentage of errors / signal to noise ratio, than MFSK has a high percentage of errors, though it’s sensitive.

For weak signals than DominoEX8 is one of the best (a good second place!) a low percentage (10%) of errors is found and rather sensitive (-16 db). The third place goes to PSK31 12% errors / -10 db.

For me is JT65A the best digital mode. And all the other digital modes, except PSK31-63, RTTY, and ROS? Do you ever hear them? I don’t. (I do not search, really)

All we need is a good behaviour on the amateur bands and respect for each other. We just want to be involved with our great hobby and share the fun and knowledge with each other.

Good propagation on higher bands

Good propagations on the higher bands in the late afternoon. I heard LU and ZS on PSK31 on 10 meter. On 15 meter with JT65A I was heard by several stations from the USA. I didn't make a QSO. Maybe the stations were RB, or my antenna isn't good enough to hear them. I was running WSPR on 30 meter but results were very poor.

My first QSO today was with 2EØZRQ on 80 meter with JT65A. Then I switched to 20 meter at 6 O'clock UTC. Now there is more daylight 20 meter opens up earlier and close later. I saw a lot of VK came along, but not able to work them. I did work EX2U from Kyrgyzstan (see photo) and UAØA Yuri from Asiatic Russia. I sent 217 reports to the central database of JT65-HF.

Yesterday I was running WSPR on 20 meter with 5 watt.

Disaster in Japan

As you all know, Japan is hit by a severe earthquake and tsunami. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people of Japan.

Photo impression

Sporadic E

Soon the sporadic E season will start. Todat the MUF was 20,15 MHz. I worked on 12 meter 4Z4TL Isaac with PSK31. This must be a sporadic E propagation. There was a QRP contest going on on 20 meter. I worked with CW RN3F and LZ2RS. Enough radio for today. It is my daughter's birthday today. My eldest daughter is now 39 years old. Tonight we visit her.

Doppler effect?

Yesterday I was running WSPR on 10 meter. Nothing special really, I mean no DX. Only locals here from the Netherlands. PE4BAS, PA0O and PA7MEM, the last one lives about 15km away from me. There is a lot of air traffic around here because of Schiphol. Is it Doppler effect on the signals?

There wasn't much traffic on the HF bands because of a minor geomagnetic storm. I could work R7BN with JT65A and YO2BCT. Bands are improving this afternoon, though I saw not much on my JT65A screen. Maybe later today. I was reported in New Zealand, USA, Canada and Kazakhstan. Hum, maybe JT65A is the best digital mode.

The weather is fine here today. Sunny and temp about 10C. I will take a book and go outside in the sun, for the first time this year.

Modulation test

I had a sked with Bas PE4BAS for testing the modulation of the FT817 versus the FT450. I had the impression that the modulation of the FT817 is more clear, and sounds better. We did the sked on 80 meter 3705 KHz with SSB. Bas made a very nice video of this sked we had. Indeed, the modulation of the FT817 is more clear. The modulation of the FT450 is enhanced by changing the mic EQ and mic gain. See pictures below. So now I know for sure that I use the FT817 for SSB QSO's. Thanks, Bas for making this video.




I was running WSPR on 10 meter and was reported by Bas PE4BAS, PA7MEM and PA0O. No DX for me. I heard with CW A71EM on 10 meter and J88DR on 15 meter with CW. I haven't worked those DXCC before. I tried to work them but was not successful.

On 15 meter I worked UX1IW and UT7LK on 17 meter with PSK31.

OMG, RTTY terror

When there are propagations or RTTY contests, than it's impossible to work JT65A on 20 meter. The band with the most JT65A activity on HF. It's only 2 KHz wide, but it seems to be difficult to avoid frequencies for other modes. On the photo above you can see the situation, only RTTY stations. I know it's a gentlemen's agreement, but please respect overall band plans. I am afraid this is apparently the seam side of good propagations. Anyway, I send the folks an email.

10 meter was open, but for me it's hard to make a qso. I think my antenna is not good for 10 meter. I heard LU5VV and 4X4FR with SSB.

On 20 meter I worked with the FT817 RV9LM with SSB. Distance 3793 km. Also worked OH1LWZ/M a mobile station from Finland.

This afternoon I worked on 20 m with ROS EA1DGF, on 40 meter with CW OK2PEX.

Tonight all the RTTY stations are gone on 20 meter. When you consider RTTY as a digital mode than they have the right to be there between 14070 and 14100 KHz. When conditions will go up further than it will be crowded on the amateur bands. With previous peaking sunspot cycles, it was difficult to find any free space with SSB. A lot of QRM, so good filters are needed.

When I really need quietness I move up to VHF. Or turn the rig off. Simple as that. I managed to work Zambia tonight on 20 meter with JT65A 9J2KK Katsumi from Lusaka City. Enough for today.

Though a high Solar Flux, conditions are still disappointing. I worked UA4PAY on 12 meter with CW. With WSPR this afternoon on 40 meter I was reported by VK7DIK, Rosebery, Tasmania Island, Australia, distance 16.873 km.

New DXCC with WSPR on 40 meter was Asiatic Russia: RA9CUA.

No time for radio... social contacts, birthday party, etc. Only one CW contact on 15 meter, RZ6CW Mike on 15 meter. That's all for today.

ARRL International DX Contest

ARRL International DX Contest is going on this weekend. I worked a few stations all with 1 KW. Me with my 5 watt. Solar Flux is good, sunspots also above 100, that must be great, maybe tomorrow on 10 meter with Digital Modes contest. Today I worked RL3A (see photo) S52WW and E7ØT. With CW I made the following QSO's: on 20 meter I worked IKØTRV/QRP, he thought my call sign was PY4T so I must disappoint him. On 40 meter: G4WSX John, and DL8SBX Uli, both QRP.

Also on facebook now

The bands are rather noisy. I do not hear much stations on 20 or 40 meter. I managed to work 4L4CC (see photo) Levan from Georgia with 5 watt SSB on 20 meter. He gave me a 55 report. Not bad for 5 watt and a distance of 3149 km. Also worked 9K2F Hamad from Koeweit with SSB. With CW I had a two way QRP QSO with YU7AE Kare from Serbia on 14060 KHz. On 40 meter I worked with SSB DF5PE Dieter from Idar -Oberstein. I gave a CQ call with JT65A on 20 meter and I have been reported in New Zealand and USA. I am on Facebook now. I met W5PG Chas on facebook yesterday. My email address is stamheiloo@hotmail.com name: Paul Stam) or http://www.facebook.com/paul.stam3 so you're welcome.

Minor storm

Nothing special going on here. There is still a minor storm on HF, so, poor conditions. On 20 meter I could work UA6AGK with 5 watt JT65A.

Almost spring

Winter is gone, almost. The meteorological spring has started today. When I see this video I long for more sunshine and outside activities.

My first contact this morning was with UN7P with 5 watt JT65A. Distance 4578 km. Heard in Japan JA1DEQ and I received VK3FM, W3DZZ and UAØA. Yesterday I was reported by YB8EXL in Indonesia, so I will keep an eye on him today to see if I can work him, that will be a new DXCC for me. 5 watts is enough for a lot of fun.