Tag: WSPR

Accurate time keeping on an Apple Mac running macOS Big Sur for FT8, FT4 and WSPR

ChronyControl

2023 update – This still works with macOS Sonoma and Apple Silicon. I’ve been using Apple computers for many years now and even though I’ve made a couple of previous blog posts about keeping the clock accurate on a Mac, those methods have never really been needed and I posted them as a sort of […]

If you use WSJT-X for FT8/WSPR/JTx etc, you should upgrade to V2.0.0 as soon as possible

WSJT-X version 2.0.0 has been released and everyone who uses this software for any data modes should update as soon as possible.  This new version is NOT compatible with previous versions so everyone is encouraged to upgrade to 2.0.0 as soon as possible. New features in WSJT-X 2.0.0 Compound and nonstandard callsigns are automatically recognized […]

Accurate time keeping on an Apple Mac running macOS Mojave

When running data modes such as the very popular FT8, it’s important to keep your computer clock accurate because if it’s more than a couple of seconds out then you won’t be able to decode anyone, they won’t be able to decode you and you won’t make any QSOs.  There are a number of utilities […]

Accurate time keeping on an Apple Mac or Raspberry Pi for WSPR/JT65/JT9/FT8

If you use any of the data modes for QSOs such as JT65, JT9, or FT8 or if you operate using WSPR then you’ll know how important it is that your computer clock is accurate.  Anything more than a couple of seconds out and you won’t decode anything and nobody will decode your signal. On […]

A detailed look at three different methods of operating the low power WSPR mode

Hans Summers Ultimate 3S transmitter

There seems to have been an upsurge in people operating WSPR recently.  Barely a day goes by (sometimes barely an hour) without someone posting a map of where their signals have been received on Twitter.  When I first started experimenting with WSPR and QRSS some years ago, I did exactly the same. I’m quite sure […]

Video of the ten minute multi QRPp mode transmission

After my entry a few days ago, I’ve made a video of my Hans Summers Ultimate 3S transmitter going through all four modes in a single ten minute frame.  It’s annotated with comments along the way describing what’s happening at every stage.

Running four QRPp modes in a ten minute frame

Over the last month or so I’ve been doing some experimenting using a newly built Hans Summers Ultimate 3S transmitter fitted with the new oven controlled crystal oscillator and I’m now running four different modes in a single ten minute frame with space at the end for a calibration cycle. You should note that to […]

Building a QRP Labs OCXO

The top of the completed OCXO

I’ve not posted much this year because I’ve not been doing much new stuff. I’m still messing around with the very low power modes and enjoying that a lot. I’m transmitting WSPR and QRSS all the time and tend to leave the transmitter running on one band/mode for a month or so at a time. […]

A week of very low power 10m WSPR

Last Sunday I tweaked my Ultimate 2 transmitter to give me some power out on 10m and I managed to persuade it to run about 80-100mW.  I’m going to experiment with a higher voltage for perhaps a little more power but in the meantime I decided to run it for a week. As I’m using […]

A World First – Experiments on the 60m (5 MHz) band with QRSS

Eight ten minute frames stacked together showing G6NHU received on 60m QRSS at W4HBK - 7288 km

The 60m band is fairly new amateur radio allocation, first introduced in 2002 but only to a few countries such as the United Kingdom, Finland, Denmark, the USA, Ireland, Iceland and Norway.  I had an experimental Notice of Variation for 5 MHz on my licence a few years ago and I renewed it when we […]