Last month I mentioned that I’d bought a new kit, the “Ultimate 2” transmitter from Hans Summers. I hooked it up with a GPS module and it almost worked perfectly. There were a couple of issues with 2.01 of the firmware and I assisted with beta testing the 2.02 firmware. While testing it, I made […]
Category: Amateur radio
Another new callsign in the house
Sometime last year, my XYL was heard asking my son if he still had the radio book that he used when he did the Foundation exam. He couldn’t find it but I asked her why she was interested and she said that she was thinking about doing the radio exam as well. I must stress […]
RSGB Membership for just £1
Yes, you read that correctly – If you’re in the UK then you can join the Radio Society of Great Britain for the sum of just £1. As part of the Centenary celebrations the RSGB is making a special offer that harks back to the first days of the Society. It was originally recognised that […]
Playing radio ‘down by the reservoir’
A group of local radio amateurs decided to meet up ‘down by the reservoir’ this afternoon to play wireless for a while. I arrived just after 15:00 to find everything in full swing. There was John M/KK4OYJ, Yan M0YNK, Chris 2E0DBY, Chris’ son, Dean and Gary M6IGM already there when I arrived and Mark M0MJH […]
One hour of 40m WSPR on a Saturday evening
This is especially satisfying for a couple of reasons. It’s the first time I’ve reached VK using the Ultimate 2 kit and a simple wire aerial. I’ve managed it on 20m using the Hexbeam but not with my random length doublet and smartuner. Secondly, it’s amazing that any signals were received at all because it’s […]
Statistics – May 2013
May has been a relatively quiet month for me with my lowest number of QSOs since September 2010 despite the fact that the CQ WPX CW contest was last weekend and I’d normally make quite a few contacts during that contest. Conditions were poor and I was out all weekend anyway and unable to use […]
Logbook of The World QSL rates
I signed up with the ARRL Logbook of The World program a couple of years ago and I upload my log after every period of operating as all it takes is a simple click in Aether, my logging software. At that time, my return QSL rate was rather low and it took a while for […]
Two hours of 20m WSPR on a Sunday evening
Power output: Somewhere between 150mW and 200mW. Coax: 30m RG213 Aerial: Broadband Hexbeam at 35ft AGL beaming pointing west Best DX: KB9AMG at 6,378 km (3,963 miles) at 31,890 km/Watt
One hour of 30m WSPR on a Sunday afternoon
Power output: Somewhere between 150mW and 200mW. Coax: 20m RG213 ATU: SGC Smartuner 8m 450 ohm open feeder Approx 65ft doublet, sloping E-W, 30ft AGL at the east end, 20ft at the west end Best DX: OE6WSF at 1,185 km (736 miles) at 5,925 km/Watt
Running WSPR (and QRSS) at 200mW
I’ve written a fair bit about WSPR in the past and posted reports of where my signal has been heard using just five watts output. I’ve also written about QRSS including details of the transmitters I’ve built and shown reports of where I’ve been captured. A few weeks ago I heard about a new QRSS kit […]
