Here we go again....

After a ridiculous length of time away from this blog, i finally get around to trying again!! Lots of things have been happening "in the shack", new equipment, new modes being tried, and i have also discovered the joys of Twitter!

Equipment wise, the shack now consists of a Yaesu FT897 as the main radio, this is used with a random wire in and inverted V configuration via an LDG Z11 Pro II automatic antenna tuner. This is also connected to the computer via a Tigertronics Signalink USB sound card for data modes. (I also have a G4ZLP sound card, which i use from time to time while i try to decide which is better)

This gets used for SSB with up to 100 watts output, but mostly for data modes with up to 30 watts output. Mostly i use PSK31/PSK63 modes, although i do swap to RTTY and JT65 when the mood takes me, or the stations that i want to work appear on those modes. I have also had a quick play with SSTV, although the software for that has left me more than a little baffled. WSPR gets used when there is nothing else happening on the bands, and i have also had a quick go with Hellscrieber having made just one contact using this mode.

I find myself mostly using the 30meter band (10MHz) these days - no contests to get in the way, fewer stations and generally nicer people on there! 40meters (7MHz) gets a bit of use, as does 20meters (14MHz), but i would say that 17meters (18MHz) has become my second band of choice after 30meters, for pretty much the same reasons!

15meters (21MHz) and 10meters (28MHz) get a little visit from time to time, although i don't transmit on them too often. My antenna does not really work that well on 80meters (3.5MHz), so i tend to leave that alone.

I also have a Yaesu FT817 connected to a multi-band vertical which is actually tied to the downspout from the guttering, so does not work at all well, and as this radio only puts out a maximum of 5 watts, it is pretty much useless except for receiving.

Finally, a Kenwood R5000 (with all the optional filters) is the receive only part of the station. This is mostly used to monitor my own transmissions when carrying out tests, and for quickly checking activity on other bands. I also use this for broadcast band reception from time to time.

As for Twitter, I have to confess that I did not see the point of it for quite a while, but now that I have gotten my head around the basics and learnt how to use the search and hashtag features, I actually do find it both entertaining and useful. Most of the people I "follow" are radio hams, photographers and crime writers, all of which are categories that interest me tremendously. 

The fellow radio hams that I am in contact with via Twitter are always full of useful and helpful tips and advice, and we also share a lot of amusing banter with each other. Many times I have had tears of laughter streaming down my cheeks during our banter sessions!




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A bit of an update

It has been a little while since I updated this, so I thought it was about time I put the latest "scores" on.

Since the 8th of January, I haven't do quite as much radio as I would have liked, but have managed the following:-

Countries HEARD = Monaco, Lithuania, Armenia, Brazil, Ireland, Puerto Rico, Wales, Estonia, China, Scotland, New Zealand, Argentina, South Africa, Latvia, Nicaragua, Algeria, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Sweden and Namibia. (New total is 54 heard)

And my signal was HEARD IN = Australia, Monaco and Ireland. (New total is heard in 30 countries)

As for large locator squares, I am now up to 40 heard and 20 heard in.

I have mostly been concentrating on Europe on the 80m band, which has done little to add to the above countries and squares total, but it has helped my total for smaller locator squares, and my map of Europe is being coloured in fairly rapidly.

Most of my activity has been on JT65, which has quickly become my favourite mode, although I have done a little PSK31 (and indeed some PSK64 in the contest!) and a bit of RTTY, again during contests.

More new countries

I have spent the week or so since the big contest mostly working on the data modes - PSK31 and JT65 snagging me some nice contacts, including a few new countries:-

PSK31.
20m - Norway, Poland, Lithuania.
10m - Brazil, Dominican Republic, South Africa. (the last two being new countries for me)

JT65.
30m - Malta. (new country)
20m - USA.
15m - Russia.
10m - USA, Russia, South Africa, Brazil.

SSB.
20m - Canary Islands, Holland.

So, three new countries there for me, and i also missed out on a few that i heard but could not hear me (Japan being the most frustrating one on 10m JT65 early this morning)

I am getting the hang of the JT65 operating procedure, and even managed to have 2 QSOs at the same time - don't ask me how i did that - it shouldn't actually be possible, but never mind!

Despite not being able to have spent as much time as i would have liked on the air, i have enjoyed what i have done, and feel that it was worthwhile.

CQ WW Contest weekend & JT65-HF

CQ WW Contest weekend & JT65-HF
It's been a busy couple of weeks for me hobby wise - i have gotten active on a few new data modes - i can now transmit and receive on RTTY, PSK31, and after a few false starts, JT65.

I remember from years ago, that RTTY was a bit of a nightmare to get working properly, and that accurate tuning was critical, but thanks to the modern technology we have at our disposal, and the power of the recent computers, it has become a piece of cake.

All you need to do now is to feed the audio into the computer (either from the headphone socket of the radio to the audio in of the computer, or better still, via a USB box), run the appropriate software, and that's it, you are basically on the air!

It turns out that JT65 is not compatible with one of my USB boxes, but works fine on the other one, and can even be used by holding the radios microphone next to the computers speaker.....very Heath Robinson, but it works!!

So,  have now worked the following countries on PSK31:- Finland, Serbia, Slovakia, Russia, Iceland, Italy, Bulgaria, Hungary and Spain. On RTTY i have contacted:- Canada, USA, Italy and Ukraine. On JT65:- Italy, Ukraine, Sardinia, USA and Canada.

Nothing particularly rare or exciting there, but a good start all the same. My first RTTY contacts were during a contest - nothing like throwing yourself in at the deep end - i had very little clue as to what i was doing, and choose to do it in a high pressure situation where all the other stations wanted to do was complete the contact and move on to the next! I survived the experience though.

I have been looking forward to this weekend for a month or so now - it is the CQWW SSB contest - which is basically the biggest ham radio competition of the year. I have had no intention of entering it myself, but it does give the best opportunity of the year to hear and work new countries.

I spent a couple of hours last night and the same this morning tuning around, and have worked 8 new countries:- The Gambia, Brazil, Albania, Turkey, Crete, Belarus, Puerto Rico and Corsica. (I can remember the time when Turkey was seriously rare, and Albania an impossibility due to the hobby being banned there - how times have changed!)

I have also heard a few countries for the first time, but have so far not been able to get my tiny signal through to them:- United Arab Emirates, Andorra, Chile, Armenia, Tajikistan, Martinique, French Guiana, Saudi Arabia, Virgin Islands, Aruba, Bonaire, St.Maarten, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and the Turks & Caicos Islands.

All in all a good few hours "work" and i am VERY pleased with these results. After all, in theory, my antenna really shouldn't work........ :-)


Almost midnight - contest about to end - time for bed, but first a quick update on this evening's activity.
New countries WORKED:- Montserrat, Curacao and San Marino. New countries heard but not worked:- Mozambique, Congo, Tanzania, Paraguay, Cape Verde, Peru and Georgia.

My new running totals since moving to this location are HEARD= 113 countries, WORKED = 60 countries.

Time for bed!

Best 73.