My adventures and thoughts on Ham Radio
What you see above, is where my signals have been heard, in the last 24 hours.
Not too bad. A litle disappointing, though, that there's such a large hole over China and India, etc.
More power, apprently, won'
t t solve the problem, because I'm not hearing any operators from these areas, despite there beinga fair number of Ham operators in that area, particularly in India. Oh, well. You do what you can.
I'll give you a quickie overview of my FT* operations, in response to several questions on the topic.
My big shack computer is being rebuilt, so at the moment, I'm running a mini-PC, running Windows 10 with 2 screens. This is the PC I have connected to my Yaesu FT991a. Understand that the graphic below is actually a capture of both screens at once. This is the normal digital config I've been running for quite a while now. It's been quite effective for me.
On the far left, is the main screen for WSJT-X. To it's immediate right is WIN4YEASU, which controls the radio itself via CAT. It also makes available com port repeaters, so as to allow both WIN4YAESU and several other packages to run simultaneously. As you can see, all the controls normally hidden on the 991's main screen are right up front on WIN4YAESU.... which is why I speak so highly of it.
Immediately below that, is the waterfall from WSJT-X. That should be self explanatory to anyone who has run FT*.
Then we move to the right hand screen.
The biggest window is GridTracker's main screen. This keeps updating with what the system is hearing and where you're being heard in real time.
Upper right is the current roster of active stations that you've not contacted yet. The system uses a local copy of my QRZ logs to determine what is on that list,
Below that is the station I'm currently working.
My bigger computer, once it's rebuild process is completed, will maintain 4 screens in pretty much the same basic config.
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Been a busy few weeks which is why I've not posted much here.
First, we had a bit of an accident.... my older boy ran over my VHF/UHF coax feed with a lawnmower. Expensive ouch. So I'm waiting to get the coax replaced for the short stuff. More on that in another post.
As some of you will know, I started a new job just recently and as a consequence of that, I'm now driving a new rig. Been having some problems with getting an antenna to work on the thing. If anyone has experience installing VHF/UHF antennas on a Volvo, drop me a line, please. I'll post more on that in another post as well.
I'm hoping that it's top loaded design will allow it to perform within shooting distance of the IMAX2000 I currently use. As most of you know, that's a tall order.... the IMAX is tough to beat on the short end of HF. Being top-loaded, the VG4 will not suffer from lower elevation on the shorter bands, such as 10m for example. (I'm still running the ROC City 10m net these days, and obviously want the best signal I can get for that band. )
On the other hand, since the IMAX only works well on 15-10m without the external tuner... And down to 20m and up to 6m with it, with some serious signal losses below 15m for efficiency reasons, it's a little constricting. I've been really looking forward to getting live on 40 again and to better signal on 20, so, this may end up being a hard choice.
I may end up setting up both verticals if the top-loaded VG4 doesn't perform as well as the collinear design of the IMAX.
If, on the other hand they're fairly close, I may end up taking the IMAX down. That thing is a signal monster and I'll hate to lose it. We'll see. Because of some space and hardware limits I'm dealing with, I'll have to take the IMAX down anyway, at least initially.
I gatherthe VG4 is going to be a handful to put up, and get tuned. Tuning it will require a number of ups and downs, and that doesn't appear to be a one man job. Have a look at the dimensions to see why. It weighs around 15lbs, too, and that's without the weight of the mast and the coax and so on.
As for tuning it, I've seen reports that only a couple of cm adjustment per band, give around a 500kc shift in center tuning on 40, with the remaining bands being somewhat more forgiving. The Q on 40m is a bit high, as you might expect from a trapper of only 26 feet or so.
Once up however, it looks like it'll be pretty much bullet- proof. the Radio Oddity site suggests:
The VG4 is rated for high wind environments. After a normal installation, it can resist a category one hurricane with no guying required.
I do have high hopes for this stick. we'll see if that mans out over the next couple weeks.
Of course I'll be posting results here.
UPDATE:
I've decided due to time and work factors to put off the install until Thanksgiving weekend. I'll be taking thanksgiving off as well as black Friday. In looking at the thing I suspect I'm going to need most of a day to get it up and tuned.
I run a fair amount of FTx.
Indeed, it amounts to a bit over half of the QSO's in my log. I've had a fair amount of derision sent my way over it, most suggesting that it's effortless and thereby worthless.
Let's set the record straight:
I designed the station. I selected and in a few cases built the antennas I'm using. I erected the antenna field, in my case in the smallest backyard I could have imagined. I selected one smaller computer and rebuilt from the ground up, the computers that are doing my heavy lifting. I generally have 6 screens running as follows.
1:Cat control via WIN4YAESU, along with the waterfall and transmit audio screens.
2 WSJT-X
3: PSK Reporter
4: Another browser, generally running QRZ's log page
On the Second computer:
5: and 6 Grid Tracker.
Oh... and a tablet running HAMCLOCK. So, 7 screens.
With this system running, I have all 50 states and 161 countries confirmed in about four years time.
The systems I have running to accomplish all of this are (and I'm sorry to have tos ay this) beyond the skill sets of most folks who are complaining about FT8.... they couldn't operate the thing, much less build it.
Yes there are folks who are using the mode with little to no skill, and getting fair results. So be it.
I'm getting fabulous results and I built and I maintain the thing myself. To do that you need both radio and computer skills.
We've been getting loads of info on new raios coming out next Q1.
For starters, there's Yaesu's new FTX-1F. I'll let Peter explain this one:
Plus side: There's a lot to like in this one. I love the display, for starters.It really is a nice looking unit.,
Still, I can't deny I like the look of the thing. I will tell you what, though.... Get the power to 100 w or better, and all mode and put it into this package with this display, and I'll be standing in line, with a kilobuck plus in my hand, to replace my beloved 991a. Truthfully, there's not much that would cause me to give up the 991a. And I have to admit if I was to do POTA for whatever, I'd be looking seriously at this one.... it is specifically designed for that kind of work.
Downside: QRP. Not my brand of beer.
Downside.... the multi-layered menu structure. No, I've not seen it in action, (who has, at this point?) but it's got to be that way given he dearth of controls as you can see in the pic. I got around this issue with WIN4YAESU some time back. Puts all the controls out front. But in a small package designed for field duty, you're going to need to make some compromises.
Downside: No internal tuner. This one is a bit edgy... most folks will be running EFHW's or similar and won't need the tuner. Some folks will, or simply feel uncomfortable running that way.Yeah, they could have put one in but only at the expense of the better size, and therefore the amount of available operating hours per charge. (mitigating factor.... the tuner is available as a tack on along with a cooing fan, for those will run higher density modes such as FT8. Yaesu apparently figures if you're running in those modes you're going to be packing a laptop or perhaps a Arduino or something, so the added external size won't be much of an issue. They're probably right.
Conclusions: It'll be popular with the field day/POTA/SOTA crowd, no doubt.
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The other new box is the ICOM 7760.
Well, as you can see, it's actually Boxes, plural, with a control head you can separate
from the RF deck.
Indeed, at Icom says:
The IC-7760 offers a new “innovative Shack Style” consisting a full control head with separate RF deck, connected through a control cable for greater installation flexibility. The supplied control cable is 3 m, 9.8 ft long, and by using a commercially available LAN cable, the RF deck can be installed in a more remote location. Furthermore, the control head and RF deck can be connected through a wired home LAN connection for remote operation. This simple configuration does not require a PC, and can be easily operated from nearly anywhere in the home as long as a LAN connection is available.
Here's a post Tokyo rundown on the unit:
Impressive. It just doesn't have 2m/70cm, as the 991 and the FTX-1F do. I personally find the addition of VHF/UHF in new rigs attractive... and for a premium rig like this cannot understand the thinking behind not including them.
(Although I personally am annoyed that nobody seems to want to include 220MHz, we all know why... it's only available in ITU region 2. As a result, the market isn't large enough to support it's inclusion. I suspect the 4m band in Europe will suffer the same fate as the 1.25m band here in the states..... But, I digress)
For a lot of folks, the Flex radio is their dream rig. This has enough similar features, and if the build quality is up to Icom's usual standards this thing is going to turn some heads.
I'm not sure on the availability of either of these boxes short term, but estimate they'll have them out by Q1 2025.
A short while back I posted a bit called Why are repeaters more quiet than they used to be? In that post, I mentioned....
The wide area networks that I mentioned earlier will also aid in getting traffic going. I'm afraid that the RF only purists aren't going to like it much, but WANs like EchoLink, AllStar, and so on are going to be more than any other Factor responsible for making repeaters active again, particularly amongst younger hams who are just getting into the hobby.
"You mean I can get on my little 5 watt walkie-talkie that I paid $30 for and talk to somebody across the country?"
Yeah it's going to be like that.
Being a truck driver who travels all over the northeast and occasionally, outside that area, I have begun to find the attractions of wider area linked repeater systems. An example would be the East Coast Reflector. Another would be the one I've been playing with for the last several days.... the N3KZ system.
For those unfamiliar with the concept, what we have in both cases is a number of repeaters in various localities, which are linked together. What one repeater hears, the rest repeat.... often in huge distances, which are unavailable by other means on the VHF and UHF bands.
Now there are many systems that are regional in nature. for example, my friend Bob, N2HJD here in my hometown of Rochester, runs a lined system that is focused on the Genesee Valley around Rochester. As he says,
The repeater system consists of 13 Amateur repeaters cross linked on 6
different Amateur bands. There are 11 sites all radio linked in two
counties around the Rochester,NY area.
The system also contains a translator, remote receiver, 2-meter remote base, an internet interface, and a DIGITAL VOICE RECORDER
The N2HJD repeater system is all home brew with 17 CONTROLLERS, 26 receivers, and 21 transmitters, and has evolved from May of 1988 to it's current state.
The N3KZ system is a bit larger and is mostly focused on Pennsylvania though it has repeaters on the fringes of the state.... for example, New Jersey and Southern New York state. The result is I can keep track of the system and the folks active on it from anywhere in the state, and often outside of it. (Here's a list.)
The East Coast Reflector, is much larger than either of those two. The founder of that whole deal , Dick WB2JPQ lives just down the road from me, in Buffalo, NY. I had the happy chance to meet him at Dayton this year. The thing is flat out huge, and there's no way for me to list all of the ways to connect to that net in this smallish blog post. I suggest looking at the link above to start your journey. However, here's a graphical taste:
Practical examples? Many, but the most recent on the N3KZ system is a good one. For the last few days, I've been chatting at 4am with a fellow driver based out of the Harrisburg/York area. One day I caught up with him from Borderntown, NJ on the Philly machine while driving down I295. On another, I spoke with him from farm country in Delaware, out on the Delmarva Peninsula, and finally, the next day from the PA Pike near Breezewood, and again later that day in Pittsburgh. All I could do at each instance was shake my head and smile. This is stuff that someone figuring on the shorter ranges that UHF and VHF usually offer, wouldn't expect. I mean, yeah, as a logical thing I certainly understand the process, but it's still a bit staggering in some ways.
The 779UV offers 5,10,and 20w output, which I normally keep at 10w. (Gets a bit warm, running full power for extended QSO's, and really there's no point to running high power most of the time since I'm making it just fine with the lesser power levels.... often I even cut the 10w to 5w.) I'm running a half-wave stick on my truck's mirror at the moment. Works just fine. One advantage of this particular radio is that it has some 200 memories available, so plugging entire networks into this tiny box is a breeze. The other advantage is that with it's smaller power demands, it's powered by a cigar lighter plug. Which means no permanent wiring to the truck. Makes the boss happy.
Anyway, back to the linked systems. There is a consistency of feel, contacts, and community on these systems that I find attractive to say nothing of the ability to work the usual crowd from just about wherever I happen to be at the time. All on a radio that is smaller than a lot of HT's.
HF in the truck is a bit more than I want to get into at this point, but tying onto linked systems is more than enough to keep my Ham radio addiction growing properly. Perhaps yours, as well?
As an aside, let's consider the normal repeater system and explaining such things to the non-ham. It can be done fairly easily... I've done it often enough, myself. Now explain however many repeaters linked together to that same person.
Smoke will be coning out their ears.
