Amateur Radio in testing times.

The new buzzphrase is "Social Distancing" and you would have thought that most Radio Amateurs were well acquainted with solo operating but there is also a very sociable side to our activities. Our local Club in Spalding meets (or used to) every week, hosts one of the biggest annual Rallies in the Country as well as several smaller public events throughout the year. In the new medical environment of a virus infected World, all of those public activities have sadly been curtailed for the time being.

The Club is still very active though. We now have an active net on 2 meters instead of a face to face meeting. Some of our younger members have been actively supporting the more vulnerable with physical help with shopping and other chores.

In these strange and testing  times Amateur Radio has become an even more important life line than ever before. Crisis bring out the best of everyone and that is certainly true of our Club members. Let us hope that this emergency will soon run its course and we can get back to some sense of normality but, in the mean time, a huge thank you to all of those contributing to keeping spirits high.

Best 73 es 88



 

CW Contests or knitting?

When operating in CW Contests I am normally one of those operators who Search & Pounce (S&P) across the band, never having the confidence to try calling CQ and hold a Run Frequency. In addition to lack of confidence, I have never had a lot of success calling CQ, which I had always attributed to running modest power levels on a crowded band. 

During a recent UKEI CW Contest, I ran out of new stations to call and thought that I would try calling CQ for the last 10 minutes to see how it would go. I was amazed to hear at least 4 stations calling me at the same time and spot on my frequency - my ears and brain went into melt down and I experienced blind panic for the first time in many a year. I have never been on the receiving end of a pile-up before and it was a very sobering experience. CW Contesting has always been a specialised business that attracts the elite of operators but I came to the conclusion that CW Contests are getting more challenging every year. I think that I have identified a couple of reasons for this;

• Operating seems to me, to be getting faster these days. I am not sure if the standard of operating is getting better or whether the use of decoders such as FlDigi or CwGet make copying fast CW easier. Certainly, the use of logging/operating software like N1MM makes sending very fast, accurate CW easier than ever before.
• With waterfall displays and Contest overcrowding becoming so prevalent, stations returning a CQ call are virtually spot on frequency. Whilst on the face of it, this should make operating easier, in fact, trying to single out a particular caller in a pile up with exactly the same tone is, to my ears, impossible.

I did persevere and managed to add a few more calls to my tally but it was a very harrowing experience and, to be honest, a little embarrassing. I vowed to improve my technique or take up knitting. Fortunately there are several pieces of software available to help. One that has survived the test of time is "Morse Runner", a programme that very realistically recreates the contesting experience. It is probably a bit early to evaluate any self improvement but my copying speed and accuracy is definitely improving but I still find pile-ups extremely challenging. Even without the stress of live operating the feeling of absolute panic sets in and the brain fades into static as all calls melt into one meaningless tone. I recently mentioned this to other Spalding Club members and was reminded what it must be like for rare DX stations , like the Bouvet Island expedition, operators. OK, but at least they have the luxury of being able to operate split frequency that Contesting does not afford. 

I will carry on with Morse Runner for a bit longer but even so, more kudos to those DX and Contest operators who run pile-ups so efficiently. They make it sound so easy. Now, in my very modest fashion, I can appreciate just how good you need to be to carry it off.

With any luck my next attempt to call CQ during a CW Contest will be a little less embarrassing than the last time but many thanks to all whose patience is tested in the process. Maybe, just maybe, I'll never call CQ again and take up knitting instead.

Ageing ears

The years roll mercilessly past and as much as I would like to deny their passing has any relevance in my life, I have finally had to admit that they have taken a toll on my hearing.

For many years now the default frequency that I have set my CW sidetone to has been 750Hz. This has always been the optimum frequency that my "brain filters" manage to distinguish the required CW signal from the pileup. It has also been the frequency that I have found most comfortable to listen to, especially during Radio Contests, when I can be listening intensely for several hours at a stretch.

Last week I was operating CW in the RSGB 80 meter Club Championship Contest, a contest that I usually find quite relaxing. However after about an hour of operating I noticed a distinct  feeling of ear/brain fatigue. I was finding it increasingly difficult to separate the required signal from the crowd.

Returning to normal operating several days later, I was listening to a pileup on the radio and found some signals distinctly easier to read than others. I booted up FlDigi so that I could utilise the waterfall to anylise what I was listening to. It was an interesting exercise as I found signals on my usual 750Hz were definitely "down in the noise" compared to some others. When I adjusted the same signal up in frequency it magically popped out from the crowd. I tried tuning the signal to various frequencies before settling at 950Hz. At this frequency my ears could tune in much more clearly, any higher and it became irritating to listen to.

After several days of using 950Hz as my default sidetone I can definitely say that CW has become much more pleasurable again. I can also see why, when calling a rare station in a pileup, it could be advantageous to call him slightly higher in frequency, rather than on or below it.

Perhaps time to book a hearing test!

Nostalgic Night

Technology marches on in all forms of modern life but, it seems, non faster than in the field of Amateur Radio. It is a long time since I have had to tune my radio receive and transmit for sensitivity and power, manually tune an antenna or manually paper log. 

I am not knocking modern equipment and practices, far from it, I actually embrace  and love them, but, it can induce a feeling of complacency as I take all of this modern convenience for granted. Worst of all, it makes me lazy and I need very little encouragement to pursue that route.

Operating "Digi" modes for me once meant using a computer for RTTY but those times are long gone. There are so many different digi modes now that I am at a loss to know what many of them are, or recognise them when I hear/see them. 

At my local radio club, S&DARS in Spalding, it is plain to see the attraction of these new modes especially amongst younger members. Indeed, it is a healthy sign that Club membership is increasing and most noticeably, is also attracting a younger generation into the hobby, many of whom are very active on the digital modes.

I try to keep up to date and am moderately active digitally but I often yearn for for the simple life, especially after a computer system or interface problem. For me back to basics usually means a barefoot radio and CW into a simple dipole antenna. This is my safety blanket when I feel threatened by temperamental technology.

Recently I came across notification of a contest using the Feld Hell mode and, when I saw that it was based on 1920's facsimile technology, I was tempted to give it a listen. Little did I realise that this was to breathe a fresh wave of enthusiasm into radio that I had not experienced in many a year. It was so refreshing to actually tune the bands looking for signals, adjusting the radio for best reception and then manually typing in responses to calls in the log because I had not got any macros pre-prepared. 

Not being familiar with Feld Hell at all the first problem was finding a signal. On the Feld Hell Club web site they give recommendations but they are fairly broad. Fortunately, another S&DARS Club member, Andrzej M6OIZ, was tuning around and I heard/saw his signal on my screen. Neither of us had worked Hell before so did not really know what we were doing or what to expect. Not to be intimidated by ignorance we plunged in and helped each other out, completing a QSO. Feld Hell is a really relaxed mode to operate. It is; 

• fairly slow so is easy for us, one fingered, typists. 
• It sounds similar to slow morse so nice to listen to, and
• It is strangely hypnotic watching the call scroll slowly across your screen.

I then went off and searched the bands for more signals but only found others on 80 meters. As it got close to midnight, when the contest ended, other stations must have got more desperate for contacts and I managed to work SQ3LMR, SA7CND and EC1RCB with several others heard but not worked.

There are a number of software programmes that support Hell but I was using FlDigi V4.0.18 which worked very well indeed. Power out varied between 40 and 60 watts to a trap dipole up at 6M agl.

It all felt like a trip back in time to traditional operating techniques with a modern twist. As a tiny tear of nostalgia starts to well up on my cheek it is time to wish you all 73. My thanks to Andrzej, M6OIZ, for that 1st QSO on a new, Old mode.

If you wish to see more about Hell, there is an excellent video by Randy, W7AGE on You Tube.  Have fun.

2016 Club Field Day

I have posted the Photographs from our Club Field Day at;

http://www.photoimagery.co.uk/sdars/2016FD/index.htm 
 

SDARS 2016 Rally

The Spalding & District Amateur Radio Society's Annual Rally was held on Sunday 5th June and, once again, the weather Gods smiled upon us. The Rally is held at the Gleed School in Spalding which is a very spacious  venue, both inside and outside on the School playing field. Because of the abundance of space, this Rally is always a nice, relaxed affair with no overcrowding to tax the nerves.

There were many traders in the School Hall and the outside Boot Fair was extremely well populated. I am sure that everyone who attended found plenty to challenge their wallets. Judging by the constant stream of visitors carrying goodies back to the car park, traders did very well.

As usual I took a few photos of the event which can be found here;

 

Matt operating his Clansman Radio

One of the most important aspects of any Rally is the social interaction and we all managed to catch up with many friends that we normally only meet on the air.

Many thanks to all in the Club who worked so hard to ensure the Rally was a success and also a huge thank you to the traders and visitors, I hope that you all enjoyed the day.

Until next year, 73.

Data, Contesting and using PztLog

One of the main reasons that I enjoy Contest operation is that they hone your operating skills and point out any equipment weaknesses in rapid fashion.  They also guarantee you quite a few contacts when other stations are only too anxious to work anyone - even me!

My station is a fairly simple one and probably quite typical of most Amateur Radio enthusiasts. My QTH is in the Fens, so flat with only local building obstructions until the hills rise quite a few miles away. It is also close to the centre of Town and very limited in space so will never be highly competative. That said, I must be in the same situation of the vast majority of Amateurs and it is here that the RSGB CC series of Club Contests gains appeal.

This year I have been directing my Contest activities towards the RSGB 80 meter CC series and in particular the CW events. My antenna for 80 and 40 meters is a trap dipole which is slightly shorter than a full sized antenna and just fits into the space that I have available by spanning the bungalow and both front and back gardens. It is only up at 10 meters agl and slopes down at both ends to about 6 feet agl but works quite nicely for inter G Contacts. This antenna has served me well, especially now that some of the RSGB HF Contests now include 40 meters.

There are 3 RSGB CC Contests each month from February through to July. One for each of; phone, CW and Data. To be competative you need to get as many Club members to enter as many events as possible. My Club has traditionally been more interested in VHF Contests and, up until recently, has not many very active members who enter CW Contests. As my main area of interest is CW, this gives me in a distinct disadvantage - a single station using a single mode is never going to do well.

I am not really one to  make New Years resolutions but I did promise myself that I would enter a Data Contest this year, mainly to give my modest CW scores a little boost. I have operated RTTY before but that was about 20 years ago using an old BARTG Multyterm and a very primitive, noisy, computer. These days my main HF Radio is a Kenwood TS590 which is very easy to interface with my laptop and the software available now should make life much easier.

For HF Contests there is a requirement to generate a Cabrillo file for the entry so my main choice of logging software is usually N1MM and, while I only use it in a very simple fashon, it is relatively easy to set up for CW. On data modes however things start to get more involved and I have struggled to get it all to work properly. Recently I have been using PztLog by Charlie, M0PZT,for my general logging and that also includes a data mode operating facility, at least for RTTY and PSK which are the 2 modes needed in the RSGB Contest. It is very easy to set up and also includes a simple "Contest mode" to generate and log serial numbers. It can also generate a Cabrillo file from a selected number of QSO's. For my first data contest I thought that I would give it a try.

Using software for Contest operating involves setting up macros to efficiently automate the Contest Exchange and I was pleased to find that in PztLog it was easy to create a set of simple macros that did the job. Being more acustommed to N1MM I used the <exchange> macro in the template instead of using <serial> and found that I needed to type in my own serial number as well as the one received. For search and pounce operating this was not too much of a problem but a bit inconvenient. When it came to generating a Cabrillo file for my entry I found that the number of Cabrillo templates was very limited and I needed to drastically edit the file in Notepad before it was accepted by the RSGB.

I emailed Charlie with my comments and he replied very quickly, informing me to to use the <serial> macro to automate adding my serial number in the exchange and he is also going to produce a template for the RSGB 80M CC contest. PztLog is probably not the first choice of software for dedicated Contesters but its simplicity certainly has a lot of appeal for general Club use and the "waterfall" display was extremely clear to select stations to work. Support from Charlie is also very good so I will be using it again.

Operating in the Contest raised a few questions, the main ones being what power to use and how to set up the radio. PSK is a very efficient mode and power levels above 25 watts are not normally necessary. It is also recommended to turn off the ALC but I did not read that until after the contest! I set my power level to 50 watts and left the rest of the radio settings to the same as I use for CW. I am not sure how "clean" my signal was but I did not receive any complaints and received replies from most of the stations that I called. I treated RTTY and PSK in much the same way and am not sure if that is correct so more research is needed before my next data contest in May. Any advice on these last comments will be gratefully received.

I have not been active using data modes before but it is very tempting as there always seems to be some data activity on the bands when other modes are seemingly dead. I managed to complete 43 contacts and was pleased with that for a first attempt. I must however read up a bit more to make sure that my signal is as clean as it should be.

I have, since the Contest, got N1MM plus FlDigi to work but is still in need of a lot of tweaking before before it replaces PztLog. The simplicity of PztLog has got me into using a mode that I would not have used before. The free version of Ham Radio Deluxe can also be used and incorporates many more modes than I have even heard of but it does not generate Cabrillo files for the entry.

My thanks to Charlie, M0PZT, for his prompt support.

73 es cul, Jim GØHGH

 Update 21/05/2016

Since I wrote this report, Charlie has updated the Cabrillo export with a template for the RSGB 80 meter CC. It's great to have a software writer who reacts to his customers requirements. Thanks again Charlie.

I have also tried the Skimmer feature in PZTLog which worked well but after ten minutes of Contest operating my brain could not cope with the amount of information that was invading my senses. I went back to simple search and pounce operation for now but it is certainly a feature that I need to investigate further.

73 es gud contesting, Jim GØHGH

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