My name is
Philip
and since 1985 I have held a
UK Government license for
experimental Radio Communications, having qualified by passing City & Guilds technical/theory
examinations and a 12 WPM Morse
Code
transmitting and receiving test. I hold the Advanced Full license Amateur Radio call sign:
G0ISW
spoken phonetically as
'Golf Zero India Sierra Whisky' and shown below in Morse Code.
--. ----- .. ... .--
If you cannot see the full
index shown on the left edge of your screen, please go to my main page at
Since my final house move in
2009, with external antenna restrictions, I am no longer seriously active on VHF DX.
My days of chasing DX via Meteor Scatter are sadly over, although I still
experiment receiving VHF signals with a much inferior antenna system indoors.
Having retired from the MoD in 2011
and now working on a part-time casual basis as an 'adviser', I'm able to
spend much more time on the radio, family commitments permitting.
Most of my Amateur Radio operation
takes place from home on usually the 5 MHz band where I am often to be found using data modes such as
Olivia 16/500 on
5.368 MHz and PSK31
on 5.363 MHz.
I also use other HF
bands with
PSK31 or JT65 and
operate on 50 MHz chasing Sporadic Es in the Summer months.
My NVIS antenna for
5 MHz use is a full size
1.6-30 MHz British army tactical dipole @ 2m AGL, used in conjunction
with my Kenwood TS-2000 transceiver.
I continue to operate
often on
either HF
/ 50 MHz / 144 MHz / 432 MHz
from my 4x4 vehicle as G0ISW/M using a
Yaesu ATAS-120A antenna for
HF/50 MHz and a separate large Comet
50/144/432 MHz colinear.
I also monitor my
local 2 metre repeater GB3EV on
145.700 MHz
FM. Coverage map shown below
I also operate from
home with AX-25 Packet digipeating across Europe on
145.825 MHz
FM through Low Earth orbiting satellites or the International Space Station
(ISS)
Since December 2012 I
also operate QRP
HF
/ 50 MHz
SSB
voice from home and pedestrian mobile using an Elecraft KX-3 Transceiver
Since
September 2012 I no longer use the RSGB QSL bureau to send cards and so can
only exchange new QSL via the services of online eQSL.cc
G0ISW
HF / VHF/ UHF Radio shack
2009-Present day
G0ISW
HF / VHF/ UHF Radio shack
2005-2009
(Interactive photo use
your cursor to identify equipment IE only)
FT
G0ISW HF / VHF / UHF
Antennas
2005-2009
(Interactive photo,
use your cursor to identify equipment IE only)
As a visitor to this website please, please
Sign my
Guest Book, as I spend a considerable amount of time maintaining this site. I really appreciate your positive comments,
suggestions etc.
Your Guest Book entries
greatly help to maintain my enthusiasm for continuing this task after 12
years!
I've had to create a
new Guest Book due to the old Lycos/Tripod service closing down on
01.04.2012.
G0ISW Station history and
background
During the late 1960's as a young boy I was
fascinated and influenced by watching the television series 'The Man from UNCLE'
and seeing them use
their pen radio communicators, calling
"Open 'Channel D'
Emergency Relay".
I decided that I wanted to have a cool way of
communicating using radio like them.
My favourite film,
made in 1968, is "Where
Eagles Dare", about an Allied Special
Forces/SOE WW2 mission, which contained even more radios and famous spoken
lines like "Broadsword calling Danny Boy" that increased my interest
further. Little did I realise then, how much this film would ultimately
influence my choice of interests and hobbies over the next 40 years!
The
screenshots above from the film 'Where Eagles Dare' are copyright of MGM and are
displayed with gratitude to the
film fan
website of which I am a registered member.
Eventually I followed
a path using radio through school and work to obtaining my Amateur Radio Full licence as shown below:
Passed Radio Amateurs Examination and issued with
then 'VHF
only' licence
G1MOG
1987
Issued with 'Full'
HF licence
G0ISW
I was first licensed
as a Radio Amateur in 1985, with the call sign
G1MOG and my first ever QSO was with Chris
G4CLB using my brand new
Yaesu FT-2700R
transceiver on 433.200 MHz
FM.
When travelling back to my original home
town in the Lake District I was inspired
to get on HF by the slow morse transmissions of Bill Delamere G3PER
(SK) from Heysham, who I would hear on the M6 motorway as I neared Cumbria, or
on the return journey stuck in traffic jams near Lancaster! My
other slow morse tutor was
Winston G4PEF. I've never particularly enjoyed
using morse code, but these two gentlemen brushed of the rust and got me
back up to speed.
I joined the
Hillingdon Amateur Radio Club
(HARC), which used to meet at Hillingdon Golf clubhouse in West London. In
1987 I didn't tell anyone else from the club that I planned to sit the 12
WPM Morse Code examination and turned up at the test centre at Watford one
evening, only to find two other club members there who also hadn't told
anyone else either! One was Bob and the other
Jack Davies G0ISY
(SK 2009).
The highlight of the evening was when
we prepared to listen to the examiner sending Morse Code for us to receive and
we all plugged our headphones into his homemade splitter box for us then to
accidentally pickup up perfectly 'Capital Radio'
on 95.8 MHz FM
simultaneously with the his sent Morse! Somehow Jack and I managed to pass the test
despite the QRM!
I was delighted to receive in
time for Christmas 1987 my full HF licence callsign of
G0ISW
In the summer of 1988 I took an ex
military
Racal Syncal 30
(TRA931) (liberated from the Falkland Islands in 1982!)
HF manpack transceiver
1.8-30 MHz to the HARC clubhouse and we worked
stations in the USA on 14 MHz USB
with
20 W
and a 2.4M long whip aerial, whilst sat outside in the sunshine.
In October 2006 I reactivated my old G1MOG
callsign,
which I held from 1985-1987
when it was a VHF
only callsign. It was then a full license callsign and could be used on any
Amateur Band. In 2012 I was advised at license revalidation time that I can
only hold one callsign again, so I have reluctantly surrendered the
G1MOG license. and only use
G0ISW.
I hope that one of my children might eventually take up this
callsign; in England it is an old tradition and belief by some that if a
black cat crosses your path, it will bring you Good Luck......Below is a
picture of my original QSL card and a more recent one.
G0ISW/M Mobile Station - Renault Megane Dynamique (2005-2011)
BANDS
USED
TRANSCEIVER/ANTENNAS/ACCESSORIES/COMMENTS
HF
(7-28Mhz)
2m
(144MHz)
70cm
(432MHz)
I have previously installed a
Yaesu FT-857D
in a Renault Megane Dynamique 1.9 DCI diesel car and found the radio to be a great little transceiver, full of
features including
illuminated buttons for night time driving.
The radio's memories are used mainly by me for storing
144 & 432 MHz FM repeaters and their CTCSS tones and scan very rapidly
when searching for activity.
This works very well, but I had to
additionally fit a
ferrite ring on the microphone lead to suppress alternator whine
pickup, which wasn't apparent when using the supplied hand microphone.
This position is perfect to see the display and to
reach the controls from the steering wheel.
I have set the Yaesu FT-857D
to display a different LCD colour for each operating band.
For HF and 50MHz I have installed a
Yaesu ATAS-120A
Active Tuning Antenna System screwdriver aerial, which allows simple
and quick band
changes from 7 - 50 MHz whilst on the move.
This
Yaesu ATAS-120A
is installed at the rear offside of my car, just above the bumper.
Extremely difficult
to see is my
separate micro
miniature magnetic mount 2m/70cm aerial
at the rear of the car on the roof.
You may just see in
this photograph a small red dot sticker, near the top of the
Yaesu ATAS-120A
aerial.
This visible red
dot is there so that from my rear view mirror when driving I can see
if the aerial has begun to unscrew from the SO-239 connector and stop the car before it can drop
off completely!
The
Yaesu ATAS-120A
is shown tuned to the correct height for the 14
MHz (20m) band.
Having a separate
2m/70cm aerial allows me to change from HF to
2m/70cm repeaters instantly,
without having to wait for the
Yaesu ATAS-120A
to tune.
I tend to work 2m/70cm repeaters until I
am in an area of no coverage and then change to HF.
I really struggled
to install any radio or aerial on my Renault Megane car.
The car roof is almost
entirely made from glass, having twin sunroofs, and a large HF triple magmount wouldn't stay
on the little remaining metalwork above the rear window.
The gap at the top
of the rear window and the car boot isn't wide enough to permit an aerial
mount to be installed there either. There are no
gutters as well.
Trying to get a
12 Volt power lead from the car battery
through the engine bulkhead was the most difficult problem.
Close-up view of my
Yaesu ATAS-120A
mounted at the rear of my car.
The stainless steel
'L' shaped mount was made for me by my friend Les, a friendly local metal worker, at SmallFab
here in Penrith, Cumbria and is
attached upside down to the car at the gap between the boot opening and the rear
bumper.
The 'L' shaped mount is bolted
to the metal bodywork, inside the boot behind where you can see the
number plate, and has sufficient grounding to
allow the
Yaesu ATAS-120A
to tune without problem.
There is no
noticeable vibration on the mount when driving and it is robust enough
not to bend or flex. It is about 1/8" or 4mm in thickness.
Also shown but not easily seen just
above the mount are the Yaesu ATAS-120 locking pins found
either side of the motor, at the base of the aerial, covered in a
layer of black electrical tape. This prevents them falling out through
vibration and then mechanical damage to the circuit board occurring.
This happened to me with a previous Yaesu
ATAS-100 aerial and is a simple preventative measure.
G0ISW/M Mobile Station - Jeep Wrangler Ultimate (Since
2011)
BANDS
USED
TRANSCEIVER/ANTENNAS/ACCESSORIES/COMMENTS
HF
(7-28Mhz)
2m
(144MHz)
70cm
(432MHz)
I have in June 2011 now installed my
Yaesu FT-857D
in a UK 2010 model Jeep Wrangler Ultimate (JK) 4 door, 2.8L diesel automatic car.
Very similar to the Jeep Wrangler Sahara Unlimited model.
I have remotely mounted the radio control head onto the top of the dash, using a
Waters & Stanton QS-200 metal removable air vent handheld radio mount, pushed into the vertical
air vents next to the windscreen and have bent the metal plate also
into the vertical position. I have bolted through the metal plate
onto the remote head bracket.
I also sawed off the end of the
QS-200 metal plate, which was above the remote radio control head. Using
this removable vent mount I can quickly remove the control head from
view for brief periods, whilst removing the entire radio from the
vehicle when parked for long periods.
This position is perfect to see the display and to
reach the controls from the steering wheel.
I have set the Yaesu FT-857D
to display a different LCD colour for each operating band.
For driver safety and operator
convenience I have again fitted a
Watson hands free microphone
to the sun visor and PTT
attached to the automatic gear change lever. I have since moved the
PTT higher up the selector lever than shown, as it was too low when
shifting down into fixed Gears 2 or 1.
Having the
PTT on the gear change lever is easy to operate and having hands
free operation is much safer to drive than using a fist microphone.
In the
picture you can also see the 12 Volt power lead I use to supply
power to my
Yaesu FT-857D.
Luckily this output is direct from the battery and is entirely
separate to the standard cigar socket and is rated at 13 Amps
maximum.
Using my
Yaesu FT-857D
at my usual less than 50 W output power, means I am drawing around
10 Amps maximum current and this socket is always powered on, even
with the ignition off.
I would not
be able to use this socket for any power level greater than 50 W.
For HF and 50MHz
I have installed my
Yaesu ATAS-120A
Active Tuning Antenna System screwdriver aerial, which allows simple
and quick band
changes from 7 - 50 MHz whilst on the move.
This
Yaesu ATAS-120A
is installed at the rear of my car, and is attached to the rear spare
tyre holder using purpose made brackets which simply bolt onto the
car using the existing bolts.
In this
picture, viewed from inside the rear Jeep Wrangler door, you can see
the
Yaesu ATAS-120A
antenna on the left and a
Watson W-770HB 144/432 MHz
(1/2 wave (2m) 2x5/8 wave 70cm)
colinear on the right (N.B. Silver coloured antenna shown in photo
has been replaced by a Black
Watson W-770HB). The coaxial cables come down to the bottom of
the door and into the inside fixed using cable ties.
The door
rubber seal is sufficiently large to allow this cable entry without
nipping and entering from below ensures no rain drips along the
cable inside the vehicle.
In this
close-up photo of the
Yaesu ATAS-120A
you can see two large white dot stickers, near the base of the
aerial.
The lowest visible
white
dot is there so that from my rear view mirror, when driving, I can see
if the aerial has begun to unscrew from the SO-239 connector and stop the car before it can drop
off completely! Just in case.
The
Yaesu ATAS-120A
is shown tuned to the correct height for the 50
MHz (6m) band and the highest
white dot is there so that as the antenna tunes for HF bands and
gets physically longer I can see the gap between the two dots
increasing and know it is working. This is a hangover from my days
operating a Yaesu ATAS-100 where sometimes the antenna wouldn't
move!
Having a separate
2m/70cm aerial allows me to change from HF to
2m/70cm repeaters instantly,
without having to wait for the
Yaesu ATAS-120A
to tune.
I tend to work 2m/70cm repeaters until I
am in an area of no coverage and then change to HF.
The rear
hardtop of the Jeep Wrangler Ultimate (JK) is fibreglass and
removable, as is the entire roof. All of the
Yaesu ATAS-120A
whip is above the roof level even when set at its shortest
50 MHz operation length.
The separate
144/432 MHz colinear, whilst partially lower than the top roof line, still
manages to perform well because it is almost entirely higher than the bulk of the
vehicle metal bodywork.
I have no
ignition or other electrical noise from the Jeep Wrangler Ultimate
with the exception of the 10 MHz (30m)
band. This does not cause me any trouble as I only operate voice
from the vehicle on the other bands. On the Jeep forums I have seen
lots of historical US comment about electrical ignition noise, but
maybe my UK model with its diesel engine is less of a problem, I
don't know, or maybe newer petrol engines are cured.
Close-up view of my
Yaesu ATAS-120A
mounted at the rear of my car.
The steel
'L' shaped mounts were made again for me by my friend Les, a friendly local metal worker, at SmallFab
here in Penrith, Cumbria and are
attached behind the rear spare wheel carrier, using the existing
bolts.
The 'L' shaped mounts
are bolted
to the metal bodywork, and have sufficient grounding to
allow the
Yaesu ATAS-120A
to tune without problem. The rear door opens with the antennas
attached.
Using a combination
of either simplex, repeaters or EchoLink I can cycle along and talk,
around the local area or around the World.
The metal rear
pannier mount provides a substantial ground to attach a 5/8 wave
2m &
2 x 5/8 wave 70cm aerial with plenty of gain.
You can see my
Kenwood TH-F7E
2m/70cm handheld attached using a bike handlebar belt clip mount and on the right a PTT/VOX unit originally
designed for a Kenwood PMR446 radio.
I can either use
the PTT pressed by my thumb whilst gripping the handlebars or use the
VOX function built into this radio or the PTT unit.
When wet weather is
anticipated I cover the
Kenwood TH-F7E
with a clear plastic bag and rubber band, which is a simple and
practical solution to keeping water out.
Attached to the
exterior of my cycling helmet is a Kenwood headset comprised of an on
the ear earpiece and boom microphone. This was originally designed for
a Kenwood PMR446 radio, but was found to be totally compatible and a
lot cheaper than the identical amateur radio model.
It is attached to
the helmet using tie grips placed through the air vent holes.
The headset
attaches to the Kenwood PTT/VOX unit with a 1m cable terminated with a
3.5mm plug fitting.
G0ISW/M (Pedestrian) Mobile Station
BANDS
USED
TRANSCEIVER
ANTENNAS/ACCESSORIES/COMMENTS
2m
(144MHz)
70cm
(432MHz)
My
Kenwood TH-F7E
is a
very versatile radio,
ideal for use on my local 2m repeater GB3EV
on 145.700 MHz and the lithium-ion battery
lasts all day.
I sold my first one
and had to buy a second one as I missed it so much!
G0ISW/P Portable (Holiday) Station - usually EA6/G0ISW
A very versatile
radio, used by me extensively on holiday and easily able to work
most of Europe on 5w SSB voice from the beach!
During previous
solar maximum years I have worked the USA and South America on
14 MHz just with the
Miracle Whip, indoors!
I
upgraded the battery pack by replacing it
with Ni-MH 2.3 Ah cells and making the 'green wire' modification so
that I can recharge them in situ.
I intend in
2011 to try to work APRS via the ISS and PCSAT (NO-44) satellites
using my FT-817 with UISS software and a RigExpert Tiny interface
from my usual holiday destination of Peurto Pollenca, Majorca in
JM19NV locator square.
What a battle I have had trying to
interface my Yaesu FT-817
with MixW software and my RigExpert Tiny interface.
Having looked everywhere on the
internet to try to obtain the correct CAT and soundcard settings I
have finally managed to get the Yaesu FT-817
to transmit PSK-31, but still haven't managed to get the MixW
software to show the frequency on the laptop display.
My MixW settings for the
Yaesu FT-817
with RigExpert Tiny interface are as follow:
Sound Device Settings
Device: Computer Soundcard
Input: Line (RigExpert Virtual
Sound)
Output: Speakers (Realtek High
Definition)
TRCVR CAT/PTT
CAT: Yaesu
Model: FT-817
PTT via CAT command: Ticked
AFSK in place of FSK: Ticked
DIG (Yaesu) is: USB
Default digi mode: DIG
Serial Port
Port: COM5 (This will vary
depending upon your own computer)
Baud rate: 38400
Data bits: 8
Parity: None
Stop bits: 1
RTS: PTT
DTR: CW
Yaesu FT-817 settings
CAT rate: 38400
Mode: DIG
G0ISW SSB / AM Station equipment
Microphones:
Noise Gate:
Equalizer:
Compressor:
Peak Limiter:
Mixer:
Power Supply:
Transceiver:
Amplifier:
Antenna Tuner:
Ant 3.5-28MHz:
Ant 3.5-28MHz:
Ant 50MHz:
Ant 144MHz:
Ant 432MHz:
Recording:
Audio Analysis:
Computer:
Operating system:
Radio interface:
Audio Hardware:
Keyboard:
Audio Reproduction:
Misc Hardware:
Behringer B-1
Studio Condenser microphone 20 Hz to 20 kHz
Adonis AM-308 Desk Top electret condenser microphone (modified
with internal switchable piptone generator for VHF use)
W2IHY iBOX (Matches levels from DEQ2496 to Kenwood TS-2000 DSP)
HP Standard PS/2 with USB adaptor
Sony MDR-XD200 Stereo
Headphones (10-22,000 Hz)
Samson SD-5 Desktop microphone stand (Primary use)
Heil
Sound PL2T Microphone Boom
Heil Sound foot
switch (PTT with W2IHY iBOX)
Adonis AM-308 Desk
Microphone (Secondary use)
You may be wondering why I am using all of the Behringer audio
equipment? The answer is that I like to experiment with my transmitted
audio and had during the late 1990's listened with fascination to
broadcast quality voices of the 'eSSB audio
net' on 14.178 MHz from the USA. For a full
description of eSSB please refer to the
website of John NU9N where
all about 'eSSB' is explained.
I
restrict my transmitted audio to a maximum of 3 kHz, usually
2.7 kHz,
but I do like to experiment also off-air with the Behringer DEQ2496 to
see the full range of sound that it and the Behringer B-1 studio
microphone are capable of.
I
worked Bill W2ONV once on air myself, when I was in my car in the Republic
of Ireland, as
EI/G0ISW/M on the eSSB audio net frequency 14.178
MHz, he played back my transmitted audio across the Atlantic for
me to hear.
For further audio examples from radio amateurs around the World using
various TX audio bandwidths, please visit
John NU9N's website MP3 page here.
The future
Technology always moves on and I like experimenting with the latest
digital modes. I have already linked my analogue Kenwood TS-2000
transceiver to my laptop PC computer, for use on the digital modes such
as WSJT, WSPR, MixW, PSK31, SSTV, etc. The next logical step for me is a
Software
Defined Radio (SDR).
I
have been looking at all the SDR options and for my needs I selected to have a FlexRadio Systems
Flex-3000 SDR HF-50MHz transceiver. Being
only the size of a large laptop PC, I can easily take the Flex3K on my
travels and utilise its fantastic features.
I have had my
Kenwood TS-2000 transceiver for over 11 years now and for the past year
or more I have been troubled with a regular, but intermittent, main
display fault where the screen showing frequency and other information
suddenly goes blank and all the front panel controls become locked.
Often the only temporary cure has been to switch off the separate power
supply and then switch it back on.
Despite my
Kenwood TS-2000 radio being sent to an authorised service dealer they
have been unable to identify or repeat the problem. Finally I have found
by chance an alternative solution and purchased the Kenwood RC-2000
mobile controller remote head. Using this has allowed me to see my
display to tune again!
Since 1995 when I moved to a more urban location,
I voluntarily restricted my base station transceiver output power, from my
license permitted
400 watts, to a
maximum of only 50
watts on all bands! This helps to prevent any
potential
TVI/EMC
problems and has still allowed me to work most of Europe on
VHF and the World on HF.
This power reduction saves energy too, as
400 watts equates to
roughly a single bar electric fire and
50 watts equates to a
typical halogen GU-10 spotlight bulb. On VHF
Meteorscatter
on both
50 MHz and
144 MHz I have often
sent comparable signals to fellow European stations, with
their their much more impressive antenna arrays and higher power, whereas I
have mostly used a small Create
Log Periodic 5130-1N
antenna for my Meteor Scatter work.
50
Watts Light bulb
My Kenwood TS-2000 Transceiver limited
to 50
Watts
Please note that since March 2009,
my days of being able to easily chase HF/VHF DX (after 23 years) came to a
temporary end following another house move.
I now live in a conservation area, where
outdoor aerials are not permitted (if obvious) and the loft has already been converted,
both of which make it very difficult for me to install antennas and operate effectively.
I have therefore
dismantled and given away, to local radio amateurs, all of my previously
used large HF directional antennas, taken down my mast and rotator. I am now
mostly active near home either walking or in my car on 144/432 MHz
FM
using my local repeaters
GB3EV (145.700 MHz)
and
GB3CA (433.325 MHz).
However, I have recently in
August 2010 uncovered a closed section of loft
space.
I have removed a disused water header tank, which has given me just enough
room to potentially install indoors my
favourite
VHF/UHF
Create
Log Periodic 5130-1N
50-1300 MHz antenna, in a
fixed 130 degree
direction facing South-East
towards Continental Europe. Unfortunately I cannot rotate the antenna in this
space, but 95% of my previous QSO's have all been in this direction!
* Frequency
50-1300MHz * Elements 25 * Power 500W PEP * VSWR <2.0:1 * Forward gain
10-12dBi * Front-to-back ratio 15dB * Connector N-type * Wind survival
40m/sec * Boom length 3m * Mast size 38-50mm * Weight 5kg
Suitable for commercial and ham transmission and reception, these Log
Periodic antennas offer high gain over a wide frequency range.
This was the default direction my aerials
have always faced before, and my best contacts made, so
it should allow me to be on the air again on
50/144/432 MHz SSB and back again using my
favourite Meteor Scatter software WSJT,
after installation of a 10 metre length of
SSB-Ecoflex 10 low loss coaxial cable (Attenuation only
0.49dB at
144MHz) to be completed
when I get the time and inclination to do this.
I intend in 2010/2011
to experiment with the
Low Earth Orbiting satellites
on
145 MHz
uplink and
435 MHz FM downlinks using a portable Arrow
II antenna. Click on the images below for some YouTube video clips
demonstrating this antenna. K7AGE,
in particular, seems to have a wealth of experience and videos on this
subject.
From May
2011 I am going to try again to work the AX25 Packet satellites such as
NO-44 PCSAT and the International Space Station on
145.825 MHz
FM using my
Kenwood
TS-2000
with UISS, AGWPE and Orbitron software.
I am also occasionally active on EchoLink
from home, node number
3116,
and now using my
Apple iPhone 3GS I am able to use
EchoLink from anywhere in the World, where I can get a
3G mobile phone signal or via Wi-Fi.
I am active from home on most HF bands
(3.5-28 MHz) with a small
Sandpiper
MV6+3 HF
vertical, used primarily for PSK31
data communications. My results have been mildly disappointing so far, due
to the low angle of radiation not being ideal for European and inter-G
working, which at this point in the Solar cycle is where most stations I
should be able to work are located.
This isn't
the fault of the
Sandpiper MV6+3 antenna, which I like, as I would have similar
results
with any omni directional vertical at this time and I have been spoiled
previously by having a rotatable HF beam with considerable gain at the last
house, so no comparison would be fair.
I have from
1st September 2010, installed a modern British Army
1.6-30MHz
Racal Military tactical adjustable wire dipole (Type 4011-900), at only
about 2.5m above ground level, on top of the garden fence, wall and in the
trees. It is green coloured, made from very flexible copper braid, Kevlar
strengthened and best of all is covert and cannot be seen by neighbours in
this conservation area.
I have
modified it slightly as I didn't have the matching Racal 'Centre Junction
Assembly'(4011-103-01) and have used instead an old amateur radio magnetic
balun, terminated with an SO-239 connector, and fed with 25 metres of 50 ohm
RG-58 coaxial cable.
Initial
testing has shown the
Racal Military tactical adjustable wire dipole to tune easily for a 1:1
SWR on all amateur bands between
3.5-28MHz,
using my
Kenwood TS-2000 internal ATU. Using
WSPR software very impressive results
have been made, with just 5 Watts low power, all over Europe and the Southern
UK. This is due to the high angles of radiation for this dipole compared to
low angles for the vertical.
VHF/UHF Tropo, Aurora & Sporadic-E
Between 1988-2008 I specialised in VHF/UHF long distance
(DX) communications on 50 MHz
and
144 MHz with Tropo, Aurora and Sporadic Es being my favourite
propagation modes, but having so many
mountains surrounding my QTH made it difficult for VHF/UHF radio
communications.
Shown below is a 3D aerial image
of my home location (QTH) at Penrith,
Cumbria, England (Locator IO84oq),
indicated by the white arrow, at
140 metres
above sea level, with higher ground surrounding all sides.
Despite the terrain I have been able to work stations thousands of km away and
have regularly been mentioned in both 'RadCom'
and
'Practical Wireless'
magazines for my
achievements in this field.
The map
below was created using Geog UK software by G4JNT.
The elevation contours are at 100m intervals and show the
high ground rising over 100m, immediately to the North-East of my QTH at a distance of
less than 2km
away, obstructing line of sight signals between
30-90 degrees.
At 20km
distance to the East
(Coloured RED) is
very high ground formed by
Cross Fell (893m / 2930ft),
Little Dun Fell (842m)
and Great Dunn Fell(848m /2782ft),
all obstructing my line of sight signals
between 70-90
degrees.
Below is a diagram which
shows the antenna elevations required for my aerials to pass obstructions caused
by hills around me. You can see that the best direction for me is
130
degrees and the worst is between
20-80 degrees.
When I lived in Ruislip in
West London, before 1990, I was able to make extensive use of
Tropo
Ducting to work stations on the Continent of Europe, indeed I could use
10W
on
432 MHz
USB
to work the stations of
HB9MIN/P
and
HB9AMH/P
in
JN37
square in Switzerland, using an ex Military flat phased array of 16 dipoles,
designed to work at military frequencies around
850 MHz.
I was also able to work Scandinavia on
144 MHz.
However since moving to the mountainous area of Penrith, Cumbria in
IO84
square all my attempts at working via
Tropo
Ducting have been defeated by having higher mountains blocking the path/duct
as I live near the valley floor.
To monitor the build-up of extensive and prolonged high air pressure needed to
establish a Tropo Ducting path, in the late 1980's I had a chart recording brass
and wood Barograph made for me by Ron Lucking of Hampton Court, a retired watch
maker whom was also a Radio Amateur. I still use this fine Barograph today and
also have the latest in weather technology in the form of a wireless
Ventus W928 Meteotime weather station. I have discovered that I can use the
Ventus W928 weather station with
Weather-Display software
if the WD software is set to be used with an Irox weather station, as the Ventus
W928 is not listed as being supported.
I consider my current Amateur Station to be average in
capabilities, but I have still managed to work on VHF very long distances to North Africa and the Black Sea coast on
144 MHz SSB, via
Sporadic Es, without a huge antenna system or any linear amplifier. Just
25
watts from a Yaesu FT-736R and a Create
Log Periodic 5130-1N aerial, which at
144 MHz
only has about 5dbi of gain and is equivalent to only a 4 element yagi!
For more local
144MHz FM simplex contacts the following two maps show the likely signal
strength and coverage, when I am using my Yaesu FT-8800 25W transceiver and an
Omni directional colinear aerial from home. This clearly shows I am very well
located for working SOTA or
WOTA stations on the Lake District hills.
Both maps created
using the fantastic
Mobile Radio software by
VE2DBE
Station AStation B
Radio Meteor Scatter detection
For many years I used to monitor Band 1 VHF TV stations
analogue carriers on
48.250 MHz CW (locator
IN70 1582 km) to test my MS
receiving capabilities, with a
250 KW transmitter in Spain,
IN70 locator square, being
particularly useful before it
closed down and was replaced with UHF TV transmitters in 2010.
In 2011 there remained a few Band 1 TV
transmitters in Europe that could be used to monitor Meteor Scatter
activity. The TV station in Prague, JN79 locator square, on a carrier
frequency of
49.740 MHz
CW
(locator
JN79 1341 km) being very useful.
All analogue
TV stations in the Czech Republic will close down on 30th June 2012. Portugal too
will cease on 26th April 2012. For a list of analogue TV closures by Country
please follow this link for
Digital Television Transitions
Radio Meteor
Scatter detection sources for Northern England
Carrier
Frequency CW (MHz)
Power
Location
Distance
from IO84
Remarks
Results
32.550
12 kW
JP89 Norway
1842 km
SkiYMET, Andenes Meteor Radar, Institute Atmospheric Physics, over
ideal 1500 km distance & good power. At solar maximum frequencies
between 30-35 MHz can be negatively impacted for MS working.
N.B.
Operating in pulsed mode, not CW carrier
(Thanks Toralf DJ8MS for
info)
Tested May 2012, nil
heard
32.550
12 kW
JO64 Germany
1017 km
Juliusruh Meteor Radar, Institute Atmospheric Physics, good distance & power.
At solar maximum frequencies between 30-35 MHz can be negatively
impacted for MS working.
N.B. Operating in pulsed mode, not CW
carrier
(Thanks Toralf DJ8MS for info)
.
Tested May 2012, nil
heard
36.200
12 kW?
JO61 Germany
1110 km
Collm Meteor Radar, near
Leipzig, good distance & power.
N.B. Operating in pulsed mode, not CW
carrier (Thanks Toralf DJ8MS for info)
.
39.025-39.175
100 W
UK Locations unknown
? km
UK Meteor Burst Communications
(MBC) 7 x 25 kHz channels. Full locations unknown, one company
operates master station at Newbury, Berkshire.
May be Mobile Meteor Burst
Stations (MMBS) and only transmit once per hour.
European harmonised Meteor
burst frequency allocation is 39-39.2 MHz.
46.400
170 kW
UK Locations unknown
? km
UK Meteor Burst Communications
(MBC)
.
Tested September 2012, nil heard
46.500
8-160 kW
IO72XK Wales
263 km
NERC MST Weather Radar Facility. Below recommended minimum 300km
distance. Pulsed signal not CW apparently.
.
Tested May & September 2012, nil heard
46.950
? kW
UK Locations unknown
? km
UK Meteor Burst Communications
(MBC)
.
Tested September 2012, two extremely weak
pings and missed Fireball over UK on 21.09.2012 completely!
46.975
? kW
UK Locations unknown
? km
UK Meteor Burst Communications
(MBC)
.
Tested September 2012, nil heard
49.739.49
40 kW
KN29 Ukraine
1970 km
TV Carrier
Lviv R1, until 2015, over ideal 1500 km
distance
Tested March 2012, nil heard
49.739.66
150 kW
JO70 Czech
Republic
1285 km
TV Carrier
Prague R1,
until June 2012,
good distance and power
Closed down
June 2012
49.749.83
17 kW
KN68 Ukraine
2536 km
TV Carrier
Krivy Rig R1, until 2015,
over maximum workable 2,300 km distance
Not workable too far away
49.749.98
? kW
K033 Belarus
1934 km
TV Carrier
Minsk, Belarus R1,
over ideal 1500 km distance
Signal on this frequency heard
via Es on 30.04.2012. Testing in September 2012 has found some
Meteor pings.
49.750
(49.74920 USB)
? kW
KP50 Russia
2090 km
TV Carrier
St.Petersburg, Russia R1,
over ideal 1500 km distance
Testing in September 2012 has found some Meteor
pings.
49.760.4
100 kW
JN99 Czech
Republic
1590 km
TV Carrier
Ostrava R1,
just over 1500 km distance, good power
Closed down early in November 2011. Thanks
Martin G4FUI for the update
49.970
(49.96917 USB)
150 W
JO20 Belgium
702 km
BRAMS
Meteor Beacon, Balise Dourbes, Belgium dedicated MS
beacon, but low power, very good distance
Very few weak pings detected so far
49.990
(49.98918 USB)
50 W
JO10 Belgium
607 km
VVS OT1KZG
Meteor Beacon, Ypres, Belgium dedicated MS
beacon, but low power, very good distance
Some frequent weak pings detected. Stronger and
more frequent than Balise Dourbes
53.500
12 kW
JO64 Germany
1017 km
Juliusruh Meteor Radar, Institute Atmospheric Physics, good distance & power.
N.B. Operating in pulsed mode, not CW carrier
(Thanks Toralf DJ8MS
for info)
Tested May 2012, nil
heard
53.500
4.5-90 kW
JO54 Germany
889 km
OSWIN VHF
Radar, good distance and power varies.
N.B. Has not been operating
in Meteor Scatter mode since 2009 (Thanks Toralf DJ8MS for info)
53.500
2.4-60 kW
JQ78 Svalbard
2717 km
SOUSY SSR VHF
Radar, over maximum workable 2,300 km distance
Not workable too far away
53.500
1.8-36 kW
JP88 Norway
1842 km
ALWIN VHF
Wind Radar, good distance and power varies.
Pulsed signal, not
continuous carrier wave. Can sometimes be used to measure Meteor activity when
the site operator wishes, but not main priority.
Tested May 2012, nil
heard
55.250.071
90 kW
HP85 Iceland
1628 km
RUV TV Carrier
E3 Stykkisholmur until
2013, over ideal 1500 km distance, excellent power, not known if 24H
or closes down at midnight.
55.250
60 kW
IN50 Portugal
1640 km
TV Carrier
E3 Lousa, over ideal
1500 km distance, excellent power.
Due to shutdown permanently on 26th April
2012, followed by a final week in TV
test card mode. My last detected Meteor ping was at 0920z on Friday
4th May 2012.
Closed down 4th May 2012
59.256.5
7 kW
KN18 Ukraine
1897 km
TV Carrier
Uzghorrod until 2015, over ideal 1500 km
distance, power less than most TV stations
59.297.8
150 kW
JN78 Czech
Republic
1341 km
TV Carrier
Ceske R2,
until June 2012,
good distance and power
Closed down
62.251.325
300 kW
HP83 Iceland
1051 km
RUV TV Carrier
E4 Skalafell until 2013, good
distance, excellent power, but may close down at midnight until 0800.
Kenwood TS-2000 cannot tune
143.050
<767 kW
JN27SI France
(1000 km)
1250 km
GRAVES Military Space Radar
system, believed excellent power, fairly good distance, but high frequency with far
fewer reflections detectable compared to 50 MHz. Note distance is
not to transmitter site itself but to area of Southern France 250 km
further South
where Ionosphere is illuminated by the Radar at 100 km altitude and
reflections detected. However, in theory this is detection via Backscatter and
ideally Forward scatter is much preferred for MS work.
Possible few weak reflections
detected
N.B. If monitoring any of the above
CW carrier frequencies using SpectrumLab or similar software, you will most
likely need to be in USB mode and therefore around 800 Hz lower in displayed
frequency than quoted i.e. 55.250.0 MHz CW carrier = 55.249.2 MHz in USB on
your radio display, then look for the signal at around the 800-1000 Hz point
on the software screen.
GRAVES an
alternative high power transmitter exists, but is much more difficult to
use, shown below.
GRAVES French Military
Space Radar System
143.050 MHz CW
- This is the carrier frequency of the
French GRAVES space surveillance radar system and will provide pings from
both meteors as well as satellites! Maidenhead Locator Square
JN27SI
near the City of Dijon and the border with Switzerland. (Red dot on map
indicates transmitter location on former airfield)
There are 4 Phased Array
antennas on 143.050 MHz CW situated on a disused Airfield. The four transmitted
beam lobes are designed to overlap and cover a 180 degree arc of Sky, at an
elevation of 25 degrees, in a Southerly direction towards the Mediterranean Sea.
GRAVES Space Radar beam
geometry
Preliminary experimental
results using only an indoor
144MHz
1/2 wave colinear on
143.050 MHz CW
have produced what I think may be Meteor Scatter reflections or the ping could
could be from a satellite! In the screen grab below there is a distinct vertical
ping shown in a bright yellow colour just before 0625 UTC on 24th March 2012.
I am
also experimenting in 2012 to see if some of the dedicated
Institute for Atmospheric Physics (IAP) high power VHF
transmitters for Meteor Scatter detection are audible here in the North of the
UK. There are stations located in
Andenes, Norway on
32.550 MHz
running 12 kW and another station in
Juliusruh in Northern Germany on
32.550
and 53.5 MHz
at 12kW.
Radio Astronomy
Here below are my first
attempts at automatically uploading my latest captured Radio detected Meteor
Scatter images. Inspiration entirely drawn from Andy
G7IZU
and his excellent web guide on how
to do this. I am using
DL4YHF
SpectrumLab software to capture the images and
AutoFTP Pro to
send them to this website automatically every 10 minutes whilst the system is
active. Technically I suppose this is Radio Astronomy. If there are no meteors
then this image will be mostly blank.
G0ISW Live 2D
Meteor Spectrogram
Meteor Pings captured in
the above image (if detected) should also
show up on the live Plotter image below, where they exceed -50 dB signal level
as high green
coloured peaks and should correspond with the 3D image below that.
G0ISW Live
Meteor Plotter image
Example Meteor
Plotter image
G0ISW Live 3D
Meteor Spectrogram
And if there is something
'special' to see then, in theory, an Alert image should be shown below! This is
still very much in test mode and is currently set to activate if a Meteor ping
is stronger than -50dB..
My hourly data is recorded, for the numbers of meteors detected, and
sent automatically to the
Radio Meteor
Observatory's Online (RMOB) website. The chart below displays this
data with artificial colours Red for the highest number of counts and
blue for the lowest number. In general terms the early mornings should
display the highest numbers of random meteors, the exception being a
meteor shower peak which can occur at other times of day.
Observations of many Radio Meteor
Spectrograms by myself, and others, suggest that the captured Spectrogram images appear to fall into one of 15
categories, which are described and explained below. For consistency, all
example captured images are at the highest FFT resolution my system will allow
and are edited into a cropped size of 156 x 156 pixels (unless that will not
allow the full trail to be seen).
Categorisation of
Radio Meteor Doppler Spectrograms
"Spectrum is
Green"
Small Dots
May be caused by a
very small micro meteor, which probably did not penetrate very far
into the atmosphere. The ionisation trail was very short duration
(milliseconds). This is the most common trace seen here. May
be 'under dense' and not too bright in false colour, or 'over dense'
and bright in false colour.
Frequency: Very common, in
excess of 100+
seen in two weeks. Several per hour.
Distinguishing
Characteristics:
Dot-like trace, no sign of Doppler shift, no
persistent trail.
Horizontal
Trail
Probably a slightly
larger meteor able to produce sufficient ionisation for its trail to
persist for a few seconds or up to several minutes
Frequency: Common, around
20+ seen in two
weeks,
a few per day.
Distinguishing
Characteristics:
Horizontal line trace for a few seconds
or up to several minutes, little or no
sign of Doppler shift.
Tadpole
Bright head with tail.
Probably due to a medium sized meteor, exhibiting a 'Meteor Head
Echo' caused by a ball of plasma surrounding the meteor and leaving
behind an ionised trail lasting a
few seconds.
Frequency: Fairly
common, I
have seen
10+
in two weeks.
Distinguishing
Characteristics:
Single bright
head with short horizontal line trace. No sign of Doppler shift.
Vertical trail
Probably a rapidly
decelerating meteor (the vertical pattern indicates significant
Doppler shift), but it did not explode immediately. The object
penetrated some way into the atmosphere before it was completely
vaporised. No horizontal spread means that again the plasma trail
lasted only a brief moment.
Frequency: Rare, only
2
seen in two weeks.
Distinguishing
Characteristics:
Single vertical line trace, significant signs
of Doppler shift. No evidence of a persistent trail.
'L'-shaped
Brighter at the
bottom and lasting several seconds. Probably a penetrating meteor
which then exploded, the vertical part of the trace is the
deceleration, the horizontal part the plasma fireball after it
exploded and resulting in the extended trace.
Frequency: Rare,
only 4
seen in two weeks.
Distinguishing
Characteristics:
A combination of vertical trace (beginning)
followed by a single persistent horizontal trail.
'C' shaped
Curved line lasting
several seconds. A meteor of sufficient size to leave an ionised
trail at more than one level of the atmosphere before vaporisation.
Frequency: Fairly
common,
7
seen in two weeks.
Distinguishing
Characteristics:
'C'-shaped trace, signs of Doppler shift and
two trails.
'E' shaped
Looks like a curved
letter 'E' where each horizontal plasma trail represents differing
layers of high altitude winds. Similar to the previous example but
more deeply penetrating.
Frequency: I have seen
5
of these in two weeks,
always the letter E and not more!
Distinguishing
Characteristics:
A continuous 'E'-shaped curve
Complex - Curved
Long complex curves. Similar to the previous examples but
even more deeply penetrating into the atmosphere.
Frequency: Fairly
rare, I have seen
8
of these in two weeks.
Distinguishing
Characteristics:
A continuous series of curves, greater than a
single 'E'.
Complex -
Curved & Linear trails
Lasting several
seconds or longer. A mixture of curved and line shapes (this example looks
like a Bow and Arrow). Possibly a large meteor which progressively
vaporises,
the distinct plasma layers may be due to differing winds in the
atmosphere.
Frequency: Fairly Rare,
only
4
seen in two weeks.
Distinguishing
Characteristics:
Complex multi-layered trace exhibiting both curved
and line traces.
Complex -
Linear trails
Lasting several
seconds. Multiple separate horizontal line traces of similar length. Possibly a large meteor which progressively
vaporises,
the distinct plasma layers may be due to differing winds in the
atmosphere.
Frequency: Fairly Rare, only
5
seen in two weeks.
Distinguishing
Characteristics:
Complex multi-layered trace exhibiting several line traces
of similar length.
Fireball
Lasting many
seconds or minutes. Huge flaming type image of presumably significant very
large sized meteor.
Frequency: Rare,
4
seen in two weeks.
(I did
visually see one c.1980 it was the most amazing space sight I
have ever seen, brought my car and the one in front to a halt as we
drivers watched the vivid green and purple flames from a huge Meteor for what seemed like a
minute.
Reported seen by others in local newspaper too, but reported
different colours to my own observation)
Distinguishing
Characteristics:
A visually
stunning Spectrogram image!
Aircraft
Not Meteors at all,
but reflected traces images caught from Aircraft
passing between the transmitter site and Receiver site. Many minutes duration.
Distinguishing
Characteristics:
Aircraft traces always start at a higher frequency, with significant Doppler
shift moving to a lower frequency over time. Often look like a
mirrored letter 'S' (Direction of trace Top left to Bottom right)
the middle of the S being on the Transmitter frequency axis.
Diagonal
straight trail
Not believed to be a meteor, but some form of unknown anomaly.
Frequency: Rare, only
4
seen in two weeks.
Distinguishing
Characteristics:
Single diagonal straight line trace starting at highest
frequency and over time moving to lower frequency very steeply, exhibiting
Doppler shift.
Not like an
aircraft 'S' shape Doppler trail.
Radio
noise anomaly
Not Meteors at all,
but Radio
noise anomalies. Many minutes duration.
Distinguishing
Characteristics:
Radio noise anomalies often start at a low frequency and rise over
time (Doppler shifted signals in comparison always start high
and move lower) Can be horizontal straight lines too. Often caused
by lighting, computers, television, thermostats etc.
Sporadic Es
Not Meteors at all,
but another form of Summer time radio propagation. Many minutes
or hours duration.
Distinguishing
Characteristics:
Constant horizontal
signal trace at high signal strength levels. In the Northern
Hemisphere occurs mostly from late April until the end of August.
Particularly strong in June.
Meteor
Spectrogram Gallery
55.250 MHz
March - May
2012
Many thanks to
ChrisH
and his website for providing me with the inspiration to record and
similarly categorise my Meteor Doppler Spectrograms and suggest their possible
interpretation. I would welcome any help from other Radio
Astronomers, with knowledge about how these shapes are formed, as I
can find very little on the Internet to refer to, particularly
pictures, and my descriptions
may not be accurate.
Surprisingly few aircraft traces seen when I listened on
55.250 MHz to the now closed
down Portugal TV
carrier.
Currently using 49.74920 MHz USB as
my primary Meteor Spectrogram reception frequency, however results are
poorer than before when I could use the 55.250 MHz signal from the TV
transmitter in Portugal, due to lower ERP and greater distance away.
Meteor
Spectrogram Gallery
49.750 MHz
Since September
2012
I
have only been experimenting with Radio Astronomy using
SpectrumLab software since
around 29th March 2012,
all the example Doppler Spectrogram images above have been acquired by me since
then, using my primary frequency of 55.250 MHz CW
and simple aerials, no beams. The FFT settings for SpectrumLab have been
experimented with to try to obtain the highest resolution imagery I can get. I
try to leave my system on to automatically capture the images, which I review
for content later.
My
settings shown as screen captures:
The most difficult task has been setting up the 'Conditional Actions' script for
SpectrumLab to identify Meteor pings correctly and record the numbers, grab
images every 10 minutes, record 'Special' events, measure background noise and
signal levels, etc.
I owe a debt of gratitude to the British
Columbia Meteor Network who provided on their website a script that worked
for my setup with minimal alteration required and other direct assistance.
This is still a work in progress to perfect, but my current
settings are shown below, for a single receiver, so that they may help others with
this daunting task.
G0ISW
'Conditional Actions' script for SpectrumLab
; Exported "Conditional
Actions" for Spectrum Lab
if( initialising ) then
F=1:G=1:A=0:B=0:C=0:D=0:E=0:L=0:K=0:t1=0:t2=0:Z=0
if( G=1 ) then A=noise(300,1000):B=peak_a(880,920):q2=str("YYYYMMDDhh",now):L=str("hh",now):h1=str("mmss",now)
if( B>(A+15) ) then C=C+1:D=D+1:timer0.restart(5)
if( B>-50 ) then timer9.restart(90)
if( C>Z ) then Z=C
if( timer0.expired(1) ) then C=0:E=E+1:sp.print(E)
if( timer9.expired(1) ) then capture("F:/local disk/Spectrum/MS/alert.jpg",100):capture("F:/Local
Disk/Spectrum/Alerts/"+str("YYYYMMDDhhmm",now)+"_50dB.jpg")
if( val(h1,"####")=5955 ) then t2=t2+1
if( t2=1 ) then fopen4("F:/Local disk/Spectrum/RMOB/RMOB-"+str("YYYYMM",now)+".dat",a):fp4(q2,",",L,",",E):fclose4:sp.print("Last
hour=",E):C=0:E=0:Z=0:D=0
if( val(h1,"####")=0000 ) then t2=0
In
the script above some of the numbers require explanation, as they may differ for
your station. In line 2 after 'noise' are shown
'300,1000' these refer to listening to the noise
level between 300-1000 Hz
and that noise level measured in dB will become value 'A'. The numbers could
just as easily have been
0,2700
for a typical SSB signal width of
0-2700Hz or anything in
between. 'D' is duration and 'E' the count of pings.
Also on line 2 after 'peak_a' is shown '880,920'
this is asking the software to measure the peak signal between
880-920 Hz in dB which will
become value 'B'. These numbers were chosen by me because when I tune to
55.249.2 MHz USB to monitor
in SSB the actual TV carrier on 55.250 MHz
CW the signal falls on my SpectrumLab display at
900 Hz exactly centre of the frequency range
880-920 Hz I chose. I only
want to measure the signal strength of the detected TV carrier, heard via Meteor
Scatter, so limited this range deliberately to avoid picking up anything else.
In
line 3 if the measured meteor sound level B, is noise level A
15dB then that is a 'ping'
for counting purposes. This '15' dB level above the measured background noise
level was initially set at 20 dB, but I found some weaker signals were not
counted; when set at 10 dB too much noise from night-time lighting was being
counted, so for my setup 15
dB works. Also shown is the timer) duration set at 5 seconds so that ionization
trails which ma have short breaks after the meteor are not counted as new
meteors.
In
Line 4 if the meteor ping (B) signal level is greater than
-50dB then timer9 starts and
90 seconds later a screenshot is taken for an 'alert' image. I set 90 seconds to
let the SpectrumLab screen scroll away from the edge so as to hopefully capture
a better picture.
In
lines 7 & 9 'F:/Local disk/Spectrum/...../'
is most likely to be different for you as this is the computer path here for my
external HDD and you should replace the path to reflect your own computer files,
possibly something like C:/Spectrum/......
Now my
equipment for detecting Radio Astronomy Meteor Scatter reflections is undergoing a
review as at 2nd April 2012. Initially in March 2012 I used my
Kenwood TS-2000 transceiver
with a Sandpiper MV3+6 Vertical antenna,
however the Meteor Scatter reflections at 100 km altitude are most likely to be
at high angles of elevation back to Earth, so I switched to my
horizontal Racal Military tactical dipole aerial
to assess if this improved the signal strengths.
Also my Kenwood TS-2000
is limited to a maximum frequency of 60 MHz
and with Band 1 TV
closing down in Europe totally in the very near future I will need to explore
what Band 2 VHF FM radio
stations in the frequency range starting from 87.5
MHz can offer. I also have interest in frequencies
between 60-87 MHz and
want to leave my Meteor Scatter receiving system running 24H. I need my
Kenwood TS-2000 for other
amateur radio activity.
I've tried using my SDR FlexRadio 3000
but it doesn't appear sensitive enough on 55.250
MHz compared to my
Kenwood TS-2000, results so far haven't been
encouraging.
I have decided to experiment using a
FUNcube Dongle Pro, which in theory
can be used from 51.5 MHz - 1700 MHz
(Rated from 64 MHz - 1700 MHz)
all mode including SSB to turn my laptop PC into a dedicated radio receiver. I
will use with SDR-Radio.com software for
frequency control and SpectrumLab to analyse Meteor Scatter results. This will
also permit me to experiment with the GRAVES Space Radar on
143.050 MHz too.
First impression of the FUNcube Dongler Pro
was that it requires both extensive Radio and computer knowledge to setup properly. Took a
little while to find the information online how to update the latest firmware
(required for all features and software compatibility) and set it up for proper
use. Tried SDR-Radio.com software
as my preferred front end, as it is so very comprehensive, however I ran into a
common problem of listening to a local Band II FM Broadcast Radio station on
92.5 MHz FM and the
audio being very distorted.
Several hours later, by trial and error, I have tried the alternative
HDSDR software front end and
have little to no audio distortion when using 96000
Hz in and 96000 Hz
out audio settings via the soundcard. Will try again with
SDR-Radio.com software on
frequencies other than Broadcast FM which shouldn't cause overloading or exceed
the audio bandwidth specification of the dongle.
I
have in the Summer of 2012 abandoned using the FunCube Dongle and returned to my
traditional analogue radio the Kenwood TS-2000.
Amateur Radio Meteor Scatter
My favourite VHF propagation mode for
Amateur Radio use is
without doubt Meteor
Scatter. From
my IO84
Maidenhead locator square on 50 MHz
and 144 MHz
via
Meteor
Scatter, I used the
fantastic
WSJT software
and the high speed FSK441 digital data mode.
The maximum practical range for Meteor
Scatter
QSOs is
considered to be around 2300km,
with my best
distance being 1796km
to Estonia.
I have severe obstructions
to my signals when beaming between 20-80 degrees
due to nearby mountains.
Despite this almost
impossible direction for working anything at VHF/UHF I have managed to work
stations via Meteor
Scatter
as far afield as
Estonia
on
144MHz!
To get over both
hills my horizontal radiation lobe pattern needs to be at least 23 degrees above
the horizontal.
Interestingly experiments
in 2007 with SM7CMV on 50MHz
where my radio signals were heard by him via Meteor
Scatter
many times, but I couldn't hear his signals despite my
station being much weaker in comparison, has resulted in me suggesting that
perhaps Knife Edge Diffraction followed by Meteor
Scatter
allowed this apparent one-way flow? I know
Knife Edge Diffraction
occurs in that direction as I can work G stations in
IO94 square despite a clear
mountain obstruction of the Pennines.
Shown below is a
still image of my FSK441 QSO (using WSJTsoftware) with
ES6RQ on 21.12.2003 on
144.360 MHz a distance of 1796km (1116 miles)
and
my best DX via Meteor
Scatter
so far. The burst captured below shows the signal I received from my friend
'Ants' in Estonia.
I was only using
50 watts
with my then
Yaesu FT-847
transceiver and a 9 element Tonna Yagi at 150m asl to reply and you can see
my
Meteor
Scatter
signal report received in Estonia of 27.
The date and time
shown on the captured screen above are not correct, as after the event I reran the recorded audio data so that I
could grab this image to present on this page.
Below is a
map of Stations I have worked on 144MHz
Meteor
Scatter. The maximum practical range for
Meteor
Scatter
QSOs is considered to be around
2200 km, with my best
distance so far being 1796 km.
I have managed to work stations via Meteor
Scatter
in
Iceland, France, Germany, Poland, Estonia, Czech Republic, Italy, Switzerland,
Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Slovenia, Norway, England, Holland, Denmark & Spain.
This came about because band conditions
were so
poor on HF and realistically I have worked as much as I can via the normal
VHF/UHF propagation modes. I am however finding it a very steep learning curve.
I now use
Orbitron satellite tracking software to alert
me in the shack, when the
Satellites are coming into range. I use
UISS software
to CAT
control my Kenwood TS-2000
radio and send the
AX-25 packet messages.
I use
AGW packet engine software
to
give me the ability to transmit and receive packet without a TNC using
my RigExpert standard interface. The
UISS software works in tandem with AGW and is a very useful tool for working
the ISS or digipeating through it. Within a day of downloading the software (on
Saturday 17th March 2006 at 1145UTC), and on my first attempt, I managed to have
my 145.990 MHz
FM packet signal digipeated by the
ISS (RS0ISS-3)
as
it flew overhead at 345km
altitude,
this was achieved using my normal VHF horizontal beam and using
25 watts.
See the image below, showing my QTH and
those of other successful Hams, displayed in
real-time, as heard by the ISS. The ISS position is shown and where it will
be in 5 minutes later (ISS-5).
In May 2011
I am only using an indoor 1/4 wave
144MHz
magnetic mount aerial, little bigger than a handheld radio aerial, as I have no
external antennas for 2 metres. I was pleasantly surprised today 23rd May 2011
to see that my
25W
145.825
MHz FM
AX-25 packet radio messages had been received onboard the ISS and retransmitted
(RS0ISS-4*)
as shown below in the text box, with the accompanying map image of active
stations.
20110523075625 :
ON4HF-9]U0TQW4,RS0ISS-4*,qAR,MM1PTT:`{]Z {yv/]"6I}www.on4hf.be=
20110523075623 : G0ISW]CQ,RS0ISS-4*,W3ADO-1,SGATE,WIDE,qAR,EI7IG:]IO84OQ/G
Pse send me ur # via SAT
20110523075618 : RS0ISS-4]CQ,SGATE,qAR,EI7IG:]ARISS - International
Space Station (BBS/APRS on)
Please do not attempt to connect to the
old International Space Station Packet BBS system, callsign RS0ISS-11, as you
will block the whole pass for all other European stations who can digipeat only
if the BBS is not being used. The BBS was established many years ago before the
advent of e-mail, the crew do not read it, and in order to obtain a QSL card
from the ISS you only have to now digipeat through it using the callsign
RS0ISS-4. The crew use e-mail, Facebook and Twitter, not the BBS.
Summary
of Locator squares worked via Satellites
International Space Station,
PCSAT (NO-44), ANDE-1
My best
Satellite DX on 145.825 MHz
FM Packet, via the Low
Earth Orbiting satellites above, is SV3EXT
in KM18UA locator
square, a distance of 2720 km
and is closely followed by UR3QLZ
in locator square KN77MT,
a distance of 2703 km
and US5WDC
in locator square KN29BJ,
a distance of 1918 km.
Indeed on 27th March 2012 I worked via the ISS on
145.825 MHz FM packet
UR3QLZ, I was only using an indoor 1/2 wave 2m
colinear and 25 watts, no beam aerial here any more.
Please note that since September 2007, the
International Space Station uses a frequency of
145.825 MHz simplex for APRS Packet
digipeating, using the callsign
RS0ISS-4.
Historically, I realised that for consistent and reliable space
communications I should have upgraded my
antenna system, but I did not have the space for a high performance multiple
stacked 4x4 array, so it would have to be based upon a much simpler system. I noticed on the
GB4FUN amateur radio demonstration vehicle
that they have full satellite capability.
These aerials have a short
boom length less than 1.5m and can be mounted on the front of the mast, which is
particularly good for me as they would not catch on my HF beam mounted lower on my mast. The
quoted gain for the
2m X-Quad
is
10.5dBd and for the
70cm X-Quad
is
12.8dBd, which compare very
favourably with both a Tonna 9 element
144 MHz yagi at
13.1dBi and a Tonna 19
element
432 MHz yagi at
16.2dBi, but being only
horizontally polarised, about 3m long and not able to be mounted on the front of
the mast boom. Converting dBD to dBi suggests that the gain is almost the same.
Interestingly these antennas
can be configured for horizontal, vertical, Left or Right hand circular
polarisation (RHCP) the latter being the preferred
setup for satellite use and also EME. Using a WIMO phasing harness
for each antenna, further
simplifies setup.
As of January 2010 I intend to use
a modest portable Low Earth Orbiting (LEO) Satellite system based upon the
Arrow II Satellite Antenna
and my
Kenwood TH-F7
5W
144/432 MHz handheld.
There are very
few radio amateurs here in Penrith, or the surrounding area. The local Amateur
Radio club is the
Eden Valley
Amateur Radio Society (EVRS) which meets in Penrith, on the last
Thursday of each month at 19:30 hrs local time, in the
Royal British Legion club.
Visitors are very welcome.
Amateur radio activity is mostly to be found on the local
2m repeater GB3EV
on 145.700 MHz FM (CTCSS 77Hz)for fixed and
mobile stations due to the sparsity of activity and the mountains which
block simplex contacts between the valleys.
The
most active radio amateurs you are likely to encounter on GB3EV are (in
alphabetical callsign order)
G0ISW - Philip
M0JKQ - Chris
M5TNT - Simon
M5TXJ - Dave
Amateur Radio awards 'collector information' for G0ISW
WAB Winter Award 1986-1987 (250 stations - All 144MHz SSB)
VHF
SOTA Chaser 500 points Award (All 144MHz FM)
VHF
SOTA Chaser 1000 points Award (All 144MHz FM)
VHF
ANDE Satellite Deorbit Award
HF
European Phase Shift Keying Club
EUSPA 100 Award (100 European Stations PSK
Award)
HF
European Phase Shift Keying Club
EUSPA 200 Award (200 European Stations PSK
Award)
HF
European Phase Shift Keying Club PHPA
100 Award
(100 prefixes World
Wide using PSK modes)
HF
European Phase Shift Keying Club PHPA
200 Award (200 prefixes World
Wide using PSK modes)
HF
European Phase Shift Keying Club MGSPA 100 Award (100
Maidenhead Grid Squares using PSK)
HF/VHF
RSGB 75 years Award (Worked required number of stations in RSGB
75th Anniversary year)
HF/VHF
eDX 25 Countries (Worked over 25 different Countries verified
by eQSL.cc)
HF/VHF
DXCC (100
Countries worked World Wide)
HF/VHF
WAB Century Award (Worked 100 different WAB Book holders)
In 2006 I
finally achieved the SOTA Chaser ultimate award, the 'Shack Sloth', for
collecting 1000 points entirely from the comfort of my shack on 144 MHz
FM. This took me 4
years of continuous effort, working mobile/portable stations primarily on
Lake District summits.
Radios I have
owned and operated over the years
* denotes still in use
If
you already use your computer soundcard for data modes such as PSK31,
then
you can use WSPR (Distant Whispers) software
by K1JT, with
your existing hardware. The software transforms your station into an automated beacon and weak
signal reception hub.
You will be amazed how far your low power signals
can be heard and can see maps in real time. Great for antenna
experimentation and comparison too. There is even a searchable
WSPR spots database.
Below is an
computer screen grab using
WSPR software and taken from the
WSPRnet pages
showing my 5 Watts QRP signals on
10MHz
on Friday 3rd September 2010. Comparing this with my HF vertical aerial I can
see immediately better results for working the nearby Continent, which is what
I would expect.
Using the
WSPRnet
website and its
'spot database query'
research tool, I can enter search parameters for callsign, band, number of
spots, and select the order they are displayed in such as timestamp, distance,
SNR, km per Watt etc.
In the
example below, dated from late 2010, I have selected 5 spots for my signals on the
10MHz
band and placed them in longest distance order. I can see that my best
distance so far is to
W3HH
at
6751km
and I can also see that all 5 spots were using my
Sandpiper MV6+3 HF vertical,
as I only put up my
Racal Military tactical adjustable wire dipole on 1st September 2010.
Using spot archive (no
automatic refresh). 5 spots:
Timestamp
Call
MHz
SNR
Drift
Grid
Pwr
Reporter
RGrid
km
az
2010-08-31 22:22
G0ISW
10.140199
-13
0
IO84oq
5
W3HH
EL89vb
6751
280
2009-07-23 21:32
G0ISW
10.140223
-26
0
IO84oq
5
K8CXM
EM79
6074
290
2009-07-23 21:10
G0ISW
10.140214
-25
0
IO84oq
5
W4JE
FM08qw
5724
285
2010-08-31 23:00
G0ISW
10.140193
-17
0
IO84oq
5
K8CT
EN83ce
5711
293
2009-07-23 21:32
G0ISW
10.140203
-25
0
IO84oq
5
K1JT
FN20
5383
284
Query time: 0.004 sec
However,
on
14MHz
it is a different story, as I can see from the results shown below that my
two best distances were both on dates after 1st September 2010, when I was
using my
Racal Military tactical adjustable wire dipole. Obviously you have to take
into account the variations in propagation, but this software does allow
you to compare antenna system performance if tests are carried close in
time to
each other.
In
April 2011, I have returned to using
my
Sandpiper MV6+3 HF vertical
as my primary aerial, as it will tune up on
50 MHz
for the Sporadic-E season in April-July, whereas my dipole won't.
Below is a map showing my QRP 5W
10MHz WSPR
signals reaching the USA using a
Sandpiper MV6+3 HF vertical on
the morning of 6th April 2011.
Below is a map showing my 5W
10MHz WSPR
signals reaching VK1UN
in Australia using my 2m tall
Sandpiper MV6+3 HF vertical on
8th April 2011.
The WSPRnet database shows my
10.140195 MHz signal to
VK1UN in Australia had a
SNR of -28 dB and
the distance was my best yet at 16947 km.
The WSPRnet database shows my best ever DX signals
have all occurred so far on the
10MHz band and I can
tell by the dates that all were achieved using my
Sandpiper MV6+3 HF vertical,
rather than my dipole. I would expect this due to the low angle of radiation
from the vertical aerial which is better suited for long distance (DX)
working.
Here below is my
10 MHz
signal being received on 16th April 2011 by the man himself K1JT, Joe
Taylor, the author of WSPR and WSJT software
On HF from home, my
preferred mode of operation remains PSK31 data using
MixW software.
In October 2011 I have
started to look at other HF data modes and tried today
JT65-HF on
28 MHz
just to see what band conditions were like. Wow!
Shown below is a screenshot using
PSK Reporter
of stations heard by me on 28.076 MHz
(10m), using
JT65 HF
mode, on Tuesday 18th October 2011.Amazing conditions considering we are
only a little way out of sunspot minimum and already DX is visible on 4
Continents all at the same time.
Here
below is the accompanying JT-65 HF software screen grab showing
ZS1LS
in South Africa,
PU3WSF in Brazil
and several US stations.
However in the Summer
months I don't enjoy sitting in my shack and missing all the good sunny
weather outside and have just discovered in May 2011 that it is possible to
remotely control my
Kenwood TS-2000
radio using an Apple iPad to touch control my
computer.
The
Apple iPad using an
application called
Air-Display allows me to have complete touch screen
control of my station from the comfort of my garden, or anywhere else in my
house using my own Wi-Fi network, I can remotely view and operate anything
on my computer screen. Here is the link to the full article explaining how to do this.
http://www.hamradioscience.com/?page_id=141/sdr-radio-general/using-the-ipad-to-control-your-rig/#p49
Below is a YouTube video showing the concept in action.