W3RGA's Blog
W3RGA-1 DX Cluster Node
Posted May 29, 2026
A little history on my W3RGA-1 DX Cluster Node and its current status.
In late 2019 I started running an AR Cluster v6 node. ARv6 was my preferred software due to the flexibility of the filtering. But it became evident to me that with the author AB5K going SK in 2018, the software was becoming a little long in the tooth.
In 2022 I switched my cluster node over to VE7CC's CC Cluster software because it was still under active development and worked well. However, I was never totally happy with the filtering. Then, in 2025, VE7CC announced that development had stopped on CC Cluster because he could no longer compile the .exe using VB6.
In late 2025 I switched my node again, this time to G1TLH's DX Spider software. It was, and still is, under active development, and the filtering is every bit as flexible as the ARv6 filtering I enjoyed. For complete information on my node, see the DX-Spider Node section of my Homepage.
Web Hosting
Posted May 24, 2026
Sometime around the beginning of February I decided to migrate my website back to QSL.net's free web hosting.
This ended up being a major undertaking! But I'm happy to report I've fully migrated all my webpages back to www.qsl.net/w3rga/.
If you enjoy all the great content hosted on QSL.net for free, consider sending KA9FOX & K5TR a small donation 
.
2026 WPX RTTY
Posted February 16, 2026
When I posted this to the RBN-OPS groups_io, N6TV pointed out that some skimmers are producing a large % of dupes. Bob graciously provided a de-duped list of RTTY spotters for me to graph.
Since learning this, my RBN Data-Sorter Page now includes the option to "Remove Dupes" and/or provide a "Dupe Report".
The number of RTTY spots by each skimmer during the 2026 WPX RTTY:
2026 RTTY Roundup
Posted January 05, 2026
Continuing the tradition of me sharing RTTY skimmer rankings after a major RTTY contest.
Thank you to all the RBN-OPS who put in the effort to spot RTTY.
Out of the 237 active skimmers this weekend, only 40 were spotting RTTY!
The number of RTTY spots by each skimmer during the 2026 ARRL RTTY Roundup contest:
2025 CQWW CW RBN Spots
Posted December 01, 2025
The Reverse Beacon Network produced 12,459,225 spots this past weekend during the CQ World Wide CW contest. This is a slight decrease from the 12,792,354 spots recorded in 2024.
There was a massive disturbance both nights between the East Coast and EU (08:00 - 10:00 UTC). I don't believe I've ever seen a multiple-hour period where my skimmer could not hear EU during CQ WW!
Top 50 NA Skimmers:
RBN Node Calibration
Posted November 23, 2025
I just posted a quick YouTube video demonstrating what I think is the easiest way to calibrate your Red Pitaya or PD-SDR.
You'll need to install the correct version of PowerSDR.
Just follow along to calibrate your node using a known frequency standard like WWV or CHU.
2025 CQ WW RTTY RBN Spots
Posted September 29, 2025
It's starting to become a tradition for me to share the RTTY skimmer rankings after a major RTTY contest.
Let me say Thank You to all the RBN-OPS who put in the effort to spot RTTY.
Also have a look at Tomi OH2BBT's great analysis HERE.
The number of RTTY spots by each skimmer during the September 2025 CQ WW RTTY contest:
Reverse Beacon Network Raw Data Sorter
Posted September 15, 2025
I added a cool new web app to my homepage called the Reverse Beacon Network Raw Data Sorter. It's a web app that takes RBN raw data .zip & .csv files and allows you to filter and sort the data in many different ways. There is an option to download the filtered/sorted .csv for import into your favorite spreadsheet software for further analysis.
As anyone who's tried to do analysis of the RBN raw files knows, it can be a real pain due to the size of the files. This web app solves SOME of these issues.
Using the Chrome browser is fastest, but it will crash on large datasets. This is due to Chrome’s memory limits. If you experience this, switch to the Firefox browser. It will be slower but won't crash.
I haven't tested any other browsers.
Turn Island Systems Filter/Preamp
Posted August 17, 2025
I have been using a Low Band Systems 30 MHz LPF in-series with a DLW Associates AM broadcast HPF in front of my Red Pitaya.
In the beginning of this year I replaced both these filters with a Turn Island Systems 30 MHz SDR Front-End Filter. This filter took up much less desk space and allowed me to start skimming 630M. I was very happy with this filter and can recommend it to all RBN-OPS.
Around July I switched to a Turn Island Systems 60 MHz Filter-Preamp. I made this switch so I could start skimming 6M. Also, with my current RX antenna setup having a long run of RG-6 and several splitters in-line, I needed the preamp on the high bands but didn't need any gain to the low bands.
Switching to the "60 MHz LPF", "two-stage high-pass shelf filter" and "preamp" combination is perfect for my system. This gives me the gain I needed on the high bands and attenuation on the low bands, it has really brought my W6LVP Magnetic Loop to life on 15M, 10M and 6M.
With all that said, most RBN ops probably don't need any additional gain but could benefit greatly from a Low Pass Filter and some attenuation on the low bands. Have a look at the Turn Island Systems F3060
Since switching to the 60 MHz Filter-Preamp my RBN node consistently ranks in the top ten CW & RTTY RBN Spotters in K/VE. Complete details of my RBN Node are available in the RBN Node section of my Homepage.
Paul Elliott WB6CXC gave a great talk at Hamvention about his Filter / Preamps viewable on YouTube HERE.
August 2025 10M Meteor Scatter QSO Party
Posted August 15, 2025
I participated in the August 11 & 12 HamSCI Meteor Scatter QSO Party during the annual Perseids meteor shower.
I was set-up to receive during the whole event and I occasionally sent out a few CQ's. Unfortunately most of the activity was in the mornings when I'm unavailable.
So far my experience on 10M MS is very similar to my experience on 6M MS. In that around 400 to 800 miles is the sweet-spot for reliable reception, but possible from as close as 200 miles out to around 1100 miles. With that said, my gut tells me MSK144 is not the ideal mode for 10M with such a mix of propagation types.
I did manage to complete QSO's with K2DRH, W1XP, NN4NT and WB4JWM.
The list of the 91 stations I copied during the two-day event:
- AB4EJ
- AE3T
- AE4IT
- AE4JC
- AG4DG
- K1HTV
- K2DRH
- K2ILH
- K3FR
- K4NH
- K5YT
- K7UWR
- K8DP
- K8GU
- K8IJ
- K8LF
- K8PMG
- K8VGL
- K9RRW
- KA2UQW
- KB0ZOM
- KB8FLI
- KB9TBB
- KC2G
- KC3NOH
- KC3OL
- KC4ES
- KD2PWD
- KD2UBX
- KD2WGB
- KE2FWN
- KE3CT
- KE9SA
- KG5SUZ
- KK4BZ
- KK4CNM
- KM4ECH
- KN4GDX
- KQ4NFI
- KQ4SY
- KR4DES
- KR4EE
- N0AX
- N0JPE
- N0JZJ
- N0KRQ
- N0OEP
- N0ZHE
- N2CJ
- N3RN
- N4FKH
- N4NM
- N4WLO
- NJ9R
- NN0F
- NN4NT
- NN4SA
- NX7U
- NY1E
- NY1V
- OA4DPM
- OA4DSN
- VE2DVG
- W0DTM
- W0JW
- W0KHZ
- W1BOY
- W1EBR
- W1HS
- W1IZZ
- W1UE
- W1WRA
- W1XP
- W2JC
- W2PKY
- W3USR
- W4BRY
- W4PPC
- W4QK
- W4UTZ
- W4VG
- W5TRL
- W9XT
- WA4CQG
- WA4KFZ
- WA6PSM
- WB4JWM
- WB9YIG
- WG2Z
- WP3R
- WZ3D
Sporadic E made it difficult to pick out the meteor pings for a lot of the event.
Ping from W1XP:
Ping from NY1E:
Ping from W9XT:
Ping from W1BOY:
What I believe is Aircraft Scatter from KD2WGB:
I don't know what the heck this is from WA4CQG:
July 2025 NAQP RTTY
Posted July 21, 2025
I said this in a previous post, but I still believe there is a lack of RTTY skimmers on the network. Especially during the NAQP's.
If you're a CW skimmer op please consider spotting RTTY as well. At least during contests.
The number of RTTY spots by each skimmer during the July North American QSO Party RTTY:
Reverse Beacon Network Top Spotter
Posted July 20, 2025
I created a Reverse Beacon Network Top Spotter Page. It's a fun way of tracking RBN node performance by turning it into a mini competition.
There is a top WSPR spotter and a top FT8 spotter HERE and HERE. But I thought we should also have a Top CW & RTTY Spotter.
You can filter the results to only see rankings from a particular geographic region.
Weight Loss
Posted May 26, 2025
I like to keep everything on my blog about ham radio. But I feel compelled to share this. I believe there are many hams who could benefit from this information.
I've been overweight my whole life and have dieted by counting calories MANY times, with very little result.
Over the years my weight slowly increased to over 300 lbs. I was taking 3 blood pressure medications (that weren’t working). I could feel my health deteriorating.
On Thanksgiving Day 2023 I started eating only whole foods. I cut out all processed/ultra-processed food and added sugar.
One year later Thanksgiving Day 2024, I had lost over 100 lbs. My doctor has taken me off all of my medications and I feel amazing.
If you struggle to lose weight like I did. Please consider a whole foods, zero sugar lifestyle (with your doctor's supervision).
10M Meteor Scatter QSO Party Test
Posted April 25, 2025
I participated in the HamSCI Meteor Scatter QSO Party test during the April 2025 Lyrids meteor shower.
Between 2006-2010 I made many meteor scatter QSOs on 6M and had a lot of fun. So I was excited to give this event a try.
I was active several evenings and early mornings (9pm to 3am). I was disappointed that I wasn’t able to complete a QSO.
I copied several stations during the morning hours (6am to 10am) while I was asleep.
A list of the stations I copied:
KN4GDX
K1HTV
KD8RV
AD8Y
NN4NT
K2DRH
KQ4MOF
K2GV
WD0BGZ
N8CC
KE5HDE
KA2UQW
K3SWZ
KC9ELU
W8ZN
My general observation is there is a lot of meteor scatter on 10M, but it is often mixed with other modes of propagation.
Big MS ping from N8CC:
Airplane scatter? from K1HTV:
2025 ARRL DX CW
Posted March 07, 2025
The top 50 RBN skimmers in the 2025 ARRL DX CW contest:
2025 WPX RTTY
Posted March 03, 2025
The number of RTTY spots by each skimmer during the 2025 WPX RTTY:
Feb 2025 NAQP RTTY
Posted February 25, 2025
The number of RTTY spots by each skimmer during the Feb 2025 North American QSO Party RTTY:
I feel the Reverse Beacon Network could use more RTTY skimmers. If you are a skimmer op, please consider spotting RTTY as well… At least during contests.
2025 Winter Field Day
Posted January 29, 2025
I had a great time this past weekend participating in Winter Field Day with the Susquehanna Valley Amateur Radio Club.
I mostly operated CW and managed the N1MM logging software for the group.
2025 ARRL RTTY Roundup
Posted January 07, 2025
Also have a look at Tomi OH2BBT's great analysis HERE.
The number of RTTY spots by each skimmer during the 2025 ARRL RTTY Roundup:
PD SDR Update
Posted December 15, 2024
I had a chance to assemble the PD SDR and try it out this week. It works great! It's a direct drop-in replacement for the $720 Red Pitaya.
I still believe the Red Pitaya is an awesome product. But it's great to have a more economical option if you're willing to assemble the parts.
I had it up and running for 24 hours in place of my Red Pitaya. While not a direct comparison, there was no perceptible difference of the spot count between the two.
I'm looking forward to adding another skimmer to the network. It's new home will be six miles to my east at my brother's QTH.
The total cost of the project was $265, this could be lowered to around $200 if you do a group buy and modify the parts selection.
Pavel Demin's SDR
Posted December 7, 2024
About a week ago I started ordering all the parts to assemble one of the PD-SDR's announced back in May on the RBN-OPS groups.io.
I ordered the QMTECH Zynq7000 XC7Z020 Core Board.
I ordered 5 assembled ADC boards from JLCPCB.
I ordered a 3D printed case from Craftcloud. Using the pre-built STL file designed by Simon S53ZO.
I ordered all the remaining parts:
SMA
50 pin f header
50 pin m header
Adhesive heat sink
40mm fan
I hope to have it assembled by Christmas. This will be a new RBN node going to my brother's QTH.
2024 Station Changes
Posted November 18, 2024
Over the last several weeks I've been repairing a few things around the shack, and swapping some equipment.
I replaced the damaged 1/2" HELIAX that was feeding my doublet with LMR-400. The HELIAX was damaged recently while having a crew install a French drain.
I replaced the 200' of quad shield RG-6 feeding my W6LVP Magnetic Loop, and added a DXE-RXFC-75 receive feedline chokes at each end.
I swapped out my old Palstar AT2K with a new LDG RT-100 remote antenna tuner. I've been wanting to go back to a remote auto-tuner for a while.
I added a 2" wide copper strap to the back of my operating table to start using it as a common ground point.
I added some more Mix 31 Ferrite, common-mode chokes to the station. I'm getting a little obsessed with having a choke on every cable.
I replaced both the batteries in my APC BR1500LCD station UPS. One failed and the other was weak, they were 4 years and 3 months old. New batteries.