W0̷JLT

Up until not very long ago I didn’t use any logging software.   My log consisted of hand-written notes for SSB, and the log files from WSJT-X for digital.  I then posted the contacts on here to keep track.  It worked fine at first, but eventually I realized I had too many contacts to keep track of.  On top of that I was using a spreadsheet to manage QSL cards.  It worked, but it was very cumbersome to keep everything up to date.

Last week I started looking for electronic logging programs.  I wanted something to use with Linux if at all possible, and I found CQRLOG.  It took quite a while to get all my contacts loaded into the software but it was worth the time.  Once I got everything entered, I quickly saw the advantage.  I realized I’ve already had 160 contacts. Whoa.  When I started looking at some of the stats, I realized I had already contacted 10 countries.   Suddenly tracking QSL cards was way easier.

While I never used LOTW I decided this would be a good time.  LOTW in Ubuntu was not easy to setup.  The TQSL package in Ubuntu’s repositories for 16.04 were a joke, several versions out of date, and it crashed when attempting to update the configuration file to V11. My compiling skills are pretty much non-existent, and I ran into dependency errors that I have no clue how to resolve.   I found some luck installing the Windows version of TQSL with Wine, however that would mean CQRLOG wouldn’t be able to find TQSL and I’d have to deal with manually moving files around.  I finally found a compiled package, thanks to Kamal Mostafa’s launchpad (links at the end of this post).  I added that PPA and quickly had TQSL up and running.

Once I had certificates figured out I started uploading to LOTW.  I wasn’t expecting much based on the reviews I had read online, but out of the 160 contacts I have, 100+ were confirmed with LOTW in a matter of seconds.  Compare that to 60 contacts that were confirmed via QSL.  That also translated to 4 additional countries confirmed that I haven’t been able to confirm via QSL cards, getting my total confirmed countries up to 8.

Here are a few links that I found helpful:
CQRLOG
Kamal Mostafa’s PPA for TQSL

I’ll be heading on vacation around the 4th here soon and I’ll be bringing my radio with, so I figured why not get a few new gadgets.

The first is a tuner (MFJ-902B).  For some reason when I got my general I thought tuners were pointless, so instead when I was outside I would raise and lower the Buddipole about 15 times to get it just right with an analyzer.  My hopes are I can get the Buddipole close, and use the tuner to fine-tine it.  If I can set it up and turn a few knobs instead I’m interested.

Next I got a battery booster (MFJ-4416C).  When I get outside I use a deep-cycle SLA gel battery and I’ve heard good reports here that this device can help keep the voltage up as the battery is getting lower.  Honestly I have no idea how this works (like how does 11 volts suddenly get changed to 13.8?) but if it can keep my rig inside operating voltages the whole time it should help.  I’ve heard these can destroy batteries if they are discharged too far, however my battery is a deep cycle battery that can stand being fully discharged up to 300 times, so I’m curious how far I can push it.

I also got the counterpoise wire assembly from Buddipole, I want to get serious about the vertical setup for 20 meters and lower as the bands have been crap lately.

Once I try all this out I will have some updates, and hopefully more contacts.

I finally got around to ordering some QSL cards and they showed up today!  I’ve dropped some in the mail to respond to ones I’ve received, plus now I’m going back and sending out some of my own for contacts from the last year.  Plus with warmer weather, I should be on HF voice again soon

I’ve had a lot of success on JT65 on both 20 and 40 meters.  Even when band conditions are not favorable, which seems to be quite a bit lately, I’ve had a lot of contacts and hits on pskreporter.info/pskmap.html. In the last 2 days I’ve had a total of 20 contacts, and according to pskreporter, my signal was picked up in in Alaska, Europe, South America and Antarctica.  I wasn’t picking up anything from that station but it’s crazy to think I got a signal that far from an indoor antenna.  I was using the MFJ loop antenna I have, and had my rig hooked up to the gel battery.  I can’t wait for it to be summer again so I can operate outdoors, but in the meantime this will keep me entertained.

I bought a couple of new items lately so I can operate indoors through these cold Minnesota winters.  I love getting outdoors when it is nice out and operating from campsites and parks, but not so much once we get some snow and it is below freezing.

The first thing I bought was the MFJ-933 loop tuner, and the MFJ-58B kit to go with it.  My impressions on the tuner itself are great, I find it very easy to get the antenna tuned and get on the air. The instructions say to use the radio to tune, however I’ve used my antenna analyzer instead.  Since this is a loop antenna the bandwidth is very low, so you’ve got to tune it to a frequency and stick very close to it.  When you are outside of that resonant spot, the SWR is around 20:1-30:1.  I don’t want the finals in my rig to deal with that, I’ll let the analyzer take that instead.   The instructions tell you exactly what to do (minus using the analyzer).

Now the antenna kit itself (MFJ-58B)- don’t get me wrong it works, but I feel like it is something I would buy at a flea market.  The only valuable part here are the wires themselves, the rest of the kit is crap you could find anywhere.  The PVC pipe is clearly surplus PVC, it has adhesive from torn off labels and has scratches everywhere.  The longest wire for 40-60 meters is too big for the PVC, so the kit includes what it calls “Loop wire clips” to hang it on curtains/bookselves/etc.  These “clips” are simply clothespins.  Don’t get me wrong, this all works functionally well, but for $50 I expect a little bit more of quality and little bit less crap you could buy anywhere.

For me this setup works very well.  I made my first voice contact on 10 meters, first contact to Mexico, and made a number of voice contacts on 20 meters as well.  This is much easier than setting up the Buddipole inside as my apartment isn’t big enough for it to fit in one room.  It also brings down some of the electrical interference that makes using the Buddipole inside my apartment less practical (unless the power is out).

I also bought a Signalink USB and tried JT65.  This was my first attempt at digital communications and it worked very well.  I made my first 40-meter contact and my first digital contact at the same time.  I found the Signalink very easy to setup and interface with my radio.  Once I was up and running I found the https://www.pskreporter.info/ website and was thrilled to see my signal making it out and to so many places.

I’m so glad I got into this activity.  It is something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time, and now that I finally can, it has been a blast.

A random power outage in my apartment allowed me to attempt HF from indoors.  When I have setup previously I can get my antenna (Buddipole) to tune just fine, but there is way too much interference for me to hear anything.  When the power in my area suddenly went out I quickly setup my rig and found out there was no noise floor, and I could easily get my signal out.  I made a few contacts before the power returned, and a power outage has never been so exciting.  If only this happened more often, I will likely be looking into a loop antenna to use from my apartment in the winter, I can get signals out no problem it seems.  It’s just hearing other people that is the problem.

I also went camping in one of my usual spots, Great River Bluffs State Park.  I’ve had plenty of luck on 17-meters there, but since propagation was poor on 17 I tried 20 instead.  I tried the Buddipole both horizontal and vertical and had luck with both configurations.

It was on 20 that I had two of the most unique contacts I’ve had so far.  First I chatted with W8GWP, Shane, who was flying a plane about 8 miles in the air and using the HF radio in the plane over Kansas.  I’ve never had an airborne contact before.   Then I chatted with W3FF, Budd, who had a tricycle-mounted rig with an amp on the trailer from Redding, California.  His signal was booming to me at the state park with this setup.  He’s got a picture of it on his QRZ page.

Two local events I just found:

KC9BQA – Weekly 2 meter USB net on Wednesdays – check the link for more information.   I will try to call in on tonights (8:00 PM central time)

2 Meter Sprint – Sept 19 –  While not exclusive to SSB – I will be calling out around 9:15-11:00 local time on SSB to see what contacts I can make

I’ll fully admit, I’m one of ‘those’ hams who has had my license for a while now, but I don’t get on the air much.

I threw my call out tonight on 2 meter simplex, and had about a 40-minute ragchew with a fellow ham about music and sound production.  It turns out we both played the same musical instrument. What a small world.

Every time I do get on the air it ends up being awesome.  I need to do this more.

When I was looking at buying equipment, one question that I was constantly asking was “what is the perfect rig for a beginner?”.   As I did some research and pondered several options- I realized something very important: there is no perfect rig, let alone one that is perfect for beginners.

My advice to new hams is to start the process with what kind of rig you are looking for, instead of worrying about specific models and brands.

I live in an apartment, and while I can sometimes successfully listen to shortwave here, 90% of the time (especially in the summer with AC units running) – there is just too much interference to operate as I can’t hear anything.  Also I have no ability to get an antenna outside my apartment.

For me requirement number one was portable operations.  I wanted a rig that I could bring anywhere with me so location would never be an issue.  Also important was a rig that could handle multiple bands and modes.  When I found the Yaesu 857- that for me was the winner.  It handles many bands, it is small, and it can go from 5 watts to 100 watts.

Next was the antenna- while just about anything can do here- I didn’t want something that would be too confusing nor difficult to setup.  After a lot of digging, I settled on the Buddipole.  It comes with a tripod, an 18-foot mast, and options for 40 meters through 2 meters.  The flexibility again appealed to me, as one antenna system could let me try many bands out.  Also the Buddipole has many configuration options, I can go vertical, horizontal, or experiment with other ideas as well.  I’ve had the best luck with it on 17-meters, but I’ve also made contacts on 20 and 2-meters.  I have yet to try the other bands.  For some reason the more ‘seasoned’ hams hate on the Buddipole- I was 5×9 to someone across the US running 50 watts, and as soon as I mentioned what antenna I had, the response was “well that is a very illogical antenna.”  Keep in mind, there is no perfect antenna, and if I am making 5×9 reports, I call it success.

I also needed power- so I got a 31 amp-hour gel battery- enough to power the Yaesu at full power for a short time, or at reduced power for quite a while.

The last piece, and most important from my experience, was the antenna analyzer.  The Buddipole comes with stock instructions for how to set each band up, but I’ve found it to be a starting point and not the final answer.   Following the stock instructions, I usually end up in the 2:1 to 3:1 SWR range, and I need to shorten the whips slightly.  Yes, this part is tedious, as I have to raise the antenna, measure, lower it, adjust, and repeat.  However, I can always get the SWR below 1.3:1, and I credit that with my ability to get through with such an ‘illogical antenna.’

With this setup I can operate anywhere.  I also love to go camping, so bringing my rig to a campground is a great way to enjoy nature and talk around the world.  This is the setup that works for me, but your ideal rig could be completely different.