PC4T

It's a man's world

2012-01-27T17:56:00.000+01:00

Amateur radio: it’s a man’s world. I do not work al lot of women, but today I did, well just one. I came across Bernadeta SQ9ROO from Kamesznica, Poland. With BPSK-31 on 30 meter, 5 watts output and my Sand Piper antenna (MV-5+3) Also worked Leo OK2BWK on 30m. The Sand Piper antenna works very good on 30 meter. Most of the day I run Opera on 30 meter. I did check WSPR and Opera under the same conditions, and I think Opera is a little bit better than WSPR.

SSB the underdog mode for QRP-ers

2012-01-26T11:45:00.003+01:00

Yesterday I did worked YO6PJS Claudio from Romania with 5 watt SSB on 20 meter. He was very loud 59+ here. Several stations were calling but he picked up my qrp signal with SSB, the underdog mode for qrp-ers. Most QRP operators choose Morse as their favourite mode, which I can understand. I use my FT817 only for QRPp operations or 5 watt SSB on 10, 20 and 40 meter (and VHF/UHF) For CW and digital modes I use my FT450. Claudio gave me a 58-59 report. In principal, I can work stations which are S8 or stronger on 10, 20 or 40 meter with 5 watt SSB. I never call CQ, but I search for strong CQ calling stations. I will participate with the PACC contest in February with SSB and maybe CW, of course with QRP.

This afternoon I worked II6LN and IT9IMJ on 20 meter with SSB.

Back to blogging

2012-01-24T15:35:00.001+01:00

When you don't come often here, you haven't miss me. I was for a few weeks off line with the intention to stop blogging. But I'm afraid it's a kind of addiction. Since I am playing with Opera (experimental QRSS) it's nice to share it with others. I feel a bit silly that I was saying good-bye, and now I am back again. You must think I am mad or something. Sorry for that.

I use my old URL (dutchhamradio.blogspot.com) because in about two months my call sign will be changed in PHØTO. So, I will leave PC4T call sign and blog. I imported all postings and comments into this blog, nothing is lost.

This afternoon I was spotted by VK4YEH with Opera on 30 meter (5 watt - Sand Piper antenna) I do like Opera, more than WSPR at the moment.

CME again

2012-01-24T09:45:00.001+01:00

X-Ray image from a GOES satellite at 14:12 UTC on January 23, 2012. Credit: NOAA. Earth’s magnetic field is already full of activity from an Earth-directed Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) last week. But all indications are another blast is headed our way from the strongest solar radiation storm since September, 2005.

Nice result

2012-01-21T10:03:00.003+01:00

My results on 30 meter yesterday with Opera 5 watt and my Sand Piper antenna. I had my audio out as low as possible. I do not have a watt meter, so I am not sure how much was really going out.

Still Opera

2012-01-19T14:09:00.003+01:00

The Opera frequency on 15 & 80 meter are close to the JT65A frequencies. Many times JT65A interfere with Opera signals. Still 10.135 Mhz is very popular by Opera users. On the pic you see two JT65A signals, one of them between the Opera window.

Opera, WSPR and QRSS

2012-01-18T09:27:00.001+01:00

For two weeks now I am testing Opera, a new digital mode, developed by EA5HVK, the man behind ROS. It is similar like WSPR, it is not a qso mode but a beacon with slow CW. First meant for low frequencies like 136 and 500 KHz. But with the latest version v 1.1.2 is also possible 80, 30, 17, 12 and 10 meter. Popular frequencies are 30 and 80 meter. The interval time for WSPR is set, but with Opera you can choose your own interval time between 1 and 60 minutes. Because the mode is in an experimental phase, software updates are almost daily. Results are quite good. I think a little bit better than WSPR. Decodes are possible with -33 db. The old way of QRSS was a struggle. I have never been reported with QRSS! Always in vain transmitting a signal. But with Opera it is fine business. Spots are visible with PSKreporter and Hamspots.com. I saw a test with a few milliwatts: 32 million miles per watts is accomplished. Wow! I hope that Opera will be a QSO mode as well in the future.

Good propagation to VK on 20 m

2011-12-28T18:12:00.000+01:00

With an A and K index of 0, and SF of 140 – SNN of 126, propagations must be wonderful, and so they were. I was active with WSPR 5 watt on 20 meter today. I was reported by 8 VK stations! Best DX was VK2XGJ John from Dapto, NSW, Australia - distance: 16.672 km. Stations reported from 5 continents. 57% of all active stations reported me. My list shows only unique stations. The graphic shows my signal strength @ VK2XGJ during 11:36 and 14:08 UTC.

Meanwhile in Pyongyang

2011-12-27T16:09:00.000+01:00

Videos from North Korea are rare... did you ever work a radio amateur from North Korea?

My latest activities on HF.

A Merry Christmas

2011-12-25T09:18:00.000+01:00

A Merry Christmas to you all!

Yesterday afternoon I was running WSPR on 30 meter for a short time, until the wsprnet.org was down for a while. Power 5 watts into a Sand Piper vertical

An act of kindness

2011-12-22T06:55:00.000+01:00

Everyone can use something nice and uplifting to brighten the day, and that is definitely how I would describe the above video. Watch how an act of kindness can spread amongst people.

Our main thought should be 'How can I help you?' wouldn't that be nice?

My activities for the last few days. Not too much, but the XYL need more attention now she got her first chemotherapy. She is not feeling well the last few days.

CW training

2011-12-16T16:40:00.000+01:00

this video by IK7JWY shows an app for the iPhone for CW training. Still I don’t have an iPhone, so I do miss a lot of available apps. I haven’t found a good CW trainings program for Windows 7. Anybody?

Again QRPp success.

2011-12-13T16:19:00.000+01:00

The use of QRP was born out of necessity. When I blew the needles from the tree with my 200 watts PEP, causing RFI by all my neighbors, the fun was gone. But when I found out that I was heard at the west coast of the USA with 2 watt SSB, I was thrilled. The seed was sown. Now it’s a way of life, low profile, no big antennas, or big amplifiers. With JT65 and WSPR you can do a lot with low power; and really it is fun. Here are the results for today with 0,1 watt WSPR on 40 meter this morning and on 10 meter till the MUF was decreasing under 25 Mhz. On 40 meter was LA9JO 1967 km, that’s 12.213 Miles per watt. (19.650 km per watt) On 10 meter was FR1GZ the best DX. A distance of 9525 km. That’s 59.150 Miles per watt (95.190 km per watt)

A new QRPp record

2011-12-11T13:51:00.000+01:00

The Joy of QRP, and indeed it gives a good feeling. It makes DX relative. That’s why I like WSPR. Yesterday I tried 100 mW on 20 meter. At first my best DX was LA9JO 1967 km. But suddenly VK6ZT reported me. That’s 14.087 km. Wow that is 87.476 Miles per Watt, or 140.780 km per watt. It is absolutely a new record for me. I didn’t really expect VK on my screen. This record is a distance of 3,5 times around the earth with 1 watt. And that on 20 meter. I had planned for 10 meter but it was not possible to do WSPR because of CW contest stations on the WSPR frequencies. Some contesters are selfish; they claim the band for their own purposes. They seem to forget that there are other hams with other interests. Anyway, I am glad with this QRPp record.

Two nice eQSL´s I received today

10 meter again

2011-12-10T10:16:00.000+01:00

As long cycle 24 is on it's peak, we take advantage of the wonderful F layer propagations. The next peak will be 11 years later in 2023 - 2024. Yesterday the 10 meter band was very quite. My JT65 screen was almost empty. Only few CW stations.

Suddenly I saw a VK4 station appear on my JT65 screen. Still I work QRP 5 watt with JT65. When I gave CQ VK7XX John from Tasmania came back for me. His report was -5 db, he gave me -18 db.

Theoretical he could hear me with 500 milliwatt as well. With JT65 it is possible to hear stations with -28 db. That's why I like JT65 because you can work DX with very low power.

With WSPR I was running 500 milliwatt on 10 meter. Best distance was FR1GZ with 9525 km.

Update about my XYL: The operation was successful, the edges of the wound were clean. The plastic surgeon made a reconstruction of her right breast. The oncologist suggest that she needs a chemotherapy for a half year. A TAC cure, docetaxel, Doxorubicine and cyclophosphamide. That will be very heavy. But together we are strong and we will fight against this cancer.

Have a nice weekend!

St Eustatius new DXCC for me

2011-12-07T13:45:00.000+01:00

On 10 meter I worked with CW PJ7TM (K2GSJ) Tom on St. Martin, Saba, St Eustatius, that is a new DXCC for me. I heard him calling CQ. On 40 meter this morning I worked with CW YO2BMK and EM20V. With JT65 I worked ZU6A Adrian from Polokwane, South Africa. He was running 1 watt. We have a storm this afternoon/evening, so I wonder if my MV-5+3 will hold. Winds up to 100 km/h

Update: Before 20 meter is closing down, MUF 14,7 MHz, I did work W3BI with JT65.

The only 24/7 band

2011-12-05T10:44:00.000+01:00

At 7 o’clock I was QRV on 40 meter with PSK-31. The only band with PSK activity. Nothing on 160 and 80 meters. Also nothing on 30 meter or higher. So the only reliable band, 24 hour band is the good old 40 meter. I made one qso, IZ8DUP Enrico from Torre Del Greco, Italy. I changed my blog with a Christmas header, Christmas 20 days from now.

160 meter

2011-12-03T23:24:00.000+01:00

For a few months I tried my end fed wire for 160 meter with WSPR. Today also. Now it is almost wintertime the MUF is decreasing rapidly after dark. So it's 40 meter or lower. My best DX with WSPR on 160 m was GM4SLV with 932 km. I was also reported by Roger G3XBM. While I was busy with WSPR I heard a JT65 signal nearby. So I started JT65-HF and copied SM0MEM. We made a QSO and it's my first JT65 QSO on 160 meter. Distance 1115 km. 160 meter was in a good shape, there was a kind of quietness, no QRN, very special.

Tomorrow no ham radio because we are celebrating Sinterklaas. It's something like Santa but then earlier. We gave each other presents. Original for kids, but adults like it too. Wikipedia says: Sinterklaas (or more formally Sint Nicolaas or Sint Nikolaas; Saint Nicolas in French; Sankt Nikolaus in German) is a traditional Winter holiday figure still celebrated today in the Low Countries, including the Netherlands and Belgium, as well as French Flanders (Lille) and Artois (Arras). He is also well known in territories of the former Dutch Empire, including South Africa, Aruba, Suriname, Curaçao, Bonaire, and Indonesia. He is one of the sources of the holiday figure of Santa Claus in North America. Have a nice weekend!

Yep... 80 meter

2011-12-01T15:20:00.000+01:00

I was happy to work OH1KPR on 80 meter last night with JT65, with my goofy little antenna the Sand Piper MV-5+3 (40m-10m vertical) not really suitable for 80 meter. But it works. Normally I can't come out on 80 meter. With attached counterpoises I get a low SWR reading (here we go again) The efficiency will be poor, I guess. But enough to work Finland. With JT65 on 80 m I was also reported in Poland, Italy, Germany, Czech republic and Estonia.

This morning I was running 500 mW on WSPR 10 meter. I was reported by VK6DZ (see photo) that is 18.030 miles per watt or 29.018 km per watt. In the afternoon I worked on 10 meter RZ3GV, UR5MQX, UR4MJ and 7X2VX (running 10 watts) with SSB. With JT65 I worked RA6XTE.

New version of JT65-HF

2011-11-29T14:02:00.000+01:00

JT65 is one of my favourite modes. Still it becomes more popular, by and by I see more new stations appear on the JT65 frequencies. I was working with the version 1070 for a long time now and it is stable. I noticed a new version 1093 on the web site of Peter G4NKX, so I downloaded the new one. What’s new in the 1093 version?

1093 Changes: CW ID Enabled again. Please report any issues with CW ID (truncated CW ID is the bug). Changed TX code such that there is a somewhat longer tail out (silence) period after data and/or CW ID. Attempting to correct issue where PTT is dropped a bit too soon. Corrected TX watchdog code such that TX will be halted after selected count -- not selected count + 1.

You can download JT65-HF1093 here. Since November 14th I put all the QSO’s with JT65 in an Excel file. Since then I worked 30 DXCC and 19 US states.

Update: my JT65-HF1093 has crashed. So I use now JT65-HF1070 again, because it is proved to be stable.

MV-5+3 vs End Fed Wire

2011-11-26T12:29:00.000+01:00

"When the bands are open any goofy antenna will make contacts. People will think this makes a goofy little antenna a good antenna. Not so."[K3NG]

That statement makes me think. How about the small Sandpiper MV-5+3? What is best method to test this little light weighted antenna? First, run QRP. Today I compared the MV-5+3 with my End Fed Wire. Both have a flat SWR. I choose for 20 meter with JT65 running 5 watts. First round with the MV-5+3. I was reported by a lot stations from Europe, Asiatic Russia, New Zealand and USA. Second round with the End Fed Wire: I was only reported by PE1ODO. Huh? Then I switched back to the Sandpiper. Again a lot of stations. Well, the little Sandpiper is a real ‘goofy’ antenna.

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T09:56:00.000+01:00

This holiday in the US and Canada speaks to my imagination. Thanksgiving is original coming from Europe immigrants. But we in Europe don’t celebrate thanksgiving, while we should. I am thankful for a successful surgery (Breast Cancer) of the XYL yesterday. I am happy we are still together here and now.

Yesterday I worked ON3TA with psk-31 on 40 meter. He was working QRP 5 watt with an indoor antenna. See photo. That’s a nice stealth antenna.

Reliable?

2011-11-22T12:13:00.000+01:00

How reliable are the HF conditions predictions shown on Solar Terrestrial Data by N0NBH? When I took a look this morning HF conditions would be ‘Good’ at night for 30-20-17-15 meter. But the MUF at 8 hour UTC was 11 MHz. Only on 30 meter I could hear weak signals, but higher no propagations at all. Anyway, below my activities for the last few days. Today, on 10 meter I worked RU4PH with JT65 and PY3ED with 20 watt JT65.

MFSK16

2011-11-18T11:34:00.000+01:00

Now something else (new). For the first time I tried MFSK16 with MMVARI beta ver 0.45 I never did MFSK16 before. With JT65 the band is very crowded, more and more hams discover JT65A. So the 2 KHz bandwidth is becoming too small for so many people. That's why I moved to the noiseless MFSK16 frequencies. I called on 10 meter (28.080 MHz) and after a few CQ calls, UA4FPW/QRP came back for me. We had a nice qso. On 20 meter I worked OK2TB with MFSK16.

No takers

2011-11-17T11:15:00.000+01:00

Impressive isn't it? Results of calling CQ with 5 watt on 20 meter CW, and JT65A on 20 m and 10 meter. Strange enough no takers. They do hear me, that's for sure. But no one came back for me. I know that with CW they are only reverse beacon stations with Skimmer software.

Only one station OE6HAD was calling CQ on 14060 KHz and made a qso with 100 watt on a QRP calling frequency. The most of the JT65A users are active. Maybe they are only looking for nice DX. Or they are just polite when they reply when I call them for a QSO.

The same with Twitter. I post a message, but it is very rare someone will reply. I do not have high expectations about it.

What about blogging? I don't know. What I do know is, that I will spend more time with the XYL (no metastatis, so that's a big relief) with my children, take a walk in the country, read more books (there is a pile of 10 books I will read) and spend time more meaningful.

PA Beker Contest

2011-11-13T16:44:00.000+01:00

Today I joined the PA Beker Contest, it's a Dutch contest on 80 and 40 meter band. But only today in the D section (SSB & QRP) and... oops, I forgot yesterday's CW part of the contest. How stupid can one be. No high ranking this time... nevertheless, It was fun to hear a lot of Dutch stations on 40 meter. I didn't have a 80 meter antenna, so I was active for 2,5 hours on 40 meter. My score was 1128 points (47 QSO's and 24 multipliers) Next contest will be the PACC contest in February 2012.

This was the score in 2010. Click on photo to enlarge. I was number 5 last year. Without 80 meter it will be much lower, I think. I didn't hear Bas PE4BAS this time. I received a lot of stations from Friesland R14.

Worked provinces, big white star my QTH, blank spots: north west part of the Netherlands, South Limburg, and Zeeland.

WSPR on 2 and 10 meter

2011-11-11T18:48:00.000+01:00

My results with WSPR running 1 watt on 10 meter. I do not have much time lately for ham radio. Today the XYL had several examinations such as a PET-scan. But I can run WSPR in the meantime.

I noticed tropo conditions on 2 meter this morning, so I tried WSPR on 2 meter with my inefficient vertical. It's better to have horizontal polarization for 2 meter. But I received DJ9AE, that was nice to see, he was running 1 watt.

QRP contact

2011-11-09T16:16:00.000+01:00

Not so much time for radio today, but I was listening on 10 meter FM for a short while, I heard CO8LY calling QRZ. I could not work him with my 5 watts. Lower in the band I heard SV1JGX/QRP (see photo) calling CQ with SSB. Manos and I made a nice 2-way QRP QSO on 10 meter. Sunspot 1339 is doing his job.

10 meter was great again

2011-11-04T18:05:00.000+01:00

It was great on 10 meter again with 5 watt WSPR. Reported by 63 unique calls, 18 DXCC, 19 US states, best DX VK5LA 15.997 km.

As most of you know by now, my wife suffers from breast cancer. She got a sentinel node procedure last week and and we got good news from the hospital: there is no metastasis. She still needs surgery in about a few weeks. But there is a good chance for recovery. We are grateful for all the support on my blog and e-mail. Thanks again!

PSK31 and QRP

2011-11-02T19:18:00.000+01:00

I need some distraction these days. Ham radio is a good thing to chase away unwanted thoughts. Just going /QRP with bpsk31 today. I started on 10 meter with 5 watt. I worked RD3AMP/QRP, RA3YRA, UN7TW (see photo) and ER1RY. On 30 meter: S51DX, SP5MXW and UR2MZ. On 30 meter I used my MV-5+2 vertical antenna and on 10 meter the end fed wire. Yesterday I worked VK4BDJ again with 25 watt JT65 on 20 meter.

CQ WW DX Contest

2011-10-30T14:48:00.000+01:00

It was good to work some stations today while the CQ WW DX Contest was going on. All the higher bands were very crowded, every frequency was occupied. That is nice to hear.

I gave some points away, and worked 3 new DXCC. Such as Qatar A73A, Cape Verde D4C and Tajikistan EY8MM. And what about Argentina LU7HN on 10 meter, 7040 miles.

Today's activity

Get that rare DX

2011-10-29T10:16:00.000+02:00

Just in time for Halloween, the Sun has been putting on some spectacular shows recently, including this ghostly-looking prominence captured by amateur astronomer Monty Leventhal from Australia. He estimates this giant pillar shot up over 158,000 km (98,000 miles) from the Sun’s surface! Monty took the image on October 26, 2011 using a Meade SC 10 inch telescope, with a Hydrogen Alpha filter and a Canon 300D camera. [Source: Universe Today]

I hope the sun will not spoil the SSB CQ WW DX Contest with geomagnetic storms. At the moment propagations are excellent, and what about 10 meter, wow, that could be great. Today we are giving a birthday party for my son (11) for his school friends. His birthday is November 21, but the XYL expect a surgery at that time. That’s why we are doing it today. I don’t know if I have time for contesting, I am afraid not.

Here are my QRP results on 10 meter WSPR with 500 milliwatt. K4BS was my best DX, that's 13.914 km per watt or 8645 Miles per watt. Have a good weekend!

Aurora

2011-10-25T13:13:00.000+02:00

A nice aurora video from NG9D on 21 MHz. A coronal mass ejection (CME) hit Earth on Oct. 24th at approximately 1800 UT (2:00 pm EDT). The impact strongly compressed Earth's magnetic field, directly exposing geosynchronous satellites to solar wind plasma, and sparked an intense geomagnetic storm. As night fell over North America, auroras spilled across the Canadian border into the contiguous United States. (www.spaceweather.com)

Things you don't want to hear

2011-10-20T08:47:00.000+02:00

My blog will be temporarily closed due to family circumstances. Yesterday we have heard that my wife has a serious form of breast cancer. We are both shocked. Next week we will hear about the medical plans. She will needs surgery and chemo therapy. My wife and children are priority number one at the moment, they need all my attention. I don’t feel much for radio at the moment. I hope you can understand.

Lonely feeling

2011-10-18T16:51:00.000+02:00

Today something strange happens on 40 meter. After I leave 10 meter, because it was too crowded, I was going down HF. Finally I came on 40 meter with bpsk31. The band was empty. No activity at all. Everybody is on 10 meter band I suppose. But I gave a CQ call on 40 meter with bpsk31. After a few calls I saw on my waterfall display 3 stations who also gave CQ . It was as if I gave a sign that it was right too transmit on 40 meter. But the four of us were calling CQ without the intention to reply on each other CQ call. It gives me a strange lonely feeling. I can’t imagine that they didn’t see the sign on their waterfall. What are they looking for, probably DX, I don’t know. After 10 minutes a G station came back on my call. I saw a trace on ‘my frequency’ after my CQ call, so I called QRZ. He only gave his call. I transmitted my macro 1 (you know name, QTH, etc) After that he transmitted in return: “PC4T Paul Tnx for very nice Qso on 40m hope to see you on other bands and modes later Best 73 to you and your family, Qsl via Eqsl Paul good luck and good DX Digi PSK31 qso 1410 PC4T de G.....” I knew his name, but he didn’t tell me, maybe he got the final macro, I don’t know. It was a very strange and short QSO on 40 meter. Anyway, I can always look up the necessary data at QRZ.com.

FM on 10 meter

2011-10-17T10:34:00.000+02:00

Today I made my first FM qso on 10 meter with UA4FUT Alex from Penza, Russia. I did hear more station such as RY3D, UA6YIM and UA3PAA. But they didn't hear me, they were using about 200 -500 watts FM.

09.45 UTC I worked TA1AT on 29.510 MHz with FM.

10.00 UTC I worked YO4PX on 29.660 MHz with FM.

A new DXCC no: 101 United Arab Emirates, A61AM with FM on 29.482 MHz. I like the sound of FM on 10 meter. I got a 59 + 20 db in Fuijarah. It sounds like VHF. Very funny. Maybe later on today I can pick up some AM stations like Roger G3XBM reported on his blog. At 11.50 I worked UA3PQ with FM on 29.282 MHz. Also 5B4ES from Cyprus.

The kids are having vacation this week, so that means: loud music in the house, TV games, WII, youngest son who is playing the drums, etc. You can understand that it will be difficult to make QSO's because I have the shack in the living...

Museum of obsolete objects

2011-10-14T09:08:00.000+02:00

Museum of obsolete objects

Costa Rica

2011-10-13T07:18:00.000+02:00

I read on the blog of Casey Bahr TI/NA7U that he was active on 30 meter with WSPR. So I let WSPR run the whole night, and when I get up this morning I saw Casey on my screen. He reported me -17 db and I received him with -25 db. That means also a new DXCC for me. My first Costa Rica station.

I made a new data base for WSPR data of my WSPR activities. I import WSPR data from wsprnet.org into an Excel spreadsheet since 2 days now. Now I can handle the data much more easier and over a longer period. As long as I wish to do. I made two tabs, one for TX (reported) and one for RX (receiving)

The last 2 days I am reported in 26 countries and I received stations from 30 countries. Because USA is a big country I will look for US States. Reported from 18 states and received also 17 states.

10 meter was really open today. In one TX WSPR cycle I was reported by 30 stations all over the world (50% who was QRV that time) Really great!

Latests QSO's.

10 meter WSPR

2011-10-12T21:18:00.000+02:00

10 meter was totally open today. I was reported from 5 continents, best DX was Australia. Tonight I will run WSPR on 30 meter till tomorrow 6 UTC.

Something about Blogger

2011-10-12T08:12:00.000+02:00

Blogger is an easy going platform for bloggers. The service is great nowadays without too much problems and it is free. I tried Wordpress several times, but you can’t change the template like Blogger does, unless you pay for it to change the CSS.

But nothing is perfect, and there is always something to complain about. Such as the Followers / members widget. It’s a bit strange, what’s the use of that widget. Okay, I can see who is following me... I can’t change something with that widget, so I let it be. Just placed it on the blog.

But the real annoying thing is the comments. We are experienced enough to know how to do it. But for a non-Blogger user it’s a pain in the ass. That’s why you see seldom a reaction / comment from a non-Blogger user. Choose an Identity. Huh? OpenID, Huh? Name/ URL (WTF is an URL) Well, I know, but... Okay, Anonymous then. Most non-Blogger users take the Anonymous identity. See how Wordpress do it, so easy and understandable for anyone. Come on Blogger do something about it, you can do it too.

Just enter your comment and hit post comment, so easy with Wordpress.

Another thing: WORD VERIFICATION. I know: SPAMMERS fear, but how many times do you get a spammer. In the 3 years of Blogging no Word Verification here, I got 1 Spam comment, which I removed forever. No problem. Why make it so user-unfriendly to comment. Don’t be so paranoid. A SPAM massage is removed very quickly. Please, undo Word Verification now! You don’t know how? I like to tell you.

Moderation... Oh no! Why? One who gives a comment like to see immediately his comment on your blog. He doesn’t want to wait 24 hours before showing up his comment. He won’t come back in most cases. I like to read the other comments too, but I’ll have to wait until the moderator have read and checked his comments before he publish. If you want more feedback on your blog, stop moderation. Why moderate at all? To see if someone wrote the right thing? When someone comments something you don’t like, remove the message and blocked that person if needed.

Because I like the guys on my blog list, I take the effort to comment, how user unfriendly it is. But when I surf on the Net, and came across a Blogger blog, I don’t comment immediately. Unless I am eager to ventilate my opinion. So, that was my story about Blogger and how to use it effective, don’t feel too much offended, it is nothing personal.

QRP thoughts

2011-10-11T08:28:00.000+02:00

Results WSPR on 160 meter this morning.

I am easily tempted to use more power than needed. They don’t hear me with 5 watt? I crank up the power to 20 or 40 watt. But more and more I found out that it has seldom to do with power to be heard. Antenna and propagation is more important. A dose of luck is maybe needed, or the effort of the opposite station to pull the signal out of the noise. But more power? I don’t know. I don’t have to convince my QRP friends that it is more satisfying to accomplish a QRP qso. It's just so.

Now with my new antenna, the MV-5+3 multiband vertical, I can work easily QRP without any problems, when I compare it with the Falcon 250B vertical. It was hard to be heard with QRP when using the Falcon; I think the efficiency was poor. The MV-5+3 is quieter than the End Fed Wire, 12 db. The SNR is very good of the Sand Piper MV-5+3.

Back to power. From now on I decide to use 5 watt power or less for all modes. I just worked RV9JR (4200 km) with 5 watt bpsk31 on 20 meter. I add the /QRP to my call sign, I think they are willing to work a QRP station more than just another PA station. A QRP station is much more special I think.

Some contacts

2011-10-10T13:33:00.000+02:00

In the early morning I worked S51NY with bpsk31 on 40 meter. Later on EA3AHH and SV3JZT on 20 meter SSB. I was running WSPR on 10 this whole morning only one station reported me: R9SA. This afternoon I worked I5OWT with CW both QRP on 20 meter.

My WSPR results on 30 meter tonight.

Slinky Antenna

2011-10-09T13:04:00.000+02:00

Am I the only one who not worked T32C? Anyway, I did work YO8RIX on 14060 KHz, he was running only 0,5 watt and was 599 here. On 17 meter I worked SV9/GM3YOR. So far my activities today.

Wally PA3BTT wrote a comment about a Slinky antenna. He thinks about a Slinky indoor antenna for his QRP work on 20 meter. I found several postings on the Internet about this antenna. It could be a solution, only I think that such antenna in the living will not be accepted by the XYL. But for another room or attic, it would be fine.

http://www.qsl.net/kd4cga/slinky.htm

http://www.nonstopsystems.com/radio/frank_radio_antenna.htm

30 meter

2011-10-08T14:56:00.000+02:00

On 30 meter I had a nice qso with I5TYQ (see photo) with CW, I was running 5 watt into my MV-5+3 antenna. I also worked IQ2DN/P and SPØOTC (Old Timer Club) the best thing to test the antenna is making QRP contacts. Because of contesting I always look on the WARC bands.

Condition are not really great today. On 10 meter I heard VK with JT65, but is was too crowded and more and more QRO is in use with JT65. 50 watts or more. That is a pity, because low power less than 25 watts is doing good with JT65. There was a Dutch station who was calling someone while in QSO, he doesn't look at his screen? He only causes QRM. Anyway, time to leave the band.

Still I realize that making a nice qso is real fine, and it doesn't matter if it's not DX. Chasing DX can be very frustrating, just because the strange behaviour of our fellow hams. Have a good weekend. 73 Paul

Woodpecker QRM

2011-10-07T12:48:00.000+02:00

Today the Woodpecker QRM is back. Can you remember many years ago? Maybe caused by over the horizon Russian Radar. It was impossible to do WSPR this morning on 10 meter. Also present ugly very strong WSPR signals. The Whisper software can't decode the signals, too distorted. On 15 meter this morning there was a station who was too loud and distorted. QRM over the entire JT65 band. Haven't they heard that it is possible to set the ALC level lower?

My activities today, mainly with SSB on 20 meter.

WSPR statistics

2011-10-06T09:39:00.000+02:00

Total DXCC with WSPR. Blank spot is 70 cm. I don't expect much of UHF. There isn't any activity. But 12 meter could be fine, certainly the last 2 weeks. But activity is very low on that band for WSPR.

I was reported by PY2GN on 30 meter this morning.

I did receive the signal of LA6TPA he was running 20 mW on 30 meter.

Results on 30 meter WSPR above 1000 km this morning.

Tonight I worked PY8ELO de Silva from Brazil with JT65. I heard a lot of stations from South America, but disconnected the antennas because of lightning and thunderstorms here. So the party is over for tonight.

I was reported in USA and South America with JT65.

Finally Dick F8WBD on 20 m

2011-10-05T13:16:00.000+02:00

Finally I could work Dick F8WBD (N2UGB) for the first time since we are blogging for a few years now. I had the feeling I could work Dick today. I kept my eyes on Reverse Beacon Network and regular I push F5 to refresh the page. Bingo! I saw Dick was qrv on 14012 KHz. I tuned to that frequency... nothing. A few minutes later he was QRV on 14031 KHz. Yes, I heard him and called. But Dick was already gone. Maybe when I was calling CQ on 14060 KHZ he can hear me... he was going up the 20 meter band, but I came across CN8GL Kamir near Rabat and we made a two way QRP qso. After that qso I saw Dick was having a qso with F6CZC 2 KHz lower. So I listen out the qso and called him. Yes, finally successful. Dick´s signal was really 599 here. I recordered the first part of the qso, my side tone is soft, sorry for that. First I was running 10 watts, and later on I reduced my power to 5 watts and still I was 599. It is always nice to meet a fellow blogger on the air. I worked Bas PE4BAS several times now, and I worked Julian G4ILO once. Also M6RDP Adam. So we made a nice qso and it was good to have a CW qso with Dick from Benodet, France.

WSPR 10 meter this afternoon

Impaired hearing

2011-10-05T10:27:00.000+02:00

Yesterday afternoon I had a qso with MSØWRC from the Island of Tiree EU008 on 14270 KHz, never worked that island before. Though no new DXCC, but nice to work.

12 meter is already opening, I think 10 meter will follow. With CW I do hear nervous callers and of course a lot of split. I noticed that my hearing become worse over the years. Benefits of 'old' age, hi. But it gives problems with weaker CW and SSB stations. So I am glad with digital modes, so can read that messages from the screen.

BPSK31 is favourite lately, because with JT65A the band becomes (popular) too small for so many stations. So there is a lot of doubling and QRM. At 5.00 UTC the 20 meter JT65A is already crowded at that time. I heard Venezuela, but strong East-European stations made it impossible to work him.

100th DXCC

2011-10-04T17:00:00.000+02:00

On 12 meter I worked VR2MXT with SSB. Charlie from Hong Kong. The pile up was big but within a few calls he heard me. That was DXCC number 99. A few minutes later I heard VU2RBT from New Delhi, India. He was calling state side. USA seems to be very popular. Anyway, after a few calls I got him in the log. DXCC number 100. Now I know that some of the readers think, well, so what? With a contest they work 150 DXCC in a weekend. But for me, as no DX hunter, is 100 DXCC special.

Comet causes explosion?

2011-10-04T09:31:00.000+02:00

An incredible video of a sungrazer "Kreutz" comet hitting the Sun, and soon afterwards a huge Coronal Mass Ejection spews from the Sun. Did the comet cause the explosion? There is no known mechanism for the two events being related, and the source region of the CME did not correlate with the comet hit location near the solar disk. The two events were likely coincidences. Video credit: SOHO Spacecraft (NASA/ESA)

10 meter

2011-10-03T19:13:00.000+02:00

Here is a success story when propagation is good about the use of the Miracle Whip antenna by Ben Barr in Yahoo Miracle Whip Forum:

Miracle Whip+FT817 5watts, today in 10 meters work 3 stations in California, from North Carolina 20 meters Vermont, last week work Marroco on 20 meters..............just my observation: I bought the MMD-10 plus auto tuner and use it indoors, the same way I use my Miracle Whip, and to my surprise the Miracle Whip performs MUCH better, once again thats my observation and no scientific research.73's Ben Barr KC2RXV

My results on 10 meter Whisper this afternoon.

My QSO's today

PSK luck

2011-10-02T15:36:00.000+02:00

I do not work USA daily with bpsk31. But today I did. I worked WD4JJI Rick from The Villages, Florida on 15 meter with bpsk31. Normally I do not come outside Europe with my end fed wire when I use bpsk31. Maybe it is my MV 5+3 antenna or just propagation, I don't know.

On 12 meter I worked CO6LE Luis from Santa Clara, Cuba. So I am lucky with bpsk31 so far. On 10 meter I worked RK9CXM and UT9LI on 15 meter.

Because of the added counterpoises to my MV-5+3 antenna I can work also on 6 meter now. Before that I couldn't tune the antenna on 6 meter.

2011-10-01T23:00:00.000+02:00

The weather was fine today. I was biking and took this photo of the farm nearby. I did some WSPR on 10 meter and was reported by VK4ABW. Other activities:

I couldn't upload pictures with the Firefox browser. I was successful with Chrome, no problem.

Counterpoises for the MV-5+3

2011-09-30T09:34:00.000+02:00

I was reported by ZL3PX Geoff from Christchurch (see photo), New Zealand on 40 meter this morning. Distance 18.663 km. I gave a CQ call with JT65 on 40 meter but no takers. But I am reported by several stations:

Results with WSPR on 40 meter:

Last night I made a qso with EA9BC Melilla Island (North Africa) on 30 meter.

Yesterday, I have made 3 radials / Counterpoises for the MV-5+3 antenna for 40 - 30 and 20 meter band to improve the efficiency of the antenna. So far I am quite satisfied about the results of this little vertical antenna. All contacts above are made with the MV-5+3 antenna.

You'll never know

2011-09-29T09:57:00.000+02:00

Though conditions seems to be poor for 20 meter (minor storm still going on) I could work VK7XX John (see photo) from Tasmania, Australia with JT65. A distance of 16943 km. My report -8 db with 20 watts. I used my MV 5+3 antenna. I was also reported by PY8ELO and ZL3GA. I heard: VK4BDJ, VK2CPK and ZL4VV. The Sand Piper MV antenna does work. When I look at John's log and compared with other amateurs in his log, I received him with -5 db then I am very satisfied with the receiving capabilities of the MV antenna.

Yes, I am in the log!

Propagations this morning. But you'll never know, it's always worth to try and call CQ.

The weather is very fine today. Almost summer... 24 C so I enjoy biking today and turn off the rig.

bpsk-31 qso with RA6ASU

2011-09-26T09:47:00.000+02:00

Here you see my recording of a qso with RA6ASU with bpsk-31 on 20 meter. I was using 10 watt and the MV-5+3 vertical antenna. Meanwhile I update my qrz logbook (no CAT controlled transceiver).

My results on 10 meter WSPR today.

10 meter WSPR

2011-09-25T21:21:00.000+02:00

At the moment is isn't possible to upload a picture to Blogger, But there are great conditions on 10 WSPR. Thanks to Roger G3XBM who notified us. I was reported by PU2MWD, FR1GZ, K9AN, K3SIW, KG4AZN, N5ALX, NB3N, A45SWL, UB6AAK, CT1JTQ, and OZ7IT. Best DX tonight: 9856 km.

How to remove the Nav Bar

2011-09-25T10:19:00.000+02:00

You want to get rid of the annoying Navigation Bar from your Blogger blog? Watch this video how to do it. First, you can make a back up of your template, but if you follow the steps precisely than nothing can go wrong. This is the HTML code you need:

#navbar-iframe { display: none !important;}

Copy and paste exactly as shown here into your template.

Good luck!

South Africa

2011-09-24T20:47:00.000+02:00

The weather was very nice today. So I tweaked the MV-5+3 antenna for optimal SWR. The screws are certainly not solid state. I hope the construction will hold out when strong winds are here. Anyway, the job is done.

Tonight I worked ZS2EZ Barry (see photo) from Port Elisabeth, South Africa with JT65A on 17 meter. With bpsk31 I also worked EA3HKA, RA3DRI on 17 meter. RD9OA on 12 meter this morning. UA1CFF, RK4VXL and UA3LMR on 15 meter. All qso's with the MV-5+3 vertical.

On 2 meter I worked PD9SW Steven over the voice repeater PI3HWD. He was mobile and transmitted from Lelystad. Distance about 51 km.

At 20:45 UTC I worked on 17 meter with JT65A W4ABQ Kevin from Lorton, VA, USA. It's special that 17 m is open that late at night.

MV-5+3 vertical antenna

2011-09-23T08:57:00.000+02:00

My new antenna is a Sand Piper MV- 5+3 vertical multiband Ground Plane. It was nice priced, so worth spending some euro’s for it. Reviews at eHam are 4,5 /5 that’s a pretty good score. (Read eHam info) The antenna is very light weighted. The assembling time was in about 15 minutes. And it was easy to set up on my own.

The Falcon 250B was too heavy to place the antenna on a pole on my own. Because of the light weighted parts of the MV-5+3 antenna, it doesn’t feel like solid state. I hope it will hold in autumn storms here at the coast. But maybe I am wrong, we’ll see. First results are good. I don’t expect much for 40 meters, but 30 meter and higher is fine. With my end fed for 40-20-10 m I put a signal out on other bands with a tuner, but reception was poor. So I needed a better solution for 30-17-12 meter WARC bands. Especially in the weekends to avoid contesting.

WSPR on 30 meter: I did receive stations on 30 meter! With the end fed almost no reception on 30 m. Now I do. Also on 17 meter the antenna tunes fine. I heard LU1DZ on 14060 KHz in QSO with GW0VSW. With the vertical was LU1DZ much stronger then with the end fed wire. Distance 11.472 km.

This morning with JT65A I was reported with the End Fed only in Europe on 20 meter, when I switched to MV-5+3 I was reported into VK, ZL and USA. I think there is more lower angle radiation with the vertical. So far I am not dissatisfied. More tests to come.

Under the black line is the End Fed Wire, above the black line the MV-5+3 antenna. What else can I say? The total length of the MV-5+3 antenna is approximately 3,2 meter. Not bad for a relatively small antenna.

Justify Text

2011-09-22T08:05:00.000+02:00

I like justified text on my blog. Maybe someone want to know how I do such things. In this video I show you how you can change the template of a Blogger site. Before doing some changes, back up your template in case of something went wrong. But when you follow the instructions as shown, nothing can go wrong. I show also how to change the line height on your blog.

Afraid of heights? It’s a good spot for my VHF/UHF antenna. But for climbing the building, no way!

My latest activities with my new vertical the Sand Piper MV 5-3. First impression is good. Especially for the WARC bands. 30 meter and 17 meter doing well. My my end fed wire isn't good for 17 and 30 meters. So it seems to be a good addition. I let you know more in another posting.

Watch out for falling satellites

2011-09-21T09:18:00.000+02:00

The huge Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) will be plummeting to Earth in an uncontrolled re-entry this week, but here’s an incredible video from astrophotographer extraordinaire Thierry Legault who shot footage of UARS with his 14-inch telescope. Legault was in Northern France (Dunkerque) last week to attempt to capture views of the satellite, and had success on September 15, 2011 between 04:42:14 and 04:44:02 UTC, just 8-9 days before its atmospheric reentry, when it was at an altitude of only 250 km. The tumbling, uncontrolled nature of the satellite is obvious in this video, and various components are visible, such as the body itself and the solar arrays.

NASA has now refined its prediction for when this bus-sized satellite will fall to Earth. The 20-year-old defunct satellite now has a predicted re-entry Time of about 20:36 UTC on September 23, 2011, plus or minus 20 hours, according the the UARS Reentry Twitter feed. So, heads up! (Source: Universe Today)

In the early morning I worked N1AAU Fred from Massachusetts on 7076 KHz with JT65A. There were very strong stations on the JT65A frequency what makes it difficult to pull out the weaker stations. I was also reported by KC8HNZ and WX4CB. I did hear with bpsk31 on 7037 KHz for the first time TI station from Costa Rica (TI2GBY) I tried to call him but I wasn't successful.

PSK31 on 40 m

2011-09-20T07:35:00.000+02:00

Last night I worked on 40 m G3CIO with bpsk31. John was the operator. G3CIO is a call sign allocated to the Royal Signals Amateur Radio Society (RSARS).

I like that black and white photographs.

Other stations I worked on 40 meter: UA1CAH and R3LM. On 12 meter I worked R9WE from Asiatic Russia.

I removed the 6 meter antenna yesterday. I don't expect very much on 6 meter now. Maybe next summer.

Time-lapse video from the ISS

2011-09-19T20:52:00.000+02:00

A time-lapse taken from the front of the International Space Station as it orbits our planet at night. This movie begins over the Pacific Ocean and continues over North and South America before entering daylight near Antarctica. Visible cities, countries and landmarks include (in order) Vancouver Island, Victoria, Vancouver, Seattle, Portland, San Fransisco, Los Angeles. Phoenix. Multiple cities in Texas, New Mexico and Mexico. Mexico City, the Gulf of Mexico, the Yucatan Peninsula, Lightning in the Pacific Ocean, Guatemala, Panama, Columbia, Ecuador, Peru, Chile, and the Amazon. Also visible is the earths ionosphere (thin yellow line) and the stars of our galaxy.

PAØPSY Exit

2011-09-19T15:39:00.000+02:00

This blogpost is in Dutch because of it’s typical and specifically matter for the Dutch situation. In short: it’s about the history of my call signs I got, but now I am unable to get my first and old PAØ call sign back. The Dutch authorities will not allow that. It is designed as a closed group.

Mijn roepnaam geschiedenis. De meeste die mijn blog al jaren volgen weten dat ik al verschillende roepnamen heb gehad. In 1976 kreeg ik de roepnaam PAØPSY. Niet beseffend dat ik vrijwel een van de laatste was die deze begeerde PAØ call kreeg. Nog minder beseffend dat ik mogelijk tot een besloten groep behoorde. Maar goed, na een paar jaar had ik amateur radio wel gezien. Gezin, studie, werk en andere hobby’s namen mijn vrije tijd in beslag. Met het bereiken van de VUT leeftijd, had ik wel weer zin om deze hobby op te pakken. Ik kreeg mijn oude call PAØPSY weer terug. De laatste letter Y stond voor IJmuiden. Maar omdat ik niet meer in IJmuiden woon dacht ik, ik vraag PAØPSH aan (Heiloo). Afijn, zo geschiedde.

Al gauw verveelde de call mij. Ik had er niets mee. Ik doe is gek, dacht ik. Ik vroeg PA9B aan. Lekker kort en weer is wat anders. Maar het verlangen naar de oude call speelde mij parten. Dus ik vroeg PAØPSY weer aan en keurig kreeg ik van Agentschap Telecom mijn oude roepletters terug. Dat ze hiermee hun eigen regelgeving verloochende had ik toen niet door. Toch had een korte call ook voordelen. Zoals bij contesten of Phone verbindingen. Dus kwam ik op het idee om PC4T aan te vragen. Na dat ik die call een tijd in gebruik had, kwam voor de tweede keer de weemoed opzetten, dus vroeg ik opnieuw PAØPSY aan en kreeg opnieuw van Agentschap Telecom mijn oude roepnaam terug. Hiermee ging Agentschap Telecom voor de tweede keer in de fout, achteraf gezien. Maar mijn blogbekendheid als PC4T maakte dat ik na verloop van tijd weer PC4T aanvroeg. Ja, ik had toch leuke contest resultaten met deze call gehaald. Kunt u het nog volgen? Mijn gezinsleden niet meer. Die zijn het spoor bijster geraakt. Ik verzekerde dat ik nu voor de allerlaatste keer zou veranderen. Ik wilde mijn eerste liefde terug: PAØPSY. Maar toen kreeg ik dit antwoord van Agentschap Telecom:

“Geachte heer Stam, Met uw e-mail van 22 juli 2011 heeft u om een wijziging van uw roepnaam gevraagd in PAØPSY. De prefix PAØ wordt voorlopig niet meer uitgegeven. De groep amateurs met een huidige PA0-prefix is een besloten groep waaraan geen nieuwe PA0-ers meer worden toegevoegd. Zie hiervoor ook het beleid Identificatie radiostation op de website van Agentschap Telecom.”

Huh? Zijn ze wakker geworden bij Agentschap Telecom? Besloten groep? Daar moest ik meer van weten dus dat leidde tot een e-mail wisseling tussen Agentschap Telecom en mij. Een andere ambtenaar, potverdorie allemaal ingenieurs, gaf dit antwoord:

“Geachte heer Stam, Bedankt voor uw bericht van 18 augustus 2011. Inderdaad, het is juist dat u uw roepletters niet meer kunt wijzigen. In overleg met de landelijke verenigingen VERON en VRZA is afgesproken dat houders van een F-registratie met de PA0-identificatie, hun identificatie binnen de PA0-prefix kunnen wijzigen. Is de identificatie eenmaal gewijzigd in een prefix buiten de PA0-reeks dan kan men de prefix niet meer wijzigen in een PA0-prefix.Nieuwe registratiehouders kunnen geen PA0-identificatie toegewezen krijgen. Zie de voetnoot op bladzijde 1 van het document Identificatie Radiostations (zie aub de bijlage van deze e-mail). De reden voor deze regeling is het feit dat wij de PA0-reeks willen uitfaseren als bijzondere prefix. Na uitfasering, kan dan het het PA0-prefixblok ook door andere F-registratiehouders worden gebruikt en daarmee komt de bijzondere status van dit prefixblok vervallen. Uw vraag over de tekst op onze website "de prefix PA0 wordt voorlopig niet meer uitgegeven". De term voorlopig is gebaseerd op het uitfaseren van de PA0-reeks als bijzondere prefix. “

Uitfasering? ‘Besloten groep’ bepaald in overleg met een stel oud gedienden van de VERON en VRZA. Het wordt tijd dat die deelnemers van die uitfaserende groep definitief QRT gaan, want dan komt de prefix van PAØ weer beschikbaar. Misschien komt het voor mij ook wel te laat. Wat een onzinnige regelgeving. De laatste machtstuip van babyboomers binnen het radio zendamateurisme. En ik, ach… forever Young met mijn PC4T call. Laten die ingenieurs die zijn gepromoveerd tot regelgevende ambtenaren maar lekker hun gang gaan. Op mijn vraag waarom Agentschap Telecom zelf een aantal keren inconsequent bezig is geweest krijg ik geen antwoord. Wel dit antwoord:

“Geachte heer Stam, Bedankt voor uw bericht. Ik wens u uiteraard een lang en gezond leven toe. Ik begrijp uw ongenoegen maar doordat de PA0-identificatie een "besloten groep is op historische gronden" is deze regel ingesteld. Het is namelijk al voor vele nieuwe F- en bestaande F-registratiehouders zonder PA0-identificatie, een punt dat zij geen PA0-identificatie kunnen aanvragen. Vandaar dat de regel is ingevoerd dat wijzigen buiten de PA0-identificatie leidt tot uitsluiting van de PA0-identificatie met als doelstelling uiteindelijk van "de besloten" groep prefixen af te komen. Het bijzondere is het feit dat de radiozendamateurs met PAO-identificatie tot de eerste en tweede generatie radiozendamateurs behoren/behoorden; vandaar "historische gronden". Uiteraard zou een andere oplossing kunnen zijn de "beslotenheid" van deze prefix op te heffen maar dat is niet aan de orde. Ondanks alles wens ik u veel hobbyplezier toe.”

U ziet het: ‘met als doelstelling uiteindelijk van "de besloten" groep prefixen af te komen’ met andere worden, ga eens dood stelletje ouwe lullen. En inderdaad, ondanks en door Agentschap Telecom heb ik nog steeds hobbyplezier. Nu pas besef ik dat ik ooit tot een historische groep heb behoord, maar omdat ik stout ben geweest en niet trouw aan de groep mag ik niet meer terugkeren.

Ik heb mijn lidmaatschap van VERON opgezegd. Want een bestuur dat handje klap doet met Agentschap Telecom en tot dit soort maatregelen en regels komt, daar ben ik helemaal klaar mee.

De lessen en conclusies die ik getrokken heb:

1. Laat je eerste liefde niet in de steek, scheiding is het gevolg.

2. Ambtenaren zijn ambtenaren.

3. Ik neem verantwoordelijkheid voor de door mij gemaakte keuzes.

4. Een vergadercultuur leidt tot rare regelgeving.

5. Ik ben tevreden met wat ik heb.

6. Er bestaan ook aardige ingenieurs.

NB: ik had er wel een potje van gemaakt met al die roepnaam wisselingen. Daar moest natuurlijk een eind aan komen.

11 years ago

2011-09-18T23:28:00.000+02:00

My son was searching in an old box and found our photo's taken 11 years ago when we visit New York. On the left we (The XYL and me) are standing on Manhattan Bridge, in the back you can see the 2 towers of the WTC. On the right, me on top of the World Trade Center, 10 months before that catastrophic attack. It's still weird.

Today I didn't do too much radio work. Yesterday I made a QSO with RW6AVK with bpsk31 on 12 meter. I heard for the second time radio amateurs from China on 12 meter, I called BH7OXR from Beijing but I was unable to work them. Today 1 QSO with SV7MTO with 10 watt bpsk31 on 15 meter.

Soon I will remove the 6 meter antenna, because the Es season is over. I will replace the antenna with a Ground Plane for 30-20-15 meter hoping for a lower angle radiation and more DX.

12 meter

2011-09-16T20:04:00.000+02:00

There was a lot of activity on 12 meter today. With bpsk31 and JT65A. Here the list with the stations who reported me. I worked with JT65A K2HU and KD7YZ on 12 meter. I didn't make QSO's on 10 meter. Very strange. I think ZS6AKU put a wrong frequency in the frequency display.

I was active with JT65A on 12 meter, but earlier.

They hear me

2011-09-16T07:19:00.000+02:00

Did some psk31 on 40 meter. I worked UR7CT from the Ukraine. My first hop landed always in the Ukraine. I worked many, many Ukraine stations in my life time as radio amateur. I was reported by WB2YDS, N8YSZ and K8SA. With JT65A WØPSK from Topeka, Kansas, he came back for me but was lost in the ssb QRM. I heard also N9VPR and N4UPX.

Sometimes I watch a movie with the XYL on the couch. Do you know what often happens?

Click on picture to enlarge

Scarlett Johansson

2011-09-15T08:40:00.000+02:00

WTF, Scarlett took naked pictures of herself. So what? Okay, because it’s Scarlett Johansson, right? Her iPhone is hacked. So take care whatever you’re doing. (More >>>) Meanwhile in the shack: I worked a few stations with PSK31 on 40 meter. Also reported this morning by K8SA (6546km)

On 12 meter I heard BD1MWH Wu from Beijing, China, I called him, but he didn't hear me.... Also the same with YB1AR Yari from Bandung, Indonesia. Both with bpsk31. On 15 meter I worked RA6UAS.

Planet Ham

2011-09-14T06:41:00.000+02:00

PlanetHam is a web site I discovered with HamInfoBar Community Toolbar. It is an aggregator web site, one of the laziest way to keep a web site on the Internet. Anyway, I thought it would be nice to contact the webmaster to subscribe and give my RSS feed. A little bit of promotion won’t do harm. I send 3 emails but I got no answer or reply. So I gave up. No subscription for me at PlanetHam.

Don’t follow this man behind.

My latest activities. Seen on Twitter:

Computers are fun

2011-09-13T07:32:00.000+02:00

These folks do have a lot of fun learning how things work. And when we get bored, you can always climb a bridge.

Don't try this at home.

Click on the picture to enlarge. Last night I was WSPR-ing on 160 meter. Best result was LA3JJ 818 km. And I saw M0JEK André on my screen! I made this graphic with Excel. Import the WSPR data and play a little.

Today's activities so far

2011-09-12T09:19:00.000+02:00

Between 1st and 30rd of September 2011, Balkan Sports Club, will use the special call sign LZ1794MAB, which has been created in honour of Bulgarian Saint Machenik Anastasii Balgarski. I did work that station on 20 meter CW. I also worked US3IK on 14015 KHz (no record in QRZ.com). On 40 meter PSK31 I worked EW6BZ and YL3GGT. I always hope to catch F/N2UGB Dick on 20 meter, but when I checked Reverse Beacon Network I am too late or too early. ;-) Anyway, I keep my ears open.

Today's video:

Remember 9/11

2011-09-11T09:48:00.000+02:00

We shall never forget this cruel terrorist action. It is complete misinterpreted religion madness. I have heard enough “Allah Akbar” it makes me sick. The message of God or Allah should be love, not hatred or violence. Last night I saw the movie United 93, brave men who try to conquer the hijackers. Today we remember all the victims and rescuers, and family who lost their loved ones that day. This footage is uploaded on August 4, 2010. I had it never seen before. After 10 years I am shocked again.

Windows 8

2011-09-10T09:21:00.000+02:00

Windows 8 seems to be starting up fast. But Windows 7 starts also very fast without any program installed. But now I have 128 programs on my computer and the start up time is decreased. I wonder if that’s the case for Windows 8 also. Every year a newer operating system is good for Windows (money!) and the problem is good drivers for the software I am running. Some software will not be installed because of a lack of Windows 7 drivers, such as a lot of SDR radio's software. Though, I am always curious for a new and fast operating system. But the lack of drivers keeps me aloof for the time being. I must admit that the interface looks great.

I heard 2 stations on 15 meter last night. I work TA1FA Can from Istanbul and 5B/RN3QO (Cyprus) with 5 watt CW. On 20 meter I worked EA6NB from the Balearic Islands.

Have a nice weekend, hopefully not too much geomagnetic storms.

My QSO with UA3ICN with JT65A, I did miss a QSO with an Armenian Station EK3GM...

My small 160 m antenna

2011-09-09T09:41:00.000+02:00

Bas PE4BAS asked me how I made a graphic in Excel. So I made an instruction video to show how I did it. I was lucky that my former boss gave me a course ‘how to work with excel’ many years ago. Not that I know everything of excel, but I can handle some basic material.

Last night I was WSPR-ing on 160 meter with my End Fed Wire for 10-20-40 meter. I can tune the wire perfectly for 160 meter. The results are not bad at all. I compare my reports with other stations and I am very satisfied.

Can you imagine, only 11,5 meter long wire for 160 meter? Anyway, it seems to work. I made a graphic of my signal report received by G8HUH on 160 meter. As you can see my signal becomes stronger when it is getting dark outside. Things we already know, but it is nice to see in the graphic. I made this graphic in excel but edited in Photoshop. ;-)

This man doesn't need a iPod

Time for some WSPR

2011-09-08T15:37:00.000+02:00

I was reported several times by VK7ZL from Tasmania (distance 17032 km short path) with 5 watt WSPR. On the graphic you can see that after 06.20 hour UTC propagation is getting less. After 9.00 UTC he didn't reported me anymore. (It could be that he was going QRT)

Other DX on 20 meter WSPR this morning.

Today's video:

The Sun Causes Climate Change

2011-09-07T12:53:00.000+02:00

Well, what do you think about that?

With CW I worked on 20 meter RX9WN/P and 9A20V Radio club Vukovar Special Event Station.

Formula

2011-09-06T13:03:00.000+02:00

I really liked the Abbott and Costello movies, many years ago. This scene gave me a big smile today. Last night I worked M6DHV Dave on 40 meter. Also RV9LT from Asiatic Russia, both with PSK31. Today condx are poor. Though I worked UT9IO/P EU 182 and LY37M with CW on 20 meter.

HF Fieldday

2011-09-05T12:20:00.000+02:00

Yesterday I worked a few stations because of HF Fieldday, just giving some points away. A lot of nice short skip on 40 meter.

The Sporadic E season is over

2011-09-03T08:08:00.000+02:00

I think the Sporadic E season is over. Openings on 6 meter will now be sporadic. I worked 20 DXCC this summer, all in Europe. Only with WSPR my signal is reported in Morocco. No intercontinental qso’s. Which I had hoped for. Nada. There is hardly any JT65A activity on 6 meters, because it would be nice to try. The same absence for PSK31 on 6 meter or VHF/UHF. Why?

On 40 meter I worked G4EST Charlie with PSK31. Also worked on 40 meter EG7SDC, LB1TFand DH5AO. On 15 meter I came across UT2VQ and on 20 meter UT4PA.

Early this morning

2011-09-01T06:11:00.000+02:00

I was early this morning, so I checked 40 meter. I did hear some stations from the USA with CW: W5TZC, K8QKY and W1EBM. Unfortunately I could not work them. Too many stations were calling. With JT65A I could work W8BRI Brian from Michigan on 40 meter. Other stations I heard: KC8HNZ and K2AFY. Blogger has a new interface. It looks very clean. Today the meteorological fall has started. The summer, the worst in 100 years, is gone. Now see what fall will bring.

Biking

2011-08-30T12:15:00.000+02:00

This weekend we were having a few holidays to the Veluwe. A very nice Dutch National Park. My son wanted a Tandem (1 bike, two seats) so here we are. And yes, again we had a lot of rain... but this summer is the worst (wet) summer since 1906. Maybe next year better weather conditions. My daughter was having a pony camp on the Veluwe. The XYL, my son and me were staying in a nice hotel in Hoenderloo. Below you can see my latest activities on HF. I do a lot of CW lately, I like that mode very much.

Cartoon

2011-08-25T23:42:00.000+02:00

I like this cartoon, saw it somewhere and I want to share it with you.

some CW

2011-08-24T12:27:00.000+02:00

I did some CW on 40 and 20 meter. On 40 meter I worked Ingvar SE7M a light house station from Malmö, Sweden. Also on 40 m Slave OK1FMG.

On 20 meter I came across EF4RCH, a nice qsl card. And EA5NI Pedro. So enough for today...

Weekend activity

2011-08-21T19:48:00.000+02:00

My weekend activities, a lot of SSB, nice opening Friday night on 6 meter.

Watching a solar storm

2011-08-20T10:02:00.000+02:00

For the first time, a spacecraft far from Earth has turned and watched a solar storm engulf our planet. The movie, released today during a NASA press conference, has galvanized solar physicists, who say it could lead to important advances in space weather forecasting. [Source]

Is dit nu toegestaan of niet? Click on photo to play mp3 file.

Download Publications

2011-08-19T16:58:00.000+02:00

On my download page you can find links for several publications or books via Zshare.net about Amateur Radio.

It will take 45 seconds before download starts, if not registered. Please report dead links. A file which is not downloaded for a long time, will be deleted at Zshare.

Quality Time

2011-08-19T10:57:00.000+02:00

WSPR is a fair and honest system; it doesn’t exclude non-DX stations. Just like all reverse beacon systems, all is welcome. When they hear me, I get immediately a report. I am tired of QRO guns, ‘outside Europe’ and ‘only DX’. WSPR gives a good indication what can be done with QRP power and present propagation. In the mean time I can read a book, do some shopping, spent time with the family, or watch a film. That’s what I like about WSPR. For the years that are left for me is quality time a big issue. Not wasting time with nonsense. Just do what feels good for me.

Counting Meteors

2011-08-16T15:19:00.000+02:00

I always try to watch the Perseids meteor shower with the peak date of August 12. But this year I was too cloudy to watch the shower. I tried to ‘hear’ them with the help of a carrier BRAMS in Belgium on 6 meter (49.970 MHz) but I am too ‘far’ from the carrier to hear the pings. Via Spaceweather.com I know that the Air Force Space Surveillance Radar (USA) is scanning the skies above Texas. When a meteor or satellite passes over the facility--ping!--there is an echo. Using Argo V1 I can see the pings also and because of capturing I can count the meteors. The difference between my local time and Texas time is -7 hours. Best time to count meteors is in the early morning, the best chance to catch the maximum of meteors. With a time difference of -7 hours is for me around lunch time. Today I counted 69 meteors in one hour. If they all belong to the Perseids, I don’t know, because Kappa Cygnids peaks at August 17. But the Zenithal Hourly Rate for the Perseids is 90 at the peak. And the ZHR of the Kappa Cygnids is 3. So I think the most are Perseids pings. On the left photo I heard a nice ‘classical’ ping. On the right photo it sounded as a whistle. The vertical line on the photo is a carrier.

This morning I didn’t receive any signals on 20 meter with WSPR, though my signal was spotted by VK6ZT. That is very strange. Best distance on 160 meter last night WSPR was F5JNV 636 km.

Last night I made a qso on 40 m with PSK31 with F/PD2OPA Henk from France.

Almost Alaska

2011-08-15T10:41:00.000+02:00

KL7J heard my CQ call on the 20 meters band. As can be seen, he came back for me. On Hamspots I saw that he could hear me all with -10 and -11 db. Yet the QSO failed. You'd think it should just work. Then I called CQ for a while but nobody came back for me. On Hamspots I saw several stations from Europe heard me, why no one comes back for me, I do not understand. I suspect that they are only willing to work DX. Nobody is waiting for a station from the Netherlands I suppose. ;-)

All back to normal

2011-08-14T12:05:00.000+02:00

All is back to normal again; we had a rainy vacation and an emotional funeral. But all is as it is. We have to deal with the things as they come. I made a few qso’s, not too much. Mainly with PSK31. Mainly short skip. On photo you see G3YJQ Fred. We had a nice qso on 20 meter. 2 QSO’s is enough for today. The sun is shining, so I go for a walk or biking this afternoon.

Rain, and rain again

2011-08-10T14:40:00.000+02:00

The rain & wind and 15 C at day time has ended our ~~summer~~ vacation 2 days earlier. We have too much rain and wind and the vacation house is small and we have leakage here. So we are going back tomorrow. My equipment is already packed. An aunt of the XYL died so we go Friday for the funeral to Brabant.

Echolink

2011-08-08T18:04:00.000+02:00

I was just trying my indoor magnetic loop on 20m meter. I spotted VK2XN, JE5FLM and W5KCM. Best distance for me was VK2XN in return. The noise level here on the island is extreme low, S1, at home it is S8 on 20 meter. Or is it the magnetic loop which is maybe low in noise? I made a QSO on 70 cm repeater with PA3BIC Frank, he lives here on the island of Ameland. I also worked Hennie PE1HB on 70 cm. I am happy that Echolink works fine with my old laptop, so I worked PA3FAH via the 70 cm repeater Leeuwarden on 340.100 MHz. It was a surprise that VY2AS Andries (Andy) shows up on the frequency. He moved in the fifties to Canada and lives on Prince Edward Island. We had a nice chat. My Echolink node is 512796.

Whirlwind

2011-08-07T09:08:00.000+02:00

When we arrived on the island of Ameland we had a lot of rain and strong whirlwind (almost a little tornado). See video. The water came into our little house. No good start for a summer vacation, hi. I can't use my end fed wire. No space here. So my magnetic loop works OK but indoors for the time being. I worked EW8CM and M6DRS with PSK31 on 20 meter.

IOTA EU-038

2011-08-06T08:34:00.000+02:00

From August 7 till August 12, I am on the Island of Ameland, IOTA EU-Ø38. I take with me my FT817, Quansheng Dual band 2 meter / 70 cm. End Fed wire for 20 meter, and portable Magnetic Loop for 40 meter and several whips also for 6 meter. A few years ago I worked Italy with a whip antenna on 6 meter, so you’ll never know. I am without internet in the island. So I will complete my log when I am home again. Modes that I will use are SSB, CW and PSK31. Hope to catch you from Ameland.

Latest report

2011-08-05T11:45:00.000+02:00

I do a lot of PSK31 lately. Using Digipan, which I like also because I can view instantly the multichannel window while I am working. With HRD or Fldigi you'll have to switch. Or when I use the mouse I must click for the window to appear again. Today I will pack my FT817 and all the other things I need for the mini expedition (HI) to the island of Ameland tomorrow.

Geomagnetic storm is on its way

2011-08-04T10:34:00.000+02:00

SOLAR ACTIVITY: For the third day in a row, sunspot 1261 has unleashed a significant M-class solar flare. The latest blast at 0357 UT on August 4th registered M9.3 on the Richter Scale of Flares, almost crossing the threshold into X-territory (X-flares are the most powerful kind). Also, at least two coronal mass ejections are en route to Earth, and they could provoke mild to moderate geomagnetic storms when they arrive on August 4th through 6th. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras.

Vacation time

2011-08-03T10:15:00.000+02:00

It is vacation time for the kids, so I have to give attention to the kids as well. So now and then some radio. Yesterday I made a QSO with SI5B/7P on 40 meter with SSB. Jamboree on the air in Lomma, Sweden. Operator was Mikael SM5YMS, we had a nice talk. This morning I heard HB9TZA/P calling CQ on 40 meter with SSB.(see Photo) It was difficult for Augusto to pick up my signal but he tried. He only was not able to hear the report I gave him. So I sent him an email. It was nice weather yesterday, temperatures up to 25 C. We had a BBQ with friends in the evening. Today the weather will change, less warm and rain showers again. Have a nice day.

Topband WSPR

2011-07-30T10:46:00.000+02:00

Tonight I was running WSPR on 160 meter. With my tuned End Fed Wire for 40-20-10m trying on 160 meter. The results are not bad at all. 7 DXCC countries and best DX 854 km with 5 watt. I saw that PE1MPX was running 20 watts (6 db stronger) than me, he was in Northern Ireland only 4 db stronger. I do not know what antenna he was using. So I am very satisfied with my results on 160 meter. Best receiving DX was OH6GKW 1637 km.

This weekend is a very social weekend, a lot of friends and family, so no radio for me. Have a nice weekend.

6 meter opening

2011-07-29T07:33:00.000+02:00

Last night there was a nice Es opening on 6 meter. I made a few qso's with CW. On photo OK2KG.