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NM grids not likely to be active this weekend
John Klem
I'm planning on a limited rover expedition this weekend, probably to DM85 and DM86. Anyone care to suggest if there are other NM grids less likely to be active (on 6 m, 2 m, 70 cm)? My antenna setup will not allow me to be agile, so I'd prefer to operate from only a couple of adjacent grids.
John, AA5PR
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Re: 6m Es Last Evening
#vhf
Dave Moore <n7rf@...>
My oldest son, who is a software engineer, gave me a Raspberry Pi-3 for Christmas. He helped set it up with the Debian O/S. I managed to download the right flavor of WSJT-X and got a Signal Link USB audio codec to talk to it yesterday. Made 3 FT8 QSOs to check it out. It works flawlessly. The only downside is the inabaility to pass QSO data to my logbook, for which I use Ham Radio Deluxe on a laptop. But once I get another Signal Link and a 2nd monitor, I can use a second radio to monitor other bands or modes. Can also be used as a band-hopping WSPR net node. Very cool little device.
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Re: 6m Es Last Evening
#vhf
Ed
Yes Bill. Running 2 instances of WSJt-X. One on FT8 the other running either MSK144 or JT65 depending on the time of day. Then I have separate computer connected to IC-910H for 2/432/1296 WSJT. I know you can run many with the flex but have never done that
Ed N5JEH
Sent from Mail for Windows 10
ED N5JEH DM65RD
From: Bill
Sent: Thursday, January 3, 2019 4:02 PM To: nmvhf@groups.io Subject: Re: [nmvhf] 6m Es Last Evening #vhf
Ed,
When you refer to running two screens, does that mean you're also running two computers; each running WSJT-X and each monitoring several JT modes? OR do you run two different WSJT instances on one machine; each on a different mode? If you do all that on one machine, what's the limit on number of instances? Could you run eight with a Flex 6700 for instance?
Nice you're picking up DX from VK and nearby parts. You're becoming a regular!
73 Bill W7QQ
On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 11:12 AM Ed <n5jeh@...> wrote:
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Re: 6m Es Last Evening
#vhf
Bill
Ed, When you refer to running two screens, does that mean you're also running two computers; each running WSJT-X and each monitoring several JT modes? OR do you run two different WSJT instances on one machine; each on a different mode? If you do all that on one machine, what's the limit on number of instances? Could you run eight with a Flex 6700 for instance? Nice you're picking up DX from VK and nearby parts. You're becoming a regular! 73 Bill W7QQ
On Thu, Jan 3, 2019 at 11:12 AM Ed <n5jeh@...> wrote:
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Re: 6m Es Last Evening
#vhf
Arne N7KA
I got a phone call from W5ZF saying 6M was open. I heard a few folks on SSB, no CW, but FT8 was active. I did manage to work NH6Y barefoot (91.6W) on FT8 plus XE2JS and some W stns. My amp was not happy for some reason. Arne N7KA
On January 3, 2019 at 10:21 AM WB2FKO <mph@...> wrote:
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Re: 6m Es Last Evening
#vhf
Ed
Hi Mike. Glad you got in for some of it. VK4MA says the JT65 thing is because that’s what they have been using to work the SA stations around this time of the year. I guess the SA stations still hang on to JT65 modes. But it was nice to see some on FT8 . Hope everyone gets on the same page soon. I still run 2 screens all the time. Monitor 2 freq’s at the same time. Glad to see some ES activity this winter finally
Ed N5JEH.
Sent from Mail for Windows 10
From: WB2FKO
Sent: Thursday, January 3, 2019 10:21 AM To: nmvhf@groups.io Subject: Re: [nmvhf] 6m Es Last Evening #vhf
I caught the tail end of the opening and worked a couple of new Hawaii stations on FT8. pskreporter showed many VK stations using FT8, so I never bothered checking JT65. Guess that was a mistake, although by the time I was operating the propagation was not being sustained long enough (> 4 minutes) required to complete on JT65.
Seems odd that many of the VKs are so committed to JT65 for 6m DX. The 3 dB advantage it has on FT8 is significant, but unclear if it's worth the time tradeoff when the Es path can disappear, reappear, and disappear so quickly. Mike DM65rc
On 1/3/19 9:10 AM, Ed wrote:
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Re: 6m Es Last Evening
#vhf
Mike WB2FKO
I caught the tail end of the opening
and worked a couple of new Hawaii stations on FT8. pskreporter
showed many VK stations using FT8, so I never bothered checking
JT65. Guess that was a mistake, although by the time I was
operating the propagation was not being sustained long enough
(> 4 minutes) required to complete on JT65.
Seems odd that many of the VKs are so
committed to JT65 for 6m DX. The 3 dB advantage it has on FT8 is
significant, but unclear if it's worth the time tradeoff when the
Es path can disappear, reappear, and disappear so quickly. Mike
DM65rc
On 1/3/19 9:10 AM, Ed wrote:
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Re: 6m Es Last Evening
#vhf
Ed
This is what PSK reporter looked like at the peak of the opening yesterday.
Sent from Mail for Windows 10
ED N5JEH DM65RD
From: Ed
Sent: Thursday, January 3, 2019 9:10 AM To: nmvhf@groups.io Subject: Re: [nmvhf] 6m Es Last Evening #vhf
Hello Dave. Saw people calling you yesterday. Good on the Winter Es yesterday. Almost as much fun as the Summer Es. Good on VK4MA. Only VK worked here was VK4HL. I was heard by several VK4's, VK3's and a VK5. Also heard by 3D2AG. All on JT65A. Form some reasons most VK’s are still hanging on to the JT65 mode. Have to keep two screens up and active now. More fun. Good DX this 2019 year.
Ed N5JEH dm65rd
Sent from Mail for Windows 10
From: Dave Moore
6m and 10m, coast to coast, on Wednesday evening. From here in south-central Texas, I worked AI5I and K9VSW in NM. For a short while, 6m was also open from the western US to Australia! VK4MA cold-called me on 6m FT8 after I completed a QSO with Arizona. I wasn't even using my 6m yagi at the time, rather a 40-6m OCF dipole.
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Re: 6m Es Last Evening
#vhf
Bill
Hi David,
toggle quoted messageShow quoted text
Glad you checked in and shared your propogation experience. We treat everyone the same; members and non members. You’re always welcome here. 73 Bill W7QQ NMVHF President
On Jan 3, 2019, at 8:44 AM, Dave Moore <n7rf@...> wrote:
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Re: 6m Es Last Evening
#vhf
Ed
Hello Dave. Saw people calling you yesterday. Good on the Winter Es yesterday. Almost as much fun as the Summer Es. Good on VK4MA. Only VK worked here was VK4HL. I was heard by several VK4's, VK3's and a VK5. Also heard by 3D2AG. All on JT65A. Form some reasons most VK’s are still hanging on to the JT65 mode. Have to keep two screens up and active now. More fun. Good DX this 2019 year.
Ed N5JEH dm65rd
Sent from Mail for Windows 10
From: Dave Moore
Sent: Thursday, January 3, 2019 8:44 AM To: nmvhf@groups.io Subject: [nmvhf] 6m Es Last Evening #vhf
6m and 10m, coast to coast, on Wednesday evening. From here in south-central Texas, I worked AI5I and K9VSW in NM. For a short while, 6m was also open from the western US to Australia! VK4MA cold-called me on 6m FT8 after I completed a QSO with Arizona. I wasn't even using my 6m yagi at the time, rather a 40-6m OCF dipole.
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6m Es Last Evening
#vhf
Dave Moore <n7rf@...>
6m and 10m, coast to coast, on Wednesday evening. From here in south-central Texas, I worked AI5I and K9VSW in NM. For a short while, 6m was also open from the western US to Australia! VK4MA cold-called me on 6m FT8 after I completed a QSO with Arizona. I wasn't even using my 6m yagi at the time, rather a 40-6m OCF dipole.
So, why am I on the NMVHF group from Texas? I lived in Santa Fe and Albuquerque for 7 years and I go back up there semi frequently. Was there for the CSVHF conference and VLA tour in 2016. Green chile keeps calling me back. B. David Moore, N7RF Boerne, TX Active on 50, 144, and 432. Set up for meteor scatter on 50/144.
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New Mexico TechFest -- Presentation call reminder
Brian Mileshosky
Greetings — If you are interested in providing a presentation, posterboard, or demonstration at the 2019 New Mexico TechFest next February, this is a kind reminder to submit your proposal(s) before the January 1 deadline which looms just a couple weeks from now. CALL FOR TECHFEST PRESENTATIONS, POSTERBOARDS, AND DEMONSTRATIONS: The New Mexico TechFest seeks presentations, posterboards, and demos on emerging and relevant amateur radio technical topics, techniques, and applications. If you’ve been working on a special project, are experimenting with a technical topic, or have discovered or adopted a technology or technique that you’re applying within amateur radio, TechFest is a great venue to share your knowledge with the amateur radio community in a casual and friendly environment. Presentations will generally be 50 minutes in total length. Shorter posterboard talks and demos can occur at various times during the event. AC-powered tables will be provided to facilitate presentations and demos. Hams interested in providing a presentation, posterboard, or demonstration are asked to submit a brief summary/abstract of their proposed topic for consideration by January 1st. Visit the New Mexico TechFest website for submission details and key dates. The fifth annual New Mexico TechFest, an ARRL-sanctioned operating specialty event organized by Rocky Mountain Ham Radio - New Mexico, will take place Saturday, February 23, 2019. TechFest features a day of quality presentations and demonstrations provided by some of New Mexico and Colorado’s leading technical hams on a variety of emerging and relevant topics within amateur radio. The event’s purpose is to help expand attendees’ technical knowledge, facilitate collaboration, and encourage the discussion of new ideas with one another. TechFest is open to all interested hams and will occur at the New Mexico Veterans’ Memorial Event Center located at 1100 Louisiana Blvd SE, Albuquerque, NM 87108. Admission is $10. Online registration will open the week of January 6, after the event’s presentations are announced. Presentation-related prizes will be drawn throughout the event. Refreshments including coffee, water, and light snacks will be available. Optional lunch, catered by local small business, will be available at an additional cost. Additional details about the New Mexico TechFest, for both attendees and interested presenters, can be found at http://www.rmham.org/wordpress/new-mexico-techfest 73, Brian N5ZGT President, Rocky Mountain Ham Radio - New Mexico
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GEMINID M/S peak - operating summary
Keith Morehouse
The GEMINIDS, one of the more vigorous showers of the year, was forecast to peak this morning at 1230Z. I always try to be on during the peak of a big shower, since you don't really know what might happen. Meteor activity started at the 0100Z shower radiant rise and seemed to grow steadily. Sometimes it's hard to really measure the quality of a shower, because operating activity can vary widely by time, day of the week, where you are and what direction the meteor stream is moving. Geminids radio activity is mostly north/south, with the meteor stream moving roughly east to west, so the number of potential contacts is lesser then a shower which favors east/west paths. Meteor burst strength and duration seemed strong on 6M but few 2M attempts were made. Activity started dropping off around 0300Z as operators left the air for the evening and I decided to do likewise to make it easier to be awake and ready for the peak. At 0300Z it was looking like the 2018 Geminids might be worthwhile, which is not at common these days. I was up at 1100Z (4AM !) and at the radios by 1130Z with large coffee in hand. Activity was good on 6M for the early hour and meteor burst strength was stout and duration very long. Some bursts on 2M were exceptional (5-10 second duration). This went on through the 1230Z forecast peak but it was hard to really notice when or if there was a peak. I would say peak activity was anytime between 1100 & 1400Z. I only tried one really long-haul contact, a 1325 mile attempt with a well equipped station in Alabama on 2M - WA4CQG. Unfortunately, we did not complete as AL is my final "in-range" state on 2M - in other words, workable on terrestrial modes within the normal accepted maximum range of 1350-1400 miles (both NC and FL are close, but just over this distance). Several 2M QSO's were easily completed between 900-1100 miles on the shower radiant to the NNE and I worked 5 new 2M grids, EN19, EN29, EN00, EM11 & EM21. Between 6 & 2M, I worked approx 35 QSO's. I try to concentrate on 2M during showers, but I downloaded my 'stations heard' map from PSK Reporter, showing both 6 & 2 decodes and attached it to this message. There were several stations copied out beyond 1200 miles on 6M. The Geminids are not known as a good DX shower, since they just have "average" velocity. The upcoming January QUADRANTIDS is a high velocity shower, where the earth pretty much head-ons the stream and is well known for producing 1300+ miles contacts. The Geminids are not done - there will be plenty of activity tonight and even more early tomorrow and Sunday morning if you want to check it out. For those who don't know, pretty much 100% of M/S activity is via the MSK144 mode of WSJT-X now. The old days of high-speed CW or real-quick-talking SSB are long gone, although they were fun. Be sure you have the latest version of WSJT-X (V2.0) - the encoding has been changed for this release to make MSK144 and FT8 more contest-friendly and V2.0 is NOT back-compatible with earlier versions when using these modes. This does not seem to be a problem on VHF, but HF op's are having fits over it :) Don't neglect 222 MHz - many long haul contacts are made during showers on this band. Good Luck - get on the rocks ! -W9RM Keith J Morehouse Managing Partner Calmesa Partners G.P. Olathe, CO 
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Re: Chineses TCXO for 28 MHz IF 2M transverters
Keith Morehouse
John, thanks for digging up that info. I did buy a couple and they were certainly cheap enough to just throw away if they don't perform. I don't have a phase-noise test setup and I understand that this is one of the more important specs in any oscillator. But, I do have a real spectrum analyzer and will do a critical evaluation of them, at least as much as I can. If anybody out there does have a phase-noise measurement box, I'd be happy to send one of these. The cheap Chinese unit I bought for the FT-817 was evaluated for phase-noise (not by me) and found to be "pretty good" for the price - as good as the stock Yaesu (which isn't that great). Unfortunately, a large percentage of amateur radio gear isn't stellar as far as phase-noise is concerned. Since this is for 144 MHz, a band where I have no other local stations, a little bit of ragged extra bandwidth isn't really a show stopper. I'll throw it in the same category as the nasty APRS beacon here in the valley that lights up a significant amount of spectrum every time it does it's thing. -W9RM Keith J Morehouse Managing Partner Calmesa Partners G.P. Olathe, CO
On Mon, Dec 10, 2018 at 9:40 PM John Klem <klemjf@...> wrote:
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Re: Chineses TCXO for 28 MHz IF 2M transverters
John Klem
Someone has already done spectral testing of similar units (link
below). It's a long read, but the bottom line is that at least
some of these are very likely to be (cheap!) synthesizers, with
spurs and higher phase noise than you will find in a good TXCO.
The article documents degraded receiver performance. At least those of us in "rich" RF environments might be better
off avoiding them. On the transmit side, it might also be kinder
to our nearby amateur friends. Still, in some cases (like Keith's
transverter LO) there may not be better options. https://sites.google.com/site/markstcxomeasurements John, AA5PR
On 12/8/2018 9:22 AM, Keith Morehouse
wrote:
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6M Es opening 1545Z
Keith Morehouse
Both VE4ARM/b (EN09) and VE4VHF/b (EN19) S9 into DM58 on sporadic E. -W9RM Keith J Morehouse Managing Partner Calmesa Partners G.P. Olathe, CO
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Re: Chineses TCXO for 28 MHz IF 2M transverters
Bill
Hi Keith,
toggle quoted messageShow quoted text
One thing about ref oscillators: I use 5 volt dc powered oscillators especially portable ops. They need a regulated and filtered supply so one must have adequate headroom for the regulator. 10 or 12 vdc oscillators won’t get it done. OK for home use. I’ve used several CTI-196 units but they’re pretty expensive now at abt $30 each. They do sine outputs at 10 ^-5. Good enuf for 10 and 24. Pyrojoseph still has them on ebay. Looking for smaller units a little smaller than a postage stamp. Need to be 5v, sine out at 2-3 volts pp 10 MHz. 73 Bill W7QQ
On Dec 8, 2018, at 9:22 AM, Keith Morehouse <w9rm@...> wrote:
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Re: Chineses TCXO for 28 MHz IF 2M transverters
Robin Midgett <K4IDC@...>
Alternatively, use a LPF such as these from QRPLabs to derive the sine from the square wave. I did that for the Si570 synthesizer output to drive an old GE MASTRII transmitter chain to make a 6m beacon; works great. Thanks, Robin Midgett K4IDC
On Sat, Dec 8, 2018 at 6:11 PM John Klem <klemjf@...> wrote:
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8 cell AA battery holder for Standard HT's
Keith Morehouse
Anybody have a Standard HT ? I just bought a 8-cell AA battery holder for Standard models C228A, C528A, C628A, HX190, HX240 and possibly others that used Standards RBP-120, CNB-152 or CNB242 batteries. Unfortunately, I have an odd-ball HT that uses a different size case. You can see the item here, mid-page - the CPB888: If you can use it, let me know - first come, first in - I'd take a $20 for it via Paypal or whatever, and ship it to you for free (no - the battery cells are not included). They don't have a like model for my unit and it's not worth sending back. -W9RM Keith J Morehouse Managing Partner Calmesa Partners G.P. Olathe, CO
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Re: Chineses TCXO for 28 MHz IF 2M transverters
John Klem
I have been interested in similar low-cost TXCOs, but concerned
about what's in the package. It would be very interesting to see
an output spectrum. Given that you are probably driving a mixer that is basically a
diode switch, it's not clear to me that a square wave would be a
problem. Even with a sine wave LO, you are creating mixing
products around multiples of the LO frequency, and any decent
amount of filtering downstream of your mixer takes care of that
problem. Does anyone know more about this topic? I have
considered a 222 transverter LO using a MEMS oscillator chip
(square-wave output), and was thinking that LO filtering would not
be necessary. John, AA5PR
On 12/8/2018 9:22 AM, Keith Morehouse
wrote:
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