tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-54626782729493845342024-03-13T14:10:47.756+00:00Ham Radio Ireland - EI2KCThe diary of an amateur radio operator in Ireland - EI2KC (ex. EI8GHB) - who studied for the theory exam and passed it in October 2009. There are some tips for helping others to pass the exam as well as information about the activities of my new ham radio station. Lots of content, including HF and VHF activities, DXing, antennas, transceivers, homebrew projects and much more. Also video and photo content.Anthony Murphyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01840266019811924856noreply@blogger.comBlogger682125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462678272949384534.post-4486942033583661852022-12-17T14:06:00.002+00:002022-12-17T14:28:21.822+00:00My 50,000th QSO - an extraordinary coincidence<p>I made my 50,000th QSO as a licenced radio amateur today. Recently, I had noticed that my QSO count was steadily increasing from 45,000, and then 46,000, and so on. As of Thursday, I had reached 49,990. Yesterday, I made another nine QSOs to bring the total to 49,999. I wanted to wait until something special came along for the 50,000th contact.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2jsIA6GaxpygH4CEdiPt-EMTTZhdYhUA75HP6jjF1RzRhsoLZjXHAdCN5xo8gUSJzFHxVP_keKDH3SAgGmNpxltuZxnArKZz4x51KsGSspYF1PKPDRq_JS9KiK409p8B2HI5KcisGlAAMNeZuCHg_Or3VeH_fJD32vM4dMGj9WEeJnJmT1Gbo-9nmjg/s1500/QSO-50000.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1500" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2jsIA6GaxpygH4CEdiPt-EMTTZhdYhUA75HP6jjF1RzRhsoLZjXHAdCN5xo8gUSJzFHxVP_keKDH3SAgGmNpxltuZxnArKZz4x51KsGSspYF1PKPDRq_JS9KiK409p8B2HI5KcisGlAAMNeZuCHg_Or3VeH_fJD32vM4dMGj9WEeJnJmT1Gbo-9nmjg/s320/QSO-50000.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p>I was unable to spend long in the shack this morning as I was heading out to play music. In the ten minutes I was at the radio, I watched the DX clusters to see if there was anything interesting to work. Seeing nothing special, I decided to "spin the VFO" on my Icom IC-7300.</p><p>On the 12 metre band, I listened on the SSB portion and spun the dial to find out if I could hear anything that might make a good 50,000th QSO. I looked at the spectrum scope and could see some activity around 24.940Mhz. I tuned in to the station and could quickly hear that someone was calling CQ. But who?</p><p>"CQ CQ, CQ 12 metres, this is Echo Alpha Five Bravo Romeo Echo, Echo Alpha Five Bravo Romeo Echo, CQ, Q ..."</p><p>I recognised the callsign immediately.<a href="https://www.qrz.com/db/EA5BRE" target="_blank"> Luis, EA5BRE,</a> gave me my very first QSO on HF the day I got my ham licence, way back in October 2009. On that day, I received my new callsign af around 4.45pm on what was a Friday evening. I had just left work and was heading home. I worked my good friend, the late EI4DIB (Tony) on the Dundalk 2m repeater (on 145.675) on the way home. My callsign back then was EI8GHB. When I got home, I found the higher bands all dead and there was very little activity on the phone sections of 40 metres and 80 metres. Back then, I did not know CW (something I learned in the winter of 2009-2010 and, having passed my morse test in February 2010, I got my new callsign EI2KC in early March 2010).</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqmvs-K7t8_VLBqpwuq0jIcdXzpkXkdGCTNFfC1nzmXcKMFFxTJ16dpQooa-QgarkpS8KDqfiphAE31wYziHs1r_h8mQPCZODDIJ4H_x6mWod0QMUS_fkY0uR-G8QZ-T-7J78bLq403h05kdIBej8cjgRSQOeucAhE1UftvpeXGKo3Cj2Gf9jNH-upoA/s1199/EA5BRE.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="899" data-original-width="1199" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqmvs-K7t8_VLBqpwuq0jIcdXzpkXkdGCTNFfC1nzmXcKMFFxTJ16dpQooa-QgarkpS8KDqfiphAE31wYziHs1r_h8mQPCZODDIJ4H_x6mWod0QMUS_fkY0uR-G8QZ-T-7J78bLq403h05kdIBej8cjgRSQOeucAhE1UftvpeXGKo3Cj2Gf9jNH-upoA/w393-h295/EA5BRE.jpg" width="393" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Luis EA5BRE</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>There are only two callsigns in my log for the evening of 30th October 2009, the day I got my licence. They are EI4DIB and EA5BRE. I worked Luis on 7.121 Mhz LSB, my first HF contact as a licenced ham! It was 23:17 UTC, so quite late in the evening.</p><p>Luis and I have had only one other QSO in the intervening years - a 17m SSB QSO in June 2017. Luis lives in Alicante and is an active DXer with 10-band DXCC. </p><p>Today's QSO was very special, because of the way I unintentionally stumbled upon his CQ. I felt it was immensely coincidental and just HAD to work him as QSO #50,000, given that he had been my very first HF contact when I began my ham radio activity from this shack 13 years ago.</p><p>Here is a short video of some of my QSO with Luis today:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="299" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Hk96CsisbOQ" width="480" youtube-src-id="Hk96CsisbOQ"></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>HamRadioIrelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11008583900692977974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462678272949384534.post-56347720301395733052021-07-04T13:19:00.003+01:002021-07-04T13:19:21.583+01:00My first QSO with Japan on 6 metres<p>Well it finally happened. After weeks of waiting, I managed to log two JA stations on 6 metres this morning. I got a message from Doug EI2CN saying he was decoding and working Japan. Now Doug has a much more substantial station than me, at a much higher elevation, just a few miles from here. He regularly sees and works stations that I cannot see/hear.</p><p>However, after waiting a little while I started to see decodes from Japan on FT8. I put out a CQ JA, and after a few minutes I was called by JG2BRI. He was at -15 and gave me a -18, but with heavy QSB on the band other EIs were reporting that they were having difficulty completing QSOs. </p><p>I grabbed my smartphone and made a quick video. I hope you can forgive my excitement, but this was the moment of my first ever Japan QSO on 6m - one I have waited 11 years for. I think the "yeeehaa" was justified!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='321' height='267' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzIANyLSFdAbm3208XGg5dfxZnAR4zfF-JKnFZ1ybPBLqLPl9J3vtd_wP3R9HfZUqxBEbgVg7BNQz1p1i03qA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A few moments later, I was also called by JH4UYB and managed to complete with him too, with signal reports of -16 each way. After that the band closed up pretty quickly here, but I did not mind as I had finally achieved a QSO that I have been anticipating for years.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Needless to say I also worked two new squares with these JA QSOs - PM84 and PM86. Also, Japan becomes my 110th DXCC worked on 50 Mhz.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YKu4eJF0Y4Y/YOGm2DZu3oI/AAAAAAABbaw/-PtGQQ-hzfoeTtOeMCmzoMH5IU-2RHWmgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1053/My%2Bfirst%2BJA.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="628" data-original-width="1053" height="268" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YKu4eJF0Y4Y/YOGm2DZu3oI/AAAAAAABbaw/-PtGQQ-hzfoeTtOeMCmzoMH5IU-2RHWmgCLcBGAsYHQ/w449-h268/My%2Bfirst%2BJA.JPG" width="449" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A screenshot of my first QSO with Japan on 6 metres.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dquT4dDiVeA/YOGm_O03h0I/AAAAAAABba0/qAjCclXsb64Bg-DcbMu5pTYWi6f7v9geQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1914/EI2KC-JA-decodes-PSKrep-4July2021.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="937" data-original-width="1914" height="233" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dquT4dDiVeA/YOGm_O03h0I/AAAAAAABba0/qAjCclXsb64Bg-DcbMu5pTYWi6f7v9geQCLcBGAsYHQ/w475-h233/EI2KC-JA-decodes-PSKrep-4July2021.JPG" width="475" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">A screenshot from PSKreporter.info showing some of my decodes in Japan.</div><br /><p><br /></p>HamRadioIrelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11008583900692977974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462678272949384534.post-5193863201905088902021-06-27T16:12:00.003+01:002021-06-27T16:12:44.590+01:00A major milestone: DXCC confirmed on 6 metres<p>At the beginning of June, I had 95 DXCC worked on 50Mhz (6 metres), of which 89 were confirmed. I am delighted to now report that I have reached 100 confirmations on the band and therefore have achieved the much-sought-after 100 DX entites confirmed via Logbook of the World.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fwV_8DDpBGk/YNiT8G7HluI/AAAAAAABbJs/OJOjozn_qz45ND7WXI9J-c8Mw0aKC1m-gCLcBGAsYHQ/s535/DXCC-6m.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="535" data-original-width="461" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fwV_8DDpBGk/YNiT8G7HluI/AAAAAAABbJs/OJOjozn_qz45ND7WXI9J-c8Mw0aKC1m-gCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/DXCC-6m.JPG" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>On 1st June, I took down my storm-damaged hexbeam and erected in its place my old three-element 6m yagi. I was able to work a rake of new ones (exclusively on FT8) using this beam, but a couple of weeks ago I upgraded to a five-element LFA with folded driven element which I was very kindly offered on loan by Declan EI9HQ.</p><p>Last night, I logged HK3PJ, my first contact into Colombia on 6 metres, and my 109th DX entity logged.</p><p>Here's a quick list of all the new ones I have worked since 1st June:</p><p><b>7X2RF</b> Algeria, worked on 1st June. DXCC #96 on 6m. </p><p><b>A61DD</b> United Arab Emirates. Worked 3rd June. DXCC #97. Confirmed on LoTW.</p><p><b>HZ1SK</b> Saudi Arabia. Worked 3rd June. DXCC #98. Confirmed on LoTW.</p><p><b>HC1BI</b> Ecuador. Worked 3rd June. DXCC #99.</p><p><b>P43A</b> Aruba. Worked 5th June. DXCC #100 worked - a landmark day!</p><p><b>A71AE</b> Qatar. Worked 8th June. DXCC #101. Confirmed on LoTW.</p><p><b>OD5KU</b> Lebanon. Worked 8th June. DXCC #102. Confirmed on LoTW.</p><p><b>5T5PA</b> Mauritania. Worked 11th June. DXCC #103. Confirmed on LoTW.</p><p><b>J69DS</b> St Lucia. Worked 14th June. DXCC #104. Confirmed on LoTW.</p><p>5el LFA yagi erected 16th June 2021.</p><p><b>XE1KK</b> Mexico. Worked 18th June. DXCC #105. Confirmed via LoTW.</p><p><b>5Z4VJ</b> Kenya. Worked 20th June. DXCC #106. Confirmed via LoTW.</p><p><b>TZ4AM</b> Mali. Worked 20th June. DXCC #107. </p><p><b>OX3LX</b> Greenland. Worked 24th June. DXCC #108. Confirmed via LoTW.</p><p><b>HK3PJ</b> Colombia. Worked 26th June. DXCC #109. Confirmed via LoTW.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vZrE8MXYrTg/YNiU5ld7llI/AAAAAAABbKA/kahCUzRxiVwaF7XzdTxRQeNbQIaNVPF8gCLcBGAsYHQ/s800/HK3PJ.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="800" height="334" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-vZrE8MXYrTg/YNiU5ld7llI/AAAAAAABbKA/kahCUzRxiVwaF7XzdTxRQeNbQIaNVPF8gCLcBGAsYHQ/w445-h334/HK3PJ.jpg" width="445" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">HK3PJ from Colombia, my 109th DXCC worked and 100th confirmed on 6m.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>I am extremely grateful to my fellow EI dxers who prompted some of these QSOs by alerting me to their presence on the band. There is a wonderful community of hams here and most are extremely helpful to other hams.</p><p>I began operating on 6 metres in the summer of 2010 using just a fixed dipole with no rotation. I was active for several summers until around 2015, with a 3el yagi, by which time I had worked around 90 DXCC. I was inactive for a while before grabbing some more new ones in 2018 with my six-band hexbeam which had two elements for 6m. After that antenna was badly damaged by a storm, I eventually removed it and re-erected the 3el beam on 1st June this year, and that's when the new ones started to roll in. </p><p>Some of the DX stations worked above appeared only for a few minutes, while others such as 5T5PA have been seen regularly. That's the magic band!</p><p>Today, I am proud to be able to say I have worked and confirmed DXCC on NINE bands (80m through 6m), all via LoTW as I do not send out QSL cards except in reply to those sent to me.</p><p>Now for the next challenge! Is it possible to get DXCC on 160m from a postage-stamp garden, or should I aim for 100 countries on 2m using EME? :D</p>HamRadioIrelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11008583900692977974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462678272949384534.post-33716916298806171002021-06-06T15:04:00.019+01:002021-06-06T15:16:14.959+01:00A century worked on 50 Mhz (6 metres)<p>I don't blog about ham radio nearly as often as I would like to, but that's because I'm exceptionally busy with work and other writing projects. I have published two books so far in 2021 and am currently 90% through writing a third, which will hopefully be published in the next month or so.</p><p>I haven't been neglecting radio though, and have been QRV regularly. This being the summer season (with its attendant sporadic E propagation!), I recently decided to remove the wrecked hexbeam from the pole and put my three-element 50Mhz yagi up in its place. The hexbeam was wrecked in a storm a couple of years ago and due to radio inactivity and being busy with many other projects, I did not do anything about it.</p><p>However, when some of my local DXing friends were reporting good DX openings on 6 metres, I could not resist putting the yagi up to try to capture some action.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XdVUelaN73o/YLzWRzQbjII/AAAAAAABZ5o/wE8BmyBiU1kSPo5sICEMj_iK61XEnZLbgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1916/6m-3June2021.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="896" data-original-width="1916" height="249" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-XdVUelaN73o/YLzWRzQbjII/AAAAAAABZ5o/wE8BmyBiU1kSPo5sICEMj_iK61XEnZLbgCLcBGAsYHQ/w531-h249/6m-3June2021.JPG" width="531" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My total reach on 6 metres on Thursday 3rd June 2021, a memorable day on the band.</td></tr></tbody></table><p>At the beginning of the 2021 6m season, I had 96 DXCC worked on 50Mhz and 89 confirmed.</p><p>I am glad to report that, thanks to a couple of really great openings during the past week, I now have 100 DXCC worked and 90 confirmed.</p><p>Thursday was a big day. After a slow start in the morning time, with few signals being decoded on FT8, the band opened up to the Middle East. At 11.23am local time (10.23UTC), I logged 9K2OW. I didn't immediately realise it, but I had 9K (Kuwait) worked and confirmed on 6 metres. But this was only the beginning of what turned out to be one of the most enjoyable radio days I've had since being licenced in October 2009.</p><p>Soon, I had A61DD from the United Arab Emirates in the log for a brand new DXCC on 6m, number #97. That was followed with another A6 QSO with A65BR, both later confirming via Logbook of the World.</p><p>I logged 9K2NO, the second Kuwaiti contact on the band. At that point, around 2pm or so in the afternoon, the band closed to the Middle East but there was still lots of propagation to Europe, before eventually some trans-Atlantic propagation began to appear.</p><p>I worked PV8DX in Brazil at 5.34pm local and at that stage had only the slightest hope of some action into the Caribbean. Soon I had HI8RD (Dominican Republic) in the log, and what followed was a fantastic evening of DX on the "Magic Band".</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hGAxDp9v6nc/YLzYa4qixSI/AAAAAAABZ7Y/z8FlAdzmNyMcjUKc7i2vJuWJmhcMkNrvQCLcBGAsYHQ/s2048/6m%2B3el%2Byagi%2Bcrop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1731" data-original-width="2048" height="354" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hGAxDp9v6nc/YLzYa4qixSI/AAAAAAABZ7Y/z8FlAdzmNyMcjUKc7i2vJuWJmhcMkNrvQCLcBGAsYHQ/w420-h354/6m%2B3el%2Byagi%2Bcrop.jpg" width="420" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My three-element yagi on 6m has helped me get 100 DXCC on the band.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>I logged no fewer than EIGHT Dominican Republic stations - HI8RD, HI3T, HI8T, HI8DL, HI3AA, HI8S, HI8PAP and HI8GSP. I also logged CU2AP in the Azores, who later confirmed the QSO on LoTW and although I had CU worked on 6m before, I had no confirmation, so it was a new one confirmed. I also worked CU3AC on 50.152Mhz using SSB – a rare mode for me these days!</p><p>Unbelievably, there were still reports from EI and UK of openings to the Middle East, so I swung the beam back and forth between west and east, and on the latter I soon bagged HZ1SK in Saudi Arabia, another new DXCC on 6m, no. #98!</p><p>Back looking/listening west, I logged WP4G in Puerto Rico (not a new one) and soon W4AS gave me my first North American QSO on 6m in 2021.</p><p>ZF1EJ in the Cayman Islands was worked, which was a nice one to get, although I had previously logged him in 2018 and the QSO was confirmed on LoTW. Several EI friends were decoding HC Ecuador and even HK Colombia. Could it be possible, I wondered?</p><p>Soon HC1BI was in the log, my first Ecuador and DXCC no. #99 on 6 metres. I was thrilled. Shortly thereafter I logged PJ4KY in Bonaire, and while not a new one it was a nice QSO anyway.</p><p>K0BZ was working from KP2 (US Virgin Islands) and I was getting occasional decodes of him on and off all evening, but eventually, with patience and perseverance, I logged him at 11.02pm local time. It was not a new DXCC but still a nice contact.</p><p>HC1HC gave me my second Ecuadorian DX of the day at 11.23pm and, after a few more contacts into both EU and NA, the band eventually faded.</p><p>Friday was another busy day on the band, but no Middle East this time, only EU. Later in the day the band opened to the USA and Canada and I bagged a heap of DX calls from eastern USA and Canada and some new squares.</p><p>Although Saturday (yesterday) was a quiet one on the band, there was a small opening in the evening time towards the Caribbean, and that's when history was made!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TbAboKGNLXI/YLzWh23uR4I/AAAAAAABZ5w/o-_LgdDyP4Yv5yIerWstSkNP_o2laHXlgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1397/P43A-100th-DXCC-6m.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="844" data-original-width="1397" height="301" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TbAboKGNLXI/YLzWh23uR4I/AAAAAAABZ5w/o-_LgdDyP4Yv5yIerWstSkNP_o2laHXlgCLcBGAsYHQ/w499-h301/P43A-100th-DXCC-6m.JPG" width="499" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A screenshot of my historic QSO with my 100th DXCC entity on 6m with P43A.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><p>I worked WP3R in Puerto Rico on FT8 and knew that I might have a chance with P43A in Aruba, who was active on the band and worked by some fellow EI ops. At 9.03pm local, I eventually got a QSO with P43A, giving me my 100th DXCC entity worked on 6 metres!</p><p>It has taken a long time to get to 100 entities worked. But there are many reasons for this. I first began 6m activity in summer 2010. For several years I used just a fixed aluminium dipole. Eventually I got the 3el yagi on a rotator but after just one season a storm broke the rotator and stub pole, so I was back to the dipole until a few years ago I got a six-band two-element hexbeam. That was also wrecked after just a couple of seasons in use, so I am now back to the 3el yagi again. </p><p>All things considered, it's not bad. In order to take VHF seriously, I think one needs to focus on good antennas. It would have helped a lot if I had a 5el or 7el yagi on the band, but space, time and money are all considerations.</p><p>Now that I have 100 DXCC worked on 6m, the hope is to (a) work more DXCC and (b) get from 90 confirmed to 100 confirmed. To that end, I am making inquiries about acquiring a five-element yagi. I will keep you posted!</p><p><br /></p>HamRadioIrelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11008583900692977974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462678272949384534.post-64595597915233555322020-10-15T22:31:00.003+01:002020-10-15T22:39:26.690+01:00JX2US Jan Mayen Island logged for my 200th country on 80 metres!<p>I just worked my 200th country on the 80 metre band. JX2US Erik is on Jan Mayen Island in the Arctic Circle, almost 2,000 kilometres north of Ireland. He is there until March 2021 and will be operating on the HF bands, primarily the low bands, during his spare time.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2LaqvL56Yzk/X4i-In7a_EI/AAAAAAABNHc/lDj2s6OH7psLXvO7AfjYwt5G1-EPtV40ACLcBGAsYHQ/s800/Jan_Mayen.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="533" data-original-width="800" height="266" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2LaqvL56Yzk/X4i-In7a_EI/AAAAAAABNHc/lDj2s6OH7psLXvO7AfjYwt5G1-EPtV40ACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h266/Jan_Mayen.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><p>He was on 3.501 Mhz (CW/morse code) at 9.46pm local time and working a hefty (mostly EU) pile-up that was spread out between 1 and 4.5 Khz up from his transmit QRG.</p><p>Declan EI6FR and Don EI6IL had both logged him a short time before. Declan told me his operating pattern was to slowly move up in frequency from QSO to QSO, and then at a certain point he would sweep gradually back down. </p><p>I got lucky.</p><p>I found the QRG of the previous QSO quickly, and turned the VFO to decrement or lower the frequency very slightly and called him with 400 watts through my homebrew inverted V dipole.</p><p>He came back quickly (through QRM on his TX QRG) with "EI2KC 5NN" and I replied with "RR DE EI2KC UR 5NN 5NN TU". He came back with the familiar "TU" (thank you) and that was the job done! I was in the log!</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cs2p0779IGU/X4jBX1MmRqI/AAAAAAABNHo/tHhpOE8Tu9AhgUw11ZRvzfk-N9rz74vQACLcBGAsYHQ/s1830/Jan-Mayen-map.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1020" data-original-width="1830" height="223" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-cs2p0779IGU/X4jBX1MmRqI/AAAAAAABNHo/tHhpOE8Tu9AhgUw11ZRvzfk-N9rz74vQACLcBGAsYHQ/w400-h223/Jan-Mayen-map.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jan Mayen Island is 1,919 kilometres (1,193 miles) north of Ireland.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>I didn't know it until after I had logged him and used the 'recalculate statistics' feature of my logging software, Logger32, but he was my 200th country worked on 80 metres.</p><p>That is a very pleasurable number for me, because I have a small garden with extremely limited space for antennas. In fact, the 80m dipole is dog-legged and only 9m (about 30ft) at the apex. </p><p>But it works, and is resonant. It might not radiate ideally, but it has done a sterling job here.</p>HamRadioIrelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11008583900692977974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462678272949384534.post-35005989037245984172020-08-30T21:42:00.001+01:002020-08-30T21:42:02.033+01:00Casual contesting is actually great fun<p>This weekend I decided to keep my CW contesting skills up to date by participating in the Romanian DX contest (YO DX). Although this is a mixed mode contest, I operated CW only. Since the Covid-19 lockdown, there has been no activity at the EI0R contest station where I regularly participate. So I felt it would be good to keep my contesting skills up to scratch, so to speak.</p><p>I used only my inverted V dipoles and my Antron 99 for this contest. The hexbeam is still down, pending repair, at the moment. Despite the limitation, I had great fun and worked 378 QSOs on the bands. My best band was 40 metres, where I managed 167 contacts. 20m was next with 89, then 80m with 60 QSOs, 15m with 37 and I was thrilled to be able to manage 23 contacts on 10 metres using the Antron vertical.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/niwdixGuX8k" width="320" youtube-src-id="L4ojZ--XzQY"></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p><p>My claimed score is 142,754 but there were perhaps as many as ten or 12 QSOs where I had great difficulty copying the progressive number, especially on 15m and 10m where some of the signals were weak.</p><p>Notwithstanding the slight difficulties, overall the contest was very enjoyable. There were good run rates at times, and only a few lean periods. Most of the time it was possible to log QSOs without having to wait too long. I operated maybe 12 hours out of the 24-hour contesting period. I did not want to get too tired or stressed and only participated to have fun.</p><p>I certainly achieved that objective. I'm looking forward to further contesting coming into the winter.</p>HamRadioIrelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11008583900692977974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462678272949384534.post-17445370885020214882020-08-23T18:39:00.000+01:002020-08-23T18:39:15.112+01:00The humble dipole is really a great antenna<p>Because my hexbeam is still down and awaiting repair, I have been using wire dipoles and my Antron 99 to make QSOs. But I had no resonant antenna on 20 metres and was badly missing the action on that "bread and butter" band.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dU6cno4yBjI/X0KnZesxrDI/AAAAAAABKCI/NLzIXbF6t6sNIXlpijBb6qMKAdvWZfXSgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/20m-dipole.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="384" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-dU6cno4yBjI/X0KnZesxrDI/AAAAAAABKCI/NLzIXbF6t6sNIXlpijBb6qMKAdvWZfXSgCLcBGAsYHQ/w512-h384/20m-dipole.jpg" width="512" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The apex of my inverted vees. The short one is the new 20m dipole, with homebrew insulators made from PVC chopping board!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>So I recently added a 20m dipole to my nest of inverted vees. Previously, I had three vees, one for 80m, one for 40m and one for 30m. When I added the 20m dipole, I was surprised and perhaps a little annoyed to find that it was not resonant. Its inclusion in the nest did not seem to upset the VSWR on the other bands too much, thankfully, but with an SWR of 7:1 on 14Mhz, it simply was not effective and not radiating efficiently at all.</p><p>Astonishingly, I did not have an antenna analyzer. It's a piece of equipment that every shack should have but it's something I had never invested in. During a conversation with some fellow DXers on a WhatsApp group, I got chatting with John EI3ISB, who kindly offered not only to give me a MINI60S analyzer which was surplus to his requirements, but also to come to my home and help me analyze the 20m dipole and either extend it or trim it to resonance.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iS-Dv8Uqjsg/X0KoDUWwcuI/AAAAAAABKCQ/Slv65J66B6AY9VnZSlzki7w8j0peWtb1wCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Inverted-V-dipoles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="384" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-iS-Dv8Uqjsg/X0KoDUWwcuI/AAAAAAABKCQ/Slv65J66B6AY9VnZSlzki7w8j0peWtb1wCLcBGAsYHQ/w512-h384/Inverted-V-dipoles.jpg" width="512" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A wider view of the inverted vee dipoles. <br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Yesterday morning, Saturday, John arrived and within a short time we found that my 20m inverted vee dipole was resonant on 15.67Mhz – way above where it needed to be. I still do not know how this happened, except that I must have been using the wrong online dipole calculator or else I made a mistake in trimming the two legs. Either way, the antenna needed to be LENGTHENED. And not just by a few centimetres, but actually by about 50cm.</p><p>I lowered the dipoles down using the pulley rope and we quickly got to work on adding a piece to each leg before hoisting the whole lot back into the air again.</p><p>A quick check with the analyzer revealed that resonance was achieved towards the top of the 20 metre band, at around 14.300Mhz. I lowered the pulley rope again and added another 5cm or so (a couple of inches) on each leg and raised the dipoles again.</p><p>This time, resonance was around 14.100Mhz, which is pretty good. I do a lot of digital modes, and prefer CW to SSB, so this was a more than acceptable point of resonance.</p><p>John left and I was grateful for all his help. I was finally operating properly on 20 metres! I had a very rewarding day on the band, working DX on FT8 in most parts of the world.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8en6mjIyGfQ/X0KoSDvKUeI/AAAAAAABKCU/MTZ2hsViaLcm_wdJkSTOfkgS-X-Uy-lUgCLcBGAsYHQ/s1627/20m-digi-dipole-23Aug20.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="804" data-original-width="1627" height="253" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8en6mjIyGfQ/X0KoSDvKUeI/AAAAAAABKCU/MTZ2hsViaLcm_wdJkSTOfkgS-X-Uy-lUgCLcBGAsYHQ/w512-h253/20m-digi-dipole-23Aug20.JPG" width="512" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A screenshot from PSKreporter.info showing where my 20m signal has been heard during the past 24 hours.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>I hope you can see from the above screenshot that the dipole has been very effective in carrying my signal to various parts of the world. I see that I was heard in the Falkland Islands, in Alaska and in Kenya. In fact, I worked 5Z4VJ in Kenya using FT4 yesterday evening. Other DX stations worked included several JA ops, YB0MWM in Indonesia, BG0BBB and BD7BS in China, ZP9MCE in Paraguay, A45XR in Oman, LU8EKC in Argentina, 9Y4DG in Trinidad and Tobago, YV5JLO in Venezuela, along with several stations in the United States and Canada.</p>HamRadioIrelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11008583900692977974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462678272949384534.post-64148025472039027522020-08-18T23:48:00.002+01:002020-08-18T23:48:08.873+01:00The global reach of a small ham radio station<p>I don't care what anybody says. FT8 is a wonderful mode for those with modest antenna systems. Again I looked at PSKreporter.info and again I find that the pursuit of DX stations has been fruitful with relatively low power (generally 20 to 50 watts) and wire and vertical antennas.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X-yVJA8_Mt4/XzxYUfSFNXI/AAAAAAABJxE/SL2JHl6bXHsP5LPLRN2lULXm2rg6bS7DQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1910/FT8-18Aug2020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="938" data-original-width="1910" height="251" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-X-yVJA8_Mt4/XzxYUfSFNXI/AAAAAAABJxE/SL2JHl6bXHsP5LPLRN2lULXm2rg6bS7DQCLcBGAsYHQ/w512-h251/FT8-18Aug2020.JPG" width="512" /></a></div><p>They say a picture paints a thousand words. Above is a map from PSKreporter showing where my FT8 signal has been decoded around the world in the last 24 hours. I am impressed. Now I do love a CW QSO, and I am also fond of phone/SSB contacts, but FT8 is convenient, quiet and you can be running QSOs while doing other things in the shack.</p><p>Most of the action today was on 17 metres, using my Antron 99 vertical antenna and 40 to 50 watts output. The best of the DX there were several JA stations who answered my CQ, a HS (Thailand) station, A65DR in the UAE, and two VU (India) stations along with a clatter of callers from the USA.</p><p>Just to demonstrate that I do not spend my whole time on the air using FT8, I did have a couple of CW QSOs. One, with Hans DL8MCG near Munich, was recorded on my smartphone. You can view the entire QSO on YouTube here:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1hrN86DiaAo" width="320" youtube-src-id="1hrN86DiaAo"></iframe></div><p>In this video, I was running 100 watts from the radio.</p><p>By the way, I should finish by saying that I was not decoded in Australia today. In fact, it's been a while since my last QSO with VK, so I am looking forward to hearing the VK (or indeed ZL / New Zealand) call coming through at some point, hopefully soon.</p><p>PS: I have been uploading my log to Logbook of the World every two to three days. I was delighted to see that a contact I made with a station in China (BG0CAB) late last night was confirmed this morning.</p>HamRadioIrelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11008583900692977974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462678272949384534.post-92184384416839868722020-08-14T15:39:00.001+01:002020-08-14T15:39:07.187+01:00Heard in almost every part of the world in 24 hours<p>Digital modes, and FT8 in particular, are a fascinating way to find out just how far your signal can be heard or decoded. Admittedly FT8 can do things that the likes of CW can only dream of, with the ability to decode signals as faint as -24dB. Yesterday, I had fun on different bands at different stages, using FT8 and about 15 to 50 watts depending on band. On the high bands, I used my Antron 99 vertical antenna. On the lower bands, I used the nested inverted V antennas for 80m, 40m, 30m and 20m.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-10drZCBsZYE/XzagEgp-gHI/AAAAAAABJbE/bsc0eKEK8EsplF-8bWisoLnmd6B3IbAegCLcBGAsYHQ/s1664/Digital-signal-13Aug2020b.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="818" data-original-width="1664" height="252" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-10drZCBsZYE/XzagEgp-gHI/AAAAAAABJbE/bsc0eKEK8EsplF-8bWisoLnmd6B3IbAegCLcBGAsYHQ/w512-h252/Digital-signal-13Aug2020b.JPG" width="512" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My FT8 signal was picked up as far away as Alaska, Tasmania, China and South Africa.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>Looking at the map (thanks to pskreporter.info), it is nice to see that my signal was heard on pretty much every continent, with the exception perhaps of Antarctica where monitoring stations are few and far between. I was heard in south America, Alaska, Tasmania, South Africa, China, Japan and Malaysia. I worked some nice DX too, including 9M2TO in West Malaysia on 40 metres (using a simple inverted v dipole), some South American and Caribbean stations on the same band, and China on 17m.</p><p>Both 17 metres and 30 metres have proven to be excellent bands for surprise DX. Last week, using just 20 watts and my Antron 99 vertical antenna, my CQ on FT8 was answered by two JA stations. Both were logged and later confirmed on Logbook of the World.</p><p>The huge amount of FT8 activity (seen on all the bands from 80m through 6m) is occurring, it would seem, to the detriment of other modes, especially phone and CW. There is much less activity on phone and CW since I was last "very" active, about two years ago. Perhaps everyone is using FT8 because of the sunspot minimum. With the solar flux index hovering around 70, we won't be seeing any spectacular openings on the higher bands just yet. But as sunspot cycle 25 has begun, there are signs that things could be about to turn a corner.</p><p>While I love FT8 and the possibilities it brings, I am also a major fan of CW and I do like SBB too. So let's hope that FT8 hasn't stolen all the action and that as the months progress I will start to log far-distant DX stations using CW and phone as well as FT8.</p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>HamRadioIrelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11008583900692977974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462678272949384534.post-13361389919050969032020-08-12T18:08:00.003+01:002020-08-12T18:08:18.970+01:00The annual Perseid meteor shower brings an opportunity for some fun!<p>The Perseid meteor shower has been reaching its peak during the past 24 hours and this has provided an opportunity for some fun using the MSK144 mode, more commonly known as "meteor scatter".</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0ygvKsVl3ys/XzQhuqD41xI/AAAAAAABJUA/2ovUcXWy94EhWTQ-DeEFUVKgnXkdBHDXwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1161/EI2KC-MSK144-12Aug2020c.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="786" data-original-width="1161" height="346" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0ygvKsVl3ys/XzQhuqD41xI/AAAAAAABJUA/2ovUcXWy94EhWTQ-DeEFUVKgnXkdBHDXwCLcBGAsYHQ/w512-h346/EI2KC-MSK144-12Aug2020c.JPG" width="512" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The stations who picked up my MSK144 signal on 50Mhz, from pskreporter.info.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>I managed to have my signal heard in Europe last night on the 50Mhz (6 metre) band, although I did not make a QSO. This morning though, things were better. Several bursts were heard, and replied to, and I managed to log four stations in Europe using MSK144. They were in Italy, Hungary, Austria and Germany. One or two of those might have been propagated using sporadic E, but certainly there were some that came from distinct meteor events.</p><p>The setup here for MSK144 is the Icom IC-7300, running 50w to max. 100w into a dipole antenna. I have a beam for 6 metres but it is not in the air at the moment. I run WSJT-X with mode set to MSK144 and frequency on the radio is 50.280 Mhz.</p><p><br /></p>HamRadioIrelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11008583900692977974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462678272949384534.post-35252077381324190572020-08-11T17:04:00.001+01:002020-08-11T17:16:36.528+01:00The trusty Antron 99 is a much-underestimated antenna<p>My Antron 99 is a wonder. It's a simple vertical, designed to operate on the citizens band, but has effective performance on the 17 metres, 12 metres and 10 metres amateur bands. I have used it for years for the higher bands, often as an alternative to the hexbeam. It has worked wonders for me. On 28 Mhz, when the sunspot numbers were really good, I worked DXCC and much more in about six weeks during the solar peak. Many of those contacts were made using the Antron.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QnpVWZIx1jQ/XzLA6EeCvCI/AAAAAAABJPM/gUJxcyAB_GomxrESnxSPQULIZ1YHkd3fQCLcBGAsYHQ/s1917/EI2KC-FT8-11Aug2020.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="936" data-original-width="1917" height="250" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-QnpVWZIx1jQ/XzLA6EeCvCI/AAAAAAABJPM/gUJxcyAB_GomxrESnxSPQULIZ1YHkd3fQCLcBGAsYHQ/w512-h250/EI2KC-FT8-11Aug2020.JPG" width="512" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The reach of my signal today on FT8 using between 15 watts and 75 watts and the Antron.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>It is a half wave over quarter wave variable mutual transductance tuned antenna and is rated for 2,000 watts (I assume that's PEP). It doesn't claim to be anything special, and I have heard several hams saying that it isn't, and that by virtue of its design it shouldn't be anything special. But it works, and works well.</p><p>I have recently been enjoying using the Antron for some FT8 activity on 17 metres. A couple of days ago, while calling CQ with just 20 watts, I was answered by two Japanese (JA) stations and successfully logged them. Today, I decided to increase the power a bit and was delighted to see the great reach of my humble station. My signal has been decoded as far east as Japan and as far west as California. Not bad for a CB antenna!</p>HamRadioIrelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11008583900692977974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462678272949384534.post-82260036089531495482020-08-11T14:41:00.004+01:002020-08-11T17:43:22.600+01:00A new rig and a much changed shack<p>It's difficult to believe that it has been almost four years since my last blog post. Some of you could be forgiven for thinking that perhaps I had given up the hobby of amateur radio. But no. I just got busy with other things, mainly with Mythical Ireland, which is my one-man organisation dedicated to the ancient history, mythology and archaeology of Ireland. </p><p>In fact, since my last blog post here, I have published TWO books and written another one and a half! I have been busy writing another, which will be my eighth book (that's the "half"!). Six have been published so far. One, written between 2018 and 2019, is awaiting publication. </p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1xydBbzj4Xc/XzKfXzvNHDI/AAAAAAABJNs/O0-THuh6jLAJzjp4RLXcArJ0jBxyoBbrwCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/Icom-IC-7300.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="384" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1xydBbzj4Xc/XzKfXzvNHDI/AAAAAAABJNs/O0-THuh6jLAJzjp4RLXcArJ0jBxyoBbrwCLcBGAsYHQ/w512-h384/Icom-IC-7300.jpg" width="512" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My new Icom IC-7300 on the shack desk with Sheunemann Morse key and LDG autotuner.<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p><br /></p><p>My website, <a href="www.mythicalireland.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mythical Ireland,</a> was relaunched in late 2017. In July of 2018, I discovered a <a href="https://www.mythicalireland.com/MI/blog/ancient-sites/the-new-henge-of-newgrange-a-once-in-a-lifetime-discovery/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">huge late Neolithic henge monument</a> close to Newgrange in the famous Brú na Bóinne World Heritage Site here in the Boyne Valley. So as you can imagine, things were very busy. That discovery, dubbed 'Dronehenge', was featured in news reports all over the world. I was in the New York Times and Washington Post, the story was on the BBC and in newspapers all over Europe. I appeared on television on National Geographic, Channel 4 and RTÉ. </p><p>There was less time for radio, and although I maintained small levels of activity over the past few years, I did not have the time nor the energy for those big dxpedition pile-ups! Besides, I have 323 current entities worked in a decade on the air, and am very happy with that.</p><p>Recent radio activity has been much more relaxed. I greatly enjoy using FT8, and with my small antenna farm this mode is ideal for making long-distance QSOs with modest antennas and low power. But I also very much love to use CW and enjoy a bit of casual ragchewing when I get the opportunity. Phone contacts are few and far between these days, but mainly because the sunspot numbers are low and there is not much voice activity on the HF bands.</p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MZTZv7UkCxY/XzKjnRy6CRI/AAAAAAABJN4/AR0Ld-tn8d0OlwPat98bafyqf71DezH6gCLcBGAsYHQ/s1600/EI2KC-new-shack.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="384" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-MZTZv7UkCxY/XzKjnRy6CRI/AAAAAAABJN4/AR0Ld-tn8d0OlwPat98bafyqf71DezH6gCLcBGAsYHQ/w512-h384/EI2KC-new-shack.jpg" width="512" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The new-look shack. There are fewer radios, but it's tidier and nicer!<br /></td></tr></tbody></table><p>The hexbeam was damaged in a storm over a year ago and I have postponed repairing it because I did not have the time or commitment for it. However, I am hoping to get it back in the air soon.</p><p>As a result of a major library/office/shack renovation, I had to downsize the radio shack. So I removed some VHF radios and sold my Icom IC-756PRO which I replaced with an Icom IC-7300. This radio is a work of beauty and fits on the desk just nicely. I have enjoyed using it so far. The Acom 1000 hadn't been used in a long number of months and I was glad today to find that it is working!</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/v9w-b2cIjB0" width="320" youtube-src-id="v9w-b2cIjB0"></iframe></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><p><br /></p><p>At the weekend, I added a 20m dipole to my nested vees. So now I have dipoles for 80m, 40m, 30m and 20m. The Antron 99 works very well on 17m, 12m and 10m. On FT8 last week, I was called by two Japanese stations while CQing on 17 metres with 20 watts.</p><p>I am not planning to update this blog too regularly, simply because of time restraints. I work full-time (based at home because of Covid-19, which suits fine because I don't have to commute to Dublin!) and Mythical Ireland activities are keeping me very busy outside of that.</p><p>But I wanted to let you know that I have not quit the hobby. As with all hobbies, sometimes life gets in the way. And that's fine. I consider myself privileged to hold an amateur radio licence and I love the hobby. </p><p>Hopefully I might work you on the bands soon!</p>HamRadioIrelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11008583900692977974noreply@blogger.com0Drogheda, Co. Louth, Ireland53.717856 -6.356098525.407622163821152 -41.5123485 82.02808983617885 28.8001515tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462678272949384534.post-40637584299693407362016-11-02T08:09:00.001+00:002016-11-02T08:09:57.335+00:00Using some antique telegraph keys to make morse code QSOsI've had the great pleasure of borrowing several old morse keys from Pat EI2HX, who has quite an interesting and varied collection of antique telegraph keys of varying ages. The three videos below show me making QSOs with three of these keys. Thankfully, each time I made a CQ, someone came back to my call. The first video features a well-known model, the American World War II era J-38 telegraph key:<br />
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The second is this old GPO key. In this video, my CQ is answered by EB5GGB, who is also using a straight key to complete the QSO:<br />
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In the third video, I am using some form of old army key, but I don't know anything about it. Perhaps someone who knows a little bit about this key could comment below with information, or send me an email? Again, my CQ was answered immediately, this time by CT1CPP, who was also using a straight key, which was a great joy.<br />
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I have to admit to being a little bit heavy-handed with my keying. I don't have the best fine motor skills in the world, so can be a tiny bit awkward. However, I had great fun using these keys and I look forward to trying out more and making further videos.HamRadioIrelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11008583900692977974noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462678272949384534.post-32209426615386706212016-10-15T20:34:00.002+01:002016-10-15T20:34:26.599+01:00A broken Acom amplifier, 256 QSOs with AN400, a platinum award and a fixed Acom, thanks to Oleg EI7KDI haven't written a blog post in a while. That's not to say I haven't been busy! Life is always busy here, between family, work, music, photography, writing and all the other stuff that I squeeze in, including amateur radio!<br />
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After going through a bit of a summertime lull, my interest in ham radio seemed to hit a severe downer when my Acom 1000 linear amplifier stopped working. However, instead of giving up on HF and DXing, I was instead suddenly spurred into interest by a wonderful and comprehensive awards programme in the form of the Miguel de Cervantes AN400 awards. The AN400 stations were active across all the bands, using lots of modes - SSB, CW, RTTY, PSK63, PSK125 and even some PSK31!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Miguel de Cervantes (AN400) platinum certificate.</td></tr>
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For a couple of weeks I was working AN400 stations one after the other, on various bands and modes, using a maximum of 100 watts due to the inoperable Acom. While some of these QSOs required a fair bit of time and effort because getting through pile-ups with 100w is not as easy as with 400w, some of them were nice and handy. I made several contacts with the Spanish stations on 10m and 12m during fleeting openings. I even managed a few QSOs on top band (160m), which is a hell of a challenge from this QTH using my paltry antenna system.<br />
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I soon qualified for the silver and gold awards, but kept going until I had also received the platinum award (pictured). But, seeing how Declan EI6FR was top of the EI table for the number of QSOs, I set my sights on coming in second place, and as the days went by I managed to get further up the table until I was in second place. Then I was overtaken by Seamus EI3KE, but this put the fight on me so I gave it as much time and effort as possible and when the programme ended last Sunday, I had finished in second place (with 256 QSOs) behind my good radio friend and one of my mentors, Declan EI6FR. Hard luck but also well done to Seamus EI3KE on finishing third. There were over 300 EI stations in the AN400 log.<br />
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I'm delighted to say that I now have the Acom 1000 back in the shack, fully working, after a quick and expert repair by Oleg EI7KD. Oleg builds linear amplifiers and is a real genius when it comes to diagnosing and repairing such things. As it happens, the GU74b tube had gone. Oleg quickly sourced a (new) replacement and had it working again in a jiffy. I am greatly indebted to him for this repair.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Acom 1000 linear amplifier back in the shack after repair by EI7KD.</td></tr>
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The Acom has helped me work the S9YY Sao Tome dxpedition on a few bands, most significantly 40m (CW), on which I had never worked S9 before. I also put the AT2SL IOTA dxpedition (AS-176) in my log on both 17m RTTY and 20m CW. So thanks again Oleg. I first met Oleg through Thos EI2JD when we did some contesting together with the EI0W contest team in Clogherhead. Oleg is a CW wizard - able to run 40wpm runs in contests, all using the key and not with the aid of the computer. I am in awe of his abilities.<br />
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Anyway, I was hoping to track down the T31T Central Kiribati dxpedition as an all-time new one, but so far have been unable to hear them. Fingers crossed......HamRadioIrelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11008583900692977974noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462678272949384534.post-43559281943931202102016-08-01T20:41:00.001+01:002016-08-01T20:41:25.565+01:00Some nice CW action captured in HD videoIt's been a while since I wrote anything on the blog. Life is busy. There are many things keeping me occupied. Life is good. These things include family, work, music, photography, research, writing blogs and much more. But I am still finding time for radio of course. Just not as much as a few years ago!<br />
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Some time ago I bought a new lens for my Nikon cameras. It's a 17-55mm f2.8 lens and it's a thing of beauty. As well as helping me to capture some lovely photographs, it's also very nice for video work. So I set it up at the side of the bench here in the shack and decided to record some CW QSOs that I was making with my Scheunemann key. Take a look and see for yourselves:<br />
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HamRadioIrelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11008583900692977974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462678272949384534.post-59475810758453824772016-06-17T12:31:00.002+01:002016-06-17T12:33:14.417+01:00EJ7NET Tory Island video 2016<div style="text-align: center;">
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HamRadioIrelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11008583900692977974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462678272949384534.post-34696666600967561282016-06-17T12:25:00.002+01:002016-06-17T12:32:12.464+01:00EJ7NET Tory activation is QRT - statsOur activation of Tory is now sadly ended and we have returned home. It was a fantastic five days, and although propagation was a bit hit and miss, the bands provided us with solid action, especially on 30m and 20m where we found good rates at times.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gordon GM7WCO enjoys a walk along the cliffs during a break in activity.</td></tr>
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This activation made history for the EJ7NET group. We made trans-Atlantic QSOs on 6 metres for the first time. We also activated more bands and modes than ever before. We had 9 QSOs on 160m CW and even one on SSB! We had activity on all bands from 1.8 Mhz through to 50 Mhz, and used a variety of modes, including LSB/USB, CW, RTTY, PSK31, PSK63 and JT65.<br />
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By the end of the dxpedition we had achieved over 5,000 QSOs, which is by far the best performance of the four years I have been on the islands with the Westnet DX Group.HamRadioIrelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11008583900692977974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462678272949384534.post-26188344514112144892016-06-16T17:32:00.003+01:002016-06-16T17:32:43.241+01:00Video - EJ7NET on 6 metres from Tory Island<div style="text-align: center;">
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This is a short video showing some CW operation on 6 metres (50 Mhz) during the EJ7NET activation of Tory Island, Co. Donegal. We managed over 350 QSOs on this band, including about ten into the United States, all using a two-element HB9CV beam.HamRadioIrelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11008583900692977974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462678272949384534.post-49092652080328906412016-06-14T09:47:00.001+01:002016-06-14T09:47:43.615+01:00Rolf HB9DGV activating Tory lighthouse<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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On Monday, one member of the EJ7NET team, Rolf HB9DGV, went to the lighthouse on the island and activated it using his KX1. Rolf is a huge proponent of SOTA and portable activations, and while there are no registered SOTA peaks on the island, there is a lighthouse (ref IRE-075). You can see Rolf's photos of his various activations on his Flickr page here: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/33928583@N05/">https://www.flickr.com/photos/33928583@N05/</a><br />
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While at the lighthouse, he made eight QSOs using 5 watts and a portable wire dipole.HamRadioIrelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11008583900692977974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462678272949384534.post-35954368922852526062016-06-13T19:58:00.000+01:002016-06-13T19:58:43.143+01:00North America on 6 metres from Tory IslandToday was a great day on the bands, particularly on 6 metres, where we managed several QSOs into the United States in the afternoon. This was achieved with a HB9CV two-element beam at about 15 feet. As of this moment, we have over 200 QSOs on 50 Mhz since yesterday, which is fantastic.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of the North American stations we worked on 6 metres today.</td></tr>
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The 50 Mhz contacts into the USA were not all easy. It took some time to get K1TL into the log. In fact I'd safely say it took 10 to 15 minutes to complete the QSO. Some stations were easier to hear and work. We were ecstatic at getting one in the log, but we ended up with six or seven NA QSOs. And all the time we were beaming NA, we were still working Europeans, some from Italy, Spain and France, but some from other areas. We worked a couple of Scandinavian stations off the back of the beam.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The EJ7NET 6 metre station on Tory Island.</td></tr>
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Elsewhere, we have been plugging away on the HF bands. We had some activity on 20m, 17m and 15m today, with occasional pile-ups and also occasional dry periods. As of this moment, we have over 2,000 QSOs in the combined logs, which is not bad at all. Conditions on 20 and 15 are interesting. A lot of UK and Netherlands stations were strong on those bands today, while everyone else was comparatively weak. Last night (Sunday), we had some nice action on 40m SSB.<br />
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Weather today has been largely overcast, with drizzle at times. Generally typical Irish weather. Rolf HB9DGV activated the lighthouse on the island as EJ/HB9DGV/QRP.<br />
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<br />HamRadioIrelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11008583900692977974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462678272949384534.post-42405188405544224972016-06-13T08:47:00.001+01:002016-06-13T08:47:13.668+01:00EJ7NET - a few pictures from our visit to Tory Island<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Deliberations on the vagaries of propagation.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Barry GM3YEH operation on 17 metres.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rolf HB9DGV working 30 metres CW.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Liam EI7DSB on 20 metres SSB.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anthony EI2KC catches some action on 40 metres SSB.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Declan EI6FR operating the 6 metre station, where we had over 100 QSOs.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our chef, Tony EI3HA, serves up Sunday roast.</td></tr>
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<br />HamRadioIrelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11008583900692977974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462678272949384534.post-87583584660525103352016-06-12T09:00:00.000+01:002016-06-12T09:00:01.692+01:00Day 2 begins and it's raining relentlesslyIt's day two of our activation of Tory Island (EU-121) and it's raining relentlessly. We still have two more antennas to set up. Activity has been good (at times) so far on 30m CW and 40m CW/SSB. We have about 370 QSOs so far from two stations. The 6m station is being set up as we speak. Thankfully, the antenna was set up last night.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Declan, Liam and Bernie setting up the off-centre-fed dipole yesterday evening.</td></tr>
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Spirits are high among the EJ7NET group. Dermot EI5IQ pitched his tent and slept out there overnight. The rest of us opted for the comfortable beds here at Teach Sabba.<br />
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As we are approaching midsummer, there is no complete darkness at night. A beautiful sunset was followed by a fantasic red sky last night, so needless to say I spent quite a bit of time out with the camera. I even managed to get a photo of the shack late last night.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our QTH at Tory is called Teach Sabba.</td></tr>
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<br />HamRadioIrelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11008583900692977974noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462678272949384534.post-11362653513057070642016-06-11T20:31:00.001+01:002016-06-11T20:31:57.291+01:00The EJ7NET team has arrived on Tory Island, Co.DonegalThe EJ7NET Westnet DX Group has arrived safely on Tory Island (IOTA EU-121) and we are currently erecting antennas. The QTH is fabulous and has great take-off over the ocean in most directions. It is extremely scenic here, with views towards the mountains on the mainland. Our ferry trip was very calm and the weather has been fantastic so far.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZWXihH9N59c/V1xm970vXlI/AAAAAAAAI7M/DjbajHTo7fI-kF5lOvWBVaaXraAbzTAdACLcB/s1600/Antenna%2Bsetup.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="177" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ZWXihH9N59c/V1xm970vXlI/AAAAAAAAI7M/DjbajHTo7fI-kF5lOvWBVaaXraAbzTAdACLcB/s400/Antenna%2Bsetup.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A panorama showing antenna setup on Tory Island.</td></tr>
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One station is already up and running, with Gordon GM7WCO operating on 30 metres CW. Tony EI3HA, our chef, is preparing dinner.<br />
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This year's team is as follows: Declan EI6FR, Tony EI3HA, Dermot EI5IQ, Liam EI7DSB, Anthony EI2KC, Bernie HB9ASZ, Rolf HB9DGV, Barry GM3YEH, and Gordon GM7WCO.HamRadioIrelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11008583900692977974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462678272949384534.post-23402621638849855762016-04-23T17:05:00.000+01:002016-04-23T17:05:17.594+01:00FT4JA Juan de Nova confirmed on LoTW and gives me my 300th DXCC confirmed on CW!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The recent FT4JA Juan de Nova dxpedition, which gave me my 320th DXCC worked, has now confirmed my 11 QSOs with them via Logbook of the World. That's fantastic service! It was a great dxpedition. I'm happy that I worked them on RTTY as well as SSB and CW.<br />
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As you can see from the above EI2KC account status on LoTW, FT4JA was my 300th entity confirmed on CW, which is also very nice.HamRadioIrelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11008583900692977974noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5462678272949384534.post-48558162358418201962016-03-27T23:58:00.000+01:002016-03-27T23:58:22.829+01:00VK0EK Heard Island logged - ATNO and DXCC #319!!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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A short time ago I finally made it into the log of VK0EK, the Heard Island dxpedition. I have had poor receive on them since the dxpedition began the other day, and was beginning to wonder if I'd get a QSO at all. They were very weak on 30 metres CW on my home-made inverted v dipole, but I called them 2 Khz down and got into the log at around 23:35 local time (22:35 UTC). This is DXCC number 319 for me, and is of course an All-Time New One (ATNO).<br />
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Obviously getting the ATNO in the log is of paramount importance. I will try to chase more QSOs, but now that I have them logged (and confirmed in the log via their wonderful "live"<a href="http://dxa.vk0ek.org/" target="_blank"> online log service</a>) I can relax a bit.HamRadioIrelandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11008583900692977974noreply@blogger.com0