Video: chasing Tuvalu on 20 metres CW. Will I be able to make it through the European QRM?

This is what I do most of the time on amateur radio - I chase rare DX. In this case, it's T2GC on Tuvalu island, which is an island in the southern Pacific Ocean. As you can see, it's hard work finding where he is listening, and in this case his RX QRG is moving all the time. So I have to spend a lot of time spinning the VFO looking for his split frequency. I lose the split though, and have to go searching for it. Having not found it, I decide to call above the pile-up (at 2:40 in the video), but hear a K2 beneath me going back to him, so I spin down to 14.013.5 and call him there. Soon I am back on target. At 3:56, you finally hear him asking for EI2. I call a couple of times, but he still comes back with EI2, the best indication possible that other stations are just calling over the top of me, ignoring the fact that he is looking for EI2. But with a bit of persistence I am soon in the log. This one took just over four minutes, but I have been known to spend an hour (and more) chasing the rare ones.

DXing on the edge . . . longest QSO attempt in history!

Most of you have normal lives, and normal hobbies, like football and fishing. Me, I do ham radio, euphonium playing and other geeky stuff like taking photos of stones in the middle of the night. Here's how I spend some of my nights. This is an example of how difficult it can be to log that "new one" on a band. In this case, PW0F on Fernando de Noronha, on 80 metres, the only HF band I hadn't worked this rare one on. He kept busting my call. It took me several minutes to make him get it right. In all fairness, he stuck with me, despite my exclamations of despair. This is cutting edge ham radio - working DX from a small garden. Quote of the video - "this will be the QSO of the decade if it happens".

By the way, you have to go to 3:23 in the video to hear the "start" of the QSO. From there, it gets interesting and my exasperated expressions get more colourful!!

Very strong QRM/interference on the 12 metre band

I recorded this awful noise on 12 metres this morning. It was obliterating all but the strongest signals in the CW portion of the 24 Mhz band. I wonder does anyone know what the likely source of this interference is? I have heard/seen it before, I think on 17 metres. It is not local. I have brought the interference to the attention of the Irish representative for the IARU Monitoring Service.

Update: I had a quick reply from the IARUMS. Apparently this interference is Over The Horizon (OTH) radar. 

Video of strange pulsating interference on 80m

I recorded this QRM on 80 metres last night. Anybody got any idea what it might be?

Some serious QRM on 10 metres in Slovenia

S57S Aleksander demonstrates some pretty awful QRM on the 28 Mhz (10 metre) band on his Kenwood TS-850SAT. The source appears to be to his east, and he says it is occurring daily. The signal strength of the QRM is sometimes 50dB over s9. Serious stuff...

Six slots with Conway Reef but less time now

I now have six slots with Conway Reef. At least I hope I have six. I worked them on 15m SSB yesterday morning and I wasn't 100% sure that they said EI2KC, but I will wait for a log update. My other five QSOs are in the log alright.

I find the hexbeam is doing a terrific job. None of the slots took more than half an hour to work, and, honestly, in some cases I was only calling for a few minutes. I did try 10m CW yesterday for a while, but with musical activities to attend to over the weekend I have less time for radio. The split was incredible. They were listening 25kc up at one point. So as you can imagine, the pile-up calling them from EU must have been significant. I will wait for the pile to calm down before trying them on 10m.

I still need them on 17m CW, where there seems to be a dearth of activity. And surprisingly, I also need them on 20m SSB. I am listening on their QRG on 14.190 right now and, unfortunately, someone is jamming them with a slow scan signal. This is an unfortunate and regrettable side of the hobby, where disgruntled individuals cause QRM on a DX station.

Ah well, we need lots of patience in this hobby. It is usually rewarded, but sometimes not. I am glad to say I am enjoying Conway Reef 3D2C so far. Being unemployed does have its upside!! In between hunting for a new job, I can be at the radio during the daytime, something which was impossible while I was working full time!