Video - full CW QSO with VK7VR in Tasmania

This is what I love doing in the mornings! I love to find the VK and ZL stations on the long path and have a chat with them, usually on CW. This is Phil VK7VR in Ulverstone, Tasmania, with a good 579 signal on the longpath (beaming 260 degrees). As you can hear, he's in flying form on the key, and a great operator. It was lovely to get a ragchew with him before heading to work. 

Tasmania on 20 metres JT9-1 using just five watts

Last week, having taken a step into the weak signal mode JT65, I followed by taking a look at JT9-1. I had been told by Bas PE4BAS that it uses less bandwidth and as it's a new mode, there's less cramming of signals like you get with JT65 because it's not yet that popular.

A screenshot showing my QSO with VK7BO (The frequency
shown is 40m, but I was in fact on 14.078 at the time!)

So I downloaded WSJT-X (v0.9, r3195), and installed it and, within a short time, my computer was decoding signals out of the noise. On my first night CQing, I worked K0KC, followed swiftly by K1JT (Joe Taylor, the man who wrote the JT-9 software!) using only five watts from the Icom 756PRO.

I will say that both JT65 and JT9-1 are very slow modes. It takes about six minutes to make one QSO. Transmit sessions begin on the minute, and take around 50 seconds, with ten seconds of decoding. It takes a bit of getting used to, but I was thrilled to have the help of Doug EI2CN to show me how it's done.

Tonight, having worked JD1BMH in Ogasawara on 20m RTTY as a new country on digi modes, I couldn't find any other decent DX about the bands, so I launched WSJT-X and left it decoding on 14.078. I worked a UA3 who was putting out a CQ and then I spotted something I didn't expect to see!

CQ VK7BO QE38 (See screenshot above)

So I immediately called him back with VK7BO EI2KC -06 (in fact, I didn't properly finish the QSO with UA3 - I didn't give him 73!). The Tasmanian station gave me EI2KC VK7BO -03 and then we confirmed the QSO. Tasmania on five watts. Not bad at all. I think I will enjoy using this weak signal mode a bit more often !!

A quick update on the DX

Since my last posting I have had more success working DX, and the more I use it the more I become convinced that the hexbeam is a great antenna. Here is a brief summary of the DX in the log:

My hexbeam (pluys 2m/6m beams and Butternut) under the stars.

I worked VK9CS (Cocos Keeling) again, this time on 17m CW, with just two calls.
This was followed by T8XX (Palau) on 15m SSB for a new country on that band.
The same day, I worked T8XX on 20m CW.

3D2GC in Fiji provided a brand new DXCC for me when I worked him on 15m CW. He was very, very light and to be perfectly honest it's possible I am not in the log, or have a busted call.
However, when I later worked him on 17m CW, I was definitely in his log this time.

T8XX made it into the log again, this time on 12m CW, giving me a new DXCC on that band. VK9CS got into the log on a third band, this time on 20m CW.

Just this morning, I worked VK7CW, Steve in Tasmania, on 17m CW using just 100 watts. This was followed a short time later by T8XX again, this time on 15m CW, also with 100 watts.

Later, I worked BD7IS in China on 15m SSB using just 100 watts for a new slot, and then YB0ETC in Indonesia on 10m CW for a new slot there. Glad to hear 10 metres in good shape!