The Elmer's Shack
The Bands
Maybe YOU can work the ISS!
By Jon Pearce, WB2MNF
Recently three Club stations have worked NA1SS, the International Space Station operated by Dr. Kjell Lindgren (https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/kjell-n-lindgren/biography) KO5MOS. Chris KC2IEB and Bob KD2GFL each worked him over the past few weeks and I worked him on Field Day at the W2MMD station, so he’s apparently frequently operating the rig. All three Club members were working from dedicated satellite stations, but you might be able to make a contact – or at least hear a QSO – using a regular FM rig or two. So if you’d like to give it a try here’s some info on trying to talk to the space station. DISCLAIMER – I haven’t done this and don’t know anyone who has done it, but we know that SSTV signals from the ISS can easily be received on HTs so the repeater signals should be equally as accessible.
The ISS rig is a cross-band FM repeater with the uplink on 145.990 MHz (PL 67 hz) and the downlink on 437.800 MHz. It’s full-duplex so you can hear your transmitted signal if you have two separate radios, each set to one of the frequencies, but it will also work with one radio like a normal repeater. Using your mobile rig for the 2 meter uplink and an HT to monitor the 70 cm downlink might work. An HT may not have enough power to reach the ISS over other stations so use a mobile or home rig for the uplink if possible.
Ideally you want a circular polarized Yagi aimed at the ISS, and one of the Arrow handheld antennas would be useful if you have one. If not, a vertical antenna may be the next best bet. Verticals spread the signal horizontally and limit the signal vertically but the ISS is frequently at relatively low elevations (i.e., not directly overhead) so a vertical antenna may work well.
Finally you need to know when to listen for the ISS. The heavens-above website (https://heavens-above.com) shows upcoming ISS passes. Two things to note – first you need to enter your latitude and longitude into the upper-right user box to get the passes over your location. Also, the ISS page defaults to show only visible passes, but you want all passes so check that button.
Finally, if you ARE successful and you’ve heard those wonderful words “Welcome to the International Space Station” from Kjell you’ll certainly want that ISS QSL card so send your card to the ARISS (https://www.ariss.org/qsl-cards.html) QSL Manager.
Good luck hunting the ISS.
By Jon Pearce, WB2MNF
Recently three Club stations have worked NA1SS, the International Space Station operated by Dr. Kjell Lindgren (https://www.nasa.gov/astronauts/biographies/kjell-n-lindgren/biography) KO5MOS. Chris KC2IEB and Bob KD2GFL each worked him over the past few weeks and I worked him on Field Day at the W2MMD station, so he’s apparently frequently operating the rig. All three Club members were working from dedicated satellite stations, but you might be able to make a contact – or at least hear a QSO – using a regular FM rig or two. So if you’d like to give it a try here’s some info on trying to talk to the space station. DISCLAIMER – I haven’t done this and don’t know anyone who has done it, but we know that SSTV signals from the ISS can easily be received on HTs so the repeater signals should be equally as accessible.
The ISS rig is a cross-band FM repeater with the uplink on 145.990 MHz (PL 67 hz) and the downlink on 437.800 MHz. It’s full-duplex so you can hear your transmitted signal if you have two separate radios, each set to one of the frequencies, but it will also work with one radio like a normal repeater. Using your mobile rig for the 2 meter uplink and an HT to monitor the 70 cm downlink might work. An HT may not have enough power to reach the ISS over other stations so use a mobile or home rig for the uplink if possible.
Ideally you want a circular polarized Yagi aimed at the ISS, and one of the Arrow handheld antennas would be useful if you have one. If not, a vertical antenna may be the next best bet. Verticals spread the signal horizontally and limit the signal vertically but the ISS is frequently at relatively low elevations (i.e., not directly overhead) so a vertical antenna may work well.
Finally you need to know when to listen for the ISS. The heavens-above website (https://heavens-above.com) shows upcoming ISS passes. Two things to note – first you need to enter your latitude and longitude into the upper-right user box to get the passes over your location. Also, the ISS page defaults to show only visible passes, but you want all passes so check that button.
Finally, if you ARE successful and you’ve heard those wonderful words “Welcome to the International Space Station” from Kjell you’ll certainly want that ISS QSL card so send your card to the ARISS (https://www.ariss.org/qsl-cards.html) QSL Manager.
Good luck hunting the ISS.
Calling CQ On 29.600 MHz FM Simplex
By Jim Wright, N2GXJ
Did you know there is an FM calling frequency on 10 meters? For you Generals and Extras out there, when the solar flux gets up there, and 10 meters starts hopping, don’t forget to tune on up to the top of the band, to give 29.600 MHz a try. To hear FM quality voice on long distance contacts for the first time is one of those lasting radio memories. The thing is, you just never know when it will happen. That’s part of the magic of ham radio!
By Jim Wright, N2GXJ
Did you know there is an FM calling frequency on 10 meters? For you Generals and Extras out there, when the solar flux gets up there, and 10 meters starts hopping, don’t forget to tune on up to the top of the band, to give 29.600 MHz a try. To hear FM quality voice on long distance contacts for the first time is one of those lasting radio memories. The thing is, you just never know when it will happen. That’s part of the magic of ham radio!
Cross-Band Exercise Between Hams And Military Stations
By Jim Wright, N2GXJ
A cross-band test was held in conjunction with Armed Forces Day on May 14, 2022. What’s a cross-band test? It’s where Amateur Radio operators get a chance to make contact with United States Armed Forces stations. During the exercise, stations operated cross-band, or “split”, transmitting on one frequency, while listening on another.
The military stations would transmit on their military frequencies outside of the ham bands, telling amateur operators where in the ham bands they were listening. Amateurs would transmit on those frequencies, to communicate with the military station, listening for the response from the military station back on the military channel. Shown here is a QSL card I received for contacting United States Naval Radio Station, callsign NSS. Did anyone else give it a try?
By Jim Wright, N2GXJ
A cross-band test was held in conjunction with Armed Forces Day on May 14, 2022. What’s a cross-band test? It’s where Amateur Radio operators get a chance to make contact with United States Armed Forces stations. During the exercise, stations operated cross-band, or “split”, transmitting on one frequency, while listening on another.
The military stations would transmit on their military frequencies outside of the ham bands, telling amateur operators where in the ham bands they were listening. Amateurs would transmit on those frequencies, to communicate with the military station, listening for the response from the military station back on the military channel. Shown here is a QSL card I received for contacting United States Naval Radio Station, callsign NSS. Did anyone else give it a try?
Europe By Band
By Jim Wright, N2GXJ
You might think you already know this, but when is best time to try and make contact with Europe?
Oh, I’m sure you think you know, having studied the theory. But when looking at real data, collected over this last year, would you be surprised to find examples where that reality didn’t match that theory? I was. And that’s what this article is about. Why don’t you ride along, and see if what you think you know aligns with what actually happened.
The surprise for me came when uploading my QSO’s to Clublog. That’s when I noticed that Clublog had used everyone’s real-world QSO data to show what has really been going on over this past year. Take a look with me, log in to Clublog then browse on over to https://clublog.org/propagation.php. And run the query for propagation between United States and a country in Europe, like France with the checkbox clicked for just the last 12 months. And what do we see when we look here? There are some interesting twists.
By Jim Wright, N2GXJ
You might think you already know this, but when is best time to try and make contact with Europe?
Oh, I’m sure you think you know, having studied the theory. But when looking at real data, collected over this last year, would you be surprised to find examples where that reality didn’t match that theory? I was. And that’s what this article is about. Why don’t you ride along, and see if what you think you know aligns with what actually happened.
The surprise for me came when uploading my QSO’s to Clublog. That’s when I noticed that Clublog had used everyone’s real-world QSO data to show what has really been going on over this past year. Take a look with me, log in to Clublog then browse on over to https://clublog.org/propagation.php. And run the query for propagation between United States and a country in Europe, like France with the checkbox clicked for just the last 12 months. And what do we see when we look here? There are some interesting twists.
Following are a couple of screen shots taken from the output produced. I started with a “sanity test”, by comparing 10 meters with 80 meters. Take a look with me, does data make sense to you?
Comparing which hours were good for 10 meters and which were good for 80 meters, we see the hours that are good for 10 meters are pretty much opposite the hours that are good for 80 meters. So far, so good. That is kind of what I would have expected.
But wait… what is that tail on 10 meters? There are actual contacts being made later than what theory would have predicted. But wait… what is with the lack of contacts on 80 meters at 7 and 8am UTC, compared to what theory would have predicted?
Hum, this is interesting. Let’s check some other bands.
Comparing which hours were good for 10 meters and which were good for 80 meters, we see the hours that are good for 10 meters are pretty much opposite the hours that are good for 80 meters. So far, so good. That is kind of what I would have expected.
But wait… what is that tail on 10 meters? There are actual contacts being made later than what theory would have predicted. But wait… what is with the lack of contacts on 80 meters at 7 and 8am UTC, compared to what theory would have predicted?
Hum, this is interesting. Let’s check some other bands.
Looking though other charts, something looked odd to me on 6 meters. Is that a camel hump on 6 meters? Does this mean you’d think the band was closing out, and then it would open up again?
Then what’s up with 30 meters? On 30 meters, there seems to be a huge disconnect between predicted and actual.
Then what’s up with 30 meters? On 30 meters, there seems to be a huge disconnect between predicted and actual.
What this data seems to suggest that the real world is a little more complicated that theory. It also suggests that the high bands are always worth checking, even long beyond when you think a band “should” have closed out. Such is the magic of Amateur radio!
The Money Bands, and “all those others”
By Jim Wright, N2GXJ
I was reading an article about Brian Justin, WA2ZMS, who just completed contacts on 29 ham bands. 29 ham bands? Wow! I didn’t even realize there were that many! When we operate field day, we tend to use what, like 6 bands? What are all these other bands? You probably already know. I needed a refresher. Follow along as I grab a copy of the latest US Amateur Radio Bands, and check out what these might be.
18 bands up to 1.2 GHz
Turns out there are now 18 bands up to the 1.2 GHz band, and another 11 above that. Setting those 11 bands above 1.2 GHz aside for a moment, what are these 18 other bands? And which are you equipped to operate on? Let’s check our radios, and start counting them up. Which am I missing?
I checked my radios. For many operators, like me, there’s 2 Meters, and 70 centimeters on our hand held HT or car radios. I use them when I’m traveling about town. As you know, your club, the GCARC, operates a System Fusion repeater on the 2 Meter band at 147.180 MHz from a Pitman water tower location. A 70 cm repeater can also operate out of that location. Technician privileges give you access to both of those bands. Ok, that’s 2 bands so far.
Main bands on HF
If you’re privileged to be able to play on HF, then there are the “money” bands of 80 Meters, 40 Meters, 20 Meters, 15 Meters, and 10 Meters. You can get on these popular bands with most HF radios, using reasonably sized antennas. Do I call them the “money” bands because this is where the HF action is to score points during radio contest weekends? Or is it because of this natural affliction we hams develop, where we find ourselves needing to spend money to upgrade equipment again and again, to better compete on these bands? Whatever you call these bands, that’s 5 more, for a total of 7 bands so far. What others?
WARC bands
Some HF radios have access to the “WARC” bands. There are 3 of these bands - 30, 17, and 12 Meters. Some may recall when these bands were not part of amateur radio. However, you’d have to be getting up there in age for that to be the case. These became part of amateur radio in 1979. In the United States, we’ve had privileges on the WARC bands since the early 1980’s! Counting the years since then on your fingers? Yea, let’s not and say we did. Ok, that’s 3 more bands, total of 10 bands so far.
Magic Band
Let’s count 6 Meters. Technically, 6 Meters is above the HF band, though you can get it included in some multi-band HF rigs. There are also some hand held radios that offer 6 Meters. 6 Meters is sometimes called the “magic band”. When the sunspot numbers are high (not now), I am told it can be amazing.
Most of the time though, 6 Meters is “line of sight”, similar to 2 Meters. But sometimes, often in the summer, crazy sporadic-E skip can happen, offering long distance contact opportunities with very little power required. Also, meteor scatter communications is available on this band, day and night. Some people really like 6 Meters. When 6 Meters is hopping, I’ve heard of people calling in sick to the office to take advantage of the conditions, it can be that exciting when it opens up. Trouble is, you just never know when that is going to be, or for how long!
Old Top Band
160 Meters has traditionally been called the “top band”, but really isn’t anymore. There are a couple new bands more “top” than this “top band” now, but let’s talk about them later.
160 Meters takes an effort to operate on successfully. For starters, the wavelength is long and poses some antenna challenges. Using a favorite website for reference: www.chem.hawaii.edu/uham/antennas.html, you can see a half wave dipole on 160 Meters needs to be 254 feet long! Even a quarter wave vertical is difficult, without some kind of electrical shortening, as it needs to be 127 feet tall! There is also the matter of static crashes. Summer time lightning storms often cause considerable interference on the lower frequency bands, even at distance.
Still, for all its challenges, some people really like 160 Meters. They often put great effort (and money) into their stations, particularly the microphone systems, taking pride in having distinguished audio quality for those late night rag chew sessions. Ok, that’s two more bands mentioned, total of 12 so far.
Into UHF
In addition to being able to operate on 2 Meters or 70 cm, some hand held or base station radios are also capable of operating on one or more of these bands: 1.25 Meters (222 MHz), 33 cm (902 MHz), and/or 23 cm (1.2 GHz). As you may know GCARC recently installed a new BridgeCom repeater for 1.25 Meters at the Washington Township repeater location. It reportedly has great coverage even up into the Cherry Hill area. Ok, that’s 3 more bands. That’s 15 so far. Can you figure out yet what am I missing?
Channelized radio
60 Meters is one of them. Unlike other bands, this one is channelized with reduced power and other restrictions for use in the United States. Not all HF radios have this capability, and some of the older ones that do, don’t have the ability to operate on the channels currently authorized today. That’s 16. What are the other 2?
MF and LF, new bands
That exhausted the bands I was familiar with. But, it turns out there are two more. Last year, new “top” bands of 630 Meters (472 kHz, MF) and 2200 Meters (135 kHz, LF) have appeared on the ARRL’s chart of US Amateur Radio Bands, albeit with a number of restrictions. These restrictions include an effective radiated power limit of 1 Watt maximum on LF, or on MF if you are within 496 miles of Russia, and a unique requirement on either band to register first with the Utilities Technology Council. If I read this right, a power line carrier group may be able to deny your request to operate on these frequencies based on your location? I filled out the form for my QTH and submitted online tonight. I’ll let you know what happens.
If you thought there were technical challenges operating at 160 Meters, imagine 2200 Meters. A half wavelength for a dipole on 2200 Meters would be over a half mile long! No, I don’t have any equipment that can transmit on these bands. But I might be able to improvise some. And my old ICOM 7000 claims to have general purpose receive capability down to 30 kHz. So, here’s an offer. If any of you out there can transmit on these bands, and want to give a cross-band contact a try, I can give listening a try on one of these new bands, and call you back on HF. Let me know if want to give it a try!
By Jim Wright, N2GXJ
I was reading an article about Brian Justin, WA2ZMS, who just completed contacts on 29 ham bands. 29 ham bands? Wow! I didn’t even realize there were that many! When we operate field day, we tend to use what, like 6 bands? What are all these other bands? You probably already know. I needed a refresher. Follow along as I grab a copy of the latest US Amateur Radio Bands, and check out what these might be.
18 bands up to 1.2 GHz
Turns out there are now 18 bands up to the 1.2 GHz band, and another 11 above that. Setting those 11 bands above 1.2 GHz aside for a moment, what are these 18 other bands? And which are you equipped to operate on? Let’s check our radios, and start counting them up. Which am I missing?
I checked my radios. For many operators, like me, there’s 2 Meters, and 70 centimeters on our hand held HT or car radios. I use them when I’m traveling about town. As you know, your club, the GCARC, operates a System Fusion repeater on the 2 Meter band at 147.180 MHz from a Pitman water tower location. A 70 cm repeater can also operate out of that location. Technician privileges give you access to both of those bands. Ok, that’s 2 bands so far.
Main bands on HF
If you’re privileged to be able to play on HF, then there are the “money” bands of 80 Meters, 40 Meters, 20 Meters, 15 Meters, and 10 Meters. You can get on these popular bands with most HF radios, using reasonably sized antennas. Do I call them the “money” bands because this is where the HF action is to score points during radio contest weekends? Or is it because of this natural affliction we hams develop, where we find ourselves needing to spend money to upgrade equipment again and again, to better compete on these bands? Whatever you call these bands, that’s 5 more, for a total of 7 bands so far. What others?
WARC bands
Some HF radios have access to the “WARC” bands. There are 3 of these bands - 30, 17, and 12 Meters. Some may recall when these bands were not part of amateur radio. However, you’d have to be getting up there in age for that to be the case. These became part of amateur radio in 1979. In the United States, we’ve had privileges on the WARC bands since the early 1980’s! Counting the years since then on your fingers? Yea, let’s not and say we did. Ok, that’s 3 more bands, total of 10 bands so far.
Magic Band
Let’s count 6 Meters. Technically, 6 Meters is above the HF band, though you can get it included in some multi-band HF rigs. There are also some hand held radios that offer 6 Meters. 6 Meters is sometimes called the “magic band”. When the sunspot numbers are high (not now), I am told it can be amazing.
Most of the time though, 6 Meters is “line of sight”, similar to 2 Meters. But sometimes, often in the summer, crazy sporadic-E skip can happen, offering long distance contact opportunities with very little power required. Also, meteor scatter communications is available on this band, day and night. Some people really like 6 Meters. When 6 Meters is hopping, I’ve heard of people calling in sick to the office to take advantage of the conditions, it can be that exciting when it opens up. Trouble is, you just never know when that is going to be, or for how long!
Old Top Band
160 Meters has traditionally been called the “top band”, but really isn’t anymore. There are a couple new bands more “top” than this “top band” now, but let’s talk about them later.
160 Meters takes an effort to operate on successfully. For starters, the wavelength is long and poses some antenna challenges. Using a favorite website for reference: www.chem.hawaii.edu/uham/antennas.html, you can see a half wave dipole on 160 Meters needs to be 254 feet long! Even a quarter wave vertical is difficult, without some kind of electrical shortening, as it needs to be 127 feet tall! There is also the matter of static crashes. Summer time lightning storms often cause considerable interference on the lower frequency bands, even at distance.
Still, for all its challenges, some people really like 160 Meters. They often put great effort (and money) into their stations, particularly the microphone systems, taking pride in having distinguished audio quality for those late night rag chew sessions. Ok, that’s two more bands mentioned, total of 12 so far.
Into UHF
In addition to being able to operate on 2 Meters or 70 cm, some hand held or base station radios are also capable of operating on one or more of these bands: 1.25 Meters (222 MHz), 33 cm (902 MHz), and/or 23 cm (1.2 GHz). As you may know GCARC recently installed a new BridgeCom repeater for 1.25 Meters at the Washington Township repeater location. It reportedly has great coverage even up into the Cherry Hill area. Ok, that’s 3 more bands. That’s 15 so far. Can you figure out yet what am I missing?
Channelized radio
60 Meters is one of them. Unlike other bands, this one is channelized with reduced power and other restrictions for use in the United States. Not all HF radios have this capability, and some of the older ones that do, don’t have the ability to operate on the channels currently authorized today. That’s 16. What are the other 2?
MF and LF, new bands
That exhausted the bands I was familiar with. But, it turns out there are two more. Last year, new “top” bands of 630 Meters (472 kHz, MF) and 2200 Meters (135 kHz, LF) have appeared on the ARRL’s chart of US Amateur Radio Bands, albeit with a number of restrictions. These restrictions include an effective radiated power limit of 1 Watt maximum on LF, or on MF if you are within 496 miles of Russia, and a unique requirement on either band to register first with the Utilities Technology Council. If I read this right, a power line carrier group may be able to deny your request to operate on these frequencies based on your location? I filled out the form for my QTH and submitted online tonight. I’ll let you know what happens.
If you thought there were technical challenges operating at 160 Meters, imagine 2200 Meters. A half wavelength for a dipole on 2200 Meters would be over a half mile long! No, I don’t have any equipment that can transmit on these bands. But I might be able to improvise some. And my old ICOM 7000 claims to have general purpose receive capability down to 30 kHz. So, here’s an offer. If any of you out there can transmit on these bands, and want to give a cross-band contact a try, I can give listening a try on one of these new bands, and call you back on HF. Let me know if want to give it a try!
Getting Started On HF
By Tony Starr, K3TS
Author's Note: This article is written primarily for both the newly licensed ham and those who have recently upgraded to General Class, but may be of interest to anyone who does not have an HF station on the air, but would like to.
When I was first licensed over 40 years ago, the Novice license was the entry level ticket, using CW only. My first station was set up for three HF bands and was a collection of crude, old, low-tech gear, as dictated by my teenage budget. When I later upgraded to General Class, I began to get interested in VHF and repeaters, eventually losing interest in HF. Nowadays, the entry level ticket is the Technician class license, and a first radio is more likely to be a dual band HT rather than some old HF boat anchor. This represents a big departure from the traditional gateway into ham radio, and has spawned a large population of hams who have had little to no experience on HF, sometimes in spite of being licensed for a significant amount of time.
Having recently gotten back into the hobby after a very long period of inactivity, I decided to go straight into HF operation, and made it a priority to put together a competent and reliable HF station, in marked contrast to the junk I operated 40 years ago. Much to my delight, I found that the selection of good HF gear, both new and used, is far better now than it was back then, and in real dollars, a much better deal in terms of the features that your dollars can buy. The radio that I started out with a couple of years ago, a Kenwood TS-850, is lightyears ahead of anything that i ever operated in my early ham career, in spite of now being old enough to qualify for membership in the QCWA. My new radio, a TS-590sg, is even more advanced, and is loaded with great features. Both of those radios together cost well under $2,000 and the 590 was brand new from Ham Radio Outlet.
If an HF neophyte were to ask me for my recommendation for a first HF transceiver, I would have a hard time picking one because there are so many good ones. Of course, the budget plays a huge roll. Under $500 will get you a good used rig of an older vintage like my TS-850. Move up to the $600 to $800 range, and there is a whole other world of choices. One radio that i must mention is the Yaesu FT-450D. Few transceivers on the market offer as many features as this one at such a bargain basement price. It is still in production, so you would have a choice of new or used. Another radio that I like, although no longer in production, is the Yaesu FT-950. This is a radio that is so nice to use that you will not likely outgrow it for quite some time. It was discontinued a few years ago, having been replaced by the FTdx-1200, but clean used 950's have been going for around $750, a great price for a really nice rig that will look really good in your shack.
Moving up to the next tier, which I consider to be $1,000 to $1,500; the choice really comes down to two transceivers, the Kenwood TS-590sg and everybody's little darling, the Icom IC-7300. Both of these radios are so good that there is really no bad choice here. It really depends on what kind of operating you plan to do. But the choice between these two is not an easy choice to make. Some hams that I know have one of each! There are several price tiers above this one, but if you get into those levels of radios, we can safely assume that you are no longer an HF neophyte, so no need to mention any of them here. There are also some great used radios on the market at these prices that were once the flagship models of their day. My advice would be to stay away from these until you have more experience to use and maintain these monsters. Better to start off with something simpler and easier to use.
As far as antennas go, there are good reasons why the dipole is the actual standard against which all other antennas are measured. I have a dual band dipole for 80m and 40m, which has served me very well. It is installed in the inverted-V configuration and the apex is only about 35 feet up, with the ends being 15 to 20 feet off the ground. I have several vertical antennas, and on thier best days they MAY work almost as well as the dipole. Needless to say, the dual band dipole is the workhorse at my station for 80 and 40 meters. It is actually two dipoles fed by a common feedline through a current balun. Some call this a fan dipole, or a "Maypole", depending on how the wires are configured with respect to each other. My four wires are roughly 90 degrees apart and are attached to various supports, none of which are trees. I typically only use trees as temporary supports. If you have an antenna tuner with a balanced output, a great way to put up a dipole is to cut it for the lowest frequency band that you plan to operate and feed it with ladder line. This will give you a very efficient antenna. Remember that an inverted-V will not take up quite as much space as a flat dipole, and is mechanically more secure.
What about verticals? I own several, but I must stress that the most important part of any vertical antenna system is the ground plane or radial system. If you use a vertical antenna without radials, you are not getting the most out of it. For an elevated vertical you can get by with as few as 2 to 4 radials, but if your vertical is ground mounted, you had better plan on installing at least two dozen, and more if you can. The radial system is vital for collecting the return currents from the antenna, and is really the other half of the antenna. Generally, elevated radials are cut to a resonant length, usually a quarter wavelength, but ground mounted radials need not be any longer than the antenna is tall in most cases. If you have a very small backyard, a vertical antenna can get you on HF with good results. My favorite vertical is the Hustler 5BTV, which covers 10, 15, 20, and 40 meters, plus about 50 kHz of the 80m band. There are others which are also good, but none offer the value that the Hustler 5BTV does. At around $200, it is in a class by itself for value.
Another thing to consider when putting up your antennas is whether or not you plan to get an amplifier. I initially did not plan to operate at high power, so I chose lightweight baluns and feedlines. Eventually I discovered that I was not being heard nearly as often as I would have liked to be, so I acquired an amplifier, and I had to then upgrade my baluns and feedlines. Fortunately, these low power baluns and feedlines have found a new life as Field Day antennas, where amplifiers are still a rarity. If you plan to operate only CW or the Digital Modes like PSK-31 and FT-8, chances are that you will not need an amplifier. On the other hand, if you are planning to operate phone contests on the lower bands, running some power can mean the difference between being heard and being frustrated. Legal limit amplifiers are expensive, and largely un-necessary. An amplifier which puts out between 600 and 800 watts will be fine for most HF operation under challenging conditions.
Choosing an amplifier can be as daunting a task as choosing a radio. And it can be every bit as costly! This is the biggest difference in the price of ham gear now as opposed to when I was last active back in the 80's. In many cases, a new amplifier can now cost more than a new radio. Back in those days, power tubes were cheap and commonly available. This is not the case today. In my opinion, one of the most important things to consider when choosing an amplifier is the cost and availability of the output devices (tubes or transistors). This will become a big deal only when you have to replace them, but eventually you will. A good choice for a first amplifier is the Ameritron AL-80B. It uses a single 3-500 tube, which are readily available new for about $200. You can find a clean, used AL-80B for around a grand, but a brand new one is only about $1500, if you want the assurance that nobody before you has ever abused it. That actually can be money well spent. Amplifiers are amazingly easy to abuse. More expensive amplifiers are loaded with protective circuitry, under the assumption that someone will try to abuse the amplifier, but of course you get what you pay for.
Getting on HF can open up a whole new world of ham radio for the ham who has been limited to VHF and UHF. Working DX can be exciting, and there can be a lot of activity on the HF bands, especially during the contest weekends. Right now, FT-8 is all the rage, but good old CW and SSB can be a lot of fun and have a long heritage of tradition on the HF bands. I say that if you are trying out HF, do not limit yourself to just one band or mode. This is a slump that is easy to fall into and may eventually result in your getting bored with your "favorite" band and/or mode. Move around, try different bands, work on your CW skills, and maybe try a contest or special event, like the 13 Colonies event, or the Museum Ships weekend. There is so much to do and so much fun to be had now on HF, and hopefully in a few years the sunspots may even come back!
Well that's all I have for now, but if you are putting an HF station on the air and have some questions, I will be glad to try and answer them for you. I don't claim to be an expert on anything but I read a lot and have a technical background, so I can usually figure things out. And I promise that any advice I give you will be worth every penny that I charge you for it! 73 and see you on the HF bands.
By Tony Starr, K3TS
Author's Note: This article is written primarily for both the newly licensed ham and those who have recently upgraded to General Class, but may be of interest to anyone who does not have an HF station on the air, but would like to.
When I was first licensed over 40 years ago, the Novice license was the entry level ticket, using CW only. My first station was set up for three HF bands and was a collection of crude, old, low-tech gear, as dictated by my teenage budget. When I later upgraded to General Class, I began to get interested in VHF and repeaters, eventually losing interest in HF. Nowadays, the entry level ticket is the Technician class license, and a first radio is more likely to be a dual band HT rather than some old HF boat anchor. This represents a big departure from the traditional gateway into ham radio, and has spawned a large population of hams who have had little to no experience on HF, sometimes in spite of being licensed for a significant amount of time.
Having recently gotten back into the hobby after a very long period of inactivity, I decided to go straight into HF operation, and made it a priority to put together a competent and reliable HF station, in marked contrast to the junk I operated 40 years ago. Much to my delight, I found that the selection of good HF gear, both new and used, is far better now than it was back then, and in real dollars, a much better deal in terms of the features that your dollars can buy. The radio that I started out with a couple of years ago, a Kenwood TS-850, is lightyears ahead of anything that i ever operated in my early ham career, in spite of now being old enough to qualify for membership in the QCWA. My new radio, a TS-590sg, is even more advanced, and is loaded with great features. Both of those radios together cost well under $2,000 and the 590 was brand new from Ham Radio Outlet.
If an HF neophyte were to ask me for my recommendation for a first HF transceiver, I would have a hard time picking one because there are so many good ones. Of course, the budget plays a huge roll. Under $500 will get you a good used rig of an older vintage like my TS-850. Move up to the $600 to $800 range, and there is a whole other world of choices. One radio that i must mention is the Yaesu FT-450D. Few transceivers on the market offer as many features as this one at such a bargain basement price. It is still in production, so you would have a choice of new or used. Another radio that I like, although no longer in production, is the Yaesu FT-950. This is a radio that is so nice to use that you will not likely outgrow it for quite some time. It was discontinued a few years ago, having been replaced by the FTdx-1200, but clean used 950's have been going for around $750, a great price for a really nice rig that will look really good in your shack.
Moving up to the next tier, which I consider to be $1,000 to $1,500; the choice really comes down to two transceivers, the Kenwood TS-590sg and everybody's little darling, the Icom IC-7300. Both of these radios are so good that there is really no bad choice here. It really depends on what kind of operating you plan to do. But the choice between these two is not an easy choice to make. Some hams that I know have one of each! There are several price tiers above this one, but if you get into those levels of radios, we can safely assume that you are no longer an HF neophyte, so no need to mention any of them here. There are also some great used radios on the market at these prices that were once the flagship models of their day. My advice would be to stay away from these until you have more experience to use and maintain these monsters. Better to start off with something simpler and easier to use.
As far as antennas go, there are good reasons why the dipole is the actual standard against which all other antennas are measured. I have a dual band dipole for 80m and 40m, which has served me very well. It is installed in the inverted-V configuration and the apex is only about 35 feet up, with the ends being 15 to 20 feet off the ground. I have several vertical antennas, and on thier best days they MAY work almost as well as the dipole. Needless to say, the dual band dipole is the workhorse at my station for 80 and 40 meters. It is actually two dipoles fed by a common feedline through a current balun. Some call this a fan dipole, or a "Maypole", depending on how the wires are configured with respect to each other. My four wires are roughly 90 degrees apart and are attached to various supports, none of which are trees. I typically only use trees as temporary supports. If you have an antenna tuner with a balanced output, a great way to put up a dipole is to cut it for the lowest frequency band that you plan to operate and feed it with ladder line. This will give you a very efficient antenna. Remember that an inverted-V will not take up quite as much space as a flat dipole, and is mechanically more secure.
What about verticals? I own several, but I must stress that the most important part of any vertical antenna system is the ground plane or radial system. If you use a vertical antenna without radials, you are not getting the most out of it. For an elevated vertical you can get by with as few as 2 to 4 radials, but if your vertical is ground mounted, you had better plan on installing at least two dozen, and more if you can. The radial system is vital for collecting the return currents from the antenna, and is really the other half of the antenna. Generally, elevated radials are cut to a resonant length, usually a quarter wavelength, but ground mounted radials need not be any longer than the antenna is tall in most cases. If you have a very small backyard, a vertical antenna can get you on HF with good results. My favorite vertical is the Hustler 5BTV, which covers 10, 15, 20, and 40 meters, plus about 50 kHz of the 80m band. There are others which are also good, but none offer the value that the Hustler 5BTV does. At around $200, it is in a class by itself for value.
Another thing to consider when putting up your antennas is whether or not you plan to get an amplifier. I initially did not plan to operate at high power, so I chose lightweight baluns and feedlines. Eventually I discovered that I was not being heard nearly as often as I would have liked to be, so I acquired an amplifier, and I had to then upgrade my baluns and feedlines. Fortunately, these low power baluns and feedlines have found a new life as Field Day antennas, where amplifiers are still a rarity. If you plan to operate only CW or the Digital Modes like PSK-31 and FT-8, chances are that you will not need an amplifier. On the other hand, if you are planning to operate phone contests on the lower bands, running some power can mean the difference between being heard and being frustrated. Legal limit amplifiers are expensive, and largely un-necessary. An amplifier which puts out between 600 and 800 watts will be fine for most HF operation under challenging conditions.
Choosing an amplifier can be as daunting a task as choosing a radio. And it can be every bit as costly! This is the biggest difference in the price of ham gear now as opposed to when I was last active back in the 80's. In many cases, a new amplifier can now cost more than a new radio. Back in those days, power tubes were cheap and commonly available. This is not the case today. In my opinion, one of the most important things to consider when choosing an amplifier is the cost and availability of the output devices (tubes or transistors). This will become a big deal only when you have to replace them, but eventually you will. A good choice for a first amplifier is the Ameritron AL-80B. It uses a single 3-500 tube, which are readily available new for about $200. You can find a clean, used AL-80B for around a grand, but a brand new one is only about $1500, if you want the assurance that nobody before you has ever abused it. That actually can be money well spent. Amplifiers are amazingly easy to abuse. More expensive amplifiers are loaded with protective circuitry, under the assumption that someone will try to abuse the amplifier, but of course you get what you pay for.
Getting on HF can open up a whole new world of ham radio for the ham who has been limited to VHF and UHF. Working DX can be exciting, and there can be a lot of activity on the HF bands, especially during the contest weekends. Right now, FT-8 is all the rage, but good old CW and SSB can be a lot of fun and have a long heritage of tradition on the HF bands. I say that if you are trying out HF, do not limit yourself to just one band or mode. This is a slump that is easy to fall into and may eventually result in your getting bored with your "favorite" band and/or mode. Move around, try different bands, work on your CW skills, and maybe try a contest or special event, like the 13 Colonies event, or the Museum Ships weekend. There is so much to do and so much fun to be had now on HF, and hopefully in a few years the sunspots may even come back!
Well that's all I have for now, but if you are putting an HF station on the air and have some questions, I will be glad to try and answer them for you. I don't claim to be an expert on anything but I read a lot and have a technical background, so I can usually figure things out. And I promise that any advice I give you will be worth every penny that I charge you for it! 73 and see you on the HF bands.
What’s Your Favorite Mode On HF?
By Jim Wright, N2GXJ
Ask a ham that question in 1990, 1991, 1992 …. Even 10 years ago in 2009 …. and you might get a different answer than you would today. See the data from the graphic below.
This graphic is produced from day-by-day contact data collected over the past 29 years, from Jan 1, 1990 to the present, that you can download from : www.clublog.org/modes.csv. In the graphic, you can see the effects of the solar minimum, which has caused a drop off in total SSB and CW contacts these past few years, since a peak in 2014. But the graphic also illustrates some of the shifts in the number of contacts by mode type recorded at Clublog over time.
Phone (voice) and CW (Morse code) are shown in the data to always have been popular modes, and they continue to be today. In the past, the data suggests phone and CW have been roughly equal in popularity, but since 2014, CW has overtaken Phone as the most popular of these two modes in the logged data. Surprise to anyone?
RTTY use, shown in grey, though never as popular as voice or CW, also gained popularity until it peaked (along with voice and CW) around 2014. Shown in yellow, starting around the year 2000, PSK started gaining in popularity, peaking a little earlier, around 2013, when “other modes”, shown in green, became more popular. These other modes, which include the weak signal JT65 mode, continued to grow in popularity beyond 2014 for several more years, out into 2017. Perhaps this is reflective of how hams have been willing to adapt new technologies to chase DX under changing solar conditions? But why the drop off in other modes starting in 2017? Shown in red, it was around the year 2017 when a newcomer hit the scene, bucking the trend of less contacts logged during the current times of solar minimum. That newcomer was FT8. And in 2018, as shown in the data, even with the current solar conditions, FT8 jumped to the top of the popularity list - far surpassing all other modes in the sheer volume of contacts logged in the Clublog database.
Now we’re half-way through 2019, the collected data so far shows FT8 continues to be quite popular. Will FT8 remain the favorite mode for the current phase of the solar cycle? Or will the introduction of FT-4 affect the distribution of modes used for the contacts logged going forward? And will the popularity of voice and other modes shift again when the next solar cycle begins to pick up? Only time will tell!
So let us know your opinion. Has your favorite mode shifted over time to adapt to changing solar conditions?
What’s your favorite mode today, and why?
Please send Jeff a quick line via email that he might include in the next CrossTalk to share your experiences with your fellow Club members!
Why Not Try 17 Meters!
By Jim Wright, N2GXJ
18.068 - 18.168 MHz. Just a tiny sliver of radio frequency spectrum, 100 kHz wide. Designated contest-free? Yes! DX? Yes! Digital? Yes! Surprises? Yes!
When was the last time you visited 17 Meters? Many people will answer “never”. A main reason cited is they don’t have an antenna for that band. For a couple of dollars, and a simple design that fits in the attic of many homes, that’s all it takes to know what you might have been missing out on so far. As we move from Autumn to Winter this year, why not enable yourself to get on this band and find out?
If looking to buy, it will cost you about $50. A quick internet search can find several examples, like the one at https://www.radiowavz.com which comes with wire pre-cut to the right length, plus a center balun. If you want to make your own, all you need is about 26 ½ feet of insulated stranded #14 wire, which you cut in half, and attach to your own balun. Either way, no need to worry about wind and rain in the attic, so tie a loop at the end of each of the outstretched wires, and then just use plain old string to stretch out to where you can attach to a roofing rafter with a hammer and nail. Tune with your SWR meter, and if the resonant point is below the band, simply loop back the ends of the wire back upon itself until is “good enough”.
Buy or build, want a little more “punch” in one direction, such as towards Europe? String the dipole sideways to direction you are most interested in, and then you can turn it into a wire beam by simply taking another unconnected single piece of wire that’s about 10% longer, and string it up at the same height about 2 feet or so behind your dipole antenna to act as a reflector.
Finally, connect up your coax to center balun, and you’re off to the races! 17 Meters is there, waiting for you. What are you waiting for?
By Jim Wright, N2GXJ
18.068 - 18.168 MHz. Just a tiny sliver of radio frequency spectrum, 100 kHz wide. Designated contest-free? Yes! DX? Yes! Digital? Yes! Surprises? Yes!
When was the last time you visited 17 Meters? Many people will answer “never”. A main reason cited is they don’t have an antenna for that band. For a couple of dollars, and a simple design that fits in the attic of many homes, that’s all it takes to know what you might have been missing out on so far. As we move from Autumn to Winter this year, why not enable yourself to get on this band and find out?
If looking to buy, it will cost you about $50. A quick internet search can find several examples, like the one at https://www.radiowavz.com which comes with wire pre-cut to the right length, plus a center balun. If you want to make your own, all you need is about 26 ½ feet of insulated stranded #14 wire, which you cut in half, and attach to your own balun. Either way, no need to worry about wind and rain in the attic, so tie a loop at the end of each of the outstretched wires, and then just use plain old string to stretch out to where you can attach to a roofing rafter with a hammer and nail. Tune with your SWR meter, and if the resonant point is below the band, simply loop back the ends of the wire back upon itself until is “good enough”.
Buy or build, want a little more “punch” in one direction, such as towards Europe? String the dipole sideways to direction you are most interested in, and then you can turn it into a wire beam by simply taking another unconnected single piece of wire that’s about 10% longer, and string it up at the same height about 2 feet or so behind your dipole antenna to act as a reflector.
Finally, connect up your coax to center balun, and you’re off to the races! 17 Meters is there, waiting for you. What are you waiting for?