A1 to RTTY, It's All About How You Operate

2012 CQ World Wide RTTY WPX Contest 

Receiving a large white envelope in the mail will normally catch my attention. One of those attention getting envelopes arrived today. I was excited to receive the certificate seen to the left for my WPX RTTY effort this year. And I was reminded today during a QSO that next weekend is the CQ World Wide DX RTTY Contest!!! I'm hopeful that the bands cooperate and I will have the time to operate more than a few hours. I know I will be getting a late start at the very least but once home, I plan on firing up N1MM and getting started with my low power effort. And in the contest this coming weekend, Alaska (KL7) counts as a country multiplier, not a state. I always have to check as sometimes we are a country, sometimes a state. 

I had some fun today operating JT65 on 10 meters! I made one CW contact and also a handful of PSK31 contacts on that band as well. With 10 meters showing some signs of life finally, I'm even more excited about next weekend and the many other contests looming on the 2012-2013 contest calendar! 

I have had a few folks over the last few months comment (and congratulate) about me being an A-1 Operator. I've never received a formal notification of this honor but two generous hams felt I was worthy of such an honor and nominated me. I ventured to the ARRL A-1 Operators page and there my name was with all of the others who were granted the same honor!  I'm not sure who those hams were that nominated me but I'm deeply honored and forever thankful.  I always strive to operate to the best of my ability and I know I've had the honor of helping many with giving them a new country, state, county, prefix and more. The A-1 Operator Club is managed by the American Radio Relay League (ARRL) and I plan on doing my part in identifying those who I feel are just as worthy. I promote our hobby each and every moment I get and anyone who knows me, knows I'm a "Ham!" I'm approaching my 25 year anniversary for being a part of this great hobby. I've made life long friends and many I have never met, and might not ever meet. 

As far as the RTTY contest, it's obvious I must have busted some callsigns as my score is lower than what I submitted. But, with each and every contest, I will continue to strive for that "Golden Log" and hopefully achieve it more times than not. Contesting is about honing your skills and getting better with each and every contest. Now that I've had a summer off from radio, it's time to buckle up and get to working on my code speed again. It's also time to start working the digital modes and getting in some much needed practice for winter. But as the snow that accumulated on my lawn today reminded me, winter is here and I'd better get a move on, soon! 

 CQ WW RTTY WPX Contest

Call: KL8DX
Operator(s): KL8DX
Station: KL8DX

Class: SOAB(TS) LP
QTH: Alaska
Operating Time (hrs): 24:34

Summary:
Band  QSOs
------------
  80:    0
  40:    7
  20:  250
  15:  410
  10:  73
------------
Total:  740  Prefixes = 371  Total Score = 628,103

Club: North Coast Contesters

Comments:

My low power effort as I have not yet had my amplifier repaired. 
Obviously, 15 meters was the money band for me however, 20 meters
produced only 15 fewer multipliers for nearly half the QSO's! This
was due to better than fair conditions into Europe on 20 meters in
the mornings.

We once again are experiencing Chinook winds here in the interior
with gusts over 40 mph for most of the weekend. I had much more
QRN than normal, especially toward the lower 48. I just lowered my
beam as we are supposed to have 65 + mph gusts for the next 24 to
36 hours. My Hazer crank is approximately 4 foot above the ground
and I had to dig snow out from around the crank so I could turn it.
This is due to lots of drifting snow on the north side of my home
where my tower is. These winds are bittersweet. It has been well
above freezing so my heating bill should get a reprieve but the
warmer temps make things very slick outside not to mention it's
hard on the antennas. 

I'm pretty happy with my effort however, I slept in both mornings 
so I left 5.5 hours of available operating time on the table. I
was hoping get a 3am-4am start both mornings but it just did not
happen. Rough week I guess.  

I'm looking forward to next weekend as I once again continue my
pursuit of low power contesting. Two things are very apparent 
with low power;

1. A much lower score
2. Shack is 20 degrees colder than normal

Lots of stations with great receivers and thanks much for pulling
out my weaker than normal signal. I did put a bit more detail from
this contest in my latest blog entry.

73!

Phil - KL8DX
Denali National Park, AK

Blog - http://kl8dx.blogspot.com/
Website - http://www.livingindenali.net/
Work - http://www.nps.gov/dena/index.htm

From Guys to Brackets

Main Tower Bracket 

If you have followed my blog for any length of time, I write frequently about our weather, both local atmospheric and space weather. During a past wind storm, my fabricated bracket which held my tower to our house was heavily damaged. Taking advantage of some warmer days here recently, I was able to complete my bracket project and once again secure the tower to the house. This bracket is made from angle iron so I'm not expecting a repeat of my last project which was made from aluminum. I also began changing out my guys, which are Dacron. I use Dacron for several reasons and it holds up very well. The guys I am currently changing out are attached to my Hazer, which normally gets lowered when the local winds begin to exceed 50 mph.

After having my antenna nested just above the roof for the last few weeks, I have been looking forward to getting it back into the air. I completed the repair of the reflector and I wanted to make sure all was well with SWR and it was ready for the up and coming contest season. It just so happened that today I was getting texts from Ham Radio Deluxe (HRD) which I have running on the shack computer, that Europe was hearing Alaska on 10 meters! I had to take a break from working on the tower this afternoon when the winds began to gust upwards of 40 mph. Once that subsided, I was able to get back to getting the antenna ready to make the trip back up the tower. By the time I was able to raise the HF beam to it's normal 43 foot level, I was only hearing a few beacons and stations on 10 meters. But, I should be ready for the next opening! Let's hope 10 meters is open this winter like it was last winter!

I still have plenty to accomplish outdoors and I'm hopeful that we will have a few more days like the last few. We did receive lots of rain recently and it has many of the rivers in Alaska running very high. Many places are experiencing flood conditions and just down the road from where we live, the Nenana River was chewing away at the Parks Highway, reducing it to one lane of travel. Many places south of here received much worse damage, places such as Talkeetna. So much of the lower 48 has experienced drought conditions for months and we just broke the record at our QTH for being the wettest summer since we moved here. 

I've winterized our travel trailer and my QRP operating will now be from the shack. I'm looking forward to having the IC-703Plus hooked up in here again and hopefully participating in a few QRP contests this winter. With the computers running in the shack along with the radio equipment, I can usually expect a furry visitor or two when I'm operating. Seems on those cold winter days and nights, our shack is a pretty popular place to take off the chill. 

Wallpaper to Wind Gusts

2011 CQ World Wide RTTY DX Contest Certificate

Nothing gets me more excited for the up and coming contest season like some wallpaper reminding me of what a great season last year was! I received this certificate in the mail this week and it will be proudly displayed on my wall with my others. Winter is fast approaching here and temps are below freezing over night these days. It won't be long before snow starts to accumulate in the yard and the days become extremely short. Thankfully, contest season warms the heart and the shack! It will be time again to get out some "butt glue" and stick to the chair in front of my HF rig for hours on end. I'm hoping this contest season is even better than last!

Reflector missing part of an element

Alaska recently experienced some early season Chinook weather systems and the wind storms did a bit of damage in Anchorage and left hundreds without power for days. Here in the interior, we had our share of wind and rain. I happen to be working on a window project during the last blow and heard a loud crash from the back of the house after a 63mph wind gust. I looked out the window in time to see part of my beam go crashing to the ground. I immediately went outdoors and I found a portion of my reflector element missing from my Mosley beam! It appeared the screw that was used to secure the elements together worked loose and the element fell to the ground as my antenna bounced around from the wind.

Only damage from hitting our metal roof

I inspected the section of my antenna closely and I could only see this dent in the trap from where it struck our metal roof. Everything else appeared okay and a search for the missing screw was in vain. I was just leaving for a short vacation so I tossed the element in the garage to repair it upon my return home.

After enjoying a week in Seward with friends, I returned home to an ever growing "to do" list. I managed to clean my wood stove chimney this evening and since I was on the roof, I decided to go ahead and get the beam back in working order. 

Penetrox working as it should

I was once again excited to see that the Penetrox I had used was working just as it should. There was no sign of oxidation on the element and it looked like the day I put the beam up. I can't speak highly enough of this great stuff! I've used it for years on the recommendation of an elmer of mine and I will always have it handy for any and all antenna projects. It has proven itself to me for many years now and has helped extend the operating life of my antennas. Good stuff and I'll leave it at that.

HF beam nested

My HF beam is nested for a few more days. I need to replace my guys to my Hazer and then I need to replace my broken house bracket. I just need a few more dry days to get that done and I can once again put my antenna up to the 43' level and start chasing DX.  And yes, if you have been following my blog, you will see that my Hazer has yet to find a place on my small tower. I need to make a run to "town" and get a 1¾" mast pipe. Once I have that, I can get that thing in the air as well. I'm looking forward to having a beam on 17 & 12 meters!  When it comes to tempting fate with Mother Nature, she tends to always win. At least that seems to be my luck anyhow.

Monday - A Digital Day

JT65A on 20 Meters Aug 27th, 2012

My operating has been minimal this summer but now that fall is here and in full swing, winter is not far away. I'm finding my shack once again. 

Today was a digital day as it has been very soggy outdoors. In between indoor chores, I ran a little JT65 on 20 and 17 meters this morning and afternoon. I always enjoy seeing someone come back to my CQ but the highlight for today was working AE7ID who sent the grid EN81. Now this got my attention as growing up and living in Ohio before moving to Alaska, I was very active for several years from EN81. Turns out that Steve lives in Vermilion, Ohio. Vermilion was east of where I lived and not far from the vocational school I attended my junior and senior year of high school. I enjoy making it back into Ohio and even more so when I work into my old grid square and better yet, my old county (Ottawa). 

The band was not that great again today but that is where JT65 shines. This is a great weak signal mode and it works well when propagation is not so favorable. After making several contacts on 20 meters, I dropped down to 17 meters and made a few there. After working JT65, I even popped down and made a BPSK31 contact on 20!  

As the sun heads south and the weather begins to become less favorable for outdoor activities, it will be time to warm up the equipment in the shack and begin preparing for the 2012-2013 contest season. Hard to believe it's not far away and I'm still wondering where summer went. 

Ohio QSO Party 2012

2012 Ohio QSO Party Breakdown 

This weekend was the Ohio QSO Party. Since I missed it last year, I wanted to make an attempt to operate in it this year. When I took a look at the solar conditions and my propagation path to the lower 48, I knew this was going to be a tough weekend for contacts. Also considering I'm 2 x LP (Low Power & Low Profile) that was going to make things even more challenging. But hey, I wanted to support the home team! Considering I'm originally from Ohio, with Alaska as only my second state of residence, I have a weak spot in my logbook for those Buckeye stations. 

Ohio QSO Party CW Stats

I normally use Win-test for contesting so I had to download the latest version of N3FJP's QSO Party log. I then had to scramble to find my notes on how I configured the settings to interface my rig with the software. Once I found my old notes, it was not long before I had the computer software talking with my Icom. I had issues with this software sending consistent CW and it was obvious that problem still exists. 

I started out on CW as that's my favorite mode and often I can work many more multipliers (counties) on CW. I was also going to spend a bit more time on SSB in the hopes of working a few more stations on that mode. In previous events, the mobiles really were the key to getting many of the counties (for me anyhow). It was not long after the contest began that I ran into the usual mobile stations running from county to county giving out contacts.

Ohio QSO Party SSB Stats

The only band which I had any propagation was 20 meters and it was pretty poor to say the least. I normally have a great path into Ohio but with added absorption miles above me, the band was here for a bit then gone. Several times I tuned the SSB frequencies not to hear a peep but thankfully a handful of Ohio stations could be heard on CW. CW once again saved the day as I worked 38 counties on that mode (See Photo Above) and SSB came in second at only 12 counties worked (See Photo Directly Above). I called CQ on both modes a few times but was really unsuccessful at getting many contacts. It seemed that S&P (Search & Pounce) was the only way to play today. 

The band (20 Meters) was pretty much toast for me by 2200z. I have to hand it to several of the Ohio stations for pulling my 100 watt signal out of the mud. The mobiles did an outstanding job as always and if it were not for them, I would not have worked half of what I did.

I cancelled my trip to Fairbanks to pick up some new windows for our house so I could at least work a few hours of the contest. Even though propagation was poor and I only logged 60 contacts, it was a fun time. It's always a pleasure to work so many of my old friends and familiar callsigns and hopefully sending a multiplier their way as well. 

These QSO Parties always take lots of effort by many individuals to make them successful. I have the easy part, participate and send in my log. Thanks to all those that make this, and all the QSO Parties possible. 

NAQP CW August 2012

This past weekend was the NAQP CW Contest. Since the weather was more like fall around here, it was a good excuse to blow the dust off the rig and get in some CW practice. My contacts over the course of the summer have been few and far between. That's okay though as it has been summer (I think) so priority has been on outside activities rather than inside.

When the contest started, the only band that really had any activity was 15 meters. 20 was beyond poor and things did not start to take shape on 15 meters until well after an hour or so after the contest began. I was able to find a clear frequency so I started CQ'n and I was excited to have Steve, N8BJQ be my first logged contest QSO. Always nice to get the home state in the logbook. As it turned out, I worked several of my old friends from the Buckeye State so the ol stomping ground was alive with activity.

The conditions on 15 meters were fair at best. I was not able to get a good run going so I split my time between S&P (Search & Pounce) and running stations (excellent contest practice anyway). By the time all was said and done on 15 meters, I worked all but the following 49 other states; ME, NH, RI, KY, NM, ID and WA. Yes, WA!!? That one surprised me. I was missing most of the Canadian Provinces as well with only NB, ON and MB logged. 

20 meters never began to show any real life until the final hours of the contest. Signals began to get stronger as the afternoon and evening progressed and by the time all was said and done for that band, I worked all but the following 49 other states; RI, VT, NM, OK, WY, MI, IL, WV and SD. And again, most of Canada was missing from my log on this band as well. I found 20 meters to be very noisy and some local QRN did not help. Normally 20 meters is a good band for me to work weaker stations but not during this contest. I did manage to work lots of familiar callsigns and it was great to see everyone again. I have to shout out to Martin, W3MLK who I worked for the first time on CW. Martin, you sounded great here and keep up the great work. Hopefully we will see you as a regular in upcoming CW contests! 

KL8DX Contest Summary

I listened several times on 10 meters but there was not a signal to be heard. I'm hoping that 10 will come back to life this winter as it did last winter. It sure added a level of excitement last contest season. During the CQ World Wide DX Contest last November, I worked just shy of 1,000 stations on 10 meters alone! So, I will keep my fingers crossed.

In the end, my part time effort was just that. I had other things going on so I ended up using a handful of my 30 minute off times. But, it was good to get back on the air and reacquaint my brain with decoding CW. A natural I'm not but I'm naturally addicted. I did QSY a few times upon request for other bands and a few of those were unsuccessful. The most surprising was when I moved to 40 for Dave, K5GN. It was still daylight here and when I arrived on frequency, I could hear him and I was nearly floored that he heard me! Great receiving station Dave as I was 100 watts to an inverted V with an apex at 38 feet or so!

As we get closer to winter (next month if not sooner in these parts) I continue to think about all the work I have yet to accomplish on my antennas. At least I have some of it completed but I need to spend a good day or two focusing on nothing but antenna work. Summers are short so antenna work seems to always get pushed to the bottom of my list of things to accomplish. Do you blame me?

So many of my friends and family in the lower 48 states are dealing with drought and extreme heat. I'm thankful to be living here as our summer has been wetter and colder than normal. With heavy snow last winter, cooler than normal temperatures this summer, seems Alaska is once again on track for continuing to break weather records.  And in speaking of breaking records, with any luck, maybe I can break a few of my personal best contest records over the next several months. As my contesting efforts from Alaska begin to wrap up, hopefully the return of 10 meters as predicted will happen this winter. If the sun stays active and our propagation gets negatively effected by absorption, at least we will have the green lights of the aurora to keep us entertained until the propagation returns.  

Miles Above Me (Us)

Ovation Aurora Data

When I make my way into my shack and turn on my radio, my first glance is to my Spectrum Scope in my Icom 756PRO. When I see nothing on that scope, I check to make sure my remote antenna switch is on. If that is on, I double check that the antenna selected is the proper antenna for the band. If I don't hear or see anything, I can assume that something is going on miles above my home. Today is just one of those days (again). I have slowly tuned through all bands with not one single soul being heard. In checking some of our space weather technology websites, it does not take long to figure out how strong and for how long. The Ovation Aurora site shown above is one of my favorites. 

HAARP's Magnetometer

If you have read any of my previous posts, you will find I make reference to HAARP on a regular basis. Controversial to some, admired by those who follow the effects of solar wind and solar flares on propagation. HAARP is in our Alaskan backyard so it's a great resource to see what's going on miles overhead to the earth's magnetic field. To the right, you can see the arrival of the Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) that took place not long ago.  This was due to a solar flare from the active regions around sunspots 1520 & 1521. This was a disturbance I sure would of loved to see happen during the winter as I'm sure the Aurora would of been pretty spectacular. But, with our many hours of daylight here during the summer months, that is one event that tourists and locals alike won't be able to see.

HAARP's Riometer

HAARP's Riometer is another useful tool when propagation is nonexistent. To communicate around the world via radio waves, those waves need to bounce off of the Ionosphere. When they are absorbed rather than reflected, our HF radios become very quiet. The "E" and "F" layers are the ones you probably hear referenced the most in our hobby. Tomas, NW7US writes and posts many informative articles on the effects of solar activity (or lack of) on our wonderful hobby. 

When I first got into ham radio many years ago, these resources were not available as the World Wide Web and Internet were in its youth. I would have read about events like this days or weeks afterwards in publications. Now, all you need to do is log into these websites and see solar weather data as real time as local weather radar map data. All of these websites are a must for the avid DX enthusiast. These are just three of the many websites that I check while enjoying my morning cup of coffee. One thing I'm not sure science has solved is why lots of this activity happens on contest weekends? That, we many never know...

Weather, Space Weather and IARU

HAARP Data during IARU Contest 2012

It has been nearly a month since my last post but summer is in full swing here. Our weather has been cool and damp on a regular basis and just a few mornings ago, I saw a local temp of 38 degrees. Highs have peaked (lately) in the 50's. We have received a nearly 6¼" of rain since I uncovered our rain gauge at the beginning of May. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining as I see the extreme temperatures those in the lower 48 are experiencing so I will take this weather any day over that heat!


The sun has been pretty active and I had intentions of giving a run in the IARU Contest. Normally, summer is a tough time to get on the air as we have so much going on and it's our busy season. With the geomagnetic activity of late, the bands were very poor here. There were times at the beginning of the contest that I could not hear a single station. Thankfully, 15 meters opened up a bit on Saturday afternoon allowing for me to make a few contacts. I did not spend lots of time in the shack as I had some home projects going on but I did manage a bit over 50 QSO's. Last year, I made well over 100 contacts but that was not going to happen this year. I just did some S&P (Search & Pounce) on 15 and 20 meters when I had a few minutes here and there. Lots of flutter on signals, especially those back east in Zone 8. I'm limited to low power yet but most everyone I called with my 100 watts heard me. Not bad considering the conditions.


The photo above shows the absorption increase as recorded at HAARP. Now, I'm not blaming the sun on my computer error but maybe my DELL is also effected by solar activity! For some reason, it wanted to tell Microsoft all about it! 


I recently dropped my 6 meter beam and removed my wind damaged 2/440 vertical from my second tower. All I need to do now is put my 6 meter beam on my high tower above my HF beam and get my Hex Beam up on the small tower. That would give me a beam on 12 & 17 meters! I'm looking forward to getting on those bands. I'm hoping I don't run out of time as I have in summers past. Winter normally arrives here in September so I have a few more months yet before we enter back into our hibernation season. Working a bit of CW today made me excited for the upcoming contest season. Until then, I plan on enjoying as much of this midnight sun as possible.