More of a Shout than a Whisper…..

The key to converting your treasured and incredibly versatile FT-817 or similar into a digital powerhouse seems to be an A. computer and B. a sound card interface.

So, armed with a tidy little Signalink USB interface, I’ve been attacking digital modes with vigour, starting with WSPR (Weak Signal Propagation Reporting). The Signalink USB is basically a remote sound card in a box, powered by your computer’s USB. This solution allows controlled audio isolation between your rig and transceiver. Level adjustment is available on the front panel too which means you don’t have to navigate clumsily through several windows on your PC and adjust sliders with your mouse to optimise levels.

FT-817 and Signalink USB Interface

The interface connects directly to the data port of my FT-817 and provides a PTT function, if required. However, I’m also using a CAT interface which provides PTT (Push To Talk) as well as frequency configuration from the WSPR program that I’ve started with.

So, straightforward then? Nearly but not quite. There are a few small pitfalls to be aware of. Firstly, the ‘817 needs to be put into DIG mode as opposed to USB mode. This routes the input and output signal to the data port on the rear panel. The data port is inactive in SSB modes. Secondly, the correct data mode needs to be selected in the second-level menu, namely USER-U. This means that it will be operating in USB mode and the passband will be adequate. If this were to be set to RTTY or PSK, then the filtering for WSPR would be too narrow. WSPR signals are individually narrow, but several occupy the given passband. Finally you need to follow the instructions on Windows setup that comes with the Signalink box to the letter. One unchecked box or misplaced slider will drive you to madness.

WSPR Control Software

Apart from that, it seems to be ‘plug and play’! My first play on 40m with a random wire of some 20m in the back garden pulled in a VK straight away. I was heard up in the Norwegian Arctic Circle with 1W. Elation. Simply tuning to 472kHz pulled in a Dutch station with absolutely no special equipment.

For one whole day I exercised near-military discipline. I stayed on the 30m band all day long without jumping to other bands. 1W into my rear-garden wire antenna reached Israel and the Arctic Circle again. East Coast US stations starting to come in at 20.00 GMT and I was reaching the Mid-West by late evening. Within ten minutes this morning on 17m I was heard in New South Wales and Iceland.

10 mins on 17m!

10 mins on 20m!

I finally unleashed my single Watt on the 20m band for the first time this afternoon, immediately yielding a nice path to the Philippines as well as Europe and the East US.

No wonder this aspect of the hobby is so absorbing. I’m absolutely addicted. Did the developer, Joe Taylor, K1JT, realise what he was unleashing on us? A ‘big shout’ goes out to the man who invented WSPR!

A WSPR in your ear.

Like many of us, I am still amazed by the amount of radio spectrum we have to freely play with. Shots are being fired and eyes are being gouged by companies for small slices of precious bandwidth. Multiply our many electric playgrounds by the number of games (or modes) available and the permutations are enough to overload your front end.

I’ve decided to catch up with WSPR, a mode well known to many but new to me. I’m going to give it a go – the difficult way. Julian, G4ILO has an excellent article on the system here.

WSPR stands for Weak Signal Propagation Reporting and is a computer programme that runs your VHF/HF transceiver automatically in order to receive others running the same system. Successful contacts, one or two-way, are reported automatically to a website. It’s like having a worldwide net of propagation beacons for every band available at your fingertips and the results appear quickly after automatic contact confirmation. What a great thing to leave your equipment running overnight or during the day when you’re otherwise occupied!

Screenshot of WSPR.net Map Page

The best thing is that WSPR works below the noise threshold and you can use very low power. I was staggered the other day to see that Tim, G4VXE had hit Australia on 40m with just 1W! One Watt! So I’m going to give it a go with 1W and just an indoor Miracle Whip antenna. I know many QRP CW experts may cracked this one before – but I’m new and excited. I’ll try 40m and work my way up to 2m and see what happens!

I’ll use my FT-817. A CAT lead arrived this week from Hong Kong but it seems I’ll also need an audio interface between the transceiver packet port and computer sound card to make it all work. Another option is to buy an external interface that has a sound card and interfaces to the computer with a USB. It’s not quite going to be a ‘plug and play’ job, I’m afraid to report.

In the meantime, I’ll be satisfying myself to regular chats on 2m with nearby stations on FM, SSB and even DV mode. So many ways of talking – and that’s just on 2m. I'll 'whisper' my progress here as soon as I'm up and running.

Cracking the Whip....

The Miracle Whip, that is.

I only acquired my fantastic Yaesu FT-817 to give me 5W of SSB on V/UHF from windswept Welsh hilltops. I couldn’t resist a second-hand bargain of a Miracle Whip to see what I could achieve with QRP on the HF bands.

The '817 and Miracle Whip

It’s a classic Fred-and-Ginger combination that has been blogged, reviewed and You-Tubed extensively along with other rig/telescopic antenna double-acts. Yes, it’s only 57” of radiating metal with a rather good tuner at the base, but thanks to the current propagation conditions it at least enables you to experience the miraculous. Its advantage lies also in its simplicity. It means you’ll use it because it connects, extends and tunes in seconds. I like that! Connect. Extend. Tune.

I’ve been having fun with the ‘817 on my lap, indoors, running off its own batteries (=2.5W max) and chatting to stations on the higher bands in places such as St. Petersburg and the Ukraine with 5/9 reports. You simply can’t get this thrill with a big station. It’s reconnecting to the magic of radio – which is a real miracle every time a contact comes out of the ether. I’m even moved to ‘Tweet’ a new QSO with excitement! (@MW0DNK).

I’ve started at 10m, sliding my way down the bands as the challenge rises. Using 5W (external battery) I managed a QSO with Algeria yesterday on 15m, 4/3. I finally cracked 20m with a shorter, brief contact to Spain. I had a 5m counterpoise wire connected this time.

Connect. Extend. Tune.

On 40m I’m simply not heard, at least not yet. This is where I need to start learning some CW skills. This will open up the lower bands for me. Until then, living on the Isle of Anglesey, I might head to a beach and try getting some salt water under my portable station to see if I can crack the ‘40m SSB phono challenge.’ Listen out for me.

On 2m the antenna is a ¾ wave. I’ve no idea what the radiation pattern is for this length, but it seems to work very well. Unfortunately the antenna is just short of a ¼ wavelength at 6m, so perhaps a wire clip-on extension is the answer.

It was with sadness that on visiting the Miracle Antennas website I saw an announcement about the passing of the company founder and product inventor, Robert Victor, this year. It seems he’s left us a wonderful legacy. Vy 73, OM.

QRP v QRO – Blood on the Floor?

The mighty, omnipotent sun that our precious emerald and sapphire orb circulates is nearing the crescendo of its eleven year repeat-performance.

For the first time since 2003, I have revisited the high frequencies: the short waves of equal delight and frustration that ebb and flow with the days, seasons and years. Back then, I worked the world with 10 Watts and a rather long wire antenna. I stayed up all night sometimes to listen to the magical waxing and waning of distant continents on 80m. It was like listening to a sublime symphony. Having moved to a new house with more limited prospects for creating a good HF antenna system, I turned my back on these noble frequencies to chase the excitement of VHF and UHF.

Ironically, the drive for portable operation at V/UHF has led me to flirt with HF again. It's the inevitable purchase of arguably one of the best amateur radios ever manufactured, the Yaesu FT-817. Five delightful Watts from top band, all the way to 70cm. MF to UHF. Sea level to mountain top. CW to FM, with all modes in between. What a gem of beautifully packaged, miniaturised happiness.

FT-817. 5W on 10m.

With 5W of HF readily to hand, I’ve hastily run 10m of vertical wire in the back garden to listen to a more contemporary performance of a classic favourite. Happily, 10m has truly sprung into life. This morning I’ve just completed a QSO from home (Wales) to Greece with 5W at both ends. Deep joy. A quick bargain has even brought a Miracle Whip into the ensemble – just experimenting for fun.

But scanning through the bands in general I’m noticing a tendency to transmit at powers of 1kW and above, whatever the band, whatever the conditions. Abrupt reports of 5/9+ are exchanged with a seemingly insatiable appetite to amass as many transient contacts as possible. Then there are the pile-ups. Those ungentlemanly bun-fights where the loudest (or largest bank account and electricity bill) wins. I’m sure that there are whole streets in Palermo where the lights actually dim when DX from Pago Pago is heard on 20m.

We’ll never know if was possible to work Pago Pago with QRP because we were never given the chance. This is on SSB at least. CW operators have a greater appreciation of low power. This is an old argument that will attract equal venom and praise from our electromagnetic community. But I do believe that as technology advances, there is a global drive for efficiency. Low power is in fashion and with solar conditions as they are, we should all be ‘turning the wick down’ a little bit, shouldn’t we?

I do believe that when the sun takes its rest, there is a place for high power, particularly on the more difficult bands. There – you see? I’m not anti-QRO at all. I’m just advocating using (as your exam tells you) the minimum amount of power necessary to maintain a comfortable QSO.

FT-790R, 1W of Forlorn Hope? Part II

I’m treasuring my multimode, single band transceiver of yesteryear. They really ‘don’t make them like that any more’. When the FT-790R was manufactured, the UK still happily built cars that broke down and industrial action was a continuing popular pastime. Thank goodness the Japanese manufacturing success story was at its zenith.

In my previous blog, FT-790R, 1W of Forlorn Hope? I outlined my trepidation, my dreams and anticipated joy of achieving hilltop 70cm SSB contacts over phenomenal distances. This was in the face of an antagonist old-timer who thought a little too much RF had leaked into CPU of my head. So what was the reality?

Since taking delivery of the ‘790, I’ve managed to test most of the functions. With a radio of that age I shouldn’t have been surprised that the front panel illumination bulbs have long since ruptured their once-bright filaments, probably in the early 1990’s. A simple removal and refit of the battery tray, which holds eight ‘C’ cells was required to reconnect the internal power.

Powered by 8 'C' cells

Straight away, I connected a spare telescopic antenna for 2m to the front panel BNC and gave a call on FM. I enjoyed two great local contacts with stunning audio quality. Excellent audio reports came back too. Two quick tests with local station John GW4ZPL confirmed that SSB was working fine, albeit a little off frequency with his TS-2000 shack-in-a-box. Then we tried CW (my first CW attempt, ever). Apparently John hadn’t heard ‘chirp’ like mine since working Russian stations in the 1980’s! Luckily the operation manual comes with a full schematic diagram. I’ll have a look and see if a key click filter is misbehaving, for example.

Realistically speaking, I do know that a random 1W call on 70cm SSB is unlikely to attract an answer under normal conditions. My plan was to get to a modest local hilltop with a small beam antenna. If there was any tropospheric enhancement or lift, all the better. Unfortunately, the Welsh weather of late prevented this. Following the advice of Tim, G4VXE, a competition evening would give me a fighting chance.

Casually having a chat on D-STAR the other evening, someone mentioned that a 70cm activity evening was due to start in around half an hour at 20.00. No time to get up a hill and where the heck was my BNC to SO239 adaptor when I needed it to hook up my homebrew 9 element beam? So, if you can picture me leaning out of the upstairs window with a small, non-resonant, telescopic antenna pointing out at a jaunty angle, then this was my big chance. My only chance, so far.

I scanned the SSB portion of the band. Nothing. I twiddled the telescopic antenna and re-scanned. Nothing. But then, a quick call in a clipped English tone and a GD (Isle of Man) callsign. After a couple of failed attempts, antenna adjustment, more leaning out of window, the received signal came up to 5,9. The other station adjusted to my offset frequency and SUCCESS! - Gave me a 5,4. He said he was using 400W and a 23 element beam that wasn’t even pointing my way. The distance was around 73 miles or 117km, admittedly mostly over a great sea-path.

He’d been calling out rather robotically but had a chuckle and warmly wished me 73 when he heard about my operating set up. I forgot his callsign in the excitement and my bemused YL heard a whoop of joy from downstairs.

Anglesey to the Isle of Man

For every person that has told me that an FT-817ND would be the ideal rig for me (and it would), there has been another that has regretted getting rid of their FT-2/6/790R. My FT-790R is a solid, brick-like joy to own. When I get up to a hilltop to try it out again, I’ll be supremely hopeful!

FT-790R, 1W of Forlorn Hope?

“One Watt! One Watt! What on earth bl***y use is that to you?! I don’t know… (sigh)” exclaimed one local straight-talking OM on 2m FM yesterday.

His response to my acquisition of a rather dated Yaesu FT-790R ‘portable’ transceiver was less than encouraging. It’s just as well I’m an optimist then. With a maximum output of one Watt on one band (70cm) I think I’ll need to maintain an upward outlook.

But here’s the thing – I always find myself drawn to obtaining the more elusive QSO. You need a certain amount of eccentricity and tendency to self-harm to stand on a hilltop for hours calling out on 23cm FM QRP, for example. I was the first in the area to start calling CQ on DV mode on 2m. It took months before my first simplex QSO and then very little since.

The higher bands and modes have their rewards in spades, however. The rush of excitement when you finally make that new or distant contact. The perceived camaraderie knowing someone has gone to the same quirky lengths as you to operate on a lesser used band/mode or from an unusual location. You feel you have made a meaningful and personal connection, at least for the duration of the QSO. Oh, it’s such a far cry from exchanging reports of 5/9 with the fiftieth Italian station running 1kW on 20m you’ve spoken to in one morning. Better still, no QSL cards.

Any why the FT-790? Well, at just over £100 it’s one of the few portable internal battery-powered transceivers you come across before taking the small fiscal leap to an FT-817, for example. Either way, it will hold its value if my 2m friend’s prophecy becomes true.

Anyway, so far so good. It’s powered up and seems to be fully serviceable. I’ve even managed a short-distance QSO with John GW4ZPL over the Menai Strait in the Caernarfon direction, just a few miles away.

I’ll be out and about when the weather improves and will post my experiences here. Will it be too futile, or with a bit of luck will I make that elusive QSO I’m after? Will my single sidebanded plaintive cries of CQ reach a caring ear?

Maybe I’ll be happily shouting “One Watt! One Watt!” from a heathery Welsh hilltop.

FT-790, forlorn hope?