DF9CY Christoph Petermann

The Flex Thing

nospam@example.com (Christoph Petermann) — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 08:17:00 +0200

Running with my Desktop (almost-homebrew) computer under WindowsXP, the Flex-1500 works excellent. I had it running in WSPR mode for a while without any glitch. Sensitivity is good, blocking and other parameters do seem fine too.

The Flex-1500 works very fine. I made QSOs on 40m and 6m including some meteor-scatter and EME listening. TXing in CW with my Dell D820 notebook is a bit faulty. I think I have to wait until the USB drivers are fixed. I had a short view inside the radio and I find it well built.

In June I did it. I ordered a Flex-1500 QRP transceiver. The new toy has arrived and it only took me a few minutes to get it running. The first contact I made with was on the 40m band in the evening of 29 July 2010. SM7DGA/qrp - Jan working with low power too was the lucky guy. Listening on 6m was already fun.

RadioActivity August 2010

nospam@example.com (Christoph Petermann) — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 21:00:00 +0200

50 MHz
until 26 August 2010: Only a few and not very strong Es openings were encountered. Via MS I worked GM6VXB (IO97) which was new.
12 August 2010: Again some Es to YO, OM, YO, SV with strong signals.
11 August 2010: Just for a late season surprise I could work D4C (HK76). Some EA1 and EA8AAW were worked too.
10 August 2010: Worked EI7IX via MS with the little FlexRadio
08 August 2010: Got only one station from OH.
07 August 2010: Again the Es "point" was above us. I could reach a few QSOs.
06 August 2010: A few stations worked. Not much activity.
05 August 2010: I worked more than 30 stations in OH, DL, YU, GW, HA, OE ...
04 August 2010: A little Es to YU and LZ in the morning. In the afternoon the Aurora returned and I worked a bunch of stations. Nothing special.
03 August 2010: I made a few aurora QSOs with LA8AJA, LA7DFA SM0EJR and others.

144 MHz
14 August 2010: Got RZ1AWO/1 (KP81) too with 20w only after my Dressler D200 PA went up in smoke minutes before.
12 August 2010: Worked RZ1AWO/1 (KP80) via FSK441.
11 August 2010: IK8BIZ (JN70) and IT9VDQ (JM68) worked via FSK441 Meteorscatter.

7 MHz
I made some contacts with the Flex-1500, which works very fine.

WSPR
After a long pause WSPR ran for two nights on 40m and 30m with the Flex-1500 SDR at 5w and 2w levels with great success. Compared to last year the activity on 40m seems to be very low, while having been increased on 30m.

Radios "kaputt" ?

nospam@example.com (Christoph Petermann) — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 07:23:00 +0200

August
The D200 PA went up in smoke when switching it on. I sold it then for good money and purchaed a used Mirage B1030G 300w+ transitor PA which is hopefully a good replacement.

May
Not only this below - now the IC820 VHF rig developped a fault. But after cleaning all flat wire contacts it is working again.

May
After the TS690 my D200s 2m PA had a big bang without being switched on !! PCB tracks seem to grow ... and sometimes they contact each other. I do not know the reason, but the was a short circuit between two tracks of the mains leads on the board. I had to clean all that, because it looked like a major explosion to have happened there and replace the tracks by wires. Voila the amplifier is running again.

April
My Kenwood TS690s developped an error in the IF chain. It looked like a defective IC (TC9174F) which is hard to get nowadays. The integrated circuit is a serial/parallel controller which switches the 455 kHz filter bank. But it turned out to be the Murata 455kHz filter (CFW455F - 12kHz BW). I removed it and the radio is working well - no 12 kHz filter available. As soon as I have the replacement the box will be repaired. I have never seen before such a filter going mad.

Update: The fault returned - it does not seem to be the filter. I desoldered the two double switching diodes. Now the rig is working again, but no AM and FM possible. I try to get the TC9174F IC now for replacement.

Aurora !

nospam@example.com (Christoph Petermann) — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 12:24:55 +0200

After years I had the chance of imaging an Aurora (Polar Light) display. See them HERE

RadioActivity July 2010

nospam@example.com (Christoph Petermann) — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 11:34:00 +0200

50 MHz
31 July 2010: I have not been QRV very often. No Es signals were heard. It looks like the season is over - almost ...
26 July 2010: All afternoon the band was empty. It was almost dark - around 20 UT - I got LA/DL7VSN (KQ50). A fine new one. JW/OZ1IKY was not heard.
25 July 2010: Worked LZ via Es and G4BRK via Meteorscatter.
24 July 2010: No Es heard. I made a few tropo contacts.
22 July 2010: A big opening, but the reflection point just above me. Videos from east were very strong and had some aurora sound. Later in the evening I copied Shetlands and Iceland beacons.
19 July 2010: There has been YO4RYU/MM in some water-grids (IM38, IM28). He was at 55 level, but what a huge pile-up. I did not work him.
18 July 2010: Open to Japan from SM and OZ. But I briefly copied one JA2 station only just readable above the noise. Many EU stations were heard calling CQDX via backscatter or meteorscatter. In the evening the band was open to EA and EA8.
16 July 2010: Not many stations audible. Weakly open to the south-east.
14 July 2010: There was not much time for the radio in the last days. But when switching on, I found an almost dead band. An early end of the Es season ??
09 July 2010: Not QRV in the last days. Today The band was open into almost every direction. I CQed a bit and partners returned not only from the direction the antenna pointed to. Weakly heard was KP4EIT.
06 July 2010: I did not have much time for the radio. No US station was heard in that time. Only worked was EI/DL5DSM. Due to work I missed the openings to W and JA. Yesterday I was not QRV at all.
04 July 2010: A very weak JL8GFB was audible - the opening did not reach us. C56E (IK13ql) was worked with good signals. Another new country and grid for me.
03 July 2010: I have been listening around a lot. Well copied was C56E. Worked has been (again) W4SO, who popped out of the noise suddenly.

Remote Operation

nospam@example.com (Christoph Petermann) — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 08:36:50 +0200

I am able to control the Kenwood transceiver (TS690s) remotely over the internet now. Using stuff like IP-Sound, UltraVNC and Ham Radio Deluxe is making this possible. Only the rotator cannot be controlled so far, but this will come too ... .

RadioActivity June 2010

nospam@example.com (Christoph Petermann) — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 21:00:00 +0200

50 MHz
30 June 2010: JW5QIA was not heard, when he was worked just 15km away. But FS/W6JKV (FK88) was worked with S9 level.
28 June 2010: Heard KP4EIT strong. Some EU stations were in too.
24 June 2010: When returning from QRL I heard a few NA stations, but did not call anyone - those heard were all worked already, and the big opening was before I came home. KP4EIT was very strong calling CQ; HI3TEJ came in fine too. In the evening I could work K4QI and heard a few other NA stations before the band closed for me.
22 June 2010: QRV after 20z. A lot of activity - worked a few SM2 and OH8. Most interesting were the opening direction North with the three JW beacons audible strong. I listened to the NW and copied a very weak station with auroral sound. I recorded this and I can read VE1.. but the rest is too weak. I went to bed at 2130z - obviously too early; it seems it has opened to JA a little later.
21 June 2010: I worked a number of Italian and Spanish stations in the evening besides a lot of work in the house. A goodie was ZB3EO.
20 June 2010: JE1BMJ was heard for a long period with 559. I could not raise him for a QSO. I was out for the "Kieler Woche" event and went I returned, I learned that I had missed the big US WestCoast opening. Nevertheless I worked OX3KX (GP47) - a good one.
19 June 2010: Wow - worked 0644UT XV9DT (OL21va) with a really good signal. Shortly after I got EX8MLE (MN72hw). Around 1146UT W4BP (EL96we) went into the log. The 2m Es opening in the afternoon did not reach here. Some contesting began and 6m seemed to be open to everywhere.
17 June 2010: A little bit of Es in the evening to EA. I could receive W7GJ via the moon with big signals: -15dB (JT65A) with the moon about 15 degrees above the horizon. What a signal. As there was almost no Es propagation, noise was very low.
16 June 2010: Only a dead band in the time I have been listening.
14 June 2010: I worked TF8GX, VO1TA (GN37) and W4SO (EL96). Other U.S. were heard, but not very strong. The opening was around local midnight.
13 June 2010: A good number of F and EA was worked. Later I got ZA/HA5X and 4O3A.
12 June 2010: Band was wide open almost in every direction. I worked besides some EA5 over the pond to NP2B (FK77) and EA8CBN (IL08).
11 June 2010: worked TF, CU, GJ and LA. Late in the afternoon all signals disappeared.
10 June 2010: FY1FL (GJ35) was worked - he came out of the blue.
9 June 2010: Missed the JA opening due to QRL. Worked YL and LY. Hrd KP4EIT at 53 level.
8 June 2010: A few QSOs made, nothing special.
7 June 2010: Today a number of stations went into the log. Highlights were: GM0KZG/MM (IP70) and JT0YAB (NN48). The JT was not heard at all, when stations just 20km south of me worked him. A lot of stations were on the band. Most stations were from OH, SM2/3 and LA. Nothing new was heard. I tried to listen for a lot of DX, but it did not come through here, but more north. I went to bed around 2030UT - perhaps missing the big opening in the night to West Coast US.
6 June 2010: Video signals were strong and I listened for DX. Nothing but EU stations were heard. Around 1230UT skip was short and I could get some EI and GW stations. At 1614UT I worked A71CV (LL55sf). The station in Mongolia (JT0YAB) was not heard at all, but 9Y4D came in fine (no QSO). Around 2015UT EA8 was open and I worked EA8ACW/P (IL28).
5 June 2010: Two new countries: worked A92GR (LL56hf) and A71CT (LL55ri). Some more stations in Europe were worked.
4 June 2010: Heard a lot of signals, but no QSO made.
2 June 2010: Worked a few LY, OH, RA. New was then LY2X/P in KO15. And E4X (KM71) is in the log.

144 MHz
7 June 2010: Again a big opening. The cluster did not show any sign of the opening so far when I heard UA3WM at first. Signals were very strong. The band opened, when I had just returned from work. Heard, not worked was UU2JJ.
Es Log:
15:04 UA3WM KO72
15:06 RX3QFM KO91
15:09 RA3WDK KO81
15:10 RA3EL KO82
15:11 UT8AL KO61
15:13 UA3YBW KO53
15:21 UA3YCV KO62
15:23 UA3YKK KO38
15:23 UA3ECB KO82
15:24 UA3YGP KO73
15:35 UA3EXC KO82
15:37 RU3XK KO73
15:51 RA1AY KP50
The big opening in the morning was not for me, as I was at my QRL.

2 June 2010: Big SporadicE event on 2m. All grids worked were new on 2m. I copied a few more stations (RA3WDK, UA3DHC, RA3PG and LY2WR) which I could not work.
Es Log:
08:08 UA3BB KO85UK
08:10 UA3DCM KO85XP
08:18 UA3RN LO03VK
08:41 RU4FA LO13FN
08:44 UA4FKD LO13HL
08:51 UA3PTW KO93BS
08:53 UA3XEH KO73FU
10:37 UA3WM KO72QI
10:39 RV3YM KO63QQ

New items on this site

nospam@example.com (Christoph Petermann) — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 08:09:00 +0200

08 June 2010
An updated version of my 432MHz Antenna Comparison Chart File (ACCF) is here : DF9CY 432 ACCF.

13 April 2010
Logfiles for 2008 and 2009 in PDF are uploaded.

RadioActivity May 2010

nospam@example.com (Christoph Petermann) — Wed, 26 May 2010 08:10:00 +0200

50 MHz
27 May 2010: The band seemed to be open already to North-East at 5UT. Video signals were strong.
26 May 2010: A lot of stations were heard. A92IO and A92GR were in for a long period of time. I tried to call them a few times, but I left the frequencies, because situation became chaotic. Beside working a few stations (4X1FQ was DX), I spent my time with listening.
until 25 May 2010: I was only QRV for short periods due to family and other commitments. Strong Es signals were present and I worked a few around. Nothing new so far. I have been listening most of the time.
19 May 2010: A number of strong signals present. I worked a few EA3 and EA5.
17 May 2010: ST2AR (KK63er) is in the log. (New DXCC and grid). He came out of the noise, I worked him and he disappeared again. Also worked SV9, SV2 and I8. A92IO seemed to be audible everywhere, but not with me.
until 16 May 2010: only worked a few stations via Es so far. Most opening did not reach us here in the north or I was not at home
13 May 2010: Worked MS GS3PYE/P in IO67 - in 3 minutes
5 May 2010: copied some stations via MS/JT6M on 50230, but no Es here
2 May 2010: EA1, EA3 strong signals but no QSO. There was some Aurora too and I made two QSOs with SM4 and OH3. The TS690s developped a fault again.

144 MHz
25 May 2010: A CT station was heard briefly on 144.296 MHz.
20 May 2010: After the IC820 developped a fault yesterday, which was easily repaired, I worked the 3B8EME (LG89qt) DXpedition on Mauritius (#91). I had some little problem with my PA and so I had 150w output only.

432 MHz
1./2. May 2010: I made a few contacts in the VHF/UHF contest.

RadioActivity April 2010

nospam@example.com (Christoph Petermann) — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 11:04:00 +0200

50 MHz
22 April 2010: EA6NB is this year's first Sporadic-E station in my log !

144 MHz EME
26 April 2010: Worked DK2PH as number 90 on 2m
23 .. 24 April 2010: Worked SM5CFS, OK1UGA, T70A and PE1L. And I had a partial with ZL3TY - would have been too nice ...

I have my converter (144-28 MHz) with the SDR-IQ running with Linrad and MAP65-IQ. This shows me the complete JT65 activity on 2m now. Great stuff.

144 MHz
06 April 2010: Aurora after long time !!! Big signals were audible on 2m and 6m.

432 MHz EME
16 .. 18 April 2010: Echoes of Apollo Event. See entry on this site.

Echoes of Apollo

nospam@example.com (Christoph Petermann) — Sun, 25 Apr 2010 09:15:00 +0200

What a success !

I first setup my portable station in our garden on the evening of 16 April. In parallel I watched the live video stream from Arecibo in the internet. I early knew, that their PA was broken and so I did not receive any EME signals. But when they turned to CW, I immediately could copy them. Weak but Q4 .. Q5. So I decided to take the equipment to the AFT (Aschberg Frühjahrs Treffen), a local Astronomy Meeting, on the evening of 17 April. Just before the event started, I gave a short lecture about what this meant. I had about 20 listeners. The signals from Arecibo came strong enough in SSB that everyone around could understand what they were telling. I estimate, there were more than 50 visitors coming and listening to the noise and the voices of the operators at KP4AO.

The station I used was my IC820H, about 2m of RG58 cable, a GaAs-Fet amplifier with a noise figure of about 0,6dB and a short 10 element antenna on a tripod. The moon was well visible all the time. While others were listening I took the chance and observed the moon through a 12" Dobsonian telescope.

More images of the event on the AFT

Look at the Short Video of my setup
Somewhat more detailed write-up of the event.

Echoes of Apollo is an event to remember the landings on the moon in the late 60s and early 70s. This event brings a large number of amateur radio stations AND science stations to be active.

Look here : Echoes of Apollo
and here : WorldMoonbounceDay

Times in April:
Apr 16 1645 - 1930 UTC
Apr 17 1740 - 2020 UTC
Apr 18 1840 - 2125 UTC

Site re-arrangement

nospam@example.com (Christoph Petermann) — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 09:40:39 +0200

OK, this is now the new entry place of my homepage !
I hope you like it
Comments are very welcome.

RadioActivity March 2010

nospam@example.com (Christoph Petermann) — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 09:20:00 +0200

Everything is running again ! The shack is like new now. Its fun to be in there.

50 MHz EME
20. March 2010 : I have setup my "new" used notebook with WSJT and I was able to copy W7GJ with a good signal during the moonset hours. Signals reached -17dB in 2.5 kHz bandwidth.

144 MHz EME CW
27./28. March 2010 : I had hoped to work at least one of the guys in CW, but that did not go this time. I tried to get at least SV1BTR and called him many times over a period of 2 hours or so, but ... So I decided to switch off the PA and connect a 144/28 MHz converter and my SDR-IQ to the antenna. Using Linrad that was fun. I "saw" sometimes 10 or more (weak) CW stations in the CW section, but with all those birdies (hundreds) I had my difficulties. So I stayed again with SV1BTR and IK3MAC and in most cases I could see the QSO partners producing a trace on the screen. Not bad for a 2.5wl antenna. Tonight neighbour's TV is switched on producing spurs every 50 Hz all over the CW portion of the 2m band. Too bad.

144 MHz EME JT65
19. .. 28. March 2010 : 2m is running again EME wise. I copied a number of stations (ca 25) and was able to QSO with JM1WBB, JH1MHE, I2FAK, EA6VQ, KB8RQ, UA3PTW, OH7HXH, I2RV and RX1AS. Also copied was the expedition 8Q7QQ (MJ64) which is using a single antenna and 400w.

144/432 MHz
7/8 March 2010 I did some listening in the VHF/UHF contest just for checking if the rig was "healthy". The rotator did not run at first and it needed some attention.

40m
Further experimenting with the SDR-IQ rx and Linrad software with digging out weak DX stations.

On Tour

nospam@example.com (Christoph Petermann) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 11:12:06 +0100

Last weekend while staying a weekend with my father I took chance and I visited long time radio friend Johannes Wilke, DK2PH. After having had an eye on his antennas for 144 MHz EME, 50 MHz and shortwave and his radio station, we (me and my little son Michael) sat there together with Hans' wife ragchewing and having some fine cake with tea and coffee for a long time. So thanks for that pleasant afternoon.

Hans DK2PH and me

Hans DK2PH busy at his VHF station

EME Antenna (4 x 16el I0JXX)

RadioActivity January - February 2010

nospam@example.com (Christoph Petermann) — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 12:00:00 +0100

The shack room is looking like new; I am still waiting for the table and some other furniture to be delivered. Bad weather prevented me from from transportation of that stuff.
Until then I am not really QRV.

The only thing I do is listening with the SDR-IQ - that is fun. As there are no tables and chairs in the room I sat down in Japanese style on the floor. I purchased a used Dell Latitude D820 notebook which has almost no unwanted radiation. The noise floor on the bands is looking very smooth and I made a lot of experiments using the SpectraVue software as well as Winrad and Linrad. The latter digs out a lot of stations on 40m. But it took me some time to get it running properly. I can't really await getting my station reassembled and testing the SDR-IQ on EME on 2m. I also tried WSPR with very good success on the SDR-IQ and the new notebook, which is running on Windows 7 - 32 bit. This combination is very much more sensitive than the Softrock 6.1 RXTX with my desktop PC.