

40mins to break the pile-up!

The radio and electronics blog of Carl Ratcliffe, M0ICR
40mins to break the pile-up!
Messy, but we got there!
Silvano (I2YSB) in Guinea-Bissau
and equally messy on 30m!
A bit easier on 10m
20+ stations calling S9OK in Sao Tome & Principe on every ‘over’ (and that’s just the one’s I could decode!)
David was using FT4 but on two frequencies (NOT F&H so I assume he was using MSHV to get two transmissions per over.
More information on the S9OK DXpedition is at dxnews here: https://dxnews.com/s9ok/
Checking the log I see that I have actually worked the island twice before (both 2019), the previous QSO were on 20m and 60m.
Interesting article: https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/sao-tome-and-principe-africa/index.html
Ten things you didn’t know about Sao Tome and Principe:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Bu88Qwx_Rk
UPDATED!
Also worked on 20m, nice to see the QSO in ClubLog Live!
… and into VK and ZL
Despite some strange conditions on the bands today (including a pretty major geomagnetic storm), I managed to work the DXpedition callasign 3DA0RU (Kingdom of Eswatini – otherwise known as Swaziland) on 3 bands: 10m, 12m and 15m. I hope they are QSLing via ARRL LOTW!
More info here: https://www.dx-world.net/3da0ru-eswatini/
Update
3 bands confirmed on club log:
Hans Summers has done it again with an amazing new product for kit builders, QRP and digital enthusiasts with the new QDX transceiver. News of the new product release broke last week sending QRP Labs fans into a frenzy on the QRP Labs Google group. An initial batch of 450 units was released on at 1800Z on 11 October with all units sold in 12 minutes! Wow, that’s popular!
The initial batch has been limited in number due to a current global lack of semiconductors although Hans has promised at least one further batch will be available once his supply situation improves. In the meantime, I was pleased to get my order in (despite a number of glitches caused by the online sales portal being overloaded by the sheer number of folks trying to secure their QDX).
All being well the QDX will be here in the UK in a week or so and I will then, as time permits, document the build and operating on here.
Outline details and specs are here:
See Hans’ website for more details: https://qrp-labs.com/qdx.html and the DRAFT manual here: https://qrp-labs.com/images/qdx/manual_1_00.pdf The ordering page is here: http://shop.qrp-labs.com/qdx2?search=qdx
Finally, to whet the appetite, here is a YouTube video outlining the new kit:
Happy with with placing in the Batavia (QSO with Indonesia) contest considering I was only using 80W and wire antennas (and no resonant antenna for 15m at the time!), most QSO on 20m with a handful on 40m. Second in UK.
After some good conditions on 10m and 12m in the last few days we now how a major geomagnetic storm:
Inter Planetary K Index (K=6 … yikes!)
https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/planetary-k-index … very signals above 20m at the moment.
The storm was predicted here:
That took some doing, but on the second day of trying I managed it!
… just need to find a nice enclosure for the GPS module.
GPS module is providing frequency calibration, timings and location for the QCX Mini whilst it transmits WSPR on the 40m band.
GPS module shows a 3-Dimensional fix (Lat, Long and Altitude) , 7 satellites fixed and tracking a total of 11.
Attached the QRP Labs QLG2 GPS unit to the QCX Mini 20m this morning (see additional post).
A nice set of signal report for the first WSPR transmission, 105 spots from one burst with the top ten (by distance) listed below. Best DX was KL7L in QRA Square BP51IP (Alaska) – just NW of Anchorage:
Nice to get 4 new DXCCs confirmed on LOTW from the recent dx-pedition to Saint Martin Island (IOTA NA-105) by W8HC and W6IZT.
Read more on the DXpedition here: https://www.dx-world.net/fs-w6izt-fs-w8hc-st-martin/
… just need to box it up!
Delighted that it worked first time, I just need to box it up now and connect it up to the GPS unit. Information on the QCX Mini is here and the GPS unit (QLG2) is here.
I’ve just been playing with the QCX on WSPR and very happy to see my signals being received in Antarctica.
See my other post for the adventures tracking the MV Polar Stern (polar resupply and research ship) as she headed south on my first QCX Mini (on 40m) here: https://m0icr.com/tracking-dp0pol-mm-as-she-heads-south
This in 12min of operating (3 calls):
As an added bonus the QCX Mini 20 also seems to work ok on 30m:
RX in Australia, 0.5W on 20m and 30m with the new QCX Mini
Both receivers in the German Neumayer III Antarctic Station receiving me on 30m!
Confirmed on LOTW, great!
Update:
Worked the next day on 15m also:
and now on 12m!
That was fun!
Delighted to have come 12th out of 465 entries in the Low Power category and top UK station, in all power categories!)