Don't know why I didn't write about this when it happened.
August 9th, the daily Sunspot Number (SSN) was 382. That seemed enormously high. I couldn't remember a single time when the SSN was that high. So, I did some digging.
I downloaded all the SSN data, converted into an Excel spreadsheet and did some analysis. The SSN hasn't been that high since 1991. That's 33 years ago!
The SSN has only been this high a total of ten times in my lifetime (since February 1961) -- Five in 1979, Twice in 1989, and Three times in 1991.
Of course, none of this compares with Cycle 19, where daily SSN values were well over 500 for many days. But those values all happened 1956-1959, well before I was born.
Cycle 25 is shaping up to be much better than Cycle 24, which was really lousy, and possibly better than Cycle 23. The smoothed SSN has already exceeded the maximum value for Cycle 24, and it is far from over.
We've already seen a huge change in the bands in the last couple of years. 20m is open 24 hours, and 15m much of that time. 12 and 10m is open every day. I'm hoping we might see some 6m F2 openings. Enjoy it while you can. We should have two more years of these conditions before the cycle starts back down.
Although I bought my little (tr)uSDX transceiver two years ago, it has only seen sporadic use. Other than an occasional contact or two, it has been mostly relegated to the shelf. I figured it was about time to put it to serious use in a POTA/WWFF activation.
I made a return visit to Norristown Farm Park (US-4363, KFF-4363) for another activation. It was raining on and off this morning here in southeastern Pennsylvania, so I pretty much had the place to myself.
I set up the (tr)uSDX with my Elecraft T1 tuner in the cab of my truck. I used three 18650 Li-ion batteries power the radio. As usual, I went with my 12-foot whip and homebrew loading coil on the back of the truck.
I’m getting a little better at navigating the (tr)uSDX’s menus and using the controls. There are a lot of functions covered by three controls. To refresh my memory, I used the rig last night with my rain gutter “antenna” to make a couple of contacts. I also brought along a cheat sheet today, which I didn’t need.
Just for the fun of it, I started off using my little N6ARA TinyPaddles. They match the orange radio, so why not. Unfortunately, I had some issues with them, so I switched over to my Palm Mini paddles. I have to tweak the contact spacing on the N6ARA paddles.
My (tr)uSDX. The N6ARA TinyPaddles are in the lower left.
Starting out on 40M, the signals were strong and plentiful. It only took me about 11 minutes to log my first 10 contacts. When things slowed down on 40M, I made a few contacts each on 30M and 20M. After 45 minutes, I had 21 contacts in the log with one park-to-park QSO.
My trusty homebrew loading coil. In hindsight I should have used a plastic bag to protect it from the rain this morning.
The (tr)uSDX is an incredible little rig. They packed an awful lot of features into a tiny package, but it’s not really a high-performance radio. I have to admit it wasn’t the most pleasant rig to listen to; there were some pops and clicks in the sidetone when keying. It could have been the earbuds I was using. I also need to go back through the menu settings to make sure I haven’t missed something. Looking at my RBN spots, I could see I need to tweak the frequency calibration a bit. It’s transmitting a little lower than the displayed frequency. Having said all that, I can’t be too critical of radio at this price point.
In the end, though, the little rig got the job done today. Not bad for a five-band, multi-mode radio that costs less than $140 assembled.
Last month we featured a video of Richard Desaulniers, Sr., VE2DX, displaying some of the new VE2DX Electronics products that would be coming soon to DX Engineering. Today, we’re pleased to announce that some of those items are now available at DXEngineering.com, with more items on the way. Here are a few highlights:
The VE2DX LED “On Air” Acrylic Sign enhances the look and feel of your shack and will let everyone know when you are operating.
When powered, the sign displays the “On Air” text in red. It remains transparent when not illuminated.
The sign is operated with a user-supplied 12VDC power source. Additionally, you can enable automatic activation and turn on the sign during TX by integrating a dry contact relay controlled by your transceiver (not included).
These TrueCI-V data hubs connect Xiegu and Icom transceivers to multiple CI-V devices that need to be simultaneously served the interfaced transceiver’s CI-V data stream.
They feature TrueTTL/TrueCI-V technology—a combination of advanced RFI filtering on all ports, signals, power sources and grounds, with an auto-leveling design that ensures the output signals on all five ports remain at maximum TTL levels.
These five-port CI-V hubs feature USB-C power, CI-V status LEDs, and magnets under the enclosure to aid with installation. They support many types of station devices including frequency-based decoders, smart antenna switch controllers, amplifiers, tuners, band pass filters, and more.
These hubs interface to all Xiegu HF transceivers, which utilize the Icom CI-V protocol, with a 3.5mm mono audio jack (X5105), 3.5mm TRSS multifunction jack (X6100), or a MiniDin connector for the G90 and G106. These hubs will also work with Icom remote port transceivers from the legacy IC-735 to the newer IC-7300 and IC-9700 using a simple 3.5mm patch cable. Choose from these options:
CT17B-5X Version 2: Transceiver Interface Data Hub, TrueCI-V Icom/Xiegu CI-V Remote, Five Ports, RFI Filtered, Works on all Icom CI-V 3.5mm, 5VDC USB-C
(Image/DX Engineering)
CT17B-6XUSB Version 2: Transceiver USB Interface Data Hub Plus Five Ports TrueCI-V, Icom/Xiegu CI-V to USB PC, RFI Filtered, 5VDC USB-C
CT17B-5X: Transceiver Interface Data Hub, 5 Standard Icom/Xiegu CI-V Remote, Five CI-V Ports, RFI Filtered, Works on all Icom CI-V 3.5mm, Passive
Bluetooth Icom/Xiegu Five-Port TrueCI-V Data Hub models feature CI-V over Bluetooth and a five-port hub that connects the interfaced transceiver’s CI-V data stream to multiple accessories simultaneously. Bluetooth models are also the perfect electronic remedy for the missing physical CI-V port on the Icom IC-705. These Bluetooth devices pair with the IC-705 to send data to their five TrueCI-V ports. Alternatively, these interfaces can use CI-V over Bluetooth to pair with the computer to isolate it from the RF side of any Icom station. Choose from these new Bluetooth options:
CT17B-6XBT Version 2: Transceiver Bluetooth Interface Data Hub, Plus Five Ports TrueCI-V, Isolated Icom/Xiegu CI-V to PC via Bluetooth, RFI Filtered, 5VDC USB-C
CT17B-7XDM Version 2: Transceiver Bluetooth and USB Icom/Xiegu Data Hub, Plus Five Ports TrueCI-V Isolated Icom CI-V to PC via Bluetooth, RFI Filtered, 5VDC USB-C
Lately, I’ve been getting questions about whether a ham needs to log radio contacts, whether they need to submit a log, and how to do it. Logging is a complex topic that can require a long and detailed explanation, but I am going to focus on the questions I’ve been hearing lately. I’ll also provide some links for further investigation. Continue reading Should I Submit A Log?→
Lately, I’ve been getting questions about whether a ham needs to log radio contacts, whether they need to submit a log, and how to do it. Logging is a complex topic that can require a long and detailed explanation, but I am going to focus on the questions I’ve been hearing lately. I’ll also provide some links for further investigation. Continue reading Should I Submit A Log?→
Recently, I’ve been getting questions about whether a ham needs to log radio contacts, whether they need to submit a log, and how to do it. Logging is a complex topic that can require a long and detailed explanation, but I am going to focus on the questions I’ve been hearing lately. I’ll also provide some links for further investigation. For starters, the ARRL has a good introduction to logging.
A paper ham radio log
Why Keep A Log?
The FCC does not require you to log your amateur radio contacts. Many radio amateurs, especially if they just operate casually on 2m and 70 cm, don’t bother to keep a log. Probably the most common reason for having a log is to have a record of your radio contacts, in terms of stations worked, on what band and what conditions. This might be just for your own personal satisfaction or you might want to keep track of these contacts so you can get credit for an award, such as the ARRL Worked All States (WAS) award.
Paper or Electronic?
The Old School way of keeping a log is on paper as shown in the figure above. This approach is simple and reliable technology but is quite limited in the information age. These days, most hams that record log information store it electronically. Imagine that you log thousands of contacts over time and then want to find a particular callsign or location. Much better to do this electronically. There are many good software programs available, too many to list here. I currently use Amateur Contact Log from N3FPJ. The good news is that there is a standard file format for storing and moving ham radio contact information: Amateur Data Interchange Format (ADIF). If you want to change logging software, you export an ADIF file and import into the new program.
I Worked a Contest Station, Do I Have to Submit a Log?
Sometimes radio ham works a few stations that are active in a particular contest and they wonder if they must submit a log to the contest sponsors so that these these stations get credit for the contacts. The almost universal answer to this is: No. Don’t worry about submitting a contest log if you aren’t really “in the contest.” The stations you work still get credit for your contact with them. (This is true for all major contests…I am still looking for a contest where this is not true.) Contests are designed to encourage activity, so they want everyone to join in, even if they aren’t all that serious about contesting. (The contest sponsors will appreciate any and all logs submitted, so consider that.)
If I Am Actively Working a Contest, What Do I Do?
If you are actively participating in a contest, you should use a logging program that is tuned for that particular contest. This is important because the contest logging software knows about the scoring for the contest and lets you know if you have already worked a station you hear. The most popular logging software for contesting is the N1MM Plus software. There are other programs you can consider. Typically, you would use N1MM during the contest and then export the info into an ADIF file, which is imported into your “main” logging program.
What is a Cabrillo File?
While the ADIF file format is most universal in ham radio logging, there is another file format used for contesting. This is the Cabrillo file format. Your contest logging software can generate a Cabrillo file for submitting to the contest sponsor. You may also want to generate an ADIF file to import into your normal logging program.
I Worked a POTA Station, Do I Have to Submit a Log?
Parks On The Air (POTA) is set up so that only the activator station submits a log. If you are working an activator station, you are a hunter station. The POTA scores are all based on the activator logs and hunters cannot submit a log. What you can do is register on the POTA website to see the contacts that the activators have submitted for you.
I Worked a SOTA Station, Do I Have to Submit a Log?
Summits On The Air (SOTA) is set up so that both activators and chasers submit logs to the SOTA website. However, the SOTA system operates on the honor system, so an activator can claim a contact with you without you submitting a log. So if you hear a SOTA station, go ahead and work them. You don’t have to submit a log. On the other hand, if you want credit for chasing a summit, you need to submit a log. So that activator is fine not having you submit a log but you may want to do that to get credit for you.
How Do I Get Credit For Working A Country?
The gold standard for chasing countries, I mean entities, is DX Century Club (DXCC). If you are interested in DX, you should register with Logbook of The World (LoTW) with the ARRL. To get credit for working an entity (country), you need to submit your log and it must match the log submitted by the DX station. This is a higher level of confirmation because both parties must submit the log info and it must match within reasonable error limits.
There are other award systems for working countries, offered by QRZ, eQSL, etc.
How Do I Get Credit For Working a Grid on VHF/UHF?
The VHF UHF Century Club (VUCC) is the VHF/UHF equivalent to DXCC. Here the emphasis is on working maidenhead gridlocators on the bands above 50 MHz. Again, Logbook of The World is the database that authenticates confirmed contacts on these bands. Both parties must submit the log info and it must match within reasonable error limits.
What If Someone Needs My Log Submitted?
Most of the time, us normal hams are not considered DX. That is, that other station in the Cayman Islands doesn’t really need our contact confirmed. But there are exceptions. You might be in a state the other station needs confirmed. Or maybe it’s your county they need. In such a case, you might want to make a special effort to provide your log information to the right database. It will depend on what the other station needs…if they are going for an ARRL award, then Logbook of The World is the right place to upload your log. But they might be after a QRZ award or eQSL award, in which case you would need to provide your log to those websites.
Wrap Up
These are some of the questions I’ve been hearing.
What did I miss?
Anything else to add?
Many thanks to Rod (VA3MZD) for sharing the following guest post: Operating POTA from the interior of Quetico Provincial Park CA-0359 with a (tr)uSDX By Rod Murray (VA3MZD) In a previous guest post here on QRPer I gave a brief history of my introduction to Ham radio and specifically POTA and my experiences activating local … Continue reading Navigating Quetico: Rod’s POTA Adventure with the (tr)uSDX→
Many thanks to Dan Greenall, one of our dedicated Shortwave Radio Audio Archive contributors, who shares the following guest post: Clear channel BCB stations – My Introduction to the world of DXing by Dan Greenall Sometime in the mid 1960’s, I acquired a Japanese made AM only transistor radio similar to the one pictured. I was […]
This livestream recording is from September 1, 2024 – the NW7US Radio Communications Channel Livestream. We do this livestream every Sunday at 21:15 UTC. Here is the link to the livestream from this past Sunday: The livestream list is here: https://www.youtube.com/@nw7us/streams I hope to see you in our livestream live chat, during the next session […]
When CY9C began operations back on August 26, there were huge pileups. On 30-meter CW, the pileup was at least 5 kHz wide. One of the reasons for this, of course, is that St. Paul Island is part of Canada and not that far from most of the United States. That made it a lot more accessible to hams here in the U.S.
CY9C operated from St. Paul Island from August 25, 2024 to September 5, 2024.
I waited, and on the evening of August 31, I actually heard them calling CQ on 30 meters managed to work them on the second call.
As it turns out, I probably could have skipped it entirely. I just checked Logbook of the World (LOTW) and see that I worked CY9C on August 21, 2016; CY9SS on July 5, 2005; ;and Cy9A on July 31, 2003.
VUs in the log
For some reason—maybe because I don’t really have a DX station—I had never managed to work anyone in India. Well, in the last month or so, I’ve managed to work two Indians, VU2GSM and VU2TMP. VU2TMP has QSLed via LOTW, making my current DXCC count 174.
Several months ago, the University of Michigan Amateur Radio Club (UMARC) upgraded their repeater system (145.23-, 100Hz). As part of this upgrade, they became a node on the AllStarLink network, which they have been proudly announcing on their Sunday night net.
After last Sunday’s net, I decided to find out how to access the network. The first thing I did was to take a look at the UMARC website, or I should say websites. UMARC actually has four different web pages. Unfortunately, none of them had any information on how to access the AllStarLink network.
Then, I asked one of the club’s advisors. He wasn’t really sure how to do it either, and advised me to search for the information on the web. I did this and found a Beginner’s Guide, but this isn’t really what I was looking for. The Beginner’s Guide directs someone on how to set up their own node, not really how to use the network.
I kept looking and found the page AllStarLink Standard Commands. This is exactly what I was looking for. This page describes the DTMF sequences a user needs to connect and disconnect from nodes. Fortunately, the UMARC repeater uses this standard command set.
Next, I had to find a repeater to connect to. That shouldn’t be so difficult, I reasoned, since the network boasts that they have 34,720 users and 35,345 nodes. I started with the AllStarLink Node List. I was able to connect to a couple of repeaters, but most of them seemed either offline or inaccessible for some reason. One of the active nodes that I was able to connect to was WW8GM, the General Motors Amateur Radio Club repeater in Detroit, but I got no reply to my call there.
So, I asked on /r/amateurradio if anyone had suggestions for active or interesting nodes. I was directed to a list of “keyed nodes,” which I guess are nodes that are currently active. Currently, this page is showing 30-35 active nodes.
One of the nodes that looked promising was a repeater in Seattle. The page showed that it was connected to at least a dozen other repeaters. When I connected to that repeater, I heard a net with everyone giving weather reports! I didn’t find that very interesting, so I quickly disconnected.
I’m told that the UMARC repeater connects to a net of student stations on Saturday afternoon. I’ll be listening for that, but really would like to know of other interesting nets or nodes on the AllStarLink network. If you know of any, please comment below.
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