Tag Archives: UHF
Presentation “Let´s Bounce” IIa
October 21st, 2014
Last night, when I was going to switch off all the stuff in my shack, I saw an email from Malte, DE7LMS. I opened it and found a link to a video he recorded of my recent presentation in Weinheim.
Presentation “Let´s Bounce” III
My presentation “Let´s Bounce” will be given on two more dates:
October 25th, 2014 on the 4th Hessian GHz Meeting in Fernwald
Short version of the lecture with focus on aircraft scatter and ISS bounce.
We meet at 15:00 MEST on the car park at the town hall. There will be a flee market for GHz stuff and the opportunity to test own equipment or to have QSOs with other participants.
Gaststätte “Ratsschänke”
Oppenröder Strasse 1, 35463 Fernwald-Steinbach
Locator: JO40JN33VG
November 7th, 2014, 20:00 MET on the monthly meeting of DARC OV Miltenberg, B24
Full Version with overview of propagation modes, aircraft scatter, ISS bounce and visual moonbounce.
Deutscher Amateur Radio Club e.V.
Ortsverband Miltenberg, B24
Gasthaus “Goldenes Faß”
Kirchstraße 13, 63920 Großheubach
Locator: JN49OR64JJ
If you like to attend or need further information, just send an email to dj5ar (at) darc.de
IARU-Region-1 UHF/Microwaves Contest 2014
October 5th, 2014
After my complainments about using the ON4KST chat in March Contest and the response I received from Claus, OZ1FDH, and Kjeld, OZ1FF, recommending the KST2ME tool, I added my homebrew prototype of a selective ON4KST client extension to my station control software. It communicates via telnet with the server. While working satisfactorily under normal circumstances, it was a desaster under contest load. When the software didn´t crash, it at least slowed down, by computing hundreds of posts in shortest time. Between 300 and 400 users have been logged to the microwave chat during contest time. During the first contest hours I tried to solve the problems with certain bug fixes, resulting in a huge loss of contest time. So I had to return to the classic style in using the web client of the chat.
QSOs on 23 cm
In total I logged 73 QSOs on 23 cm to 12 DXCC countries, spread over 39 grid squares (results). ODX was HG7F over 817 km. The use of the AirScout software, written by Frank, DL2ALF, has been essential. Most of the QSOs have been completed by assistance of aircraft scatter.
A nice example is the one with DJ5BV in JO30KI. The distance isn´t really far enough to do it via aircraft sctatter, but it seems, both antennas were pointing west and that resulted in effects of aircraft backscatter with significant dopplershifted reflections.
Dopplershifted reflections of Gerd, DJ5BV, caused by backscatter of aircrafts.
Presentation “Let´s Bounce” II
September 1st, 2014
After giving the presentation in english language in Clonbur, Ireland on August 25th, there will be two more dates in Germany:
September 13th, 2014 at the VHF/UHF/SHF Convention in Weinheim as a short version.
September 27th, 2014 at the “Distriktsservicetag” of DARC districts K (Rhineland-Palatine) and Q (Saarland) in Saarbrücken.
I will talk about how to surmount the horizon on VHF and up.
After giving an overview over the classic propagation modes Es, Aurora, MS and Tropo, I will explain, how aircraft scatter and ISS bounce work. EME will be subjected too and the presentation will be completed by an introduction to “Visual Moonbounce” as performed by Daniela de Paulis.
For the short version in Weinheim the overview over the classic propagation modes will be left out.
Article in “Funkamateur” magazine July 2014
June 22nd, 2014
German Funkamateur mgazine has published my article “Abenteuer Bakenbeobachtung von 144 MHz bis 10 GHz” in its recent issue July 2014. As many topics are related to posts on this website, some of them are compiled here. Links to certain other websites can be found in the link list to the right.
Weather, rainscatter:
Rainscatter on 23 and 13 cm Impressive ThunderstormWeather, troposheric ducting:
Another strange constellation (Update) Strange Conditions Opening September 21st 2013Aircraft scatter (video):
PI7ALK via Aircraft ScatterList of beacons, heard by DJ5AR in Mainz, JN49CV
My new beacon listVHF-UHF-SHF Contest March 2014
March 3rd, 2014
Many thanks to all enthusiasts on 23 and 13 cm, who spent up to 20 minutes to complete a QSO with me. Tropo conditions were not too good this time and especially 2320 MHz it seemed to have an additional attenuation on all signals. But never the less, quite a lot of QSOs filled the log. More stations than I could handle, requested skeds via the ON4KST chat. I have to apologize for all my replies like “pse qrx, meep u when free”, I forgot about. So, all I can say is:
Please excuse me for forgetting to meep you!
Indeed, this chat is a great tool, I don´t want to miss it. But in times of contest it can be a challenge, like the contest itself. I will not apply for to do without, it is rather a question, how to use it. The amount of information, flowing over the screen, is immense. On saturday afternoon or on sunday morning, relevant entries might disappear within less than a minute. So I have to think about optimizing my software tools.
QSOs on 1296 MHz
Skilled VHF Operators may smile, when I tell them, 58 QSOs on 23 cm and 19 QSOs on 13 cm are hard work. The sum of that is the number they work within the first hour of their contest section. But in fact, the world above 1 GHz is a different one. The beams of the antennas are much narrower compared to VHF and UHF. The dense of stations is much less, since it is not like plug and play to become QRV up there. The attenuation increases GHz by GHz and all that results in real work for most of the QSOs. There are only a few big guns on 23 cm to be heard from any antenna direction. So the band seems to be empty, even at contest time. But the chat is an oppotunity for all kind of stations to arrange skeds and to have QSOs over distances of several hundred kilometers. And, especially when using aircraft scatter, patience could be needed to complete.
QSOs on 2320 MHz
Review: Activityweek Rhineland-Palatine 2014
January 8th, 2014
The battle is over. I had my last QSO with Patrick, DH2PA on 70 cm just before the contest closed after seven days. There was a big regional activity on VHF, UHF and SHF, much more than last year. Finally I logged 414 QSOs on the four bands I have been active, compared to 266 in 2013. It is remarkable that there were many locals with improvised equipment on 23 cm. Just one new square on 2320 MHz could be worked during the activityweek: IK3GHY in JN65DM via aircraft scatter. But collecting new squares is getting harder and harder, the more are already worked. The tropo conditions remained normal during the seven days, so there was less DX than last year. This time I found four partners for 4-band-QSOs: DL7QY, DL8YG, DF5AY and DB6NT.
The top five of the most worked stations in this contest: 1. DL7QY 24 QSOs on 4 bands (2 m, 70 cm, 23 cm, 13 cm) 2. DC8WPA 18 QSOs on 3 bands (2 m, 70 cm, 23 cm) DJ1FZ 18 QSOs on 3 bands (2 m, 70 cm, 23 cm) DK0RLP 18 QSOs on 3 bands (2 m, 70 cm, 23 cm) DK7UP 18 QSOs on 3 bands (2 m, 70 cm, 23 cm) Thank you all for your support and your patience!
Statistics: total District K DL ex K F,I,OK,OZ,SM Squares BAND QSO Stn QSO Stn DOK QSO Stn QSO Stn total new 144 183 94 99 43 26 82 48 3 3 15 432 134 66 69 31 20 65 35 0 0 10 1296 79 37 36 14 12 34 16 9 7 16 2320 19 11 1 1 1 15 7 3 3 10 1
Review: Activity week Rhineland-Palatine 2013
January 14th, 2013
It was big fun working in contest for a whole week. I felt a bit like Phil Connors in the movie “Groundhog Day” (german: “Und täglich grüßt das Murmeltier”), in meeting most of the stations again day by day. My main activity was in the evenings on 23 and 13 cm, using 2 m, 70 cm and the ON4KST chat to arrange skeds. The conditions were slightly over normal but increasing on monday with a small opening to France. During the seven days I could work one new square on 2 m (JN15), two on 23 cm (JN09, JN15) and three on 13 cm (JN09, JO42, JO44). There were only two 4-band QSOs with DL7QY and DC1UR.
My top 5 of the most worked stations in this contest are: DF8PR 16 QSOs on 3 bands (2 m, 70 cm, 23 cm) DC8WPA 15 QSOs on 3 bands (2 m, 70 cm, 23 cm) DK7UP 13 QSOs on 3 bands (2 m, 70 cm, 23 cm) DL7QY 12 QSOs on 4 bands (2 m, 70 cm, 23 cm, 13 cm) G3XDY 8 QSOs on 2 bands (23 cm, 13 cm)
Thank you all for your support and your patience!
Statistics: total District K DL ex K France I,OE,G,LX Squares Band QSO Stn QSO Stn DOK QSO Stn QSO Stn QSO Stn total new 144 100 58 72 31 18 25 24 3 3 0 0 11 1 432 65 31 54 22 15 11 9 0 0 0 0 6 0 1296 73 34 27 9 8 21 11 14 10 11 4 21 2 2320 28 15 2 2 2 14 8 5 3 7 2 12 3
IARU-Region-1 UHF/Microwaves October Contest
October 8th, 2012
“Bad weather and bad conditions” that is, what most comments say about this contest. The weather here in Mainz was bad too, but I cannot compare the conditions with the contests in the last years, because my last participation in this contest was in 1990. This year it ended up in 50 QSOs on 23 cm and 19 on 13 cm. I am quite satisfied with these results.
QSOs on 23 cm
QSOs on 13 cm
My new ODX on 13 cm is OL9W in JN99CL over 720 km. A lot of new squares could be worked too. Many DX stations were nearly as strong as they were on 23 cm.