Ham Radio - A contact sport

I’m moving to a new web hosting provider. While this should be good for N0HR.com in the long run, there will be some pain associated with the move. As you may know, there are a lot of moving parts to this little corner of the internet:

• scripts I’ve created to provide propagation information to the ham radio toolbar, Propfire for firefox and PropStats
• the ham radio blog
• Ham Radio Reviews product review system
• Forums
• Ham Radio Links

There’s a lot of complexity behind some of these – and moving them will not be trivial. I fully expect some (all) of these to flat out crash in the days to come. Let me apologize in advance for the inconvenience. Believe me, it pains me to do it.

Once the move has been made, you should see improved reliability & performance of the site and a new look/feel that should be easier to navigate. I’m not sure how long it will take to complete the move (hopefully it will be  less than a week for the bulk of the changes).

I first setup N0HR.com in 2001 and have been using ICDSoft since the beginning. This month, I’m moving to HostGator – a few more features and a better hosting rate drove the move. The site was ready for a new look anyway. My web based CRM & online issue tracking business, Adapt Data Solutions, has been using HostGator and we’ve been pleased with the results to-date. 

Thanks for bearing with me through this move.

Dudley (WA5QPZ) from Flex sent me this follow-up note to my post about the FlexRadio CW contest demo. Just for clarification, I’ve included his comments here.

Pat,
Read your Blog and very good..  Wish good old MS had not made the changes, but I am sure they were trying to fix some other issue with the sound handling of Vista..    Have fun with the I/Q recordings,  and actually that is a recording of the IF,  so the SW thinks (outside of no radio control)  that it is decoding real time IF signals,  so within that 192K of bandwidth,  that is the radio,  but I am with you it is still pretty cool.. 
–

73,
Dudley

WA5QPZ
FlexRadio Systems

(512) 250-8595
Email: dudley@flex-radio.com
Web: www.flex-radio.com

"Tune in excitement!" ™

A few days ago the demo CD from the folks at FlexRadio arrived. Unfortunately, the CD was corrupt and missing some key files. After some emails with their support folks and a lot of experimenting, I was able to accomplish my goal: demo the PowerSDR/FlexRadio system in a CW contest environment (without actually buying the radio).

Here’s what I did:

1. Download & Install PowerSDR. The latest rev I could find was v1.18.0.
2. Setup the PowerSDR software to use “demo” as the system and for the soundcard choose unsupported.
3. Download the very large (270 MB) I/Q audio wave file from WA5QPZ. This is a I/Q recording of the CW band during Field Day apparently recorded at 192 kHz.  It can be found here:
   http://www.wa5qpz.com/_mgxroot/page_10729.html
4. Launch PowerSDR. (You may have to wait for it to initialize on the first go).
5. Under the Setup menu, choose Audio. Make sure that the primary sound card setup driver is set to Windows DirectSound and the sound card support is set to Unsupported Card. Click the Expert button. I had to experiment with some settings to get it to work… Apparently, there were some recent problems induced by Microsoft with the sound driver that can cause headaches with the demo mode (simulating the FlexRadio). On this screen, here’s what I used:
   
6. Next, load the Wave file. Choose Wave from the main screen, and add the downloaded CW Field Day file. Click Play and Loop (to have it run continuously).
7. Finally, click the Start button to launch the system.

Make sure that your panadapter is set to the 20 meter CW band. You should be able to tune around hear the Field Day CW action. Cool!

This is were I was finally able to experiment with the FlexRadio/PowerSDR setup in a contest environment. I found a spot that had a very strong CW signal and a relatively weak signal nearby. I was able to knock out the strong signal and easily copy the weak one within seconds.

I also found that I could visually scan the panadapter to “see” the action and quickly get to new ones as they appeared on the screen.

Although this was all obviously simulated, I did get a feel for the operation of the software. Of course, without a real unit it would be hard to get a good feeling for how reliable and functional this would be in a contest environment. I still have some questions: What is SO2R like with a Flex-5000? Is SO2R on the FlexRadio idiot-proof? Can spots and CW Skimmer data be shown on the panadapter so I know what I’ve worked?

There was a bit of pain involved… namely the issue of the demo installation not playing well with Windows Vista 64-bit (which does not seem to be a problem when connected to a real radio as I understand it). I also found that the PowerSDR program would simply close/crash if I did not choose a good setup.

All that said, this is a blast. I’m sure it’s not for everyone, but I’m a convert. SDR is changing the face of ham radio contesting.

Sunspot #1016 was just identified – it’s interesting for several reasons:

1. It’s a Cycle 23 spot… this means that Solar Cycle 23 has now lasted roughly 13 years.
2. It’s May 1st and we’ve already had 104 days without sunspots. 88% of 2009 has been without sunspots and now we get one but it’s from the last solar cycle? Odd.
3. Some (N4ZO) on the internet have claimed this could be the start of another Dalton Minimum (a period of drastic global cooling that could last 20+ years). OK – that could be a bit alarmist.

One thing is for certain… there is a lot to be learned about the sun. We haven’t even scratched the surface (so to speak) of solar propagation forecasting.

Since posting that the FlexRadio 3000 has been released to the masses a few days ago, I’ve been wondering if SDR & the Flex Radio platform is ready for contesting/DXing prime time.

For example, could the FlexRadio 5000 be used as an SO2R machine in a single box? (SO2R in a box) The literature claims that it can if you throw in their second receiver (RX2). I’d imagine that you’d also need bandpass filters… and a way to control them… and, while you’re at it, a really good amp with a way to control it (or not). OK, maybe I’m getting carried away.

Question 1: SO2R With a FlexRadio 5000A (& RX2 + ATU), plus some bandpass filter system, could I go SO2R? If yes, how painful is it?

I’d love to try the FlexRadio, but don’t have one in my area. They are sending me a demo CD.

Question 2: FlexRadio 5000 Demo Mode. Can I simply download the PowerSDR software and install it to try the Flex-5000 (demo mode)?  I understand that I need to feed it some I/Q file. How do I do that? I’ve installed the software and downloaded a couple I/Q files, but I’m not sure how to “play” the files. Do I need the VAC thingy?

I guess I’ll wait for the demo CD. Any FlexRadio experts out there?

I’ve been following the development of the latest SDR HF transceiver… the Flex-3000. This radio began shipping last week – so we should start to read real world reviews and hear them on-the-air.  FlexRadio Systems is famous for their pc-driven ham radios without knobs and their high marks in the NC0B (Sherwood Engineering) Dynamic Range Narrow Spaced receiver scores.

The Flex 3000 is the little brother to the FlexRadio 5000 series. It currently lists for under $1600 with a built-in ATU… which seems to me to be a very attractive price.

Unlike its "big brother" (the Flex 5000 SDR HF transceiver), the Flex 3000:

• Has 1 BNC connector rather than 3 SO-239s for TX
• Does not offer a RX antenna jacks
• Is only 1.7 inches tall
• Uses a different front-end filter configuration. 5^th order band pass filters for 80-6m.  7^th order band pass filter for 160m. Low pass filter for BCB band.
• Uses a 96 kHz wide panadapter display (rather than the 192 kHz found in the Flex 5000)
• Does not allow cross band/cross mode operation
• Does not offer an optional second receiver (RX2)

The question remains… is ham radio ready to go knobless?

About a year after the ARRL’s DX CW contest, my certificate arrived:

2008 ARRL DX CW – First Place SOA Iowa.

For the non-hams out there, this is an annual international (DX) Morse Code (CW) contest.

Ham Radio Contests are a lot of fun. Awards aren’t the reason I enter but they are the icing on the cake. In this particular CW contest, there were 10 entries from Iowa. I actually placed 2nd overall (behind N0SM who was competing in the Single Op/High Power category). Of course, as I don’t have an amp, we compete in different classes. 

In the ARRL Amateur Radio Contests, the next level up from the state level is the division level. Iowa is in the Midwest Division. My score placed 2nd in the Midwest Division behind W0TT.

Of course, I probably shouldn’t even compete in the Single Op “Assisted” category. Those who compete in this category are allowed to use packet spots, CW Skimmer, and high power. While I wanted to use the packet spots to pick up some new DXCC countries on CW, I don’t use CW Skimmer and don’t own an amplifier – so I’m at a disadvantage.

I still had fun though and wish I could have played in the 2009 contest.

10,000. That’s another number to tuck into your memory and retrieve when you’re trying to explain ham radio to friends and relatives.

I was encouraged to read that the 2008 CQ WW contests had a record turnout – during the bottom of the sunspot cycle! What’s more, CW logs surpassed SSB logs. Who would have guessed it?

In all, over 10,000 logs from around the world for these two contests.

So, ham radio isn’t dead after all?

Morse Code isn’t a long lost method of communicating?

I’ve now been licensed for 29 years and am still fascinated with many aspects of amateur radio. From time to time, I wonder “what’s bringing in the new blood?”

I ask this as someone who has tried various approaches to marketing ham radio to the next generation:

• Using fishing analogies to explain amateur radio
• Helping boy scouts earn radio merit badge
• Teaching technician license classes at Iowa State University

It seems as though new opportunities to evangelize ham radio are always on the horizon.

We’re all busy lately… life, family, kids, careers, etc.

I’ve been especially busy with my new company (helping companies use EnterpriseWizard to setup online issue tracking software, web based CRM applications and online helpdesks to link support/CRM). 

My ham radio hobby provides an excellent break from all that. Glad to hear that rumors of its demise have been greatly exaggerated. Aren’t you?

Earlier this year, I purchased a new laptop. In transferring some old critical files from my old pc to this laptop, I recognized a need to protect this data.

Over the past few years, I’ve been keeping my logbook in DXKeeper (part of the DXLab suite). I’ve also got countless pictures, documents, spreadsheets and just plain irreplaceable “stuff” on my computer. I had been trying to remember to periodically transfer files to an external USB hard drive. In my mind there are several problems with that:

• Remembering to do it
• What if… worries (what if that HD crashes, what if it gets damaged or destroyed somehow, …)
• Other PCs to backup (my wife’s – which has critical data of its own)

I’ve found a solution that works for me. Mozy Online Backup - 2GB Free.  Mozy is an automatic backup system that is very easy to configure and uploads files in the background without any effort on my part.  Perfect!

Oh, did I mention that you can protect up to 2 GB for free? For most ham radio applications, that’s plenty. If you need more, you can move up to an unlimited account: Mozy Unlimited Backup - $4.95/Month.

Prior to using Mozy, I used to periodically email my log file to myself… just in case. Now, I’ve installed Mozy and configured it to automatically backup my ham radio logbook files.

I’ve been very happy with Mozy so far and have installed it on my wife’s PC as well. (Gotta protect those tax returns too).  Give it a try (at least the free version).

Disclosure: In addition to being a happy Mozy user, I’m a Mozy affiliate.

In their never ending quest to promote amateur radio to the general public, the ARRL announced a new marketing campaign today: “We Don’t Do That”.

Over the past few years, the ARRL launched several new websites tied to promoting the many facets of ham radio:

• Hello-radio.org  Celebrates global ham radio communications… all walks of life and in every generation.
• Emergency-radio.org Amateur radio serves the public in times of need.
• WeDoThat-Radio.org Technical & experimentation aspects of ham radio.

Through these marketing blitzes, the league provided a lot of information on a myriad of topics… each of which helped to open the eyes of folks who may have known the breadth and depth of ham radio.  Technology (satellites, software, protocols, antenna design, …), public service, global goodwill, and much much more. 

Unfortunately, the ARRL is a victim of its own success. Apparently, the switchboard is frequently overloaded with questions from the public seeking even more information.

The new “Ham Radio: We Don’t Do That” campaign hopes to clarify a few things. For example, despite what some might think:

• The 100 ft tower in your neighbor’s backyard will not allow him to get free wireless internet in Jamaica.
• The FCC did not force ham radio operators to create digital modes.
• N0HRsoft is not planning to port the popular DXpedition! video game to the Nintendo Wii.
• Field Day is not an attempt to see which club makes the best chilidogs cooked with solar panels.
• 14.275 MHz is not the resonant frequency of most garbage disposals.

Let me be the first to thank the ARRL for their efforts on this new campaign.