N8HM's Apartment QRP Contesting Blog

HK0NA - Malpelo Island

2012-01-29T19:31:00.000-08:00

I was able to complete 3 QSOs with HK0NA on Malpelo Island this weekend. The first QSO came Saturday afternoon on 12m SSB. I only called 3 or 4 times before they came back to me. It was a great thrill to work the 12th Most Wanted DXCC entity (2011 100 Most Wanted Countries Survey) with just 5 watts and a magnetic loop. On Sunday, I worked them on 15m SSB and 17m CW. Between the three QSOs, I probably only spent about 20 minutes calling with the majority of the time spent in the pileup on 17m CW. I would like to complete a RTTY QSO, but their RTTY signals have been very weak and the pileups have been terrible. Maybe next weekend.

Here's the screen shot from Club Log showing that I am in the log on 12m SSB (they haven't uploaded the logs from this afternoon yet).

Malpelo Island is rarely activated, so it's important to work them on as many bands and modes as possible while the HK0NA team is there. The island is nothing more than a piece of volcanic rock about 235 miles off the Colombian coast. It is unoccupied except for a small Colombian Army post. Due to the rugged terrain and strong currents, it is very difficult to land on Malpelo Island. The Colombian Navy provided transportation to the island.

Check out the photos from the DXpedition here: HK0NA Photos

The DXpedition's main website is here: http://hk0na.com/

PJ4C

2012-01-22T17:16:00.000-08:00

Well, the HK0NA pileups are terrible. I hope I'm able to break through more towards the end of the DXpedition. Who knows when Malpelo Island will be activated again. I did work PJ4C on Bonaire on both 20m and 15m RTTY this weekend as they work towards the world record for RTTY QSOs in a single DXpedition. As of this evening, they were approximately 2,000 QSOs short.

I first broke through on Saturday night on 20m RTTY, but they logged me as N8HMV despite attempting to correct them several times. This afternoon I found them and worked them on 15m. They got it right this time, as I confirmed that I was in the log through their website. Just a few minutes ago, I worked them on 20m as I was seeking relief from the crazy HK0NA pileup. I'm confident they got my call right this time.


Screenshot of QSO with PJ4C on 15m RTTY

Screenshot of QSO with PJ4C on 20m RTTY

DXCC Certificate

2012-01-22T13:07:00.000-08:00

My DXCC certificate arrived in the mail on Friday. Although I had the QSL cards to qualify ten years ago, I never bothered to have them checked or do the paperwork. A couple of weeks ago, I finally reached 100 confirmed entities on Logbook of the World and applied for the award.

2012 ARRL RTTY Roundup

2012-01-16T17:55:00.000-08:00

The ARRL RTTY Roundup is one of the biggest RTTY contests of the year. Participation in RTTY has been increasing for many years and, despite less than perfect conditions, the data segments of the bands were jammed with RTTY signals during the contest. On 15 meters, I worked stations as low as 21.072 MHz and as high as 21.134 MHz. On 20 meters, I worked stations as low as 14.067 MHz and as high as 14.141 MHz. I did not get a 40 meter antenna out as I was not able to operate on Saturday night and I only worked one station on 10 meters during the contest as I missed the peak and did not check the band until later on Sunday afternoon. My goal for this contest was to make 100 QSOs.

One other great thing about this contest is that the District of Columbia is a multiplier and DC stations are highly sought after. It's too bad I don't have a station where I can run effectively as I'm sure I could attract some good pileups.

The contest started at 1800Z on Saturday and I started right away working P49X in Aruba at 1802Z. The first hour went very well as I worked 17 stations on 15 meters. I consider that a good rate running just five watts into a magnetic loop. Interesting stations worked during the first hour include 4U1WB, the World Bank Amateur Radio Club here in DC, FM5CD in Martinique, VE1OP in Nova Scotia, and HI3TEJ in the Dominican Republic. I ended up working 20 more stations on Saturday afternoon for a total of 37 before going QRT to head out Saturday night to meet some friends to watch the Detroit Lions playoff game.

I woke up just after 1300Z and continued to work 15 meters to grab several European mults, including DL5AAX in Germany, EI3GRB in Ireland, OL8M in the Czech Republic, UX0FF in Ukraine, RK3DXW in European Russia, LY1R in Lithuania, 9A5W in Croatia, IV3KVC in Italy, G4DBX in England, EA1DR in Spain, and GI4SJQ in Northern Ireland, which was DXCC #103 worked from this station. After 1500Z, all of the stations worked were Carribean, Central America, South America, and US/VE, mostly on 15m and 20m. I did go to 10 meters and worked XE2AUD for the Mexico mult at 1921Z. At 2330Z, a half hour before the contest ended, I went QRT after working TG9SM in Guatemala for one final mult. I ended up working 133 stations in 27 states/provinces and 26 countries, easily exceeding my goal for the contest.

Here's my score summary as posted to 3830:

ARRL RTTY Roundup

Call: N8HM
Operator(s): N8HM
Station: N8HM

Class: Single Op LP
QTH: Washington, DC
Operating Time (hrs): 11.5

Summary:
 Band  QSOs
------------
   80:     
   40:     
   20:   47
   15:   85
   10:    1
------------
Total:  133  State/Prov = 27  Countries = 26  Total Score = 7,049

Club: Potomac Valley Radio Club

Comments:

Lots of activity on the RTTY bands and conditions were decent. Very happy with
the QSO total, but I am a bit disappointed with the mult total. All contacts
made with 5 watts and an AlexLoop Walkham Portable Magnetic Loop on my
apartment balcony. It would be nice for RTTY contests to include a QRP
category. Thanks to the ops who took time to dig my weak signal out of the
noise.

Rig - Yaesu FT-817ND
Interface - Signalink USB
Logger - N1MM
Antenna - AlexLoop Walkham Portable Magnetic Loop

And the QSO Map:

Portable Operation in Michigan

2012-01-12T18:04:00.000-08:00

I traveled to my home state of Michigan during the holidays and brought along my gear. Though I didn't end up doing much operating, I did make a few interesting contacts.

My equipment was the same as I use at home: Yaesu FT-817ND, Signalink USB, and an AlexLoop Walkham Portable Magnetic Loop. Instead of my desktop computer, I used a Dell Mini 10v netbook running the Windows 8 Developer Preview. All of this equipment fit into four small bags. The transceiver and netbook were carried in my carry-on luggage while the antenna and miscellaneous accessories were carried in my checked luggage.

Clockwise from top left: 1. AlexLoop Walkham Portable Magnetic Loop in carrying case, 2. Targus netbook case with Yaesu FT-817ND, Signalink USB, MFJ Power Supply, and Miracle Ducker antenna,. 3. Case Logic Portable DVD Player case with wire antennas and accessories, 4. Targus netbook case with Dell Mini 10v netbook.

Unfortunately, my camera tripod would not fit into my suitcase, so I traveled without a suitable support for the antenna. When operating, I set everything up on my grandparents' oversized chair and ottoman.


Operating JT65 from my portable setup.

I set up the station first on December 23rd at around 1900Z and operated PSK31 with Fldigi. I worked KF4RWA in Tuscaloosa, AL on 20m, KJ4TLB in Clermont, FL on 15m, KA1BSZ in Fairlee, VT on 20m, and CO2VE in Cuba on 20m.

On December 26th, I set the station up earlier (just after 1400Z) to try to work some DX on JT65. After just a few minutes of calling CQ, my signal was copied all over Europe on 15m.


Viewing my PSKReporter JT65 spots using the Hamlog iPhone app

With the antenna tuned to 15m, I proceded to work W4JHC in LaFayette, LA and N5YLJ in Wichita Falls, TX before taking a break for breakfast. At 1614Z, I worked F5RRS in France.


View of my netbook screen after working F5RRS on 15m JT65.

I went on to work EA7DUD in Spain at 1629Z, GM4UYE in Scotland at 1650Z, and EI1DG in Ireland at 1713Z.

Shortly after 1730Z, I went to check out 20m and worked W1VVV in Hampton, NH at 1755Z.


PSKReporter spots as of 1748Z on December 26th

Shortly after working W1VVV, I saw KL8DX in Healy, AK calling CQ. As I follow KL8DX on Twitter (@KL8DX) and am a regular reader of his blog (My take on 63 Degrees of Propagation), I was determined to complete a QSO with him. He had quite a few callers, so it was tricky to get through with my weak signal. Finally, I was able to get through and complete the QSO at 1847Z. He gave me a decent signal report of -16dB and copied one of my signals at -14dB.


Screenshot from KL8DX of our QSO.

That was the last QSO I made while in Michigan. It was quite fun to make several DX QSOs with Europe and Alaska with such a minimal setup and an indoor antenna.

CQ WPX SSB and eQSL.cc eDX Certificates

2012-01-09T07:34:00.000-08:00

In addition to the QRP DXCC certificate I received in the mail last week, I received a couple of electronic certificates over the weekend.

The first is for placing #2 in the USA 3rd Call Area and #10 in North America in the SOAB QRP category of the 2011 CQ WPX SSB Contest:

The second is the eDX award from eQSL.cc for confirming over 75 DXCC entities on eQSL.cc:

I will have a couple of posts tonight about my portable operations from Michigan as well as the 2012 ARRL RTTY Roundup.

QRP DXCC Certificate

2012-01-04T17:53:00.000-08:00

Just got back from 13 days in Michigan and my QRP DXCC certificate was waiting for me in my mailbox.

For more info see this post.

Later I'll have a post about my portable operations in Michigan and then coming up this weekend is the ARRL RTTY Roundup.

OK DX RTTY Contest, Croatian CW Contest, and RAC Winter Contest

2011-12-19T19:29:00.000-08:00

The Czech RTTY Contest was one of the first RTTY contests I worked back in 2000. For the first time in 11 years, I was back at it this past Saturday. Conditions were not great. I got started just after 1330Z and easily made a few EU contacts on 15m in the first half hour: YL2CI in Latvia, DL0TTY and DK0EE in Germany, and OK1KSL in the Czech Republic. Signals were fading in and out as the solar flux was a bit lower than it had been over the past few months and I only made two more European contacts in the contest: OK6W in the Czech Republic and M0IKW in England. In between working RTTY, I also made a handful of contacts in two other contests that were going on simultaneously: the Croatian CW Contest and the Radio Amateurs of Canada Winter Contest. I worked three stations in the Croatian contest: 9A5Y and 9A5MT in Croatia and E73W in Bosnia. I also worked one station in the RAC Contest: VE1OP in Nova Scotia. Those 4 QSOs were all made on 15m CW. The rest of the day was spent making mostly domestic contacts on 15m and 20m in the OK RTTY contest. One interesting station worked was P41HQ in Aruba (though they were sending the wrong zone - Aruba is in CQ Zone 9 and they were sending 11 as their exchange). P41HQ is a unique effort from the Aruba Amateur Radio Club to promote Amateur Radio in Aruba and lobby the Aruban Minister of Communication to make changes to the laws governing Amateur Radio in Aruba. The goal is to work as many stations as possible and have those hams send QSL cards directly to the Aruban Minister of Communication as part of the lobbying effort. I will definitely be sending my card.

My score summaries for the three contests, are submitted to 3830, is below:

OK DX RTTY Contest

Call: N8HM
Operator(s): N8HM
Station: N8HM

Class: SOAB LP
QTH: Washington, DC
Operating Time (hrs): 

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Pts  Countries  OK Stns
-------------------------------------
   80:                           
   40:                           
   20:   9    11       4         
   15:  23    32       8        2
   10:                           
-------------------------------------
Total:  32    43      12        2  Total Score = 602

Club: Potomac Valley Radio Club

Comments:

Rig - Yaesu FT-817ND
Antenna - Alexloop Walkham Portable Magnetic Loop

Croatian CW Contest

Call: N8HM
Operator(s): N8HM
Station: N8HM

Class: SOAB QRP
QTH: Washington, DC
Operating Time (hrs): 

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Mults
-------------------
  160:          
   80:          
   40:          
   20:          
   15:   3     2
   10:          
-------------------
Total:   3     2  Total Score = 30

Club: Potomac Valley Radio Club

Comments:

Rig - Yaesu FT-817ND
Antenna - Alexloop Walkham Portable Magnetic Loop

RAC Winter Contest

Call: N8HM
Operator(s): N8HM
Station: N8HM

Class: SOSB/15 QRP
QTH: Washington, DC
Operating Time (hrs): 

Summary:
 Band  CW Qs  Ph Qs  CW Mults  Ph Mults
----------------------------------------
  160:                              
   80:                              
   40:                              
   20:                              
   15:   1               1          
   10:                              
    6:                              
    2:                              
----------------------------------------
Total:   1      0        1         0  Total Score = 10

Club: Potomac Valley Radio Club

Comments:

Rig - Yaesu FT-817ND
Antenna - Alexloop Walkham Portable Magnetic Loop

And the QSO map (includes QSOs from the OK RTTY Contest only):

ARRL 10 Meter Contest

2011-12-12T16:14:00.000-08:00

I was really looking forward to the ARRL 10 Meter Contest this year. With the sunspot numbers increasing as Solar Cycle 24 takes off, propagation on 10 meters has been excellent over the past few months. When 10 meters is open, it can be really open and 5 watts into a magnetic loop can be extremely effective. Another advantage of this contest is that DC is a separate multiplier and the DC mult is highly sought after. As far as I know, only KE3X, K2PS, 4U1WB, and myself were working SSB from DC. My plan for the contest was to build a full size vertical antenna, which would be both theoretically more efficient than the magnetic loop and omnidirectional. While I could turn the magnetic loop as the band opens to different areas, due to interaction with the iron balcony railing, the loop will not tune to an acceptable SWR at certain orientations on 15 meters and above (I've tried numerous tricks, such as squashing the coupling loop to no effect). As such, the loop is generally oriented in a northeast/southwest direction.

On Friday night, I cut five wires for the 10 meter band. I attached one to a crappie pole and set it out on the balcony, while attaching the four others as radials. The antenna had a fine SWR for the phone band on the first try. Unfortunately, the noise level was S9+. Most manmade noise is vertically polarized and, thus, a vertical antenna picks up all the plasma and LCD TVs and other electronics in the apartment building, so I scuttled those plans and went back to the loop.

The contest started at 0000Z, or 7pm on Friday night here in Washington. Unfortunately, by this time on the East Coast, the band is generally closed except at the very peak of the solar cycle. I tuned around and found 4U1WB from the World Bank HQ calling CQ from about 2 miles northwest of me and worked him to get the DC mult right away. I tuned around some more and didn't hear anything, so I went about 10 kHz up from 4U1WB and called CQ myself. Calling CQ with 5 watts on SSB into a small antenna isn't generally a ticket to success, but after a couple of calls, KW3W in Maryland called and right after him, W3DM in Virginia called. I called CQ a few more times, and then shut down for the night satisfied that I had gotten the local mults out of the way.

I woke up at 1100Z and tuned around the band. Hearing nothing, I went back to bed and woke up at 1200Z. At 1200Z, I still heard nothing, so I went back to bed again and woke up at 1300Z. I was finally able to hear activity at 1300Z and started off with a call to W4NF in Virginia followed quickly by HI3K in the Dominican Republic and P40K in Aruba. Two more Dominicans came after, HI3CC and HI3TEJ. I wasn't able to work a European station until 1530Z when I was able to get through to DL2WMB in Germany. The rest of the day was mostly frustrating as I was unable to break many of the pileups. I worked a few western US and Canadian stations plus Carribean, South America, and Mexico. Some of the interesting DX was FY8DK in French Guiana, J68UN, the Buddipole team in St. Lucia, and CE3CT (ex-CE4CT) in Chile who I never have any trouble working in any contest. I went QRT as the band died out around 2230Z.

I was back at it at 1300Z. Propagation to Europe sounded better, but it was very uneven. Most of the stations were weak and unworkable for me, but E7DX in Bosnia was absolutely booming and I worked him with no trouble on the first call at 1331Z. I only worked three more Europeans the rest of the contest: PI4DX in the Netherlands, OP2A in Belgium, and EB2AM in Spain. The rest of the contest I could only work the Carribean, South America, Mexico, and the western US. I spent way too much time in pileups and had to take several breaks due to frustration. I just couldn't break through to many of the stations. I think it's time to invest in the W4RT One Big Punch speech compressor to give my audio some punch to break through the pileups.

My 3830 summary is as follows:

ARRL 10-Meter Contest

Call: N8HM
Operator(s): N8HM
Station: N8HM

Class: SO SSB QRP
QTH: Washington, DC
Operating Time (hrs): 15

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Mults
-------------------
   CW:           
  SSB:  56     34
-------------------
Total:  56     34  Total Score = 3,808

Club: Potomac Valley Radio Club

Comments:

My goal was 100 QSOs. Fell way short. Couldn't break through many of the
pileups. This score would have been good for 9th in the world last year, but
I'm sure it won't be close to that this year now that we actually have
sunspots. Happy to hand out the DC mult to those who pulled me out of the mud.
Thanks for the QSOs. See you for a few hours at least in the OK RTTY contest
next week.  

Rig - Yaesu FT-817ND
Antenna - Alexloop Walkham Portable Magnetic Loop

This score would have been good for 9th place in the world in the Single Op SSB QRP category last year. However, I'm sure that this score will place quite a bit lower than that given the vastly superior conditions on 10 meters this year.

Next week, I'll make a few contacts in the OK RTTY Contest during the opening to Europe on 15 meters on Saturday morning, but I'll probably only stay on for a few hours.

Here is the QSO map:

ARISSat-1

2011-12-06T17:54:00.000-08:00

One aspect of amateur radio that I've long been interested in, but hadn't pursued is amateur satellites. In early August, ARISSat-1 was deployed from the International Space Station. This satellite consists of a 145MHz FM downlink, a 435MHz/145MHz linear transponder, 145MHz CW beacons, and 145MHz BPSK-1000 telemetry. For more information on ARISSat-1, check out the website here. If you wish to attempt to receive it's signals, time is limited as the satellite's orbit is rapidly decaying and it's expected to re-enter the atmosphere in January or February 2012.

Around the time that ARISSat-1 was deployed, I purchased an Arrow 2m/70cm handheld satellite yagi to use with my FT-817ND for both terrestrial VHF/UHF operation and amateur satellites. The Arrow satellite antenna is a combination 7 element 70cm yagi and 3 element 2m yagi. More information on the antenna can be found at Arrow Antennas.

The Arrow Antenna, with only the 2m elements, attached mounted on a camera tripod.

On the evening of August 17th, I went out into the courtyard behind my apartment building to record a pass of ARISSat-1. I used the Arrow with my FT-817ND. The antenna was held in my hand as I tracked the pass across the sky and the radio was around my neck. I recorded the audio with my iPhone (using the mic on the included headphones - no direct connection).


The Arrow Antenna and FT-817ND

In order to track the satellite, I used the excellent iPad/iPhone app HamSat.

HamSat HD on the iPad

For this pass, I would start pointing the antenna towards the northwest and move east through the pass.


Map View of HamSat HD on the iPad tracking ARISSat-1

Shortly after 8pm on August 17th, I acquired the FM downlink signal and was able to receive the audio for about 7 minutes before the satellite was out of range. Below is the audio recorded from the pass.

ARISSat-1 Pass 8/17/11 by stoetze4

At Acquisition of Signal (AoS), the satellite was transmitting an SSTV image from one of it's onboard cameras. Following the completion of this transmission, the satellite transmitted it's identification and greeting messages followed by satellite status and more greeting messages. An SSTV image follows that, then another identification, more greetings, satellite status, another SSTV image, and so on until Loss of Signal (LoS).

I decoded the SSTV images simply by holding a microphone up to my computer speaker and using the iPad app SSTV. The following two images were decoded, both taken by the satellite's onboard cameras:


First image


Second image

This was my first attempt at receiving transmissions from an amateur satellite. I hope to continue to dabble in amateur satellites in the future. As mentioned before, ARISSat-1's orbit is rapidly decaying and it won't be with us for much longer. Act now if you wish to attempt to receive the satellite's signals.

The Inaugural 10-Meter RTTY Contest

2011-12-05T18:09:00.000-08:00

I participated in two contests the past weekend, the TARA RTTY Melee, and the first 10-Meter RTTY Contest organized by two of the top RTTY contesters, Don, AA5AU and Mike, K4GMH. I only made 4 QSOs in the TARA RTTY Melee, including VO1NM in Newfoundland for a new Canadian province. As Saturday was a busy day with the Big Ten Football Championship Game, the Sunday only 10-Meter RTTY Contest fit perfectly into my schedule.

Although the contest started at 0000Z on Sunday, that was after the band was closed. After a rough night, it was a struggle to wake up at 1400Z to get started. Shortly after 1400Z, I worked four Carribean stations, P40K in Aruba, NP4BM in Puerto Rico, PJ5/DL7VOG on Sint Eustatius, and VP2MWG on Montserrat. After that, it became a slog. Between 1448Z and 1906Z, the only stations worked were eight Texas stations. It seemed that the only place the band was open to was Texas. I finally broke that streak at 1906Z by working XE1EE in Mexico, then two more Texas stations before working W0TUP in North Dakota, KP4JRS in Puerto Rico, and W0LSD in Colorado. At 2021Z, I worked VE5MX in Saskatchewan. Another Texas station was worked after that and then LU7HN in Argentina and FG5LA in Guadeloupe. At 2124Z, I worked XE2FGC in Mexico and KT0DX in Colorado. Two more Texas stations and one more Colorado station came after that before finding LT0H in Argentina. About this time, PJ2/K2PLF in Curacao was quite strong, but I could not break through the pileup despite trying for quite a few minutes. I ended the contest by working K0RFD in Colorado and XE1XOE in Mexico.

Propagation was not good. I heard very little EU. An F station was quite strong, but he was operating S&P. I called a relatively strong GM who came back to "N8" before fading out never to be heard from again. I ended up working 13 Texas stations and several in Colorado. Propagation seemed very focused on certain areas at certain times. Very strange conditions. I hope the conditions are better for this weekend's ARRL 10 Meter Contest.

Here is my 3830 score summary:

10-Meter RTTY Contest

Call: N8HM
Operator(s): N8HM
Station: N8HM

Class: Single Op QRP
QTH: Washington, DC
Operating Time (hrs): 

Summary:
Total:  QSOs = 32  State/Prov = 5  Countries = 7  Total Score = 384

Club: Potomac Valley Radio Club

Comments:

Rig - Yaesu FT-817ND
Antenna - Alexloop Walkham Portable Magnetic Loop

And the QSO Map:

The other side of the QSO

2011-12-05T17:36:00.000-08:00

One great thing about the internet and ham radio is the ability to confirm QSOs quickly and for little or no cost through eQSL or LoTW. Another thing that is perhaps even greater is the ability to share the other side of the QSO with the other ham.


Screenshot from Sergey, UR3CTB, of our JT65 QSO

Above is a screenshot that Sergey, UR3CTB, sent to me after our 20m JT65 QSO on June 27, 2011. You can see my weak signal on the far right of the waterfall. For more information about JT65, see this eHam.net article: JT65-HF -- an 'Odd' but Fun Digital Mode

In addition to seeing what my signal looked like as it was being received 5,000 miles away in Ukraine, I have also had the opportunity to hear my 5w SSB signal as it sounded at CN2R in Morocco during the 2011 CQ WPX SSB Contest.

CQWPXSSB2011 2 2100-02 by stoetze4

If you have worked CN2R during previous contests, check the CN2R Audio Logbook for your QSO.

During the 2011 Russian DX Contest, I had the pleasure to share a video of my QSO with Tur, YL2SM, in Latvia.

Getting to see or hear the other side of a QSO is a great experience and I would encourage all hams to share audio, video, or screenshots of memorable or interesting QSOs.

QRP DXCC and Pedestrian Mobile HF

2011-12-05T17:12:00.000-08:00

One of my major operating goals after getting my station set up here in my apartment was to work QRP DXCC. I accomplished this goal in under a year. My first QSO was in the ARRL 10m Contest on December 11, 2010 with Fred, K3ZO, just 14 miles away in Temple Hills, MD for QRP DXCC #1. On November 26, 2011, during the CQ WW CW Contest, I worked ES7GM in Estonia for QRP DXCC #100.

The ARRL sponsors the QRP DXCC award, which only requires submitting an application and log extracts. No QSL cards are required.

The QRP DXCC Award Certificate

As soon as the contest was over, I submitted my application to the ARRL. I have made eligible contacts with 103 DXCC entities. The following is the list of entities I have worked in order of date first worked (from Club Log). All entities have been worked with 5 watts and my AlexLoop Walkham Portable Magnetic Loop Antenna.

Entity	First Worked
ALAND IS.	2011-11-27
MONTSERRAT	2011-11-27
CEUTA AND MELILLA	2011-11-27
GAMBIA	2011-11-26
ESTONIA	2011-11-26
LITHUANIA	2011-11-13
ASCENSION I.	2011-11-13
BERMUDA	2011-10-30
PERU	2011-10-30
SOUTH AFRICA	2011-10-09
LUXEMBOURG	2011-09-25
SENEGAL	2011-09-25
JAMAICA	2011-09-19
BALEARIC IS.	2011-07-31
SWEDEN	2011-06-30
SWITZERLAND	2011-06-30
ARMENIA	2011-06-26
NEW ZEALAND	2011-06-04
ECUADOR	2011-05-19
SAINT BARTHELEMY	2011-05-14
SARDINIA	2011-05-08
BRITISH VIRGIN IS.	2011-05-02
FRENCH GUIANA	2011-04-23
EUROPEAN RUSSIA	2011-04-23
ICELAND	2011-04-18
BELGIUM	2011-04-13
GREECE	2011-04-10
SERBIA	2011-04-10
ST. LUCIA	2011-04-07
CANARY IS.	2011-04-03
ROMANIA	2011-04-03
PANAMA	2011-03-30
MADEIRA IS.	2011-03-27
MOROCCO	2011-03-27
NORWAY	2011-03-26
NICARAGUA	2011-03-26
IRELAND	2011-03-22
UKRAINE	2011-03-20
BELARUS	2011-03-20
POLAND	2011-03-20
FINLAND	2011-03-20
ST. PIERRE & MIQUELON	2011-03-20
BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA	2011-03-19
LATVIA	2011-03-19
NETHERLANDS	2011-03-19
DENMARK	2011-03-19
GREENLAND	2011-03-13
ITALY	2011-03-13
WALES	2011-03-13
FRANCE	2011-03-13
CZECH REPUBLIC	2011-03-06
ANTIGUA & BARBUDA	2011-03-06
DOMINICA	2011-03-06
VENEZUELA	2011-03-06
ALASKA	2011-03-06
ANGUILLA	2011-03-06
SINT MAARTEN	2011-03-06
PARAGUAY	2011-03-06
SCOTLAND	2011-03-05
SPAIN	2011-03-05
SLOVAK REPUBLIC	2011-03-05
HAITI	2011-03-05
PORTUGAL	2011-03-05
MARTINIQUE	2011-03-05
CROATIA	2011-03-05
VIRGIN IS.	2011-02-27
GUANTANAMO BAY	2011-02-26
GUATEMALA	2011-02-24
BARBADOS	2011-02-20
FED REP OF GERMANY	2011-02-20
SLOVENIA	2011-02-20
TURKS & CAICOS	2011-02-20
URUGUAY	2011-02-20
CAYMAN IS.	2011-02-20
AZORES	2011-02-20
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC	2011-02-20
ST. EUSTATIUS & SABA	2011-02-20
ARGENTINA	2011-02-20
BONAIRE	2011-02-20
HONDURAS	2011-02-20
BAHAMAS	2011-02-20
HUNGARY	2011-02-19
BELIZE	2011-02-19
ST. VINCENT	2011-02-19
ST. KITTS & NEVIS	2011-02-19
AUSTRIA	2011-02-19
COSTA RICA	2011-02-19
BRAZIL	2011-02-19
CHILE	2011-02-19
COLOMBIA	2011-02-19
ENGLAND	2011-02-19
CURACAO	2011-02-15
GRENADA	2011-02-13
CUBA	2011-02-12
CAPE VERDE	2011-02-12
GUADELOUPE	2011-02-05
MEXICO	2011-02-05
CANADA	2011-01-22
SURINAME	2011-01-09
ARUBA	2011-01-09
PUERTO RICO	2011-01-09
UNITED STATES	2010-12-11

I only upload QSOs from my home QTH into Club Log, so this list does not include my pedestrian mobile QSO with NH6I in Hawaii on 17m SSB while I was overlooking the Pacific Ocean south of Seaside, OR. He only gave me a 2x2 report. I used the same Yaesu FT-817ND and Alexloop antenna for pedestrian mobile operation.


The view of the ocean from the scenic overlook south of Seaside, OR

As I was traveling with non-ham friends, I didn't have too much time to operate. The QSO with Norm, NH6I, would be the only QSO I would make on the trip and it is still my only pedestrian mobile HF QSO.


Working NH6I on 17m SSB as KD8BEO looks on.

My pedestrian mobile setup.

CQ WW CW Contest

2011-12-05T16:13:00.000-08:00

The CQ WW CW Contest is one of the biggest contests of the year. Unfortunately, I cannot copy CW at anywhere near contest speeds. The nice thing about this contest is the easy and static exchange. So I set up Ham Radio Deluxe with three macros: "N8HM," "5NN 5," and "5 5 5" and let it do the decoding. I can recognize my call and "TU" pretty easily, so between the computer giving perfect decodes on computer-sent CW and my ears, I could pretty much copy anything that was being sent.

I entered this contest with the goal of finding new DXCC entities to work towards QRP DXCC. Prior to the contest, I was at 98 entities (97 worked from this QTH plus a QSO with Hawaii while I was pedestrian mobile on the Pacific coast in Oregon), so I was very hopeful of completing QRP DXCC during the contest.

I started the contest on 20m right at 0000Z and found V26K in Antigua and Barbuda for my first QSO at 0003Z. Shortly afterwards, I found C5A in The Gambia, a new DXCC, and was determined to work him. Three hours later (with some breaks from calling to maintain sanity), at 0308Z, he was in the log for QRP DXCC entity #99. Just needed one more!


Screenshot of QSO with C5A in Ham Radio Deluxe

I went on to work HK3TU and then called it a night as 20m was starting to close down and I lack any legitimate DX antennas for lower bands.

I woke up just after 1300Z and worked C6AAW in the Bahamas before moving to 15m where I worked ZF1A in the Cayman Islands and PJ5G on Sint Eustatius (my first PJ5, but I have worked PJ6 before, so it was not a new DXCC entity). I continued to work European and Carribean stations over the next couple of hours before finding ES7GM in Estonia to complete QRP DXCC. After this, I headed to the bar to watch the Michigan State football game.

I returned home at around 2100Z and worked three more stations on 15m - HC2SL in Ecuador, FY5KE in French Guiana, and VE7GL in British Columbia - before shutting down for the evening. I decided not to go back to 20m that evening and just took a break.

At 1300Z, I was back at it, working Europe on 15m. At 1351Z, I found OH0Z on Aland Island for QRP DXCC #101. At about 1530Z, I moved to 10m and at 1544Z, I found VP2MWG on Montserrat for #102. At 1553Z, ED9M in Ceuta started calling CQ very near to where my dial was and I worked him first call for QRP DXCC #103. That was my last new one of the contest. I did work VY2SS on Prince Edward Island on 15m for a new Canadian province. I went QRT at 2200Z as 15m started to die down and fatigue was setting in.

My contest summary as posted on 3830:

CQ Worldwide DX Contest, CW

Call: N8HM
Operator(s): N8HM
Station: N8HM

Class: SOAB QRP
QTH: Washington, DC
Operating Time (hrs): 

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Zones  Countries
------------------------------
  160:                    
   80:                    
   40:                    
   20:   5      3        5
   15:  38     12       29
   10:  24      9       19
------------------------------
Total:  67     24       53  Total Score = 13,629

Club: Potomac Valley Radio Club

Comments:

Worked a total of 42 countries in 15 zones, including 5 new ones which gives me
a QRP DXCC total worked of 103. Thanks for the QSOs!

Rig - Yaesu FT-817ND
Antenna - Alexloop Walkham Portable Magnetic Loop

And the QSO map:

ARRL SSB Sweepstakes

2011-12-05T15:35:00.000-08:00

I'll admit it: I am not a fan of Sweepstakes. The exchange is far too long and frustrating, especially for QRP. However, as a member of the Potomac Valley Radio Club, I wanted to do what I could to assist the club in defending our title against the Northern California Contest Club. I hoped to make at least 50 QSOs and deployed a wire antenna since I knew 40m would be an important band and my 1m diameter loop is hopelessly inefficient on 40m.

The wire was in sort of an L shape, hanging out over the balcony on a crappie pole and then dropping about 20 feet. The total length was about 50 feet and was tuned with an MFJ tuner.

Unfortunately, it didn't work quite as well as I'd hoped and I gave up after three hours of operating.

Here is the summary as posted to 3830:

ARRL Sweepstakes Contest, SSB

Call: N8HM
Operator(s): N8HM
Station: N8HM

Class: Single Op QRP
QTH: Washington, DC
Operating Time (hrs): 3

Summary:
 Band  QSOs
------------
  160:    
   80:    
   40:   8
   20:   2
   15:   3
   10:   1
------------
Total:  14  Sections = 10  Total Score = 280

Club: Potomac Valley Radio Club

Comments:

Disappointed. Hoped to make at least 50 QSOs this weekend, but got discouraged
in just a couple of hours of unsuccessful search and pounce.

Ugly. The only positive was working fellow PVRCer N4ZR in West Virginia for a new state for WAS. Next year, I'll find a multi/multi operation to operate at.

WAE DX RTTY Contest

2011-12-05T15:21:00.000-08:00

RTTY contesting is a favorite of mine. Unfortunately, most contest sponsors do not include a QRP category for RTTY contests. While RTTY is not nearly as good a mode for QRP operation as CW or PSK31, it is better than SSB and most SSB contests include a QRP category.

The Worked All Europe contests are always fun. One of my first forays into HF contesting was the Worked All Europe SSB contest in September 2000. I made over 100 contacts in that contest and it was a great deal of fun.

I only worked the final day of this contest. Saturday was filled with Michigan State football and partying, which made it tough to wake up at 8:00am in time for 10 meters to open to Europe! I also shut down early to go to the bar to watch the Detroit Lions game late that afternoon.

Here is my summary score from 3830:

WAE DX Contest, RTTY

Call: N8HM
Operator(s): N8HM
Station: N8HM

Class: Single Op LP
QTH: Washington, DC
Operating Time (hrs): 7

Summary:
 Band  QSOs  Pts  QTCs  Mults
------------------------------
   80:                      
   40:                      
   20:   3     3           6
   15:  29    39   10     42
   10:  11    11          18
------------------------------
Total:  43    53   10     66  Total Score = 3,498

Club: Potomac Valley Radio Club

Comments:

Rig - Yaesu FT-817ND
Antenna - AlexLoop Walkham Portable Magnetic Loop

As multipliers are doubled on the 20, 15, and 10 in this contest, the multiplier totals actually should be half of what is listed here.

I started this contest on 10m shortly after 1300Z. I worked a couple of stations in Puerto Rico and then found some European stations. Worked several Europeans over the next hour. As I am running QRP into a small magnetic loop antenna, it often takes several calls to break through. At 1415Z, I was sitting on 28.097MHz when a loud station started CQing a few hundred hertz up the band, I tuned it in and it was ZD8F on Ascension Island calling. I replied and he came right back to me for a new DXCC entity. One difference between the RTTY version of this contest and the SSB and CW versions is that QSOs are allowed between any station - not just with Europeans. Just after 1430Z, I moved down to 15m and continued to work Europeans, running across LY1R in Lithuania at 1621Z for another new DXCC entity.

One interesting feature of this contest is QTCs, which are reports of QSOs made with other stations. Each station can send 10 QTCs to any other station, though QTCs can only be exchanged between stations on different continents. QTCs count the same as QSOs, so exchanging them can really pump up your score. I was not set up to automatically send or receive QTCs and my weak signal ensured that no one would ask me to send QTCs due to the probability that much of the data would need to be resent several times. At 1742Z, I worked DL4RCK and he asked me if I wanted any QTCs. I decided that I would copy them down manually and input them into my log, so I told him I was ready and copied 10 QTCs without a problem. It's an interesting feature of this contest that I hope to explore more in future contests. Afterward, I continued to work several more Europeans and at 2000Z, I moved to 20m and worked three more North Americans to I could break the 3,000 point mark before going QRT and heading to the bar.

It was a fun contest and I can't wait until next year's!

Here is a map of the QSOs made:

Welcome!

2011-12-05T14:53:00.000-08:00

My name is Paul Stoetzer. I was first licensed as KC8NGY in October 1999 at the age of 14. I upgraded to Extra in April 2000 and received the call AB8HM in June of that year. Later that year, I applied for the callsign N8HM. My station at that time consisted of a Kenwood TS-440SAT and an MFJ-1798 80m-2m vertical antenna. I worked over 150 DXCC entities with that setup, but my interest in ham radio drifted somewhat and I was mostly inactive from 2002 through 2011.

In November 2010, I moved to a studio apartment with a balcony in Washington, DC. I realized that the balcony would be perfect for getting back on the air and purchased a Yaesu FT-817ND. I had always loved the idea of a virtually handheld sized DC-to-Daylight rig since it's introduction in 2000 and finally purchased it.

My station consists of the Yaesu FT-817ND, a SignaLink USB, and an AlexLoop Walkham Portable Magnetic Loop Antenna that works on 40m-10m. I still have the TS-440SAT, but I choose QRP both to avoid interference to neighbors and also because the AlexLoop magnetic loop is only rated for a maximum of 20W PEP on SSB (10W CW/RTTY). The challenge of working towards DXCC and WAS QRP also appealed to me. I also have a couple of wire antennas and antenna tuners as well as an Arrow handheld yagi for 2m and 70cm.

Here is a picture of the magnetic loop set up on the balcony:

My main ham radio interests are HF DXing and contesting. I have also dabbled in VHF, especially 6 meters, and satellites. With this station, I have worked 48 states (still missing Hawaii and Delaware) and 105 DXCC entities. My main modes of operation are RTTY, JT65, and PSK31. I also operate in SSB contests and a few CW contests (CQ WW and ARRL DX using computer decoding and the simple exchanges).

I upload my log to HAMLOG, QRZ.com, Club Log, eQSL.cc, and LoTW.

This blog will focus on my contesting and DXing efforts with focus on detailed after-action reports following contests.