VK9DWX Willis Island

I'm spinning the dial. And watching DX Summit (link) as well. My W6ELProp aid suggested 20M CW before sunset and a few hours afterward.

Chase DX.

Call To Action | ARRL Spectrum Defense Fund

The battle for the ionosphere is underway and we are the operators on the ground. I just cannot sit in my operating chair. Do we have the will to defend and protect an ever increasing valuable resource?

Big money and lots of brain power is headed toward our spectrum. Two things talk. Power as measured in the number of people behind an advocacy organization like the ARRL. And the other is lobby money. That's a reality. The two operate hand in hand.

We must set aside differences and rally our personal energies and financial resources behind the ARRL's Spectrum Defense Fund (link). Think in terms of $5 dollar donations. Chat with other ham radio operators about defending our spectrum. We cannot sit on our laurels anymore because the time has passed. The number of mobile communication devices coupled to Internet accessibility will approach 1-billion in the not to distant future.

Defend Our Spectrum.

Salvo, IW1AYD commented "Steve, KC2SIZ, is right, I must agree with him..."

Read comment (link).

Magnetic Loop Concepts (link)--

• Compact.
• Ideal for limited space(s) or for mobile operation eg. boat.
  
• Radials are not required.
  
• Unlike a dipole which uses the electrical component within an electromagnetic field.

Salvo, thank you for expanding our conversation on low-profile antennas and the magnetic loop is very interesting indeed. I'm reading the provided portable document file as well.

73 from the shackadelic.

An Antenna Case Study | Steve, KC2SIZ replied "The situation you describe is not too dissimilar from my own in New York City."

Read comment (link).

Thanks for your additional comment. And a magnetic loop is an interesting solution to the perplexing antenna problem for low-profile ham radio operators.

A good read and an innovative approach developed by KC2SIZ.

73 from the shackadelic.

Mike, KI6QNZ added "This is a great resource list. The WebSDR site is very cool."

Read comment (link).

Many thanks Mike and I agree that WebSDR (link) is a great example of software defined radio capabilities.

Turn on, Tune, Operate.

Anonymous commented, "The following link could be added to the list..."

Read comment (link).

Many thanks for adding ETSI World Class Standards (link) to my expanding SDR links of interest. Additionally, for ham radio operators follow this (link) for amateur radio equipment standards with particular emphasis for test laboratories.

73 from the shackadelic.

Software Defined Radio (SDR) | Links of Interest

I collected the following SDR links of interest during the past few months.

SDR--

• N6TV's Adding an SDR to an SO2R Station (link).
• Got User Interface? (link).
• Cognitive Radio Shows Great Promise (link).
• Cognitive Wireless Technology (link).
• Ettus Research (link).
• Five Below: Medium Wave and Tropical Bands DXing With the Perseus SDR Receiver (link).
• FlexRadio Systems | Software Defined Radio (link).
• F4DAN | Software Defined Radio (link).
  
• GNU Radio | The GNU Software Radio (link).
• HamSDR | Amateur Radio & Software Defined Radio (link).
  
• High Performance Software Defined Radio (link).
• K2WS SDR-1000 Webpage (link).
  
• M0KGK SDR Page (link).
• Phil Covington | Software Defined Radio (link).
  
• Perseus SDR Home Page (link).
• 2006 Software Defined Radio Technical Conference and Product Exposition (link).
• SDR Forum (link).
  
• SDR Transforms Amateur Radio (link).
• SRL QuickSilver QS1R VERB (link).
• TAPR (link).
  
• Tower of Babel technology nears (link).
• WebSDR on 20m, 40m, and 80m (link).

73 from the shackadelic.

2008 California QSO Party | Statistics And Comment

TABLE 1. MULTIPLIER BREAKDOWN

TABLE 2. QSO PER BAND

TABLE 3. QSO PER HOUR

This year was a great teacher and an exercise in patience despite band conditions. Forty meters paid the best dividend this year in terms of Qs and multipliers. The concentration of 7-land Qs (Table 1) suggested at least one good hop to the north and southwest on the low-band into Saturday evening. I was hopeful our ionospheric playing field would improve going into Sunday morning. However my Q-index (Table 3) trended downward and fell significantly on day two.

On the other hand, it was a real struggle on 20 Meters (Table 2) in terms of Qs and multipliers as my less than optimal signal competed against an A-index of 14 both days. Marginal performance for low-power, low-profile operations as QSB wrecked havoc for operators on the receive end. Consistent repeats indicate difficult conditions here and there.

Forty meters produced 62 Qs while 20 Meters returned 10 Qs for a total of seventy-two. Even my multiplier count was down significantly from last year despite search and pounce techniques. Additionally, using VFO A/B technique did not infuse my score with needed Qs and multipliers as well. Fifteen meters factored out of the compete-against-self equation early Saturday afternoon. The solar flux indice of 67 with A- and K-index trending upward seriously dented my focus.

I continued reading HF Antennas For All Locations written by Les Moxon between calling CQ. I'm reading about waves and fields.

My total score is 4,536 raw points without adjudication. But, this is 'how' contesting goes at the absolute bottom of Cycle 23 wherein the value of the A- and K-index increases in conjunction with maximum usable frequency (MUF). Above all, keep your eye on the prize, and continue improving the station.

Contest on.

P40W [Aruba] confirmed USPS

The latest addition to the expanding DXpedition and/or DX QSL card collection arrived on Saturday afternoon. And I like the retro style with its large red P40W lettering, very cool indeed. A stand out QSL card.

I'm turning my direction toward the Pacific and the following King Henry Six QSL cards went out this morning. Additionally, I've worked each station on at least three different bands in most of the major DX contests as well.

King Henry Sixs--

• KH6LC
• KH6MB
• KH6NF

Many thanks to each for providing that KH6 multiplier during most DX contests. Shaka!

QSLing is pure ham radio joy.

Jeff, KE9V commented "...Flex-Radio will open the door to software defined radios for everyone."

Read comment (link).

Ham radio changed after FlexRadio Systems announced the Flex-1500 and Flex-3000 (link). I would consider both as difference makers and game changers. The Flex-1500 opens the door to the NexGen with its affordable price point. One can save the dollars needed for this software defined radio (SDR) within a short period of time. The Flex-1500 does not break the savings account. That's a difference maker.

Additionally, the Flex-3000 is a game changer for its price point as well and, small footprint in the shack. I'm wondering if the next wave of DXpeditions will consider operating a Flex-3000 in the near future? Match this SDR with a laptop and your footprint is substantially less along with reducing freight weight.

I'm looking forward to the innovations that will follow because of the nature of SDR open source coding. The Flex-1500 gives low-power, low-profile operators in densely packed suburban areas a lot of hope at reaching high frequency (HF) operations.

Read Jeff, KE9V's latest posting Flex-Radio Makes Big Move (link).

73 from the shackadelic.