This Year's Challenge. Small and Mini Projects. And Antennas.

This year, as opposed to last year, I have the intention to do some more building and construction activities. Last year was the year of 365 QSOs with 5W, later 365 with just 5W and solar power.

This year is more about getting some physical things done. This does not mean that I will not do much operation. Especially as propagation is among my great interests.

My antennas need an overhaul, and an update. At the moment I have:

For HF: R6000 for 10,12,15,17 and 20m (6m usable for some monitoring). Then a 5 band dipole, 10,15,20,40,80m, passable on 4 and 6m. Also a 30m long wire antenna with some limited counterpoise. This is passable for all HF bands and barely usable for 6 and 4m, and should be usable if I want to listen on 8m (40MHz). a 1/2 wave antenna for 10-11m is OK.

For VHF/UHF I have the V-2000 vertical from diamond running 50, 144 and 432MHz. A cable is running into the shack to a triplexer, running up to 3 different radios. A short (1m long) dual or triband antenna is used for monitoring 2m and 70cm, and a clover leaf ("Big Wheel")  for 2m. My 4m vertical is not standing upright at the moment, so it is not very useful.

This year I want to get up and running on a few more bands/modes. That requires new antennas and some kind of rotating functionality.

For 2m I want to do some more SSB/CW etc. (DX) activity. The 4 element yagi mentioned in an earlier post should do that.

For 70cm I also want to add DX activity. The 11 (really 8) element yagi is intended for that.

23cm: I have had some activity on that band a few decades ago, and because there is an activity group active now on this band I want to get some activity going again, this time with better equipment than I had back then. The 16 element yagi is intended for that.

I am (a bit) active on the QO100 geostationary satellite, transmitting on 13cm and receiving on 3cm.

I want to become active  with terrestrial on those bands, even if it will be with small antennas form home. Those are more directional than the VHF/UHF antennas, and need to be rotated as well.

I suspect that some portable operation from hilltops will be good for the microwave bands (above 1GHz), as I have obstructions in several directions, so range is a bit limited. This means that both a home station and some portable equipment is needed. I am building up my stock of equipment and antennas, and no, I do not expect to finish all of it this year.

In any case I want to be able to extend the number of bands where I have made at least one QSO. In this case we are talking about 2400MHz and 10GHz, and maybe later on the two bands in the other end of the spectrum, 630m and 2200m.

Then there are the small projects and mini projects, I have the goal of making at least one or two of those every month, as they are limited in scope.

One (two) of the somewhat larger projects are about assembling two QCX+ kits I have, one for 20m and one for 60m. Those are 5W CW transceivers, and should provide much fun in the future.

Mini Projects for This Year.

I have an idea for an addition to the challenge/wish list for 2023.

In my shack, and in the lab there are a ton of small projects that will improve the ability to make larger projects. 

This could be an extremely simple repair or modification of some existing equipment or a PCB module.

The intention is to make a small blog entry for each of mini projects.

There should be one mini project per month as an average, so 12 of them this year.

Why?

Sometimes I get the impression that I do not doo anything, even when I do. So this is to show me that I do, in actual fact do some stuff, even if not as much as I want to do.

This is, of course in addition to doing a few larger projects.

Last year's large project was making a minimum of 365 QSOs with 5W output, so I suspect this year I will make fewer QSOs, as I have some practical building projects I want to get done.

Let us see how that goes.

Challenge(s) for Next Year.

 A "few" words on what should be next year's challenge.

0) The  open home brew challenge goes on. This is all about making at least one QSO on as many bands as possible, with home made equipment. This could be a kit I built, a fully home constructed transmitter and/or receiver, or modified versions of equipment not designed for amateur radio.

I do intend to get some more kits built next year, and use some of those already built for HF band monitoring. A part of the propagation study may include a WSPR and/or WRSS transmitter, and/or some WSPR/QRSS monitoring, and more bands with FT8 monitoring when I am not actively operating on the bands.

Apart from the kits, I may get to some more home construction. We shall see.

1) The primary challenge for 2023 will be all about improving the solar power system and its efficiency for the amateur radio station. 

In particular, all systems for monitoring the radio propagation has the highest priority. This includes both the improvement of the capacity of the solar panel and battery system and reducing the power consumption of the receiving systems.

More solar panels are needed for charging the battery. I expect to increase the peak "capacity" of the panels to somewhere between 600 and 900W. The precise configuration is yet to be decided. Currently I have a peak capacity of 250W and a non-optimal position for the panels.

An improved system of solar charge controllers. MPPT controllers are inherently more efficient, though they tend to be more noisy in the radio spectrum. I found some that seem to be relatively quiet, but the3y are not yet tested at full charge current. I suspect that they can be useful with good RF filtering at the inputs and outputs.

Improved battery capacity. The 12V system for the station should be updated to 400Ah capacity at 100% charge.

The aim is to provide pure solar power to the minimum requirements of the station all through winter.

This leads to the next part: Minimizing the power requirements of the station, especially the parts that will be required to run 24/7, or many hours per day, such as some propagation monitoring and monitoring e.g. local traffic on 2m.

2) The other challenge is concerned with microwave activity (above 1GHz) The aim is to make at least a first QSO on a few microwave bands. starting with 2.4GHz and 10GHz. Long ago I was active on 23cm, but I would very much like to get going on that band, too. If I can get away with making experiments on 3.4, 5.7 and 24GHz, that would be nice, too. Improving the QO100 system is part of this, too.

I am already active on the QO100 satellite. This means that I have transmit capability on 2.4GHz and some receive capability on 10GHz.

This system is rather primitive, and many improvements can be made to it, especially on the receive side.

a) Further, I located a 23cm (1.3GHz) module for the IC-910, as well as a more precise and stable reference oscillator (TCXO) for that transceiver. During the winter nights I need to make sufficient space on the lab desk, so I can get going with mounting those, and also make a fresh alignment of the transceiver. Straight forward when the space is available.

As the IC-910 is quite heavy I intend it for home operation only. If I want to go portable on 1.3GHz I will need a transverter and a portable transceiver. I could use one of the FT817s or the IC-705. Both need modifications, so the transverter(s) are not blown up if they get high power TX signals in.

I will still need to get some antenna up for 1.3GHz. This should happen some time in the spring. I expect to use a Diamond X-5000 (I think) for vertical omnidirectional (mostly FM) with a 23cm preamp, and a small yagi, like the front mounted Flexa antenna for horizontal polarization (mostly SSB/CW/digital modes). The horizontal antenna will need a rotating system that needs to be set up. Lots of work.

For portable work I still have a small 23cm yagi that can be used on hills etc.

b) While it is possible to use my up-converter for the QO100 system for transmitting on 2.4GHZ in general, the existing system will be very cumbersome, especially when going portable.

I could possibly use the up converter with the FT817 as the transmit system, and the AR8600 SSB capable "scanner" as receiver. Operating portable from a parked car could be done with this system, but setup will take time, and I am not sure I have the patience ;) 

I think that a much better system can be made with the FT817 driving a transverter from e.g. SG-Labs, and a PA. A bit of relay and sequencing will have to be made. The transverter system should be sufficiently compact for portable use, and should be easily connected to the home system.

Antennas for 2.4GHz? I have some low cost WiFi antennas, such as 16el. yagis, and some patch antennas. Both most likely have a gain of 10-12dBd gain, and can be used for the first light weight portable experiments.

For home use I would likely use a panel antenna with about 20dB gain. Again, as with the 1.3GHz system, a rotator is needed.

c) 10GHz: 

It is possible to make some simple, mostly line-of-sight experiments with a modulated HB-100 module, a satellite LNB and a scanner receiver in the 500-700MHz range. Using WBFM this could likely provide 10-20km range without using anything but the modules, no dish antennas or horn antennas. More, if "external" horn extensions or just a dish for the RX part would be used. This is mostly for portable experiments.

A small system for 10GHz narrow band, with a transverter, is also on my list. Most likely a Kuhne/DB6NT transverter, driven by the FT817 or the IC705.

Other narrow band experiments could be a NBFM/CW transmitter used with a satellite LNB down converter.

First experiments will likely be portable, but long term I should have a small station running from home.

Am I likely to get all of this done? Not really, but the minimum will be to get going from home and portable on at least one microwave band.

On the solar power and monitoring front, at least I will get some improved solar energy and *some* "reduced power" monitoring done.

Working in the ARRL 10m Contest With 5W and Solar Power.

 In the past week end I tried to extend the challenge again.

I worked all CW in an easy going search and pounce operation. With 5W and a 1/2 wave vertical that is a slow process, and I stayed on for some hours each day, with breaks for doing other stuff.

The end result was 41 QSOs in the contest, and I am quite happy with that result.

The battery had had the opportunity to get a bit more charge, as it had been used very little, so there was more than sufficient charge to work the contest as much as I wanted. At this time of the year the days are very short at 55 deg. North. But the system charged a little bit, even when the shy was clouded. This has been the case most days for a few weeks now.

Now for my challenge for this year.

When I received my IC-705 in January I set out to work at least 365 QSOs this year, and that is what I achieved in the CQWW CW contest. 

I then extended the challenge: Doing the 365 on all solar power (and maybe 500 in total with 5W). This is a bit of an estimate, as I worked with mains power in the beginning, but soon I got to do solar in full. 

The result after the ARRL 10m contest is above 500QSOs, and I do expect to do a few more before New Year.

With 500 QSOs on total I estimate that 365 of those have been made on solar power, so my challenge is a success.

Now I should think of a challenge for next year.

I have a few things I would like to do:

- expand the solar power system, so I can feed more of the radio station on solar power

- get to operate two-way on some microwave bands

- build some low powered system for more propagation monitoring

I do have some material for expanding the solar power system, but working in freezing temperatures outdoors does not work fro me. From spring time that work will resume.

For the microwave band working from home the same goes. No outdoor antenna work. I am in the process of locating a 23cm module and a TCXO for my IC-910, I have it somewhere, so in the process of tidying I should find those and get the 910 upgraded. First microwave band is possible in the spring when antennas can be installed.

I already talked about using some simple kits for some of the monitoring receivers, and/or extend their use with converters. 

We shall see what I choose for next year

CQWW CW on Solar Power, and My Challenge.

 The past week end I was very active on the radio front.

While I do not plan to send in a log, I made about 150 QSOs, giving many stations points for the CQ WW CW contest. All this happened with just 5W output, and the vast majority was done with my solar power/battery system.

Since the solar power input has been quite low the last few weeks, all the radios were connected to mains power in order to let the battery re-charge. At the same time I did not work too much radio.

After a few QSOs in the contest I decided to make this a mainly solar powered event for me. The IC-705 was reconnected to the solar power system and I worked all through the week end, with some battery energy to spare.

My QSO count with 5W this year is now 460. This means that the challenge of working 365 QSOs this year with just 5W (and no weak signal digital modes) has been met.

Now I extend the challenge to 365 QSOs this year with solar power (as well as 5W). This will be an estimate, as I did not count exactly when I started using solar this year. My preliminary estimate will be that I may have met that challenge, too, but I will work some QSO for the rest of the year. I expect to be fairly sure to meet the challenge this year.

Now what will be my personal challenge for next year? I see a few possibilities.

- maybe with an expansion of my solar power it may be possible to run the main part of the station on solar, with the exception of high power amplifiers. We shall see

- maybe I should make my first QSOs on the microwave bands (everything above 1GHz)

- I *should* finish some more kit building

- maybe I should build a more fully home brew TR/RX just for one band, and work some QSOs with it

- maybe run a challenge with even lower power, allowing for the use of weak signal digital modes

5W/365/2022 Challenge, And a Surprise.

 Here is a small update on my personal 5W challenge, attempting to work at least 365 QSOs in 2022 with just 5W, and not using weak signal modes, i.e. CW,SSB,AM,FM only.

The status right now is 239 QSOs. 

Several of the QSOs have been on 29.6MHz FM in the last few weeks, so I am not complaining.

By far the most QSOs have been made with CW, and a few with SSB. All bands from 80m all the way to 6m have been in use.

Tonight I had a surprise. I was checking 30m, and heard a decent signal, about S6, from FY5FY He was not having a pile up, but stations calling most of the time. When I finally tried to call, I made it in just 3 attempts. Not bad for 5W in a low hanging wire in the garden.

Who knows, maybe this autumn I will make more, as I expect the F2 propagation on the HF bands to improve from now on, as we are already in the late summer season.

Taking into account that I have not been particularly active, I should fulfil the challenge this year.

If I do that, I will make up another challenge. Maybe a single band with an optimized antenna.

Since we are on the upward slope of solar cycle 25, I should probably get up a decent antenna for 6m, as I have not had much time in OZ to work on 6m with F2 propagation. Who knows, maybe already this year ?

Update On the QRP Challenge.

 Almost every day I have been working QSOs with the 5W output CW, mostly from the IC-705. QSOs have been made on 10-12-15-17-20-40-80m.

Now we wait for 4 and 6m to open - and 2m in the summer Es season. I suspect that I will mostly run more power on those bands, but some 5W work will be tested in the big openings.

New antennas are needed, so I can include 30-60-160m. Initially I expect to make and use a 30m vertical 1/4 wave GP, usable on 30-10-6-4m, probably good enough to listen on 8m (40MHz).

Next antenna will probably be an EFHW wire antenna for 80m. That should work on all HF bands except 60m, and with an extension coil it should be extended to work on 160m. I do have the transformer (49:1), it must be built into a box, but then it should be ready for deployment when the weather gets a bit warmer. Yes, I am waiting for spring weather. It may be variable, but I think I can find some warm and dry spells to play with antennas.

We have got more sunspots than I have seen in several years, and we are getting more daylight, so the HF propagation is already better than I have seen it in years. Good times for HF QRP operation ...

10m. A Bit Less Active.

 The last few weeks 10m has been a little less active, but with a few days of high activity.

Solar cycle 25 is going rather well. At the moment the solar flux average is ligher than the official predictions, and has been so since the rise of activity started. There are, of course fluctuations, but at present the flux stays above 90 SFU, with periods of flux above 100, up to a peak of around 130. 

It still seems to be above the forecast, and it will be interesting to see how 10m and the other higher HF bands - and maybe even 6m - will behave as we approach the spring equinox.

The 5W challenge is on track. QSOs have been made on the bands 80-40-20-17-15m, and no more qre needed to fulfil the January goal. I will still try to make some more this month.

Another Personal Challenge. QRP.

This year I will make an attempt to get 365 QSOs in the log, all with just 5W output or less - no matter the band.

The most used transceiver is likely to be the IC-705, but other transceivers, either with a 5W power limit or higher power transceivers set to 5W out may be used. e.g. I intend to get the IC-7300 up and running with a 30m vertical. This antenna will also work on 10-6-4m, so I can get some summer sporadic E, and maybe some other band activity going. 

This requires me to build a new vertical. It will be a ground mounted 30m quarter wave with a good amount of shorter radials on the ground. Other bands in between may also be added with extra (wire elements), e.g. 20, 17 and 15m.