Return to KLUBNL.PL main page

rsgb_lf_group
[Top] [All Lists]

LF: Beacon Tests/ etc.

To: [email protected]
Subject: LF: Beacon Tests/ etc.
From: "James Moritz" <[email protected]>
Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2001 15:04:10 +0000
Organization: University of Hertfordshire
Reply-to: [email protected]
Sender: <[email protected]>
Dear LF group,

I transmitted beacon sigs last night from 2145 until 0630. The signal was roughly 110sec dashes and spaces, with a 400sec space (containing a 60s CW ID) every 5th dash. Thanks for the signal reports; I hope OH2LX has the frequencies swapped round, since my frequency should have been 135.924kHz +/- 0.1Hz at most, unless something went dreadfully wrong. I checked G3AQC as being about 1.6Hz down on me. Whose was the 3rd signal I saw in the early morning?

Earlier, I found propagation conditions seemed unusual. I had QSO's with G6RO, DL3FDO, and EI0CF. Ron's signal seemed normal, but the others were subject to quite rapid (a few minutes) QSB, and both getting very strong at times. I wonder if anyone in North America observed sigs from DCF39 or similar? Would this be connected with solar events?

A thought that occurred whilst trying to keep the antenna in tune during last night's wind was - would the phase shifts caused by the antenna impedance changing affect reception in very narrow bandwidths? It would not affect the mean frequency of course, but I estimated from the scope screen that the phase shift could change up to 30degrees in a few seconds, which I reckon would amount to a change in instantaneous frequency of 10's of millihertz.

I would agree with G3AQC about condensation; I find it necessary to open up my loading coil shelter to let it dry inside whenever the weather is fine; I also have installed a cheap fan heater inside it for when the weather is not so fine.

With regard to the other topics raised, as a relative newcomer to amateur radio, I quite enjoy a CW QSO (although my arm aches after a while!), and find that excellent results can be achieved considering the simplicity of the mode. It does enable you to achieve something from very modest beginnings. But I would not have bothered to get my amateur ticket just to make CW QSOs - there are so many more things to try, and challenges to meet in radio. My non-amateur contempories find it faintly ridiculous that anyone would bother using CW, or SSB or packet for that matter; in a world with more communications than we know what to do with, being able to communicate with fellow amateurs using radio is not much of a draw. I am told that I would do much better to ring them on their mobile phone, or send them an E-mail. However, the nature of radio itself is much more interesting; exploding PAs and trying to cross the Atlantic using bizzare communications modes is much more likely to attract the interests of newcomers. Obviously, diversity and balance is needed to sustain amateur radio, LF or otherwise.

Cheers, Jim Moritz
73 de M0BMU


<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>