Category Archives: Operating

Post about some of my ham radio activities: contesting, DXing and rag chewing.

DX Code of Conduct

Posted on by February 4, 2014

As I listen to some of the high profile Dx-peditions I amazed by the bad behavior that I hear in the pile-ups.  I know that all of us have probably called on a DX frequency once or twice because we hit the wrong button on our transceiver or did not know the station was working split but what I’ve heard in the past two to three years goes well beyond the common errors of inexperienced DXers.  Some of the things I’ve heard include:

  1. Deliberate jamming of the DX stations frequency
  2. Calling CQ on the DX stations frequency
  3. Sending their call sign continuously in the pile-up
  4. Continuing to send their call sign while the DX station is working another station, and of course our favorite
  5. The policemen sending UP, UP, LID, LID and sometimes even answering the caller as if they are the DX station all while the DX station is trying work stations.

I’m sure most of you could add to this list.

I know in every large group their are probably going to be a few bad apples which even a code of conduct will not cure.  However, for the rest of us the DX Code of Conduct provides a list of “good” operating practices which will not only improve our DXing success but will make it much more enjoyable working DX.

73,

Fred, KC9QQ

DX Code Of Conduct

DXCode_Logo_small

  • I will listen, and listen, and then listen again before calling.
  • I will only call if I can copy the DX station properly.
  • I will not trust the DX cluster and will be sure of the DX station’s call sign before calling.
  • I will not interfere with the DX station nor anyone calling and will never tune up on the DX frequency or in the QSX slot.
  • I will wait for the DX station to end a contact before I call.
  • I will always send my full call sign.
  • I will call and then listen for a reasonable interval. I will not call continuously.
  • I will not transmit when the DX operator calls another call sign, not mine.
  • I will not transmit when the DX operator queries a call sign not like mine.
  • I will not transmit when the DX station requests geographic areas other than mine.
  • When the DX operator calls me, I will not repeat my call sign unless I think he has copied it incorrectly.
  • I will be thankful if and when I do make a contact.
  • I will respect my fellow hams and conduct myself so as to earn their respect.
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FT5ZM On the Air

Posted on by February 4, 2014
FT5ZM Amsterdam Island

FT5ZM Amsterdam Island

Well one of the most wanted DXCC entities is finally on the air.  After over a week of travel the team started operations today and the pile-ups were astounding.  I tried for nearly an hour to work them on 20 meters with no success.  The pile-up was nearly 15kHz wide.  One interesting thing I did was to hook up the I/Q output of the KX3 and feed it into CW Skimmer.  Within less than 5 minutes CW Skimmer had captured over 160 call signs.  Even with CW Skimmer running it was still difficult to pick the right spot to call.  I finally decided to try another time.

This evening I saw they were operating on 17m.  I went up to the shack and heard them loud and clear.  There was still a significant pile-up, but it was only about 5 kHz wide.  After about 20 minutes of tuning the pile-up I found a pattern in their operation.  After about 5 tries I finally heard my call sign and a signal report.  It was pretty exciting to work another All Time New One.

Hopefully over the next several days I will be able to work them on some other bands.  Their website is:  http://www.amsterdamdx.org/

DXCode_Logo_small

Feel free to join the pile-up.  Just be sure to follow the DX Code of Conduct and the pile-up will be fun for all.

 

 

73,

Fred, KC9QQ

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KX3 QRP in NAQP

Posted on by February 4, 2014

Well I decided to run my KX3 in the QRP class of the SSB portion of the North
American QSO Party.  This was the first time I had ever done SSB contesting at QRP power levels.  During the 2 day warm spell we had last week, I was able to repair and re-install my 80 meter doublet which had come down during the last snow storm.

The next step was to get the KX3 ready for a SSB contest.  To setup the KX3 for the contest I had to figure out how to interface my Heil Pro head set to the KX3.  I use a headset and foot switch during SSB contests so that I can keep my hands  free to type on the keyboard.  Connecting the Heil head turned out to be straight forward because the 1/8″ headphone and mike connectors will plug directly into the KX3 mike and headphone inputs.  However,  a KX3 menu setting had to be changed to disable the mike PTT button because the 1/8″ mono phone plug on the Heil head set will enable the PTT since the KX3 mike jack is a 1/8″ female stereo jack.  Elecraft provides a menu setting to disable the PTT function for this reason.

The next thing I had to do was interface my foot switch to the KX3.  I determined that the foot switch can be connected to the KX3 through the ACC2 connector.  The only problem I had interfacing the foot switch was connecting the 1/4″ male mono phono plug from the foot switch to the 1/8″ ACC2 female jack.  Elecraft sells a nice cable for the ACC2 input which plugs into the KX3 and provides RCA female connector (to key an amplifier) and a 1/8″ female mono phone input which can be used to access the PTT function.  Once I had the Elecraft cable all I had to do was make a 1/4″ F phono to 1/8″ M phono adapter.  I happened to find an adapter cable in my Junk box so I was in business.  The only other thing I had to do was a simple menu change to tell the KX3 that the PTT should activate when the ACC2 center pin is pulled low.

I found that operating QRP in a SSB contest is a bit more of a challenge than running 100W, but I was still able to work nearly all of the stations I called.  Sometimes I had to wait in line behind the high power stations but I usually did not have to call more than two to three times.  In most cases I was answered on my first call.  The main exceptions were the rarer states such as WY and DE.  I even managed to work Alaska and Hawaii during the contest.

Here is a summary of my QRP part time Search and Pounce effort:

BAND QSO POINTS SEC
3.5 12 12 10
7 57 57 26
14 50 50 23
21 42 42 15
28 26 26 7
TOTAL 187 187 81

SCORE 15,895

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KX3 Tryout in Contest Mode

Posted on by February 4, 2014

I used the KX3 in the North American QSO Party (CW) this weekend.  I was only able to put in a part-time Search and Pounce effort but the KX3 performed marvelously during the few hours I was on the air.

Before the Contest

Before the contest I had to interface the KX3 to N1MM.  I used the Elecraft USB cable to connect the KX3 to my computer.  The KX3 was immediately recognized by my computer which assigned it to COM 9.  I went to N1MM to setup the KX3 and discovered that N1MM can only interface to hardware on COM ports 1 to 8.  After a little investigation I discovered I could reassign the  KX3 to an un-used COM port in the range 1 to 8 using its properties dialog.  In my case I was able to  reassign the KX3 to COM port 2.  I was then was able to setup the KX3 with N1MM with no problems.

Next I had to setup the KX3.  First I connected an output from my USB Winkeyer to the external key input on the KX3.  I also had to go into the KX3 menus to tell the KX3 to treat the Key 2 input as a handkey since the external Winkey would be creating the dots and dashes.   Next I fired up the KX3 and used my external watt meter to set  the output power to 5 Watts since I was entering the QRP Single Operator, QRP category.

During the Contest

I started the contest on 15 meters because it seemed to have the highest concentration of activity early Saturday afternoon.  Once I had worked up and down the band a couple of times I switched to 20 meters and repeated the same process.  Finally, after I had finished on 20 meters I dropped down to 40 meters to try to work a few more stations before I had to quit.

The KX3 did a great job separating the strong signals under contest conditions.  Also the continuously variable passband and roofing filters did an exceptional job pulling weak stations out from between the major league contest stations.  I was also impressed by the performance of the KX3s internal antenna tuner.  The one thing I missed from my Icom 756 Pro III was the large color panadapter.  In the next few days I plan to use the I/Q outputs from the KX3 to create a panadapter display using HDSDR.  I’ll post my experiences once I get it working.

The highlight of the contest was working both Alaska and Hawaii with only 5 watts.

Here is a summary of my contest results:

Band   QSOs   Pts   Sec   Mt2

7         19        19       7      0
14         45        45    14      0
21         52        52    14      1
Total   116     116    35       1

Score : 4,176

73,

Fred

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NCJ NAQP CW This Weekend

Posted on by February 4, 2014

This weekend is the first of the three winter NCJ North American QSO Party events.  The three are:

  • CW 1800Z Jan 11 to 0600Z Jan 12, 2014
  • SSB  1800Z Jan 18 to 0600Z Jan 19, 2014
  • RTTY 1800Z Feb 22 to 0600Z Feb 23, 2014

I plan to put in a part-time effort this weekend using my new KX3 and operating QRP.  I’m anxious to see how well the KX3 performs in crowded band conditions.

I Hope to hear many of you on the bands this weekend.

73,

Fred, KC9QQ

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Initial Experiences with KX3

Posted on by February 4, 2014
KX3 next to my 756 Pro III

KX3 next to my 756 Pro III

Now that the family Christmas celebrations are all done, I have finally been able to spend a little time with my new KX3.  I was very surprised that such a well performing transceiver could come  in such a small package.  After connecting an antenna and applying power I was surprised by how quiet the receiver was.  Initial A/B comparisons with my Icom 756 Pro III demonstrated that the KX3’s receiver was certainly on par with the 756 Pro III, but with a somewhat lower noise level.

My next step was to  make some contacts.  I connected a key and tuned across the 12m band and found PJ5/K6NAO (St. Eustatius) calling CQ.  I listened to him work a couple of stations before I gave him a call.  I was surprised when he returned my call on the first try.  I was  impressed that I had gotten through the pile-up  running only 8 watts (not true QRP, but still impressive).

Over the next couple of days I’ve worked Panama, the Virgin Islands, Antarctica, New Zealand, Alaska, Cuba, Bolivia, Finland and Belgium.  Two of the contacts were even SSB.  I also had a nice SSB QSO with a New Mexico station who gave me a 58 signal report.  This evening I even worked two stations in Japan.

My first few days with the KX3 have been very enjoyable.  I’m planning to use the KX3 in the NAQP CW Contest this weekend.  Hope to hear all of you.

73,

Fred, KC9QQ

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I Finally worked Vietnam

Posted on by February 4, 2014
3W1T QSL Card

3W1T QSL Card

I have been trying for the past several months to work Vietnam.  For some reason it has been alluding me.  The signal strength of the Vietnamese stations I have heard have typically been barely  above the noise level.  Yesterday, I saw that someone had worked 3W1T on long-path on 10 meters.  I tuned to his frequency and rotated my 8 element log period to the South and was amazed to hear 3W1T’s S9 signal.  I tuned across the pile up until I found the station he was currently working.  Fortunately, he was having great difficulty getting the correct call of the station so they went back and fourth several times before they completed the QSO.  I tuned about 500 Hz above that stations transmit frequency and gave a call after 3W1T thanked the other station.

He picked me up on the first try, but we also went back and forth a couple of times before he got my call correct.   What a nice feeling to hear your call from a rare (to me) DX station!  The next step will be to get a card.  Hopefully, this will be pretty straight forward since he has a QSL Manager.

Now it is on to the next ATNO (All Time New One).  The one advantage of not having worked the entire DXCC list is that I still have 60 or so DXCC entities to still work.  I am not a rabid DXer, but I do enjoy working new entities as they come along.

73,

Fred, KC9QQ

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ARRL 10 Meter Contest Fun

Posted on by February 4, 2014

It was nice to spend a little time on 10M this weekend.   I couldn’t put a lot of time in because I had a Christmas Party and other distractions but at least I was able to make some contacts and work one ATNO, All Time New One (Monaco).  It was also an opportunity to practice my CW.  I am noticing some improvement, but I’m still not as skilled as many of the other contesters.  I still have not tried to RUN stations because I don’t yet have the confidence  that I can copy call signs coming back at me at 30 to 35 words per minute..  Therefore my contesting activity is primarily Search and Pounce.

I probably would have put in a little more effort but I was distracted because my new Elecraft KX3 was supposed to arrive on Monday.  I can’t wait to get it on the air.  Of course my wife will probably make me wait until Christmas to open the package!!

I operated Mixed mode but most of my contacts were CW.  It seems that 10M was closing down sooner than last years CQ WW.  I worked a few Japanese stations, but last year they were much stronger and easier to work.
Fred, KC9QQ
Here is my summary:
               ARRL10M Summary Sheet
        Band  Mode  QSOs    Pts  Mul
          28  CW      315    1260  100
          28  USB    100       200    39
       Total  Both  415     1460  139
            Score : 202,940
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Elecraft KX3 on the Way

Posted on by December 17, 2013
Elecraft KX3

Elecraft KX3

After finding myself spending more and more time operating CW I decided to add an Elecraft KX3 to my shack.  My first exposure to the KX3 was at the Bedford, IN hamfest this fall.  Since then I have spent several hours reading the many glowing reviews of this rig on eHam.com.  I also downloaded the manual from the Elecraft site and spent a several more hours studying the manual.

I decided to purchase the KX3 pre-assembled with the internal antenna tuner.  I decided not to build the kit version because for me the mechanical portion of the assembly of my K2 was the least enjoyable part of assembling the kit.  Since the KX3 kit is only mechanical assembly, I decided to just go ahead and purchase it pre-assembled.  Unfortunately I will not have the KX3 in time for this weekends 10m contest which promises to have outstanding propagation (SFI 160+).

I should have the new rig in a few days and will post my initial observations.   Later I plan to put together a more thorough review of the rig.

73,

Fred

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Easter Island

Posted on by February 4, 2014
Easter Island Heads

Easter Island Heads

It was pretty exciting being able to work Easter Island.  There is currently a DXpedition operating CW only from the island.  I am not sure how rare of DXCC entity Easter Island is, but it is exotic.  When I think of exotic places, Easter Island is near the top of my list.

I hope everyones gets the opportunity to bag this one.  The British operators are doing a fantastic job controlling the pileup.

73,

Fred

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