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COMMUNICATIONS & TECHNOLOGY

JANUARY 2021
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memory tuning
• Auto Tuning Storage function (ATS) for FM/AM/Shortwave
• 1000 station memories (each band 100 memories,
500 customizable)
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 ANNOUNCEMENTS EDITORIAL STAFF
Richard S. Moseson, W2VU, Editor
Jason Feldman, KD2IWM, Managing Editor
Susan Moseson, Editorial Consultant
COVID-19 UPDATE
The COVID-19 pandemic has radically altered plans for any social gathering and hamfests CONTRIBUTING EDITORS
and ham radio-related conferences are taking a huge hit. CQ urges all readers to please check Kent Britain, WA5VJB, Antennas
Stan Broadway, N8BHL, Emergency Communications
with the organizers of these events to ensure the event will still be held.
Gerry L. Dexter, The Listening Post
Joe Eisenberg, KØNEB, Kit-Building
Tomas Hood, NW7US, Propagation
JANUARY John Langridge, KB5NJD, MF/LF Operating
Anthony Luscre, K8ZT, Microcontrollers
Irwin Math, WA2NDM, Math’s Notes
LOCUST FORK, ALABAMA — The Blount County Amateur Radio Club will hold Freezefest Joe Moell, KØOV, Homing In
2021 on Saturday, January 2 at the Locust Fork High School, 155 School Road. Website: Eric Nichols, KL7AJ, Analog Adventures
<http://w4blt.org>. Talk-in 146.700 (PL 91.5). Ron Ochu, KOØZ, Learning Curve
BETHPAGE, NEW YORK — Ham Radio University will be held virtually on Saturday, Jeff Reinhardt, AA6JR, Mobile/Radio Magic
March 9 due to restrictions from COVID-19. For more information, visit <http:// Scott Rought, KA8SMA, QRP
Don Rotolo, N2IRZ, Digital
hamradiouniversity.org>.
Rob de Santos, K8RKD, Communications Horizons
LAWRENCEVILLE, GEORGIA — The Gwinnett Amateur Radio Society will hold the 2021 Bob Schenck, N2OO, DX
TechFest from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, January 16 at the Gwinnett Medical Resource Tim Shoppa, N3QE, Contesting
Center, 665 Duluth Highway. Website: <http://techfest.info>. VE exams. Jason Togyer, W3MCK, Spurious Signals
ARCADIA, FLORIDA — The DeSoto Amateur Radio Club will hold the DeSoto Hamfest Gordon West, WB6NOA, Short Circuits
2021 beginning 7 a.m., Saturday, January 23 at the Turner Civic Center Exhibit Hall, 2260 Wayne Yoshida, KH6WZ, The Ham Notebook
NE Roan Street. Contact: Doug, KN4YT, (863) 990-2507. Email: <kn4yt@yahoo.com>.
Website: <http://desotoarc.org>. Talk-in 147.075+ (PL 100). AWARD MANAGEMENT
John Bergman, KC5LK, WAZ Award
HATILLO, PUERTO RICO — The 6th Annual ARRL Puerto Rico Convention will be held Brian Bird, NXØX, USA-CA Custodian
from Friday, January 29 through Sunday, January 31 at the Francisco “Pancho” Deida Steve Bolia, N8BJQ, WPX Award
Coliseum. Website: <http://arrlpr.org>. Keith Gilbertson, KØKG, CQ DX Award

FEBRUARY CONTEST MANAGEMENT

Andy Blank, N2NT, CQ 160 Meter Contest
John Dorr, K1AR, CQWW DX Contest
FLAGSTAFF, ARIZONA — The Northern Arizona DX Association will air a special event
JK Kalenowsky, K9JK, CQ VHF Contest
station W7P from Saturday, February 13 through Sunday February 21 every year until 2030 Ed Muns, WØYK, CQ RTTY Contests
to commemorate the discovery of Pluto from the Lowell Observatory by Clyde Tombaugh. John Sweeney, K9EL, CQ DX Marathon
Every year will feature a new QSL card and a special endorsement is available if you con- Joseph “Bud” Trench, AA3B, CQWW WPX Contest
tact Doug Tombaugh, N3PDT, Clyde’s nephew. Website: <www.nadxa.com>.
ST. CLOUD MINNESOTA — The Saint Cloud Amateur Radio Club will hold the Cabin BUSINESS STAFF
Fever Reliever beginning 9 a.m., Saturday, February 13 at the Eagles Aerie 622, 730 41st Richard A. Ross, K2MGA, Publisher
Dorothy Kehwieder, Associate Publisher,
Avenue North. Website: <http://w0sv.club/hamfest>. Talk-in 147.015+ (PL 100), VE exams, Advertising
DXCC / VUCC / WAC / WAS / WAZ card checking. Richard S. Moseson, W2VU, Associate Publisher,
GEORGE, WASHINGTON — The Columbia Basin DX Club will air special event station Editorial
WS7G from 2000 UTC, Saturday, February through 2000 UTC, Monday, February 22 to Emily Leary, Sales Coordinator
honor George Washington’s birthday. Frequencies include 14.322 / 14.255, 7.222 / 7.260, Doris Watts, Accounting Department
and 3.855 / 3.960 MHz plus or minus QRM. QSL a SASE to WS7G, 11650 Road 1 SE, CIRCULATION STAFF
Moses Lake, WA 98837. Website: <http://cbn.homestead.com/ws7g.html> or go to QRZ Cheryl DiLorenzo, Customer Service Manager
and search for WS7G.
WINTER HAVEN, FLORIDA — The ARRL West Central Florida Section will hold the PRODUCTION STAFF
Seventh Annual TechCon from noon to 9 p.m., Friday, February 26 and beginning 8 a.m., Elizabeth Ryan, Art Director
Dorothy Kehrwieder, Production Director
Saturday, February 27 at Sonny’s BBQ, 4600 Recker Highway. Website: <http://arrlwcf. Emily Leary, Production Manager
org>. Talk-in 146.985 (PL 127.3). Hal Keith, Illustrator
DALTON, GEORGIA — The Dalton Amateur Radio Club will hold the Dalton Hamfest Larry Mulvehill, WB2ZPI, Staff Photographer
2021 beginning 8 a.m., Saturday, February 27 at the North Georgia AG Fairgrounds, 500
Legion Drive. Email: <w4drc@yahoo.com> or <w4drchamfest@yahoo.com>. Website: A publication of
<http://w4drc.com>. Talk-in 145.230- (PL 141.3). VE exams. CQ Communications
P.O. Box 1206
MARCH Sayville, NY, 11782 USA.

CAVE CITY, KENTUCKY — The Mammoth Cave Amateur Radio Club will hold the 45th
Annual Cave City Hamfest beginning 7:30 a.m., Saturday, March 6 at the Cave City
Convention Center, 502 Mammoth Cave Street. Contact: Larry Brumett, KN4IV, 108 Wither
Drive, Glasgow, KY. Phone: (270) 651-2363. Email: <lbrumett@glasgow-ky.com>. Website:
<http://ky4x.org>. Talk-in 146.30+ (PL 114.8). VE exams.
ELYRIA, OHIO — The Northern Ohio Amateur Radio Society will hold its Winter Hamfest
2021 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., Sunday, March 7 at the John A. Spitzer Conference Center at
Lorain County Community College, 1005 N. Abbe Road. Contact Carl Rimmer, W8KRF,
(216) 256-9624 (before 9 p.m.). Email: <winterhamfest@noars.net>. Website:
<http://noars.net>. Talk-in 146.70- (PL 110.9).
PUYALLUP, WASHINGTON — The Mike & Key Amateur Radio Club will hold the 40th
Annual Mike and Key ARC Electronics Show & Swap Meet from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday,
March 6 at the Pavilion Exhibition Hall, 110 9th Avenue SW. Phone: (253) 631-3756. Email:
<n7wa@arrl.net>. Website: <http://mikeandkey.org>. Talk-in 146.82- (PL 103.5). VE
exams.
CQ Amateur Radio (ISSN 0007-893X) Volume 77, No. 1,
Published monthly by CQ Communications, Inc., P.O. Box 1206,
Sayville, NY, 11782, Telephone 516-681-2922. E-mail: cq@cq-
amateur-radio.com. Fax 516-681-2926. Web site: www.cq-ama-
teur-radio.com. Periodicals Postage Paid at Hicksville, NY 11801
and at additional mailing offices. Subscription prices (all in U.S.
dollars): Domestic-one year $42.95, two years $77.95, three
years $111.95; Canada/Mexico-one year $57.95, two years
$107.95, three years $156.95: Foreign Air Post-one year $72.95,
two years $137.95, three years $201.95. Single copy $6.99. U.S.
Government Agencies: Subscriptions to CQ are available to
agencies of the United States government including military ser-
vices, only on a cash with order basis. Requests for quotations,
bids, contracts., etc. will be refused and will not be returned or
processed. Entire contents copyrighted 2021 by CQ
Communications, Inc. CQ does not assume responsibility for
unsolicited manuscripts. Allow six weeks for change of address.
Printed in the U.S.A.
POSTMASTER: Send address changes to:
CQ Amateur Radio, P.O. Box 1206, Sayville, NY, 11782

2• CQ • January 2021 Visit Our Web Site

 HAM RADIO NEWS
ARRL: FCC Should Waive Fees on Amateur
Applications
The ARRL has told the FCC it has the power to waive fees on
amateur radio applications and should do so. In comments on
the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that set up a new fee sched-
ule for all licensed services, including a $50 fee for virtually all
amateur applications, the League said Congress has never
specified fees for amateur applications (except vanity calls) and
that the FCC is authorized to waive fees if it would be in the pub-
lic interest.
According to the ARRL Letter, the services provided by vol-
unteer examiners, VE coordinators, and the Volunteer Monitor
program save the Commission money in ways that other ser-
vices don’t, in addition to amateur radio’s longstanding role in
providing emergency and disaster communications at no cost
to taxpayers.
FCC to Mandate Email Addresses on Future
Applications
Starting in the middle of this year, all FCC applications —
including those from amateurs — will need to include the appli-
cant’s email address. It’s the next step, says the ARRL Letter,
in shifting fully from paper to electronic communications. Once
the rule takes effect (the exact date wasn’t set as of press time),
applications may be dismissed as “defective” if an email
address is not included, and FCC reserves the right to revoke
or suspend licenses if emails from the Commission are re-
turned as undeliverable.
Lots of Action on the 9-Centimeter Band
There’s been a flurry of activity recently regarding the 9-centimeter
band, from 3.3-3.5 GHz in the United States, ever since the FCC
announced it was going to remove amateur radio’s secondary
allocation on the band to provide more spectrum for 5G wireless
services. The ARRL has filed two petitions — one a petition for
reconsideration of the original decision, and the other a request
to at least allow hams to continue using the band until companies
that purchase spectrum begin operating there. The League’s
major point, according to the ARRL Letter, is that as secondary
users on the band for many years, amateurs have operated suc-
cessfully without causing interference to primary users and should
be allowed to continue doing the same with the switchover to
5G services.
Meanwhile, Newsline reports that regulators in the United
Kingdom and Peru have already started auctioning off segments
of the 9-centimeter band to commercial users in those countries.
In addition, the Dynamic Spectrum Alliance in the UK is calling for
administrations in Europe and Africa to move quickly to open new
spectrum for Wi-Fi at 5925-6425 MHz. This is immediately above
the top end of the 5-centimeter amateur band, which in the
Americas extends from 5650-5925 MHz.
Changing Faces at the FCC
FCC Chairman Ajit Pai announced at the end of November that
he would be stepping down as of January 20th. It is common
practice at a change of administrations for the FCC Chair to
resign in order to allow the incoming president to name his / her
own chairman. The law establishing the FCC requires that the
Commission be made up of two members of each major politi-
cal party, with the fifth member coming from the party in power
in the White House.
One of the Republican seats on the Commission was just filled
by Nathan Simington, who was confirmed by the Senate in early
December. Simington replaces GOP appointee Michael O’Rielly,
whose term was expiring and was set for re-appointment until the
www.cq-amateur-radio.com
president suddenly withdrew his name and nominated Simington
instead. Simington most recently was a senior aide at the National
Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA),
which performs many of the same functions as the FCC for fed-
eral government spectrum users.
Hamvention Sets 2021 Theme as
“The Gathering”
The Dayton Amateur Radio Association, looking forward opti-
mistically to May, has set the theme for this year’s Hamvention®
as “The Gathering,” what most of us have not been able to do in
2020. According to DARA, Hamvention General Chairman Rick
Allnut, WS8G, is a medical doctor with an additional master’s
degree in public health, and he believes that restrictions on trav-
el and large group gatherings will be relaxed by the time of the
Hamvention in late May (21-23). The 2020 Hamvention was one
of the first major ham radio casualties of the Coronavirus pan-
demic. For updated information, visit <www.hamvention.org>.
A Comeback for The Shack?
RadioShack has a new majority owner with big plans for the brand.
According to a report in Forbes, Retail Ecommerce Ventures, or
REV, has purchased a majority stake in the brand from the invest-
ment group that bought RadioShack after its second bankruptcy.
REV is known for purchasing well-known but struggling (or bank-
rupt) brands and reinventing them online. Its recent purchases
include Pier 1, Modell’s Sporting Goods, and Dressbarn. Despite
closing most of its stores several years ago, RadioShack retains
an online presence as well as a network of 500 independent deal-
ers who license the RadioShack name. REV co-owner Tai Lopez
said his company’s plans include covering the broad spectrum of
consumer electronic devices, including RadioShack-branded lap-
top computers and flat-screen TVs. There was no mention of the
components and other building blocks of electronic projects that
hams came to rely on, but the article said the new owners hope
to tap into “the do-it-yourself tech spirit” of today’s young people,
so maybe there’s hope!
Universal Radio QRT
Another major hobby radio retailer has closed its doors. Universal
Radio owners Fred (N8EKU) and Barbara (KC8VWI) Osterman
announced in late November that they had decided to retire and
to close their retail location in Worthington, Ohio, as of November
30th. The announcement said that the Universal website —
<www.universal-radio.com> — would remain active “for the fore-
seeable future” in order to fulfill existing orders and sell off
existing inventory. Universal has been the leading source for
shortwave receivers in addition to its line of amateur radio gear
and accessories.
Four Ham-Astronauts Fly SpaceX Dragon to ISS
The four members of the International Space Station’s Ex-
pedition 64/65 crew — all licensed amateurs — arrived at the
orbiting station on November 17th aboard a SpaceX Dragon cap-
sule that had been launched two days earlier from the Kennedy
Space Center in Florida. It was the second crewed flight for the
Dragon capsule. According to the ARRL Letter, the new crew
members include Victor Glover, KI5BKC; Mike Hopkins,
KF5LJG; Shannon Walker, KD5DXB; and Soichi Noguchi,
KD5TVP. All are expected to stay on the station until spring, and
all but Noguchi will likely take part in school contacts as part of
the Amateur Radio on the International Space Station, or ARISS,
program.
(Continued on page 66)
January 2021 • CQ • 3
 CONTENTS
JANUARY 2021 • VOLUME 77 NUMBER 1

64 COVER: KIT BUILDING:

Getting it Up
By Joe Eisenberg, KØNEB 14
Gettin' by with a little help from
his friends … the Nebraska
ARES tower crew helps install
new antennas for CQ Kit-
Building Editor Joe Eisenberg,
KØNEB, at his home in Lincoln.
Details on page 50 and in Joe’s
column on page 64.

FEATURES 78
10 FP/W1UF — SETTING A NEW
DXPEDITION “RECORD” FOCUS ON: We begin 2021 in our ham “shacks.” We always strive to improve
By L. Dennis Shapiro, W1UF our stations, be it erecting new antennas, setting up new transceivers and amps,
14 REFURBISHING A COLLINS R-390- rewiring, or simply cleaning out our junkboxes. This month, CQ has articles on
A/URR SERIES RECEIVER all types of ways to improve your shack, and even where we get the term “shack.”
Plus, the Evolution of a Cold War You can find it on pages 14, 30, 38, 42, 64, 75, and 78.
Warrior 1950-1955
By Mike Charteris, VK4QS/VK4XQM
20 RESULTS OF THE 2020 CQ WORLD COLUMNS DEPARTMENTS
WIDE VHF CONTEST
55 MATH’S NOTES: Is Homebrewing 62 EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS:
By John “JK” Kalenowsky, K9JK Dead? How to Avoid the Torture of Digital Net
29 ANNOUNCING: THE 2021 CQ By Irwin Math, WA2NDM Check-ins
WORLD WIDE WPX CONTEST 57 THE LISTENING POST: South Pacific By Stan Broadway, N8BHL
By Bud Trench, AA3B Stations on the Move
80 VHF PLUS: Start Spreading the
30 BALUN BASICS: What’s a Balun? By Gerry Dexter
Word...
Why a Balun? How Do I Make a 68 DIGITAL CONNECTION: Back to
By Rich Moseson, W2VU
Balun? Basics (PSK-31 and DigiPan)
By Don Rotolo, N2IRZ 87 AWARDS: CQ DX Marathon: A Ham
By Bob Glorioso, W1IS & Bob Rose,
72 MAGIC IN THE SKY: Amateur Radio Radio Centaur
KC1DSQ
Engineering 401 By CQ Staff
38 DIGITAL TO ANALOG HARDWARE
By Jeff Reinhardt, AA6JR 88 DX: 7H9H: IOTA Expedition to Habe
CONVERTER: Using an ICOM AT500
Tuner for Automatic Band Switching 75 LEARNING CURVE: Ham Shack Island, Indonesia
Origin By Bob Schenck, N2OO
With an Elecraft K3s Transceiver
By Ron Ochu, KOØZ
By Howard Reynolds, WA3EOQ 95 CONTESTING: Fall Contest Season
78 THE HAM NOTEBOOK: A Look at Begins With Record Levels of Activity
42 UNTETHER YOUR MEMORIES: Greeblies (My Continuing Mission:
Remotely Operate Your ICOM By Tim Shoppa, N3QE
Consuming the Inventory)
Message Memories By Wayne Yoshida, KH6WZ 101 PROPAGATION: It’s a New Year, and
By Gene Hinkle, K5PA & Jim Millner, 86 MF/LF OPERATING: Does Anyone a New Solar Cycle
WB2REM Experiment on 630 or 220 Meters By Tomas Hood, NW7US
46 CQ CLASSIC: Packet Radio How to Anymore? (Plus, Underwater
Work It (Not How It Works) Antennas and the FST4 Modes are
Finally Here)
By Richard S. Moseson, N2BFG By John Langridge, KB5NJD
(June 1986)
51 CQ CLASSIC: Packet Radio How to 2 ANNOUNCEMENTS 74 BEHIND THE BYLINES
Work It (Not How It Works) Conclusion
3 HAM RADIO NEWS 83 WHAT’S NEW
By Richard S. Moseson, N2BFG
8 ZERO BIAS 99 LOOKING AHEAD
(July 1986)
9 NEWSBYTES 106 OOPS
107 COMPLETE SCORES OF THE 2020
26 SPURIOUS SIGNALS 112 HAM SHOP
CQ WORLD WIDE VHF CONTEST
50 ON THE COVER
By John “JK” Kalenowsky, K9JK
 ZERO BIAS: A CQ Editorial
BY RICH MOSESON,* W2VU
Get Your Game On …
F
ollowing up last month’s editorial on “Looking Back at
a Year of Looking Back,” I think it’s appropriate to start
2021, our 77th year of publication, with a look ahead.
This year will be one of new beginnings … a new decade, a
new sunspot cycle, new leadership for the FCC with what-
ever that may portend for amateur radio. As I write this, we’re
also on the cusp of having a vaccine for the coronavirus, and
the new year will hopefully bring us a return to some sem-
blance of normalcy.
Amateur radio has been a great antidote to the restric-
tions imposed in many places to help slow the spread of
the virus. Social distancing, or what we’ve been calling
social DXing, has been a part of ham radio’s fabric since
its earliest days, a means of bringing people together even
when we’re physically distanced from each other. That was
never clearer than in the past year, as clubs expanded on-
air nets and meetings and participation records were set
across the board in contests. We hope this trend of
increased activity will continue even after the pandemic is
brought under control.
We also hope the FCC will act soon on the ARRL’s long-
stalled “Technician enhancement” proposal to provide
expanded HF privileges to half of our community. The sun is
starting to wake up and HF DXing opportunities will be grow-
ing. Giving Techs “a slice of the pie” will hopefully get many
more hams hooked on DXing and hungry enough for more
that they want to upgrade and get access to much larger
chunks of our HF bands.
We also hope to see more hams making better use of the
bands at the high end of our spectrum, above 1 GHz (see
last April’s “Zero Bias,” “The Gigahertz Imperative,” and
November’s “News Bytes” column on the coming loss of our
3.3-GHz band). Keep the gigahertz in mind for a minute while
I switch back to a topic I touched on in October, the ongoing
challenge of recruiting more young people into amateur
radio. I’m going to put these together into a challenge for the
coming year:
A popular activity among many young people today is com-
petitive video games, generally played over the internet.
Current game consoles are designed with connectivity in
mind. But with so many adults working from home these days,
as well as kids doing remote learning, there’s a lot of com-
petition for available internet bandwidth. Here’s the chal-
lenge: Let’s combine video game technology with amateur
radio digital networking technology and our microwave bands
to build a ham radio video game network. We could start
locally and then expand our networks, as we did with pack-
et radio a generation ago. The technological pieces are there
already and the concept of a “private” (vs. the internet) video
game network should be appealing to many young people,
particularly those who are technically-oriented and may
become equally fascinated with network-building as they are
with gaming. Remember, ham radio is a technical “play-
ground” like none other. Parents may like it, too, as it would
reduce the incidence of problems sometimes associated with
internet gaming networks.
*Email: <w2vu@cq-amateur-radio.com>
8• CQ • January 2021
Amateur radio has been a great antidote to the
restrictions imposed in many places to help slow
the spread of the virus. Social distancing, or what
we’ve been calling social DXing, has been a part
of ham radio’s fabric since its earliest days...
Some of you may say that video gaming on the ham bands
is incompatible with what ham radio is all about. But it real-
ly isn’t any different from the long-established tradition
among some hams of playing chess over the radio (except
that the chess pieces may come to life and try to blow each
other up!).
Likewise, there’s a longstanding tradition among some
hams of using amateur frequencies to “pilot” radio-control
(R/C) aircraft and boats. It is specifically permitted under FCC
rules (see Section 97.215, Telecommand of Model Craft).
There are even more than a dozen designated R/C fre-
quencies on the 6-meter band plan. Nobody does R/C flying
anymore, you say? Really? What do you think drones are?
Let’s look at what’s involved in modifying drone controllers
to operate in the ham bands. Maybe we could combine ham-
band control transmissions with video feeds on ATV (ama-
teur television) frequencies to permit hams to operate
unmanned aircraft (within FAA safety rules) at higher power
and over longer distances than unlicensed drones, and with
less possibility for interference among multiple users in a spe-
cific area. Imagine the advantages that could provide for
emergency communication groups using drones to help
authorities with damage assessments or to monitor the
spread of wildfires.
There might be a few technological issues to be overcome
in the process of setting up and organizing ham-band gam-
ing networks, but that would actually be a good thing, as it
would promote involvement with the broader amateur radio
community and, perhaps, an introduction to other competi-
tive ham radio activities, such as foxhunting and contesting.
Same story for modifying drone transmitters to operate on
ham bands (although more likely on 2.4 GHz than 6 meters).
The technical challenges will likely prompt more involvement
with the general ham community.
This challenge is directed primarily to the VHF / UHF /
microwave, digital, and YOTA (Youth on the Air) segments
of our community to come together and explore the possi-
bilities. But many more of you may have contributions to
make as well. Hopefully, such collaboration will produce
ideas and activities that I haven’t even thought about think-
ing about. Our friends at HamSCI might also want to get
involved, to translate interest in gaming networks to support
their distributed citizen science projects. The possibilities
are endless.
CQ will be happy to use our pages to share ideas, circuits,
etc., in developing such networks and interfaces between
game consoles and radios, or building a ham radio drone
and ATV network, or whatever else may come out of any col-
(Continued on page 74 )
Visit Our Web Site
 NEWS BYTES
Arecibo: End of an Era for a Ham-Connected
Radiotelescope
The December 1st collapse of the instrument platform at the
Arecibo Observatory in Puerto Rico reverberated in the ham
community as well as the astronomy / radioastronomy world.
Officials had hoped to be able to safely disassemble the 900-
ton telescope suspended 400 feet above the observatory’s
1,000-foot dish after determining in November that repairs
would be impossible after two cable breaks over the past
several months. A dramatic video of the collapse is available
online at <https://tinyurl.com/y29wbp9x>.
One of the observatory’s ham radio connections is Head
of Telescope Operations Angel Vazquez, WP3R. He ex-
plained what happened on the morning of December 1st in
a video posted on Twitter by Wilbert Andrés Ruperto at
<https://tinyurl.com/y6p83oqs>, and posted the following on This QSL card from Arecibo’s Head of Telescope Op-
the HamSCI reflector on December 2nd: erations, Angel Vazquez, WP3R, shows the telescope prior
to its collapse.
Thanks for the outpouring of comments on a very sad day
for all of us here at the Arecibo Observatory and for our radio the track, fell to the dish a little north of center and the trian-
amateur and scientist colleagues around the world. Indeed, gle was pulled by the other existing cables to the northwest
a radio science icon is no more. part of the dish. The tops of the towers did break as well.
At around 7:55am yesterday, December 1st, 2020, the plat- This was a 900-ton platform so the dome was smashed like
form collapsed due to the extra stress on the existing cables an eggshell.
because of the main cable failure in November and the aux- We still have a 12-meter dish that will be used for radio astron-
iliary cable break back in August. Strands were starting to omy and a Lidar lab as well as an optical lab with photome-
pop all weekend long and it was just a matter of time. It came ters. The site by no means is closed and it wasn’t the intent
off the easternmost tower (T4) and took about 15 seconds
at most. The azimuth arm that housed the dome came off (Continued on page 106)

www.cq-amateur-radio.com January 2021 • CQ • 9

It’s been a “bucket list” item for years for W1UF … visiting and operating
from the last outpost of France in North America. He shares the story of his
“record-setting” DXpedition a few years back from St. Pierre and Miquelon.

FP/W1UF — Setting a New

DXpedition “Record”
BY L. DENNIS SHAPIRO,* W1UF

I
have not been a pilot for as long as I’ve been a ham —
but it seems that way. My first flying lesson was in 1953.
I have been a ham since 1947. But looking back from
today’s perspective, they are virtually concurrent. Combining
the two hobbies is a special plus. When 2-meter repeaters
came along, I set up one of the air-to-ground VHF antennas
on my then-current airplane — a Beechcraft Bonanza — so
I could connect a handheld and enjoy the line-of-sight from
altitude. Home base was Hanscom Field near Boston,
Massachusetts.
Back in the ’60s, I had a non-ham partner on the Bonanza
who loved to fish. Jack and I made flights to northern New
* 24 Essex Rd., Chestnut Hill, MA 02467
Email: <W1UF.Dennis@gmail.com>
England and to Quebec and the Maritimes with fishing in
mind. Some trips were successful; others were experiments
in how to escape mosquitoes and black flies — but all were
fun. We were both interested in exploring unusual places.
He wanted to fly to St. Pierre & Miquelon — a French pos-
session off the coast of Newfoundland, so we went.
Correction — we headed that way, stopping in Sydney,
Nova Scotia, for fuel. There we learned that St. Pierre was
socked in by fog — a very frequent occurrence. We embarked
anyway in the event it cleared, but knowing we could con-
tinue to Newfoundland or return to Sydney as alternates. The
forecasters were spot on. St. P. was virtually zero-zero so
we continued to Gander for an overnight, hoping the weath-
er would be better on the way back. It wasn’t.
Over the years, we made additional attempts and each time

Route of flight. Hanscom Field (KBED), 535 nautical miles ~3 hrs. to Sydney (CYQY), 165 nautical miles ~1 hr. to St. Pierre
(LFVP), Miquelon (LFVM). Light purple line shows the “scenic” route at low altitude (~1,000 ft.) return to Hanscom.

10 • CQ • January 2021 Visit Our Web Site

 the fog had rolled in. So, we enjoyed
Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and
eastern Quebec — but no St. Pierre.
Let’s jump forward to 2013. I now had
a Beech Baron light twin and was get-
ting to the time of life where I had a buck-
et list. High priority was flying to St.
Pierre, bringing ham gear, and making
some Qs. A two-fer. Dr. Nat Sims is a
flying buddy. He and I had made sev-
eral trips together, including to the west
coast, and he was also intrigued with
going to St. P. So, we planned to be
ready to leave sometime in late
September. The key factor was to
match up with a high-pressure area that
would blanket the northeast with clear
weather.

The Ham Radio Part

Now for the ham radio preparation. I had
an Elecraft K-3, a small switching power
supply, and a 20-meter dipole. A head-
set, Vibroplex Code Warrior Jr. iambic
paddle, some lengths of coax, and
antenna rope completed the station.
Eric Williams, KV1J, was putting FP
in everyone’s log from his annual DX-
Photo A. Downwind leg for runway 26 at St. Pierre (LFVP), looking northwest. peditions to St. Pierre, where he would
Langlade is in the background on the left, Miquelon on the distant center horizon. operate from Miquelon (to be away from
(Nat Sims photo) the radio noise of that metropolis, St.
Pierre!). I had met Eric when he was a
young ham in high school 40 years ear-
lier and a neighbor in Lincoln, Massa-
chusetts. He baby-sat for us, and we
talked radio. Eric became an electrical
engineer and had a career with Hewlett-
Packard before retiring.
I called Eric and told him my plan. My
goal was to make a few contacts — just
enough to make a mark, but not to set
any records. He put me in touch with
Jean Pierre Carrere, FP5CJ, who had
become his good friend over the years.
I contacted Jean Pierre via email, who
said he would be delighted to help.
The weather window opened wide on
Saturday, September 28th. Nat and I
left early, flew to Sydney, Nova Scotia
(CYQY for flying fans), and then to St.
Pierre (LFVP) — about four hours total
flight time (see Figure 1 and Photo A).
JP met us (Photo B) and, two hours later,
I was on the air from a compact house
trailer parked next to his brother’s house
outside of town (Photo C). JP had a fiber-
glass pole to which accomplished sailor
Nat expertly lashed the balun of my 20-
meter dipole, which we set up in an
inverted-V configuration. I hooked up
the K-3, plugged in the headset and
paddle and was good to go.
One CQ on 14.190 began an ever-
Photo B. W1UF and FP5CJ. No, we are not cranking up the tower. This machine increasing pileup (Photo D). I continued
was used to crank fishing boats ashore on rails in the days when St. Pierre & simplex, working mostly European sta-
Miquelon had an active fishing industry. (Nat Sims photo) tions. Things went well until I called for

www.cq-amateur-radio.com January 2021 • CQ • 11

Photo C. Mini-caravan shack with 20-meter inverted-V behind, overlooking the Atlantic Ocean. (Nat Sims photo)

Stateside / Canada only. The ensuing catcalls began to build.

Time to QRX. I checked to see if the K-3 tuner would match
on other bands, and it did. After a short stint on 12 meters, I
returned to 20 on the paddle which started another pileup.
Fortunately, it was of mostly considerate operators. I had
thought that everyone who wanted FP had filled their needs
from Eric’s DXpeditions, but DXers love the chase. In a cou-
ple of hours, I made 68 contacts on both phone and CW with
22 countries, mostly in Europe, but including Japan and
Brazil. (QSL card Photo E)

We had a delicious dinner with JP at a fine restaurant,

overnighted at a hotel and Sunday morning, JP took us sight-
seeing over most of the island. St. Pierre & Miquelon is quaint,
picturesque and French, population 6,000, mostly living on
St. P. We went to high points and took lots of photos.
Newfoundland is visible at ground level, just 15 miles away
— another country, another time zone! We had lunch and
Photo D. W1UF logging Qs in snug quarters. (Nat Sims arrived at the airport for the return trip. As forecast, the weath-
photo) er continued to be CAVU (ceiling and visibility unlimited), and
it was — all the way to Boston.
We first flew over Langlade and Miquelon to see the rest of
SPM, did a touch-and-go on Miquelon so we could say we had
been there, and then to Sydney to refuel. Our leisurely flight
back to Hanscom was at low altitude for sightseeing. Highlights
included the Alexander Graham Bell estate at Baddack on
Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia; Passamaquoddy Bay, and
the beautiful New Brunswick and Maine Coast. We flew over
the famed Campobello Island, the Olson House in Cushing
depicted in Andrew Wyeth’s Christina’s World, and the
Winslow Homer home on Prouts Neck, Maine. Just after sun-
down, we arrived back at Hanscom Field, cleared customs,
refueled, and put the Baron to rest.

The Record?
So what about a record? As we were leaving St. Pierre, JP
said that of all the hams who had travelled to SPM to oper-
Photo E. FP/W1UF QSL card. ate over the years, my DXpedition was the shortest!

12 • CQ • January 2021 Visit Our Web Site

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It’s been 30 years since the Collins R-390 series of receivers first found a
home at VK4QS. His current one has been in his shack for 15 years and was
in need of refurbishing. Mike shares the story of his project, along with the
fascinating history of this Cold War receiver.

Refurbishing a Collins R-390-A//URR

Series Receiver
Plus, the Evolution of a Cold War Warrior 1950-1955

BY MIKE CHARTERIS,* VK4QS/VK4XQM

P
rior to 1950, the U.S. military had
been operating the Collins 51J
series of receivers. The Army
Signal Corps then approached Collins
to develop a more advanced receiver to
cover a frequency range of 500 kHz to
32 MHz. The Army also wanted im-
proved selectivity, frequency accuracy,
image rejection, dynamic range, stabil-
ity, and good electro-mechanical de-
sign. Thus was born an engineering
miracle, the Collins R-390//URR com-
munications receiver.

The Contract and Security

The Collins R-390//URR was to be capa-
ble of receiving amplitude modulation
(AM), frequency-shift keying (FSK), CW,
and MCW (modulated CW). The details Photo A. Front panel of the author’s Collins R-390//URR. (Photos courtesy of the
were covered under U.S. Signal Corps author, except as noted)
specifications SCL-1134-B, and con-
tract No: W36-39-sc-44552. This order
was placed by the U.S. Army Signal
Corps Engineering Laboratories, Fort
Monmouth, New Jersey, and it was clas-
sified as SECRET, adding, “this docu-
ment contains information affecting the
national defence of the United States
within the meaning of Espionage laws,
Title 18, U.S.C., Sections 793 and 794.
The transmission or revelation of its con-
tents in any manner to an unauthorized
person is prohibited by law.”

Production and Costs

By mid-1950, the Collins engineering
team had successfully completed the
first units of R-390 & R-391, with both
units exceeding expectations and spec-

*Email: <mikevk4qs@gmail.com> Photo B. The R-390//URR’s complex interior.

14 • CQ • January 2021 Visit Our Web Site


Photo C. Bert Pitt (L) and Mike Charteris, VK4QS, (R) working on the R-390-
A//URR RF deck.
Photo D. R-390-A Front Panel Disconnected.
ifications of the U.S. Army. Conse-
quently, Collins was awarded a contract
to supply 3,000 receivers by the end of
the year. Accordingly, a further contract
dated in 1951 saw Collins manufacture
another 10,000 units over the next two
years. No cost was spared in the pro-
duction of these receivers with the R-
390 coming in at $2,000 U.S. and the
R-391 setting you back a whopping
$3,000. Based on 1950s prices, these
figures equate to an increase of 978.5%
for 2020 which comes to $21,777.46 for
the R-390, and a staggering $32,666.19
for the R-391. By comparison, the aver-
age home in the U.S. in the 1950s cost
on the order of US $7,400.00, the equiv-
alent of $79,808.00 today.
Brilliant Engineering, 1950-53
The R-390//URR and R-391//URR were
only manufactured by Collins and
Motorola between 1950 and 1953
www.cq-amateur-radio.com
(Photos A and B). With 33 valves (tubes,
for those of us in the U.S.) and no cost
spared, they have been described as the
ultimate valve communications
receivers. They utilized a series of gears,
cogs, and cams with inductive tuning and
a very stable permeability-tuned oscilla-
tor, complemented by two R.F. stages,
six I.F. stages, three audio filter settings,
and six selectivity bandwidths.
The frequency conversion was as fol-
lows: It utilized triple conversion for fre-
quencies between 500 kHz and 8 MHz
and double conversion from 8 MHz to
32 MHz. Add to this the Veeder-Root
mechanical digital readout for very
accurate frequency readout down to 1
kHz or better (actually kc and mc, since
this was the 1950s – ed.) and you have
a tube communications receiver of the
highest order. If this was not enough, the
R-391//URR had the added feature and
advantage of eight pre-settable fre-
quencies, locally or remotely, by way of
a complex set of gears driven by a 28-
volt DC motor. Even more amazing was
the “repeatability” of this function to with-
in 300 Hertz of the former frequency.
Complaints and Cost-Cutting
Despite the fact that the R-390//URR
series had exceeded the expectations
of the military across all services, there
was still the nagging issue of the very
high price of these units. The Signal
Corps had also raised a few complaints
regarding the heat generated by the
unit’s 33 tubes and the side-effects it
cause in the audio module. Another
complaint centred on the complex ser-
viceability in relation to the dreaded
removable “green” locking gear that had
to be installed before removing the RF
module. In response to these concerns,
a cost-cutting exercise was undertaken
in late 1953 to see what could be done
to modify the R-390//URR series to
effect savings without compromising
capability.
Transition to the Lower-Cost
Collins R-390//URR
In late September 1953, the R-390 was
put under the microscope, examined in
detail and a list made of units and com-
ponents that could either be removed for
cost reduction or other improvements.
These examinations were undertaken
by both Collins engineers and the Signal
Corps Electronic Laboratories. They
were able to identify cost reductions of
$233 U.S. per radio. Now this may not
seem like a lot of money, but the equiv-
alent today is in the order of $2,242 per
unit. Now if you consider the fact that
some 55,000 or so R-390-As were pro-
duced, then it runs into millions of dol-
lars saved by the government.
The Birth of the R-390-A//URR
The next challenge was to actually build
this new cost-effective R-390-A and test
it for performance before contracting it
out for manufacture. What came out of
this research was a receiver that now
consisted of 26 valves, reduced from
33, the same frequency coverage, with
just one RF stage, and the I.F. stages
were reduced from six to four. Once
again, the frequencies between 500
kHz and 8 MHz were triple-conversion
while those from 8 MHz to 32 MHz were
double-conversion. The I.F. system
now used “LC” type filtering to obtain
essentially the same bandwidths, but
retained the crystal filter for the two nar-
rowest bandwidths as before on the R-
390. A good few mechanical changes
January 2021 • CQ • 15
Photo E. Once unscrewed from the case, the front panel folds down for access.
were also introduced in the R-390-A to incorporate simplici-
ty for serviceability. The full list of modifications, by way of
parts and components for this new cost-reduced receiver, is
extensive. Thus was born the R-390-A//URR, which saw
Collins and Motorola contracted to produce 10,000 in 1954,
with Collins further awarded a contract to produce another
10,000 of them in 1955. Additional contracts followed which
saw the R-390A produced by many other companies apart
from Collins.
My First Collins, the R-391//URR
My journey with the Collins R-390//URR series of communi-
cations receivers began in 1990 when I phoned a guy who
was advertising an R-391//URR for sale. I bought the set and
the seller even threw in his copy of “Ferrell’s Confidential
Frequency List.” Upon arriving home, I set up the receiver
and decided to try out one of the frequencies the previous
owner had noted in Ferrell’s frequency list, being 11.175 MHz.
The frequency was silent apart from atmospheric band noise.
I wondered what my chances were of receiving any trans-
missions. Just as the sun was setting, the R-391//URR burst
into life with the following loud and strong transmission.
SKYKING-SKYKING DO NOT ANSWER, MESSAGE AS
FOLLOWS: B3CF MT6W K4QS VQ4M ETC ... YOKOTA
OUT.
I had just intercepted my first-ever Emergency Action
Message (EAM), a coded military transmission from Yakota
Air Force Base, located 45 kilometers (28 miles) northwest
of Tokyo, at the foot of the Okutama Mountains. These mes-
sages are transmitted across the world on various frequen-
cies simultaneously on the HF Global Communications
System. From that moment forward, I was hooked on these
incredible receivers and consequently, over the past 30
16 • CQ • January 2021
years, have owned many that have come and gone to the
good homes of fellow Collins enthusiasts.
Refurbishing My Collins R-390-A//URR 2018
to 2020
I have owned my current Collins R-390-A//URR for about 15
years now and it has served me well despite the fact it is 65
years old and was manufactured in 1955. In the past few
years, though, I had noticed that the sensitivity had dropped
off considerably even though it had recently had a new set
of tubes installed. So, in May 2018, I decided I would have
to bite the bullet and dismantle it for refurbishment.
I thought this was going to be a very daunting task as I had
never undertaken such work before, despite being a Systems
Electrician working on electric passenger trains for 13 years.
But I was lucky enough to have the assistance of my good
mate Bert Pitt, a retired ex-Telstra Technician, who visited
each Wednesday (Photo C). Bert’s passion is the restoration
of broadcast-band valve radios, to the point of building them
from scratch with the precision and skill of an artisan. He had
never seen a communications receiver before I gave him a
Racal RA-17 to restore for his collection. Thus we both
embarked on the study and refurbishment of my R-390-
A//URR with a view to attaining original specifications, if pos-
sible.
Now if you’ve ever looked into the depths of a Collins R-
390A//URR to consider dismantling it, you could be forgiven
for wondering whether you could ever get it back together
again. I was fortunate to have the “Y2K” Handbook for this
behemoth and a lot of study was undertaken before the first
screw was turned. The internet is also a fantastic resource
with first-hand information articles on the restoration process
from the likes of David Medley, an Australian, and Chuck
Ripple, WA4HHG, who are renowned R-390 series men. I
am indeed indebted to the written knowledge of these men
Visit Our Web Site
Photo F. Underside of the R-390-A IF unit.
and the contributors to the Y2K Manual for the vast amount
of information covering these engineering miracles in order
to refurbish one with confidence.
Removal and Refurbishment of the I.F. Module
Thus, the Phillips-head screwdriver was engaged into the
first face panel screw as I embarked on what became a one-
day-a-week, two-year journey. As it happens once the face
panel screws are removed, all of the pots and switches of the
R-390-A stay attached to the front panel to be lowered down
in front of you (Photos D and E).
There are two coupling connectors on the inside of the panel
for the BFO and the IF Unit that must be undone as well.
When you get to this stage, the brilliance of this amazing
receiver’s construction emerges before your eyes. Once the
front panel is laid forward, the GREEN cheese head captured
screws holding the IF unit can be unscrewed. Next is the main
multi-pin connector at the back of the IF unit that can be
unplugged. This leaves a couple of small plugs that look like
mini BNCs, that need to be dealt with very carefully. Now the
IF unit can be removed and rolled over to reveal (Photo F)
all the old 10% resistors and paper capacitors that have
served so well over the past 65 years.
All the new blue resistors you can see are high quality 5%
values that I used to replace the old ones. The first step in
the refurbishment was to check the value of each of the exist-
ing resistors. Most, if not all, started out life as 10%ers in
1955. But upon being checked, most if not all were found to
have significantly increased in value. This, of course, leads
to the deterioration of the signal stream which sees the sen-
sitivity of the receiver nosedive. I purchased on eBay a bulk
pack of resistors covering the range of values commonly
used. These were sorted and mini-bagged in group values
for easy access. Once the values of the resistors had been
checked, they were systematically replaced, one-by-one, in
all modules. The method used was a case of necessity where-
www.cq-amateur-radio.com
by the old resistors were cut with as much lead as possible.
Next the new replacement resistor was cut for length and
then had its lead spiraled around a thin piece of wire to coil
loop the ends. These were now fed over the existing lead of
the old resistor and neatly soldered in place. Some did require
some plastic tube insulation due to their proximity to other
wires. The same time-consuming technique was applied for
the replacement capacitors as can be seen in yellow in the
IF unit for neatness of task.
Removing the R-390-A//URR RF Deck
Once again, when it came to removing the RF Deck, it was
really straightforward with the unscrewing of a few green
cheese head captured screws, undoing a couple of MBC con-
nectors and a little bit of jiggling, and out it came. This had
been fundamental in the design to enable field repairs, if nec-
essary, to return the unit to service. As I said before, you can’t
help but be amazed at the engineering simplicity by which
this very complicated receiver can be dismantled in virtually
no time at all. To my surprise, there was plenty of room in
which to work and lots of fresh air space to keep everything
relatively cool. The same procedure was carried out as when
all the resistors were checked for their values. True to age
and form, most (if not all) were way out of their 10% value
ranges and were replaced with 5%ers.
We moved onto replacing as many capacitors as possible
with the same procedure of cutting to the lead, looping on the
new lead and soldering. All of the disc ceramics proved ok and
were left alone. Some rather tight spots were encountered
(Photo G) but eventually were overcome with persistence.
Problematic MBC Leads
After completing the refurbishment of the R-390-A//URR, I
reassembled it and switched it on. All my fears were realized
when, upon being connected to the antenna, the unit was flat
out receiving AM broadcast stations. We carried out further
January 2021 • CQ • 17
tests with the signal generator but, alas, this unit seemed to
have a giant fault that prevented it from coming to life. The
main suspects were the MBC (mini-BNC) leads that after 65
years were somewhat cracked. Eventually upon examining
and wiggling the MBC leads tagged in Photo G, it was found
that one needed to be re-terminated. If you have ever made
up BNC leads, then you can appreciate how tedious these
leads were at half the physical size with wires as fine as your
hair and tiny bead insulators. With this now completed, we
again re-assembled the receiver and applied power to it. Well,
the difference could not have been more remarkable as it just
about jumped off the bench as the stations came in loud and

Photo G. Interior view of the receiver’s top side.

Photo H. The refurbished R-390-A is now back home in the author’s vintage Collins station.

18 • CQ • January 2021 Visit Our Web Site

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hooked it up to my URM-25 signal gen-
erator and injected 3 μV into the anten-
na socket. The response was loud and
clear, so the level was lowered further
to just 1 μV and, again, the signal came
through pretty audibly. So, just to show
off, I dropped it to a 1/3rd of a μV and
blow me down if this receiver did not
pick it up and show it as an audio sig-
nal. I was amazed and gratified that all
my work had been rewarded with such
amazing results.
What I took away from this refurbish-
ment adventure across the course of
two years was that these receivers were
indeed the miracle of their day. Over the
past few weeks, I have compared it to
the weakest HF voice and CW signals
I could find on my FTDX-9000, and my
Collins is there side-by-side with bells
on. Not bad for a Cold War warrior
receiver that just turned 65 years of age
(Photo H). I am looking to marry it up
with my Johnson Viking Valiant in the
near future to create a very nice 1960s
CW station.
One thing we often fail to appreciate
when sitting in front of such ex-military
receivers is to imagine the places they
were operated in service. Be it a ship,
a submarine, a signals intelligence sta-
tion in Asia or just out of the front line
during a conflict. If only they could talk
of the places they have been, we would
indeed be privy to their secret world.
I do hope this article inspires others to
refurbish one of their vintage communi-
cations receivers and to write about it
for CQ magazine.
– Cheers and 73

References
1) Final Engineering Report on the Collins R-
390//URR, by L.W. Couillard, Project Engineer,
September 15th 1953 by Des Ball & Richard
Tanter
2) The Collins R-390-A//URR Y2K Manual
3) Various Websites on Collins R-390 Series,
David Medley, & Chuck Ripple
4) Collins Service Manual

www.cq-amateur-radio.com January 2021 • CQ • 19

Results of the 2020
CQ World Wide VHF Contest
BY JOHN “JK” KALENOWSKY,* K9JK
T
wenty-twenty … a term used to describe perfect vision
… but what an interesting year it turned out to be. A
global pandemic continues to grip the world with many
negative impacts but amateur radio was generally positive-
ly affected, with more overall activity as the world population
was subject to orders to stay home and to socially distance
from others. As a hobby, amateur radio is quite compatible
with social distancing (and achieving greater distance for
contacts is a positive factor for contesting, particularly on the
50- and 144-MHz frequency bands).
I was pleasantly surprised at the growth in log submissions
in 2019 and described last year’s increase as an eclipse over
* Email: <k9jk.cq@gmail.com>
Peter, WW2Y, made a GriDXpedition to semi-rare FN24 in
upstate New York for the contest. Peter provided an extend-
ed write-up of his effort for the August 2020 edition of
“Cheese Bits”, the Mt. Airy VHF Club’s monthly newsletter.
It can be found at the club’s website <https://tinyurl.
com/y26j4rxu>.
20 • CQ • January 2021
recent years. If that was an eclipse, then what is the term for
an increase of over 50% in (more than 500 additional) log
submissions experienced in 2020? Is that a supernova? This
year brought 1,477 logs submitted, and an additional 22
checklogs for a total of 1,479.
Propagation on 50 MHz was not as good as it has been in
previous years and this impacted activity on that band. Six-
meter QSO and multiplier totals in this year’s logs were lower
than in 2019. This encouraged stations in all band categories
to spend more time on 144 MHz, where QSOs are worth two
points. It also appears that many stations focused exclusively
on the newer digital modes with over 500 logs reporting
Digital (DG) or RTTY (RY) as the only mode used for their
QSOs. Another 250 logs reported more than 80% and 200
more logs reporting at least one QSO using the digital modes.
Visit Our Web Site
 While the count of log submissions
increased by more than 50% from 2019,
the count of QSOs grew by less than
10%. Of just over 86,000 QSOs report-
ed in this year’s submitted logs, the split
between 50 and 144 MHz was about
79% / 21%. In 2019, the split was about
88%/12%. Looking at the modes report-
ed on the QSO: Lines, the impact of the
WSJT-X program on contesting is quite
noticeable — 77% of QSOs on 50 MHz
and 42% of QSOs on 144 MHz report-
ed DG or RY as the mode. Phone (PH)
was still used in 2020, 13.5% on 6
meters and 34.5% on 2 meters. Activity
on CW remained present on 50 MHz,
with 9% of QSOs but was only used for
1.5% of QSOs on 144 MHz. FM activi-
ty was fairly popular on 2 meters with
22% of QSOs using that mode, but FM
on 6 meters was minimal, just 0.3%.
USA
Stations in the contiguous 48 U.S.states
submitted 854 (plus eight checklogs)
logs in 2020, almost 60% of the total.
Single-Operator, Single-Band, 6 meters,
and Single Operator All-Band were the
most popular entry categories with 369
and 351 logs, respectively. There were
42 entries in the Single-Operator-QRP
(All Band) category, 39 Rovers, 23
2-meter only, 20 Multi-op, and 10 Hill-
toppers made up the balance of cate-
gories. The fourth call area continued as
the busiest with 180 logs. Seven-land
stepped up with 111 logs submitted,
almost doubling the 62 from that area in
2019. Activity from California in 2020
more than tripled over last year, with 75
logs versus 23 in 2019.
Familiar calls return as the U.S. lead-
ers in many of the categories for 2020.
With 369 QSOs on 6 and 199 QSOs on
2 meters, K1TEO reclaimed the top spot
in Single-Operator All-Band with a total
score of 118,716.
As was generally the case, Jeff’s QSO
and grid count was down on 6 meters
but increased on 2 meters as compared
to 2019.
Dan, K1TO, continued his reign as
leader of the Single-Operator Six-
Meter-only category. With a score of
73,514 from “only” 416 QSOs and 178
multipliers (down from last year’s 700
Qs and 203 grids), the less favorable
conditions on 6 meters clearly impact-
ed Dan’s score.

TOP SCORES
WORLD
All Band
UR6F...............61,122
VE3WY ...........34,450
R6KA...............29,737
UW8SM...........21,658
VA6AN ............17,716
6 Meters
UX2X...............52,246
EA8DBM .........43,175
UWØK .............37,268
VE4VT.............24,871
UT4XU ............21,060
2 Meters
US4IEK ...........10,384
US8AR ..............5,772
HA1WA .............5,394
HS3SMO ...........4,608
PY2NF ..............4,004
Hilltopper
UT1I ..................1,800
IZ2JNN/IN3 .......1,157
UR8IW ..............1,023
HA4BF .................952
JK1VUZ/P ............217
QRP
EM9Q ..............39,730
UT8AL .............14,553
UT3LL ...............6,760
M5W..................6,270
UT4RZ ..............5,016
Rover
E27DIX/R ..........1,204
VE2NR/R .............560
VE3WJ/R .............464
VE3OIL/R .............260
G1E/R ..................169
Multi-Op
HA6W............154,428
UZ2I ................22,736
OP2D ..............20,498
E27AC.............19,320
E27AAA ..........14,250

USA
All Band
K1TEO .........118,716
W8ZN.............97,344
K2DRH...........83,082
N2NT..............69,496
AA5AM...........52,080
6 Meters
K1TO..............73,514
KC4PX ...........53,284
W5PR.............50,880
N1AV..............33,108
N4BP..............31,460
2 Meters
AA4ZZ............18,560
W1VD.............16,432
K1HTV .............5,508
KT8O................3,100
N1RR ...............3,072
Hilltopper
K9PW...............2,214
Valya, UTØRQ, at her operating position in Ukraine, along with her antennas. WA5RR ...............902
K7IW ...................140
NZ6N...................120
KG9OV................117
QRP
KO9A .............30,135
NJ4Y ..............21,244
NØUR ............13,912
K6MI.................2,204
K4PPK .............2,183
Rover
ACØRA/R.....378,308
WB8LYJ/R .....41,756
W9FZ/R..........37,252
NV4B/R ..........25,916
AE5P/R ..........19,008
Multi-Op
N4SVC ...........93,120
WD9EXD........91,107
W3SO ............61,744
WS9V.............36,432

22 • CQ • January 2021 Visit Our Web Site

 Buck Bald in Polk County, Tennessee,
where Matt, NJ4Y, set up to operate in
the contest.

ACØRA/R adapted to 2020’s different propagation condi- After just about wiping us out in the June ARRL contest,
tions and, again, raised the all-time Rover category top score Murphy stayed away this time.”
by another 51,000 points over 2019. Wyatt’s 385 QSOs on From 42 U.S. clubs from which more than three logs were
6 meters were about 2/3 of his 2019 QSOs on the band, but received, the Potomac Valley Radio Club stepped up to lead
227 QSOs on 2 meters were almost double last year’s 121. the club competition with 54 entries for an aggregate score of
In the Single-Operator All-Band QRP category, KO9A 316,873. W8ZN’s score of 97,344 from Terry’s GriDXpedition
repeated as the top scorer, achieving a score of 30,135. Jim to EM87 was the top score in the Club category.
capitalized on the digital modes, utilizing both FT8 and MSK-
144 to collect 76 multipliers on 50 MHz. DX
There was a close race in the U.S. Single-Operator Single- There were 603 logs (plus 14 checklogs) received from all
Band 2 meters category with Paul, AA4ZZ, just edging ahead six continents. You can see the breakdown in the table below:
of last year’s top scorer, W1VD. While Jay grew his QSO
count to 164 (he had 103 last year), versus Paul’s 163, Paul Continent Logs # of different DXCC
prevailed in multipliers with 58 for a final score of 18,560 over Countries
Jay’s 52 multipliers. Africa 2 1
With limited time on the contest weekend, K9PW put togeth- Asia 87 9
er a Hilltopper effort and operated in the last six hours of the Europe 272 36
contest. Pete stretched his QRP signal to complete 63 QSOs Oceania 54 4
for a final score of 2,214. The team of operators at K5QE South America 119 3
returned to the top spot in the Multi-Operator category, trad- North America 69 6
ing places with the team at N4SVC (2019’s Multi-op leader). (other than U.S.)
Marshall and his operating team completed 395 QSOs for a
final score of 118,000. As Marshall noted in his Scatter com- With 114 logs submitted (96% of the logs submitted from
ments, “we had a decent contest this time. We were way short South America), Brazil was the top source of logs among the
of ops, but everyone seems to be scared of the stupid virus. non-U.S. countries. Ukraine was the participation leader for

www.cq-amateur-radio.com January 2021 • CQ • 23

 Billy, PY2LCD, and Francisco, PY2NF,
set up two stations at Pico do Diamante
in Brazil (GG77). Billy operated All-
Band while Francisco was 2-meter only.

QSO & GRID LEADERS

6-Meter QSOs
K1TO ................................................................416
ACØRA/R .........................................................385
K1TEO..............................................................369
KC4PX..............................................................356
W5PR ...............................................................322
W8ZN ...............................................................321
N4SVC .............................................................307
UX2X ................................................................307
AA5AM .............................................................296
EM9Q ...............................................................284
EA8DBM...........................................................279
N1AV ................................................................275
N4WW ..............................................................272
K5QE................................................................272
N4BP ................................................................261

6-Meter Grids
ACØRA/R .........................................................287
K1TO ................................................................178
UX2X ................................................................173
W5PR ...............................................................160
EA8DBM...........................................................157
UWØK ..............................................................154
KC4PX..............................................................154
N4SVC .............................................................151
K5QE................................................................150
EM9Q ...............................................................145
AA5AM .............................................................144
W8ZN ...............................................................139
N4WW ..............................................................135
R6KA ................................................................131
K2DRH .............................................................129

2-Meter QSOs
E27AC ..............................................................461
E27AAA............................................................375
HA6W ...............................................................271
HS7AP..............................................................257
ACØRA/R .........................................................227
K1TEO..............................................................199
W1VD ...............................................................164
AA4ZZ ..............................................................163
N2NT ................................................................154
E23GBD ...........................................................150
HS3SMO ..........................................................145
W3SO...............................................................137
HS1AN .............................................................134
E22WMI............................................................129
K5QE................................................................123

2-Meter Grids
ACØRA/R .........................................................171
K5QE..................................................................86
HA6W .................................................................77
WB8LYJ/R..........................................................74
WD9EXD ............................................................63
AA4ZZ ................................................................58
UR6F ..................................................................55
K2DRH ...............................................................54
W8ZN .................................................................53
W1VD .................................................................52
W3SO.................................................................51
W9FZ/R ..............................................................51
K1TEO................................................................47
N9FN ..................................................................47
WS9V .................................................................47
W9VW ................................................................47
W9YOY/R...........................................................47

24 • CQ • January 2021 Visit Our Web Site

Europe, with 70 logs submitted; DL9NEI Hungary’s HA6W team repeated as From MILLIWATTS
To KILOWATTS
noted, “seemed like Ukrainian Contest the world top scorer in the Multi- SM

to me” in his Scatter comment. Among Operator category. Seven operators

non-U.S. North America, Canada was logged 223 QSOs on 6 meters and 271
the top log submitter, with 54. Japan was
the leader in log submissions from Asia
with 36, but Thailand continued its string
QSOs on 2 meters for a final score of
154,428. Ukraine was the place to be
for a top score in many categories.
In Stock Now!
of participation with 27 entries. With sig- UR6F, operated by UXØFF, claimed
nificant activity from Indonesia and
the Philippines, log submissions from
the best score for Single-Operator All-
Band. Nikolay completed 283 QSOs in
Semiconductors
Oceania grew substantially, from just 8
in 2019 to 54 in 2020.
183 grids for a final score of 61,112.
In the Single-Operator Six-Meter-only for Manufacturing
By category, Single-Operator Single- category, UX2X, operated by Anatoly,
Band 6 meters was the most popular
among the DX stations, with 226 entries.
UT2XQ, prevailed with a final score of
52,246 from 307 QSOs and 173 Grids.
and Servicing
Single-Operator Single-Band 2 meters
was next in popularity, with 155 entries.
Sergei, UR9QQ, operated using the
call EM9Q to claim the #1 spot in the
Communications
There were 117 logs submitted as Single-
Operator All-Band and there were 57
Single-Operator All Band QRP catego-
ry with a score of 39,730. All of Sergei’s Equipment
Single-Operator All-Band QRP logs. The 275 QSOs and 145 multipliers were
remaining 48 DX entries consisted of completed on the 50-MHz band.
27 Multi-Operator, 11 Hilltoppers, and 10 In the Single-Operator Single-Band 2-
Rovers. meters-only category, it was Gennadij, Visit
Our
te
ROVERS & GRIDS OPERATED Websi
AA5PR/R ...................................................................................................................................DM63 DM76
ABØYM/R ....................................................................DM78 DM79 DM88 DM89 DN70 DN71 DN80 DN81
ACØRA/R.......................................................................EM59 EM69 EN31 EN32 EN41 EN42 EN50 EN60
AD4IE/R .....................................................................................................................................EM95 EM96
AE5P/R.............................................................................................EM20 EM21 EM22 EM30 EM31 EM32
AE8AT/R ..........................................................................................................................EM79 EN70 EN80
AF1R/R....................................................................................................................FN32 FN33 FN41 FN42
• RF Modules
AF5WN/R & KK5WA .............................................................................................EM34 EM35 EM43 EM44
E27DIX/R ...............................................................................................................OK02 OK03 OK04 OK13
G1E/R (Op: G1TPA)....................................................................................................................JO00 JO01
HS7WMU/R......................................................................................................................NK93 OK02 OK03
• Semiconductors
IZ3NVR/M ....................................................................................................................................JN65 JN66
JL3DQX/R..................................................................................................................................PM74 PM75
K5ND/R......................................................................................................................................EM03 EM24
K6JO/R & W6MFJ...........................................................................DM12 DM13 DM14 DM22 DM23 DM24
K6LMN/R ........................................................................................................................DM03 DM04 DM14
• Transmitter Tubes
K7JSG/R ....................................................................................................................................CN87 CN97
K9JK/R....................................................................................................................EN51 EN52 EN61 EN62
KAØRYT/R .............................................................................................................EN25 EN26 EN35 EN36
KA7RRA/R...................................................................................................CN86 CN87 CN88 CN97 CN98
KE7MSU/R .................................................................................................................................CN84 CN85
KI5FIQ/R ..........................................................................................EM20 EM21 EM22 EM30 EM31 EM32
KK4BZ/R ................................................................................................................FM08 FM09 FM18 FM19
KM6ZJK/R .................................................................................................................................CM94 DM04
KT5TE/R...........................................................................................EM20 EM21 EM22 EM30 EM31 EM32
LU7MC/R............................................................................................................................FF56 FF57 FF66
N2DXT/R .................................................................................................................FN20 FN21 FN30 FN31 Se Habla Español • We Export
N2SLN/R ...........................................................................................................................FN12 FN22 FN23
N4DKF/R ...............................................................................................................EM85 EM86 FM04 FM05
N4HWH/R........................................................................................................................EM85 EM86 EM95
Phone: 760-744-0700
N6GP/R .....................................................................................................DM03 DM04 DM12 DM13 DM14
N6RH/R ............................................................................................EM20 EM21 EM22 EM30 EM31 EM32
Toll-Free: 800-737-2787
N6ZE/R ......................................................................................................................................CM99 CN82 (Orders only) 800-RF PARTS
www.rfparts.com
N8OC/R ..........................................................................EN56 EN57 EN66 EN74 EN75 EN76 EN85 EN86
N9TTX/R...................................................................................EN33 EN34 EN43 EN44 EN45 EN54 EN55 Website:
NV4B/R .............................................................EM52 EM53 EM54 EM55 EM61 EM62 EM63 EM64 EM65
VA3PAF/R.........................................................................................................................EN93 EN94 FN04 Fax: 760-744-1943
VE2NR/R (Op: VE2DDZ) ............................................................................................................FN26 FN45
VE3OIL/R....................................................................................................................................EN93 FN03
888-744-1943
VE3WJ/R...........................................................................................................................FN03 FN04 FN14
W3DHJ/R .............................................................................................................DM77 DM78 DM87 DM88
Email: rfp@rfparts.com
W4GRW/R .................................................................................................................................EM85 EM86
W5TV/R.................................................................................................................EM21 EM22 EM31 EM32
W9FZ/R & KA9VVQ........................................................EN25 EN26 EN33 EN34 EN35 EN36 EN43 EN44
W9YOY/R ...........................................................................................EN50 EN51 EN52 EN60 EN61 EN62
WB5IDY/R ........................................................................................EM20 EM21 EM22 EM30 EM31 EM32
WB6AGE/R ................................................................................................................................CN85 CN86
WB8LYJ/R ..................................................................................................EM73 EM80 EM81 EM82 EM83
WD5HJF/R ......................................................................................................................EM23 EM24 EM33

www.cq-amateur-radio.com January 2021 • CQ • 25

 CLUB COMPETITION
(Minimum of 3 entries required for listing)
UNITED STATES
Club Name # Entries Score
POTOMAC VALLEY RADIO CLUB.......................................54 ............316,873
NORTH EAST WEAK SIGNAL GROUP ...............................13 ............251,738
SOCIETY OF MIDWEST CONTESTERS .............................43 ............234,130
FLORIDA CONTEST GROUP ..............................................18 ............224,620
MT AIRY VHF RADIO CLUB.................................................16 ............217,378
PACIFIC NORTHWEST VHF SOCIETY ...............................35 ............167,327
DFW CONTEST GROUP ........................................................5 ............140,515
YANKEE CLIPPER CONTEST CLUB...................................19 ............120,934
FLORIDA WEAK SIGNAL GROUP .........................................8 ............111,458
ARIZONA OUTLAWS CONTEST CLUB ...............................23 ............106,743
NORTHERN LIGHTS RADIO SOCIETY ...............................18 ..............96,804
FOUR LANDERS VHF/UHF GROUP ...................................10 ..............91,708
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA CONTEST CLUB .......................20 ..............85,145
MICHIGAN VHF-UHF SOCIETY .............................................5 ..............79,596
BADGER CONTESTERS........................................................8 ..............70,390
TEXAS DX SOCIETY ..............................................................5 ..............65,464
TENNESSEE CONTEST GROUP ..........................................6 ..............57,856
CTRI CONTEST GROUP........................................................3 ..............48,047
GRAND MESA CONTESTERS OF COLORADO .................14 ..............44,446
NEW MEXICO VHF SOCIETY ................................................8 ..............39,204
ARIZONA VHF SOCIETY .......................................................4 ..............38,482
CAROLINA DX ASSOCIATION ............................................12 ..............35,615
CENTRAL TEXAS DX AND CONTEST CLUB .......................4 ..............29,794
ROCHESTER (NY) DX ASSOCIATION ..................................4 ..............29,576
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA CONTEST CLUB.......................14 ..............29,302
FRANKFORD RADIO CLUB .................................................13 ..............27,373
NACOGDOCHES AMATEUR RADIO CLUB ..........................3 ..............24,080
ROCHESTER VHF GROUP ...................................................4 ..............21,517
MINNESOTA WIRELESS ASSOCIATION ............................11 ..............19,594
BERGEN AMATEUR RADIO ASSOCIATION.........................5 ..............17,512
SOUTH EAST CONTEST CLUB.............................................3 ..............13,620
26 • CQ • January 2021
MAD RIVER RADIO CLUB .....................................................4 ..............12,997
NORTH TEXAS CONTEST CLUB ..........................................3 ..............12,538
SILVER COMET AMATEUR RADIO SOCIETY ......................6 ..............12,419
ST LOUIS AMATEUR RADIO CLUB ......................................4 ................9,407
DALLAS AMATEUR RADIO CLUB .........................................3 ................8,439
HUDSON VALLEY CONTESTERS AND DXERS...................7 ................7,645
BRISTOL (TN/VA) ARC ..........................................................3 ................7,271
KENTUCKY CONTEST GROUP ............................................3 ................3,411
EDMONDS WOODWAY ARC.................................................3 ................3,032
CONEJO VALLEY AMATEUR RADIO CLUB .........................3 ................2,242
VENTURA COUNTY AMATEUR RADIO SOCIETY ...............4 ................1,107
DX
UKRAINIAN CONTEST CLUB ..............................................18 ............281,463
CONTEST CLUB ONTARIO .................................................16 ..............72,022
BAVARIAN CONTEST CLUB .................................................8 ..............23,789
UKRAINIAN VHF INTERNATIONAL CONTEST CLUB ..........8 ..............20,041
CDR GROUP ........................................................................22 ..............10,098
CABREUVADX......................................................................31 ................9,161
CSTA SUCEAVA.....................................................................3 ................4,588
CONTEST GROUP DU QUEBEC...........................................4 ................2,630
599 DX GROUP ......................................................................8 ................1,648
THRACIAN ROSE CLUB ........................................................3 ................1,567
CONTEST CLUB FINLAND ....................................................3 ................1,133
RIO DX GROUP ......................................................................4 ................1,080
DX7HQ ....................................................................................3 ...................900
ARAUCARIA DX GROUP .......................................................7 ...................886
SPDX CLUB ............................................................................3 ...................864
YU1HFG ................................................................................10 ...................588
ORARI .....................................................................................5 ...................168
LU CONTEST GROUP ...........................................................4 ...................136
YB LAND DX CLUB ................................................................6 .....................78
US4IEK, finishing at the top with 118 QSOs and 44 grids for
a final score of 10,384.
Completing Ukraine’s top scoring spree was the Hilltopper
effort of UT1I, operated by Yuri, UT1IC. Yuri’s score of 1,800
resulted from 45 QSOs and 30 multipliers in his six hours of
operating time.
This year’s world leader in the Rover category was from
Thailand. Somsak, E27DIX, travelled to four grids, complet-
ing 44 QSOs and collecting 14 multipliers for a score of 1,204.
Among 19 DX clubs that met the minimum requirement of
three log submissions, the Ukrainian Contest Club claimed
the top aggregate club score with a total of 281,463. UR6F’s
score of 61,112 was the leading score among the 18 logs
from the club.
Putting 2020 Behind Us … On to 2021!
The dates for the 2021 CQWW VHF Contest are set as July
17th and 18th. Let’s hope that the global pandemic will ease
but even if it doesn’t, we can still “socially distance” on the
50- and 144-MHz bands. With the sun appearing to be wak-
ing up and starting a new cycle of sunspots, perhaps there
will be some interesting propagation on 50 MHz when the
third weekend of July comes around.
One more thing about 2020, your contest director dropped
the ball on confirming plaque sponsorhips this year. Look for
plaque information in the February 2021 issue.
Repeating the constant plea of past directors, if you oper-
ate, please send in a log. Any size log is greatly appreciat-
ed. If you need help, please ask. More logs make cross-
checking more accurate.
Don’t forget to check out the CQWW VHF website at
<www.cqww-vhf.com>. Comments, suggestions, and cor-
rections are always welcome. Quite a bit of the data was
entered manually. If you find an error, please let us know.
(Scores on page 107)
Visit Our Web Site
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Announcing:
The 2021 CQ World Wide WPX Contest
SSB: March 27-28, 2021 CW: May 29-30, 2021.
Starts: 0000 UTC Saturday Ends: 2359 UTC Sunday
The CQ World Wide WPX Contest is the world’s largest everyone-works-
everyone radio contest.
New and Modified Categories
The 2021 WPX contests will include a new Multi-Transmitter
Distributed category. Stations operating in this category may
have a maximum of six transmitted signals, one per band
at any one time, from stations in different locations. All equip-
ment, including remotely-controlled equipment, must be
located in the same DXCC entity and CQ Zone. Six bands
may be activated simultaneously. This is a new stand-alone
category. It is not intended to replace, or compete with, other
multi-operator categories. See the complete rules (links
below) for further details.
QSO alerting systems are now permitted in all WPX Single
Operator categories, except the Single Operator Classic
Overlay categories. This change results in the elimination
of all WPX Single Operator Assisted Categories and the re-
quirement for audio recordings.
The Single Operator Classic Overlay categories will con-
tinue to prohibit the use of QSO alerting systems and should
be considered by participants preferring to be unassisted.
Also, the maximum operating time for Single Operator
Classic Overlay participants has been reduced from 36 to
24 hours. Further, the Multi-Operator Single Transmitter
High and Low Power Classic Overlay categories have been
removed from the rules.
Contest Basics
Each contest mode is a separate event running from 0000
UTC Saturday until 2359 UTC Sunday. SSB is the last full
weekend of March and CW is the last full weekend of May.
Amateurs worldwide try to contact as many amateurs and
prefixes as possible during the period of operation. Single
Operator stations may operate 36 of the 48 hours. However,
off times must be a minimum of 60 minutes during which no
QSO is logged. Multi-operator stations may operate the full
48 hours.
Contacts are valid only on the 1.8-, 3.5-, 7-, 14-, 21-, and
28-MHz bands (no WARC bands). Exchange an RS(T)
report plus a progressive contact serial number starting with
001 for the first contact. Note: Multi-Two, Multi-Unlimited
and Multi-Transmitter Distributed entrants use separate ser-
ial number sequences on each band.
Scoring
The final score is the result of the total QSO points multi-
plied by the number of different prefixes worked. A station
may be worked once on each band for QSO point credit.
28 • CQ • January 2021
Contacts with your own country are worth one point on
each band. Contacts between stations on different conti-
nents are worth three points on 28, 21, and 14 MHz and six
points on 7, 3.5, and 1.8 MHz.
Contacts between stations on the same continent,
but different countries, are worth one point on 28, 21, and
14 MHz and two points on 7, 3.5, and 1.8 MHz. Exception:
For North American stations only — contacts between
stations within the North American boundaries (both
stations must be located in North America) are worth
two points on 28, 21, and 14 MHz and four points on 7,
3.5, and 1.8 MHz.
The prefix multiplier is the number of valid prefixes
worked. Each prefix is counted only once regardless of
the band or number of times the same prefix is worked.
Special event, commemorative, and other unique prefix
stations are encouraged to participate. A station operat-
ing from a DXCC entity different from that indicated by its
callsign is required to sign portable. Prefixes must be
issued or permitted by the licensing authority of the coun-
try of operation. See the full rules for a description of what
constitutes a prefix.
Entry Categories
The competition is divided into Single-Operator and Multi-
Operator categories. Single-Operator categories also offer
three additional overlay categories which may be entered
IN ADDITION TO the normal Single-Operator category. All
entry categories may use QSO finding assistance except
for the Classic Overlay.
Single Operator (all bands or any single band): Only one
operator finds, makes, and logs all contacts.
• High power: Up to 1,500 watts
• Low power: 100 watts or less
• QRP: 5 watts or less
Single-Operator Overlay Categories: Entrants in Single-
Operator categories may also submit their log for one of the
overlay categories shown below. All overlay entries are
grouped into all band, high power or low power (includes
QRP) in the results.
Tribander / Single Element Overlay: Allows the use of a
multi-band, multi-element antenna with one feedline for the
14-, 21-, and 28-MHz bands, plus a single-element anten-
na for each of the 3.5- and 7-MHz bands. One example is
a 3-element, tri-band antenna for 14, 21, and 28 MHz plus
Visit Our Web Site
an Inverted-V wire dipole for 3.5 MHz
and another one for 7 MHz. Another
example is a single-element multi-
band vertical antenna for all 5 bands
or a fan dipole of single element
dipoles for each band using a single
feedline.
Rookie Overlay: Only open to opera-
tors who were first licensed as radio
amateurs less than three (3) years
before the date of the contest. Indicate
date licensed in the soapbox field of
your log.
Classic Overlay: Allows only one
radio, no receiving during transmitting,
QSO finding assistance is NOT allow-
ed, and only the first 24 hours of oper-
ation are scored. Off-times must be at
least 60 minutes.
current list of plaques and sponsors is
at <www.cqwpx.com/plaques>.
Club Competition
Many clubs around the world compete
vigorously for the plaque awarded to the
club making the highest total combined
score in the SSB and CW weekends.
Submitting Your Log
Electronic logs should be in the
Cabrillo format. Upload your log on the
web at <www.cqwpx.com/logcheck>.
Effective with the 2021 contests,
paper logs will no longer be accepted
for WPX. Uploading logs via the web
is the only approved method for sub-
mitting a log.
All entries must be emailed WITHIN
FIVE (5) DAYS after the end of the con-
test: SSB logs no later than 2359 UTC
2 April 2021, CW logs no later than
2359 UTC 4 June 2021. Any log sub-
mission will replace any previous sub-
missions. Resubmitting an entry after
the deadline will result in it being con-
sidered as a late log.
Full Rules Online
Complete rules are available in sever-
al different languages at <www.cqwpx.
com/rules.htm> and in English only on
CQ magazine’s website.

Multi-Operator Categories (All-Band

only): More than one person can con-
tribute to the final score during the offi-
cial contest period.
YAGI URBAN BEAM
Single-Transmitter: Only one trans-
mitted signal is permitted at any time.
The station may change bands up to
10 times per hour. This category has
specific restrictions on band changes
so please read the full rules carefully.

• High power: Up to 1,500 watts

• Low power: 100 watts or less

Two-Transmitter: Two bands may be SMALL FOOTPRINT

transmitted on simultaneously. Each BIG DELIVERY
station may change bands up to 8 times
an hour.
Multi-Transmitter (Unlimited): One
transmitted signal is allowed on each
of the six contest bands.
Multi-Transmitter Distributed: A max-
imum of six transmitted signals, one
per band at any one time, from stations
The UrbanBeam is excellent for use in high density population areas or properties
excellent
in different locations. All equipment with small lot sizes, where a full-sized Yagi ma
Yagi mayy not be an option. The distinctiv
distinctivee
(transmitters, receivers, amplifiers, shape and small footprint (15.5 sq ft turning rradius)
adius) of the UrbanBeam helps
antennas, etc.) must be located in make neighbors and spouses happier
make happier,, while still deliv ering the e
delivering xceptional results
exceptional
same DXCC entity and CQ Zone, you would e
you xpect of a SteppIR Y
expect agi. The UrbanBeam is a high-performance,
Yagi.
including remotely controlled equip- Yagi on 20m-6m and folded dipole on 40-30m. With features such
two element Yagi
ment. Six bands may be activated as 180 degree direction change, bi-directional mode and full element retr action
retraction
simultaneously. for storm
stormyy weather
weather.. Y
You
ou can enjo
enjoyy all the features of a SteppIR Yagi while chasing
Yagi
low-sunspot-cy cle D
low-sunspot-cycle DXX or rrag-chewing
ag-chewing with y our friends!
your
Checklog: Entry submitted to assist
with the log checking. The entry will not
have a score in the results and the log
YA GI URBAN BEAM
YAGI
will not be made public. GO SMALL

Awards
DET
TAAILS & ORDERING:
Electronic certificates will be made
available for download for everyone www
w.. s t e p p i rr.. c o m
who submits an on-time entry. Plaques 425-453-1910
are awarded to recognize top perfor-
mance in a variety of categories. The

www.cq-amateur-radio.com January 2021 • CQ • 29

Most antennas are “balanced” radiators — with two identical sides —
while coaxial cable feedline is “unbalanced.” How do we make them
work well together? With a “balun” in-between. W1IS and KC1DSQ cover
the basics.

Baluns Basics
What’s a Balun? Why a Balun? How Do I Make a Balun?
BY BOB GLORIOSO,* W1IS AND BOB ROSE,# KC1DSQ

“B
alun” (BALanced to UNbalanced) is a catch-all term ance ratio so this would be a 4:1 balun. Because the core of
for a variety of devices we use on our antenna-feed- a transformer balun can easily saturate, they are mostly used
line systems. This article will take a brief look at in low-power applications, such as a receiving antenna.
what they’re all about, why they’re important and how you An autotransformer has the coils connected in series, as
can build your own. in a Variac®, Figure 3. As you may have guessed, if the num-
There are two classes of balun, choke and impedance ber of turns on each coil is the same, the voltage on each
transformation. Here’s a brief look at each: coil must be the same. Most baluns are wound with the same
A choke coil’s reactance isolates one part of the antenna- number of turns so the output of the balun in Figure 3 must
feedline system from another, as shown in Figure 1. With
bifilar wires or coax wound on a common core, a choke coil
10 turns 20 turns
provides a high impedance at the design frequencies of the
antenna system that limits the flow of common mode current
through it. A choke is often called a current balun when the
output is connected to an antenna or balanced feedline.
Another application: With coax connectors on each end, it
can isolate two sections of coax or a rig from an antenna
tuner and is called an UNUN (UNbalanced-to-UNbalanced). Vin Vout=2Vin
Impedance transformation baluns match the impedance of
one part of the antenna-feedline system to a different imped-
ance on the other side. There are two kinds of impedance
transformation baluns: transformer and autotransformer.
A transformer-type balun uses separate coils wound on the
same core as in power transformers and some “wall warts.”
Since the coils only connect through the flux in the core, each
side is isolated from extraneous currents, called common Figure 2. Transformer balun isolates and transforms
mode currents, on the other side, as seen in Figure 2. The impedance.
voltage on the output side is proportional to the ratio of num-
ber of turns on each coil. If the number of turns on each side
are the same, the ratio is 1:1 and the voltage and impedance
on each side are the same. If the turns ratio is 2:1, the volt-
age on the output is twice the input voltage and the imped-
ance on the output side is the square of the voltage ratio or
four times the input impedance. Baluns are specified by imped- Vin

Vout=2Vin

Unbalanced Balanced
(Coax) Input Output
Vin

Figure 1. Choke coil on a ferrite core limits current flow.

* Email: <rglorioso@me.com> Figure 3. Autotransformer balun. Dots indicate coils are

# Email: <b.rose@comcast.net> wound in the same direction on the core.

30 • CQ • January 2021 Visit Our Web Site

be twice the input and it is a 4:1 balun.
Unlike a choke balun or a transformer
balun, autotransformers by themselves
provide little or no isolation. Though
some manufacturers call them current
baluns, they are more accurately voltage
baluns.
For new hams and even some old
hands, baluns seem to be mysterious
devices that either should or must be
Photo A. Set-up for the 1:1 choke
balun.
Photo B. First two turns.
www.cq-amateur-radio.com
used on antennas. The first encounter
with RF burns or noise coming from the
rig or other device in the shack or house
when transmitting may be the principal
motivator that leads to a balun. But there
are other reasons to appreciate the value
of a balun. For example, a dipole can be
made to work with two pieces of wire cut
to one-quarter wave each for the band
of interest and fed directly with coax. The
Photo C. Six turns on right and one turn
on left.
Photo D. Completed 16-turn 1:1 balun.
unwary operator then believes that the
radiation pattern will mostly be broad-
side to the antenna. This won’t be the
case, though, because — as a result of
skin effect — coax actually has three
conductors, the center, the inside of the
shield and the outside of the shield.
Since the outside of the coax is con-
nected to one leg of the dipole, it can
radiate from current flowing back down
the outside of the cable as well as from
the quarter-wave wires.
To ensure the antenna is radiating
where you expect it, the outside of the
coax must be isolated from the inside of
the coax as well as the wires of the anten-
na. You can make the simplest isolator
by rolling up some of the coax, making
some of the outside of the cable into an
inductor that will impede the flow of RF
down the outside. There are several arti-
cles1 describing how to physically do
this. Unfortunately, the coils may be
heavy, clumsy and have a limited band-
width, so they may not be as effective as
you need or want.2 For example, it takes
a lot of coax to make a choke that works
well on 160 meters. However, that coil
of coax is a rudimentary choke. When
used at the interface between the feed-
line and the wire elements, it serves to
interface an unbalanced medium, coax,
to the balanced antenna.
However, it has great use elsewhere
in the antenna system. For example,
when the antenna is fed with balanced
feeders, such as ladder line or open
wires, it isolates the balanced side of the
feed system from the unbalanced coax
that you connect to your rig. The 1:1
balun, or choke or UNUN, described in
this article will provide excellent isola-
tion from 1.8 to 54 MHz.
Impedance Matching
A different kind of balun is used as an
impedance matching device from 50-
ohm coax to an off-center-fed (OCF)
antenna whose impedance at the feed
point varies but is often around 200
ohms, calling for a 4:1 impedance trans-
formation. Some impedance-matching
baluns provide good isolation and oth-
ers little or no isolation. Baluns can be
built with a wide range of matches, but
1:1, 4:1, and 9:1 cover the needs of
most hams. Next to the 1:1 balun, the
4:1 balun described in this article is the
next most useful for most antennas and
feed systems from 1.8-54 MHz.
A hybrid balun consists of a 4:1 volt-
age balun connected to a 1:1 current
balun / choke / UNUN that connects to
the coax. This combination is particu-
larly good for OCF antennas as the volt-
age balun provides the impedance
January 2021 • CQ • 31
 match while the 1:1 balun properly isolates the feedline from
the antenna. It is also useful for connecting balanced feed
lines, such as open wire or ladder line, to coax. Isolation is
key to both keeping RF off the feedline and preventing the
feedline from affecting the tuning and performance of the
antenna.
This article describes how to make and use a 1:1 current
balun, a 4:1 balun and the combination, a hybrid balun. For
a full treatment of baluns see “Understanding, Building and
Using Baluns and Ununs,” by Jerry Sevick, W2FMI (SK)3.
This book is available from CQ.

The 1:1 Balun

Photo E. 1:1 600-watt antenna balun.
A 1:1 balun isolates the outside conductor of the feedline
from the antenna so the feedline doesn’t radiate as part of
the antenna, making your antenna truly balanced and keep-
ing RF out of the shack. An UNUN is often used at the junc-
tion where coax enters the building to keep RF induced onto
the outside of the coax from entering the building. At the feed
point of an antenna, such as a dipole, beam, etc., a balun
transforms the unbalanced feed from the coax to a balanced
feed at the antenna. The following shows you step-by-step
how to make a 1:1 balun / choke / UNUN.
Teflon®, or PTFE, coax is used for its size, low loss, power-
handling ability, and high breakdown voltage. The outside of
the coax wrapped around the toroid becomes a relatively large
inductor between the radiating wires and the coax thereby
electrically isolates the antenna from the outside of the coax.
It can be built as the “center insulator” with eyebolts to attach
the antenna wires or, with two SO-239s, to provide isolation
at any place along the feedline on the way to the rig.
The balun described here provides isolation from the low-
est frequency, depending on the number of turns through the
toroid, up to 6 meters. Table 1 lists the parts you’ll need to
build one, and Photos A-D will help you visualize the steps.

1. The number of turns needed depends on the lowest fre-

quency you wish to operate.
2. Use 12 turns for 3.5 MHz, and 16 turns for 1.8 MHz (the
photos show a 16-turn balun).
3. Loosely attach two cable ties 180° apart on a 140-43
Photo F. 1:1 600-watt inline balun. toroid.

Table 1
Materials for 1:1 balun/choke/UNUN
1 – (For up to 600 watts) 140-43 toroid (<www.amidoncorp.com>, FT-140-43, or Mouser 623-5943002701)
1 – (For up to 1,500 watts) 240-43 toroid (<www.amidoncorp.com>, FT-240-43, or Mouser 623-5943003801)
600 watts
4 feet RG-316 for 600 watts (<www.bgmicro.com> or <www.pasternack.com>)
1,500 watts
6 feet RG-303 for 1,500 watts (<www.bgmicro.com> or <www.pasternack.com>)
2 – 4 inches of tie wraps
1 – (up to 600 watts) Awclub waterproof dustproof enclosure 3.3” x 3.2” x 2.2” <amazon.com>
1 – (up to1,500 watts) waterproof dustproof enclosure 4.53” x 3.53” x 3.15” (WA-28 Polycase.com) or Carlon A-273,
4” x 4” x 2” weatherproof box available at local hardware and electrical stores.
3 (To connect to antenna wires) – 10-24 stainless steel routing eyebolts (<www.mcmaster.com> #9489T54)
10 – 10-24 Stainless steel hex nuts (local HW store)
10 – #10 Stainless steel flat washers (local HW store)
10 – #10 Stainless steel lockwashers (local HW store)
5 – #10 Ring terminals (local HW store)
4 – 6-32 x 1/2-inch Stainless steel machine screws (local HW store)
4 – #6 lockwashers (local HW store)
4 – 6-32 Stainless steel hex nuts (local HW store)
2 – (Only need 1 to connect to antenna wires) SO-239 coax socket

32 • CQ • January 2021 Visit Our Web Site

 BEST SERVICE. BEST WARRANTY. BEST VALUE. NO ONE BEATS LDG! CONTACT YOUR FAVORITE DEALER TODAY!

WHERE TO USE LDG

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below to help you determine which is the best fit for your set-up. All LDG
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 4. Put the end of the coax through the they are actually voltage baluns and, is absolutely necessary for an OCF oper-
lower cable tie. used alone, their limited isolation can be ating at its lowest design frequency when
5. Note: every time the coax goes a problem4. The usual solution is the placed between the Guanella balun and
through the toroid is one turn, even if it two-core Guanella balun that has better the feedline. This exploits the limited
doesn’t go all the way around. Photo B common mode rejection. However, the rejection of the single-core Guanella
shows two turns. single-core Guanella can provide excel- balun and the robust isolation of a 1:1
6. Wrap the coax around the toroid lent performance and can keep the volt- balun. We have found this most effective
either 4 or 8 more turns. The sixth or age on each side of the antenna identi- for our OCF antennas5.
eighth turn goes diagonally across the cal if its input is properly isolated from In addition to OCF antennas, 4:1
toroid completing the sixth or eighth turn the coax and the rest of the antenna sys- baluns are used in some antenna tuners
through the toroid, Photo C. tem. We found that a robust current balun for connecting balanced line, open wire,
7. Wind the coax as shown in Photo D.
8. The last turn on the left side goes
out the lower side of the toroid and is
fastened by tightening the cable tie.
9. There should be plenty of coax to
route inside the box to either a second
SO-239, the eyebolts that connect to
the antenna, or to the 4:1 balun in the
hybrid balun configuration that follows.
10. A 1:1 balun is typically packaged
two ways; for connection to antenna
wires (Photo E) or in line to block RF
(Photo F).

The 4:1 Balun

A 4:1 balun is actually a type of auto-
transformer similar to that used in a
Variac® that steps up voltage, in this
case by a factor of two. Because the
voltage goes up by two and impedance
goes up by the square of the voltage,
the impedance transformation is 4:1.
Most voltage baluns only provide an
impedance transformation and little or Photo G. First two turns on right side Photo I. First two turns on the left side.
no isolation or common mode rejection. of 4:1 voltage balun.
The 4:1 balun described below is a
single-core Guanella balun used in
many commercial off-center-fed (OCF)
antennas. Though single-core Guanella
baluns are often called current baluns,

Photo J. Completed 80-meter 4:1 volt-

Figure 4. Schematic of 4:1 balun. Photo H. Right side completed. age balun.

34 • CQ • January 2021 Visit Our Web Site

or ladder line to the tuner. More com-
monly, they are used to couple bal-
anced line to coax at house entrances
where coax is fed through the wall or a
window to the rig. The balun described
Photo K. Strip and tin coax.
Photo L. Completed baluns with wires
positioned for wiring.
www.cq-amateur-radio.com
below, using four coils connected in
series, is illustrated in Figure 4.
The input voltage, V1, splits in half
across the two coils, leaving V1/2 on
each coil. Since all the coils have the
same number of turns of wire and are
on the same core, the voltage on each
coil must be the same, V1/2. Therefore,
the output voltage is the sum of the volt-
age on each coil, 2V1. And, since the
impedance is the square of the voltage,
the impedance of the output is 4 times
the impedance of the input. In our case,
50 ohms in and 200 ohms out.
Building the 4:1 Balun
The limited isolation of the 4:1 balun
makes it imperative to use it with a 1:1
balun / choke. You’ll find the parts list in
Table 2. Photos G-J illustrate the steps.
Once again, the number of turns you
use depends on the lowest frequency
you wish to use. Six turns on each side
for 80 meters and up and 8 turns on
each side for 160 meters and up.
1. Loosely attach two cable ties about
180° apart on the toroid.
2. For up to 600 watts, Cut 18 inches
of red and 18 inches of green wire. For
up to 1,500 watts, cut 24 inches of each
wire.
3. Tape them together every 3 or 4
inches with a short piece of electrical
tape or a piece of shrink tubing to keep
them together as you wind the toroid.
To Coax
Connector
1:1 Balun Choke
Figure 5. Hybrid balun wiring diagram.
Table 2
Materials for 4:1 Balun
1 – (For up to 600 watts) 140-43 toroid (<www.amidoncorp.com>, FT-140-43,
or Mouser 623-5943002701)
1 – (For up to 1,500 watts) 240-43 toroid (<www.amidoncorp.com>, FT-240-
43, or Mouser 623-5943003801)
For 300 or 600 watts:
3 feet #18 Red PTFE/Teflon® wire (<www.remingtonindustries.com>
#18PTFESTRRED25)
3 feet #18 Green PTRE/Teflon® wire (<www.remingtonindustries.com>
#18PTFESTRGRE25)
For 1,500 watts:
4 feet #16 Red PTFE/Teflon® wire (<www.remingtonindustries.com>
#16PTFESTRRED25)
4 feet #16 Green PTRE/Teflon® wire (<www.remingtonindustries.com>
#16PTFESTRGRE25)
4 – 4-inch tie wraps
4. Set the colors of the wire as in the
photos with the green wires on the right
side for the right-side windings and on
the left side for the left side windings.
5. Every time the wire goes through
the toroid is one turn even if it doesn’t
go all the way around. Photo G shows
two turns.
6. Leave a few inches of wire outside
the toroid and secure the tie wrap to hold
the wire as you wind.
7. Add four or six more passes through
the toroid and secure the wires with a
cable tie with the wires emerging from
the bottom of the toroid, Photo H.
8. Repeat the process for the other
half of the toroid, starting the winding at
the bottom of the toroid, Photo I. Keep
the green wire on the left side as in the
photo. Secure the wires on the top of
the toroid after the wires go through the
toroid six or eight times, Photo J.
Wiring and Mounting a Hybrid
Balun
Use the hardware specified for the 1:1
balun above, and Photos K and L for
guidance.
1. Strip both ends of the coax on the
1:1 current balun / choke by running a
razor blade or sharp hobby knife around
the outside about 1 inch from the end
and pull off the insulation, Photo K.
2. Tin the whole shield and strip the
top 3/4 inches of the cable with a wire
stripper.
To antenna
wire terminals
50 ohm to 200 ohm
1:4 voltage balun
January 2021 • CQ • 35
 3. Then run the blade around the center conductor insula-
tion about 1/4-inch from the end and pull off the insulation.
4. Tin the center conductor and around the exposed shield.
PTFE/Teflon® insulation doesn’t melt at soldering iron tem-
peratures. For your installation, you may need to solder a
short wire to the shield.
5. Strip the about 3/8 inches from the four short wires at the
input (50-ohm) end of the balun.
6. Wrap and solder the red wires together. Wrap and sol-
der the green wires together. This is where you will attach
one side of the 1:1 balun.
7. On the other (output) side of the balun, cut the red and
green wires closest together so they are about 1 inch long.
Strip and solder them together. Leave the other red and green
wires as they will be connected to the output connections on
the balun case.
8. Wire as in the Figure 5 and laid out in Photo L after you
determine how and where you will mount the coax input and
the two output connectors.
The antenna terminals can be brought out through the ring
mount as in Photos M and N. Cutting the ring terminal with
diagonal cutters as shown on the right side of Photo M makes
it is easier to attach the antenna wire to the hybrid balun.
We hope this article will help you better understand the
importance and function of baluns, and will help you get the
most out of your antenna system by building the type or types
that best meet your needs.
References:
1. GM3SEK <https://tinyurl.com/y6jpaclr>
2. The Ugly Balun, <www.hamuniverse.com/balun.html>
3. Sevick, W2FMI (SK), Understanding, Building & Using Baluns &
Ununs, <https://tinyurl.com/ubw5e9p>
4. G3TXQ Common Mode Analysis <https://tinyurl.com/y642d8sr>
5. Multiband Off-Center Fed Dipoles for 160 & 80 Meters, Bob Rose,
KC1DSQ, and Bob Glorioso, W1IS, CQ Amateur Radio, June 2020, p.42

Packaging
There are many ways to package the hybrid balun, Photos
M and N. The specified boxes have bosses on the bottom.
Remove the bosses using a Dremel-type tool with a grinding
wheel to give you more space to mount the toroids using dou-
ble-sided foam mounting pads.
Toroids can be configured many ways, as in the photos. It
is critical that the toroids be separated to keep the coupling
between them to a minimum, either rotated 90° or separat-
ed by at least 1 inch. Tightly coupled coils can affect the per-
formance of the antenna.

Photo M. Baluns at 90°, connect through ring bolts.

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in progress at AlasKit Educational and Scientific
Resources

http://alaskit.co • 907-488-0483
P.O. Box 56325 • North Pole, AK 99705 Photo N. 1.5-kilowatt hybrid with baluns separated.

36 • CQ • January 2021 Visit Our Web Site

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We frequently read about new software releases being “backward-compatible”
with older operating systems. But what about hardware? WA3EOQ faced the
challenge of using an older analog antenna tuner with a new digital transceiver.
His solution follows …

Digital to Analog Hardware Converter

Using an ICOM AT500 Tuner for Automatic Band Switching
With an Elecraft K3s Transceiver
BY HOWARD REYNOLDS,* WA3EOQ

S
ince 1991, my main HF transceiv-
er has been an ICOM IC-751A. It
has performed very well over the
years. However, since the Elecraft K3
arrived several years ago, I kept eyeing
it as an eventual replacement for the IC-
751A, mainly due to the K3’s exception-
al receiver performance; the “s” update
made it even more attractive. The day
finally arrived when I had the opportuni-
ty to acquire a “gently used” K3s from a
trusted friend. (For simplicity’s sake, I’ll
be referring to the K3s as just a K3 in the
rest of this article.)
The only minor item with the trans-
ceiver replacement was that the ICOM
antenna tuner, the AT500, paired with
the IC-751A, was a perfectly adequate
combination. The K3’s companion exter-
nal tuner was a rather expensive unit and Photo A. D/A converter printed circuit board.
contained no advantage over the ICOM
(The internal tuner, KAT3A, is not
installed in this radio). The ICOM also
had more output ports which eliminated
the need for an antenna selector switch.
Unfortunately for me, the K3’s band
selector output to the tuner is digital BCD
(Binary Coded Decimal), whereas the
ICOM utilized several analog step volt-
ages for band selection. What to do? I
could have used the manual band
switching on the AT500, but that’s the
easy way out and would have negated
the need for this design exercise.

Designing a D/A Converter

I obviously needed some sort of D/A
(digital-to-analog) converter circuit.
Table 1 shows the conversion problem:
The band-related BCD output from the

* 1728 Legeer Rd.

Grantsville, MD 21536
Email: <wa3eoq@gmail.com> Photo B. Completed enclosure with PCB.

38 • CQ • January 2021 Visit Our Web Site

 Band (m) BAND3 BAND2 BAND1 BAND0 Alog e in Alog set

60 0 0 0 0 5.0-5.5 5.25
160 0 0 0 1 7.0-8.0 7.50
80 0 0 1 0 6.0-6.5 6.25
40 0 0 1 1 5.0-5.5 5.25
30 0 1 0 0 0.0-1.2 0.00
20 0 1 0 1 4.0-4.5 4.25
17 0 1 1 0 3.0-3.5 3.25
15 0 1 1 1 3.0-3.5 3.25
12 1 0 0 0 2.0-2.5 2.25
10 1 0 0 1 2.0-2.5 2.25
PC Board> J1-5 J1-4 J1-3 J1-2 J1-2 <PC Board
K3 ACC pin> 14 9 3 13 13 <AT500 ACC pin

NOTES:
BAND columns: The BCD output from the K3 DB15 accessory connector.
Common is K3 accy pin 5 (J1-1).
Alog e in column: The Analog input voltage to the AT500 Molex ACC connector.
The Analog reference is applied to AT500 Molex ACC pin 12 (J2-3).
Common is AT500 Molex ACC pin 8 (J2-1).
The Alog set column: Midpoint for potentiometer setting
Not critical; set within Alog e in column

Table 1. BCD-to-analog band voltages; Connections to K3 and AT500

PARTS LIST
Printed Circuit Board Parts
Ref. Des. Part No. Description Manufacturer
C1 C330C104K5R5TA Capacitor, Ceramic, 0.1 μF, 50V Kemet
J1 0022232051 Header, 5-pos Molex
J2 0022232031 Header, 3-pos Molex
J3, J4 0022232021 Header, 2-pos Molex
R1-R4 RNF14FTD10K0 Resistor, 10k ohm, 1/4-watt, 1% Stackpole
R5-R10 500E-0246 Potentiometer, Trimmer, 1k ohm NTE
R11 RNF14FTD1K00 Resistor, 1k ohm, 1/4-watt, 1% Stackpole
SW1 76SB04T Switch, Rocker, DIP, SPST Grayhill
U1 CD4028BE IC BCD to Decimal decoder Texas Instruments
U2 CD4071BE IC Quad 2-input OR gate Texas Instruments
U3, U4 CD4066BE IC Quad Bilateral switch Texas Instruments
U5 MC78M08BTG IC Linear Regulator, 8V, 500mA ON Semiconductor

Assembly Parts
J1 (mate) 0022012057 Conn Housing, 5-pos w/ramp Molex
J2 (mate) 0022012037 Conn Housing, 3-pos w/ramp Molex
J3, J4 (mate) 0022012027 Conn Housing, 2-pos w/ramp Molex
J1-J4 (mate) 0008550102 Contact Socket, Crimp, Gold (qty 12) Molex
Power Input L722A Conn, power jack Switchcraft
Power Input S761K Conn, power plug Switchcraft
Analog Output EN3P3FX Conn, Recpt, Female, 3-pos Switchcraft
Analog Output EN3C3MX Conn, Plug, Male, 3-pos Switchcraft
BCD Input EN3P5MX Conn, Recpt, Male, 5-pos Switchcraft
BCD Input EN3C5FX Conn, Plug, Female, 5-pos Switchcraft
K3 ACC Output HDB-15BMMA-SL7001 Conn, HD-SUB, Female, 15-pos Amphenol
AT500 Input 0003062242 Conn, Housing, Plug, 24-pos (OBSOLETE) Molex
AT500 Input 0002062103 Conn, Pin, Crimp (qty 3) Molex
Enclosure CU-452-A Enclosure, Aluminum, 4” x 5” Bud

Parts List Notes:

As a blanket statement, there are no real critical part styles in this design, i.e., an exact match to the PARTS LIST part numbers. The letters
and numbers around the base part number simply denote the manufacturer, type of package, etc. Capacitor C1 value and style are not critical; it
is simply used to keep RF out of the power input to the PCB. Resistors R1-R4, 10k, are pull-ups; the value and the style are not critical but should
be at least 1/4 watt. Resistor R11 should be near 1k and at least 1/4 watt. It is a current limit for the front panel LED power ON indicator if used;
LED assemblies for 12 VDC are also available with a built-in resistor. All PCB headers, connectors on the box, plus the box itself are parts which
I chose; the builder may customize as desired.

www.cq-amateur-radio.com January 2021 • CQ • 39

K3 to the analog voltage input required by the AT500. The
BCD lines are available from the K3’s DB15 ACC accesso-
ry socket; the AT500 receives the analog signal via its Molex
ACC accessory socket. The tuner also requires an 8-volt DC
(VDC) reference voltage which is applied via the same ACC
socket. The 12-VDC power for the converter can be easily
acquired via the RCA phono jack on the K3 or the station’s
main power supply.
The schematic diagram of this design for the D/A convert-
er is shown in Figure 1 and the printed circuit board (PCB) is

Figure 1. Schematic diagram of the digital-to-analog converter allowing WA3EOQ to use his analog automatic band-switch-
ing antenna tuner with a rig with digital band information output.

40 • CQ • January 2021 Visit Our Web Site

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seen in Photo A. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the
line of CMOS digital logic integrated circuits was still avail-
able in the through-hole DIP (Dual Inline Package) format
as opposed to surface mount, which does not lend itself to
easy homebrewing. The BCD data from the K3 is applied
through J1 to the input of U1, a CD4028 BCD-to-decimal
converter. The output lines turn on the appropriate CD4066
bilateral switch corresponding to the selected band. The
AT500 combines some bands close in frequency, hence, the
CD4071 OR gates. The 8-VDC reference voltage for the
AT500 is generated by U5, a 7808 3-terminal regulator. Each
band voltage is adjusted utilizing the R5 through R10 trim-
mer potentiometers. The 30-meter band analog voltage is
zero volts, i.e. connected to common, which saves a trim-
mer. Both the reference and band voltages are output to the
AT500 via J2.
Table 1 also shows the cable connections between the K3
DB15 ACC accessory output connector and J1, and the
AT500 ACC input connector and J2.
The BCD band outputs can be simulated for easier band
voltage adjustment following Table 1 by using the SW1 DIP
switches without connecting the converter unit to the K3 or
the AT500. For test purposes, a DIP switch closed = 0; open
= 1. Following Table 1, apply each SW1 BCD simulated band
code (0000 through 1001) and adjust the related trimmer for
the proper voltage output at J2 pin 2. For normal operation,
open all DIP switches.
As a design note, I originally attempted to generate the ana-
log voltages using Zener diodes. However, the voltage tol-
erance of the Zeners plus the spacing of the available Zener
voltages made this approach unworkable and not flexible. I
also thought about utilizing one of the newer microprocessor
boards (Arduino, etc.), but shelved that idea immediately as
being incompatible with the digital levels and analog voltages
needed.
All parts (except one*) can be obtained from DigiKey
<www.digikey.com> and most likely other distributers or your
junk box. I chose some inexpensive Switchcraft components
for input / output connectors on the converter box. [*The mate
to the AT500 ACC connector is now obsolete and will take
some scrounging around to find. However, all you really need
are three pins, which ARE available. A little ingenuity and
some electrical tape can fashion a workable “connector.”]
I utilized the ExpressPCB <www.expresspcb.com> soft-
ware to lay out the board. It’s free and easy to use. A learn-
ing curve is required but it is a worthwhile endeavor; I can
provide the PCB file if you get stuck. For a very reasonable
price, just email your file to them and they provide three 2.5
x 3.8-inch boards (two layer, silkscreen, and solder mask) in
a few days plus shipping time. There are other companies
which provide this service, so feel free to shop around. I had
used ExpressPCB in the past when I was playing electrical
engineer for a living and was satisfied with their product. Yes,
that was a shameless endorsement — hi.
On the Air
The D/A converter as I built it is shown in Photo B. It’s mount-
ed in a small Bud box with standoffs under each corner of
the board. The operational result is automatic band switch-
ing with the K3/AT500 combination as had been experienced
with the IC-751A/AT500 combination. Other ICOM radios
also used this analog switching and operated in the same
manner. Many modern radios most likely have some sort of
digital output for band-switching external equipment, so this
or a similar conversion technique may be utilized with those
radios, too.

www.cq-amateur-radio.com January 2021 • CQ • 41

If you built K5PA’s and WB2REM’s circuit two years ago to use a wireless
headset to operate your rig from any room in your house, and you have
an ICOM transceiver, you might want to try this project as well, to let you
transmit different memorized messages with a keyfob!

Untether Your Memories!

Remotely Operate Your ICOM Message Memories
BY GENE HINKLE, * K5PA AND JIM MILLNER, # WB2REM

C
utting the cord is never easy, but
in our October 2018 CQ article
entitled “Beyond Untethered …
Operating Your Station, Cell Phone,
and Remote Simultaneously with a
Wireless Headset,” we presented a
simple solution to solve this feat. Going
wireless was accomplished by modify-
ing the connections of the Plantronics
W720 wireless headset and adding
components to make it suitable for use
on ham radio. Users who have adopt-
ed the wireless headsets have found
them to be one of the best additions to
their stations.
Like many other new technologies,
once the wireless headset problem was
solved, another need soon arose. As an
enhancement to the article listed above,
the authors have developed a wireless
key-fob (remote controller) system,
which allows the operator to remotely
access, within a 200-foot radius, either
four or eight voice memories (depend-
ing on the radio) stored in the memory
of specific ICOM radios (see Photo A;
list of radio models below). Photo A. The completed four-channel and eight-channel ICOM memory
Currently, ICOM voice memories can controllers. (Photo / figures by K5PA)
be triggered by pushing buttons either
on the screen or on the front panel. A
few years ago, I-Mate came out with a voice memories while away from the (modes include voice, CW, digital). The
product that used four pushbuttons radio. This could be particularly benefi- IC-7610 and IC-705 additionally have
mounted on a small box which, when cial to the DXpedition / contest opera- the option for a total of eight memories
individually pushed, triggered one of four tor who desires to operate away from a and a 1/8-inch TRS jack (Tip-Ring-
voice memories of the ICOM radio. The noisy environment or by the laid-back Sleeve, stereo style) is provided on the
device plugged into the transceiver’s ham, who wants to watch TV or sit by rear of these transceivers for accessing
microphone jack. The I-Mate was espe- the pool and push a button to call CQ all eight memories.
cially useful on DXpeditions and during DX. This article provides the needed Our prototype for the 4-channel wire-
contests by saving you from reaching information to build a remote key-fob less unit is shown in Figure 1 and
over to the radio’s front panel to access voice memory switch with easy-to-fol- includes the attached 12-volt DC power
a voice memory. Unfortunately, I-Mate low steps and a cost of less than either supply. The two gray wires connect to
has been discontinued. $30 or $80, depending on whether a 4- the Frequency Up / Down line on the
With the advent of the wireless head- or 8-button system is chosen. ICOM microphone connector. The wires
set, the authors believed there would be During our survey of radios, we found can also be connected to the rear EXT
advantages to remotely accessing the IC-705, IC-746, IC-756, IC-7100, KEYPAD jack on newer model ICOM
IC-7600, IC-7610, IC-7700, and IC- transceivers (e.g., IC-7800, IC-7700,
7800 all have the same method of using IC-7610, and IC-705). The ICOM radio
* <k5pa@arrl.net> resistors to create a voltage divider net- must be configured to change the func-
# <wb2rem@verizon.net> work for selecting the four memories tion of the mic connector’s Frequency

42 • CQ • January 2021 Visit Our Web Site

 Up / Down pin to a “send message” found them inexpensive and feature-

DC Coaxial Plug Size 5.5/2.1 mm, or Equivalent

command. rich. As a commodity, the competitive
sourcing of these relays corresponds to

Wall-Mount AC Adapters 12W 12V 1A with

Wireless Relay Selections models that could be changed by the

Common resistor, but use 5% tolerance

Common resistor, but use 5% tolerance
Common resistor, but use 5% tolerance
Fortunately for ham radio operators, manufacturers. Thus, we are always
wireless relays similar to what we careful in selecting relays that appear
selected are a commodity on the in- to have longevity in the marketplace,
ternet. The authors have been selecting but this cannot be guaranteed. So we
these for new applications and have felt compelled to explain some of the
https://tinyurl.com/y2lb2jmb
Web Links / Notes
Qty
1

1
1
1
2
Wireless RC Switch, 4-Channel Relays,

Wall-Mount AC Adapters 12W

12V 1A USA Vert 2.1 plug
12 VDC, with Enclosure

4.7K Ohm, 5%, 1/4W

2.2K Ohm, 5%, 1/4W
1.5K Ohm, 5%, 1/4W
Model / Description

Figure 1. Completed four-channel wireless relay module with 12-volt power supply.
OD152JE / Mouser P/N 588-OD472JE
OD152JE / Mouser P/N 588-OD222JE
OD152JE / Mouser P/N 588-OD152JE
CECOMINOD029486 /GV-RK04S-12

Mouser P/N 490-SWM12-12-NV-P5

Table 1. Four-Channel Relay Board Materials List

SWM12-12-NV-P5 /
Part Number

INSMA1f40sAMG3
Manufacturer
Table 1

CUI Inc.
INSMA,

Ohmite
Ohmite
Ohmite

Figure 2. Four-channel relay board wiring. The ABCD relay labels correspond to
the ABCD buttons on the remote controller.

www.cq-amateur-radio.com January 2021 • CQ • 43

 Common resistor, but use 5% tolerance
Common resistor, but use 5% tolerance
Common resistor, but use 5% tolerance

Size 5.5/2.1 mm, or Equivalent

Wall-Mount AC Adapters 12W
12V 1A with DC Coaxial Plug
https://tinyurl.com/y4uruwdg

https://tinyurl.com/y6ctc5wo
Web Links / Notes
Qty

1
1

4
3
3
1
Wireless Relay Octo: 8-Channel Relays,

TRS Stereo Interconnect Cable,

Wall-Mount AC Adapters 12W
12V 1A USA Vert 2.1 plug
12 VDC, with Enclosure

5-Feet (Cut 1 End Off)

1.5K Ohm, 5%, 1/4W
2.2K Ohm, 5%, 1/4W
4.7K Ohm, 5%, 1/4W

Figure 3. Eight-channel relay board wiring. Numbers 1-8 on the relay labels
correspond to the 1-8 number buttons on the remote controller.
Description

features that are important in our a configuration button in order to step

application.
One key feature is to have a wireless
relay that can operate using a remote
controller (key-fob) at a distance within
an average home, usually greater than
Hosa CMM-105 3.5-mm TRS to 3.5-mm
through a series of configurations while
watching a flashing LED indicator.
Others, like the ones we selected, use
a printed circuit board pin header with
a shorting clip that can be moved

100 feet. In our application, it is desirable between pin selections or removed

OD152JE / Mouser P/N 588-OD152JE
OD152JE / Mouser P/N 588-OD222JE
OD152JE / Mouser P/N 588-OD472JE

to have a relay switch contact as opposed completely. So the configuration is

Mouser P/N 490-SWM12-12-NV-P5

to a solid-state device output. This is basically a hardware approach and the

based on having the relay attach near the
microphone circuits (and ground) of the
transceivers. The functionality of the
switch activation is extremely important.
Device manufacturers usually offer these
Model / Part Number
status can be determined simply by
viewing the placement (or lack thereof)
of the shorting clip.
Lastly, the wireless relay boards must
accept the codes generated by the

SWM12-12-NV-P5 /

relays with either three or four con-
figuration settings. These include inde-
pendent momentary toggled out-puts,
latching, lockout (only one output at a
time, current selection disconnects the
wr-octo
remote controller(s) shipped with the
unit. To affect this pairing, a Learn mode
button is located on each unit to permit
the wireless relay to be programmed to
another remote controller if necessary.

previous selection), and time-interval Specific information is provided by the

operation (e.g., 1 second on, then auto-
matically off). A momentary toggle mode
is needed, so when the remote controller
is pressed, the appropriate relay con-
Quicksilver Radio
board manufacturer.
4-Channel Relay Board Wiring
Figure 2 shows the simple wiring of the

nects while the button remains pressed. four resistors needed to create the volt-
HOSA CMM-105

When released, all relays are in the off age divider network that is being con-
Manufacturer

state. That way, the currently pressed trolled by the wireless relays. Only one
button corresponds to the message that relay at a time can be selected, giving
Supplier:
Table 2

CUI Inc.

is being sent, and if the button is pressed each channel its own voltage reference
Ohmite
Ohmite
Ohmite

during the message transmission, the pertaining to each message.

message will cease. The circuit board has a terminal strip
Another factor to consider is the ease that provides access to all relay contact
Table 2. Eight-Channel Relay Board (or difficulty) of the configuration setup. connections [normally open (N.O.), nor-
Materials List Some wireless relays require a press of mally closed (N.C.), and common

44 • CQ • January 2021 Visit Our Web Site

(COM)] and the 12-volt DC power sup-
ply connection. As delivered, the three-
position pin-header will have a shorting
jumper in place that is not needed in this
application. It is possible to mount all
resistors and wiring by simply using the
terminal strip.
A detailed parts list is shown in
Table 1 that provides the manufac-
turer, model and part number, de-
scription, quantity, and notes. Some
of these parts may already be in your
bench supply, such as the resistors
and 12-volt DC power supply. The one
item that will need to be purchased is
the four-channel wireless relay
module. Fortunately, these are easily
obtained from vendors found on
Amazon. The total cost of parts shown
in the table, if purchased new, is
about $30.
The power supply is specified as a
wall-mount 12-volt DC, 1-amp power
supply. Since the wireless relays re-
quire only 12-volt DC at 50 mA per
channel, the power supply listed is well
within the requirements. The one listed
has a coaxial DC plug included that is
removed and the two wires stripped for
attaching to the terminal strip on the
wireless relay board. Due to manu-
facturing changes, it is important to
verify the polarity of the wires using a
voltmeter prior to attaching to the board.
Color codes are not always followed by
manufacturers so verfication is very
important.
8-Channel Relay Board Wiring
(Alternate for the IC-7610/
IC-705 Transceivers)
Some ICOM transceivers allow you to
store and send up to eight messages.
Fortunately, there are alternate relay
boards that provide 8-channel relays
and a remote controller giving eight push
buttons. It is a simple matter of replicat-
ing the design shown and use a higher
density, eight-channel relay board.
Figure 3 gives the wiring for the eight-
channel message radios, such as the
IC-7610. The radio’s rear EXT KEYPAD
jack (3.5-millimeters, or 1/8-inch TRS
jack) requires a similar resistor divider
network using the same value resistors.
However, one set of four relays (Group
A) attaches to the tip of the plug while
the other four relays (Group B) attach
to the ring of the plug. Depending on
which of the eight relays are selected,
one at a time, either one of the Group
A relays is switched, or one of the Group
B relays is switched. By the way, if the
The circuit board has terminal strips on the remote controller will “pair” that
that provide access to all relay contact controller to the relay board.
connections (N.O., N.C., and COM) and
the 12-volt DC power supply connection. Configuring the ICOM Radio
As delivered, the four-position pin-head- Settings
er will have a shorting jumper in place
ICOM transceivers are configured using
that is not needed in this application. It
the external keypad settings found in the
is possible to mount all resistors and
user manual. For newer radios, the set-
wiring by simply using the terminal strip.
ting is under the Connectors > External
Please note the distinction between
Keypad section and may include Voice,
the four- and eight-channel printed cir-
Keyer, RTTY, and PSK messages. Early
cuit board power supply connections.
radios may only have Keypad Settings
They are not the same, so please pay
for Voice and / or CW messages that will
close attention to polarity!
have to be enabled.
Configuring the Wireless Relay
Board Summary
Both wireless relay boards provide a pin The logical evolution of wireless head-
header that comes with a shorting bar set communications is to provide more
to select the desired configuration. For functionality while operating outside of
the board part numbers given, the short- the radio shack. In this article, we pre-
ing bar is removed. If a different board sented a simple key-fob triggered relay
is selected, then the manufacturer’s solution, costing less than $30 (or $80
instructions will need to be followed. for the eight-channel version) to accom-
Both wireless relay boards have a plish the goal. As you wander around
“learn” button near the pin header. The the house in the early morning with the
function of this button is to put the board wireless headset in tow, you should no
in a mode to “learn” which remote con- longer fear waking up your spouse by
troller will be attached to the board being calling CQ. Just push a key-fob button
programmed. For the part numbers we accessing one of the prerecorded mes-
used, simply momentarily pressing the sages and let your voice recorder do the
learn button and then pressing any key talking for you.
The authors have created a webpage devoted to the Plantronics Wireless
Headset applications for amateur radio plus the use of wireless relay applica-
tions. The webpage provides radio interfacing information, wireless relay user
manuals, and easy Do-It-Yourself (DIY) projects. You may check it out at
<www.k5pa.com>.
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www.cq-amateur-radio.com January 2021 • CQ • 45

CQ CLASSIC
But How Do You Make a Contact?
It was 1985. I was just getting started in packet radio and I was getting very frustrated. I’d hooked
up my TNC (terminal node controller) as directed but was having only marginal success decoding
messages and none at all in making contacts. Then my November CQ arrived, proclaiming on the
cover, “RTTY Special*” with “*Including Packet Radio” at the bottom of the page.
“Great!” I thought. “Help has arrived!”
But alas, it was just one more article on how packet worked. I needed to know how to work it.
So I called Publisher Dick Ross, K2MGA, with whom I’d been working on a project as then-chair-
man of the ARRL Public Relations Committee, expressed my disappointment and asked, “Why don’t
you have something on how to work it?” His answer: “Because you haven’t written it yet.” “But I clearly don’t know
enough about it,” I responded. “How can I write about it?” “You find out and tell the rest of us,” Dick replied.
The result was the two-part article reproduced below, in the June and July 1986, issues of CQ, the first tutorial in any ham mag-
azine on how to properly set up your packet station to make successful contacts, how to use digipeaters (digital repeaters), and
packet bulletin board systems. CQ continued to lead the way on packet, culminating in the launch of the “Packet User’s Notebook”
column by Buck Rogers, K4ABT, in the May 1988 issue. These articles have also been the cornerstone of my editorial philoso-
phy for CQ that knowing how to work something is just as important as knowing how it works. – W2VU

Packet sounds like fun. You decide to give it a try. Whether you build a
kit or buy one of the available units, you finally get it to the operating desk.
Now what? What do you do with it and what can you do with it? The answer
is quite a bit, even if you’re not the technical type.

Packet Radio
How To Work It (Not How It Works)
BY RICHARD S. MOSESON*, N2BFG

S o the packet bug has bitten you—or

maybe it’s just nibbling at your ankle
and you want to find out more about this
new facet of amateur radio. You’ve read
magazine articles and learned all about
the technology, but most of the authors
seem so awed by the technology that they
forget to tell you what to do once you get
on the air. This article will be different. It’s
all about packet operating—how to work
it instead of how it works.
In keeping with tradition, though, I’ll start
with a brief, simple technical explanation.
(I promise: no more than two paragraphs,
and it won’t get complicated.)
Packet radio is a fancy form of radiotele-
type (RTTY). It requires a personal com-
puter or other terminal with an RS-232 out-
put, a packet control unit (called a TNC, or
Terminal Node Controller; if you want to find
out what that means, find a technical arti-
cle) and an amateur transceiver. The TNC
plugs in between the terminal (computer)
and the transceiver (radio). A disc drive and
a printer are helpful, though not essential.
Packet radio gets its name from the fact
that each transmission consists of a “pack-
et” of data including the callsigns of the
originating station, the destination station,
and any relay stations in between. It also
contains the information you’re sending,
plus some computerese (which you never
see on your screen) to let your TNC know
if it has received the packet correctly.
A couple of other basic definitions:
Digipeater: A digital repeater, used for
relaying packet signals. Similar in function
to a voice repeater, but with a twist: It doesn’t
receive and transmit simultaneously, and it
doesn’t operate split frequency.
A packet repeater, operating simplex,
“stores and forwards” your data. It re-
ceives what you send out, holds it in its
memory, and when there’s a clear spot on
the frequency, automatically sends your
packet along the way. Any packet station
may be a digipeater. However, the term
usually applies to those stations used
exclusively as packet repeaters.
PBBS: A Packet Bulletin Board System.
An electronic “mailbox,” accessible by
packet radio, on which users may leave
messages for other people; pick up mes-
sages left for them; send (upload) and
receive (download) program or text files
for general use.
Connect/Disconnect: The words used
on packet for making and breaking con-
tact with another station.
ACK: A mild form of what you’re likely
to yell when you do something wrong.
Also, an “Acknowledgement” sent by the
destination station to the originating sta-
tion letting it know it got the packet cor-
rectly. The originating station will send a
packet or group of packets over and over
again until it receives an “ACK” from the
destination station.
Path: The routing of a connection that
goes through one or more digipeaters.
You can link several digipeaters and give
yourself a path from Boston to Washing-
ton. But you’ll wait quite a while to get an
“ACK” from a station to which you’ re con-
nected over such a long path.
EASTNET (and SOUTHNET and TAMM-
NET, etc.): Established networks for link-
ing digipeaters and bulletin boards. Maps
of these networks are available on most
bulletin boards. They’ll help you in plotting
the best path to a distant station.

46 • CQ • January 2021 Visit Our Web Site

 Okay, enough definitions for now. We’ll
cover more as we go on—packet radio
has its own little language—but we’ll take
care of them as we need to deal with them.
On The Air: Fun and Frustration
Most packet activity today is on 2
meters. The most commonly used fre-
quencies are 145.01 (the busiest), .03, .05,
.07, and .09. In addition, some areas are
using 147.55 for packet communications.
(Listen around in your area for the “brrrp
brrrp” sound of packets flying through the
air. If you hear nothing after a few minutes
on 145.01, try your luck on 147.55.)
There is also some H F packet activity,
mostly centered on 14.103 MHz, and the
packet “establishment” is working on a
220 MHz “backbone” or “trunking” system
for linking digipeaters and bulletin boards.
What’s it like on the air? It’s a combi-
nation of fun and frustration—heavy on
the latter for the newcomer who’s just
learning the ropes. The fun part is when
you actually succeed in connecting with
someone a couple of hundred miles away
and carry on a QSO unhampered by the
other stations on frequency. The frustrat-
ing part is when there are so many other
stations on frequency that it takes ages
(15-20 minutes, sometimes) to get a sin-
gle transmission through and acknowl-
edged. Let’s look more closely at each
part—the fun first.
There’s virtually no interference. When
you’re connected with someone, your
TNC will recognize and interpret only
those packets addressed to you. You’ll
hear the others going by, but nothing will
show up on your screen. Since each pack-
et is a brief burst, there’s room in between
your packets for the packets of other sta-
tions. So, one frequency can support sev-
eral QSOs simultaneously.
Your TNC will also ignore any packet
that doesn’t “add up right.” Part of the cod-
ing in each packet is a “checksum” that
your computer reads. If the packet is gar-
bled in anyway, the checksum will be
wrong and your TNC will refuse it. (It will
either do nothing or, in some TNCs, will
send back a “NACK,” a non-acknowl-
edgement. So you may hear your TNC
“speak,” even though nothing shows up
on your screen.) When the packet arrives
correctly, the TNC sends back an “ACK.”
This system makes your copy virtually
error-free, which makes packet radio
great for data transfer, either of comput-
er programs, general information, or for-
mal message traffic. Anyone who has
ever tried to interpret garbled RTTY sig-
nals will appreciate the value of error-free
communications.
Another advantage of packet radio is
the use of PBBSs, which not only let you
leave or pick up personal messages, and
post or read general information bulletins,
but also forward messages automatically
www.cq-amateur-radio.com
from one BBS to another, even if the des-
tination is hundreds of miles away.
Finally, there’s the potential for 2 meter
“DX,” using a string of digipeaters to let
you talk with someone a couple of hun-
dred miles away—or, through HF/VHF
gateways, a few thousand miles away.
But now come the frustrations: The
same system that guarantees you error-
free copy can also drive you straight up
the wall. Because if the frequency is very
busy, and especially if you’re going
through more than one digipeater, it can
take several minutes for a single trans-
mission to get through correctly and for
the ACK to get back correctly. Your TNC
will keep sending the same packet(s) over
and over until it receives an ACK or reach-
es its “retry” limit, which you program in.
A multi-digipeater path complicates mat-
ters because most digipeaters can hear
more than you can, so they may wait for-
ever for a clear frequency on which to
retransmit your packet.
Another problem on a busy frequency
is “collisions." Two packets sent simulta-
neously (or nearly so) can bump into each
other and result in both being garbled.
They’ll both be resent, but on a busy fre-
quency it often takes many “retries” before
a packet will get through intact.
If you live in or near a big city, or in any
area with a lot of packet activity, you’re
bound to encounter an overcrowding prob-
lem on 145.01. Severe overcrowding re-
duces “throughput,” a fancy word meaning
information that gets through. There are
two major causes of this overcrowding:
(1) Competition between rag-chewers
and bulletin boards. Trying to hold a QSO
on the same frequency as a PBBS that’s
dumping a 12K file to someone is nearly
impossible. The BBS goes on seemingly
forever, and you can’t get a packet in
edgewise.
On the other side of the coin, lots of
QSOs going on can reduce BBS, making
it have to repeat material several times.
The problem is the worst during evening
hours—“prime time.” But it can be just as
bad at “off-peak” hours, since those are
used by the BBSs to forward messages
from one to another.
Implementation of a 220 MHz “back-
bone” system for linking BBSs will help
relieve some congestion, but full imple-
mentation is still a long way off. One way
to relieve this pressure is to refrain from
“uploading” or “downloading” lengthy files
during prime time.
(2) For any type of long-distance QSO,
there’s no practical alternative to 145.01.
Other frequencies are in use, and many
have digipeaters operating on them. But
so far only .01 has the network of linked
digipeaters that makes long-distance
connections possible. If you live outside
an active packet area, you might en-
counter just the opposite problem—
nobody to talk to. Particularly if you’re lim-
ited to VHF, as most TNCs are (because
the tones and the data transmission [baud]
rate are different on HF), you’re dependent
on the presence of digipeaters—or near-
by stations through which you can digi-
peat—in order to talk with anyone outside
your immediate local area.
If these aren’t available, you’ll be
“braaaping” away to yourself. (This prob-
ably won’t stay a problem for long, as
prices of TNCs are dropping quickly and
sharply.) If there isn’t much packet activ-
ity where you live, get a friend to buy a
TNC when you do. You’ll have each other
to talk with, and as other amateurs come
to see what it’s all about, the problem will
solve itself.
Operating Practices
There’s one other primary cause of
frustration in operating packet: poor oper-
ating practices, and—for people trying to
learn the proper way to do things—no
readily available source of information on
good operating practices.
It is hoped that this article will eliminate
the latter part of that problem and help with
the first part.
The first step in developing good oper-
ating practices comes before ever going
on the air. It’s vital to understand and prop-
erly set the assorted parameters that
determine the nature of what you send out
and what you see on your screen or print-
er. This requires learning a whole new lan-
guage (just as you did when you first got
into amateur radio).
My TNC (the AEA PK-64) has some
four dozen different parameters, but don’t
worry. I’ll just cover the most important
ones here. (Unfortunately, different TNCs
have different names for some parame-
ters. I’ve tried to list all possibilities, but if
you can’t find something I mention here,
dig a little deeper.)
First and foremost, before you do any-
thing else, and especially before you go
on the air, set “MYCALL.” It tells the TNC
your callsign, which sets your station ID
on each transmission.
I got a call this morning from “ .” He’d
forgotten to plug in his call and my screen
said “Conn to .” I had no idea who I
was talking to. Most TNCs let you abbre-
viate the command as MY, so all you have
to type is “MY (your call)," then hit return.
ACKS and FRACKS
While some commands and parame-
ters are in fairly plain English (Connect,
MYCALL, etc.), others are pure comput-
erese. We’ve already covered ACK. But
you also need to know about FRACK,
DWAIT, PACLEN, and MAXFRAME. (For
others, such as AXHANG and LCOK,
you’ll have to check your TNC manual.)
FRACK is short for Frame Acknow-
January 2021 • CQ • 47
ledge. Packet pioneer Doug Sharp, WB2KMY (known in the east
as “Pacman”), explains that FRACK “tells your TNC how long to
wait for an acknowledgement before doing a retry. If it sends out
a retry too quickly, you run the risk of crashing into your own
acknowledgement— especially if you’re using multiple digi-
peaters.” While many TNCs come with the FRACK set at 3 or
4, Doug suggests setting it at 6 or 7.
DWAIT, says Doug, “essentially tells the TNC how long the
frequency must be clear before sending a packet." Generally,
each unit is 40 milliseconds, and Doug recommends setting
DWAITat a minimum of 2, possibly even 3 or 4. (You’ll never
notice those missing milliseconds.) The TNC 2 and its clones
provide 10 milliseconds per DWAIT unit. If you have one of those
multiply by 4. And even if it eventually adds up to four or five
whole seconds extra, “your waiting five extra seconds, “says
Doug, “saves each of your neighbors waiting an extra minute.”
Equally important are PACLEN and MAXFRAME. PACLEN sets
the length of each packet (anywhere from 0 to 255 bytes). My
TNC came set at 128—meaning that each packet contains 128
bytes of data. And as you’re typing, each time that limit is hit,
the TNC automatically sends out what you’ve typed so far. (If
you finish a message before hitting the PACLEN limit, hit “return”
and what you’ve written will be sent.)
Sharp says he’s found 128 is a good average length, but in
crowded situations you’ll do better to drop your PACLEN to 64 or
even 16. On a busy frequency short packets have a better chance
at getting through than do long ones. In my early days on packet
I dropped my PACLEN from 128 to 40 (one screen line) and
increased my “throughput” dramatically. I now keep it around 64.
MAXFRAME works together with PACLEN in determining how
much goes out on the air, and how quickly. MAXFRAME is the
maximum number of packets (frames) your TNC will send out
before getting an ACK. For example, a MAXFRAME of 4 means
your TNC will send out a maximum of four unacknowledged
packets. It’ll keep sending those four until it gets an ACK. If
there’s more to send, the TNC will wait until it receives an ACK
for the first four, then send out four more.
This, by the way, won’t affect your typing. Waiting material will
be held in a buffer and sent out in turn. The rule of thumb, says
Sharp, is “when things get rough, shorten things up.”
WB2KMY’s Guidelines
Avg. QSO File Xler Crowded
(uncrowded (uncrowded Freq. (esp.
freq) freq) evenings)
FRACK 7 7 7 As soon as you’re connected to someone, the TNC switch-
DWAIT 3 2 4 es into the CONV mode. Here, whatever you type on the key-
PACLEN 128 256 64 (no less)
MAXFRAME 4 7 2 ignores any incoming packets from other stations. Plus, it strips
Other parameters, such as TXDELAY (which sets the length
of time your TNC waits after keying up the transmitter to send
data), depend on your individual rig. Experiment.
RETRY is also important. When you’re connected with some-
one, your TNC will send the same packet over and over again
until it reaches an ACKnowledgement or reaches its RETRY
limit. When the TNC “retries out,” it disconnects your station.
TNC-1s and their clones will then give up and wait for your
instructions. Newer TNCs will automatically try to reestablish the
connection. If it can’t be done in a certain number of tries, the
newer TNCs will give up, too.
The RETRY parameter can be set at any value from 0 to 15.
The busier your area is, the higher you’ll have to set the num-
ber. The exception is 0 (zero). That turns off the counter— and
the TNC will try forever, until it gets an ack or you manually dis-
connect. (We’ll have more on that later.)
One parameter which affects only incoming signals—but
which can be very useful—is M0NRPT (perhaps abbreviated
differently on different TNCs). It stands for MONITOR REPEAT-
48 • CQ • January 2021
ER. When it’s off, your screen displays only the callsigns of the
sending and receiving stations. Turning on MONRPT displays
the “path” by which the message is routed—listing all the digi-
peaters in the path and putting a * or some other symbol next
to the one you’re hearing. This helps you see which stations
you can copy directly, and determine the best path to use to
connect with other stations. (This feature is not available on the
TNC-1 and its clones.)
And that brings us to the last off-air “good operating practice”:
listen (watch, actually). See who’s on the air, who you can copy
directly, whether your local PBBS is busy, etc. It’s amazing what
you can learn about operating practices in your area simply by
observing what other people are doing.
If you listen and hear packet bursts, but nothing is coming onto
your screen, check your volume level. The receive volume
should be just loud enough to “decode,” to solidly light up the
DCD light on your TNC. If it’s too loud, it’ll distort and garble the
signals. Transmit levels (monitored on another radio) should be,
as Doug Sharp puts it, “just loud enough to be irritating.”
Operating Practices: On Air
Transmitting on packet is different from just about any other
mode. For starters, there’s no manual transmit/receive switch. As
you type and reach your PACLEN limit, a packet is transmitted
automatically. You can manually send something by hitting
RETURN. But your rig automatically returns to receive after the
packet is sent.
Your transmitter may also turn on all by itself periodically and
send something out that doesn’t show upon your screen.
Chances are, it’s one of three things: (a) a retry on a packet
already sent once; (b) an ACK or NACK (not acknowledged) in
response to a received packet; or (c) signals from another sta-
tion, being digipeated through yours.
Each TNC can be switched between three different operating
modes: Command (CMD), Converse (CONV), and Transparent
(TRAN). The TNC normally comes up in the CMD mode, mean-
ing that anything you type will be seen by the TNC as a command.
It is not sent out on the air.
What you see on your screen is determined by a couple of
other parameters. In order to “read the mail,” or copy all pack-
ets you can hear, make sure that MONITOR and MALL (Monitor
All) are both set to ON. (Some newer software replaces these
two “toggles” with a single MONITOR parameter which can be
set at any value from 0-6. Set it at 2 or higher to “read the mail.”
I leave mine set at 3.)
board is sent out on the air to the other station, and the TNC
off the callsign info from packets headed your way, so all that
appears on the screen (or printer) is the message text. (This
feature can be changed, by turning on the MONCON or MCON
parameters, to let you monitor other packets while connected
to someone.) In order to DISCONNECT, you have to switch
back into the CMD mode.
The third mode is TRANSparent. This passes all properly sent
or received data without trying to interpret it. Basically, it’s used
to transfer programs and binary files which may have commands
embedded in them—without having the TNC or the computer try
to follow those commands.
On some TNCs it’s difficult or impossible to get out of the
TRANS mode without shutting the unit off and turning it back on
again. That’s because you’ve told it to ignore all commands, so
it won’t listen when you tell it to do something different. (Re-
member, these machines aren’t smart; just fast.)
Making Contact
Calling a station (or “connecting”) on packet is easy. To initiate
a contact tell the TNC “Connect to (callsign).” Or abbreviate it “C
Visit Our Web Site
(callsign).” If you can’t connect directly and
need to go through one or more digi-
peaters, add the “via” command. For ex-
ample, when I connect to the W2VY-1 BBS,
I go through the N2DSY-2 digipeater. So I
type “C W2VY-1 V (or VIA) N2DSY-2.” I
need an extra hop (and a different path) to
connect to WA2RKN’s BBS. So I type
“C WA2RKN-2 V WB2VUK,WB2KMY-1.” I
know WB2VUK has a direct shot to the
WB2KMY digipeater, so—even though
he’s not officially a digipeater—I connect
through him to KMY-1 and on to the BBS.
By now, you’re probably asking, “What
are all those funny numbers after people’s
callsigns and what do they mean?” They’re
known as callsign extentions or SSIDs, or
Secondary Station IDs. Since you’re not
permitted to use the same callsign for two
or more stations operating simultaneously
from different places —and since digi-
peaters are not repeaters in the true
sense—the system of SSIDs was devel-
oped to differentiate separate stations
operating under the same callsign. The
packet “protocols” allow for up to 15 SSIDs.
Unfortunately, there’s no agreement on
how to assign the numbers. The only
agreement is that “- 0” is assumed on a
call without an SSID, and that that’s gen-
erally used for the individual amateur
operating his own packet station. But
that’s not always true either.
AI2Q runs a bulletin board under just his
callsign. If you want to talk to him, you con-
nect with AI2Q-1. The Ramapo Mt. ARC in
New Jersey operates a PBBS, WA2SNA-1,
and a digipeater, WA2SNA-2. But if you go
north a little way, Mount Beacon (NY)
ARC’s digipeater is WB2KMY-1 and its
PBBS is WA2RKN-2. ARRL Headquarters
has its BBS, W1AW-4, accessible through
its digipeater, W1AW-5. And along the way
you find the KG1O-9 digipeater.
It’s thoroughly confusing and there’s no
sign that the packet community is about to
agree on any convention for SSIDs. Just
watch the stations in your area to see which
ones use which SSIDs for what purposes.
And try not to get too confused. Doug
Sharp, WB2KMY, tells of a newcomer who
tried to connect with him for a couple of
weeks, but kept getting busy signals—
because he was trying to connect with
WB2KMY-1, the digipeater. And there was
no one there to respond.
As for your own ID, one of the great
things about packet is that you don’t have
to consciously send one. Your TNC does
it for you— every time it sends out a pack-
et. As this is generally your only form of
ID, and it’s read by the TNCs of receiving
stations and bulletin boards, it’s essential
that you set the MYCALL command on
your TNC before going on the air.
One other thing: If your TNC has a CW
ID, turn it off and leave it off. A CW ID is
no longer required by FCC rules, and
using it only creates clutter.
www.cq-amateur-radio.com
Okay, your callsign and other parame-
ters are set, and you’re ready to go on the
air and call CQ. Well, it’s not as easy as
typing “CQ CQ CQ from N2BFG,” as you
might on regular RTTY. The best way is
to use your UNPROTOCOL mode, which
sounds complicated, but simply means
your packets are not directed to anyone
in particular.
The unprotocol “destination” is set with
the UNPROTO command (abbreviated
U). Most stations set this as CQ. Others
use TEST. Some BBSs use QST or MAIL
(followed by a listing of stations with mes-
sages waiting). To set the UNPROTO
“destination,” enter the command mode
and type U (DESTINATION). (You can
also program in a digipeater, as: U CQ V
(CALLSIGN) to have your UNPROTO
message sent through your local digi.)
If your TNC provides message buffers,
type your CQ message into one of them
(example: CQ from N2BFG, Rich in N.
Tarrytown, NY). This will save you from typ-
ing the same message over and over
again. Next, enter the CONVerse mode (by
typing CONV) and send your message.
Repeat occasionally until you get an
answer. There’s no need to send more than
one or two CQs in a minute, and if you don’t
get a response, there’s no point in sending
an endless string. Wait a few minutes and
try again. Don’t abuse the CQ.
Some stations use their BEACONs to
call CQ. When there were very few pack-
et stations on the air, beacons were often
left on all the time to let other people know
you were out there, and that your station
was available for digipeating. Today,
though, the network of fulltime digipeaters
has grown to the point where constant
beacons are unnecessary and do nothing
more than clutter the frequency.
The big problems with using your bea-
con to call CQ are clutter and the fact that
it’s all too easy to leave it on after some-
one connects with you. That results in your
continuing to call CQ while you’re in QSO.
And by all means, never leave a beacon
on when you leave the shack.
There’s very little that’s more annoying
than responding to a CQ and getting a
busy or, worse yet, a “connect message”
saying “I’m not here now; please leave a
message and call back later.” If you’re not
there, then why are you calling CQ??!! I
don’t know about you, but I like to talk to
people, not to machines. And if I see
someone calling CQ, I expect that person
to be there, in person, to answer my call.
A simple rule on beacons: Don’t use
them. Call CQ manually—and sparingly.
Now, what’s a “connect message”? It’s
a brief message that you type in once
(using the CTEXT command) and that can
automatically be sent to anyone who con-
nects with you. (It’s toggled on and off with
the CONMSG parameter.) Some connect
messages are simple, such as “Hi from
Rich in N. Tarrytown, NY,” that can save
you retyping redundant greetings. But
since most CQ messages say something
like “CQ from N2BFG, Rich in N. Tarry-
town, NY,” it’s redundant anyway.
So many people use their connect
messages like the message tapes on
answering machines: “I can’t come to the
TNC right now, so please leave a mes-
sage, then disconnect." Messages like
these are handy if you’re going away for
a while, but are leaving the TNC on. Your
receive buffer will be happy to take a
message for you.
The message here, though, on the con-
nect message, is to use it sparingly. Turn
it on when you’re away from the shack or
don’t want to get involved in a QSO. But
when you’re sitting there looking for a
ragchew, shut it off.
Talk To Yourself
My first packet QSO was with myself! I
wanted to find out if I could make it to my
local digipeater. Since the digipeater
doesn’t start transmitting until you’re fin-
ished sending, you can monitor your own
signals being digipeated. And you can con-
nect with yourself! It’s an excellent way to
check a path or to determine whether a par-
ticular digipeater is on the air. Don’t have
long conversations with yourself, though.
When you’re satisfied you have a good link,
disconnect.
When you’ve finally made contact with
someone, the object is to carry on a good
QSO. Presuming your signals are getting
through okay and your packets are being
“ACKED” with some reasonable regulari-
ty, you stand a reasonably good chance
of succeeding.
One interesting facet of packet com-
munications is that while you may sit and
wait for the person you’re talking with to
finish typing, you may also carry on a
semi-duplex QSO.
Since the TNC automatically sends out
a packet whenever the PACLEN is reach-
ed, you can have a partial comment on
your screen for 20 or 30 seconds (or more)
before the rest of the message comes in.
There’s nothing to stop you from respond-
ing to what you see—or talking about
something completely different—while
waiting for the other guy to finish his piece.
It’s a bit disconcerting at first, since you
can end up carrying on two different QSOs
at the same time with the same person,
and some people don’t like it. But others
find it to be great fun.
One big question faced by novice
packeteers is, “How do I know when the
other guy’s finished sending?” After all,
there’s no exchangeof IDs and no need
for a “back to you,” especially if you’re both
talking at once. The convention that’s
been adopted for “end of transmission,” at
least in the east, is two or three angle
brackets, “> >” or “> > >” . Until you see
January 2021 • CQ • 49

On the Cover
CQ Kit-Building Editor Joe Eisenberg,
KØNEB, gets a hand from the Nebraska
ARES (Amateur Radio Emergency
Service) tower crew as part of the over-
haul he’s been describing recently of his
shack in Lincoln. On the 48-foot Rohn
tower are Shaun Monson, KØSMM, and
Jim Reed (no call) while Jim Nelson,
WØJRN, is on the roof. Crew chief and
ARRL Nebraska Section Emergency
Coordinator Ed Holloway, KØRPT, di-
rected the crew from the ground. Joe
says that, in 2020, they climbed 13 tow-
ers both for removal of antennas for a
Silent Key and for putting up new anten-
nas, as well as tower / rooftop antenna
work for several area repeaters essen-
tial to Nebraska ARES operations.
The beam they’re raising is a HyGain
TH3MK4. Above it on the tower are a
Cushcraft A50-3S 6-meter beam and a
6-element Cushcraft 70-centimeter Yagi.
Not yet installed when this photo was
taken (but visible in the photo on the last
page of Joe’s column in this issue) are
top-fed loaded half-wave slopers for 160
and 80 meters, two double bazookas (for
40 and 17 meters), a 12-meter dipole and
a VHF / UHF discone. At the far left in the
photo is a 40-10-meter vertical used
mostly as a test antenna for Joe’s kit-
building workbench.
Joe’s advice for others doing similar
work: “I recommend doing as much as
possible beforehand so the tower crew
has a minimum of work to do. I had my
coax and control cable assemblies and
antennas assembled and ready to go,
the new pulleys and ropes already
threaded and ready to go up, had the
rotator thoroughly tested using the actu-
al cable being used for the installation,
and the rotor parked pointed north for
accurate installation of the beams. That
way, the tower crew only had to remove
the old antennas and feedlines and pull
up the new ones.” (Cover photo by Joe
Eisenberg, KØNEB)
50 • CQ • January 2021
the brackets, you can assume there’s
more to come.
A few paragraphs back I mentioned
“busy signals.” When you try to connect
to someone who’s already connected to
someone else, his TNC will respond with
a “busy.” Your screen will print “(CALL-
SIGN) BUSY—DISCONNECTED.” At the
same time a line will appear on the other
person’s screen, saying, “CONNECT RE-
QUEST FROM (YOUR CALLSIGN).” So,
he knows you’re looking for him and he
can call you when he’s done.
Some newer TNCs contain provisions
for multiple connects. Mine will let you talk
with up to ten stations simultaneously.
(You set the maximum with the CONMAX
command.) Each QSO is taken in on a dif-
ferent “channel,” letting you conclude an
exchange with one person before looking
to see what the other person has sent.
This can be lots of fun, but I’d recom-
mend it only to someone who’s already
comfortable with general packet operat-
ing. Otherwise, it’s just too confusing.
Even though many TNCs limit you to
one connection at a time, it is still possi-
ble to conduct a net or roundtable. Again,
it’s probably best to wait until you’re famil-
iar and comfortable with the regular oper-
ating techniques before trying this.
A net operation is pretty easy if the net
control has a TNC capable of multiple con-
nects. Then each person connects with the
NCS, making him the center of a “star.” But
while net members can monitor what oth-
ers are saying (by turning their MONCON
or MCON parameter on), they can only talk
directly to net control. If they’re passing
traffic, they’d have to disconnect and then
connect with each other off frequency.
Another way of having a group QSO is
by using the UNPROTO mode. (See previ-
ous section on calling CQ.) In this way
nobody’s connected to anyone in particu-
lar, and all can see what each is sending.
If any two stations want to pass traffic, they
can move off frequency and connect to
each other.
The only problem with the UNPROTO
mode is that since you’re not connected to
anyone, you can’t get ACKs, so each pack-
et is sent only once and you have no assur-
ance that any of them are getting through.
Ending The QSO
When you’re done talking with some-
one you can’t just shut off your rig and walk
away. Well, you could, but the other per-
son’s TNC would still think it was con-
nected to yours. Ending a QSO properly
requires a Disconnect. Doing it is rather
simple. Return to the command mode,
type D, hit return, and wait while your TNC
does the rest. You’re not disconnected
until the TNC says you are. In order to
complete a disconnect, your DISC re-
quest has to be properly received by the
other station, and your TNC has to receive
its acknowledgement. Only then does
your status change from “DISC in pro-
gress” to “DISCONNECTED.”
Now there is a thing called a “Unilateral
Disconnect.” And you do it by sending two
disconnect commands in a row. This will
immediately put you in a DISCONNECT-
ED state, but it leaves the other station
hanging. You should only use this when
you know the other station has already
disconnected from you, or if you know the
path is lost (i.e., if the digipeater you’re
using goes off the air).
One other time that you can get away
with using a unilateral disconnect is when
you’re switching to another path. This has
to be done pretty quickly. What you do is
send two disconnects, then immediately
send a connect request to the same sta-
tion via a different path. Generally, a TNC
will accept a connect request from a sta-
tion to which it thinks it’s already con-
nected, and it won’t give you a busy.
The Automatic Station
Many people think that one of the great-
est things about packet is that you don’t
have to be at your station for someone to
connect with you and leave a message.
These folks leave their TNCs on full-time,
and when they’re not there in person, leave
them on automatic—set up to receive only
messages directed to that station.
They leave their CONMSGs turned on
to send out their “I’m not here” message.
Connecting stations then leave a mes-
sage and disconnect. This is great and,
as of a recent FCC ruling, it’s also legal.
(Before that, automatic operation of sta-
tions other than repeaters and satellites
had been illegal below 220 MHz. The new
rule permits automatic operation any-
where above 50 MHz.)
Here’s how to do it: First, make sure
you’re in the command (CMD) mode.
Next, set your MONITOR to OFF or 0
(zero). (As long as you leave your CONOK
parameter set to ON, your TNC will auto-
matically respond to a connect request,
even if the MONITOR is off.) Now, only
those messages sent to you during a con-
nected QSO show up on your screen or
printer. Next, turn on your Connect Mes-
sage (CONMSG), making sure the text
reads as you want it to, and go away. Your
TNC will connect to anyone who wants to
talk to you, send them the message that
you’re not around, and let them leave you
a message. When you return, you can
look through your buffer and see who has
left messages (or, if you’ve left your print-
er on, you’ll have hard copy).
This system is great if you want to leave
your TNC, computer, and radio turned on
at all times. For those who don’t, there is
another way to leave messages—Packet
Bulletin Board Systems (PBBSs).
Using PBBSs will be the topic of another
article, along with a look at packet’s future.
Visit Our Web Site
CQ CLASSIC
It’s not as difficult as it sounds. You really can have a good time exploring
the new world of packet radio even if you’re not an engineer.
Packet Radio
How To Work It (Not How It Works)
Conclusion
BY RICHARD S. MOSESON*, N2BFG
P acket radio is touted as the fastest-
growing mode in amateur radio today.
And it may well be. But even so, it has drawn
only a relative few hams into its ranks.
Some who have tried it embrace the mode
as the greatest thing since transistors.
Others have thrown up their hands in frus-
tration and sold their packet controllers.
Each group will argue endlessly that it’s
wonderful—or terrible. And as usual, the
truth lies somewhere in between.
Fact: If you don’t like “talking” on a key-
board, you won’t like packet radio. If a
microphone or CW key is your thing, stick
with it. If contesting or DXing is your pri-
mary amateur radio interest, forget it.
Packet’s not for you.
Fact: If making computers talk to each
other excites you, and if you’d like the
opportunity to help in the continuing devel-
opment of a new technology, you’re miss-
ing the boat if you miss out on packet. If
you like radioteletype and yearn for a gar-
ble-free means of exchanging informa-
tion, you’ve found it.
Last month we introduced the basics of
packet operating: what it’s all about, what
it’s like on the air, and proper operating
practices. This month we’ll concentrate on
one of packet radio’s major drawing
cards—packet bulletin-board systems.
Plus, we’ll discuss the future of the mode
and how you can be part of it.
Bulletin Boards
Packet radio is great for sending mes-
sages, especially if the person you want
to reach isn’t around when you want to
reach him or is too far away to contact
directly. The growing network of packet
“digipeaters” will let you link up with dis-
tant stations, but if you just want to send
a message, or read the latest bulletins
from ARRL headquarters, you’ll want to
get familiar with your local PBBS, or
Packet Bulletin Board System. (And if you
don’t have one in your area, you might
want to consider starting one.)
www.cq-amateur-radio.com
PBBSs serve two basic functions: (1)
Storing and forwarding of personal mes-
sages, and (2) providing a database of
information and programs of amateur and
general interest.
The database and message-storage
functions are quite similar to those on
telephone-based computer bulletin
boards, except that you incur no tele-
phone costs and have to share the fre-
quency with others. And there’s very lit-
tle privacy. While you may designate a
message as personal, and the PBBS will
list it and show it only to the addressee,
the contents are readily visible to anyone
who’s monitoring while you’re uploading
the message or while the recipient is
downloading it (the price you pay for not
having a price to pay).
The forwarding feature of PBBSs is
unique to packet—and to bulletin boards
running software written by Hank Oredson,
W0RLI (or W0RLI-compatible software).
This is the most popular BBS software,
though, so chances are good that your
local system will be equipped for auto-
matic forwarding. If it is, you’ll be able to
leave messages not only for other users
of the same system, but for someone on
another “RLI” BBS. All you have to pro-
vide is the callsign of the recipient’s
“home” BBS. At predetermined times, var-
ious PBBSs automatically connect to
each other and transfer files going to or
through the other’s system.
Let’s look more closely at each major
feature:
1. Messages. There are two general
message types: personal and general
(bulletins, etc.). Personal messages may
be sent to any other ham who is active on
packet at your BBS or another. The @
symbol is used to mark the destination
BBS. People are working now to set up a
reliable means of using packet for
National Traffic System messages, as
well. When that’s in place, you’ll be able
to send a message to virtually anyone via
packet, provided there’s a PBBS in the
recipient’s general vicinity.
Bulletins and other general messages
may be posted in a PBBS’s message sec-
tion as well. These are generally address-
ed to ALL and are used to relay ARRL bul-
letins, announcements of club meetings,
upcoming hamfests, etc. Operating hints,
as well as notes directing interested users
to specific files in the BBS’s file section,
may also be posted as general messages.
2. Files. Again, there are two general
types: text files and programs.
Text files include things such as region-
al digipeater maps, lists of active packe-
teers in a specific area, or a guide to using
the BBS. There are also calendars, lists
of stations active on the bulletin board, info
on connecting specific TNCs to specific
radios, etc.
Programs are just that—public-domain
computer programs that may be down-
loaded from the BBS computer to yours,
then stored on disk for future use. Many
have amateur radio applications, but there
are also many general interest programs
available.
Checking In
Connecting to a packet bulletin board
system is just like connecting to any other
station—C (Callsign), or C (Callsign) Via
(Digipeater). PBBSs can only handle one
user at a time, so if someone else is con-
nected when you try to hook up, you’ll get
a “busy” message. If you have a printer
hooked up to your system, it’s a good
idea to turn it on when you’re connected
to a BBS. First of all, there’s a lot of
stuff there you may want to save as hard
copy. Second, the info comes in at 1200
baud—quite quickly if it’s flowing
smoothly—and it’s very easy to lose
things as they go by. Third, if your mon-
itor has only a 40-column display, you’ll
need an 80-column printer to make
sense of most maps or charts. (If you
don’t have a printer, be sure to have a
January 2021 • CQ • 51
buffer turned on, so you can review the
material later.)
But how do you get your hands on that
fast-flowing info? Bulletin boards are
“interactive” systems. You have to tell
them what you want. To do that, you have
to “speak their language." The language,
or set of instructions telling a computer to
do a specific task, is embodied in the soft-
ware—the program used to run the BBS.
W0RLI software, which is becoming the
de facto standard for PBBSs, lets you give
one-letter commands such as L (list), R
(read), W (what—for a listing of program
files rather than messages) and B (bye—
to sign off). There are also more specific,
two-letter commands such as RM (read
mine) or LB (list bulletins).
(I won’t list all the different commands
here, just those needed for a basic expla-
nation. More specific information on the
W0RLI system is available in an excellent
guide written by Jon Pearce, WB2MNF, of
Medford, New Jersey. It’s available as a
text file on many RLI systems, and
arrangements are being made for TAPR
to make copies available for an SASE. I
highly recommend it.)
(Since the W0RLI system is the most
popular, the commands I discuss here are
for that system. Other systems may have
different commands. If none of the letters
I use has the desired effect on your BBS,
just follow screen prompts to get more
information about that specific system.
Also, I will occasionally use “quotation
marks” and/or (parentheses) to set off
commands within the text of this article.
They are not needed on the air. Don’t use
them.)
Let’s Take A Tour
Welcome aboard the S.S. PBBS. We
hope you’ll enjoy your visit. Please plug
in your TNCs and connect. Our first stop
is the welcome screen. If you’ve been
here before, it will greet you by name and
let you know if you have any new mes-
sages. If you do, it will list the message
number, the station it’s coming from, and
a brief title. It will also let you know how
many messages.
An L command now will list the titles of
those messages, along with the callsigns
of the originating and destination stations.
If you have mail, typing RM will let you
read your messages.
(Wait for a prompt, usually a > , before
sending a command. And once again, be
patient. If the BBS doesn’t acknowledge
your transmission or respond to your com-
mand, fight the temptation to send it again.
Everything will eventually get through and
the BBS will end up repeating itself if
you’ve repeated commands.)
If this is your first time on the BBS, the
computer will probably ask for your name
and QTH, then give you the opportunity
to list all the active messages on the sys-
tem. On future check-ins the list command
52 • CQ • January 2021
will only show you the messages that have
been posted since your last check-in.
(You may view earlier messages, but you
have to give the BBS computer a starting
point.) You may list the messages with the
L command or, if you’re not interested in
seeing personal messages for other peo-
ple, you may type LB to list only bulletins
or LA to list only ARRL bulletins.
Okay, you’ve got your list. Now let’s say
you want to read message number 3011.
Type: R 3011 (return). The message will
print out on your screen (and/or printer).
You’ll know it’s finished when you get a
what next request from the BBS. The
wording will vary from system to system,
but the general idea will be the same—
"I’m done. What would you like next?"
If the message was addressed to you,
it’s good practice to kill it once you’ve read
it. There are two ways to do this: either type
K (msg #) or KT (msg *). The K will simply
remove the file from the listing and free up
the disc space for another message. KT
stands for Kill Traffic. It not only kills the
message, but automatically originates a
message back to the sending station, let-
ting him/her know the date and time that
you picked up the original message.
Now it’s your turn to send a message.
Let’s say you want to send me a message
telling me how wonderful this article is. If
I’m a regular user on your BBS, you just
type S N2BFG (Return). The BBS will then
ask you for a brief title. When you’ve done
that, it’ll give you the go-ahead to type in
the message text. You may either type it
from scratch, or if you’ve written it earlier
and stored it in a buffer, you can just send
the buffer contents (a good idea, since it
takes up less time on the shared system).
When you’re finished, you need to let
the BBS know. On the RLI system, a
Control-Z (Return) sends the “finished”
message. You’ll know it’s been received
when you get a what next message from
the BBS.
What do you do, though, if you want to
send me a message and I ‘m not a regular
user of your BBS? It’s simple, if you know
which BBS I do use, and your system is part
of the nationwide network of linked BBSs
(look for a file named LINKED.BBS or
something similar to find out which systems
regularly “talk” with yours). Since my
“home” BBS is WA2SNA-1, you address
the message to N2BFG@WA2SNA-1. The
BBS will automatically forward the mes-
sage to the SNA bulletin board, where I’ll
see it waiting when I check in.
If you don’t want everybody else to read
your message to me, you can mark it per-
sonal by typing SP N2BFG. If you do want
everyone to read your message, you may
make it a bulletin by typing SB and
addressing it to all. (SB ALL). It will then
show up on the listing of bulletins when
someone types LB.
Important Note: When you send a mes-
sage to a particular person, it’s the recip-
ient’s responsibility to kill the message
once it’s read. When you send a bulletin,
it’s your responsibility to kill it after an
appropriate amount of time. (For exam-
ple, if you’re announcing an event be sure
to kill the bulletin the day after the event.)
Let’s move on now to the next stop on
our tour, accessible by pressing W on your
keyboard, followed by a Return. We’ve
now entered the realm of the files, and a
list of what’s on the BBS disk will appear
on your screen, generally followed by a
number. This is the file size in bytes.
Seeing what’s inside these files is dif-
ferent from reading a message. Files and
programs aren’t read; they’re down-
loaded. The command, logically, is D, fol-
lowed by the file name. If the file is long,
it may take quite a while to dump from the
BBS computer to yours.
Yes, the data travels at 1,200 bits per
second (baud), but not every packet gets
through on the first try. Especially on a
busy channel, it may take quite a few
retries to get each packet through, and
that can mean a longer-than-expected
time to complete the download.
With most TNCs, you use regular ter-
minal software, so downloaded files can
be sent directly to disk. Others, such as
the AEA PK-64, have their own software
that won’t permit this. In these cases you
have to download the file into your buffer,
then save the buffer contents.
The same procedures are used in
reverse when you want to post a file on
the bulletin board. To Upload, you use the
U command, followed by whatever name
you want to give the file. When the BBS
is ready, it will tell you to send the file gen-
erally followed by a Control-Z to mark the
end. (If you can’t upload directly from disk,
you’ll have to put the file for transfer into
one of your transmit buffers, then send the
buffer on cue.)
Some systems permit you to check
your file by immediately downloading it.
Others, however, delay its appearance on
the index until the sysop (control opera-
tor) has had a chance to review it and
make sure it’s legal, etc. So don’t worry if
you finish uploading a file, do a W, and
don’t see your file.
One warning on uploading files: Before
you send your file, do a W to check the avail-
able disk space on the BBS computer.
Then check the length of your file and make
sure it isn’t bigger than the available space.
If you overfill the BBS disk, you can mess
up all sorts of things and create lots of work
for the sysop to clean it up. Some data could
be lost forever. (If your overload causes a
disk crash, which it could, everything on the
disk could be lost.) So be careful.
However, several sysops have told me
that overloading the disk on an upload is
just about the only way you can damage
the system. I know many active packe-
teers who are afraid of checking into a bul-
letin board for fear they’ll break it.
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 According to sysop Jon Pearce,
WB2MNF, “There’s not a lot you can do to
mess things up. . . they’re pretty bullet-
proof." Basically, use common sense.
Don’t kill a bulletin or a message address-
ed to someone else. You can’t kill a pro-
gram file (only the sysop can do that). Also,
don’t be afraid to talk to the sysop. At min-
imum, Pearce said, leave him a message
saying “hi” and giving him your name and
QTH. Pearce also suggests that you find
a local voice repeater where packet peo-
ple gather and ask your questions there.
(By the way—BBS software [especially
non-W0RLI software] is still being refined.
Bugs pop up. If you think you’re doing
everything right and the BBS goes batty,
the problem is probably with the BBS, not
with you. If you can’t get it to do what you
want, disconnect and give it a rest.)
Some BBSs offer “gateways” to their
users—the ability to send your signal in
on one frequency (2 meters, for example)
and out on another (such as 20 meters).
This permits you to do some HF DXing on
packet without needing a TNC that oper-
ates on HF.
Remember, though, not to tie up the
BBS calling CQ 20 during “prime time,"
weekday evenings when many people
want to use the system. In fact, do all you
can to make your BBS visits during prime
time as brief as possible. This will let the
greatest number of people enjoy the sys-
tem’s service.
We’ve seen how to list messages and
files, read and send messages, download
and upload files, and even use a gateway
for HF packet. That’s about all you can do
on a BBS. All that’s left to do now is leave.
On most systems you send something like
a B (for “bye") and the system will log you
off and initiate a disconnect. This is bet-
ter than your switching back to CMD and
typing a D for disconnect.
That’ll work, but the BBS is much hap-
pier if you do it its way. Remember, the
BBS is your friend. It’s a good idea to keep
it that way. (The only time you should ini-
tiate a disconnect is if the BBS won’t
respond to your Bye command after sev-
eral retries. It’s happened to me at least
once.)
We hope you’ve enjoyed your tour
aboard the S.S. PBBS. Please check in
again. And once again, we remind you
that this is a shared system and encour-
age you to keep your future visits brief.
(Many operators check in, pull down the
list of new messages, then check out.
After they figure out what they want, they
check back in and request specific mes-
sages. This increases efficiency and
reduces frequency clutter.)
DXing
Speaking of clutter, one of the worst
Hertzgrabbers is BBS DXing, connecting
www.cq-amateur-radio.com
with that BBS two states away, just to see congestion on 145.01. Transmitting it at
what’s there. Chances are, according to 9600 baud or higher will greatly improve
sysop WB2MNF, you won’t find much on efficiency of intersystem transfers.
a distant BBS that isn’t available on your Next, some packet systems are already
home system. There’s a lot of sharing, and experimenting with “level 3” software, writ-
the good stuff makes its way around quite ten by Howard Goldstein, N2WX. This will
quickly. bring about some fundamental changes,
Pearce also noted that BBS DXing is real according to Gordon Beattie, N2DSY, of
slow, your packet probably won’t get RATS (the Radio Amateur Telecommu-
through, and it “really hogs up the channel.” nications Society) in New Jersey. RATS
“If you’re going through six (Eastnet) is performing the first wide-scale test of
digipeaters," he said, “then the whole East level-three software. First of all, says
Coast is listening to you talk!” Jon added Beattie, the new software will bring new
that some sysops, such as W3IWI in names—a TNC will be called a PAD (for
Maryland, limit the number of digipeaters Packet Assembler/Disassembler) and a
you can use to reach the system. At digipeater will be known as a SWITCH (for
W3IWI, any connect request with more Switch).
than three digis in the path will be reject- Stations will connect directly to their
ed. MNF’s maximum is seven. local switch and ask it to connect to the
station they’re trying to contact. Stations
Crystal-Ball Time may be able to dictate the routing or may
Now that you have a pretty good idea have to leave that up to the computer at
of how packet in general and bulletin the switch. The digipeater (oops, switch)
boards in particular work, what changes will attempt the connection, then let you
should you expect to confuse you in the know when it’s complete.
future? Plenty, but the hope is that they’ll There’s one big advantage to this. Right
make things easier and more efficient. now, when you’re connected to someone,
First of all, packet groups around the your TNC resends packets until it receives
country are working on a “backbone” or an ACKnowledgement from the destina-
trunk system for relaying traffic between tion station. On a multi-hop path or on a
bulletin-board systems at high speed. crowded frequency, that round trip can
This trunking will be done on 220 MHz or take ages. Under level three, you will get
higher frequencies, and at 9600 baud or your ACK directly from your local switch,
higher speeds. Moving this relay traffic off freeing your PAD to send the next group
of 2 meters will greatly help in reducing of packets.
“Level 3"-How It Works
I recently had my first chance to try out a digipeater, or “switch,” using “level 3” soft-
ware. N2DSY-3, in Northern New Jersey,is the first wide-scale “beta-test” sitefor the
N2WX software.
As explained in the main text, you connect directly to the “switch,” then ask it to
hook you up with the desired station. Here’s how it works.
When you connect to the “switch,” you get a standard connect message followed
by some gibberish (at least that’s what it looks like on my screen). After you see that,
you have to send a carriage return, which “wakes up” the switch. It then gives you a
prompt to enter the call of the station you want to contact, the calls of up to three digi-
peaters, the @ symbol, and an 11-digit number. Make a note of this number, because
you’ll only get it once. And you need it to make the connection.
In an example provided by N2DSY, to make a single-hop connection to W2PAT, type:
W2PAT ©03100201100 (Return). It will respond PAD: Connection Reset; then when
it makes the connection, it will say Linked to W2PAT. Whatever you send will then
be passed along to W2PAT, even though your screen says you’re connected to the
switch.
If you get the number wrong, or if the station is busy or not available, you get a
lengthy Pad cleared message and a to prompt letting you try again. If you goof a few
times, the number will scroll off your screen, which is why you should write it down.
Use a regular disconnect to end your QSO. The station initiating the disconnect
will get the standard message. The other station will see a link terminated message
before being disconnected from the switch.
My first contact was over a 50-mile path on a busy frequency. And while it took a
little while for the packets to get through, the switch acknowledged what I sent on the
first shot each time, freeing me to send more or to carry on an additional QSO.
Having both stations “linked” through the switch rather than being connected direct-
ly to each other is no problem—unless you’re linked to a bulletin board. When I first
hooked up to a PBBS through N2DSY-3, it said “Hi, Gordon” (N2DSY) and gave me a
list of his mail. That, however, is why software writers do “beta tests”—to discover prob-
lems in the field before general distribution. And, “This is only a test."
Overall, though, I say bravo to N2WX!
January 2021 • CQ • 53
 Then it’s up to the switch—which gen-
erally has more power and a better anten-
na location than you do—to fight it out with
other stations on frequency to get your
message through. A correctly received
packet is acknowledged at each step
along the path, eliminating the need for
many retries. This, in turn, should greatly
reduce congestion.
The future may also hold some special-
ization of frequencies. In crowded areas
today, stations trying to rag-chew on pack-
et often have to compete for time and fre-
quency space with bulletinboard systems.
If this gets much worse, which seems
inevitable, the packet community will have
to start coordinating itself (either by itself
or through existing repeater coordinators)
to try to get things better organized.
My personal recommendation is that
certain packet frequencies be designated
“BBS-primary” (145.01 and .05, for exam-
ple), while others would be “QSO-prima-
ry” (145.03 and .07, to continue the exam-
ple). Stations operating bulletin boards or
digipeaters to link bulletin boards would
“live” on the former, while “switches” de-
54 • CQ • January 2021
voted primarily to conversation would
reside on the others. Coordinators should
recommend frequencies to groups plan-
ning to put up digipeaters and try to
encourage the building of networks on
other frequencies similar to those estab-
lished on 145.01.
Keeping Up To Date
General-interest magazines such as CQ
and QST will cover the major develop-
ments in packet radio. But if you want to
be fully informed and feel a part of “the
packet community," you’ll also want to sub-
scribe to one or more specialized packet
newsletters. Among the best known are
Gateway published by the ARRL, PSR
Quarterly, by TAPR (Tucson Amateur
Packet Radio), and the FADCA Newsletter
published by the Florida Amateur Digital
Communications Association.
Don’t feel you have to live in Arizona
or Florida to join either of these last two
groups. TAPR is the leading developer
and promoter of packet radio in the
United States and has members all over
the country. FADCA is a major regional
force in packet and also has widespread
membership.
Contributions Welcome
There are two types of contributions
packeteers (even new ones) can make to
the future of packet radio: work and money.
“There’s a lot of work yet to be done,"
remarked BBS sysop Pearce. “This isn’t
like 2 meter FM, where you can just get a
rig and get on and join the guys. The sys-
tem is still being developed."
Pearce added that there are opportuni-
ties available for folks who just want to
help—and also for those seeking some
recognition. “There’s so much room for
someone to contribute something—local-
ly and nationally," he noted. “If you’re will-
ing to work on something, there’s a good
chance to become a leader and become
well-known, locally or even nationally."
Pearce added that TAPR is “real short of
RF guys” and is always looking for help in
writing and refining software. He stressed,
though, that volunteers must be willing
and able to do the advanced type of work
required.
And if you don’t have expertise to con-
tribute, Pearce continued, money will do
fine.
“The packet network isn’t free," he
pointed out. “Digipeaters and bulletin-
board systems cost money. The average
investment now is between $400 and
$1,000." Pearce says the best way to offer
financial support is by joining one or more
packet organizations—TAPR, first and
foremost, plus various regional groups
and local clubs that are putting out the
cash to build and maintain the packet net-
work in your area. (TAPR, of course, has
invested huge sums in developing the
TNCs and the software that makes all this
possible.)
Tying The Ribbons
Well, inveterate rag-chewer that I am,
I’ve rambled on here through two issues
of this fine magazine with what probably
could have been said in one . . . one small
book. I hope you’ve gained some useful
hints on getting through the maze of pack-
et operating—and on keeping your blood
pressure down.
Sometimes when you get heavily involv-
ed in something like packet (or DXing or
contesting or whatever), it’s hard to remem-
ber that this is basically a hobby. Luckily,
though, editors have a way of restoring per-
spective. And about halfway through this
project, as I was explaining to CQ editor
Alan Dorhoffer what was heading his way
in the mail, he stopped me and asked,
“Rich, are you having fun with packet?"
“Yes," I answered. “The frustration has
worn off and I’m having a ball."
“Great," said Alan. “You ought to end
the article that way."
Editors also have a way of being right.
Visit Our Web Site
Commentary
Is Homebrewing Dead?
O
ver the 40+ years that I have
been writing this column, one
unfortunate factor continually
stands out. When I began writing (in the
early 1970s), many of my columns were
aimed at describing homebrewing tips
and kinks in one form or another. At the
time, projects from simple microphone
and power connections to more ad-
vanced topics such as entire transmit-
ters, receivers, and elaborate slow-scan
TV devices were attempted by many
amateurs who were interested in actu-
ally building something. As a direct result
of the “snail mail” we received at that
time (remember this was before email),
we had a lot of questions and comments
regarding these endeavors. As time
passed, however, the questions dwin-
dled. Now, perhaps only about 5% of our
mail (this time including email) is con-
cerned with a homebrew project of some
sort. In fact, other than “exotic” topics
such as GHz transmission, digital mod-
ulation schemes, and the like; and
extremely simple questions (the color
code of the wires in a line cord for exam-
ple), any “middle of the road” questions
and comments are few and far between.
I have always known that “rag-chew-
ing” is certainly a major part of our hobby
Figure 1. Field strength meter described in text.
*c/o CQ magazine
www.cq-amateur-radio.com
MATH’S NOTES
BY IRWIN MATH,* WA2NDM
and store-bought equipment is the norm, could actually learn about basic elec-
which I should indicate that I have no tronics while building something that, in
problem with at all. However, I wonder the end, would be useful. In the years
how many of you “out there” (especially that followed, unfortunately these firms
the newcomers) have enjoyed the thrill went out of business and homebrewing
of contacting someone with equipment dwindled. Today, however, I have for-
that you have built with your own two tunately seen several companies that
hands. It is hard to explain the feeling if are starting to produce kits that allow
you have not experienced it personally. one (not just amateurs) to actually learn
“My God, it actually works!” is the usual about electronics not by soldering but
thought the first time. by “snapping” blocks together and so
In the past, there were companies forth (and a reborn Heathkit is among
such as Heath and Eico which provid- them. – ed.). This is quite encouraging
ed kits to allow the amateur to construct and perhaps represents something of a
all type of devices. By doing so, one return to the art of “homebrewing.”
Table 1
Typical Parts List
1 1N34 germanium diode (Mouser Electronics 526-1N34A)
1 2.5-millihenry RF choke coil (Miller 6302). (If not available, use Mouser
434 XHBCC-252J-02; different housing but will work the same.)
Any similar Ebay choke would also work.
1 100K potentiometer (Mouser Electronics 31CN501F)
1 Knob for potentiometer (Mouser Electronics 5164-1475)
1 0.01-μF ceramic capacitor (Mouser 594-S103M69Z5UP63K7R
1 DC microammeter (0-100 or 0-200 μA) (Ebay for approximately $7.50)
or All Electronics PMD-100UA for $12.00
1 Project box (Ebay for approximately $9.00)
1 Telescoping antenna (Ebay for approximately $2.00)
Figure 2. Suggested layout of components.
January 2021 • CQ • 55

Figure 3. Pictorial layout of components.
Young Ladies’ Radio League,
Inc. Since 1939
For 75 years the Young Ladies’
Radio League, Inc. (YLRL) has
helped women find their voice in
Amateur Radio with members of
all ages and interests.
The YLRL sponsors a number
of certificates for both YLs and OMs. Members
can earn special YL Certificates.
YL-Harmonics is our bi-monthly publication
highlighting what women are doing in
Amateur Radio.
YLRL gives out scholarships to YLs each year.
For more information on the YLRL, the current
dues amounts, weekly YL Net locations or how
to join please go to our website at www.ylrl.org
or contact the Publicity Chairwoman, Cheryl
Muhr, NØWBV at n0wbv@earthlink.net. All
Officer information is also listed both on the
website and in each edition of the
magazine and you may contact
any Officer as well.
With thanks to the OMs who
encourage and support us.
Visit us at www.ylrl.org
56 • CQ • January 2021
Before you complain, I am certainly not forgetting the large
and small firms that do produce ham radio-oriented kits.
Some of these always did and I hope will continue to do so.
I mean a way for the current generation (old as well as new)
to actually learn something through “hands-on” experience.
I know you can easily purchase almost anything today, but
when you, do you become what we used to call an “appli-
ance operator.” When I started, there were numerous books
and magazine articles describing all sorts of things one could
build with “commonly available” components and materials
you could purchase at many distributors “off the shelf.” Today,
although some distributors do exist who will process small
orders, the situation where you can see, in person, what the
components actually look like is almost totally gone.
From my comments, you can easily the see where my feel-
ings lie. In my opinion, when you get a ham license, you must
first demonstrate a knowledge (to some degree) of the tech-
nical aspects of radio. If you have not simply memorized the
answers to the various questions on the exam, perhaps you
should consider warming up the soldering iron and actually
“getting your hands dirty.” Build something! Don’t be scared
by tiny surface-mount components; plenty of leaded resis-
tors, capacitors and other components are still available.
Integrated circuits can still be obtained in the easy-to-handle
plastic DIP packages and even IC sockets for them are read-
ily available. Printed circuit boards are nice but in the “old
days,” point-to-point wiring and so-called “Manhattan style”
or “dead-bug” techniques were the only way we built things.
By the way, these methods still work quite well for many of
the simplest to more advanced projects. They can still work
quite well for you.
A “Getting Started” Project
With this idea in mind, especially if you are a newcomer, I
would strongly suggest that you start with a very simple but
useful device — a basic field-strength meter. This will not cost
much, is easy to build, and will result in something that can at
least show you that your transmitter is working. A suitable
schematic diagram is shown in Figure 1. Although I rarely do
it, I have listed the parts and some sources in Table 1 so that
you really have no excuse for not obtaining them. Please note
that while Mouser Electronics part numbers are provided for
many of the components, these parts are not critical and are
available from many other sources, including Ebay. The
Mouser numbers listed are simply for reference so don’t be
afraid to “shop around.” You can save more than half if you
simply take the time to look, and searching is also a form of
learning. After all, that’s part of homebrewing as well.
A possible sketch of a finished unit is shown in Figure 2
and, for the genuine novice, I have even produced a pictor-
ial wiring diagram in Figure 3. If you’re new to this, compare
the pictorial in Figure 3 to the schematic in Figure 1 to start
learning how to read and understand a schematic diagram.
When all is complete, place the finished unit near your trans-
mitting antenna. Key the transmitter (in the CW mode), adjust
the pot and antenna length for a mid-scale reading and you
have it. Simple to build, sure, but you have built it with your own
hands and should get some degree of satisfaction from seeing
it actually work. Note that this circuit is based on the old Heathkit
field strength meter of the 1960s but should still work today
from 160 meters to 2 meters and maybe even beyond.
Maybe this will spur you to more interesting projects in the
future but nevertheless, I want to wish you all a very Happy
New Year and the hope that all of your dreams and wishes
come true. – 73, Irwin, WA2NDM
Visit Our Web Site

South Pacific Stations on the Move
~ Wantok Radio Light in Papua New
Guinea has changed its location. The
station has moved from Port Moresby
to Mt. Hagen in the Western Highland
province. The reason is said to be ongo-
ing vandalism at the former site, as well
as technical problems that were caus-
ing intermittent interruptions to its ser-
vice. Wantok Radio uses 7325 kHz, and
can occasionally be heard in early
mornings in the U.S. It’s kind of an odd
business, as the station is already
shown in the “2020 World Radio TV
Handbook” (WRTH) as being in Mt.
Hagen.
~ Radio Guinea (RTG), Conakry,
9650 kHz is off the air (hopefully it’s just
a temporary thing). Later ... I guess it
was just temporary since RTG now
reported to be back on the air after an
absence of several months.
~ Last reported last month, Hope
Radio, the successor to World Harvest
Radio, is now on the air via Palau on
9965 and 15680 kHz, both in English
running 100 kilowatts from 0800-0900
UTC. Operations on the 9930-kHz fre-
quency will begin shortly.
~ There is some rather confusing word
about proposed new shortwave stations
in Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia, and
even in Peru that would be designed to
serve locals with Christian programming.
Fuerzo de Paz and ethnicradio.org are
working together on those projects in all
four countries.
~ Brazil’s Radio Inconfidencia has
reconstituted itself on 15190 kHz
(again!). The rebirth was noted in Spain
at the 1000 UTC hour, there was even
an English station ID at 1029 UTC.
~ All India Radio’s entertainment
channel, Vividh Bharati, (9830 kHz via
Aligarh) has been taken off the air.
Competition from Sri Lanka’s SLBC is
blamed.
~ It seems more and more likely that
Lao National Radio (6130 kHz) is off the
air. Perhaps for good?
*c/o CQ magazine
www.cq-amateur-radio.com
THE LISTENING POST
BY GERRY DEXTER
Due to vandalism incidents, Wantok Radio Light in Papua New Guinea has moved
from the capital in Port Moresby to Mt. Hagen in Western Highland province.
~ World Harvest Radio is about to dis-
appear on shortwave completely. Allan
Weiner (WBCQ) has taken over the
three transmitters (2-500 kilowatts, 1-
100 kilowatts) in South Carolina. I’m
unsure about the status of World
Harvest’s broadcast and TV outlets in
South Bend, Indiana. (BTW, WBCQ is
looking for a fulltime engineer. –GLD)
Listener Logs
Remember, your shortwave broadcast
station logs are always welcome. But
please ensure to double or triple space
between the logs, list each according to
the station’s home country and include
your last name and state abbreviation
after each. Also needed are copies of
QSLs, station schedules, brochures,
pennants, station and / or shack photos
and anything else you think would be of
interest. The same holds for amateur
radio operators who also listen to short-
wave broadcasts ... I know you’re out
there! You, too, are also most welcome
to contribute. C’mon, I don’t bite!
Here are this month’s logs. All times
are in UTC. If no language is mentioned
then English is assumed.
ALASKA—KNLS from Anchor Point on
7355 at 1224 with a preacher, closing
announcements and contact info, also on
9795 and 9580 at 1043 with a preacher.
(Sellers, BC)
ALGERIA—Radio Algerienne on 6050
via France at 0400 opening with French,
English, and Arabic station IDs, then into
news in Arabic with a little QRM from
HCJB underneath. (D’Angelo, PA) On
6125 with news in French, on 7295 with
a man speaking Arabic, followed by
Qur’an at 0516. (Figliozzi, NY) On 9655
at 2035-2059* with man speaking in
Arabic. (D’Angelo, PA, Barton, AZ)
ASCENCION—BBC-North Atlantic
Relay from English Bay on 11810 at 2017
on why governments must protect citizens
during demonstrations. (Brossell, WI) On
12095 at 2133 on music history. (Sellers,
BC) On 17830 at 1600 with man covering
a “football” match. The usual raucous
crowd noise was absent. (Barton, AZ)
AUSTRALIA—Reach Beyond on
11750 from Kununurra at 1254 with a
preacher. (Sellers, BC) At 1358 in Tamil
with multiple contact info and also
announcing a new Tamil service on
11815; at 1400 with apparent station ID
and into a Southeast Asian music bridge.
(Taylor, WI) On 11750 at 1224 in Hindi;
on 11875 at 1226 in Nagala. (Brossell, WI)
AUSTRIA—Radio Austria International
from Moosbrunn on 6155 at 0459-0527
open in German followed by man with
news features. (D’Angelo, PA) At 0509 in
German with news. (Figliozzi, NY) At
1739 with man preaching in Masai, into
Arabic by 1800. (Sellers, BC)
BOLIVIA—Radio Mosoj Chaski from
Cochabamba on 3310 in Quechua at
2349 with man and woman with long talks.
(Taylor, WI)
BOTSWANA—VOA Relay from Mopeng
Hill on 4930 at 0300 with IS, station ID and
sign on; on 5925 at 0307 with lengthy news
about African countries; on 6080, //5925 in
African-accented English. (Sellers, BC)
On 11900 at *2059-2029*, vocals, man
speaking in French, this is Saturday and
Sunday only. (D’Angelo, PA)
BRAZIL—(all in Portuguese –GLD)
Voz Missonaria from Camboriu on
5939.5 at 2356 with male preacher, also
on 9665. (Figliozzi, NY) On 9964.8 with
pop music at 2210. (Figliozzi, NY)
January 2021 • CQ • 57
 Radio Nacional Amazonia from Brasilia
on 6180 at 2246 with man and woman
talking, also on 11780. (Sellers, BC)
Radio Nova de Julho from Sao Paulo on
9820 at 2210 bothered by a het from CNR-
2, at 2301 with lush instrumental music
and man giving a station ID. (Taylor, WI)
Observatorio Nacional (time station)
from Rio de Janeiro on 10000 and WWV
with the latter on top at 2305. (Taylor, LFP)
Radio Brazil Central from Goiania on
11815 at 0010 with Brazilian pop, some
sounded like U.S. bubble gum genre.
(Taylor, LFP)
Radio Inconfidencia from Belo Hori-
zonte on 15190 at 2135. (Figliozzi, NY) At
2254 with man and woman with announce-
ments and musical bridges. (Sellers, BC)
CANADA—Bible Voice on 11540 via
Tajikistan at 1409 in Korean with bass-
voiced man preaching. (Taylor, WI) On
11790 via Nauen at 1745 in Amharic, but
gone at 1800 recheck. (Sellers, BC)
CHINA—China Radio International on
5910 from Beijing at 1139 in Tagalog with
traditional vocals, off suddenly at 1157.
(Barton, AZ) On 7220 from X’ian at 2321
with female announcer and long talk in
Vietnamese; On 11640 from the Mali
Relay at 2215-2130* in English on the
Coronavirus and its spread. (D’Angelo,
PA) At 2005. (Sellers, BC) On 7435 from
Jinhua with news at 1702. (Sellers, BC)
On 9470 from X’ian at 0010 with news in
Mongolian. (Figliozzi, NY) On 11895 from
Kashi at 1514 in Cantonese; on 11935
from Shijiazhuang in Russian at 1223; on
13630 at 2025 on the number of Covid
deaths there. (Brossell, WI)
CNR-1 on 4800 from Ge’ermu at 2330
with man and woman speaking in
Mandarin. (Taylor, WI) On 9675 from
Jinhua at 1510 on current events, U.S.-
China relations. (Barton, AZ) On 9500
from Shijiazhuang at 2306 with man and
woman and news in Chinese. (Figliozzi,
NY) On 9120 with both CNR and Sound
of Hope in Mandarin at 2250; On 9900
from Dongfang at 2215 with man and
woman speaking in Mandarin. (Taylor,
LFP)
CNR-2 on 9820 from Xianyang with man
and woman speaking in Chinese at 2308.
(Figliozzi, NY)
CNR-8, from 11810 from Beijing with
mellow music. Good when we quit at
0030. (Taylor, LFP)
PBS Xizang on 7255 from Lhasa at 1209
in Tibetan; also on 6200 with a man and
woman alternatively talking. (Taylor, WI)
Voice of Jinling on 6200 from Jinling at
1238 with light jazz and muzaky instru-
mental music. (Taylor, WI)
China Hyuai BC on 6185 from Jinhua at
1130 in Mandarin. (Taylor, WI)
CNR-1 jammer on 6970 against Sound
of Hope at 2321 with woman speaking in
Mandarin and music bridges. (Taylor, WI)
Firedragon jammer on 9720 at 1924 with
58 • CQ • January 2021
usual music loop against Voice of America
in Mandarin. (Taylor, WI)
COLOMBIA—(Unidentified Station) on
4940 at 0023 with Latin pops, some con-
temporary Christian music, and Spanish
talk. (Taylor, LFP)
CZECH REPUBLIC—Radio Prague on
9455 on a temporary frequency replacing
9355, which was under repair, at 2340.
(Figliozzi, NY) On 15770 via Okeechobee
at 2002 with Czech news, especially on
Covid. (Sellers, BC) At 2015 with news
and interviews. (Barton, AZ)
ECUADOR—HCJB on 6050 from
Pichincha at 0047 with in the Waoroni lan-
guage, station ID, and into Spanish.
(D’Angelo, PA)
ENGLAND—BBC on 5930 via Austria
at 0055 with a female announcer speak-
ing in Dari. (Taylor, WI) On 7265 via Mada-
gascar with sports; on 7345 via Vatican at
0520; on 7445 at 1655 with European foot-
ball news. (Sellers, BC) Sked at *1600-
2000* (Figliozzi, NY) On 11825 via
Philippines with world news and station ID
at 2304. (Sellers, BC)
ESWANTI—Trans World Radio on
9500 from Manzini at 1638 in Kambaata,
HOA music, man talking and a woman giv-
ing the station ID; on 9940 at 1929 with a
man talking in Lingala. (Taylor, WI) At
1805 with preachers. (Sellers, BC) At
1932-2005* with group singing, then a
long religious talk. (D’Angelo, PA)
GERMANY—Deutsche Welle on 15195
via France with Saturday soccer com-
mentary at 1520; on 15350 with the same
at 1525. (Figliozzi, NY)
GREECE—Voice of Greece on 9420
from Avlis at 0430 with lots of Greek music
and Greek station IDs. (Barton, AZ)
Here’s the transmitter building of Radio Television Guinea near Conakry, which
has been off recently but now is said to be back.
GUAM—KSDA on 9910 at 1243 going
from Assamese to Kok Borok, woman giv-
ing contact information, IS and announce-
ments. (Sellers, BC) On 11955 at 2217.
(Sellers, BC) At 2223 in Indonesian with
man and woman talking and ballads.
(Taylor, LFP) On 12040 from Agat in
Sunda at 2210. (Taylor, LFP)
GUATEMALA—Radio Verdad from
Chiquimula on 4055 at 1130 with religious
talk in Spanish. (Barton, AZ) At 1213 with
a hymn, then a preacher speaking in
English. (Sellers, BC)
IRAN—VOIRI on 7230 from Sirjan at
2146 with man speaking in Spanish; on
15360 possibly from Zahedan at 1403 in
Arabic, man with slow talk, (Taylor, LFP)
INDIA—All India Radio on 7380 from
Chennai at 0140 with vocals, drums, and
flutes. (Barton. AZ) On 11560 from
Bengaluru at 1443. (D’Angelo, PA) At
1506 in Pashto. (Figliozzi, NY) On 9580
G.O.S. via Bengaluru at 1326 in Tibetan
with Western style vocal, announcements
by man before going off at 1330. (Taylor,
WI) At 1407 with subcontinental vocals in
Dari to Afghanistan, then transitioning to
Pashto. (Figliozzi, NY)
TWR-India on 11570 via Armenia at
1433 in Mauthili with Southeast Asian
music, into man preaching; on 11580 via
Guam at 1245 in Mayalam with man then
woman talking; on 12160 via Tajikistan at
1351 in Marwari then into Sindhi. (Taylor,
WI)
FEBA Radio-India from 11580 via Guam
at 1245 in Mayalam with man then woman
talking then South Asian music. (Taylor,
WI)
JAPAN—Radio Japan on 5975 via
Austria at 0452 with interview and profile
Visit Our Web Site

The new Venezuelan shortwave broadcaster ROCV. All of
us are unsure whether it’s a legitimate station or a pirate.
of author Mitch Albom; at 0519 with “Friends Around the World”
program. (Figliozzi, NY) On 6090 at 1200 in Chinese, NHK time
pips, station ID, then into Korean. (Barton, AZ) At 1113 in Korean.
(Sellers, BC) On 6155 via Austria at 0435; on 7445 via France
at 0436, both with English news. (Figliozzi, NY) On 11815 from
Yamata at 1231 two men speaking in Japanese. (Brossell, WI)
Radio Nikkei One on 6055 from Nagara at 1111 in Japanese
www.cq-amateur-radio.com
with p-b-p; also on 3925, but reception was poor. (Sellers, BC)
KUWAIT—Radio Kuwait on 11630 from Sulaibiah in Arabic at
1436 with woman hosting program with Middle Eastern music.
(Taylor, WI) On 15540 with Qur’an at 1606, followed by Arabic
talk. (Brossell, WI)
MEXICO—Radio Educacion from Mexico D.F. at 0514 with
piano jazz. (Figliozzi, NY)) Greek folk music and female
announcer in Spanish at 0910. (Barton, AZ)
MADAGSCAR—World Christian Broadcasting from Maha-
janga at 2102 giving <www.knls.org> web address and woman
speaking in Chinese. (Sellers, BC)
African Pathways Radio on 11965 at 2000 on suddenly with
trumpets, welcome, station ID, identifying hosts, into a John
Denver song. (Sellers, BC) 2015 with a religious story. (Brossell,
WI) 2048 on people who bring hope to Africa. (Sellers, BC)13670
from Majahanga at 1845 with English religion program, later
reopened with Middle Eastern music. (Barton, AZ)
MALI—RTV du Mali on 5995 at 2250 with African pop music,
man speaking in French. (Figliozzi, NY) At 0721 in Bambara end-
ing Afropop with male and female announcers. (Taylor, WI)
NEW ZEALAND—Radio New Zealand International on 5945
from Rangataiki at 1047 with news in Tok Pisin. (Sellers, BC)
On 13840 at 2110 with their Pacific service. (Barton, AZ) At 2210
into an ABC (Australia) program in Tok Pisin. (Sellers, BC)
NICARAGUA—El Buen Pastor (The Good Fisherman) on
8989 (pirate) at 2156 with man speaking in Spanish with a mes-
sage to fishermen. (Taylor, LFP) At 2308 with a Spanish preach-
er. (Sellers, BC)
NIGERIA—Voice of Nigeria on 11770 from Abuja at 1748 with
man and woman speaking in English but reception was weak.
(Sellers, BC) At 1751 with man speaking in English, then instru-
mental music to news at 1800. (D’Angelo, PA) At 2000 opening
in Hausa with station ID and presumed news. (Sellers, BC) At
2024. (Brossell, WI)
January 2021 • CQ • 59

Radio Free Asia issued this QSL marking 2020 as the Year
of the Rat. Well named, considering all that’s happened to
us lately.
Here’s a look at Borderhunter Radio, a pirate recently active
but quiet of late.
NORTH KOREA—Voice of Korea on 9435 from Kujang at
1323 in English only a few words copyable on 11710 at 1415
but barely audible, also on 9435. (Figliozzi, NY) On 9535 at 1301
with NA, woman with sign on; on 9875 from Kujang at 1925 with
a song, station ID; also on 11635, 12015 from Kujang at 2038
in Korean with choir and female announcer. (Sellers, BC) On
13650 at 2125 with a report on the Workers Party; on 15245.
(Sellers, BC) On 15180 at 1238 in Korean with martial music.
(Brossell, WI)
KCBS— On 3250 at 1220 with male vocals; on 3290 at 1040 in
Korean with patriotic music. (Barton, AZ) On 11860 from Kanggye
at 2224 in Korean with the usual patriotic stuff. (Sellers, BC)
OPPOSITION—Radio Ndarason International (via England to
Chad) on 9635 at 1810 with pop music and talks in Kanuri.
(Sellers, BC)
Sound of Hope (Taiwan to China) on 6370.1 at 1144 in
Mandarin, CNR-1 jammer underneath. (Sellers, BC) On 11600
at 1232 in Mandarin. (Brossell, WI)
Dimtse Radio Erena (via Bulgaria to Eritrea) possibly at 1722
in Tigrinya seeming news, then music. (Sellers, BC)
Iran International TV (via Armenia to Iran) on 11550.1 at 1405
in Farsi, man and woman talking over street sounds. (Taylor,
WI)
Echo of Hope (South Korea to North) on 4890 at 1122 in Korean
with woman speaking at length; on 9105 at 1259, station ID, into
a second man. (Taylor, WI)
60 • CQ • January 2021
Radio Free North Korea (via Tajikistan to North Korea), 11510
at 1407 in Korean with man and woman in long sections. (Taylor,
WI)
Nippon No Kaze (via Taiwan to North Korea) on 7335 at 1530;
also on 9470 with woman speaking in Korean. (Barton, AZ) On
9940 at 1325 in Korean. (Brossell, WI)
Fursato No Kaze (via Taiwan to North Korea) on 9470//7335
at 1600 with woman speaking in Japanese. (Barton, AZ)
Voice of the Martyrs (via Uzbekistan to North Korea) on 7530
at 1520 with man speaking in unconfirmed Korean. (Sellers, BC)
Radio Dabanga (via Vatican to Sudan) on 15550 with two men
in an Arabic debate at 1610. (Brossell, WI)
Eye Radio (via France to South Sudan) on 7340 at *0400-0427
with man with open, news in Arabic, time pips at 0415. (D’Angelo,
PA)
“Republic of Yemen Radio” (Saudi Arabia to Yemen), 11860
at 2214 with Arabic songs. (Sellers, BC)
PERU—Radio Tarma from Tarma on 4775 at 1051 with nab
giving a sermon in Spanish. (Taylor, WI)
Red Patria Nueva from Chaski on 6055 at 0023 in Spanish
with man and woman talking, music bridge. (Taylor, WI)
PHILIPPINES—Far East Broadcasting on 9275 from Iba at
0955 with man speaking in Chinese and 1318 with woman
speaking in Chinese. (Barton, AZ) At 1345 with woman talking
and a hymn. (Figliozzi, NY).
Radio Veritas Asia on 9700 via Vatican at 0000 with IS, sta-
tion ID, and into a host speaking Kachin. (Brossell, WI)
PIRATES—Radio Nova International on 6885 at 2328 with
light instrumental music, frequent station IDs, Email <radiono-
vasw@gmail.com>; one source says this was not the Radio
Nova recently active. Damn Skippy on 6955 at 0025 with hard
rock, some contemporary dance things, many SSTVs.
Wolverine Radio on 6945 at 0010 with mellow big band blues,
station ID, SSTV. The Enclave on 6930usb (u) at 0000 with hard
rock, periodic station IDs. Pee Wee (per Free Radio Network)
at 2337 with mostly hard rock, though never heard an ID or got
an SSTV which others did. WOWL at 0004, IDing as Owl Radio,
off soon after; sounded a little like Zeeky. WTF Worldwide on
6950u at 2351 with jazz / rock, old film clips, OTR radio intros.
Riot Radio on 6935u at 0026 with rock, but barely audible.
Captain Morgan Shortwave on 6950.5 at 2152 with contempo-
rary dance things, Twilight Zone theme. Outhouse Radio (?) on
6960lsb (l) at 0235 with rock; all somewhat spooky since the sta-
tion op is deceased. Canadian Radio After Dark on 6960(l) at
0002 with station ID, email, with bouncy, fun songs, segued
songs by Canadian artists. Mix Radio International on 6882u at
2323 with contemporary mellow music. Ghost of Outhouse
Radio on 6925u at 2324 with screams, evil laughter, howls,
SSTVs. (Taylor, LFP)
Zekee’s Attic on 4074(l) at 2258 and Zekee’s Halloween
Show, 4083u at 2315 on 10/16 and 17 both with weak signals.
Yeah Man Radio on 6952 at 2315 weak with pops. Damn
Skippy, 6923 at 2347 but could barely hear the audio. Wolverine
Radio on 6945u at 0048 also weak, which is unusual for this
station. WTF Worldwide on 6950(l) at 2234 weak underneath
noise. WOWL Radio on 6935u with a song, station ID at 0021,
blues improving to fair. Ball Smacker Radio on 6960u at 0119
with rap to close at 0244. Doctor Detroit on 5195 at 2314, but
weak with bits of music and audio. Radio Illuminati on 4190 at
2335 but weak and barely heard. Mix Radio International on
6882u at 2252 with a spooky tune, heavy metal. Sherlock Radio
on 6945u at 2255 with muffled in some kind of scary story.
Chainsaw Radio on 6925u at 2334 with SSTV/FAX. Canadian
Radio After Dark on 6960u very weak at 0012. X-FM on 4185
at 0132. (Hassig, IL)
ROMANIA—Radio Romania International on 7310 from
Galbeni at 2208 with news; also on 7325 from Tiganesti ending
with station ID and sports report. (Sellers, BC) On 11900 Galbeni
at 1549-1556* man speaking in Arabic, closedown announce-
Visit Our Web Site
ments, and IS. (D’Angelo, PA) On 7420 from Galbeni in
Romanian at 0000-0155, the host plays lots of local pop. Has
an hour of classical music on weekends. (Figliozzi, NY) 11975
at 1900 with news and woman speaking in rapid Romanian.
(Barton, AZ) On 13660 from Tiganesti at 1552 in Arabic.
(Brossell, WI)
SAO TOME—VOA Relay from Pinheira on 5995 at 2135 with
man and woman speaking in Bambara, bothered by co-chan-
nel Mali. (Figliozzi, NY) On 6180 at 0514 with piano jazz; on
6195 at 2146, also on 11720 from Greenville. (Sellers, BC) On
11900 in French at 2011 with apparent news. (Sellers, BC &
Figliozzi, NY)
SAUDI ARABIA—BSKSA / Radio Riyadh on 9870 at 2221
with Arabic pops; also on 11820 at 2213 with recitations, off at
2203 recheck. (Sellers, BC) On 11915 with Qur’an at 2152 with
recitations, all in Arabic. (D’Angelo, PA)
Al Azm Radio on 11745 from Jeddah (for Saudi Armed Forces)
at 2211 with Islamic recitations. (Sellers, BC)
SINGAPORE—BBC-Far East Relay on 9410 from Kranji at
1102 with man and woman reading the news. (Sellers, BC)
15145 at 1241 with info on how to protect oneself from Covid-
19. (Brossell, WI)
SOLOMON ISLANDS—SIBC from Honiara on 5020 at 1117
with program of older U.S. pop music, male announcer.
(Taylor, WI)
SOUTH KOREA—KBS World Radio on 9785 at 1530 with cur-
rent events, then pop music program with female presenter.
(Barton, AZ) On 15575 on Covid-19 at 1332. (Brossell, WI)
SPAIN—Radio Exterior de Espana on 11670 from Nobeljas
at 2200 sign on and into news; on 11670 from Nobeljas at 2100
with station ID and announcements. (Sellers, BC) On 11940
with woman speaking in Spanish, weak with music at 2215.
(Barton, AZ)
SWEDEN—IBRA Radio / Radio Sama on 15510 from
Woofferton at 1756 in Arabic with vocals, man talking.
(D’Angelo, PA) At 1855 with talks in Arabic. (Brossell, WI)
TAIWAN—Radio Taiwan International, on 6185 from
Paochung at 1635 with a panel discussion. (Sellers, BC) On
9900 at 2247 against CRI-1. (Figliozzi, NY)
THAILAND—Radio Thailand on 9390 at 1314 with man talk-
ing about Covid-19 and its effect on a music festival, station ID
at 1315; on 9920 at 2030 with chimes, sign on, and into news.
(Sellers, BC)
TURKEY—Voice of Turkey on 9830 from Emirler at 2204 with
news and into “The Turkish Press.” (Sellers, BC) On 11815 in
Turkish to Europe. (Figliozzi, NY)
UNITED STATES—Voice of America on 9320 via Philippines
at 1342 in Korean; on 7525 via the Philippine Relay at 1659
ending English at 1701. (Sellers, BC) On at 11720 from
Greenville at 2145 with country music. (Figliozzi, NY & Sellers,
BC) On 9740 via Woofferton at 2114-2129* in French with learn-
ing English feature; 15120 from Greenville at 2148-2201* in
Bambara, English station ID at close; On 11720 from Greenville
at 2145 with woman hosting country music program, closed at
2000. (D’Angelo, PA) On 12080 from the Philippine Relay at
1226; On 15165 via the Thailand Relay at 1325 in Mandarin.
(Brossell, WI)
Deewa Radio on 12035 via the Thailand Relay at 1600 in
Pashto and with seeming news. (Barton, AZ)
Radio Free Asia on 9370 possibly via Tajikistan at 1304 with
Burmese music and man speaking in Burmese. (Taylor, WI) On
13580 via Tajikistan at 1210 in Tibetan, with Chinese jamming.
(Brossell, WI)
Radio Marti on 6030 from Greenville seems not to close at
0400 as was noted at 0504. (Figliozzi, NY)
Adventist World Radio on 11680 via Madagascar at 1938 with
a man talking in Arabic and Middle Eastern music. (Taylor, WI)
At 1956 in Arabic, off at 1959, leaving KCBS. (Sellers, BC) On
11955 via Guam opening in Indonesian at 2200. (Barton, AZ)
www.cq-amateur-radio.com
On 11870 via Germany; on 9400 at 1743; at 1985 via
Madagascar at 2122 in Nigerian Pidgin, contact info at 2127
and off at 2129. (Sellers BC) On 15360 via Armenia at 1329 in
Maghai; On 15670 via Germany at 0514 in Tibetan with piano
jazz. (Figliozzi, NY) On 11800 from Nauen, Germany in Arabic
at 1920. (Brossell, WI)
WRMI on 5010 at 1202 with preacher and Friday program
“Yeshua Messiah Ministries.” (Sellers, BC)
Overcomer Ministry on 9400 at 1714 with the usual stuff. Not
shown in either the Eibi or Aoki lists. (Sellers, BC) At 1600 via
the Bulgarian Relay at 1619 with Brother Stair complaining
about a usurper that was nearly taking over. (Brossell, WI)
WRNO on 7505 at 0016 with non-stop religious programs,
later in Spanish. (D’Angelo, PA) At 0255 ending Billy Graham
segment and station ID with frequency and contact info.
(Sellers, BC)
VATICAN—Radio Vaticana on 9705 at 2003 with church
news, quotes from the Pope. (Sellers, BC) On 11935 via
Madagascar at 1632 with Bible reading. (Sellers, BC) On 15565
at 1600 in Swahili. (Barton, AZ) On 15595 at 1547 with talks in
Arabic. (Brossell, WI)
VENEZUELA—Radio Onda Corta Venezuela (ROCV) from
El Tigre on 6906.1u at 2316 in Spanish relaying 93.7 FM El
Tigre with station IDs at 2325 and 2331, still going at 0030.
(Taylor, LFP)
VIETNAM—Voice of Vietnam on 6839.8 at 1334 in English
with man and woman reading the news. (Taylor, WI) On 9839
from Sontoy at 2313 in Indonesian, into English at 2330.
(Figliozzi, NY)
ZANZIBAR—ZBC Radio on 11735 from Dole at 1832 with
music and Swahili. Not heard on recheck at 1936. (Sellers, BC)
Quien Sabe (Who Knows)
~ A Brazilian DXer notes a puzzle on 4765 kHz at about 2345-
0000+ UTC with a man speaking in Spanish, Andean music
(maybe Peruvian / Bolivian), time checks for UTC +5 hours.
Maybe with religious content. Later info indicates it’s La Voz
de Concencia in a move from 6010 kHz. Odd that it’s taken
so much time to ID it. (BTW, Cuba’s Radio Progresso on 4765
kHz doesn’t open until 0030 UTC. (Sellers, BC) Another
unidentified station on 15600 kHz at 1451 UTC, very strong
in Kurdish, maybe Voice of America? (Figliozzi, NY).
QSL Quests
I already have an email address for RadIo Onda Corta Vene-
zuela, a new Venezuelan station, it’s <rocv6906@gmail.com>.
As Time Goes By
VL8A, ABC Northern Territory in Alice Springs (Australia), on
2310 kHz at 1107 UTC with their domestic service on January
13, 1987.
Just Sayin’
“Shortwave? Aw, there’s nothing on the guy says.” I refer him
to this month’s logs. Quite a selection, don’t you think? Maybe
not quite the same as it was in the (really) old days, but, as
you can see, there’s still lots going on. Why not join us and
get in on the action?
Thank You Thank You Thank You
Goes to Mark Taylor, Madison, WI and Lake Farm Park near
Madison; John Figliozzi, Half Moon, NY; Harold Sellers,
Vernon, BC; William Hassig, Mt. Pleasant, IL; Richard
D’Angelo, Wyomissing, PA; Rick Barton, El Mirage, AZ; and
Bob Brossell, Pewaukee, WI.
January 2021 • CQ • 61
 EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS
BY STAN BROADWAY,* N8BHL
How to Avoid the Torture of Digital Net Check-Ins
Figure 1. Buckeye Net macros for fldigi help stations coordinate moving traffic.
A
mateur digital mode nets offer fast, accurate mes-
sage transmission. But checking into the net, not to
mention net discussion, can be arduously long. Can
we fix that?
In Toledo, Ohio, Steve Judd, WB8YLO, looked at the 2017
“Black Swan” SET (Simulated Emergency Test) exercise.
“They published an EXPLAN (exercise plan – ed.) to include
what our participation would be. I came to the realization that
the only thing we could do was send radiograms by CW.”
Steve is the net manager of the “Buckeye Net,” the official
National Traffic System (NTS) CW traffic arm for the ARRL
Ohio section. “With that limitation, we couldn’t really partici-
pate. So I started thinking about what Buckeye Net is sup-
posed to do.”
Steve dug up old operating manuals and all the handbooks
he could find to see what a section net was supposed to do.
The answer: Provide medium and long-haul communications
to ARES, the Amateur Radio Emergency Service. The ARES
mission has changed over the years to become partners with
different agencies — most of which have their own forms.
Steve continued to research the best mode to accomplish this.
The first possibility was a digital net. Many digital-only nets
take a long time for members to check in. It can be torture
with long pauses, doubling, computer glitches, and inexpe-
rienced operators. “The check-ins take a lot of time and inhib-
it actually doing something,” Steve continued. “Why? It’s not
the best mode for that job. CW and voice have very short
turnaround times.” But there are problems: “When something
goes wrong in digital modes, it’s hard to straighten things out
in a short period of time.”
“Voice is the best mode,” Steve explained. “You talk, you
listen. It’s a lot faster to explain things, ask questions. The
turnaround time with voice is much faster. So the best way
to control a net is by voice. With many nets, today’s tough
conditions are better handled with voice.”
Judd then questioned, “How do we best send messages?”
The answer to that is digital. “In one instance, voice was a
problem so we resorted to CW. But with an IS-213 (the mes-
sage form used by the Incident Command System – ed.)
there are special parts to the information — Upper and lower
case, punctuation, all things we don’t use in voice or CW traf-
fic nets. With digital, you get a perfect copy or you know your
copy is flawed. So, when a message needs to be accurate,
digital can do the job.”
* <n8bhl@cq-amateur-radio.com>
62 • CQ • January 2021
If we could send digital modes in the voice bands, life would
be easy. Of course, on VHF and above as well as 160 meters
it is permissible. But the most common HF NVIS (Near-ver-
tical incidence skywave) choices, including 80-meter digital
activity, are relegated to the lower portion of each band.
Judd and Ohio ASEC and Black Swan author Matt Curtin,
KD8TTE, went to work on that. They worked for months, test-
ing fldigi, flwrap, and flamp. They discussed questions, con-
ducted business and when it was time to send traffic, moved
to the digital portion of the band. They adopted a “three tries”
methodology, where if they couldn’t transfer the message in
three tries they would move back to voice.
This “dual-mode” structure evolved into a series of sophis-
ticated macro buttons for accurate frequency selection in fldi-
gi (see Figure 1). All stations need to know where exactly
their operating frequency is located. You are actually trans-
mitting on a frequency different from the dial readout on most
radios. The development of macros to counter this problem
was interesting to Judd. First came control macros: “Ready
to send,” “Copy OK,” “Resend.” Then came specific fre-
quency macros — so that each station would be at the right
spot. Then he put together frequency choices which allow
for multiple messaging where net control can send different
pairs of stations to the different digital frequencies in order
to move multiple pieces of traffic simultaneously.
This “split net” structure has a number of big advantages:
• Net control, questions, advice, and listing traffic all take
place in the voice mode. Fast, easy, everybody understands.
• When a message needs to be passed, those two stations
move off to a digital frequency using macros and send the
message.
• While that’s happening, more messages can be sent by
other stations who move to different frequencies — allowing
for simultaneous transmission of messages. When stations
are done, they return to the voice net.
Judd also talked about frequency selection and net con-
trol. “One of the things I know from military communication
is that at a minimum, we need primary, secondary, and ter-
tiary frequencies.” A larger number of digital frequencies
were specified in varying macros.
But wait! Moving from 80 digital to 75 voice is a huge
swing — it’ll take me five minutes to re-tune! Yes, that is a
consideration.
Here’s the secret to heartburn-free participation: The A/B
Visit Our Web Site

Figure 2. ShakeOut 2020 intensity map. Source: <https://tinyurl.com/yytvofum>
VFO buttons on your radio. Set the “A”
VFO for the voice frequency, tune the
antenna, set the LSB mode. It all should
be remembered by the radio. Then,
switch to the “B” VFO button, tune to the
digital side of the band with the proper
USB Digital mode and tuning. After that,
one button puts you on the voice net.
Press your A/B button, then the correct
macro button and you’re ready to
receive. The flexibility of today’s rigs
allows for a quick band switch and accu-
rate message handling.
If you have a digital net, consider net
control by voice. Even short radiograms
can still be sent via voice, while longer
messages can be sent digitally at the
same time.
Exercises
Last month we talked about exercises.
This month we can report on two suc-
cessful efforts.
Red Cross Winlink Exercise
On November 14th, the second ARES
/ Red Cross Winlink exercise took place.
Started in April by a group of volunteers
in the Atlanta area, the Winlink mes-
saging effort gained traction locally.
www.cq-amateur-radio.com
When ARRL’s ARES E-Letter men-
tioned it, exercise controllers were
swamped with interest from around the
country. Wayne Robertson, K4WK, and
Mike Walters, W8ZY, fleshed out a sim-
ple exercise in which stations could
send a Red Cross message via Winlink.
In November, with a broader audience
participating, a second exercise was
held to transmit the ARC-213 form to
regional clearinghouses. Robertson
reports that over 1,000 messages were
passed via Winlink. Ham operators in
47 states, Puerto Rico, Canada, and a
half dozen in Venezuela were all count-
ed as participants.
ShakeOut 2020
Oliver Dully, K6OLI, is the North LAX
District Emergency Coordinator in
California. He is very pleased with the
result of the “ShakeOut 2020” earth-
quake exercise. The United States
Geological Survey (USGS) received
175 “Did you feel it?” (DYFI) Winlink
reports over the radio on that exercise
day. Dully reported this was the first
year for the exercise, which saw most
of the reports being received from
southern and central California,
Washington State, and Hawaii (see
Figure 2).
“Amateur radio operators practiced
sending DYFI reports to USGS from sim-
ulated ‘donut holes,’ i.e. areas without
internet access. A variety of techniques
were employed: ARES LAX Northeast,
for example, aggregated DYFI reports
via VHF using a gateway, which then
auto-forwarded the reports on HF to out-
of-area gateways with internet connec-
tions. Ventura ARES / ACS and ARES
LAX High Desert, by contrast, relied on
individual HF stations to send reports
out-of-area. These varying approaches
demonstrate the flexible and creative
responses of operators in the amateur
radio service based on variations of local
conditions,” he reported.
“Did you feel it?” forms are built into
the latest Winlink editions and are there
for anyone to use immediately following
an earthquake in their area. During
ShakeOut, the bulk of DYFI reports
were sent in the first hour after the sim-
ulated event. That met a second objec-
tive for amateur radio operators.
Dully had thanks for the USGS and
several ARES districts for training and
supporting the exercise.
January 2021 • CQ • 63
 KIT BUILDING
BY JOE EISENBERG,* K0NEB
Getting It Up
Kits and Logistics for Installing New Antennas and Accessories
Round outdoor rotor cable connector wires being prepared
for the sleeve.
A
s I introduced in the last issue, the process of upgrad-
ing and improving your station involves a variety of kits.
Very few of these kits are of the traditional printed cir-
cuit board stuffing type. Most antennas come as a kit as well
as parts of the antenna rotator, grounding systems, and
remote coax switches. My Heathkit SB-200 amplifier project
that I wrote about a while ago has been sitting in the shack,
waiting for the improvements to take place that would allow
me to utilize its higher power output.
First off, the new Ham IV rotator needed two different types
of connectors soldered to the cable, one type for the rotator
outdoors, and the other to plug into the controller in the shack.
The outdoor connector is a bit complex, but is designed to
be used outdoors and only connect one way. There are nine
pins, but only eight are used for this connector. I found the
easiest way to handle this connector is to place the outer
shell on the cable first, like most 2-part connectors. I then
carefully removed just enough of the thick outer jacket of the
cable to give me enough room to separate the wires and strip
1/4 inch from the ends of each one and attach the eight metal
pins to each wire and crimp and solder each one.
*7133 Yosemite Drive, Lincoln, NE 68507
email: <k0neb@cq-amateur-radio.com>
64 • CQ • January 2021
Wires in the rotor cable sleeve ready for the outer shell.
The main problem I encountered was the fact that I used
the thickest variety of rotor cable, and so when I crimped
and soldered each pin, there were some pins for which the
back end would not fit into its numbered sleeve, making it
necessary to get rid of a bit of solder and trim it a bit where
the pin attached to the wire. You can feel the wire click into
place when it fits correctly. Once all eight pins are in place
according to the recommended color code, the pin assem-
bly screws into the outer shell that was placed on the cable
at the beginning. I also wrapped some black tape around
the cable to cover some non-jacketed cable and form a seal
when the shell is clamped to the wire for strain relief. Once
on the tower and attached to the rotor, the connectors are
also taped to protect them from the weather. I tested the
rotor by laying it on the ground and plugging it into the cable
and controller to allow testing not only the connectors, but
also the controller and the full length of the new cable. I
concluded my tests by turning the rotor to the north posi-
tion to assist in aiming the beams.
The other side of the 8-conductor cable has an 8-pin Cinch-
Jones-type plug to connect to the controller. Like the other
connector, it is designed to be plugged in only one way to
prevent problems with wrong wires touching the wrong pins.
This plug also has an outer shell that needs to be placed on
the cable before preparing the wires. Like the other connec-
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Eight-pin Cinch-Jones male plug ready for wiring.

The old carbon resistor-based parasitic chokes in the

SB-200.

One of the new parasitic chokes ready to be soldered.

Eight-pin plug wired and ready for outer shell.

tor, I stripped 1/4 inch from the end of each wire and passed
them all through the holes in each pin, following the color
code suggested. Once again it is important to ensure that
there is not any excess solder that might cause two pins to
make contact with each other. The outer shell is slid into posi-
tion, tightened and secured using a small metal pin provid-
ed as well as screws. Like the outdoor connector, I wrapped
some tape around the cable where the strain relief is tight-
ened onto the cable to prevent chafing. During the project,
the rotor cable was passed into the shack and the rest out-
doors to await being unrolled and passed up the tower to join
the new rotator.
The beam assembly pretty much follows the manual, and
I highly recommend using a ratcheting socket set or ratchet- The two new chokes in place in the SB-200. I hope the QRP
ing wrenches. With the weather being chilly, I assembled folks forgive me for this one.

www.cq-amateur-radio.com January 2021 • CQ • 65

HAM RADIO NEWS (from page 3)
New Solar Telescope Serves
Up Sunspot Image in Great
Detail
The National Science Foundation’s new
Daniel K. Inouye Solar Telescope in
Hawaii has released its first image of a
sunspot, with incredible detail (see Photo
A). The ARRL Letter reports that the
image, taken in January 2020, is among
the first photos of a Cycle 25 sunspot.
The world’s largest solar observatory,
the Inouye telescope has a 4-meter pri-
mary mirror that reportedly will give the
best Earthbound views of the sun
throughout Cycle 25. The late Daniel
Inouye was a longtime U.S. Senator from
Hawaii. The telescope is still in its final
stages of construction.

Photo A.

Five Receive Yasme

Excellence Award
Hams in Curacao, Finland, and the United
States are among the latest recipients
of the Yasme Foundation’s Excellence
Award. According to the ARRL Letter, Brett
(PJ2BR) and Helena (PJ2ZZZ) Ruiz were
honored for their many contributions to
amateur radio in Curacao; Jari Perkiömäki,
OH6BG, was cited for his work in support-
ing the online VOACAP software and web-
site for many years; Bob Wilson, N6TV,
was recognized for his varied contributions
to technical support for manufacturer user
groups and the Reverse Beacon Network
(he’s also an excellent photographer);
and Jim Brown, K9YC, was honored for
his work with ferrite materials and their
use in combatting interference.
A relatively new award is the Newsline
International Newsmaker Award, only in its
second year. The 2020 award went to the
Get on the Air 2 Care project, a collabora-
tion between the Radio Society of Great
Britain and the United Kingdom’s National
Health Service to encourage amateurs to
get on the air more frequently in order to
decrease social isolation resulting from
COVID-19-related restrictions on social
gatherings. There is also a follow-on Get
On The Air 4 Christmas project.
NEARES Tower Crew members Shaun Monson, KØSMM; Jim Nelson, WØJRN;
and Jim Reed hoist up the new TH3MK4.
most of the parts inside my garage. I
found it best to assemble the boom first,
then each of the elements, with final
assembly out in the driveway. I used a
couple of closable plastic storage con-
tainers to hold the small parts of the
beam so they did not wander off or get
lost. Be sure to double-check the mea-
surements on the beam elements and
check SWR if you can before installing
it. I had a single rope on a pulley on one
side of the tower with three snap hooks
on it to hang three wire antennas, each
going different directions. That arrange-
ment often got snagged and necessi-
tated climbing up over 30 feet to unstick
it for repairs or replacement. Now, that
rope is using only one hook for one wire
antenna, and there are now four new
pulleys with ropes to hang four more
wire antennas, each on its own rope.
This arrangement makes it a lot easier
to work on wires during the long, nasty
period we call winter in Nebraska. I high-
ly recommend not using cheaper plastic
pulleys often sold for clothesline use. I
use stronger all-metal pulleys found at
most hardware stores. Each pulley is
attached to a sidearm using an eyebolt
and a quick-connect link attached to the
bolt and the pulley.
When assembling and planning a pro-
ject like this, I found it best to get my
coax assemblies either made up and
tested, or I preassembled them so they
were ready to go. The biggest time
wasters a tower crew encounters are
putting on coax connectors and feeding
coax into and out of the shack. In my
instance, I had all of the new grounding

66 • CQ • January 2021 Visit Our Web Site

completed and the remote coax switch installed, so all that
was needed was to strip all of the old feedlines from the tower
and run the new lines from the antennas to the coax switch.
I also bought extra bolts, nuts, and washers just in case one
was dropped.
Quite often, the time and the weather are the biggest limit-
ing factors when dealing with how much availability you might
have with a tower crew. Due to delays in getting some of the
things I needed, the dates kept slipping back, and with fall
weather quickly looking more like winter approaching, the
number of weekend days with good weather were gone. My
crew came after work, and we only had a couple of hours avail-
able on two successive days. The weather turned out to be
spectacular for a November in Nebraska. With highs in the
upper 70s and lower 80s breaking all-time records, it made for
pleasant afternoons. A normal November here is in the mid-
50s and windy. The “normal” November weather came only a
day later with wind gusts oner 40 MPH to 50 MPH, giving the
installation a good test, followed by freezing rain.
Finally, I was reminded by my fellow hams that I needed to
replace the parasitic chokes on each of the two output tubes
in the SB-200 amplifier. The original ones were made with 2-
watt carbon resistors that absorb moisture over the years and
can deteriorate. If a VHF harmonic oscillation takes place and
is not taken care of by the resistor, the tubes can be dam-
aged. It was easy to wind new chokes by measuring the diam-
eter of the original chokes and winding them around a drill
bit, then wrapping the resistor leads around the choke wire
and soldering them. Be sure to use a soldering iron with plen-
ty of heat when working with these connections. With all three
of the Harbach kits I had previously installed in the amplifier,
Once the tower crew had finished, it was my turn over the next several days to hang and tune the wire antennas.
www.cq-amateur-radio.com
it was ready to go with a new power supply board, relay con-
trol board, and inrush protection. I found the best type of resis-
tors for this purpose at DigiKey with a part number of
OY470KE (47 ohm, 2 watts).
Getting 20-over-9 signal reports both using the beam and
the wire antennas really made the antenna and feedline pro-
ject worthwhile. The much lower loss of the new feedlines
makes for a great QRP setup as well.
The new HF beam antenna installed is a HyGain TH3MK4
from MFJ which is available from many ham radio dealers
and is featured along with the Ham IV rotator at <www.mfjen-
terprises.com>. The wire antennas include a pair of W8AMZ-
designed top-fed loaded half-wave slopers for 160 and 80
meters. The W8AMZ sloper antennas are available from
<www.amateurradiosupplies.com>. The 40-meter and 17-
meter double bazookas come from Radiowavz at <www.
radiowavz.com>, as does the 12-meter dipole. I purchased
the new LMR-400 feedlines as well as some coax jumpers
from ABR Industries at <https://abrind.com>. The ropes and
the rotor cable and some wire came from The Wireman at
<https://thewireman.com>. Check your favorite radio dealers
for these items. The local hardware stores were the source
for the new ground wire and ground rods as well as ground
clamps, pulleys, nuts, bolts, and other items.
My tower crew is part of the NEARES team of the Lincoln
Amateur Radio Club. I want to thank Ed Holloway, KØRPT,
our Nebraska SEC; along with Shaun Monson, KØSMM; Jim
Nelson, WØJRN; and Jim Reed for all their hard work up on
the roof and the tower. If you hear me on the air, be sure to
say hi!
– Until next time, 73 de KØNEB
January 2021 • CQ • 67
 DIGITAL CONNECTION
BY DON ROTOLO,* N2IRZ
Back to Basics
PSK-31 and DigiPan
H
appy New Year and good riddance to 2020. I hope
2021 is a lot more normal. Not everything in 2020 was
bad, but far more than usual.
If you have never worked a digital mode on HF, this month’s
column is for you. The digital age is well upon us, but per-
haps you’re one of those who hasn’t taken the plunge yet.
It’s been a few years since we’ve taken a look at setting up
a digital station from scratch, so we’ll revisit that this month.
Most of the HF digital activity today consists of brief
exchanges of text using the FT8 mode, but there is still rea-
sonable activity using PSK-31, which is better-suited to
ragchews than the very slow and rigid FT8 mode. In addi-
tion, there are literally hundreds of other HF digital modes:
Perhaps you’ve heard of RTTY or JT65?
I like using PSK-31 with beginners, as it is narrowband (31
Hz), works well with weak signals and noise, and it’s easy to
find activity. On VHF, AX.25 packet is still popular, but many
other modes (including digital voice) compete for attention
there. Since I have covered packet and TARPN networking
several times lately, this month I’ll focus on HF digital and
PSK-31, since if you get that running, almost all of the other
digital modes (including VHF) use essentially the same
setup. I find PSK-31 to be a lot more interesting to operate
than FT8, but your experience may vary.
Easy Setup
The supposed drudgery of setting up your station for digital
is no excuse. What’s the word for easier than easy? Trivial,
Figure 1. The DigiPan install wizard. Like most any software,
DigiPan nearly installs itself, and it takes about a second.
You should be OK with all of the defaults, but have the wiz-
ard create a desktop icon for you.
*c/o CQ magazine
Email : <N2IRZ@cq-amateur-radio.com>
68 • CQ • January 2021
maybe? Yeah, that’s it: Trivial. Just download some software,
which almost installs itself, hook up an audio cable from the
radio to the computer (or even just use the computer’s micro-
phone), and you can listen — all in under 10 minutes. OK,
maybe 15 — it takes me 5 minutes alone to get up after fid-
dling behind the computer these days.
Anyway, PSK-31 software: Let’s keep it simple and use
DigiPan, available for download at <www.digipan.net>. If you
find you enjoy using DigiPan and want to try other digital
modes (or if you aren’t running Windows), see the sidebar
for two programs I recommend as a next step.
Installation
After downloading DigiPan 2.0, run the .EXE file and click
“next” a few times as directed (Figure 1). The defaults are all
OK, except be sure “Create a desktop icon” is checked when
you see that choice. On my computer, installation took about
one second after I clicked “Install.”
After launching DigiPan, the first thing is to type in your call-
sign, name, and location (QTH) as shown in Figure 2. After
clicking OK, DigiPan should be almost ready to go. If you get
an error message (mine said “Sound card in use or does not
exist”), click on the Configure menu. In my case, I hadn’t con-
nected the radio cable yet, and the error went away once I did.
Listen First
To listen — which is a good way to start out — just run a
patch cable from the headphone (or external speaker) out-
put of the radio to the microphone input on the computer.
With the radio connected and on, you should see the noise
graphically on the “waterfall” display.
Here’s a neat trick: If you just can’t connect the radio to the
computer, just use the computer’s microphone to listen to
the ambient sound and turn up the radio volume to a com-
fortable level. DigiPan will happily decode PSK-31 like that.
The next thing is to find a PSK-31 signal. It is a popular mode,
so this shouldn’t be too difficult, but it helps to know what you’re
looking for, where and how to look. My personal favorite is 40
meters: There’s a watering hole around 7070 kHz where there
always seems to be plenty of activity. In general, look near the
upper half of the CW portion of the band.
OK, Stop Listening Now
If you’re trying to find a PSK-31 signal, you need to use your
eyes as well as your ears. As you tune across the band at
about 2 kHz per second, listen for tones rising or falling in
frequency (depending on which direction you are tuning). As
those tones reach a moderate frequency (maybe 1 kHz,
wherever you stop after first hearing it), you pause the tun-
ing to look and identify the signal on the waterfall display.
You can see and hear Morse code pretty easily, and birdies
in the receiver (in my shack, caused by the computer) show
up as fairly pure tones. PSK-31 has a warbling quality, which
I compare to ultra-fast Morse code. You can hear a sample
at <https://bit.ly/3pdCAbc> (just scroll down a little). On the
waterfall display, you see a pair of lines, separated by just a
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fraction of an inch (corresponding to 31
Hz) that are either very clean or a bit
wobbly. Figure 3 shows these, but in
practice the signals will be more distinct.
Other modes are wider and have a rec-
ognizable pattern to them. Once you’ve
decided what kind of signal it is, you can
Figure 2. Before you can use DigiPan,
you have to fill in the configuration
information in this window. It pops up
the first time you run the program. You
can update this at any time using the
Configuration menu.
Figure 3. The main DigiPan window, in multi-mode. Top left shows the text being received from the chosen signal (in this
case, just above 2000 on the waterfall display), while top right shows the text from all the other signals within the pass-
band. See the text for more details.
www.cq-amateur-radio.com
either move on (not PSK-31) or tune it
in carefully and see who it is. You can
also turn off the speaker (assuming
you’re using the patch cable) at this
point, since hearing a signal doesn’t add
any benefit after you’ve found it.
Once you find a signal, tune it in by
left-clicking on it with the mouse. The lit-
tle red diamond at the top of the water-
fall window will slide over to the audio
frequency where the mouse is pointing,
and DigiPan will start to decode it.
Alternatively, you can press the right or
left arrow keys, and DigiPan will tune
over to the next signal it finds if it is
strong enough.
Then Transmit
At this point, you’ve got all the basics
done. If you want to actually transmit,
there are three things you need to do:
First, get transmit audio from the com-
puter to the radio. Second, set the trans-
mit audio level so you don’t overmodu-
late (this is important!) — the software
has instructions for this setting. Third,
find a way to control your Push-To-Talk
(PTT) line on the radio using the com-
puter. My recommendation for all three
is to go online and order a computer
sound card-to-radio interface (Photo A).
There are several brands and models
available, at a wide range of price
points. Look on the internet and you can
even build one in a half hour.
Cool Features
While you’re waiting for the interface
box to show up — remember, this can
be expected to work with virtually any
digital mode, including on VHF — play
around with DigiPan’s many features.
Let’s have a look:
If you find yourself in a part of the band
with multiple PSK-31 signals, you can
toggle into and out of multi-channel
decoding mode by pressing F12 on your
keyboard. In this mode, the main signal
you’re decoding (and the frequency on
which you’ll transmit) is indicated by the
diamond, and the text appears in the
single-channel text box (top left), while
the text decoded from each of the sig-
nals on the display appears in the multi-
channel box, one line per signal, top
right (Figure 3). To change to another
January 2021 • CQ • 69
signal, you can also click on the line in the multi-channel box
— this copies the text over to the single-channel window and
moves the diamond marker.
One neat feature is the ability to double-click a callsign in
the single-channel window (this does not work in the multi-
channel window). This captures the callsign so it can be used
with the macros and in the log.
DigiPan also has a built-in logging feature. Although not quite
contest-quality, it’s more than adequate for keeping track of
causal QSOs. Double-clicking what looks like a callsign drops
it into the callsign field, and double-clicking what looks like a
name drops that text into the name field. As you use the macros,
the text from these fields can be included, which saves a lot of
time. Saving the entry puts it into the log, and you can also
search the log for a callsign or enter notes about the entry.
Macros are probably among the most useful features in
DigiPan. If you’re like me, you can type about 15 words per
minute, using two or three fingers. If it weren’t for macros, I’d
be transmitting PSK-31 so slowly, it would be almost painful
to read. Think about it — PSK-31 sends at about three char-
acters per second, which translates to roughly 30 words per
minute, about twice as fast as I can type. Now, if you can
type that fast, you’re all set, but for the rest of us hunt-n-peck
folks, those macros are a lifesaver.
There are 24 macros that can be set up in advance, and
any time you press the corresponding macro key, that text is
dropped into the transmit buffer. There are buttons in DigiPan
that you can click on, and these correspond to the F keys at
the top of your keyboard. Twelve of the macros are the
straight F keys, and the other 12 are accessed by also hold-
ing the <Control> key.
The most powerful part of the macro feature are the vari-
ables that can be used to customize what is being sent. For
70 • CQ • January 2021
example, you can drop in your own callsign, the other sta-
tion’s callsign, the other fellow’s name, a dozen more vari-
ables, and a few dozen commands. Together, these make
for a powerful control system, relieving you of the burden of
most of the mundane typing.
For example, let’s say I want to create a macro to call CQ.
I go to the Configure / Fn macros menu and select F1 — this
means my CQ macro will fire every time I press the F1 key
(even if I’m not ready, so I have to be careful my fat fingers
don’t accidentally mash the keys…). In the macro edit box, I
first type in the label I want to appear for this macro — CQ
— and then I enter the macro itself. I enter the command to
switch into Transmit mode, then the text I want to send, and
finally the command to switch off the transmitter and enter
receive mode after clearing text from the receive window. My
macro looks like this:
<TX>CQ CQ CQ DE <MYCALL> <MYCALL> <MYCALL>
pse K <RXANDCLEAR>
The text for <MYCALL> is configured in the Configure /
Personal Data menu (along with my name and QTH). <TX>
keys the transmitter, and <RX> unkeys it.
There are several common and useful macros you can
define. To buy yourself time, build a brag sheet listing the
basics of your station. To simplify the end of a transmission,
Photo A. Connecting the sound card interface is simple:
One cable connects to your radio, the other to the com-
puter’s audio jacks. Some interfaces use USB to get a PTT
signal from the computer, this one just monitors the trans-
mit audio line.
Visit Our Web Site
 (instead of just sending my brag sheet)
and can make the other fellow believe
that I can really type. Actually learning
something about the other fellow, or the
town, or county where they live, is the
most interesting part of amateur radio
for me. Sure, the details of your station
are also interesting, but not as much as
the history of where you live, or what
you do for a living, or … well, you get
the idea.
I hope you enjoyed this month’s col-
umn, and if you actually tried this, let me
know. This is a lonely sport sometimes,
writing for you. It’s always nice to hear
from a reader.
– Until next time, 73 de N2IRZ

Figure 4. After connecting the sound card output to the audio input of the radio, Next Step Software
and the radio’s audio output to the sound card’s mic input, build this simple cir- If you enjoyed DigiPan and PSK-
cuit to key the radio’s transmitter. Although this assumes an RS-232 jack is on 31, these two well-liked and highly-
the computer, an inexpensive RS-232 to USB converter can be used for newer rated freeware programs are also
computers that don’t have a serial port. If the receive audio is too loud, the option- trivial to set up and offer several dif-
al audio attenuator can be built. ferent and useful digital modes. My
favorite is fldigi, since it has excellent
a “BTU” (Back To You) macro can send nique ensures there’s almost always EmComm capabilities and is avail-
your callsign, the other station’s callsign something in the TX buffer that’s ready able for several operating systems.
(taken from the log entry window), signs to go out. That way, the other fellow Get W1HKJ’s fldigi from <www.
the QSO back to the other station, and doesn’t have to sit and wait as my mes- w1hkj.com>, or try F6CTE’s Multi-
goes back to Receive mode — once sage comes through, one character at PSK from <https://bit.ly/38JxYDT>.
you’ve finished typing your regular mes- a time. I get to have an actual ragchew
sage, just mash the correct Function
key and sit back while the software han-
dles the transaction.
Once you invoke a macro, that text
(and any included command) is drop-
ped into the transmit buffer, which is a
type-ahead buffer. This means that
text (and commands) in the buffer are
sent (or executed) as fast as the trans-
mit speed allows (about three charac-
ters per second), but you can certain-
ly type whatever you want into the
buffer as fast as you like. If you’re
quick, and there’s enough text in the
buffer, you can even click and edit
inside the buffer until it actually trans-
mits those characters.
One of my techniques is to wait for the
other fellow to start transmitting. I hit the
Call macro, which pops his and my call-
sign into the TX buffer, then I read what
he is typing and type out my own
response — while still receiving his
message. Once the conversation is
signed over to me, I toggle into Transmit
mode, and the text already in the buffer
starts to go out. By that time, I’m almost
finished typing in my response to his last
few words — when I’m done, I hit the
BTU macro to sign the QSO back over,
then sit back and relax.
Even though I can only type about half
as fast as PSK-31 can send, this tech-

www.cq-amateur-radio.com January 2021 • CQ • 71

 MAGIC IN THE SKY
BY JEFF REINHARDT,* AA6JR

Amateur Radio Engineering 401

H
aving had the pleasure of meeting
many CQ readers at hamfests and
elsewhere, I have deep respect for
their (your?) technical abilities. Many have
undergrad or advanced degrees in engi-
neering, others are self-taught, and to
some extent, each of us has had to demon-
strate some basic technical proficiency to
obtain a license; moreso if you hold Gen-
eral or Extra Class ticket.
Many will recognize the course designa-
tion above — it identifies an upper level cur-
riculum not intended for the beginner. But
this exercise is not about lagging currents,
theorems, frequencies, or voltages. It’s
about engineering the future of our hobby.
Here’s a brief bio about your instructor:
I’m not an engineer in the classical sense.
Oh, I understand a good bit of radio theo-
ry and have managed to cobble together
fixed, portable, and mobile stations. But I
don’t design circuits, nifty antennas or
ultra-efficient power supplies. If I have a
claim to success, it’s been engineering
results. What do I mean? Read on.

We’re Regulated
I’m sure you don’t get out of bed each day with the thought
that amateur radio is regulated by the government, but that’s
the cold reality. Most of the time that regulation is benign,
provided we live within the rules. At other times, including
the very recent past, the FCC steps in to redefine the spec-
trum we can use as amateurs, and sadly, that spectrum has
been shrinking. It’s been reduced because of demands from
commercial interests that see big chunks of the frequency
spectrum as a gold mine and through their efforts, more
specifically through the efforts of their lobbyists, vast spans
of the RF spectrum have been redesignated or redefined for
commercial use; most recently we’ve been ordered by the
FCC to “sunset” our use of the 3.5-GHz band.
Should We Develop the National Parks?
America’s national parks are treasures to be preserved and
enjoyed by everyone. Some of their uses include tent or RV
camping, wildlife preservation, education, hiking, research,
sightseeing, picnics, photography, boating, biking, star-gaz-
ing, and more.
Similarly, the radio spectrum set aside for amateur radio
has been likened to the national parks.
We use those frequencies for recreation, emergency
response, education, experimentation, contests, drills,
research, socializing, and more.
As a matter of opinion, I wouldn’t think highly of lining the
rim of the Grand Canyon with expensive condos that block
the view from others. Similarly, I believe we all have a stake
*5904 Lake Lindero Drive, Agoura Hills, CA 91301
e-mail: <aa6jr@cq-amateur-radio.com>
in the efforts to retain every bit of spectrum currently desig-
nated for use by amateur radio operators. Because, just like
the song “Big Yellow Taxi” said, “you don’t know what you’ve
got ‘til it’s gone,” we need to strongly defend what we use as
our “national park of spectrum.”
How?
A good portion of my career was spent conducting advoca-
cy with local, state, and even the federal government. The
first rule is, you’ve got to be heard. While that sounds easy,
it’s not.
Perhaps at one time, a brief letter to your state or federal
representative might have carried a lot of clout. Don’t get me
wrong, it’s still a useful tool and I recommend its use. But in
the battle for spectrum, we’re up against some mighty forces
in the form of a tidal wave of lobbyists and money.
Jesse Unruh was born to poverty in Texas but reinvented
himself as a powerbroker in California politics, to the point of
also being referred to as “Big Daddy.” He had many memo-
rable quotes, not all of which can be repeated in polite com-
pany, but perhaps the one he often used and has endured
is, “Money is the mother’s milk of politics.”
Let’s be real. Not you, not me, not CQ, not the ARRL, indi-
vidually or collectively, has the financial clout of any one of
the big telecom interests, let alone a combination of them.
And whether or not you support the NRA, it stands out as a
user group that has parlayed its financial and political
resources into a formidable force to further its policy objec-
tives. The ARRL has a fraction of the NRA’s numbers. We
can’t match their power in D.C. but I give the League credit
for being in the game. And each year I send a check of the

72 • CQ • January 2021 Visit Our Web Site

ARRL’s Spectrum Defense Fund. You should, too. Consider
it an investment in our collective future.
So beside that, what can we do to “engineer” the future
preservation of our spectrum? Fortunately, a lot. My advo-
cacy efforts taught me there’s always a way, even if you don’t
have deep pockets. What you do need is a commitment to a
good cause that other folks can go along with. Some of those
folks include other hams, family members, local government
officials, and your Congressional representative.
Schematic to Success
Woody Allen once said, “Eighty percent of success is show-
ing up.” There’s just been an election. Some of you have
Congressional reps who have been re-elected; others have
reps who are new. Shame on you if you don’t know who that
is! You need to get on their radar screen.
While the current COVID-19 situation makes it difficult to
meet in person, I can tell you that in most cases, communi-
cating with your representative — by any means — has an
effect. And perhaps when COVID is under control, more in-
person meetings can take place. Maybe even an invitation
to speak at a club meeting or visit your Field Day site.
Have you ever been annoyed by a person who only sees you
when they want something? The same holds true for politicians.
They are constantly badgered by folks who want something.
They seldom get to hear “thank you” or “nice job on address-
ing that problem.” When you see an opportunity, do that.
Building a relationship is “showing up” in the Woody Allen
sense. Case in point: I got to know a person through local pol-
itics. She introduced me to another friend who was later elect-
ed to the state Assembly. That person then introduced a bill
of mine that after several months was actually signed into law.
www.cq-amateur-radio.com
Later, that person was elected to Congress and we remain
friends to this day, even though I do not currently live in her
district. Before COVID hit, whenever I was in D.C., her office
door was open to me. Prior to COVID, that Congresswoman
had also been an annual visitor to the Field Day sites in her
district and she remains a friend to amateur radio.
There’s another way to get “on the map” with your repre-
sentative. If you like him or her, send a check to their cam-
paign fund. It doesn’t have to be large but so much the bet-
ter if it is. Sadly, it’s a fact of life that donors get noticed.
Remember, Congressional terms are only two years, so
they’re always campaigning (and fundraising).
And when there’s an issue related to amateur radio, LET
THEM KNOW your position in writing. Nearly all Con-
gressional reps have a website that accepts comments, but
only from constituents within their respective district. That’s
an OK tool to use but, quite frankly, I’m a believer in the “old
school” letter or postcard to their D.C. office. I think it works
best. The reason is, it’s a piece of paper and someone has
to handle it. Each day, their staff opens and categorizes the
mail received. Depending on the issue, certain letters land
on the rep’s desk.
Here’s another tactic that gets attention. Say there’s an
issue like House Resolution 1201, a simple act that would
designate April 18, 2021 as a day recognizing the value ama-
teur radio operators contribute to America. Have the mem-
bers of your club each send a QSL card to the rep, with a
simple message like: “Please vote yes in support of H.Res
1201”. Trust me, when 10, 20, 30 or more of those cards
arrive in the D.C. office, they get noticed.
Admittedly, senators are a bit harder to reach but the rules
are the same. Communicate your thoughts!
January 2021 • CQ • 73

BEHIND THE BYLINES...
… a little bit about some of the authors
whose articles appear in this issue
Dennis Shapiro, W1UF (“FP/W1UF - Setting a New
DXpedition ‘Record’,” p. 10), has been a ham since 1947
and a pilot since 1953. He combined both hobbies for the
trip he wrote about here. A resident of Chestnut Hill,
Massachusetts (a suburb of Boston), Dennis spends his
winters in southern California — but remotely operates his
home station — and his summers on Nantucket Island, also
in Massachusetts. So if you contact him on the air, be sure
to ask him where he is!
Mike Charteris, VK4QS / VK4XQM (“Refurbishing a
Collins R-390-A/URR Series Receiver,” p. 14), has become
a regular contributor to CQ. He has had a varied career that
has taken him from Tandy Electronics (RadioShack) stores
to naval deployments to his current position as a railway
electrician. His ham radio interests are equally varied, from
QRP CW contesting to refurbishing vintage “boat-anchor”
radios.
Howard Reynolds, WA3EOQ (“Digital to Analog Hard-
ware Converter,” p. 38), is active on all bands from 160
meters to 23 centimeters, with a particular affinity for VHF
and UHF. He lives in the mountains of western Maryland
where he gives fellow VHFers the relatively rare FM09 grid
square.
ZERO BIAS (from page 8 )
laborations that result. Are you up to the challenge? I’ve
droned on long enough. Let’s get our game on …
This and That …
This month’s issue covers a variety of topics, with a tilt toward
the technical side. We’ve got topics ranging from refurbish-
ing a 1950s-vintage Collins receiver to an introduction to
baluns (which seem to be a great mystery to many of us),
and even an introduction to greeblies.
By the time you read this issue, we will hopefully have a new
Awards Editor. I’ve spoken with several excellent candidates
and plan to make a selection soon. As of now, we’re still look-
ing for a new VHF Editor, as K8ZR has had to step down due
to increased responsibilities at his day job. If you’ve got your
finger on the pulse of the VHF / UHF / microwave world, have
at least a little bit of writing skill (we can help) and time to pro-
duce a monthly column, drop me a note and let’s talk.
A couple of sad notes from the rest of ham-world … as
you’ll read in our News Bytes column, the 900-ton instrument
platform at Puerto Rico’s Arecibo Observatory collapsed on
December 1st. The iconic radio-telescope is full of ham radio
connections.
In addition, Universal Radio in Ohio has announced its clos-
ing, although its mail order arm will remain open for a while
to liquidate its inventory. Fred and Barbara Osterman have
been leading figures in the hobby radio industry for decades,
and their decision to retire and close the business will leave
a big hole — specifically in the area of shortwave receivers,
a specialty of theirs that has been underappreciated by other
dealers. We wish Fred and Barbara well, and we’ll miss them.
Finally, HAPPY NEW YEAR! And may 2021 be a much,
much better year for all of us than 2020. – 73, Rich, W2VU
74 • CQ • January 2021
However, if you write a letter to your rep, keep it simple and
on point (see sidebar for sample). A header identifying the
issue (like H.Res 1201 - SUPPORT) followed by a few sen-
tences is sufficient. No one in D.C. has time to read a dia-
tribe or manifesto. You might also include with your com-
ments how many hams reside in that rep’s district. Don’t
know? The QRZ website has a nifty resource that will give
you the number of hams found in each county or each ZIP
code in the U.S. You and I see that as the number of hams.
The rep sees those numbers as voters.
Thinking Ahead
It’s been said that good engineers live in the future. So how
do you stay on top of things in order to protect our spectrum
resources? The CQ Newsroom is one way timely informa-
tion is distributed. If you’re not on the distribution list, it’s easy
to sign up. The ARRL Letter is another resource, as are clubs
and websites of general ham interest. Whether or not you
voted for your rep, you have the right to be heard. Do com-
municate with respect and courtesy. It goes a long way.
When you invest some time in defending our frequencies,
you’re helping to engineer our future and take your place as
an advocate for the Magic In The Sky.
Sample Letter
Here’s a sample letter expressing support for a resolu-
tion in the House of Representatives.
Feel free to emulate this format when communicating with
your representative:
January 20, 2021
The Honorable (Name of Representative)
9999 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515
RE: H. Res 1201 - SUPPORT
Dear Congressman/Congresswoman (Last Name):
This is a request for your support regarding the passage
of H. Res 1201, a resolution that would designate April 18,
2021 as the date to honor the nation’s Amateur Radio (Ham
Radio) operators.
Ham Radio volunteers have demonstrated their worth
time and again, responding to emergencies when all other
communications systems are overwhelmed. They provide
links between astronauts in the International Space Station
and students in local schools. Through experimentation,
Amateur Radio licensees have developed many of the com-
munications systems we take for granted today. During the
current pandemic, Ham Radio has also provided a valued
link to many, including senior citizens, through a hobby that
has “social distancing” at its core.
As a pursuit, Ham Radio continues to grow, with well over
700,000 licensees across the U.S. including some 3,750+
in Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties. (Use your
area’s data)
Thank your considering this request.
Sincerely,
Your Name
FCC Amateur Radio Callsign: Your Call
Visit Our Web Site
 LEARNING CURVE
BY RON OCHU, KOØZ
Ham Shack Origin
R
egular readers of this column know that until recent-
ly, I lived in the wind-swept plains of west central
Illinois. Last April, in the midst of the COVID-19 pan-
demic, I moved back to my prior “stomping grounds” of St.
Peters, Missouri. I moved to be closer to my grandchildren
and to assist them with remote schooling during this pan-
demic. You may also know that I am a retired public high
school teacher. Teaching is a challenging profession and I
don’t envy the increased challenges that the virus inflicts, but
I am amazed at how well colleagues, students, and parents
are adapting. Together, we are evolving to meet the educa-
tional obstacles that COVID-19 presents. Likewise, I am also
amazed — but not surprised — at the ingenuity of the ham
radio community. This virus has impacted ham radio by lim-
iting hamfests, conferences, and club meetings. I found that
trying to move during this viral outbreak proved even more
challenging than usual in terms of taking down towers and
antennas.
Moving is never easy and reestablishing my ham shack
(ham radio parlance for radio room) is proving to be a slow-
*Email: <ko0z@cq-amateur-radio.com
Photo A. Author’s operating bench at his Missouri QTH is beginning to get populated with radio equipment. He still needs
to run coax, connect power cables, and install a single-point grounding system. (Photo by KOØZ)
www.cq-amateur-radio.com
er-than-desired process. My weekdays are spent assisting
my grandchildren with their studies and then “augmenting”
their lessons with field trips to go fossil hunting, visits to the
art museum, or applying math skills to geocaching. Over the
past few months, my relocated shack now has benches
installed and benches are beginning to be populated with
equipment. My operating bench is in Photo A and my work-
bench is in Photo B. Presently, my ham radio shack is serv-
ing as a classroom during weekdays (Photo C) which some-
what limits my on-the-air ability, but if there is a will, then
there is a way. Which brings me to this month’s topic; name-
ly, the ham radio shack. How, in heaven’s name did a ham
radio room earn the moniker, “shack?”
I suppose nobody knows for sure as to the true origins of
the name ham shack. A few stories exist, but my favorite and
the one that makes most sense to me originates with the ear-
liest days of amateur radio. Guglielmo Marconi is attributed
with first broadcasting RF (radio frequency) across the
Atlantic Ocean using a spark gap transmitter. Before long,
commercial radio stations, mostly ship-to-shore, populated
American and European seaboards. These commercial sta-
tions had the financial resources to build tremendously pow-
erful radio transmitters along with long antennas. Typically,
January 2021 • CQ • 75
Photo B. Author’s workbench is taking shape. There’s a Rigol spectrum analyzer, a service monitor, and a Hantec O-
scope pictured. (Photo by KOØZ)

these commercial stations had a range able to transmit a mile or so, but radio generated RF because these transmit-
of few hundred miles. As a result, a new, amateurs were on the air and making ters do not transmit on a single fre-
mysterious, exciting communications contacts. These spark gap transmitters quency. Instead, they generate RF over
medium came to life and others wanted needed to be built from available parts a very wide spectrum, and can also be
to get in on the action. Inquisitive minds and some very ingenious and resource- dangerous to life and property. The
love to tinker, and it wasn’t long before ful designs were invented. problem being there is high voltage pre-
experimenters were building low-power As the name implies, spark gap trans- sent to make the spark. There’s also the
versions of the commercial spark gap mitters generate an electric spark. issue of coupling the spark to a trans-
transmitters. At first, these were only Today, the FCC prohibits spark gap- mission line and antenna.
Coax didn’t exist in the early days of
Ahoy, Sparks! radio. Radio amateurs needed to use
wires to couple the RF generated spark
to the antenna. Windows provided ama-
Another Origin Story of the “Radio Shack” teurs with a service entrance into the
“radio room.” Herein lies the problem
The true origin of the term “shack” applying to a radio room is lost to history, and likely genesis of “radio shack” into
even after just 100 years or so. But the stories that are passed along can be ham radio parlance. Wives and moth-
great fun. Here’s a variation on the story Ron is relating that I’ve heard over ers were none too thrilled to have an
the years. – W2VU electrical contraption generating sparks
inside their homes. Most were tolerant,
The first widespread use of radio (wireless) was aboard ships. In fact, the first but not too thrilled with their enthusias-
laws relating to radio were those requiring that a station be installed on every tic, radio pioneering family members.
ship sailing the seas. Many ships in service at the time did not have facilities on Status quo was achieved so long as
board to handle a radio transmitter and receiver, along with the open-wire feed- there were no mishaps or excessive
lines between radios and antennas. The same fire hazards that existed at land time spent with the radio at the expense
stations were present aboard ships, and the dangers were even greater. The of family time.
solution, in many cases, was to build a wooden shack on the ship’s deck to house Remember windows serving as a wire
the radios and permit feedlines to go to the radios without entering the below- entrance to the spark gap transmitter?
decks areas where a fire could be disastrous. So the radio operator, frequently Windows also have curtains that were
nicknamed “Sparks” for now-obvious reasons, sat in his shack on the ship’s deck, very flammable. Keep in mind that fire
sending and receiving wireless messages. When Sparks came home and set up retardant fabric wasn’t available in the
his own amateur station, the room occupied by that station became known as early 1900s. Although radio amateurs
the “shack,” regardless of whether it was outside or inside. would take precautions to keep the cur-

76 • CQ • January 2021 Visit Our Web Site

tains away from the spark; needless to
say, a strong breeze would invariably
blow the curtain into the spark and a fire
would ensue. Most of the time the fire
would be quickly extinguished, and the
ruined curtains replaced, but that “infer-
nal contraption” was no longer welcome
inside the family domicile. Horror sto-
ries involving sparks spread more
quickly than gossip. Before long, to
keep the peace and to still experiment
with radio, ingenious radio operators
Photo C. Author’s grandson, Artaro, beginning his remote learning school day in
grandpa’s hamshack / classroom. (Photo by KOØZ)
Photo D. A rotary spark gap transmitter from the early 1900s generated wide
band RF and was a potential fire hazard. (Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)
www.cq-amateur-radio.com
would literally build a shack outside in
the backyard to relocate the spark gap
transmitter. That way, annoying, fright-
ening sounds of sparks would be out-
side and if the shack were to catch on
fire and burn down; better it than the
home. Hence when like-minded radio
enthusiasts came over to visit, one
would invite them to see the shack.
Over the next few decades, remark-
able progress improved radio transmis-
sion and spark gap transmitters became
museum objects. Once again, ham
radio moved into family homes, but the
term shack hung on. So much so, that
Tandy Corporation had a chain of elec-
tronic stores named RadioShack. (The
original Radio Shack was a single store
in Boston. Tandy purchased the com-
pany after it began to expand. While vir-
tually all RadioShack retail locations are
closed today, the company still main-
tains a mail-order website and just had
a change in ownership that may pre-
sage a greater online presence in the
future. See this month’s News page for
more.-– ed.)
Who knows for sure if this is the most
accurate explanation for “radio shack?”
However, it does sound reasonable,
historically accurate and as good as any
other. It certainly makes for good con-
versation among hams over a cup of
coffee or an 807 which is another ham
radio term for beer, but we’ll save that
for a future article.
With viable COVID-19 vaccines on
the horizon, 2021 looks promising. I
wish all my readers a safe, healthy new
year. Good luck with building, renovat-
ing, or adding equipment to your radio
shacks. Thank you for reading CQ.
– 73 de Ron KOØZ
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January 2021 • CQ • 77
 THE HAM NOTEBOOK
TEXT AND PHOTOS BY WAYNE YOSHIDA*, KH6WZ

A Look at Greeblies
My Continuing Mission: Consuming the Inventory

R
ecently, a close friend had to deal with his father’s estate. using greeblies every week, and often includes tutorials on how
This is a huge responsibility in addition to and on top of to find and make greeblies.
all the emotional things that go along with this stage in In just about all projects using greeblies, they seem to be just
one’s life. My friend is not a ham, but he had to handle the “dis- non-functioning decorations. I think this is a waste. Why not put
posal” of all the miscellaneous things his father collected over the parts to good use and make them not only decorative, but
the years. Like many families, none of the heirs had any inter- functional?
est in the “junk” piled up in closets, spare rooms, and the rent- In this case, I use the term “functional” in a very loose sense.
ed storage space. They ended up calling a service to take all For example, in one of my projects, I use an AC voltmeter as a
the things away. power-on indicator. Sure, I can use a pilot light or an LED, but
This reminded me about my mission to reduce my inventory since I have dozens of these vintage AC panel meters, why not
of radio and electronic parts, test equipment (working and non- put them to some use (Photo B)? This is a fan and multiple USB
working), and other things no one else seems to be interested power outlet. The label on the right says “GNDN” and is anoth-
in. I am having a difficult time giving away some of my treasures. er term from the original “Star Trek” TV series. It means “goes
So, over the last several years, I have been on a mission to nowhere, does nothing.”
start consuming the materials in my garage, closets, and stor-
age bins. The Maker Faire events were a great place to become
creative and share the ham radio experience with technically-
oriented non-hams. Sadly, the Maker Faire events have ended,
but I continue to make things.
One of my most popular “do-nothing” projects from Maker Faire
is my sculpture called “Inventory Reduction,” shown in Photo A.
It still not complete; I plan on making this unit a wall sconce-cell-
phone-HT-GPS charger shelf unit near my front entrance.
While watching Adam Savage’s YouTube channel, “Tested,”
I learned a new term: Greeblies.
No, not “gremlins.” The term, according to Savage, comes from
George Lucas. Greeblies are things that add depth and interest
to surfaces and objects. Greeblies are also known as greebles
or nurnies.
So, as you watch or remember any of the “Star Wars” movies,
you have been exposed to Greeblies. But the items are not lim-
ited to “Star Wars.” In the original “Star Trek” TV series, the inter-
esting objects on the Enterprise walls were made from castings
from various trash items found in and near the studio. One object
often seen came from IBM typewriter packing material (shipping Photo A. “Inventory Reduction” an electronic sculpture / deco-
buffer), cast in resin, and painted. ration. It will be turned into a charging station and wall lamp.

Not Really for Me – But …

As I continued my research on greeblies, I decided they really
are not for me — at least in the traditional sense.
But as I looked at my shelves, bins, boxes, and drawers of parts
and things, I decided I must do something with all of this stuff.
All examples of projects using greeblies are for prop- or cos-
tume-making. I had no idea this was “a thing” people do with
their spare time and money. It is similar to the steampunk cre-
ations I have seen at Maker Faire and other places. I suppose
this is just as unusual as ham radio is to non-radio folks.
Although I appreciate the very imaginative and creative art-
work that comes out of a greeblie or steampunk workshop, I will
go in a slightly different direction.
Readers of my column are probably aware of my view on elec-
tronic surplus:
I often buy things not for what they are or what they do, I buy
things for what they can become.
Greeblie projects are amazing examples of this creativity. One
YouTube channel, “The Smuggler’s Room,” shows projects

email: <kh6wz@cq-amateur-radio.com> Photo B. The GNDN desk fan-USB power strip uses an AC volt-
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/wayneTyoshiba meter to indicate power on.

78 • CQ • January 2021 Visit Our Web Site

Photo C. Under construction: A clock-lamp using the guts from Photo D. Parts for a Greeblie-inspired desk lamp: A Tektronix
an inoperative signal generator. 545 sub-chassis, PVC fittings, and a light bulb socket.

Photo C is an example of a project using this guideline under

construction. I started this before I discovered greeblies. The
main “chassis” is from a non-functioning, very big, and heavy
signal generator. But it is so interesting, I decided I had to turn
it into something.
As you can see, I will be adding one of my surplus AC volt-
meters to the unit as a power-on indicator. Not visible in the
photo is a digital clock I built from a kit many years ago. My
Roomba vacuum chewed on the power cord and pulled the clock
off the shelf, breaking the power supply. Thankfully, the clock
survived. I will mount the clock on top of the unit and add a light
bulb to the rear. So, it will become a clock-lamp. Sort of a vari-
ation of a clock radio, but no radio. It is going to be functional
and will have decorations — the meter and some LEDs — that
are not only decorative but have function.
In Photo D, I have some PVC pipe fittings and a sub-chassis
from an old Tektronix oscilloscope I will be re-purposing to make
a desk lamp. It will feature a flickering-effect LED light bulb. I am
looking for a suitable base. I may add some extra AC outlets so
I can power some other items, or maybe add a USB outlet for
charging my phone and other things. Photo E. Greeblies come from all kinds of things, including non-
functioning test gear, like this partially disassembled Tektronix
A Second Idea 545 oscilloscope.
Brian from The Smuggler’s Room says he never throws any-
thing away. And I believe this. He mentions how he cleans and icone mold-making material, and then made a casting with
paints juice container lids to create greeblies. epoxy. It turned into some spaceship part on one of his creations.
As I think about greeblies and how model-makers are finding, What a great way to recycle something!
buying, and using electronics parts and hardware to create It certainly looks like the greeblie prop- and costume-making
things, I think many of us can consider selling our electronics community opens a new market for our surplus items — work-
parts and items — both working and non-working — to the gree- ing or not.
blie community. Greeblies are made with not only the parts and This can be a great partnership to reduce hazardous waste
circuit boards, but also the housings, the screws, and other hard- going into the landfills, and sparks creativity for artists.
ware inside the units such as brackets and supports. With winter weather here, along with continued stay-at-home
As electronics tinkerers, everything we may have can be con- orders in some places, I hope this article inspires you to take a
sidered potentially salable to greeblie makers. This includes vac- look at the dis-used items in your storage containers, warm up
uum tubes, dial cords, fuses, circuit breakers, pilot lights, bat- the soldering iron, and “create something from nothing,” as Brian
tery packs, filters, transformers, capacitors, RF and audio from The Smuggler’s Room would say.
connectors, chassis parts, screws, nuts, washers, wire har- Do you have a project sporting greeblies in your home, shop,
nesses, and — anything else — working or not (Photo E). or shack? If you do, I would love seeing what you’ve created.
In addition to the products, the packing materials are also used – 73, Wayne, KH6WZ
to make Greeblies. Those plastic blister containers can be either
painted to create something for a spacecraft model, such as a References
manifold. Or, the blister can be used as a mold, to make a cast- Adam Savage Tested, “The Universal Greeblie” <https://youtu.be/
ing of the object in reverse. dncRHH9f6MI>
As an example, Brian describes how he bought a pack of bat- The Smuggler’s Room, “Great Greeblies and Where to Find Them”
teries, carefully peeled away the plastic blister, mixed some sil- <https://youtu.be/sE_IB9tcGRE>

www.cq-amateur-radio.com January 2021 • CQ • 79

 VHF PLUS
BY RICH MOSESON,* W2VU
Start Spreading the Word …
Help Wanted: VHF+ Editor
As this issue went to press, we were still looking for a new
VHF Plus Editor. As noted previously, Tony Emanuele,
K8ZR, has had to step down due to increased responsibil-
ities and time demands at his day job. We need someone
who’s on top of the latest trends and developments in VHF
/ UHF / microwave hamming, with a particular focus on
weak-signal communication ... or who can get up to speed
quickly. You would need the time to research and prepare
a monthly column, and at least a modicum of writing expe-
rience and ability. If you’re interested and feel that you’re
qualified, please contact Editor Rich Moseson, W2VU, at
<w2vu@cq-amateur-radio.com>. We’ll talk … Tnx.
T
wenty-five years ago this month, CQ Communications
launched CQ VHF magazine (it’s hard to believe it’s
been that long!). I was its editor. That magazine was
the outgrowth of a plan to start a magazine for new hams,
since then — as now — it was a challenge to get newly-
licensed amateurs to look beyond their local repeaters. Our
goal was to create a publication that focused on the privi-
leges available to hams with Technician Class licenses, both
in terms of practical tips for FM and repeater operation and
in introducing the many other exciting opportunities avail-
able from 50 MHz and up. What resulted was a great mag-
azine (I’m only a little biased, HI) that ended up with a dif-
ferent audience and focus than what was originally intended.
The audience we attracted was primarily a very loyal group
of already-dedicated VHFers who were happy to share with
each other their adventures, accomplishments, and educa-
tional failures in weak-signal work, moonbounce, micro-
waves, satellites, and more. (Unfortunately, the size of that
audience and the number of VHF-focused advertisers wasn’t
big enough to maintain the critical mass required to keep a
magazine going, and we were forced to incorporate CQ VHF
into CQ twice — first at the end of 1999 and again in 2013
after bringing it back as a quarterly in 2002.)
Community Outreach for VHF+
We didn’t do as well with our original goal, though, and it is
still a challenge 25 years later to introduce new (and not-so-
new) Technicians to the wonders of the VHF-Plus bands and
counteract the still-prevalent message that contacts on VHF
and UHF are limited to local line-of-sight range. Clearly, this
is not a job that a magazine can do on its own, and that’s
where you come in. If you’re reading this column, there’s a
good chance that you are already actively involved in some
aspect of non-FM VHF / UHF activity, and that you find that
activity to be exciting, challenging, and fulfilling. We’d like to
encourage you (with apologies to Frank Sinatra) to “start
spreading the word” about your particular favorite activity.
Our current situation with restrictions on in-person meetings
actually provides an opportunity in many respects. With the
prevalence of online club meetings using Zoom or other
videoconferencing programs, you can now give a club talk
without traveling and can demonstrate equipment that might
not be particularly portable. You can also play videos of pre-
80 • CQ • January 2021
viously recorded activities,
perhaps something from a
mountaintop or other re-
mote location. You can
even set up a sked with a
fellow (your favorite activ-
ity goes here) enthusiast
to have a live demo as
part of your talk.
Another benefit of vir-
tual presentations is
that they allow you to
reach out beyond the tradi-
tional club meeting audience, and that’s
important, because many clubs are also finding it a chal-
lenge to draw in newer hams. Today’s newer and younger
hams spend much more time on social media and other
online venues than at club meetings (in-person or virtual),
so a presentation that you post on YouTube or a similar
site could be very helpful in not only attracting new hams
to your favorite activity but in attracting new people to ham
radio as well.
Something else to remember in an introductory presenta-
tion (depending on the group to which you’re presenting) is
to minimize the technical information and maximize the
magic, focusing primarily on what makes this activity excit-
ing to you, what you can do with it, what challenges you can
overcome, etc.
A master of this craft is unfortunately no longer with us. I
remember listening spellbound one night to the Long Island
Mobile Amateur Radio Club’s Tech Net while Dick Knadle,
K2RIW (SK), described his experiences working “airplane
scatter” on 432 MHz for regular contacts between New York
and Virginia, a distance of more than 400 miles. Even 10-
15 years later, I vividly remember Dick describing the sig-
nals going up and down at regular intervals and finally deter-
mining that the signal variations matched up with arrivals
and departures from an airport located midpath and occurred
as the planes flew up and down through the plane of their
signals. You didn’t need any significant technical knowledge
to follow along, but technical knowledge isn’t required to
appreciate technical magic.
Today, round-the-world balloon flights, satellites that work
when they’re supposed to be dead, and tropo ducts from
South Africa to St. Helena Island in the South Atlantic that
allow a 70-centimeter FM QSO over nearly 2,000 miles fill
in the VHF / UHF magic quotient.
Doing Our Part
We collectively need to do a much better job of transmitting
this magic to new and prospective hams, and to make them
understand that these sorts of opportunities are available
without the need to upgrade to General or Extra (although
we certainly don’t want to discourage that!)
Please share your success stories with us so we can share
them with our readers and hopefully inspire even more peo-
ple to even greater success.
– 73, Rich, W2VU
Visit Our Web Site
MF/LF OPERATING: Life Below the AM Broadcast Band
BY JOHN LANGRIDGE, * KB5NJD

Does Anyone Experiment on 630 or 2200 Meters Anymore?

Plus, Underwater Antennas and the FST4 Modes Are Finally Here

S
ometimes I receive correspon- sible to find operator resources that can ings on 2200 meters, into articles and
dence asking about experimen- help that inquisitive individual by pro- presentations that have proven very
tal activity on 630 and 2200 viding on-air activity that might lead to popular within the community as well as
meters. The term “experimental” can the data necessary to answering his / those on the outside looking in. Jim has
mean a lot of things. It might mean her question. spent countless hours monitoring sig-
something as simple as testing an One amateur with considerable expe- nals himself and poring over datasets
amplifier or antenna design that may rience in this research and analysis in some very original, out-of-the-box
not be novel, but is at least new territo- niche is Jim Hollander, W5EST, of Little thinking to try to explain some of the
ry to the operator testing it and subse- Rock, Arkansas. For years, Jim has observations made on both bands.
quently finding exciting results that they analyzed and condensed data found in Recently, Jim explored some of the early
never knew possible on the lowest ama- my daily summaries1,2 for 630 meters details associated with a unique anten-
teur bands. In other cases, it might and in a few cases, extraordinary open- na system constructed by Laurence
harken back to the days when Part-5
experimental stations were the domi- T/R Symbol Tone Occupied FST4 FST4W
nant force on both bands as individuals period length Spacing Bandwidth SNR SNR
used initiative and motivation to set up (s) (s) (Hz) (Hz) (dB) (dB)
stations well before the FCC formally
created an amateur allocation under 15 0.060 16.67 67.7 -20.7
Part 97. Every experience was a new
30 0.140 7.14 28.6 -24.2
and pioneering experiment in and of
itself. As we still have limited under- 60 0.324 3.09 12.4 -28.1
standing about how either of these 120 0.683 1.46 5.9 -31.3 -32.8
bands really works, and have surely not 300 1.792 0.56 2.2 -35.3 -36.8
explored all of the possible avenues 900 5.547 0.180 0.72 -40.2 -41.7
that lead to successful utilization, I 1800 11.200 0.089 0.36 -43.2 -44.8
would probably come to the conclusion
that, at the very least, the answer lies
in a combination of both viewpoints. Here are the specifications for each of the FST4 and FST4W variants. (Courtesy
On the surface today, both 630 and of K1JT)
2200 meters appear to have transi-
tioned to being operator-centric, with
two-way contacts and distance records
taking center stage, but digging deep-
er, that really means that every WSPR
/ FST4W report received or every con-
tact completed with one’s favorite digi-
tal mode, phone or CW, is a pioneering
exploit. Just about every morning that I
am on the air looking for CW contacts
on 630 meters, something inevitably
happens that I’ve never observed
before. I learn something new every
operating session and that sentiment is
repeated with my colleagues time and
time again. So yes, experimenting is
alive and well on the 630- and 2200-
meter bands, even if the rigors of pro-
fessional peer-reviewed science do not
dominate the activity. If the reader
believes that specific research oppor-
tunities exist that are of interest to him
or her, tell me about it as it might be pos-

*827 Middle Run Ct. Merv Schweigert, K9FD, and Hideo Kambayashi, JH3XCU, completed the first
Duncanville, TX 75137 QSO ever between Hawaii and Japan using the new FST4-120 variant on 630
<kb5njd@cq-amateur-radio.com> meters. (Courtesy of JH3XCU)

www.cq-amateur-radio.com January 2021 • CQ • 81

A new world record was claimed by Rudy Severns, N6LF, and Roger Crofts, VK4YB, on 2200 meters using FST4-300. By
the time that this article arrives in your mailbox, it is very possible that this record will have fallen. (Courtesy of VK4YB)
Like all of its counterparts, BUL (Beverage under lake) ‘L3’
on a direct heading of 66° true needed a more substantial
network to accept power, allowing Laurence to character-
ize the pattern of the antenna, both with and without ground
skewing. See text for details. (Courtesy of KL7L)
82 • CQ • January 2021
Howell, KL7L, of Wasilla, Alaska. Laurence is no stranger to
being a subject in this column over the last few years as he
has undertaken many interesting and educational radio
adventures. Today’s story will focus on some of the details
of Laurence’s recent antenna experiments, what was learned
through some of the early testing, and where this series of
experiments might lead next.
All indications suggested that he had been thinking about
it for quite some time but it wasn’t until early July 2020 that
Laurence posted a question on the Radio Society of Great
Britain’s low frequency Groups.io reflector, inquiring about
the feasibility of placing a wire, possibly as long as 1,200 feet,
approximately four feet below the surface of a shared, pri-
vate lake behind his home that was deemed to be composed
of mostly fresh water. The wire would sit in the “muck” at the
bottom of the body of water and it would not be possible, at
least initially, to terminate the wire due to perceived wildlife
impact concerns. The wire would ultimately be frozen as win-
ter arrived and progressed, committing a lot of wire to the
experiment for several months. Laurence’s hope was to use
this so called “Beverage under lake” (BUL) antenna to mon-
itor signals in the “dreamer’s band” below 10 kHz where a
number of European stations are commonly active in addi-
tion to higher VLF and LF. The possibility seemed pretty high
that the setup would also work in some fashion at MF as well,
although there were questions about the penetrability of RF
at those frequencies in fresh water. No doubt it would be con-
siderably better than what might be expected at high fre-
quency, but would it be enough? There is considerable
research3 in this area, at least for VLF, because of the com-
mon use of RF for underwater communications with sub-
marines so it was likely that he would successfully encounter
some type of signal.
The rationale for such an antenna is pretty simple. Properly
implemented antennas with a large aperture will produce
more millivolts at the receiver, which translates to more sig-
nal. A very long wire will develop directivity but even if uti-
lized as a Beverage antenna as high in frequency as 472
Visit Our Web Site

Early testing of the original L2 BUL located at 40° true showed
that connection to the Marconi transmit antenna radial field
skewed the pattern north and south. Only through the use of
isolated ground systems for each of his underwater wires was
Laurence able to preserve the intended pattern.
kHz, a 1,200-foot-long wire is only slightly longer than a half-
wavelength. Fortunately, a wire close to the ground or specif-
ically “in matter” as is the case with Laurence’s BUL anten-
na, will experience a change in velocity factor and the wire
appears much longer than its physical parameters suggest.
Beverage antennas work on the principle of “wave tilt” in
which a vertically-polarized wave front slows down more clos-
er to ground compared to higher above ground, thus tilting
the incident wave so that the horizontally-oriented wire can
add voltages down the length of the wire en route to the
receiver. It was unclear, however, whether this concept would
work as advertised underwater.
Laurence’s interest in antennas “in” or “on” matter go back
to the 1970s, when he reports that he began experimenting
with both terminated and unterminated wires while in
Antarctica. It was possible to lay 1,000-foot or longer wires on
glacial ice composed of fresh water that was as thick as 800
feet, simulating free space and resulting in very clean patterns
that were typical for Beverage antennas in unobstructed areas.
And yes, it was a very quiet place to listen for signals. Back in
Alaska in modern times, space limitations and safety concerns
for both wildlife and humans dictated that any tests similar to
those conducted on glacial ice be conducted in an out-of-the-
way place. Hart Lake seemed to be a very good candidate.
The fact that it would freeze in the winter might offer addition-
al surprises and interesting results later in the season.
Laurence began with a single insulated wire, deployed by
kayak using a custom spool caddy at about 40° true (bear-
ing in relation to true north as opposed to magnetic north).
This bearing was fortuitous because it allowed the longest
length of wire on a useful bearing to Europe, about 1,224 feet
of wire that electrically appeared almost 6,830 feet long at
the bottom of the lake (a quarter wavelength at almost 34
kHz). Unterminated, the reciprocal path would also provide
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good coverage of the Pacific region.
Initial tests that lacked proper imped-
ance matching of the wire on 630 meters
(about 150 ohms and slightly inductively
reactive, fed several hundred feet away
from the operating position with 75-ohm
coax) showed that when compared to his
E-probe, commonly referred to with the
moniker “Aces High,” the BUL was just 4
dB worse in terms of signal-to-noise ratio
on WSPR signals from VK4YB. Laurence
noted that the BUL did exhibit advan-
tages at dusk compared to the E-probe
and speculated that the variation
involved changing wave tilt at the transi-
tion to darkness. Also notable and not
Last Year, our members worked thousands of hours for
surprising, the addition of proper match-
ing networks improved signal levels.
Feed point grounding configurations
also presented interesting results as
ground rods on the banks performed
far better than those in the lake itself
at reducing system resistance in addi-
tion to impact on signal-to-noise ratio.
Multiple ground rods were used, con-
nected with insulated #14 wire, with
additional runs to his Marconi vertical
radial field (covering approximately
one acre) in addition to a 100-foot
deep well casing that was approxi-
mately 120 feet from the shoreline.
The well casing offered the most pro-
nounced effects on resonance, de-
creasing the quarter-wave resonant
frequency to 31.4 kHz, down from the
initial value of 34 kHz. In general, the
presence of the rods closest to the
lake brought the poorest performance
in terms of signal-to-noise ratio, pos-
sibly due to the fact that while the
water is deemed fresh, it is not pure
and measured conductivity values
tended to vary with temperature and
location within the body of water. Earth
mass was a clear benefit in the
grounding scheme over wet condi-
tions. Grounding will be explored fur-
ther because there were additional
effects observed in later tests.
While Laurence had some receive
results to suggest a very rough radia-
tion pattern description, the only way
to truly characterize the pattern was to
put power into the underwater wire and
take relative field strength measure-
ments at many intervals around the
antenna. Laurence is not new to these
type of measurements as he season-
ally characterizes his primary Marconi
and loop antennas for 630 and 2200
meters, respectively. The challenge
was going to be building a matching
network that would remain stable
enough for a high power, long duration
transmission that would allow him to
gather the necessary data from points
around and equidistant from the anten-
na. Initial testing of the network while
applying approximately 200 watts to

NO PAY the antenna suggested that the radiat-

ed signal was down over 37 dB com-
pared to his main transmit Marconi on
630 meters, leaving approximately 0.9
And this year are well on their way to doing milliwatts of radiated power. Laurence

EVEN MORE!
indicated that he, “...really wanted to
see what the polar pattern looked like
... the underwater wires are acting as
a flat, lossy line for the most part...”
Plotting the relative field strength pat-
WHY? tern from many locations around the
antenna, Laurence made a shocking
Because they are giving back to their communities! They are discovery. Rather than find the pattern
to have a lobe along the 40° axis plus
helping with civic events, motorist assistance AND MORE, its reciprocal, he found that it had
yes even emergencies and disasters, if needed! skewed mostly due north and south.
This was very perplexing as there were
no overhead or buried utility or sewer
CONTACT lines that might skew the results. The
only metal in the ground was his radi-
REACT INTERNATIONAL al field, the ground rods he placed on
301-316-2900 the bank and in water for the matching
network, plus the well casing.
Or write to Laurence systematically considered
REACT INTERNATIONAL his options while searching for a reason
P.O. Box 21064, Dept CQ100 for the skew. The only viable option
remaining was the ground system. Was
Glendale, CA 91221
Laurence’s pattern skewing away from
RI.HQ@REACT Intl.org his Marconi ground system? The only

84 • CQ • January 2021 Visit Our Web Site

 individual antennas once isolated
grounds were applied to each of the
matching networks. Before the lake was
able to freeze, Laurence relocated the
original “L2” BUL to 29° true for further
winter testing.
While this experiment is only in its
infancy as the current work was carried
out in late summer / early autumn,
Laurence has already learned a
tremendous amount. He indicates that
“(w)hat the project has provided me is
a deployed system that has inherent
S/N advantages over my best-of-the-
best honed receiving arrays on selec-
tive headings and probably wave
angles, and I’m especially hoping as we
get into the depths of winter, the path
over the North Pole and Asia / Pacific
This diagram shows the orientation of the BUL antennas early in this experiment. will produce RF fruit in juicy radio con-
Placement was determined on useful primary heading as well as the reciprocal tacts.” From an experimental stand-
path and was implemented in order to minimize interaction between each of the point, a frozen lake with deployed BUL
wires. Ground skewing was minimized by used independent ground connections wires may offer additional opportunities
for each antenna feed point. (Courtesy of KL7L) to explore phenomena not readily
observed. This project is a long-term
way to know was to disconnect the wire more would be better. Laurence want- work in progress. Special thanks go to
that connected the BUL feed point ed to test the natural directivity of such Marshall Cross, W1HK, and Warren
ground rods to the outer ring of the radi- an antenna system with isolated ground Ziegler, K2ORS, for providing valuable
al field. Remarkably, the pattern re- connections to avoid interaction and information in Laurence’s pursuit of
turned to normal, 40° true. Laurence skewing of the pattern. Additional wires answers on this very unusual antenna.
had unknowingly engineered a steer- were laid at 11° true, 66° true and 301° I look forward to presenting part two in
able receive array that could be con- true, and while none was as long as the the summer of 2021.
trolled by altering the ground system. original wire, it was anticipated that
On-air receive results corroborated rel- when properly matched, advantages The FST Modes Are Here!
ative field-strength measurements that would be seen when compared with the As this article is being prepared in early
were retaken from the original mea- reference E-probe and other BULs. autumn 2020, Joe Taylor, K1JT, and his
surement sites. Laurence indicated in There were concerns of noise coupling development team have just released
one correspondence that the well cas- between antennas, particularly when WSJTx4, version 2.3.0 rc1, which con-
ing appeared to have the least impact two wires crossed at close range. This tains the long awaited “FST modes” that
on pattern skewing while effects were was most pronounced when individual are specifically designed for use on 630
variable for the ground rods on the bank wires were resonated for polar plot sur- and 2200 meters. The FST modes
and in the lake itself. veys but the increase in coupled noise appear to offer more flexibility in terms
The next test involved adding BUL’s was reported to be minimal. Laurence of transmit-to-receive cycle times and
on different azimuths. If one wire was also noted that he observed no devia- depart from some of the approaches that
surprisingly good, perhaps two or three tion from the expected patterns of the limited depth of decodes for WSPR and

Timestamp Call MHz SNR Drift Grid Pwr Reporter RGrid km az #Spots
2020-09-14 11:48 VK4YB 0.475759 -21 0 QG62ku 1 KL7L BP51ip 11138 24 31
2020-09-14 12:46 JA0HXV 0.475650 -27 0 PM85vj 1 KL7L BP51ip 5719 35 6
2020-09-14 04:50 N1VF 0.475653 -16 0 CM97ai 5 KL7L BP51ip 3294 334 68
2020-09-14 05:14 VE7JKZ 0.475709 -19 0 CN88 0.5 KL7L BP51ip 2195 322 64
2020-09-14 07:00 VE7CNF 0.475780 -24 0 CN89ng 0.5 KL7L BP51ip 2134 320 10

Timestamp Call MHz SNR Drift Grid Pwr Reporter RGrid km az #Spots
2020-09-14 11:50 VK4YB 0.475757 -22 0 QG62ku 1 KL7L/L2 BP51ip 11138 24 17
2020-09-14 05:50 N1VF 0.475652 -25 0 CM97ai 5 KL7L/L2 BP51ip 3294 334 33
2020-09-14 05:52 VE7JKZ 0.475709 -27 0 CN88 0.5 KL7L/L2 BP51ip 2195 322 20
2020-09-14 06:54 KL7L 0.475687 -14 0 BP51ip 5 KL7L/L2 BP51ip 0 0 165

Proper matching and independent grounding for the BUL antenna networks resulted in improvements to comparable
signal-to-noise ratio with the E-probe antenna while offering a degree of directivity not available with the omnidirectional
probe. Here the VK4YB reports on the L2 antenna pull within one dB of the probe.

www.cq-amateur-radio.com January 2021 • CQ • 85

 This schematic shows the basic layout
of components and the relative posi-
tions of components for the multiband
underwater receive antennas that
Laurence tested. (Courtesy of KL7L)

JT9 to date. While equivalent modes for

both WSPR and JT9 have been pro-
posed, FST4W-120 and FST4-60,
respectively, and have so far met few
challenges from the respective MF and
LF communities. Both modes seem to
offer a few dB of improvement on decode
depth compared to their predecessors.
Currently, a few bugs are being handled
following the initial release and by the
time that this issue of CQ reaches the
reader, I expect the processes to be con-
sistently reliable across a wide range of
users. Probably the largest point of con-
fusion has been where to put the longer
modes as some of the variants can trans-
mit and receive over an 1,800-second
cycle (30 minutes). There have been
some discussions on 2200 meters but so
far, the exact range has not been solidi-
fied. On 630 meters, the longer variants
appear to have found an early home in
the buffer zone above traditional WSPR2
activity and below the phone band, that
is 1600 Hz and 1800 Hz referenced to
the 474.2 kHz USB dial frequency com-
monly used for 630-meter digital modes.
This is subject to change and it is prob-
ably wise to check the 630-meter band
plan5 that has been widely accepted
within the active community for updates.
In reality, the instability associated with
630 meters may ultimately prove too
much for the longer modes, which will
likely be more useful on 2200 meters
where fade cycles are often longer and
more deliberate. Stay tuned for more as
these modes gain wider acceptance
within the active communities.
That’s all for this month. If you have
questions or comments, please contact
me at <KB5NJD@gmail.com>.
For your convenience the following
links, in addition to bonus material, can
be found at <http://njdtechnologies.
net/cq/>.
References
1. 630-meter daily activity summaries:
<https://tinyurl.com/yc25o8j2>
2. 630-meter contributors’ posts compiled by
W5EST: <https://tinyurl.com/y47zzhlj>
3. King, Ronald W. P., Owens, Margaret and
Smith, Glenn S. Antennas in Matter: Funda-
mentals, Theory, and Applications, The MIT
Press, 1981
4. WSJTx information and download: <https://
tinyurl.com/yaytakyp>
5. 630-meter band plan: <https://tinyurl.com/
ycl99str>

86 • CQ • January 2021 Visit Our Web Site

 AWARDS
BY CQ STAFF
CQ DX Marathon: A Ham Radio Centaur
Awards Editor Update
As of press time for this issue, we’d spoken with several
prospective editors for this column. All appear to be well-
qualified so now we just need to make a decision. Hopefully,
by next month, there will be a new byline on this column.
Thanks to all who inquired. – W2VU
T
he centaur, a creature from Greek mythology, is half
man and half horse. The CQ DX Marathon is some-
thing of a ham radio centaur … half contest and half
award.
The broadest goals of any amateur radio award program
are to encourage more on-air activity and recognize the
accomplishments of those achieve the specific number
and/or type of contacts set out in the award rules. Except for
limited-term awards in recognition of a specific event or activ-
ity, most award programs are open-ended in terms of how
long you can take to meet the requirements.
The ham radio version of a centaur, the CQ DX
Marathon combines elements of both a contest
and an award program.
Ham radio contests have the same basic purposes:
Encourage more on-air activity and recognize the accom-
plishments of those who achieve the highest scores accord-
ing to the contest’s rules. Most contests are of very limited
duration, from a few hours to a complete weekend.
The ham radio version of a centaur, the CQ DX Marathon
combines elements of both a contest and an award program.
Like a contest, there are different categories and those with
the highest scores in each category win plaques and certifi-
cates. And the competition is time-limited and starts from
zero each year. On the other hand, the operating period for
the CQ DX Marathon is a full year and all amateur bands
may be used, including 60, 30, 17, and 12 meters, which are
www.cq-amateur-radio.com
USA-CA Update
500 County Level
NF5KF – Award number 3790 dated November 14, 2020
1000 County Level
KQ3F – Award number 1932 dated October 30, 2020
1500 County Level
KQ3F – Award number 1591 dated October 30, 2020
2000 County Level
KQ3F – Award number 1473 dated October 30, 2020
2500 County Level
KQ3F – Award number 1391 dated October 30, 2020
generally off-limits for weekend-long contests. The goal is to
work as much DX as possible, on as many bands as possi-
ble, over the course of a calendar year. It’s a marathon, not
a sprint, and in that way it more closely resembles an award
program than a contest.
Double Duty
One of the benefits of the CQ DX Marathon is that you can
get credit for many contacts made in pursuit of other awards.
For the DX Marathon, your first contact each year with a given
country (DX entity) or CQ zone gives you a point. So if you’re
chasing the Flora and Fauna On The Air award and contact
qualifying stations in France and Italy, you also earn 4
Marathon points (one for each country; two more for Zones
14 and 15).
The DX Marathon offers a variety of operating categories
based on power and antennas. They’re explained in detail
in the 2021 rules, which you’ll find in November’s issue of
CQ and on our website at <https://tinyurl.com/y5lb6u4b>.
You can also find a lot more information, as well as tips and
techniques, on Marathon Manager K9EL’s webpage,
<www.dxmarathon.com>.
Reminder: Logs from the 2020 CQ DX Marathon are due
by January 5, 2021!
Happy Hunting and Happy New Year!
CQ Awards and Logbook of the World
As many of you know, ARRL’s Logbook of the World pro-
gram (LoTW) has long supported CQ’s WPX and Worked
All Zones (WAZ) awards. We haven’t forgotten about USA-
CA and the CQ DX Awards, but with all the recent changes
in leadership and top staff in Newington, discussions on
LoTW support for the rest of CQ’s awards have moved to
a back burner. It is our hope that during 2021 we will be able
to resume those discussions and get back on track for LoTW
support of the complete CQ award program. – W2VU
January 2021 • CQ • 87
 DX
BY BOB SCHENCK, N2OO

7H9H: IOTA Expedition to Habe Island, Indonesia

I hope all of you are doing well in these trying times! This
month, I am sharing the keyboard with my friend Budi
Santoso, YE1AR. Budi was supposed to be on the IOTA
DXpedition to Habe Island, 7H9H, but due to COVID-19 flight
travel restrictions, he was unable to go. However, he did pro-
vide abundant support to the team and has offered us an
overview of this unique DXpedition to a remote and beauti-
ful area of Indonesia! – N2OO
H
abe Island is located in Merauke Regency, Papua
Province, Indonesia, and has an area of 700- by 300-
square meters (7,350 x 3,230 square feet) and sits 10
meters (33 feet) above sea level. It has a lot natural beauty
and is inhabited by several wild animals including birds and
kangaroos.
*email: <n2oo@comcast.net

7H9H Operators
YB9YSS/P, YC9VGT/P,
YD9UX/P, YD9UCA/P
Officer ORARI Merauke-Papua
YB9WA/P, YBØUH/P
YE1AR (off- island support)

Photo A. The 7H9H team poses with the Habe Island children. (All photos courtesy of YE1AR and the 7H9H DXpedition team)

Photo B. Conversation between YB9YSS, the Secretary of Merauke Local ORARI (L), and the Chief of the Matias
Mahuse tribe.

88 • CQ • January 2021 Visit Our Web Site

 Located not far from Wambi Village in development there, as it has long been The WAZ Program
the Okaba District, Habe Island is very involved in the world of electronic engi-
likely to become a popular tourist des- neering and radio communication. It SINGLE BAND WAZ
tination because of its great beauty. also wants to contribute to safeguard- 6 Meter
165........................................................EY8MM, 27 Zones
The presence of the Indonesian ing the sovereignty of the Unitary State 166 .....................................................UR5ECW, 27 Zones
Amateur Radio Organization (ORARI) of the Republic of Indonesia (NKRI). 167......................................................US5CCO, 28 Zones
in the Merauke district contributes to One of the ways ORARI helps in this 20 Meter Digital
22 ..........................................................................IW3GJF
23 .........................................................................JA1GRM

The WPX Program 20 Meter RTTY

85 ..........................................................................VE3FJB
CW 4127. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NJ9R
4128 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . KZ9W 30 Meter CW
3986 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WB6IZG 163 ............................................................................N6VR
3987. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7UGO 4129 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7L3SQL
4130 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . W1JET 164 .............................................................................K9JF
3988 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F4BIT
3989. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E72A 4131 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . KG6T 30 Meter Digital
4132 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . W3GEG 10 ..........................................................................IW3GJF
4133. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E72A
SSB
4319 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MØSUI 40 Meter CW
4320. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7UGO
Digital 332............................................................................N3RC
4321 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . AA4CS 1361 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . AC3GH 333 ............................................................................N6VR
4322. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NJ9R 1362. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . K4NWX
4323 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . K6LDQ 1363 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . AJ6X 40 Meter Digital
4324 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . W3GEG 1364 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . VU2POL 12 .........................................................................JA1GRM
4325. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . E72A 1365 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EA3EQS
4326 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . AF1US 1366 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ACØFS 160 Meter
1367 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JA1GRM 652 ........................................................EA5RM, 30 Zones
Mixed 1368. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7UGO 653 ...........................................................N6VR, 37 Zones
4111 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NR9H 1369 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . AA4UC
160 Meter Update
4112 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . AJ6X 1370. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . KE5WCT
588.........................................................SV1RK, 40 Zones
4113 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . EA3EQS 1371 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JJ1QUV
172 ............................................................K9JF, 36 Zones
4114 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N2RSC 1372 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . N7VGO
312.....................................................UR4CWQ, 35 Zones
4115 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . W7ARW 1373. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WA3DX
4116. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . W6BCE 1374. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NJ9R
4117 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WØLMU 1375 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . AC9TA ALL BAND WAZ
4118 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . K1OUH 1376. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . K6JAX
4119 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . K5DB 1377. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DK1MCS CW
4120 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . MMØDVZ 1378 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7M1ELX 1106 .......................................................................JE7GRI
4121 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JA1GRM 1379 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DO1SPK 1107 ..........................................................................N6VR
4122. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DL7UGO 1380 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . W5GT 1108 ......................................................................IZ6AAW
4123. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . KE5WCT 1381 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . AB5WX 1109 .......................................................................G3PEM
4124 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . WE3J 1382 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . NZ1I 1110 .......................................................................USØYA
4125 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . JJ1QUV 1383 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . HB9BOI 1111 .......................................................................IK5SRF
4126 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4I1EBC 1112 .....................................................................YO2DFA
1113.....................................................................WA4JQS
CW: 350: AC7JM. 550: KA3D. 750: KG9Z. 900: HK3W. 1250: E72A. 1450: DL7UGO. 1500: W6XK. 1950: LB5WB. 3950: Digital
W9OO. 197 .......................................................................KE8KMX
198..........................................................................N8LRG
SSB: 350: AA4CS, DK1MCS. 400: NJ9R. 450: WØLMU, K5LGX. 650: W5GT. 800: KG9Z, DL7UGO. 850: AC7JM. 1050: 199.......................................................................SP3CMA
W6XK. 1200: HB9BOI. 1400: HK3W. 3600: W9OO. 200 .........................................................................JI1NNE
201 .......................................................................HB9ECS
Mixed: 450: VK4COZ, WØLMU. 500: MØSUI, KE5WCT, F4BIT, NZ1I. 600: DK1MCS, K7PT. 650: WE3J, KA3D. 700: AA4UC, 202 ........................................................................JA1MZL
NJ9R, KB2S. 750: MIØGTA. 800: 4I1EBC, NG9J. 850: I1YDT, K5DB. 900: W5GT. 1000: WB6IZG, WA6YOU. 1050: LX2SM, 203.........................................................................W3DVY
EA3EQS. 1100: JJ1QUV, LA7EIA. 1150: F6JSZ, EA3UU. 1350: K9QJ. 1450: HB9BOI. 1500: OK1UU. 1600: KG9Z, E72A, 204........................................................................SP6FXY
AC7JM. 2100: DL7UGO. 2200: JA1GRM. 2250: IZØFUW. 2550: WF2S. 2800: HK3W. 2950: W6XK. 4350: HA9PP. 5250: 205........................................................................JF3PNQ
W9OO.
Mixed
Digital: 350: I1YDT, W5GT. 400: NR9H, AJ6X, AA4UC, N7VGO, NJ9R, NZ1I. 450: N2TC, AC9TA. 500: KE5WCT. 600: 9938 ..........................................................................N6VR
K7PT, HB9BOI. 650: WE3J, KB2S. 700: MIØGTA, KG9Z. 750: NG9J. F6JSZ, WB6IZG. 800: NG9J, JF1ENF. 850: LA7EIA. 9939 .....................................................................JH2WDT
900: EA3EQS, LX2SM. 950: OK1UU, JJ1QUV. 1000: DL7UGO, WA6YOU. 1100: EA3UU. 1150: K9QJ. 1250: AC7JM, 9940 ......................................................................JE6AVT
W9VOB. 1400: IZØFUW. 1500: AA8SW. 1700: JA1GRM. 1800: W1EQ, HA9PP. 1950: WF2S. 2400: HK3W. 2500: W6XK. 9941 .....................................................................HB9ECS
9942.....................................................................JO3WHB
160 Meters: HK3W, AA4UC, E72A 9943.....................................................................DL6MHC
80 Meters: EA3EQS, DL7UGO, KM4VI, DO1SPK, K7PT, KA3D 9944 .......................................................................USØYA
40 Meters: KG9Z, EA3EQS, K5LGX, JA1GRM, DL7UGO, AA4UC, WE3J, 4I1EBC, DK1MCS, KG6T, E72A 9945 ......................................................................PA3ATZ
30 Meters: WA5YCG, JJ1QUV, KM4VI, KØBYJ, WF2S, E72A 9946 ......................................................................IW3GJF
20 Meters: NR9H, AJ6X, KG9Z, EA3EQS, K5LGX, K5DB, JA1GRM, DL7UGO, AA4UC, WE3J, JJ1QUV, KZ9W, KA3D, 9947 ..........................................................................AA3K
W5GT, LA7EIA, W9VOB 9948 .........................................................................K4RW
17 Meters: LX2SM, OK1UU, EA3EQS, 7M1ELX 9949 ..........................................................................NR8Z
15 Meters: F6JSZ, DL7UGO 9950 .....................................................................JN3QNG
12 Meters: AA8SW 9951........................................................................N6PSE
10 Meters: DL7UGO, LX2SM 9952 ....................................................................UR5ECW
6 Meters: HK3W 9953 .....................................................................JA1ODC
9954.....................................................................OK1CYC
Africa: LB5WB, KG9Z, JA1GRM, DL7UGO, E72A 9955............................................................................K1VI
Asia: VU2POL, KG9Z, EA3EQS, W7ARW, VK4COZ, K5DB, DL7UGO, JJ1QUV, 4I1EBC, 7M1ELX, E72A, W5GT, LA7EIA,
HB9BOI SSB
Europe: I1YDT, MØSUI, VU2POL, KG9Z, EA3EQS, K1OUH, K5DB, MMØDVZ, JA1GRM, DL7UGO, AA4UC, WE3J, JJ1QUV, 5487 ..........................................................................N6VR
4I1EBC, NJ9R, DK1MCS, KZ9W, DO1SPK, NG9J, F4BIT, E72A, W5GT, HB9BOI 5488 ......................................................................IZ6AAW
Oceania: KG9Z, EA3EQS, WB6IZG, JA1GRM, DL7UGO, JJ1QUV, 4I1EBC, E72A, W5GT 5489.....................................................................WA4JQS
North America: K4NWX, NR9H, AJ6X, KG9Z, EA3EQS, ACØFS, W7ARW, W6BCE, WØLMU, K1OUH, WB6IZG, K5DB, 5490 .....................................................................YO2DFA
JA1GRM, DL7UGO, AA4UC, KE5WCT, WE3J, JJ1QUV, 4I1EBC, N7VGO, NJ9R, AC9TA, K6JAX, K6LDQ, KZ9W, W1JET,
KG6T, E72A, W5GT, LA7EIA, AF1US, NZ1I Rules and applications for the WAZ program may be ob-
South America: KG9Z, JA1GRM, DL7UGO, AA4UC, E72A, W9VOB tained by sending a large SAE with two units of postage or
an address label and $1.00 to: WAZ Award Manager, John
6M Bar: HK3W Bergman, KC5LK, 125 Deer Trail, Brandon, MS 39042-9409.
The processing fee for all CQ awards is $6.00 for subscrib-
Complete rules and application forms may be obtained by sending a business-size, self-addressed, stamped envelope ers (please include your most recent CQ mailing label or a
(foreign stations send extra postage for airmail) to "CQ WPX Awards," P.O. Box 355, New Carlisle, OH 45344 USA. copy) and $12.00 for nonsubscribers. Please make all
Note: WPX will now accept prefixes/calls which have been confirmed by eQSL.cc. and the ARRL Logbook of The World checks payable to John Bergman. Applicants sending QSL
(LoTW). cards to a CQ checkpoint or the Award Manager must include
return postage. KC5LK may also be reached via e-mail:
*Please Note: The price of the 160, 30, 17, 12, 6, and Digital bars for the Award of Excellence are $6.50 each. <kc5lk@cq-amateur-radio.com>.

www.cq-amateur-radio.com January 2021 • CQ • 89

Photo C. The team was greeted by the Wambi Village community.

5 Band WAZ The CQ DX Field Award Program

As of November 15, 2020 Callsign Zones Zones
2242 stations have attained at least the 150 Zone level, Needed
and HB9FMN 198 1 on 80M & 10M
Endorsements – CW
N4MM ...........................................................................185
1063 stations have attained the 200 Zone level. I1EIS 198 1 & 19 on 10M
KØDEQ .........................................................................224
JA1DM 198 2, 40
As of September 15, 2020 JA3GN 198 2 on 80M & 40M
The top contenders for 5 Band WAZ (Zones needed on 80 JA7MSQ 198 2 on 80M & 10M Endorsements – SSB
or other if indicated): JH1EEB 198 2, 33 N4MM ...........................................................................188
CHANGES shown in BOLD KØDEQ 198 22, 26 KØDEQ .........................................................................206
K1BD 198 23, 26
Callsign Zones Zones K2EP 198 23, 24
Needed K2TK 198 23, 24 Endorsements – RTTY
AK8A 199 17 K3JGJ 198 24, 26 N4MM ...........................................................................133
DM5EE 199 1 K3LR 198 22, 23
EA5RM 199 1 K4JLD 198 18, 24
EA7GF 199 1 K5OT 198 18, 23 Endorsements – Mixed
H44MS 199 34 K9MM 198 22, 26 W6XK............................................................................184
HAØHW 199 1 KI1G 198 24, 23 on 10M W9RPM ........................................................................178
HA5AGS 199 1 KZ2I 198 24, 26 N4MM ...........................................................................208
I5REA 199 31 N4GG 198 18, 24 KØDEQ .........................................................................223
IKØXBX 199 19 on 10M NXØI 198 18, 23
IK1AOD 199 1 UA4LY 198 6 & 2 on 10M
IK6DLK 199 1 The basic award fee for subscribers to CQ is $6. For non-
UN5J 198 2, 7
IK8BQE 199 31 subscribers, it is $12. In order to qualify for the reduced sub-
US7MM 198 2, 6
IZ3ZNR 199 1 W5CWQ 198 17, 18 scriber rate, please enclose your latest CQ mailing label with
JA1CMD 199 2 W9RN 198 26, 19 on 40M your application. Endorsement stickers are $1.00 each plus
JA5IU 199 2 WC5N 198 22, 26 SASE. Updates not involving the issuance of a sticker are
JA7XBG 199 2 WL7E 198 34, 37 free. All updates and correspondence must include an
JH7CFX 199 2 ZL2AL 198 36, 37 SASE. Rules and application forms for the CQ DX Awards
JK1AJX 199 2 on 10M may be found on the <www.cq-amateur-radio. com> web-
JK1BSM 199 2 The following have qualified for the basic 5 Band WAZ site, or may be obtained by sending a business-size, self-
JK1EXO 199 2 Award: addressed, stamped envelope to CQ DX Awards Manager,
K1LI 199 24 Callsign 5BWAZ # Date # Zones Keith Gilbertson, KØKG, 21688 Sandy Beach Lane,
K2RD 199 18 KE8KMX 2248 2020-10-15 154 Rochert, MN 56578-9604 USA. Please make all checks
K4HB 199 26 N6VR 2249 2020-10-18 197 payable to the award manager.
K5TR 199 22 JO3WHB 2250 2020-10-21 158
K7UR 199 34 IW3GJF 2251 2020-10-27 185
K9KU 199 22 on 15M VE3FJB 2252 2020-10-30 155
KZ4V 199 26 UR5ECW 2253 2020-11-04 173
N3UN 199 18 N6PM 2254 2020-11-04 161 CQ DX Awards Program
N4NX 199 26
N4WW 199 26 Updates to the 5BWAZ list of stations: No Update
N4XR 199 27
N8AA 199 23 Callsign 5BWAZ # Date # Zones
UA9FGR 1607 2020-10-16 199 The basic award fee for subscribers to CQ is $6. For non-
N8DX 199 23 subscribers, it is $12. In order to qualify for the reduced sub-
N8TR 199 23 on 10M K7AWB 2234 2020-10-17 175
N3RC 1697 2020-10-17 192 scriber rate, please enclose your latest CQ mailing label with
RA6AX 199 6 on 10M your application. Endorsement stickers are $1.00 each plus
RU3DX 199 6 J68HZ 2207 2020-11-05 192
SASE. Updates not involving the issuance of a sticker are
RWØLT 199 2 on 40M New recipients of 5 Band WAZ with all 200 Zones con- free. All updates and correspondence must include an
RX4HZ 199 13 firmed: SASE. Rules and application forms for the CQ DX Awards
RZ3EC 199 1 on 40M
may be found on the <www.cq-amateur-radio.com> web-
S58Q 199 31 5BWAZ # Callsign Date All 200 # site, or may be obtained by sending a business-size, self-
SM7BIP 199 31 None addressed, stamped envelope to CQ DX Awards Manager,
UA9FGR 199 2
Please make checks payable to the Award Manager, Keith
VO1FB 199 19 Rules and applications for the WAZ program may be obtained
W1FJ 199 24 Gilbertson. Mail all updates to Keith Gilbertson, KØKG,
by sending a large SAE with two units of postage or an address 21688 Sandy Beach Lane, Rochert, MN 56578-9604 USA.
W1FZ 199 26 label and $1.00 to: WAZ Award Manager, John Bergman,
W3LL 199 18 on 10M We recognize 341 active countries. Please make all checks
KC5LK, 125 Deer Trail, Brandon, MS 39042-9409. The pro-
W3NO 199 26 payable to the award manager. Photocopies of documen-
cessing fee for the 5BWAZ award is $10.00 for subscribers
W4LI 199 26 (please include your most recent CQ mailing label or a copy) tation issued by recognized national Amateur Radio asso-
W6DN 199 17 and $15.00 for nonsubscribers. An endorsement fee of $2.00 ciations that sponsor international awards may be accept-
W6RKC 199 21 for subscribers and $5.00 for nonsubscribers is charged for able for CQ DX award credit in lieu of having QSL cards
W6TMD 199 34 each additional 10 zones confirmed. Please make all checks checked. Documentation must list (itemize) countries that
W9XY 199 22 payable to John Bergman. Applicants sending QSL cards to a have been credited to an applicant. Screen printouts from
9A5I 198 1, 16 CQ checkpoint or the Award Manager must include return eQSL.cc that list countries confirmed through their system
EA5BCX 198 27, 39 postage. KC5LK may also be reached via e-mail: <kc5lk@cq- are also acceptable. Screen printouts listing countries cred-
F5NBU 198 19, 31 amateur-radio.com>. ited to an applicant through an electronic logging system
F6DAY 198 2 on 10M & 15M offered by a national Amateur Radio organization also may
G3KDG 198 1, 12 *Please note: Cost of the 5 Band WAZ Plaque is $100 shipped be acceptable. Contact the CQ DX Award Manager for
G3KMQ 198 1, 27 within the U.S.; $120 all foreign (sent airmail). specific details.

90 • CQ • January 2021 Visit Our Web Site

mission is by holding an Islands On The Air (IOTA)
DXpedition and Lighthouse on The Air activities on the outer
islands that border neighboring countries. If one of the islands
in Merauke Regency is registered in the world of amateur
radio, the Merauke Local Papua Regional Indonesian Radio
Amateur Organization conducts a DXpedition there with the
special callsign 7H9H (Photo A). Habe Island has been
Photo D. Paulus Mahuse, candidate for local ORARI
Merauke member and son of the tribal chief.
Photo E. YD9UCA, YC9VGT, YB9YSS, and Paulus Mahuse,
with Habe Island girls, in front of very large statue of Jesus
that overlooks the island.
www.cq-amateur-radio.com
named by the IOTA program as OC-275. It also has a light-
house designated as ARLHS IDO-388.
On Friday, 23 October 2020 the 10 members of the Habe
Island DXpedition Team, led by OM Ali R. Lights, YB9WA,
departed for the DXpedition. The team, which included four
YLs, split up on different vehicles and reunited in Makalin vil-
lage. There, they were greeted by the head of the Marind
Photo F. YC9VGT (L) and YD9UCA (R) assembling a 40-
meter dipole.
Photo G. YC9VGT and Paulus Mahuse install the 40-meter
dipole on the 25-meter (82-foot) high lighthouse tower.
January 2021 • CQ • 91
Tribe, Okaba Matias Mahuse (Photo B),
and the village residents (Photo C).
They were asked by the local resi-
dents to participate in a ritual event that
would take place in the village for three
days, considering that all the tribal
chiefs and traditional leaders had gath-
ered there, The ritual was to commem-
orate 100 days since the death of the
wife of one of the local ORARI mem-
bers, Paulus Mahuse (Photo D), who is
also the son of the Marind tribal chief,
Matias Mahuse.
In this traditional ritual procession, the
Merauke Local ORARI was also given

The WPX Honor Roll

The WPX Honor Roll is based on the current confirmed prefixes which are submitted by separate application in strict conformance with the CQ
Master Prefix list. Scores are based on the current prefix total, regardless of an operator’s all-time count. Honor Roll must be updated annually
by addition to, or confirmation of, present total. If no up-date, files will be made inactive.

MIXED
9055.....9A2AA 4757.....I2MQP 3028 ...IK2DZN 2356 ........NE6I 1821.....PY5FB 1447.......K3XA 1201 ......K9BO 1010 ....VE3RZ 711.........AG1T
8077.......K2VV 4681 ..JH8BOE 3015 .......K1PL 2300 ......N7ZO 1771 .......NIØC 1422 ....I2VGW 1167 ..WA9PIE 1007 ....AA4QE 695 ...W8WDW
7922.....9A2NA 4673 ......NN1N 2987......W6XK 2225 ..JH1APK 1758 ....N5KAE 1408.......NH6T 1153 ....N3CAL 1006 ..NØRQV 682 ..........AI8P
7654 .....W1CU 4574 ..JN3SAC 2987 .....AG4W 2203 ........KI1U 1746....K6UXO 1398 ..ES4RLH 1148 ..SP8HKT 1001 ..KE8FMJ 674.......N5JED
6722......EA2IA 4521 .....IK2ILH 2968....AB1OC 2211..IZØFUW 1719....N6PEQ 1377 ....KC1UX 1137..YO5BRZ 1000 ..WB6IZG 661 .........AL4Y
6577.......KF2O 4462.......K1BV 2963 ......N3RC 2176 .....V51YJ 1711 .......NS3L 1361.....VA3VF 1136 ......KO9V 969 .......4F3BZ 633......TI5LUA
5677 .ON4CAS 4342 WB2YQH 2913 .......NXØI 2133......KØKG 1667.......AD3Y 1322 ....AA4FU 1116 ...YU7FW 966 .......W6WF 621 .....K4HDW
5645 ...KØDEQ 4298 ....VE3XN 2697 ......AK7O 2113....W2FKF 1647 ....9A2GA 1301...JF1LMB 1107....PY2MC 919 ....ON7MIC 616 .....AC6BW
5594 ....S53EO 4241......N6QQ 2651......HK3W 2040.......K4HB 1643 ...SV1DPI 1301 KB9OWD 1100 WA3GOS 903 .........AF4T 605 .....IW2FLB
5539 ......N4NO 4201....YO9HP 2589 ...DG7RO 2019 ......N6PM 1616 .......TA1L 1301.......K1DX 1074 .....WU9D 889 .......WU1U
5482 ....VE1YX 3951.......W3LL 2583..PA2TMS 2016......N2WK 1570 ....PY5VC 1301 .....KM5VI 1071 .....N6MM 857.........R1AV
5453 ....YU1AB 3855.WD9DZV 2550 ......K6ND 1995 ...JR3UIC 1568 .....N3AIU 1299...JA6JYM 1069....IZ4MJP 851.........N3DF
5387 .....W9OP 3784....K9UQN 2457 ......K5UR 1972 ...K3CWF 1524 ...W1FNB 1295 .......NIØC 1058 ....N6DBF 835 ......K6RAH
5318 ....N8BJQ 3665 .......AB1J 2453.......AA8R 1934......NKØS 1524 NH6T/W4 1280......WF1H 1036....DL5KW 762 ....JP1KHY
5272 .......N6JV 3538 ......9A4W 2420.WA6KHK 1888..VA7CRZ 1484....FG4NO 1260 ..UR6LEY 1032..DG5LAC 758 .......N4JJS
5215......I5RFD 3459........W9IL 2394.......AE5B 1870..JH1QKG 1480 .....K4JKB 1219 ....K6HRT 1023...N4WQH 757........WB3D
4934 .....W9OO 3130..SV1EDY 2391 .....WO7R 1828 .......K7LV 1462 ....AC7JM 1217 ....AB1QB 1016......W9QL 736 ....JA3MAT
4898 ..WA5VGI 3099.......N6FX 2387......W2YR 1824 ......WF7T 1462 ...DL4CW 1204 .....VA2IG 1012 ...NØVVV 718.....KE4PLT

SSB
6992 ....OZ5EV 3174 ......I3ZSX 2532........W9IL 2093.....W2WC 1611 .....W2ME 1187 ....IZ1JLG 1022 .....NW3H 802 ........N6OU 684 ........KO9V
6334.....9A2NA 3172....YO9HP 2483 .....AG4W 2084 ......K5UR 1587.......N3XX 1183 ........KI1U 1012 ....KU4BP 801.........K3XA 675 ......F1MQJ
6085.......K2VV 3141 ..DL8AAV 2451..EA3GHZ 2080 .......NXØI 1550 ...IK2RPE 1150 .VE6BMX 1004.......K4HB 766 ......I2VGW 655.......VA3VF
5404 ....VE1YX 3130 ..WA5VGI 2443 ..JN3SAC 2076 .......K2XF 1442 ...DG7RO 1146 ......SQ7B 1004 ...WA5UA 763 .......K4JKB 647 ......YB8NT
5148.......KF2O 3108......I4CSP 2335 ......KG1E 2048..W4QNW 1386......HK3W 1136 ...K3CWF 978 ......EA7HY 758....IV3GOW 640 ......UA9YF
4800......EA2IA 3080 ....N8BJQ 2326 ....CX6BZ 1955 ....EA3NP 1386 ...IK4HPU 1112.......NH6T 957........W9QL 724........WF1H 637......K5WAF
4410.....I2MQP 3067......N6QQ 2278 .......K1PL 1935..SV1EOS 1383......NKØS 1098 ......K4CN 934 ......PY5VC 724 ........W3TZ 630........W6US
3990 ...KØDEQ 2990 ....KF7RU 2209...IK2QPR 1921.WD9DZV 1371.....VE6BF 1096 ..JA7HYS 931 ......YB1AR 717 .....KØDAN 624 ......K6KZM
3681 ......N4NO 2984 .....KI7AO 2201 ......NQ3A 1884.WA6KHK 1338 ........NE6I 1089 ....IZ8FFA 929 .........NS3L 717 ......N3JON 606 ......KJ4BIX
3585 .SV3AQR 2935 .....PT7ZT 2200.......N6FX 1879......K3IXD 1334..EA3EQT 1089 ...IT9ABN 919....KA5EYH 714.....YB2TJV 604 .....GØBPK
3505 ......NN1N 2903 ....IN3QCI 2198....AB1OC 1848.......AB5C 1330 ....N5KAE 1057......W6XK 893.....W9RPM 713 ....JH1APK 600 .......WU1U
3456 .....W9OO 2857.....4X6DK 2131 ......N3RC 1825 ......KQ8D 1262 .......K7LV 1053 .....N6MM 889 .......N3AIU 710 ....WA9PIE 600...WA3PZO
3403 .......I8KCI 2650 ...IK2DZN 2129....K9UQN 1812 ......K6ND 1261......W2YR 1042 ..IZØBNR 875......K7SAM 700 ......N4FNB
3382.......W3LL 2595.....EA1JG 2122.......AE5B 1646 .VE7SMP 1258 ......N1KC 1032..DG5LAC 854 ......K6HRT 700 .....JA1PLL
3333..CT1AHU 2582..PA2TMS 2113....W2FKF 1641 ....AE9DX 1248....N6PEQ 1031 ......K4CN 833 ...DK8MCT 694 ...KG4HUF
3274 .YU7BCD 2568.SM6DHU 2094.......I8LEL 1622.......K5CX 1222 ....YF1AR 1031 ...IK8OZP 808 ....UR6LEY 690........W6PN

CW
7264.WA2HZR 4131 ..WA5VGI 2943......N6QQ 2291.......N3XX 1620 ...DG7RO 1342 .VE6BMX 962 .........K7LV 752 ......K6HRT 608.....W9RPM
7127.......K2VV 4067......I7PXV 2915 .......KA7T 2212.......AC5K 1595.....PY5FB 1235 ..JH1APK 955......N6PEQ 743 ....JA5NSR 605........NKØS
6024.....9A2NA 3974 ..JN3SAC 2846.WD9DZV 2084 .......NXØI 1505 ........R3IS 1220 ....AA4FU 944......AB1OC 738 ..NH6T/W4 600 ........NY4G
5261.......KF2O 3804 .....W9OO 2811....OZ5UR 2022 ....AF5CC 1498......W6XK 1210 ...DL4CW 908.........NH6T 735 ......N5KAE 600 .....IK2SGV
5160 ......N4NO 3675 ......NN1N 2667........W9IL 1998 ......K5UR 1487 .......NIØC 1196 .....N3AIU 897........HK3W 732 ........SQ7B
5112 .......N6JV 3504 .YU7BCD 2548 ...EA2CIN 1973 ......N3RC 1483 ....VE1YX 1098....LU5OM 891 ...DK8MCT 722 ....WA9PIE
5104......EA2IA 3357....K9UQN 2531.....I2MQP 1905.WA6KHK 1480......WO3Z 1062.......K3XA 890 .........NS3L 720 ........K4CN
4860.......W8IQ 3279.....IØNNY 2490.......N6FX 1832.......N4YB 1458 .....AG4W 1046......W2YR 889 .......N3AIU 711.....JF1LMB
4687....IZ3ETU 3214.SM6DHU 2477.....VE6BF 1762 ......K6ND 1443.WA2VQV 1036....DL5KW 864....YO5BRZ 652 .....IK2DZN
4659 ...KØDEQ 3041....YO9HP 2424.....W2WC 1744 ........NE6I 1432 .......K1PL 1027.......AE5B 848 ......PY5VC 629....IV3GOW
4589 ....N8BJQ 3031 .EA7AAW 2364.......W3LL 1727....K6UXO 1421 .KN1CBR 992 .......F5PBL 821....HB9DAX 620......AF5DM
4570 .......I3FIY 2948...IK3GER 2357 .....W9HR 1691 ........KI1U 1389....IT9ELD 968 .....K3CWF 783 ......YB1AR 615....JH6JMM

DIGITAL
2794 ....N8BJQ 1989 ..WA5VGI 1500 ..JH1APK 1149........W9IL 1021 ......NN1N 917 .........K7LV 811........WF1H 672 ......K9AAN
2721.......W3LL 1961 ....K2YYY 1467 .......NXØI 1139 ...W1FNB 1009 GUØSUP 881 ..........NE6I 810 ......N3CAL 670....IV3GOW
2690.......KF2O 1850 ......N6PM 1426....AB1OC 1129......NKØS 1002...NØRQV 870 ....WB6IZG 800 ..WA3GOS 668....KA5EYH
2570.WD9DZV 1836 .....AG4W 1378 ...K3CWF 1112 ....AB1QB 1001 ..KE8FMJ 868 .........AF4T 783 ......YB1AR 660 ....JP1KHY
2558.......NT2A 1818 .....W1EQ 1324 .......K1PL 1093 ........KI1U 971.....JF1LMB 866 ........SQ7B 758 .......N4JJS 654 ....JA3MAT
2496......W6XK 1790 ..JN3SAC 1279 ....KC1UX 1091.....VA3VF 966 .........NS3L 858 .......WU9D 750 ....ON7MIC 640 ..WA9ONY
2428 ...KØDEQ 1704 ...IK2DZN 1250 1089 ....AC7JM 947 ......I2VGW 855.........R1AV 750 ..NH6T/W4 636.....W9RPM
2242......HK3W 1661 ......N7ZO W2/JR1AQN 1051 ..KH6SAT 922........EA2IA 844.........N3DF 722........W2YR 611 ........KO9V
2217....YO9HP 1643 ......N3RC 1227 ..ES4RLH 1047 ..RW4WZ 923......K9UQN 812 ....UR6LEY 681 ......PY5VC 600 ......ADØFL

REMOTE OPERATION
CW MIXED SSB DIGITAL
7277 ....K9QVB 4026 ......N1RR 2953 ......N1RR 671 ........N1RR
3292 ......N1RR

92 • CQ • January 2021 Visit Our Web Site

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Photo H. YB9YSS calling CQ on 40 meters. Photo I. Urbanus Kiaf Atek calling CQ on 20 meters.

an award from the chief of the tribe
because one of the members of the
Merauke Orlok Urbanus Kiaf Atek was
involved in taking care of Paulus
Mahuse’s wife from the time of her ill-
ness to the time of the funeral. This was
one reason why our trip was delayed by
three days. Besides that, the residents
and traditional leaders in Wambi Village,
the Habe Island residents, and the
speedboat drivers were also involved in
the ritual procession so that we were not
able to continue our trip to Habe Island
at that time.
After the traditional ritual was com-
pleted, the DXpedition team continued
the road trip by truck to Es Wambi
Village to meet the tribal heads, tradi-
tional leaders, and residents to con-
vey the intent and purpose of the IOTA
operation on Habe Island. At first, we
were thought to be campaigning, since
local elections were coming up, but we
were able to convince the local people
and finally we got their blessing and
permission to operate our radios from
Habe Island. The team returned to the
truck to go to Wambi beach and con-
tinued the journey to Habe Island via
speedboat.
Arriving at Habe Island, the team
dropped all goods and equipment on
the coast and headed for the only build-

www.cq-amateur-radio.com January 2021 • CQ • 93

Photo J. YD9UCA op Isayas Balagaise, Photo K. Dilla, a high school student who took part in the Habe Island DXpedition,
a native of Merauke, calling CQ on 40. operates under the watchful eyes of Habe Island residents.

ing on the island and again conveyed

the intent and purpose of their arrival.
After being given permission, the team
returned to transport equipment ap-
proximately 100 meters up the moun-
tain, not far from the statue of Jesus pre-
cisely under the lighthouse (ARLHS
IDO-388) (Photo E) to build tents and
stations (Photos F and G). At exactly
15:45 WIT (Eastern Indonesian Time –
UTC+9), the station was ready to trans-
mit. At 16:00 WIT, the Habe Island
DXpedition Team went on the air with
the call 7H9H OC 275 IDO-388 (Photos
H-J). Young people from the local com-
munity also watched and operated
(Photos K and L) Photo L. Fatmawati, a high school student recruited by ORARI Lokal Merauke
The Habe Island DXpedition Team from JOTA/JOTI 2020 (Jamboree on the Air / Jamboree on the Internet) oper-
operated for three days from 26 October ates the 7H9H station.
to 29 October 2020 with a total of 1,277
QSOs. They managed despite running
out of food and having trouble getting
clean water to cook rice and brush our
teeth. We were forced to use sea water
for showering (Photo M).
On Thursday afternoon, 29 October,
the team departed from Habe Island
directly to Makalin Village via speed-
boat. After arriving at Kampung Maka-
lin, the team spent the night and the next
day continuing the journey to the Bian
River and then through Urumb to
Merauke City.
That’s the report of the HABE Island
7H9H Team DXpedition, Merauke 01
November 2020. We hope you enjoy
our photos. A beautiful QSL is available
via the team’s QSL manager, N2OO.
The log is posted on Club Log. OQRS Photo M. According to Marind tradition, rubbing the mud on the body can reduce
is available there. the heat of the sun.

94 • CQ • January 2021 Visit Our Web Site

 CONTESTING
BY TIM SHOPPA,* N3QE

Fall Contest Season Begins With Record Levels of Activity

M
ore than 9,200 logs were sub-
mitted for the CQWW SSB con-
test held on the last weekend of
October 2020. This sets a new record
for most logs submitted for any amateur
radio contest.
Table 1 shows increases in contest
activity since pandemic restrictions
began in mid-March 2020. Note that
most spring and summer contests in
2020 showed increases in activity of
30% or more over 2019 levels, but the
fall contests are showing smaller per-
centage increases. A possible expla-
nation is that folks were already staying
inside much of the winter in previous
years so there’s less room for growth in
the winter statistics. I project that win-
ter 2020-2021 contests will show par-
ticipation increases over the previous
year in the 10-25% range.
In the first weekend of November
2020, claimed scores indicate that new Table 1. Participation in select amateur radio contests. Data from contest spon-
records may have been set in several sor logs received and contest result webpages.
categories of the ARRL Sweepstakes
tain used as a partition are visible on
CW contest. Helped by the high partici-
the right of the photo.
pation and the availability of a new ARRL
One piece of advice I would like to
section (Prince Edward Island) as a mul-
offer for those carefully doing multi-
tiplier, the multi-op team at N6WIN using
operator contesting in person: Stiff full-
call ND7K claims a new record high
size paper / fiber masks like I’m wear-
score of 255,360 in the multi-op catego-
ing in the photo are superior to cloth
ry, and VE5MX claims a new record high
coverings. The cloth masks touch my
score of 244,944 points in the single-
lips and limited my articulation. I’m not
operator unlimited category.
sure how much of the articulation dif-
ference is audible in amateur SSB
Staying Safe at a Multi- bandwidths, but I was more confident
Operator Station in my ability to give rapid-fire phonetic
I’ve been privileged to operate at the callsigns and reports when my lips were
W3LPL multi-operator / multi-radio con- behind the paper mask, and not touch-
test station in many major contests in ing a cloth mask.
the past seven years. In a normal year, Photo A. The author (N3QE) operating
14 or more operators work overlapping CQWW SSB at W3LPL’s M/S 2020
effort. RTTY and FT4 / FT8 Band Usage
shifts at the station, often with 10 or
more operators in the shack at one time. in HF Digital Contests
In 2020, station owner Frank Dono- tionally, transparent shower curtains The first weekend of January is the
van, W3LPL, chose to enter in the multi- were repurposed into partitions at each ARRL RTTY Roundup. Although this
single category, and I joined in as one position, allowing further social dis- contest has “RTTY” in its title, it has
of the reduced crew of only eight oper- tancing while letting the operators all always allowed use of any digital mode
ators. The smaller number of operators, view each other for coordination. (not just Baudot RTTY) that conveys the
and CQing on only a single band at a You can see me in action in Photo A. required exchange information, and in
time, allowed us to limit shack occu- Note that I, like all the guest operators, the past several years, FT4 and FT8
pancy to four or fewer operators at a wore a mask while inside the shack. modes have been the major non-RTTY
time. The search and pounce positions You can also see that I’m wearing sev- modes used in this contest.
used pre-recorded messages whenev- eral layers of clothing — the shack win- I’ve been reviewing the public logs for
er possible to complete QSOs. Addi- dows were all wide open, with a window the ARRL RTTY Roundup, in prepara-
fan running on high, providing continu- tion for the upcoming contest. These
ous fresh-air circulation. Some reflec- logs are available at the ARRL Contest
email: <n3qe@cq-amateur-radio.com> tions from the transparent shower cur- Portal at <https://contests.arrl.org>. I

www.cq-amateur-radio.com January 2021 • CQ • 95

note that in 2019, 22% of submitted log entries show the
mode as FT4 or FT8, and in 2020, a similar (though slightly
smaller) 18% as FT4 / FT8.
The vast majority (95%) of Cabrillo format logs for RTTY
contests show frequency with a resolution of 1 kHz so it is
straightforward to construct histograms showing how often
each frequency shows up in the logs. I’ve processed the pub-
lic logs and produced Figure 1, which shows the frequency
usage for ARRL RTTY Roundup 2020. The height of the red
bar for each kHz histogram bin represents RTTY QSOs
(those logged as “RY” in the Cabrillo). And the height of the
green bar represents FT4 / FT8 activity (denoted as “DG” in
the Cabrillo standard).
The height of the green bars in the narrow slivers of spec-
trum at 7.047-7.050 MHz, 7.080-7.083 MHz, 14.080-14.083
MHz, and 14.130-14.133 MHz — rising as sharp spikes in
the graphs — shows the remarkable spectral efficiency of the
FT4 / FT8 modes. Although FT4 / FT8 is not producing as
high a rate (QSOs per hour) as RTTY in contests, it allows
more productivity of a different kind, when measured as
QSOs per kHz. The FT4 / FT8 bandwidths of 83 Hz and 50
Hz allow more simultaneous QSOs per kHz of spectrum.
RTTY operations (in red) largely stayed clear of the dens-
est FT4 / FT8 activity. FT4 / FT8 is not necessarily a “weak
signal” mode, and RTTY operators straying into the FT4 /
FT8 spectrum would quickly find their productivity to be low.
All operators using digital modes, and especially contesters,
should be aware of other modes active in the digital parts of
the spectrum to avoid QRM. In addition to band plans and
frequency usage charts like Figure 1, you can use your ears
to identify some of the most common digital modes. When
you hear a digital mode that is not a contest mode, you can
use your VFO knob to go to a more productive part of the
spectrum and avoid cross-digital-mode QRM. When you see
deep valleys in Figure 1 (for example, 7.070-7.080 MHz), this
is a strong clue that other digital modes are active there.
Please note the absence of contest QSOs in deep valleys
around the popular non-contest FT8 watering holes of 7.074-
7.077 MHz and 14.074-14.077 MHz. The ARRL RTTY
Roundup requires that the WSJT software be set to its spe-
cial RTTY Roundup contest mode to give the required
exchange for the contest. The overwhelming majority of
action in the non-contest FT8 regions is taking place with
WSJT not set to the contest mode, and it’s not productive to
be in those sections of band.
On February 13th and February 14, 2021, the 48-hour CQ

Calendar of Events

All year CQ DX Marathon http://bit.ly/vEKMWD

Dec. 31-Jan. 1 Bogor Old and New Contest https://contest.orari-bogor.org/
Jan. 1 AGB New Year Snowball Contest http://ev5agb.com/contest/contests_e.htm
Jan. 1 ARRL Straight Key Night http://www.arrl.org/straight-key-night
Jan. 1 QRP ARCI New Year’s Day Sprint http://www.qrparci.org/contests
Jan. 1 SARTG New Year RTTY Contest http://www.sartg.com/contest/nyrules.htm
Jan. 1 AGCW Happy New Year Contest https://bit.ly/35nBqSR
Jan. 1 AGCW VHF/UHF Contest https://bit.ly/3lw91PK
Jan. 2 ARRL Kids Day http://www.arrl.org/kids-day
Jan. 2 PODSX PSKFest http://bit.ly/2Qv3wkA
Jan. 2 Winter VHF Sprint http://rvhfg.org/WinterSprintRules.txt
Jan. 2-3 ARRL RTTY Roundup http://www.arrl.org/rtty-roundup
Jan. 2-3 EU CW 160m Contest http://www.eucw.org/eu160.html
Jan. 2-3 Original QRP Contest http://www.qrpcc.de/contestrules/index.html
Jan. 2-3 WW PMC Contest http://bit.ly/2y2QWCc
Jan. 3 Veron SWL New Year Contest http://bit.ly/2L9eT1L
Jan. 6 UKEICC 80 Meter Contest SSB https://bit.ly/2SDPqQQ
Jan. 6 VHF-UHF FT8 Activity http://www.ft8activity.eu/index.php/en/
Jan. 6-7 AWA Linc Cundall Memorial Contest https://bit.ly/3iDUm34
Jan. 9 YB DX Contest SSB https://ybdxcontest.com/
Jan. 9-10 AWA Linc Cundall Memorial Contest https://bit.ly/3iDUm34
Jan. 9-10 North American CW QSO Party http://ncjweb.com/naqp/
Jan. 9-10 UBA PSK63 Prefix Contest http://bit.ly/2Oi8fsa
Jan. 10 DARC 10-Meter Contest http://bit.ly/2pCiRo1
Jan. 10 NRAU –Baltic SSB Contest https://www.nrau.net/
Jan. 10 NRAU –Baltic CW Contest https://www.nrau.net/
Jan. 13 VHF-UHF FT8 Activity http://www.ft8activity.eu/index.php/en/
Jan. 16-17 Feld Hell “Low Down” Sprint https://bit.ly/3eKxi2f
Jan. 16-17 Hungarian DX Contest http://www.ha-dx.com/en/
Jan. 16-17 North American SSB QSO Party http://ncjweb.com/naqp/
Jan. 16-18 ARRL January VHF Contest http://www.arrl.org/january-vhf
Jan. 23-24 BARTG RTTY Sprint http://bartg.org.uk/wp/contests/
Jan. 23-24 UK/EI DX Contest Rules https://www.ukeicc.com/dx-contest-rules.php
Jan. 27 UKEICC 80 Meter Contest CW https://bit.ly/2SDPqQQ
Jan. 29-31 CQ WW 160M CW Contest http://cq160.com/rules.htm
Jan. 30-31 REF CW Contest http://concours.ref-union.org/contest/?page_id=2
Jan. 30-31 UBA SSB Contest http://bit.ly/W0gZiE
Jan. 30-31 Winter Field Day https://www.winterfieldday.com/

96 • CQ • January 2021 Visit Our Web Site

WPX RTTY Contest will be held. Baudot RTTY is the only
allowed mode in this contest. The WPX Contest Director, Ed
Muns, WØYK, got me copies of all 2020 RTTY WPX logs for
analysis, and I produced similar frequency usage charts for
WPX RTTY shown in Figure 2. What strikes me, comparing
digital mode usage shown in Figure 2 to Figure 1, is that the
bands are more broadly occupied by RTTY signals to both
lower and higher extents.
For U.S. Stations in digital contests, be aware of an FCC rule
that limits available frequencies on the 80-meter band. No
RTTY or digital transmissions may be made by U.S. hams
above 3.600 MHz, although DX stations may be allowed to
transmit there. This is especially obvious in the CQ WPX RTTY
and CQWW RTTY contests, which are very international in
nature. Note that a U.S. ham using AFSK modulation with the
rig is in LSB mode, would be allowed to transmit with the radio
dial reading 3.601 MHz if he / she were using standard 2.125-
kHz tones. The lower sideband of the resulting transmission
only has RF below 3.6 MHz in this case.
Networking for Contest Station Automation
In the 2013 era, I used parallel port outputs from my logging
PC running N1MM to do antenna switching. I had a rat’s nest
of wires on the desk, running from the back of my PC to some
transistor buffers that drove my remote antenna and tuner
switching relays. I found it worthwhile to do the automation,
especially in contesting events like the NA Sprint where fre-
quent band changes are advantageous. This worked well for
several years, but in fall of 2017, that old PC’s motherboard
failed. I switched to a more modern logging PC that didn’t
have serial or parallel ports and began searching for an updat-
ed approach to remote antenna relay switching.
I then noticed W7IY’s article in September 2017 NCJ, “An
Auto-Tuner for an 80-Meter Dipole.” Stu describes how he
uses an ESP8266 Wi-Fi module (around $2) to remotely
switch 80-meter antenna tuner coils based on the frequency
that the rig is tuned. I learned that many loggers (including
my favorite contest logger, N1MM+) offers extensive support
for frequency information and antenna selection via UDP
packets over the network, broadcast by the logging comput-
er. The packets stay confined to the local network but are
available to whatever gadgets in the station need them. The
ESP8266 has Wi-Fi connectivity built in, and it can be pro-
grammed using either the LUA scripting language or the C
language using the Arduino framework.
I was at first dubious of using networking for real-time shack

FEBRUARY 2021
Feb. 2 RSGB 80m Club Championship, SSB https://www.rsgbcc.org/hf/rules/2020/r80mcc.shtml
Feb. 3 UKEICC 80m Contests SSB https://bit.ly/2SDPqQQ
Feb. 3 VHF-UHF FT8 Activity http://www.ft8activity.eu/index.php/en/
Feb. 6 FISTS Winter Saturday Sprint http://www.fistsna.org/operating.html
Feb. 6 FYBO Winter QRP Sprint http://www.qrpcontest.com/
Feb. 6 AGCW Straight Key Party https://bit.ly/3ngQSpB
Feb. 6 Minnesota QSO Party https://www.w0aa.org/mn-qso-party/
Feb. 6-7 10-10 Int’l Winter Contest http://bit.ly/1FrFeBc
Feb. 6-7 British Columbia QSO Party http://www.orcadxcc.org/bcqp_rules.html
Feb. 6-7 Vermont QSO Party http://www.ranv.org/ranv.html
Feb. 6-7 Mexico RTTY International Contest https://bit.ly/35kiJ20
Feb. 6-7 North American CW Sprint http://ncjweb.com/north-american-sprint/
Feb.8-12 ARRL School Club Roundup http://www.arrl.org/school-club-roundup
Feb. 10 VHF-UHF FT8 Activity http://www.ft8activity.eu/index.php/en/
Feb. 10 RSGB 80m Club Championship, DATA https://www.rsgbcc.org/hf/rules/2020/r80mcc.shtml
Feb. 13 RSGB 1st 1.8 MHZ Contest CW https://www.rsgbcc.org/hf/
Feb. 13 Asia-Pacific Spring Sprint (CW) http://jsfc.org/apsprint/
Feb. 13-14 CQ WW RTTY WPX Contest http://www.cqwpxrtty.com/
Feb. 13-14 AWA Amplitude Modulation QSO Party https://bit.ly/2Io0u3e
Feb. 13-14 Dutch PACC Contest http://pacc.veron.nl/
Feb. 13-14 KCJ Topband Contest https://www.kcj-cw.com/e_index.htm
Feb. 13-14 OMISS QSO Party http://www.omiss.net/Facelift/qsoparty.php
Feb. 13-14 SARL Field Day Contest http://bit.ly/H0IqQf
Feb. 13-15 YL OM Contest https://ylrl.org/wp/yl-om-contest/
Feb. 14 CQC Winter QSO Party http://bit.ly/2Qayte1
Feb. 14 PODXS 070 Club Valentine Sprint http://bit.ly/2Rp8LTk
Feb.15 RSGB FT4 Contest Series http://bit.ly/38xg9V7
Feb. 17 AGCW Semi-Automatic Key Evening https://bit.ly/3ngQSpB
Feb. 21 FISTS Winter Sunday Sprint http://www.fistsna.org/operating.html
Feb. 20-21 ARRL CW DX Contest http://www.arrl.org/arrl-dx
Feb. 20-21 Russian WW PSK Contest http://bit.ly/2MsppCr
Feb. 24 UKEICC 80m Contests CW https://bit.ly/2SDPqQQ
Feb. 25 RSGB 80m Club Championship, CW https://www.rsgbcc.org/hf/rules/2020/r80mcc.shtml
Feb. 26-28 CQ WW 160M SSB Contest http://www.cq160.com/rules.htm
Feb. 27-28 REF SSB Contest http://concours.ref-union.org/contest/?page_id=2
Feb. 27-28 Hiroshima Worked All Squares https://www.hs-contest.org/
Feb. 28 High Speed Club CW Contest http://www.highspeedclub.org/
Feb. 27-28 South Carolina QSO Party http://scqso.com/
Feb. 27-28 North American RTTY QSO Party http://ncjweb.com/naqp/
Feb. 27-28 UBA CW DX Contest http://bit.ly/W0gZiE
Feb. 28-Mar.1 North Carolina QSO Party http://ncqsoparty.org/rules/

www.cq-amateur-radio.com January 2021 • CQ • 97

automation. Can shack networking, contest reflector, <https://groups.io/g/ ty in N1MM, and he replied that he was
especially Wi-Fi, be reliable and real- N1MMLoggerPlus>. I reached out to just continuing and growing the tech-
time enough for rapid-fire band him to learn more and he was happy to nology: “The UDP Broadcast features
changes? I learned how to program the answer my questions. Larry identifies in N1MM existed prior to my arrival on
ESP8266 in the LUA scripting lan- the great interest in networking for the Development Team 12 years ago.
guage. It was straightforward to con- antenna switching when he says, “the It’s fair to claim that I am a strong pro-
struct my Wi-Fi Antenna relay controller increasing complexity of station hard- ponent of TCP / UDP packets rather
shown in Photo B. The top of the PCB ware has exposed the fundamental than serial traffic, and that I have been
has the ESP8266 mounted in the open flaws of serial ports’ short range and their pushing to expand network-based sta-
to allow Wi-Fi signals to easily reach it. selfish one-to-one relationships. Further- tion control whenever opportunities pre-
The bottom of the PCB shows my more, the dramatic rise in remote oper- sent themselves.”.
“dead-bug” PCB construction. Note that ation has accelerated the use of the When I asked if he knows of other log-
only five pins on the ESP8266 module internet and TCP/IP for connecting ham ging software that supports network
need to be wired: Two pins for power, shacks to distant hardware sites.” UDP broadcasts the way N1MM+ does,
and three GPIO pins to allow binary I asked Larry if I could completely K8UT answered, “the N1MM Develop-
selection for one-of-eight antenna credit him with the network connectivi- ment Team has a close working rela-
selection. The three GPIO pins go to a
74HC138 one-of-eight decoder, and
the output from that drives a ULN2003
Darlington array that sinks current from
the chosen antenna relays. The RJ-45
jack is not used for wired Ethernet; this
is the connector I’ve standardized on for
my relay antenna wiring.
I really enjoyed learning about ESP-
8266 programming and building my Wi-
Fi antenna-controller project and it has
served me well for more than three
years. It has proven completely reliable,
but it’s obviously a crude one-off hard-
ware effort. Not seen is the crude soft-
ware: As written, it is not a general-pur-
pose device for more complex or
interrelated antenna systems, and any
application other than a one-of-eight
decoder would require writing new
code, compiling, and re-flashing the
ESP8266 microcontroller.
Larry Gauthier, K8UT, has advanced
the state of the art in contest station net-
work controllers with his FreqEZ hard-
ware and software. You can see Larry
and a recent revision FreqEZ box in
Photo C. The FreqEZ PCB shown sits
on top of a Raspberry Pi computer and
provides 16 spike-suppressed MOS-
FET outputs for driving relays. Larry
describes it as a little larger than a deck
of cards.
Larry’s presentation on FreqEZ to a
recent PVRC meeting is very informa-
tive and available online at <https://
tinyurl.com/y2am9uxf>. In contrast to
my Wi-Fi antenna controller which was
built as a one-off and programmed for
my unique antenna system, I learned
that FreqEZ offers a much more gener-
al framework for station automation
through configurability of any of the 16
outputs. In particular, new or differing
configurations for the FreqEZ does not
require writing new software.
I had been peppering K8UT with ques-
tions about N1MM+’s UDP network
broadcasts in station automation for the Figure 1. Frequency and mode usage during 2019 ARRL RTTY Roundup con-
past several years via the N1MM+ test. Data compiled from ARRL Contest Portal public logs.

98 • CQ • January 2021 Visit Our Web Site

tionship with Dave, AA6YQ, of DXLabs
and Bob, K4CY, of Logger32. Both of
those general-purpose loggers have
TCP and UDP packet support for
N1MM’s <RadioInfo> XML syntax.
There are certainly other logging pro-
grams with their own TCP / UCP pack-
et payloads. But my personal goal is to
evangelize the N1MM <RadioInfo> def-
inition to increase peripheral interoper-
ability. The Development Team mem-
bers invite other developers — hard-
ware and software — to contact us if
they have any questions.”
Larry went on to describe the popu-
larity and wide adoption of FreqEZ:
Figure 2. Frequency usage during 2020 CQWW WPX RTTY contest. Data com-
piled from logs supplied courtesy of WØYK.
www.cq-amateur-radio.com
“The FreqEZ software suite was pub-
lished three years ago, and I’ve heard
from about 20 hams who built DIY
interfaces that are FreqEZ compatible.
The FreqEZ Raspberry Pi HAT (“Hard-
ware Attached on Top”) board was
released on October 1, 2020 and
quickly sold out the first two batches of
boards. With nothing but word-of-
mouth (word of reflector?) as a mar-
keting tool, I suspect we’ll have about ®
100 FreqEZs deployed by the time this
article is published.”
Finally, I asked what’s in the future
for FreqEZ. He quickly called out,
“FreqEZ version 2.0, which should be
Were you first licensed
25 years ago and
licensed today?
Then you should join the
Quarter Century
Wireless Association, Inc.
To Join or Renew, Visit:
http://www.qcwa.org/join-renew.php
For more information please contact
om@qcwa.org
Looking Ahead
Here are some of the articles
we’re working on for upcoming
issues of CQ:
. QRP Special in February
. QRP Contesting Lessons
. A Dual-Band VHF / UHF
Low-Noise Amplifier
Plus…
. Results: 2020 CQWW
Foxhunting Weekend
. Streaming Video for Amateur
Radio
. Analog Archaeology
Upcoming Special Issues
February: QRP
June: Take it to the Field
October: Emergency Comm.
December: Technology
Do you have a hobby radio story
to tell? Something for one of our
specials? CQ covers the entire
radio hobby. See our writers’
guidelines on the CQ website at
<http://bit.ly/2qBFOdU>.
January 2021 • CQ • 99
 released before this article is pub-
lished, will provide better SO2R sup-
port, support for more sophisticated
remote antenna switches like the KK1L
2x6 Six Pack, and support for Multi-
Multi contest stations.”
You can learn more about the latest in
FreqEZ development and usage at the
project’s website: <https://hampro-
jects.info/freqez>.

January and February 2021

Contest Highlights
For hams in North America, the North
American QSO Parties are fast-moving
contests that run through Saturday
afternoons into the evening. These
events are especially appealing to
those with modest stations, as power
output for all entrants is limited to 100
watts. They are also popular with ad-
vanced contesters, who enjoy the high
rates possible with their SO2R stations
and antenna systems. If you’ve only
ever gone search-and-pounce in con-
tests so far, the NAQP is an excellent
opportunity for you to try “running a fre-
quency”, that is, finding an empty spot
on the band and calling CQ. The first
2021 NAQP is the CW edition on
Saturday January 9th, followed by
NAQP SSB the next weekend. NAQP
RTTY is on February 27th.
Solar minimum has brought excellent
160-meter conditions. The CQWW 160-
Photo B. Exterior (top) and Interior (bottom) of the author’s ESP8266-based Wi- Meter CW contest on the last weekend
Fi antenna relay controller. of January, and the CQWW 160-Meter
SSB contest on the last weekend of
February, allow both DX and domestic
QSOs to count for points. Over 100 coun-
tries are typically active on the band for
the CW edition, and even though I
already have 160-meter DXCC, I find
each year I work several additional coun-
tries in the CQ 160 contests, to help me
build my award credits.
International action spreads to all HF
bands on February 20-21st for the
ARRL DX CW contest. In this contest,
U.S. and Canadian hams work DX sta-
tions for points and count DXCC coun-
tries as multipliers. DX stations chase
U.S. states and Canadian provinces as
multipliers. The 2021 ARRL DX CW will
be unique, as the ARRL has announced
that for this year only, multi-operator
teams will be allowed to operate with an
effective 100-kilometer circle instead of
the usual 500 meters (and subject to a
number of other conditions). I look for-
ward to new levels action on the band
as team efforts enabled by this 2021-
only rule keep may be able to activate
multipliers (states or countries) that are
Photo C. Larry, K8UT, with HAT (left) and DIY (right) implementations of the
not normally represented by all-band
FreqEZ network-controlled antenna switching system.
multi-operator efforts.

100 • CQ • January 2021 Visit Our Web Site

 PROPAGATION
BY TOMAS HOOD,* NW7US

It’s a New Year, and a New Solar Cycle

A Quick Look at Current One Year Ago: A Quick Look at Current

Cycle 24-25 Conditions Solar Cycle Conditions
(Data rounded to nearest whole number) (Data rounded to nearest whole number)

Sunspots: Sunspots:
Observed Monthly, October 2020: 13 Observed Monthly, October 2019: 0
12-month smoothed, April 2020: 4 12-month smoothed, April 2019: 3

10.7-cm Flux: 10.7-cm Flux:

Observed Monthly, October 2020: 75 Observed Monthly, October 2019: 67
12-month smoothed, April 2020: 71 12-month smoothed, April 2019: 70

A
s we start out the new year of 2021, some of us con- through the early evening hours for distances between 1,000
tinue the annual ritual of setting resolutions for our- and 2,300 miles.
selves. We hope that the new year affords us an oppor- Twenty meters is expected to be a solid band with excel-
tunity to accomplish those goals that we’ve hoped to achieve lent around-the-clock openings for both DX and short skip.
for years. Some of us actually accomplish our lofty goals dur- DX conditions should peak during two windows, the first
ing the course of the year. Year after year, this cycle repeats about an hour after sunrise and the second during the late
itself. We resolve, we try, we look back (with regret or with afternoon and early evening hours. Short-skip openings
pride), and then we do it again with the dawning of the next between approximately 1,300 and 2,300 miles should be
new year. possible from just after sunrise to as late as midnight. Shorter
The Sun has its cycles, too. One of the best-known of these distance openings should also be possible from mid-morn-
is the approximately 11-year cycle during which the sun ing to mid-afternoon.
changes its level of activity. This solar cycle is based on the
monthly average of a daily sunspot count. At the start of a LAST-MINUTE FORECAST
typical sunspot cycle, there are very few sunspots observed. Day-to-Day Conditions Expected for January 2021
This is known as the solar minimum. The solar maximum is
the period of months when the number of sunspots reaches Expected Signal Quality
the peak of the cycle. Propagation Index (4) (3) (2) (1)
Above Normal: A A B C
This year, 2021, marks the beginning of the transition 3-13, 18, 24-26, 30-31
between the last solar cycle, Cycle 24, and the new cycle High Normal: A B C C-D
1-2, 19-20, 23, 28-29
that is clearly under way, Cycle 25. This is a period marked Low Normal: B C-B C-D D-E
by an ever-increasing level of sunspot activity and associat- 14, 17, 21-22, 27
Below Normal: C C-D D-E E
ed X-ray flare and coronal mass ejection (CME) activity. X- 15
ray flares and sunspot activity will raise the ionospheric max- Disturbed: C-D D E E
16
imum usable frequency (MUF) over many paths. Looking
forward to what is coming this year, we’re expecting a mod- Where expected signal quality is:
A--Excellent opening, exceptionally strong, steady signals greater than S9
erate rise in solar activity, making for quite a change in over- B--Good opening, moderately strong signals varying between S6 and S9, with little fading or
all propagation (from bad to better). noise.
C--Fair opening, signals between moderately strong and weak, varying between S3 and S6,
It should be a toss-up among 15, 17, and 20 meters for with some fading and noise.
some great DX propagation openings during the daylight D--Poor opening, with weak signals varying between S1 and S3, with considerable fading and
noise.
hours. These bands should open to most areas of the world, E--No opening expected.
often with strong signals. Fifteen meters may have a slight
edge before noon, with 17 meters taking the lead after noon
and both becoming optimum DX bands during the late after- HOW TO USE THIS FORECAST
noon hours. Twenty meters will offer all of that, but longer, 1. Using the Propagation Charts appearing in “The New Shortwave Propagation Handbook,”
by George Jacobs, Theodore J. Cohen, and R. B. Rose.
and slightly earlier. Short-skip openings between distances a. Find the Propagation Index associated with the particular path opening from the
of about 1,200 and 2,300 miles should be excellent during Propagation Charts.
b. With the Propagation Index, use the above table to find the expected signal quality asso-
the daylight hours. Fair to moderate short-skip openings are ciated with the path opening for any given day of the month. For example, an opening shown
expected on 15 and 17 meters from shortly after sunrise in the Propagation Charts with a Propagation Index of 2 will be fair on January 1 and January
2, then good from January 3 through January 13, and so forth.

2. Alternatively, you may use the Last-Minute Forecast as a general guide to space weath-
* P.O. Box 110 er and geomagnetic conditions throughout the month. When conditions are Above Normal, for
example, the geomagnetic field should be quiet, and space weather should be mild. On the
Fayetteville, OH 45118 other hand, days marked as Disturbed will be riddled with geomagnetic storms. Propagation
Email: <nw7us@nw7us.us> of radio signals in the HF spectrum will be affected by these geomagnetic conditions. In gen-
eral, when conditions are High Normal to Above Normal, signals will be more reliable on a given
@NW7US (https://Twitter.com/NW7US) path, when the ionosphere supports the path that is in consideration. This chart is updated daily
@hfradiospacewx (https://Twitter.com/HFRadioSpaceWX) at <http://SunSpotWatch.com> provided by NW7US.

www.cq-amateur-radio.com January 2021 • CQ • 101

 The optimum band for DX during the hours of darkness
should be 40 meters, though 30 meters is a fair competitor
when digital modes or CW are preferred. Expect openings to
most areas of the world from shortly before sundown, through
the hours of darkness, and until shortly after sunrise. Signal
levels may be exceptionally strong at times. During the day-
light hours, short-skip conditions should be optimal for open-
ings between approximately 100 and 600 miles. Skip will
lengthen during the late afternoon, and by nightfall, short-
skip conditions should be optimal for openings between 800
and 2,300 miles.
Expect 60 meters to play a significant role in nightly DX
across the U.S. With exceptionally low noise levels this
month, the weaker signals of 60 meters will be easy to copy.

Figure 1. At 13:11 UTC, 29 November 2020, the largest X-ray flare so far in new Sunspot Cycle 25 peaked at M4.4 (NOAA
scale). The flare was not Earth-facing and the active sunspot region hadn’t yet rotated into Earth view. This is exciting! Why?
Some scientists are speculating that a rapid start to Cycle 25 will result in one of the most active cycles in recent solar cycle
history. Which could mean that we could work the world with a wet noodle on the 10-meter band. With a rapid increase in
sunspot activity as we ramp up in Sunspot Cycle 25, the 10.7-cm radio flux will be increasing. That means, generally, we
will see better HF conditions on the frequencies above 7 MHz on through 30 MHz or higher. The bad news is that larger
flares cause radio blackout events, because the ionospheric D-Layer absorption increases for the duration of an Earth-fac-
ing solar X-ray flare. During this M4.4 X-ray flare, we had a level R1 event, causing some shortwave blackout regions.
(Figure by NW7US, with photos from SDO/NOAA/SWPC)

102 • CQ • January 2021 Visit Our Web Site

Figure 2. The M4.4 X-ray Solar Flare of 29 November 2020 (peaking at 13:11 UTC) ejected a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME).
The CME was not directed toward the Earth since the active region that launched the CME, the same region from which
erupted the strongest flare so far in Cycle 25, was not Earth-facing. The region had not rotated into view of Earth, at the
time of the flare. (Courtesy of LASCO / SDO / SWPC / NOAA)
Because atmospheric noise will be at seasonally minimum
levels in the northern hemisphere during January, the 80-
and 160-meter bands should be hot. Expect some good open-
ings to many parts of the world on 80 meters during the hours
of darkness and the sunrise period. Short-skip openings
between distances of 50 and 250 miles should be optimal on
80 meters during the daylight hours. During the later after-
noon and early evening hours short-skip openings should
increase to between 250 and 1,500 miles and by nightfall,
openings up to and beyond 2,300 miles should be possible.
Expect some DX openings on the 160-meter band during
the hours of darkness. Openings toward Europe and the east
should peak at about midnight. Openings toward the South
Pacific and in a generally southerly direction may be possi-
ble just before daybreak, as well as openings into Asia and
the northern Pacific. Short-skip openings up to 1,300 miles
should be possible during the hours of darkness, and fre-
quently the skip will extend out as far as 2,300 miles. During
the daylight hours, intense ionospheric absorption will
severely limit openings, although some may be possible at
times up to 150 miles or so.
The HF Bands in 2021
Here is an overview of expected propagation conditions on
each amateur band between 6 and 160 meters for 2021:
Six Meters: This band may see occasional DX-distance F-
layer propagation, on days with high 10.7-cm radio flux num-
bers (greater than 100). Be observant and you might catch
one of the short openings. However, it is not expected that
www.cq-amateur-radio.com
this band will be often active for DX, compared to the years
of the solar cycle maximum. The summer season will bring
the usual troposcatter (Tropospheric scatter <https://tinyurl.
com/no9fwh6>) and Sporadic-E (Es <https://tinyurl.com/
y6n82yvz>) activity. Aurora will still play a major role during
spring and fall.
Ten and 12 Meters: These bands will be poor, except dur-
ing times of Es activity, or those days with higher solar activ-
ity. Expect most DX openings to be mostly on north and south
paths, during hours of sunlight along the entire path. Most of
the time, the solar activity will not support propagation on
higher bands.
Fifteen Meters: This band will be fair, occasionally seeing
worldwide openings during the daylight hours. Most open-
ings will be short, except for the strong and frequent north-
south path openings. With the recent uptick in solar activity,
this band may wake up often, so be ready for DX.
Seventeen Meters: This band should behave much like 15,
but you will find it open more often, with it remaining open for
DX an hour or two longer than 15 meters.
Twenty Meters: This band is going to be the main player
this year. We are seeing the new Sunspot Cycle 25 waking
up, and this higher flux averaging above 100 will make DX a
daily experience. Expect good conditions during the daylight
hours, with worldwide DX openings possible throughout the
year along the daylight / nighttime edge (the grey line or ter-
minator). DX conditions on this band tend to peak for a few
hours after local sunrise and again during the sunset period.
During the summer, expect this band to remain open for DX
January 2021 • CQ • 103
several hours after local sunset, occasionally later into the
night. In the winter months of 2021, some nighttime DX open-
ings are expected.
Thirty Meters: As Cycle 25 increases in activity, this band
will see great openings, especially a few hours before sun-
set until a few hours after sunrise. In 2021, 30 meters will be
an exciting band for those low-power digital signals. Winter
brings longer nights, providing the right mix for exceptional
worldwide DX.
Forty, 60, 80, and 160 Meters: These are nighttime DX
bands. Great worldwide DX should continue on 40 meters
from about two hours before sunset to approximately two
hours after sunrise during all seasons. Expect coast-to-
coast DX on 60 meters. DX openings on 80 and 160 should
peak during the early spring, late fall, and winter months.
Expect somewhat stronger signals than those of the last
few years.
VHF Conditions
Sporadic-E (Es) can occur during January, so be on the look-
out. Aurora is likely to occur so expect occasional Auroral-E
propagation. The Quadrantids is the major meteor shower
for January and it can appear any time during the first week
of the month, usually peaking on January 4th. This can some-
times be quite intense, so it may be a good idea to set up
some 2- and 6-meter schedules. Morning meteor openings
may be the best bet during this month.
Check out <https://tinyurl.com/y3uyldxk> for a complete
calendar of meteor showers in 2021. (Major meteor showers
are also listed on the CQ Amateur Radio Calendar.)
If you use Twitter.com, you can follow <@hfradiospacewx>
for hourly updates that include the K index numbers. You can
also check the numbers at <http://SunSpotWatch.com>, where
this columnist provides a wealth of current space weather
details as well as links. Please report your observations of any
notable propagation conditions, by writing this columnist via
Twitter, or via the Space Weather and Radio Propagation
Facebook page at <https://fb.me/spacewx.hfradio>.
Current Solar Cycle Progress
Figure 1, 2, 3, and Photo A tell a wonderful story; November
2020 saw the strongest X-ray solar flare in three years, and
the strongest of the new sunspot cycle, Cycle 25. The 10.7-
cm solar flux remained above 100 for the last days of
November, and into December. Even the 10-meter band was
open at times.

Figure 3. This is a synoptic map of solar activity (features on the Sun such as sunspots, coronal holes, and other observ-
ables), for 30 November 2020. This is a map showing a fair amount of activity, something we’ve not seen in several years.
The new cycle appears to be ramping up quickly. (Courtesy of SWPC)

104 • CQ • January 2021 Visit Our Web Site

Photo A. The lower left edge of the Sun is where the M4.4 X-ray flare of 29
November 2020 can be seen. In this image, at the wavelength of 94 Anstroms
which is in extreme ultraviolet, and invisible to the naked eye, the flare was cap-
tured by SDO. If the flare faced Earth, it would likely have resulted in a sudden
shortwave fadeout event. This happens when a flare releases energy that is
absorbed by the D-layer of the ionosphere, effectively closing down propagation.
In this case, the flare, still on the backside, resulted in only a radio blackout on
the highest bands (10 meters, for instance). (Courtesy of SDO)

Next month we will explore one prediction made by some scientists who have
a hugely different outlook for Cycle 25. They postulate that Sunspot Cycle 25 could
well be stronger than many recent cycles. That’s a great outlook — let’s hope it
holds true.
The Royal Observatory of Belgium reports that the monthly mean observed
sunspot number for October 2020 was 13.19, quite a jump in activity. The 12-
month running smoothed sunspot number centered on April 2020 is 3.6. A
smoothed sunspot count of 10, give or take about 10 points, is expected for January
2021.
The Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory at Penticton, BC, Canada,
reports a 10.7-cm observed monthly mean solar flux of 74.59 for October 2020.
The 12-month smoothed 10.7-cm flux centered on April 2020 is 70.5. The pre-
dicted smoothed 10.7-cm solar flux for January 2021 is 80, give or take 10 points.
Geomagnetic activity this month should be mostly quiet with fair to good prop-
agation conditions, except for those days indicated in the Last-Minute Forecast
during which we expect degraded propagation (remember that you can get an
up-to-the-day Last-Minute Forecast at <http://SunSpotWatch.com> on the
main page).
I welcome your thoughts, questions, and experiences regarding this fascinating
science of propagation. You may email me, write me a letter, or catch me on
the HF amateur bands. If you are on Facebook, check out <https://fb.me/
spacewx.hfradio> and <https://fb.me/NW7US> — speaking of Facebook — check
out the CQ Amateur Radio Magazine fan page at <https://fb.me/CQMag>.
– 73, Tomas, NW7US

www.cq-amateur-radio.com January 2021 • CQ • 105

NEWS BYTES (from page 9)
of NSF (National Science Foundation)
to close the facility. They did want us to
stabilize the platform so it could be low-
ered safely and (cause) no harm to any
of the employees. No one was hurt dur-
ing the collapse. We are looking into
rebuild possibilities.
My best to all and stay safe!
Vy 73, Angel, WP3R
The National Science Foundation
provided additional information in a De-
cember 1st news release:
The investigation into the platform’s fall
is ongoing. Initial findings indicate that
the top section of all three of the 305-
meter telescope’s support towers broke
off. As the 900-ton instrument platform
fell, the telescope’s support cables also
dropped. These two photos from the University of Central Florida, which manages the
Preliminary assessments indicate the Arecibo Observatory for the National Science Foundation, show some of the
observatory’s learning center sustained damage that resulted from the collapse.
significant damage from falling cables.
Engineers arrived onsite today. Work-
ing with the University of Central
Florida, which manages the observato-
ry, NSF expects to have environmental
assessment workers onsite as early as
tomorrow. Workers at the observatory
will take appropriate safety precautions
as a full assessment of the site’s safe-
ty is underway.

History and Another Ham

Connection
Opened in 1963, the Arecibo radiotele-
scope was originally dedicated to study-
ing the ionosphere and was used to make
many groundbreaking discoveries, in-
cluding that of the first binary pulsar,
Head of Telescope Operations Angel Vazquez, WP3R, explains what happened
when the instrument platform collapsed in a Twitter interview by Wilbert Andrés
Ruperto. See the video at <https://tinyurl.com/y6p83oqs>.

Oops…
Dashing (or Not) Through
the Snow
In December’s article on “A Self-
Calibrating Tuning-Tracking Controll-
er for Magnetic Field Loop Antennas,”
we accidentally put a comma where
a dash should have been. As a result,
we said the vacuum variable capaci-
tor is rated at 12,500 picofarads and
14 kilovolts of isolation with 21 turns.
That should have read 12-500 pico-
farads, which makes much more
sense for a variable capacitor. We
apologize for the error.
which resulted in the 1993 Nobel Prize in
Physics being awarded to Dr. Joe Taylor,
K1JT, and Dr. Russell Hulse, ex-
WB2LAV. Taylor is best known in the
ham community today as the primary
developer of WSPR (Weak Signal Prop-
agation Reporter) and the WSJT suite of
digital communications software, includ-
ing FT8 and other variations.
Looking to Arecibo’s future, NSF
Director Sethuraman Panchanathan
said, “Our focus is now on assessing the
damage, finding ways to restore oper-
ations at other parts of the observatory,
and working to continue supporting the
scientific community, and the people of
Puerto Rico.”
The National Science Foundation
news release continued:
NSF intends to continue to authorize
UCF to pay Arecibo staff and take
actions to continue research work at the
observatory, such as repairing the 12-
meter telescope used for radio astron-
omy research and the roof of the LIDAR
facility, a valuable geospace research
tool. These repairs were funded through
supplemental congressional appropria-
tions aimed at addressing damage from
Hurricane Maria.
Once safety onsite is established, other
work at the observatory will be carried
out as conditions permit.

106 • CQ • January 2021 Visit Our Web Site

Number/letter groups after call letters denote the fol- AC2OC 6 364 29 13 NY FN20 AI4WW A 1,850 56 37 FL EL96 NJ4Q 6 4 2 2 VA FM07
lowing: Class (A = all band, 6 = 6 meters, 2 = 2 meters, KA2AEY 6 345 24 15 NY FN13 N1IA A 1,848 54 33 NC FM05 AA4ZZ 2 18,560 163 58 NC EM96
Q = QRP, Q* = QRP portable hilltopper, R = rover. M AB2TB 6 286 23 13 NJ FN30 K2JB A 1,840 64 23 NC EM85 K1HTV 2 5,508 81 34 VA FM18
= multi-operator), Final Score, Number of QSOs, K2ANZ 6 234 18 13 NY FN13 K4LDC A 1,421 49 29 GA EM74 KU4XO 2 2,112 45 24 SC EM84
Number of grid locators, State/Province (USA/Canada NS2N 6 170 17 10 NY FN02 W4AMP A 1,296 44 27 GA EM73 KO4LZ 2 864 24 18 NC FM05
only), Grid Locator or Number of grids activated (rover KD2RMD 6 154 14 11 NY FN30 K1OYQ A 1,222 38 26 GA EM83 W4JFA 2 12 3 2 NC EM95
only). Rover scores for USA are listed separately. W2QL 6 130 14 10 NY FN31 K4VTE A 1,200 48 25 GA EM73 NJ4Y Q 21,244 185 94 TN EM75
Scores in bold indicate certificate winners. Score in ital- N2FF 6 88 12 8 NY FN30 W5TDY A 1,104 46 23 GA EM74 K4PPK Q 2,183 60 37 FL EL87
ic are disqualified. WA2NDV 2 360 18 10 NY FN30 W4EEY A 966 35 23 SC EM85 W4XP Q 182 27 7 VA FM18
WA2CLP Q 352 24 11 NJ FN20 KM4KMU A 814 37 22 VA FM16 K3TW Q 150 12 10 FL EL88
2020 VHF RESULTS W2JEK Q 325 25 13 NJ FN20 KC4JD A 798 35 21 GA EM74 W5NZ Q 84 12 7 AL EM62
NORTH AMERICA W3MR Q 153 19 9 NY FN22 WO4O A 736 35 23 FL EL98 WM4P Q 35 7 5 FL EL88
K2TER M 29,028 208 118 NY FN13 AA4DD A 567 22 21 TN EM86 N4SVC M 93,120 404 192 FL EM80
UNITED STATES Ops: K2TER KD2UEW K3WA A 480 30 16 NC FM05 Ops: KD4AMP K4SME WB2ONA K4KSA N2CEI
K1TEO A 118,716 568 156 CT FN31 W2RME M 1,125 36 25 NY FN22 K8YC A 442 26 17 NC EM95 N4WW M 36,180 272 135 FL EL98
WZ1V A 41,392 295 104 CT FN31 Ops: W2BDN KC2SFU KZ1O A 400 23 16 FL EL88 Ops: K1MM N4WW
W1XX A 32,218 283 89 RI FN41 NN4SS A 342 19 19 SC EM94 AG4V M 20,460 152 110 TN EM55
W1FKF A 26,696 223 94 NH FN43 K1RZ A 46,248 285 123 MDC FM19 Ops: AG4V K7AG
KA4RRU A 308 28 11 VA FM18
AF1T A 20,250 224 75 NH FN43 N3NGE A 25,143 204 87 PA FN20 AB4SF A 280 20 14 VA FM17
K1KA A 19,090 199 83 NH FN42 N3AAA A 20,916 168 84 PA EN90 K4VBM A 231 21 11 GA EM73 AA5AM A 52,080 319 155 TX EM13
N1JEZ A 17,296 183 92 VT FN44 KR1ST A 15,960 165 76 PA FN21 K4SHW A 200 23 10 GA EM73 W5TRL A 23,435 202 109 TX EM10
K1HC A 15,642 170 79 MA FN42 N3XF A 10,440 140 72 PA FN00 KD4ISM A 140 13 10 GA EM73 WR5AY A 12,474 144 81 TX EM12
W1AN A 15,336 174 72 CT FN41 K3MD A 10,206 135 63 PA FN10 K4FTO A 136 18 8 VA FM18 K5GZR A 6,944 103 62 TX EL29
NC1CC A 11,900 155 68 RI FN41 W3KM A 7,645 127 55 PA FN20 KEØJMK A 128 11 8 FL EL98 N5ENU A 6,844 100 58 TX EM12
Op: WA1BXY W3HMS A 7,020 114 52 PA FN10 W4EE A 78 13 6 FL EL98 K5TA A 6,138 88 66 NM DM65
W1RM A 11,072 180 64 CT FN31 K3ZO A 5,568 100 48 MDC FM18 N3JT A 72 12 6 VA FM18 N5JEH A 6,110 91 65 NM DM65
K1TR A 5,922 99 42 NH FN42 N3DGE A 4,930 101 34 PA FN20 KA3PCX A 63 9 7 NC FM15 KG5EIU A 6,099 106 57 TX EM13
N1NK A 4,290 83 39 RI FN41 NA3M A 4,563 122 39 MDC FM19 K2SX A 56 9 7 SC FM03 WB5JJJ A 5,440 87 64 AR EM35
N8RA A 4,118 71 29 CT FN31 W2HYW A 4,329 102 37 PA FN20 KH2PM A 55 10 5 NC FM05 N5KS A 5,293 77 67 TX DM95
N1JD A 4,028 82 38 ME FN44 K1BZ A 3,584 72 32 MDC FM19 WB4MM A 55 7 5 FL EL99 WB5TUF A 4,100 84 50 TX EL29
K2KA A 3,729 98 33 MA FN42 W3EX A 2,263 72 31 PA FN20 W4PM A 54 9 6 VA FM17 AJ4F A 3,519 78 51 TX EL29
W1BS A 3,713 78 47 MA FN32 K9RS A 1,856 66 29 DE FM28 W3DQS A 36 7 6 NC EM95 W5WIZ A 3,102 63 47 TX EM10
K5ZD A 2,905 87 35 MA FN42 NF3R A 1,323 39 21 PA FN20 N4DTF A 30 5 5 TN EM55 N5EKO A 3,036 69 44 TX EM20
N1API A 2,686 70 34 CT FN31 KC3BVL A 1,200 36 20 PA FM29 K1TO 6 73,514 416 178 FL EL87 KJ5MA A 2,924 65 43 TX EM12
K1ZE A 2,160 49 27 CT FN31 K1DS A 1,062 52 18 PA FN20 KC4PX 6 53,284 356 154 FL EL98 KD5JHE A 2,709 58 43 MS EM54
N1EVK A 702 38 18 NH FN42 KC3FQF A 720 39 18 PA FM29 N4BP 6 31,460 261 121 FL EL96 KM5RG A 2,706 59 41 TX EL09
N1ZN A 440 29 11 CT FN31 N3VOP A 672 43 14 MDC FM19 W2OR 6 21,156 185 123 FL EL99 WA5LFD A 2,436 66 28 TX EM12
NB1U A 253 16 11 RI FN41 W3FA A 592 32 16 MDC FM28 K4QD 6 19,200 198 100 FL EL98 NZ5X A 2,244 51 44 TX DM96
K1DVL A 88 11 8 CT FN31 W3KBG A 592 39 16 PA FN10 WB2FKO 6 14,602 156 98 FL EL89 KE5RV A 2,072 46 37 AR EM45
W1ARY A 40 10 4 CT FN31 AA1K A 416 32 13 DE FM29 KM4HI 6 11,850 155 79 FL EL89 N5TJD A 1,820 47 35 TX EM10
AA1ON 6 12,250 177 70 MA FN42 KB3RKM A 280 23 10 PA FN10 K1WTK 6 9,126 117 78 FL EL87 N5GIT A 1,485 45 33 TX EL09
WA1KRG 6 4,329 120 37 CT FN31 WF3W A 168 21 8 PA FN20 N4TB 6 8,784 125 72 FL EL97 N5UM A 980 33 28 OK EM15
Op: W1QK
WA2BTR A 154 12 11 PA FM19 KU8E 6 7,625 133 61 GA EM72 KC5RET A 702 28 18 TX EM20
N2KW 6 3,741 90 43 MA FN32
KE3GK A 108 12 9 MDC FM19 N8KH 6 7,062 124 66 FL EL98 WV5Y A 580 29 20 TX EL29
AB1WG 6 2,204 63 38 VT FN34 W3EKT A 98 14 7 MDC FM19 W5TTY A 396 22 18 TX EM10
KR4NO 6 6,882 113 62 SC EM95
K1ZZ 6 1,674 62 27 CT FN31 K3HX A 32 6 4 PA FN00 AC4G 6 5,192 94 59 TN EM65 KF5BA A 374 22 17 MS EM50
KM3T 6 1,012 46 23 NH FN42 N3QE A 22 11 2 MDC FM19 K4QE 6 5,162 92 58 NC FM05 K5TEE A 345 23 15 NM DM65
N2HX 6 936 40 24 VT FN32 K3ISH 6 23,664 207 116 PA FN21 N4UFP 6 4,898 87 62 SC EM94 KI5GNH A 304 19 16 TX EL16
K1DJ 6 540 33 18 MA FN42 WA2FGK 6 6,572 112 62 PA FN21 K1EEE 6 4,704 101 48 VA FM17 N5XTR A 209 13 11 OK EM04
WJ1B 6 496 31 16 CT FN31 Op: K2LNS K4BAI 6 4,601 109 43 GA EM72 KB5VKP A 117 12 9 TX EM10
K1SX 6 493 32 17 MA FN41 W3LPL 6 6,450 132 50 MDC FM19 NK4DX 6 4,200 84 50 FL EL96 W5AQY A 54 10 6 TX EL29
AK1P 6 425 25 17 NH FN42 K3QIA 6 5,005 94 55 PA FN11 N4YTM 6 4,100 90 50 NC EM94 WA5VHU A 36 7 6 TX EM23
W1DYJ 6 368 26 16 ME FN43
WB2ZAB 6 4,719 123 39 MDC FM19 W4QK 6 3,388 79 44 GA EM83 K8TE A 6 3 3 NM DM65
KN1H 6 252 20 14 NH FN33 K1WAT 6 3,441 94 37 PA FN20 K4YYL 6 3,300 74 50 SC EM84 N5AVF A 4 2 2 TX EM21
AE1T 6 221 17 13 NH FN43 AA3S 6 1,872 75 26 MDC FM19 KN4SM 6 2,565 61 45 VA FM16 W5PR 6 50,880 322 160 TX EL29
NY1Z 6 70 10 7 NH FN42 KM3P 6 1,632 53 32 PA FN01 W3OA 6 2,480 64 40 NC EM95 N5RZ 6 29,591 236 127 TX EM00
N1ADX 6 63 9 7 MA FN42 KA3ZLS 6 1,431 58 27 DE FM28 WA3LXD 6 2,419 64 41 FL EL99 KG5THG 6 11,684 134 92 TX EM02
N1DC 6 28 7 4 MA FN42 WA3VXJ 6 1,188 44 27 PA EM99 ND4X 6 2,268 57 42 KY EM57 N5TJ 6 8,640 113 80 TX EM13
W1VD 2 16,432 164 52 CT FN31
W3LL 6 1,170 47 26 MDC FM19 KX4HA 6 2,112 65 33 GA EM84 NN5T 6 8,442 132 67 TX EM12
N1RR 2 3,072 65 24 MA FN41 KØBAK 6 1,102 61 19 PA FN20 N1ADM 6 2,080 54 40 GA EM83 W5KI 6 8,034 106 78 AR EM36
K1MTD 2 1 1 1 CT FN31 W3OU 6 1,045 56 19 MDC FM18 N4DW 6 1,920 49 40 TN EM86 WD5COV 6 5,980 95 65 NM DM62
N1PRW Q 663 34 17 MA FN42 N3NR 6 817 45 19 PA FN20 N4MNW 6 1,802 62 34 GA EM73 WQ5L 6 5,915 96 65 MS EM50
AG1A H 91 13 7 MA FN42
N3DUE 6 704 46 16 MDC FM19 N3CKI 6 1,650 52 33 NC FM03 AC5O 6 5,103 95 63 LA EL49
NE1B M 11,284 161 62 NH FN42
K2YWE 6 600 44 15 MDC FM19 N4NIA 6 1,500 65 25 NC EM85 KC7QY 6 4,368 78 56 NM DM64
Ops: NE1B WA2IYO WA3AAN 6 592 38 16 PA FN20 AD8J 6 1,394 46 34 NC EM85 AA5B 6 3,888 74 54 NM DM65
W1FM M 4,840 98 44 MA FN42 W3IDT 6 494 39 13 MDC FM19 KD7YZ 6 1,372 51 28 KY EM88 NØLD 6 3,604 71 53 OK EM15
Ops: N1SOH W1FM W3KB 6 400 28 16 PA FN10 N4FWD 6 1,323 50 27 GA EM73 KJ5RC 6 2,964 65 52 MS EM42
W1UC M 2,772 55 36 ME FN54
W3YJ 6 308 24 14 PA EN91 WB4OMM 6 1,216 40 32 FL EL99 W5LO 6 2,898 63 46 TX EM03
Ops: W1UC W1FET
WA3AER 6 275 26 11 MDC FM19 W4SPR 6 1,189 43 29 FL EL97 KD6UY 6 2,565 65 45 TX EM11
NA7L 6 255 17 15 PA FN20 KR4F 6 1,150 47 25 AL EM64 K5KJ 6 2,112 70 33 TX EM12
N2NT A 69,496 358 136 NJ FN20 N3ZP 6 168 21 8 PA FN20 N3UA 6 1,056 48 24 VA FM17 K5RX 6 1,984 62 32 TX EM13
Op: N2NC K3WI 6 152 20 8 DE FM28 W4VIC 6 1,056 44 24 VA FM16 AF5CC 6 1,800 47 40 OK EM04
W2TT A 25,520 225 88 NJ FM29 N3ADF 6 128 16 8 MDC FM18 N4QS 6 1,026 38 27 KY EM56 W5LE 6 1,800 51 36 OK EM15
N2GHR A 21,093 208 79 NY FN30 N3XL 6 112 14 8 MDC FM18 KE8BG 6 840 38 24 NC EM95 KF5ZBL 6 1,500 51 30 TX EM12
KA2LIM A 19,975 161 85 NY FN12 W3DQ 6 75 16 5 MDC FM18 K4HQK 6 780 58 15 VA FM18 K5FUV 6 988 38 26 AR EM26
WW2Y A 17,381 165 91 NY FN24 KC3PIB 6 48 13 4 PA EN90 K9IL 6 777 37 21 TN EM56 K5OMC 6 945 35 27 MS EM44
N2OA A 13,345 129 85 NY FN03 N8HM 6 35 8 5 MDC FM18 AJ6T 6 744 31 24 TN EM66 KK6MC 6 900 42 25 NM DM65
N2IPH A 8,772 135 51 NJ FM29 N3AM 6 33 11 3 MDC FM19 AA4TI 6 728 33 26 FL EL87 AE5FM 6 840 41 21 TX EM13
K2IW A 8,576 113 64 NY FN33 KF3G 6 8 4 2 PA FM29 KU4V 6 722 39 19 NC FM05 KD5J 6 760 39 20 AR EM45
N2SLO A 6,480 106 40 NY FN30 KC3ACQ 2 1,890 47 21 PA FN20 KX4KU 6 720 37 20 VA FM08 KF5YUB 6 224 20 16 TX EM01
K2AMI A 6,419 106 49 NJ FN20 WS3O 2 728 29 13 PA FN20 WB2SNN 6 713 32 23 FL EL96 N5XJ 6 192 19 12 TX EM10
W2SJ A 6,407 120 43 NJ FM29 W3WJC 2 16 4 2 PA FN20 NZ4N 6 704 34 22 NC EM96 K5IX 6 110 11 10 TX DL99
K2PAL A 5,180 122 35 NY FN30 W3SO M 61,744 325 136 PA FN00 KK4ZUU 6 648 41 18 VA FM18 NW5Q 6 99 11 9 TX EM13
NY2NY A 4,173 69 39 NY FN30 Ops: WR3Z W3XOX W3BTX NE8P 6 630 31 21 FL EL99 N5NAA 6 81 9 9 TX EM10
N2OO A 3,920 101 40 NJ FM29 W3RFC M 11,773 140 61 MDC FM19 W4BCG 6 528 29 22 TN EM65 K5ME 6 42 7 7 TX EM21
KG2H A 3,686 73 38 NY FN33 Ops: W3RFC K3OQ WA3OFF K6RM 6 494 28 19 NC FM03 WS5N 6 42 7 7 NM DM54
KA2ENE A 3,036 78 33 NY FN13 NV4C 6 480 33 15 GA EM74 W5PKK 6 24 6 4 TX EM13
KQ2N A 2,940 66 42 NY FN23 W8ZN A 97,344 415 192 KY EM87 KJ4LPI 6 459 27 17 GA EM74 N5DTT 6 21 7 3 TX EL29
K2MTS A 1,947 51 33 NY FN32 N4QWZ A 50,585 281 151 TN EM66 WF4R 6 434 32 14 VA FM16 KG5IEE 6 20 5 5 TX EM22
W2PSK A 1,848 60 22 NJ FN20 W3IP A 42,895 270 115 VA FM19 K4ORD 6 384 25 16 VA FM07 K5LY 6 18 6 3 TX EM13
K2OEQ A 1,740 51 30 NY FN13 N3MK A 39,104 280 104 VA FM27 N3KN 6 360 25 15 VA EM97 W4HVH 6 16 4 4 LA EM30
AA2TT A 1,530 59 17 NY FN30 N4HB A 26,312 214 92 VA FM17 K3YDX 6 345 25 15 NC FM05 KI5CXO 6 15 5 3 TX EL29
WA2IUS A 1,240 46 20 NJ FN20 WA4GPM A 26,028 215 108 FL EM90 W4WNT 6 340 23 17 NC FM03 WA2VYA 6 12 4 3 TX EM10
K2XA A 1,092 39 28 NY FN32 WA4CQG A 17,640 161 98 AL EM72 K1GG 6 323 19 17 VA EM97 KN5S 6 4 2 2 TX EL09
W2KV A 1,040 36 16 NJ FM29 WA4LDU A 16,405 161 85 SC EM93 KK4WX 6 288 19 16 GA EM81 Op: K5WW
N2BEG A 736 33 16 NY FN12 NG4C A 15,604 163 83 NC FM16 K4YCR 6 247 20 13 VA FM07 WD5BJT 6 3 3 1 MS EM50
W2MSA A 528 35 11 NJ FN20 KI4US A 15,015 158 91 GA EM72 AB4WL 6 221 17 13 AL EM63 NA5RC Q 136 9 8 TX EL19
N2LO A 510 28 17 NJ FN20 KY4G A 14,181 136 87 AL EM64 W1AM 6 220 23 10 GA EM84 AI5G Q 2 2 1 TX EM13
N2RC A 476 21 14 NY FN21 KK4MA A 13,468 140 91 SC EM92 KE4VCS 6 208 16 13 VA FM07 WA5RR H 902 33 22 TX EM13
WA3AFS A 320 21 16 NY FN32 KC7RW A 13,376 140 76 GA EM73 WA4OFW 6 208 18 13 VA FM17 K5QE M 118,000 395 236 TX EM31
N2NKX A 315 18 15 NY FN22 W4KXY A 13,172 144 74 GA EM74 AE4M 6 196 16 14 AL EM64 Ops: K5QE N5YA N1XS AF8Z
W2JC A 264 20 8 NJ FN20 AG4W A 11,988 163 74 AL EM64 AI4IC 6 195 19 13 TN EM76 KC5MVZ M 6,767 95 67 TX DM93
N2CJ A 153 14 9 NJ FN30 W4TM A 10,143 121 69 GA EM73 W4POT 6 180 25 12 FL EL99 Ops: KC5MVZ AG5UN
W2BSN A 105 15 5 NY FN13 K4MY A 9,656 124 71 GA EM74 N5VX 6 168 14 12 NC FM14 NR5ON M 1,276 47 29 NM DM75
WB2NFL A 40 8 8 NY FN30 W8KHP A 9,246 101 69 KY EM79 K4XL 6 160 18 10 VA FM07 Ops: NR5ON KE5ZBG
AC2RL A 35 6 5 NY FN13 K4ELI A 7,656 135 58 GA EM74 NØSMX 6 156 16 12 FL EL98
WS9M A 6 3 2 NY FN12 K5EK A 6,380 110 58 NC FM03 KK9O 6 153 17 9 FL EL96 KG6IYN A 21,000 266 56 CA DM12
KA2K 6 9,348 166 57 NJ FM29 K4FJW A 4,784 80 46 VA EM86 WE5P 6 117 13 9 KY EM77 K6RO A 13,209 208 51 CA DM03
K2ZD 6 7,888 122 68 NY FN21 KO4MA A 4,559 65 47 FL EL88 K4BSK 6 112 14 8 NC EM95 W6XU A 5,936 102 53 CA CM88
KZ2I 6 6,270 120 55 NJ FM29 K2PS A 4,480 82 56 FL EL98 W3YY 6 105 21 5 VA FM18 K6EU A 5,472 108 48 CA CM97
W2CCC 6 5,696 94 64 NY FN23 KC4GCK A 4,312 82 49 GA EM74 N4YHC 6 81 12 9 KY EM78 WM6Y A 5,109 116 39 CA DM13
Op: K2CS K4KPW A 3,762 69 38 GA EM73 NIØP 6 80 10 8 VA FM17 NC6K A 4,360 102 40 CA DM13
N2JJ 6 2,257 63 37 NY FN33 WA4DYD A 3,441 83 37 GA EM83 ND2O 6 54 11 6 NC FM03 W6IT A 3,927 100 33 CA DM13
W3SW 6 2,072 59 37 NY FN22 W4YN A 2,958 71 34 NC EM84 K3TD 6 49 7 7 NC FM05 N2JNR A 3,510 111 27 CA DM04
N2SQW 6 2,016 58 36 NY FN22 W4ZST A 2,847 61 39 GA EM84 K1KK 6 35 7 5 NC FM15 NA6O A 2,442 70 33 CA CM97
KC2HZW 6 1,550 68 25 NY FN30 WN2E A 2,296 51 41 FL EM60 Op: HK1A KX6A A 2,425 83 25 CA DM13
KE2D 6 1,275 53 25 NJ FN20 WB4OMG A 2,240 55 28 FL EL98 AE4WG 6 16 4 4 FL EL99 KC6MIE A 2,392 84 26 CA DM13
KC2WUF 6 1,260 52 28 NJ FN20 W3GQ A 2,220 60 37 NC EM95 KC8KSK 6 16 4 4 SC FM03 N6WS A 2,112 66 32 CA CM95
KM2O 6 1,008 51 21 NY FN32 W4ATL A 2,178 60 33 GA EM73 KG2E 6 16 4 4 KY EM66 K6KY A 1,898 73 26 CA DM04
K4RUM 6 864 49 18 NY FN30 KV4ZY A 2,175 48 29 VA FM08 N4CF 6 16 4 4 VA FM17 K6FGV A 1,330 65 14 CA DM03
WB2AMU 6 672 32 21 NY FN30 KK3Q A 1,980 52 33 FL EL88 W8EH 6 12 4 4 TN EM66 W6JK A 1,020 51 15 CA DM03
KF2BQ 6 592 37 16 NJ FM29 W4NF A 1,971 59 27 VA FM18 N8AID 6 9 3 3 VA FM07 K6ACJ A 980 56 14 CA DM03
NA2X 6 408 24 17 NY FN13 W4RAA A 1,943 59 29 FL EL99 KS4L 6 4 2 2 AL EM64 NQ6X A 880 41 20 CA DM04

www.cq-amateur-radio.com January 2021 • CQ • 107

W6DCC A 860 45 20 CA DM13 W6RW 6 960 41 24 AZ DM22 NA9RB 6 13,650 154 91 IL EN40 WBØIWG Q 1,116 38 31 ND EN06
W6ZAR A 697 41 17 CA DM13 KC7JPC 6 798 38 21 WA DN17 WA9TT 6 10,000 132 80 WI EN54 AAØCW Q 420 28 20 CO DM58
KN6CSB A 688 36 16 CA DM03 W7BOB 6 648 29 24 ID DN14 WK9U 6 9,040 119 80 WI EN65 KIØG Q 351 28 13 CO DM69
N6VH A 585 36 15 CA DM12 KE4TH 6 598 27 23 UT DN40 K9FA 6 3,915 92 45 IL EN61 ABØCD Q 187 20 11 CO DM79
W6IA A 540 36 15 CA CM97 NG7M 6 567 27 21 UT DN31 AG9S 6 3,900 82 50 IN EN61 NØSUW Q 51 15 3 MN EN34
AA6MU A 504 39 12 CA CM87 WV7S 6 416 32 13 WA CN87 N4TZ 6 3,471 93 39 IN EN70 AEØEE Q 8 2 2 MN EN34
N6RZR A 464 28 16 CA CN80 N7UVH 6 294 21 14 ID DN17 N7ZZ 6 2,397 58 47 WI EN64 NØJK H 1 2 1 KS EM28
N4DLA A 408 20 12 CA CM87 N7RD 6 260 20 13 AZ DM33 ND9G 6 2,108 64 34 IL EN52 NRØT M 4,655 96 49 MN EN34
W6ATB A 364 22 14 CA DM13 W7MTL 6 240 25 10 OR CN85 AJ9C 6 2,100 61 35 IN EN70 Ops: NRØT KEØTL
W6KME A 328 27 8 CA DM04 WT1L 6 154 15 11 AZ DM33 WA9LEY 6 1,430 55 26 IL EN61
K6PGH A 210 16 10 CA DM13 KK7AC 6 121 12 11 AZ DM53 W9XT 6 1,323 49 27 WI EN53
Rover
ACØRA/R R 378,308 612 458 8
KN6FDP A 192 17 8 CA DM13 W6ABM 6 110 13 10 OR CN82 W9NXM 6 1,248 50 26 IL EN52
WB8LYJ/R R 41,756 193 143 5
K6CES A 175 23 7 CA CM97 KA7T 6 81 10 9 ID DN13 N9DR 6 756 38 21 IN EN70
W9FZ/R R 37,252 200 139 8
WA6EJO A 126 13 7 CA DM04 WC7Q 6 80 16 5 WA CN87 N9LB 6 624 26 24 WI EN52 Ops: W9FZ KA9VVQ
AG6AG A 93 17 3 CA DM04 K7CNT 6 42 7 6 AZ DM25 W9ILY 6 544 33 17 IL EN51
NV4B/R R 25,916 172 124 9
KA5WSS A 52 10 4 CA CM88 K7WP 6 40 11 4 AZ DM43 W9VQ 6 420 28 15 IL EN61 AE5P/R R 19,008 238 54 6
KG6MWI A 52 11 4 CA CM97 KF7U 6 32 8 4 AZ DM43 NS9I 6 360 23 18 WI EN64 N6RH/R R 18,360 229 54 6
K6FOD A 48 8 3 CA DM04 K7SR 6 30 10 3 WA CN87 NA9D 6 264 22 12 IL EN52 KT5TE/R R 17,472 230 52 6
KJ6LA A 28 6 4 CA DM04 KR2E 6 20 5 4 AZ DM43 N9LJX 6 252 21 14 IN EN60 KI5FIQ/R R 17,056 229 52 6
KC6ZWT A 15 3 3 CA CM98 K7JQ 6 12 6 2 AZ DM43 N9KT 6 225 19 15 IN EM69 WB5IDY/R R 16,550 226 50 6
N6QQ 6 4,796 110 44 CA DM03 N6MZ 6 9 3 3 WA CN87 NJ9R 6 176 22 8 IL EN62 N2SLN/R R 16,269 137 87 3
NU6S 6 4,794 106 47 CA CM87 NS7U 6 4 4 2 WA CN85 WX9M 6 132 15 12 WI EN54 KK4BZ/R R 13,706 119 77 4
N6ORB 6 2,590 71 37 CA CM87 K7DBN 6 1 1 1 UT DN40 WA9GON 6 120 12 12 WI EN54 K5ND/R R 12,874 130 82 2
K6ZH 6 2,046 65 33 CA DM12 W7OJT 2 1,776 38 24 AZ DM24 K9IR 6 112 16 7 IL EN52 W9YOY/R R 11,288 99 68 6
NI6E 6 1,116 63 18 CA DM13 K7ND 2 792 35 12 WA CN87 K9DEB 6 100 20 5 IL EN52 K6JO/R R 10,380 149 60 6
WB6IZG 6 1,054 62 17 CA DM13 N7PHY 2 256 16 8 WA CN98 KD9MS 6 100 12 10 IL EM57 Ops: K6JO W6MFJ
KF6I 6 1,012 44 23 CA DM13 N7RK 2 240 20 6 AZ DM33 KB9S 6 25 5 5 WI EN44 N6GP/R R 10,192 145 56 5
KI6X 6 900 55 18 CA DM13 K3RW 2 150 16 5 WA CN85 W9CTH 6 9 3 3 IN EM69 N2DXT/R R 10,152 134 47 4
WA6ZTY 6 792 46 18 CA CM98 KE4CNU 2 72 9 4 WA CN88 W9KHH 6 2 2 2 WI EN63 AA5PR/R R 9,960 118 83 2
N5KO 6 720 42 18 CA CM97 W7DRW Q 1,900 56 38 AZ DM44 KT8O 2 3,100 50 31 IN EN71 WB6AGE/RR 9,352 160 56 2
KN6GHM 6 570 30 19 CA CM99 W7ERY Q 680 35 17 WA CN86 KO9A Q 30,135 228 105 IL EN52 W5TV/R R 7,488 158 32 4
K6UF 6 360 36 10 CA CM97 KM7O Q 540 47 9 WA CN87 WB9AYW Q 1,225 46 25 IL EN51 N9TTX/R R 4,784 67 52 7
KM6DPW 6 189 23 9 CA CM96 N7DB Q 330 20 11 OR CN85 K9PW H 2,214 63 27 IL EN52 N8OC/R R 3,591 66 57 8
N5YJZ 6 189 27 7 CA CM97 KJ7MPQ Q 255 17 15 AZ DM36 KG9OV H 117 10 9 IL EM49 AF5WN/R R 3,510 67 54 4
KO6LU 6 168 21 8 CA CM87 KJ7MFU Q 16 4 4 AZ DM36 WD9EXD M 91,107 362 191 IL EM57 Ops: AF5WN KK5WA
NE6I 6 168 22 8 CA DM12 W7JMM Q 1 1 1 OR CN85 Ops: WD9EXD KD9OIM K6LMN/R R 3,393 80 29 3
KN6ITP 6 125 25 5 CA CM97 K7IW H 140 11 7 OR CN85 WS9V M 36,432 217 132 IL EM59 KE7MSU/R R 3,304 89 28 2
WD6T 6 80 16 5 CA CM87 KA7YDF H 100 10 5 OR CN85 Ops: WS9V KD9GKL ABØYM/R R 2,478 59 42 8
AAØBV 6 48 12 4 CA CM88 K7ATN H 2 2 2 WA CN95 W9VW M 32,886 215 126 IN EM79 K9JK/R R 2,030 51 29 4
K6DW 6 9 3 3 CA DM04 K7IMA H 2 2 2 WA CN95 Ops: WB9YCZ K9LZJ KD9LTE W3DHJ/R R 1,860 44 30 4
WB6PWD 6 6 3 2 CA DM04 W9KVR M 1,360 41 34 IL EN60 KA7RRA/R R 1,632 66 16 5
W6JWP 2 14 7 1 CA DM04 KB8U A 41,674 246 134 MI EN71 Ops: W9KVR KC9HHT KAØRYT/R R 1,536 32 32 4
NT6X 2 4 2 1 CA DM13 N8LRG A 22,000 166 88 OH EN80 AA9RK M 780 31 26 WI EN53 AF1R/R R 1,254 42 22 4
K6MI Q 2,204 65 29 CA DM06 W8DPK A 15,336 149 71 OH EM89 Ops: AA9RK KD9NZB N4DKF/R R 1,000 35 20 4
K6WDE Q 432 36 9 CA DM14 KF8QL A 12,240 122 80 MI EN72 W4GRW/R R 987 44 21 2
N6AN Q 360 29 9 CA DM04 N2CB A 7,176 92 69 MI EN75 NØURW A 42,344 260 134 IA EN41 K7JSG/R R 806 51 13 2
K2GMY Q 304 20 8 CA CM88 K8ZR A 5,985 77 63 OH EN91 KØTPP A 38,514 208 147 MO EM48 AE8AT/R R 770 40 22 3
W6MZ Q 216 20 9 CA DM12 N8DZR A 4,756 66 58 MI EN73 W7XU A 33,024 250 128 SD EN13 KM6ZJK/R R 580 30 10 2
K6TAR Q 189 24 7 CA DM04 N8WNA A 2,590 45 37 MI EN82 KØVG A 16,014 158 102 MN EN27 WD5HJF/R R 504 29 21 3
KN6ISU Q 120 13 5 CA DM03 KB8ZR A 2,079 48 33 OH EM79 WØZQ A 15,566 165 86 MN EN34 N4HWH/R R 200 16 10 3
KD6FIL Q 119 13 7 CA CM88 AC8NE A 1,575 55 25 WV FM19 KØNR A 14,400 149 90 CO DM78 AD4IE/R R 12 4 3 2
AA6OC Q 98 15 7 CA CM87 N8VW A 1,056 46 24 OH EN80 WØVTT A 12,530 118 70 MN EN33 N6ZE/R R 8 2 2 2
W2AYZ Q 16 4 2 CA DM04 W3HKK A 903 46 21 OH EN80 KØAWU A 9,880 113 76 MN EN37
NZ6N H 120 11 8 CA DM08 K8MR A 731 36 17 OH EN91 KØBJ A 8,475 119 75 KS DM99 CANADA
WB8JAY A 722 29 19 OH EN90 K5ZG A 7,920 113 66 CO DM88 VE3WY A 34,450 238 130 ON FN04
N7NW A 22,795 210 97 WA CN87 KF8MZ A 252 18 12 OH EN70 WØFY A 5,580 81 62 MO EM48 VA6AN A 17,716 195 86 AB DO42
W7FI A 17,710 230 70 WA CN87 NF8M A 121 11 11 MI EN82 KAØPQW A 4,823 74 53 MN EN33 VE3SST A 14,931 153 79 ON FN03
K7ULS A 14,685 151 89 UT DN41 W8KNO A 96 10 6 OH EN91 WAØVPJ A 3,154 72 38 MN EN35 VE3EJ A 7,076 101 58 ON FN03
N7IR A 13,706 154 77 AZ DM43 AC8ZU A 72 14 6 OH EM79 KØUK A 2,145 64 33 CO DM59 VE7DAY A 6,327 112 57 BC CO70
N7EPD A 9,900 171 45 WA CN87 KD8SKZ A 30 5 5 WV EN90 WBØHHM A 1,887 48 37 SD EN13 VE3SMA A 6,090 95 58 ON FN03
KB7ME A 8,100 146 50 WA CN85 WB8WUA A 10 3 2 OH EN91 WØETT A 1,620 45 30 CO DM79 VA3WW A 2,356 57 38 ON FN14
KE7SW A 7,260 142 44 WA CN87 WO3X A 8 3 2 OH EN91 NØAT A 1,200 49 25 MN EN34 VE2PN A 2,304 48 32 QC FN46
K7IU A 6,346 145 38 WA CN97 K8TB 6 15,916 177 92 MI EN72 WØVC A 1,188 44 22 MN EN34 VE3RZ A 1,998 53 37 ON EN93
K7YDL A 5,043 103 41 OR CN85 K9NW 6 11,242 149 77 OH EM79 KØTRL A 1,116 41 31 KS EM28 VE3JVG A 897 29 23 ON EN93
W8AEF A 4,700 101 47 AZ DM33 N8UR 6 8,881 113 83 MI EN75 NØAX A 1,025 29 25 MO EM48 VE3QN A 720 33 24 ON FN25
KC7V A 4,608 90 48 AZ DM33 W8KEN 6 8,772 132 68 OH EN91 WØRT A 966 34 23 KS EM27 VE3EDX A 550 25 22 ON EN58
W7MRF A 3,525 76 47 AZ DM44 W8MRL 6 4,717 95 53 OH EM79 WFØT A 805 40 23 MN EN34 VE6BMX A 435 25 15 AB DO33
Op: KW7MM K8BL 6 4,680 94 52 OH EN91 AD4OS A 615 26 15 IA EN42 VE2GT A 425 28 17 QC FN36
N7QOZ A 2,950 82 25 WA CN87 WB8ASI 6 1,924 57 37 MI EN63 KØFJ A 468 26 18 KS DM99 VE6KC A 378 19 14 AB DO20
KX7L A 2,821 81 31 WA CN87 W8RES 6 1,736 60 31 OH EM79 WRØH A 432 18 16 MO EM47 VE3JI A 360 25 15 ON FN03
KEØCO A 2,550 71 30 WA CN87 N8BJQ 6 1,537 53 29 OH EN80 KCØITQ A 429 28 13 MN EN34 VE3HED A 323 23 17 ON FN14
N7DSX A 2,542 73 31 AZ DM43 W8ASA 6 1,428 55 28 OH EM79 KDØYTE A 300 14 12 MO EN30 VA3ZNQ A 264 15 12 ON FN14
KF6HI A 2,448 67 36 AZ DM33 KM8AM 6 1,276 46 29 OH EN80 WØZA A 276 25 12 CO DM79 VE7HR A 144 11 8 BC CN89
K9VD A 2,300 79 23 WA CN87 AA8SW 6 465 32 15 OH EM79 ADØH A 169 14 13 IA EN32 VA6MA A 126 14 9 AB DO33
KGØD A 1,863 70 23 WA CN88 K7DR 6 380 20 19 MI EN82 WØNRW A 165 14 11 NE EN11 VE2HAY A 40 6 4 QC FN35
K7MDL A 1,827 61 21 WA CN88 W8TOM 6 380 21 20 MI EN74 KBØKQI A 102 10 6 CO DM78 VE3RVZ A 12 4 2 ON FN04
K7EME A 1,653 43 29 AZ DM42 K8HF 6 375 27 15 OH EN80 KØTC A 60 15 4 MN EN35 VE9CB A 6 3 2 NB FN65
KG7P A 1,633 64 23 WA CN87 W8TN 6 192 16 12 WV EM98 KD8GBL A 40 11 4 MN EN34 VE3AYR A 2 2 1 ON FN03
K7III A 1,615 82 19 WA CN87 N8QE 6 184 24 8 OH EN91 WAØLIF A 26 15 2 MN EN35 VE4VT 6 24,871 214 119 MB EN19
KE6GFI A 1,056 44 22 AZ DM34 K3JT 6 170 17 10 WV EM99 AAØAW A 4 2 2 MN EN36 VE5UF 6 13,224 154 87 SK DO62
NQ7R A 702 35 18 AZ DM42 W8RZ 6 168 14 14 MI EN72 WØGJ 6 15,088 166 92 IA EN43 VE6BBP 6 8,260 121 70 AB DO43
WA7YAZ A 644 31 23 UT DN40 KG9Z 6 48 8 6 OH EN90 WØJW 6 14,805 148 105 IA EN31 VE5MX 6 8,125 127 65 SK DN89
N7NEV A 630 33 18 AZ DM43 KD8VMM 6 42 7 7 OH EN81 NØGZ 6 13,916 149 98 IA EN31 VE4TV 6 6,272 101 64 MB EN19
W7QH A 572 34 13 OR CN84 N9CX 6 15 5 3 OH EN80 KFØM 6 13,440 143 96 KS EM17 VA3ECO 6 5,980 94 65 ON EN29
N7CS A 560 41 14 WA CN88 NS8O 6 12 4 3 OH EM89 NØAN 6 11,528 131 88 IA EN22 VE6CZT 6 5,278 95 58 AB DO21
WA7PVE A 468 37 13 WA CN87 AA8TA 6 2 2 1 OH EN80 KSØAA 6 10,922 138 86 KS EM28 VE4MR 6 3,848 74 52 MB EN09
KB7AK A 324 31 9 WA CN85 N8PPF 6 1 1 1 OH EN80 KAØUNB 6 10,920 136 84 NE EN11 VE3PJ 6 2,870 78 41 ON FN14
K7THU A 208 15 13 UT DN41 K8ZT Q 400 27 16 OH EN91 KØSIX 6 9,750 132 75 MN EN35 VA2LGQ 6 1,620 52 36 QC FN15
W7ON A 130 18 5 AZ DM43 AB8FJ Q 96 17 6 OH EM79 WØXR 6 9,375 129 75 CO DN60 VE3CV 6 1,575 45 35 ON EN93
KB7K A 28 4 4 UT DM49 K8WU Q 54 7 6 MI EN82 WNØL 6 9,280 122 80 NE EN11 VA3SK 6 972 36 27 ON FN06
N7IAD A 28 10 2 WA CN87 KC8CKW M 50 11 5 OH EM79 KCØFGX 6 9,125 127 73 MO EN30 VA7ST 6 748 34 22 BC DO00
N1AV 6 33,108 275 124 AZ DM43 Ops: KC8CKW W8KJ KDØNEO 6 8,970 123 78 MO EM48 VE3MDX 6 459 28 17 ON FN03
N6NR 6 24,360 234 105 WA CN96 K7RE 6 7,548 111 68 SD DN84 VE3RUA 6 440 22 20 ON EN29
N7GP 6 19,530 190 105 AZ DM42 K2DRH A 83,082 352 183 IL EN41 WTØDX 6 6,760 104 65 CO DM79 VA3PC 6 432 26 18 ON FN06
K7CW 6 18,723 238 79 WA CN87 N9FN A 38,625 232 125 IN EN60 KCØVEP 6 5,124 91 61 NE EN11 VE2EBK 6 330 25 15 QC FN46
K7CA 6 18,093 168 111 UT DM37 NØAKC A 24,924 184 124 WI EN44 KØVM 6 3,840 82 48 IA EN42 VE3QC 6 252 18 14 ON FN25
N7CW 6 16,478 155 107 AZ DM34 W9GA A 17,910 154 90 WI EN53 AD1C 6 3,774 75 51 CO DM79 VE3ZY 6 192 16 12 ON FN25
KY7M 6 14,529 168 87 AZ DM33 N2BJ A 4,888 95 52 IL EN61 KV1E 6 3,264 65 51 IA EN41 Op: VE3FFK
AL1VE 6 10,164 129 84 OR DN02 W9FF A 4,437 60 51 IL EN40 KØJV 6 1,763 45 41 SD DN84 VA6RCN 6 154 14 11 AB DO33
AA7A 6 6,695 108 65 AZ DM43 KB9RUG A 4,324 76 47 IL EM49 NØKRQ 6 1,485 48 33 IA EN31 Op: VE3RCN
KG7CW 6 6,272 100 64 ID DN14 WB9TFH A 3,572 76 38 WI EN53 NOØT 6 1,378 54 26 CO DM79 VE3TM 6 132 12 11 ON FN25
K7HKR 6 5,856 98 61 AZ DM34 AC9S A 2,553 51 37 IL EN50 WT7TT 6 1,350 47 30 CO DM79 VE1BZI 6 100 11 10 NS FN74
K9DR 6 5,046 90 58 WY DN62 K9WKJ A 2,460 60 41 WI EN44 Op: WØZA VA3WB 6 91 14 7 ON FN03
K6UM 6 4,200 113 40 OR CN85 KC9ELU A 2,052 39 36 IN EM79 KA8HDE 6 1,287 43 33 MN EN35 VA3EON 6 90 15 6 ON FN03
WB7CJO 6 3,996 79 54 WY DN71 WB8BZK A 1,898 60 26 IL EN52 N2VHZ 6 783 30 29 NE DN82 VA3WEB 6 4 2 2 ON FN03
AA7V 6 3,850 83 50 AZ DM43 W9DZ A 1,782 52 33 IN EN61 WDØBGZ 6 693 33 21 NE EN00 VE2NCG Q 1,700 43 34 QC FN35
KC1BB 6 3,404 75 46 AZ DM32 KD9EFO A 1,692 51 36 IL EM59 K3PA 6 345 23 15 KS EM29 VE2NR/R R 560 29 20 QC 2
AI1K 6 3,337 73 47 AZ DM34 K9GY A 1,568 48 28 IL EN61 NØIS 6 315 21 15 MO EM48 Op: VE2DDZ
WO7R 6 3,312 72 48 AZ DM32 WB9LWO A 1,440 36 30 IL EM49 N3SL 6 238 17 14 IA EN12 VE3WJ/R R 464 18 16 ON 3
K7VIC 6 3,168 77 44 MT DN28 K9JDM A 990 48 18 IL EN52 NYØA 6 238 19 14 MN EN24 VE3OIL/R R 260 20 13 ON 2
W7YAQ 6 3,042 79 39 OR CN94 K9CT A 486 23 18 IL EN50 WBØN 6 231 21 11 MN EN34 VA3PAF/R R 60 11 6 ON 3
KA6BIM 6 2,911 76 41 OR CN73 W9ZB A 405 21 15 IN EM69 KCØVDY 6 221 17 13 CO DM59
W6OAT 6 2,673 100 27 WA CN87 AB9YC A 360 30 12 IL EN52 KBØEO 6 216 18 12 MN EN34 CUBA
K7HP 6 2,660 72 38 AZ DM33 K9EL A 250 16 10 IL EN52 WØSEI 6 136 19 8 MN EN35 CM2RSV 6 14,507 170 89 EL83
WA7BRL 6 2,464 90 28 WA CN87 K9CW A 208 16 13 IL EN50 WAØIYY 6 110 13 10 MO EM48 CO3JA 6 1,887 56 37 EL93
W7GDK 6 2,268 58 42 AZ DM41 KC9K A 110 11 11 IL EN40 KØOP 6 64 8 8 MN EN16 CO3VR 6 483 25 21 EL93
WA7DUH 6 2,240 65 35 WA DN06 W9KM A 110 10 10 IL EN51 NØKQ 6 42 9 6 CO DM79
WØOGH 6 2,160 60 36 AZ DM52 K9ZO A 80 10 8 IL EN50 NØBDS 6 12 4 3 MO EM48 DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
WR5J 6 1,829 61 31 WA CN87 K9KM A 16 4 4 IL EN52 WE7L 2 768 24 16 CO DM79 HI8DL A 2,640 64 40 FK58
NA7CS 6 1,696 58 32 AZ DM32 W9SAU A 9 3 3 IL EN61 KAØRYT 2 572 22 13 MN EN35
K7HPN 6 1,568 58 28 AZ DM33 WT9U A 2 2 1 IN EN71 NØUR Q 13,912 144 94 MN EN33 GRENADA
K6VHF 6 1,128 47 24 AZ DM43 K9OM 6 15,200 156 100 WI EN65 NØGTO Q 1,176 42 28 CO DM59 J35X 6 12 4 3 FK92

108 • CQ • January 2021 Visit Our Web Site

 MEXICO HS7AP M 8,224 257 16 NK92 DL1SUZ 6 1,645 48 35 JO53 YO8DHA 6 1,596 43 38 KN36
XE2CQ A 12,006 174 58 DM12 Ops: E24ETS E24YEJ E25KGF E25CVD E25KHN DL9ZP 6 1,209 40 31 JO53 YO2OXD 6 1,386 44 33 KN05
XE2TT A 12 3 3 DL44 E29BRE E29CCY E29DVD DL9NEI 6 736 32 23 JN58 YR4R 6 1,209 39 31 KN45
XE1AY A 6 2 2 DK79 E22WMI M 2,560 129 10 OK04 DO1PE 6 252 19 14 JO31 YO2IS 6 720 30 24 KN05
XE2X 6 16,198 183 91 EL06 Ops: E22WMI HSØEDP E22FFJ HSØQQB E22KKO DL6CNG 6 182 16 13 JO51 YO5DAS 6 672 28 24 KN17
XE2JS 6 3,136 69 49 DL78 E25CIO E22EEO DAØDOM 6 156 14 12 JO52 YO4RDW 6 650 26 26 KN35
XE2W 6 1,600 50 32 DL95 HS1AN M 2,412 134 9 OK03 Op: DL5ME YO2LEA 6 609 30 21 KN06
XE2NK 6 1,440 52 30 DL95 Ops: E22UYH E24PCN E24TIE E25CPM DL6RBH 6 72 9 8 JN69 YO7LBX 6 420 21 20 KN15
XE2N 6 1,320 46 30 DL95 E21AK M 1,602 89 9 OK04 DL5LS 6 56 8 7 JO54 YO7LDT 6 90 10 9 KN14
XE1AQY 6 4 2 2 DK89 Ops: E2ØSJC E23RVG E22DKG HS6YSU HS3WRH DL1ONI 6 36 6 6 JN58 YO8BGE 6 90 10 9 KN36
E23SGP HSØQFL E22SXX E21ZVO E2ØMZU DL9LM 6 16 5 4 JO53 YO8DOH 6 80 10 8 KN37
PUERTO RICO E29EKF M 640 64 5 OK03 DJ1XT 6 4 2 2 JO44 YO5CTS 6 49 7 7 KN17
KP4AJ 6 1,530 45 34 FK68 Ops: E29EKF E2ØFBA E2ØWVV E27GLL E24JWC YO2LEL 6 36 6 6 KN05
E23HWU HS3PZL E23FDL E25LBC GREECE YO7CJB 6 9 3 3 KN15
E27RT M 280 35 4 OK02 SV2AEL 6 5,460 94 60 KN10 YO7EY 6 9 3 3 KN14
AFRICA Ops: E27RT HSØYNM E27MX HS2QMQ HS2QKK SV2JAO 6 4,617 82 57 KN10 YO4FYQ 2 1,184 37 16 KN44
CANARY IS. HS2QGM E24HRQ E27ANR HS2YNE E27ILE SV6JHA 6 1,116 37 31 KM09 YO5PUV/P 2 832 26 16 KN15
EA8CTK A 195 16 13 IL18 E27DNZ SV3RPQ 6 775 31 25 KM18 YO9CNU 2 720 25 15 KN25
EA8DBM 6 43,175 279 157 IL18 SV3SKM 6 143 13 11 KM08 YO9CWY/P 2 396 18 11 KN35
WEST MALAYSIA J48KEF M 768 32 24 KM08 YO9CLG 2 132 11 6 KN35
Ops: SVØFM SV8EAY YO2LIM 2 96 8 6 KN16
ASIA 9W2LMC A 1 1 1 OJ12
SX3SP M 25 6 5 KM08 YO4SI/P 2 96 8 6 KN25
ASIATIC TURKEY 9M4DXX 6 63 9 7 OJ05
Op: JE1SCJ Ops: SV3GKU SV3IEG SV3SFK SV3QUB YO5PLP 2 96 8 6 KN27
TC3EC A 255 18 15 KM38 YO5AVN 2 50 5 5 KN17
9M2TO 6 4 2 2 OJ05
TA7OM 6 9,075 121 75 KN80 HUNGARY YO4BXX 2 32 4 4 KN44
TA1BM 6 462 23 21 KN40 9M2CDX Q 1 1 1 OJ11
HA2VR A 5,800 84 58 JN86 YO6EX Q 16 4 4 KN26
TA3ST 6 285 19 15 KM39 HA6NL 6 8,424 114 78 JN98 YO5OB Q 12 3 2 KN16
TA3E M 1,848 57 33 KM38 HAØNAR 6 7,663 104 79 KN07 YR8D M 2,912 56 26 KN27
Ops: TA3E TB3BFO EUROPE HA3HX 6 806 32 26 JN86 Ops: YO8CLN YO8SSB
AUSTRIA HA7RF 6 399 21 19 JN97
CHINA OE6RAD Q 620 30 20 JN77 HAØIM 6 56 8 7 KN07 SARDINIA
BD4SS A 486 25 18 PM01 HA1WA 2 5,394 87 31 JN87 ISØBSR 6 3,404 74 46 JM48
BA4TB A 464 28 16 PM01 BELGIUM HA5JX 2 288 16 9 JN97
BA5HAM 6 874 38 23 PM00 ON6NL 6 9,039 134 69 JO21 HA4BF H 952 28 17 JN97 SCOTLAND
BA5DX 6 620 33 20 PM00 OP2D M 20,498 169 74 JO20 HA6W M 154,428 494 204 KN08 GM6NX 6 2,009 50 41 IO86
BG2KAJ 6 476 28 17 PN23 Ops: ON4ANN ON4EC ON4CKM ON4OK ON2BDJ Ops: HAØLZ HAØLO HA6ZFA HA6WX HA5OKU Op: MMØOKG
BH6ODC 6 99 11 9 OM64 ON3NFS ON8CW HAØMK HAØLC GM9C 6 156 14 12 IO75
BH6KWC 6 20 5 5 OM64 Op: MMØGHM
BG1NAL 6 12 4 3 ON80 BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA ITALY
BH4BFS 6 4 2 2 PM01 E78AX 6 1,764 51 36 JN83 I1JTQ A 2,560 58 32 JN34 SERBIA
E72U 6 621 27 23 JN94 IK7LMX A 950 35 25 JN80 YU5C A 1,134 39 27 KN02
E78CB 6 49 7 7 JN92 IK7JNM A 648 22 18 JN80 YU1ANO 6 48 8 6 KN04
HONG KONG I4LCK 6 2,014 55 38 JN54 Op: YU1RA
VR2XMT 6 120 12 10 OL72
BULGARIA IZ3EIN 6 462 23 21 JN65 YTØI Q 80 10 4 KN13
VR2EH 6 6 3 3 OL72
LZ1VQ A 1,764 49 36 KN21 I4JEE 6 9 3 3 JN54 YT1ML Q 80 10 4 KN02
Op: VR2ZQZ
LZ1ZX 6 4,374 84 54 KN32 IZ2JNN/IN3H 1,157 46 13 JN55 YU4VOX Q 72 9 4 KN02
LZ1AG 6 1,200 41 30 KN22 IZ3NVR/M R 9 3 3 2 YU5DMR Q 72 9 4 KN03
JAPAN IR9K M 13,072 139 76 JM68 YU1ML Q 54 9 3 KN03
JQ1NGT A 1,510 101 10 PM95 LZ2JA 6 783 31 27 KN22
JI2IXA A 1,480 50 20 PM85 LZ2CH Q 754 29 26 KN34 Ops: IT9DSZ IT9HLC IT9KXK IT9YMM IT9ORA YU1ZIP Q 54 9 3 KN02
LZ1MC Q 30 7 5 KN22 IT9WDC IT9ATF IT9BXR YU5BOS Q 36 6 3 KN03
JM1MTE A 260 19 10 PM95
JHØMUC/Ø A 140 15 5 PM96 YU1JA Q 30 7 3 KN02
JR7DUT A 140 11 10 QM09 CORSICA LATVIA YU3EMA Q 30 6 3 KN12
JJ1HHJ A 6 2 2 PM95 TK5MH 6 4 2 2 JN41 YL1ZF 6 14,504 151 98 KO27 YT5W M 5,665 82 55 KN04
JF2MBF 6 774 45 18 PM85 YL3CW 6 6,555 98 69 KO36 Ops: YU8A YU1LG
JL3MCM 6 420 32 14 PM74 CROATIA YL2TD 6 1,326 39 34 KO26 YU7ØHFG M 80 10 4 KN13
JA1SJV 6 175 25 7 PM95 9A3TN A 2,256 53 24 JN85 YL2LW 6 1,254 41 33 KO26 Ops: YU1ZZZ YU4IKA
JH9DRL 6 171 20 9 PM86 9A2EY A 2,059 55 29 JN85 YL2AO 6 624 27 24 KO16
JM1NKT 6 84 21 4 PM96 9A6A 6 13,261 152 89 JN83 YL3JD 6 144 14 12 KO26 SLOVAK REPUBLIC
JR1BFZ/2 6 84 12 7 PM85 9A7ZZ 6 500 25 20 JN85 YL2EC 6 20 5 4 KO06 OM6H 2 100 10 5 JN99
JH4UTP 6 66 11 6 PM64 9A5G M 10,250 136 41 JN75 Op: OM7ANT
JA1DDZ 6 30 11 3 PM95 Ops: 9A1AR 9A2VX 9A3IM LITHUANIA
JA6WFM 6 28 7 4 PM52 9A1I M 5,640 94 30 JN85 LY2SA A 2,530 53 46 KO14 SLOVENIA
7L4IOU 6 16 8 2 PM95 Ops: 9A9I 9A7IQG LY1R 6 357 21 17 KO14 S5/MØMPMA 110 10 10 JN75
JO4JKL 6 15 5 3 PM65 LY3AB 6 324 21 18 KO05
JF3LGC 6 6 3 2 PM74 CZECH REPUBLIC LY2CG 6 195 15 13 KO24 SPAIN
JA7ZP 6 4 2 2 QM09 OK8AU 6 1,073 39 29 JN79 EA1HRR A 616 25 22 IN83
JH2GZY 6 1 1 1 PM94 OK2RO 6 196 14 14 JN99 MONTENEGRO EA2BFM A 540 22 20 IN83
JI1HFJ 6 1 1 1 PM95 OK2TS 6 81 9 9 JN89 4O6GAS A 6,798 95 66 JN92 EA5IEA A 253 15 11 IM98
JH4PUS 2 56 14 2 PM64 OK1RDO M 5,369 79 59 JN69 4O6ZD Q 1 1 1 JN92 EA7KI 6 621 27 23 IM76
JA9XAT 2 2 1 1 PM86 Ops: OK1DC OK1TX OK1NMJ EA4AA 6 42 7 6 JN00
JR2AWS 2 2 1 1 PM86 NETHERLANDS EB3A 6 2 2 1 JN01
JN1OKV Q 111 19 3 PM95 DENMARK PA5WT 6 870 31 29 JO22 EB7HEM 6 1 1 1 IM76
JR1NKN Q 22 11 2 PM95 OZ9V 6 36 6 6 JO46 PAØRDY 6 360 20 18 JO22
JH7UJU Q 21 6 3 QM08 OZ6OM Q 408 25 17 JO55 PC3T 6 72 9 8 JO21 SWEDEN
JE1ILP Q 18 9 2 PM95 SD1A A 1 1 1 JO97
JA1GZK/1 Q 6 3 1 PM96 ENGLAND NORTH MACEDONIA Op: SM1TDE
JH3DMQ Q 4 2 2 PM74 G4NBS A 3,000 52 40 JO02 Z37CXY 6 4,617 83 57 KN02 SMØP 6 2,700 61 45 JO99
JO7FGZ/1 Q 4 2 1 PM95 G3TXF 6 6,231 93 67 IO71 Op: Z32ZM SF6W 6 928 32 29 JO68
JK1VUZ/P H 217 24 7 PM95 G1GEY 6 3,286 62 53 IO94 Z32KF 6 3,234 66 49 KN01 Op: SM6EWB
JR1UJX/2 H 32 6 4 PM85 MØMCV 6 49 7 7 JO01 Z33B Q 690 30 23 KN01 SM6CUK 6 36 6 6 JO67
JM3XHD/3 H 12 4 2 PM74 MØOSA/M 6 25 5 5 IO93 SMØNJO 6 1 1 1 JO99
JL3DQX/R R 130 15 5 2 M5W Q 6,270 98 66 IO80 NORWAY
JA3YVI M 160 30 4 PM74 Op: MØHMJ LA3OCT 6 1,326 42 34 JO49 SWITZERLAND
Ops: JO3NDC JO3SXI M6OXO Q 22 6 2 IO83 Op: LA3DV HB9CIC A 81 9 9 JN47
G1E/R R 169 13 13 2 LB6VI 6 99 11 9 JP53
KAZAKHSTAN Op: G1TPA LA9TY 6 12 4 3 JO38 UKRAINE
UN7MBH A 4,472 76 52 LO51 UR6F A 61,122 283 183 KN45
ESTONIA POLAND Op: UXØFF
KOREA ESØIA 6 1,240 40 31 KO18 SP2HHX A 2,088 42 36 JO94 UW8SM A 21,658 166 119 KN28
HL3AMO 6 120 16 8 PM36 ES5NHC 6 210 15 14 KO38 SQ2EEQ A 1,813 47 37 JO94 UX3IW A 11,524 134 86 KN88
HL2ASZ 6 60 10 6 PM37 SP8SN A 437 21 19 KO11 UY5ON A 9,840 118 80 KN89
EUROPEAN RUSSIA SP2FAV A 117 13 9 JO94 UT2QQ A 8,249 103 73 KN77
SAUDI ARABIA HF5WIM A 9 3 3 KO02 UZ5Q A 7,178 95 74 KN77
7Z1SJ 6 1 1 1 LL25 R6KA A 29,737 230 131 KN75
RJ3DC 2 2,700 51 27 KO95 SP5XO A 9 3 3 KO02 UT2UB A 6,240 97 65 KO50
SP5APW 6 2,244 53 44 KO02 UT8LE A 3,705 59 39 KN79
THAILAND RL3F 2 1,360 34 20 KO95
SOØN 6 1,632 51 34 JO90 UX5UN A 414 24 18 KO50
E25FXN A 256 32 4 OK03 RT3G 2 1,134 27 21 KO92
Op: SQ9CNN UX2X 6 52,246 307 173 KO40
HS3SMO 2 4,608 145 16 OK25 R7MU 2 504 18 14 LN07
SP3UR 6 1,591 45 37 JO92 Op: UT2XQ
E23GBD 2 2,400 150 8 OK03 RM5P 2 448 16 14 KO84
SNØR 6 1,073 38 29 KN09 UWØK 6 37,268 248 154 KO30
HS8JKY 2 160 20 4 OK03 R4DK 2 144 9 8 LO21
Op: SQ9IAU Op: USØKW
E25GMU 2 156 27 3 OK03 RW3VM 2 96 8 6 LO16
SP9HZW 6 720 30 24 KO00 UT4XU 6 21,060 180 117 KO40
E25ETT 2 100 10 5 OK12 RW3AL 2 50 5 5 KO85
SP9JZT 6 644 28 23 KO00 UX2HH 6 18,954 165 117 KN79
E2ØAX 2 48 8 3 OK03 RA4W 2 8 2 2 LO66
SP9BNM 6 418 24 19 JO90 UT7KZZ 6 18,212 158 116 KO31
Op: E21EIC RA3DAD Q 418 19 11 KO95
SQ6ELV 6 255 17 15 JO80 Op: UT5EL
HS1IWX 2 48 8 3 OK03 RW3AI Q 18 3 3 KO85
SP9EMI 6 240 16 16 JO90 UV7E 6 9,652 131 76 KN77
E24KHS 2 20 5 2 OK14 SP6IHE 6 143 13 11 JO80 UTØEK 6 7,313 103 71 KN67
HS2UPR 2 8 2 2 OK02 FINLAND UX7UU 6 7,272 104 72 KO50
OH3MA A 1 1 1 KP20 SP2MHC 6 110 11 10 JO94
E22EXA 2 4 2 1 OK04 SP9HAX 6 49 7 7 JO90 UR6QS 6 4,736 75 64 KN77
E27EK Q 36 6 3 OK03 OH3RB 6 7,575 102 75 KP10 UT5UN 6 4,480 82 56 KO50
OH6AC 6 754 29 26 KP12 SP5ES 6 1 1 1 KO02
E25CHP Q 32 8 2 OK03 SP3BES Q 9 3 3 JO71 UT6UA 6 3,905 72 55 KO50
E24ICU Q 26 13 1 OJ06 Op: OH6CS UX7LL 6 3,780 74 54 KO80
E22UMT Q 16 4 2 OK03 OH3FM 6 378 22 18 KP21 UR7LY 6 3,726 73 54 KO80
HS6TUX Q 8 2 2 NK97 OH5ZA 6 1 1 1 KP20 PORTUGAL UZ7W 6 3,339 66 53 KN18
HS5BQT Q 2 1 1 OK03 Op: OH1ZAA CT7AIX A 154 14 11 IM59 Op: USØWJ
E27DIX/R R 1,204 44 14 4 FRANCE CR6F 6 858 33 26 IN50 UY2ZA 6 3,185 66 49 KN66
HS7WMU/RR 160 11 8 3 FØFEK Q 360 20 9 JN19 Op: CT1FOQ UY2UR 6 3,172 63 52 KO50
E27AC M 19,320 461 21 OK03 CT7AUP 6 64 9 8 IM58 UXØLL 6 2,726 59 47 KO50
Ops: E27EHE E27IHO E27FPS HS3UAA E23CUB GERMANY CT1END Q 420 21 15 IM58 UR5LAK 6 2,610 59 45 KN89
E25GNL E25MAP E25LOB E25HLF E25KXX DL3DXX A 1,887 51 37 JO61 UR4QV 6 2,288 52 44 KN77
E27AAA M 14,250 375 19 OK04 DO4DXA A 1,767 42 31 JN58 ROMANIA UY5YA 6 2,254 52 46 KN87
Ops: E27AAA E27AFE E27GIG E29VTH E2ØZNH DK2OY 6 9,768 135 74 JO44 YO3JW A 969 31 17 KN35 UT7UA/P 6 2,193 54 43 KO20
HS2RLP HS3PJF HS4QNU E29TGW E25KAE DL3KUD 6 2,970 69 45 JO53 YO2GL A 594 23 22 KN05 UX4UA 6 1,813 49 37 KO50

www.cq-amateur-radio.com January 2021 • CQ • 109

US6IKF 6 1,518 46 33 KN88 YC2VOC A 2 1 1 OI52 PV8DX A 735 35 21 FJ92 PU2MXU 2 102 20 3 GG66
UT5CB 6 990 36 30 KN59 YD2CHT A 2 1 1 OI53 PY2UGO A 728 52 8 GG66 PU2NAX 2 102 17 3 GG66
UY5ZZ 6 744 31 24 KO50 YB1RUS 6 6 3 2 OI33 PU2RPD A 704 53 8 GG66 PU2OLQ 2 98 8 7 GG47
UT8IM 6 552 25 23 KN87 YC1CWK 6 2 2 1 OI33 PY4AQA A 688 25 16 GG88 PU2LRO 2 96 12 4 GG76
US5WE 6 380 20 19 KN29 YB2MDU 2 72 6 6 OI53 PU2VTC A 648 43 8 GG66 PU2OYQ 2 96 12 6 GG67
UR5LF 6 132 12 11 KN89 YD2DMG 2 30 5 3 OI42 PU2MGP A 468 43 6 GG66 PY2ND 2 96 12 4 GG67
UT7KF 6 99 11 9 KO21 YB2DWL 2 16 4 2 OI42 PU2MOR A 352 24 8 GG65 PU2MSS 2 90 15 3 GG76
UX2QL 6 36 6 6 KN87 YB2LHW 2 16 4 2 OI42 PY2KNK A 348 19 12 GG56 PU2TBK 2 90 15 3 GG67
USØSY 6 24 6 6 KN28 YB7XYO 2 14 7 1 OI88 PY2AB A 315 29 7 GG66 PY5EK 2 84 7 6 GG43
US7IGN 6 20 5 5 KO50 YC7UAH 2 14 7 1 OI88 PY4BK A 300 16 10 GG88 PU2OXB 2 72 8 6 GG56
USØZK 6 9 3 3 KN57 YC7UBK 2 14 7 1 OI88 PU2MST A 264 25 6 GG76 PU5BOY 2 72 6 6 GG53
UT8IT 6 9 3 3 KN87 YC7UOK 2 14 7 1 OI88 PY2AXH A 248 31 4 GG66 PU2LQF 2 56 14 2 GG66
US4IEK 2 10,384 118 44 KN87 YC7YCO 2 14 7 1 OI88 PU2OKE A 240 24 5 GG66 PY2VZ 2 56 7 4 GG58
US8AR 2 5,772 74 39 KO60 YC7YDB 2 14 7 1 OI88 PY2RTO A 234 21 6 GG65 PU2ULN 2 52 13 2 GG66
UR7IMM 2 2,820 48 30 KN88 YC7YGR 2 14 7 1 OI88 PY2MAM A 216 16 8 GG66 PU2UAF 2 50 7 5 GG66
UXØQQ 2 2,340 66 18 KN87 YD7URE 2 14 7 1 OI88 PY2XL A 210 24 5 GG66 PU2MIW 2 48 12 2 GG66
UR4LSK 2 1,680 35 24 KO80 YD7AAB 2 8 4 1 PI06 PU2TTN A 154 12 7 GG68 PU2RND 2 48 8 3 GG68
UV8IF 2 1,064 38 14 KN88 YB3BAR 2 6 3 1 OI62 PU2PZE A 132 19 4 GG76 PU3LMZ 2 48 12 2 GG40
UR7QDO 2 64 8 4 KN77 YD2CHS 2 4 2 1 OI43 PU1JDX A 96 9 6 GG86 PU2YDP 2 44 11 2 GG66
UR5WCE 2 60 6 5 KN29 YB3BME 2 2 1 1 OI62 PT9IR A 40 5 4 GG29 PY3GIN 2 44 12 2 GF49
UR5ETN 2 48 6 4 KN78 YC2YSW 2 2 1 1 OI52 PY1LK A 40 6 4 GG87 PY3TR 2 40 10 2 GF49
UR7QDU 2 42 7 3 KN77 YD2CAU 2 2 1 1 OI51 PY4NF A 21 4 3 GG77 PU3EFB 2 36 9 2 GG40
UT2IY 2 24 4 3 KN98 YD2CHR 2 2 1 1 OI41 PU2LJY A 16 6 2 GG66 PU3VON 2 36 9 2 GF49
UW5EIY 2 24 6 2 KN77 YD2LLT Q 96 8 6 OI42 PY3KN A 15 3 3 GF49 PP5KC 2 32 4 4 GG42
EM9Q Q 39,730 284 145 KN77 PU2UMF A 10 3 2 GG68 PY3BY 2 32 8 2 GF49
YC3SCV Q 6 3 1 OI62
UT8AL Q 14,553 124 77 KO61 PV8AAS A 10 4 2 FJ92 PY3KIM 2 24 4 3 GG40
YD3CEK Q 6 3 1 OI62
UT3LL Q 6,760 87 65 KO80 PU2KRL A 6 3 2 GG66 PU3EPN 2 20 5 2 GG40
YD3CER Q 6 3 1 OI62
UT4RZ Q 5,016 88 57 KO51 PY2ZA 6 40 10 4 GG76 PY3ASQ 2 20 5 2 GG40
UW5KW Q 3,360 72 48 KO30 PT9FD 6 36 6 6 GG27 PU5DPD 2 18 3 3 GG51
UV5EMH Q 28 7 2 KN77
PHILIPPINES
4I1BNC A 18 5 2 PK04 PV8AJ 6 24 7 4 FJ92 PU3MIP 2 16 5 2 GF49
UW5EHX Q 16 4 2 KN77 PY2KS 6 12 5 3 GG66 PY2VOA 2 16 4 2 GG77
DU8VXO A 12 3 2 PJ26
UT1I H 1,800 45 30 KN97 PY2ADR 6 4 4 2 GG66 PU2MLJ 2 12 3 2 GG68
4F7FLO 2 504 36 7 PK10
Op: UT1IC PR8KW 6 1 1 1 GI77 PU2NBI 2 12 4 2 GG66
DV7BPQ 2 152 19 4 PJ19
UR8IW H 1,023 35 31 KN88 PU3BOT 6 1 1 1 GG40 PU4BNL 2 8 2 2 GH60
UTØRQ H 60 10 6 KO51 DV7DYH 2 88 11 4 PJ19
DW7EVQ 2 80 10 4 PK10 PY3ZL 6 1 1 1 GG40 PY5DU 2 8 2 2 GG36
UY2RA H 48 6 4 KO51 PY2NF 2 4,004 91 22 GG77 PU2MNG 2 4 2 1 GG76
UT5IZ H 30 5 3 KN88 DV7BPK 2 76 20 2 PJ19
DY7BTF 2 40 10 2 PJ19 PU2YBW 2 774 43 9 GG66 PU2OYP 2 4 3 2 GG67
US2ICR H 8 2 2 KN97 PU2XMY 2 400 40 5 GG66
DV7FJB 2 28 7 2 PK10 PU2NZV 2 2 1 1 GG77
UZ2I M 22,736 193 112 KN98 PY2SHF 2 390 39 5 GG66
DV7RAR 2 24 7 2 PJ19 PY2NRT 2 2 1 1 GG66
Ops: US1ITU UY2IF UT2III PU2TRO 2 350 37 5 GG66
DW7FJD 2 24 6 2 PK10 PU2VJI Q 747 42 9 GG66
UW3E M 11,760 132 84 KN78 PY2DN 2 330 34 5 GG66
DU7LEN 2 8 3 2 PJ19 PU2USK Q 320 24 8 GG76
Ops: UR7EL UT5EA UR3EZ PY2REY 2 328 41 4 GG66
DV1IIW 2 6 3 1 PK04 PY2CP Q 129 28 3 GG66
DW7RAX 2 2 1 1 PJ19 PY2FSR 2 320 20 8 GG56 PU2NZO Q 66 11 3 GG76
WALES PU2LMN 2 256 17 8 GG58 PY2MSR Q 54 9 3 GG67
GW7APP 6 506 24 22 IO73 DU7OK Q 20 5 2 PK10
PY2WOT 2 228 22 6 GG76 ZZ4A M 3,042 98 18 GG67
DX7HQ M 672 56 6 PJ19
PU2MEA 2 200 22 5 GG66 Ops: PY2RMZ PY2ITM PU2RLG PU4MDO
OCEANIA Ops: DV7DSN DU7Q
PU2XEE 2 200 26 4 GG66 PY2AE M 2,489 74 19 GG67
EAST MALAYSIA PY2TTE 2 192 24 4 GG76 Ops: PY2AE PU2VLW PU2YMH PU2REK
9W6PKJ 2 84 14 3 OJ86 SOUTH AMERICA PU2UDC 2 170 21 5 GG76 PV2B M 1,313 58 13 GG66
9W6WOT 2 60 10 3 OJ75 ARGENTINA PU2KOB 2 168 14 6 GG56 Ops: PY2MIG PU2MDD PY2ANY
9W6PJM 2 48 8 3 OJ75 LU1BJW 2 6 3 1 GF05 PY2EZ 2 168 14 6 GG58
9W6AUA 2 42 7 3 OJ75 LU9DO 2 6 3 1 GF05 PU2MBY 2 162 9 9 GG47
9W6DVY 2 42 7 3 OJ86 LW1DFP 2 4 2 1 GF05 PU2PEG 2 160 20 4 GG66 TRINIDAD & TOBAGO
9W6AJA 2 20 5 2 OJ75 LU7MC/R R 120 12 6 3 PU2PWA 2 150 27 3 GG66 9Y4D 6 2,856 68 42 FK90
9W6EZY 2 20 5 2 OJ75 PY2GPV 2 140 14 5 GG76
9W6JCB 2 16 4 2 OJ86 BRAZIL PU2LFU 2 136 17 4 GG76
9W6JNR Q 16 4 2 OJ85 PV2R A 1,417 67 13 GG66 PU2WKP 2 132 13 6 GG66 CHECK LOGS
HAWAII Op: PY2UDT PU2XMT 2 132 22 3 GG66 CN8KD, EW/R3XA, K2MEN, K3AU, K7BWH, K7BX,
NH6Y A 325 14 13 BL10 PU2ORG A 990 55 10 GG76 PU2TYA 2 126 21 3 GG66 KM4IAJ, LY5G, N6RH, N8XA, PY2DY, PY3DU,
PY2RAF A 940 59 10 GG66 PY2ASA 2 120 16 4 GG76 SP2WGU, SP9SOO, SQ9KPA, UT1KY, UT3IA,
INDONESIA PY2LCD A 882 43 14 GG77 PU2NCR 2 114 20 3 GG66 VE7AFZ/R, W7TZ, YO3IPR, YO3VZ, YT1BX
YB1TJ A 8 3 2 OI33 PY2WLM A 840 39 12 GG66 PU2PNB 2 112 16 4 GG76

110 • CQ • January 2021 Visit Our Web Site

 ADVERTISERS’ INDEX
JANUARY 202

Advertiser Page Phone Website

100 Watts & A Wire .............................70................................................www.100WATTSANDAWIRE.COM
Advanced Specialties Inc.................77 ...........201-VHF-2067.............www.advancedspecialties.net
Air Boss — Innovative Tech................71 ...........252-249-0287..............www.kr4loairboss.com
Alaskit...................................................36 ...........907-488-0483...........http://alaskit.co
Alinco..............................................59,73 ...........209-900-1296..............www.alinco.com
Amateur Radio Roundtable .............71 ...........901-570-2188..............www.W5KUB.com
AOR U.S.A., Inc......................................5 ...........310-787-8615..............www.aorusa.com
bhi ........................................................93................................................www.bhi-ltd.com
Buddipole Antennas ..........................41 ...........503-591-8001..............www.buddipole.com
CQ Calendar ....................................105 ...........516-681-2922..............http://store.cq-amateur-radio.com
CQ Mechandise .....................37,Cov III ...........516-681-2922..............http://store.cq-amateur-radio.com
CW Easy/Success Easy ......................45 ...........561-302-7731..............www.success-is-easy.com
Communications Concepts, Inc. .....45 ...........937-426-8600..............www.communication-concepts.com
Electric Radio Magazine ...................45 ...........720-924-0171..............www.ermag.com
ETON...............................................Cov II................................................www.etoncorp.com
HamTestOnline....................................77 ...........888-857-6164..............www.hamtestonline.com
Icom America Inc. .............................27................................................www.icomamerica.com
Impulse Electronics.............................63 ...........866-747-5277..............www.impulseelectronics.com
International DX Association .............54................................................www.indexa.org
LDG Electronics................................1,33 ...........410-586-2177..............www.ldgelectronics.com
Nuts & Volts .......................................110 ...........800-783-4624..............www.nutsvolts.com
Pacific Antenna..................................71................................................www.qrpkits.com
preciseRF .............................................13 ...........503-915-2490..............www.preciserf.com
QCWA..................................................99 ...........352-425-1097..............www.qcwa.org
RF Parts ................................................25 ...........800-921-4834..............www.rfparts.com
RT Systems.........................................9,19 ...........800-921-4834..............www.rtsystems.com
REACT Int’l ...........................................84 ...........301-316-2900..............www.REACTintl.org
SteppIR ................................................29 ...........425-453-1910..............www.steppir.com
W2IHY Technologies...........................19 ...........845-889-4253..............www.w2ihy.com
W5SWL...................................................99.................................................www.W5SWL.com
W7DXX Remote....................................54.................................................www.w7dxx.com
YLRL ......................................................56................................................www.ylrl.org
Yaesu.................................6,7,21,Cov IV ...........714-827-7600..............www.yaesu.com

Let CQ help you get the most for your advertising dollar!
Contact Dottie K, CQ’s Advertising Director
at 516-681-2922 x 106 or via email at ads@cq-amateur-radio.com

Advertising Rates: Non-commercial ads are 20 cents per word including abbreviations and addresses. Commercial and organization ads are
$1.00 per word. Boldface words are $1.50 each (specify which words). Minimum charge $2.00. No ad will be printed unless accompanied by full
remittance. All ads must be typewritten double-spaced.
Closing Date: The 10th day in the third month preceding date of publication (example: Jan. 10th for the March issue). Because the advertisers
and equipment contained in Ham Shop have not been investigated, the Publisher of CQ cannot vouch for the merchandise listed therein. The
publisher reserves the right to reject any advertisement. Direct all correspondence and ad copy to: CQ Ham Shop, 17 West John Street, Hicksville,
NY 11801 (fax: 516-681-2926; e-mail: <hamshop@cq-amateur-radio.com>.
FOR SALE Rare Collins KW-1, serial number 96. Only
150 made and it still works! $16,000 firm. Pictures upon
request. Contact Teressa: <Trjtwo@gmail.com> or via
telephone 805-878-1691.
Wanted: Original set of knobs for my Heathkit HW-8.
Paul, WBØMPG, 538 North Walnut, Wichita, KS 67203.
(316) 351-7717.
Wanted: Old slide rules for personal collection. Send
info to db_cunningham@hotmail.com
Morse Code on a CD. Just want A to Z and Zero to 9 in
code only. Contact Ronald (KD7FWC) (775) 962-5437.
AMECO AC-1 DIY Kits: www.thenewameco.com
Affordable Custom Antenna Design www.ant-build.com
Recognize the signature CW sounds of over 4000 words!
Start to read whole words sent in fast Morse code!
https://www.hearcwwords.com
Yaesu FT-100D (HF-VHF-UHF). Great mobile rig with
manual, internal keyer and mike. $300. (281) 934-8783.
RF CONNECTORS & GADGETS - Parts - Products
and More! www.W5SWL.com
Keychain QRP: Worlds Smallest HF Transmitter. Handmade
in the USA. <www.bit.ly/KeychainQRP>
GET THE F.C.C. “COMMERCIAL” RADIOTELEPHONE
LICENSE! Fast, inexpensive home study course. Command
Productions. www.LicenseTraining.com. Free info: (800) 932-
4268.
NEVER have another fauly patch cable! 15-page, photo-illus-
trated manual details a revolutionary procedure for assembling
failure-proof coaxial cable patches. $10 postpaid U.S.,
$15 forgeign. R.W. Parker, 1205 Sleepy Hollow Road,
Pennsuburg, PA 18073.
CallSign Stuff www.hamQRU.com KTØMMY
WANTED: 500-Kc Ships Transmitter. IE: MACKAY MARINE
2017A. w8wz@aol.com
NO NONSENSE LICENSE STUDY GUIDES: kb6nu.com/cq
Wanted: Channel Master model 110 Quantum Antennas 1 or
more in box good condition! W.J. Gibbs, Jr. 601 Howard Street.
Columbia, NC 27925
QRP J-36: 1/2-Scale Microkey. Full-Functional “BUG” Made
in the USA by KA6IRL. <QRPJ36.com>
Premium RF Connectors, Antennas, Coax, Parts, and
Accessories. W5SWL’s Ham Store — www.DavesHobby
Shop.com
WANTED: IBM Model M, Space Saving Keyboard, Call KØKG,
(218) 850-1500 or email: <keith.gilbertson@q.com>.
AMATEUR RADIO ELECTRONICS: Home Study Software,
Apps, and eBooks $2.99. <www.eptsoft.com/HomeStudy
POLYESTER ROPE: excellent for antenna support and
guying. Go to <www.audiotronics.us>.
REAL HAMS DO CODE: Move up to CW with CW Mental Block
Buster III. Succeed with hypnosis and NLP. Includes two (2)
CDs and Manual. Only $29.95 plus $7.00 s/h US. FL add $2.14
tax. Success Easy, 568 SE Maple Terrace, Port St. Lucie, FL
34983, phone 561-302-7731, <www.success-is-easy.com>.
TWO NEW NOVELS involving ham radio: Full Circle, and
Frozen in Time, by N4XX. Visit <http://www.theodore-cohen-
novels.com/>.
QSLing SUPPLIES. e-mail: <plumdx@msn.com>.
CASH FOR COLLINS, HALLICRAFTERS SX-88, & DRAKE
TR-6. Buy any Collins equipment. Leo, KJ6HI, phone/fax 310-
418-9269, e-mail: <radioleo73@gmail.com>.
MicroLog by WAØH
Easy to use logging program.
Free download . . . www.wa0h.com
112 • CQ • January 2021
HAMSHOP
www.oldqslcards.com
OVERSEAS AIRMAIL POSTAGE plus complete line of airmail
envelopes. Order directly from our website. James E. Mackey,
proprietor. website: <www.airmailpostage. com>
TOWER ACCESSORIES Gin Pole Kits – stand off brackets –
antenna mounts – vehicle radio mounts – for 30 years. IIX
Equipment Ltd., 708-337-8172, <http://www.w9iix.com/>.
HOMEBREW! “Recollections of a Radio Receiver” a 565 page
book on HBR homebrew receivers. $10 delivered (eBook on
CD-ROM). Details <www.w6hht.com>
DXPEDITION DVD VIDEOS: For full description and how to
order . . . <www.k4uee.com/dvd/>.
ARMS – Amateur Radio Missionary Net. Christian Fellowship
Net, Everyone Welcome. 14.3075 Daily except Sunday
1500–1700Z, –1 Hr DST. Website: www.qsl.net/arms
VORTEX ANTENNA SYSTEMS specialist in HF and VHF high
performance antennas. Yagis and Delta Loops. Linear Loaded
30 and 40m Arrays. OWA Arrays, bespoke individual design
solutions. Antenna related hardware. We ship worldwide
including North America. <www.vortexantennas.co.uk/>. or by
e-mail to <enquiries@vortexantennas.co.uk>.
“World of Keys – Keys III” book features highly detailed views
and photos of keys, bugs, and paddles like few people have
ever seen ($18)!. Also still available, “Keys II” ($16) and “QRP
Romps!” ($18), plus “Your Guide to HF Fun” ($16). Available
from dealers nationwide.
PACKET RADIO AND MORE! Join TAPR, connect with the
largest amateur radio digital group in the U.S. Creators of the
TNC-2 standard, working on Software Defined Radio technol-
ogy. Benefits: newsletter, software, discounts on kits and pub-
lications. For membership prices see the TAPR website:
<http://www.tapr.org>).
HONDURAS DX VACATION: K3, Alpha 86, SteppIR, Meals,
Private Facilities. HR2J, (206) 259-9688.
HY POWER ANTENNA COMPANY <http://www. freewebs.
com/hypower> Multiband dipoles, delta loops, half squares
and QRP antennas.
NEW AMATEUR RADIO MAP with DXCC list updates. Full
color 22 x 34" – $10. Free shipping on club orders.
http://www.hamradiomap.qth.com/
QRP KITS: <www.breadboardradio.com>
NEED ROPE? All kinds, types, including: antenna rope,
hauling, gin. FREE, free consultation, Go to <http://www.
davisropeandcable.com/>. Veteran owned, K1PEK, 978-
369-1738.
FUTURE TIMES: Dreams and visions of Disasters. Great
guide book for Hams. www.xlibris.com/futuretimes.html
HAWAII DX VACATION: SteppIR antennas, amplifiers, private.
KH6RC, <www.leilanibedandbreakfast.com>.
HAM TRAVELERS Discount travel, tours, cruises, more.
www.GreatExpectationTravel.com
www.peidxlodge.com
NEAT STUFF! DWM Communications: <http://qth.com/dwm>
PROMOTIONAL VIDEO: 15-minute DVD describes amateur
radio’s fun and public service. Details: <www.neoham.org>.
HAM RADIO GIFTS: <www.mainestore.com>
WANTED: OLD QSL CARD COLLECTIONS. Collector seeks
US & DX cards. W2VRK, 9 Laird Terrace, Somerset, NJ 08873;
e-mail: <tpllrs@comcast.net>.
TELEGRAPH KEY INFORMATION AND HISTORY MUSE-
UM: <http://w1tp.com>
FT243 AND HC6U CRYSTALS: www.af4k.com
OLD QSLs Available. 50’s and 60’s, DX and USA. Specify call,
send SASE. W5SQA@arrl.net
RFI Filters <www.RFchoke.com>
CRANK-A-WATT Power & More via KE5NYS. Visit <www.
FactorReady.com>
FMTV ARTICLES: Comprehensive transmitter and receiver
deviation calibration, standards, intermodulation, power ampli-
fier calculations. WB9OQM, http://mathison.freeshell.org
Wanna ham in the CAYMAN ISLANDS?” Go to <www.
martykaiser.com/24a.htm>.
www.SecondHandRadio.com
HF Mobile or Fixed Virtual X Antenna Patent: For Sale or
License. Request Free Power Point Presentation file. Shows
design details, pictures, prototype tests. Design applies to a
broad frequency range for mant antenna arrays/beams/verti-
cals. <lgslay@sbcglobal.net>. Larry Slay, K5WUL
FOR SALE: Samlex Power Supply Model SEC 1223, 13.8V @
25 amps. Not working. Includes operating manual and
schematic. Price $50 or best offer. Contact Harry, W9HRQ, at
<harrygraziano@gmail.com> or phone 1-773-334-4492.
ANTENNA & TOWER HARDWARE: Aluminum plates: Boom
to elements, boom to mast, GP/ Vertical antennaground plates,
Rohn 25/45 to cross arms plates, Hexabeam / spiderbeam
Hubs, Moxon hubs, U bolts with sadles. All info at: e78WW@
yahoo.com or at e-bay store: stores.ebay.com/yz4izØ
WWW.ISOTRONANTENNAS.COM FOR HF. CHECK IT OUT!
Call: 719-687-0650; <wd0eja@isotronantennas. com>
FLASH CARDS for ALL FCC exams, Amateur and Com-
mercial. VIS Study Guides <www.visradio.com> 800-655-
4267. Available from Amazon, MFJ and GigaParts.
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