● 2017 Jamboree on the Air ● Making Waves - lessons from September's unusual propagation

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01-Front Cover jan 2018.indd 1 27/11/2017 09:33

 This month I want to talk about RF noise. Many of us can no
longer enjoy HF operation because of noise. BUT there is a
viable solution. Take a look at the new MFJ-1886x receiving
loop. Magnetic loops excel themselves in offering superb
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WatersandStantonPage1.indd 1 27/11/2017 09:57

 IC-7100 Mobile/Base IC-7300 HF - 4m Transceiver
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WatersandStantonPage3.indd 1 27/11/2017 09:58

 Contents
On Sale
14th
Decembe
r
2017
Practical Wireless January 2018 ● Volume 94 ● Number 1 ● Issue 1328

56

50 Carrying on the Practical Way

Richard Constantine G3UGF describes
10 a simple winter project that could be ideal
for those forthcoming Spring days when
you fancy going out portable again.
47
6 Keylines 52 Making Waves
Steve White G3ZVW documents
Don is back from his trip to Bonaire and
major solar events that took place last
has been trying out the FT8 mode. He also
has news of new social media for PW and
30 Valve & Vintage September.
We catch up with the latest developments
RadioUser magazines.
at Ben Nock G4BXD’s Military Wireless 56 Doing it by Design
Many radio amateurs experiment with
7 News Museum, which include the addition of
radio astronomy, particularly Sun-
PW’s monthly roundup of news from the a Swedish Army transmitter and a TGY2
naval transmitter. watching, given that the Sun has such a
UK and internationally, including new
major impact on radio propagation. Geoff
products, club news and recent events.
34 The World of VHF Theasby G8BMI shows how we can do so
10 Review − The Ultra Tim Kirby G4VXE has a packed column with the kit we already have in our shacks.
Lightweight Hexbeam starting with a plea to support your local
59 Christmas Quiz Answers
Steve Telenius-Lowe PJ4DX reports his repeater group, if you don’t want to see
repeaters gradually closing down. How did you get on? The answers to the
experiences using the Ultra Lightweight
Christmas Quiz that appears on page 40.
Hexbeam.
40 The PW Christmas Quiz
14 Review − Alpha Loop We have another Christmas Quiz, compiled 60 Jamboree on the Air 2017
We have a report on the 60th running of
Magnetic Loop Antenna once again by Bob Glasgow GM4UYZ.
the annual Scout movement Jamboree on
Carl Gorse 2E0HPI takes a look at yet
another antenna suitable for portable
42 A Morse Code the Air.
Practice Oscillator
operation.
Wally Sawyer G7FHN offers a quick and 62 Readers’ Letters
This month’s topics include VHF operating,
18 Emerging Technology easy project for a Morse code practice
from Activity Contests to D-STAR, an
Chris Lorek G4HCL shows how oscillator. Perhaps this could be a
Christmas project and entertain and inform update on a 19 Set restoration and more.
pioneering amateur radio techniques have
again shaped the future of two-way radio family and friends. 65 Rallies
communication systems.
44 Data Modes Locate a rally or event near you; we have
our usual comprehensive list.
23 HF Highlights Mike Richards G4WNC brings news of
Steve Telenius-Lowe PJ4DX has another the new Airspy HF+ receiver before turning 66 Classified Adverts
packed postbag following a month that to other data modes news, including APRS 67 Bargain Basement
saw a busy CQWW Phone Contest on the Pi.
68 Warners Group Bookstore
and a number of significant DXpedition
operations.
47 What Next 72 Subscriptions
Colin Redwood G6MXL suggests that
26 Rejuvenating the Yaesu FR-50B readers become ambassadors for the
Receiver – Part 3 hobby over Christmas, before considering
Dr Samuel Ritchie EI9FZB completes his some other amateur radio activities for the
restoration of an old Yaesu FR-50B. festive period.

Copyright © Warners Group Publications Ltd. 2017. Copyright in all drawings, logos, photographs and articles published in Practical Wireless is fully protected
and reproduction in whole or part is expressly forbidden. All reasonable precautions are taken by Practical Wireless to ensure that the advice and data given to
our readers are reliable. We cannot however guarantee it and we cannot accept legal responsibility for it. Prices are those current as we go to press. Published
on the second Thursday of each month by Warners Group Publications Ltd. Printed in England by Holbrooks Printers Ltd., Portsmouth P03 5HX. Distributed by
Warners Distribution, West Street, Bourne, Lincs, PE10 9PH. Tel: 01778 391000, Web: www.warnersgroup.co.uk
Practical Wireless is sold subject to the following conditions, namely that it shall not, without written consent of the publishers first having been given, be lent,
re-sold, hired out or otherwise disposed of by way of trade at more than the recommended selling price shown on the cover, and that it shall not be lent, re-sold,
hired out or otherwise disposed of in a mutilated condition or in any unauthorised cover by way of Trade, or affixed to or as part of any publication or advertising,
literary or pictorial matter whatsoever.

January 2018 Practical Wireless 5

05-Contents-January.indd 5 27/11/2017 09:34

 Keylines
Don is back from his trip to Bonaire and has been trying out the FT8 mode.
He also has news of new social media for PW and RadioUser magazines.
I
very much enjoyed join-
ing our HF columnist
Steve Telenius-Lowe
PJ4DX and others in
Bonaire for the CQWW
Phone Contest at the end of
October. Being part of a multi-
operator contest team is always
a great social experience but I
invariably find that I learn a lot
from other team members too
– amateur radio contesting is a
serious competitive activity and
there is always something new to
absorb in terms of operating skill
and/or station configuration. It was
good to see Steve and his wife
Eva again (I first knew them when
they lived close to my wife and me
here in the UK over 30 years ago).
They showed me the island, which
included the site of what used to
be the Radio Nederland transmit-
ting site (sadly, the antennas have
now been removed) and what
still exists, the Trans World Radio
antennas and studio. TWR is a reli-
gious broadcaster and I recall both
it and Radio Nederland from my
early days of shortwave broadcast
DXing in the late 1960s.
FT8
While some of you may feel that
FT8 has received more than its
share of mentions recently, I
couldn’t help but notice at a recent
meeting of my local (Reading) club
that several members were talking
about the mode. One showed me
how he has been using FT8 simply
by running an App on his smart-
phone and putting the phone near
his FT-817 to pick up and transmit
the tones. It can’t get much sim-
pler! Another told me that he had
worked the A5A (Bhutan) DXpedi-
tion on topband (1.8MHz) using
FT8 when propagation would
certainly not have supported a CW
or SSB contact.
The following day I decided
I really must take the plunge so
I followed the guidance in Mike
Richards G4WNC’s recent Data
Modes column and had the WSJT-
X software working with my Icom
IC-7300 in short order. The trick
is then to set your radio to Upper
6 Practical Wireless January 2018
06-Keylines 1 page.indd 6
Sideband (USB) on one of the
generally agreed frequencies
(see URL below) and leave the
filters wide open. The software
will decode across the 2kHz or
so of spectrum and it’s usually
best to leave your transmitting
frequency where you are (or
move to a clear spot) rather
than netting on to the station
you are trying to work (there’s
a tick box to select or deselect
co-channel operation). The
only problem is that activity is
so high, a single audio chan-
nel is often insufficient and it’s
not unusual to see a busy FT8
channel on a spectrum display
and nothing happening else-
where on the band!
www.qsl.net/sv1grb/psk31.
htm
Anyway, my first evening of
activity, despite some finger
trouble while I got the hang
of the software, netted me
just over 20 contacts on the
40 and 80m bands, all across
Europe.
Joiners and Mentors?
In his October 2017 edito-
rial in QST, American Radio
Relay League (ARRL) CEO
Tom Gallagher NY2RF said,
“Each year we licence tens
of thousands of new amateur
radio operators but nearly half
of them never get on the air.
Never. Not only a thorny prob-
lem: it’s an existential issue.
Our team has conducted ex-
tensive, painstaking research
about this group, with surveys
and phone calls, industrial-
strength market research. We
ask them “why” and typically
they reply: they simply don’t
know how. What they lack is
stuff that’s easy for the rest of
us: How to select a transceiv-
er, begin a contact, build and
install an antenna, choose a
power supply. They lead busy
lives, have little affinity for
clubs, QST is too technical; by
nature, they’re not joiners, and
according to them, there is a
terrible shortage of suitable
mentors. But they are motivated
by an interest in amateur radio”.
This resonated with me. In
recent years many folk have
gone through the Foundation
(and, in many cases, Intermedi-
ate) licence courses successfully
but are never heard from again.
These are the future of our hobby
but not if we lose them. Many
clubs, I realise, struggle to find
the resources to run the actual
courses and are in no position to
follow up with those who pass.
This is a great pity. Maybe a
half day visiting the successful
candidate to advise on antennas
or a suitable rig would be all that
is needed to get them started.
There is no central solution – it
needs to be tackled at the local
level. That said, I have been dis-
cussing with some our column-
ists the sort of articles we might
run be able to run in PW to help
the process along.
Social Media
Our new owners, Warners Group,
have set up a Facebook and
Twitter page for Radio Enthusi-
asts, incorporating RadioUser
and PW. You can find them at:
www.facebook.com/
radioenthusiasts
https://twitter.com/
REnthusiasts
I hope we can use these
to, for example, promote club
events or other activities where
our usual publication timetables
are too extended to get the news
out. Feel free to send me items
you think might be of interest.
Seasons Greetings
And last but by no means least,
all of us involved with the pro-
duction of PW wish every reader
Seasons Greetings and all the
very best for 2018. Thank you for
your continued support.
Don Field
G3XTT
Practical Wireless
Warners Group Publications
The Maltings
West Street
Bourne
Lincs PE10 9PH
www.warnersgroup.co.uk
Tel 01778 391000
Editor (c/o Warners Group Publications)
Don Field G3XTT
practicalwireless@warnersgroup.co.uk
Designer
Mike Edwards
mike.edwards@warnersgroup.co.uk
Advertisement Manager
Claire Ingram
claire.ingram@warnersgroup.co.uk
Advertising Sales
Kristina Green
kristina.green@warnersgroup.co.uk
Advertising Production
Nicola Lock
nicola.lock@warnersgroup.co.uk
Publisher
Rob McDonnell
robm@warnersgroup.co.uk
Subscriptions
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Components for PW projects
In general, all components used in constructing
PW projects are available from a variety of
component suppliers. Where special, or difficult
to obtain, components are specified a supplier
will be quoted in the article.
Photocopies & Back Issues
We can supply back issues, but we only keep
them for one year. If you are looking for an article
or review that you missed first time around, we
can still help. If we don’t have the actual issue
we can always supply a photocopy or PDF file of
the article. See the Book Store pages for details.
Technical Help
We regret that due to Editorial timescales,
replies to technical queries cannot be given
over the telephone. Any technical queries are
unlikely to receive immediate attention so,
if you require help with problems relating to
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Subscribe to
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28/11/2017 16:55
 Newsdesk
New from
InnovAntennas
Following on from their successful LFA-Q
compact quads, InnovAntennas are adding a
more traditional looking quad to their range,
which boasts two of the features of the
LFA-Q. It is a rigid quad using tubes rather
than wires (which enhances gain) and uses
twin booms top and bottom to complete
a very sturdy package. The antenna looks
more like a traditional quad too, being very
square in appearance although the height of
the quad elements is the same. It’s just the
element width that changes.
The example pictured is for 50MHz and
has a boom length of just 530mm but has
7.6dBi forward gain and 18dB F/B and like all
G0KSC designed antennas has a direct 50Ω
feed so there are no matching device losses
or noise and no input power limit.
This first-of-breed Quads is installed at
G0KSC for testing and a full range down to
21MHz will be introduced as the year goes
on..
Keep an eye on the InnovAntennas
Facebook page and website for updates or
www.innovantennas.com
Bob Glasgow
GM4UYZ BEM
We previously reported on the award of the
British Empire Medal (BEM) to Bob Glasgow
GM4UYZ (whose Christmas Quiz appears
in this issue) for his work in amateur radio.
We are pleased to have a photo of the actual
investiture. Once again, our congratulations
to Bob.
January 2018 Practical Wireless 7
07-Newsdesk 3 pages.indd 7
Practical Wireless Letters, Warners Group Publishing
West Street, Bourne, Lincs PE10 9PH
E-mail: practicalwireless@warnersgroup.co.uk
Region 1 Conference Report
The 24th General Conference of IARU
Region 1 opened on Sunday 17th
September 2017 with 40 Member
Societies present at Conference and
13 Member Societies represented by
proxies. The Conference was held at the
Sparkassenakademie Bayern in Landshut,
Germany and hosted by the Deutsche
Amateur Radio Club (DARC).
Progress was made at the conference
on a number of topics that are of key
concern to radio amateurs. This came
from getting people together over several
days and facing them with the realities
that we need to protect our spectrum as
well as address the declining numbers of
active Radio Amateurs.
The Conference reviewed the strategy
of IARU Region 1, its finances and
membership. Other matters reviewed
included the work of a number of
permanent Committees, Working Groups
and coordinators, including EMC, Political
Relations, Emergency Communications,
Youth, ARDF, Development of Amateur
Radio in developing countries, Spectrum
development and protection via ITU,
CEPT and the World Radiocommunication
Conferences (External Relations
Committee), Intruder Watch, Space and
High-Speed Telegraphy.
Conference also reviewed policy in the
key spectrum areas of LF/HF and VHF/
UHF/Microwave. Discussions extended
over a range of areas, including band
planning, contest, remote working and
Airspy HF+
Moonraker UK Ltd recently announced the
launch of the Airspy HF+ SDR receiver. It
should be shipping around the time this
magazine appears.
Airspy HF+ is a joint effort between Airspy,
Itead Studio and a top-tier semiconductor
company to build a state of the art SDR for
HF and VHF bands. Like most high-end HF
receivers, the HF+ uses very high dynamic
range ADCs and front-ends. However, unlike
most current offerings in the market, it also
brings more frequency agility by using high
performance passive mixers with an excellent
polyphase harmonic rejection structure. No
external band filters are required as in other
lower end HF receivers, which makes it the
ideal companion for light portable high-
performance operation.
Read more about ther Airspy HF+ in this
month’s Data Modes column.
www.moonraker.eu
Send your information to:
innovative developments in the areas of
satellites and digital TV. The position on
future World Communication Conferences
was also discussed.
A full report of the proceedings of the
final Plenary will be published in due
course on the IARU Region 1 website at:
www.iaru-r1.org
The Region 1 Roy Stevens G2BVN,
Memorial Trophy, the highest recognition
that Region 1 can award, was awarded
to Colin Thomas G3PSM for his
outstanding contribution to amateur
radio and the work of IARU over several
decades.
A new Executive Committee was
elected during the Final Plenary of the
24th IARU Region 1 General Conference.
The Executive Committee for 2017 to
2020, who started their term of office on
October 31st 2017, are
President: Don Beattie G3BJ
Vice President: Faisal Al-Ajmi 9K2RR
Secretary: Hans Blondeel Timmerman
PB2T
Treasurer: Andreas Thiemann HB9JOE
Members: 
Sylvain Azarian F4GKR
Alessandro Carletti IV3KKW
Mats Espling SM6EAN
Joerg Jaehrig DJ3HW
Oliver Tabakovski Z32TO
The 25th IARU Region 1 General
Conference will be held in September
2020 in Novi Sad, Serbia, hosted by the
Serbian national society, SRS.
Two New Power
Supplies from Nissei
ML&S have launched two ultra-compact
power supplies from the long-established
manufacturer Nissei Ltd.
The Nissei NS-1230M with metering
and NS-1230B (without) both offer
continuous duty at 25A, peak to 30A at
13.8V. Both feature short-circuit and over-
voltage protection. The PSUs measure just
154x127x63mm, (6x5x2in) and weigh only
1.35kg. Both have switchable inputs of either
110V or 234V at 47-63Hz.
Each of these power supplies is available
from stock for £84.95, (non-metered) and
£89.95 with meter.
By using the code PW at checkout on
the website, carriage is included free for UK
Mainland, saving £10.95.
For more information see:
www.HamRadio.co.uk/Nissei-PSU
27/11/2017 09:39
 Newsdesk

RAOTA Diamond
Jubilee
The Radio Amateur Old Timers’ Association
(RAOTA is celebrating its Diamond Jubilee
in 2018. To commemorate this jubilee. they
will be running a tiered Diamond Jubilee
award and a competition for authors in their
magazine Old Timer News (OTN). They plan
to make the 2018 AGM and Get-Together
more special than usual. There will be further
announcements as the year progresses.
RAOTA are also pleased to announce the
publication of OTN124, which is the winter
2017 issue of the quarterly magazine. 
Anyone who has an active interest in
amateur radio is welcome to become
a member of RAOTA. There are two
membership categories, Full and Associate.
Full membership is open to anyone with
at least 25 years active involvement in
amateur radio and Associate membership
is for anyone who has been active in the
hobby for less than 25 years. Members in
both categories pay the same subs, receive
the same magazine and are welcome to
attend the AGM. The only difference is that
Associate members do not have a vote at
RAOTA AGMs and suchlike.
www.raota.org

Worksop Amateur Radio Society

Peter Nettleton M0XKF (to the right in the
photo) was recently awarded the Harold
Chadwick G8ON Cup from the Society
Chairman Martin Fearn M0ZMF. The Harold
Chadwick Cup is awarded to a Society mem-
ber who has given outstanding service to the
Society.
Peter has been a long-term Treasurer and
then Trustee of the Society but retired from
the Trustee role at the AGM in October 2017.
He will remain a life member.
Harold Chadwick, who the cup is named
after, was one of the founder members of
North Notts Radio Society, from which came
the Worksop Amateur Radio Society, Har-
old was well-known in the town and a keen
member of the Rotary Club. Among other
things, in 1961 Harold gave a demonstration
of amateur radio at a ‘Hobby Fair’ in Worksop
organised by the Rotary Club. Many local
people in Worksop may also remember Har-
old as the manager of the Labour Exchange.
Harold’s son Peter Chadwick G3RZP went
on to become a President of the RSGB.

G3MRC QSL Update Hammersmith

Phil Whitchurch G3SWH reports that the
backlog of all outstanding direct QSL requests ARS
for Joe G3MRC’s numerous callsigns (7Q7BP, Following our earlier announcement

Chelmsford News 5X1P, 9Q5MRC, 9U5MRC, C91MR, C91MR/3,

Following an invitation from the 1st
Woodham Ferrers Hyde Cub Pack in
November, Jim 2E0RMI, Bob G4MDB,
Kristian M0SSK and Peter M0PSD
assisted 20 Cubs in working towards
their communicator badges. Armed with
handhelds, a Morse trainer and a Slim Jim
antenna, the team from the Chelmsford
ARS set up the demonstrations. They let the
enthusiastic Cubs have a try with a Morse
key (sending an SOS), before sending a
short greetings message through the local
repeater, where Steve G8UDD was happy
to make contact with the youngsters. At
the end, CARS presented the cubs with
certificates to commemorate the event.
C93MR, C96MR, C97MR, G3MRC, G3MRC/
C9, G3MRC/9Q5, 9X5/G3MRC, Z38/G3MRC,
5H/9Q5MRC and ZB2/G3MRC) have now all
been processed and mailed.
Some of the logs are still on paper and Phil
is working on digitising them with a view to
uploading them to Club Log, LoTW and his own
website.
When Joe became a silent key in early
May 2017 his RSGB membership lapsed.
Consequently, please note that, following
a decision by the RSGB QSL bureau not to
process outgoing cards for non-members,
paper QSLs for this station are only available
direct with adequate return postage or via the
OQRS facility on:
www.g3swh.org.uk
about the formation of a new radio
club for West London, Selim M0XTA
reports that a suitable location has
been found at St. Mary Church (In
the Church Hall), 2 Edith Road,
Hammersmith, London W14 9BA.
The location has good transport
links with the London Underground
station nearby (Barons Court) and
four major bus routes. A small car
park is available at the venue but
spaces are limited.
Meetings will be held every
fortnight, on a Friday evening
between 8 and 10pm. For enquires
and more information, please e-mail
Selim at: M0XTA@outlook.com

8 Practical Wireless January 2018

07-Newsdesk 3 pages.indd 8 27/11/2017 09:39


Essex Ham Skills Night
SDRs continue to be a great way to experiment with amateur radio, and with that in mind,
the theme of Essex Ham’s table at the October Essex Skills Night was ‘Getting started with
SDRs’. Pictured is Laura M6LHT running the £10 Realtek SDR dongle on her Android tablet.
She was able to tune in to Essex Ham’s Monday Night Net via local repeater GB3DA (shown
on the screen). Laura, a local writer and artist, obtained her Foundation licence in 2015 with
the help of the South Essex ARS and Essex Ham’s online course, features in the RSGB’s 21st
Century Hobby video and is a passionate advocate for amateur radio.
SOTAbeams News
Following the success of the WSPRlite
Classic which, along with the DXplorer.net
analysis website, has gained worldwide ac-
claim for antenna testing, SOTAbeams has
launched the WSPRlite Flexi. The Flexi cov-
ers all bands from 6m down to 630m. The
WSPRlite Flexi can be programmed using
Windows or Android. It requires an external
low pass filter (see below). The Classic ver-
sion will continue to be produced because,
with its internal
filtering for 20m and 30m, it remains a unique
all-in-one pocket size WSPR transmitter.
www.sotabeams.co.uk/wsprlite-flexi-
antenna-performance-analysis-system
January 2018 Practical Wireless
07-Newsdesk 3 pages.indd 9
SOTAbeams has introduced a new low
pass filter kit. Low pass filters are an es-
sential part of any transmitter and also have
applications in receivers.
The kit allows one of two filters to be
selected and also incorporates a ‘bypass’
mode. It has been designed to complement
the WSPRlite Classic HF antenna testing
system.
To give users the most flexibility, the filter
components are available separately to allow
filters from 160m through to 10m to be con-
structed. The kit has an optional aluminium
case, that allows it to be finished to a high
standard.
www.sotabeams.co.uk/two-band-low-
pass-filter-kit-with-bypass-bare-board-kit
Newsdesk
DMR-UK.Net
DMR-UK.Net is run by a group of
volunteers whose aim is to ensure as
much information as possible on the
Phoenix UK network, as well as updates
and other information, is relayed to the
users to keep them as informed as
possible. They liaise closely with the
Network Administrators and Repeater
Keepers in order to get the latest
information as it becomes available.
The website provides information on
what repeaters are on the network, the
talkgroup structure, general information,
tools/resources and some information
on DMR (terminology, networks,
radios, programming, vendors and
manufacturers).
Phoenix UK also provides limited DMR
Plus links into the network for the con-
venience of Hotspot Users Updates and
announcements can be accessed via the
‘News’ page. Updates, announcements
and news are also shown in the Twitter
widget on the home page which is fed by
the Twitter account @dmr_uk and they
also run a Facebook page ‘DMR-UK.Net’
to cover social media users.
www.dmr-uk.net
ARRL International
Grid Chase
The ARRL has announced a year-long
program for 2018, The ARRL Internation-
al Grid Chase. Full details can be found
on the site below and Colin Redwood
G6MXL will have further information in
his next What Next column.
www.arrl.org/international-grid-
chase-2018
Hull & District
Amateur Radio Society
Hull & District Amateur Radio Society is
now firmly established at its new home:
Humber Social Club, 36 New Bridge
Road, Hull HU9 2RG. This is an excellent
place for the club to work from with
rooms for running courses and exams.
They meet every Thursday evening at
7.30pm. For further details contact Tony
G0WJK, 01430 423837.
Hull was also the UK’s City of Culture,
2017. City of Culture is an event, held
once every four years, highlighting a
location in the UK and promoting arts and
culture as a means of celebration and
regeneration. Among the many events
that took place there have been the
Radio 1 Big Weekend, concerts (pop to
classical), art exhibitions and installations,
the presentation of the Turner Prize and
plays performed both in theatres and the
open air. In conjunction with the City of
Culture, Hull & District Amateur Radio
Society held the special event callsign
GB17HCC (GB17 Hull City of Culture) on
the air regularly and over 500 QSOs had
been made at the time of writing.
9
27/11/2017 09:39
 Review by Steve Telenius-Lowe PJ4DX
• Email: teleniuslowe@gmail.com

Review − The Ultra

Lightweight Hexbeam
Steve Telenius-Lowe PJ4DX reports his experiences using the Ultra Lightweight Hexbeam.

G
3TXQ Hexbeams are
manufactured by Anthony
(‘Ant’) David MW0JZE and
his wife Laura MW6INK at
their workshop in Llanel-
li. Steve Hunt G3TXQ improved on the
‘Classic’ Hexbeam in 2008 to make a more
broadband antenna and he gave his permis-
sion to MW0JZE to manufacture the design
commercially and to use his callsign in the
marketing. Ant has been making Hexbeams
since 2009 and has traded as ‘Hexbeam UK’
since March 2013.
When Ant and Laura came to Bonaire
on holiday in September 2017 they brought
along a Hexbeam and we installed it at my
station.

Hexbeam Design
The Hexbeam, Fig. 1, consists of two ele-
ments per band, a driven element and a
reflector. The Hexbeam UK antennas cover
six bands: 6, 10, 12, 15, 17 and 20m (note
that some other manufacturers don’t include
6m). The driven elements are bent into a ‘W’
shape, while the reflectors are ‘C’ shaped,
Fig. 2: it’s the shape of the elements that
contributes towards the broadband charac-
teristics of the G3TXQ design. The fibreglass
spreaders making up the frame are bent
upwards into the unusual-looking ‘upside-
down umbrella’ shape. This shape allows for
the correct spacing between driven element
and reflector on each band.
Hexbeam UK makes two types of an-
tenna: a standard version for permanent in-
stallations and a lightweight one for portable
or DXpedition use (the portable Hexbeam
can also be used in permanent installations
in areas not subject to strong winds or icing
in winter). Electrically, the two versions are
virtually identical (the only differences are
in the diameter and weight of some of the
parts) and therefore both offer the same
performance. The standard version weighs
12kg, the lightweight is just under 6kg. With
or without the optional balun, the antenna
Fig. 1: The completed ‘Ultra Lightweight D-HEXpedition Portable Hexbeam’.
is conservatively rated at 1500W, which is
sufficient for the amateur radio power limit in
most countries.
It’s the ‘Ultra Lightweight D-HEXpedition
Portable Hexbeam’, as it’s known, that is
specifically the subject of this review.
Unpacking
Because it’s designed for DXpeditions, the
longest constituent part is under 1.00m and
the antenna comes in a box that can easily
be checked-in on a flight (a carrying bag
measuring 1000x200x200mm is available as
a £30 optional extra). Fig. 3 shows the parts
after unpacking: four groups of six colour-
coded fibreglass spreaders (like dome tent
poles) of 9.5mm OD; a hub into which the Fig. 2: The G3TXQ broadband Hexbeam design.
spreaders are slotted, Fig. 4, a centre post,
Fig. 5, and six plastic bags containing the used to secure the hub to the stub mast. No
wire elements. other tools are required.
Before the wire elements are attached,
Assembly the frame must be assembled. First, the
The Hexbeam UK antenna is not a kit, in centre post is connected to the hub and the
as much as all the critical work has already six green colour-coded fibreglass spreaders
been done, but naturally it does require inserted, Fig. 6, followed by the red, white
assembly. A 6.5mm Allen key (provided) is and finally the black spreaders. The spread-

10 Practical Wireless January 2018

10-Hexbeam review II.indd 10 27/11/2017 09:40

 Fig. 3: All the constituent parts of the Hexbeam.
Fig. 5: The centre post, showing the rigid transmission line to which the elements and feeder are attached.
Fig. 6: Ant MW0JZE begins construction of the ultra lightweight Hexbeam.
ers come with UV-resistant Mastrant P2
guying cords, plastic clips and large D-loops
firmly attached in the correct places. The
cords are used to connect all six spreaders
to each other, daisy-chain style, to provide
some rigidity to the framework. They are ter-
minated in plastic carabiners that are simply
connected to clips secured to the spreaders,
Fig. 7. Other cords are connected to the top
of the centre post, Fig. 8, to give the struc-
January 2018 Practical Wireless 11
10-Hexbeam review II.indd 11
ture its inverted umbrella shape.
Once the frame has been assembled it’s
time to fit the wire elements. The wires for
each band are clearly labelled and wrapped
in six plastic bags. Each band comes as a
single length, pre-measured with insulators
and spacing cords already attached, and
is made up of a half driven element, then
a spacer cord, followed by the reflector,
another spacer cord and finally the other half
Fig. 4: The hub, joined to the stub mast.
of the driven element, Fig. 9.
The wires and cords are threaded through
the D-loops attached to the spreaders to
ensure correct spacing and the ends of the
driven elements connected to the centre
post using wing nuts. The 6m elements are
connected at the bottom and each lower-
frequency band attached higher, with 20m at
the top, almost 1m above the 6m elements.
The centre post to which the elements
and feeder are connected is worthy of men-
tion. Designed by Ant himself, the post is
made of fibreglass and has two square sec-
tion aluminium tubes clamped to it which are
precisely spaced to form a rigid transmission
line with a perfect 50Ω impedance. This can
be seen clearly in Fig. 10. The coaxial feeder
is connected at the top of the centre post
using the split coax method.
The Hexbeam takes about 60 minutes
to assemble the first time but Ant says
that having done it a few times, it can be
assembled in half that time. The completed
antenna measures 6.5 x 6.5m, has a turning
radius of 3.25m and really is lightweight.
In Use
During the period of the review, the Hex-
beam was installed in the same place (on
the side of the house) on two separate
occasions. Initially, the top section of the
telescopic aluminium push-up mast that was
used had the same outside diameter as the
Hexbeam’s stub mast, so it had to be re-
moved and only the four lower mast sections
used. This restricted the height of the Hex-
27/11/2017 09:40
 Review − The Ultra Lightweight Hexbeam

Fig. 7: Plastic carabiners at the end of polyester cords are connected to clips secured to the Fig. 8: Polyester cords are attached to the
spreaders to provide rigidity to the framework. top of the centre post to provide the ‘inverted
umbrella’ shape.

Fig. 9: The driven element halves are separated from the reflectors by insulators and accurately
measured spacer cords.

Band 1.5:1 SWR points Lowest SWR Freq of lowest SWR

10m 27350 – 29430kHz 1.1:1 28300kHz
12m 24150 – 25225kHz 1.2:1 24325kHz
15m 20500 – 21360kHz 1.1:1 20745kHz
17m 17500 – 18185kHz 1.05:1 17685kHz
20m 13920 – 14340kHz 1.15:1 14060kHz
Table 1: SWR measured on antenna analyser with antenna only 5.2m high.

beam’s hub to just 5.2m (17ft), only a metre
or so above the ridge of the roof, Fig. 11.
Even at this low height it was clear that
the broadband claims made for the G3TXQ
Hexbeam are no exaggeration. Table 1
shows the measured SWR on each of the
five HF bands (the 6m elements were not
connected for this temporary operation).
The frequency of the lowest SWR was
low in the band on 10 and 20m and below
the bottom of the band on 12, 15 and
17m. This was due to the low height of the
antenna above ground although – thanks to
the broadband nature of the G3TXQ design –
this hardly matters because the SWR was at
perfectly usable levels over the whole of all
five bands anyway.
While the low height and proximity to the
house roof are definitely not ideal for testing
any antenna, these circumstances are prob-
ably similar to those of many suburban UK
amateurs so I felt it worthwhile to provide
these ‘real life’ measurements.
After Ant and Laura’s visit the Hexbeam
was dismantled but it was used again in the
CQ World Wide DX Phone contest a month
later. This time it was raised to a height of
10m on a larger mast and, sure enough,
the SWR curves on all bands had moved
higher in frequency. The SWR curve for 20m
is shown in Fig. 12: the minimum SWR was
1.0:1 and it was 1.4:1 or less over the whole
band.
Measurements made in the UK by Ant
with the antenna 12m high using a vec-
tor network analyser (VNA) showed that
Fig. 10: The driven elements are connected to
the rigid transmission line by means of wing
nuts.
the SWR was well below 1.5:1 across the
whole of the 20, 17, 15 and 12m bands, and
below 1.5:1 from 28.0 to 28.945MHz and
50.0 to 51.12MHz (remember, these are also
real measurements, not simulations). SWR
graphs can be found by clicking on ‘Typical
SWR & Gain Figures’ at:
www.g3txq-hexbeam.com/index.php/
what-is-a-hex-beam
Suffice to say, at whatever height you are
able to mount it, you won’t need an ATU with
this antenna!
Table 2 shows the claimed gain and

12 Practical Wireless January 2018

10-Hexbeam review II.indd 12 27/11/2017 09:40

 Hexbeam, Spiderbeam
and CobWebb: What’s
the Difference?
Many people get these designs mixed
up, so it’s worth pointing out that
they are three very different beasts.
The CobWebb consists of five nested
wire dipoles for 10 – 20m bent into a
square shape. It is therefore virtually
omnidirectional so it isn’t a beam.
The Spiderbeam and Hexbeam both
have wire elements supported by a
fibreglass spreader framework but
the designs are quite different. The
Spiderbeam has full size Yagi-like
elements, with 2, 3 or 4 elements per
band and it’s quite a big antenna,
measuring 10x10m (see the review
Five-Band Heavy-Duty Spiderbeam,
PW May 2016).
Band Forward Gain Front-to-Back
20m 3.8dBd (5.95dBi) 22dB
17m 3.2dBd (5.35dBi) 19dB
15m 3.5dBd (5.65dBi) 16dB
12m 3.6dBd (5.75dBi) 13dB
10m 3.6dBd (5.75dBi) 16dB
6m 2.7dBd (4.85dBi) 11dB
Table 2: Claimed gain and front-to-back figures
for the G3TXQ Hexbeam at 12m above ground.
front-to-back figures modelled by Steve
G3TXQ with the antenna 12m above ground.
I have no way of measuring gain but the
claimed figures look reasonable or even
rather conservative.
On the Air
For the review the only antenna available
for comparisons was a 5-band Spiderbeam,
mounted in the clear 10m high and about
30m away from the Hexbeam. The Spi-
derbeam has four elements on 10m, three
elements on 15 and 20m and two elements
on 12 and 17m.
Originally the Hexbeam was only 5.2m
high and too close to the roof of the house.
However, operating as PJ4/MW0JZE Ant
made 157 RTTY QSOs on 20m and 92 on
15m in a period of about three hours. During
a 30-minute SSB contact with Rob
MW0RLJ in Pembrokeshire on 17m no
difference was noticeable between the
Hexbeam and the Spiderbeam: Rob was
59+10dB on both and was receiving our
100W signal at S9, no matter which antenna
January 2018 Practical Wireless 13
10-Hexbeam review II.indd 13
Fig. 11: The Hexbeam was initially mounted 5.2m
(17ft) high and close to the roof of the house.
was used. (Incidentally, Rob also uses a
G3TXQ Hexbeam.)
While not really a fair comparison, on 15
and 20m most signals were generally 1 to 2
S-units down on the Hexbeam.
A month later when the Hexbeam was
put up again, this time at the same height as
the Spiderbeam, its performance improved
considerably. Literally thousands of QSOs
were made in the CQWW Phone contest on
10, 15 and 20m – the antenna was certainly
working!
After the contest I made many A/B com-
parisons between the two antennas and al-
though KC4TVZ in Georgia was one S-point
stronger on the 4-element Spiderbeam on
10m, there was now little to choose between
the two antennas on 15 and 20m. On 15m
the VK9CZ Cocos (Keeling) DXpedition was
equally audible at S2 on both antennas. On
20m, a few European signals (including an
F4, an IS0 and a UT2) were a few decibels
– less than one S-point – weaker on the
Hexbeam but there was little or no difference
on some other stations (including an EA1, an
ES9 and many USA stations).
Summing Up
Many UK amateurs, after using a vertical
or perhaps G5RV antenna on HF, wish to
improve their signals, both on transmit and
receive. Often the use of a conventional HF
beam – a Yagi or quad – is ruled out on ac-
count of size, weight or cost. Sometimes a
mini-beam is considered but a problem with
most mini-beams is that due to the reduced
length of the elements they have extremely
sharp tuning and you may need to raise and
lower them several times before they are
adjusted correctly. The G3TXQ Hexbeam is
different: although bent, the elements are full
Fig. 12: Measured SWR from 14000 to 14350kHz
when mounted 10m (33ft) high.
size and its broadband design means the
SWR is ‘spot on’ first time.
The Hexbeam is a clever design that
provides useful gain and front-to-back on
no fewer than six bands. It won’t outper-
form large multi-element Yagis or quads. It
will, however, outperform dipoles, doublets,
verticals, G5RVs and mini-beams using traps
or loading, sometimes by a considerable
margin. Because it has no traps or loading
coils there is no loss, so the performance is
similar to a 2-element monoband Yagi – but
on six bands.
The Hexbeam UK antenna is beautifully
made. It’s clear that a great deal of thought
and attention to detail went into its design
and manufacture. The fibreglass spreaders
of the ultra-lightweight version may look flim-
sy but the antenna is actually quite strong.
Its low profile means there is little wind
resistance and in effect the wind just blows
straight through the antenna. It is deliber-
ately designed to flex a little in the wind.
The version reviewed is light enough
to be held aloft with one hand and can be
erected on a low profile push-up mast and
turned by a small rotator. Designed for
DXpeditions, field days, special event sta-
tions and similar operations it would also be
suitable for the home station if you’re in a
reasonably sheltered spot. It’s probably the
ideal antenna for those who think they can’t
put up a beam at their location. And given
that it takes less than an hour to assemble,
could also serve as a temporary antenna for
a weekend contest or chasing a short-term
DXpedition, for those of you unable to get
planning permission for a permanent instal-
lation.
The Ultra Lightweight D-HEXpedition
Portable Hexbeam is hand-made to order
from Hexbeam UK and costs £415. It comes
with a lifetime warranty (valid for the original
owner; details on the website):
www.g3txq-hexbeam.com
27/11/2017 09:40
 Review by Carl Gorse 2E0HPI
• E-mail: m6hplcarl@gmail.com

Review − Alpha Loop 10-80m

Magnetic Loop Antenna
Carl Gorse 2E0HPI takes a look at yet another antenna suitable for portable operation.

H
aving used many
antennas for operating
portable around the UK,
I decided to contact
Alpha Antenna USA to
try out one of their latest products.
I’m talking about the Alpha Magnetic
Loop antenna, available in the UK from
PW advertiser Moonraker. I wanted to
try this loop because of the extra bands
available compared with the Alex Loop
that I have been using recently. The latter
covers 7 to 30MHz (the 40 through 10m
bands) while the Alpha Loop continuously
covers from 3.5 to 30MHz (80 through
10m, including the 60m allocation). Alpha
Antenna were very supportive, organising
delivery via Moonraker UK. I have now had
the opportunity to try out the antenna from
locations throughout the UK, with some
excellent results.

Description
The Alpha Loop in its 40-6m form is a
magnetic loop antenna consisting of a
single (Faraday) loop of LMR-400 low-
loss coaxial cable. An SO-239 connector
on the smaller loop, which also consists
of LMR-400, couples to your feeder.
There is a tuning box, Fig. 1, with a 6:1
Vernier drive to make tuning easier, and
other associated hardware. For 80 and
60m operation, along with improved
performance on 40m, an additional length
of cable (a so-called Booster cable, which
attaches with Velcro straps in series with
the 10-40m outer loop) can be added,
resulting in a two-turn loop some 120%
longer than the single loop. The antenna
is rated at 30W PEP (SSB) or 15W for CW
and continuous (data) modes.

The Alpha loop in its 40-6m form, in an ideal operating location by the sea. Fig. 1: Tuning box.

14 Practical Wireless January 2018

14-Alpha Loop Review II.indd 14 27/11/2017 09:41


Fig. 2: The tripod.
The antenna comes with a tripod,
Fig. 2, carrying bag, Fig. 3, and ‘Selfie
stick’, Fig. 4.
A more detailed description, taken from
the Alpha Antenna website, appears in
the sidebar. See also the Alpha Antenna
website:
http://alphaantenna.com
Setting Up and Tuning
Although the promotional material says
that the antenna deploys in five minutes,
in my experience it is more realistic to
allow 10 to 15 minutes to set everything
up when out portable. The tuning is done
in the same way as with many other loops,
manually tuning for maximum noise and
then fine tuning for best SWR. Tuning is
easy but very sensitive, hence the 6:1
vernier drive. It is necessary to tune slowly
and carefully – the peak will be very sharp
and the loop will need retuning if you
move frequency by more than a very small
amount. I would recommend tuning at
low power (say 5W or less) to avoid any
damage to the transceiver.
Comparison with Other Antennas
I tested the Alpha Loop against a vertical
on a recent visit to Blackpool where I met
up with Dave G4AKC who operates from
the shores of the Lancashire coast and
always manages plenty of nice contacts.
We used the same power, 30W, and
were roughly 500m apart and on the 20m
(14MHz) band. On the vertical, signals
were much stronger than the loop by
around four S-units, which is probably
about what you would expect. However,
the loop performed very well with contacts
into VK7 Australia (via the long path)
with a report of RS45 and to PY7 Brazil
with a 57 report. For a loop of its size, I
consider those contacts to be an excellent
achievement. I also operated using 15W
from the Ribble Estuary and worked
January 2018 Practical Wireless 15
14-Alpha Loop Review II.indd 15
roughly 95 contacts around Europe as well
as K1RO on the east coast of the USA.
In more recent activity, during the
CQWW Phone Contest (reported in this
month’s HF Highlights column), I was
pleased to work 8P5A in Barbados and
the PJ4Q team on Bonaire.
Other Results
On the 80m band (where, of course, the
loop is very small relative to a wavelength,
even with the Booster Cable), I have
successfully made a number of contacts
around the UK. Although the specification
says that the antenna works right across
the band, I was only able to tune it
successfully from 3.650 to 3.785MHz.
However, in subsequent discussion with
Steve of Alpha Antenna, it seems that the
trick is to have more separation between
the two loops.
On the 40m band, adding the
Booster loop, Fig. 5, appears to improve
performance by two to three S-points and
I also noted when using the loop from
home that it was significantly quieter on
the 40m band than my half-wave dipole.
At the time of writing, I have tried the
loop on 80, 40 and 20m on SSB and on
40, 20, 17 and 15 on the FT8 digital mode,
all with good results both from home and
out portable.
Quality of Construction
The Alpha Loop is made from high quality
Times Microwave LMR-400 with high
grade silver-plated PL-259 and SO-239
connectors. The main tuning box is
fully waterproof and the fixing hardware
consists of stainless steel nuts and bolts.
I did find that the Selfie-stick and the
main tuning box were a little top-heavy,
causing the tripod to tilt and fall over a few
times so I took to using some short guy
ropes and pegs where needed. I thought
that the tripod was a little on the small side
Manufacturer’s Description
At over 21ft in total length with the
Booster Cable installed, the new
Alpha Loop (Sr) has the most surface
area (for superior skin effect) of any
manufactured small transmitting loop.
This 10 through 80m Alpha Loop
with 6:1 vernier reduction drive offers
you a light 10-40m 30W PEP SSB
(approximately 15W CW) transmit/re-
ceive antenna in a small package that
deploys in five minutes. The 40-80m
Booster Cable enables coverage from
3.5 through 7.3MHz at 20W PEP SSB
on 80m, while simultaneously boost-
ing performance on 40m beyond what
all other Small Loop Antennas can
deliver.
Outer Loop with continuous
frequency coverage from 7MHz to
29.7MHz or 3.5MHz to 7MHz using
marine sealant and crimped and sol-
dered silver plated PL-259s, the same
technique used to build MIL-SPEC
connections for the US Military.
Integrated mount with 3/8x24 &
1/4x20 threads.
The Coaxial Alpha Loop Antenna is
pedestrian portable via the included
Selfie-Stick or you can mount it on
the included tripod.
Fig. 3: Carry bag.
given the size and weight of the antenna.
However, Steve at Alpha Antenna tells
me that the tripod I have been using (and
as supplied by Moonraker) is intended
primarily for indoor use and that the
heavier (HD-FMJ) version is available for
outdoor purposes (see the Alpha Antenna
website). This is not currently sold in the
UK but other options are available such
as photographic tripods and the like (see
Carrying on the Practical Way in this issue
for a discussion of exactly that topic).
Incidentally, Steve also recommends
the use of a little grease between the
tripod and matching box, especially when
27/11/2017 09:41
 Review: Alpha Loop Magnetic Loop Antenna

Loop Antennas
(Editor’s note)
Because the term loop antenna is
widely used, there can be confusion
about what exactly is meant. A full-
size (resonant) loop can be thought
of simply as a folded dipole stretched
out into a square, circular or other
convenient shape. The so-called quad
antenna is a classic example of a full-
wave loop (usually with one or more
parasitic elements).
Loops that are small relative to
a wavelength behave somewhat
differently, coupling to the magnetic
field of the radio wave rather than to
the electric field. Their radiation and
receiving pattern is also the opposite
to that of a self-resonant loop. The ra-
diation pattern of a small loop peaks Fig. 4: Selfie stick.
in the plane of the loop whereas for a
resonant loop the radiation is perpen-
dicular to the plane of the loop.
Small loop antennas can be very
effective for receiving purposes but it
is difficult to achieve high efficiency
for transmitting without going to
extremes such as silver plating of the
loop (and the use of vacuum capaci-
tors if high power is required because
the high Q of the loop leads to very
high voltages in the unit). However,
for many purposes, such as portable
operation or where space is limited,
radio amateurs are happy to accept
the necessary compromise between
size and performance.
Wikipedia has an excellent section
on loop antennas – well worth a read
(URL below). They are also covered in
all the standard antenna handbooks.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loop_
antenna

out portable, to avoid threads binding

when subject to salt, sand and the like.

Price and Availability
The Alpha Loop retails at £399.99 from
Moonraker UK who are the main UK
dealer for Alpha Antenna USA.
www.moonraker.eu/alpha-
antennas-10-80m-alpha-loop-
antenna-6-1-drive
Conclusions
The Alpha Loop has been a really nice
antenna to use with some excellent
contacts on all bands. For me, it wins over
Fig. 5: The main loop with Booster cable (creating a second loop).
other loops I have used, if only because
of the size of the loop and the high quality
of construction, making it very suitable
for extended or repeated outdoor use. So
even taking some minor criticisms into
account, I feel it represents good value
for money and it’s an antenna I would
definitely use on future trips. Indeed, I am
planning for it to be part of my kit for a
visit to Jersey next year.
Alpha Antenna have other portable
and base station antennas in their range,
including a directional antenna that can
also be used as a vertical and that requires
no additional tuning unit. I hope to be
taking a look at some of these over the
coming months. For now, I would like to
thank Moonraker UK and Steve at Alpha
Antenna USA for the loan of the antenna
for the purposes of this review.

16 Practical Wireless January 2018

14-Alpha Loop Review II.indd 16 27/11/2017 09:41

YaesuPage17.indd 1 27/11/2017 09:59
 Emerging Technology with Chris Lorek G4HCL
● E-Mail: practicalwireless@warnersgroup.co.uk
What’s happening and what’s about to happen – you read it here first!
Emerging
Technology
Chris Lorek G4HCL shows how pioneering amateur
radio techniques have again shaped the future
two-way radio communication systems.
(Photo 2) Icom PoC in use
Icom PoC in use
Worldwide Push-to-Talk
Communications over Cellular (PoC)
I’ve mentioned this in a past column,
particularly where one UK company has
been pioneering the technology and where
I was privileged to have been invited to
their headquarters in the UK Midlands
for a hands-on demonstration. However,
Worldwide Push-to-Talk Communications
over Cellular (PoC) is now really taking off.
Now with amateurs having pioneered,
many years ago, push-to-talk modes
such as D-STAR, which is an amateur
developed mode with worldwide internet
linking, is it any wonder that the radio
industry has been led by pioneering radio
amateurs? We amateurs now also have ei-
ther commercially-built or homebrew kits,
available as plug-in D-STAR ‘hot spots’ to
the internet to use in our homes or work-
18
18-Emerging Technology 2 pages.indd 18
places where D-STAR repeater coverage is
either marginal or unavailable.
Unsurprisingly, one company, Icom,
who have offered amateur radio D-STAR
equipment from the very beginning, now
have PoC handheld radios available for
business and personal use. Icom describe
their compact IP100H WLAN/IP radio as
a powerful radio packed with plenty of fea-
tures. The IP501H is their latest offering,
with emergency and priority call facilities.
Each radio handles both individual and
group calls. It also allows communica-
tion in full duplex if a headset is con-
nected. The radios each act as a wireless
network radio. Just as with an amateur
radio repeater on the internet-connected
D-STAR network, everyone in a commu-
nications group can hear and talk with the
rest of the group using Icom’s IP1000C
server connected to the wireless network.
Individual calls are also possible as well as
full duplex calls, like a regular phone call.
The radio can also move freely within the
wireless network. Coverage for the radio
system can easily be expanded by adding
further access points such as WiFi extend-
ers as used by many of us in our homes
as well as hotels and the like. Amateur
pioneering technology leading the latest
emerging radio communication use!
Public Service Emergency
Communications
Many of us know that the UK emergency
services will be migrating from TETRA
(TErrestrial Trunked RAdio) to LTE (Long
Term Evolution), and this is due by 2020,
although to my mind this timescale is still
somewhat optimistic because it’s been
delayed several times in the past. The US
are also now moving to LTE from their
(rather expensive, in terms of radio and
infrastructure costs) current P25 com-
munications. Many years ago the US
launched their analogue cellular phone
system, AMPS (Advanced Mobile Phone
Service), operating in the 850MHz band.
Around the same time, the UK launched
systems by Vodafone and Cellnet, operat-
ing in the 900MHz band and using TACS
(Total Access Communication System).
Mainland European countries also had a
combination of several analogue cellphone
systems, including operation on 450MHz.
Later on, the UK and Europe agreed on
a common digital system, GSM (initially
‘Groupe Spécial Mobile’, later becoming
‘Global System Mobile’). This was agreed
in 1987 where 15 representatives from 13
European countries signed a Memoran-
dum of Understanding in Copenhagen to
develop and deploy a common cellular
telephone system across Europe, and EU
rules were passed to make GSM a manda-
tory standard. The decision to develop a
continental standard eventually resulted in
a unified, open, standard-based network
that was significantly larger than that in
the United States. The UK and Europe
decided to adopt the existing 900MHz
band (Vodafone and Cellnet in the UK) and
1800MHz (Orange and others) for these
bands, as had the rest of Europe, meaning
a two-band phone on 900 and 1800MHz
could work across all networks. By 2005,
GSM networks accounted for more than
75% of the worldwide cellular network
market, with 1.5 billion subscribers
Now as I understand it, the US had
decided before all this that the whole
Practical Wireless January 2018
27/11/2017 09:42
 world should be using their AMPS system
on 900MHz and they had allocated their
1800MHz band to other services and not
to cellular two-way communications. His-
tory shows they were proved very wrong
and the US eventually adopted GSM to
follow the rest of the world. As of February
18th 2008, all AMPS operators in the US
had to convert to a digital standard such
as CDMA2000 or GSM. But at that time, to
use a GSM phone in the US as well as in
the rest of the world, people had to buy a
three-band phone covering 900, 1800 and
1900MHz. Dual-band European phones
would not work in the US and 1900MHz
US GSM phones wouldn’t work anywhere
in Europe!
Nowadays things are very different,
with multi-band phones that will work
around the world. These will be the
type that will be in use in the future by
emergency services for life-dependent
communications in both the UK and the
US. But who pioneered dual-band radios,
such as two-way 2m/70cm mobiles and
handhelds? Radio amateurs of course!
Again, the professionals followed the work
of we amateurs.
Nike radio-connected running shoes.
Wireless Connected ‘Smart’ Clothing
In the emerging Internet of Things, every-
day objects are becoming wireless linked
and networked. Clothing is no exception.
It’s still early days for integrated radio-
enabled clothes. The best example so far
is the Nike+ running shoe, which contains
sensors that connect to the user’s iPod.
But expect to see everything from your
shirt to your underwear connected by
radio in the not too distant future.
I can imagine what readers are think-
ing, that it’s already fairly easy to detect
motion on parts of a person’s clothing.
Nevertheless, Virginia Polytechnic Institute
and State University in Blacksburg have
developed a pair of underwear pants that
detect movement and can let a radio-con-
nected computer know your every move.
January 2018 Practical Wireless
18-Emerging Technology 2 pages.indd 19
As another example, the Locked ON
Proximity Sensing T-Shirt is currently avail-
able at the ThinkGeek store. It features a
‘radar screen’ on the shirt that scans for
matching shirts. If you get within a few
metres of your counterpart wearing the
same shirt, the radar on your shirt ‘locks
on’ and detects the other. This could be
useful for love or war!
Heart Sensing Bra
A further example is the Numetrex heart
sensing bra, which uses electronic
modules and silver coated electrodes to
pick up a person’s heart rate and transmit
the data by radio to a watch worn on the
person’s wrist. I’ve been using a radio-
connected heartbeat sensing chest strap,
linked to my wrist-mounted display as well
as to a running machine display, for many
years during my one- to two-hour gym
sessions several days each week over the
past few years. But I wouldn’t like to wear
this all the time. The NuMetrex Marketing
Director Meg Burich says, “It’s a com-
fortable way to wear a heart rate monitor,
because we knit flexible heart sensing
fibres directly into the fabric of the gar-
ment. There’s no hard plastic belt to strap
around your chest”.
Wireless connected jacket.
Wireless Connected Jacket
According to a report from GizmoWatch,
Lunar design’s BLU Jacket is a futuristic
concept that could make walking bill-
boards a reality. They use organic fabrics
containing semiconductors in the BLU
Jacket in order to display your moods
through signs and colours. The jacket
also has a GPS module built into it so
if someone asks you for directions, you
could theoretically project a map onto your
jacket’s sleeve through its flexible display.
Or, asks GizmoWatch, “how about getting
paid for displaying advertisements on your
jacket?”
Whatever next in the radio-connected
emerging technology?
Coverage e-book.
Free Radio Coverage Guide
We all know the problems of coverage
range for our VHF/UHF systems. In the
past this was very much regarded as a
radio ‘black art’ that was usually only
known to experienced radio amateurs.
Emergency amateur radio groups such
as RAYNET would often travel around
their area getting signal reports from
their central control point, or ‘pinging’
up a dedicated transportable repeater to
see what the coverage was like. Emerg-
ing technology has certainly moved on!
There’s now a freely downloadable e-book
(one that you can download and view on
your PC or Smartphone). It’s entitled COV-
ERAGE (Critical Considerations for System
Challenges) and contains 20 chapters
that examine some of the most demand-
ing coverage problems and solutions for
today’s evolving radio communications
systems. If you’re looking for a solution
to improve your coverage such as to find
the best spots for an existing or future re-
peater or even your next home location if
you’re thinking of moving in the future, this
e-book might well help. You can download
it from:
www.rrmediagroup.com/eLearning/e-
Books
That’s it for this month, I’ll see you
in the next issue of PW with my Buying
Second-hand column.
19
27/11/2017 09:42
 Moonraker UK Limited Sales line 01908 281705
Cranfield Road E-mail sales@moonraker.eu Web www.moonraker.eu
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LDG AT-600 Pro II 1.8-54MHz with up to 600W SSB .................. £394.95 World’s most popular SWR analyser is super easy-to- and mode.
LDG YT-1200 1.8-54MHz 100W for FT-450D, FT-DX1200 & FT-DX3000.....£244.95 use. It gives you a complete picture of your antenna’s SPECIAL OFFER £79.95 £69.95
LDG YT-100 ideal for your Yaesu FT-857D .......................................................£199.95 performance. You can read your antenna’s SWR and
LDG AL-100 1.8-54MHz 100w designed for the Alinco range of transceiver ....£139.95 Complex Impedance 530 KHz to 230 MHz continuously QJE QJPS50II 50 AMP Switch Mode Power Supply Unit
with no gaps. Same as above but in a 50amp version

t some
SPECIAL OFFER £129.95 £119.95

Want a new radio and ge e? Part Exchange the easy way with 5 simple steps at Moonraker
on
money back for your old 1 Choose your desired rig, scanner or even accessory
Turn this 2 Call or email what you would like to part exchange
into this 3 We will give you the best deal and agree the balance owed
Don’t want the hassle 4 Pack your equipment securely and wait for the door bell
of selling, queuing 5 Swap your old gear for shiny new with the delivery driver
at the post office or pa
ying online fees? and enjoy! ................................................................it’s that simple

Moonraker-3pages-January-2018.indd 20 27/11/2017 10:00


Yagi Antennas
All Yagis have high quality gamma match fittings
with stainless steel fixings! (excluding YG4-2C)
YG27-35 Dual band 3/5 element 3.5/12.5 dBd gain with
one feed! .................................................................................... £79.95
YG4-2C 2 metre 4 Element (Boom 48”) (Gain 7dBd) ................... £29.95
YG5-2 2 metre 5 Element (Boom 63”) (Gain 10dBd) ................... £69.95
YG8-2 2 metre 8 Element (Boom 125”) (Gain 12dBd) ................. £99.95
YG3-4 4 metre 3 Element (Boom 45”) (Gain 8dBd) ..................... £79.95
YG5-4 4 metre 5 Element (Boom 104”) (Gain 10dBd) ................. £99.95
YG3-6 6 metre 3 Element (Boom 72”) (Gain 7.5dBd) .................. £99.95
YG5-6 6 metre 5 Element (Boom 142”) (Gain 9.5dBd) .............. £119.95
ZL Special Yagi Antennas
The ZL special gives you a massive gain for the smallest boom
length … no wonder they are our best selling Yagis!
ZL5-2 2 Metre 5 Ele, Boom 95cm, Gain 9.5dBd ......................... £69.95
ZL7-2 2 Metre 7 Ele, Boom 150cm, Gain 11.5dBd .................... £79.95
ZL7-70 70cm 7 Ele, Boom 70cm, Gain 11.5dBd ........................ £49.95
ZL12-70 70cm 12 Ele, Boom 120cm, Gain 14dBd .................... £59.95
HB9CV
Brilliant 2 element beams …
ideal for portable use
HB9-2 ........................................................................................ £34.95
HB9-4 ........................................................................................ £49.95
HB9-6 ........................................................................................ £59.95
Mobile Antenna Mounts GRP Fibreglass Base Antennas
TRIMAG-S Triple magnetic mount with SO239 antenna fitting with 4m
Diamond quality –
RG58 and PL259 fitted – ideal for those larger antennas ........just £39.95
TURBO-S single 170mm magnetic mount with SO239 antenna fitting with Moonraker pricing
4m RG58 and PL259 fitted – will suit most antennas upto 5ft. .......£19.95 Diamond quality – Moonraker prices ! These
HKITHD-SO Heavy duty hatch back mount with SO239 antenna fitting high gain antennas have been pre-tuned for your
with 4m RG58 and PL259 fitted .....................................................£32.95
convenience, easy to use, easy to install, and a
HKITM-S Mini hatch back mount with SO239 antenna fitting with 4m
choice of connection … look no further
RG58 and PL259 fitted ...................................................................£32.95
SQBM100P 2/70cm 3.00/6.00dBd, RX 25-2000MHz,
Length 100cm SO239 .........................................................
£49.95 special offer £39.95
SQBM200P 2/70cm, Gain 4.5/7.5dBd, RX 25-2000MHz,
Length 155cm, SO239 .................................£54.95 special offer £44.95
SQBM500P 2/70cm, Gain 6.8/9.2dBd, RX 25-2000MHz,
Length 250cm, SO239 .................................£74.95 special offer £69.95
SQBM800N 2/70cm, Gain 8.5/12.5dBd, RX 25-2000MHz,
Length 520cm, N-Type ..............................£139.95 special offer £99.95
Multiband Mobile SQBM1000P 6/2/70cm, Gain 3.0/6.2/8.4dBd, RX 25-2000MHz,
Why buy loads of different antennas when Moonraker
has one to cover all! SPX series has a unique fly lead and Length 250cm, SO239 ................................................................... £84.95
socket for quick band changing SQBM223N 2/70/23cm, Gain 4.5/7.5/12.5dBd, RX 25-2000MHz,
SPX-100 9 Band plug n’ go portable, Length 155cm, N-Type .................................................................. £79.95
6/10/12/15/17/20/30/40/80m, Length 165cm retracted just SQBM4010P Quadband 10/4/2/70cm Gain 2.5/3.2/3.6/5.5dBi
0.5m, Power 50W complete with 38th PL259 or BNC fitting to Length 120cm...............................................................................£69.95
suit all applications, mobile portable or SQBM6010P Quadband 10/6/2/70cm Gain 2.5/3.0/3.6/5.5dBi
base - brilliant! .....................................................£44.95
Length 120cm...............................................................................£69.95
SPX-200S 6 Band plug n’ go mobile, 6/10/15/20/40/80m,
Length 130cm, Power 120W, PL259 fitting.................................... £44.95 SQBM4060P Quadband 6/4/2/70 Gain: 2.5/3.0/3.6/5.5dbi Length 120cm
£69.95
SPX-300S 9 Band plug n’ go mobile, 6/10/12/15/17/20/30/40/80m,
Length 165cm, High Power 200W,PL259 fitting ............................ £59.95

Halo Loops
Our most popular compact antennas, great
base, mobile, portable, or wherever!
HF Wire Antennas
HLP-4 4 mtr (size approx 600mm square ) .................................£44. 95 All our HF wire antennas are made
HLP-6 6 mtr (size approx 800mm square) ................................... £49.95 VHF/UHF Mobiles with complete waterproof potted
GF151 Glass Mount 2/70cm, Gain 2.9/4.3dBd, Length 78cm complete
baluns and high quality “original” flexweave antenna wire.
with 4m cable and PL259 .............................................................. £29.95
MDHF-80 3.5MHz balun matched mono dipole, length 40m ..........£59.95
MRM-100 MICRO MAG 2/70cm, Gain 0.5/3.0dBd, Length 55cm, 1”
MDHF-40 7.0MHz balun matched mono dipole, length 20m ..........£44.95
magnetic base with 4m coax and BNC .......................................... £19.95
MDHF-20 14MHz balun matched mono dipole, length 10m ...........£39.95
MR700 2/70cm, Gain 0/3.0dBd, Length 50cm, 3/8 fitting................ £9.95
OSHF-80 3.5-30MHz balun matched off set dipole, length 40m ....£59.95
MR777 2/70cm, Gain 2.8/4.8dBd, Length 150cm,
OSHF-40 7.0-30MHz balun matched off set dipole, length 22m ......£44.95
3/8 fitting....................................................................................... £19.95
QRP Antennas MRQ525 2/70cm, Gain 0.5/3.2dBd, Length 43cm, PL259 fitting
OSHF-20 14-30MHz balun matched off set dipole, length 11m .......£39.95
The Moonraker Whizz range are great for getting on HF in a neat LWHF-160 1.8-50MHz unun match end fed antenna, length 42m ...£49.95
(high quality) .................................................................................. £19.95 LWHF-80 3.5-50MHz unun match end fed antenna, length 20m ...£44.95
compact and totally portable way
MRQ500 2/70cm, Gain 3.2/5.8dBd, Length 95cm, PL259 fitting LWHF-40 7.0-50MHz unun match end fed antenna, length 10m ...£39.95
(high quality) .................................................................................. £26.95
Whizz Whip HF/VHF/UHF portable antenna with telescopic MRQ750 2/70cm, Gain 5.5/8.0dBd, Length 150cm, PL259 fitting
whip - ideal for any situation where a long wore or vertical (high quality) .................................................................................. £36.95
antenna is just not an option - get on air today for just £99.95 Get great results with the Moonraker
MRQ800 6/2/70cm Gain 3.0dBi/5.0/7.5dBdBd, Length 150cm, PL259
range of HF mobiles! … from as little as
fitting (high quality) ....................................................................... .£39.95
£22.95!
Whizz Loop 20-60m compact loop is
ideal for QRP Transceivers when space is
MRQ273 2/70/23cm Gain 3.5/5.5/7.5dBdBd, Length 85cm, PL259 fitting HF Mobiles
(high quality) .................................................................................. £49.95
limited or using portable with a Yaesu FT-
MRQ900 10/6/2/70cm Gain 10m (2.15dB) 6m(2.5dB) 2m (2.8dB) 70cm
817ND or similar. Can be used indoors with
(5.5dB) Length: 125cm PL259 fitting ............................................ £49.95 AMPRO-10 Slim line design 28MHz 2m approx. 3/8th fitting........£22.95
surprising results and handy for travelling
AMPRO-11 Slim line design 27MHz 2m approx. 3/8th fitting........£22.95
due to its “pocket” size antenna ideal for
AMPRO-12 Slim line design 24MHz 2m approx. 3/8th fitting........£22.95
indoor or out and can be packed away and
AMPRO-15 Slim line design 21MHz 2m approx. 3/8th fitting........£22.95
all for just £69.95
AMPRO-17 Slim line design 18MHz 2m approx. 3/8th fitting........£22.95
AMPRO-20 Slim line design 14MHz 2m approx. 3/8th fitting........£22.95
Whizz Loop V2 (right) same as above AMPRO-30 Slim line design 10MHz 2m approx. 3/8th fitting........£22.95
but with a frequency range from 40- Coax Switches AMPRO-40 Slim line design 7MHz 2m approx. 3/8th fitting..........£22.95
10m.............................£79.95 CS201 2 Way Switch 3 X SO239, 2500W 1-1000MHz . AMPRO-60 Slim line design 5MHz 2m approx. 3/8th fitting..........£24.95
........................................................................ £19.95 AMPRO-80 Slim line design 3.5MHz 2m approx. 3/8th fitting.......£27.95
CS201N 2 Way Switch 3 X N-Type, 2500W AMPRO-160 Slim line design 28MHz 2m approx. 3/8th fitting......£59.95
1-1000MHz ..................................................... £24.95
Other frequencies available. Call or see online for more details.

Base Antennas Lightning Arrestors

Simple plug and play HF antennas radial free and at ST-1 SO239 to PL259 adapter with earth wire
a great price connection ..........................................................£4.95
CDX-1 Lightning Arrestor 2 X SO239 sockets 400W ....
GP2500 All Band 80-6M Vertical TX 80-6M RX 2-90MHz, ........................................................................ £19.99 Baluns & Ununs
Power 250W Length 7.13M .............................. £199.95 High quality TX, RX baluns, and Ununs all fully potted and weather
GPA-80 budget version of GP2500 80-6M Dummy Loads protected with SO239 socket
Length 6.0M ...................................................... £99.95 DL-15 PL259 DC-800MHz 15W CW 20W 50 Ohms
........................................................................ £24.95 MB-1 1-30MHz 1:1 Current Balun 400W 50 Ohms ........................£29.95
DL-15N N-Type DC-800MHz 15W CW 20W 50 Ohms MB-4 1-30MHz 4:1 Current Balun 400W 50 Ohms ........................£29.95
........................................................................ £29.95 MB-6 1-30MHz 6:1 Current Balun 400W 50 Ohms ........................£29.95
MB-1X 1-30MHz 1:1 Current Balun 1000W 50 Ohms ....................£39.95
Portable HF Kits SWR Meters MB-4X 1-30MHz 4:1 Current Balun 1000W 50 Ohms ....................£39.95
SWR-100 Frequency 26-30MHz 100W 50 MB-6X 1-30MHz 6:1 Current Balun 1000W 50 Ohms ....................£39.95
Great dual band kits for portable use, MU-9 1-50MHz 9:1 Unun 500W 50 Ohms .....................................£29.95
two compact dipoles on an upto 14ft Ohms............................................................... £16.95
SWR-270 Frequency 120-500MHz 100W 50 Ohms LWB-1 0-40MHz Receive only 50 Ohms ........................................£24.95
mast just requires coax
........................................................................ £29.95
PK1217 HF Kit for 12/17M ..... £149.95
PK1520 HF Kit for 15/20M ..... £149.95 Ferrites
PK3060 HF Kit for 30/60M .... £154.95 High quality ferrites to suit all the popular cables
PK4080 HF Kit for 40/80M ..... £159.95 FCS-S to suit 6mm cable such as RG58 ............£1.95
(please note each kit requires two feeds) FCS-M to suit 7mm cable such as MINI8 ...........£2.95
FCS-L to suit 9mm cable such as RG213.......... £3.95

EN
COME AND VISIT US FOR A BROWSE, FRIENDLY IMPARTIAL ADVICE AND EXTRA INSTORE DISCOUNTS ONPOW
The largest stockist of Amateur,
Scanner, CB and Hobby Radio
products for 60 miles around.
Plenty of parking and easy
access from the M1 –
come for a visit soon.

Moonraker-3pages-January-2018.indd 21 27/11/2017 10:00


Radio Communications Manufacturer and Reseller
Cable
RG58 Standard, 5mm, 50 ohm, per metre .......................................... £0.35
RG58-DRUM-50 Standard, 5mm, 50 ohm, 50m reel ........................ £19.95
RG58-DRUM-100 Standard, 5mm, 50 ohm, 100m reel....................£29.95
RG58M Mil spec, 5mm, 50 ohm, per metre (best seller) ...................... £0.60
RG58M-DRUM-50 new 50m reel of mil spec RG58 in a great handy size only... £24.95
RG58M-DRUM-100 Mil spec, 5mm, 50 ohm, 100m reel.................. £44.95
RGMINI8 Mil spec, 7mm, 50 ohm, per metre, (amateur favourite) ....... £0.75
RGMINI8-DRUM-50 mil spec, 7mm, 50 ohm, 50m reel ................£34.95
RGMINI8-DRUM-100 Mil spec, 7mm, 50 ohm, 100m reel................... £64.95
RG213 Mil spec, 9mm, 50 ohm, per metre .......................................... £1.30
RG213-DRUM-50 Mil spec, 9mm, 50 ohm, 50m reel........................ £59.95
RG213-DRUM-100 Mil spec, 9mm, 50 ohm, 100m reel.................. £109.95
300-20M Ladder Ribbon, best USA quality, 300 ohm, 20m pack ....... £17.95
300-DRUM Ladder Ribbon, best USA quality, 300 ohm, 100m reel .... £69.95
450-20M Ladder Ribbon, best USA quality, 450 ohm, 20m pack ....... £19.95
450-DRUM Ladder Ribbon, best USA quality, 450 ohm, 100m reel £79.95
Antenna Wire
Perfect for making your own antennas, traps, long wire aerials etc.
SEW-50 Multi stranded PVC covered wire, 1.2mm ......................... £19.95
SCW-50 Enamelled copper wire, 1.5mm ......................................... £24.95
HCW-50 Hard Drawn bare copper wire, 1.5mm............................... £29.95
CCS-50 Genuine Copperweld copper clad steel, 1.6mm .................. £29.95
FW-50 Original Flexweave bare copper wire, 2mm ........................ £39.95
FWPVC-50 Original clear PVC covered copper wire, 4mm ............... £44.95
FW-100 Original high quality flexweave antenna wire, 100m reel........................... £59.95
FWPVC-100 Original PVC coated flexweave antenna wire, 4mm, 100m reel ........................... £79.95
Rigging Accessories
Get rigged up, for full list of all options visit our website!
PULLEY-2 Adjustable pulley for wire antennas, suits all types of rope ............................ £24.95
GUYKIT-HD10 Complete HD adjustable guying kit for up to 40ft masts......................... £54.95
GUYKIT-P10 Complete LD/portable guying kit to suit up to 40ft masts......................... £39.95
SPIDER-3 Fixed 3 point mast collar for guy ropes ..................................................£5.95
SPIDER-4 Fixed 4 point mast collar for guy ropes ..................................................£6.95
PTP-20 Pole to pole clamp to clamp up to 2” to 2” .................................................£5.95
DPC-W Wire dipole centre to suit either 300 or 450ohm ladder line ..........................£5.95
DPC-S Wire dipole centre with SO239 to suit cable feed connections ..........................£6.95
DPC-A Dipole centre to suit ½ inch aluminium tube with terminal connections ........................£7.95
DPC-38 Dipole centre with SO-239, 3/8th sockets to make mobile dipole ................................£6.95
DOGBONE-S Small ribbed wire insulator ................................................................£1.00
DOGBONE-L Large ribbed wire insulator ...............................................................£1.50
DOGBONE-C Small ceramic wire insulator .............................................................£1.20
EARTHROD-C 4ft copper earth rod and clamp .................................................... £24.95
EARTHROD-CP 4ft copper plated earth rod and clamp ....................................... £16.95
G5RV-ES In-line SO239 replacement socket for 300 or 450 ohm ladder line..........................£6.95
AMA-10 Self amalgamating tape for connection joints, 10m length ............................£7.50
Direct from the USA
A Direct to you from stock
Alpha Antenna
Alpha Antenna 10-80M Loop Tripod
& Bag ........................................ £399.95
Alpha Antenna 10-40M Loop Tripod &
Bag............................................ £299.95
Alpha Antenna 6-80M Multiband Tuner
Free HF Antenna ........................ £399.95
Alpha Antenna 10-80M Promaster Base
Antenna ..................................... £329.95
Alpha Antenna 10-80M Military 2.0 Tuner
Free Antenna ............................. £369.95
Tarheel Antennas
BABY TARHEEL When properly installed
on your vehicle this antenna will provide
continuous coverage from 7.0 to 54 MHz
with the supplied whip. The Baby Tarheel
antenna like all of our motorized antenna
models are built to meet the highest
standards but in a smaller size
.....................................................£399.95
LITTLE TARHEEL II The Little Tarheel II
antenna like all Tarheel motorized antenna
models are built to meet the highest
standards but in a more user friendly size.
This antenna comes with the sensors
already pre-installed so if you decide to
add one of the auto controllers (SDC-100
Simple Controller, SDC-102 Programmable
Controller, Turbo Tuner, Antenna BOSS and
BOSS II) now or later everything is ready
.....................................................£449.95
Are you a Retailer or an E-tailer looking for a better deal to compete online?
- then contact us NOW!
Moonraker-3pages-January-2018.indd 22
Moonraker UK Limited
Cranfield Road
Sales line 01908 281705
E-mail sales@moonraker.eu
Woburn Sands
Bucks MK17 8UR
Open Mon-Fri 9-5:30pm
Our website shows real-time stock
so you can buy with confidence
Portable Telescopic Masts
LMA-S Length 17.6ft open 4ft closed 2-1” diameter ......... £79.95
LMA-M Length 26ft open 5.5ft closed 2-1” diameter......... £89.95
LMA-L Length 33ft open 7.2ft closed 2-1” diameter .......... £99.95
CARPLATE-HDT brilliant drive on plate with tilt – ideal
to be used in conjunction with the portable telescopic
masts and only ................................................ £44.95
CARPLATE-HD without tilt .............................. £24.95
20ft Swaged Mast Sets
These heavy duty masts sets have lovely push fit
swaged sections to give a strong mast set. Ideal for
(5ft Sections)
portable or permanent installations also available singly
MSP-125 4 section 1.25inch OD mast set ....................................£39.95
MSP-150 4 section 1.50inch OD mast set ....................................£44.95
MSPX-150 heavy duty 2.65mm 1.50 inch OD mast set.................£59.95
MSP-175 4 section 1.75inch OD mast set ....................................£49.95
MSP-200 4 section 2.00inch OD mast set ....................................£59.95
MSPX-200 heavy duty 2.65mm 2.00 inch OD mast set.................£79.95
Telescopic Masts
TMF-1 Fibreglass mast ★ 4 sections 160cm each ★ 50mm to
30mm ★ Approx 20ft erect 6ft collapsed .................... £179.95
TMF-1.5 Fibreglass mast ★ 5 sections 200cm each ★ 60mm to
30mm ★ Approx 30ft erect 8ft collapsed .................... £249.95
TMF-2 Fibreglass mast ★ 5 sections 240cm each ★ 60mm to
30mm ★ Approx 40ft erect 9ft collapsed .................... £299.95
TMF-3 Fiberglass mast * 6 sections 240cm each * 65-23mm *
Approx 50ft erect 8ft collapsed ................................... £349.95
Patch Leads
PL58-0.5 ½m Standard RG58 PL259 to PL259 lead ........................ £3.50
PL58-10 10m Standard RG58 PL259 to PL259 lead ........................ £8.95
PL58-30 30m Standard RG58 PL259 to PL259 lead ...................... £16.95
PL58M-0.5 ½m Mil Spec RG58 PL259 to PL259 lead ..................... £4.50
PL58M-10 10m Mil Spec RG58 PL259 to PL259 lead ................... £12.95
PL58M-30 30m Mil Spec RG58 PL259 to PL259 lead .................. £27.95
PL213-10 10m Mil Spec RG213 PL259 to PL259 lead ................. £18.95
PL213-30 30m Mil Spec RG213 PL259 to PL259 lead ................. £39.95
PL103-10 10m Mil Spec Westflex 103 PL259 to PL259 lead ......... £29.95
PL103-30 30m Mil Spec Westflex 103 PL259 to PL259 lead ......... £69.95
(All other leads and lengths available, ie. BNC to N-type, etc. Please phone for details)
PAM Kit A great portable freestanding tripod which can be
extended to 4m. Perfect for field days at a perfect price.
Just £59.95 complete
Chameleon Antenna
Loops
CHA P-LOOP This antenna was designed with portability, ease of use,
simplicity, ruggedness and high performance in mind. 40-10M .... £349.95
CHA F-LOOP This antenna was designed with weight, durability,
portability, versatility and cost in mind. The antenna is built to last. The
unit covers everything between 10M to 60M (or 29,700MHz to 5,300MHz)
continuously ................................................................................ £499.95
CHA F-LOOP PLUS as above but with heavy duty aluminium loop
.................................................................................................... £649.95
Base Antenna
CHA ECOMM II This antenna
has been specially designed for
backup emergency HF system or
permanent installation 6-160M
500W SSB 60ft ............................................................................ £139.95
CHA SKYLOOP This antenna is a 250’ (14 gauge) full wave loop antenna cut
for 80M. With the help of an antenna tuner the antenna will cover all the bands
between 80M and 6M included and capable of 1000W .................... £149.95
Portable Antenna
CHA TD The CHA TD (Tactical Dipole) is a HF broadband antenna specially
designed for portable HF communication where rapid deployment and
simplicity of operation is essential. 10-80M 300W ....................... £399.95
CHA HYBRID MICRO This antenna is a lightweight highly portable
broadband antenna system designed to offer maximum portability and
performance. The antenna weights approx. 1lb. 6-160M 100W .... £229.99
CHA HYBRID The CHA HYBRID Base is designed to enhance the
capabilities of the common HF radio application by allowing faster tuning
operation across the HF bands including MARS/CAP frequencies. 6-160M
800W .......................................................................................... £199.95
Visit us now at www.moonraker.eu
Web www.moonraker.eu
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us on
Mounting Hardware & Clamps
We have all the mounting brackets you could
possibly want - for all options see our website
TRIPOD-HDA Free standing, heavy duty, fold away tripod,
which adjusts from 50-65mm ................................. £149.95
TRIPOD-25L Free standing heavy duty tripod to suit masts
65mm or less ......................................................................................................... £79.95
TRIPOD-20L Free standing heavy duty tripod to suit masts 2 inch or less ..... £74.95
TRIPOD-15L Free standing heavy duty tripod to suit masts 1.5 inch or less
................................................................................................................................. £69.95
TK-24 Heavy duty galvanised pair of T & K brackets, 24 inches total length.... £29.95
TK-18 Heavy duty galvanised pair of T & K brackets, 18 inches total length .... £24.95
TK-12 Heavy duty galvanised pair of T & K brackets, 12 inches total length .... £19.95
SO-9 Heavy duty galvanised single stand off bracket, 9 inches total length ....... £9.95
SO-6 Heavy duty galvanised single stand off bracket, 9 inches total length ........ £6.95
CHIM-D Heavy duty galvanised chimney lashing kit with all fixings,
suitable for upto 2 inch ........................................................................................... £24.95
CAR-PLATE Drive on bracket with vertical up stand to suit 1.5 or 2” mounting pole
................................................................................................................................ £24.95
CROSS-2 Heavy duty cross over plate to suit 1.5 to 2” vertical to horizontal pole
.................................................................................................................................. £14.95
JOIN-200 Heavy duty 8 nut joining sleeve to connect 2 X 2” poles together
.................................................................................................................................. £19.95
PTM-S Pole mounting bracket with SO239 for mobile whips, suits upto 2” pole
.................................................................................................................................. £19.95
Connectors
PL259-6mm Standard plug for RG58........................................... £0.99p
PL259-9mm Standard plug for RG213......................................... £0.99p
PL259-7mm Standard plug for Mini8 .......................................... £0.99p
PL259-6C Compression type for RG58 .......................................... £2.50
PL259-9C Compression type for RG213 ..........................................
..........................................£2.50
PL259-103C Compression type for Westflex 103 ........................... £5.50
NTYPE-6 Compression type plug for RG58 ..................................... £3.95
NTYPE-9 Compression type plug for RG213 ................................... £3.95
NTYPE-103 Compression type plug for westflex 103 .................... £6.00
BNC-6 Compression type for RG58 ................................................ £1.50
BNC-9 Compression type for RG213............................................... £3.50
SO239-N Adapter to convert PL259 to N-Type male ....................... £3.95
NTYPE-PL Adapter to convert N-Type to PL259 .............................. £3.95
BNC-PL Adapter to convert BNC to PL259 ...................................... £2.00
BNC-N Adapter to convert BNC to N-Type male ...............................£3.95
BNC-SMA Adapter to convert modern SMA radio to suit BNC ..........£3.95
SO239-SMA Adapter to convert modern SMA radio to suit SO239.....£3.95
PL259-38 Adapter to convert SO239 fitting to 38th thread ..............£3.95
CHA TD LITE This antenna is a HF
broadband antenna specially designed for
portable HF communication where rapid
deployment and simplicity of operation is
essential but compactness is primordial.
6-160M 500W .......................... £159.95
Mobile Antenna
CHA V2L The CHA V2L is a rugged multiband HF antenna
designed for smaller vehicle. The antenna must be used in
conjunction with either the CHA HYBRID or the CHA CAUM to
perform adequately. 10-80M with CHA HYBRID or CHA CAUM
(6/2/70cm stand alone)............................................£169.95
CHA MIL This whip is a broadband monopole antenna designed
for portable or manpack radios requiring compact but rugged
antenna systems. 6M-160M with CHA HYBRID, 6M-10M stand-
alone 1500W ...........................................................£129.95
Accessories
CAP-HAT This capacity hats increase
the bandwidth of your antenna
making it more efficient ......... £89.95
RFI Choke 1-300MHz ...........£34.95
JAW mount great versatile mount to
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27/11/2017 10:01
 HF Highlights with Steve Telenius-Lowe PJ4DX
● E-mail: teleniuslowe@gmail.com
A Contest and
Lots of DX
Steve Telenius-Lowe PJ4DX has another packed
postbag following a month that saw a busy CQWW
Phone Contest and a number of significant DXpeditions
H
appy New Year to all
readers. I’ve received a
huge postbag again this
month. It’s excellent to
have so much support for
HF Highlights each month but it does
present me with a problem. PW editor
Don G3XTT has kindly provided extra
space for HFH in the last two issues but
– quite understandably – he can’t do this
all the time. I’ve therefore had to be more
ruthless when compiling readers’ news
and band reports. My apologies if I cut a
lot from your reports but be assured that
your input to the column is valued and still
very welcome!
October DX
This month we report on the highlights
of October 2017. After several months of
generally poor conditions and with little
DX, October started with a bang. Sev-
eral DXpeditions took advantage of the
improvement in conditions that occurs
around the autumn equinox. I worked the
following during the first two weeks of
October alone: AT7T (St Mary Isles, India,
AS-096), RI1ANO (South Shetland Is),
VK9XI (Christmas Island), RI1F (new IOTA
EU-190 Viktoriya I, Franz Josef Land),
OJ0JR (Market Reef), A5A (Bhutan), 5X2B
(Uganda), KG4HH (Guantanamo Bay),
S9YY (Sao Tome and Principe), H40GC
(Temotu, Solomon Is), 3C1L (Equatorial
Guinea), VU7T (Lakshadweep), 3C0L (An-
nobon) and VK5CE/8 (OC-198). The VK9XI
team went on to Cocos (Keeling) and
continued operations as VK9CI, but I failed
to work them there. For the likely reason
for this see my article Antipodal Focusing
in last month’s PW.
January 2018 Practical Wireless
23-HF Highlights 3 pages.indd 23
Don’t forget – all reports to Steve by the 1st of each month please!
Fig. 1: Don G3XTT operating as PJ4Q in the
CQWW Phone contest. In the background Scott
W4PA operates the second station.
The CQ World Wide DX Phone contest
at the end of October provided plenty of
activity for HFH readers. Don G3XTT and
Scott W4PA, Fig. 1, joined Peter PJ4NX,
Bert PJ4KY and me to operate as PJ4Q,
working many of this month’s contributors.
Readers’ News
Reg Williams G0OOF wrote, “Pleased I
managed to work PJ4Q during the CQWW
contest. I think the band was starting to
close here and it was a bit of a struggle,
but again success. I hope readers of PW
were encouraged to have a go in the
contest following your encouragement in
HFH”. In fact, most of this month’s con-
tributors made at least some contacts in
the contest and several made a few hun-
dred QSOs or more. Reg added: “I have
been experimenting with different home-
brew antennas... I have bought a fibreglass
telescopic mast from SOTAbeams [and]
used it to support a half-wave 20m wire
antenna with a matching box... I now also
have an SDRplay receiver coupled to my
TS-590. The panadaptor feature of the
software is very useful: good for monitor-
ing HF band activity on bands other than
the one being used by the operator.” Best
DX this month for Reg was RI1ANO (South
Shetland Islands).
Carl Gorse 2E0HPI reported that,
“October has been an excellent month
with some decent weather and band
conditions...” He now has a “Yaesu FT-
857D that I purchased at the Hamfest at
Newark and fitted the 2.3kHz SSB filter.
I have been running it at 10 – 20W.” Carl
activated his local nature reserve (GFF-
0226), Castle Eden Dene (GFF-0106) and
“decided to get up just after 0400UTC
and head to Cringle Moor SOTA refer-
ence G/TW-002 and WWFF Reference
GFF-0012 in the North Yorkshire Moors
National Park, Fig. 2. I tried 20m at first
but it seemed very flat so headed over to
40m and the conditions were long but the
weather was like a mid-summer’s day.” For
the CQWW contest Carl set up an ‘Alpha
Loop’ antenna and worked a number of
stations including PJ4Q on 15m. He says
he is “very pleased with the result and
cannot wait to get out portable to see how
well it performs on the coast and on some
summits.”
Mike Clark M0ZDZ/G7Y had planned
to operate in the CQWW contest but it
“was a bit of a non-event.” For family
reasons Mike could only operate for about
four hours on the Sunday morning. “Even
that didn’t start well; amp blew within 10
minutes. No output, so further investiga-
tion required.” He still ended up with 324
QSOs on 20m and thought conditions to
North America were good.
David Smith M0OSA/M took part in
the contest for about five hours on the
Sunday and “was amazed at the best
conditions I’ve seen in a couple of years.
Starting out in the morning on 20m I
worked a few stations around Europe but
quickly changed to 15m. Here I man-
aged to get my second-ever contact with
China: BD7BM... When I got back on air
mid-afternoon the path to the Caribbean
had opened and I worked three ATNOs
[All-Time New Ones]: HC0E, VP2MDG
and 9Y4D, the last even stopping to ask
about my set-up because I had such a
strong signal.” He concluded by saying,
“It definitely was the best I’ve seen HF in a
long while.”
The highlight of the month for Martin
23
28/11/2017 16:59
 HF Highlights

Evans GW4TPG was working two ATNOs:

3C0L (Annobon) and A5A (Bhutan). “I think
the novelty of FT8 is starting to wear off a
bit for me and CW/SSB are making a bit
of a comeback this month. JT65 is already
well and truly on the back burner...” Martin
was another reader who had a dabble
in the contest but commented that “It
was tough not to hear Steve GW4BLE
contesting on the weekend. He always had
incredible NA runs on 15m, which were
fantastic to listen in on, even if I couldn’t
hear half the stuff he was working!” In-
deed, Steve was much missed at this end
of the pile-up too. His passing (see HFH,
February 2017) will make the GW contest
multiplier that much more difficult to work
on all bands. Fig. 2: Carl 2E0HPI/P operating his new FT-857D from the North Yorkshire Moors National Park.
Terry Martin M0CLH says, “It’s been
a month of very mixed fortunes. On the
9th, my 11-year old linear blew up... On in-
spection, I decided that the sensible route
forward was to sell the remains to a col-
league for spares and invest in a sparkling
new one, which duly arrived on the 19th...
Between these dates I operated barefoot
with just 50W and still managed to bag
XT2AW and KG4HF on two bands each,
together with VP8LP. Particularly pleas-
ing was to catch Bill Rothwell ZD7BR,
having taken the first commercial flight to
St Helena. Also, couldn’t resist giving away
some points in the CQWW contest over
the last weekend.” Terry commented that
DX such as VK9VKL (Christmas Island)
and RI1ANO (South Shetlands) signals “a
welcome rise from the summer doldrums.
Let’s hope it continues!” Fig. 3: George Davis G3ICO (SK) on a Yeovil Amateur Radio Club stand.
Owen Williams G0PHY said that the
month was “topped and tailed by con- in Maine but on 17m TY2AC in Benin ing he was unable to pierce the 2 – 10kHz
tacts with both ends of the Earth.” His gave me a measly 319, while PS300NSA split pile-ups. Finally, Victor says “the
first contact was with KC4AAA at the of Sao Paulo, celebrating a saint’s 300th incredibly busy 3XY3D/P Guinea operator
Amundsen-Scott base at the South Pole anniversary year, was not much better.” on 17m” came back to his first call.
and his last was with VY0ERC at the Eu- After several ‘gotaways’ “9Y4/DL1QQ from Bob Harris G8UED, secretary of the
reka weather station in the high Canadian Trinidad and Tobago on 17m restored my Yeovil Amateur Radio Club, wrote to in-
Arctic. Owen reported that the Shefford faith and was contacted early evening. A form us of the sad news that George Da-
club operated as G3B for CQWW. “I did a nice surprise was working a solitary PJ2T vis G3ICO, Fig. 3, became a Silent Key on
stint on the multiplier station on Saturday up on 10m CW just before sunset as the October 2nd. George was an RAF Radio
and there was a good opening on 21MHz group prepared for the CQWW contest the Operator with Coastal Command and was
to Asia and the Pacific. I spent some time following weekend. I had almost forgotten an avid CW operator. He was a frequent
on Sunday at home and worked RW0A on what it was like on 10m.” Victor heard a contributor to PW and a longstanding
21MHz at 0911UTC and FY5KE on 14MHz good signal from the VK9CZ DXpedition member of the Yeovil club, where he held
at 0954UTC.” However, a couple of DX on 20m but with a “booming” pile-up. the position of club instructor until his
stations were ‘gotaways’: 3C0L and VU7T. To his surprise, they suddenly called him recent illness. George will be much missed
The latter would have been an ATNO; immediately after working another station. by club members and his many friends on
“I even turned the amp on for this one,” “PZ5K, the Suriname contest group, relax- the key around the world.
Owen mused. ing on 30m CW after their hectic weekend Etienne Vrebos OS8D bought a new
Owen’s neighbour, Victor Brand of SSB in CQWW, was worked quickly Acom 1500 linear amplifier and says there
G3JNB, always manages to work some early evening” but Victor “failed miserably is “a large difference with the 800W of
DX using low-power CW. “On 30m [I had] with the 3C0C/3C1L ops on the island of the previous amplifier: it gives that little
an excellent ragchew with Marty KW1C Annobon and in Equatorial Guinea”, find- extra punch to get into the pile-up without

24 Practical Wireless January 2018

23-HF Highlights 3 pages.indd 24 28/11/2017 16:59

 waiting for hours. The Acom 1500 is easy
to use and gives full satisfaction on 20m
to 10m on the Hexbeam. I use only 800W
on the HyEndFed for 40m, and 80m with
200W from the Icom IC-7851 still gives
plenty of good European QSOs.”
Tony Usher G4HZW says, “I spent
all my (radio) time using FT8 on 10m and
40m; a weird but very addictive mode...
Having spent many years on 28MHz I
didn’t work any new countries but given
the point we’re at in sunspot cycle 24 I
was pleasantly surprised by the range
of callsigns on offer during the month
using FT8. 40m is new to me so I didn’t
know what to expect or the significance
of any contacts but I was very pleased to
work JA, ZL and Joe Taylor [K1JT, Nobel
Laureate and inventor of WSPR]. A final
observation: although signals are down to
−23dB below the noise level on FT8, when
10m was quiet and there was only one
signal being received I could normally just
hear it and given patience at both ends
I suspect that if my CW was a lot better,
most of these contacts would have been
possible using that mode!” Fig. 4 shows
Tony’s 10m and 40m FT8 QSOs made
during the month.
Kevin Hewitt ZB2GI reported that
the 1st/4th Marquis of Milford Haven’s
Own Gibraltar Scout Group participated
in the 2017 JOTA and JOTI. Gibraltar
Amateur Radio Society members John
King ZB2JK, Ernest Stagnetto ZB2FK,
Mark Netto ZB3N and Steve Harte
ZB3Z assisted the Scouts, Fig. 5, to
operate ZB2FFG from Wellington Front
fortification. Despite poor band conditions
the Scouts made some SSB contacts,
including one with another Scout group
in the Netherlands. Kevin’s other HF
highlights included working two special
event stations and a new country, making
the first activation of the Upper Rock
nature reserve and operating portable with
a low-power 10m radio.
Band Reports
Reg G0OOF reports 40m SSB: CN2AA,
KC1XX. 20m SSB: 5T2AI, 9Y4W, A61FK,
C37RC, D4C, FM1HN, HI3K, PJ4Q,
PS14BIS, RI1ANO, V26B, VK3TJK,
YV7MAY. 15m SSB: 6W1SU, 8P5A,
9K2HN, A73A, CN2CR, CO6HLP, HI3K,
P40T, ZB2TT. 10m SSB: CN2R, CW5EW,
ZX5J.
Carl 2E0HPI and 2E0HPI/P reported
40m SSB: LB4FH/P (SOTA S2S LA/RL-
292 Hornafjellet), PD0PVR/P (PAFF-0082)
and many other Europeans. 40m PSK:
January 2018 Practical Wireless 25
23-HF Highlights 3 pages.indd 25
Fig. 4: G4HZW’s Tony’s 10m and 40m FT8 QSOs
in October.
Fig. 5: The Gibraltar Scout group at ZB2FFG.
TF2MSN. 20m SSB: SO5CAL/P (SPFF-
0460), SV2IEG/P (SVFF-0116), XL3T. 15m
SSB: 8P5A, 9K2HN, CN2R, ED9E, PJ4Q,
TC0C.
Mike M0ZDZ / G7Y worked 20m
SSB: A5A, CG3BF, EP2LMA, FP5AC/P,
HS3NBR, OD5ZF, YB3RPS/1, ZS1KP,
ZV2STJ.
David M0OSA/M worked, on 15m
SSB: 9Y4D, BD7BM, CV7S, D4Z, HC0E,
HI3K, OD5ZZ, P40W, PJ2DD, PJ4G,
PJ4Q, PZ5K, RT9S, TC0F, UP2L, V31VP,
VP2MDG, YV4YC, ZF9CW and “a lot of
US stations”.
Martin GW4TPG had a good month:
30m CW: 3C0L. 20m SSB: 3DA0TM.
20m CW: 3C1L. 17m CW: 3C0L, T6/
IZ1CCK. 17m FT8: 4S7AB, HI8CSS. 15m
SSB: 3V8SS, 6Y1LZ, 8P5A, 9Y4D, A5A,
A73A, FM5BH, P40T, PJ4G, UP2L, V26B,
VP2MDG, ZB2TT, ZF9CW. 15m CW: 3C1L,
3XY3D/P (AF-051), ZD7BG. 12m CW:
5A1AL, A61Q, ZD7BG. 12m FT8: CE2SQE,
CP4BT, PU2PAU, TA2ADI, TR8CA, VP8LP,
XT2AW, YV4DYJ, ZB2ER. 10m CW: 3C0L.
10m FT8: CE2AWW.
Terry M0CLH sent in a long log which
I’ve had to prune drastically for lack of
space. 40m SSB: UP2L. 30m FT8: A5A.
20m SSB: 4L0A, 9Y4W, A61FK, FM5BH,
FY5KE. 20m FT8: KG4HF, PT7BI. 20m
JT65: K2AQX. 20m PSK63: K7VIC. 17m
SSB: LZ251MKP. 17m FT8: HP1AVS,
JA4OK, KG4HF, ZD7BR. 17m JT65:
UT3HIP. 15m CW: HS3NBR. 15m FT8:
5T2AI, BD7OXR, CO3LF, JE4URN, KG4HF,
PJ4/NN5E, RI1ANO, VP8LP, VU2MSA,
XE2FGC, XT2AW, YB0ANJ, ZR6AMC.
15m SSB: 3V8SS, 5T2AI, 9K2HN, A61QQ,
CN2R, HI3K, P40T, PJ4K, ZF9CW. 12m
CW: 3B8DB. 12m FT8: 4S7AB, 9X0TA,
A92AA, CE2SQE, CX8ABF, TA4SO,
VU2WJ, ZS6WN. 10m SSB: A44A, C44C.
10m FT8: VK9VKL, VP8LP, XT2AW, ZS1A.
In addition to the contacts mentioned
above, Victor G3JNB also worked: 20m
CW: II3J (EU-130), PJ4/K2NG, PV8ADI,
S9YY. 17m CW: RI1ANO. 15m CW:
DU3LA.
Etienne OS8D reports 80m SSB:
GJ2A, HB0/DL5YL, OH0V. 40m SSB:
4L0A, 8P5A, ZF9CW. 20m SSB: 6W1QL,
9M4S, 9V1KK, AL7KC, HS3NBR, KH6LC,
OX3AH, RT0F, V26B, VK2CIA, VY0RAC.
17m SSB: JE1RXJ, FR4OO, PJ2T, T6/
IZ1CCK, ZD7BR. 15m SSB: 4L4WW,
5T2AI, 9Z4Y, A5A, B9K, C6ARW, CE2MVF,
CX7SS, D4Z, EY7AD, FM5BH, HI3T,
JT5DX, LU1DK, P40EU, PJ2DD, PJ4K,
PJ4/NT5V, PZ1EL, S9YY, SU/DM4DX,
TI8II, VP2MDG, ZB2TT, ZF9CW. 12m
SSB: 5V7SM, CX7SS, E44WE, HK3C,
TZ4PR. 10m SSB: C93PA, E44WE, LO7H,
PY5PLL.
Tony G4HZW used 40m FT8: 4K6N,
4S7AB, 7Z1IS, A92AA, DU1IST, JR1DUP,
K1JT, PJ2DD, TF2MSN, UN7EG, VK2EHQ,
VY0RAC, YE3YE, YV5GRV, ZL1MRC. 10m
FT8: 3A2MW, 3B8CW, 9G1SD, A61QQ,
A71AE, CN8YZ, OD5PY, RI1ANO, S01WS,
SU9JG, TR8CA, TZ4PR, UA9WIK, VO1NE,
VP8LP, VU2EKJ, XT2AW, ZB3M, ZS5LEE.
Kevin ZB2GI and ZB2GI/P mentioned
QSOs on 20m SSB: MM0VPY (Arran,
EU-123), PY6RT, R60SAT (Sputnik 60th
anniversary), ZR6GR. 17m FT8: K7ZA and
47 other US stations, plus Europe and
Canada. 15m SSB: ZR6GR. 10m SSB:
CD3JEI, LU5DQ, PU2RDB.
Signing Off
I would like to wish all readers a very
happy and DX-filled New Year! Thanks to
all our contributors. Please send any input
for this column to teleniuslowe@gmail.
com by the first of the month (January 1st
for the March magazine, February 1st for
the April issue). 73, Steve PJ4DX.
28/11/2017 16:59
 Rejuvenating the Yaesu FR-50B – Part 3 by Dr Samuel Ritchie EI9FZB
• Dr Samuel Ritchie EI9FZB • E-mail: practicalwireless@warnersgroup.co.uk

Rejuvenating the Yaesu

FR-50B Receiver – Part 3
Dr Samuel Ritchie EI9FZB completes his restoration of an old Yaesu FR-50B.

This third and final article on this vintage

receiver covers:
R32
• what is AGC and sorting out this re- AGC control 47k From AGC
ceiver’s problem; line to V5, V4 Detection
• be sure of what frequency you are tuned & V1. R71 R33 circuit.
to − adding a frequency counter; and 5M6 3M3 C39
0.2uF
• advice on aligning the receiver.
SLOW FAST
What is AGC? S2
When you tune across the HF bands you
will come across a range of signals that
have at the point they impinge on your
antenna different electromagnetic field
strengths – vastly different field strengths
in fact. We intuitively know that an ama-
teur running 400W output power is going Fig. 1: Part of the original AGC circuit.
to be louder than the same amateur in the
same location running 1W output power.
It’s more complex when you are listening
to a large number of signals as you tune On RF input
across a band being used by transmit-
ters running at very different powers, from Off
different antennas and at vastly varying
distances from you.
Amplitude

For the listener: Imagine you start

listening to a weak signal that requires AGC control
the RF gain and audio gain to be set high voltage
and then changing frequency and coming
across your neighbour at maximum legal
output power – you will be deafened by
the increase in signal strength. You would
immediately implement manual gain con-
TFALL TRISE
trol (MGC) − that is, turning the RF gain
and volume control down as quickly as
possible!
For the receiver designer: It is more Time
practical to design circuits that have to
deal with a limited range of input signal Fig. 2: Receiver AGC characteristic
strengths. If you need to be able to deal
with a wide range of input signal strengths, This is achieved by varying the amount of signals between set limits so that circuits
then the design work and costs of the amplification that is applied to the signal. following the receiver front-end do not
circuitry increase dramatically. In essence, part of the received signal is need to cope with a wide dynamic range.
Automatic Gain Control (AGC) solves fed back to an earlier stage in a way that In the FR-50B the AGC control
the problem for the listener by mak- reduces the gain of that stage. The bigger voltage is constantly generated in the AM
ing sure that the audio output remains the signal fed back, the more the gain is demodulator and then applied to the RF
constant (within limits) no matter how reduced – a negative feedback system. amplifier (V1) and both the IF amplifiers (V4
strong or weak the incoming RF signal. For the receiver designer the AGC keeps & V5).

26 Practical Wireless January 2018

26-Rejuvenating the yaetsu 4 pages.indd 26 27/11/2017 09:43

 this receiver has the characteristic curve
Cnew R32 shown in Fig. 2.
AGC control 47k From AGC The top trace in Fig. 2 is an idealised
line to V5, V4 Detection
& V1. R71 R33 circuit.
representation of the RF input to the
5M6 3M3 C39 receiver. In this case I measured the AGC
0.2uF performance at an operating frequency of
14.1MHz with an input signal amplitude of
SLOW FAST
−60dBm to drive the AGC hard. The lower
S2
trace shows the voltage developed across
C39. With no RF signal being applied
the control voltage is close to 0V RMS.
As soon as the RF signal is applied the
Fig. 3: Modified AGC circuit schematic capacitor charges to −5 V RMS − this is
marked as TFALL and is known as the AGC
attack time − the time required for the
Low voltage and}
VFO signal cable
AGC circuit to achieve full control. Once
Contrast
} the RF signal is removed, C39 discharges
Mains power cable Back Panel
from FR-50B back to 0V RMS − this is marked as TRISE
and is known as the AGC decay time. This
L N 10K AGC circuit has no hang time. That is to
}

220VAC
9Vdc Gnd
Output
12Vdc
Output
say, there is no delay from the time the RF
Input
LED signal ceases to the time the AGC starts
Power Supply Gnd restoring amplification.
The values of TFALL and TRISE with no
Gnd 12Vdc Input
changes made to the original circuitry are
Signal input
shown in Table 1.
LCD
Backlight { As expected, TFALL is fairly constant and
}IF Mode there is only a difference in TRISE of 78ms
Push Front Panel – not a lot, which is why I cannot hear any
LED
Button difference between the fast and slow AGC
actions.
Fig. 4: Block diagram of enclosure contents. My solution was not to mess with the
current resistor values because taking
into account the physical layout of the
12V to 2M components, it was easier and neater to
220v : 15V Converter, LCD
(1.5va) display and LCD 9V to VFO and
increase the control capacitance by add-
backlighting Xtal Osc. ing Cnew when ‘Slow’ is selected as shown
4 × 1N4007 in Fig. 3.
7812 78L09
1
IN OUT
3 1
IN OUT
3 I also played around with the value of
GND GND

100nf
2
100nf 12K 100nf
2
100nf
Cnew to see what might be most suitable –
220µf
the results are shown in Table 2.
+ +
1000µf 25V
25V Red LED
(panel)
A search of literature and the internet
RS. 732-0351 reveals that there are a lot of divergent
views on what the attack and decay times
should be and it seems to come down to
Fig. 5: PSU schematic personal choice. When listening to CW
and SSB I found the Fast AGC mode
No Difference Between demodulator and that the voltage across adequate, noting that it is not particular
Fast and Slow AGC. C39 controls the gain of the RF and IF fast when compared to modern receivers.
When switching between ‘Fast’ and ‘Slow’ amplifiers. I wanted a longer decay to overcome slow
AGC on the front panel switch I was un- When ‘Slow’ AGC is selected, C39 fading on broadcast signals in particu-
able to detect any significant change. I is discharged via R71, a 5.6MΩ resistor. lar and selected Cnew to be a 470nF 50V
remembered that this was the same in When ‘Fast’ AGC is selected C39 is now DC Monolithic Capacitor, which when
my first receiver, which at the time I just discharged via R33 in parallel with R71 – measured was 450nF. As shown in Table
accepted. I then became an electronics a lower resistance of about 2MΩ, which 2, this capacitor gives the AGC circuit a
engineer and the curse of “nothing is just theory tells us discharges the capacitor 63ms attack time and a long decay of 1.8
accepted anymore” kicked in. faster. However. the 3.6MΩ difference seconds.
The circuit diagram, Fig. 1, shows part in discharge resistance doesn’t seem to Two further items of interest on this
of the original AGC circuit. My under- make much of a difference in practice. topic. Firstly, there is a YouTube video, in
standing is that C39 is charged via R32 To investigate, I measured the voltage Italian, that appears to deal with the same
from the AGC detection circuitry in the AM developed across C39 and the AGC on problem and uses a 4.7µF electrolytic

January 2018 Practical Wireless 27

26-Rejuvenating the yaetsu 4 pages.indd 27 27/11/2017 09:43

 Rejuvenating the Yaesu FR-50B – Part 3
Mode TFALL TRISE
Fast AGC 38ms 450ms
Original Slow AGC 34ms 528ms
Table 1: Original AGC timings.
capacitor:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_
HtQY4Y590
Secondly, the FR-50B manual refers to
the AGC as the AVC (Automatic Volume
Control) circuit on page 2 section 10.
It also notes “the AVC circuit may be
switched off ” and in addition on page 5
section 4 notes “set RF GAIN to maximum
and turn off AVC” but there is no facil-
ity to switch off the AGC. I believe this
to be legacy text from the FR-50 manual
because on the first version of the FR-50
(from looking at pictures on collectors’
websites) there is a switch labelled AVC
On/Off and no switch labelled AGC Fast/
Slow. It seems that copy and paste cre-
ated problems in the 1960 as much as it
does today.
What Frequency am I Listening to?
I like to know with some accuracy what
frequency I am listening to – the accuracy
provided by an analogue dial doesn’t
satisfy my needs. I first considered remov-
ing the VFO and installing a Direct Digital
Synthesiser (DDS) because I have a few
of these built and sitting on the shelf.
The main disadvantage is that this option
would take away the feel of working an old
receiver. Once I had solved the frequency
instability problem I decided to keep the
VFO and to measure the frequency of op-
eration with a frequency counter. I chose
to use the N3ZI frequency counter kit:
www.pongrance.com/ddfc-cc.html
This kit has a programmable IF offset
that allows the counter to measure the
VFO frequency but display the actual op-
erating frequency by adding or subtracting
the IF used in the receiver. As noted in
the Part 1 of this series, the FR-50B uses
two IF schemes, that is either the addi-
tion or subtraction of the IF offset. Hence I
needed to include one pushbutton on the
counter that instructs the counter to take
this into account.
The next consideration was whether
I wanted a permanent modification or a
restorable modification. In other words, do
I cut into the rig to mount the frequency
counter, making changes I cannot undo,
or do I go external with the frequency
counter so I can, if required, undo all the
modifications and return the radio to its
28 Practical Wireless January 2018
26-Rejuvenating the yaetsu 4 pages.indd 28
Mode
Fast AGC
Original Slow AGC
Slow AGC Cnew = 1µF
Slow AGC Cnew = 2µF
Slow AGC Cnew = 0.2µF
Slow AGC Cnew = 0.4µF
Slow AGC Cnew = 0.45µF
Table 2: Results of varying Cnew
Fig. 6: Views of the external enclosure
original state? I decided that I want the
feel of using the old rig, with the facility of
an external frequency counter, but without
cutting into the rig and making changes
I can never restore. This would mean an
external enclosure would be required, with
some wiring. But this also allowed the flex-
ibility to add the power supply I needed to
resolve the VCO drift problem as detailed
earlier in this series of articles.
Connecting the frequency counter
proved to be an easy task. The designer
provides an RCA plug on the back panel
marked ‘VFO out’ to drive a transmitter.
The schematic shows that this output is
AC coupled (thanks to C22) and I meas-
ured the signal amplitude to be 2V pk-pk
into 1MΩ. This is more than enough to
drive the N3ZI frequency counter.
External Enclosure
I decided to mount the frequency counter,
together with its power supply (12V DC)
as well as the 9V DC power supply for the
VFO and crystal oscillator, externally to the
rig. I measured the requirements for each
of the four devices requiring power, my
results being shown in Table 3.
TFALL TRISE
38ms 450ms
34ms 528ms
115ms 3.7s
165ms 7s
56ms 1.3s
63ms 1.75s
63ms 1.8s
The block diagram of what the external
enclosure contains is shown in Fig. 4 and
the schematic of the power supply is given
in Fig. 5.
I used an RS Components box 222-
020 and the picture, Fig. 6, shows the
contents. The black cable carries the 220V
AC from the switched primary of the FR-
50B power transformer (T1). So that the
accessory box is switched on/off at the
same time as the receiver, I pick up 220V
AC from the top of C96 (mains neutral)
and the junction of F1 and C97 (mains live
after the fuse). The white cable is a 4-core
cable carrying: VFO RF signal, 9V DC for
the VFO and crystal oscillator, 12V DC for
the 2m converter and ground. There is
no need to drill any holes in the FR-50B
chassis because these two cables fit in
the corner between the chassis and the
cover. On the rear panel is a potentiometer
to adjust the LCD contrast. On the front
panel are mounted the LCD, the (12V) LED
and a push-button to instruct the counter
to switch between +IF and −IF.
Alignment
I followed the alignment procedure de-
27/11/2017 09:43
 Device Voltage Current Band (m) Recommended bandspreading components Actually adjusted
2m converter 12V DC 13mA 80 L11 & TC10 L11
VFO and Crystal 9V DC 19mA 40 L12 & TC11 L12
Oscillator
20 L13 & TC12 L13
LCD display 12V DC 20mA
15 L14 & L15 L14
LCD backlighting 12V DC 10mA
10 L17 & L16 (see text) L17
Table 3: Power requirements in the external
enclosure
AUX L18 & TC13 L18
Table 4: Adjusting bandspread.
scribed in the manual. You must take care
because there are high voltages on many schematic this capacitor is shown as 9pF
parts of the circuit and many exposed with an asterisk next to it. The schematic
areas where fingers can make contact with NOTES no.3 explains “* value is nominal”.
these high voltages. There are also two I guess nominal means never installed and
incorrect component identifiers given in the wiring showed no signs of this capaci-
the alignment procedure that you need to tor ever having been installed. I found that
be aware of. a 15pF in parallel with a 6.8pF did the
On page 6 section 5 the procedure trick for me (see Fig. 7) and the difference
says, “Adjust the upper core of L16 for between the VFO frequency and what
70% of maximum reading” – L16 is one of was displayed on the dial only differed
the VFO coils and will have no effect. The by 50kHz across the 1.2MHz wide 10m
correct component to adjust is L19, which band. I can live with that given that I have
is on the output of the crystal oscillator. a frequency counter installed.
On page 7 section 9 the procedure
says “Set BFO PITCH to “0” and adjust Last Thoughts
L18 for zero beat” – L18 is another one For the frequency counter I selected a
of the VFO coils. The correct component two-line LCD display, which shows on the
to adjust is L9, which is part of the beat top line the frequency that the receiver
frequency oscillator (BFO). is tuned to and on the second line the IF
Sorting out the bandspread (aligning mode selected. In Fig. 8 the −IF mode has
the frequency received with what is read been selected.
off the analogue frequency dial) was much In my working life I have had the op-
easier than I had anticipated. My fear portunity to use a large variety of both
came from using the receiver with the new professional and semi-professional receiv-
frequency counter attached and noting ers. While this antique radio cannot hope
that the dial markings bore no resem- to compete in any manner with those
blance to the frequency actually tuned to. receivers, when it comes to casual listen-
I adjusted the skirt of the tuning knob at ing, I love to sit in the soft glow of valves
one band edge but by the time you tuned and hear the warm sound this generation
across to the other end of the band, the of receivers delivers. Fig. 7: C69 installed.
dial was no longer close to the actual
frequency of operation.
While the manual notes that you may
need to tweak two different components
on each band, I found that I only needed
to adjust one to get the bandspread into
order. This is shown in Table 4.
I chose not to touch the tuning capaci-
tors because they are single-vane devices
and looked quiet brittle. Therefore, I chose
to adjust the inductors but please make
sure you have the correct tools to adjust
the tuning cores in each coil. The induc-
tor cores are sticky to start turning and if
you break a core for lack of using the right
tool, you will cry because replacements
will be very difficult to source.
On the 10m band, nothing I did would
bandspread the rig correctly. An investiga-
tion revealed that C69 is missing. On the Fig. 8: Rejuvenation completed.

January 2018 Practical Wireless 29

26-Rejuvenating the yaetsu 4 pages.indd 29 27/11/2017 09:43

 Valve & Vintage with Ben Nock G4BXD
● E-mail: military1944@aol.com
More Additions
to the Collection
We catch up with the latest developments at
Ben Nock G4BXD’s Military Wireless Museum, which
include the addition of a Swedish Army transmitter
and a TGY2 naval transmitter.
Fig. 1: The Swedish vehicle mounted set.
A
very warm welcome to
my Valve & Vintage col-
umn coming to you once
again from the Military
Wireless Museum here
in Kidderminster. As usual it’s been
a hectic few months, plenty of visitors,
home grown and from foreign climes,
several new additions to the collection
and loads of work restoring and repairing
sets. Although I continue trying to get rid
of the numerous duplicates I find I have
amassed, there are still new items arriving.
A Swedish Set
Some time ago I acquired a rather nice
little transmitter, part of a portable battery
30
30-V & V Nock 3 pages.indd 30
operated Swedish Army set called a 10W
Br M/39, rather a mouthful, but the rest of
the station, the receiver, cases and so on
eluded me. Then, just a few months ago, I
spotted a similar looking set but complete
or so I thought. It turned out to be slightly
different though.
Apparently envisaged along with the
development of the 10 W Br m/39 was a
version for use in military radio vehicles
and tanks. Preliminary research on the
design started around 1937. Based closely
on the receiver and transmitter units of
the 10W Br M/39 but with mechanical and
electrical changes and the use of indi-
rectly heated valves in place of the battery
valves in the 10W, the vehicle and tank
versions were powered from either 6V or
12V.
The Bilradiostation, Swedish for car
radio-station, 25W Bl M/39 is a self-
contained set, Fig. 1, housed in a diecast
metal case. The HT for the receiver and
transmitter was derived from either a
vibrator unit or rotary converter unit. An
additional variable inductor was added,
built into the battery set transmitter, for
matching the relatively short rod antenna
on vehicles.
The frequency range of the receiver,
Fig. 2, was 1.3-6.1MHz in four ranges,
with an IF of 1.2MHz and using just four
valves, three EK2 types and an EL2. The
transmitter, Fig. 3, had an RF output of
6-7W over the frequency range of 2.5-
5MHz using an EL5 as oscillator and final
output valve, anode/screen grid modu-
lated by a pair of EL3 valves.
The set duly arrived from Germany
where the seller was in the belief that
these heavier packages are carried by
winged messengers employed by the
various carriers without ever touching the
ground and being placed gently in a mov-
ing vehicle, whereas as we all know, if a
thing can be thrown, it will be thrown.
So, wrapped in the thinnest of card-
board boxes and with a light dusting of
bubblewrap, the set arrived. It says some-
thing for its construction that it did arrive
intact, several protruding cast lugs had,
amazingly, remained in place. Maybe I do
the carriers an injustice?
The radio station comprises four units
− transmitter, receiver, ATU and power
supply − all housed in a diecast case,
which was then mounted in the vehicle.
The case, Fig. 4, also has a wiring loom
with plugs that connect with the units as
they are inserted into the case. These
plugs supply and distribute the power, TX/
RX switching, microphone, headphones
and related connections.
While researching the set I made
contact with several Swedish amateurs
who helped with circuit diagrams and
manuals. These included Bertil SM6AAL
who said: “During 1958-1959 I was in the
Swedish Army Signalcorps and operated
this station from a Volvo terrain-car, hi! This
car was very thirsty on gasoline. But that
25W Bl was not so good equipment and
from years 1958-1959, we get that Ra200
instead, much better radio for CW 8W
output.”
On arrival I inspected the set. I found
one valve in the receiver was broken
and one in the transmitter had the glass
Practical Wireless January 2018
27/11/2017 09:44
 envelope come loose from its base. All the
valves are the type with side contacts on
the base, which makes for a fairly secure
mounting, obvious for the set’s intended
role, but it meant that in trying to extract
the loose transmit valve, the glass enve-
lope pulled out of the holder.
The power unit on my particular model
is the vibrator pack. A very large open
vibrator unit and big transformer provide
the 400V needed. On testing with 6V input
the vibrator worked but after replacing the
suppressor capacitors and filter capaci-
tors, it worked a lot better.
Turning to the receiver, I replaced the
broken valve, found another one with
an open circuit heater and replaced it,
replaced all the capacitors and tested the
set. Although it is working and I can hear
signals off air, it’s rather weak and touchy
in its operation. I spent quite a while trying
to improve things but got quite frustrated,
so it has gone back on the shelf for look- Fig. 2: The receiver unit.
ing at another time.
At that time I’ll have a go with the
transmitter and see if I can coax it back
to life after all these years. I have already
replaced the broken valve, thankfully, and
repaired a small Paxolin panel that was
in three parts and was used to select the
output coil tappings so all bodes well for a
decent outcome.

Navy Transmitter
Early in 2017 I received an e-mail from
Bill Shepherd EI4KB offering me a TGY2
transmitter, free, as a donation to the
museum. Of course, without thinking I said
yes, thank you. Unfortunately, it turned out
Bill was in Ireland (obvious had I looked at
his callsign!) and the transmitter weighed
105lb (48kg).
So, the search was on to find a way
of getting it here. Carriers’ websites were
checked, big lump, pallet needed and
suchlike, all costly. I even checked on the
ferry prices to go and fetch it; costly again.
I had nearly given up on the idea when I Fig. 3: The transmitter unit.
received another e-mail from a gentleman
who wanted to visit the museum while house. Although living a few miles away receiver and used in smaller vessels −
he was over attending a rally for vintage from Bill, it turned out that John was often Coastal Class in Navy terms. It was given
telephone collectors nearby. He was trav- in Dublin on business and he kindly of- the title Type 607 with the 607E and 607F
elling on the ferry from Ireland. fered to collect the beast and deliver it to set-ups having slightly different or ad-
Now, call me optimistic but a germ of me on his visit. ditional equipment.
an idea crossed my mind. I put it to the And so it was that John arrived bearing The transmitter is of a very simple
gent and asked whether there was any gifts and large and heavy gifts they were design. A master oscillator, Fig. 6, selects
way he could help. It turned out that John too. I can only offer my deepest thanks to the operating frequency, a power output
(John Mulrane) is not a radio amateur Bill and John for being so helpful in this stage amplifies it and a modulator, Fig.
but has a great passion for and interest matter. 7, well, modulates. All three stages use
in vintage telephones and suchlike, even The TGY2 transmitter, Fig. 5, was used the famous PT15 valves as used in the
having his own exchange system in his by the Royal Navy, paired with the CR300 classic T1154 transmitter. The set tunes

January 2018 Practical Wireless 31

30-V & V Nock 3 pages.indd 31 27/11/2017 09:44

 Valve & Vintage

375 to 500kHz and 1.2 to 8.3MHz with

40-50W on CW and 12-15W on AM. It
requires a 6V floating supply at 4A, both
rails are balanced to ground inside the
transmitter, and an HT voltage of around
1200 to 1300V, again floating because it is
fed to ground via a resistor to achieve the
required bias voltages.
In addition to the Master Oscillator,
there is provision for four crystal-con-
trolled frequencies in the 1.2 to 8.3MHz
range, all operating in fundamental mode.
The crystals are located inside the trans-
mitter and require the set to be withdrawn
from its case to fit or replace them, not
an easy task in the field with the chassis
weighing 70lbs.
The set has two meters fitted. One is
for measuring the antenna current during
transmission and the other is a switched
milliammeter that allows monitoring of the
heater voltage, PA grid current, PA HT cur-
rent, oscillator HT current and modulator
HT current.
Given that its circuit so closely resem-
bles the T1154 and that the design date,
as stated in the TGY2 manual, is 1943, it
has to be wondered, why? Why run the Fig. 4: The outside case mounted in vehicle.
two production lines in parallel, especially
when the Admiralty already used the Basford G3VKM kindly got in touch and those interested in visiting, the museum
T1154 under the Type 8D banner, a modi- sent me a suitable item, which will make would be happy to see you. Visits are by
fied T1154 with additional facilities? life just a little easier when I come to trying prior arrangement and contact details are
As usual with new arrivals, I found the to fire up the beast in the near future. on the website so do get in touch.
supply plug needed was one I did not www.militarywirelessmuseum.co.uk
have. It’s a 7-pin with flat blade-like con- And Finally I’d like to say a big thank you to all
nectors with an outer locking ring. The HT That’s about it for this stint in the V&V those who have commented and contact-
feed is a single pin connector and the an- shop. I trust the sets have been of inter- ed me over the years and it’s been a real
tenna plug is also rather odd. I put out an est this time and over the years and, of joy to share the hobby and nostalgia with
internet call for help with locating the sup- course, there are plenty more pictures to so many. Cheerio for now and a Happy
ply plug in particular and, luckily, Roger view on the museum’s website, below. For New Year.

Fig. 5: The TGY2 transmitter. Fig. 6: The oscillator. Fig 7: The PA and modulator.

32 Practical Wireless January 2018

30-V & V Nock 3 pages.indd 32 27/11/2017 09:44

LAMCO.indd 1 27/11/2017 10:01
 World of VHF incorporating VHF DXer with Tim Kirby G4VXE
Willowside, Bow Bank, Longworth, Oxfordshire OX13 5ER
● E-mail: tim@g4vxe.com ● Twitter: g4vxe

Supporting Your
Local Repeater Group
Tim Kirby G4VXE has a packed column starting with a plea to support your local
repeater group, if you don’t want to see repeaters gradually closing down.

M
any of you may have
seen the news that
the South Yorkshire
Repeater Group has
taken the decision to
close down their repeater network for
‘a variety of reasons’. Reading around
a little, it’s clear that this was not a
decision taken lightly or indeed quickly.
There had been warnings for a little
while that this might happen.
More generally, this serves as a stark
reminder to the very many of us who
use and enjoy the facilities provided by
repeater groups that we need to support
them meaningfully.
So, if you enjoy the repeaters, be they
analogue, be they digital – or beacons,
similarly − do support the group that
provides them in whatever way you can, Fig. 1: A surprise for Tom M0ABA, operating MX0CNS on 70cms EME was to hear FR5DN from Reunion Island.
so that the people that put these facilities
on know that they are appreciated See just how far your little signals can go programming issues, I’ve got it working
and provided for, both financially and in the right conditions! Winter wouldn’t and am making QSOs. It will be interesting
otherwise. be the best time to try this, although you to see how it goes but at the very least, it’s
never know what propagation will do, but already apparent that it’s a great radio to
WSPRLite Flexi Now Covers 50MHz perhaps this would be an experiment to use around the home with DMR hotspots
An exciting feature on the new WSPRLite consider from mid-April into August or such as the SharkRF Openspot, DV4Mini,
Flexi, released by SOTAbeams and shortly September. If you do, please let me know DVMega, Zumspot, MMDVM and similar.
to be reviewed here in PW is that the unit how you get on.
now covers 50MHz. Regular readers of Gloucestershire Net on 2m
PW may remember that we reviewed the Cheap and Cheerful Dual-Band DMR Spending a little time recently in the
WSPRLite Classic last year. That version is Chatting on Twitter the other day, I Cheltenham area, it was good to come
a 200mW standalone WSPR (Weak Signal spotted a tweet from Jonathan Naylor across the daily net on the GB3CG
Propagation Reporter) transmitter covering G4KLX regarding the Radiooddity GD-77 repeater (145.725/145.125Mhz, 118.8Hz),
1.8MHz to 14MHz. The WSPRLite Flexi dual-band DMR rig. Although I’d seen which takes place from around 8am until
covers more bands, including, excitingly, it mentioned for a month or two, the the last person leaves, generally 9am
50MHz. During the Es season, I am quite penny hadn’t really dropped that the rig or so. It’s not a net that is associated
sure that it will be a lot of fun to see how was dual-band and seemed great value, with any particular club or group and
far 200mW, or less, will go on 50MHz. If being available on next day delivery from everyone is very welcome. If you find
you haven’t tried 50MHz before, this might Amazon for under £80! Although I have the Gloucestershire Repeater Group on
very well be a fun and cheap way to get on my MD-380 DMR radio here, which works Facebook, you can see who’s checked in
the band, using a WSPRLite Flexi, a set of very well, the ability to ‘do’ the 2m band and if there were any topics of particular
filters for 50MHz and a simple home-made was rather interesting so I ordered one. interest discussed. If you’re in the area,
antenna such as a dipole or a vertical. It’s just arrived and after some initial why not call in – and say I sent you.

34 Practical Wireless January 2018

34-World of VHF 3 pages.indd 34 27/11/2017 09:44

 The 6m Band
Derek Brown G8ECI (Louth) has fixed
his rotator and has it back in the air and
antennas back in place. Some CQ calls on
FT8 on the 6m (50MHz) band resulted in a
few reports on the PSK Reporter website
but no actual QSOs as yet.
Josef Van Raepenbusch ON8NT
(Aalter) noted the Dutch beacon PI7SIX on
50.425MHz was very strong during Oc-
tober 15th, 17th and 18th although there
wasn’t very much activity. On October
16th, Jef found a good opening to the
south, working EA7JUR (IM87), EB5GC
(IM97), EA3AYQ (JN11), IT9TVF (JM68),
EA5RJ (IM98), IG9/I2ADN (JM65) and
EA5HZB (IM97), all on SSB, and IT9RZR
(JM76) on CW. Jef runs 10W from an IC-
703 to a V2000 vertical antenna.
Last month, I mentioned that I had
been hearing F4VPC (IN87) quite consist-
ently. A quick look on QRZ.COM in an idle
moment revealed this to be none other
than Kelvin Weaver GW4TTU (a winner
of the PW 2m QRP Contest back in the
1980s). Kelvin is well located and has a
pair of 6m Yagis up but may reduce that to
one, on account of the high winds some-
times experienced at his QTH. He also
has a Big Wheel antenna up for the band
for monitoring purposes. Kelvin is active
on FT8 but enjoys CW contacts when it’s
possible.
Mark Marment CT1FJC (Algarve)
sends a very healthy looking log for the
band, especially for the time of year, with
30 FT8 contacts during the month, all in
Western Europe, with the best DX being
S55G at just over 2000km.
Here at G4VXE I’ve been pleased to
find two or three openings to the south
and make some nice contacts (including
working CT1FJC on a couple of openings).
It’s also been good to see and work some
UK stations coming on the band regularly
and calling CQ on FT8.
The 4m Band
Robert van der Zaal PA9RZ just missed
the last deadline, but mentions he is using
an Icom IC-7300 on the 4m (70MHz) band
with output turned down to 10W with a
three-element HB9CV (we might ask you
to explain that Robert!) at just under 15m
ASL. During the PW 70MHz contest, Rob-
ert made one contact, with Fred G4BWP
(JO02). Robert was pleased because JO02
was a new square for him on the band.
Derek G8ECI is back on the band after
his rotator refurbishment. He had some ini-
tial problems with his Yagi, which seemed
January 2018 Practical Wireless 35
34-World of VHF 3 pages.indd 35
to want to resonate around 67MHz. After
running the dimensions through his old
DOS program ‘Quick Yagi’, Derek came
up with some revised dimensions and the
resonance came up to where it needed to
be. Derek can hear GB3ANG most of the
time as well as the GB3MCB beacon when
the tower is wound up to the full height.
The 2m Band
Robert PA9RZ reports a 2m (144MHz)
QRP contact with F8BEC (JN19) using his
barefoot IC-202S running 3W into a five-
element Yagi at 15m ASL.
Derek G8ECI has a 12-element M2 Yagi
up at around 11m above ground, following
the tower refurbishment, and results are
promising because he can hear the GB-
3MCB and GB3NGI beacons along with
GB3VHF and the ON and PA beacons.
Currently all the antennas are at the end of
some 45m of RG8 or LDF4-50, so feeder
attenuation is significant.
Jef ON8NT found conditions quite
difficult during the UK Activity Contest on
October 3rd, missing some more distant
stations such as GW8ASD (IO83) who
he heard but couldn’t raise. However, he
worked some stations slightly closer in,
with the best DX being 2E0NEY (IO81) at
396km. On October 15th, Jef was taking
part in the UBA ON Contest in the QRP
section and made some nice contacts,
including F4FCW (JN38), OZ3Z (JO55),
DL1YAW (JO42), DP9X (JO42) and DJ0QZ
(JN49). After the contest, Jef was pleased
to work GW7SMW (IO81) and GW1CUQ
(IO81) along with some G stations.
October 31st brought some really good
conditions with Jef logging F1NZC (JN15),
EA2XR (IN83), F6DBI (IN88), F6FGQ (IN78)
as well as hearing GW8JLY (IO81).
David Smith M0OSA spotted that the
Hepburn Tropo website was forecasting
some light tropo on the morning of Octo-
ber 15th so went to his usual V/UHF site
at around 450m ASL near Huddersfield.
David says that, unfortunately, it was too
windy to setup the Elk antenna but he did
manage to work F4HBY (IN97) using his
Diamond SG-7200 mobile antenna and
50W SSB. That’s a nice contact, David.
Roger Daniel G4RUW (Newbury)
says, “at last a nice bit of tropo!” On
October 31st, he worked F6DBI (IN88),
F4FRG (IN98), F6FGQ (IN78) and then the
next morning, November 1st, he heard a
couple of EAs but has a hill due south of
him so didn’t manage to make a contact.
Roger also mentions a contact with David
M0NMI who has just got onto the band
from near Swindon and who was able to
work his first Spanish station on 2m.
Simon Evans G6AHX (Twyning,
Gloucestershire) took part into the UK
Activity Contest on November 7th and
noticed that stations to the north of him
had a very distinct auroral ‘twang’ to them.
Simon’s best DX was MM0GPZ (IO85) at a
distance of 399km.
It’s great to hear from Lyn Leach,
GW8JLY (Cardiff) once again, with his
interesting log for the band. On October
11th, he worked F1MOZ (IN93 and con-
tinues, “On October 15th there was a far
more extensive opening and I was able to
contact many stations throughout France.
I also made a QSO into Switzerland when
I worked Ben HB9SJV/P (JN36). Surpris-
ingly, I also worked Dan OZ1BEF (JO46).
Denmark was not in the tropo opening
target area but Dan’s signal was very good
here when he peaked at the top of QSB
cycles.
“The best of these tropo openings
occurred between October 31st and No-
vember 1st when 2m was open for almost
two complete days. I was able to work
stations in this tropo event in the follow-
ing countries: Spain, France, Germany,
Belgium, Holland and Switzerland. EA2TZ
(IN83) at 930km was the best DX. Other
notable contacts made here were with
EA1MX (IN73), EA2XR (IN83), HB9RDE
(JN37) and DG7TG (JO43). Some of the
French stations I worked had amazingly
strong signals. For example, I worked
F5CAC in JN37 (near the Swiss border)
at 59+ while I was beaming north-east to
Scandinavia and checking for propagation
in that direction. The opening seemed to
fade very quickly after 1330 but later in
the evening the Dutch beacon, PI7CIS in
JO22, became strong again and I heard
a few Dutch stations in QSO with other G
stations. On the following morning the 2m
band was back to its normal self with no
DX heard here at all”.
The 70cm Band
Jef ON8NT took part in the UK 70cm
(432MHz) Activity Contest on October
10th, with the most distant stations
worked being G8CUL (IO91), M1MHZ
(IO92) and G4ODA (IO92).
Tom Hackett M0ABA continues his
inspiring EME activity as MX0CNS, using
low power and a single Yagi. During the
recent EME contest weekend, Tom used a
homebrew 17-element Yagi to a DG7YBN
design. He says that he spent some time
picking off the big stations, such as HB9Q,
27/11/2017 09:44
 World of VHF
OK1DFC, DL7APV, UA3PTW and NC1I
who were all worked with ease. Tom says
that he called some 8-Yagi operators but
thinks it would take a miracle for them to
hear him (I’m not so sure!). The highlight of
the weekend, though, was when scanning
the band, Tom heard FR5DN (Reunion),
Fig. 1, who, if the information Tom has
is correct, is using a 4-Yagi system. Well
done, Tom – that’s amazing stuff!
Satellites
David M0OSA was looking forward to re-
ceiving SSTV from the International Space
Station (ISS) over the weekend of October
13-15th. He managed to receive one im-
age at 1627UTC on the 13th but the next
image never came after the three-minute
gap. David says that during a half term
break in London, they had a stop-off in
Loughborough, Leicestershire. He noticed
that around breakfast time, there was an
ISS pass due so he went outside with his
FT-2D and Nagoya NA-771 antenna to
see whether he could receive the signal.
He was pleased to find that he could
and when the signal started to increase,
David transmitted a beacon and was
delighted and surprised to find that it was
retransmitted by the ISS. David says that
although he’s done this many times with
his FT-2D and Elk antenna, it’s the first
time using the NA-771.
Kevin Hewitt M0GTD writes, “During a
short stay in Southend, I used a Vee-dipole
made from a Poundstore ‘rabbit ears’ TV
antenna mounted horizontally in a fixed
position to receive NOAA WX images and
monitor an ISS contact. My WX setup
comprised an R2ZX receiver with the
Vee-dipole pointing North and WXtoImg
running on a notebook PC to process the
image. For the ISS school contact with
the Tallaght Community School, Dublin,
on October 19th, I used a SMArt RTL-
SDR dongle with the dipole pointing east
and SDRSharp running on a notebook
PC. Despite its simplicity, the antenna
performed surprising well. I monitored an-
other ISS school contact with the Istituto
Tecnico Tecnologico ‘Enzo Ferrari’ Italy on
October 28th. This time from a local hill in
Chatham, Kent using a Baofeng UV5RE
with a two-element Yagi made from two
Poundstore rabbit ears TV antennas, and
manually tracked the pass”.
Patrick Stoddard WD9EWK (Phoenix)
reports an interesting month and writes,
“AMSAT held its annual Symposium in
Reno (Nevada) in late October, drawing
hams from all over North America and
36 Practical Wireless January 2018
34-World of VHF 3 pages.indd 36
Fig. 2: Not a cloud in the sky! Patrick WD9EWK picked a wonderful operating spot in Nevada.
Europe. AMSAT announced the GOLF
project for more satellites in higher orbits,
as the follow-on to the Fox project with
several more satellites due to be launched
soon. More FM satellites and an FO-29
type of V/U linear transponder on Fox-1E
instead of a U/V FM repeater as on Fox-1A
(AO-85) through Fox-1D.
“Around the Symposium, there were
a lot of satellite operators on the road
operating from many locations. World
traveller Gabe Zeifman, who was NJ7H
at the time, operated from lots of locations
between Oklahoma and Nevada before the
Symposium and around Reno during the
Symposium. After the Symposium, Gabe
went to the California coast to activate
the rare grid CM79 and then head to his
new home in Alaska. As Gabe crossed the
Canadian border, he used his Canadian
callsign VE6NJH and shortly after arriving
in Alaska his new US callsign AL6D was
issued. Expect a lot of roving from Gabe
around Alaska and western Canada, which
will be fun for operators in North America
as well as Europe and Asia.
“I flew to Reno, and rented a car that
I drove over 1200 miles around Nevada,
Fig. 2, as well as into bits of California and
Utah, in the week around the Symposium
weekend. I operated from 14 different
grid locators, from the Lake Tahoe area
just into California, across a large part of
northern Nevada and into Utah. Even with
other operators driving through this area,
there was always interest in the grids I
operated from.
“On my road trip and around Reno
during the Symposium, I worked satellites
on FM and SSB plus some packet through
the ISS digipeater. One of the packet
QSOs I made at the Symposium was with
Joe KB6IGK, who was also at the Sympo-
sium and − for one pass − only 26.1 yards
away from me.
“This road trip increased the number of
grids I have activated via satellite around
North America to 100, along with two grids
I activated in 2011 on a trip to Australia”.
Mark CT1FJC’s log is full of interesting
contacts on a combination of FM (AO-85)
and SSB (FO-29) satellites. An interesting
one was CT8/DL7VTX worked through
AO-85 from HM58. DL7VTX is well known
for using a 5/8th-wave whip antenna and a
handheld for his portable operating.
Not too much satellite operating from
here at G4VXE, although I was pleased to
complete a couple of APRS contacts via
the ISS digipeater on October 27th, with
MX0MXO (Chertsey Radio Club oper-
ated by James M0JFP) and also Abdel
M0NPT. Both contacts were made with
the simple Kenwood TH-D72 and MFJ
‘Long Ranger’ half-wave whip antenna.
Microwaves
It was great to hear from Paul Archer
M0PJA (Sheffield) who enjoyed the PW
features on 6cm and has ordered the
bits for one, if not two, transmit/receive
systems. Good luck Paul and please let
me know how you get on. You have some
great portable sites close to you, which
should work really well.
Merry Christmas everybody!
Finally, it’s time to wish all readers of the
column compliments of the season. Thank
you for reading the column and to those
of you who send me news and photos –
thanks a million! Let’s do it all again next
year. Have a great time over the holiday
period.
27/11/2017 09:44
 Christmas Quiz by Bob Glasgow GM4UYZ

The PW Christmas Quiz

Welcome to the 2017 Christmas Quiz. Our questions have once
again been compiled by Bob Glasgow GM4UYZ of the Cockenzie
and Port Seton Amateur Radio Club. Bob always does a great
Test Your Knowledge quiz in the club’s magazine Elements.
The questions are based on the three tiers of the amateur
radio licence and taken from a selection of topics. The
answers appear on page 59, where you can also
see from which part of the examination syllabus
they were taken.

1. The holder of an Amateur Radio Foundation 6. As the current through a coil increases 11. Coaxial cable has
Licence shall NOT use the station for the resultant magnetic field causes an effect a. two parallel wires separated by insulating
a. communicating with holders of a Full Amateur that opposes the increase. material
Radio Licence This is known as the b. a characteristic impedance of 300Ω
b. any business or profit-making operation a. reverse bias c. cylindrical copper braid, insulated from a
c. test transmissions not addressed to a specific b. Edison effect centre conductor
station c. permeability of the core d. two parallel wires separated by insulating
d. communicating with amateurs in other countries d. back EMF spreaders

2. Which of the following would NOT be an
acceptable location for an Intermediate station?
a. in a motor vehicle
b. on a bicycle
c. on a vessel in inland water
d. on a vessel in international waters
3. Under the terms of the licence you are
considered as operating Maritime Mobile when
you are operating from
a. any vessel
b. a vessel on a lake
c. a vessel on an inland waterway
d. a vessel at sea
4. Alternating current is
a. a current greater than 0.6A
b. a current greater than 240A
c. a current that periodically changes in direction
d. obtainable from batteries
5. A capacitor of 20,000μF is a large capacitance.
An extra precaution to be taken is
a. only use at voltages less than half its safe
working voltage
b. ensure it is connected with the correct polarity
c. avoid mounting it on its side
d. connect a low value resistor in parallel with the
capacitor
7. In a transmitter, the stage that increases 12. A waveguide may be chosen instead of
the strength of the modulated RF signal is the coaxial cable when the
a. microphone a. frequency is so high that the losses in coaxial
b. frequency generator (oscillator) cable are far higher than those in a waveguide
c. modulator b. wavelength is such that it is significantly
d. power amplifier greater than the diameter of the coaxial cable
c. standing wave ratio is too high for coaxial
8. A radio receiver is set to receive a signal cables
of 14.1MHz and the local oscillator is set d. frequency is sufficiently low that a waveguide
to a frequency of 13.6MHz What will the connection will be far more efficient in handling
intermediate frequency be? the power.
a. 500kHz
b. 13.6MHz 13. Two receiving stations are situated on
c. 14.1MHz clear open ground 5km and 10km from a VHF
d. 27.8MHz transmitter. The further station will
a. receive a weaker signal because the signal
9. In a frequency synthesiser, if the reference has spread out more
oscillator is not in control of the output b. receive the same signal because they are both
frequency, then the synthesiser is said to be in clear ground
a. out of lock c. receive no signal if it is directly behind the
b. out of sync closer station
c. unbalanced d. only receive a signal if it is correctly licensed
d. neutralised
14. Unusually long-distance communication
10. A balun is by VHF is often possible when
a. used instead of a dummy load a. winds of gale force disperse all cloud cover
b. used to connect a dipole to coaxial cable b. a heavy fall of snow covers the ground
c. a particular type of antenna c. mid-winter brings long hours of darkness
d. a type of feeder d. the air pressure is particularly high

40 Practical Wireless January 2018

40-Xmas questions.indd 40 29/11/2017 08:44

 15. Which one of the lists below shows the 19. The difference between a CQ call on 2 23. It is important to have a well-ventilated
ionospheric layers in ascending order of their metres FM and one on HF SSB is that the call room when soldering to
distances form the earth? on FM a. stop the soldering iron overheating
E D F2 F1 a. is usually much shorter than when on HF SSB b. remove fumes from the working area
F1 F2 D E b. must be made at the lowest possible power c. minimise the heat damage to the transistors
D E F1 F2 d. prevent the cleaning sponge from drying out
c. needs to be repeated many times while
F2 D E F1
somebody is tuning in to your signal
24. In a house with Protective Multiple
16. Amateur transmissions might be picked d. only permitted on the set calling channels
Earthing, the house mains earth and the
up by neutral are
a. any wiring in the neighbour’s house 20. When transmitting to a satellite you must a. connected together at the substation
b. only wiring which is longer than 2 metres be able to receive the satellite’s transformer
c. only wiring that does not have an earth lead a. up-link and down-link frequencies b. bonded together where the supply enters the
d. Earth leads only b. telemetry and down-link frequency house
c. beacon and up-link frequency c. grounded by a copper spike
17. New electronic equipment should meet
d. beacon and telemetry d. completely isolated from each other.
a. UTC standards
b. SWR standards
21. The purpose of an amateur repeater is to 25. Which metal in the list below is difficult
c. EMC standards
d. ATU standards a. send digital messages to other BBSs to solder?
b. provide DX capability on 2m a. Copper
18. A VHF receiver is suffering interference c. receive 2m signals via the ionosphere b. Brass
from a particular transmission and it is d. extend the coverage of mobile stations c. Aluminium
decided to use a coaxial stub notch filter. The d. Tin
coaxial stub should be 22. Turning the power off in an emergency is
a. λ/4 long at the interfering frequency and open 26. Which of the following methods would
made easier and quicker if
circuit at the free end be used to check for the second and third
a. all the switches and plugs are colour coded harmonics, when a transmitter is set to a
b. λ/4 long at the interfering frequency and short
circuit at the free end b. proper fuses are used in each plug frequency of 7.050MHz? An
c. λ/4 long at the wanted frequency and open c. each socket has indicator lights when they a. HF receiver
circuit at the free end are on. b. SWR meter
d. λ/2 long at the wanted frequency and short d. there is a single switch controlling all the c. RF power meter
circuit at the free end power d. UHF receiver

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STANDARD POTENTIOMETERS, 2.2K LOG @ 3 FOR
£2.00,4.7K LOG WITH SWITCH @ 3 FOR £2.00,100K LOG
WITH SWITCH @ 3 FOR £2.00,100K LIN @ 3 FOR £2.00,470K TRANSISTORS BF200 @ 20 FOR £1.00
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SPINDLE EACH END @ £4.50 @ 75P EACH
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Ample parking.

January 2018 Practical Wireless 41

40-Xmas questions.indd 41 29/11/2017 08:44

 Short Circuit with Wally Sawyer G7FHN
● E-Mail: wally.sawyer@virgin.net

A Morse Code 1 2 3 4 5

Link 1
6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

Link 5
A
B +V

R2
Practice
D

R3 E
IC1 RV2
R1 F
Output Link 6
G
Link 4
RV1 H
C2
C1 I
Link 2 Link 3
J
K -V

Oscillator
L
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21

Fig. 2: Board layout.

Maybe not state-of-the-art technology but Wally Sawyer

21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
A

G7FHN offers a quick and easy project for a Morse code D

E

practice oscillator. Perhaps this could be a Christmas

G
H
I

project and entertain and inform family and friends as

J

L
21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

suggested in this month’s What Next Column.

Fig. 3: Track side of Veroboard.

Key(S) + 5–15V DC
IC1 Key

‘555 R2 PP3
9V

1k RV2
battery

1 8 R3 100k Phones

10k (Tone)
R1 2 7
56
3 6

4 5
RV1 Fig. 4: Suggested assembly.
1k C1 C2
(Level) 10n 22n
0V R1 ............. 56Ω IC1 ............. 555
R2 ............. 1kΩ
R3 ............. 10kΩ Box
RV1 ............ 1kΩ Strip Board
Fig. 1: Morse oscillator circuit diagram. RV2 ............ 100kΩ Jack socket (x2)

T
he author spent nearly 30
years teaching Sea Cadet
Radio Operators radio
procedures, including
Morse. There were a number
of books for the cadets to fill in as they
learned their subject. These task books
covered the three classes, RO3, the lowest
level, through to RO1.
The RO3 book contained details of
a simple Morse oscillator, the details of
which appear here. I must acknowledge
the layout designs by Mike GW7EUL.
As can be seen, the circuit, Fig. 1,
uses a 555 timer chip. The output is not
exactly a sinewave but the results in a
pair of headphones are reasonable and
construction is straightforward.
The next three figures, Figs. 2
through 4, show the Veroboard layout,
track cuts and suggested mechanical
assembly. Table 1 has the components
list. Of course, you could equally use
other methods of assembly, including
Manhattan-style as often recommended
by George Dobbs G3RJV when he wrote
for this magazine.
I don’t know how many were ever built
but this is offered to readers who fancy
a simple project or perhaps part of an
amateur Intermediate licence course.
As far as getting hold of a Morse key
C1 .............. 10nF Jack plug (x2)
C2 .............. 22nF Battery connector
Table 1: Component List
is concerned, you could try fabricating
your own. Over the years, people have
made Morse keys from clothes pegs,
spoons and other hardware found around
the home. Google “homemade Morse
key” for example, and you will find lots of
suggestions and some YouTube videos. Or
you could look on eBay – a quick search
showed new ones from around £20 and a
number of second-hand ones available for
significantly less.
Most of all have fun with your Morse
practice, the traditional way!

42 Practical Wireless January 2018

42-morse oscillator 1 page.indd 42 27/11/2017 09:46

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pw_rcf_ad_2017.indd 1 05/05/2017 08:30:58

January 2018 Practical Wireless 43

43 ecs rsgb.indd 43 27/11/2017 10:07

 Data Modes with Mike Richards G4WNC
● E-Mail: practicalwireless@warnersgroup.co.uk
Airspy HF+
Mike Richards G4WNC brings news of the new Airspy
HF+ receiver before turning to other data modes news,
including APRS on the Pi.
Fig.1: The new Airspy HF+ SDR receiver.
J
ust as I was about to
submit this column, I
spotted the announcement
that the, much anticipated
Airspy HF+ receiver is now
available for pre-order with delivery
expected in December – just in time
for Christmas! The price from the
manufacturers in China, ITLEAD,
is $199 and the UK distributors,
Moonraker, are selling it on special
offer at £199.96 with a regular price of
£229.96.
I’ve had a prototype on test for a while
and a production model arrived a week
ago so I’ve enjoyed some time to get to
know it. The first impression is set by the,
reassuringly heavy, diecast enclosure that
exudes quality and offers great protection,
Fig. 1. Rather than a simple follow-on from
previous Airspy designs, the Airspy HF+ is
a total redesign because the team wanted
to create a cutting-edge receiver design
44
44-Data Modes 3 pages.indd 44
with the best possible HF and VHF perfor-
mance. As a result, they have used several
new developments, including a brand-new
mixer device that’s not been seen in any
other commercial product. One of the
most challenging problems facing many
SDR designers is controlling the mixing
products from out-of-band signals. This
is particularly difficult with SDRs because
everyone wants to see a wide bandwidth
on the spectrum display and that means
more signals will get in the mix (literally).
The slightest signs of intermodulation
distortion before or in the mixer and you
end up with a complex soup of mixing
products that are very difficult to tame.
Most of the popular SDRs employ elabo-
rate switchable front-end filtering to try to
limit the damage. While some excellent
results have been obtained, this approach
is always a compromise.
The Airspy HF+ uses a new 16-phase
passive polyphase harmonic rejection
mixer. This patented device overcomes
most of the problems associated with
traditional mixer designs. The mixers used
in the Airspy HF+ design offer very low
loss and naturally reject harmonics up
to the 21st! Being a passive device, it is
also very difficult to overload. The mixer
performance completely transforms the
design of the rest of the receiver because
complex front-end filtering is no longer
required so simpler filters can be used.
The low-loss mixer also means you need
very little gain ahead of the mixer, thus
making it easier to add plenty of headroom
to cope with the strongest signals. With
the Airspy HF+, the main gain is provided
in the IF stage where the filtered signal is
much easier to manage.
Another area to receive a new approach
is the VCO (Voltage Controlled Oscillator)
that controls the tuning. This uses a
special low phase-noise design that
operates at microwave frequencies. By
running a low phase-noise design at such
high frequencies we get the benefit of
further phase noise reductions during the
frequency division process. The phase-
noise reduction equates to 3dB/Hz for
each divide-by-two stage. Another twist to
the design comes from the use of a 16-bit
Sigma-Delta ADC (Analogue to Digital
Converter). This type of ADC uses a much
higher sampling rate that is internally
decimated to produce the final 16-bit
output. The net result can be much lower
quantisation noise than a conventional
ADC. The final DDC (Digital Down
Conversion) in the Airspy HF+ brings the
resolution to 18-bits, thus supporting a
very high dynamic range.
I’ve reproduced a block diagram of
the Airspy HF+ architecture in Fig. 2
where you can see that the RF path has
been split into three bands. Each band
employs optimised filtering and low-noise
amplification, along with its own passive
polyphase harmonic rejection mixer.
Splitting the coverage in this way enables
each section to be optimised for best
performance.
More Goodies!
Leo Bodenar has just released a mini
version of his popular GPS Disciplined
Reference Clock. I’ve been using his
original twin output GPS clock for
some months now and it’s proved to be
extremely useful. The clock is GPS locked
and provides a 3.3V CMOS level square-
wave output at any frequency between
400Hz and 810MHz. This makes it ideal
Practical Wireless January 2018
28/11/2017 09:57
 VHF 135-260MHz Band III
antenna filters tuner
Microcontroller

IF amplifiers Sigma-Delta
60-135MHz Band II 18-bit
and filters complex
filters tuner DDC
ADC
LF-HF
antenna
USB
0-31MHz HF
filters tuner

Fig. 2: Airspy HF+ block diagram (redrawn from Airspy original).

for use as an accurate reference clock

for test kit or for your SDR receivers.
The frequency accuracy is superb and
approaches 1 in 10-12 because it’s locked
to the Caesium references on the GPS
satellites. In addition to the high accuracy,
the clock has very low phase-noise
and boasts sub-picosecond RMS jitter.
Configuration of the clock frequency
and output level uses a small Windows
application but, once set, it retains the
setting so will run with just USB DC power
applied. For super critical applications,
where you need the purest signal, you can
shut-down the internal microcontroller via
the Windows app. Other than the USB
power, you just need to supply a standard
GPS antenna. The new Mini Precision
GPS Reference Clock costs £99.99 and is
available from Leo Bodenar:
www.leobodenar.com
APRS on the Pi, Continued
Last month I showed you how to get
Packet running on the Pi using the free
direwolf software. This time I’ll show you
how to add an APRS (Amateur Position
Reporting Service) to the Pi. In my area
at least, APRS on 144.8MHz seems to be
quite active. It’s also a service that has a
lot of potential uses. One simple example
would be to add an APRS tracker to your
car. The Pi provides everything you need
to handle the computing side of an APRS
tracker and the only extras you need are
a VHF transceiver, a GPS board and a
USB soundcard for the Pi. A very cheap
solution for the transceiver is one of the
Baofeng rigs and I’ve got a GT3TP that
works surprisingly well and cost just £30
from Amazon! In addition to the radio,
you will need to make an audio lead and
that can be done by butchering the mic/
earpiece that’s bundled with the radio. The
other extra that can save a lot of time is a
Baofeng programming cable (£4 to £7 on
GPS antenna
USB
GPS
Raspberry Pi
5V PSU
Fig .3: Block diagram of the APRS installation.
Amazon). I’ve shown a block diagram of
the setup in Fig. 3.
APRS Client
To operate APRS we need some additional
software to process the APRS message
and plot the location of received sta-
tions on a map. There are lots of options
out there and a popular choice is Xastir
but I’m going to use YAAC (Yet Another
APRS Client!) for this example. YAAC is
a Java program and can be run on many
platforms, including Windows and the
Raspberry Pi’s ARM based Linux, Fig. 4.
If you followed my instructions from
last month, you will have installed direwolf
on a fresh installation of Raspbian Stretch
that was updated to include the latest
fixes. If so, you already have most of the
YAAC dependencies so there is minimal
preparation.
However, if you are starting with a
different image, you may need to install
the latest java and a few other packages.
Here’s a command line you can use to do
that:
sudo apt-get install openjdk-7-jre
Audio
cables
144.800
USB soundcard
2m transceiver
librxtx-java unzip
Those with the direwolf image from
last time just need to install dependent
package and this is the command line to
do that:
sudo apt-get install librxtx-java
Now we can move-on to install YAAC
and here’s the step-by-step process:
Open the web browser and navigate to:
www.ka2ddo.org/ka2ddo/YAAC.html
Scroll down the page and download
YAAC.zip
Open a terminal session on the Pi and
type: cd /home/pi
Now type: mkdir YAAC
Enter: cd YAAC
Enter: ../Downloads/YAAC.zip
You have now unzipped and installed
YAAC and you can run it with the following
command line:
cd /home/pi/YAAC && java
-Xmx512m -jar YAAC.jar
It’s also worth taking the time to build a
desktop shortcut to make it easier to run
in the future. To do this, there are couple
of extra files that we need to create. The
first is a simple bash script that will put us

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 Data Modes

Fig .4: YAAC running with Open Street Maps.

in the right folder and run YAAC with the

correct command line options. Here’s the
file, which should be saved as YAAC.sh in
the Pi home directory:
#!/bin/bash
cd /home/pi/YAAC
java -Xmx512m -jar YAAC.jar
We now need to make that file executable
by using the following steps:
Open a terminal session and type: cd /
home/pi
Enter: chmod +x YAAC.sh
The next step is to create the desktop
shortcut file but, this time, we need to
save it in /home/pi/Desktop using the Fig .5: YAAC configuration wizard.
filename: YAAC.desktop.
Here’s the file: YAAC Configuration screen. On the final screen of the wizard
[Desktop Entry] When you run the program for the first you can enter your own website or station
Type=Application time, choose the option for help with details in the ‘free text’ box.
Exec=lxterminal -t “YAAC” -e “./ configuration to run the wizard. If you’ve Map drawing on the Pi is a tad slow but
YAAC.sh” already run the software, you can get back is not really a problem unless you want
Name=YAAC to the wizard by selecting File – Configure to keep scrolling over a wide area. The
Comment=APRS client – by wizard. This will guide you through supplied maps are tiles from Open Street
Icon=/usr/share/pixmaps/netsurf. the configure settings. The first step is to Maps but you can build your own more
png set your callsign and use the drop-down detailed tiles if you need more information.
Path=home/pi menu to choose the appropriate SSID for YAAC includes the facility to import Open
Category=HamRadio your station. Next comes the station type, Street Map XML files so make sure any
That completes the full installation so which is self-explanatory and is followed custom maps are in the format.
the next task is to configure YAAC for your by the coordinate entry screen where you That concludes this run through
station. Before you start, you will need to can set your home location and configure getting APRS running on the Pi. If you
know your latitude/longitude in minutes the type of GPS (if you have one). The next need help, there is lots available via
and decimal degrees. If you don’t already screen is where you make the connection Google or you can drop me an e-mail.
know this, a Google search for lat/long will to the direwolf software TNC. Direwolf You may like to keep an eye on my web-
produce lots of sites you can use to find uses AGWPE so select ‘add AGWPE site because I always post corrections and
your coordinates. port’ and accept the defaults on the next updates.

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 What Next? with Colin Redwood G6MXL
● E-Mail: practicalwireless@warnersgroup.co.uk

Taking Stock –
Christmas Period
Colin Redwood G6MXL suggests that readers become ambassadors for the hobby over
Christmas, before considering some other amateur radio activities for the festive period.

T
he end of one year and the
start of the next is a good
time to take stock, looking
both back at the old year
and forward into the New
Year.
In late September/early October
2017, there were a number of reports in
the media that claimed that most young
people born since the turn of the century
(so up to about 18 years old) could not
take a traditional ‘transistor radio’ and tune
it in to BBC Radio 1. It was claimed that
they now ‘consume’ their radio over the
internet to their mobile phones and tablets.
On thinking about it, I guess I’m not
surprised at this. Although if I put my
amateur radio hat on, I think it poses
a real challenge in recruiting the next
generation of radio amateurs. How are
we to encourage youngsters to explore
our hobby if they have never tuned in an
analogue radio station? Even if you think
that the next generation of radio amateurs
will come from an older age group, sooner
or later through their lives, the youngsters
of today will become the generation that
will either turn to amateur radio or do
something else with their spare time.
I’m sure I’ve read somewhere that
most learning follows on from at least
some very basic pre-existing knowledge.
Imagine trying to explain what double
glazing is if they had never come across
a window, or trying to sell someone a
car if they had never seen one? So, what
can we do as radio amateurs? Can we
make amateur radio seem an attractive
hobby to someone who has never tuned
an analogue radio? Perhaps it’s a bigger
challenge than many current amateurs
realise. However, I think there are several
things we can do.
Fig. 1: A TIVDIO Multiband-Radio.
Christmas Presents
I suspect many readers of this column will
be of an age that they have either teenage
children or grandchildren, nephews/nieces
or great nephews/nieces who were born
after 2000. I suspect that many will also
be scratching their heads trying to think of
a present to buy them for Christmas. Why
not get them a ‘good old’ analogue radio,
without DAB but with FM, Medium Wave
and Short Wave? These are often sold as
‘World Radios’ or travel radios. There are
several on the market at prices under £40.
I noted one from a large internet retailer
selling such a radio, Fig. 1, that even has
a slot for a micro SD/TF card and can
play MP3 audio files on such a card, and
rechargeable batteries charged from a
mobile phone charger – all of which will
be familiar to the younger generations.
Unfortunately, the tuning on this model is
accomplished by up/down push buttons
rather than a conventional tuning knob but
at least stations do have to be tuned in.
I’ve also seen portable analogue radios on
sale at airports.
I’d like to think that most young people
would be sufficiently curious to at least
explore such a radio and discover what
can be heard on the various bands.
Christmas Gatherings
The Christmas/New Year period is one
when many families and friends get togeth-
er for an extended period. It’s an excellent
time to bring up to the topic of amateur
radio. Perhaps you could invite visitors
into your shack and show them how you
make contacts, Fig. 2. Try to demonstrate
some different modes. Watching a string
of Morse contacts is not the most exciting
way of spending an afternoon if you don’t
read Morse. However, getting out a Morse
crib sheet and getting visitors to have a
go at sending their names will certainly be
something different to watching the Sound
of Music or Morecombe and Wise on the
television yet again! Data modes may also
appeal to youngsters. Don’t forget SSTV
because this can be quite riveting to those
of all ages who’ve not seen it before.
While unlicensed visitors won’t be
permitted to transmit, there is nothing
stopping a visitor tuning a receiver and

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 What Next?

tuning in broadcast or amateur signals.

Get them to log some of the stations they
have heard. You’ll need to explain some
of the things they hear. CQ, QTH, 73, for
example, will all be new to most visitors.
Realistically, it’s unlikely that most
visitors will be sufficiently interested to
want to go further but just in case you are
fortunate to have an enthusiastic visitor, I
would certainly try to find contact details
for a local club in their area that runs
Foundation licence courses. If you have
a relative that is in the Air Cadets, don’t
forget the Air Cadets offer training that is
considered equivalent to the Foundation
course.
If you are away from home, maybe
you could take your log and some QSL
cards you’ve received to show those you
are visiting. Perhaps they could help you
write a few cards? If you have a 2m or
70cm handheld with you, make sure that
you research the parameters of the local
repeaters and program them into the
transceiver.

Space
Another idea that will almost certainly
impress is to receive signals from a
satellite or the International Space Station
(ISS), listening on 145.825MHz. Obviously,
this will need a little research in advance
to determine when suitable passes occur.
Receiving such signals from space only
requires a 2m FM handheld so it won’t take
a lot of weight or space in the luggage if
you are away from home.
If you need to track the ISS or a
satellite, then the website of Ciprian
Sufitchi N2YO can be recommended
because it brings together the pass
predictions and the satellites’ frequencies
and modes in one place. You’ll need to
register to set your location. Then select
the Amateur Satellites from the Satellites
tab. This shows amateur satellites passes
over the next six hours, Fig. 3.
www.n2yo.com
Other Activity
There is a really useful series of VHF/UHF
contests over the Christmas period. They
take place between December 26th and
29th December inclusive from 1400 to
1600UTC each day. You can work each
station once on each band (6m, 4m, 2m,
70cm) on each day. This is an excellent
way of trying different equipment, contest
operating techniques, computer logging
programs and so on. These contests also
provide an excellent opportunity to dust off
Fig. 2: Robert van der Zaal PA9RZ shows a young visitor to his shack how he makes a contact during
the 2017 PW 70MHz Contest (photo courtesy of PA9RZ).
some old VHF gear and give it an airing.
As an alternative (or in addition) the
G-QRP Club runs its Winter Sports activity
each year from December 26th until New
Year’s Day inclusive. It’s not a contest but
an excellent opportunity to catch up with
other QRP enthusiasts on the HF bands on
or around the usual QRP frequencies.
Your Shack
For many, the Christmas/New Year period
sees an extended break from work and
other activities. The weather is unlikely
to be suitable for work on external
antennas but it does provide an excellent
opportunity to tidy or reorganise the
shack. You’ll need to make sure that you
have all the materials, tools, connectors,
feeder and suchlike that you might need
in advance because many shops will be
closed over the holiday period.
For many amateurs, parts of their
shack can blurr into one − for example the
operating position, construction area and
‘office’ area. Not everyone will be fortunate
enough to have space to fully segregate
the shack into these areas. One thing that
will help is to free up some space.
Magazine Archives
If you have piles of magazines cluttering
the shack, then it may be an idea to
obtain some of the archive CDs available
for your favourite magazines. The latest
archive CD from PW covers the years
from 1965 to 1969 inclusive, Fig. 4. This
period was before I started to read PW
on a regular basis so I was interested
to see what I would find. There are
numerous construction projects in each
issue, although many aren’t amateur radio
related.
I’d suggest readers carefully check
the availability of components for
projects featured before embarking on
a construction project from 50-year-old
magazines. Many of the projects use
valves rather than semiconductors, so I’d
also remind readers that high voltages
(sufficient to be fatal) exist in many valve
circuits and that you should take suitable
precautions. If you have any doubts,
then I really think you should avoid valve
projects.

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 Fig. 3: Some of the amateur satellites listed on Ciprian Sufitchi’s website. Fig. 4: The latest PW archive CD covering 1965 to 1969.

New Modes the more recent articles on FT8 in the

Over the Christmas/New Year break, some
readers may find that they have a little
more time than usual to devote to the
hobby. It might be a good time to try a new
mode. If you haven’t tried the new FT8
mode within the WSJT-X program suite, I
think you are missing out on an extremely
useful data mode. FT8 enabled me to work
my first ever Australian station. Like JT65,
I’m sure it won’t be everyone’s cup-of-tea
but why not give a try and at least see
what you are missing out on? If you do
give it a go, don’t forget the importance of
synchronising your computer’s clock. I’d
suggest having a read through the October
2016 What Next article on JT65 and then
Fig. 5: An illuminating bench magnifier can make
construction with small components easier.
October 2017 issue of PW.
If you are less ambitious, have you
tried RTTY recently? I am amazed how
few amateurs have tried this mode. If you
have made PSK31/PSK63 contacts, then
you have just about everything you need
to get started with RTTY. If the program
you use for PSK31/PSK63 doesn’t support
RTTY, then MMTTY is a good choice for
computers running MS Windows.
Christmas Nets
Many clubs have a net on Christmas
morning. Even if you aren’t a great fan of
nets, a chat with a few friends on the local
club net will break up the day and help
the time pass while you are waiting for the
turkey to cook!

Callsign Format
England
Callsign Format
Wales, Scotland etc.
Type Notes
Construction
Perhaps you can use the spare time
M3xxx M*3xxx Foundation
M6xxx M*6xxx Foundation Currently being issued
to start or make some progress on a
2E0xxx 2*0xxx Intermediate Currently being issued
construction project? If you think you
2E1xxx 2*1xxx Intermediate might, then make sure that you have the
G2xx G*2xx Full necessary components, tools and test
G3xx G*3xx Full equipment before the holiday period,
G4xx G*4xx Full Fig. 5.
G5xx G*5xx Full
G6xx G*6xx Full What Next in 2018
G8xx G*8xx Full I’d welcome readers’ suggestions for
G0xxx G*0xxx Full topics to be covered in the What Next
G1xxx G*1xxx Full
column in 2018 and, in particular, topics
G2xxx G*2xxx Full
that are likely appeal to newcomers to
G3xxx G*3xxx Full
amateur radio.
G4xxx G*4xxx Full
G6xxx G*6xxx Full
G7xxx G*7xxx Full Seasons Greetings
G8xxx G*8xxx Full All that remains for me to do is to wish
M0xxx M*0xxx Full Currently being issued all readers and everyone involved in the
M1xxx M*1xxx Full production of PW a Merry Christmas,
M5xxx M*5xxx Full a Happy New Year and good DX for
UK Callsigns − Corrected Table 2 from November issue. 2018!

January 2018 Practical Wireless 49

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 Carrying on the Practical Way with Richard Constantine G3UGF
l E-Mail: practicalwireless@warnersgroup.co.uk

Fun with a Tripod

Richard Constantine G3UGF describes a simple winter project that could be ideal
for those forthcoming Spring days when you fancy going out portable again. It
even uses that champagne cork that you may have left over from Christmas!

O
wning a small rescue
dog, Fig. 1, that suffered
from separation anxiety
meant foreign DXpeditions
and 5-star hotels were off
the holiday list. On the upside, dog friendly,
country cottages are usually located in
electrically quiet locations, ideal for relaxing
radio holidays.
Brochure pictures frequently look ideal,
with topband-length gardens, conveni-
ently located trees and fences. However,
personal experience includes discovering
phone and overhead power lines across a
garden in Northumbria and a high volt-
age, pole-mounted line transformer, ‘Photo
Shopped’ away, in Devon. I could go on…
A recent sortie into remote Somerset
was most carefully chosen. It offered a
newly converted property with post and rail
fence, suitable for securing vertical masts.
There was also an adjoining paddock plus
convenient distant tree. Having packed a
10m telescopic mast/vertical antenna, an
inverted-vee dipole plus a 40m longwire
antenna for 160/80m, the reality proved be
to very different. The allocated cottage was
stunning but the stout fence posts turned
out to be a newly built drystone wall, offer-
ing no anchor point at all. Completely ‘left-
field’, the ideal longwire-length paddock
was out of bounds − it was the owner’s
helipad!
A Solution
I learned to cope with these sorts of eventu-
alities a long time ago, discovering a solu-
tion almost by accident.
Not wishing to repeat a previous, less
than family friendly experience of roadside
operating from a cold, dark car; a damaged
photo tripod I’d been hoarding for several
years seemed to offer a simple, low-cost
solution (and low-cost tripods abound on
eBay and in charity shops).
Removing the broken centre post winder
column revealed a hollow tube, too small
Fig. 1: Rosie (now sadly passed away) − the dog
that didn’t want to be left!
Fig. 2: Ferrite beads for RF choking and a cork to
provide strain relief.
for a large diameter mast but ideal for
coaxial cable to pass through. The addi-
tion of several ferrite beads, anchored both
ends with tie wraps, immediately provided
a neat line isolator, perfect for dealing with
temporary antenna systems. The RF chokes
added weight and strain to the antenna
base connections, so some sort of strain
relief was needed. The answer was to use a
wine cork at the bottom of the tube, shaved
down to fit, with a push-fit, coax-sized hole
drilled through it plus a tie-wrap inside the
tube. The photo, Fig. 2, shows the general
arrangement.
Owning numerous HF mobile antennas,
with different bases and threads, made and
collected over many years, the choice of
antenna base was also proving to be an
issue. This was finally and easily solved by
fitting an SO-239 chassis socket using self-
tapping screws, plus a SIRO™ magnetic
mount adapter, purchased online. This flex-
ible solution allows for both HF and VHF/
UHF antennas with either PL-259 or 3/8th
UNF threaded studding, to be used and
changed at will, Fig. 3.
Dual- or tri-band VHF/UHF mobile
antennas, terminated with PL-259 plugs, fit
directly on to the socket and a short earth
tag and link wire (yellow wire in Fig. 3) con-
nected to the original post locking wheel
forms an excellent groundplane to the 1.6m
tripod legs – ideal for the 6m, 2m and 70cm
bands.
For HF antennas it’s more practical to
attach a ground wire and substantial spike
to the same locking wheel. Because ground
conditions cannot always be relied upon, I
much prefer to deploy counterpoise wires
rather than use an earth. Green Kevlar wire
is ideal. It’s flexible, unobtrusive and easy to
roll up and transport.
Also fixed to the SO-239 socket is a
short, heatshrink-covered lead and wander-
type socket. Each counterpoise wire is ter-
minated with an RS Components stacking
plug, allowing more to be easily added, as

50 Practical Wireless January 2018

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 required, Fig. 4.
Left unsecured they simply pull apart in
the event of anyone tripping on a wire. This
quick-release feature prevents the whole
array from being dragged, upended or dam-
aged.

Counterpoise Wires
Differences of opinion abound concerning
counterpoise wires. Do they need to be
resonant lengths, 5% longer, on the ground,
off the ground or what? Over the years I’ve
tried them all, in a variety of locations. In
practice, it often depends on the type of
ground you are dealing with and the capaci-
tance generated between the wire and the
ground itself. Following sage advice from
the late and respected antenna guru Les Fig. 3: Top of the tripod showing alternative coaxial connectors and earth connection.
Moxon G6XN (see reference) that radials
do not need to be resonant, I now use a
variety of different lengths, typically close to
amateur band lengths − 20, 10, 7.5 and 5m
long. These deploy either as a 360° fan or
are sometimes bent to the available space.
On poor, dry, stony ground or decking, off
the ground at a sloping angle appears to
work better. (In some situations, wires can
also be used independently, as HF sloper
type antennas, in their own right.)
Adjusting the position and height of the
wires is often a simple way to bring the feed
impedance into auto-tuner range but, to be
sure, I never leave home without my trusty
antenna analyser. For extra safety I use
bright orange tent pegs as remote anchor
points.

Anchoring the Tripod

On breezy days, with an HF antenna fitted,
the tripod can become unstable, depend-
ing on the whip I use. Finding a way to
anchor the tripod was paramount and easily
solved. Small holes in the lower legs allow
metal tent pegs to pass through each leg
at a 90° angle, holding the tripod firmly in
place. Some higher-end camera tripods
incorporate retractable spikes − look out
for those. A neat trick for decking, hard
ground or breezy conditions is the use of a
draw string bag (wash-bag) filled with local
stones or sand, carabiner-clipped to the
centre support, problem solved, Fig. 5.
Mobile antennas are very much a pas-
sion with me and something I’ve studied
and played with for many years. Base,
centre, top, mono/multiband and helically
loaded − I have them all. Small/compromise
antennas such as mobiles need all the help
they can get. Centre-loaded, helicals and
combinations are among my favourites.
With the mounting system described, it’s
Fig. 4: Counterpoise wires are connected together with RS Components stacking plugs.
possible and practical to add screw-togeth-
er extender rods. However, it’s important
that any band-resonating coil does not
become located more than halfway up the
now lengthened antenna. Beyond this point,
the RF current vital for best radiation falls
away sharply. To prevent this happening,
a longer whip needs to be used above the
coil, to compensate. You may also need to
attach light, nylon tent guy line to the lower
mast section, just below the coil, to keep
everything stable.
While there’s never any real substitute for
metal in the sky, in terms of performance,
this simple back-up plan has rescued
many holiday operations and something I
wouldn’t now leave home without.
Reference
HF antennas for all locations. Moxon. L,
RSGB, ISBN 1-872307-15-1. Fig. 5: Using a weighted bag to steady the tripod.

January 2018 Practical Wireless 51

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 Making Waves by Steve White G3ZVW
Steve White G3ZVW l E-Mail: practicalwireless@warnersgroup.co.uk

September Propagation
Steve White G3ZVW documents major solar events that took place last September.

I
n previous instalments of
Making Waves I have often
mentioned that the Sun is the
major driving force behind a lot
of High Frequency propagation.
I’ve also mentioned that Coronal Mass
Ejections from the Sun can disrupt things.
In this instalment I will discuss how a
number of the things I’ve mentioned
before came together last September
to have dramatic effects on radio
propagation.

The Start of It
Although we are in the declining phase
of Cycle 24, the current 11-year Solar
Cycle, the progress of a Cycle is never
smooth and sunspots had been on the
increase in early September. At that time
a new sunspot group had formed, which
isn’t in itself significant. Initially this new
group wasn’t considered by the scientific
community to be of very much interest
but it grew quickly and became very
large (several times the diameter of the
Earth). On Wednesday September 6th the
magnetic forces holding it together were
stretched too far and they collapsed. To
put things in plain language, it went bang.
At about 09:00 UK time a large Coronal
Mass Ejection took place. This is shown
as the first spike on Fig. 1. Incidentally,
the data in this image is from the
Geostationary Operational Environmental
Satellite system (GOES) satellites,
operated by the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
These satellites monitor X-rays arriving at
Earth from the Sun.
The first energy to reach Earth – light
and X-rays – took eight minutes to arrive.
If you had been outdoors at the time,
you wouldn’t have noticed the flash but
the X-ray burst immediately caused the
D Region of the ionosphere to become
highly ionised. As I mentioned in the
May 2016 instalment of Making Waves,
the D Region absorbs radio signals. It is
only present during the hours of daylight
and normally only absorbs radio signals
up to a megahertz or two. However,
Fig. 1: 3-day GOES image, September 4th to 6th 2017. Note the sharp spikes on September 6th.
when the energy from a Coronal Mass
Ejection reaches Earth it can become
ionised much more strongly. The stronger
the ionisation of the D Region gets, the
higher the frequencies it will absorb.
Propagation on the High Frequency (HF)
bands immediately collapsed, but the
X-rays soon subsided and the D Region
started to return to its previous state.
Wham!
HF propagation was just starting to
recover when Wham!, an even bigger
Coronal Mass Ejection took place from
the same Sunspot group. This is shown
as the second spike on Fig. 1.
CMEs are graded according to
strength. As Fig. 1 shows, the first CME
of September 6th was a big one but the
second was truly huge. It measured X9.3.
To give those of you who don’t have a
feel for the figures a little information
about the significance of that number,
it was the fifteenth biggest in recorded
history.
When the X-rays from this one
slammed into Earth every skywave
transmission on the daylight side of the
planet right across the HF spectrum was
affected, especially at lower frequencies,
Fig. 2. If you’d been listening somewhere
within the red circular area at that time, it
would probably have sounded as though
your antenna was unplugged. All you
would have been likely to hear is any
local interference there might have been,
plus stations received by Ground Wave
propagation. Let me assure you there is
an extremely eerie silence when a Short
Wave Fadeout (SWF) takes place. Such
things are not everyday occurrences.
Before I move on I’d also like to bring
your attention to something else that’s
shown in Fig. 2; the red areas right across
the top and bottom of the figure. These
indicate Polar Absorption and exist
because the field lines of the Earth’s
magnetic field channel energy towards
the Magnetic North and South poles.
Second Wave
When a Coronal Mass Ejection takes
place the energy and material ejected
by the Sun doesn’t all travel at the same
speed. As I wrote earlier, the energy in the
first burst, X-rays and light, arrives eight
minutes after the flare has taken place. It
often takes a day or two for the second

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Fig. 2: World X-ray absorption map for 14:24 on September 6th.
Fig. 3: World X-ray absorption map for 14:26 on September 7th.
Fig. 4: World X-ray absorption map for 14:45 on September 7th.
Fig. 5: The so-called Auroral Oval for
13:40 on September 8th. The red area
indicates a very high likelihood of
aurora.
January 2018 Practical Wireless 53
52-Making Waves 2 pages.indd 53
Fig. 6: Interplanetary Kp index for 6-9 September.
wave to arrive and so it was this time, because
the following afternoon (September 7th) it did.
I was alert to the possibility and checking, but I
still considered myself lucky to capture images
off the internet as it happened.
Fig. 3 shows the situation at 14:26, just as
things kicked-off. There is a small amount of
D-Region absorption near the equator, peaking
just off the coast of Brazil. The absorption was
centred here because it was around midday
local time at that location. Consequently, this
area was receiving the incoming X-rays at
the steepest angle (the Sun was overhead).
Compare this to Fig. 4, captured less than 20
minutes later. By this time the D Region had
become so highly ionised that all skywave
signals up to 35MHz – and maybe beyond –
would have been suffering attenuation. Within
the red blob the attenuation would have been
severe. The Key at the side of the image only
shows up to 35dB attenuation but at low
frequencies the attenuation would have been
much higher. Bearing in mind the fact that the
upper HF bands are not in good shape anyway,
propagation was being squeezed from the LF
end of the spectrum by strong ionisation of
the D Region and the HF end of the spectrum
by virtue of the fact that because we are way
past the peak of the Solar Cycle, the Solar Flux
is low. Basically, what happened was that all
the life was squeezed out of the HF bands for
some hours. When there is a strong CME it is
commonly regarded that it takes a couple of
days for the ionosphere to fully recover and
conditions to return to what they had been
before.
They say one man’s meat is another man’s
poison and so it is with propagation. On
Friday September 8th more waves of energy
arrived at the Earth and strong Auroras were
triggered. Having been aware of the CMEs
that took place on Wednesday 6th, the VHF
DXing community would have been waiting
for this. When it happened, the 2m band in
particular quickly filled with people wanting to
contact stations that they wouldn’t normally be
able to. Fig. 5 shows where the main auroral
action took place. On this occasion stations in
Europe weren’t ideally positioned for the activity
because the strongest auroras took place over
Russia, Alaska and Canada. Nonetheless a
lot of DX was worked on the 144MHz band by
stations in Europe. If you want to compare Fig.
5 to the current situation, search the internet for
‘auroral oval’.
The online image captured at the time (see
Fig. 6) shows that the Interplanetary Kp Index
(which shows disturbances to the horizontal
component of the Earth’s magnetic field) was 8,
which is almost as high as it can possibly get.
The everyday Kp index is likely to be 2 or 3.
27/11/2017 11:49
 Generous Part Exchange or Cash waiting for your used Gear
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K! 2.5kW thru power£669 £599
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• Output 1kW for input £2549.95
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K3S/100-F ..............100W (Assembled) ....................£2999.95 KX3-K.....................(Kit) ..............................................£999.95 • 1000 memory channels Volt/Amp meter
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• Covers 160 - 6m
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• Power: 15/150/1.5kW
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• Covers 6-160m
AT-4K .......2.5kW manual tuner......................£1024.95 • Output: 2000W PEP • 1.8-150MHz 15/150/1.5kW
AT-2K .......600W diff tuner, 6-160m .................£599.95 • Reads Average & PEP power £89.95 CN-501H2 ......1.8-150MHz 20/200/2kW.................£89.99
• Optional 4:1 Balun for CN-501VN ......140-525MHz 20/200W N type..........£89.99
HF-Auto....1.5kW auto ant tuner .. save £200 £1499.95 • Balanced Wire Feeders CN-901...........1.8-200MHz, Power: 20/200/2kW...£129.95
DL-1500 ...1500W high power dummy load ........£199.95 Top quality tuner More Daiwa High Quality Switches
BK4C/1:1..4kW 1:1 ratio current balun...............£99.95 – BEST SELLER! CN-801VN ......140-525MHz 20/200W N type........£119.95
BK4C/4:1..4kW 4:1 ratio current balun...............£99.95
£599.95 CN-103LN.......140-525MHz 20/200W N type..........£89.99
CS-201A .........2Way 600MHz, 1kW SO239..............£24.95
CS201G11 ......2 Way 1.3GHz, 1.5kW HF N type ......£39.95

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023 9231 3090

OPEN: Mon to Fri 9.00am - 5.30pm
Unit 1 Fitzherbert Spur Farlington
Portsmouth Hampshire PO6 1TT

54 Nevada DPS1.indd 1 27/11/2017 10:07

 nevada
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NEW SKY-ONE SDR NEW 5W QRP Transceiver
Superb receiver and DSP features including - • Modes: LSB, USB, CW, AM, FM, DIGI
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H-422
Rotary Dipole covers: 7, 14, 21, 28MHz
1kW PEP, 10.3m (straight), 7.4m (Vee)
CMX-200
Quality Cross Needle Meter
• Reads: AVG & PEP power
• Range: 1-200MHz
£79.95 • Power: 3/300/3kW
CBL-2500 Hi-power 1:1 Balun
• Power: 2.5kW (PEP)
• Freq: 1.8-56MHz
• Imp. 50 Ohm
• Ratio: 1:1
• SO239 Socket £39.95
HF BASE ANTENNAS
H-422.......Trap Vee Dipole 7/14/21/28MHz ...............289.95
CHA-250BX11....3.5 - 57MHz (RX: 2.0 - 90MHz).....349.00
CWA-1000..Multi Band dipole 3.5/7/14/21/28MHz ...124.95
VHF/UHF FIBREGLASS BASE ANTENNAS
GP-15N....50/144/430MHz, length 2.4m N Type .........99.95
GP-1M .....144/430MHz length 1.2m (SO239).............49.95
GP-3M .....144/430MHz, SO-239 Lgth 1.78m (SO239)...59.95
GP-6M .....144/430MHz, SO-239 Lgth 3.07m (SO239)...99.95
GP-93N....144/430/1200MHz, Length 1.78m N Type ...99.99
GP-9M .....144/430MHz SO-239 Lgth 5.15m (SO239) .149.95
VHF/UHF BEAMS
CYA-1216E...6 Element 1200MHz, N Type...................99.95
CA-52HB......2 Element HB9CV for 50MHz .................79.95
CA-52HB4....4 Element HB9CV for 50MHz ...............129.95
HF MOBILE ANTENNAS
UHV-4 ......Whip 28-29/52/145/430MHz......................89.95
UHV-6 ......Whip 7/21/28/50/144/430MHz...................99.95
L-18 .........18MHz Coil for CA-UHV/UHV-6 ..................25.95
VHF MOBILE ANTENNAS
CA-285 ....50/144 MHz, 1.32m 300W.........................25.95
CSB7900 ..144/430MHz 5.1/7.7dBi 1.56m 150W ....69.95
SB-15 .......50/144/430MHz 2.15/4.5/7.2dBi 1.53m 120W..49.95
SBB-2.......144/430MHz, 2,15 / 3.8dBi 0.46m 60W .29.95
SBB-4.......144/430MHz, 3.0 / 5.5dBi 0.92m Black.....39.95
M-24M ....144/430MHz Magnetic Mount c/w Coax ...36.95
ANTENNA TUNERS
CAT-10.....Mobile 3.5-50 MHz, 10W (CW) ..................99.00
CAT-273...144/430MHz, 250W (PEP)........................169.95
CAT-300...1.8-56MHz, 300W (PEP)...........................199.95
BALUNS
CBL-1000.1.7-30MHz, 1kW/CW .................................34.95
CBL-2500.1.8-56MHz, 2.5kW/CW ..............................39.95
LOW PASS FILTERS
CF-30MR..1.8 - 32MHz, 1kW/CW ...............................59.95
CF-50MR..1.8 - 57MHz, 1kW/CW ...............................59.95
DUPLEXERS
CF-360A...1.3-30/49-470MHz 2xleads SO239 socket ..49.95
CF-4160B.1.3-170/350-540MHz SO239 N Type, SO239....39.95
CF-416A.1.3-170/350-540MHz SO239 + 2 x PL259 leads ..39.95
INRAD
New range of MICROPHONES
M629 Adaptor
Lead
M665
M629.....Full sounding SSB audio ........................£89.95
M650.....High End Punch for Dxing .....................£89.95
M686.....Full sound - internal Breath shield .........£79.95
M665.....Classic Chrome – high end punch .........£79.95
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CHA-250BXII
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• TX: 3.5-57MHz
• RX: 2–90 MHz
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• Length: 7.13m
£289.95 £349
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CAT-300 DJ-AXD1: VHF Version • RF output 1W to 5W
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• Frequecy: 1.8-60MHz • RF output 1W to 5W • Text messages
• Power: 30W/300W • IP67 dust & waterproof • IP54 dust & waterproof
• Reads: AVG & PEP power • Heavy Duty - feature rich! • Voice recorder
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MFJ-1835
CF-416B..SO239 + 1 x PL259/N leads.........................39.95 5 Band PS-40M Linear
CF-503C..1.3-90/125-470MHz, PL259 lead, 2xSO239 ...49.95 • 40A (max) with meter
Cobweb Antenna
CF-530....1.3-90/125-470MHz 2x SO239,PL259 lead ...49.95 • Voltage: 1.5-15V DC
CF-530C..1.3-90/125-470MHz, SO239 2 x PL259 lead ..49.95
CF-706....1.3-57/75-550MHz,SO239, 2 x PL259 leads...49.95 £239.95 • Cigar adaptor output
CF-706N..1.3-57/75-550MHz, SO239 N type, PL259 leads.49.95
225..............1-180MHz graphic analyser ..............£429.95 £129.95
HANDHELD ANTENNAS 226..............Graphic analyser (1-230) MHz ..........£359.95
CH-99 ......BNC Telescopic 144/430, 70-1000MHz RX....24.95 259C ...........HF/VHF portable antenna analyser ....£299.95
SMA-3 .....SMA for 144/430/900MHz .........................29.95 266..............New style HF/VHF/UHF analyser........£349.95 PS-30M Linear
SMA-501..SMA for 144/430/900MHz .........................22.95 269C ...........HF/VHF Digital Analyser ....................£369.95
SMA-701..SMA for 144/430/1200MHz .......................19.95 • 30A (max) with meter
385B ...........Deluxe Comms. Speaker......................£54.95 • Voltage: 3.0-15V DC
SMA-99 ...SMA Telescopic 144/430 70-1000MHz RX ..22.95 407D ...........Deluxe CW Keyer................................£99.95
SCANNER ANTENNAS 461..............Morse Reader-pocket sized .................£99.95 • Cigar adaptor output
AB-380 ....Base Ant for 108-140/220-400MHz............79.95 492-X..........CW Memory Keyer............................£164.95
AB-1230H ..Rubber Duck 108-140/220-400MHz .........29.95 550..............Popular Morse code practice key.........£19.95 £99.95
AB-1230M..Mobile 108-140/220-400MHz..................34.95 557..............Morse code key with oscillator............£46.95
CROSS NEEDLE SWR/POWER METERS 826B ...........Digital SWR/Wattmeter.....................£209.95 PS-08 ........Linear 8A (max) 13.8V DC ..................£34.95
CMX-200..1.8-200MHz, 30/300/3k.............................79.95 901B ...........Versa Tuner 200W HF .......................£119.95 PSW-50.....Switch mode 50A (max) 9-15V DC...£129.95
CMX-400..140-525MHz, 30/60/300W ........................89.95 912..............Remote 4:1 balun box ........................£84.95 PSW-30.....Switch mode 30A (max) 9-15V DC.....£79.95
921..............2m Antenna Tuner ............................£114.95 PSW-30H...Switch mode 30A (max) 9-15V DC.....£69.95
ACCESSORIES 923..............2m Tuner & SWR/Power....................£249.95 PS23-SW1 .Switch mode 23A (max) 13.8V DC .....£59.95
CS-400P...Coax lightning Protector for DC-500MHz ....29.95
931..............Artificial ground unit.........................£114.95 PSW-07.....Switch mode 7A (max) 13.8V DC .......£29.95
CSW-201G...2 Way Coax switch DC-600MHz ..............29.95 934..............300W Tuner + artificial ground .........£219.95 PSW-04.....Switch mode 5A (max) 13.8V DC .......£24.95
D-21M .....Dummy Load 100w DC - 600MHz ..............39.95
941E............300 Watts max Versa Tuner II............£164.95
CABLE ASSEMBLIES 945E............1.8-60MHz 300W manual tuner .......£149.95
3D4MB ....4m Jap. 3DQEFV Coax with SO239 socket ..19.95 948..............300W PEP reading antenna tuner.....£174.95 TYT Digital Radio
3K054M...4m RG188A Coax with SO239 socket.........26.95 949E............300W tuner + Dummy load..............£199.95
HM10 BNC..1m of Jap. 1.5DQEV Coax with BNC socket..12.95 959C ...........Receive antenna tuner + pre-amp.....£145.95
969..............300W tuner 160-6m ........................£229.95 NEW TYT MD-2017
ANTENNA MOUNTS
971..............Portable Ant. tuner 1.8-30MHz .........£139.95 Dual Band Digital
CM-5M ....Mag. Mount + 5m of RG-58, & PL259 plug....24.00
CMB-GH ..Pole mounting bracket ................................25.95 986..............1.5kW HF tuner................................£369.95 • DMR digital & Analogue
989D ...........1.5kW HF tuner................................£399.95
CTC-50M .Thru Window cable mount SO239-PL259....39.95 • Dual time slot
LD-5M......Trunk/Hatch back Mount w/ 5m of cable.....36.95 993B ...........Auto Tuner 150W/300W...................£309.95 • Colour screen
994BRT .......600W remote Auto Tuner..................£409.95
MCB-III ....Drive on Mast Support & Stand...................69.95 • Large frequency display
MG-4M ....Mag. Mount 4m 3.5DQEFV COAX SO239 ...29.95 998..............1.5kW Auto Tuner 1.8-30MHz ..........£719.95
RS6 ..........Roof Rack mount (adjustable).....................23.95 998RT .........1.5kW remote Auto ATU...................£779.95 • Commercial grade
RS-660U ..Roof Rack mount (adjustable).....................24.95 1020C .........Tunable Active Antenna ....................£129.95 • IP67 waterproof rating
RS-020B...Trunk/Hatch back mount.............................21.50 1025 ...........Noise canceller/signal enhancer ........£209.95
RS-020S ...Trunk/Hatch back mount.............................21.50 1026 ...........QRM eliminator + active antenna .....£214.95 FREE DELIVERY £199.95
RS-730 .....Trunk/Hatch back mount.............................21.95 1118 ...........High Current DC Multi outlet ..............£94.95
RS-840 .....Trunk/Hatch back mount.............................24.95 1700C .........6 Way coax switch............................£144.95
1701 ...........6 Way coax switch 2kW (SO239) ........£89.95
1704 (P)......4 way coax switch 2.5kW (SO239) .....£84.95
1kW End Fed Antennas
1704 (N) .....4 way coax switch 2.5kW (N type)......£95.00
SPIDERBEAM 1705H.........RF By-pass switch...............................£38.95 MyAnt EFW 80-10
1707 ...........Auto RF sensing Ant switch ..............£109.95 Resonant on 80/40/
1708 ...........RF Sensing T/R Switch.........................£94.95 30/20/17/15/10m
1763 ...........3 Element 2m beam ...........................£74.95 NO ANTENNA TUNER
26mtr Standard 1786X .........Loop (10-30)MHz 3ft dia. .................£479.95
1788X .........Loop (7-21)MHz 3ft dia ....................£529.95 REQUIRED! Length: 130ft
Antennas, Telescopic Poles, Aluminium Masts 1779B .........80/40m Dipole ...................................£64.95
UL-404L Ultra-lite Dxpedition antenna
1799X .........9 Band vertical .................................£479.95 MyAnt EFW 40-10 £159.95
1868 ...........Discone antenna with cable................£94.95 Resonant on 40/20/15/10 +
Dipole covers: 40, 20, 17, 15, 12, 10.6m.........£109.00 2980 ...........Wire vertical (40m-6m).......................£99.95
Fibreglass Telescopic Poles 4416B .........Super battery booster .......................£174.95 WARC with tuner Length: 63ft £149.95
12mtr Heavy Duty............................................ £89.95
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26mtr Standard...............................................£499.95
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Base Plate for Fibreglass Poles ..........................£28.95 Bencher BY-1 ........................£189.95
Aluminium Telescopic masts 33 ft ...Aluminium 7 ft. retracted .................£99.95 Bencher BY-2 ........................£239.95
10.metre Standard ..........................................£299.95 26 ft ...Aluminium 5.5 ft. retracted ..............£89.95 Vibroplex Keys
10 metre Heavy Duty ......................................£325.00 20 ft ...HD Fibreglass 5.5ft retracted ..........£179.95 Iambic Deluxe Paddle .......Chrome ..............£239.95
12.5 metre......................................................£329.95 30 ft ...HD Fibreglass 7.5ft retracted ..........£249.95 Iambic Standard Paddle....Black ..................£169.95
14.5 metre Heavy Duty ...................................£425.00 50 ft... HD Fibreglass ...8ft retracted.......... £349.95 Code Warrior Jr................. ..........................£169.95

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www.nevadaradio.co.uk
55 Nevada DPS2.indd 1 27/11/2017 10:08
 Doing it by Design with Geoff Theasby G8BMI
● E-Mail: geofftheasby@gmail.com
A ‘Free’ Radio
Telescope
Many radio amateurs experiment with radio
astronomy, particularly Sun-watching, given that the
Sun has such a major impact on radio propagation.
Fig. 1: 10GHz solar noise.
A
few years ago, the
author built a simple
radio telescope capable
of detecting radio noise
from the Sun and maybe
further afield. For general background
amateur radio astronomy information, the
following websites are a good start:
www.britastro.org/radio
http://radio-astronomy.org
My telescope used a redundant satel-
lite TV dish and Low Noise Block, or LNB,
properly called a Downconverter because
it converts a 12GHz satellite signal to the
1−2GHz band; a satellite signal strength
meter costing £10, basically just a diode
and a wideband amplifier; and my desktop
computer running an electronic chart
recorder program from Radio-Sky.
www.radiosky.com
The Sun radiates noise at a rate that
reduces as the frequency rises, for our
purposes at least. The lower signal levels
at microwave are offset by the high gain
of dish antennas. These are not easily
steerable and it costs money to do so. The
system worked, detecting the Sun noise,
but the dish needed carefully setting up,
pointing it South at noon, with a suit-
56
56-Doing it by Design 3 pages.indd 56
able elevation such that the Sun passed
through the antenna beam as the Earth
rotated. A voltmeter across the output of
the signal strength meter could be used
to plot the readings every few seconds, if
there was no chart recorder to hand. Using
the Sky-Pipe chart recorder program, this
is what I got, Fig. 1. Ignore the switching
transients at the left.
Now, because it is a parabolic dish,
it will reflect and focus anything, even
sound. If I speak in the vicinity of the LNB,
I can hear my voice coming back at me.
Similarly, if I polish the dish, I can focus
sunlight and start a fire. As well as mi-
crowave energy, it will also focus infrared
(heat) from the Sun onto the LNB, warming
it up and possibly affecting its perfor-
mance. This can be checked by imposing
some expanded polystyrene in front of the
LNB horn. This will pass radio waves but
not heat. A ceiling tile or takeaway food
carton will do. To help aim the dish, stick
some mirror tape at the centre of the dish
and adjust until the light spot impinges
on the LNB. Before I learned this dodge, I
worked out how to set the dish so that the
offset feed collected Sun noise. I did this
by careful measurement and then con-
structing a wooden device at the centre of
the dish, set at the opposite angle to the
offset feed. Then I adjusted the dish until
the shadow cast by the pointer disap-
peared (like the Oozlum bird).
As a check, the trace shows an in-
crease in the level of random noise, lasting
about eight minutes. Various charts in Wm
Lonc’s book (see references) agree rough-
ly with this figure. Of course, the antenna
beamwidths don’t match. The Sun will
therefore move through the beam for a dif-
ferent length of time so this is not an exact
agreement. As for +/- signals around the
datum, LNBs can detect differing polarities
of signal and can be switched between
them by a DC voltage of either 13 or 18V,
or a wider reception band by the use of a
22kHz tone. This increases the number of
satellite TV channels available, when used
for its original purpose, but doesn’t matter
to us because the RF we are detecting is
randomly polarised. Details of individual
LNBs can be found on the internet.
Times Have Changed
Now, things have moved on, and I don’t
need the dish, the signal strength meter
or the desktop computer. It works like
this. A low-gain, wide beamwidth (not
bandwidth) antenna, such as, say, an
HB9CV, operating at 145MHz, need not be
moveable for a while as we conduct this
experiment, because the Sun will remain
in the ‘sight’ of the antenna for some time.
If the cable from the antenna is connected
to a 2m receiver and the audio output
fed into a smartphone running a data
logging ‘app’ such as Sound Meter, that’s
all we need! Most of us have a portable
2m receiver of some sort. Smartphones
weren’t for we humble mortals when I
made the Mk1 version in 2007 and ‘apps’
were unknown. Now most people have
such a phone. They are available from
about £25 for a ‘pay-as-you-go’ version
and many apps are free, from Google
Play or your network provider. If you want
a printout of your achievement, plug the
smartphone into your PC and print as
normal or a wireless printer can connect to
your smartphone using a ‘Print’ app, also
free.
Requirements
You will need a 2m antenna, 2m receiver,
Smartphone, Sound Meter app from Smart
Tools (see URL below) with strip chart
recorder facility, or a recording multimeter
data logger. Also a ‘Print’ app.
https://tinyurl.com/yc6h2smg
Practical Wireless January 2018
27/11/2017 09:50

Fig. 2: 145 MHz solar noise twice swept with FT290R2 in SSB mode.
Fig. 3: 145 MHz solar noise once swept with Scanner in AM mode.
Getting Started
Now, strip chart recorder apps are not
readily available, for smartphones or PCs,
except Radio Sky Pipe that I mentioned
above, which only works on PCs running
Windows. However, a useful alternative
is a sound level meter app, like Sound
Meter from Smart Tools, which will record
the last 30 seconds on a chart, constantly
updated. The Pro version allows more
options, including longer recording periods
and exporting CSV files. These are text
files, though, and not what we want.
Plugging the smartphone audio input
to the Ext Spkr socket on my FT-290
Mk2, tuned to an unused frequency and
set to AM, easily records and charts
changes in audio hiss when the volume
is adjusted. A screenshot of the resulting
chart can be sent to the printer. I failed to
get my smartphone to link wirelessly to
my printer but by plugging a suitable USB
lead into the smartphone and my desktop
computer, I could download and print
a .png file, Fig. 2 (cropped from the full
screen), clearly showing the abrupt signal
level changes as the antenna is switched
in and out of circuit or directed away from
the Sun and back again. Two such points
are notable, of about 3dB each. This was
taken using the FT-290 Mk2, which gives
a smaller increase in signal strength than
the scanner receiver. This is because
January 2018 Practical Wireless 57
56-Doing it by Design 3 pages.indd 57
the FT-290 audio response is tailored to
the human voice, for communications
efficiency (up to 3.5kHz), whereas the
scanner’s audio response is not so limited
and extends out to 20kHz. The noise
bandwidth of the FT-290 is therefore
less than the scanner, so producing a
smaller change in the noise output as
the Sun signal is switched in and out, in
the same way that a 300mm lawnmower
cuts less grass at one time than a 600mm
mower does, noise from the Sun being, of
course, very wide bandwidth. A 1kHz wide
filter passes only one tenth of the noise
compared to a 10kHz filter.
As a way of differentiating the wanted
noise from the background, if we switch
regularly between a 50Ω resistor and the
antenna, this will show the extra noise
received by the antenna, a principle first
discovered by R.H. Dicke in WWII. This
could be done with a simple manual
switch box, or by a transistor or 555
astable timer circuit operating a relay.
Without this, the output will just look
and sound like the white noise ‘hash’ of
an unused frequency but if we switch
repeatedly between the HB9CV and
another, non-directional antenna, or similar
source of background noise, then the
noise level will rise and fall accordingly.
Thus we can be sure that the directional
antenna is receiving extra, solar, noise.
One hump or two?
Conducting the exercise with the Fairmate
HP-100E scanner on 145MHz and set
to AM, gives us this, Fig. 3, which gave
a larger deflection, of about 20dB. The
noise to the right of the traces is micro-
phone pickup, which should be ignored.
An app called ‘Mute Mic’ (URL below) can
supposedly prevent this because many
smartphones have no provision to mute in-
ternally. However, I couldn’t get it to work,
and neither does sticking Blu Tack over
the microphone aperture. Consequently,
the smartphone will pick up extraneous
audio noise and should be placed in a
quiet environment while recording.
www.ghacks.net/2014/03/07/mute-
microphone-android-device
Solar activity
At the time of writing, the Sun is ‘Quiet’.
If it was ‘Disturbed’, the signal strength
would be perhaps 10dB greater. You can
find out the current solar activity from the
Space Weather or Solar Ham websites
(links below) and various other online
services.
www.spaceweather.com
www.solarham.net
The chart shows an increase in noise
when the antenna is directed at the Sun.
While I aim to improve the system some-
what, it is unlikely to become that much
more sensitive without effort or expense. A
Low Noise Amplifier will improve matters
by about 1dB (links to two options below),
the lower noise figure being more impor-
tant than the gain.
https://tinyurl.com/yarn22lz
https://tinyurl.com/yccyeskg
Also, an antenna with more gain, such
as a 4-element Yagi, as compared to the
HB9CV, will improve matters still more,
while remaining easily manageable, physi-
cally. However, with antennas there is a
tradeoff between gain and beamwidth
such that antennas with more gain have
reduced beamwidth, making the experi-
ment more difficult. A wideband receiver
such as the FUNcube Pro+ dongle will
enable other frequencies to be explored.
www.funcubedongle.com
Readers could try looking for the ‘Hy-
drogen line’ peak at 1420MHz, by aiming
at the Galactic centre in Cassiopeia. A
suitable Yagi-type antenna design can be
found in PW, September 2016, page 25,
although the dimensions need altering.
Adjustable polarity is not required. At
these frequencies, low-loss coaxial feeder
is essential, as short as possible. In fact,
27/11/2017 09:50
 Doing it by Design
Fig. 4: The basic equipment.
everything should be optimised, just as
in any low-level signal work: antennas,
connectors, preamplifiers and everything
else in the receive chain. In my case, I
used a south-facing spare bedroom, with
the smartphone, a FUNcube Pro+ and
laptop on the windowsill, directing the
antenna out of the window at the Milky
Way. Mounting it on a photographic tripod
makes life easier, if used outdoors. I tried
using a 10-element UHF TV antenna at
600MHz but results were poor. Such a
beam would have a gain relative to a
dipole of about 12dB. A 10GHz dish,
similar to the one I began with, has a gain
of about 25dB.
The cheap, satellite TV ‘dongle’, the
RTL-SDR at around £15, is a good alter-
native that I have used with SDR# and
SIGMIRA software to tune and resolve the
noise.
www.rtl-sdr.com
The SIGMIRA software has access to
remotely controlled SDR receivers around
the world, with a variety of antennas
available. It also offers recordings on .wav
files, online connection to several remotely
tuned receivers and antennas, and will
accept inputs from various receiver types,
including the SoftRock range. My dongle
came with an MCX socket and a push-in
sub-miniature connector. Suitable ‘pigtails’
to convert to more common connectors
are available from Amazon. My computer
downloads lacked a suitable driver, and I
spent some time trying to find one until I
read the RTL-SDR for Everyone book, by
Akos Czermann, available for the Kindle
but readable on a PC with the free pro-
gram offered. This explained how to find
and install the driver, after which the don-
58 Practical Wireless January 2018
56-Doing it by Design 3 pages.indd 58
Fig. 5: LNA SP-55 2dB noise figure.
gle worked perfectly. The FUNcube dongle
only works with Windows software, the
RTL-SDR also, using SDR#, and suppos-
edly on the Ubuntu/Linux package, with
SDR# and SIGMIRA, but not at Theasby
Towers for some reason.
Summary
If the antenna is pointed roughly at the
Sun (It has a wide beam, remember) and
then elsewhere, at intervals of a few sec-
onds, then the noise picked up will also
vary. (Do not, of course, look directly at the
Sun!) However, unlike optical astronomy,
we can do this on a dull day. So long as
we have a rough idea where the Sun is, it
will work. Rather than look like a fool wav-
ing antennas about, just switch the signal
on and off every few seconds with a little
connecting box bearing a manual toggle
switch, or a simple 555 astable timer. We
are not concerned with absolute signal
levels, only the difference between them,
and this is easy to detect. Good practice,
of course, says we should keep all leads
short around the switch, unless using a
coaxial relay, but this is rather overkill in
the circumstances. The photograph, Fig.
4, shows the essentials, and Fig. 5 the SP-
55 LNA. A FUNcube Pro+ has been used
to detect the hydrogen line a 1420MHz,
with a 3m dish.
Enhancements
Readers may like to try constructing an in-
terferometer. This requires two similar an-
tennas spaced horizontally, with identical
feeder lengths, joined at a ‘Tee’ and fed to
the receiver. The resulting chart trace will
rise and fall as signals from the separate
antennas go in and out of phase with each
other. A few calculations based on physi-
cal measurements from the chart, can give
the angular dimensions for the source. In a
further slight modification, phase reversal
of just one antenna removes the effect
of background noise. At VHF the an-
tenna spacing might be 40m, while using
10GHz satellite TV dishes, either side of
the garden might be satisfactory although
the author has not tried this. The Heiser-
man book describes a practical 146MHz
interferometer on page 183 onwards, while
the Y1PWE website offers a host of related
ideas.
www.y1pwe.co.uk/RAProgs/pdf/HLRrtl.
pdf
Costs
The whole exercise need not be costly
nowadays and can be quite fascinating. To
give some idea of costs, this is a sum-
mary of based on the various elements I
have described. Several of the items may
already be in the shack or could be used
in the shack in future:
• Low Noise GaAsFET amplifier SP-55
(Noise Figure 2dB) or Moonraker M-100
(£50-£60) or eBay or Amazon PCB module
(£5 to £15) or satellite WBA about 20dB
gain up to 1200MHz (£5, NF 4dB) or SSB
Electronics preamp (£350, Noise Figure
0.5dB).
• Pro version Sound Meter £1.99.
• Larger 2m beam.
• FUNcube Pro+ dongle £150.
Bibliography
Radio Astronomy, J D Krauss, McGraw
Hill
Amateur Radio Astronomy, J Fielding
ZS5JF, 2nd Ed, RSGB
Radio Astronomy for the Amateur,
Heiserman, Tab Books
Radio Astronomy Projects, Wm Lonc, 3rd
Ed, Radio-Sky Publishing
Space Radio Handbook, J Branegan
GM4IHJ, RSGB
RTL-SDR for Everyone, Akos Czermann,
2nd Ed, Guide Inc.
27/11/2017 09:50
 The PW Christmas Quiz Answers
Answers to the Christmas Quiz on page 40. How did you get on?
EXAM TOPIC QUESTION ANSWER EXAM TOPIC QUESTION ANSWER

Foundation Licensing 1 B Intermediate Propagation 14 D

Intermediate Licensing 2 D Full Propagation 15 C
Full Licensing 3 D Foundation EMC 16 A
Foundation Technical Basics 4 C Intermediate EMC 17 C
Intermediate Technical Basics 5 B Full EMC 18 A
Full Technical Basics 6 D Foundation Operating Practices & Procedures 19 A
Foundation Transmitters & Receivers 7 D Intermediate Operating Practices & Procedures 20 A
Intermediate Transmitters & Receivers 8 A Full Operating Practices & Procedures 21 D
Full Transmitters & Receivers 9 A Foundation Safety 22 D
Foundation Feeders & Antennas 10 B Intermediate Safety 23 B
Intermediate Feeders & Antennas 11 C Full Safety 24 B
Full Feeders & Antennas 12 A Intermediate Construction 25 C
Foundation Propagation 13 A Full Measurements 26 A

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59 27/11/2017 09:50
 Report by Don Field G3XTT
E-Mail: practicalwireless@warnersgroup.co.uk
PW Report −
Jamboree on
the Air 2017
We bring you reports from around the UK & abroad.
Essex Ham
T
his year’s Jamboree on the
Air (JOTA) was the 60th
of its kind and we have
received several reports
from radio clubs that were
involved in hosting members of the
Scout movement. Here is a summary.
Incidentally, these days the event also
includes Jamboree on the Internet (JOTI)
but your editor was told recently that for
some Scouts and Guides, at least, the
internet is considered ‘boring’ – they use
Skype, WhatsApp and other services every
60
60-JOTA report 2 pages.indd 60
day. But being able to talk on a radio still
has a certain fascination.
Your editor well recalls working very
lots of JOTA stations around the UK in the
1970s. Numbers in the UK are rather fewer
nowadays, much is the pity, so it was good
to receive these reports. But at the SEAnet
Convention in Cambodia that I attended in
late November (report next month), Thida
Denpruektham HS1ASC gave a presenta-
tion about the 2017 World Scout Jambo-
ree, held in Thailand, where amateur radio
played a significant part. What I hadn’t
realised was that in a number of Asian
countries, Malaysia being a good exam-
ple, all young people are required to join a
uniformed organisation. This can be Red
Cross, Cadet Force and so on, but the larg-
est number choose to join Scouts or Guides
and, as part of their involvement with those
organisations, many come into contact with
amateur radio. This is one of the reasons
that Asian countries appear to be having
more success in recruiting young amateurs
than we in Europe.
Essex Ham
Essex Ham was proud to be asked to sup-
port JOTA 2017 at the Belchamps Scout
Activity Centre in Hockley, Essex. During
the two days, over 220 Beavers, Cubs and
Scouts from groups around Essex took part
in the 60th annual JOTA, with many camp-
ing overnight. Two stations were active us-
ing the callsign GB1BEL: a basic 2m station
for the majority of the greetings messages
and an Icom IC-7300 for HF on 80, 40 and
20m. Other radio attractions included a
popular radio hunt, a Your Name in Morse
activity (coded by member Nick M0NFE), a
map of live ADS-B data from a £10 dongle
(arranged by Ian 2E0HPR), plus a design-
your-own QSL card competition.
Special mention goes to Gary 2E0YRG
who helped out at home, handling 36
greetings messages in a row, and to Derek
M0SCE and the team at the Belchamps
Scout Centre for setting up the antennas in
advance. During the event, the Essex Ham
team made contact with eight other JOTA
stations and helped the Beavers, Cubs and
Scouts to complete their booklets to allow
them to obtain their prized Communicator
badge at the end of the weekend.
Peterborough
The Peterborough Club (PADARC) worked
with the 2nd St Peters Scouts at their hall in
the grounds of a local academy.
Set up on Friday 20th was completed
by early afternoon, using two 26ft masts
with an offset multiband HF antenna and a
2m/70cm collinear. The radios were an Icom
IC-7400 for VHF and a Kenwood TS590SG
for the HF bands, both stations set up in
one training room. In another training room,
Scouts were given a talk by PADARC mem-
bers about communication and coached
on the phonetic alphabet and Morse code
and had their greetings messages checked
before transmission. There was also a
demonstration station set up for digital
modes transmission and a DMR setup in
the second training room. The main hall was
Practical Wireless January 2018
27/11/2017 09:51
 Harlow & District ARS
The Tableland Radio Group
used for social activities.
Transmissions started Friday afternoon
and soon groups of Scouts were gathering
round the radios and passing messages.
Saturday 21st continued in the same vein
and the enthusiasm of the Scouts was plain
to see. Some of the older scouts asked to
learn more about the equipment and our
hobby. This will be followed up by the club.
The event was a great success with over
40 Scouts taking part. More than 50 con-
tacts were made with many Scouts coming
back several times to pass their messages,
the final station worked being HB9S/J, the
World Scout Bureau in Geneva.
Harlow and District
Over the weekend of October 21st and
22nd Harlow and District Amateur Radio
Society opened their doors to Scouts
groups from Harlow District to participate in
JOTA. Beavers, Cubs and Scouts from 1st
January 2018 Practical Wireless 61
60-JOTA report 2 pages.indd 61
Chertsey Radio Club
Chertsey Radio Club
Nazing and 21st Harlow attended through-
out the weekend and made contact with
stations across England, America, Namibia
and elsewhere. Operators from the club
said it was good to see the youngsters
communicating and completing parts of
their communications and world challenge
badges and are looking forward to next
year’s event.
Far North Queensland, Australia
The Tableland Radio Group operated at
Malanda Scout Hall for JOTA this year as
they have for the past 35 years. The other
FNQ Scout, Cub and Guides groups all
meet up at Malanda and camp for the
weekend. This year they had groups from
Cairns, Innisfail, Gordonvale, Mission Beach
and Atherton.
They operated mainly on the 40m band
and had contacts with other JOTA sta-
tions such as VK4MAC, VK4SAA, VK4IAN,
VK6SBK, VK4BRC, VK4SBP, VK3CUB,
VK4AAH, VK4FNQ and VK4HH.
The equipment was an FT-897D, MFJ
ATU and inverted-vee antenna fed with
300Ω feedline. The callsign was VK4GHL.
The photo shows Wilf VK4ZNZ, Mike
VK4MIK, Conner Askey-Doran and Rosa
Askey-Doran.
Chertsey Radio Club
James Preece M0JFP and Bob Conduit
(Chairman) M6FLT ran two HF stations and
a DMR/FM VHF station. They had 75 chil-
dren share greetings messages on the air.
The club produced worksheets and tasks to
help the children achieve their communica-
tors badges. Beavers and Cubs all passed
and the Club has been invited back to help
finish off the Scouts badge work in the com-
ing weeks, which leads very well into De-
cember YOTA (GB17YOTA) which the Club
was due to be running December 7th.
27/11/2017 09:51
 Letters Send your letters to:
Practical Wireless Letters, Warners Group Publishing
West Street, Bourne, Lincs PE10 9PH
E-mail: practicalwireless@warnersgroup.co.uk

Various note, I’ve always preferred to use

the term antenna. There again,
and ‘gap’ controls wouldn’t work
properly.
Dear Don, maybe I was subconsciously I couldn’t work out where I
No, I don’t need a Yagi for 18MHz preconditioned to use that term had gone wrong so I sent Tony
(PW December 2017). However, as a result of listening to all those an e-mail telling him that I had
as my XYL sometimes suggests, big US amateur signals back in constructed his project, with
I am a victim of exaggeration − the late 1950s when I began as some modifications, and that it
telling me that I’m ‘a product of a an SWL. was not functioning as expected.
jaundiced worldwide view’. That Lastly, if I may, I was in a QSO During an exchange of
predisposes me to ‘see only what with an American station the e-mails, it was determined that
is wrong with the world rather other day. He was an IT/computer it was the I2C data that was
than what is right with it’. I guess advocate. He was waxing interfering with the controls,
that includes my once prejudiced lyrical about the ‘intelligence’ because the Morse Tutor code
views concerning the Wonder- and ‘amazing technology’ of used two pins on the Arduino (A4
Wand antenna. Because when computers. I couldn’t resist and A5) that were, unknown to
an early derivative of this product reminding him that computers me, also carrying the I2C data,
was offered for sale, I wondered still cannot make decisions for in addition to the SDA and SCL
whether it would actually work. themselves − that they still need pins.
But, surprise, surprise, it did. the input of humans to operate I decided that the best way
At the time, I tacked it on the rear via archaic devised programs. to proceed was to map these
of my FT-817 while out and about That they break down and two controls to other pins, and
trawling over the Derbyshire Peak stop working at the slightest since there was now a control
District. Suffice to say, CW was reason. That at present, they are without a pin, to fix the ‘sidetone’
much more successful than SSB. nothing more than televisions frequency within the Sketch. round as well as up and down
The usual suspects went in the masquerading as computers. And The project is now working as to get into the lettering properly,
log – UAs, Ws and so on. So the I also reminded him, that they expected. then rubbed off with a cloth,
new’Wonder-Wand Widebander have a habit of making various I am sure that PW authors which also gives the rest of the
Mark 2 might just persuade me annoying whirring noises which always appreciate feedback dial a nice waxed sheen.
to part with a few pounds, if only drives me to distraction. regarding their articles and I am It’s an idea which could be
to corroborate Carl 2E0HPI’s Ray Howes G4OWY/G6AUW. very pleased with the assistance used on other engraved dials
fulsome findings. Weymouth, Dorset that I received from Tony. that have lost their readability. I
As far as nomenclature is Malcolm Horton G4DMH bought a set of wax crayons for
concerned, like Andy G3PKW, Feedback to and Doncaster £1 and completely transformed
I hate Americanisms too.
from PW Authors the dials.
Of course, as Andy says,
Americanisms have crept Dear Don,
19 Set Update Bill Kitchen G4GHB
Ashton-under-Lyne
surreptitiously into the English ‘Must build’ projects don’t appear Dear Don,
language not unlike a Trojan
Horse. Mainly, but not exclusively,
very often for me but as soon as
I turned the page to Tony Jones
I have carried out further work
on the 19 Set since my article D-STAR Usage
via the internet. And, of course, G7ETW’s article An Arduino appeared in June 2017, only a Dear Don
with respect to Andy, a little Morse Tutor in the November minor thing this time but what an I get the idea that some D-STAR
homework would uncover the 2017 issue, I knew that I was improvement. They almost look operators that are using D-STAR
wrong use of ‘antenna’ for ‘aerial’. going to make it. new. I remember many years repeaters directly into a D-STAR
However, in the grand scheme I already had a spare Arduino ago my Dad rubbing a white Reflector, think that the correct
of all things amateur radio, I very Uno board but my spare LCD was wax crayon into some engraved way to close down their system
much doubt whether anyone equipped with an I2C backpack. lettering on a dial or panel, I have is to first Unlink the repeater from
really cares, except those of a Rather than try to unsolder it, I no idea what it was because it the Reflector then shut down their
pedantic nature. Mind you, in made some changes to Tony’s was so long ago but I tried the radio. This is most annoying if
my experience, those people Sketch to incorporate the I2C same idea on both dials on the you are on the same repeater and
who prefer to use the term aerial connected LCD and uploaded 19 Set. The frequency tuning dial either listening to a conversation
instead of antenna belong, in the code to the board. Sure is shown in the photos, before or taking part in one. It’s then a
the main, to the older generation enough, the display worked when and after. mad rush to Relink the repeater
of amateurs rather than the connected but when I attached It has to be applied with quite back to the Reflector to continue
younger type. On a personal the potentiometers, the ‘speed’ a bit of pressure and worked the conversion. All the user needs

Please note: The opinions expressed in any letter published in PW are those of the named correspondent whose letter has been published and they don’t necessarily reflect the opinions of the editorial staff or Warners Group. Editor

62 Practical Wireless January 2018

62-Letters 3 pages.indd 62 27/11/2017 09:52

 £20 ST R LETTER
Comments on PW!
Dear Don,
What a lot to comment on in No-
vember and December PW!
First and foremost, I am very
sorry to hear that Tony Nailer will
not be contributing his highly in-
formative articles.
Samuel Ritchie’s story on
the Yaesu FR-50B took me down
memory lane because my first
amateur transmitter was the FR-
50’s companion: the FL-50. The at-
tached picture shows my station in
about 1982/3 with the FL-50 on the
left of the top shelf and its match-
ing FV-50 VFO, lower left behind
the boom microphone. I bought it
at a rally in New South Wales just
after I was licensed in Australia
(VK2KMU). I didn’t pay a lot for it
and it had a few problems: diodes
and, if I remember correctly, a dry
joint on the driver valve base. The
single 6JS6 final valve gave about
50W output on five amateur bands.
A moment’s inattention on tuning
up and it was history! I teamed it
with the Panasonic RF-3100 re-
ceiver and that combination served
The Star Letter will receive a voucher worth £20 to spend on items from our Book Store or other services offered by Practical Wireless.
to do is turn off their radio when
closing their station down.
Another thing that some
D-STAR repeater operators do
is to switch over a repeater to
a different Reflector without
checking with any other operators
whether that’s acceptable. Since
D-STAR is locally a single-channel
operating system, some thought
should go into other people using
the system. I’ve been cut off so
many times by other users in
Kent changing Icom’s repeater at
Herne Bay (I’m in Shoeburyness,
Essex) to a different Reflector,
that I have had to pay out for a
January 2018 Practical Wireless
62-Letters 3 pages.indd 63
me well until I got my home-built
transceiver working (also in the
picture). It then became a standby
until I sold it when we returned to
the UK in 1987. It was a low cost
unit, about $AUS225.00 in 1968,
possibly a stripped down version
of the FL-100. (The frequency dis-
play and time in the picture sug-
gest that I was taking part in the
Friday Fishers Ghost Radio Club
Net (VK2FG) from Campbelltown).
Aerial or Antenna? I am not one
for adopting Americanisms without
due scrutiny but I make an excep-
tion for antenna. Andy Choraffa’s
derivation of aerial from Greek is
correct, but I thought the root was
‘aerios’, from ‘aer’. As an adjective
it describes something like the air,
or in the air, or aloft in the air. The
meanings, of course, change with
the passage of time and as the
word was passed from Greek, to
Latin, through the romance lan-
guages eventually into English. As
such it was fair game, at the begin-
ning of the 20th century, to call the
elevated wire used for transmission
and reception of wireless signals
an ‘Aerial’. However, I consider the
SharkRF system and an Icom
ID-51E Plus 2 so that I can get
straight into a Reflector without
the problems I get through a
repeater. This more or less makes
my previous purchase of an Icom
ID-4100E an expense I could
have done without.
If a user does change a
repeater to a different Reflector,
then surely it’s prudent to return
the repeater to its original source
when finished, though first asking
if it’s fine to do so. Most repeaters
seem to have about 20 users
at the most. Hopefully, none of
us wants to fall out over bad
use of ‘antenna’ to be more ac-
curate because, as far as reception
is concerned, its function closely
resembles that of an insect’s an-
tennae that feel and reach into the
insect’s environment seeking out
information, which for the insect,
might be the location of food or the
approach of a predator. For us, a
juicy bit of DX!
This is where I climb onto my
hobby horse. Both Chris Lorek
(November PW) and Don Field
(October Keylines) allude to the
future of engineering in the UK.
Chris’ comments reflect a posi-
tive experience while Don is a little
less certain about where our future
engineers are coming from. While
I have little direct knowledge of
current schooling, I do think that
the engineering professions are
not given due prominence in our
schools. After 40 years or so as an
electronics engineer I can say first
of all that the public’s perception
of an ‘engineer’ is that of the span-
ner wielding person who fixes their
car or washing machine. A lot of
this is down to education but most
significantly in this country, we
do not have a well-defined career
path for first class engineers and
the fault lies with our Professional
Bodies and employment traditions.
Most engineers seem to attain their
BSc or BEng then do two or three
years of hands-on engineering
before moving up the ladder into
management where their engineer-
ing skills are no longer seriously
tested. They might as well just do
a degree in management studies
in the first place. In other European
countries and in America the ca-
reer path in engineering leads to
engineering excellence where you
progress through the ranks from
Assistant Engineer, Engineer and
so on to Principal Engineer. Indeed
in Europe you can prefix your name
operating practices.
I, like many other amateur
operators, am finding D-STAR is
currently a good way to connect
to the world while HF isn’t
working so well.
Terry Blackmore G1XXV
Shoeburyness, Essex
Editor’s comment: Thanks Terry.
I’m not sufficiently familiar with
D-STAR usage to comment but
I wonder if other readers agree
that there is an issue here of what
is acceptable operating practice
and, if so, what the solution might
be?
with the title, ‘Eur. Ing’ (European
Engineer), in Germany Dipl. Ing
(Diploma) or Dr. Ing (Doctor of En-
gineering) are also used. Such is
the respect accorded to engineers
in Europe. This country is possibly
unique: you can’t one day decide
to call yourself an accountant and
start practicing as such without
appropriate professional qualifi-
cations. You might with suitable
experience set up as a book-
keeper. In contrast, it seems that
anyone can set up as a ‘heating
engineer’, ‘Motor Engineer’ and
similar without due regard for the
professional obligations of the role.
Without meaning any disrespect,
the person who repairs your wash-
ing machine or car is most likely a
technician, or fitter. It has been my
downfall in the past when being in-
terviewed for a performance review
to have been considered lacking
in ambition because I did not want
my manager’s job, but my aspira-
tion to become a brilliant engineer
producing innovative cost effective
designs cut no ice.
Finally, I enjoyed the article on
the HMS Belfast Radio Room with
its rows of mouth-watering B40s,
CR300s and CR100s. It would be
nice to know that they are still in
working order and capable of at
least being demonstrated. I can
appreciate concerns over letting
Joe Public loose on this equipment
because many maritime radios had
live chassis which are not a prob-
lem until a fault develops. My own
introduction to the live chassis on a
Marconi Atalanta was one day tun-
ing in a station and the tuning knob
fell off. No problem, I thought and
got hold of the protruding spindle.
Fortunately, the earth leakage trip
cut out the supply and all was well.
Michael Jones GW7BBY
Llandysul, Carmarthenshire
VHF Activity
Dear Don,
One Tuesday night I wanted
to get on 2m because it was
activity night and to contact a few
stations on my new FT-817ND,
which is the first new commercial
radio I have bought in about 40
years since an FT-101E. I sold
it after eight years and then
modified equipment or built my
own gear. I thought this is a good
idea to get activity all on the same
night. I was last on 2m AM when I
had a G8 call in the 1970s − how
the band has died. Okay, I used
63
27/11/2017 09:52
 Letters
only a homebrew dipole but I did
contact two stations and heard
several others.
I’d had enough! A contest! I
knew nothing, not the operators
name, or location apart from a
square, which meant nothing
to me, not power, equipment or
antennas used. One gave me 099
so he could have actually talked
to 99 stations and used the band.
I looked up the square locations
later and thought it wasn’t bad for
my simple antenna although their
location made the real difference.
The following Tuesday was
70cm activity night. In the
afternoon I made a dipole just
to look around and get a feel for
the band. I heard somebody in
a square that I looked up and I
guess he was probably on Winter
Hill some 20 miles away.
On both bands I put out CQ
calls using CW and worked
nobody. I’d always wanted to try
CW on 2m and see what I could
do. This gives me no enthusiasm.
I don’t feel I want to spend time
and money on these frequencies
if that’s it. I guess every month it’s
the same stations contacting the
same stations without knowing
anything about them, which
seems pointless. On HF I don’t
do contests but thought I’d make
an effort on Tuesdays to populate
the bands on activity night but
contests are not for me. I want
to communicate, not simply
‘contact’ someone.
Bill Kitchen G4GHB
Ashton-under-Lyne
Editor’s comment: Yes, Bill, the
VHF Activity Contests have, if
anything, become a victim of their
own success, with some entrants
working well over 100 stations in
the two and a half hours. Person-
ally, I don’t have an issue with
that (what’s two hours a week, or
actually two hours a month on any
given band). What’s a pity is that
they are so quiet at other times!
As for CW, from what I have seen,
this tends to be used on VHF/UHF
only when there is a lift in propa-
gation, for DX chasing. However,
some of our readers who are
more active on the VHF bands
than me might want to respond.
64
62-Letters 3 pages.indd 64
News from
Belgium
Dear Don,
I still had in mind the Keylines you
wrote some years ago regarding
advertisers.
It started with the review of
the MP1DXMAX Super Antenna
by Carl Gorse 2E0HPI in the
September 2017 issue. I started
again to operate as OS8D/M and
drove to different countries in the
neighbourhood to activate LX/
PA/F/DL and HB0, done with two
small vertical magnetic antennas
(40m and 20m) on the roof of my
car. This worked fine, even better
when at the sea shore or beach, I
and got plenty of European QSOs
with my 100W or sometimes
150W with the Kenwood TS-
480HX.
After reading Carl’s review I
wished to buy that little antenna
– I sold my Buddipole because
I didn’t like to turn it all day
long to all directions (horizontal
dipole). I called one of your
great advertisers, ML&S, and
after a quick chat I ordered on a
Wednesday afternoon and got it
Friday morning here in Brussels.
That’s a very very quick delivery
at normal cost.
The price was less than
I expected, it was very well
packed, with easy instructions/
manual and it took me just one
hour to find out where to glide
the main Superslider for each
band. It really works amazingly!
Of course, I’m ready to use this
new antenna and expect it to
make the difference compared
with the magnetic verticals on the
roof of my car. I’ll start with the
Dutch beaches − you can drive
with your car on the beach and
sit down near the sea (be aware
of tide!).
As for my Hexbeam at home,
I have pushed it to 8m above
ground now. It works great and
better than the end-fed longwire
but propagation has been bad in
recent weeks so that it’s difficult
to compare with previous results.
I did most of my DXCC
chasing (200 worked) with 200W
only, end-fed longwires and no
amplifier at all. I reached 200
Etienne’s Super Antenna and Hexbeam.
countries without too many
problems although, of course,
previous years were heavenlike
conditions compared with now.
Since putting up the Hexbeam,
I have worked some ten new
countries. I still do, though, regret
I didn’t follow your advice to start
by buying the best antenna, next
step a good amplifier and end
with a suitable transceiver.
I think I’m fine now, especially
if I can get my Hexbeam 3 to 5m
higher, without risks for the arrival
of the planes above my garden
and without hurting the runways
here in the neighbourhood (living
near the airport).
I’ll have a look for a push-up
mast but most of the guys that
ever used push-up masts are not
satisfied because those masts are
made for occasional use (such
as Field Days) and do not endure
a long stay in all weather types
and lose their air or oil after some
weeks so that they go down by
themselves. Have you or your
readers some experience to share
about push-up masts or air or oil
driven? I would be interested to
know their experience.
Because I will never get any
permit to build up a tower here,
I can only use a kind of push-up
mast (as used by military), such
that I could increase or decrease
height whenever it needs to be
done. 
Etienne Vrebos OS8D & ON8DN
Brussels, Belgium
Editor’s comment: Thanks for
the update, as always Etienne.
I’m glad you are happy with your
purchases and your experience
with the Hexbeam supports
the results of the review in this
month’s issue. As for push-up
or air-driven or hydraulic masts,
I wonder if any readers can
suggest ones that are suitable
for permanent use in a home
station environment? Personally,
I know of several types where
each section is locked as you
push them up, so there should
be no danger of them retracting
unexpectedly. I have a couple of
ex-military ones that work that
way, Total Mast Solutions offer
such masts and Spiderbeam
also offer a range of telescopic
aluminium masts that appear to
be pretty rugged for long-term
use. Incidentally, a photo of
Etienne’s sea shore efforts with
the Super Antenna appeared in
last month’s HF Highlights.
Practical Wireless January 2018
27/11/2017 09:52
 Rallies
Plan your rally visits with our comprehensive list of forthcoming events.
Warners Group Publications Ltd. will be at shows marked* – come along to our stand for great deals on subscriptions to Practical Wireless and RadioUser.
Club Secretaries and Event Organisers – please send us details of your event if you would like it to be mentioned here.
DECEMBER 2017
December 29th (Friday)
Yeovil ARC Table Top Rally
Yeovil Amateur Radio Club will
be holding a Table Top Rally at
Sparkford Village Hall, Church
Road, Sparkford, Somerset BA22
7JN. The doors will be open
between 10.00am and 3.00pm
and admission will cost £3.00.
There will be free parking and light
refreshments will be available.
Bob
Tel: 01963 440167
E-mail: wjh069@gmail.com
www.yeovil-arc.com
JANUARY 2018
January 14th (Sunday)
The Red Rose Winter Rally
The West Manchester Radio Club
will be holding its Red Rose Winter
Rally at the George H Carnall
Leisure Centre, Kingsway Park,
Urmston, Manchester M41 7FJ,
just off Junction 9 of the M60,
opposite the Trafford Centre.
The venue is all on one level,
with a huge car park, café area
and facilities for the disabled.
The doors will open at 11.00am
and there will be the usual trade
stands, components, a Bring
& Buy, an RSGB bookstall and
special interest groups. For
further information, please see the
information on the Club’s website
or contact the Rally Manager.
John
Tel: 07870 161953
www.wmrc.co.uk
January 27th (Saturday)
The Horncastle Radio Rally
The Horncastle Radio Rally will
be held at Banovallum School,
Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6DA,
with access via the Mareham
Road entrance. There will be free
on-site parking and admission
will cost £2.00. In addition to
trade stands, there will be all the
usual attractions, including bacon
butties. This is an indoor event and
will be all on one level.
Tony G3ZPU
Tel: 01507 527835
E-mail: tony.nightingale@yahoo.
co.uk
FEBRUARY
February 3rd (Saturday)
The Reading DX Meeting
The Reading International Radio
Group will be meeting in the Large
Hall at Reading International
Solidarity Centre (RISC), 35-39
London Street, Reading RG1
4PS. The Meeting will take place
between 2.30pm and 5.00pm
January 2018 Practical Wireless 65
65-Rallies.indd 65
NEW CONTACT DETAILS. Send all your rally info to Georg Wiessala:
and offer an opportunity for
those interested in listening to
broadcasters from around the
world on the short wave, medium
wave and FM bands to get
together.
Mike Barraclough
Tel: 01462 643899
E-mail:
barraclough.mike@gmail.com
February 4th (Sunday)
The Canvey Radio
& Electronics Rally
The South Essex Amateur Radio
Society will be hosting the 33rd
Canvey Radio & Electronics Rally
at The Paddocks Community
Centre, Long Road, Canvey Island,
Essex SS8 0JA (the southern end
of A130). The doors will open
at 10.30am. There will be free
parking, trade stands, freshly made
refreshments (including the famous
Canvey Radio Rally bacon rolls)
and facilities for the disabled.
Vic Rogers G6BHE
Tel: 07957 461694
E-mail: nvr1945@btinternet.com
www.southessex-ars.co.uk
February 9th, 10th and 11th
(Friday/Sunday)
The Orlando HamCation
The 72nd Orlando HamCation
will be held at the Central Florida
Fairgrounds and Expo Park, 4603
West Colonial Drive, Orlando,
Florida 32808. The doors will be
open from 9.00am to 5.00pm
on the Friday and Saturday and
9.00am to 2.00pm on Sunday.
Admission for all three days
will cost US$17.00 (for tickets
purchased at the gate) or
US$15.00 (if purchased online or
via mail order by December 31st,
2017).
There will be talk-in, free car
parking, trade stands, a swap
meet, tailgate sale, forums, special
interest groups, family attractions
and a prize draw.
www.hamcation.com
February 11th (Sunday)
The Harwell Radio
& Electronics Rally
The Harwell Amateur Radio
Society will be holding a Radio &
Electronics Rally at Didcot Leisure
Centre, Mereland Road, Didcot,
Oxfordshire OX11 8AY. The doors
will be open between 10.00am
and 3.00pm and admission will
cost £3.00 (children under 12
free). There will be talk-in on
145.550MHz, free parking, trade
stands, special interest groups, an
RSGB bookstall and refreshments
E-mail: wiessala@hotmail.com
will be available all day.
www.g3pia.net/radio-
electronics-rally
February 18th (Sunday)
Audiojumble
Audiojumble – “The UK’s largest
second-hand and vintage hi-fi
event” – will be held at The Angel
Leisure Centre, Angel Lane,
Tonbridge, Kent TN9 1SF. Please
see the event website for details of
the cost of admission for standard
and early entry. Items on sale
will include vintage and modern
hi-fi, valve amplifiers, transistor
amplifiers, speakers, turntables,
tuners, tape recorders, CD players,
records, components, books and
vintage radios.
www.audiojumble.co.uk
February 18th (Sunday)
The RadioActive Fair
The RadioActive Fair, promoted
by the Mid Cheshire Amateur
Radio Society, will be held at
Nantwich Civic Hall, 4 Market
Street, Nantwich, Cheshire CW5
5DG. Doors open at 10.30am. Free
parking, trade stands, a Bring &
Buy, an RSGB bookstall, catering
and facilities for the disabled.
Stuart Jackson (Fair Manager)
Tel: 07880 732534
www.radioactivefair.co.uk
February 25th (Sunday)
The BRATS Medway Radio Rally
The Bredhurst Receiving and
Transmitting Society will be hosting
the BRATS Medway Radio Rally
at The Victory Academy, Magpie
Hall Road, Chatham, Kent ME4
5JB, just off the M2 at Junction 3.
The doors will be open between
10.00am (9.30am for disabled
visitors) and 2.00pm and admission
will cost £2.50. There will be talk-
in on 145.550MHz using callsign
GB4RRR and free parking. Trade
stands and on-site catering will be
available. Traders will have access
to the venue from 6.00am.
E-mail: secretary@brats-qth.org
www.brats-qth.org
February 25th (Sunday)
Pencoed ARC Table Top Sale
The Pencoed ARC Table Top
Sale takes place at the Pencoed
Rugby Football Club, The Verlands,
Felindre Road, Pencoed CF35
5PB. Doors open at 8am for sellers
and 10am for buyers, entry is £2.
Tables are £10 each on a first come
first served basis. Refreshments
available on site.
Madeline Roberts
Tel: 01639 76756 or 0773 837 5775
MARCH
March 4th (Sunday)
The Grantham ARC Radio and
Electronic Rally
The Grantham ARC Radio and
Electronics Rally will be held at
Grantham West Community Centre,
Trent Road, Grantham, Lincolnshire
NG317XQ and admission will cost
£3,00. There will be talk-in, on-
site parking, trade stands, special
interest groups an RSGB bookstall
and facilities for the disabled.
Kevin G6SSN
Tel: 07793 142483
E-mail: g6ssn@btinternet.com
www.garc.org.uk
March 5th (Monday)
The Exeter Radio & Electronics
Rally
The Exeter Radio & Electronics
Rally will be held at America Hall,
De La Rue Way, Pinhoe, Exeter
EX4 8PW. The doors will open at
10.30am (10.15am for disabled
visitors) and admission will cost
£2.00. Trade stands, Bring & Buy
(items booked in from 10.15am).
Catering will be available.
Pete G3ZVI
Tel: 07714 198374
E-mail: g3zvi@yahoo.co.uk
March 11th (Sunday)
Dover Radio Rally
The Dover Radio Rally will take
place at Whitfield Village Hall,
Sandwich Road, Whitfield, Dover
CT16 3LY. Doors open at 10.00am.
The auction starts at 12.30pm.
The rally ends at 1pm. Entrance
price for visitors is £2.00. Talk in
on GB3KS. There will be a Bring
& Buy table, if you have any items
you wish to sell please do bring
them along, 10% of the sale price
will go to the Dover Radio club
funds. Hot and cold refreshments
Good parking facilities.
John G7SXJ
Email: jfazz2@live.co.uk
March 25th (Sunday)
Callington Radio Rally
The Callington Radio Rally,
organised jointly by the Devon and
Cornwall Repeater Group and the
Callington Amateur Radio Society,
will be held at Callington Town Hall,
Callington, Cornwall PL17 7BD.
The doors will open at 10am and
admission is £2.00. There will be
ample free car parking adjacent to
the venue, trade stands, a Bring
and Buy (10% commission) and
on-site catering.
Roger 2E0YPH
Tel: 07854 088882
E-mail: 2e0rph@gmail.com
27/11/2017 13:50
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sources. Practical Wireless advises readers contemplating mail order to enquire whether the products are suitable for use in the UK and have full after-
sales back-up available. The publishers of Practical Wireless wish to point out that it is the responsibility of readers to ascertain the legality or otherwise
of items offered for sale by advertisers in this magazine.

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WANTED
Morse code students for free. Details of Maplin Notch Filter Design Yaesu FR101 RX GWO but selling as New MJF.931 HF Artificial ground
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antenna with data sheets, new AT04431/01 with the 12 volt input Tel: Gerry M6JVX 07889 142203 GWO, as new with all fittings.
and unused. £35.00 incl. p/post Tel: Brook 01626 773525 (Teignmouth) Email: geraldcope643@gmail.com Manual. £60 inc p&p
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 Radio Book Store
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Pages Price
SCANNING & FREQUENCY GUIDES
● SCANNERS 7 B Robertson & P Rouse ....................................245 £9.95
A TIT EW
D E
!
ED
D L
N

ANTENNAS/PROPAGATION
● AN INTRODUCTION TO ANTENNA MODELLING
Steve Nichols G0KYA (RSGB)..........................................................80 £9.99
● NOVEL ANTENNAS Steve Telenius-Lowe PJ4DX (RSGB)..............192 £14.99
● ANTENNAS MASTERED Peter Dodd G3LDO (RSGB)..............288 £14.99
World ● STEALTH ANTENNAS 2 (RSGB) ...............................................208 £14.99

Radio TV ● RSGB ANTENNA FILE (RSGB)..................................................288 £14.99

Handbook 2018 ● HF ANTENNAS FOR EVERYONE (RSGB) ................................336

● BUILDING SUCCESSFUL HF ANTENNAS (RSGB) ............................ 224
£14.99
£14.99
This is the 72nd edition of World Radio TV Handbook and this great directory continues ● HF ANTENNA COLLECTION Edited by Erwin David G4LQI
to offer the most comprehensive guide to broadcasting on the planet. With the help of an
(RSGB) ........................................................................................233 £19.95
international network of contributors they again provide the most up-to-date information on
mediumwave, shortwave and FM broadcasts and broadcasters available in any publication.
● Articles on topics of great interest to professionals, listeners and dxers alike including BEGINNERS/LICENCE/MANUALS
articles on Anipodean Journey, Receiving Noise, Radio Romania International, A New
Voice of Hope and Radio Voices from the South Seas. ● HF SSB DX BASICS Steve Telenius-Lowe, 9M6DXX (RSGB) ...........96 £8.99
● Reviews of the latest receivers and equipment ● RADIO PROPAGATION EXPLAINED Steve Nichols G0KYA ..........128 £12.99
● Maps fully updated showing global SW transmitter sites ● HAMSAT (RSGB) ........................................................................128 £9.99
● The Features section provides colour pages giving articles, radio reviews, propagation
● GETTING STARTED IN AMATEUR RADIO (RSGB)...........................96 £8.99
predictions, and colour maps
● National Radio – The world’s national radio services, and the broadcasters, listed by ● TECHNICAL FOR THE TERRIFIED BOOK 2 (PWP)........................128 £12.99
country ● TECHNICAL FOR THE TERRIFIED BOOK 1 (PWP)........................124 £12.99
● International Radio – Full broadcaster details and the winter SW frequencies as supplied
● ADVANCE! THE FULL LICENCE MANUAL
by the broadcasters together with an expanded Clandestine section
● Frequency Lists MW frequency lists by region; international and domestic SW broadcasts Alan Betts G0HIQ & Steve Hartley G0FUW (RSGB) ...................104 £11.99
by frequency; international broadcasts in English, French, German, Portuguese and ● AMATEUR RADIO EXAM SECRETS
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Alan Betts G0HIQ (RSGB) ....................................................................... 104 £12.99
● Television – Details of the broadcasters arranged alphabetically by country
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Frequency Transmissions, DX Club information, Internet resources and other essential Alan Betts G0HIQ (RSGB) ............................................................32 £4.99
information
● HF AMATEUR RADIO 2nd Ed. Ian Poole G3YWX (RSGB) .......144 £12.99
All of this for just £35.00 plus p&p
● INTERMEDIATE LICENCE – BUILDING ON THE FOUNDATION
4th Edition Steve Hartley G0FUW (RSGB) ..................................76 £6.99
● LOW STOCK MORSE CODE FOR RADIO AMATEURS (RSGB)32 inc. CD £8.99
AN INTRODUCTION TO ● LOW STOCK SECRET OF LEARNING MORSE CODE
ANTENNA MODELLING Mark Francis (Spa)........................................................................84 £6.95

For many years, the only way for most radio amateurs to work out DESIGN & CONSTRUCTION
how well an antenna design would work was to build it and find
● HOMEBREW COOKBOOK (RSGB) ..........................................208 £12.99
out. The arrival of computer based antenna modelling programmes
has changed this. This book looks at the Free MMANA-GAL ● CIRCUIT OVERLOAD (RSGB) ...................................................504 £18.99
antenna modelling program that will let you design and optimise a ● THE ART OF SOLDERING R Brewster (Babani) .........................84 £3.99
whole host of antennas and all on your PC.
● BUILDING A TRANSCEIVER
PRICE: £9.99 PLUS P&P.
E Skelton EI9GQ & E Richards G4LFM (RSGB) .........................176 £12.99

SHACK ESSENTIALS

RESTORING OLD ● RTTY/PSK31 for Radio Amateurs Roger Cooke G3LDI (RSGB) .............48 £7.99
● LOW STOCK RSGB AMATEUR RADIO OPERATING MANUAL
RADIO SETS   8th edition (RSGB) ................................................................................ 240 £16.99
For many, there is nothing more charming than an old broadcast ● NEW DELUXE LOGBOOK & DIARY 2017 (RSGB) .....................80 £4.99
receiver glowing away in a substantial wooden or Bakelite case.
However, these are now a rarity and it is much more likely that old ● NEW HART REVIEWS (RSGB)............................................................ 192 £12.99
radio sets will be non-working curios found at car boot sales in a ● RSGB PREFIX GUIDE 12th edition (RSGB) ................................80 £9.99
dusty, unloved condition. Restoring Old Radio Sets is a book that
● SIX & FOUR Don Field G3XTT (RSGB) ............................................. 288 £13.99
sets out to provide a step-by-step guide to bringing an old set back
to life, getting it working properly and restoring its looks. ● AMATEUR RADIO ASTRONOMY 2nd Edition
PRICE: £8.99 PLUS P&P. J Fielding (RSGB) .......................................................................384 £16.99
● AMATEUR RADIO ESSENTIALS G Brown (RSGB) ..................288 £25.99

68 Practical Wireless January 2018

68-Book Store form 4 pages.indd 68 27/11/2017 11:23


Pages
QRP
● QRP BASICS George Dobbs G3RJV (RSGB) ............................204
VHF & HIGHER
● MICROWAVE KNOW HOW Andy Barter G8ATD (RSGB) .........192
HISTORICAL
● THE VINTAGE RIG GUIDE Steve White G3ZVW............................80
CRYSTAL SETS
● THE VOICE OF THE CRYSTAL H Peter Friedrichs ......................185
ELECTRONICS
● LOW STOCK COMPUTERS IN AMATEUR RADIO
with CD (RSGB) ..........................................................................256
● TEST EQUIPMENT FOR THE RADIO AMATEUR (RSGB) .......250
BINDERS
● PRACTICAL WIRELESS OR RADIOUSER. .........................................£10.00
ACRCHIVE CDS NOW AVAILABLE
The archive sets are each on a single optical disc and provided in a searchable portable document
format (PDF). It’s ideal for any computer running a PDF reader program – there should be no problems!
LOW STOCK RADIOUSER 2016 ARCHIVE ........................................... £14.99
PRACTICAL WIRELESS 1965-1969 ARCHIVE ................................... £24.99
PRACTICAL WIRELESS 1970-1974 ARCHIVE ................................... £24.99
PRACTICAL WIRELESS 2010-2014 ARCHIVE ................................... £24.99
RADIOUSER 2011-2015 ARCHIVE ....................................................... £24.99
PRACTICAL WIRELESS 2015 ARCHIVE .............................................. £14.99
RADIOUSER 2015 ARCHIVE .................................................................. £14.99
IN THE SHOP ............................................................................................. £14.99
DATA MODES ............................................................................................ £14.99
LOW STOCK CARRYING ON THE PRACTICAL WAY ........................... £14.99
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ANTENNA COLLECTION ARCHIVE ....................................................... £14.99
PRACTICAL WIRELESS 1990-1994 ARCHIVE ................................... £24.99
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RADIOUSER 2013 ARCHIVE .................................................................. £14.99
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PRACTICAL WIRELESS 2005-2009 ARCHIVE ................................... £24.99
RADIOUSER 2011 ARCHIVE .................................................................. £14.99
RADIOUSER 2006-2010 ARCHIVE ....................................................... £24.99
January 2018 Practical Wireless
68-Book Store form 4 pages.indd 69
THE VINTAGE RIG GUIDE  
Amateur radio equipment saw great changes from the 1960s
onwards with the arrival of solid-state designs and there is
much superb equipment from the latter decades of the 20th
century available in the second-hand market. This brand new
publication focuses on the amateur radio equipment from
theses decades in the same format as the The Rig Guide,
describing the basic information about the equipment, along
with when it was first made and what it may be worth.
Price: £5.99 plus p&p.
RADIO PROPAGATION EXPLAINED  
Price
Understanding radio propagation is essential for anyone with
an interest in radio communications who wants to know how
signals travel from A to B. Written by acknowledged expert
£14.99 Steve Nichols G0KYA, Radio Propagation Explained provides
everything you need to know about this fascinating topic.
Price: £12.99 plus p&p.
£12.99 HF SSB DX BASICS  
Contacting far flung parts of the world (DX) on the High
Frequencies (HF) on single side-band (SSB) is one of the
enduring fascinations of amateur radio. HF SSB DX Basics
provides a practical guide to making the most of this endlessly
£5.99 fascinating area of operation.
Price: £8.99 plus p&p.
RTTY/PSK31 FOR RADIO AMATEURS
£11.95 Data modes appear to be a daunting prospect to newly
licensed radio amateurs but they do not have to be. This book
is a practical guide to the two most popular data modes, RTTY
and PSK31. However, RTTY /PSK31 for Radio Amateurs does
carry a warning: Buying this book may lead to an enjoyment
of RTTY, PSK31 (and Data modes in general) which is highly
addictive!
£14.99 Price: £7.99 plus p&p.
£14.99
GETTING STARTED IN AMATEUR RADIO
If you want to know something about the hobby or are newly
licensed or are even just looking for something different,
Getting Started in Amateur Radio provides the answers. What
about receiving digital images from the International Space
Station? Or talking to friends around the world via satellite?
Or perhaps being able to help out during natural disasters? All
of these things are possible with amateur radio and Getting
Started in Amateur Radio details these and many other
possibilities. £8.99 plus p&p.
THE VOICE OF THE CRYSTAL
185 pages of practical information on the fabrication of
electronic components suitable for use in building crystal
radio sets. Basic theory and simple analysis are combined
with dozens of examples of historical practice, work by
contemporary experimenters and construction details for many
instruments fabricated by the author himself.
£11.95 plus p&p.
CARRYING ON THE PRACTICAL WAY
20 years of projects in practical wireless
Since 1996, there has been an ongoing series of small practical
projects in Practical Wireless magazine. The Rev. George
Dobbs G3RJV has been the mainstay of this series by far,
having written around 95% of the articles that appeared up to
date. Therefore, as a tribute to George’s love of the hobby and
to the other authors who take over the task of demonstrating
that building your own projects is easier than you might think,
we’ve collated them into one electronic archive.
Because of the wide-ranging subjects it’s not easy to catalogue
them because there are around 230 articles to browse through.
Of necessity, some are similar in nature but all are unique in
showing how easy it can be to create small circuits that can
be coupled together to produce receivers, transmitters, test
equipment or just plain novelties to amuse. Nevertheless, all
are part of the self-training aspect of the hobby.
£14.99 plus p&p.
HARRY LEEMING’S IN THE SHOP
A collection of Harry’s long running In The Shop series in PW.
Find hints, tips and anecdotes about customers that Harry met
while running Holdings HiFi Audio, an amateur radio shop. If
you’ve got an older Yaesu transceiver, this is the CD-ROM for
you with some 300 searchable pages. £14.99 plus p&p.
MIKE RICHARDS’ DATA MODES
Since he started his regular column some years ago, Mike
Richards G4WNC has explained the many data modes using
a computer with your radio. They’re all here, but these are not
the only computer related topics Mike has covered. Find out
how to use the Raspberry Pi, a £25 Linux computer or create
projects using the Arduino system. All this in 178 searchable
pages. £14.99 plus p&p.
69
29/11/2017 11:53
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 the new Short Wave Magazine
Space Weather, the Sun-Earth Connection and Radio
Propagation In a pilot episode for a new column, Tomas
Hood NW7US shows us how radio waves propagate,
unpicks the layers of the atmosphere and examines
processes of ionisation, refraction and reflection.
Scanning Scene Bill Robertson looks at the Wireless
Telegraphy Register and at voice inversion and
encryption techniques in scanners, before providing an
updated catalogue of search and rescue frequencies.
Decode Mike Richards offers some additional resources
relating to his visit to the 2017 RSGB Convention and
brings readers up to date on the SpyServer SDR receiver
and the Airspy HF+.
Military Matters Pat Carty continues his reviews of recent
key military exercises, including their communications
aspects. He also advises on some new capabilities of the
popular PlanePlotter software.
Sky High Godfrey Manning delves into aeronautical
radar, the latest in ADS-B transmissions and the data
broadcasts on 978 MHz as well as offering the latest
frequency and operational news.
Airband News David Smith takes readers into the realm of
artificial intelligence, to preview developments in air traffic
control, provides background on turbulence warning
systems and looks at drone regulation.
Maritime Matters Robert Connolly points to the return
of Loran and Morse code transmission formats, in
terms of increasing the security and resilience of marine
communications vis-à-vis terrorism and disasters.
Coming
next month
IN THE UK’S BEST AND ONLY INDEPENDENT
AMATEUR RADIO MAGAZINE
FEBRUARY 2018 ISSUE
ON SALE 11TH JANUARY 2018
AT ALL GOOD NEWSAGENTS
Current issues are available direct for
the cover price (post free). Please see
the Book Store pages for ordering information
January 2018 Practical Wireless
73-next month 1 page.indd 73
incorporating Radio Active
NDB DXing In the last of his columns for 2017, Robert
Connolly responds to antenna queries, offers his detailed
beacon loggings list and investigates maritime beacon
reception from Ukraine.
DXTV, FM & Satellite News Keith Hamer and Garry Smith
assess Sporadic-E activity throughout the reporting
month of September and analyse FM, TV DX and
ON
Satellite reception reports from a range of monitors.
LM&S Broadcast Matters Chrissy Brand reflects on
SALE
the debates and inspirations at a recent key radio
conference, outlines seasonal broadcast schedule
changes and integrates a wealth of reception reports.
NOW
The National Maritime Operations Centre John Periam
and Geoffrey Lee cover the communications and
rescue activities of the NMOC in Fareham, illustrating the
diversity of emergency communications used in its work.
December 2017
The Cross Country Wireless Mains Filter Mike Richards Available from all good
has subjected the new mains filter from Cross Country newsagents. Price £3.99
Wireless to a rigorous technical review and reports on
his findings.
Comms from Europe Simon Parker caps off this year in
the world of CB with the first part of an assessment
of the state of the CB and PMR446 hobby, evaluating
innovation during 2017 and foreshadowing 2018.
Off the Record Oscar the Engineer evaluates the
conditions under which free radio can prosper and RadioUser is Published by:
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Radio Websites Chrissy Brand reacts to premature West Street, Bourne, Lincs. PE10 9PH
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resources and responds to readers’ hints and tips.
Review – The MD-9600 and HT-500D
Tim Kirby G4VXE reviews two DMR rigs from
Moonraker − the MD-9600 mobile and the HT-500D
handheld, both of which will also feature as prizes in
a PW competition!
Results – The 2017 PW 70MHz Contest
Colin Redwood G6MXL has the results of last
September’s PW 70MHz contest.
Valve & Vintage
Michael Marinaro WN1M wraps up his tale
of Fabbri and the fight to achieve reliable
transatlantic communications.
The Yaesu FL-50B Transmitter
and FV-50B External VFO
Nicely complementing our recent series
about the Yaesu FR-50B receiver, Ross
Bradshaw G4DTD takes us through the care
and use of the matching transmitter and
external VFO.
SEAnet Convention 2017
Editor Don G3XTT reports on the 2017
Sea East Asia Net (SEAnet) Convention
in Siem Reap, Cambodia, and a
CQWW CW contest operation from
Thailand.
In the Shop
Harry Leeming G3LLL reflects on fault-
finding and servicing, based on his
many years of experience.
There are all your other regular columns too, including
What Next, The Morse Mode, HF Highlights, World of
VHF, Data Modes, Carrying on the Practical Way and
Buying Second-hand.
The publishers reserve the right to change content
according to circumstances.
73
28/11/2017 16:56
 Specialist Dealers
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Tel: (01685) 870425 Fax:(01685) 876104
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Somerset Practical Advertisers index

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74 Practical Wireless January 2018

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