working dx in amateur radio - ve6tn

Working DX!

Ham UniversityMarch 10, 2007Barry Middlebrook, P.EngVE6TN – Calgary, AB

VE6TN - Working DX! 2

Agenda

1. What is DX? DXCC? 2. Discussion on HF propagation 3. Sunspot Cycle 4. Operational Techniques 5. Building a DX Station 6. Some DX Tools 7. QSLing


What is Amateur Radio All About? Public Service

Emergencies

Communications

Experimenting


Also . . .

Contributing to Scientific knowledge


Mostly it is about Fun and Friends!

VE6CQ

XE1V

VE6AO

VE5BAM/VE6TN

VE6SV

VE3EJ


1. DX – The Ultimate Contact Sport!

How far can you talk on that radio?


What Constitutes DX?

Simply put, DX is short form for distance Not local . . . . a distant station! In ham radio it can mean:

VHF/UHF – outside of your local city MF/HF – outside of your immediate province or perhaps

country Why is this so interesting?

It’s a thrill to go places, meet people that are outside of normal practical reach

It is the unpredictable nature of propagation that makes DXing so much fun!


Why DX?

Personal challenge and accomplishment Friendly competition Bragging rights Collect QSL Cards Collect stamps – A hobby within a hobby Collect awards

DX Century Club (DXCC) 100+ entities There are 18 separate DXCC awards available, plus the DXCC

Honor Roll Worked All States (WAS) CQ Worked All Zones (WAZ) Worked All Continents (WAC) CQ DX Award (Honor Roll) Worked All Prefixes (WPX)


DXCC Awards

Mixed Phone CW RTTY/Digital Satellite 160 Meters 80 Meters 40 Meters 30 Meters 20 Meters 17 Meters 15 Meters 12 Meters 10 Meter 6 Meters 2 Meters Challenge Honor Roll


DX Country Definitionhttp://www.arrl.org/awards/dxcc/ Clinton B. DeSoto, W1CBD, in his landmark 1935 QST article, "How to

Count Countries Worked, A New DX Scoring System“ Article by "The basic rule is simple and direct: Each discrete geographical or

political entity is considered to be a country" Political Entities

UN member state; ITU callsign block; contains a permanent non-military/science population; at least 800km from it’s parent.

Geographical Entities Island is separated from parent’s capital by 350 km (Hawaii), 800 km from any

other related island (Guam), isolated by another DXCC entity (Alaska). Special Areas

Antarctic (1 DXCC); Geneva ITU; Ineligible Areas

DMZ, Neutral zone, buffer zone, unclaimed land Removal Criteria

Political changes


Current DXCC List

347 Current DXCC Entities http://www.arrl.org/awards/dxcc/dxcclist.txt Deleted Entities still count if they were

worked when they were valid! Examples: Newfoundland joined VE March 31, 1949 GDR – Between Sept 17, 1973 and Oct 2, 1990


How to Qualify?

Apply on-line to ARRL Using LoTW (Secure electronic logbook submission

authenticated by ARRL) http://www.arrl.org/lotw/

VE does not have to be ARRL Member Member and non-Member fees

Need explicit proof of the contact LoTW logbook correlation ARRL HQ Checker. Submit QSL cards. Local Field Checker – Calgary Gerry Hohn, VE6LB

http://www.telusplanet.net/public/telwest/ve6lb.htm


DX Challenge Cumulative award

for working and confirming at least 1,000 DXCC band-Entities on any Amateur bands, 1.8 through 54 MHz.


ITU World Regions

ITU Regions Some different frequency

assignments and rules in each Region

Telephone, short wave, local broadcasting, disputes

ITU Zones Different adminstrative

control zones


CQ Zone – For Amateur Radio Use


Others

Grid Squares Maidenhead Grid

Locators Mine is DO31av

Continents (6)


2. HF Radio Propagation


What Makes it all WORK?

The ionosphere and magnetosphere protect us from harmful radiation from the sun


Atmospheric Layers

An Ion is a positive or negatively charged particle

Ionosphere31 – 400 miles

Stratosphere6 – 31 miles

Troposphere0 – 6 miles


Sky-wave Propagation

Signals are bent back to earth by the ionosphere Multi-hop propagation has radio signals bounce several times

between the ionosphere and the earth’s surface Sky-wave propagation range is much greater than ground-

wave propagation Sky-wave propagation least often occurs in the UHF

frequency range


Regions in the Ionosphere During the day . . .

The “D” Region is closest to Earth The “D” Region absorbs MF/HF

radio signals The “F2” Region is most

responsible for long distance communication

During the night . . . The “D” & “E” Regions disappear The “F1” & “F2” Regions combine

into one with reduced ionization


HF Amateur Bands

Pick the bands you can operate in: 160m – The Low Band 80m – Evening and night 40m – Evening and night 30m – Evening and night 20m – Daytime/Nightime 17m – Daytime 15m – Daytime 12m – Daytime 10m – Daytime

Dose of Reality . . . Size of the antenna! 100’ Vertical required City lot size dipole Dipole or Vertical

Yagi at 42’ – 60’


The Bandplan DX Windowhttp://www.rac.ca/service/hfband.htm There is a band plan so that local rag chewing avoid

interfering with weak DX stations on 160m and 80m: 160 m – 1.830-1.840 MHz LSB 80m – 3.790-3.800 MHz LSB 40m – Usually around 7.050-7.070 MHz LSB 20m – Usually around 14.190-14.210 MHz 15m – Usually around 21.290-21.310 MHz 10m – Usually around 28.490-28.510 MHz CW DX is normally up 10-25 kHz from the bottom of the band Dxpedition frequencies are generally published in advance

CW – Normally +35 kHz from the band edge split up 1-2 SSB –Normally 3.795/7.055/14.195/21.295/28.495 MHz with split

up 5-10. 40m will usually QSX on-frequency and announced.


More on DX Window

Frequency Allocation (DX)

75(CW) 80(SSB) 160 Japan 3.500-3.550 3.793-3.803 1.9075-1.9125 (CW only) 1.810-1.825 (CW only) Australia 3.500-3.600 3.776-3.800 1.800-1.866 Europe 3.500-3.600 3.775-3.800 1.820-1.850 (country

variations) CIS 3.500-3.600 3.640-3.650 1.830-1.850

Low Band Operating Etiquette Contests Usually “recommended” DX windows announced with rules Don’t CQ in DX window (especially 160) Don’t respond to non-DX calling CQ in the window

Day to Day Don’t rag chew/call general CQs in DX windows

160 = 1.830 to 1.835 80SSB = 3.789 to 3.800

Keep it short (propagation windows are usually small)


What is Propagation Like ? High-bands and Low-bands

High: 20 - 10 meters (14 -28 MHz) Highest open band is best 20 and 17 widest coverage now 15, 12, and 10 mostly in southerly directions

Low: 160 - 30 meters (1.8 - 10 MHz) Absorption high in the day, low at night Watch at sunset and sunrise


What is Propagation Like ? “Skip Zone”

Results from ground-wave versus sky-wave Sky-wave depends on MUF and signal angle Up to 200 miles on 40-meters 30- and 40-meters can “go long” 60-meters is good transition band 80- and 160-meters are solid at night


Real Time MUF Mapwww.spacew.com/www/realtime.php Lines represent the

maximum useable frequency (MUF)

Notice the greyline sun terminator

Notice the auroral zone in green


Gray/Terminator line

a transition region between daylight and darkness. One side of the Earth is coming into sunrise, and the other is just past sunset.

This area offers some unique and special propagation to the radio operator


W1AW Propagation Simulation Blue is

transmission Coverage

20 m SSB May ACE

prediction


Predicted Propagation for 10m on Dec 15, 2003 Ionization is at a

minimum just before sunrise

Ionization peaks at mid-day

Notice the prediction of multi-hop propagation

Blue is coverage


3. SUNSPOTS


Sunspots – We LOVE THEM!

The more sunspots there are, the greater the atmosphere is ionized

Thus, higher sunspot counts support a higher Maximum Usable Frequency (MUF)


The 11-Year Cycle


Monthly Average Sunspot Numbers


WWV Published Parameters

Numerous sites world wide monitor the sun using reference scientific instruments. Each publish their own SFI, A and K

Planetary averages are updated every three hours Ap and Kp SFI - the solar flare/ flux index (NOT sunspot count but related)

SFI high is GOOD. 100+ is good. 150+ is Awesome! K - the K-index

Fluctuations in the earths magnetic field observed on a magnetometer relative to a quiet day, during a three-hour interval

0 to 9. 0 is no disturbance while 9 is extremely disturbed. K over 3 is BAD. K depresses the MUF meaning no DX

A - the A-index The A-index was invented because there was a need to derive some kind of

daily average level for geomagnetic activity Uses a conversion table from K. example; K=2 is A=6-10, K=7 is A=103-166

Au – Auroral activity – Good for 6m, bad for HF. If A and K are up then expect aurora.

Gm – Geomagnetic activity – Low is good.


4. OPERATING PRACTICES


Listen Listen Listen . . .

You have two ears and one mouth so you should listen twice as much as you talk

Scan the different bands looking for weak signals Figure out where the propagation is. Look for openings that others

don’t hear. Check propagation every half an hour as it can change that quickly Follow the Grayline as it provides a clear idea when areas will open up

or close down for possible skip The grayline itself provides propagation enhancements especially on

the low-bands. A signal from Europe can jump to very loud for 5 or 10 minutes before disappearing. Be at the right place at the right time.

Monitor the DX Cluster and see who is on and whether you can hear them or not. It gives you insight as to where the propagation is

Follow the ARRL DX Bulletin and the know if there are any dxpeditions on-the-air that you should be looking for.


Initiating a Contact – HF Bands Always LISTEN first! If you don't hear anyone give a short call to ask if the frequency is in

use. “Is this frequency in use? This is YOURCALL” There could be someone listening to someone that you do not have

propagation to and if you fire up without giving them a chance to confirm “Yes it is, thank you” then it would be pretty inconsiderate.

“CQ” means “Calling Any Station Voice - “CQ CQ CQ this is VE6TN VE6TN VE6TN” Morse Code - “CQ CQ CQ DE VE6TN VE6TN VE6TN” “DE” means “from” or “this is” in morse code Send at a speed you can reliably copy

Answer a CQ Voice - Say the other station's call once, followed by “this is”, then your call

phonetically Morse Code – Send the other station's call twice, “DE”, then your call twice


Calling in a Pile-Up

Pile-ups are many many people calling the same station

Contest Etiquette is different than normal QSO’s. Be quick, fast out of respect for the DX station and others

who want to work them too Time your call for when he is listening Use your callsign in proper phonetics Listen If he is listening on a split frequency

Try to find the station he just worked and call there . . That is where he is listening

If he is moving his frequency then try to discern which direction so you can be there ahead of him


Split Frequency Operation

Rare stations will operate split to improve their run-rate of working stations. They will TX in the same place but listen elsewhere QSX is “ I am listening on . . . Frequency” CW is usually up 1-2 kHz. QSX up 2 SSB is usually up 5-10 kHz. QSX up 7.

Typical frequencies Dxpeditions usually operate split


ITU Phonetic Alphabet Used for accurate copy when band conditions are noisy or crowded Words are internationally recognized substitutes for letters Avoid cute phrases as they are not easily understood by non-

English speaking amateurs

A Alpha H Hotel O Oscar V Victor

B Bravo I India P Papa W Whiskey

C Charlie J Juliet Q Quebec X X-ray

D Delta K Kilo R Romeo Y Yankee

E Echo L Lima S Sierra Z Zulu

F Foxtrot M Mike T Tango

G Golf N November U Uniform


PHONE: “73” Best Regards “DX” Distant Station “CQ” Seeking you “QRZ” Who is calling? Calling. “QSL” Confirmed

CW/Digital “K” means “Go ahead” to any station (After calling CQ) “KN” means “only the requested station Transmit” “AS” means “standby wait” “SK” means “end of contact” “QRL?” means “Are You Busy” “Is this frequency in use? “R” Roger meaning confirmed yes Cut numbers A=1, N=9, T=0 used commonly in contests. The military

used cut number regularly when the sequence is of number only.

Ham “lingo” you may hear.....


S - Meter The S - meter gives a

relative signal strength reading of a received signal

A report of “five nine plus 20 db...” means the signal strength reading is 20 decibels greater than strength 9

The RST system is a quick way amateurs use to describe a received signal. Readability 1 = Poor 5 =

Good Signal Strength 1 = Poor 9

= Good (S-Meter) Tone (CW only) 1 = Poor 9

= Good


Some No-No’s

Don’t use CB slang or 10-codes Listen and make sure the

frequency is clear before you transmit

Avoid subject matter that could be offensive

Don’t swear, there are kids who are listening

Don’t forget your manners – be polite

Don’t forget that the whole world can hear you!


DXing Opportunities

Contest – www.contesting.com There are contests every weekend Try operating the contest just to pick up new countries CW Contests are easy since the exchange is pretty much

known and you can use your computer to send the code Take your time plugging away at it

Dxpeditions - www.ng3k.com/misc/adxo.html There are vacation dxpeditions There are serious dxpeditioners who charter ships and

spend months going to an isolated island to operate just so that you and I can have contacts with the DXCC entity

Buy the Video, collect the QSL card, be part of the adventure!


5. Building a DX Capable Station

VE6TN

VE6LB


Stations . . .

VE3EJVE6SV

VE6AO


Impact of Power and Antenna Think in terms of adding S-

Units at a receiving station Going to a better antenna

gives you 1+ S-Units of both TX and RX strength

Adding an amplifier gives you 1+ S-Units on the other end

Chart shows +-10 dB of coverage


AmateurPEP – 560 W OutputCW – 190W Output (250 W input)

AdvancedPEP – 2,250 W OutputCW – 750 W Output (1,000W input)

In all cases, use the minimum power required to make a reliable contact

Most Amateur HF stations run 100W output An S-Unit is 6 dB

Remember that each 3 dB is double the power

Maximum Transmitter Power


About Antenna’s

Large antenna arrays are extremely effective The down side is that they require a lot of space, they’re

expensive and they require periodic maintenance and safety inspections

You can work great DX with a ground mounted vertical in the City

You can work great DX with a dipole strung up in the trees Many have worked All Countries with a 40’ tri-band beam and

100W The City of Calgary permits a 42’ tower and beam without any

fuss. You simply need to apply by filling out the form and they will approve it without any grief giving you “Moral Authority” . . .


Length of dipole in feet = 468 f (MHz)

½ wavelength by formula

Coax

Feed Point

The physical length of a dipole and other antennas can be reduced without changing its resonant frequency by adding a loading coil.

The 1/2 Wave Dipole


Radiation pattern for a dipole antenna looking down from above the antenna

If the ends of a ½ wave dipole antenna point east and west most of the radio energy is radiated north and south

Dipole Radiation Pattern


Vertical antennas are excellent low angle radiators Ground mounted verticals require an extensive radial system Elevated mono-band verticals only require 4 radials to be

effective

Length of vertical in Length of vertical in feet = feet =

234 234 f (MHz)f (MHz)

The 1/4 Wave Vertical


Vertical Radiation Pattern

A side view of the radiation pattern of a 1/4 wave vertical. From above the pattern is round like a doughnut. A perfect ground would be a car roof


The yagi antenna focuses RF energy in one direction, giving the appearance of getting “free power.”

This free power is called Antenna Gain.

If an antenna has a gain of 3 dB the effective radiated power will double.

Many yagis are multiband antennas allowing them to operate on several bands with a single feed line.

The Yagi


Gain

Feedline

Reflector

Director

Driven Element

Boom

12 3

Feed Point

The Yagi

The Driven Element is approximately ½ wavelength long.

The Boom length has the greatest effect on the gain of a Yagi.


A cubical quad has two or more parallel four-sided wire loops, each approximately one-electrical wavelength long

Cubical Quad Antenna


Compare Antenna Types

Vertical Antenna, 0 dBi gain

Array SolutionsM2 Yagi 2-stack at 40 meters,13.9 dBi gain.


W1AW Transmission Area Coverage, 40 m, May, 24 UTC, SSB, Tx Ant Az 64 degrees.

Vertical Antenna, 0 dBi gain.Vertical Antenna, 0 dBi gain.Array Solutions M2 Yagi 2-stack at Array Solutions M2 Yagi 2-stack at 40 meters, 13.9 dBi gain.40 meters, 13.9 dBi gain.

ANTENNA EFFECTS ON COVERAGE


Earth-Moon-Earth communication is accomplished by bouncing VHF or UHF signals off the moon

CW is a good mode for EME

High gain antennas are needed for EME

EME (Moonbounce)


Used Station Equipment Budget Antenna

3 element Yagi around $150-$300. Hygain, Mosley, Cushcraft, etc. Verticals around $100-$200. Butternut, MFJ, Gap, etc. 40-60’ tower around $100-$500. Delhi DMX series, Rohn, Trylon, etc. 4’x4’x 5’ Concrete+rebar $$$ friends and beer

Feedline Various coax/ladder line around $100=$250. Belden RG-8/U, TV twinlead. Manual antenna tuner, to complement the one in the rig for $100. Vectronics, MFJ, etc.

Transciever Most modern rigs 100W rigs can be purchased used for $500-$1K. Older rigs with tubes can be purchased for a few hunder dollars, unless they are collectible

items. Accessories

Radio microphone ($20), headphones ($20), morse key/keyer ($80) Computer

Use your PC Com port interface for most radios made since the mid 80’s ($65) Logging program. For the most part they are free. Logger32 http://www.logger32.net/ also does contesting for the DXer who wants to contest a bit YPLog http://www.qsl.net/ve6yp/ from Tony Field here in Calgary. Great DX logging. N1MM http://pages.cthome.net/n1mm/ for the serious contestor


Important Principals!

Your antenna is the most important part of your station It’s not about power and gain. It is about the best you can with

what you have! DX comes in at low angles of radiation, so we need a radiation

angle that is capable of picking up 10 – 30 degrees to work DX. Verticals have low angles

Can be ground mounted, roof mounted Radials are important

Dipoles and beams should be at least ½ wavelength above the ground to start to develop low angles.

SAFETY FIRST! Nobody has ever gotten a QSL card from the grave.


6. SOME DX TOOLS


DX Packet Cluster

Use computer logging program to telnet to a DX cluster where stations are spotted for all to see

Calgary’s cluster is: dx.middlebrook.ca port 21 for CLX cluster dxc.middlebrook.ca port 8000 for Spider cluster VHF Packet 1200 bps 144.95MHz simplex


How to Use the Cluster

In Windows click <Start> select <Run> and type in: “telnet dx.middlebrook.ca” and you will be connected to the CLX cluster; or, “telnet dx.middlebrook.ca 8000” and you will be connected to the Spider

cluster login with your callsign. If asked for a password just push enter (none)

or use your name. Always use lower case letters. If you can’t see your typing then carefully type SET ECHO ON Here are some simple commands that will get you going:

SH/DX - will show the last 5 dx spots SH/DX/10 - which will show the last 10 spots SH/DX/10 14 - which will show the last 10 spots on 14 MHz (the 20m band) SH/WWV - which will give you the recent WWV solar activity

information SH/USERS - will show who is using the cluster SH/C - will show the connections to the cluster including nodes

If you are having problems just e-mail me at [email protected] and I’ll help you sort it out. I have a simple users guide that I can e-mail to you if you ask.


Computer Logging Programs

Ongoing computer logs Keep track of all of your statistics Keep track of your confirmed/sent QSLs Easy QSL card printing Beam heading Rig control Rotator control Grayline map Integrated with packet cluster Point-and-shoot loading of stations into the logging and

controlling the radio. Nice reports of your progress


Sample YPLog Layouts


Sample Logger32 Layout


Antenna Modeling Programs

EZ-NEC Multi-NEC Antenna Model


Beacons

A beacon is a station that transmits for the purpose of propagation observations.


Other DX Resources

http://oh2aq.kolumbus.com/dxs/ http://www.spacew.com/www/realtime.php www.qrz.com www.contesting.com www.eham.net www.425dxn.org – Awesome daily bulletins

and monthly newsletters http://www.dailydx.com


A QSL card is a written acknowledgement of communications between two amateurs

7. QSL Cards


QSL Bureau “VIA BURO”

Advantages Least expensive Good return rate Can send to QSL managers

Disadvantages Not time sensitive


QSL Managers (Stateside) Many DX have stateside QSL managers Not very expensive Pay postage both ways (SASE) Excellent return rates Fairly good turn around time


QSL Managers (Overseas) Excellent return rates Can get expensive Faster return that QSL Buro Pay postage both ways

IRC Foreign postage Green Stamps $$


QSL Direct

99% return rates Most expensive way to QSL Pay postage both ways IRC Foreign postage Green Stamps $$ Use foreign postage on SASE for best return

rate.


Electronic QSL


Electronic QSL

Advantages Fast upload Secure Apply for awards on line

Disadvantages Only matches QSO with other users Multiple steps to use You may not end up with a nice QSL card to hold

in your hand


It’s All About HAVING FUN!

N0NR at VE6TN

working dx in amateur radio - ve6tn

Engineering