GØNMY's Ham Radio Blog

11 Oct 432 UKAC contest

2011-10-12T01:10:00.000Z

Well I followed on with another entry into the 432MHz UKAC contest this evening,
and Managed to work a few more stations than last time.
I was suffering from some heavy interference which appeared to be coming from a westerly direction, but all in all I enjoyed the contest, and think I will continue to support this activity contest.There didnt seem to be much activity from the north/east, well I didnt hear anything anyway.
Below again is a map showing the worked stations. I cant wait for some REAL Tropo enhanced ducting on this band I think it could be fun.
Thanks for reading. Blog soon.

View Larger Map

13 sept 432 UKAC contest

2011-09-15T03:54:00.000Z

On the 13th of September I decided to enter the 432MHz UKAC mainly for the fun of it
as I hadnt entered a 432 contest before, and also because I wanted to test out my system to see how it would perform.
My 432MHz system comprises of an Icom IC-490E running 10Watts of power. The feeder is westflex103 coax and a 10 element tonna yagi, actually it was just the rear section of a 21element tonna yagi.
I do not yet have a mast-head pre-amplifier which I am sure will make quite a bit of difference.

Well I managed to work a GRAND TOTAL of 20 stations, with about 7 of them actually being out portable
in horrible gale force winds. Brave souls indeed who deserve a medal for that alone.
My best ODX @246km was GM4JR in locator square IO85FB.

View Larger Map

As you can see from the above map quite a distance can be worked with low power and small antennas.
I have yet to add a mast head pre-amplifier to boost incoming signals and I also have a 150W pmr amplifier
that I fancy modifying to work on ssb.

Anyway thanks for reading blog you soon.
73 from Mark

Worked Grids

2011-07-17T17:04:00.001Z

I found a useful little program called WorkedGrids.

It is a program that produces a basic map of your zone eg europe with all the IARU grid squares marked.

It marks each square you have worked with a colour box depending on which band you worked that square.

CLICK IMAGE FOR FULLSIZE VIEW

It is fully configurable and works by reading a computer logbook program ( I use WinLOG32 by Colin G0CUZ) adif file. It is ideal for keeping track of what squares you have worked both all time and per year.

Workgrids is written by Bertrand Zauhar VE2ZAZ and is available on Bertrand's website at

VE2ZAZ.

Elecraft KX3 new model

2011-05-23T21:44:00.001Z

Well I just watched a youtube video announcing the the new Elecraft KX3. and for a qrp SDR transciever it looks the dogs wotsists. Can be used alone or as an SDR radio with a computer does PSK31 and RTTY without a computer.
Would Love to own one, guess I had better start saving my pennies. THEY ARE NOT CHEAP!
$1800 plus!
Sorry about the quiet audio.
Thanks for reading blog you soon 73

DIGITAL SSTV PICS

2011-03-23T02:57:00.001Z

I have recently been receiving Digital SSTV (Slow Scan Television)
pictures on the 20mtr band 14.233MHz.
The picture quality is excellent providing a good

constant signal level is received. It is almost like digital terestrial
Television in that it is copy all or nothing, however if you miss
parts of the image you can send BSR report telling the sender,
digitally, what segments were missed from the image.

He will then send a correction transmission sending the missing
parts until you have the full picture.
This is all done automatically using an excellent program called

EasyPal.

EasyPal is a free program by VK4AES. and is still in
development however it has lots of interesting features along with
the option to upload the received pictures to the internet for
publishing etc. that is one feature that I plan to try and configure
for my blog page. so watch this space.

Below is a couple of pictures I received using the program and
am testing to see if they upload ok.

So thanks for reading and blog ya soon.

Morse Code practice

2009-10-05T23:15:00.002Z

Well I havent been very active for a long time now and when I have it has mainly been listening to the HF bands.
However just recently I have been watching some Video's on YouTube of hams operating
portable on top of mountains. One such Ham is Steve NØTU who along with his two loyal goats named Peanut & Rooster, they help to carry his equipment to the summit he manages to work some good dx using only 5w and CW using Morsecode. Check out Steve's Blog.
This got me interested in cw again and I decided after listening to morse on 20mtrs I was extreemly lacking in my ability to decode the code at a decent speed. So I am now practicing to try and build my brain up again.
There are a few ways to do this however, I chose two options. The first is on the Internet using the website called Learn CW Online, which is an excellent site to help the complete novice to the most ardent brass pounders and paddle strokers around.
The 2nd option I went for was to download the program called MorseRunner.
This program simulates a cw contest and prepares you for such an event. not that I think I am ready to enter such a contest I just cannot decode well enough yet.
Anyway thanks to Steve and his goats I have re-aroused my morse interest and will be practicing regularly to get back to my old capabilities.

Thanks for reading --... ...-- ... -.-

More Sp-E's on 144MHz

2007-06-22T19:23:00.000Z

There was a Sporadic E opening this evening on 144Mhz, sadly, as usual, no stations were contacted here, but hey if it was easy it would become boring.

Over the last few days here in the UK we have had bad weather with flash flooding due to large amounts of rainfall over a short period, and heavy Electrical Thunder Storms making the radio a very noisy pastime. However it does appear to have triggered Sporadic E openings on the VHF bands adding fuel to the flame that Sp-e's are caused by Thunder storms. Its not a proven
trigger as yet but then again it wasn't too long ago that the boffins accepted the SP-E existed
as a mode of propagation on the vhf bands, one scientific phenonemon discovered and proven by radio hams.

Anyway Here is the picture showing the areas who managed to contact each other.
The blue lines are for 144MHz and the Red/Orange for 50MHz and 70MHz Bands.

Map captured from Live-MUF program by G7RAU (with thanks).

First SP-E of Season on 2mtrs

2007-05-13T11:50:00.000Z

Well yesterday Saturday 12th May saw the first Sporadic-E opening on 2mtrs, (as far as I am aware) for 2007 season.

The reflective area, or cloud, as some like to call it, was located over Italy, and was basically too far away from my location to bend any signals to the UK.

However it is always nice to see it happening and the anticipation that at any moment

it could all change and the band could open up to my area.

Below is a picture showing the areas who managed to contact each other.

Map captured from Live-MUF program by G7RAU (with thanks).

Tropo Sat 5th May 2007

2007-05-06T00:02:00.000Z

Well I havent managed to catch any Sporadic E openings on 2mtrs yet, So not much worked.
However on the 5th May there was a Tropo opening into europe with many of the big guns
working lots of DX. As for myself I managed to work two stations.
First was DK2MN who was located in Jo32PC he gave me a 5/3 report and I gave him a 5/1 report, he was very weak with me luckily the rigs dsp helped to dig him out of the noise.
Secondly was PA6NL in Jo21BX again the DSP of my IC7000 radio helped to make the contact.
So not much DX but Netherlands and Germany which was pleasing enough.

Here is a Map of Europe with the paths of the countries who managed to contact each other marked on it.

Map captured from Live-MUF program by G7RAU (with thanks).

Thanks for reading.. Mark

Looking forward to 2007 Sp-E

2007-04-20T21:24:00.000Z

Well I've not been very active since my last entry infact ive not done much on the radio apart from local chat, The main reason was down to caring for my father who became terminally ill with cancer. Sadly he passed away in february 2007 so have also been very busy sorting out his estate etc.

Anyway onto radio now and I have aquired a new Icom IC-7000 which I am pleased with and am just about proficient at driving. So I am looking forward to the Sp-E season starting.
I have started to fire up Live MUF program to keep my eye on for any Sp-E's
I have not got around to building my DK7ZB beam for 2 mtrs but I do plan to do so when time permits.
Anyway glad to be back blogging again. thanks for reading.
Mark GØNMY

I Need Some E's

2006-07-13T14:35:00.000Z

Well yesterday the 144 MHz Band opened up via the Sporadic-E propagation mode. Alas whilst it was a good opening it did not provide any dx at this location. As can be seen from the map below most of the enhancements favoured southern european countries like Spain, Malta and some excellent double hop into Russia.

The one drawback with this kind of opening is it is very restricted as to where the signals get refracted to. Some of the Big Gun stations in the UK managed to work some of the DX but it just did not bend the signals into my antenna. Ah well maybe next time.
Thanks for reading... Mark GØNMY

The Tale Of The Troublesome 290

2006-06-28T22:13:00.000Z

I am not QRV on 2mtrs at the moment due to other commitments. So I will tell the tale of a recently purchased FT290 MKII. I bought the 290 off Ebay, it was not too expensive at £70, however when it arrived and I hooked it up I found it had very little output, I contacted the seller who told me that they used it on their local repeater which is possible as they live close to it. Upon Inspection the output device 2sc1971 was duff. I did a quick search and found some brand new
devices on, you guessed it (Ebay) they were £6 which I decided was not a dear price. So I purchased one. It duly arrived and I proceeded to fit it, along with a better bias diode as the old device was a 1n4148 glass diode. I fitted a higher current device after reading an article about diode biasing and the common
mistake of using a small current diode which could break down due to high current loading in SSB mode.

Well I tried everything I just could not get any rf out of the device it was removed and metered atleast 5 times! and it checked out fine. I began to suspect that the device I had aquired had probably been mislabeled as it was drawing current but no RF on 144MHz. at this point I started to doubt my
findings and contacted Chris (G1EZJ) a long standing radio friend. He checked out the radio and also came to a conclusion that the transistor was not what it said it was. At this point I thought I would contact Yaesu to see if they could offer a source for the so called obsolete Transistor. I was very Supprised and pleased to get an email back the following day stating that the device was in stock and was £6 plus £4 postage and packing. which was more or less what I paid before. I ordered the device and prayed it was a faulty device I had fitted previously. I decided to take the device down to Chris's and let him fit it. more for my peace of mind and sanity. Lo and Behold Perfect 2.5W output.
So I came to the conclusion that the RARE devices advertised on Ebay were not what they were labelled. next time i will try Yaesu First!.

Inbetween all this Chris had spotted an FL2025 25W add on PA on you guessed it EBAY. So In like flynn I went and won it again it wasnt too dear £37 with postage. Anyway The amplifier had arrived whilst I was awaiting the 2nd 2sc1971 device for the 290.

The pa had not been connected until I knew the 290 was 100%
Upon hooking up the PA guess what? YES youve got it. NO OUTPUT!.

The FL2025 uses a Mitsubishi brick M57727. I took the system back down to Chris's as he has had a lot of experience with brick devices on 23cms.
And he comfirmed that it was indeed duff. However One thing Chris had done in the past was to repair a 23cms brick that he had zapped.
He removed the plastic cover of the device and metered the different stages and discovered a burnt out bias diode. Now my eyesight is nowhere near good enuff
to start repairing bias circuits on the modules but Chris was in his element, he removed the duff diode metered the device which then checked out fine. So he added a small diode and hooked it all up and 15W output and then with a tweak 25W I was well chuffed and impressed as I did not fancy paying out more money on a new brick.

Thanks Chris!
Since then I have managed to aquire a service manual and the next stage to to get it onto frequency as it is slightly off.
I guess Ebay is basically the same as the old bring and buy at radio rallies where you get the item home and it doesnt work.

Anyway there is the Story. My next project it to build a DK7ZB yagi for 2mtrs
and a mast head preamp. So watch this space and Ill update when I can.
Thanks for reading. Mark
GØNMY

E's E's Everywhere But Here!

2006-06-24T19:48:00.000Z

Well there has been several Sporadic-E openings on 2mtrs today
However none of the Ionised areas were in reach of my qth. Looks Like Spain and Italy had a good day today.

So no real DX to report today, although earlier I worked into Essex normal Tropo JO01KW.
And just as I am writing this I managed to catch Gerold G4OIG/P who was
on Hegdon Hill IO82QE activating SOTA G/WB-023 which is a new one for me. Unfortunately I missed all his earlier Sota activations due to not being in the shack, well we cant be here all the time

So not much to write about today. But you never know the day isn't over.
You have to be positive with this hobby.
Bye for now. Mark

2006-06-21T20:59:00.000Z

Hello and welcome to G0NMY's Ham Radio Blog

First let me introduce myself.
My Name is Mark Longson I was born in 1961 and am nearly 45 years old.
I Live in the City of Stoke-On-Trent.

I became a licenced Radio Ham in 1985 and was issued with the callsign G1UWO (Useless Wireless Operator) and in 1990 I Passed my 12 w.p.m Morse test and aquired my call G0NMY (No Money Yet). My main interest is in the VHF bands and I have, over the years, operated many different modes, from RTTY to AX25 Packet, to Fast scan TV on 70cms, 23cms, 13cms and 3cms.
Today my main operating is usually on 2mtrs SSB or 4mtrs FM.
I only have a 1/2 wave dipole in the loft for 4mtrs at present, so I tend to go out Mobile/ Portable for my main 4mtr operating.

For 2mtrs I use an FT290r into a linear amplifier producing about 20Watts.
My 2mtr beam is a 7 ele ZL special which is about 35ft up
So nothing special and my location is fairly low down in a valley. Not an ideal
location for vhf and up operating, However I prefer VHF to HF operating.

My IARU locator square is IO83VA and my NGR is SJ879461 WAB is SJ84
I have recently got into chasing SOTA stations and am slowly working my way up the points table.

Click to Visiit

Recent news:
Recently there have been some excellent Sporadic-E openings on 2mtrs and below is a log of the stations I have been lucky to work with my fairly humble setup.

Ham report IARU
callsign sent / received Locator Square Country Name Freq Mode

IW0FYC 5/9 5/9 JM76HD Scicilly Lloyd 144 MHz SP-E
IW4EGP 5/9 5/9 JN64GB Italy 144 MHz SP-E
IK0BZY 5/9 5/9 JN61GW Italy 144 MHz SP-E
IW0BYL 5/9 5/9 JN61GV Italy Michael 144 MHz SP-E
EB3EHJ 5/9 5/9 IN01VO Spain 144 MHz SP-E
EA4CZV 5/9 5/9 IN80DL Spain 144 MHz SP-E
EA7RN 5/5 5/5 IM87CS Spain 144 MHz SP-E
9A2C 5/9 5/9 JN95IN Croatia 144 MHz SP-E
EA6DD 5/9 5/9 JM19JK Balearic Isl Mayorca 144 MHz SP-E
EB3DYS 5/9 5/9 JN11CK Spain 144 MHz SP-E

Not bad for my humble setup.

Right, well thats about all for now. Thanks for visiting
byee.