We're losing our best 6 meter beacon

Do you 6 meter buffs realize that come February 17, 2009 we will no longer be able to tune our TV sets to an unused low channel (say channels 2, 4, 5 or 6 here in Charleston-Huntionton, WV) and wait to see a picture from far away to tell us that a sporadic E opening has made 6 meters come alive? Alas it is true.

For so many years a TV picture on an unused local channel was often our first indication of a sporadic E opening into places far, far away. But in Feburary 2009, when analog television has to shut down in favor of digital TV on new frequencies, those pictures from hundreds of miles away will fade into memories from the past like white bucks, leisure suits, Johnson Rangers and Monica Lewinsky.

Enjoy this tool again in 2008. Next year it will be gone.

We don't know what services will replace brodacast TV on those low channels, but they probably won't be anything comparable to 100,000 watt television stations. And I still need 46 entities for DXCC on 6 meters. Help?

Announced DX Operations Web Page Addition

The Announced DX Operations (ADXO) web page of Bill, NG3K, has added a new feature. On any "current" DX'pedition, there is now a link (underneath the DX'pedition Callsign) that will show PacketCluster spots for that operation. This gives you a quick and easy way to see if the operation has come on the air along with who is hearing it and on what bands. So as to not lose your place on the ADXO web page, right-click on the spot and choose "Open Link in New Tab" if you are using Mozilla Firefox or choose "Open in New Window" if you are using Internet Explorer. TNX to the Ohio/Penn DX Bulletin for this info.

A few good CW ops needed May 3

A highlight of this season in the Huntington area is the annual Spring Festival at Heritage Farm Museum. If you've been there before, you know what I mean. If you haven't, why haven't you? This is one of the premier farm museums in the nation and it comes more alive during Spring Festival than at any other time of the year as scores of volunteers show up to demonstrate how the old relics were used. And there are thousands of those historic inventions on display at this great museum. Most people don't realize that West Virginia has such a huge, unique working display.

It's a one day event, the first Saturday in May. May 3 this year.

And if you are a CW operator, the Heritage Farm Museum needs YOU! All day long, from 10 to 4, there will be a demonstration of telegraphy. If you're willing to help in that demonstration, you get into the festival for free. Contact Judy Taylor, WD8EOP, at least a couple days in advance so she can put your name on the list for free admission as a volunteer. Email her at bdsjudy@wvdsl.net or call her at 304-523-0486. Contact her or me if you need more details.

I plan to be there from 10 until about 1. Judy especially needs CW ops in the afternoon from 1 to 4. I can tell you that this will be a bunch of fun.

How a DXer spent $350 for nothing

My old SB-220 wasn’t putting out as much power as it once did. It had to mean that the original Eimac 3-500Z tubes in it were getting weak, right? I was sure of it.

I told Dave Ellis, WA8WV, that I was going to have to buy a matched pair of new tubes for a total of more than $350 including shipping. Dave advised me to try a good set of borrowed tubes first; just to be sure I needed new tubes. He told me that an old Drake linear, which he had recently donated to the Museum of Radio and Technology in Huntington WV, contained two perfectly good 3-500Z tubes. He said “why don’t you borrow those tubes and see if they fix the problem before spending a lot of money.” Great idea, I thought.

So I got Dave’s old tubes and installed them into my linear expecting a big improvement in power output. I was surprised to discover that the output was about the same. Both sets of tubes resulted in only about 500 watts output on 10 and 15 meters and only about 700 on 20. I was flabbergasted as I returned Dave’s old 3-500Z’s to the Drake in the radio museum, figuring that those relics weren’t really as good as Dave had remembered.

I told this story to lots of people including one of the smartest RF engineers I know, Earl Walton, W8LBN. Earl said, “What’s the difference, that’s all the power you need to run anyway?” Earl is obviously not a DXer.

Yeah, most of the time that is enough power, but not when you’re in a pile up trying to work a BS7 or a P5 competing with WA8WV, WA8VPN, W8GG, W8QHG, W8HC, W8UV and W8WEJ (the WVDXA Top of Honor Rollers) and thousands of other DXers around the globe. At that point I want every legal watt I can stuff into my antenna.

Earl agreed that there wasn’t much else in the circuit that could affect power output so I decided to act. I spent the money and got those new 3-500Z’s. I even paid for two day shipping from California. Actually they are 3-500ZG’s, with the “G” meaning graphite for added durability in these new Thompson tubes (made in China). I was going to be a powerhouse again on the air.

I installed the new tubes. I followed the instructions completely, applying filament power only at first, letting the tubes “cook” as they glowed for twelve solid hours before turning on the drive. Then I slowly sneaked the exciter’s power up gradually and read the SB-220’s output as it climbed to 200 watts, then 300, 400, 500, 510. I cranked up the exciter more. There was no further increase in output. The maximum I could get was 510 watts on 15 meters. I tried 10 meters and got 500 watts. I switched to 20 meters and got 700 watts. Yes, I had the same results that my old tubes had produced, and the same as the tubes I had borrowed from the museum. Nothing more.

Several more days passed before I finally figured it out. I was driving the linear with my Yaesu FT-1000MP Mark-V, and I found the answer in the Yaesu’s operating manual. I learned that most very old linears were designed with a different kind of ALC feedback than is required by most modern transceivers. So I unhooked the ALC line, and voila! Eureka! The big power was back! I had pretty close to legal limit power on all bands again.

Earl and Dave assumed that I knew not to use an ALC line between two pieces of equipment designed half a century apart in time. It’s their fault. They thought I was smarter than I am.

My problem dated back to last fall when I changed my connecting ALC line because I found a loose plug on the old line that I had been using ever since I got the Yaesu rig. Looking back now I believe the old line’s faulty plug wasn’t making proper connection, so it was not carrying any ALC feedback and thus was not cutting back my exciter’s power. When I installed the new ALC line, which worked, it caused the exciter to cut back because of the incompatibility of the SB-220’s ALC to my modern transceiver. Some time passed after installing the new ALC line before I tried to crank up the power so I didn’t see the relationship.

Oh well. I now have a perfectly good set of backup 3-500Z’s in case one of these should ever fail when I finally hear that VK0 that I still need.

Addendum by W8TN: Bob, W8QHG, after hearing about Garry's troubles told me, "Well, if Garry had just told ME about his problem, I would have told him to check the ALC!" You see, back when Bob built his SB-220, he ran into the same problem of low output. A call to Heathkit quickly set him on the right path and disconnecting the ALC yielded full power output. So, in retrospect, Garry probably should have posted his trouble to the WVDXA Reflector to utilize ALL (not just some) of the accumulated brain power in the club. Sorry for your trouble Garry but this Post should help others in the future. Thanks for telling your story!

Another Great WVDXA Meeting!

Last night's WVDXA Meeting at the Museum of Radio and Technology was another stellar affair! Garry, W8OI, gave a presentation about the last radio transmission from the Titanic which included an actual recording of the spark signal as received at a Marconi shore-based station in New Jersey in 1912! That gave a lot of us cold chills! Also, Hal, W8HC, had a pair of special guests, Joe, 4X6KJ, and his wife, Ruth, 4X4CM, who are visiting West Virginia for the first time. Here are a pair of shots showing W8OI sending "SOS" with a spark transmitter and 4X6KJ answering many questions about Amateur Radio in Israel.
Hal, W8HC, had earlier in the day picked up a Proclamation from West Virginia Governor, Joe Manchin, making 4X6KJ an Honorary Mountaineer!
Attendance was a whopping 22 including a couple of new faces - Bob, W8GU, from Charleston and Matt, AA8P, from Ashland, KY. Also, Jerry, K8OQL, drove all the way from Romney in the Eastern Panhandle to attend! With the sheet cake Hal brought and Evelyn's famous mint Brownies, no one left hungry!

I've posted the actual SOS (CQD) of the Titanic at the following location as an MP3 file.

Titanic SOS

Here is what is being transmitted:

"ITSA CQD OM DE MGY POSITION 41/46N 40/14W SINKING CANNOT HEAR FOR NOISE OF STEAM DE MGY CQD SOS CQD"

This is just awesome! CW from 96 years ago! BTW, "MGY" is the radio callsign for Titanic.

FR/G, Glorioso Is., DX'pedition Delayed

Team Leader, Didier, F5OGL, announced that the DX'pedition to Glorioso Islands, FR/G, which had been scheduled for May has now been delayed until sometime this fall - possibly the end of September or beginning of October. Currently some anti-cyclonic shelters are being built on the island and it has been decided to not attempt the DX'pedition until that construction is finished. You can view the 2008 FR/G web site HERE and watch for future updates.

Solar Cycle 24 Spot Recorded

"We saw a string of zero-sunspot days over the past couple of weeks, but this week saw a brief but significant sunspot that lasted only a couple of days. Sunspot 990 emerged as a tiny speck over April 14-15, but it was definitely a Solar Cycle 24 spot. Not only was the polarity of this region correct for the new Cycle, but it was far north above the Sun's equator, which is what we expect for a sunspot from an emerging solar cycle. The only previous Cycle 24 activity was close to the solar equator."

http://www.arrl.org/news/stories/2008/04/18/10056/?nc=1

VU4 and/or VU7 Possible October 24 - November 3

Jeff, KZ8E, reports that the National Institute of Amateur Radio in India has announced on their WEB PAGE the Silver Jubilee Celebration of NIAR for October 24 through November 3, 2008. They mention on that page that they will assist guests in regard to reciprocal licenses or operation permits for VU4 or VU7. So, mark you calendars as many need these countries and we could even have some propagation by then. Thanks, Jeff.

CW DX-pedition to SYRIA : 9-15 April 2008

Bernie, W3UR, reported in The Daily DX that next month will see a serious CW-only DX'pedition to Syria by a team of 5 British operators. They will have two stations plus amps and antennas for 9 bands. They will operate under the call YK9G and will transmit on frequencies ending in "3" and listen split, up 1-2 plus kHz. They have a minimal web site HERE.

Although they will be equipped for all bands, they expect that 40-M through 17-M will provide the bulk of their operation. QSL via G3TXF.

It Must be Spring!

People are always watching for the first robin to herald the return of Spring. However, you can also mark that event by the return of the Snow Birds!

Bob, W8QHG, who always has his ear out for rare DX, reports that the WVDXA Vice-President and his mate have returned to their roost in Barboursville after their winter sojourn to various rookeries in the Sunshine State.

It is not common knowledge but I have been given to understand that this southerly migration is actually a training exercise. In order for this DX bird to sharpen his RF feeding skills, he makes this annual voyage in order to work the elusive DX using minimum tools - QRP power levels, single-receiver radios, and Hamstick vertical antennas. Thus, fighting his way through the pile-ups as a "Little Pistol" sharpens his DX skills to the point where he can peck through the pile-ups in record speed and store up stacks of band/slots in the DX feeding frenzies to come.

So, be warned! The "easy pickin's" we have enjoyed the past few months are now over. I just hope no one helps him put up a "Monster-L" for Top Band or my only refuge from his RF will disappear! LISTEN! Can you hear him? "Oscar Italy" is BAAAACK!

Spratly Is., March 22-30

N1UR is planning a DX'pedition to Spratly Island for 8 days later this month. He will focus on the needed bands in NA and EU. This will be a small crew with light equipment (verticals on the beach) so hope for some good propagation. However, this is one very difficult country to work. Visit his web site HERE to vote for the bands and modes where you need Spratly Island. This DX tip is courtesy of The Daily DX by permission.

Glorioso Islands, FR/G, Coming in May

FR/G, GLORIOSO ISLANDS. Jean-Michel, F6AJA, editor of Les Nouvelles DX,informed OPDX on Monday last week that after many years of effort, the permission has finally been received and an operation to Glorioso (Glorieuses) Islands will take place, probably early May (possibly between May 5-9th) for some weeks. At the moment, operators mentioned are Pascal/F5PTM, Freddy/F5IRO, Stephane/F6KIN, David/F8CRS, Yves-Michel/F5PRU and possibly 3 others. The team plans to have 3 or 4 stations on the air. They are currently looking for sponsors, and if you would like to help, please contact Didier, F5OGL. Presently, Glorioso is ranked 4th in "DX Magazine's 2007 Most Wanted Countries World-Wide" in the mixed modes (EU 7th, Asia 9th and NA 4th). There is no Web page currently available for this operation, but details from the 2005/2006 planned operation Web page (which did not take place) states: "The Glorioso Archipelago consists of two coral islands: Grande Glorieuse (3 km in its larger diameter) where the human installations are, and Ile du Lys (circular island, 600 metres in diameter) which is desert. The archipelago also includes two rock islets - Roches Vertes and l'Ile aux Crabes - as well as a sand bank more or less above water at high tide. At the east and northeast of Grande Glorieuse are a series of dunes reaching a maximum elevation of 12 m. The islands and rocks are surrounded by a reef and a lagoon which is drained dry at low tide. The Glorioso islands are situated 220km northwest of Diego Suarez (Madagascar). The island became French territory in 1930. Around 1912, a French came from the Comoros and planted a fine coconut palm plantation there. Exploited until 1958 by people from the Seychelles, it is currently abandoned. There are also filaos. Fauna consists exclusively of a rather large colony of terns. The meteorological service of the French colony in Madagascar installed on the island a rather primitive weather station in 1955 which was opened only during the hurricane season from October to April. Since 1960 the the station is open all year round. The importance of this station is clear. It predicts cyclones for the North Madagascar and Comoros area. It ensures safe navigation on the Madagascar-Djibouti- Madagascar and Kenya-Mauritius-Kenya air and maritime routes. (From minister for the French overseas Web site)" ADDED NOTE: Jean-Michel, F6AJA, provides DXers with an interesting Webpage that (probably) has the most complete QSL collection (28 different QSLs) from Glorioso. Take a look at: THIS PAGE. He still needs some cards for his collection: FR5ES/G, FR5HG/G and FR5KH/G.

4W6 expedition scheduled

Announcing DXpedition to East Timor

The Union de Radioaficionados Españoles, URE, the Spanish Amateur Radio League, is proud to announce a project in East Timor to take place in June 2008.

URE's Radiosolidarity Department will organize an Amateur Radio DXpedition, combined with activities to promote Amateur Radio including the donation and setting up of a complete amateur radio station at the University of Dili. It is hoped that by operating alongside students and teachers of the Electrical Engineering and other departments it will be possible to sow the seeds of future amateur radio activity of a permanent nature in East Timor.

During the last few years URE's Radiosolidarity has been involved in projects in the following countries:

1998-TJ2RSF-Cameroun [ in collaboration with RSF] 1998/1999-Cuba [campaign of donation of material] 1999-HU4U-El Salvador 2000-HQ0R-Honduras 2001-TG0R-Guatemala 2003-ZA1A-Albania [an IARU project] 2004-7W0AD-Algeria 2004-T42R-Cuba 2005-TZ6DEL-Mali 2007-T42R-Cuba 2007-HQ2R-Honduras

This new project will take place in cooperation with the University of Dili, located in the capital of East Timor. We don't yet know the callsign that will be used; whether it will be a special one for the occasion, hopefully 4W6R, the callsign of the University (4W6UTL) or the callsign of one of the operators (4W6ERC).

The group that will take part in the activity is made up of the following experienced operators:

EA1QF Angel (team leader)
EA3CUU Pere
EA4DB (ex-EA4BPJ) Jose
EA4KA Eugene
EA5BWR Txema
CT1ERC Jose

QSLs will be via EA4URE.

A complete station (Kenwood TS690 + Mosley TA63M + G5RV + rotor) will be donated to and installed at the University of Dili for use of the students and teachers of the Electrical Engineering Department or anyone else who might be interested in Amateur Radio. Another station will be set up, temporarily, at the team´s lodgings in order to have two stations (CW and SSB) operating permanently during the 15 days of operation. Time will be spent on other modes (RTTY, etc) and special attention will be paid to operation on six meters.

The majority of this project's funding is provided by the Alicante Provincial Government and by URE. The rest of the budget, at this time, will be down to the operators although we have already received news of some small but useful donations. We would be very grateful if individuals and organisations could consider making contributions to this project at any time, including after the operation. Please bear in mind the following two considerations.

The objective of this project is to contribute to the development of a very young country and to promote amateur radio activity by East Timor nationals.

The DXpedition is part of the activity is intended to achieve 30,000 plus QSOs in spite of the limitations imposed on us. We feel able to achieve this due to the very considerable experience of our six-man team of proven DXpedition operators

Sea Level To Fall, New Entities On Horizon

Reuters News Service

By Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent

OSLO (Reuters) - Sea levels are set to fall over millions of years, making the current rise blamed on climate change a brief interruption of an ancient geological trend, scientists said on Thursday.

They said oceans were getting deeper and sea levels had fallen by about 170 meters (560 ft) since the Cretaceous period 80 million years ago when dinosaurs lived. Previously, the little-understood fall had been estimated at 40 to 250 meters.

"The ocean floor has got on average older and gone down and so the sea level has also fallen," said Bernhard Steinberger at the Geological Survey of Norway, one of five authors of a report in the journal Science.

"The trend will continue," he told Reuters.

A computer model based on improved understanding of shifts of continent-sized tectonic plates in the earth's crust projects more deepening of the ocean floor and a further sea level decline of 120 meters in 80 million years' time.

TX5C, Clipperton Is., Just Days Away!

Make sure those antennas are tuned, the amps aligned and the computer clock set to WWV as the next big DX'pedition is about to fire up. 20 operators will activate TX5C for 10-12 days on all bands to fill in any holes you may still have from previous operations. One of the operators is Jay, K4ZLE, manager of the 8th Region QSL Buro and another is Arnie, N6HC, a good friend of mine who has operated my station in a multi-single effort in the 10-M contest back in 2002.

The operators are all on board the Shogun, headed toward Clipperton and operating as FO5A/MM while traveling toward the island. They have already made over 1,000 QSO's. HERE are some photos as the ship leaves San Diego. Arnie is the guy in the blue shirt with the stuffed reindeer (?) in his pocket.

You can check the "Hot News" section of the TX5C web site and follow links from there to the "Photos" section and the "Operators" section where some of the operators are posting a diary during their trip.

And, be the first to identify the WVDXA member shown HERE on Clipperton in 1985. Boy, the years have NOT been kind to this guy!