Equipment & Test

Left: The terminating resistor of currently 820 ohms is waterproof in an HT tube. The connections are mounted on lamp terminals, without much effort to remove.

Center: Middle: The mast top in 7.50 meters, to the left of K9AY mast. An aluminum tube of 4 m length carries the tip, attached to the plum tree with clamps, freestanding.

Right: The 9:1 balun also resides in an HT pipe. The 4m long mast made of aluminum stands with only 2 guy wires in a ground pipe, which once served as a prop for a parasol. I still wrap my balune myself ...

For the 40 m long wire I use galvanized uninsulated electric fence wire with a diameter of 1mm. Source: 1000 m / < 33 €

Shot 1: Flag-Loop. The noise level is near -138 dBm, signal at -105.3 dBm. Direction 80°.
Shot 2: K9AY. The noise level is near -130 dBm, signal at -107.1 dBm. Direction 35°.
Shot 3: 50 m longwire. The noise level is near -127 dBm, signal at -108.5 dBm. Direction 30°. Connected two CMCC.

It looks a bit better than I suspected in the last post. The antennas were for comparison without preamplifier.

Note: A precise statement can not be derived from this, all antennas should have had the same direction.

The loop has a total circumference of almost 40 m and closes the gap between northeast and southeast of K9AY. The top of the mast is 7.50 m high. The direction of reception is 80° across the northern Indian subcontinent, via Southeast Asia, western Australia and the New Zealand South Island, huge targets for MW-DX.

The loop can be relocated with a few simple steps, if necessary. For Central America reception, only balun and resistance are reversed. As it is rather quiet without a suitable preamplifier, it is amplified by the RPA-2 from DX-Engineering. This brings 17 dBm, which is still 10 dBm below the noise figure of the the K9AY or the 50-longwire.

The flag loop was built according to the pattern of FO0AAA, but is twice as large. The audible front-to-back ratio is better than K9 and longwire, as is the directivity. It was the only antenna that audibly filtered Palangkaraya, Indonesia at 3325 kHz (31.9.2019, 17z).

So much wood for an antenna that is suspended relatively quickly. Some preliminary work is nevertheless necessary for the measurements to be correct.

More additions to the loop will bring time. Now I'm curious.

Left: In the HT box at 4 m height is a Beverage Antenna matching set. The HT box was overhauled and re-waterproofed.

Middle: the CMCC was connected to the HT box with a 75 ohm coax cable at a distance of 5 meters. The ground rod is a discarded water pipe.

Right: a poplar serves as a holder for 3 long wire antennas, each 50 m in length. Not shown: a 2nd CMCC 5 m away from the receiver.

How are the CMCCs? First tests brought a significantly reduced QRN under thunderstorm disturbances.

Common mode choke coils act as a simple wire against push-pull current (signal), while acting as an inductor against common mode current (noise).

The kit, concerned on the HAM radio, contains all the necessary materials to quickly assemble a CMCC box. Only a 16mm drill for the PL jacks and another narrow drill bit for the screw feedthroughs are required, apart from the soldering iron. The box is IP55 certified and can be waterproof if you work carefully on the holes. The three central ferrite cores are shrink tubing sheathed, the associated thin coax cable is cut to the correct length sufficient. For a tech-savvy hobbyist, the assembly is easy, even if as in my case the instructions are missing and can not be delivered on request. The substitute transmitted by the manufacturer images of the open finished box could not help. In particular, I could only do the screwing with a number of washers at its own discretion. Since the screw connection also affects the water resistance of the box there are a few points deduction at this point. Also because the screws are not retractable as shown on the website, but come as slotted screws therefore. Another point loses the box due to an oversized wing nut that does not want to fit on any of the screws. Replacement by post was announced after a prolonged contact with the manufacturer.

Two of the boxes are inserted into the coax cable, one 5 m from the antenna's feed point, the other one 5 m from the receiver entrance. From the earth connection of the box a grounding line must be applied to the ground spike. These are not included in the kit. The earth connection is small in size, more than a 1 mm Ø line does not allow the eye with the pin. The wing nut would dress better if one had chosen a larger one. At this point, you can only rework yourself and realize your own ideas of a good ground connection.

The kit cost on the HAM radio 27 €, so 54 bucks for 2 CMCC boxes + a can of cold beer for free, which you can easily drink away while writing the many emails to the manufacturer.

The CMCCs significantly reduce thunderstorm disturbances. The 50-m antenna now has 4 grounding points.

As in the last 3 years, there will also be a visit to HAM Radio in Friedrichshafen this year. The antennas call for further improvements, cables and plugs have become scarce. In short, there is always a reason ... if only to go on a long bike ride once a year. I look forward to a personal exchange of experience.

CU on HAM Radio 2019!

73, Willi

A small but fine opening to Peru I could observe on 11.5.2019 between 0315 and 0400 UTC. Although the signal strength was consistently weak, there were 5 new stations for me.

08E40/50N35 [SDRCONSOLE3, 50-m longwire 210°, RPA-2]

1250 0329 PRU Radio Cora, Lima (lim) ID Radio Cora 10742 km
1380 0330 PRU Radio Nuevo Tiempo, Lima (lim) ID Radio Nuevo Tiempo 10695 km
1500 0331 PRU Radio Santa Rosa, Lima/San Miguel (lim) ID 10745 km
1160 0332 PRU OAX4C Onda Cero, Lima (lim) ID Onda Cero 10757 km
1380 0332 PRU OAX2W Radio Campesina, Cajamarca (caj) ID Campesina 10424 km
1470 0334 PRU OAU6E Radio Victoria, Arequipa (are) ID Radio Victoria 10739 km
1470 0334 PRU Vaughan Radio, Lima/Pantanos de Villa (lim) ID Vaughan Radio - directly followed by a Victoria in the back - Vaugh. -60 dBm, Victoria -70 dBm 10752 km
1500 0336 PRU Radio Santa Rosa, Lima/San Miguel (lim) ID 10745 km
1360 0339 PRU Radio Bienestar, Lima (lim) ID 1360 Radio Bienestar 10742 km
1370 0339 PRU Radio Andina Juliaca, Juliaca (pun) ID Juliaca 10587 km
1570 0400 PRU Bethel Radio, Lima (lim) sev. IDs 10732 km

This section displays the status of my logged USA & Canada states. It will be updated.






List of abbreviations for states

Pin board at Google Maps

Status 31 March 2019

Heard states/green (USA): 29
Confirmed states/red: 0
Latest heard or confirmed: 1700 WEUP, Huntsville, Alabama

Heard states/green (Canada): 5
Confirmed states/red: 1
Latest heard or confirmed:

Map source: Free Software Foundation. The source has been changed.

Excellent propagation conditions on the lower bands brought strong signals in the X-band and below in recent days. In the time around sunrise, around 5 o'clock UTC, it was really fun for a long time to hear Radio Monumental from Quito Ecuador at 1510 kc. But also WPTX from Lexington Park, Maryland at 1690 kc and WGIT Faro de Santidad, Canobas, Puerto Rico at 1660 kc were very well received for some time. Outstanding was also the reception of ZYO701 Radio Roraima from Caracaraí, Brazil at 1390 kc. All logs were made with the K9AY switched to NW.

2019-03-28

700 0410 USA WLW, Cincinnati/Tower Drive (U) (OH) ID 6932 km
800 0452 BES PJB Shine 800 AM (Trans World Radio), Kralendijk (bnr) Transmundial ID 8052 km
1190 0500 CLM Radio Cordillera, Bogotá D. C. (bdc) ID 9105 km
1280 0500 CLM Caracol Radio, Pasto (nar) R Santa Fe ID 9624 km
1620 0500 CUB Radio Rebelde, Guanabacoa/CTOM2 (ch) 8111 km
1660 0500 PTR WGIT, Canóvanas (PR) ID 7360 km
1690 0500 USA WPTX, Lexington Park (MD) ID 6523 km
1510 0505 EQA HCBD1 Radio Monumental, Quito (pic) sev. Ids, big sig! 9820 km
1570 0511 PRU Bethel Radio, Lima (lim) Halleluja ... not so good 10732 km

2019-03-27

730 0452 CAN CKAC, Montréal/Pointe-Calumet (QC) 5843 km
710 0500 USA WOR, New York/Lyndhurst [NJ] (NY) ID 6179 km
1010 0500 CAN CFRB, Clarkson (ON) ID 6331 km
1130 0500 USA WBBR, New York/Carlstadt [NJ] (NY) ID 6175 km
1390 0500 USA WEGP, Presque Isle (ME) 5399 km
710 0501 CUB Radio Rebelde, Camagüey/CTOM1 (cm) 7958 km
1620 0502 CUB Radio Rebelde, Guanabacoa/CTOM2 (ch) 8111 km
760 0505 USA WJR, Detroit (MI) ID 6648 km
1350 0515 CLM Bésame Ibagué, Ibagué (tol) Jingle ID 9204 km
1560 0515 USA WFME, New York/Queens (NY) 6174 km
1290 0519 USA WJNO, West Palm Beach (FL) ID on Newsradio 1290 WJNO 7668 km
1690 0521 USA WPTX, Lexington Park (MD) ID 6523 km
1190 0557 CLM Radio Cordillera, Bogotá D. C. (bdc) ID [SDRCONSOLE3, K9AY N/W AMS/5422 Hz/-72.0 dBm] 9105

2019-03-26

890 0404 USA WLS, Chicago/Tinley Gardens Park (IL) ID 6973 km
700 0500 USA WLW, Cincinnati/Tower Drive (U) (OH) ID [SDRCONSOLE K9AY USB/2996 Hz/-84.0 dBm] 6932 km
730 0500 CAN CKAC, Montréal/Pointe-Calumet (QC) 5843 km
760 0500 USA WJR, Detroit (MI) 6648 km
1010 0500 CAN CFRB, Clarkson (ON) 6331 km
1010 0500 USA WINS, New York/Lyndhurst [NJ] (NY) 6180 km
1180 0500 CUB Radio Rebelde, Chambas/CTOM1 (ca) ID 7938 km
1620 0500 CUB Radio Rebelde, Guantánamo/CTOM3 (gu) 7871 km
670 0501 CUB Radio Rebelde, Camagüey/CTOM3 (cm) ts, ID 7954 km
1690 0504 USA WPTX, Lexington Park (MD) ID 6523 km
1390 0511 DOM , San Cristóbal (cri) tent., heard .. San Cristobal under strong Brazilian STN (unid) 7652 km
1660 0511 PTR WGIT, Canóvanas (PR) 7360 km
710 0515 CUB Radio Rebelde, Chambas/CTOM3 (ca) // 670 7939 km
1390 0516 B ZYO701 Rádio Roraíma, Caracaraí (RR) ID 8440 km
1510 0516 EQA HCBD1 Radio Monumental, Quito (pic) sev. IDs, vy gd sig [SDRCONSOLE3, K9AY N/W USB/2420 Hz/-96.0 dBm] 9820 km
1690 0521 USA WPTX, Lexington Park (MD) 6523 km
1440 0525 CLM Colmundo Radio, Medellín (ant) ID 9065 km
972 1705 KOR HLCA KBS Hanminjok Bangsong 1, Dangjin (ccg) [SDRCONSOLE3/F, K9AY N/E LSB/2049 Hz/-96.0 dBm] 8548 km
594 1709 IND AIR Maitree Channel/All India Radio GOS, Chinsurah/Magra (WB) 7338 km
1467 1730 KGZ TWR PANI/FEBA Radio, Krasnaya Rechka (cuy) 4954 km
918 1733 IND AIR North, Suratgarh (RJ) 5828 km

2019-03-25

760 0400 USA WJR, Detroit (MI) 6648 km
890 0400 USA WLS, Chicago/Tinley Gardens Park (IL) 6973 km
1010 0400 CAN CFRB, Clarkson (ON) 6331 km
1660 0435 PTR WGIT, Canóvanas (PR) 7360 km
1660 0500 ARG Radio Revivir, Isidro Casanova/Gregorio de Laferrere (ba) 11539 km
1520 0528 USA WWKB, Buffalo (NY) 6337 km
1610 0531 CAN CHHA, Toronto (ON) 6304 km
1690 0539 USA WPTX, Lexington Park (MD) 6523 km
1557 1701 TWN Radio Taiwan Int., Kouhu (YL) [SDRCONSOLE3/F, 50m LW 30° RPA-2 LSB/2049 Hz/-78.0 dBm] 9400 km
918 1707 IND AIR North, Suratgarh (RJ) 5828 km
846 1708 IND AIR West, Ahmedabad A (GJ) 6242 km
594 1712 IND AIR Maitree Channel/All India Radio GOS, Chinsurah/Magra (WB) 7338 km
1377 1728 CHN CNR 1, Xingyang/SARFT554 (HE) 8009 km
972 1732 KOR HLCA KBS Hanminjok Bangsong 1, Dangjin (ccg) 8548 km

2019-03-24

760 0400 USA WJR, Detroit (MI) 6648 km
590 0406 CAN VOCM, Saint John's (NL) 4360 km
1690 0413 USA WPTX, Lexington Park (MD) 6523 km
1660 0414 PTR WGIT, Canóvanas (PR) 7360 km
1440 0419 CLM Colmundo Radio, Medellín (ant) 9065 km
1580 0459 CAN CKDO, Oshawa (ON) 6252 km
700 0500 USA WLW, Cincinnati/Tower Drive (U) (OH) 6932 km
730 0500 CAN CKAC, Montréal/Pointe-Calumet (QC) 5843 km
1010 0500 USA WINS, New York/Lyndhurst [NJ] (NY) 6180 km
1010 0500 CAN CFRB, Clarkson (ON) 6331 km
1130 0500 USA WBBR, New York/Carlstadt [NJ] (NY) 6175 km
1400 0500 CAN CBG, Gander (NL) 4410 km
1440 0500 USA WRED, Westbrook (ME) 5741 km
1500 0500 USA WFED, Washington (DC) 6498 km
1540 0500 CAN CHIN, Toronto Island (ON) 6308 km
1560 0500 USA WFME, New York/Queens (NY) [SDRCONSOLE3, K9AY N/W LSB/2800 Hz/-72.0 dBm] 6174 km
1610 0500 CAN CHHA, Toronto (ON) 6304 km
1660 0500 ARG Radio Revivir, Isidro Casanova/Gregorio de Laferrere (ba) 11539 km
1660 0500 USA WWRU, Jersey City/Carlstadt (N) (NJ) 6176 km
1520 0503 USA WWKB, Buffalo (NY) 6337 km
1190 0519 CLM Radio Cordillera, Bogotá D. C. (bdc) 9105 km
1300 0522 CLM Radio Reloj, Pereira (ris) ID Radio Reloj en Colombia 9198 km

Next Unit of Computing → NUC:

Power consumption is ~15 W, 1,25 Ah at 12 V without Monitor. Running SDR-Console in recording mode with ELAD's FDM-S2 is up to ~20 W, 1,66 Ah. In this mode with the connected Monitor and under WIN 8.1 energy saving mode the consumption is ~30 W, 2,5 Ah. This is more than expected but less than the 90 W 4,74 Ah notebook. The BIOS is capable to WOL (Wake on LAN). This is not possible with the notebook. Also recordings can start out of sleep mode under WOSB. In this mode the USB port for the SDR is off and does not waste energy as it was with the notebook in energy saving mode. Waking up the notebook from sleep mode with WOSB was not possible. The device makes a solid impression; the case is made of metal and cleanly processed. The boards are clearly arranged and properly wired. The operating temperature of the fanless system is 42° under load with the SDR Console.

Monitor:

The screen ist only accessable under a running Windows. This means that access to BIOS and other functions are never available. Due to the low power consumption and no alternatives I decided to keep the device. If something goes wrong the NUC will be handled @home. The monitor has a direction sensor and adjusts the image according to its position. The screen comes with a HD resolution of 1920x1080 px and a fine viewing angle of 180°. To keep the length of the USB cable short, he spends his life standing upside down and mounted in a frame on a wooden wall. The controls are also easier to handle in this position. The weight of this device is 800 g. It is one of the thinnest monitor on the market with 8,5 mm.

Both:

RFI on some QRG's on MW, seems to be irregulary and "adjustable".

All in all:

Better audio or less RFI compared to the notebook. Can be fixed with screws on the desk. A very good performance due to less installed software, i7 Kaby Lake prozessor, 8 GB DDR3 RAM, SSD and 64 Bit OS. It is the fastest device I ever had. Manufacturing & delivery time from Taiwan was ~14 days due to 春节 Chinese New Year 2019, the year of the 猪 Pig. First tests showed no delays in automatic recording. All devices are working perfect together.

The cube has fallen: alea iacta est, as it is called in Latin, if after a long time a decision has been made. In more modern times translated: the winner is a 15.6-inch mobile HD TFT LED screen of the Asus MB 169B+ Brand with a power consumption of 5 watts at a weight of just 800 grams. Although the USB-controlled monitor significantly exceeds my price limit, but also put all the other monitors in the selection, due to the low power consumption in the shade. An interesting effect of the weeks-long search was that smaller monitors tend to consume more power, or the size of the monitor is not necessarily crucial for power consumption. Originally I was looking for 11.6 and 13.3 inch monitors. Only the search for larger models brought me into the optimal power range. Furthermore, the German market is hardly well covered with smaller monitors, which is why I initially searched the Chinese market of a large provider. Another reason to buy locally around the corner was that in the case of warranty the effort is low. Although the previously purchased NUC comes from China, but here I trust more on the longevity of commonly used hardware components. And yes, the monitor has a drawback, of course: due to its small depth, it can not be obstructed against the wall. So here again handmade is announced. The egg-laying "Wollmilchsau" has not yet been born.

The next step is the search for a suitable Ethernet to WLAN bridge for the NUC, so that the small one can be switched remotely even when switched off. This should then be the last search, because a keyboard for the Mini already exists.

He is not yet set up, but he should secure the future of the station. A fanless NUC with i7 processor, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, WiFi and all possible connectivity is on the way. The decisive factor for the investment in new hardware was the fact that it further reduced the power consumption of the solar-controlled system and also enabled real remote DX. The supply voltage is 12 V; a disturbing power supply is no longer necessary. The mini-computer should consume 15W, a halving of the power requirement compared to the 17 inch notebook. A wireless Wi-Fi connection to a server near the site then takes over the remote function. The latter is so conceived, but whether the reality plays along, is first left undecided. WIN 7 will control the plant, and Teamviewer will connect two PCs. First, as usual, everything has to be tested, and that will happen in the home QTH. At the moment the decision for an external monitor has not yet been made. I'm curious to see how many new RF interferences I have to contend with soon.