Low VHF Band LIPD Licence in Australia

A lot of countries allow the use of low power transmitters at certain frequencies without the need of a licence. In this post, we'll look at the low VHF frequencies available in Australia with the LIPD (Low Interference Potential Devices) Class Licence.

Why Low VHF? With the annual Summer Sporadic-E season and at the peak of the 11-year sunspot cycle, these very low power transmitters have the potential to be heard over many thousands of kilometres.

Frequency Range - Width of band - Maximum Power - My notes

29.700 to 29.720 MHz - 20 kHz - 100mW or -10dBW EIRP* - This starts just above the 10m amateur radio band

30.000 to 30.0625 MHz - 62.5 kHz - 100mW or -10dBW EIRP* -

30.3125 to 31.000 MHz - 687.5 kHz - 100mW or -10dBW EIRP* -

36.600 to 37.000 MHz - 400 kHz - 100mW or -10dBW EIRP* -

39.000 to 39.7625 MHz - 762.5 kHz - 100mW or -10dBW EIRP* -

40.250 to 40.660 MHz - 410 kHz - 100mW or -10dBW EIRP* -

40.660 to 41.000 MHz - 340 kHz - 1W or 0dBW EIRP* - 1) Note the higher power 2) This overlaps with the ISM (Industrial, Scientific, Medical) band of 40.660 to 40.700 MHz which is implemented in most countries.

54.000 to 56.000 MHz - 2 MHz - 2.5mW  or -26dBW EIRP* - 

70.000 to 70.24375 MHz - 243.75 kHz - 100mW or -10dBW EIRP* - Note that this overlaps with the 4m amateur radio band

77.29375 to 77.49375 MHz - 20 kHz - 100mW or -10dBW EIRP* -

*EIRP - EIRP means equivalent isotropically radiated power. This is the radiated power from a theoretical point source with the radiation pattern shown as a sphere.

A worked example might be as follows...

Example 1: The antenna is a half-wave dipole with a gain of about 2.1dBi. The coax loss is 1dB. The radio transmitter would need to be limited to about 750 milliwatts to comply with the 1-watt EIRP limit. If the limit is 100-milliwatts then the power should be kept at 75-milliwatts.

Example 2: If a long length of coax was used to feed the antenna and the loss was 2.1dB. This would cancel out the antenna gain and the transmitter can be used at 1-watt or 100 milliwatts depending on the frequency.

Restrictions: Other than the EIRP, there are a few restrictions such as avoiding radio astronomy sites. The licence clause also states... "The transmitter, whether on its own or in operation with one or more other transmitters, must not cause interference to the operation of radiocommunications services" and "A receiver tuned to the transmitter will not be afforded protection from interference caused by other radiocommunications devices."

Experiments: In January of 2023, I had a post up about how radio experimenters were using very low power transmitters on the 40 MHz band and how a 5-milliwatt transmitter reached almost 6000kms. See post HERE

Links: 1) There is a small Facebook group called LIPD class licence beacons in Australia if you want to join.... https://www.facebook.com/groups/1269404663238415

2) If I come across any more low band VHF experiments, I'll keep a list of the posts on my 40 MHz page.

Results of the 32 MHz propagation tests by EI9KP - 27th Jan 2024

Phil, EI9KP is located in the north-west of Ireland and he carried out a propagation experiment on 32.013 MHz on Saturday 27th January 2024 from 09:00 to 17:00 UTC. He was running 5-watts into a vertical dipole and used FT8 and CW to ID.

And yes, before anyone asks, that's not a mistake. Radio amateurs in Ireland have permission to use 32 MHz.

Report from Phil, EI9KP... "I had my Low VHF antennas bent and broken in storm 'Isha' and am in the process of rebuilding.  A few days ago I resurrected my Low VHF Test Dipole.  Since there are now no coupled dipoles the test dipole was resonant on 31.600MHz.  I measured an SWR of 1.5 on 32.013MHz, it looked like a good opportunity to reconnect the beacon for a day.

I have received the following reception reports (PSKReporter, email, EI7GL blog):"

Europe... These are the stations in Europe that heard the signal...

Gintas, LY2YR in Lithuania (KO24OS) at 2188kms was probably F2 layer

Ari, OH5FI/OH5KUY in Finland (KP41DB) logged several FT8 signals and gave this report...

Fine copy at KP41db. 
Max: 240127_105300 22 -0.5 243 DE EI9KP IO54. 
Min: 240127_142815 -14 -0.3 242 DE EI9KP IO54
73 / OH5KUY

At 2316kms, the propagation mode was likely F2 again.

Costas, SV1XV in Athens, Greece (KM18UA) at 3045kms reports the following... "I can also receive EI9KP beacon on 32013.0 kHz CW, RST 559, giving loc IO54MB. Time 15:18 UTC, loc KM18." and " I can receive EI9KP beacon on 32013.2 kHz FT8, peaking at -11 dB. Time 15:10 UTC, loc KM18."

Alex, SV8QG in Greece (KM39GC) at 3133kms logged some FT8 signals from 10:52-11:01 UTC. Alex sent on the following decodes...

QRG 32,O12 USB REC IC-7200 ANT 4L@10m QTH KM39GC

105215 -2 -0.3 1201 ~ DE EI9KP IO54
105300 1 -0.5 1200 ~ DE EI9KP IO54
105315 -7 -0.3 1201 ~ DE EI9KP IO54
105400 -1 -0.5 1200 ~ DE EI9KP IO54
105415 -3 -0.4 1200 ~ DE EI9KP IO54
105500 -2 -0.5 1201 ~ DE EI9KP IO54
105515 -7 -0.4 1200 ~ DE EI9KP IO54
105600 -1 -0.5 1200 ~ DE EI9KP IO54
105615 4 -0.4 1201 ~ DE EI9KP IO54
105700 3 -0.5 1200 ~ DE EI9KP IO54
105715 5 -0.4 1200 ~ DE EI9KP IO54
105800 -7 -0.5 1200 ~ DE EI9KP IO54
105815 -8 -0.3 1201 ~ DE EI9KP IO54
105900 -1 -0.5 1200 ~ DE EI9KP IO54
105915 4 -0.4 1200 ~ DE EI9KP IO54
110000 -1 -0.5 1200 ~ DE EI9KP IO54
110015 -9 -0.4 1200 ~ DE EI9KP IO54
110100 -4 -0.5 1200 ~ DE EI9KP IO54
110115 5 -0.4 1200 ~ DE EI9KP IO54

Phil, EI9KP continues... "The morning signals received in OH were extremely strong e.g. +22dB SNR, as was the report from Greece."

The signals to Greece at about 3000kms were almost F2 layer as well. As we look at western Europe, we move into the F2 skip zone.

Hugh, HC02 is a short wave listener in the south of Portugal in IM67BB (1892kms). Hugh writes... "Receiving the beacon - 16 to - 18dB in Portugal IM67 from an easterly direction at 0920 so must be backscatter."

 

EI9KP writes.. "Many thanks to Hugh for an all day reception report which I have represented in a graph above.  Scatter throughout the day with signals -15/-20 dB SNR with a 10 minute peak at around 12:28 UTC."

Paul, G7PUV / G9PUV in the south-east of England (JO00AU - 706kms) writes... "Two decodes here, both likely to be backscatter while I was beaming East.

----- 27.01.24 10:32:30 UTC ---------------

103215 -20 0.4 1140 ~ DE EI9KP IO54

----- 27.01.24 10:45:29 UTC ---------------

104515 -19 0.4 1140 ~ DE EI9KP IO54 "

EI7GL... This is my own report. I used an old HF radio tuned to 32.0124 MHz on USB with a vertical half-wave for 28 MHz. The distance from EI9KP to my location on the south coast of Ireland is 248kms.

The signal was very weak and the screenshot above is going from right to left.

At the bottom around 600 Hz, you can see the trace from the CW signal. I couldn't actually hear this by ear but I could see it on screen for most of the time. I didn't get that many FT8 decodes but the weak FT8 signal can be seen above around 800 Hz.

These are my FT8 decodes from the 8-hour period that I was monitoring the frequency...

090915 -20 -1.7  804 ~  DE EI9KP IO54

131115 -18 -2.1  813 ~  DE EI9KP IO54

133515 -20 -2.1  814 ~  DE EI9KP IO54

140615 -19 -2.2  815 ~  DE EI9KP IO54

161000 -20 -2.6  818 ~  DE EI9KP IO54

161100 -19 -2.6  818 ~  DE EI9KP IO54

165315 -18 -2.5  819 ~  DE EI9KP IO54

165515 -18 -2.5  819 ~  DE EI9KP IO54

165615 -18 -2.5  819 ~  DE EI9KP IO54

165715 -16 -2.5  819 ~  DE EI9KP IO54

165815 -15 -2.5  819 ~  DE EI9KP IO54

165915 -14 -2.5  819 ~  DE EI9KP IO54

170015 -16 -2.5  819 ~  DE EI9KP IO54

170115 -16 -2.5  819 ~  DE EI9KP IO54

170215 -16 -2.5  819 ~  DE EI9KP IO54

170315 -15 -2.5  819 ~  DE EI9KP IO54

170415 -15 -2.6  819 ~  DE EI9KP IO54

170515 -16 -2.6  819 ~  DE EI9KP IO54

170615 -16 -2.6  819 ~  DE EI9KP IO54

As for the propagation mode? At 248kms, it's hard to say. I'm close enough that the signal may have been direct but F2 backscatter can't be ruled out. I'd need to do the test at night to be sure if it was direct or not.

Whatever the propagation mode, I came to the conclusion that I'd need about a 10dB improvement in the signal for me to hear it properly.

North America... These are the reports from the USA and Canada...

Bernard, VA2CY in Quebec, Canada (FN46LW - 4321kms) reported reception at 13:57, 15:01 and 17:02 UTC. EI9KP writes... "Bernard VA2CY is using a 80-meter dipole oriented SW-NE. On 32 MHz this makes an antenna pattern having lobes off the ends."

Andrew, K8EL in Ohio (EN91EB - 5383kms) sends on the following screenshot...

Larry, VO1FOG in Newfoundland, Canada (GN37IN - 3146 kms) reports that the beacon was in from 1230 till switch-off at 1707 UTC.

Larry also took a nice video of the reception...

As heard here in GN37in at circa 0900 local... pic.twitter.com/axxTC2naVI

— VO1FOG (@VO1FOG) January 27, 2024

K8EL in Ohio EN91EB

EI9KP concludes... "It is worth noting that stations VA2CY and K8EL and on the same line viewed from IO54MB. Last reception reports from Europe were at 1520 (Greece) and 1707 (Canada)."

In conclusion... It's nice to see that one experimental transmission on an odd frequency in the low-band VHF region generated so much interest. It's unlikely we'll see any amateur radio activity from other countries at 32 MHz but that doesn't mean people can't experiment and try to listen.

No doubt Phil will be carrying out more experiments on 32 MHz in the future and we'll try and get the word out a few days earlier for the next one.

Link... I have the results of some previous 34 MHz propagation tests up on my 40 MHz page.

Notice: 32 MHz propagation tests - Sat 27th Jan 2024

Phil, EI9KP is located in the north-west of Ireland and he reports that he will be conducting propagation experiments on 32.013 MHz on Saturday 27th January 2024 from 09:00 to 17:00 UTC.

And yes, before anyone asks, that's not a mistake. Radio amateurs in Ireland have permission to use 32 MHz.

He will be running 5-watts into a vertical dipole and will use FT8 and CW to ID.

Reception reports are welcome.

SDRPlay release new receiver - RSP1B

The UK based company SDRplay have just announced the launch of a new Software Defined Radio receiver product – the RSP1B.

The RSP1B is an enhanced version of the popular RSP1A 14-bit SDR which covers the RF spectrum from 1kHz to 2GHz. The RSP1B comes in a rugged black painted steel case and claims to have significantly improved noise performance.

The RSP1B has the following additional benefits compared to the lowest cost device, the RSP1A:

1. It is housed in a strong black painted steel case.

2. It has significantly improved noise performance below 1MHz (i.e. for MF, LF and below), and in the 50-60 MHz region. There are also noticeable noise improvements in the 3.5-5.5MHz and 250-320MHz spectrum.

3. It has improved signal handling at HF frequencies.

Some consumers don't like the fact that the older RSP1A has a plastic case coated in a conductive coating to screen it and many prefer a more solid steel case. The RSP1B addresses that issue.

I found it interesting that the performance at 50-60 MHz has also improved.

The RSP1B is expected to retail at approximately £106 GBP in the UK or $133 USD (excluding taxes or shipping) for US orders. 

Thanks to Brexit, the company can no longer ship to individual consumers in the European Union and has to go through the more expensive resellers network. This brings the price in the EU up to about €153 while the older RSP1A retails for about €133.

I suspect most people will opt for the slightly more expensive RSP1B but the price is now significantly more expensive that other SDR models available in the EU.

For more information on this new radio, please go to www.sdrplay.com/RSP1B

Notice: 145 MHz activity event in the UK & Ireland - Sat 27th Jan 2024

On Saturday 27th January 2024, there will be a 145 Alive Event with an activity period on the 145 MHz band in the UK & Ireland. It will run from 13:00 to 15:00 UTC which is 1pm to 3pm local time.

This isn't a contest, it's just an activity period where people will be just testing out what kind of range they can get on 2m FM. There should be a mix of stations on the air, some operating from home and some from high ground.

Some of the locations of the control stations are shown on the map above. Activity will be on the FM channels from 145.225 MHz to 145.575 MHz. The key thing is just to tune around, see who you can hear and give others a signal report.

From the IRTS News... "The UK organisers have arranged for a 145 Alive event to be held on Saturday 27th January between 13:00 and 15:00 local time on 2 metre FM. While there is limited EI participation this time, the IRTS plan to arrange a large 145 Alive event later in the year when weather conditions should be more favourable for outdoor operating. On January 27th, thirty control stations will be on the air in the UK and Ireland, including three in Ireland at Ballybay, Co. Monaghan, Clermont Cairn, Co. Louth, and Watergrasshill, Co. Cork. A further four GI stations will be in action in also. You are invited to please support this event."

2024 10m QRSS Challenge: - TF3HZ 18th Jan

As part of a challenge for 2024, I've decided to see how many QRSS signals I could capture on the 28 MHz band during the year. On the 18th of January, I managed to get a good capture of TF3HZ in Iceland.

On the 17th of January, I had seen the QRSS signal of TF3HZ in between G0MBA and G0PKT so I knew where to look. on the 18th at 12:14 UTC, the signal appeared out of the noise.

This is a good example of how useful QRSS is in that you can 'see' the propagation changing. It shows how within the space of a minute, the path between Ireland and Iceland opened up.

In the next cycle, I got a nice strong QRSS signal and screengrab for TF3HZ.

The path distance was 1576kms so it's hard to know for certain what the propagation mode was. Was it F2 layer? Was it some mid-Winter Sporadic-E? The sudden appearance of the signal is very similar to a lot of the QRSS signals I have seen during the Sporadic-E season but it's not conclusive evidence. I think it's just one of those cases where no-one can be certain which of the propagation modes it was.

In summary... That brings the QRSS tally so far for 2024 up to 9-callsigns & 6 DXCC.

1) 08 Jan 2024: VE1VDM - DXCC #1

2) 10 Jan 2024: VA1VM

3) 15th Jan 2024: G0MBA - DXCC #2

4) 15th Jan 2024: G0PKT

5) 15th Jan 2024: AE0V - DXCC #3

6) 16th Jan 2024: RD4HU - DXCC #4

7) 16th Jan 2024: W1BW

8) 17th Jan 2024: OH5KUY - DXCC #5

9) 18th Jan 2024: TF3HZ - DXCC #6

2024 10m QRSS Challenge: - OH5KUY 17th Jan

As part of a challenge for 2024, I've decided to see how many QRSS signals I could capture on the 28 MHz band during the year.

QRSS are very slow morse code transmissions where the dots and dashes are several seconds long and the signals are decoded by looking at a waterfall display on a screen rather than listening to the signal.

The QRSS signals are usually just below the WSPR signals on the amateur radio bands. This means it's possible to have your PC decoding WSPR signals up around 1500 Hz while you look at the QRSS signals about 500 Hz or so lower in the audio spectrum at the same time.

2024 #8 - OH5KUY... The 8th QRSS signal that I managed to capture this year was Ari, OH5KUY in Finland. Ari reports that he is running 1.5-watts into a C610 vertical antenna. His locator square is KP41DB.

The distance is from OH5KUY to my location is about 2437kms, an ideal distance for F2 layer propagation when the 28 MHz opens up to these northern latitudes.

Ari's signal was actually very strong for a QRSS signal and I had to adjust the volume settings on the radio because it was too strong compared to the rest. Most QRSS signals are buried in the noise and you get to see them only on a screen. Ari's signal by contrast was up to S4 here and it was a loud clear signal.

This is the signal in more detail. As you can see, something happened at Ari's location at about 13:52 to cause a slight rise in frequency. It's only about 4Hz but it can be seen.

That's the beauty of QRSS, you can actually 'see' the signal. You can see the frequency drift , you can see how the strength of the signal changes over time and you can see any unusual propagation effects.

With digital modes like FT8 and WSPR, you either get a decode or you didn't and if there isn't a decode, you're often not sure why. With SSB or CW, you're listening to an audio signal but it's what's happening here and now. You're missing those visual clues of QRSS which add so much more information.

The one that got away... It looks as if there was Sporadic-E on the band as well on the 17th. TF3HZ in Iceland popped out of the noise and I was all ready to get a nice screengrab but I lost it when I changed some settings on the SpectrumLab software. Lesson... screengrab first, adjustments later. Another day...

In summary... That brings the QRSS tally so far for 2024 up to 8-callsigns & 5 DXCC.

1) 08 Jan 2024: VE1VDM - DXCC #1
2) 10 Jan 2024: VA1VM
3) 15th Jan 2024: G0MBA - DXCC #2
4) 15th Jan 2024: G0PKT
5) 15th Jan 2024: AE0V - DXCC #3
6) 16th Jan 2024: RD4HU - DXCC #4
7) 16th Jan 2024: W1BW

8) 17th Jan 2024: OH5KUY - DXCC #5

2024 10m QRSS Challenge: - RD4HU & W1BW 16th Jan

As part of a challenge for 2024, I've decided to see how many QRSS signals I could capture on the 28 MHz band during the year.

QRSS are very slow morse code transmissions where the dots and dashes are several seconds long and the signals are decoded by looking at a waterfall display on a screen rather than listening to the signal.

The QRSS signals are usually just below the WSPR signals on the amateur radio bands. This means it's possible to have your PC decoding WSPR signals up around 1500 Hz while you look at the QRSS signals about 500 Hz or so lower in the audio spectrum at the same time.

2024 #6 - RD4HU... Most QRSS signals take the form of very slow morse code transmissions but sometimes, other modes are used. The screen capture above shows the slow-Hellschreiber mode which is more often referred to as "slow Hell".

RD4HU is located in the city of Samara on the Volga River in European Russia and was using 5-watts as far as I know. His signal was strong as can be seen by the clear trace.

The distance to my location on the south coast of Ireland is about 3855 kms which is ideal for one F2 layer hop, hence the strong signal.

2024 #7 - W1BW... Another method of sending a signal is as a symbol or character. This is where some degree of artistic flair comes into play.

Bruce, W1BW in Boston has a flying 'W' that he uses for QRSS. W1BW is running 200mW from a Hermes Lite 2 and the antenna is a random dipole about 25m long on the rooftop of a condominium building in the city of Boston, about 25m AGL and 2m above roof level..

W1BW is located just over 4700kms from my location and the mode of propagation was probably two hops from the F2 layer of the ionosphere.

In summary... That brings the QRSS tally so far for 2024 up to 7-callsigns & 4 DXCC.

1) 08 Jan 2024: VE1VDM - DXCC #1
2) 10 Jan 2024: VA1VM
3) 15th Jan 2024: G0MBA - DXCC #2

4) 15th Jan 2024: G0PKT

5) 15th Jan 2024: AE0V - DXCC #3

6) 16th Jan 2024: RD4HU - DXCC #4

7) 16th Jan 2024: W1BW

2024 10m QRSS Challenge: - G0PKT, G0MBA & AE0V 15th Jan

As part of a challenge for 2024, I've decided to see how many QRSS signals I could capture on the 28 MHz band during the year.

QRSS are very slow morse code transmissions where the dots and dashes are several seconds long and the signals are decoded by looking at a waterfall display on a screen rather than listening to the signal.

The QRSS signals are usually just below the WSPR signals on the amateur radio bands. This means it's possible to have your PC decoding WSPR signals up around 1500 Hz while you look at the QRSS signals about 500 Hz or so lower in the audio spectrum at the same time.

2024 #3 & #4 - G0MBA & G0PKT... The QRSS signals shown above were captured at about 10:40 UTC and it shows the QRSS trace from G0MBA and G0PKT who are 650kms to the east of my location in Essex, England. From what I know, I think both are running 0.2-watts into vertical antennas.

You'll notice that the signals have a slight 'fuzz' as opposed to a clean tone. I hear/see these two stations practically every day and I think the signals are F2 layer backscatter. If I was to try again during the Sporadic-E season during the summer, both signals would be nice and clean.

At 650kms, both signals from G0MBA & G0PKT are way too far for ground wave and too close for normal F2. The signals are probably being propagated off the F2 layer, being reflected in some distant region and then returning to my location.

2024 #5 - AE0V...In the afternoon, I got a capture of the QRSS signal of AE0V in Minnesota (EN34FU) in the USA who is about 6,000kms from my location.

Ned, AE0V reports using a solar powered transmitter with no battery storage running 100mW into a 1/4 wave stainless whip about 8m above the ground.

The signal from the USA is easily explained as it's via multi-hop F2 layer propagation. 

In summary... That brings the QRSS tally so far for 2024 up to 5-callsigns & 3 DXCC.

1) 08 Jan 2024: VE1VDM - DXCC #1
2) 10 Jan 2024: VA1VM
3) 15th Jan 2024: G0MBA - DXCC #2

4) 15th Jan 2024: G0PKT

5) 15th Jan 2024: AE0V - DXCC #3

A quick look at the 11-metre broadcast band - Spring 2024

The highest HF band used for broadcasting is the 11-metre band which runs from 25.6 MHz to 26.1 MHz. It's an unusual band and many of the smaller receivers don't even go that high in frequency. Even in the golden days of short-wave broadcasting, very few stations used it.

As we're near the peak of the sunspot cycle, I went looking to see what exactly is on the band and who is using it.

As far as I know, there are three transmitters using the band and these are shown above.

This is the schedule for January to March 2024....

Frequency (kHz) - Station - Times in UTC - Transmitter

25800 kHz - World Music Radio - 24-hours - Denmark - 0.060 kilowatts

25900 kHz - BBC World Service (French) - 12:00 to 12:30 - Madagascar - 250 kilowatts

25900 kHz - BBC World Service (English) - 16:00 to 18:00 - England - 125 kilowatts

Report & information...

1) World Music Radio transmits from Aarhus in Denmark with just 60-watts on 25.8 MHz. In terms of broadcasting on AM, this would be considered very low power.

The antenna is likely to be very modest but it does seem to be on top of a very high tower as shown above.

Back in the summer of 2021, I had a post on the blog about how I had heard it via Sporadic-E propagation. I tried listening for it today at around midday on the 11th of January 2024 and I could make out a weak carrier on CW. 

It was way too weak to resolve on AM today but it's highly likely that it was the World Music Radio transmitter I was receiving. I did notice the carrier was inclined to drift a bit (~5-10 Hz) but that doesn't make any difference for an AM signal.

2) The BBC World Service transmits to Africa in French on 25.9 MHz from a 250-kilowatt transmitter at Talata-volonondry on the island of Madagascar. Considering the transmission only lasted 30 minutes, I presume this is a commercial site where broadcasters rent time on it.

The signal was S9 when I listened to it and I think anyone in Europe should hear it as it's a north-south path.

3) The final transmitter was the BBC World Service in English which broadcasts to Central and West Africa on 25.9 MHz. The 125-kilowatt transmitter is located in Woofferton in the east of England and this transmission lasted two hours.

This transmitter is 390 kms from my location on the south coast of Ireland so I am well inside what is considered to be the F2-layer skip zone. Just after 16:00 UTC, the signal was about S4 on CW. On AM, I knew someone was speaking English but it was very difficult to hear.

Propagation Modes???... The signal from Madagascar is easy enough, it's multi-hop F2 with possibly some TEP in there as well.

As for the 60-watt signal from Denmark? At 1300kms, it was probably a bit too close for F2 layer. Maybe F2 layer backscatter or ionoscatter?

For the signal from England, it was stronger at 16:00 as compared to 18:00 UTC so it wasn't ground wave or some sort of tropo. The ionosphere was certainly involved. Again, either F2-layer backscatter or forward ionoscatter.

In conclusion... It was interesting to see some activity on the 11-metre broadcast band. I suspect though it may be on borrowed time. Two broadcasters seem to be using it for the peak of this sunspot cycle but will anyone be using it at the peak of the next one in eleven years time?

2024 10m QRSS Challenge: - VA1VM 10th Jan

As part of a challenge for 2024, I've decided to see how many QRSS signals I could capture on the 28 MHz band during the year.

QRSS are very slow morse code transmissions where the dots and dashes are several seconds long and the signals are decoded by looking at a waterfall display on a screen rather than listening to the signal.

The QRSS signals are usually just below the WSPR signals on the amateur radio bands. This means it's possible to have your PC decoding WSPR signals up around 1500 Hz while you look at the QRSS signals about 500 Hz or so lower in the audio spectrum at the same time.

2024 #2 - VA1VM... The first signal I captured in 2024 was from Vernon, VE1VDM in Nova Scotia, Canada back on the 8th of January. This is outlined in this previous post.

Conditions on the 28 MHz band were better on the 10th of January and the 'VDM' QRSS signal was in again but stronger as can be seen above. For this beacon, Vernon was using a QrpLabs U3S with low pass-filter into a QrpLabs power amplifier delivering 1-watt on 10m. The antenna was ground mounted Hustler 6BTV vertical.

In the last 24-hours, Vernon has put a second QRSS transmitter on the air with the callsign VA1VM. You can see this as a weaker signal in the image above.

The VA1VM signal is from a 150 milliwatt transmitter into a  Hustler 10m 1/4 wave resonator mounted on a 1.37-metre long Hustler mast extender. It really is amazing that a 0.15 watt signal can make it across the Atlantic.

Both beacons are located in the town of Truro in Nova Scotia and are just a few kms apart. The antenna on my side was a simple CB type half-wave vertical.

The map above shows the location of the transmitter and receiver. The distance is about 4000kms which is ideal for 1-hop of F2 layer propagation.

Even though it's the same person, it's a second QRSS signal. That brings the QRSS tally so far for 2024 up to 2-callsigns & 1 DXCC.

08 Jan 2024: VE1VDM
10 Jan 2024: VA1VM

Tracking a high altitude balloon over Ireland on the 70cms band - 9th Jan 2024

 

Thanks to Robbie, EI2IP putting a post up on Facebook, I noticed that a high altitude balloon was crossing over Ireland due to the easterly winds over the country and it was transmitting on the 432-440 MHz 70cms band.

I remembered that I had managed to decode RTTY signals from a balloon over the UK a few years ago and I found it fascinating. It was always something on my 'to do list' to try again but I forgot all about it. When I checked today, that reception report was back in in July of 2018!

So there was no time like the present, I followed the links and started reading about it. 

Part 1 of 2... The high altitude with the amateur radio payload was named Flybag-2 and had been launched from Maastricht in the Netherlands. It was transmitting on two frequencies on the 70cms band with data on it's location, height and internal temperature.

The payload was transmitting using the Horus Binary (v1/v2) modulation format which is a digital signal that is way superior to the old RTTY mode.

I downloaded the software to decode the Horus Binary signals, starting to mess about with the various settings, tuned the radio to 437.600 MHz USB and listened....silence. 

The balloon had just cross over the east coast of Ireland and was heading west. I was using a homemade vertical colinear in the attic of my house which wasn't the best for listening for weak signals from a tiny transmitter 120kms away.

I also had the WSJT-X software running as well and I could make out weak traces in the waterfall. I tuned the radio down about 500 Hz to 437.5995 MHz. Eventually I could hear the signal weakly but still no decodes. Time to read the instructions.

The instructions said the audio level needed to be near -5dB. I had the volume well down and the software said it was 'good'? I tried turning the volume of the radio way up and success!

The stats show that I managed to get 20 decodes in total which is 20 more than I thought I'd get. The attic antenna is really blocked a lot in that direction so I was delighted to get anything.

Part 2 of 2... A few hours after Flybag-2, another balloon named Flybag-4FSK crossed to the south of Ireland. I had a lot more success with this one getting 71 decodes in total with my attic antenna.

The first decode was when the balloon was about 300kms away over the Bristol Channel and just below the horizon. My view to the east is pretty good and this resulted in a lot of decodes.

It was interesting to note that the signal was reasonably consistent up to about 00:24 UTC and then it dropped suddenly and the last decode was at 00:40.

This is the location of the balloon relative to my location. The balloon is slowly moving to the left (left).

This is the horizon from my location. The balloon from my point of view would have been moving slowly from roughly east to the south of me and then to the south west.

When the balloon was to the south-east, I was getting a lot of decodes as my horizon is close to 0-degrees in that direction. Once it got to 00:24 UTC, the local hill had an elevation of 1-degree. Beyond that, the signal dropped as the elevation of the hill got higher. 

After 00:40, the local hill had an elevation of about 3.5-degrees and it was now blocking the signal.

I knew my take-off in that direction was poor but it was interesting to see conformation of it.

High altitude balloon... There are generally two types of balloons. The one I heard back in 2018 was like a weather balloon, it went up to an altitude of about 20kms and then the balloon burst.

This time, the balloon reached a height of about 4kms where it levelled off. Unless the hydrogen/helium gas escapes or it hits rough weather, it should stay up for quite some time.

STEM... It also strikes me that this would make a great STEM project. Schools and colleges can't afford microsats but a low budget balloon could teach a lot about tracking, propagation, layers in the atmosphere, weather, etc. 

For more information, go to https://amateur.sondehub.org/

2024 10m QRSS Challenge: - VE1VDM 8th Jan

As part of a challenge for 2024, I've decided to see how many QRSS signals I could capture on the 28 MHz band during the year.

QRSS are very slow morse code transmissions where the dots and dashes are several seconds long and the signals are decoded by looking at a waterfall display on a screen rather than listening to the signal.

The QRSS signals are usually just below the WSPR signals on the amateur radio bands. This means it's possible to have your PC decoding WSPR signals up around 1500 Hz while you look at the QRSS signals about 500 Hz or so lower in the audio spectrum at the same time.

2024 #1 - VE1VDM... The first signal I captured in 2024 was from Vernon, VE1VDM in Nova Scotia, Canada.

Vernon was using a QrpLabs U3S with low pass-filter into a QrpLabs power amplifier delivering 1-watt on 10m. The antenna was ground mounted Hustler 6BTV vertical.

The antenna on my side was a simple CB type half-wave vertical.

The map above shows the location of the transmitter and receiver. The distance is about 4000kms which is ideal for 1-hop of F2 layer propagation.

So that's the QRSS tally so far for 2024... 1-callsign & 1 DXCC.

Reception of the 50 MHz GB3MBA beacon during the Quadrantids meteor shower - 4th Jan 2024

Back in December, I carried out an experiment to find and record the peak of the Geminids meteor shower by listening to the GB3MBA 50 MHz beacon which is 500kms from my location. See post HERE

On the afternoon of 4th of January 2024, there was the peak of the Quadrantids meteor shower which tends to be very narrow but intense. This time, I just took some screenshots of the meteor reflections.

Introduction... Back in 2022, a new radio beacon called GB3MBA was put on air on the 50 MHz band and its primary purpose was carrying out meteor scatter experiments. Located near the town of Mansfield in the centre of England, the beacon runs 75-watts into a small Moxon antenna which beams straight up.

Unlike most amateur radio beacons, this one is basically a carrier that is on nearly all of the time which is exactly what is needed for meteor scatter experiments. The main coverage area is the UK itself but as I'm 502 kms from the beacon, I'm close enough for it to be of use.

For the Quadrantids meteor shower, I was using a Yaesu FT817 on USB as a receiver and the antenna was a 2-element Yagi in the attic of my house. The antenna was beaming about 120 degrees which is about 45 degrees off the beam heading for the beacon (The choice of beam heading is determined by the space in the attic and I wasn't trying to beam away from the beacon).

Quadrantids screen shots...

The image above shows the composite collection of seven different screenshots. As can be seen, there was plenty of evidence of pings and bursts from the GB3MBA beacon.

The images on the blog are quite small and a link to a larger version of the image is on Facebook HERE.

I'll use the more detailed example above to explain what you are looking at. The time is moving from right to left and you will notice the 30-second timestamps. As my receiver isn't GPS locked, I'm probably around 5 Hz off frequency which is ok. 

If I was hearing the beacon directly, it would show up as a solid yellow line going across the centre of the screen. Instead, you are looking at the signal reflecting / refracting off the trail of electrons left behind by the meteor as it burnt up. As these electrons are in motion in different layers of the upper atmosphere, there is some doppler shift on the signal.

In the example above, the 50 MHz signal lasted for about 90-seconds.

The signal on the far right of the image above is one of my favourites. This is called an 'epsilon' echo as it twirls around. What causes such a complex pattern as opposed to the other 'smudges'?

Link...
1) GB3MBA website

40 MHz report from Bill Smith, W1-7897 for Dec 2023

Thanks to short wave listener Bill Smith, W1-7897 for sending on his reception report for December 2023.

Bill who is located near Douglas in Massachusetts in the United States is using a Yaesu FT-847 as a receiver on the 40 MHz (8m) band with a 5-element beam for the 50 MHz band.

Bill reports slim pickings on the 40 MHz band of late but did manage to log Jack, LX5JX in Luxembourg on the 27th of December 2023 calling CQ from 13:34 to 13:39 UTC. Bill reports that the FT8 signal strength was from -9dB to -17dB on 40.680 MHz.

As can be seen from the map above, the path was about 5,800 kms and was most likely two F2 layer hops.

Thanks for the report Bill!

For more information on the 40 MHz band, go to https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/p/40-mhz.html