Oguz, TA2STO in Türkiye has developed a new mode called LongChat to allow radio amateurs to communicate with each other.
It's described as follows... "LongChat is a low-power (QRP) / low bitrate text chat software application over ham radios connected to a PC. Chirp symbols with an audio bandwidth of 2400 Hz (300-2700 Hz) are generated on the PC side for encoding the messages. Baseband audio signal is then transferred from PC to ham radio for modulation at the selected mode. SSB, FM and other types of modulation modes can be used. Forward error correction codes are used to correct messaging errors
Current version is tested on ICOM-7300 and YAESU FT991A radios. Other radios are supported but not tested yet. Future improved versions will support higher data rates or lower S/N ratios.
Since the software is continually improved and data structures may have changed, newest version needs to be used for compatibility with all users. To ensure this, software will remind you to download and use the latest version when a new version is ready.
Specifications Usable data rate (net user data) is 7 ASCII characters per second at -12 dB signal to noise ratio. Eb/No (Energy per Bit to the Spectral Noise Density) is 5 db Measurement of received message SNR. Measurement of chirp frequency shift in SSB mode. You may download the software, user manual and brochure at the link below. https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1NQwbeoHE3vPLORGN1krpSNHHI9brhDJh?usp=sharing "
As of late 2024, this is all very new and I'm sure a lot of people will have questions as to how good is it? Will it be better than modes like JS8Call? And more critically, will it get a critical mass of users to make it worthwhile?
I'd suggest that at the moment, it should be seen as something of interest to those who like to experiment with digital modes on the HF bands and want to experiment to see how it compares to other modes.
It also seems to be a 'work in progress' project but remember that the software for this mode is free and is being developed by one person. It'll be interesting to see how it develops.
TA2STO released the following video about it...
Update from TA2STO - 1st Dec 2024:
- Hi, I am the author of LongChat chirp mode. I started it a few years ago as a project for low power sensor applications. Then I wanted to try it as an experimental digital ham mode.
-LongChat is an encoder/ decoder. In general it should work on all modulations LSB, USB, FM, AM etc.
- I usually work with USB at lower band edges and LSB at upper band edge. It is easy to miss it when changing the modes. I guess I relied on IC7300 to disable transmission at band edges. IC 7300 does allow that though. I had no specific reason for using LSB. It works both on USB and LSB.
- I am preparing a new video to compare the power efficiencies of digital modes. I will post it when ready
- Newest version is 1.3.00 . Setup manual, version info and other things are also in the link above.
- LongChat is experimental and supports a number of radios. Untested radios are marked with * as the first character
- I am not an experience radio ham in operations and regulations. Maybe experienced radio hams can designate frequencies and protocols for test purposes.
- Since the signal is way below the noise level (-13 db) , there is yet no equivalent of a waterfall display like FT8, JS8 etc. This makes it harder to see the activity.
- You can view the waterfall in FT8 because it's minimum SNR is -4 db. and bandwidth is 50 hz . People quote -21 db as the SNR for FT8. This is the referred SNR if the bandwidth were to be widened to 2500 Hz. My next video will clarify these issues.
- Since there are no designated frequencies for LongChat, it is difficult to find some one for QSO
-There is also a criticism of LongChat not being open source . LongChat code has some new algorithms with IP value. If I open the source code to radio hams, people and companies with commercial interest will also have a free access. But I totally respect and mostly agree with the open source advocators.
- In short, LongChat is an experimental mode. My effort is to bring the SNR of LongChat to the limit dictated by the Shannon channel capacity theorem and make it the most power efficient mode.
- If people want to experiment with it, I am ready to support. I am not the best person to decide on the designated QSO frequencies, LSB or USB selection, protocols etc. If some of you want to do that , or perhaps open a group here or on google groups i.o, I would be happy to get involved.
Addendum: Matt, M0DQW released the following video which shows LongChat in operation...
Thanks to Rob, PE9PE for sending on this following news item. Omroep Venlo is a relatively low powered FM radio station in the south of the Netherlands running 0.5kW on 96.9 MHz.
On their site, they write... "Omroep Venlo was temporarily audible in Lapland thanks to a natural phenomenon. A local radio amateur in Northern Finland picked up the signal and listened to music from Venlo."
"52-year-old Marko Brask from Ivalo, Finland, some 2,300 kilometres north of Venlo, was surfing the airwaves when he came across a radio broadcast from Omroep Venlo. Brask could understand little of the song Waat Gaon We Doon by De Herfshane Band. Reason for him to write to Omroep Venlo and check whether the broadcast actually came from Venlo."
"That was correct; the fragment that Brask sent along is indeed from a broadcast of Omroep Venlo. The signal could be heard in Lapland thanks to a natural phenomenon with the ionosphere. This layer in the atmosphere can reflect radio signals back to the earth like a mirror. This allows signals on the FM band to be listened to over great distances."
They don't mention the date of the reception report but it sound likes it might have been Sporadic-E. The distance was 2236 kms which is just inside the maximum distance for one hop Sporadic-E.
Using Google search, I can see other reception reports for this person in Finland so it would seem like they are an experienced FM DXer rather than just some random person finding the station on an ordinary radio.
In itself, it's not all that special a reception report in terms of distance or power but it was still interesting to see a radio station acknowledge the report on their website.
In November of 2024, Carl, K9LA gave a presentation titled "Review of Propagation in the First Half of Cycle 25, and forecast for the Second Half of Solar Cycle 25" to the Madison DX Club. In it, he looks at the data for the current sunspot cycle, what the bands are like and what the future might hold.
It was also interesting to note from the presentation a recent interesting skewed propagation path on the 50 MHz band between the UK and Japan.
The main presentation is about 24-minutes in length.
Paul Logan in the north-west of Ireland is one of the most active FM DXers in Europe and on the 10th of Nov 2024, he caught an interesting opening on the 88-108 MHz band.
From about 11:00 to 12:00 UTC, he heard a large number of FM radio stations from Spain and Portugal due to a Sporadic-E opening. While this is quite normal during the summer Sporadic-E season, it is unusual during the month of November and especially at these frequencies.
However, the really interesting signals were those that were much further to the south. This is an extract from Paul's log...
Mode UTC QRGITUStation, location Distance km kW ERP Pol Es 120987.90 AZR RTP Antena 2, Pico Alto de Santa Maria 2346 1v Es 115193.00 CNR COPE, Puerto del Rosario/Temejereque 2906 4 Es 115488.60 CNR Happy FM, Puerto del Rosario/Temejereque 2906 0.25 Es 115291.20 CNR Onda Fuerteventura, Puerto del Rosario/Temejereque 2906 0.5 m Es 114987.70 CNR RNE Radio Clásica, Puerto del Rosario/Temejereque 2906 7 m Es 114690.20 MRC SNRT Al Idaâ Al-Watania, Tarfaya 2960 4v Es 114693.90 MRC SNRT Al Idaâ Al-Watania, Laâyoune=El Aaiún 3050 3.16 v Es 114691.00 MRC SNRT Radio Régionale de Laâyoune, Laâyoune=El Aaiún 3050 10 h Es 114687.90 MRC SNRT Al Idaâ Al Amazighia, Laâyoune=El Aaiún 3050 10 h
Note that the signals are in the lower portion of the 88-108 MHz band and the highest frequency listed is 93.9 MHz.
For this opening, Paul was using a SDR Play RSP1A receiver with a 9-element Yagi for Band 2.
The normal maximum range of single hop Sporadic-E signals is about 2300 kms so an explanation is required as to how the signals above were heard.
The image above shows the tropo forecast by Pascal, F5LEN showing enhanced conditions to the north of the Azores and Canary Islands.
It seems likely that while there was a Sporadic-E opening from Ireland to Spain and Portugal, this very likely extended to the west as well to the sea to the west of Portugal. This then coupled into a maritime surface tropo duct as far as the Azores, Canary Island and the Western Sahara / Morocco.
Of course, no-one can say for certain that this is exactly what happened. There is always the possibility of two Sporadic-E hops but the chances of that are a lot lower then the combined Sp-E / Tropo scenario.
Paul Logan as a very active FM DXer has heard stations in this area before but it's usually during the summer Sporadic-E season. It's just very unusual to hear 3000 kms signals in mid-November.
Indeed, Paul reports that this is the first time he has heard the Canary Islands by Sporadic-E outside of the usual summer season.
Back at the end of September 2024, I had a post on the blog about the first TEP contact on the 144 MHz band between Spain and St Helena in the South Atlantic, a distance of about 6,100 kms - Post HERE.
Just after that, other stations in Spain and Portugal were making TEP contacts with St Helena so I waited for the end of October to do a proper report.
First of all, I must give credit to Gabriel, EA6VQ who collects a list of TEP openings on his website... https://www.dxmaps.com/
As with all data, it's hard to know from just raw information what is going on. So I took the information and generated the map that is shown above to give a better idea of what happened during the month of October 2024.
Some notes...
1) # of Days... Out of the 31 days of October 2024, there were 22 days where Trans-Equatorial Propagation on 144 MHz was reported between St Helena and the Iberian peninsula. As Garry, ZD7GWM is the only person active on 144 MHz from St Helena, any reported activity obviously depends on him being active.
There were also a few days where TEP didn't seem possible due to geomagnetic disturbances.
Still though, it's remarkable that there was a TEP path on 144 MHz to St Helena on two-thirds of the days of the month.
2) Mode... The initial contact with EA4I last month was with the FT4 digital mode. They are now using modes more suitable for TEP. For the first half of the month, the Q65-30B mode was used while the Q65-60D mode was used in the second half.
3) Right Angles... At 144 MHz, the TEP paths cross the geomagnetic equator close to 90-degrees. This is where the value of map becomes a reality because we can see the spread east and west of the stations involved.
Most of the stations at the northern end of the TEP circuit are in Portugal and the EA4 & EA7 regions of Spain. It's interesting to see EA3CJ in the NE of Spain is the outlier and well to the east of the rest.
4) Missing signals?... Sometimes, it's the missing signals that are interesting. There were no reports from the EA1 area in the NW of Spain. Too far north? There were also no reports from the EA5 or EA6 areas. Too far east?
5) Distances... The longest distances are in the region of 6,300 to 6,400 kms. A total of 17 stations were involved at the northern end of the TEP path. Even UT1FG/MM on a ship to the west of the Straits of Gibraltar managed to get in on the action!
CT1EEB IN50qr 6315km
CT7ABA IN60GD 6246km
CT1FCX IM59LG
CT1APE IM59kj
CT1FFU IM59kk
CT1DIZ IM58kp
CT1CAD IM67GE
UT1FG/MM IM55
EA3CJ JN01SE 6403km
EA4GDA IM68MV
EA4I IM68MU
EA4LU IM68TV
EA4CYQ IM78CX
EA7/SM0KAK IM76mm
EA7BPO IM76SR
EA7HLB IM76OP
EA7FDW IM76WS
6) Times... As is typical with evening type TEP, most of the signals were around 8pm local time. The earliest report was at 19:38 UTC and the last report was 21:32 UTC.
7) ZD7GWM... As far as I know, Garry, ZD7GWM on St Helena has a modest station with just 50-watts from a Yaesu FT-897 into a Diamond X700H vertical antenna.
Analysis... I've been following the TEP tests in 2024 and it has been pretty remarkable just how often the path is there on 144 MHz. I think a lot of people expected it to be more sporadic but it often seems like TEP at certain times of the year is almost a daily occurrence.
Looking at the map, I think a lot of people will be wondering just how far north could this TEP path reach? Is it possible to reach the north of Spain? Could another propagation mode take the TEP signal further north to the likes of Ireland, Wales & the SW of England?
Sporadic-E would be an obvious answer but it's very unlikely at 144 MHz at 8pm on an evening in October. A maritime duct from Ireland to the north of Spain is more likely but signals don't seem to get too far inland into Spain.
It's very likely that the TEP signals from St Helena are in the north of Morocco but there is no-one there to exploit it.
Tuesday 5th Nov 2024 - I had a quick listen to the FT8 frequency of 50.313 MHz today and almost straight away, I got FT8 decodes from India and Sri Lanka. It was obvious that there was some really good F2 propagation on the band.
I checked the PSKReporter website later to see if there were any good DX paths. I was interested to see that there was a path open from KG6DX on the island of Guam in the Pacific to Ireland & the UK.
Sometimes, it's not the distance that matters but how far north or south the path goes.
In this case, did the 50 MHz signals really go direct and pass that far north over Russia? Or was the path skewed with the signals following a path further south?
The solar flux today was 246 with a smoothed sunspot number of 191.
Here are some of the stations that had a path open to Guam (12,000kms +)
Over the last few months. I've been listening to some of the back catalogue of podcasts from the Ham Radio Workbench while I've been out walking. I recently listened to one titled 'Earth Moon Earth Operation'.
In the podcast. Doug Millar, K6JEY talks to George, KJ6VU and Mike, VA3MW about his experience operating moonbounce on the 144 MHz and microwave amateur radio bands.
While the podcast is from September of 2020, I think a lot of people who are interested in the VHF and microwave bands will find it of interest.
The podcast itself at 2 hours 33 minutes is very long. The first 32 minutes is general chit chat with some microwave operation discussed.
The first part of the presentation proper begins at 32:00 and lasts until about 1:52:00. The photos and notes for this first section are shown in a PDF slideshow titled SIDEWALK EME... Link HERE
The second part of the presentation starts at 1:52:00 and concludes at about 2:30:00. The second PDF slideshow is titled 10GHz EME Project... Link HERE
The ON4KST 'CHAT' website is a very popular tool for radio amateurs on the VHF & UHF bands as it allows them to exchange real time information with others about band conditions.
While there are several different platforms for information, each one tends to serve a different function.
The DX-Cluster is good for spotting DX stations on a particular frequency but the exchange of information is very limited.
There is the 40 MHz & 60 MHz group on Facebook with roughly 1200 members but that's more for post-opening analysis and the sharing of images.
The ON4KST pages have their own niche and it allows for the rapid exchange of short live time messages about what's happening on a particular band.
An screenshot of the CHAT site is shown above.
There used to be some 40 MHz traffic before on the 50 MHz chat page but with more people experimenting on the band, Alain ON4KST has kindly set up a separate page for 8m activity.
There's an expression in the English language called 'CAN'T SEE THE WOOD FOR THE TREES'. Sometimes DX on the VHF bands can be like this, you can see a flood of reports and contacts on a particular band during an opening but the exceptional DX reports often get missed.
There have been many reports of openings in the last week from Australia to Europe but a lot of these are from the south of Europe and to places like Western Australia (VK6). There's a huge difference between say an opening on 6m from Perth to Athens compared to say an opening from the UK to New South Wales.
Conditions on Sunday the 27th of October 2024 were really good on the 50 MHz band and Stewart, G0LGS in the west of England reports working VK2IR in Sydney, Australia... a distance just under 17,120kms.
Stewart sends on the following report... "After being on six (on/off) since 1985 I was lucky to get one of those magic moments on Six just after 07:00 on Sunday 27th October 2024
I was up early and had the beam looking East for a while on 6m FT8 (50.313) when at 07:07:15 I saw VK2IR calling an OZ station (Denmark).
I immediately stated calling CQ and after 4 calls at 07:09:15 UTC. VK2IR called me giving me -17. Report, my report back was R-17 and at that point the conditions faded a little (I could see faint trace in waterfall but no decodes) and I was not sure if we would complete however at 07:11:45. I finally received RR73 for my first ever 6m contact with VK at 17,089km.
This QSO was later confirmed on LoTW
Paul G4RRA saw things a little better than I did and during that period when VK2IR also worked PA3GCV and then just after that PA0O and PC5C as can be seen from Paul's Screenshot.
I am told that this might be the best distance Terrestrial DX on 6m from the UK so far this season.
On Monday some UK and EU stations managed to make SSB QSOs with VK6 and on Tuesday some had SSB QSO's with DU6/PE1NSQ and FT8 with both DU6/PE1NSQ and 4S7AB and others, but I missed out on those.
Currently (Weds 0820) VK's are getting good propagation to East EU and Scandinavia."
G0LGS was using an ICOM IC-7300 with an Acom 1000 Linear (set to about 700W) with a 4 Ele LFA at 7m above ground level.
Analysis... As we reach the peak of the current sunspot cycle, conditions are really getting good on the 50 MHz band. Unlike previous solar peaks when the dominant modes were SSB and CW, there are now huge numbers of stations using weak signal modes like FT8 which allows reception of very weak signals buried in the noise. It's probably fair to say that openings and contacts are being made now that would have gone unnoticed in the past.
On the 27th of October, the solar flux was at 246 and the sunspot number was 198. The propagation mode was via the F2 layer of the ionosphere.
Over the next few months, we're likely to see more remarkable paths appearing on the 50 MHz band and now is the time to be active on the band. If the 6m band can open from the NW of Europe to the SE of Australia then there should be plenty of more opportunities.
Link... See my 50 MHz page for more reports of other long distance openings on the 6m band.
