QRPproject Shop closes down - Jan 2022

I noticed a few days ago that the QRPproject shop in Germany closed down at the end of 2022.

The QRPproject was described as follows..."QRP and Homebrew HAM Radio by DL2FI and DL7NIK QRP Made in Germany and more QRP Kits, qrp transceivers, accessories, mini keyers dealer for antennas, atu and more accessories".

It's impending closure was first announced back on the 1st of November 2022.

The website with the closure announcement is here... https://www.qrp-shop.biz/

Their information website is still active for the moment... https://www.qrpproject.de/UK/indexuk.html

German beacons heard on 28 MHz in 2021

During the 2021, I did many scans of the 28 MHz beacon band from about 28.160 to 28.340 MHz. This post is about the number of days that I heard one of the 10m beacons in Germany.

The map above shows the distribution of 28 MHz beacons in Germany. Note that the DB0MFI and DM0AAB beacons were off air in 2021.

The chart below shows the number of days in 2021 that I heard a German beacon on 28 MHz...

I should point out that I did a lot fewer scans that previous years. However, you can still see the beacons that were the easiest to hear.

1) DL0IGI with its 50 watts into a vertical antenna was heard on 14 days and is easily the most consistent German beacon here in Ireland.

2) DK0TEN (10w GP) and DB0TEN (2w GP) were at 9 and 10 days respectively. Every year, these two seem to have almost the same number of recordings. (Note - GP is a ground plane vertical antenna)

3) DB0BER (5w) was heard on 9 days. For whatever reason, it did seem to be a bit easier to hear in 2021.

4) DL0UM has 4 watts into a vertical dipole and was heard on 7 days.

5) DB0FKS was heard on just 1 day but this can be easily explained due to the fact it has just 1-watt into a small DV-27 vertical antenna (i.e. a loaded mobile whip).

In terms of distance, the German beacons are about 1,200 to 1,500 kms from my location in Ireland.

In previous years, I had recorded the number of times I heard the German beacons on 28 MHz

2019 post HERE

2020 post HERE

The reports don't really seem to show any advantage propagation wise if the beacon is in the north or south of Germany or if it's slightly closer or slightly further away. The key difference between beacons from my perspective is the power and antenna of each one.

German 28 MHz beacons... These are the current ones as of the end of 2021

28.205 MHz - DL0IGI - JN57MT - 50w Vert
28.210 MHz - DB0FKS - JN49IT - 1w DV27 GP
28.245 MHz - DB0TEN - JO42UV - 2w GP
28.257 MHz - DK0TEN - JN47NT - 10w GP
28.265 MHz - DB0ANN - JN59PL - 5w Dipole (Used to be DF0ANN)
28.273 MHz - DB0BER - JO62QL - 5w
28.278 MHz - DM0AAB - JO54GH - 10w GP (Off Air - Last spot on DX-Cluster Sept 2020)
28.279 MHz - DB0UM - JO73CE - 4w Vert Dipole
28.285 MHz - DB0MFI - JN58HW - 9w GP (Off Air - Last spot on DX-Cluster Sept 2019)

Methodology notes...
1) The equipment used for reception was a Kenwood TS690 transceiver with a vertical half-wave antenna. The take off to the east towards Germany is good with no obstructions.
2) All beacons must be positively identified before I post them on DXMaps which in turn puts them on the DX Cluster.
3) The mode of propagation for all signals heard was Sporadic-E.

Baofeng UV5R is banned for sale by German authorities

The Baofeng UV-5R is a hugely popular handheld radio covering both the 144 and 432 MHz bands and is usually available for a very low price.

It is also well known for not being the cleanest of radios transmit wise with many spurs which aren't that far below the fundamental signal which can be a potential source of interference to other services.

On the 24th of November 2021, the German authorities announced a ban on sale of this radio.

Will a EU wide ban follow??

From Google translate...

Official Journal of the Federal Network Agency for electricity, gas, telecommunications, post and railways 

22 2021 - regulation, telecommunications - 1457

Ordinance No. 91/2021
Law on the provision of radio equipment on the Market (Radio Equipment Act -FuAG):
General decree regarding a sales ban for a machine
As part of the market surveillance according to the FuAG, the Federal Network Agency pointed out that the below named device does not comply with the requirements of the FuAG.
The Federal Network Agency issues on the basis of Section 23 Paragraph 2 No.4 i. V. m. § 30 Paragraph 3 FuAG the following
General decree:
1. The further provision, placing on the market and the passing on of the device listed below is prohibited.
Information about the device:
Product Type: Radio
Device type: radio telephone
Model: UV-5R 5W HT
Trademark: BAOFENG
Importer: Agnieszka Bastek Demo Bis, Warsaw

Report claims that there has been 30% growth in digital DAB+ receivers in Germany

According to a recent press release from the 6th of September 2021, the number of digital DAB+ receivers in Germany has reached a record 21.7 million receivers. This is approximately 5 million more radios than before and corresponds to a growth of 30 percent. 

"More than every fourth household (27 percent) now receives DAB +. That is over 1.1 million more than in the previous year. This means that the number of households in which DAB + can be received is well over 11 million for the first time.

The number of VHF radios continues to decrease. Aided by the digital radio obligation, among other things, the FM share in car radios is falling significantly, reaching a new low of 78.8 percent. Around every fifth car radio is now equipped with DAB + reception."

While the 30% growth sounds impressive, one of the key facts in the press release is that just 20% of cars has DAB+. This is one of the key sectors for radio and it would seem that a switch off of the FM radio network is unlikely until that figure is much higher.

Press release below...

German beacons heard on 28 MHz in 2020

During the Summer of 2020, I did many scans of the 28 MHz beacon band from about 28.160 to 28.340 MHz. This post is about the number of days that I heard one of the 10m beacons in Germany.

The map above shows the distribution of 28 MHz beacons in Germany. Note that the DB0MFI beacon in the south of Germany was off air in 2020.

The chart below shows the number of days in 2020 that I heard a German beacon on 28 MHz...

1) DL0IGI with its 50 watts into a vertical antenna was heard on 46 days and is easily the most consistent German beacon here in Ireland.

2) DL0UM has just 4 watts into a vertical dipole and was heard on 44 days. Like DL0IGI, it is about 200kms further away from me compared to some of the other beacons and perhaps the slightly longer skip distance made a difference?

3) DK0TEN (10w GP) and DB0TEN (2w GP) were both at 44 days. (Note - GP is a ground plane vertical antenna)

4) DF0ANN (5w dipole) and DM0AAB (10w GP) at 36 and 37 days were slightly behind. As for why?

5) DB0FKS was heard on just 19 days but this can be easily explained due to the fact it has just 1-watt into a small DV-27 vertical antenna (i.e. a loaded mobile whip).

6) DB0BER (5w) was heard on just 5 days. I'm not sure why there are so few reports?

In terms of distance, the German beacons are about 1,200 to 1,500 kms from my location in Ireland.

In 2019, I did a similar experiment... report HERE. It's interesting that the results for 2020 and 2019 are pretty much the same. 

Most of the beacons were in the same order with DL0IGI on top and DB0UM in second place. The key difference was that DL0IGI had a much greater lead in 2019.

In 2019, I heard DL0IGI on 35% more days than DB0UM whereas in 2020, it was just 5% more days.

In conclusion... The reason I collected this data was to see if there were any unusual findings.

a) Was there a difference between North and South Germany? For the second year running, the answer seems to be no. The slightly more northern path didn't seem to have fewer openings.

b) Did distance matter? I seemed to hear beacons at 1,200kms as often as ones at 1,400kms but DB0UM out at 1,550kms seemed to have the edge. The problem is that this is only one data point although I do suspect that extra few hundred kms does give it a slight edge.

German 28 MHz beacons... These are the current ones as of the end of 2020

28.205 MHz - DL0IGI - JN57MT - 50w Vert
28.210 MHz - DB0FKS - JN49IT - 1w DV27 GP
28.245 MHz - DB0TEN - JO42UV - 2w GP
28.257 MHz - DK0TEN - JN47NT - 10w GP
28.265 MHz - DB0ANN - JN59PL - 5w Dipole (Used to be DF0ANN)
28.273 MHz - DB0BER - JO62QL - 5w
28.278 MHz - DM0AAB - JO54GH - 10w GP
28.279 MHz - DB0UM - JO73CE - 4w Vert Dipole
28.285 MHz - DB0MFI - JN58HW - 9w GP (Off Air - Last spot on DX-Cluster Sept 2019)

Methodology notes...
1) The equipment used for reception was a Kenwood TS690 transceiver with a vertical half-wave antenna. The take off to the east towards Germany is good with no obstructions.
2) I usually scan the beacon band on 28 MHz once I hear FT8 signals at a reasonable level that are easily audible. i.e. I know for sure the band is open.
3) All beacons must be positively identified before I post them on DXMaps which in turn puts them on the DX Cluster.
4) The mode of propagation for all signals heard was Sporadic-E.

Looking at the German 28 MHz beacons heard in 2019

During the months of April, May and June of 2019, I did many scans of the 28 MHz beacon band from about 28.160 to 28.340 MHz. This post is about the number of days that I heard one of the beacons in Germany.

The map above shows the distribution of 28 MHz beacons in Germany. Note that the DB0BER beacon near Berlin was off air during the period I was monitoring so it is not included in the data below.

The chart below shows the number of days in 2019 that I heard a German beacon on 28 MHz...

1) DL0IGI with its 50 watts into a vertical antenna was heard on 35 days and is easily the most consistent German beacon here in Ireland.

2) DL0UM has just 4 watts into a vertical dipole and was heard on 26 days. Like DL0IGI, it is about 200kms further away from me compared to some of the other beacons and perhaps the slightly longer skip distance made a difference?

3) DB0MFI (9w GP), DK0TEN (10w GP) and DB0TEN (2w GP) were all about the same mark with 22, 21 and 20 days respectively. (Note - GP is a ground plane vertical antenna)

4) DF0ANN (5w dipole) and DM0AAB (10w GP) at 16 and 14 days were noticeably behind. Was it just pure chance or was there a reason?

5) DB0FKS was heard on just 8 days but this can be easily explained due to the fact it has just 1-watt into a small DV-27 vertical antenna (i.e. a loaded mobile whip).

In terms of distance, the German beacons are about 1,200 to 1,500 kms from my location in Ireland.

In conclusion... The reason I collected this data was to see if there was any unusual findings.

a) Was there a difference in the number of days heard between North and South Germany? The answer seems to be no.

b) Did distance matter? Maybe but the evidence isn't that strong. I seemed to hear beacons at 1,200kms as often as ones at 1,400kms.

The main factor determining what I heard from my location in Ireland seems to be just power and antenna performance of the beacons. 

German 28 MHz beacons... These are the current ones as of the end of 2019

28.205 MHz - DL0IGI - JN57MT - 50w Vert
28.210 MHz - DB0FKS - JN49IT - 1w DV27 GP
28.245 MHz - DB0TEN - JO42UV - 2w GP
28.257 MHz - DK0TEN - JN47NT - 10w GP
28.265 MHz - DB0ANN - JN59PL - 5w Dipole (Used to be DF0ANN)
28.273 MHz - DB0BER - JO62QL - 5w
28.278 MHz - DM0AAB - JO54GH - 10w GP
28.279 MHz - DB0UM - JO73CE - 4w Vert Dipole
28.285 MHz - DB0MFI - JN58HW - 9w GP

Methodology notes...
1) The equipment used for reception was a Kenwood TS690 transceiver with a vertical half-wave antenna. The take off to the east towards Germany is good with no obstructions.
2) I usually scan the beacon band on 28 MHz once I hear FT8 signals at a reasonable level that are easily audible. i.e. I know for sure the band is open.
3) All beacons must be positively identified before I post them on DXMaps which in turn puts them on the DX Cluster.
4) The mode of propagation for all signals heard was Sporadic-E.

Amateur Radio numbers in Germany continue to decline in 2019

At the end of 2019, there were 63,070 amateur radio licence permits in Germany, a drop of 1,406 or 2.2% on the figure of 64,476 for 2018.

As can be seen from the chart above, the numbers have been in decline for some time and are down about 12% in the last decade.

The chart below shows the number of people taking the amateur licence test every year.

Even allowing for a high pass rate, the numbers are well below what is needed to stop the overall decline.

As one of the largest countries in Europe, the figures from Germany are significant and are probably reflect what is happening in other European countries as well.

Link...
1) Stats from Germany

Germany to get 70 MHz allocation from 2nd May to 31st Aug 2018

I saw a news item recently that Germany is to get a temporary allocation on 70MHz again in 2018 from the 2nd of May to the 31st of August.

The allocation will be from 70.150 - 70.180 MHz. This does of course coincide with the Summer Sporadic-E season which will greatly increase the chance of making some contacts.

The suggested range for someone in central Germany is shown below....

The shortest skip distance is likely to be around the 1000 km mark and will probably require a very intense opening, possibly from mid May to early July.

The longest skip distance should be around the 2200 km mark. It's likely that the most common openings will be around the 1500 to 2000 km range.

If you live in Ireland, it might be handy to check for some useful markers. If you can hear Polish radio stations on 88-108 MHz, then check 70MHz to see if it is open to Germany. If you can hear Dutch or Belgian stations on 50 MHz, then check 70 MHz.