New distance record : 11.970 km with only 1 Watt

 A new distance record for my ON4CCP@1Watt FT8 project.  11.970 km 2 way QSO with only 1 Watt.

YF8TAC (Jakarta) came back on my CQ on 20m with a -19dB report.  

This is a valid QSO for the not-yet-existant 10.000 km/Watt award.  

Most QRP awards handle the 1000 Miles/Watt milestone.  This one is another dimension.

It's fantastic what you can do with only 1 Watt.  

Hereunder the PSKreporting map of stations that received my CQ.  I wasn't beamed to South-America, that's why there are no receptions.

The hardest issue is to find a free frequency where a CQ stays out of neighbour QRM.

  

CQ World Wide DX contest CW

Finally back on HF, finally back on CW.

After months of inactivity, I decided to go for SOAB(A) 15m this year.   
At the ultimate last moment, I changed my choice to 20m (fear of an ON competitor with stacks on 21Mhz).  

Normally I put up my 6 element 50 Mhz yagi just above the Steppir in May and take it down in October, but this year I was too lazy to put it down.  Consequence : in stead of 1:1, I had an SWR of 1.5 on 14.050 Mhz because of the capacitive load of the 50Mhz yagi.  

I had to control the Steppir on 14.400 Mhz to get it OK on 14.050 Mhz, but as a additional consequence, the 180° function requested 13.900 Mhz.   Technically, it worked fine, but this is not the good way.  Yagi this year @23m.

Goal was at >1000 QSO.  I had no idea of the conditions.  

I ended up with 2.175 Q and possible a new ON record.  Reason for that huge number of contacts is the combination of good running times together with very quick S&P.   Flexx radio + CWskimmer is a perfect combination.  When a station, somewhere on the band, calls 1x CQ, it is noticed and put on the N1MM+ bandmap.  Often, I was first to respond on a cq.

S&P was never as easy as this year.  

But : special multipliers do not call CQ and are often too weak to be noticed (or the antenna is turned in a wrong direction).  

Additionally, N1MM+ accepts only 1 telnet session, i.e. skimmer OR DXcluster.  This isn't the best solution.  I lost some important multipliers the first day.  On Sunday I installed the DXcluster on a second screen.

Anyway, happy to be again active on CW. 
It took a week daily Morserunner and Rufz sessions to activate the necessary CW-speed in mind.

Weakest point stays the hunt for mulipliers.  3 elements are too little to get them on an easy way.  

Need more elements for future contests on the higher bands.  Let the new sun-cycle begin :-) 

AND.... I have a ham student in the house + an interested one (who has to study first more maths and basic physics).  No ON3 preparation @ON4CCP/ON4CFG, we allways go for full Harec.   Exam to be done in Q2 2022.

  

Voluntary call spoofing and cheating on 50 Mhz

We have 2 types of call spoofing. 
One - the most common one - is that another guy is using your call to make contacts.  You do not know it, you receive qsl cards for contacts that you didn't make, you appear on the cluster while being absent.

The second type - the real cheating version - is that you use another station equipment and let others belief that you use your own station, with the approval of the other station.

What's going on :

There are 2 stations, A and B, and I'm perfectly located between both of them. 
station A in JO10:   xx
me in JO10:              x
station B in JO20 : xxxx

Station A has (since a few weeks) a remote access to station B and uses it to call CQ with B's name and equipent.  Since then, he desactivated his pskreporter tool to not be detected.

During the same time period A calls CQ with his own call and own equipment. 
So only spoofing type one, but B is informed about it. 

Sounds bizar ?  No because...

...  sometimes, when there is a sporadic E opening and B is not at home, A uses both his own station and the B station to call CQ with his own call.

He calls on one frequency (with a specific time delay) and a strength of +13dB to the Carribean area.
He calls on another frequency (with another specific time delay) and a strength of +30dB to the Carribean area.  2x same call (of station A), 2 different locations, time delays and frequencies.

What is going on at this moment with station A:

the +13dB is the signal coming from the backside of his own station in JO10 arriving on front of my antenna.
the +30dB is the signal coming from the station B array's frontside in JO20 arriving on the back of my antenna.

Station A lets us belief that he is calling from JO10 while his is calling from JO20.

Two cheatings: he's is not calling /A, indicating he's not at his home station, and he's calling from a location 50km away while using his home locator. 
This can be very important on 6 meter where propagation is sometimes very local.  And most awards and contests indicate that you can only use 1 locator.

Now, why is station B allowing this way of working. 

Station A has more time to be at home to call CQ with both callsigns, so B can make new QSO's while being at work.
Why is this needed for ?  Station B wants to be on top of all DX lists, so the more activity, the more possibilities to be on top.

And station A can make contacts that were impossible before for him, because he has now access to better antennas and a second location.  Winwin for both guys.

I've no problems with the technical side of this case.
I have some remarks on the legal side of it.

But I can not tolerate the sanctimonious behaviour of the two guys.  They are the first to give negative comments to others...

Crazy Magic Band

Two weeks after the installation of the new 6m band yagi,  76 countries worked / 57 Lotw confirmed.

This means that 6 meter is already giving more countries than my 160m results.  Next goal for the winter...

Yesterday afternoon, evening and night, there was a massive multi-hop sporadic E opening to the Carribean and NA region.

This morning, same thing direction Middle-East.
Added into my log last 24hrs  : A6, A7, A9, 9K, VP9, XE, J6, 6W, HI, YV, PY, FG, KP4

This is going fast, very fast. 
I made a contact with K1JT, founder of the FT8 protocol both in FT8 and FT4.

Even a positive remark of the XYL : this antenna is much smaller, I like it...
No idea if a second stacked yagi 5 meter above this one will give the same remark.

It's indeed surprising that with such a small yagi these results are possible... but you must be there when the air is hot.

One thing to regret : Japan

JH4MGU copied my CQ, came back with a report, but didn't copy my return.  Needed just 15 seconds of extra propagation...

new 6 meter yagi installed

Here it is. 
A brand new 6 element LFA yagi with bended reflector (for beter F/B ratio and swr).
Ordered at Innovantennas in the UK.   Price/ goal was this time better than Optibeam in my case. 
The antenna will disappear during winter times, so no heavy duty stuff needed...

Just above the naked Steppir yagi antenna.   The fiber elements must be (re)painted because of solar light influences.  After all that years, the power of the sun has become very clear on the fibers.

Back to six meter : VUCC award achieved (with the Steppir). 
But I had troubles with real DX and I couldn't wipe out neighbour stations (the Steppir had poor front to back ratio on 6 meters). 

This yagi is a first step in improving my 50Mhz station. 
I will evaluate if it is worth placing a second stacked yagi.

Just worked 6W, Senegal.   It seems that DXCC on 6 meters is possible without EME.
But you really need to be there during small openings.  It's another way of playing with the waves.

First real DX on 50 Mhz

Trinidad & Tobago is my first real DX contact on 50 Mhz.  Thanks to 9Y4D.

From scratch he appeared with a signal of only -20 dB with a CQ.   I never expected to receive an answer but he came back with -18dB.

7300 km, with 200 W and 4 element yagi.  Happy with it because the steppir is a compromise antenna on 6 meter. 
A new 6 element will arrive soon to start a new carreer on 50 Mhz. 

Only problem with this band :  openings arrive suddenly, so you need to be there.

Other remarkable thing : there is a 50 Mhz policeman on the band who thinks he owns the complete spectrum and gives comment to all others in the neighbourhood. 
The same guy injected my own call on my FT8 CQ in order to try to start a software loop in WSJT.  Not !  I am not a robot, so my instant intervention could avoid it.
His signal strength has given away his identity :-)

Statistics after a couple of weeks on 50 Mhz :

36 countries worked of which 26 confirmed.
66 confirmed grids

To be continued...

To Triple Play or not to Triple Play

Triple play :  have all US States in Logbook of the World confirmed in Phone, CW and digital modes.

This is the LOTW output.   

So if it sounds like a duck, walks like a duck and smells like a duck...

NOT  !

North Dakota in Phone was made before 2009.  So no count for TP.

Sometimes an award isn't fun nor fair.  And 82 US$ for the plaque... this time I create my own award.