VE3WE 10 Metre Beacon

There's a new amateur radio beacon operating in Toronto: VE3WE, 28265 kHz. I received it today at 1540-1555 UTC with a good signal. Morse code, in English. Operated by the Scarborough Amateur Radio Club. 5 watts.

W5TZC

Normally I wouldn't post about hearing an ordinary sort of amateur station from the U.S. or Canada. But I set myself the challenge of logging something each day this month, and today I only found a few minutes to spend on radio. This is the only station that made it into the log for today:

• W5TZC, Bismarck, AR, USA, on 7019 kHz (40 metres) in CW at 0553 UTC calling CQ. RST: 579.

Massive Pileup

While tuning across the 40 metre amateur band today I came across a truly massive pileup of amateur stations in Morse code - hundreds of them all on 7030 kHz at the same time. They were all in a frenzy trying to contact the TN2T DXpedition station in the Republic of Congo. I couldn't hear TN2T, however. This was at 0443 UTC.

WE2XGR/1 on 501 kHz

There is a campaign underway to get a new band allocated for amateur radio at the 600 metre wavelength (500 kHz). You can read about it at the website of the ARRL 600 Meter Experimental Group. There are some amateur experimental stations authorized to operate on these frequencies for purposes of evaluating its prospects for amateur radio. Early this morning I caught one of these stations:

• WE2XGR/1 in Wayland, MA, USA on 501 kHz at 0436 UTC with a good signal (RST 569). The station was operating in beacon mode, repeating its ID. The operator is K2ORS.

Logged on the Kaito KA-1103 with its internal antenna, in Harrowsmith, Ontario.

2011 CQ WW DX CW Contest

One of the biggest amateur radio Morse code contests of the year was on this weekend. I was on the air making lots of contacts in it and I also logged over 100 stations heard. I spent most of my time on 10 metres, with some time also spend on the 15 and 20 metre bands.

There were tons of stations coming in from Europe, the Caribbean, and South America. 10 metres was particularly good. This is a band that is very sensitive to propagation conditions, and especially to the 11 year solar cycle. Around sunspot minimum the band can be dead for weeks, supporting nothing but local propagation. But when the solar cycle approaches the maximum, this band can support world-wide communication with solid signals at low power. Now that we're heading towards solar maximum, the band is improving a lot.

One of the highlights today was hearing TF2JB in Iceland on 10 metres at 1459 UTC. I don't think I've ever received a station from Iceland before.

Another highlight was hearing ZS4TX in South Africa at 1811 UTC on 10 metres. I've received plenty of broadcast stations from South Africa before but this is the first amateur station I've heard from there.

Another noteworthy station was ED9M, in Ceuta, Spain. Ceuta is a city on the North African coast that is part of Spain. Never heard any stations of any sort from that place before. This was on 10 metres at 1756 UTC.

At 2135 UTC I received VP2MWG in Montserrat on 15 metres. Another new country, I think.

At 2146 on 15 metres, caught HC2SL in Guayaquil, Ecuador. I've heard amateur stations in Ecuador before, but they were all contest stations in the Galapagos. I think this is the first amateur station I've got from mainland Ecuador.

Amateur 10 Metre Beacon - N1FSX

Logged another amateur Morse code beacon on the 10 metre band today. N1FSX, Matheson, Colorado, USA at 2112 UTC on 28232 kHz with a weak but copyable signal.

2011 Worked All Europe RTTY Contest

I was logging stations today while participating in the 2011 Worked All Europe RTTY Contest. There were several interesting catches from outside of the U.S.A. and Canada:

• UT0U, Ukraine, 21099 kHz, 1608 UTC.
• OZ1ADL, Denmark, 21091 kHz, 1615 UTC.
• F1RHS, France, 21088 kHz, 1620 UTC.
• YL2CI, Latvia, 21086 kHz, 1625 UTC.
• EA8URL, Canary Islands, Spain, 21100 kHz, 1646 UTC.
• OM5M, Slovakia, 21115 kHz, 1654 UTC.
• OH2BBT, Finland, 21126 kHz, 1710 UTC.
• 5C5W, Morocco, 21083 kHz, 1714 UTC.
• OF150M, Finland, 21085 kHz, 1717 UTC.
• CO2AJ, Cuba, 21096 kHz, 1722 UTC.
• OK1KSL, Czech Republic, 21088 kHz, 1726 UTC.
• IW1QN, Italy, 21103 kHz, 1729 UTC.
• XE3N, Mexico, 28115 kHz, 1847 UTC.
• CO2CW, Cuba, 21090 kHz, 2119 UTC.

Loggings on 10 Metres

I logged a bunch of amateur stations today in SSB on the 10 metre band while participating in the CQ WW DX SSB contest. Countries from which I logged stations were: Austria, Canada, Corsica (France), France, Germany, Guyana, Ireland, Italy, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Turks & Caicos Islands, USA, and Wales (UK).

I got one 10 metre beacon: K5AB, Georgetown TX, USA, on 28280 kHz at 1618 UTC in CW. He was running 20 watts.

I also logged several American amateur stations running in WSPR mode on 10140 kHz between 1304 to 1356 UTC.

The reason I post these reports of amateur radio stations logged is to suggest an alternative form of shortwave DXing to SWLs. It's no secret that shortwave broadcasting is in a real decline, and it is common for SWLs to lament how there are many countries that they can no longer hear on shortwave. But many countries that are difficult or impossible to find broadcasting on shortwave still support lots of active amateurs and can be heard on the ham bands.

That being said, since the amateur stuff is probably not of much interest to most SWLs, henceforward I'm going to stop posting reports of amateur stations heard, except for particularly noteworthy ones.

Today's Amateur Radio Loggings

Received on the radio today. PSK31:

• 2026 UTC, 28120 kHz, K6JSS/KL, Anchorage, AK, USA, RST 459, English. QRP ARCI Station #1 in Alaska. I worked him on air.
• 2036 UTC, 28120 kHz, LU9DGE, Buenos Aires, Argentina, RST 339, English, working KD4JMV.
• 2036 UTC, 28120 kHz, KD4JMV, Naples, FL, USA, RST 599, English, working LU9DGE.

CW:

• 2100 UTC, 28024 kHz, VO1TK, St. John's, NL, Canada, RST 599, English. Calling CQ - I worked him.

WSPR:

• 0530 UTC, 10140 kHz, W3HH, Ocala, FL, USA, 1 W.
• 0622 UTC, 10140 kHz, W4MO, Venice, FL, USA, 5W.
• 1248 UTC, 10140 kHz, K3GEN, Montgomery Village, MD, USA, 1W.
• 1254 UTC, 10140 kHz, N3TFM, Kalamazoo, MI, USA, 0.5W.
• 1256 UTC, 10140 kHz, W4DJW, Greer, SC, USA, 5W.
• 1302 UTC, 10140 kHz, WB4KLJ, Arlington, VA, USA, 5W.
• 1302 UTC, 10140 kHz, K9IQY, Fairfield, IL, USA, 5W.
• 1524 UTC, 28126 kHz, OK/AD6XP, Czech Republic, 2W.
• 1532 UTC, 28126 kHz, OE1XRW, Vienna, Austria, 2W.
• 1532 UTC, 28126 kHz, DL3HBT, Luebeck, Germany, 5W.
• 1534 UTC, 28126 kHz, VE6PDQ, Edmonton, AB, Canada, 5W.
• 1552 UTC, 28126 kHz, DB1CP, Viersen, Germany, 5W.
• 1636 UTC, 28126 kHz, G0MBA, Clacton-on-Sea, England, 0.01W.
• 2128 UTC, 28126 kHz, VA7XX, Charlie Lake, BC, Canada, 0.5W.
• 2128 UTC, 28126 kHz, VE5DC, Sintaluta, SK, Canada, 5W.
• 2130 UTC, 28126 kHz, KB4RG, Marion, TX, USA, 5W.
• 2134 UTC, 28126 kHz, K5PA, Austin, TX, USA, 5W.
• 2140 UTC, 28126 kHz, VE6GEL, Calgary, AB, Canada, 5W.
• 2158 UTC, 28126 kHz, W5IPA, Corpus Christi, TX, USA, 5W.
• 2226 UTC, 28126 kHz, VE6SKY, Calgary, AB, Canada, 5W.

Two PSK31 Receptions

Two interesting amateur stations logged in PSK31 mode today:

• OX3IO, Nuuk, Greenland, at 2014 UTC on 28,120 kHz in the 10 metre band with an excellent signal. Name: Brian. I also worked him on air.
• TG9AHM, Guatemala City, Guatemala, at 2018 UTC on 28,120 kHz. Good signal.

More WSPR Receptions

Received today in WSPR mode on 28,124.6 kHz (10 metres):

• 1306 UTC, MW0GRJ, Flint, Wales, United Kingdom, 5W.
• 1312 UTC, OH8GKP, Liminka, Finland, 5W.
• 1346 UTC, IZ1ANK, Coldirodi, MI, Italy, 2W.
• 1524 UTC, G3PWJ, Pedmore, Stourbridge, England, United Kingdom, 5W.
• 1630 UTC, EA6GF, Mallorca, Spain, 5W.
• 1638 UTC, VE7VI, Gibsons, BC, Canada, 5W.
• 1708 UTC, HB9CMI, Waengi, Switzerland, 5W.
• 1708 UTC , DL4FMC, Germany, 5W.
• 1710 UTC, G3JKV, Towerhill, Dorking, England, United Kingdom, 5W.
• 1718 UTC, KF7O, College Place, WA, United States, 2W.
• 1806 UTC, N7NEI, Edmonds, WA, United States, 5W.
• 1844 UTC, N7YET, Dillon, MT, United States, 5W.
• 1918 UTC, PB0AIC, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 5W.

Four Amateur Stations

The 10 metre band was open today, so after returning from the hike I went on the air to see if I could make any contacts there. I logged four interesting amateur stations during this:

• CO6CAC, Villa Clara, Cuba, on 28448 kHz at 2100 UTC in SSB. Operator's name: Carlos. He was working stations in English with a very good (59) signal. I worked him.
• HC2SL, Guayaquil, Ecuador, on 28022 kHz at 2114 UTC in CW (Morse code) with an excellent (599) signal. He was calling CQ and working stations. I worked him too.
• PZ5RA, Paramaribo, Suriname, on 28417 kHz at 2219 UTC in SSB working stations in Japan. He had a good signal.
• JA4EPE, Ube, Yamaguchi, Japan, on 28417 kHz at 2219 UTC in SSB with a weak signal. He was working PZ5RA. This is another first for me - although there are a huge number of radio amateurs in Japan, I'd never even heard one on air before today.

Two 10 Metre Beacons

As today is Thanksgiving Monday here in Canada, I had the day off work. The weather was nice so I decided to go out of town to go for a short hike in the woods to see the fall colours. I went to Mount Nemo Conservation Area in Halton, about an hour west of Toronto. I brought a portable radio with me, the Grundig G5. After the hike was done I spent a bit of time tuning the bands there. Logged two 10 metre amateur Morse code beacons. Both are relogs - I got both of these the previous weekend while in Algonquin Park:

• K5GJR, 28244.5 kHz, Corpus Christi, TX, USA, at 1835 UTC. Good signal. 5 watts into vertical antenna. CW.
• N7MSH, 28226.5 kHz, North Powder, OR, USA, at 1837 UTC. Weak signal but copyable. CW.

W5TXR Beacon

Today's logging: Amateur 10 metre band Morse code beacon W5TXR on 28,260.8 kHz. Location: Schertz, TX, USA. Time: 2220 UTC. This beacon runs 5 watts into a vertical antenna. Heard here in Toronto with a weak but copyable signal (RST 339). Sending V markers "V V V de W5TXR...".

Saudi Arabia and Mexico on 10 Metres

Two interesting amateur radio stations heard today on the 10 metre band:

• HZ1FI, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on 28116 kHz at 1429 UTC in RTTY mode with a fair signal. He was working stations in the CQ Worldwide DX RTTY amateur radio contest. This is the first amateur station I've heard from Saudi Arabia.
• XE3D, Merida, Yucatan, Mexico at 2223 UTC on 28215 kHz with a weak signal. This one was operating as a Morse code beacon.

CQ World Wide WPX CW Contest

I was on the air today making some contacts in the CQ World Wide WPX CW contest. Also kept a log of the stations I heard. Time: 15:00-21:10 UTC. Bands: 15 and 10 metres (21 and 28 MHz). Some good DX heard, plus the usual assortment of stations from the U.S. and Canada.

• 15 metres: Stations from Colombia (HK1R), Chile (XQ1KZ), Aruba (P49Y), Puerto Rico (NP2/OL5Y), Martinique (FM5CD), Honduras (HQ9R), Senegal (6W/RK4FF), Brazil (PW7T), Azores (CR2X), Portugal (CS2C), and Italy (II9T).
• 10 metres: Stations from Bonaire (PJ4A), Colombia (HK1NA), and Brazil (PW2D and PS2T).

More WSPR Receptions

Another WSPR session. Highlights included receiving 5 watt stations from Venezuela and Spain. Details here.

WSPR Receptions

Listening for stations in WSPR today. Highlights included receiving a 1 watt station from the U.K. (G4BJO) and a 2 watt one from Switzerland (HB9TPL). Details here.

AM Roundtable

Late last night (02:41 UTC April 24) I was tuning around the 80 metre amateur band and heard several stations on 3885 kHz transmitting in AM. It was an AM roundtable. I caught the callsigns of two of the participants: KC2IFR in South Glens Falls NY, and WA1HLR in Skowhegan ME.

Its always interesting to tune the 80 metre band when I'm in Harrowsmith. There's little interference and the band is full of signals at night. By contrast, almost nothing is audible on 80 for me in Toronto because of the noise levels. The building's steel frame does half the job, and the masses of electrically noisy consumer electronics that my neighbours and I have does the rest.

WSPR

For the past week and a half my DXing activities have been about using a new amateur radio mode called WSPR. Stations use this mode to operate as low power beacons; I've been using it to log a bunch of these stations. Because I've been doing this as part of getting my own station on the air in WSPR mode, I've been posting about it over at my amateur radio blog. Rather than duplicate that material here, I'll direct you to the posts on that site, in case you're interested. Posts are here, here, here, and here.