QSL Cards

In the last two weeks I have written more than 200 QSL cards. Mostly for more than 1000 Miles per Watt QSO's. Yesterday I brought a pile of 7 cm (2.75") to the QSL manager.

I still send paper QSL's for nearly each 1000 MPW QSO's, so the HAM that I worked with very low power, can read all the info on my card.
To calculate the distance and Miles per Watt, I always look up the QTH-locator on QRZ.

I noticed that more and more stations use LotW or will send the card only direct for $2. So now I also use QRZ, to look, if the station will answer a QSL via the bureau or eQSL.

Inverted Vee repaired

Friday afternoon the whether was good with no wind and a nice temperature. So my wife said: why don't you go on the roof to repair you antenna. I fixed the broken wire, before dark. This evening (Sunday) I listened, but there was no activity. I did not test the antenna in a QSO, but I suspect it will work well.

Half an Inverted Vee

One of the wires of my Inverted Vee is broken,
due to the heavy winds of the last days.
First the lower point came loose and today
the wire broke at the top. The wire is still on the roof.

I am not in a hurry to repair the antenna.
I used "half an Inverted Vee" before, for about one year and noticed that I could still use QRPp and still make more than 1000 Miles per Watt QSO's.
So I say: Half an Inverted Vee is still an antenna.
I will see what the antenna does this time. hi.

ARRL 10 meter contest 2011

During the ARRL 10 meter contest the propagation and the activity was very good. This combination yielded in 72 QSO's. Most QSO's were made with the Lowest Possible Power. Because of family obligations, I only participated for for about 3 1/2 hours each day. Before 1200 utc, I could work only stations from the east and after 1200 utc from the west. All QSO's were made with a power of 2.7 W to 36 mW. Many of the QSO's with low power are good for more than 1000 Miles per Watt.

I was very pleased to meet Steve NY3A over 3800 miles from PA. His signal was strong. I answered his CQ with just 80 mW. I was surprised that he could hear me, but no doubt, because the response was immediately correct. WOW.
But also QSO's with 2.7 Watts can be remarkable. I was thrilled by the Excellent Ears of KI1G, UA9FGJ and EA8OM. I answered their weak signal and they came back immediately with a correct response. WOW again.
In my log, I use EE to designate a station with Excellent Ears and IC in case of an unexpected Immediately Correct response.

The most difficult part of using the lowest possible power, is to choose the power. If I choose a power that is too low, I loose much time. When a station is time and again calling CQ, that is no problem. Then I use low power and increase the power every time I notice, that my signal is not heard.

By using low power, 53 of the 72 QSO's (74%) are made with more than
1000 Miles per Watt. All QSO's with 1.8 W or less are 1000 MPW QSO's.
And also all 23 QSO's with 2.7 W to the USA.

HB9STEVE with 1000 MPW

HB9STEVE is a special event station to commemorate the life of Steve Jobs.
The station was active during November 2011.
Check out the info of HB9STEVE on QRZ. (click)

I received the special QSL via eQSL. To check the locator, I have sent a e-mail to Fulvio HB9DHG, who quickly responded.

Fulvio wrote back, how he enjoyed operating with the special call HB9STEVE:
It was a fantastic experience. One month and more than 8200 QSO's,
especially the 3600 QSO's in just one weekend (the CQ WW CW).
I'm happy you're in the log.

When I heard HB9STEVE in the CQ WW DX CW contest on 14 MHz, it I took my a while to figure out the "long" Call. Since I try to use the lowest possible power in any QSO, I reduced to 360 mW, before answering. The border of Switzerland is only 330 miles away, but luckely Fulvio (HB9DHG) and his team were located in the southern part of Switzerland, so we breached the 1000 Miles per Watt boundary. With a distance of 446 miles and a power of 360 milliwatts, this QSO is good for 1240 MPW. Thank you, dear Fulvio and team.

CQ WW DX CW 2011

I started Saturday morning at 0015 UTC and stayed on until 0140 UTC, to make 18 QSO's on 80 meters. It was terrible. I felt it for a few days and the next day I could not wake up. I should have gone to sleep before midnight, to start early Saturday morning.

On Saturday the 26th, I went back on the air, as late as 1100 UTC, to find good propagation on 21 MHz. I used the Lowest Possible Power in each QSO, with a power of 18 mW to 800 mW, with stations in Europe and later in North America. (See table 21MHZ 26th).
At first I used 360 mW, but later the S-meter went up and I was very pleased to work N2NT and VO1TA, with a QRPpp power of 80 mW.
I also made a few QSO's on 28 MHz.

When 21 MHz and 28 MHz closed, I went to 14 MHz, to make a few QSO's with 80 mW to 800 mW and then continued on 3.5 MHz. Most of the time, I use the maximum power of 2.7 watts on this band.
On Sunday morning I continued on this band and even made a QSO with KC1XX. The propagation on 7 MHz was bad, so all QSO's with Europe were made with full power. A few years ago it was possible to make QSO's with 100 mW or even less, on this band. After half an hour, I switch to 14 MHz, to work stations from Europe and a few stations from north America. Over time the propagation got better, so I could reduce the power gradually.
Later in the afternoon I shifted the emphasis from the Lowest Possible Power to the highest QSO rate.

On Saturday I had to glue myself to my chair. Many times I walked out of the the shack to go down stairs after a few QSO's. On Sunday I could stay on the air for long periods of time.

QSO's per continent

After making this analysis per continent, I realized that all QSO's to North America, South America and Asia are more then 1000 Miles per Watt QSO's.
A quick count revealled another 70 "1000 MPW"

QSO's in Europe, so I estimate that the total of 1000 MPW QSO's will be around 170.
Since I did not use the lowest possible power in each QSO this number would be lower, if my FT-817 could give 5 watts, instead of the current maximum of 2.7 watts. hi

Other 1000 Miles per Watt hunters
It is great to see, that other Bloggers also have used QRPp in the CQ WW DX CW contest. More FUN with lower power.
Steve MW0BBU hunted for new DXCC entities with just 500 mW. Click here to visit the QRP Pembrokeshire Blog. Steve noted in the Blog that he noticed that despite the low power, his call was copied immediately correct. hi
Mike VE3WDM also used 500 mW with an indoor attic fan dipole. Click here to check out the list of 1000 MPW QSO's, made with 500 mW.
Well done, gentlemen.

9H1XT in LZ DX with 3.6 mW

The propagation on 10 m is getting very good. Earlier this morning the signals were S9 in the LZ DX contest. When I came back on 10 m, the signal of 9H1XT was S9 + 20 dB and sounded very strong. I repeatedly used 3.6 mW to answer. I had to force myself NOT to increase the power, every time John did not hear me, but answered an other stations. After 7 or more times my perseverance payed off and the QSO was made with 3.6 mW. Tnx John.
It is a long time ago that a power of 5 mW or less could be used. This reminds me of the propagation in 2001, when I could frequently work over thousand miles with 2.5 mW or 5 mW.

OK-OM DX Contest

Last weekend I participated in the OK-OM DX contest. Saturday I started on 80 m and made 23 QSO with 2.7 W. Sunday morning I made just more than 10 QSO's on 40 m. The propagation was disappointing on 40 m. Often I can use just 80 mW on 40m in the morning. But in nearly all the QSO's, I had to use 2.7 W. Only one QSO could be made with 360 mW.

Then I went to 20 m. It was fabulous. I started with 360 mW and later I could reduce to 8 mW in a QSO with OM3IAG. The stronger the received signal, the further the power can be reduced.
I received OL2W and OK7T with 20 dB over S9. This is S9 through the 20 dB attenuator. I noticed that OL2W and OK7T are great listeners with Excellent Ears and both really took the time to answer my 8 mW signal.

The frequency must be absolutely clear, when I answer with this low power. I was hunting for OM3RRC, calling him more then 10 times in vane. Suddenly I was the only caller and he immediately answered to my 36 mW signal. hi

NAQCC 1000 Miles per Watt Award

For years I am a member of the NAQCC. (#2038) The NAQCC club activities are dedicated to QRP and QRPp operation, using CW. When I visited the Award page in August 2011, I got excited by the extensive Award program for QRP and QRPp. Over the years I have made hundreds of confirmed QSO's with more than 1000 Miles per Watt, but untill now, I had not yet applied for an award.
So I decided to apply for the 1000 MPW Award. I choose to apply for the QSO with the highes Miles per Watt. This QSO with RT6A was made in the Russian DX contest in August 2007. A few days later, I recieved the beautifull NAQCC Simple wire antena 1000 Milies per Watt Award, sent by e-mail, from the Award manager, Rick AA4W.

NAQCC Awards Manager, Rick AA4W wrote in the NAQCC Newsletter 153:
Bert, PA1B (NAQCC # 2038), claimed our most popular award in August. The 1000 Mile Per Watt award. But Bert didn't stop at 1000 miles/watt or even 3000 miles/watt, he worked RT6A, from his home in the Netherlands, at a distance of 1584 miles while transmitting .000085 watts (0.85 mW). This calculates to 1,863,803 miles/watt! And he has the QSL card to confirm the contact. Bert has been experimenting and operating at the Milliwatt level for quite a few years. His motto is: "As the S-meter goes up, my power goes down". He uses step attenuators on the output of his Yaesu FT-817 transceiver to give him accurate stepped outputs from 5 watts down to 5 mW. His web page http://a29.veron.nl/pa1b-07.htm tells a wonderful story of his exploits at the Milliwatt power level and he has loads of information about his homebrew attenuators at http://a29.veron.nl/pa1b.htm.
Bert has set the bar for any of us to try some Milliwatt operating.

Ukrainian DX 2011

I had great fun in the Ukrainian DX contest with low power. The 20 m, 15 m and 10 m bands were doing very well. I used a power of 2.7 W down to 36 mW and an Inverted Vee. I used the lowest possible power in each QSO.
I love these DX contests, in which I can work any station that I want.

I found out that 20 meters is still the best band for milliwatting.

CQ WW DX SSB

I took part in a major contest for the first time with the microphone.
In my entire HAM career I made a few phone QSO's on HF.
As a 100% CW operator this was a big thrill for my.

When I started, I did not know what to expect. The power of my FT-817 is limited
to 2.7 W, but I still managed to make QSO's in SSB. It was hard work with a fixed power.
In CW QSO's I often use the very low power, so I can always increase the power with 3 dB,
when my signal is not heard.
In this CQ WW DX contest I worked 17 DXCC countries in 29 QSO's.
In total 15 European countries, Canada and the USA.

Despite the large power, the QSO's with Canada and the USA are good for more than 1000 Miles per Watt. hi

1000 MPW QSO's in the WAG-contest

On saturday, I started in the 20 m band and made 2 QSO with 180 mW and 36 mW. The signals on 20 m were strong.
On sunday morning I started early on 80 m and later went to 40 m. On these bands I made a total of 26 QSO's all with 2.7 W. Signals were not so strong.

20 m
Then I went to 20 m. The signals were very strong. I started with 360 mW and reduced the power whenever possible. In a few hours I made another 16 QSO's, from 360 mW down to 3.6 mW, with the FT-817 and attenuators of 10 dB or 20 dB. I was suprised by the short skip distance.

QSO sequence
In the next picture I plotted the location of the worked stations. You can follow the QSO sequence. Numbers 1 to 18. QSO 1 and 2 were made on saturday and QSO 3 to 18 were made on sunday.

4 Areas
Most of the worked stations are concentrated in 4 areas near large cities in the south and the east of the country. München (Munich), Dresden, Cottbus and Berlin. With a shortest distance of 329 miles.

1000 Miles per Watt
On sunday I started with 360 mW in QSO #3. I don't count this QSO for a 1000 Miles per Watt QSO, with just 1001 MPW. It is just to close to the edge.
From QSO # 3 on I could reduce the power from 360 mW dowm to 3.6 mW, almost in a staight line. So nearly all QSO's on 20 meter gave more than 1000 MPW. Hi.

In this plot I give the QSO number and the power of the QSO for the QSO's around the city of München (Munich). QSO #10 and #16 were made with the same station, DL1A. QSO # 16 is a Dupe that was made with just a lower power.

DL3PB Sputnik crosses the Atlantic

Unfortunitely my Sputnik transmitter was not ready for the Sputnik QSO party. After building the transmitter and the two power supplies, tests showed that the oscillator did not work. With no time left for serious trouble shooting, I decided to listen for other Sputniks.
I listened on 21.061 MHz and heard Paul WA4IUC answering the
400 milliwatt signal of the Sputnik Peter DL3PB.
I could copy the signal of Paul with much QSB. Paul used 5 watts into a 7 element Yagi. I could not hear Peter.

Although my Sputnik transmitter is not (yet) working, I feel connected by receiving the signals of Paul, showing that the Sputnik of Peter crossed the Atlantic. hi
If all is correct, the QSO of Peter is good for about 10000 miles per Watt.
A great achivement.

Спутник передатчик in SPRAT

It's great to see the Sputnik clone of Michael AA1TJ, on page 30, in the new SPRAT, that arrived today.
Last month I received the Russian tubes 1Ж24Б and 1П24Б to build the transmitter for the Sputnik QSO party, via Peter DL3PB.
Because I don't have any experience with transmitters with tubes, I first studied the proto type transmitter of Michael AA1TJ. Further I studied the excellent info on the page of Peter DL3JIN .
The last questions that I had, after reading those pages, were answered by
Cees PA0CKV and Peter PA0PJE, when I attended the anual meting of the Benelux QRP Club (BQC) in Apeldoorn .
A week ago I started to build the transmitter for the Sputnik QSO Party.
I progress slowly, because I am tired quickly. I also have to build a power supply. I still hope to be ready at the 4th of Oktober for the Sputnik QSO Party.

Forgot to send in the IARU HF Cabrillo file

In June 2011 I participated in the IARU HF World Championship. As you remember, I made two entries in my Blog about this contest. Probably I was so busy with the Blog and the preparations for the holiday, that I did not send in my Cabrilllo file. When I found out, I sent the file today.
The robot gave the usual information about all the categories.
The robot even kindly thanked my for participation and for submitting the log and even pointed out an ignored line.

But what ever. I had great fun in the IARU HF.
In a long time, I made a QSO with 8 mW. Click here to read.
And made many QSO with the Lowest Possibe Power and a number of more than 1000 Miles per Watt QSO's. Click here to read.
I wonder if my log will be marked as check log or will be just simply ignored.

In the last line the robot stated:
Log received 40 days, 5 hours and 23 minutes after deadline. hi