Archive - April 2009

This morning I received a log update from Steve 9M6DXX, LoTW and my online log search have both been updated. Steve comments:

“I found a good opening to JA on 10m yesterday and worked a few. I discovered it as I heard a big pile-up in Japanese on 28495, on an otherwise apparently dead band, and this turned out to be Masa, JD1BMM, working the JAs. I tried calling him for about 10 mins as I hadn’t worked Minami Torishima on 10m before, but I couldn’t get through the JA wall. When his signal started going down in QSB I gave up, went down 15kHz and called CQ only to get a JA pile-up myself, with a couple of BYs and HLs for good measure, then a solitary VK8 off the back of the beam. I had a bit of a chat with the VK8 and then Masa called me! it seems he’s working for DXCC and hasn’t worked 9M6 on 10m before.”

9M6DXX QSL Via M0URX

Steve is the author of the ‘World Licensing and Operating Directory’, a guide to getting on the air from over 200 countries and territories around the world, which is published by the RSGB – please see

http://www.rsgbshop.org/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_Operating___DX_13.html

The World Licensing and Operating Directory is lavishly illustrated throughout with over 230 photographs and maps. There is information on how to obtain an amateur radio licence in almost every country in the world – but this is only part of the story. There is information on organising a DXpedition and “All you wanted to know about licensing (but were afraid to ask)”. There is also a major section of the book that provides full details of how to rent more than 75 amateur radio stations around the globe – from Europe to the Pacific and from the Arctic to the Equator! There is a 32-page full-colour section with spectacular photographs of rental stations, including some of the most impressive antenna set-ups in the world.

This week we see Camb-Hams DXpedition to Harris Island EU-010 signing as GS3PYE/P. Formed in early 2006 as the social and public-facing side of the Cambridge Repeater Group. You can find their excellent website at: http://www.camb-hams.com/home 
I have so far worked GS3PYE/P on 40m and 80m and I have been very impressed with their operating skills, it really is a pleasure to tune in and listen to the operators working the bands. But there is more…. look at their website and click on “Harris Logbook” and they have a live running logbook, this really is impressive IT work.
 

Follow their progress on the website using “The Harris Diary” which gives you a daily blog of the expedition, and find them “On Air” to put them in your log!
Well done to the guys for this excellent activity. I hope conditions allow you to work some DX too! “Ham Radio done the Cambridge way”
QSL Via G4HUN Neil

OY4TN Log Update
Tonight I have received a log update from Trygvi. This has now been uploaded onto LoTW and the online log seach.

UK Scout Contest Team 
Dorridge Scout Group, Radio DX Headquarters 
QTH: 10 miles SE Birmingham, Central England. 

Callum M0MCX will be firing up the station at the “Scout Hut” this evening “(Saturday) squirting some RF” as he puts it to all  exotic places in the world. You will be able to contact M0XXT on 40m SSB. Here is a photo of the young scouts operating just the other week.
  

Senior Operators: Callum (M0MCX), James (M3YOM), Tim (M0URX), Terry (G4MKP) and Lee (G0MTN). 

Junior operators: Dan, Chris and Aidan (M6TTT) (please be patient with our junior operators). 

Thank you to M0MCX  Callum McCormick  for the Photograph.

QSL Via M0URX

Another member of our team Terry G4MKP will be operating CW under his own call around 14.015 MHz CW

Club Photo Album: http://www.m0mcx.co.uk/gallery/index.php?/category/21 

Working conditions:  570 feet (174 meters) horizontal delta loop at 20 – 25 meters (60-85 feet), FT1000MP and Acom 2000.

Regards, Callum (M0MCX) Group Scout Leader

A little humour in the mailbox today, a QSL from G3IQF.
Titled: Waiting for America and Getting China Instead

Thanks for the card Bob

QSL arrived today from F6BEE confirming 6W1RW Senegal on 40m. Thanks Jaques for the very quick QSL.

Also arrived and confirming a new DXCC was HK0B/HK3JJH San Andres Serrana Bank NA-133. Thanks also to Pedro HK3JJH.

Once again this year I have a goal to work as many DXCC in the year as I can. So far in 2009 I have worked 137 DXCC on SSB.

It is with deep sadness that i heard on the BBC News today of the terrible earthquake in L’Aquila Italy. My thoughts at this time are with those lives lost and the families caught up in this tragedy.

DXCC Number 275 Worked for me today. H44MS Bernhard on Solomon Islands. 18.127 MHz and the band was quite quiet and not so many in the pile up and with the propagation just giving me the edge over other callers.
Solomon Islands has been “one that got away” so many times so pleased to get Bernhard in the log.

Introduction – What is Club Log? Club Log is a web-based application which uses a database to analyse amateur radio log files, which are uploaded in the common ADIF format. Using the logs, it is possible to build band-mode league tables of amateurs’ QSOs, provide efficient log search tools and create most wanted lists for DXCC entities (both over all time and in recent history, or by mode for example). Also, Club Log can give back to its users the ability to find “wanted” DX spots, and other analysis of their logs which might be hard to do with normal logging software.

Club Log is an experiment in providing these features in a club or society context, ie. competitive but within a circle of members rather than just world-wide (although Club Log can also do that). The original idea was to automate DXCC league tables for the Cambridge University Wireless Society.

Club Log is also not some things! It isn’t an award scheme, it isn’t valid for ARRL DXCC (since it’s not validated) and it doesn’t provide QSO confirmations. For all those things, please check out Logbook Of The World.

Pictured above is Michael G7VJR. You can find out more here: http://www.clublog.org/

I have been using Club Log for some time now, it is a great tool and very versatile, let me explain. Registration just couldn’t be easier, anyone can register and are welcome to join in. Uploading logs is simple to do just click on Upload in the tool bar for the upload window, once you have browsed your hard drive for the ADIF just Send and add to your callsign.

Be sure that if you are uploading DX’pedition logs that you tick “no” for “show in leagues”. DX’pedition logs are important to get as much data as possible into the database. But are not required for the tables which should be used for operator calls only. 

As you can see above, the DXCC League tables can be filtered for Mode selection, Worked or Confirmed and by Date filter for 2009, Last 12 months or 36 months. Click on generate tables and then you get the league as seen below.

Club Log is great for club events such as the Chiltern DX Club’s “LF Challenge” which takes place every March as you can see here the database can be used to filter bands and dates to make it fun to view the table as the challenge developes over the weeks.

A brilliant tool that is under ongoing development by its author Michael G7VJR. This all adds a great new dimension to statistics. Thank you Michael and good luck for the future of this exciting project.