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Focus on VHF and Above 2 August 2020
Audio file
Just as I was finished writing this week’s Focus on VHF, I received news that Gert, ZS6GC in Secunda has worked Pieter, V51PJ in Southern Namibia this morning on meteor scatter. This was Gert’s first meteor scatter contact. The distance is about 1220 km. The QSO took 2 hours to complete with Gert running a barefoot ICOM 910H at about 75 watts to a 5 element crossed Yagi antenna.
Dick ZS6BUN says “I’m so excited, it proves again the point you don’t need a top end station to work meteor scatter - just limitless patience and a bottomless coffee pot”
Well done Gert and Pieter. Gert, this is a contact will be remembered for a long time.
Homebrewing
Today I want to discuss homebrewing. Not homebrewing your own beer! In the world of amateur radio building your own projects is called homebrewing.
In the past before commercial amateur radio equipment was readily available amateurs used to homebrew their own equipment by re-purposing commercial or other equipment for amateur use. For example surplus military radios were modified to work on amateur frequencies.
Today there are still a lot of folk homebrewing their own equipment for various reasons. One is the enjoyment of building their own equipment, another reason is the cost of equipment or they want to learn more about electronics and build low power or QRP equipment from first principals. Sometimes you need to homebrew when you are experimenting on bands where there is no commercial amateur equipment available. A good example here is building a QO-100 station. There is no amateur equipment on 2.4 GHz or 10 GHz so if you want to play here, you need to put together your own station.
Building your own antenna, an interface to allow you to work the digital modes, a power supply, a dummy load, a power distribution box are all examples of homebrewing. Sometimes you do not even need to build a printed circuit board and can connect commercially available modules together to create a device that you need. This is typically how you could assemble a QO-100 station.
Where can you find information on homebrew projects?
Club magazines and national society magazines are a good source of information. Radio ZS, the SARL’s monthly magazine has a lot of homebrew projects. The ARRL handbooks also have many ideas of projects that can be built. I have looked on the internet and found many websites with ideas of homebrew equipment that you could build. Two examples are
https://www.w1wc.com/homebrewing/ and https://www.qsl.net/vu2msy/homebrew/homebrewing_zone.htm
Listen to what Onno VK6FLAB says about homebrew radio for the 21st Centuary.
Homebrew_radio_for_the_21st_Century.mp3
It seems to me that today there are very few amateurs who homebrew or even attempt to assemble a kit. I do not know why there is so little interest in homebrewing.
Write to us at vhfnews@sarl.org.za and tell us about that interesting project you are busy with and maybe we can encourage other amateurs to try their hand at homebrewing.
Have you heard these two beacons lately?
We are looking for reports on the ZS0BET beacon in Bethlehem and the ZS1TWO beacon in Cape Town.
The ZS0BET beacon at grid KG41ds puts out 25 W into two 8 element Yagi antenna pointing East and North. The frequency is 144.425 MHz.
The ZS1TWO beacon’s antenna is pointing in the direction of Divisions 4 and 6. The beacon at grid JF96fb puts out 20 W into a 5 element Yagi on the frequency of 144.435 MHz.
Please listen out for these beacons. It will be very interesting to know where these beacons are heard. And, when you hear these beacons with a good signal level you can be sure that the possibility for good long-distance VHF comms is also possible.
Let us know at vhfnews@sarl.org.za of the VHF and above contacts that you have made or send us your beacon reports, or tell us about that interesting project that you have been working on.
Focus on VHF and above is compiled, edited and presented for Amateur Radio Today by Brian Jacobs ZS6YZ.
Focus on VHF and Above 26 July 2020
Audio version
Last week we mentioned that amateurs along the West Coast and in the Western Cape must listen out for Dick ZS6BUN transmissions on MSK144 via meteor scatter. On Friday Dick sent out a WhatsApp message on the VHF, UHF/ SHF West Coast group.
Dick said “Good afternoon all. I’m going to run meteor scatter tests tomorrow morning from 06h00 SA time. Same as last weekend. Mode will be MSK144 30 sec cycle. I will transmit in the first 30 secs of every minute. I will start beaming west from KG43GM and announce on this group as I slowly move round to the SW. Even if you don’t have software please listen for my “pings” on dial freq USB 144.230. If you can, switch your agc to fast or better still, off. I will be running about 6-800 watts to a 12dBd h-pol Yagi at 15m with a clear take off.”
What do “pings” sound like?
Go and have a look at a video on YouTube of 6m MSK144 meteor scatter contacts and you will get a good idea of what to listen out for.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5JfpgPyDl4
Here is a short sound clip from the video.
Meteor_Sounds.mp3
On Saturday morning Dick and Pieter V51PJ completed another MSK144 contact. Rickus also heard Dick’s transmission in Bethlehem. I’m not sure whether they completed a QSO. Tom ZS1TA could not join in due to other commitments and it looks like no one else was listening.
46 Long Distance Group was also active yesterday morning on SSTV. Looking at the pictures posted on the WhatsApp group of the pictures received there was good propagation on Saturday morning. 
SSTV_Images.jpg
The tropo along the West Coast was also good this week.
The guys along the West Coast also monitor APRS to see when there is ducting along the West Coast.
APRS_Reception.jpg
On Monday ZS3JPY ZS3CVB and V51LZ were busy on 145.500 simplex during a tropoducting opening and then Chris ZS1FC managed to receive the APRS beacon of Cobus ZS3CVB, a distance of 423 km.
ZS3CVB_APRS_RX_ZS1FC.jpg
On Wednesday Koos ZS3JPY again alerted the West Coast guys that the tropoducting forecast looked good.
Tropo_20200722_1800.jpeg
Here is a QSO recorded by Koos between him, Andre V51LZ in Oranjemund and Chris ZS1FC in Vredenburg. The distance between Andre and Chris is 513 km.
ZS1FC_V51LZ_ZS3JPY.mp4 Well done guys.
The Bethlehem beacon was reported S4-S5 last Monday by Ronald ZS6RVC.
Have you heard these two beacons lately?
The ZS0BET beacon in Bethlehem at grid KG41ds puts out 25 W into two 8 element Yagi antenna pointing East and North. The frequency is 144.425 MHz. This beacon has already been reported being heard far and wide and from some unexpected locations.
The ZS1TWO beacon’s antenna is pointing in the direction of Divisions 4 and 6. The beacon at grid JF96fb puts out 20 W into a 5 element Yagi on the frequency of 144.435 MHz.
Please listen out for these beacons. It will be very interesting to know where these beacons are heard. And, when you hear these beacons with a good signal level you can be sure that the possibility for good long distance VHF comms is also possible.
For the guys who like to build projects and may have a VNA or are thinking of getting one or building your own. I found an interesting video on Youtube from the UK Denby Dale Amateur radio society of a talk by Alan W2AEW.
The first part is about 3rd Order Inter Modulation Distortion or IMD, what it is and how to mitigate it and the second part is about understanding Vector Network Analysers and a look at the easily and cheaply available NanoVNA. Take a look at the recording at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hDxCgIaCIw
Let us know at vhfnews@sarl.org.za of the VHF and above contacts that you have made or send us your beacon reports, or tell us about that interesting project that you have been working on.
Focus on VHF and above is compiled, edited and presented for Amateur Radio Today by Brian Jacobs ZS6YZ.
Focus on VHF and Above 19 July 2020
Audio version
The storms that hit the southern parts of the country has certainly caused havoc amongst the amateur community, with amateurs along the West coast reporting antennas and towers being blown over. We hope that the damage caused is repairable and that in the process of repairing the damage that you are able to make improvements to withstand the winds in the future.
METEOR SCATTER
Yesterday morning, Dick ZS6BUN, Tom ZS1TA and Pieter V51PJ were again playing with Meteor scatter early in the morning.
Dick had announced the previous day that he would be on the air from 06:00 local time on 144.230 MHz using MSK144. First beaming West and later South West from his QTH at grid KG43GM.
I think Dick was so excited about getting on the air that his first transmission was already at 04:00. It did not take Tom and Pieter long to start monitoring for the meteor scatter pings. Just before 05:00 Dick and Pieter logged the first contact.
Unfortunately Tom’s Icom 910H is in for repair and all that he had was his Icom 706.
The cables that Tom was using was configured for his 910H so although he could get audio to and from the radio he could not control the PTT. Pieter suggested that Tom use the microphone to PTT which worked and at 5:16 they managed to log the contact. Tom was only transmitting 15W on the Icom 706. Tom remarked on his trusty 706 “The old 706 has earned more respect. Sailed all over the world and twice across Pacific doing MM and Winlink. Now VHF MS too.”
Well done guys great contacts again and just to show us youngsters out here what can be done.
Dick will publicise on the West Coast WhatsApp groups when he will be active so listen out for Dick’s transmissions via meteor scatter and see if you can hear the meteor scatter pings. If you can hear the pings, see if you can decode them using MSK144.
There is a very interesting report that the Winlink team has published about an excellent digital modes comparison study, by Thomas Whiteside, N5TW. It shows steady improvements in performance as software algorithms evolve for the digital modes.
Joe Speroni, AH0A, The ARRL Pacific Section Manager said "the addition of digital modes in our tool kit makes Amateur Radio more valuable to our served agencies." For example, "Winlink is a tool for personal communications, health and welfare traffic, and served agencies with varying need of digitally-formatted messages."
The report can be read at https://winlink.org/sites/default/files/a_winlink_digital_mode_performance_comparison_based_on_the_ionis_sim_hf_vhf_channel_simulator_-_july_5_2020_0.pdf
It is indeed an interesting report to read, especially the section on VHF.
Winlink is one of the modes to be used for the HAMNET Winter Blackout exercise in August.
With our testing that we are doing on digital modes within HAMNET, we are also finding that digital modes on VHF are a lot more reliable than HF within the greater Johannesburg and Pretoria areas.
Have you heard these two beacons lately?
The ZS0BET beacon in Bethlehem at grid KG41ds puts out 25 W into two 8 element Yagi antenna pointing East and North. The frequency is 144.425 MHz. This beacon has already been reported being heard far and wide and from some unexpected locations.
The ZS1TWO beacon’s antenna is pointing in the direction of Divisions 4 and 6. The beacon at grid JF96fb puts out 20 W into a 5 element Yagi on the frequency of 144.435 MHz.
Please listen out for these beacons. It will be very interesting to know where these beacons are heard. And, when you hear these beacons with a good signal level you can be sure that the possibility for good long distance VHF comms is also possible.
Let us know at vhfnews@sarl.org.za of the VHF and above contacts that you have made or send us your beacon reports, or tell us about that interesting project that you have been working on.
Today I’m going to leave you with the following thoughts from Onno VK6FLAB on what is the point to this remarkable hobby of ours.
Whats_the_point_of_this_hobby-Onno_VK6FLAB.mp3
Focus on VHF and Above 5 July 2020
Audio version
On Monday evening Ken ZS6KN reported hearing the ZS0BET beacon at his QTH at grid KG44bj, a distance of 292 km. Ken heard it again at 11:00 on Tuesday morning. Ken is a little north of my QTH further away from the Magaliesberg. Ken reported that while the signal was low it was perfectly readable. So far if I recall correctly, this is the furtherest to the north that this beacon has been reported. Thanks for that report Ken.
The ZS0BET beacon in Bethlehem at grid KG41ds puts out 25 W into two 8 element Yagi antenna pointing East and North. The frequency is 144.425 MHz. This beacon has already been reported being heard far and wide and from some unexpected locations.
The ZS1TWO beacon’s antenna is pointing in the direction of Divisions 4 and 6. The beacon at grid JF96fb puts out 20 W into a 5 element Yagi on the frequency of 144.435 MHz.
Please listen out for these beacons. It will be very interesting to know where these beacons are heard. And, when you hear these beacons with a good signal level you can be sure that the possibility for good long distance VHF comms is also possible.
Be sure to let us know at vhfnews@sarl.org.za of those long distance QSO’s that you make including beacon reports.
Those of us that attempt to build our own homebrew equipment, interfaces or whatever will know that it becomes quite interesting when we are faced with the challenge that we cannot find conventional components any more and we are forced to consider using surface mount components. Yes, it is daunting and for many of us so scary that we rather not attempt the project.
Surface mount devices come in various sizes, but with the right tools it is not that difficult to work with them.
There is a good article in the latest edition of the Surrey Amateur Radio Club magazine on solder reflow by Kevin McQuiggin VE7ZD/KN7Q. There is of course plenty of other interesting articles in their magazine as well. You can find the magazine at https://ve7sar.blogspot.com/2020/07/the-july-august-2020-communicator.html
By now most of you will have heard about the HAMNET 2020 Blackout exercise that will take place over the weekend of 29-30 August 2020. This exercise will use both HF and VHF and each team will have a HF and VHF sub team. The exercise will also require us to make extensive use of digital modes. Most of us are quite familiar with digital modes over HF. Those same digital modes work very well on VHF as well and we have already done some extensive testing using JS8Call on VHF, getting some decent distances without any atmospheric conditions that enhances VHF communications.
While it is a HAMNET exercise, there only needs to be one HAMNET member in a team who will also be the team leader.
Here is a great opportunity to test out your go box on digital modes on VHF as well.
If you do not already have a computer set up for your digital modes, why not put together a low cost Raspberry Pi solution. It is definitely not difficult to set up. Go and look at look at the Youtube Channel of Jason KM4ACK. He has a really simple recipe to set up a Raspberry PI with everything that you need to be able to run digital modes in the field.
I have been following Jason’s channel for a while and I have already completed two installs on both a Raspberry Pi 3B and a Pi 4. The current version of Jason’s installation recipe is so simple that all you need to do is run a script, provide some basic information and select which programs you would like to install. The script does everything for you. There is some configuration that is needed, but Jason takes you through that as well in one of his videos. It is that simple.
Add to this a 10 inch touch screen LCD display and you are fully sorted with a portable controller for your station. Alternatively you can use a laptop and VNC to connect to your Pi via it’s own hotspot if you are not connected to an external network.
I’m currently sorting out a 12V to 5V step down supply to run the Pi from the 12 V radio batteries as well.
What interesting project you are busy with? Share it with us at vhfnews@sarl.org.za..
Focus on VHF and above is compiled, edited and presented for Amateur Radio Today by Brian Jacobs ZS6YZ.
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