On tonight's club net (held every Tuesday at 7pm MDT on the 145.145 repeater), Rob KC0GZK brought up an interesting topic around the 8 meter band, which apparently has been licensed for some years for certain countries in Europe plus South Africa. It seems that the FCC has been considering allocating some of the band for amateur use, as those frequencies are no longer actively being used for government and public service purposes. It seems that the 8 meter band is particularly interesting as it shares many of the same characteristics of the 6 meter band, while also enjoying some of the better propagation of the 10 meter band.

It appears that most countries' allocations in the band are between 40.6 and 40.7 MHz.

I found a few interesting links I thought I'd share, in case you're interested in learning more:



You can definitely monitor the band with any SDR; as far as transmitting, assuming hams receive an allocation at some point, it sounds like it would be possible to purchase a used commercial radio that would work on the band, and some SDRs could probably also transmit on the band (most likely they would need some kind of amp, however).

Very intriguing!

73,

Mark
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Mark Ehr | K0EHR

VP, 285 Tech Connect Radio Club
Littleton, Colorado

k0ehr@...
Check out my ham radio blog:

Another CQ WPX contest update. Conditions last night were great; I ended the night at 0130 with 52 QSOs on literally every band (10, 15, 20, 40, 80, and even 160!), and a lot of DX: Morocco, Brazil, Curacao, Bonaire, Cape Verde (off the western coast of Africa), Columbia, Mexico, Belize, and even a 59 from Japan! It was a ton of fun. I even got my technician buddy who lives in Melbourne FL to try it out, and this morning he had a contest QSO with Slovenia on 10 meters. He's really excited to upgrade his ticket now that he's had a taste of what he can do on HF.?

If you have given the contest a try, it's not too late--it runs today until 1800 MDT.
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Mark Ehr | K0EHR

VP, 285 Tech Connect Radio Club
Littleton, Colorado

k0ehr@...
Check out my ham radio blog:

Contest/prop update: conditions are great; I spent about an hour on the air and got 14 contacts, from as far away as Brazil and Cape Verde (off the coast of Western Africa) and Morocco. 10 meters is the best for DX, at least for now. If you haven't jumped on, give it a try. It's a lot of fun and very addicting!
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Mark Ehr | K0EHR

VP, 285 Tech Connect Radio Club
Littleton, Colorado

k0ehr@...
Check out my ham radio blog:

Update: conditions this morning have improved substantially since yesterday. K (aka noise level) is down to 2, from 7 last night, and the SFI and SN are both back into triple digits. It could be a decent weekend!


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Mark Ehr | K0EHR

VP, 285 Tech Connect Radio Club
Littleton, Colorado

k0ehr@...
Check out my ham radio blog:

Thanks Bill!

For more information on this weekend's contest, which is the CQ "WPX" (worked all prefixes) contest, go to?. They also have a page. This contest has been going on since 1973!

I've found that there are a couple of really useful tools for gauging real-time propagation; and . I also occasionally use the (RBN), primarily for CW spots.?

PSKReporter allows you to view close to real-time (sometimes less than real-time, depending on their system load) received signals from all over the world. It's primarily useful for digital modes like FT8 but it's also got CW and SSB, although I haven't used it for SSB much. What I like to do is put out some FT8 CQs on the band I'm thinking about working and let it run for about 15 minutes, usually picking up some QSOs along the way. Then I check the PSKReporter map to see where my signal was received, which then tells me exactly where my signal is propagating--and where it is not. Then I'll switch over to SSB or CW, etc from there. You can limit the map to only signals transmitted from your callsign.?

DXHeat is also really useful, as it allows hams to enter spots on all modes/bands and then it generates a heat map of where the most QSOs are happening. You can specify mode, band, to/from countries, etc. I've found that it's a great way to get a quick indication of current propagation levels.

Here's an example of the current propagation, via the PSKReporter site.


The graph shows all activity across all modes and all bands over the past 15 minutes. The bubbles show the received SNR, along with the age since the spot (generally in minutes). The bubble color indicates the band.

Here are the settings I used to generate this map:



I hope this helps and good luck to everyone this weekend!

73,

Mark
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Mark Ehr | K0EHR

VP, 285 Tech Connect Radio Club
Littleton, Colorado

k0ehr@...
Check out my ham radio blog:

The CQ Worldwide DX Contest?starts tonight?at 6:00 p.m. our time.?The solar conditions that Mark referred to regarding the aurora might also allow folks with modest stations to work some new countries on HF. Solar numbers aren't always a good predictor of band conditions, but this solar cycle is already ahead of what the experts predicted,?and the solar numbers are better now than at any time?during the last solar cycle. If you don't hear much activity when you first listen, try again later. Band conditions can change drastically in a matter of hours. If you don't have an HF station at the moment, try using the club remote station, even if only to listen, and see what a DX contest is about.
Bill N0CU

From Dr. Tamitha Skov's , March 23rd:

This week our Sun calms down from all the solar flares we've seen lately, but solar storms remain plentiful. Aurora photographers should expect some decent aurora from a combination stealthy solar storm and fast solar wind that will enhance aurora shows, even down to mid-latitudes, possibly through the weekend. Amateur radio operators also feel pretty lucky considering dayside propagation should remain reasonably quiet with little in the way of radio blackouts, although disruptions on Earth's nightside might be an issue during the solar storm. GPS users should also take note to remain vigilant near dawn and dusk and especially under aurora until the storm passes.?

More info is also on Dr Skov's YouTube channel:



From the forecasts, it doesn't appear that the aurora will be visible as far south as Colorado. Not that it would matter, since it's supposed to be overcast most of the weekend....

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Mark Ehr | K0EHR

VP, 285 Tech Connect Radio Club
Littleton, Colorado

k0ehr@...
Check out my ham radio blog:

Hi all,

In case you missed the announcement in the March QST magazine, the ARRL is running one of their "Rookie Roundup" events on Sunday April 16th, this one focused on HF SSB? QSOs. It runs from 1800 UTC (noon MDT) through 2359 UTC (1800 MDT), with the objective of helping get rookies, aka newly licensed operators, to become more active in the hobby. Rookies are tasked with getting as many QSOs as possible during the six-hour time period. Rookies can work anyone; non-rookies work only rookies. Non-rookies can call "CQ Rookies" to help generate QSOs.?

So what is a rookie?

• Someone who made, or will make, their first-ever contact this year or during the previous 3 calendar years;
• They haven't made any contest contacts using Phone before;

Modes and frequencies: only HF SSB; 3.840-3.860, 7.215-7.235, 14.240-14.260, 21.315-21.335, and 28.390-28.410 MHz.?All participants are limited to 100 watts PEP output.?

The exchange for the contest is very simple: just send your name, call sign, two-digit year, and state (US or Mexico), province (Canada), or "DX" if outside these regions. The two-digit year, for rookies, would be the current year (23); for non-rookies, it's the year you were first licensed. All scores must be reported within 72 hours of the event.

Click ?for the full run-down on the Rookie Roundup, including logging, teams, and upcoming Rookie Roundups (RTTY on August 20, CW on December 17). It should be a lot of fun and a great way to give back to the hobby.

73,

Mark
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Mark Ehr | K0EHR

VP, 285 Tech Connect Radio Club
Littleton, Colorado

k0ehr@...
Check out my ham radio blog:

Thanks for the update Mark! That sounds awesome. The remote station is improving by leaps and bounds!

73,

Mark
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Mark Ehr | K0EHR

VP, 285 Tech Connect Radio Club
Littleton, Colorado

k0ehr@...
Check out my ham radio blog:

开云体育

Hi, Jed,

Please remember to let me know about any updates, so I can keep the club web site current.

If 40M is gone, that implies - to me at least - that the fan dipole has been replaced.

I had a lot of fun playing with the new-and-improved remote station this morning. I ran FT8 on 20, 17, 15, and 12 meters, and my signal was heard all over the planet. I'll attach my pskreporter map and my QRZ log from this morning's round-the-world tour. (Note: the colors indicate the various bands and the "bubbles" indicate time elapsed (in minutes) plus the received SNR). I had successful QSOs with South Korea (received a +5 dB signal from him!), Indonesia, Belarus, Anguilla, France, Italy, the Czech Republic and Hawaii, and I nearly closed on Morocco, which would have been a new country for me.?

So yes, the new and improved antenna and tuner combo is working GREAT.

Thanks again to Mark for all of his hard work!

73,

Mark




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Mark Ehr | K0EHR

VP, 285 Tech Connect Radio Club
Littleton, Colorado

k0ehr@...
Check out my ham radio blog:

开云体育

Hi all,

If you have a smart phone or tablet computer (Apple or Android), you can install the groups.io app. I've found that using the apps are much more user friendly and feature-rich than the web interface. Give it a try!

Here are the links to the apps on the Apple and Google app stores:

Apple (iPhone, iPad, MacOS):?
Android:?

73,

Mark

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Mark Ehr | K0EHR

VP, 285 Tech Connect Radio Club
Littleton, Colorado

k0ehr@...
Check out my ham radio blog:

Hi all,

Passing this note along from Mark Edwards W0QL, our remote station guru. This is awesome and thanks to Mark for all of his efforts to improve the station!

Note: if you haven't yet "signed up" to use the remote station, drop Mark a note at?mark5293@.... Remember that using the remote station is a free service to all active club members.

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Sounds good Bill. I'll be broadcasting next month's meeting via Zoom as well.?

73,

Mark
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Mark Ehr | K0EHR

VP, 285 Tech Connect Radio Club
Littleton, Colorado

k0ehr@...
Check out my ham radio blog:

开云体育

Thanks, Mark! ?I had to miss today to attend our granddaughter’s dance recital. ?I’ll definitely watch the video. ?Hoping to make next months video, although we leave for Europe on April2.

Hi all,

Thanks for another great club meeting today! As promised, I've edited the video into two sections, one for the business meeting and the other for the technical presentation on the 6-meter band.

Here are the links (@Jed, please post these to the website as well--I'll also email you the PPT deck).

Business meeting (35 min):?
Technical presentation (75 min):?

Don't miss out on next month's meeting, April Fool's special :-) featuring my presentation on SOTA/POTA/QRP operating!

73,

Mark K0EHR
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Mark Ehr | K0EHR

VP, 285 Tech Connect Radio Club
Littleton, Colorado

k0ehr@...
Check out my ham radio blog:

Found the link -- it was in my bookmarks, which resemble an archeological dig somewhere in Mesopotamia.



IIRC, the main thing that kept me from building this was the need for a 40" piece of wire/rod, though since it's a reflector, it now occurs to me that I could make that from 2 pieces.

Very cool! I was able to view the KML files using Google Earth, web edition, and clicking the ''Projects" icon followed by open KML file. Man, there are a ton of repeaters in Colorado!

73,

Mark
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Mark Ehr | K0EHR

VP, 285 Tech Connect Radio Club
Littleton, Colorado

k0ehr@...
Check out my ham radio blog: