EU PSK DX Contest 2013

After a long break I took part in a digimode contes las weekendt: EU PSK DX Contest 2013. I competed in the 12-hour class. Claimed results:

Using filters in HRD DigitalMaster

If you have a rig with narrow filters, you can make use of very nice features in HRD DigitalMaster. 

Look at the picture above. My rig is a TS-850S, with different filter options. In the DigitalMaster there is a way to make toolbar buttons, that work like a charm! First I will show you how they work:

In the The default mode in my waterfall is 2.7 or 6 kHz, and the base frequency of the rig is at the bottom of the PSK band, i.e. 14.070 MHz. When I find a station I want to get in contact with, I first click on the station and then the Narrow button. This happens:

• The station is centered at the defined center frequency (as with the green  C  button in the same toolbar). Older rigs don't have a separate digimode setting, so digital transmissions are sent in SSB mode; at least in my rig it means that the voice amplifying depends on the sound frequency. If I choose to send in different places in the waterfall, i.e. with different tones, the transmission power and ALC has to be checked all the time. If you send always on the center frequency, you can rely on your ALC settings.
• The rig automatically switches to the 500 Hz filter. I you have worked digimodes, you have seen occasions, where strong stations make the DX stations drown because of AGC (Automatic Gain Control). With a narrow filter you can hopefully filter those strong stations and get the dx station decoded! Also, if you are a digimode contester, this is a very useful asset!

Magic, right? When the QSO is finished, the Wide button does this:

• It restores the original digimode base frequency in the rig, i.e. 14.070 MHz
• It makes the rig select the 6 kHz filter (the Wide SSB button swithes to the 2,7 kHz filter)

Magic times two?! :)

How is this done?

1. Click the Options toolbar in above the waterfall in HRD DigitalMaster.

2. Select Macros... in the list 

3. Click the New button at the top-left of the Macro window. This window pops up:

4. Create a macro header as the picture suggests. You can copy and paste it from here also:

#++

#

#   {{RADIO-CONTROL

#

#--

5. Add this line:

center-on 1350  

This is the optimal TS-850S center frecuency. Check your optimal frequency.

6. Connect to the rig using the Radio Control button shown in the picture above. A simple rig control window pops up. Click Connect to HRD there. You will see this:

7. Select desired filter from the window above. If you are lucky, the filter is changed and there is a macro text appearing, like: 

Set dropdown Filter CW 5    //  Filter = CW

...good! Name your macro and save it...you have a nice button. Make buttons for all filters you need. Here are my complete macros (note: the details may vary depending on your rig and rig set-up!)

The Narrow button macro:

#++

#

#   {{RADIO-CONTROL

#

#--

center-on 1350

Set dropdown Filter CW 5    //  Filter = CW

The Wide button macro:

#++

#

#   {{RADIO-CONTROL

#

#--

center-off

Set dropdown Filter AM 3    //  Filter = AM

The Wide SSB button macro:

#++

#

#   {{RADIO-CONTROL

#

#--

center-off

Set dropdown Filter SSB 4    //  Filter = SSB

Good luck in digimode DXing and contesting!

IARU HF Championship 2012 result

My result in IARU HF Championship 2012.

160m band with short vertical

This week I conquered the 160m band with my 10m high copper pipe vertical. For some reason it tuned well with the automatic tuner in my TS-850....maybe because of losses in the 50m long RG50 cable? I was surprised: I managed to get QSOs on both CW (100W) and JT65 (40W). It was not easy, so now I know what my next antenna project is: a decent DX-ready antenna for 160m. Hopefully very soon!

Reverse Beacons hearing my CW signals

pskreporter.info reporting my 160m activity  Mostly JT65 and obviously also one CW skimmer.

My new QSL cards

My new QSL cards went to print now. 

Front side:

Reverse side:

As before, the cards are designed and printed by UX5UO. I really recommend his service!

All the main things in one picture :)

My TS-850S and my main modes visible here...only RTTY and JT65 are missing in this picture.

Win-Test contest logger tested

I am preparing for the CQWW contests, where I will be joining the OH2BAH team. I am supposed to run the multiplicator station there. In the preparations I have got the responsibility of the computers and software. Even though I like the N1MM logger a lot I had to switch to Win-Test because of the rest of the team. Wow, what an acquaintance! 

Tonight I tested the software in the Worked all Germany contest. The CW macros work more or less the same way as in N1MM, but the team features in Win-Test caught me by surprise: Nice chat stuff and passing of QSOs between stations etc. I am preparing two computers to the contest so the inter-station-communication tests are initially at least as fun as running contest QSOs :)

Also I tried recording and sending SSB calls via the soundcard. Easy, very easy. Hmm...the DX Cluster features seem to be better in N1MM than in Win-Test...However, I don't know all the features of Win-Test yet, so I cannot make a very thorough comparison now.

N1MM is free software, Win-test is not. This is of course something to consider when selecting contest software. In single-operator classes N1MM is also wonderful.