Dxers Unlimited

2011-10-28T10:36:00.000-04:00

Radio Havana Cuba

Dxers Unlimited's weekend edition for Sunday 30 and Monday 31 October 2011

By Arnie Coro

radio amateur CO2KK

Hi amigos radioaficionados ... welcome to the weekend edition of Dxers Unlimited, that is going to be on the air during Sunday and Monday UTC days.... The weekend edition is heard just after the top of the hour news, everytime that our English language broadcast is on the air... For those of you living in the Pacific Coast of North America, from Northern Mexico to Canada, our English program is on the air starting at 0500 UTC , it runs from 05 to 06 and then is repeated from 06 to 07 UTC on 6010 kiloHertz, and that is on the 49 meters band....

After this announcement , here is now item two of today's show.... Amateur radio operators all around the world had a very busy weekend, that has increased the activity on the 160, 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 meter bands to levels not seen in a long time... The one and only reason for this extraordinary number of stations operating on the SIX CLASSIC HF bands , is that the CQ Magazine World Wide Single Side Band Contest began at 00 hours UTC Saturday and came to an end 48hours later. As a matter of fact, ham radio contest operators consider this contest as one of the most important ones, and that is why you will hear many stations operating from portable locations in order to activate new of seldom heard DX entities.

The CQ WorldWide SSB Contest this year has included the participation of a Cuban multi-operator station , that has used the special callsign T46A... in phonetics Tango Four Six Alpha, an effort by a group of very enthusiastic and also well experienced operators from Villaclara province located in Central Cuba.

Now , a bit more about the weekend contest , that in my opinion will very probably produce several records due to the fact that it takes place under the best propagation conditions on the HF bands seen during the past five years or maybe more....

One final note about the contest ... and this is answering a question sent by a newcomer to amateur radio some time ago.... listener Gary from Georgia , USA, wanted to know why the ham contests do not include the use of the 30, 17 and 12 meter bands, and the answer is that the so called WARC bands that were born during an ITU Conference in 1979 are very narrow frequency assignments , and one of them 30 meters, the 10 megaHertz amateur band allows operation on a secondary user assignment ... So amigo Gary, the ham contests organizers have agreed not to use those bands for such events.
Again, the amateur radio contests on the HF or short wave bands take place on the 160, 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 meter bands.

By the way, I will be operating my ham radio station, callsign CO2KK during the contest, under the low power category... CO2KK will be limited to 100 Watts and my contest strategy, taking into account the current HF bands propagation conditions will be to operate on 10 meters as many hours as possible, and then switch to 40 meters
when 10 meters closes down ....

Stay tuned for more radio hobby information, coming to you from Havana... You can send your comments and radio hobby related questions to inforhc at enet dot cu...
I am your host Arnie Coro in Havana, back in a few seconds....
Now a short break for a station ID...

.........................................

This is Radio Havana Cuba, the name of the show is Dxers Unlimited and it is on the air twice weekly during our station's English language program segments...

Here is now our next radio hobby related topic....A visit to my workshop, join me so that you may learn what is going on in my big garage workshop... that among other things really needs a big clean up and reorganizing, something that I seem never to find time to do them... Anyway at your amigo Arnie's workshop three things are happening at the same time... the UNIDEN CR2021 receiver repair job is in progress.... thanks to the kind help of several listeners that have sent me , via e-mail tips about typical faults seen on those radios, and also the complete technical manual in dot pdf format of a very similar receiver known as the Radio Shack DX440... So far, I have already found that the FM section of the receiver is working up to the 10.7 megaHertz Intermediate Frequency channel... something that was done by placing an RF probe near the CR2021, and connecting it to a receiver capable of picking up 10.7 megaHertz... Radio Progreso's Havana's FM powerhouse transmitter on 90.3 megaHertz came in loud and clear....

But so far efforts to pick up the 450 kiloHertz second intermediate frequency that is used for the picking up the AM broadcast band and the short wave frequencies up to 29,999 kiloHertz have proven to fail.... So more work will be required on this nice receiver, that also has NO audio output at all....

The other work in progress at my workshop are a pair of identical power supplies that are been built for two Super Islander 40 meters amateur band transceiver... One for my own CO2KK ham station , and the other one for a disabled member of our Plaza Municipal Radio Club. The Super Islander is a hybrid transceiver that yours truly designed using as a guideline CO7PR's famous Islander transceiver that was and still is popular among Cuban radio amateurs, because it can be built using easily found locally electronic components that are recycled from old TV , radios and computers...

The third position at my big workbench is in use by my elder son Arnie Jr. CM2KW, who is attempting to fix a computer UPS that failed after my home was hit by lightning two years ago... What is really outstanding about the failure of this computer uninterruptible power supply is that it was NOT connected to anything when the secondary lightning strike hit one of my towers... This was not a direct hit, but it was powerful enough to cause damages of the home electrical system and the Electromagnetic Pulse or EMP was, in my opinion, what damaged the UPS that Arnie Jr. is now trying to revive, something that I told him would be quite a challenge because the UPS uses many integrated circuits that could had been damaged by the huge Electro Magnetic Pulse generated by the lightning stroke...

All other electronic equipment including TV set, DVD player, ham radio transceiver and computer that were also disconnected from the power line and antennas as well as from the earth ground system were not damaged ... When I asked Cuban senior engineer Enrique Gay Calbo, one of our country's top experts in protection against the effects of lightning strikes, he came back with the following words, that I am now quoting here...

¨ Coro, no one is able to predict the behavior of a lightning strike... what it will damage and what it would not touch.... lightining strikes are capricious to say the least ¨
Then the old master added....your best bet for effective lightning protection is to install a very expensive integrated system that includes lightning rods, a very low resistance ground system and add to that, disconnecting equipment from any external circuits, something that includes power lines, ground connections and antennas.

.........................

This is the weekend edition of Dxers Unlimited amigos, and YES, we do QSL,we do verify reception reports and answer your comments about this and other Radio Havana Cuba programs... send your e-mail messages to inforhc at enet dot cu, again, inforhc at enet dot cu, and if you want to read the scripts of my show and receive updates about HF and low band VHF propagation events, take a look at my BLOG... It can be found
at dxersunlimited.blogspot.com, again http://dxersunlimited dot blogspot dot com, and of course that you can subscribe to the blog and receive every new posting at your e-mail address automatically...

And now as always at the end of the show, when I am here in Havana and can prepare it, listen to Arnie Coro's Dxers Unlimited HF and low band VHF propagation update and forecast...

Solar activity will continue at levels high enough to keep pumping the ionosphere to such an extent that the HF bands between 14 and 30 megaHertz will be open for long distance DX during many hours every day... As a matter of fact, although an eventual M class or even an X class solar flare may disrupt propagation and coronal mass ejections may also cause geomagnetic storms, the upward swing we are experiencing in solar activity has made possible the best HF propagation conditions that we have seen in more than 5 years and some radio amateurs and short wave listeners are telling me that they had never seen such excellent propagation, as many of them joined our hobby when the Sun was at a period of extremely low activity...

So amigos, enjoy the HF band DX conditions and if you are not already a radio amateur operator, study hard to pass your ham radio license test as soon as possible !!!

RE; Cuban Weather Service keeping track of Hurricane RINA

2011-10-26T09:34:00.000-04:00

The Cuban Weather Service, Instituto de Meteorología , is keeping track of Hurricane RINA,
that is now on its way to the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico.
Amateur radio operators that are members of the Liga de RadioExperimentadores de Mexico are getting ready to deal with the emergency that should start soon, as the Category II storm approaches Yucatan. Likewise, the Hurricane Watch Net that operates on 14325 kiloHertz Single Sideband Voice will be activated also. The HWN is typically a daytime operation, but in the past, when required the Net Control has found a 40 meters band frequency.
Amateur radio operators in Cuba are also getting ready for the upcoming storm, and during the next two or three days they will standby to provide 40 meters band relays to Mexican stations that may be located too close to each other and for that reason can not establish contact between them.
When the storm approaches Cuba, then the Mexicans will provide the relays !
The International Amateur Radio Union has an emergency coordinator for the area C, that comprises Mexico, Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Turk and Caicos , and five other island of the Antilles... Since 2005, I am in charge of that responsibility as :
IARU Region II Area C Emergency Coordinator
Arnaldo ( Arnie ) Coro
CO2KK

2011-10-26T09:17:00.000-04:00

Aurora Borealis over North America after the impact of a shower of protons coming from a Coronal Mass Ejection . The yellow band is visible light... Radio signals in the lower VHF bands will be returned back to Earth from the Aurora Borealis Curtain, and they will have a typical fast, flutter type fading... Radio amateurs that operate on the 50 megaHertz and the 144 megaHertz bands use the aurora bounced signals to communicate.
Aurora Borealis VHF propagation is one of the more than 86 ways that you can enjoy the radio hobby, IF you live within the area where the Aurora Borealis can be seen,
During the past several days, Aurora Borealist displays have been sighted at unusually low latitudes, and when seen below about 40 degrees North, they show a red color that so far scientists
have not found out why it happens.

Dxers Unlimited's mid week edition for 24 October 2011

2011-10-25T07:48:00.000-04:00

Radio Havana Cuba
Dxers Unlimited's mid week edition for 25 October 2011
By Arnie Coro
radio amateur CO2KK

Hi amigos radioaficionados around the world, now enjoying the best propagation conditions on the high frequency amateur bands that we have seen in more than
seven years... YES, the Sun is providing us with an almost constant flow of radiation
that is keeping the upper atmosphere ionization at level never before seen since maybe
2004.... Record breaking WOLF numbers are been registered by the world's optical
astronomic observatories.. Just to give you an example, the Catania Astrophysical
Observatory in Sicily, one of the world's reference centers for solar optical observations registered a record breaking WOLF number of 212 last week....The number of active sunspot regions is really impressive and experts describe solar activity for the past several days with the word ERUPTIVE, that meaning that class C and M solar flares are happening at a high rate.... The most practical and really wonderful result of this level of solar activity is that radio amateurs are enjoying the best conditions in a long time when they operate on the 10 meters ham band... that spans from 28.000 to 29.700 megaHertz.
Ten meters is my second favorite amateur band.... only second to the fascinating and really magic 6 meters or 50 megaHertz band amigos.
During the past several days, while running between 3 and a maximum of 50 watts into a wire antenna, I have made some really wonderful two way contacts on the 10 meters band....So, here is your amigo Arnie Coro advice... IF you are a radio amateur and have a transceiver capable of operating on 10 meters, it is NOW the right moment to start using it... If you do not have a 10 meters band antenna at this moment, then go right now to the ham radio handbook and find out how to make a simple wire antenna... A half wave dipole for 10 meters is just a length of wire of around 5 meters split at the center and fed with 50 ohms coaxial cable... You can install it practical anywhere, and there is even no need to install it horizontally, as it will work quite well as a sloping dipole , with one end hanging from a mast and the other end sloping down at a 45 degrees angle...
Si amigos, yes my friends , oui mes amis... The 10 meters band most basic antenna the half way dipole , just around 16 feet of common wire , using three homebrew PVC plastic pipe insulators is all you will need AT THIS TIME AND MOMENT, to work such fantastic DX stations as the T32C expedition operating from Western Kiribati
in the remote Pacific Ocean island paradise...
Stay tuned for more radio hobby related information amigos, and again, a reminder, HF propagation on the 15, 12 and 10 meters band is as best as you can expect !!!
I am Arnie Coro radio amateur CO2KK the host of Dxers Unlimited, back with you
in a few seconds after a short break for a station ID.

..................

Si amigos!!! Sure it is a lot of fun, when I tell fellow ham operators that are contacting with my home station CO2KK, that yours truly is the only person in the whole world that can legally call CQ DX on AM while running 250 kiloWatts to a 20 dB gain curtain array... Of course that this is a joke, based on the fact that this program, Dxers Unlimited begins with me making a call to all short wave listeners and radio amateurs that goes like this ... CQ DX CQDX CQDX THIS IS HAVANA CALLING.... and of course that it is heard over Radio Havana Cuba transmitters that run 50, 100 or 250 kiloWatts output power into different high gain antenna systems... Even on 5040 kiloHertz our frequency used for domestic service of the Cuban archipelago, the CQ DX call is heard on a 100 kW transmitter using a Tropical Band high vertical take off angle antenna, that shows an effective gain of 6 dB over a standard half wave dipole !!!
Now back to the excellent propagation conditions on the high frequency bands from 10 to 30 megaHertz.... Tuesday October 24th was yet another excellent day on 10 meters, with the band opening up here in Havana to Europe and Africa just a little before sunrise... amazing as this may sound, the European amateur stations were coming in at signal levels well over S9, with the more powerful ones equipped with better antennas hitting past the S 9 plus 20 dB over S9 mark... The band was full of signals from the CW segment up past 28.5 megaHertz, and at the top end of 10 meters where AM stations are heard, several of them were also coming in loud and clear. Several 10 meters band FM repeaters were also pegging the S meter here in Havana even as late as 4 PM local time...
I had several very nice two way amateur contacts on 10 meters with several long time listeners of Dxers Unlimited, something that is always a very rewarding experience, as it was the case with Edward from British
Columbia, Canada, who began to listen to Radio Havana Cuba when he was a teenager... Ed speaks Spanish fluently and it was a really enjoyable QSO .
The callsign of his station is Victor Echo Seven Bravo Victor....and my very modest 50 Watts station received a nice S9 report from that northwestern Canada location.
................................
Fixing radios.... bringing them back to life... is one of the more than 85 ways that you and I enjoy this wonderful radio hobby. Radio hobby enthusiasts that accept the challenge of reviving broken down receivers are a special kind of people, that never keep for themselves their findings, that is they share whatever they learn about a certain model of radio receiver or amateur radio rig... It is certainly an outstanding characteristic of those people like you and I, who share
the know how, so that others may fix their equipment
without having to spend a tremendous amount of time
trying to find out where the problem or problems are located. During the past weekend edition of Dxers Unlimited, I mentioned my failed attempts to revive a nicely well kept UNIDEN CR 2021 receiver, that was also sold as a Radio Shack DX 400... Well, in true radio hobby spirit I did received several suggestions regarding the symptoms that the CR2021 had... absolutely NO AUDIO output... One of the suggestions came in even with several photos of how the bad electrolytic capacitors look when they break down !!!
Here is part of the e-mail that amigo Rod, radio amateur KB8DNS sent with his suggestions to help me fix the radio...

here is what Rod told me : I heard you ask for help on this receiver while listening Sunday evening. I am a short wave listener and amateur radio operator (KB8DNS) and I work on several different short wave receivers such as the SONY ICF-2010, SW55, SW77 and various Grundigs, Etons including the Uniden CR-2021.
In most cases the audio failure can be traced to two or three different areas. Since your 2021 has no audio with either speaker or head phone jack, the jack itself could be at fault since it is a switch when one connects head phones. Second area would be with the electronics and the fact the receiver is starting to show it's age, I would suspect that an aging capacitor has failed. I find this common in receivers that have been stored for a while after using. The capacitor looses it's "form" and can short out sometimes taking the audio amp with it and at times even a B+ switch, a simple transistor switch, this is how the CPU turns on the audio circuits.
At times the "bad" capacitor will show that it is blown because of the erupted aluminum case. The audio amp can also show a burnt or blow out on the surface. If a B+ switch is used it may not show that it is blown out.
Attached are two JPEGs of repairs I have done. These are SONY ICF-2010, you can see the bad capacitor from it's round end of the case is bulging, there are relief lines. Sometimes the insulating material is poking out.
Schematics for this radio are hard to find, even the DX-400 version. hope this helps! 73 Rod KB8DNS
Well amigo Rod, thank you very much for your help
and it is nice to know that you have developed the know how to fix so many solid state receivers that otherwise
may go the junk pile, or simply stand useless in a shelf
anywhere in the world !!!
I will keep you all Dxers Unlimited's listeners on how the repair of the broken UNIDEN CR2021 goes, and as
always, a reminder that working on solid state radios does require a big illuminated magnifier, a thermostatically controlled soldering iron, a proper set of hand tools, and above all, a lot of concentration
and patience... It is something NOT to be done in a hurry, as you can spoil the radio forever by just one mistake.... solid state equipment are NOT as forgiving
with mistakes as the old vacuum radios are amigos.
Now, my apologies today, as I had to record the broken
well in advance of going on the air, so this HF propagation forecast will just tell you that everything points to a continuing period of excellent short wave propagation conditions that may be interrupted by one
or maybe more solar flares.
Send your signal reports and comments to inforhc at enet dot cu or VIA AIR MAIL to Arnie Coro , Radio Havana Cuba , Cuba

Dxers Unlimited's weekend edition for 23/24 October UTC

2011-10-25T07:44:00.000-04:00

Radio Havana Cuba

Dxers Unlimited's week end edition for Sunday 23 and Monday 24 UTC days

By Arnie Coro

radio amateur CO2KK

Hi amigos radioaficionados all around the world and orbiting Planet Earth aboard the International Space Station where amateur radio provides crew members with a nice way of spending part of their spare time...

Si amigos, yes my friends , oui mes amis .... amateur radio is the first hobby that has made it into outer space !!!

Now here is very important news for all radio hobby enthusiasts that enjoy short wave listening and operate amateur stations on the HF bands from 80 to 10 meters and on the 6 meters VHF band... Here is a Solar activity update for you to optimize the time devoted to Dxing amigos...

The Sun continues to be very active, with almost every day revealing new sunspots active region . We saw one new sunspot group on October 9, another on October 10, two more on October 11 and two more on October 12. Keeping the daily observations

We saw another new region on October 13, two more on October 15, two more on October 17, one more on October 19 and three more on October 20. Summing up there have been 28 new sunspot groups making an appearance in the last 30 days, taking as the last day of this routine checks Thursday October 20. But certainly the most relevant news wass the sunspot number reached during Thursday, October 20. The daily sunspot number was 195, a level not equaled or bettered since nearly eight

years ago....Then it kept moving up and the Catania Astrophysical Observatory daily optical solar scans registered a still higher figure of the Wolf number that reached 212, surpassing the figure registered eight years ago, on November 26, 2003, when it was 209.

The closest the daily sunspot number came to equaling Thursday’s value was on July 4, 2005 when it was 192.

The average daily sunspot number rose more than 66 percent the week ending on Thursday, going up by 63.2 points (October 13-19) over last, to 158.6, while the average daily solar flux for the same period rose more than 15 percent (or 19.1 points) to 144.2. With the geomagnetic indices this week below the previous week, radio amateurs have frequently been working stations on other continents as late as midnight (local time) on 10 meters. The bands are alive. Sunspot numbers for October 13-19 were 147, 157, 166, 158, 165, 155 and 162, with a mean of 158.6. The 10.7 cm flux was 137.6, 136.1, 137.7, 151, 152.6, 146.8 and 147.3, with a mean of 144.2. The estimated planetary A indices were 5, 2, 8, 7, 4, 5 and 7, with a mean of 5.4. The estimated mid-latitude A indices were 3, 1, 4, 7, 2, 5 and 5 with a mean of 3.9.

So as you have just heard amigos... even with a very modest wire antenna, as simple as a half wave wire dipole for the 10 meters band, that has an overall length of 5 meters or approximately 16 feet, and a low power transmitter you can make two way amateur radio contacts with stations half way around the world !!!

The latest forecast from several different international scientific organizations shows solar flux at 160 from October 21-22, 155 and 150 on October 23-24, 145 on October 25-27, 135 on October 28, and then 130 on October 29 through November 3. During the next few days, this represents a substantial increase in solar flux, so conditions are going to be better than ever during the present solar cycle amigos....and if you are not yet involved in the fascinating world of amateur radio, then this is the right time to apply for taking your ham radio license test so that you may enjoy the next three to four years of much better short wave propagation conditions!!!

Now standby for a few seconds, as we are going now to take a short break for a station ID... I am your host Arnie Coro , radio amateur CO2KK in Havana...

................................

This is Radio Havana Cuba , the name of the show is Dxers Unlimited, and my e'mail direct mailing address is inforhc at enet dot cu, now I will repeat it slowly and phonetically, india, november, foxtrot , oscar, romeo,

hotel charlie, symbol for at, echo, november, echo, tango, symbol for dot charlie, uniform, and the postal mailing address is Arnie Coro, Radio Havana Cuba, Havana , Cuba...

Now here is item two of this weekend edition, that can be heard during its second re run on 5040 kiloHertz, from 2300 to 0000 hours UTC, just after the top of the hour news, and that should be starting up at approximately 2305 hours UTC.... If you happen to have in storage a 10 meters single band transceiver that was shelved when solar cycle 23 sent the HF propagation conditions into the doldrums... then it is now the right time to bring it back into daily use, because those single banders , when connected to a simple vertical ground plane or a half wave wire dipole antenna will make possible two way contacts with other amateur radio stations thousands of miles away during many hours every day....

Item three: Answering a question sent by several listeners from Nigeria, Australia, India, the USA and Canada... They all want to know if we are already into the peak of solar cycle 24, considering the big an unexpected surge in solar activity... So here is once again ASK ARNIE , our program's most popular section ... and the ANSWER is that heliophysicists , the solar scientists are now scratching their heads, as the Sun's behavior is totally unexpected. As a matter of fact they were forecasting levels of peak solar activity to be reached during the second half of 2012 or the first half of 2013, much lower than the sunspot numbers that we are registering every day right at this moment. So, my own analysis is the following... we may be seeing either an earlier peak, or better yet, the solar cycle will continue to move forward and be reaching a much higher peak than the maximum Wolf number of 90 to 95 units that was accepted by many scientists to be the maximum for this cycle, that so far was to be much weaker than the four previous cycles... As the last days of October of 2011 continue to go by, the Sun may be telling scientists that they may be quite wrong amigos !!!

......................................

This is the weekend edition of Dxers Unlimited... and here is now our technical topics section of this radio hobby program....Trying to fix a broken receiver here.... it is a very nice looking UNIDEN CR2021, a very similar radio as the Radio Shack DX400 . The CR2021 has no audio output, and so far I have not been able to obtain a schematic or the workshop technical manual...

What I do see is that the digital readout works... the radio accepts frequencies to be changed on both the FM and the AM ranges and the S meter light emitting diodes light up properly when a local station is picked up , that is selected by pressing the keyboard buttons corresponding to the frequency that I want to listen to.

But something quite amazing is happening, using another receiver, that has continues tuning from 100 kiloHertz to 54 megaHertz, I can not pick up signals from the UNIDEN CR2021 intermediate frequency amplifier stages, that according to the S meter indications are working ... So, amigos, any help will be most appreciated... especially if any of you has had experience fixing those radios, or has at hand the circuit diagrams and technical manual for the CR2021... Again the prime sympton is absolutely NO audio output, even when plugging in headphones in order to bypass a possible open circuit loudspeaker !!! Send your suggestions to inforhc at enet dot cu.... I will be waiting for your email messages amigos ...

And now just before going QRT here at the weekend edition of Dxers Unlimited, here is Arnie Coro's exclusive and not copyrighted HF plus low band VHF propagation update and forecast.... Due to the substantial and sustained increase in solar activity registered during the past two weeks, please take notice that HF propagation conditions are better than ever at this moment that what they had been for the past 8 years... YES, the HF bands are wide open, and even 6 meters the first VHF band is providing exceptional F2 layer long distance contacts ... that have combined in the northern hemisphere with the the Trans Equatorial Propagation season, that also enhances the 10 meter band signals... Be prepared for more solar fireworks as more M and even X class solar flares, that may produce solar radiation storms that in turn may cause short wave blackouts...

Finally, let me add that more sunspot active regions will soon rotate into view, as they are seen to be active now on the farside of the Sun, a possibility that is available to scientists for the first time since the history of solar research... According to several sources that I have consulted , the present solar cycle 24 is the one that will provide science with never before seen results , thanks to the existence of such outstanding space research instruments as the STEREO pair of satellites that keep a total watch of the whole solar sphere....

See you all at the mid week edition of Dxers Unlimited

next Tuesday and Wednesday UTC days amigos , just after the half hour news....

Expect simply wonderful DX conditions on the HF bands this weekend

2011-10-22T08:15:00.000-04:00

Si amigos !!!
The daily solar ¨numbers ¨ are at an all time high , since 8 years ago !!!
Solar flux, the geomagnetic planetary index and the daily three hourly K index
are at ideal values for wonderful HF propagation conditions to happen...
So wish you all very nice listening on the higher bands if you are an SWL
and nice QSO's on 20, 17, 15, 12, 10 and 6 meters ir you are the happy
owner of a licensed amateur radio station
73 and DX

Arnie
CO2KK

Dxers Unlimited's weekend edition Sunday 23 October 2011

2011-10-22T08:11:00.000-04:00

Radio Havana Cuba

Dxers Unlimited's week end edition for Sunday 23 and Monday 24 UTC days
By Arnie Coro
radio amateur CO2KK

Hi amigos radioaficionados all around the world and orbiting Planet Earth aboard the International Space Station where amateur radio provides crew members with a nice way of spending part of their spare time...
Si amigos, yes my friends , oui mes amis .... amateur radio is the first hobby that has made it into outer space !!!
Now here is very important news for all radio hobby enthusiasts that enjoy short wave listening and operate amateur stations on the HF bands from 80 to 10 meters and on the 6 meters VHF band... Here is a Solar activity update for you to optimize the time devoted to Dxing amigos...
The Sun continues to be very active, with almost every day revealing new sunspots active region . We saw one new sunspot group on October 9, another on October 10, two more on October 11 and two more on October 12. Keeping the daily observations : We saw another new region on October 13, two more on October 15, two more on October 17, one more on October 19 and three more on October 20. Summing up there have been 28 new sunspot groups making an appearance in the last 30 days, taking as the last day of this routine checks Thursday October 20. But certainly the most relevant news wass the sunspot number reached during Thursday, October 20. The daily sunspot number was 195, a level not equaled or bettered since nearly eight years ago....Then it kept moving up and the Catania Astrophysical Observatory daily optical solar scans registered a still higher figure of the Wolf number that reached 212, surpassing the figure registered eight years ago, on November 26, 2003, when it was 209.
The closest the daily sunspot number came to equaling Thursday’s value was on July 4, 2005 when it was 192.
The average daily sunspot number rose more than 66 percent the week ending on Thursday, going up by 63.2 points (October 13-19) over last, to 158.6, while the average daily solar flux for the same period rose more than 15 percent (or 19.1 points) to 144.2. With the geomagnetic indices this week below the previous week, radio amateurs have frequently been working stations on other continents as late as midnight (local time) on 10 meters. The bands are alive. Sunspot numbers for October 13-19 were 147, 157, 166, 158, 165, 155 and 162, with a mean of 158.6. The 10.7 cm flux was 137.6, 136.1, 137.7, 151, 152.6, 146.8 and 147.3, with a mean of 144.2. The estimated planetary A indices were 5, 2, 8, 7, 4, 5 and 7, with a mean of 5.4. The estimated mid-latitude A indices were 3, 1, 4, 7, 2, 5 and 5 with a mean of 3.9.
So as you have just heard amigos... even with a very modest wire antenna, as simple as a half wave wire dipole for the 10 meters band, that has an overall length of 5 meters or approximately 16 feet, and a low power transmitter you can make two way amateur radio contacts with stations half way around the world !!!
The latest forecast from several different international scientific organizations shows solar flux at 160 from October 21-22, 155 and 150 on October 23-24, 145 on October 25-27, 135 on October 28, and then 130 on October 29 through November 3. During the next few days, this represents a substantial increase in solar flux, so conditions are going to be better than ever during the present solar cycle amigos....and if you are not yet involved in the fascinating world of amateur radio, then this is the right time to apply for taking your ham radio license test so that you may enjoy the next three to four years of much better short wave propagation conditions!!!
Now standby for a few seconds, as we are going now to take a short break for a station ID... I am your host Arnie Coro , radio amateur CO2KK in Havana...

................................

This is Radio Havana Cuba , the name of the show is Dxers Unlimited, and my e'mail direct mailing address is inforhc at enet dot cu, now I will repeat it slowly and phonetically, india, november, foxtrot , oscar, romeo,
hotel charlie, symbol for at, echo, november, echo, tango, symbol for dot charlie, uniform, and the postal mailing address is Arnie Coro, Radio Havana Cuba, Havana , Cuba...
Now here is item two of this weekend edition, that can be heard during its second re run on 5040 kiloHertz, from 2300 to 0000 hours UTC, just after the top of the hour news, and that should be starting up at approximately 2305 hours UTC.... If you happen to have in storage a 10 meters single band transceiver that was shelved when solar cycle 23 sent the HF propagation conditions into the doldrums... then it is now the right time to bring it back into daily use, because those single banders , when connected to a simple vertical ground plane or a half wave wire dipole antenna will make possible two way contacts with other amateur radio stations thousands of miles away during many hours every day....
Item three: Answering a question sent by several listeners from Nigeria, Australia, India, the USA and Canada... They all want to know if we are already into the peak of solar cycle 24, considering the big an unexpected surge in solar activity... So here is once again ASK ARNIE , our program's most popular section ... and the ANSWER is that heliophysicists , the solar scientists are now scratching their heads, as the Sun's behavior is totally unexpected. As a matter of fact they were forecasting levels of peak solar activity to be reached during the second half of 2012 or the first half of 2013, much lower than the sunspot numbers that we are registering every day right at this moment. So, my own analysis is the following... we may be seeing either an earlier peak, or better yet, the solar cycle will continue to move forward and be reaching a much higher peak than the maximum Wolf number of 90 to 95 units that was accepted by many scientists to be the maximum for this cycle, that so far was to be much weaker than the four previous cycles... As the last days of October of 2011 continue to go by, the Sun may be telling scientists that they may be quite wrong amigos !!!

......................................

This is the weekend edition of Dxers Unlimited... and here is now our technical topics section of this radio hobby program....Trying to fix a broken receiver here.... it is a very nice looking UNIDEN CR2021, a very similar radio as the Radio Shack DX400 The CR2021 has no audio output, and so far I have not been able to obtain a schematic or the workshop technical manual...
What I do see is that the digital readout works... the radio accepts frequencies to be changed on both the FM and the AM ranges and the S meter light emitting diodes light up properly when a local station is picked up , that is selected by pressing the keyboard buttons corresponding to the frequency that I want to listen to.
But something quite amazing is happening, using another receiver, that has continues tuning from 100 kiloHertz to 54 megaHertz, I can not pick up signals from the UNIDEN CR2021 intermediate frequency amplifier stages, that according to the S meter indications are working ... So, amigos, any help will be most appreciated... especially if any of you has had experience fixing those radios, or has at hand the circuit diagrams and technical manual for the CR2021... Again the prime sympton is absolutely NO audio output, even when plugging in headphones in order to bypass a possible open circuit loudspeaker !!! Send your suggestions to inforhc at enet dot cu.... I will be waiting for your email messages amigos ...
And now just before going QRT here at the weekend edition of Dxers Unlimited, here is Arnie Coro's exclusive and not copyrighted HF plus low band VHF propagation update and forecast.... Due to the substantial and sustained increase in solar activity registered during the past two weeks, please take notice that HF propagation conditions are better than ever at this moment that what they had been for the past 8 years... YES, the HF bands are wide open, and even 6 meters the first VHF band is providing exceptional F2 layer long distance contacts ... that have combined in the northern hemisphere with the the Trans Equatorial Propagation season, that also enhances the 10 meter band signals... Be prepared for more solar fireworks as more M and even X class solar flares, that may produce solar radiation storms that in turn may cause short wave blackouts...
Finally, let me add that more sunspot active regions will soon rotate into view, as they are seen to be active now on the farside of the Sun, a possibility that is available to scientists for the first time since the history of solar research... According to several sources that I have consulted , the present solar cycle 24 is the one that will provide science with never before seen results , thanks to the existence of such outstanding space research instruments as the STEREO pair of satellites that keep a total watch of the whole solar sphere....
See you all at the mid week edition of Dxers Unlimited
next Tuesday and Wednesday UTC days amigos , just after the half hour news....

Dxers Unlimited's mid week edition for 18 October 2011

2011-10-21T23:37:00.000-04:00

Radio Havana Cuba

Dxers Unlimited's mid week edition for Tuesday 18 Oct 2011

By Arnie Coro

radio amateur CO2KK

Hi amigos radioaficionados ... this is the mid week edition of Dxers Unlimited, coming to you when short wave propagation conditions continue to be from very good to excellent depending on the time of day and where you are located.... YES, the Sun has woken up, and the daily NOAA sunspot count has kept above 150 for several days. Meanwhile at the Catania Astrophysical Observatory in Sicily, observers wrote down on the notepad the record breaking WOLF number of 203 last week, and the most recent information I had available when writing the script of this program shows 8 active sunspot regions that added up to make a WOLF number of 167, so as solar scientists talk to each other to try to find an explanation for the sudden and then sustained burst of solar activity, we radio hobby enthusiasts around the world just take advantage of short wave propagation conditions that make possible for a 1 Watt amateur radio transmitter to be hheard eight thousand nautical miles away with a 579 signal report... Si amigos, sure, YES my friends, this is your opportunity to enjoy short wave very near its best , because if things continue to evolve the way they are going , the year 2012 may brind up many surprises regarding the upcoming solar maximum...

Item two: Many of today's radio amateurs around the world are going back to the basics and homebrewing their equipment instead of just operating factory made radios that turns them into appliance operators ... As a matter of fact, the pleasure of listening to a radio you have built with your own hands, is something quite unique. Now imagine when you can talk to another fellow radio amateur maybe just across town, or perhaps half way around the world with a complete radio station that was all built by yourself.

Last Sunday I was playing with a new receiver, a replica of a 1930's regenerative receiver design using just two vacuum tubes... one working as the detector and the other as an audio amplifier feeding a pair of 2000 ohms impedance headphones... The original very low parts count circuit was described in an issue of Radio Communications, the British Radio Amateur Society magazine.... Yes, just two vacuum tubes, and a very simple power supply that provides 150 volts for the anodes and 6.3 volts for the tubes filaments. I did update the power supply to present day technology, using silicon high voltage rectifiers, high capacity electrolytics and a solid state voltage regulator for providing direct current to the filaments. Connecting this radio to just a 3 meters or near three feet length of wire to serve as an indoor antenna produced really amazing results. I was able to pick up several QRP or low power stations on the 20 meters frequency of 14.060, where low power enthusiasts gather to make possible two way QRP to QRP contacts... Although the frequency calibration of the regenerative receiver is not good at all, I was able to find the 20 meters ham band by use an age old trick... The regenerative detector does radiate a signal at the frequency that it is tuned to... so I only had to listen on my TS 820 S Kenwood transceiver setting it to 14.060... When the regenerative was tuned close to it a clearly heard swichising type sound came out of the Kenwood's loudspeaker !!! By the way , let me tell you that once again I am gathering the parts to assemble another replica of the 1930's receiver, that is going to be part of our Plaza Radio Club teaching aids to be used during the ongoing amateur radio license training course, that is preparing a group of people that want to take the ham radio license test soon... Now one final note about playing with old technologies... for many of you who have always worked with solid state low voltage circuits, here is a note of caution... The vacuum tubes technology radios do use HIGH VOLTAGES, that must be handled very carefully as they can produce very bad electric shocks that may cause cardiac arrest and death ....

Stay tuned for more radio hobby related information , coming to you from Havana, I am Arnie Coro , radio amateur CO2KK, back in a few seconds ...

.............................................

This is Radio Havana Cuba , you are listening to the mid week edition of our radio hobby show, that can be heard on 5040 kiloHertz, from 2300 to 0000 UTC

and also much earlier you can listen to the first run of Dxers Unlimited that goes on the air on 11760 kiloHertz between 19 and 20 hours UTC.... Our mid week edition goes on the air just after the half hour newscast... and the weekend edition is on just after the top of the hour news... As always you can send your signal reports and QSL cards requests to inforhc at enet dot cu... again, inforhc at enet dot cu, or VIA AIR MAIL to Arnie Coro, Radio Havana Cuba, Havana , Cuba ... Now here is our next radio hobby related item....Its time for YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, and you get answers back as soon as possible, via e-mail and also on the air... Answering listener's Geoff from Wales, in the UK, who wanted to know if a radio capable of receiving DRM Digital Radio Mondiale signals that are now on the air can be found at what Geoff describes as a reasonable price... Well amigo Geoff, the answer is unfortunately a BIG NO.... NO, at this time there is not single short wave radio receiver manufacturer that is selling a radio capable of picking up the digital radio mondiale signals... I believe there is at least one such radio but from what I have heard its price tag is really high.... Here in Cuba we have picked up the DRM broadcasts by using a short wave radio connected to a computer that is running special software capable of decoding the complex DRM multicarriers system signals... But as you can easily figure out... you will need a good quality short wave receiver, from which you can extract an intermediate frequency signal, that then is fed to the computer.

So, this is NOT a low cost approach, and besides that it ties up your computer because the software required to decode the DRM signals is computer resources hungry !!!

Amigo Geoff DRM is at the brink of disaster... although the transmission technology is now mature and transmitters engineers have finally learned how to tune the equipment to deliver a good quality DRM signal, the other side of the coin, the RECEIVERS , are simply not available, so DRM may just fade away as yet another technology that was poorly managed by those who created it.... Yes, I do believe that putting the cart ahead of the oxen is what is killing DRM as a viable short wave transmission mode... If in a period of two or three years no DRM capable low cost receivers are available, DRM will die , its death certified by the judge of the market place !!! NO low cost radios capable of picking up the DRM signals will make broadcasters to decide to stop the experimental transmissions , that at this time can be considered a waste of scarce resources ... A look at the budget cuts of several of the stations that are broadcasting DRM signals on short wave really doesn't match with keeping those DRM broadcasts on the air !!!

......................................

Cuban radio amateurs that will be operating during the upcoming CQ Magazine World Wide Single Side Band contest will count with my HF propagation forecasts and updates by means of an arrangement we have made to provide them with six hourly updates so that they can optimize the use of the different bands to make as many contest contacts as possible...Among the special event stations that are going to be on the air, at least one will be using the T4 prefix.... so if you take part in the end of the month big contest and pick up a station using a Tango Four prefix, well, you have just heard a Cuban special event station specially set up for the contest...

Antennas to be set up at special contest station's sites usually include long wires for 160 meters as well as special highly directional Beverage antennas that are used only for receiving on the 160 and 80 meter bands... Each contest team usually has at least one antenna guru that is in charge of the station set up.... A well planned contest station makes a lot of difference amigos.... so planning it well ahead of the actual set up is a very good thing to do...

I hope to have the opportunity of adding a contest multiplier to many contest participants, and that's may main goal, because not enough time will be available during the contest weekend to operate during the full length of the event...

And now , just at the end of the program here is Arnie Coro's HF plus low band VHF propagation update and forecast... Expect very good to excellent short wave propagation conditions during the next five to seven days... although temporary disruptions may happen in case high power solar flares are generated by the most active sunspot regions.

F2 layer Dx will be available for many hours on the 15, 12 and 10 meters bands, and smaller time windows will show up on the 6 meters band... See you all the the weekend edition of Dxers Unlimited amigos, and don't forget to send your signal reports and comments about this and other RHC programs that do help us to improve them thanks to your kindfull messages sent to inforhc at enet dot cu, or VIA AIR MAIL to Arnie Coro, Radio Havana Cuba, Havana , Cuba

2011-10-21T23:27:00.000-04:00

Here we are amigos !
A recent photo of little Claudia our 6 1/2 years old daughter, Roxana, CL2ROX
is her ham radio callsign, and yours truly Arnie CO2KK

RE: Solar cycle 24 New WOLF number record

2011-10-21T23:23:00.000-04:00

The Sun is showing signs of accelerating its transit towards the peak of the present
solar cycle.
On Thursday Oct 20, the Catania Astrophysical Observatory daily optical scan
of the Sun detected 12 active sunspot regions, that when properly studied
and classified by expert observer astronomer P Costa sent the WOLF number to a record breaking figure that went past the 200 mark.
The effects of a correspondingly high solar flux , well past the 150 units mark, has enhanced
short wave propagation to levels not seen since at least 7 years ago !!!
Example: 10 meters is open for many hours every day

So make the best possible use of the present enhanced short wave propagation conditions
that at times may be interrupted by the effects on Planet Earth of powerful solar flares !

Dxers Unlimited's mid week edition script 19 July 2011

2011-07-20T18:15:00.000-04:00

Radio Havana Cuba

Dxers Unlimited midweek edition for Tuesday 19 July 2011

By Arnie Coro

radio amateur CO2KK

Hi amigos radioaficionados.... I am Arnie Coro, radio amateur CO2KK your host here at the mid week edition of Dxers Unlimited and here is item one of today's program.

Solar scientists are very concerned about the evolution of solar cycle 24, and as a matter of fact at least two prominent heliophysicists are warning about the possibility that cycle 24 has already passed through its peak month.

If that is true, then the possibility of a new Maunder Solar Minimum activity period is going to be very high indeed. Other scientists keeping a close watch on the Sun think that the diminishing solar activity during the past several weeks is just part of the ups and downs of a standard cycle, but they do admit that the similarity of the behavior of cycle 23 with earlier ones that reached very low value peak sunspots numbers is certainly to be taken into consideration.

For short wave listeners within the frequency range between 3 and 30 megaHertz, that is from just 99 meters to 10 meters wavelength such a weak solar cycle means that the higher frequency bands are going to

be simply dead most of the time... Sustained periods of sunspots numbers below 30 at this stage of the cycle will certainly have a really terrible impact on those areas of our hobby like amateur radio, short wave broadcasts listening and utilities monitoring on the HF bands that are totally dependent on the behavior of the Sun.

Item two: With just 10 Watts and a half wave dipole wire antenna, a Cuban radio amateur, CO2WF Winston was able to make a two way contact with Ireland... and that contact was on the 50 megaHertz or 6 meters band, using what I believe was the whispering gallery mode of propagation, when the 6 meters signals were trapped into two layers of the ionosphere near Cuba, and descended to Earth when the two layers splitted near Ireland.

An analysis of this very interesting low power contact on the 6 meters band shows that there was not enough radio frequency energy radiated from CO2WF 's antenna to support multi hop sporadic E propagation across the Atlantic Ocean.

Just another excellent example about how fascinating the 6 meters band can be at anytime of the year, even when the solar cycle is showing such a low number of sunspots. Item three; If we want more people to be motivated by amateur radio, we must make the hobby much more visible to the general public, and also efforts must be made to design and build ham radio equipment that may be sold at much lower prices of the present generation of all full of bells and whistles transceivers.

According to a recent meeting that we had at our Plaza Radio Club here in Havana, it is quite clear that the newcomers to the radio hobby, especially the younger generation can not afford to buy expensive equipment, but they are certainly able to assemble much simpler radios under the guidance of more experienced radio amateurs.

Stay tuned for more radio hobby related information, coming to you from Havana, the beautiful capital city of Cuba where we are now watching the every day afternoon thunderstorms that require to disconnect all radios and electronics equipment when they approach.

I will back in a few seconds after a short break for a station ID.

............

You are listening to Dxers Unlimited, our Radio Havana Cuba, twice weekly radio hobby program... and here is a bit more about item three... the great concern among old timers in amateur radio about the future of this hobby.

In many countries around the world, the amateur radio population is either at a standstill or dimishing at a more or less fast pace.

Only a few nations can show statistics where the number of amateur radio operators are growing year by year , and such is the case of Cuba, where in a ten years period, the number of licensed radio amateurs has increased significantly.

It is true that not all the members of our national amateur radio federation own a station, due to the lack of equipment, but it is also true that more and more radios are becoming available by means of the recycling path, as old equipment is phased out of service by professional users who then pass those radios at no cost to the national amateur radio association.

Many of those radios are single band rigs for the VHF Hi band, that can be reprogrammed to cover a part of the 2 meters amateur band, so as a matter of fact the number of 2 meters ham FM stations in Cuba has increased dramatically , helping to provide a very effective emergency communications system that acts as a backup of the normal wired and over the airwaves sytems.

Ham radio operators here are well trained in the deployment of their equipment during emergencies and this one of the main reasons that our hobby is so well known by the Cuban public, who watches TV reports during the hurricane season where amateur radio is shown in use to handle emergency traffic.

But that is not the only socially positive activity of Cuban hams, we take part in a lot of sports activities like the all over Cuba bicycle tour that spans from East to West all along our main island, and also during the marathon events that take place several times every year of which the MarHabana Marathon race is the most well known internationally with several thosuands of participants coming from many countries around the world to compete.

Again, we do need to design a simpler short wave transceiver, with a minimum parts count approach, in order to help not only the newcomers to the hobby, but also those old timers that are now having trouble with their antique radios which are at the end of their useful life and use parts that are now almost impossible to find in order to fix them.

........

Si amigos, yes my friends , oui mes amis, twice every week you can listen to our radio hobby program and it is on the air several times during the mid week and weekend editions so that you can find the show at the time that you can sit down and listen.

I am now once again working to try to make it regularly available in written form, so that the scripts can be read at anytime by visiting one or more websites.

My daily workload is really impressive, so I am trying to automate that process, so that as soon as the script is finished it will be immediately loaded to the website , even before we go on the air for the first broadcast of Dxers Unlimited !!!

Let us see how it works... in the meantime, I will try to revive my BLOG at http://dxersunlimited.blogspot.com and see how it works ,

So please check it during this week and tell me if it is working OK

Again the URL is http://dxersunlimited.blogspot.com....

Item four: A large number of small portable radios that include short wave in their frequency coverage are unfortunately nothing else but junk.

And they do a lot of damage to the short wave listening hobby due to their

very poor performance...

Those very cheap AM FM and Short Wave portable radios that are sold at rock bottom prices are absolutely useless for listening to international short wave broadcast stations, because of their poor design and very low quality standards...

If you really want to enter into the world of short wave listening it is really important to buy a REAL RADIO, something that will cost you a lot more than what you pay for those useless pieces of junk sold at very cheap prices, BUT, the more expensive radios coming from well known trademarks, although nowadays are also made in cheap labor countries, are in general of much better quality and should last a lot longer.

And now amigos, here is as always at the end of our program the HF plus low band VHF propagation update and forecast. The most relevant propagation events happening now are related to the sporadic E highly ionized clouds that made so many participants of the CQ Radio Amateur Magazine VHF Contest, where another Cuban station CO2OJ my good friend Oscar Morales Jr. was able to work more than 120 stations on 6 meters while running just 5 Watts and a simple half wave dipole antenna.

Oscar is one of our topmost VHF operators and once again he was at the forefront of a VHF contest. My forecast calls for several more days of sporadic E events, with maximum usable frequencies going as high as the FM broadcast band in many instances.

Solar activity continues to be baffling scientists, and algthough we do see some sunspots and the solar flux has moved again above the 100 units mark, the HF bands are in very poor shape to say the least, especiallly frequencies above 18 megaHertz. Please send your opinions about my

The Coro family Roxana CL2ROX , Little Claudia and Arnie CO2KK

2011-05-09T17:31:00.000-04:00

Have more time will BLOG !!! Comments to inforhc@enet.cu

2011-05-09T17:21:00.001-04:00

WOW !
First day in more than 6 months that feels and sounds as a ¨light work day¨
Among those many ¨pending matters¨.... was the Dxers Unlimited's blog
at BLOGSPOT, that does require valuable time required for many other
duties to be used for updating it...
So amigos !

I hope to be able to update this BLOG whenever there is a chance , now that
our station's 50th Anniversary Celebrations are over, and we are on our
way towards the next half a century on the air and on the WEB !!!

RADIO HABANA CUBA

DXERS UNLIMITED

weekend edition unabridged for the BLOG, but shorter on the air due to air time available Sunday and Monday UTC days this past weekend !!! May 8 -9 2011

Hi amigos, welcome to the weekend edition of your favorite listener oriented, technically minded radio hobby program, coming today once again directly from right next to my ham radio station CO2KK, exactly as it happened many years ago, on the 27th of October of 1998, when I was sending an advance warning to radio amateurs in the Caribbean and Central America as the huge Hurricane Mitch was approaching the area. As many of you that heard that program remember well, a great number of radio amateurs in the Caribbean participated in a large scale communications effort related to one of the most powerful storms ever seen in the area ever.

Amateurs in Canada, the United States of America , South America and even from Europe helped by providing relays on the 40 meters band when long skip made it impossible to work on that band, and as expected practically all the 2 meters band repeaters in the affected areas were damaged or totallly destroyed by the hurricane force winds , landslides and the lack or commercial power. The availability of 80 and 40 meter band amateur equipment that can operate using small generators or even car batteries has proven to be a great assett when weather or earthquake emergencies destroy local telecomms facilities or makes using them almost impossible due to excessive traffic generated during the emergency. 40 meter bands long distance relays of weather data for stations located in the affected areas and the forecast centers is vitally important too

I am Arnie Coro, radio amateur CO2KK, your friend here in Havana and host of this twice weekly show devoted entirely to our wonderful hobby,yours and mine amigos RADIO !

Now here is item two , a detailed explanation of why emergency communications provided by amateur radio operators are essential during Hurricanes and Earthquakes, as well as large scale accidents . Hams using portable equipment that can be powered from standby power sources are able to keep vital links to the affected areas among the important information provided on those two way links are weather data taken at places were there are no official weather stations, advance warning from possible flooding and help during search and rescue operations.. later, after the storm is over, the amateur radio links are used to help medical aid workers, to select landing sites for helicopters and planes and in general to keep things moving during the post hurricane period.

Among the most interesting aspects of the way hams provide emergency communications is how simple antenna systems, low power radios and GOOD and very well trained OPERATORS combine to keep communications flowing

Most of present day amateur disaster area communications is done using SINGLE SIDE BAND VOICE, but the increasing availability of portable lower cost lap top and notebook computers are encouraging the use of digital radio links, which are much more reliable , use less power and are also less prone to interference. Computer to computer communication via a radio link is an ideal way of handling emergency traffic, but as a friend of mine likes to say it is a developed country approach, but lower priced computers that are now available are making possible implementing keyboard to keyboard emergency communications links by amateurs in less developed parts of the world.

More about emergency communications during natural disasters a little later in today's mid week edition of Dxers Unlimited, coming to you directly from my home QTH, right next to CO2KK my amateur radio station that is now part of not one or two, but actually three emergency communications networks on the 20, 40 and 2 meter bands

Now let's take a break I'll be back in a few seconds

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You are listening to Radio Havana Cuba, the name of the show is Dxers Unlimited, and our URL, is www.radiohc.cu, again the fast and easy way to find us on the INTERNET is by cybersurfing to www.radiohc.cu, and while there please do take a look at my webpage Dxers Unlimited's contribution to the radio hobby via the NET... You may nowadays download a large number of very interesting files dealing with antennas, short wave propagation, solar activity etc that will help you to optimize your amateur radio station and make it much more useful for handling emergency communications whenever required. Yes amigos you can also request our QSL card, by just sending an e-mail directly to me send mail to inforhc at enet dot cu, again inforhc at enet dot cu

Now item three each edition of the big worldwide ham radio contests like the CQ World Wide SSB or the WPX prefix contest help quite a few newcomers to the amateur radio hobby to increase their total number of countries, or DX entities as they are now called... worked. Many Cuban radio amateurs both old and new participa in those challenging and interesting events and some of them have achieved very good results too.

Item four Trasatlantic medium wave AM band DX season is now over, something that happens about two to three weeks after the spring equinox and from now on due to the sustained increase in solar activity AM medium wave band DXing is going to become much more difficult, because of the expected increase in ionospheric absorption caused by the higher solar activity.Those AM band Dxes with good receivers, and the special antennas required are able to pull several of the most powerful stations from Europe and the Middle East quite easily during solar minimum years , by using narrow filters that let those stations come in between the 10 kiloHertz channel spacing used by AM broadcasters in the America's.

Among the easy ones from the other side of the Atlantic, are several super power stations operating at the high end of the band, from about 1400 to 1620 kilohertz. Don't be surprised if at around your local midnight, when the sun is just rising in Europe, at least two or three of those MEGAWATT stations make themselves heard via powerful heterodynes or whistles between the AM stations on this side of the Atlantic.It is worth looking for those tell tale heterodynes, which are the result of the Region I stations in Europe and the Middle East using a different channel spacing those stations are spaced at 9 kilohertz from each other, so only in very few channels they land at zero beat with the stations in the Americas. But again, the next AM broadcast band DX season due to happen around September is going to be worse than any of the previous ones ... because it is going to happen when solar flux figures are expected to be averaging above 120 units or higher !!! So, we must wait until at least 2015 for the ideal Long Wave and Medium Wave Bands DX seasons to be as good as they were between 2005 and 2010 amigos !!!

----------------

You are listening to Dxers Unlimited's mid week edition, the audio quality of today's show is limited to a 3 kilohertz bandwidth due to the use of a standard phone line which is not broadcast quality to tape the show if you ever wanted to know about audio response,here is a good example of what happens when the bandwidth is restricted between the 300 and 3000 Hertz or cycles per second of a phone line Yes amigos, restricted audio bandwidth can actually improve reception, as more of the transmitter's power is used to modulated the frequencies to which your ear responds best !

Now item fiveArnie Coro's workshop today , I'll tell you about a super simple 2 element 2 meter band Yagi beam antenna which is ideal for emergency work it is built using either standard TV antenna elements, or heavy gauge copper wire The support for the antenna is made from. One of my favorite antenna building materials you guessed right amigos a BROOMSTICKThis is a very compact antenna that will provide about 4 or maybe a little more dB gain over a standard half wave dipole, but of course, many more db's above the typical rubber duck antenna used by hand held radios or handie talkies The dimensions for this antenna are very easy to remember, if you choose to do your homework in METRIC The reflector element is 101 centimeters long and the dipole driven element is 98 centimeters long The two are separated by 50 centimeters of BROOMSTICK BOOM and the antenna's driven element is fed using standard 50 ohm coaxial cable I leave about 30 of 40 more centimeters of broomstick behing the REFLECTOR ELEMENT, so that I can tie the antenna to any available supporting structure This is a portable emergency antenna system.. so it is made with low cost materials.. the elements can be taken from an old TV antenna, or you may buy aluminium tubing of about 10 millimeters or 1 centimeter diameter.. better yet, you can make the antenna elements from heavy copper wire , a number 10 or number 8 will be ideal The dipole element is fed at the center, so the two sides should be mounted on a piece of insulating material like acrilic plastic, polyethilene or PVCIn one emergency situation I made one of this antennas by just placing the two sides of the dipole driven element directly to the broomstick boom, separating them by about 2 centimeters It worked quite well because the weather was nice and dry ! But you should use good insulation if you want the antenna to work well even when it is raining or snowing This is about the lowest cost "amplifier" that you can think offSee by the numbers a rubber duck antenna used on a typical two meter handie talkie has a loss of about 6 db relative to a half wave dipole
Now Arnie Coro's UL:TRA LOW COST 2 METER BROOMSTICK YAGI has a 4 dB gain over a dipole in other words, if you replace the rubber duckie with my 2 element makeshift antenna , your signal will be a WHOOPING 10 db more powerful, or 10 times LOUDER than when you used the little rubber duck antenna One of the advantages of this ultra simple YAGI , is that it does not require any instruments to put it into operation if you follow my data, 101 centimeters for the reflector, 98 centimeters for the driven element and 50 centimeters separation between the two elements, the antenna will have a fairly low standing wave ratio if fed with 50 ohm cable, and it will work quite OK with a somewhat higher SWR if the only cable at hand is of the 75 ohm type One of the many applications of this field emergency antenna is to use it to access a distant repeater that can not be reached using the handie talkie's factory antenna Ah ! before I forget , the other thing you will need to complete this antenna besides the BROOMSTICK, the two elements, the insulator for the center of the driven element and the coaxial cable, is , OF COURSE, a coaxial male connector that will fit with your transceiver, usually a BNC male type connector YES AMIGOS, antennas for 2 meter emergency work need not cost a fortune and can be improvised from whatever is at hand even that old BROOMSTICK gathering dust somewhere in the attic or the garage !

Dxers Unlimited's weekend edition 28 and 29 November 2010

2010-11-28T16:42:00.000-05:00

Radio Habana Cuba

Dxers Unlimited

Dxers Unlimited's weekend edition for 28 – 29 November 2010

By Arnie Coro

Radio Amateur CO2KK

Hi amigos radioaficionados around the world … Welcome to the weekend edition of your favorite radio hobby program, the one and only that provides really up to date high frequency decametric bands propagation updates and forecasts, especially prepared for broadcasting on this program.

We also reply to your radio hobby related questions directly via e-mail or AIR MAIL, and provide circuit diagrams and technical information about simple radio receivers that can be built on top of your kitchen table or computer desk.

By the way one of the most recent short wave solid state receiver circuits uses a rather unusual regenerative detector running two PNP silicon small signal transistors.

What is amazing about this particular circuit is that it provides a very smooth regeneration control by means of a ten thousand ohms carbon potentiometer.

I tested this radio with just a one meter long wire connected to the antenna terminal, and it picked up several Cuban , Mexican, Dominican Republic and USA amateur radio stations with excellent stability and good quality audio.

The original circuit is not mine , it was posted at several amateur radio and short wave listeners website, but I believe that many of those who saw the circuit and how simple it was, just thought that it will not be able to back the claims of the designers.

The basic building block of this radio is the two PNP transistors detector followed by one stage of audio ,the radio is then connected to an external audio amplifier module that can be as simple as a computer loudspeakers set.

I keep a much modified computer loudspeakers set at an easy to access position on my main workshop electronic assembly table, and it has many uses, including helping to fix broken equipment by means of a very simple signal tracing attachment that is connected to the computer amplified loudspeakers .

Item two: Personal attacks, insults , lack of respect , and poor spelling are among the quote REGULAR FEATURES , unquote, of the postings contributed to several short wave listening and radio hobby Internet lists and websites by a self proclaimed expert from Oklahoma , United States of America...

Among the latest examples of such attacks this person has posted is one that shows once again his total ignorance about a subject that he proclaims to be one of the world's top experts...

Frequency Management !!! The worldwide decametric broadcasting frequency management system developed by the ITU, the International Telecommunications Union, the oldest of the United Nations specialized agencies, began way back in 1948, at the Mexico City conference that among other practical results divided the world in the so called CIRAF zones, that clearly define the areas to where the stations broadcast according to their interests in reaching specific audiences.

Twice every year now, and years ago four times a year, the ITU receives and processes the frequencies that the stations intend to use, in order to optimize as much as possible the use of the limited natural resource we all know as the radio frequency spectrum.

The process starts with filling in a very detailed entry form, that includes the engineering data required that is then fed to an ITU specially developed software program .

Each station sends this data to the ITU either directly or by means of some forms of sub regional, regional or voluntary associations , but it is very clear that the ITU data for each of the two yearly periods is what provides the station's engineering staff with the best possible information of the coverage that a broadcast is achieving.

It is absolutely impossible, with the number of stations on the air, even now that several international broadcasters have decided to stop their short wave transmissions, to achieve a worldwide clear channel on any of the lower frequency international shortwave broadcast bands...

It is then necesssary to go through a process of preparing the schedule for a given period, sending it to the ITU, waiting for the ITU to run the complex software , and then receive the data about the expected quality of each transmission.

And all this process starts with each national telecommunications administration of each ITU member nation registering with the ITU the international short wave broadcast transmissions that they plan to put on the air for the next upcoming period.

If the stations are not registered with the ITU, they simply do not appear in the data base !!!

And this is something that happens more often than anyone may think, and it does cause problems .

Add to the lack of registration , the pretention by some broadcasters to cover a much larger target area than what the equipment they are running can really provide... and also include into the problem , the lack of knowledge among those doing the frequency management of some stations , about the specifics of antenna patterns, antenna gain, front to back ratio , plus adjacent channel incompatibility etc.

For your information amigos, all the attacks against Radio Havana Cuba and to me , coming regularly from the so called World of Radio self proclaimed expert , increased since our station began to use on the 8^th of November a new frequency beamed to Central North America, using a highly directional curtain array , type HR 4, 4, 0,8 , an antenna type certified by the International Telecommunications Union as a highly directional and high front to back ratio antenna system.

The frequency selected for the B10 ITU period for that service is 6050 kiloHertz, that appears as totally blank and clear for the CIRAF Zones to which we are broadcasting, in other words, no other station has registered with the ITU that frequency with the intention of broadcasting to Central North America, something that we have checked regularly during the schedule times when 6050 kiloHertz is used.

In other words, the use of that frequency is in full compliance with the ITU frequency management recommendations... and the daily excellent reception reports we are receiving from both the areas of the USA and Canada, to where the 6050 kiloHertz Radio Havana Cuba transmissions are beamed , confirm that this is a good channel, clear of any incompatibility and causing, no incompatibility to any other registered user , as shown by the ITU B10 date base..

Stay tuned for more radio hobby related information, coming on this weekend edition of Dxers Unlimited that is now on the air after the top of the hour newscast on Sundays and Mondays UTC days.

I am your host Arnie Coro , radio amateur CO2KK, back with you in a few seconds...

….............................

This is Radio Havana Cuba, the name of the program is Dxers Unlimited, and yes amigos, there are now some 86 different ways of enjoying the radio hobby.... with one of the latest ones added having to do with the use of light beam communications during amateur radio contests.

The availability of laser pointers that can be easily modulated has added a new twist to the ham radio VHF, UHF and Microwaves contests... because it is now possible to hold two way contacts from mountain top locations with stations located tens of miles away, by just running a laser pointer and a sensitive light beam receiver coupled to a telescope of a Fresnel lens system.

The use of high power Light Emitting Diodes is also making headway in the field of amateur radio light communications....

And talking about ham radio, let me tell you that the Super Islander version 5.2 simple short wave receiver for the amateur bands between 160 and 30 meters is now almost finished , just waiting for a good friend to complete the nice box where the receiver is going to be fitted permanently.

The Super Islander version 5.2, includes a more sophisticated pair of active audio filters, that do improve reception on both CW and SSB, and it has also benefited from the use of more elaborate VFO or variable frequency oscillator circuit.

As a matter of fact, this radio qualifies among the low parts count receivers, and I must add that the layout of the printed circuit board has taken into consideration the fact that beginners have a hard time handling the soldering iron, and that is why the printed circuit board traces are well separated from each other fo facilitate the assembly without the fear of developing short circuits with soldering blobs !

Home brewing simple radio receivers is one of the 86 ways that you and I enjoy this wonderful hobby, yours and mine … RADIO !!!

And now amigos here is Arnie Coro's Dxers Unlimited's HF propagation update and forecast with the addition today of a special winter Sporadic E season forecast...

Yes amigos, the winter sporadic E season of the Northern Hemisphere is due to start at anytime now, and my analysis of prevailing solar conditions calls for a rather active winter Sporadic E DX season indeed !!!

HF conditions are now dwindling because an all quiet solar alert is still in progress, but that may change soon because the Sun is becoming active on the side that we do not see visually from Earth, but that now is watched full time by the Stereo pair of satellites .

Send your signal reports, comments about the program and radiohbby related questions to inforhc at enet dot cu, or VIA AIR MAIL to Arnie Coro, Radio Havana Cuba, Havana , Cuba

RE Copy of recent 10 meters band beacon list compiled by Bill WJ5O

2010-11-23T13:01:00.000-05:00

Dear amigos... This is an extremely useful list for those of you interested in learning more about propagation on the 10 meters amateur band, that spans from 28.000 to 29.700 megaHertz and is the widest band on the HF spectrum assigned to the amateur radio service.

73 and DX

Arnie Coro

CO2KK , Host of Dxers Unlimited

10 METER BEACON LIST

TEN METER PROPAGATION BEACONS
18 November 2010 15:00 Z
----------------------------------------------------------------------
 C=CONTINUOUS  I=INTERMITTENT  #=CONFIRMED AS ACTIVE OR HEARD
          (*)=NCDXF/IARU BCN [SEE END OF LIST]
Beacons un-reported past year w/no Email contact will be determined QRT
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
FREQ.   CALL    OPERATION    LOCATION           OPER NOTES  
28.1154  PY4YYF       ? BELO HORIZONTE, MG BR   #  15W VERTICAL
28.165   FY1FV        ? CACAO, FRENCH GUIANA    #  ?,  ?  NEW
28.166   XE2NS        C ALLENDE, NL, MEXICO     #  4W, VERTICAL  NEW 30 Aug 2010
28.1674  LU3DBJ       ? QUILMES,BUENOS AIRES,AR #  5W, VERTICAL  
28.170   VA3XCD       C CAMDEN EAST, ONTARIO    #  1.5W, OCF DIPOLE Reactivated 10 August 2010
28.171   XE1FAS       C PUEBLA, MEXICO          #  5W, VERTICAL NEW 30 Sept 10
28.173   VA5LF        C SASKATOON, SASKATCHEWAN #  5W, VERTICAL Testing 4 July 2010
28.174   9H1IA          MALTA                      7.5W,VERTICAL QRT
28.175   VE3TEN       C OTTAWA,ONTARIO CANADA   #  10W, GP  
28.176   VE7LAD         BURNBY, BC CANADA          4W, VERTICAL testing 17 Aug 08
28.177   HP1RCP       C CERRO JEFE, PANAMA      #  5W, VERTICAL  Temp QRT 3 Sept 08
28.177   VE2CRH       C QUEBEC CITY, CANADA     #  1W, VERTICAL  
28.178   VE8RT          YELLOWKNIFE, NT, CAN       5W, VERTICAL proposed ETA late August 09
28.179   XE2AT        C AGUASCALIENTES,AGS CP   #  5W, VERTICAL new 22 Aug 08
28.180   XE3N         I PLAYA DEL CARMEN, Mexico#  5W, VERTICAL new freq 26 April 2010
28.180   OD5TEN       C TRIPOLI, LEBANON        #  ? QRT?
28.180   I1M          C BORDIGHERA, ITALY       #  2/20W, VERTICAL
28.181   VA6CK        I BASSANO ALBERTA CANADA  #  5W,VERTICAL 10 Jan 07
28.182   VYØSNO       C IQALUIT, NUNAVUT CANADA #  15W, VERTICAL New Testing 16 June 2010
28.1825  SV3AQR       C AMALIADA, GREECE        #  4W, GP VERTICAL
28.183   XE1RCS       C MEXICO CITY, MEXICO     #  5W, VERTICAL New 8 Aug 08, Club call 27 June 2010
28.185   I8EMG        C COSENZA, ITALY          #  40W, VERTICAL  QRT
28.185   VA3SRC       I BURLINGTON ,ONTARIO     #  5W, DIPOLE re-activated 19 Oct 08 New QTH Dec 09
28.1852  LU1AYZ       C CAPITAL FEDERAL CF, ARG #  5W, ?    NEW 
28.1855  PU5ATX       ? IMBITUBA SC BRAZIL      #  10W,? un-coordinated beacon reported 9 March 10
28.186   VK5KV        C WOOMERA SOUTH AUSTRALIA #  25W, VERTICAL NEW 28 Feb 08 new call 27 Oct 09
28.1865  VE6PG          HANOVER,ONTARIO CANADA     2W, GP VERTICAL tentative coordination 25 Aug 10
28.1875  VE7KC        C PENTICTON BC CANADA     #  2W, VERTICAL on the air 13 July 09
28.188   JE7YNQ       C FUKUSHIMA, JAPAN        #  50W, DIPOLE
28.188   OE3XAC       C AUSTRIA                 #  10W, VERTICAL reported 24 June 08
28.1885  LU9FE        I RAFAELA, SF, ARGENTINA  #  5W, VERTICAL    New  1st reported 5 April 09
28.189   VA3YOO       I CAMDEN EAST ONTARIO        5W  VERTICAL Experimental Temporary 16 Oct 10 
28.189   XE1SRF       C MEXICO CITY, MEXICO     #  20 W, VERTICAL Reactivated 15 Aug 09 temp QRT Oct 10
28.189   SV5TEN       C RHODES ISLAND           #  5W, VERTICAL reported 24 June 08
28.190   LU3HFA       ? CORDOVA, ARGENTINA      #  Uncoordinated beacon reported 21 March 09
28.190   LU1DZ        I BUENOS AIRES,ARG        #  10W,VERTICAL(temp?)
28.1901  LU1XZ        ? CORDOBA, CB ARGENTINA   #  ?, ? Uncoordinated beacon reported 15 June 2010
28.1902  PY2SBA       I SAO PAULO, BRAZIL       #  ?, ?  NEW
28.1905  VA3ROR       C ORILLIA, ON             #  5W, VERTICAL WHIP
28.1909  LU7VCH       I PATAGONIA,ARGENTINA     #  5W, VERTICAL  
28.191   VA6RE        C BASSANO, AB CANADA      #  3W, VERTICAL  
28.1915  LU1JMC       I GUALEGUAYCHU E.R. ARG   #  5W, VERTICAL      
28.1921  LU2EOR       I BUENOS AIRES,ARG        #  ?,?
28.1925  LU2FFV       I SAN JORGE, ARG          #  5W GP
28.193   LU8EML       ? ENSENADA,BUENOS AIRES,AR#  15W, DIPOLE Un-coordinated beacon reported 2 Jan 10
28.193   VE4ARM       C AUSTIN,MB               #  5W, GP
28.1935  LU2ERC       C ENSENADA,BUENOS AIRES,AR#  5W,VERTICAL New 27 May 09
28.1937  LU2DT        I MAR DEL PLATA ARGENTINA #  2 W, GP VERTICAL
28.194   A47RB        C OMAN                    #  10W, VERTICAL reported active 18 March 10  
28.1947  PY2JA        C SÃO PAULO,BRAZIL        #  10W, VERTICAL
28.1948  CX4DX        ? MONTEVIDEO URUGUAY      #  10W, ? NEW 
28.195   LU4EG        C BERNAL , ARGENTINA      #  10W, QUAD  
28.195   IY4M         C BOLOGNA , ITALY (ROBOT) #  20W, 5/8 VERTICAL
28.195   LU6DTS       C LA PLATA CITY, ARG      #  5W, VERTICAL
28.195   VE6YF        C EDMONTON, ALBERTA       #  10W GP
28.1955  VA3ITA       C BRAMTON, ONTARIO        #  10W, VERTICAL New 13 Nov 09
28.196   VE2FGE         QUEBEC CITY, QUEBEC        5W, VERTICAL Operator SK Nov 2010
28.196   EA5AHN       C VALENCIA, SPAIN         #  ? QRT
28.196   LU4JJ        C CONCORDIA ER, ARG       #  4W, 1/4 VERTICAL
28.196   LU7WW        I CHUBUT, ARG             #  5W
28.196   VO1MDS       I ST.JOHNS, NL               10W, VERTICAL re-activated 7 Sept 09
28.1968  IØKNQ     (*)I ROME, ITALY *18hrsDaily #  2W, TURNSTILE New 12 September 08
28.197   EP4HR        I SHIRAZ, IRAN            #  5W, GP  TESTING
28.197   LU5FB        C ROSARIO, ARGENTINA      #  10W, HORIZONTAL DIPOLE  NEW 5 May 08
28.197   VE7MTY       C PITT MEADOWS, BC        #  25W, VERTICAL
28.198   IZ0AIS       I ROME, ITALY             #  5W, ?  
28.198   CX1BP        C MONTEVIDEO, URUGUAY     #  20W, RINGO New 16 Oct 08
28.198   HB9TC        I CANTON TICINO,SWISS ALPS#  3W, BEAM
28.1985  LU5FSY       I RAFAEL, ARG             #  5W, ?
28.199   LU4EJS       ? LA PLATA, ARGENTINA     #  2W, ? new 8 July 2008
28.199   LU1FHH       C EL TREBOL SF,ARG        #  5W, VERTICAL
28.1995  CX2DDP       I ELPINARCANELONE URUGUAY #  30W, VERTICAL NEW

28.200           NCDXF/IARU International Beacon Network-
                          (*)SEE END OF LIST

28.201   N3PFF        C MUNCY PENNSYLVANIA      #  100MW,VERTICAL   
28.2015  KA9FLX       I PALOS HILLS, ILLINOIS   #  2W, VERTICAL NEW 24 April 08
28.2015  SK3GK        C GAVLE, SWEDEN           #  5 W,5/8 VERTICAL GP  temp QRT
28.2018  NØAMY        I COLORADO SPRINGS, CO    #  5W, 5/8 VERTICAL NEW 31 JAN 10
28.202   ZS1J         C PLETTENBERG BAY         #  5W, 1/2 VERTICAL
28.2025  KA3BWP       C STAFFORD, VIRGINIA      #  5W, VERTICAL new 13 Sept 09  
28.2025  N9BPE          TUSCOLA, IL                900mW, VERTICAL QRT 4 Sept 09
28.2025  N2RIT          NEWARK, NJ                 20W, VERTICAL QRT June 09
28.203   SR4TEN       C SUCHACZ-ZAMEK, POLAND   #  3W, VERTICAL New 1 July 2010
28.203   N6DXX        C SACRAMENTO, CA          #  4W, 80 M OCF DIPOLE Antenna change 21 June 10
28.2032  PY2WFG       ? IPIRANGA, SP, BRAZIL    #  ?,? un-coordinated beacon reported 21 August 09
28.2035  K6LLL          LAGUNA BEACH, CA        #  3W, VERTICAL Re-activated 10 April 2010
28.2036  K3WJR        C WATTSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA #  850mW, VERTICAL  
28.2039  KA1KNW       C WINDSOR, CONNECTICUT    #  10W, VERTICAL  
28.204   WA2NTK       C BIG FLATS, NEW YORK     #  5W, DIPOLE Reactivated new location 15 September 08
28.204   LU9LC        I CORRIENTES, ARGENTINA   #  3W, VERTICAL  
28.2045  W6CF         C BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA    #  5W, VERTICAL   On the air 21 Nov 08
28.205   W9EFJ        I MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN    #  5W, VERTICAL Old call KA9QMD
28.205   DLØIGI       C HOHENPEISSENBERG        #  48W, VERTICAL
28.2052  N3NIA        C RIDGEWAY, PENNSYLVANIA  #  5W, DIPOLE
28.2055  K5ISS          ABILENE, TEXAS             3W, VERTICAL Testing 6 September 10 
28.2055  VA3GRR         BRAMPTON, ONTARIO          2W, VERTICAL  QRT July 2010
28.206   WB4JHS       C ORLANDO, FLORIDA           5W, VERTICAL Temp QRT April 10
28.206   KBØLHB         PRINCETON, MN              5W, VERTICAL determined QRT July 09
28.2065  HP1RIS       C PANAMA CITY, PANAMA     #  3W, VERTICAL DIPOLE Test 16 April 08
28.207   W8NGA        I GROVE CITY, OHIO        #  5W, VERTICAL    
28.2075  W9HZC        * OMAHA, NE *(DAYLIGHT)   #  5W, VERTICAL Temp QRT July 2010
28.208   KA5C         I ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO    4W,VERTICAL Testing 9 May 2010
28.208   JRØYAN       I NAGANO, JAPAN           #  50W, LOOP
28.2082  IZ3LCJ       ? TREVISO, ITALY          #  ?. ? Reported 29 July 09
28.2082  WN2A/AK2F    C BUDD LAKE/RANDOLPH, NJ  #  4W, VERTICAL  (alternate operation)
28.2085  NB7A         C RENO, NEVADA            #  5W,VERTICAL New 1 June 2010  
28.2085  KE6TE          ELK GROVE, CALIFORNIA       new 26 July 08 QRT May 2010
28.209   KH6AP        I MAUI, HAWAII            #  20W, VERTICAL  
28.209   EIØTEN       C CORK HARBOR,IRELAND     #  25W, VERTICAL QRT
28.209   W5SXD        I MINERAL WELLS, TEXAS    #  5W, VERTICAL
28.209   NX2O         C STATEN IS, NEW YORK     #  10W, GP
28.2095  K9CW         C THOMASBORO ILLINOIS     #  2W, VERTICAL NEW 
28.210   WA4SZE       C MANCHESTER, TENNESSEE   #  50W, VERTICAL GP  reactivated 7 Oct 09
28.210   KD4WDG       I WESLEY CHAPEL, FLORDIA     25W?,        NEW
28.210   IT9CCQ       C FURCI SICULO,SICILY     #  10W, VERTICAL new 19 June 08
28.210   VE4TEN       I WINNIPEG, MB            #  3W, GP VERTICAL
28.210   K4DPC          WILMINGTON, NC             5 W, VERTICAL QRT prior July 2010
28.210   W4JE         C ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA     #  25W day/5 W night,VERTICAL  
28.2105  KB9WGA       I EGG HARBOR, WISCONSIN   #  5W, VERTICAL New 26 May 09
28.211   3B8MS        C MAURITIUS               #  ?, reported (IT9PQJ)3 Oct 09
28.211   K5ARC        C GALVEZ LOUISIANA        #  20W, Mag-Mount VERTICAL  
28.211   LA4TEN       C EGERSUND , NORWAY       #  250W, VERTICAL  reactivated May 08
28.2115  KC8VJD       I SPRINGBORO, OHIO        #  5W, VERTICAL New heard 25 January 09
28.212   KØKP         C FREDENBERG, MN          #  500mW, VERTICAL  
28.2122  WN2WNC       C NEW BERLIN NEW YORK     #  3w ,1/2 VERTICAL  
28.2124  LU7DQP       I LANUS BUENOS, ARGENTINA #  ?, ?   
28.2125  KJ4QYB       C RAINBOW CITY, ALABAMA   #  5W,VERTICAL Testing 31 May 2010
28.2126  WP3S         ? MAYGUEZ, PUERTO RICO    #  ?,? Un-coordinated reported 9 July 09
28.2127  KD7AUQ         FORT BRIDGER, WY           Determined QRT July 09
28.213   W1IT         C INMAN, SOUTH CAROLINA   #  15 W, DELTA LOOP new freq 5 Jun 08, Temp QRT July 10
28.213   PT7BCN       C FORTALEZA BRAZIL        #  5W, GP
28.2132  DMØING       C INGELHEIM  GERMANY      #  10W, GP  NEW
28.2135  KE4KAA         BIG STONE GAP, VA          5W, GP On the air 29 Nov 08 QRT July 2010
28.2135  W3IK         C GRAY, TENNESSEE         #  100W, VERTICAL reactivated new frequency 7 August 2010
28.214   KB4SB          SUGAR LOAF SHORES FL      .5W DIPOLE Determined QRT July 2010
28.214   LU1DQP       I BAHIA BLANCA BA ARG     #  ?   ?
28.214   N4PAL        C LONGWOOD, FLORIDA       #  5W, VERTICAL NEW 15 Dec 07
28.2144  KB4JIK       ? FT WORTH, TEXAS         #  ?,? uncoordinated beacon reported 6 July 08
28.2145  KA7TBU       C PE ELL,WASHINGTON       #  5 W, VERTICAL new 19 May 09 
28.215   GB3RAL       C HARWELL ,OXFORDSHIRE UK #  10W, GP VERTICAL  relocated prior to 2010
28.215   KA9SZX       C MACOMB, ILLINOIS        #  3W, VERTICAL  relocated 28 Jan 08
28.2153  XE3D         I MERIDA,YUCATAN, MEXICO  #  12W, VERTICAL  NEW
28.2155  KD5CKP       C OLIVE BRANCH, MS        #  3W, VERTICAL On the air 5 Oct 08
28.216   K3FX         C NEPTUNE CITY,NEW JERSEY #  5W, 1/2 VERTICAL  
28.2165  N7MA         C ROSE LAKE, IDAHO        #  5W, VERTICAL New testing 23 December 09
28.2169  WBØFTL       C ALDEN, MINNESOTA        #  5W, VERTICAL  Temp QRT moving to Iowa July 2010
28.2175  W5GHZ          BETHANY, OK             #  ?,? Un-coordinated beacon reported 17 May 09
28.2175  WA1LAD       C WEST WARWICK, RI        #  5W, DIPOLE NEW 23 April 08 ant change 7 May 10
28.2179  W6GY         C STAR, IDAHO             #  1 W, 5/8 VERTICAL
28.218   IQ1SP        C LA SPEZIA, ITALY        #  3W, VERTICAL new 1 June 09   
28.218   W8MI         C MACKINAW CITY, MI       #  500 MW, GP
28.2185  ACØKC        I FT. LUPTON, COLORADO       1W, VERTICAL Coordinated 18 April 2010
28.2185  KC2VLC/6Y5   I NEGRIL JAMIACA W.I.     #  10W, VERTICAL New 26 November 09 Temp QRT March 10
28.2185  W5RDW          MURPHY, TEXAS               QRT 31 Oct 09
28.219   KA4RRU       I CATLETT, VIRGINIA       #  2W, VERTICAL  
28.219   PT8AA        I RIO BRANCO, BRAZIL      #  5W, GP
28.2191  5B4CY        C LIMASSOL CYPRUS         #  25W, GP VERTICAL
28.2195  NØMF         C MISSOURI VALLEY, IOWA   #  4.3W, INVERTED VEE New 17 October 2008
28.2198  KC2OVW         PHILADELPHIA, PA           tentative pending activation
28.220   K6BA         I VISTA, CALIFORINA       #  10W, VERTICAL wire  Power increase July 2010
28.220   PY2XW        I CANPINAS SAO PAULO, BR  #  5W, ?
28.2205  W8VO         C STERLING HEIGHTS MI     #  5W, VERTICAL DIPOLE  
28.221   WE4S         C ROCK SPRING, GEORGIA    #  2.5W, N/S DIPOLE
28.221   WK4DS        C TRENTON, GEORGIA        #  2W, DIPOLE
28.2215  KCØTKS       C SEDALIA, MISSOURI       #  5W, J pole VERTICAL  
28.222   7Z1SJ        C THADIQ, SAUDI ARABIA    #  10W, VERTICAL  NEW 11 May 08
28.222   N6RZR          ANDERSON, CALIFORNIA       20 W, VERTICAL NEW  QRT March 09
28.222   KP3FT        C PONCE, PUERTO RICO      #  4W, VERTICAL  
28.2222  W6QBS        I MOUNT PROSPECT, IL         1W, VERTICAL testing 12 June 08 new Call Mar 10
28.2225  N4QDK        I LEXINGTON,  NC          #  3W, VERTICAL New 3 June 09       
28.2225  CX5BW        I LAGOMAR, URUGUAY        #  10W, GP  
28.2227  VE3EEL       I OTTAWA, ONTARIO         #  2.5W,1/4 VERTICAL  Temp QRT
28.2228  TP2CE        C STRASBOURG, FRANCE         450 mW, GP VERTICAL New 17 May 2010
28.223   WY5B         I BILOXI, MISSISSIPPI     #  5W, VERTICAL   New Dec 07
28.2235  WDØAKX       C ALBERT LEA, MN          #  500mW, VERTICAL on the air 22 June 08
28.224   YB9BWN       C DENPASAR,BALI,INDONESIA #  2W, DIPOLE NEW
28.224   W9EKQ        C ARGENTA, NEVADA            5W, VERTICAL new 9 September 2010
28.224   KF4DDJ         NEWNAN, GEORGIA            determined QRT 14 August 2010  
28.2245  K5GJR        C CORPUS CHRISTI, TX      #  5W, VERTICAL
28.2245  9H1LO        C MALTA                   #  5W, VERTICAL New
28.2247  HA5BHA       C BUDAPEST, HUNGARY       #  5W, OMNI VERTICAL
28.2247  WØIL         I MULBERRY, KANSAS        #  10W, BEAM   
28.225   N7JE         ? CYPRESS, CA             #  ?,? Un-coordinated reported 23 June 09
28.225   CS5BTEN      I CEACEM,SINTRA,PORTUGAL  #  10W, VERTICAL  NEW 20 Feb 08
28.225   K6FRC/B4     C ANGEL'S CAMP, CA        #  1W, VERTICAL New 26 Dec 08
28.2254  LW5EJU       C PILAR, ARGENTINA        #  10W, GP VERTICAL
28.2255  W2DLL        C BUFFALO, NEW YORK       #  5W, VERTICAL  
28.226   WB0LYV       ? BEATRICE, NEBRASKA      #  ?W, ? Uncoordinated beacon reported 10 May 2010
28.226   W4VKW        C TULLAHOMA, TENNESSEE    #  1W, 5/8 VERTICAL NEW QRT July 2010
28.226   PY2AMI       C LABRE CAMPINAS-SP,BRAZIL#  5W, OMNI     
28.2261  NB9E         ? ELKO, NV                #  ?,? Un-coordinated reported 9 March 08
28.2263  W3FIS        I FENWICK ISLAND,DELAWARE    5W, VERTICAL New 20 Oct 2010
28.2263  AF4O           BOLIVAR, TENNESSEE         1W, VERTICAL  QRT June 09
28.2265  N7MSH        C NORTH POWDER, OREGON    #  5W, VERTICAL New 19 Aug 09
28.2265  PY2RFF       C SÃO PEDRO, BRAZIL       #  4W,VERTICAL
28.227   KJ4HYV       ? ZELLWOOD, FLORIDA       #   ?,? Un-coordinated beacon reported 18 July 2010
28.227   VE9AT        C WHITE HEAD ISLAND, CAN  #  100mW, DIPOLE  Temp QRT July 09
28.227   KC6WGN       I LAS VEGAS, NEVADA       #  10W, VERTICAL 
28.2273  KJ4ECD       I FUQUAY-VARINA, NC          6W, VERTICAL NEW 12 November 2010
28.2273  IW3FZQ       C ROVIGO, ITALY           #  5 W, INVERTED V NEW
28.2278  N2NXZ        I ROCHESTER, NEW YORK     #  3W, DIPOLE? re-located 2 September 08 Temp QRT 12 Aug 10
28.228   N8LGL        C CHILLICOTHE,OHIO        #  4W, GP VERTICAL  NEW  4 Mar 08  Reactivated 8 Aug 10
28.228   ZL3TEN       C CHRIST CHURCH, NZ       #  10W, VERTICAL
28.2283  TG9TEN       C GUATEMALA CITY,GUATEMALA#  1W, VERTICAL new coordinated frequency 28 Oct 2010
28.2285  OH5RAC       C RUUSANKOSKI, FINLAND    #  5W, DIPOLE NEW frequency 13 June 08
28.2285  N3CJM        I ASHLEY, PA              #  1W, VERTICAL  11 Jan 08
28.229   XE3EOL       ? PROGRESI YUCATAN,MEXICO #  Un-Coordinated beacon reported 14 April 10
28.229   NR5A         C BOX ELDER, SOUTH DATOKA #  4 W, VERTICAL activated 7 June 08
28.229   ZL2MHF       C WELLINGTON CITY, NZ     #  10W, 1/2 VERTICAL 
28.2295  NV7LV     (*)I LAS VEGAS, NV (daylite) #  5W, Ringo VERTICAL  NEW 28 Jan 08
28.230   WA4ZKO       C DRY RIDGE, KENTUCKY     #  5W, VERTICAL   New 24 April 09
28.230   IQ8CZ        C CATANZARO,ITALY         #  10W, GP VERTICAL NEW  
28.230   KQ4TG        ? LELAND, NC              #  ?,? un-coordinated beacon reported 19 July 08
28.230   PY3UEB       C PORTO ALEGRE, BRAZIL    #  1W, VERTICAL
28.230   PY3ARL       C SANTO ANGELO,BRAZIL     #  5W, GP VERTICAL
28.2305  HP6RCP       C SANTIAGO,VERAGUAS,PANAMA#  3W, VERTICAL  new Call 20 July 08
28.231   WA4FC        I PRINCE GEORGE, VA       #  5W, VERTICAL testing 29 July 08
28.2314  KD7BJF       I ALBUQUERQUE, NM         #  1W, INVERTED V NEW Jan 08 Temp QRT July 2010
28.232   N1FSX        C SIMLA, COLORADO         #  60W, VERTICAL   reactivated 5 March 2010
28.232   D2BB         I HUAMBO , ANGOLA         #  10W,6EL YAGI NORTH
28.2327  N2MH         I WEST ORANGE, NJ         #  5W, ATTIC DIPOLE NEW
28.233   KD4POJ       ? MINOT, NORTH DAKOTA     #  ?, ? Un-coordinated beacon reported 26 May 2010 
28.233   N2UHC        C ST. PAUL, KANSAS        #  4W, VERTICAL DIPOLE   Relocated 18 April 10
28.2335  N9RET        C NORTH RIVERSIDE, IL     #  5W, 5/8 VERTICAL  
28.234   K4DP         C COVINGTON, VIRGINIA     #  2W, GP VERTICAL
28.2345  KAØSWT       C PUEBLO, COLORADO        #  5W, VERTICAL testing 10 August 09
28.2345  KI7AB        I RIO RANCHO, NM          #  5W, DIPOLE NEW 2 FEB 08 QRT June 09
28.235   KI4HOZ       C PICKENS, SOUTH CAROLINA    2W, VERTICAL new testing 4 August 09     
28.235   KC2SPB       ? WATERTOWN, NEW YORK     #  ?, ? Un-coordinated beacon reported 15 July 09
28.235   VE3GOP       I MISSISSAUGA ONTARIO     #  200mW,1/2 VERTICAL
28.235   VE1CBZ       C KESWICK RIDGE, NB       #  2W, VERTICAL  
28.2353  KI4AED       I OCOEE, FLORIDA          #  5W, VERTICAL un-coordinated beacon 7 Dec 07
28.2355  W4GZV        C SOUTH LAKE, TEXAS       #  5W, GP VERTICAL new 21 April 08
28.236   W8YT         C MARTINSBURG, WV         #  5W, VERTICAL NEW 26 April 08
28.2365  WØKIZ        C DENVER, COLORADO        #  5W, 1/2 VERTICAL
28.237   W3AW         * BARCLAY,IL *12:00-0100Z #  1W, LONG DIPOLE
28.2375  WA2NEW       I BEACH HAVEN, NJ         #  5W, VERTICAL Testing 1 May 2010
28.2375  LA5TEN       C NR OSLO NORWAY          #  15W, 5/8 GP
28.238   KB2SEO       C ETON, GEORGIA           #  10W, VERTICAL increased power 8 Dec 08
28.2385  AB1JM        C NASHUA, NEW HAMPSHIRE      5W, VERTICAL New 8 April 2010
28.2388  AK4XA        I BENSON, NORTH CAROLINA     6W, VERTICAL New 17 Nov 2010

28.239   VA7PL/1      C CRYSTAL MOUNTAIN, BC    #  2W, 1/2 VERTICAL  relocated 7 Aug 08 
28.2392  AL7FS        C ANCHORAGE, ALASKA       #  5W, 1/2 VERTICAL
28.2395  WA3HGT       C MONTOURSVILLE, PA       #  1W, VERTICAL New 23 June 09
28.2398  W7JI           ARKANSAS CITY, KANSAS      3W, VERTICAL  QRT prior July 2010
28.240   N4LEM        C COCOA, FLORIDA          #  50W,VERTICAL New 15 June 2010
28.240   XE3OAX       I OCOTLAN, OAX., MEXICO   #  5W, DIPOLE
28.240   W1NRA        C PHENIX CITY, AL         #  5W, VERTICAL  QRT 2007
28.2405  N2DWS        C PORT REPUBLIC, NJ       #  5W, NE-SW DIPOLE new 5 March 08 Bak on 20 Sept 09
28.2406  YO2X         I TIMISOARA, ROMANIA      #        TESTING Nov 07
28.2407  AJ8T         ? STURGIS, MICHIGAN       #  5W, ? Un-coordinated beacon reported 22 June 09
28.241   KH6XS      (*) PAHRUMP, NV (daylite)   #  20W, VERTICAL reported heard 5 June 08   QRT? 
28.241   VE3SEC       C THUNDER BAY, ONTARIO    #  5W, VERTICAL  
28.2415  K5DZE      (*) DRY RIDGE, KY (20 hrs)  #  5W, Loop reactivated 14 May 09  
28.2415  F5ZUU        C MALATAVERNE, FRANCE     #  5W, 1/2 VERTICAL NEW
28.242   K5UNY        C FARMERS BRANCH, TEXAS   #  5W, VERTICAL reactivated 4 June 2010
28.242   W2IK           SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS         determined QRT April 2010
28.2425  IZ8DXB       ? Naples, Italy           #  6W, VERTICAL New Reported 19 Oct 10
28.2425  WD9CVP       C ELGIN, ILLINOIS         #  5W, VERTICAL  new 24 April 08
28.243   KB1QZY       I WEST SPRINGFIELD, MA    #  2W, VERTICAL New  26 March 09 reactivated 11 Oct 10
28.243   F5ZWE        C FOIX, FRANCE            #  20W, GP VERTICAL  
28.2435  W5BUB        C CEDARVILLE, ARKANSAS       4W, VERTICAL Testing 30 Aug 2010 On the air 17 Nov 10
28.2435  AA4W           CRESENT CITY, FLORIDA      5W, VERTICAL New  2 June 08 QRT July 2010  
28.244   N1NTE        I HOLLAND, MA             #  2.5W, DIPOLE  QRT July 2010
28.244   WA6APQ       C LONG BEACH, CA          #  30W, VERTICAL
28.2445  W9JTG        C CLINTON, ILLINOIS          1W, VERTICAL New 1 June 09
28.245   N8RT         C BLAIRSVILLE, GEORGIA    #  40W, RINGO VERTICAL New 24 March 08 upped pwr 8 Nov 08
28.2452  N2DY         ? DIX HILLS, NEW YORK     #  ?, ? Un-coordinated beacon Heard 13 August 2010
28.2455  VE9BEA       I FREDERICTON, NB         #  3W, VERTICAL  
28.246   N7JS         C OGDEN,UTAH              #  2 W, VERTICAL NEW   
28.246   KG2GL        I NUTLEY, NEW JERSEY      #  5W, RINGO VERTICAL
28.2465  W6HCD          FALLBROOK, CALIFORNIA      10W, VERTICAL testing 22 September 2010
28.2465  K1KWH          KLAMATH FALLS, OREGON      5W, DISCONE Testing 13 March 09 QRT July 2010
28.247   K4DYR          NEWBERN, TENNESSEE         8W, VERTICAL On the air 30 July 2009 Temp QRT July 10
28.2475  N1ME         C BANGOR, MAINE           #  5W, VERTICAL  Temp QRT July 2010
28.248   NK1V         I WINSTED, CT             #  3W, DIPOLE new 23 Sept 08   new Call 29 Sept 10
28.2485  K5DDJ        C SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS      #  500mW, GP VERTICAL  
28.2485  N7LT         C BOZEMAN, MONTANA        #  5W-50MW, GP  
28.2487  ER1TEN       ? KISHINEV, MOLDOVA       #  4W, DELTA LOOP  NEW 20 May 08
28.249   KA8WWK       C BARBERTON, OHIO         #  1W, GP VERTICAL NEW 23 May 08
28.2495  PY3PSI       C PORT ALEGRE, BRAZIL     #  2.8W,1/4 VERTICAL
28.2495  KA3JOE       I BENSALEM, PENNSYLVINA   #  10W, DIPOLE relocated formally W3ATV 28 Aug 10
28.250   K6FRC/B2     C SUTTERS MOUNTAIN, CA    #  10W, VERTICAL New Freq change 8 July 09
28.250   EA3TEN       C CATALUNYA ,SPAIN        #  15W, 5/8 VERTICAL  NEW 
28.250   KØHTF        C DES MOINES,IOWA         #  3W, INVERTED V  
28.250   N4ESS        C ZEPHYRHILLS, FLORIDA    #  20/2/200mW/20mW,GP synchronized
28.250   N4ES         C CLEARWATER, FLORIDA     #  20/2/200mW/20mW,GP synchronized
28.250   WB4WOR       C GREENSBORO, NC          #  20/2/200mW/20mW,Vert synchronized
28.250   K7EK         C GRAHAM, WASHINGTON      #  25W,1/2 RINGO  
28.250   K8NDB        C YUMA, ARIZONA           #  2W, VERTICAL  
28.2502  Z21ANB       C BULAWAYO, ZIMBABWE      #  25W, GP VERTICAL
28.2505  N9PAR        C GREEN BAY, WISCONSIN    #  3W, VERTICAL Coordinated frequency 6 January 10
28.251   N5ZTW        ? DRIPPING SPRINGS, TEXAS #  ?, ? Un-Coordinated beacon reported 14 Jan 2010
28.251   KD5HOP         KYLE, TEXAS                 Planned 28 Nov 09     determined QRT 2010
28.251   W3IK           GRAY, TN                    QRT 24 Sept 09 
28.2515  K9RAS        C STOYSTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA    1 W, VERTICAL New 9 August 2010
28.2515  KB1NRB         DAYVILLE, CONNECTICUT      10W, VERTICAL NEW 12 March 09 QRT July 2010
28.252   W6PC         C OCALA, FLORIDA          #  10W, VERTICAL  original Call from CA
28.2525  K9ATI        C CARY,ILLINOIS              15W, VERTICAL new Call/location Temp QRT
28.253   KG4YUV       C CRANDALL, GEORGIA       #  4W, VERTICAL   
28.2535  N3BSQ        C BETHEL PARK, PA            1W, VERTICAL NEW 4 July 09 Back on the air 7 Sept 10
28.2535  AD6WL          BARSTOW, CALIFORNIA        20W, BEAM NW  NEW 26 July 08 QRT July 2010
28.254   W4STT          HASTINGS, FLORIDA          20W, VERTICAL Determined QRT July 2010
28.2542  N1FCU        C WINDHAM, MAINE          #  750mW, VERTICAL New 20 May 09
28.2545  K5AHH        C BROKEN BOW, OKLAHOMA    #  5W, VERTICAL new 22 Aug 08 Temp QRT July 2010
28.255   NØAR         C ST PAUL, MINNESOTA      #  500mW,1/2 VERTICAL
28.255   KB4UPI       C CENTRE, ALABAMA         #  3 W, DIPOLE  NEW  2 Dec 07 relocated Feb 10
28.2553  N4ES/4       C TRYON, NORTH CAROLINA   #  5W, VERTICAL re-activated June 09
28.2555  K8HWW        C St CLAIR SHORES,MI      #  3W, VERTICAL new Call 25 Sept 08 relocated 29 Sept 09 
28.256   W4OBL          LOXAHATCHEE, FLORIDA       5W, VERTICAL testing 24 December 08
28.256   C30P         C ANDORRA LaVELLA,ANDORRA #  10W, VERTICAL
28.2565  K9JHQ        C O'FALLON, ILLINOIS      #  10W, VERTICAL  New 17 May 09
28.2565  VK3RMH       C MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA    #  20/2W, VERTICAL
28.257   N4NCT        I CREEDMOOR, NC           #  5W, ? Un-coordinated beacon reported 3 June 09
28.257   WY5I         * PT ST LUCIE,FL(*DAYLITE)#  5W, VERTICAL
28.2572  KI4EED       ? ROCKY GAP, VA           #    Un-coordinated beacon reported 18 Feb 09
28.2575  N5WYN        C SEVEN POINTS, TEXAS     #  2W, VERTICAL New 2 March 2010
28.2576  DKØTEN       C KONSTANZ , GERMANY      #  20W, GP
28.258   NV4B         I RUSSELLVILLE, ALABAMA   #  5W, VERTICAL
28.2585  WB5QYT       C ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO #  2W, VERTICAL New 1st reported 19 June 08
28.259   F5ZVM        I VALENCIENNES, FRANCE    #  5W, GP VERTICAL  NEW
28.259   AB8CL        ? ARCANUM, OHIO           #  5W, ? Un-coordinated beacon reported 29 June 09
28.259   AA4AN        C FRANKLIN, TENNESSEE     #  5W, ATTIC WHIP New 14 March 2010 new Call Apr 10
28.259   W5RTX          ROCKWELL, TX               5W, VERTICAL  QRT 14 March 2010
28.2595  KS4ZR        I LOUISA VIRGINIA         #  10W, VERTICAL  Temp QRT July 2010
28.2599  KA2ADX       I ALBANY, NEW YORK        #  5W, DIPOLE Temp QRT July 2010  
28.260   AD5KO        I MENA, ARKANSAS          #  12W. E-W DIPOLE NEW 15 Jan 08
28.260   PY3PAG       I PORTO ALEGRE,BRAZIL     #  5W, VERTICAL
28.260   VK5WI        C NR ADELAIDE             #  10W, GP VERTICAL
28.2605  WA7RAI       I GLENDALE, ARIZONA       #  1W, RINGO Testing new 22 Jan 08
28.261   NJ3T         C SOMERSET, PENNSYLVANNA  #  1.5 W, DIPOLE New 7 August 2010
28.261   N7LF           CORBETT OREGON             5W, 5/8 VERTICAL  QRT  31 July 2010
28.2615  N4VBV        C SUMTER,SOUTH CAROLINA   #  5W, ATTIC DIPOLE  
28.2616  VK2RSY       C SYDNEY, NSW             #  25W, 1/2 VERTICAL
28.262   K8TK         C CLARKLAKE, MICHIGAN     #  2W, GP VERTICAL  
28.2625  WF4HAM       I ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, FL   #  6W, VERTICAL old call KI4UCK 11 May 10
28.263   N5YEY        C KILGORE, TEXAS          #  10W, VERTICAL NEW 27 July 08 reactivated 3 Aug 2010
28.263   EA4Q         C CUENCE (CENTRAL),SPAIN  #  5W, GP VERTICAL  NEW
28.2635  W4JPL        C LIBERTY NORTH CAROLINA  #  4W, 5/8 VERTICAL  
28.2637  W8LEW        I LANSING, MICHIGAN       #  5W, 1/2 WAVE VERTICAL NEW  
28.264   JA5ZQM       C TOKUSHIMA , JAPAN       #  10W, GP
28.264   AB8Z         C PARMA, OHIO             #  5W, VERTICAL
28.264   VK6RWA       C WEST PERTH, WA          #  20W, VERTICAL
28.2645  W5ZA         C SHREVEPORT, LOUISIANA   #  4W, VERTICAL DIPOLE on the air 25 Nov 08
28.265   NC4SW        I ZEBULON, NORTH CAROLINA #  10W, GP VERTICAL  
28.265   DFØANN       C MORITZBERG GERMANY      #  5W, GP VERTICAL
28.265   WC9C         C PIMENTO, INDIANA        #  1W, VERTICAL  
28.265   N7SCQ        I DIXON ,CA               #  5W, VERTICAL  
28.265   K7NWS        C KENT, WASHINGTON        #  1W, VERTICAL
28.2655  KR4HO        C LAKE CITY, FLORIDA      #  1W, VERTICAL   20 June 08
28.266   KA1EKS       C MILLINOCKET,MAINE       #  3W,1/2 VERTICAL
28.2662  KB3ZI        C BLOOMSBURG, PA          #  2.5W, VERTICAL New Testing 29 Jan 2010
28.2665  W5DJT        C POCOLA, OKLAHOMA        #  5W, N/S DIPOLE New Testing 16 June 2010
28.2665  WN5KNY       ? RADIUM SPRINGS, NM      #  ?, ? un-coordinated reported 5 June 08
28.267   VK7RSC       C LAUNCESTON, N TASMANIA  #  10W, VERTICAL reported 12 December 09
28.267   K3TWO        I BRADFORD, PENNSYLVANIA     2 W, VERTICAL testing Jan 08
28.267   AE5X         C WEST HARRISON, NY       #  5W, DIPOLE   QRT  June 2009
28.2673  OH9TEN       C PIRTTIKOSKI             #  20W, 1/2 GP
28.2675  W5EFR        C HOUSTON, TEXAS          #  2.75 W, VERTICAL  
28.268   KBØQZ        C CENTRALIA, MISSOURI     #  5W, VERTICAL NEW 2 Sept 08 Temp QRT July 2010
28.268   VK8VF        C DARWIN                  #  25W, VERTICAL  
28.2685  KG4GXS       C CORAL SPRINGS, FLORIDA  #  3W, N-S DIPOLE NEW 30 Aug 09
28.2685  K7ZS           HILLSBORO, OREGON          5W, DIPOLE  QRT July 09
28.2688  KD5ITM       * SPRING, TX(*)PM & WkEnds#  5W, INVERTED V G5RV New 19 April 2010
28.269   AA1TT        C CLAREMONT,NEW HAMPSHIRE #  5W, DIPOLE  
28.2695  W3HH         C OCALA, FLORIDA          #  6W, HAMSTICK VERTICAL
28.270   VK4RTL       C TOWNSVILLE ,QLD         #  2W, VERTICAL
28.270   W8BEP        I SAULT SAINTE MARIE,MI   #  5W, RANDOM WIRE
28.2705  K4AIS        C WALESKA, GEORGIA        #  25W, VERTICAL  Temp QRT
28.2708  ACØRR          SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI      5-10W,VERTICAL testing 22 September 2010
28.271   VE1/W1BKR    C HENRY ISLAND, NS        #  3W, GP VERTICAL Temp QRT March 08
28.2713  NA7US        C RAVENSDALE, WA          #  5W, VERTICAL New 29 April 09/freq change
28.2718  W4TIY        C DALLAS, GEORGIA         #  25W, STACKED GP
28.2723  N1KON        C CENTERVILLE, INDIANA    #  5W, VERTICAL testing 1 January 2010
28.2728  K5BTV        C CUMMING, GEORGIA        #  250mW,1/4 VERTICAL  
28.273   PY4MAB       ? POCOS DE CALDAS,BRAZIL  #  ?W, ?Antenna Un-coordinated beacon reported 21 Dec 09
28.273   LW9EOC       I BUENOS AIRES, ARG       #  5W, VERTICAL
28.2732  KK4HAM         APOPKA, FLORIDA            SK 13 May 2010 QRT
28.2732  AC4DJ        C APOPKA, FLORIDA         #  50W, RINGO VERTICAL 
28.2737  KB8OIS         ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN        5W, VERTICAL testing 28 May ETA June 10
28.2737  N5EAD        ? AUSTIN, TEXAS           #  ?? Un-coordinated beacon reported 5 Feb 08 
28.2739  PY4MAB       ? POCOS DE CALDAS, BRAZIL #  Un-coordinated beacon reported August 2010
28.274   N7DGI          CASPER, WYOMING            5W, 1/2 WAVE N/S SLOPER  New 3 June 2009 QRT 17 Nov 10
28.274   9K2RA        ? SAFAT, KUWAIT           #  10W, VERTICAL NEW
28.2744  W4NTI        I ANNISTON, ALABAMA       #  5W, ZEPP NEW Testing March 08
28.2747  NØUD         I HALLIDAY, NORTH DATOKA  #  2W, GP   VERTICAL Returned 17 Aug 10
28.275   AL7GQ          THORNTON , CO              QRT June 09
28.275   K6FRC/B3     C MT DIABLO, CALIFORNIA      10 mW, VERTICAL power reduction  11 November 2010
28.275   NP2SH          ST JOHNS, VI               5W, VERTICAL  QRT July 2010
28.2754  KG4GVV       C SUMMERVILLE, SC         #  4W, VERTICAL  
28.2757  XE1AKM       I COLIMA, MEXICO          #  15W, VERTICAL    
28.276   K4UKB        * DANVILLE, KENTUCKY      #  10W, 5/8 VERTICAL(*synchronized on the min)
28.276   K4FUM        * STONE MTN, GEORGIA      #  10W, VERTICAL (*synchronized) on the.5 min)
28.2765  XE2WK        I VICTORIA,TAMAULIPAS MEX #  20W, VERTICAL  NEW   new Call July 09
28.277   WB7RBN       C PASCO, WASHINGTON       #  5W, VERTICAL Reactivated 5 April 08 TEMP QRT 30 Jun 10
28.2771  KD4MZM       C SARASOTA, FLORIDA       #  1W, VERTICAL  
28.2774  WD8AQS       I FREMONT,  MICHIGAN      #  5W, VERTICAL
28.2775  DMØAAB       C KIEL , GERMANY          #  10W, GP
28.278   AC3A         C LEAWOOD, KANSIS         #  5 W, DIPOLE  
28.2785  WA6MHZ       C CREST, CALIFORNIA       #  5W, RINGO VERTICAL  
28.2788  WA4OTD       C CARMEL, INDIANA            5W, attic dipole New 19 Oct 2010 
28.279   DBØUM        ? SCHWEDT, GERMANY        #  2W, SLOPER VERTICAL New 14 May 08
28.279   KG4JPL       C HUDSON, FLORIDA         #  25mW, VERTICAL New 28 July 2009
28.279   KKØCQ        I DEVILS LAKE, ND         #  ?, ?  NEW    QRT June 09
28.2795  KA3NXN       I CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA     #  4W, INVERTED V  testing 8 Feb 08
28.280   K3BEQ        ? CHEVERLY, MARYLAND      #  ?,? Un-coordinated beacon reported 24 Jan 10
28.280   N6SPP        C PATTERSON PASS, CA      #  10W, VERTICAL NEW reported heard 26 Feb 08
28.280   K5AB         C GEORGETOWN, TEXAS       #  20W, GP VERTICAL
28.280   F5KMD        I VALENCIENNES FRANCE     #  5W, GP VERTICAL  
28.2805  KE4IFI       I  LEXINGTON, SC          #  7W, VERTICAL  coordinated New 5 Aug 2009 
28.2805  WB6FYR         QUARTZ HILL, CA            10W, 5/8 VERTICAL QRT June 09
28.281   W8EH         C MIDDLETOWN OHIO         #  8W, GP VERTICAL    
28.2815  W4HEW        C MILLEGEVILLE, GEORGIA   #  5W, VERTICAL  
28.282   KA9QAT       C NEW LENOX, ILLINOIS     #  5W, LOOP New QTH Oct 2010  
28.282   HP1AC        C SANTIAGO,VERAGUAS,PANAMA#  1W, VERTICAL Reactivated April 2010  
28.2822  XE2ES        ? BAJA PENINSULA          #  ?,? UN-COORDINATED BEACON reported 8 Dec 08
28.2823  OKØEG        C HRADEC KRALOVE,CZECH    #  10W, GP VERTICAL
28.2824  KDØGZJ       C LOVELAND, COLORADO      #  5W, N-S DIPOLE New 24 April 09
28.2828  WØERE        C FORDLAND, MISSOURI      #  5W, VERTICAL
28.2828  KA2KGP       C FORESTVILLE NEW YORK    #  4W, VERTICAL NEW
28.2831  K7YSP        C GAINESVILLE. GEORGIA    #  5W, VERTICAL NEW   30 December 08
28.2833  W7MTL        ? DALLAS, OREGON          #  ?,? Un-coordinated beacon reported 17 Oct 2010
28.2835  KC9GNK       C MADISON, WISCONSIN      #  4W, INVERTED V relocated 20 Feb 09
28.284   K2XG         C MONTICELLO, KENTUCKY    #  5W, VERTICAL DIPOLE New 20 July 09
28.284   WX4RA          HUNTSVILLE, AL             3W, VERTICAL    QRT June 09
28.2843  NN6AA        I REDDING, CALIFORNIA     #  5W, VERTICAL  NEW 5 June 10
28.2845  KB9NK        C HUDSONVILLE MICHIGAN    #  15W, GP VERTICAL NEW Nov 07
28.285   N2JNT          TROY, NY                   1W, GP   QRT early 09
28.285   VP8ADE       I ADELAIDE IS, ANTARCTICA #  8W, VERTICAL Reactivated reported 23 Oct 2010
28.285   NU4G         I MANCHESTER, TENNESSEE   #  30W,INVERTED V  Temp QRT 1 Aug 2010
28.2857  WA4ROX       C LARGO, FLORIDA          #  750MW,DIPOLE  
28.286   WA8YWO       C RICHWOOD, WEST VIRGINIA #  100 MW, DIPOLE 
28.286   N5AQM        C CHANDLER, ARIZONA       #  2W, VERTICAL
28.2865  WØILO        C FARGO, NORTH DAKOTA     #  7W, GP VERTICAL  New 1 June 09
28.2868  K3XR         I SINKING SPRING, PA         1W, VERTICAL New 24 September 2010
28.287   WI6J         C BAKERSFIELD, CA         #  5W, VERTICAL  new BCN Call 11 May 08
28.2875  N8PUM        C ISHPEMING, MICHIGAN     #  2W, N-S DIPOLE   new 1 August 2009
28.2875  N5DUH          BOSSIER CITY, LA           3W, VERTICAL QRT June 09
28.288   K4LJP        C WEST PALM BEACH,FLORIDA #  5W, VERTICAL  NEW 1st reported 3 Dec 07
28.288   WA7LNW       C HARMONY MESA, UTAH      #  5W, VERTICAL  new location 13 Nov 10
28.2885  ND3E         C NEW CASTLE COUNTY, DE   #  4W, VERTICAL testing NEW Jan 08
28.289   WJ5O         C TROY ALABAMA            #  2W, VERTICAL 
28.2895  N1KXR        C DEERFIELD, MA           #  25W, VERTICAL New 23 Nov 08
28.2898  WØERE/B2     I HIGHLANDVILLE, MISSOURI #  5W, VERTICAL New 13 September 2010
28.290   N4EH         ? LONGWOOD, FLORIDA       #  ?, ? Un-coordinated beacon reported 3 November 2010
28.290   PS8RF        I TERESINA -PIAU -BRAZIL  #  2W, VERTICAL  TESTING  Jan 08
28.290   N6UN         I SAN DIEGO, CA           #  5W, VERTICAL  
28.290   SK5AE        C STRANGNAS, SWEDEN       #  50W, VERTICAL GP reactivated 8 Jan 08
28.290   VR2TEN       C HONG KONG, CHINA        #  5W,TEMP WHIP  
28.2905  WB4WOR       C RANDLEMAN, NC           #  3W, VERTICAL
28.291   NE2E         C NEW YORK CITY, NY       #  1W, VERTICAL 10x power increase October 08
28.2912  VA3VA        C WINDSOR, ONTARIO        #  5W, OMNI VERTICAL  updated 6 Jan 08
28.2915  KO6BB          MERCED, CALIFORNIA         QRT June 09
28.2915  WA6NIF       * FRESNO, CA  *daylite    #  8W, VERTICAL TESTING 21 Oct 09
28.292   KM4GS        C MARSHALL COUNTY, KY     #  3W, VERTICAL
28.2922  SKØCT        C SOLLENTUNA, SWEDEN      #  10W,VERTICAL GP  
28.2925  W4GA         C WOODSTOCK, GEORGIA      #  5W, VERTICAL  New Call Nov 2010
28.2928  K7GFH        I DAMASCUS, OREGON        #  3W, DIPOLE New Call 29 Nov 08
28.293   WA8REI       I FREELAND, MICHIGAN      #  5W, VERTICAL NEW 12 July 08
28.2934  ND4Z         C GILBERT,SOUTH CAROLINA  #  3W, VERTICAL   
28.294   W4DJD        C WOODBRIDGE, VIRGINIA    #  15W, VERTICAL NEW 2 September 08 New Call July 09
28.294   SM5HUA       C UPPSALA, SWEDEN         #  50/5/500mW/50mW,Hor/Vert Reactivated 28 May 08
28.2942  K7RQN        C PEORIA, ARIZONA         #  5W, VERTICAL Testing 7 July 2010
28.2945  N2IFC        C ALLAMUCHY, NEW JERSEY      1W, Vertical new 30 December 09 on the air 5 March 10
28.295   W4CLM          STANLEY NC                 10W, VERTICAL    QRT June 2010
28.295   PU5ATX    (*)I IMBITUBA/SC,BR *daylite #  25W, DIPOLE Reported 31 Jan 08
28.295   KD1ZX        C CENTRAL FALLS, RI       #  3W, VERTICAL   new QTH 26 July 09
28.295   SK2TEN       C KRISTINEBERG,SWEDEN     #  75W, VERTICAL Temp QRT
28.2955  K4IT         C FLATWOODS, KENTUCKY     #  3.5W, DIPOLE NEW 20 Feb 08 
28.296   W3APL        C LAUREL, MARYLAND        #  8W, DIPOLE old call W3VD  Dec 08
28.296   KA7BGR       C CENTRAL POINT, OREGON   #  10W, DIPOLE
28.2965  AD4C         * W PALM BCH,FL(see below)#  30W, INVERTED V  NEW 8 Aug 08
28.297   NS9RC        C EVANSTON, ILLINOIS      #  5W, VERTICAL re-activated 5 November 2010
28.2975  K6FIB        C SALEM, OREGON           #  1W, VERTICAL On-the-air 17 July 08
28.298   K5TLL        I HATTIESBURG,MISSISSIPPI #  5W, VERTICAL New Freq 14 Dec 08
28.298   V73TEN       ? MARSHALL ISLANDS        #  ?W, ? Reported active May 08 (KH7JJ)
28.2981  N8JPW        ? OSGOOD, IN              #  10W, ? Un-coordinated beacon reported 27 July 09
28.2985  K7FL         C BATTLE GROUND, WA       #  10W, VERTICAL On the air 19 June 08 reduced pwr Mar 10
28.2988  K4JDR        C RALEIGH, NC             #  10W, VERTICAL
28.299   N1SCA        C PALM BAY, FLORIDA       #  10W, N/S DIPOLE QTH relocated--frm CT  
28.2993  WZ8D         ? BLACHESTER OH           #  ?? un-coordinated beacon reported 29 May 08
28.2995  N3TVV        I JIM THORPE, PA          #  5W, VERTICAL new 9 February 09 re-activated 31 July 10
28.300   K6FRC/B1       VALLEY SPRINGS, CA         1W, VERTICAL testing 21 July 08 QRT 25 Jan 10
28.300   K6FRC        C TRACY, CALIFORNIA       #  100W, "POGO stick" VERTICAL Freq change 8 July 09
28.300   KF4MS        C WAKULLA SPRINGS,FLORIDA #  10W, 50W on weekends VERTICAL reactivated 26 Sept 10
28.300   VK2SK        C BATHHURST  NSW, AUST    #  20W, VERTICAL RE-NEW
 
28.322+  Multi Italian beacons QRSS mode milliWatt power Vertical/Horizontal 
* Operation for AD4C 19:30-11:00 weekdays 24 hrs weekends
------------------------------------------------------------------
            NCDXF/IARU International Beacon Network
28.200    4U1UN     C    UNITED NATIONS NYC     # (*)
28.200    VE8AT     C    NUNAVUT, CANADA        # (*)
28.200    W6WX      C    SAN JOSE, CA           # (*)
28.200    KH6WO     C    LAIE,OAHU HI           # (*)
28.200    ZL6B      C    MASTERTON, NEW ZEALAND # (*)
28.200    VK6RBP    C    ROLYSTONE, AUSTRALIA   # (*)
28.200    JA2IGY    C    MT ASAMA, JAPAN        # (*)
28.200    RR9O      C    NOVOSIBIRSK, RUSSIA    # (*) 
28.200    VR2B      C    HONG KONG, CHINA       # (*) 
28.200    4S7B      C    COLOMBO,SRI LANKA      # (*)
28.200    ZS6DN     C    PRETORIA, S.AFRICA     # (*)
28.200    5Z4B      C    KIAMBU KENYA, AFRICA   # (*)
28.200    4X6TU     C    TEL AVIV , ISRAEL      # (*)
28.200    OH2B      C    KARKKILA, FINLAND      # (*)
28.200    CS3B      C    MADEIRA ISLAND         # (*)
28.200    LU4AA     C    BUENOS AIRES,ARGENTINA # (*) 
28.200    OA4B      C    LIMA,PERU              # (*) 
28.200    YV5B      C    CARACAS,VENEZUELA      # (*) 

 (*) Each transmission is repeated every three minutes. 
A transmission consists of the Callsign of the Beacon 
sent at 22 WPM followed by four 1 second dashes.
The Callsign and the first dash is sent at 100Watts. The
remaining dashes are sent at 10 Watts, 1 Watt and 0.1 Watts.

This listing is by no means complete and totally accurate. If you
know of any information that can be included into this list that is
now indicated with  a ? , I would appreciate this info via either by:

E-Mail              wj5o@amsat.org 
or snail mail       Bill Hays   WJ5O
                    100 Rick Street
                    Troy, AL 36079
                    USA

Dxers Unlimited's mid week edition for 23- 24 November 2010

2010-11-23T12:56:00.000-05:00

Radio Havana Cuba

Dxers Unlimited

Dxers Unlimited's mid week edition for 23 – 24 November 2010

By Arnie Coro

radio amateur CO2KK

Hi amigos radioaficionados... here we are again giving you a warm welcome from Havana to our twice weekly radio show's mid week edition...

I am your host Arnie Coro, radio amateur CO2KK, and here is item one of today's program...

Solar activity is at very low level, and an all quiet alert has been launched by scientists that monitor the Sun. So, expect the daytime maximum useable frequency curve to once again show a very slow rise and that it would not reach frequencies above 20 megaHertz even during the peak periods...

We will also see lower ionospheric absorption and that will enhance propagation on lower frequencies....

Item two : I have received many requests for the complete detailed list of the many ways that you and I are able to enjoy our wonderful radio hobby... at the latest count there are 86 different options readily available... that range from AM broadcast band Dxing , using whatever radio receiver is at hand , a certainly low cost and available to everyone option, to the super sophisticated microwaves Earth Moon Earth amateur radio communication, that requires extremely low noise receivers and high power transmitters, plus a large diameter parabolic reflector antenna.

Add to the list such fine ways of having a good time playing with our radios, participating in amateur radio contests, or perhaps organizing a DX expedition to a remove spot that very rarely is heard on the air...

If I keep up adding other ways of playing with our radios, maybe I should describe the fantastic moment that turning on the power switch of a just finished homebrew radio will bring, when you start picking up signals if what you have built is a receiver, or can make a two way contact on the ham bands if the homebrew project is a transmitter or transceiver...

The number of ways that we can all enjoy the radio hobby is in my opinion what makes it unique... there is always something new to be learned, a challenge to be dealt with, and not only from a technical point of view, because the very moment that a radio amateur operator helps to save the life of people aboard a boat that is drifting powerless in heavy seas, is a once in a lifetime experience that I always share with every amateur radio license training class at my radio club...

Si amigos, yes my friends , oui mes amis...radio is an extremely nice hobby that makes possible to learn many skills, and as a matter of fact quite a large number of people have started a lifetime career in telecommunications and electronics after becoming a radio hobby enthusiast...

Item three: Recycling old and not so old but still obsolete electronic equipment provides you with a large number of zero cost electronic and mechanical parts that can be used in many homebrew project.

Many years ago I ran across a retired diathermy machine... that looked like it was part of the set used for Flash Gordon episodes... The diathermy machines were used by doctors to treat many different pathologies... by the use of dielectric heating... in other words, a high power radio transmitter was connected to a pair of electrodes, instead than to an antenna...

The physician then placed the electrodes in the area that he wanted to be heated by the radio frequency energy, and connected the high power oscillator that was usually tuned around 26 or 27 megaHertz...

The diathermy machine that was given to me by the widow of a famous doctor had a pair of 812 type triodes in a self excited oscillator... The tubes ran with raw alternating current on the plates, and grid dipping the plate tank circuit, it was clear that the operating frequency was intended to be around the 11 meters band assigned for industrial and medical equipment...

When the diathermy machine was switched on for the first time, with the electrodes placed above and below a wooden log to act as a load, my home TV set went on the blink, and a horrendous sound came out of its big loudspeaker...Now that I was sure that the diathermy machine was working OK, it was the right time to take it apart and recycle the big power transformer, the 812 tubes and their sockets, as well as a beautifully build Cardwell split stator variable capacitor...

A few months later the two 812 RCA tubes were providing power on the 40 meters band as the tail end of my second double side band rig …

It was necessary to add two big oil filled filter capacitors, and a filter choke, a relay, a filament transformer for the pair of 866A mercury vapor rectifiers and it took a whole weekend to wire the 500 Watts grounded grid linear amplifier that was build using many of the parts recycled from the diathermy dielectric heating machine !!!

Stay tuned for for radio hobby information, and some fine radio history anecdotes too... I am Arnie Coro, in Havana...

back with you in a few seconds...

…....................

Si amigos, sure, this is Radio Havana Cuba, and yes, we had a transmitter breakdown Sunday evening, that kept the 6050 kiloHertz frequency off the air , but the fault was located, properly repaired, the transmitter was tested and it is now once again on the air at full power, beaming to the central area of North America...

Actually we call that antenna the “Chicago beam ” , because its azimuth is almost exactly beaming to the Great Lakes region... It is running 100 kiloWatts using a pulse step modulated energy efficient transmitter, and the antenna in used is a classic curtain array, described by the ITU as a 4 , 4 , 0,8 antenna system...

This designator explains that it has 4 dipoles on each row, and 4 vertically stacked rows of dipoles, so it could also be called a sixteen dipoles antenna system. The estimated gain over a single half wave dipole theoretically located at the center of the array varies from 5.6 to 12. 6 megaHertz, that is the frequency range where the antenna can be operated. By the way, the sixteen broadband dipoles are placed in front of a huge wires reflector system that gives this type of antenna an extremely high front to back ratio... in other words, the relation between the power delivered in the direction of the antenna beam and the power that is transmitted in the opposite direction is extremely high.

This parameter is known among antenna experts as the “ front to back ratio” , and in the case of the 4, 4, 0, 8 curtain array it can easily reach up to a thousand times, or 30 decibels of front to back ratio...

Just to give you an idea , when fed with 100 kiloWatts , this type of curtain array operating around 6 megaHertz that has a measured forward gain of no less than 16 decibels over a half wave dipole , will radiate an effective radiated power of around four megaWatts or four million Watts... the backward lobe will then be radiating no less than 27 decibels less... or around 8 kiloWatts.

The use of highly directional high gain curtain arrays with such effective front to back ratios is what makes possible to operate more stations on the crowded short wave broadcast bands...

…....................................

Amigos, if you have any radio hobby related question, don't hesitate and send an e-mail to me … I read the e-mail messages at least twice daily and answer the questions submitted to Dxers Unlimited as soon as possible... sending them directly to you … and also many times putting both the question and the answer on the air for the benefit of other Dxers Unlimited's listeners...

Here is today's question sent to inforhc at enet dot cu.... Amiga Lucy from Vancouver , Canada sent this question to the ASK ARNIE section of this program...

"Arnie, sometimes when it is snowing my short wave radio becomes very noisy, and the noise vanishes when the snowfall is over... Any idea of why this happens ? "

Well amiga Lucy , this is what is known as precipitation static, and also happens when it is raining hard. The snowflakes pick up electrical charge as they move from the clouds to ground and the discharges of that static electricity is what causes the popping noises !!!

Sorry, but there is no known remedy for rain or snow precipitation static noise, and I must add that all radio noise limiters that I have tried out for suppresing rain precipitation static have proven to totally fail, or only bring slightly better reception.

There are also other forms of static electricity discharging and interfering with short wave radio reception, for example when a nearby thunderstorm cloud is fully charged and starts leaking those charges to ground or into another cloud of opposite polarity...

And now amigos , as always at the end of the show, here is Arnie Coro's Dxers Unlimited's HF plus low band VHF propagation update. Solar activity at very low levels, solar flux at around 73 to 75 units, and an all quiet alert was in progress when I was writing the script of this program Tuesday morning my local time , at half past ten in the morning, that is fifteen hours and thirty minutes UTC or Universal Time Coordinated...

The upcoming winter solstice Sporadic E season is still about 10 days away, and my advice is to keep a close watch as this may prove to be an excellent sporadic E skip DX season...

Send your signal reports, comments about the program and radio hobby related questions to inforhc at enet dot cu, or VIA AIR MAIL to Arnie Coro, Radio Havana Cuba, Havana , Cuba

Dxers Unlimited's mid week edition 16- 17 November 2010

2010-11-16T16:29:00.000-05:00

Radio Havana Cuba

Dxers Unlimited

Dxers Unlimited's mid week edition for 16 – 17 November 2010

By Arnie Coro

radio amateur CO2KK

Hi amigos radioaficionados all over the world enjoying the best HF propagation conditions seen so far this winter ! I am Arnie Coro, radio amateur CO2KK , your host here at RHC's Dxers Unlimited radio hobby program...

And in order to remind you of what is happening 93 million miles from Planet Earth, here are some valuable statistics about this unusual and highly temperamental solar cycle number 24...

So far the highest official sunspot number of Cycle 24 occurred on fifth of May of this year 2010... when the sunspot count reached 77 ...

The highest solar flux registered , obviously associated directly with an M8 dot 3 solar flare happened exactly on the same day when the flare blasted the Earth, and this was on the twelveth of February of this year...

So, now it is clear that the recent Catania Astrophysical Observatory Wolf number of 70 was not the highest registered so far into the cycle, but I must add that because it has happened during the month of November, it is certainly the solar sunspot count that has had the highest impact on short wave propagation so far...

Item two: 10 meters is opening up for DX on a daily basis, still not as many hours of wonderful F2 propagation as we all want, but , it is certainly a change for the better...

I tried calling CQ DX on ten meters single side band when no one was heard, except a certain number of beacons, and YES, my CQ DX brought up some activity …

If everyone just listens on 10 meters and nobody calls CQ... it is next to impossible to make contacts amigos …

So follow your friend Arnie Coro's advice and as soon as you pick up the first CW beacon on 10 meters, don't wait one more second, and start calling CQ DX....

It has proven to be a very effective way of generating much needed amateur radio activity on the wonderful 10 meters band...

Item three: Software defined radios are becoming more and more popular not only among radio amateurs, but also among professional users of the radio spectrum...

SDR radios as they are known consist of a relatively simple radio frequency module that is connected to a fast computer . The SDR features are almost all related to the software installed to the computer, and all I can say is that an SDR receiver performance can be absolutely amazing …

Several Cuban radio amateurs are experimenting not only with SDR receivers, but also with transceivers that are capable of providing amazing performance on the amateur bands.

Item four: A low cost and at the same time good performance antenna system for the 10 meters amateur band can be put up during a few hours using a single mast or tower that must be no less than 7 meters high .

Yes, you heard it right... the single mast supports a set of between one and four half wave sloping dipoles , that will provide the required low take off angle of radiation for working DX on 10 meters.

The single half wave sloper is the simplest possible approach, and according to my experience from previous solar cycles peaks... it is a very effective antenna, when it is aimed in the desired direction.

Aiming a sloper is as simple as making it slope at a 45 degrees angle from the mast in the direction that you want to work DX. For example at my home QTH in downtown Havana I have at the present time two 10 meters band half wave slopers...

One is aiming at Europe, and by that I mean it is sloping into a 45 degrees azimuth... The other sloper is aiming at the center of South America, and that is 165 degrees azimuth from Havana.

The two antennas are connected with equal lengths of RG8X coaxial cable to a relay that is at the base of the 8 meters high tower. I can switch between the two antennas at the flip of a switch located at the operation position of CO2KK. The antenna that is used more frequently is the one beaming to South America, so its coaxial cable feeder is connected to the resting position of the coaxial relay, then, when the relay is activated, the Europe antenna is connected to the main feeder that goes to the station.

In the past I did some comparisons between a three element Yagi antenna and the 10 meters band slopers, and to my surprise , the simple wire sloping antenna's performance was only very marginally below the well designed and well built 3 elements Yagi.

By the way, the Yagi antenna gain was measured with professional test instruments to be 6.5 db over a half wave dipole, but unfortunately so far, I have not measured the gain of the sloping dipole as compared to a reference half wave horizontal dipole installed at the top the 8 meters high tower....

This is something to be done in the near future, just to really know what is the real gain of the sloper, but I must say that when operating on 10 meters with the switched slopers , the difference of signal strength when switching between the two antennas is really amazing.

Ideally I should had installed a third half wave sloper beaming into the Pacific , but that would require a three position remotely controlled coaxial switch that I don't have , or adding a second coax feeder for the antenna beaming to Japan, New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific Islands...

By the way the half wave sloper minus 3 dB beamwidth pattern is quite broad , especially when you are looking at distances of more than four thousand kilometers !

Si amigos, yes my friends , oui mes amis... the humble , low cost , easy to install, easy to adjust to minimum standing wave ratio half wave sloping dipole installed at a 45 degrees tilt angle is in my humble opinion an antenna that every radio amateur should install...

Be prepared to enjoy whatever this solar cycle will offer in the form of periods of high activity … by homebrewing your own half wave sloping dipoles … The ones for the 15 , 12 and 10 meters band are easy to set up and do not require a very tall mast of tower to provide excellent performance... If you want more details about how to calculate and measure the half wave sloping dipole antenna, just send an e-mail to inforhc at enet dot cu, again inforhc at enet dot cu, and don't forget to include your valuable opinions and suggestions on how to make Dxers Unlimited a more user friendly radio hobby program... again, send th e-mail to inforhc at enet dot cu

Now please standby as we are going into a station ID break, I am Arnie Coro , radio amateur CO2KK back with you with more radio hobby related information in a few seconds

................

This is Radio Havana Cuba, the name of the show is Dxers Unlimited, and it is on the air Sundays and Mondays UTC days, just after the top of the hour Radio Havana Cuba's English language program newscast... We are also on the air with our mid week edition on Tuesdays and Wednesdays UTC days just after the half hour news ….

Now here is item five of today's show... Our most popular section of this program... YOU have questions and Arnie tries to answer them as soon as possible.... And I mean tries to answer, because some times the questions sent by listeners are really difficult to reply and require the help of experts, like my good amigo Professor Jose Angel Amador from Havana's Technical University, who teaches at the Electrical Engineering school's department of Telecommunications...

A recent question sent by listener Alex about how he should protect his antennas from lightning required an extensive review of current state of the art lightning protection technology... a very controversial topic to say the least...

After consulting several experts on this topic, it was quite clear to me that so far it is almost impossible to assure a one hundred percent protection against a direct hit by lightning, especially at installations using high towers or located atop high rise buildings.

For the individual radio amateur or short wave listener the best that can be done is to disconnect all the antennas and ground systems as well as the power line feeding the radio equipment when it is not in use. One of the experts to whom I talked suggested that a simple static discharges monitor could warn the users of radio equipment about the proximity of a thunderstorm, so that all the radios may be disconnected before the storm reaches your location.

The simple monitor is nothing more than a broadband receiver connected to a circuit that is set to fire an alarm when a certain level of static crashes are picked up by the system...

It may sound quite primitive, but it has proven time and again to be pretty effective, and the fact is that anyone with a little know how of electronics can reproduce the circuit and install the device so that it may provide the required advanced warning about how near a thunderstorm may be located. Of course that it will not protect you against a direct him coming out of nowhere, and those lightning strikes do happen, but they are the exception rather than the rule...

The circuit diagram of the lightning warning device is relatively simple if you go by the simplest approach, but a more sophisticated design can even include a static crashes digital counter display and even a microprocessor to determine the number of static crashes picked up per minute and also display that figure too...

Again, let me emphasize this message... underscoring, your best low cost protection against lightning damage is to disconnect all equipment, including the AC power line and the ground system when it is not in use, and at the slightest probability of a nearby cumulus nimbus thunderstorm cloud, follow your friend Arnie Coro's advice... disconnect all the electronic equipment, including not only you radios but also desktop computer, TV sets, and DVD players

And now, at the end of the program here is our HF propagation update …

Solar activity has stayed at much higher levels than during the month of November one year ago... and the increase in both sunspot count and solar flux , combined with the seasonal propagation peak due to the lower height of the F2 and F layers characteristic of November in the northern hemisphere are making the daytime maximum usable frequency curve moving up much faster after sunrise...

So amigos, my advice is to wake up early and play a lot more with your radios... at last the Sun is waking up !!! See you all at the weekend edition of Dxers Unlimited next Sunday and Monday UTC days just at the end of the top of the hour newscast... and don´t forget to send me your comments about the program , radio hobby related questions and your results with homebrew radios to inforhc at enet dot cu or via air mail to Arnie Coro, Radio Havana Cuba, Havana, Cuba

Dxers Unlimited's mid week edition 9 -10 November 2010

2010-11-09T09:16:00.000-05:00

Radio Havana Cuba

Dxers Unlimited

Dxers Unlimited's mid week edition for Tuesday November 9 and Wednesday November 10 2010

by Arnie Coro

radio amateur CO2KK

Hi amigos radioaficionados... you are now listening to the mid week edition of Dxers Unlimited, the one and only radio hobby program that provides coverage of each and every aspect of this wonderful way of making very good use of our spare time …

I am Arnie Coro, radio amateur CO2KK in Havana, and here is item one of today's program...

The Joy of QRP, yes amigos, the joy and challenge of operating your amateur radio station running power output levels of less than 5 Watts is simply fascinating...

Monday morning , while testing a newly built radio frequency linear amplifier module for an ongoing project, I fed it with RF coming from a crystal controlled oscillator operating on the eighteen megahertz or seventeen meters amateur band...

The linear amplifier module was connected to a G5RV antenna, and a three by three CQ on CW brought back an immediate reply from a station in Michigan , USA... The two way contact was completed and I changed to single side band voice mode, after checking that the peak envelope power was no higher than 5 Watts. A similar three by three voice CQ brought back a station from Texas, reporting a very weak but clear signal that made possible another two way QSO or amateur radio contact.

If I could had operated the QRP transmitter using a three or four elements YAGI antenna, my 5 and 1 Watt signals would had been heard with much stronger levels at the other end of the QSO's !!!

One of the advantages of QRP or low power operation is that your ham radio station will use very little electricity , making possible to use batteries , something that becomes quite important during emergencies.

Now, here is item two of the midweek edition of Dxers Unlimited

Solar scientists are meeting in Egypt to promote research about upcoming solar storms...

Prompted by a recent increase in solar activity, , as solar cycle 24 finally seems to be taking off, more than a hundred researchers and government officials met in Egypt, to discuss a matter of global importance: storms from the sun. The “First Workshop of the International Space Weather Initiative (ISWI)” began on Nov. 6^th and will adjourn on the tenth.

It is a well known fact that strong solar storms can knock out power, disable satellites, and scramble Global Positioning System signals making them unusable, so learning about them is something really important due to their impact on Earth.

Scientists describe the effects of Solar Storms by saying "These are global phenomena," that " need to be monitored all around the world."

Although space weather is usually associated with events taking place at our Earth's polar regions-- "Northern Lights" Aurora Borealis and abnormal HF propagation , it is a fact that our planet's equator can be just as interesting.

For example, there is a phenomenon that happens in Earth's upper atmosphere called the "equatorial anomaly." It is, essentially, a fountain of ionization that circles the globe once a day, always keeping its spout aiming toward the sun. During solar storms, especially the big ones, the equatorial anomaly can intensify and shape-shift, bending GPS signals in unexpected ways, disrupting the positioning data received and also during extreme conditions making normal short wave radio communications impossible.

Stay tuned for more radio hobby information that will follow after a short break for station ID... I am Arnie Coro , radio amateur CO2KK in Havana, back with you in a few seconds...

…................................

This is Radio Havana Cuba, the name of the show is Dxers Unlimited, and we are on the air Tuesday and Wednesday UTC days , just after the half hour newscast of Radio Havana Cuba's English language broadcast. Here is now item three of this program>

Nice feedback from listeners all around the world motivated by the recent descriptions here of low cost, low parts count and rather easy to homebrew radios...

From a very simple two transistors regenerative receiver for AM broadcast band reception that still amazes me after more than half a century of having built the first one, to the most recent version of the Super Islander solid state 40 meters band transceiver.

I have spent quite some time since the weekend edition of Dxers Unlimited went on the air this past Sunday and Monday UTC days replying to the many requests for circuit diagrams and information about how to build those circuits that have proven to work quite well, and that don't require the use of rare and hard to obtain electronic components.

As a matter of fact, during a fast turnaround exchange with a regular Dxers Unlimited listener to whom I sent the circuit diagram of the simplest possible version of the Polyakov harmonic detector direct conversion receiver, it was possible for him to locate the required fast switching diodes on a discarded Pentium One computer motherboard, where he also found a 7805 voltage regulator and a large number of ceramic disc bypass capacitors..

He told me in one of his e-mails... and I quote now “ Arnie, the coil forms for the bandpass input filter are two medicines pill bottles, made of a nice looking plastic, possibly polyethylene, and the dual gang tuning capacitor came from a discarded AM-FM tuner that had been in storage for a long time, just waiting to be disassembled for recycling its parts.

Amigo Joe also added that he had already at hand quite a few CFL's or compact fluorescent light bulbs that had failed... He explained that each circuit board removed from the CFL's provided a large number of 1N4007 silicon high voltage diodes, two medium power silicon transistors, two high voltage electrolytic capacitors and many polyester capacitors capable of handling up to 630 volts DC in some instances.

Joe has already completed the Polyakov harmonic detector receiver, and is listening every evening to the 40 meters amateur band using his homebrew radio. In yet another e-mail , Joe added that he has already picked up amateur single sideband stations from the USA, Canada, Italy, France, the UK and several Caribbean countries.

In his comments he adds, and again here I quote “ Arnie, although the Polyakov direct conversion receiver does not have any audio filtering, when there is no QRM, as it often happens now on the 40 meters band segment betwen 7100 and 7200 kiloHertz, the little two diodes plus one transistor and one integrated circuit receiver provides amazingly clear reception of DX signals !!! I even picked up an Australian radio amateur while he was having a nice two way contact with a station in Florida just before sunrise my local time here , near Atlanta , Georgia.

Now let me add that if the Polyakov direct conversion harmonic detector receiver's audio output is fed to a pair of audio filters, the improvement in the quality of reception is really outstanding. One of the audio filters is sharply tuned to around 700 Hertz or cycles per second, while the other filter provides a bandpass response between 300 and 2700 Hertz of cycles per second...

The filters are built into a separate circuit board, and they can be switched from the receiver's front panel... I recently run some comparative, side by side tests, between this more sophisticated version of the Polyakov direct conversion receiver equipped with audio filters, and my trusted and reliable Kenwood TS 820-S transceiver, that has an excellent receiver performance.... Switching back and forth between the two radios while listening to a very weak signal SSB voice signal on 40 meters, it was quite a rewarding experience to witness the amazing perfomance of the low parts count and rather simple Polyakov receiver... Of course that it was no match for the Kenwood TS 820's reception, but it came quite close...

Sure amigos, you won't need to spend a lot of money in order to enjoy the thrills of amateur radio communications … The Polyakov harmonic detector receiver , with the two audio filters , and possibly with a single additional transistor RF amplifier can be built using common tools and what is still more important , using electronic components that are readily available by recycling old equipment that otherwise may be going to the trash … My latest “ Demonstration Version of the Polyakov receiver ” includes also a simple easy to build power supply that uses a Wal Wart transformer and a handful of parts to provide well regulated 9 to 12 volts DC to the radio, that also can be powered for many , many hours of nice reception using eight nickel metal hydride size AA rechargeable batteries.

And now as always at the end of the program, when I am here in Havana, our regular feature, Arnie Coro's Dxers Unlimited's HF plus low band VHF propagation update and forecast... Solar flux around 85 units, and the Catania Astrophysical Observatory WOLF number was 45 on Tuesday, lower than the 66 registered on Monday. Expect nice daytime band openings on the bands between 14 and 22 megaHertz, and at night the maximum useable frequency will drop very fast just after sunset … Hope to have you all listening to the weekend edition of the program next Sunday and Monday UTC days amigos... Send your signal reports , comments about the show and circuit diagrams requests to inforhc at enet dot cu or VIA AIR MAIL to Arnie Coro, Radio Havana Cuba, Havana, Cuba

Dxers Unlimited's weekend edition 7-8 November 2010

2010-11-06T11:36:00.000-05:00

Radio Havana Cuba

Dxers Unlimited

Dxers Unlimited's week end edition for 7 – 8 November 2010 Sunday and Monday UTC days

By Arnie Coro

radio amateur CO2KK

Hi amigos radioaficionados around the world and orbiting Planet Earth aboard the International Space Station... welcome to the weekend edition of Dxers Unlimited, that is now heard Sundays and Mondays UTC days, just after the top of the hour newscast... Here is now our first item of today's show …. Minimum parts count radios, both receivers and transmitters are a lot of fun to build, and capable of providing you with surprising performance …. A low parts count solid state regenerative receiver , using just three common low cost transistors was recently tested at my workshop... I ran a very comprehensive sensitivity test, and found out that the radio was capable of picking up very weak signals, as low as one microvolt, or one millionth of a volt at the antenna terminals !!! This low parts count receiver is not a bare bones radio... because it was designed to keep the number of electronic components at a low figure, but always preserving the performance of the set, something that has proven to be an excellent compromise. The receiver tunes across the AM broadcast band, and from 5 to 12 megaHertz by switching between two easily homebrew coils. The 5 to 12 megaHertz segment of the short wave spectrum was selected as a good compromise, that includes the 6, 7, 9 and 11 megaHertz international short wave broadcast bands , also known as the 49, 41 , 31 and 25 meter bands...

It also tune to the upper part of the 60 meters Tropical Band, and provides reception of the 40 meters amateur band. The low parts count receiver is powered by four rechargeable nickel metal hydride

batteries, with a nominal output at full charge of around 5.5 volts DC, that will last a very long time before needing a recharge... If you want to learn more about this simple, yet effective receiver that can be built by anyone that is capable of properly identifying electronic components, reading a circuit diagram and soldering parts to a printed circuit board, just send an e-mail to inforhc at enet dot cu... again inforhc at enet dot cu...

Now here is item two > More about the Super Islander single band amateur transceiver , designed so that it can be built and repaired by the radio amateur … not requiring expensive test instruments and the know how of an electronics guru to build it and keep it working... The Super Islander's receiver has evolved from the original CO7PR Islander transceiver design that made possible for a large number of Cuban radio amateurs to go on the air on the 40 meters band with a CW and Double Sideband Rig that is compatible with even today's most advanced technologies.

Nowadays the Super Islander receiver in its version 5.1 is an all solid state direct conversion receiver that has proven to be very sensitive, and also free of cross modulation problems caused by the super power international shortwave broadcast stations that operate above seven point two megaHertz, that is the 41 meters international shortwave broadcast band.

Using a well designed dual tuned bandpass input filter and attenuator, ahead of the low gain

radio frequency amplifier stage, the Super Islander receiver has been tested side by side to a very expensive professional transceiver , and it was demonstrated that its performance was really amazing to say the least. There are several versions of the Super Islander's receiver module... one uses a very simple NPN silicon transistor product detector, another version uses a Field Effect Transistor, an FET or FET as the product detector... yet another version tested here with also very good results uses a homebrew broadband double balanced product detector with four computer type switching diodes and two broadband trifilar wound transformers using the ferrite rings recycled from Compact Fluorescent Lighbulbs circuit boards... I also tested a two diodes product detector... After building the four prototype front ends... it was more than logical to ran laboratory type comparative tests regarding both sensitivity and inmunity to cross modulation. I found out that the version of the Super Islander with the four diodes double balanced product detector was the one providing the highest performance , although the other three options work quite well too... Nevertheless I now recommend the Super Islander Version 5.1.1 receiver circuit that uses a resistive signal attenuator between the antenna and the receiver input, followed by a bandpass dual tuned circuit filter that feeds the emitter of a grounded base NPN RF silicon transistor amplifier... The gain of the RF amplifier stage is controlled by means of a potentiometer, something that is required because the Super Islander does not have an Automatic Gain Control circuit... The signal from the RF amplifier is fed to a winding of the input broadband transformer of the DBM or dual balanced mixer...

Another port of the DBM is fed with a signal level of around plus seven d b M from the now classci three transistors VFO that operates from 3.5 to 3.6 megaHertz and has a frequency doubler

stage at the output.

The audio recovered at the output of the product detector is routed to a multi position switch, that is located at the front panel of the transceiver, used to select the routing of the audio directly to the audio amplifier module, or to a pair of audio filters... one peaking at 700 Hertz for CW reception and the other that has a low pass response below 2.5 kiloHertz.

The construction of the variable frequency oscillator is the most critical part of this project, and my advise is to obtain help from an experienced radio amateur that has already built one... The VFO is placed inside a steel box, so that it is totally shielded from any external electromagnetic fields !!!

More about the Super Islander transceiver project in an upcoming edition of Dxers Unlimited, and don't forget that I have already at hand partial schematics of the Super Islander modules that can be sent via e-mail... Send your request for the Super Islander schematics to inforhc at enet dot cu....

again inforhc at enet dot cu....

….................................

Si amigos, yes my friends, this is the weekend edition of Dxers Unlimited coming to you from Havana...radio amateur emergency nets are a most valuable contribution to the protection of life and property when a natural disaster or a large scale man made accident happens. Amateur radio operators often provide the first on site coverage after something really bad happens.. And once again we saw this happening during the recent volcanic eruption and tsunami that caused loss of life and damages to Indonesia... Here in the Caribbean, where I am located, the radio amateur emergency nets of the Dominican Republic where carrying on training exercises and testing equipment Tuesday evening, getting ready for the approaching storm that is expected to produce large amounts of rainfall in Jamaica, Haiti , the Dominican Republic, the Turk and Caicos Islands....

Once again the 40 meters and the 2 meters bands are the first choice of experienced operators that have participated in previous emergency situations... The 80 meters band provides night time links at short distances, but not many stations are equipped with the required very long half wave dipole antennas needed to succesfully operate on the 80 meters band. During the peak moments of a hurricane related emergency, that usually come just before the storm makes landfall, and typically

about 6 to 12 hours after the core of the storm has left the area, the 2 meters band is used for direct contact between shelters, civil defense authorities, command posts and search and rescue team. The 40 meters band is used to handle emergency traffic regarding the need to evacuate persons from isolated areas that can not be reached via 2 meters... At night, 40 meters stops from providing the near vertical incidence skywave short distance contacts, and this is the moment when cooperation between radio amateur associations form different countries show up... by providing long distance relays to points located too close in the affected area for skywave 40 meters band night time communications … This long distance relays provided much needed communications just after the January 12^th of 2010 Haiti earthquake, and also proved to be very useful during the extremely active 2008 tropical hurricane season, when Cuba was impacted by three powerful hurricanes, Gustav ,Ike and Paloma …

Si amigos, a 50 or 100 Watt class short wave ham transceiver equipped with a simple half wave inverted V dipole and powered from a 12 volts car battery makes a very effective emergency station that can help a lot to convey much needed aid to people requiring it, as well as assuring that vital weather data is received by the national weather services .

And now amigos, as always at the end of the program, here is Arnie Coro's Dxers Unlimited short wave propagation update and forecast....

Dxers Unlimited's mid week edition 2'3 November 2010

2010-11-06T11:34:00.000-05:00

Radio Havana Cuba

Dxers Unlimited

Dxers Unlimited's mid week edition for Tuesday-Wednesday 2 -3 November 2010

By Arnie Coro

radio amateur CO2KK

Hi amigos radioaficionados... I am welcoming you all with our traditional salute... Hi amigos radioaficionados ! This is the mid week edition of your favorite radio hobby program, the one and only always attempting to provide you with information about all the possible ways that you and I can enjoy this wonderful hobby... from experimenting on frequencies below 9 kiloHertz that apparently do not require licensing as yet, to helping a young person

to assemble her or his first radio receiver... from watching the Sun with a special telescope to detect the presence of sunspots to ending up pretty tired after participating in a 48 hours long ham radio contest... Yes amigos, oui mes amis, Si my friends, there are more than 86 ways of enjoying the wonderful and always challenging radio hobby...

Here is a good example in today's Dxers Unlimited item one: Big worldwide contest during the weekend... short wave propagation conditions were not all that great... nevertheless , I heard several DX stations running very low power, and still making nice two way contest contacts !!! I tried for just an hour or so to work on the 10 meters band with 5 Watts, and made several contacts with stations as far away as four thousand nautical miles from Havana, while using a very simple G5RV wire antenna system... With solar flux below 90 units, this was a good example

of how the big worldwide ham radio contests do make possible nice contacts under marginal band conditions !!!

Item two: A long time Dxers Unlimited listener sent an e-mail asking about a topic that was dealt with here some time ago. Amigo Jonathan wanted to know more about the project of a low cost amateur radio station that could be built using standard and not hard to find electronic components... Well amigo Jonathan , the receiver of that project was completed at the begining of this year, and so far has proven to be not only quite sensitive, but also

very reliable. It is a solid state direct conversion radio receiver , based on the use of common NPN silicon transistors... As a matter of fact, I even tried to make one of the prototypes using the same transistor type for all the receiver circuits, just like it was done by K8IQY, Jim Kortge

a US radio amateur that designed a series of ham radio equipment that used only 2N2222 type general purpose transistors. In my prototype, I used a locally available clone of the 2N2222 with excellent success. So amigo Jonathan, as I always done, this answer on the air to your

question has already also been sent via e-mail, directly to you , with the complete details and circuit diagrams of the Super Islander Version 5.1 receiver... By the end of 2010, I am almost sure that the prototype transmitter to match this radio will be completed... At this moment the big stumbling block is the lack of the proper NPN silicon output transistors capable of delivering around 25 Watts, a power output level that according to my long time experience with short wave propagation on the 40 meters band, is the minimum power that will provide

reliable communications links under poor propagation conditions.

Standby for a few seconds.. a station ID is coming up, and aftewards , the mid week edition of Dxers Unlimited will continue... I am Arnie Coro, radio amateur CO2KK in Havana...

….................

This is Radio Havana Cuba, the name of the show is Dxers Unlimited, and this is a program totally devoted to the promotion and development of the radio hobby … Here is now item two of this mid week edition...

When I told a local friend that has a very nice backyard

that he could try an underground antenna to try to reduce the level of radio noise he was having to deal with... amigo Aurelio thought that I was joking... No Aurelio, this is not a joke... you can dig a trench of about 2 feet depth, that is about 60 centimeters, and place inside it a PVC pipe....The length of the trench should be at least 10 meters long, but results with longer lengths of the buried antennas are better... I told Aurelio that his underground antenna

will work nicely on the 40, 30 , 20 and 17 meters bands...And that his noise level will go down dramatically once he finished installing his new stealth antenna system. A few days later I received a phone call from Aurelio, inviting me to have lunch with him and his family

and then finishing to install the underground antenna. We had a nice Saturday lunch, with nice vegetables that Aurelio buys from the nearby organic farming plot, and then, after a short break, we proceeded to place the wire dipole inside the buried PVC one inch diameter

pipe. The antenna was configured as a dipole, with each leg having a total length of 8 meters or about 26 feet. The antenna was fed with 50 ohms coaxial cable, and we went immediately to his ham radio station, connected the coaxial cable to his antenna tuner and started to listen to the 40 meters band... Aurelio was surprised, when he realized how quiet the reception was... The noise level was moving the S meter of his transceiver barely to S1 !!! At the flip

of an antenna switch, we compared the noise level with his 40 meters inverted V … and found out that the noise level had gone down 8 S units... almost 50 decibels !!!

Now Aurelio is compiling the observations he is making every day using the underground dipole antenna and his classic fan dipole that is hanging on his concrete rooftop.... During a phone call he told me that using the underground antenna he was able to log several new stations because of the much better signal to noise ratio that is possible with the buried antenna. I must emphasize that this underground antenna is used at Aurelio's location as a receive only system, and that so far no attempt has been made to use it for transmitting on the amateur bands. A much simpler low profile antenna that achieves quite similar results is the so called SNAKE ANTENNA, that is made by just laying a length of coaxial cable on the ground with the outer braid connected to the inner conductor of the coaxial feedline, and the inner conductor of the antenna connected to the outer braid of the feedline... At the end of the SNAKE ANTENNA , a 50 or 75 ohms terminating resistor is connected... This antenna can be laid over the grass of the yard or over the roofs, and will pick up much less noise than wire antennas installed between tall masts.

Aurelio is going to make a 20 meters long version of the SNAKE ANTENNA and add it to the ongoing experiment … comparing his results with the three antenna systems , the buried wire enclosed inside an underground PVC pipe, the coaxial snake antenna and his wide band fan dipole installed between two masts.

Si amigos, yes my friends , oui mes amis... buried and on the ground antennas have proven to improve the signal to noise ratio at urban locations where short wave reception has become extremely difficult due to the presence of so many different types of noise generating equipment, like computers, TV sets, especially the extremely noisy PLASMA SCREEN television sets, and some less well known urban noise generators like automatic furnaces, tropical fish tanks air pumps, burglar alarms, and even the now more and more common so called intelligent electricity meters !!!

…......

And now amigos , as always at the end of the program, here is one of the favorite sections of Dxers Unlimited.... Arnie Coro's HF plus low band VHF propagation update...Solar activity has moved down a lot during the past 24 hours... a single active sunspot region is on sight, and it will soon be turning away , so we may see a few days of a spotless SUN, with all its negative consequences for short wave propagation, especially on frequencies above 15 megaHertz... The solar flux figure that you should use to make your own propagation forecasts is 75, seven five, that will give you a very good picture of how the HF bands will behave during the rest of the week...

Don't forget to send your signal reports, comments about Dxers Unlimited and other Radio Havana Cuba programs to inforhc at enet dot cu, or VIA AIR MAIL to Arnie Coro, Radio Havana Cuba,

Havana, Cuba

RE: Dxers Unlimited mid week edition 26-27 October 2010

2010-10-26T09:27:00.000-04:00

Radio Havana Cuba

Dxers Unlimited

Dxers Unlimited's mid week edition for 26-27 October 2010

By Arnie Coro

radio amateur CO2KK

Send your comments about this program to;

inforhc at enet dot cu

Hi amigos radioaficionados around the world, and especially those of you getting ready to

enjoy the upcoming big ham radio single side band contest this coming weekend...

I am your host , Arnie Coro, radio amateur CO2KK, and here is our first headline...

Wolf number, as announced Monday by the Catania Astrophysical Observatory was up to 71.5 according to my records the highest daily figure so far for solar cycle 24 !

But, a very interesting observation regarding the five active sunspot regions on the solar

disc... none of them was showing a really complex magnetic configuration...

Item two...Cuban radio amateurs getting ready for the upcoming ham radio contest, where

discussing what would be the best strategy during a long lasting round table on the

40 meters band that took place on Sunday.

The low power , single operator, single band

contest entry seems to be very popular among

Cuban hams, because it provides the highest

chances of achieving a good place in the contest.

Competing against high power stations

using sophisticated antenna systems is simply out of the question for the average radio

amateur... and the multi operator, multi transmitter stations just compete between themselves...

There is also a very nice contest slot that , when propagation conditions are good enough

is quite enjoyable... I am talking about single band QRP, or low power operation, that

is limited to 5 Watts , so it is quite a challenge …. My favorite way of entering those big worldwide contests is to operate on the 10 meters band , single operator , QRP...

If short wave propagation conditions are good enough so that the daytime maximum

useable frequency will reach up to 28 or 29 megaHertz , then 10 meters will be open

and you can enjoy making lots of contacts while running just 5 Watts into a simple antenna system, like a half wave sloping dipole...

Item three: Brazilian radio amateurs are among South America's most enthusiastic homebrewers of radios...

Among their very elegant designs , an ultra simple single transistor transmitter that

can be built in less than an hour , has proven to be quite capable of making nice two way

contacts on the 20 meters ham band.

The CURUMIN, named after a small colorful bird from the Amazonian forests, easily delivers 1 Watt output on CW, using a quartz crystal

for frequency control.

My own version of the CURUMIN, uses a transistor recycled from the electron gun assembly of a computer monitor that delivers about 900 milliWatts of nice clean CW on 14.032 kiloHertz... the frequency of a quartz crystal that was also recycled from another circuit board that a friend gave to me some time ago.

The CURUMIN is a minimum parts count transmitter...and is powered from a gel cell

ex computer UPS battery !!!

Stay tuned for more radio hobby related information, coming to you from Havana...

I am Arnie Coro, radio amateur CO2KK, back here in a few seconds after a short break for station ID...

…...........................

Si amigos, this is Radio Havana Cuba, soon to be celebrating our 50^th anniversary

on the air....

Next year, on the first day of the month of May, we will be marking 50 years of short wave broadcasting !!!! Now here is item four of the mid week edition of the program...

It is still a rumor... but it is now so widespread that it looks like something is really happening regarding DRM , Digital Radio Mondiale , short wave broadcasts by the BBC and Deutsche Welle....

Both the British and the German broadcasting organizations are going through a complete

revision of their budgets, and it seemsquite obvious to me that they will drop the DRM transmissions, as the number of potential listeners , is very near zero.

DRM short wave broadcasts provide good audio quality, certainly better than the regular , traditional analog transmissions, but there are two things that make DRM short wave broadcasting at this moment a very poor investment of resources.

First of all, the lack or receivers continues to be the number one problem... DRM Digital Radio Mondiales receivers are very hard to find, to say the least, and when found, they cost a lot of money, as compared to a good quality analog radio.

In second place comes the fact that DRM via shortwave has a big shortcoming... once there is a fadeout, the program's audio comes to a total silence...

This is a very annoying problem, because in contrast to the slow fadeout and fade in of

analog signals, the digital DRM cuts in and out, leaving what is described by listeners as “ a hole in the audio ” in the middle of what you are listening , and from which it is impossible to recover any useful information..

According to several telecommunications experts with whom I have discussed DRM recently...the system seems to work quite well on the AM broadcast band during daylight hours but does not provide good reception at night via skywave, because the multi path propagation present during the evening hours behaves

exactly as they typical short wave signals.

Among the items discussed was one focusing on the need to rewrite the computer code that makes DRM work, so that the audio can be recovered , even after a very deep fade has happened...

In the meantime, it seems quite logical that international broadcasters pressed with budget cuts , will drastically reduce, or even completely stop the DRM transmissions due to extremely low number of listeners capable of picking

up those broadcasts.

Item five: ASK Arnie, certainly the most popular section of Dxers Unlimited, brings in a lot of correspondence from listeners all around the world... I do reply directly via e-mail as soon as possible, and many of those replies do make it to the script of the program, because the questions asked are in my opinion of great interest to other listeners of the program...

Here is a good example, last Friday, listener

Gary from Melbourne , Florida , USA, asked about how he could protect his radios

from nearby lightning … he said...

Arnie, I know that there is no possibility of protection against a direct hit by a lightning bolt, except at extremely professional installations... and even then, many times those TV , radio and cellphones towers suffer damages when they take a direct hit....

But, Gary added, can you give me some guidelines about how to protect my radios , computers and TV sets from a nearby hit ….. Well amigo Gary... my first bit of advice , I am sure that you have heard it here many times before.... every time you finish playing with your radios, simply disconnect everything..

I mean everything, including the AC line power and your ground or earth connection. I

If you happen to be listening to your radios or using your ham radio station on the air, and you start to pick up loud static crashes... watch the local weather carefully, and if there are any signs of a thunderstorm... disconnect everything fast... at once... don't even wait to say goodbye if you are talking on the radio ….

Place the antenna cables far away from the operating table , because a nearby lightning strike may induce very high voltages that will make a spark jump to the nearest piece of electrical or electronic equipment that is at ground potential or near ground potential...

Make it a standard practice to keep all your radios disconnected from the antennas

power line and ground when they are not in use....

….........

And now here is our also very popular antenna topics section... that today will be reviewing an antenna that according to CO6CAC, Carlos, who is a very active Cuban radio amateur who you will be able to work during ham radio contests...

is an excellent antenna system for working DX...

It is known as the DELTA LOOP, that when fed to generate a vertical radiation pattern, shows a very low wave take off angle that is ideal for Dxing.... Carlos told me recently that he was able to work many DX stations on the 30 meters band using the vertically polarized delta loop

fed with a 110 ohms twin wire transmission line...

He used a four to one balun at the end of the 110 ohms twin line , and connected the 75 ohms coaxial feedline to his antenna tuner.

As a matter of fact the 30 meters band DELTA LOOP, proved to work very well also on the 20 and 17 meters band... because it was very easy to match using the PI network antenna tuner.

One interesting fact about the DELTA LOOP or triangular antenna is that it requires just a single mast, and can be rotated manually very easily around the mast.

Also this antenna is a very good option for city dwellers, because it produces a vertically

polarized radiation pattern that reduces the possibility of causing interference to television reception that uses horizontally polarized antennas.

You can feed the DELTA LOOP directly with a quarter wave length of 75 ohms coaxial cable, and then connect the 50 ohms cable to it... But, then it will operate as a single band antenna system...

….............

And now, as always at the end of the show, when I am in Havana, here is Arnie Coro's exclusive and not copyrighted , in the public domain HF plus low band VHF propagation update and forecast...

As we approach November, and the Sun continues to show signs of waking up, HF propagation conditions are taking a turn for the better...

The Catania Solar Observatory WOLF number broke the record for solar cycle 24 on Tuesday October 26 when it reached 92 ... November is the month of the year when the ionosphere shows its highest concentration of free electrons at the different layers , that are also closer to the ground than at anytime of the year...

So expect with the current solar numbers, that the HF bands will be opening up much more frequently...something that will be most welcome by the participants during this next weekend worldwide amateur radio contest, and dont forget to send your signal reports and comments via e mail to inforhc at enet dot cu , or VIA AIR MAIL to Arnie Coro, Radio Havana Cuba,

Havana , Cuba

RE ; RHC tentativo horario B10 Frecuencias en Idioma Ingles

2010-10-22T19:45:00.001-04:00

FRECUENCIAS EN INGLES

Zona Geográfica Frecuencias Horarios

Norte, Centro y Suramérica 11760 Khz/ 25 m 20 - 21 UTC 100 kW ND

Banda Tropical 5040 Khz /60m 24 – 01 UTC 50 kW ND

San. Francisco 6010 Khz / 49 m 05 – 07 UTC 100 kW HR 4,4 0,8

Chicago 6050 Khz /49 m 01 - 07 UTC 100 kW HR 4,4 0,8

Washington 6000 Khz / 49 m 01 – 07 UTC 250 kW HR 4,4, 1,0

New York 6060 Khz /49 m 05 – 07 UTC 100 kW HR 4,4, 0,8

Norte, Centro y Sudamérica 6150 Khz/49m 05 – 07 UTC 250 kW ND

Radio Havana Cuba Frequencies en French B10 Tentative schedule

2010-10-22T18:40:00.000-04:00

FREQUENCIES in FRENCH

North, Central and South America

11760 Khz / 25 m

21- 21:30 UTC

Tropical Band

5040Khz /60 m

01:30 - 02 UTC

South America

15370Khz/19m

22:30 -23 UTC

Europe 11770Khz/25 m

19:30 –20 UTC

RE; 6 meters band sloping long wire antenna with counterpoise

2010-10-21T17:09:00.000-04:00

6m (50Mhz) Long wire antenna

Description by Arnie Coro CO2KK
There is another form of long wire antenna which provides uni-directional coverage and is easy to build.

Here is the description.

From the transmitter or transceiver, you go to an antenna tuner via coaxial cable. The tuner is placed at the base of the antenna, not at your operating position.

From the tuner's single ended output comes a wire that first goes STRAIGHT UP for about ONE WAVELENGTH at 50 mHz...
Then the wire is bent and slopes VERY GENTLY in the direction of the desired coverage, You want the wire to extend itself for no less than 5 wavelengths, although shorter versions work quite well too, but are not SO DIRECTIONAL.
The wire SLOPES until it ends at a height of about ONE TO TWO METERS ABOVE GROUND.... There you tie it to a small mast... THEN.... tied to this small mast you need to place no less than 3, and much better 5 one quarter wavelength radials , that act as a counterpoise... The radials will kindly help to hold the small mast in a vertical position... You can use very small insulators for the radials, or tie them with dacron or nylon lines ( I prefer to use dacron lines similar to those used for sailboats ).

REMEMBER to aim your antenna to SLOPE in the DIRECTION that you want to communicate with....
It shows a gain of no less than 5 to 6 dB over a horizontal dipole when the wire length is about 30 to 40 meters....

The antenna seems to work also on 10 meters , with the appropriate tuner, and I have tested it on 2 meters too, but have yet to do some really good comparative tests against my "standard" 5 element portable yagi.
This VERTICAL 1 wavelength + HORIZONTAL SLOPING 5 to 7 wavelength antenna + RADIALS, can be taken on a reel, and the wire can be really light... a lot easier to transport than a YAGI or a QUAD, and certainly a lot easier to build and to put in place. YES... YOU ARE RIGHT... I always USE A TREE ( when available) to hold the VERTICAL PART OF IT !!!

Hope this helps those in need of a very simple, low cost, unidirectional field antenna for VHF use

Arnie Coro CO2KK
Host of Dxers Unlimited
Radio Havana Cuba
e-mail : inforhc@enet.cu

Postal address
Arnie Coro
Dxers Unlimited
Radio Havana Cuba
Po Box 6240
Havana
CUBA 10600

Radio Habana Cuba Spanish Language programs B10 Schedule PERIODO B10 Octubre 2010 a Marzo 2011 TRANSMISIONES EN ESPAÑOL ZONAS GEOGRAFICAS FRECUENCIA UTC HORARIOS Buenos Aires 15120 Khz /19m 11 – 15 UTC Norte, Centro y Suramérica 11760 Khz / 25 m 11 – 20 / 24 - 05 UTC Norte, Centro y Suramérica 6140Khz / 49 m 11 – 05 UTC Nueva York 6000 Khz / 49 m 11 - 13 UTC San Francisco 13780 Khz / 22 m 13 - 15 UTC Nueva York 6060 Khz / 49 m 24 – 05 UTC Río de Janeiro 15360 Khz / 19 m 11 - 15 UTC Chicago 6095 Khz / 31 m 11 – 13 UTC Chicago 13680 Khz / 22 m 13 – 15 UTC Chicago 6050Khz / 49 m 07 - 11 UTC Norte, Centro y Sudamérica 6150 Khz /49 m 07 – 13 UTC América Central 11730 Khz / 25 m 13 – 23:30 UTC América Central 12040 Khz / 25 m 11 – 24 UTC Antillas 6120 Khz – 49 m 23:30 – 11 UTC Buenos Aires 9770Khz / 31 m 23 – 05 UTC Buenos Aires 6060 Khz / 49 m 07 – 10 UTC Chile 12010 Khz /25 m 23 – 05 UTC Antillas 11690 Khz / 25 m 14 – 20 UTC Europa 11770Khz/ 25 m 21 – 23 UTC Banda Tropical 5040 Khz/60m 21 – 23 y 02- 11 UTC Antillas

2010-10-19T13:11:00.001-04:00

RADIO HABANA CUBA.

ITU Broadcast period B10 October 2010 to March 2011

Spanish Language Programs

Beam to:

Buenos Aires 15120 Khz /19m 11 – 15 UTC

North, Central, Southamerica 11760 Khz / 25 m 11 – 20 / 24 - 05 UTC

North , Central , Southamerica 6140Khz / 49 m 11 – 05 UTC

New York 6000 Khz / 49 m 11 - 13 UTC

San Francisco 13780 Khz / 22 m 13 - 15 UTC

New York 6060 Khz / 49 m 24 – 05 UTC

Río de Janeiro 15360 Khz / 19 m 11 - 15 UTC

Chicago 6095 Khz / 31 m 11 – 13 UTC

Chicago 13680 Khz / 22 m 13 – 15 UTC

Chicago 6050Khz / 49 m 07 - 11 UTC

North, Central, South America 6150 Khz /49 m 07 – 13 UTC

Central America 11730 Khz / 25 m 13 – 23:30 UTC

Central America 12040 Khz / 25 m 11 – 24 UTC

Antilles 6120 Khz – 49 m 23:30 – 11 UTC

Buenos Aires 9770Khz / 31 m 23 – 05 UTC

Buenos Aires 6060 Khz / 49 m 07 – 10 UTC

Chile 12010 Khz /25 m 23 – 05 UTC

Antilles 11690 Khz / 25 m 14 – 20 UTC

Europe 11770Khz/ 25 m 21 – 23 UTC

Tropical Band NVIS 5040 Khz/60m 21 – 23 y 02- 11 UTC

Antilles 9820 Khz / 31 m 20:30 – 23 UTC

Dxers Unlimited's mid week edition for 19-20 Octoberr 2010

2010-10-19T08:15:00.000-04:00

Radio Havana Cuba

Dxers Unlimited's mid week edition 19 - 20 October 2010

By Arnie Coro

radio amateur CO2KK

Hi amigos radioaficionados around the world and orbiting planet Earth, because, yes, there are radio amateurs in space at this moment, and they do communicate with hams all around the world, including Cuban stations,using 2 meters band equipment aboard the International Space Station...

I am Arnie Coro , radio amateur CO2KK , host of this twice weekly program and someone that has had the unique opportunity of talking to space travelers orbiting the Earth... a unique experience amigos, and one of the more than 87 ways of enjoying our wonderful radio hobby: space amateur radio communications....

Item two:
more and more sunspots in sight, one after the other is the result obtained by Solar
Observatories around the world that monitor the number and characteristics of sunspots...

More sunspots in sight and a solar microwave flux just passing the 90 units mark mean that high frequency bands from 20 megaHertz up are at last coming back to life. Monday late afternoon I found the 10 meters ham band open to Argentina and Brazil, as well as to Iowa and California... something that came as a most wellcome surprise, and that can be traced to the sustained increase in solar activity of the past few days..

An occasional 15 meters amateur band opening did happened during the past several weeks, and one could pick up international broadcast
stations operating on the adjacent 13 meters band, but those band openings were very short lived....

Now with the daily NOAA sunspot number reaching 69 units on Monday October 18^th, and more sunspots appearing at the edge of the solar disc, I am expecting much better propagation conditions on the 20, 17, 15, 12 and 10 meters amateur bands, and also on the 19, 16 , 13 and 11 meters international shortwave broadcast bands.

Stay tuned for more radio hobby related information, coming to you from
Havana , I am your host Arnie Coro, radio amateur CO2KK back with you in a few seconds , after a short break for a station ID...

.....

This is Radio Havana Cuba, the name of the show is Dxers Unlimited, and yes amigos, we do QSL , we do verify reception reports with beautiful QSL cards... send your reception reports to inforhc at enet dot cu, or VIA AIR
MAIL to Arnie Coro, Radio Havana Cuba, Havana, Cuba... and here is now item three of the mid week edition of the program.

Our technical topics section, that is rapidly competing with ASK ARNIE and the HF plus low band VHF Propagation update and forecast in
listener's popularity...

The technical topics today is about the design
criteria for an optimized homebrew receiver, using the lowest possible parts count that is still consistent with good overall performance. I have been working on two such receivers during the past several years and now they are part of the radio amateurs academy training program that is in progress at my Plaza Radio Club here in Havana, where we have joined efforts with the nearby Cerro Radio Club to provide training for the newcomers to the radio amateur hobby that will soon be taking the ham radio license test, required to own and operate an amateur radio station.

Receiver prototype one, is an all solid state design, using locally available parts and components, and like in the case of receiver
prototype two, that is a hybrid vacuum tubes and transistors radio, no attempt has been made to miniaturize the sets.

Among the basic design criteria was to have a lot of nice open space where to work with the soldering iron, that parts should be well separated from each other, and the printed circuit designs using wide strips of copper for interconnecting the components.

This design philosophy leads to very easy to build by the newcomers radios... receivers that can be also easily modified to add new features, and the most important thing of all, these two prototypes provide very good reception within the frequency range from 500 kiloHertz all the way up to the 50 megaHertz or 6 meters amateur band.

But again, no attempt was made to provide
bandswitching using conventional multiposition switches to select the tuned circuits, instead a much more up to date switching arrangement
using saturated transistors as solid state switches is used...

Prototype one, the all solid state receiver, follows a modular design criteria, that starts with the power supply, the first item that the
newcomer assembles and tests under the supervision of the instructor.

This power supply is based on a locally plentiful power transformer, and the voltage regulator used can provide up to 2.5 amperes at 13.8 volts, so that it can also be used by the builder in the not too distant future, to power a QRP or low power amateur radio transmitter.

Taking into consideration the locally available components, this power supply can be considered as a basic building block that the newcomer to the hobby can use both for operating his receivers and transceivers, as well as for doing a lot of experiments with different circuits.

The power supply can be later modified to provide variable output voltage, as well as several lower voltages that may be required for other equipment like a CW keyer or an external audio filter.

The building blocks concept has proven to be a very nice approach, because during the radio and electronic lessons, we assemble one unit
and test it in front of the class. For example, the input signal attenuator, bandpass tuneable filter and radio frequency amplifier module has become the de facto standard to add as an outboard accesory to portable solid state receivers, that lack adequate input selectivity.

A simple demonstration of the improvement to a Sony ICF7600 D receiver to which the prototype RF input module was connected by means of a short length of 50 ohms coaxial cable showed a great improvement in reception.

The presence of super power international broadcast stations is one of the problems that makes reception difficult with those radio receivers that have a very poor front end design.

And, just to provide a bit more of information, the use of the basic RF signal attenuator, bandpass tuneable filter and RF amplifier module with a more sophisticated receiver, also proved to be worthwhile, because the tendency by designers is to use fixed tuned input filters that are switched when the bands are changed, in contrast with my receiver prototype that offers the user the possibility of having a sharply selective tuneable input filter .

Now Dxers Unlimited's mid week edition will continue with another popular section of the program; Antenna Topics, coming up in a few
seconds ...

..........

You are listening to Radio Havana Cuba's twice weekly radio hobby program, and here is now our Antenna Topics section that today will be
devoted to feedback from listeners that are experimenting with the double spiral loaded dipoles , following the design ideas of Petlowany
and Tektorian...

Spiral end loading of antennas is nothing new at all, and it has been used by low frequency stations that for obvious reasons could not make use of the extremely high masts or towers required to achieve resonance at the quarter wave of a wavelength.

By adding simple top capacitive loading , the so called UMBRELLA antennas have made possible rather efficient radiators at frequencies
as low as the long wave AM broadcast band still used in Europe, Africa and Asia, but that was never brought into use in the Americas.

The spiral top loading is a stept further, that adds both capacitive and inductive loading to the antenna, but that does require a rather complex mechanical arrangement...

But until very recently that type of loading was not experimented with dipole antennas. The latest version of these spirals end loaded dipoles is the so called TAK ANTENNA, that according to its designer is able to achieve a very high radiation efficiency with a very short horizontal length .A 40 meters band TAK Antenna is claimed to have more than 80 percent of the efficiency of a full size antenna, while requiring only about three meters of horizontal space for its installation. But be aware that antenna modeling software clearly show that most of the radiation is actually coming from the coaxial cable feeder connecting the TAK TENNA to the transceiver !!!

….......

Now here is ASK ARNIE, la numero uno, the most popular section of Dxers Unlimited according to your e-mail messages, letters , postcards and phone calls amigos...

Today I will be answering a question sent by
listener Amanda from Oregon, USA. Amanda wants to know why she can't listen to an otherwise strong and in the clear short wave signal when she is using her hair dryer.... and she even adds that she has borrowed one from a neighbor and exactly the same type of buzzing noise erase the short wave station she was listening to.

Hair dryers, kitchen mixers and blenders are particularly noisy because they have a type of electric motor that use carbon brushes to
feed electricity to the motor's rotor, and very small sparks jump across causing the generation of radio frequency energy, exactly as it was done by the first primitive radio telegraph transmitters, the so called SPARK TRANSMITTERS, that had to be banned because they generated wide band noise all over the radio frequency spectrum !!!

.....

And now amigos as always at the end of the program when I am here in Havana, get ready to copy Arnie Coro's HF plus low band VHF propagation update and forecast..
( updated at the very last minute when the show is going to be recorded)

Hope to have you all listening next Sunday and Monday UTC days to the weekend edition of Dxers Unlimited !!!

RHC TENTATIVE B10 SCHEDULE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

2010-10-18T18:07:00.002-04:00

RADIO HAVANA CUBA

TENTATIVE B10 SCHEDULE

English language programs schedule

Coverage area Frequency Time slots

North, Central and

South America 11760 Khz 20 - 21 UTC

NVIS coverage * 5040 Khz 23 – 24 UTC

Pacific Coast of North

America 6010 Khz 05 – 07 UTC

Central North America 6050 Khz 01 - 07 UTC

East Coast of North America 6000 Khz 01 – 07 UTC

East Coast of North America 6060 Khz 05 – 07 UTC

North , Central and

South America 6150 Khz 05 – 07 UTC

NVIS = Near Vertical Incidence Skywave antenna system
Note: Tentative schedule, subject to modifications as required

Dxers Unlimited's mid week edition for 5 -6 October 2010

2010-10-05T08:23:00.000-04:00

Radio Havana Cuba
Dxers Unlimited
Dxers Unlimited’s midweek edition for 5-6 October 2010
By Arnie Coro
Radio amateur CO2KK

Hi amigos radioaficionados, welcome to the midweek edition of Dxers
Unlimited, which today will feature an Antenna Topics section dedicated to a very effective low angle radiator, known as the HENTENNA, A great number of listeners from all around the world have written to me recently, asking to learn more about this Japanese antenna, the HENTENNA, that seems to be making headlines in radio publications around the world once again…

By the way, the first original report about the HENTENNA that went on the air here at Dxers Unlimited, dates back to 1999,more precisely, it went on the air the 12th of October of 1999, and according to my records, it generated a lot of interest from our listeners, who were at that time, 1999, getting ready to enjoy the peakyears of solar cycle 23 !!

So here is at the request of Dxers Unlimited’s fans , a special Dxers Unlimited's report on the HENTENNA, the Japanese elongated loop antenna with an easy
match to coaxial cable feedlines of any impedance, be it 50, 60 ,75 or93 ohms...or even 150 ohms !!!

Let me start by saying that I recently built yet another HENTENNA for the FM broadcast band, and it is working nicely, having already pick up some Sporadic E skip DX stations from Mexico, the US and Puerto Rico during the past spring and summer E skip season now in progress.
Now you will have to learn something very unusual about the HENTENNA... the HENTENNA produces or receives VERTICALLY polarized waves when the antenna is placed horizontally; that is, with the long sides of the loop paralell to the ground. AND, if you want horizontal polarization, just flip the HENTENNA so that the long sides of the loop are vertical, and the short sides are parallel to theground, something that is puzzling, but that’s the way it is amigos…

By the way, one of the world's foremost antenna experts, Dr. L. B. Cebik, amateur radio operator W4RNL, did during his fruitful life an extensive analysis of elongated loops, and his findings are really fascinating. Dr. Cebik , now a silent key specialized in computer modeling of complex antenna systems, and his work with the HENTENNA and other similar elongated loops shows that the HENTENNA is a very good performer indeed.

In a few seconds, be ready to write down, the formulas for calculating HENTENNAS in the frequency range from 14 megaHertz all the way up to the high TV band that here in the Americas ends at 216 megaHertz.. so amigos, stay tuned, I'll be back with more radio hobby related information in a few seconds... I am Arnie Coro in Havana

……………….

You are listening to Radio Havana Cuba, the name of the program is Dxers
Unlimited… you can send your signal reports and comments via e-mail to
arnie@rhc.cu or VIA AIR MAIL to Arnie Coro, Radio Havana Cuba, Havana, Cuba…

And now, as promised more about the japanese wonder antenna... the HENTENNA. Dr. Cebik's computer modeling shows that the elongated loop HENTENNA has an edge over a regular square one wavelength loop and the regular elongated loop.

HENTENNAS for receiving FM broadcast signals are very easy to build,
using a wooden or PVC pipe frame and copper wire. I built the one just
mentioned cut for 100 megaHertz, using PVC insulated no. 12 wire, the
one that is typically used for home wiring.

The loop was closed by soldering with a butane torch, and using regular
solder with rosin core... The reason for using the butane torch is that
no soldering iron at hand here could handle the heavy wire PLUS the high
speed heat transfer of the copper wire.

The loop for the 100 megaHertz antenna is 1.5 meters on the long sides
of the rectangle and 50 centimeters on the short sides. The feed point
for the 50 ohm cable is located about 55 centimeters from one of the
short sides of the loop.

The antenna is installed with the long sides in a vertical position; for
receiving horizontally polarized FM broadcasts. I tried both 50 ohms and
75 ohms coaxial cables, and could not detect any difference on the
weakest station that I am picking up here regularly with the FM band
HENTENNA.

Again, if you want to make of these elongated loops for receiving, here
are the measurements to use: for the long sides of the rectangle 1/2 of
a wavelength at the operating frequency, for the short side, the length
is 1/6 of a wavelength... and the connection point for the coaxial cable
of 50 ohms impedance is a little more than 1/6 of wavelength from one of
the short sides of the rectangle.

I have tried two different techniques for feeding the antenna, one using
two wires connected to the long sides and going to an insulator to which
the coaxial cable is attached... this is what I do with antennas for the
lower frequencies.

For the higher frequency antennas, like for example the TV HI VHF band,
or the amateur two meter band, I use the coaxial cable itself, by
carefully splitting the center conductor and the shield in two... it
takes a little practice to do, but you will be able to do it, and it
saves time and avoids one extra soldered connection.

Do remember to fully protect the coaxial cable from the weather, by
sealing it properly with PVC tape and silicone sealing compound...
HENTENNAS can be built for any frequency between 10 megaHertz and 300
megaHertz by using heavy WIRE, and for the frequency range from about 50
megaHertz to 500 megaHertz you may try building HENTENNAS with copper or
aluminum tubing.

YES amigos, this is yet another easy weekend project... collect all the
needed materials and have them ready at your workshop, the garage or
near the kitchen table, so that this coming weekend you can build your
own low cost elongated loop HENTENNA.

Remember, if you are a radio amateur, that a HENTENNA is a very
effective antenna to take along with your HANDIE TALKIE, as it will
extend the range of the HT many times. I now have my portable HENTENNA
for 2 meters that has shown a gain of more than 6 to 10 decibels above
the handie talkie's rubber duck antenna.

In other words, the HENTENNA is behaving as if you add a linear
amplifier to the HT with the additional benefit that if DOES NOT USE UP
EXTRA battery power. And one final comment, do remember that the
HENTENNA is DIRECTIONAL, so you can turn it around for best possible
signals... A HENTENNA for two meter band FM must be installed with the
long sides HORIZONTAL... in order to receive and transmit the vertically
polarized waves used for amateur 2 meter FM communications!
…........................................
Si amigos, for more than half a century I have been fascinated with my
father’s 14teenth birthday present… a regenerative radio receiver kit
that he was sure I was going to be able to assemble without any help, as
dad told my uncle Armando during the birthday party.. that little radio,
assembled breadboard fashion is still working after more than half a century have
passed, and it has also served as the prototype for many other clones
that I have helped to build all along these years. The latest version of
my BIRTHDAY Regenerative is a bit more sophisticated than the original
one, and works beautifully with the sets of plug in coils that its proud
owner my now fifteen years old grandson Arnie the Fourth has built so far… As batteries are hard to come by locally and very expensive, this version of Arnie’s
Birthday Regenerative uses a very safe 24 volts DC supply to power Arnie
Coro the Fourth wonderful new toy!!!!
If you want to learn more about my BIRTHDAY Regenerative receiver, just
drop me an e-mail to arnie@rhc.cu or a postcard to Arnie Coro, Radio
Havana Cuba, Havana , Cuba asking me to send you the Birthday
Regenerative receiver information package…

Dxers Unlimited's weekend edition for 3-4 October 2010

2010-10-04T09:13:00.000-04:00

Dxers Unlimited
Dxers Unlimited weekend edition for Oct 3 - 4 2010
By Arnie Coro
Radio amateur CO2KK

Hi amigos radioaficionados around the world and in space! Welcome to the
weekend edition of Dxers Unlimited reaching you when solar activity is
continuing a rising trend month by month, as solar cycle 24 is finally moving
forward !!!…

I am Arnie Coro, radio amateur CO2KK and
here is item one of today’s program, solar scientists continue to
scratch their heads about cycle 23’s final months… some researchers
are studying what was happening in the Sun during the rather extended tail end of cycle 23.

Some heliophysicists continue to underscore the very high probability that the present solar cycle 24 is going to be another record breaker, even capable of matching the super cycle 19 that sent the average monthly sunspot count up to two hundred and seven. But from what cycle 24 has shown to us so far, my point of view is to support those scientists that are forecasting a rather weak solar cycle peak...

For us radio hobby people, a super solar cycle, with a very high average sunspot count will also mean many solar flares and geomagnetic storms too !!! But chances of that happening are now very, very low indeed. So, we must just wait and see what’s going to happen during the next year and a half or so, when it would be possible to have a fairly good knowledge of the behavior of cycle 24…

Item two: The most popular amateur radio band around the world continues
to be two meters, spanning in some parts of the world from 144 to 146
megaHertz, while in other areas amateurs are assigned two more
megahertz, so the band in those parts of the world goes from 144 to 148
megaHertz. Two meters is very popular because with very simple equipment
and low cost antenna systems, radio amateurs are able to communicate
locally and even at longer distances when propagation conditions are
good.

But the two meters band is not only a good place for FM voice mode
communications. Amateur operators can make good use of existing
satellites, and also enjoy very sophisticated communications modes, like
sending signals of high power transmitters to the Moon, using it as a
passive reflector as part of an Earth – Moon – Earth or EME link, something that now is much easier thanks to the marvelous digital communications modes developed by Nobel Prize Laureate Joseph Taylor, radio amateur W1JT.

I have made several two way amateur radio contacts using the Earth –Moon
- Earth or EME mode while running at CO2KK, my ham radio station not too
much power output and a pair of small size Yagi antennas.
But, fully equipped EME capable stations use huge antenna arrays, high
power transmitters of up to the maximum legal power authorized to
amateur operators and extremely low noise signal preamplifiers… EME is
one of the more than 86 ways that you can enjoy our wonderful hobby…
yours and mine: RADIO !!!
Amigos, Dxers Unlimited’s weekend edition will continue in just a few
seconds… I am Arnie Coro in Havana, stay tuned or connected to our server: www. radiohc dot cu

……..

Si amigos, you are listening to Radio Havana Cuba, the name of the show
is Dxers Unlimited, and as always its my pleasure to share with you this
on the air and on the web time devoted to this wonderful hobby “RADIO”
here is our next item, the most popular section of the show “ASK ARNIE
“answering listeners questions as fast as they come in via e-mail sent
to arnie@rhc.cu...

Today’s number one question: came from the USA, from Nevada, USA,
Dxers Unlimited's long time Reginaldasks if he can adapt an FM band Yagi antenna
that is sold at a popular electronics retailer outlet near his home, so
that the antenna will work on the 2 meters amateur band… Amigo

Reg, the answer is YES… Sure, it can certainly be done, and as a matter of fact, you will end up with a very nice looking 2 meters band antenna, and at a much
lower cost than if you try to homebrew one from scratch,. The typical FM band 5 or 6 elements YAGI antenna has a boom length that provides more than enough
space for a 6 to 7 element 2 meter band Yagi, and the length of the
elements allow you to cut them to the segment of two meters where you
want to operate.

After buying the commercial FM broadcast band YAGI, you must
proceed to carefully measure each element and write down the result of
the measurement.

You will find that as in any typical Yagi parasitic array, the elements
lengths go from the longest one, the reflector, that will be very near a
half wavelength at the operating frequency, to the shortest one , the
last director, that will be much shorter than a half wavelength.
The FM band Yagi will probably be cut for a frequency around 100
megaHertz, because that is roughly the center of the FM broadcast band
that spans from 88 to 108 megaHertz, and that means that the longest
element of your commercially built Yagi will be very near 1. 5 meters
long, that is almost 5 feet long.

The second step required for converting a commercial FM band Yagi for
the amateur 2 meters band is to decide to which segment of two meters
you want new antenna to be optimized. For example you may enjoy talking
to friends on repeaters located in the upper two megahertz of the 2
meters band, from 146 to 148 megaHertz, so you may want then to optimize
your YAGI for a center frequency of 147 megaHertz, which is not exactly
the optimum way of doing it, but that in actual practice works quite well.
The third step is to use any of the available freeware programs that
calculate YAGI VHF antennas, and run it with the 147 megaHertz center
frequency design target.

Those programs generate several outputs: they will give you the length
of each element; how the elements are spaced along the antenna’s support
boom and also you will be able to see the actual theoretical horizontal
and vertical radiation patterns.

Your fourth step requires the use of a measuring tape and a hacksaw, to
cut the elements to the required lengths, following the data provided by
the YAGI antenna calculating software.

Fifth step, requires using an electric drill to carefully locate and
drill the holes where the elements will be fixed to the boom, that will
not be the same ones used for fitting the elements to the original FM
Yagi antenna

The sixth and almost last step requires a decision on your part, it you
want to operate using horizontal or vertical polarization. Using
horizontal polarization as needed for operating on CW and single side
band modes at the lower edge of two meters needs no change to be done to
the boom, but if you want to use vertical polarization, as required for
FM voice and packet radio modes, then you must drill new holes so that
the antenna may be installed for vertical polarization, in other words
the support clamp will be at 90 degrees from the original position used
for receiving FM broadcast band horizontally polarized signals..

The last step is to adjust the antenna for minimum standing wave ratio,
and for doing this you will need a VHF standing wave ratio meter, and
the help of an experienced radio amateur that has adjusted Yagi antennas
before…

And don’t forget that a YAGI with 5, 6 or 7 elements is a highly
directional antenna that requires the use of an antenna rotor if you
want to have around the compass coverage!!!

…….

QSL , QSL , QSL on the air from Havana to the many Dxers Unlimited
listeners around the world that have written during the past several
weeks reporting good reception of our 6060 kiloHertz English language
program heard between 05 and 07 UTC. The antenna we are using on 6060
kiloHertz is our East Coast of North America curtain array, it is
technically speaking according to ITU definitions an HR 4, 4 , 0.8
system, that meaning that it has 4 sets of dipoles set in four rows and
four columns a configuration that provides close to 20 decibels of
effective antenna gain over a half wave dipole placed at the center of
the array.

The antenna is also getting reports from Europe, where
listeners that wake up very early in the morning are picking up the last
hour of the English program between 06 and 07 UTC. If you are picking up
Radio Havana Cuba on 6060 kiloHertz in Spanish from 00 to 05 UTC,you are
listening to the same antenna and transmitter combination too.

And now, as always at the end of the show, here is Arnie Coro’s Dxers
Unlimited, HF plus low band VHF propagation update and forecast…Let’s
begin by saying that radio amateurs and short wave listeners are right
now enjoying the best HF propagation in the past four years, according to
my personal observations and reports received from all around the world !
We are still under the equinoctal DX season period, that will be lasting
for about two more weeks, and then HF propagation will shift to the
typical winter patterns, but this winter season of the northern hemisphere
you can be sure that will be the best one since 2003 !!! I

And don’t forget to send me your comments about this program, signal
reports QSL requests and radio hobby related questions to inforhc at enet dot cu,
or VIA AIR MAIL to Arnie Coro, Radio Havana Cuba, and Havana, Cuba.

Trying to update DXers Unlimited's blog at blogspot

2010-10-04T09:05:00.000-04:00

Hi amigos !

After a long delay due to many different difficulties, including computer problems... today I will try to access the Dxers Unlimited's blog at blogspot dot com and see how it works !

Will appreciate reports to this posting sent to
inforhc at enet dot cu

73 and DX
Arnie Coro
CO2KK
Host of Dxers Unlimited
Radio Havana Cuba

Dxers Unlimited mid week edition 22-23 June 2010

2010-06-22T22:29:00.000-04:00

SEND REPORTS TO : inforhc@enet.cu

Dxers Unlimited weekend edition to be on the air from next weekend on Sundays and Mondays UTC days , at around 10 minutes past the hour , due to RHC programming changes now in progress.

The mid week edition will continue to be on the air Tuesday and Sunday UTC days just after the half hour news bulletin.

Keep in mind that RHC English programs are now on a one hour format that is repeated all over the broadcast schedule.

Radio Havana Cuba

Dxers Unlimited

Dxers Unlimited's mid week edition

22-23 June 2010

By Arnie Coro

radio amateur CO2KK

Hi amigos radioaficionados... this is the mid week edition of Dxers Unlimited, coming to you from Havana. I am your host Arnie Coro, radio amateur CO2KK and here is item one of today's program:

A solitary , single sunspot active region is traveling across the Sun while optical observers keep track of it. As a Cuban astronomer said a few days ago, it is nice to see at least one active sunspot region, rather than watch a totally blank solar disc.

The optical observations are matching pretty well with the microwave radiation measurements, as an all quiet solar alert continues to be in progress.

Item two: Front end selectivity is one of the missing features of the typical low cost short wave receivers... Designers under pressure of salespersons go into cost cutting measures when a new short wave radio is being developed, and among the first things they do to cut costs, is the removal of the input filters between the antenna and the first mixer.

The lack of front end selectivity can be rather easily solved by building and installing a bandpass input filter. It will take several hours of construction time, but it won't cost much...

Results can be really amazing when a well built input tuned filter is properly set up. For example, a low cost portable short wave radio, that uses a single conversion design, will show a dramatic improvement in the quality of reception if you add two tuned circuits that are lightly coupled between the two by means of a small capacitor.

I recently wound two coils using plastic pill bottles as coil forms, tuned them with a pair of variable capacitors removed from junked transistor radios, and installed it between my full size 40 meters band half wave dipole and the Grundig ETON FR 200 portable receiver.

As I was expecting the reception improved a lot, with a dramatic decrease of image frequencies. Connecting the FR200 single conversion low cost portable directly to the 40 meters band half wave dipole is out of the question, because the receiver will overload badly. But, when connected to the same antenna by means of the dual tuned bandpass input filter, it is like if you are listening to a totally different receiver.

The dual tuned bandpass input filter is a passive device, because it doesn't have any active components. In actual practice it introduces a signal loss, but the added extra front end selectivity more than compensates that slight loss of signal.

The tuning range of the variable filter will depend on the inductances of the coils and the maximum capacity of the variable capacitors... So there is a lot of room for experimenting, because you can wind as many coils as you wish... after all the coil forms are of very low cost … and if you can't find empty plastic pill containers, then you can cut small lengths of white PVC pipe and use them as coil forms.

The coupling between the bandpass tuneable input filter and the antenna is done by means of a three turns link wound at the bottom end of the first coil, and the coupling between the filter and the radio is also done in the same way...

In my latest version of this extremely useful accesory, I am using two one thousand ohms carbon potentiometers, in order to be able to attenuate those very strong signals that do need attenuation. One potentiometer is located at the antenna input, and the second one is located between the second tuned circuit and the receiver. Of course that we are talking about an experimental setup, so the second potentiometer is not really needed for regular use. You will only need the first one, the one located at the antenna input, that works as a very effective input radio frequency attenuator.

By the way this is a very nice weekend project, that will always work, as there are no chances to misplace components , so you simply can't go wrong... Anyway, if you want to see the actual circuit diagram and a photo of the prototype, just drop me an e-mail to inforhc at enet dot cu, and I will send you a small computer file that will help you visualize both the circuit diagram and the actual device.

Stay tune for more radio hobby related information, coming to you from Havana... I am Arnie Coro, back with you in a few seconds amigos

…...............................................

Si amigos, yes my friends, oui mes amis, the radio hobby revives itself very often... I keep a close watch about the introduction of new technologies that use radio waves as a support, and all I can say is that it is certainly amazing how the hobby continues to develop. Take for example the radio control hobby vehicles of all types … from the classic model airplanes to racing cars, sailboats, and even robots !!! Ham radio operators are at an advantage compared to the rest of the radio control hobby enthusiasts, because licensed amateur radio operators can use certain segments of the bands assigned to them to provide the control signals in an environment that is much more protected from harmful interference... I do have several anecdotes of radio controlled model airplanes starting to show a strange behavior and even flying away out of range of the ground transmitter sending the control signals, when an unexpected source of radio frequency interference disrupted the link between the model plane and the ground controller...

By the way, the use of radio control systems for operating model planes, boats, racing cars and robots is one of the 86 ways that you and I can ejoy this wonderful hobby , your hobby , my hobby, RADIO !!!

…..............................

Recent sporadic E openings happening over North America have amazed newcomers to the VHF ham bands... especially those who have just started to explore the weak signals segment of the 2 meters band.

One interesting fact about the recent phenomenal 2 meters band openings was that it could be detected by picking up very distant FM repeaters, some of them located even fifteen hundred miles away. Here in the Caribbean we enjoyed nice 6 meters band sporadic E openings, but the lack of a proper 2 meters horizontally polarized antenna at my ham radio station was a big stumbling block when I tried to monitor around 144.2 to 144.4 megaHertz for CW and single sideband DX signals...

…........

And now amigos as always at the end of the show, here is Arnie Coro's Dxers Unlimited's HF plus low band VHF propagation update and forecast. A single sunspot active region in sight, solar flux hovering around 70 units, and the daytime maximum useable frequency curve climbing at a very slow pace in the morning due to the very low solar activity that is expected to continue at least for the next two days... Expect more sporadic E openings , some of them that may be really exceptional as regards to length of the opening and its duration. Don't forget to send your signal reports and comments about the program, as well as radio hobby related questions, to : inforhc at enet dot cu, again, inforhc at enet dot cu

Dxers Unlimited weekend edition 19 - 20 June

2010-06-19T10:20:00.000-04:00

Radio Havana Cuba

Dxers Unlimited

Dxers Unlimited's weekend edition for 19-20 Jun 2010

By Arnie Coro

radio amateur CO2KK

Hi amigos radioaficionados, welcome once again, to our station's radio hobby program, that is now lasting about 12 minutes on the air and on the world wide web... The scripts are also available at dxersunlimited dot blogspot dot com...

I am Arnie Coro, radio amateur CO2KK, your host here now ready to share with you the most up to date information about our wonderful hobby, yours and mine: RADIO....

Item one: Cuban radio amateurs continue to install 2 meter band FM repeaters all across the Cuban archipelago... the latest one to go on the air is located atop a hill near Santiago de Cuba city. It has two separate antennas in order to optimize the isolation between the receiving and transmitting frequencies. According to the first tests results, the new Santiago de Cuba Puerto Boniato Hill repeater, is providing excellent coverage of several eastern Cuba provinces. It has a standby battery and a Diesel generator to provide power in case of an AC power line failure.

This repeater uses the classic 600 kiloHertz separation between receive and transmit frequencies , so it is fully compatible with stations located not only in Cuba, but also in Jamaica and Haiti, where it can be easily picked up .

Item two: Experimenting with the four diodes Polyakov harmonic mixer receiver, I was able to pick up several 41 meters band short wave broadcast stations by simply zero beatting on their carrier frequency. The high stability Clapp type VFO used by this direct conversion receiver makes possible to listen to the AM broadcasts at exactly zero beat, because the frequency of the VFO is very stable .

This form of receiving an AM station on a direct conversion receiver is known as exalted carrier reception and works very well IF, and I underscore the word IF, the receiver's local injection oscillator frequency can be kept within a few cycles of zero beat with the AM station's carrier.

Item three: Answering a listener's question received late Thursday... Yes amigo Raphael, the fast fading is typical of sporadic E propagation events...Like during the fantastic E skip opening that was enjoyed by many North American radio amateurs during Friday late afternoon and evening... During an E skip event at one moment you can pick up a distant FM broadcast station located 800 or 900 miles away with a fantastic signal, and a couple of minutes later the signal is very weak, then it comes back for a few seconds to a very high level, just to vanish again into a deep fade... Sporadic E events may last longer and behave in a much more stable way, but those longer and more stable openings are not as frequent as you and I would like them to happen...

Stay tuned for more radio hobby information coming to you from sunny Havana , where daytime temperatures are peaking now in the region between 30 and 34 degrees Centigrade.

…....

This is Radio Havana Cuba, the name of the show is Dxers Unlimited, and you can get in touch with us by sending an e-mail to inforhc at enet dot cu, again, inforhc at enet dot cu , and VIA AIR MAIL send a postcard to Arnie Coro, Radio Havana Cuba, Havana, Cuba.

Now here is item four: A single sunspot is in sight... it is not a large size active region, but it is there, and scientists think that it will develope into a larger area soon... in the meantime solar activity is at very low levels...

Item five: An odd looking flat plate variable capacitor that uses window glass as its dielectric may be used as part of an antenna tuner when higher powers are involved. The homebrew high voltage glass insulated variable capacitor is a lot easier to build than the typical aluminum plates capacitors used for plate tuning of the high power vacuum tubes final amplifiers and also used by high power antenna tuning units.

Item six: Also antenna tuner related...using a low pass filter between your transceiver or transmitter and the antenna tuner removes the presence of harmonics from the input of the antenna tuner, and this is the way to install the low pass filter and NOT between the tuner and the antenna system.

At CO2KK , my ham radio station , it is possible to operate using 100 Watts to a G5RV antenna without any complaints of TV interference from neighbors.

Normally I run my transceiver at no more than 50 Watts , something that is a good idea, because all radio amateurs must follow the rules and regulations that clearly specify the need to use the lowest possible power output that provide good communications …

As expected, running lower power output to the antennas not only reduced the chances of causing TVI, because by running your ham radio rigs at lower power outputs you not only save electricity and help to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere, but will also extend the life of the power output stages of your transmitter.

Operating ham radio equipment at very low power output levels is quite a challenge... but recent experiments using sophisticated digital modes that are able to literally dig signals well below the noise level have demonstrated once again that QRP operation is possible when running power outputs below the 1 Watt level...

…........................

And now amigos, as always at the end of e show, here is Arnie Coro's Dxers Unlimited's HF propagation update and forecast..

Let's start with the peak of the sporadic E skip season... as we get near to the summer solstice, the number and duration of E skip openings increases signficantly.

This past week I was able to monitor at least three sporadic E openings with one of them, on Friday, passing the 150 megaHertz mark, something that was easy to demonstrate.

I could pick up an FM broadcast station using my small battery operated portable and telescopic whip, the station was located near Chicago , Illinois , and I also heard one 101 megaHertz that was advertising a car dealer located in St Louis , Missouri.

As regards to the HF , the short wave bands propagation, solar activity will continue at very low levels, but new sunspots may appear soon...Catania Observatory Sunspot number for Saturday was 14 and the latest NOAA sunspot number was 18.

Solar flux values will continue to be below 75 units, so really good F2 layer openings on the bands above 14 megahertz will be very rare indeed..

Send your signal reports and comments to inforhc at enet dot cu, or VIA AIR MAIL to Arnie Coro, Radio Havana Cuba, Havana, Cuba... your comments about the program content and radio hobby related questions are much appreciated amigos !

Dxers Unlimited mid week edition15'16 June

2010-06-15T11:09:00.000-04:00

Radio Havana Cuba
Dxers Unlimited
Dxers Unlimited's mid week edition *short format version *
By Arnie Coro
radio amateur CO2KK

Hi amigos radioaficionados around the world and orbiting planet Earth … I am your host Arnie Coro, radio amateur CO2KK happy to have you listening to the mid week edition of Dxers Unlimited, now in its short format 10 to 12 minutes version, especially designed to fit into our new one hour news and information format.

As expected, I have received several e-mail messages from listeners that want to have the show back to its long form 18 minutes format, something that at the present time is not possible... but that maybe in the not too distant future we may have it available again, at least during the weekend edition, the one that according to audience research statistics is heard by a larger number of radio hobby fans worldwide.

In the meantime, let's optimize this format, so that more radio related information may go on the air on each program. Here is item one: another upsurge of solar activity , but as previous ones of the solar cycle 24 , it didn't last long... expect very low solar activity to prevail during the rest of the week, it no new active sunspot regions suddenly appear on the solar disc.

Item two: The weekend VHF ham radio contest did not enjoyed good sporadic E openings here in the Caribbean... I monitored the 6 meters band and heard very few stations during two brief openings , one happening late Saturday afternoon and the second one on Sunday morning.

Item three: Experiments with the Polyakov harmonic mixer detector, the amazing circuit that makes possible homebrewing a very simple , easy to assemble ham bands radio receiver, have demonstrated that the four diodes version outperforms the two diodes classical circuit in a very signficant way.

Direct conversion or homodyne receivers are about the easiest to homebrew and provide much more reproducible results than regenerative receivers. Stay tuned for more radio hobby related information coming to you from Havana … I am your host here , Arnie Coro , radio amateur CO2KK back with you in a few seconds, after a short form station ID

…...................

This is Radio Havana Cuba, the name of the show is Dxers Unlimited, and it can be heard twice weekly, now every hour all along our broadcast segments . Dxers Unlimited used to be on the air once every two hours of our English language broadcasts, but now that we are transmitting one hour

the program goes on the air every hour , just after the half hour news bulletin... and you can also read the scripts of the show and see some interesting photos about solar activity by visiting http://dxersunlimited.blogspot.com , again the URL for our Dxers Unlimited blog is http:///dxersunlimited.blogspot.com.

You can send your signal reports and comments via e-mail to inforhc at enet dot cu , or leave your comments at the Dxers Unlimited's blog …

Now here is item four: Our technical topics section today is devoted to the results of some recent experiments done in my workshop, in order to compare the results between two direct conversion receivers … one using a two diodes antiparallel harmonic detector, also known as the Polyakov mixer, and the other one using four diodes...

Results were very consistent and showed that using the four diodes version of the Polyakov mixer provides significantly better weak signal results... so , at the cost of just two inexpensive switching diodes, your radio is going to be a much better perfoming receiver...

Item five: Short form antenna topics section, that today will also provide test results after running several experimental setups with a 20 meters band vertical antenna... Measurements done using 4 and 8 elevated radials showed practically no difference of the field intensity at about 2 miles from the antenna...

When the 4 elevated radials were removed and replaced by 16 roof surface mounted radials, the signal received by the station at the other end of the test went down significantly... Results achieved by recent medium wave AM broadcast band transmitting installations using 4 elevated radials replacing the classic 120 quarter wave radials layed at about six inches or 15 centimeters into the soil, are making a great impact on the AM station's engineers that may soon start removing the 120 ground mounted radials, selling the valuable copper as scrapt metal and replacing them with 4 or maybe up to 8 elevated radials.

According to a recent trade magazine article, elevated radials may soon become as popular as the folded grounded monopole antennas that are now used by many AM stations in order to be able to rent tower space to other telecommunications services.

….........................

Si amigos, the summer is here, and we are just a few days away from the summer solstice, when the number and duration of the sporadic E events is higher than at anytime of the year. Tuesday morning as I was writing the script of the show, my local TV Channel 2 station in Havana,
TeleRebelde was getting a lot of venetian blinds type of co-channel interference from an unidentified station that at time overrides the audio from the local channel two.

All I can say is that the station causing the interference is using the NTSC analog TV transmission standard , so it is not located in the USA, where all high power VHF stations are broadcasting using the digital TV standard ATSC...

A few minutes after the interference began, I started to pick up a 6 meters band beacon from Mexico, so it seems like the band opening is in that general direction...

The maximum useable frequency curve at half past ten in the morning local time in Havana was reaching well past 75 megahertz, as the local channel 4 station, Canal Educativo was also receiving co-channel interference , possibly from Mexico too...

But a quick scan of the FM broadcast band showed no signs of DX stations coming in, although as the Sun moved higher up, the possibilities of a nice FM band E skip opening were higher...

Now amigos, just before going QRT, here is Dxers Unlimited's HF propagation update and forecast... a high speed solar wind will be disturbing the ionosphere for the next 48 to 72 hours, while the solar flux moves down because the active sunspot regions in sight are decaying, so expect rather poor propagation on the bands above 14 megaHertz at least until the weekend...

Don't forget to send your signal reports and comments about this and other RHC programs to inforhc at enet dot cu, and VIA AIR MAIL to Arnie Coro, Radio Havana Cuba, Havana, Cuba

Dxers Unlimited's weekend edition 12-13 June 2010

2010-06-12T09:59:00.000-04:00

Radio Havana Cuba
Dxers Unlimited
Dxers Unlimited's weekend edition for 12-13 June 2010
By Arnie Coro
radio amateur CO2KK

Hi amigos radioaficionados, welcome to the new short format Dxers Unlimited program, designed to fit into Radio Havana Cuba's new one hour broadcasts in English, that will be repeated all along the broadcast day.

Scientific mass media audience research has shown that today's international short wave broadcast listeners preferences aim towards shorter programs that then can be repeated several times reaching a much wider audience .

So, starting from this weekend edition , Dxers Unlimited will be lasting between 10 and 12 minutes, and going on the air every hour, just after the half hour newscast.

For many years, our English program consisted of two hours, and that left many listeners without the possibility of enjoying some of our shows, due to the fact that very few people today have enough time to sit down by the radio and listen to the two full hours.

The new one hour format will also include Breakthrough my science , technology and the environment show, and possibly, in the not too distant future a mini-program devoted to new information and communications technologies, that is now in the planning stage.

Now after this important announcement , here is item two or Dxers Unlimited's weekend edition...

The solar update.... Friday June 11th saw a WOLF number figure of 62, the highest in a long time, and Saturday morning observations done at the Catania , Sicily , Astrophysical Observatory registered a somewhat lower, but nevertheless much larger than those seen for many weeks …

Observer P. Costa wrote on the optical observations webpage that three active sunspot regions were detected and that after processing the data, the R number was at 54.

So, one of the four active sunspot regions that could be seen on Friday was missing, and that was possibly the cause of the lower WOLF number.

According to one of the best known solar observers, there is a very unusual thing happening... the correlation between the daily 10.7 centimeters microwave solar flux and the WOLF number is not matching as well as it should, so even though the R number has increased significantly, the solar flux has stayed below the 80 units mark... Add this new puzzle to the already puzzling solar cycle 24 amigos !!!

Item three: An e-mail from young Cuban radio amateur CM2IR, Frank Martinez Zequeira, tells about a very nice late local afternoon 15 meters band opening to Europe and Africa, that was happening while both Europe and Africa were in total darkness and Havana was seeing the Sun at an elevation angle above the horizon of less than 30 degrees.

Frank , CM2IR described the contacts he was able to make with 50 Watts and a 40 meters band half wave dipole operating on its third harmonic...

He made QSO's with Switzerland, Spain and the Canary Islands , and also heard several stations from Africa. By the way, the Canary Islands are , according to geographers part of the African continent...

Amigo Frank also told me recently about the nice results he was able to achieve with the so called double bazooka coaxial dipole antenna, that at his location is picking up much less man made noise than his previous single wire half wave dipole....

The double bazooka is a very controversial antenna by all standards, with some people praising its noise reducing properties, and others saying that it has a significant signal loss both on transmit and on receive.

Standby now for a few seconds as we take a short break for station ID amigos, I am your host Arnie Coro in Havana
…....................
You are listening to the new compact short form edition of Dxers Unlimited designed to fit into our station's new one hour English broadcast format.

The program will be on the air every hour from 0100 to 0500 hours UTC on 5970 and 6000 kiloHertz. On 5970 kiloHertz we are beaming to Central North America, and the 6000 kiloHertz frequency is beaming all along the East Coast from about 25 degrees North all the way up to the Canadian Maritime provinces and beyond.

Here is now our next item: The ideal amateur radio satellite, the one we radio amateurs are waiting for, is unfortunately far from becoming a reality...

So far all efforts to place an amateur radio satellite payload aboard one of the geostationary telecommunications satellites have proven to be fruitless.

There are many reasons why this is happening, and among them there are two to be highlighted... One is the fact that each kilogram of payload on a geosynchronous satellite costs a lot of money, and the other is that the engineers in charge of the payload are worried that any failure of the amateur satellite package may spread and disrupt the operation of the professional telecommunications bird...

As a matter of fact, according to what I have picked up from several Cuban satellite communications experts, the chances that a ham radio package may go into orbit taking a piggyback ride on a professional satellite are very low, and it is certainly impossible to raise enough money to buy up an independent payload on a rocket capable of placing a satellite into the geostationay orbit...

And now amigos as always at the end of the program, here is Arnie Coro's Dxers Unlimited's HF plus low band VHF propagation update and forecast...

The daily WOLF number will possibly move down again as the active solar regions rotate out of Earth's view during the next several days...Expect lower solar flux after next Tuesday if no new sunspots show up...

Keep a constant watch for the very frequent sporadic E openings that are happening on a daily basis, now that we are approaching the peak of the summer sporadic E season …

Don't forget to take a little time after listening to the program and send an e-mail to inforhc at enet dot cu, again inforhc at enet dot cu , telling me about your radio hobby activities, and it you have any radio hobby related question, send them two … Our postal mailing address is Arnie Coro, Radio Havana Cuba, Havana, Cuba

RE: WOLF Number up to 62 !!!

2010-06-11T22:46:00.000-04:00

June 11 2010
Catania Astrophysical Observatory observer Enrico Catinoto reports R number of 62
as 4 active sunspot regions were registered .
Solar flux is moving UP
At 0245 UTC here in Havana , the 17 meters band was active with Brazilian and
US CW stations !
Signals on the 19 meters international broadcast band from Bonaire and South America
also coming in .

73 and DX
Amigos
Arnie