The Duhallow Repeater Group in County Cork in the South of Ireland have set up a FM Simplexer for the Four Meter band. The callsign of this simplexer is EI4SMR and operates on 70.375MHz FM.
It's located on Musheramore Mountain, in north County Cork. The device was installed on Wednesday 11th June to enhance FM activity on the 4M band. Also back on air over the recent months is the Duhallow UHF repeater operating from the same site with a new antenna installed.
EI7SMR operates on RU74, 430.925mhz, input is 438.525mhz (7.6mhz split) and requires a ctcss tone of 103.5Hz.
16 Jun 2013
12 Jun 2013
New GB3WGI 144MHz Transatlantic beacon
A New GB3WGI 144MHz transatlantic beacon goes live with G2FKZ legacy funding.
The GB3WGI Transatlantic 144MHz amateur radio beacon went live at 1600 GMT on the 4th of June in time for the peak of the 2013 Sporadic E season.
The beacon runs 100 Watts EIRP in CW and JT65b modes on 144.487MHz and is located in the West of Northern Ireland (IO64bl). The plan is to apply for an increase in EIRP in due course.
The beacon's function is to provide an early warning of 144MHz Transatlantic propagation on the Europe to USA path as a complement to the existing 144MHz Transatlantic beacon network in the USA which provides alerts on the USA to Europe path.
It also aims to encourage participation in the IRTS Brendan Trophy and to further study the propagation path using weak signal digital modes (WSJT) developed by Nobel Laureate Professor Joe Taylor K1JT.
It is hoped that the project will benefit radio amateurs interested in 144MHz long distance weak signal working as well as those generally interested in digital modes, and could provide the first real evidence of transatlantic propagation from the US to North West Europe.
Current 144MHz European transatlantic beacons are much further to the South and/or East in Cornwall, France and the Azores. GB3WGI has a clear sea takeoff to the eastern seaboard of the USA.
The beacon was supported by a number of amateur donations including The City of Belfast Radio Amateur Society, but the major donation of £500 was made by the RSBG Propagation Studies Committee from the legacy left by the late Charlie Newton G2FKZ. The bulk of this went on the beacon, the remainder to fund beacon driver development for future beacons. Charlie Newton, wrote the definitive book on radio auroras, and was acknowledged as one of the leading experts on the topic of VHF propagation. He was for many years a leading light in the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) Propagation Studies Committee.
Acknowledgements also go to Brian WA1ZMS who inspired the concept of GB3WGI, Andy G4JNT who designed and built the driver, Powabeam Antennas and The DX Shop who supplied parts for the antenna system, to James G3RUH who provided a GPSDO reference, to Murray G6JYB for Ofcom liaison, to John GI4BWM and Dave GI4SNA and of course to beacon keeper and site manager Gordon Curry GI6ATZ who really drove the project through to completion.
From John Worsnop G4BAO
Source:Southgate Amateur Radio News
- Posted from my iPhone - 73's DE EI5IX
The GB3WGI Transatlantic 144MHz amateur radio beacon went live at 1600 GMT on the 4th of June in time for the peak of the 2013 Sporadic E season.
The beacon runs 100 Watts EIRP in CW and JT65b modes on 144.487MHz and is located in the West of Northern Ireland (IO64bl). The plan is to apply for an increase in EIRP in due course.
The beacon's function is to provide an early warning of 144MHz Transatlantic propagation on the Europe to USA path as a complement to the existing 144MHz Transatlantic beacon network in the USA which provides alerts on the USA to Europe path.
It also aims to encourage participation in the IRTS Brendan Trophy and to further study the propagation path using weak signal digital modes (WSJT) developed by Nobel Laureate Professor Joe Taylor K1JT.
It is hoped that the project will benefit radio amateurs interested in 144MHz long distance weak signal working as well as those generally interested in digital modes, and could provide the first real evidence of transatlantic propagation from the US to North West Europe.
Current 144MHz European transatlantic beacons are much further to the South and/or East in Cornwall, France and the Azores. GB3WGI has a clear sea takeoff to the eastern seaboard of the USA.
The beacon was supported by a number of amateur donations including The City of Belfast Radio Amateur Society, but the major donation of £500 was made by the RSBG Propagation Studies Committee from the legacy left by the late Charlie Newton G2FKZ. The bulk of this went on the beacon, the remainder to fund beacon driver development for future beacons. Charlie Newton, wrote the definitive book on radio auroras, and was acknowledged as one of the leading experts on the topic of VHF propagation. He was for many years a leading light in the Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) Propagation Studies Committee.
Acknowledgements also go to Brian WA1ZMS who inspired the concept of GB3WGI, Andy G4JNT who designed and built the driver, Powabeam Antennas and The DX Shop who supplied parts for the antenna system, to James G3RUH who provided a GPSDO reference, to Murray G6JYB for Ofcom liaison, to John GI4BWM and Dave GI4SNA and of course to beacon keeper and site manager Gordon Curry GI6ATZ who really drove the project through to completion.
From John Worsnop G4BAO
Source:Southgate Amateur Radio News
- Posted from my iPhone - 73's DE EI5IX
24 May 2013
CQ WPX last minute Preparations!
All the very best result to all participants this year in the CQ WPX contest! Let's have fun.
Contest on.
Here's some last minute resources to help you judge the bands for the weekend,
WM7D's Solar Resource Page click here.
SunSpotWatch click here.
NOAA / Space Weather Prediction Center click here.
Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) Radio User's Page click here.
NOAA Ovation Aurora (Test Product) click here.
HAARP Spectrum Monitor 1-30 MHz click here.
Enjoy the Contest.
M0XII - Pat
- Posted from my iPhone - 73's DE EI5IX
Contest on.
Here's some last minute resources to help you judge the bands for the weekend,
WM7D's Solar Resource Page click here.
SunSpotWatch click here.
NOAA / Space Weather Prediction Center click here.
Space Weather Prediction Center (SWPC) Radio User's Page click here.
NOAA Ovation Aurora (Test Product) click here.
HAARP Spectrum Monitor 1-30 MHz click here.
Enjoy the Contest.
M0XII - Pat
- Posted from my iPhone - 73's DE EI5IX
22 May 2013
M5-CLASS EXPLOSION:
The ongoing radiation storm got started on May 22nd when the magnetic canopy of sunspot AR1745 exploded. The blast produced an M5-class solar flare and hurled a magnificent CME over the sun's western limb:
Credit: the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO)
The movie of the CME is very "snowy." That is caused by high-energy solar protons striking the CCD camera in SOHO's coronagraph. Each strike produces a brief snow-like speckle in the image. This hailstorm of solar protons is what forecasters mean by "radiation storm."Although the explosion was not squarely Earth-directed, the CME will likely be geoeffective. The expanding cloud appears set to deliver a glancing blow to Earth's magnetic field on May 24th around 1200 UT. According to NOAA forecast models, the impact will more than double the solar wind plasma density around Earth and boost the solar wind speed to ~600 km/s. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras.
Solar wind flowing from this coronal hole should reach Earth on May 23-24.
Credit: SDO/AIA.
30 Apr 2013
QRP from the Garden
Today I decided to setup my Chameleon V1 antenna in the garden in London City and work some CW QRP 10w.
Conditions are reasonably okay on the Bands but the noise in the city here is a tough battle to fight at the best of times on the bands.
I had my first CW contact on 5MHz (60m) QRP today with GW3UEP - Ron on 5.260MHz at 16:22UTC the QSB was deep at that time, both reports of 559 raised an eyebrow for me with regards to the 60m propagation. Thanks to Ron for my first QSO on a new band for me and also for his patience with the QSB during our QSO.
I'm looking forward to exploring more conditions on the 60 meters band as it has very interesting propagation characteristics, just lying approximately halfway between 80 meter (3.5 MHz) and 40 meter (7 MHz), the 60 meter (5 MHz) band forms a communication bridge when propagation effects make use of the 80m or 40m impossible for local-to-medium distance communications. The 5Mhz band is apparently less affected by D-Layer absorption than on the 80 meter band, the 60 meter (5 MHz) band is an ideal candidate for the Near Vertical Incidence Skywave (NVIS), the most commonly used technique capable of providing seamless local-to-medium distance HF communications.
Here is a simple QRP setup that I'm running at the moment in West London.
I'm going to test a Loop antenna and a Dipole if I get the time over the next few days so I hope to work some of you on the key on 60 Meters 5MHz band.
Best 73's
Pat
M0XII/QRP
- Posted from my iPhone - 73's DE EI5IX
Conditions are reasonably okay on the Bands but the noise in the city here is a tough battle to fight at the best of times on the bands.
I had my first CW contact on 5MHz (60m) QRP today with GW3UEP - Ron on 5.260MHz at 16:22UTC the QSB was deep at that time, both reports of 559 raised an eyebrow for me with regards to the 60m propagation. Thanks to Ron for my first QSO on a new band for me and also for his patience with the QSB during our QSO.
I'm looking forward to exploring more conditions on the 60 meters band as it has very interesting propagation characteristics, just lying approximately halfway between 80 meter (3.5 MHz) and 40 meter (7 MHz), the 60 meter (5 MHz) band forms a communication bridge when propagation effects make use of the 80m or 40m impossible for local-to-medium distance communications. The 5Mhz band is apparently less affected by D-Layer absorption than on the 80 meter band, the 60 meter (5 MHz) band is an ideal candidate for the Near Vertical Incidence Skywave (NVIS), the most commonly used technique capable of providing seamless local-to-medium distance HF communications.
Here is a simple QRP setup that I'm running at the moment in West London.
I'm going to test a Loop antenna and a Dipole if I get the time over the next few days so I hope to work some of you on the key on 60 Meters 5MHz band.
Best 73's
Pat
M0XII/QRP
- Posted from my iPhone - 73's DE EI5IX
23 Apr 2013
March 144/432 MHz 2013 - Results
Results from the RSGB Contest results website;
M0MDG/P - The Middlesex DX Group done well this year, the group managed to strike up a 3rd Place position overall within the Section Open of this radio contest with a total of 1419 points.
The group came in 2nd place on the 144Mhz Open Section and 3rd on 432Mhz Open Section of the contest.
This year the MDG group were rewarded with excellent conditions on both bands VHF and UHF from Locator: JO00EW, Possibly the best conditions at that location were on the Saturday and not as great on the Sunday but I'm really pleased and had a fantastic weekend of radio. Looking forward to more great conditions and fantastic contests like this on VHF and UHF bands over this summer, might even get to hear some of you on the air.
I'd like to take this opportunity to Thank John G0KLX, Jason M1PRO, Carl 2E1IDC, Simon 2W0VAG and Steve G1OFW for a really enjoyable weekend I'm already looking forward to the next one.
73's - SK
Pat EI5IX / M0XII
M0MDG/P - The Middlesex DX Group done well this year, the group managed to strike up a 3rd Place position overall within the Section Open of this radio contest with a total of 1419 points.
The group came in 2nd place on the 144Mhz Open Section and 3rd on 432Mhz Open Section of the contest.
This year the MDG group were rewarded with excellent conditions on both bands VHF and UHF from Locator: JO00EW, Possibly the best conditions at that location were on the Saturday and not as great on the Sunday but I'm really pleased and had a fantastic weekend of radio. Looking forward to more great conditions and fantastic contests like this on VHF and UHF bands over this summer, might even get to hear some of you on the air.
I'd like to take this opportunity to Thank John G0KLX, Jason M1PRO, Carl 2E1IDC, Simon 2W0VAG and Steve G1OFW for a really enjoyable weekend I'm already looking forward to the next one.
73's - SK
Pat EI5IX / M0XII
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