RSGB 4th 144MHz Backpackers contest 2016

This 4th session of the RSGB Backpackers series 2016 is the make or break session for us. Due to being away for the 5th and final session we go into this with 2 wins and a 2nd place. Rob G7LAS is hot on our heels with a win and two seconds. If we didn’t win this then Rob most likely would, and would also win the 5th session making 3 wins to two, an unassailable lead.

So the pressure was on!

All we could do was continue with our busy work rate and rack up the QSOs as best we could whilst hopefully finding some good multipliers. The tropo forecast was for good conditions to the South and extended just up towards where our location in the Welsh Mountains is. Fingers crossed.

It was a glorious day when we arrived to set up, in fact when I got in the tent it was too hot, I had to take my top off and catch some breeze. Here is a 360°+ pano of our view (click here to view better):
Pano view from IO81KW
This 4 hour contest starts 1 hour before both the RSGB Low Power and WAB QRP contests, which are 25W and 10W contests respectively. This meant we had a free band to get started on and didn’t expect to suffer too much QRM an hour in. This turned out to be the case and apart from local strong stations working a weaker running station 4KHz from us we had very little in the way of QRM.

To keep us going we had the backpackers essential supplies:
Backpackers essential contest supplies
Activity was good and so were conditions. The tropo forecast seemed to be on the ball and we worked several French stations, Germany, Netherlands and even Spain. Again no Belgium. One glaring omission for us was any Scottish stations, but we did get Guernsey, Jersey, Northern Ireland and Isle of Man.

By the time the contest was over it was so windy we were concerned about the antenna and mast even though it was engineered knowing the winds on the exposed point could be strong. The very second the time turned to red in Minos the radio was off and we were out taking down the antenna. That itself is interesting as one thing with telescopic masts is once you start to lower them your guys are no longer doing any good and the lightweight mast is at risk of bending. However we have developed a process for coping with this and soon had the antenna down. Here are some clips of the wind Paul took towards the end of and after the contest:

We did really well on both QSO count and multipliers and best DX a little under 1000km. Our score is I think the first score over the 2 million mark in the backpackers this century, certainly the 4th session.

QSO map:
GW1YBB/P QSO map 4th BP 2016
Claimed Scores:
claimed scores 4th BP 2016
Results:
Final scores 4th Backpackers 2016
BP 2016 4th Winners certFull results list (PDF)

So, job done!! With 3000 normalised points from 3 sessions we have an unbeatable score! Woohoo! Rob G7LAS (as GW7LAS/P) kept us well on our toes but we managed to do the job. I can’t help notice that Rob and us having a good tussle at the top were the only entrants lugging our gear up to 800metres ASL for a great VHF take off. Good to see an even bigger tussle going on in the 10W section.
2016 Backpackers Championship results

RSGB 144MHz UKAC 5th July 2016

For this next instalment of the UKAC we have gone all posh. We are basically using the equipment we use in the Backpackers series with the slight exception we can use the full 5W power available from the FT-817. We are allowed to use 10W in the AL section and I think next session we are going to dig out the old Yaesu FT-225RD I have and used to use in the ‘old days’ to make use of that as we are finding 5W a struggle in these busier events. I have a month to make some mods to the 225RD to allow it to be used with my CQ caller mic which will save me also digging out the old (and large!) volatile RAM based CQ caller I still have that we used to use.

But the Armstrong rotator and lock system I have for the lightweight mast is designed to be used at ground level in a tent not sat in a car. Additionally with electric windows all round turning the beam is a bit of a pain with the ignition of car kept off. So I have bought a new Yaesu G-650C rotator to use. Whilst I do have 2 petrol generators I have only started one in recent times and that doesn’t run properly and needs a service. So I have bought a 150W 12V to 240V inverter and am running that off a small LiFePo4 battery. In use the rotator uses about 5A on the battery and about just under 1A when idle so I am turning the inverter off between rotations (when I remember anyway!).

Here is the set up, one battery for the FT-817 and one for the rotator:
battery powered rotator setup
Outside the rotator is sitting on the ground rotating the whole mast which saves having a stub mast and hoisting up a relatively heavy lump of rotator atop the mast. The currently in use lightweight mast is too thin for the rotator to be used on it higher up anyway. The 3 sets of guys on the mast are very low friction by design and the whole thing weighs less than 10kg so nothing for the rotator to deal with. Titterstone Clee Hill can be seen at the end of the road:
mast base mounted rotator
It’s all about evolving the station and future improvements will see a drive on base and the use of a single ali scaffold pole for the mast rather than the lightweight telescopic one. This is mostly to speed up assembly and take down.

Once all set up we seemed to have great North South signals but really deep QSB. Once under way we found the band very busy and also had other stations calling CQ contest on the frequency we’d been on for over an hour. Quite irritating and didn’t help our QSO rate as we couldn’t be sure if stations calling in were calling us or someone else.

Paul G1YFC took a short video of me working Phil M0NVS/P:

QSO wise we did well on squares North but I don’t know what we have done to upset PA and ON as we haven’t worked one for a few contests in a row now. Not a single European station worked this time!

Our QSO map:
G1YBB portable QSO map 5-7-16
Claimed scores (top 10):
claimed-scores-144mhz-ukac-july-2016
Final scores (top 10):
final-scores-144mhz-ukac-july-2016
Full result list (PDF)

RSGB 3rd 144MHz Backpackers contest 2016

This 3rd session of the Backpackers series is timed to coincide with the last 3 hours of VHF NFD which meant finding a quiet frequency was going to be  interesting.

On the up side it was a glorious day when we arrived at the summit site to set up:
the take off to the East
Building the 9 element portable DK7ZB yagi:
setting up in the sun
Antenna up and ready. Some strange coloured background behind it!
what's that blue background
Shack up and ready for us:
shack for the day
Shack views don’t come much better than this:
view from the tent
To keep us sustained we have proper contester food:
serious contester food
Once on air we scanned the band looking for a slot between the strong VHF NFD stations. We found one a fair way from the strongest ones but one near from the North lifted our noise floor each transmission and made receive pretty tough. However we persevered and activity seemed pretty good though DX apart from Scotland was scarce for us.
We like to run mostly and keep the work rate up to keep the QSOs coming in and search and pounce when it goes quiet. The last hour was very slow after the NFD closed down but on the up side we had a receive back! We managed 120 QSOs which we were pretty pleased with and a best DX of nearly 800km to the Orkneys which was great. And he was booming down too. No ON or PA at all though.

QSO map:
3rd Backpackers 2016 GW1YBB_P QSO map
Claimed scores:
claimed scores 3rd BP 2016
Results:
Final scores 3rd Backpackers 2016
Winners of 3rd backpackers 2016Full results list (PDF)

RSGB 2nd 144MHz Backpackers contest 2016

The 2nd event in this series of contests coincides with the Practical Wireless QRP contest so we decided we would do both. This contest starts earlier than most of the other Backpackers event so it was an early start for us, or I should say even earlier.

The weather this time was fairly poor. Lots of rain and quite windy. So we arrived on the top pretty soaked through with terrible visibility and a pretty dense low cloud.
arrived at the top
The summit site is pretty exposed so if there is any wind at all anywhere, it’s usually very windy on the summit. We were ready for this though. The lightweight mast I have built was made in 3 sections and purposely designed for such an occasion. For lower less exposed use in contests where we are OK to use its full length all three sections are extended and we have a set of guys for each section. (the lower guys are really only there to hold it up while we extend it etc). But for the backpackers series section 3B we are only allowed 4m high, which just so happens (it was designed that way really) to be the height with the mid section extended. This means we have the option of double guying the highest section of the mast. We have separate pegs for every single guy as this negates the need for knots and saves us set up time by just putting the peg in the loop, and putting the peg in when the guy is taut. This also means on a 4 metre mast we have 8x 550lb breaking strain guys on 8 decent sized pegs, so despite the scary wind noises when inside the tent the antenna is pretty safe.
Double guys shown here (one on left is the lowest set up guy going to a tiny tent peg):
set up double guyed
Once in the tent we were pretty cold thanks to the liquid cooling we were enjoying. We’d allowed plenty of time to deal with any unforeseen circumstances or issues setting up in the bad weather so we had time for a few warming cups of coffee.

Once under way we forgot about being cold and set about the job in hand:
G1YBB operating GW1YBB portable
We got pretty decent activity in first hour or so, and to be honest not bad in the first 4 hours, which is all of the Backpackers contest. However DX was rare we managed a French station at Calais and one Belgian station. It was nice to point to Guernsey hoping to pick some mults up and within 5 minutes we got one, thanks for that! The last 3 hours to make up the PW QRP entry were best described as dire. Without the CQ caller I made I am pretty sure we would have quit and gone home. On the plus side we never heard anyone with a higher QSO count, but PW is a square multiplier contest and I feel we are going to suffer with a low square tally.

There was no post contest looking around and chatting. Radio straight off and try and pack up before the looming black cloud making it’s way towards us arrived. Here we are ready to roll (taking turns holding the mast for the camera):
ready to go home
Paul ready to go
QSO map:
QSO map 2nd Backpackers 2016
Claimed scores:
Claimed scores 2nd Backpackers 2016
Results:
Final scores 2nd Backpackers 2016

Winners of 2nd backpackers 2016
Full result list (PDF)

RSGB 144MHz UKAC 7th June 2016

This session I had company in the shape of Paul G1YFC to help set up and operate. Another pair of ears is always welcome with the weak stations or when we are suffering from QRM from other stations. On reaching the bottom of the ascent of the hill we were greeted by flashing flooding from the lashing storm that was hammering the car. The lower roads where more level had 4 to 6 inches of flowing water over them and even the higher steeper sections were a brown rushing river about 1 or 2 inches deep. This is a picture of the very last section of hill with hardly any catchment area above it:
flash floods on road
Once on site we sat in the car to wait out the heavy rain. It eased a little so we started to put the mast up but the rain picked up and it felt like someone was pouring a hosepipe down the back of my non waterproof trousers so we abandoned ship to the car. It eased again so back out we went and this time it stopped and the sun came out. By the time we had the antenna up we were bone dry from soaked through.
antenna mast set up
We had a few QSOs before the start and fisnished the last rag chew with the first QSO in the contest but found it a slow start. Conditions seemed quite odd and we could hear a lightning strike crash every now and then for most of the contest but we didn’t see any. Paul had time to take an arty low sun shot of me in action:
G1YBB in action
We also had an interested visitor:
interested spectator
Anyway, we got 105 QSOs but didn’t work one single European station not even Frank PE1EWR who always calls us. Although our QSOs were respectable and points per QSO also not bad, we just didn’t have the multipliers.

Our QSO map:
144 UKAC 2016-06-07 map
Claimed scores:
Claimed scores 144MHz UKAC June 2016
And the results:
Final scores 144MHz UKAC June 2016
Full result list (PDF)

RSGB 1st 144MHz Backpackers contest 2016

This was the series of contests I have been building the lightweight and portable antenna system for. I knew exactly where I wanted to operate from and the new (to me) super lightweight Yaesu FT-817 radio and the modern Lithium batteries have made it a possibility for me. Most of my previous contesting in the 80s and 90s was done in the Black Mountains below Pen-Y-Gadair. It is a great site for the non multiplier contests but because we were below the summit we always lost out on multiplier events. I always wanted to operate from the summit but with our equipment then it was a no go for us with no 4WD and even a landrover would struggle to get there.

But I can walk there! Well I can with Paul G1YFC to help carry the gear.

Here I am loaded up:
Loaded up and on the way
And Paul with his load too:
Paul loaded up to go
Nearly at the summit:
Nearly there
The weather today was practically perfect for contesting on top of the exposed summit, unlike the day before when the winds would probably have made it impossible to get my lightweight mast up safely. We managed to get the antenna set up before a light shower and soon had my mountaineering tent up too. We set up away from the summit cairn to be out of the way of walkers but also to be above the steeply falling East facing side of the mountain to make the best use of the ground gain:
antenna and tent set up
Paul took an arty one of my direction label and the end of the coax:
direction label and coax
Once the radio was connected up we scanned the SSB section of the band to see who was about and to find a free frequency. There were some strong fairly local (as crow flies) stations below 144.300MHz so we went higher to be clear of them. I noticed I could hear one station CQing 50KHz away so decided a 100KHz away would be a good plan. Once it hit 11:00 we were off. About 90 minutes later Rob GW7LAS/P popped up and after our exchange informed us we’d kicked off an hour too early. Doh! Disaster. We worked some good multipliers and quantity of QSOs in that first hour, for no avail. There was nothing for it but to soldier on and make the best of a bad job.

Later on we had a sharp rainstorm and with it came S9+ of rain static. So strong the station that we could hear 50KHz off his frequency was only just readable above the noise. Luckily it died back down after a while. The last couple of hours were pretty hard work beaming north for some Scottish points proved fruitless as did beaming to Eire. We did beam down towards Guernsey hoping for some GU and maybe a French station that seems to be on often in the UKAC events and were pleased to pick up Guernsey and Alderney almost straight away.

We finished with 121 QSOs of which 79 were in the qualifying period. We lost 9 multipliers from 6 QSOs in that first hour alone! However we managed to salvage a reasonable claimed score of 783,300 points which put us just in 2nd place in our section. One more average QSO would have taken us to 1st!

Here is our QSO map, valid QSOs in green, invalid in red. We lost some good distance ones and multipliers too:
QSO map scoring and non-scoring
Our claimed score was encouraging though. Hopefully Rob GW7LAS/P made more logging mistakes than we did, one decent lost QSO more than us would mean we would swap places:
claimed scores 3B section
Results showed we couldn’t overtake Rob after all. So close yet we could have done so much better. BIG lesson learnt there!
results 3B section
Full result list (PDF)

144MHz 19 element MET yagi antenna

Having recently built one of the new (to me) DK7ZB designed yagis for 144MHz I am finding it’s performance to be amazing. It even feels like it performs better than our old array of 2x 19 element MET antennas. So I wondered how they measured up for gain.

The 19 element MET antennas we used back in the 1980s and 1990s and Google was struggling to come up with the good for me to see what they were specified as to compare. I eventually found this advert in a PDF for a construction article from a 1983 Practical Wireless magazine so I thought I would share it for anyone else who might follow the same path.

MET yagi antennas
So our 19 element MET yagi was 14.2dBd from a 6.57m boom.
My new 9 element DK7ZB is 12.5dBd from a 5m boom.
To get 14.2dBd in a DK7ZB requires a 8m boom. Hmmm.

I’m not sure I fully trust the claimed gain on this advert! 14.2dBi maybe, but I am not convinced on 14.2dBd. The ‘feel’ on the air of the new single 9 element DK7ZB is just great comparing to what we used to work on the 2x METs. I am getting great signals from familiar places and people. I am using a new-ish radio (FT-817) though that is not what I would call a top spec VHF contest radio. I am using a lower mast and probably better quality and shorter feeder I guess. I must dig out the Yaesu FT-225RD I used to use and see how it ‘feels’ on that. One thing I have thought of is I know we mounted one MET at top with support below, and one at bottom with support up. I can’t remember if we arranged the feeds to be on same side! So we may not have been operating as efficiently as possible.

All in I am loving the DK7ZB and can see why lots of the contest groups have them.

RSGB 144MHz UKAC 3rd May 2016

For this next session of the the UKAC series I decided to use an old site that was the site of my first ever 144MHz VHF contest when I entered the PW QRP contest with Kevin G1VDF. I chose to operate here as I was hoping to get back earlier as getting into bed at 1am on a work night was a bit late. The drive is slightly longer but it is a drive on site so packing away hopefully would be quicker.

Where I decided to set up was a little cramped and awkward to raise the mast on my own so it took longer than it could have. However I did manage to get all set up and on air a little before the kick off although with no real spare time for any photos this time.

I could hear some seriously strong stations giving me some interference so I tracked them down to check they weren’t in the field behind me or something similarly close. They weren’t but they did report I was giving them issues with splatter and sounded like I had far too much compression on my audio. This was the first time out for my new build of the BX-184 CQ caller which I suspected might be set too high in the mic. As I didn’t have the right tools with me to do anything about that I tried to cut down the overdriving by turning down the SSB mic gain down a fair way. This was said to help but not solve the issue completely, though I was receiving the complaining stations so strongly the signal reading never came off the ‘stop’ between their words even. I changed my operating frequency for a further 10KHz away from them to try and help.

Once under way activity was quite good as last time but generally although signals all seemed to be really big I didn’t really get as many more distant stations. I’d hoped to make use of the ON4KST chat like most do for finding multipliers but I was not getting any cell coverage to get online which was a shame. I did manage to find two new GI squares searching and pouncing though again missed some other ones. It’s tough to know how long to spend away from the running frequency searching and pouncing!
My QSO map for this contest:
144 UKAC 2016-05-03 map
My QSO count was 2nd highest and my claimed score put me in first place in the low power section. However it was close at the top and adjudication could easily scupper that:
144 UKAC 2016-04-05 claimed scores
The results came in quite quickly this time and I was pleased to see I was still top out of the 85 entries in AL section! I lost 5 QSOs for errors but luckily others lost some too and I stayed top:
144 UKAC 2016-04-05 final scores
Oh, and I was in bed by 11.45pm, result!

Full result list (PDF)

Simple car portable operating table

As I have always operated way more as a portable station than a base station I have operated from the car many times and in many ways. Some not as comfortable as others that’s for sure. It gets tiring twisting to one side or hunching over. In the end I came up with a simple solution for me that enables me to easily set up and have space, and be comfortable operating, which is important if you are spending a long time operating like in a contest.

Basically, a plank of wood!

More accurately it is a small sheet of plywood sized and modified for purpose to make a flat table in the car to carry the radio and any ancillary units like batteries, PSUs or amplifiers etc. It’s strong enough to support a 4CX350 based 200W VHF amplifier.

The sheet is sized wide enough to fit in most normal cars and long enough to reach from the top of the dashboard to just past the back of the driver’s seat. There is a slot cut to allow it to slip over the steering wheel:
car portable operating table
I keep it in the boot ready to go as it doesn’t really take any space. I just take the head rest out of the driver’s seat and sit the board on the top of the seat. The slot for the steering wheel allows the board to sit on top of the dash and adds a level of security from catching a sleeve on a corner and knocking it off. In my shiny new car I just add a towel over the steering wheel and dash and another on top of the seat to protect them from any markings. The two head rest entry points and top of the curved dash make a tripod style stable platform. And the weight of the radio and batteries keep everything steady.
I use my backpacking batteries because I don’t have a DC feed at 20A to the car battery for the radio and I don’t have to worry about draining the car battery if a pileup comes my way.

I pull the steering wheel all the way forward to drive anyway, but this means the wood extends back enough to sit normally in the back seat without even moving driver’s seat and I can sit with my back against the back seat (rather than hunched forward) comfortably and operate. In fact these days as you see, I have the tablet on my lap. The most comfortable car portable operating I have found, and I have done a lot over the years!
car portable operating table
This is about the 4th or 5th car this board has seen action in and it is now into it’s 4th decade (with about a 2 decade break).

DH8BQA voice keyer BX-184 for FT-817, FT857D, FT-897D mic MH-31

I was scrolling down my Facebook feed and spotted a post in I think one of the SOTA Facebook groups mentioning a BX-184 CQ Parrot. It looked interesting at first, then awesome! Within 20 minutes I had it ordered.

This is a modification to the standard MH-31 microphone that comes with the FT-817, FT-857D and FT-879D etc. It will record and playback a message, perfect for calling CQ Contest or CQ SOTA etc, but without the requirement to carry and connect up another gadget as it fits completely inside the microphone body. It was designed by Oliver DH8BQA and he describes it on his website here http://www.dh8bqa.de/bx-184/.

It is available for sale on the German Funk Amateur site here Funk Amateur BX-184. However they also do another kit that includes an MH-31 microphone body if you don’t want to disturb your original mic and that is the option that I took Funk Amateur BX-184M. The website is all in German so if like me you don’t speak German Google Translate will help a lot! There is also now a USA vendor here http://www.box73.com/product/2

It came pretty quickly and this is what you get in the box:
what is in the box
A complete kit with all you need. The PCB is part SMT (surface mount technology) and part through hole components. You just need to fit the through hole components.

The double sided PTH PCB is very nicely built.
Top:
PCB as supplied top
Bottom:
PCB as supplied bottom
Before it arrived I did some research and found some mods made by DG2IAQ on eHam which sounded worthwhile:

Mod 1:
I do always replace C8 (4,7µF) by a nonpolarised SMD 1,0µF to fasten up the AGC. With this Change the internal AGC works more as a mic compressor than as a (slightly delayed) mic Level limiter.”
Mod 2:
And for the first time I changed R4 (82k) into 56k to bring the sample rate from 8kHz up to 12kHz (by a shortened play time of 40s instead of 60s, but that’s still more than enough for my needs). This change gives even more punch for the replayed calls as the sound is a little more high-pitched afterwards. You simply can solder a 100k SMD in parallel to R4 instead of completely replacing it.”
I emailed Oliver DH8BQA for his thoughts on these mods and he confirmed they should be worthwhile.
So I decided an 0805 ceramic chip 1µF capacitor would fit best across the pads for the 4.7µF electrolytic it was replacing:
C8 fitted as 1uF
I should have fitted this first as the 15µF cap next to it made it awkward to get a good solder joint on the GND side of the capacitor due to the ground plane wicking the heat away. Got there in the end though:
1uF cap fitted
R4 is an 82K 1206 sized resistor located on the rear of the PCB (this is easy to locate as the kit comes with build instructions in German with a good circuit and layout supplied. English instructions can be downloaded here, page 5 onwards English Build Guide):
standard R4 as 82K
And with a 100K 1206 fitted in parallel (on top of the fitted resistor) as suggested above:
R4 with 100K added
With all parts now fitted (including a 1206 capacitor fitted across the supplied electret insert terminals) all that is left to do is mount the electret insert into the microphone body and solder that to the PCB.
Opening up the supplied microphone and removing the PCB revealed these 2 slabs of steel in the body. The only function of these I could see was to add weight to make it feel more substantial. So I got rid of those. No point in carrying dead weight:
empty mic shell
Next I hot melt glued the electret insert into the mic and filled up the void as the instructions said. Actually I filled more than the picture in the build instructions showed by mistake. Then solder the screened cable to the PCB and fit the IC and it’s ready to be assembled:
finished prior to assembly
As the replacement PCB does not have the two position slide switch, there is the unused hole in the back of the mic. For this I just used some good quality sticky label material I have to hand.
One piece inside:
switch hole covered up
And one on the outside.(not pretty but functional):
switch hole covered up ext
Once assembled I compared the standard supplied Yaesu MH-31 mic for weight against the BX-184 CQ parrot. A 40% saving in weight, I’ll take that:
Yaesu MH-31 v CQ parrot weight
I soon connected it up to the radio ready to go but there was no outgoing audio! What!? With several projects on the go I could do without time spent fault finding. What if I have cooked the electret soldering the capacitor on now it’s well and truly hot glued into place. Hmmm. Hold on, what was that pot trimmer for? I remembered when building it I couldn’t see any mention of it. A check of the circuit confirmed the obvious answer. It’s on the mic output to the radio. A quick check with the meter confirmed it was currently set to ground the mic line going to the radio. A quick tweak and we are back in business.
In fact the worst part was setting up to monitor myself. Eventually I had a reasonable system, FT-857D on 5Watts into a dummy load near the FT-897D with a 4mm banana plus as an antenna feeding into the sound card on the PC, with Audacity dealing with the recording. The recordings are not broadcast quality but are good enough for a comparison.
Here is a CQ call using the standard MH-31 mic:

Here is same CQ call live using the BX-184:

And the replayed recorded CQ call from the BX-184:

I might need some on air radio reports for final setting but it doesn’t seem to be clipping at all though does have a little more punch.

 Can’t wait to try this out in a contest or SOTA activation. All in a great little kit well thought out and went together very well. The only small point is no actual mention of the trimmer function or setting which would be good as a reminder if nothing else. I know this kit is aimed at radio amateurs who should be able to look at the circuit and deduce why the pot is there so this is a very minor point in a great kit.
Edit:
I have since used this ‘in anger’ in 144MHz contests. The first contest I got some complaints about over driving and being wide (complainant was also wide to me for that matter!!). But I turned SSB mic gain down in the FT-817 and back at home I did turn down the audio output level on the microphone itself and did some tests between it and the standard MH-31. Subsequent contests have resulted in zero complaints but some good audio reports.