Sunday 23 October 2016

Ramblings

It's been almost a month since I set up my Wires-X gateway and I can report that it appears to be working well, despite not holding a solitary QSO on it! There are countless nodes and rooms connected but few, if any, conversations happening  I have called out on numerous occasions in various rooms and, apart from US rooms, I have heard next to nothing. I wonder why this is? Maybe it's a low number of operators on the system? Doubtful, as a glance at the connected node list shows thousands world wide. Are we becoming a hobby filled with licenced SWL's? It's a great shame, as the audio quality is superb, the infrastructure of the Wires-X system is extremely sound and the potential for a huge uptake is certainly there. Even using the Fusion reflectors in the FCS system shows a distinct lack of activity.

D-STAR is very busy at times, I connect to REF001 C regularly and there is always a lot of traffic. Granted, D-STAR has been around for much longer and there are far more people using it, but the audio in comparison with C4FM is a little "robotic".

As for DMR, the almost constant monitoring by the "DMR Police" and the equally constant changes in the infrastructure, and the Politics involved with the various networks has spoiled a once pleasurable experience.

AllStar has not been without its difficulties as well. There has recently been a "branching out" where members of the UK Hub have splintered away to form HUBNet UK, taking users and splitting the community. It's impossible to pledge an allegiance to one particular "network", I just want to talk to people regardless of their particular differences.

Locally, the already depleted ranks of operators on 2m have dwindled away to the occasional few. Not so long ago a QSO could be guaranteed almost every evening, but not so now. Even use of repeaters has decreased to the levels that would not justify a Repeater Keeper continuing.

What do I glean from all of this? I suspect that there are many disillusioned Amateurs out there. There are the "Die Hards" who only use Simplex, Analogue and decry "new fangled ideas" such as Digital and Internet Linked systems. There are the up-takers of systems like DMR, who are put off by the almost constant derision by those who are seldom heard in a QSO. They only come on air to chastise those who they perceive to have transgressed. The fact is that, regardless of the means used, it's all about talking to people. Why participate in a hobby that involves communication if you don't wish to speak to anyone? So, let's put the calls out, let's answer a few of those calls and get talking again!

On a somewhat lighter note, the FT-817 is still impressing me greatly. It really is a superb radio, and if power (or the lack of it) is an issue, just look at some of the QRP forums out there to see just what can be achieved with a measly 5W. I bought a Moonraker SPX100 portable multi-band antenna to use with the 817 and I have to report that as a dummy load it is as useless as it is as an antenna. It is not resonant (at all) on any of the bands and flatly refuses to tune with a tuner. Even adding counterpoises has made little difference, so my Hamfest bargain has flopped somewhat. All is not lost though, my trusty wire with un-un is still doing its job. I have it mounted on a 10 metre fishing pole, as a vertical, and it still tunes 80m to 6m with no problems. Granted, it's a compromise antenna, but for portable use its fine. It telescopes down to a metre in length and can easily be carried whilst out and about.

Last weekend was JOTA and myself and other members of South Kesteven Amateur Radio Society activated the Scout Hut at Foston for the event. I was unable to participate on the Saturday but managed to spend the whole of Sunday operating and assisting with the station. Best contact of the weekend was into Cyprus, and many European stations were also logged. The Cubs, Beavers and Scouts all had a whale of a time, as did Stewart, Andrew, Richard and myself. Looking forward to next year.

Not much else to report, but watch this space.....

73 de 2E0ENN

Thursday 6 October 2016

QRP and other Ramblings

Back on HF at last! My lovely other half got me a Yaesu FT-817 for my birthday, I've added a Z817 tuner and a multi-band antenna and I now have the ideal portable set-up. As a power source I have one of those car boost starter units - very small but packed with multi-voltage outputs and runs the 817 very well. As I write this I'm out in the car putting the set-up through its paces and I have to say that I'm mightily impressed.

Last weekend saw the National Hamfest,  just down the road from me at Newark. I went on the Saturday and had a fantastic day, meeting up with friends and making new ones. I collected my competition prize from the Practical Wireless stand, in conjunction with Yaesu UK. The Yaesu FTM-100 and HRI-200 interface are now up and working my Gateway, MB6IAG, on System Fusion/Wires-X. I did encounter a small problem with the interface in that it was the review model used by the magazine and had been previously registered on the Yaesu system. An e-mail to Yaesu quickly resolved the conflict and it's now working well.

JOTA is upcoming this month and it's my favourite event of the year. Members of South Kesteven A.R.S. (www.skars.co.uk) will be activating the event for several Scout groups in the Grantham area and I'm hoping to be there, all being well.

SKARS now hold a weekly net on a Wednesday evening using GB3GR and it is well attended. GR is Echolink (GB3GR-R) and AllStar  (node 28202) enabled, so if you wish to participate, please do. The net starts at 20:00 GMT and all-comers are very welcome.

Back to the radio for a bit longer now....

73 de 2E0ENN