GJ7VJR/p Jersey · 7 April 2008 by Michael Wells
I was QRV from Jersey between 11 April and 13 April, very briefly, to recover a generator left last summer during GH6UW.
Callsign : GJ7VJR/P
Mode : MIXED
QTH: St. Peter, Jersey (EU-013)
WAB : WV55
Operating time : 15h59
BAND SSB CW RTTY OTHERS DUP
----------------------------------------
160 0 0 0 0 0
80 34 75 0 0 2
40 221 523 0 0 6
30 0 268 0 0 1
20 199 0 0 0 2
17 2 10 0 0 0
15 0 3 0 0 0
12 0 0 0 0 0
10 0 0 0 0 0
50 0 0 0 0 0
----------------------------------------
TOTAL 456 879 0 0 11
====================================
TOTAL QSO : 1 335
QSL via my usual call (G7VJR) or direct as usual. Online log search: http://clublog.g7vjr.org/l.php?log=GJ7VJR/P
Club Log · 7 April 2008 by Michael Wells
An brief introduction to Club Log
Club Log – ‘The ADIF Acrobat’
Club Log is a web site designed to produce reports and competitive league tables from participating members’ logs, which they can upload, much like Logbook of the World or eQSL. It’s being actively used by CDXC members, and you are invited to join in.
How did it start, and how does it work?
In 2007, I started designing a tool to provide a chart of DXCCs I’d worked, with a log search function for people who wanted to QSL or were curious if they had worked G7VJR.
I wanted this tool to be completely automated. The idea was to process my ADIF logs (exported from my logging software) and create the reports and search features, just by analysing the QSOs.
I hope you are not lost at this point – have a look in your logging software and see if you can find a menu that lets you “export to ADIF” – as you will find most do. It’s a common way of storing radio logs in computer format.
While I was doing some planning, I decided that it would be quite interesting to extend the idea, and create a service anyone could sign up and use, not just me. As well as being useful to other radio friends, I reasoned that if the database grew to have more participants, then it could mined to make league tables of DXCCs worked, including making league tables for specific modes or clubs (both rather intensive to do by hand).
The other thing I decided to do was take the manual labour out of creating most-wanted lists. It is quite a simple task for a computer to work out which DXCC entities are logged least often, and even to break this down by mode or by time periods. It just needs to be fed a lot of QSOs and the information can be readily processed. Ideally, millions of QSOs…
So, Club Log was born. It is a web-based application which uses a database to analyse amateur radio log files, which are uploaded in the common ADIF format. Using the logs, it builds band-mode league tables of amateurs’ QSOs, provides efficient log search tools and creates most wanted lists for DXCC entities (both over all time and in recent history, or by mode for example). Also, Club Log can give back to its users the ability to find “wanted” DX spots, and other analysis of their logs which might be hard to do with normal logging software.
How to sign up
I realise that using new web sites can be a little daunting. Please don’t be put off by all the jargon. Remember, to take part in Club Log you just need to sign in and upload your ADIF file from your logging software. If you do this, you will enrich the database and improve the quality of the most-wanted lists, so please be encouraged to join in. Obviously, it’s free.
To join Club Log, simply go to http://clublog.g7vjr.org (no ‘www’) and then click the button labelled “sign up” in the top menus. Signing up involves filling in your name and e-mail address, and typing in a single number from a sequence of about eight digits. You will be emailed a code to confirm your email address is valid. Unfortunately, I have to do these things, to stop the system being abused. Thanks for your understanding – just follow the instructions and you’ll be registered in a minute or two.
After you have signed in, you will find you can set up one or more callsigns. For example, you might have a ‘G’ and a ‘GM’ logbook, so they are both separate callsigns.
After you have added your callsigns, you can go onto upload your ADIF files. Simply export your entire log (yes, even if it’s really big!) and save it somewhere on your computer. Then, click on the button that says ‘Upload’ in the menu of the Club Log site, and follow the instructions to upload the file.
It takes a while for Club Log to process new logs, because it does an exhaustive analysis of each DX call you work to try and determine where the callsign is (for DXCC purposes).
While your log is being processed, you can access the following features:
•About
This is a page of information about Club Log, including a graph of how many people and callsigns are active, and analysis of the SSB/CW/data modes splits for the complete set of logs in the system.
•Upload
This is where you can upload new logs. You’ll find it is in several steps. Please follow the instructions carefully and you will have no problems.
•League
From here, you can access DXCC band-mode league tables. There are options to break the charts down by club (you can choose the clubs to which you belong on the ‘Settings’ page – see below). You can also access the ‘5 year league’, which is specifically aimed at newer ham radio operators who can’t hope to compete with the old timers!
•Search
This is a log search function, designed for Dxpedition users who want to offer a log search on their own homepage. If you perform a search, the results will show a breakdown of bands and modes, but of course the exact times will not be disclosed, to protect the integrity of QSLing.
•Most-Wanted
This tool builds a ranked list of DXCC entities which are ‘wanted’. It is based on the percentage of users who haven’t worked the entity, and can be filtered by mode or time.
•Charts
Club Log will generate a chart for any of your callsigns, which will show each entity against bands. At the top of the page, you can change the way the chart works to filter by mode and date. At the bottom of the chart, a graph of your QSOs per year, and your CW/SSB/Data split as a percentage are displayed.
•LF Challenge
This is a special report which shows 160/80/40 QSOs worked during the month of March. This in turn can be used to enter the LF Challenge, and perhaps win the CDXC Penallt Trophy. Competition is fierce – for further details see http://www.cdxc.org.uk/awards/lf-challenge.
•Spots
Using the information contained in your log, Club Log is able to easily work out which DXCC entities you haven’t worked. Using this list, it can filter the DX Cluster and give you a personalised cluster that only lists spots that are about the DXCCs you need. The list updates about once a minute. Of course, if you’ve worked them all then you will have to wait for a new entity like Kosova to be approved…!
•Settings
Use this page to manage your password, add callsigns, change the clubs of which you are a member, or (if you really need to) delete logs from Club Log. You might need to do that if you have made a mistake, like uploading a duff log or sending a log to the wrong callsign.
•Log Out
If you’re on a shared PC, don’t forget to log out to protect your account.
About ADIF and special callsigns
Skip this bit if you’re not interested in an autopsy of how ADIF works.
In an ideal world, all callsigns would resolve to one and only one DXCC entity. In practice, though, there are lots that don’t, like VP8, ZK and (increasingly) USA callsigns used on expeditions in the Pacific. In fact, there are lots of annoying exceptions and more appear every year.
Some logging tools are very advanced. When you enter your QSO, these tools generally have a specific DXCC entity number encoded against each callsign you work, and they include this in ADIF files they generate. If so, then Club Log will use this – by far the best solution provided you haven’t made any mistakes.
However, some logging software doesn’t encode a DXCC number (I can appreciate why – it’s not easy to get it right). In these cases, Club Log will try and work out the DXCC number for you. This is fairly accurate. It uses a combination of lists, Dxpedition records from the past, manual rules added by me and other Club Log users, and it also mines existing logs to see if other users have been consistently recording the callsign against a particular location. Between these sources, it can usually be sorted out. It just takes a lot longer.
If your log is being analysed by Club Log (ie. you don’t export DXCC entity numbers in your ADIF file), then, when you upload your log, especially if you’ve been active for a long time, you can help me and other Club Log users by identifying any mistakes Club Log has made, and emailing them to michael@g7vjr.org.
Acknowledgements
Club Log was inspired by a clever idea from Dominic M0BLF (called HamELog) which provided DXCC charts and log search for a single callsign. Dominic has a knack of inventing and implementing ideas like this. Thanks, Dom.
I would also like to acknowledge Marios 5B4WN, who was able to give me some good code and ideas on how to turn callsigns into DXCC entities reliably. Derivatives of this code are in use on the RSGB IOTA site, and also on DX Lite. It’s funny how acorns grow. Cheers Marios.
Lake District SOTA trip 29/30 March · 31 March 2008 by Michael Wells
Last weekend, CUWS members made a brief but enjoyable trip up north to the Lake District to climb a few SOTAs: Blencathra and Dufton Pike. The photos below are by Rui M0RLM (thanks Rui!).
The weather was rather variable, but a good amount of beer can make up for almost anything! Thanks to John G3WGV for the convenient accommodation in Shap, very close to many excellent summits.
JX/G7VJR Jan Mayen · 24 January 2008 by Michael Wells
From approximately 27 June to 4 July, I will be on Jan Mayen signing JX/G7VJR. The boat leaves Iceland on 25 June. Operating conditions will be 100W, vertical antennas, tents and generator. Main bands are likely to be 30m and 20m or higher if conditions permit, and a 6m station plus beacon will be operated. For further details please see www.jx08.eu.
Asus EEE PC Review · 14 January 2008 by Michael Wells
Micro lite Dxpedition logging
There are aspects of amateur radio that benefit indirectly from computerisation. The one area that I believe is not contentious is computerised logging, which relieves active stations of paperwork and greatly improves the QSLing process. It also opens the door to rapid, detailed analysis of logs, which is understandably a fixation for all contesters, and most Dxpedition operators.
My preferred logging tool is Win Test, which has an exceptionally optimised log entry process (minimum of keystrokes) accompanied by great, instantaneous feedback. I use it wherever the QSO rate is likely to be high. The challenge with something like Win Test is the need to run Windows, and this in turn means carrying a modern computer.
On a Dxpedition, every kilo of luggage needs to be justified and many modern laptops, while powerful (and probably already owned) are actually quite heavy. It is certainly not the case that a glossy, widescreen panel with an advanced graphics adapter is going to add anything to your QSO rate, and you don’t want it getting full of sand or water.
The EEE PC
Not long ago, Asus released a very small, ultra-light and simple laptop called the EEE PC. Unlike many sub-miniature laptops, it is not designed to be powerful or even especially advanced. It is designed to be cheap; just £199. It weighs 920g – much less than my CW paddle – and uses a 7” TFT display. It has WiFi and a LAN card, a modem card and sound card. Better still, it uses a solid state hard drive which makes it immune to shocks.
There is plenty of cause to get excited about this! It seems the cheapest laptop you can buy is also, on the face of it, the perfect laptop for a travelling radio amateur. Happy days.
EEE PC’s are in short supply due to huge demand, but I was lucky to spot one in PC World, and snapped it up. I have the entry-level version, which has 512MB RAM and a 2GB drive. The processor is an under-clocked 900MHz Intel Celeron M. It’s a clever idea – under-clocking saves power, the full load being just 22W for the whole device, and it keeps the heat down more than proportionately.
After getting the laptop out I spent a while examining the default Linux operating system, which is pretty good, but lacks a shell and root login. It comes complete with Firefox and Open Office, and works just fine. However, while I am an enthusiastic Linux user there is no denying that for amateur radio, Windows is the platform of choice.
Installing Windows
Using the enclosed instructions from Asus, I attached an external DVD drive to one of the three USB ports (yes, three!) and started the installation, replacing the Linux partition with Windows XP SP2, which is the earliest and therefore fastest Windows operating supported.
Surprisingly, the process for installing Windows is completely trouble-free. There are drivers on a CD with the packaging. Installation of these improves the screen layout, and adds support for the onboard network, sound and wireless card. It requires a number of reboots to do the whole task, but unusually, this is entirely automated by the clever folks at Asus. Bravo – perhaps their Linux installation was not seriously expected to be retained.
Saving space
2GB is not much space. The instructions include detailed, and quite expert tips for recovering space after Windows is installed. For example, unnecessary recovery features are switched off, and drive compression is enabled. Also, importantly, the size of the swap partition is fixed at 100MB. Installing Windows takes a while, as solid state disks are slow on write, which is also why they are not much use for swap files. They are super quick on read by the way. Windows boots in just a few seconds.
After working through the instructions you get about 700MB of free space, which is plenty provided you don’t intend to run something bulky.
Pleasingly, there is an SD card slot on the right hand side. This means you can easily add more storage, and conveniently take backup logs periodically to a removable media card. USB drives would also work fine.
Win Test
Everything works fine and Win Test does, of course, fit in the 800×480 pixel screen size provided you shuffle the floating windows around on the screen. The ASUS drivers allow you to move within a 800×600 space if you want some extra space; the screen pans when you nudge the top or bottom edge. I found Win Test look a little while to sort out, but the results are certainly acceptable or better, and there is plenty of space to get SCP, rate graphs and logging into the display. Switching off the task bar in Windows helps recover some precious pixels. Don’t forget to turn on log backups to use the SD card to full effect.
By the way – don’t get caught like I did! I wanted to use my EEE PC for CU2/G7VJR, but you need a new key for Win Test for each PC, so it had to stay at home while this was resolved.
Keyboard size
Having reached this point (and even having connected a WinKey to the USB port, and a serial USB adapter for CAT) I was feeling buoyant. Nothing seemed to have needed any special hacking. My final concern was that with a very small keyboard, it could be difficult to get calls logged without making silly mistakes.
Let’s be honest for a moment. If one takes miniaturisation to its natural conclusion, a Palm Pilot would do. Definitely not right. I think it is obvious to draw a line somewhere, and given the choice, the full size of a PC keyboard is desirable. Is the EEE PC’s keyboard too small for logging? Aspiring to keep the busted calls to a minimum, I decided to test this keyboard out in AFS CW (13 January) – or accept the need to carry an external keyboard.
Good news. After AFS, I don’t think the small keyboard is a problem, in the end. It is going to take about 30 minutes for most people to get used to the smaller layout. Touch-typing is impossible – it’s too cramped – but picking away with a few fingers on both hands is quick and easy. Mercifully, the function keys are not underneath some kind of strange keyboard combination, and although page up/down etc. are hidden away, these are not part of the common key set for logging.
Lastly, without doing a detailed check, I found the EEE PC is HF quiet, and does not suffer in strong RF fields.
Conclusions
Just as I had been hoping, the Asus EEE Pc is ideal for portable radio logging. It is the smallest, lightest laptop since the venerable Libretto, but it’s right up to date with USB, solid state drives, plenty of RAM and the ability to run Windows XP. The fact that it is also incredibly good value at £199 is simply the icing on the cake. I would not want to be a regular PC user with no other computer, but for the radio ham this is truly a wonderful piece of kit.
73 de Michael G7VJR
CU2/G7VJR · 8 January 2008 by Michael Wells
Between 26 December 2007 and 3 January 2008, I took a short winter break to the Azores, an unusual but easily accessible location that I had been curious about for some time. I wanted to do a little touring, get away from the cold weather and also, I wanted to put my ultra-light portable station to the test. I took quite a lot of kit to try in the field, with future trips in mind.
Location
The Azores are approximately 930 miles due west from Portugal, placing them quite a substantial distance from Europe and well on the way to north America (just another 2400 miles and you’re there). The islands have volcanic origins, being on the Atlantic ridge, and there is evidence of this on most of the nine islands in the group in the form of dramatic calderas, and distinctive black, porous volcanic rocks.
As the climate in the Azores is warm and wet, there is always a sense of abundant life, and indeed during my stay in late December the temperature averaged 20 degrees during the day, and 18 degrees by night. Frequently, though, the warm weather flowing with the gulf stream comes into contact with cold fronts from the north, so if you like dramatic swings in weather conditions this is the place to go! High winds buffet the islands regularly, and these knocked my antennas for six. I don’t know how they manage a weather forecast – I just expected it to change every day, and was not disappointed!
There are nine islands in the Azores:
CU1 = Santa Maria
CU2 = Sao Miguel
CU3 = Terceira
CU4 = Graciosa
CU5 = Sao Jorge
CU6 = Pico
CU7 = Faial
CU8 = Flores
CU9 = Corvo
The distance from east to west is some 370 miles, more than you might expect. The majority of the islands are close together, but Corvo and Flores are more distant so an internal flight is preferred to reach them (they are also a separate IOTA group).
CU2 (Sao Miguel) is the notional capital, and is readily reached by flying from Heathrow to Lisbon, and then to Ponta Delgada on the island. It takes a full day due to all the changes though. The airport is small, modern, and calm compared to the bustle of British international airports. My hand luggage was always searched, but I had no problems getting the kit through.
I rented a very pleasant wooden cottage near Ginetes, which was on the side of the volcano (Sete Cidades) on the very western most tip of Sao Miguel. With an altitude of 300m above sea level, and an unimpeded take off towards the States, I was extremely pleased with this QTH. It was HF quiet, and there was an enormous space where I could erect antennas and lay radials. Unfortunately, though, with the steep side of the volcano blocking the path to EU and to G, there would be a price to pay.
On the air
I am a fan of wire verticals supported on fishing poles (SOTA poles) of 10m length. I have found this is an ideal size for portability. It is a great benefit that the radial system can be used on any band once laid, provided it is pretty good to start with. I use 30 radials about 7m to 10m long, or for extra clout I use the spare vertical element for my 80m “L” and 160m “L” as radials when they are not in use!
Changing bands on a wire vertical is easy. Simply unscrew the element (bolted through a crimp connector on the coax feed) and bring the pole down, and you can change band in a few minutes with pre-cut and labelled elements. Extremely fine wire can be used to save weight – it is not structural. Wrapping the wire around the pole allows minor adjustments as it adds inductance, and a few wraps is sufficient to stop the wire flapping.
I used my trusty K2/100 and Win Test for logging, and had a Yaesu FT-857D with me as a spare, and for SSB. This is a very compact way of operating 100W on all bands, but I also had a 400W linear built by Mark G4AXX with me, for testing (used for the first day).
Results
I had a go on 160m, 80m, 40m, 30m, 20m, 17m and 15m, mostly CW (see chart). Trying lots of bands strikes me as a good way to learn the propagation of a location and it is also great fun when, as with the Azores, the location is not rare but collecting band mode spots may be of interest or sporting fun for avid DX’ers. It also gives QRPers a good opportunity.
The big money band was 40m. I was taken aback by the exceptional propagation to NA on 40m, starting from around 1900Z and lasting through till 1100Z the next day. Stations on the east coast were normally above S9, sometimes completely flattening the AGC up to 40dB over S9. Good pileups ensued, and some interesting DX slipped into the log when conditions were changing. Having a great site and using modest power gave me a balanced chance of working at least a little DX, and it was a pleasure to consistently work the west coast from their sunset onwards.
I didn’t spend a lot of time on 20m, as I suspect it has seen a lot of action, but 30m was in good shape and gave me many interesting contacts including ZS, ZL, ZD7, VP8, CE and, unexpectedly, EL. To the north, although I worked OH0 and TF, I couldn’t seem to crack JA at all – all my low angle gain was wasted on the volcano again.
17m and 15m were only open for a few hours in the afternoons, but I was pleased to give them a whirl (mostly NA and some G).
On 80m, the local QRN was quite strong and I felt my “L” was quite deaf, and did not work a lot with 100W. When it came to 160m, I had even less efficiency – just 10m of vertical and the rest horizontal, and 100W is certainly not enough. However, the Stew Perry contest was running and I was chuffed to work GM3POI (thanks for your patience Clive!) as well as a string of east coast stations, and VE.
I closed the log at 23:59 on 1 January 2008, having made exactly 2,008 QSOs after dupes. I felt this was a good time to stop (and a neat number for the new year!). As I had some more touring to do, I decided to dismantle the station at this stage. While on the air I had heard from Gary CU2JT, and we had agreed to meet up for a beer and a chat about local conditions. Gary is quite an active CW op, and I narrowly missed meeting Frank CU2DX who has a 4 ele Steppir on a substantial tower, not far from Ponta Delgada.
Break down of locations worked:
OC < 1%
AS < 1%
AF < 2%
SA 2%
NA 62%
EU 34%
BAND SSB CW RTTY OTHERS DUP
----------------------------------------
160 0 33 0 0 2
80 0 146 0 0 0
40 20 684 0 0 26
30 0 473 0 0 16
20 109 328 0 0 7
17 6 167 0 0 4
15 0 42 0 0 1
12 0 0 0 0 0
10 0 0 0 0 0
50 0 0 0 0 0
----------------------------------------
TOTAL 135 1873 0 0 56
====================================
TOTAL QSO : 2 008
To anyone wishing to visit CU2 with radios, I recommend the location I used provided you want to work mainly to the west. The owners, Ricardo and Margarida are “radio friendly”. See http://www.vacationvillas.net/Portugal/holiday-house-Azores/p42407.htm.
Log search: http://clublog.g7vjr.org/l.php?log=CU2/G7VJR
If you wish to QSL, you can send your card via the bureau or direct. If direct, please enclose a self-addressed envelope with sufficient postage: $1 within Europe, $2 outside Europe, or just a stamped envelope within the UK.
Michael Wells
Belvoir Cottage
The Avenue
Madingley
Cambridgeshire
CB23 8AD
UNITED KINGDOM
It is recommend that you DO NOT write callsigns on any envelopes used to QSL. Please note that logs will be uploaded to Logbook of the World.
Cheers and 73,
Michael G7VJR
G5RP Trophy · 5 January 2008 by Michael Wells
I was extremely honored to receive the G5RP trophy from the RSGB at the HFC. The trophy is awarded for progress in DX once each year, and looks splendid!
SteppIR 80m/60m kit · 6 December 2007 by Michael Wells
I’ve just taken delivery of this 80m/60m coil kit for my BiggIR vertical (thanks Ron!). This is a long-awaited upgrade that gives the antenna a switchable base loading, ideal for accessing these harder-to-reach LF bands. Exciting particularly have an antenna for 5MHz at last. I’ve had the NoV for a while, just no ant. See you on the air!
Amateur Satellites and the G6UW Satellite Station · 22 November 2007 by Michael Wells
I will be giving a talk on 22 November on the subject of satellites and operating the G6UW satellite equipment. All welcome!
Click here for the PDF poster for this event
GH6UW Logs Online · 8 September 2007 by Michael Wells
Our expedition was fortunate to have good conditions and superb WX. When the log closed, we had worked 3,655 QSOs.
Click here for GH6UW Log Search
Click here for Dom M0BLF’s photos
Click here for a video of the expedition (YouTube)
Click here for the expedition report