Foundations of Amateur Radio

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Paper Logging tips and tricks ... Aug 14, 2016

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Foundations of Amateur Radio

There was a time when I took my computer out into the field to do my portable logging. That's still true for contests, but when I'm hunting for an elusive DX station, I no longer take with me all the bits that are required to make that level of technology work. I've come to the realisation that less is more. Especially with portable operations in parks and on summits. This move to paper will actually simplify your life whilst you're enjoying the rare stations you can hear.

So, if you're using paper logs and you are wanting to make actual contacts, how do you do this without going insane?

Normally you'd find a station, log their call, put down the frequency, scratch it out when the contact failed, rinse and repeat. The end result is a page full of scratched out callsigns with no structure and little chance to accurately log these into your normal station log.

The best way to overcome this is to take a leaf from N1MM, a brilliant piece of logging software that deserves a whole separate segment and when I'm sufficiently proficient with it, I'll do just that. In the meantime, one of the things you can do with N1MM is mark a station. This mark consists of a callsign and a frequency. Technically it also consists of a mode and a time-stamp, but lets not get too carried away.

On paper, if you format your log-sheet appropriately, you can use a separate line for each station you hear. Log the frequency while you're writing down the callsign. If you're inclined, you can also write down their name and any other salient details you hear as you're browsing past.

What this does is set up a framework for you to log your calls. When you actually make contact, then you can enter the signal report and the time. That way you can instantly see which of the lines contain actual contacts and which of them contain stations heard. Sometimes I write down their signal strength as I note the station, but that's a pretty variable thing, so do that in moderation.

When you've actually completed the contact, make a mark, either an exclamation point or two, or an asterisk, or something that you recognise. That way when you're sitting in front of your station log, you can quickly log those specially marked contacts and add them to your DXCC tally.

This same technique works well during search and pounce operation during a contest, though I personally am unlikely to use paper for contest logging; N1MM is very helpful in keeping track for you. As a bonus, N1MM allows a station to expire, so your screen isn't filled with stations that are no longer there.

I should point out that I'm making the assumption that you're the one responding to another station, rather than sitting on a frequency calling CQ. If you're doing that, just log their callsign as they come past, keep track of the time and write down any signal reports when they're happening. That way you don't get ahead of yourself and you'll end up with a log that still makes sense later on.

Logging is important for your own benefit. Some jurisdictions require a station log, for others it's optional. If you're interacting with other stations, logging their call is a courteous thing to do.

I'm Onno VK6FLAB

The FM Capture Effect and other Amateur Radio magic... Aug 07, 2016

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Foundations of Amateur Radio

Today I'm going to talk about magic. In the past I've made mention of the magic that is Amateur Radio. There are those who think that our hobby isn't magic and that everything that we do in this field is understood and documented.

I think that this is both wrong and unhelpful, since there is much to learn, much to discover and much to invent. Amateur Radio isn't dead, it's full of life, full of things that are continuing to develop, evolve and grow.

Let me give you an example.

In radio there is a phenomenon called the "FM Capture Effect". Explaining how you experience it is simple. If you have two FM transmitters on the same frequency, and you're using an FM receiver, one of the FM transmitters will win, that is, you'll hear one and not the other. Unlike in AM and SSB transmissions, where you hear both at the same time, the FM Capture Effect causes the receiver to pick one over the other.

As an aside, it's because of this effect that aviation and HF communication mostly prefer AM based communication. Imagine two pilots trying to talk to the tower at the same time, one is heard and the other not.

Back to the magic. We can describe that this thing happens. We can show it happening, we can even measure the signal strength difference that causes it to happen, 0.17dB according to one document I read. We can use formulas to describe our FM signal, we can use simulations to emulate it, but in the end, the closest we can get to the how and why is: This happens, we know it happens, it happens under these circumstances, but precisely how, we're not sure.

A thesis I read on the subject by Park Soon Sang at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, published in 1989, spends many pages saying all these things and finishes off with: "The simulation results establish that the low pass filtering portion of frequency demodulation accounts for the capture effect of FM receivers." and goes on to say: "It is recommended that the capture effect be verified using an operating experimental system in which system parameters can be controlled and accurately measured."

Or in other words, we built a software simulator to learn about this phenomenon. This simulator suggests that the low pass filter causes this, but you really should make an actual set-up to test this.

If I'm less vague, we simulated it, it looks right, but we're really only guessing, so test this in the real world.

Now, before you get all huffy. I'm saying that a phenomenon that has existed since the first FM transmission in 1936 is still being explored and investigated and the jury is still out as to what precisely causes it and what the parameters are.

As Arthur C. Clarke wrote in 1973: "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic." -- by that definition, Amateur Radio is clearly magic.

So, when you next scratch your head about what the future of our hobby has in store, the answer is almost certainly covered by the very same author: "The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible."

Amateur Radio, it's magic and there is more to discover.

I'm Onno VK6FLAB

Don't ever yell into a microphone and other neat things ... Jul 31, 2016

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Foundations of Amateur Radio

This technology driven community of radio enthusiasts makes me laugh on occasion. Today I had to laugh when I realised that we spend an awful lot of time talking about antennas and radios and feed lines and impedance and propagation and electronics and a whole lot of subject in-between and around that.

It stuck me that one conversation that we don't have, is the one about microphones. Specifically how to actually use one. I've been around hundreds of radio amateurs, seen them speak into their microphone, witnessed them standing at a lectern presenting their latest project, observed them attempting to rally the troops during a HAMfest by yelling into a microphone and heard them on-air.

I came to the realisation that despite our familiarity with the technology, by enlarge, the amateurs I observed are no better than the general public when it comes to using a microphone. Actually, I think as a community we're worse, because we won't be told how to do it.

So, I'm going to tell you. You can switch me off, or in the secrecy of your own shack, stick around and see if there is something to learn.

I'm coming at this from a background in broadcasting. I've conducted some 1800 interviews in my time, have spoken in public, on-air and in myriad different environments, including large event venues and sports arenas. I won't say I've seen it all, but I've seen my fair share of how it's done, what it sounds like and what doesn't work.

The very first thing to note is that yelling into a microphone will make it worse. Let me say that again. Don't ever yell into a microphone.

The second thing to note is that you should keep the distance between your mouth and your microphone as static as possible. A good rule of thumb is to clench your fist and put it between your chin and the microphone. That's the distance that you should start with. Some microphones need you closer, others need you further away. Eating your microphone is only for very experienced operators in specific environments, since every thing your mouth does will be captured.

A microphone is in essence a device that converts movement into electricity. This sounds obvious, but it means that waving the microphone around is also movement. The cable that's attached to the microphone moves, and makes sound. The desk on which the microphone is placed moves when you touch it, that's sound. Anything you can hear with your ears and much that you cannot, will be captured by the microphone.

Not all microphones are equal. The ideal microphone converts all frequencies equally well, but this isn't actually possible, so, some frequencies are better captured than other frequencies. This means that your voice will not actually be captured in exactly the same way as it comes out of your mouth.

Speaking of which. What you hear from a recording of your voice often sounds wrong. This is because the sound that's coming from inside your mouth is also travelling inside your head and your ears pick it up from the inside as well as from the outside. Listening to a recording of your voice doesn't echo inside your head.

On an FM repeater, if your signal is captured by the repeater, the volume is not due to your antenna, it's due to your microphone. So make sure you set the microphone gain appropriately and when people tell you that you sound soft, fix the gain.

Microphones will pick up breathing and the sounds your lips make when you smack them together and when you say the letter P as in PaPa.

The best way to deal with this sound is to learn not to make it. In the mean time, you can speak across the microphone, rather than directly at it. This means that you should keep the same distance, but tilt the microphone slightly.

Speaking into a lectern microphone, a radio microphone or a hand-held all follow exactly the same principles.

If you get the opportunity to hear yourself via headphones while speaking into a microphone, use it to listen to what exactly is captured. You'll get distracted by how your voice sounds, but have a listen to the smacking and the breathing and the popping of your voice.

Final tip. If your voice gets tired from speaking and you run out of breath, you're doing it wrong. Touch your belly while talking, don't press down, just touch it. You're aiming to use your whole body, feeling your gut participate in the speaking. Technically what you're doing is making your diaphragm move, but that's hard to imagine. Touching your belly does the trick.

No more excuses. When you get on air, make sure that the beginning of the link between you and the other station is fully functional, start with getting the microphone right.

I'm Onno VK6FLAB

The band is dead and there are no contacts to be made... Jul 24, 2016

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Foundations of Amateur Radio

There is a curious phenomenon related to how we operate that is pervasive within our community. As an inexperienced ham, I would turn on my radio and tune around and hear nothing. I'd change bands and do it again. Over time I'd work my way through the bands I'm allowed on and find no activity.

On rare occasions I'd venture into the wide unknown and see what other bands were doing, ones where I wasn't allowed to transmit due to my license restrictions, and find lots of people talking to each other, making noise and having fun. More often than not, this band of feverish activity was 20m.

For a long time I ascribed magical properties to this 20m band. There was always propagation, people were always there and it seemed that if you wanted to make contacts, that was the place to be.

Over time I participated in contests with other amateurs, operating a club station and finding myself on 20m making contacts. I began to believe that 20m was this amazing place where stuff was always happening. This seemed to be reinforced by other amateurs who would use as their sole reason for gaining extra responsibilities, access to the 20m band.

Now before you start, 20m is special. It has some interesting properties which make contacts appear and vanish at short notice. Just like other bands with their different peculiarities, practice makes perfect.

But, 20m isn't that special. It's not a band that is always open, or always closed, just like 15m isn't, nor is 10m, neither is 6m, 80m, or 160m or whatever band you prefer to operate on. No band is always open and no band is always closed.

Guess how I know this?

Whenever there is a contest, activity blooms all over the place, the bands are full of stations, making contacts, having fun and annoying those stations who hate contesters with vehemence, so, clearly there is something else going on.

There is.

It's you, and me, and everyone else. We're all listening. While listening is good, you also need people to talk, otherwise there is nothing to listen to. There are automated stations around using beacons and WSPR modes and all manner of cute software to determine if their station is being heard. And if you look at the maps, they clearly are being heard.

So, as I've said before, go on air and make some noise.

If you want to make contacts, you need to make noise. Your friends need to make noise. You need to setup regular contacts with friends somewhere on the planet and actually use the bands.

Yes, having access to 20m is fun, but lamenting that is frankly a waste of time. Whatever band you're on, whatever you're doing, you need to make noise.

Yes, of course there are variations in propagation throughout the day and the solar cycle affects how far and wide you'll be heard, and sun spots and solar flares affect the ionosphere as well, but it's not the only variable.

Just because no-one is heard, doesn't mean that no-one is there.

So, repeating myself, go on air and make some noise.

I'm Onno VK6FLAB

How old is the mode you're using? Jul 17, 2016

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Foundations of Amateur Radio

The thing I like about our community is that there is always something new brewing, someone is inventing something, making something or doing something. It amazes me that the level of ingenuity is boundless.

During the week someone asked the question, "What's the difference between AM and FM?" and while answering that could incorporate hand waving, arrows and drawings, I came across a much simpler explanation, which simply says it all. Credit goes to redditor EmmetOT.

Imagine replacing radio with light, this isn't a stretch, since it's part of the same spectrum. Replace a radio transmitter with a light bulb. AM is using a dimmer, changing the brightness, to send information. FM is changing the colour of the light to send information.

I could stop right there, but there is so much more going on in our community. If you've been out of Amateur Radio for a while, and I know, this happens to the best of us, you'll be forgiven in thinking that nothing is the same as it was, while wondering if anything ever changes. Both these things are true and I think that's good.

The first AM voice transmission was made in 1900, SSB experimentation began in 1915 and FM experiments were happening in the early 1930's.

These three modes, AM, SSB and FM are still with us today. We've done other cool stuff since then, stereophonic and quadraphonic FM. We think of RTTY as a relative new kid on the block, but it has its origins in 1874 and the first on-air RTTY was heard in 1922.

Without going into too much detail, other modes that we are beginning to think of as ancient are surprisingly new. PSK31 for example joined us in 1998, but Hellschreiber, is from the 1920's, MFSK comes from 1962 and Packet Radio hails from the 1970's. JT65 comes from 2003 and JT9 is from 2012.

My point is that whatever the mode you're using, someone is extending it, modifying it, improving it or inventing something new. Your level of familiarity with a mode has little or nothing to do with the age of the mode.

As is the case with everything in Amateur Radio, horses for courses.

In your Amateur pursuits you'll come across those who will tell you that there is nothing new to be invented, that everything has already been thought of and that we are a hobby of old people harking back to the golden era of something or other.

I'm here to tell you that nothing is further from the truth.

Amateur Radio is a hobby of invention of people asking the question: "I wonder what happens if I do this...", often followed by a big bang and the magic smoke coming out. Don't let that deter you. Keep on with the experimentation, even if you've only been a member of this community for a minute and a half like me, you too can make a contribution.

I'm Onno VK6FLAB

Alternating Current and Direct Current are the same thing ... Jul 10, 2016

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Foundations of Amateur Radio

When you use your trusty multi-meter to measure resistance across a 50 Ohm resistor, it shows 50 Ohm, but when you use it across a piece of 50 Ohm coax, you see either infinity, or 0. Similarly, when you measure across a folded-dipole, you see 0, not 300 Ohm. Does this mean that a 50 Ohm resistor is somehow different than a 50 Ohm piece of coax and why is the feed-point impedance of a folded dipole 300 Ohm, when your multi-meter clearly says it's 0? Does this mean that there are two types of Ohm? Today I'm going to explain why this is and what's going on.

Yesterday I started reading up on the subject and every single explanation I came across went into deep ju-ju with scary maths, using complex and imaginary numbers. I did a bit of that in my dark past, but none of that is needed to understand what's happening.

As you know, there is such a thing as Direct Current or DC - we use it with batteries and little power supplies, in simple circuits and all manner of day-to-day activities. There is another world that we as amateurs use, the world of Alternating Current or AC. In house-hold wiring we use 50 or 60 Hertz and different voltages depending on where on the globe we are. In radio terms we use it for our transmissions, on HF at several Mega Hertz and beyond.

These two different worlds, the DC and AC world don't appear to have anything in common.

Here's the kicker though, they are the same thing. Yup. DC and AC are the same thing.

What?

Yup. I'm not making this up.

As you might recall, if you look at an AC voltage, it goes from plus to minus and back again. A 50 Hertz alternating current does this swap 50 times per second. When you're rag-chewing on 40m, or 7 MHz, it happens 7 million times a second. From plus to minus and back, 7 million times. Clearly there has to be some impact on this massive level of activity.

Think of direct current as an alternating current with a frequency of 0 Hertz, that is, over time, DC doesn't change. So, DC is a short cut for saying AC at 0 Hertz.

If you understand that explanation, then some really cool stuff starts to happen.

Before I get to the cool stuff, you might recall Ohm's Law, commonly expressed as: "Given a current and a resistance, we can determine a voltage". Said in another way, the resistance of a circuit is related to the voltage and the current in the circuit.

Now, in this simple form of Ohm's Law, the voltage doesn't change from plus to minus and back again. That is, over time, there is no change. Now if you start doing funky stuff with your voltage, like change it from plus to minus and back again, an additional type of resistance comes into play, called reactance. This reactance is the part that is affected by voltage change over time. So if you swap the voltage from plus to minus and back again a million times a second, the reactance has a big part to play.

In short, there are two types of resistance, one that is independent of time, called resistance, and one that's dependent on time, called reactance. Both of these, resistance and reactance, happen within a circuit. If the voltage doesn't change over time, then the reactance part is zero and similarly there are circumstances where you can have a resistance of zero but have a reactance that's not - one example is a folded dipole.

Now, if you combine the resistance and reactance, you get something called impedance. Now you have all the bits.

Resistance is expressed in Ohm, Impedance is expressed in Ohm, and thus Reactance is also expressed in Ohm.

If we look at our folded dipole with a feed-point impedance of 300 Ohm, you now know that this 300 Ohm comes from a resistance of 0 Ohm and a reactance of 300 Ohm at the resonant frequency, which is why your trusty multi-meter shows it as 0, since the voltage it uses to measure is alternating at 0 Hertz, which is not the resonant frequency of this antenna.

Before I go, the rabbit hole goes deeper. Reactance itself is made up of Capacitance and Inductance, which each deal with the reactance in a capacitor and an inductor, but I'll leave that for another day.

So, next time someone tells you that the feed-point impedance of your folded dipole is 300 Ohm, you'll now understand why your multi-meter says it's 0.

I'm Onno VK6FLAB.

After the contest ... the debrief. Jul 03, 2016

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Foundations of Amateur Radio

Today I'm concluding my breakdown of the contest that I participated in recently as a mobile station.

I planned to make my contacts on one band and I did that. Feedback indicated that there were other contacts to be had on other bands, but switching bands is a non trivial affair with my current set-up.

I planned to have a common frequency that would be a local cluster of activity, except it never happened that way because others decided to do their own thing. This meant that my antenna was tuned for the top end of the band, rather than the more typical centre of activity.

I expected to work several home stations and managed to do so with two, but that was much lower than I expected and planned for, so my overall score didn't reach the planned levels, even if it was triple last year's effort.

I planned to drive a circuit in about 90 minutes, instead it took about three hours. Fortunately there were lots of mobile stations about which helped me much more than expected.

I keep telling myself that I need to sort out a voice-keyer because each time my voice gives out about half way through the contest, but again I keep forgetting to make that happen.

My laptop power worked pretty well, but the location of the device, sitting on the passenger seat and then during on air activity, parked at the side of the road, it was balanced on my knee. Not ideal and not comfortable.

My phone worked really well as my live GPS map and the boundaries I'd drawn using Google My Maps really helped to show me where I was in relation to the boundaries for this contest.

I'm a relatively new arrival into the Amateur community but I often forget that I've been contesting almost from day one. My first on air experience was a club station during a field day camp out where the activity centred around a little folding table with Amateurs crowded around it. On air I have lots of broadcast experience, which means that I'm experienced in multi-tasking, coordinating frequencies, logs, callsigns, navigation and strategic objectives. I forget that this is not true for others on air.

I love contesting, seriously, I love it. This activity puts me right on the bleeding edge of my capability and it's exhilarating to explore the peaks and troughs of the activity.

I used rope to prevent my heavy antenna from breaking my boot lip mount and was worried about strange looks I might get. The rope worked well, the mount did not suffer from the experience and I didn't get much in the way of strange looks. In fact, much less than when I'm parked up with my 12m squid pole.

Food and water worked great, but I will add public toilets to my map for next year, since it's not fun having to hunt. Mind you, a petrol station is a good option when you're in a hurry.

At the end of the day, I managed to triple my score, I achieved all my objectives and proved to myself that my strategy, which came about thanks to discussion with fellow contesters, was solid, workable and a better performer than last year.

I'm not yet sure how I'll change what I did, perhaps more antennas, parked at places longer, working more bands at the time might be an improvement. Time will tell.

I hope that this adventure made you look at your activities and gives you some ideas on what to try, what to investigate and things to look out for.

Hopefully I'll hear you on air during the next contest.

I'm Onno VK6FLAB

How to make contacts during a contest? Jun 26, 2016

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Foundations of Amateur Radio

Today I'm going to look at the actual on-air activity of the contest. Previously I've talked about the preparation and planning, as well as the doing, in terms of mechanics, what to bring, where to put it and how to power it all.

At the most basic level, a contest is a combination of two things, making and taking calls. It's an important point, so I'll say it again. A contest is two things, sitting on a frequency and call CQ and have other stations call you, and, it's also hunting up and down the dial finding other stations who are calling CQ.

These two sides, being the instigator of the contact, and being the responder, are needed to make points. Even the most advanced contest station with multiple operators and transmitters will do both these things and when you're on your own you too need to do this.

One reason for this is that in a contest others are doing the exact same thing. They're also swapping between both these activities to pick up extra points and multipliers.

Another reason is propagation. Your station is unique. It has a unique radiation pattern, a unique location, a unique audience of stations that can hear you at any one time. Across the duration of the contest this will change as day turns into night and night back into day. If you're mobile, there is an additional variable, your location which will affect your audience every time you move.

If those two reasons were not enough, here's one more. How do you know if the band your on is working or not? How do you know if there are others nearby, or on a completely different part of the band, or, if the band is open or closed, or if solar conditions have shifted and a band has been affected?

For my contest I had a vertical antenna mounted on my car. I can use it to operate on the bands I'm allowed to use, 10m, 15m, 40m and 80m. For this contest, my go-to band was 40m. Local conditions dictate that when dusk arrives, the lower part, 7.0 to 7.150 is all but unusable due to heavy interference from non-amateur stations overseas, so I picked a spot near 7.190 and used that as my calling frequency.

Of course, as was expected, not everyone got the memo that I'd be up at that end of the band, and the little flag I posted saying that this was my frequency was dutifully ignored by everyone.

What I'm saying is that there is no such thing as "my calling frequency", just the place where you like to call and you have to manage this along the duration of the contest, since others will find your little hidey-hole and use it at the drop of a hat. And if you're QRP like me, they might even just start calling CQ right over the top of you and you'll find that you think you're making contacts with stations that are not actually talking to you. In other words, be flexible.

As a rule, for myself, having been bitten by this many times, I don't QSY to another band if a station I've just worked asks to do so, since the aim for your contest is for you to make contacts, not for someone else to make them. That's not to say that if it's 3 o'clock in the morning and nothing much is happening this won't change. Again, flexibility is key.

I tend to use both VFO A and VFO B on my radio. It's a quick way to swap between frequencies or bands and it allows you to both sit on a frequency, calling CQ and hunt up and down the band at the same time. If that doesn't make sense to you, this is how I do this.

I set my calling frequency up on VFO A and copy that to VFO B. I call CQ a few times on VFO A, swap to VFO B, scan up or down a little way, find a station that I'd like to work and swap back to VFO A, call CQ a few more times, swap back to VFO B, hear the station finish their call and hear them call CQ. I respond and if they hear me, I make the contact. If not, I swap back to VFO A, call CQ and do it all again. This way I can be in one place calling CQ and pick up contacts at the same time.

If you have multiple radios, even as a single operator, you can do this and pipe the audio from one radio into one ear and the audio from the other radio into the other ear and do both at the same time. You can even combine the two and have four frequencies you work on. This requires practice, and you must make sure that both radios are not on the same band, ever, otherwise you'll likely blow up the second one while transmitting on the first.

Next time I'll look at what worked and what didn't, the aftermath.

I'm Onno VK6FLAB

The logistics of being in a contest while mobile Jun 19, 2016

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Foundations of Amateur Radio

Today I'm going to talk about the doing of a contest. Previously I discussed the preparation and you can go back to that and have a listen online, search iTunes for my callsign, VK6FLAB.

The contest I participated in was a 24 hour contest. It started at 2pm local time on a Saturday and ran the whole 24 hours. If I was sitting in a shack, I might have and in the past actually have, operated during most of that.

Seeing that this time around I was planning to be mobile, I needed to get sleep in between driving from location to location.

In my car I have a suction cup stuck to the front windscreen which holds the head of my radio. It's mostly within reach, but if I operate for a little while, extending my arm gets tiring, so if that's the case, I drop the steering wheel, push it forward and modify my seat position.

A better solution would be to find a better location, but I've not managed that yet. I keep looking at other set-ups, but haven't found one that works for me. I'll let you know if I do.

My logging is done on a computer. A net-book. It's small, light and pretty responsive. It's running Windows XP, never connects to the 'net and it works. I balance it on my knee when entering contacts, or have it on the passenger seat and tap into it that way. Also not ideal.

I saw a series of photos where a fellow traveller had used a plastic sewer pipe, and bend, to push into the cup-holder of the centre console and mount their computer on that. I've not yet travelled to the hardware store, but I can see a future where that might occur.

Power for the laptop comes from a 12V power supply. It's plugged into the cigarette lighter, set to the voltage of my computer and plugged in. It has a handy USB socket on the power supply that I use to keep my phone charged. That sits on another suction cup on the dashboard in a mount. It showed me where I was and where the boundaries of operation where. Every now and then I even used it as a phone.

Speaking about power. I power my radio with a 12V battery that's sitting in the boot.

At night, finding the right keys to press is a challenge. The interior light of the car is one option, but I find it makes too much light, draws too much attention and uses more power than I'm willing to use. Instead I use an LED headlamp. I was wearing it for a while, but a better solution turned out to be attaching it to the sun visor where it still is.

In terms of feeding and watering, for water I had about six bottles of water lying in the passenger seat foot-well. For food, a small insulated bag with fruit, apples, pears and a banana. I stayed away from nuts, sugar and other traditional stay-awake foods, because I find that I over eat, get sleepy and become less productive.

In between locations I'd turn the radio volume down, turn on some classical music and let my mind relax a little.

I drove about 300km during the 24 hours. Operated from 2pm until about 10pm and from about 5am to 2pm, a total of 17 hours. I managed to have a sausage roll for breakfast, not recommended, a few cups of coffee in the morning - keeping my eyes peeled for a coffee place at 5am paid off at 7am.

I wore comfortable shoes, a t-shirt and jeans. Next time I'll wear shorts or tracksuit pants. The belt really didn't work for me for that extended period of time sitting in a car.

Next time I'll talk about the operation during the contest.

I'm Onno VK6FLAB

Training, Traumatic or Fun, you decide... Jun 12, 2016

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Foundations of Amateur Radio

Training is a word that is steeped in tradition, it conjures up images of classrooms, teachers, chewing gum stuck to the bottom of your desk and being called upon to attend the front of the class to explain something based on the misapprehension that you did your homework.

Fortunately this is a hobby and training is something you can do yourself, to yourself, by yourself at your own pace. Of course, you can choose to do it with others, but it's not required as such.

We talk about being prepared for doing stuff, but what do we actually do to make that happen?

I've said many times that I like to do contests. In fact, I'm preparing for one right now. This particular contest awards points for making a contact and doubles the points, a so-called multiplier, every time I work a different area.

So, what does my training for this look like, what preparation have I done and what am I doing right now?

My first step was to read the rules, the specifics of what is proscribed, what is permitted and what is counted and what isn't. This sets up the training ground, the framework under which I have to operate my station.

My next step was to pull out a map and draw the boundaries of the areas that affected my score, showing those regions that I'd likely be in and likely make contact with. The crucial part for this was to see where the boundaries were, because it's likely that while driving around, having situational awareness will pay a good part of being successful.

Then I looked at the band conditions. I set-up with my multi-band antenna, a multi-tap Outbacker, and set it up on the 4 HF bands that I'm allowed to operate on, 80m, 40m, 15m and 10m. I set out to make a single contact with each, based on another station a couple of kilometres up the road. We both have vertical antennas to increase our chance of success.

Based on that I determined a few things. One, that this particular antenna and my car make for some pretty specific directionality on some bands. Two, that 10m and 15m were working close in, but not 20km away, that 80m sort of worked but that 40m was a winner.

Based on this test I decided that 40m was going to be my frequency band for this contest.

Then I went about getting tools together. I have a laptop for scoring and a power supply that connects to the car for the laptop. I've charged my radio battery, so it will run for a week on 5 Watts, got together pen and paper as a backup, found a USB charger for my phone and will shortly be packing fruit and water for while I'm on the road.

Last night I fuelled up the car, ready for the contest, and this morning I dug out a few spare antennas in case one of my friends is able to come out and play on-air as well.

I've looked at the map closely, did maths on how best to operate, added markers to my map where good operating positions might be found, likely they're completely rubbish, but going there is when I'll find that out.

I've told others what I'm going to do, encouraged others to get on air and play and by the time I start I'll have had a healthy lunch, a hot shower and comfortable clothes to keep me on the road. I've packed a warm coat, and gone through the contest in my mind to see if I can think of other things that I might need.

All this is only the pre-cursor to actually doing the contest. Call it Part 1. Part 2 is the contest and Part 3 is figuring out what worked and what didn't. I'll tell you about that next time we meet.

Training, it can be fun, or it can be traumatic, you decide.

I'm Onno VK6FLAB

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