In the log this week
* MVARC Breakfast and Meeting Recap and a Look Ahead
* Contest Spotlight: CQ World Wide WPX Contest This Weekend
* HF Signals zBitx Radios Start Shipping
* MVARC Nets on the Air
* What's happening with DX?
* Solar Activity Update
* Upcoming Contests
* Interesting Online Radio Content
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MVARC Breakfast and Meeting Recap and a Look Ahead
Photo Courtesy Corey KN4YZY
Last weekend MVARC had both our monthly breakfast and monthly meeting on Saturday. We had a good turn out to both with lots of folks joining in the conversation at the breakfast and many joining us for the meeting as well. At the meeting, Ed N2EC (of the third person) gave a talk about Battery Power for Portable Operations and we had a lively back and forth discussing battery technology and how to size your setup for portable. The slide deck from Saturday's presentation can be found at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1U547LbiSXxoIowrG-F839kTIkor0q3Te/view?usp=drive_link.
Next month's meeting presenter is scheduled to be Andy K1RA, who will be discussing "Multi-band, Multi-Mode Digital Decoding and Reporting Using SDRs". Andy runs one of the biggest SDR based listening stations in our area reporting data to the Reverse Beacon Network and providing web-based Software Defined Radios as a service to the community. I use the data that comes from Andy's systems on a daily basis to enhance my operation on the air, and this promises to be a fascinating presentation. More details to come in a future Amateur Radio News and Notes.
Contest Spotlight: CQ World Wide WPX Contest This Weekend
Spring contest season continues this week with one of the biggest contests of the year: the CQ World Wide WPX Contest on SSB. This is another contest wh ere you can work a ton of DX, but what makes this one special is everyone can work everyone. The WPX part of it is referring to an interesting component of the contest where different call sign prefixes are the multipliers. So for me, the prefix would be "N2", so if you worked me you'd get a multiplier. But "W2" would be another, as would "K2", throw a different number in there and then you get still more, so the points escalate quickly and almost all contacts are "good contacts".
The contest starts at 0000 UTC on Saturday, March 29 (8 PM ET Friday Night), and ends on 2359 UTC on Sunday (7:59 PM ET Sunday). During that period of time a single operator can work 36 of the 48 hours and any off-times must be a minimum of an hour with no contacts logged. Bands allowed for the contest include 160m/80m/40m/20m/15m/and 10m. The exchange is RST plus a serial number, so "59 25" if you're someone's 25th contact. Make sure you get the serial number, as it is required to match for the QSO to count. The final score is the QSO Points x Number of Prefixes Worked. QSO Points are 3 for contacts on different continents on 10m/15m/20m and 6 points on 40m/80m/160m. On the same continent but different countries points are 1 point on 10m/15m/20m and 2 points on 40m/80m/160m. Finally contacts in the same country are 1 point on all bands. The Prefix multipliers are applied only once, regardless of band or frequency of operation. Prefixes are the combination of the letters and numbers on the first half of the call, so N4, W4, WA4, S51, LY1000, are all separate prefixes to be counted. For entry, single operator categories include High Power (not exceeding 1500 Watts), Low Power (not exceeding 100 Watts), QRP (not exceeding 5 Watts). There are also a bunch of overlay categories that can be entered alongside your main category like Tribander, Rookie, Classic, and Youth. Check the rules for details on these. There are also Multi-Operator categories including Multi-One, Multi-Two, Multi-Unlimited, and Muti-Distributed. Again check the rules for full details. Rules and more information can be found at https://www.cqwpx.com/.
With band conditions being pretty great due to us being near the top of Solar Cycle 25, this will be a great opportunity to work the world. Have fun and good luck!
HF Signals zBitx Radios Start Shipping
Image Courtesy HFSignals.com
HF Signals, makers of the Bitx series of radios that includes the popular sBitx radio announced a new radio to their line-up at the end of last year called the zBitx. It is a 5 Watt, all-band, all mode SDR using the Raspberry Pi Zero 2W and an integrated display for just $150 (or $178 shipped). Since the Raspberry Pi is integrated in the system, it can do digital modes like FT8 without additional hardware (no computer is required). As you can imagine, lots of folks raced to be on the pre-order list for this rig (your author included). The original plan was to have them ship by the end of February, but there were delays associated with parts acquisition due to the Chinese New Year and some firmware update issues that pushed things back a bit.
It was announced that the rigs began shipping this week with folks getting delivery dates as early as Wednesday. As I write this mine hasn't shipped yet, but hopefully it will get dispatched soon. The rigs are currently not for sale until the pre-orders are fulfilled, but founder Ashhar Farhan VU2ESE, has said that once they can have a 10 day fulfillment cycle again, they will start taking orders again. More information on the zBitx can be found at https://www.hfsignals.com/index.php/zbitx/.
MVARC Nets on the Air
* 2 Meter FM Net: Tuesdays at 7 PM [146.655/- MHz (141.3 Hz PL Tone) ]
* 2 Meter Digital Net: Immediately Follows 2 Meter FM Net [146.655/- MHz C4FM]
* MVARC Slow Speed CW Roundtable: Saturday and Sunday at 7:30 AM [3.565 MHz CW]
* MVARC Cherry Tree Net: Saturday and Sunday at 8:30 AM [3.920 MHz LSB]
What's Happening with DX
When one of the major contests is on the calendar like the CQ WW WPX SSB Contest, operators fan out around the globe to bring DX locales on the air. This weekend is no different, so there will be a lot of DX on the air. Stations on the air will include Bonaire (PJ5K), Sao Vicente Island Cabo Verde (D4DX), Madeira Island (CQ3W), Antigua (V26K), Rodrigues Island (3B9DJ), Vanuatu (YJ0CA), Guadeloupe Island (TO1Q), Tanzania (5H3MB), Cayman Islands (ZF2LC), Grenada (J38XB), Dominica Island (J79WTA), Cook Islands (E51ANQ), Martinique (FM/F8AAN), Sint Maarten Island (PJ7AA), Mali (TZ4AM), Comoro Islands (D68Z), Solomon Islands (H44MS), Sri Lanka (4S7KKG), Benin (TY5C), Senegal (6W7/ON4AVT), and Antarctica (DP0GVN).
A calendar of DXpeditions can be found at https://dxnews.com/calendar/
Solar Activity Update
As we go to press the Solar Flux Index (SFI) was 157 and the estimated sunspot number was 95. Over the last week the SFI has decreased. Geomagnetic fields have been causing periods of G1 and G2 level storms in the last few days with a Kp value of 6 being experienced mid-week. Much of this was being caused by a very large coronal hole causing high speed streams of wind directed at Earth. Kp values are expected to hover around 4 today and decline into the low 3s tomorrow with active conditions persisting. High solar winds (currently near 800 km/s) are expected to continue today, but should wane this weekend. Flare activity has been low and is expected to remain so over the next several days. The chance of R1-R2 radio blackouts is forecast to be at 25% and R3 or greater blackouts are at 1%. With a few exceptions due to the now waning solar winds, conditions have been favorable overall. It remains a fantastic time for amateurs of all license classes to get on the air and work the world. Conditions should be good for this weekend's contest.
Good sources of real-time solar information include https://www.spaceweatherlive.com/ and https://solarham.com/. A good overview of conditions can be found at https://dx.qsl.net/propagation/. To see D-layer absorption data and associated radio blackouts, visit https://www.swpc.noaa.gov/products/d-region-absorption-predictions-d-rap. To see real-time Maximum Usable Frequency (MUF) and Critical Frequency (foF2) information from radiosonde data, visit https://prop.kc2g.com/.
Upcoming Contests
As mentioned earlier the big event this weekend in contesting is the CQ WW WPX Contest on SSB. Also on the contest calendar this weekend we can look forward to the Sasquatch Stomp, the Feld Hell Sprint, and the Classic Exchange on CW. As always the K1USN SSTs, MSTs, and CWTs will also be on the air.
The full contest calendar with events and exchanges can be found at https://www.contestcalendar.com/weeklycont.php
Interesting Online Radio Content
Tim G5TM does the calculations for how much LiFePO4 battery you need -
Oxford Shortwave Log takes a first look at the Choyoung LC90 Shortwave and Internet Radio -
Michael KB9VBR takes a look at the Surecom SW-28F SWR/Wattmeter -
Craig KM6LYW adds a USB port to his Yaesu HT -
Kevin KB9RLW finds a workaround for a PL-tone issue for the ICOM 705 when working satellites -
Mike K8MRD goes on a hike and activates POTA with the Alpha Antenna FMJ -
Bill AJ8B talks to ARRL CEO David NA2AA about his operating and his day job for the DX Mentor Podcast -
Hayden VK7HH talks about some Retevis deals on Amazon -
Kevin W1DED talks to Mark K1RX about Contesting Tips and Tricks -
Kevan 2E0WMG uses the inexpensive vertical from AliExpress -
Morten LB0FI takes a look at the Sierra Radio Systems Station Controller -
Mike K8MRD talks tuners and chokes -
Josh KI6NAZ compares telescoping 2m and 70cm HT antennas -
Linas LY2H puts the Bamatech Flight Deck through its paces -
Matt M0DQW takes a look at the Baofeng DM-32UV and is pleasantly surprised -
Jim WT1W takes a look at a USB cable tester -
GreatScott takes a look at USB PPS for variable power supply via USB C -
Kevan 2E0WMG uses the FX-4CR and really enjoys it -
Kevin W1DED talks to the Contest Crew about strategies for CQ WPX SSB -
George VK2AOE shows his homebrew single tube rig with a digital VFO -
Walt K4OGO puts together an inexpensive HF setup for a fly-in operation -
Rob N1NUG takes a look at the GA-800 Active Loop Antenna -
Steve KM9G makes a 2m go-bag -
Mike K8MRD takes a look at the Malahit DSP2 Receiver -
Kevin W1DED talks real-time contesting with Victor VA2WA and Craig K9CT -
Kevin W1DED talks about Levi K6JO's dominant ARRL DX SSB performance from ZF1A -
That's it for this week.
Best 73,
Ed
N2EC
