Maybe it was getting thrown across the rec room when I was 13 after playing in the back of the retired family black and white tv and pulled out that neat looking wire that connected to the picture tube!
Maybe it was sitting in front of the old Rogers-Majestic floor model shortwave radio at my grand-parents place.
It might even have been when I was 8 and stuck the antenna lead from a crystal set into the wall plug to see if I could get a better signal!
Regardless of when, it has been an interest that has been with me for many years.
In the early 70s, I got into the CB craze and did a lot of tinkering on the "freeband" to get away from the mainstream crowd.
I even went into electronics because of my interest and have enjoyed what I do for a living for almost 40 years now!
It took me years to actually get my amateur license, but in 1989, I finally sat down to get my license!
True, I've taken some long breaks from the hobby and in 1993 I sold most of the gear and packed the rest in a box for about 12 years.
Since that time, I have been playing on the fringes with modes and in parts of the mainstream spectrum that most don't bother with! At least not in my area!
Right now, as an example, a lot of people are running WSPR on hf.
Been there, done that! I got involved in that when there weren't many people doing it.
My current interests lie are in the following modes.
SSB Satellites.
VHF WSPR.
A little known mode (in North America) called ROS.
Right now, I am sitting beside one of my FT-817s monitoring 144.489mhz listening to faint signals from three other hams in eastern North America. Yes Jay, I can hear your signal and it sounds good down here! -19 with a drift of 3 at 1754. It shows on the screenshot below.
VE3SWS and I had been conducting experiments with WSPR on 2m for a few months earlier this year.
W8AC would drop in the odd time too.
I had to rework the station and due to work and family commitments had to bow out for a while.
Now that the antennas are nearing completion, I've got the station back on the air and am happy with the results so far.
OK, the shack is a mess! I had to get the antenna system done first. This will change over the winter though. I hope!
Today I have been decoded on 2m WSPR by Jay, VE3SWS in FN06, 312km nw of me, Jim, W8AC in EN91, 488km wsw of me, and Bill, VE3IQB in FN15, 173km ne of me.
Above is a typical screen for 2m which shows drift which is a combination of equipment drift, various atmospheric conditions and in the case of the trace on the right, likely an aircraft, or multiple aircraft reflections. There is a major flight path running to the north of my area and an airport 15km east of me.
Sure the 2m band is unpredictable sometimes, but we are finding that it is open more often than any of us imagined and usually not in the directions the APRS maps are saying! That unpredictability is what lures me to the challenge.
If I wanted easy, I'd email someone or use the phone.
Well, enough for now.
Time for more turkey! It's the Canadian Thanksgiving Monday here!
73
Tom
No comments:
Post a Comment