.
IPK London is a personal site, any software downloaded from here can be used but at your own
risk. I accept no responsibility for any misfortune you may have.
White Cliffs of Dover, great place when there’s Tropo Ducting
Marconi CR100 of wartime period
Icom Base and Mobile
Kenwood
Yaesu Radio’s
Icom Handheld
Firmware and Other Downloads
For Kenwood Products, click Here
For Icom Products Click Here
For Yaesu, Go to their website and Click on Products
I think people know by now that I like the digital modes of the hobby too and
have always wondered what what the clearer of the three MAIN modes.
What is best? Dstar? C4FM (Fusion)? Or DMR?
Today my Yaesu FTM100DE (C4FM Radio) sounded like I have never heard
it before. I was listening on CQ-UK to Hams who decided to switch from the
standard digital voice (DV) to voice wide (VW) I thought DV was clear but
when I heard VW I couldn’t believe my ears, what a great sound coming out
of the speaker.
That’s because VW (Voice Wide) uses the complete 12.5KHz bandwidth as it
is not transmitting any callsign or GPS data and boy can you hear the
difference, especially on the Yaesu FTM100DE.
The first Digital radio I got was a Retevis RT3 (TYT MD 380 Copy) and as I wasn’t licenced at the time (got it four weeks
before I passed my foundation Licence) I had never heard any dedicated Amateur Radio let alone DMR, so I was pretty new
to the whole thing after using scanners for around 46 years. I thought my Retevis was the Bees Knees in sound then along
came my Yaesu FTM100DE and that sounded awesome just on DV alone. After that came Dstar which I find to be the busiest
of them all but also the thinnest sound of them all. (sorry Dstar) In saying that my Dstar radio is awesome too (Kenwood
THD74) it is a great radio and you can entirely see why it is the price that it is. But let’s be fair the reason for this is
comparison in sound not in radio choice. C4FM is undoubtedly the most richer complete sound of the three, DMR comes in
second as it’s not the same as C4FM but a much more complete sound than Dstar that takes the third place. Don’t think I’m
putting any of them down as I love them all. To be able to chat across the world is Fantastic and long may it continue
Okay so you’ve recently passed your foundation and now wish to do some great radio work but you think “I only have 10
Watts” well let me tell you, 10 Watts will get you into Europe (conditions permitting) easily on HF, UHF and VHF.
HF is the easiest way to chat to Europe or even around the world given the right conditions, but VHF/UHF can be excellent
when those conditions are right. Firstly keep an eye on this website dxinfocentre bring up the European map and click on
the map to advance the time and the day and you can go through the predictions for around a week in advance.
Also you can use a Current conditions map called Mennolink you can zoom in to a certain area and current conditions are
highlighted by different colours with Red being the most intense.
I live in Dagenham (12 miles East of Central London) and I have worked Belgium, France, Netherlands and Germany on 10
Watts So don’t put VHF/UHF down and don’t let others do it. Amateur radio is about experimentation, it’s about going out
and trying to get the best out of your radio in certain conditions. From Baofeng to Kenwood, From Tytera to Icom and Yaesu
whatever the radio it is it is still a joy to get the best out of it. I have stood on a cliff top with a Baofeng UV5R talking very
clearly to somebody on the Breskens Repeater 99 miles away that was driving just outside Amsterdam, Stood on that same
cliff top talking to someone using the Caen repeater 153 miles away using my Kenwood TH D74 and conditions on both of
those contacts were not exactly optimum, so you see that a handheld radio can perform over 100 miles on 5 watts, what
then can a radio with 10 Watts do in optimum conditions?
These are facts, I like to experiment wherever possible, don’t be put off by only being allowed 10 Watts, that is enough to
make you want to experiment to get the best from your radio and if the conditions are right you will undoubtedly be amazed
at what you can achieve. The foundation Licence is a great start and if you follow the above steps you’ll find it a much more
exciting time than you first thought.
Always keep things legal and have fun, after all that’s what it’s all about, Pass your exam and the radio world is your oyster
form the time you get your first licence. Take care and Good Luck in the hobby.
HF Propagation.
Think of the Ionosphere as the original Wifi, No Cables, No Computers, No repeaters just
good old plain nature. With the right propagation for the time of day and the time of year HF
signals bounce off of the Ionosphere and back down to Earth again sometimes many
thousands of miles away. So on some bands it is possible to make contact with the likes of
Australia and the U.S easily. However propagation has to be good and for that we need to
know about Sunspots and SFI (Solar Flux Index). Good Propagation predictor sites are
Voacap and Predtest
How Long is this Solar minimum going to last?.
Well in case you hadn’t noticed things are improving, we have had a few days where we have
seen many sunspots and a reasonable SFI, all of this will continue to get better (He Hopes) as
we get further down the line. Great site for checking Sunspot and SFI activity is solarham.net
Tropospheric Ducting.
This one most amateurs use even if they don’t know it, (Well the VHF/UHF bands users) is
Tropospheric Ducting, Yes because it uses the Troposphere not the Ionosphere. I once stood
on The White Cliffs of Dover with my little Baofeng UV5R 5Watt radio (you know, that one that
a lot of amateurs think of as useless piece of junk) and I was talking to a Dutch amateur on
the PI2NOS repeater he was in Amsterdam 99 miles away as the crow flies and absolutely 5.9
either way (if it had a gauge). Now 99 miles with a cheapie Chinese 5Watt radio to me has to
have been aided by propagation in some way shape or form. The conditions were perfect for
Tropo, there was even a low(Ish) fog across the English Channel.
Now using my Kenwood TH D74 handheld I have eclipsed the Baofeng by chatting on a
repeater 153 miles away in Caen (Normandy) only possible because of Tropo ducting so don’t
write off a distant contact and keep an eye on these two sites to see what is going on and
when
Great sites for VHF/UHF Propagation are DX Info and aprs.mennolink.org
The Propagation Prediction websites featured here all give exactly that, predictions, I wouldn’t
take it all as gospel, but they can give a good indication of what will be the best band to
operate on for Dxing. Whilst I know a bit about Propagation my baby is Tropospheric Ducting.
Radio’s like Icom 7300 and 7610, and Yaesu FTDX 9000 and 3000 operate on high power
and as they’re HF are designed with long distance in mind. However Radio's like my trusty
Yaesu FTM 100 and certainly my Baofeng UV5r are designed for extremely local stuff, mind
you the Yaesu is armed with C4FM capabilities. But whether you use a repeater or Openspot
for distant contact nothing beats good old fashioned Tropo.
Is it possible to get 147 miles or more on a 50w mobile 2M 70\cm radio? Yes and considerably
further. Is it possible to get 100 miles using a 5W Baofeng UV5r? Well yes actually, using
Tropospheric Ducting (Tried and Completed three times now)
Tropospheric Propagation
Ionospheric Propagation
Wot No Sunspots?
I’m afraid it’s that eleven year lull once again, At present VHF/UHF seem to be
getting the occasional lift, but with HF it’s few and far between 0 SSN with a SFI
of just 69 as I type this, not the best conditions and certainly not the most
disastrous either.
I typed the text above several months ago and as of today (17th February 2020)
it’s still only 0 SSN and an SFI of 71.
Thus far there have been signs of cycle 25 but really nothing to get the heart
pounding.
Current Conditions
This is just a pic, for Current VHF conditions site Click Here
IPK
If you’re going to want an end fed half wave antenna then one of these is essential and to be honest they’re not massively
expensive if you purchase a ready made one like the pic, but you can actually make them for a lot less, I just cannot be
bothered winding wires, drilling holes etc. I will say that these things work really well and are well worth what you pay.
White Cliffs of Dover, great place when there’s Tropo Ducting
Marconi CR100 of wartime period
Icom Base and Mobile
Kenwood
Yaesu Radio’s
Icom Handheld
Firmware and Other Downloads
For Kenwood Products, click Here
For Icom Products Click Here
For Yaesu, Go to their website and Click on Products
I think people know by now that I like
the digital modes of the hobby too
and have always wondered what
what the clearer of the three MAIN
modes.
What is best? Dstar? C4FM
(Fusion)? Or DMR?
Today my Yaesu FTM100DE (C4FM
Radio) sounded like I have never
heard it before. I was listening on
CQ-UK to Hams who decided to
switch from the standard digital voice
(DV) to voice wide (VW) I thought DV
was clear but when I heard VW I
couldn’t believe my ears, what a
great sound coming out of the
speaker.
That’s because VW (Voice Wide)
uses the complete 12.5KHz
bandwidth as it is not transmitting
any callsign or GPS data and boy
can you hear the difference,
especially on the Yaesu FTM100DE.
The first Digital radio I got was a Retevis RT3 (TYT MD 380
Copy) and as I wasn’t licenced at the time (got it four weeks
before I passed my foundation Licence) I had never heard
any dedicated Amateur Radio let alone DMR, so I was pretty
new to the whole thing after using scanners for around 46
years. I thought my Retevis was the Bees Knees in sound
then along came my Yaesu FTM100DE and that sounded
awesome just on DV alone. After that came Dstar which I
find to be the busiest of them all but also the thinnest sound
of them all. (sorry Dstar) In saying that my Dstar radio is
awesome too (Kenwood THD74) it is a great radio and you
can entirely see why it is the price that it is. But let’s be fair
the reason for this is comparison in sound not in radio
choice. C4FM is undoubtedly the most richer complete
sound of the three, DMR comes in second as it’s not the
same as C4FM but a much more complete sound than Dstar
that takes the third place. Don’t think I’m putting any of them
down as I love them all. To be able to chat across the world
is Fantastic and long may it continue
Okay so you’ve recently passed your foundation and now
wish to do some great radio work but you think “I only
have 10 Watts” well let me tell you, 10 Watts will get you
into Europe (conditions permitting) easily on HF, UHF
and VHF.
HF is the easiest way to chat to Europe or even around
the world given the right conditions, but VHF/UHF can be
excellent when those conditions are right. Firstly keep an
eye on this website dxinfocentre bring up the European
map and click on the map to advance the time and the
day and you can go through the predictions for around a
week in advance.
Also you can use a Current conditions map called
Mennolink you can zoom in to a certain area and current
conditions are highlighted by different colours with Red
being the most intense.
I live in Dagenham (12 miles East of Central London) and
I have worked Belgium, France, Netherlands and
Germany on 10 Watts So don’t put VHF/UHF down and
don’t let others do it. Amateur radio is about
experimentation, it’s about going out and trying to get the
best out of your radio in certain conditions. From Baofeng
to Kenwood, From Tytera to Icom and Yaesu whatever
the radio it is it is still a joy to get the best out of it. I have
stood on a cliff top with a Baofeng UV5R talking very
clearly to somebody on the Breskens Repeater 99 miles
away that was driving just outside Amsterdam, Stood on
that same cliff top talking to someone using the Caen
repeater 153 miles away using my Kenwood TH D74 and
conditions on both of those contacts were not exactly
optimum, so you see that a handheld radio can perform
over 100 miles on 5 watts, what then can a radio with 10
Watts do in optimum conditions?
These are facts, I like to experiment wherever possible,
don’t be put off by only being allowed 10 Watts, that is
enough to make you want to experiment to get the best
from your radio and if the conditions are right you will
undoubtedly be amazed at what you can achieve. The
foundation Licence is a great start and if you follow the
above steps you’ll find it a much more exciting time than
you first thought.
Always keep things legal and have fun, after all that’s
what it’s all about, Pass your exam and the radio world is
your oyster form the time you get your first licence. Take
care and Good Luck in the hobby.
HF Propagation.
Think of the Ionosphere as the original Wifi, No Cables,
No Computers, No repeaters just good old plain nature.
With the right propagation for the time of day and the time
of year HF signals bounce off of the Ionosphere and back
down to Earth again sometimes many thousands of miles
away. So on some bands it is possible to make contact
with the likes of Australia and the U.S easily. However
propagation has to be good and for that we need to know
about Sunspots and SFI (Solar Flux Index). Good
Propagation predictor sites are Voacap and Predtest
How Long is this Solar minimum going to last?.
Well in case you hadn’t noticed things are improving, we
have had a few days where we have seen many sunspots
and a reasonable SFI, all of this will continue to get better
(He Hopes) as we get further down the line. Great site for
checking Sunspot and SFI activity is solarham.net
Tropospheric Ducting.
This one most amateurs use even if they don’t know it,
(Well the VHF/UHF bands users) is Tropospheric Ducting,
Yes because it uses the Troposphere not the Ionosphere.
I once stood on The White Cliffs of Dover with my little
Baofeng UV5R 5Watt radio (you know, that one that a lot
of amateurs think of as useless piece of junk) and I was
talking to a Dutch amateur on the PI2NOS repeater he
was in Amsterdam 99 miles away as the crow flies and
absolutely 5.9 either way (if it had a gauge). Now 99 miles
with a cheapie Chinese 5Watt radio to me has to have
been aided by propagation in some way shape or form.
The conditions were perfect for Tropo, there was even a
low(Ish) fog across the English Channel.
Now using my Kenwood TH D74 handheld I have
eclipsed the Baofeng by chatting on a repeater 153 miles
away in Caen (Normandy) only possible because of
Tropo ducting so don’t write off a distant contact and keep
an eye on these two sites to see what is going on and
when
Great sites for VHF/UHF Propagation are DX Info and
aprs.mennolink.org
The Propagation Prediction websites featured here all
give exactly that, predictions, I wouldn’t take it all as
gospel, but they can give a good indication of what will
be the best band to operate on for Dxing. Whilst I know
a bit about Propagation my baby is Tropospheric
Ducting.
Radio’s like Icom 7300 and 7610, and Yaesu FTDX
9000 and 3000 operate on high power and as they’re
HF are designed with long distance in mind. However
Radio's like my trusty Yaesu FTM 100 and certainly my
Baofeng UV5r are designed for extremely local stuff,
mind you the Yaesu is armed with C4FM capabilities.
But whether you use a repeater or Openspot for distant
contact nothing beats good old fashioned Tropo.
Is it possible to get 147 miles or more on a 50w mobile
2M 70\cm radio? Yes and considerably further. Is it
possible to get 100 miles using a 5W Baofeng UV5r?
Well yes actually, using Tropospheric Ducting (Tried and
Completed three times now)
Tropospheric Propagation
Ionospheric Propagation
Current Conditions
IPK
If you’re going to want an end fed half wave antenna then one of these is
essential and to be honest they’re not massively expensive if you purchase
a ready made one like the pic, but you can actually make them for a lot less,
I just cannot be bothered winding wires, drilling holes etc. I will say that
these things work really well and are well worth what you pay.
