VA7ST.ca – A radio operator's notebook

Anticipation abounds: 2021 6M sporadic-E season

May 5, 2021

Early indications are that 6M will have a good summer this year. For those new or getting back to 6M activity, here’s the current state of affairs.

Recap: FT4 DX and NAQP RTTY February

March 2, 2021

The final weekend of February brought three pretty active contests — CQ 160M SSB, FT4 DX contest, and the NAQP RTTY.

Recap: 2021 ARRL DX CW worst-ever outing

February 22, 2021

From the outset, Aurora levels were elevated and the K-index was bobbing around 3 or 4, forcing the A-index into the 20s. Want to hear signals on 20M with aurora? Listen in…

Recap: 2021 WPX RTTY

February 16, 2021

Brief European opening on 20M and a hopping 80M band were highlights of WPX RTTY this year.

Recap: BCQP and EU DX contests

February 8, 2021

The weekend of February 6 and 7 presented its share of challenges and opportunities for making contacts. Too many options may have worked against any one contest.

Matching transformer for “loop on ground” and Beverage antennas

February 2, 2021

This is a companion piece to the post “Hearing through the noise on the low bands“. Why bother? After years of thinking about it, in early 2021 I finally got serious about building some proper matching transformers for my short Beverage wire antenna along the property line and a loop on the ground laying on […]