WSPRLite

[Stephen Thomas Cole]

I've been musing about getting a WSPRLite for a while, seeing Brian Howie
talk about WSPR on Facebook the other day brought it back to mind again
and, looking on the SOTABeams website subsequently, there now seems to be a
Mac compatible programming app and software! I don't know how recent an
innovation that is but when I looked previously it was strictly
Windows/Android only, which is no good to me as I am 100% Apple.

Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting this little gizmo in the next few
days and having a play. Are there any other WSPRLite users in the group who
can share their thoughts and experiences?

--
STC / M0TEY /
http://twitter.com/ukradioamateur

[Jim GM4DHJ ...]

"Stephen Thomas Cole" <use...@stephenthomascole.com> wrote in message
news:262547338.533648332.264849....@news.individual.net...

great idea it saves you having to talk to anybody and trying to get your
location etc through ...not amateur radio in my opinion...they will be
giving awards for it next ... .....

[Brian Howie]

In message <%2QTB.145945$GS.3...@fx06.am4>, Jim GM4DHJ ...
<jim.g...@ntlworld.com> writes

WSPR isn't a mode for making QSOs . It's a propagation monitoring widget
- a bit like an interactive personal beacon. Sub- audible signals can be
detectable over very long distances. I run a rx on 472KHz most evenings,
although I've done transmissions on 4m.

Other weak signal modes such as JT65 etc allow long distance contacts on
VHF and moonbounce without having to use very large antennas and high
power. To my mind that's a good thing.

The mode FT8 is more worrying. It has the capability of CW in terms of
SNR and QSOs can be made almost without human intervention. I've had a
go at receiving it and in most cases If it were CW, I'd be able to
decode it

Everyone to their own taste I suppose.

Brian GM4DIJ
--
Brian Howie

[AndyW]

On 30/11/2017 09:19, Jim GM4DHJ ... wrote:

> great idea it saves you having to talk to anybody and trying to get your
> location etc through ...not amateur radio in my opinion...they will be
> giving awards for it next ... .....
>

But that is not what it is used for.
I use it to get propagation reports on my rig, feeder and antenna.
I like QRP and building my own equipment, very QRP in some cases down to
milliwatts and AA batteries and wire and plumbing antenna. WSPR gives me
the ability to tweak the system to get the maximum range for later use
of CW.

Andy

[Brian Howie]

In message <5U6VB.107766$XT.1...@fx37.am4>, AndyW
<An...@nojunqmail.com> writes

I just do it for interest. I ran my usual 472KHz rx last night.

I got G6AVK at -31dB at 546km he was only running 10mW
Best was EA5DOM at 1947km .I'm quite astonished at how low power can
get so far even with then noise level here.
I''ve not got any transatlantic this winter ,but I'll need to
reorientate the loop.

Brian
--
Brian Howie

[AndyW]

Well the Voyager 1 transmitter puts out 22 watts and it is
21,000,000,000 km away so there is a little scope for improvement :-)

That's real QRP.

Andy

[Stephen Thomas Cole]

Well, I've had my WSPRLite running on 14Mhz for a few days now and it's
quite interesting to see how my OCF multiband dipole (oriented NW-SE) is
putting out a signal. Here's a map of my spots:

https://ibb.co/kYXDNw

Will switch to another band at the weekend and run a week on that to start
to build comparisons.

All in all, a fun gizmo!

[Brian Howie]

Now radio amateurs can get down to much the same levels using fairly
low spec computers, which would have taken a mainframe in the early
days. OK Voyager was a bit closer in 1976 ;-) but nonetheless.

Brian

[Brian Howie]

On 7 Dec 2017 21:16:29 GMT, Stephen Thomas Cole

You're showing up here too of course
http://wsprnet.org/drupal/wsprnet/map

Can you run rx as well?

I'm running rx only on 474KHz and got the loop orientated for USA
tonight.

Brian

[Guy G4DWV 4X1LT]

This is a very interesting thread. I am amazed at how far myT10, JT65
and JT9 signals get spotted. Bloody shame that there is not a live
radio amateur at the other end for a QSO!
--

73 de Guy G4DWV/4X1LT

[Brian Howie]

In message <5o7t2dhmvi6m3ttio...@4ax.com>, Guy G4DWV 4X1LT
<no-e...@tardis.com> writes

>This is a very interesting thread. I am amazed at how far myT10, JT65
>and JT9 signals get spotted. Bloody shame that there is not a live
>radio amateur at the other end for a QSO!

Any time I've tried the JT modes there's been a real person. It's WSPR
that's automatic.

Tonight I'm trying OPERA receive on 477KHz. I notice in the "deep
search" mode callsigns have already been pre-allocated from the
reports. Sometimes this can cause false detections.

We're into the realms of "I heard 3 faint clicks" from another attempt
at weak signal reception in 1901 - was it a signal or static ?

Brian
--
Brian Howie

[Brian Reay]

On 11/12/2017 15:08, Guy G4DWV 4X1LT wrote:
> This is a very interesting thread. I am amazed at how far myT10, JT65
> and JT9 signals get spotted. Bloody shame that there is not a live
> radio amateur at the other end for a QSO!
>

Hopefully there is someone alive at the other end ;-)

Seriously, if your want to combine very low power and dx, or at least
the 'funny modes' (not always WSPR etc), you might look into VLF QRSS.

Different to WSPR but still narrow BW, generally LF, it is more (shall
we say) exclusive- there isn't a lot about compared to WSPR etc.

May be worth a Google.

Still not a 'rag chew' mode but, unlike WSPR, where messages tend to be
short and impersonal, you could (in theory) exchange some basic content,
provided you weren't in a hurry.

[Stephen Thomas Cole]

It is quite a blast looking at the map representations of my WSPR
transmissions, and the wsprnet one does look really cool. :) And it is
interesting to see the broad shape of my received signal, how I'm seeming
to work best into central and southern Europe, as expected with my base
conditions I think. I might set the power right down for a week, 5mw, and
see what happens.

> Can you run rx as well?

No, tx only with the WSPRLite. That FunCube dongle you mentioned on
Facebook is a receiver, right? Is there Mac software for it?

> I'm running rx only on 474KHz and got the loop orientated for USA
> tonight.

How'd you get on?

[Stephen Thomas Cole]

Guy G4DWV 4X1LT <no-e...@tardis.com> wrote:
> This is a very interesting thread. I am amazed at how far myT10, JT65
> and JT9 signals get spotted. Bloody shame that there is not a live
> radio amateur at the other end for a QSO!

It's a really interesting gadget and I'm glad I bought it. :)

[Brian Howie]

In message
<1826264737.534763853.688480....@news.individual
.net>, Stephen Thomas Cole <use...@stephenthomascole.com> writes

>Brian Howie <Br...@nospam.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>> Can you run rx as well?
>
>No, tx only with the WSPRLite. That FunCube dongle you mentioned on
>Facebook is a receiver, right? Is there Mac software for it?

Yes a receiver, there are other cheaper ones now.

The website says it will run on a Mac, but you also need control
software to set parameters QtHID works on all platforms. I use HSDR and
SDR# . Someone has got HSDR to work on Mac

https://k1fm.us/2015/10/hdsdr-on-osx-the-easy-way-reloaded/

>
>> I'm running rx only on 474KHz and got the loop orientated for USA
>> tonight.
>
>How'd you get on?

Nil, likewise on OPERA . Too noisy here I think. I'll try from Galloway
where it's quieter.

Brian
--
Brian Howie

[Guy G4DWV 4X1LT]

On Mon, 11 Dec 2017 18:47:50 +0000, just as I was about to take a
herb, Brian Howie <br...@b-howie.demon.co.uk> disturbed my reverie and
wrote:

>Any time I've tried the JT modes there's been a real person. It's WSPR
>that's automatic.

Both JTDX and WSJT-X and very likely other JT programs automatically
'spot' so I can see how far my signal gets here
https://pskreporter.info/pskmap.html. That is done automatically in
the program(s).
--

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and may your God go with you!

73 de Guy G4DWV/4X1LT

[Jimbo ...]

"Guy G4DWV 4X1LT" <no-e...@tardis.com> wrote in message
news:5o7t2dhmvi6m3ttio...@4ax.com...

> This is a very interesting thread. I am amazed at how far myT10, JT65
> and JT9 signals get spotted. Bloody shame that there is not a live
> radio amateur at the other end for a QSO!

> 73 de Guy G4DWV/4X1LT

Well that is exactly why it is not amateur radio .....

[Brian Howie]

In message <pbcceh$a1o$1...@dont-email.me>, Jimbo ...
<kinvig...@ntlworld.com> writes

In a Radcom, some time ago , it might even have been in 1984, there was
a parody that described Winston Smith returning home to find his
untended station had done "Worked All Countries" or something like that.
Someone might recall.

In 2018 it has indeed come frighteningly close to that. A glimmer of
hope was that last night I had to swap from my iambic paddle to an
conventional morse key to work a particularly weak CW station on 4m and
do it the hard way.

[Ian Jackson]

In message <0Ts+uHE2...@b-howie.co.uk>, Brian Howie
<br...@b-howie.co.uk> writes

I think there was a similar article in QST - much earlier - possibly
early 60s.
--
Ian

[Gareth's Downstairs Computer]

It remains to this day, as it has always been, that the true spirit of
amateur radio lies with home brewed CW transmitters of under 10W output.

The simple on / off keying of an xtal controlled CW TX requires very
little of the electronics knowledge that the construction of
a digitally tuned SSB rig needs.

Even so, the handbooks of the RSGB and the ARRL continue to have
introductory chapters covering the groundwork previously dealt
with by Scroggie's Foundations Of Wireless, showing that despite
the lamentably low level of technical knowledge required to
get a Foundation licence, that technical motivation is at the
core of the spirit of amateur radio.

[Guy G4DWV 4X1LT]

On Fri, 20 Apr 2018 10:38:16 +0100, just as I was about to take a
herb, "Jimbo ..." <kinvig...@ntlworld.com> disturbed my reverie and
wrote:

>Well that is exactly why it is not amateur radio .....

I agree. All it does is give the owner of the station a warm, fuzzy
feeling for no real effort.
--
73 de Guy G4DWV 4X1LT

[Jimbo ...]

"Guy G4DWV 4X1LT" <no-e...@tardis.com> wrote in message

news:j5mkddldvp4ae32ch...@4ax.com...

...which matches the no effort in getting an FL licence or getting on HF for
the class Bs ........

[Guy G4DWV 4X1LT]

On Sat, 21 Apr 2018 08:13:49 +0100, just as I was about to take a

herb, "Jimbo ..." <kinvig...@ntlworld.com> disturbed my reverie and
wrote:

>...which matches the no effort in getting an FL licence or getting on HF for
>the class Bs ........

Deffo.

[AndyW]

I would disagree. The term amateur radio covers a lot of definitions.
I am not a great chatter or QSL collector, instead my interest is in
home made gear and the best way to test my home made QRP rigs and home
made antennas rather than buying rigs and twigs.

<Ducks and covers>

Andy

[Roger Hayter]

Is making an effort a virtue in itself? I thought the point of
technology was to save effort, and a mode that tests communications
systems without having to talk to people has obvious advantages.


--

Roger Hayter

[Jewish Jimbo ...]

good point...I hate talking to hams ......