Transcript WSJT - W9xt.com

Gary Sutcliffe, W9XT
Ken Boston, W9GA
Esoteric “Space” VHF Propagation Modes
Want to make distant contacts beyond “normal range”
 Aurora - bounce off northern lights
 6 & 2M, mostly CW, “Donald Duck” on SSB
 Meteor scatter – bounce off ionized meteor trails
 Mostly 6 & 2M, SSB, WJST
 Popular during meteor showers
 Moon bounce (EME) – use moon as a reflector
 6M & up, CW, SSB, WJST
 2M most popular band
WSJT – Weak Signal Joe Taylor
 Written by K1JT – Joe Taylor
 3 Modes
 JT6M – Scatter on 6M
 FSK441 – Meteor scatter
 JT65 – Moon Bounce
 Each mode optimized for that type of operation
 JT6M – weak signals from scatter
 FSK441 – short bursts, Doppler shift
 JT-65 – Very weak signals, slow fading, slow Doppler shift
What do you need?
 Stuff you have
 VHF Transceiver – must have SSB mode
 Antenna
 PC
 Stuff you need to get
 PC/Rig interface (inexpensive – build or buy)
 WSJT program – Free download!
Sound Card Interface
Unified Microsystems SCI-6 Sound Card Interface Schematic
WSJT Software
 Free down load
 http://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/K1JT/wsjt.html
 Standardized QSO formats – not a rag chew mode
 Step by step defined sequences
 30 or 60 second transmit/receive periods
 Requires synchronized PC clocks
WJST User Interface
WSJT QSO Sequence
Stations alternate 30 or 60 sec. transmissions:
Station 1 Transmission
CQ W9XT EN53
Station 2 Transmission
W9XT W1XYZ GRID
W1XZY W9XT RPT
R RPT
RRR
73
Meteor Scatter
 Meteor burst
 Several milliseconds to maybe 30 seconds, short ones
much more common
 Longer on 6M, short on 2M, very short 222 MHz
 Maybe 1 burst per minute visible during a good shower
 Maximum range out to about 1200-1400 miles.
 Station Requirements
 50-100W good, more is better
 Medium sized antenna best

High gain antennas too narrow – don’t know exactly were
meteor will appear
FSK441 – Meteor Scatter
Moon Bounce
 Signal path
 Round trip to moon and back ~2.4 seconds.
 250 dB loss
 Station Requirements
 100W single long Yagi minimum – work a few really big
stations
 350W, 4 Yagis with elevation – can work equivalent stations
 Need to track moon Az-El
JT65 – Moon bounce
W5UN
W9XT “QRP” EME Station
Equipment:
Yaesu FT-847 All mode transceiver
Mirage B2518G 150W 2M amp
Cushcraft 13B2 13 element Yagis (2)
CATV 75Ω hardline
Dell PC running XP
Unified Microsystems SCI-6 PC I/F
Plans for 2012:
•Increase to 4 Yagis
•KW amp
W9GA EME Station
Equipment: 144 system:
Kenwood TS-711 2M All mode transceiver
Henry 2002 2M 700 W amp
2 X 9 el M2 Yagis, hand aimed (not shown)
M2 preamp
Laptop PC
50 MHz system:
Yaesu FT1000MP mkV w/FTV1000
H.B. KW amp with a pair of 3CX800s
2 X 6M5X vertically pol, with elevation
PC with WSJT
50 MHz EME antenna
QSLs received
Scatter Modes
 Lots of propagation modes
 F2 – Regular HF propagation mode if high solar levels
 Es - Common in spring months
 JT6M lets you make contacts when there is not enough
signal to make CW & SSB QSOs
JT6M – Scatter modes (6M)
Ping Jockey
WSJT Resources
 WSJT Download: www.physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/K1JT/
 N0UK Ping Jockey page:
http://www.pingjockey.net/cgi-bin/pingtalk
 Unified Microsystems: www.unifiedmicro.com
 Inexpensive PC sound card to radio interface kit
 ON4KST chat page: www.on4kst.org/chat
Slide deck will be put up on www.w9xt.com