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April 6, 2017
Actual Radio Frequencies (Hz):
| 80m | 40m | 20m | |
| K5CM | 3,598,118.58 | 7,064,197.73 | |
| W8RKO | 3,598,215.80 | 7,064,083.40 | |
| W6OQI | 14,121,543.34 |
K5CM/W8RKO/W6OQI All (<=1 Hz):
AA6LK, AB2UW, AB4RS, K1GGI, K3JQ, K3KO, K4GFG, K4IVF, K4KJQ, K5CM, K6APW/7, K6HGF, K6UM, KA5QEP, KD2BD, KD5MMM, KE5O, KK4KAZ, KK6RKY, KM6QX, KN1H, N3FG, N6SKM, NU0C, VA3MW, VE2IQ, W0GPR, W2FD, W2TX, W3DAD, W3FAY, W3JW, W4ENN, W4RYF, W4SPR, W4WJ, W5LAC, W6MSU, W6OQI, W7CQ, W7PUA, W9GR, W9INE, W9ZB, WA1ABI, WA3FAE, WA4FJC, WA7BNM, WA9VNJ, WB2CMF, WB8TFV, WO7V, WW6D, WX4TW
K5CM 80 (<=1 Hz):
AA6LK, AB2UW, AB4FH, AB4RS, AD7TM, AF9A, AJ4YA, AJ5P, K0ANS, K0WM, K1GGI, K3JQ, K3KO, K3TIM, K4GFG, K4IVF, K4KJQ, K5CM, K5RKS, K6APW/7, K6HGF, K6IQL, K6UM, KA5QEP, KD2BD, KD5MMM, KE5O, KG0HY, KG2EL, KG5X, KK4KAZ, KK6RKY, KK6TG, KM6QX, KN1H, N2GL, N3FG, N4AB, N5LUL, N6SKM, N8OB, NU0C, VA3MW, VE2IQ, VE3GSO, VE3YX, VE9DAN, W0GPR, W2FD, W2TX, W3DAD, W3FAY, W3JW, W4ENN, W4RYF, W4SPR, W4WJ, W5LAC, W6BDX, W6BM, W6MSU, W6OQI, W7CQ, W7GLF, W7LUX, W7PUA, W9GR, W9INE, W9ZB, WA1ABI, WA2DVU, WA3FAE, WA4FJC, WA7BNM, WA9VNJ, WB0LXZ, WB2CMF, WB6HYD, WB6VEX, WB8ILI, WB8TFV, WD4IYE, WO7V, WW6D, WX4TW
K5CM 80 (>1 to <=5 Hz):
K0JAA, K0JJ, K3TCT, K8DJR, KD5FX, KI7RM, KQ2RP, N3IZN, N5DM, N5SD, W7GW
K5CM 80 (>5 to <=10 Hz):
AB1UY, AB9TX, N3SXI
K5CM 80 (>10 Hz):
AA8K, K0BJB, K9KK, VE3OAT, W0HBK, W0PHD, W6DSR, WA7IRW, WA7KMR, WQ9T, WV2RJR
W8RKO 80 (<=1 Hz):
AA6LK, AB2UW, AB4FH, AB4RS, AD7TM, AF9A, K0ANS, K0BJB, K0JAA, K0JJ, K0WM, K1GGI, K3JQ, K3KO, K3TIM, K4GFG, K4IVF, K4KJQ, K5CM, K5RKS, K6APW/7, K6HGF, K6IQL, K6UM, K8DJR, K9KK, KA5QEP, KD2BD, KD5MMM, KE5O, KG0HY, KG2EL, KG5X, KK4KAZ, KK6RKY, KK6TG, KM6QX, KN1H, N2GL, N3DUE, N3FG, N3IZN, N5DM, N6SKM, N8OB, NU0C, VA3MW, VE2IQ, VE3GSO, VE3YX, VE9DAN, W0GPR, W0HBK, W0PHD, W2FD, W2TX, W3DAD, W3FAY, W3JW, W4ENN, W4RYF, W4SPR, W4WJ, W5LAC, W6BDX, W6BM, W6DSR, W6MSU, W6OQI, W7CQ, W7GLF, W7GW, W7PUA, W9GR, W9INE, W9ZB, WA1ABI, WA2DVU, WA2SON, WA3FAE, WA4FJC, WA7BNM, WA9VNJ, WB0LXZ, WB2CMF, WB6VEX, WB8ILI, WB8TFV, WD4IYE, WO7V, WW6D, WX4TW
W8RKO 80 (>1 to <=5 Hz):
K3TCT, KD5FX, KI7RM, KQ2RP, N3SXI, N4AB, N5SD
W8RKO 80 (>5 to <=10 Hz):
AB1UY, AB9TX, AJ5P, N5LUL
W8RKO 80 (>10 Hz):
AA8K, VE3OAT, WA7IRW, WA7KMR, WB6HYD, WQ9T, WV2RJR
K5CM 40 (<=1 Hz):
AA6LK, AB2UW, AB4FH, AB4RS, AD7TM, AF9A, AJ5P, K0ANS, K0JAA, K0JJ, K0WM, K1GGI, K3JQ, K3KO, K4GFG, K4IVF, K4KJQ, K5CM, K6APW/7, K6BZZ, K6HGF, K6UM, K8DJR, KA5QEP, KD2BD, KD5FX, KD5MMM, KE5O, KG0HY, KG2EL, KG5X, KI7RM, KK4KAZ, KK6RKY, KK6TG, KM6QX, KN1H, KQ2RP, N2GL, N3FG, N3SXI, N6NC, N6SKM, N8OB, NU0C, VA3MW, VE2IQ, VE3YX, W0GPR, W0HBK, W2FD, W2TX, W3DAD, W3FAY, W3JW, W4ENN, W4RYF, W4SPR, W4WJ, W5LAC, W6BDX, W6BM, W6DSR, W6MSU, W6OQI, W7CQ, W7GLF, W7GW, W7LUX, W7PUA, W9GR, W9INE, W9ZB, WA1ABI, WA2DVU, WA2SON, WA3FAE, WA4FJC, WA7BNM, WA9VNJ, WB2CMF, WB8ILI, WB8TFV, WD4IYE, WO7V, WW6D, WX4TW
K5CM 40 (>1 to <=5 Hz):
AB9TX, AJ4YA, K3TCT, K6IQL, K9IRO, KC2KJ, KG0D, N3DUE, N4AB, N5BA, N5DM, N5SD, VE9DAN, WA2IKL, WA7IRW, WA7KMR
K5CM 40 (>5 to <=10 Hz):
AB1UY, WQ9T
K5CM 40 (>10 Hz):
AA8K, K9KK, N3IZN, VE3OAT, W0PHD, WB0LXZ, WV2RJR
W8RKO 40 (<=1 Hz):
AA6LK, AB2UW, AB4RS, AD7TM, AJ5P, K0BJB, K0JAA, K0JJ, K0WM, K1GGI, K3JQ, K3KO, K3TIM, K4GFG, K4IVF, K4KJQ, K5CM, K5RKS, K6APW/7, K6HGF, K6IQL, K6UM, KA5QEP, KD2BD, KD5FX, KD5MMM, KE5O, KG0HY, KG2EL, KG5X, KI7RM, KK4KAZ, KK6RKY, KK6TG, KM6QX, KN1H, KQ2RP, N2GL, N3DUE, N3FG, N3IZN, N5LUL, N6NC, N6SKM, N8OB, NU0C, VA3MW, VE2IQ, VE3YX, W0GPR, W0HBK, W0PHD, W2FD, W2TX, W3DAD, W3FAY, W3JW, W4ENN, W4RYF, W4SPR, W4WJ, W5LAC, W6BDX, W6BM, W6DSR, W6MSU, W6OQI, W7CQ, W7GLF, W7GW, W7LUX, W7PUA, W9GR, W9INE, W9ZB, WA1ABI, WA2DVU, WA3FAE, WA4FJC, WA7BNM, WA7KMR, WA9VNJ, WB0LXZ, WB2CMF, WB6HYD, WB6VEX, WB8ILI, WB8TFV, WO7V, WW6D, WX4TW
W8RKO 40 (>1 to <=5 Hz):
AB9TX, K0ANS, K3TCT, KG0D, N4AB, N5DM, N5SD, VE9DAN, WA7IRW, WQ9T
W8RKO 40 (>5 to <=10 Hz):
AB1UY
W8RKO 40 (>10 Hz):
AA8K, AF9A, K9KK, N3SXI, VE3OAT, WD4IYE, WV2RJR
W6OQI 20 (<=1 Hz):
AA6LK, AB2UW, AB4RS, AF9A, AJ4YA, AJ5P, K0ANS, K0BJB, K0JAA, K1GGI, K3JQ, K3KO, K4GFG, K4IVF, K4KJQ, K5CM, K5RKS, K6APW/7, K6HGF, K6IQL, K6UM, K8DJR, K9KK, KA5QEP, KD2BD, KD5MMM, KE5O, KI7RM, KK4KAZ, KK6RKY, KM6QX, KN1H, N3FG, N3IZN, N5DM, N5LUL, N6SKM, NU0C, VA3MW, VE2IQ, VE3GSO, VO1NA, W0GPR, W0HBK, W0PHD, W2FD, W2TX, W3DAD, W3FAY, W3JW, W4ENN, W4RYF, W4SPR, W4VU, W4WJ, W5LAC, W6MSU, W6OQI, W7CQ, W7LUX, W7PUA, W9GR, W9INE, W9ZB, WA1ABI, WA2SON, WA3FAE, WA4FJC, WA7BNM, WA9VNJ, WB2CMF, WB8TFV, WD4IYE, WO7V, WW6D, WX4TW
W6OQI 20 (>1 to <=5 Hz):
7L4IOU, K0JJ, K3TCT, K9IRO, KD5FX, KG0HY, N3DUE, N4AB, N5SD, W5WSF, W7GLF, W7GW, WA2DVU, WA2IKL, WB0LXZ
W6OQI 20 (>5 to <=10 Hz):
AB1UY, VE9DAN, WQ9T
W6OQI 20 (>10 Hz):
AB9TX, KC2KJ, KD0FYF, N3SXI, N6ICW, VE3OAT, WA7KMR, WB8ILI, WV2RJR
Result Details (n=125):
| Call | QTH | Area | Method/Soapbox | |||||||||||||||||
| 7L4IOU | DX | DX |
| Method: Red Pitaya, Power SDR, Spectrum Lab and HP 8648A Soapbox: The First run was clear as -50dB on screen, with little Doppler. However, the Second run was not visible at all. Propagation seems fade-out. Thank you very much for wonderful event. | ||||||||||||||||
| AA6LK | CA | W6 |
| Method: HP Z3805A 10MHz GPSDO, Marconi 2019 HF synth, HP 3325A LF synth, HP 54601A o'scope, FT-847 in AM/narrow mode, 5BTV antenna, Vista laptop
running SpecLab, DigiPan for spotting, EZGPIB controlling Prologix USB-GPIB to control and interrogate the radio and instruments, GPSCon for monitoring Z3805A; the 2019 was set to inject a reference beat signal to produce a ~400Hz beat tone, and the 3325A was tuned for minimum phase slip between it and the beat tone. Each run was also recorded to a .wav file through SpecLab, and at a later time replayed to export data to spreadsheet to refine submission numbers. Soapbox: Thanks guys for another fine FMT. W6OQI signals were in/out of the noise both times; later signal measured ~0.4 Hz lower. All others strong but having lots of amplitude/phase variations. 73, L | ||||||||||||||||
| AA8K | MI | W8 |
| Method: FR149A/USM-159 frequency meter last calibrated 1976. Zero-beat frequency meter with test signal in an AM receiver. Soapbox: Used an old-time FR149A/USM-159 frequency meter, courtesy of Steve, AC8GB. Sat down with the manual about an hour before the start of the FMT. Checked the internal 1 MHz crystal reference and made sure it was on frequency to 1 Hertz. Dial(?) calibrates to reference with the "corrector" about mid-range. Couldn't find a signal anywhere close to the actual frequency transmitted. I liked using the magnifying lens on the filmstrip "dial". No FMT signal heard here in Michigan on 20 meters. | ||||||||||||||||
| AB1UY | NH | W1 |
| Method: KX3 using beat freq method Soapbox: Recieved all stations ok here in NH. KX3 VFO not the most stable when your trying to get within 1 Hz. | ||||||||||||||||
| AB2UW | NY | W2 |
| Method: 98' long W5GI dipole oriented E-W connected to Icom IC-7000. SignaLink interface to laptop running Spectrum Lab. After key down period, switched radio input to HP 3335A frequency synthesizer through a 30 dB, 100W attenuator (for protection of the 3335A in case the transmitter is accidentally keyed up) The 3335A was referenced to a Thunderbolt GPSDO. Tuned the frequency synthesizer to match the appearance of the key-down signal on the Spectrum Lab waterfall display. Read frequency off the synthesizer; No radio or computer soundcard calibration is needed with this method. Soapbox: Very disappointing that the FMT was not on the ARRL home page, nor on the 'contest calendar' page, nor on the 'contest corral' page. Measuring frequency accurately IS a contest! All signals were clearly readable in FN30. | ||||||||||||||||
| AB4FH | SC | W4 |
| Method: Flex 6700 with GPSDO + Spectrum Lab Monitored WWV 5 MHz for Doppler correction Offset Flex by 500 Hz. Fed DAX output to Spectrum Lab which averaged for 45 secs to find peak to the 1 mHz readout. | ||||||||||||||||
| AB4RS | VA | W4 |
| Method: Tuned with HP 3586B locked to Trimble Thunderbolt GPSDO. Sampled 15625 Hz IF with computer and analyzed with Spectrum Lab. Also generated reference tone with HP3336C to calibrate computer sound card. Soapbox: I had to do the 20m runs unattended, as I had a conflicting activity this evening, fortunately the equipment operated and recorded flawlessly. Generally good signals on all bands except for K5CM 80m signal, which also was spread out over about 1 Hz. There was a large doppler shift on W8RKO's 80m signal, I hope I managed to divine a straight line out of the spectrum. | ||||||||||||||||
| AB9TX | WI | W9 |
| Method: Elecraft K3-P3/Direct | ||||||||||||||||
| AD7TM | WA | W7 |
| Method: Uncalibrated Rb reference for HP33120, R71 rcvr, Spectrum Lab Soapbox: First time FMT. Thanks! | ||||||||||||||||
| AF9A | IN | W9 |
| Method: OpenHPSDR Mercury recv, OCXO calibrated to CHU, WWV. Soapbox: W6OQI was S3-5 on the first transmission, pretty much down in the noise the second transmission. W8RKO on 40M was unusable with the high noise level and static crashes. Just made a wild guess. We're too close to him for 40M. All other signals were great, S9+10 to 20 over. Thanks guys! | ||||||||||||||||
| AJ4YA | NC | W4 |
| Method: Rx was Elecraft K3s. Used zreo-beat with tone on Rx. Compared with Ft. Collins time tone, and adjusted frequency. Soapbox: Wish the key-down time was 3 min. instead of 2 min. but I still had a blast. | ||||||||||||||||
| AJ5P | MS | W5 |
| Method: Icom IC 7300 and FLDIGI Soapbox: This is a lot easier now than my first FMT in 1980. 80 and 20 were both noisy, 40 was strong. | ||||||||||||||||
| K0ANS | CO | W0 |
| Method: FT-817ND with TCXO, iMac running cocoaModem 2.0 in PSK mode. Calibrate frequency error with WWV. Soapbox: I missed the last few FMT sessions due to inattention. It's good to be back. 73 de K0ANS | ||||||||||||||||
| K0BJB | NE | W0 |
| Method: Measured the beat frequency difference between an accurate carrier provided by an old HP 8640B, Opt 323 and the incoming signal. The audio output of the
An accurate carrier was provided by an old HP 8640B, Opt 323(I hear laughter) and the beat note was measured and the frequency calculated.
The 8640 was counted by an HP 5340A. The audio output from the receiver was fed to a one side of a Tek 453 scope, the other side went to an audio oscillator similar to an HP204, that was counted by a
CP814A/USM207(Navy '60s)solid state, counter, .1hz resolution, etc. I used the scope for the 1:1 lissajous pattern to synchronize the audio signals. Soapbox: Signals were all really good here, much better than previous times I have tried this. W8RKO drove my receiver into limiting on 80 meters, a beautiful, clean, loud signal. | ||||||||||||||||
| K0JAA | MO | W0 |
| Method: FT-767GX, 20m dipole, computer soundcard interface, fmt software that comes with WSPR. Calibrated using broadcast AM stations and WWV signals before, during, and after. Soapbox: 2 measurements for W6OQI were: 14121543.509 14121542.877 I averaged them. | ||||||||||||||||
| K0JJ | OR | W7 |
| Method: Flex 6700 external GPS 10mhz ref. Soapbox: K5CM and W8RKO both 59 signals with some qsb. W6OQI just above noise with S3 and qsb. Just checking to see how close the read out is on the Flex 6700 the last digit had to take a wag as could only move radio up and down 1 hz K0JJ | ||||||||||||||||
| K0WM | CO | W0 |
| Method: Calibrate receiver on WWV 5.0 and CHU 7.85 MHz. Yaesu FT-1000MP Mark V, Rockwell/Collins 180S-1 tuner, 40-meter dipole. Soapbox: Good signals on 40 and 80 meters. It's fun to see how basic equipment performs in the test. Thanks to K5CM and W8RKO for their effort. | ||||||||||||||||
| K1GGI | MA | W1 |
| Method: beat against known hf oscillator, measure with SpectrumLab Soapbox: tnx to all who put the effort into a fun exercise | ||||||||||||||||
| K3JQ | MD | W3 |
| Method: Equipment used:
HP 3586B Selective Level Meter, Trimble Thunderbolt GPS Receiver, Spectrum Lab FFT Program running on Windows 7 PC, SoundBlaster Sound Card. Antenna: Carolina Windom 80 Short, 60 feet high.
Procedure:
HP 3586B locked to Thunderbolt GPS Receiver. Audio output of 3586B fed to line-in of sound card. Sound card audio recorded by Spectrum Lab. FMT transmissions recorded, interspersed as appropriate with recordings at 15 MHz, 10 MHz, 5 MHz, and 2.5 MHz.
During this session, I located each FMT transmission to within a few Hz aurally and visually with Spectrum Lab (FFT set to decimate by 4, Hann window 8192), set the 3586B 20 Hz filter, and recorded the frequency setting of the 3586B.
Next day, analyzed the Spectrum Lab wav file (decimate by 4, Hann window 131072), exported results to a plotting program, printed out plots of frequency vs. time, and eyeballed the FMT frequencies, using WWV for comparison. Soapbox: lmost all the FMT transmissions as well as some of the wwV signals showed a varying doppler shift. The 20 meter beam east tranmission's frequency shifted downward by about 0.15 Hz during the period from 20:00 to 20:05. Eyeball estimate of beam east frequency is 14,121,543.4 Hz. The 20 meter beam west transmission's frequency shifted upward by about 0.07 Hz during the period from 21:29 to 21:36. Eyeball estimate of beam west frequency is 14,121,543.15 Hz. | ||||||||||||||||
| K3KO | FL | W4 |
| Method: K3 + Spectrum Lab + Ref Osc. = data collection channel 1 , 3586C+3336C + scope = data collection channel 2. Semi independent. Same antenna and same Rb standard to lock gear in both channels. Soapbox: Thanks guys for this. For some reason it was a grind. K5CM and W8RKO were also strong both bands. Glad to hear W6OQI with a strong signal both runs. His second run appeared shifted downward 0.15 Hz from the first. Both channels agreed within < 50 milliHz. | ||||||||||||||||
| K3TCT | MD | W3 |
| Method: Using Hustler BTV vertical with Kenwood TS590SG receiver.measurement using Spectrum Lab software. Soapbox: My thanks to all who made this happen! | ||||||||||||||||
| K3TIM | CA | W6 |
| Method: Flex 6500 / FLDIGI | ||||||||||||||||
| K4GFG | FL | W4 |
| Method: 80/20m inverted vee at 35 ft, 10 MHz LPRO-101 Rubidium std controlling a TPI Synthesizer at 125 MHz as external clock to a QS1R SDR. Recorded I&Q .wav files at 50K sps on the computer, then analyzed (in Visual Basic) with sequential 2048 CFFT's overlapped 1/2. Found desired signal in one frequency bin, then examined phase shift vs time of good S/N segments to determine the frequency offset of the signal from the bin center. No doppler correction. Soapbox: Thanks to the transmitting stations. W6OQI very strong on 20m. His second run was shifted lower by nearly .2 Hz, so I averaged the two runs. 40m signals were fair, but 80m signals were weak and static crashes from storms in the Southeast were horrible. Need to develop better criteria for selecting FFT size, the best data segments for analysis in the presence of QSB and static crashes, and how best to combine those into a final result. | ||||||||||||||||
| K4IVF | VA | W4 |
| |||||||||||||||||
| K4KJQ | KY | W4 |
| Method: Very bad noise thunder storms tornadoes combined with bad antenna connection. | ||||||||||||||||
| K5CM | OK | W5 |
| Method: TX Antennas:80 meter dipole slopping down from a 80' tower. 40 meter dipole between two 80' towers, 4 element SteppIR. For RX I use an FT-1000D in AM mode with a PTS-250 for low side injection. Audio is feed to SpectrumLab. Other RX antennas include three 500' Beverage. Soapbox: Marvin's signal was strong on both early and late runs. Sun down Doppler shifted his signal down 300 mHz for the second run. Mike's signal was good on both 80 and 40 with more noticeable Doppler on the 40 meter signal. | ||||||||||||||||
| K5RKS | OK | W5 |
| Method: I use an HP3336B to inject reference signal into "T" connector between antenna and receiver input. HP3336B controlled by external 10Mhz clock which comes from GPS disciplined oscillator. GPS box is old unit from pulled out of cell phone tower. Software is homebrew which takes an many separate 8.192 second measurements as are possible during approximately 2 minute key down. Usually I get 15 independent readings for a given station/band. Bin size of my FMT is 0.122 Hz. Sample rate is 8000 samples/sec. Number of samples per 8.192 sec measurement is 64K. I do FFT and then look through about 100Hz worth of bins of interest to find the one that has peak energy. I do this both for injected signal and also off the air FMT signal from W6OQI, K5CM and W8RKO Soapbox: I have been participating in these FMTs for several years. I've never seen anything like this before: VERY SMALL AMOUNT OF DOPPLER. [a] I could not measure K5CM's 40M signal because his signal was under the noise level. He was S3 and noise level was maybe S4. When I looked at my FFT bins no peaks were evident. [b] In the case of K5CM on 80M ALL 15 8-second measurements were in the SAME FFT bin!!!! There was absolutely NO DOPPLER or any other type of "drift". I have never seen this type of apparent "stability" before. [c] In the case of 20m signals from W6OQI only the early one at 00:03UTC was usable. All the measurements were within +/- 0.24 Hz of each other. [d] W8RKO on 40 and W8RKO on 80 had very small apparent "Doppler" here. All readings for given transmission within +/- 0.24Hz of each other. | ||||||||||||||||
| K6APW/7 | OR | W7 |
| Method: Measurements and calibration of Ten-Tec receiver using digital audio oscillator beat with CW offset through audio hybrid combiner. Apply calibration offset to derive frequency. Soapbox: The 20M signals S2 for first run and S1 for second. Forty meter signals both S8 with QSB from Ohio. Eighty meters noisy with S6 to S7 levels maximum. Thanks to all for making it happen. | ||||||||||||||||
| K6BZZ | AZ | W7 |
| Method: GPSDO, 3336B, Flex 1500,SpectrumLab, WIN 10. Attic dipole Soapbox: Only had time for one measurement here. W6OQI not heard. | ||||||||||||||||
| K6HGF | CA | W6 |
| Method: 3586B/3336B/Spectrum Lab/scope | ||||||||||||||||
| K6IQL | KS | W0 |
| Method: Various Methods depending upon signals and cockpit errors. Used dual
QS1R SDRS operated as a phase interferometer to sort on angle of arrival and to throw out the ones from the wrong heading. Did not use this in all cases due to real time cal screw up. Other wise sorted data on the basis of the frequency difference between the two interferometer channels. If frequencies did not agree within 0.5 Hz that data set (i.e. 2 measurements at same instant) was discarded.
then averaged the survivors. Equipment referenced to GPS calibrated Rb clock. Audio beat method to measure both phase difference and both frequencies. SL for frequency measurement on both channels at once.
Antennas - 4 small magnetic loops oriented N-S and E-W on accurate base lines for determination of DOA. Soapbox: Great fun and a chance to try out a new technique. I still prefer this format because there is still much work to do in this area with regard to processing. | ||||||||||||||||
| K6UM | OR | W7 |
| Method: Elecraft K3 + K3XREF + HP 10MHz OCXO
K1JT FMT but set A=B=0 Soapbox: W6OQI was only S3 for both runs. The 2nd run measured 0.5 lower than the first run. Very bad QRM on 80/40m frequencies. Quite surprised by good signals on 80/40m before sundown. | ||||||||||||||||
| K8DJR | MI | W8 |
| Method: Icom 756 pro 3 calibrated against WWV on 5, 10 and 15 Mhz with interpolation for FMT frequencies. 500 Hz audio tone from an I phone APP used to tune for similar beats above and below LSB freq + 500 Hz. Final freq estimate midway between the two. | ||||||||||||||||
| K9IRO | MI | W8 |
| Method: ICOM IC-728 with an SDR DVB-T/DAB USB receiver used in the IF. HDSDR software was used to control the DVB-T/DAB receiver. I compared the DVB-T/DAB receiver frequency against WWV to establish the receiver frequency measurement error. This error was used to correct the FMT measured signal frequency. Soapbox: This was my first try at the FMT. I am using a hybrid receiver. The analog section is an ICOM IC-728 and the digital section is a SDR DVB-T/DAB USB receiver in the IF. I think my frequency results will be +/- 2 Hz. | ||||||||||||||||
| K9KK | OK | W5 |
| Method: GPS looked HP3336B, beats with signal to be measured to generate AN audio tone FOR Spectrum Lab frequency digitization. Soapbox: 6 FMT tests spread over a 3 hour period and Then calculating the 6 different frequencies to report made it more difficult. ALL SIGNALS were very strong into Oklahoma. Thanks to W6OQI, K5CM, and W8RKO for organizing and conducting the FMT. | ||||||||||||||||
| KA5QEP | OK | W5 |
| Method: Harris RF-590 with HP 3561A. Recorded .wav files were analyzed with Mathematica chirp Z transform to check HP signal analyzer results and look for trends in the received frequencies. Soapbox: Good signals except second 20M test. That signal was weak and fading and had red-shifted down to 14121543.1 Hz. | ||||||||||||||||
| KC2KJ | PA | W3 |
| Method: Elecraft K3 with 0.5ppm master oscillator together with Spectrum Lab to determine accurate beat note by examining the FFT bins! Soapbox: Two minutes is the bare minimum amount of time to measure beat note (FFT bin); It seems to me an additional 30 seconds would be helpful! | ||||||||||||||||
| KD0FYF | CO | W0 |
| Method: Elecraft K3, Spectrum Lab Soapbox: Weak signal. | ||||||||||||||||
| KD2BD | NJ | W2 |
| Method: All homebrew equipment including a carrier phase tracking receiver, a WWVB referenced frequency standard, and a frequency counter. Measured
signals were received using an end fed 43 foot long horizontal wire antenna. Method involved phase locking the receiver's LO to the frequency of the unknown carrier minus a 1 kHz offset, measuring the frequency of the receiver's LO over several 10 second integration periods, and taking a "selective average" of the readings after factoring in the 1 kHz offset. 20 meter readings were down-converted using an SA612 to mix the incoming signal with the frequency standard's 10 MHz LO, and the resulting 4 MHz IF was measured as described above. Further details available at: http://www.qsl.net/kd2bd/fmt-methodology.html Soapbox: A Kp index of 2 helped to keep amplitude and phase perturbations to a minimum. W6OQI was strongest (RST 579) during his first transmission. His second transmission was 439 and averaged about 0.16 Hz lower in frequency than his first. K5CM was 599 with very little QSB on 40, while W8RKO was a bit stronger and suffered even less QSB. 80 meters suffered from a lot of QRN and QSB. K5CM was 589, while W8RKO was 599+ and had less QSB. (Past experience has shown little correlation between signal strength stability and frequency measurement accuracy. We'll see what happens!) My sincere thanks to everyone involved for continuing this educational technical challenge and time honored Amateur Radio tradition. 73.000 de John, KD2BD | ||||||||||||||||
| KD5FX | OK | W5 |
| Method: Stock FLEX6300 with Digital Master 780 S/W Soapbox: My 1st time. K5CM sig was poor on 40 for me but good on 80. Everyone else was good. | ||||||||||||||||
| KD5MMM | TX | W5 |
| Method: Yaesu FT-847, SpecLab, CHU for reference Soapbox: Heard all signals really well this time, hope I'm close. 73 all .. | ||||||||||||||||
| KE5O | TX | W5 |
| Method: GPS disciplined HP 3586 SLM. Soapbox: Second run on 20 was much weaker but more stable. Lotsa fun! | ||||||||||||||||
| KG0D | WA | W7 |
| Method: SDRplay receiver with indoor dipole Soapbox: Wow but time goes by fast. Presently in Richland, WA | ||||||||||||||||
| KG0HY | NE | W0 |
| Method: Receiver is WinRadio G313. Powered-up 2300UTC. Check calibration with WWV, and my 1MHz standard. HF yagi was used for 20M. 100 feet dipole was used for 40 and 80M. Soapbox: W6OQI second transmission, was lower in frequency. My measurement was 14121545.2 Signal was good. K5CM on 40M was fading into the noise. Casey, KG0HY | ||||||||||||||||
| KG2EL | NY | W2 |
| Method: ts-990 on cw with pitch set to 1000Hz. read error from 1000hz on hp3586 Soapbox: First time I've tried this - heard no signal on 20 | ||||||||||||||||
| KG5X | TX | W5 |
| Method: SDRplay RSP-2 calibrated with WWV using a gutter antenna Soapbox: 20 meters almost completely dead here. | ||||||||||||||||
| KI7RM | OR | W7 |
| Method: Received the signal on a Flex-3000. Used K1JT's WSPR/FMT software for analysis. Soapbox: 20 meter signals barely perceivable, but the software found something there to work with. | ||||||||||||||||
| KK4KAZ | FL | W4 |
| Method: Homebrew GPSDO using used GPS/Antenna, used TCXO, and homebrew Timing/Control board synched to GPS 1PPS, Spectrum Lab for recording peaks, and spreadsheets for estimates. Soapbox: Reception fairly clear and stable. | ||||||||||||||||
| KK6RKY | CA | W6 |
| Method: Icom 7100 transceiver with internal sound card and an older version of
WSPR software (version 2.12)with auxiliary programs for frequency measurement and least square interpolation. Soapbox: Thanks for organizing an interesting technical challenge! The 20 m signals were pretty weak but the QRM was low. The 40 m and 80 m had strong signals but also more QRM. | ||||||||||||||||
| KK6TG | CA | W6 |
| Method: A custom built receiver converts the signal to a 1 MHz filtered IF using DDS-based LO. The DDS clock is referenced to a 10 MHz OCXO. The 1 MHz IF signal is compared to a 1 MHz reference on a dual channel scope, and the LO is adjusted for minimum phase slip. Some Doppler correction was applied to the result based on WWV and/or CHU. Soapbox: My first attempt at FMT. 20M signal not detected here in N CA. K5CM and K8RKO had nice solid 40/80M signals. Thanks for the event! | ||||||||||||||||
| KM6QX | CA | W6 |
| Method: OCF dipole into Flex-1500 receiver locked to GPSDO. Received in CW mode, fixed AGC, and analyzed ~600 Hz tones with Spectrum Lab. Selected most probable spectrum peak then corrected for Flex’s DDS VFO offset. Soapbox: Here in San Francisco area, W6OQI's first Tx was not detected. 2nd Tx was below noise level 80% of time, but SpecLab found it. K5CM and W8RKO signals were very strong on 40m and 80m. | ||||||||||||||||
| KN1H | NH | W1 |
| Method: IC-7200 feeding HP computer with Spectrum Lab. Everything running for 3 days to stabilize. Averaged 100 samples of each transmission and applied corrections, hopefully in the right direction! Soapbox: Excellent signals from all three stations received on end-fed wire. No QRM, low noise. W6OQI 579 both transmissions, SNR 42db; K5CM 579 on 40, SNR 41db, and 599 +10db on 80, SNR 36db; W8RKO 599 on 40, SNR 49db, and 599+10db, SNR 54db on 80. (Spectrum Lab figured the SNRs.) Thanks to these awesome stations for hosting the FMT! I got a different result on the second 20M measurement so will be interested to see which, if either, is right. | ||||||||||||||||
| KQ2RP | NJ | W2 |
| Method: KX3, WWV, zerobeat Soapbox: Just killing time, playing around and listening. Curious to see how close/far I was. Nothing serious in the way of equip/cal method, just zerobeat. | ||||||||||||||||
| N2GL | OR | W7 |
| Method: GPS disciplined 3586A Soapbox: Could not find 30M signal | ||||||||||||||||
| N3DUE | MD | W3 |
| Method: ICOM IC-7600, G5RV antenna, Spectrum Lab software Soapbox: This is my first time entering this test. I missed the K5CM 80m test. | ||||||||||||||||
| N3FG | PA | W3 |
| Method: K3, 40M dipole, Spectrum Lab, WWV Soapbox: Pretty good signals except for 80M where the signal from K5CM was S5 but the QRN was moderate to heavy. As usual, many thanks to those who made the event possible. | ||||||||||||||||
| N3IZN | CA | W6 |
| Method: Kenwood TS690 Soapbox: Was not prepared, kept forgetting to save data. Wasn't going to submit but thought I would try for a participation ribbon. 20 meters was very weak and the 2 periods seemed different to me. 40 meters lots of QRM and I closed program instead of reducing. 80 not much better. The time between key downs was quick. Thanks to all involved in putting this on. | ||||||||||||||||
| N3SXI | PA | W3 |
| Method: Yaesu FT-991, CSC frequency counter, Apple iPad Mini, HP Calculator.
Sideband offset measurement. Soapbox: Unable to read second run of W6OQI. | ||||||||||||||||
| N4AB | TN | W4 |
| Method: Flex 6700 GPSDO, HP Desktop computer running SmartSDR Software, OCFD antenna. No Method other than looking for the peak signal on the spectrum display then reading the frequency off the receiver slice display.
I did try to interpret the tenth Hertz from the peak signal. Soapbox: After 64+ years of Hamming this was my first FMT. I was just interested in seeing how close I could get just using the Flex 6700 as my Frequency Measurement Equipment. But I did have a good time, maybe I'll try harder next time, now that I know what to expect. 73, Al. | ||||||||||||||||
| N5BA | TX | W5 |
| Method: Flex 6500 | ||||||||||||||||
| N5DM | TX | W5 |
| Method: FT3000 w/Digipan v2.0. Direct measure no external reference. Soapbox: All signals generally solid with minimal QSB in STX. Thanks K5CM, W6OQI, W8RKO. | ||||||||||||||||
| N5LUL | TX | W5 |
| Method: Yaesu FT920/ Dipoles on 40 and 80/ Mosley TA33-M on 20.
Zero beat WWV before the test and found display reading high. Soapbox: Rig showed 14hz off at 5mhz. Determined "fudge-factor" and went from there. No special test equipment her but had fun and anticipating results! | ||||||||||||||||
| N5SD | KS | W0 |
| Method: Yaesu FT-991 WSJT-X | ||||||||||||||||
| N6ICW | CA | W6 |
| Method: TS2000 cal to a General Dynamics R2672. Check audio pitch between Upper and Lower SSB. Soapbox: Weak signal in NorCal. Thanks, Chris | ||||||||||||||||
| N6NC | CA | W6 |
| Method: Racal RA6790 w/ 10MHz Rb std. Rcvr audio piped into SpecLab/soundcard for comparison of rcvr 600 Hz BFO tone and WWV calibrated 600Hz tone in SpecLab to determine offset. Rcvr BFO also controlled by Rb std, so I tune to FMT test freq, note rcvr dial (accurate within 1 Hz), then tune rcvr BFO to reach 600hz note. I watch the offset from 600Hz within SpecLab and keep a txt file of the second by second offsets from 600 Hz during the FMT. After test, I take all the offsets from SpecLab data file for the particular FMT freq, add them up and average them to apply the appropriate MEAN offset for that test freq. I add (or subtract, as appropriate) that offset to the rcvr dial freq to get my target freq for the FMT.
Inadequate ANT here, 10" Russian "active ANT, and QTH has gotten intolerably RFI noisy, knocking out 80m band completely. Heard K5CM 40m sigs OK, but nothing on 20m-- probably too close. (Or we need better xmit ANT or power. I often hear So.Cal. 20m CW sigs close by, at least via backscatter, but couldn't copy W6OQI tonight.) Soapbox: This was my first ever FMT, so I'm unsure of results, especially with weak ANT. Learning for FMT was fun, and many thanks to Graham G0NBD, AA8K, AA6LK, N7AIG, K6OQK and others for their help and encouragement. 73, Larry N6NC | ||||||||||||||||
| N6SKM | CA | W6 |
| Method: Yaesu FT857D, with homemade GPSDO, connected to SignaLink USB driven by Mac Mini running OSX 10.11.6 using fldigi 4.0.1 writing frequency analysis file to Excel for averaging. Antenna for 20 meters was magnetic loop, 40 and 80 meters were using Boni-probe. Soapbox: Second 20 meter transmission was measured at 14121542.84 for a doppler difference of -0.37 hertz. Thanks for a challenging test today. QSB and QSY was very high on all three bands. | ||||||||||||||||
| N8OB | OH | W8 |
| Method: Flex 6300 calibrated to 10 Mhz and Speclab Soapbox: Nothing heard from west coast on 20M. Very nice signals on 40 and 80M. Lots of storm static going thru the area. | ||||||||||||||||
| NU0C | NE | W0 |
| Method: Drake TR-7 (20/40M), Drake R-7A (40M/80M, Butternut HF-6V vertical. Delta-F method, HP/Agilent E4420B signal generator + Tracor 304SC Rubidium standard. Heavy lifting done with Baudline spectral analysis software running in Kubuntu Linux. Soapbox: Heard all transmitters on all bands, but royally hosed myself on 40. Salvaged what I could, hope it's close enough. Lesson : CHECK EVERY DETAIL during each and every callup. W6OQI #2 was about 0.347 Hz lower than #1 by my numbers. Picked #2 for submission for no reason based on knowledge or experience. Thanks for running the test! | ||||||||||||||||
| VA3MW | ON | VE |
| Method: Flex 6300 with WSPR FMT Software calibrated to WWV at 2.5, 5, 10 15 & 20Mhz. Soapbox: I thought I would try doing this 100% in software and building my own 1500hz reference by measuring WWV based on Joe's excellent instructions. Signals were excellent on all bands including 20M for both runs. | ||||||||||||||||
| VE2IQ | ON | VE |
| Method: Dipole > TS850 CW mode > soundcard. Measure average audio frequency over keydown interval and adjust for known radio errors. Soapbox: W6OQI S5, then S5 with QSB. Second run 0.3 Hz lower. W8RKO stronger than K5CM on 40 & 80. No attempt made to guess Doppler magnitudes - just hoping they're within 1 Hz. Thanks for making it happen. | ||||||||||||||||
| VE3GSO | ON | VE |
| Method: Yaesu FT950 and Spectrum Lab. Frequency offset errors measured with WWV. 40m not heard due to brain error. Soapbox: Second 20m run was in the noise, barely detectable, and spread across about a Hz. | ||||||||||||||||
| VE3OAT | ON | VE |
| Method: Receiver in AM mode and measured audio beat note between signal generator and "unknown" FMT signal. Soapbox: I expect terrible results. Discovered after it was all over that my signal generator was not locked to the 10 MHz GPS reference signal. Adjusted my raw results with an after-the-fact estimate of the signal generator's frequency error, but it's only an estimate. ;-) | ||||||||||||||||
| VE3YX | ON | VE |
| Method: Fldigi and TS-870 using a Marconi 2018A signal generator for the 870's 20 MHz ref. Soapbox: Too late home for the 20 M test. The 80 and 40 signals were all good - S9 or better. CHU 3330 was missing! Thanks Connie and Mike. | ||||||||||||||||
| VE9DAN | NB | VE |
| Method: SDRplay - SDRuno - FLdigi Analysis Soapbox: Light copy on 20M here on the east coast. Any random sparkle seen on the waterfall became a target. Otherwise, 40M and 80M signals were good. The CSV files generated by FLdigi provided wonderful graphs to peruse, and think about. One of the 40M graphs was almost a straight horizontal line with squiggles on the end. Other graphs fluctuated back and forth as expected. Thanks to the guys for running the test ... another job well done. | ||||||||||||||||
| VO1NA | NL | VE |
| Method: Spectrumlab/Oscilloquartz/DDS60/Raspi3/FT-817/30'gp Soapbox: W6OQI was 579 -- FB sigs spanning the continent. No doubt lots of doppler along this path make things interesting! Estimated error 0.3 Hz | ||||||||||||||||
| W0GPR | KS | W0 |
| Method: Flex 3000 warmed up for two days and K1JT FMT program with FL-digi running in the background with frequency analysis. Soapbox: 40m from K5CM was weak with QSB, but all other signals were significantly above the noise floor. good signals on 80. | ||||||||||||||||
| W0HBK | IA | W0 |
| Method: FT-920 With TCXO. Direct Frequency Measurement Method. Soapbox: Thanks for another great FMT! K5CM on 40 meters was 459 in Cedar RApids, with QRM causing difficult measurement. All other signals 599. | ||||||||||||||||
| W0PHD | MN | W0 |
| Method: Z3801 10 Mhz standard CSM-1 Communication Monitor in 100 Hz steps
to nearest FMT frequency on IC756Pro.
measure the audio frequency difference between the 100 Hz standard
frequency and the FMT station frequency and add or subtract it to the
posted 100 Hz standard frequency. example 14121500 Hz plus 43.2 Hz Soapbox: all signals were strong and QRM free with deep QSB on K5CM 80 meter signal. Very little difference on W6OQI two signals. My IC756pro is 16 years old and not as stable any more like me at 90 years. | ||||||||||||||||
| W2FD | PA | W3 |
| Method: TS450S Transceiver/frequency counter/audio generator/scope. Compare input from audio generator and audio output from TS450 for CW/CW Reverse using Lissajous pattern to give better precision to dial frequency. Measure near 600 Hz. audio of generator with frequency counter. Use known signal--WWV (15MHz.)-- to compensate for base oscillator error and calibrate transceiver frequency dial. Soapbox: Although the bands were quite noisy, all signals were readable. The high level of noise did make measurements more difficult. Thanks, again to all who provided the test transmissions and the data collection for the test. W6OQI was readable for both test transmissions here but I could not tell whether there was any Doppler on his signal. | ||||||||||||||||
| W2TX | FL | W4 |
| Method: KWM-380() and sound card, both locked to a GPSDO. I tune so the RX USB audio tone in my right ear matches a 500 Hz (derived from my reference) tone in my left ear. I add the Spectrum Lab reading to the RX dial frequency. Soapbox: The early 20M signal was S-3 with lightning static to S-6. The second 20M signal was S-1, but with less lightning. 40M and 80M signals were all S-7 to S-8. Extremely heavy and continuous lightning static on 80M. | ||||||||||||||||
| W3DAD | MD | W3 |
| Method: OCXO, K3/TCXO, Spectrum Lab. Vertical GP. Soapbox: Good Signals on 20M, both about same strength here. Submitted second 20M measurement. 40m weak W8RKO, and QRM on K5CM. All signals readable. ARRL needs to have timely update to FMT web page in advance of FMT. 73, Kevin/W3DAD | ||||||||||||||||
| W3FAY | MD | W3 |
| Method: Elecraft K3 w/TCXO option; 30 Ft. vertical; Spectran audio analysis software. Prior to test, established freq error correction factor against WWV (2.5 - 15MHz). During test, recorded K3 frequency where 600Hz sidetone frequency measured the same in Spectran while alternating between CW and CW-R modes. Applied correction factor to recorded frequencies for submission. | ||||||||||||||||
| W3JW | VA | W4 |
| Method: Flex 6700 (with GPSDO) into Spectrum Lab Soapbox: ALL signals were well above the receive noise floor this time. Even the late 20M run was a solid S8. All other transmissions were s9+. Even the 40M and 80M multipath was not as "crazy" as normal. Tnx to all for making the event possible. | ||||||||||||||||
| W4ENN | AL | W4 |
| Method: Old AM receiver with Bodnar GPSDO hetrodyne oscillator. Measured audio frequency with Spectrum Lab. Soapbox: W6OQI barely detectable at 9:30 run, but fun trying. Thanks to transmitting stations, good luck to all. | ||||||||||||||||
| W4RYF | NC | W4 |
| Method: Warmed up my ICOM-7600 for about one hour before test. Set mode to CW with BFO audio tone set at 900Hz. Sent audio out into a Signal Link sound card, processed signal with MixW software set up in BPSK mode running on Dell laptop. Used radio’s waterfall display to initially identify signals and get rough estimate of frequency during “call up”. Then during “key down”, used waterfall display on MixW to mark actual BFO audio tone frequency, recording that frequency five times during “key down”. I computed difference between the averaged observed audio tone on the waterfall and the calibrated 900Hz BFO reference tone. Applied this correction to the published test frequency. I checked the frequency of the 900 Hz BFO audio tone against CHU and WWV before each test frequency change. It seemed to wander about .1 to .3 Hz during test period especially on lower frequencies (due ionosphere?) Soapbox: All signals were observable with minimum QRN/M here in Western North Carolina, even the second 20 meter transmission to JA land. Thanks you W6OQI, K5CM and W8RKO for providing the signals. de W4RYF | ||||||||||||||||
| W4SPR | FL | W4 |
| Method: Kenwood TS-590SG with TCXO option. SignaLink USB and fldigi. Soapbox: My first attempt, and I found it to be a very educational exercise! Thank you! | ||||||||||||||||
| W4VU | NC | W4 |
| Method: HP 3586 w/external 10 MHz Trimble 65256 Osc calibrated to WWV. No mods to box yet- just push buttons and read the LEDs. Antenna is a doublet at 30 ft. Soapbox: This is my second FMT. Look forward to learning more from others- great sharing of technical skill on FMT-nuts - Thanks! | ||||||||||||||||
| W4WJ | TX | W5 |
| Method: (GPS) Lucent/Symmetricom Z3810AS
(Receiver) GPS Locked RACAL 6790/GM
Tunable in steps of 1000Hz, 30Hz or 1 Hz.
(Synthesizer) GPS Locked HP 3336B
(Zero Beat Indicator) Tektronix 2213A
(Configuration) The post-filtered 455 KHz IF from the RACAL is fed to CH A
of the Tek. A precise 455,000.000Hz carrier from the HP3336B is fed to the EXT input channel of the Tek. The scope is set to display 2 cycles of the 455KHz IF waveform instead of a traditional Lissajous pattern.
(Procedure) Frequency readings to 1Hz resolution are quickly made by tuning the RACAL to near zero beat with the aid of the Tek scope. If a signal is “dead on”, such as WWV, the waveform will not “slip” in either direction but will just vary in amplitude with variation in signal strength. If the waveform is moving >>>, the RACAL is tuned BELOW exact zero beat. If the waveform is moving <<<, the RACAL is tuned ABOVE exact zero beat. If “stepping” the receiver one
Hz causes the direction of motion of the waveform to reverse, the exact frequency is BETWEEN the current and former readout, i.e. between two concurrent one Hertz points.
For those “in-between-hertz” measurements, the RACAL is tuned ABOVE the unknown frequency and the HP3336B is then tuned upward, in one milliHertz steps, from 455,000.000Hz until the right to left movement of the waveform on the Tek display stops. The millihertz DELTA is then SUBTRACTED from the RACAL readout to give the “exact” frequency.
Using a regular scope waveform allows very quick “zeroing” of signals, even those that are nearly in the noise. I find it much easier to use than the Lissajous
pattern. It is also very interesting to note the carrier frequency variances that occur during doppler shifting Soapbox: W6OQI 1st Run -65dBm, minimal doppler, quiet band; 2nd Run -69dBm, minimal doppler, quiet band, -0.156Hz below 1st Run. K5CM 40m, -50dBm, minimal doppler, quiet band; W8RKO 40m, -50dBm, minimal doppler, quiet band. K5CM 80m, -65dBm, moderate doppler, moderate QRN; W8RKO 80m, -62dBm, moderate doppler, moderate QRN. TNX Connie and Mike for your efforts! 73 Don | ||||||||||||||||
| W5LAC | MS | W5 |
| Method: Flex 3000, calibrated to CHU at 14.670 MHz for 20m, CHU at 7.850 MHz for 40 m, and WWV at 5 MHz for 80 m. Used Roland VT-12 vocal trainer (like a guitar tuner for vocals) to detect 440 Hz tone . Used LSB mode on Flex , subtract 440 from reading on display. Soapbox: Thanks to K5CM, W8RKO, and W6OQI for a fun event. Was able to hear all frequencies , hopefully I'm not too far off ! 73, Mark | ||||||||||||||||
| W5WSF | NC | W4 |
| Method: K3 - SPOT | ||||||||||||||||
| W6BDX | CA | W6 |
| Method: IC-7300 with HP tower PC running Win 7 & Spectrum Lab. Soapbox: Not home from work in time for 20m. Thanks to those who work to prepare and provide this contest for us. | ||||||||||||||||
| W6BM | CA | W6 |
| Method: Match phase on 2-trace scope: 4 synthesizers: LO1, LO2, 455 scope reference, 455.5 BFO for 500 Hz beat to be further analyzed in SpectrumLab, SP600-JX17 receiver, Thunderbolt reference Soapbox: No signal detected on 20, lots of Doppler on 40, 80, but good signal strengths. | ||||||||||||||||
| W6DSR | CA | W6 |
| Method: Antenna - Wire draped between two trees.
Radio - Transistor radio tuned near expected frequency to heterodyne with signal generator.
Detector - I trained my cat Missy, to raise her paw at a tone exactly 500 Hz in pitch.
Method - tune radio until Missy raises paw, compute transmitted frequency from data. Soapbox: I had less than a microvolt on 20 meters from just 500 miles away! What's the sense in running two tests with the source pointing east in both runs? The station should have pointed east for the first run, and north-north east for the second. | ||||||||||||||||
| W6MSU | CA | W6 |
| Method: Flex 1500/ GPSDO (in holdover); Spectrum Lab Soapbox: Thank you! 73 | ||||||||||||||||
| W6OQI | CA | W6 |
| Method: HP Z3801 GPS standard for HP3586 selective level meter for FMT receive.
HP Z3801 GPS standard for HP3336 synthesizer/level generator driving very old Viking I transmitter as an IPA to drive Icom PW-1 to about 500 Watts for FMT transmission. Soapbox: 40 meter signals from K5CM and W8RKO were strong with usual Doppler shift in Southern California. Same for 80 meters. | ||||||||||||||||
| W7CQ | OR | W7 |
| Method: Shera 10MHz GPS Frequency Standard, Icom 756 locked to 30MHz Shera 10MHz Standard with 1 Hz dial readout, Spectrum Lab, 80 Meter Dipole Soapbox: Good Signals, well above the noise on 80, 40 and the early 20 meter runs. The late 20 meter run was just above the noise but with the sun down on the west coast, the signal was not spread as bad as the early run. | ||||||||||||||||
| W7GLF | WA | W7 |
| Method: Z3801 feeding tripled 10 MHz reference into ICOM 706 and Spectrum Labs software. Soapbox: The 14 MHz is totally a guess. It took me a while to realize I was not going to hear the signal. I did see it (I think) on the waterfall but by then the test was almost over. It is amazing how much the signals bounce around in frequency so they are my best guess. | ||||||||||||||||
| W7GW | IL | W9 |
| Method: K3 slaved to GPSDO | ||||||||||||||||
| W7LUX | AZ | W7 |
| Method: Elecraft K3
Z3801A
TAPR TADD-2
Fldigi
Old Dell laptop running XP - calibrated sound card Soapbox: First FMT in many years; new setup here. W6OQI very weak here - only 375 mile path - could not copy CW or tell exactly when 2 minute test segment started. Very easy to overwrite data file using Fldigi Frequency Analysis - cost me first and last data sets. | ||||||||||||||||
| W7PUA | OR | W7 |
| Method: Shera GPS-locked 10 MHz to Icom IC-706MKIIG. Audio is fed to Spectrum Lab for waterfall display. Soapbox: Thanks to all the transmitting stations for the signals. All signals were good strength, except for W6OQI on 14 MHz who was Q2 on CW. | ||||||||||||||||
| W9GR | CA | W6 |
| Method: FlexRadio 6500 locked to Trimble Thunderbolt GPS. Denon SD card recorder makes stereo WAV file with FlexRadio audio on one channel, and a 2 kHz tone from a HP3325A signal generator also locked to GPS on the other channel The 2 kHz tone is used to back out sampling rate errors in the Denon recorder. The stereo WAV file is analyzed in GNU Octave using a script I wrote myself. The script bandpass filters the audio, measures frequency, weights it by received signal amplitude, and produces a weighted average tone frequency. It also corrects for sampling rate errors using the 2 kHz reference tone. Soapbox: Hey, those of us in the Pacific Northwest are getting short shrift with W6OQI beaming east ONLY. I am northwest of Los Angeles. The same is true for northern California, Oregon, Washington, and BC. Idaho, Nevada, and some other places are off the side of the beam. I strongly recommend some directional diversity - turn the beam north or northwest (in addition to east) to get better coverage and give everybody a better chance! Or get somebody back east to beam WEST for the FMT on 20 meters. Marv W6OQI was pretty weak up here. I used Marv's first transmission for my measurement. Good signals from K5CM and W8RKO on 40 and 80. | ||||||||||||||||
| W9INE | CO | W0 |
| Method: FLEX-6700 Soapbox: Signal Strength (dBm): 20M (#2) -115; 40M K5CM -95; 40M W8RKO -100; 80M K5CM -100; 80M W8RKO -105. QSB range from 10 to 20 dB. No QRN or QRM. | ||||||||||||||||
| W9ZB | IN | W9 |
| Method: Icom 706MKIIG, CW mode 600Hz compared to 600Hz from DDS generator, viewed on DSO138 Scope. Soapbox: 14MHz signal weak 1st TX, long fades from S-5 to S-0 on 2nd TX. 2nd seemed about 0.6Hz lower. 7MHz and 3MHz signals OK, but storms moving through cut them up a bit. | ||||||||||||||||
| WA1ABI | RI | W1 |
| Method: WJ-8718 receiver locked to Rb standard, BFO beat note measured with DL4YHF's Spectrum Lab software. Soapbox: Good signals on all bands including both 20m runs. Very well organized and well run FMT. Thanks to K5CM, W6OQI, and W8RKO. Thanks to ARRL for sponsoring. | ||||||||||||||||
| WA2DVU | NJ | W2 |
| Method: HP 3586, 3336, scope, dart board. Soapbox: Great sigs on all fx, doppler not bad this time. | ||||||||||||||||
| WA2IKL | AZ | W7 |
| Method: Signal generator zero beat | ||||||||||||||||
| WA2SON | NY | W2 |
| Method: Ten-Tec Omni 7. Used internal cw 'spotting' oscillator as a standard to calculate both the measured frequency and the WWV frequency. Correction from the WWV (standard) frequency was calculated and then applied to the measured frequency. 20 Mtrs WWV-15 MHz was used; 40 Mtrs WWV-10 MHz was used and 80 Mtrs WWV-5 MHz was used. Soapbox: ALL stations were very readable (S9 - S9+) and easy to locate. Well planned and executed. THANKS!! | ||||||||||||||||
| WA3FAE | MD | W3 |
| Method: Elecraft K-3, external reference GPSDO, AV620 vertical, 2 phased verticals for 40M Soapbox: Lots of fun, first time trying. The obvious result is I will have to work on my techniques! 73 | ||||||||||||||||
| WA4FJC | VA | W4 |
| Method: HP SLM with beam or dipole antenna. Lots of noise on 80 M but strong signals. Soapbox: Thanks for the test. | ||||||||||||||||
| WA7BNM | CA | W6 |
| Method: Rig: Elecraft K3/P3
Antenna: SteppIR DB-36
GPSDO: TrueTime XL-DC
Ref Generator: HP-3336C
Software: Spectrum Lab Vers. 2.92
I had originally planned to measure the transmitted signal and the reference signal simultaneously, but wasn't able to figure out how to capture .WAV files with Spectrum Lab before the FMT. As a result measured signal and reference sequentially during the FMT. Set up SL with a 20 Hz measurement window prior to the FMT. Used the call-up period to tune the signal so that it was roughly centered in the measurement window and then adjusted the reference signal to also be within the window. For 40m and 80m, sequence was 1) adjust K5CM and ref to window, 2) measure ref, 3) measure K5CM signal, 4) adjust W8RKO and ref to window, 5) measure W8RKO signal, 6) measure reference. After end of FMT, tried to estimate doppler shift for 40m and 80m using WWV and CHU at 10, 5 and 2.5 MHz. 40m deviation estimated as -0.023 Hz based on average of 10 and 5 MHz. 80m deviation estimated as +0.010 Hz based on average of 5 and 2.5 MHz. Didn't correct 20m measurements since W6OQI is close to my QTH.
W6OQI Measurements: (average reported)
0000Z - 14,121,543.437
0130Z - 14,121,543.340 Soapbox: First ever FMT. Based on reading the comments from previous FMTs, I was concerned about which signals I'd be able to hear. W6OQI 20m - S9+15 (he's only 15 miles from me) K5CM 40m - S9+10 W8RKO 40m - S9+10 K5CM 80m - S7 (non-resonant antenna) W8RKO 80m - S7 (non-resonant antenna) Thanks to K5CM, VE2AZX and others for their FMT tutorials. | ||||||||||||||||
| WA7IRW | NV | W7 |
| Method: KX3 receiver with Spectrum Lab FFT s/w. Propagation seemed poor... could only calibrate against various WWV frequencies over several hours, and immediately after last xmsn on lower frequencies. Soapbox: Could not hear W6OQI at all. Unknown 3-toned signal drifting around the expected 20m frequency. All other stations were good. Would like to have cal'd using K1JT's FMT s/w, but not enough quality signals could be heard. Thanks for setting up these FMTs. | ||||||||||||||||
| WA7KMR | WA | W7 |
| Method: GPS stabilized HP 3336B generator. RX Flex 5000A. Used zero beat method no computer involved. Soapbox: Signals not too good mostly just a faint trace on the waterfall. | ||||||||||||||||
| WA9VNJ | WI | W9 |
| Method: I used a Yaesu FT-857D locked to a Trimble Thunderbolt GPS via an XRef-FT interface, and a TBolt-locked Agilent 33120A generator for DDS and sample rate calibration. For analysis, Spectrum Lab with both long and short FFTs, each approach averaged. Antenna is an RF-PRO-1B shielded magnetic loop, one-foot off the ground and hand-rotated between frequency changes. Soapbox: I also did the FMT with my SDRplay receiver (and nothing more). I came up with a way to use the synchronous AM PLL offset to estimate frequency. The SDRplay, self-calibrated against WWV, came within 0.54 Hz of the method described above (on all frequencies)! During the test the 20m signals were weak at S0 but so was the noise, with the second 20m run about 0.22 Hz lower than the first. Other sigs were at least S4 with a little fading. Thanks much for the test. | ||||||||||||||||
| WB0LXZ | KS | W0 |
| Method: Trimble GPS with HP3586B, Spectrum Lab, wire dipoles and MiniWhip. Soapbox: I am still on the learning curve with Spectrum Lab. Thought I was logging wave files, but they ended up with no bytes. Tnx to all involved. | ||||||||||||||||
| WB2CMF | NY | W2 |
| Method: Kenwood TS-2000, Cushcraft R8 Vertical (20 & 40Meters), End Fed Dipole for 80 Meters, Compaq CQ-56 Laptop, Rigblaster PC Interface, Fldigi software in frequency analysis mode. Soapbox: Conditions were good on all bands. I was able to copy all well. A little QSB on W8RKO on 80 meters. Not sure of my math this time. I may have added an error component instead of subtracting. Still had fun no matter what the outcome is. | ||||||||||||||||
| WB6HYD | CA | W6 |
| Method: K3, vertical antenna, HP 3320B audio synthesizer, GPSDO and reference distributor for synchronization, Tek TDS224 scope to match synthesized audio tone with received tone, Spectrum Lab for rough tuning. Soapbox: There was no signal heard on 20M in the SF Bay area. I would have an answer for K5CM on 40 but ran out of time because I didn't get to the operating position in time! Very good signals on 40 and 80 here. | ||||||||||||||||
| WB6VEX | CA | W6 |
| Method: I used a Winradio WR-G31DDC Excalibur SDR receiver and a 40m inverted V antenna. To determine the frequency, I compared the CW tone from the SDR with an accurate 800 Hz tone oscillator using a oscilloscope in X-Y mode and adjusted the SDR receive frequency in 1 Hz steps until the Lissajous pattern on the scope was stationary as possible. | ||||||||||||||||
| WB8ILI | MI | W8 |
| Method: Flex 3000 + FLDIGI Soapbox: First time participant. Couldn't copy W6OQI on second run. On the second run there was a signal at 14121543.20 which is very close to 500 Hz above the first run freq. Hopefully I didn't mess this up. | ||||||||||||||||
| WB8TFV | WV | W8 |
| Method: Wavetek 3002 Sig Gen locked to Trimble GPS. I used Spectrum Lab,and the FMT program by K1JT to capture the signal. Then used a program I wrote in gawk (from my Unix days)to strip out bad entries and do the math. Soapbox: The 9:33 signal of 14.121 read 14,121,543.14 W8RKO 40M signal was extremely weak in eastern WV. All other signals were good. | ||||||||||||||||
| WD4IYE | KY | W4 |
| Method: IC-718 using Fldigi frequency analysis. Heard all transmissions. The difference between the two 20M transmissions was about .5hz. As always ran into a few issues. Still creating processes and learning. Calibrated sound card and warmed equipment for 2 days. Got smart and stored all the frequencies into presets. Also I saved the audio files this time. Still making lots of rookie mistakes and also I'm a bit dyslexic. I'm sure I will get use to my methods and continue to improve. Most importantly its lots of fun! Soapbox: I seen all the conversations about UTC and it was very funny. I missed a FMT last year. I belly ached to my wife for a week. I thought it was me being dyslexic but maybe not! Hi Hi. Thanks to everyone that uses their equipment and gives their time to make this happen!! | ||||||||||||||||
| WO7V | OR | W7 |
| Method: Flex 5000A with external Rubidium standard.
Adjust DDS clock offset in Flex to reduce of ageing error on standard (The standard is real old and the error amounted to 0.1ppm or so)
Fldigi run in the frequency analysis mode.
Average 1 minute of data in the middle of the key down time. Soapbox: Living in southern Oregon I am really too close to really hear W6OQI very well. The signal was s2-s3 here and just a bit above the noise floor. My beam pointed east for back-scatter worked a little (not much) better. K5CM and W8RKO where heard very well (s9 and s9+10) and were both 30dB or so above the noise floor. I always enjoy these FMT's (when I can remember) so hats off to Connie and crew for putting these on. Noticed that on at least one transmission the preamble ran several seconds into the supposed key down time. | ||||||||||||||||
| WQ9T | IL | W9 |
| Method: Kenwood TS-2000 receiver, computer sound card, and Spectrum Lab software. Calibrated Spectrum Lab and VFO against WWV on 10 MHz, but then CHU on 7.850 MHz showed a discrepancy of 4 Hz when I changed to 40m. I could not hear CHU at 3.33 MHz, so stayed with the 10 MHz calibration while on 80 meters. Possible math errors, and may have been looking at harmonics in the fine tuning screen; too tired and late to tell. Soapbox: Stayed up 2 hours past my normal bedtime to participate in this, which has given me a headache. I had a meeting earlier, so wasn't as prepared as I'd like. Calibrated against WWV/WWVH on 10 MHz, then had CHU showing I had a 4 Hz discrepancy when I switched to 40 meters; I used the CHU calibration on 40 meters. I couldn't hear CHU on 3.33 MHz, so used the WWV calibration on 80 and 20 meters. Tired, so may have made math errors, or might have been looking at harmonics in the fine frequency display (I know I caught that mistake once, then wondered if I had done it earlier). Signals were good here, best on 80 meters, with descent noise levels. | ||||||||||||||||
| WV2RJR | NJ | W2 |
| Method: Kenwood 850S transceiver Soapbox: 20 Meters S$ 40 Meters S5-6 80 Meters S9/S9+10dB over | ||||||||||||||||
| WW6D | CA | W6 |
| Method: Receiver: QS1R using Bodnar GPSDO with HDSDR. FMT package within K1JT WSPR software. Soapbox: Thank you to the organizers of this event! It's fun to get all the equipment working correctly. | ||||||||||||||||
| WX4TW | NC | W4 |
| Method: Tried my new Icom 7300 this time. Spectra Lab on laptop, Several measurements with vfo shifted several tens of Hz for each measurement and calibration point. Soapbox: Second 20M measurement was 0.29Hz lower. I was lucky to have a break in the thunderstorms so I could do the test. With no recalibration, the 7300 was within 1Hz for wwv @ 5,10 and 15. |