SuperFox: Is it "all that"?

Several FT8 users on the WSJT group have reported difficulty in decoding K8R on American Samoa when the DXpedition was operating in the SuperFox mode, despite the fact that propagation favored that area for those stations.

I was able to copy 5W1SA (Samoa) with -11 to -15 levels on regular FT8 multiple times on a number of bands during the last half of K8R's operation but never once decoded K8R on SuperFox, even at times when they were on the same band, at the same time, as 5W1SA.

Prior to the N5J DXpedition to Jarvis Island (where SuperFox will be the dominant mode) starting 5 August, a "SuperFox test session" is likely to be held. One was scheduled for two days ago but had to be cancelled.

Hopefully, a reschedule is in the works.

.

.

A week at the Colorado cabin/hamshack of W0LSD

Ken W0LSD has advertised his hamshack near Buena Vista, CO for several years now in QST and I've often wondered what it would be like to stay in the area and have access to a station with multiple gain antennas on 6-40 meters.

Our upcoming trip to Rocky Mountains National Park put us in the general area (though we will be staying in another cabin for that period) so we decided to book a week at Ken's cabin.

LoTW: It's back

From the ARRL:

Effective 12:00pm ET / 16:00 UTC we will be returning Logbook of The World® (LoTW®) to service. 

As work progressed on the network, some users encountered LoTW opening briefly during which some 6600 logs were uploaded. The logs were not processed until this weekend as we tested that the interfaces to LoTW were functioning properly.

We are taking steps to help manage what will likely be a huge influx of logs. We are requesting that if you have large uploads, perhaps from contests or from a DXpedition, please wait a week or two before uploading to give LoTW a chance to catch up. We have also implemented a process to reject logs with excessive duplicates. Please do not upload your entire log to “ensure” your contacts are in LoTW as they will be rejected. Lastly, please do not call ARRL Headquarters to report issues you are having with LoTW. You can contact support at LoTW-help@arrl.org.

Through the end of the year, you may experience planned times when LoTW will be unavailable. We have been using this time to evaluate operational and infrastructure improvements we would like to make to LoTW. Those times will be announced.

We appreciate your patience as we worked through the challenges keeping LoTW from returning to service. We know the importance of LoTW to our members, and to the tens of thousands of LoTW users who are not ARRL members. LoTW, just behind QST, is our second most popular ARRL benefit.

.

.

Want to operate from Iceland?

The mobile shack

Operating from Iceland was easy and fun. Since returning home, several emails have trickled in from people who are either going or want to go to Iceland, all generally asking the same questions regarding travel to the country with radio gear.

Here are my answers to those questions.

Are American hams allowed to operate in Iceland?

Yes, and easily. This page contains all you need to know. Americans do not need a Visa.

Did you meet any Icelandic hams?

A few days before our trip I received a very nice email from Yngvi TF3Y.

Yngvi told me that Reykjavik area hams meet on Thursday evenings at their club station and invited me to attend if I was in the area on a Thursday. Unfortunately, our itinerary was such that this was not possible. It would have been very enjoyable to meet the group (several members of whom I've worked) but I was not able to do so.

What radio & antenna do you recommend for easy travel?

Update on my new Hermes Lite 2

A few people expressed interest in the HL2 that I mentioned a few weeks ago - two of those were CW ops who want to know how it does on that mode.

To improve its performance on CW, I ordered the mod kit which converts the rig to a Plus model.

The mod kit was sent out by WA2T the very day I ordered it but it arrived after we'd left for Iceland and has been with our neighbor since then. We are home now, but our neighbor is out of town!

She returns later this week, but we leave again for three weeks a few days after her return.

Now that you've suffered through all that, the short story is - I won't know how the Plus version of the HL2 performs on CW until late July.

But in the meantime, I've been using the HL2 on a daily basis on digital modes. Mostly FT8 with a bit of WSPR thrown in, and I'll say this - I love this radio! Talk about "bang for the buck..."

The HL2 with Thetis and WSJT-X software was a cinch to set up. I am no longer missing my old Apache Labs or Flex rigs. That weird, tough-to-explain satisfaction that comes from having a radio totally controlled by a PC - and all the functionality and flexibility therein - is in complete attendance with the HL2.

I don't yet own a mic for the HL2 but the comments on Pure Signal fidelity by those who do have piqued my curiosity on even my least-favorite of modes, so I'll give it a Go, eventually.

On FT8, the radio performs well, which is to say that a super-strong signal appearing on the waterfall does not diminish the presence of weaker stations.

More later on this amazing radio, but it'll be a while.

For now, I'll go out on a limb and say this: If you're an op who likes digital modes and wants a high-performing radio that won't break the bank, the Hermes Lite 2 needs to be on your Short List.

.

Other options in the same price range:

Square SDR (page is in Czech but Google's Chrome browser will translate it)

A 6-160m near-equivalent to the HL-2 from EU1SW

I have no experience with either of these but comments from users on both a quite favorable.

.