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Northwest Indiana DX CLUB Volume 7, Issue 4 April 2019
I N S I D E T H I S I S S U E
1 President Speaks
2- Member News/DX News
President’s Corner
Bouvet is a Bust!
We had a great meeting. If you
missed the exercise we did, it is
down farther so you can check
it out.
Tomorrow we say our final
goodbye to my best friend,
Richard Lochner K9QA.
73
John W3ML
Good DXing!
DXCC CARD CHECKING
We need a new Card Checker. If you are interested in being an Official
ARRL DXCC Card Checker, contact me
and I will provide you with the requirements
so you can decide if you want the job.
NWI DX Club Website http://nwidxclub.weebly.com/
NWIDX Club Logo
2
Reminder, the NWIDX Club has a club call W9NWI. The call is available to members for use during contests, special events, Field Day, etc. To schedule dates for its use, contact the trustee, Steve Mollman – KD9HL. [email protected] QSL cards are available.
The Ultimate Receive Antenna? The Elephant Cage
By Steve Mollman-KD9HL
If you can’t hear them; you can’t work them! 80- and 160-Meter fans in particular spend a lot of time dreaming of a better receive antennas. Some that come to mind include beverages, K9AY loops, magnetic loops, flag pennants, four squares, etc. The US military during the 1960’s, built a system that would outperform just about anything ever on the commercial market. With the official name of “AN/FLR-9 Receiving Antenna” these monsters were operated by the Air Force at eight sites around the world.
• USASA Field Station Augsburg (Gablingen Kaserne), Germany
• Chicksands, England
• Clark AB, Philippines
• Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, USA (formerly designated as Elmendorf AFB)
• Karamursel, Turkey
• Ramasun Station, Udon Thani Province, Thailand
• Misawa AB, Japan,
• San Vito dei Normanni Air Station, Italy (near Brindisi, Italy)
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Known as a Wullenweber antenna but nicknamed the “Elephant Cage”, the type was originally developed by the German navy
communication research command and Telefunken during the early years of World War II for communications with their U-Boat
fleet. It is also known as a Circularly Disposed Antenna Array (CDAA).
The AN/FLR-9 Operation and Service Manual describes the array as follows:
“The antenna array is composed of three concentric rings of antenna elements. Each ring of elements receives RF signals for an
assigned portion of the 1.5 to 30-MHz radio spectrum. The outer ring normally covers the 2 to 6-MHz range (band A), but also
provides reduced coverage down to 1.5 MHz. The center ring covers the 6 to 18-MHz range (band B) and the inner ring covers the
18 to 30-MHz range (band C). Band A contains 48 sleeve monopole elements spaced 78.4 feet apart (7.5 degrees). Band B
contains 96 sleeve monopole elements spaced 37.5 feet (11.43 m) apart (3.75 degrees). Band C contains 48 antenna elements
mounted on wooden structures placed in a circle around the central building. Bands A and B elements are vertically polarized.
Band C elements consist of two horizontally polarized dipole antenna sub-elements electrically tied together, and positioned one
above the other.
The array is centered on a ground screen 1,443 feet (439.8 m) in diameter. This arrangement permits accurate direction finding of
signals from up to 4000 nautical miles (7408 km) away.”
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The “Elephant Cage” at Chicksands, England
The network, officially known as the “World Wide High Frequency Direction Finding System”, code named "Iron Horse", could locate HF communications almost anywhere on the planet. Because of the exceptionally large size of its outer reflecting screen (1056 vertical steel wires supported by 96 120-foot towers), the AN/FLR-9 was commonly referred to by the nickname "Elephant Cage."
For direction finding, "fixes" on points of interest were obtained by requesting a line of bearing from other direction finding antennas in other locations around the world. This would give a triangulation fix on a potential target and that target could then be plotted with the coordinates.
The antenna array covered 35 acres of ground and was composed of A, B and C band elements that covered the high frequency (HF) range of signals that targets of interest transmitted on.
The array is often confused with the smaller US Navy AN/FRD-10, which also used the Wullenweber model.
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US Navy's AN/FRD-10 on Guam
The AN/FLR-9 at the former Clark AB in the Philippines was converted into a 35,000-seat fabric-covered
amphitheater. Early in May 2002, dismantling of the AN/FLR-9 at San Vito began, and it was completely
gone by the end of that month. Demolition of the AN/FLR-9 at Misawa was in October 2014. A
decommissioning ceremony for the last active FLR-9, at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, was held on
May 25, 2016.
The nickname “Elephant’s Cage”? One source states “I was the Engineering Field Officer, stationed at Fuchu,
Japan, responsible for construction of the FLR-9s at Clark and at Misawa in 1964. My NCO, stationed at Misawa, was
C/MSgt. Joseph E. Rabig. The work those days was very hush, hush. As the structure went up there was much speculation at
Misawa about what the purpose was. Joe came up with the explanation that it was an 'Elephant Cage.' He maintained that was
their purpose and justified the explanation by pointing out: 'They work pretty well, don't they. You don't see any elephants
running around loose do you?' I guess the name stuck."
When is DX Engineering going to put these in their catalog?
◄Ω►
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Elephant Cage Veteran NWIDX Club member Chuck Hill-KC9OYE served at Chicksands during the 1960’s in the 6950th United States Air Force Security Squadron which later became the 6950th Electronic Security Group and the 7274th Air Base Group. This was part of the USAF Security Service and was “tasked with monitoring, collecting and interpreting military voice and electronic signals of countries of interest”. The Chicksands AN/FLR-9 array was dismantled in 1997 and the base reverted to the RAF and the British armed forces Intelligence Corps.
◄Ω►
Silver Linings
Carl Luetzelschwab K9LA
The title of this article comes from the old saying that “in every cloud, there is a silver lining.” That simply
means you might be able to find something good in a bad situation. Relating this to our DXing endeavors,
the ‘dark cloud’ is propagation on the higher bands (15m, 12m and 10m) at solar minimum. The ‘silver
lining’ is unusual openings on these higher bands.
As an example of a ‘silver lining’, the February 19 issue of The Daily DX (edited by Bernie W3UR) had
comments by Jack W4TJE about the recent XX9D operation. Just before 1300 UTC he saw a 15m spot from
the XX9D team one day saying they were “looking long path for North America.” He thought that was a
long shot being at solar minimum, but he QSY’d to 15m to check it out. He found them there and he worked
them.
The path from W4TJE to XX9D on the long path is at a heading of 165 degrees out of W4TJE – in other
words, to the SSE (south-southeast). This heading puts the F2 region control point (2000 km from W4TJE –
the control point method is used by our propagation prediction software to predict long distance
propagation) in the equatorial ionosphere – where the highest ionization levels in the world occur. Similarly
the long path heading out of XX9D is 193 degrees, and it also puts the F2 region control point on the XX9D
end in the equatorial ionosphere.
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The result is MUF (maximum useable frequency) values that could support 15m propagation via the F2
region on several days of the month – even at solar minimum. If you’re in the right place at the right time,
you could take advantage of this. But there is one more condition in addition to ‘the right place at the right
time.’ And that’s your antenna system.
At solar minimum 15m is going to require very low elevation angles (so will 12m and 10m). So you need to
put your energy down low. We can get an idea of how low the required angles are by doing some work with
VOACAP. I ran predictions from W4TJE to XX9D via the long path in mid-February at a smoothed sunspot
number of 0 using 500 watts and +13 dBi antennas (medium size Yagis) on both ends. The results are in the
accompanying table.
The first column gives the number of hops. Thus it’s obvious that there are multiple modes on this path –
13F2 (13 hops via the F2 region), 10F2 and 8F2. The last column gives the antenna height to put the peak of
the lowest lobe at the desired elevation angle.
If the 13 dBi antennas are 47 feet high (about 1.0 wavelengths), the 13F2 signal power with 500 Watts
would be -155 dBm. A typical HF transceiver has an MDS (minimum discernible signal) of around -130
dBm, so you would not be able to take advantage of this opening.
If the 13 dBi antennas are 93 feet high (about 2.0 wavelengths), the 10F2 signal power with 500 Watts
would be -110 dBm. You should be able to copy that, but it is weak. It might wiggle the S-meter a bit.
If the 13 dBi antennas are at 163 feet (about 3.5 wavelengths), the 8F2 signal power with 500 Watts would
be -98 dBm. That’s about an S4.
I should mention that these very low elevation angles may instigate some choral hoping, which would
increase the signal power. Unfortunately VOACAP doesn’t take chordal hops into account – just multi-hop.
If we’re going to be at solar minimum for a while (like we were between Cycles 23 and 24), are there any
volunteers to help me dig the 7 foot by 7 foot by 7 foot hole for my new 180 foot tower so I can take
advantage of these very low angle openings?
Caption for the image: Predictions for the W4TJE-XX9D long path
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A Freebie from QRZ.Com To celebrate their 25 years of existence on the internet, providing a reliable amateur radio database to the Ham community, QRZ.Com is are offering two 25th Anniversary designs of their Good on QRZ" sticker.
The sticker of your choice is FREE to anyone who sends a business sized, self-addressed, stamped envelope to QRZ.
If no selection is made they will assume "dealer's choice" and pick one for you.
If you would like additional stickers they will do so for $1 per additional sticker. The stickers are 3.5x4 inches in size. Most business envelopes are OK. They prefer the self-sealing kind.
Please address to:
QRZ Stickers 24 W. Camelback Rd. #A488
Phoenix, AZ 85013
◄Ω►
Handy Hint Testing Baluns
By Steve Mollman-KD9HL
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A straightforward way to test a 4:1 balun is as follows: Disconnect the output side of the balun from your antenna or ladder line. Use a NON INDUCTIVE) 200 ohm resistor (For example a carbon composition type-don’t use a wire wound resistor) and connect it directly across the output terminals of the balun. Using an Antenna Analyzer or SWR Meter, you should find low SWR (1.2:1 or below) across the entire operating range (1.8 to 30 MHz) of the balun. If the SWR does not read low across the entire operating range, there is a problem with the balun.
If you're testing a 1:1 balun, connect a non-inductive 50 ohm load across the output terminals of the balun for the test.
Balun Designs®-Coax to Open Wire Feed Line Model W2AU Type
What is a Balun? A balun (for balanced to unbalanced) is an electrical device that converts between an unbalanced signal (coax) to a balanced signal (ladder line, dipole or other type of antenna). A balun can take many forms and may include devices that also transform impedances but need not do so.
◄73’s and good DX ►
DX LISTINGS FOR MARCH/APRIL
11
2019
Feb17
2019
Mar31Mauritania 5T5PA
2019
Apr01
2019
Apr14Norfolk I VK9NI
2019
Feb20
2019
Mar30Senegal 6W7
2019
Apr01
2019
Apr15Gambia C5DL
2019
Mar03
2019
Mar30Sint Maarten PJ7AA
2019
Apr01
2019
Apr22St Kitts & Nevis V47JA
2019
Mar06
2019
Mar31Sudan ST2
2019
Apr02
2019
Apr11South Cook Is E51
2019
Mar08
2019
Apr03Madeira CT9
2019
Apr06
2019
Apr13Liechtenstein HB0
2019
Mar09
2019
Apr03
Juan
FernandezXR0ZRC
2019
Apr07
2019
Apr26Burkina Faso XT2AW
2019
Mar13
2019
Apr17Barbados 8P6DR
2019
Apr13
2019
Apr14Djibouti J20NT
2019
Mar14
2019
Mar30Curacao PJ2
2019
Apr13
2019
Apr14Market Reef OJ0W
2019
Mar16
2019
Apr06Vietnam 3W9JF
2019
Apr13
2019
Apr20Ghana 9G5GS
2019
Mar17
2019
Apr14Senegal 6W
2019
Apr14
2019
Apr22Iceland TF
2019
Mar18
2019
Apr25Niue E6AF
2019
Apr16
2019
Apr21Djibouti J20DX
2019
Mar18
2019
Apr02Niue E6ET
2019
Apr16
2019
Apr22American Samoa KH8
2019
Mar18
2019
Apr15Guinea Bissau J52EC
2019
Apr16
2019
Apr23East Kiribati T32AZ
2019
Mar19
2019
Mar31Senegal 6W7
2019
Apr17
2019
Apr25Burkina Faso XT2MAX
2019
Mar21
2019
Apr19Belize V31RF
2019
Apr18
2019
Apr22Kosovo Z66Z
2019
Mar21
2019
Apr22French Guiana TO2BC
2019
Apr21
2019
Apr28South Cook Is E51DLD
2019
Mar24
2019
Mar31Sint Maarten PJ7
2019
Apr21
2019
May03French Polynesia FO
2019
Mar27
2019
Mar31South Cook Is E51
2019
Apr27
2019
May04Vietnam XV9XX
2019
Mar28
2019
Apr03Morocco CN2AM
2019
Apr27
2019
May08Reunion TO19A
2019
Mar28
2019
Apr10Jamaica 6Y5KB
2019
Apr30
2019
May05Jersey GJ6EFW
2019
Apr01
2019
Apr07Maldives 8Q7DM
By permission from NG3K
Also from the ARRL Weekly DX Bulletin:Georgia-4L, Algeria-7X, Oman-A4, Taiwan-BV, China-BY,
Cape Verde-D4, Guernsey-GU, Sardinia-IS0, Guam-KH2, Lithuania-LY,Brunei-V8, Bermuda-VP9,
Indonesia-YB, Vanuatu-YJ, Chatham Islands-ZL7. Many are participating in CQWW WPX SSB 3/30-31
and may still be around after the contest.
12
NWIDXC QUESTIONNAIRE 1. What modes of transmission do you use? (Circle all that apply) CW SSB FM AM Digital(except FT8) FT8 Other 2. What are your favorite band(s)? 160 80 40 30 20 17 15 10 6 2 220Mhz 440Mhz 3. What bands can you operate on? 160 80 40 30 20 17 15 10 6 2 220Mhz 440Mhz 4. How often are you on the air? Daily Weekly Monthly Less often than Monthly 5. Are you a member of the ARRL? YES NO 6. Do you have a beam antenna (e.g. Yagi, Quad, etc.)? YES NO 7. Do you have a HF amplifier? YES NO Power Level (watts)? 500, 1000 1500 8. Do you operate during contests? YES NO 9. Do you use spotting networks? YES NO 10. Do you enter spots when you hear a DX station that isn’t listed? YES NO 11. Do you use the LOTW? YES NO 12. Do you enjoy repairing old equipment? YES NO 13. Do you like building equipment, accessories or kits? YES NO 14. How many confirmed DX entities do you have? <100 100 125 150 175 200 225 250 275 399 325 331+ (Honor Roll) 15. What types of articles in the newsletter do you like? Circle all that apply. - News of other hams or ham clubs - Upcoming DX Listings - Annual DXCC and DX Challenge Scorecards - Articles about propagation, beacons - Articles about antennas - Articles about equipment - Articles about DX-Peditions - Operating practice - Antique equipment, collecting - Contests - How to build equipment
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- Helpful hints - Comparisons of equipment, accessories - Links to interesting Ham Radio related web sites 16. Would you like to see the following in the newsletter or meeting? - A search engine to find articles from previous newsletters - Listing of scores from club members from contests such as Field Day, CQWW, ARRL DX, Sweepstakes, 13 Colonies, etc. 17. Would you like to see the following at a future meeting? - Presentation of “Big Gun” stations such as W9RE, K9CT, K3LR using their websites - Live (Skype) talk with one of the “Big Guns” - Live demos at club meetings 18. Please add any other comments or suggestions here.
MI and GI prefixes are valid UK call signs. The call signs are
allocated as follows:
M3 or M6 followed by three letters are foundation license holders
20 or 21 followed by three letters are intermediate license holders
(see note below)
G followed by any number and three letters are full license holders (G
call signs were only issued M followed by any number other than 3 or 6
and three letters are full license holders
There are regional secondary locators for stations based outside
England which comprise of the following letter immediately following the
first character of the call sign:
Guernsey - "U"
Isle of Man - "D"
Jersey - "J"
Northern Ireland - "I"
Scotland - "M"
Wales - "W"
So for example the call sign GM0HCQ is a full license holder based in
Scotland, 2I0EUX is an intermediate license holder based in Northern
Ireland etc.
* note that intermediate license holders with the call signs beginning
20 or 21 must always use the regional secondary locator "E" if based in
England; this all 20 or 21 call signs will always have a letter in
between, the most common being 2E0, such as my call sign 2E0JXP.
14
W9NWI QUESTIONNAIRE
RESULTS
QUESTION NUMBER
1. MODES USED CW SSB FM AM DIGITAL FT8 OTHER
57% 100% 43% 14% 21% 57% 21%
2. FAVORITE BAND 160 80 40 30 20 17 15 10 6 2 220 440
43% 71% 100% 43% 93% 71% 57% 57% 43% 21% 0% 0%
3. BAND CAPABLE 160 80 40 30 20 17 15 10 6 2 220 440
71% 93% 100% 71% 100% 86% 100% 93% 71% 71% 21% 36%
4. ON AIR DAILY=7 WEEKLY=8 LESS THAN MONTHLY=1
5., 6., 7A, 8. ALL ARRL MEMBERS, HAVE BEAM, AMPLIFIER, WORK CONTESTS
7B. POWER LEVELS 500W=2 1000W=1 1500W=9
9., 10.,11. 86% USE SPOTTING NETS AND LOTW. 64% ENTER SPOTS
12., 13. 57% ENJOY REPAIR OLD EQUIPMENT, 65% LIKE BUILDING
14. AVERAGE DXCC CONFIRMED=258
>100 >200 >300 <300 HR
2 1 4 7 4
15. NEWSLETTER ARTICLES
OTHER HAMS, CLUBS 50%
DX LISTINGS 79%
DXCC, DX SCORE CARDS 64%
PROPAGATION, BEACONS 86%
ANTENNAS 93%
EQUIPMENT 64%
DX-PEDITIONS 71%
OPERATING PRACTICE 64%
ANTIQUE, COLLECTING 43%
CONTESTS 64%
BUILDING 50%
HELPFUL HINTS 93%
COMPARISON OF EQUIPMENT 43%
LINK TO HAM RELATED WEBSITES 57%
16A. SEARCH ENGINE FOR NEWSLETTER ARTICLES 75%
16B. MEMBER CONTEST SCORES 67%
17A. BIG GUN STATION WEBSITES 50%
17B. LIVE TALK WITH BIG GUNS 58%
17C. LIVE DEMOS AT MEETINGS 67% Comments and suggestions:
1. Brief net on VHF/UHF simplex or repeater
2. Common monitoring frequency (intercom) for DX notification.
3. Saturday morning breakfast?
15
4. Roundtable (lighting round) each member stand introduces self – when licensed, how long DXing,
favorite tactics, number of entities, next entity goal, callsigns, DX-Pedition experience/interest.
5. Bring 1-3 favorite QSL cards to share.
6. Reduce the size of the various logos in the newsletter (they are distracting).
7. Formalize the website listings as a regular column rather than the “Helter Skelter” listing.
SUMMARY:
It is obvious that we have a fantastic DX club with diverse interests based on the results from the
March 23rd luncheon. It is very satisfying that a wide variety of hams feel welcome. The Questionnaire will
be a great source of information on how to continue to improve our newsletter and meetings.
I personally like the “Round-the-Table” introductions idea at the beginning of our meetings. Also,
several people were very emphatic that we need a search feature for past newsletters. OK, it will take some
time to develop something useful but not a burden to the person doing it. To all that took the time to
complete the Questionnaire, thank you.
Jerry Hess, W9KTP
______________________________________________________________________________________
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Present: W3ML John and XYL KD9HL Steve WA9JNO Earl W1PIT Alan AG9S Jim A9DZ Allen
ND9A John N9RD Juergen KC8OBY David KC8PKY Linda K9QA Rich - XYL and Son
KC9OYE Chuck and XYL W8FIB Tom Jinese Breland non-ham guest
18
Steve sent this in to go with the article in last month’s newsletter. It shows that you
should pick a clear spot on the waterfall to transmit.
19
Our webmaster, John W9WY wanted everyone to know that most all of the
newsletters are archived on the newsletter page so one can go back to the
beginning and relive old memories.
I want to thank those that have been sending in articles for the newsletter. All items are appreciated.
Until Next Time,
73
John W3ML
http://nwidxclub.weebly.com/
