Thank you to those who have completed the survey. If you did not do so, please do so here now as this will help me to ensure this newsletter and our activities meet your expectations.
Below is the first newsletter in this Email so that you can have an idea of the type of content you can expect each month. Based on survey results thus far, most 30CW members would like a monthly newsletter. The next most popular request was weekly or twice a month. We may send occasional smaller updates more often, and the newsletter monthly.
30CW Activity News
In the month up to and including 9 May at least half of 30CW members were active in calling CQ on the HF bands and picked up by the Reverse Beacon Network. However, less than half of those were active on 30m. Below, I share what we could find of 30CW members activity on the 30m band, and hope it encourages you to be more active on 30m.
Before I do so, please allow me to share an observation by Dan KB6NU 30CW41 which he made in his blog post on May 24, 2003 all those 18 years ago, as it holds just as true today:
"30m: An Interesting Little Band
For the past couple of weeks, I’ve been operating on 30m. Overall, I’ve made about 40 contacts, including a handful of DX contacts. Here are some impressions:
It is a little band–only 50 kHz wide, with most of the activty in the lower 20 kHz of the band.
Propagation-wise, it’s a cross between 20m and 40m. Lots of domestic contacts, but more DX than on 40.
The average speed of the CW ops on the band seems to be higher than on 20m or 40m. I guess this is because the dominant mode on the band is CW, so the more proficient CW ops tend to migrate there.
The DX stations on 30m are in countries that I never heard on 20m. For example, the other day I heard stations from Northern Ireland and the Ivory Coast.
There’s not enough activity! A lot of times it seems that the band is open, but there are just not enough stations on. Maybe it’s time for a 30-30 club to encourage activity.
One guy said he thinks that the folks on 30m are friendlier than the ops on the other bands. I don’t know if that’s true–I’ve had many nice QSOs on 20m–but it may be that the percentage of friendly ops in higher on 30m.
Activity does pick up on the weekends when there are big contests. Today, for example, the band was really hopping due to the CQ WPX contest on the traditional ham bands.
There are a lot of hams with 1×2 calls on the band. I don’t know why this is exactly.
All in all, I’m really enjoying 30m. I just wish it was a little more active."
It's very interesting that Dan KB6NU 30CW41 mentioned the need for a 30-30 club all those years ago. I hope that the "30m CW Activity Group" serves that purpose and helps increase 30m CW activity. Judging by an Email received from Matt KE7EX 30CW165 it has indeed had a good effect. As Dan noted however there really is often suprisingly little activity in some parts of the world. I believe this is due to people listening around and hearing nothing. For example, in VK/ZL, this actually is the best band for nation wide propagation but most VK use 40m only, completely unaware of the utility of 30m. Those VK that do use it generally use SSB without ITU approval. However 30m world wide is open 24 hours a day all year round to somewhere. Give it a try!
Listening on 30m via the Twente Web SDR shows just how active 30m is at any time of the day or night in Europe.
Now to spotted activities of 30CW Members over the past 4 weeks:
- JL1MUT 30CW#12 Yo on 2nd May was heard in CX (Uruguay) on 10112.3 kHz.
- 9V1VV #17 John on 8 May 10118 from VU, UA4, OH, W7, VE6, VE7, SM and JA. Outstanding coverage from Singapore to Europe and America simultaneously.
- F4WBY #23 Gil on 23 April 10118 in DL, HA, 3V, CT, SV and on 25 April on 10123 in DL, F, ON, OK and OL.
- KB6NU #41 Dan on 9 May in W5, W6, W7, OH, HA, DL and 3V on 10116 kHz, with 90W into a doublet (Levy dipole) fed with ladder line.
- G0FEI #50 Vic on 27 April in EA5 on 10118 kHz.
- VE3CMM #57 Mike on 7 May in W9 on QRP frequency 10106 kHz. Mike was probably running 5W to an inverted L.
- M0LRQ #66 Peter on 7 May in HA, DL, SM, OE, OH, IK and OL at 19WPM on 10108 kHz.
- W1YL #67 YL Ellen on 1 May in W9 and VE6 on 10110 kHz.
- K5IX #69 David on 8 May in W0, W2, W3, W6, W7, W9 and VE6 at 21WPM on 10111 kHz.
- PA9CW #76 Tonnie on 15 April on 10118 kHz in HA and SM, on 24 April on 10124 kHz in TF and OH, 25 April on 10123 kHz in OK and TF and again on 30 April on 10120 kHz in DL, HB, OE, OH, OK, OL and SM. Well done for much great activity Tonnie!
- KA5TJS #82 Allen on 27 April in W4 on 10120 kHz.
- DL4YHF #94 Wolf on 8 May in R4, SM, LZ, G, HA, 3V, F and OH on 10110.4 kHz.
- DK8IT #99 Gerald on 9 May in W3, EA, HA, TF, OH, LZ, R4, OK, EA8 and SM on 10123 kHz.
- K4AEN #108 Tom on 6 May in SM, EA8, DL, K7 and PJ2 on 10121 kHz and on 7 May in K2, K3, K7, K9, K0, VE6 and PJ2 on 10122 kHz.
- N6HI #113 John on 8 May in K3, K7 and K0 on 10111 kHz and on 9 May in K3, K6 and VE7 on 10114 kHz.
- OE6LKG #115 Karl on 25 April in HA, S5, OK DL, SM, OH, F, LZ and EA on 10110 kHz, on 26 April in CT on 10110 kHz, and on 2 May in DL and CT land again on 10110 kHz.
- WA9VFD #116 Kevin on 8 May in W9 on 10121 kHz.
- F5NTV #117 Bruno on 9 May at 0654Z in W2, W5, W6, VK3 (long path), ZL4 (long path), DL, HA, LA, SM, G and IK on 10114 kHz, being heard in north America and Oceania at the same time. Bruno has a 2 element 30m (and 40m) beam SP7GXP antenna at 18m up and 600w of CW. He is near the Atlantic Ocean without much obstacles from the south-west through north-west. What a great station, we often hear Bruno on the other side of the world with great signals.
- W7ASA #118 Ray on 3 May at 0055Z in CX, IK, CT, OE, OH, VE7, W1, W2, W3, W6, W7, W9 and W0 on 10109.5 kHz.
- OE3KLU #123 Charly on 18 April in LZ on 10112 kHz.
- G0RQQ #126 Keith on 10 April in IK at 4dB SNR at 16 WPM running QRP on 10116 kHz one of the 30m recommended QRP frequencies (10106 and 10116).
- VK4AAN #134 Alan on 11 April on 10120.5 kHz in VK2 and ZL4 at 20 WPM.
- G8CPZ #135 Andy on 19 April in SM on 10117.3 kHz.
- W1SFR #148 Steve on 7 May in IK, OL, EA8, F, OE, K2, K4, K4, K7 and K9 on 10121.5 kHz side swiper frequency.
- OH5JJL #158 Tuomas on 8 May in 3V, R4, LZ, G, DL, HA, F, SM, HB and IK on 10103 kHz.
- KE7EX #165 Matt on 10116 kHz QRP on 11 April in W9 and again on 18 April in W2, W4, W7, W9 and W0.
Thanks to the above members and all others who have been keeping 30m CW active.
30m Propagation
Those active on 30m may know that DDK9 is a useful "beacon" transmitting 24 hours all year round. Also WWV, WWVH and BPM can be heard on 10,000 kHz, RWM Moscow at times on 9996 kHz, and "Voice of Hope" broadcasting from Taiwan with only 100 Watts AM on 10160 kHz daily from around 2110Z to 1700Z in Chinese.
We are supposed to be emerging from solar minimum but this is slow in coming. Sunspots disappeared completely again on May 1st. A new sunspot has since appeared though it's effects are likely to be minimal.
Conditions have been mostly fair on 30m.
You can see current 30m conditions at http://30cw.net/propagation
30m Antenna: The Dipole
In each issue we will look at a different type of 30m antenna. This month we'll start off with the simplest of antennae: the dipole. Simple, because, provided you have coaxial cable, it is easy to match to your radio with 50 Ohm impedance fed in the middle, or rather, with one quarter wave to the inner of the coax and the other to the shield. This provides a fairly balanced antenna, and in a horizontal configuration, provided half a wavelength or so up in the clear above ground (at least 10-15m high on 30m), gives good radiation broadside to the dipole and a null off the ends.
When low above the ground it provides a high angle of take-off making it a good NVIS (near vertical insidence sky-wave) local area coverage antenna, and if around half a wave or more in the air, a fairly good DX antenna. It generally picks up less local area noise than a vertical antenna. Good results can be achieved with this antenna on 30m, either horizontal or in an inverted V configuration. If inverted V a more uniform omni-directional coverage can be expected rather than broadside to the horizontal antenna.
Most of the useful radio wave radiation from the dipole is from the middle portion, so the ends are not so critical and can be bent downward even at right angles if you are short of space to fit it in. If the dipole is fed with balanced line feeder or two parallel wires and matched via a balun and/or antenna tuner then this antenna can be used on multiple bands with ease. It is then known as a "Levy" or "Doublet" or "Double Zepp" - all mean the same thing. I've used a shortened 30m dipole with about 1.5m of each end bent downward to fit into a small plot, and about 10m above ground, with good results for DX even with QRP.
If you slope the dipole from a single high support downward at for example a 45 degree angle or so, you create an effective radiator in the direction of the slope, thus making it uni-directional. If you hang it vertically and feed from the centre, you can have a vertical dipole, with omni-directional radiation and good for DX at low angles toward the horizon. However the vertical dipole may also pick up more local noise.
An often forgotten fact is that an 80m band dipole can easily be tuned to resonance on 30m, where is acts as a 3 half wave dipole as dipoles are resonant at odd multiples of a half wavelength. Therefore most 80m dipoles are also resonant above 30m, and can be brought to resonance with a tuner or by lengthening the 80m dipole, perhaps with jumpers to make it manually dual band. This same antenna could then provide good NVIS on 80m and DX on 30m.
Please note that I am not an expert in antennae, and you can research more about dipoles online. They basically are the fundamental antenna for HF from which many other antennas derive. For example, a beam is a dipole with one or more reflectors and/or directors. One can also make a fixed wire beam. Cage dipoles and folded dipoles can offer more bandwidth but this is not an issue on 30m. If you have at least around 10m space to put up a horizontal or inverted vee as high as possible, you have a ready and steady reliable antenna for 30m.
Member Profile: Matt KE7EX 30CW165
Below is Matt's 30m story, which is truly wonderful, and he's also our first paid up member via generous donation, thank you Matt!
After upgrading my ticket and QRV again in 2019 I discovered 30CW and it convinced me to optimize my station for 10.116 QRP. I dusted off my rusty code skills and went from 0-20 WPM copy quickly thanks to the many considerate operators, ragchew CW, and had a lot more fun on 10.1 than I have anywhere else in the spectrum. And I want to say THANK YOU for introducing me to what makes 10.1 unique. In just tuning the receiver dial I never would have understood the backstory and what an incredible resource we collectively have access to.
My interest in 10 MHz began when I was 14 years old. My dad got me my first shortwave receiver (with a digital tuning dial) and within the first couple days I picked up All India Radio on 10.715. I was spellbound by not only the music they played (which I had never heard anything like before), but also the drifting quality of the propagation, and amazed at how far the signal traveled. It just so happened that the two trees outside my window were exactly 46 feet apart so the biggest antenna I could put up was a 30m dipole. Looking back now I see the way that antenna was set up it provided pretty good gain over the pole to our house in North America.
My 14-year-old self wrote it down that day in my paper logbook "Eastern music and unusual English accents." Today my wife and I laugh about this as she's from India and we are both really into music from her culture (we have her father to thank for giving her such a deep appreciation of and an ear for music). In the days before household internet access and cellular phones, I recall that day I first picked up that signal as a glimpse into not only the magic of radio, but also a window into a culture that fascinated me. India seemed so far away, exotic, and different. As I approached 15 years old I was more motivated to earn my first radio license than I was my first driver's license.
Learning to drive a car seemed boring compared to being able to pick up signals thousands of miles away… and the allure of being able to communicate in two-way QSO's was irresistible. Since 30m was (and is) a CW band the strategy my 15-year-old brain came up with was: to pass my General Exam, build a QRP CW transceiver kit with my lawn mowing allowance, and operate 100% CW, so I could use the biggest antenna I could put up.
Fast forward 29 years later. What began that day on 10 MHz just might have been a landmark event in my life. Since then I've been 10,400 miles over there and back, on my last deployment operating from VQ9 Chagos Diego Garcia. And I met my wife who is from India; it's been incredible learning her languages and culture as I get to know her family. And now our first baby is on the way too(*). We're naming him after our favorite singer from India. Maybe that was his song playing that day on 10.715…
__ … __
73, Matt KE7EX
(EX: VQ9MJ)
(*) 'm delighted with Matt's permission to share his above story as I'm sure you'll enjoy it as much as I do! What a suitable start to the 30CW Members Profiles section of the newsletter: Matt has just informed me that he and his XYL have a brand new harmonic baby girl! You may have to change the name you had in mind of that singer as she's a she :-)
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Signing Off
A reminder that you can find your 30CW membership number at www.30cw.net/cs in alphabetical list of callsigns of our members.
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With all best wishes and wishing you many happy CW QSO ("77")
77 DE G4OJW QTT 30CW001
Your 30CW Newsletter Editor