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5B4AIT HamSphere Newsletter May 2019 2019-04-25 15:05	Admin Registered: 16 years ago Posts: 1,061

Welcome to the Spring Edition of the HamSphere Newsletter 2019 We have a lot of good stuff coming your way so here we go: (And by the way. The link for lost passwords is here: https://hamsphere.com/password) A message from the Administrators Hamsphere admins are hard at work in the background and on the air helping to keep things running smoothly for all of the users of the system. The team is composed of experienced and dedicated people from varied walks of life with a myriad of skills which are needed to provide an up-to-date and efficient platform and the varied social media information channels that help to keep new and more experienced operators informed of progress and plans. The recent remote location operation was visualized and developed by members of this admin team. New and exciting activities and operations are being developed at present. Stay tuned for more news. If you see an admin active on Hamsphere or on one of the many Facebook pages you can ask for recommendations, information or guidance. They are there to help. Dave KS1K HamSphere 3.0 News Since the latest upgrade of the 3.0 transceiver we have received good feedback from the operators. Both version 3.0 and 3.1 are used. Since New Year we have had a few contest on 3.0 and we will continue with these contests on both 3.0 and 4.0 systems. Some HamSphere statistics since the start in 2008. We have had almost a whooping 4.8 Million QSL cards sent between our operators who originate from at total of 274 DXCC entities. News Flash!!! It is with pleasure that we can announce that the 17mtr net on HS3.0 will NOT finish but will now only be on Wednesday nights at 19:30 to 21:30 UTC with Rob G0MOK as net control. All are welcome! https://www.hamsphere.com/support Download the 3.1 Release In May 2018 we released the new HamSphere 3.1 update. The latest stable version is 3.1.5 and can be downloaded from https://www.hamsphere.com/download. Latest from Elmers/Admins on HamSphere Hello from the Elmer's on HamSphere 3. We is growing in numbers and getting more people on board and that's where the Elmer's come welcoming all new stations and making their experience as enjoyable as it can be. Remember if you need any assistance on the system just look for any one with a callsign like this (E) or (M) in the cluster we will be happy to help and give you some advice and guide you through the system. Do not be afraid to talk to and Elmer or a Moderator they are here to help you enjoy this great system. These Elmers are Ready to assist you: G0MOK Robert, Elmer M0RCK Robert, Elmer VE2QK Jim, Elmer MI0HPX Tony, Elmer M6YYU Fred, Elmer The New Daily Contact Challenge This is an ongoing contest/challenge for operators on HamSphere 3.0. Each challenge segment is set between 18.00 UTC to 18.00 UTC next day. Only unique logged call signs per day are calculated. So no need for band hopping :-) Please note that the unique call signs are only counted daily so working the same station another day is fine. Each week we hand out five prizes. As of 13 May 2019 we will hand out 2 EUR HS Credits to 5 randomly picked users among the top 15 candidates each week. HS Credits can be used for HS 4.0 Web Site/Mobile purchases or Subscriptions. Prizes are subject to change. The Awards are handed out every month to the best performing operator over the entire month. Each award is designed with inspiration by the month. The link is: https://hamsphere.com/challenge Latest from 40m Help Group on HamSphere 3.0 I'm Robert M0RCK and I run the Hamsphere 40m Early Morning Help Group on the frequency of 07.050.00 which is to help old and new stations to familiarise themselves with the system, to teach them the proper radio etiquette and how to use callsigns and Q codes professionally. I teach them how to use the HELP button so they can find the Manual, Code of Conduct, Band Plans, etc. I help them with technical information and also guide them to the Test frequency to check their audio and power to avoid over-deviation or splatter. I teach them how to use the HS3/HS4 Mobile and the HS3/HS4 PC, and any other general information about the HamSphere programme. I try to guide them on their way forward to gaining their amateur radio licence. I'm also there to help amateur radio users to refresh their memories about operating procedures!! I give information about how to pay for subscriptions, how to create and send QSL cards on the HS system, and any other queries that operators may have. I teach them how to operate in a responsible and respectful manner and to respect other operators. I operate on HS4 2m on frequency 145.5000 for operators guidance, information and queries about the system. I also give guidance through the HF operation, where to get modules, how to purchase them and how to use them. The 40m Help Group Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1681612182087104/ Remote and SWL rigs Our 10 remotely controlled transceiver are booked. Since 18 Sept 2018 users have had the opportunity to book remotely controlled transceiver on HS4.0. These rigs have been frequently booked by 53 operators and we even have a high score list for the activity: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/remotescore It seems that our 101RM1 and 38RM1 are bringing the most QSOs and 175RM1/38RM1 belong to two of the most popular rigs. For example, the 101RM1 transceiver have had an amazing 2440 QSOs with 71 countries since the start. HamSphere Digi modes FT8 – The Basics Explained In 2017, FT8 started to become the most popular of the various data modes. At the time of writing, it appears to be the most popular for a number of reasons: It’s fairly simple to set up It’s significantly faster than the similar JT-65 It works very well even with a lot of noise It’s popular, so there’s lots of activity It’s semi-automated, making for easy contacts It’s a great way of racking up the countries you’ve worked, without too much hassle As with modes such as JT65 and PSK31, you interface your HF rig to a computer, and send out text encoded by your computer over the amateur bands. With FT8, you’re restricted to very small messages, with a limit of 13 characters per message. Here is a typical conversation over FT8: “CQ M6PSK JO01” CQ call from M6PSK “M6PSK G0QQQ IO81” G0QQQ replies with their location “G0QQQ M6PSK -12” M6PSK responds with a signal report “M6PSK G0QQQ R-08” G0QQQ confirms signal report & replies with his own report “G0QQQ M6PSK RRR” M6PSK says Reception Report Received “M6PSK G0QQQ 73” G0QQQ says Best regards “G0QQQ M6PSK 73” M6PSK says Best regards Each message of up to 13 characters takes 13 seconds to send. There are 4 slots per minute, and you transmit for one 15 second block, then listen for replies for 15 seconds, and transmit again for 15 seconds. The exchange above would therefore take about 90 seconds (compared with seven minutes on JT65). The application WSTJT-X is one of the most common used for FT8 (As well as JT65), and was written by the inventor of the mode, Joe Taylor K1JT. Here is what FT8 signals looks like, displayed in the WSJT-X waterfall view: Download WSJT from: https://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/k1jt/ Everything your wanted to know about Ham Radio Our compiled website for Amateur Radio information has been received very well by the community. We have even setup a short cut URL for this information source: https://hamradio.se If you have more information that we could add to that document, feel free to share this information with us so we can add it to the compilations. Thank you. New HamSphere 4.0 DX Report email Since a few months back we are providing our HamSphere 4.0 operators with QSO statistics via email. Many users have now set the frequency of this very useful email information. You can set the reporting frequency to daily, weekly, monthly or off. https://hs40.hamsphere.com/dxreportsetting.php Calling CQ Your first contact or conversation (QSO) can be quite daunting. For that reason it might be a good idea to arrange a QSO with a friend, or someone else on HamSphere. That way it will be less stressful and if you make a mistake it doesn’t really matter. First thing to do is make sure your radio is set up properly – that it is on the right mode, that you have the microphone gain set correctly and you have selected the right amount of power. Generally, we should use the minimum amount of power required to guarantee a good contact. To conduct a voice QSO you have two choices: You can call “CQ” or you can answer someone who is calling CQ. A CQ is simply a general call to no one in particular. It is the traditional way of seeking random contacts. Before calling CQ it’s important to find a frequency that is not occupied by any other station. This may not be easy, particularly in crowded band conditions on HamSphere. Always listen before transmitting. Make sure the frequency isn’t being used before you go barging in. If, after a reasonable time, the frequency seems clear, ask “Is this frequency in use?”, followed by your callsign. So, “Is the frequency in use? This is SM9XYZ.” If nobody replies, you’re clear to call. The CQ calling procedure Now call CQ using the three by three method. So it is: “CQ CQ CQ this is Sierra Mike Nine Xray Yankee Zulu, Sierra Mike Nine Xray Yankee Zulu, Sierra Mike Nine Xray Yankee Zulu standing by.” If a station comes back to you say: “K1ABC (or whatever) K1ABC, this is Sierra Mike Nine Xray Yankee Zulu. Good evening/day, your report is 59 (or whatever it is), my name is Peter – Papa Echo Tango Echo Romeo – and my QTH is Ystad – Yankee Sierra Tango Alpha Delta” Note that you do not need to spell things out phonetically more than once. Except when more difficult propagation. If your are lucky, they should come back to you with your report, their name and QTH. At this point you have two choices – you can go on to give them a few more details about your station, such as the radio, power and antenna. But with many QSOs you may find that the other station wishes you 73 and goes away – it usually means that English is not their first language. If they do speak good English you can always tell them a little about yourself and your local area and ask them about theirs. Or you could tell them what clubs you are a member of – there is a whole host of topics you can use. Conduct yourself as though anyone in the world might be listening at any time. Whenever you transmit, you’re representing all of the amateur radio community and your country so act accordingly. At the end of the QSO wish the other station “73” – which is the Q code for best wishes – and say you are now QRT (have closed down). Operator Selected Remotes/ PC Amateur radio is heavily in to Remote operation. We will soon present "Operator Selected Remotes" as there have been requests for such remotely controlled transceivers. Basically a subscribed account is set up for a qualified Hamsphere user carrying a Ham Radio license, like PJ4/KS1K, ZL7/ZL3MA etc. Remote stations are only allowed in countries where the operator's country has reciprocal operating agreement(s). In order to assure that the operator has the necessary experience and expertise he should be a licensed amateur. News from HamSphere 4.0 Web shop Shop Info 648x360 Shop info Find info on all available plugins. See the latest plug-in news and link directly to the shop. Plug-In added: 2019-04-05 14:54:34 Get Shop Info 648x360 Contest Results 216x360 Reach all contest results from your transceiver. Plug-In added: 2019-04-04 16:52:35 Get Contest Results 216x360 Contest Info 432x360 Contest Info 432x360, The Contest info module where you can see all contests, link to results, join and leave contests etc. Plug-In added: 2019-03-27 16:14:55 Get Contest Info 432x360 Newsline 216x288 Ham Radio Audio bulletin newsplayer. Currently supporting RSGB GB2RS, This week in Amateur Radio, Amateur Radio Newsline, ARRL Audio News, VK6 NewsWest broadcast, ICQ Ham Radio Podcast. But more to come. Player has fastforward and fastbackward, play and pause. Separate Volume knob. Plug-In added: 2019-02-01 01:00:25 Get Newsline 216x288 CW Encoder 432x144 CW Encoder Translates text to transmittable CW. Adjustable speed and tone. This CW transmitter uses a notepad to transmit text. It does not use macros, instead it saves the text in the notepad so it remembers it for the next time. In that way you can build a big library with prerecorded CW texts. Use cut and paste and move texts and words around. The encoder sends a line a at time. Just move your cursor to the and of the line and hit enter. The transmitted line is marked in red during transmit. You can hit enter on multiple lines consecutively to send more text. For users who are used to other CW sending software this method of transmission may feel a bit different. But once you get used to work CW as you are "editing" a text, you will love it. So If you need to transmit long lines. Just split them up and hit enter on each one. It will merge the text during transmit. Please note. Speed and Tone can not be adjusted during transmit. Use Escape key to abort any transmission. Plug-In added: 2019-01-16 21:26:02 Get CW Encoder 432x144 CW Decoder 432x144 CW Decoder with auto-speed. Translates received CW (Morse Code) to text. Tunable filter between 250-700Hz. Clear button and On/Off switch. Instructions. 1. Tune a CW station in either LSB/USB or CW mode and keep the tone around 400-700Hz. 2. Use CW filters, get rid of as much noise as possible. 3. Slowly adjust the Tune knob until it starts capturing CW. Adjust for highest peak. 4. Fine tune the Peak by adjusting the VFO slighly. 5. Keep input so that peak is at least in "yellow" zone. 6. Use the RF Gain to adjust input level. C = Clears the text window A = Active P = Off Plug-In added: 2019-01-13 14:43:38 Get CW Decoder 432x144 QSL Viewer 648x360 If you find browsing through your QSL cards difficult using your log book, then get this QSL Card Viewer. View sent and received QSL cards ordered by call sign. View cards randomly. Easy and slick design. Plug-In added: 2019-01-12 05:22:23 Get QSL Viewer 648x360 Spectrum Analyzer Blue 216x144 Check your transmission and receiption with this Audio Spectrum Analyzer in the Blue series. Plug-In added: 2019-01-12 04:09:29 Get Spectrum Analyzer Blue 216x144 Spectrum Analyzer 216x144 Check your transmission and receiption with this Audio Spectrum Analyzer. Plug-In added: 2019-01-11 11:20:56 Get Spectrum Analyzer 216x144 Audio Compressor 432x72 Audio compressor for both RX and TX audio. A compressor/limiter is a type of amplifier in which gain is dependent on the signal level passing through it. You can set the maximum level a compressor/limiter allows to pass through, thereby causing automatic gain reduction above some predetermined signal level, or threshold. Compression refers, basically, to the ability to reduce, by a fixed ratio, the amount by which a signal’s output level can increase relative to the input level. It is useful for lowering the dynamic range of a vocal, making it easier to be heard over the air without distortion. The Band Scanner The Band Scanner has been around for a while. Recently we uploaded a manual for it: Manual: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/band_scanner_manual.pdf Instruction Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11PBu32IYGc Get the scanner here: https://shop.hamsphere.com/product_info.php?products_id=128474 Project week at a German elementary school Theme: "Radio communication" Alex Wedding School Dear Sirs and Madams, In the period from 6 May to 10 May 2019 a so-called "Project Week" takes place here in Germany in the elementary school with the name "Alex Wedding" in the community of Falkenberg. Among other things, the students will learn about various types of electronic communication and their function in this project week. Starting with SWL in the range of Long wave, Medium wave and Short wave over Amateur Radio and other bands with the help of Hamsphere over the internet. As an experienced electrical engineer and radio operator will lead the project in this period. Together with 8 selected students of the primary school we will conclude this project on 10 May 2019 from 06:00 UTC on the most diverse radios and their frequencies try to realize the widest possible contact. For this special purpose, the school has one extra special QSL card which every radio operator who has a QSO with us will receive. Also every SWL who hears us can send a report e-mail or the corresponding Hamsphere contact to receive our QSL card. Students conduct all appropriate connection recordings themselves, but under supervision. All students also speak English. As these are exclusively students without an amateur radio license between the ages of 10 and 13, they will only be sent via the following media: Our HamSphere schedule: 10 May 2019 from 06:00 UTC Hamsphere (version 3) in the 40 m band on the frequency: 7080 Khz / modulation: DSB Hamsphere (version 3) in the 20 m band on the frequency: 14270 Khz / Modulation: DSB Following the connection at 11:00 clock UTC then the entire elementary school sings a song as a kind of thank you to all radio operators and SWL. We also want to broadcast this song via Hamsphere on frequency 14270 Khz. The song has a length of 120 seconds and is not a radio broadcast and should not be considered as such. It is a pure thank you from the students to all radio operators! The connection of the 8 students on Hamsphere 3.0 will use my account, thus with the Callsign: 13HS4087 and the first name of the student instead. The operating service is correctly maintaned and under my supervision. With Hamsphere, even inexperienced people interested in radio technology are given the opportunity to find out about the operating service before they pass the amateur radio test. Personally, therefore, I think Hamsphere is absolutely great !!! We ask all radio operators and SWL to understand that there will be delay until the QSL cards are delivered. This may possibly last until noon of the next day on 11 May 2019. Every radio operator and SWL who hears us and also sends us a QSL card also gets 100% of us back. I guarantee that personally! I wish all radio operators and SWL a good connection and a lot of fun and enjoyment of the beautiful special QSL card of the primary school from Falkenberg. Yours sincerely Holger Ruf 13HS4087 New Servers After many years of service we are winding up Server #1 in St. Louis and #7 Kansas City. They are replaced by the more powerful #17 located in St Louis, Missouri. Server #17 uses Gigabit Interface for better capacity. Our network: Server 1: St. Louis, US, Offline Server 2: Frankfurt, DE, Active, HS4, Slave server Server 3: Paris #1, FR, Active, HS3, HS4, Slave server Server 4: Strasbourg, FR, Active, Web Server Server 5: Paris #2 FR, Active, Web Server Server 6: Duesseldorf, DE, Active, HS3, Active Slave Server 7: Kansas City, US, Offline Server 8: Cologne, DE, Active, HS3, Web Server Server 9: Atlanta, US, Inactive Server 10: Munich, DE, Active, Web Server, HS4 Server 11: Leipzig, DE, Active, Slave Server Server 12: Paris, FR, Active, Web Server, Slave Server Server 13: Paris #3, FR, Active, Web Server Server 14: Denver, US, Active, HS4 Server 15: Sydney, AU, Active, HS4 Server 16: Montreal, CA, Active, HS4 Server 17: St Louis, Missouri, Active, HS4 HamSphere 4.0 Contesting Upcoming contest HamSphere 4.0 4-hour series contest stage 2 Start: 2019-04-27 08:00 Link: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/contest.php?mode=edit&contest_id=934 HamSphere 4.0 CIS & Baltic May Day contest 2019 Start: 2019-05-04 04:00 Link: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/contest.php?mode=edit&contest_id=944 HamSphere 4.0 PSK31 contest 2019 Start: 2019-05-25 04:00 Link: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/contest.php?mode=edit&contest_id=954 Contest results HamSphere 4.0 four hour contest 2018 Stage 1: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_44204_read.html Stage 2: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_44214_read.html Stage 3: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_44224_read.html Stage 4: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_44394_read.html Stage 5: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_44544_read.html Stage 6: Contest date (YY-MM-DD hh:mm): 2018-12-08 20:00 Results: Group A: Europe: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_44864_read.html Group B: North America: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_44874_read.html Group C: Oceania: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_44884_read.html Group D: South America: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_44894_read.html Group E: Asia: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_44904_read.html Group F: Africa: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_44914_read.html The North American Winter Contest 2018 Contest date (YY-MM-DD hh:mm): 2018-12-15 00:00 Category US/Canada: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_44964_read.html Category Europe: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_44974_read.html Category Asia: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_44984_read.html Category SA/Africa/Oceania: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_44994_read.html Results: HamSphere 4.0 Winter CW contest 2018 Contest date (YY-MM-DD hh:mm): 2018-12-29 00:00 Here are the results of the HamSphere 4.0 Winter CW Contest 2018 that was held 29 Dec. The results are based on a properly filled out logbook. We had a total of 41 participants. Congratulations to Igor, UA9UCO who won with the score of 13268. Well done indeed! Igor managed to complete 124 valid QSO's and 106 multipliers and wins the prize of 50 Euro HS Credits. Congratulations! In second place came Andy, SP2DNI with the score of 12584. Well done! Andy managed to complete 121 valid QSO's and 103 multipliers and wins the prize of 25 Euro HS Credits. Congratulations! In third place came Alex, RG5A with the score of 11484. Good work! Alex managed to complete 116 valid QSOs and 98 multipliers and wins the prize of 15 Euro HS Credits. Congratulations! Thank you to all CW participants! Results: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_45004_read.html Results: HamSphere 4 New Year Contest 2019 Contest date (YY-MM-DD hh:mm): 2019-01-05 00:00 Here are the winners: 1st Prize: Alex, RG5A, wins 100 HS Credits. Congratulations! 2nd Prize: Boris, 50HS7127 wins 50 HS Credits. Congratulations! 3rd Prize: Paul, G0THD wins 40 HS Credits. Congratulations! 4th Prize: Franck, 14HS4015 30 HS Credits. Congratulations! 5th Prize: Luz Mery, 6HS773 wins 20 HS Credits. Congratulations! 6th Prize: Ravi, VU2RVE wins 10 HS Credits. Congratulations! 7th Prize: Brian, 30HS7103 wins 10 HS Credits. Congratulations! 8th Prize: Vladimir, R6DJG wins 10 HS Credits. Congratulations! 9th Prize: Krassi, LZ4KK wins 10 HS Credits. Congratulations! 10th Prize: LNDX-OSTEND-CLUB, 16HC16 wins 10 HS Credits. Congratulations! HamSphere sends a big Thank You to all participants. Welcome back next year! Results: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_45014_read.html Results: HamSphere 4.0 four hour series contest 2019 stage 1 Contest date (YY-MM-DD hh:mm): 2019-02-02 04:00 Here are the results from the "HamSphere 4.0 four hour series contest 2019 stage 1" that was held 2 Feb 2019. 4 Hour Contests calendar: Stage 1: 2 Feb 2019 Stage 2: 27 Apr 2019 Stage 3: TBA Stage 4: TBA Stage 5: TBA Stage 6: TBA Congratulations to these winners of stage 1: (Score correction as of 17 March, the new 5 minute role) 1st prize: Dainius, M0HMJ, 15 HS Credits 2nd prize: Enio, PY3TD, 10 HS Credits 3rd prize: Paul, G0THD, 5 HS Credits Result: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_45274_read.html HamSphere 4.0 Benelux contest 2019 Contest date (YY-MM-DD hh:mm): 2019-01-19 07:00 Group A: Asia: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_45284_read.html Group B: Europe: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_45294_read.html Group C: North America: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_45304_read.html Group D: South America: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_45314_read.html Group E: Africa: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_45324_read.html Group F: Oceania and Antarctica: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_45334_read.html HamSphere 4.0 All Asia DX contest 2019 Contest date (YY-MM-DD hh:mm): 2019-02-16 00:00 Group A: Asia: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_45484_read.html Group B: Europe: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_45494_read.html Group C: North America: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_45504_read.html Group D: South America: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_45514_read.html Group E: Africa: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_45524_read.html Group F: Oceania and Antarctica: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_45534_read.html Late Night DX Gang European Union Open Championship 2019 Contest date (YY-MM-DD hh:mm): 2019-03-09 07:00 Group A: Europe: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_45544_read.html Group B: Asia: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_45554_read.html Group C: North America: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_45564_read.html Group D: South America: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_45574_read.html Group E: Africa: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_45584_read.html Group F: Oceania and Antarctica: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_45594_read.html HamSphere 4.0 Pacific Ocean Contest 2019 Contest date (YY-MM-DD hh:mm): 2019-03-23 00:00 Group A: Asia: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_45754_read.html Group B: Europe: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_45764_read.html Group C: North America: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_45784_read.html Group D: South America: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_45794_read.html Group E: Africa: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_45804_read.html Group F: Oceania and Antarctica: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_45814_read.html HamSphere 4.0 Latin America and Caribbeans contest 2019 Contest date (YY-MM-DD hh:mm): 2019-04-06 07:00 Group A: Asia: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_45824_read.html Group B: Europe: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_45834_read.html Group C: North America: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_45844_read.html Group D: South America: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_45854_read.html Group E: Africa: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_45864_read.html Group F: Oceania and Antarctica: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/64_45874_read.html HamSphere 4.0 Show your Rig Our operators constantly experiment with different rig styles building very effective rigs with our plug-ins. Below you can see some of our operators work. You can find more information about plug-ins at https://shop.hamsphere.com M1ANX Rig ON8AIR rig Wide Body N2PKT Rig Hans Heerlen 19hs291 double stack Black bulk rig HamSphere 4.0 Mobile News We have received requests for a 160m antenna for mobile use. Our chief designer Basu, VU2NSB has constructed a portable 160m Bob-Tail curtain antenna which is now available from the Mobile shop. Rare Countries Following DX countries have been heard on HamSphere over the past month. CHAD, MOZAMBIQUE, FRENCH GUIANA, SEYCHELLES, BAHRAIN, ANTARCTICA, AFGHANISTAN, BURKINA FASO, BRAZIL, BELIZE, FIJI, GREENLAND, BONAIRE, AZORES ISLANDS, BRUNEI, AZERBAIJAN, DJIBOUTI, CURACAO, CHATHAM ISLANDS, SENEGAL, SAINT LUCIA, SAINT KITTS AND NEVIS, GUADELOUPE, CAMEROON, KALININGRAD, ANDORRA, EL SALVADOR, MONTENEGRO, BOSNIA AND HERZEGOWINA, ZAMBIA, BELARUS, JORDAN, SYRIA, KUWAIT, THE GAMBIA, LUXEMBOURG, LIECHTENSTEIN, HONDURAS, UGANDA, SWAZILAND, LAOS, PAPUA NEW GUINEA, SAINT HELENA, EQUATORIAL GUINEA, ICELAND, GIBRALTAR, RODRIGUES ISLAND ETHIOPIA, SIERRA LEONE, LIBERIA DXpedition Reports and Special Event Stations DXpeditions, IOHS, COHS & LOHS Report By Wayne 9HS4755 Since the HamSphere Christmas Newsletter 2018 there have been many applications and some excellent DXpeditions carried out by HS Operators. But first an explanation of what the DXP Manager does and does not do. What does the DXPedition manager cover: Activation of Islands (IOHS); Castles (COHS); and Lighthouses (LOHS). What does the DXP Manager NOT cover: Visits to cities, travel within the operators own country and travel to foreign countries. For travel within your own country and travel to foreign countries you must put in a Support Ticket requesting same and where necessary you can rent the Holiday Pack. So, for those asking for DXPeditions other than to Islands, Castles or Lighthouses, you will require a Support Ticket submission. DXPeditions (Completed) F4ICZ – Xavier 01 to 03 March 2019 Chateau de Courtalain; 02 to 03 Feb 2019 Chateau de Avary. 14HS2503 – Renee 18 Feb to 3 Mar 2019 La Volte Sur Rhone 57HS3863 – Babul 10 to 13 Feb 2019 Henry Island, West Bengal 153HS460 – Andre 12 to 15 April 2019 Koh Larn Island, Thailand 196HS138 – Bernard 13 to 30 April 2019 Case-Pilote, Martinique DXPeditions (Upcoming): LA7CL – Paul – traveling to Spitsbergen, Svalbard Islands from 06 May to 09 May 2019 his callsign JW/LA7CL (this is a new country) 54HS105 – Tom – travelling to Fernando de Noronha from 19 May to 25 May 2019 his call sign IOHS/SA003 (this could be a new country) 19HS190 – Gerard – traveling to Canico de Baixo, Madeira Islands, from 22 June to 29th June his call sign IOHS/AF014 New Application received from PY5ZR Fabio he will be traveling to Santa Catarina Island, call sign and details have yet to be worked out please look to the DXP Form and news ticker on HS website for more details. Advertising for these DXPeditions, going forward, will be on the HamSphere website Forum and on the news ticker. There will be some information given on the HamSphere 4 and LNDX Facebook pages. Anyone wishing to go on a DXPedition there is a PDF form to be filled out (French or English) These forms can be found at on the HamSphere 4 Facebook page, click on “Files” It is requested that when making application for a DXPedition that a minimum of 14 days in advance of the start of the expedition is recommended. There is an average of 4 to 6 hours work setting up each DXpedition. This includes: checking that the details on the application form are correct; entering the information in to the HamSphere Database; making QSL Cards (3 for a weekend DXP and 4 or more for longer DXP) setting up the rig and communicating with the Operator conducting the DXP and having him or her check all the cards and information. As DXPedition Manager if you have any questions or I can assist you to set up a DXPediton to an Island, Lighthouse or Castle please contact me. For more info, please contact Wayne 9HS4755 via HamSphere or HamSphere 4 private message or via Facebook: For HamSphere Private Message: https://www.hamsphere.com/pm.php?5,page=send,to_id=1660536 For HamSphere4.0 Private Message: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/pm.php For Email Message: 9HS4755@gmail.com For Facebook messenger Message: https://www.facebook.com/WayneDAKingston For more info, please contact § 9HS4755 via HamSphere or HamSphere 4 private message or via Facebook: For HamSphere Private Message: httsp://www.hamsphere.com/pm.php?5,page=send,to_id=1660536 For HamSphere 4.0 Private Message: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/pm.php For Email Message: 9HS4755@gmail.com For Facebook messenger Message: https://www.facebook.com/WayneDAKingston HamSphere 80 Meter Award Net Well folks we are into Spring and Summer and most of you know that it is not the greatest for the 80 meter award net. We are still running the net on Mondays at 0100 UTC, which as you know is Sunday nights at 9:00 PM EST and ends up being 6 PM PST much daylight still out west and it does make it harder to hear our friends out that way. Also almost impossible to receive any DX stations as well at least over in Europe and the Russian Federation. We have had some fair results from a handful of our friends down south in certain locations when they check in. While it has been thought to shut the net down during the Spring and Summer months there are those new operators who do come on HamSphere looking to get their 80 meter award and I feel it is good to try and keep it going for them. We have a core group of regulars that do check in to the net, sometimes more then others times but even a few states help the new person get on his or her way to achieving that award. We do encourage all operators to check in to the net and represent your state, especially on the east coast where communications are real good but also out in the mid-west and western states as well, we will do our best to pull you in, it may be difficult at times but who knows you may get out just good enough to help a new operator get a new state he or she needs. As net control I will not give up even during the bad months, I hope that you guys will not give up as well, all we can do is try and hope for the best. Remember we have the 80 meter award net facebook group, so please reach out to us if you are not a member and we will approve your request to join. Anything we can do to help you achieve your 80 meter award we will try and do or if you just have questions about HamSphere in general we will try and help you there as well. We are here to help you achieve your goals. 73 N8RGO North America Rag Chew Net The North American Rag Chew 40 Meter Net continues to be a popular HS4 net with an average of 14 stations checking in (and usually more!), each Wednesday and Saturday, starting at 01:00 UTC. Initial check-ins are done on 7.030 MHz and then all stations QSY to the 145.300 MHz repeater for the rag chew portion. By moving to a world-wide repeater, all net stations can hear each other with ‘Q5’ copy, especially our regular DX check-ins, including Graham, ZL3MA, Denver, 4S7DA, and Glen, M7GLN. The net exists because of several behind-the-scene HS4 operators who do great work; Wayne, 9HS4755, is our Net Manager; Rik, 2HS1189, does our logging; Tim, VA7FT, and Dave, KS1K, are Net Advisors, and Harold, KC9HH, is an alternate Net Control. 9HS4755 and the author of this report, Dan, NA1NA, are the regular Net Control Stations, with Wayne as NCS each Wednesday and Dan as NCS each Saturday. One of the best things about the net are the questions posed by net check-ins. The net preamble encourages newcomers to the HS4 platform to pose questions they may have about operating, such as new plug-ins, operating on digital modes, how radio propagation works, and so on. Many of the regular net check-ins have years of experience both on the HS4 platform and as licensed operators, and are happy to help answer such questions. We also have ‘fun’ questions too, such as, “what was your favorite car?’, and “name one thing you sold and then wished you had never sold it!” These questions are popular, and fun! Here is NA1NA acting as NCS: More information about The North American Rag Chew 40 Meter Net can be found on its Face Book page, including the latest net news. Please check it out, and, please join us on the next North American Rag Chew 40 Meter Net. All HS4 stations are welcome! 73, Dan NA1NA Our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/658843597656106/ Wayne A. 9HS4755 The HamSphere Late Night DX-gang By Georg, ON8AIR he Late Night DX-gang celebrates her 4th birthday! For this occasion the group has launched some documents and activations: 1. The Book of Wolves Manual: a complete syllabus that gives an answer on most of your questions about HamSphere 4. 2. The Book of Wolves Membershiplist: a monthly update of the memberlist with pictures of all members + their location and their name on Facebook. 3. The WolfPack Magazine: a montly magazine with interesting articles about HS4 and the Late Night DX-gang. 4. The club started a Familyradio on the Broadcastband: RADIO_LNDX on 6267 USB. 5. Clubstation 16HC16 will be active again in the original radio room of the old Belgian school ship Mercator during 'Ostend at Anchor': Period: 23th of May till 26th of May 2019. Operators will be: 16HS1597 Sophie - 16HS1594 Ronny and ON8AIR Georg. During this activation the captain of the Mercator will enlist the 3 operators as full-time crewmembers. As one of the former radio officers on board had the military rank of 'corvette captain', the 3 HS4-operators will wear the same uniform and military ranks. They will be active on all HS4-bands (Phonie and/or CW). The weekly Meet and Greet Wolfnet on 2Meterband (145.400mHz) will also be done on Ship Mercator on Friday evening from 19utc till 22 utc. You can visit the clubstation on the ship during this four days. All HS4-visitors will receive a surprise, and all children will receive some candies made by Sophie 16HS1597. The target of the activation is promoting HS4. During Ostend at Anchor you are welcome in harbor Ostend where you can visit more than 100 ships, enjoy performances, visit museums dealing with the Northsea, enjoy belgian fish and beer or chocolate, folklore, fishermen songs, you can learn to make sailor knots, making a trip on the Northsea, etc... etc... : fun for young and old! Several European HS4-operators will visit this event. During our stay on board of Ship Mercator we will hand out some prizes in HS-coins. More info about this game will be given later. You can find our group on Facebook: HamSphere Late Night DX-gang. How to become a member? Visit this link... https://www.facebook.com/groups/LateNightDX/files/ and open the file 'MEMBERSHIPFORM.pdf' Vy 73 de ON8AIR Georg BARBARY - Clubfounder. Master DXer Awards As of 1st of Jan 2019 we have stopped with the Master DXer. Future awards to be expected later. Contests results HS 3 Christmas Contest 2018 Date: 26 Dec 2018 Here are the results from the HamSphere "Christmas Contest 2018" that was held 2018-12-26 08:30 to 11:00. The results are based on a properly filled out logbook and that power limitation were kept. We had a total of 26 participants this year. Congratulations to Angelo, 31HS688 who won this contest with the score of 1161. Well done! Results: https://www.hamsphere.com/26_52564_read.html HamSphere 3.0 International DX Contest 2019 Date:23 Feb 2019 Here are the results of the "HamSphere 3.0 International DX Contest 2019" that was held 2019-02-23. The results are based on a properly filled out logbook and that power limitation were kept. We had a total of 73 participants performing 1673 QSO's. Congratulations to Dainius M0HMJ who made the 1st place with the score of 26718 points. He receives a prize of a 1 year subscription. Dainius managed to complete 183 valid QSO's and 145 multipliers. Congratulations! Other winners are: 2nd place, Gaudentas LY3BHY with 12771 points = 6 months subscription 3rd place, Alex RA4PB with 11232 points = 5 months subscription 4th place, Angelo 31HS688 with 10764 points = 4 months subscription 5th place, Victor 50HS4778 with 10368 points = 3 months subscription 6th place, Miguel PU2MNQ with 7857 points = 2 months subscription 7th place, Luis EA6VY with 6392 points = 1 month subscription 8th place, Andy SP5IYV with 4118 points = 1 month subscription 9th place, Anatoly 50HS5550 with 4104 points = 1 month subscription 10th place, Tony MI6EJZ with 1872 points = 1 month subscription We send a big "Thank you" to all participants! Results: https://www.hamsphere.com/26_53064_read.html HamSphere 3.0 Spring Contest 2019 Date: 31 March 2019 Here are the results of the "surprise contest" "HamSphere 3.0 Spring Contest 2019" that was held 2019-03-31. The rules were not know upon the start of the contest and operators had to use their intuition. The results are based on a properly filled out logbook and that power limitation were kept. Despite the non-existent info, we had a total of 54 participants performing 325 QSO's. The winners: 1st place, Angelo 31HS688 with 1922 points = 6 months subscription 2nd place, Miguel PU2MNQ with 816 points = 3 months subscription 3rd place, Andy SP5IYV with 176 points = 1 month subscription We send a big "Thank you" to all participants! Results: https://www.hamsphere.com/26_53344_read.html RDF Contest (2019) Next RDF Contest is from 12 may to 20 may. 2019 (get your teams ready!!!) This is a special contest type of activity where the goal is to find the coordinates of Contest Beacons using RDF techniques. The goal is to use direction finding skills and work together as a team to work out the locations of the beacons. Welcome to join any of the RDF teams. Just follow the link to the official RFD group page on facebook and make yourself known. Next contest will start 12 Oct and stretch over 8 days. Remember, all coordination is done over the facebook group. 40HS12 40 Meter RDF Beacon 12-13 May, 7015 kHz 40HS14 40 Meter RDF Beacon 14-15 May, 7015 kHz 40HS16 40 Meter RDF Beacon 16-17 May, 7015 kHz 40HS18 40 Meter RDF Beacon 18-19 May, 7015 kHz 30HS12 30 Meter RDF Beacon 12-13 May, 10115 kHz 30HS14 30 Meter RDF Beacon 14-15 May, 10115 kHz 30HS16 30 Meter RDF Beacon 16-17 May, 10115 kHz 30HS18 30 Meter RDF Beacon 18-19 May, 10115 kHz 20HS12 20 Meter RDF Beacon 12-13 May, 14215 kHz 20HS14 20 Meter RDF Beacon 14-15 May, 14215 kHz 20HS16 20 Meter RDF Beacon 16-17 May, 14215 kHz 20HS18 20 Meter RDF Beacon 18-19 May, 14215 kHz 17HS12 17 Meter RDF Beacon 12-13 May, 18115 kHz 17HS14 17 Meter RDF Beacon 14-15 May, 18115 kHz 17HS16 17 Meter RDF Beacon 16-17 May, 18115 kHz 17HS18 17 Meter RDF Beacon 18-19 May, 18115 kHz 15HS12 15 Meter RDF Beacon 12-13 May, 21315 kHz 15HS14 15 Meter RDF Beacon 14-15 May, 21315 kHz 15HS16 15 Meter RDF Beacon 16-17 May, 21315 kHz 15HS18 15 Meter RDF Beacon 18-19 May, 21315 kHz Join the Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/672109146258046/ Latest Band plan on HamSphere 4.0 The 4.0 BC Band News The BC band on HS4 is booming. Many new stations this fall. Enjoy the excitement of the 48m band and its distinct propagation. If you want to start your own broadcast station. Please contact support https://www.hamsphere.com/support Radio COOL When you get bored or can't find someone to yak with in the Ham Bands of HS4, don't forget the 48 meter SW Broadcast Band. That's where you'll find the late-night/early-morning 'Live-Mic' BC station "Radio_COOL" on 6265 kHz. Totally Live, no automation, and always Live shout-outs to listeners that Spot or send QSL's with signal reports. And, Radio_COOL will always QSL 100%. Remember, the cards from BC stations will also count as a contact in your logbook, and toward awards! Important...To receive credit in your log and insure you receive a card from Radio_COOL, be sure you have the correct frequency (6265) on the card you send to Radio_COOL. On-Air frequently, and generally between 04:00 and 05:00 UTC, until... 73 and Good listening, de Bill Sutter - Radio_COOL (6265 kHz) aka: W2RST Gaffney, South Carolina - USA Radio ULM ON 6260 Khz LSB I am usually active on weekends from 17.00 UTC The music choice varies from Rock, Country, polka and oldies. We have now made it easier to send a BC account a QSL card on the correct freq. Go to the BC Band on the radio station freq. (exampl 6255 LSB) Open the HAMSPHERE 4.0 DX CLUSTER (Must not be on the logbook, click on "BACK" on the top right if necessary) Then click on the PTT button, go to the logbook, enter the name of the radio station and LOG QSO and send the QSL card. ALSO, DON'T FORGET TO CHECK OUT SOME OF THE OTHER HS4 BROADCASTERS! NEW BC Stations Station name :RADIO_7456 (Also 20HS324) Station manager Name:Oyvind QTH (City and Country): :Levanger Norway (Grid:JP53ps) BC freq.:6262 Khz on USB Station name:RADIO_NRC (also 1HS1926) Station manager Name:Silvio QTH (City and Country):Torino Italy (Grid: JN35ub) BC freq:6223 Khz on USB Station name:RADIO_LNDX (clubstation 16HC16) Station manager Name: 16HC16 (club) QTH (City and Country): Ostend Belgium. (Grid: JO11lf) BC freq.: 6267 Khz on USB Station name:Radio_NOR (also 16HS1033) Station manager Name: Nicosan QTH (City and Country):Antwerp Belgium (JO21ff) BC freq.: 6232 Khz on USB Station name:RADIO_MOOG (also 9HS3639) Station manager Name:George QTH (City and Country):Hamilton Canada -ON (GRID: FN03ag) BC freq.:6257 on USB Statio name:RADIO_NSK (also RA9OEU) Station manager Name:Vitaly QTH (City and Country):Novosibirsk Russia (GRID NO15la) BC freq.:6277 on USB Video Tutorials Mike WB7ECW tutorials: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/videos.php?external Bandscanner info: It has been brought to my attention that some users of the Band Scanner plugin would benefit greatly from a User Manual and/or a accessible How-To video. I just got done with a User Manual and will upload it to this group soon. It may end up being available in the Shop listing for the Band Scanner too. I've also added a Band Scanner video to my HS4 YouTube playlist. Here is a link to the video (which is the same that has been posted to this group before but should be easier to share with users who don't use Facebook): Instruction video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=11PBu32IYGc&feature=youtu.be Manual: https://hs40.hamsphere.com/band_scanner_manual.pdf 73 de Mike Walters WB7ECW Download the software Download HamSphere 3.0 for Windows, Linux and Mac Download HamSphere 4.0 for Windows, Linux and Mac Download HamSphere 4.0 for Android Use the Support Ticket System We have a 24-hour support ticket system where you can get support regarding anything about HamSphere. * Changing call signs * Technical problems * Suggestions * General questions, etc. https://www.hamsphere.com/support And remember, always state the HamSphere system (3.0 or 4.0) including operating system and computer model such as Windows, Mac. Linux etc for faster support. You can also attach a screenshot of the issue if you like. Geert 13HS575 HamSphere Support How to Subscribe The HamSphere annual subscription costs 30 Euro (plus VAT in EU), that is about $40 USD and includes all our features even the iPhone and Android apps. It also includes the standard 4.0 transceiver. Click here if you are interested in subscribing to HamSphere and get all features For many years our operators have asked for a Subscription alternative payment to PayPal. Finally we are able to process debit and credit cards directly via a Secure Payment Gateway. On public request we are now even selling 3 months subscriptions for 10 Euro. More on https://www.hamsphere.com/subscribe Lost Password / Restore data How do I get a new password? We get this question often. Here are two links to fix this. Click here to get a new password Or Click here to set your own password If it still doesn't work, please contact our support and we will manually give you a new password. Restore your HamSphere 4.0 rig: https://backup.hamsphere.com/restore_rig.php Links to official Facebook groups HamSphere Official 1-8 Net https://www.facebook.com/groups/330564887309180/ Digimodes on HamSphere https://www.facebook.com/groups/hamspheredatamodes/ HamSphere 4.0 - Show Your Rig https://www.facebook.com/groups/148521312150096/ HamSphere Main https://www.facebook.com/groups/hamsphere/ HamSphere 4.0 Main https://www.facebook.com/groups/hamsphere4.0/ HamSphere QSL-cards https://www.facebook.com/groups/1420003911568854/ HamSphere Late Night DX-gang https://www.facebook.com/groups/LateNightDX/ HamSphere SKED - QSO Scheduling https://www.facebook.com/groups/1012951745412722/ HamSphere 4.0 Broadcasters https://www.facebook.com/groups/HamSphere.Broadcasters Hamsphere Russian-language radio club https://www.facebook.com/groups/1734563776800249/ HamSphere 4.0 Technical Discussions https://www.facebook.com/groups/1467781153543883/ HamSphere 4.0 Mobile https://www.facebook.com/groups/HamSphere.4.0.Mobile/ HamSphere Contest Club (HSCC) https://www.facebook.com/groups/HamSphere.Contest.Club/ HamSphere India DX Net https://www.facebook.com/groups/HamSphere.IDXnet.HF.radio/ HamSphere CW Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/1399207190331834/ HamSphere on Twitter and Facebook We have now received over 70000 recommendations on Facebook – Thank you FB users. And Thank You to almost 10000 followers on Twitter. Super!! Follow HamSphere 4.0 on facebook There is so much information on all of our Facebook Groups to help you with queries and please, any questions just ask away, someone will be around to help with any questions that are asked. If you haven't joined any of our Facebook groups, do a search for "HamSphere" and you will find them and click on join to become a member. And our Facebook group Thank you for your interest and your continued Support. Kelly 5B4AIT HamSphere Founder Co-Editor: Geert 13HS575 / RADIO_ULM
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