Activation on 630m

Activation Reports
1

My favorite Summit DM/NS-122, with over 250 activations, was amazed today.

A crossband activation on 473 kHz / 145 MHz and an SSB QSO on 1296.200 in SSB with the handheld radio. Curious?
73 Chris

26 Likes
2

Chris,

Well done on the 630m, I’m intrigued by your antenna matching unit.

Some years ago I built a 630m transverter but it’s only been used for wspr, you’ve now got me thinking, could I operate from a summit.

73 de Steve

4 Likes
3

Six hundred and thirty meters

.Christ on a bike! That’s like

.. this many top bands stuck together! (Illustrated below). :star_struck:

jylwXI

Well done for an amazing set up and activation. :star_struck:

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4

Fabulous stuff. Thanks for the videos!

1 Like
5

Nice work on 630m. How long did it take you to setup the antenna?

1 Like
6

I think it took 15 minutes. First, I throw the line into the tree for the vertical part and pull up the antenna. Then twice more for the horizontal part. Finally, I set up the three radials.

It sometimes takes time when the line doesn’t come down immediately with the weight and I have to so to speak “wave” the line. It’s hard to describe, hence the video clip below.

For almost all of my shortwave activations, I throw the antenna this way into trees, but only 20 meters for a inverted Vee EFHW.

73 Chris

7 Likes
7

Thank you Chris,

I enjoyed watching your videos. Your enthusiasm and excitement is contagious.

Your 630m activations are inspirational and have encouraged me to explore how I can get on the band.

I look forward to reading your next report.

73, Kevin

4 Likes
8

This evening I powered my 630m TX with WsprNet. 10W and laid out 50m of wire in the attic as an antenna. Below is the result.

Next Tuesday at noon, I’ll activate a Summit, among others, on 630m, over a 35km distance to the chaser. I’m curious to see if it works.

73 Chris

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9 Likes
9

Hi Chris, in the past month I am experimenting with ferrite antennas and periodically trying to ‘listen’ on 630m WSPR. So far only getting a handful of stations and only two from Germany, but that is on a ferrit, so no complains :slight_smile: If you know the night you are planning to TX I can leave my system on, to see if I can copy you at all.

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3 Likes
10

It’s nice to read that you can hear at 630 meters even with a small ferrite antenna. Conditions will surely improve with the coming fall and winter. I’m planning an evening activation with a better antenna soon and will let you know in time.

73 Chris

3 Likes
11

Today, Uwe DK8OA and I had our second activation on 630m. The distance from Hammersteins Höhe to chaser Manfred DL6OBJ was 39km.

The antenna was 12m above ground and the report was 549. Again via crossband 2m. You can hear the received signal back by 2m. (NO S2S as I say in the clip.)

73 Chris

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7 Likes
12

Today I set up my 630m equipment in the allotment garden. 10m vertical and 30m horizontal as top load. Two 20m radials. Unfortunately, my chaser was at the doctor’s, so I sent WsprNet for fun.

Oops, I was registered 200km away, all the way to the Netherlands, and it was midday.

73 Chris

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13

Vy cool Chris! That’s true ham radio spirit :slight_smile:

1 Like
14

A group has formed in southern Germany that is interested in the 630m waveband. Among them are Roman, DL3TU and Armin DL6GCA. Our goal is s2s contacts

Roman also receives the digital mode WsprNet, but unfortunately, he has no signal from me. I was registered in the UK for this. My antenna under the roof is also very inefficient.

I’m planning an evening activation with a better antenna in the next few weeks.

73 Chris

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8 Likes
15

Thanks for suggesting this experiment, Chris! It was lots of fun trying, even though I couldn’t copy your signal. I have some ideas how to improve Rx sensitivity, but for now I managed to fry the BF998 in my Mini-Whip because of a (stuppidly) reversed polarity DC plug :confounded: :angry: :enraged_face:

73 and hope to hear you soon,
Roman

4 Likes
16

Here’s a simple introduction to operating on the 630m band, especially for Sota activists. Unfortunately, only in German, but perhaps AI can translate it live?!

73 Chris

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17

Good explanation of the challenges of working towards a 630m SOTA S2S! I turned on auto translate in settings on Youtube for perfect English translation.

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18

That’s good to hear. Normally, I’d have to type the German text, translate it, and print it out as a template. It’s a lot of work, but it’s helped me improve my English.
73 Chris

2 Likes
19

Next activation on 630m with Uwe, DK8OA

Received in a noisy big city

73 Chris

6 Likes
20

Great result Chris! I suspect you could be heard further than 42km, one of the challenges with 630m is there are so few receiving stations around to give you reports. Have you looked to see if there is any WSPR on 630m in your region? You won’t make QSOs but WSPR woud be the best monitoring mechanism for your LF experiments.

5 Likes