K5CM FMT June 11, 2013 (9:30 PM CDT)
TX Frequencies
K5CM 1st run (horizontal) - 7054463.437 ...... Second run (Vertical) 7054480.677
W6OQI - 14121132.234
Comments
| W6OQI | LAX | DM04vf | K5CM signals from both antennas were good here in Southern California. I believe the second 40 meter signal had a little more Doppler shift. |
| KK4KAZ/2 | SNJ | FM29ln | My first time with crude measurements using Elecraft KX3 on USB w/estimated calibration from WWV, and "fldigi" set for frequency analysis at ~1000 Hz. Expected accuracy ~ 1 or 2 Hz (maybe). I hope to have GPS stabilized 1 PPS & 10 MHz Reference, with cycle counter next time for much better accuracy of ~ 0.01 Hz? We'll see! |
| N2GL | OR | CN85kp | Thanks for the test Connie and Charles. I am getting rusty. Measured with GPS locked HP 35861 Selective Level Meter. |
| N5DM | STX | EL29fs | K5CM S9+10/QSB. 2nd transmission...carrier unstable. W6OQI S9+20/Solid. 2nd NW transmission was -.450Hz (lower) than first transmission (14121132.850). |
| AB4RS | VA | FM18hw | Mixed it up a little this time around from my usual method. Used a recently acquired HP 3586b, locked to the 10 MHz reference from a Trimble Thunderbolt to tune the RF. Sampled the IF using computer soundcard in SpectrumLab, calibrated the soundcard immediately before and after each test to a 15,625 Hz tone generated by a HP 3336c. Made the measurement directly from the IF. K5CM signals came in strong. I neglected to record the strength of the first run, the second measured at -83 dBm. I could hear both of K6OQI's runs, the first was much stronger (-80 dBm) than the second (-103 dBm), but I used the measurement from the second run. |
| W9ZB | IN | EM69xp | Signals strong with rapid doppler effects. 1st 40M sig slightly stronger than 2nd. (Didn't get a good observation.) 1st 20M sig peaked S9+20; 2nd, S9+5. |
| ku4py | AL | EM62wj | I used a vertical throughout the test. I did notice a slight difference in signal strength in the 4om transmissions. The first one seemed stronger to me. All the carriers were clear and strong. The calibration freqs. were as close to the measured signals as possible. A ragchew on 40m may have influenced the readings. |
| K9KK | OK | EM15 | 40M QRM was INCREDIBLE. 20M EAST signal Very GOOD.. 20M NW signal GOOD. Challenging and fun. Thanks Connie an Marv. 20M NW signal was about 0.195 Hertz lower than NW signal, GO FIGURE ??? Submitted average..... |
| K5RKS | OK | EM15 | This was a good FMT. K5CM's signals were both about S9 here. I copied both of W6OQI's runs but for some reason the 2nd xmission, which was pointed to JA land, was more stable here so I am sending my measurement from the second of W6OQI's runs. |
| K5XL | NTX | EM12kp | Both K5CM signals peaked S9 with lots of fading and doppler. W6OQI signal beamed East was +10DB over S9. Setup here is Flex-1500 with Trimble Thunderbolt GPSDO using Spectrum Lab to measure approx 500 hertz tone. Thanks for FMT! |
| KG0HY | NE | EN20 | Signals from K5CM were fair, W6OQI was very good. For 40M use inverted V dual dipole 4.8/9.9MHz, and a HF yagi. Receiver is WinRadio G313, used CHU after the test to check calibration. |
| VE3OAT | ON | FN25eg | A little 40 m QRM to make life interesting. Good signals all around and I even got reasonable reception of W6OQI's NW beam. This time using a Thunderbolt GPSDO instead of my old HP. It seems to work well but I think I am out of practice again. |
| AF9A | IN | EM69wv | Thanks! |
| KM6QX | EB | CM87 | W6OQI's two doppler shifted spectrums were completly different 330mi NW of him here. I picked maybe the only common peak hoping it wasn't shifted. Using Pixel loop antenna with Flex-1500 and Spectrum Lab. John Stuart, Lafayette CA. |
| K7TT | WWA | CN87wp | 40M signal very noisy and wide ... about 1 hertz from atmospherics I assume. 20M signal very good but still wide here in Western Washington state. Pointed this direction was much stronger but both very good. Jim |
| W3JW | VA | FM17tn | Signals were moderate to strong. Doppler/multipath spread was significant on both bands. The antenna used for both 40M and 20M was an inverted-L (vertical portion 65 feet; horizontal portion 120 feet; elevated radials). The antenna was connected to the receiver through an "antenna tuner" set appropriately for the band in use. The difference between my first and second run, 20M averages was 8 millihertz. |
| K8CT | MI | EN83ce | All good signal strengths here in Michigan with lots of Doppler...Tnx Connie for the test.. |
| K5CM | OK | EM25 | Strong 20 meter signal from Marvin. My reading was from the East run. |
K5CM 40 Meter run.
No definitive conclusions can be drawn as to the best polarization. An improved Vertical antenna will be used on the next test.
| call | Section | Grid | TX Horizontal | Measured Horizontal | Error in Hz | Error in PPX | TX Vertical | Measured Vertical | Error in Hz | Error in PPX | Best |
| AB4RS | VA | FM18hw | 7054463.437 | 7054463.397 | -0.040 | 5.67E-09 | 7054480.677 | 7054480.663 | -0.014 | 1.98E-09 | v |
| KM6QX | EB | CM87 | 7054463.437 | 7054463.253 | -0.184 | 2.61E-08 | 7054480.677 | 7054480.66 | -0.017 | 2.41E-09 | v |
| W9ZB | IN | EM69xp | 7054463.437 | 7054463.2 | -0.237 | 3.36E-08 | 7054480.677 | 7054480.57 | -0.107 | 1.52E-08 | v |
| W3JW | VA | FM17tn | 7054463.437 | 7054463.529 | 0.092 | 1.30E-08 | 7054480.677 | 7054480.805 | 0.128 | 1.81E-08 | h |
| K5RKS | OK | EM15 | 7054463.437 | 7054462.97 | -0.467 | 6.62E-08 | 7054480.677 | 7054480.54 | -0.137 | 1.94E-08 | v |
| K8CT | MI | EN83ce | 7054463.437 | 7054463.461 | 0.024 | 3.40E-09 | 7054480.677 | 7054480.504 | -0.173 | 2.45E-08 | h |
| VE3OAT | ON | FN25eg | 7054463.437 | 7054463.022 | -0.415 | 5.88E-08 | 7054480.677 | 7054480.49 | -0.187 | 2.65E-08 | v |
| AF9A | IN | EM69wv | 7054463.437 | 7054463.542 | 0.105 | 1.49E-08 | 7054480.677 | 7054480.881 | 0.204 | 2.89E-08 | h |
| K7TT | WWA | CN87wp | 7054463.437 | 7054462.956 | -0.481 | 6.82E-08 | 7054480.677 | 7054480.313 | -0.364 | 5.16E-08 | v |
| W6OQI | LAX | DM04vf | 7054463.437 | 7054463.168 | -0.269 | 3.81E-08 | 7054480.677 | 7054480.298 | -0.379 | 5.37E-08 | h |
| K5XL | NTX | EM12kp | 7054463.437 | 7054463.243 | -0.194 | 2.75E-08 | 7054480.677 | 7054481.067 | 0.390 | 5.53E-08 | h |
| KG0HY | NE | EN20 | 7054463.437 | 7054463.2 | -0.237 | 3.36E-08 | 7054480.677 | 7054480.25 | -0.427 | 6.05E-08 | h |
| N5DM | STX | EL29fs | 7054463.437 | 7054463.75 | 0.313 | 4.44E-08 | 7054480.677 | 7054481.25 | 0.573 | 8.12E-08 | h |
| N2GL | OR | CN85kp | 7054463.437 | 7054463 | -0.437 | 6.19E-08 | 7054480.677 | 7054480 | -0.677 | 9.60E-08 | h |
| ku4py | AL | EM62wj | 7054463.437 | 7054463.375 | -0.062 | 8.79E-09 | 7054480.677 | 7054579.37 | 98.693 | 1.40E-05 | |
| K9KK | OK | EM15 | 7054463.437 | 7055536.538 | 1073.101 | 1.52E-04 | 7054480.677 | 7055519.512 | 1038.835 | 1.47E-04 | |
| KK4KAZ/2 | SNJ | FM29ln | 7054463.437 | 7055954 | 1490.563 | 2.11E-04 | 7054480.677 | 7055954 | 1473.323 | 2.09E-04 |
W6OQI 20 Meter run
| Call | Section | Grid | TX Frequency | Measured Freq | Error in Hz | Error in PPX |
| K5CM | OK | EM25 | 14121132.234 | 14121132.240 | 0.006 | 4.25E-10 |
| N2GL | OR | CN85kp | 14121132.234 | 14121132.200 | -0.034 | 2.41E-09 |
| K5XL | NTX | EM12kp | 14121132.234 | 14121132.193 | -0.041 | 2.90E-09 |
| K7TT | WWA | CN87wp | 14121132.234 | 14121131.944 | -0.290 | 2.05E-08 |
| K9KK | OK | EM15 | 14121132.234 | 14121131.933 | -0.301 | 2.13E-08 |
| K8CT | MI | EN83ce | 14121132.234 | 14121131.892 | -0.342 | 2.42E-08 |
| W3JW | VA | FM17tn | 14121132.234 | 14121131.809 | -0.425 | 3.01E-08 |
| AF9A | IN | EM69wv | 14121132.234 | 14121131.732 | -0.502 | 3.55E-08 |
| AB4RS | VA | FM18hw | 14121132.234 | 14121131.619 | -0.615 | 4.36E-08 |
| VE3OAT | ON | FN25eg | 14121132.234 | 14121131.592 | -0.642 | 4.55E-08 |
| KM6QX | EB | CM87 | 14121132.234 | 14121132.921 | 0.687 | 4.87E-08 |
| K5RKS | OK | EM15 | 14121132.234 | 14121131.518 | -0.716 | 5.07E-08 |
| W9ZB | IN | EM69xp | 14121132.234 | 14121131.250 | -0.984 | 6.97E-08 |
| N5DM | STX | EL29fs | 14121132.234 | 14121133.300 | 1.066 | 7.55E-08 |
| KG0HY | NE | EN20 | 14121132.234 | 14121130.950 | -1.284 | 9.09E-08 |
| ku4py | AL | EM62wj | 14121132.234 | 14121130.736 | -1.498 | 1.06E-07 |
| KK4KAZ/2 | SNJ | FM29ln | 14121132.234 | 14121134.900 | 2.666 | 1.89E-07 |
Transmitting equipment used by K5CM for this FMT:
A HP Z3801 GPS frequency source clocks a HP-3336B. The output is feed to a 10 db transistor amp which drives a 12BY7 / pair 6146. The output power was set to 50 watts for the dipole and 200 watts for the vertical. There are no mixers or any device in the chain of amplifiers that might impact the accuracy of the GPS frequency source. As a reality check, I periodically log the frequency source against WWV and other GPS referenced sources. I monitor each transmission with a completely separate receive system to look for any instability or short term drift.
I typically see considerably less than 1 mHz difference at 10 Mhz when comparing two Z3801's or a Z3801 and a Thunderbolt, over a 10 to 10,000 second period.
Antennas:
160 - Vertical
80 - New Sloping dipole. Sloping down from 140'. (favors West, North, East)
40 - Standard Dipole hanging between two 80 foot towers. (favors East, West)
40 - 18 foot Vertical mounted on the roof with two tuned 1/4 wave elevated radials.
20 - 4el SteppIR at 70'
Current W6OQI FMT transmitting equipment for this FMT:
My Transmitting setup consists of a HP Z3801 clocking a HP 3336B which drives a Johnson Viking I transmitter, the output of which is attenuated by a 6 db attenuator, to then drive an Icom PW-1 amplifier to about 500 watts. The antenna is a 3 element tribander .
Note: Because I put the results up quickly, there will be mistakes, so don't hesitate to point them out quickly.
73,
Connie
K5CM