Topband: CW Skimmer, PJ2T During 2009 CQWW 160 CW (w/Audio)

[Jeffrey Maass K8ND]

Based on feedback received, I've re-recorded the demo of CW Skimmer at PJ2T
during the 2009 CQWW 160 CW Contest to include audio. The description is
below.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uE7n3J9OAM8

&feature=youtu.be  
[VIEWING FULL-SCREEN RECOMMENDED]

A demonstration of CW Skimmer, recorded during the 2009 CQWW 160 CW Contest
at the PJ2T contest station on Curacao in the Southern Caribbean during
sunrise in Central Europe. The receiver was a RFSPACE SDR-IQ and the antenna
was a 1000-foot Europe Beverage. 

On the left is the Writelog Bandmap window, to the right are the CW Skimmer
windows. This shows the spots made by CW Skimmer in just 2minutes 47
seconds, as if the receiver and CW Skimmer were first started at the
beginning of the period shown. These spots were captured even while PJ2T was
calling CQ and working stations (as you can see in the overload on the right
window and hear in the audio). 

During the recording of the video, I selected some spotted stations on the
CW Skimmer screen: DL1AUZ, MD4K, G4BJ, YU1LA, and PJ2T. This shows how even
today, 4+ years later, I can listen in on any station in the recorded 192
KHz bandwidth of the CW Skimmer recording made in 2009! this is the
technology in use by contest sponsors now to check operations of top scorers
and suspected cheaters.

A block diagram of the station configuration used during this 2009 contest
at PJ2T is shown at:
http://www.k8nd.com/Radio/CW_Skimmer/PJ2T_CW_Skimmer_CQ160CW_2009.jpg . 

The Afreet CW Skimmer is an invaluable contest tool for the Multi-Operator
or Assisted class contester!


73,  Jeff K8ND



_
Topband Reflector

Topband: CW Skimmer, PJ2T During 2009 CQWW 160 CW

[Jeffrey Maass K8ND]

I've recorded a short (90 second) video of CW Skimmer operation during the
2009 CQWW 160 CW Contest at PJ2T, as a demonstration of the value of CW
Skimmer to the Multi-Op or Single-Op Assisted contester. It's posted on
YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZarmnghuQK8 (Viewing in
'Fullscreen' strongly recommended!) 

This 90 seconds was recorded on January 24 starting at 0514Z, as sunrise was
moving across Central Europe. The receiver was an RFSPACE SDR-IQ and the
antenna was the PJ2T 1000-foot Europe Beverage. The entire 25 hours of
operation were recorded during the contest, and this is a short sample of
that set of recordings. Typically, we have two or three CW Skimmers running
during a Topband contest, each listening on a different receive antenna. The
typical configuration is shown at
http://www.k8nd.com/Radio/Planning/CQWW160/PJ2T_CW_Skimmer_CQWW160CW_2013.pd
f. 

Shown in the video is a Writelog Bandmap window on the left, and the CW
Skimmer windows on the right. This is exactly what CW Skimmer would have
spotted had it been turned on at the beginning of the recording: the video
is not speeded-up in any way. The spots shown were decoded while PJ2T was
calling CQ and working stations at 84 QSOs per hour in the same room, and
you will see the overload on the Skimmer display. Although CW Skimmer
decodes all callsigns, only those callsigns calling CQ are passed via telnet
to Writelog. Note that CW Skimmer decoded 240 callsigns during that
90-second period!

CW Skimmer is an invaluable contest tool! 

73,  Jeff K8ND

(PJ2T was the #3 Multi-Op in the 2009 CQWW 160 CW Contest and set a new
South America record. Operators K8ND and W8WTS)




_
Topband Reflector

Topband: PJ2T: New 160 Meter Antenna Tests

[Jeffrey Maass K8ND]

The 12-year-old Topband antenna and feedline at the PJ2T contest station on
Curacao has been replaced, and will be tested tonight.

 

Signal reports welcome!

 

 

73,  Jeff K8ND

 

(No, I'm not there until November!)

 

_
Topband Reflector