Ham Radio: WSPR Set-Up on WSJT-X - In Under 4 Minutes
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ต.ค. 2024
- A challenge to myself - Can I make a short (not “Shorts”) video that provides good info and is under 4 minutes long. At 3 minutes and 51 seconds, I count this as a win… Hope you agree.
The Weak Signal Propagation Report (WSPR) mode is unique in the world of ham radio. Very little interaction and no direct exchanges. Instead, you put out your information with a low speed digital signal, while other’s around the world see if they can hear you. Then you listen for others doing the same thing. Everything that is received by people participating in WSPR is reported to the WSPRnet.org website and a searchable database is developed.
Chapters
00:03 Intro
00:20 WSPR Set-Up
01:56 WSPRnet.org Database Demo
02:58 Why is WSPR important to you
03:37 End Notes
#sporadic e #wspr mode #WSJT-X
This is the most simple of questions. I had one operator tell me that you should NOT use your tuner when doing WSPR. I have a 1200' loop fed with open wire so I need to tune for every band.
Opinions differ on this. If you set your rig to 5 watts, tune slightly off the WSPR frequency, and tune up there, you shouldn't interfere with anyone. Repeat for each band that you plan on using and the tuning memory (provided you have an automatic tuner, not a manual one) should make it so you don't have to tune again. If you do have a manual one, just tune off frequency (1 KHz would be more than sufficient - use your best judgement). 73 de Tom, ND3N
Thanks Tom - this was very helpful. 73s.
Glad it was helpful!
That's awesome Tom! Thank You!
WSPR will reveal when the propagation supports making contact, but you also need to consider when people may be asleep. As with you in this video, they may leave WSPR running all night as they sleep. So just because WSPR was heard, the human operators may not be on the air at that wee hour.
Thanks for this video although it was a bit fast for me, I'm a newby with wspr and definitely want to try since I'm lovin ft8 mode already. Thank you and look forward to watch more.
If you’re already doing FT8 on WSJT-X all you need to do is change the mode using the pull down menu. Make sure you set your schedule and enable your transmit. Then sit back and watch the magic happen. Play with the other setting just to see what happens. Let me know how comes out for you…. 73 debTom
@@ND3N what is the minimum and maximum output for normal operations? and can it be any band from 10 to 40meters?
@@ND3N how to set the schedule?
I use 5 watts but that’s only because my radio doesn’t go lower. Whatever level you decide on, make sure you set the power output on the settings pull down. You may use any ham band from DC to light. Your only limit will be your radio and antenna system…
For how I set my schedule, look at around 1:10 in the video to see how I set mine. You’ll need to modify for bands where your antenna is resonant
So, the first thing you say (in this "setup" video) is that you presume we have all of our "settings right there" and our CAT setup. Where can we find out how to get to that point? The title says "setup" but you skip over that. I have just downloaded and installed the program. I think the title needs a change. I'll come back when I get the presumed part done.
General comment: Setting the transmit schedule to match the existing human understanding of radio propagation simply reinforces that same present human understanding. It's not the open-minded approach that would stumble across anything new. Not a big deal, but worth being aware of; again just as a general comment.
A question about WSJT/WSPR ... All of a sudden my "Enable TX' button is RED all the time. Even when in receive mode. When I am in FT8 it doesn't go on/off as it usually does. Any ideas why?
First, what kind of rig are you using. Second, is your rig always transmitting or does it alternate between xmt and rcv?
@@ND3N wanted to let you knnow that I found it a software configuration I had made. Fixed the problem. Thanks for getting back with me 73 KL5NU
I have enjoyed WSPR mode in the past years, getting to see propagation and information about my signal as well as how far 5 watts will go. I have been trying for the past few months to use it again with no luck ! I can do FT8 no problem , but switching to WSPR mode will not populate any contacts on grid tracker, no reports on WSJTX and no reports on the WSPR MAP. The cat control works fine, radio cycles thru different bands, with TX and RX. But all of these programs do not acknowledge that my radio is working ???? I have been thru my settings many times, and as stated FT8 works flawless, any suggestions or idea would be greatly appreciated !
Hey sir, thanks for the video. However what happens if you don't have AGC off abilities? I have mine set on medium will that work okay?
Also, when you said RF gain all the way up, for me that ends up being squelched do you just mean all the way at full receipt before squelching?
That should work
Thx for sharing. 73 Kc1ero
Thanks for watching!
Answers why use wspr
I just started it and am getting feedback on 7 and 14 in the past 20 minutes. OBTW since I'm doing band switching, how does my radio know to tune each? IC-7300.
I believe (not an expert) that your IC-7300 has a built in automatic antenna tuner. This means that if you tune one time within about 25KHz, your rig will remember the tuning settings and switch to them without having to re-run a tuning cycle. I don't have a IC-7300, so no experience with it, but it's a pretty common feature in most modern HF rigs. hope this helps - 73 de Tom, ND3N
Tried it got transmit but after 2 min get a process error no file…..
I'm sorry to hear about this. Are you able to run the other WSJT-X modes? From my experience, if you can get on FT-8, WSPR shouldn't be too much of a reach. I had a similar problem with one of the earlier versions a few months or a year ago. Upgrading to the latest version seems to have cleared it up. When I did this video I let it run for about 30 hours and had no errors. If you have a WSJT-X expert in your area, maybe they can take a look and figure out what's going on. Let me know if the problem gets resolved (post it so everyone can share the knowledge).
@@ND3N updated to 2.4.0 and works great. 73 Kc1ero
Fantastic!!!