30 Meter Delta Loop

I have often lamented that I have no antennas for the WARC bands: 30, 17 and 12 meters. Making or buying antennas for these bands is easy enough, it's just that I primarily focus on the HF contest bands and I don't want to crowd the towers and create unwanted interactions. I have relied for years on antennas that can be matched with a rig ATU (or the wide range of a manually-tuned tube amp), and kept pushing off better performing antennas for those bands.

I can get away with it since many of my antennas are high. Height can compensate for poor efficiency and pattern. I do pretty well in the DX pile ups on those bands. Nevertheless it is a gap in my station. In the heat of summer and while waiting for the hay to be harvested I decided to undertake construction of a simple 30 meter antenna. 

Although it's simple, it is worth an article. The reason is that many of the mechanical and electrical issues I dealt with are commonly encountered by hams choosing, designing and building antennas. Hopefully this somewhat lengthy article will prove helpful to some readers. 

I had several objectives for the antenna's design and deployment:

• DX friendly: I operate the WARC bands solely to chase DX. That means low elevation angles.
• Omni-directional: Directionality requires rotation or electrical direction switching, which is far more investment than I want for a simple antenna that will not see heavy use.
• Interaction: My contest band antennas have priority. I won't tolerate interactions (which are almost always detrimental) from this antenna.
• Support: The main towers are in a hay field. I need the antenna to be entirely off the ground, including supports, so that tractors can freely drive beneath it.
• Simplicity: I have enough maintenance challenges that I do not want this new antenna to create a lot of unwanted work in the future.

My choice was a vertically polarized delta loop, fed ¼ of the side length up from a bottom corner. This is a common method to achieve vertical polarization in a delta loop. Elevation angle is low, it's omni-directional, doesn't interact with horizontal yagis, and it's simple.

In this model, the delta loop is 1 meter from tower centre and the bottom is 5 meters high -- as built, the antenna is 0.7 meters from tower centre and 6 meters high. That places the apex at about 15 meters, about 8 meters below the lower 5-element yagi of the 20 meter stack. There is one guy threading the delta loop since the lowest guy station is at ~30' (9 m). 

I modelled the tower as a long, thick vertical wire. As for shunt feeding the tower on 160 meters, I had to estimate the effective (electrical) height to approximate capacitance loading of the several yagis. I omitted the guys since they are broken into short non-resonant sections and likely have a small effect. Longer guy segments are located far from the tower and will not affect the delta loop even if there is near resonance at 10.1 MHz. I am more attentive to the effects for a directional antenna since the pattern nulls are easily perturbed.

The tower affects both pattern and resonance. It will still work if placed snug against the tower -- with suitable insulation since that's a high voltage node on the loop -- but will be detuned. If placed further outboard it can become difficult to install and maintain, and the pattern becomes more directional. I wrote about these parameters long long ago.

Rather than ask you to interpret those old words, here are a few notes to keep in mind:

• I used NEC5. Although accuracy is not critical for this antenna, the close spacing of the delta loop and tower is challenging for NEC2. There is no good way to align wire segments as NEC2 requires. Resonance dropped 500 kHz in NEC5 compared to NEC2. From my field measurements while building this antenna, NEC5 better reflects reality.
• The electrical height of the tower affects antenna resonance a small amount so it is not critical. Other factors dominate this antenna's behaviour.
• The closer the delta loop and tower the more omni-directional the pattern and the lower the resonant frequency. The first makes sense since with closer spacing the induced current will be closer in amplitude and phase.
• Why the strong coupling? Look at the current plot (above left). For a vertically polarized delta loop the voltage nodes (current nulls) are at the two points where the loop and tower are closest and therefore coupling greatest. This is a critical component of Moxon design, as one example. For a delta loop we need to be aware of the coupling if only because it affects antenna dimensions and demands good insulators at bottom centre and apex.

My initial estimate for the loop perimeter length was far off! I neglected to account for the above effects, opting for extra length and then trimming, and I was misled by my initial use of NEC2 within EZNEC. The initial test placed the resonance at 9.0 MHz or more than 10% long. Following up with NEC5 gave a better estimate. Trimming came later. The discussion about the SWR below was using NEC2, which caused several issues, as we'll see.

30 meters is only 50 kHz wide (0.5%) so it is easy to achieve a low SWR across the band, as the NEC2 model's SWR demonstrates. The matching network is a λ/4 transformer made from a 4.9 meter length of 75 Ω coax, included in the EZNEC model. The NEC2 unadjusted feed point impedance is about 115 Ω, which is typical for a full wave loop. The feed point is ¼ leg length (2.5 m) from a bottom corner. If you prefer a mix of vertical and horizontal radiation, a typical choice is to feed the antenna at a bottom corner. Expect a small impedance change, though not enough to justify a different matching network.

That's enough for now about the NEC2 model. Let's move onto construction before dealing with the model errors. Despite being a simple antenna there are several potential trouble points to be considered.

The bottom of the delta loop is made from aluminum tubing. This was done to meet the criterion of no ground anchors. I chose a couple of long tapered surplus yagi elements from my aluminum stock and spliced the inner 1" OD tubes with a 1.315" pipe. It's about 9.5 meters long -- the 3 sides add up to about 30 meters, or 1 wavelength). 

Surplus #12 insulated wire from a decades-old wire antenna was used for the two sides. The EZNEC wires include the insulation since the lower velocity factor shortens the required length, typically 2% (VF of 0.98). As is typically recommended for wire antennas, I cut the wires a little long. They can be trimmed to bring the antenna into resonance where you want.

The sides of the loop pull up the drooping long bottom tubing and provide tension to the structure. The tower bracket keeps the bottom in position and prevents it from rotating in the wind (picture and description further below). The ABS pipe insulates the bracket from the antenna. A good insulator is needed since the centre of the bottom side is at a voltage node.

A vertically-polarized full-wave loop doesn't have to be high to work well. As you take it higher there is more radiation at higher elevation angles and that is usually (but not always!) less than ideal for DXing. However, ground loss increases at lower heights. There's a tradeoff. 

I had to choose a height that minimized potential interaction with the 20 meter yagi up 23 meters while allowing clearance for farm machinery. My initial choice of 4.5 meters was increased to 6 meters to be certain of avoiding collisions. It is still well below the bottom 20 meter yagi.

The other interaction consideration is the cage gamma rod alongside the tower. The tower is shunt fed on 160 meters. There will likely be a tuning impact on 160 that I'll have to compensate for. Since the radials are removed for farming operations that can't be done yet.

I temporarily connected the delta loop to the 160 meter transmission line and made the required changes in my antenna selector software. By fall, when the 160 meter antenna is back in service, I'll add an auxiliary switch so that the antennas can share the transmission line. There is no foreseeable case where both antennas will be used at the same time.

I made brackets in my workshop for connecting the wire sides of the loop to the aluminum tubing bottom. Small strips of aluminum are held to the tube by hose clamps. There is a lip to keep the strips from slipping out. The wires are connected to the slanted upward end of the bracket by ¼" stainless bolt. Smaller bolts are strong enough but the smaller washers are insufficiently wide for wrapping #12 wire. The wire ends are looped and tinned for strength and to protect against corrosion, respectively.

The brackets can be slid along the tube for fine adjustment of antenna resonance without having to cut the wires. That feature came in useful.

The ¼λ transformer is made from RG59. It is found cheaply at local flea markets and is sufficient for the lower power permitted on 30 meters. It might handle a kilowatt but I don't intend to find out! The coax is coiled into a scramble wound CMC (common mode choke). It's less than ideal but good enough for a simple antenna like this one. Use a better choke if you prefer, but take into account its weight on the wire side of the loop.

When I modelled the antenna I added wires to simulate common mode on the outer side of the coax shield going down to the ground. To my surprise it had a deleterious impact on the pattern. Modelling the coax outer shield proved beneficial since even simple antennas can behave in ways you might not expect.

The RG59 solid centre conductor is fragile so I didn't want it swinging in the wind. Coiling the coax and binding it to the feed point insulator helps to avoid trouble. There is no wind induced flexing of either the open wire ends of the RG59 or the antenna wires. I added a short length of stranded and tinned wire to the centre conductor to further protect it should there be any unexpected movement. Weatherproofing of the open RG59 end was done after the picture was taken.

The LMR400 feed line is unsupported between the feed point and the tower. One advantage of LMR400 in this application is that it is lighter than many alternatives, included the heavier RG213. Their wind loads are equal and that may be a factor of coax choice if strong wind is a concern. RG58 might be a better choice for that case but, again, power handling might be an issue for bands other than 30 meters.

When the wire sides were draped over the tower guy station and connected to the bottom section, the bottom corners of the loop were slightly off the ground. This was my chance to do a "sanity" check. It may seem odd if you've never seen it done before, I connected the analyzer and swept the SWR over a wide range. 

Obviously the antenna is nowhere near functional in this state! However, this test will indicate whether the antenna is functional. There will be excess ground loss and significantly lowered resonance since it is sitting on the ground, and the apex is draped over a conductor (the guy station anchor). The SWR dip down to about 4 at 8 MHz was a satisfactory result. Had there been no dip around that frequency I would have checked all the connections to see if there was a mistake. I've done the same test with tri-band yagis propped up a few feet above ground.

Confident that the antenna was approximately correct, I weatherproofed the exposed conductors and capped the coax connector. Raising the delta loop for a proper test was delayed a few days while I attended to other matters during a bout of extreme heat (well, for us). Working outdoors was unpleasant.

The apex of the raised delta loop is a convenient distance below the long tube that supports the top of the 160 meter gamma rod. So that became the upper support. Rather than tying the dacron rope directly to the wire, I routed the wire over a large thimble I pulled from my junk box. The thimble avoids a sharp bend in the wire and makes it easy to level the loop by sliding the wire over it. Since I was working alone I did it by observing the antenna's shadow. 

Under tension the friction is high enough that the insulated wire is unlikely to shift. But it wouldn't be a bad idea to connect the wires on both sides of the thimble to limit motion. Don't pinch the wire since that can alter the tuning. Instead use a length of PVC or other plastic rod. Make it longer and the interior angle can be raised from 45° to the ideal 60°. The acute angle is due to wire sag. I can't increase wire tension any further since that pulls up the ends of the tube bottom side.

The support rope is looped over the gamma rod support tube several times. Tension and friction prevent the rope creeping along the tube. The rope is loosely tied to the tower to prevent it blowing in the wind. It is not a truss for the tube, as it may appear in the picture; the tube is strong enough on its own.

This is a view from the ground of the bottom side bracket. The hardware store utility angle is not strong enough for this application but it was handy and didn't require that I do any drilling. There is very little weight on the bracket since the apex support rope takes much of the strain. However, the wind load on a 10 meter long tapered tube is a danger. The ropes on either side of the ABS pipe provide lateral support.

If the antenna works well I'll replace the bracket with a stronger one. There is no rush. 

When I tested the antenna in its final configuration it resonated at 9 MHz. That's more than 10% low! After further tests and modelling using NEC5 (as discussed earlier) I lopped 1 meter off each of the two sides -- shortening the loop by 7%. That's less than 10% but it is better not to overshoot when trimming wires. With several factors that influence resonance there is more than one way to reaching the desired endpoint.

Trimming raised the resonant frequency to 9.7 MHz, which is indeed about 7%. For the final adjustment I slid the wire brackets at the ends of the bottom tubes inward by 65 cm. That put the SWR curve where I wanted it. 

The SWR is unfortunately difficult to read in the adjacent picture. The centre of the display is 10.1 MHz. The SWR is about 1.8 mid-band. I took the measurement with a 50' roll of LMR400 that was looped over my shoulder. The open run to the feed point drooped more than was ideal. 

The SWR improved when the cable was properly dressed and routed down the tower face. However it was still no better than 1.5. When I returned to EZNEC I discovered the reason. I had neglected to rerun the SWR plot using NEC5. NEC2 did not correctly calculate the impedance due to close coupling to the tower.

The tight coupling lowered the feed point impedance to between 75 and 80 Ω. That is much lower than the 115 Ω calculated by NEC2. The RG59 ¼λ transformer is doing nothing at all since its nominal impedance is the same as the antenna. I could do away with it but it's still handy as a common mode choke.

The insects and heat were insane so I decided that this was close enough. The rig put power into the antenna just fine without the ATU.

That's the completed antenna. There is enough tension in the support rope to pull up the ends of the bottom side a small amount. That adds stability to the antenna. Also notice that the coax is routed so that it comes off the side at close to a right angle to reduce coupling. It can't be entirely eliminated since the coax must traverse the interior of the loop when fed for vertical polarization. The 3 sides are not quite equal but close enough not to noticably impact performance.

That evening I put the antenna on the air. It was easy to be heard by the DX stations I called on CW. However there weren't many DX stations on CW. I monitored FT8 and the antenna at least heard well, copying many stations in Asia. But I didn't transmit.

I will have to move the transmission line back to the 160 meter antenna since I need it for a couple of upcoming contests, despite the lack of radials. I hope to have the transmission line remotely switched for both antennas by September when I'll install the 160 meter radials in preparation for winter.

Summer Happens

The blog has been quiet for a few weeks. I've been here and getting things done but, well, summer. 

We've had a lot of unusually hot weather which makes it difficult to work outside. Although most of the hay has been harvested, making room for antenna work to resume, there are other considerations. I enjoy non-radio activities in the warm weather, and when I get on the air it is usually to check for 6 meter sporadic E.

My primary antenna season is the fall when it turns cool and the bugs diminish. Which is not to say that nothing is happening at the moment, just nothing worth its own blog entry. I have been up the towers numerous times in July and I'm not done. Mostly I am investigating problems, making minor fixes and planning for upcoming antenna work. 

Working alongside the hay, even after harvest, is uncomfortable due to the heat, humidity and ferociousness of the insects. They are attacking anything on 2 or 4 legs to prepare for winter. However, once you are 20' above ground they miraculously vanish. But most of the work is done on the ground and that is uncomfortable and occasionally painful. I won't ask friends to endure that when they volunteer as ground crew. There will be enough time later in the season.

To break the silence I decided to describe the projects I've been working on. With a big station there is always work going on, even if each job isn't worthy of its own article.

30 meters

I have no antennas for the WARC bands (30, 17, 12 meters). After 9 years at this QTH that is about to change. A 30 meter omni-directional antenna that was simple to build and won't interact with contest band antennas. Expect an article shortly about this antenna. You can see enough in the picture above to guess what it is.

Rotators

I can sympathize with the many contesters and non-contesters that have opted to forgo the difficulties of rotatable yagis. Since the tradeoff, for my station objectives, is more towers and antennas pointed in various direction, I put up with rotators and their inevitable failures. 

The direction indicator for one my prop pitch motors is misbehaving. The fault took time to recognize and isolate since it occurred at the same time I completed my new controller. It should not be difficult to fix now that I've isolated the fault location. 

The chain drive on the other prop pitch motor needs attention since the chain has more slack than I'd like. It's an alignment problem that has been there since it was installed in 2017. The momentum of a 3-element 40 meter yagi rocking back and forth puts unwanted stress on the system. I will attempt a solution this year.

40 meter Moxon

Regular readers may have wondered why there was no promised article on the antenna's performance. The reason is that there are internal wiring errors that were undetected in the rush to get it out of the hay field this spring. The repairs are simple but must be done on the ground. It is likely that we can lower it, do the repair and raise it again the same day. I am waiting for the heat and bugs to abate and for the last of the hay to be harvested.

XM240

It is sitting on the ground and awaiting judgment. That is, to sell it or put it back on a tower. If it goes up it'll probably be fixed south as a multiplier antenna. The TH6 fixed south serves the same purpose on the high bands. You can never have enough antennas! Should I decide to sell it, there is a buyer standing by.

IARU contest

The station was active in this 24-hour contest in mid-July, but not operated by me. Vlad VE3TM attempted to surpass his CW low power score from last year. Although conditions didn't cooperate he appeared to have a good time. More guest operations are in discussion for future contests.

Beverages

Problems have been cropping up over the summer. Since the antennas are off in the bush they have been effectively inaccessible, and will remain so until October. They'll be repaired in time for major fall contests such as CQ WW. I am thinking more seriously about an alternative low band receive antenna system that is less vulnerable to the depredations of nature. Beverages are great antennas but the frequent maintenance and repair is becoming a burden.

Amplifiers

The Acom 1500 is still out of service. I've been trying to diagnose and repair the amp without success. I suspect damage somewhere in the measurement and protection circuits. Unless I resolve this shortly I'll have to ship it for repair. That will not be cheap since there is no commercial Acom service centre in Canada. I have two other amps so this issue is not impacting my ability to operate.

Portable power

A couple of years ago I purchased a portable power station for power outage emergencies. These events are not common but when they occur they can last for many hours. For example, in stormy weather it is vital to run the sump pump. I have since found it handy for many household chores and for antenna work. Rather than having to buy a set of battery powered tools I can carry the power station into the field, far from power outlets, and use my existing corded tools. It came in handy this week for trimming and soldering antenna wires.

Everything else

As sporadic E propagation fades on 6 meters and poor prospects for a high MUF this fall my thoughts are reluctantly returning to HF earlier in the season than expected. Since I am now less likely to miss openings, there is more time to go cycling, follow the Tour de France and otherwise enjoy the great outdoors. 

I am also reflecting on the future. I am human and age brings its challenges. While I remain physically strong there are signs of creeping old age. Two cataract surgeries this spring and other small issues feature among those. I am becoming accustomed to using more lighting and magnification to do close work. Tower work continues to be a non-issue, for which I am thankful.

I hope for many more years of working of sustaining and growing the station, and writing for the blog. Never stop learning and striving for personal improvement.

Designing a Better Antenna Selector

When you purchase a product you accept the decisions of its designer. If those choices are unacceptable you can turn to a competitor's product. Griping about what you don't like accomplishes little. Sell it and move on. We all make mistakes.

When you choose to design and build your own equipment and you don't like it, you can only blame yourself. Discard it and purchase a commercial product. Or you can try again. For my custom software-based antenna selector, I am trying again.

Design iterations are at a far slower pace than I'd like. That's the penalty of doing it myself. Were I to apply myself full time to the effort it would have been accomplished long ago. But this is not a job and my time is filled by other projects and non-radio activities. So it happens when it happens.

I will point you at the article in which I initially described the system for details that I won't repeat here. I have also written about many of its shortcomings that became especially apparent during a multi-op contest. If a guest operator can't figure it out with a modest amount of acclimatization, there is something amiss. A good and intuitive UI (user interface) and UX (user experience) is difficult to achieve. Many ham radio software products don't even try.

A major source of the existing system UI issues were due to my original hardware-based design. Its complexity reflected the complexity of my station, and the necessity of switches and LEDs to communicate system state and buttons and switches for antenna selections. I cast it aside and did what I should have done at the outset, which was a software-based system. My mistake was to keep too many of the original features that were driven by my self-imposed hardware mindset.

The UI on the PC screen is just one component of the antenna selector system. It is in communication with an Arduino that houses the actual antenna switching software. A final component is the assembly of relays and electronic switches which control the multitude of switches scattered in the field and on the towers. But all of that is hidden from the operator; the UI is the visible face of the system.

My intent is to replace the UI while leaving the rest of the system as is. I have been deferring new features in anticipation of the UI redesign. New features can be added later.

While many of the deficiencies were mentioned in the previously linked articles, here is a quick rundown. The screenshot shows a slightly modified UI to accommodate the reversing function of the new 40 meter reversible Moxon. 

• There is no list of available antennas on the selected band. The antenna selector buttons (top row, second from both the left and right) select the next available antenna for the band in a predetermined order. An antenna that in use by the other radio is skipped. Essential data is hidden repeated clicking is slow and prone to errors.
• Several antennas can alternatively be selected with the High/Low buttons for the low bands (160, 80, 40). That's confusing to guest operators, and occasionally myself. My intent was to achieve functionality similar to that of the stack selectors for the high bands. It was an idea that sounded good in theory but not in practice!
• It is easy to click the wrong mode and direction buttons. For example, selecting "20 Hi" instead of "15 Hi" because you fail to notice which radio and band you're on. The mistake is particularly easy to make when dealing with the intensity of SO2R and 2BSIQ.
• The direction buttons are not sensibly arranged. This was a temporary solution until I had time to expand the UI to include a bearing map centred on my location. Temporary solutions tend towards permanence.
• There are two Beverage receive systems. The UI only controls the large 6-direction system and not the new 2-direction system (eventually 3). The switch box for them supports swapping the systems between radios, while the software does not. Hardware and software must change.
• Lack of manual override and reset features when communication with the logging software or Arduino is lost due to RFI or bugs. It doesn't often happen but when it does it disrupts contest operation for a few minutes.
• Knowing where an antenna is pointed. Guest operators have difficulty remembering all of the antennas, and associating a physical rotator controller with an antenna (or antennas).
• Separate UIs on different computers for multi-op contests are needed. Although the new UI won't support that immediately the UI should accommodate SO1R, SO2R and multi-op with a unitary design. Having one UI on a PC between the operators, and sharing the mouse, is far from ideal.

That's a frighteningly long list! I can only do the work in stages, so I will aim to do the high impact items first. Before I can do that I need to develop a new UI framework that addresses the major defects. After that it's features that go "under the hood" and are therefore less impactful to the UX.

To familiarize myself with alternative layouts I took to Python to construct a "dummy" UI that I could play with. Alterations are easy since the experimental UI is a facade with no code behind it. As for the existing UI I turned to Tk since that's what I'm most familiar with. Others prefer a web interface or other UI packages. There are many to choose from and I won't recommend one over another.

The following is my first draft for the new UI. Embellishment has been omitted, such as the use of colour cues which are used in the current design. A simple construct is sufficient to prototype the design process without getting bogged down in details. It is more useful than a paper exercise since it is tangible.

Although it appears bulkier, the area of the window is almost identical to the original. This is critical to conserving screen real estate. I like to fit all critical windows needed for contests onto one PC display.

These are the principal attributes of the new UI, and how they are intended to address the listed shortcomings of the current UI.

• All of the possible antennas for a band are shown. The fixed layout limits this to 6. That seems plenty except that the number includes stack configurations and direction switching. For example, all 6 are used on 80 meters.
• Unavailable antennas will have their buttons disabled and given a distinct colour (not shown) so that the operator knows at a glance which antenna is in use and what is and isn't available. 
• Showing the antennas for the other radio can aid communication between operators (even if it's one SO2R op) to request an antenna that is in use. I do not use triplexers or similar equipment to allow simultaneous sharing.
• Multi-op use will display the other side of the UI for situational awareness. Left and right radios will be distinct by their position and colours, and that is the case whether multi-op or SO2R. Note that I removed the R1 and R2 labels since they are largely superfluous.
• Fixed antenna directions are also shown in the adjacent direction box. Omni-directional antennas are shown with an "O" which (to me) conveys the meaning. I tried leaving it blank but that proved to be confusing and required spending more time interpretting the displayed information. The direction boxes may in time allow direction selection for rotatable antennas.
• The receive antenna directions are shown on a great circle map centred on my QTH. Depending on the system employed, buttons will be enabled or disabled. It is fortunate in my case that the direction buttons don't cover any significant land mass. The direction labels may be redundant since their positions on the map seem sufficient.
• The bottom row of buttons are to enable/disable receive antennas and to select the Beverage system. I may add the capability to cause receive antenna selection to command the rig to enable/disable the receive antenna port. I do it now with a soft button on N1MM's bandmap window but that requires an extra mouse click. The button layout requires more thought.
• The top row shows no buttons to control the Arduino. I would like at least a reset button for rapid recovery from most bugs and RFI glitches. Additional buttons may be added to toggle BPF insertion and automatic/manual operation, and to restrict operation to contest bands versus all bands. Note that I use the antenna selector for all HF operating, not just for contests.
• Extendible to new antennas and features as the station continues to evolve. There won't be too many new antennas but change is integral to my amateur radio journey.

It is not the purpose of the UI to please everyone. Others would surely make different choices. Some I might like if they don't over-complicate implementation. There are also many hams, especially older ones, that will always prefer the tactile feel of knobs and switches. I've moved past that. The only physical feedback is the click clack of relays under the operating desk. Even that will disappear should I move the switching components out of the shack -- there is no reason to keep them near other than ease of maintenance or for disconnection when lightning approaches.

Ideally the UI will in a sense disappear. It can be counter-intuitive that a well designed product doesn't draw attention to itself because it works so well. I doubt that I'll achieve this lofty ideal. I will be satisfied when it enables operators -- myself and guests unfamiliar with the station -- to do what they need to do with minimal friction.

There is more design work ahead of me. I would like to begin implementation this summer and finish it by year end. The work won't take 6 months of effort, it's just that this is one of many things that I need to get done.

6 Meters: Mid-season Update

The first half of the 6 meter sporadic E season has been below par. At least in this part of the world, but not everywhere. I mentioned at the start of the season that there is some evidence that sporadic E is less frequent during solar maxima. While that may indeed be true it hardly seems relevant when the solar flux is so low (~120 as I type this). Even the aurorae during frequent geomagnetic disturbances have netted few contacts.

Yes, I'm griping. My friends are tired of my griping so I decided to continue on the blog with its larger audience. Lucky you (but you don't have to continue reading).

There is sporadic E nearly every day. The problem is that DX is largely absent. What propagation there is tends to only bring in the DX big guns, and they're very weak. Although that's welcome, other than an opportunity to say "hi" it isn't productive. I want (or need) stronger and farther DX, especially new countries. 

My expectations are difficult to achieve compared to most others since I have 147 DXCC countries worked and 135 confirmed. The only new country I've worked in 2025 (#147) was 4U1UN. The path from FN24 to FN30 is short but difficult. A large part of the difficulty is that they don't hear well -- it's a noisy location. It can be quite frustrating to hear them often while knowing that I cannot be heard.

The path can be bridged with rare intense sporadic E or tropospheric enhancement, and it has to happen when they're on the air. Friends have been more fortunate by being on at the right time. Finally it was my turn.

There has been just one widescale opening to Europe. It happened earlier this month. That was fun but, again, no new countries. There are very few countries in Europe that I still need. Examples include Z6, OY, T7, JX, JW). Some have been active this year and more operations are planned. Since most do not have big 6 meter signals or are far north they are difficult to work from here.

What we have had is a lot of trans-NA propagation. The FFMA chasers in eastern NA have been thrilled to work many needed DM, CN, and DN grid squares. The screenshot is from one of those openings. Although I don't chase grids I will work them since they're almost DX and I like to beam west in case the propagation extends into the Pacific Ocean. 

While working the opening I frequently check PSK Reporter for flags in Hawaii, New Zealand and the small number of 6 meter stations active in the vast area of the southern Pacific Ocean. It is unusual that we'd get a Pacific opening without a west coast opening, so we have to hunt for them amid the QRM. The exception is F2 openings. Since the solar flux this year is not cooperating we must rely on sporadic E links to long DX paths. Strong W6/7 and XE signals get me to pay close attention.

It would be nice if more stations would QSY to 50.323 MHZ for inter-continental DX chasing to escape the QRM on 313. This picture of the Icom 7610 spectrogram was taken during the same opening as above. There are a few DX chasers on 323 with strong signals but little else. It is perhaps a lot to ask of stations to move away from 50.313 MHz since that's a great place to monitor for openings. Everybody hangs out there. The quieter 323 makes it easier to spot the rare DX station but only if they're there.

There is no good solution. All I can do is QSY back and forth. That's no different from spinning the VFO on CW and SSB to find stations to work. No one promised that this would be easy! The DX hunt is difficult and that's integral to the challenge. 

Another point is that although FT4 is ideal for strong openings it continues to attract little activity. When I go to 50.318 MHz I can quickly work a handful of stations and then there's nothing more. Although FT4 can be more stressful since it requires quicker reflexes than FT8, you can select the auto-answer option. 

I prefer to pick and choose, especially when I call CQ DX and attract callers that don't respect my request for DX. I may enable auto-answer when I attract a pile up so that I always respond to someone without delay. I can override the software's choice if I do it quickly.

We had propagation to central Asia (UN) last week. As is typical with these long paths, it was unstable. I tried to work a couple of UN stations that were not in my log but could not. I didn't call the stations I'd already worked because so many North Americans were calling them. During the same openings I heard a few stations calling EX and EK. I don't know if they were successful.

I haven't yet heard Japan this season although they have been worked by stations to the south and west of us. There are reports of JA being heard only a few hundred kilometers away so I remain hopeful for one or more July openings. With luck an opening will extend to the mainland (HL and BY) or south to DU.

Speaking of south, DX propagation is more frequent at lower latitudes. We can only watch when W4, W3 and even W2 stations have openings to Europe, Japan and Africa. A little luck is necessary at our higher geomagnetic latitude. While seemingly not south of us, Europe has had numerous openings to Asia and Australia. Their more southerly geomagnetic latitude is responsible. 

Openings to South America are more common for us due to TEP, as it is in Europe (to Africa) and east Asia (to VK/ZL). Since I've worked most of the South American countries I often sit out these openings. They are mostly of interest to grid hunters. I listen to but rarely call stations in countries I've already confirmed.

Turning to the southeast, very little in southern Africa has been heard. On one day I heard 9J2FI briefly but couldn't get his attention. He's been heard more frequently in W1/2 and VE1. D2UY has been heard more frequently but that path is more to the east rather than southeast. There has been no sign of 7Q stations this season. I don't know if that's due to propagation or inactivity. I don't recall seeing any spots for them.

No Pacific stations have been heard this season. Stations as close as W8 and more westerly VE3 were able to hear and perhaps work KH6, 3D, FK, ZL and a few others. ZL1RS's recent DXpedition to E6 was invisible, unlike E51EME last year. Last year we had the benefit of a high solar flux. Now we must rely on more elusive long haul sporadic E, just like during a solar minimum.

Recently my power level has taken a dive. My Acom 1500 amplifier developed a fault and it won't run for long before the protection circuits kick in. It appears to be a problem in the protection circuits rather than the 4CX1000 tube. If I can't fix it myself I'll have to send it out of country to an Acom service outlet. Amplifiers are not very complicated but they are dangerous to work on due to the lethal voltages. In the picture you can see that I've overridden the safety switches to troubleshoot the fault.

For the time being I'm using the Acom 1200S. It isn't capable of as much power on digital modes so it incurs a penalty of about -1.5 db. Considering the variability of sporadic E propagation that isn't a large sacrifice. It is unlikely that the 1500 will be back in service before August.

Where do we go from here? From all indications, there will not be a second peak in this solar cycle, or not one of significant intensity. If I'm wrong and the solar flux rises in the fall we will have opportunities for long haul DX. That would be cycle 25's final hurrah. In 2026 we can expect few if any F-layer openings at this latitude. Beyond that, nothing until the next maximum ~10 years hence. 

I'll count myself very fortunate to reach 150 countries (worked) by the end of 2025. If propagation fails to improve I can at least look forward to DXpeditions to a few Caribbean and South American countries I have yet to work.

All I can do for now is wait and watch. It is often the case that when the first half of the season (up to the June 21 solstice) is poor the second half shines. Well, that's what I keep telling myself!

Aging Tower Riggers

You realize there's trouble on the tower. Who are you going to call? If you're like the large majority of hams, you need someone else to do the work because you won't or you can't.

That is the question for most hams with towers since they don't climb. So you call a friend who climbs, ask your local club for assistance or you turn to a professional.

I don't have statistics to back me up but I don't believe it was always this way. When I was young, and for a long time after, I was one among many. It was common to ask a younger ham to help with their tower and antenna needs. I've been doing tower work for other hams as long as I've been doing tower work, and that is half a century!

It shouldn't be surprising. As we age we are less willing or less able to climb. It took me some time to notice the trend and where it is headed. Hams that still climb into their 80s are rare. Even the most ardent stop in their 70s. Many give up far younger. 

It is important to recognize when the time has come and willingly hang up the harness. Others are pressured by family. There are a stubborn few that keep going and pay a heavy price. I know hams that have taken down their towers when they realized they could no longer maintain them on their own. Help may be hard to find and some are too proud to ask. So they avoid the problem entirely.

It is older hams that are most interested in big HF antenna systems and most of the climbers in this cohort have aged out doing tower work. Few young hams are taking their places. Why would they bother to learn and practice those skills when they don't have a tower themselves. Many young hams are more attracted to portable operation or low profile wire antennas.

That's the situation: our number are declining so the downward trend will continue. I can count on one hand the number of local hams I personally know who climb. Many are eager to help, but on the ground. Indeed there is only one local ham willing and able to climb my tallest 150' tower. But then he has towers of his own that high.

Since it is getting harder to find hams to help on the tower, many turn to professional help. That can be expensive. Well, many things are expensive these days, whether it's a vehicle repair, redoing a roof or many other specialized jobs that require skill and experience. Everybody needs to eat -- so you pay.

How much can you afford to pay for the rest of your ham career? Can you find competent help? That is more difficult than you might think. Incompetent help is, unfortunately, far from rare. Not all that advertise their services deserve to be called professionals. It may mean little more than someone who charges for a job, whether or not it is done properly.

You can't inspect what was done from the ground so poor workmanship may remain undiscovered until well after money changes hands. I've often had to fix what I could when shoddy work causes trouble. I don't enjoy seeing fellow hams ripped off.

Few tower riggers are hams so that even if they are competent they may be unfamiliar with our equipment and practices. For example, weatherproofing connectors for ease of future disassembly, rotation loops and rotators, adjustment of feed point matching networks, the fragility of many aluminum and wire element yagis, etc.

There are alternatives. If the tower isn't too high you can rent a bucket truck and do the work yourself. It isn't as easy or safe as you might expect but at least you don't have to climb. Or you can install a crank-up or tilt-over tower. None of these come cheap. If it's important to keep your HF capability, you have the money and can't rely on hiring competent tower workers, by all means go ahead and do what you must.

I won't climb forever. At the moment I am in good physical condition and I have the requisite skill and experience. Since I'm retired I have time to help others, so I do that despite having my own large station to maintain and grow. I enjoy helping others. That said, my "best before date" has passed. My time is coming. Not soon, I hope, but it is coming.

Let's say that time is 10 years away -- 2035. What then? Will there be a younger ham, perhaps with operating opportunities, to do an old man a favour? Do I hire professionals? Many of the ones I know are also getting older.

I expect that I'll be able to afford the expense for a time. To minimize the need my plan is to cease antenna projects when the time approaches and harden the station as well as I can. The inertia of a solid tower and antenna installation may take me over the finish line. 

I have enough antennas that the loss of one or two is survivable. When I say loss, that could be an item as minor as an intermittent coax connector or a corroded wire on a rotator. But if I can't fix it, it's no less a loss of capability than if the antenna were to fall to the ground.

Sad to say that when I'm gone the towers will likely be cut down for scrap. I doubt that I can pass the station on, and it is too expensive to dismantle for sale in the unlikely case that there is interest in the towers and antennas. 

Ham radio will survive me but it will be nothing like what those my age grew up with. Tower work will become a skill lost to hams, just like what will eventually happen with CW and other traditional practices. Time marches on.

New Prop Pitch Motor Controller

This project has occasionally appeared in this blog, and has been so for a long time. There were complications and distractions along the way that kept me from getting it done. I am happy to report that it is complete, working and installed in the station. There's a welcome check mark on my lengthy to-do list.

Before going further I'll mention that there are many features present in commercial controllers that I have not implemented. I'll get to some of those eventually. Since they're mostly software, upgrades can be made with the controller in service. What I judge to be the important functionality gaps will be listed at the end of this article.

My requirements for the controller are simple enough:

• No larger than a commercial controller, suitable for desktop use
  
• Support for 2 prop pitch motor rotators
• Potentiometer for the direction indicators
• Software for ease of modification and expansion
• Remote 24 VDC power supply for the motor

There are commercial products that will do all of this and much more. But it's more educational and interesting to build my own. It is a project that is within the abilities of many hams, although for some, I must admit, it may be daunting. I always seem to struggle with circuit design, while software is one of my areas of expertise. 

The downside of this project was the time and effort expended. I didn't do it to save money! I did it for the learning and personal satisfaction. There is no shame in buying a controller if you'd prefer to apply your energies elsewhere.

Let's begin at the back of the controller. Although an unconventional place to start, it can be illuminating to first look at the interconnections. The USB port is on the Arduino Uno board. It is only needed for uploading and testing software. All power comes from the 13.8 VDC connector on the lower right. A barrier strip provides ±15 VDC for the two direction pots and the two pot wipers.

The DE9 connector connects to the power supply unit. 6 pins are for low side switching of relays: 2 to control AC and 4 for the CCW and CW DC relays of the two motors. Switching is low side, requiring one pin supplying +12 VDC to the relays and external circuitry. Ground is via the connector shell, which therefore requires a shielded 9-pin cable.

One unfortunate lesson was that the DE9 connector doesn't project out far enough to seat the male cable. The ABS panel is too thick. After the picture was taken I had to carefully extract it and place the flange on the outside of the panel. Although it isn't as pretty it is only rarely seen. Thankfully the wires were terminated by Dupont connectors rather than soldered so it didn't take long to make the change.

At the moment only one of the AC pins is used since there is one power supply that only has enough current capacity for a single motor. That means only one motor can be turned at a time. That is enforced by the software so there is no risk of blowing a fuse. With a second power supply and software update both motors could be turned at the same time. 

The 2 remaining pins are for monitoring the DC current and voltage. Those functions are not present at the moment even though I have the modules. The quantities will be displayed when a motor is powered, and also used to detect and respond to system faults. I have been bedevilled in the past by wiring and component failures that required opening up the controller to attach current and voltage meters. The built-in voltage and current monitors will make problems easier to diagnose.

There is very little heat produced by the controller. I tried to place most of the heat generating circuits near the back vent. Voltage regulators are the main culprits.

This is a view of the interior before the display and circuitry and their respective cables were installed. The 5 VDC regulator is up against the vent. A chain of diodes reduce the 13.8 supply to the 12 VDC maximum that the onboard Arduino regulator can handle. On the left wall is a buck-boost power supply that produces ±15 VDC for the direction indicator circuitry. They can be found online and they are cheap. There's no point providing a link since these products come and go quickly.

The buck-boost power supply is one source of heat. Because the minimum output is 30 ma for both the positive and negative supplies, unless the connected circuits draw at least that much it is necessary to install 470 Ω resistors to bleed the minimum current. Otherwise the output voltage can soar to over 50 volts. The power supply module is cheap but it requires care in how it is used.

 Since it is not usual to disconnect the direction pot wires or even the internal cable harness to the op amp circuit, a higher value resistor that draws less than 30 ma and produces less heat entails risk. Each resistor dissipates about ½ watt at 30 ma. There is one for the positive and negative supplies. They get very warm, too warm to touch comfortably. I may replace them with higher power resistors on the back wall of the enclosure to be near the vent.

Various versions of the Arduino Uno can have different dimensions. That could be a problem for locating the USB connector on the rear wall and PCB mounting holes. I suggest buying the board first and measuring it before picking up a drill and saw. Having at least one spare of the same type can avoid future grief. The Uno was the smallest Arduino with the GPIO complement to support this project.

The display is a 1602 2×16 LCD. As I described in an earlier article I had difficulty finding a template that worked well for 3D printing a bezel that wasn't too large and that secured the display to the front panel. I abandonned the search and carefully cut a rectangular opening in the front panel that is a press fit for the display. Some fussing with a file helped to make it as snug as possible. Hams with 3D printer skills could do better. Nevertheless it doesn't look too bad from a meter away.

The small holes below the LCD are for adjusting the zeroing pots. The gain pots are on the central PCB. The gain pots should not require adjusting after initial setup. I also included software gain controls to fine tune the gain more conveniently. With one chain drive motor with a 1:1 turn ratio and an outboard pot on the direct drive motor with about a 2.5:1 turn ratio, hardware gain is preferred to keep to the op amp circuit's linear range. If the hardware gain is too low the resolution of the bearing may suffer due to the 10-bit ADC on the Arduino boards (1024 discrete values).

In this picture most of the components are installed. The major additions are the support for the zeroing pots and the PCB with the circuitry. The circuit includes connectors for the DE9, power, GPIO pins, LCD and zeroing pots, trim pots for the LCD contrast and two for the direction indicator gain, and op amps for the direction indicators. There are RFC and bypass capacitors for external connections.

These are the completed units. The controller has evolved with the addition of the 4 buttons to operate the rotators and a small Arduino shield (plug in) with a ULN2003A NPN Darlington array to switch the 6 relays. To conserve analogue GPIO pins (I use all 6 on the Uno) only 2 are used for the buttons. The pins are pulled high when idle, grounded for CCW and half-Vdd (2.5 VDC) for CW. The direction control buttons are debounced in software.

There are a lot of wires and connectors inside the controller. A better designer than I'll ever be may have been able to clean it up. The circuitry is simple but it appears complicated due to all the wiring harnesses. Working on the controller is not as bad as it looks. Documentation is vital.

The power supply is an ugly unit that came with one of the prop pitch motors I acquired. That's fine since it is located out of sight under the operating desk. The chassis was stripped of most components since they were for the discarded manual control system. 

A large electrolytic capacitor was replaced by a new and much smaller 2200 μF 50 WVDC unit. The barrier strip is for the CCW and CW 24VDC connections to the motors. Ground (motor common) is a chassis stud where the black DMM lead is attached. The DE9 connector is supported by small aluminum angles that I made.

A fuse holder (5 A) was placed on the side in an already present chassis hole. Not quite visible is the AC power switch on the front (bottom left). It can be left on since AC only flows when the rotators are turned; it can be turned off for software testing. I am using this power supply rather than the old one since this one is stiffer. Under load it produces 24 to 25 VDC. It is reduced by a couple of volts at the motors due to wire resistance. The motor on the 15 and 20 meter upper yagis is starting and turning faster with this supply, and I expect more reliably in the winter cold.

Automotive 30A SPDT relays are mounted on the power supply chassis, 4 switch DC to the two motors and one under the chassis switches AC to the power transformer. I was remiss in not ordering relays with an internal protection diode so I included them on a small PCB along with bypass capacitors for the control lines. More components will be added to the PCB for new features. There are a lot of wires just because there are many relays but the circuit itself is uncomplicated.

To avoid switching high current DC the relays are sequenced by the software. When a button is pressed, the corresponding DC relay is energized, followed a fraction of a second later by the AC relay. The sequence is reversed when the button is released. Although the relays are rated for 30 A, their lifetime will be shorter when switching high current. Typically the motor starting current is limited to less than 20 A due to the resistance of the long wires to the tops of the towers.

With each component tested it was time to connect the controller to the prop pitch motors. Or, if you like, integration testing. 

To avoid overly disturbing the existing controller and its fragile direction indicator circuitry, I started by moving the motor wires to the new controller but not the direction pot wires. The new controller was set to power the motor while the old analogue prototype continued to indicate direction.

The only hiccup was that I'd reversed the CW and CCW wires. It's an easy mistake to make with these motors and my labels were not the best. All was well and even better since the motor for the 20/15 meter stacks started and turned faster with the new motor, just as I'd anticipated. For some reason it is particularly sensitive to low voltage.

For the next step, the direction pot leads were transferred to the new controller. Of the 6 wires, 4 go to the ±15 VDC terminals and the other two are the pot wipers. 

Tranferring the wires was a lot trickier than for the motor. Since the direction pots don't have the same turning ratio to the mast (as described earlier) it is vital to connect them to the correct circuits. I pre-calibrated both circuits manually with a directly connected pot -- both hardware and software gain controls -- so that the yagis wouldn't have to be turned too much for the live calibration. Zeroing was easily accomplished by turning both rotators north before moving the wires.

I did a poor job of documenting the transfer and documenting the internal cables in the new controller. After several false starts I finally got the mess figured out and retested the calibration using a local pot. Finally I got it working. This took several days because I needed time away from the project due to excess frustration. It was easy to find other projects to play with in the interim.

When I had another go at it I discovered the problem. The controller was fine. It was one of those absurd coincidences that the direction pot on the 20/15 prop pitch motor was slipping. That's one more item added to my to-do list. I have a new bracket already made that I was negligent about installing. I guess this is an opportune time.

Rather than light the LED inside the button (which is covered by your finger) I use blinking arrows next to the bearing indicator. It's rudimentary but effective. 

Among the problems I've encountered with the controller is electrical noise. The diodes on the relay coils are mandatory, as I discovered, since when they disengaged the LCD or the Arduino would often fault. Even with the diodes there are problems. Switching of the AC supply line occasionally scrambles the LCD but not the Arduino. It can also cause the needle on one of the Hy-Gain rotator controller to momentarily jump.

I am working to resolve these issues. Digital circuitry is very sensitive. A metal enclosure might have helped. All I can do is add more bypass capacitors, shielding and RF chokes to manage the intermittent faults. Until I get it fully under control I occasionally reset the controller. The easiest way is to pull the power connector (there's no on-off switch).

I should briefly mention the software I wrote for the controller. The direction indicator and motor control function independently. I've already discussed the direction indicator circuits in some depth so I won't say more about it here. 

The motor controls feed a finite state machine (FSM) that determines the state of the motor controller based on button input and timers. There is just one FSM since it is disallowed to turn both motors at the same time with the one power supply.

An early draft is on the right. It's to give a taste of what an FSM is for those unfamiliar with it. So don't worry about it being somewhat cryptic!

There are pending states to ensure solid button presses and releases, which act as button debouncers. It is highly undesirable to have the relays snapping in and out due to intermittent button operation, whether by the operator or button contact issues. Therefore there is a brief delay between the button press and motor operation. 

Sequencing of AC and DC relays is driven by FSM states and timers. Once the motor is turning all the other buttons are ignored. Only when the active button is released are other buttons inspected. To prevent operator errors the controller waits for all buttons to be released if one of the others is pressed when turning stops.

Since the direction pots are independent there is no protection against over-rotation. It was more important to get the controller usable rather than first address every edge case. That will be corrected in time.

That leads to future feature implementation. The first version is rudimentary but perfectly functional. It may be enough for me to use but not for guest operators. Additional protections and displayed information would be beneficial. Planned features include:

• Over-rotation protection. A small amount of over-rotation is desirable and I've made the rotation loops tolerant of it. Perhaps 20° but no more. 
• Edit direction pot glitches. Pots are imperfect devices when out in the weather. The wiper does not always solid contact the wire coils as it moves. These glitches can be identified and dealt with in software if they are not long duration. Inertia of the meter needle on legacy controllers similarly smooths the bearing indication.
• Current and voltage monitors. Once the modules (very inexpensive to purchase) are added to the power supply it will be convenient to monitor these key indicators of motor operation. No more pulling out the DMM for testing. The data can be used to automatically stop operation if the motor does not start or turn properly, or to warn of a broken connection.
• Two power supplies. I'd like to be able to turn both motors at the same time. This would be most helpful for multi-op contests. I prefer to mount both on a single chassis, including the control circuits. This feature is mainly a software change.
• Wireless PC connection and control. This will allow rotator control from the PC, either by a separate application or integration with contest logging software. It is also needed should I ever implement remote operation of the station.
• Over-rotation protection, as described earlier in the text. 

In the end, was this a worthwhile project? I am undecided. Of course I learned a lot and there is satisfaction from having done it, but the usability is perhaps not as good as I'd like. The box looks cheap, feels flimsy and it is so light that the cables at the back can lift the front feet. Although it is working fine there are transient issues to track down and further software development is needed to add the missing (and desired) features.

With all the projects I undertake this was perhaps not the best use of my time and effort. I started it more than a year ago and even though I spent only a fraction of my time on it, it's been annoying to constantly see the unfinished controller sitting there. 

I will put this project aside for now since it works. My focus for the rest of the year will turn to other projects. I have no regrets but building is not always superior to buying. Especially so as one grows older.

The old controller with the prototype direction indicators is now officially retired. I'll salvage the 24 VDC power supply and send the rest to my junk box.

The Curious Challenge of FFMA

For those that don't recognize the acronym, FFMA is the Fred Fish Memorial Award. The objective of the award is simple: confirm contacts with every grid square in the continental US on 6 meters. There are 488 of them. Difficult? Oh yes! DXCC on 6 is much easier. As of this date there are just 57 awardees.

I do not chase grids. The corollary is that I do not pursue FFMA, or any award for that matter. My interests on 6 meters are DX and unusual propagation. That hasn't always been true. When the Maidenhead system was new decades ago I was, as now, a 6 meter enthusiast. During the period from 1985 to 1992 I happily chased grids on 6. It was easier than DXing since my operating time was limited, activity was almost all on CW and SSB, and most of Europe and the rest of the world had no privileges for 6 meters. DXing on 6 is much easier today!

Out of curiosity I dug up the ARRL grid square map on which I highlighted worked and confirmed US grid squares. Keep in mind this was done on CW and SSB without spotting networks. Many of the QSOs were more than "599 FN25" exchanges. It was a different era.

There are non-American grids marked even though the supposedly "North America" map has just a sliver of the continent outside the US borders. But it's good enough to illustrate what I worked up to 1992 -- I went QRT for 20 years subsequently and returned to 6 meters 10 years ago.

The paucity of western grids is due to population density and the relative rarity of propagation beyond the usual single hop sporadic E range of about 2000 km. Since I didn't have many opportunities to work DX outside of the 1989-1990 solar cycle peak (that was a good one!) it was natural for a 6 meter enthusiast like myself to pursue grid squares.

I quickly assembled the second map with the confirmed grids from the LOTW (Logbook of the World) FFMA award page. This time I drew a line above the US grids and didn't mark other grids. I have 388 out of 488 FFMA grids confirmed on LOTW. I may have cards for more but I don't count those (or even look at them). That's a pretty good total for someone who focusses on DX and doesn't chase grids.

There are fewer gaps than I had in 1992 even though none of my confirmations from back then were carried forward. That is, all contacts were made in the past decade, and are heavily weighted to the time after I migrated to FT8. Missing grids in the northeast or within E hop distance are due to disinterest rather than a lack of opportunity.

One curiosity that was brought to my attention a few years ago is that you can work Canadian and Mexican station on those border grids for FFMA credit. That surprised me! Yet that is indeed what the rules say:

(c) Any portion of an FFMA grid may be worked for FFMA credit. It is not necessary for an FFMA operation to be on US soil; operations from Canadian or Mexican territory or from water within an FFMA-required grid are acceptable.

It seems odd that non-US contacts would count towards a very US-centric award. That explained why I was so popular with award hunters. Although there are quite a few of us on both sides of the border, I appear to have the biggest 6 meter signal from FN24. I have received several sked requests which I try to satisfy. Non-DX stations may have difficulty getting my attention otherwise.

Well, that's enough of an introduction. Now I come to the big question: why on Earth would anyone chase this award? It's really really hard -- a potentially decades long pursuit. Not only are the openings to far flung grids uncommon, many of the rarest grids are only workable when a ham roves to those grids, as a favour to chasers, and only if their operations coincide with an opening. I am not surprised that the number of FFMA holders is less than those on the DXCC Honor Roll.

Those near the centre of the continent have an advantage since most of the country is within one E hop. It isn't necessarily that easy since grids in the skip zone, and there are many of them, can be difficult to work. Worse, if those grids are rare and only activated by rovers, the signals of their portable setups might not be good. An aurora (at northerly latitudes) or tropospheric enhancement are welcome but unlikely to coincide with an activation.

Many are happy enough to collect grids, any grids, not only those 488. Every opening brings an opportunity to add to the total. A subset of those will track their FFMA progress and call the needed stations when they're heard, but will not make a serious effort. Only a few go the extra distance. You have to make skeds, join groups where grid-peditions are planned, ask others to activate needed grids, and then confirm the contacts that are made.

I usually don't bother to call rare grids when I hear them (see them on WSJT-X). If they have a pile up I would rather spend my time hunting for DX openings. I simply move on. 

In one case I have the needed list from one friend who is moderately serious about FFMA. If I hear what appears to be a rare grid I'll check his list and contact him. He's whittled down the number of remaining grids this way, moving him a few steps closer. I hope that he is eventually successful. The list isn't long yet it will take him years to get there, if at all. You have to enjoy the chase since few reach the finish line.

FFMA is one of those awards where you must work every entity. This is like reaching the top of the Honor Roll, a clean sweep in the Sweepstakes contest, all zones in CQ WW, or all counties in a QSO party. I don't find that interesting. My objective is to maximize my score or entity count without an unreasonable investment of time and effort. A lifetime investment to achieve DXCC Honor Roll or FFMA holds no appeal. Many would disagree, and that's their prerogative.

Now that sporadic E has once again arrived there are quite a few grid-peditions on 6 meters. I may call them if they're on the other side of the continent and therefore fall within my idea of what constitutes DX on 6 meters. Sometimes they call me if conditions are poor and they are hungry for contacts. These hams have the same enthusiasm for difficult QSOs on 6 and will work what they can. They don't only call CQ!

For everyone chasing FFMA or similar difficult awards, I salute you and sincerely wish you the best of luck. But I won't join you in the chase.