The results I can report on QRSS
- You can operate a decent visual grabber in very densely populated regions. One will see the neighbours' TV sets, which in many cases is not more than just annoying.
- The reception of WSPR is not affected by urban noise, low profile and even indoor antennas give good results.
- There is no need to occupy your expensive main rig or a professional receiver, a cheap and cheerful home fixed frequency RX does the jobs.
- Setting up an online grabber is something that anyone with internet access can do, no excuses here. The demands on the respective computer are minimal. An Intel ATOM can easily operate two grabbers and WSPR (rx in my case), have a third instance of speclab running, be a print and file server and operate winamp for internet radio... all at once.
Conclusion I learned from my experiments, on-air and off-air
- There are many more transmitting stations than receiving ones.
- Despite my efforts to motivate the installation of additional grabbers, there are still only a few.
- Operating a grabber blocks other activities, at least on the bands the grabbers are active on.
What I miss in QRSS is interaction, consequently, I will for the time being cease QRSS activity until further notice.
My focus for the time to come will be on data modes such as PSK500, ALE, etc.
Another thing that crossed my mind occasionally, going QRO with some homebrew kit. Saying QRO, I mean QRO, i.e. legal limit. It is not so much the urge of being heard, it's more the design challenge here.
