Today (17 Nov 2019), we were able to put AA6E through some preliminary on-air tests. On the 80 meter band, we ran tests that showed our 5 Watt signals were getting at least to Switzerland. See blog article.
Martin Ewing holds the amateur radio callsign AA6E.
AA6E operating desk. At left is the Flex 6500 transceiver and antenna controls. At the center is an Intel NUC7i5 computer.
The AA6E antennas are atop the Whitfield building at the Evergreen Woods community. At center left is an 86-ft non-resonant dipole covering frequencies from 1.8 to 54 MHz. At the right is a vertical discone antenna that covers the 50 - 1,300 MHz range.
We are using the Flex 6500 software-defined radio for HF contacts (1.8 - 30 MHz). This is the computer's display of part of the 14 MHz amateur band, showing dozens of stations using the FT8 digital communications mode. The upper trace shows the instantaneous radio spectrum, while below is a "waterfall" display that shows recent history.
As we make a radio contact, we enter the details of the station and the operating conditions in our station log. (This is the log4om program.)
After an operating session, you can upload the local log information into the cloud-based Logbook of the World database. LoTW currently records over 1.1 billion individual contacts. If your entry matches up with the other operator's data, you have a confirmation "QSL" that may allow you to qualify for operating awards. The DXCC award (100 countries) is an example.