HamSphere 4.0 Mobile Newsletter July 2017


Hello fellow mobile users. After 20.000+ installs we have received many questions about the HamSphere bands and how they work. Since the HamSphere shortwave bands follow the Sun Spot numbers and Solar Flux values it can be difficult to know when to seek contacts. If you look at the table below you will find that every band has its own quality. Basically you need to be on the right band on a certain time to be able to make contacts, just like in the real shortwave world.

However if you prefer solid 5/9 contacts you can always use one of the 11 VHF/UHF repeaters. These repeaters are global and there is no restriction in distance. We have included a table of all repeaters below.

The HamSphere bands and their qualities



VHF and UHF Repeaters

HamSphere 4.0 French DX contest 15 July 00:00


This contest is dedicated to French National Bastille Day. Work as many operators from France and French overseas areas and territories on all continents as possible for multipliers. Bands: 160 m, 80 m, 60 m, 40 m, 30 m, 20 m, 17 m, 15 m.

1st places in every category will receive 40 HS credits
2nd places in every category will receive 25 HS credits
3rd places in every category will receive 15 HS credits

Join the contest in advance here

Calling CQ


Begin by locating a clear frequency. Assuming your callsign is: 21HS99.

Now call "CQ CQ CQ. This is twenty-one hotel sierra ninety-nine calling CQ CQ CQ. Twenty-one hotel sierra ninety-nine, 21HS99 calling CQ and standing by for any call."

Now you listen for the return call. You hear "twenty-one hotel sierra ninety-nine this is nine hotel sierra twenty-one, 9HS21 calling."

You respond by saying "9HS21 (using phonetics is best) this is 21hs99.

Thanks for the call your signal is 59.
My name is Chris and my QTH is Stockholm.
So how do you copy? 9HS21 this is 21hs99 over."

You have made your first contact on HamSphere.
At this point you can make the contact as long or short as you like depending on the band conditions.
And what you find to discuss with your new friend.

Please tell your callsign every 10-20 minutes during a QSO.


Radio Wave Propagation


When you communicate with another operator on HamSphere 4.0 shortwave bands under certain conditions (time of day, frequency of the transmission) your signals bounce off various layers of the virtual atmosphere and travel surprisingly long distances, even with a weak signal (ionospheric propagation, a.k.a skywave propagation).


There are Web services such as VOACAP that can give you a good radio propagation prediction from your location. By entering your coordinates and the target area coordinates you will be able to see what bands that are likely to be "open" for communication.


http://www.voacap.com/prediction.html

HamSphere Mobile Plug-Ins explained

VHF/UHF Plug-In


This plug-in is included for free in your android app. You can use the VHF/UHF plugin to communication via 11 repeaters around the world. You will find the frequencies further up in this email. The plugin-has the follwoing fatures:
  • 3 audio filters
  • Scanner via #4
  • Mic Level via #2
  • 2m / 70cm band selector
  • Active Repeater list via #1
  • Repeater List via #3
  • Channel BUSY indicator

VFO Plug-In


The VFO will enable you to tune all HamSphere 4.0 Shortwave frequencies. You can select USB (Upper Side Band), LSB (Lower Side Band) or CW (Contineous Wave) modes and all 12 shortwave bands. The audio filter switches are also available. The VFO tunes the TX/RX (Transceiver/Receiver) in 100 Hz steps.

Waterfall Plug-In


The combined Waterfall/Bandscope plug-in is one of the most versatile modules for your handheld transceiver. It gives you a complete update of the current band spectrum. Just like the VFO you can select USB (Upper Side Band), LSB (Lower Side Band) or CW (Contineous Wave) modes and all 12 shortwave bands. The audio filter switches are also available. By touching and swiping the lower portion of the screen (Waterfall) you can set the frequency in kHz. By touching/swiping the upper part (BandScope) you can do fine-tuning of the frequency.

Log Book Plug-In


The Mobile awards require that you use the mobile log book for the operation. This log book plug.-in has a "special" signature that is required by the award calculations. If you want to hunt for these precious awards you will need one of these! Log all your contacts using your mobile phone. The plugin comes with one default QSL card but you can add more cards via our website.

DX-Cluster Plug-In


The DX Cluster is a tool that presents "DX Spots" on the system that will help the operators to find active DX stations on the system. The "spots" are shared/entered by the operators on the system using the DX Monitor plugin. You can click directly on the frequency in the cluster to tune the receiver.

DX Monitor Plug-In


Use the DX-Monitor to share DX-Spots or to check the propagation by the the world wide monitoring stations. Sharing DX Spots is a good way to share your listening experiences and reception quality to others.

Plug-In Organizer


Organize your plugins with a simple click. Move your plug-ins in any order.

Look Up Box


Get information about all call signs registered in the HamSphere system.
It provides info about Name, Country, ISO2, QTH, Lat, Long, Grid including distance and azimuth from your location.

Antenna Selector


Use the Antenna Selector to select or purchase new antennas. Click ALL to show all available antennas. Click OWN to show your owned antennas or use BAND to show the antennas usabale for the selected band.

Antenna Rotator


Use the Antenna Rotator to set a specific azimuth for a "rotatable" antenna such as the "Moxon". You can also adjust the azimuth by 1 degree steps by using +/- buttons. The indicator dot will automatically turn green and release the rotator dial when you have a rotatable antenna connected.

Oscilloscope


The Oscilloscope will show your Transmitted or Received signal in a graphical waveform representation. Keep track of RF gain and modulation levels.

Mobile Net


As of (05/25/2017) at 0100 UTC Joe Olig runs the very first HamSphere 4.0 Mobile Net. The net is run on Thursdays, 0100 UTC for one hour on the 2 Meter frequency of 145.500.
All are welcome to join the net.
He will be the net control station, with the call sign 2HS8403. This is his first time as a net control station. The purpose for the net is to discuss, and to ask questions about the new HS 4.0 Mobile app. He is also asking for any additional people to act as net controllers in my absence, or if for some reason he would lose internet connection. Thank you.

73 de Joe Olig 2HS8403

HamSphere 4.0 Mobile Facebook group


Welcome to join our HamSphere 4.0 Mobile facebook group. This group is for the HamSphere 4.0 mobile users. As the app connects to the HS4 Virtual Ionospheric Sphere there are many things to consider such as Ionospheric propagation etc and you can get a lot of help by joining this group. Discussions should mainly be about the app and its usage etc.
Don't forget to download the

Latest version

from Google Play. We are now at version 1.003 Release 13.
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