At about 1900z I QSYed to 2m FT8. Already a QSO with a station in Brittany and my 10W to the big-wheel omni spotted by 15 stations in 4 countries.
25 Sep 2020
Solar farm - NOT amateur radio
A UK company wants to build a large solar farm with back-up batteries around villages in the area. I have replied to their questionnaire on line. If eventually approved building will start in 2022 and the farm will be operational in 2025.
Although I have few concerns overall, I have raised the issue of RF pollution if they design and fit power converters "on the cheap". This unlikely to affect me, but could make life tough for those trying to detect weak signals nearer these sites.
That wind - NOT amateur radio
Our tree - NOT amateur radio
Another Zoom meeting
The Cambridge radio club (CDARC) is holding another Zoom talk tonight at 8pm. This is a talk about noise cancelling by ex RSGB president Bob Whelan G3PJT. Details are on the CDARC website. Zoom meetings suit me well. Last time we had a very large number of people.
IC-705 in the UK
From reports I am seeing, it looks as if UK customers are getting IC-705 transceivers from UK dealers at last. Most seem pleased. The first review has appeared on eHam.
6m FT8
At about 0800z, I turned on my 10W 6m FT8 to the V2000 vertical. So far, just 1 G spot of me - G0PQO (50km) and nothing on RX.
UPDATE 1105z: 9 stations have spotted me so far with the best being EI2FG (565km) in southern Eire. This could be aircraft scatter. 3 stations (all G) spotted on RX.
UPDATE 1550z: Now 16 spots of me with the best DX spot being by CN8LI in Morocco (2114km).
Old workshop
I came across this photo of my old workshop at the back of the garage at the old QTH. Although I have a workbench in my current shack, my health precludes much building.
24 Sep 2020
Wireless charging and noise
It occurs to me that the HF noise issue is going to get far worse.
At the moment I am lucky having a fairly low noise floor, but more people will, rightly, be getting cars that don't depend on fossil fuels. Wireless charging of these could raise local noise levels still further. There is a danger that HF bands and down could become unusable with weak signals. Narrow-band modes could be better. In the future there could be a big market for noise cancellers to help reduce noise from certain sources. Noise nullers usually work with one noise source and not white noise.
Oscar 100 activity (or lack of it)
As regular blog readers may know, I take a very unscientific peek at the Goonhilly web SDR to judge activity on the narrowband transponder of this geosynchronous satellite. Activity levels remain low with plenty of space for new users. When I looked just now, there were only 2 QSOs going on! OK, some are at work, especially in Europe, but in many places people are not.
Get together - NOT amateur radio
Yesterday my wife had a few friends around (socially distanced!) to help celebrate a couple of birthdays. Here they are by the windmill next door to us.
6m FT8
or about the last hour (it is now 1012z) I have been on 6m FT8. Nothing has been spotted on RX and on TX just 2 Gs have spotted me so far.
UPDATE 1055z: 2 Gs spotted on RX here and just 2 spots by Gs of my 10W to the V2000 vertical omni. No Es seen.
UPDATE 1813z: Just the 2 G spots of me today and just 7 Gs spotted on RX. No signs here of Es.
23 Sep 2020
IC-705 in the UK?
Just wondering if anyone in the UK has received one yet? ICOM UK were expecting them "mid September", but I have not heard of any with customers yet. I haven't ordered one as they often fix early life issues with hardware or firmware updates. It is also far too expensive. I can wait. Although I have a few videos on my site, new ones are appearing most days now.
Rear garden - NOT amateur radio
Sometime in October we'll have a lot of dead leaves to collect. We had 2 trees pruned nearly 2 years ago. They need doing again.
TinySA
6m FT8
Today, I decided to go on 6m FT8 (0830z). Already 1 station has spotted me - G0DYW (77km). So far, he is the only station spotted on 6m FT8 .
UPDATE 1257z: 6 stations have spotted my 10W to the V2000 vertical omni today so far. 4 stations spotted so far with the furthermost being F6HGB (985km).
UPDATE 1430z: Now spotted by 7 stations with the best being DJ8RZ (881km) on TX and I have spotted 5 stations on RX.
UPDATE 1925z: 12 stations have spotted me with the furthermost being SM7CAD (1140km). Gone are the days of big Es openings for this year, but even with my small system there is still some occasional DX.
NanoVNA spectrum analyser?
For about $50 you can buy a NanoVNA. This is excellent value. I have never used one, but I believe it can be used as a spectrum analyser. If so, this brings spectrum analysers well into amateur budgets. I am half tempted. There are several YouTube videos on the NanoVNA, although I have not yet watched any.
If you have one, please tell us how you found it.
22 Sep 2020
SPRAT on DVD
Many times I have said that SPRAT is brilliant. The latest version, 184, has just come out.
Hepburn tropo forecast
A useful resource (although I rarely use it!) is the Hepburn tropo forecast. I think this is done for all areas on the planet, although the link is for western Europe. This could be useful if you are a keen VHF/UHF DXer. Click the main map to get forecasts for future dates.
2m FT8 (10W to the big-wheel omni antenna)
Since arriving home from our walk and doing some gardening, I have been on 2m FT8. So far (at 1050z) 40 spots of me in 3 countries and 1 QSO.
UPDATE 1947z: Now 78 spots of me in 9 countries today on 2m. 5 QSOs. I am convinced that these sort of 2m results are possible with 10W and a big-wheel at any time. It seems far too common to be due to aircraft. A more probable hypothesis is that this is some other scatter mode that FT8 allows simple stations to access. Somewhere I read that FT8 is about 18dB better than SSB. That is like changing a dipole to a huge beam! Nearly every time I go on 2m FT8 I get spotted in N.Ireland. This is far too random for aircraft surely!
Marsh harrier - NOT amateur radio
East Cambs Net
Last night we had a record number of people on our East Cambs net on 2m FM. There were so many I forgot the order! When I left the net I returned to 2m FT8.
21 Sep 2020
Chromebook update - NOT amateur radio
In all, I have owned a Chromebook for about 10 months. I wondered if this decision would be regretted, but the complete opposite is the case. The battery lasts all day (it was used several times yesterday and still has over 8 hours battery life left), it boots up in seconds and I have yet to find anything it cannot do. It is brilliant and far better than my Windows laptop. My wife needed a new laptop, so she too has a Chromebook.
Covid-19 in the UK - NOT amateur radio
There is no doubt that Covid-19 is on the rise, with more cases in western Europe than for several months. We are getting smarter at treating it, but it remains a real threat to the elderly especially. I just hope that the UK government can do enough to stop the exponential rise of this disease. They are trying to balance public health with economic damage. It is not easy.
2m FT8
Since 1219z I have QSYed to 2m FT8 (10W to the big-wheel omni). Within a few minutes I have been spotted by 41 stations in 4 countries.
UPDATE 1314z: Already 2 QSOs and spotted by 64 stations in 8 countries.
UPDATE 1837z: 106 stations in 8 countries have spotted me today on 2m FT8.
 |
| Stations spotting me today on 2m FT8 |
6m FT8 Monday
Continuing my "playing" with 6m FT8, I turned on the 6m gear (10W to the V2000 vertical) at about 0833z. Already spotted by 5 G stations plus OV3T (732km) in Denmark (Es?) and I have spotted G3PXT (80km).
UPDATE 0850z: Now my 10W is being spotted by 7 stations, mostly Gs.
UPDATE 1217z: Now 9 stations spotting me and G3PXT is calling "CQ SM" on 6m. Is he after 6m tropo QSOs? I may QSY to 2m FT8 later as apparently there is lots of tropo DX from Scandinavia on 2m FT8.
Pompey in better times - NOT amateur radio
A few years ago we went to Pompey. It rained! What struck me was just how similar life was really even all those years ago
6m operation
In really good sunspot maximums the F2 MUF exceeds 50MHz at times and world wide DX is possible on 6m. Even with a low wire dipole I recall ZS (South African) stations chatting on SSB and Ws (USA) chatting as if they were locals. These days the F2 layer rarely gets that high. Luckily some impressive DX is possible via E layer, especially in the summer months.
I think it is fair to say I "play" at 6m using 10W and a V2000 omni antenna. Serious operators have big towers, big beams and maximum legal power. This extra "station gain" could be worth some 30-40dB. There is little doubt that this will make a difference.
Most Junes, Japan is worked from western Europe on 6m. With weak signal modes this is possible with more modest stations, although big stations are better equipped to work such long paths. Last year some even worked Australia from western Europe on 6m through a combination of propagation modes. It is not for nothing that some call it "the magic band".
Often people leave the band thinking it is just "white noise" outside of the summer months. Even at unusual times and months the band can open, which is why FT8 can be so useful: it works with weaker signals than SSB or CW, activity is concentrated in a few kilohertz, and there are lots of monitors. WSPR would be even better, but the longer TX slots could mean some fleeting openings are missed even though WSPR can detect even weaker signals.
Encouraging news (I think)
Southgate News has a piece on the report of the Examinations Standards Committee about recent amateur exams. It shows increases in those taking the exams in the UK, although most are men.
20 Sep 2020
200 years old - NOT amateur radio
Thistle - NOT amateur radio
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