Sunspots - Sunday November 24th

 Solar flux is 200 and the SSN 156. A=8 and K=1.

Climate change - NOT amateur radio

It is a very odd person (probably living on Planet Zog) that cannot see that our climate is changing. We may argue if this is cyclical or as a result of man, but changing it is.

In some countries it is of minor significance, whereas for some it is becoming an existential crisis. In some places there have been devastating floods, or droughts or very powerful hurricanes. If sea levels rise whole nations could disappear beneath the waves.

A fact of life is that poor countries suffer the most. Many of these we depend on for food.  In the long run we will all suffer if we are selfish as nations.

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c8jykpdgr08t .

Digital modes compared

This is a link I came across when looking at videos about LongChat (see previous post). I think it was done before FT8 appeared. I think FT8 works down to about -21dB S/N although I have had some decodes at -24dB S/N.

See https://www.pa3fwm.nl/technotes/tn09b.html .

LongChat

This is a mode of message transmission I had not heard about before. It is claimed messages can be sent using extremely low power using chirped signals. I am no expert at all on digital communications!

Sneezing and speed - NOT amateur radio

Two things I have put down to my 2013 stroke may seem bizarre to others. They are my perception of speed (as mentioned before) and sneezing.

For some time I have been aware that my perception of speed is "different" in that I feel I am going 20mph faster than I am. I was not aware of this in a coach until this week. On the way to London in a coach we seemed to be going very fast. In a car this is noticeable when I think I am going over 60mph and look at the speedometer and see I am doing less than 50mph and there is a queue of cars behind me!

The second thing seems trivial, but when I feel a sneeze coming on I always sneeze. I am sure this is different.

These are only mentioned as they are subtle artefacts I think of my stroke. Probably others affected by strokes have noticed other things affecting them.

London sights - NOT amateur radio

London, the capital of England, is a fine city with a mix of old and new buildings. 

Some of the old buildings are known the world over. 

We went there on Thursday with our village theatre group by coach.

6m QRP FT8 (Saturday)

Once my QMX+ initiates, I intend to try 6m QRP FT8 again. Yet again, it has not yet initiated. I hope there is a fix for this in later software or hardware as I am suffering this bug most times I switch the transceiver on. It otherwise is a very good rig that I enjoy using. On early production, I suppose this is to be expected.

UPDATE 1006z: The QMX+ has initiated, but I do not know how long it took. So far just 4 English stations have spotted me.

UPDATE 1347z:  Spotted by 21 stations including 1 in Germany.

UPDATE 1645z: Spotted by 25 stations (in Europe) and on RX VO1AW (3801km) spotted.

10m 500mW WSPR (Saturday)

 Since about 0945z I have been on 10m QRP WSPR TX with my beacon. No spots yet.

UPDATE 1009z:  Just 2 Finnish stations spotting me.

UPDATE 2039z:   23 stations have spotted me. QRT shortly.

The Shard: London - NOT amateur radio

This is (I think) the tallest building in London. It certainly can be seen for miles!  

The photo shows a view from outside Southwark Cathedral last Thursday. 

Oscar 100 narrrowband activity

Every few weeks I take a peak at the activity of the narrowband transponder of this satellite. The last time was on a Friday early evening in Europe. 

Activity continues to disappoint me. Whilst for some this has been an introduction to microwaves, I was expecting far more DXers to make use of this. 

As I have said before, I think it is just too hard for many. The main markets of the USA and Japan do not come within the satellite footprint. This means there are no mass market "black boxes".

See https://eshail.batc.org.uk/nb/ .

Sunspots - Saturday November 23rd

 Solar flux is 179 and the SSN 170. A=12 and K=1.

Over the solar peak?

In my opinion we have just passed the solar peak. We can expect a few years of good conditions, but I expect the trajectory to be slowly downwards.

Web archive - NOT amateur radio

Some of my time after lunch was spent browsing the Internet Archive. This is an absolute treasure trove of old material. Some time back I found a snapshot of my very first website dated 1996. If you want to look at old material about anything it is worth looking here. I am pretty sure much old stuff is on this archive.

There is a radio archive at https://archive.org/details/dlarc .

Another site worth a browse is https://www.worldradiohistory.com/ .

It would appear most things from the past may be found if you look hard. I have only scratched the surface.

Mudlarking - NOT amateur radio

Mudlarking is the term for looking for rubbish on the shores of the River Thames in London, UK. The earliest ever banana in London was found as a result of mudlarking.

6m QRP FT8 (Friday)

 If my QMX+ initiates (it hasn't yet!) I intend to try 6m QRP FT8.

UPDATE 0945z: Well, the QMX+ eventually did initiate. Probably this occurred in the first 20 minutes. The secret seems to be just to leave it. I would have expected this to happen within seconds. This is not fatal, but definitely needs fixing or explaining. Otherwise the QMX+ works really well. So far, spotted by 7 English stations on 6m QRP FT8 this morning.

UPDATE 1238z: 19 English stations spotted.

UPDATE 1545z:  30 stations have spotted me. Some are European. F2 backscatter?

10m QRP WSPR (Friday)

 My 500mW WSPR beacon was turned on at about 0915z. No spots.

UPDATE 0947z:  Spotted by 4 stations so far.  These look like by F2 propagation.

UPDATE 1243z: Spotted by 9 stations.

UPDATE 1603z:   30 stations have spotted me with the furthermost PU5ALE (10191km).

Sunspots - Friday November 22nd

 Solar flux is 166 and the SSN 148. A=8 and K=2.

Tower Bridge - NOT amateur radio

As we were in London to see "Guys and Dolls" at the Tower Theatre with our village theatre group, I decided to take this photo of Tower Bridge as we left. Being in London, there was no radio today.

Shetland again - NOT amateur radio

 

This is another spectacular photo from the Shetland Is by Richard Lewis that appeared on 365project.

Hype?

Lots of people are talking about the new Yaesu FTX-1F transceiver due "in early 2025". Very little is known about it yet (as far as I am aware) and some are describing it as an FT817/818 successor or a replacement to the ICOM IC705. 

At the right price ( I expect they are thinking hard about this) and with the right features it could be all of these, but it could "bomb". Expect prices to drop later.  Also, early products sometimes have software and hardware bugs that get corrected later.

The video below is similar to many. I expect this will be the same until we know more about it ..... and the all important price.

Sunspots - Thursday November 21st

 Solar flux is 163 and the SSN 113. A=8 and K=1.

Electric cars - NOT amateur radio

In the news today was the sacking of 4000 people from Ford because of disappointing sales of electric cars. In my view we will see a major shift to electric cars when:

• Range is much increased.
• There is a move away from LiIon batteries.
• Prices are far lower.

In my view we are not there yet. In a few years things could be totally different. I am surprised that research in battery technology is not enormous as whoever makes the breakthrough will capture the market.

Nobel prizes - NOT amateur radio

Behind this tree in the photo is Old School Lane on which the original Cavendish Laboratory, Cambridge  is located. It was here that many Nobel prizes were won.

Getting colder - NOT amateur radio

These last few days it has got far colder here in the UK. In some parts there has been early snow.  Today we had our first frost of the season.

I  have no idea what the long-term weather is for this winter, My wife recently took the photo of these berries.

6m QRP FT8 (Wednesday)

 After leaving the QMX+ for 30 minutes it initialised. I  have no idea how long after initial switch on this happened. 

Anyway at about 0735z I went on 6m FT8 QRP with the QMX+.

UPDATE 0925z:   27 stations have spotted me so far today.

UPDATE 1222z:  Spotted by 95 stations. See map.

UPDATE 1613z: VO1SIX (3933km) in Canada has spotted me on QRP 6m FT8 today. In total, 102 stations have spotted my QRP 6m FT8  today.

10m QRP WSPR TX (Wednesday)

My 500mW 10m WSPR beacon was turned on about 0700z. My QMX+ failed to initialise again. I have left it for now to see what happens!

UPDATE 1615z:  46 stations have spotted my QRP 10m WSPR beacon. Furthermost is PU5ALE (10191km) in Brazil.

Sunspots- Wednesday November 20th

 Solar flux is 157 and the SSN 109. A=8 and K=3.

17m QRP FT8 (Tuesday)

 Don't ask me when, but the QMX+ initialised. As it is quite late (so 10m and 6m are probably dead) I am on 17m QRP FT8 with about 3W.

UPDATE 2132z:   6 stations (3 in the USA) have spotted me. One station in Georgia, USA copied on RX.

UPDATE 2225z:  11 stations have spotted me.  Now QRT.

Hoswick Bay, Shetland - NOT amateur radio

This brilliant photo by Richard Lewis who lives in the Shetland Isles, Scotland was posted on 365project recently. 

Being so far north, days are shorter in winter. They also get lots of wind and have few trees.

Green fingers? - NOT amateur radio

My wife seems to have a "touch" with house plants with many lasting far longer than we might expect. We have some orchids that have lasted many years. 

She says the secret with orchids is just a thimble of water once a week. Whatever, she has the touch!

10m 500mW WSPR (Tuesday)

My beacon has been on most of the morning. 14 stations have spotted me.

UPDATE 1915z:  43 stations have spotted me today. 

QMX+ still failing to initialise

After trying for about 10 times, my QMX+ (which is great once initialised!) has failed to initialise. Probably Wednesday, I shall go on 6m FT8 with the IC-705 instead.

UPDATE  1440z:  Although both the QDX and QMX+ rigs are very good, I am very disappointed that I am having so much trouble with Windows 10. It takes several goes to get the PC to "see" the audio on the QDX and the initialisation of the QMX+ is "flaky" at best: when it works great, but it should not be this hard to get started. I hope this initialisation is better with more recent software. It lets down an otherwise great radio.

Sunspots - Tuesday November 19th

 Solar flux is 165 and the SSN 118.  A=4 and K=1.

Gifts - NOT amateur radio

It is getting closer to the season when, in many cultures, gifts are exchanged. This was in the Grand Arcade, Cambridge earlier today.

6m QRP FT8 (Monday)

My QRP FT8 has been on 50.313MHz with my QMX+ since just before breakfast. 14 stations have spotted me.  See map.

UPDATE 2004z:   QRT.  55 stations have spotted my QRP 6m FT8  today.  See map.

10m 500mW WSPR TX (Monday)

My QRP beacon has been on since just before breakfast. So far, just 25 spots by EA8BFK (2880km).

UPDATE 1933z:  Now QRT after 40 stations spotted my QRP today.

6m MSK144 - total failure

 Overnight I monitored 50.280MHz MS144, which was supposed to be the best place to lurk for 6m MS in the Leonid meteor shower that was due to peak November 17th. In total, I spotted precisely nothing at all! It was a total failure. 

I was wondering if my internet connection had failed but there was nothing on my screen either, suggesting nothing had been received. Perhaps people have moved to a different mode or it was  a poor shower?

Sunspots - Monday November 18th

 Solar flux is 146 and the SSN 117.  A=8 and K=2.

Vandalism - NOT amateur radio

Back in the 1500s in the Reformation many statues were destroyed as being "idols". Looking back, this was pure vandalism. 

The example shown in the photo is the Lady Chapel in Ely Cathedral.  

We are still doing this in the world! These are part of our history. We may not agree with our forefathers but we have absolutely no right to destroy it.

6m MSK144 (Sunday)

Having confirmed that most 6m MS activity is around 50.280MHz in Europe, I am again monitoring this overnight.

10m DX in 2012

One of my Facebook memories today was of a report from the USA 🇺🇸 when I was using my ultra-simple CW transceiver on 10m.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/homebrew/10m-lesser-chirpy .

OFCOM news

OFCOM is to auction off chunks of mm wave spectrum near 25GHz and 40GHz. It also updates the information it holds on licences etc.. See the OFCOM website.

Awareness of speed - NOT amateur radio

For many years, I have been aware that my perception of speed is "different". When I drive (locally only) it is as if I am doing 20 mph faster than I am. I glance down at my speedometer and it feels like I am doing about 65mph whereas I am doing about 45mph only and there is a stream of traffic behind me! 

Earlier in the week I was a passenger in a car with a friend. He seemed to be going fast, but was only doing about 50mph.

In the past I put this down to my 2013 stroke, but perhaps it is old age. It is getting worse.

6m QRP FT8 (Sunday)

My QRP 6m FT8 has been on since just after breakfast. So far, spotted by 20 stations. See map.

UPDATE  1417z:   24 stations (all in Europe) have spotted me.

10m 500mW WSPR (Sunday)

 My QRP beacon has been on most of the morning. So far, 13 stations have spotted me. 

UPDATE 1420z:  26 stations have spotted me.

Unusual view - NOT amateur radio

 The windmill next door has been on the blog many times but this is an unusual view over the allotment gardens .

Leonid meteor shower

This peaks on November 17th. 

Usually meteor showers result in VHF reflections. Although some manage QSOs with random meteors, the duration of reflections is usually longer in showers, so QSOs tend to be easier. 

Pings tend to be strong, but of short duration. MSK144 is a popular mode.

UPDATE 0942z:  No spots overnight. I hope I am on the correct frequency.

Very clever people

Thanks to Amateur Radio Weekly, I have been watching a video showing how someone uses a microcontroller as a TX and RX just by writing code. These chips are not intended to do this at all. To me this is magic! 

I would not know where to start, HI.

Sunspots - Sunday November 17th

 Solar flux is 140 and the SSN 71. A=8 and K=3.

6m MSK144 RX (Saturday)

Overnight I am monitoring 50.280MHz MSK144, hoping to catch some MS pings in the Leonid meteor shower. I think this is the most used frequency for this mode in Europe.

UPDATE 2100z:  No spots.

Inclusivity - NOT amateur radio

In a modern society everyone deserves an equal chance irrespective of race, colour, ethnicity, sexuality or disability. Who they are simply does not matter.

However, have you noticed that nearly every advert on TV now tries really hard to be seen as "inclusive" by including anyone who might be considered "outside"? Perhaps the person is obese, black, disabled or whatever. How often have you noticed someone mentions, in passing, about their husband or wife (of the same sex) on TV?

Now, I am not saying this is wrong, far from it, yet in many ways society has become less tolerant.

I hope that we can all be "inclusive" without becoming total prudes.

10m 500mW WSPR (Saturday)

 

So far this morning 6 stations have spotted me.

UPDATE 1426z: 25 stations have spotted my 500mW 10m WSPR today. Some USA stations are now spotting me.

Ely Cathedral - NOT amateur radio

 

This is Ely Cathedral from the nearby meadow.

Near Ely Cathedral - NOT amateur radio

Ely is unusual in having a park with delightful views of the cathedral nearby. This is about 300m from the cathedral and is a delightful walk.

6m QRP FT8 (Saturday)

For some unknown reason my QMX+ initialised this morning, so I am on 6m QRP FT8 again. So far, I have been spotted by 5 English stations, although I see some better equipped stations are working India on 6m FT8.

UPDATE 1408z: Spotted by 30 stations today with the furthermost 4X1UF (3513km).

UPDATE 1745z:  32 spots of my QRP 6m FT8 today.

Spectrumview audio spectrum analyser

When I got my iPhone SE about a year ago, I was quite surprised to see that an app was still available for Spectrumview from Oxford Scientific. 

This is available in iOS but I don't think it is available for Android. Many years ago it was useful for VLF and lightbeam work when I needed an audio spectrum analyser. It was also going to be used at 137kHz until I blew up my beacon earlier this year! By changing the sample rate you can adjust the time shown on the screen.

It is the best audio spectrum analyser I found. It is a free app.

Sunspots - Saturday November 16th

Solar flux is 149 and the SSN 71.   A=13 and K=2. 

Sepura SCL3 - NOT amateur radio

In my professional life before I retired in 2008 I worked for Sepura as a design manager. In those days we led the way in TETRA radios. 

These days it seems emergency services are migrating to 4G/5G services and Sepura is producing a hand portable to allow this migration. It has a TETRA module.

QMX+

When working, this is a great radio covering up to 6m, with SSB promised in a software update. 

Most times it boots up fine, but not always. 

I get a screen that is dim with the top line as shown in the photo. Without unplugging it, I cannot turn it off. It is as if it is not initialised.

In most ways it is a really good QRP radio, but I find this annoying. I hope it is corrected in a later software release as well as the QMX+ USB port not being recognised with Windows 10 without several reboots of the QMX+.

FT710 Field

 One well known UK dealer is selling the Yaesu FT710 Field for £814.99 after the Yaesu cashback.

Ely Cathedral - NOT amateur radio

This is called "The Ship of the Fens". It is on top of a hill and can be seen for miles, much like Chartres in France. 

The photo shows the view from the Almonry that has been serving meals since the 1200s.

Ely, Bishop’s Palace - NOT amateur radio

During WW2 my dad was a Pathfinder flying night raids in Lancaster bombers over Germany. 

Before joining flying crew he had to have his appendix removed here. It is now part of the Kings School.

I am sure he hated war.

10m 500mW WSPR ( Friday)

My QRP beacon was turned on about 0910z. No spots yet.

UPDATE 1538z:  Lots of spots today including many from "across the pond". So far today,  17 stations have spotted me.

Sunspots - Friday November 15th

Solar flux is 147 and the SSN 96. A=11 and K=2.

Roses - NOT amateur radio

 

My wife loves her flowers and these do cheer up dreary November days! These roses certainly fit the bill.

Kierkegaard quote - NOT amateur radio

Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards” ~ Kierkegaard

This is a famous quote that rings true with me. When you reflect on things you see them in a fresh light.

10m QRP WSPR (Thursday)

My 500mW 10m WSPR beacon was turned on at breakfast time. So far, I have been spotted by 12 stations, I think by F2 propagation. 

6m QRP FT8 again (Thursday)

 Once again, I am trying 6m as the F2 propagation sometimes goes this high. So far (at 0920z) spotted by 14 English stations.

UPDATE 1333z:  43 stations have spotted my QRP 6m FT8 today. Nobody outside Europe has spotted me today.

UPDATE 1712z:  53 spots of me today on 6m QRP FT8.

Black Friday "deals" - NOT amateur radio

One large PC manufacturer just told me by email that they were doing Black Friday deals early and that there were some amazing bargains.So, I took a look.

As far as I can see, these "bargains" are as high as they have ever been.

I expect if I looked very hard I might find an old model that is a bit less expensive, so they can clear the shelves for 2025 models.

What me a cynic? Surely not !! 😃

The moral? Treat Black Friday "deals" with caution. Some amazing bargains are definitely not.

Sunspots - Wednesday November 14th

 Solar flux is 150 and the SSN 109. A=7 and K=3.

SSTV from the International Space Station (ISS)

 During this week is a chance to get slow scan TV from the ISS. This video may help. SSTV is not something I have done seriously.

Autumn - NOT amateur radio

A few weeks the trees were mostly in leaf. Now most leaves have fallen. It all seems to have happened very quickly. The photo shows a close in our village yesterday.

6m QRP FT8 (Wednesday)

My QRP FT8  has been on for a while after breakfast. 6 English stations have spotted me. One VU was spotted at the end of a QSO.

UPDATE 1438z:  36 spots of my QRP 6m FT8 (mostly English) with the furthermost spotted by VU2MSA (8178km). Obviously F2 to India is reaching 6m.

UPDATE 1940z: 41 stations have spotted me today.

10m 500mW WSPR TX (Wednesday)

18 stations have spotted me so far this morning at 1008z on 10m QRP WSPR TX. Most look like F2 propagation.

UPDATE 1730z:  82 stations have spotted me with the furthermost F61695 (9729km) in the Indian Ocean. 

Sunspots - Wednesday November 13th

 Solar flux is 172 and the SSN 116. A=5 and K=2.

70cm activity contest (UKAC)

 This evening is the November 70cm activity contest organised by the RSGB. I go on briefly with my 10W SSB and the 2m omni big-wheel.

UPDATE 2019z:  2 stations worked, then I gave up! Furthermost was G4CLA (105km).

2012 memory

This dates from 2012!! It was first posted on Facebook back then.

King's in the sun - NOT amateur radio

 

The photo shows King's College from across the Backs in the sunshine yesterday in the autumn colours.

All quiet on the Yaesu front

Some months ago Yaesu announced the FTX-1F which was hailed as the successor to the FT817/818 range and a competitor to the ICOM IC-705. Since then I have heard  ..... nothing!  Even on the rumour mill, it has been deadly quiet. 

Is there any information out there?

At the right price (below £1000)  and with the right features, it could be a serious player. 

In my time I have owned very many Yaesu products. They have all been very good and very reliable, although I have the feeling Yaesu lost its way and market leadership in recent years. 

The Yen is extremely competitive against the US dollar and UK pound at the moment.

Maybe, just maybe, they will get it right this time. I do hope so.

YouTube videos

There is an enormous quantity of stuff on YouTube. Whether your interest is amateur radio or something else, a quick search is almost sure to throw up something. The video attached is just an example. 

10m QRP WSPR (Tuesday)

My 500mW 10m WSPR beacon was turned on at about 0950z. No spots yet.

UPDATE 1242z:  29 stations have spotted me today with the furthermost WD4DLG (6287km) .

6m QRP FT8 (Tuesday)

My FT8 gear was turned on at about 0950z. So far spotted by 4 English stations at 0953z.

UPDATE 1425z:  22 stations have spotted my QRP 6m FT8 today. 

UPDATE 1741z:   24 stations have spotted me today. See map.

More Cambridge in the sun - NOT amateur radio

The photo shows the path up to King's College, Cambridge yesterday. It looks far more autumnal. At least the sun was shining!

PI4 versus FT8

Most beacons use PI4 whereas I would have expected them to use FT8. 

Does PI4 confer some advantages? Maybe better sensitivity? In my view, unless there is something about PI4 I don't know about, I would prefer beacons to use FT8 or at least have an FT8 sequence.

Just imagine if the IBP project beacons used FT8 on each band! One could leave a monitor on all day and see what comes through. 

This would be extremely valuable in the solar quiet years on the higher bands. 

I could see someone producing an IBP RX perhaps band switching to see which bands are open?

Sunspots - Tuesday November 12th

 Solar flux is 182 and the SSN 138. A=10 and K=2.

Cambridge in the sun - NOT amateur radio

We have had "anticyclonic gloom" for what seems like forever. We have seen hardly any sun until today. This was the River Cam outside King's College, Cambridge.

10m 500mW WSPR (Monday)

13 spots of my QRP beacon today.  See table.