ICOM IC-705 versus Yaesu FTX-1F

You can see what ICOM need to do as an upgrade to the IC-705. Let's call this the IC-705A.  They could include an ATU internally and offer 4m. If they did these, they would probably easily compete against the Yaesu FTX-1F if it ever does come to market. 

I am losing faith with Yaesu, who appear to be drifting yet again. The last I heard was they were planning a worldwide launch after FCC approval. With the goings-on in the USA, I cannot see the FCC approving it soon. Also, Japan now faces a 10% tariff in the USA. I expect all Japanese manufacturers are revisiting their business plans. We have heard nothing more about this product since it appeared under glass last summer in Tokyo. I expect (if not withdrawn altogether!) Yaesu is trying to see which features will make it a real winner.

In my view the FTX-1F was put out in Tokyo to judge reaction. Unless it comes to market very soon, it is dead. It is interesting that we have not even seen updated specs! 

Meanwhile, the IC-705 is already years old, has many features already and the only thing against it is price. Just imagine if ICOM dropped its price by £150. Yaesu would be scrabbling around in a right mess.

Sunspots - Saturday April 19th

 Solar flux is 156 and the SSN 113. A=13 and K=4.

Regen receivers

 Regen receivers are simple, but effective. I have designed and built several. See my website. One of the classics was by Charles Kitchen N1TEV. It appeared in QEX.

See also Kitchin Regen is Revealed #soldersmoke #vintageradio #retro #regen - YouTube

Our village - NOT amateur radio

 

This photo collage was taken yesterday.

FT4 and JS8Call

These are two digital modes I have never tried. The former is faster than FT8, but less sensitive. JS8Call allows chatting with a keyboard, but is basically the same as FT8. JS8Call is meant for real communications.

See JS8Call | The official site for JS8Call

Easter - NOT amateur radio

Easter is traditionally a time for families to get together.....and eat. All these were bought from our local bakers yesterday. Just cooked.

10m QRP FT8 (Friday)

My IC-705 at 6W was turned on at about 0530z. 

UPDATE 1732z: 62 stations have spotted me. The furthermost is Reunion Is.. Quieter than I was expecting. Maybe several people are away over the Easter weekend? 

Friday plans

 As conditions seem less disturbed I plan to go on 10m QRP FT8 later.

Sunspots - Friday April 18th

 Solar flux is 151 and the SSN 70. A=11 and K=3.

Hilberling PT-8000A and linear bundle from MLS

MLS is advertising this bundle for the small sum of £17999. Maybe if you are an Arab Sheik you can afford this, but I certainly can not! 

Add on a tower and beam you would be talking about £20000!  Not my idea of amateur radio. Each to their own. 

If I was paying that, I would expect the buttons and knobs to be solid gold. Mind you, if you were a rich sheik I expect you can ask for that for a few thousands more!

The basic design is about 12 years old. You place the order and wait for it to be hand-built.

See The BEST Ham Radio You've Never Heard Of - Hilberling PT-8000A - YouTube

Rally this Saturday

The following has been notified to me. Always check details.

• Saturday April 19th - Moray Firth Amateur Radio Surplus Sale.  Roseisle near Burghead. See www.mfars.club .

Life in outer space? - NOT amateur radio

Scientists say they have found the strongest evidence yet that there is life on other planets. They have found 2 molecules that are signatures of life. This planet is 124 light years away, so a visit is unlikely! 

I guess intelligent life is far less common. However, this discovery, if confirmed, makes finding intelligent life "out there" more likely. I am sure if we found other planets with intelligent life it could have a profound effect.

See Scientists find promising hints of life on distant planet K2-18b - BBC News

10m QRP FT8 (Thursday)

My 6W FT8 from the IC-705 was turned on at 1054z.

Stations spotting me to 1836z

UPDATE 1215z:  Spotted by 28 stations with the furthermost LU8EX (11209km).

UPDATE 2004z:   Spotted by 379 stations. See map. Now QRT.

Anglesey Abbey this morning - NOT amateur radio

This is quite near us and a lovely place to walk around at any time of the year. 

Thursday plans

 Later I hope to be on 10m QRP FT8 again.

“Our” windmill - NOT amateur radio

This was the windmill next door yesterday.

Sunspots- Thursday April 17th

 Solar flux is 148 and the SSN 58. A=77 and K=4.

10m QRP FT8 (Wednesday)

My IC-705 at 6W FT8 has been on since about 0800z.

UPDATE 2121z:  30 stations have spotted me today.

Quiet moment - NOT amateur radio

This was one of our grandsons enjoying a few moments of peace last week.

North Devon cottage 2012

 This is where we stayed in 2012. It was a small cottage with a wood burning stove.

Wednesday plans

Although it looks like conditions will be disturbed, I hope to go on 10m QRP FT8 later.

Sunspots - Wednesday April 16th

 Solar flux is 153 and the SSN 86. A=34 and K=5.

6m QRP FT8 (Tuesday)

My IC-705 has been on 6m 6W FT8 since the second half of the morning.

UPDATE 1921z: 19 spots of me.

10m 500mW WSPR (Tuesday)

 Been on for the second half of the morning, but no spots of me.

UPDATE 2056z;  2 stations spotted me today.

Sunspots - Tuesday April 15th

 Solar flux is 153 and the SSN 86. A=24 and K=6.

Tuesday plans

  Probably 10m 500mW WSPR and 6m QRP FT8 later.

Habitable planets - NOT amateur radio

There are an unbelievable number of planets believed to exist in the universe. Human consciousness should just cease when we die. The truth is we have no idea what happens. If anyone claims to know, I don't believe them.

There are estimated to be more planets in the known universe than grains of sand in the whole world!  I find this and life totally mind blowing. We really know so little.

See https://www.livescience.com/space/how-many-planets-are-in-the-universe .

It is estimated there are 100 sextillion (10 followed by 23 0s!!!) planets. This is a huge number.

Considering the huge advances in AI in just a few years, it is hard to be certain what we find is sentient life.

Maine - NOT amateur radio

One of the aspects I enjoy about 365project.org is getting glimpses of other parts of the world such as this excellent photo of Maine by one of the members called Joan Robillard.

10m QRP FT8 (Monday)

My IC-705 at 6W FT8 was turned on at 0645z.

UPDATE 1534z: 97 stations have spotted me. See map.

UPDATE 2200z: 166 stations have spotted me my QRP today.

Sunspots - Monday April 14th

 Solar flux is 164 and the SSN 80. A=15 and K=4.

Exhibition - NOT amateur radio

At the moment there is an exhibition doing the rounds in the UK. At the moment it is in our church in Burwell. It shows stories from the Bible in knitted figures.

10m QRP FT8 (Sunday)

My IC-705 at 6W 10m FT8 has been on since breakfast. 

UPDATE 1750z:  241 spots of me so far. Furthermost is Western Australia. The USA has started to come through now. See map.

Ephemeral beauty - NOT amateur radio

 

The spring blossom does not last long. 

The blossom on our ornamental cherry lasts about two weeks only.

Sunday plans

 After breakfast my plan is to go on 10m QRP FT8. 

Sunspots - Sunday April 13th

 Solar flux is 165 and the SSN 120. A=20 and K=4.

"Our" windmill next door - NOT amateur radio

As mentioned before, we live immediately next door to a fully restored 200 year old windmill. 

Earlier this week our son took this photo at night.

The future of amateur radio in the UK

 It is hard to predict the future, but some trends are clear:

• Amateur radio is, in the main, a hobby of white older men.
• People less often use amateur radio for chatting, preferring the internet.
• The hobby is attracting and keeping fewer young people.
• There is far less building and experimenting.
• The national society (RSGB) depends heavily on old men volunteering.
• Far fewer transceivers will be sold in the future as we age.
• Japanese manufacturers will increasingly question if there are still profits in amateur radio.
• The licencing authority (OFCOM) gains no revenue from amateur radio, just costs.
• We increasingly rely on fewer UK dealers.
• Some dealers will retire and close.
• Some magazines depend heavily on advertising revenue and would really suffer if this revenue stream stopped.

Take together, things will inevitably change.  The same situation is likely in many countries e.g. the USA and Germany.

It is my view, quite possibly totally wrong, that deregulation is the most likely outcome. One possibility is:

• Amateur radio will cease in its current form.
• All amateur radio bands will be deregulated so no licence will be required.
• Callsigns will become optional, but allocated by the RSGB if still needed.
• No interference must be caused.
• Amateur radio will merge with other licence free services like CB and ISM.

It is far from clear what the future holds, but change will come. One possibility is than any frequency may be used with the exception of certain restrictions such as frequencies allocated to the military or commercial services and broadcasting as long as no harmful interference is caused.

Am I concerned?  No. My interest has always been experimentation and any such changes are unlikely to make things worse. Also, most amateur radio operators are appliance operators these days, buying their transceivers from a dealer with little or no idea about how it works! I know of one local who does not know how to even use the transceiver he bought!

VLF earthmode

This was 14 years ago when I was still fit. I used to drive out in the car to see where my 5W beacon could be received.

10m QRP FT8 (Saturday)

My 6W 10m FT8 was turned on at about 0620z.

UPDATE 0845z: 17 spots of me so far with the furthermost Gabon in central Africa. The impression I get is conditions are "average".

UPDATE  1546z:   114 stations have spotted me today with the furthermost Western Australia. Nothing yet from the USA or Canada. See map.

UPDATE 1818z:  146 stations have spotted me.

Village cottages- NOT amateur radio

 

These cottages are next to the church in our village . Although a private house now they have been an antiques shop and a dress shop in our time.

Sunspots - Saturday April 12th

 Solar flux is 170 and the SSN 120. A=18 and K=3.

Friends across the world

One of the aspects of amateur radio I really like is its ability to completely transcend politics. 

Way back in the days of the USSR many stations were worked. Likewise I worked many stations in the USA and Canada. These days there are more Chinese stations active.  To this day I still exchange emails with a radio amateur in Moscow.  I also exchange emails with someone in the USA.

Most of us are just interested in some aspect of the hobby and politics just doesn't matter. Some are capitalists, some are communists. It really does not impact us. 

All we can do is continue to break down barriers and remember we are all the same really.

Yaesu FTX-1F latest

The last I heard they were awaiting FCC approval before doing a worldwide launch.  With all the turbulence in the USA, I have no idea when this will be. 

What I do know is each additional month, and extra tariffs make it less likely to be successful in the USA, which would have been one of the major markets.

It would not surprise me if this was quietly dropped.

Shrew in loft - NOT amateur radio

One  of my Facebook memories was of finding this shrew in our loft. I  had never seen a shrew in our loft before and no idea how it got there. 

We have since moved.

10m 6W FT8 (Friday)

My IC-705 at 6W FT8 was turned on at about 0815z.

UPDATE 0832z:  3 spots of me.

Child slavery? - NOT amateur radio

This was my grandson cutting our grass yesterday ..... for money!!

Sunspots - Friday April 11th

Solar flux is 153 and the SSN 113. A=17 and K=3.

Rallies this weekend

The following should take place at the weekend, although I always recommend checking first.

• Saturday  April 12th - Yeovil Amateur Radio Club QRP Conventon, Sherborne. See yeovil-arc.com/QRPconvention.php
• Sunday April 13th - Holsworthy ARC Spring Radio Rally,  EX22 7FA. No contact details.
• Sunday April 13th - Northern Amateur Radio Societies Exhibition (Blackpool Rally), Blackpool, FY2 9AA. Contact dwilson@btinternet.com

Beer o’clock- NOT amateur radio

One of the joys of having our younger son staying with us this week has been having a beer 🍺 in the garden in the sun. It is duller this morning.

10m QRP FT8 (Thursday)

My IC-705 at 6W was turned on at about 0740z.

UPDATE 1132z:  79 spots of me that look like F2 propagation. Best spot is from Brazil. 

UPDATE 1321z:  126 spots of me with the furthermost Western Australia. 

UPDATE  1650z:  201 stations have spotted me today. See map. Now QRT.

Hope Cove, Devon - NOT amateur radio

I can trace my family history continuously back to the mid 1500s in Hope Cove, Devon, UK. This is shown in the photo. 

The headland is called Bolt Tail, the site of an Iron Age fort. It is quite possible that one of my ancestors manned this!

Sunspots - Thursday April 10th

 Solar flux is 167 and the SSN 113. A=22 and K=3.

Salcombe, Devon - NOT amateur radio

Several times before, I have mentioned that I spent my early childhood in Salcombe, Devon, UK. 

At the time it was just home. We just took it all for granted.

I think it now has the most expensive homes in the UK.  It is now dominated by second homes owned by the yachting crowd and rich bankers.

Times change: centuries back it was a ship building place and before that a home of smugglers.

Possible SPRAT article?

This morning I  submitted another short article for possible inclusion in SPRAT magazine.  Way back I submitted an article on the 6m Sixbox.  This was a follow-up article. 

Sadly I have not really been fit enough since my 2013 stroke to do much design and soldering, so I now experiment in other ways.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/vhfuhfmicrowaves/homebrew/sixbox

Signs of spring - NOT amateur radio

Although it soon goes there are now clear signs of spring all around. I was able to enjoy a beer outside with my son for the second time in the garden. We can enjoy spring and new life whilst it is here.

Oscar 100 activity

My last peek at activity on the narrowband transponder using the web SDR at Gonhilly Downs in Cornwall was at 2210z on a Tuesday evening. There was no activity at all, which is the lowest activity I have ever seen. 

My theory is that outside Europe there are few users. In Europe it is late and most people are in bed. Also setting up a satellite station for Oscar 100 is too hard for appliance operators who are mostly old men. 

Overall, I am disappointed. However, I am not too surprised.

6m 6W FT8 (Wednesday)

My IC-705 was turned on at about 0800z. Just 9 English stations spotting me.

UPDATE 1619z:  34 stations have spotted me.  It looks like we may have had some Es? Spotted in 6 countries today.

UPDATE 1935z:  QRT at 1900z approximately.

10m 500mW WSPR (Wednesday)

My QRP beacon is on. No spots.

UPDATE 1930z: 50 spots all by EA8BFK (2880km).

Sunspots - Wednesday April 9th

 Solar flux is 159 and the SSN 167. A=24 and K=4.

SPRAT

Many times I have said that if I ever had to give up all my amateur radio magazines, SPRAT would be the very last to go. It is an A5 colour magazine that comes out every quarter and is packed with articles, many of which are constructional. It is produced by volunteers and people submit articles for nothing. It remains my favourite magazine.

See https://www.gqrp.com/ . 

Spirea - NOT amateur radio

This plant produces a splash of white flowers in spring. Sadly, these do not last  long so we have to enjoy them when they are here. 

Our ornamental cherry is just coming into blossom. It will all be gone by the end of the month I expect.

10m QRP FT8 (Tuesday)

 My IC-705 is set at 6W FT8. So far this morning just spotted in Europe and the Middle East.

UPDATE 1538z: 12 stations have spotted me.

Sunspots - Tuesday April 8th

 Solar flux is 162 and the SSN 145. A=13 and K=3.

Old butchers - NOT amateur radio

The UK has a shortage of houses. It would appear most are being built in our village!  

A few years ago our only butcher in the village retired and nobody wanted to take it on, so they re-developed the site for houses. I expect these will go on sale soon.

10m 6W FT8 (Monday)

 My IC-705 was turned on mid-morning. I will reset things as I do not think my own spots are being uploaded to PSKreporter.

UPDATE 1030z: 12 spots of me. I think conditions must still be disturbed as I am only getting spotted in Europe.

UPDATE 1051z:  Everything has been reset, but there are no RX spots here on the screen, suggesting there is little activity. We'll see how things pan out later. Maybe those spotting me are tropo or aircraft scatter?

UPDATE 1108z: Just one English station spotted here on RX. Probably tropo.

Sunspots - Monday April 7th

 Solar flux is 167 and the SSN 145. A=20 and K=2.

Chromebook issue? - NOT amateur radio

For several years I have used a Chromebook as my lounge PC. It has been very fast and uploads software and security patches in the background, so none of this "Windows Update" rubbish.

Very recently I have been having issues with the wi-fi disconnecting after a few minutes. Reading up about this suggests it maybe the router needs the latest software patch. So I turned the router off and on and it seems much better. It still seems to lose wi-fi when it sleeps, but is far better than it was.

Would I recommend Chromebooks? Yes, as long as you appreciate it is not a WindowsOS device so you can't run Windows software. Having said that it does just about everything and is blisteringly fast. I have a Windows10 machine in the shack.   I still have to try Linux.

Overall, I remain very impressed with Chromebooks.

Shetland lambs - NOT amateur radio

As mentioned before, one of my friends on 365project lives up in Shetland. Lambs have started to appear up there.

How simple can you make a transceiver?

 When I was fit (before my stroke!) I liked the challenge of "something for nothing".  This is how this little 80m CW transceiver came about. It is hard to get much simpler.  

My main issue was netting the TX to the RX frequency. I am sure this is a solvable issue. This has been on before, I know.

I think it was in GQRP SPRAT many years ago, but I honestly cannot remember.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/homebrew/80m-feter-transceiver

10m QRP FT8 (Sunday)

My IC-705 at 6W has been on since just after breakfast.

UPDATE 2020z:  182 stations have spotted me today.  Furthermost is Argentina. See map.

Sunspots - Sunday April 6th

 Solar flux is 184 and the SSN 163. A=40 and K=3.

Blue CAT?

 On my phone is an app called RepeaterBook that is supposed to have something called BlueCAT enabled, which I assume is some sort of CAT that works over BlueTooth. 

I have an IC-705 but have no idea how to use BlueCAT. It looks like it should be useful. Any help would be appreciated.

Season switch - NOT amateur radio

 Last year we seemed to go suddenly from winter into summer. After what seemed a long dull winter it is now spring and we’ve had a spell of really sunny ☀️ weather. I must enjoy the moment.

Kent - NOT amateur radio

 

This was our son and grandson earlier this week.

Sunday rally

The following rally on Sunday has been notified to me. The usual caveats apply about checking before going far.

Sunday April 6th - Hack Green Surplus and Military Radio Hangar Sale, Nantwich, Cheshire, CW5 8AL. Contact coldwar@hackgreen.co.uk .

zBitx issues?

Several people have reported bugs with early firmware. Hopefully these will be corrected in later updates. It’s a pity as this looks good value for money.

Village postbox - NOT amateur radio

It’s nearly Easter and I see someone has decorated the postbox near our food shop.

10m QRP FT8 ( Saturday)

 My FT8 at 6W from the IC-705 was turned on just before midday. Judging by the absence of signals on RX, it looks like there is a solar storm.

UPDATE 1130z: Just one English station south of Birmingham spotting me and nobody spotted on RX.

UPDATE 1335z:   Now being spotted in the Canary Is.. See logbook.

Sunspots- Saturday April 5th

 Solar flux is 180 and the SSN 163. A=33 and K=5.

10m QRP FT8 (Friday)

 

After returning mid-afternoon from a few days with my son and family in Kent, I have turned on my IC-705 ar 6W FT8. So far, spotted by 41 stations with the furthermost VK8NSB (13781km) in Australia.

Day at the seaside - NOT amateur radio

 Yesterday we went with our son to the seaside at Folkestone- good old fashioned fun in the sun.

Sunspots- Friday April 4th

 Solar flux is 178 and the SSN 124. A=26 and K=4.

Folkestone - NOT amateur radio

This was Folkestone on sunny spring afternoon.

Medieval ducking stool - NOT amateur radio

 Not many centuries ago people believed in witchcraft and devised many ways to seek out witches including the ducking stool shown in the photo taken in Canterbury. If you drowned you were a witch. If you survived…well… 

RepeaterBook

 Although I hardly ever use repeaters, I have the RepeaterBook app on my phone. It shows all the repeaters in the area you are in and many features as well. I am sure it would be very useful if you were a keen repeater user.

Canterbury Cathedral - NOT amateur radio

 This was yesterday in the spring sunshine.

Sunspots - Thursday April 3rd

 Solar flux is 180 and the SSN 147. A=22 and K=3.

Near Canterbury Cathedral - NOT amateur radio

 It was good to see it with minimal scaffolding and in the sun.

DMR

 Some years ago I tried DMR using just my Android PTT phone. I think the app was called Droidstar. It allowed me to connect to the DMR network worldwide without a DMR phone or dongle. It was fun just leaving to see who called in across the world, but I soon lost interest.

Oldest church in continuous use? - NOT amateur radio

 This is St Martin’s church in Canterbury, UK which is supposed to be the oldest church in continuous use in the English speaking world.

Sunspots - Wednesday April 2nd

Solar flux is 182 and the SSN 147. A=5 and K=3.

April fools

At  first I believed this!! Then I noticed IC-0104 and realised it was an April Fool’s joke!

2m activity contest tonight

 Starting at 1900z is the activity contest organised by the RSGB. This is the 2m leg for April.

Almost spring - NOT amateur radio

The ornamental cherry is almost in blossom with the windmill behind. The blossom is ephemeral lasting about 2 weeks.

Sunspots- Tuesday April 1st

Solar  flux is 172 and the SSN 151. A=6 and K=1.

Reward time - NOT amateur radio

 We do housework on Monday morning followed by a cup of coffee ☕️.

Apt quote?

 This was seen yesterday in a comment about the RSGB, the national radio society in the UK.

“Given the hobby is dying on its feet due to elderly white males popping their clogs you'd think they'd take all the users and spectrum they could muster.”

It is probably quite true.

10m 6W FT8 (Monday)

My IC-705 at reduced power was turned on at about 0820z.

UPDATE  0953z: Spotted by 40 stations with the furthermost South Africa. See map.

UPDATE 1040z: 50 spots of me with the furthermost VP8LP (12773km).

UPDATE 2133z: 775 stations have spotted me. Best spot of me was by DP0GVN (13687km) in Antarctica. Now QRT.

Sunspots- Monday March 31st

 Solar flux is 171 and the SSN 111. A=6 and K=1.

10m QRP FT8 (Sunday)

 As I was having no success on WSPR I QSYed to FT8 with 6W from the IC-705.

UPDATE 2222z: 527 stations have spotted me. The map shown was hours earlier, shortly after switching on.

Amateur radio deregulation

The FCC in the USA is asking for comments on their latest document calling for deregulation and reduced burocracy. They do not talk about amateur radio specifically. In the USA amateur radio callsigns pre-date the FCC.

In many countries amateur radio costs money and generates no revenue. For this reason, I can see why the FCC and OFCOM, and others too around the world, would like to totally "wash their hands" of amateur radio.

One possibility is to "open up" amateur radio, much like CB, without the need for any involvement. The only stipulation is that only radios that comply with national standards may be used and no interference must be caused. In most cases, amateur radio has become like CB: using commercial radios to chat. True research does not matter to the vast majority, who do not even know how their transceivers work!

This is my personal view of what will happen. I may well be wrong.

• In the USA the FCC will deregulate amateur radio in some way. People will not need to have callsigns. If they do, these will be allocated by the ARRL.
• In the UK, OFCOM will also deregulate amateur radio. As in the USA, callsigns will not be mandated and allocated to those that want them by the RSGB.
• Other countries will follow. 

I give this less than 20 years.

There is a video on the FCC proposals. The "writing is on the wall".

8m disappointment

It is very disappointing that, in the UK, we have to pay to do research at 8m. In the USA, they appear to have stopped permits for 8m altogether!

In the past the RSGB would have "fought our corner" with OFCOM, who would probably have granted, on application, a very narrow, perhaps time limited, 8m amateur band by NoV for a dedicated few. Instead those of us that want to do genuine 8m propagation research have to pay!!

As sunspot numbers decline, such NoVs would have less value.

All this has left a very bad taste in my mouth. When my current (paid for!) 8m TX permit expires I have no intention of renewing it.

Self training and research??

Quantum entanglement - NOT amateur radio

A very long time ago I did quantum mechanics as part of my degree. One of the things I remember is that all things can be described as a wave function that exists in all space and all time. This is a strange idea to grasp. There is a video that tries to explain quantum entanglement.

10m 500mW WSPR (Sunday)

My QRP 10m WSPR beacon was turned on after breakfast.

UPDATE 1324z: No spots. After all this time, I am puzzled. The DC power is connected, the antenna is connected, I thought time was sync'd. I have re-sync'd time to see what's happening. I notice Angola is being worked from the UK on 6m FT8 , so I am surprised by the total absence of 10m WSPR spots.

UPDATE 1358z: Still no spots.

6m QRP FT8 (Sunday)

My IC-705 set at 6W was turned on just after breakfast.

UPDATE 1258z:  13 UK stations spotting me.