Late late swallows - NOT amateur radio

A surprise today was seeing 2 late (for this part of the world) swallows at Little Walsingham. I was not expecting these at all. I am pretty sure this is the latest I have ever seen these in East Anglia (Oct 2nd). They were probably a late brood and no doubt our settled warm weather is leading to some confusion! A few sharp frosts will soon trigger them to get a move on and head south on their long migration.

Sunspots and 10m - Oct 2nd 2015

Sunspot number in 73 (K=3) today and 10m propagation is expected to be "poor" today. I see that the trans-Pacific path from the USA to Australia was open on 10m yesterday. Some of these spots were 16000km plus.  It remains to be seen what DX is possible on 10m from here today.

UPDATE 1932z:  Still no spots received at all on 10m WSPR. I shall leave 10m running until later this evening, but will probably move from 6m to 630m RX only this evening and overnight.

Away

Sorry there were no posts yesterday, but we were away for a couple of nights at Little Walsingham in Norfolk. Back today and I have been on WSPR on 10m and 6m since about 1215z.

Little Walsingham is a delightful Norfolk village a few miles south of the North Norfolk coast. Little Walsingham is well known for its shrines which are a focus for pilgrimages.

There are a few shops in the village selling what can best be described as "religious tat": over-priced rubbish probably made by slaves in China. If you want kitsch these shops are the place. Most of the village though is quaint old houses and lovely.

Early spot on 10m WSPR from Reunion Is

It is only 1048z and already my little 10m 500mW WSPR beacon has been spotted in Europe, Asia and Africa . Conditions on 10m are the best I have seen them this autumn season so far.

6m WSPR

After several days with no success at all on 6m WSPR, giving or receiving spots,  I decided to give the band a miss. My usual pattern has been 10m and 6m during the day with 630m (472kHz) overnight. Sod's Law will no doubt apply and my absence on 6m will herald some super TEP and the best conditions on 6m for many years! I can just imagine! Well, it is not the end of the world if it happens.

Sunspots and 10m - Wed Sept 30th 2015

Sunspot number has dropped back a bit to 125, which is still respectable. K=0, so conditions are undisturbed and the propagation forecast for 10m is still "fair". Some reasonable F2 conditions are possible on 10m. If we are lucky there might be a little "out of season" Es on 10m WSPR as well.

UPDATE 0924z:  So far, just local G4IKZ (18km) spotting me on 10m WSPR,  but it is early still. I decided not to bother with 6m WSPR today.

UPDATE 0940z:  Just after writing the update above 4X1RF (3519km) in Israel spotted my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon.  F2. Today should be a good day on 10m.

472kHz WSPR RX overnight

Overnight no new stations were received on MF. Just the same stations, some at good strength.

South America on 10m WSPR

KD0VWO (7412km) monitoring in Brazil has copied my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon again today. This is not the best DX today, but good to see my signal getting to South America. The question is will there be any North American 10m WSPR spots tonight?

UPDATE 2014z:  No signs of any North American spots on 10m WSPR. I shall be going QRT on 10m shortly. Below are the unique stations spotting me on 10m WSPR today. Note that the KD0 is actually monitoring in Brazil and not the USA.

Unique spots of my 10m WSPR beacon today

UPDATE 2042z:  Now QRT on 10m WSPR but will be monitoring 630m RX only overnight.

Even lower price for the Yaesu FT991

Steve G1KQH has just informed me that the Yaesu FT991 is being sold at £991 by Moonraker until stocks are exhausted or Oct 4th. I am sure we will see lower prices still in the months ahead. I can see MLS, Waters and Stanton and others doing battle.

The question is what price will the IC7300 be?  Once this becomes available there will be a price war between the UK dealers to offer the best deals. I expect even now a better deal can be had for the FT991 if paying cash and not looking for terms.

A price war is brewing....

Re-tarring the windmill - NOT amateur radio

The 200 year old restored windmill next door is getting a new coat of tar. The mill currently has a cog problem which is preventing the sails turning in the wind and grinding corn. They are hoping to fix the issue. The picture was taken from our drive. Inside, you can climb to the top (great view), although my health has prevented me doing so since the restoration.