Internet data usage measurement?

Although my ISP doesn't appear to set limits on the amount of data I download, can anyone tell me how I can measure the amount of data I am actually downloading each day or each week?

The financial crisis - living beyond our means?

The financial problems that have become apparent since 2008 can be put down to individuals and nations living beyond their means. How can the US government continue with an exponentially increasing debt? Why do people crank up huge credit card bills when they have no likelihood of ever paying them off? Why do many wealthy individuals in places like Greece make tax avoidance a way of life?

What happens next is hard to figure out but we are in for a period of pain and readjustment. Just maybe the outcome, eventually, will be a good and fair one but I can't help thinking we are entering troubled times where the threat of violent revolution is not far away.  This is a time when moderate people with good judgement need to make the voice of reason clearly heard.

HF noise levels

It is sad how much the noise floor has risen at my QTH in the last few years. Listening on 160 and 80m is now almost impossible on a vertical because of the wideband noise that obliterates the band to an S8-9 level. The noise is there right through to above 17m. Thankfully 10m with the horizontal halo is still pretty clear. Apart from my experiments at VLF and LF I am now tempted to move back to the VHF/UHF bands for serious operation.

VLF beacon transmitter schematic

G3XBM's VLF 5W Earth Mode Beacon

This is the schematic of my TDA2003 5W ULF/VLF beacon transmitter used in recent earth mode tests. The frequency is derived from a 4.48MHz crystal that is divided down to either 8.760 or 1.095kHz using a 4060 IC. This is keyed in either 10wpm CW, QRSS3 or QRSS30 with a K1EL beacon keyer IC. The output of the TDA2003 is matched to the resistance presented by two earth electrodes using a tapped toroid transformer. Best DX is now 6km across the fenland near me.

Braintree LF/VLF talk slides

The slides from my LF/VLF talk at the Braintree and District Amateur Radio Society on Monday August 1st 2011 are now available on-line. BADARS is a small but active radio club in Essex and I was given a very warm welcome by the members.

10m tropo

Weak signal modes never cease to amaze me. This evening I've been exchanging 5W WSPR reports with G4CUI 173km away near Sheffield on 10m by what I presume is tropo. Running WSPR for hours on end certainly shows unexpected paths popping up from time to time. Even 5W is enough with this mode, and I assume modes like JT65.

If properly exploited by using weak signal modes like JT65 and WSPR 10m could be a great inter-G band even with QRP and small antennas. I wonder who will be the first G station to Work All Britain on 10m JT65 with QRP?

Very accurate QTH locator data

Today I found that my very accurate full QTH locator is JO02DG85VD by looking at http://no.nonsense.ee/qthmap/?qth, zooming in and reading out the 10 digit alphanumeric code. You may want to try and find yours too if you want to know distances from another station very accurately.

IC7000 versus FT450D?

As a keen QRPer I'm usually quite happy with 5W (sometimes 10W) but I'm considering upgrading my IC703 to a newer radio as it is now many years since I've done so.  My main (non-LF/VLF) interest remains 10m and 6m although I quite fancy doing more on 2m and 70cm SSB. With HF conditions unlikely to be great in the coming years (even with cycle 24 peaking soon) maybe a little more power would be useful at times. Also, improved filtering and DSP functionality could be helpful as the HF bands get noisier.

The favourites on my shortlist are either an FT450D or an IC7000 as www.eham.net reviews give both radios good scores and these are feature-rich small radios.  The IC7000 is quite a bit more expensive but adds 2m and 70cms.  I'm wondering if readers can make any recommendations please based on personal experience? The other option is to wait another 6-9 months until the Elecraft KX3 appears.

Finally, in the UK, what is the best deal on these radios? I want a supplier who is likely to be around in 3 years time, a long warranty and the best price!

Goats, rabbits and pigs

Amateur radio activity has been on hold this week as our younger grandson has been here to stay. Today we went to Wimpole Home Farm and he enjoyed making friends with the goats, rabbits and pigs. Here he is trying to get friendly with some very tame goats.

Braintree LF/VLF talk next week

Next Monday, August 1st, I've been invited to share my interest in LF/VLF with members of the Braintree Radio Club in Essex. The talk starts around 8pm and will cover my (dead simple) approach to MF, LF and VLF as well as giving some insight into the recent work in Europe by VLF enthusiasts with both earth-mode and radiated DXing. I'm looking forward to this.

40th Wedding Anniversary

40th Wedding Anniversary Guests

This weekend my wife Lis and I have been celebrating our 40th wedding anniversary with our friends and family. It seems only yesterday we were married! Time flies so make the most of every moment. This group photo shows everyone who attended our afternoon party.

G4ILO's brain tumour

Several readers of my blog also read Julian G4ILO's interesting blog. You may, or may not, be aware that Julian has recently been diagnosed with an incurable brain tumour known as Glioblastoma Multiforme Grade 4 and he is just about to start treatment to slow down its progress. A complete cure is unlikely but modern treatments can certainly help to slow the tumour growth. I'm sure you all join me in wishing Julian every success in beating this. Julian and his wife Olga have a new blog tracking his treatment progress called One Foot In the Grave which I commend to you.

6km DX by VLF earth-mode today

8.7605kHz earth-mode reception at 6km across the fens

My personal DX record for VLF earth-mode (through ground conduction/induction) at 8.7605kHz has been pushed up to 6km today using a long carrier transmission with periodic ID breaks and Spectrum Laboratory software with bandwidth of 11mHz on receive. Transmit power was 5W from a TDA2003 transmitter.

See https://sites.google.com/site/sub9khz/earthmode/vlf-xbm-blog

More VLF earth-mode tests

8.76kHz QRSS3 signal at 3.8km

Recently the water company repaired some pipes right outside our property in the road. I was informed the pipes are/were NOT metallic.

Today, just as a check, I tried 8.760kHz earth-mode running my usual 5W into 20m spaced earth electrodes just to see if the repair work made any difference to signal levels some kilometres away.

At my favourite roadside test site 3.8km from home I set up my RX and tried 2 different loops on the ground (a) my 30t 80cm square loop and (b) a large single turn loop.  Using QRSS3 the signal was copied on both antennas at the usual strength. This makes me think any "utilities assistance" is NOT purely from metal water pipes in the road.

My next planned test is to see how well an earth-mode signal propagates along one of the many fenland water channels using one TX electrode actually in the water and one on dry land. For RX I'll either use another earth electrode pair (one in and one out of the water) or a loop or E-field probe. The next couple of weeks are pretty busy with family matters, so this fenland river test may not take place until sometime in August.

Best deals in UK for phones, TV and broadband?

Just wondering what people think is the best deal currently available for TV, phones and broadband? Currently I have TV from Sky, phone calls from Sky (£25 - broadband and free anytime package with line still with BT at around £13) and 10M broadband from Virgin Media at £18. BT have offered me "up to 20M" broadband and free anytime phones for just £9.70 a month, plus £10/month line rental. This seems a very good deal. Whatever, I surely must be able to save by getting everything from one supplier.

What package do YOU have and how much should I expect to pay to get TV, decent broadband and free anytime phone (with line rental)?

6m/10m tropo with WSPR

On a few occasions recently I've had some spots at surprising distances within the UK by what I am sure is tropo on 6m and 10m WSPR. Just a few moments ago I got a -27dB S/N report from G0MGX in IO93ga at 145km with my 5W to the vertical on 6m. It is for this sort of surprise result that I find WSPR so good: when one least expects a report you get one.

UK/European SSB on Citizen's band

I understand that a recent CEPT (ECC) decision means that 27MHz SSB CB will be permitted in the UK and Europe from October. See http://www.erodocdb.dk/Docs/doc98/official/pdf/ECCDEC1103.PDF

Never mind the FT818, bring on the KX3!

Someone has reminded me that Elecraft pre-launched their new "trail-friendly" all mode QRP rig at the Dayton Convention recently. This will be a VERY sophisticated and well equipped small portable transceiver covering 160-6m with some truly astounding features. See http://www.elecraft.com/KX3/kx3.htm . Don't expect to see it much before Christmas 2011 or later.

FT818 All band portable

Some months back I posted a Photoshop created picture of a possible successor to the FT817, which I termed the FT818. This was NOT a real product but quite a bit of reaction was created, including a few people contacting Yaesu placing advanced orders!!

Such an FT817 successor has still to appear and I'm wondering if this is now likely at all, especially with the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan. It may be worth keeping an eye on the Japanese Yaesu site as new products sometimes appear first in Japan. Despite the less than brilliant HF conditions I still live in hope for a new HF/VHF/UHF handportable from this manufacturer before the Chinese do one instead, at a much lower price.

Near miss in Iceland

Late last week we crossed a 120m long bridge on the main Route 1 road in southern Iceland 3 times travelling to and from the small village of Vik. 24 hours later this bridge was completely destroyed when the dangerous Katla volcano had a minor eruption under the Myrdalsjoekull glacier sending melted ice and water rushing down to the sea with great force. We were so close to being on that bridge. See http://http.ruv.straumar.is/static.ruv.is/vefur/Katla_fyrir_net.wmv .

When Katla explodes seriously (it is overdue and has been stirring recently) it is likely to cause massive devastation in South Iceland and the fallout may well affect the world's weather for years (a bit like a nuclear winter) as was the case in past large eruptions. Be afraid, be very afraid...

Sunspots on the slide

Every day that passes I am more convinced than ever that the peak of cycle 24 has already passed and we are now on the downwards slope. If correct, this is one of the weakest cycles ever. It is still possible this is just a blip, but I think not.

Iceland

Currently on holiday in Iceland enjoying some spectacular scenery on the journey around the island by car. No radio gear - just enjoying the landscape, birds and people.

Meccano Magazine - free online archive

Today I rediscovered an old Meccano Magazine from 1942 in my drawers. Back in the 1950s the Meccano Magazine was a highlight I looked forward to receiving with news of new additions to the Hornby Dublo 00 gauge trains and new Dinky toys. Even this wartime edition has lots of interest in it. The size was obviously reduced in WW2 to conserve paper as it was considerably larger when I had in in the 1950s. The entire series of Meccano magazine is available free online. See http://meccano.magazines.free.fr/ .  Individual pages or whole magazines are available as pdfs.

Bitsbox supplier

A recent post on the GQRP Yahoo group alerted me to Bitsbox which looks to be an excellent UK supplier with decent prices and delivery charges. They stock a lot of useful parts. I have to place an order for some new parts for autumn/winter projects and intend to give them a go.

6m WSPR

For the last few weeks I've been on 6m WSPR when busy doing other things in the home. I run 5W into a V2000 vertical. Almost every evening I exchange reports with CN8LI in Morocco but there is very little WSPR activity at "interesting distances" on this band. By this I mean stations in the USA, Canada, South America and the Caribbean. The 6m Es multi-hop super DX season only lasts a few months and now is a great time and WSPR a good mode to exploit it.

BTW last night G4ENZ was getting decent reports from Morocco when using just 1mW with WSPR at over 2000km.

Incidentally checking inter-G paths on 6m is also fun using WSPR. These tropo distance spots are often accompanied by Doppler shifted multi-path interference from passing aircraft. It is even worse on 4m and 2m I suspect.

VLF tests last weekend

Last weekend saw both DK7FC and DF6NM transmitting with <100mW ERP on VLF. Their signals were successfully received by many stations across Europe with best DX for DK7FC/P being 2404km to Iceland. G3ZJO successfully received a DFCW60 message from DK7FC/P.

Both stations described their activity and results in brief reports which you can find via links at https://sites.google.com/site/sub9khz/news .

VLF test Saturday June 18th (DK7FC/P)

Tomorrow morning Stefan DK7FC/P will be testing for the first time in many months using his kite supported VLF antenna. He will be transmitting from mid Germany on 8.9700000kHz (precisely GPS locked) from around 0600z Saturday. His ERP will be in the 50-250mW region.

If you have Spectrum Laboratory (free software) and a suitable E-field probe or loop antenna then this is a great chance to see if you can detect his signals. The last time he tested he was quite a good signal in the UK and was received by several suitably equipped stations.

It is unlikely his signal will be audible, but he should be a clear trace on the SL screen with a suitably narrow bandwidth setting (4.52mHz or less). Frequency accuracy is paramount and you will need a Spectum Lab config file that "locks" onto GBZ or similar to ensure you know precisely where to look. Initial tests will be with a long carrier followed by characters in very slow DFCW or QRSS.

You do NOT need a VLF communications receiver: just a loop or E-field probe and a small audio preamp feeding the sound card of a PC. This is amateur radio "at the edge" in the same way that optical comms is .....but at the other end of the spectrum. Great fun and a nice challenge.

I shall be looking and streaming the received signals to my VLF grabber visible at https://sites.google.com/site/sub9khz/vlf-grabbers/xbm-grabber . It is also possible that G3ZJO will have his (better) VLF grabber on too at http://g3zjo.bplaced.net/ . The RSGB LF-reflector will carry updates in the event of the kite blowing away, going QRT for storms etc..

Scientists predict rare 'hibernation' of sunspots

For years, scientists have been predicting the Sun would by around 2012 move into solar maximum, a period of intense flares and sunspot activity, but lately a curious calm has suggested quite the opposite.

See http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20110614/ts_afp/usspacesun

23cm activity contest next Tuesday

Having had some fun in both the 2m and 70cm cumulative contests today and last Tuesday my thoughts are now turning to the next contest which is on 23cm next Tuesday evening. As I don't have any transmit or antennas on that band I shall just listen. Once again I shall have to make a suitable antenna and the most likely will be either a small 4 el beam made from thick wire or a 23cm Moxon 2 element beam which would be about the size of my hand. My 23cm converter has not been used for well over 15 years so that will need to be checked carefully and the LO crystal re-netted.

70cm activity contest - a brilliant /P evening

Stations worked 70cms UKAC 14/6/11

My tiny 4el 70cm yagi made from wood and a couple of coat hangers worked very well this evening netting me 17 QSOs in just over 1 hour of operating with 5W RF from the FT817. Best DX worked was 191km although I heard both GD8EXI and GI6ATZ at much greater distances.

432MHz Contest - June 14th

Tuesday June 14th is the 70cms activity contest from 1900-2100z. I've made a small 4 element yagi for portable use and this mounts on a small 20mm diameter pvc conduit pipe fixed in the window of my car (see image). It is all very lightweight. At the intended portable site I was able to copy the GB3BSC beacon some 200km away today in a trial run. All being well I should be able to work a few stations around the country.

Solar peak THIS year?

The more I look at the data the more convinced I am that we are now reaching (or may have already passed?) the peak of solar cycle 24 much earlier than expected and at a very low peak level. See some interesting data at http://www.solen.info/solar/polarfields/polar.html about solar magnetic field reversals and the latest plot of solar flux and sunspots at http://www.solen.info .  For several months now the general smoothed trend, ignoring blips, is downwards.  We may never again experience the exceptional HF conditions seen at the peak of some sunspot cycles in the last 50 years, at least not in my lifetime.

6m Super DX - use WSPR!

We are now in the season of super-DX Es openings on 6m when the band opens spectacularly across the Atlantic to the USA and the Caribbean as well as northern South America and Africa. WSPR could be a superb tool to help track fleeting openings over these very long paths, but we need more stations on 6m WSPR for this to be possible. Ideally stations need to be operational 24/7 on 6m but as a minimum from around 1100-2400z and located in Europe, the eastern USA, Canada, the Caribbean and northern South America. When not busy on 137kHz I propose to make 6m my WSPR home this summer. If the band opens across the Atlantic then 5W to a small vertical or dipole should be enough to get transatlantic spots. Let's fill the 6m WSPR slot with activity.

6m WSPR today

Good conditions on 50MHz today with WSPR spots from GM4SLV, PA0O and CN8LI when using 5W to the V2000 vertical antenna. The report from John in the Shetlands was -2dB S/N suggesting just a few milliwatts would have been enough. PA0O is interesting as it may not be Es but tropo propagation as the distance is pretty short for Es skip.

137.5kHz WSPR

This evening F8BOJ was testing on 137.5kHz WSPR so I had a go at copying him, although he is around 700km south of me in the null of my fixed loop. G4WGT was copied but so far no sign of F8BOJ. I've also been TXing with 100uW ERP but no reports this evening although GW3UCJ thinks he may be seeing signs of my bursts but too weak to decode.

144MHz Cumulative Contest

Last evening I went out portable with my halo and FT817 to a local (small) hilltop to operate in the RSGB 144MHz cumulative contest. What surprised me was the great amount of activity: the band from 144.17 - 144.36 was packed with SSB stations from all over the UK.  Just over an hour of operation gave me best DX of 203km and 7 stations worked. It was great fun. Next Tuesday evening is the 70cms cumulative contest, so I may well give this a try too from the same spot.

Elector valve radio kit

Not having built valve radios (far too young at 62, HI HI!) my eyes were drawn to the latest offer from Elector magazine for a complete valve radio kit built into a neat wooden case. See https://www.elektor.com/Uploads/2011/6/Valve-Radio-Kit.pdf. This uses a low voltage valve (6J1) in a regenerative design with a transistor audio amp. At around £50 with shipping it is not cheap, but it is a complete kit. For the offer see https://www.elektor.com/extra/valve-radio.1843103.lynkx .

WSPRnet database issues

Several times in recent weeks the WSPR on-line database has been unavailable. Not sure what the problems are. It is a pity as this database of reported WSPR spots is a remarkably useful resource. Maybe it is simply that there are too many users now and the database cannot cope? Like many, I'd like to thank all involved in providing and maintaining this database - thank you guys.

Amateur VLF transmissions this week

G3XIZ as received at 45km 4.6.11

Both Marcus DF6NM and Chris G3XIZ have been active on VLF this last few days. G3XIZ was a good signal on 8.976662kHz with his improved antenna and DF6NM has been copied in Yorkshire by Paul Nicholson. Although QRN can be a problem at this time of the year there is still activity. The screen shot here shows G3XIZ's VLF signal with me today.

6m WSPR

At this time of the year 6m is a great band for sporadic-E DXing with QRP and simple antennas. All of Europe and North Africa is in range with 5W SSB and a dipole, halo or small vertical. At the moment I'm putting my WSPR beacon on 6m whenever I can in the hope of catching some short openings in unusual directions. Best DX reports so far are to/from CN8LI in Morocco at 2113km. With some luck, the band will open up to the USA and Canada soon (multi-hop Es) and I'll get some spots from across the Atlantic on 6m.