The photo shows my pass when I was at Philips Paging in California back in the late 1990s. I worked for Philips Paging for a few years. Unlike Private Mobile Radio, pagers were consumer products. We made more in one night than we made certain PMR products in a product lifetime. Every penny really really mattered as did the slightest of blemishes. We made pagers in Cambridge, Mexico and Singapore.
At 0720z I turned on the FT817ND and indoor loop on to 10m FT8 RX. In the last few days my results have been disappointing. I suspect the loop is quite a bit less efficient than a dipole.
UPDATE 0847z: G0FWX (160km) spotted. As he was quite strong, I wonder if this was aircraft scatter
UPDATE 1330z: 4 stations spotted with some Es in the form of IK7LJZ (1664km). After comparing my RX results with G0LRD who is using just a low dipole on 10m, I think my loop must be at least 6dB down.
Thankfully, I have managed to locate (in the house) a lead that connects the PC to the IC-705, so may be able to try communicating later. This can only be to see if it works as I need the wire for other things. I shall have to buy a suitable cable longer term.
The function of the new icons has been found after reading the manual again. One is speech recording and the microSD symbol flashes when it is being used. Possibly some of last night's 2m net is recorded?
Following the instructions in "The RadioToday Guide to the IC-705", I have successfully upgraded the firmware from V1.12 to V1.24. All appears to have gone correctly. The next thing is to get a suitable interface cable from the rig to the PC and try FT8 and rig control. Some have used cables with ferrite toroids on or isolators to minimise ground loops.
As you can tell, I am taking things very slowly. With my "brain fog" (probably as a result of my 2013 stroke) it is all too easy to make mistakes. Jobs that would once have seemed trivial are now quite hard. Even just unpacking the microSD card from the packaging was a challenge!
UPDATE 2029z: Since doing the firmware update, a couple of new icons have appeared. The SD card is there, but flashing (why?) and there is an adjacent red circle. I am sure I shall find out what these are soon! I was able to have a 2m FM net OK this evening, but avoided touching anything just in case it all went wrong! Investigation needed, HI.
It is comforting to hear the church clock chiming again. Sadly, the chimes are about 13 minutes early! I am not sure how old the clock is.
The main tower bells have not been rung very often in the last year. When they return we will be back to "near normal".
NASA has successfully test flown its helicopter on Mars.
See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-56799755 .
These days, you can buy a whole SDR transceiver covering 160m-70cm with all modes plus Bluetooth, WiFi and GPS in much the same size. Mind you, the AT5 was a lot less expensive!
At 1030z, I turned on the FT817ND with the indoor loop on 10m RX. Comparing results with G0LRD, I think this antenna must be several dBs down. I can't wait to erect a 10m antenna outside again.
UPDATE 1236z: No spots.
UPDATE 1301z: Just G0LRD spotted.
My impression is activity levels are still low. As I have said before, this is just a quick view and far from scientific. If I looked a few minutes before or after, I might have formed a different view.
Long ago, I stopped chasing DX. If I work some rare country or QTH square then great, but I do not chase it as if my life depended on it. There is always tomorrow, but if it "gets away" does it really matter? This is just a hobby. Personally, I like to see where my QRP signals reach, but each to their own. There are many ways to enjoy our hobby.
To some working every entity matters. They enjoy the thrill of the chase. I see Southgate News has a link about this. Apparently there 209 DXCC entities active.
See http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2021/april/dxcc-country-entity-report-19-04.htm#.YH0zZSjYrrc .
"To understand all is to forgive all".
I believe this is an old French proverb, but what a good one.
I am of the view that there is good and bad in all of us. Most things that go wrong whether personally or globally are as a result of not fully understanding the whole picture. It is all too easy to judge when we only see part of the picture.
The micro-SD card for the IC-705 has arrived. Tomorrow, I may try a firmware upgrade. Others tell me this is straightforward. I certainly hope so! I am not sure of the latest firmware (1.24?), but I am sure I shall find the latest on ICOM Japan website.
At about 1900z, I QSYed to 2m FT8 with 2.5W and the big-wheel omni antenna. It is now 1915z and I have been spotted by 5 stations on TX and I have spotted 4 stations on RX.
At 1419z, I turned on the FT817ND and the indoor loop tuned to 10m As yet (it is now 1432z), no spots.
The sunspot count is slightly lower than yesterday and conditions more disturbed.
UPDATE 1730z: Just G0LRD spotted here and on PSKreporter by me. A PY seen mid afternoon, but this doesn't appear on PSKreporter. Overall, this has been disappointing. I'll give it a bit longer before QSYing. Looking at all the results David G0LRD has got (111 10m spots!!) he is certainly being widely spotted on 10m FT8 today. Not sure what David is using for antenna and power.
If you are looking for a 10m grabber, check this one out in Alaska at http://kl7l.com/28Alaska00000.jpg . If you know of others, please let me know. I see there is a 10m QRSS grabber at https://qsl.net/g4iog/ .
In Es openings, many European countries can be worked with simple antennas and low power. One possibility is my simple transverter.
See https://70mhz.org/ .
This morning I felt inspired to have a go at making some pasties using up some of the food that might have been wasted. I am quite pleased. The photo shows the results. Mostly cheese, mushrooms and onions.
They taste good too.
At 1820z, I QSYed to 2m FT8 QRP with 2.5W and the big-wheel omni antenna. So far (it is now 1830z) 3 stations have been spotted on RX and 6 stations have spotted my QRP TX.
See http://82.71.9.63:8080/cap/ . This is the FT8 grabber at G0LRD.
I am not a great royalist and cannot imagine the royal family surviving another 50 years unless it changes. When the queen dies the English royal family will be in mortal peril. No, I think what was really being mourned was the end (or very near end) of an era.
I feel very sorry for the queen who has lost a lifelong husband and companion. They we married for 73 years, which is a long time!
As well as my DSB rig, the 10FT8R, this is a project I must build.
Yet more incentive to get my external 10m antenna up!
My very first post was about the web SDR at Twente in the Netherlands. That was in 2008! It is still there.
My 10m FT8 gear (2.5W to the indoor loop) was turned on at 0808z. After a very brief TX period, I am on RX only. So far, no spots.
UPDATE 1018z: Just G0FWX (160km) spotted so far. No Es or F2 propagation evident here yet.
UPDATE 1120z: 7 stations spotted. Looks like Es to Iberia.
We should have done this years ago, but I suspect, like many, we were nervous of sending these precious memories away. What if they were lost?
In the end, we used a company called EachMoment who were excellent. At every stage of the process we were kept informed. The resulting DVDs came back with the original tapes about 2 weeks later. Thankfully, even after all these years, they copied fine.
I would have no hesitation using them again.
The Hack Green rally, due this Sunday, has been cancelled. I presume this is as a result of Covid.
Last evening there was a 70cm FT8 contest. For most of the time I was on my V2000 vertical antenna with 2.5W. Quite a few UK stations were spotted and I worked one. I wonder if some were spotted by aircraft scatter?
This digital-only transceiver from QRP-Labs is really tiny. It can produce 5W, but I have added diodes in the power lead to ensure the RF P...
