Sunday 9 NOVEMBER : WEST LONDON RADIO & ELECTRONICS SHOW (Kempton Rally)
Kempton Park Racecourse, Staines Road East, Sunbury on Thames, TW16 5AQ. TI, free CP, OT 9.50/10am. TS, FM, B&B, SIG, C, DF, WIN, LEC. Paul, M0CJX, 08451 650 351, info@radiofairs.co.uk. www.radiofairs.co.uk.
Distance from Cambridge : 75 miles
Estimated Journey Time : 1 hour 40 mins
A list of rallies can be found at http://rsgb.org/main/news/rallies/
7 Nov 2014
Kempton Park Rally
Sunspots today
The sunspot number today is 107 and 10m daytime conditions are forecast to be "fair". If recent days are typical, this means 10m should be good for some F2 propagation, including North America after lunch.
MLS are moving
From Steve G1KQH comes news of the up-coming move by Martin Lynch and Sons to new, and larger, premises in the New Year. I dealt with MLS earlier in the year and found them very helpful.
Martin Lynch & Sons to move premises early in the new year.Join then at the Farewell to Chertsey party:
6 Nov 2014
Last spots of my 10m WSPR at 50mW in the USA
KU4QI (6406km) was the last to spot me today at 1648z. Since then, just local G4IKZ (18km) has been spotting me.
I think it is time to QSY to MF (472kHz) WSPR for the night.
UPDATE 2036z: have now QSYed to 472kHz WSPR. DK7FC (669km) is, as always, putting in a very decent signal here. Just G0LRD (25km) spotting my 5mW ERP so far.
UPDATE 2200z: 8 unique stations seen so far on 472kHz WSPR this evening so far. Several have been spotted many times.
I think it is time to QSY to MF (472kHz) WSPR for the night.
UPDATE 2036z: have now QSYed to 472kHz WSPR. DK7FC (669km) is, as always, putting in a very decent signal here. Just G0LRD (25km) spotting my 5mW ERP so far.
UPDATE 2200z: 8 unique stations seen so far on 472kHz WSPR this evening so far. Several have been spotted many times.
 |
| Unique stations spotted on 472kHz WSPR so far this evening |
W5OLF WSPR kit
Jay has been working on new versions of his little WSPR beacons. All being well I should receive a 10m 500mW out version in the next few weeks.
Jay is writing the manual(s) and has asked me for my feedback, which I shall, of course, provide. The new version is a single board (again) but transmits continuously, randomising the TX frequency on each TX burst to minimise interference to/from others. It needs several minutes to thermally stabilise but uses the uP to generate everything needed such as the WSPR tones, so no PC is needed. The transmission is started manually on the start of an even minute with a push button. The PA can be separately enabled.
This should be fun. I'll give more information when it arrives and I get a chance to try it on the air.
Jay is writing the manual(s) and has asked me for my feedback, which I shall, of course, provide. The new version is a single board (again) but transmits continuously, randomising the TX frequency on each TX burst to minimise interference to/from others. It needs several minutes to thermally stabilise but uses the uP to generate everything needed such as the WSPR tones, so no PC is needed. The transmission is started manually on the start of an even minute with a push button. The PA can be separately enabled.
This should be fun. I'll give more information when it arrives and I get a chance to try it on the air.
Plenty of stateside 10m WSPR spots at 50mW
I think the 10m band has now closed here for the day to the USA with 50mW on WSPR. In the end, there were plenty of USA spots at this power level. As I said yesterday, 500mW will seem like high power! 28 spots (if I counted right) since 1150z and I was only on 20% or less TX.
Tomorrow, I may try a different band completely for a change.
Inspecting antennas - by radio controlled quadcopter!
Some years ago I went to a BBQ where someone had a wi-fi controlled quadcopter remotely controlled from an iPad. It was very impressive with its on-board cameras for navigation and filming what was happening down below.
I see AE5X has a video showing the inspection of his antennas (from above) using one of these. My antenna farm is trivial by comparison and can be pretty well examined at ground level.
See http://www.ae5x.com/blog/various/youtube-de-ae5x/ .
I see AE5X has a video showing the inspection of his antennas (from above) using one of these. My antenna farm is trivial by comparison and can be pretty well examined at ground level.
See http://www.ae5x.com/blog/various/youtube-de-ae5x/ .
First 10m WSPR 50mW stateside reports today
At 1312z, W3CSW (5886km) and WG2Z (5600km) were the first USA stations to spot my 50mW WSPR signal today, at -26dB S/N and -21dB S/N respectively. Others are now following. KB9AMG (6300km) has spotted me twice now. At the moment there seem to be fewer USA spots with my 50mW on 10m WSPR than yesterday? Early in the day I guess. Things may change.
UPDATE 1536z: W3CSW is now copying my 50mW 10m WSPR at -19dB S/N, implying he would probably copy me on 5mW or even less if his noise floor is low.
UPDATE 1536z: W3CSW is now copying my 50mW 10m WSPR at -19dB S/N, implying he would probably copy me on 5mW or even less if his noise floor is low.
Sunspots
Sunspot number today is 113 and 10m daytime propagation is forecast to be "fair". Still VK5MR (16144km) audible despite the 10dB pad in my antenna lead is OK. He runs 5W. He has already copied G0LRD's 50mW 10m WSPR beacon.
10m WSPR 50mW
VK5MR (16144km) was still being copied on 10m WSPR this morning despite the 10dB pad in my antenna lead.
So far, the first USA station copied here was W3CSW (5886km) at 1220z.
Best DX spots of my 50mW on 10m WSPR this morning came from LZ1OI (2153km), CT1JTQ (1843km) and UR/SWL56 (2283km). Generally, running very low power results in fewer reports but not really fewer reporters. The active stations get you weaker and less often.
So far, the first USA station copied here was W3CSW (5886km) at 1220z.
Best DX spots of my 50mW on 10m WSPR this morning came from LZ1OI (2153km), CT1JTQ (1843km) and UR/SWL56 (2283km). Generally, running very low power results in fewer reports but not really fewer reporters. The active stations get you weaker and less often.
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