17 Nov 2014
Sunspots today - Nov 17th 2014
Sunspot number has fallen to 91 yet 10m daytime propagation is supposed to be "good". Although 10m has yet again opened to the USA (weeks and weeks this has happened now) I would not describe conditions on 10m as particularly "good". I am still waiting for my first Australian report when using the little beacon for example. When the band is really "good" VK reports with the 500mW WSPR beacon should be no problem.
Dual band WSPRing
Since mid-afternoon I've been WSPRing on 2 bands at the same time. My little WSPR-AXE beacon (from W5OLF) puts out 27dBm on 10m and I used my FT817 to put out 30dBm ERP from my V2000 on 6m. Although 10m is resulting in plenty of reports, 6m is, yet again, DEAD with no stations received and no reports received. I'll leave both 6m and 10m WSPR running until after dark. Tomorrow I may try my earth-electrode antenna on MF (472kHz WSPR) at the same as 10m. As I use the Par antenna on 10m, I shall have to use the earth-electrode antenna on 472kHz.
UPDATE 1624z: 6m WSPR is still utterly DEAD. I keep plugging away on 6m to no avail. Not sure why I even bother! 10m, with half the power is far more productive: every day I get DX reports with the little WSPR-AXE 10m WSPR beacon at 500mW.
UPDATE 1925z: 6m WSPR again proved to be totally useless with not a single station copied here or copying me. Having tried so hard out of the Es season, I am now giving up on 6m until spring 2015.
UPDATE 1945z: Just gone QRT on 6m, but left the 10m WSPR-AXE 500mW beacon still running.
UPDATE 1950z: The last USA station appears to have been KB9AMG (6300km) at 1844z.
UPDATE 1624z: 6m WSPR is still utterly DEAD. I keep plugging away on 6m to no avail. Not sure why I even bother! 10m, with half the power is far more productive: every day I get DX reports with the little WSPR-AXE 10m WSPR beacon at 500mW.
UPDATE 1925z: 6m WSPR again proved to be totally useless with not a single station copied here or copying me. Having tried so hard out of the Es season, I am now giving up on 6m until spring 2015.
UPDATE 1945z: Just gone QRT on 6m, but left the 10m WSPR-AXE 500mW beacon still running.
UPDATE 1950z: The last USA station appears to have been KB9AMG (6300km) at 1844z.
16 Nov 2014
Last USA spot of the day?
It looks as if N2NOM (5581km) was the last USA spot of my little 500mW beacon today at 1812z. Since then, just local G4IKZ (18km) spotting me now.
UPDATE 2004z: N2NOM was the last spot from the USA this evening.
UPDATE 2046z: Now gone QRT - just G4IKZ now spotting me since 1812z.
UPDATE 2004z: N2NOM was the last spot from the USA this evening.
UPDATE 2046z: Now gone QRT - just G4IKZ now spotting me since 1812z.
146-147MHz allocated to UK full licencees under NoV - why?
My original post on this seems to have magically vanished. Don't know how this happened.
Basically, I totally fail to understand why OFCOM has allocated this band to some UK amateurs. It is only ad interim, by NoV to full licence holders, is only for a limited time, and only in a limited geographical area.
The 144-146MHz (2m band) is generally under-used in the UK and the rest of Europe and white noise is the most common thing to hear. Take a listen. It NEVER sounds busy here in Cambridgeshire, even in contests.
Personally, I would have preferred OFCOM to have given us smaller bands (100kHz wide?) at 40MHz and maybe 60MHz, renewed access to the old 73kHz band and allowed free access to 0-8.3kHz. The RSGB thinks the new 146-147MHz band will be used for digital TV experiments - this is rubbish - it is hard enough to get any DATV experiments at 432MHz and 1296MHz where most amateur TV takes place. Maybe a few very dedicated individuals will try DATV 146-147MHz, but just a handful.
Personally, I think OFCOM lost credibility allocating 146-147MHz to amateurs. This was clearly a sop to make up for messing with microwave bands. Far more radio science would have been possible with new allocations in other parts of the spectrum. There are already some beacons at 40MHz and 60MHz,which bands would have been ideal for Es experiments. 40MHz is mid-way between the 10m and 6m bands. Surely 50-100kHz could have been made available?
I hope OFCOM supports a contiguous 5MHz (60m) amateur allocation worldwide at WRC2015 next year. We'll need this in the quiet years ahead.
Basically, I totally fail to understand why OFCOM has allocated this band to some UK amateurs. It is only ad interim, by NoV to full licence holders, is only for a limited time, and only in a limited geographical area.
The 144-146MHz (2m band) is generally under-used in the UK and the rest of Europe and white noise is the most common thing to hear. Take a listen. It NEVER sounds busy here in Cambridgeshire, even in contests.
Personally, I would have preferred OFCOM to have given us smaller bands (100kHz wide?) at 40MHz and maybe 60MHz, renewed access to the old 73kHz band and allowed free access to 0-8.3kHz. The RSGB thinks the new 146-147MHz band will be used for digital TV experiments - this is rubbish - it is hard enough to get any DATV experiments at 432MHz and 1296MHz where most amateur TV takes place. Maybe a few very dedicated individuals will try DATV 146-147MHz, but just a handful.
Personally, I think OFCOM lost credibility allocating 146-147MHz to amateurs. This was clearly a sop to make up for messing with microwave bands. Far more radio science would have been possible with new allocations in other parts of the spectrum. There are already some beacons at 40MHz and 60MHz,which bands would have been ideal for Es experiments. 40MHz is mid-way between the 10m and 6m bands. Surely 50-100kHz could have been made available?
I hope OFCOM supports a contiguous 5MHz (60m) amateur allocation worldwide at WRC2015 next year. We'll need this in the quiet years ahead.
73kHz again?
Well I, for one, would welcome the chance to experiment on the 73kHz band. I can, I believe, legally (even without a licence) do so with earth-mode but I'd like to see how effective earth-electrode antennas work as radiating structures on this band. With modem digital techniques there are so many experiments to do.
Sadly, like much of our spectrum, this is now managed by "the military" in the UK so it is very unlikely we'll get access to this band again. When originally available in the UK, I was not active on LF.
Sadly, like much of our spectrum, this is now managed by "the military" in the UK so it is very unlikely we'll get access to this band again. When originally available in the UK, I was not active on LF.
10m - stateside
The first spot of my 500mW 10m beacon was at 1248z today by WB1FIG (5304km). Since then, several USA stations have spotted me, although I have not been spotted outside of Europe and the USA so far today.
Conditions seem "OK" on 10m, but certainly not what I'd call brilliant. For example, no spots from Asia, Africa or South America yet. I am still waiting for a first first spot of my little beacon from Australia.
UPDATE 1500z: So far today reports of my little 500mW 10m beacon have been received from 28 different stations, so far. The majority of these are located in the USA and Canada. Lots of hours left still today too!
UPDATE 1540z: Best DX report today is still from K9AN (6505km).
UPDATE 1640z: Best DX report today is from WA5NGP (7878km). Still no reports today from further afield. Time is running out today.
Conditions seem "OK" on 10m, but certainly not what I'd call brilliant. For example, no spots from Asia, Africa or South America yet. I am still waiting for a first first spot of my little beacon from Australia.
UPDATE 1500z: So far today reports of my little 500mW 10m beacon have been received from 28 different stations, so far. The majority of these are located in the USA and Canada. Lots of hours left still today too!
UPDATE 1540z: Best DX report today is still from K9AN (6505km).
UPDATE 1640z: Best DX report today is from WA5NGP (7878km). Still no reports today from further afield. Time is running out today.
Sunspots - Sunday Nov 16th
Sunspot number today has declined to 100, but 10m daytime conditions are still forecast to be "good". The forecasts suggest decent 10m F2 propagation. We'll see.
15 Nov 2014
Moonraker
Ever since the spring when Moonraker supplied me with rubbish patch leads that just fell apart because the crimping was so poor, and a dual band VHF/UHF yagi antenna that had to be glued to fix one of the loose elements, Moonraker has not been my favourite supplier. They clearly did zero quality checks on the goods sold. I hope they have improved.
However they have some nice 10m radios at sensible prices including a 20W FM/AM unit for under £100 and a multi-mode 10m rig for under £150.
See http://www.moonraker.eu/ .
UPDATE 2200z: Moonraker also supply PMR446 and LPD433 dual band transceivers. The latter band is within the 70cm amateur band, which is perfectly legal at 10mW with no amateur licence, here in the UK. On UHF, 10mW goes a long way from a local high spot. See http://www.moonraker.eu/professional-radio-and-446/pmr-446 . There are several to choose from.
However they have some nice 10m radios at sensible prices including a 20W FM/AM unit for under £100 and a multi-mode 10m rig for under £150.
See http://www.moonraker.eu/ .
UPDATE 2200z: Moonraker also supply PMR446 and LPD433 dual band transceivers. The latter band is within the 70cm amateur band, which is perfectly legal at 10mW with no amateur licence, here in the UK. On UHF, 10mW goes a long way from a local high spot. See http://www.moonraker.eu/professional-radio-and-446/pmr-446 . There are several to choose from.
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Last stateside 10m spot today
The last USA spot of my WSPR-AXE 500mW 10m beacon, thanks to Jay W5OLF, was W3CSW (5886km) at 1850z. Since then just local G4IKZ.
The little 10m WSPR beacon still impresses me greatly. It is tiny yet seems to produce the magic of good reports from across the planet, and no PC is needed.
UPDATE 2053z: The little 10m beacon was switched off just now at 2050z. Although plenty of USA stations received me, I was quite surprised not to be spotted further away today. There is no doubt in my mind that world-wide 10m spots will be achieved with this little unit. It is the best investment I have ever made in our hobby. I can't praise it highly enough. It proves size and cost do not matter!
The little 10m WSPR beacon still impresses me greatly. It is tiny yet seems to produce the magic of good reports from across the planet, and no PC is needed.
UPDATE 2053z: The little 10m beacon was switched off just now at 2050z. Although plenty of USA stations received me, I was quite surprised not to be spotted further away today. There is no doubt in my mind that world-wide 10m spots will be achieved with this little unit. It is the best investment I have ever made in our hobby. I can't praise it highly enough. It proves size and cost do not matter!
Yaesu FT 991 - all mode, all band transceiver
This rig does look like it will be popular, although at a stated UK price of £999 I have my doubts. This seems VERY high to me when the FT840D now sells for £619 before negotiation for a cash deal. UK exchange rates with Japan (£-Yen) have greatly improved, so rig prices should be falling dramatically. At £699, rather than £999 I can see it doing very well. Far less well at £999. In the USA expect to pay $999.
See http://qrznow.com/yaesu-ft-991/ for pictures and a video. I see the rig has now passed FCC testing . I have no news of CE approvals in Europe. Don't expect we'll see it in Europe before spring 2015.
I do hope dealers in the UK offer it at a sensible price. Get the price right and you deserve to sell lots of these units. Personally, I'd like to see a 10W or 30W version but doubt this will come in Europe or the USA. Of course, an FT817 replacement might be on the cards? We live in eternal hope.
See http://qrznow.com/yaesu-ft-991/ for pictures and a video. I see the rig has now passed FCC testing . I have no news of CE approvals in Europe. Don't expect we'll see it in Europe before spring 2015.
I do hope dealers in the UK offer it at a sensible price. Get the price right and you deserve to sell lots of these units. Personally, I'd like to see a 10W or 30W version but doubt this will come in Europe or the USA. Of course, an FT817 replacement might be on the cards? We live in eternal hope.
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