More goodies found by G1KQH

From Steve, G1KQH:

Excellent VFM Pots.. I am replacing the preset on the Pixie board with one of these, works out at 16.5p each

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6-pcs-Silver-Tone-Metal-Split-Shaft-Potentiometer-50K-Ohm-2015-/231446014347?

They also had 100K which I had another 99p worth.. (For another of my many projects)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/6-Pcs-100K-Ohm-3-Terminals-Silver-Tone-Split-Shaft-Potentiometer-2015-/321636385901?

Maybe other values if you search their shop.. Of course its China again where do you think I do my shopping these days?

Internet of Things (IoT)

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_of_Things .

As the price of wifi and RFID devices continues to fall, it is very likely that we will see a number of household goods connected to the internet, so soon our fridge may tell our shops what we need, or we'll be able to start the washing on our way home from work. It is coming whether we like it or not. Already it is possible to remotely monitor our homes using internet connected cameras - of course it is most important that strong password protection is used and that passwords are regularly changed.

Falling sunspots and poorer 10m conditions

Sunspot number today was 45, the lowest for a long while and 10m conditions expected to be "poor" again. The 10m band is again open to the USA. We should remember that even with a SN of 45 the 10m band can still be good to the USA. Even if the peak of sunspot cycle 25 only reaches 45, we should still expect 10m openings to the USA by F2. Of course, as mentioned before, I expect the 10m band will still be good for transatlantic DX next autumn for the CQWW DX SSB contest, but following years will be very doubtful.

Transatlantic USA 10m WSPR spots today

 KB1YMI (5188km) was the first USA station to copy my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon today at 1212z.

I went QRT on 10m at around 1920z. At 1916z N2BJW (5262km) was the last station still spotting my 500mW 10mWSPR beacon.  As I have gone QRT, I shall never know if later spotters were possible.

472kHz WSPR

I am on 472kHz WSPR this evening and overnight. As yet, just the usual stations spotting me and being spotted. Best DX spot of me was from G4JVF (151km) many times this evening.

Transatlantic 10m WSPR today

Despite the "poor" 10m forecasts, the band opened "across the pond" at 1222z when K3ZV (5692km) spotted my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon.

During the morning I was spotted by TA2AEG (2547km) on several occasions. I have also been spotted by other Europeans.

I closed down on 10m WSPR at 1920z and KB1YMI (5188km) was still spotting me as I closed.

Dalham Walk

View from Dalham church

Today we walked from the delightful village of Dalham up to the village church. I have updated our East Anglian Churches blog to include this.  Dalham is a truly beautiful village not too far from Newmarket. It is in Suffolk.

See http://eachurches.blogspot.co.uk/ .

Sunspots and 10m - Sunday Feb 15th

Sunspot number today is 49 and 10m propagation "poor". This is the first "poor" forecast for a long while.

Tenner 10m CW transceiver

Click for bigger image.

The Tenner is a very simple CW rig for 10m. It produces about 500mW output and has worked across the Atlantic on many occasions. Offset RX-TX seems to work out at about right, although no special circuitry is employed. This simple circuit just works. Although I used an "at hand" SBL1, any double balanced mixer is likely to be OK. Although I did not try it, a homebrew DBM would be fine. Google it.

472kHz WSPR

I shall be on 472kHz WSPR overnight but will go QRT on 28MHz (10m) shortly.

DK7FC remains my best spot this evening an RX and PA0RDT (243km) is currently the most distant station spotting my 5mW ERP to the earth-electrode "antenna".