Sunspots and 10m

Sunspot number has fallen again to 44 and 10m propagation is "poor". For the first time since way back last year (summer?) I have NOT been on 10m today yet, as I needed the triband antenna for some 40m WSPR tests.

BTW, in the end I have ordered a 10m President Lincoln Mk2 (V3) from Nevada Radio here in the UK. The Pixie (40m) should be finished tomorrow as I had no opportunity yesterday and today. I also need to find my small rechargeable 12v battery and charge it. I suspect 50Hz hum would be a problem on the shack PSU.

President Lincoln Mk2 (V3) - 2 year warranty period

Not only has the price of this 10m transceiver dropped to £199, but John Gordon of Nevada has confirmed that the warranty period on these transceivers is 2 years. I am seriously tempted.

Sunspots and 10m

Sunspot number today is 49 and 10m propagation is described as "poor". Despite this, my little 10m 500mW WSPR beacon was being copied in W.Australia earlier this afternoon.

10m conditions are changing

This afternoon,VK6DF (13606km) in West Australia spotted my 500mW WSPR signal at 1404z. The band opened to the USA,WB5B (8248km) but very late at 1550z.

10m conditions do seem to be changing.

UPDATE 1844z:  The last USA station to spot my 500mW WSPR beacon was KD6RF (7547km) 1736z.

QRT on 10m now, on 160m WSPR now and overnight

The 10m beacon has been turned off until after breakfast tomorrow, but the 160m WSPR station is still running and will remain on overnight.

Later tomorrow I will probably try a different band, most likely 40m on the Par end-fed triband antenna. It will be this antenna that my 40m Pixie will be tried on. On 40m this antenna is quite low so further WSPR tests will be useful.   As this triband antenna is also the antenna used on 10m I shall have to go QRT on 10m when I fire up on 40m.  This probably won't be until early evening Monday.

Pixie (40m) progress

40m Pixie kit

Pixie kit - being built

After carefully unpacking this kit today I checked all the parts were there and measured all values for correctness. The kit was very well packed and everything was there. Even at the price I paid ($10 with shipping by air included) it represents very good value.

The kit comes with a nice silk screened and well labelled PCB, crystal, all parts, schematic and a parts list. It would be hard to buy the bits for the price I paid. G1KQH paid even less!

I now realise that for close-up work I need better glasses!  Fortunately I have a small assembly aid that includes a magnifying glass. I am taking the build slowly and it is quite exhausting for me.  However, the actual assembly is going well. Last year, for me, this would have been impossible. I can still solder - big steps, HI.

Although the Pixie will be tested on the air, the important personal test is the building. It proves that, with some effort on my part, the world of experimental amateur radio is still there for me. You have no idea what this small step means to me.

Before too long I want to get out in the countryside and try again with my VLF and optical tests. It has been a long long long time.

Sunspots, 10m and transatlantic DX

Sunspot number today is 53 but 10m propagation remains "poor". At the moment here, conditions on 10m are better than yesterday. The 10m band is open to the USA.

UPDATE 1506z:  There are far more USA and Canadian stations copying my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon today than yesterday.

UPDATE 1946z:   The last USA station to spot me today was W8EMD (6211km) at 1840z. The first today was K9AN (6505km) at 1304z.

10m WSPR spots today - Sun Feb 22nd 2015

The first spot of my 10m 500mW WSPR beacon from a USA station today was K9AN (6505km) at 1304z. Conditions on 10m do seem better than yesterday which was pretty dire.

160m this evening so far

At the moment the best DX on WSPR TX ths evening using my FT817 (3 blobs) into the earth-electrode "antenna" in the garden is 853km to Denmark.

So far, since trying my earth-electrode "antenna" on 160m, I have received WSPR spots (reports) from 37 unique stations and results have well exceeded all expectations. Best TX DX the night before last was northern Spain.

Testing time - 40m Pixie

Tomorrow I am going to try to build my little 40m Pixie kit that I bought for just over £7 from China. This build is an attempt to see if I am "up to the job". I know the limited performance the Pixie is capable of and on 40m BC breakthrough may be a major issue here in the UK.

I really really miss doing real building and truly experimental amateur radio. This is a step on a long road. My health has been so poor in the last 16 months or so that there was no way I could have attempted this before. People have been very kind and offered me building help and help with antenna erection. These offers have come from all over the world - the world is filled with good and very kind people. There are far more good and kind people than evil ones.

By normal standards a little Pixie build would be trivial. For me it is a major step and test of my current abilities. I do so hope I can manage this! Please don't laugh - to me it is a major step.