Sunspots and 10m - March 11th 2015

Sunspot number has risen slightly to 43 but 10m propagation is forecast to be "fair". Already though my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon has been spotted by VK6YS (14479km) and several on the edges of Europe.

Last 10m USA spots this evening

The last USA station to spot my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon was K9AN (6505km) at 2016z. As I said before, I missed the start of the USA opening as I did not start until later today.

Since 2016z only locals G4IKZ (18km) and G3YAC (12km) have been spotting me.

I have now gone QRT on 10m WSPR but I am still active on MF (472kHz).

70cm UKAC tonight

Stations worked this evening with 5W/5el on 70cm SSB

After less than an hour and 9 QSOs I had to stop straining my voice and stop. Some locals, such as G2XV, were missed as they were operating "search and pounce" so I had no idea where to call them! Best DX was only 105km tonight although I heard further. Had I been able to operate longer I might have worked further. It was fun though and I managed to work 4 QTH locator squares. Conditions seemed pretty flat.

GPS

These days, we take satellite navigation such as GPS so much for granted. I am told  that the best resolution using satellites for civilian use is now down to 30cms but for military uses the resolution is better still. It seems quite incredible that GPS is nowadays routinely embedded in smart phones and we just assume we can find our position with great accuracy. Such accuracy came about as a result of a military project way back in the Cold War.

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

70cm UKAC this evening

Last week I mended my 2m/70cm antenna so it rotates again. This evening is the UKAC March 70cm leg. With a 5el and 5W pep it is highly unlikely I'll win even the low power section but I hope to be on long enough to work a few stations before my stoke affected voice tells me to stop.

Sunspots and 10m propagation - March 10th 2015

Sunspot number is lowish again at 29. 10m propagation was forecast to be "fair". When I turned on my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon earlier this afternoon, the band was already open across the N.Atlantic. I had my U3AC course on "Maps in the Digital Age" until after lunch.

UPDATE 1826z:  Still wide open to the USA and Canada.

UPDATE 1940z:  The 10m band is still open across the North Atlantic.

Kindness

One thing my stroke has taught me is that there are a lot of good and kind people in the world.  I have been so grateful for all the genuine kindness. These good people have expected nothing in return. They have just been so very kind. It has been wonderfully heartening to find out just how kind and generous people are.

I had G6ALB help me with antennas, countless offers of help to build my "Ultimate 3" kit from people all over the world, and today I received a crystal for my 40m Pixie in the post from Andy Cutland in Jersey.

We hear a lot about bad things but rarely the good news. I am giving you this now: in my experience the good and kind people are all over the world.   A million thanks to all of you who have helped me or offered help. It really was/is appreciated.

Elad SDR transceiver

From Italy come the news of the Elad SDR transceiver, which was featured in RSGB's RadCom last month. This is being sold in the UK for £899. It is an SDR 5W transceiver covering from 9kHz to 54MHz.  It can be used with or without a PC.  It has 0dBm output at all frequencies and 5W in the amateur bands. Looks a very nice radio.

This image resides on the Elad website and will be removed immediately if copyright is being infringed or having this link is otherwise an issue.

10m USA WSPR spots today

Despite the low sunspot number, today people in the USA were spotting my 500mW WSPR beacon early. KC2GMM (5562km) was the first today at 1210z. This is one of the earliest yet. Even with a sunspot number of just 23, the 10m band is open to the USA. Promising for future weak peaks.

UPDATE 1415z:   Plenty of USA and Canadian stations currently spotting my 10m 500mW WSPR beacon.

UPDATE 1645z:  10m is still wide open to the USA and Canada.]

UPDATE 2006z:  The transatlantic opening is still going strong but I shall have to go QRT as I need the same antenna for 40m. KC2GMM (5562km) was the last stateside station that copied me, but I suspect I would have been heard by stateside stations later.

Young amateurs?

When I was fit and healthy, I gave quite a few talks to radio clubs in East Anglia. One thing is very apparent: our hobby is mainly an interest of men and older men at that. Of course, there are the odd exceptions. In some clubs membership was good, whereas in others not so good.

What is very clear is that unless young blood is soon attracted and kept, our hobby/interest will die out within 20-30 years. I notice that this was a topic on the Southgate News Page today. I don't think this is just a UK thing, although in the USA I see licence numbers are at an all time high.

Certainly, the pure magic of radio we experienced when my generation was young is no longer a draw: it is possible to Skype video across the globe instantly via the phone in your hand nowadays. In my youth, the only way to communicate around the world really was by amateur radio and for that you needed to pass the RAE.

No, we need to find what fascinates the younger generation and use that as a lure. It is the whole future of our interest that is at stake here. To me, radio is still magic, especially QRP.  However I can see this is not a source of fascination to today's youngsters, to whom texting and mobile internet are second nature.

What would draw in and keep young people fascinated by our hobby today? I think the word "fascinated" is important. As a youngster, radio communications fascinated me and has kept me interested for a lifetime. It is this fascination that is missing today I think.