Elecraft K3S

See  www.elecraft.com .

I see Elecraft has launched a de luxe version of its K3 transceiver. The K3 was already a pretty good rig and the S version will be even better, but sadly far too expensive. I guess Elecraft is right that this will be many times less expensive than similarly spec'd transceivers, but to me this is still far too much for an amateur radio rig. Don't forget that lots of the features cost more - like the mic and 2m!

At half the price maybe, but certainly out of the question here in the UK when shipping, import duty and VAT have to be added. I am able to get lots of fun from our hobby spending just a small fraction of the cost. There will always be people who will pay these prices and buy a tower and a big beam.  Sorry, but this is not for me. I wish Elecraft well but feel they will need to slash prices soon to compete with the Chinese. An alternative is for Elecraft kits to be shipped from China. Sorry, but this may be the only way they will be able to compete in the future.

Plenty of 10m Es today

As well as 6m, 10m WSPR has been alive with Es today. Below are the unique 10m WSPR spots today. No real DX, but plenty from around Europe spotting my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon.

Unique 10m WSPR spots by Es today so far

6m Es - at last a decent Es opening

This lunchtime there was a significant Es opening on 6m WSPR.  Although there have been minor openings before, this was the first decent 6m Es opening I have seen here.  So far, best DX was OH5XO (1943 km). Nothing outside Europe so far.

Unique 6m WSPR spots so far today.

UPDATE 1528z:   Best DX spot on 6m WSPR is now OH7AI at exactly 2000km.

UPDATE 1552z:  6m Es has been present most of the afternoon.

UPDATE 1844z:   HB9 and I stations have also spotted me on 6m WSPR.

E-field probes

A very successful antenna for VLF, LF and MF receive only is an E-field probe. Ideally these should be mounted outside the house with some experiments to find the quietest spot. Size is not important and these are much smaller than many antennas for much higher frequencies.  The picture shows an example EFP. This is the complete antenna - no wires or loops etc are needed in addition. They can be made by just about anyone, so there is nothing stopping you having fun on 136,472 or even VLF RX.   Some people have built these inside a short length of uPVC pipe. The important thing is they are very small and work well on the lower bands.

I have also used EFPs as mag mounts on the car when looking for my signal on 136kHz QRSS3. These are very compact antennas. PA0RDT has created a good design that many people are using.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/antennas/efp .

6m PC closed down for updates

The PC I use with the FT817 closed itself down overnight and I have only just restarted it, so 6m WSPR has been off until about 5 minutes ago. It is synced to internet time and the FT817 was still on, so it should soon be reporting any spots.  When the PC closes (usually around 0300z) the WSPR program, and everything else, has to be restarted. This usually happens once a week and I am aware I could choose to install updates manually if I wanted.

UPDATE 1030z:  So far on 6m, just exchanging spots with Eddie G3ZJO (79km).  No sign of 6mWSPR signals via Es today, well not yet.

70cm UKAC last night - missed

We had visitors yesterday, so I missed the May 2015 70cm leg of the UK activity contest (UKAC).  Although I only run 5W pep and a small hand-rotated 5 el beam I seem to be able to work out to about 200km on this band. Hopefully I shall be on for the next leg.

There was a new raft of 70cms beacons about to come on the band in the UK.  I must check if any of these are on the air yet.  There was a real shortage of UK beacons on this band. The last time I looked only 2 UK 70cms beacons were active but that was some months ago.

Still no 10m real DX

EA8BVP (2986km) and CT1JTQ (1843km) have spotted my 500mW on 10m WSPR several times, but no real DX so far today on this band.

East Anglian Churches blog updated - NOT amateur radio

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

Today we visited North Norfolk and called in at Cley and Wiveton churches. I have updated the churches blog with Cley church. Wiveton church will be added shortly. A few more images will also be added later.

6m WSPR update

Since yesterday evening 7 unique stations have been spotted on 6m WSPR and 6 stations have spotted me (best DX was G4AYT at 114km). Still just G stations either by tropo or helped by reflections off aircraft. No Es seen here on 6m in the last day or so. I shall be on 10m and 6m WSPR all day.

UPDATE 1900z:   Sadly, no 6m Es today, well at least not for me. However, quite a few spots given/received from G stations.

A poorer day ahead?

Sunspot number has declined to 170, still high, (K=6) and 10m propagation is expected to be "poor" today, so unless Es livens up 10m we are unlikely to see great things. I think the disturbed conditions will be the killer.

UPDATE 0812z:  GM4SFW (662km) spotted my on 10m WSPR last evening via Es.

UPDATE 0814z:  Despite the "poor" 10m predictions I see that VK has been spotted in Germany on 10m already. There is hope yet?