Big wheel antenna

Big Wheel for 2m

A good 2m antenna for horizontal polarisation is the big wheel. Quite a few beacons use these as they require no rotator and a couple of these stacked give about 5dBd gain horizontally. So, these would be ideal for fixed station use. They would suit me well for UKAC 2m contests and general 2m SSB/CW use. I know that my 3 el, hand rotated, beam has about the same gain.  One big wheel alone is better than a halo, but two suitably phased would be better than a small beam.

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

Sunspots and 10m - Friday March 29th 2015

Sunspot number has dropped to 11 (K=1) and 10m is expected to remain "poor" today. These are figures more typical of a good day in the sunspot minimum  years.

At least my DT was good on my 10m beacon overnight. Still unsure why it was so high before doing a frequency change and long hard reset by turning off the beacon's DC power supply.   My WSPR signals on 10m should all be in-band now, whereas before some fell outside the lower WSPR sub-band limit so most people would not have noticed these.

UPDATE 0822z:   Most spots overnight were by Nick G4IKZ (18km) but there was one spot from Italy by Es at 0730z.

DT puzzle

As you may recall, I use (very successfully) on 10m a WSPR-AXE-CW beacon by W5OLF.  In the last 6 months this has served me well.  However I was puzzled by a second report last night that both DT was way out (around 4.7) and the frequency was sometimes outside of the lower end of the WSPR sub-band. I decided to check DT locally using my FT817/PC as a receiver. Sure enough, DT was very high. Setting the clock to internet time -4 seconds made almost no difference. This evening I set my beacon TX frequency about 150Hz higher (adjusted the multi-turn pot) and, for reasons I do not understand, my DT has dropped to - 1.4 setting to internet time exactly on an even minute. It seems resetting the frequency has also fixed the DT issue. Perhaps this is something to do with Wolf's software? Anyway, I am now waiting for local Nick G4IKZ to confirm my DT findings.

UPDATE 2216z:  For reasons I do not claim to understand, I needed a long hard reset (mains power off for 20 secs) to get modulation to appear after a small frequency adjustment. All seems to be working now but the beacon will be on overnight to see if the modulation remains on.

Sunspots and 10m - Thursday May 28th 2015

Sunspot number has dropped like a stone to just 24 (K=1) and 10m propagation is "poor". No F2 DX seen today.  Only Es seen here has livened up the 10m band.

Birthday - NOT amateur radio

A few days ago, one of our grandchildren was 4. Here she is with her dad and her brother opening her present from us in our back garden this afternoon.

Back on 6m WSPR

The "Kent" grandchildren have returned home, so I have my shack back. The "London" grandchildren are due soon.

As well as my 10m 500mW WSPR beacon, I have now returned to 20% TX on 6m WSPR since 1052z. The very first TX burst resulted in 3 spots by G stations with best DX 114km from G4AYT in Kent. The double spot by G3ZJO is interesting. I don't think it is my end, so it suggests a direct path (tropo) and one off aircraft with suitably low Doppler? I'd need to see the trace received by Eddie to be sure, but that is what it looks like.

Initial results on 6m WSPR this morning

UPDATE 1112z:  No 6m Es seen yet.

UPDATE 1844z:   EA117URE (1177km) - SWL or special call? -  was spotting me by Es at 1742 this evening on 6m WSPR.

Sunspots and 10m - Wed May 27th 2015

Sunspot number has fallen to 48 today (K=1), lower than recent weeks, and 10m is again forecast to be "poor".  Es may, of course, liven up 10m and 6m.

UPDATE  1042z:  OE6PWD (1232km) and IZ6QZB (1475km) recently spotted my 500mW WSPR beacon on 10m Es.

UPDATE 2006z:  According to local G4IKZ my dT (ever after a spot-on resync to internet time) is way off (greater than 4 seconds off) . I sync to internet time every 5 minutes on 6m and use this clock to sync my WSPR-AXE-CW beacon, normally once a day.  I'd be interested to know the dT that others measure on my 10m signal.

Early 10m Es

As early as 0550z my 500mW 10m WSPR was being spotted in Italy. This is very early for Es. I shall get back on 6m WSPR later.

VLF upconverter

VLF upconverter

Some years ago I was looking for a simpłe VLF up-converter (to receive SAQ) and came up with the simple circuit shown in the link. This was later improved by HB9DAO. The improved design is also shown.

If you want a simple introduction to VLF or LF listening these circuits may give you some ideas. 

It would not be suitable for serious amateur VLF use over any distance when high dynamic range, long integration periods, and very narrow bandwidths are pretty essential.  It is ideal for reception of commercial VLF signals and time standard transmissions.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/vlf/vlf-converter .

Cranial Osteopathy for Stroke - NOT amateur radio

I still have several stroke related issues (feel drunk when walking, tire easily, poor thin liquid swallow, poor voice), so today I started a series of cranial osteopathy sessions with someone recommended to me in Cambridge. The first session went well and I have fixed up a couple more sessions.  Some people swear that this works, whereas others say it is "quack medicine".  I go open-minded.

Time will tell if these sessions help with my symptoms. Although I am improving, the pace has slowed considerably so I am game to try anything that may help. After all this time I still do not feel right. I just want to get my old self back!