Sunspots and 10m - June 8th 2015

Sunspot number is 136 today (K=4) and 10m is expected to be "fair".

Already there have been 10 spots on 10m of me by EA8BVP (2986km) before breakfast. This is early and F2 propagation I think.

All quiet here on 6m so far. This is the time of year for 6m JA openings (noctilucent clouds?) but there are no JAs active on 6m WSPR. This is disappointing (see next blog entry).

UPDATE 0935z:  All quiet on 10m.  No further spots from EA8BVP since before breakfast (gone to the beach?) and no early 10m Es.  6m quiet too with just G spots.

So far at least, disappointment on 10m and 6m WSPR

There is still time for both 10m and 6m WSPR to spring into life, but so far today both bands have, again, been disappointing with no Es on 6m and very little on 10m. So far, no evidence at all of F2 propagation here on 10m WSPR. I know my 10m antenna could be better, but Es conditions seem to have been poor this season on both 10m and 6m. Things could yet change, so I remain ever hopeful.

UPDATE 1848z:  DK0SC (827km) spotting me on 10m WSPR by Es. 6m still quiet - no Es seen here.

UPDATE 1915z:    EA8BVP (2986km) yet again has spotted me! This is (I think) F2 at 1912z.

UPDATE 2200z:  EA8BVP has spotted me 41 times this evening.

WISPY 10m WSPR rig

Some years ago (in my fit days) I build a simple DSB WSPR rig for 10m based around a low cost 14.060MHz crystal bought from the GQRP club.  The idea was to pull and double this crystal and use it in a simple DSB TX and direct conversion RX.  Both TX and RX have been built separately, but I was ill before I got around to combining the 2 into a 10m WSPR transceiver. Both parts worked well.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/wispytx .

Bells - NOT amateur radio

Our "London" grandchildren just love Burwell church and bells, even though they do not attend church in London. Their parents have Buddhist tendencies. I put the video on YouTube as it is too large to send to them by email. I know others may be interested too. There are quite a few bell videos on my G3XBM channel as well as lots on my amateur radio projects (from the days when I was fit). This video was taken in our back garden. We are about 350m from the church.

Autumn projects

OK, it is only just summer according to the Met Office and already I am thinking about autumn projects. A lot depends on my health - particularly my stamina and giddiness. Some antenna work will need help from local friends unless I make some dramatic improvements. Things on the list include:

• A stacked big wheel antenna for 2m SSB/CW/WSPR, This would be instead of the hand-rotated 3 el yagi. About the same horizontal gain but omni, so better for beacons and contests?
• A decent antenna and ground for LF/MF.
• Some field tests on VLF/136kHz/optical (currently unlikely because of health).
• A better dedicated antenna for 10m WSPR (possibly a magnetic loop).

Overall, I want to make my home set-up as effective as I can before the winter. My health is still my biggest drawback, preventing much practical constructional work.

Sunspots and 10m - Sunday June 7th 2015

With the sunspot number now back at 129 (K=2) and 10m propagation expected to be "fair" we are in a battle between summertime 10m conditions (some Es and some N-S F2) and rising sunspots. Even though conditions are notionally somewhat better it would be naive to expect decent 10m propagation to suddenly return. I suspect we will have one more decent autumn and winter on 10m before we start to head firmly downwards in the solar cycle. Conditions have been pretty good on 10m overall. All I urge is for people to stick with 10m WSPR as conditions dive downwards as this will be when WSPR will prove so valuable.

UPDATE 1322z:  Some European Es on 10m but no evidence here of F2 as yet.]

UPDATE 1334z:  Just the usual suspects exchanging 6m WSPR spots inter-G. No sign, here at least, of any 6m Es or F2. So far this season, 6m has been disappointing regarding WSPR Es.

UPDATE 1618z:  10m Es at lunchtime but only G4IKZ (18km) since then and only GDX on 6m WSPR all day.  No Es on 6m so far today.

Icom IC703

One of the best rigs I once owned was the 10W Icom IC703. This was a well equipped QRP radio with a decent receiver, DSP and auto ATU. I sold it to a local amateur who was a poor pensioner but I regret selling it now! No fan needed at 10W.  Just a first class rig.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/ic703 .

10m and 6m disappointment

Recent 6m WSPR spots today

Having posted this I suspect 10m and 6m will now burst into life!

So far today, both bands have been disappointing with only a little Es on 10m (just EA8BVP by F2) and none seen here on 6m. Sunspot count and K index suggested we might have expected some decent DX, but I missed it here!

UPDATE 1748z:   Still pretty quiet on both bands.  Even did a full reset of the 10m beacon to make sure things were working.

UPDATE 1846z:  There was nobody spotting me on 10m WSPR between 1234z and 1820z. Either my beacon was not sending WSPR and not frequency hopping (this has happened before) or G4IKZ (18km) was not on or beaming elsewhere. Having done a hard reset on the beacon (power off totally for over a minute) I suspect my beacon was at fault. Anyway it is on now and being spotted again by G4IKZ.  No great DX sadly.

UPDATE 1916z:  Sadly no DX stations spotting me on 10m WSPR.

UPDATE 2012z:  I see that EA8BVP (2986km) has spotted me several times this evening.

UPDATE 2112z:   EA8BVP has spotted me 28 times so far tonight on 10m WSPR since 1940z.

British Gas - NOT amateur radio

A few weeks ago we were due to get a free Smart Meter upgrade and we waited in all morning for the appointment that never happened. Subsequent emails, despite a request that they ring me, resulted in them (or their not joined up computers) arranging 3 inconvenient new appointments by email.  Really they are an utter basket case! Trouble is I suspect the alternatives would be as bad.

Nearly a month later and I have still not been told why the first appointment did not happen. Hopeless.

Yaesu FT991

FT991 at www.hamradio.co.uk

There is only one commercial rig that I fancy and that is the FT991 from Yaesu.  This covers all HF including 50MHz as well as 144 and 432MHz. It does NOT cover 70MHz.  It also supports C4FM, not that this bothers me. For a 100W radio (it would get used at much lower powers) it is quite small. It is rated as a 50W radio on 144 and 432MHz.

Price in the UK is still too high at £1279.95. I am quite prepared to wait until the price reaches £999 or less. A price war will erupt soon between the main suppliers forcing prices downwards. Certainly by Christmas I expect it to be £999 with VAT. I can wait and wait. Of course, I suspect a cash price is already well below £1279, but I have not asked.

Of course, I'd prefer a 5W rig and if an FT817 replacement appears in the meantime that might well be considered at the right price. It is a pity they don't sell the 30W version which I suspect is available in Japan. Usual these are the S versions so keep an eye out for the FT991S. A true QRP version would be even better.

It appears there may have been some teething issues with the very first radios, but  these appear to have been resolved now. Most recent reviews on eHam have been very good.

See MLS at http://www.hamradio.co.uk/amateur-radio-main-equipment-base-station-radio-yaesu-base-station-radio/yaesu/yaesu-ft-991-hf-50mhz-vhf-uhf-base-station-transceiver-pd-5621.php.

For eHam reviews see http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/12025 .