Sunspots and 10m - Friday July 10th 2015

Sunspot number is still 131 (K=1) and 10m is expected to remain "fair" .

2m SSB history

IC202

For me, 2m SSB began with the purchase of a 10W pep Belcom Liner 2, which opened up 2m SSB to the masses. Before then, people used homebrew transverters and HF rigs to get on VHF SSB.

After that I owned the IC202 from ICOM which had a very good VXO but less power (3W pep).  Later, the first digital synthesised rigs appeared and 2m SSB really took off.

In the last 20 years or so, certainly here in the UK, VHF/UHF SSB took a nosedive and what little VHF/UHF activity there is is mainly using FM. Here in the UK there is good SSB activity in contests and in good lifts, but little casual use of the SSB/CW modes, which is a pity. Ranges on SSB can be much greater than FM for similar power levels.

When I first used my Liner 2 I was amazed how far I could reach in flat conditions, even with 10W and a small indoor antenna.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/vuhf/ic202 .

10m Es on WSPR - very quiet

Apart from an early morning WSPR spot from Italy, it has been quiet here on 10m WSPR with just spots from local G4IKZ (18km).  At the moment, 6m is getting more spots and from greater distances. No F2 DX seen on 10m WSPR here.

6m Es on WSPR

There was quite a bit of Es on 6m this morning with some even in the night.  We are at the height of the Es season in Europe now.

Sunspots and 10m - Thurs July 9th 2015

Sunspot number is still a respectable 131 (K=1) and 10m propagation is expected to remain "fair". Although because of summertime conditions we should not expect too much of F2 on 10m, Es is likely again to liven up both 10m and 6m.

Surpletronics

Steve, G1KQH (Font of all knowledge) passed me information on this company. He was trying to help me with crystals, but they stock a lot of good stuff. I think this is stuff remaindered by others and sold on. They accept payment by PayPal and orders over £30 have free delivery. Looks like a place worth checking out.

See http://www.surplectronics.com .

New country (I think) spotting me on 6m WSPR

IH9YMC (1946km) on Pantelleria Island (JM56xt) was spotting me at 1114z on 6m WSPR.  I think this counts as a separate country. It is not too far from Tunisia.

UPDATE 1330z:  EA6GF (1428km) has spotted me several times on 6m WSPR today.

UPDATE 1822z:  At 1758z and at 1820z I was (yet again) spotted by 4X1RF (3519km) in Israel on 6m WSPR. This is a very long way for Es and seems to happen very often.

Chinese stock market losses - NOT amateur radio

We should be afraid of what is happening in China. There, stock market losses are huge in the last month and these will affect China and the West. The article linked shows parallels with the 1929 Wall Street Crash. Worrying. With Greece and China the world is facing another financial crisis.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-33440565 .

15m QRP

Another rig that rarely gets used these days is my 15m 1W CW transceiver, the MFJ Cub. This works very well and has worked South and North Americans. Currently I have no antennas up for 15m so it has not been used at this QTH. This uses a superhet RX. I guess this is another rig I should consider selling or trading in? If it is not getting much use this is especially true. I must have had it about 15 years now. It is a good little single band radio covering about 70kHz (as I recall) of the CW band. There is a small hole in the case so this can be centred where ever one likes in the band. Another example of a simple "station in a box". A CW key, battery, Walkman phones and 15m antenna and you are on the radio and able to work DX.  It never fails to amaze me how effective simple radios can be. You really do not need to spend a lot. A 15m dipole can be made by just about anyone and does not need to be that high to work well.  If I could work >8000km with mine I am sure you can do at least as well.

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

Sunspots and 10m - Wed July 8th 2015

Sunspot number is 131 (K=1) and 10m propagation again expected to remain "fair".  Es will liven up 10m and 6m. Whether or not we get any real 10m F2 DX remains to be seen. It is mid-summer and most F2 DX (if any) will be N-S.

Most early mornings, I seem to be spotted in Italy on WSPR by 10m Es. Years ago I used to work a station in Rome very regularly who was using 100mW AM on 28.500MHz from a small handheld. I was on SSB.  His equivalent SSB power (i.e. the power in the upper sideband) was a few milliwatts. I had no trouble working him.