10m promise?

There were early morning (breakfast time) 10m WSPR spots from I and OZ today. Also G4CUI (172km) by tropo. I have a feeling today will be quite productive on 10m WSPR, especially by Es.

UPDATE 2122z:  No more Es seen on 10m since those early spots. Yet again, 6m WSPR has been a dead loss again with not a single spot either given or received!  I thought we were in for a better 10m day but it was not to be, here at least.

QSYed to 630m (472kHz) WSPR from 6m

Today 6m WSPR has been a total dead loss with not a single spot. I have decided to move down to MF (5mW ERP TX 20%, RX 80%). Hopefully it will be more productive, especially after dark. So far this autumn my best DX on RX is 995km, even without the preamp.

UPDATE 1900z:   DK7FC (669km) has already been spotted twice strongly. It is only just going dark here.

All very quiet on 10m and 6m WSPR here today

Well, it is very quiet here today on both 10m and 6m WSPR, with not even the locals and GDX around! Maybe the bands have been deserted? At the moment there are 27 stations shown as active on 10m WSPR in the world and just 13 on 6m in the world.  Of course this does not include those valiantly trying but not being copied.

UPDATE 1412z:  Just one 10m spot so far: Es propagation with a spot by DK6UG (633km) at just before lunchtime. So, there is some 10m Es still, but not much! 6m has remained quiet here all day.

Monarchy - NOT amateur radio

Later today the UK queen will beat Queen Victoria as the longest reigning monarch in British history.

I have mixed views on monarchy: it seems to work here (at least with the current queen who is well respected) and I cannot readily think who would be president if we were a republic.

Yet somehow the idea of rank and privilege grates on me: why should someone be queen just because her "line" is royal? No, I think our queen has served us well, but I have mixed views on the monarchy as a concept.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34177107  .

Sunspots and 10m - Wed Sept 9th 2015

Sunspot number has risen and conditions are less disturbed today. Sunspot number is 47 (K=2) although 10m propagation remains "poor". Although F2 propagation on 10m is possible, late Es remains the best hope on 10m and 6m. At the moment I am not active on 10m or 6m WSPR, but I shall be turning the kit on shortly. My first task will be to mend the 2m big-wheel!

Big-wheel disaster?

Overnight, my temporary mast for the big-wheel collapsed: it was simply resting against the guttering and blew over crushing one of the clover leaves. Hopefully, I can bend this element correctly again.  I shall do this shortly.

UPDATE 1414z:  Averted! I managed to straighten out the bent clover leaf, re-erect the antenna (briefly) and re-test. As far as I can tell, it is the same as before now.

70cm contest using a 2m big wheel

Stations worked on 70cm tonight with 5W and a 2m big-wheel omni

This evening was the September 70cm leg of the RSGB's UKAC contest, so I decided to give it a go with my 2m big-wheel and 5W SSB. The match on 70cms was very good, but I had no idea how it would actually work. Well, the answer is "very well" as you can see by the stations worked. Best DX was 182km. To say I was pleased is an under-statement!  I shall be able to use this antenna again in 70cm contests. I was also able to copy the new beacon NW of Leicester GB3LEU which was pretty good copy on 432.490MHz.

Seasons - NOT amateur radio

As I grow older, the seasons seem to come around much more quickly. The long, light evenings are no more as we start the autumn and the run towards Christmas. Soon the shops will be filled with Christmas tat as the shops cash in commercially.  In some shops Christmas starts now!

It seems no time at all since the spring when the trees were showing that newness of fresh green and the summer migrants were arriving from Africa.

As one gets older I have learnt to enjoy every season. We are lucky in the UK to have seasons and each has its own pleasures if we just open our eyes  and let the seasons flow over us.

Autumn is a season of rich colours, newly turned soil and fresh starts. Winter can have those bright cold days when the trees are bare, or warm evenings inside when the TV and fire beckon. Spring is when the summer migrants return, when the birds make new nests and sing for all it is worth. Buds appear and the bulbs in the garden spring forth with vigor. Summer is when the flowers come into full bloom - and the grass needs cutting very regularly!

Every time of the year is special and should be enjoyed. We will blink and autumn and winter will be gone and those long summer evenings will be here again, but each of us has one fewer year to enjoy.  Those long summer evenings will come and go.

No, enjoy every moment and every season. Enjoy the now.

Syria - NOT amateur radio

I am no politician, but Syria is being torn apart by civil war. An end to the conflict has to be ironed out or the deaths and displacement of millions will go on. The refugee crisis now unfolding is a symptom of the deep unrest in that troubled nation. It is high time the major powers worked together with all sides to forge a fair and lasting peace. No vested interests please, just the well being of all the people in Syria.

It still puzzles me why not a single Gulf state has taken any Syrian refugees.

Sunspots and 10m - Tues Sept 8th 2015

Sunspot number today is 47 (K=6) and 10m propagation is expected to remain "poor" today.  It is very unlikely 10m will be any good today but the band has a habit of springing surprises! Late Es remains the best hope.