UK National Hamfest

I recently received this reminder:

"25 & 26 SEPTEMBER : NATIONAL HAMFEST
brought to you by the RSGB in association with the Lincoln Short Wave Club. George Stephenson Pavilion, Newark and Nottinghamshire Showground, Lincoln Road, Winthorpe, Newark NG24 2NY (close to junction of A1/A46/A17). Free CP, TS, B&B, CB, C, SIG, Morse proficiency tests on demand, RSGB book stall, RSGB Services & Committees, DF, FM. www.nationalhamfest.org.uk.

A list of rallies can be found at http://rsgb.org/main/news/rallies/"

VW (and others?) scandal - NOT amateur radio

At the last count 11 million VW cars are involved. VW are in trouble big time and it is all their own fault. The executives and many at the top will rightly have to "carry the can" for this mess up. Surely, they had no need to blatantly cheat? Top executives should have known about this - no excuses!

Sorry, but I have absolutely no sympathy for this unethical business behaviour. They deserve to suffer for deliberately deceiving the public and the testers. It would not surprise me if some senior executives get lengthy prison sentences.

I have no sympathy as there is absolutely no place for unethical "carrying ons" like this in the 21st century. VW should have been above this sort of behaviour. They got caught cheating and they must take the full  consequences. This means fines, cancelled bonuses and prison.

Sunspots and 10m - Wed Sept 23rd 2015

Sunspot numbers have risen to 79 today (K=2) and 10m propagation is yet again expected to remain "poor". Yesterday, the USA was spotted in Italy on 10m WSPR and we are really in autumn here in the UK. I am quietly hoping for F2 on 10m further than Brazil here.  Looking back on Sept (so far) we have seen a reasonable amount of 10m Es, despite this not being the peak season. In recent days 10m F2 has been evident, even with my 500mW and poor antenna. I am still waiting for F2 to the USA on 10m this autumn. It will come soon I am sure.

6m UKAC this evening

Tonight was the 6m leg of the RSGB's UKAC activity contests. I only have a V2000 vertical so I am really not equipped for 6m contests. Nonetheless, I came on and worked 3 locals who were strong with me. Being cross polarised I was probably losing many S-points. Again, I was only running about 1W ERP vertical via lossy coax. G4BWP, G6UW and G3PYE/P were worked at good strength. A few stations at decent range were heard but not worked in the short time my voice allowed me to be active. All stations worked were in JO02 square. I may submit an entry, although I shall be at the bottom of the AL (low power) section! I think 6m contests would be more successful with a halo.

Electronics360

Today, I received this email. You may be interested in the link given.

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Good Es on 10m WSPR today

This afternoon there has been some decent Es on 10m. Others, using other modes, have seen some decent F2 DX as well. My 500mW WSPR was obviously not enough or there was low activity on WSPR. I have no idea if 6m WSPR was good for Es as I have not been on that band today. The moral is never give up on 10m Es. It is still there at any time of the year, but not as common as in the peak Es months.

Unique 10m WSPR spots of my 500mW beacon today.

VW should not have cheated - NOT amateur radio

Assuming the reports in the media that VW cheated in emissions tests are correct, all I can say is they must be stupid and they should have known better. If the reports are correct, this is a scandal and is unforgivable. VW should be banned in the USA for this unethical behaviour. Heads will roll, but at a corporate level they should not have cheated. Bad, bad, bad on their part. Almost unbelievable from VW.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-34325005 .

A 5MHz proper band a step closer?

Southgate News reports:

"The SARL reports a European Common Proposal (ECP) for an allocation of 100 kHz at 5350-5450 kHz has been accepted. This was a hard fought success with 7 abstentions (Austria, Belgium, UK, Hungary, Ireland, Montenegro, Poland) and 5 against (Azerbaijan, Germany, Romania, Russian Federation and France).  It is now up to the African block to support the agenda item at WRC which starts in Geneva, Switzerland on 2 November. Source: South African Radio League (SARL) http://www.sarl.org.za/ .  The World Radiocommunication Conference 2015 (WRC-15) Agenda and Relevant Resolutions can be downloaded from http://www.itu.int/go/wrc-15"

There is still a way to go, but just maybe we'll see a contiguous 100kHz wide allocation at 5MHz from WRC 2015? With declining sunspots (possibly for a very long time) this would be really good. It was a pity to see the UK apparently abstaining. Maybe OFCOM was under pressure from the UK military? A lot of UK allocations are reserved for military use, more is the pity. The UK military wastes so much spectrum!!

Sunspots and 10m - Tues Sept 22nd 2015

Sunspot number is 68 (K=3) and 10m propagation is expected to remain "poor".

UPDATE 0854z:  Just local G4IKZ (18km) spotting me on 10m so far. Maybe there will be a little Es and F2 later on 10m? I am giving 6m a miss.

Swallows - NOT amateur radio

This morning, there were no less than 6 barn swallows feeding over the allotments about 200m from our house. These may have been passing through and getting a good feed before the very long journey ahead.

The image below is owned by the RSPB.

Fair thee well and see you in April, if nature is willing.

See http://www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/discoverandlearn/birdguide/name/s/swallow/ .