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.

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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/ .

Yet more Chinese copies...

More from Steve G1KQH:

"Now they have copied the Raspberrypi and called it the OrangePi, expect to see loads of them coming our way soon!

Just the same as making us the reactors, they take our designs and copy them selling them back to us.

http://www.aliexpress.com/store/product/Orange-Pi-PC-linux-and-android-mini-PC-Beyond-Raspberry-Pi-2/1553371_32448079125.html "

Steve has also found the support page  http://www.orangepi.org/.

Before we know it they will be ripping off everything and we'll depend on them for everything we consume. Where will this end? Disaster? At some point The West will wake up - if we do not then we are in for deep trouble in a few years' time. Our economy depends on manufacturing and we are destroying this, or rather letting the Chínese do this for us.

10m WSPR: what I missed

It was after breakfast today that I set up my 10m WSPR 500mW beacon, but it was interesting to see what local G4IKZ (18km) was spotting overnight and earlier today on 10m WSPR.  He runs a decent Moxon antenna so in the better directions he probably has an extra 10dB antenna gain over me. This makes quite a difference as he was spotting 4Z5, I, OM, DL and G stations before 0838z. So far, my beacon has been spotted by no-one at all. I need to check it is working!

UPDATE 1146z:  Doh! Guess who forgot to turn on the 10m PA? Since turning the PA on about 30 minutes ago, I have had lots of spots from G4IKZ (18km). This was my problem. I feel so stupid.

UPDATE 1556z:  Only G4IKZ spotting me on 10m WSPR and no spots given or received on 6m so far today. I was expecting better today on 10m.

UPDATE 1645z:  There is some Es on 10m WSPR. IK1SKC (977km) spotted me about an hour ago.

China and our nuclear power - NOT amateur radio

So the UK government is to "guarantee" China's £2 billion investment in a new nuclear reactor at Hinkley Point in Somerset. So, we are happy for China to be involved, have access to all our nuclear details? We must be desperate! Investing in better insulation, clean renewables etc. would render this totally unnecessary.

And what about the spent fuels that need safe storage for a very very long time?

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-somerset-34306997 .