FTSE 100 - NOT amateur radio

The UK FTSE 100 share index fell earlier, but seems to be staging a recovery. It may even end the day slightly up. There is still over an hour of trading left and a few shocks could change that!

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business/markets/europe/lse_ukx .

UPDATE 2015z:  In the end, the recovery "ran out of steam" and the FTSE 100 closed down 0.45% on the day.

10m doldrums

We seem to be a bit in the doldrums on 10m WSPR. Summer Es is now a thing of the past until next spring, although we will still get the odd opening, and F2 seems yet to become commonplace. There has been the odd F2 opening that my 500mW 10m beacon found, but not the daily USA openings I was expecting by now on 10m WSPR. By the time we get io November I expect daily F2 openings will be commonplace on 10m.

UPDATE 1528z:   Still only local G4IKZ (18km) spotting me on 10m WSPR. Very quiet.

70cm UKAC contest this evening

Starting at 1900z, there is the monthly RSGB 70cm activity contest. This lasts 2.5 hours. Activity levels are usually very high during these events, although I imagine the number of portable stations drop off as the evenings get darker. As usual, I shall be using 5W pep and my 2m big-wheel horizontal omni which matches and gets out quite well on 70cm. The main limitation is my poor voice. Usually less than an hour of operating and I am "done in".

UPDATE 2000z: After a single QSO I called it a night on 70cm. I heard quite a few squares including IO90, IO91, IO92, JO02, JO03, at reasonable distances but my voice was not up for it.  The Leicester 70cm beacon was at normal strength.

Yaesu FT991 issues?

The price is certainly falling for this rig, but quite a few people have expressed disappointment. I cannot comment on these reports. Some are disappointed saying it is, "cheaply made".

This is a trend of our age: I have noticed that M&S underpants are now thinner and not as good. My wife recently bought a coat (not M&S) and this was thinner than the one it replaced.  No, making goods to fit a price seems to be the way things are today, rather than built to last. This says lots about our "consumer society". Things are not made to last any more: they are designed to wear out or fail so we buy new items.

This is a state of affairs that ultimately cannot last.

Sunspots and 10m - Tues Oct 13th 2015

In the last 24 hours there has been very little evident on 10m WSPR here. Today, sunspot number is 51 (K=4) and 10m propagation is expected to remain "poor". To be honest, I am not expecting much today on 10m, but I hope to be pleasantly surprised. You never know...

East Cambs Net - 144.575MHz FM, 8pm Mondays

This evening, I was late joining the net and when I arrived there was no-one on!  Usually there are at least 3 of us on. Maybe some are away. All being well I shall be there on time next Monday evening.

Grass cutting - NOT amateur radio

We are now clearly in autumn and the leaves are starting to fall. Today, I cut our front lawn (rear later all being well) but the intervals between cuts is lengthening as the grass is growing less. One, maybe two, more cuts and that should be it until the spring arrives. I usually give it a small tidy-up if needed on a dry winter day. The first cut of spring is usually March.

As Melanie Reid said in The Times on Saturday (she is tetraplegic since a riding accident in April 2010) there are those that live and those that live in fear. We are not in control, despite our best efforts, so let us all try to be with those who live and embrace all life.

5MHz band?

The next world radio conference (WRC-2015) is drawing close to opening. Worldwide, radio amateurs are hoping for a contiguous 5MHz allocation, rather than the channelised allocations common in many countries. A 60m band would be really useful as the sunspot numbers decline and the higher HF bands become far less useful for DX. Whether this contiguous allocation will happen remains to be seen. Most of the lobbying has been done, so I guess we now have to wait and hope.

Sunspots and 10m - Mon Oct 12th 2015

Sunspot number, although low,  is slowly climbing again and is 36 today (K=3) but 10m is yet again forecast to have "poor" propagation.

So far, just local G4IKZ (18km) spotting my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon (100% TX, randomised frequency), although I'll leave this running all day. 6m WSPR is also running (20% TX, 80% RX 1W ERP).

UPDATE 1137z:  Still just local G4IKZ spotting me on 10m WSPR and nothing at all on 6m either given or received.

MLS FT991 video

MLS have dropped their price to match the competition this weekend, but I expect to see further falls soon They have a nice video introducing this radio.