New 472kHz reporter

 Yesterday I had several spots on 472kHz WSPR from M0JEK (68km). It is good to get spots from someone new. Overnight several spots of EA5DOM (1525km) on 472kHz WSPR. I have now gone QRT on MF and am active on 6m and 10m WSPR.

VERY late swallow - NOT amateur radio

According to my report on Devon birds, I see a swallow was sighted in Slapton, Devon on Dec 11th 2015. This is very late. It was probably from a late brood and stayed because of the mild weather. There have been rare, late, swallows before living off insects around seaweed in Cornwall, but I not aware of any proven records of over-wintering swallows staying in the UK. With our winters getting less cold it will happen some day.

The image is located at https://www.rspb.org.uk/Images/swallow_tcm9-18469.jpg?width=530&crop=(44,262,948,770) . If linking to it is problematic please let me know and I will remove the link.  I hope the free RSPB publicity is appreciated!

I have seen swallows in Devon in early December at Bolt Head, near Salcombe. Most make the hazardous journey to South Africa each September and return in April to these shores. Some arrive earlier, but most arrive by mid April, with swifts a few weeks later.

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

MF and 10m WSPR today so far

All quiet on 10m WSPR, so far. I was expecting a few spots by now.

On 472kHz (630m) I am spotting G8VDQ (93km) and being spotted by M0LMH (223km) in daylight. Overnight the usual stations were being spotted and spotting me. Best DX on RX (no preamp) was EA5DOM (1525km) and on TX (5mW ERP) with earth-electrodes was DL-SWL (701km). I wish there were some new stations.

UPDATE 1308z:  Still nothing on 10m WSPR.  I am surprised.

Sunday on 10m WSPR

More signs of possible wintertime Es with spots of my little 10m 500mW WSPR beacon from Italy. No sign of spots from the USA though.

Christmas concert - NOT amateur radio

London Eye at night

Yesterday we went by coach to London for a Christmas concert in the Festival Hall, South Bank, London given by the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Bach Choir  and Young Singers. It was excellent and felt very Christmassy.

When we returned to the coach, the London Eye was illuminated. You can just see Big Ben across the river.

Sunspots and 10m - Mon Dec 14th 2015

With a good solar flux level (122) and a sunspot number of 74 (K=2) there is a good chance of half decent propagation on 10m today. For the first time in a while 10m propagation is expected to be "fair".

Just 10m WSPR today

I went QRT on 630m before breakfast. Today I am just active on 10m WSPR, giving 6m and 630m a rest today. All being well I shall return to MF tonight.

Sunspots and 10m - Sun Dec 13th 2015

Solar flux is 115 and sunspot number 89 (K=3). 10m propagation is again expected to be "poor". 10m WSPR? May be reasonable today, but yesterday was disappointing.

Climate change - NOT amateur radio

So all the countries at the Paris climate summit have reached agreement. This is just the start, but it shows a willingness to work towards a world which does not have dangerous warming. As someone pointed out on BBC TV this morning, the cost of choosing a non-carbon path has significantly reduced, so it is less burdensome to choose clean energy.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-35084374 .

UPDATE 2315z: A new challenge will be non-carbon fueled cars.  As someone who had a fair bit to do with rechargeable batteries, I do not see the electric car as the answer, unless there is staggering breakthrough in battery technology allowing 300+ mile ranges between charges. Somehow I doubt this will happen. Maybe the answer will come in fuel cells, or low cost anytime storage of renewable energy? We need efficient storage of wind, solar and tidal energy so the energy generated can be used later.  Maybe the answer is partly power in the roads, with the car picking up this inductively? This way the weight of cars could be dramatically reduced? The car would only need a smaller battery to use when in-road power is not available?

USA spots (at last) on 10m WSPR

K9AN (6505km) has spotted my 10m 500mW WSPR beacon several times starting at 1530z.  From posts on Twitter (I get emails about these) it appears the ARRL 10m contest has sparked 10m activity and there was also 6m Es today.

UPDATE 1716z:  It looks like K9AN (6505km) was the only USA station to spot me today on 10m WSPR.  No 10m WSPR spots for well over an hour now.