New reporter on 630m WSPR

We are now home again after 2 nights in London.

G4GIR (53km) has already spotted me 4 times on 472kHz WSPR (5mW ERP) even though I only went on the band since we arrived home. It is good to see a few new people on the band.

UPDATE 1840z:  G4GIR has now spotted me 6 times so far tonight on MF.

10m WSPR so far today

As you can tell, I am not currently on 10m WSPR but should be back on the band on Saturday again. I hope to go on 630m WSPR tonight after dark (5mW ERP). Often when HF is not so good, MF is better.

On 10m WSPR, KD0VWO monitoring in Brazil is copying EA5 and EA1 this morning, but not further north as far as I can tell.

UPDATE 1212z:  I see that GM4FVM (7592km) has been spotted by KD0VWO monitoring in  Brazil.

More FTSE 100 - NOT amateur radio

This morning, as I write, the UK FTSE 100 share index is up 1.64% on yesterday as mining stocks recover.

As Hugh warns in an earlier post, are we in for a shock soon? I am still left thinking we are living in cloud cuckoo land. At some point,we are going to see a massive crash.

Parakeets - NOT amateur radio

We are "grandchildren sitting" in Stoke Newington, London, but are back home today. One difference is hearing parakeets first thing in the morning. There are lots of these in nearby Springfield Park. I see these Australian birds have now reached Plymouth. They are becoming naturalised and spreading widely. At one time these escaped cage birds would have been rare indeed here in the UK.

It is hard to believe that collared doves first appeared in the UK in 1955. Little egrets were virtually unknown in the UK before the late 1980s and now they are all over the place.

There are different species of parakeets, but I think those spreading are from the same core stock, but this may not be the case: several escapees may have survived and bread in the wild in the UK.

 See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parakeet .

More from OFCOM

OFCOM has allocated new spectrum for programme makers and special events. I suppose we should be grateful that OFCOM has done something useful.

See http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/consultations/new-spectrum-audio-PMSE/statement

Sunspots and 10m - Fri March 11th 2016

Solar flux is 95 and sunspot number is 61 (K=3) and 10m propagation is again expected to be "poor". We will see how 10m WSPR turns out later. On the face of it, 10m looks like yesterday but with more disturbed conditions, so I am not that hopeful.

Sunspots and 10m - Thurs March 10th 2016

Solar flux is 96 and sunspot number 61 (K=2). 10m propagation is forecast to remain "poor" again.

10m WSPR today

A bit disappointing on 10m WSPR today. Maybe tomorrow will bring better results? As the solar activity gradually declines, 10m DX will be harder to find. It is there, at least on some days, and this is where WSPR really will prove useful.

FTSE 100 - NOT amateur radio

The FTSE 100 ended the day up 0.34%. I am still expecting large falls but so far this has not happened. Sentiment is pushing it higher but reality should push it well down.

I can't help thinking we are living in a parallel universe where reality does not apply.

With all the debt and uncertainty in the world, I think those who invest in the companies listed in the FTSE 100 are living their lives with their eyes and ears closed. At some point, reality will set in and the brown stuff will hit the fan big time and all hell will let loose. At some point, the world faces a MASSIVE re-adjustment and no-one will be immune.

Growth cannot continue in a world with limited resources. Also, living on debt cannot go on for ever. When interest rates are very low it may make sense, but what happens when these rise? China is a real danger and so apparently is Japan. 

Sunspots and 10m - Wed March 9th 2016

Solar flux is 95 today. Sunspot number is 48 (K=2) and the forecast for 10m propagation remains "poor".