Rallies in years to come?

The high streets are changing. Have you noticed that there are far more coffee shops and charity shops and far fewer bookshops? This is because of us.

I wonder what radio rallies will look like in the future. Rallies are not my scene really, but I have been to a few over the years. There seem to be fewer trade stalls nowadays and more stalls that are not amateur radio related. As the average age of radio amateurs increases, fewer people will attend and some will stop. The GQRP rally at Rishworth ends this year, no doubt because of the average age of attendees. No, radio rallies will soon be a thing of the past if we are not careful.

My concerns about radio mags and adverts have been shared before, but our hobby is likely to be very different and soon. What can be expected are fewer magazines, fewer adverts, fewer products as the market shrinks.  Our hobby has a problem on many fronts due to an ageing population. We ignore this at our peril.

Back on 10m WSPR ...and some DX

FR1GZ (9724km) has been spotted on 10m WSPR and I have been spotted in Italy. Italian stations are also being spotted here.  My return to 10m WSPR is proving worthwhile.

UPDATE 1345z: CX2ABP (11127km) in Uruguay has been spotted several times on 10m WSPR this afternoon.

UPDATE 1915z:  In all CX2ABP was copied 4 times up to 1808z. What is interesting is the large drift (Doppler?) on the signal. The most probable explanation is that the layers near the equator were moving (spread F?), hence the Doppler.

UPDATE 1920z: I have decided to go QRT on all bands to minimise the storm risk.

Sunspots and 10m. Friday April 15th 2016

Solar flux is 112 today and the sunspot number 46 (K=1). The forecast for 10m propagation remains "poor".  Despite the forecast, I have "good vibes" about 10m WSPR today.

Radio active?

In a few minutes I am going to assess the risk of nearby storms and venture onto 10m WSPR for a few hours if the danger is low. I know there is a risk later but there maybe a window of a few hours. Although I do not like storms nearby, I miss not being active on the radio. I see than I have been on JT65 and JT9-1 far less than I intended this year. Still we have only had 3.5 months, so plenty of time left this year.

UPDATE 1000z:  The risks look low with no nearby lightning shown on the map, so I shall go on 10m WSPR shortly.

UK Rallies

I've been notified about these upcoming rallies here in the UK:

Sunday 17 APRIL : WEST LONDON RADIO & ELECTRONICS SHOW (Kempton Rally)
Kempton Park Racecourse, Staines Road East, Sunbury on Thames, TW16 5AQ. The venue has free car parking and disabled facilities. There will be a talk-in station and doors open 9.50/10am. Other attractions include trade stands, a flea market, a Bring & Buy, special interest groups and lectures. A raffle will also be held. Catering is available on site.

Details from Paul, M0CJX on 08451 650 351 or by email to info@radiofairs.co.uk. www.radiofairs.co.uk.

Sunday 17 APRIL : ANDOVER RADIO AND COMPUTER BOOT SALE
Tangley Village Hall, Wildhern, Andover, Hants SP11 0JE Doors will be open from 9amto 4pm with disabled visitors gaining access from 8.30am. Admittance will be £2. Tables in the hall are £10 and p itches in the field £8. There will be a Bring & Buy, Car boot area, as well as trade stands. Catering will be available on site and there will be a raffle held on the day.

More details from Paul Phillips, G4KZY, 0777 573 8200, paul.g4kzy@gmail.com.



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

Thunder and lightning - NOT amateur radio

For the last 20 minutes we have had thunder and lightning here. According to the time between the lightning and thunder it was about 1 mile away. My radios and PC will remain disconnected. Looking at the map linked below it seems to be tracking NW the worst may now have passed. It remains very dark outside and we can still hear thunder.

See http://www.lightningmaps.org/realtime?lang=en

UPDATE 1830z:  Although the storm risk seems to have passed today, more storms are possible tomorrow, so I may leave things disconnected. 

Innocent until proved guilty? - NOT amateur radio

A recent case has arisen in which a man found guilty of a serious crime has professed his innocence to a number further charges. Mud sticks and innocent people get tarred even when they are later proved innocent.

Personally, I think no-one should be named until they are proved guilty of any crime. The law is an arse if innocent people are found guilty by the mob. I can think of several examples where lives have been ruined, wrongly. If guilty, the courts will find this and justice will be done.

Lightning maps

See http://www.lightningmaps.org/realtime?lang=en .

I find these maps very useful as they give advanced warnings of approaching storms. Even when storms are some way away you can get surges that can damage equipment. With approaching storms I tend to disconnect radios and PCs and unplug antennas and mains connectors.

Years ago, a friend at work got struck (his house) and I have always been a bit wary since. Thunder and lightning can be very nasty.

Sunspots and 10m - Thurs April 14th 2016

Solar flux is 112 today and the sunspot number 41 (K=3). The forecast for 10m propagation is yet again "poor".  It is unlikely I'll be on the band today as there is a risk of thunder and the band will be closed for DX later. I may go straight to 630m after dark.

472kHz last night

PA0RDT (243km) was best DX on TX on 472kHz WSPR last night. In all, three different stations spotted my 5mW ERP. It was a disappointing night on the band.

I have now gone QRT on all bands as there is thunder forecast. I may resume operations later when the threat is no longer with us.