The EU referendum - NOT amateur radio

With only a few weeks to go, the outcome is hard to judge. Yes, the EU needs to reform, we are probably better off as a nation IN the EU than out of it, the campaign has been poor, leaving the EU would be hard but not a disaster.

ICOM IC7300 reviews

There are now 10 pages of reviews (93 reviews) of the new ICOM transceiver on eHam.net. Most reviews are 5/5 which is very good. Just a few have had a few niggles so scored it lower. When the price drops, I shall probably invest in one. I am sure the price will fall later in the year, although at the moment they are creaming off sales at silly prices from early adopters.

See http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/12742 .

Overnight on 630m (472kHz) and 10m WSPR

Just G8LCO (58km) copied me last night on MF and PA3ABK/2 (306km) was received. There are fewer stations on until the autumn. This is normal.

On 10m WSPR, just spots from G4KPX (14km) with no signs here so far of Es.

Sunspots and 10m - Tues May 31st 2016

Solar flux 86 today. Sunspot number is 56 (K=2) and the forecast for 10m F2 propagation is "poor" again.

Anglesey Abbey - NOT amateur radio

This afternoon we visited Pilgrim's Lawn at Anglesey Abbey with our "London" grandchildren. They had a great time and were able to run around and burn off some energy.

We visit here most months. Today being a Bank Holiday in England, it was quite busy in places.

W+S Open Day

I heard about this too late to notify people! Usually I get 1-2 days of notice of upcoming rallies and similar, but not on this occasion. Let's hope that those that went along had a good time.

10m and 630m WSPR today

10m was open (again) early for Es propagation with my 10m 500mW spotted as early as 0706z this morning right across Europe. I have been spotted by G8LCO (58km) on 472kHz (630m). I have still to be spotted by Es outside Europe. I am still hoping for some transatlantic Es on 10m but I've been unlucky so far.

 6m was open for Es today, but I suspect most are working DX on SSB and CW rather than WSPR.

UPDATE 1950z:  It seems odd that most of the late 10m Es spots are from Scandinavia. This evening there were spots from Denmark and Norway LA3JJ (993km). In past Es seasons I have noticed later openings from the north. I resynced the beacon and PC about an hour ago.

Grandchildren still here - NOT amateur radio

We still have our "London" grandchildren here until tomorrow afternoon. They are full of energy!

This is a photo of one of my granddaughters. At the moment they are both playing in the garden but we may go out for a picnic this afternoon.

Sunspots and 10m - Mon May 30th 2016

Solar flux is just 83 today. Sunspot number is 25 (K=3).The forecast for 10m F2 propagation again remains "poor".

Late 10m WSPR Es again

OE3BUB (1229km) was still spotting me at 1836z this evening on 10m WSPR. I have the feeling there will be Es around on 10m for a while yet.