Gilbert and Sullivan - NOT amateur radio

This evening we went with friends to nearby Swaffham Bulbeck for a Gilbert and Sullivan performance of "The Pirates of Penzance". Every June a local barn is taken over to do a G+S production. It is part of our year. The performance was excellent. It always is good. The cast is amateur but they always put on a first class show. At one point it rained heavily. Luckily the lights stayed on!

Sunspots and 10m - Wed June 15th 2016

Solar flux is 87 today and sunspot number 26 (K=3). 10m F2 propagation is forecast to remain "poor".

It is hard to believe we are approaching the summer solstice and the longest day. It seems 5 minutes since Christmas and the shortest day.

Still on 6m JT65

Today, I shall remain on JT65 on 6m, but continue with WSPR on 10m. A couple of G stations have already spotted my CQ on 6m in JT65, but no Es as yet. I have seen CQs from other G stations on 6m JT65.

UPDATE 1240z:  On 6m JT65 I have spotted GU8BFO (374km) and OZ0TFW (829km) as well as several G stations.

Now active on 6m JT65

For the last hour or thereabouts I have been on 6m JT65 rather than WSPR. I am still just using the FT817 and the V2000 vertical omni fed with (lossy) RG58 coax.

Much to my surprise I am being spotted by G0LFF (146km) not far north of Brighton. At the moment I am calling CQ every 2 minutes, but I shall probably switch to RX only until after breakfast. There seems to be more activity on this mode than WSPR on 6m. It will be interesting to see what I spot, and who I can work, by Es tomorrow using this mode.

UPDATE 2050z:  On 6m JT65 I have now switched to RX only until after breakfast tomorrow.

70cm UKAC contest - dreadful!

Well, although I only have 5W and a 2m omni antenna I usually have a go in this contest and give a few points out. Tonight was truly dreadful. I only worked 2 stations in the limited time I was active and only heard 3 stations in total. Conditions seemed very flat and activity low. Usually I can work far more stations at greater range.

Anne's old house - NOT amateur radio

We have a friend who has been to visit me most months. She lives in a VERY old house. Today we walked to her house for tea and scones.

This roof, to the rear of her house, is a real problem in heavy rain as gallons and gallons of water flows off it, causing her cellar to flood. She has taken measures to minimise the problems but she is always nervous with heavy rain around.

QRT on 10m and 6m WSPR - thunderstorm risk

As there are storms moving this way, I decided to go QRT on both 10m and 6m WSPR and disconnect antennas and power plugs. The shack PC is also off and disconnected. Once the risk passes, I may reconnect. This could be some hours.

See www.lightningmaps.org to see where the storms are.

West Coast Canada to Africa on 6m

See http://www.amateurradio.com/ for a  report by Steve VE7SL of his 6m exploits. This sounds like Es but on these very long paths I question the conventional theories of multi-hop Es. I wonder if this is some kind of chordal-hop Es? As I reported yesterday, my QRP 6m WSPR was spotted for the 3rd year running in Israel. It could be multi-hop but I have my doubts.

There is also the possibility of mesospheric noctilucent clouds being involved in some very long paths on 6m such as Europe to Japan. This 8000km + path seems to be there most summers. We have much still to learn.

Hornets in Kent - NOT amateur radio

One of our sons who lives near Canterbury, Kent, UK reports lots of hornet sightings this year. Maybe it is as they are quite near to France? Normally they are quite uncommon but he has seen lots this month alone. Of course it could be global warming and we are beginning to see less common insects more often? I have seen a few beetles and flies in the garden that I do not recognise. Perhaps they have always been around. I have asked my son to take some photos.

SAQ transmission

"Grimeton Radio Station was listed as a world heritage site because, its original equipment is an exceptionally well-preserved example of the development of communication technology. In fact, it is still in working order.
Grimeton (call sign SAQ) still transmits a message to the world twice a year: at the Alexanderson Day (Sunday at the end of June/beginning of July) and at Christmas Eve. The frequency is 17.2 kHz CW."

Next transmission is July 3rd 2016. I am lucky to have a QSL card for their VLF transmission some years ago.

See  http://alexander.n.se/?lang=en .