Sunspots and 10m - Saturday July 23rd 2016

Solar flux and sunspot numbers are falling again now. Solar flux is 89 and sunspot number is 36 (K=3). The 10m F2 propagation forecast remains "poor".

ULF Amateur Experiments

Stefan DK7FC is always experimenting at VLF and ULF. Recently he has been radiating a signal at 2.97kHz and he has detected his own signal at 9km. This is not earth mode. He is trying to get reports from much further.

See https://sites.google.com/site/sub9khz/ .

OFCOM

See http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/consultations/900-MHz-1800-MHz-frequency-bands/statement/?utm_source=update&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=900-1800.

As you know I am not a great fan of OFCOM or the FCC, but I put links here so you can read their documents if you want.

Rally - Finningley

Sunday 24 JULY : FINNINGLEY ARS ANNUAL RALLY
 
The Hurst Communications Centre, Belton Road, Sandtoft, Doncaster DN8 5SX There will be a talk in station and doors open at 10.30am with admittance £3. The venue is all on one level. Car parking is free. There is a large indoor and outdoor trader's area with major traders, special interest groups and an RSGB bookstall. There will be a flea market. Hot food and drinks will be available all day. More information from Kevin, G3AAF on 0783 161 4640.

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

As I have said before, I get sent these regularly and reproduce them here in good faith, but contact the organisers if travelling any distance to ensure the information is correct.

Geostationary amateur satellite

If all goes to plan we could have a new 13cm and 3cm transponding geostationary satellite in place next spring. Being fixed in position, Doppler should be no issue. I guess the date is a problem (these often slip) and getting it successfully in the right place and operational is in some doubt. With declining solar conditions, this could be just what we need. Of course, the dish can be fixed.

See https://amsat-uk.org/2016/06/24/phase-4a-geostationary-transponders/ .

I picked this up on the Southgate News page.

6m JT65 and 10m WSPR

There has been Es on both bands although HA9AL (1455km) was the last Es report on 10m WSPR. I was spotted in Italy on 6m JT65 a couple of times overnight.

Sunspots and 10m - Friday July 22nd 2016

Solar flux is 103 today and the sunspot number 49 (K=2). The forecast  for 10m F2 propagation is still "poor". The question is will it improve in the autumn? Luckily, we are still in the Es season and there have been days with quite good Es on 10m and 6m including during the night.

JT65 lead arrives

Well, I was impressed with the service from W&S this week. 2 days ago I noticed a problem with a cable and today it arrived by Royal Mail. I am now back on 6m JT65 TX. In the past I'd have fixed the offending cable, but sadly I am too feeble to attempt this.

UPDATE 2130z:   Received a spot from Northern Italy - I3VJW (1098km) - about 30 minutes ago on 6m JT65. "All systems are go" as they say. Yes W&S - thank you.

FTSE 250 - NOT amateur radio

I found this graph on the Internet. Not sure of the source and it will be removed if a problem. 

 

They say the FTSE 250 share index is a better indicator of the state of UK companies than the FTSE 100. Since BREXIT this has hardly changed at 17018.56 the last time I looked a few moments ago. Maybe the UK economy will be OK after all.

See http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/prices-and-markets/stocks/indices/summary/summary-indices.html?index=MCX .

Tits - NOT amateur radio

We had a couple of young longtail tits eating on our bird table this morning. They are far more common than they used to be. We hear them a lot. They often go around in groups, especially in winter. Their call is a dead give-away.