Bath - NOT amateur radio

We spent a few nights in Bath with 2 of our grandchildren and their mum and dad. We had a good time.  The picture shows one of our sons in a Bath park, feeding ducks with one of our granddaughters. Simple pleasures.

I was surprised by the large number of kites (birds) seen from the train. In all, I saw seven and I was not trying that hard! At one time seeing a kite in England would have been rare. A few years ago they were reintroduced in some areas and now they are seen all over the place.

Sunspots and 10m - Wed July 27th 2016

My apologies for no solar data yesterday but I was away.

Solar flux is 71 today and the sunspot number 0 (K=0). Yet again the forecast  for F2 propagation for 10m is "poor".

Tomorrow I should be back on 6m JT65 and 10m WSPR.

Rally

29-31 JULY : AMSAT-UK COLLOQUIUM
Holiday Inn, Egerton Rd, Guildford, Surrey GU2 7XZ. www.amsat-uk.org.

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

Packhorse Inn - NOT amateur radio

Last year we (by accident) discovered this place to eat. We have now been there 5 times! It is the Packhorse Inn in Moulton,near Newmarket. We have never been disappointed. They always serve a (free) starter of breads, savoury popcorn and savoury macaroons. Both food and service are excellent.

6m JT65

Last night I received a report from G0LRD that my JT65 timing was out and I was consequently not decoding. To be fair it had been running a long time and possibly my internet timing had not been corrected. At the moment I am not on 6m JT65 or 10m WSPR.

Sunspots and 10m - Monday July 25th 2016

Solar flux is 78 today and the sunspot number down to 16 (K=4). The forecast for 10m F2 propagation is "poor" again. Whether it improves in the autumn remains to be seen.

4X1RF's amazing spots on 6m JT65

Although I have yet to be spotted on 6m JT65 by 4X1RF (me being vertical probably does not help!) he does spot some amazing DX on the band regularly. Every time I look I see spots by him at great distance on 6m. He only uses a 3 element according to PSKreporter - nothing too grand.

I assume these long distance spots are Es, but some could be tropo across the Med, but unlikely.  I still wonder about chordal-Es as he seems to regularly spot stations a long way away. I have been spotted in Israel this summer (1W ERP) and I have spotted a station in Kazakhstan twice. Kazakhstan is a very long way!

6m JT65 but no 10m WSPR today

Although I am still on 6m JT65 (1W ERP), I gave 10m WSPR a miss today. I seem to get better results and far more reports on 6m JT65. There is far less Es about today compared with yesterday.

45 years - NOT amateur radio

45 years married!

45 years ago today my wife Lis and I got married. Since then so much has happened and we do not know where the years went.

Lis has been good to me and she has had a tough time coping with me in recent years. Although I don't say it enough she is still the same girl I met and loved all those years ago.

The picture,taken earlier today, shows the both of us outside our bungalow with the windmill just visible.

Sunspots and 10m - Sunday July 24th 2016

Solar flux is 84 today. Sunspot number is 34 (K=1). The forecast for 10m F2 propagation remains "poor".