10m and 6m Es

Both 10m and 6m have shown signs of Es this lunchtime. On 6m JT65 (1W ERP) I have been copied in Poland and have copied Ukraine by Es. On 10m WSPR (500mW) I have been copied several times in Scandinavia.

Grandchildren - NOT amateur radio

When our "London" grandchildren come to stay they often play with some local friends they first met many years ago.

Rally

Sunday 31 JULY : HORNCASTLE SUMMER RALLY

Supporting the Fenland Repeater Group GB3FR and GB3SO Horncastle Youth Centre, Horncastle, Lincolnshire LN9 6DZ. The venue is all on one level and doors open at 10.30am. Admission is £1.50. There will be refreshments available, including hot bacon butties. Details from Tony Nightingale, G3ZPU, on 01507 527 835, or email tony.nightingale@yahoo.co.uk.

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

As I have said before, if travelling any distance it is worth contacting the organisers to confirm details to avoid disappointment.

Sunspots and 10m - Friday July 29th 2016

Solar flux is 70 today. Sunspot number is 13 (K=4) and the forecast for 10m F2 propagation remains "poor" again. At the moment I am not on 10m WSPR although I am on 6m JT65.

Solar flare

Southgate News reports that there was a strong solar flare recently.

See http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2016/july/sun-blasts-out-2016s-strongest-flare.htm .

6m JT65 and 10m WSPR

Not a single spot on 10m WSPR all day. However, 6m JT65 was more productive with several Es spots from Europe. I think this proves that activity on WSPR is the main issue, not propagation

Sunspots and 10m- Thursday July 28th 2016

Solar flux is 71 today. Sunspot number is again zero but conditions are more disturbed with K=4. The forecast for 10m F2 propagation remains "poor".

Sour Grapes? - NOT amateur radio

Although I voted to remain in the EU, a majority in the UK voted to leave. The pound seems to have settled at a fair exchange rate, the FTSE 100 and FTSE 250 share indexes seem to be doing just fine. In all, I think the UK can do well outside of the EU. Maybe the EU, especially France and Germany are troubled by such a successful economy (and contributor to its coffers) leaving the EU? I think it is a classic case of sour grapes.

As I have said many times before most in the UK favoured a common market but were not interested in a political union or federal Europe. On balance, I think the EU is heading for difficult times ahead.

No, I think political union, no real control of the numbers coming into the UK from other EU states and more political union were anathema to many in the UK. The positive benefits of being a member of the EU were underplayed.

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.