2m contest reminder - this weekend

For once, I remembered!

This weekend is the 2m Trophy Contest organised by the RSGB, It runs from 1400 UTC Saturday until 1400 UTC Sunday. See http://www.rsgbcc.org/cgi-bin/contest_rules.pl?year=2016&contest=144trophy&seq=

There is also the RSGB Backpacker's Contest on Sunday morning. I hope to be on for some of the time.

On Tuesday evening is the 2m UKAC Contest for September.

Even if you hate contests, these are a good chance to work a few new stations and QTH squares. There is no compulsion to send in a log. Just enjoy the activity.

UPDATE 2116z: I went on the 2m Trophy Contest for 20 minutes just now and worked 4 stations with my 5W and big-wheel omni. Best DX was a station in IO81RF which is 227km. I may try again tomorrow morning.

Letter from Howard in Billings Montana

I received a letter in the mail from Howard in Billings Montana MT59102-1420 USA. No callsign was given but he enclosed a stamp (USA Global) which I am not sure is valid on letters from the UK.

Howard is after a Peter Jones PK-205 straight key that was distributed in the USA by Palomar at one time. If anyone knows any data please contact me and I'll try to contact Howard. I don't think he reads the blog or has email/internet.

A quick Google search did not show any results for "Peter Jones straight key".  I wonder if he is no longer in business?

10m JT65

After no activity overnight, I switched everything back on 10m JT65 just after 0930z. So far no spots at all again.

UPDATE 1100z:  Still no spots on 10m JT65 here so far today.

UPDATE 1242z:  IK8TNG (1639km) has spotted me be Es on 10m JT65.

UPDATE 1646z: Three Es spots so far on 10m JT65 (2 Italy and 1 France). No real DX seen yet. As there is no Es towards S.America, I think it is unlikely there will be any Es joining with F-layer today on 10m JT65. Let's hope I am proved wrong.

UPDATE  1912z:  Well. I was wrong! I have spotted stations in Paraguay and Brazil on 10m JT65 this evening already. I do not think this was Es related.

UPDATE 2018z:  With CU2ZG (2572km) in the Azores just spotted, and spotting me, I am wondering if the South Americans are a linkage of Es and F layer after all?  I have recently also spotted a couple of LUs on 10m JT65, with best DX  LU1ECF (11223km).

See https://pskreporter.info/pskmap.html .

Sunspots and 10m - Saturday Sept 3rd 2016

Solar flux is 97 and the sunspot number 50. K=5. The forecast for 10m F2 propagation remains "poor". Will it ever be better?

For a look at the solar conditions in recent months see http://www.solen.info/solar/ which shows the slow decline in solar conditions.. We are now on the way down the solar cycle but have a long way to go before the next minimum.

QRT time on 10m JT65

After the worst day I can remember on 10m JT65, it is time to go QRT and turn everything off until tomorrow. This was the first time in ages when I spotted no-one and no-one spotted me on 10m. Still, things are likely to get better F2-wise as we enter the autumn, at least on better days.

UPDATE 2150z:  Now QRT for the night.

Pizzas in Cambridge - NOT amateur radio

We went shopping in Cambridge this afternoon. These pizzas were in a cafe window. Although tempted, I resisted but they did look very nice. Out of interest, the cafe was on Be'n'et Street not far from the Mitre pub where DNA was first formulated and just across from Free School Lane where the old Cavendish Labs are: these were made famous by Rutherford in the last century.

Grandchildren gone home - NOT amateur radio

Lego done!

Well our grandchildren have gone home and the house is quiet again. We love having them, but as they say, "we love to see them and see them go".

QRT - storm risk, but now back on-air

As the weather forecast talked of storms and lightning this afternoon, I decided to go QRT this afternoon. Having just checked the lightning map, I have gone back on-air on 10m JT65.

UPDATE 1606z:  Still no spots here on 10m JT65.

UPDATE 1645z:  Still no 10m JT65 spots today. I have the feeling this is going to be a quiet day!

UPDATE 1844z:  Still nothing at all on 10m JT65 all day.

UPDATE 2002z:  Still all quiet on 10m JT65 here.

PSK reporter not working?

Ever since I went on to JT65 on 10m or 6m I have used PSKreporter maps to see who I am spotting or who is spotting me. In the last hour when I look, I have been unable to connect. This may be just a blip, as I have never seen trouble before. By contrast, WSPRnet has been very unreliable at times, so much so that it has been totally unusable at times.

UPDATE 1158z:  PSKreporter seems to work on 6m. Maybe it is just that there are no active monitors and no spots on 10m? So, maybe it is me.

VLF Loading Coil

Joe VO1NA sent me a nice photo of his VLF loading coil (8.277kHz), which I have copied here. For those carrying out radiated tests at VLF you have to be able to wind big coils!  Sadly, the top coil arced in testing and had to be rewound.