QRP, QRPclub and Sputniks

From Oleg:

Dear Club 72 members and friends,
QRP Rendez-Vous weekly report (October 3 to 9, 2016)
Visitors  of  the  week: OK2MSS, IK2RGV, DK1HW, HB9DAX, G3XJS, RV3GM, US3EN,  RU3NJC,  UA1CEG,  UA9MLY, UR0ET, RW3AA, CS7AFI, ON4MB, EA6BB, UA1CEX, OM6TC, UA1ASB, UR5EFD, OH6NPV, RN4W
Congrats!
ON4MB became Honor Frequenter
See full Frequenters and Visitors lists on the Club 72 page - www.club72.su
72! Oleg RV3GM / KH6OB "Mr. 72"

Dear Space Friends,
a  lot of busy with my house reconstruction now. Sorry for delay. All
QSOs and pictures installed on the results page. I wonder, is the QSO
between  ON6WJ  -  PA0PJE  (PA6FBE) the 1'st 2-way Sputnik QSO in the
World? Great!

72! beep-beep-beep...
Deep Space Communications Center
operator on duty -
Oleg ("Mr. 72") RV3GM / KH6OB


And this from Peter:

Dear Friends,

Today I was at the Fort again as it was the last day to be open to general public. I did a lot of Radio-talk again but also found time to make some more contacts on 30 meters. I worked 4 stns:

UY6IO Vasily at 10:06 S579-R569 He used 100 watts in a loop antenna
DL1DTX Knut at 10:35 S589-R599 he used 70 watts
GM3MXN Tom S579-R579 corrected later to S599+10 QSB he used 5 watts to an end fed so a true QRP/QRP QSO.
OK1HB Ruda S579-R589 he used 100 Watts to a G5RV

Everybody liked my 1 Watt xtal-TX

40 meters was very busy so I stayed on 30 this time however some pilups were created by split-uppers ovrcrowding 10.116 MHz.

I did attempt to transmit on 21 MHz with my Sputnik TX because I heard some activity, even JA and PY so called CQ but only 1 RBN report from UD4FD SNR 10dB. The GP was only partly demolished by the sheep so repair of the radials was quickly done but alas no QSO.

72/73 and keep beeping!

Peter - PA0PJE (Sputnik: PA6FBE) 

300W Class D on 472kHz

www.g0mrf.com/630m.htm

G0MRF has produced a design and PCB for a 300W class D PA for the MF band. It needs a low level drive at twice frequency. For WSPR it needs the experimental software from K1JT that produces tones at twice frequency so they are right when driving this PA. Although kits of some parts are available, I do not think a complete kit is available. Using such a PA would increase my 630m ERP by several "S" points, even without antenna and ground changes.

See http://www.g0mrf.com/630m.htm

IC7300 and FT991 prices

The price of the FT991 from Yaesu has dropped below £1000, but the IC7300 is still £1049. At the moment Yaesu is working on an FT991A, having seen the real-time spectrum display in the IC7300. There is plenty of margin in the price of the IC7300 but I guess dealers are presently holding the current price and not reducing it, despite the weaker pound, because people are buying at the high price. At less than £1000 I might be tempted by the IC7300. There is no doubt it is a good radio but please get it below £1000. Note that the FT450D retails at £599. The IC7300 should be comparable - it has a simpler RX architecture. No, despite the weaker pound against the dollar and the yen, I am convinced the dealers can afford to drop the IC7300 price and still make good margins. In the meantime, I shall wait.

UPDATE 1616z:  I see ICOM has announced a firmware update for the IC7300. See http://www.icom.co.jp/world/support/download/firm . Each firmware update improves functionality or fixes bugs.

10m DX

With 6 South Americans and ZS5LEE spotted on 10m JT65 so far, it has been quite promising. My own signal has been spotted in Europe, but not outside Europe yet.

UPDATE 1435z:  More South Americans spotted (Uruguay and Northern Brazil) so 8 South Americans spotted so far. Canary Is, EA8CYL (2988km), is the best DX yet on 10m JT65 TX. I think the European spots may be Es.

UPDATE 1446z:  No signs of the USA on 10m JT65 as yet. It is about this time I'd expect this path to briefly open. Maybe later in the month?

UPDATE 1504z: Another South African spotted on 10m JT65. ZS1ALJ (9697km) around Cape Town spotted. BTW, Cape Town is a beautiful city. South Africa is a beautiful country, although we get more insects in our bedroom in 1 night than we saw in the whole of South Africa in several weeks!  Seeing "the big 5" animals wild in the Kruger National Park was splendid though. South Africa surprised us. It was far greener than we expected and the scenery was so different depending where you were: some places were like Scotland, other parts like the Med, and other parts wild open plains. It is not a place I'd like to live, but it is well worth a visit if you get a chance. We went a few years ago.

 https://pskreporter.info/pskmap.html

UPDATE 1600z:  Now 3B8CW in Mauritius has been spotted on 10m JT65. This is the best day on 10m for a while. Many Europeans either spotting me or being spotted on 10m JT65.

UPDATE 1645z:  ZS1CM in Western Cape has also been spotted on 10m JT65. Currently 13 different South American stations spotted on 10m JT65.

10m JT65

So, I have now been on 10m JT65 for a few hours. So far just G0VUH (157km) spotted.

I am still awaiting North America on 10m JT65 this season. I have been unlucky so far, but with declining solar conditions this might be the last chance on F2 for several years on 10m, although summertime Es does bring North America in reach on 10m (even 6m) on a few days.

UPDATE 1112z:  No further reports on 10m JT65. Was G0VUH aircraft reflection?

QRP, Linears and BIG stations

A great thing about our hobby are the various ways in which we can enjoy it. For some it is satellites, some microwaves, some balloons, some ATV, some VHF, some QRP, some just talking. I am not one to criticise  how others enjoy the hobby. How you choose to enjoy it is your decision. Also, how much you choose to spend will depend on your own circumstances.

In my own case, I prefer to run QRP (currently WSPR and JT65) and simple wire antennas. I appreciate this is not everyone's idea of fun. Someone once suggested I tie my hands behind my back too! However, try 5W or less occasionally - you may be surprised.

My first 15m QSO was with a station in Chicago who was on SSB. I was using a simple homebrew transceiver that cost me well below £20 to make (see https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/15m_pipit ), even if I had bought all parts new. I was using 800mW CW and I almost fell off the chair when he replied to my CW call. Many many QRP contacts later and I knew this was not a one-off.  By the way, the antenna was a low wire dipole.

My point is you do not need to spend a lot to enjoy amateur radio. Some choose to spend thousands and thousands on rigs, linears, rotators, towers and beams. If this is for you, then fine. All I am saying is you can spend very little and still have a ball. Second hand CB gear covering 10m can be bought cheaply. In the summer months this and a small wire antenna will work 1000 miles or more most days. Maybe you can build a kit instead? There are several inexpensive kits for 40m or 20m SSB.

Each to their own but you do not have to break the bank.

Sunspots and 10m - Sunday October 9th 2016

Solar flux is 103 (quite good) today and the sunspot number 62 (not bad seeing where we are in the solar cycle). K=1. Yet again, the 10m F2 forecast remains  "poor".

Panoramio - NOT amateur radio

From Google earlier:

As a born cynic, I do not like it when things are "retired". Usually what replaces it is less good.

Back in 2014, we announced our intention to retire Panoramio in order to invest our efforts into improving photo-sharing experiences directly inside Google Maps.  In response to your feedback, we postponed these plans and worked to add features to Maps that better support the level of engagement that you have enjoyed with Panoramio. Today, with photo upload tools in Google Maps and our Local Guides program, we are providing easy options for you to share your photos with an active and growing community. As such, we’ve decided to now close down Panoramio. To make this transition easier, we’ll provide several options to continue sharing photos through other services. If you choose, you can also export all your data and take it somewhere else.

Because you have linked your Panoramio profile with a Google account, all your Panoramio photos will be copied to the Google Album Archive at full resolution after Panoramio goes away. These copied photos will not use any of your Google storage quota.  However, unless you upgrade to a Google+ account, your Panoramio photos will stop appearing in Google Maps.  This is because Panoramio nicknames will no longer be supported, and all other photos in Maps are attributed to Google+ user names.

After November 4, 2016, you’ll continue to have access to your photos in Panoramio for a year, but you will no longer be able to add new photos, likes, or comments.  Below, we’ve included resources to help you manage or export your data.  You can visit your Panoramio profile to see what photos you've added.  If you have already linked your profile with a Google account, your Panoramio data will automatically be saved.

1) Keep your photos in Album Archive

Because you have a Google account linked with your Panoramio account, we will automatically copy your Panoramio photos to the Google Album Archive when Panoramio is retired in November 2017.

• Copied photos will not use any of your Google storage quota.
• If you activate Google+ on your account, then eligible images and your View Counts will be transferred into Google Maps and will be visible when you sign in to Maps and access the Contributions screen from the main menu.

2) Export your photos to a local zip file

Visit takeout.google.com and follow the instructions there.

3) Become a Local Guide to keep contributing 

To keep adding photos to Google Maps and engage with a growing community of photographers, join the Local Guides program. You can earn points and unlock rewards for photos submitted with a Google account when they are linked to a point of interest or business. Many of your Panoramio photos may already be counted.

If you prefer to no longer share your photos with Google Maps, you can delete your Panoramio photos or your entire account at any time.  

• You can delete your Panoramio account (and photos) immediately by logging in, opening "Settings", and clicking the "Delete your account" option.  You can also navigate to this page directly by using this link.
• If you delete any photos (or delete your entire account) before Panoramio is retired in November 2017, that content will not be automatically copied to the Google Album Archive and will stop appearing in Google Maps.

Please see our Help Center article for more information and the various options you have to save, transfer, or delete your content. We’ve appreciated your contributions over the years and hope you will continue to share amazing photos with the world.

Thank you,

The Panoramio team

Stamford - NOT amateur radio

As you may have noticed, I was away for a time, so the blog had no posts for a while. We visited Stamford, Lincs, UK and visited Burghley House where these deer were spotted.  The pictures are mine but my wife made the collage.

This was our hotel room. They gave us the bridal suite, despite being married for 45 years! We even had our own garden and 4 poster bed.

OFCOM

More from OFCOM about the 3.6 to 3.8GHz band:

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/consultations-and-statements/category-1/future-use-at-3.6-3.8-ghz?utm_source=updates&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Future%20use%20at%203.6%E2%80%933.8%20GHz%20band&utm_term=Consultation%2C%20Fixed%20links%2C%20Satellite%2C%205G%2C%203.6%E2%80%933.8%20GHz%20band