Rallies coming up

The following rallies are coming up:

Sunday 6 NOVEMBER : 56th VERON HAM RADIO CONVENTION
The Americahal, Apeldoorn, The Netherlands. The Ham Radio Convention opens at 9.30am, parking is €4, admission €9 for non VERON members. Lectures on NVIS by Ben, PE5B; noise sources how to reduce noise by Jan, PA0JMG, Andre, PA3FIS, Anton, PA0AST and Koos, PA0KDF; Proud 2B PI4YLC, by Mariette, PA1ENG and Claudia, PD5AX; Proud 2B PI4YLC, by Mariette, PA1ENG and Claudia, PD5AX. There will be trophy presentations, trade stands, flea market, homebrew exhibition, young persons area. www.veron.nl

Sunday 6 NOVEMBER : WEST LONDON RADIO & ELECTRONICS SHOW (Kempton Rally)
Kempton Park Racecourse, Staines Road East, Sunbury on Thames, TW16 5AQ. The venue has free car parking and disabled facilities. A talk-in station will be in operation. Doors open at 9.50/10am. There will be trade stands, a flea market, a Bring & buy, special interest groups and an RSGB bookstall. A raffle will take place during the day and a lecture stream will be available. There are catering outlets on site. More information from Paul, M0CJX on 08451 650 351 or by email to info@radiofairs.co.uk. www.radiofairs.co.uk.
 
Sunday 6 NOVEMBER : BUSHVALLEY ARC ANNUAL RALLY
United Services Club, 8 Roe Mill Road, Limavady, Co Londonderry BT49 9DF Doors open at 11am and the venue has disabled facilities. There will be a Bring & Buy, a talk-in station and trade stands. There will be catering on site and a raffle will be held on the day. More details from Jackie Doyle, MI0JPD on 0788 529 2545 or by email mn0gkl@gmail.com.

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

USA Presidential Election - NOT amateur radio

I have no intention of getting involved in the debate, trusting my friends over there to vote wisely. Neither candidate is exactly a saint, but I am surprised by the number who follow Trump. Perhaps to many he represents the "American Dream" - a self-made billionaire who has made loads of money and who promises to make America great again. All I can say is both Trump and Clinton are politicians who are playing to the audience. Rarely does what is promised become reality. The current president was going to close Guantanamo Bay - that was eight years ago! It is still open.

All I ask is think before you vote. Whoever is in charge has their hands on the nuclear trigger for the next 4 years. The safety of the whole world matters. The USA needs to lead by good example and the world is watching.

Back to 10m JT65

Later than usual, I turned on the rig and PC to 10m JT65 (2W QRP) including a manual reset to internet time "just in case". This sync should happen every 1000 seconds automatically, but I have had a few internet issues of late.

UPDATE 1044z:  There seems to be Es about on 10m with my own signal spotted in France, Italy and Russia by RW6HLS (3131km) as well as me spotting stations all over Europe. I guess the Russian could have been F2, but I am sure the others were Es.

Cultural changes

Both my father and my mother-in-law died in 1987. I often wonder what they would have made of the world now.

They died before the end of communism in the USSR, the common use of mobile phones and the internet. Terms like "surfing the net" and "Google it" would mean nothing to them. They would be bemused by people walking the streets with things in their hands and apparently tapping them or talking into them! Smart phones were a long way in the future, as were laptops and tablets.

I wonder what other cultural changes have taken place since 1987? I am sure they would be puzzled by life today.  It makes one wonder how life will change in the next 30 years. By the end of the century the changes could be mind-boggling.

Sunspots and 10m - Friday November 4th 2016

Solar flux is 75 today and sunspot number 23. K=1 .

PSK Reporter Maps

This is a great resource and far far more than a PSK tool. It enables you to see where in the world you are getting on various bands and various modes. I use it every day I am at home to see where my JT65 is reaching and who is coming through. Of course you can view on a different computer. In my case, when JT65 beaconing, I look on a PC in the lounge, going into the shack (only seconds away) if need be.

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

365 Project - NOT amateur radio

This has been mentioned before: my wife and I do a photo a day as part of 365 Project. We use it as a kind of visual diary. 

Don't confuse this with Office 365, which is Microsoft's way of ripping you off with its subscription service. Open Office does as good a job in my view for free.

Back to 365project. This is free, but you can pay $19.99  a year to make it private and have additional benefits. Some people use it as a platform for very "arty" photos. Many, like us, post very average photos of our very average lives. It is great fun. You don't need a flashy camera. I got most views with a photo taken with a cheap device with low resolution.

My wife's photos.
My photos.

Sunspots and 10m - Thursday November 3rd 2016

Solar flux is 75 today and the sunspot count zero. K=4.

No 10m spots outside of Europe and with disturbed conditions and zero sunspots, the day may pass with little or no 10m DX outside of Europe.  Mind you, 10m often springs surprises!

Early return to 10m JT65

At 0634z I returned to 10m JT65.

UPDATE 0934z: With spots already from Russia and Greece of my own signal and spots of others in France Russia and Ukraine, today is looking promising.

UPDATE 1004z: With 5 spots already of my QRP 10m JT65 and widespread European spots of others I think there is Es about. Some of the more distant spots may have been F2? Personally, I think this is Es. As I have said many many times, people take a quick look decide 10m is "dead", don't call CQ and quickly QSY down the bands. 10m is open far more than people realise. Thank you JT65.

UPDATE 1120z: PR7MB (7404km) in northern Brazil has already been spotted here in 10m JT65. I think this is the first time I have spotted South Americans this autumn on 10m JT65 in the morning.

2m JT65?

Although, with some difficulty, I tried WSPR on 2m, I have never tried JT65 on 2m. As I recall, the main issue on 2m WSPR was drift and getting the rig on frequency. Frequency would be an issue still, but the 1 minute TX period is likely to make aircraft reflections more commonplace. Perhaps there are better modes for QRP DXing on 2m? I only have 2W and an omni antenna, so MS is out.

I don't even know the frequencies to use on 2m.