Sunspots and 10m - Monday November 28th 2016

Solar flux is 82 today and the sunspot number 31. K=2. Time I QSYed to 10m JT65!

Birthday Roses - NOT amateur radio

One of our sons bought my wife some roses for her birthday, which she put on the breakfast table in the kitchen.

Back on MF this evening and overnight

Just over an hour ago I went QRT on 10m JT65 (2W) and fired up my 630m WSPR station (5mW ERP). So far M0XDK (80km) is the most distant station to spot me on MF.

QRP and QRP Club

More from Oleg:

Dear Club 72 members and friends,

WQR Report (November 27, 2016)
Visitors  of  the week: US3EN, OH6NPV, SM7RYR, UA1CEG, SM2BYW, UR0ET,
UR5EFD,  OK2PDY,  RU3NJC,  IK5SRD,  F6CLH, RV3GM, R1CAF, G4MLW, R1OA,
UA1ADF,  RA7RA,  EA5EQ,  EA6BB,  G3XJS, R7KFX, OM2MSS, DK1HW, US5ERQ,
ON6NL, UA0SBQ, DK7LX
Congrats!
SM2BYW,  G4MLW  became  Honor  Frequenters  (regular visitors) of the
"rendezvous"
See full Visitors and Frequenters lists on the Club72.su web-page
Comments...
read full WQR Report on the blog page - http://qrp-club72.blogspot.ru/
See you all QRP operators on the next "rendezvous" QRP round tables!
Thanks!

72! Oleg RV3GM / KH6OB "Mr. 72"


This is a periodic Newsletter of the Club 72. Don't reply to Newsletter address! Send any requests or news to mr72@club72.su please.

Grandchildren - NOT amateur radio

We are lucky to have 4 grandchildren aged 4-9. This weekend they all came to help celebrate my wife's birthday. Having them is tiring, but lovely. Here they are enjoying themselves.

They all make themselves at home. The kitchen floor gets well fed too!

Are people deserting 10m?

Although there have been several openings from the UK to South America on 10m JT65 in the last week, I am beginning to think people are leaving the band and choosing lower bands on which to operate. This is a pity as it is rare for 10m not to open somewhere each week. It is not like the peaks of the solar cycle and the DX is certainly harder to find, but it is there on most days if you choose weak signal modes.

It you just want to chat, use lower bands or even Skype on the internet. If you want a challenge stick with 10m and switch to weak signal modes.

Return to 10m JT65

As we had visitors I was not on 10m JT65 early this morning. I hope to turn things on soon.

UPDATE 1130z: Restarted on 10m JT65 about 20 minutes ago, but no spots yet.

UPDATE 1340z: Still no spots on 10m JT65 as yet. I shall stay on until tonight.

UPDATE 1532z: Still no 10m JT65 spots. Unless things soon change, this will go down as a bad 10m day. There are still several hours yet. At least, JT65 beaconing in the background is easy and any openings are likely to be caught. When it is dark, I shall switch to 472kHz (630m), although it was quite late yesterday that I caught the South American stations on 10m JT65, so I had better wait until after 1800z.

UPDATE 1846z: It was worth the wait! PY2RTY (9574km) spotted on 10m JT65 at 1758z. I'm staying on for a little while longer but will then QSY to 630m (MF).

Sunspots and 10m - Sunday November 27th 2016

Solar flux is 83 today and the sunspot number 13. K=3.

Fidel Castro dies - NOT amateur radio

OK, I was no great fan of this Cuban leader and I admit to being terrified in the Cuban missile crisis in 1962.  However, a great deal has come to light since then of the terrible acts committed by the USA in their attempts to overthrow him and other left-wing regimes in Central and South America.

More than ever, I am convinced we get fed what the media wants us to hear. This includes the BBC sadly.

It remains to be seen how Mr Trump views Cuba. Let's hope Cuba becomes a more open society, but that it retains all that is good.

UPDATE 2007z:  Mr Trump called him "a brutal dictator" allegedly. Funny how he managed to stop corruption and the worst American influences in Cuba. He was no saint, but "let he who is without sin cast the first stone". Mr Trump?

G4ILO referrals

Although Julian died some time ago his blog, and inspiration, live on. To this day, I still get people coming here having first been to Julian's blog.

If you don't know G4ILO's story, he battled with an incurable brain tumour for some time, living longer than expected. Sadly, it got him in the end. RIP.

See http://blog.g4ilo.com/ .