Northern Ireland - NOT amateur radio

One of the thorny Brexit issues will be Northern Ireland (Ulster). This has a land border with Eire which will remain in the EU. Currently, there is free movement north and south across this border. What happens when the UK leaves the EU?

Most unionists do not want a united island of Ireland. Most in Sin Fein would like to see the island reunited. I, for one, do not see how this will be resolved. Maybe a political "fudge" with the north somehow independent? No, I think Theresa May, the UK PM, has a really tricky issue here.

Where I come from - NOT amateur radio

My ancestors come from South Devon. Many still live near here. I have a continuous genealogy back to the mid-1500s and one of my ancestors owned a piece of land near here in 1428. It is good to think of them enjoying this all those years ago. The cycle of life goes on.

QRP and QRP Club

As usual, Oleg has reported on QRP Club:

Dear Club 72 members and friends,

Weekly QRP Rendez-Vous Report (March, 19, 2017)
Visitors  of  the  week: R1CAF, RW3AA, UR7VT, IK0SDA, UR5EFD, SM2FIJ,
UA1CEG, US3EN, RU3NJC, UA0SBQ, IK2UUR, UA1CEX, G3XJS, DK1HW, HB9CBR/p,
UR0ET,  R2ABT,  RV3GM,  US5ERQ, UA4NU, R1CAN, ON6KZ, RA1M/mm, IK2RGV,
RX3DOR, OH6NPV, OF5LP, IW2MXE, SV2BBK, UA6HZ, HA7NE
New Visitors: IK0SDA, IK2UUR, HB9CBR/p, R2ABT, R1CAN, IW2MXE, UA6HZ
See full Visitors and Frequenters lists on the Club 72 web page.
Comments:.....
See full version of the WQR Report on the blog page -http://qrp-club72.blogspot.ru/

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.

Mr Trump - NOT amateur radio

A lot of people in the USA voted him into office. "Make America great again".

As yet, he has still to demonstrate true statesman-like behaviour on the world stage. Mrs Merkel was not impressed! He will be judged by how statesman-like he is. Sometimes he will have to eat his words. We have not yet had him in office 100 days, so it would be wrong to judge him too soon, although personally I have not been impressed.

Why does he remind me of a certain European leader who came to power in the 1930s and who committed suicide in 1945? Caveat emptor.

Signs of life - NOT amateur radio

There are stirrings in the garden.

After what seemed like a long, dull winter the daffodils are in flower, snowdrops are past their best, there are buds on the trees and bushes. Only a few weeks hopefully and we'll see the first swallows back.

So, the cycle of life goes on.

Sunspots and 10m - Sunday March 19th 2017

Solar flux is 70 today, but the sunspot count remains zero. This is a long spotless period, but I expect worse to come! A=2 and K=1. As for 10m propagation? We live in hope!

The foreseeable future will see few spots, but N-S 10m propagation is still likely. Sadly people take a quick look, hear nothing and desert the higher HF bands.

UPDATE 1200z: With a spot by DK6UG (633km) of my 500mW WSPR on 10m, it proves there is still life on the band.  It would be good to get spotted outside Europe on 10m.

UPDATE 1206z: GM6NX (507km) has now been spotted on 6m MSK144. 5 stations in 4 countries spotted on 6m MSK144 so far today.

New country copied on 6m MSK144

EA2ARD (1010km) has been spotted on 6m MSK144. I am pretty sure this is a new country copied by this mode on 6m.  As well as 6m MSK144 RX, I am also active on 10m WSPR TX but nothing spotted.

UPDATE 1025z: 2E0EBM (65km) spotted on 6m MSK144.

UPDATE 1154z: G8HXE (221km) and EI4DQ (576km) now spotted on 6m MSK144. This mode on 6m never fails. Most days I spot several countries on 6m even with my V2000 vertical using this mode.

UPDATE  1200z: DK6UG (633km) has spotted my 500mW 10m WSPR. So there is some life on 10m.

UPDATE 1506z: Now spotted 8 stations in 7 countries so far today on 6m MSK144.

UPDATE 1940z: Time to go QRT on 6m MSK144 RX.

Do violets like wet? - NOT amateur radio

This spring we seem to have violets everywhere! Usually we see some, but this year they appear to be all over the place! Now, we had a mild, damp winter, so I am wondering if these conditions particularly favour violets?

Also daffodils were late this year but suddenly they are all out in a wonderful sea of yellow.

This year we have had a wetter winter than I can ever remember. Perhaps this is a result of global warming?

Now on 10m WSPR TX (500mW)

As well as RX on 6m MSK144, I am now transmitting on 10m WSPR. So far, no spots on 10m.

UPDATE 1528z: 4 countries spotted on 6m MSK144 today so far (HB9, ON, PA and EI) but nothing yet on 10m WSPR.

K7RA and propagation

Someone far more knowledgeable than me about propagation is K7RA. Southgate News has a piece about his latest review of propagation.

See http://southgatearc.org/propagation/k7ra/index.htm#.WM0pWIXXLIU