Sunspots and 10m - Thursday May 25th 2017

Solar flux is 78 and the sunspot number 15. A=4 and K=1. There is already 10m Es, but I hope 10m opens for some real DX later.

Yesterday on 10m JT65

Yesterday, I spotted 14 different South Americans plus Madagascar and all over Europe on 10m JT65. 

Even with my low, compromise, antenna, 4 continents were spotted on 10m and my own signal was copied all over Europe. I guess the "real" DX could have been Es linking with F layer further south? Personally, I doubt this was Es alone as the distances were far too great.

N-S 10m propagation over the Equator has been possible with QRP SSB, even in sunspot minimum years. Often 10m opens, but no-one is there to enjoy it.

Nestbox robins - NOT amateur radio

I checked the nestbox in our garden in which a pair of robins were nesting. They were very busy before we went on holiday, but all is now quiet.

In the nestbox was a well made nest with no dead young and no eggs. I assume they all made it and flew.

Robins can live to 11 years but most die by their second year, killed by predators or the cold. I hope these little ones manage a few years. It would be good to see a second brood.

Milking it - NOT amateur radio

We had a tragic terrorist incident a few days ago in Manchester. Sadly, the dead and injured included children and other young people. It was horrific and pure evil.

What I do not like is how the BBC milk such tragedies for days and days. Surely this is just what the terrorist want. In my view, report the facts but do not milk the incident to death.

Antenna replacement?

I'm considering replacements for a couple of my antennas.

For years, I have used a Par EF10/20/40 end fed wire on these 3 bands. It works even though very low, but I am sure I could get out better.

Also, my big-wheel on 2m has done me well for a couple of years.

In the garage I have a little used SRC X80 vertical. This is essentially a Rybakov vertical fed via a UNUN so it can be matched on most HF bands with an auto ATU. I have heard mixed results with this antenna. As a vertical it is likely to be noisy on HF and it could be worse than my horizontal Par. It is also in need of grounding as lightning protection, mainly from static. It flexes quite a bit, so might be damaged by high winds.

I could replace my big-wheel with a Homebase-10 10m halo. As an omni antenna it would give me all round coverage and I know this works. With strapped feeders, I might be able to use the coax as an antenna on other HF  bands too.

It would also be good to get a better 630m antenna up.

Sadly, I probably need help these days as I get wobbly on ladders.

Sunspots and 10m - Wednesday May 24th 2017

Solar flux is 75 today and the sunspot number 47. A=8 and K=2. As for 10m, there is already some Es and better equipped stations may see some N-S F layer DX.

10m JT65 today

For a change, I am in beacon mode on 10m JT65. Best DX so far is a spot by ES1JA (1701km) - early Es, I think, although this could be F2.

UPDATE 0820z: Best DX spot of me is now EW2ABC (1811km) in Belarus.

UPDATE 1146z: Lots of Es spots today on 10m JT65. Lost count of the countries in which my 500mW WSPR beacon has been copied. Certainly being copied throughout Scandinavia and down to the Adriatic. Also spotted in Portugal.

UPDATE 1840z:  Real DX!! 8 stations in 4 countries in South America spotted on 10m JT65 plus Madagascar, which counts as Africa. Best DX was spotting LU8XAF (13413km). Sadly no-one spotted me outside of Europe. I'll leave things running.

UK terror threat level raised to "critical" - NOT amateur radio

This evening, the UK terror threat level has been raised to "critical" meaning an attack is highly likely. I guess the UK government has got some new intelligence.

In the end, there are far more good people than evil ones. It is sad that a few people with evil intent can cause such widespread fear. In the end we must not be intimidated.

Back Garden - NOT amateur radio

This afternoon, we planted a few more bedding plants, cut the grass and enjoyed a cup of tea in the garden in the warm sunshine. At this time of the year, lots of birds are singing and, it seems, everything in the garden is coming out and looks fresh.

ICOM's new R8600 RX

Reading the latest RadCom I was amazed to read that the likely selling price of the new ICOM R8600 receiver based on the IC7300 is £2500!!!

Is this a joke? I was expecting the price to be below £1000.

I don't doubt this is a nice radio, but the price is stupid. At this price I hope no-one buys it and the dealers learn a lesson - don't take us for a ride to make inflated profits. By all means make a profit, but I smell the nasty side of capitalism.

See http://www.icomamerica.com/en/products/amateur/receivers/r8600/default.aspx