6m JT65 RX

I stayed on 6m JT65 overnight. In the last 12 hours just Gs and near continent, possibly by aircraft reflection or tropo. No Es seen here yet on 6m.

UPDATE 0930z: Another station in Puerto Rico was spotted here late last evening. WP4G (6800km) was spotted on 6m JT65. So, a couple of Caribbean stations spotted.

UPDATE 1112z: I keep getting what I assume are false decodes which appear as a station in Algeria in the middle of the Sahara Desert!  As he was spotted by no-one else, I am ignoring these.

UPDATE 1840z: As it seemed very quiet I went on 6m JT65 TX (1W ERP) and was spotted in Southern Europe. There is (at last) some Es on 6m here.

Stroke update - NOT amateur radio

Some are interested to know how I am progressing since my stroke in September 2013.

Well, things are much the same: I still feel very tired (no, exhausted) after quite brief physical or mental exertion - normally this is after about 15-20 minutes. My voice is poor.

I am able to drive, but I estimate it is now about 5 times harder. I also drive slower as 50mph seems like 70 mph. It is as if my brain takes longer to process things. Also, subtitles seem to change too fast and I find it hard to keep up.

Although most foods are fine, I take an age with drinks, especially tea and coffee. For some reason cold drinks are easier.

Daft things are I find spelling harder, my writing is poor now and I feel tired much of the time. I think I get more anxious too.

Outwardly, I look "well". Others do not realise that life is a real struggle most of the time.

Overall, I find it hard to see improvements now. In most ways I feel like I did a year ago.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/stroke

Sunspots - Friday July 21st 2017

Solar flux is 69 and the sunspot number is again zero. A=7 and K=3.

Luckily, Es is livening up the higher HF bands although I find WSPR activity disappointing.

10m WSPR

As usual, I have been on 10m WSPR TX (500mW) since breakfast. Es has been good with widespread reports from around Europe.

UPDATE 1458z: SM5ISM (1288km) remains my best DX on 10m WSPR TX today.

UPDATE 1640z: DJ9PC/1 (825km) has received me at an astounding +7dB S/N. Es! Assuming a low noise floor, uW power levels would be enough.

UPDATE 2126z:  22 unique stations spotted on 10m WSPR today.

Summer colour - NOT amateur radio

A few weeks ago our lawns were green. Then the sun really shone and patches turned brown. Slowly they are recovering.

By mistake, we bought impatiens for our front garden instead of begonias. Luckily they have been a good splash of colour.

Our sweet peas look healthy, but we have yet to see a single flower. My brother down in Devon has also had a disappointing sweet pea show this year. We both bought these as plugs from a well respected seed supplier.

6m JT65

Since breakfast I have been on 6m JT65. At first I was transceive but for the last hour or so I have been RX only. Plenty of 6m Es.

UPDATE 1332z: Most of the 6m spots have been Southern and Eastern Europe, presumably by Es.

UPDATE 1638z: UT8IO (2720km) in Ukraine is the best DX today so far.

UPDATE 2138z: KP4EIT (6830km) in the Caribbean has just been spotted on 6m JT65.

Sunspots - Thursday July 20th 2017

Solar flux is 72 today and the sunspots number is again zero. A=4 and K=2.

QRT and disconnected

As I had received no new reports on 10m WSPR TX for nearly 2 hours and 6m JT65 looks like the best DX on RX was the Azores and Canary Is, I decided to go QRT. 

No storms are forecast here but you never know. I should be back on tomorrow at breakfast time.

I noticed that ONs were calling KP4 earlier on 6m JT65, so there was some real DX around.

BBC salaries - NOT amateur radio

The BBC was made to disclose (by the government) the salaries of their top stars and presenters. Quite a few earn more than £500k a year and some over £2M a year! Sorry, but I think this is insane and immoral: I am sure there are people who could do as good a job on much lower salaries.  BBC? Big Bangs Corporation or Big Bonkers Corporation.

Remember we pay for these people with our licence fees. Shame!

Crab Apples - NOT amateur radio

Last year we had a very poor crop, but this year our crab apple tree is full (on the left)! Someone said that every other year will be good with a poor season in between. This may be an "old wives tale", but it does seem to fit. A friend of my wife makes crab-apple jelly and she gives us a jar. She will not be short this year.