10m WSPR and 6m FT8

No spots of my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon and just a couple of Gs spotted on 6m FT8 so far.

UPDATE 1035z: Still no 10m WSPR spots of my beacon. 4 G spots so far on 6m FT8.

UPDATE 1137z: Still nothing on 10m WSPR. 6 Gs spotted on 6m FT8, but no DX. Best G is G3OIL (196km).

UPDATE 1450z:  OZ6HQ (716km) spotted on 6m FT8, so there is some DX on 6m. No spots of my 10m WSPR beacon.

Sunspots - Saturday September 30th 2017

Where do the days go? It is already the end of the month! Someone once told me time appears to pass more quickly as you age - well I agree.

Solar flux is 88 and the sunspot number 39. A=12 and K=3.

630m WSPR RX overnight

8 unique MF spots last night with best DX IW4DXW (1190km). I've now returned to 10m WSPR TX (500mW) and 6m FT8 RX.

What attracts young people?

On my return from Liverpool, I see Southgate News has picked up on an address by the IARU president.

See http://southgatearc.org/news/2017/september/traditional-ham-radio-no-longer-so-attractive.htm#.Wc6odrpFzIU

Liverpool - NOT amateur radio

We spent a few days in Liverpool for a reunion with old friends as it was 50 years since we were there as students! One of our friends does guiding for cruise ships now he is retired and he took us on a walking tour of some of the city's highlights.

One of the places visited was the docks area, which has been renovated in recent years. At one time the docks were abandoned and avoided. Now they are the centre of the city and very attractive with lots of museums and cafes.

Rallies

Rallies this weekend:

1 OCTOBER 2017 : HACK GREEN HANGAR SALE
Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker, French Lane, Nantwich, Cheshire CW5 8AL Doors open 10am. Sale of amateur gear, electronic equipment, comps, military radio sets and vehicle spares. Refreshments are available on site. More details from Lucy Siebert on 01270 623 353 or by email to lucy@hackgreen.co.uk

1 OCTOBER 2017 : YEOVIL ARC 71 ANNIVERSARY
Sparkford Village Hall, Sparkford, Nr Yeovil, Somerset BA22 7ED Free admission and light refreshments. Displays, computer controlled radio, SDR, Morse, Spy sets. Ex Members welcome. Bob on 01963 440 167 A list of rallies can be found at http://rsgb.org/main/news/rallies/

630m WSPR RX

We returned home from 2 nights away at a university reunion in Liverpool earlier. Some I'd not seen since 1970!

For the last hour or so I have been on 630m WSPR RX, but no spots yet.

UPDATE 2053z: Mind you, it helps if you connect the antenna! Doh! Guess who forgot? As of now, the rig has an antenna, so I might now get some spots.

Sputnik Days

News from Oleg:

Dear Space Friends,
Sputnik  Days 2017 will be soon (October 4 to 17). See details on the
Club 72 page, please. The categories:
- Sputnik's (valves)
- Vanguard's (transistors)
- Beacons
- SWLs
As  no  reason to have special e-mail reflector for Sputnik Days, I'm
strongly  recommend  to  subscribe  to  new  "72"  mail  group on the
groups.io
You can do it on the Club 72 start page (fill the form) or by the link
- https://groups.io/g/72 or ask me to add your e-mail in the list.
This "sputnik" reflector will be closed soon.

72! beep-beep-beep...
Deep Space Communications Center
operator on duty -
Oleg ("Mr. 72") RV3GM / KH6OB

Sunspots - Friday September 29th 2017

Solar flux is 90 today and the sunspot number 40. A=55 and K=2.

Sunspots - Thursday September 28th 2017

Solar flux is 89 today and the sunspot number 35. A=37 and K=6.