Much of our internet, banking and commercial traffic is carried on undersea cables and fibre. Apparently the military is worried by the vulnerability of such cables to rogue nations intent on disruptive warfare. The internet is a distributed system, so unless lots of lines are cut, it is unlikely to break completely, although traffic could be slowed.
I am not quite sure how you can protect these cables. It needs a nation with submarines to be a real threat.
See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-42362500 .
15 Dec 2017
Remaining on 6m MSK144
OK, it was the Geminids MS shower, but I was surprised by the level of activity on 50.280MHz MSK144. I was half expecting stations to have migrated to FT8. I am not sure if MSK144 works with much lower signal levels, but most MSK144 signals have been strong.
UPDATE 1214z: So far, 6 stations in 3 countries spotted on 6m MSK144 today. No great DX with the best being F4VPC (518km) in Brittany spotted.
UPDATE 1214z: So far, 6 stations in 3 countries spotted on 6m MSK144 today. No great DX with the best being F4VPC (518km) in Brittany spotted.
Sunspots - Friday December 15th 2017
Solar flux is 72 and the sunspot number remains zero. A=4 and K=1.
14 Dec 2017
Dreamer's Band (sub 9kHz amateur radio)
This is the new frontier. As Paul Nicholson pointed out, it is inexpensive and fun. It is much easier than many think.
"Perhaps the perception is that it is difficult? Surely not.
Don't believe all those stories you hear about how hard it is
to radiate, or how difficult it is to find a location to
receive from!
Let's see -
- Low cost. You don't need expensive SDRs or test equipment.
Your PC soundcard is signal generator, spectrum analyser,
and SDR, all in one. Transmitter is just an audio amplifier,
even a low quality one. The most expensive thing you'll buy
is a load of wire for a loading coil.
- GPS timing? £18 quid for a NEO-7 module and you know your
frequency to the micro Hertz. Buy two, you'll use them!
- Easy to build. Just audio frequency signals, nothing critical
about layout. VLF is great for the homebrew enthusiast.
- You don't need a huge ERP. 10uW and you're on the air. Your
LF antenna will probably do better than you think at VLF.
- UK Notice of Variation? No problem, a simple application form,
and if enough apply, maybe the regulators will make that easier.
- Where else can you operate at the cutting edge with such
simple equipment?
In case you think my location here is specially good, it certainly
isn't. The mains here at the top of the Calder Valley is very
rough, terrible sidebands. All the properties around here get
their power by overhead lines at 12kV and one of the two 33kV
lines feeding Todmorden is only a km away. The nearest 12kV
line is just 120m from the E-field antenna. 140mV RMS of 50Hz
on the E-field probe and a lot of harmonics. Reception here is
bad! You can probably do better in the suburbs.
How many times per century does amateur radio find a green field
to explore? Not just a new band but a whole new frequency range.
Don't miss out on this one!
--
Paul Nicholson"
"Perhaps the perception is that it is difficult? Surely not.
Don't believe all those stories you hear about how hard it is
to radiate, or how difficult it is to find a location to
receive from!
Let's see -
- Low cost. You don't need expensive SDRs or test equipment.
Your PC soundcard is signal generator, spectrum analyser,
and SDR, all in one. Transmitter is just an audio amplifier,
even a low quality one. The most expensive thing you'll buy
is a load of wire for a loading coil.
- GPS timing? £18 quid for a NEO-7 module and you know your
frequency to the micro Hertz. Buy two, you'll use them!
- Easy to build. Just audio frequency signals, nothing critical
about layout. VLF is great for the homebrew enthusiast.
- You don't need a huge ERP. 10uW and you're on the air. Your
LF antenna will probably do better than you think at VLF.
- UK Notice of Variation? No problem, a simple application form,
and if enough apply, maybe the regulators will make that easier.
- Where else can you operate at the cutting edge with such
simple equipment?
In case you think my location here is specially good, it certainly
isn't. The mains here at the top of the Calder Valley is very
rough, terrible sidebands. All the properties around here get
their power by overhead lines at 12kV and one of the two 33kV
lines feeding Todmorden is only a km away. The nearest 12kV
line is just 120m from the E-field antenna. 140mV RMS of 50Hz
on the E-field probe and a lot of harmonics. Reception here is
bad! You can probably do better in the suburbs.
How many times per century does amateur radio find a green field
to explore? Not just a new band but a whole new frequency range.
Don't miss out on this one!
--
Paul Nicholson"
ARRL 10m contest
This was last weekend, but guess who forgot? Apparently conditions were not good, so I probably missed very little.
Tree surgeon - NOT amateur radio
I noticed he had a machine to grind up the branches on his lorry. Otherwise there would be a lot of branches to deal with.
In this job a head for heights must help. I'd be useless!
Realtime HF predictions
A reminder that almost realtime HF predictions are available at the convective weather website.
New OFCOM chairman
The government has appointed a new OFCOM chairman.
See http://ofcom.createsend1.com/t/ViewEmail/i/5192FE1F35CB87692540EF23F30FEDED/59D1BD3EA2F08127C67FD2F38AC4859C
See http://ofcom.createsend1.com/t/ViewEmail/i/5192FE1F35CB87692540EF23F30FEDED/59D1BD3EA2F08127C67FD2F38AC4859C
Sunspots - Thursday December 14th 2017
Solar flux is 71 today and the sunspot number zero. A=7 and K=3.
6m MSK144 RX in the Geminids MS shower
I shall remain on 50.280MHz MSK144 RX for a few hours at least.
UPDATE 1056z: I think the count is now 13 countries spotted on 6m MSK144 in the last day.
UPDATE 1312z: With 31 unique spots in the last day there is plenty of activity in Europe on 50.280MHz MSK144. I think I shall stick with this band and mode for another day.
UPDATE 1800z: Best DX on 6m MSK144 RX is SM5EPO (1347km).
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