For a change I am not on 10m, but 6m MSK144 RX instead. In Europe, 50.280MHz remains a decent place to lurk. At the moment it is aircraft reflection, random MS and maybe tropo. As yet, no spots.
UPDATE 1335z: 3 spots so far. Best DX is GM6VXB (619km) quite strongly late this morning.
UPDATE 1706z: So far 4 stations in 3 countries spotted. Although not the best DX today, SM7FJE (905km) was an interesting one. Random MS or aircraft?
3 Feb 2018
2 Feb 2018
Fuel prices creeping up? - NOT amateur radio
Certainly over the last month, UK fuel prices have been rising. Although the pound is stronger against the dollar, the wholesale price of oil has been rising faster.
See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business/market_data/commodities/143908/default.stm
See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business/market_data/commodities/143908/default.stm
Rally on Sunday
4 FEBRUARY 2018 : CANVEY RADIO RALLY
Paddocks Community Centre, Long Road, Canvey Island, Essex SS80JA. Doors open at 10.30am and admittance is £3. There will be trade stands, RSGB bookstall and special interest groups. Catering is available on site. Vic Rogers, G6BHE, 07957 461 694, nvr1945@btinternet.com.
A list of rallies can be found at http://rsgb.org/main/news/
Paddocks Community Centre, Long Road, Canvey Island, Essex SS80JA. Doors open at 10.30am and admittance is £3. There will be trade stands, RSGB bookstall and special interest groups. Catering is available on site. Vic Rogers, G6BHE, 07957 461 694, nvr1945@btinternet.com.
A list of rallies can be found at http://rsgb.org/main/news/
10m FT8 RX
At the moment, I am again on 10m FT8 RX. In the daytime, this can be surprisingly productive. At the moment, nothing yet spotted.
UPDATE 1820z: No 10m FT8 spots today. It has been remarkably quiet today. Now time to QSY to 136kHz WSPR RX and OPERA RX.
UPDATE 1820z: No 10m FT8 spots today. It has been remarkably quiet today. Now time to QSY to 136kHz WSPR RX and OPERA RX.
UK Weather Forecasts - NOT amateur radio
Living where we do, forecasting the UK weather is a thankless task.
Every few hours, it seems, the Met Office, complete with its super-computers, satellites, radiosondes and remote weather stations needs to change the forecast. Personally, it seems the only reliable forecast is to look out of the window and see if it is raining!
We have friends over for lunch today and the forecast has changed so many times this week as to be totally useless. The only reliable thing you can say about UK weather forecasts is they are likely to be wrong and never, ever, plan an outdoor event on the basis of a UK weather forecast.
Yes, I know we are at a complex point where weather systems meet, but please let us not pretend we can forecast. Clearly we cannot. Chaos theory reigns!
UPDATE 1140z: Guess what? The forecast has changed yet again for early afternoon!
Every few hours, it seems, the Met Office, complete with its super-computers, satellites, radiosondes and remote weather stations needs to change the forecast. Personally, it seems the only reliable forecast is to look out of the window and see if it is raining!
We have friends over for lunch today and the forecast has changed so many times this week as to be totally useless. The only reliable thing you can say about UK weather forecasts is they are likely to be wrong and never, ever, plan an outdoor event on the basis of a UK weather forecast.
Yes, I know we are at a complex point where weather systems meet, but please let us not pretend we can forecast. Clearly we cannot. Chaos theory reigns!
UPDATE 1140z: Guess what? The forecast has changed yet again for early afternoon!
Shack PC not charging
After being a bit worried, all is now well. To reduce noise I have been running the shack PC on its internal batteries when trying to receive on 136 and 472kHz. For some reason, the internal batteries refused to charge.
I left the PC on mains power and see it was part way through (yet another) Windows 10 update. This has now fully installed and the batteries seem to be charging OK now. So I put this mystery down to the (partial) update. Why does Windows 10 seem to have updates so often? I thought it was meant to be wonderful?
As the battery was so flat I cannot go on 136 or 472kHz until this evening.
I left the PC on mains power and see it was part way through (yet another) Windows 10 update. This has now fully installed and the batteries seem to be charging OK now. So I put this mystery down to the (partial) update. Why does Windows 10 seem to have updates so often? I thought it was meant to be wonderful?
As the battery was so flat I cannot go on 136 or 472kHz until this evening.
630m and 2190m RX
Last night I did not go on LF or MF as my shack PC was playing up. I intend to go on 136kHz WSPR RX and 136kHz OPERA RX tonight. I need my shack PC on battery power otherwise noise is chronic.
UK Pound versus Japanese Yen - NOT amateur radio
Why has the UK Pound appreciated so much against the Japanese Yen? At the moment it is over 156 Yen to the UK Pound. Not too long ago it was the low 120s Yen to the UK Pound. That is a lot of difference.
Every day, it swings quite widely, but I find this, and the dramatic appreciation, hard to understand. On the face of it, goods made in Japan should get less expensive in the UK.
Perhaps an economist can explain what is going on?
Every day, it swings quite widely, but I find this, and the dramatic appreciation, hard to understand. On the face of it, goods made in Japan should get less expensive in the UK.
Perhaps an economist can explain what is going on?
Sunspots - Friday February 2nd 2018
Time seems to rush by! Already it is the second day of February. In the evening it is an hour later getting dark compared with mid December. Even the mornings are noticeably lighter.
Solar flux is 69 today and the sunspot number 0. A=4 and K=1.
DX on 10m is now much harder to find, but with FT8 it is still there on many days. In the last week, South Americans have been spotted several times on 10m FT8, even with my useless 10m antenna. Never give up! For several years it is going to be "challenging".
Solar flux is 69 today and the sunspot number 0. A=4 and K=1.
DX on 10m is now much harder to find, but with FT8 it is still there on many days. In the last week, South Americans have been spotted several times on 10m FT8, even with my useless 10m antenna. Never give up! For several years it is going to be "challenging".
1 Feb 2018
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