Sunspots - Friday March 2nd 2018

Solar flux is 67 and the sunspot number 11. A=6 and K=2.

2m FT8 RX - Friday

In just the last hour alone 5 unique stations in 3 countries with best DX F6EAS (387km) in Normandy.

UPDATE 0953z:  In the last 2 hours, 9 uniques in 4 countries.

UPDATE 1055z: 19 uniques in 5 countries on 2m FT8 in the last half day.

UPDATE 1143z: Now 24 uniques in 6 countries!

UPDATE 1552z: 34 uniques in 7 countries now.

UPDATE 1727z: 39 uniques in 7 countries.

2m FT8 RX

About 10 minutes ago I moved to 2m FT8 RX. It seems quite busy.

UPDATE 1540z: Best DX on RX is DF8JO (535km). In just 20 minutes I have spotted 11 unique stations in 3 countries!

UPDATE 1810z: 20 uniques now in 4 countries.  Amazing with an omni antenna.

UPDATE 2030z:  Now 26 uniques in 4 countries.

Rally

As the weather is not good I urge you to contact the organisers of each rally before travelling. Some could well get cancelled if the weather is bad.

3 MARCH 2018 : LAGAN VALLEY ARS RALLY

Hillsborough Village Centre, 7 Ballynahinch Road, Hillsborough BT266AR. Doors open from 11am to 3pm, with admittance £3. Everyone will be most welcome to attend. Lots of radio equipment new and second hand plus raffle. Tea, coffees, sandwiches available. There will be a Bring & Buy, RSGB Book Stall and Special Interest Groups. Andrew Mulholland, MI0BPB, 07802 824 615, andrew@mi0bpb.plus.com.

A list of rallies can be found at http://rsgb.org/main/news/rallies/.

Yaesu FT818

Sorry, but I have no further news of this transceiver. All I can say, again, is that the very future of Yaesu rides on this, in my view.

If it turns out to be just a minor upgrade to the FT817 then I expect Yaesu to be dead in the amateur market within 5 years. This has to be something exciting. From the early press releases, this does not look anything special. As a loyal Yaesu fan for almost 40 years I desperately hope I am wrong.

Only the FT817ND (not the FT818) is mentioned on the Yaesu, Japan website.

See http://www.yaesu.com/jp/en/products/pdf/Amateur2011_EN_1104.pdf

M0PNN has provided a link - thank you - https://www.yaesu.com/indexVS.cfm?cmd=DisplayProducts&ProdCatID=102&encProdID=36B7B98621AF7554C9A03C8B190C5079&DivisionID=65&isArchived=0

From what this says, I reckon Yaesu is doomed if this is the best they can do. I for one will not be buying one! What a pathetic offering. Back to the drawing board, or is it the Japanese equivalent of administration in 2019?

Overnight on 630m WSPR

Overnight was disappointing on MF. In all, 15 unique stations spotted, so no more than I received last evening. Again, all were EU with none from the USA.

I may try a different band tonight for a change.

Sunspots - Thursday March 1st 2018

Although we are at the start of meteorological spring, it still feels very much like winter with snow and bitterly cold winds.

Solar flux is 70 today and the sunspot number 11. A=6 and K=1.

10m FT8 RX

Although I have been on 10m FT8 RX since before breakfast, all is quiet with no spots here. Others with better setups may be more lucky.

UPDATE 1600z: No spots at all here all day so far. About 20 minutes ago I tried a CQ call, but no-one spotted me sadly.

630m WSPR RX this evening

For most of the evening I have been on 630m WSPR RX. So far, 15 unique stations have been spotted, which is quite good for this time. As the shack PC battery is almost fully charged, I shall be looking almost until breakfast. I am surprised not to have spotted a single USA station when most EU stations are being copied on the earth-electrode "antenna".

Snow showers - NOT amateur radio

Most winters these days are mild. This has been the exception with quite a few frosts. Today we have about 3 inches of snow (6-8cms). It has been snowing on and off much of the day. At the moment it looks nice.