Friedrichshafen - June 2018

Although I have never been, this "rally" in Germany is probably the biggest in Europe.  It is often the place where new products are introduced to Europe for the first time. I expect Yaesu will have the underwhelming FT818 there. WiMo will not be there sadly. Perhaps ICOM will announce a new product? The other "big one" is in the USA at Dayton, Ohio. Again, I have never been.

See http://www.hamradio-friedrichshafen.de/ham-en/

630m (472kHz) WSPR RX

A few minutes ago I went QRT on 2m FT8 RX and switched to 630m WSPR RX. To be honest, I now know what 2m FT8 can do and I need a new challenge!

UPDATE 1920z: So far this evening 6 uniques with best DX spotted here HF7A (1294km).

UPDATE 2008z: Now 9 uniques spotted.

Super 6m DX

A reminder than 6m propagation often extends far further than traditional 1 or 2 hop Es. Last summer, even with a modest V2000 vertical I spotted Japanese stations on 6m JT65 many times. I am not a great believer that many of these very long 6m paths are due to multi-hop Es. This may account for some, but not all. Personally I think some other mechanism is at work. One example is reflections due to noctilucent clouds. Maybe we are seeing some sort of chordal hop E layer propagation. There is much we do not know.

I guess next Es season the best mode will be FT8. I shall certainly be monitoring this band/mode.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/vuhf/noctilucent .

That nerve agent - NOT amateur radio

Although the "considered opinion" is that Russia was behind the nerve agent attack in the UK recently, nagging doubts remain. If we could totally trust our government, I might feel differently.

As it is, we need independent proof that this was definitely Russia and not the UK out to cause mischief. One could argue that the Russians would not be stupid to use a nerve agent clearly with Russian origins. On the other hand, Russia does not exactly have a "whiter than white" record.

But, we have to remember that history often shows we are not always whiter than white. Propaganda is a murky affair: one can never be totally sure who is telling the truth. In reality both the Russians and the UK will have secret agendas and the true story is probably hard to discern.

One thing is likely: the Russians will attempt a cyber attack on the UK in the coming days. If nothing else, this is a perfect excuse. Watch out NHS, National Grid and banks.

Es Season and 10m

It seems scarcely possible, but the northern hemisphere Es (sporadic-E) season will soon be here again. Bands like 10m, 6m, and to a lesser extent 4m and 2m bring in DX from distant places.

If you don't have a suitable antenna, may I suggest my Homebase-10 antenna? 

Although designed for 10m, it can easily be scaled for other bands like 6m or 4m. It is basically a wire halo made from readily available material. It has a near omnidirectional horizontal pattern and is ideal for Es. I have worked the world with mine and all across Europe with 50mW CW, in the days before FT8 and WSPR.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/antennas/homebase

Village Exhibition - NOT amateur radio

This weekend we have "Burwell at Large", which is a 2 day exhibition at which village groups have a chance to showcase themselves. It happens every 2 years.

We are a thriving village, so there is plenty to do whatever your interests. One example was the "mobile belfry" brought along by the local tower bell-ringers (see photo).

We have a thriving sports scene and lots of different groups and clubs.

Moon based amateur radio?

According to Southgate News, China is to launch a couple of lunar satellites which will send data on 70cms. The Chinese also plan a lunar rover.

See http://southgatearc.org/news/2018/march/satellites-to-transmit-amateur-radio-data-from-the-moon.htm#.Wq5Bgkx2vIU

Sunspots - Sunday March 18th 2018

Solar flux is 68 today and the sunspot number 15 (quite high for recent times). A=12 and K=3.

Return to 2m FT8 RX

After yesterday's foray onto 20m, today I have returned to 2m FT8 mainly RX.

Just before breakfast I called CQ and was reported by a couple of local Gs. Since then I have been RX only. So far, 8 stations spotted in 3 countries with best DX DL6YBF (471km).

UPDATE 1050z: Currently 13 unique stations spotted in 4 countries on 2m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1208z: Now 28 uniques in 5 countries with best DX spotted DL0HOL (619km).

UPDATE 1358z: Now 47 uniques in 7 countries spotted today. Some reports are so strong that I am convinced at least some stations are coming in by aircraft reflection e.g. G7RAU (469km) in IN79jx square at +2dB S/N.

Grandkids - NOT amateur radio

My wife made this collage earlier.