FETer very simple transceiver

It seems unbelievable that this ultra-simple design (14 parts) is 10 years old. It was a simpler version of a W2AW design for 40m. I put mine on 80m CW. It certainly works!

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/feter-80m-qrpp-cw-transceiver

2m FT8

After a brief TX period (spotted locally) I am again on 2m FT8 RX. So far, 10 uniques spotted in 4 countries.

Best DX so far today on 2m FT8 RX is DK2DTF (644km).


UPDATE 1310z: The photo shows the stations spotted on 2m FT8 RX so far today.

Sunspots - Thursday April 12th 2018

Solar flux is 68 today yet the sunspot number is stubbornly zero again. A=14 and K=2.

Crystals sets

A great deal of fun can be had with the simplest of receivers. I had some great fun DXing with a shortwave crystal set. These days, there are fewer SW broadcasters sending in English, so IDing is harder, but not impossible.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/crystalset

10m FT8 RX

So far today, just one spot on 10m FT8 RX of DL8FCK (627km) in Hesse in Germany.

UPDATE 1930z: Just one G spot in addition and no DX as yet today.

UPDATE 2145z: Now QRT.

Worse spots to read? - NOT amateur radio

This was our granddaughter earlier reading on our windowsill. There are worse backdrops!

I think this is a book she brought from home.

Sunspots - Wednesday April 11th 2018

Solar flux is 68 today and the sunspot number remains zero. A=20 and K=2.

10m FT8 RX

As well as a couple of stations in Rio (Brazil) I also spotted VP8LP, although these spots of the Falklands did not upload to PSKreporter.  It seems that 10m regularly opens to South America, despite the very poor solar conditions. It is definitely worth keeping a watch on 10m FT8. Quite a few EU spots plus 3 in the Canary Is.

70cm (432MHz) UKAC RSGB activity contest

Tonight I expected to miss this contest as we have grandchildren staying. I managed to snatch about 10 minutes and worked a couple of stations with G4CLA (105km) as the best DX. Seeing I only have 5W RF and a 2 metre halo, I was quite pleased.

Museum visit - NOT amateur radio

It is funny, but our grandchildren seem to love museums! Today we had to revisit the small (free) museum at Mildenhall, Suffolk. We also had a request to visit the church there again.