Sunspots - Tuesday May 8th 2018

Solar flux is 68 today and the sunspot number 14.  A=17 and K=3.

Another Bouvet Island DXpedition

DXpeditions rarely excite me.

If you have a mega station, the thought of calling and calling in the hope of being heard does not "float my boat". Some, however, love this aspect of the hobby and get very excited when a few keen individuals cross oceans to activate a really rare place. Take for example Bouvet Island. This team has a very swish website and is asking for financial support.

See https://bouvetoya.org/

Walk - NOT amateur radio

This morning we did a great walk at Snapes Point, near Salcombe, Devon. Unlike a few years ago, I found it hard going. I managed to slip and fall, although thankfully no damage done. The views are splendid.

At almost 70 I am finding some things quite hard now. Since my stroke in 2013 I am always giddy although several people say how well I look. In the mornings I am also very tired. I guess I have to learn to adapt and I am not as fit as I once was.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/stroke

14th century cross - NOT amateur radio

At the moment there seems to be a craze across the UK to hide painted pebbles. Young people especially seek these out, take a photo and post on social media, then re-hide the stone somewhere else for the next person to find it. It is innocent fun. Yesterday I noticed a stone on the base of this 14th century stone cross at Thurlestone, Devon.

Es season and getting outdoors

We are now in the Es season in the northern hemisphere and 10m and 6m will be good for low power DXing now for several months. On bands like 10m and 6m DX on SSB should be workable out to around 1500km with 1W or less. Often signals are very strong.

This is a good time to venture outdoors to a quiet electrical environment with a QRP rig. One advantage of a whip antenna is the whole rig can be moved around to get the best signal. Use a counterpoise.

There are some tips on pedestrian portable operation on my website. I guarantee you will not be disappointed! Many will be surprised how easy it can be. Whatever, it is a great way to enjoy sunshine and our hobby. Even outside the Es season DX can be worked, but the next few months are good.

Sunspots - Monday May 7th 2018

Solar flux is 69 today and the sunspot number 14.  A=31 and K=5.

The uBITX

This design from India appears to be gaining in popularity. Today, I was made aware (by Steve G1KQH) of a mod to increase the power output on higher bands. Several people are selling suitable enclosures.

Kits come from India with built and tested boards. As I understand things, it is very easy to build and test this multi-HF band rig. It looks a very low cost way of getting on HF.

See http://www.hfsignals.com/index.php/ubitx/

The other half? - NOT amateur radio

We did a lovely walk in Thurlestone, Devon earlier. On the way we spotted this in someone's garden. Talk about how the other half live!

"Just popping down for the weekend". I expect this is a second home and the owner pops down when it is sunny! He/she probably has a private jet to get further. 😊

Dual band antenna

Some years ago, I made this dual band antenna for 10m and 6m. It worked well.

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

My MAIN website

A reminder to those who do not know that my main website is at www.g3xbm.co.uk where you will find plenty of details about my projects (mostly simple!).

I also have a YouTube channel G3XBM which has videos about many of my projects. If you have not had a chance, you may care to take a look.