Thunderstorm risk

As I was out for much of the day (see previous post) I turned off the rigs and disconnected things. After tea, I checked the lightning map and decided the storms were too far away to be a worry.

UPDATE 2125z: It looks like those thunderstorms are moving this way. At this rate, they will be hereabouts in the early hours. Rigs, PSU, PC and antennas are disconnected "just in case".

Best ever - NOT amateur radio

Today we visited a garden in north Norfolk. It was, without doubt, the best collection of azaleas and rhododendrons I have ever seen.

10m WSPR TX

After the very encouraging results yesterday, I am again on 10m WSPR (100% TX, randomised frequency, 500mW). I have been on since before breakfast, but no spots received as yet.

6m FT8

After a brief CQ call (2.5W) before breakfast (3 G spots) I have been RX ever since.  So far, 4 Gs spotted plus one Lithuanian which was my best DX - LY8O (1686km).

Sunspots (lots!) - Thursday May 24th 2018

Solar flux is 72 today and the sunspot number 30, which is the highest in a long while. A=9 and K=2.

Interesting blog

If you are like me, you are always keen to find interesting reading material on the net. Today, came across a blog I had not seen before. It is about interesting things, many of which I am sure readers will enjoy.

See http://tikalon.com/blog/blog.php .

6m FT8 RX

After a very brief CQ call before breakfast at 2.5W (yes, you guessed - a couple of Gs spotted me!) I have been of 6m FT8 RX since.

At the moment we seem to have Es to Iberia and North Africa. Best DX spot is 7X2TT (1766km).

UPDATE 1120z:  57 uniques in 7 countries so far on 6m FT8 RX today.

UPDATE 1312z: Best 6m FT8 RX DX today is currently S01WS (3043km).

UPDATE 1920z: I doubt much more will be spotted on 6m FT8 today. The map shows the spots so far today.

Early success on 10m WSPR TX today

Just before breakfast I turned on the 500mW 10m WSPR beacon and this has already been spotted by 5 different stations today. Best TX DX is EA1FAQ (1249km).

UPDATE 1123z: So far today, 6 unique spots in 4 countries of my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon.

UPDATE 1317z: 147 spots today, so far, of my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon. I guess most of these were Es. One report from Germany by DF4UE (758km) was +6dB S/N - i.e. remarkably strong.

UPDATE 1352z: Best spot of my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon is by EA8BFK (2880km).

Unique spots of my 500mW WSPR beacon so far today.

UPDATE 1719z: 282 spots of my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon today, with 15 unique stations.

UPDATE 1924z: 283 spots today of my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon. Still 15 uniques. Soon be time to go QRT.

Lupins - NOT amateur radio

We planted some lupins a few years ago. Last year they got nibbled by muntjac deer. They have just come out. I hope we have better luck this year!

Sunspots - Wednesday May 23rd 2018

Solar flux is 71 today and the sunspot number 12. A=6 and K=2.