Sunspots - Thursday June 14th 2018

Solar flux is 72 and the sunspot number still 12. A=4 and K=1.

A reminder that I get my solar data from http://www.hamqsl.com/solar.html

10m WSPR TX

Yesterday, FY5KE (7110km) spotted my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon 26 times. Today, there is plenty of Es around again. Apart from EA8BFK (2880km) in the Canary Is. these were all Euopeans.

Sunspots - Wednesday 13th June 2018

Solar flux is 70 today and the sunspot number 12. A=4 and K=2.

6m FT8 RX

Apart from 4X4DK (3580km) all 6m spots today have been either Gs, EI and Europeans by Es. No "exotic" DX so far here! Sorry, 7X2TT in North Africa.

Short Waves

As a child, we had low noise levels (apart from LORAN on the top part of topband) and lots of shortwave broadcasters, many in English. These days many (most?) are plagued with very high manmade noise and there are few English language broadcasters. I enjoyed QSLing many stations. Some sent me gifts too as recently as the 1970s.  Much was communist propaganda. Most of this was ignored. What was more important was that QSL card.

As I have said before, you can take a nostalgic trip into the past. The shortwave bands are not the same!

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

UK Pound against Euro - NOT amateur radio

Not quite sure why, but the UK Pound has suddenly jumped against the Euro as if something happened. No doubt I'll find out later. I expect it will fall again tomorrow.

That summit - NOT amateur radio

As readers may have noticed, I am not great fan of US President Trump. However, I think what has happened, so far, in Singapore between him and Kim of North Korea is a step on the road to peace.

North Korea is a strange place, but sworn enemies have to look to the future. The USA and North Korea are very different places and are likely to remain so for quite a while. They need to respect their differences and think of the future.

The meeting could so easily have ended with President Trump storming out. It didn't. I am sure both men want mutual respect and peace.

Stroke after effect? - NOT amateur radio

As I am 70 later this year, I am not sure if this is just old age or yet another after-effect of my 2013 stroke. The worst time of the day for me is after breakfast. Even though I usually sleep well I am always, without fail, very exhausted. After a rest of about 30 minutes, when I usually blog, I am OK.

Another thing I have noticed: I seem weaker. Yesterday we cleaned our carpets and this totally exhausted me. I wasn't so tired last year. Lifting the carpet cleaner felt about twice as hard. Now, this may just be old age, but I think it is something linked to my 2013 stroke.

10m WSPR TX

Since just before breakfast, my 500mW WSPR beacon has been on 10m. No spots yet today.

UPDATE 1030z: Just one spot received today so far. EA8BFK (2880km) in the Canary Is..

UPDATE 1658z: Just 4 spots so far today on 10m WSPR TX.

UPDATE 1832z: FY5KE (7110km) is the best DX spot of my 500mW WSPR beacon on 10m today.

6m FT8 RX

Already, there is some Es to Spain on 6m FT8 RX.  3 Spanish stations (Es) as well as several Gs spotted in the last few hours.

UPDATE 0904z: 12 stations in 3 countries spotted so far on 6m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1029z: 32 stations in 5 countries so far on 6m FT8 RX today.

UPDATE 1346z: Best DX today so far on 6m FT8 RX is FM5AN (6792km) on Martinique, West Indies. Spots suggest he is genuine and not a pirate.

UPDATE 1807z: WP4G (6803km) now spotted in Puerto Rico on 6m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1930z: My best DX on 6m FT8 RX is now PV8DX (7830km) in northern Brazil. As this station is being widely spotted in Europe and North America, I am pretty sure he is genuine. Funny how D41CV (4518km) would be considered "real" 6m DX, but this is small fry compared with PV8DX!