FT8 and Es

This summer I have not used JT65 at all. Instead, I have been mostly on 6m FT8 RX with just the occasional TX period. Once in a while I tried 2m and 10m FT8. I have also been on 10m WSPR TX, although WSPR seems much less active than FT8.

FT8 is supposed to be not quite as good as JT65 on weak signals. However, the take-up of FT8 is phenomenal.

I am wondering if one of the reasons we are still seeing Es on 6m so much this late in the season is that users are in just one place and even very short openings get detected? Most FT8 is between 50.313 and 50.315MHz.  In the past, a CQ on SSB or CW might well have been missed. Also, FT8 works with signals that are more marginal than SSB or CW.

Let us hope a few remain on 6m so we can see if 6m Es is much commoner than we previously thought. In an average "out of season" day it would not surprise me to see brief openings. Remember, you only need 15 seconds to be spotted with FT8, probably even less.

6m FT8 RX spots today

ARRL numbers falling

There is a gradual downward trend in ARRL membership. This does not surprise me. However, it is worrying.

Around the world, generally, the amateur radio population is getting progressively older and it is getting harder to attract and keep younger people. We come over as an old man's hobby. I know this is not so, but we have to "connect".

As the demographic gets generally older, membership of national societies and radio clubs is likely to suffer. When I was fitter, I gave quite a few talks at radio clubs in East Anglia, UK.  By and large, the audiences were male and older men with very few women and young people. Unless we attract and keep younger people our hobby will die.

Monkey Dust - NOT amateur radio

In all my life I have never taken drugs. Even smoking cigarettes at school made me sick and after a few I stopped.

At university many were taking LSD. In later years you find people taking cocaine and marijuana.

Now there is a new menace called "magic dust". It looks like a real problem for police.

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-45186581 .

New FRS rules in the USA

This applies in the USA and NOT in Europe!

The ARRL reports on some rule changes by the FCC which come into effect next year.

See http://www.arrl.org/news/view/new-fcc-part-95-personal-radio-services-rules-published-in-the-federal-register?utm_source=amateur-radio-weekly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter

10m WSPR TX (500mW)

More in hope than expectation, I am again on 10m WSPR TX with my little beacon. As yet, no spots of me.

UPDATE 1220z: Several Es spots received from Italy and Denmark.

UPDATE 1422z: 6 unique stations have spotted my 10m WSPR today.

UPDATE 1600z: 10 unique spots today so far with 96 spots. Still seems to be plenty of Es.

Patio flowers - NOT amateur radio

For weeks, our lawns have been brown and parched, but they are at last recovering after some rain.  They may get a trim later, although it looks like more rain!

Surprisingly, the flowers in pots on our patio have done quite well as the photo shows.

6m FT8 and PSKreporter maps issues?

Since before breakfast I have been on 6m FT8 (RX and briefly TX) but nothing appears on PSKreporter. At first I suspected my internet connection but everything else seems fine. I even disconnected and reconnected yet still nothing. I stopped and restarted WSJT-X. I have spotted EA7 and I so I know 6m FT8 is good. Anyone else having issues?

UPDATE 1203z:  Up to now I was using WSJT-X V1.9 rc3. I have upgraded to the latest fully released version (v1.9.1) and all seems to be well. See comment from John below that my spots were appearing as 2m spots when I had selected 6m (50.313MHz FT8). Moral seems to be close the software and re-open if you change bands! Now getting Es spots from all over.

UPDATE 1424z: Everything is working now. My brief CQ calls (2.5W to the V2000 vertical omni) were copied widely in southern Europe and I worked several Balkan stations. A call to S01WS was not received, sadly.

Sunspots - Saturday August 18th 2018

Solar flux is 67 today and the sunspot number 11. A=13 and K=3.

Rally

19 AUGUST 2018 : THE RATS (RUGBY AMATEUR RADIO SOCIETY) RALLY

Princethorpe College, Princethorpe, Rugby CV23 9PY. Doors open from 10am to 4pm (8.30am for sellers). Admission is £3. There is a car boot sale and catering is available on site. Steve, G8LYB, 0795 685 5816, rally@rugbyats.co.uk www.rugbyats.co.uk.

A list of rallies can be found at http://rsgb.org/main/news/rallies/

Old friends - NOT amateur radio

Since university days back in the 1960s, we have known this couple. They live about 40 miles away and we usually meet up a few times each year. We went to their house for lunch today. When we meet it seems like just yesterday when we last met. In his working life he was a project manager responsible for putting a probe on a comet. He is very modest and talking to him you'd never guess. My wife is on the left.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosetta_(spacecraft)