472kHz WSPR

As is my usual routine, I have QSYed to 472kHz (630m) WSPR. Quite a few new stations spotted on RX, although just the usual ones have spotted me.

Pipit - 15m QRP CW transceiver

Way back in the 1980s I designed and built this tiny transceiver for 15m CW. For months it was the only rig I used. It worked remarkably well with just a simple, low dipole. Output was 800mW. The very first contact was over 4000 miles! Later the case was used to house another transceiver, the Tenner for 10m CW. Looking back, I should never have got rid of this rig. If my health was better, I should rebuild it.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/15m_pipit

More Cambridge- NOT amateur radio

Another typical Cambridge street scene. Bikes, bikes and even more bikes!

10m FT8 - not as good as yesterday?

All morning, I have been monitoring 10m FT8 RX. So far 4 Gs and a couple of eastern Europeans. No "real DX" as yet. Mind you, copying these stations proves there is life in the 10m band.

UPDATE 1301z: Now EA1FA (1083km) in northern Spain spotted.

UPDATE 1325z: A 2.5W CQ just now on 10m FT8 was spotted by no-one!

UPDATE 1636z: 14 EU countries spotted on 10m FT8 RX today. No DX outside Europe.

UPDATE 1725z: First 10m FT8 RX South American today has just been spotted: CX7SS (11022km) in Uruguay.

UPDATE 2015z: Now QRT on 10m FT8. In the end just the one CX from South America. Still, this is sunspot minimum.

Cambridge streets - NOT amateur radio

Central Cambridge is unique. Most railings have posters and bikes. It has been this way since way back, certainly in all the time I have been here. I first came in 1970.

Sunspots - Sunday November 4th 2018

Solar flux is 67 and the sunspot number still zero. A=4 and K=1.

Spotted in Norway again on 472kHz WSPR

Last night was probably the best yet on 472kHz WSPR with 18 unique stations spotted on RX and my 10mW ERP spotted by 9 different stations. I think this was the 3rd time I have been spotted in Norway on 472kHz this autumn.

472kHz WSPR RX last night

472kHz WSPR TX (10mW ERP) last night

Transformative effect of FT8

There is an ongoing debate about FT8, some saying it is great and some hating it. In this country (the UK) some liken it to Marmite, the yeast extract in a jar that some love and others hate.

Yes, there is a danger that real chats will become a thing of the past and casual listeners will not chance upon amateur radio as many of us did years ago. On the other hand all FT8 operation is concentrated with a few kilohertz on each band and it is widely monitored, so the chances of receiving a station are far greater than on SSB and CW. Also, FT8 works with weaker signals than those on SSB or CW. I like it. It is hard to believe I was copying VK on 10m FT8 earlier at sunspot minimum with a very much compromised antenna. In the past most would have given up the band as "dead" and moved more LF.

See https://www.flexradio.com/ft8-tipping-point-for-ham-radio/?utm_source=amateur-radio-weekly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter

Walkthrough video

Someone suggested I did this, so I have put it on my G3XBM YouTube channel. I apologise in advance for my appalling voice! You may have to view a few times to get all the words. It is a video walkthrough of the shack and antennas as of November 3rd 2018.

A free Android package called YouCut was used to make this video. It is free if you avoid the adverts and I can recommend it.

Walk - NOT amateur radio

The photo shows a recent stroll with one of our sons, his children and my wife at Anglesey Abbey, which is about 4 miles away.