Sunspots - Tuesday December 18th 2018

Solar flux is 70 and the sunspot number zero. A=6 and K=1.

OFCOM again

OFCOM has just announced licence fees for mobile operators from the end of January.

See https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/130547/Statement-Annual-licence-fees-for-900-MHz-and-1800-MHz.pdf

Simple minds! - NOT amateur radio

A few weeks ago we bought a new clock for the hall. Every hour (not 2200-0500z) it plays a different birdsong briefly on the hour. Every time in makes a noise we laugh.

Simple things please simple minds!

Candlelit Carols - NOT amateur radio

Every Christmas our village church holds a carol service by candlelight. It is magical and usually packed. Whether a Christian or not, this sort of service marks the real start of Christmas.

Personally, I am unsure what I believe. The only thing I know is how little I know! Life/death/the universe are all mysteries. When we die I have no idea what, if anything, of "me" survives. Maybe my brain has evolved to the complex organ it is over billions of years. Perhaps we really just do return to dust. All I know is how little I understand. If anyone claims they know all the answers they are deluded. Maybe all religions are just attempts at answering "ultimate" questions.

Sunspots - Monday December 17th 2018

Solar flux is 70 and the sunspot number 0. A=2 and K=2.

2m FT8

Overnight, I remained on 2m FT8 RX. Even when the contest was over, there was still plenty of DX around. Most people appear have moved to WSJT-X V2.0 now.

Best DX at the moment is GW6TEO (371km) in west Wales.

UPDATE 1124z:  10 different stations in 4 countries spotted so far today on 2m FT8 RX with best DX DF6PW (633km).

UPDATE 1634z: Now 30 stations in 6 countries spotted today on 2m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1832z: Now 36 stations in 7 countries spotted today on 2m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1902z: These are the stations spotted today on the 2m big-wheel omni antenna on 2m FT8 RX.

VLF earth-mode transmitter

Before my 2013 stroke I enjoyed experimenting with VLF. Quite a few European amateurs were copied. This required special software, very narrow bandwidths and very long integration time. Casual listening does not work with very weak amateur signals!

In TX I was restricted, but did some useful experiments with VLF earth-mode. Best DX with 5W QRSS was 6km.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/vlf/8-97khz-earth-mode-transmitter

Pre-Christmas drinks and nibbles - NOT amateur radio

As it is Christmas, we had the neighbours around for drinks and nibbles. Nothing fancy. I think everyone enjoyed it.

Brother-in-Law visit - NOT amateur radio

Yesterday, I mentioned that we had had a visit for one night from my wife's brother and his wife. This is a photo of them.

2m contest

There is a contest currently on 2m (MGM). I am monitoring FT8 RX with the big-wheel omni antenna.

Best DX was DF6PW (633km). Currently 6 countries spotted this morning. At the moment, nothing special: these sort of distances are possible every day by aircraft reflection on 2m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1540z: I think the contest ended at 1400z. Busy on 2m FT8, but perhaps not much different to a normal "flat" day?

UPDATE 2107z: Still on 2m FT8 and still spotting good DX, presumably via aircraft.