BREXIT mess - NOT amateur radio

Indeed this is a fine mess! Personally, I blame an arrogant, UK Prime Minister who will not listen.

Most want an orderly withdrawal from the EU. Some don't want to leave the EU at all.  I am pretty sure all the people of the UK really wanted was free trade and control over who lives and works in the UK, whereas the EU hierarchy seems to want more. I am less convinced this is what most EU citizens want. Sure, they want peace in Europe too.

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-46955437

Topband overnight

As you may remember, WSPRnet was not working so I QSYed from 630m WSPR RX to 1.84MHz FT8 RX. Overnight, 6 North Americans spotted with the best DX N9RC (6340km). VY2HH (4445km) was still coming through at 0926z!

Stations spotted on 160m FT8 overnight 

with the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground.

Sunspots - Tuesday January 22nd 2019

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

Stars in the visible universe - NOT amateur radio

According to Google there are a huge number of stars in the visible universe. Estimates vary widely, but the number is extremely large. In our own galaxy the estimate is 100-400 billion stars! In the visible universe the estimate is 1 billion trillion! That is a huge, huge number!

And we are born at this moment on this little planet and after looking for nearly 60 years we have not found one single civilisation "out there". What happens when we die? Goodness only knows. What I do know is our brains are far too small to comprehend. Religions try to explain things, but their world views seem far too small.

The universe and life are real puzzles for mere humans.

Topband FT8 RX

A return to 160m FT8 RX was made at 2005z this evening. Yet again, the band was filled with Europeans. The best DX is currently UK9AA (5171km) in Uzbekistan. Within 15 minutes, no less than 45 stations spotted! As before, using the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground.

Stations spotted in the first 30 minutes this evening.

472kHz WSPR RX

Although I am monitoring 472kHz WSPR RX, I have to QSY to 2m FM for the East Cambs net at 2000z. I shall go back on 472kHz afterwards.

At the moment (1922z) WSPRnet cannot be reached.

UPDATE 1949z: WSPRnet is still unreachable.

UPDATE 2005z: As WSPRnet is still unreachable, I have decided to go on 160m FT8 RX instead. LA3EQ, PA0A, and F1AFJ were all good 472kHz signals on my screen, but not on WSPRnet.

New houses - NOT amateur radio

For some time now (actually about a year!) I have been watching the progress of these houses being built in the grounds of an old pub in our village that closed years ago. The old pub is now a private house and is on the market at last. The other houses are still being built.

D-Star from Android tablets and phones

Until this was mentioned on Southgate News I was unaware of this app. Apparently you can use an Android device to connect into D-star networks using some software called "Peanut". This may be useful to some, especially if your nearest D-star repeater is out of range. You can also use Peanut on a Windows machine with an Android emulator.

See http://southgatearc.org/news/2019/january/android-peanut-app.htm#.XEXNcfZ2u00

Super blood moon - NOT amateur radio

At about 0315z, I awoke very briefly. I said to myself that if I awoke again at 0400-0500z I would take a photo of the moon. What happened? I slept until about 0730z. So, no photos of the moon. The next time it is this good is in 10 years' time. Of course, then it will be cloudy! There are lots of photos on the linked page.

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-46943592

10m FT8 RX - ever hopeful?

As usual in the daytime, I am looking on 10m FT8 RX for some activity. Not unexpectedly, no spots yet. If I am lucky, there might be a few UK stations and maybe the odd European via aircraft reflection. If I spot any further, it would be a good day. However, I am watching! I suspect many more are watching too. As a band of surprises, anything is possible! With FT8, the impossible can be possible.

UPDATE 1340z: 5 spots so far including 3 Germans - aircraft?

UPDATE 1500z: No further spots. Best DX spotted remains DL3GD (714km).

UPDATE 1613z: Looks like there is a brief 10m opening to northern Spain. In all, 10 different stations spotted today on 10m FT8 in 4 EU countries. Best DX spotted is EB3DKE (1198km).

UPDATE 1910z: In the end 14 stations spotted. All EU. Time to QSY to topband or 472kHz.