Nest building - NOT amateur radio

There is activity aloft! I can see signs of nest building in the trees in our churchyard as the photo shows. Clearly, they think it is spring.

Kingsbridge Devon 1880 - NOT amateur radio

The photo shows where I lived as a teenager some 80 years before I lived there. What surprises me is how similar it looks. I think this was once a postcard.

And before you (cheekily) ask, I did not take this photo! I may be getting older, but I am not that old. It is even nearly 40 years before my dad was born.

160m FT8 RX overnight

In all, 273 stations spotted on 160m FT8 RX here with the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground, but only 2 North Americans spotted to PSKreporter maps. I hope the internet was OK during the "wee hours". I shall check what was actually received on the shack PC shortly. Best DX was AK4R (6831km). If I am really spotting fewer North Americans, does this mean the DX season is ending? I am not a 160m expert!

160m FT8 RX - stations spotted here overnight

UPDATE 1155z: Nothing doing for several hours, so time to QSY somewhere. The question is which band? 2m FT8 just works, 10m FT8 seems pretty quiet, 6m is out of the Es season. At the moment I cannot decide. Maybe after lunch?

UPDATE 1315z: Decision made! 10m WSPR TX using the stand alone beacon. PC, PSU and FT817ND are off. I will be surprised if I get any WSPR spots on 10m today.

Sunspots - Monday March 4th 2019

Still the pits I am afraid. Solar flux is 69 and the SSN still 0. A=12 and K=2.

QSY to topband

At about 2018z I moved from 2m FT8 RX to 160m FT8 RX using the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. Immediately loads of Europeans spotted. By immediately, I mean within a few seconds! Best DX is R7DA (2907km). Already, 25 stations spotted.

UPDATE 2214z: So far this evening 128 stations spotted on 160m FT8 RX.

The 128 stations so far spotted 

on 160m FT8 RX this evening.

That sunspot minimum

As mentioned yesterday, the jury is still out and predictions for the sunspot minimum vary widely. One source I use still predicts we are already over the worst of the minimum. Another one suggests we have years still to go. In another year we will have a better idea. In the meantime "keep taking the pills" as they say, or take up fishing.

Holme-next-the-Sea - NOT amateur radio

Last summer we spent a week in North Norfolk at Holme-next-the-Sea, where the photo was taken. The weather all week was perfect. Where we stayed (house and village) could not be better.

Oscar 100 occupancy

At the moment I am just keeping a watchful eye on the narrowband section of Oscar 100 by looking at the Goonhilly web SDR.

At the moment (especially as this is a weekend) occupancy is low and there are no QRM issues. I believe they have ways of jamming stations that are using too much power. As a guide the signal should be no stronger than the beacon. If your signal is stronger you are using too much power. At the moment this does not seem to be an issue and most (all?) stations are using a few watts or less.

As I said in earlier posts, activity, so far, is lower than I expected, although I am sure activity will increase over time. The photo shows activity this morning around 1000z on a Sunday morning.

UPDATE 1026z:  3B8FA just copied via Oscar 100.

UPDATE 1337z: I suspect that if ICOM swapped a 13cm upconverter and the IF for a down converted 3cm LNB for 23cm in their IC9700, possibly calling the rig the IC9800, they would have a big take-up. They could do this for under £2k. Think of it: £2k for a DX capable rig with low noise and the DX available at any time and with a small fixed dish, no towers, no rotators, neighbour friendly. No brainer.

Eye, Suffolk - NOT amateur radio

Back in the autumn we visited Eye in Suffolk. This is a delightful village with a fine church. We ate at this café (see LHS of photo) where the food was simple and inexpensive.

2m FT8 RX

So far this morning, 9 stations spotted in 2 countries with my best DX on RX being DF6PW (673km). In the last day, 62 stations in 6 countries spotted overall on 2m FT8 RX. My antenna is the big-wheel omni as usual on 2m horizontal.

UPDATE 0953z: Now 15 stations in 5 countries spotted this morning on 2m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1640z: Now 24 stations spotted today on 2m FT8 RX.

Stations spotted here today so far on 

2m FT8 RX with the big-wheel omni antenna.