10m FT8

For a couple of hours I have been calling CQ on 10m FT8 (2.5W). Unfortunately not a single report! On 10m FT8 RX 2 stations spotted so far. One was a G and one an MU. No great DX. These could have been tropo or aircraft reflections. There was another G spotted, which did not get uploaded to PSKreporter.

UPDATE 1638z: Still just 3 stations in 3 countries spotted today on 10m FT8 RX. Judging by the strength of PD1DL (328km), I suspect this was aircraft reflection.

UPDATE 1926z: I eventually went QRT on 10m at about 1900z. When I went QRT 5 stations had been spotted here.

Red Legged Partridge - NOT amateur radio

We often see these around and there were 2 in our back garden earlier. You cannot deny that these are good looking birds.

472kHz WSPR overnight

Poor!

472kHz WSPR overnight

This was probably the worst night this season with no new spots through the night that I had not already spotted in the evening. Likewise all the spots of my 10mW ERP were received before bedtime.

2m activity contest (UKAC) March 2019

The results of the March 2m activity contest organised by the RSGB have been published. I entered the Low Power section (AL) and my position has risen. Contests are not my thing, and I run very low power and omni antennas. Nonetheless, this is a very friendly affair and there is no compulsion to submit a score. Because of my poor voice I rarely stop on very long.

See https://www.rsgbcc.org/cgi-bin/readcal.pl

Oscar 100 - still not very busy

OK, it is still early days, but I am surprised that Oscar 100, the geosynchronous amateur satellite, is still not busy. I know some are still getting their gear set up, but by now I was expecting dozens of stations to be fighting for space. A casual listen on Monday afternoon and there were maybe 5 QSOs on SSB at most. Like many, I listen on the Goonhilly web SDR.

The advantages over other amateur satellites are the fixed dishes and wide coverage. It seems to work really well. And, of course, the DX is available day and night and totally independent of the solar cycle. Once aligned on the satellite it just works.

See https://eshail.batc.org.uk/nb/

Human consciousness - NOT amateur radio

This is a big question. As far as I know, science has not yet answered it.

One of the greatest mysteries in the world is human consciousness. What makes us sentient beings? What is it that makes us able to contemplate our very existence? Can other animals, albeit differently, be sentient beings? What happens when we die and have no body?

As I have said many times before, it is a brave person that claims to have answers. We live in a universe where we are aware of a few dimensions. There may be other dimensions and indeed other universes that our small brains are simply incapable of understanding. When we die we may simply cease to exist and be as we were for ever before. Perhaps something of us survives death in some form. Maybe time itself is an illusion. Maybe space is an illusion.

One day science may be able to answer some of these questions, which all religions have tried to answer. For now, I remain puzzled.

Sunspots - Tuesday March 19th 2019

Solar flux is 70 and the sunspot number 13. A=3 and K=1. Are we seeing the first tentative indications of cycle 25? The spots reappeared quite quickly after disappearing.

472kHz WSPR (10mW ERP)

Since about 2030z, I have been on 472kHz WSPR (10mW ERP 20%, 80% RX). At the moment I cannot access the WSPRnet database, so I have no idea how things are going.

UPDATE 2230z: So far this evening, 3 stations have spotted my 10mW ERP with the best being PA0EHG (296km). My best DX on RX is (again) LA2XPA (1310km). So far this evening, 7 stations spotted here.

Solar flux

On average, solar flux has been improving since last July. OK, we are still very much in the doldrums and the sunspot count is still poor, but does this point to the start of the next solar cycle? I am far from an expert. As I have said before, we may have to wait until the end of the year to discern any trends.

See http://www.solen.info/solar/

Palagruza - NOT amateur radio

Photo credit: Kyknos own work

Small, remote, islands have always fascinated me. I was puzzled why Croatia seemed to go way out in the Adriatic, so I investigated further.

It turns out there is a very remote archipelago right out in the sea. There is a lighthouse, but otherwise it is uninhabited. Until today, I had no idea of its existence.

Now, here is a question. Where is the Alboran Sea? Until a few minutes ago I had no idea! It is not off Croatia.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palagruža
See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alboran_Island