Rather later than usual, I have turned on 10m FT8. At first I called CQ (2.5W) getting no spots, but now I am RX only. So far just G4CJC (74km) spotted. There are several G stations I regularly spot on 10m FT8. I suspect these are normal "no lift" tropo.
UPDATE 1130z: IT9FSH (2051km) spotted. Es?
UPDATE 1515z: As well as 29 EU stations ZP4KFX (10278km) is also being spotted here on 10m FT8 RX.
9 Apr 2019
Sunspots - Tuesday April 9th 2019
There are indications/hints that we are now past the worse of the solar minimum and starting the long climb.
Solar flux is 78 (higher than for some time) and the SSN 12. A=13 and K=2.
Solar flux is 78 (higher than for some time) and the SSN 12. A=13 and K=2.
8 Apr 2019
472kHz WSPR
A few minutes ago, I returned to 472kHz WSPR (10mW ERP 20% TX) using the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. It usually takes about 20 minutes for TX to settle and drift drops to essentially 0Hz. The lightening risk seems low now. At the moment I am spotting 3 stations and 2 are spotting me. Best DX on RX is LA8AV (1035km).
Lightning
A few moments ago I thought I saw a flash of lightning. I may have been mistaken, but it made me check the UK lightning map. According to this it is further west and moving away. Taking no chances, everything has been disconnected, at least for the next hour or so. If everything looks OK, I may try 472kHz WSPR (10mW ERP) later.
See https://www.lightningmaps.org/blitzortung/europe/index.php?bo_page=map&bo_showmap=uk&bo_period=0.25&lang=en
See https://www.lightningmaps.org/blitzortung/europe/index.php?bo_page=map&bo_showmap=uk&bo_period=0.25&lang=en
Seed? - NOT amateur radio
This "thing" was found on the ground at St Johns College Cambridge earlier today.
It was about 4cms across. It looks like some sort of tree seed case, but I could easily be wrong.
Stroke update - NOT amateur radio
Only some are interested, and that I can understand, but I have updated the page about the after-effects of my 2013 stroke.
If you are interested the updated version is at:
https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/stroke
It was updated April 8th 2019.
If you are interested the updated version is at:
https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/stroke
It was updated April 8th 2019.
10m FT8 again
My usual pattern is to go on 10m FT8 in the day and either 630m WSPR or 160m FT8 at night. I shall soon have to think about 6m. I have been on 10m FT8 calling CQ (2.5W) initially and then RX only for about 10 minutes. Guess what? No spots.
UPDATE 1152z: Looks like we may be seeing some Es with 3 stations spotted including EA3AXV (1213km).
UPDATE 1555z: 6 stations in 3 countries spotted on 10m FT8 RX so far today, all EU. Possibly some tropo, some aircraft reflection and some Es.
UPDATE 1152z: Looks like we may be seeing some Es with 3 stations spotted including EA3AXV (1213km).
UPDATE 1555z: 6 stations in 3 countries spotted on 10m FT8 RX so far today, all EU. Possibly some tropo, some aircraft reflection and some Es.
Philosophical question - NOT amateur radio
Every now and again, I ask myself a philosophical question.
This time it is about the nature of time. We usually think of time being a linear thing going from the past into the future. We assume our memories are records of past events. However, it is entirely possible that time is an illusion. Perhaps we think we have memories, but these are illusory. Indeed, our awareness of space may be an illusion.
One thing we know is how limited our brains are. Every year we seem to learn new things about our universe(s). In 50 years' time we may look back and say, "did they really believe that?".
Imagine you were suddenly back in 1819. Would you have believed in aircraft, moon landings, the internet, radio, TV and quantum physics? Even in 20 years things have changed a great deal. My wife is reading a book written in 1995, when pagers were the "in thing" and nobody could imagine how mobile phones and the internet would develop.
What will we take for granted in 2119 that we know nothing about today?
This time it is about the nature of time. We usually think of time being a linear thing going from the past into the future. We assume our memories are records of past events. However, it is entirely possible that time is an illusion. Perhaps we think we have memories, but these are illusory. Indeed, our awareness of space may be an illusion.
One thing we know is how limited our brains are. Every year we seem to learn new things about our universe(s). In 50 years' time we may look back and say, "did they really believe that?".
Imagine you were suddenly back in 1819. Would you have believed in aircraft, moon landings, the internet, radio, TV and quantum physics? Even in 20 years things have changed a great deal. My wife is reading a book written in 1995, when pagers were the "in thing" and nobody could imagine how mobile phones and the internet would develop.
What will we take for granted in 2119 that we know nothing about today?
160m FT8 overnight
In all, 302 stations were spotted overnight on 160m FT8 RX with the best being KV4FZ (6764km) in the Caribbean. 5 North Americans spotted on 160m FT8 RX overnight.
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Stations spotted here on 160m FT8 RX overnight
using the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground
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5.6GHz ATV
Apparently it is easy and low cost to get on 5.6GHz ATV using drone modules available on the internet. A figure of £20 was quoted. A very useful point of reference is this wiki:
https://wiki.batc.org.uk/5.6_GHz
Local to me G3KKD has 5.6GHz gear amongst others.
https://wiki.batc.org.uk/5.6_GHz
Local to me G3KKD has 5.6GHz gear amongst others.
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