6m Es

At the moment I am on 6m FT8 RX and, even though it is very early (0830z), there is widespread Es. My best DX on 6m FT8 RX is TA9J (3463km) among the 95 stations already spotted. At the moment this looks like the best day this spring.

UPDATE 0953z: Now 176 stations spotted on 6m FT8 RX with the best DX still the Turkish station.

UPDATE 1142z: Now 236 stations spotted with best DX EK7DX (3590km) in Armenia.

UPDATE 1702z:  Now 380 stations spotted on 6m FT8 RX with best DX still the Armenian.

160m FT8 RX

Overnight, I was on 160m FT8 RX and was pleased to see one transatlantic station in the log along with hosts of Europeans.

Talk - NOT amateur radio

We are fortunate to live right next door to a 200 year old windmill and local museum, which is one of the best in the UK.

Every spring and autumn they hold talks of local interest. The photo shows the presenter in free flow. It was a good, interesting and well attended talk.

Sunspots - Friday May 24th 2019

Solar flux is 66 (I think this is the lowest I have seen this minimum) and the SSN 0. A=5 and K=2.

OpenStreetMaps contributors and OpenMapTiles

Most of my maps showing FT8 results are cut down copies of PSKreporter maps. It goes without saying that the copyright is theirs.

EU elections - NOT amateur radio

Because of our delayed departure, the UK has had to take part in EU elections, The results will be known on Sunday when all EU member countries have voted.

In the UK these elections are quite odd. Unless by some late change of circumstances we vote to stay EU members, those elected will only sit for a few months.

It seem likely that the 2 major UK parties will do badly to either right wing or parties favouring staying members of the EU community. In the UK, this will be more of a protest vote. My wife and I have already voted Lib-Dem which is the party wishing to stay members. If I am honest none of the main UK political parties have policies which totally reflect my views, although the Lib-Dems are closest.

As a result of these elections, it would not surprise me if the EU made changes. With right wing parties on the rise, I suspect we will hear more about nations and less about a federal Europe in future. Assuming we do leave, I suspect the EU we leave will be much different within 5 years and we will wish we'd stayed.

Who is looking? - NOT amateur radio

For some time now, the map on my monitoring page for this blog has not been working, at least not on this browser. It now seems to be working again, although the number of visits shown on the map seems to bare no resemblance to the number of visits shown elsewhere.

160m FT8

At about 2012z I QSYed to 160m FT8. My 2.5W CQ was spotted by no-one at all and on 160m FT8 RX 8 stations in 7 countries spotted so far, all EU. As before, using the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. This seems to match and work well at 160m. In the "DX season" plenty of transatlantic DX has been spotted on 160m FT8. Best DX this evening, so far, is UT9EZ (2471km).

UPDATE 2149z: Now 38 stations in 12 countries spotted tonight on 160m FT8 RX. All EU. Best DX remains the UT9.

6m FT8

Just before lunch, I QSYed to 6m FT8. My 2.5W CQ was spotted by 4 Gs, although no QSOs resulted. So far, 106 stations spotted this afternoon on 6 FT8 RX, many by Es.

6m FT8 spots today to 1523z

UPDATE 1523z: Now 125 stations spotted this afternoon on 6m FT8 RX with the best DX being SV2JL (2150km). Clearly lots of Es.

UPDATE 1952z: Now 179 spots on 6m FT8 RX with best DX EA8ZT (2983km) in the Canary Is.

Chelsea Flower Show - NOT amateur radio

Yesterday I mentioned how brilliant the flowers were. This is another photo taken yesterday.