Hong Kong - NOT amateur radio

After a very long and 2 hour delayed flight, my son and family have arrived in Hong Kong on their way to Brisbane. As they missed their flight, they have been rebooked on a flight this evening and put up in a hotel for a few hours.

They have been there before, as have I.  It used to be a real "east meets west" place with post boxes and double decker buses. I have only been through the new airport once since China took over and remember being intrigued by the W. H. Smith shop at the airport! That was 2004 I think.

6m FT8 RX

Already (0808z) I am on 6m FT8 RX. As yet, no spots. No early Es here.

UPDATE 0835z: Mind you, it does help to plug the antenna in! Antenna now connected. So far, just G3WOS (128km) spotted.

UPDATE 0917z: Now they are coming in thick and fast. So far, 28 stations spotted with best DX EA8DBM (3016km).

UPDATE 1046z: Now 61 stations spotted this morning on 6m FT8 RX. Although Japan was being worked again on 6m FT8 from the UK, again nothing spotted here. 😕

Sunspots - Friday July 5th 2019

Solar flux is 67 and the sunspot number still zero. A=5 and K=1.

Initial feedback on the FT-991A transceiver

As reported yesterday, I have a new Yaesu FT-991A radio. So far it has only been used on 6m and 2m where the power is limited to 50W. On HF at the moment I have no antennas.

Initial feedback is good. On 6m it has worked SSB DX via Es and been used on FT8. On 2m I have used it on a local FM net and FT8. So far, I have used my Signalink USB for interface between the PC and transceiver.

My main criticisms are:

• The fan is on more often than I expected.
• The waterfall display speed seems too slow.

Now the speed of the waterfall may be adjustable after I read the manual! At 5W and on RX I would have expected the fan to be off.

Overall good.

Son and family on their way to Australia - NOT amateur radio

At the moment our younger son and his family is on a plane bound for his in-laws in Australia. Currently they are over Estonia. They have a long way to go still!

UK pound versus the euro - NOT amateur radio

We have already seen quite big falls in the value of the UK pound against several major currencies. With the continued uncertainty over the UK Prime Minister and BREXIT, things are likely to get worse. Personally, I can't see any quick fix on the horizon. What is more likely is the UK pound will continue to lose money.

We are ruled by a bunch of public school toffs who haven't a clue about life for the majority. Sadly we voted them in!

It is in their (financial) interest to show non-Conservatives in a bad light. Remember, most of the written media is owned/controlled by right wingers. We are manipulated more than we realise.

Corpus clock - NOT amateur radio

One of the most photographed things in Cambridge must be the strange clock outside Corpus Christi college shown here in the photo. The picture was taken yesterday.

2m FT8

At the moment I am still using my Signalink USB with my FT991A and the big-wheel omni. As far as I can tell, the interface to the rig is the same as for the FT817 via USB.  If I can work out the drivers, the rig can be CAT controlled and audio interfaced directly from the PC over USB.

A recent 2m FT8 CQ got 17 spots including 2 from Cornwall. FT8 works! I was also copied in Germany earlier on 2m.

UPDATE 1357z: As well as working a station in N.Wales on 2m FT8, I have spotted so many stations on 2m FT8 RX with the big-wheel omni antenna. The map shows where my 2m FT8 signal has reached so far today on TX.

UPDATE 1900z: Amazing! OK I am running 50W at the moment but I have worked (i.e. 2-way)  DL6YBF (471km) and received 31 spots on 2m with just the big-wheel omni antenna. 2m behaves so differently with FT8. Stations I could never ever imagine working are possible. And this is probably flat conditions!

2m FT8 spots of my 

transmission today

UPDATE 1955z: I have never before been received in Eire from this QTH on VHF, but EI2GLB (499km), along with many others, is spotting me. 60 reports so far today on 2m FT8 TX.

Rallies this weekend

6 JULY 2019 (Saturday) : STOCKPORT RS RALLY

Walthew House, 112 Shaw Heath, Stockport, Cheshire SK2 6SQ. Doors open 9.30am to 4pm with disabled visitors gaining access at 9.15am. Admittance is £2. There will be trade stands, special interest groups and an RSGB Bookstall. Catering is available on site. A talk-in station will be on the air. Nigel Roscoe, G0RXA, 07506 904422, info@g8srs.co.uk.

Sunday 7 JULY : BARFORD NORFOLK RADIO RALLY

Barford Village Hall & Green, Barford, Norwich, NR9 4AB. Opens 0900 (traders from 0800) with talk in on S22 and featuring trade stands, car boot sales, bring and buy, raffle, repeater groups, catering and free car parking. Entry £2 per person / under 16's free. Pitches £8. Contact radio@dcpmicro.com www.norfolkamateurradio.org.

A list of rallies can be found at http://rsgb.org/main/news/rallies/

OFCOM Communications Market Report

OFCOM has updated this. I quote:

"Ofcom has today published its Communications Market Report (CMR), which provides data on industry trends and consumer behaviour in the UK’s telecoms, broadcasting, post and digital markets.

This year marks a significant change in the format of the CMR. The report is now an interactive data portal containing all the major datasets for these markets, accompanied by a short summary of the main findings. The interactive portal will be updated throughout the year.

In-depth analysis of this data and commentary on each of these markets can now be found in four major Ofcom reports published each year:

• Online Nation – published in May; examines how people are served by internet content and services, and their attitudes towards being online.
• Media Nations – published in August; reviews major trends in the television, radio and audio sectors across the UK and its nations.
• Annual Monitoring Update on the Postal Market – published in November; sets out data and trends within the postal sector.
• Connected Nations – main annual report published in December, with two updates during the year; looks at the latest coverage of fixed broadband and mobile networks in the UK and its nations, as well as the security and resilience of those networks."

See https://ofcom.cmail20.com/t/ViewEmail/i/547BBAABA0147EEB2540EF23F30FEDED/952AB8F022CBFC94BA4AF9908B8D85ED