Family - NOT amateur radio

This is half-term week, so we should see all the grandchildren one way or another. In our household October 22nd is "cactus day", so called as our youngest granddaughter named this after a cardboard box and our youngest grandson decided to decorate a cake with cactus decorations last year! It is a bit of fun. The photo shows us last year.

10m WSPR

My antenna blew down in the spring, so apart from a brief outing with a tiny magnetic loop on the back of the transceiver, it is some time since I've been on the band. With JT65 and WSPR I have literally spanned the globe with a low end fed wire antenna and QRP.

When my antenna is up again, I hope to resume WSPR beaconing on 10m. For this I use a 500mW stand-alone (no PC needed) WSPR beacon by W5OLF. This works really well.

When good, 10m is a great band and perhaps my favourite. Antennas are small and often just low power is needed. It is good every summer for Es propagation. Well over 100 DXCC countries have been worked here on 10m QRP SSB.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/w5olf

UPDATE 1247z: According to feedback from Keith, my original link to Jay's page may not be there any more, so it has been removed. A similar unit is available from https://www.sotabeams.co.uk/wsprlite-antenna-tester/

2m FT8

Overnight, I stayed on 2m FT8 RX. So far, 6 stations spotted in 4 countries, with most of these after breakfast.

A 2.5W FT 8 CQ to the big-wheel omni antenna was spotted by a couple of stations with the best being G4RRA (334km) in Devon. No QSOs resulted from the CQ call.

UPDATE 1058z: Now 19 stations in 7 countries spotted on 2m FT8 RX today. Best DX on 2m FT8 RX is GI0ITC (561km). As far as I can tell, conditions are flat and this is the sort of range I get most days.

2m FT8 spots this morning

UPDATE 1137z: The map shows the stations spotted to 1101z today on 2m FT8 RX using the big-wheel omni antenna. At 1137z still 19 stations spotted.

False decode

Ah well, it beats BREXIT for excitement. Just now, on my PC screen was this supposedly on 2m FT8 RX:

075345 -24  2017Hz TO2MJR   WA9RRX R  LM80

At first I was puzzled. Then I checked to see if anyone else had spotted him. Just me! Conclusion: false decode. It happens sometimes.

Sunspots - Sunday October 20th 2019

Solar flux is 66 and the SSN 0. A=5 and K=2.

UK amateur radio in decline?

Southgate News has a piece about the decline in the numbers of UK radio amateurs, making the point that the rate of deaths is not being made up by new people coming in to the hobby. This is serious stuff. One possibility is introducing a "Beginner's Licence" restricted to VHF/UHF only with commercial gear only. Somehow I doubt this will do the trick as radio is no longer the magic it was to young people in the 1940s-1970s.

See http://southgatearc.org/news/2019/october/will-a-beginners-licence-cure-the-slump-in-new-radio-amateurs.htm

2m FT8

Mid morning, with the storms well gone, and after a night off, I have returned to 2m FT8. Despite just using 2.5W and the big-wheel, my CQ was copied in Devon and Cornwall again (no QSOs). On RX, 7 stations in 4 countries spotted.

Overall there appear to be fewer stations on 2m FT8.

UPDATE 1322z: Now 15 stations in 5 countries spotted.

UPDATE 1748z: Now 39 stations in 7 countries spotted. A recent 2.5W FT8 CQ was spotted by 6 stations but no QSOs resulted.

Stations spotted here today on 2m FT8 

receive with the big-wheel omni antenna

UPDATE 2046z: Now 53 stations in 8 countries spotted today on 2m FT8 RX with the big-wheel omni and the FT817ND. Who says 2m is dead?

Old age - NOT amateur radio

Maybe this is something that comes with advancing years, but these days I am grateful for small things.

Years ago our full lives were ahead of us, whereas as we get older we are more aware of our brief mortal span. I am grateful to be alive and generally well, that my wife is fit etc.. If this sounds morbid, I am sorry.

Live every day as if your last and think of all the good things, however small.

Charity Cards - NOT amateur radio

My wife was about to buy 40 Christmas cards from a charity online. They looked nice and were quite good value. We don't mind paying a bit more for a good cause. Then, we got to checkout to see an additional £4.95 added for delivery. We cancelled and that charity lost out. For the delivery cost we could have bought another 15 cards from a different charity. Not only that, my wife "unsubscribed" so she no longer gets emails from them. In several ways this charity has lost out. It has lost our custom and our goodwill. In future we hope the card price is inclusive of delivery. Simples.

Sunspots - Saturday October 19th 2019

Solar flux is 66 and the SSN 0. A=6 and K=1.