More on the IC-705

Southgate News relays some more on the ICOM IC-705 QRP transceiver. The price (in the UK) less VAT is about £1000 according to this news from ICOM. With VAT at the current rate this makes the price similar to the IC-7300. This sounds quite expensive to me. If it was sub £1000 I expect they would sell a lot. At this price I am less sure.

I still think they should include an auto-ATU, especially at this price.  I suspect they are trying to get early adopters to pay the full price. The IC-7300 is still a high price because people are prepared to pay the current price. If people were not prepared the price would fall, probably to less than £1000.

See also Todd's comment on the post yesterday.

See http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2019/december/ic-705-qrp-sdr-transceiver-update.htm#.XfvoZeiTLnF

WSPRnet

This seems more reliable these days. Has something changed?

Whenever I go on WSPR on any band I look at WSPRnet to see who I am spotting and who is spotting me. The great advantage is this can be done on any PC (even in the lounge whilst watching TV) or even on a phone on a bus. When TXing, I can turn things off within seconds. WSPR is some 10dB better than FT8 with weak signals. With fleeting signals the 15 second overs with FT8 compared with the 2 minutes for WSPR can be an advantage though. With FT8 you can easily have 2-way QSOs, if basic.

See http://wsprnet.org/drupal/wsprnet/spots

Hidden disabilities....yet again - NOT amateur radio

Sorry to go on and on about this.

All my waking time I feel giddy and exhausted and I've been this way for 6.5 years since my stroke in 2013. My voice is very bad and I often have to repeat myself as I find it hard to be understood. There must be millions of people who are walking around with disabilities that others cannot see.

What I am concerned about is judging people by what you think they are like. How people appear is often not a guide to how they really are. Yes, a few may be faking it, but the vast majority are genuine.

All I am urging, yet again, is do not judge people by what you see. If you are physically disabled and use a wheelchair it is pretty obvious, likewise if you are blind. If you are like me or have a mental illness it is often far from obvious to other people.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/stroke

Ely - NOT amateur radio

Ely is a pleasant town (actually a city) surrounding its cathedral. We went there yesterday and explored some of its quiet back streets. The photo shows one of these with the cathedral's famous octagon in the background.

Average session on 472kHz WSPR TX

Last night there were no spots from Norway of my 10mW ERP 472kHz WSPR from the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. This may have been conditions or nobody active who could detect my signal. At the moment, I am still on 472kHz WSPR TX, but may QSY to another band later.

Stations spotting my 10mW ERP
472kHz WSPR overnight

UPDATE 1304z:  There was another explanation: after 12 hours without 472kHz WSPR spots I noticed that Windose had closed the program, probably do an update. This really annoys me. Having re-opened the program, I am, again, getting 472kHz WSPR spots. Darn Windows!

UPDATE 1606z: I see my shack PC is telling me the PC needs to "restart after active hours". Does this mean it will turn off things overnight again? Maybe I should turn it off soon before the evening starts?

UPDATE 1736z: At about 1630z, I restarted the PC. It successfully installed and configured Windows updates, so hopefully it will run WSJT-X overnight without interruption. In the last hour 13 different stations spotted my 10mW ERP with best DX on 472kHz WSPR TX PA3FNY (330km).


UPDATE 2019z: So far today 16 stations have spotted my 10mW ERP with the  best DX being  DL/PA0EHG (493km).

ICOM IC-705

As many will know, this is the first transceiver for many years that I really like. The FT818 was a total disappointment and Yaesu seems to have given up on the QRP market. More and more they come over as "has beens" unable to "read the market".

On the other hand ICOM seem to be always one step ahead. If you were to ask me who will be around in 5 years' time my bets would be on ICOM, whereas I can see Yaesu and Kenwood dropping out of the market.

I suspect ICOM will design in Japan, but find a country with lower manufacturing costs to do the building, much as Apple does. Currently, this is China, but by 2024 it could be somewhere else altogether. Remember when "made in Japan" were the words on the streets? In the end Japan got too expensive.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/ic705

15m CW QRP

This was on before but it is worth repeating.

Many years ago, I needed a simple QRP CW transceiver for 15m. The result was the Pipit, which was built (I think) in 1984. It put out 800mW, but worked plenty of DX with simple, low, wire dipoles.

At one time it was used with a 10/15m trap dipole loaned to me by G3TFX. The design of the Pipit appeared in GQRP SPRAT. A version based on more commonly available toroids would be a good idea. The rig worked really well and for a period was the only rig I used.

These days I suspect there is less CW.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/15m_pipit

Sunspots - Thursday December 19th 2019

Solar flux is 70 and the SSN 0. A=13 and K=4.

Ely Cathedral - NOT amateur radio

We live just a few miles from Ely Cathedral, also known as "the ship of the fens". It is very old indeed.

The original central tower collapsed centuries ago and it was replaced in medieval times by the octagon, which is the magnificent wooden structure that we see today (see photo).

Hamvention 2020

The 2020 Hamvention has a focus of "The Future of Amateur Radio" according  to Southgate News. The Hamvention is one of the really big events in the amateur radio calendar.   Hamvention 2020 takes place from May 15-17 in Xenia, Ohio, USA. I have never been and am unlikely ever to go. Often new products are first showcased there.  As the years go by, I think more minds will be turned to the future of our hobby.