Grandchildren - NOT amateur radio

We have 4 grandchildren. 2 go home today and 2 more come here later. The photo shows 2 earlier shortly before leaving.

2m FT8

The last day has been remarkable on 2m FT8. Plenty of stations spotted (225 at the last count) .

UPDATE 1002z: 239 stations in 13 countries spotted on 2m FT8 RX in the last day from Spain to Gotland in Sweden!

Stations spotted on 2m FT8 in the last 24 hours
 to 0845z using the big-wheel omni antenna

New Year's Day football - NOT amateur radio

Yesterday we went to see Cambridge United playing Mansfield. Cambridge lost 2-3. It was our grandson's first football match. He enjoyed it. The photo shows our son and his son.

Sunspots - Friday January 2nd 2020

Solar flux is 72 and the sunspot number is 0.  A=3 and K=0.

Earthing

Southgate News has a piece reporting on the new RSGB leaflet on grounding.

See http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2020/january/earthing-and-the-radio-amateur-leaflet-updated.htm#.XgyIZuiTLnE

QSY to 2m FT8

At about 1200z I QSYed to 2m FT8 with 10W to the big-wheel omni antenna. A quick CQ was answered by no-one, but was spotted by 31 stations in 4 countries with best DX being OZ4VV (771km). On 2m FT8 RX 55 stations spotted this morning in 8 countries.

Stations spotting me this morning on
2m FT8 TX (10W to the omni antenna)

Happy New Year

To all readers of this blog may I wish you all a very Happy New Year and all the best for 2020.

160m FT8 - quite good

Overnight I was on 160m FT8 RX. Quite a few North Americans (40?) spotted, 2 Caribbeans and 1 South American spotted. In all, 409 stations spotted.

Sunspots - Wednesday January 1st 2020

Solar flux is 71 and the SSN 0. A=4 and K=0.

160m FT8 TX

Earlier this evening I called CQ (10W) FT8 using the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. Amazingly this was spotted in Finland by OG2A (1693km). Every day the distances amaze me.