Sunspots - Saturday January 25th 2020

Hopeful signs...

Solar flux is 71 (still above 70) and the sunspot number 12 (not 0). A=3 and K=1. I am beginning to think we may have started the climb.

2m VHF - WSPR versus FT8

It is some years since I tried WSPR on 144MHz. Although I  managed some reasonable results, drift over the 2 minute transmission slot was a major issue.

FT8 is about 10dB less sensitive than WSPR, but the 15 second TX period means drift does not appear to be an issue at all. With WSPR the window is only 200Hz wide whereas FT8 has a window of at least 2500Hz. All signals within this window can be detected and decoded. Signals on FT8 occupy 50Hz, whereas WSPR signals occupy about 6Hz. FT8 allows 2-way QSOs, but this is not really possible with WSPR.

Overall, I find better results with FT8 than WSPR on VHF. I have even had 2-way FT8 QSOs on 70cm!

With the 15 second TX period there are more aircraft relections too with FT8. I have not tried FT4 which uses 7.5 second TX periods, but is less sensitive. Logically, with even shorter TX periods this should be even better with aircraft scatter when signals can be quite strong.

IC705 in Japan

It was reported on a Facebook page that the first 1000 purchasers of the IC705 in Japan will get a box with Japanese sweets inside. The tin box will have a photo of the IC705 on the tin. This is just in Japan.

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

6m FT8

For the daylight hours remaining, I am on 6m FT8 with the V2000 vertical omni antenna. A recent 10W CQ was spotted by no-one and just 2 Gs spotted on 6m FT8 RX so far.

160m FT8

Last night was average on 160m FT8. 498 stations were spotted with 17 North Americans and 2 Caribbean stations, but nothing from South America.

A recent daytime 160m FT8 CQ (10W to the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground was spotted by EI3KD (583km) only.

160m FT8 - stations received overnight

Film 1917 - NOT amateur radio

We go to the cinema rarely. Today we went to see the film 1917 by Sam Mendies.  It was not what you'd call an "enjoyable" film, but it was very good. It is about the horrors of WW1 and was totally immersive.

These days we know so little about the horrors of those days. Life must have been very hard. Wars seem so senseless, although we never seem to learn. Of course, all those who fought in WW1 are dead now, making the futility of war all the more poignant.

Sunspots - Friday January 24th 2020

Solar flux is 71 and the SSN 0. A=5 and K=0.

On-line manuals

If you are like me, you will have mislaid many operating manuals over the years. Take heart as Google is your friend!

The last time I used my little VX-2 Yaesu handheld was probably 8 years ago.The battery was flat and I had forgotten how to operate it! Charging the battery was no problem, but how did you set the CTCSS tone?

I Googled "VX-2 Yaesu operating manual" and this link appeared:

https://www.manualslib.com/manual/969822/Yaesu-Vx-2r.html#manual

Problem solved. I expect there are all sorts of manuals somewhere on the internet.

The Yaesu VX-2 can be obtained from Radioworld at just over £117.

See https://www.radioworld.co.uk/yaesu_vx-2

160m FT8

At about 1515z I QSYed to 160m FT8 calling CQ (10W to the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground) initially. 2 stations spotted me with the best being G8ECI (122km). It is still quite light here. On 160m FT8 RX no spots yet.

UPDATE 1612z: So far, 9 stations spotted this afternoon on 160m FT8 RX. Best DX spotted is OG2A (1693km) in Finland.

UPDATE 1702z: A recent 10W 160m FT8 CQ resulted in 1 QSO and spots from 15 stations in 6 countries with best DX being a spot by LA2XPA (1308km).

UPDATE 1930z: 197 stations spotted so far this evening on 160m FT8 RX.

Chinese new coronavirus - NOT amateur radio

We do not yet know what we are dealing with. With modern travel viruses can spread worldwide in a few hours, so containment becomes all but impossible.  At the moment it is mainly a few hundred cases in China. In a weeks' time?

It could turn out to as harmless as the common cold or it could be lethal. There is little doubt that at some point a worldwide pandemic could be a threat to all human life. Hopefully this is not it.