Sunspots - Friday March 20th 2020

Solar flux is 72 and the SSN 0. A=12 and K=1.

2m FT8

As 20m seems to be closed now, I have QSYed to 2m FT8 instead. On 2m FT8 RX stations as far apart as Brittany and Germany spotted.

On 2m FT8 TX (10W to the big-wheel omni) 10 stations have spotted me so far with the best being GD3YEO (384km).

As I have said before, I am convinced this is some sort of scatter mode, but not aircraft. Polarisation does not seem to matter much and it seems to be there nearly all the time.

UPDATE 2140z: 14 spots of me so far this evening with best DX a spot by GI6ATZ (479km) and 10 spots of others.

Stations spotting my 10W
on 2m FT8 TX this evening 

UPDATE 2310z: After a QSO with a Dutch station, I am now QRT. In the end, 20 stations spotted me.

Covid-19 spread - NOT amateur radio

If you are like me, you are probably fed up with talk about Covid-19.

This map seems quite good. You can animate it to show how the disease has spread across the planet.

With a vaccine likely to be some way in the future, I hope they can re-purpose some existing anti-viral drug to lessen Covid-19s effects. Some are already being trialled.

Another rally postponed

I have been informed about another rally that has been postponed. If the background makes this hard to read I apologise, but this is as I received it.

Sunday 22 MARCH : POSTPONED

CW BOOT CAMP. Stirling and District ARS, Unit 68, Bandeath Industrial Estate, Throsk FK7 7NP GMDX in conjunction with Stirling & District ARS are running a CW Boot Camp in Stirling. Great opportunity to improve you CW skills, registration open to all. Further information at https://www.gmdx.org.uk/cwbootcamp.

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

20m FT8

For about 15 minutes, I have been on 20m FT8 with 10W to the tiny indoor loop.

Already over 40 stations have been spotted, but no spots yet on TX. Although I thought that I chose a clear frequency, I must be swamped by a big station that I cannot see. If this persists, I might try a QSY.

UPDATE 1047z: Now QSYed.  70 stations spotted and I have been spotted by 3 Europeans so far.

UPDATE 1345z: So far today, 31 stations have spotted my 10W 20m FT8 including 4 in the USA.

UPDATE 1505z: Now 36 stations spotting me today so far.

UPDATE 1703z: Now 77 stations spotting my 10W FT8 on 20m. On 20m FT8 RX 442 stations spotted with best DX E20EHQ (9459km).

Amateur VLF

The photo shows the amateur VLF activity received here 9 years ago.

Amateur VLF activity is only possible with very stable signals and very long integration periods.

The exception is earth-mode, which can cover some remarkable ranges with low power and simple equipment. My best DX on earth-mode is nearly 6km with just 5W.

Wicken Fen on Tuesday - NOT amateur radio

This is me at Wicken Fen on Tuesday.

Sunspots - Thursday March 19th 2020

Solar flux is 72 and the SSN 0. A=6 and K=3.

Eurovision Song Contest cancelled - NOT amateur radio

This event has been cancelled as a result of the Coronavirus outbreak.

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-51870325

OFCOM and shared rural networks

There are more details on the OFCOM website about efforts by the big 4 mobile network providers to provide a shared rural network for 4G in rural areas in the coming years.