2m UKAC activity contest this evening

At 1900z this evening is the April 2m leg of the UKAC activity contest.

Usually, this attracts quite a few portable stations. This time we may hear more fixed stations.

Activity levels are usually high on SSB and there is no compulsion to submit logs in the contest. I normally do, but if you are free perhaps come on 2m SSB and give a few points away. This is a fun contest.

15m FT8 TX and RX (2.5W to the tiny indoor loop)

Yesterday I tried 10m FT8 with limited successs (just 1 spot), so today with the same rig and antenna I am giving 15m FT8 a go. The gear was turned on at about 0805z.

UPDATE 0840z:  No spots so far on RX or TX today.

UPDATE 1314z: 13 stations (including 1 Brazilian) spotted so far today on 15m FT8 RX, but no spots of me.  It looks like I was only running about 100mW, so this has now been increased to more like 2.5W.

Local walks - NOT amateur radio

One of the good things about the lock down is we are doing more local walks. Most days we go somewhere.

We have probably walked more recently than we would have done. OK we generally walk locally, but it is fun exploring new walks with few people around. Certainly everyone we have seen is observing social distancing.

Chicks - NOT amateur radio

Just in time for Easter, our son and his children has witnessed the birth of chicks as the photo shows. These were born to a chicken they look after at school.

This is a strange time for us all. At least they have the little chicks to enjoy. This is the first Easter we will not have seen the grandchildren in person. Thank goodness for modern video technology.

Online Foundation exam

The RSGB has moved to online Foundation licence exams. This simplifies things, but runs the risk of being abused. At the moment I am unsure if this will be an issue or not.

See https://rsgb.org/main/clubs-training/for-students/foundation/

Elecraft K1 CW transceiver

Many years ago, I built this 4 band HF transceiver from a kit.

A few years ago it was sold.

In its day, it was very good. These days, many HF operators prefer FT8 to CW as FT8 works with even weaker signals but it does need a shack PC to run the free software. The beauty of CW is gear can be very simple! The K1 produced over 5W maximum.

As I recall, mine covered 40, 30, 20 and 15m CW. I am not sure if the K1 is still available new.

SETI - NOT amateur radio

As far as I know, the SETI program ( the search for extra-terrestrial intelligent life) has been going since the 1960s. To this date, I am not aware of any success. I suppose it is just possible that certain governments have kept results secret, but I think this is highly unlikely.

The widely quoted Drake equation predicted we would find many such civilisations "out there".  Oddly, not one has been found!  Something must be wrong with how we are searching. After all this time, surely we would have spotted some evidence?

The evidence for planets around distant stars is growing daily, yet still the hunt goes on. I wonder what the issue is?

As far as I know, we have still to get any evidence of life on other planets at all, whether intelligent or not!

I am not saying stop looking, but I am puzzled.

GQRP SPRAT

Many times before I have mentioned how good SPRAT magazine is.

This comes out every quarter and is now in full colour A5 format.  Most of the back issues are available on a DVD and it is worth joining just for these. If you enjoy simple projects you will find lots to inspire you!

It is only a few pounds to join GQRP and the DVD is heavily discounted for members. Most editions have something simple to make.

Many of the founder members are now SK, but these have been replaced by keen, younger folk.

See http://www.gqrp.com/sprat.htm

Sunspots - Tuesday April 7th 2020

Solar flux is 70 and the SSN 0. A=3 and K=0.

East Cambridgeshire 2m FM net

Most Mondays on 144.575MHz FM we meet at 1900z. Since the Coronavirus pandemic, we seem to have more people. All in the area are welcome to join in.