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| River Cam |
28 Jun 2020
Breezy walk - NOT amateur radio
10m WSPR TX beacon
Already on 10m WSPR TX using 500mW to the tiny indoor loop antenna. Already spotted in Germany.
UPDATE 1158z: Already 9 unique stations spotting me.
UPDATE 1400z: 16 unique stations have spotted my 500mW 10m WSPR so far today. At some point OZ7IT was getting me at an incredible +10dB S/N. Considering my 500mW to my indoor loop, this is amazing.
UPDATE 2146z: QRT.
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| 10m WSPR spots so far today |
UPDATE 1400z: 16 unique stations have spotted my 500mW 10m WSPR so far today. At some point OZ7IT was getting me at an incredible +10dB S/N. Considering my 500mW to my indoor loop, this is amazing.
UPDATE 2146z: QRT.
2m FT8 (1W)
As yesterday, I am on 2m FT8 using 1W to the big-wheel omni antenna. Plenty of stations spotting me.
UPDATE 1748z: After a break of several hours I am again TXing (1W) on 2m FT8. The maps shows where my 1W to the big-wheel has reached today so far.
UPDATE 2040z: QRT on 2m now.
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| Stations spotting my 2m FT8 1W so far today |
UPDATE 2040z: QRT on 2m now.
Salcombe, South Devon, UK - NOT amateur radio
As a young child, I was brought up and lived in Salcombe, Devon. These days it is a playground for rich second home owners. It has been a holiday destination for centuries, although it is still very beautiful, In 1959 my parents sold our terraced house for £1.8k. These now sell for £500-600k to second home owners.
27 Jun 2020
Wind and rain - NOT amateur radio
A few days ago it was very hot and sunny. Today is very different with strong winds, showers and dark clouds. The garden needs it, but I prefer warmer (not hot) settled sunny days.
2m FT8 (1W)
A few moments ago I QSYed from 6m to 2m FT8, using 1W from the FT817ND into the big-wheel omni. My signal is still between +7 and +9dB S/N on the grabber at G0LRD. So far, 9 spots with the best being by GI6ATZ (479km).
It is amazing how well 1W to the big-wheel omni does on FT8.
Clearly I am having no issues with DIG on the FT817ND on 2m.
UPDATE 1340z: 7 stations spotted so far on 2m FT8 RX.
UPDATE 1428z: 13 stations in 3 countries have spotted me so far today on 2m FT8 TX with 1W. On 2m FT8 RX still 7 stations spotted.
UPDATE 1916z: 18 stations have spotted my 2m FT8 1W to the big-wheel omni today. Amazing.
It is amazing how well 1W to the big-wheel omni does on FT8.
Clearly I am having no issues with DIG on the FT817ND on 2m.
UPDATE 1340z: 7 stations spotted so far on 2m FT8 RX.
UPDATE 1428z: 13 stations in 3 countries have spotted me so far today on 2m FT8 TX with 1W. On 2m FT8 RX still 7 stations spotted.
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| Stations spotting my 2m FT8 1W to 1916z |
60m and WRC15
I rarely use the 60m band.
WRC15 (5 years ago!) allocated a 15kHz band at 60m to radio amateurs on a secondary basis. Some countries have allocated this, but as far as I know the UK has not. The WRC allocation is low power and the argument is the UK allocations are more generous and partly cover the WRC band. Personally, I would prefer a harmonised band at lower power to the split UK allocations which I find confusing.
See https://rsgb.org/main/operating/band-plans/hf/5mhz/
WRC15 (5 years ago!) allocated a 15kHz band at 60m to radio amateurs on a secondary basis. Some countries have allocated this, but as far as I know the UK has not. The WRC allocation is low power and the argument is the UK allocations are more generous and partly cover the WRC band. Personally, I would prefer a harmonised band at lower power to the split UK allocations which I find confusing.
See https://rsgb.org/main/operating/band-plans/hf/5mhz/
Buying new radios
When I buy radios, they usually last me for many years. Last year I bought an FT991A, which is a great radio from Yaesu, even though I usually run it at only 10W. With a suitable PSU, it can run 100W.
As a QRP man, I am quite tempted by the new IC-705 which covers all HF, 6m, 2m and 70cm, but am put off by the high price here in the UK. It also supports D-STAR, Bluetooth and wi-fi. It also has its own battery and GPS. Nice radio, but a shame about the price!
At one time it was meant to include 4m, but this has been dropped. It is not clear if this will be available in a later firmware upgrade. An auto ATU has never been offered.
I don't think it will be available in the UK until later in the year. It has just gone on sale in Japan.
See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/new
As a QRP man, I am quite tempted by the new IC-705 which covers all HF, 6m, 2m and 70cm, but am put off by the high price here in the UK. It also supports D-STAR, Bluetooth and wi-fi. It also has its own battery and GPS. Nice radio, but a shame about the price!
At one time it was meant to include 4m, but this has been dropped. It is not clear if this will be available in a later firmware upgrade. An auto ATU has never been offered.
I don't think it will be available in the UK until later in the year. It has just gone on sale in Japan.
See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/new
6m FT8 RX
At the moment, I am concentrating on 6m FT8 RX with the V2000 vertical omni. So far, mostly EU stations spotted plus 4Z5AV (3633km).
UPDATE 0958z: 186 stations spotted so far this morning on 6m FT8 RX.
UPDATE 1245z: 365 6m FT8 stations spotted so far today on RX. Although I get full power on FM, for some reason there is no output on DIG with the FT817ND. On the FT991A all is fine. It worked fine before. I suspect finger trouble, so I shall again later.
UPDATE 1635z: Mystery solved! It appears the FT817ND produces no output above 2.4kHz audio (this may be 2.7kHz) whereas the FT991A produces output to audio frequencies to almost 3kHz. When I set the audio to a much lower frequency it produced plenty of output on 6m. I found this be accident.
UPDATE 0958z: 186 stations spotted so far this morning on 6m FT8 RX.
UPDATE 1245z: 365 6m FT8 stations spotted so far today on RX. Although I get full power on FM, for some reason there is no output on DIG with the FT817ND. On the FT991A all is fine. It worked fine before. I suspect finger trouble, so I shall again later.
UPDATE 1635z: Mystery solved! It appears the FT817ND produces no output above 2.4kHz audio (this may be 2.7kHz) whereas the FT991A produces output to audio frequencies to almost 3kHz. When I set the audio to a much lower frequency it produced plenty of output on 6m. I found this be accident.
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