10m FT8

It is now 0750z. For about an hour I have been on 10m FT8 with the tiny indoor loop antenna and 5W.  So far 15 stations spotted and 1 spot of me.

UPDATE 1057z: 15 spots of me so far today.

Getting older - NOT amateur radio

At 71 and a few years longer lived than my dad and granddad, I guess it is fairly natural to contemplate mortality.

Years ago, life seemed endless. These days I am more aware just how finite life is. I suppose I could live another 30 years or I could die today. At one time I seemed invincible whereas I now feel in my last years. More of my friends have died.

Generally I am a "glass half full" kind of person, so I still think long term.

Sunspots - Friday July 17th 2020

Solar flux is 69 and the SSN 0. A=4 and K=1.

Finningley rally postponed

Today I heard about another postponed rally. As before, this is as I received it, so the background may make it hard to read on some screens. The summary is the Finningley Rally has been postponed.

Sunday 19 JULY : POSTPONED

FINNINGLEY ARS RALLY. The Hurst Communications Centre, Belton Road, Sandtoft, Doncaster DN8 5SX Doors open 10am. Free parking. Massive indoor / outdoor traders area with major traders and club stalls from microwave components to QRP kits. Hot food and drinks all day. Admission £3. Contact Kevin G3AAF on 07831 614640 or Kevin.Avery@tunstall.com 0r Martin M0HOM on 07966 479 195 or martin.m0hom@gmail.com.

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

Yet more - NOT amateur radio

It seems that every space in our village is being used to erect new houses. These are not houses for the people that really need them, but large homes for the well healed that work in nearby Cambridge. I guess these maximise profits for the builders.

The latest are being built on what was a field. I have no idea how many homes are being built, but I would expect at least 4. It would be nice to be a "fly on the wall" to see what was the village was like years ago. The trouble is that when new places go up you cannot remember what was there before!

10m FT8 (5W to indoor loop)

It is now 0912z. Since about 0900z, I have been on 10m FT8. A couple of European spots of my 5W already received and the best DX on 10m FT8 RX is JA9CVH (8770km) in Japan.

The loop 

This tiny indoor loop continues to amaze me. It is just fixed to a chair in the downstairs shack yet I continue to get fantastic results.

UPDATE 1904z: 110 stations copied on 10m FT8 RX and 26 stations have spotted my 5W (or less) on 10m FT8 TX today. In some situations I was using 3W. Several QSOs had (all within Europe).

UPDATE 2106z:  130 stations spotted on RX and 30 stations spotted my 5W or less 10m FT8 TX. Several QSOs, all European via Es.

Me in 1968 - NOT amateur radio

One of my Facebook memories today was this photo of me in 1968 when I still had lots of hair!

World population - NOT amateur radio

According to recent research the world population is expected to peak mid century and then fall dramatically as the birth rate nose dives. One consequence will be more old people and fewer youngsters. The concern is taxes and care of an ageing population.

It probably means more migration and different employment opportunities. From a world resources view point I think this is good news: more food to go around and less environmental damage.

QRP transceiver ideas in RSGB RadCom

FETer 80m CW transceiver

It was pleasing to see my article in the August 2020 edition of RadCom on ultra simple QRP transceiver ideas. There are a couple of circuit ideas, one for 80m and one for 10m. 

These are extremely simple circuits that would make nice wet weekend lockdown projects. One uses just a single FET and the other just 2 transistors. Remember, these are complete transceivers!

As I state in the article, please don't be afraid to experiment. My hope is that, like me, you adapt the circuits to find what works best for you. The circuits are simple and like all simple rigs, they are compromises.

Both work and have been used on the air. More details are on my main website and YouTube channel.

ICOM IC-705

Apart from the price (too high), this is "my" sort of radio.

It produces 5W with the supplied battery pack and 10W with an external power supply. It covers all HF bands, 6m, 2m and 70cm with all modes. It may support 4m in a later firmware update. 5W is enough to work the world, even more true with FT8, even with simple wire antennas.

It also supports wireless LANs, D-STAR and Bluetooth. It has a built-in GPS receiver and micro SD slot. It is now on sale in Japan and soon will be across the world. Often there are a few bugs in early releases that are corrected with hardware or firmware changes. It is worth waiting for these to be corrected.

If I have missed any recent videos try searching for IC-705 on YouTube.

I am quite surprised that other manufacturers have not announced a rival. At the moment ICOM have this world beating marketing scoop all to themselves, so they set the market price. If Yaesu made their version the price would drop. It seems Yaesu have yet again missed the boat. The ICOM product was announced a year ago and Yaesu would appear to have done absolutely nothing. The FT818, when it eventually appeared, was a huge wasted marketing chance. In my view Yaesu have become followers and not the leaders they once were.

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