DXCC news

Many years ago I ceased chasing DX. If I work DX then great, but I am not prepared to invest in high power rigs, towers, linears and beams as well as hours and hours calling. Life is just too short. If this "floats your boat" that is fine. Each to their own. Just count me out.

A useful list of current DXCC entities is shown on the Southgate News website.

See http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2020/july/dxcc-report-26-07.htm#.Xx8dQIjYq00

Sunspots - Tuesday July 28th 2020

Solar flux is 71 and the sunspot number 11. A=4 and K=1.

10m WSPR TX (500mW to the indoor loop)

Whilst on the East Cambs 2m net,  I had the 10m WSPR beacon running. I was getting spots from Denmark.  It is now 1945z and it is still on.

UPDATE 2030z:  5 unique stations spotting my 10m WSPR tonight. I have only been on for about 90 minutes.

Fungus - NOT amateur radio

We saw the fungus in the photo on our walk yesterday. It was on an old tree stump.

Swifts (birds) - NOT amateur radio

Swifts are migratory birds that spend a lot of time in Africa. They breed in the UK. These birds sleep on the wing and are a common sight in UK skies in early summer. These stay for only a few months. For several weeks these birds can be seen screaming in the skies above our heads. Quite suddenly we realise they are not there any more. The skies are quiet. They usually arrive here in late April and early May.  The arrival of the first swift is always significant for me.

The only time they land is to breed.  Numbers have fallen as their nest sites are disappearing. The RSPB is trying to encourage us to erect swift nestboxes to reverse this. I hope it succeeds.

See https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/swift/

New radio?

About a year ago I bought a Yaesu FT991A.  At the right price I may, at a later date, trade this in for an ICOM IC-705. I am a QRP man and only use the FT991A at low power.

With simple antennas, the FT991A has worked some impressive DX on the VHF bands especially.

Often with new rigs there are teething troubles that are fixed with firmware or hardware improvements. I am in no hurry. Certainly my advice is avoid early models if buying new.

I like the features and coverage of the IC-705 and the fact it has no fan and can run at 5W off the attached battery which can be charged via the USB lead. It has D-STAR, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS. I wish it had 4m and an internal auto-ATU.

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

Currency fluctuations - NOT amateur radio

In recent days, the exchange rates of the UK Pound against the Euro, US Dollar and Japanese Yen have been varying quite bit. Against the US Dollar it has appreciated quite a bit whereas against the Euro it has lost value.

I guess in such matters one has take a long view. Against the Euro I doubt things will be clearer until the end of 2020 when the EU-UK transition period ends. Against the US Dollar I guess a lot hinges on the Presidential election in November.

The more immediate issue is the Covid-19 pandemic which rather turns things on their heads. The whole world faces the prospect of high unemployment and recession. We are in for hard times ahead. Let us hope we all emerge into a kinder, cleaner world. Things will change. This is a wake-up call for us all.

365project (a picture a day) - NOT amateur radio

For the last 7 years both my wife and I have done the 365project, where we post a picture every day. Some people post astounding photos, whereas others use it as a kind of visual diary. Most of mine would win no prizes! It is good to see how the grandchildren have changed. Looking back over the years, they have changed a lot.

If you are happy with others seeing your postings it is totally free. Otherwise you can choose other things like more albums or total privacy for $19.99 a year. This is totally separate from Microsoft.

One posted today was of a longhorn in New Zealand, shown in the photo.

See https://365project.org/

2m FT8

So far, it is now 0943z, I have been spotted by 8 stations on 2m FT8 (10W and the big-wheel omni antenna) with best DX being a spot by EI8IQ (462km). On 2m FT8 RX 7 stations spotted with the best DX being EA1SA (1034km) in northern Spain. I suspect this is tropo. No QSOs yet.

UPDATE 1055z:  So far today, I have been spotted by 11 stations in 3 countries.

UPDATE 1225z:  16 spots on 2m FT8 of me so far. Best QSO was with F6ANO (430km) near Paris.

UPDATE 1727z:  51 spots in 7 countries of my 10W 2m FT8 so far today. On RX 48 stations spotted here in 6 countries. No Es today, but still pretty good.

6m FT8

After the surprise on 2m FT8 yesterday, I think I shall go on 6m FT8 today. The gear will be turned on shortly.  It is now 0815z. As usual, I shall be using  10W and the V2000 vertical omni fed with low cost CB coax.

UPDATE 0928z: After a very brief time on 6m FT8 where the TX was not working correctly due to a high SWR (water ingress?) I have moved to 2m. Plenty of Es evident on 6m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1831z:  I am back on 6m FT8. I think the SWR issue must have been something to do with wet as things seem normal again now it is dry. 47 spots of my 6m FT8 in just a few minutes! On 6m FT8 RX 31 stations spotted already, mostly Es. At almost the end of July we are still seeing plenty of Es on 6m.

UPDATE 2120z: 64 spots of my 10W 6m FT8 TX to the V2000 vertical omni antenna.