15m FT8 RX

Since about 0740z I have been on 15m FT8 RX using the FT817ND and the indoor loop.  Already a couple of European stations spotted.

UPDATE 1013z: 28 Europeans spotted so far today on 15m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1455z: 43 stations spotted today on 15m FT8 RX so far.

Dahlias - NOT amateur radio

Anglesey Abbey gardens are open with pre-booking and the dahlias are looking good. 

Home QTH

The photo shows an aerial shot of the home QTH . As you can see, the windmill is right next door! 

Sunspots - Sunday September 6th 2020

 Solar flux is 69 and the SSN 0. A=6 and K=2. 

Reach - NOT amateur radio

Reach is about 2 miles from Burwell, where I live. It is a sleepy village with a big green with an annual fair. Its only shop closed some years ago. The photo shows some of the lovely old cottages around the green.

International Space Station - cross band amateur repeater

 Southgate News has a piece on the recent commissioning of the crossband repeater on the ISS.

See http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2020/september/iss-cross-band-repeater-activated.htm#.X1OT32jYq00

QRP convention online

Because of the Covid-19 restrictions the GQRP convention is online this weekend. GQRP members can access the talks for £4. Normally it is held in Telford. Maybe next year?

See http://www.gqrp.com/GQRP_Conference_Agenda.pdf

472kHz WSPR

We are now approaching the DX season on 472kHz. Last autumn, I used my homebrew transverter and was regularly spotted in Norway despite using 10mW ERP WSPR and my earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. The transverter puts out about 12W into 50 ohms, but the "antenna" is quite inefficient. 

When I left the band earlier in the year, I think there was a break in the connection to the "antenna" which I need to mend.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/mflf/472wspr

See also https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/mflf/472khz_tvtr

Antenna choices

As mentioned yesterday, I want to erect an external antenna for 10m, probably a dipole or inverted vee. It occurs to me that a nested pair of dipoles for 10m and 15m is still small and not much more difficult to erect. 10m is my favourite band, but 15m is often good when 10m is not. Having both bands available would give me choice. Neither would require an ATU.

Peregrine - NOT amateur radio

Our grandson loves animals. His best friend's dad is a vet. The photo shows our grandson recently with a peregrine. These falcons are one of the fastest birds in the world: they swoop down on their prey at great speeds.