137kHz

At the old QTH I was active on 137kHz. The photo shows my 140uW ERP QRSS signal at 101km. With a "proper" antenna and decent powers, who knows what is possible? I have not (yet) been on 137kHz TX from this QTH.  

You may find this link of interest. Do not try the links on the side. This was my old site that has not been maintained for many years.  

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp/Home/136k

Sunspots - Monday September 7th 2020

 Solar flux is 70 and the SSN 0. A= 4 and K=1.

Long hair - NOT amateur radio

Our 12 year old grandson insists on having long hair. We can't stand it, but are wasting our time if we protest! This is one battle not worth fighting. He is a teenager in a few months.

LiPo batteries and chargers?

It seems the radio control people make wide use of LiPo rechargeable batteries these days. My own experiences go back to 2008 with LiIon batteries and these were like little bombs if not carefully charged and maintained. 

It taught me a lesson: never leave a LiIon pack on charge unsupervised. Failures were rare (about 1 in 150000) but if not carefully looked after and charged they could burst into fire. I suspect many laptop manufacturers kept very quiet about failures fearing the costs and damage to reputation of recalls.

I know nothing much about LiPo batteries, but I hope technology has moved on and they are safer.

For rigs  like the FT817 and IC-705 I suspect they could make useful external battery packs capable of many hours of use. 

What I need are recommendations for LiPo battery packs and chargers, preferably from Amazon Prime rather than eBay. What would you recommend?

2m FT8 (10W and the big-wheel omni antenna)

At just before 1500z, I QSYed to 2m FT8. My TX is running about 10W. It is now 1518z. So far, 8 spots of me with the best being a spot by EI2FG (565km) in Eire (IO61). 

It seems that with FT8 and simple antennas great distances can always be achieved. Most sessions result in stations in 6-8 countries spotting me and these usually include N.Ireland, the Isle of Man and Germany. 2m FT8 rarely disappoints.

UPDATE 2037z: 22 spots of my 10W so far today. 

UPDATE 2140z:  QRT. 

All comments moderated - NOT amateur radio

As I have had a few dubious comments in recent weeks, I took the (reluctant) decision to moderate all comments.

Although I try to moderate these very quickly it may mean a delay between you posting and the comment appearing on the blog.

Most comments are fine, but a few may have contained malicious links. Please accept my apology for any delay.

Hair! - NOT amateur radio

A very long time ago (1967) I did have hair! This photo was on my University of Liverpool student's union card when I just started in 1967. 

I was a real "country bumpkin" in those days.

10m loop

This photo has been on before I think, but it is the only 10m antenna I currently have and it has worked well with 4W FT8 indoors for the last few months. I have been pleasantly surprised by just how well it has worked. 

VLF earth-mode

Some years ago G6ALB did some earth-mode tests with me. He was running 40W and was a very strong signal with me 3km away in the next village as the photo shows. He is the QRSS signal, not the wobbly line! This was at the old QTH. This was at 8.7kHz.

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.