Sunspots - Wednesday September 22nd 2020

Solar flux is 72 and the SSN 0. A=6 and K=2.

NanoVNA spectrum analyser?

For about $50 you can buy a NanoVNA. This is excellent value. I have never used one, but I believe it can be used as a spectrum analyser. If so, this brings spectrum analysers well into amateur budgets. I am half tempted. There are several YouTube videos on the NanoVNA, although I have not yet watched any.

If you have one, please tell us how you found it.

SPRAT on DVD

In what is probably the best value around, you can buy every issue of SPRAT on DVD from 1-174 for just £5 plus postage for members of GQRP club. It is more if you are not a member. It is worth joining just for the DVD. 

Many times I have said that SPRAT is brilliant. The latest version, 184, has just come out.

See http://www.gqrp.com/

Walk collage - NOT amateur radio

 

The photo is a collage of our walk early this morning.

Hepburn tropo forecast

A useful resource (although I rarely use it!) is the Hepburn tropo forecast. I think this is done for all areas on the planet, although the link is for western Europe. This could be useful if you are a keen VHF/UHF DXer. Click the main map to get forecasts for future dates.

See http://www.dxinfocentre.com/tropo_eur.html

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

Since arriving home from our walk and doing some gardening, I have been on 2m FT8. So far (at 1050z)  40 spots of me in 3 countries and 1 QSO.

UPDATE 1947z:  Now 78 spots of me in 9 countries today on 2m. 5 QSOs. I am convinced that these sort of 2m results are possible with 10W and a big-wheel at any time.  It seems far too common to be due to aircraft. A more probable hypothesis is that this is some other scatter mode that FT8 allows simple stations to access. Somewhere I read that FT8 is about 18dB better than SSB. That is like changing a dipole to a huge beam! Nearly every time I go on 2m FT8 I get spotted in N.Ireland. This is far too random for aircraft surely!

Marsh harrier - NOT amateur radio

We went for a walk around the village of Reach earlier. On the way we picked blackberries and saw a marsh harrier and a few house martins. 

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

Sunspots - Tuesday September 22nd 2020

Solar flux is 71 and the SSN 0. A=3 and K=2.

East Cambs Net

Last night we had a record number of people on our East Cambs net on 2m FM. There were so many I forgot the order! When I left the net I returned to 2m FT8.

Chromebook update - NOT amateur radio

In all, I have owned a Chromebook for about 10 months. I wondered if this decision would be regretted, but the complete opposite is the case. The battery lasts all day (it was used several times yesterday and still has over 8 hours battery life left), it boots up in seconds and I have yet to find anything it cannot do. It is brilliant and far better than my Windows laptop. My wife needed a new laptop, so she too has a Chromebook.