OFCOM

OFCOM has an announcement on its website about an upcoming spectrum auction for 700MHz and 3.6GHz spectrum.

See the OFCOM website for more information. 

Israel via Oscar 100

This morning there were 2 Israeli stations heard via the Oscar 100 geosynchronous satellite. One called CQ for ages with no responses (4X4N special event station). Only 4 stations active in the narrowband section.

See https://eshail.batc.org.uk/nb/.

6m FT8 QRP (Friday)

At about 0920z, I switched on my 6m FT8 QRP (2.5W to the V2000 vertical). It is now 0930z.  Already 1 station has spotted me - G0PQO (50km) on TX and 1 station spotted on RX - G4FKA (207km).

UPDATE 1330z: No others yet.

UPDATE 1457z: Now 2 Gs spotted on RX. Turned up the audio drive from the SignaLink USB, but ALC still not active.

What is this? - NOT amateur radio

On our walk yesterday we saw this. It looks like sheep's wool but isn't.  It was on a muddy path.  Is it some sort of fungus? This was in the UK (East Anglia).

How do they do it?

 

On Amazon Prime I noticed this UHF (446MHz?) transceiver for £11.95.  Included are a charger and earpiece /mic. 

Another supplier has a pair for just £16.99 a pair.

When I worked at Pye Telecom we would struggle to make the charger for this price! Things have changed a lot in the last 20 years. It must be sheer hell being a UK PMR manufacturer these days. I am sure there are even cheaper ones if you look.

Assuming they ship across the world and make a profit, just how do they do it?

Sunspots - Friday December 18th 2020

Solar flux is 82 and the SSN 12.  A=2 and K=0.  

Horse feeding - NOT amateur radio

 

This horse seems to have taken a fancy to me, probably because I fed it grass! It followed me for some time.

Muddy walk - NOT amateur radio

The sun was shining so we did a walk around the village of Reach. It was very muddy! The photo shows my wife. 

Next time we'll take our hiking poles to help us stop falling. It is good to walk when the sun is so great. At this time of year the trees are bare, which helps us see further. 

Back in the spring it was dry under foot. We have now done this walk in every season. We even saw a few snowdrops out.  

Personally, I preferred walking when there was more evident life. Back in the autumn we picked apples and blackberries.

6m FT8 QRP (Thursday)

At 0930z, my 2.5W to the V2000 vertical was turned on. Just 1 spot of me by G0PQO (50km) so far today.

UPDATE 2125z: Just 1 G spotted me and I have spotted 1 G on RX. Poor. Now QRT.

First real radio

In the early 1960s my dad bought a DST100 (ex tank radio from) a local garage. It was deaf and weighed a ton. We took it to a local amateur G3CHN who worked his magic on it and it was my main SWL receiver for several years. 

Looking back, it copied some impressive DX. It was so heavy that my dad made a special shelf for it. I could not lift it on my own. These days a tiny SDR dongle is probably better!

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/dst100.