15m FT8 QRP (Wednesday)

It is now 0822z. A few moments ago my 15m FT8 QRP was turned on with 2.5W to the tiny indoor loop. So far, 11 stations spotted on RX and nobody has spotted me on TX.

UPDATE 1048z:  8 stations have so far spotted my QRP on TX and 126 stations have been spotted on RX.

UPDATE 1458z:  188 stations spotted so far on 15m FT8 RX and 9 stations spotted me so far on TX. 2 QSOs. The map shows the stations spotted here so far on the loop: I am impressed that something so small works so well.

Elecraft virtual K4

 The latest Elecraft newsletter has details of the virtual K4 to allow remote control of the K4 e. g. over the Internet. See the Elecraft website. 

Sunspots - Wednesday January 27th 2021

Solar flux is 76 and the SSN 23.  A=12 and K=3.

2m FT8 QRP (Tuesday)

A few moments ago, I QSYed to 2m FT8 QRP using 2.5W and the big-wheel omni antenna.

UPDATE 1900z: Just a single spot of my QRP so far, from DF0MU (475km).  Nothing yet on RX.

15m FT8 QRP (Tuesday)

This morning I am on 15m FT8 with 2.5W and the tiny indoor loop on the shack windowsill. Already spotted by SV8JNL (2485km) on TX and 19 stations already spotted on 15m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1425z:  230 stations spotted so far on 15m FT8 RX with the tiny indoor loop and 4 people have so far spotted my QRP TX. The furthermost on RX is LU1FJP (11306km) in Argentina. On TX QRP the furthermost is RK4FF (2964km).

Stations spotted
on 15m FT8 today

UPDATE 1655z:  370 stations spotted so far on 15m FT8 RX today.

UPDATE 1845z:  405 stations spotted on 15m FT8 RX today. Soon to QSY to 2m FT8.

Mill Leat - NOT amateur radio

This photo was on a few days ago as part of a collage. It was taken at nearby Anglesey Abbey. 

Yaesu FT7 transceiver

My first commercial HF rig was a 10W Yaesu FT7. It was used mainly on 10m SSB and enabled me to work all over the world with simple, low, wire dipoles. 

It was later sold to a friend, who still has it. 

It only covered part of 10m, used no synthesisers and had a modular design. It was very quiet on RX and was one of the best rigs I have ever owned.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/ft7 .

The video shows the FT7B which is the 50W version.

Shack photo

 

This photo of me in the shack was taken in September 2013.   

Since then, there have been a few changes.

Memory prices

A few moments ago I ordered a 16GB micro SD card for my XYL's camera. I was amazed how low cost this was. This is from a reputable manufacturer.  Just a few years ago the cost would have been very high. 

Now you can buy micro SD cards with over 1TB!!  At some point I shall buy a 256GB (or even larger) memory card for all my photos. 

A few years from now I expect 1TB micro SD cards will be dirt cheap and seem so small.

WSJT-X rc4

The latest release candidate of WSJT-X has been released. It is rc4. When I tried to install it on my Windows 10 machine it kept blocking it. After going through the hoops several times I eventually installed it. This version runs until Feb 2nd when I expect to go through all this hassle again. I know why this is done: to keep the PC safe. rc3 no longer works after Jan 26th.

WSJT-X is used for FT8 and WSPR here

See https://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/k1jt/wsjtx.html