Flatford Mill - NOT amateur radio

This time in 2016, we visited Flatford Mill in Suffolk, UK. This was made famous by the painter John Constable. It is about 50 miles from here by car.

Last evening on 2m FT8 QRP

Last evening, I went on 2m FT8 QRP with 2.5W and the big-wheel omni antenna.  In all, I was spotted by 8 stations in 3 countries with the furthermost being EI2FG (565km). On RX, I spotted 3 stations in 2 countries.

Sunspots - Thursday January 28th 2021

Solar flux is 76 and the SSN 26. A=11 and K=1. 

10m FT8 QRP (Wednesday)

 At 1507z, I QSYed to 10m FT8 using 2.5W to the tiny indoor loop. So far, no spots.

Oscar 100 activity

Every few weeks I try to give my impression of activity on the narrow-band transponder of this geosynchronous satellite.  I do this by looking at the web SDR at Goonhilly in Cornwall. This is very unscientific.

My impression is activity levels are slightly up. I looked at mid-afternoon in Europe on a weekday. There are more people at home at the moment because of various lockdowns due to Covid-19.

See https://eshail.batc.org.uk/nb/.

Primroses - NOT amateur radio

Over winter we always plant primroses for colour in an otherwise dull time of the year before the daffodils appear to brighten things up. In the spring these are replaced by summer annuals. 

We bought these from our village nursery. They were healthy plants and we will definitely use them again.

Normal times - NOT amateur radio

In normal times Cambridge has lots of bikes. Of course we are not in normal times. 

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.