Kingfisher - NOT amateur radio

It's some time since I last saw a kingfisher. My son saw one a few weeks ago. 

The photo shows the one seen by an ex work colleague (Richard) early this morning whilst walking his dog. 

Cottages - NOT amateur radio

 

The collage shows some of the lovely cottages not far from where we live. 

There are some very pretty villages in this part of England.

15m FT8 QRP (Wednesday)

At 0850z I turned on my 2.5W FT8 station using the tiny indoor loop antenna. All quiet so far.

UPDATE 1514z:  7 stations have spotted my QRP TX so far today.  Plenty of stations spotted on RX.

Sunspots - Wednesday April 7th 2021

 Solar flux is 74 and the SSN 11. A=3 and K=2.

Dalham walk - NOT amateur radio

This morning was bright with a cold northerly wind. We went for one of our favourite walks around the village of Dalham near Newmarket.  This has some hills (unusual here in this part of the UK!) and some lovely thatched cottages. Dalham is on the chalk hills whereas much of Cambridgeshire is in the Fens and hence with peat soil.

Most of the mud has dried now. There were some great daffodils out.

OFCOM updates

Every month OFCOM updates its "Communications Monthly" with the latest statistics it holds. See the OFCOM website for details. The latest is March.

2m FT8 QRP (Tuesday)

At the moment I am on 2m FT8 QRP with 2.5W and the big-wheel omni antenna. So far, I have been copied by 6 stations on TX with the furthermost GI6ATZ (479km). On RX 9 stations spotted with the furthermost 2E0ERL (192km). I called him, but my 2.5W was not enough!  It is now 1555z.

UPDATE 1719z:  1 QSO so far. 15 stations spotted on RX with the furthermost DG1KKD (472km). 8 stations spotted my QRP on TX.

Tending the bees - NOT amateur radio

 

My brother's grandson tending bees this morning.  He has got all the right kit!

2m activity contest this evening (UKAC)

A reminder that the first Tuesday of each month is the 2m activity contest (UKAC) organised by the RSGB. This starts at 1900z. The purpose is to drum up activity. In my opinion, activity levels on SSB are always high.

This is a chance to work a few new squares even if you do not submit an entry. I have always found this very friendly.

UPDATE 2035z: Used the IC-705 for the first time on SSB. Same number of QSOs but quite a different technique when you can see the whole SSB band in one go. Just look for the signals and QSY there. 

Sunspots - Tuesday April 6th 2021

 Solar flux is 72 and the SSN (sunspot number) 11. A=5 and K=0.