10m FT8 RX today (Tuesday) with the 10FT8R and the tiny indoor loop

It is now 0855z. I have been on 10m FT8 RX for about 30 minutes and have spotted 11 stations so far using the 4 transistor RX and indoor loop.

UPDATE 1601z  So far today, 98 stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX. See map.

The complete crystal replacement?

Thanks for the feedback on the Si5351 as a replacement for crystals. 

It would appear that a low cost micro-controller has to be put alongside the Si5351 synthesiser. I wonder if anyone has a complete solution designed and tested. Also, what about programming?

It would seem that there is a real need for a simple KISS way to replace crystals, so I'd be surprised if someone has not already done this. According to Peter Marks the controller should only be a few dollars. This feedback (that you have to tell the Si5351 the frequency every time) is also what Jay told me.

It looks like a total solution that also replaces the oscillator should be possible for under $10.

Please let me know of any links.

10m FT8 RX yesterday

Stations spotted yesterday

Yesterday I was on 10m FT8 RX with the homemade 10FT8R RX with 4 transistors and the tiny indoor loop antenna. 127 stations spotted. Not bad for something so simple. Details are on the G3XBM website. 

Sunspots - Tuesday June 1st 2021

Solar flux is 82 and the SSN 31. A=3 and K =1.

Crystal replacement?

Unless you are able to find a low cost source of crystals, they can be very expensive these days. Some people have turned to Si5351 synthesiser boards as an alternative. I believe they can be programmed to provide outputs from kHz to VHF frequencies. But can these work with the programming source  removed so this is a true crystal replacement? Please let me know if you know how. 

If they can be used "stand alone" they become far more useful if they can be easily programmed. The ideal would be easy programming with a PC or Mac or even Android and then essentially a free standing oscillator module.

UK and Covid-19 - NOT amateur radio

The UK is doing pretty well in its vaccination campaign, despite a reactive rather than proactive government that always seems to be just behind, rather than just in front of, the pandemic. At the moment, the popular press is worried that the complete lifting of restrictions in a few weeks could be dangerous.

The concern is new variants of which the focus at the moment is on the variant that was first spotted in India.  Most vulnerable people have been vaccinated. Of those, those who get sick are not likely to be hospitalised or die.

I guess the question is, "what danger does another another wave pose?" . Clearly, if all adults were vaccinated, the chances of the hospitals being overwhelmed decreases markedly. Personally I'd keep some restrictions for a few more weeks. Most things we can do and it would be wrong to throw this away for the sake of a few weeks.

Personally I would ban foreign holidays this year unless people are prepared to hotel quarantine at their expense. At least ban them until all adults that want them are vaccinated. I would also make all hospital and care home workers have to be vaccinated as a condition of employment.

Nostalgia time

In the 1970s most SSB operation on 2m was with the Liner 2. Later, many used the IC-202 from ICOM. This was a better radio with fewer spurii and a better, cleaner TX. Many are still in use to drive microwave transverters. The IC-202 was a lower powered radio, but it could be used handheld.

No synthesisers, lots of wires, no memories, just clean and simple. These were SSB/CW radios with a very good VXO covering 200KHz with each crystal. To most people it seemed like a VFO with smooth, continuous tuning. I also used mine on QRP 10m SSB as well with a homebrew transverter. I have no idea what became of this transverter, but I worked all over the world with 1W SSB and a wire dipole. It used a Plessey SL6440 IC I seem to recall.

I expect they units are still available second hand. They were replaced by the IC-202S and there was a similar radio for 70cm. Once I worked was down in France from a coastal site in Devon using just the IC-202 with its whip antenna.

A quick check on eBay showed one example at just over £200. There are lower cost examples listed as "not working" or "for spares".  Looking on eBay there was also an IC-212 FM version. I don't remember this and wonder if it was ever on sale here in the UK?

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/vhfuhfmicrowaves/vhfuhf-commercial-rigs/icom-ic-202 .

10m FT8 Grabber

A reminder that you can see what I am seeing on 10m FT8 by looking at the grabber on my website at https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/10m-ft8-grabber .

Grandchildren - NOT amateur radio

The photo shows our 2 granddaughters earlier studying an album together.

BBQ time - NOT amateur radio

For a change this May, yesterday was gloriously sunny. Most of the month has been dull and wet. We had our 2 sons and all 4 grandchildren for a barbecue.