Sunspots - Monday June 21st 2021

 Solar flux is 76 and the SSN 13. A=4 and K=1. 

10m FT8 RX

There is widespread Es on 10m this morning. A few moments ago (it is now 0917z) I turned on 10m FT8 RX with the FT817ND and the tiny indoor loop antenna. Already, 49 stations have been spotted.

UPDATE 0948z:  85 stations spotted on RX.

UPDATE 1214z:  198 stations spotted on RX. The furthermost is VO1CH (3737km).

UPDATE 1604z:  325 stations spotted on RX.

UPDATE 1904z:  467 stations spotted on RX with the furthermost PY5BH (9903km).

UPDATE 1954z:  514 stations spotted on RX today.  See map.

UPDATE 2130z:  547 stations spotted today. Soon QRT.

Facebook Photo - NOT amateur radio

This photo was on Michael Rainey's Facebook page earlier. I thought it was worth sharing here. 

G3XBM videos

A reminder that a lot of the projects on my main website have videos on my video channel. These often provide more detail. The video below , of my Sixbox, is an example.

See https://www.youtube.com/user/G3XBM

Sixbox 6m AM QRP transceiver

This was missing from my main website. It has now been added. I did not realise it was missing!

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/vhfuhfmicrowaves/homebrew/sixbox

Laurel hedge cutting - NOT amateur radio

We have a laurel hedge at the front (about 30m long), that we planted 8 years ago. Usually I trim it twice a year. It has grown a lot! 

Whereas I could do it all in one go, I now have several goes over several days. I am getting older and get tired more quickly. After about 10 minutes, I need a rest.

The laurel hedge provides a good screen from the path by the windmill, but it is hard work! 

Sunspots - Sunday June 20th 2021

 Solar flux is 77 and the SSN 25. A=4 and K=1. 

Pasties - NOT amateur radio

A few weeks ago I tried my hand at making my own pasties. They turned out well. Just a pity I am on a diet and cannot have them at the moment.

As a Westcountryman, I like my pasties! The ones shown in the photo are vegetarian, but I also tried meat ones.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/non-amateur-radio/pasties.

"Over the horizon" optical experiments

Since 2013, my health has precluded proper field experiments at 481THz or thereabouts (optical). I am just too wobbly. I tried once, but I just could not manage it sadly.

One of the things I enjoyed was experimenting with weak signal optical signalling over the horizon. My own tests used QRSS (slow CW) received on a PC . There was absolutely no sign of the optical signal in the sky, yet there was a clear trace visible on the PC. 

Had I been well, these experiments would have continued and far greater ranges would have been possible.

 See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/optical-nanowaves/over-the-horizon  .

Watery - NOT amateur radio

East Anglia is famous for being flat.  Actually, there are hills, especially in Norfolk and Suffolk.

However, we get some great skies and there is a unique beauty as the photo collage shows. 

These are the various waterways near where we live.