25 Jul 2021

10m WSPR TX 500mW (Sunday)

As usual when I am monitoring 6m FT8 RX, I am on 10m WSPR TX with 500mW. The TX is 100% but changes frequency every slot to avoid being clobbered by a strong station.

So far (at 0820z) just G2XV (18km) spotting me. No sign of Es here yet.

UPDATE 0900z:   DK6UG (633km) has also spotted me. This could have been Es or off aircraft.

UPDATE 1507z: Just 3 different stations spotting me today. Unless things change, today looks disappointing.

Well nobody told me - NOT amateur radio

Our son has a new kitten. He has discovered how to climb on to the bird table. 

Watch out birds! 

Sunspots - Sunday July 25th 2021

Solar flux is 84 and the SSN 35.  A=4 and K=0. 

24 Jul 2021

Sweet peas - NOT amateur radio


 The photo shows the sweet peas my brother picked just yesterday. So far this year, we have had one flower!! He must be doing something right and us not!! 

50th wedding anniversary - NOT amateur radio

Gosh, we must be so old

We are celebrating our 50th wedding anniversary today. In some ways that day in 1971 seems like yesterday. I have no idea how those years have flown by. Since then we have 2 boys and 4 grandchildren.

Both of us were several stones lighter then and I still had hair! Most of my hair went when I was in my twenties.

Advice? Enjoy every moment, as time goes by very quickly.

6m FT8 (2.5W to the V2000 vertical omni)

Although I have been spotted by 6 G stations, there is no evidence here of Es yet. I have spotted just 3 Gs this morning on 6m FT8 RX.

As time goes by Es openings become rarer.

10m WSPR

For a while I had assumed that most 10m WSPR users had migrated to FT8 instead, but I was so wrong.

In the last 2 weeks I have been spotted by 102 different stations on 10m WSPR with 500mW from my W5OLF 10m WSPR beacon. I have used this for many years and works as well now as it ever has.

I tend to leave the tiny 10m WSPR TX beacon on when I look on 6m FT8 RX.

No spots of me yet today.

Sunspots - Saturday July 24th 2021

Solar flux is 87 and the SSN 46. A=4 and K=2. 

23 Jul 2021

8m band history

 I was totally unaware of some of the historical allocations at 8m. It seems there are historical precedents.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8-meter_band .

8m USA beacon spotted on WSPR in Europe


Yesterday, I gather the WL2XUP 8m beacon was spotted in England. WSPR works with signals much weaker than FT8. No doubt EI7GL's blog will have more details shortly.