VLF Earth-mode

 Amateur VLF is different. As antennas for TX are usually large and powers high to get a signal radiated, very stable and long signals are needed that are often integrated over hours or days in very narrow bandwidths. For RX only tiny E-field probe antennas can be very effective. 

On my website www.g3xbm.co.uk you will find links to my earth-mode blog which gives details of my experiments below 10kHz with 5W and simple gear up to 6km. Big antennas are NOT needed for this. Signals are visible on a PC screen in seconds.  This is a very accessible way of getting on amateur VLF. 

Who me? - NOT amateur radio

Red-legged partridges on our lawn. These handsome birds were introduced in the UK in the 1800s and can be quite tame. 

Sunspots - Tuesday August 17th 2021

 Solar flux is 74 and the SSN 14.  A=7 and K=1.

Pye Telecom PF1 on 70cm

Back in the late 1960s these were revolutionary radios bringing communications to beat policemen. 

A few found their way on to 70cm although they were only about 50mW. Years ago I built a 2m super-regen RX in a PF1 RX case.

See the Pye Telecom History website for details. 

2016 - NOT amateur radio

 

This photo shows our back garden 5 years ago. It is similar this year. We have no pears as frost killed the blossom, yet we have a laden crabapple tree and sunflowers yet to come out. The first ones were eaten by the Muntjac Deer! 

Sunspots - Monday August 16th 2021

 Solar flux is 75 and the SSN 23 .  A=10 and K=3.

Almost normal - NOT amateur radio

Yesterday we went to Bury St Edmunds as an earlier post shows. It felt almost normal, which was good to see. 

Bury St Edmunds is a delightful place. If you live in the UK and have never been, I thoroughly recommend it.

10m WSPR TX 500mW (Sunday)

 Transmissions started at about 0840z. No spots yet.

UPDATE 0918z: 3 unique spots already. Promising!

UPDATE 1055z:  4 unique spots of me so far today. 

UPDATE 1355z: 7 unique spots of me today on 10m WSPR TX with 500mW.

6m FT8 (Sunday)

 After a very brief TX period with 2.5W to the vertical omni antenna (3 G spots), I am RX only. At 0855z, 8 stations spotted. Some evidence of Es.

UPDATE 1100z:  42 stations spotted on 6m FT8 RX today so far. Plenty of Es. 

Stations spotted on
6m FT8 RX to 1350z

UPDATE 1350z: 93 stations spotted.

Bury St Edmunds - NOT amateur radio

It was good to see things almost normal yesterday with my wife and 2 of our grandchildren in Bury St Edmunds yesterday. The gardens were stunning