10m FT8 RX (Sunday)

After breakfast, I hope to be on 10m FT8 RX. 

UPDATE 1011z:  10m gear turned on at about 0930z. So far, 75 stations spotted.

UPDATE 1521z:  So far today, on 10m FT8 RX, 404 stations have been spotted. The usual pattern is followed: east in the morning followed by the Americas in the afternoon. Lots of Europeans presumably via E layer although some could be aircraft reflection, tropo or F2 backscatter.  10m is definitely a good DX band again. I suspect it will remain good until at least 2026, after which time people desert the band. With FT8 brief openings may be caught, even when the band seems "dead". Of course in May, June and July it is good for up to 1500km at any part of the solar cycle via Es.

UPDATE 1922z:  444 stations spotted today on 10m FT8 RX.

G3XIZ sub 9kHz

This was a Facebook memory from 11 years ago. I see that I had been trying to get G3XIZ on VLF. As I recall it was successful. 

Sunspots - Sunday November 7th 2021

Solar flux is 82 and the SSN 40. A=18 and K=3.

8m news

The Danish 8m beacon OZ7IGY is again operational. It had been off air because of a component fault. This set of beacons has been operational since 1957, although not on all frequencies!

See https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/2021/11/danish-oz7igy-40-mhz-beacon-now-back-on.html .

Separately, the South African 8m beacon has been spotted in the UK. I suspect this may have been F2.

Regarding my own 8m NoV application - no news.

Norwich cathedral - NOT amateur radio

Norwich is about an hour from here. It has a fine Norman cathedral. 

The spire is the second tallest in England beaten only by Salisbury.

Cambridge yesterday - NOT amateur radio

This photo was taken yesterday in Cambridge. 

Sunspots - Saturday November 6th 2021

Solar flux is 93 and the SSN 40.  A=13 and K=3.

Ely Cathedral Octagon - NOT amateur radio

This image (or one very similar) has been on the blog before, but I make no apologies. 

The very heavy wooden octagon replaces the original tower that collapsed centuries ago. The octagon dates from 1342. 

Imagine designing and constructing this back then!

See https://www.elycathedral.org/events/octagon-tower-tours .

Made in China - NOT amateur radio

Today I got 7 home tests for Covid-19. These were free from the UK Test and Trace organisation that has cost us billions of UK pounds. On the packet it said " Made in China". Imagine my horror.

Thatched cottage - NOT amateur radio

Every Friday I travel into Cambridge on the bus for my University of the Third Age lecture. This cottage is seen on the way. The photo was taken from the moving bus through the window.