Hair! - NOT amateur radio

This photo was taken in 1968 when I had hair and was young. These days I am bald and an old age pensioner and fatter.  By the way, this was not my boat!

Other G3XBM sites

Periodically, I like to remind people of my other sites that may be of interest. 

This blog is usually updated daily, whereas the other sites less frequently. Often these other sites can be useful and have more project information.

Video channel:   https://www.youtube.com/user/G3XBM 

Main site:           http://www.g3xbm.co.uk  
This blog:           http://g3xbm-qrp.blogspot.com/

Sub 9kHz:           https://sites.google.com/site/sub9khz/

The sub 9kHz site is badly in need of an update!

2m activity contest results

The results for this activity contest have just been released. This year, I am donating my points towards the Cambridge Radio Club (CDARC). 

As I usually run 10W to an omni antenna for much less than an hour, because of my poor voice, I doubt my points help much! 

Most activity is on SSB and activity levels are usually very high.

See https://www.rsgbcc.org/cgi-bin/vhfresults.pl?Contest=144MHz%20UKAC&year=2022 .

Lightning

At this time of year in the UK, lightning is not usually a great risk. In the summer months, although unlikely, lightning can be more of a risk. A direct strike is very rare, but can be devastating.  

More common are surges on power lines when lightning is near. For this reason, I usually disconnect PSUs and antennas if there is lightning in the area. 

Years ago, a colleague at work had his house struck and there was a lot of damage. I keep an eye on lightning maps to see how close storms are.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/other-amateur-radio/lightning-maps .

Ely station - NOT amateur radio

For a rural station, this is surprisingly busy. Many lines converge here, so there always seem to be trains coming and going.  

Lines go to Norwich, King's Lynn, Cambridge, Ipswich and Peterborough. All converge here. There are also goods trains trundling through as well. The photo shows the station just as a train is leaving for Cambridge and ultimately London. 

It is possible to get right across the country without changing from here. Destinations include Liverpool, London and Birmingham. 

I love train rides: just sit back, relax and let the world go by. If you prefer, just read.

10m QRP WSPR (500mW)

Later, I hope to turn on my 10m WSPR TX beacon by W5OLF.  This is on TX 100% of the time, but changes frequency every cycle to prevent being clobbered by a strong station. Usually I get spots from a local and the Canary Is. Occasionally I get spots from South America and the USA as well as Europe.

UPDATE 1005z:  10m WSPR beacon turned on at 0945z.  At first, the crystal settles down so the drift is about 4Hz. After about 20 minutes things settle and the drift is usually 0Hz. So far, 3 stations have spotted me with the furthermost EA8BFK (2880km).

UPDATE 2137z:   6 different stations have spotted me today. Now QRT. Furthermost was TA/G8SCU (3010km).

Rybakov Antennas

At the end of a long wire, the impedance is usual high. With a 49:1 transformer, the SWR is usually well within range of auto-tuners found in most modern rigs. This usually means that a multi-band antenna can be erected covering most or all HF bands. In many cases, the SWR is sufficiently low that no tuner is needed at all.

For those unable or simply preferring not to make one, commercial antennas or baluns are available. One that was available was the X80. I bought mine many years ago. It worked well, but was only up for a few weeks as most of my operating was on a single band - 10m. I swapped mine for an active RX antenna. 

I think modern versions can come in fibre glass, but are more expensive.

If you are happy to make your own, all that is needed is the balun in a suitable waterproof enclosure with connectors and a long wire. I think the wire is ideally not a multiple of half waves. There are several designs on the internet I believe. If you are happy to experiment, you can try different wire lengths. The X80, and its successors, looks like a CB vertical. Often people put things inside aluminium ones to make them bend less in high winds. I never did this.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/antennas/x80 .    

More farmshop breakfast - NOT amateur radio

This collage shows us with one of our sons and grandson at a local farmshop for breakfast yesterday. 

Sunspots - Monday February 14th 2022

Solar flux is 105 and the SSN 53.  A=15 and K=2.

VHF/UHF FT8

 As recent activity sessions have shown, FT8 on 2m and 70cm can be very effective. Although many QSOs are due to tropo, I am convinced that some sort of scatter is often involved. 

This maybe aircraft scatter or troposcatter. With FT8, scatter is possible with far smaller stations. It would not surprise me if scatter was more likely as the frequency is increased. It might be very effective at 23cm or higher with FT8, although I have no evidence.

If I had 23cm FT8, I might try some tests.