Sunspots - Sunday April 10th 2022

 Solar flux is 107 and the SSN 37.  A=19 and K=4.

Crazy? - NOT amateur radio

This week, my watchstrap broke. It was cheaper to buy a new Casio digital watch than the wrist strap alone for the old watch! If the battery on the old watch needed replacing, the Casio watch makes even more sense. I am not after a fashion statement and any watch is fine.

I now see I could have bought one £2 less!!

WhatsApp this morning - NOT amateur radio

This was forwarded to me by WhatsApp earlier. 

10m QRP WSPR TX (Saturday)

 At the moment I am on 10m WSPR TX with 500mW from the W5OLF WSPR beacon. So far, spots from 2 stations with the furthermost TA4/G8SCU (3010km).

UPDATE 1343z:   So far today my 500mW beacon has been spotted by 5 different stations, in 4 countries.

8m testing

 At the moment, I am on 40.680 MHz USB dial FT8 TX. Just 2 local stations spotting me. I shall be going to FT8 RX shortly.

UPDATE 0901z:   FT8 RX only now on 40.680 MHz USB dial. EI4GNB (-9dB S/N near Dublin)  spotted on 8m FT8 RX. Was this aircraft?

UPDATE 1146z:  No further 8m FT8 RX spots.

Walkie-talkie Building - NOT amateur radio

This skyscraper in London is known as the walkie-talkie building. 

Sunspots - Saturday April 9th 2022

Solar flux is 109 and the SSN 55. A=9 and K=4.

Zoom meetings

In the last few years, we have all got used to Zoom video meetings. 

Speaking personally, I have been very impressed with Zoom meetings. I cannot really drive at night - well I certainly do not like it - and Zoom meetings suit me well. When screens are shared it is like being in the same room.

Every two weeks, the Cambridge Radio Club (CDARC) arrranges a Zoom talk. Tonight's talk was watched from a campsite in Scotland and a few weeks ago we had someone in Canada watching.  A few months ago he gave the talk!

I hope the CDARC continues with Zoom meetings after they return to meetings in person.

4m and Es

Within a few weeks (certainly in May) we will be back in the sporadic-E (Es) season in the northern hemisphere. 4m is now allocated in several European countries and my transverter is certainly capable of working across Europe on SSB. It is certainly capable of improvement, so do not be afraid to experiment.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/vhfuhfmicrowaves/homebrew/4m-transverter .

10m Tenner QRP CW transceiver

This design is now quite old, but it goes to show that things do not have to be complicated to work. It was derived from my Pipit 15m transceiver.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/homebrew/10m-tenner-qrp-cw .