Spring in the UK - NOT amateur radio

This photo was posted on 365project yesterday. Rapeseed is  now widely grown in the UK. I like the colour. 

8m tests (Tuesday)

My gear was turned on at 0530z. At the moment I am on 8m FT8 TX at 1W. Being on lower power which seems fine for Es, I hope to be on TX longer. My frequency is still 40.680 MHz USB dial. 

UPDATE 0805z:  For the first hour I was on 1W FT8 TX on 40.680 MHz USB dial. Sadly nobody spotted me. The power still dropped over time. At the moment I am RX only, but intend to be on full power FT8 TX later.

UPDATE 1337z:  Now on full power (for me - whatever the FT817ND manages on 8m!!)  FT8 TX on 40.680 MHz USB dial. 

UPDATE 1505z:  Only one local spot of me today by G0LRD (26km). Disappointing so far.

UPDATE 2000z: RX only now.  After my success being copied by EI9KP (649km) on 8m FT8 with just QRP and a low wire dipole yesterday, today was disappointing with just one local spot.  As EI9KP copied me strongly, I am pretty sure reports will be exchanged with Borat soon. It is unlikely I shall get outside Europe with my low power and antenna (just a low wire dipole), but I am getting excited about getting 8m FT8 reports via Es soon. I may use WSPR on occasions. Unless told otherwise, I propose to use 40.680 MHz USB dial for FT8 and WSPR and will use the FIRST period to TX on FT8. I know exchanging reports with G3XBM on 8m is not like working ZS stations, but each one will give me great pleasure.  FT8 exchanges are totally within my licence terms as long as you can TX legally on 8m.  There is nothing at all stopping SWLs without 8m TX permits spotting me.  After all, we are exchanging reports and locations, which is all I need to know.  My "experiment" is seeing how well QRP and simple low wire dipoles work at 8m. 

In case of ANY doubts I give my express permission for ANYONE to give me reports by any means e.g. PSKreporter, WSPRnet or email.

Sunspots - Tuesday April 19th 2022

 Solar flux is 135 and the SSN 79. A=8 and K=3. 

Echolink

It is a while since I have tried Echolink. With Echolink on your phone or PC, you can access repeaters on the other side of the planet, often used by locals to talk to others on VHF or UHF handhelds. You can even buy network radios that use the internet as the main bearer. 

I have an Android handheld with PTT that looks and feels just like a VHF handheld. I have to admit it is not used often as I prefer experimenting with "real" radio! 

If you cannot have big antennas or amateur radio in the conventional way, this may be a way to keep in touch.

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

Web SDRs

It is often interesting to see how others receive you in their part of the world. Also, on the other side of the world, the bands can sound quite different. These days, we can take a peek by listening to various web SDRs. 

Also, when local noise levels are very high, it allows us to hear the distant station without the QRN.

Recently, there is a new one in Iceland.

See http://bjarg.utvarp.com/ .

See also http://websdr.org/ for a list.

The Shard, London - NOT amateur radio

London has some tall skyscrapers on its skyline. One of the most famous is the Shard shown here. 

I was amused some years ago by a photo that our son took when he was performing jazz in the Shard. He sent us a view from sitting on the toilet in the Shard!! Luckily, we only saw the view at night out if the window!

Maggie - NOT amateur radio

Maggie the horse has been a firm favourite with children in the village and our grandchildren for many years. 

She loves to be fed grass.

10m WSPR QRP TX (Monday)

Yet again, I am on 10m WSPR TX with my W5OLF beacon. Several spots by local G4KPX (14km) who I think must have been away over Easter. As yet, no DX. I think Richard goes on 10m WSPR briefly then chooses another band or goes QRT.

8m experiments (Monday)

After a brief FT8 TX period on 40.680 MHz USB dial (no spots of me) I am again RX only, but will go on TX if there is any sign of Es. On RX, nobody has been spotted so far. I need a decent Es opening!

UPDATE 1415z:  My 8m power goes down with time, so I TX for a period, RX FT8 for a period, turn everything off, TX for a period, then RX again. So far today, no spots on RX or TX on 8m. Currently on 40.680 MHz FT8 TX.

UPDATE 1658z: DX at last!! EI9KP (649km) has spotted me strongly on FT8. This is the first time I have been received beyond the local area. I think this was Es. At -5dB on FT8, this is encouraging.

UPDATE 1827z: QRT. 

Sunspots - Monday April 18th 2022

 Solar flux is 135 and the SSN 74.  A=11 and K=2.