Most of the day I have been on 10m WSPR Tx with the W5OLF WSPR beacon at 500mW. 4 unique stations have spotted me. Most appear to be single hop F2 propagation.
1 May 2022
8m experiment (Sunday)
My 8m adventure continues.
As I was out most of the morning I was on 40.680 MHz QRP USB dial FT8 TX earlier, but RX only until a few minutes ago. No spots given or received.
I am again on FT8 TX (it is now 1215z).
UPDATE 1356z: EI9KP (649km) in the west of Eire has, again, spotted me. Currently, I am RX only on 8m FT8.
Oscar 100 narrowband activity
Every few weeks I take a peek at activity levels on the geosynchronous Oscar 100 satellite. Activity levels seem very low. My peek was at breakfast time in Europe on Sunday when I thought it might be better.
It seems to me that this has not "taken off" (no pun intended!). When it was first put in orbit, people had high hopes that, alas, have not been matched.
Solar forecast
My favourite site for solar data is usually updated early in the month. Based on the last few days, things are looking promising. It has been updated earlier today.
At the moment, this solar cycle looks a bit better than the last one.
30 Apr 2022
Fuel prices - a con? - NOT amateur radio
Since early March fuel prices have dropped considerably. Have retail prices followed suit? NO!!!
Whilst I can understand retailers trying to claw back losses suffered during the Covid-19 pandemic, I hope retailers follow suit and drop their prices too.
It seems to me that consumers are being taken for a ride - well actually not as the fuel is too expensive!!
The last ones - NOT amateur radio
These daffodils were at Anglesey Abbey yesterday. I suspect these will be the last ones until next winter. Anglesey Abbey is owned by the National Trust and has extensive grounds.
10m WSPR QRP TX (Saturday)
For about 45 minutes (it is now 0901z) I have been on 10m WSPR TX with the 500mW W5OLF beacon. Just local G4KPX (14km) currently spotting me.
UPDATE 1304z: Still just G4KPX (14km) spotting me. So far, Richard has spotted me 123 times today.
8m experiments (Saturday)
It is now 0857z. I have been on 40.680 MHz USB dial FT8 TX. No spots on RX or TX.
UPDATE 0941z: Currently RX only. As far as I know the following countries have granted limited access to TX on 8m:
USA (a limited number of special permits issued by the FCC)
Canada (1 special permit)
South Africa (special permission?)
UK (a limited number of special T&I licences)
Slovenia (allocated 40.66-40.70 to amateurs on a secondary basis)
Croatia (special permission?)
Eire (full allocation to the amateur service)
Denmark (beacon only).
Others may be active, but I am unsure of their legality. I am unsure of the legal position of operating with very low ERP in the ISM band in almost any country.
UPDATE 1220z: Still no spots today. Will be on FT8 TX at about 1240z.
UPDATE 1243z: Now on 8m FT8 TX (40.680 MHz USB dial). Reports welcomed.
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