8m experiment (Friday)

My QRP 8m FT8 on 40.680 MHz USB dial has already been spotted by 2 stations in Iberia. It is only 1015z. Still just using the FT817ND and a low wire dipole.

Where I came from in South Devon - NOT amateur radio

The photo shows where I came from in South Devon. This is the Kingsbridge Estuary. 

QRP 2m FT8

FT8 amazes me. 

DX spots seem possible with QRP and omni antennas at any time with this mode on 2m. If activity was higher, this would probably be true on 70cm and 23cm. My suspicion is this is troposcatter made possible by the ability of FT8 to work with incredibly weak signals. 

In my view, FT8 is a game changer. 

Sunspots - Friday August 19th 2022

 Solar flux is 117 and the SSN 83. A=26 and K=3.

FB memory - NOT amateur radio

This is now several years old. I have no idea where it originated. 

Quite true!! 

Rallies this weekend

The following rallies have been notified to me:

Sunday August 21st - Rugby Amateur Transmitting Society.  Contact rally@rugbyrats.co.uk .

Sunday August 21st  Red Rose Rally. Contact rally@wmrc.co.uk .

As always, check with organisers before going any distance.

Free PDF book reminder

This is just a reminder that my free PDF G3XBM Project Scrapbook is available if you want to download it. It is a brain dump mainly of the projects I have done over the years. My intention is to share the fun of low cost experimenting and building. I hope it triggers you to have a go yourself. 

I have no wish whatsoever to make any money. If I get any donations at all, they will go to the local foodbank.

I was hoping to link to issue 2, but for some reason the link still goes to issue 1! I am working on this. My idea was this link would always take you to the latest version. If you know why this does not work, please tell me. Maybe this is a "feature" of the tinyurl?

See https://tinyurl.com/y56vjhd6

10m QRP WSPR TX (Thursday)

Gear turned on at about 0836z (500mW TX beacon). No spots at 0848z.

UPDATE 1042z:  Still just the 3 spots earlier, which looked like a burst of Es.

UPDATE 1830z:  12 unique stations spotting me today on 10m WSPR.

Long-tailed tits - NOT amateur radio

These days these are one of the most common tits. Often they fly from tree to tree in flocks making a high pitched "song". As a child we saw lots of different tits. Nowadays there are fewer. This one was on the bird table. 

8m experiment (Thursday)

For the last few days people have been reporting my QRP 8m FT8 TX on 40.680 MHz USB dial. So, I shall be on again after breakfast. Es is less frequent, but still there most days. 

UPDATE 1046z:    Gear turned on at 0836z.  No spots.

UPDATE 1703z:    No spots all day.