CQWW CW contest

This weekend is the CW leg of the CQWW contest. This is all weekend and we can expect the HF bands to be very busy.

10m 500mW WSPR TX (Saturday)

Something is wrong. I got no spots yesterday and none today so far on 10m WSPR TX. I checked timing sync and there is power out. Something is amiss.

8m QRP FT8 (Saturday)

 At the moment I am on 40.680 MHz QRP FT8 with 2.5W.  No spots on TX or RX.

472 kHz RX last evening

Once again I was on 472 kHz WSPR RX last evening using the coax to my 2m big-wheel via a ferrite rod ATU as the antenna. 5 unique stations spotted including Norway and Germany. 

Sunny day - NOT amateur radio

This photo  of the windmill next door was taken in 2016 on a November day much like yesterday when the sun was shining. 

Sunspots - Saturday November 26th 2022

Solar flux is 109 and the SSN 55. A=20 and K=3.

UK fuel prices - NOT amateur radio

In the last month the exchange rate of the UK pound against the USA dollar has improved by about 10%. The wholesale price of a barrel of oil has fallen by about 10%. 

This should mean the proportion of the price of fuel due to barrel prices (excluding tax, delivery etc.) should have improved by about 20% resulting in a drop in fuel prices at garages.

What has happened in the real world? Prices have hardly changed.

10m QRP WSPR TX (Friday)

When I go on 8m FT8, I forget that I can still go on 10m WSPR TX with my 500mW  W5OLF WSPR beacon. It has just been turned on.

UPDATE 1610z:  So far today,  no spots of me.

UPDATE 1700z:  No spots, so synchronised timing again. WSPRnet issue? Others don't seem to be having a problem. I was expecting some spots by now.

WSJT-X latest version

Apparently there is a new version of WSJT-X available as a pre-release candidate. At the moment on WSPR and FT8 I use V2.5.4, which is the latest fully released version.  The latest candidate release is V2.6-rc4. I must download it and try it.

FT8 is now very popular. It is possible the decode sensitivity is slightly better with this newer version.

8m FT8 with 2.5W QRP

Earlier this week I carried out some local tests with 10mW ERP from my low wire dipole. By comparison, 2.5W seems really high power! Shortly, I hope to be on 40.680 MHz QRP FT8. The 20dB pad has been removed and the FT817ND back on 3 bars on TX.

UPDATE 1435z:  8m FT8 QRP TX now switched on.

UPDATE 1700z:  I gather Bas has asked the authorities in the Netherlands if he can  TX in the 8mISM band legally at 10mW ERP without a licence. If we did this in many administrations we could see a number of new experimenters on 8m in the next Es season. Certainly, WSPR would be more effective than FT8.