8m QRP FT8 (Sunday)

As my 8m coax has been mended, I am again on 8m QRP FT8 with 2.5W on 40.680 MHz. 

UPDATE 2110z: No spots. Now QRT.

Sunrise - NOT amateur radio

Sunrise this morning

Today it is expected to get gradually milder. When I got up this morning there was a great sunrise. It is raining now at 1500z.

10m QRP WSPR TX (Sunday)

Today I have again been on 10m WSPR TX with 500mW from my little W5OLF beacon. Surprisingly just a single spot from YO3BN (2083km).  Odd, I usually see many more with the USA coming through by early afternoon,

UPDATE 2111z:   5 spots of me today on 10m 500mW WSPR (see table). QRT.

2m QRP FT8 (Sunday)

Much of the morning I was on 2m QRP FT8, 7 stations spotted my 2.5W to the big-wheel omni antenna and I spotted 35 stations on RX (see maps).

Stations spotted on 2m FT8 RX this morning

Stations spotting my 2.5W FT8 on 2m this morning

8m problem solved

It was the coax plug that was faulty, so issue now fixed. 

Sunspots - Sunday December 18th 2022

Solar flux is 155 and the SSN 139. A=2 and K=0. 

At home - NOT amateur radio

Just before Christmas we like to have an "at home" day when the neighbours can pop in for a drink and nibbles. Because of Covid this has not been possible since 2019. It was so nice to have them around again.

This was one of the reasons I did not get around to fixing my 8m antenna/coax issue today. Maybe tomorrow?

8m - military influence?

For some time now, there has been speculation about just why the FCC and OFCOM are so much against even a small amateur allocation at 8m. It is not as if they are neutral. The clear impression is they are dead against this.

One possibility is that the military are doing their best to keep the "riffraff" out. 

Even recent experimental licences in the USA have been turned down. It is almost as if the real reason for refusals is being hidden.

One possibility is that officials in OFCOM and the FCC have signed the Official Secrets Act or it equivalent and cannot reveal the full truth without fearing prosecution.

Logically, a tiny 8m band could help research. I am convinced we are not being told the whole truth. I suspect the 40.66-40.70 MHz ISM band is a real embarrassment.

I wonder if OFCOM will renew my 8m permit?

Extreme QRP?

In my emails today was the Elecraft Newsletter. 

One of the articles was about "extreme QRP". This looks interesting I thought, only find out it was about 1W. To my mind extreme QRP is microwatts, not watts. I would have been more impressed if this person had got spots with 100uW rather than 1W!!

From my own tests years ago, well below 1W can get spots.

I know of at least one person who has been spotted across the planet with 20mW on 30m.

Salcombe, Devon - NOT amateur radio

In the late 1960s, I worked as a barman in the Great Gates Hotel in Salcombe, Devon during my summer vacation from university.   This hotel was converted to flats many years ago. It had a great view, as you can see from the photo.

My future wife washed dishes. She reckons the person she worked with broke crockery worth more than she earned that summer!

Salcombe is where I was brought up as a child.