Rally on Thursday

The following rally has been notified to me. I guess they are assuming most attendees are still on holiday.

Thursday December 29th -  Yeovil ARC Rally, West Camel,  Yeavil,Somerset BA22 7QX. No contact details given, but always worth checking before travelling.

10m FT8 RX

Much of the morning, I have been on 10m FT8 RX. There is no doubt that HF conditions are again good. The average sunspot number must be around 100 and 10m FT8  DX from around the world is widely spotted most days.

UPDATE 1157z:   179 stations spotted.

Stations spotted on 10m
FT8 RX today at 1902z

UPDATE 1902z:   801 stations spotted today on 10m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1958z:  806 stations spotted. Now QRT.

Sunspots - Tuesday December 27th 2022

 Solar flux is 150 and the SSN 96. A=22 and K=4.

QDX 10m

Hans Summers has announced a new higher bands version of his QDX digital transceiver. It is tiny. I have just ordered one assembled as my fine motor skills prevent me building it these days sadly. 

This is a 5W transceiver covering 20m-10m. Used with a software package like WSJT-X, it should work the world on modes like FT8.

See https://www.qrp-labs.com/qdx.html .

10m FT8 RX (Monday)

Most of the day I have been on 10m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 2139z:   713 stations spotted today.

Dalham - NOT amateur radio

This is the nearby village of Dalham about 12km from us. 

Sunspots - Monday December 26th 2022

 Solar flux is 135 and the SSN 107. A=10 and K=1.

10m FT8

Stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX at 1240z

My problem with my 10m antenna was the coax plug, which I have re-done. At the moment (whilst getting ready for Christmas lunch!!) I am on 10m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1240z:  So far today, 148 stations spotted.

UPDATE 1803z:  670 stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX today. QRT.

White Gold - NOT amateur radio

In the 17th and 18th centuries, many Devon people were captured as slaves by Turks (Barbary Pirates). In all 7000 people were captured and sold in North Africa. Many never returned and died in captivity. 

About half of these came from coastal Devon, so it is highly likely that some of my fishermen ancestors were captured. At that time fishermen travelled thousands of miles to the rich cod banks off Newfoundland and were captured as they left port on their arduous journeys. It must have been a very frightening time.

A very good book was "White Gold" by Giles Milton. Until I read this I knew nothing about this.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbary_pirates .

Merry Christmas! - NOT amateur radio

This winter festival at the darkest time of the year pre-dates Christianity by many thousands of years. Whatever your faith (or none), I hope you have a good time. 

Whatever your circumstances, you are loved. We all benefit from being kind and loving to each other.  This time of year is especially magical for young children, so please make it an especially happy for them.

Merry Christmas!

👍