Sunspots - Saturday January 7th 2023

Solar flux is 172 and the SSN 101.  A=4 and K=2. 

Winter - NOT amateur radio

These plants were seen in the grounds of King's College, Cambridge. I am not sure what they are. 

In the summer they will look great I am sure.  At the moment they look like mop heads!

QDX arrival date

This QRP FT8 transceiver from QRP Labs is on order. I have asked for a built version covering 20-10m as I can no longer build things, sadly. It will mostly get used on 10m.

When I ordered it just before Christmas, the lead-time was expected to be about a month. At present I am 105th on the list. It is going down. I just have to be patient! Hans makes some good kit. 

Warning - NOT amateur radio

People come from all over the world to see the famous King's College Chapel in Cambridge. Imagine coming thousands of miles and seeing.... scaffolding! Much of the building has scaffolding both inside and out. Some side chapels are closed.

Even though it is only January 6th there were some daffodils and aconites in flower in the grounds, and a kite (bird) overhead. Seeing a kite in central Cambridge would have been amazing 30 years ago.

8m QRP FT8

Since 1359z, I have been on 8m FT8 QRP. So far,  no spots.

UPDATE 1505z:  No spots.

10m QRP WSPR TX

Since 1358z I have been on 10m WSPR TX with my 500mW W5OLF beacon. It is now 1310z and so far no spots.

UPDATE 1326z:  Spotted several times in the Canary Islands. 

UPDATE 1546z:  First spot today from the USA received on 10m WSPR. It is a pity the USA stations no longer have prefixes that point to locations. In years gone past W7 would have meant western USA. No longer!

UPDATE 1707z:  Just 3 unique stations spotted today.

Sunspots - Friday January 6th 2023

Solar flux is 154 and the SSN 103. A=8 and K=1.

Spring coming - NOT amateur radio

We went for a walk at nearby Anglesey Abbey. There are some spring flowers coming. 

As the weeks progress we will see more. In the last 7 days many more snowdrops have appeared and we saw the first daffodils of the season. 

Tactile tree bark - NOT amateur radio

This tree at Anglesey Abbey, not far from us, must be one of the most touched trees in the world. It is on the winter walk there and many people who pass it feel compelled to touch it.

8m QRP FT8 (Thursday)

Since doing a system restore on my shack PC, I have been on 8m with 2.5W FT8 on 40.680 MHz, but no spots at 1030z.

UPDATE  2014z:  Spotted by WESSEXSDR (265km) earlier. Now QRT.