There are already signs of new life.
13 Jan 2023
First signs? - NOT amateur radio
8m QRP FT8 (Friday)
For about 15 minutes, I have been on 8m FT8 on 40.680 with 2.5W to the dipole.
UPDATE 1443z: No spots all day. It looks like I need a much higher ERP to be really successful on 8m outside the main Es season. Yes, I manage the occasional report, but with just 2.5W and dipole, I am having a hard time. Should I spend £50 for a renewal of my T&I permit for 8m?
UPDATE 1844z: G0HVQ (181km) has spotted me. After a period on TX, the power drops. My estimate is my power was about 1.8W when I was spotted.
10m QRP WSPR TX (Friday)
At about 1020z, the 500mW 10m WSPR beacon was turned on. No spots.
UPDATE 1040z: Spotted several times on Crete. This could be winter Es, but more probably F2 propagation.
UPDATE 1405z: 12 stations have spotted me so far today (see table).
12 Jan 2023
8m QRP FT8 (Thursday)
At the moment, I am on 40.680 MHz QRP FT8 . No spots. I am pretty sure that with 2.5W and the low dipole, I miss out on quite a bit, although this was my experiment.
G9PUV must have a much greater ERP and must be the most successful UK station on 8m. I estimate Paul's ERP must be at least 10dB better than mine. It would not surprise me if his ERP was 20dB up, which is a huge difference. Despite this and despite the few monitors on the band, it has already proved to me how useful 8m could be.
As mentioned before, I am pretty sure that anyone could legally use the 8m ISM band for beacons in the UK without a licence as long as the technical requirements and IR 2030 are met. In the UK this means 10mW ERP. With WSPR this would span 1500km at times. This is not amateur radio. Not being a legal expert, you have to decide. In the UK, I am pretty sure OFCOM would not come knocking - in 50 years I have not once been inspected. The last time was when repeater GB3PI was first operational. All the man really wanted was a cup of tea!
UPDATE 1200z: No spots.
Bridge Street, Cambridge - NOT amateur radio
10m QRP WSPR TX (Thursday)
As usual, I am again on 10m QRP (500mW) TX The beacon was turned on about 0905z. Several spots already.
UPDATE 1208z: 6 stations have spotted my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon today.
Prince Harry - NOT amateur radio
There is a lot wrong with the British Royal Family and it needs to change soon or it will be gone in 20 years, but I do not think this book helps at all.
He has put has own life and that of his family in grave danger and definitely alienated him from his brother and father as well as many others.
At one time, he was arguably the most popular British royal. Not any more.
What came over him?
FT8 or SSB?
Amateur radio is changing.
As mentioned a few days ago, it seems far more are now turning to FT8 instead of SSB. This means the bands seem quieter. Although to say so is considered wrong by many, arguably on many, many, bands this means we really do not need the allocations we have.
In 1 SSB channel at least 25 stations using FT8 can be fitted. FT8 only needs about 50 Hz of spectrum. There is little need to use amateur radio for chatting (the Internet is free and covers the world), and many now chase DX with FT8 instead. FT8 is far more effective than SSB although it is most definitely not a chatting mode. JS8call (which I have not used) is a free form mode of FT8 that does allow chatting. Some like to push the boundaries with things like EME and DATV. Others like to explore radio propagation.
The mantra seems to be to hang on to the bands we have. Personally, I would prefer more, but narrower, bands to encourage experimentation with some wider allocations (probably at VHF or UHF) to encourage experiments such things as DATV and spread spectrum. The military in many countries wants priority access, but rarely uses much of the spectrum.
Whatever the bands, callsigns and locations should be mandated and the basis should be strictly non- interference. Many allocations could be shared or secondary. Heretical? Probably.
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