630m WSPR RX (Tuesday)

At about 1745z, I changed to 630m WSPR RX. It is now 1756z and, so far,  no spots.

UPDATE 2057z:   2 stations spotted so far this evening.

UPDATE 2240z: Now QRT. 

4m UKAC - missed it!!

Last Thursday evening was the 4m (70 MHz) activity contest for March. I missed it! 

My antenna is just my 2m big-wheel and coax matched via the auto-ATU in the FT-710. I have no idea how it performs with regard to gain, polarisation, or directivity. This I was hoping to find out! Maybe in April? My next chance looks like April 20th.

Birthday lunch - NOT amateur radio

Yesterday we went to lunch with old university friends we have known since the 1960s. Seeing them, it is as if we had seen them just the day before. 

10m WSPR QRP TX and RX

 At present, I am on QRP 10m WSPR using the FT-710. After the first transmission 4 spots.

UPDATE 1625z:  My own 5W WSPR TX has been spotted by 19 unique stations and I have spotted 135 unique stations. Furthermost so far is a spot by WP3SM (6851km) in Puerto Rico.

Tuesday plans

My current plan is to go on 10m WSPR with the FT-710 to see if I can preset the optimum settings for WSPR. I may try 630m WSPR RX after dark. 

Red-legged partridges - NOT amateur radio

We used see these handsome birds regularly in our garden but I have not seen any recently. 

630m WSPR RX yesterday

For the first time I tried my FT-710 on 630m WSPR RX using the coax to my 2m big-wheel via a ferrite rod ATU. Everything seems to work fine with stations in the Netherlands Germany and Norway spotted before I had to turn the rig off. 

Sunspots - Tuesday March 21st 2023

Solar flux is 156 and the SSN 75. A=13 and K=1. 

Plans for the day (Monday)

As we are out some of today, I shall probably go on 472 kHz WSPR RX this evening. It is getting later in the season, so I have no idea how it will go. I shall probably have to use the coax to my 2m big-wheel antenna with some loading.

Muntjac deer - NOT amateur radio

For the 5th time recently in our garden, a Muntjac deer scampered away. These are dog sized deer that look nice, but nibble away at some plants. In recent years, these introduced deer have become far more common here.

See https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/mammals/muntjac-deer .