Sunspots - Sunday March 26th 2023

Solar flux is 160 and the SSN 105.  A=15 and K=2. 

Magnolia - NOT amateur radio

 

Magnolias in bloom are a sure sign of spring. We saw this in the nearby village of Lode. There were at least three.

630m WSPR RX (Saturday)

Rather earlier than normal, I have turned on 630m WSPR RX. So far spotted PA3GSH (396km), so my system is working. 

Again my "antenna" is the coax to my 2m big-wheel omni antenna tuned with a ferrite rod on the bench.

UPDATE 1930z: 2 stations spotted so far this evening with the furthermost DB8BG (498km).

UPDATE 2220z:  QRT soon. 6 stations spotted this evening. Furthermost was SM6BGP (981km).

Progress

About a week ago, I outlined the projects that I hoped to tackle in the next 4 weeks. So far, I am making progress. 

• My FT-710 now works with FT8 .
• I have had a QSO on 4m FT8, albeit with my 2m big-wheel and coax via the auto-ATU in the FT-710.

Next week, I hope to re set up my optical gear and do some local tests and arrange a 23cm SSB sked with G4BAO. 

Progress!

10m QRP FT8 (Saturday)

At the moment, I am on 10m FT8. So far, 3 stations have spotted me after about 5 minutes and 5 stations have been spotted on RX.

UPDATE 1152z:  6 stations have spotted me today so far with the furthermost RA9CIN (3701km). On 10m FT8 RX 78 stations as the map shows.

UPDATE 1225z:  12 stations have spotted me, 1 QSO and 123 stations have been spotted on 10m FT8 RX.

Spots of my QRP 10m FT8 today

UPDATE 1725z: 354 stations spotted on RX and 18 spots of me today on 10m FT8 QRP TX.

Lincoln 2013 - NOT amateur radio

In 2013, we visited Lincoln. It was very cold! The photo shows Lincoln Cathedral proudly on the hill. 

Sunspots - Saturday March 25th 2023

 Solar flux is 158 and the SSN 108. A=66 and K=2.

630m WSPR RX (Friday)

At 1850z my 630m WSPR RX was turned on. No spots yet.

UPDATE 2206z:   Still no spots.

UPDATE 2208z:   I am puzzled. G6AVK is usually copied, but I have had no spots all evening. As far as I can tell, everything is correct. It is not just uploading to WSPRnet as there are no local spots either!

UPDATE 2240z : Restarted WSJT-X and immediately got spots from the Netherlands and Germany. Not sure what was going on. Now QRT. 

Another banking crisis? - NOT amateur radio

Although the banking sector is supposed to be far more resilient these days, you could be forgiven for thinking otherwise. Bank stocks still look spooked by recent events with SVB and Credit Swisse. I hope this is short lived.

10m FT8 (Friday)

Am now on 10m FT8. Only D2UY (Angola) coming through, suggesting there is plenty of disturbance. I am not sure if there is a delay on PSKreporter at the moment.

UPDATE 1456z: Just 2 G spots of me so far. These are probably normal tropo. Furthermost is G4FAL (180km) near Sheffield. I remember that this sort of range was always possible with QRP 10m SSB and a dipole. It is probably even more likely with FT8. Pretty sure far more inter-G QSOs would be possible on 10m FT8.

UPDATE 1900z:   Now QRT, but in the end I was spotted by 8 stations and I spotted 12.