After copying no stations at all (!) I gave up. I expect the next 70cm FT8 activity contest will be much better!
11 Apr 2023
80m FT8 (Tuesday)
As 6m was so poor, I QSYed to 80m FT8 using the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. Although I am receiving spots of my signal from right across Europe, it says I am receiving none. This is rubbish as I can see loads of stations locally. Either there is a delay with uploads from me or, more probably, my spots are not getting to PSKreporter. Shortly I shall do reset to see if this cures it.
UPDATE 1922z: The reset did the trick with lots of spots on RX. On TX 36 unique station spots of me so far.
6m FT8 (Tuesday)
In a word, hopeless. I have been on 6m FT8 for about a hour and have been spotted very strongly by just one station not too far away (50km). On RX absolutely nobody copied.
UPDATE 1708z: Still useless! Just 2 stations have spotted me and I have spotted nobody! Soon be time to try another band. I might give 80m FT8 a go with the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground - probably after tea.
Windmill next door - NOT amateur radio
This stunning photo of the windmill next door was taken by a neighbour K. Tingey.
E-field probes (EFPs)
These are tiny receive only antennas that can work extremely effectively at VLF, LF and MF where external noise is usually the dominant factor. I guess as local external noise is increasingly the dominating factor, these will be as effective as a "big" antenna at even higher frequencies. At LF they can be only a few centimetres long, but be as effective as antennas hundreds of metre long.
 |
| EFP on a mag mount for 2200m RX |
As the signal decreases, so does the external noise! Overall, nothing is lost. There is no advantage by using a large antenna at low frequencies for receive only. For TX efficiency, a large antenna and good earth help! A popular EFP design is that PA0RDT (Google it). I have made versions for LF and VLF with a tuned peak as shown in the circuit.
See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/antennas/137khz-efp-rx-antenna .
Double rainbow - NOT amateur radio
April in the UK is a strange month. Some days can be warm and sunny, whereas others can be cold. Yesterday was a mix of sunshine and showers. The photo of the double rainbow was taken in haste from the lounge window. A few minutes later it had gone.
10 Apr 2023
630m WSPR RX
At about 1940z, I switched to 630m WSPR RX with the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. So far, no spots.
UPDATE 2126z: Several WSPR spots of DC0DX (467km) at up to -9dB S/N.
Earth-mode paper
Someone asked for access to this file. It is now open so if you have this link you should be able to read it. It was sent to me some years ago.
See https://drive.google.com/file/d/16vtYNznORclXJTfpaT-RC7Z3IV8RKqyi/view?usp=sharing .
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