Sunspots - Tuesday April 18th 2023

Solar flux is 167 and the SSN 162 A=6 and K=3.

Loop antennas

Loops work remarkably well. They can be quite small. Their main drawback is they are narrowband so have to be retuned if moving too far in frequency. If using WSPR or FT8 this does not matter. For good efficiency, the inductor is usually made from copper pipe or coax cable. 

Sunspots - Monday April 17th 2023

 Solar flux is 178 and the SSN 155.  A=4 and K=1.

Anglesey Abbey this morning - NOT amateur radio

 

We go here every month. It is not very far by car. The photo shows some of the flowers out.

FT-710 webpage now ready

In the last hour, I have added the FT-710 page to my website. Over time, I hope to expand this.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/commercial-rigs/yaesu-ft-710 .

10m QRP FT8 (Sunday)

For about 30 minutes (it is now 1021z) I have been on 10m QRP FT8. So far this morning 7 spots of my QRP.

Stations spotting my QRP 10m FT8 today

UPDATE  1906z:  82 stations have spotted my 10m QRP FT8 with the QDX (see map). Interesting, that North America was spotting me whereas not yesterday.

UPDATE 2024z:  88 stations have my 10m QRP FT8 today.

New page on my website - NOT amateur radio

A few moments ago I added a new page on my website about our local museum and windmill.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/non-amateur-radio/burwell-museum .

In the near future I need to add a page on the FT-710 transceiver.

Dayton Hamvention

Mid may sees the Dayton Hamvention in the USA. This is probably the biggest amateur radio gathering on the planet. Often, the big manufacturers use it to announce new products, even if they are still in development.

I really hope Yaesu announces a real successor to the FT817/818, both of which are no longer in production because of component shortages. This is their very last chance. Otherwise I fear they will leave the amateur market. The impression you get is of a floundering market strategy in which they cannot tell their a*e from their elbow. 

What do we want?

• SDR based RX
• Better battery pack
• Auto ATU
• More bands
• Speech processor
• etc.

None of this is rocket science. Yaesu - pull your finger out!! Do it NOW!

UK licence changes?

OFCOM is looking at licences to improve efficiency. I have no idea what the changes will be. OFCOM is seeking opinions. Look on the OFCOM website for details.

Sunspots - Sunday April 16th 2023

Solar flux is 176 and the SSN 151. A=9 and K=1.