Rally this weekend

The following rally in Scotland has been announced. Please check with organisers first to ensure the information is correct.

Sunday May 14th - Braedhead Rally, G51 4BN. Contact admin@braeheadradiorally.com. 

8m QRP FT8 (Thursday)

It is now 1140z and I have been on 40.680 MHz QRP FT8 for about 50 minutes. So far, one spot from Poland by Es. So far this year 3 countries have spotted me via Es.

UPDATE 1345z:  3 stations have spotted my QRP 8m FT8 so far today and I have spotted 2. One exchange of FT8 reports was with S77A (1194km).

Thatched cottage - NOT amateur radio

Many of the villages around here have some very attractive thatched cottages like this one.

Last evening on 70cm FT8

As far as I know, conditions last night were normal on 70cm. 

Despite this, 36 stations were copied in the 70cm FT8 activity contest (see map), as far as Germany. And all this was on a 2m omni antenna on RX!  It seems that some sort of troposcatter is possible using FT8. 

Imagine what would have been copied if I had had a typical 70cm beam. If this works at 70cm, what about 23cm or even 13cm? On these bands ERPs of kilowatts are possible with average beams.

No, FT8, has transformed VHF/UHF, making DX possible at any time with very modest stations. If activity was higher people would be making DX QSOs at any time, irrespective of conditions.

Sunspots - Thursday May 11th 2023

Solar flux is 170 and the SSN 154.  A=26 and K=3.

70cm FT8 activity contest

The RSGB activity contest (UKAC) starts at 1900z, but I think the European contest starts earlier.

The map shows the activity on 70cm FT8 well before the UK contest starts! 

My antenna is just a 2m big-wheel omni too!

Ely cathedral - NOT amateur radio

Ely is about 8 miles away "as the crow flies". It is about 12 miles away by road. On top of the hill is the magnificent cathedral that may be seen, like Chartres in France, from miles way. 

At one time, it was surrounded by marshy land hence the name "Isle of Ely".

8m QRP FT8 (Wednesday)

At about 1530z, my 8m FT8 was turned on. I am on 40.680 MHz with a DF of about 1950 Hz TXing in the first period. No spots.

160m QRP FT8 (Tuesday evening)

With SSB bandwidths my noise level on 160m is around S9. On FT8 (50 Hz bandwidth) I have no trouble getting across Europe with 2.5W and my earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. Last night my CQ calls were answered by stations in France and Germany.

If you have noise issues try FT8 (50 Hz) or WSPR (6 Hz).

Oscar 100 - getting better?

Every few weeks I look at activity levels on the narrowband transponder of this geosynchronous satellite. Most times it is a tail of woe with activity levels far below what I would have expected.  My last peek was at 1410z on a weekday afternoon in Europe.

This time, activity seemed better. In fact, I have never ever seen it busier!

See https://eshail.batc.org.uk/nb/ .