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/ .

Sunspots - Wednesday May 10th 2023

Solar flux is 180 and the SSN 151. A=14 and K=5.

160m QRP FT8

For a change, I am on 160m QRP FT8 running 2.5W to my earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. So far, 6 stations have spotted me with the furthermost ON4RST (371km).

UPDATE 2116z:  12 stations have spotted my 2.5W QRP 160m FT8. (see map).

Frustration - NOT amateur radio

Several times in the last few days I have had to ring about house insurance. After about a minute of time wasting drivel I was asked to say in a few words what my call was about. 

Clearly they were using voice recognition or AI. Without fail my few words were not understood! When asked was I asking about car insurance "is that right?" I replied "no!!".

In the end I was put through to a human being.   I hate AI.  With a poor voice, I am on to a loser every time!!!

10m QRP FT8 (Tuesday)

A few moments ago, I swapped to 10m FT8 instead of WSPR. I am running 2.5W. Both on TX and RX, spots received. Either the band has just woken up or most are now on FT8 rather than WSPR!

UPDATE 1405z:  5 stations have spotted me with the furthermost being 4X1UF (3513km). On RX, all over copied.

UPDATE 1704z:  8 spots of my QRP.

10m Es operation

As we approach the late spring and summer in the northern hemisphere we are entering the Es season. This usually means propagation out to about 1500km is possible on all modes, often with very strong signals. Es is good at any point of the solar cycle at this time of year.

Most days at this time of year 10m and the low VHF bands will open to somewhere. Not every day is good. Some days will be disappointing. Often antennas like CB whips work perfectly well. Usually a few watts is quite enough whatever the mode. 

The simplest antenna is just a low wire dipole, but my Homebase-10 may be useful. It is described on my website. It is essentially a wire halo. It could be scaled for other bands. It is low cost and makes a useful antenna for 10m.