15m QRP FT8 with the tiny QDX (Sunday)

At the moment I am trying 15m FT8 with the tiny QDX transceiver. Conditions are better than 10m, but still pathetic compared with yesterday.

UPDATE 1513z:  I have gone RX only after a brief period on TX. 

Stations spotted on 15m
FT8 RX today to 1518z

UPDATE 1618z:  326 stations spotted on 15m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1923z:  720 stations spotted.

UPDATE 2132z:  877 stations spotted. Now QRT. The QDX RX works really well.

10m QRP FT8 with the QDX (Sunday)

As 8m seems quiet compared with yesterday, I am on 10m FT8 with the tiny QDX transceiver. At most, it puts out 5W and it is probably nearer 4W. Conditions do not seem very great.

At the moment my furthermost report is from IM0LZK (1589km) on Sardinia.  To be honest, conditions seem really poor on 10m. On 15m, I was spotted in the central USA, but I did not stop on very long.

Good quote - NOT amateur radio

This quote was in the Knowledge today. The Knowledge is a free email newsletter that condenses the news from various world sources. As far as I can tell, it is pretty neutral. I find it very good.

"Remember yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present."

ICOM IC-705 transceiver

One of these was owned by me until last year when I traded it in for a Yaesu FT710. At the last minute ICOM dropped the internal auto-ATU and 4m in the European version. Personally, I find the auto-ATU feature in the FT710 useful as well as 4m. Sadly, the FT710 does not cover 2m and 70cm.

The IC-705 is a great rig, although it did have noise issues when a USB cable was connected between the rig and a PC. This issue was overcome with a decent, filtered, cable, but this was a design fault that should have been fixed.

I am still surprised Yaesu seems to have dropped out of the HF QRP market when they were clear market leaders at one time.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/commercial-rigs/icom-ic-705 .

10m QRP WSPR TX (Sunday)

At about 0840z, I turned on my 500mW W5OLF 10m TX WSPR beacon. So far, just FR1GZ (9724km) spotting me.

Internet time sync - NOT amateur radio

For 10m WSPR, I usually sync time using my atomic clock in the shack. For 8m FT8 and WSPR, I usually sync to internet time using the built-in sync with Windows 10. For some reason (too busy?) this sync was not happening earlier. I shall try again later. As far as I can tell my PC clock error is just a few seconds at most, so I hope this is OK for now.

Sunspots - Sunday May 28th 2023

 Solar flux is 157 and the SSN 125. A=4 and K=3.

QDX transceiver

This is a tiny, digital only, HF transceiver that may be used with free software like WSJT-X or JTDX.  It is available in a version for the lower HF bands or 20-10m. Most people buy it as a kit, but I bought mine ready-made as my soldering skills are poor these days. Years ago my fine motor skills were very good. My wife once said that I could write the Lord's Prayer on a postage stamp. She was probably right!

It produces 5W and is very small.

With the popularity of digital modes, this is all most people really need. It works extremely well. Hans makes some excellent pieces of kit.

Mine is regularly copied all across the world on a very basic antenna.

See https://qrp-labs.com/qdx.html .

Murder - NOT amateur radio

We saw this dead pigeon (or rather what remains of it!) at Anglesey Abbey, near Cambridge, this morning. It looks like it was killed by a sparrow hawk or buzzard.

Football - NOT amateur radio

Although I rarely go to a football (soccer) match, I take an interest. 

Coventry and Luton were at Wembley battling for a place in the Premier League. It was a hard fought match that Luton eventually won after extra time and a penalty shoot out. 

This was very tense and your heart bleeds for Coventry man who missed his penalty. It was a very close fought match that both teams deserved to win.