Sunspot maximum

According to the forecasts, the solar maximum for cycle 25 is next month. It has been this for a long time. We are already seeing MUF figures above 41 MHz even on E-W paths. Usually the decline is far slower than the slope up. If so, conditions could be good yet for some while. It is not unusual to see a double peak. Enjoy the good times.

8m QRP FT8 (Tuesday)

 My 2.5W 8m FT8 was turned on about 0800z. No spots.

UPDATE 0850z:  Spots by local G4WSZ (12km).

UPDATE 1549z:  F2 conditions are the best I have known. My 2.5W and dipole FT8 were widely spotted in the USA and Caribbean. I have also spotted several transatlantic stations on 8m as well as 2 South Africans.

10m QRP WSPR TX (Tuesday)

At about 0800z my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon was turned on. So far, a local spot and what I think are F2 spots from eastern Europe.

UPDATE 1840z: Today, 64 stations have spotted me.

History - NOT amateur radio

 This was a FB memory today.

Sunspots - Tuesday October 10th 2023

Solar flux is 166 and the SSN 129. A=8 and K=2.

Kingfisher - NOT amateur radio

It is some years since I last saw a kingfisher. Usually you just see them skimming low over the water or on a branch overlooking a stream. 

The blue appears iridescent. They are spectacular. Photos rarely capture how magnificent they are.

See https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/kingfisher .

WSPRnet still faulty?

This morning, WSPRnet still reports an error, so I went on WSPR Rocks instead. I do not know what the problem is.

10m 500mW WSPR TX

My beacon has been on all morning. Local G4KPX (14km) and J41PAN the special station in Greece spotted me early on. There seems to be quite respectable European 10m propagation at the moment. This could be Es.

UPDATE 1715z: The map shows where my 10m QRP WSPR TX was spotted today.

8m QRP FT8 (Monday)

My 8m 2.5W FT8 has been on for about an hour this morning. So far just local G4WSZ (12km) spotting me. As usual, I am on 40.680 MHz, DF about 1950 Hz, TX first.

UPDATE 1142z:  Spotted by LX5JX (468km) tropo or aircraft?

UPDATE 1442z:  Today, I had my first transatlantic spot (F2 I assume) this autumn on 8m QRP FT8 with a spot by WW1L (4976km).

Sentimentalist - NOT amateur radio

At the moment, I am reading a book about swifts in which it says these have been around since the Eocene era i.e. about 50 million years. It is hard to grasp. This means these birds were flying high in the sky before humans came on the scene. I find this quite humbling.  I guess other migratory birds like swallows and martins go back a very long time too.

Most swifts, swallows and martins have now embarked on their long journeys south. I also keep an eye out for the first to come back each spring, probably as they have done for millions of years before me.