630m QRP WSPR (Tuesday)

 At about 1745z, I turned on my 630m (472 kHz) WSPR. 

Cambridge today - NOT amateur radio

We went to a free lunchtime concert, and that involved walking though Kings. The photo shows Cambridge today. 

It felt more like mid-summer. - very warm and sunny.

Good and evil - NOT amateur radio

My religious feelings are almost zero these days. However, I think evil does exist in this world, sadly. 

It would appear after 2 world wars and many subsequent wars, humans have learnt absolutely nothing. The Russian-Ukraine conflict and the Israel-Hamas conflict/war seem to confirm this. 

Surely after all this time, we would have learnt something. It would appear not.

Jaw, jaw, not war ,war.

WSPRnet error

All seems OK until I press the "unique" button on the database page (to see which unique stations have spotted me). This worked fine in the past. It has only stopped working in the last few days.

I use Chrome on a Chromebook. It has worked faultlessly for nearly 3 years. I have not tried with other browsers.

UPDATE 0900z:  Just tried Firefox. Same error message.

UPDATE 1801z:  I think the problem may have been fixed.

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 .