13 Jan 2024

500uW (0.5mW) 10m WSPR


This must have been one of the best days ever on 10m QRPP WSPR TX. EA8BFK (2880km) has spotted me 6 times.

London, St Pancras - NOT amateur radio

 

Eurostar trains to Paris and Amsterdam leave from here.

We went to London to eat out at an Italian restaurant nearby with our daughter-in-law and her daughter.


630m QRP WSPR in the last day

 


In the last day, 26 stations spotted my 10mW ERP. I think this is the best this season.

QSL cards

At one time, these were the main way of confirming a contact. An extensive network of bureaus meant that QSL cards could be sent across the world instead of directly. Some times cards could take months or even years to arrive!  

These days a contact may be confirmed a number of ways and eQSLs exchanged. I have to admit that I rarely send out QSL cards these days.

1950s amateur shack?


 This looks like a nice shack from the 1950s or early 1960s.

Sunspots - Saturday January 13th

 Solar flux is 186 and the SSN 188. A=4 and K=1 .

12 Jan 2024

630m QRP WSPR (Friday)


My gear (10mW ERP from the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground) was turned on at about 1648z. Already 4 stations have spotted me.

Norwich swans - NOT amateur radio

These, and many more, swans were on the River Wensum in Norwich earlier in the week.

Amazing to think stones for Norwich cathedral came all the way from France centuries ago up here!

8m QRP FT8 (Friday)

My 8m FT8 2.5W QRP was turned on a few hours ago on 40.680 MHz.  No spots.

UPDATE 1557z: PJ4MM (7483km) in Bonaire has been spotted on 8m FT8 RX. Nobody has spotted me!

10m 500uW (0.5mW) WSPR TX (Friday)

In the last day my 500uW (0.5mW) WSPR beacon has been spotted 3 times (there was a 4th earlier yesterday too). The power was verified with my TinySA spectrum analyser. The beacon is pre-programmed to say 0.5W even though the power is actually 500uW (0.5mW) with the PA off.

The beacon is on now.

UPDATE 1458z: No spots of my QRPP 10m WSPR today.