Cambridge waking up - NOT amateur radio

After what has seemed a long and dark winter, Cambridge is becoming alive again.

8m

At the moment I am undecided what to do about my 8m TX permit. 

If I want to get a permit after April, it costs me £50 per year. Running 10mW ERP WSPR under ISM rules would be free. From an experimental viewpoint running QRPP WSPR, although much harder, would be a better experiment. I am appalled that OFCOM and the RSGB seem uninterested in genuine research unless I pay!

At the moment, my inclination is to TX 10mW WSPR without a permit.

My antenna wants renewing, as I currently have a high SWR.

Almonry, Ely - NOT amateur radio

The place in the photo has been serving food since the 1200s. Luckily the cheese scones are not that old 😉😉.

630m QRP WSPR overnight

In the last day and night,  26 stations have spotted my 10mW ERP from the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground.  No astounding DX.

Where I come from - NOT amateur radio

 This was a Facebook memory yesterday.

Sunspots - Monday February 26th

 Solar flux is 172 and the SSN 114.  A=11 and K=1.

630m QRP WSPR (Sunday)

My 10mW ERP  630m WSPR from the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground was turned on just after 2000z. 

UPDATE 2212z:  So far, 17 stations have spotted me.

Early spring? - NOT amateur radio

Although spring officially starts March 1st according to the UK Met Office, nature thinks it is already here with lots of daffodils and blossom already out. In my view we are several weeks early. Is this global warming?

630m QRP WSPR overnight

 

In the last 12 hours, my 10mW ERP has been spotted by 19 stations including 2 from Norway.

RSP1B SDR RX

SDRs is one area of our hobby not really explored. A few days ago I purchased the SDRplay RSP1B. 

It was connected up briefly yesterday after downloading the software, which was very straightforward. It is good being able to cover 1kHz to 2GHz with the SDR. 

I think there may be some noise from the PC getting into the RX, so I may add some ferrite chokes to the USB cable later. Watch this space!

UPDATE 1142z:   I am surprised by the number of artifacts. Adding chokes made no difference to LF/MF noise floor, so noise must be external.  I tried several antennas. Next thing to try is a sensitivity test on various bands using the FT817ND and the same antenna each time.

UPDATE 1232z:  Tested 70cm sensitivity comparing the strength of the Leicester beacon. On my 2m big-wheel omni antenna this is just on the noise level on the FT817ND. It was much the same on the RSP1B with the same antenna. This suggests the 70cm sensitivity is similar. Next is to try the Kent beacon on the two rigs on 2m.

UPDATE 1550z: Still learning, but 6m, 2m and 70cm beacons copied OK. Nice seeing whole bands at a time.

UPDATE 1812z:  Would I recommend it? It is great to see the whole way from 1kHz to 2GHz and to be able to just click on a signal.  If you do not have a general coverage RX, probably yes. Otherwise I am not sure. I need to learn more!!