630m QRP WSPR (Thursday)

For a change, I am again on 630m WSPR with my 10mW ERP from my earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground.

UPDATE 1908z:  So far, just spots by G8OCV/SDR.

Puzzled

At the moment, I remain puzzled: at 10mW I was surprised that FT8 worked at all on 6m. Already today (presumably by Es) 10 stations have spotted me on 6m FT8 at 10mW.  

At 13dB weaker my 10m WSPR at 500uW remains unspotted. I had assumed that signals 13dB weaker might have been harder, but then WSPR works with signals considerably weaker than FT8.

Probably Jan OZ9QV is correct, that the far shorter TX period for FT8 (about 15 seconds) catches very brief Es bursts with FT8 that the 120 seconds needed for WSPR does not decode: the Es cloud has to remain around for longer.  Perhaps Es just bubbles up for very short periods more than we thought. Maybe FT4 would be better still, even though it is even less sensitive?

With FT8 I am pleasantly surprised how well just 10mW works with 6m FT8.  Of course the WSPR signal at 500uW is more likely to be buried in noise too. Overall, I suspect the briefness of FT8 must help more than I was expecting.

Rally this Sunday

 The following rally has been notified to me. As always, I recommend contacting organisers to check details.

Sunday May 26th - Durham and District ARS Radio Rally. Bowburn, DH6 5AT. Contact dadars@gmx.com .

Cambridge bookshops - NOT amateur radio

When I first came to Cambridge in 1970 there were loads of bookshops and it seemed a sleepy academic town. 

Many people nowadays prefer to buy their books online, so there are fewer bookshops left. 

The photo shows one that is still around although it would not surprise me if much of its business is now online. Many of the books they sell are secondhand.

10m 500uW WSPR (Thursday)

 My 10m WSPR QRPP beacon is on again. 

UPDATE 1553z:  No spots.

European Es (Thursday)

At the moment, Es in Europe looks promising. Time will tell.

See https://www.tvcomm.co.uk/g7izu/radio-propagation-maps/europe-sporadic-e/ . 

All change - NOT amateur radio

 

We change our bedding plants for the spring and summer. 

These were planted yesterday. I hope they grow and thrive.

6m 10mW FT8 (Thursday)

Once again, I am on 6m FT8 with 10mW and the V2000 vertical omni antenna. So far, no spots.

UPDATE 1220z: 8 spots so far.

UPDATE 1705z: 20 spots of my 10mW 6m FT8 today (see map).

UPDATE 1713z:  23 stations have spotted me today.

Greenpeace and a multinational oil giant - NOT amateur radio

This morning, I received a WhatsApp message from a friend urging me to sign a petition. 

Sadly, these days I get very paranoid about links thinking the link could be a virus or bot being installed. If you are unsure of a link never, ever click it. Check that it is genuine by some other way if in any doubt. Often scammers try to work on your better nature trying to oblige a friend. A common one is "are you in this video?".

In this case I think it was genuine about a multi-billion pound profit multinational oil giant suing Greenpeace. Deep state gone mad again.

See https://www.greenpeace.org.uk/ .

Sunspots - Thursday May 23rd

 Solar flux is 196 and the SSN 120. A=4 and K=1.