Hedge trimming finished - NOT amateur radio

 The whole hedge has now been trimmed. I feel more tired than before!!

Father’s Day - NOT amateur radio

Gifts and card from my younger son.

2m SSB with a Liner-2

 

Pretty sure these first became available in the 1970s. They were based on a 10m rig and they revolutionised 2m. 

I got one second hand and was amazed how far I could work on a very basic antenna. Prior to getting my Liner-2, I had only used QRP AM and FM rigs. Most nights I found I could contact stations hundreds of kilometres away.

Later many used the ICOM IC-202 with a 30W amplifier and Tonna 9 el antenna.

These days the bands at VHF are far quieter as people have other ways of chatting (the internet) and working DX (FT8).

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/vhfuhfmicrowaves/vhfuhf-commercial-rigs/belcom-liner-2

Sunspots - Sunday June 16th

 Solar flux is 171 and the SSN 134.  A=18 and K=3.

QMX+ first steps

So far I have not tried TX. 

At the moment I am familiarising myself with the menu system. So far, so good. It would appear that the diodes in the supply line drop the voltage to the rig to a safe 9V.

Tomorrow, I hope to try 10m or 6m FT8 or WSPR TX.

Rigpix

Amateur Radio Weekly brought to our attention the Rigpix database. If you have not noticed it, it is a very useful site for information about rigs including photos and specs..

See https://www.rigpix.com/ .

Changing coastline of Britain - NOT amateur radio

This map was on social media recently. It shows how the British coastline probably looked over the last few thousand years. In a human lifetime things change too slowly to notice.

Laurel hedge - NOT amateur radio

When we moved here almost 11 years ago we planted a laurel hedge. It looks fine, but needs a regular trim. In between the showers, I am trying to cut it. 

Bite sized chunks seems to be the best approach. I have done about half the top and some of the sides. Now coffee is called for.

6m 2.5W FT8 (Saturday)

My 2.5W 6m FT8 to the V2000 vertical omni antenna is turned on. So far this morning,  30 stations have spotted me.  

UPDATE 1256z: Now spotted by 64 stations. Most look like Es propagation. See map.

UPDATE 1721z: 136 stations have spotted my 6m FT8 QRP today. Most look like Es.

10mW 10m WSPR (Saturday)

Once again I am trying 10m WSPR at 10mW. So far, 2 spots by EA8BFK (2880km). This looks like F2 rather than Es.

UPDATE 0935z:   No further spots of my 10mW 10m WSPR TX.

UPDATE 1302z:  5 spots by 3 different stations of my 10mW 10m WSPR today. 

UPDATE 1608z:  9 spots of me by 5 stations so far today.