Sunspots - Wednesday September 18th

 Solar flux is 165 and the SSN 140. A=71 and K=1.

With my brother - NOT amateur radio

Although we message daily on WhatsApp, we see each other face-to-face a few times a year if we are lucky.  He lives in Devon and I am in Cambridgeshire.

Yesterday, we visited Bury-St-Edmunds. The photo is of us in the Abbey Gardens, with the ruined abbey behind.

Radio Magazines

 Already this year we have seen the disappearance of CQ and Radio User (at least as a separate magazine). Others may follow. 

At one time you could pop into a UK newsagent and see several radio related magazines. Not any more. Over the years more and more have closed or maybe gone online only. If you want a magazine about PC games or steam trains there are several to choose from.

It is as if few people are interested in radio technology any more, sadly.

10 years' time? The best we can expect is a few pages in a magazine about technologies in general. 

I have made my view plain in the past. Am I right or am I right?

Fewer EU openings today?

 It looks like there are fewer European openings today, which may account for just English reports so far (1039z) on 6m FT8.

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

Brother's visit - NOT amateur radio

As mentioned before, my brother and his wife are visiting us from Devon. Yesterday we went to Bury St Edmunds and today they have gone to Norwich. The photo shows some of the day yesterday.

4m

This is a band that is gaining in popularity. It is very good when there is Es, but it is also good for inter-G working. I am sure that with reasonable power and FT8 the whole of the British Isles would be in range. The new Yaesu FTX-1F is supposed to include this in European versions.  I would expect 6W and a dipole to reach widely on FT8 especially.

A while back I designed and build a 4m transverter that is on my website. It is only low power but managed to work well. It was in  GQRP SPRAT some years ago.

10m 500mW WSPR (Tuesday)

 So far today, no spots on 10m QRP WSPR.

UPDATE 1145z:  Local G4KPX (14km) seems to have stopped at breakfast time. EA8BFK (2880km) is now spotting me.

6m QRP FT8 (Tuesday)

My QRP 6m FT8 was turned on at about 0905z. 

UPDATE 1140z:  So far, spotted by 12 stations including 1 German.

UPDATE 1505z:  Spotted by 18 stations so far today. See map.

Sunspots Tuesday September 17th

 Solar flux is 170 and the SSN 103. A=23 and K=6.

Where my son got married - NOT amateur radio

 This is where my younger son got married. It is St Mary’s in Bury St Edmunds and has the longest nave to n the country.