Late swallow - NOT amateur radio

Yesterday as well as seeing a couple of house martins I saw a late swallow. 

This is probably the last I shall see until the spring. I am pretty sure this is the latest I have ever seen one up here in East Anglia.

Sunspots - Friday September 27th

 Solar flux is 181 and the SSN 169. A=13 and K=2.

Cyber attack? - NOT amateur radio

 I heard yesterday that all the major UK rail station WiFi systems had suffered what was thought to be a cyber attack. If these can be attacked what else could be done?

Autumn and winter project

During the dark evenings this autumn and winter I intend to update my PDF Project Scrapbook. There have been a few changes to rigs that I should include. Also, there is more to say about 8m and 23cm.

6m QRP FT8 yesterday

Despite the main Es season being now well over, there is still some DX to be found. Yesterday with 2.5W FT8 my 6m signal was spotted in several places in mainland Europe. See map.  It is not the same as at the peak of the "season" yet monitoring can yield results.

Lightning risk

 Although there are no thunderstorms locally at present, the risk exists. Accordingly, I shall probably give the radio a miss today.

See https://www.lightningmaps.org/#m=oss;t=3;s=0;o=0;b=;ts=0; .

Oscar 100 narrowband transponder

Every few weeks (if I remember!) I try to give an update on activity through the narrowband transponder of this geosynchronous satellite. 

It has now been up for several years yet activity is tragically low considering it allows DX QSOs with much of the planet at any time without QSB with small fixed antennas.

The activity on this satellite says a great deal about our hobby and does not bode well for the future.

My last peek was mid-afternoon, mid-week in Europe. There was hardly anybody on. 

My theory is that unlike the few that rise to the challenge of assembling a ground station, most find this just too hard and instead just get out their credit cards so the dealer can buy a flashier car.

See https://eshail.batc.org.uk/nb/ .

QTH

 

This photo shows the windmill and my QTH. It was taken last weekend from the church tower. 

Our bungalow is the one immediately in front of the windmill. If you look carefully you can see my V2000 vertical (look for the white vertical).

Back of the garage 2012

 This was the back of my garage at the old QTH where most of my building was done . Since moving to my new QTH in the following year I have a dedicated room for building and operating.

Sunspots - Thursday September 26th

 Solar flux is 174 and the SSN 160. A=32 and K=3.