Sunspots - Wednesday November 13th

 Solar flux is 172 and the SSN 116. A=5 and K=2.

70cm activity contest (UKAC)

 This evening is the November 70cm activity contest organised by the RSGB. I go on briefly with my 10W SSB and the 2m omni big-wheel.

UPDATE 2019z:  2 stations worked, then I gave up! Furthermost was G4CLA (105km).

2012 memory

This dates from 2012!! It was first posted on Facebook back then.

King's in the sun - NOT amateur radio

 

The photo shows King's College from across the Backs in the sunshine yesterday in the autumn colours.

All quiet on the Yaesu front

Some months ago Yaesu announced the FTX-1F which was hailed as the successor to the FT817/818 range and a competitor to the ICOM IC-705. Since then I have heard  ..... nothing!  Even on the rumour mill, it has been deadly quiet. 

Is there any information out there?

At the right price (below £1000)  and with the right features, it could be a serious player. 

In my time I have owned very many Yaesu products. They have all been very good and very reliable, although I have the feeling Yaesu lost its way and market leadership in recent years. 

The Yen is extremely competitive against the US dollar and UK pound at the moment.

Maybe, just maybe, they will get it right this time. I do hope so.

YouTube videos

There is an enormous quantity of stuff on YouTube. Whether your interest is amateur radio or something else, a quick search is almost sure to throw up something. The video attached is just an example. 

10m QRP WSPR (Tuesday)

My 500mW 10m WSPR beacon was turned on at about 0950z. No spots yet.

UPDATE 1242z:  29 stations have spotted me today with the furthermost WD4DLG (6287km) .

6m QRP FT8 (Tuesday)

My FT8 gear was turned on at about 0950z. So far spotted by 4 English stations at 0953z.

UPDATE 1425z:  22 stations have spotted my QRP 6m FT8 today. 

UPDATE 1741z:   24 stations have spotted me today. See map.

More Cambridge in the sun - NOT amateur radio

The photo shows the path up to King's College, Cambridge yesterday. It looks far more autumnal. At least the sun was shining!

PI4 versus FT8

Most beacons use PI4 whereas I would have expected them to use FT8. 

Does PI4 confer some advantages? Maybe better sensitivity? In my view, unless there is something about PI4 I don't know about, I would prefer beacons to use FT8 or at least have an FT8 sequence.

Just imagine if the IBP project beacons used FT8 on each band! One could leave a monitor on all day and see what comes through. 

This would be extremely valuable in the solar quiet years on the higher bands. 

I could see someone producing an IBP RX perhaps band switching to see which bands are open?