Sunspots - Tuesday February 4th

 Solar flux is 220 and the SSN 153. A=4 and K=1.

6m QRP FT8 (Monday)

With my IC-705 I am TXing on 6m FT8 using the V2000 vertical omni antenna. So far this afternoon, 12 stations in England have spotted me.

UPDATE 1712z:  17 English stations have spotted me.

RF in the shack

By turning the power down I seem to have proved that there is RF floating around the shack. So far I have tried one clip-on ferrite bead on the antenna coax as it enters the rig. I have more clip-on ferrite beads on order which I shall add on the leads between the USB plug on the PC and various rigs. These should be here later this week.

OFCOM licences

OFCOM has announced granting ground station licences to Amazon for its satellite system, mainly aimed at providing internet services. I think their system of low earth orbit satellites is to compete against Starlink.  No doubt there will be a price war. See the OFCOM website for more details.

This will result in a huge number of additional satellites in low earth orbit. At some point these either burn up or fall to earth!

Tariffs - NOT amateur radio

The USA has already imposed heavy tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China. It is threatening tariffs on the EU and UK. Whilst I can (I think) understand the reasons, my view is this is a blunt tool that can do much damage to the world economy.

Like it or not the world is very interconnected with supply chains that go the world over. Whilst I can see the incentives to keep things local, this will come at a cost. Suppliers nearer to home are likely to have higher labour costs, so things are likely to be more expensive.

The USA may be big enough to cope on its own. Much of the world cannot. 

We may be at the start of a new world order with the USA (for now) forging an isolationist policy, unlike the rest of the world. It will be interesting to see what happens.

Local church - NOT amateur radio

This was our local church some summers ago. It will (all too) soon be spring. This winter has felt very long for some reason with lots of dull and dreary weather.

See http://eachurches.blogspot.co.uk .

10m QRP WSPR (Monday)

 In a few moments I expect to turn on my 500mW WSPR TX beacon.

UPDATE 1050z:  My beacon was turned on at 0948z. So far, spotted by 13 stations.

WSPRrocks by Phil VK7JJ

UPDATE 1504z:  Spotted by 28 stations today.

Winchester Palace - NOT amateur radio

This is NOT in Winchester, which was once the capital of England. It dates from the 12th century and is actually near Southwark Cathedral in London. It was in use until about 1700.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winchester_Palace .

Sunspots - Monday February 3rd

 Solar flux is 216 and the SSN 156. A=21 and K=0.

RF in the shack?

When I try to use the IC-705 on FT8 I get an error message saying that there is a problem with the sound card when I know the correct one is being selected. Probably there is RF in the shack. 

My antenna is an end-fed, and RF in the shack is often a problem with end-feds. I have never had the issue before. It probably depends exactly where the leads are placed.

Tomorrow I shall try adding ferrite beads to the antenna and PC leads to see if this cures the problem. 

One thing I should try is reducing the RF power as this should prove it. With far lower power it should avoid the issue of RF feedback.  If this proves it, I know what to do to fix it.