Heathkits

In my youth these were a way of getting on the air for less by making your own gear.  

They were famous for their step-be-step assembly instructions. These days it is less expensive to buy Japanese or Chinese made gear either new or second hand.

I thought Heathkit had died, then I saw a website which had a few products. Compared with Heathkits of old, these were very limited and very expensive. I thought this "rebirth" was doomed to failure. It would appear it still exists, much to my surprise.

Unless they increase their range and drop their prices I just can't see them surviving for long. They must have a very loyal group of supporters.

See https://shop.heathkit.com/ .

President Trump's "private" visit to Scotland

It is reported that this visit is accompanied by huge security. 

As this is a private visit to his golf courses, shouldn't Mr Trump pick up the security costs? It seems grossly unfair if this has to be done by the Scottish taxpayers.

Instead, why does he not try a bit harder in his quest for a Nobel peace prize by helping to get a lasting peace in the Middle East and the Ukraine?

Sunspots - Sunday July 27th

 Solar flux is 143 and the SSN 136.  A=12 and K=1.

6m 5W FT8 (Saturday)

My IC-705 at 5W to the vertical omni V2000 antenna has been on since about 0750z.

UPDATE 1953z:  248 stations (mostly in Europe) have spotted me. Plenty of Es I think. On 10m QRP WSPR just 26 stations have spotted me by comparison.

UPDATE 2055z:  QRT

Canterbury

We spent some time in Canterbury with our son this week. Canterbury has some very old buildings.

End fed halfwave antennas

These antennas are popular as they cover many bands and are easily erected. Especially with high power, RF in the shack can be an issue.

At the end of a halfwave the impedance is high so they are usually fed via a wideband transformer to bring the impedance closer to 50 ohms.  Wideband transformers are usually 1:49 or similar. On their harmonics the radiation pattern can be very odd.

They can be useful antennas, but are a compromise.

The Es season

In the northern hemisphere the Es season is drawing to an end. The main season usually runs until about now. 

Although Es may occur at any time, it is most common in early summer. My recommendation is to "stick with it" on 6m and 10m Es to expect the unexpected.

UPDATE 0808z: Still plenty of Es I think.

Gaza

The dreadful situation in Gaza appals me.  The world agrees that what happened to Israel on October 7th 2023 was totally wrong, but the suffering in Gaza to innocents is on another level.

I am ashamed to be in England allegedly training IDF solders on UK soil and still selling weapons to the state of Israel.

In my view the following should happen:

• An immediate ceasefire.
• Humanitarian aid should be flooded into Gaza by UN agencies, not Israel.
• Press should be immediately allowed to go into Gaza.
• Palestine should be recognised as a country by the UK along side France irrespective of what Israel and the USA say. Enough is enough.
• Israel and its Arab neighbours should acknowledge their rights to live peacefully with their neighbours.
• Until there is a just peace, we should have nothing at all to do with the state of Israel.
• The USA should work for the good of innocents whatever their religion.

Is WSPR suffering to FT8?

Yesterday I was on 10m WSPR with 500mW and 6m FT8 with 5W. Now, WSPR is about 10dB better on weak signals than FT8, so these  should be comparable. WSPR needs almost 120 seconds whereas FT8 just 15 seconds. The other variables are the band and antennas.

Overall, I was spotted by far more stations on 6m FT8 than 10m WSPR. My conclusion is that FT8 is far more popular than WSPR. 

This is definitely not scientific, just my impression.

UPDATE 0801z: 99 stations have spotted my 6m FT8.  None on 10m WSPR.

Kite (bird)

 

A few years ago the sight of a kite flying overhead would have been unheard of. Since a re-introduction program these large birds are now common in England.

Yesterday, one flew overhead.

See https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/red-kite .