Sunspots - Monday September 22nd

 Solar flux is 176 and the SSN 157. A=6 and K=2.

Windmill fantail shadow

When the sun shines we get some great shadows from the windmill right next door. 

This was the shadow of the fantail on the museum.

4m FT8 RX?

Even though I have no antennas for 4m, I am tempted to try 4m FT8 RX at some point. My recollection was that activity outside of the Es season was low though. I am also unsure of the 4m FT8 frequency these days. 

I might be just wasting my time. I would have to use the V2000 or 2m big-wheel.

10m 500mW WSPR TX (Sunday)

My beacon was turned on at 0932z.

UPDATE 2143z:  Spotted by 24 stations. Now QRT .

6m 5W FT8 (Sunday)

My gear was turned on at 0932z.

UPDATE 2130z:  37 stations from all over western Europe.  I am sure FT8 is catching very brief patches of Es. Now QRT. 

Sunspots - Sunday September 21st

 Solar flux is 166 and the SSN 158. A=5 and K=1.

Optical communications

The last time I did serious field work on 481THz over the horizon optical communication was before my 2013 stroke. Since then I have been too wobbly. 

This photo shows the gear used in these tests.

Micro80 QRP transceiver

This must date back about 40 years! Looking through some old photos, I came across this one of my 80m Micro80 transceiver. 

As I recall my first contact was with a station about 200 miles away and before it was cased and the Morse key was just tapping a wire onto the chassis!

I cannot recall the antenna.

Spitting Image

This was a BBC TV show (1980s?) that made fun with puppets of politicians, who sometimes take themselves far too seriously. It is now available on YouTube.

In my view, it is a good thing to lampoon politicians and is a sign of grown-up leaders and countries.

Corfu 2016

 

We enjoyed this Greek island and went there several times with my brother-in-law and his wife.