6m 5W FT8 (Sunday)

My gear (5W to a V2000 omni) has been on since about 1000z.

UPDATE 1215z:  9 spots of me with the furthest F6HGB (983km).

UPDATE 1405z:  11 stations have spotted me. 

UPDATE 2105z: QRT now. Spotted by 24 stations today. See map by Phil VK7JJ.

10m 200mW WSPR (Sunday)

 My beacon has been on  most of the morning.

UPDATE 1211z:  Best is a spot from Saudi Arabia.

UPDATE 1402z: 16 stations have spotted me with the best a station in Brazil. See table.

UPDATE 2110z:  Now QRT. Spotted by 21 stations today.

Bullies always win?

At this time of year the RSPB in the UK runs the Big Garden Birdwatch when people observe the greatest number of each bird type seen in an hour. I have been doing it for years.

This year has been the poorest with very few small birds seen - 5 species with mostly larger birds.

This seems like the world at large sadly. Often those with money and power dominate those smaller than them.

The world is changed by small steps of kindness one step at a time. The bullies of the world must not win.

136kHz QRSS3 experiments

One of the things I like about amateur radio is that it may be enjoyed in so many ways. About 13 years I was experimenting on 136kHz QRSS3.

Google (non)Adsense

Last evening my visitor count to this blog went up by a factor of about x10 in an hour!! This is clearly total rubbish. 

It's very flattering but clearly not correct. I am not sure how this is calculated, but the algorithm needs changing!

Sunspots - Sunday January 25th

Solar flux is 174 and the SSN 147. A=16 and K=3.

No radio today

As we went to Peterborough by train today, I did not go on today. I shall probably try 10m 200mW WSPR again tomorrow.

Ouse Washes, UK

This is part of the Fens in the east of England. It is rich agricultural land. In the winter, this stretch known as the Bedford Levels sometimes (intentionally) floods. It was created in the 1600s by the Dutch engineer Vermuyden. It is a famous place for migrating Whooper and Bewick Swans.

This was the view from the moving train between Peterborough and Ely earlier.

See https://www.britannica.com/biography/Cornelius-Vermuyden .

MLite-880 receiver

This is available via Aliexpress and seems to be a portable receiver with lots of features. It is not cheap. I see there is a video on it by Tech Minds on YouTube. "Made in China" seems to be on most things these days.

Sunspots - Saturday January 24th

 Solar flux is 180 and the SSN 195. A=28 and K=2.