Shortwave America blog

If you want to look at the quirkier side of SW radio activity check out http://www.shortwaveamerica.blogspot.com which is written by Dan KC9NCF. Most recently he's talking about pirate activity just below the 40m band.

137.5kHz WSPR 7-11pm UK time Friday

137.5kHz WSPR TX transverter

My WSPR beacon will be on-air from 7-11pm UK time Friday and any reports would be appreciated.

137.675kHz QRSS3 beacon report

The <20uW ERP 137.675kHz beacon was copied again by G3XIZ 48km to the west of me last night. I'm pleased with this report as the power from the PA was less than it was a week or so ago, yet he still managed to copy me. Work is now progressing on the class-E PA based WSPR beacon which should run about 10W from the PA (ERP around 20-50uW).

iPad case with keyboard ....but why???

http://www.senacases.com/ has a case for the Apple iPad which incorporates a Bluetooth connected full keyboard. Excuse me, but why not just buy a netbook at far less half the price in the first place? In the UK there is a range of netbooks available around £180-220 whereas the cheapest iPad is over £400.

137.675kHz QRSS3 beacon back on

This evening I restarted beaconing with my sub-20uW ERP beacon on 137.675kHz having fixed the blown FET PA. The current design is stable and seems to be working very reliably with around 4-5W from the PA. All being well the latest version of the 137.5kHz WSPR beacon will be ready and on-air this weekend. The design of this is a class-E PA and should run around 10W from the PA with an ERP of up to 50uW.

Sub 9kHz NoVs - a step nearer

The current UK applications for sub-9kHz NoVs have now been forwarded to the Met Office and I understand they have been received. With luck we may hear about the outcomes in the next few weeks. Currently there are 3 people appying for these G3XBM, G7NKS and G3XIZ. If these are successful I expect G3KEV and several others will also apply.

ULF/ELF/VLF radio technician job vacancy

If you fancy a job engineering radio instrumentation below 10kHz here is your chance. Armargh is in Northern Ireland, which is a truly beautiful part of the British Isles.

A research-technician-grade position is available at the Armagh Observatory funded by the EuroPlanet Research Infrastructure (RI) under the Seventh Framework Programme of the European Union (EU). Salary will be in the range £18,486 - £29,719 per annum, the exact figure depending on individual experience.
The primary aim of the project is the construction of a working instrument prototype able to (a) record and store, in digital form, electromagnetic (EM) radiation signals in the ULF/ELF/VLF frequency range (3Hz-30kHz) (b) pick up naturally-occurring radiation while screening/filtering out manmade interference in this frequency range (c) be optimised for the high-quality reception of radiation thought to originate from meteors in the Earth's upper atmosphere. In addition, the equipment should be capable of operating in the field and at remote sites with a high degree of autonomy.

 See http://star.arm.ac.uk/jobs/2010/vlf_job_announcement.html

A nice break from the radio

For the last few days we've been looking after our 2yr 10month old grandson and this has meant a break from radio during the period as he sleeps in the room used as the shack. During the days we've been enjoying some great things including a trip to the seaside, a visit to a farm with lots of young animals, picking blackberries and similar, simple pleasures. On Wednesday it will be back on with the 136kHz experiments, but we'll miss his company.

Heatsinks and IRF510s arrive

My heatsinks and more IRF510s have arrived in the post today. All being well I'll get these into my 136kHz QRSS3 beacon and transverter shortly and be back in business by the weekend, although operating time will be limited because my elder grandson is staying and sleeping in the shack.

Grandchildren time

After a busy few days building LF kit (and blowing it up!) it is now time again for our grandchildren. Our younger grandson came to stay last weekend and this weekend we have our elder grandson with us. The picture here is with me in the lane close to our home on his way to feed Maggie the horse, who is a favourite with both grandchildren.