Solar flux is 81 and the SSN 14. A=4 and K=0.
14 Dec 2020
13 Dec 2020
80m FT8 RX
For a total change, I am on 80m FT8 RX with the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. So far this evening, 71 stations across Europe have been spotted.
UPDATE 2038z: 231 stations spotted. Apart from 2 in North Africa, all are in Europe, I think. I shall leave the RX on overnight to see what is spotted.
SPAM - NOT amateur radio
Every day, I get loads of emails trapped by Gmail in my SPAM folder. Most days I get emails that tell me how much my account has been credited, that I should buy some bitcoins, that my anti-virus is about to run out (even though I don't use the one stated), and a girl in the Ukraine wants to bed me (clearly she hasn't seen my photo!).
As mentioned before Gmail generally does a good filtering job and I change passwords frequently.
That post-BREXIT trade deal - NOT amateur radio
According to the press, the EU and UK are still talking.
I am sure there is brinkmanship on both sides going on, and in the end they want the outcome to look like a victory, hard one, on both sides. Although I am not a betting man I give the odds 60:40 on forging a deal. A no deal would do neither side any good. It would not surprise me if this is after Christmas.
Boris Johnson, the UK Prime Minister is no saint. The EU has been portrayed as protectionist. There is little doubt the EU has done some good for the UK. On the other hand (e.g. Covid vaccines) they seem very slow.
What the UK wants is free trade and less bureaucracy.
RSGB contest rule change - Dec 5th 2020
It is almost impossible to keep up with rule changes due to Covid-19 in different parts of the UK. The RSGB is taking a pragmatic approach. Basically, follow local rules for Covid.
ARRL 10m contest
A friend has reminded me that this contest is this weekend. Entries are for CW and phone contacts. I don't think there is a digital section.
These are the rules https://contests.arrl.org/ContestRules/10M-Rules.pdf
Plenty of 2m FT8 activity
After 1400z, things were a lot quieter.
See https://www.rsgbcc.org/cgi-bin/contest_rules.pl?year=2020&contest=2ndmgmcontest
See http://82.71.9.63:8080/cap/ for G0LRD's 2m FT8 grabber.
20m FT8 RX
This morning, I am on 20m FT8 RX using the FT817ND and the tiny loop on the shack windowsill. It is now 0952z and so far 29 stations have been spotted. At 0947z, I had been active for about 15 minutes. The furthermost spotted is RX3LK (4017km) in Asiatic Russia.
UPDATE 1855z: QRT.
Bethlehemian Rhapsody - NOT amateur radio
We got sent this by messenger. It is seasonal and you may enjoy it.
136kHz experiments
It is many years ago since I last transmitted on 136kHz. A record of my experiments is on my old website. The links are unreliable as this is my old website.
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