10m QRP WSPR TX (Monday)

So far, just one station in Denmark spotting my 500mW QRP  WSPR beacon. There are good days and bad days of Es. Up to now, today has been a bad day.

UPDATE 1243z: 5 unique stations have spotted me today with the furthermost EA8BFK (2880km).

8m experiment (Monday)

I get the feeling that the 8m experiment is losing interest. There are still some monitors, but the Es season is coming to an end. There are still openings, but these seem less frequent. I have been on 40.680 MHz USB dial QRP FT8, but sadly no spots on TX or RX.

UPDATE 1514z: Still no spots today. I am beginning to think I can learn little more until a lot more stations are active.

Sunspots - Monday July 18th 2022

Solar flux is 166 and the SSN 166. A=6 and K=1.

Anglesey Abbey bridge - NOT amateur radio

This bridge is over the mill leat at nearby Anglesey Abbey, UK. Every year, they remove the duckweed that forms on the leat during the summer.

Es bad day?

 It is still quite early, but I get the impression that Es will be infrequent today on 10m and 8m. Of course, things can rapidly change! 

UK political cartoon - NOT amateur radio

I think this first appeared in inews.co.uk. It made me chuckle. The candidates for the Conservative party leadership election and the UK Prime Minister job do not exactly fill me with excitement. We lack leaders of substance at the moment. 

90MHz or 90 MHz??

After nearly 40 years as a professional RF engineer you would think that I should know!! 

Should there be a space after the number before the kHz, MHz or GHz or not? Can either be used? I should try to use the correct format.

One thing is clear. Most engineers don't care! 

Sub 10 kHz amateur radio

This photo was a Facebook memory from 2011 and shows my earth-mode signal at 6km away. 

10m QRP WSPR TX

The 500mW W5OLF WSPR beacon was turned on at 0601z. 

UPDATE 1500z:  There seems less Es today. Is that why I am seeing FR1GZ (9724km)?

8m experiment (Sunday)

The FT8 QRP gear was turned on at 0601z on 40.680 MHz USB dial. 

UPDATE 1501z:  No spots all day on 8m FT8 here.  On again at 1530z.

UPDATE 1710z:  No 8m spots here all day. QRT soon. 

Sunspots - Sunday July 17th 2022

Solar flux is 176 and the SSN 153.  A=6 and K=1.

Raspberry Pi with wifi

One of the areas missing from my experiments is computers. When it come to Raspberry Pi devices I know nothing. 

Apparently a Raspberry Pi Pico is soon to be available for $6 that includes 802.11 wireless support. 

It won't be long before some enterprising amateur does a complete 2.4 GHz transceiver on a Pi board! 

Early blackberries - NOT amateur radio

The blackberries next-door seem to be ripening far earlier this year. 

Our grandchildren love picking them. 

10m WSPR QRP (Saturday)

As the PC, rig and antenna are free, I am on 10m WSPR TX with 500mW from the W5OLF beacon. So far today, just spotted in northern Spain. It is now 1000z. 

UPDATE 2040z:  9 unique stations have spotted my 10m QRP WSPR beacon today. Activity on FT8 is greater, but I am pleasantly surprised by the WSPR activity. On WSPR, most spots of me are by Es in Europe.

8m experiment (Saturday)

 Yet again I am on QRP 8m FT8 TX on 40.680 MHz USB dial. So far, spotted by EA3ERE (1153km). Nothing on RX.

UPDATE 1830z :  2 spots of my 8m QRP FT8 TX today (see map). Now QRT. 

A bit older - NOT amateur radio

This photo was taken in 1968. We have aged a bit and someone had hair!! 

Rally this Sunday

The following rally is due tomorrow Sunday July 17th. Check with organisers before any significant travel.

McMichael Amateur Radio Rally

https://mcmichaelrally.org.uk

Sunspots - Saturday July 16th 2022

Solar flux is 171 and the SSN 141.  A=5 and K=2.

UK fuel prices - NOT amateur radio

Since the start of the Ukraine war ("special operation"? Who is he kidding?) wholesale oil prices have dropped back about 20% to close to $100 a barrel. Whilst exchange rates have got worse, the price at the pumps has hardly changed. It is still hovering close to £2.00 a litre for diesel.

It would be good if UK fuel prices dropped a bit too, as fast as they go up. I know oil company profits vary widely, but big profits right now seem immoral.

10m QRP FT8 TX

As 8m wasn't looking very promising here this afternoon, I have QSYed to 10m FT8. My QRP TX signal has been widely copied in Europe and on RX I am copying the stations shown on the map.