Sunspots - Thursday August 4th 2022

Solar flux is 100 and the SSN 37. A=8 and K=2.

2m FT8 UKAC

Tonight is the 2m FT8 activity contest. Before the start of the contest I worked local G4NBS. Lots of stations spotted on RX.

IC-705 out of band?

As you may recall, I have an 8m UK permit for a year. Currently, I use my widebanded FT817ND on 8m FT8, but it would be good to use the IC-705 instead.

Many were disappointed when 4m was not included.

I am wondering if there is a wideband mod (possibly allowing 4m and 8m access, although maybe not to spec) that can be accessed via keyboard presses only, so the inside is untouched?

Having been in production for over a year, I am sure this will have been published if possible.

BTW, after misplacing my Radiotoday Guide to the IC-705 after many months I found it again..... on my shack bookshelf!

Swifts in the UK - NOT amateur radio

These migratory birds breed here and then go to central Africa on migration. They only stop a few months, then they go. One day they are on the wing screaming in feeding parties. Then the skies fall silent until next spring. Most leave in August. Although numbers are lower, I cannot say I have noticed. There are far fewer swallows here.

See https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/swift/.

Low sunspots

The less active side of the sun seems to be pointing our way, as the sunspot number has been low for several days. Hopefully, numbers will climb again in the days ahead. It is quite normal for sunspot numbers to vary.

10m WSPR

My feeling is that the Es season is drawing to a close, with no spots of my 500mW today, even though I have been on for over an hour. Yes, it is early, but usually a good Es day starts early.

Let's hope Jan was right in his comment yesterday that F2 conditions start to improve soon. It would be good to see more F2 spots in the 10m WSPR log.

UPDATE 1754z:   26 unique stations have spotted me today on 10m QRP WSPR TX.

UPDATE 2052z:   29 unique stations have spotted me today on 10m QRP WSPR TX.

8m experiment (Wednesday)

 Although I have been on for just over an hour on 40.680 MHz USB dial FT8, no reports of my QRP.

2m activity contest

5W pep QRP 2m SSB
contacts last evening

Last evening was the 2m monthly activity contest (UKAC) organised by the RSGB. As usual, I went on for about an hour with my QRP and the big-wheel omni antenna. 8 contacts were made, but with my poor voice it was hard work. 

I think tonight is the FT8 activity contest. I sometimes go on, but rarely submit results.

UPDATE 1301z: My VHF power max was set to 5W, so last night all my QSOs were with 5W pep, not 10W!!

Water lillies - NOT amateur radio

 

These, and the other flowers, were seen on our walk yesterday to Wicken Fen, UK.

Sunspots - Wednesday August 3rd 2022

Solar flux is 93 and the SSN 25. A=9 and K=3. 

Oil giant's profits - NOT amateur radio

The war in Ukraine has caused an undeniable rise in the costs of fuel and household gas. Only today one of the giants in the industry announced huge profits. 

Now I know some times things can be much harder, but most companies were not expecting these huge profits. This is at a time when millions of ordinary people are struggling to eat and keep warm.

My view is simple: this is obscene.

I am not a vocal politician, but this is asking for trouble. In many countries I think this could lead to revolt or even revolution.

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62382624 .

10m WSPR QRP TX (Tuesday)

It is now 1320z. There still seems to be plenty of Es about with 13 stations spotting my 500mW 10m WSPR today.

UPDATE 1522z: 18 unique stations have spotted my 500mW 10m WSPR today.

UPDATE 1748z:   23 spots of me today on 10m QRP WSPR.

8m experiment (Tuesday)

It is now 1314z and I have been on 8m FT8 QRP TX for about an hour. 2 spots  of me so far today.

UPDATE 1345z: 4 stations have spotted my 8m QRP FT8 today. Off whilst things cool.

UPDATE 1529z:  Back on QRP 8m FT8 TX again. In the last 24 hours I have received 8m SWL reports from 2 other countries as well.

Wicken near Cambridge - NOT amateur radio

The photo shows the village of Wicken not far from Cambridge, UK.  

This morning we walked to the National Trust cafe at Wicken Fen from Burwell Lode and back, stopping for a break at the cafe.

Enjoying the Australian winter - NOT amateur radio

One of our sons with his children in Queensland, Australia visiting his inlaws. 

5m recording from the 1940s?

In the late 1940s a recording of the very last night in the UK on 5m was made by Jack Hum G5UM, who lived in London, I think, at the time. I wonder if copies of this historic recording still exist?

Updated solar data

As we are early in the month, my favourite site for solar data gets updated with the latest figures.

At the moment, the peak of solar cycle 25 is expected in November 2023 with a peak of 141. I cannot recall what way of averaging was used. If this peak date is the case, HF conditions could be good for several years to  come. 

I recall spotting South Americans at the very minimum on 10m FT8. This is why FT8 could be so useful. I like FT8 as it allows easy monitoring of even short openings.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy good conditions! When conditions are good, SSB, FM and AM QSOs can be had with low power on 10m.

Fewer 10m F2 openings?

When I am on 8m, I use WSPR on 10m as this does not tie up the PC and the 10m antenna is available. 

Now this may be as a result of more people now using FT8 rather than WSPR, but I am getting fewer F2 10m WSPR spots than during the last solar cycle. Sunspot numbers have been quite high and I would have expected to get a few reports from further afield on 10m. Most stations are European. Maybe it is just that E layer reflections block the way up to the F layer?

Is it just me?

Time sync

In the shack I have an Asus laptop that is several years old, so I would expect the battery to be losing capacity, In the past I used an online time server to sync to internet time when using WSJT-X. I have found this a waste of time. 

Every morning, I resync the PC clock using the facility in Windows 10. I find that this is perfectly fine. Occasionally, I resync the clock "just in case", but get the feeling this is overkill.

So, I do not think anything special is needed.

Sunspots - Tuesday August 2nd 2022

Solar flux is 95 and the SSN 32.  A=8 and K=1.