ICOM AH-5000 antenna

This antenna has just come to my attention. Like all things ICOM it is expensive. It is meant to cover all HF bands (maybe with a tuner on some frequencies). I have no idea how it performs. 

It looks like a Rybakov style antenna, but I have no idea. 

There are other, similar commercial antennas around which are far less expensive. 

Of course, you can roll your own and save a packet!

See http://g0kya.blogspot.com/2009/02/rybakov-vertical.html .

See https://amphenolprocom.com/media/pdfdocs/hf-5000.en-GB.pdf?timestamp=1660739714.

160m FT8

Many people suffer with high local noise on 160m. Even here in a rural village it is close to S9 on SSB.  

FT8 can be quite an effective mode as it only needs 50 Hz of bandwidth and works with very weak signals. For this reason, it can be very good with high noise levels as the effective bandwidth is so much narrower than SSB. 

As the (free) software effectively creates the 50 Hz bandwidth, narrow filters are not needed in the rig. SSB filters are fine.

WSPR needs even less bandwidth (about 6 Hz) but is not a QSO mode really, and takes nearly 120 seconds to send a message whereas FT8 needs 15 seconds to send a message burst. It take a few minutes to complete a QSO. Contacts are very basic.  JT8 supports free form messages, but I have not used this. Most prefer FT8 to WSPR.

See https://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/k1jt/wsjtx.html .

10m QRP WSPR TX (Wednesday)

As the 10m antenna is available, I am again on 10m WSPR TX with the 500mW beacon. It is now 0932z and I have been on about 45 minutes, but no spots.

UPDATE 0938z:  Just spotted by LA3RK (1064km).

UPDATE 1216z:  5 unique stations have spotted me today.

UPDATE 1422z: No further spots today.

Red legged partridges - NOT amateur radio

One of my Facebook memories today was this photo of 4 red legged partridges in our garden 5 years ago. We have not seen any for a while. These are introduced birds that are colourful and can be quite tame. 

8m experiment (Wednesday) - success already!

Although I have on been on QRP 8m FT8 on 40.680 MHz USB dial for only about 25 minutes, I have already been spotted strongly by HC02 (1808km) in southern Portugal. Yesterday I was spotted by S50B. There is still life on 8m, quite definitely.

UPDATE 1229z:  No further spots today. I think we are seeing fewer widespread Es openings or there are fewer monitors.

Sunspots - Wednesday August 17th 2022

Solar flux is 129 and the SSN 119. A=5 and K=3.

Storm risks

At the moment, all storm activity seems to the north and missing us. As this can change, I am watching the lightning maps "just in case" things alter. It feels very humid.

UPDATE 1544z:  All the storms seem to be clustered about 60 kilometres north of us. At the moment, this still looks encouraging.

20m FT8 RX with the indoor Miracle Whip

 4 stations spotted so far on 20m FT8 RX with the Miracle Whip.

UPDATE 1540z:  29 stations spotted so far on 20m FT8 RX today. All bar one are in Europe, but one is 3375km away in European Russia (UA9CK). Compromise antennas they may be, but they work with FT8. 

UPDATE 1628z:  72 stations spotted so far today on 20m FT8 RX with the indoor Miracle Whip.

10m QRP WSPR TX

My 500mW W5OLF beacon was turned on at 0827z.

UPDATE 0914z:  Spotted many times by EA8BFK (2880km) and EA8/DF4UE (2876km). This looks like F2.

UPDATE 1314z:  5 spots of me so far today.

8m experiment (Tuesday)

All being well (storm risk) I hope to be on 8m TX on 40.680 MHz USB dial FT8 QRP later this morning. 

UPDATE 0831z: TX turned on at 0827z.

UPDATE 1310z:   No spots on RX or TX FT8.  At the moment, the storm risk looks low.   As things don't look encouraging, I may QSY to another band on FT8.

UPDATE 1421z: Spotted by S50B (1220km). Now QSYed to 20m FT8 RX with the indoor Miracle Whip in the shack.

Our garden 2016 - NOT amateur radio

This photo shows how our garden looked in 2016 on this day. The grass is green! 

Consciousness - NOT amateur radio

This has been discussed before, but I am intrigued by consciousness. We, and arguably some other animals, have the ability to think and contemplate our very being. 

Is this a function, as yet not understood, of our brains? Does our consciousness just go when we die? Does it somehow survive after we die? Can some computers be sentient? 

Arguably, one of the greatest mysteries is exactly what is consciousness? Will we ever be able to answer this?

Sunspots - Tuesday August 16th 2022

Solar flux is 131 and the SSN 92.  A=6 and K=1.

10m WSPR QRP TX (Monday)

 As mentioned earlier, I am not on the radio whilst we have a guest. All being well, I should be on tomorrow.

Crimean Cannon - NOT amateur radio

This cannon outside Ely Cathedral was a gift to Ely after the Crimean War from Queen Victoria. 

It is a Russian cannon draped in the Ukrainian flag at the moment. 

Note the colour of the grass! We had a shower this afternoon. 

Goldfinch - NOT amateur radio

These colourful little birds are very common these days. They are probably one of the most common birds we see and hear. They are one of the most colourful birds in the UK. 

8m experiment (Monday)

As mentioned a few days ago, we have a guest, so I have not been on the radio.

If the thunder risks are low, I may be on later Tuesday.

Thunder risks

As I have mentioned many times before, I am definitely no expert on thunder and lightning. 

My philosophy is simple: if there is any risk disconnect everything. 

That is antennas, PCs, mains plugs, mains earths etc.. Although the chances of a direct strike are low in the UK, they are not zero. Also, surges in main voltages with storms in the vicinity can cause damage. Always treat storm risks seriously. I keep and eye on approaching storms. If there is any risk, I take these precautions. 

If you want to try to prevent damage from a direct strike, very thick straps are needed as lightning can be very powerful.

See https://www.lightningmaps.org/

Fine House and Garden - NOT amateur radio

This fine house and garden are near the entrance to Ely Cathedral. 

Sunspots - Monday August 15th 2022

 Solar flux is 126 and the SSN 104.  A=7 and K=2.