2011 holiday - NOT amateur radio

 In 2011 we had a holiday in Perigord. 

Software VLF RX

This very simple software RX by SM6LKM was found about 10 years ago. I think it has been developed further by others.

Sunspots - Tuesday September 20th 2022

Solar flux is 128 and the SSN 74. A=11 and K=2.

8m FT8 tomorrow?

F2 conditions are getting better, so I may try 8m FT8 tomorrow PM.  I shall probably go on 10m FT8 in the morning. 

At some point this autumn I hope to copy USA 8m stations on 40.680 MHz FT8. To get any reports of my 8m FT8 signals or even a QSO across the Atlantic would be incredible.

23cm antennas?

Next year, all being well, I hope to try some /P 23cm operation in some of the RSGB organised activity contests (UKAC). I am wondering if there is a popular antenna used in these contests?  

Clearly very high gain antennas will give good signals, but will miss stations that are out of the very sharp beamwidth, whereas smaller antennas will have broader beams, but less gain.  Perhaps, stations use one antenna for hunting, then a sharp, high gain one when on beam.

It is a very long time since I was on 23cm and then only RX.

Is there a favourite antenna?

History - NOT amateur radio

Whatever your views are on the monarchy, today's funeral of Queen Elizabeth II of the UK was historic and will have been viewed by billions of people across the globe. 

We watched on TV. 

10m FT8 RX (Monday)

This morning, I am on 10m FT8 RX. Lots of F2 propagation at 0752z. 

UPDATE 1035z:  Worldwide (almost) reception on 10m FT8 RX this morning.

UPDATE 1450z:  513 stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX today from all over the world.

UPDATE 1920z: 1021 stations spotted today on 10m FT8  RX today. Like old times!

Sunspots - Monday September 19th 2022

Solar flux is 136 and the SSN 51. A=11 and K=1. 

10m FT8 RX (Sunday night)

As I totally failed in my quest to copy the EI1KNH beacon, I have QSYed to 10m FT8 RX. I was going to go QRT, but decided to leave things on for a few minutes. The FT8 segment was full of stations from South America. I went QRT then.

23cms - which locals can I expect to work?

Within 25km of me are probably several stations that I could work on 23cm with a very modest indoor antenna. When my transverter  arrives I shall have to arrange a few skeds!

Future plans

Starting tomorrow, I expect to be mainly on 10m QRP FT8. If F2 looks promising I shall QSY to 8m FT8 on 40.680 MHz hoping for the USA. This might be possible in late October or November.

My order and payment for the 23cm transverter has been received. When it comes, I shall try for some local 23cm QSOs, although my main aim is some UKAC sessions /P next year.

Queues - NOT amateur radio

Do the British like queues?

Our son has just been around for lunch and made a very sensible suggestion about the queue to see the Queen's coffin lying in state. 

Instead of the stupidly long queue why not allocate people timed slots which could have been obtained at ticket offices or online? Some people queued for many cold hours overnight! 

Looking back, the queues were totally unnecessary. Instead, they could have been told. "your slot is Friday at 2145" or similar. They could have then gone away and come back at their appointed time.

In this modern age this was so stupid.

10m QRP WSPR (Sunday)

When on 8m FT8 or other modes, the FT817ND and PC are tied up, so I go on 10m WSPR with the W5OLF 500mW beacon. 

So far this morning, just spots from the Canary Is by what seems like F2 propagation. No signs of any Es today.

UPDATE 1345z:  Some reports have been +6dB S/N which is very strong.

UPDATE 1830z:  FY5KE (7110km) in South America has potting me twice. F2? Probably. The 3 unique stations spotting me today are shown in the table.

The power of the media - NOT amateur radio

It is hard to appreciate just how much the media influences us all. 

In Russia, folks are told that the war in Ukraine is a "special operation" to liberate oppressed people. In the west we are told the Ukrainians are without fault. In the 1970s we were always told the USA was perfect in Vietnam and the Vietcong was evil.

We rarely hear a truly balanced view. All sides want to slant things their way. 

The truth is usually somewhere in the middle. The west is not perfect, Russia is not perfect, Ukraine is not perfect, and the Vietcong was not the evil it was portrayed.

In all wars and in peacetime, the media influences us all. My plea is to get your data from multiple sources and make up your own mind. Don't always believe what you are fed.

Pear cake - NOT amateur radio

Our "harvest" this year has been pathetic and it would have been less costly to get the food from the local supermarket down the road!  

Nonetheless, nothing will be wasted. Take for example of the pear cake, made by my wife yesterday. 

EI1KNH/B 8m beacon last chance

I have been monitoring this Irish beacon for several days and with various modes. So far, I have had no luck. 

After today, I shall stop and try again with MSK144 in an MS shower. 

UPDATE 1815z:  Still nothing. Disappointing as G0RQQ, Keith, is able to get it in Lincoln. I am getting the distinct impression this is not going to work.

UPDATE 1943z:  Nothing. I shall go QRT soon on 8m FT8 RX on the beacon frequency. Failure!

Q900 all band, all mode ,transceiver

This version 3 Q900 transceiver from China looks like the FT817 replacement we never had. It is also much less expensive and is SDR based.  It is also much smaller than it looks.

Yaesu, you have had your chances, but never took them in the run up to solar peak 24 and now 25. Instead, Yaesu messes around with a 100W SDR radio that looks like the one they only recently introduced!! 

Yaesu, have you really lost the plot? 

We could all be forgiven for thinking this.  I used to like Yaesu radios. In recent years, I am really not so impressed.

Like all things from China my feeling is the quality control and support are still not proven. They will get there soon and this may be it.

Lower cost amateur radio products are coming and the big Japanese manufacturers are in for a large shock. The writing is on the wall. I give it a few years only. Certainly when we are in cycle 26 things will look very different indeed. Some of the companies we have known for decades will be gone and there will be new names.

Sunspots - Sunday September 18th 2022

Solar flux is 132 and the SSN 76.  A=5 and K=2.

Es season well and truly over

Although Es can occur at any time, the late spring and early summer are the best times. Often bands up 4m can bring DX to up to 1500km, sometimes more. Rarely, Es occurs at 2m.

Today, for example I saw no evidence of Es propagation on 10m WSPR. The only stations spotting me were probably via F2 propagation or local. The nature of Es is it is sporadic, so the bands can suddenly come alive, which is why FT8 especially can be so useful.

When DX is not around, bands like 10m and 6m can be seriously under-used. This is a pity as they make good bands for club nets and local chats. Antennas are small and local noise is often much better than 160m or 80m, where antennas can be big.

Summer visitors - NOT amateur radio

In the spring and summer, we get bird migrants from Africa. 

In recent years there have been far fewer swallows, although here, surprisingly, swift numbers are not too bad. Swifts mostly go in August to central Africa, whereas many swallows end up in South Africa. 

Most swallows go about now, although a very few may try to over-winter.  As our climate gets milder, some may succeed. It will be next spring before the swifts and swallows, hopefully, return. They have being doing this journey for thousands of years.

Bee-eaters

We are seeing some birds that would have been rare here 50 years ago like little egrets. Even bee-eaters have bred here this year. I have only seen these near the Mediterranean Sea.  

Over the winter we see birds from the far north, who think our climate is mild! Don't tell them otherwise! In this part of the UK we get swans from Iceland and Siberia over the winter.