Panto - NOT amateur radio

Earlier this week we went to a local panto. It was very good. We have not been able to go for a few years because of Covid. This was like old times.

8m WSPR RX (Friday)

Martin G8JNJ is doing some 8m WSPR tests, so I am looking for his signal. The path loss between us means this very unlikely.

I have also heard today that a station in Bonaire now has an 8m licence - PJ4MM.  Bonaire is in the Caribbean. Not sure what this licence covers i.e. it is  limited experimental licence or a full amateur licence.

10m FT8 (Friday)

After lunch, I hope to go on 10m QRP FT8. Most days, the USA and Canada come through pretty well. When on RX I use 2.5W.  Mostly I just go on RX only as the FT8 slot is so full.

UPDATE 1453z:  So far today, 227 stations spotted on 10m FT8.  There is still an intermittent fault on my 10m antenna plug as the FT817ND initially said "hi swr".I shall have to investigate.

UPDATE 1635z: Before going QRT on 10m FT8 RX about 30 minutes ago, 274 stations spotted today.

Birthday - NOT amateur radio

Today is my birthday. I am 21 and (quite) a bit! One of my gifts was a voucher. I have bought an SDR with it.  

One of my presents is a signed book on the "History of Salcombe" by Roger Barrett. Salcombe is where I was brought up as a child. A good read over the holidays.

Another present from my son was champagne and a book on railway stations, again a good read. He always manages to choose presents people will like. 

Sunspots - Friday December 23rd 2022

Solar flux is 131 and the SSN 108.  A=12 and K=3.

Vegan mincepies - NOT amateur radio

 

The chef

Made entirely by our granddaughter. They tasted really good too.  

She did everything after a little instruction. They were every bit as good as the non-vegan ones made earlier. Actually they were at least as good, if not better. The secret is to roll the pastry very thin.

In future, I am sure she will be making them again, in her own home.

10m QRP WSPR TX (Thursday)

Whilst on 8m, the 10m antenna is free, so I shall again go on with my W5OLF 500mW WSPR beacon. I expect this will be about 1015z.

UPDATE 1645z:   QRT. Best DX today was a spot by FR1GZ (9724km).

10m WSPR QRP spots of me today

Promise - NOT amateur radio

We are now just past the shortest day, but we still have winter to get through. 

At least the days are getting longer although it will be some weeks before we really start to notice the changes. This photo was taken in March and keeps hope alive. Better times are ahead.  

These daffodils are on the path to our church. They are only like this for a few weeks, but bring such joy.

LED bulbs? - NOT amateur radio

Well I hope they have LED bulbs! Otherwise I hate to think of the electricity bill. They raise cash for charity. 

8m WSPR tests

Later this morning I will be on 8m WSPR doing a test with G8JNJ. Brief tests last evening were unsuccessful, but I want to monitor the web SDR to see if I can see any sign of the signal. 

UPDATE 1539z:  No spots of my 8m 2.5W WSPR today on the WessexSDR. Checking on the WessexSDR there was no sign at all of my signal, I was expecting a tiny trace at least. The WessexSDR is picking up EI1KNH and  G8JNJ.

See http://wessex.zapto.org:8060/#freq=40681500,mod=usb,secondary_mod=wspr,sql=-150

Sunspots - Thursday December 22nd 2022

 Solar flux is 139 and the SSN 103.  A=9 and K=0.

OTT? - NOT amateur radio

This is a place in nearby Soham, UK. It literally covered in Christmas lights. The electricity bill must be enormous. 

People come from miles around to look. They raise money for charity each year.

Christmas cheer? - NOT amateur radio

At this time of year, things are meant to be cheerful, but I have already had 2 pieces of sad news today. Everything always seems more poignant at this time of year.  This seems to always happen. Usually I am quite pleased when Christmas and New Year are over and things get back to normality.

10m QRP WSPR TX (Wednesday)

At the moment, I am on 10m WSPR TX (500mW) with the WSPR beacon. No spots yet.

UPDATE 1204z:  Just EA8BFK (2880km) spotting me.

Stations spotting me today om 10m QRP WSPR

UPDATE 1852z:   Just 4 unique stations have spotted me today. Nothing from the USA today, assuming things were working.

8m QRP FT8 (Wednesday)

 Yet again, my 2.5W 8m FT8 to the dipole is on air. As usual, I am on 40.680 MHz.

UPDATE 1333z:  No spots today.

UPDATE 1845z: Just G9PUV (158km) on the south coast of the UK spotted on 8m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 2053z:  Just tried some 8m WSPR tests.  Martin (G8JNJ) was monitoring on his web SDR, but sadly no spots.

2m operation

In the last 40 years, activity on 2m has changed a great deal. When G8 stations were first permitted on 2m in the UK, the band was quite busy on FM and SSB. 

Since then, people rarely come on just for a chat. These days people can chat, with video, to anyone in the world for free without a licence, on the Internet on a PC, tablet or smartphone.  Instead, many people appear on the amateur bands  just for contests or when conditions are good. There is a lot more use of digital modes like FT8 which needs very little spectrum. FT8 is ideal for squares hunting, but not for chatting.

If we are totally honest, we do not need the spectrum we have on 2m and 70cm most of the time.  For FT8, 100 kHz would be more than enough. Even 3 kHz is enough most of the time. When there is a lift on, we may need more, but 2 MHz at 2m seems very generous. At 70cm, this is even more so, and here we have even more spectrum available to the Amateur Radio Service. Of course, this cannot be discussed with OFCOM or the FCC in case they reduce our allocations. I know the priority is to hang on to the allocations we have.

Personally, I would be in favour of more VHF/UHF bands, but slightly narrower, possibly with a lower power limit.  This would encourage research and self training. Many bands could be secondary allocations.  Would anyone really is miss 5 kHz off every VHF/UHF band? Be honest!

Without doubt I will be pushing up daisies long before then! 

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/vhfuhfmicrowaves/2m-operation .

Shortest day - NOT amateur radio

Today is the shortest day in the northern hemisphere. After today things slowly get lighter for longer. It gets darker in the morning for a while. It is the end of January before things really become noticable.

Sunspots - Wednesday December 21st 2022

Solar flux is 139 and the SSN 119.  A=13 and K=1.

Christmas cheer - NOT amateur radio

 

These musicians were in the marketplace in Cambridge earlier today. They were trying to bring a little Christmas cheer to shoppers.

Grand Arcade, Cambridge earlier - NOT amateur radio

This was the Grand Arcade in Cambridge earlier today.