There is different Chippenham in Wiltshire.
7 Feb 2023
QDX status
Hans Summers from QRP Labs has been away for a few weeks, so the status of built QDX transceivers has not been updated for a while.
Looking at my place in the queue (updated Saturday), I think I should get mine in March. This will certainly be in time for the 2023 Es season, although I expect to span the globe this year with it by F2 propagation.
6 Feb 2023
What a difference a day makes - NOT amateur radio
I am glad I waited.
2m QRP FT8 (Monday)
When my coffee is finished, I intend to try 2m QRP FT8. It is daytime, so some people will be at work. Hopefully, some will be on.
On 2m FT8 I can run 2.5W to the omni big-wheel antenna. The 2m FT8 frequency is 144.174 MHz.
Usually, I monitor the 2m FT8 RX online at G0LRD about 25km from me to make sure all is working and my signal is clean. This is very useful.
UPDATE 1159z: My QRP FT8 was spotted by 12 unique stations and I have spotted 10 with the furthermost being F6FGQ (564km) in Brittany. On SSB I would have great difficulty spotting furthermost Brittany and Germany. Not with 2m FT8!
 |
| Stations spotted today on 2m FT8 RX with the big wheel omni antenna |
UPDATE 1645z: 57 unique stations spotted today on 2m FT8 RX. 7 countries. 2m dead? I think not!
Bye bye Christmas tree - NOT amateur radio
In the past, we have had artificial trees, but prefer a real one. In the photo it does not look too bad, but I can tell.
It is odd to think we will blink and it will be Easter!! Blink again and it will be Christmas again!
10m WSPR TX
My 500mW WSPR beacon was turned on about 0930z. So far, the Canary Is and a local have spotted me.
UPDATE 1201z: 5 unique stations have spotted me this morning with the furthermost FR1GZ (9724km).
UPDATE 1804z: 29 unique stations have spotted my 10m QRP WSPR today.
Plans for today (Monday)
Shortly, I hope to turn on my 10m WSPR 500mW TX beacon. Later, I might try again on 8m FT8, although I have not achieved much success very lately apart from by aircraft scatter.
The Almonry, Ely - NOT amateur radio
Thankfully the cheese scones are not that old!
The undercroft has vaulted ceilings and looks very, very old!
Sub 9kHz amateur radio
At one time I was very active monitoring amateur radio below 10 kHz. Stations from all over Europe were decoded. I also used to regularly run a website dedicated to amateur experiments at the very low frequencies. Some remarkable distances were spanned.
To TX, very big antennas are needed. For RX an E-field probe, which is tiny, is very effective. Extremely accurate frequency control is essential. This is usually achieved by GPS locking or locking to a VLF MSK signal, which is what I did. Bandwidths are measured in uHz. Timescales are measured in hours or even days! Casual listening is extremely unlikely to result in success, except perhaps by earth-mode over much shorter ranges.
Since my 2013 stroke, I have not been active below 10 kHz. Experiments continue and keen amateurs are still knocking on the boundaries and achieving what many thought was impossible.
5 Feb 2023
Ely cathedral - NOT amateur radio
DX soundbiites 2022
Although I do not actively seek DX these days, you may like to hear the DX soundbites recorded in Ohio last year.
8m FT8 (Sunday)
For the last few hours, I have been on 8m (40.680 MHz) QRP FT8. At 1206z, no spots on TX or RX.
UPDATE 1956z: No spots.
10m 500mW WSPR TX (Sunday)
My 10m WSPR beacon has been on much of the morning. So far, 4 unique stations have spotted me.
UPDATE 1735z: 25 unique stations have spotted my QRP today.
23cm aircraft scatter
It looks like my best chance of copying beacons on 23cm is via aircraft scatter. This is reflection off aircraft in the correct part of the sky. I have not tried this yet.
I am told that using software like Airscout allows one to predict when paths might be possible.
Of course, this is no guarantee of success, but at least tells you when it is worth a try. I have no idea how strong such signals might be. Based on lower frequencies, I would expect such signals to be quite good. I expect there would some Doppler as the plane is moving across the sky. I guess how much depends on the path and plane direction.
This should be interesting. I wonder which beacons I can see? From here, I hope I can see the beacons on Dunstable Downs and at Martlesham Heath.
Dropbox (nasty) - NOT amateur radio
Just received an email from Dropbox saying my free account is over limit. The page is very intimidating and almost forces you to pay an extortionate £95 plus a year for extra space. All their stuff seems designed to take money off you or send you emails you really do not want. Even cancelling is made difficult.
I think I have deleted my account. I do not like their approach at all.
For information, Google offers all the file storage that I need for far, far less.
4 Feb 2023
8m QRP FT8 (Saturday)
Despite my 2.5W FT8 to the dipole on 40.680 MHz being on since mid morning, no spots at all have been recorded on PSKreporter. I think this is the situation, although it could be delays at PSKreporter.
UPDATE 2148z: QRT. No spots all day.
10m QRP WSPR (Saturday)
My 500mW 10m WSPR beacom by W5OLF was turned on about 1010z. So far, at 1045z, spotted many times in the Canary Isles.
UPDATE 1229z: So far today, my 500mW 10m WSPR has been spotted by 5 stations.
UPDATE 1712z: 20 stations have spotted my 500mW WSPR on 10m today.
UPDATE 2150z: QRT.
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