It is now 1515z. My 8m FT8 QRP was turned on at about 1500z. So far, no spots at 1522z.
9 Mar 2023
10m QRP WSPR (Thursday)
At about 1500z, my 500mW 10m WSPR TX beacon was turned on. So far, no spots today.
Rallies this weekends
The following rallies have been notified to me. If travelling far, it is always worth checking the information is correct before setting out.
- Saturday March 11th - South Kesteven ARS Junk Sale, Gantham, NG31 7AU. Comtact s.mason@skars.co.uk .
- Sunday March 12th - British Vintage Wireless Society Meet, Biggleswade, SG18 8JH. Contact jesser3@hotmail.com .
- Sunday March 12th - Dover ARC HAMZ, Ashford, Kent, TN24 9QX. Contact club@darc.online .
Fancy a job? - NOT amateur radio
It is now nearly 15 years that I have been retired. Local companies are still looking for good RF engineers. At my age and with my poor voice, I think I shall just stick to amateur radio and the odd article writing!
481 THz optical experiments
It is many years since I used my optical gear. As mentioned previously, I want to check it all works, download Spectran 2 and do some local tests initially. Our local church is about 300m away, so perhaps I can do some QRSS tests bouncing off this?
It the local tests work, I would like to do some over the horizon tests with G4HJW who is about 10km away. Sadly, there is a lot of clutter locally, so perhaps I would have a better chance with Bernie using cloudbounce, rather than clear air scattering? He might have to point to higher in the sky. With passing clouds, I might well copy him.
Being far more wobbly these days, this will be far harder for me now.
All my 100mm gear is still in the shack, but it all needs putting together and testing.
Spring? - NOT amateur radio
With snow on the ground it is hard to think of spring! We had snow overnight, which stopped this morning. My wife took these photos earlier this week and made the collage. A few more weeks?
Birthday boy - NOT amateur radio
Today is our elder son's birthday. We went out with him for lunch yesterday in Cambridge.
Faulty PC repaired - NOT amateur radio
Yesterday I had an email to say my PC had been repaired and checked and Asus was awaiting collection by the courier.
This was under warranty and was done very fast. I expect they just swapped the motherboard. They have contacted me at every stage. I hope it is OK now.
When it arrives back I must check it and see if FT8 works with the FT-710.
70cm FT8 activity contest
Yesterday evening was the 70cm FT8 activity contest (UKAC). I can only use 2.5W to my 2m big-wheel omni antenna, yet stations as far away as Germany were copied (see map) and 2 locals worked. I was not on very long as we have a regular 2m FM net.
8 Mar 2023
Windows PC
Currently I have 2 Windows PCs. Both run Windows 10 and were made by Asus. One I have had for years and is the main shack PC. The other failed under warranty and is currently being fixed.
Despite trying everything, I have still not got the FT-710 to work on FT8. I have downloaded the drivers, checked the settings are correct many, many times. This includes watching several YouTube videos. Until the other PC returns from repair, I cannot check the FT-710 with the other Windows PC.
Looking in Device Manager, all is there, but I cannot get CAT to work and there is no TX audio.
Of course, the FT-710 could be faulty, but I suspect the shack PC.
8m WSPR (Wednesday)
For a change, I am on 8m WSPR today. As the TX is on for longer periods, I am TXing at 1W instead for 20% if the time.
7 Mar 2023
FT-710 and FT8
This afternoon, I shall have a go at getting FT8 working on the Yaesu FT-710AESS. It requires some drivers downloading first. There are several YouTube videos which should help.
Anglesey Abbey earlier - NOT amateur radio
This was the mill and leat at Anglesey Abbey this morning.
Good looking fellow? - NOT amateur radio
This photo shows me when I was young. Not much change on the top!! I have been bald since my early 20s. It did not last long!
E-field probes (EFP)
These are very small RX antennas that can be very effective at VLF, LF and MF. As you move HF, they get less effective. The main issue is that at lower frequencies external noise dominates.
There are several designs around. Important factors are dynamic range (they can be hit with some very strong signals) and positioning away from buildings to minimise noise pick-up.
See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/antennas/e-field-probe-efp .
80m FETer transceiver
One of the challenges in amateur radio is how simple can you make a rig that really communicates? Some years ago I designed and built this unit for 80m CW that appeared in GQRP SPRAT. It is one of the simplest transceivers you can make. It really works!
See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/homebrew/80m-feter-transceiver .
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