2m QRP FT8 (Sunday)

For a change, I am on 2m QRP FT8. No QSOs yet, but copying G3MLO.

Watching my signal on G0LRD's grabber. This is a very useful resource if you are in the Cambridge area. A part screenshot of this is shown here.

Already 12 spots of my QRP with the furthermost F6EGD (472km) in Brittany. Not bad with the FT817ND and omni big-wheel.

UPDATE 1554z:   One thing to watch with WSJT-X V2.6 is a new feature. You can chose just to send CQs, reply to the first that calls you, or reply to the most distant. Inadvertently you can operate as just a beacon and wonder why you had no contacts!

UPDATE 1710z:   19 stations in 5 countries spotted so far with the furthermost MM0ABM (502km) and 14 spots of my 2.5W and omni.

UPDATE 1810z: 15 stations have spotted me today.

Lode village - NOT amateur radio

Yesterday, we did a walk with 2 of our grandchildren at Lode, which is a village near us. The photo shows them outside a thatched cottage. As you can tell, they were not keen on the photo!

630m WSPR RX (Sunday)

At 1046z I QSYed to 630m WSPR RX. I am not sure how many people are on during the day, so this is an experiment.

UPDATE 1120z: PA3GSH (396km) spotted. It would appear his signal is right on the edge of being copied.

UPDATE 1138z: G0VQH is getting signals far stronger than I am on 630m WSPR. I am not sure what Jennie is using, but it certainly works better than my system currently!

UPDATE 2130z: Went back on 630m WSPR RX for the evening. 3 stations spotted. QRT soon.

10m FT8 RX (Sunday)

At the moment, I am on 10m FT8 RX. At 1014z (must always remember that in the UK we are now British Summer Time!) 388 stations spotted as the map shows. It is too easy! 

UPDATE 1038z:  501 stations spotted.

I might QSY to 630m WSPR RX soon.

Sunday plans

Getting the optical gear working 

As today looks dull and wet, these are my plans :

• Email G4BAO to set up a sked on 23cm SSB.  Email written and sent.
• Try to get the optical gear working. All gear assembled. Spectran installed. 
• Go on 10m FT8 daytime. RX on morning. Off late morning.
• Go on 630m WSPR RX this evening. Went on late morning. 

Doing anything these days is so much harder. After getting my 481 THz gear together I feel exhausted. I cannot remember how I interfaced from the optical RX to the PC. I must find out. It was 10 years ago!!

I may try a local CW test after dark this evening bouncing off a wall about 200m away - small steps.

The other Burwell - NOT amateur radio

We live in Burwell in Cambridgeshire. There is another Burwell in Lincolnshire that is much smaller. It is shown in the photo 

Sunspots - Sunday March 26th 2023

Solar flux is 160 and the SSN 105.  A=15 and K=2. 

Magnolia - NOT amateur radio

 

Magnolias in bloom are a sure sign of spring. We saw this in the nearby village of Lode. There were at least three.

630m WSPR RX (Saturday)

Rather earlier than normal, I have turned on 630m WSPR RX. So far spotted PA3GSH (396km), so my system is working. 

Again my "antenna" is the coax to my 2m big-wheel omni antenna tuned with a ferrite rod on the bench.

UPDATE 1930z: 2 stations spotted so far this evening with the furthermost DB8BG (498km).

UPDATE 2220z:  QRT soon. 6 stations spotted this evening. Furthermost was SM6BGP (981km).

Progress

About a week ago, I outlined the projects that I hoped to tackle in the next 4 weeks. So far, I am making progress. 

• My FT-710 now works with FT8 .
• I have had a QSO on 4m FT8, albeit with my 2m big-wheel and coax via the auto-ATU in the FT-710.

Next week, I hope to re set up my optical gear and do some local tests and arrange a 23cm SSB sked with G4BAO. 

Progress!

10m QRP FT8 (Saturday)

At the moment, I am on 10m FT8. So far, 3 stations have spotted me after about 5 minutes and 5 stations have been spotted on RX.

UPDATE 1152z:  6 stations have spotted me today so far with the furthermost RA9CIN (3701km). On 10m FT8 RX 78 stations as the map shows.

UPDATE 1225z:  12 stations have spotted me, 1 QSO and 123 stations have been spotted on 10m FT8 RX.

Spots of my QRP 10m FT8 today

UPDATE 1725z: 354 stations spotted on RX and 18 spots of me today on 10m FT8 QRP TX.

Lincoln 2013 - NOT amateur radio

In 2013, we visited Lincoln. It was very cold! The photo shows Lincoln Cathedral proudly on the hill. 

Sunspots - Saturday March 25th 2023

 Solar flux is 158 and the SSN 108. A=66 and K=2.

630m WSPR RX (Friday)

At 1850z my 630m WSPR RX was turned on. No spots yet.

UPDATE 2206z:   Still no spots.

UPDATE 2208z:   I am puzzled. G6AVK is usually copied, but I have had no spots all evening. As far as I can tell, everything is correct. It is not just uploading to WSPRnet as there are no local spots either!

UPDATE 2240z : Restarted WSJT-X and immediately got spots from the Netherlands and Germany. Not sure what was going on. Now QRT. 

Another banking crisis? - NOT amateur radio

Although the banking sector is supposed to be far more resilient these days, you could be forgiven for thinking otherwise. Bank stocks still look spooked by recent events with SVB and Credit Swisse. I hope this is short lived.

10m FT8 (Friday)

Am now on 10m FT8. Only D2UY (Angola) coming through, suggesting there is plenty of disturbance. I am not sure if there is a delay on PSKreporter at the moment.

UPDATE 1456z: Just 2 G spots of me so far. These are probably normal tropo. Furthermost is G4FAL (180km) near Sheffield. I remember that this sort of range was always possible with QRP 10m SSB and a dipole. It is probably even more likely with FT8. Pretty sure far more inter-G QSOs would be possible on 10m FT8.

UPDATE 1900z:   Now QRT, but in the end I was spotted by 8 stations and I spotted 12.

CDARC Zoom talks

As I am unable to drive at night, I have really enjoyed the Cambridge  Radio Club lectures via Zoom. They are trying to arrange "hybrid" meetings with personal contact in Cambridge and Zoom lectures for those that cannot get in. In my view, the Zoom lectures have been excellent.

My personal view is that all lectures should be on Zoom only, with a social gathering somewhere else once a month. This would mean no room hire, reduced annual fees, people could watch or talk from anywhere on the planet and people could watch the Zoom talks with others in their homes if they do not have Zoom. I would expect most people have Zoom.

Imagine if CDARC became a worldwide radio club!

The image is from the CDARC website. I wanted to link to this image, but could not see how to do this. Instead, I took a screenshot. If copyright infringement is an issue, it will be removed.

See https://www.cdarc.org.uk/ .

Grass cutting - NOT amateur radio

For the second time this year, I cut the grass, just beating the rain. February was very dry, but March made up for it!! 

4m FT8 (Friday)

 As HF looks to be disturbed, I am again on 4m FT8 with my makeshift antenna. At 1043z, no spots.

UPDATE 1245z:  No spots of me, but G4HGI (244km) spotted on 4m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1416z: GW8ASA (301km) has again spotted me at similar levels to yesterday.

UPDATE 1421z: Nothing outside of the UK so far on 4m FT8. Rather surprised there are not many more stations on 4m FT8. I expect this will change in the Es season.

Lightning

One of the pleasures of UK winter is the usual absence of thunder and lightning. In the UK they can occur, but they are far more common in the summer. 

Although I know the chances of a direct strike are low, they do occur. I know of 2 friends who had this. One of the more common things is a power surge as storms approach.

What I tend to do is keep a watchful eye on approaching storms. If there is any danger, I disconnect everything: antennas, mains plugs etc.. I have no idea if this is the correct strategy. My view is it is better to be safe than sorry.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/other-amateur-radio/lightning-maps .