A reminder that OFCOM updates the details held on licences etc every week. Check the OFCOM website for more details.
14 Apr 2023
Historic Plaques - NOT amateur radio
Around our village we have a number of plaques to commemorate well known people or places. There is a copy of these in our superb village museum.
4m UKAC next Thursday
I must remember to this!
So far I have been disappointed by the lack of activity on this band outside of the Es season. Hopefully things will be better in the activity contest.
As I recall things from many years ago, it was a good band for inter G QSOs. Since then (1970s) VHF activity has nosedived.
Friday plans
Almost certainly I shall be on the air with the tiny QDX, although I am not sure what band. Maybe I should try 12m for a change?
I tend to operate as a beacon and rarely chase others. To me, seeing who receives me is enough. DXCC chasing no longer appeals.
13 Apr 2023
Why I don't like lightning - NOT amateur radio
It can do serious damage!
See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/other-amateur-radio/lightning-maps .
Not on 8m currently
Until the Es season, I have decided to give 8m a miss.
With higher ERPs I know some remarkable DX becomes possible, but up to now my experiment has been to find out what would be possible with very low ERP. It would appear that with QRP FT8, some remarkable distances are possible in the right conditions. As the sunspot number climbs still further, we could see some remarkable reports next autumn on 8m.
Already the beacon ZS6WAB on 40.675 MHz has been copied in Western Australia.
Acceptance? - NOT amateur radio
Although in many ways I still feel like a teenager inside, I know I am an old man sadly. Some things that would have been easy 50 years ago are now very hard or impossible. Perhaps we all have to accept the person we are now and learn to accept that some things are now not possible - harder said than done!
10m QRP FT8 (Thursday)
See https://qrp-labs.com/qdx.html .
UPDATE 0830z: 95 stations have been spotted on RX and I have been spotted by 20 stations.
UPDATE 1737z: So far today, 107 stations have spotted my 10m QRP FT8 today (see map).
UPDATE 1747z: QRT.
Repeater closing
This morning I heard that the GB3YT ATV repeater is to permanently close this summer as the owners are getting older and can't climb ladders. How many will follow? I can imagine quite a few repeaters going with a combination of high site costs, old age and low usage. Many repeaters are totally quiet for hours on end.
12 Apr 2023
70cm FT8 activity contest
This contest starts at 1900z tonight. I usually go on with my 2.5W to my 2m big-wheel omni antenna for about 30 minutes. I may well stay on RX until much later in the evening to see which stations come through.
UPDATE 2115z: After 2.25 hours, 24 stations spotted (see map). What a difference from the UKAC last night! It would seem many now prefer FT8 to SSB.
Threatening sky - NOT amateur radio
We have seen the extremes in our weather today. We have had rain, strong winds, sunshine, but no snow!
UPDATE 1747z: Bright sunshine now!
Our changing hobby
In some way or other, I have been involved in amateur radio since 1961. Many changes have occurred since then.
When I started, the only real way to talk across the world was if you were a radio amateur. This was the case until the internet came along and anybody could talk across the world with video for free. Since then, amateur radio has evolved. Yes, some still come on the air just to chat, but this number is getting smaller each year as those that remember amateur radio long ago, get older and frailer. Instead, many come on to work new DX, often with modes like FT8. Others come on to experiment or try new things like satellites, ATV or moonbounce.
In my (heretical) view this is how the future looks. It may very well be wrong!
- In 20 years, the Amateur Radio Service will cease.
- Amateur radio will merge with licence free services like CB and ISM.
- Callsigns will be optional and handled by national radio societies for those that want them.
- The Chinese will dominate amateur radio manufacture.
- Everyone will be able to operate licence free as long as interference is not caused and they operate in bands allocated only.
- There will be far fewer magazines.
- There will be far fewer dedicated amateur transceivers.
One thing is certain: most of this will be when I am pushing up daisies!
I would like to hear your views.
Puzzled - NOT amateur radio
In centuries past, there have been some amazing places made in the name of Christianity and Islam. There is little doubt that these we made by very devout believers. What puzzles me is that these amazing places got built at all!
All the religions of the world have incredible places and statues. Probably most people on planet Earth have some sort of religious faith. I cannot believe any one of these is "right" and the rest "wrong".
So, as I have said many times before, I prefer to think that all faiths are hints at the truth, not the complete picture.
At the time many sacred texts were written, people believed in witches and things which today we would find bizarre.
Maybe there is a better explanation of events so long ago that was interpreted differently back then?
The Backs yesterday - NOT amateur radio
The Backs are what the backs of the Cambridge colleges are known as. They back onto the R.Cam, famous for punting! The photo shows the approach to King's College yesterday. I don't think I have posted it before. The photo has appeared in many places already, so if this is twice, please accept my apologies.
My wife took the photo and put it on 365project, which she has done every day for over 10 years now. This is totally free and is a good visual "Pepys diary" of life.
10m QRP FT8 (Wednesday) with the QDX
At the moment I am on 10m FT8 with the QRP QDX rig. So far today (after about 15 minutes) 11 stations have spotted me. The QDX is tiny!!
UPDATE 1143z: 13 stations spotting me today (see map).
UPDATE 1610z: So far today, 58 unique stations have spotted my QRP FT8 TX.
UPDATE 1841z: 91 unique stations have spotted me today. Furthermost on RX is TW4OGX (15697km) in the Wallis and Futuna Is in the Pacific.
Other sites
This is just a reminder of the other sites I maintain. Hopefully, you will find some inspiration on these. Overall, I hope you have fun.
http://www.g3xbm.co.uk
https://www.youtube.com/@G3XBM
http://g3xbm-qrp.blogspot.com/
CDARC Wednesday Net
At 1900z on Wednesday evenings, the Cambridge and district amateur radio club (CDARC) holds a very informal net on 145.55 MHz FM. Anyone in range is welcome whether a club member or not. Usually there are between 3 and 7 members on. Polarisation is vertical and there is a web SDR if you are having difficulties receiving. I thought the link for this SDR was on the CDARC website, but cannot find it.
Most people on the net are in the greater Cambridge area (surrounding villages). The net usually lasts for 20-60 minutes, but people come and go as they want. It is rarely technical!
See cdarcvhfrx.hopto.org:8073 for the webSDR.
Matching the earth-electrode antenna in the ground
To allow the auto ATU in the FT-710 to match the earth-electrode antenna on 80m (see the excellent results yesterday) I had to use this transformer. As you can see, it is not pretty!! With it, the load presented to the FT-710 was obviously less than 3:1 as it matched well.
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