Tuesday is market day in Salisbury,
18 Apr 2023
17 Apr 2023
Loop antennas
Loops work remarkably well. They can be quite small. Their main drawback is they are narrowband so have to be retuned if moving too far in frequency. If using WSPR or FT8 this does not matter. For good efficiency, the inductor is usually made from copper pipe or coax cable.
16 Apr 2023
Anglesey Abbey this morning - NOT amateur radio
We go here every month. It is not very far by car. The photo shows some of the flowers out.
FT-710 webpage now ready
In the last hour, I have added the FT-710 page to my website. Over time, I hope to expand this.
See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/commercial-rigs/yaesu-ft-710 .
10m QRP FT8 (Sunday)
For about 30 minutes (it is now 1021z) I have been on 10m QRP FT8. So far this morning 7 spots of my QRP.
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| Stations spotting my QRP 10m FT8 today |
UPDATE 1906z: 82 stations have spotted my 10m QRP FT8 with the QDX (see map). Interesting, that North America was spotting me whereas not yesterday.
UPDATE 2024z: 88 stations have my 10m QRP FT8 today.
New page on my website - NOT amateur radio
A few moments ago I added a new page on my website about our local museum and windmill.
See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/non-amateur-radio/burwell-museum .
In the near future I need to add a page on the FT-710 transceiver.
Dayton Hamvention
Mid may sees the Dayton Hamvention in the USA. This is probably the biggest amateur radio gathering on the planet. Often, the big manufacturers use it to announce new products, even if they are still in development.
I really hope Yaesu announces a real successor to the FT817/818, both of which are no longer in production because of component shortages. This is their very last chance. Otherwise I fear they will leave the amateur market. The impression you get is of a floundering market strategy in which they cannot tell their a*e from their elbow.
What do we want?
- SDR based RX
- Better battery pack
- Auto ATU
- More bands
- Speech processor
- etc.
None of this is rocket science. Yaesu - pull your finger out!! Do it NOW!
UK licence changes?
OFCOM is looking at licences to improve efficiency. I have no idea what the changes will be. OFCOM is seeking opinions. Look on the OFCOM website for details.
15 Apr 2023
10m QRP FT8
Just now I looked on 4m FT8 spots in the last 12 hours and decided it was not worth the effort. Instead, I am on 10m QRP FT8 with the tiny QDX transceiver.
So far, on RX spots from all over the world and 11 spots of me on TX with the furthermost 3C3CA (5482km) in Equatorial Guinea. At the moment 10m really is good.
UPDATE 1502z: As we had hail and thunder, I went QRT. Up to then (about 20 minutes ago) I have had reports from 35 stations despite the QRP.
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| Stations spotting my 10m QRP FT8 so far today |
UPDATE 1744z: Storms have passed and the QDX turned on again. 57 stations have spotted my 10m QRP FT8 so far. It seems amazing that such a tiny, multi-band, QRP transceiver works so very well.
UPDATE 1754z: Although no USA stations have spotted me yet, I hope they do so before the propagation closes. This was quite late on 12m yesterday. On 10m, we can expect the band to close earlier. Currently 58 spots of me today.
Saturday plans
Yesterday, I tried 12m QRP FT8 as an experiment. It was not as busy as 10m, but I was still spotted widely. More stations spotted me than I expected especially with QRP.
Today I may give 4m FT8 another go. At some point I must install SPECTRAN on my PC and sort out the optical interface.
14 Apr 2023
Kindness
To avoid embarrassing him, I shall not reveal name or callsign.
Completely out of the blue, someone sent me a 3 element PCB antenna for 23cm. It was a TOTAL surprise! Thank you so much. The antenna will get well used.
In my experience, radio amateurs are a kind, thoughtful and warm-hearted bunch. The spirit of amateur radio is alive and well. If you can make somebody happy by an act of random kindness, please do so. This is what life is truly about. In my time I have been at the receiving end of such kindness several times and it means so very much.
Thank you again!
In my experience there are far more kind people in the world than bad ones, it is just that kindness is not newsworthy!
Our village museum - NOT amateur radio
OK, I am biased!
We live next door to one of the best local museums in the UK. It is vast and there is a huge variety of things to explore over many buildings including our 200 year old, fully restored, windmill which is just a tiny bit of it.
See https://burwellmuseum.org.uk/ .
12m QRP FT8 with the tiny QDX (Friday)
You can tell that this band is far less busy than 10m.
I have been on for about 30 minutes. Although I have copied stations as far away as China, it is far less busy than 10m. Just one local station has spotted me.
UPDATE 0910z: 4 spots of my QRP as far away as Asiatic Russia. Definitely a lack of activity and not propagation.UPDATE 1100z: So far today 12 stations have spotted my QRP 12m FT8 and I have spotted 46. I am wondering if one of the factors is fewer people have beams on the WARC bands? On 10m, several people use low cost CB yagi antennas.
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| Stations spotted on 12m FT8 RX to 1310z |
UPDATE 1310z: 28 stations have spotted my 12m QRP FT8 TX and I have spotted 99 stations on RX. So far, just one USA station has starting to appear (see map).
UPDATE 1848z: 216 stations have been spotted on RX and 71 stations have spotted my 12m QRP FT8 TX from the QDX with the furthermost YE6YE (10260km) on Java.
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| Stations spotting my 12m QRP FT8 today |
UPDATE 2129z: 138 stations have spotted me on 12m QRP FT8 TX and 248 stations spotted here on the QDX.
Rallies this weekend
The following rallies have been notified to me. As I have no control over these emails, I always advise checking the data is correct before travelling any distance.
- Saturday April 15th - 37th QRP convention, Sherborne, DT9 3AA. Contact qrp@yeovil-arc.com
- Sunday April 16th Cambridge Computer Group Rally. Foxton nr Cambridge.CB22 6RN. Contact rally2023@cambridgerepeaters.net
- Sunday April 16th - Holsworthy Spring Rally and Boot Sale, EX22 7FA. Contact m0omc@m0omc.co.uk
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