At the moment I am trying 15m FT8 with the tiny QDX transceiver. Conditions are better than 10m, but still pathetic compared with yesterday.
UPDATE 1513z: I have gone RX only after a brief period on TX.
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| Stations spotted on 15m FT8 RX today to 1518z |
As 8m seems quiet compared with yesterday, I am on 10m FT8 with the tiny QDX transceiver. At most, it puts out 5W and it is probably nearer 4W. Conditions do not seem very great.
At the moment my furthermost report is from IM0LZK (1589km) on Sardinia. To be honest, conditions seem really poor on 10m. On 15m, I was spotted in the central USA, but I did not stop on very long.
This quote was in the Knowledge today. The Knowledge is a free email newsletter that condenses the news from various world sources. As far as I can tell, it is pretty neutral. I find it very good.
"Remember yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, today is a gift. That’s why it’s called the present."
The IC-705 is a great rig, although it did have noise issues when a USB cable was connected between the rig and a PC. This issue was overcome with a decent, filtered, cable, but this was a design fault that should have been fixed.
I am still surprised Yaesu seems to have dropped out of the HF QRP market when they were clear market leaders at one time.
See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/commercial-rigs/icom-ic-705 .
At about 0840z, I turned on my 500mW W5OLF 10m TX WSPR beacon. So far, just FR1GZ (9724km) spotting me.
For 10m WSPR, I usually sync time using my atomic clock in the shack. For 8m FT8 and WSPR, I usually sync to internet time using the built-in sync with Windows 10. For some reason (too busy?) this sync was not happening earlier. I shall try again later. As far as I can tell my PC clock error is just a few seconds at most, so I hope this is OK for now.
It produces 5W and is very small.
With the popularity of digital modes, this is all most people really need. It works extremely well. Hans makes some excellent pieces of kit.
Mine is regularly copied all across the world on a very basic antenna.
Although I rarely go to a football (soccer) match, I take an interest.
Coventry and Luton were at Wembley battling for a place in the Premier League. It was a hard fought match that Luton eventually won after extra time and a penalty shoot out.
This was very tense and your heart bleeds for Coventry man who missed his penalty. It was a very close fought match that both teams deserved to win.
The phone is essentially an Android smartphone, so it can run all sorts of apps too.
I'll be honest, I prefer "real" radio where the link is open to the variations of the ionosphere or troposphere. I can see they have their place where conventional RF radio is not possible such as in hotels or care homes, or where external antennas cannot be erected. At the depths of solar mimima, I can see them having a place too.
See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/other-amateur-radio/network-radio .
Since about 0950z, I have been on 40.680 MHz FT8 (DF about 1950 Hz, TX first). It is now 1038z and no spots.
UPDATE 1153z: Spotted by S50F (1205km).
UPDATE 1402z: Now EI1CAH (690km) also spotting me.
UPDATE 1822z: 6 stations have spotted my 2.5W 8m FT8 to a low dipole today. There are some notable stations missing this year. G9PUV and EI9KP have not been seen on 8m TX this year. G3WCS appeared briefly earlier in the spring, although I have not spotted him recently. So far, today has been a good day with plenty of Es on 8m. 
Stations spotting my 2.5W to
a low dipole on 8m FT8 today
As the indications are that we could have a decent day in Europe with Es, my proposal is still to try 8m FT8 on 40.680 MHz and 10m QRP WSPR with my 500mW beacon. I shall probably turn these on in the next 10 minutes. Later, I might try 8m WSPR on 40.680 (DF about 1550 Hz)
See https://www.tvcomm.co.uk/g7izu/radio-propagation-maps/europe-sporadic-e/.
Today seems to have been the best Es day in Europe this season.
Even on 4m with an 8m dipole (tuned via an internal auto-ATU) I have been spotted widely in Europe and I have spotted 4m FT8 stations all over Europe.
So, assuming Es will be as good tomorrow, I hope to try 8m QRP FT8 on 40.680 MHz. I may also try some 8m WSPR.
I am convinced that very low powered 8m stations operating on WSPR using ISM rules will be widely copied across Europe.
In many countries a licence is not needed for beacons on the 40.66-40.70 MHz ISM band as long as national rules are followed. In many countries this means 10mW ERP. On 10m WSPR just uWs have spanned Europe. We know from Australia that 5mW of 8m WSPR has spanned 5000km.
As my 10m antenna is free, I am on 10m WSPR TX with my 500mW WSPR TX beacon. Already, a couple of Es spots.
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| Spots of my 500mW 10m WSPR today |
As I have no 4m antenna, I am using my 8m dipole, tuned via the auto ATU in the FT-710 So far just spotted today by G3SHK (200km) and no Es.
UPDATE 0935z: One G QSO with a station in the UK near Coventry - G4AEH (124km) and again a spot of me by EA6SA (1423km).
UPDATE 1030z: 3 spots of me with 2 QSOs, the furthermost being EA6SA (1423km). Several spots of Spanish stations plus ZB2GI (1848m).
I have just received an email from Google AdSense and I am none the wiser! In my view it is total rubbish. To my mind, it was total gobbledegook.
Please may I have this in plain English?
For once, a good weather forecast for a Bank Holiday weekend!
The following rallies have been notified to me, although I always recommend checking the details with organisers before travelling.
Saturday May 27th - Barry Amateur Radio Society Rally , Sully, CF64 5SP. Contact Steve 07368 140795.
Sunday May 28th - Durham and District ARS Radio Rally, Bowburn Co. Durham, DH6 5AT. Contact dadars@gmx.com
My beacon was turned on just before 1000z. UPDATE 1014z: So far, just EA8BFK (2880km). UPDATE 1534z: 18 stations have spotted me. See ta...
