Hairpin bends - NOT amateur radio

Back in September we went on a trip to Montenegro. It was a great place to visit with some great scenery. 

We went up this road by coach (glad I only saw this afterwards!) and got some amazing views from the top.

500uW 10m WSPR TX (Sunday)

My QRPP tests continue.

UPDATE 1418z:  No spots today.

8m QRP FT8 (Sunday)

 My 2.5W to the dipole was turned on at 1100z. So far, no spots.

UPDATE 1145z:  Although ZS3/V51PJ (9081km) has spotted me this morning, no QSO sadly.

630m QRP WSPR overnight

 

Just 9 stations spotting my 10mW ERP overnight as the table shows.

Sunspots - Sunday December 3rd 2023

 Solar flux is148 and the SSN 92. A=14 and K=3.

630m QRP WSPR (Saturday)

My 10mW ERP 630m WSPR was turned on about 1855z this evening. So far,  2 stations have spotted me at 1905z.

Village Christmas Fair - NOT amateur radio

About this time every year there is a Village Christmas Fair with profits going to local charities. It was held today. The atmosphere was great with plenty of people and stalls.

Winter - NOT amateur radio

 This frosty cobweb outside the shack says it all!

446 MHz licence free transceivers - NOT amateur radio

 

As an ex-PMR engineer, I am amazed how they can produce a pair of these radios with chargers so inexpensively. There are plenty on Amazon for not much more than £20 a pair. Both the manufacturer and Amazon will be making profits on these too!  In other countries than the UK, there are probably similar licence free UHF bands.   

Had these been available 60 years ago I wonder if I would have got a ham licence?

8m QRP FT8 (Saturday)

 My 8m FT8 gear (2.5W and dipole) was turned on at about 1030z. So far just spotted by local G4WSZ (12km).

UPDATE 1245z:  Spotted by HI0SDR/3 (7008km).

UPDATE 1440z:  Spotted by 5 stations today, with the most in the Caribbean.

UPDATE 1528z:  No further spots. Is that it for the day?

10m 500uW WSPR tests continued (Saturday)

Yet again, I am TXing with my 10m WSPR beacon with the PA off. Even though the beacon is programmed to report 0.5W, the actual power is 0.5mW some 30dB less!!

I0UVN (1542km) reported me this morning, for the second time this week. Will there be others?

UPDATE 1320z: No further spots.

630m QRP WSPR overnight

 Only 9 stations spotted me overnight including 2 in Germany. Still on 630m QRP WSPR.

Brrr - NOT amateur radio

The photo shows our garden yesterday. It is very cold.

Interesting tree rings - NOT amateur radio

 

We saw this on our walk last week. Something looks odd with the tree rings. You may need to blow up the photo. Why are some rings white?

Sunspots - Saturday December 2nd 2023

Solar flux is 162 and the SSN 140. A=56 and K=4.

A better way? - NOT amateur radio

It is understandable that the people of Israel were deeply traumatised by the Hamas attacks on October 7th. 

However, by attacking the Gaza Strip as they have been must surely be self-defeating. Many in the world will resent the Israeli actions for generations. Even if Hamas was completely eliminated, a new group would appear still hating Israel.

The only solution cannot be won with war. The solution has to be one based on negotiations and fairness in which everyone is respected mutually and is free to worship as they want.

In my view, what is happening now is genocide and ethnic cleansing.

Jaw, jaw, not war, war.........please!

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/world-middle-east-67584895 .

Tenbox 10m AM QRP

Way back, one of my (many!!) projects was this simple AM transceiver for local natters on 10m, such as at sunspot minimum or at night. The RX is very sensitive, but quite broadband, so not really suitable for DX.  

Because of my 2013 stroke, it never got finished. It was based on the 2m Fredbox. I just wish someone would do a PCB and finish it. It could make a nice club project.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/homebrew/10m-am-tenbox .

COP28 Dubai - NOT amateur radio

The latest COP meeting (mostly of world leaders) has opened in Dubai. We are on target for a far warmer world. Hopefully renewables, like wind and solar which are now far less expensive, will help. We need a low cost way of storing this energy. We also need a much better way of powering cars with far more range. 

All these could be transformational if they come soon. There was a point when everyone swapped to digital cameras and flat screen TVs. If this happened with energy, it could make a huge difference. Investment is needed and fast.

Nuclear fusion may help in the future, although people having been trying to make this commercially viable since I was in infant school!

10m 500uW WSPR experiment (Friday)

 Although my beacon, with the PA off, has been on all morning, no spots today. Output is about 0.5mW (500uW).

UPDATE 1429z:  Still no spots.

8m QRP FT8 (Friday)

My 8m 2.5W FT8 was turned on about 1240z. Just local G4WSZ (12km) spotting me so far today.

UPDATE 1505z:   4 stations have spotted me (3 in the Caribbean) on 8m FT8, with one QSO with a station in the Cayman Is..  At the moment, my 2.5W and dipole seem to cross the Atlantic most days.

UPDATE 1547z:  I have to pinch myself to remind me this is with 2.5W and a low dipole on a VHF band!  The table shows the stations that have spotted my QRP 8m FT8 to 1545z today.

UPDATE 1657z:  17 stations have been spotted on 8m FT8 RX today.

Stations received on 8m FT8 today