Rather than make an attenuator, I have decided to continue with 500uW WSPR on 10m, i.e. with the beacon PA turned off. I did a re-sync at about 0900z.
UPDATE 2104z: No spots all day. As I said before, I suspect conditions have to be very good for WSPR to work at this tiny power.
Basically, I am lazy!
Rather than try WSPR on a different band, I stuck with 630m QRP WSPR all day. My ERP is 10mW from the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. At 1455z, just UK stations spotted.
In the end, I suspect many of us will be driving electric cars. In today's Knowledge (it comes every day free by email) was a report in the UK Daily Telegraph. I agree with this.
"The reason people aren’t buying EVs en masse is because “it doesn’t yet make sense”: they’re expensive, their range is too short, and there aren’t enough charging points."
In my view, we will reach a tipping point when battery technology allows prices to drop a lot (bye bye lithium?) and ranges to double or more. This will allow many people to charge at home and infrequently. Like film cameras and cathode ray tubes, fossil fuelled cars will then seem really old. Personally I give it 3-5 years.
As you can tell, to us a car is just a mode of transport. If it is reliable, we really do not care what it is. So far, we have had Kia's for about 13 years and they have proved very reliable.
Usually, I miss these, but I was recommended to watch the recording of the one last Monday by Hugh HC02 an SWL in Portugal. It was given by G3ZIL in Southampton and focused on the use of digital modes for propagation research. There are definitely people around who are far cleverer than I am! In it, his research has highlighted a new possible HF propagation mode called side scatter. Judging by this talk, these webinars are worth watching.
My intention was to add a 17dB pad so I could run 10mW WSPR on 10m. Instead I cleaned the car and left the beacon with the PA off producing 500uW (0.5mW). I was not expecting any spots so was very pleased to see a spot from the Canary Is..
UPDATE 1435z: No further 10m WSPR spots today at 500uW (0.5mW). Sadly my beacon is pre-programmed to report the power as 500mW, when it really is just 500uW. I think my repeat 10mW 10m WSPR test will have to wait until tomorrow.
UPDATE 1846z: EA8BFK (2880km) spotted my 500uW again at tea time!
As 500mW 10m WSPR TX was proving too easy, I have turned off the beacon PA again. After 1115z, my power is now 500uW again.
UPDATE 1522z: No spots at 500uW. I think tomorrow I shall do more tests at 10mW ERP. This time, I shall use the 500mW beacon TX with a 17dB attenuator, so the FT817ND is free for other things.
My 2.5W 6m FT8 to the V2000 vertical omni antenna was tuned on. So far, 4 Gs have spotted me.
UPDATE 1255z: DX stations are spotting my QRP with spots from Germany (near Hamburg) and the Netherlands. 9 stations spotting me.
As 500uW 10m WSPR was proving impossible, I turned on the beacon PA, so the output was 500mW. 7 stations have spotted me! It is so much easier at 500mW!
UPDATE 1105z: 13 stations have spotted me at 500mW.
UPDATE 1112z: 14 stations have now spotted my 500mW WSPR. 500uW seems too low unless conditions are exceptional, whereas 10mW seems far better. 500mW seems like really high power!
The following rally has been notified to me. Sorry but I do not have any contact details and always adise contacting before travelling far.
Sunday February 11th - MIDCARS Radioactive Rally, Nantwich, CW5 5DG
Yet again, I am on 10m WSPR with just 500uW (0.5mW). I am not really expecting spots again, as conditions have to be exceptionally good for this to work .... but you never know!!
UPDATE 1720z: No spots all day.
My 2.5W to the V2000 vertical omni antenna is turned on. After about an hour 2 stations have spotted me on FT8.
In my view the IC-705 vastly beats the Yaesu FTX-1. Certainly in the UK, the FTX-1 is very expensive and still lacks many of the features t...
