Triffids - NOT amateur radio

 

Our hollyhocks look great right now but the leaves go rusty very quickly. They also self seed everywhere. 

I am sure they can walk!! You can see why we jokingly call them triffids. 😉😉  

Sunspots - Friday June 21st

 Solar flux is 203 and the SSN 138. A=7 and K=1.

St Ives - NOT amateur radio

Many people are unaware that there is also a St Ives in Cambridgeshire as well as in Cornwall. The St Ives in Cambridgeshire is just a short ride away from Cambridge on the guided busway, which uses the route of the old St Ives railway branch line. We went there today by bus. St Ives is a lovely place.

6m QRP FT8 transatlantic (Thursday)

Several spots of my 2.5W 6m FT8 to the vertical omni antenna from stations in eastern Canada. This is the first time this season that I have been spotted in the USA or Canada on QRP VHF.

Anglesey Abbey video - NOT amateur radio

This National Trust house and gardens is about 10 minutes away by car. We went for a walk in the grounds  yesterday. There is something to see at all times of the year.

10m QRP WSPR TX (Thursday)

My 500mW beacon was on overnight, but just spots by local G4KPX (14km). Early Es this morning.

UPDATE 2118z: 38 unique stations have spotted my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon today. See table.

630m QRP WSPR overnight

Just 2 stations spotted my 10mW ERP  overnight. These were 2 old faithfuls. I may try occasionally, but suspect my signal is buried in noise much of the summer.

Sunspots - Thursday June 20th

Solar  flux is 196 and the SSN 181. A =8 and K=2.

630m QRP WSPR (Wednesday)

 My 10mW ERP WSPR has been on since about 1915z.  No spots of me yet.

10m QRP WSPR (Wednesday)

 My 500mW beacon is on this evening and I am being spotted right across Europe by Es.

8m TX permit (UK)

Recently, I carried out a 10mW ERP test on 6m (not 8m) to see how WSPR and FT8 would perform under ISM rules.The test was extremely successful. If it worked on 6m it would mean that anyone could legally beacon on 8m under ISM rules. In the UK this means with 10mW ERP. This is not amateur radio. 

As there is still some of the Es season remaining and we have F2 to look forward to, I applied for a new 8m permit, which will allow me to run up to 5W on 8m. It has been approved and I should get an invoice shortly. All being well, I should return to 8m in early July.

It still seems totally wrong that in the UK we have to pay to do propagation research! In the past OFCOM would have just issued an NoV. It would seem these days many are only interested in money!

Lincoln Video - NOT amateur radio

We went to Lincoln a few weeks ago. This is a video summarising this.

G3XBM QTH

The photo shows where I live. Ours is the bungalow immediately to the left of the copper tree to the right of the windmill. 

Sunspots - Wednesday June 19th

 Solar flux is 193 and the SSN 150. A=10 and K=3.

QMX+ video?

Really, I should make a video of my experiences of using the QRP Labs QMX+ transceiver. My voice is poor, which is why I have been reluctant. 

Really it represents great value and will be even better when the firmware allows SSB, expected later. I use SSB occasionally, but use FT8 far more nowadays.

UPDATE 1855z: Video created. No speaking.

Puzzled - NOT amateur radio

Recently, I bought 2 small hanging bird tables in the hope of attracting smaller birds at the expense of larger ones. 

Sadly, the jackdaws have worked out a technique, but not the pigeons who have spent a long time trying! Let's hope they remain puzzled!

10m QRP FT8 overnight

Much to my surprise my QRP Labs QMX+ on 10m FT8 was spotted several times in Scandinavia overnight. I don't usually use FT8 at night, but when Es is good it can occur at any time.

UPDATE 1027z: 355 stations have spotted my QRP FT8 from the QMX+ in the last 24 hours. See map.

Window 10 issue resolved (I think!) - NOT amateur radio

Thank you for all the help, which I think has resolved my issue. 

I now have "sleep" when connected to a PSU set to "never" in settings, so it should never go to sleep unless I ask it to do so.

Watching the Euros - NOT amateur radio

 

My son made a lamb casserole for a (belated) Father's Day and then watched the Euros (football) on TV.

Sunspots - Tuesday June 18th

 Solar flux is 180 and the SSN 171. A-=11 and K=2.