10m QRP WSPR (Thursday)

My beacon was turned at about 1140z.

UPDATE 1805z:  Spotted by 8 stations with several in the USA. QRT soon.

6m 5W FT8 (Thursday)

My gear was turned on at about 1140z.

UPDATE 1804z: 14 stations have spotted me. See map. QRT soon.

Seccumbed

In the end I ordered a UV5r mini (transparent). At the very low price with a discount it was a bargain. Even if it goes wrong after a while it is far less than one meal out. 

Talking of meals out we really like Cote Brasserie which does an excellent fixed price menu.

Thursday plans

10m QRP FT8 yesterday

Yesterday my 10m FT8 QRP was spotted by 63 stations on 4 continents. See map.  

I have not yet decided what to do today, but my inclination is to try 6m FT8 later.

Sunspots - Thursday September 18th

 Solar flux is 147 and the SSN 119. A=12 and K=2.

10m 500mW WSPR TX (Wednesday)

 When I am on 6m FT8, like now, I can go on 10m QRP WSPR as my antenna is available and my beacon does not need the PC.

UPDATE 1343z:   No spots.

6m 5W FT8 (Wednesday)

 At 1330z, I switched to 6m QRP FT8 from 10m QRP FT8.

UPDATE 1344z: Spotted by 4 English stations.

Early Halloween?

This was a shop window in our village earlier this week. It looks like this is a Halloween display. Personally, I think it is far too early.

Beofeng UV5R-mini

This product s available at ridiculously low prices (from China I think), although I have no personal experience. 

Looking at Ali-express, the price varies depending on the colour, accessories and whether you want 1 or 2 units. I am very tempted!

10m 3W FT8 (Wednesday)

My gear has been on since about 0545z.

UPDATE 1236z:  59 stations have spotted me. See map.

Sunspots - Wednesday September 17th

 Solar flux is 135 and the SSN 130. A=21 and K=2.

Sunflowers dying

These have been a real surprise. The seeds came with some flowers my wife got for Mother's Day. I planted some in a tray and some in the ground. Most germinated and have looked good for several weeks, but they are now dying.

Some of the seeds will be kept for next year and the birds will have the rest.

Better Regen RX

Dave Richards AA7EE who makes some excellent projects very neatly has done a regen RX which he will add to his blog soon. He is a real experimenter!

If you want to see neat layouts without a PCB, look at Dave's blog and be inspired.

See https://aa7ee.wordpress.com/

More autumnal

 

The grass has just been cut and it feels more autumnal. We have had high winds and showers and there are more leaves on the ground.

10m 500mW WSPR TX (Tuesday)

 At about 0930z I decided to try 10m WSPR as the antenna was free when I went on 6m FT8.

UPDATE  1030z:  No spots yet.

6m 5W FT8 (Tuesday)

 At  about 0930z, I QSYed to 6m FT8.

UPDATE 1025z:  Spotted by 8 stations, some in mainland Europe.

Gaza

Politically, I have always been a "floating voter"  voting for the party that best represents my views.

Whilst fully understanding the revulsion felt by Israel for the horrific acts by Hamas on October 7th and the wish by its enemies to see the destruction of the state if Israel, I am sickened by the apparent wish to destroy and drive out the people of Gaza. The Israeli government will claim their only wish is to destroy Hamas.

In the eyes of the world, Israel is seen as the aggressor in Gaza. You would think after the sheer horror of the holocaust in WW2, they would not want innocents to suffer.

The aggression and killing must stop. 

The only long-term peace will come from talking around a table. All sides will have to make some compromises.

Does Israel really believe they will defeat Hamas?  Their actions are likely to result in even more people turning against Israel.

Give peace and reconciliation a chance!

WSJT-X

 Although the officially released version is 2.7, my friend Steve G1KQH has pointed out that there is a release candidate of version 3.0. This is designed for experimenters and beta testers and may be unstable. It is usually released as a "proper" version some months later.

See https://wsjt.sourceforge.io/wsjtx.html .

10m 3W FT8 (Tuesday)

My gear was turned on just before breakfast.

UPDATE 0830z:  9 stations spotting me. Some Es?

UPDATE  1347z: Back on 3W 10m FT8 after a spell on 6m QRP FT8. Just a single spot from a local.

Sunspots- Tuesday September 16th

 Solar flux is 130 and the SSN 110. A=48 and K=5.