Bark - NOT amateur radio

We went to nearby Anglesey Abbey yesterday.  I just love this tree bark. The texture is amazing.

Activity today

At the moment I am active on 10m WSPR and 6m JT65. I did a manual re-sync to internet time about 30 minutes ago "just in case". As yet, no Es on 6m but there has been Es on 10m WSPR with EA1FAQ (1249km) spotting my 500mW.

UPDATE 1540z:  It helps to be on the right frequency! I have now gone QRT on 6m JT65 and 10m WSPR and fired up on 10m JT65. I noticed I was on 50.270 and not 50.276MHz. The dial lock was not on and the dial must have been knocked! I am now definitely on 28.076MHz JT65.  So far, no spots.

UPDATE 1710z: Just G4CJC (73km) and OH1EEZ (1657km) spotting me so far.  There is clearly some Es on 10m JT65.

UPDATE 1735z: Nothing from South America spotted on 10m JT65 here so far this evening.

UPDATE 1931z: I see that I have copied a South American in Brazil as well as a UK station (IO81) on 10m JT65, although neither station reported this to PSKreporter maps. LA7DFA (1312km) spotted me a little while ago.

Sunspots and 10m - Monday September 12th 2016

Solar flux is 87 today and the sunspot number 63. K=2. The forecast for 10m F2 propagation is still "poor".

QRP and QRP Club

From Oleg:

Dear Club 72 members and friends,

Weekly QRP Rendez-Vous report (September 5 to 11, 2016)
Visitors  of  the week: US3EN, UA1CEG, R1OA, RV3GM, DL1YAY/p, OH6NPV,
DL1YEF,  UR0ET,  HB9DAX,  UA1ADF,  RA1M/mm,  R1CAF,  OE6GYL,  RU3NJC,
LZ2HT/1,  DK1HW,  RV3DSA/0,  ON4ADR, UA0SBQ/p, UR5EFD, DJ1PQ, DL2ASG,
RV3UF, G4GIR, LA8BCA/p, UA9MLY, DL2WA, RN4AO, G0FVH, G6HUI, US5ERQ

Congrats!
RN4AO, UA9MLY, R1CAF became Honor Frequenters of QRP Rendez-Vous

See full Visitors/Frequenters lists and "rendezvous" schedule at Club
72 page - www.club72.su

72! Oleg RV3GM / KH6OB "Mr. 72"

Shakespeare's famous speech - NOT amateur radio

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_quality_of_mercy_(Shakespeare_quote)

This is probably one of the most famous speeches in the English language. It is Portia's famous speech in Shakespeare's "Merchant of Venice".

Like many, I had to learn this off by heart at school. I'm glad I did. It means much more to me now than 50 years ago.

The quality of mercy is not strain'd,

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven

Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest;

It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:

'Tis mightiest in the mightiest: it becomes

The throned monarch better than his crown;

.......

Not buying.....for now

With BREXIT, Japanese goods, and USA goods, priced in USA dollars should be some 10% more expensive to import into the UK. I expect dealers will absorb some of this, but maybe not all. This could mean some prices go up later this year or next.

I was thinking about investing in a new rig like the ICOM IC7300 but the offered cash price was too great, so I shall stick with my present rigs for now. The FT817 has served me well and has enabled me to work some impressive QRP DX over the years. I like the rigs I own and don't need a new radio. We are always bombarded with adverts trying to persuade us to buy consumer goods and we have to ask ourselves can we, should we, resist?

Our whole society is based on buying "things" we don't really need that wear out quite soon. In the end this is not sustainable in a world with a growing population and limited resources.

Flint - NOT amateur radio

This is part of a church tower at a church we visited back in the summer. I just love the texture.

Anglesey Abbey, Nr Cambridge - NOT amateur radio

Every month there is something to see here. We go regularly because it is so near. We are very lucky. The autumn crocus were out and this blue flower, which was in the herbaceous garden.

Band/mode change

At about 1224z I went QRT on 6m JT65 and 10m WPSR (just after OZ7IT spotted me at 853km on 10m WSPR) and am now just on 10m JT65.

UPDATE 1238z: G6WPJ (47km) has already spotted me on 10m JT65. No 10m Es seen here yet on JT65.

UPDATE 1512z: Best DX on 10m JT65 TX so far is OH1EEZ (1657km) in KP10 square and on 10m JT65 RX is LU1AMH (11223km) in Argentina. I have the feeling my 2W QRP 10m JT65 will reach South America again today.

UPDATE 1744z: No further South Americans on 10m JT65 here. Maybe I am not going to be heard in South America after all.

UPDATE 1928z: PU4HPC (9136km) and PY2WND (9449km) were recently spotted on 10m JT65. I guess there is still a chance my QRP 10m JT65 will reach South America tonight?

UPDATE 2042z: Widespread 10m Es tonight.

Sunspots and 10m - Sunday September 11th 2016

Solar flux is 90 today and the sunspot number 66. With K=0 we could be in for reasonable 10m F layer propagation later. The 10m F2 forecast remains "poor" however.

6m JT65 and 10m WSPR this morning

As I tend to get better results on 6m JT65 (in the UK) than on 10m, I decided on 6m JT65 and 10m WSPR today, at least until this afternoon. 4 UK spots of my 2W ERP already on 6m JT65 plus a couple of UK 6m spots of others. Nothing yet on 10m WSPR apart from an early spot by G4KPX (14km) who I think must have changed bands or gone QRT. No Es as yet and no F2.

UPDATE 1006z: I see that LB5JE (1152km) was spotted on 6m JT65 at 0934z. This must have been Es. Sept 11th but still seeing some Es on 6m.

UPDATE 1240z: 5 UK spots of my 6m QRP JT65 before I QSYed to 10m.

Late 10m Es

It is now well after dark but as recently as 40 minutes ago I was being spotted on 10m JT65 in Germany. This is late in the year for Es and late in the day. WSPR and JT65 are ideal for "smoking out" such openings. Personally I find beaconing with JT65 more productive on 10m than WSPR even though it is not as good theoretically. This is because there is more activity.

Small cycle 25 peak?

See http://www.arrl.org/news/view/higher-bands-will-pick-up-this-fall-data-suggest-smaller-solar-cycles-lie-ahead?utm_source=amateur-radio-weekly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter

The next QST will see some "navel gazing" on the small matter of, "what size will the next solar peak be?".

In truth, no-one is quite sure, but the science points to a minimum around 2020 and a small next peak. This was reported in Amateur Radio Weekly. We can be pretty sure the large peaks seen in my youth will never be repeated in my lifetime. Sad, but that's life and we have to make the best of it.

Time to change modes and band

With very good Es on both 10m WSPR and 6m JT65, I think it is time to move over to 10m JT65 just in case there is some F layer DX about. I am off to go QRT on 10m WSPR and start up 10m JT65 and do a manual re-sync to internet time "just in case".

UPDATE 1735z:  Now QRT on 6m JT65 and 10m WSPR and active (2W) on 10m JT65. There are several South Americans active on 10m JT65 so we'll have to see if there is any propagation.

UPDATE 2006z: Just EU7KBB (1931km) in Belarus spotted on 10m JT65. No South Americans. It is still not too late, but I think South American 10m JT65 spots are unlikely today.

Renovation - NOT amateur radio

For over 40 years there has been a grade 2 listed former farmhouse empty in our village. Slowly it was going to ruin.  Over the last 2 years it has been extensively renovated and is now for sale. Today was an "open house" so we went to have a look around. Someone will like it and buy it. It is on the market for just under £1M. It would make a good Bed & Breakfast house or large family home. It is just across the road from the church. This picture shows the view from one of the bedrooms.

10m WSPR and 6m JT65

Since before breakfast I have been beaconing on 10m WSPR (TX only) and active on 6m JT65 (RX and TX). So far just G4KPX (14km) spotting me on 10m WSPR. G4VXE (136km) is the only station spotted on 6m JT65 so far. No Es on either band.

UPDATE 1034z: There is now Es evident on both 10m and 6m with spots of my signals from Austria, Finland, Denmark and Germany.

UPDATE 1050z:  Loads of Es 6m JT65 spots of my QRP now. The latest are a couple of spots from Poland.

UPDATE 1222z:  Best RX DX on 6m JT65 so far is UX4UA in Ukraine and OH6XG (Finland). On 10m WSPR I have been widely copied in Scandinavia with my 500mW.

Sunspots and 10m - Saturday September 10th 2016

Solar flux is 91 today and the sunspot number 65. K=2. The forecast for 10m F2 propagation is (yes you guessed!) "poor".

Waters and Stanton taking orders for IC-R8600 receiver

See http://hamradiostore.co.uk/ic-r8600-wideband-base-station-receiver.html

I see that Waters and Stanton is taking £25 deposits to secure this new wideband RX covering 10kHz to 3GHz. It is based on the IC-7300 transceiver but can receive a number of digital modes. I'd like to show a picture, but copyright prevents this. It looks a very interesting RX.

It would be good to know the cash price.

There is at least one YouTube video of this RX.

From the W&S site:

"The IC-R8600 replaces the IC-R8500 wideband receiver and will feature the technology incorporated into Icom’s best selling IC-7300. The IC-R8600 will be able to receive a wide frequency range from 0.01-3000MHz frequency in analogue and various digital modes (D-STAR, P25, NXDN and dPMR). The IC-R8600 will feature a larger 4.3 inch touch screen display which will feature fast moving spectrum scope and waterfall display"

Amateur Radio Blog

See http://www.amateurradio.com/.

There is usually something of interest on this blog, so I take a look most days.

Dame Sarah Storey - NOT amateur radio

Dame Sarah Storey has become the most decorated UK paralympian in history. Excellent and the result of lots of very hard work and dedication. I was friendly with her dad at university and he must be very proud of his daughter's achievements. She looks like John, her dad!

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sarah_Storey .

Supermarkets and plastics - NOT amateur radio

Have you noticed how much packaging, especially plastic, is used in supermarkets these days? When I was a child we had none, really.

Why is it so hard for supermarkets to make clear which plastics can be recycled? Why are not all plastics used in supermarkets recycled? They all have a lot of power over their suppliers and should insist on this.

Basically, I hate plastic packages for so much, especially when it cannot be recycled.

More rallies this weekend

Sunday 11 SEPTEMBER : TORBAY ANNUAL COMMUNICATION FAIR
Newton Abbot Racecourse, Devon TQ12 3AF. The event is indoors and doors open at 10am with disabled visitors gaining access half an hour earlier. Admission in £2. There is plenty of car parking on site. There will be a Bring & Buy and an RSGB bookstall. There is catering on site. To book tables call Pete, G4VTO on 01803 864 528 or email rally@tars.org.uk.

Sunday 11 SEPTEMBER : ANDOVER RADIO AND COMPUTER BOOT SALE
Tangley Village Hall, Wildhern, Andover, Hants SP11 0JE Doors will be open from 9am to 4pm with disabled visitors gaining access from 8.30am. Admittance will be £2. Tables in the hall are £10 and pitches in the field £8. There will be a Bring & Buy, Car boot area, as well as trade stands. Catering will be available on site and there will be a raffle held on the day. More details from Paul Phillips, G4KZY, 0777 573 8200, paul.g4kzy@gmail.com.

A list of rallies can be found at http://rsgb.org/main/news/rallies/

Spelling mistakes (as received) corrected. Can no-one spell these days?

10m JT65

A South American was eventually spotted last evening on 10m JT65: PU3AMB (10431km) in Brazil. Today, I am sticking with 10m JT65 all day, but things are quiet so far with no Es and no UK spots as yet and certainly no F2. As we get more into autumn we may see some F2 on 10m in the daytime from Africa and even the USA.

UPDATE 1110z: Still no spots here yet on 10m JT65.

UPDATE 1215z: EB5AYE (1418km) was spotted at 1158z from IM99 square. I assume this is 10m Es.

UPDATE 1245z: No more 10m Es seen.

UPDATE 1450z: No further spots on 10m JT65 here.

UPDATE 1456z: I just re-synced the PC to internet time to be sure, although this should happen automatically every 1000 seconds. It was also a check that the WSJT-X software and PC were OK as things were quiet. All was fine.

Last 24 hours on 10m JT65

UPDATE 1652z: OH3NE (1737km) recently spotted me on 10m JT65 by Es.

UPDATE 2132z: F5RRS (819km) has spotted my 10m JT65 in the last 20 minutes, but no South Americans.

Sunspots and 10m - Friday Sept 9th 2016

Solar flux is 91 today and the sunspot number 49. K=1. The forecast for 10m F2 propagation remains "poor".

Windmill sunset - NOT amateur radio

The sun setting in the west last night. Note the reflection in the museum window. We are very lucky to have a windmill literally "over the garden wall". Last night and early this morning were splendid. This is the view from our lounge window.

Jupiter VLF - NOT amateur radio

On YouTube, recordings of Jupiter's emissions at VLF and LF as recorded by the Juno probe and some stunning images.

Easter Island

 Recently seen:

"From September 26-30  some LU amateur radio an LF MF DXers will be operating in CE0Y.

Hamradio from 80 to 6 meter maybe 160 meter. TX RX

VLF LF MF listening with  R-75 and Perseus SDR recording WAVs from 100 KHz to 1710 KHz at night times .  Not grabber online.

Maybe: Notebook+SpectrumLab with antenna via Mic in for VLF.

Antennas: Loops and  Beverages 200-600 meter long to…. ??? meter long. maybe Kite antennas.

If you are  interested in TX (136 kHz -472 kHz ) to Easter Island in this week please write to me only via: lu8ydnqn@gmail.com  

73s Alex LU8YD"

Soon be time to return to 630m

It is rapidly getting more like autumn with nights starting to get darker earlier. It is my intention to return to 630m soon.

I need a better antenna though and a better ground system.  For several seasons I have used my earth-electrode system, but it would be good to try with a higher ERP.

Rally

Saturday 10 SEPTEMBER : CAISTER LIFEBOAT RADIO RALLY
Caister Lifeboat Station, Tan Lane, Caster on Sea, Norfolk, NR30 5DJ
Doors open from 9.30am to 3pm with traders gaining access from 8am. There are indoor tables available at £10 and outside car boot pitches for £5 and booking is advisable. Admission is free and the venue has free parking and disabled access. All proceeds go to Caister Lifeboat. Contact Zane, on 0771 121 4790 or by email to m1bfidx@ntlworld.com. www.m1bfidx.wix.com/cl-radio-rally.

A list of rallies can be found at http://rsgb.org/main/news/rallies/

As I always caution, check details with the organiser before going any distance. I reproduce what I get sent in good faith.

QRP and QRP Club

More from Oleg:

Dear Club 72 members and friends,
welcome all QRP operators to the
FAR EAST QRP NET
in Thursday (weekly) at 9.00 UTC at 14060 +/-
In the DX list today (Sept 8):
RV3DSA/0 (Vladivostok), UA0SBQ/p (nr Irkutsk), JA1KGW - all QRP
Comments and reports are appreciated to "mr72" e-mail, please.
Enjoy 2-way QRP!
72! Oleg RV3GM / KH6OB "Mr. 72"

Remaining on 10m JT65 today

No further Es since the single spot from France late last night. I have decided to stick with 10m JT65 today although without Es I rarely get UK spots on this band. It is still quite early in autumn to expect much F2 propagation on 10m.

UPDATE 1020z: G4CJC (73km) spotted, but no Es seen here on 10m JT65 today.

UPDATE 1144z:  Still nothing else spotted on 10m JT65 here today.

UPDATE 1205z: DO4CP (915km) has been spotted. So there is lunchtime Es about on 10m JT65.

UPDATE 1502z: GI4SNA (488km) has spotted me on 10m JT65 but is wrongly reporting me as on 12m.

UPDATE 2016z: It is dark now and no spots (given or received) on 10m JT65 here. As it is quite late, I think South America is unlikely today on 10m.

Sunspots and 10m - Thursday Sept 8th 2016

Solar flux is 92 today. Sunspot number is 50 and K=4. The forecast for 10m F2 propagation remains "poor".

UPDATE 1010z: The K index is going down (less disturbed) and currently K=3.

Brazil copied on 10m JT65

Although my own signals were not spotted in South America, PU2KOB (9653km) in GG56 square was copied at 1930z. As there was no Es, I assume this was pure F layer. Are we approaching autumn conditions? Although conditions cannot be expected to match recent autumns, I am still hopeful of some openings to North America on 10m JT65.

UPDATE 2220z: 10m is filled with surprises! 12 minutes ago I was spotted in France by what appears to be Es. I was going to go QRT but instead I'll remain on 10m JT65 overnight.

Going away

When I've been away it seems to take a few days before readers return. Perhaps they assume I've died and am never returning!

Anyway, don't panic I am still here and intend to be around for a good few years to come. If the blog disappears for a week or so, I am probably unable to access my blog as I am away or the internet is down.

The longest "outage" was when I was in hospital for 3.5 months 3 years ago.

10m JT65

About 20 minutes ago I went QRT on 6m and started up on 10m JT65, hoping to reach South America this evening. I also re-synced the PC to internet time. As yet, no reports from South America.

UPDATE 1832z:  No South Americans on 10m JT65 as yet.

6m JT65

This morning I decided to go on 6m JT65 rather than 10m, although I may switch to 10m later. So far, just 1 UK spot of my QRP on 6m, by G4VXE (136km). There is no sign of Es here on 6m JT65. At least on 6m JT65 I do get UK spots.

UPDATE 1248z: 2 spots of my 6m JT65 QRP from UK signals plus a couple of spots of others but nothing from mainland Europe by Es.

UPDATE 1558z:  4 UK spots today on 6m JT65 with the best DX G1IDZ at 182km. No Es on 6m all day.

Sunspots and 10m - Wednesday September 7th 2016

Solar flux is 92 today and sunspot number 32. K=3. The forecast for 10m F2 propagation remains "poor".

OFCOM updates

Form the latest from OFCOM see http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/.  I am not a great believer in the value of this organisation, but I leave it to you to decide.

Kids and puddles - NOT amateur radio

We have been visiting our son and his family who live near Canterbury in Kent. Their children are still very little (4 and 7). What is the magnetic attraction to muddy puddles?  Yesterday they went out on their scooters, but as soon as they found a puddle they just had to jump in it!

2m UKAC tonight

A reminder that tonight 1900-2130z is the 2m leg of the UK activity contest organised by the RSGB.  The enjoyment is working new squares although I have been suprised how well I am doing.

As we have only just returned from visiting our son and family in Kent, I shall be late on tonight.

UPDATE 2225z:  I was only on for a very short time (about 15 minutes) but worked 6 QTH squares with 5W and my omni antenna. Best DX was the south coast. Conditions were up tonight. I shall put in an entry tomorrow.