472kHz (630m) WSPR - using WSJT-X V1.6

I have returned to 472kHz WSPR tonight with about 5mW ERP. Several spots already including some new people that I don't recall from previous seasons. I am again using my earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground.

UPDATE 1938z: G3KEV (232km) is the best DX on 630m WSPR RX so far this evening.

UPDATE 2040z: DK7FC (669km) is now the best DX on 630m WSPR RX this evening. Stefan is always a good signal on MF.

RSGB making some changes to VHF contests in 2017

I was recently emailed telling me of some changes to the rules next year. See http://www.rsgbcc.org/hf/information/vhfcc-2016survey-output.pdf for more details.

Major changes (written by the RSGB VHF contest committee) are as follows: 

• We will introduce a series of awards for the leading stations aged 18 or under to encourage more young operators to try, and hopefully stay with contesting 
• We are increasing the power limits for the two sections of the Backpackers contests from 3W and 10W to 5W and 25W 
• We are introducing new short low power FM contests aimed at newcomers on 4m, 2m and 70cm which will run in the hour prior to the UKAC events (1900 – 2000) on those bands 
• We are re-introducing the 2m diameter limitation for dish and backfire antennas in the Restricted and Low Power section of the 23cm UKAC contests 
• We are introducing separate Local and National club sections to the UKAC Club Competitions defined in a similar way to the successful 80m CC sections.  
• The 4m UKAC contests will move to occur every 3rd THURSDAY of the month to allow them to happen every month, and the 4m Cumulatives will be removed from the calendar 
• The 6m UKAC contests will move to occur every 2nd THURSDAY to separate them from the SHF events 
• In VHF NFD it will be possible for stations in both the Mix and Match and Restricted sections to operate on up to five bands, but have only their best 4 bands count 
• With the aim of increasing weekend activity, we are introducing a new Club section to the VHF Championship for weekend contests. In this section, the scores from every individual entry to a contest from a club’s members will count towards an overall score for the club.

More on Black Friday "bargains"

If you really, really must have a certain rig then the Black Friday deals are maybe worth it, but I am struck by the deals on offer for rigs that have been replaced by better, or more recent, models. I'm thinking of the IC7100, IC7000, FT991 and similar. I guess these are not selling so well and it is a good chance to clear the shelves.

If you have always wanted one of these go grab a slight bargain but don't be conned. The dealers want to rid themselves of old stock primarily and want you to visit their stores.

Cynic, me?

Back on 472kHz WSPR tonight?

In the last hour I reconnected my earth-electrode "antenna", so in theory I could be back on 472kHz (630m) WSPR this evening. It remains to be seen as I have to check wiring and match first. We have family staying this weekend, so next week is more realistic.

It takes something like this, which would have been so simple in the past, to make me realise how pathetic I have become. After just a few minutes I was exhausted. In the past this would have been a trivial task. It seems like 20-30 minutes and I am "done in" these days. For 3 years now I have felt sick, giddy and exhausted when doing anything physical or mental on my feet. Don't get old and don't have a stroke!

Windmill in sunshine - NOT amateur radio

A few days ago the windmill next door was wet with very dark clouds. Today, it is cold and bright. I even managed to cut our grass. Our sweet peas are still flowering despite some frosts. The wind looks to be from the east.

Now just 10m JT65

A few minutes ago I turned off the 10m WSPR (no spots) and 6m JT65 and went instead to just 10m JT65. Today does not look too promising, but we'll see.

UPDATE 1525z: So far just G1JGT (35km) spotted calling CQ on 10m JT65.

UPDATE 1700z:  PU3AMB (10431km) in Brazil was spotted at 1614z this afternoon on 10m JT65. TEP?

UPDATE 1725z:  It is now over an hour since the DX from Brazil was copied on 10m JT65. I shall probably go QRT on 10m shortly and maybe try 630m WSPR?

6m JT65 and 10m WSPR

For a change this morning I am on 10m WSPR (500mW) and 6m JT65 (2W) at the same time. I started things running at about 0720z.

UPDATE 0940z: G0LRD (25km) spotting me and I am spotting G3PXT (82km) on 6m. Nothing on 10m WSPR.

Sunspots and 10m - Friday November 25th 2016

Solar flux is 79 today. The sunspot count is 12. K=6.

10m is unlikely to be any good today.

Black Friday Crap - NOT amateur radio

One of the bad things we in the UK seem to have imported from the USA is "Black Friday". Until a few years ago this was unknown here in the UK. As far as I can see this is just another excuse to encourage us to buy what we do not need. It is greed and commercialism, pure and simple. OK there may be some bargains, but few.

Let me say I hate Black Friday and refuse to go along with the silly games that shops and retailers play on us. Bah humbug! I know some retailers are having a hard time, but as far as Black Friday is concerned go away! Play somewhere else.

UK Amateur Prices Up

Since BREXIT and the UK pound losing value against the $ and Yen, we are seeing price increases. The FT817ND was around £450 or less but MLS are now listing this at £599.95 "with 5% off". This is rather more than the exchange rate change. Somebody being greedy?

Answer to a maiden's prayer? - NOT amateur radio

Antibiotics are widely used (perhaps over-used) and many infections are become resistant to them meaning many common diseases could be lethal in the future. However, a new way of beating super-bugs may be possible.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-38077263 .

Southgate News

Although they pick up stuff from all over the place, this is worth checking out regularly.

See http://southgatearc.org/ .

Sunspots and 10m - Thursday, November 24th 2016

Solar flux is 77 today and the sunspot number 11. K=3.

On the face of it, it does not look too promising for 10m today.

Back on 10m JT65 ever hopeful

My return to 10m JT65 was at about 0910z this morning. The last few days have been poor, so I am hoping today will be a little better (than nil spots!).

As we are entering quieter solar times, DX will be much harder on 10m, but this is where JT65 and WSPR will prove really useful running in the background: if any DX pops up it will not be missed. 10m is "open" most days, if only briefly, yet few realise.

UPDATE 0955z:  Still no spots as yet.

UPDATE 1145z: G0OYQ (177km) has recently been spotted here on 10m JT65. Aircraft reflection or tropo? In the past I have worked stations at good range on 10m SSB (10W pep QRP) within the UK using just a low dipole antenna. Remember that 10m is not bad for semi-local working at any part of the solar cycle.

UPDATE 2146z: LU3ADP (11207km) was the best DX received on 10m JT65.

Time to go QRT

In a few minutes I shall be going QRT on all bands. 10m has been disappointing again and just G0LRD again on 6m. David is not too far away.

6m JT65

After another fruitless day on 10m JT65, I QSYed to 6m JT65 at 1926z. G0LRD (25km) copied me, but no other 6m spots as yet.

RSP2 SDR receiver

SDRplay has announced a new SDR radio. I have to admit never having played with SDR radios yet. This is quite a gap!

See http://swling.com/blog/2016/11/announcing-the-new-sdrplay-rsp2/ .

and

See http://www.sdrplay.com/docs/SDRplayRSP2announcement.pdf  .

Sunspots and 10m - Wednesday November 23rd 2016

Solar flux is 77 and the sunspot number zero. K=3. I am not expecting great things on 10m today.

Ely Cathedral - NOT amateur radio

Today we went shopping in Ely and we ate at The Almonry which has been in business since the 1200s! The photo is a view of Ely Cathedral from the nearby meadows.

Return to 10m JT65

At about 0804z this morning I turned the 10m JT65 back on again (2W QRP). As yet, no spots given or received, although it is still quite early.

UPDATE 1656z:  Still no 10m JT65 spots today.

Fame at last - NOT amateur radio

One of my photos made the BBC TV this evening! Look East showed the picture of our local windmill next door in a storm on their weather forecast, using my nickname "windymiller". I was quite surprised to see it!

QRT

After a day on 10m JT65 I have now gone QRT. There were a couple of European spots this morning but nothing later and no "real" DX today. I shall try again tomorrow.

10m JT65

The return to 10m JT65 was at 0752z this morning. Although the sunspot number is zero, I have spotted one Polish station so far this morning SP8MTA (1615km). Nothing further as yet.

UPDATE 1220z: PD1HPB (351km) spotted on 10m JT65. Aircraft reflection?

Sunspots and 10m - Tuesday November 22nd 2016

Solar flux 75 today and the sun is spotless with a sunspot number of 0. K=1.

QRT on all bands

After joining the East Cambs net on 144.575MHz FM at 2000z tonight, I have now gone QRT on all bands. I may return to 10m JT65 in the morning, hoping for better results than today. Later this week I may try to get my 630m earth-electrode "antenna" working again so I can try MF again.

Weather update - NOT amateur radio

We are very lucky to live next door to a restored windmill. A few moments ago the sun briefly appeared in a very stormy sky, making "our" windmill look very dramatic, as the photo shows. The light was very eerie. The colours in the photo are right.

472kHz (630m) WSPR

It is getting quite late this autumn and I have still not returned to 472kHz WSPR. I may replace my earth-electrode "antenna" as it is unlikely I'll get a better antenna up. My ERP on MF is about 5mW, which is a good challenge for most. Last season I reached over 1000km.

Sepura Half Year Results - NOT amateur radio

The company I used to work for (8 years ago - amazing how time flies) publishes its interim results tomorrow. SEPU shares have tumbled in value since April when they gave a profits warning. There is a rumour they are the subject of a possible takeover. They are about to enter the USA with TETRA products, where they could do well. Their main business is radios where security is very important. They make handsets, mobiles and base units as well as all the software, systems and accessories.

See www.sepura.com .

November - NOT amateur radio

Today is just plain miserable! It is windy and wet and, well, November. It amazes me how fast time seems to fly. It will soon be Christmas again and the evenings starting to get lighter again. But I must not wish things to pass any quicker.

Colonialism - NOT amateur radio

There was a programme on the radio (BBC Radio 4) called "Start the Week" just now. Among the many items it noted how bad colonialism was for the indigenous people. Time and again we are fed a filtered version of events - basically what governments want us to hear. This is especially true in wartime, but it happens all the time, although we do not realise it.  During the Vietnam War we were brainwashed to think communism was always evil.

I make no judgements but urge us all to beware of propaganda. Both sides in the BREXIT debate were guilty. There is a general uneasiness in the general public with the people we put in power. This is true in the UK, USA and in many nations in Europe. The lurch to the right in recent times is, in part, a reaction to this. The people who govern us must be unbiased, fair and honourable people if they are to properly represent us. Sadly, I can think of not one politician that I think meets these high standards anywhere in the world.

OFCOM auction

OFCOM has announced an auction of mobile spectrum.

See https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/latest/media/media-releases/2016/ofcom-outlines-rules-for-mobile-spectrum-auction  .

 I am not a great fan of OFCOM but I respect the views of others that may well differ from my own.

Return to 10m JT65

Just before breakfast I returned to 10m JT65 (2W QRP). As yet, no spots given or received.

UPDATE 1034z: Still no 10m JT65 spots yet.

UPDATE 1440z: Still no 10m spots. Is this going to be a blank day?

UPDATE 1650z: With still no spots at all given or received on 10m JT65, I think this is going to go down as a very bad day, unless things suddenly change. At least with JT65 you have a chance, knowing that there are usually people looking. On SSB a quick "CQ" is unlikely to get a response.

Sunspots and 10m - Monday November 21st 2016

Solar flux is 75 today and the sunspot number 11. K=1. It is anyone's guess how 10m JT65 will be today.

The O2 Arena (London) - NOT amateur radio

My wife and I were trying to remember the name of the man in charge of the Millenium Dome, which later became the O2 Arena. Google came to the rescue! I remember him as an affable Frenchman with a good sense of humour. His name was Pierre Gerbeau. He had a thankless task at the time.

Pierre-Yves Gerbeau in 2014

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre-Yves_Gerbeau

New 40m kit

See http://4sqrp.com/kits/Bayou%20Jumper/bjmanual11-4-16.pdf

There is a new kit coming out that is designed as a modern replacement for the famous WW2 "Paraset" spy transceiver. It uses a crystal controlled 5W TX and a regen RX. This is an American design. I have no idea how it would hold up in Europe. I have used regen receivers, but the biggest issue was knowing the frequency you were listening on precisely. I guess it would be OK for nets but I would not want to call CQ unless I was sure the frequency was really clear. QRP signals can often be weak.

Tree to ID - NOT amateur radio

This is something very common I suspect, but I am very poor on trees! If you know what it is please let me know. It was seen yesterday in a wood at Reach, Cambridgeshire, UK. It was a tree in a wood.

QRP and QRP Club

From Oleg:

Dear Club 72 members and friends,

WQR Report (November 20, 2016)
Visitors  of  the  week:  US3EN,  UR0ET, OH6NPV, DF9QV, EA6BB, HA7NE,
R1CAF,  UR7VT,  IK2RGV,  UW5EKR,  R1OA,  G3MCK,  UR5EFD, RA1M, 4X1ZZ,
UA1CEG,  OH5YU,  U3NJC,  SM7DRV,  R2FAE, RV3GM, DK1HW, OK2PDT, UA4NU,
OH5LP, US5ERQ, DK1AY, OH6VJ, DL3HXX, HA5ARR
Congrats!
DF9QV and DK1AY became Honor Frequenters
Comments.......
see more here - http://qrp-club72.blogspot.ru/
Welcome all QRP operators on the Rendez-Vous round table. See details
on the Club 72 page - club72.su

72! Oleg RV3GM / KH6OB "Mr. 72"

JT, WSPR and similar - just how low can these work?

Reading Amateur Radio Weekly there was a nice posting of a blog analysing weak signal modes trying to see just how weak a signal the various modes can decode.

See http://destevez.net/2016/10/simulating-jt-modes-how-low-can-they-get/?utm_source=amateur-radio-weekly&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter

There are some modes here I have yet to try.

6m JT65

After an evening and overnight on 2m JT65B (no spots), I decided to give 6m JT65A a go this morning. Things were set up just before breakfast. My best spot so far is G6GEI (73km). The only spot of my own QRP 6m JT65 is from G0LRD (25km). I shall stay on 6m 50.276MHz JT65A all morning. I am running about 1W ERP vertical. My antenna is a V2000 Omni vertical. All reports appreciated.

UPDATE 1326z: No further 6m JT65 spots.

UPDATE 1900z: M0SGO (14km) and G0LRD (25km) were the only 2 to spot my QRP 6m JT65 all day. I'll stick on 6m until breakfast and then probably QSY to 10m JT65.

2m UKAC results so far

The results, so far, of the RSGB's 2m UKAC contest have just been published. My position has climbed to 78th out of 188 in the AL section. I run 5W SSB to an omni big-wheel antenna. It is rare for me to be on for more than 40% of the time because of my poor voice.

Although not a great contester, I rarely miss this one as it is a good test of my (limited) set-up and a chance to work a few new squares. 200km is my usual maximum. Well equipped stations with yagis and more power work a lot further.

See http://www.rsgbcc.org/cgi-bin/vhfresults.pl?Contest=144MHz%20UKAC&year=2016 .