10m JT65 - quiet so far today

Since about 1000z I have been on 10m JT65 (2W).

UPDATE 1200z: So far today, just G4CJC (73km) spotted on 10m JT65 with no sign here of F layer or winter Es, well not yet. My antenna is not brilliant and others may have done better.

UPDATE 1505z: Still no DX on 10m today here.

The Road Not Taken - NOT amateur radio

As I get older, I must think about things more. Often I wonder what life would have been like had I taken a different fork in the road: gone to a different university, done that PhD, taken a different job, not had children, married someone else, taken the job offer in California and so on. I expect everyone wonders this sort of thing. In a multiverse, maybe we do follow all possibilities but we are not aware of them. I often wonder.

See http://www.bartleby.com/119/1.html .

Sunspots and 10m - Tuesday January 10th 2016

Solar flux remains at 72 and yet again the sun is spotless. A=12 and K=2. We are now definitely entering "quiet sun" times and these could last for many years. Es may liven 10m a bit.

Even in very quiet years there can be some N-S F layer DX on 10m. JT65 or WSPR should be ideal modes as long as people stick with the band. All too often, people go on SSB, see no activity, then go down to a band where there is more activity. Meanwhile, 10m is open and the DX gets missed.

Overnight on 472kHz WSPR

Last evening and overnight I was again active on 472kHz WSPR. I only went QRT at about 1000z this morning.  Fewer spots than ever!

I am really beginning to think that my QRPP 5mW ERP is buried in man-made noise now, whereas a few years ago it was not. So, either I need to raise the ERP so my signal rises above the crud, or abandon the band. A few years ago a lot more were able to copy me.

Winter - NOT amateur radio

There is an outside chance we may see some snow by the weekend. Eastern Europe has been exceptionally cold. Everywhere locally looks wintery. In a few weeks' time the daffodils will be pushing out and there will be clear signs of spring on the way.

Earth-electrode antennas at 472kHz

Some 4 years ago I posted this based on my results at 472kHz:

These were my conclusions in Jan 2013:

1. The earth-electrode antenna at 472kHz (2 earth rods in the soil 15-20m apart fed from the TX output) behaves like an H-field loop transmitting antenna. At the present QTH the spacing is less.
2. It has directivity, with strongest signals in the line of the loop and weakest signals at right angles to it.
3. It works as an effective RX antenna too.
4. In my environment the loop looks like about 50-60 ohms resistive, so a good match to my transverter directly without matching. At this QTH it looks a higher impedance, presumably because the soil and rock are different.
5. The structure works because much of the return current flows deep within the soil and rock beneath the earth-electrode antenna. In my case Rik OR7T calculated that the loop area in the ground is effectively 290m sq with a radiation resistance of 0.017 ohm and a loss resistance of 66 ohms.This is a BIG loop! I think the loop is smaller at this QTH.
6. Performance compared with my 9m high top loaded Marconi antenna averages only around 8dB down, not a bad figure at all, even with the connecting wire on the ground and not elevated at all.
7. Where no other antenna option is available, the earth-electrode antenna is well worth trying both on 472kHz and on 136kHz both for RX and TX. Although it works well here, your geology may be different and results not the same.

Return to 10m JT65

After an evening and overnight on 630m WSPR (best DX with 5mW ERP was F1AFJ/1 at 607km), I returned to 10m JT65 just before breakfast. No spots yet on 10m JT65.

UPDATE 1248z: G4CJC (73km) spotted by tropo or aircraft on 10m JT65. DL0ZB (601km) copied by 10m Es I assume.

Sunspots and 10m Monday January 9th 2016

Solar flux is 72 today and sunspot count is zero yet again. A=16 and K=2.

QRP and QRP Club

More from Oleg:

Dear Club 72 members and friends,

Weekly QRP Rendez-Vous report (January 8, 2017)
Visitors  of the week: UA1ADF, UA1CEG, R2FAE, UR4MME, UR5EFD, DL8BDF,
G4MLW,  US3EN,  IK2RMZ,  UT5EDU,  OK2PDT/p, UR5IFM, UA1CEX, RV3DSA/0,
UR0ET,  OM6TC,  OH6NPV,  RU3NJC, UA0SBQ, EA6BB, R1CAF, UR7VT, US5ERQ,
SM2BYW, SM2FIJ, G3XJS, UA9MLY, DM4EE, RV3GM, DK1HW
See  full  Visitors  and  Frequenters lists on the Club 72 web page
Comments...
See full report on the blog page - http://qrp-club72.blogspot.ru/
See you all QRPers on next QRP Rendez-Vous round tables!

72! Oleg RV3GM / KH6OB "Mr. 72"


This is a periodic Newsletter of the Club 72. Don't reply to Newsletter address! Send any requests or news to mr72@club72.su please.

Alibris UK still game playing - NOT amateur radio

This organisation is still offering discounts every week. I doubt anyone pays the full price.

Plymoth Argyle - NOT amateur radio

Well, my old local football team Plymouth Argyle (League 2) held Liverpool to a 0:0 draw in the FA cup match today. This earns them a replay (and money) in Plymouth.

Microwave TX and RX modules

I have just seen this site, although I have never used it so cannot say how good the service is.

See http://www.13cm.co.uk/index.php

German Callbook

My friend Steve G1KQH has sent me a link to the German Callbook. I am unlikely to use it, but the link is attached in case you need it.

See https://www.bundesnetzagentur.de/SharedDocs/Downloads/DE/Sachgebiete/Telekommunikation/Unternehmen_Institutionen/Frequenzen/Amateurfunk/Rufzeichenliste/Rufzeichenliste_AFU.pdf?__blob=publicationFile&v=24

10m JT65

Late morning, I returned to 10m JT65.

UPDATE 1406z:  Just spotted by G0LRD (25km). No Es or F2 seen here on 10m as yet today.

UPDATE 1606z:  G1IKH (123km) near Nottingham spotted on 10m JT65, but still no DX today here.

Sunspots and 10m - Sunday January 8th 2017

Solar flux is 71 today and sunspot number zero. A=20 and K=2.

Although 10m has not been great of late, at least the mornings get lighter here from this date. Already, the evenings are getting darker later. By the end of the month things are starting to get a lot better.

At least there has been some winter Es to liven things up on 10m.

472kHz WSPR analysis by PA1B

Bert, PA1B, has done some analysis of my 472kHz WSPR to see how little power (ERP) would be needed to be still copied. Of course, this assumes reception is not external noise limited.

Return to 472kHz WSPR

Although my transverter crystal is still settling, hence the drift, I returned to MF a little while ago. So far, just local and semi-locals spotting my 5mW ERP WSPR. All these stations have spotted me before, sadly.

UPDATE 2238z: Still only 4 unique stations spotting me. Nothing DXy with best TX DX just 80km so far this evening.

Early lightbeam tests

Waverley Rd, Kingsbridge, Devon, UK

My interest in light-beam communication goes right back to the 1960s when an old school friend and I used a torch bulb as the TX and an OC71 transistor with the black paint scraped off as the RX detector.

One of our first tests was across the street shown in this photo. I lived in the first house on the RHS and we received the test in the house with bay windows on the left. DX was about 25m! We AM modulated the torch bulb biasing it at half rail if memory serves me correctly. It had a very low frequency response as the torch bulb had a poor HF response, as I recall.

We moved to this house in 1959 but the photo is years and years earlier.

More news about IHSG

Southgate News reports that IHSG (the new amateur radio group) is to become the sole UK reseller of Beko amplifiers. I think this is good news for the amateur community.

See http://southgatearc.org/news/2017/january/ihsg-becomes-beko-elektronik-sole-uk-reseller.htm#.WHEALoXXLIU

The New Year - NOT amateur radio

January is an odd month. Kids have gone back to school, the post is quiet, nights are still long and everywhere feels "dead".

By the end of the month things have already started to change with first signs of new life in the garden, days getting longer and the hope of spring not too far away. January always seems a long, dark, dreary month.

By contrast, February flies by! We'll blink and wonder where another year went.

472kHz WSPR

Another disappointing 472kHz WSPR session with just 6 unique spots of my 5mW ERP in the session which started last evening and lasted until 1010z this morning.

Fewer stations are spotting me this season. Maybe the noise floor is rising and my QRP is just not getting copied so easily? Activity levels are higher than last year, so there must be a good reason. I really must have a better antenna for 472kHz WSPR TX. I know an E-field probe would be better on RX but I want to TX as there are too few active TX stations on the band. Even a few dB extra ERP would help.

10m JT65

I have been on 10m JT65 (2W) since about 1023z after an overnight session on 630m WSPR (5mW ERP). As yet, no 10m JT65 spots. There are quite a few Europeans active I see.

UPDATE 1448z: Es on 10m with SB7W (932km) spotted. G4CJC (73km) spotted by tropo or aircraft reflection.

Sunspots and 10m - Saturday January 7th 2017

Solar flux is 72 today and the sunspot number zero again. A=16 and K=3. Unless we get some winter Es I think we'll be lucky to catch much DX on 10m today, but I am often wrong.

Lightwave Comms

Because of my poor health I have not been able to pursue 481THz (lightwave) experiments especially "over the horizon" NLOS tests. Thankfully, others are "carrying the torch" .

See http://qsl.net/ve7sl/westcoast%20lightwave%20project.pdf

Crystal Sets

It is some years since I last made a crystal set, but I well recall a UK book called "The Boy's Book of Crystal Sets" which I think was first published in 1954. It is available on-line.  At the time "Boy's" was OK. If published now, we'd have to say "Young Person's".

Years back I made a short-wave crystal set and heard some impressive DX with it including Radio Australia and Radio Havana. Both these and many others were NOT more local relays. Radio Australia was a real catch and totally amazed me at the time.

See http://www.vintageradio.me.uk/crystal/boys_book_xtal.htm .

There is also some information on my main website. Crystal sets are easy to make and capable of surprising results.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/crystalset .

Ducks at Anglesey Abbey - NOT amateur radio

We got very close to a couple of mallard ducks at Anglesey Abbey a few days ago as the picture shows.

Sunspots and 10m - Friday January 6th 2017

Solar flux is 72 today. Sunspot number is again zero.  A=18 and K=3. Luckily there is winter Es around to lift the gloom on 10m.

Is 5G a myth? - NOT amateur radio

 Is 5G all a myth? A new book seems to suggest this. This was on the Elector site today.

No solar data - yet

As of 1247z, my source of solar data has still not been updated, so I will post this later, assuming it comes!

Bike - NOT amateur radio

We are lucky to have 4 grandchildren aged 4 to 9 years old. When they come to stay, they enjoy going on their bikes as our quiet Close is ideal. As our smaller bike was too small, we've just got a bigger one that our granddaughters can use.

Return to 10m JT65

A few moments ago I returned to 10m JT65 (2W) from 630m WSPR.

On 10m, I seem to get better results on JT65 than WSPR, probably because there is more activity. JT65 is a useful 10m mode at this part of the cycle as there are usually people monitoring and uploading spots to PSK Reporter Maps.

When not looking for 2-way QSOs it is possible to beacon and get these uploaded to PSK Reporter Maps by sending "B callsign QTHlocator".  It is rare for a day to pass without being spotted or spotting someone on 10m JT65, despite low or zero sunspot numbers. It is certainly better than calling CQ on CW or SSB and just giving up on 10m.

JT65 works with weaker signals than SSB and CW and only a few watts and simple antennas are needed to work the world. Software is free too and very easy to use.

UPDATE 1112z: M5ZAP (125km) spotted on 10m JT65, but no DX yet.

UPDATE 1245z: EA8CYL (2988km) is my best 10m JT65 spot so far today. I am using 2W and a low, indifferent antenna. There is now widespread Es on 10m.

Return to 472kHz WSPR

A few minutes ago I QSYed to 472kHz WSPR and went QRT on 28MHz (10m) JT65. So far just fairly locals (see below).

472kHz initial spots

UPDATE 1925z: PA0RDT (243km) has just spotted me.

UPDATE 2026z: Still the same stations spotting me.

Microshaft - NOT amateur radio

A few moments ago my wife tried to log onto her on-line email account. Up came a pop-up window allegedly from Microsoft encouraging her to change to the Bing search engine and change the default browser to a Microsoft one. There was no way to close the pop-up window and no cross in the corner! Instead we closed the PC and started all over again.

We choose the browser we use and we choose the search engine we use!! If these are not Microsoft, so be it. We deeply resent this sort of intrusion. Sorry, but I was not at all impressed and will never now use Bing. I use Windows 10 but I hate this sort of behaviour. STOP IT NOW!!!

Anglesey Abbey - NOT amateur radio

This is a National Trust house not far from us. We visit the grounds every month. The house dates (in parts) from the 1100s.

In the last season, there were some daffodils out in late November 2015. This year we saw none out and just a few snowdrops. We have had more frosts this winter than last.

Return to 10m JT65

After an overnight session on 630m WSPR, I have now returned to 10m JT65 hoping to catch some winter Es.

UPDATE 1052z: No 10m spots yet today.

UPDATED 1742z: Just a spot of G3LDI (70km) today on 10m JT65. No Es and no F2 seen here.

Sunspots and 10m - Thursday January 5th 2016

Solar flux is 73 today. Sunspot number is zero. A=11 and K=2 .

On the whole I find JT65 on 10m is an excellent mode to catch fleeting openings, although of late these have really been fleeting! JT65 is theoretically not as good as WSPR, but activity levels are higher and I think the 1 minute TX slot helps. We need a WSPR1 with 1 minute TX periods!

MFJ and InnovAntenna partnership

More from Southgate News. InnovAntenna is teaming with MFJ to make and sell the InnovAntennas in the USA.

See http://southgatearc.org/news/2017/january/mfj-in-partnership-with-innovantennas-and-g0ksc.htm#.WG2CbIXXLIU

I think this makes sense. However expect more companies to "join forces" in the years ahead. By combining resources they have a better chance of synergy and success. Times are going to get much tougher in the years ahead as the amateur population ages and less is bought. We can expect fewer dealers in years ahead.

472kHz WSPR

Since teatime I  have been back on 472kHz (630m) WSPR. As an experiment, I ran the shack PC from its internal battery so the noise on RX dropped 7 S points. What I forgot was that the PC sleeps on batteries!

Tomorrow, I'll change the settings so the PC does not sleep ever when on batteries. On batteries the PC should last an evening and maybe a whole night session.  I have since returned to the external SMPSU but this means only the strongest stations are spotted on MF. So far this evening the best DX on TX (5mW ERP) is PA0RDT (243km) who has spotted me a few times.

AmateurRadio.com website

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

There is usually something of interest on this site.

OFCOM's proposed 2017/18 Annual Plan : reminder about public meetings

OFCOM has sent out a note to remind people of its planned public meetings around the UK. Sounds jolly!

See http://ofcom.cmail19.com/t/ViewEmail/i/60CF42DF8E524333/59D1BD3EA2F08127C67FD2F38AC4859C