Signs of spring - NOT amateur radio

After a long, damp, mild winter here in East Anglia, UK there are now signs of spring. There are fresh buds on the trees and bushes in the garden, daffodils are now out and today we saw our first lambs.

Won't be long now to lighter evenings and cutting the grass!

Sunspots and 10m - Saturday March 4th 2017

Solar flux is today 77.  Sunspot number is 36. A=22 and K= 3.

6m JT65

For a change this morning, I am on 6m JT65 transceiver in beacon mode sending "B G3XBM JO02". Last night, overnight, I was not on the air.

UPDATE 1226z: No spots, so time to QSY, probably to 10m JT65.

49 not out - NOT amateur radio

49 years ago today, my wife and I first met. Each year we celebrate this day more than Valentine's Day as it means more to us. Today we went for lunch at The Old Fire Engine House in Ely. This serves unpretentious English food at sensible prices. The food was good, although it was a shame that outside it rained.

New HF low cost radio design

My thanks again to Steve G1KQH for finding this:

Ashhar Farhan the designer of the BITX has now come up with the ubitx Multiband HF

http://www.phonestack.com/farhan/ubitx/ubitx.html

See the Bitx20 group for more details here:

https://groups.io/g/BITX20

There is a video here: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-yLof4sTtE

QSY to 10m JT65

After an extended time monitoring 6m MSK144, I have now QSYed to 10m JT65 (2W). As conditions were not looking hopeful, it will be interesting to see if any DX appears on 10m today.

UPDATE 1612z: No spots (well yet today) on 10m JT65.

Another UK rally

MARCH 5th 2017 : EXETER RADIO & ELECTRONICS RALLY

America Hall, De La Rue Way, Pinhoe, Exeter EX4 8PW
Doors open at 10.30am with disabled visitors gaining access 15 minutes earlier. Bring & Buy book-in starts at 10.15am. Admission is £2 and there will be trade stands. Catering is available on site. Details from Pete, G3ZVI on 0771 419 8374 or by email to g3zvi@yahoo.co.uk.

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

Sunspots and 10m - Friday March 3rd 2017

Solar flux is 79 today and the sunspot number 52.  A=32 and K=5 so conditions look disturbed.

6m MSK144 RX continued

At the moment I am still monitoring 6m MSK144 RX. The last 24 hours have been decent with many countries spotted (see photo).

Northern Ireland Elections - NOT amateur radio

One thing is certain - I am no politician. Also, I have not been closely following what led to the breakdown of the power sharing alliance in Northern Ireland.

As an "outsider" looking in I think far more things unite its people than divide. It is a staggeringly beautiful place - better than Eire in my view - and I just hope that after the elections today, the parties can find a way to work together for the common good. Sectarianism is so yesterday. Break down the old barriers and work hard for all the people. If you fall back to sectarianism, you have only yourselves to blame.

Catholic? Protestant? Who cares? What matters is the best for Northern Ireland and all its people.

4m in the USA

Although the prospects of an amateur 4m band in the USA remains a distant dream - the FCC seem very very slow allocating 137kHz and 472kHz - Southgate News reports that the 3kW ERP 4m beacon in the USA, in FM07 square, has been granted clearance to continue for another 2 years. 6m openings to the USA occur by Es most summers, but 4m is much harder. This is a useful propagation indicator.

See http://southgatearc.org/news/2017/march/4-metres-and-wg2xpn.htm#.WLgpUoXXJMs

4m is a band I have hardly tried. I do recall working ZB2VHF with a few watts of AM by Es back in my university days as G3OUL from Liverpool - 1969? These days there are lots of European countries on the band and I would think it a decent band for inter-G QSOs. I recall doing one 4m contest in my early days at Pye Telecom. It was April 1971 and we were in the back of a Land Rover. It was freezing! We used a converted Pye AM Cambridge and a 3 el I seem to recall.

Euro - NOT amateur radio

For some time, I have predicted that the value of the Euro will fall. It has not happened yet.

When the UK signs Article 50 to formally start exiting the EU I expect the uncertainty may reduce the value of the UK Pound against several currencies, including the Euro. I suspect this will be a blip and by the end of 2017 the Euro will be well down against the UK Pound and US Dollar.

Not being a monetary expert, I could be totally wrong, but to me the EU is like a pressure cooker. The pressure (for change) is increasing and at some point this will hit crisis point.

I voted to "remain" in the UK referendum but I fail to see how the Euro (or the whole EU) can last without big changes. To me, the pressure for change is growing ever stronger. The German economy has most to lose.

Rally

MARCH 4th 2017 : LAGAN VALLEY ARS ANNUAL RALLY AND HAMFEST

Doors open at 11am. All the usual traders are expected to attend. Details from Victor, GI4LKG, Andrew, MI0BPB or Jim, GI0DVU, all QTHR.

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

Dalham - NOT amateur radio

Yesterday we did a short walk at nearby Dalham, not far from Newmarket. As mentioned before, this is a "chocolate box" village with lots of well tended thatched cottages. Sadly, I think the pub is struggling these days.

Sunspots and 10m - Thursday March 2nd 2017

It seems like 10m has woken up after the winter. Even with my poor 10m antenna I have copied South America on every day in the last week. Even my 2W JT65 on 10m has been copied in Argentina.

Solar flux is 80 today and the sunspot number a respectable 55. A=36 and K=4.

Monitoring 6m MSK144 RX

After an amazing evening monitoring 472kHz (630m) WSPR and a great afternoon on 10m JT65 I am monitoring 6m MSK144 today.

This mode, even with a very modest 6m station (mine is a V2000 vertical omni fed with lossy coax and an FT817), seems to bring in stations from across Europe by random MS and aircraft reflection.

At present, my count is 15 countries spotted in the last few weeks, even without a meteor shower. Most times the bursts are short but the signals are strong.

UPDATE 1022z: G4MOI (67km) is the first spot today on 6m.

UPDATE 1107z: EA5/G3XGS (1581km) just spotted. I think this is my furthermost DX by this mode so far on 6m. Random MS I presume.

See https://www.pskreporter.info/pskmap.html .

472kHz WSPR RX - amazing

This band is amazing: I have only been on for a few hours with my earth-electrode "antenna" yet already I have copied 7 countries including Spain and Italy. My FT817 is deaf too!!

Unique 472kHz WSPR RX so far this evening

UPDATE 2226z:  Another unique spot brings the total of unique 472kHz WSPR RX spots to 14 this evening.

DX on 10m JT65

DK3GI (799km) is the only station spotted so far today on 10m JT65. I am still hopeful of some real DX later.

UPDATE 1540z: I see that several Europeans have been spotted here as well as LU8XAF (13413km) way down in Argentina. I think this is the most distant spot on 10m JT65 this year.

UPDATE 1548z: Today so far on 10m JT65. Let no-one tell you 10m is dead! My antenna is poor too.

 

UPDATE 1740z: My own 2W has been spotted by LU5CQC (11211km) in Buenos Aires. There are loads of South Americans coming through on 10m JT65.

Nuts - NOT amateur radio

This morning, we did a short walk at Dalham, near Newmarket. This is a "chocolate box" village with many beautiful thatched cottages. The church is way up the hill, some way from the village (perhaps the old squire had bad legs?) through a long avenue of trees. The bottom part of this avenue was covered in nuts as the photo shows.

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

Wicken Fen - NOT amateur radio

We are just a few miles from several National Trust places including Wicken Fen. Many years ago I saw a bittern (bird) coming in to roost late one day. It is an ideal place for a walk on a sunny day. It can be bleak, but that is part of its attraction.

Sunspots and 10m - Wednesday March 1st 2017

It is hard to think it is already March. Where does the time go? In about 6-8 weeks it will be the Es season again here in the northern hemisphere. I am sure time goes quicker as we get older.

Solar flux is 81 today and the sunspot number 39. A=8 and K=3.

See http://www.solen.info/solar/.  Solar activity is slowly declining, but this is a very slow process. Conditions on the higher HF bands are often better than many think.

10m JT65 (2W) today

At breakfast time, I turned on the rig and PC and am on 10m JT65. As yet, no spots. I checked time sync to internet time. I am not active on any other band.

Kings College Cambridge - NOT amateur radio

We are lucky to live very close to Cambridge. With our bus passes, we can get into Cambridge for free. With our Kings Passes we get free entry into Kings College Chapel, a place people cross the globe to see. 

Cambridge is quieter at this time of the year, but it is still one of the most beautiful places in the UK.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King's_College_Chapel,_Cambridge .

Spitsbergen - NOT amateur radio

Every 2nd Tuesday, I go to the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge for a U3AC talk on the Arctic and Antarctic. Today, the talk was about Spitsbergen high up in the Arctic. Very interesting too.

We are very lucky in Cambridge having such good speakers/lecturers and a wide choice of subjects. Last term I studied the Anglo-Saxons!  This was very far removed from electronics. It was enjoyable nonetheless.

It is so good to learn with no exams, no notes (unless you want to) - in fact learning about things that interest you for pure pleasure.

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

Now monitoring 472kHz WSPR RX

For about 5 minutes now I have been monitoring 472kHz WSPR RX using the earth electrode "antenna". Last night the best DX was LA8AV (1035km) in the Oslo area. He was copied many times before I went QRT at bedtime. Tonight he has already been copied 3 times and the best DX is LA2XPA (1310km).

Early 472kHz RX spots this evening

UPDATE 2005z:  Loads of 472kHz WSPR spots. LA8AV and LA2XPA have been copied lots of times already this evening.

UPDATE 2056z:  At my last count LA8AV has been copied 23 times already at up to -8dB S/N this evening. Not a single UK station yet spotted!

UPDATE 2208z: 15 unique stations spotted in 6 countries on 472kHz WSPR this evening, but time now to go QRT. It has been a good night.

10m WSPR

Although I think 10m was open to South America again today, my own 500mW 10m WSPR only was spotted in Germany. It is now time to QSY to 472kHz WSPR RX.

Sunspots and 10m - Tuesday February 28th 2017

Solar flux is 82 today (quite respectable) and the sunspot number 40. A=8 and K=1.

6m MSK144 RX and 10m WSPR TX

Since breakfast, I have been monitoring 6m MSK144 where the best DX was IW4AOT (1192km) in JN54 square calling CQ. I think this was random MS.

I am transmitting on 10m WSPR (500mW) but no reports so far today.

472kHz WSPR RX (again)

This evening, I have again been on 472kHz WSPR RX. So far, 9 unique spots with a couple of Norwegian stations in the log. I am about to go QRT and turn everything off.

Unique stations spotted this evening on 472kHz WSPR RX

Ccleaner - NOT amateur radio

For some years now I have run Ccleaner to clear my PCs of rubbish from time to time. This is free and was recommended by Dell some years ago. As far as I can tell it just works.

See http://www.piriform.com/ccleaner .

Amateur radio below 9kHz

Until a few years ago, the conventional wisdom was that you needed huge power and huge antennas to be copied "beyond the garden fence" at VLF and ULF. In recent years much has changed and time and again great distances have been covered by amateurs with quite low power and modest antennas.

The trick is great stability, very narrow bandwidths and long integration times, often of days. For several years just detecting a carrier was enough, but in recent times people have been sending simple messages using EbNaut software.

When at the old QTH I detected signals from several European countries using simple, homemade gear and free software.

Although not totally up to date at all times, I try to update news of amateur VLF and ULF experiments at https://sites.google.com/site/sub9khz/ .

When we die? - NOT amateur radio

This has been mentioned here before. It is something most of us prefer not to think about. Instead we want to get on with our lives.

The year after next I reach 70.  Following my stroke in 2013 I have not enjoyed the health I once had. Compared with many I am lucky though - most of me still works!

Time and again I wonder what happens when we die. Are we just aware of nothing at all, as we were before we were born? Is time and life just an illusion? One thing is certain, we just do not know. With quantum physics, multiverses and many dimensions we cannot experience, it is a brave person who says he/she knows.

All major religions talk about an after-life of some sort. What about morality? If we just die why do we have a sense of right and wrong? Is this a human facet?

No, I am not worried, but I think about this more than I did.

Life is a mystery and I do not have the answers. All religions may hint at answers, but most are thousands of years old, the texts of which were written when we believed the earth was flat, the centre of the universe, demons were real and the world was a very different place.

Geosynchronous amateur satellite delay

A few weeks ago, sorry I cannot remember where, I read that the Qatar amateur satellite, due to be placed in a geosynchronous orbit, has been delayed by a year. This means its launch is now due in 2018 and not this spring.

As the solar activity is likely to be low for a long time, a geosynchronous amateur transponder could be very useful. I certainly hope it is successfully launched in 2018.

The satellite I am thinking about was to have been a Middle-East one with coverage of Europe, Asia and Africa. A separate design covering the USA and just some of Europe was announced by AMSAT-NA last year.

UPDATE 1042z: See https://amsat-uk.org/2014/09/21/eshail-2-ham-radio-transponders/ and https://www.eshailsat.qa/ and https://www.eshailsat.qa/en/satellites .

472kHz WSPR

Someone remarked to me that I copied far more on 472kHz than he did. As you may recall I am just using a totally unmodified FT817 that is a bit deaf on MF with the earth electrode "antenna". I have to use my PC on battery power to ensure a low noise floor, but I do seem to copy quite a bit. Last night my best DX on RX was LA8AV (1035km) and I went QRT at bedtime.

Unique spots last evening on 472kHz WSPR RX

Back on 10m JT65 (2W)

Again, I have returned to 10m JT65 hoping to catch some DX later.

For several days the band has opened for real DX. Don't be fooled by low sunspot numbers. 10m often is open for N-S DX even in sunspot minimum years. Sadly, many just desert the band.

Listening to the CB band just below 10m is often busy when 10m seems flat and devoid of activity. CBers see empty space on 10m, so often illegally use our amateur band.

UPDATE 1154z:  As yet, no spots on 10m JT65, but I expect DX this afternoon.

UPDATE 1412z: PU2ORG (9501km) has been spotted on 10m JT65.

UPDATE 1434z: Now PU2PSP (9584km) spotted. As yet, no spots of my own 10m JT65 (2W). Conditions do seem very similar to last autumn. The falling sunspot number have made very little difference so far compared with last autumn.

UPDATE 2235z:  In all, 5 different South Americans were copied on 10m JT65. Not all these were uploaded to PSK Reporter Maps.

Sunspots and 10m - Monday February 27th 2017

Solar flux is 79 today and the sunspot number 35 (rising). A=2 and K=2.

For several days 10m has been open for N-S DX. It is quite likely that today will also be quite decent on 10m. OK. not as easy as a few years ago but still worth a go.

QRP homebrew from Brazil

This is a great resource for QRPers worldwide with lots of ideas for simple, homebrew rigs. Many of the pages are available in English too. PY2OHH - a call to remember.

See http://py2ohh.w2c.com.br/ .

Simple Mobile Phones?

Both my wife and I use low cost Tesco Mobile "pay as you go" mobile phones, without contracts, for phone and texts. We find these do all we need. My wife's phone is now many years old and she needs a new one.  Any recommendations?

We rarely need data and rely on wi-fi connections for these most times.

472kHz WSPR RX

After a fair break, I am looking on 472kHz WSPR RX. For some reason, my TX antenna current reading is about a third of what it should be, so I am just RX for now until I can investigate further. The earth-electrode "antenna" is still being used.

Initial 472kHz WSPR spots

An asteroid strike. Should you worry? - NOT amateur radio

The chances of a big asteroid hitting us are small. It occurs about once in 40000 years. Even then, most of the globe is not highly populated. Should an asteroid impact on a big city then it could be deadly. I should not lose sleep.

See http://gizmodo.com/we-were-wrong-about-how-the-asteroid-apocalypse-will-go-1792727736 .