4m Allocations Worldwide

Certainly in Europe and in a few countries elsewhere, the 4m (70MHz) band is being allocated to the Amateur Service. Lower VHF is not so popular for PMR users as antennas are quite large. There is a real chance of more widespread amateur allocations at 4m. This is an interesting band which has decent tropo ranges and Es openings especially in the summer months.

See http://www.70mhz.org/

M.E. petition - NOT amateur radio

See https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/190618 .

The current treatment for M.E. is ineffective. This petition aims to get the UK government to "wake up" to this debilitating condition. If you agree, please consider signing it.

Heathkit Lunchboxes

These simple rigs for 10m, 6m or 2m were kits sold by Heathkit mainly in the 1960s. The limitation was the super-regen RX. I liked the styling and simplicity: no memories, AM only and just one crystalled channel on TX. It has long been my aim to make a modern version with similar styling.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/vuhf/lunchbox .

Sunspots and 10m - Thursday April 27th 2017

Solar flux is 78 today and the sunspot number 36.  A=9 and K=3.

10m?  Maybe we'll see some Es? I doubt there will be any N-S F2 propagation.

New patio - NOT amateur radio

Our new patio has just been completed. Hopefully we will be able to use it this weekend if the weather is dry. It is about twice as big as the old one so should be far less cramped when the patio table and chairs are in place.

Back on 10m and 6m WSPR

This morning I have returned to 10m WSPR (100% TX, 500mW) and 6m WSPR (1W ERP 20% TX, 80% RX) hoping to see some Es.  Late last night I realised I was on the wrong 6m frequency, so I would have missed any activity. This morning, all is correct! As yet, no WSPR spots here on 10m or 6m.

UPDATE 1655z: No spots here on 10m or 6m WSPR.

UPDATE 1905z: Now QRT on all bands. No WSPR spots all day! Might try again tomorrow.

More stroke news - NOT amateur radio

No-one, and I really do mean no-one, seems to understand how I am inside. Most of the time when on my feet I feel giddy and exhausted, but outwardly I look well. I cannot begin to explain how hard this is.

Anything mental or physical taking over 15-20 minutes and I am done in - totally exhausted.  Until my stroke I had no idea what total exhaustion was. After a rest I am back to "normal".

My short-term memory is also poorer.  It is now over 3.5 years since my cerebellum brain bleed, but I think there has been little improvement over the last year or so.  Walking on pavements with traffic is very hard.

In many ways my symptoms mirror those of M.E. in that I feel profoundly tired at times, a tiredness like nothing I have ever had to deal with before my stroke. What is so disappointing is there is little sign of any improvement. I struggle on, but it is very tough.

ESEO satellite

Southgate News reports on testing of the ground control for this upcoming satellite. It has an FM transponder planned for 23cms to 2m.

See https://amsat-uk.org/satellites/communications/eseo/ for more about the satellite.

East Anglia - NOT amateur radio

We have well over 1000 medieval churches in our part of the world. Some are real gems. With aging and falling congregations it is far from clear how these will be maintained in future years. At the moment most are looked after and many are open.

Whatever you are a Christian believer (or not), these are well worth a visit. We are lucky as most are less than 90 minutes drive away. We try to visit many of these and those we do I record in another blog. See http://eachurches.blogspot.co.uk/ .

Alibris - NOT amateur radio

Yet again, I am getting "never to be missed" discounts every week it seems. Do they really take us all for morons? As a marketing ploy, I am tired. Just reduce your prices and put us out of our misery.

If you ever buy books from this lot do wait for an offer. These come around so often that it is never worth buying without using an offer.

Sunspots and 10m - Wednesday April 26th 2017

Solar flux is 81 today and the sunspot number 36. A=12 and K=2.

10m? Maybe some Es and a chance of some N-S F2 propagation.

WSPR today

At the moment I am on 10m WSPR (100% TX, 500mW) and 6m WSPR (20% TX, 1W ERP, 80% RX). As yet, no spots in either band. Assuming their will be some Es today, it is likely to be patchy.

UPDATE 1010z:  Still no WSPR spots here on either 10m or 6m. We may get lucky and see some Es - who knows?

UPDATE 1440z:  Still no spots here.

UPDATE 1654z: Still nothing.  There are lightning strikes near St Neots. OK for now, but I may have to go QRT later.

UPDATE 1900z:  Unless things change soon, this looks like another day with no WSPR spots here on either 10m or 6m. Disappointing. As all seems quiet on the storm front, I shall leave things running on 10m and 6m WSPR until bedtime.

UPDATE 2240z:  With no spots all day. it is time to go QRT.

Lightning risk?

For the first time this year we are threatened with lightning. If you want to check where the storms are in the UK check out this map.  If the storms get close, I shall disconnect rigs and antennas as a precaution.

Garden Colour - NOT amateur radio

This garden in our village is always filled with colour in spring and summer. The couple who live in this cottage work hard on it. Sadly, they are getting older, so I am not sure how much longer they can maintain it. At the moment it is a sea of colour.

10m WSPR and some Es?

This morning, I am on 10m WSPR (20% TX 2W, 80% RX). Although no-one has yet spotted me, it looks like there is some Es with a couple of spots of others.

UPDATE 1220z:  No further 10m WSPR spots since earlier this morning.

UPDATE 1735z:  My 10m (2W) signal was copied in northern Spain at 1658z. This is Es I'm sure.

Cattle Egrets - NOT amateur radio

Increasingly I get the feeling that cattle egrets (birds) are gradually becoming more common in the UK. Before 1955 collared doves were rare - now they are common. Before 1989 little egrets were virtually unknown here. Now they are common. Cattle egrets are being spotted regularly in Devon and I see they have been spotted up here in East Anglia.

As climate changes, the species we see will change. Changes have always happened I guess but species that hitherto have been found further south will move north.

It would not totally surprise me if some birds that winter further south decide to stay for our milder winters. When will swallows decide it is warm enough to fully over-winter? I know there are rare records of swallows staying and lasting until January living on insects near seaweed, but I don't think there are any records of swallows lasting the full winter, although I am no expert.

See https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/bird-and-wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/c/cattleegret/ .

Sunspots and 10m - Tuesday April 25th 2017

Solar flux is 80 today and the sunspot number 41.  A=20 and K=3.

Macron win in France? - NOT amateur radio

He is the book favourite to win the final contest against the far right Le Pen in France. As Trump and BREXIT warned us, experts are often wrong.

Overall, I hope Macron wins.

There is a lot wrong with the EU, but Macron has the chance of putting these things right. If Le Pen wins then the EU project is dead and with it European security in the next 50 years. France needs Macron in my view.

Now on 6m JT65 (1W ERP)

As of 1340z I moved to 6m JT65 in beacon mode sending "B G3XBM JO02". I want to see how this compares with WSPR.

I am still on 10m WSPR (500mW TX, 100%) at the same time with the little beacon on a different antenna.

UPDATE 1510z: 2 stations spotted on 6m JT65 with best DX G6NLZ (153km) towards the south coast of England in JO00kw. No spots of me yet on 6m JT65.

A great quote

I found this on Steve M0MVB's website:

"You see, wire telegraph is a kind of a very, very long cat. You pull his tail in New York and his head is meowing in Los Angeles. And radio operates exactly the same way: you send signals here, they receive them there. The only difference is that there is no cat." - Albert Einstein

Looking for swifts - NOT amateur radio

Swallows are more common as we enter the back end of April. Four flew past the window earlier.

The next are swifts. Several have been seen in Devon and even a few up here in East Anglia, but they are not common yet. As yet, I have not seen one this year.  By June they are very common, but they do not stop long.

Cuckoos should be about soon, but I have not heard any. They often lay their eggs in reed warbler nests up the lode (waterway) not far from here, but we rarely hear cuckoos these days.

See https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/bird-and-wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/s/swift/ .

First 6m WSPR spots this year

M0MVB (33km) has spotted me several times on 6m WSPR. No great DX, but at least I know the system works. Meanwhile my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon has been widely copied in northern Europe.

Moved to 6m WSPR

As the Es season seems to have started, I have QSYed to 6m WSPR (1W ERP) and put the 500mW 10m WSPR beacon on 10m (100% TX).

UPDATE 0942z: I see that OZ9QV (864km) has copied my 500mW 10m WSPR a couple of times.

UPDATE 1022z: Several 10m WSPR spots but nothing yet on 6m WSPR.

Auroras?

This was on Space Weather earlier:

"SOLAR WIND ENGULFS EARTH: A solar wind storm is underway around Earth as our planet enters a high-speed stream of gas flowing from a large hole in the sun's atmosphere."

Be on watch for auroral openings.

Sunspots and 10m - Monday April 24th 2017

Solar flux is 82 today and the sunspot number 43. A=41 and K=4.

As I said in an earlier post today, I think our Es season has started and we can look forward to several months of good propagation on 10m, 6m and 4m. Es openings are mainly up to about 1500km, but most seasons Es openings bring in the USA, Caribbean and South America even on 6m. The conventional wisdom is this is multi-hop Es, but I have some doubts over this preferring some kind of chordal hop involvement.

Althurium - NOT amateur radio

My wife has a way with orchids and those we have live for years.

I had to look this house-plant up as I did not know its name. It is not an orchid - well I don't think it is! As you can tell, I am no plant expert!

10m WSPR (2W) transceive

After success yesterday, I am on 10m WSPR today running 2W (20% TX) with the rest of the time on RX. Before I switched to 2W on the FT817 I was spotted on my 500mW beacon overnight in Italy and Germany on 10m WSPR. I think this is the start of the Es season.

UPDATE 0816z: Several spots of my 2W 10m WSPR by EW2ABC (1812km).

UPDATE 0833z:  DF4UE (758km) reporting me at +7dB S/N - has to be Es.

Tulips - NOT amateur radio

We have had a crazy few months. Daffodils were about 6 weeks late, but most things are now early! Today, we visited Ickworth, near Bury St Edmunds. Most tulips were past their best and another week and we'd probably see none still in flower! This one would be over within a week.

QRP and QRP Club report

This came in from Oleg:

Dear Club 72 members and friends,

Weekly QRP Rendez-Vous Report (April, 23, 2017)
Visitors  of the week: HB9DAX, RV3GM, UA1CEG/p, US5ERQ, DK1HW, UR7VT,
R1CAF,  R2FAE,  UY1IF,  R1OA,  G3XJS,  DL8MEL, PD7CJT, OK1KW, RU3NJC,
R1CAN, UA1ADF, UA1CEX, R2AJA, UR0ET, OH3GZ, F5OYS, Z35M
New Visitors - DL8MEL, F5OYS - you are welcome!
See full Visitors and Frequenters lists on the Club 72 page.
Some comments...
See full WQR Report including comments and pictures on the blog page -http://qrp-club72.blogspot.ru/
Thanks  ALL for activity and comments.
See all QRPers on the next QRP Rendez-Vous

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.

Dunnock - NOT amateur radio

We get fewer small birds in the garden these days. I did see a robin feeding a new born on the lawn earlier today. A robin was flirting with a nestbox in the garden yesterday. I think it is sitting on eggs. There was activity there this morning.

Our most common birds are pigeons and blackbirds. There are smaller birds around, but they are not as common as they used to be.

The bird shown is a dunnock or hedge sparrow. These birds tend to lurk, but we see quite a few on our lawns.

See https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/bird-and-wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/d/dunnock/ .

Geosynchronous amateur satellite next year?

At the moment, 2018 seems the likely launch date of a Middle East satellite that includes a 250kHz wide linear amateur transponder. Now, it has to get into the right orbit and work. If successful, the 2.4GHz uplink and 10GHz downlink would enable very wide coverage around the world with small, fixed antennas. If it works, it could change amateur radio for ever. There are a lot of uncertainties.

See https://amsat-uk.org/satellites/geosynchronous/eshail-2/

6m MSK144 RX again

Yet again, I have chosen 6m MSK144 RX this morning as well as 10m WSPR TX again. This mode/band (MSK144/6m) never seems to fail unlike 10m WSPR that has been very poor of late with an absence of even locals.

Lack of activity, not conditions, seems to be the main reason why 10m seems "dead". If we don't use it, it may be allocated to CBers before the next peak. We have a wide allocation and could you really blame the FCC or OFCOM if they decided to reallocate? We'd only have ourselves to blame. As they say, " use it or lose it".  In this day and age, we deserve to lose it sadly.

UPDATE 0915z: On 6m already 22 stations spotted in 11 countries.

UPDATE 1035z: Surprise, surprise! Some 10m WSPR spots at last!

On 6m MSK144 RX the score is 25 stations in 12 countries spotted so far today.

Where do you buy HB100 10GHz modules?

Someone in Australia asked this recently. There are many sources on the internet at rock bottom prices. Remember the price includes a screened box,  dielectric resonator oscillator, PCB, 2 PCB antennas and a RX mixer! Think modern Gunnplexers. Incredible value!

Some are as low as $2.32 each with free shipping!!

See https://m.nl.aliexpress.com/search.htm?listType=keyword&keywords=hb100#/. This link is Dutch, but I am sure they have an English site too.

Sunspots and 10m - Sunday April 23rd 2017

Solar flux is 82 today and the sunspot number 29. A=54 and K=4. I am not expecting much of 10m WSPR today again. Indeed it has been many days with no WSPR spots lately. No spots yet again on 10m WSPR yesterday. 

6m MSK144 RX and 10m WSPR TX

I only try 10m WSPR TX as this uses a different rig, no PC and a separate antenna, although it is days since anyone spotted me on 10m! It is a different story on 6m MSK144 RX where I have already spotted 18 stations in 6 countries so far on by this mode. Best 6m DX so far is IK0XBX (1355km) in Umbria, Italy. This mode and band never fail me. Conditions can be poor, but with this mode I still copy all over the place.

UPDATE 1225z:  23 stations in 11 countries on 6m MSK144 RX so far today. Best DX (also a new country) is EA6VQ (1424km) in the Balearic Is.

UPDATE 1508z: now 30 stations in 8 countries spotted on 6m MSK144 RX today so far. This is more stations than I can ever remember.

UPDATE 1822z: The score on 6m MSK144 RX is currently 31 stations in 12 countries.

Sunspots and 10m - Saturday April 22nd 2017

Solar flux is 82 today and the sunspot number 39. A=18 and K=6. I am not expecting much of 10m WSPR today, indeed it has been days with no WSPR spots lately.

HB100 10GHz frequency agility

Steve G1KQH sent me this link:

http://ik1zyw.blogspot.co.uk/2017/04/hb100-10-ghz-module-frequency-agility.html

You may recall that the HB100 is a very low cost Doppler radar module that can form the heart of a wideband FM 10GHz transceiver.

UK Rallies this Sunday

APRIL 23rd 2017 : 33rd YEOVIL QRP CONVENTION
Digby Hall, Hound Street, Sherborne, Dorset DT9 3AA. There are disabled facilities at this venue. The doors will be open between 9.30am and 3pm. There will be trade stands, a Bring & Buy, RSGB bookstall and stands for RSARS and RAFARS. A programme of talks will take place on the day. Refreshments are available on site. Details from Bob Harris by email to wjh069@gmail.com [http://yeovil-arc.com/qrpconvention]

APRIL 23rd 2017 : RIPON RADIO RALLY
Hugh Ripley Hall, Ripon, North Yorkshire, HG4 2PT. Doors open to stallholders at 7.30am and to the general public at 10am. Entry is £2 on the door, under 16s are free. Enquiries can be made via email to rally@ripon.org.uk www.ripon.org.uk/content/ripon-rally-2017

APRIL 23rd 2017 : ANDOVER RADIO AMATEUR CLUB SPRING BOOT SALE
Wildhern Village Hall, Tangley, Andover SP11 0JE Doors open from 10am to 4pm, with disabled gaining access earlier. Admittance is £2. There are tables in the hall and outside pitches. Hot food and drinks available. Contact Paul, G4KZY on 07775 738 200 or by email to paul.g4kzy@gmail.com.

C5 solar flare

Southgate News reports that there was a C5 solar flare a few days ago. This was expected to mainly miss the earth, although conditions were disturbed yesterday.

See http://southgatearc.org/news/2017/april/massive-explosion-on-the-sun.htm#.WPm7WoWcHIU

Growing up - NOT amateur radio

Our grandchildren are growing up all too fast!  This is one of them in pensive mood.

If you have any, then my recommendation is enjoy your time with them as they are only young once.