Sunspots and 10m - Sunday May 7th 2017

Solar flux is 72 today. The sunspot number is 26. A=4 and K=3.

QRP and QRP Club

Each week Oleg reports:

Dear Club 72 members and friends,

Weekly QRP Rendez-Vous Report (May, 7, 2017)
Visitors  of  the week: R1CAF, UY1IF, UW5EKR, US5ERQ, TF/RA1M, UR0ET,
OH6NPV,  DK2QX,  F3MB,  OK1KW,  DL8NAV,  RU3NJC, G3XJS, RV3GM, ON6WJ,
UA1ADF,  UA0SBQ,  US5ERQ, OM6TC, ON6KZ, RA4ABI, UR5EFD, DG2VM, R2FAE,
LA8BCA
Congrats!
DK2QX entered in the Honor Frequenters list
Personally! Dear Red, members of the Club 72 invite you to the Club, please
Welcome new Visitors:
F3MB, DL8NAV, RA4ABI, DG2VM
See full Frequenters and Visitors lists on the Club 72 web page
Comments...
See full WQR Report including comments and pictures on the blog page -http://qrp-club72.blogspot.ru/

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.

6m MSK144 RX

So far, 17 stations in 10 countries spotted this morning on 6m MSK144 RX. This is a very good start. Just before breakfast I was briefly on TX in this mode on 6m and was spotted locally by M1BXF/SDR and G4KPX. Most of the time I have been RX only.

UPDATE 1112z:  29 stations in 11 countries so far today on 6m MSK144 RX. This mode is getting popular!

UPDATE 1706z: Lots and lots spotted today on 6m MSK144 RX.

Early Es on 10m

I turned on the 10m WSPR beacon (500mW) before breakfast and was spotted by LA9NKA (930km) at 0740z. For Es, this is early.

Compact 10m beam

If you are after a small beam for 10m you might try this Moxon 2el.

Moxons have useful forward gain, decent F/B ratio, a fairly broad forward pattern and are easy to make. When up in the air, a 2el Moxon on 10m won't look too big.

See http://www.dxzone.com/cgi-bin/dir/jump2.cgi?ID=9325 .

Some years ago I tried a Moxon on 70cms where it worked well.

6m MSK144 TX (1W ERP)

Just for a short while, I am transmitting (30 second periods) on 50.280MHz MSK144 in beacon mode sending, "B G3XBM JO02" (1W ERP) to see where in Europe I am being spotted.

At the same time, I am still on 10m WSPR TX running 500mW.

New ICOM D-Star dual-band handheld

ICOM has announced a new digital dual-band 5W handheld that as well as conventional FM supports D-Star both over the air and via a PC, tablet or similar. It has built-in GPS as well as a slot for a micro-SD card. To me, it seems expensive but it is a "state of the art" dual-band handheld with GPS.

See http://www.icomuk.co.uk/ID-51E-Plus2/Handheld_Amateur_Radio_Ham

137 and 472kHz bands in the USA

My conclusion is the FCC is a bunch of morons and pen pushers. I may be wrong and this is my personal view. To others, they may be wonderful.

According to Southgate News, these bands are still not available in the USA years and years after these bands were released in the rest of the world. As my own experiments on both bands with very low ERPs show, great ranges can still be achieved. I just don't understand their reasons for delays. OK, I know some utilities pump RF over cables in this frequency range in the USA, but if there is any harmful interference just instruct the station to go QRT or reduce power. With a low ERP limit initially I very much doubt there would be any problems.

FCC - get your fingers out and release these bands! To the rest of the world you appear a bunch of idiots incapable of making any decisions. Does anyone there understand RF? Wake up!

First swift seen - NOT amateur radio

There are some about according to the reports, but yesterday I saw my first swift this year. This is one day later than last year. I have still to see any house martins and I have not heard a cuckoo.

The impression I'm getting is there are fewer swallows, swifts and house martins this year. I maybe wrong and I hope I am. These returning migrant birds mean a lot to me.

6m MSK144 and 10m WSPR

After a brief transceive period in beacon mode, I have now returned to RX only on 6m MSK144. At the same time I have my 10m WSPR TX beacon running (500mW) and was copied several times by local G4KPX (14km).

It is getting hard now to separate MS and Es. This is the Es season in Europe and sometimes Es can give very strong signals both on 6m and 10m.

Up to now 16 stations in 9 countries spotted on 6m MSK144 this morning.

UPDATE 1038z: Just lots of 10m WSPR spots from G4KPX, but no evidence here of 10m Es, as yet.

UPDATE 1208z: 22 stations in 11 countries so far on 6m MSK144 RX today.

UPDATE 1304z: I think my countries spotted so far on 6m MSK144 has now reached 26. Not bad considering quite a few within range are missing and MSK144 does not depend on conditions. My set-up is simple too.

UPDATE 1720z: No evidence of 10m Es here today. It looks like the 6m MSK144 spots were largely MS.

UK rallies this weekend

MAY 7th 2017 : DAMBUSTERS HAMFEST

Thorpe Camp Visitor Centre, Tattershall, Thorpe, near Coningsby, Lincolnshire LN4 4PL This is an outside event with limited room inside. Entry is £3 per person and under 12s, if accompanied, free and this charge will allow you to enter the museum as well. The venue is all on one level with access to all buildings for wheel chairs etc. Full catering on site with hot food van and the NAFFI. There will be an RSGB bookstall. Please contact either Tony G3ZPU for information on 01507 527 835 or by email to tony.nightingale@yahoo.co.uk or Ant, M0HAZ on 0795 665 4481.


MAY 7th 2017 : THE SCOTTISH AMATEUR RADIO AND ELECTRONICS CONVENTION

Braehead Arena, Kings Inch Road, Glasgow, G51 4BN. Talk-in will be available on S22. The venue has disabled access and free car parking, including access to the Braehead Shopping Centre. Doors open at 10am and close at 4pm and entry is £4. There will be trade stands, an RSGB bookstall and the GMDX group. There will be talks during the day. Club tables are £10 (prebooked only). For more information contact 0759 344 1518 or email management@scottishhamcon.com www.scottishhamcon.com

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

137kHz

It is some years since I tried this band, but I really ought to give it a go again. The last time was QRSS3 (I think) when I went looking for the signal with a mag-mounted E-field probe on the car roof, my deaf FT817 and a PC. After 24km I gave up as I was still getting decent copy despite the very low ERP.

Although I am pretty sure I have given this link several times before, you may be interested if you are starting out on that band.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/mflf/137khz_tvrtr

Sunspots and 10m - Saturday May 6th 2017

Solar flux is 74 today and the sunspot number 31.  A=6 and K=2.

Sunspots and 10m - Friday May 5th 2017

Solar flux is 74 today and the sunspot number 29.  A=7 and K=2.

Life on Mars? - NOT amateur radio

There has long been debate about whether or not primitive life exists on Mars. Now scientists have done some experiments on Earth that suggests life on Mars is indeed possible. Some living things could survive in the harsh conditions on Mars today. Of course this does not prove that life does exist there, just that it could.

See http://www.marsdaily.com/reports/Is_Anything_Tough_Enough_to_Survive_on_Mars_999.html

Iris - NOT amateur radio

There have been some beautiful irises in a garden near here. They are at their best right now. These are a lovely colour.

Magnetic Loops

A few years ago I built a magnetic loop TX antenna. With QRP powers, the very high voltages that exist if the loop is efficient are less problematic. The key to efficiency is low loss. For example, the loop should be made of thick copper pipe or coax, if possible. The capacitors used to resonate the loop should also be low loss. Having said this, I have had good results with normal air spaced variable capacitors and trimmed coax as capacitors. Of course, magnetic loops tend to be very sharply tuned, but for things like WSPR, JT65 and PSK31 where frequency changes are small they are fine. In fact they work remarkably well even indoors. They can be small too as the photo shows. This loop was tuned to 10m WSPR but the same sized loop was used on 20m where I was spotted in Japan - from the back of a chair in the bedroom!

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/antennas/magloop.

Return to 6m MSK144 RX

Whilst remaining on 10m WSPR TX with my 500mW TX WSPR beacon, I have returned to 6m MSK144 RX in time for the Aquarids MS shower. The shower peaks this weekend. 3 new countries spotted on 6m MSK144 - Lithuania, Austria and Corsica.  These could of course be Es now and not MS.

On 10m WSPR I have been spotted in Italy.

UPDATE 1410z: Best DX on 10m WSPR is IS0KYB (1556km) with my 500mW beacon. Best DX on 6m MSK144 RX is OF1KH (1643km) in KP01tn square in Finland. This is a new country on this band/mode, but it could well be Es.

UPDATE 1952z: Best DX on 10m WSPR TX (500mW) is OH2VMP (1734km). Briefly, I have been on 6m MSK144 in beacon mode TX sending "B G3XBM JO02" where my best spot on TX (1W ERP) was EA5UB (1496km).

UK Elections - NOT amateur radio

A reminder that there are local elections, as well as elections for some mayors, in many parts of the UK today. There is a general election in June.

Use your vote!

If you do not vote and the wrong people get in, you can only blame yourself. It is no use moaning! Voting is your democratic right. You can vote as you want. Your vote counts as much as anyone else.

Sunspots and 10m - Thursday May 4th 2017

Solar flux is 74 today and the sunspot number is 15.   A=4 and K=2.

New QRP Club Member

This came in from Oleg yesterday:

Dear Club 72 members and friends,

SV8CYR op. Alexander became a new Club 72 member (certificate # 97)
Who's next?

72! Oleg RV3GM / KH6OB "Mr. 72"

10m WSPR beacon

A few years ago I bought a 500mW (TX only) WSPR beacon from W5OLF. It has been copied in every continent including Antarctica even with my poor 10m antenna. I am not sure if these are still being sold but I was very impressed. It is small, simple and works.

Once sync'd to time (either using a BC receiver or internet time) it is totally stand alone and does not need a PC or external audio. It means I can operate on 6m WSPR or other modes (with the FT817 and PC) at the same time as using the WSPR beacon on 10m.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/w5olf

UPDATE 0820z: The 10m WSPR beacon has just been turned on.

UPDATE 0932z: No spots, as yet, of my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon.

UPDATE 1630z: With 8 different stations spotting my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon, the Es season is definitely here! Best DX today, so far, is OH2VMP (1734km).

On 6m JT65 again

Actually I stayed on 6m JT65 overnight. At 0649z I was spotted by G1IDZ (182km). He is in the Worcester area. No other JT65 spots as yet on 6m.

Tomorrow onwards I shall probably swap to 6m MSK144 RX hoping to catch the Aquarids MS shower.

UPDATE 0816z: DC8RA (572km) has been spotted, probably by Es.

UPDATE 0850z: My 1W ERP 6m JT65 has been spotted by DK8NE (704km) in the last 20 minutes. Es definitely.

UPDATE 1114z: OF3DP (1702km) in KP10 square (Finland) spotted me earlier on 6m JT65. Definitely Es! Plenty of other 6m JT65 spots across Europe, but no WSPR spots on 10m.

UPDATE 2125z: Now gone QRT on 10m WSPR but have switched to transceive for a while on 6m MSK144 (was RX only).

Sepura and Hytera - NOT amateur radio

My old company is in the process of being taken over maybe by Hytera, which is a Chinese company. They are waiting on the UK government who are possibly concerned about security being compromised. Both the Spanish and Germans have said "OK".

It is OK to have our nuclear plants funded by the Chinese, but possibly not our public safety organisations like the police who use a system that is due to be replaced next year. Muddled thinking? 

There is also the small matter of a General Election next month. It is anyone's guess what the government will decide. Maybe they will delay until after the General Election? If they do, Sepura could go bust and lots of job losses in Cambridge. Politically, this would be bad.

6m MSK144

As you will have seen from posts over the last few months, this mode and band have proved very successful here, irrespective of conditions. Every day, I copy stations from all over western and northern Europe on 6m by this mode. I think my country count is in the low 20s, but I have not checked recently. Best DX is Spain, Balearics, Italy and Sweden. This mode just works.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/vuhf/6m_msk144 .

Meteor shower

Peaking this coming weekend, the Aquarids meteor shower should bring some strong pings. I shall be on 6m MSK144 RX hoping for success.

The returns from just random meteors have amazed me. With a real MS shower, the pings should be longer, so I have a better chance of copying stations with my very simple set-up (V2000 vertical, lossy coax and FT817).

6m JT65

For a change, I started out on 6m JT65 today with 1W ERP in beacon mode, although I am looking for others 50% of the time and reporting all my spots to PSK Reporter Maps. I am hopeful of some G spots and maybe some Es.

UPDATE 0925z:  G8MIA (162km) spotted on 6m.

UPDATE 1100z: Now 3 G stations spotted on 6m JT65, but nothing from mainland Europe as yet on 6m.

UPDATE 1820z: ON4PG (342km) is my only continental today on 6m JT65, spotted here at 1706z. Tropo?

UPDATE 2100z: My first and probably the only spot on 6m JT65 was some 34 minutes ago when G1IDZ (182km) spotted me in  IO82tc square.

Sunspots and 10m - Wednesday May 3rd 2017

Solar flux is 76 today. Sunspot number is 25.  A=4 and K=1.

OFCOM May 2017 newsletter

OFCOM has published its May 2017 newsletter.

See http://ofcom.cmail19.com/t/ViewEmail/i/E3AFDFA4A9C73112/59D1BD3EA2F08127C67FD2F38AC4859C

Mandelbrot sets - NOT amateur radio

As I get older, I get very frustrated trying to recall names.

One example was the Mandelbrot set. I knew about repeating patterns as you zoom further in, but I just could not bring the name out from the depths! I had a similar problem trying to recall the name Keely Hawes a few days ago. It is not a worry, just frustrating. So much effort is taken trying to remember these names.

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

2m UKAC this evening

Luckily I got an email reminder! In the UK, Monday was a public holiday and I feel a day out. Tonight from 8pm UK clock time the 2m activity contest takes place. This is organised by the RSGB and activity levels are usually good.

Normally I manage about an hour or less because of my poor voice. I use 5W and a big-wheel antenna.

UPDATE 2040z: I tried a "wait and pounce" approach, but waited a very long time for my first QSO. In all, 7 QSOs in 5 QTH squares. Best DX was the Peak District.

Needless packaging - NOT amateur radio

It really annoys me when supermarkets "go overboard" and package things far more than is needed. There is an online petition aimed at stopping this. Sign if you feel the same way. In years gone by we managed, so why not now?

See https://www.change.org/p/uk-parliament-stop-supermarkets-from-selling-raw-fruit-and-veg-in-plastic-packaging?recruiter=32433470&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=autopublish&utm_term=des-lg-share_petition-no_msg .

Optical Communications

It is some years (before my stroke in 2013) that I last tried seriously with optical communications using red LEDs that I bought at low cost via eBay. These days, I expect a google will bring up lots of links. This is a fun branch of our hobby, with very low costs and lots of homebrewing. This is a branch of the hobby I'd like to try again. There is much to learn.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/optical .

10m JT65 again

After some Es yesterday and some 10m DX from Brazil, I am back on 10m JT65 this morning. No spots so far, but it is quite early.

UPDATE 0935z: Some Es already on 10m JT65 with DF4WQ (596km) already spotted this morning.

UPDATE 1534z: No more Es seen here since early this morning. I shall stay with 10m JT65 for several hours still. Es often has a second peak around teatime, although I do not know why.

UPDATE 1720z: Still no further 10m JT65 spots here.

Sunspots and 10m - Tuesday May 2nd 2017

Solar flux is 74 today and the sunspot number 11. A=5 and K=2.

On yer bike - NOT amateur radio

We are lucky to live at the end of a quiet Close with no through traffic. It is ideal for our grandchildren to play outside. We always watch over them.

Ferrite rod antennas on TX

It is some years since I tried this, but I remember being surprised how well this worked. As long as the ferrite is not saturated, a ferrite rod will work on TX. I tried it on WSPR with the antenna just on the shack table. Of course, WSPR works well.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/antennas/ferrite_tx

Sunspots and 10m - Monday May 1st 2017

Solar flux is 76 today and the sunspot number 33. A=6 and K=0. 10m? Who knows. With undisturbed conditions we might see some N-S DX.  Es should also start to get more commonplace in the northern hemisphere.

10m JT65

Rather later than normal, I am on 10m JT65 today (2W) in beacon mode sending "B G3XBM JO02" every minute. So far just G4CJC (73km) in IO91xp square spotted. This is inside the M25 north of London.

UPDATE 1434z: Spots exchanged with G0LRD (25km) but no real DX on 10m today here.

UPDATE 1500z: My best DX today on 10m JT65 is a spot of me by IZ2ODN (1095km).

UPDATE 2020z:  PU9DCB (9884km) was copied on 10m JT65. Real DX and quite late!

Nests - NOT amateur radio

We have (at least) 2 birds nesting. A robin has decided to build a nest in a nest-box (see above) I installed last year. There is also activity in our loft, which may be a blackbird's nest. I suspect there are also nests in our hedges. We see lots of blackbirds and robins.

UPDATE 1900z: Although there are swifts and cuckoos about near here, I have not managed to see any in April.