Bee - NOT amateur radio

Yesterday, for a change in East Anglia, we had sunshine most of the day. Since the start of May it has been cloudy although a lot of the UK has been bathed in sunshine. Anyway, we decided to eat outside. A bee decided to take a fancy to my blue shirt. It was there for about 10 minutes.

Sunspots and 10m - Thursday May 11th 2017

Solar flux is 69 and the sunspot number is again zero.  A=6 and K=3.

6m MSK144 RX and 10 WSPR TX again

Currently, I am on 6m MSK144 RX (14 stations in 8 countries in last 12 hours) and 10m WSPR TX (500mW) but nothing yet on 10m.

UPDATE 1053z: On 6m MSK144 RX the score is currently 18 stations in 9 countries. Best DX on 6m MSK144 RX is SP3OCC (1222km). GS3PYE has again been spotted on 6m sending IO76VL which is near Loch Tay. I assume this correct as they were /P on Islay. On 10m WSPR EA1FAQ (1249km) has again spotted my 500mW a couple of times.

UPDATE 1436z: The 6m MSK144 RX score is 26 stations in 13 countries. Meanwhile, 6 unique stations have spotted my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon.

10m WSPR TX

My 500mW 10m WSPR beacon is on and has been since breakfast. EA1FAQ (1249km) has spotted me twice, suggesting Es already.

Birds: a better day - NOT amateur radio

Well, today was more promising. A bunch of swifts eating insects high in the sky, a sparrowhawk and a buzzard nearby. All spotted from the breakfast table at around 0730z.

UPDATE 1220z:  For the first time this season there were about 10 swifts overhead screaming on the wing. Oh joy, really.

Sunspots and 10m - Wednesday May 10th 2017

Solar flux is 68 today and the sunspot number is zero. A=6 and K=1. On the face of it, not too promising on the higher HF bands.

OFCOM technical consultation on 700MHz co-existence

OFCOM is carrying out a technical consultation on co-existence at 700MHz.

See http://ofcom.createsend1.com/t/ViewEmail/i/08E5DB7A9F4EFBD3/59D1BD3EA2F08127C67FD2F38AC4859COFCOM

6m MSK144 RX so far today

6m MSK144 RX has been my choice so far since breakfast. 12 stations in 9 countries spotted already and it is only 0908z.

70cm UKAC activity contest

Well, although I received a reminder, I almost forgot this! I remembered about 50 minutes after the contest started. Best DX was again G4CLA (105km) who must have very good ears hearing my 5W fed with lossy coax to my 2m halo. Because of my poor voice I didn't stop on long.

Probing still? - NOT amateur radio

Yet again blog visits are exceptionally high this morning and the number of visits coincides with a peak in visits from one Eastern European country.

I am sure most of these visits have little to do with amateur radio. If you are genuinely interested, then welcome. If your intentions are malicious, look elsewhere please.

Yesterday, this blog received four times the average number of visits. I smell a rat.

Sunspots and 10m - Tuesday May 9th 2017

What a difference a year makes on 10m! On this day last year I was exchanging WSPR spots with FR1GZ deep in the Indian Ocean and spotting Brazil on 10m WSPR.

Solar flux is 70 today and the sunspot number 11. A=6 and K=1. So far, the only spot on 10m WSPR was probably by tropo.

6m MSK144 RX

Yet again, I am on 6m MSK144 RX. So far 12 stations in 6 countries spotted with the best DX EA1SI (1069km) in Spain.

UPDATE 1124z:  Now 21 stations in 11 countries spotted on 6m MSK144 RX in the last 12 hours. Best DX is SM5KWU (1304km) in Sweden.

UPDATE 1325z:   27 stations in 12 countries so far in last 12 hours on 6m MSK144 RX.

UPDATE 2205z: Although I have now gone QRT on all bands, the total on 6m MSK144 RX was 30 stations in 12 countries in the last 12 hours.

10m WSPR

I have been on 10m WSPR TX overnight (500mW). Only one spot from PG0DX/1 (411km) during the overnight period. This was possibly tropo? I am still on 10m WSPR, ever hopeful.

Probing? - NOT amateur radio

Funny how one of my blogs had exceptional numbers yesterday and this blog exceptional numbers today. The fact these coincide with great interest from a certain Eastern European nation is purely coincidence?

Somehow I think someone is doing a regular probe to see if they are suitable sites to hack. Should my blogs suddenly disappear or behave oddly, you will know why. I try to avoid this, but some very famous sites have been affected in the past.

No internet - NOT amateur radio

Our broadband stopped working last night. I called the helpline and after an hour on the phone to India (where the call centre was located) it still refused to work. I was exhausted. After lunch my wife tried the call centre. A different person this time. Within 5 minutes everything was working. I don't know what she did but it worked.

Fewer swallows (birds)? - NOT amateur radio

It is the second week in May and I have seen no house martins, just one swift and very few swallows. I may be wrong, but there seem fewer around here this year.

Yesterday we went for a walk, taking about an hour, around part of the village and the skies were empty of these. In years past, the skies would have been filled with these migrants.

Each year that passes, there appear to be fewer and fewer. Just a few years ago (even last year) swifts were the most common bird in the summer sky. I have been looking and there are very few around, so far at least. Maybe they are late arriving, although I fear there are genuinely fewer about.

From the  RSPB website:

"Swallow numbers in the UK have fluctuated over the last 30 years with pronounced regional variation in trends."

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

PSK31 versus JT65

I was going to try PSK31 on 10m today, then I read this and decided against it! I shall try 10m JT65 (2W) again.

http://forums.qrz.com/index.php?threads/what-can-jt65-do-that-psk31-cant-do-what-can-jt9-do-that-jt65-cant-do.540841/page-2

UPDATE 1648z: No JT65 spots on 10m here today, at least not yet.

Wideband verticals

There are several examples of wideband verticals. These are often designed to work without an ATU but performance is compromised. Martin, G8JNJ, has done some analysis of these. In some applications, these antennas serve a purpose, although the commercial versions are not low cost. If you can accept the compromises then take a look.

See http://www.g8jnj.net/cometcha250b.htm

Sunspots and 10m - Monday May 8th 2017

Solar flux is 70 today and sunspot number 23. A=8 and K=2. There seems to be more Es on 10m now although little real DX outside of Europe with my antenna. Others with better antennas and more power may be fairing better on 10m.

Muntjac Deer - NOT amateur radio

This small deer was introduced in the UK, but is now common. Last year we had some in our garden, and they nibbled our sweet peas! We saw one today in a nearby meadow. They are like a large dog in size.

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

VLF tests continue

Experiments at VLF by amateurs continue with DK7FC leading those TXing on bands from 970Hz to 8270Hz. People as far away as Italy and the UK have been trying to receive these transmissions, some successfully.

Unlike commercial stations, these are amateurs using modest powers and "back yard" antennas. At one time people said, "we'll never get over the garden wall at VLF". Instead, signals are being received over hundreds and sometimes thousands of kilometres. I think in the past I have copied 5 different amateur VLF signals from as far away as Germany and the Czech Republic.

The secret is long integration periods, very narrow bandwidths and great stability. Casual listening will not work. Amateur VLF work requires care and dedication, quite different from reception of commercial VLF stations with huge powers and antennas.

MS on 2m

Martin G8OFA has been using 2m MS (meteor scatter) this year and has worked some impressive DX as the photo shows. The MS QSOs are shown as squares with bold outlines. As you can see, these are far into continental Europe. Such contacts would be rare on 2m by tropo and QTH, power and antennas would be important.

MS is available at any time (random MS) but is best in showers. It works at any time in the solar cycle. QTH is less important. On 6m, pings tend to be longer, although antenna elements are bigger.

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).