136kHz WSPR RX and OPERA RX

At about 1920z I QSYed to 136kHz RX from 50.280MHz (6m) MSK144 RX.  As yet, no spots.

6m MSK144

Yet again, I am monitoring 6m MSK144 on 50.280MHz. Most days this produces spots from several European countries. The main propagation at this time of year is random meteor trail reflections. Signals are brief, but often strong.

UPDATE 0904z: No spots as yet.

UPDATE 1410z: S59SV (1280km) in Slovenia spotted strongly this lunchtime.

UPDATE 1615z: GM4FVM (428km) spotted strongly this afternoon.

UPDATE 1702z: No further 6m MSK144 spots since the GM.

Sunspots - Wednesday February 7th 2018

Solar flux is 75 today. Sunspot number is 17. A=5 and K=1.

Low cost advertising - NOT amateur radio

My wife reminds me that it is possible to advertise in the programme for the upcoming Cambridgeshire Choral Society (CCS) concert in early April. This programme is widely seen and rates are very reasonable indeed. £50 for a full page. £25 for half page. The booklet is A5.

Should you wish to advertise please contact me in the first instance. More details are on the CCS website. This is your chance to reach many for very little.

See www.cambschoral.org.uk .

Optical Communications

One of my favourite things before my 2013 stroke was experimenting with optical communications. I had some success with "over the horizon" weak signals.  No sign of the red light was visible, yet it could be detected miles away non line of sight (NLOS) with a laptop. These days I am just too wobbly to do this.

As I have said before, test gear is easier than microwaves and all the kit can be made in a shed for very little money. This is an area rich for experiments and right at the frontiers.

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

Watch Falcon Heavy lift-off live - NOT amateur radio

I gather this has been delayed a bit. Not sure why this was. At some date this could take people to Mars. Chances of a successful launch are not brilliant, although I hope it works.

You can watch the launch live at  https://www.engadget.com/2018/02/06/spacex-falcon-heavy-launch-livestream/

UPDATE 2128z: Well, it looks like a successful launch.

2m UKAC tonight

Being the first Tuesday of the month, tonight is the 2m leg of the UKAC activity contest organised by the RSGB.

"This contest takes place on Tue 6-Feb-2018 20:00 UTC
The rules for the contest can be found here
You canlist/edit your contest alerts here

Regards, 
RSGB CC"

UPDATE 2120z: 5 QSOs before I stopped with 5W and my big wheel. If I had stayed longer, I would have worked far more.

OFCOM - Communications Monthly Jan 2018

More not to be missed stuff from OFCOM.

See http://ofcom.cmail19.com/t/ViewEmail/i/3D9001E53370CA822540EF23F30FEDED/59D1BD3EA2F08127C67FD2F38AC4859C

Frasier - NOT amateur radio

Very few USA TV shows appeal to me. Exceptions were "Breaking Bad" and "Mad Men" which both my wife and I got addicted to, goodness knows why as they are a million miles from our life styles.

Another show we much enjoyed was "Frasier" and I see today that the British born actor who played dad has died. This was US TV at its very best. RIP John - you made many of us laugh.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42953979 .

136kHz last night

There is no doubt that I have to improve my RX system on LF and MF.

Last night I spotted the same few stations on 136kHz WSPR and OPERA, giving reports way down on others spotting the same stations.

Next season I shall definitely have to try a mini-whip E-field probe which, although tiny, work really well on 136kHz and 472kHz RX as long as they are positioned to minimise noise pick-up. Usually this means as far away as possible from houses and in the clear. I know I can do better.

Up to now, I have just been using my earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. It works, but is directional and probably 10-20dB down on an optimised E-field probe.

Cambridge punts - NOT amateur radio

Around the centre of Cambridge you will find hawkers trying to get you to sign up to go on punts. Little do they realise I have lived hereabouts for almost 50 years!  At this time of year, especially if it is cold and wet, this must be a thankless job. We have few visitors at this time of year, whereas it gets very busy in the summer.

This is a view of Scudamore's punts, mostly empty. Then it is early February.

Just over the bridge on the right is Magdalene College and the Pepys Library, which houses his entire library.

Sunspots - Tuesday February 6th 2018

Solar flux is 74 today and the sunspot number is 13. A=8 and K=1.

10m FT8

Today I am monitoring 10m FT8. As yet, no spots.

UPDATE 1655z:  Still no spots here. This has been a bad day! Time to QSY to LF.

Now on 136kHz RX

For about 45 minutes now I have been on 136kHz WSPR RX and 136kHz OPERA RX. G4FTC (123km) has just started to be spotted on WSPR. I have to check OPERA on a different machine.

UPDATE 2222z: I am about to switch everything off. Best DX on 136kHz WSPR was G8HUH (250km). No new stations spotted this evening.

UPDATE 2247z: Now QRT.

Chrome Browser?

According to my statistics, 92% of my visitors to this blog use the Chrome browser. I find this hard to believe. I wonder what you use? Maybe this is what today's hackers are using.   Blog visits are already 5 times normal!

Bouvet Island DXpedition off

3Y0Z was to have been a DXpedition to the sub-Antarctic island of Bouvet. Because of technical problems the DXpedition has had to be abandoned. The team hope to return at some point. Weather has been appalling.

See http://www.arrl.org/news/3y0z-bouvet-island-dxpedition-aborted-over-safety-concerns .

Hacker will not be sent to the USA - NOT amateur radio

A computer hacker who could have received a 99 year prison sentence in the USA will not be extradited says a UK appeal court. He had Asperger's Syndrome and suffers a depressive condition allegedly. He may still face a UK prison sentence, but personally I think this is a fair and just decision.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-42946540 .

Posh houses - NOT amateur radio

As I have mentioned before, every spare piece of land in our village is used for "executive" houses. Basically this means the developers trying to fit in as many posh houses as they can so they can maximise profits from hi-tech workers in nearby Cambridge.  One example is the Crown pub and its grounds. By the summer this will be the site of posh houses. 

6m MSK144 RX

As yesterday, I decided to go on 6m MSK144 on 50.280MHz. As yet, no spots.

UPDATE 1500z: No spots today yet. Bad day.

UPDATE 1545z: Just G1PPA (144km) spotted.

UPDATE 1627z: No further spots so I shall probably QSY to 136kHz shortly.

136kHz RX yesterday evening

Yesterday evening I was on 136kHz RX again. On WSPR RX  2E0ILY, G4FTC and G8HUH (250km) were spotted. On OPERA RX the only station spotted was G3XDV (61km).

Sunspots - Monday February 5th 2018

Solar flux is 71 today and the sunspot 11. A=3 and K=2.

Return to 136kHz RX

About an hour ago, I QSYed to 136kHz RX. Both WSPR and OPERA are being monitored. As yet, no spots on WSPR. I need to look on a different PC to check OPERA.

UPDATE 1936z: So far G4FTC (123km) spotted on WSPR and G3XDV (61km) spotted on OPERA.

Painted Pebbles - NOT amateur radio

This seems to be all the rage right now. People hide painted rocks around the village which people (mainly youngsters) hunt and photograph. They then re-hide the stones somewhere else. So far I have seen one which my wife and I re-hid. Photos are posted on Facebook. Innocent fun.

How time flies - Philips Velo

Back in the late 1990s I had a Philips Velo handheld that connected (via a wire) to the internet. I think it was at 14.4k.

These days, many people have speeds of hundreds of MB over their tiny phones. I cannot remember what happened to this Philips device. At the time, it was "state of the art". How far we have come in under 20 years. What will the next 20 years bring?  Remember Windows CE?

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

Leather seats - NOT amateur radio

A trick I found several years ago was to use shoe polish to restore worn patches in leather furniture. Unbeknown to me, my wife was taking a photo of me through the window!

6m MSK144 RX

In times of poor solar conditions this rarely fails. At this time of year propagation is usually random MS or aircraft reflection.

Yesterday I spotted 5 unique stations in 3 countries. I decided to go on 6m MSK144 RX again today monitoring 50.280MHz.

My 6m antenna is just my triband vertical omni fed with poor coax.

No spots yet, although I've only been on for about 15 minutes so far.

UPDATE 1046z:  S59SV (1278km) in Slovenia spotted strongly - random MS?

UPDATE 1228z: Now IK4ISR (1170km) spotted as well as G0GGG (211km).

UPDATE 1607z: G1PPA (145km) spotted on 6m MSK144.

UPDATE 1732z: No further spots. After about 30 minutes I shall QSY to 136kHz WSPR RX and 136kHz OPERA RX.

Cambridge Concert - NOT amateur radio

Don't forget the CCS concert in April in Cambridge. Details on the website at www.cambschoral.org.uk .

136kHz RX last evening

As is my norm, I QSYed from 6m (sometimes 10m) to LF (sometimes MF). The shack PC was on battery power to keep the SMPSU noise to a minimum. I did not stay on overnight instead I was monitoring OPERA and WSPR RX during the evening hours. Best DX spotted on WSPR was 2E0ILY (209km) and G3XDV (61km) on OPERA.

Soccer - NOT amateur radio

Although not a great fan (it is years since I last went to a game), it is heartening to see my old local team (Plymouth Argyle) climb and climb. Not long ago they were firmly on the bottom of their table, but with a good win yesterday over the team 2nd in the league, they are now 11th. At this rate, they could even make the play-offs.

Sunspots - Sunday February 4th 2018

Solar flux is 70 and the sunspot number zero. A=3 and K=1.

QSYed to LF RX

Rather early, I have QSYed to 136kHz WSPR RX and 136kHz OPERA RX. I hope I catch some stations this evening.

UPDATE 2055z:  G3XIZ, 2E0ILY and G4FTC spotted on 136kHz WSPR and G3XDV spotted on 136kHz OPERA. All these are using the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground as the RX antenna.

Men to Mars? - NOT amateur radio

SpaceX test fires its big Falcon Heavy rocket next week. There are ideas to put men on Mars using this. There is a fair chance the launch will fail, apparently.

See https://gizmodo.com/spacexs-best-hope-for-sending-people-to-mars-will-launc-1822638923 .

Amplitude Modulation (AM)

At one time this was the dominant mode on all bands. With more stations and the advent of SSB, AM was widely scorned on HF as it took too much space and was not as effective or efficient as SSB. Actually there is plenty of space for AM on some bands.

On 10m there is plenty of space, with 29-29.1MHz (someone please tell the RSGB) as the best place to find AM. There are AM nets on 160m and 80m and there is plenty of space on VHF. For some reason AM is "out of fashion" on the VHF bands with FM the predominant mode. Certainly in the UK you can often get AM gear (ex Private Mobile Radio) at knock down prices. On 2m, AM activity can be found around 144.55MHz in the UK (again someone please tell the RSGB that AM usually takes less bandwidth than FM).

So, overall, AM is worth a go. Personally I would not use AM on busy HF bands, but there are bands where it makes good sense. I well remember not many years ago hearing beautiful AM from the USA and Canada. on 10m AM.

See www.amrally.com .
See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/tenbox

Cambridge University Colleges - NOT amateur radio

Having lived in or near Cambridge for 47 years, one is in great danger of taking it all for granted. Every year people travel from all over the world to see things I can see for free every day.

Every week I walk past this college on my way to my lectures on Weather and Samuel Pepys as part of my University of the Third Age courses. I have to keep pinching myself and saying, "this is a beautiful city". This is Sydney Sussex College.

See https://www.sid.cam.ac.uk/ .

The slow march downwards

The latest solar figures have been published showing a steady decline in solar activity. We can expect a quiet period now for several years.

See http://www.solen.info/solar/

More OFCOM

More exciting stuff from OFCOM.

See https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0018/110718/3.6GHz-3.8GHz-update-timing-spectrum-availability.pdf

Sunspots - Saturday February 3rd 2018

Solar flux is 68 today and the sunspot number zero.  A=4 and K=0.

6m MSK144 RX

For a change I am not on 10m, but 6m MSK144 RX instead. In Europe, 50.280MHz remains a decent place to lurk. At the moment it is aircraft reflection, random MS and maybe tropo. As yet, no spots.

UPDATE 1335z: 3 spots so far. Best DX is GM6VXB (619km) quite strongly late this morning.

UPDATE 1706z:  So far 4 stations in 3 countries spotted. Although not the best DX today, SM7FJE (905km) was an interesting one. Random MS or aircraft?

Fuel prices creeping up? - NOT amateur radio

Certainly over the last month, UK fuel prices have been rising. Although the pound is stronger against the dollar, the wholesale price of oil has been rising faster.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business/market_data/commodities/143908/default.stm

Rally on Sunday

4 FEBRUARY 2018 : CANVEY RADIO RALLY

Paddocks Community Centre, Long Road, Canvey Island, Essex SS80JA. Doors open at 10.30am and admittance is £3. There will be trade stands, RSGB bookstall and special interest groups. Catering is available on site. Vic Rogers, G6BHE, 07957 461 694, nvr1945@btinternet.com.

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