Last swallow (bird)? - NOT amateur radio

Swallows migrate to us for the summer to breed and fly off deep into southern Africa for the winter. I guess food is easier to find but it is a very long way.

At breakfast I saw one solitary swallow and that may be the last here now until next April. There were 40000 seen at Slapton, Devon a few days ago presumably as they gathered to feed prior to migrating south.

Safe trip and hopefully see you next spring.

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

Sunspots - Friday September 28th 2018

Solar flux is 67 today and the SSN still zero. A=7 and K=3.

US Supreme Court Judge - NOT amateur radio

In the USA, Brett Kavanaugh is being grilled by the senate. Now, I am no fan of President Trump or his style of leadership and I do not think sexual predators should be in high office.

However, people change and we all did stupid things in our teenage years. What matters is how we are as adults. Things that happened way back should not count against us today. My view, others may disagree.

If people were groped years and years ago, should this count against people today? I know it is sometimes hard for those assaulted to come forward sooner, but is such cases a long time is indeed a long time.

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-us-canada-45673888/brett-kavanaugh-i-am-innocent-of-this-charge

472kHz WSPR

After a great day on 2m FT8, I have QSYed to 630m (472kHz) WSPR with 10mW ERP using the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. Comparing what I spot with G4KPX, I know I am several dBs down in sensitivity. However, my set-up is small and invisible! Only spotted by a couple of Gs so far this evening.

Stations received so far this evening

Expanding - NOT amateur radio

We moved to our village in 1975 when there were about 4000 people. Nowadays there are over 6000, many of whom work in Cambridge. Our local village museum has some very old maps showing how the village has developed, particularly in the last 200 years.

Geostationary amateur satellite

If the Es'Hail 2 satellite works as planned, it could be revolutionary. It has a 250kHz wide linear transponder for narrowband modes as well as an ATV transponder. Uplink is 2.4GHz and downlink 10GHz. Once aimed, dishes are fixed. A possible issue will be stations using too much power resulting in desense.

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

2m FT8

An early CQ (2.5W to the omni) resulted in another QSO with G8ALS and a QSO with an M/EA1 on 2m FT8. As usual, I was spotted again by G7RAU (461km) in Cornwall. This never seems to fail.

This morning 23 stations spotted on 2m FT8 RX in 4 countries. Best DX, so far, is DL5EBS (479km).

UPDATE  1130z: Now 48 stations spotted on 2m FT8 RX, so far today, in 7 countries. Incredible.

UPDATE 1517z:  Now 53 different stations in 8 countries spotted on 2m FT8 RX today.

Little egret - NOT amateur radio

Until the late 1980s, the little egret was rare in the UK. Now they are everywhere. Yesterday we went to Lakenheath Fen and saw this one on one of the lakes. We also saw a hobby as well as many other birds, but no cranes that breed here.

Sunspots - Thursday September 27th 2018

Solar flux is 68 today and the sunspot number 0. A=8 and K=2.

472kHz WSPR

After a dismal day on 10m FT8 (no spots), I decided to QSY to MF WSPR. For about 5 minutes I have been on 630m (472kHz) WSPR with 10mW ERP from the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. Only spot so far is from M0XDK (80km).

Rallies

28 & 29 SEPTEMBER : 10th NATIONAL HAMFEST

Newark & Nottinghamshire Showground, Lincoln Road, Winthorpe, Newark, Nottinghamshire NG24 2NY. Brought to you by the RSGB in association with the Lincoln Short Wave Club. The venue has free car parking and has disabled facilities. There will be trade stands, a Bring & Buy, car boot area, flea market, special interest groups and RSGB bookstall. There will also be representatives from the RSGB Services and committees. Morse proficiency test will be available. The venue has catering outlets and a seating area. www.nationalhamfest.org.uk.

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

Electric cars - NOT amateur radio

At the moment, people are pushing electric cars (Tesla, Nissan, etc). To me, who would be keen to buy one, they are expensive, limited range and a technology that is not quite there yet.

My main gripe is range. Other than local journeys a charge (or more than one) is required. Published range figures probably assume summer, no lights on, no air con, fresh batteries etc. i.e. not realistic conditions. As the batteries age, capacity is likely to decrease. I could do without the stress of finding a charging point that is available.

When batteries get cheaper and the range is much better on a single charge they will take off. Until then, they will remain a niche product.

I suspect they are like digital cameras and flat screen TVs: at some point they will be the ubiquitous mode of transport. We are not there yet.

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

FCC gets tough

Not sure if this is all part of President Trump getting tough on China, but Southgate News reports that the FCC in the USA is getting tougher on cheap Chinese transceivers entering the USA. I also heard this from Steve G1KQH.

At this stage I am not sure what effect this will have on rigs like the uBITX,  Baofengs,  Pixies and the like.

See http://southgatearc.org/news/2018/september/fcc-enforcement-advisory-on-two-way-vhf-uhf-radios.htm#.W6tCqfZFzIU

10m FT8

For a change, I decided to try 10m FT8.

Earlier I called CQ, but got no spots. So far today after a couple of  hours no spots at all on RX or TX. Dire.

UPDATE 0910z: No spots still.

Sunspots - Wednesday September 26tht 2018

Solar flux is 68 today and the SSN still zero. A=11 and K=1

472kHz WSPR

At 1950z I went QRT on 2m and 10m and switched to 630m (472kHz) WSPR. As previously, I am using the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground with 10mW ERP.

On RX first spot was F6GEX (590km) in IN97 square. I'll probably stay on overnight.

Swedish changes to amateur licences

According to Southgate News some new regulations come into force for amateurs in Sweden on November 1st. Apparently the free licence will drop the maximum power from 1000W to 200W, although higher power permits are possible, presumably for money!

As a confirmed QRPer who sees 200W as an awful lot of power, this seems fine to me. If you cannot work the world with 200W you should give up amateur radio and play golf or go fishing instead.

See http://southgatearc.org/news/2018/september/swedish-amateur-radio-regulation-changes.htm#.W6pMUPZFzIU

Beluga whale in River Thames - NOT amateur radio

Photo by Greg Hume from Wikipedia

According to the BBC, there has been a beluga whale spotted feeding off Gravesend.

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-kent-45642590 .
See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beluga_whale .

The photo is from Wikipedia and is by Greg Hume.

10m WSPR TX (500mW)

About 30 minutes ago, I turned on my 10m WSPR beacon. No spots of me yet.

Everything needed is here. No PC needed and it is about the size of a pack of cards yet has been spotted in every continent including Australasia and Antarctica on 10m WSPR.

UPDATE 1458z: Still no 10m WSPR spots today.

UPDATE 1938z: No spots all day!

How do they do it?

Today, in the post, I received this package from China containing all these capacitive "pens" for tablets. 

The price? £1.10 total including airmail delivery!! This price is unbelievable and they make a profit!

UPDATE 1326z: I have tried these on a couple of tablets and they work well. I have yet to try these with my Inrico network radio. This has a small touch screen, so they should prove very useful.

Solar Cycle 25

Let me start by saying I have not seen any very recent predictions.

The last I saw suggested the next minimum would be next year (2019) and cycle 25 would be similar to cycle 24. If you are aware of later, credible forecasts, please let us know.

Predicting how the sun will behave in the future is getting better, but the truth is no-one really knows. At best, these are educated guesses. For example, see the link below, which is full of journalistic hyperbolae and even managed to mix up the minimum between the last 2 cycles! Written by a student?

See https://www.universetoday.com/139833/are-we-witnessing-the-start-of-solar-cycle-25/

UK Pound versus Euro - NOT amateur radio

We live in uncertain times in the UK. I guess the markets are waiting to see how BREXIT pans out.

If we end with a reasonable "divorce" I guess the UK Pound could appreciate in value. If we leave on bad terms, the Pound could fall.

At the moment the EU and UK are both playing hard, although expect last minute bargaining: it is in nobody's interest to part badly.

If only the EU had detected the signs that little UK is full up and did not want freedom of movement I expect we would still be in the club.

2m FT8

So far 7 unique stations in 2 countries spotted so far on 2m FT8 RX.

Yet again my 2.5W QRP to my big-wheel omni CQ was widely spotted including by G7RAU (461km) on the Lizard in Cornwall. Just a QSO with G8ALS again.

UPDATE 1045z: Now 16 different stations in 4 countries on 2m FT8 RX with best DX DF7IW (612km). Omni antenna still.

UPDATE 1245z: 19 different stations in 4 countries today so far on 2m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1509z: Now 28 different stations in 4 countries spotted here today so far on 2m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1920z: EA1UR (1195km) in  the north of Spain is currently the best DX on 2m FT8 RX. Pretty sure he is genuine as he is getting strong reports from relatively near Spanish stations. He is being widely received. Not sure if this is tropo, aircraft reflection, or a combination of both. Anyway, I am pretty sure this is among the best DX on 2m ever, excluding Es.

Today's stations spotted on 2m FT8 RX

472kHz WSPR last night

Using my 10mW ERP from the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground I was spotted by 8 different stations with the furthermost being PA0EHG (296km).

Sunspots - Tuesday September 25th 2018

Solar flux is 67 today and the sunspot number remains 0. A=7 and K=3.

472kHz WSPR

As a test, I am trying 472kHz WSPR using the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground with WSJT-X V2.0 rc1 and 10mW ERP. On TX it seems to work with a spot from G8LCO (58km), although I have yet to spot anyone on RX.

UPDATE 2100z: F1AFJ (607km) now spotted on RX. G4ZFQ (203km) also spotting me on TX.

UPDATE 2124z: Several spots now.

WSJT-X V2.0 rc1

This is new software which I downloaded this evening. A brief CQ on 2m FT8 (2.5W to my omni antenna) resulted in no QSOs but was spotted in Devon and Cornwall, yet again, amongst other places. It seems to work, although nothing seen, as yet, on RX.

So far, no issues here with Windows 10.

UPDATE 2010z: First station spotted on RX with the new software - M0CDL (168km) NW Birmingham.

OFCOM - new board (bored?) members

Gosh! I get so excited reading this!

OFCOM has 2 new board members. Such thrilling news that I just had to share.

As far as I can tell, neither knows anything about radio technology. If I am wrong I'll happily eat humble pie. As I have said many times before, these days OFCOM seems only interested in money. Look at the attributes and career history of these two ladies.

See https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/latest/media/media-releases/2018/two-board-members-appointed

Bring back real enforcement and stop messing around!

Country house window - NOT amateur radio

The photo shows a window at nearby Anglesey Abbey, near Cambridge, UK.

It is a very English scene, complete with creepers, roses and leaded windows. We are lucky to have this National Trust property and extensive grounds just a few miles away.

10m WSPR TX (500mW)

As the antenna is available, I am again on 10m WSPR TX (500mW,) although no-one has spotted me yet. I have been on for about 2 hours. This time last year I was widely spotted around Europe.

UPDATE 1652z: No spots of my 500mW WSPR beacon yet today.

Sunspots - Monday September 24th 2018

Solar flux is 67 and the SSN zero. A=12 and K=2.

2m FT8

A CQ call a few minutes ago was spotted by 5 stations in 2 countries again including 2 Cornish stations when I was again running just 2.5W to the omni. It seems that with FT8 anything is possible at any time with flat conditions. BTW I had a QSO with G8ALS again.

UPDATE 0900z:  Best DX on RX is F4TTR (477km).

UPDATE 1142z: 10 stations in 2 countries spotted so far on 2m FT8 RX today.

UPDATE 1653z: Now 16 stations in 3 countries spotted today on 2m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 2135z: When I went QRT about an hour ago I was up to 19 stations in 4 countries spotted today.

OFCOM rubbish?

As many will know I am highly unimpressed with OFCOM who come over as a bunch of impotent wimps.  A bunch of infants could probably do better. This impression was based on personal, direct contact some years ago.

This weekend this impression was re-enforced by their apparent lack of interest in CB operators using far higher power than allowed. A "freedom of information" request about this was reported on Southgate News. If this is correct, and I have little doubt it probably is, it further re-enforces my view that OFCOM is only interested in money. Anything that does not generate money is unimportant.  At least that is my impression.

As for illegal SMPSUs on the market, forget it.

Bring back the GPO and real enforcement!!

Jackdaws (birds) - NOT amateur radio

At the moment there are 5 jackdaws on the roof next door. Usually we see one or two together.

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

"Sapiens: a Brief History of Mankind" - NOT amateur radio

I have just finished this book and have started its sequel "Homo Deus". "Sapiens" is a thought provoking book. It looks at the evolution of homo sapiens as a species. It argues that all religions are illusions and looks why our species has dominated all others. It certainly provides food for thought. The second book is, I believe, a look into the future.

I bought my copy of "Sapiens" from a second hand bookshop at a National Trust property. At well over 400 pages, this non-fiction book was good value.

Not quite sure why I had not come across this before.

Burwell Museum Talk - NOT amateur radio

Our local Burwell museum has a talk this Thursday. Honor Ridout on “I can’t stoop either” : Victorian fashions and Punch Talks are from 14.00-15.00 followed by tea and biscuits. Free with museum admission. No admission charge for season ticket holders and current museum volunteers. Drop in. Booking recommended for a large group. Museum admission applies.  

See http://www.burwellmuseum.org.uk/

Another lizard - NOT amateur radio

This was another lizard seen last week in Corfu. As soon as it saw me it scarpered - must be camera shy!

New version of WSJT-X available (V2.0 rc1)

There is a new beta version of WSJT-X available. This is WSJT-X V2.0 rc1. I have yet to download it.  Apparently the decode sensitivity on FT8 is slightly better by about 1dB.

It may be worth waiting as I have been told there are some issues with this beta release (PCs freezing). When I tried to install it aborted saying it was missing a .dll .

See https://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/k1jt/wsjtx.html .

10m WSPR (500mW)

Although I have been on 10m WSPR TX since breakfast, no spots as yet today.

UPDATE 1537z: Still no spots today.

UPDATE  1728z: Several spots from a couple of Germans. Best DX DK7FT (898km).

2m FT8

Once again, I am on 2m FT8 with 2.5W and the big-wheel omni antenna. After a brief CQ I worked G8ALS (127km) but was spotted yet again by 2 stations in Cornwall and one in France.

Best DX on RX is DJ6GK (607km). So far 12 stations in 5 countries spotted today.

UPDATE 1503z: So far, 24 stations in 5 countries spotted on 2m FT8 RX today.

2m FT8 RX today so far

UPDATE 1730z: 32 stations in 5 countries spotted on 2m FT8 RX so far today.

UPDATE 1902z:  33 stations in 6 countries spotted today on 2m FT8 RX today. Soon be time to go QRT.

UPDATE 1918z: Just before going QRT I called CQ at 2.5W. No QSOs, but yet again I was spotted by 2 Cornish stations. Every time I call CQ, this range seems possible. Amazing. This must be "normal" flat band tropo and not aircraft.