Sunspots - Tuesday June 4th 2019

Solar flux is 69 and the SSN still 0. A=4 and K=1.

160m FT8 RX overnight

Loads of Europeans spotted with best DX on 160m FT8 RX with the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground being CT3MD (2521km) on Madeira. Nothing from "across the pond". In all, 98 stations spotted on 160m FT8 RX with this "antenna".

6m FT8

In the last few minutes I have been calling CQ at 2.5W to the vertical omni V2000 antenna. No QSOs resulted, but I was spotted by 3 stations with best DX M0BEW (194km). Now I am RX only on 6m FT8.

UPDATE 0947z: Now 13 stations in 3 countries spotted this morning on 6m FT8 RX with best DX SM7CAD (1140km), which was probably Es.

UPDATE 1535z: Now 44 stations in 12 countries spotted so far on 6m FT8 RX today. Some Es, but not great.

Photo-bomb - NOT amateur radio

This picture is superb. Not because it has any merit for photography skills, but I love the way our granddaughter just popped up!

This was totally spontaneous and I love that you can only see her eyes. We laughed and laughed.

160m FT8

For the last 30 minutes or so, I have been calling CQ on 160m FT8 with 2.5W to the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. Not a single spot of me and no-one else yet spotted. Probably things will change after dark. At the moment I am RX only on 160m FT8.

The other night, as well as lot of Europeans on 160m FT8 RX I (supposedly) spotted a PY in Brazil. This could be genuine, but all spots of this station were in Europe. None in South America, none in the Caribbean, none in North America. I get the feeling this was someone in Eastern Europe playing little children's games.

UPDATE 1947z: Just 3 stations spotted so far on 160m FT8 RX with best DX OM5CM (1350km).

UPDATE 2130z: Now 32 stations in 12 countries so far spotted on 160m FT8 RX this evening.

Oscar 100 web SDR down for maintenance

At the moment, I monitor activity on Oscar 100 by listening to the Goonhilly web SDR. This is down for maintenance until Thursday. This is quite a useful tool.

See https://eshail.batc.org.uk/nb/

UK dealers

This afternoon, I rang the main UK suppliers requesting the best price with free delivery for cash on a major amateur transceiver. I get the feeling they are being muzzled. Even with no trade-ins, no finance and upfront cash they do not seem to understand. More fool them for a sale lost. I can wait.

Why do UK amateur radio dealers remind me of insurance companies, who don't understand the value of loyal customers? It really infuriates me when premiums go up each year even though it is years and years since I last made a claim. You would think they would want to keep loyal customers. No, they depend on mugs being too lazy and just paying up. Personally, I think insurance companies are immoral sharks.

Internet - NOT amateur radio.

The Virgin Media man came earlier and thinks he has found a fault with the cabinet. At the moment, things seem to be working. We shall see.

UPDATE 1947z: Internet still working!

6m FT8

All morning I was on 6m FT8, initially calling CQ (2.5W), then RX only. For some reason (probably flaky internet) spots did not upload to PSKreporter. I have now reset things.

UPDATE 1515z: Now 36 stations in 9 countries spotted on 6m FT8 RX today. Recently, I spotted my old friend G3WKW (134km) calling CQ, but no replies sadly, despite calling him for several minutes. My QRP CQ was spotted locally by G4KPX (12km).

UPDATE 1815z: Now 49 stations in 9 countries spotted on 6m FT8 RX today,

Sunspots - Monday June 3rd 2019

Solar flux is 69 today and the SSN 0. A=4 and  K=1.

That state visit - NOT amateur radio

This is my personal view and others are free to hold different views, but I have no desire to see the current US president afforded a state visit at OUR EXPENSE.

Kite - NOT amateur radio

On a walk today at Dalham we saw a kite (bird). At one time these would have been rare over here, but now they are quite common.

Solar minimum update

My usual source of data on the next solar cycle has been updated and still suggests that we have passed the solar minimum.

See http://www.solen.info/solar/

6m FT8

It looks like today was one of best days this season on 6m. As I said, the Internet is off most of the time so I have not been able to access PSKreporter or upload spots. I am now calling CQ.m

UPDATE 1847z: My CQ (2.5W) was spotted by several stations including some by Es.

UPDATE 1923z: PV8DX spotted. This is the first South American copied here this season on 6m.

No solar data again

Yet again we have had no Internet apart from 4G on the phone. As yet I have not been able to access solar data.

160m FT8 RX

This evening and overnight I am on 160m FT8 RX using the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground and there are plenty of Europeans to be spotted. At the moment 34 stations spotted with best DX 5B4AIF (3171km).

Electric Cars - NOT amateur radio

Most days now I see 1-2 electric cars. In other words they are not (yet) common. As the years go by I expect there will be far more. It is my view that we will have a "tipping point" when most of us will be driving electric cars and internal combustion care will seem "past it". At least one local amateur has bought an electric car recently, although unless you do mostly local journeys, I think the range is still too low.  The tipping point will come, in my view, when most trips can be done in a day without recharging i.e.the range is over 300 miles. OK, most journey's are far shorter, but the battery technology is still "not there".

6m FT8

Earlier I was on 6m FT8 TX and my QRP was copied by several stations. Although RX most of the day I am unable to upload spots to PSKreporter as the Internet via WiFi is off.

UPDATE 1840z: The Internet has been off much of the day.

472kHz WSPR overnight

We are really at the end of the season with just 3 stations spotted here and no one spotting me!

Solar data

At the moment I am having trouble with the Internet so am unable to get solar data. My only access is via 4G.

UPDATE 2000z: Internet back on, but flaky!  Solar flux is 68 and the SSN 0. A=5 and K=0.

472kHz WSPR

Although the "season" is really well over, I decided to give 472kHz WSPR (10mW ERP, 20% TX) with the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground a go overnight. So far only G1GKN (99km) has been spotted.

FT4

Although release candidate versions of WSJT-X have been released including FT4, I think I shall now wait for the fully released version before installing. FT4 sounds like a useful Es mode with its shorter periods. It is not quite as sensitive, but with Es signals are often strong even with QRP.

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

8m Es QSOs

Southgate News relays EI7BL's blog about some exiting news of cross band Es QSOs on the new (in EI) 8m band.

See https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/2019/05/first-sporadic-e-crossband-contacts.html

Colourful Cambridge - NOT amateur radio

Well, the centre of Cambridge is certainly entertaining! As well as the float in the photo we had buskers singing classical opera, which was very good (people applauded).

The downside is there are more homeless people now in the city. Some are definitely genuine (often with mental health issues) and some see Cambridge as a good hunting ground with plenty of visitors. These days we prefer to give directly to a homeless charity so we know the money will not be squandered on drugs.

No early 6m Es today

So far on 6m FT8 RX just a single station spotted HB9SJE (795km). Little sign yet of Es on the band.

UPDATE  1819z: Just 3 stations spotted all day today on 6m FT8 RX. Pathetic!

Sunspots - Friday May 31st 2019

Solar flux is 68 and the SSN 0. A=8 and K=2.

Grandchildren - NOT amateur radio

Over the half-term holiday we have seen all 4 of our young grandchildren.

Today, our "London" grandchildren arrived for a few days. The photo shows them with my wife in our garden room.

Mess, but clean mess  😊

Currency oscillations - NOT amateur radio

At the moment the UK pound is up and down against major currencies. With BREXIT uncertainties and the likelihood of a new Prime Minister in the next month or so, this is hardly surprising. I guess the fact the UK pound has not tumbled dramatically is good news.

The UK must be the laughing stock of the world! How can we be so divided? I am struggling to see how rifts created in the last few years will be healed. Healed they must be.

Rally

Sunday 2 JUNE : SPALDING DARS ANNUAL RALLY

Holbeach Community Sports Academy, Pennyhill Lane, Holbeach PE12 7PR. Doors open at 9.30am and admittance is £3. The venue offers easy access from the A17, large area for boot traders and modern hall for indoor traders. There will be a Car Boot Sale, RSGB Book Stall, Special Interest Groups and trade stands. Catering is available on site and there will be a prize draw/raffle. Contact Graham Boor, G8NWC, 07754 619 701, rallysecretary@sdars.org.uk.

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

FT991A fan

Nobody gave me the answer I needed! Is the FT991A fan temperature controlled? Does it only come on when the rig gets hot? I think the IC7300 fan is always on when on TX. If I was to buy an FT991A it would mostly be used at QRP powers.

Julian G4ILO

Although a SK for several years now, I still get people coming to this blog via Julian's site. This is a fitting tribute to his memory. Although we never met "on the air", I considered him a good friend. Like many, I followed his struggle to the end. RIP. You are not forgotten.

6m Es

As is usual at this time of year, I am on 6m FT8 RX. So far today, 71 stations in 10 countries spotted, mostly by Es and all European.

UPDATE 1350z: Now 230 stations spotted on 6m FT8 RX today with best DX TA8A (3331km).

UPDATE  1520z: Now 232 stations spotted on 6m FT8 today in 22 countries. Plenty of 6m Es!

UPDATE 2034z: Now 244 stations spotted. Unless things suddenly change I suspect this is it for today.

First car - NOT amateur radio

We bought our first car in 1971. It was sold for scrap for £40 in 1978 as I recall. It was a Morris 1000. No radio, no aircon, very basic back then! We were quite sad when it went. It was bought by a local agricultural mechanic who did it up and had 2 more years on the road. The photo shows the day we sold it.

Sunspots - Thursday May 30th 2019

Solar flux is 66 today and the SSN 0. A=5 and K=1.

BREXIT - NOT amateur radio

My dad who died in 1987 had a phrase, "they couldn't organise a piss-up in a brewery". In his own colourful language, I think this sums up our attempts to reach a BREXIT deal before we leave the EU. Certainly the Conservative ruling party under Theresa May has made a total disaster of this. I'd like to think the main opposition Labour party would have done better, but somehow I doubt this.

We are now in a leadership contest to elect a new Conservative leader and Prime Minister. Whatever happens next, the UK remains deeply divided both in the country and in parliament.

I wish we had some answers. If anything I suspect we will be even worse after a new leader is elected. If we have a public referendum the outcome is likely to be far from clear cut. What then?

That new radio

Steve G1KQH has been encouraging me to buy a new radio. Any new radio would have to include 160m, 10m and 6m. Bands like 2m and 70cm would be useful. If the radio has a fan, it would have to be quiet.

I was holding back just in case Yaesu announced a real replacement to the FT817 at Dayton.  Neither Yaesu nor ICOM made any great announcements of new products of interest to QRPers like me sadly.

At the moment I am warming to the FT991A. The IC7300 is probably the better radio, and is SDR based, but I gather the fan is always on and some can be noisy. Yes there is a mod, but I am in danger of invalidating any warranty. The rig would be used at 10W most of the time, so a fan that comes on only when the PA is warm would be good. At the moment, there is a 3 year warranty with Yaesu and cash back on some models. Having had many Yaesu rigs over the years, I am pretty happy with this supplier. Knowing me, this rig would have to last for years!

If anyone has any strong opinions against the FT991A I'd like to hear them. As my voice is not too good these days, FT8 and WSPR would probably be the main modes used.

Specific questions about the FT991A. If the answer is in the manual, I cannot find it! Does the fan come on only when the radio is hot? If I run mainly QRP will I hear the fan?

USAF strength - NOT amateur radio

We live close to Lakenheath and Mildenhall airbases. I am not sure what was going on, but a few moments ago there was a big plane being escorted by smaller planes and helicopters. They made quite a noise as they went overhead, so much so that I had to look. I thought Trump was coming to the UK later. Perhaps this was a dress rehearsal.

Waitrose - NOT amateur radio

For some reason, my wife likes shopping at Waitrose, which is a food chain and part of John Lewis and Partners. I have several issues with Waitrose. Firstly I find this chain expensive. Secondly, I think they need to do more work to use recyclable or compostable packaging. Some packets can be recycled and some cannot. As a major UK food retailer, I think they should tell their suppliers or the business will go elsewhere. They have the power and they should use it!

Today when we went shopping there it was very quiet. The low cost free range eggs were, conveniently, out of stock.  Instead if you wanted free range eggs you had to pay far more. I expect the free coffee and paper will soon, quietly, go.

If you ask me I think they are in deep trouble. It would not surprise me if lots of stores were forced to close or John Lewis as a whole goes under. I may be wrong but in Newmarket, where we go, there is competition coming soon from a low cost supplier and that will really hit them.

The next few years will be make or break. At the moment, they depend on customer loyalty, but this is wearing thin. Old ladies die and young people want better value, so they shop around or buy online.

More from Chelsea Flower Show - NOT amateur radio

It seems hard to believe we went to the Chelsea Flower Show a whole week ago. This is the most important flower show in the UK. Although we went on an RHS members' day, it was very busy.

As I mentioned before (at least I think I did!) we had our tickets as a present for our 70th birthdays late last year.

Irish 8m band activity

Although there are a very few beacons operational around 40MHz, very few countries have an amateur band at 8m. I have lobbied the RSGB for a small slot to be negotiated, although, not too surprisingly, nothing has come of this. Being mid way between 10m and 6m it is an ideal band of Es and MS experiments. Even 100kHz and 10W would be useful to advance radio science. OFCOM has managed to find 2MHz for DATV work and I cannot believe they cannot allocate a small slot for serious work around 40MHz! No standard comercial gear is available for this band, so it would only attract serious experimenters, not  "black box" operators. So, the number of people using such a band in the UK would be small.

I quite like the Irish model of allocating wide chunks of under-used spectrum to amateurs. If they were not pen pushers it would be good for OFCOM to allow use of any spectrum on a strictly "non-interference" basis, even if the power was strictly limited. Sadly, I cannot see this happening. It needs people policing this and this costs money rather than generates money! Also, you have to understand RF.  I may be forgiven for thinking few now have this skill.

Meanwhile in Eire, one of the few countries to allocate spectrum at 40MHz to amateurs, work and QSOs continue.

See https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/2019/05/inter-ei-activity-begins-on-40-mhz.html