Sunspots - Saturday June 27th 2020

Solar flux is 68 and the SSN 0. A=6 and K=1.

2m FT8

At about 1235z I turned on 2m FT8. I am using 10W to the big-wheel omni antenna. So far, 8 stations have spotted me and no others have been spotted. A local, G0LRD has a very useful 2m FT8 screen grab so locals can check their signals.

See http://82.71.9.63:8080/cap/

UPDATE 1352z:   21 stations in 5 countries have spotted me already on 2m FT8 TX.  Not a single yet spotted on RX, despite my noise floor being vert low. No QSOs. Best spot was GI4SNA (491km) in N.Ireland. These sort of ranges seem always possible even though I only use 10W and the big wheel omni.

UPDATE 1548z:  QRT - thunder all around.

6m FT8

At 1130z my 6m FT8 gear was turned on.

UPDATE 1229z:  8 stations have spotted my 10W to the V2000 vertical omni.

10m WSPR TX

At about 1130z the 500mW 10m WSPR beacon was turned on dodging the thunder risk. It should be OK for the next hour or so.

UPDATE 1550z:  QRT thunder risk.

Storm risk?

Tree at Anglesey Abbey 

We booked on-line to visit a local National Trust property this morning as the weather forecast was good. In the last 6 hours it has changed twice, at one point predicting thunderstorms! Honestly they have no idea. Now it looks quite good. All my radio gear is disconnected, just in case!

UPDATE 1112z: In the end it was dry and hot. If you want to know the weather look out of the window!

2020 - NOT amateur radio

This photo summarises most countries in the world in 2020 with few if any expecting the impact of Covid-19 to be as it is.

Valve site

G8ALB has a site that is mostly about valves. I arrived on the scene just after transistors came in and I never got to build anything with valves. The nearest I got was a stroboscope.  A VHF RX based on the 955 acorn valve, was on the drawing board, but was never made.

See http://www.tetrode.co.uk/

Folk club - NOT amateur radio

Last night, our local folk club held an outdoor meeting outside the windmill next door. The weather was perfect - warm and sunny. I guess they cannot hold indoor meetings at the moment.

eHam.net

This site is very useful, especially if you are after a review. Seeing how others got on with a piece of kit can be very informative.

See https://www.eham.net/

RSGB

The Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) is the UK's national amateur radio society.  Like all national societies, they are far from perfect. Nonetheless, they represent our hobby in the UK. They produce a monthly journal called RadCom.

See https://rsgb.org/

Sunspots - Friday June 26th 2020

Solar flux is 69 and the SSN 0.  A=3 and K=1.

OFCOM updates

OFCOM is planning to update the fees paid for some licences. See the OFCOM website.

More rally news

This came to me earlier. As before, this is as I received it so the background may make it hard to read on some screens.

Saturday 27 JUNE : CANCELLED

HOUGHTON RADIO CLUB FREE RALLY. The Dubmire Royal British Legion Club, Britannia Terrace, Fencehouses, DH4 6LJ. Doors open at 10.15am (10am for disabled) and close at 3pm. The rally is open to trade, clubs and private sellers/exhibitors. Table space is limited so it will be allocated on a first come first served basis. There is no charge for tables and it is also free entry. Donations to the British Legion Club would be welcome. Hot drinks will be available and a licenced bar will be open from 11am. Anyone wishing to book tables please contact Amanda Weston M6LXK by email at: info@cannycomponents.net or call: 07787155745.


Sunday 28 JUNE : POSTPONED until 27 June 2021

33rd NEWBURY RADIO RALLY Newbury Showground, next to M4 J13, RG18 9QZ. There is free car parking. Traders can gain access as 8am and visitors at 9am. Admissions will be £2.50. Car boot sale pitches are £12.50. The show will have a huge selling area with a display area of an amateur radio station, exhibits, special interest groups, clubs and societies. NADARS training instruction will be available to discuss courses for Foundation and Intermediate exams. Catering is available on site. Advance bookings (with discount) at www.nadars.org.uk/rally.asp. Contact by email to NewburyRally@nadars.org.uk www.nadars.org.uk.

IC-705 on sale now in Japan

Apparently the IC-705 is now on sale in Japan although I have no information about it being available in the rest of the world.

Slavery - NOT amateur radio

In recent weeks there has been a lot of focus on how coloured people are treated. This all started with the death of a man in Minneapolis at the hands of policemen. Since then, the "Black Lives Matter" campaign has gathered momentum globally.

A little while ago, I heard that only quite recently has the British government finished debt repayments for a huge loan taken out centuries ago to compensate land owners who lost out when slavery was abolished. If this is true it means many of the wealthiest people in the UK are still living off this centuries later!  Frankly, this is immoral. 

Slavery was/is evil. If injustices still exist today as a result of skin colour this is abhorrent. Until all human beings are treated equally I can understand the festering resentment felt.

Now, I am sure many people today are quite different from their ancestors centuries back. However, it does make you question the human justice in all this.

At school, we hear of the valiant efforts of our brave leaders, but rarely do we get a balanced view showing their darker sides too. We all have darker sides I am sure, but it is wrong surely to put some people on pedestals as good and virtuous people when they have dark sides we never hear about.

I am not in favour of statues being angrily toppled,  but we need to venerate those who strove for a better world and not those who had a much darker side we never knew about. Quite a few we venerate had a very questionable darker side hidden from view. Some endowed great institutions so history would judge them differently. Some of these statues belong in museums with a plaque making clear why these people were seen as great, but also their other sides.

Teach us about the past, good and bad. We need to face up to our history in every nation. Some of our past was good.  Some of our past was not. What we all need is balance and fairness.

10m WSPR TX

10m WSPR TX spots in last day

Since way before breakfast I have been on 10m WSPR with my 500mW and the indoor loop. No spots yet.

Yesterday I had 20 10m WSPR spots

Sunspots - Thursday June 25th 2020

Solar flux is 67 (even worse tban yesterday!) and the SSN 0. A=4 and K=1.

W5OLF 10m WSPR beacon

Many years ago I bought a WSPR TX beacon for 10m from Jay W5OLF. It is still in almost daily use. I am not sure if it is still available. It produces 500mW on 10m.

In better years it has been spotted all over the world. It is about the same size as a pack of cards and is totally self contained. No PC is needed.

The only antennas here are simple end fed wire antennas. More recently, the only 10m antenna is my indoor loop.

6m FT8

At 0630z the 6m FT8 kit was turned on. A very brief TX period resulted in two UK spots, but no DX. Currently I am RX only.

UPDATE 1948z:  Today, I have mainly been on 6m FT8 RX. Just for a few minutes I was on TX. On RX  best DX were Saudi Arabia and Gulf states.

10m WSPR TX

Today I made an early start. At 0630z the 500mW WSPR beacon on 10m using the indoor loop antenna was turned on.

Stations spotting my 10m WSPR 500mW to 1825z

UPDATE 1825z: 19 different stations have spotted me today so far. And here was me thinking nobody used 10m WSPR!!

Simple pleasures - NOT amateur radio

Yesterday our son came. The photo shows our granddaughter enjoying an ice-cream in the shade in the garden.

Sunspots - Wednesday June 24th 2020

Solar flux is just 67 (poor) and the SSN 0. A=4 and K=2.

Alstromeria - NOT amateur radio

The colourful flowers were a gift from a friend. I think you will agree they are very bright.

8m and 5m news

EI7GL's blog has some news about the 8m and 5m bands. I do hope more countries get access to these bands in the near future. In my view the Eire government has been very far sighted.

See https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/

6m FT8

Once again, I am on 6m FT8 with 10W to the V2000 vertical omni antenna. So far 1 QSO and spotted by 53 stations. On RX, 110 stations spotted with the best so far being OD5KU (3468km). It is now 1020z.

UPDATE 1245z: So far today, 104 stations have spotted my 6m FT8 10W.

10m WSPR TX (500mW and the indoor loop)

Since breakfast, I have been on 10m WSPR TX with the indoor loop and 500mW from the small beacon. So far, several spots by HB9TMC (905km) and one from DL5SFB (762km).

UPDATE 1250z:  So far today, 8 stations have spotted me on 10m WSPR TX.

Granddaughter - NOT amateur radio

This photo, of one of our granddaughters with her French grandma, was taken in a London park in 2013. Since then she has grown up a lot.

Internet linking

Quite a few (otherwise very quiet) repeaters have gone to internet linking. Locals can be quite surprised to hear people on the other side of the planet working portables close to home or to others in distant lands. I know of a few locals who have had lots of fun with Echolink and similar. For me this is not "real radio", but to some it is great fun and who am I to judge? The only difference is the internet carries the signal over most of the path, but the final hop can be by conventional radio, sometimes to a hand portable on 2m or 70cm.

Sunspots - Tuesday June 23rd 2020

Solar flux is 68 and the SSN 0. A=4 and K=1.

Garden lantern - NOT amateur radio

The photo shows a garden lantern in some flowers. I quite like the shadow.

SPRAT magazine

SPRAT is the quarterly magazine of the GQRP club. It is a small A5 sized magazine in full colour.

Of all the amateur magazines, it is the very best. It is entirely produced by volunteers. Many times in the past I have said it would be the last one to go if I fell on hard times.

Past editions are available on a DVD that is incredible value, especially if you are a GQRP club member. It is almost worth joining just for the DVD.

Every edition is packed with good ideas for simple projects and news. I love it.

See http://www.gqrp.com/sprat.htm

Exhaustion - NOT amateur radio

As many know, I had a stroke back in 2013. Despite being giddy all the time and my voice being poor, most of me recovered and I have enjoyed almost 7 years of good health.

More recently I seem to be more exhausted and more giddy. This may be age catching up with me. I am still determined to do what I can. "Onwards and upwards", as they say!

In this situation, some could give up. That is not my way.

6m FT8

53 spots of my 10W to the V2000 vertical omni antenna on 6m FT8 so far this morning and 21 stations spotted on RX. No QSOs yet. I see Spanish stations are calling Japanese stations, although nothing from the Far East spotted here and my signal is not being copied there. It is now 0832z.

UPDATE 1005z:  80 stations have spotted my 6m FT8 10W so far this morning.

UPDATE 1310z: First spot of me today in the USA on 6m FT8 TX by W6IZT (4147 miles). So far today 144 spots of me.

UPDATE  2040z:  Now QRT. In all, 151 stations have spotted me on 6m FT8 in 3 continents.

10m WSPR TX (500mW to the indoor loop)

Since just before breakfast, I have been on 10m WSPR TX with the 500mW beacon. At first I got excited thinking 2 Germans had spotted me. Then I realised this was last evening! No spots of me as yet today.

UPDATE 1006z:   Still no spots today.

UPDATE 2040z:  6 stations spotted me today (see table).

Sunspots - Monday June 22nd 2020

Solar flux is 68 and the sunspot number still 0. A=4 and K=1. Basically poor!

Optical communications

Because of my health, it is some years since I experimented with optical communications.

Although I have had line of sight speech contacts, my special interest was weak signal "over the horizon" communication using a PC to decode the signal.

Results surprised me as signals could be decoded with no visible sign in the sky of a signal. The photo shows my RX kit and PC on a dark night.

East Anglian skies - NOT amateur radio

Compared with some parts of the UK, East Anglia is flat, but we can get some great skies. On our walk earlier it threatened rain although we missed it.

6m FT8

Transmitting in the first period on 50.313MHz I am about to start FT8 on 6m with 10W to the V2000 vertical omni. It is now 0802z.

As I am now Txing when most Europeans are calling CQ, one consequence is I spot fewer Europeans!

UPDATE 0906z: Spotted by 62 stations, but no QSOs yet today. Best DX is a spot by RA4DX (3071km).

UPDATE 1145z: Spots received from 88 stations on 6m FT8. No QSOs. On RX, 150 stations spotted here.

10m WSPR TX beacon

Just about to start the 10m WSPR beacon (500mW to the tiny indoor loop antenna). It is 0800z.

UPDATE 0905z:  3 spots of me by OZ7IT (853km) so far today.

UPDATE 1144z: 13 stations have spotted my 10m WSPR so far today. All in Europe.

Near Riga in Latvia - NOT amateur radio

A few years ago we went to the Baltic on holiday. We were pleasantly surprised by Riga and Jumala on the coast nearby. The photo shows me having a drink on the beach in Jumala.