6m FT8

This morning I made a very early start on 6m FT8 turning on the gear at 0644z. At 0605z 5 stations had already spotted my 10W FT8 to the V2000 vertical omni antenna. There is already some Es.

UPDATE 0720z:  Plenty of Es spots of me today already on 6m FT8.

UPDATE 1200z:  Several QSOs had, mainly with stations in Spain. 55 stations have spotted me and I have spotted 90 stations including transatlantic VO1HP (3744km).

UPDATE 1907z:  432 stations spotted today on 6m FT8 RX and 151 stations have spotted my 10W to the V2000 omni vertical.

UPDATE 2150z:  QRT.

Elecraft July newsletter

Elecraft has released its latest newsletter which mentions a virtual expo and the latest news on the K4 transceiver. See their website.

Growing up fast - NOT amateur radio

The photo shows our "London" grandchildren next to a yew tree almost 1000 years old. Quite humbling to think it has stood here that long. It puts their age in context.

Pye Telecom PF8 transceiver

This radio, that I helped to design, has gathered a cult status over the years. It was the radio used on the UK TV series called "The Professionals".

Some have been converted to use on 70cm. Before anyone asks, no, I cannot help you find one!  They are rare these days. I do not possess one and neither do my old colleagues.  My best advice is keep your eyes skimmed in case any appear on eBay or at rallies. Looking back, we did not sell that many. We made more pagers in one night, than the total number of PF8 units sold.

That was the trouble with PMR radios. Once we faced significant price competition, we just could not compete. These days you can buy UHF PMR transceivers for a fraction of the price 40 years ago.

On my website is a .pdf version of the manual.

In its day, way before cellular radios, it was quite ground breaking.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/vuhf/pf8

Shopping - NOT amateur radio

Every Tuesday morning my wife drives to a nearby supermarket in their "geriatric hour" (between 7-8am). It is always very safe and very quiet when she goes.

She now has to wear a face covering by law.

20m WSPR buoy

Some weeks ago a High School group in the USA launched a marine buoy with a 20m WSPR beacon on board. It moves with ocean currents.

I am not sure if it has been copied in Europe or what power it runs. It is in the Pacific Ocean off California.

It can be tracked using https://aprs.fi/#!call=a%2FKQ6RS-1&others=1&timerange=604800&tail=3600

Sunspots - Wednesday July 29th 2020

Solar flux is 72 and the SSN 22.   A=4 and K=2. Encouraging signs or just a blip?

2m FT8

As the Es seems to have stopped on 6m, I have QSYed to 2m FT8 instead. I QSYed at about 1800z. Already spotted by 9 stations, all in the UK.

UPDATE 1928z:  Now spotted by 29 stations in 6 countries with 1 QSO with a French station. Still just running 10W and the big-wheel omni antenna. Best DX on TX is a spot by DK1VC (503km). Not bad with 10W and an omni antenna! Although some put this down to aircraft scatter I am definitely not convinced. These sort of ranges seem possible at any time, not when there are aircraft in the right place at the right time. I think this is some other form of scatter made possible by running FT8.

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

Since very early, I have been on 10m WSPR TX. Even at 1753z, I have had not a single spot today so far.

UPDATE 1930z:  Still no spots of me! This must be one of the worst days for me this Es season. I think chances are better with FT8. There is far more activity on FT8 than WSPR these days.

UPDATE 2045z:  QRT. No spots all day.

6m FT8

Since before breakfast, I have been on 6m FT8. It is now 1748z. In all, I have been spotted by 67 stations with a few QSOs. On RX 82 stations spotted.

By accident I seem to have deleted my earlier blog piece about 6m FT8 along with Keith's comment.  Please accept my apologies!

Keith G0RQQ had said...

"I managed to work TF8KY on 6m, both FT8 and SSB around 1:00pm. At times he was S9 here, although my antenna is only an end-fed half-wave for 40m about 1.5m agl. He and his son TF8TY are the only amateurs in grid square HP83."

Shack

The photo, which has been on before, shows the shack as it is currently. The 10m magnetic loop is on the left. It has been on 10m WSPR TX all day (500mW) , but has not been spotted yet. Hopefully there will be some spots before I go QRT later.  It works far better than expected. 

Operating is from the desk on the right and what building I do (little these days sadly) is on the work surface straight ahead. 

Local bakers - NOT amateur radio

Every Tuesday at 7am I do a trip to the local bakers. At that time it is very quiet. I usually buy rolls and pasties. The photo shows the shop just as it opened.

OFCOM and trains

OFCOM is trying to improve broadband on trains and is considering releasing some more microwave frequencies (sorry, airwaves) to enable this. See the OFCOM website for more details.

I see they always have this in Welsh too. Why not Urdu or some African languages too? Or Gaelic maybe? Translating from English to some strange language would keep someone busy and beat real RF work any day.  Oh, make sure the person has a different colour skin and one leg and is non-binary. This gives you even more browny points for diversity.

Cynical? Me?

Chinese lanterns - NOT amateur radio

These plants are usually associated with autumn, but we saw these on our walk on Sunday, which is pretty early in the year.

They are very colourful and attractive plants.

DXCC news

Many years ago I ceased chasing DX. If I work DX then great, but I am not prepared to invest in high power rigs, towers, linears and beams as well as hours and hours calling. Life is just too short. If this "floats your boat" that is fine. Each to their own. Just count me out.

A useful list of current DXCC entities is shown on the Southgate News website.

See http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2020/july/dxcc-report-26-07.htm#.Xx8dQIjYq00

Sunspots - Tuesday July 28th 2020

Solar flux is 71 and the sunspot number 11. A=4 and K=1.

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

Whilst on the East Cambs 2m net,  I had the 10m WSPR beacon running. I was getting spots from Denmark.  It is now 1945z and it is still on.

UPDATE 2030z:  5 unique stations spotting my 10m WSPR tonight. I have only been on for about 90 minutes.

Fungus - NOT amateur radio

We saw the fungus in the photo on our walk yesterday. It was on an old tree stump.

Swifts (birds) - NOT amateur radio

Swifts are migratory birds that spend a lot of time in Africa. They breed in the UK. These birds sleep on the wing and are a common sight in UK skies in early summer. These stay for only a few months. For several weeks these birds can be seen screaming in the skies above our heads. Quite suddenly we realise they are not there any more. The skies are quiet. They usually arrive here in late April and early May.  The arrival of the first swift is always significant for me.

The only time they land is to breed.  Numbers have fallen as their nest sites are disappearing. The RSPB is trying to encourage us to erect swift nestboxes to reverse this. I hope it succeeds.

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

New radio?

About a year ago I bought a Yaesu FT991A.  At the right price I may, at a later date, trade this in for an ICOM IC-705. I am a QRP man and only use the FT991A at low power.

With simple antennas, the FT991A has worked some impressive DX on the VHF bands especially.

Often with new rigs there are teething troubles that are fixed with firmware or hardware improvements. I am in no hurry. Certainly my advice is avoid early models if buying new.

I like the features and coverage of the IC-705 and the fact it has no fan and can run at 5W off the attached battery which can be charged via the USB lead. It has D-STAR, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and GPS. I wish it had 4m and an internal auto-ATU.

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

Currency fluctuations - NOT amateur radio

In recent days, the exchange rates of the UK Pound against the Euro, US Dollar and Japanese Yen have been varying quite bit. Against the US Dollar it has appreciated quite a bit whereas against the Euro it has lost value.

I guess in such matters one has take a long view. Against the Euro I doubt things will be clearer until the end of 2020 when the EU-UK transition period ends. Against the US Dollar I guess a lot hinges on the Presidential election in November.

The more immediate issue is the Covid-19 pandemic which rather turns things on their heads. The whole world faces the prospect of high unemployment and recession. We are in for hard times ahead. Let us hope we all emerge into a kinder, cleaner world. Things will change. This is a wake-up call for us all.

365project (a picture a day) - NOT amateur radio

For the last 7 years both my wife and I have done the 365project, where we post a picture every day. Some people post astounding photos, whereas others use it as a kind of visual diary. Most of mine would win no prizes! It is good to see how the grandchildren have changed. Looking back over the years, they have changed a lot.

If you are happy with others seeing your postings it is totally free. Otherwise you can choose other things like more albums or total privacy for $19.99 a year. This is totally separate from Microsoft.

One posted today was of a longhorn in New Zealand, shown in the photo.

See https://365project.org/

2m FT8

So far, it is now 0943z, I have been spotted by 8 stations on 2m FT8 (10W and the big-wheel omni antenna) with best DX being a spot by EI8IQ (462km). On 2m FT8 RX 7 stations spotted with the best DX being EA1SA (1034km) in northern Spain. I suspect this is tropo. No QSOs yet.

UPDATE 1055z:  So far today, I have been spotted by 11 stations in 3 countries.

UPDATE 1225z:  16 spots on 2m FT8 of me so far. Best QSO was with F6ANO (430km) near Paris.

UPDATE 1727z:  51 spots in 7 countries of my 10W 2m FT8 so far today. On RX 48 stations spotted here in 6 countries. No Es today, but still pretty good.

6m FT8

After the surprise on 2m FT8 yesterday, I think I shall go on 6m FT8 today. The gear will be turned on shortly.  It is now 0815z. As usual, I shall be using  10W and the V2000 vertical omni fed with low cost CB coax.

UPDATE 0928z: After a very brief time on 6m FT8 where the TX was not working correctly due to a high SWR (water ingress?) I have moved to 2m. Plenty of Es evident on 6m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1831z:  I am back on 6m FT8. I think the SWR issue must have been something to do with wet as things seem normal again now it is dry. 47 spots of my 6m FT8 in just a few minutes! On 6m FT8 RX 31 stations spotted already, mostly Es. At almost the end of July we are still seeing plenty of Es on 6m.

UPDATE 2120z: 64 spots of my 10W 6m FT8 TX to the V2000 vertical omni antenna.

Yesterday on 2m FT8

Stations spotted yesterday here
on 2m FT8 RX with the
big-wheel omni antenna

Quite remarkable seeing I only use 10W and an omni big-wheel antenna. In all, I was spotted by 88 stations in 16 countries and I spotted 150 stations. And this is 2m!!

Clearly I caught some Es. At first, I could not believe it.

8m allocations

A few days ago I asked John EI7GL if he knew which countries had granted people permission to operate on 8m.

At the moment this is very few, but there may be more next year. People need to ask their licensing people for special authority. This may be spot frequencies and limited power and times. In a few years this could be a most interesting band.

Sunspots - Monday July 27th 2020

Solar flux is 71 and the SSN 11. A=3 and K=1.

472kHz transverter

One of my Facebook memories today was this photo of my 472kHz transverter from 8 years ago! I didn't realise it was that long ago.

Toadflax - NOT amateur radio

Just outside our house and garden is the 200 year old windmill.  This patch of toadflax (wild flower) is about 5m from our lounge window. It is on the grass in front of the windmill.

Old village house - NOT amateur radio

Burwell is a large village with a mix of new and old houses. The photo shows one older house seen on our walk earlier.

2m FT8

At the moment I am on 2m FT8 using 10W and the big-wheel omni antenna. So far, 8 stations have spotted me. It is now 0707z.

UPDATE 1340z:  I seem to have caught some 2m Es! On TX my  QRP has been copied as far as Serbia with best DX YT7PWR (1642km) and on 2m FT8 RX I have copied as far as Moldova. The map shows where my 2m FT8 signal has reached so far today. Quite remarkable. 136 stations spotted on RX so far today.

UPDATE 1435z:  64 spots of me today on 2m FT8 in 14 countries.

UPDATE 1553z:  75 2m FT8 spots of me today.

UPDATE 2300z:   QRT.

Interesting antenna

Chris, M0PZC, has sent me details of an interesting VHF antenna called the Hourglass that can be made with simple materials. He has built one in his loft.

Next week we may have a sked on 2m FT8 or SSB to try it out between us. I think we are about 60-70 miles apart. It is bidirectional and has a very useful gain over a dipole.

I see the ARRL website has an article on this antenna available for non-members to read.

See http://www.arrl.org/files/file/QST/This%20Month%20in%20QST/December2018/Stanley.pdf

Sunspots - Sunday July 26th 2020

Solar flux is 70 and the sunspot number 11. A=15 and K=1.

2m FT8 (10W and the big wheel)

For about 2 minutes before going QRT I tried 2m FT8. 5 stations spotted me.

Facebook memory - NOT amateur radio

This photo appeared as a FB memory. It shows our wedding anniversary 9 years ago with our grandson ogling the cake.

10m report

Some months ago, I mentioned the 10m report on Southgate News. My main complaint was that without being clear where stations were being heard or worked from it was of limited use. For example, if PY is being copied from LU do we care? What really matters is what real DX can be worked from where we live. It would be really useful if it made clear what DX was being worked from the UK.

See http://www.southgatearc.org/bands/10metres/2020/july/july-16.htm#.XxvpYojYq00

Chromebooks - NOT amateur radio

Late last year I bought a Chromebook. Not a day passes without being very pleased I did. Its battery easily lasts all day, it boots up in seconds,  and it seems to do everything I want.

Yesterday I tried to print a QR code on my Windows PC. Despite several attempts it refused for some reason. Today I tried with my Chromebook and it printed first time.

Stroke and getting older - NOT amateur radio

Back in 2013, out of the blue, I had a stroke that put me in hospital for 3.5 months. It was a shock. For a couple of years I expected to get back to normal. Indeed, most of me works although my voice is poor and I feel giddy almost all the time. Otherwise I am fairly fine. Certainly others looking at me consider me "normal" whatever that means!

Getting older it is harder to tell what is a lingering after-effect of that stroke and what is just old age creeping in. As mentioned before, one's outlook on life changes.  When younger, life seemed endless, whereas as we become older we are more aware of our limited lifespan.

Many of us have seen people of our age, or younger, die. I guess as someone said a few weeks ago, he gets up and says to himself, "I am alive and I going to enjoy today". Certainly each day is a gift.

10m FT8

For a change, I am on 10m FT8 with the tiny indoor loop antenna and under 5W. The gear was turned on at about 0550z.No spots yet as of 0605z.

UPDATE 0813z:  No spots yet.

UPDATE 1122z:  15 spots of me on 10m FT8 so far today. 69 stations spotted here.

Stations spotting me today on
10m FT8 QRP with the indoor loop

UPDATE 2039z:  385 stations spotted today on 10m FT8 with the indoor loop with best DX spotted being UN7JOV (5261km). 60 stations have so far spotted me on 10m FT8. I am running about 4W.  Several QSOs had within Europe. Seeing how we are meant to be at the end of the Es season, conditions still seem good to me. For a change I may try 2m FT8 tomorrow with the big-wheel omni.

Transatlantic DX again on 6m FT8

Although the main Es season is meant to be drawing to a close, I still was able to spot WU1ITU (4836km) on 6m FT8 RX yesterday. He was a very strong signal, suggesting Es. Maybe this was just a short burst, but it shows that the path opened albeit briefly.