It is hard to keep up with all the videos on YouTube on the IC-705. This one may be of interest. The best thing to do is go to YouTube and search "IC-705".
Many are Japanese where this product was first launched. At the moment MLS is offering a 5 year warranty at extra cost. I suspect they will soon be offering this in the selling price. A 5 year warranty is probably a good idea.
Solar flux is 110 and the SSN 67. A=10 and K=3. For so close to the sunspot minimum, these are very high figures.
Assuming this is true and not "fake news", apparently President Trump has paid $3M to have the recheck done in Wisconsin. The result? More Trump votes, but even more for Biden. 😆
At 1640z, I QSYed from 10m to 2m FT8 using 2.5W and the big-wheel omni antennna.
Already 5 spots of me on TX including G7RAU (461km). If he is active I get spotted every time, irrespective of the time of day. Also, 1 station spotted on RX.
UPDATE 1947z: 15 stations spotted this evening on 2m FT8 with the furthermost being DD7DAC (520km). On TX 12 stations have spotted me.
UPDATE 2025z: On TX 13 stations have spotted me. On RX 18 stations spotted in 4 countries.
I wonder if anyone has widebanded it for 472kHz yet? There are several mods for the IC-706.
It is some time since I saw predictions for the next solar cycle, but we have got off to a roaring start. I am no expert, but signs are promising. Who would have expected solar flux and sunspots to be this good?
The climb up from solar minimum has been dramatic and fast with sunspot numbers and solar flux levels much greater than we all expected.
We should deal in averages and this could just be a blip, but I hope the next solar cycle is a decent one. No doubt the latest NOAA and NASA forecasts are worth a look.
Many of us have been pleasantly surprised just how successful radio club meetings and talks have been over Zoom.
It would not surprise me if several radio clubs adopt this as a permanent model to replace club meetings, especially if rooms have to be hired.
Many like the social interaction of a physical meeting especially if they live alone. However, it means people from across the world can join a club for talks or informal meetings.
It would be interesting to hear your views.
One of the complaints about the IC-705 (other than the price and lack of internal auto-ATU!) is the lack of a desk stand. I expect these will soon be available as add-ons from other suppliers. One solution is to make your own with a 3D printer as shown in the video.
Even with my tiny loop indoors, I am spotting plenty of stations in Eastern Europe and the Canaries on 10m FT8. This looks like F2 propagation. In the last few days there has been propagation to the southern USA as well on 10m.
If things continue like this, 10m could again be a really good DX band certainly by next autumn.
If you want to get into this hobby, you may be interested in this online training course.
At the moment, I am on 10m FT8 with 2.5W and the tiny indoor loop on the shack windowsill indoors. So far (1040z) no-one has spotted me on TX, but I have spotted 3 stations already on 10m FT8 RX.
UPDATE 1135z: So far today, 15 stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX.
UPDATE 1246z: 16 stations spotted on RX with the furthermost being UA4NF (3257km) and 2 stations in the Canaries have spotted my QRP on TX.
UPDATE 1445z: 17 stations spotted today on 10m FT8 RX and still just the 2 spots of me on TX.
Solar flux is 106 and the SSN an amazing 60. A=8 and K=3. For this part of the solar cycle, these are incredible numbers.
As 10m FT8 was quiet late afternoon, I have QSYed to 2m with my 2.5W and big-wheel omni antenna. Already spotted by G7RAU (461km) in Cornwall with 6 stations spotting me so far. Nothing yet seen on RX and no QSOs. It is now 1649z.
UPDATE 1706z: 4 stations in 2 countries spotted on RX and 9 stations in 3 countries have spotted me on TX. No QSOs. Monitoring my signal on G0LRD's grabber (http://82.71.9.63:8080/cap/) at 26km, I may be seeing some QSB.
UPDATE 1843z: 11 stations have spotted me on TX and I have spotted 11 stations on RX.
Today, I read that some very big UK retailers have decided not to offer Black Friday deals. I cannot say I blame them.
As I have mentioned before, some may really be bargains, whereas others are not. It is basically about commercialism and extending Christmas sales. To me, it sucks.
Whilst trying to get to sleep earlier in the week I tried to think of placenames starting with "A", then "B" etc. It was interesting how hard "J" was. I guess this is because some names are very old and pre-date "J" being in the alphabet. In old Latin both J and W were missing.
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin_alphabet#Old_Latin_alphabet
It is now 0916z. Since 0900z, I have been on 10m FT8 with 2.5W and the indoor loop. No spots yet.
UPDATE 1107z: 20 stations spotted so far today on 10m FT8 RX with the furthermost being OD5YA (3466km). Nobody has yet spotted me. 10m is coming back to life!
As 10m is now quiet, I have QSYed to 2m FT8. Nothing yet spotted on RX, but 3 stations have spotted me so far. No QSOs. As usual, 2.5W to the big-wheel omni antenna.
UPDATE 1840z: So far this evening 5 stations spotted on RX with best DX G1BHM (355km) in IO70. On TX 6 stations have spotted me with the best DX G7RAU (461km).
UPDATE 1933z: Now 7 stations have spotted me and I have spotted 8 stations on RX. So far this evening all have been G, which is unusual.
UPDATE 2238z: QRT. 2 QSOs this evening.
The Rochdale and District ARS summer rally, due to take place on Saturday, has been cancelled. Let us hope they have better luck in 2021. 2020 has been an odd year for all of us.
It is now 1117z and I have been on 10m FT8 with the tiny indoor loop antenna and 2.5W for about 30 minutes. So far, just EA8CZL (2987km) spotted on RX and no spots of me on TX. I wonder how far down my tiny indoor loop is on a full sized dipole?
UPDATE 1254z: Nothing further.
UPDATE 1545z: The USA and Caribbean spotted on 10m FT8 Rx this afternoon, but no spots of me! OK, just a handful spotted, but better than nothing. Who knows what a year will bring. Next autumn we could be spotting far more on 10m FT8.
At about 2030z I QSYed to 2m FT8 with 2.5W to the big-wheel omni antenna. 7 stations have spotted me on TX and I have spotted 5 stations on RX at 2106z.
UPDATE 2303z: QRT.
People have remarked that the upward slope from sunspot minimum looks faster than we were expecting. It is still far too early to tell, but this is a promising. Many thought this would be a slow climb. It will be interesting to see new forecasts for the next maximum.
Transnistria is a breakaway state between Moldova and Ukraine. Until today, I had never heard of it!
At 1115z I QSYed to 10m FT8. So far, (at 1148z) no spots. With the high solar flux, I am hopeful of some 10m FT8 activity.
UPDATE 1523z: Still no 10m spots.
UPDATE 1650z: 3 spots all day: 2 Gs plus IS0DDL (1427km) on 10m FT8 RX. Nobody spotted me.
At 0910z, I turned on my 15m FT8 QRP gear with 2.5W to the indoor loop on the shack windowsill. It is now 1006z. So far today, 25 stations spotted on RX with the best being PU2KRL (9578km) .
As 15m was quiet, I have QSYed to 2m FT8 QRP (2.5W and the big-wheel omni antenna) for the evening. That was at 1738z. It is now 1820z. So far, 7 stations in 3 countries have spotted me already and I have spotted 3 countries on RX. No QSOs.
The drawback of FT8 is the very "rubber stamp" nature of the QSOs, with just the bare essentials exchanged. As specialist software is needed (free), newcomers cannot just chance upon it.
The advantages are it only takes 50Hz of bandwidth and is far more sensitive than SSB or CW. A second advantage is most activity is concentrated in a few kHz, making DX easier to spot. In my case, not having to use my poor voice is another benefit.
Even with 2.5W and an omni antenna, I get reports from over 500km away every day. I suspect this is some sort of scatter. 2m FT8 has been transformative, although I can see why some do not like it.
There were lots of long tail tits flitting about too. These were too fast for me.
Apparently, the UK aid budget is to be cut by law to help the chancellor balance the books and to help pay the enormous budget deficit as a result of Covid-19.
If this is made permanent, some will see this as a backwards step. I hope that we still continue to provide meaningful aid (not arms) to countries that need it.
About 10 minutes ago, I turned on 15m FT8 QRP (2.5W and the indoor loop). It is now 1007z. Just 6 stations copied on RX so far with one in East Africa.
UPDATE 1235z: 4 spots of me so far from Eastern Europe, but 95 stations spotted on RX including Africa and South America.
On the way to the Co-op food shop in the village, I spotted this postman. I asked his permission to take this photo. Very festive!
