136kHz E-field probe found

With a fresh battery, I think this will still work. It was re-found yesterday. 

If it does, it means I can do some local tests with my beacon into the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. I already have a local RX test site in mind.

UPDATE 1540z:  A short range test in the house shows the EFP still works. 

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqr

p3/antennas/137efp

That royal interview - NOT amateur radio

Today, people are talking about 2 things in England. Firstly, all school children are returning to schools. Secondly, Oprah Winfrey interviewed Meghan and Harry, who now live in California.

Views on the royal family are very wide. My personal view is that they have to change. Wealth and privilege as a result of who your parents are or were has no place today. I am not a republican, but feel change has to occur or the UK monarchy will end in the next 50 years.

Why do we need to spend millions doing up a cottage in Windsor Great Park? 

Yes, our royal family and palaces are probably worth millions in tourism each year. We can still have this without the silliness that goes with it. Get real royals!

Maltings - NOT amateur radio

Many years ago maltings were places where hops were dried to make beer. 

We have a maltings building in our village, but these days it houses offices.

17m FT8 QRP (Monday)

It is now 0907z. Shortly, I intend to go on 17m FT8 again with 2.5W and the indoor loop. 17m seems a good daytime band. Even with my QRP and tiny indoor loop, I was spotted in the USA on that band again yesterday.

UPDATE 1139z: 43 stations spotted on RX, and 1 spot of me on TX by UA3PRS (2481km).

UPDATE 1200z: 60 stations spotted here today on RX.

UPDATE 1425z: 115 stations spotted.

UPDATE 1607z:  2 stations have spotted my 2.5W to the indoor loop on TX. 131 stations spotted on RX. No South Americans today so far.

sBITX?

Steve G1KQH sent me an email yesterday in which he mentioned that the inventor of the uBITX, Ashar Farhan VU2ESE, is working on an SDR version. I have no details of when this will be available, but can imagine it being low cost and very interesting.

The original uBITX is available from India, with most of the hardware built (he uses a woman's co-operative to build and test the main assembly).  It is a very inexpensive way to get on the HF bands.

See https://www.hfsignals.com/index.php/ubitx-v6/
See https:ex//qrparci.org/fdim

Sunspots - Monday March 8th 2021

Solar flux is 78 and the SSN 14. A=10 and K=1.

2m FT8 RX (Sunday)

Earlier this evening, I decided to go on 2m FT8 RX with the big-wheel omni antenna. So far (2140z) 19 stations in 4 countries spotted. The furthermost is DL6BF (479km).

UPDATE 2217z: No further stations spotted this evening. QRT soon.

10FT8R 10m FT8 RX

As mentioned before, my aim, despite my "brain fog", is to build a full FT8 transceiver for 10m.  This will be done in stages, starting with the RX. 

This photo shows the original WISPY 10m WSPR RX, which I want to base the design on, although I am still looking for the actual thing. I am not sure I still have it even! At least the photo will help with pad placement. 

IC-705 and FT8

One of the things many ICOM IC-705 owners will want to do is run FT8. As I understand it, you can use the single USB cable for both audio and CAT rig control. I see there is a YouTube video about this.

Schools in England - NOT amateur radio

March 8th sees the return to school of all children in England. 

The person in charge of education at ministerial level was interviewed on the BBC and Sky earlier. One option reported as being considered is longer school days and shorter holidays. 

One of my sons is a teacher and he has had to do online teaching as well as classroom teaching. I hope they discuss proposals with teachers first! 

Yes, school children must catch up, but in most cases teachers are near burn out. Imagine being told you have shorter holidays and longer days. I can see even more early retirements and people leaving the profession. Government in the UK - open your eyes!!!

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-56311723 . 

Ailunce HS2

This radio, the Ailunce HS2, costs just under £650. The adverts don't mention the power (at least I couldn't find it), which I assume is 5W.  It is available from Radioworld in the UK Midlands. 

At this price, it must be Chinese. I would be concerned about quality control and warranty, although on paper it looks good. As this is preliminary data, perhaps they are testing interest?

As I have said many times before, once the Chinese get interested in this market (will they?) the Japanese will really notice.

It is much smaller than it looks. At a guess I'd say it looks FT817 sized.

17m FT8 QRP (Sunday)

 At about 0835z I went on 17m FT8 with 2.5W and the tiny indoor loop. It is now 0932z. So far, 2 stations have spotted my QRP TX with the furthermost being UR7IM (2631km) and on RX 28 stations spotted here with the furthermost HL5BLI (9059km) in South Korea.

I remain amazed how well this simple QRP set-up works. Later, if I have the energy, I may try thicker wire for the loop. Somewhere in the garage is the roll of central heating pipe that I might use. Failing that, just thicker copper wire or a parallel stretch of copper wire might make things even better.

UPDATE 1208z: 89 stations spotted so far on RX.

UPDATE 1430z: 138 spots of me in 5 continents today on 17m FT8 RX.  4 spots of my QRP on TX.

Shack

This photo may have been on before. If so, my apologies.

It shows me in the shack checking the birds in the garden with binoculars. Building is done on the left and operating on the right.

The photo makes the room look much bigger than it is. 

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

Did we really have holidays? - NOT amateur radio

This photo shows a crab lunch (excellent) we had last September when we were in North Norfolk. 

Things felt almost normal. 

Sunspots - Sunday March 7th 2021

Solar flux is 77 and the SSN 23. A=16 and K=1.

They are coming - NOT amateur radio

Looking at the latest Devon bird sightings, I see that sand martins have started to arrive. These birds are among the first migrants to come.  Swallows usually arrive here in East Anglia in early April with swifts early May. The photo shows a sand martin.

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

Flower pot antenna

Steve G1KQH recently sent me an email with some useful links on how to make 1/2 wave verticals. I am sharing it with you in case this gives you ideas.

"The latest G4NSJ video pointed me to investigate..

Cheap to make for anything from 28MHz to UHF I guess.. Ideally a starting point is to make one for 2m

Gain 1dB over 1/4 Wave

Details here: 

http://vk2zoi.com/articles/half-wave-flower-pot/

You can even make it Dual band:

http://vk2zoi.com/articles/dual-band-half-wave-flower-pot/

There is even an online calculator:

https://nomonsuhendar.blogspot.com/2020/12/flower-pot-antenna-calculator.html

73's G1KQH"

17m FT8 QRP (Saturday)

At about 1130z, I went on 17m FT8 with 2.5W and the tiny indoor loop. It is now 1141z and 3 stations spotted on RX with the furthermost EA8WU (2985km) and nobody has spotted my QRP on TX. 

UPDATE 1145z: So far, 4 stations spotted on 17m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1259z: 15 stations spotted so far on RX. Nobody has spotted me on TX.

UPDATE 1400z:  2 stations have spotted me on TX and 37 stations spotted on RX.

UPDATE 1555z: 4 stations have spotted my QRP TX and 65 stations spotted on RX with the furthermost YB1AR (11781km).

UPDATE 1820z: 72 stations spotted today on 17m FT8 RX today. QRT soon.

630m WSPR TX 4 years ago

 

The table shows the stations spotting my 10mW ERP from the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground in 2017. At the moment my transverter is faulty on TX, so I am restricted to RX. 

The tiny indoor loop

This is the inside of my loop antenna used successfully on 20m FT8 to 10m FT8. I am amazed how well it works. 

The wire used for the loop is quite small and I might try much thicker wire. Tuning should be sharper, but efficiency should be higher. My concern is higher Q means higher voltage at the high impedance point. 

Sunspots - Saturday March 6th 2021

Solar flux is 73 and the SSN 14.  A=5 and K=1.

2m FT8 QRP (Friday)

About an hour ago I QSYed to 2m FT8 QRP using 2.5W and the big-wheel omni antenna. It is now 2022z and so far tonight 19 stations have spotted me and 1 QSO.

UPDATE 2145z:  2 QSOs and 25 spots of my QRP TX this evening in 4 countries with the furthermost EI2FG (565km). 36 stations spotted on RX.

UPDATE 2240z:  43 stations spotted on RX and 25 stations have spotted my QRP on TX. QRT soon.

Covid 19 humour - NOT amateur radio

 Well, it made me giggle.

Anglesey Abbey earlier - NOT amateur radio

This morning, we went for a walk around Anglesey Abbey. The snowdrops are mostly gone and the daffodils are coming. They will be at their best in about 2 weeks. 

Earth-mode VLF blog

On my old website I have a blog about my experiments many years ago with VLF "earth-mode"  communications using 5W. 

As the page is very old, I cannot guarantee links work. The links on the left of that page are very old especially and should not be used as this was my old website that is not maintained.

Earth-mode is a form of VLF experimentation that does not need high power or big antennas. It is at the frontier and is open to all. 

My understanding is no licences are needed for this form of communications based on conversations with OFCOM many years ago. This is not a legal statement, just my interpretation. 

For radiated VLF communications I think those in the UK need an NoV, whereas in many countries below 8.3kHz is a free for all. As very special techniques are needed for amateur VLF radiated reception, I think the chances of being intercepted are very small.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp/Home/earthmode . 

17m FT8 QRP (Friday)

It is now 1012z. For about 40 minutes I have been on 17m FT8 with 2.5W to the tiny indoor loop. So far, 30 stations spotted on RX and nobody has spotted me on TX.

UPDATE 1042z:  56 stations spotted on RX including the first today from South America on 17m FT8.

UPDATE 1454z: 145 stations spotted here on RX and 3 stations have spotted me on QRP TX on 17m FT8.

UPDATE 1832z:  169 stations spotted on RX and 5 stations have spotted my QRP TX.

Brain fog - NOT amateur radio

In the last year we have heard a lot about "Long Covid" and brain fog.

I have a lot of sympathy for sufferers as I have had brain fog for 7.5 years following my stroke. Every day, along with the near constant tiredness and giddiness, I have brain fog. 

It is like doing things in a near constant state of exhaustion and drunkenness. Things mental and physical that would have been easy years ago are now hard. Doing any amateur radio design and building is now incredibly taxing.

My best description is like being drunk all the time: it is hard to do even the simplest task. With willpower jobs gets done, eventually. As an example, I am trying to find an intermittent fault on my son's electric lawnmower. I have had this all winter, but have not felt the energy to undo the screws and take a look.

I have great sympathy for anyone with a hidden disability. Outwardly we look fine to the world whereas inwardly it is a totally different story: we do all in our power to seem fine, but we struggle.

We do not like to moan, but it is very hard when others think you are fine.

Cowfield NOT amateur radio

This meadow is owned by the village. Years ago there were cows in here that we heard every summer morning. This an ancient meadow with Roman remains (there was a Roman villa here) and the remains of a castle going back to King Stephen nearly 1000 years ago.

Sunspots - Friday March 5th 2021

Solar flux is 81 and the SSN 32. A=11 and K=2.

2m FT8 QRP (Thursday)

At about 2030z I went on 2m FT8 QRP with 2.5W and the big-wheel omni antenna. At 2037z I had been spotted by 9 stations already.

Elecraft K1

Many years ago I had an Elecraft K1 4 band CW transceiver. This was about 5W output. It was sold some time ago.  In its day, it was quite a good rig, but I think Elecraft has stopped doing them. Although simple, FT8 now does a better job for me.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/k1. As this page is very old, I cannot guarantee links work still.

Village walk - NOT amateur radio

We have just returned after a village walk. The BBC weather app said 1% chance of rain, so of course it rained! 

The photo shows our churchyard coming to life with daffodils and birds busy. Spring has sprung.

Low cost crystals

Steve G1KQH recently pointed me to a supplier of crystals in the USA which should be suitable for my latest FT8 RX project. 

I ordered some last night. At $1.50 each they are excellent value and they have already been dispatched. As international shipping costs were high I ordered 4 of them.  It is not clear how these will come, but it gives me plenty of time for building if these come by sea.

Even with shipping they are good value. I hope I don't get stung for duty and VAT.

See https://kc9on.com/product/14mhz-hc49u-tall-crystals/ .

17m FT8 QRP (Thursday)

This morning I am on 17m FT8 with 2.5W and the tiny indoor loop antenna. 

8 stations spotted so far on RX, but nobody has yet spotted my QRP TX.  It is now 1005z and I have been active for about 15 minutes.

UPDATE 1244z:  38 stations spotted on RX and 1 spot of my QRP TX - SV3AQT (2284km).

UPDATE 2026z: 92 stations spotted on RX. 5 stations have spotted my QRP today on TX.

Look what I found! - 136kHz beacon

 

This morning I was looking for the original WISPY receiver. I opened the case and found this! It is the 136kHz beacon I used about 8 years ago. 

I thought it was in the loft. This was a chance find and it has never been used at this QTH. 

At some point I must try it with the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground.

This afternoon I connected it to my earth-electrode antenna and listened on the FT817ND. It still works! 

Local walk - NOT amateur radio

One of our favourite walks is around the village of Dalham near Newmarket. This is the view of the church. 

Amateur VLF

The photo shows the signal from Germany on sub 9kHz. It was taken in 2011. Amateur VLF DX requires very stable signals, very narrow filters and long integration periods. Integation periods are hours or even days so casual listening will not work!! 

Sunspots - Thursday March 4th 2021

Solar flux is 74 and the SSN 30.  A=23 and K=3.

2m FT8 QRP (Wednesday)

This evening, I am almost exclusively on 2m FT8 RX with the big-wheel omni antenna. As usual, any brief TX periods will be at 2.5W. 

I think there is a contest as the FT8 chunk is very busy. On RX, 40 stations already spotted and my very brief TX session was spotted by 4 stations. 

The photo shows the activity on G0LRD's grabber a little while ago - busy!!

See http://82.71.9.63:8080/cap/ .

UPDATE 2225z:  118 stations in 9 countries spotted on RX.

A mug .....me? - NOT amateur radio

You will be pleased to hear that I will get over $360k in my account if I just tell them my bank details.

Oh yes!! ...I am in such a rush to tell them.