OFCOM has announced the results of the first stage of its recent spectrum auction. See the OFCOM website for details.
Yet again the big mobile phone companies have paid a lot for spectrum. It seems all OFCOM is interested in really is ££££££!
What happened to the GPO and enforcement?
The recent announcement about safeguarding the public from harmful EMF rings hollow.
Southgate News reports that plans for an in-person Friedrichshafen in June are still going ahead. I do hope so. I think there is an online event too. This is one of the biggest amateur radio gatherings in the world.
See http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2021/march/friedrichshafen-june-25-27.htm#.YFDDJiuTLrc
On a sadder note, the ARRL reports that the Dayton Hamvention is being cancelled for the second year. In the USA there is a great danger of a new spike in Covid-19 infections, so this is probably sensible.
The UK organisers of the National Hamfest is making a final decision in June.
See https://midnightdesignsolutions.com/phaser/
UPDATE 1420z: Just ordered a 10m kit. Due May. I see the SMA parts are pre-fitted.
UPDATE 1620z: Someone asked me if I had given up on my ultra-simple DSB project. No, definitely going ahead still!
It is now 1125z. I have been on 15m FT8 QRP with 2.5W and the indoor loop for about 30 minutes. So far, nobody has spotted me and I have spotted just 5 stations so far today.
UPDATE 1420z: Best station spotted on RX today is VP8NO (12722km) in the Falklands. Still no spots of my QRP on TX.
UPDATE 1656z: 10 stations only spotted today on 15m FT8 RX and nobody has spotted my QRP on TX.
Steve G1KQH told me of a good, low cost, source of the crystal needed. This is in the USA, so I ordered some and these have now left Heathrow, London, so they must have been in stock and sent by air. I have no idea if I will have to pay VAT or duty. I hope not.
As my fine motor skills are poorer since my 2013 stroke, I want to build this in parts, probably starting with the RX. Assuming this is OK I shall have a go at the TX, then combine as a transceiver. Being largely based on the 10m WSPR WISPY it should work.
UPDATE 1220z: Crystals have arrived from the USA in the post just now. No duty or VAT to pay. Just need to build now! Excellent.
At about 0910z, I turned on my 2.5W to the indoor loop on 15m FT8. No spots yet.
UPDATE 1116z: 13 stations spotted so far on RX. Nobody has yet spotted my QRP on TX.
UPDATE 1500z: 1 station has spotted my QRP FT8 on TX and I have spotted 37 stations on RX. including 2 in South America. Conditions do not seem that great on 15m today.
Yesterday, the South African 8m beacon was spotted in Portugal. I guess this was TEP.
Today, I have not been on the radio on any band. Usually I go on an HF band in the day and 2m FT8 in the evening.
10m is coming back to life.
At any point in the solar cycle it can be good for Es contacts (in the Es seasons especially) with low power and simple antennas. This autumn we could well see some real F2 DX more commonly on 10m.
One of my aims in the past was to design a very simple rig for 10m sideband that almost anybody could build. Sadly, my health got in the way and even this is probably beyond me now. Others may well have better ideas. All I want is someone to have a go.
I can see a simple 10m kit in my mind that could be built at really low cost on a single PCB with a simple case. All this to allow everyone to get on 10m phone for less than the cost of one meal out (remember those!?).
My (dated now) ideas were here.
Quite a few people have been concerned by recent letters from OFCOM about changes to our licences in the future to ensure we do not put members of the public in danger.
With QRP this is very unlikely, but with high power and beams you may be required to prove this if you were ever investigated.
There are several calculators available to help work this out e.g. on the OFCOM and RSGB websites. I see Steve G1KQH has found another, the link of which is on his blog.
Remember that all the power is provided by the TX station (no batteries, no solar cells etc.), so people struggle to get the strongest signals with decent selectivity.
Amateur DX is possible, and on 80m I have copied SSB signals at some distance. Of course, this was just envelope detection and I had to use other means to ID the station with certainty. On bands like 10m, it should be possible, at times, to copy DX stations, especially with Es on a crystal set. Signals need to be in the low mVs to be received.
In the days when AM was common on 160m I have copied stations at some distance on a crystal set. Patience is required. People regularly copy 80m AM nets in the USA.
See https://crystalradio.net/crystalplans/index.shtml
See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/crystalset. As this page is quite old, some of the links may not work. At some point I really must check and delete any that no longer work.
Remember that old pages, now closed, can often be found on the Wayback Machine.
Southgate News has some interesting links to some recording made in 1933 on aluminium disks of AM broadcasters. Of great historic interest.
See http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2021/march/dxing-in-england-1933.htm#.YE3QayuTLrc
When you can't have normal, you realise how important this was. We haven't been in to Cambridge since last summer! We used to go every week.
We are about to enter the Es season in the Northern Hemisphere. Many are wondering about special permits for spot frequencies at 8m. There are a few countries with access but more would be good.
At about 1000z, I turned on my 17m FT8 gear with 2.5W and the tiny indoor loop. It is 1016z and so far 5 stations have already spotted me on TX and I have spotted 34 stations already on 17m FT8 RX including South America - PY1KS (9366km).
UPDATE 1024z: 50 stations spotted on RX.
UPDATE 1530z: 312 stations spotted on RX and 16 stations have spotted my QRP on TX.
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| Stations spotting my QRP TX today |
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| Stations spotted on RX today |
This weekend there is a virtual expo. There are lots of presentations that might be of interest to you.
The photo shows one spot where they are out.
At 1135z, I turned on 17m FT8 QRP with 2.5W and the tiny indoor loop antenna. So far today (after 5 minutes only) 15 stations spotted on RX, but nobody has spotted my QRP on TX.
UPDATE 1252z: 75 stations in 4 continents spotted on RX. 3 stations have spotted my QRP on TX with the furthermost UW5ZM (2317km).
Surprisingly, these have been pretty effective: not as good as chatting in person over a real meal, but better than nothing. Zoom allows everyone to see and hear everyone.
We even had a deaf member last night. Lipreading with Zoom was a challenge and a lot of use was made of the typed "chat" feature!
Southgate News has some feedback on a Freedom of Information request made to OFCOM asking for data on the age of radio amateurs. As no age records need to be kept now, the released data is only partial.
I think it is fair to say that many (most?) UK radio amateurs are old. It is also well known that most are men.
Recently, our local church has lost several members who have either died or moved away. What will amateur radio look like in 20 years' time?
We deliver local Christmas cards by hand. We were going to do it yesterday, but the rain was horrendous so we did it today instead in the co...
