Photobooks - NOT amateur radio

Every season, my wife makes a photo book. Altogether we have 53 in addition to old albums. 

It is amazing to see how much the grandchildren have changed over the years. 

Shack sunset

The photo doesn't really do justice to the wonderful sunset last night. This was the view out of the shack window last night.

In the foreground is the shack PC with WSJT-X monitoring 160m FT8 RX. 

As you can see, there were plenty of European (later transatlantic) stations being spotted on the earth-electrode antenna at about 1845z. 

Overnight on 160m FT8 RX

Stations spotted
on 160m FT8
RX overnight

Still stations in the Americas again on 160m FT8 RX last night as the map shows.  Overall fewer stations spotted though. 

Stations spotting
me last evening
on 160m QRP FT8

On TX, I was spotted by 21 stations (2.5W to the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground) with the furthermost OE9GHV (869km), before going RX only overnight.  The other map shows the stations spotting me last evening.

Spring flowers - NOT amateur radio

The flowers in the photo were spotted by my wife a few days ago. 

We are now officially in spring by any measure. The UK Met Office counts March 1st as the first day of spring whereas the traditional start is the spring equinox.

In the weeks ahead we will see migrant birds like swallows returning.

The UK clocks change to British Summer Time (BST) next weekend.

Sunspots - Monday March 22nd 2021

 Solar flux is 77 and the SSN 12.  A=24 and K=3.

Walk - NOT amateur radio

Before lunch we did a walk around the village with our elder grandson as shown in the photo. 

Covid-19 Vaccines - NOT amateur radio

Some countries seem further ahead with vaccines than others. This puts in doubt the ability of our daughters-in-law to visit their parents in France and Australia this year. This is such a pity.

Moxon antennas

Someone today asked me if I still have my coat hanger Moxon for 70cms. Moxons (as the page shows) can be easily made and work well. I have not seen the antenna for many years, so I doubt I still have it.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/antennas/70cm_moxon .

My grandson's video channel - NOT amateur radio

 My 13 year old grandson has a YouTube channel he has created. He is looking to get more subscribers. This is his channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4m_i-SRpAFX-iBtk9z8O4w

Overnight on 160m FT8 RX

Overnight

Overnight I again stayed on 160m FT8 RX. As before, stations from 5 continents spotted in numbers approaching 400 as the world map shows.

UPDATE 1000z:

1000z Sunday - quite different

Just 1 G being spotted now as the other map shows.

UPDATE 1245z: Still very quiet on 160m FT8 in the daytime.

UPDATE 1351z:  QRP TX now on.

UPDATE 1611z:  2 G stations have spotted my QRP so far. Real DX has still not started to come through as it is still daylight here.

UPDATE 1700z:  European DX has been coming through for about 30 minutes now. Spotting stations in Finland and Germany.

Devon - NOT amateur radio

This is near where I come from in South Devon. 

Sunspots - Sunday March 21st 2021

Solar flux is 80 and the SSN 12. A=29 and K=5.

Anglesey Abbey - NOT amateur radio

This is a National Trust property about 5 miles away from home. We walk in the grounds most weeks. 

Kombucha - NOT amateur radio

Until this morning, I had never heard of this.  Today, I have come across it twice within about 6 hours! Firstly I saw that a radio amateur had made some and then it appeared in the BBC Good Food magazine.

As far as I can see, it is a form of fermented tea. In Japan it refers to tea made from kelp seaweed. I think you can get kombucha in various flavours.

Funny how you can go a whole lifetime without coming across it, then it appears twice! 😄

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kombucha .

EMF and public safety

OFCOM is consulting about the dangers of exposure to RF by the general public. 

It is intending to add something in the licence to make clear that radio amateurs have to ensure the public is safe. 

OFCOM and the RSGB are working on calculators so that amateurs can work out if the RF produced is likely to be a danger. 

Being able to show how any potential danger was worked out could be important if a station was to be inspected, for example in the event of interference to a neighbour's TV.

See https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0022/214663/emf-implementation-update.pdf .

OFCOM limited power FM trials

OFCOM is to trial 10 limited power FM broadcaster stations for a year and is asking for volunteers to take part. It is wondering if such licences would be suitable for hospitals and army barracks for example. Rnage could be approximately 1km.

See https://www.ofcom.org.uk .

Antenna tuner for the IC-705

ICOM has released the auto ATU for the IC-705 (the AH-705) reports Southgate News. It is quite expensive and there are lower cost auto tuners that will work as well or better e.g. the Elecraft T1. This is also smaller and probably has a wider range. It is also, lower cost. 

The AH-705 is £309.60, which is expensive. The answer is use resonant antennas or lower cost tuners!

See http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2021/march/ah-705-hf-50-mhz-automatic-antenna-tuner-for-the-ic-705.htm#.YFYBKyuTLrc .

160m FT8 QRP (Saturday)

At 1355z I turned on my 2.5W FT8 to the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. I am calling CQ in the middle of the FT8 "window".  All I am spotting currently is G stations. No DX is being spotted in the daylight. It is now 1402z. Just one, fairly local, station G4HPW (37km) spotting me this afternoon.

UPDATE 1659z: 5 stations (all G) have spotted my QRP TX this afternoon. 5 stations spotted on RX with the furthermost LY2BVB (1659km) in Lithuania. It is still very light here, although I guess it is darker further east. The European DX is just starting.

UPDATE 1749z: 26 stations now spotted on RX. Clearly European DX is now coming through as night draws in.

UPDATE 2214z: 215 stations spotted on160m FT RX as shown on the map. 19 stations have spotted my QRP on TX as I have been on RX much of the evening. QRT soon, then on RX only overnight.

Victorian photo - NOT amateur radio

The photo shows one of my wife's ancestors. It was taken in the late 1800s. She is presently making books with some early photos of her relatives. 

I hope to do one soon.

The earliest she has is one showing a relative who fought at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. This is partly hand finished and probably dates from the dawn of photography in the 1840s.

See https://www.snapfish.co.uk/home

Cambridge - NOT amateur radio

The photo shows near Kings College in Cambridge 2 years ago. 

Overnight on 160m FT8 RX

Amazing. Overnight I was on 160m FT8 RX with the FT817ND and the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. 

In all, 415 stations were spotted in 5 continents as the map shows on RX. 

UPDATE 1100z: The DX is definitely a night-time thing on this band. Although I was spotting 5T5PA (3791km) at breakfast time, now I am only spotting Gs.

Sunspots - Saturday March 20th 2021

Solar flux is 74 and the SSN 14.  A=6 and K=3.

160m FT8 QRP (Friday)

At 1850z I QSYed to 160m FT8 with 2.5W and the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. It is now 1856z. So far this evening, 4 stations have spotted me on TX and I have spotted 22 stations on RX.

UPDATE 2030z: 16 stations have spotted me on QRP TX on 160m FT8 today. 

136kHz beacon tests

Last week I mentioned that I had, by accident, found my 136kHz CW beacon. I also found my battery operated E-field probe which fits on a car mag-mount.

At the moment, during lockdown, we are only meant to leave the house for defined purposes. Just going out for a 136kHz test is not allowed, so I shall have to combine my tests with a walk for exercise. I have a possible test site, but may be able to test as we drive around if my wife drives the car. The beacon can be switched to QRSS, but I want to test "by ear" with 10wpm CW.

On TX the beacon is connected to the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. So far, I have never tried 136kHz TX outside the home. I did try 136kHz WSPR RX a few years ago.

Chionodoxa - NOT amateur radio

This carpet of blue flowers is chionodoxa at Anglesey Abbey earlier.

 I thought they were bluebells. 

Apologies in advance! - NOT amateur radio

I saw this earlier on Facebook so thought I'd like to share it here. 

17m FT8 QRP with 2.5W and the tiny indoor loop antenna

At 1345z the 17m FT8 QRP gear was turned on. So far today 22 stations have been spotted on RX and 3 stations have spotted me today so far on 15m FT8 QRP TX after just 10 minutes!! 

UPDATE 1840z:  151 stations spotted on RX.  8 stations have spotted my QRP TX.

Red-legged partridges - NOT amateur radio

We used to see these handsome birds regularly in our garden and close but they have not been seen for a while. They were introduced in the UK some years ago. 

Sunspots - Friday March 19th 2021

 Solar flux is 73 and the SSN 12. A=4 and K=2.

Chinese electric commuter car - NOT amateur radio

The Chinese have launched a very low cost electric car aimed at commuters. It is a joint venture with General Motors. It is outselling Tesla cars by about 2:1. The standards in China are much lower than in Europe and the USA. At the moment it is only on sale in China.

It seems to me they have got their marketing spot on. In the west we have not got our electric car marketing correct. Our cars have (generally) got insufficient range for long distances and yet are far too expensive.

In what appears to be a stupid move, the UK government has today reduced the grant on electric cars under £35k and withdrawn it totally for cars over £35k. So much for encouraging us to go green!

In my view, the UK should launch a no frills electric car that fits the commuter range and can be charged at home. The government could actively encourage sales of these by strongly subsidising low cost electric cars made in the UK designed for commuters and local shopping trips.

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56178802 .

Spring....nearly

According to the UK Met Office, spring began on March 1st. Some others define it as March 21st. 

Once the primroses are common we know spring is really here. My wife took this photo yesterday.

10m dipole

One of the simplest antennas is the dipole made of wire. 

On 10m this is quite small being only about 5m long. Although I have been very impressed with my tiny indoor loops, an outside dipole should be several dBs better in the best directions.

Whereas, in the past, erecting this would have been a trivial task, my ladder days are largely over, so I depend on others now for erection. Hopefully my son can help in the coming weeks. 

It would be good to have this up before the Es season starts, late next month. By the autumn I think we can expect the USA to come through regularly on 10m, even on 10m AM just above 29MHz.

I have an idea on where to hang it. This should be good for North America and Europe.

Echolink update

Southgate News reports that Echolink has been updated. I have to confess that I have not used Echolink for over a year. It allows you to talk via distant repeaters, although most of the ones I tried were very quiet. Finding any with activity was hard and this is one of the reasons I stopped. 

An advantage of Echolink is network radios can be used. As long as you have the internet, then you can gain access.

See http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2021/march/echolink-for-windows-version-2-1-now-available.htm#.YFNdEyuTLrc .

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

Kind bee - NOT amateur radio

There was a bee on this daffodil when we went out yesterday and one there when we got back. It may even be the same one! 

My wife took this photo yesterday. 

Fen landscapes - NOT amateur radio

We live in the village of Burwell in Cambridgeshire, UK. This is where the chalk uplands meet the peat fens. Where we are is chalk, but about 300m away it is peat. 

The photo shows the fen landscape just to the north of us. Just visible as a white dot is Wicken windmill.

17m FT8 QRP (Thursday)

At 0830z, I turned on my 2.5W QRP FT8 to the indoor loop on 17m. So far, no spots on PSKreporter even though there are several stations spotted.

UPDATE 1215z:  101 stations spotted on RX. 5 stations have spotted my QRP TX.

UPDATE 1348z:  7 stations have spotted my QRP today on 17m FT8 with the furthermost being AJ1AJ (5264km). 167 stations spotted on RX.

Stations spotting my
2.5W QRP on 17m FT8
with the tiny indoor loop

UPDATE 1920z: 14 stations have spotted me today on 17m FT8 QRP TX and I have spotted 295 stations on RX.

UPDATE 2118z:  QRT.

Sunspots - Thursday March 18th 2021

 Solar flux is 78 and the sunspot number 12. A=5 and K=2.

Astra- Zeneca Covid-19 Vaccine - NOT amateur radio

I am deeply puzzled by some EU nations. I voted to stay in the EU in 2016, but am now convinced we did the correct thing leaving! They seem protectionist and slow beyond words!

Both the European Medicines Agency and the WHO have declared the AZ vaccine safe, yet still some nations insist on a pause. In the meantime many people will die and even more will be more vaccine-averse in months to come. 

Surely investigate if you must, but do not in the meantime pause vaccinating people who so desperately need it. This stinks of crass stupidity on a massive scale. Sour grapes?

15m FT8 QRP (Wednesday)

Shortly, I hope to go on 15m FT8 with 2.5W and the tiny indoor loop antenna. It is now 1412z.

UPDATE 1701: Just 4 stations spotted on RX and no spots of me on QRP TX.

UPDATE 1930z: 27 stations spotted on RX and 2 stations have spotted my 2.5W on TX.

UPDATE 2030z:  QRT.  In the end 29 stations spotted on RX.

Kings, Cambridge - NOT amateur radio

When I first came to Cambridge I had a weekly meeting in room X6 at King's college. That seems very long ago. 

X6 is on the left of the photo. The river is the Cam.