15m FT8 QRP (Wednesday)

At 0850z I turned on my 2.5W FT8 station using the tiny indoor loop antenna. All quiet so far.

UPDATE 1514z:  7 stations have spotted my QRP TX so far today.  Plenty of stations spotted on RX.

Sunspots - Wednesday April 7th 2021

 Solar flux is 74 and the SSN 11. A=3 and K=2.

Dalham walk - NOT amateur radio

This morning was bright with a cold northerly wind. We went for one of our favourite walks around the village of Dalham near Newmarket.  This has some hills (unusual here in this part of the UK!) and some lovely thatched cottages. Dalham is on the chalk hills whereas much of Cambridgeshire is in the Fens and hence with peat soil.

Most of the mud has dried now. There were some great daffodils out.

OFCOM updates

Every month OFCOM updates its "Communications Monthly" with the latest statistics it holds. See the OFCOM website for details. The latest is March.

2m FT8 QRP (Tuesday)

At the moment I am on 2m FT8 QRP with 2.5W and the big-wheel omni antenna. So far, I have been copied by 6 stations on TX with the furthermost GI6ATZ (479km). On RX 9 stations spotted with the furthermost 2E0ERL (192km). I called him, but my 2.5W was not enough!  It is now 1555z.

UPDATE 1719z:  1 QSO so far. 15 stations spotted on RX with the furthermost DG1KKD (472km). 8 stations spotted my QRP on TX.

Tending the bees - NOT amateur radio

 

My brother's grandson tending bees this morning.  He has got all the right kit!

2m activity contest this evening (UKAC)

A reminder that the first Tuesday of each month is the 2m activity contest (UKAC) organised by the RSGB. This starts at 1900z. The purpose is to drum up activity. In my opinion, activity levels on SSB are always high.

This is a chance to work a few new squares even if you do not submit an entry. I have always found this very friendly.

UPDATE 2035z: Used the IC-705 for the first time on SSB. Same number of QSOs but quite a different technique when you can see the whole SSB band in one go. Just look for the signals and QSY there. 

Sunspots - Tuesday April 6th 2021

 Solar flux is 72 and the SSN (sunspot number) 11. A=5 and K=0.

2m FT8 QRP (Monday)

At the moment I am on 2m FT8 QRP with 2.5W and the big-wheel omni antenna. So far, 6 stations have spotted me with the furthermost GI6ATZ (479km).

Tulips - NOT amateur radio

Believe it or not, these are tulips seen outside a Cambridge college a few days ago. They are fully open and look more like primroses. 

17m FT8 QRP (Monday)

At the moment I am on 17m FT8 QRP with 2.5W and the tiny indoor loop. At 1222z, 21 stations spotted on RX and 1 station in the Azores has spotted my QRP on TX.

UPDATE 1416z:  Still just the 1 spot on QRP TX.  76 stations spotted on RX with the furthermost YB2HND (11985km) in Java.

UPDATE 1840z :  213 stations spotted on RX as the map shows. 

Coin collecting - NOT amateur radio

Since a child, my wife has collected old coins. I can understand the fascination, wondering whose hands have touched these coins before and for what purpose. Some of these are very old indeed and could tell some stories.

Transatlantic 2m tropo in the North Atlantic?

According to tropo forecasts, there is remote chance of transatlatic tropo on 2m early this week between Canada and western Europe. There are people trying on FT8. As far as I am aware we have never had a transatlantic QSO on 2m in the North. People have spanned from Cape Verde to the Carribean. FT8 is a good mode to try as it works with very weak signals. Crossing the North Atlantic with 2m tropo is a very long way!

See https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/2021/04/vo1fn-144-mhz-trans-atlantic-sdr.html .

10FT8R (continued)

Later today, all being well, I hope to do some more building of my 10m FT8 RX. The Es season really gets going in May, so I have to have it working by then.  Another job is erecting my 10m wire dipole by then. As ladder work is needed, I shall need the help of my son.

UPDATE 1345z : All the "MeSquares" are down and I have made a small start on component placement. Small steps!  Funny how hard this is nowadays. Although harder, I think soldering is still possible, just.

Crazy weather - NOT amateur radio

 April weather can be very odd. Last week we had temperatures approaching 25 degrees C. Today we have snow flurries!

When I first came to Cambridge in the early 1970s we did a 4m contest from the back of someone's Landrover.  It was bitterly cold. I think it was April 3rd. Sometimes days can be very cold and other days very hot. In the UK in April, anything can be expected.

Sunspots - Monday April 5th 2021

 Solar flux is 70 and the SSN 11. A=3 and K=1.

Easter - NOT amateur radio

These days I am not very religious. I accompanied my wife to church this morning, but it was a very sad occasion with social distancing, no singing and pre-booking. Normally the churches are full at Easter. Not this year.

All the time I am aware of how narrow the Christian faith, indeed all religions, are. How can so many people in so many different religions all believe they are right? My own view is all these are hints at the truth. Not one has the answer.

Human beings find it very hard to deal with our finite lives. The universe is so vast and the chances of intelligent life existing elsewhere are high.

Whatever your views on religions, I hope that the next year brings you peace and happiness. We have all had a difficult 12 months with most things we took for granted gone. Let us hope we can all return to something more normal soon.

Perhaps I could best be described as agnostic: I really do not know what I believe. Something within me hints that love is important and that care for others and our world are important.

Heathkit HW8 QRP CW transceiver

 

A few days ago I posted that Heathkit is trying to make a comeback. So far, the kits are a poor imitation of the kits of old. These (to me) seem overpriced and poor. It is rumoured that some amateur band kits are planned.

Many years ago I owned an HW8 which was an HF QRP transceiver. I had great fun with mine. 

These days there is less CW activity, with FT8 better suited to QRP modes. However, FT8 needs a PC. With CW some very simple rigs can be made.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/hw8 .

Fresh greens - NOT amateur radio

At this time of year all the greens look fresh and new. Later in the year they look tired. This was the horse chestnut tree in the churchyard earlier. The leaves are just coming out.  The rooks are busy building or repairing nests.

Sunspots - Sunday April 4th 2021

 Solar flux is 73 and the SSN 12.  A=4 and K=1. 

Kings Parade, Cambridge - NOT amateur radio

King's Parade,
Cambridge, UK

King's Parade is the road just outside King's College Chapel. At this time of year and through the summer it is usually crowded with overseas visitors. This year is different. Hopefully they will be back next year.

17m FT8 QRP (Saturday)

After a break of a few days, I am again on 17m FT8 QRP with 2.5W and the tiny indoor loop antenna on the shack windowsill. It is now 1455z. So far, in about 10 minutes, 18 stations have been spotted on RX and my QRP has been copied by nobody yet on TX.

UPDATE 1542z: So far, 30 stations have been spotted on RX on 5 continents and nobody has spotted me on TX yet today.

UPDATE 1800z:  43 stations spotted on RX and nobody spotted my QRP on TX. QRT soon.

What CAN I still do?

Since my 2013 stroke I have been giddy all my waking time, had a very poor voice and get exhausted very quickly. 

All the time I am conscious of all the things I used to be able to do without effort that I can no longer do. Some of these things may still be as a result of my stroke, whereas others may just be because I am getting older.

Maybe I need to change the way I think and focus on all the things I can do rather than the things I cannot.

For example:

• I still manage 2 weekly 2m FM nets.
• I still manage the 2m and 70cm UKAC activity contests each month.
• FT8 and WSPR operation is fine.
• Cutting the grass is still possible.
• Getting breakfast ready is still possible.
• Gardening for short periods is still possible.
• Washing the dishes is still possible.
• Ironing is still possible.
• etc...

Quite a few things are still possible. Getting older, I should expect to find some things harder, so maybe I should accept these and alter my focus. I need to look harder at the things I can do! Making this mental leap is not easy.

10FT8R - 10m FT8 RX

Some weeks ago I mentioned that I wanted to make a DSB transceiver for 10m FT8 based on the WISPY rig that I designed some years ago for 10m WSPR. In the coming years 10m should return to form as a great DX band. In every Es season single hop DX up to about 1500km should be possible.

All being well, I hope to start on the RX section later today. This RX is very simple and should allow me to monitor 10m FT8 RX without having to use the "big rig".

The photo show the original WISPY RX.

UPDATE 1506z: A start has been made. Some of the "meSQUARES" pads have been stuck down. I am thinking that "little and often" is my best approach. Years ago I would have done the lot in one go! See http://www.qrpme.com/?p=product&id=MeSl

IC-705 - getting to know you

There is so much to learn about my new rig, the IC-705. The firmware needs updating and I have yet to connect the PC. There are so many hidden features that I have hardly scratched the surface. I am taking my time.

First impressions are this is some radio. It can do so much!!

Wild walk - NOT amateur radio

Yesterday we did a nice walk along Burwell Lode. We saw several marsh harriers. The photo shows where Burwell and Reach Lodes meet. Lodes are very ancient waterways that once carried important trade thousands of years ago.

Cambridge - NOT amateur radio

We live not far from Cambridge. At the moment there are no foreign visitors. It is still a beautiful place. 

Sunspots - Saturday April 3rd 2021

 Solar flux is 72 and the SSN 0. A=6 and K=1. 

5MHz (60m) band

 Despite a small slot being allocated to the amateur service at a WRC meeting many years ago, this slot is not universally available. As an example, it is not allocated in the UK. Other 5MHz allocations with higher power are available at 5MHz in the UK. 

As a dedicated QRP man, and speaking personally, I would trade the bitty allocations for a smaller, contiguous band with lower power. I have only been on the band with WSPR, so am not well qualified to comment!

See https://rsgb.org/main/operating/band-plans/hf/5mhz/ .

Sub-9kHz amateur radio

Some years ago I experimented on amateur radio below 9kHz. To receive amateur radiated signals at range needs very stable TX signals, very narrow filters and integration periods measured in hours or days. Just listening will not work! Luckily the software needed is freely available on the Internet. 

The photo shows G3XIZ. The frequency is Hertz!! My antenna was the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. 

It is some years since I last experimented on real VLF. As I recall, I copied amateur sub-9kHz signals from several European stations including 2 in Germany and 1 in Austria I think.

In the past I have successfully experimented at the far ends of the spectrum from visible light to far ELF. There is no doubt that we still have a lot to learn. At both these ends of the spectrum the equipment and test gear can easily be home-brewed. In many ways this is one of the attractions. My own VLF earth-mode gear was fabricated in the back of the garage as was my light beam gear: low cost and great fun. The second link includes a link to the files on my earth-mode article in RSGB RadCom in 2011.

See https://sites.google.com/site/sub9khz/

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

Some very old blog pages (which are not maintained so do not follow the links on the left) are at https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp/Home/earthmode. This is a blog about my own experiments with VLF earth-mode.

Narrowboat - NOT amateur radio

This morning we did a walk along Burwell Lode. The photo shows a narrowboat on the Lode. The people on the boat were enjoying the birds including several marsh harriers.

 It feels much colder. 

Sunspots - Friday April 2nd 2021

 Solar flux is 78 and the SSN 0. A=8 and K=1. 

IC-705 antenna tuner

The ICOM AH-705 auto ATU sells for about £300. It is not small and not low cost. They do not even guarantee it is water and dust proof and they do not even quote the worst-case VSWR it can match. 

In my view this is not a great auto ATU. I have no plans to buy one.

See https://www.icomjapan.com/support/manual/3231/

Tea in the garden - NOT amateur radio

A few days ago we had tea in the garden in the sunshine as the photo shows. Today is much cooler and over the Easter weekend it is expected to be even colder. 

This is our older son on the right. He lives in the same village. Until recently he has only been to the door with his mask on.

5.5G and 6G

We are just rolling out 5G. Already there is talk of 5.5G and 6G!  I cannot imagine what this would be.

Southgate News has a piece about an upcoming talk.

See http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2021/march/5-5g-and-6g-for-2030.htm#.YGXV12jYrrc

IC-705 on the air

IC-705

Last night, I tried my IC-705 on the air for the first time.  I accessed the GB3PI repeater and went on the FM CDARC net on 2m. At first I did not know how to set up the CTCSS tone for the repeater. I have lots to learn. 

In the coming days I want to try FT8 and D-star. 

The RX seems to work well even on LF with good reception of DCF77 on 77.5kHz with the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground.  It, so far, fits my operating well. I was surprised to get so many GPS satellites with the rig indoors in the usual operating position.

ICOM has done a great job.   

I have ordered the Radio Today guide to the IC-705 from the RSGB.

Solar data

My favourite site for solar data is usually updated very early in the month. This usually happens on the first or second day of the month.

See http://www.solen.info/solar/ .

UPDATE 1011z:   I see the page has just been updated.

UPDATE 1910z:  See http://www.solen.info/solar/images/comparison_recent_cycles.png . At the moment we do not look on track for a great cycle 25. It looks very similar to the last cycle.

Outside King's - NOT amateur radio

Usually Cambridge is a "must see" for foreign visitors. This year things are very different without visitors from overseas.  It is good to see people social distancing.

Sunspots - Thursday April 1st 2021

Solar flux is 74 and the SSN 0. A=10 and K=3.

Another view - NOT amateur radio

The photo shows another view of Moulton village, this time with the famous packhorse bridge. At one time this was the main route from Cambridge to Bury St Edmunds.