Sunspots - Sunday May 23rd 2021

 Solar flux is 76 and the SSN 19. A=5 and K=2.

8m band

On earlier posts you may have noticed mention of this band. It is available in very few countries at the moment. Being between 10m and 6m, it could be a very useful allocation. Es and MS could be quite effective. As John has shown, it could also be useful for aircraft scatter.

There are now 2 beacons on the band in Eire. These should certainly be received in the UK and mainland Europe by Es and MS. A few other countries have special access.

See https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/ .

IC-9700

This ICOM radio covers 2m, 70cm and 23cm. It is an all-mode SDR transceiver. I do not own one, but know some who do. It has a lovely colour LCD which is touch screen as well as having good ergonomics. 

On 23cm it has a useful 10W pep. With a reasonable yagi some quite good DX should be possible as long as the coax run is short and the cable low loss. When runs are long or the coax is not too good, people put PAs and preamps up near the antennas.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/vhfuhfmicrowaves/vhfuhf-commercial-rigs/ic-9700 .

Crystal set DXing

Many years ago I tried this. Most reception was of HF broadcast stations, but, surprisingly, some amateur stations too. I am sure, with some serious designs, plenty could be copied from VLF to VHF with a crystal set. 

As signals have to be very strong, low level interference is unlikely to be a limitation. It was all fun and a different sort of challenge.

Remember, all the power comes from the broadcaster, unless you find a way of harvesting power from other broadcasters. Certainly, nothing comes from the receiving end!

These days there are far fewer English language broadcast stations on HF.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/crystal-set-dxing .

Garden Centre - NOT amateur radio

Like many places, the garden centre in the next village had to adapt to be Covid-19 safe. 

We went recently for some bedding plants. 

As you can see, it was not crowded.

Google sites webspace limits?

Last week I redirected my www.g3xbm.co.uk domain to my new Google Sites web pages. Maybe I am being dense, but I could not find out what limits apply to webspace. If it is there, it was not obvious to me. If you know, please let me know.

Hypocrisy - NOT amateur radio

From the outset may I say that we all are less than perfect and we all have things about ourselves we are not proud of and that we would rather not tell people about. We are human.

What really annoys me though are people who publicly pretend to be honest and upright folk, who clearly are not.

In the UK we have had the BBC and the BBC person who lied and covered up the devious means to get an interview with Princess Diana in 1995. 

We also had the case of the sub-postmasters accused of fraud when the fault was with the software. Some even went to prison or lost homes - basically lives ruined. All the while those in charge were in denial. One is even an ordained minister!! Gross hypocrisy!

In my view those involved in both these scandals should face custodial sentences and be made to pay for their gross misdemeanours. This includes those who did the deeds and those who covered them up knowingly.

Both the BBC and the UK Post Office must uphold the law at all times and be above reproach. We deserve nothing less.

10m FT8 RX with the 10FT8R and the tiny indoor loop

At about 0900z I turned on the 10m FT8 RX. No spots yet. The 10FT8R is a 4 transistor direct conversion RX for 10m FT8.

UPDATE 1220z:  So far today, 23 stations spotted on RX, mostly in Spain with 1 in Slovakia and 1 in the UK. 

UPDATE 1435z:  36 stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX. Best DX is EA9ABC (1873km) in Ceuta, N, Africa.

UPDATE 1945z:  QRT. In total today 4 stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX with the 10FT8R and the tiny indoor loop.

That hair didn't last long! - NOT amateur radio

The photo shows me when I was very young. Much of my hair had gone by my early 20s.

Sunspots - Saturday May 22nd 2021

 Solar flux is 74 and the SSN 13. A=7 and K=1.

Dayton, Ohio, USA Hamvention

The Dayton Hamvention is usually one of the biggest amateur events on the planet. People usually travel there from all over the world. This year, like last, it is a virtual event sadly. These days will end.

Often, the big manufacturers announce new products here. It is an important date in the diary. If you want to attend virtually, there is a link below.

See https://hamvention.org .

They are already selling tickets for 2022, which hopefully will not be virtual.

Royalty, the BBC and their "religious" correspondent - NOT amateur radio

In the last few days the BBC has come under a lot of criticism for the underhand methods used to get the 1995 interview with Princess Diana. My understanding is they forged bank statements to show that people in whom she trusted were spying on her. I may have my facts slightly wrong, so please check the sources yourselves. What is not at doubt is that Diana was deceived to get the interview and some at the BBC apparently knew about this.

In my view the UK royalty will be history within 50 years unless great changes are made. I think the UK queen has done a pretty good job in difficult circumstances. The whole royal family could have done an even better job if it "came of age".

Many royal couples have divorced and some of the royal traditions are plain wrong. I am not a great royalist, but fear the person we could choose as a president if we ever became a republic.  Can you think of anyone?

My vote is for a continued royal family, but with great changes. Hangers on would have to earn a living, and many of the privileges would go. Many look up to the royal family as pillars of society. It is a delicate balance between "otherness" and us. 

Microwaves

This is one area of our hobby I have not done much with. 

I once borrowed a 23cm RX converter and did some tests one night with a homemade 4 el yagi in the room. I also, many years ago, made a 10GHz Gunn oscillator. I had the wrong sort of waveguide and, apart from some very short range tests, did not take it further. These days you can buy some very low cost wideband FM modules that all but eliminate the hard microwave bits. See https://www.amazon.co.uk/Aihasd-Wireless-Microwave-microwave-detector/dp/B00VVDFOHO/ref=sr_1_8?crid=3AXH2GP3143S0&dchild=1&keywords=hb100&qid=1621586561&sprefix=hb100%2Caps%2C180&sr=8-8

One of the things that put me off was the test gear.  I know some have fabricated homebrew measuring gear, but I found optical gear much easier to design, build and test.

The above link allows you to buy the HB100 units from Amazon within days for under £5 each. I am sure you will be able to get them cheaper.

Maybe I should have a go at 10GHz wideband FM?

UPDATE 0852z: A very quick look on eBay found these HB100 units on sale for £1.72 each with quite modest postal charges. See https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/143788841984?hash=item217a7b9c00:g:VPEAAOSwY31a1FE~. If you buy more than 1 they are even cheaper!

UPDATE 1214z:   I have created a 10GHz webpage. See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/vhfuhfmicrowaves/homebrew/10ghz .

 

Museum - NOT amateur radio

Yesterday our local museum and windmill opened for the first time this year. We were on duty in the kiosk where we take entry money and sell some gifts as shown in the photo. 

We live next door to the windmill and museum.

10FT8R active

At 0800z, I again turned on my 10m FT8 RX using the homebrewed 10FT8R RX and the tiny indoor loop. No spots yet. 

UPDATE 0826z:  So far 1 spot on RX probably by Es - OE3FVU (1189km).

UPDATE 1334z:  25 stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX with the 10FT8R RX and the tiny indoor loop.

UPDATE 1424z:  Still 25 stations spotted.  It would appear this Es opening has stopped although I noticed a Swedish station a few minutes ago.

UPDATE 1950z: 27 stations spotted today on RX. Now QRT.

Sunspots - Friday May 21st 2021

Solar flux is 72 and the SSN 13. A=24 and K=2.

QSY to 160m FT8 QRP

At 1919z I QSYed to 160m FT8 QRP with 2.5W and the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. Already there are Germans coming through strongly after just a few minutes. I guess it is now dark over much of the path.

UPDATE 1948z: One spot of my QRP TX by G4UDU (160km) and 9 spots so far on 160m FT8 RX.

10m Lesser Chirpy CW transceiver

It is hard to think I did this 9 years ago! It has been copied across the Atlantic, although as a "compromise" rig I would not use it on the air that much. My main concern is you may miss stations on the channel as the RX is not as good as many. It is all too easy to call on top of a weak QSO.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/homebrew/10m-lesser-chirpy .

Compost - NOT amateur radio

As we ran out of compost earlier, we went shopping and bought more as well as other stuff.  

It was not busy.

Frangipani - NOT amateur radio

 

This was seen on our walk at Anglesey Abbey yesterday.

New website feedback

A reminder that the new website pages "went live" a few days ago. It would be good to hear of any omissions, errors or improvements needed. It is early days still, so any things I can do I shall.

See www.g3xbm.co.uk .

10m FT8 RX (Thursday) with the 10FT8R and the tiny indoor loop

At 0745z, I turned this kit on. Already, 10 stations spotted by Es. 

UPDATE 0847z:  48 stations spotted so far today.

UPDATE 1113z:  141 stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX today so far. 

UPDATE 1651z:  251 stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX today so far. Not bad for such a simple RX and tiny antenna! The furthermost is KP4UA (6841km). The map shows the stations spotted so far today.

UPDATE 1904z:  For some time now, I have been stuck on 252 RX spots on 10m FT8 today suggesting that is it for the day. I shall probably go QRT shortly on 10m.

Swifts screaming - NOT amateur radio

When gardening a few days ago I heard swifts overhead screaming. This a very English sound of spring and summer. They feed on the wing and are often heard before being seen.

Sunspots - Thursday May 20th 2021

Solar flux is 76 and the SSN 24.  A=6 and K=3.

60m amateur allocations in the UK

OFCOM has just put the latest amateur licence conditions on its website including an EMF calculator. Running 10W or less, I am not too concerned.

What does concern me are the UK slots at 60m. I am sure I cannot be alone in being totally confused. Yes, we may have more spectrum and higher power (100W) than the small WRC slot, but unless you are a regular user, these slots are messy and confusing. I counted 10 slots!!

Personally, I'd settle for a narrow contiguous allocation than the mess we currently have, and with lower power. I would also like to see more access to much more spectrum with very low ERP limits on a strictly non-interference basis. I guess that is too much to think about. Why can't we follow the Irish example?

See the OFCOM website for more details.

See https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0015/214116/emf-amateur-licence-terms-and-conditions.pdf

160m FT8

Just after 1800z, I QSYed to 160m FT8. Very briefly I was on QRP with 2.5W TX and the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. At the moment I am on RX only. As it is still daylight, I am not expecting any great DX until after dark.

UPDATE 2005z: European DX coming through now now it is dark.

Fresh Green - NOT amateur radio

It is good to see the fresh green leaves on the trees. This was nearby Anglesey Abbey earlier today.

OFCOM and mobile phone repeaters

OFCOM is to allow more type approved mobile phone repeaters to be licence-free to get more reliable coverage indoors. See the OFCOM website for details.

Clematis - NOT amateur radio

 

My wife saw this clematis yesterday walking back from the dentist.

Intelligent life in the universe - NOT amateur radio

This is a subject I have discussed before. Some estimates put the number of planets in the visible universe as capable of having intelligent life as as high as 1400000000000000. Others say intelligent life is incredibly rare.

As far as I know, we have been looking with SETI since the mid 1960s and have, so far, found zero evidence.  Maybe we are looking in the wrong way? As time goes by, we have more sophisticated ways of looking with ever greater sensitivity. Mind you we only discovered electro-magnetic radiation a few hundred years ago. Maybe many societies have discovered something better?

One thing is certain: should we find any signs of intelligent life "out there", it could have profound effects on human life.

10m FT8 RX with the 10FT8R

Just before breakfast I turned on the 10FT8R RX (4 transistors) with the tiny indoor loop antenna. It is now 0818z and 29 stations already spotted via Es.

UPDATE 0835z:  34 stations spotted so far.

UPDATE 0915z: 50 stations so far spotted today.

UPDATE 1131z: 101 stations spotted so far on 10m FT8 RX with the little 10FT8R receiver and the tiny indoor loop.

UPDATE 1426z: 164 stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX so far today.

UPDATE 1740z: 222 stations so far spotted on 10m FT8 RX with the furthermost W1JR (5267km) in New Hampshire, USA, I think this was Es (see map). No South Americans logged today on the tiny indoor loop.

Sunspots - Wednesday May 19th 2021

Solar flux is 76 and the SSN 24 again. A=10 and K=1. 

Thunder

As a precaution, I have disconnected my mains PSU and PC in my shack. My antenna that is connected to my little 10m FT8 RX is indoors (the tiny loop). There is thunder about. I think it is some way off, but better safe than sorry.

We have hail now at 1607z.

See https://www.lightningmaps.org/#m=oss;t=3;s=0;o=0;b=;ts=0;z=4;y=35.8839;x=5.7931;d=2;dl=2;dc=0;

Seen on a recent amateur radio post

 This appeared recently just below the signature. It made me laugh! 😊

"Cheer up, things could get worse..so I cheered up and, sure enough, things got worse!"

OFCOM and EMF

OFCOM has announced some changes to licence conditions. I think these are about EMF. They are sending revised licences to those affected. See the OFCOM website for more details.

10FT8R - continued experiments

This morning, I am again on 10m FT8 RX with the tiny indoor loop. Late yesterday, I removed the last AF stage, but spotted no stations. There were lots of spikes and I am not sure what they were. Later, I shall stick the last audio stage back again to see if this was important.

UPDATE 1010z: Something is wrong. On the 10FT8R RX no spots, yet when I went back to the FT817ND spots right away. Some spots were strong. I must be doing something stupid. More investigation needed.

UPDATE 1206z:  9 spots so far.

UPDATE 1411z: I have put back the final audio stage on the 10FT8R RX and the spikes have gone (no idea why) and I am spotting lots of stations again with this little RX connected to my indoor loop. At the moment this is the RX being used on 10m FT8 RX. So far, since reconnecting it, 20 stations spotted.

South Devon - NOT amateur radio

This is a another photo of where I come from in South Devon. In the distance are Dartmoor and Cornwall. 

Sunspots - Tuesday May 18th 2021

 Solar flux is 75 and the SSN 11. A=6 and K=3.

10FT8R RX - even simpler?

At present, I am experimenting to see if I can omit the last audio stage. There seems to be plenty of spare audio. Being a DSB design, it is inherently 3dB down in sensitivity, but that has not been an issue hitherto.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/homebrew/10ft8r-rx.

Oscar 100

Every few weeks I try to give an update on activity levels on the narrowband transponder on Oscar 100 using the on-line SDR at Goonhilly Down. I looked twice last evening at times that would have been European Sunday evenings. 

My impression was that activity levels were quite low with plenty of space.

See  https://eshail.batc.org.uk/nb/ .