Antennas mended

Thanks to the efforts of Richard G3TFX, my antennas have been mended.

I now have my V2000 and endfed halfwave for 10m re-erected at full height again with new coax cables. In the past I could have managed to do this, but I feel so giddy that ladder work is all but impossible.  

Richard has worked tirelessly in the true spirit of amateur radio.

Oscar 100 activity

 

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. 

The most recent peek was last evening in Europe. Activity levels were moderate, certainly not busy. 

See https://eshail.batc.org.uk/nb/  .

Sunspots - Thursday July 15th 2021

 Solar flux is 72 and the SSN 23.  A=14 and K=2. 

Pass it on - NOT amateur radio

“Pass the parcel. That's sometimes all you can do. Take it, feel it, and pass it on. Not for me, not for you, but for someone, somewhere, one day. Pass it on, boys. That's the game I want you to learn. Pass it on.” 

This famous "pass it on" quote from "The History Boys" by Alan Bennett resonated with me. 

In the end this is what all of us has to do. We pass on our experiences of life to children, friends and colleagues. Not one of us is perfect, but we must strive to pass on what makes the world better to those around us.

Bellbind - NOT amateur radio

At this time of year, bellbind flowers look great. 

 

Sadly this plant can strangle garden plants. 

It is also known as bindweed.

ICOM IC-705

This QRP radio has been on sale now for several months and is proving very popular. It has its own battery pack (5W) or can run off an external PSU (10W).  

Although I have had mine for several months now, I have only scratched the surface of what it can do.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/commercial-rigs/icom-ic-705 .

Cambridge - NOT amateur radio

 

We live quite close to the university town (or is it a city?) of Cambridge. Usually visitors come from all over the world to see what we can see every day for nothing. It is all too easy to take it for granted.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/non-amateur-radio/cambridge .

10m WSPR TX with 500mW (Wednesday)

It is now 0835z and I have been active for about 20 minutes. Much to my surprise, spotted by OH6BG and a couple of Germans already, presumably Es.

UPDATE 1020z: 26 spots of me so far today on 10m WSPR.

UPDATE 1252z: 33 spots of me so far today.

6m FT8 RX (Wednesday)

It  is now 0830z. I have been active (V2000 omni antenna) for about 15 minutes. So far just a couple of Gs spotted. No Es evident yet.

UPDATE 1025z:  153 stations spotted with the furthermost 4X1TI (3633km).

UPDATE 1255z:  313 stations spotted today. Most by Es.

OFCOM mobile licences

OFCOM has proposed some changes to mobile licences at 800MHz. See the OFCOM website for more details.

Sunspots - Wednesday July 14th 2021

 Solar flux is 72 and the SSN 11. A=5 and K=1.

UK Home Secretary under fire

UK Home Secretary, Pity Patel, is under fire for her views on race. I have seen better Home Secretaries. The UK Prime Minister seems determined to keep her. I could not possibly comment.

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-57778668 . 

10m WSPR TX with 500mW (Tuesday)

For about 10 minutes (it is now 0753z) I have been on 10m WSPR. 2 spots of me already by OH6BG (1718km). 

UPDATE 0902z: This stations has now spotted me 13 times. It is interesting how my slight drift (4Hz) drops to 0Hz after about 20 minutes as the frequency settles. No other spots today so far.

UPDATE 1043z:  OH6BG has spotted me 27 times this morning, although nobody else has.

6m FT8 (Tuesday)

Apart from a very brief period on TX (with the V2000 omni vertical and 2.5W) - furthermost northern Sweden, I have been on RX only. So far (at 0748z) I have spotted 9 stations across Europe, presumably by Es.

UPDATE 0812z:  20 stations so far spotted here on 6m FT8 RX with the furthermost EB8AC (2930km).

UPDATE 1029z:  53 spots on RX so far with furthermost 4Z1UF (3580km). The latter looks like 2 hop Es.

UPDATE 1046z:  58 stations in 3 continents spotted so far today on 6m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 2047z:  293 stations spotted on 6m in the last day including the USA and the Caribbean.

Church path - NOT amateur radio

We have 5 paths up to the church. This is one of them. I see that I am on the photo too! Only just noticed. 

Windmill 2018 - NOT amateur radio

This photo was taken in 2018. It shows the windmill next door in July at 10.10pm. The evenings have already started to get darker.

Lightning danger

Ever since a friend's very ordinary house was struck by lightning many years ago, I have taken no chances. If a storm is nearby, I disconnect everything. If a storm is near you may want to check the lightning maps.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/other-amateur-radio/lightning-maps .

70cm activity contest tonight

The 70cm activity contest (UKAC) organised by the RSGB starts at 1900z this evening. I shall be on using the 2m big-wheel omni and 10W SSB. I usually stay on for less than 1 hour. Activity levels are usually good. Even with this poor set-up, I usually manage over 100km. Great fun.

Sunspots - Tuesday July 13th 2021

 Solar flux is 72 and the SSN 22. A=7 and K=2.

Pye PF8

Many years ago I had the privilege of working on the design of the Pye PF8. My bits were mainly the TX audio and the skeleton antenna. The PF8 is rare now. Some were converted to 70cms use. I created a webpage with some useful links.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/vhfuhfmicrowaves/vhfuhf-commercial-rigs/pye-pf8

2m FT8

At the moment I am on 2m FT8 with 2.5W and the big-wheel omni antenna. 7 stations have spotted me so far this evening.

UPDATE 2020z:  11 stations spotted me this evening. Now RX only. Furthermost with 2.5W TX to the big-wheel was GI4NSA (491km).

UPDATE 2050z:  8 stations spotted on RX including G5ART (132km). I was not aware G5*** calls were now being issued.

Finiteness - NOT amateur radio

Today, my son and 2 of our grandchildren from Kent visited the place where I grew up, Salcombe in Devon, UK. My father and his father lived there over 100 years ago. It was almost like handing over a baton. 

It is now their turn to enjoy it, not mine.

6m FT8 (Monday)

 Apart from a very brief TX period at 2.5W, I am on 6m FT8 RX with the V2000 vertical omni antenna. Even my brief TX period was spotted by 2 Gs and I have spotted 3 stations on RX. It is now only 0655z.

UPDATE 0710z:  7 spots already on 6m FT8 RX today.

UPDATE 1015z: 73 stations spotted on RX with the furthermost HZ1SK (4759km).

10m WSPR TX

As my 10m antenna is not being used, I am again on 10m WSPR TX (500mW). This W5OLF 10m WSPR beacon is on 100% TX, but randomises the TX frequency for every transmission. This ensures you are not always underneath a strong carrier. I have had this for many years and it has been faultless. It is tiny and totally self contained with no PC needed. Apart from initially syncing the clock, nothing is needed. Truly wonderful.

UPDATE 0700z: 3 spots from Germany already. These were by DC7TO (888km).

UPDATE 1035z:  18 stations have spotted me so far. All are in Europe. Nothing from South America yet.

UPDATE 1314z:  No further spots. Odd.

Cartoon - NOT amateur radio

This cartoon appeared as a FB memory today. It is 8 years ago now, but still gave me a chuckle. 

Sunspots - Monday July 12th 2021

 Solar flux is 74 and the SSN 23. A=4 and K=2.

Hollyhocks - NOT amateur radio

The photo shows Church Lane in our village. The hollyhocks look good but they do self seed and spread! 

10m WSPR TX

I keep forgetting that when on 6m FT8, the 10m antenna is free. As this is the case, I am on 10m WSPR TX (500mW) at the moment. Already (at 1015z) 11 unique stations spotting me and I have not been on that long! It seems every slot I get several 10m WSPR spots.

Stations spotting
me to 1315z today

UPDATE 1318z: 36 stations have spotted me so far today on 10m WSPR. My impression is there are more stations on 10m WSPR than last year.

UPDATE 2142z:  Spotted by 66 stations today on 10m WSPR.

Sunspots - Sunday July 11th 2021

 Solar flux is 74 and the SSN 24. A=6 and K=1.

AM operation

It is some while since I was on 2m or 6m AM. 

There has been something of a revival in AM, although AM should not be used on busy bands. There are AM nets on 160m, 80m and 40m. I am looking forward to again hearing 10m AM from the USA just above 29MHz.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/vhfuhfmicrowaves/vhf-am .

Devon rain - NOT amateur radio

When I was growing up I lived in Devon. We had a saying, "come to sunny Devon where it rains 6 days out of 7".  This photo was 4 years ago .... in the rain! 

Dad's seats - NOT amateur radio

 We visited Devon in 2017 when this photo was taken.

6m FT8 today (Sunday)

After breakfast I hope to go on 6m FT8 with 2.5W and the V2000 vertical omni antenna. Yesterday I was on 10m FT8 and spotted and worked plenty. 

UPDATE 0939z:  I have been on 6m FT8 RX since 0848z. 98 stations spotted with the furthermost HZ1SK (4759km).

UPDATE 1011z: 126 stations spotted so far o 6m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1825z: 781 stations spotted today on 6m FT8 RX including 14 in the USA and 2 in the Caribbean.

UPDATE 2146z: 801 stations spotted today on 6m FT8 RX.

Time - NOT amateur radio

Over 50 years ago I did a very mathematical course at university on quantum mechanics. It was fascinating. 

One thing I remember was that everything can be thought of as a wave function existing in all space and all time. What we experience here and now is just most probable. Tunnel diodes only work because there is a finite probability of electrons existing the other sides of a wall by a process known as quantum mechanical tunnelling.

Now, I may have some things wrong, but what this taught me is that a very radical view is equally possible. We experience time as going from the past into the future, whereas this may be totally wrong. What if memories are new every day? What if time is just an illusion? One thing is sure: in the next 150 years some of our views and assumptions may prove to be quite wrong. Think how are views have changed in the last 150 years. In the future I am sure we will look back in amazement.

What we know today is fuzzy. As time goes by we may change our world view radically.

Yesterday - NOT amateur radio

One of our grandchildren is mad on churches and has been since he was 2. He is now 13. Yesterday we visited 2 locally by car. Odd, as he and his family are not in the least religious. 

10m FT8 Grabber

 If you want to see what I am spotting here on 10m FT8, look at the grabber on my website. This uses embedding, so may not work on some browsers. If so, you may have to go straight to PSKreporter.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/10m-ft8-grabber .

Linseed - NOT amateur radio

Agriculture is changing in the UK. 

At one time fields of sweetcorn were rare, as were sunflowers. These days we are used to the yellow fields of rape and purple linseed. 

This field was in East Anglia near Westley Waterless.  It was filled with purple flowers for as far as the eye could see.

10m FT8

 At present, I am on 10m FT8 with my old Par antenna and 2.5W. So far this morning, 15 stations have spotted me on TX, and I have spotted 114 stations on RX.

UPDATE 1552z:  40 stations have spotted me on TX and I have spotted 412 stations on 10m FT8 RX with the furthermost ZD7JC (7606km).

UPDATE 2037z: 42 stations spotting my 2.5W 10m FT8 TX today, with the latest W4WIN (6038km) in Virginia, USA. On RX, 508 stations spotted.

South Africa - NOT amateur radio

One of the most beautiful places I have ever been to is South Africa. I was expecting dry and dusty, but it had all sorts of scenery from Scotland to almost desert. 

To this day, I am tickled by seeing baboons on the beach at the Cape. 

It really is a world in one country.  It makes a good place for a holiday, but I would not like to live there.

This photo was taken by a friend and appeared on 365project earlier today.

2m operation

Occasionally I have a go on 2m. Mostly I use FT8 because of my poor voice, but most weeks I also go on FM nets and SSB in the activity contest.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/vhfuhfmicrowaves/2m-operation .