10m FT8 RX

Most of the day I have been on 10m FT8 RX Earlier on I was on TX (2.5W) and had a couple of EU QSOs and was spotted by 27 stations. Clearly the Es season is far from over.

UPDATE 1350z: 339 unique stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX.

Oscar 100 status update

A few days ago I mentioned that a couple of amateurs in India were working on a low cost transverter for this geosynchronous satellite. 

The last time I looked was lunchtime in Europe on a Wednesday. It was quiet.

See https://eshail.batc.org.uk/nb/ .

Cancelled rally

 The Cockenzie and Port Seton mini rally, due this Friday, August 13th, has been cancelled.

Don't do this!! - NOT amateur radio

Yesterday I managed to trap my finger in the kitchen cupboard door. As you can see, it is bruised. 

Yesterday on 10m FT8 RX

 In all, 77 stations spotted on RX in Europe, Africa, North America and South America. 

Sunspots - Wednesday August 11th 2021

 Solar flux is 73 and the SSN 0. A=7 and K=2.

Re-tarring - NOT amateur radio

The photo shows the 200 year old windmill next door being re-tarred. It was fully restored about 8 years ago.

So far they have covered about half of it. 

10m FT8

 At 0822z I turned on 10m FT8 QRP using 2.5W briefly before going RX only. My signal was spotted on TX by nobody and I have spotted a couple of Spanish stations on RX.

UPDATE 1252z:  39 stations spotted on RX so far. 4 stations have spotted me on TX.

UPDATE 1550z: 44 stations spotted with the furthermost VO1NE (3933km).

Memories - NOT amateur radio

The mind is a wonderful thing. One of my Facebook memories today was from 2015 when a very very old memory was triggered by the sight of a small bell on a neighbour's hearth.

Church bells - NOT amateur radio

 An architypal English sound is the change ringing of church bells. 

Our local church has been silent for the pandemic, so it was lovely to hear these again last evening when they had a practice session as they used to do on a Monday. I hope they can soon ring out across the village again .

See the videos on YouTube by my grandson. Search "Burwell bells". 

Yesterday on 10m WSPR TX

Here was me thinking that 10m WSPR had been taken over by FT8!! Yesterday I was spotted by 17 unique stations (mostly Es) plus FY5KE (7110km) in South America. You will recall I am using my W5OLF 500mW WSPR TX beacon which is tiny and totally self contained. 

Sunspots - Tuesday August 10th 2021

 Solar flux is 73 and the SSN 0.  A=5 and K=2.

Low cost Oscar 100 transverter?

Steve G1KQH has brought my attention to an article in an Indian newspaper. According to the article, a group of amateurs in India is working on a low cost transverter for this geosynchronous satellite. I have no idea about cost or availability.

Oscar 100 provides wide DX coverage at any time, needs a small fixed dish, no QSB, no noise, no tower, no rotator, no linear and very neighbour friendly. Just think you could be chatting on SSB to stations in Thailand, Europe or Brazil without the neighbours even being aware!

Oscar 100 has suffered from a lack of activity and I am quite surprised that one of the big manufacturers has not offered a simple solution by now. For £1k they could do a "black box" solution that could be widely sold. 

Many are put off as it is "too hard".

Competition? - NOT amateur radio

One of my friends said that shopping at Waitrose was an experience. It is certainly not the lowest cost! 

An Aldi (budget supermarket) has recently opened nearby, but, so far, has not really affected sales. 

In fact Waitrose has invested in a new café and redesign hoping to capitalise on the shopping "experience." The photo shows the car park earlier. 

My wife insists on going there. I'd go to Aldi and get the same for less. Darn the experience!

Newmarket (the home of horse racing) - NOT amateur radio

Most of our grocery shopping is done in Newmarket, about 6km away. 

It is world famous as the home of horse racing.  In Newmarket everything stops for horses! It is rare to go there and not see horses!

The ones in the photo were out for their morning exercise on the heath.

The Es (sporadic-E) season is NOT over!

With 17 stations already spotted on 6m FT8 and 2 stations already spotting my 10m WSPR this morning, I can only conclude that the Es season is not over! 

Yes, things may be more sporadic, but for those sticking with it, there is still Es activity around. Often lack of activity is mistaken for "dead" bands when actually there is propagation. Look how often 11m CB is busy when 10m seems quiet.

UPDATE 1208z:  30 stations spotted so far on 6m FT8 RX. 4 stations have spotted me on 10m WSPR TX.

10m WSPR TX at 500mW (Monday)

As usual, I am on 10m WSPR TX again at 100%. Nobody has yet spotted me, although I have not been on long and this is not too surprising.

UPDATE 0853z: 1 spot so far today by DJ9PC (825km).

6m FT8 QRP (Monday)

Stations spotted
by 1033z

After a very brief TX period with 2.5W to the V2000 vertical (3 UK spots), I am RX only on 6m FT8. No spots yet. 

You get the feeling that, apart from a few dedicated stations, many are deserting 6m again now the main Es season is drawing to a close. Maybe there will be some Es spots later?

UPDATE 0857z: With 16 stations so far spotted this morning, there is clearly plenty of Es activity.

UPDATE 1549z:  40 stations spotted on RX today. 

Sunspots - Monday August 9th 2021

 Solar flux is 74 and the SSN 11. A=5 and K=1. 

10m FT8 QRP (Sunday)

Since about 1814z, I have been on 10m FT8 with 2.5W QRP. 

On RX, 21 stations were spotted and I have been spotted by 7 stations on TX. This looks like Es. Judging by activity levels it looks like many have assumed the Es season is over. 

This is where FT8 could be really worth monitoring.  Es openings may be less frequent, but when they occur they can be as good as in the peak Es season.  Having an FT8 (or WSPR) monitor on all the time could allow fleeting openings to be spotted.

Burwell Lode - NOT amateur radio

Burwell Lode runs from the River Cam to the village. They are man-made a bit like canals. The Lode to nearby Reach was built by the Romans about 2000 years ago. Reach was once an important port.  At one time they carried commercial traffic like coal, although these days it is mostly leisure traffic like canoes and narrowboats with hardly any commercial traffic.

10 years ago on 1.095kHz at 6km

Ten years ago I was on 1.095kHz earth-mode.

10m FT8 RX

Yesterday, in the early evening, I was on 10m FT8 RX. 36 stations were spotted including 1 South American. 

Sunspots - Sunday August 8th 2021

 Solar flux is 74 and the SSN 0. A=11 and K=2.

10FT8R PCB

Jason Woodman M0NYW has been working on a PCB for the 10FT8R. I have still to check the layout, but it looks easy to make. If you can find a low cost source of 14.037MHz crystals then the inductor to pull the crystal is probably not needed. As soon as I have checked the layout I shall share it here. 

Visitor - NOT amateur radio

When watering the garden just now, this cricket appeared. 

Day off?

As there was a risk of storms today, I decided (for now at least) not to go on the air. At the moment, storms are still a long way away.

See https://www.lightningmaps.org/#m=oss;t=3;s=0;o=0;b=0.00;ts=0; .

4m (70MHz)

It is some years since I have been on 4m. There are now far more countries on the band many within Es range. The last time I was on the band I used a homemade transverter.  This design was in GQRP SPRAT.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/vhfuhfmicrowaves/homebrew/4m-transverter .

Sunspots - Saturday August 6th 2021

 Solar flux is 74 and the SSN 0.  A=7 and K=3.

How not to park! - NOT amateur radio

This car was parked here for at least 20 minutes. In the UK it is wrong to park on a double yellow line and on a pavement (sidewalk).

A pushchair or a wheelchair user has to go on the road.  As a result of my stroke nearly 8 year's ago, I feel nearly always giddy and this annoyed me greatly. 

2m/70cm handhelds

Beofeng handhelds seem to be very popular and inexpensive, although the quality control seems poor: some are fine, whereas others seem "flaky".  

Although hardly ever used, I have Yaesu ( not Trio!! Thank you Keith) VX1 and VX2 dual band handhelds. These we considerably more expensive, but are very small and reliable. Many have found longer antennas are useful. I guess it depends what they are used for.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/vhfuhfmicrowaves/vhfuhf-commercial-rigs/yaesu-vx2  .

Rally cancelled

 The Flight Refuelling ARS rally on Sunday (August 8th) has been cancelled.

10m FT8 QRP mostly RX (Friday)

Apart from a very brief period on TX with 2.5W, I am on 10m FT8 RX for a change. 1 person in southern Portugal spotted me on TX and at 0900z I have spotted 7 stations on RX. 

UPDATE 1112z:  46 stations spotted so far today. Furthermost is 5T5PA (3791km). Most look like Es propagation.

UPDATE 2014z:  Now QRT. 120 stations spotted today with the furthermost PU2TXZ (9579km) in Brazil.

UK August - NOT amateur radio

This is the month when the corn is mostly cut. Combined harvesters are busy. 

Sunspots - Friday August 6th 2021

 Solar flux is 74 and the SSN 36. A=2 and K=1. 

Kitten sitting - NOT amateur radio

Our son is away so we are feeding his kitten. Very playful as the photo shows!

2m UKAC activity contest (Tuesday evening)

As usual I took part in the RSGB organised activity contest on Tuesday evening. Because of my poor voice I only stayed on for 46 minutes. With the IC-705 and the big-wheel omni antenna, 8 QSOs were made - see map.

Later I realised I was only on battery power with 5W QRP! So all the contacts were with 5W! JO03 square worked for the first time this year on 2m I think.

Considering the time on, the power, and the antenna I am quite pleased.

Main G3XBM website and YouTube channel

A reminder that my main G3XBM website has far more details of my projects and interests. Also, my YouTube video channel often has useful project information. Most data predates my stroke.

See www.g3xbm.co.uk .

See https://www.youtube.com/user/G3XBM

10m QRP WSPR TX (Thursday)

 As usual, I am running my 500mW WSPR TX beacon on 10m.  7 unique spots already! Quite a few have spotted me many times. Es is promising on 10m today.

UPDATE 1236z: 18 stations have spotted me including FY5KE (7110km) in South America.

UPDATE 2020z:  25 unique stations have spotted me today.  FY5KE has spotted me 37 times! QRT soon.

UPDATE 2030z:  QRT.

Swifts on the move? - NOT amateur radio

Yesterday we went  for a nice walk around the sleepy village of Reach, near Cambridge. Although there were swifts around, there are fewer. At least some have started heading south. 

Screaming swifts in the air are a sound of late spring and early summer in the UK. Sometime in August you just realise they are not there. It will be next April or May until they (hopefully) will be back again.

See https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/swift/ .