FM broadcasts in Switzerland

John EI7GL's blog gives us the news that Switzerland is to go QRT on Band II FM in 2024, so people will have to use DAB. As time progresses, this will become more commonplace. 

I am not sure what DAB coverage is in the UK compared with Band II FM.

Sunday breakfast - NOT amateur radio

This was a few hours ago at Sunday breakfast. It tasted good.

10m FT8 QRP (Sunday)

Shortly, I intend to go on 10m FT8 again with 2.5W for a few minutes, and then RX only. Let us see what the day brings.

UPDATE 1114z:  2 stations, both Gs, spotted my TX and, so far, 29 stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX with the furthermost R9LY (4063km). This latter one could be F2.

UPDATE 2046z: 126 stations spotted with the furthermost VP8LP (12773km) in the Falklands. 9 stations in South America.

UPDATE 2140z:  QRT. 

Shetland Is - NOT amateur radio

This is a view of part of the Shetland Is posted yesterday by a friend on 365project. 

One of the great things with this free platform is peeking at different parts of the world. 

In the UK we have a great variety of scenery. Shetland has few trees because of the high winds. Nonetheless, it has a certain unique beauty.

Saturday on 10m FT8 RX

Yesterday was typical of 10m RX at this time of year and this part of the sunspot cycle. There were some European stations (54 probably by Es) and just one South American. Every day is different, whereas a few months ago you could virtually guarantee Es most days.

Sunspots - Sunday August 29th 2021

Solar flux is 90 and the SSN 77.  A=14 and K=2.

Original FM broadcast band in the USA

Until recently I did not know that at first the FM broadcast band in the USA was around 42.5MHz. Later this changed to Band II. Occasionally, there are special transmissions at 42.5MHz to commemorate this. 

I do hope that the amateur service gets a small allocation around 40MHz (8m) as we could all learn so much. Even 10W or less, digital only, 10kHz wide, would be a start. I suspect this will start with individuals applying for special permits, much as is happening in some countries around 70MHz. Such an allocation would attract serious experimenters only as no commercial amateur radio transceivers cover this band on TX without modification as far as I am aware.

Photos - NOT amateur radio

If people come to our home they will see lots of photos of the grandchildren about. We have several posters up in the kitchen and put a new photo, taken a few weeks ago, on the wall in the lounge (see photo). 

x80 Rybakov vertical

I bought this about 10 years ago, but apart from a few weeks it was not used and is in perfect condition. 

For those unfamiliar with Rybakovs, these are multi-band antennas that are end fed via a balun. In most cases the auto-ATU in modern rigs can easily match the antenna on most bands. In many cases the SWR is low even without an ATU. They make useful multiband antennas. I believe there are more recent versions available. 

On HF I am almost exclusively on 10m, so this was wasted, so I have recently swapped it for an active RX loop.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/antennas/x80 .

Anglesey Abbey - NOT amateur radio

Yesterday, I posted a closeup collage of the dahlias at nearby Anglesey Abbey. Today, I have a shot of the whole dahlia border. 

10m FT8 QRP (Saturday)

At 0705z, I went on 10m FT8 QRP with 2.5W. I was on TX for about 30 minutes, but am now RX only.  3 stations spotted me with the furthermost F4IWN (700km). On RX just 1 G station spotted here so far G4RDC (127km).

UPDATE 1120z:  22 stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX so far, all in Europe. Es still probably.

UPDATE 1440z:  40 European stations spotted so far on 10m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1820z:   44 stations spotted including 1 South American.

Daddy Long Legs - NOT amateur radio

This is the season for daddy long legs (crane flies). The photo shows one seen a few years ago. It was a Facebook memory from 2015.

 I like the way they bumble into things. They are harmless and appear stupid! 

At our old house we counted 15 in our bedroom one night. I have not seen any yet this year.

Yesterday on 10m FT8 RX

There was a good opening to South America on 10m FT8 yesterday as the map shows. 10m FT8 Es still occurs, but is less frequent. 

Sunspots - Saturday August 28th 2021

Solar flux is 90 and the SSN is 73.  A=19 and K=3.

Anglesey Abbey dahlias - NOT amateur radio

These dahlias, in the dahlia border at nearby Anglesey Abbey, are usually stunning, but they were very late this year. 

I think they held them back, but there were also late frosts and a lot of wet weather.

10m FT8 QRP (Friday)

In a few moments I hope to go on 10m FT8 with 2.5W QRP. My usual pattern is to CQ for a few minutes then go mostly on RX. Very little happened yesterday until late. 

UPDATE 0812z:  One local spot of me  on TX by G4KPX (13km) and just 1 G spotted on RX - 2E1RDX (139km).

UPDATE 1130z:  34 stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX. Lots more Es than yesterday! 

UPDATE 1252z:  35 stations spotted. It looks like the Es has stopped for now. 👎

Yesterday on 10m FT8

After a very slow start, 10m opened up with Es in the evening. In all, 15 stations were spotted across Europe. FT8 is a good mode as there are plenty of monitors and it works with weak signals. 

Kitten sitting - NOT amateur radio

As one of our sons is on holiday, we are calling in to his home to look after his kitten which is very playful. 

Here he is about to chase and pounce on a toy.

XBM80-2

 

Yesterday, I posted the 10m Lesser Chirpy. This was based on the 80m XBM80-2 QRP CW transceiver which is shown here. 

You would be hard pressed to make this transceiver much simpler! Do not be afraid to experiment - I am sure you can do better. 

S1 provides offset between RX and TX by shifting the crystal frequency, how much will depend on C1. You could always make C1 adjustable so the offset is what you want.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/homebrew/80m-xbm80-2 .

SPAM - NOT amateur radio

Usually the SPAM filter on my Gmail works well. Just occasionally it thinks a genuine email is SPAM, but this rare. I'd guess this is less than 1 in 1000. 

Recently I have been getting SPAM emails in my inbox about my subscription for Norton antivirus. The spelling and grammar are appalling. Usually I just report this as SPAM, I guess they are using many email addresses so this gets through SPAM filters. I do not use Norton!

Sunspots - Friday August 27th 2021

 Solar flux is 89 and the SSN 47.  A=6 and K=3.

Maturity - NOT amateur radio

The berries and fruit in the garden are reaching maturity. 

The photo shows this with the windmill in the background.

Lesser Chirpy

When I was fitter, I enjoyed designing and building. Sadly this is much harder now. Like all of my circuits, I am sure they can be improved. I make no claims for originality and take inspiration from many sources. My wish is that you use my circuits as the starting point for your own ideas. 

Looking back many years, I designed the Lesser Chirpy for 10m CW. Originally I started with the Chirpy, but it chirped too much! The Lesser Chirpy more or less stopped the chirp. This was a "for fun" rig. It does work, but I was concerned about calling CQ over weaker stations as the RX sensitivity was not as good as modern rigs. My recommendation is ensure that calls are not made over other stations. Fine to call others, but be very mindful of other stations.

The original name was the XBM10-2, but Lesser Chirpy was more meaningful!

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

Garden flowers - NOT amateur radio

Most of the flowers in our garden have passed their best. Some still look good whereas others are starting to look a bit tired. We will put winter flowering plants at the front and new bedding plants in late in the spring. Some, as the photo shows, look good still.

It is funny how the nights get so much darker earlier at this time of the year. The rate of change speeds up and the change is noticeable.

Cambridge UK - NOT amateur radio

 

Like most places, this year has been strange, with few visitors from overseas in Cambridge, so the locals and UK visitors have been able to enjoy it differently. We went into Cambridge yesterday. It was quieter than normal, but not much.

The photo shows the park behind the bus station.

10m FT8 QRP (Thursday)

After a brief TX period with 2.5W with just 1 spot by G4KPX (13km), I am again 10m FT8 RX only. At 1127z, just one station spotted - HB9SNR (784km).

UPDATE 1803z:  Just 2 stations spotted so far today. Es is "sporadic" and today, so far at least, looks poor on 10m FT8 RX. As far as I can remember this is the poorest day on 10m for some months.

UPDATE 1815z:  Did I speak too soon? F1RAD (867km) in SW France spotted on 10m FT8 RX.  Also my 2.5W was spotted by local G4BAO (8km).

Rally news

As far as I know, the Torbay rally on Sunday August 29th and the Huntingdon club (HARS) rally on Monday August 30th are ON, but the Milton Keynes rally on Bank Holiday Monday has been postponed until next year (2022). 

As always check before setting out.

Sunspots - Thursday August 26th 2021

 Solar flux is 84 and the SSN 29.  A=9 and K=2.

Second 8m experimental station in the USA

John, EI7GL reports than a second experimental station has been licenced in the USA. I am convinced that the amateur service will get a small allocation there eventually, but maybe not in my lifetime!! I hope that more stations apply for, and are granted, access to this frequency. Surely they can find a small slot?

See https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/2021/08/fcc-issue-another-experimental-permit.html  .

Cambridge earlier - NOT amateur radio

It seems that E-scooters are everywhere! The photo shows some in Cambridge earlier with a college crest in the background. 

10m WSPR (Wednesday)

 Shortly, I intend to go on 10m WSPR for the day with 500mW. Yesterday was a surpr meise with spots by 3 unique stations. It is impossible to predict what will happen later. It is 0815z.

UPDATE 1201z:  Several spots of me by OH6BG (1718km).

UPDATE 1811z: Just 2 unique stations have spotted me today so far with the furthermost EA8BRK (2880km).

"Our" windmill next door - NOT amateur radio

We are lucky to live just next door to a fully restored windmill that is 200 years old. This photo was taken some years ago. 

Castle Acre - NOT amateur radio

One of my Facebook memories today was this photo of Castle Acre that we visited some years ago.

I am all for a balanced view of history and there are many dark moments that we are not proud of, yet just destroying statues and monuments as we judge them by today's standards denies future generations the chance to judge them.  

Sunspots - Wednesday August 25th 2021

 Solar flux is 81 and the SSN 29.  A=5 and K=3.

Oscar 100 activity update

Every few weeks I take a peek at the activity on the narrowband transponder of this geosynchronous satellite. It has been up some while, although activity still remains low. I last looked in the late evening European time.

See https://eshail.batc.org.uk/nb/ .

Jason M0NYW

This morning Jason M0NYW called in and it was a real pleasure to meet him. We have exchanged many emails over the years! It is good to meet real experimenters, as he clearly is.  Sadly too many just buy the gear they need and do not realise what fun they are missing.

10m WSPR TX - 500mW (Tuesday)

For a change I am on 10m WSPR TX with my 500mW beacon. As this is quite late in the Es season I am not expecting spots. Apart from initially setting the clock it is totally self contained and does not need a PC. It runs 100% of the time, but randomly changes frequency every 2 minutes to avoid being clobbered by a strong station co-channel. It is currently 0748z.

UPDATE 1145z:   6 spots by 2 unique stations so far.

Sunspots - Tuesday August 24th 2021

 Solar flux is 78 and the SSN 14. A=4 and K=1.

Sunflowers - NOT amateur radio

Our own sunflowers were eaten by Muntjac deer which are common now. Our neighbour has some good ones and we see them better than she does! 

The ones in the photo are in her garden.

Loop antennas

From my own results I think loops are (maybe) 6dB down on a dipole. This is far from accurate, but the losses are likely to be greater on lower frequencies and less on higher bands. 

This is 1 S point, so not too great. For some applications that do not require much frequency change they can be ideal. FT8, PSK31 and WSPR come to mind. 

When I had no external 10m antenna earlier in the year, I used an old Whizz Loop on 10m FT8. Although I may have missed some stations, I still spotted plenty. Mine was just on the shack windowsill indoors.

If you have limited space and can cope with them being very sharp tuned, if efficient, they can be a decent compromise antenna. With QRP you will not need special capacitors. With QRO the voltages at the high impedance points can be very high so special capacitors will be needed.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/antennas/loops .