The BBC has an interesting piece about the use of free space optical communications to bridge the River Congo in Africa where optical fibre is impractical. This gives very high (not perfect) reliability and, in this case, is destined to carry internet traffic. Of course, this would not be suitable for places where fog is common, such as the bay area of San Francisco.
18 Sept 2021
10m FT8 QRP (Saturday)
The Es season is over. Although there will still be openings via the E layer, these will be more sporadic and short-lived, unlike a few months ago.
This morning, I am again on 10m FT8 (with 2.5W TX initially) although mostly on RX. Just one spot of me so far by local M0NKR (27km). On RX, no stations spotted so far, although it is only 0852z.
UPDATE 0920z: 4 stations spotted with the furthermost EA1FIR (1263km). The very strong signal report (+4dB S/N) suggests aircraft reflection rather than Es. Other spots have been more local.
UPDATE 1153z: 17 stations spotted with the furthermost ZS6BJU (9116km). 10m is again moving to a DX band. As time goes by it will get even better!
160m FT8
As an experiment I tried my earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground on 160m FT8. The match is very good and with QRP I have been spotted all over Europe and I've spotted plenty of stations in South America and North America. If anyone tells you that they have no 160m antenna don't believe them! My 160m antenna is invisible to the neighbours and XYL.
See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/other-amateur-radio/160m-ft8 .
Our history - NOT amateur radio
For almost 600 years we have lived in South Devon. We were probably here thousands of years earlier. The photo shows where my ancestors lived 600 years ago. The photo was taken about 100 years ago. One interesting fact is that going back a millennium we had more ancestors than the population of the entire country! So, we probably were related to kings and queens.
17 Sept 2021
Hotel breakfast - NOT amateur radio
Holiday drama - NOT amateur radio
We are back from our short break in Brighton. It was good with even the weather being generally hot and sunny.
At breakfast time on the last day we had some drama: the fire alarm went and we all had to evacuate the building. After about 15 minutes, the fire brigade came and gave the all clear, so we all went back inside. Some were still in bed or in the shower when the alarm sounded. I am glad it was not in the middle of the night.
10m FT8 QRP (Friday)
We arrived home after a few days in Brighton at about 1400z. I have been on s 10m FT8 since. After a brief period on 2.5W TX (1 G spotted me), I have been RX only.
No Es spotted at all with furthermost spotted PY3KN (10428km) in Brazil. The other spots were of G stations.
Simple pleasures - NOT amateur radio
16 Sept 2021
Foxton (near Cambridge) rally on Sunday ON
The Cambridgeshire Repeater Group Rally on Sunday September 19th is on as far as I know. Please contact organisers before any long trips.
Tapas - NOT amateur radio
Echolink
Being away from home, a do not have access to "conventional" amateur radio. This phone does have Echolink, but I feel disenclined to use it. It works as I have used it before. To me this is not the same.
Seen on a park bench - NOT amateur radio
15 Sept 2021
Mid September??? - NOT amateur radio
Personally I think all Christmas things should only come out in December.
Oscar 100 update
Every few weeks I try to give an update on activity levels on Oscar 100 using the on-line SDR at Goonhilly Down in Cornwall. The last time I checked was at 2045z in Western Europe evening mid week. Activity levels on the, narrowband transponder remain low.
14 Sept 2021
Crab lunch
A year ago we were in Cromer in North Norfolk. We had an excellent crab meal for less than £10 each. The cafe was very clean. We were very impressed.
2m BITX
Steve G1KQH informs me there is a 2m version of the famous BITX transceiver from India coming. I have no idea about kits or prices.
Hobby Store
Recently I searched for Schottky diodes and ever since I have had targeted adverts for these!! One is hobby-store.co.uk that seems to sell some useful stuff.
Vegan friendly shoes - NOT
Brighton is the UK seaside place that never sleeps. It is also the place where anything goes. The photo shows a shop selling vegan and vegetarian footwear.
13 Sept 2021
VLF Earth-mode blog
Some years ago I enjoyed experimenting with utilities assisted earth-mode at VLF and was amazed by the range I could achieve with 5W. These results were put into a blog that is accessible via my main G3XBM website.
12 Sept 2021
Operating patterns
It would appear I am a creature of habit!
I seem to go on 10m FT8 RX most of the day with a few minutes of QRP TX early on. Occasionally my QRP is spotted. More often than not, it isn't!
Just when it gets dark, I QSY to 630m WSPR RX for the evening. If I can fix my transverter I hope to TX again this winter as there seems to be fewer people TXing, but plenty RXing.
472kHz WSPR RX
At 1814z, I QSYed from 10m FT8 RX to 630m (472kHz) WSPR RX. So far, nobody spotted. I am using the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground.
UPDATE 1943z: Still no spots.
Facebook memories from 6 years ago - NOT amateur radio
How time flies! This was 6 years ago and feels like yesterday.
Crystal set DXing
Crystal sets can be great fun. They are simple to make and need no power. On HF, some remarkable distances can be heard with patience.
These days there are far fewer English language broadcast stations on HF. Many are now internet only. Despite this, the challenge remains. My crystal set DXing website may give you some ideas.
See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/crystal-set-dxing .
Web SDR RXs
A reminder that there are lots of web SDR RXs on the air, so you can see what shape the bands are in in other places. If you have a high local noise level, these are also useful.
See http://www.websdr.org/ .
10m FT8 QRP (Sunday)
As usual, after a few minutes on 2.5W TX, I am RX only on 10m FT8. No QSOs. Nobody spotted me on TX and just MU0WLV (374km) on 10m FT8 RX. This latter could be aircraft reflection.
UPDATE 1345z: 6 stations spotted today so far. Very little Es evident.
Little Morton Hall - NOT amateur radio
This is a centuries old country house in Cheshire that we visited some years ago.
11 Sept 2021
472kHz WSPR RX
Since about 1805z I have been on 472kHz WSPR RX using the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. 4 spots so far this evening.
UPDATE 1946z: Swapped to the Wellgood active loop RX antenna to compare against the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. The active loop is only 1m across and just stuck to the shack window.
UPDATE 2103z: After an hour on the active loop without spots, I have gone back to the earth-electrode "antenna" and immediately spotted G8HUH (250km) and 2 French stations. My conclusion is the ground-electrode "antenna" is somewhat better. By how much is not clear. With the active loop optimised in position and direction I think the difference might be smaller.
UPDATE 2118z: More spots, suggesting the earth-electrode is several dB better than the active loop in its present configuration.
UPDATE 2218: 7 unique stations spotted this evening. The latest is EI0CF (602km).
UPDATE 2240z: QRT.
Facebook memory today
This photo shows a FB memory from 9 years ago. It later occurred to me that you the same idea would work on FT8 RX so the FT8R was born. See my main website at www.g3xbm.co.uk.
10m FT8 QRP (Saturday)
After a brief period on TX (2.5W) I have been on 10m FT8 RX since. Just 1 spot on QRP TX and 1 station spotted on RX.
UPDATE 0941z: 14 stations spotted on RX today so far with the furthermost in Ghana 9G5FI (5189km).
UPDATE 1732z: 36 stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX with the furthermost CX6VM (10767km) in South America.
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