23cm portable

As a comment on an earlier post made clear, the 23cm transverter I was thinking if is made in Bulgaria and not the Ukraine, so may still be available. 

I have sent an email about price and delivery to the UK. If promising, I may get one ready for next year, assuming it is still available!

See https://www.sg-lab.com/TR1300/tr1300.html .

UPDATE 1256z:  Just got this email. I think I am going to get one.

"The price of 23cm band transverter V3 is 156 Euro.
The price for shipping is 8 Euro by BG Post .
Payment can be made by Paypal (our account is : info@sg-lab.com ) or by bank transfer.
Now lead time for 23 cm units is 2-3 weeks"

UPDATE 1422z:  I shall place an order. All being well, I shall try some local 23cm SSB tests when the transverter arrives and I have a suitable antenna. Next year, I shall try some 23cm activity sessions from a local highspot. Yes, there are a few in East Anglia!!

No luck on 8m with EI1KNH/B

Overnight I was trying to receive this 8m beacon on 40.013 MHz FT8 using WSJT-X. I was expecting to get the odd MS ping, but nothing. 

I was surprised making me wonder if it is active and using FT8? Anyone know please? I was using the information on QRZ.com. 

Sunspots - Friday September 16th 2022

Solar flux is 140 and the SSN 71. A=6 and K=1.

PI4 decoding

For some reason (probably by mistake) I assumed that PI4 was one of the modes supported by WSJT-X. Imagine my surprise today when I found it not there. My version of WSJT-X is 2.5.4.  

Instead I had to download some special software to decode PI4. I have not yet checked if there is a map upload a bit like PSKreporter maps.

I was hoping to decode one of the Irish beacons, EI1KNH/B on 40.013 MHz PI4.

If PI4 is not supported by WSJT-X why is it used rather than FT8 or WSPR by beacons? I don't think it is magically better than FT8.

My other questions are (1) what mode do I select and (2) what dial frequency do I set to decode EI1KNH/B in PI4? At the moment it is set to 40.013 DIG on the FT817ND, but I have no idea if this is correct.

UPDATE 2057z:  It looks like EI1KNH/B now uses FT8 instead of PI4, so I am now monitoring FT8 instead. It sends FT8 every 10 minutes. See https://www.qrz.com/db/EI1KNH/.  I shall monitor overnight.

HF conditions

It is rare for me to go lower than 28 MHz on HF. Certainly conditions on 10m seem good with loads of spots of my QRP 10m FT8 from the USA. I had to QSY, but when I left the band it was still good.  

I was hoping this was my first chance of F2 to/from the USA on 8m, but not this time. Whenever 10m F2 looks promising E-W, I shall try 8m FT8. Hopefully there will be other chances. 

Having worked the USA with QRP SSB handheld from the bedroom, I am in with a chance on 8m FT8.

23cm portable?

At one time there was very good 23cm transverter available from the Ukraine, but I doubt that is currently available. 

I was considering 23cm portable operation next year using the FT817ND as the driver/IF. What 23cm transverters are currently available and at what price please? What would you recommend? I assume 2W is the typical power for a /P station.

Sadly, my fine motor skills these days rule out kits, so I would be looking at a ready made unit.

Rally

The following rally is due this weekend. As ever, check first before travelling far.

Saturday September 17th - Angel of the North Radio Rally, Gateshead. Contact westona84@gmail.com 

Cornish 8m beacon

I gather the GB3MCB beacon cluster has got approval to add 8m and 5m beacons. I don't think these are active yet, but the 8m beacon will be interesting to monitor on PI4. I expect it will beam towards the USA. 

For me in East Anglia  the most likely propagation will be random MS or aircraft. I think tropo is unlikely.

10m QRP WSPR (Thursday)

The 10m WSPR QRP (500mW) beacon has been on for just over 1 hour. Furthermost (at 1238z) is FY5KE (7110km). The only other station spotting me is local G4KPX (14km).

8m QRP FT8 (Thursday)

Yesterday was wide open to the USA on 10m FT8, so I was hopeful of copying, or better still being copied, on 8m in the USA. No such luck! The only 8m station spotted was G9PUV on the south coast of England.

UPDATE 1134z:  8m QRP FT8 gear turned on at 1127z.

UPDATE 1234z: No spots.

UPDATE 1517z:  EI9KP (649km) has again spotted me and I have spotted him this afternoon on 8m FT8. I am still wondering what the propagation mechanism is - MS, aircraft? Es would seem unlikely at this distance and time of year. It seems too far for tropo.  EI9KP spots me far more often than others.  Interesting that EI9KP is about 7dB stronger at G9PUV/A than with me. Is this because Paul has a beam? Now 8m FT8 RX only.

That free PDF book

So far, all the feedback has been positive. 

Already, I have thought of things left out, so these will be included in an issue 2 later. 

Feel free to download the free book if you want. You can keep it as a soft copy or print out relevant pages.

See https://tinyurl.com/y56vjhd6

UPDATE 1306z:  Someone in the USA has very kindly made a donation. Thank you! As I have said before, I have absolutely no wish to make any money at all from this book. It is a labour of love. I shall give this to the local foodbank, but I really appreciate the kindness.

Sunspots - Thursday September 15th 2022

Solar flux is 144 and the SSN 57. A=9 and K=4.

10m QRP FT8

At 1352z I switched from 10m WSPR and 8m FT8 to 10m QRP FT8.  On 10m WSPR and 8m FT8 I have had no spots all day. 

23 spots of me on 10m FT8 QRP TX mostly in the USA. On 10m FT8 RX, 131 spots, mostly from the USA. 

The photo shows some of the stations, mainly in the USA, that  spotted me. Considering it is just a few watts, quite a few!

The death of the UK Queen and the new King - NOT amateur radio

Whether or not you are a royalist, the UK queen worked very hard as head of state. She was well respected across the world. 

My own view is that nobody deserves respect or wealth just because of who you were born. Much wealth is based on slavery. This is wrong.

In the case of the queen she has dedicated her whole life to the service of the UK. She has earned respect. I hope King Charles III can similarly earn our respect. 

He has a hard act to follow. Initial signs are good.

70cm FT8 contest this evening

If things are normal, this evening is the 70cm FT8 activity contest. Activity is usually high. 

Even with the V2000 vertical or 2m big-wheel omni I usually copy PA and EI and manage a few QSOs. Normal FT8 QSOs are fine. No special contest software. Even if you don't enter a score, this is a good chance to find activity.

If you think 70cm is quiet, you are in for a shock! 

See https://www.rsgbcc.org/cgi-bin/contest_rules.pl?year=2022&contest=70cmsgmac. The RSGB contest starts at 1900z.

UPDATE 1958z:  I only stopped on for about 30 minutes, but despite 5W to the 2m omni big-wheel I was copied as far away as Devon. Had I been on longer I am pretty sure further would have been possible. 1 QSO was had and I was called by another but we did not complete. On RX, the furthermost was Cornwall and the Netherlands.

Last night's 70cm activity contest

Last night I was only on for 30 minutes. Conditions seemed a bit up, but after 30 minutes my voice had had enough. Also, I had probably worked all the stations that I was likely to with my 10W pep and 2m big-wheel omni antenna. In all, 5 stations were worked. The map shows the stations worked.

Amsterdam gables - NOT amateur radio

This is probably the last of the photos from our break in Amsterdam last week. It show the gables on the ends of buildings. There are loads of beautiful houses in the city.

We like the Netherlands very much. 

We have been there many times.

10m QRP WSPR (Wednesday)

 Since about 0930z I have been on 10m WSPR TX with my 500mW W5OLF beacon. No spots.

Change of plan - 8m QRP FT8 (Wednesday)

A change of plan. I decided to try QRP FT8 on 40.680 MHz right away. Rig turned on about 0930z. No spots after 6 minutes.

UPDATE 1106z:  No spots so far. Rig going off to cool.

10m FT8 RX

After breakfast I hope to be on 10m FT8 RX again. Yesterday was successful. If 10m FT8 is promising, I shall switch to 8m FT8 QRP TX and 10m WSPR. 

UPDATE 0942z:  Change of plan. See other posts.

Squirrel - NOT amateur radio

 

This was seen at Anglesey Abbey yesterday. 

Sunspots - Wednesday September 14th 2022

Solar flux is 154 and the SSN 93. A=4 and K=0.

60m (5 MHz) allocations

Before I start, let me say my "outings" on 60m are rare. 

Speaking personally I find the UK allocations totally confusing. I would much prefer to have the WARC 15 kHz wide allocation instead. Many countries now have this. Using modes like WSPR and FT8, very little spectrum is needed. 

I know much of this is beyond our control, but I am sure a narrower contiguous band would be preferable to many, especially if this was a worldwide allocation.

Amsterdam - NOT amateur radio

We like the Netherlands. The people are friendly and, in many ways, like us. 

The photo shows a typical view of Amsterdam last week with bikes (lots!), canals and lovely houses. It is our 7th visit, so we must like it! 

I have also been to the Netherlands many times for work years ago.

10m FT8 (Tuesday)

Just before breakfast, I turned on 10m FT8 with the FT817ND. At 0817z, 8 stations have been received. I am not on TX at the moment.

UPDATE 0911z: 12 stations so far spotted on 10m FT8 RX today.

UPDATE 1251z:   Doh! Guess who forgot to turn on the PSU? Silly me, this meant the FT817ND worked until its batteries died.

UPDATE 1322z: So far today (with the break!) 33 stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 2117z: 235 stations spotted. QRT soon.

Amsterdam breakfast

This was breakfast last week in Amsterdam. There seems to be a lack of fruit there, which surprised us. 

Sunspots - Tuesday September 13th 2022

Solar flux is 150 and the SSN 117. A=9 and K=0.

10m QRP FT8

It is now 1555z and I have been on 10m FT8 for about 5 minutes. So far, just 2 G spots on RX.

UPDATE 1638z:  Pretty poor!  Just 4 Gs spotted on RX. Nobody has spotted me on TX.

UPDATE 1657z:   Just G0FWX (160km) has spotted me.

UPDATE 1912z:  8 stations spotted on RX with the furthermost ZS1AN (9742km).

UPDATE 2118z: QRT now. 26 stations spotted including Africa, South America, North America and Caribbean stations. 

Earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground

Until our son accidentally cut it, I used this antenna extensively from VLF to 60m. On 630m (472 kHz) it consistently got reports from Norway with a measured ERP  of just 10mW using WSPR. 

My theory is that at low frequencies it acts as a loop in the ground. As you go higher in frequency the loop gets smaller, so the antenna gets worse. 

If my theory is correct, the loop will get larger as frequency is lowered making it very effective for sub-10 kHz communications. Indeed, such an antenna has been used to great effect by DK2FC and others at VLF.

For use on LF and MF it has worked well for me.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/antennas/earth-electrode-antennas .

Beginhof, Amsterdam - NOT amateur radio

This is a very secret and calming part of Amsterdam with an entrance that is quite obscure. 

Our "harvest" - NOT amateur radio

This year we grew pears, tomatoes, crab apples and beans as well as some herbs. 

Most of the tomatoes are still green. As you can see, this has not exactly been a bumper year. We had a wet winter and dry spring with a very hot summer. The pears were not bad (if a bit hard) and the crab apples just enough to half fill a small jar with crab apple jelly. Beans? Maybe enough for 1 meal. Tomatoes? If the green ones turn red I may have the same as a punnet from a supermarket. If they stay green I shall have a go at green tomato chutney. Overall, a disappointing "harvest".

10m QRP WSPR (Monday)

Again on 10m WSPR TX with 500mW QRP.  So far, only spots by local G4KPX (14km).

UPDATE 1215z:   Just G4KPX and HB9TMC (905km) spotted me.

8m FT8 QRP (Monday)

Very shortly, I shall be on 40.680 MHz FT8 TX again with my FT817ND and low wire dipole. 

There seem to be fewer monitors on 8m now that the main Es season has ended. Es still has some openings , but these are fewer now. Most openings now are random MS, F2 or aircraft reflections I suspect. 

Yesterday, EI9KP (649km) again spotted me on 8m. This is very unlikely to have been Es.

UPDATE 0950z:  On 8m FT8 now. Once the Cornish 8m beacon becomes active, I shall start monitoring it on PI4 mode.

UPDATE 1221z: No spots all day. Rig currently off cooling.

UPDATE 1415z: On TX again. EI9KP (649km) has again spotted me. I suspect EI9KP has spotted me nearly every day I have been on 8m!

Sunspots - Monday September 12th 2022

Solar flux is 152 and the SSN 113. A=9 and K=3.

2m FT8 QRP (Sunday)

So far this evening I have been spotted by 16 stations (see map) and 1 QSO with a station in the west of Wales.

Milking - NOT amateur radio

The queen dying after so long as head of state is sad. We are certainly in a new age now. Whilst in Amsterdam last week every English language channel was about the queen and her long reign. 

When we got back home  yesterday, we had non-stop queen on the BBC. Now, I know people grieve in different ways and the BBC will have prepared for how it would respond. They probably have had recordings for this eventuality prepared for years and years.

Am I alone in believing there is grieving and their is milking? 

In my view, enough is enough. I would like to hear about other things as well in the world. Perhaps some of the news is dedicated to the queen and then other news is covered?

If I was an anchor person on the BBC, I would run out of things to say!

Ducks - NOT amateur radio

In Amsterdam last week we saw a shop selling nothing but rubber ducks for the bath. You could get quite a few famous people! 

10m WSPR RX (WISPY)

This was designed 10 years ago as a simple 10m WSPR RX. Later, with slight changes, this became the 10FT8R FT8 receiver that appeared in RadCom. 

The design is very simple and used low cost crystals either for WSPR or FT8 RX. It is a direct conversion RX so will also pick up signals on the other sideband. It is extremely unusual for this ever to be an issue. Lots of stations have been received.  

On a simple PCB, it would make a low cost, simple, and useful club project.

8m FT8 QRP (Sunday)

As I am home again, I am again on 8m FT8 QRP with the FT817ND and low wire dipole. No spots.

UPDATE 1207z: EI9KP (649km) has again spotted me. I wonder if this is aircraft reflection?

10m QRP WSPR TX (Sunday)

Now that I am back home, I am on 10m WSPR with my beacon and 500mW. 

UPDATE 1353z:  No spots of me all day.

UPDATE 1535z: Just a spot by FY5KE (7110km). This looks like F2.

UPDATE 2025z:  Seems like all the spots are now by F2 with the furthermost FR1GZ (9724km).