23cm antennas?

Next year, all being well, I hope to try some /P 23cm operation in some of the RSGB organised activity contests (UKAC). I am wondering if there is a popular antenna used in these contests?  

Clearly very high gain antennas will give good signals, but will miss stations that are out of the very sharp beamwidth, whereas smaller antennas will have broader beams, but less gain.  Perhaps, stations use one antenna for hunting, then a sharp, high gain one when on beam.

It is a very long time since I was on 23cm and then only RX.

Is there a favourite antenna?

History - NOT amateur radio

Whatever your views are on the monarchy, today's funeral of Queen Elizabeth II of the UK was historic and will have been viewed by billions of people across the globe. 

We watched on TV. 

10m FT8 RX (Monday)

This morning, I am on 10m FT8 RX. Lots of F2 propagation at 0752z. 

UPDATE 1035z:  Worldwide (almost) reception on 10m FT8 RX this morning.

UPDATE 1450z:  513 stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX today from all over the world.

UPDATE 1920z: 1021 stations spotted today on 10m FT8  RX today. Like old times!

Sunspots - Monday September 19th 2022

Solar flux is 136 and the SSN 51. A=11 and K=1. 

10m FT8 RX (Sunday night)

As I totally failed in my quest to copy the EI1KNH beacon, I have QSYed to 10m FT8 RX. I was going to go QRT, but decided to leave things on for a few minutes. The FT8 segment was full of stations from South America. I went QRT then.

23cms - which locals can I expect to work?

Within 25km of me are probably several stations that I could work on 23cm with a very modest indoor antenna. When my transverter  arrives I shall have to arrange a few skeds!

Future plans

Starting tomorrow, I expect to be mainly on 10m QRP FT8. If F2 looks promising I shall QSY to 8m FT8 on 40.680 MHz hoping for the USA. This might be possible in late October or November.

My order and payment for the 23cm transverter has been received. When it comes, I shall try for some local 23cm QSOs, although my main aim is some UKAC sessions /P next year.

Queues - NOT amateur radio

Do the British like queues?

Our son has just been around for lunch and made a very sensible suggestion about the queue to see the Queen's coffin lying in state. 

Instead of the stupidly long queue why not allocate people timed slots which could have been obtained at ticket offices or online? Some people queued for many cold hours overnight! 

Looking back, the queues were totally unnecessary. Instead, they could have been told. "your slot is Friday at 2145" or similar. They could have then gone away and come back at their appointed time.

In this modern age this was so stupid.

10m QRP WSPR (Sunday)

When on 8m FT8 or other modes, the FT817ND and PC are tied up, so I go on 10m WSPR with the W5OLF 500mW beacon. 

So far this morning, just spots from the Canary Is by what seems like F2 propagation. No signs of any Es today.

UPDATE 1345z:  Some reports have been +6dB S/N which is very strong.

UPDATE 1830z:  FY5KE (7110km) in South America has potting me twice. F2? Probably. The 3 unique stations spotting me today are shown in the table.

The power of the media - NOT amateur radio

It is hard to appreciate just how much the media influences us all. 

In Russia, folks are told that the war in Ukraine is a "special operation" to liberate oppressed people. In the west we are told the Ukrainians are without fault. In the 1970s we were always told the USA was perfect in Vietnam and the Vietcong was evil.

We rarely hear a truly balanced view. All sides want to slant things their way. 

The truth is usually somewhere in the middle. The west is not perfect, Russia is not perfect, Ukraine is not perfect, and the Vietcong was not the evil it was portrayed.

In all wars and in peacetime, the media influences us all. My plea is to get your data from multiple sources and make up your own mind. Don't always believe what you are fed.

Pear cake - NOT amateur radio

Our "harvest" this year has been pathetic and it would have been less costly to get the food from the local supermarket down the road!  

Nonetheless, nothing will be wasted. Take for example of the pear cake, made by my wife yesterday. 

EI1KNH/B 8m beacon last chance

I have been monitoring this Irish beacon for several days and with various modes. So far, I have had no luck. 

After today, I shall stop and try again with MSK144 in an MS shower. 

UPDATE 1815z:  Still nothing. Disappointing as G0RQQ, Keith, is able to get it in Lincoln. I am getting the distinct impression this is not going to work.

UPDATE 1943z:  Nothing. I shall go QRT soon on 8m FT8 RX on the beacon frequency. Failure!

Q900 all band, all mode ,transceiver

This version 3 Q900 transceiver from China looks like the FT817 replacement we never had. It is also much less expensive and is SDR based.  It is also much smaller than it looks.

Yaesu, you have had your chances, but never took them in the run up to solar peak 24 and now 25. Instead, Yaesu messes around with a 100W SDR radio that looks like the one they only recently introduced!! 

Yaesu, have you really lost the plot? 

We could all be forgiven for thinking this.  I used to like Yaesu radios. In recent years, I am really not so impressed.

Like all things from China my feeling is the quality control and support are still not proven. They will get there soon and this may be it.

Lower cost amateur radio products are coming and the big Japanese manufacturers are in for a large shock. The writing is on the wall. I give it a few years only. Certainly when we are in cycle 26 things will look very different indeed. Some of the companies we have known for decades will be gone and there will be new names.

Sunspots - Sunday September 18th 2022

Solar flux is 132 and the SSN 76.  A=5 and K=2.

Es season well and truly over

Although Es can occur at any time, the late spring and early summer are the best times. Often bands up 4m can bring DX to up to 1500km, sometimes more. Rarely, Es occurs at 2m.

Today, for example I saw no evidence of Es propagation on 10m WSPR. The only stations spotting me were probably via F2 propagation or local. The nature of Es is it is sporadic, so the bands can suddenly come alive, which is why FT8 especially can be so useful.

When DX is not around, bands like 10m and 6m can be seriously under-used. This is a pity as they make good bands for club nets and local chats. Antennas are small and local noise is often much better than 160m or 80m, where antennas can be big.

Summer visitors - NOT amateur radio

In the spring and summer, we get bird migrants from Africa. 

In recent years there have been far fewer swallows, although here, surprisingly, swift numbers are not too bad. Swifts mostly go in August to central Africa, whereas many swallows end up in South Africa. 

Most swallows go about now, although a very few may try to over-winter.  As our climate gets milder, some may succeed. It will be next spring before the swifts and swallows, hopefully, return. They have being doing this journey for thousands of years.

Bee-eaters

We are seeing some birds that would have been rare here 50 years ago like little egrets. Even bee-eaters have bred here this year. I have only seen these near the Mediterranean Sea.  

Over the winter we see birds from the far north, who think our climate is mild! Don't tell them otherwise! In this part of the UK we get swans from Iceland and Siberia over the winter.

Shadows - NOT amateur radio

Today is a lovely sunny day here. It feels much colder than a few weeks ago. Inside our church, there were long shadows, as the photo shows.

Amateur beacon on the moon?

 Amateur Radio Weekly reports that the Japanese hope to put a UHF beacon on the moon.

See https://www.isas.jaxa.jp/home/omotenashi/JHRCweb/jhrc.html .

If successfully deployed, this could be a good test for receivers. I am not sure what it will send or when the launch is planned.

23cm transverter

This was ordered this weekend. Hopefully it will arrive early November. Not sure what import duty or VAT is payable. I am sure someone will tell me!

10m QRP WSPR TX

The only spots of me today look like F2 and local, with no Es.  EA8BFK (2880km) and G4KPX (14km) have spotted my 500mW.

Ripening? - NOT amateur radio

This year our tomato plants have been a failure with very few turning red. The green ones are on the windowsill to ripen. If this fails it will be green tomato chutney!!!

Sunspots - Saturday September 17th 2022

 Solar flux is 131 and the SSN 64. A=4 and K=1.

Still no luck here with the EI1KNH 8m beacon

Although Keith in Lincoln has been successful, I have still not decoded the beacon. We are at similar distances from the beacon, I think. It would seem my low horizontal dipole is not as effective as Keith's long wire. I note that the beacon has a vertical dipole whereas mine is horizontal. With scatter and MS this probably does not matter, but with WSPR and tropo it could make all the difference. I shall keep trying!! 

I must check the screen during a WSPR slot to see if it is there at all. It sends WSPR every 20 minutes.  If I can detect it at all, I might briefly try my other antennas just in case these are better in that direction and with  vertical polarisation.

Otherwise, it is MSK144 in a meteor shower.

UPDATE 0936z:  In the last WSPR slots absolutely nothing on the screen with the 8m dipole or 10m end fed antennas. 

UPDATE 1410z: In view of Paul's (G9PUV) comments that he has never spotted WSPR from this beacon, I have switched back to 8m FT8 RX. You never know! It will be monitored all weekend.

Yaesu FT-710 MLS price

Puzzled. 

MLS has just announced the price of the new 100W SDR transceiver, that seems to have a very similar spec to the FTDX-10. It seems the price is lower than the FTDX-10 and the rig a little smaller. What I cannot understand is why Yaesu has done this.

Was the FTDX-10 not quite right? Where is a proper FT817 replacement? It still seems to me that Yaesu is in a muddle and trying to find its way.

See https://www.hamradio.co.uk/top-deals/ft-710 .

EI1KNH/B Irish 8m beacon on 40.013 MHz WSPR

Tim, the beacon keeper, has recommended I try 8m WSPR RX. 

The WSPR sessions are several times an hour and WSPR works with very weak signals. I am on 8m WSPR now, but a bit uncertain about the 2 minute cycles. This may only work with tropo and certainly not work with MS or aircraft.  I may try from now and over the weekend. 

The beacon is only active from 0600-2400, but I am not sure if this is local time or GMT. With tropo, I would have suspected my best chance would be early in the morning?

If this fails (I have low expectations) I may try MSK144 in an MS shower.

8m MSK144 RX

After a period on 40.680 MHz FT8 QRP TX, I have switched to 40.013 MHz MSK144 RX hoping to spot the Irish beacon EI1KNH/B. My best chance (I think) is early morning.

8m QRP FT8 TX (Friday)

All being well, I hope to be on 8m QRP FT8 TX on 40.680 MHz at about 0900z. If the other Irish 8m beacon has FT8, I may try for that overnight.

UPDATE 1020z:   8m FT8 TX gear turned on at 0907z. No spots.

10m QRP WSPR (Friday)

As the 10m antenna should be available, I hope to be on 10m WSPR with my 500mW W5OLF WSPR beacon at 0900z.

UPDATE 0918z:  Gear was on overnight. Just 1 spot from local G3KPX (14km) this morning.

UPDATE 1233z:  8 spots of me today so far. Some appear to be F2 and some might be Es.

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.