OFCOM

OFCOM is proposing changes to their Network and Information Systems (NIS) Guidance. See the OFCOM website for details.

Solar data

This data is usually updated early in the month. As far as I can tell, it has only had a partial update. Last month they were still expecting the current solar cycle to peak in November 2023, which seems quite early. The last solar cycle had 2 peaks.

See https://www.solen.info/solar .

Grandchildren - NOT amateur radio

Our 2 grandsons recently with my wife. 

They are growing up fast. 

2m activity contest this evening at 2000z

 The RSGB 2m activity contest (UKAC) is on this evening. I hope to take part briefly with my QRP station.

10m FT8 RX (Tuesday)

At the moment, I am again on 10m FT8 RX. Propagation looks good, with stations across the world being copied. In all, 128 stations have been spotted early this morning. 

Will 8m allow me to be copied in the USA later?

DMR

As I have no DMR gear I use my Android handheld network radio and an app called Droidstar to access the DMR network as the photo shows. With it, it is possible to work stations the world over. 

This evening, I hope to join the DMR net of our local club. Last week I got the time of the net wrong.

UPDATE 1731z:  Joined the CDARC DMR net this evening. Nice to have a station in the Scilly Isles as well as locals. Initially people were saying I was quiet, so I increased the mic gain.

Sunspots - Tuesday November 1st 2022

 Solar flux is 128 and the SSN 56. A=11 and K=4.

10m FT8 RX

All day, I have been on 10m FT8 RX. So far 1328 stations have been spotted. This has been the best day so far.

UPDATE 2115z: 1397 stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX today.

Plans for today (Monday)

As I am out later, I shall be on 10m FT8 RX. If things look promising I may QSY to 8m QRP FT8 TX on 40.680 MHz. 

Our local museum - NOT amateur radio

This weekend was the last time our museum was open until Easter. Today was a free day (no admission charge). Although the day started wet, it was dry most of the time and attendance was good. 

The museum is run by volunteers and is on of the best local museums in the UK.

See https://burwellmuseum.org.uk/ .

Sunspots - Monday October 31st 2022

Solar flux is 131 and the SSN 68. A=12 and K=3.

8m FT8 QRP (Sunday)

On QRP 8m FT8 this afternoon. No spots of me at 1715z.

UPDATE 1928z:  No spots. QRT.

10m QRP WSPR (Sunday)

Stations that have spotted
me today on 10m QRP WSPR

At the moment, I am on 10m WSPR with 500mW from my W5OLF beacon. So far, 10 stations have spotted me. It looks like my intermittent coax plug was why I was getting no spots some days ago.

UPDATE 1921z:  13 stations have spotted me. Now QRT.

CQWW SSB contest

This weekend is the SSB leg of the biggest contest in the world. I may give it a try later. 

The CW leg is at the end of November. These are 48 hour contests and a good chance to work new stations and countries.

One good thing was this showed my 10m coax plug as intermittent. I have now fixed this and gone on 10m WSPR TX with 500mW from the W5OLF TX WSPR beacon. 

The photo shows activity on 10m SSB - busy!! With my poor voice, I find this much harder these days.

See https://www.cqww.com/ .

Astronomy-Now magazine - NOT amateur radio

As a young child, I had quite an interest in astronomy. In my old age (!!) I am attending a course on cosmology at the University of the Third Age in Cambridge.  

Some have even suggested that the planet Earth is a living organism.

There is a magazine for those interested in astronomy. I think this is aimed at those with an interest rather than those professionally involved.

See https://astronomynow.com/ .

23cm transverter

My transverter is in the UK according to the tracker, but I have not got it yet. When it arrives, I need to check what leads I need for local tests. For UKAC next year, I shall need a better antenna.

Me in 1967- NOT amateur radio

This photo was taken in 1967 and was the photo in my Student Union card. In those days I had hair and was a real country bumpkin in a big city.  This appeared as a Facebook memory yesterday.

10m FT8 RX (Sunday)

Stations spotted
by 1030z

At the moment, I am on 10m FT8 RX. Already, I have spotted 133 stations. If things are promising later, I shall QSY to 8m QRP FT8 TX.

UPDATE 1157z:  367 stations spotted so far today.

Religions - NOT amateur radio

As a teenager I had quite a strong Christian faith. As I get older, my faith has waned. 

If I was born in Iran I would probably have been an ardent Muslim and if I was born in Israel, I would probably have been a Jew. 

No, I am puzzled why we so strongly believe "our" religion is the right one and our holy book the only true one. 

11m amateur band

Until today, I had no knowledge that the 11m band was allocated to the amateur service in the USA prior to this being allocated to CB. I guess the nearest amateur bands today are 12m and 10m. 

This appeared on the Amateur Radio Weekly email, with the original article being on Bas's blog at https://pe4bas.blogspot.com/ .  

I was aware of the 5m band, but wonder what other allocations were made in the past? Possibly there were other odd allocations made locally such as the 73 kHz band in the UK at one time. In the UK a very few NoV permits were allocated near 9 kHz. I had one of them.

Some other countries had an 11m amateur band.

Sunspots - Sunday October 30th 2022

Solar flux is 134 and the SSN 97.  A=26 and K=3.

8m QRP FT8

As 10m F2 looked promising, I went on 8m QRP FT8 on 40.680 MHz. Sadly no 8m spots. I keep hoping the E-W F2 MUF will creep to 8m.

With the grandsons - NOT amateur radio

The photo shows my wife with our 2 grandsons earlier today. 

Both are young teenagers growing fast.

Network radio

My network radio has been put to good use as a DMR radio. My grandson is amazed that with something so small I can talk to stations across the planet. It is an Android radio, the Inrico T320.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/other-amateur-radio/network-radio.

Pumpkin time - NOT amateur radio

Our grandsons working on a Halloween pumpkin yesterday.  

EI7GL blog

John's blog is back and I see he has already posted something today. His blog is always interesting.

See https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/ .

10m FT8 RX

Shortly, I shall again be on 10m FT8 RX. If this is good I shall QSY to 8m FT8 QRP TX.

UPDATE 1229z:  279 stations spotted so far on 10m FT8 RX. So far today, things look average.

Mushroom

We saw this mushroom yesterday on our walk at Brandon Country Park. It is called a fly agaric mushroom.

If eaten it can cause hallucinations.

See https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/fungi-and-lichens/fly-agaric/ .

Sunspots - Saturday October 29th 2022

 Solar flux is 129 and the SSN 87. A= 16 and K=4.

OFCOM news

Every week, OFCOM updates the data it holds on us e.g. licences.  See the OFCOM website for details.

Plans for today (Friday)

My plan for today was go on TG91 DMR and maybe 8m QRP FT8 TX later. We were out with family this morning. 

UPDATE 1812z:   In the end I did not go on 8m FT8 at all.

End of Southgate News?

My friend Steve G1KQH has passed me this sad news :

SILENT KEY: SOUTHGATE AMATEUR NEWS' RICHARD BRUNTON G4TUT/SK

PAUL/ANCHOR: If you follow amateur radio current events you are probably  aware of the Southgate Amateur Radio News website. We here at Newsline are sad to report that the colleague of ours in England, who ran that important website, has become a Silent Key. Jeremy Boot G4NJH has that report.

"JEREMY: We are sad to announce the passing of Richard Brunton, G4TUT.  Richard died at age 77 as the result of a fall on the 21st of October.  The callsign may not seem familiar to you, but for decades Richard was editor of the Southgate Amateur Radio News website which has a significant international following. Each and every day, Richard would search the world’s ham radio and technology resources seeking out stories of interest and publishing them. Beyond the straight news items and specialist sections of his site, Richard encouraged non-commercial podcasts and blogs to promote ham radio opinion and stimulate debate on the essential subjects of the day. He also compiled the ‘CQ Serenade’ weekly programme which was broadcast throughout Europe on  Shortwaveradio.de and other public-facing media. Richard himself was an  intensely private man who had no close family, but he reached thousands  of friends daily through his website. Amateur radio has lost a statesman and a stalwart whose dedication to amateur radio was valued and enjoyed by so many"

Museum yesterday - NOT amateur radio

This was our younger grandson at our local museum next door yesterday 

Sunspots - Friday October 28th 2022

Solar flux is 130 and the SSN 72.  A=9 and K=3.

10 years ago - NOT amateur radio

The photo shows the weather 10 years ago. 

It could even reach 22 degrees C in some parts of the UK this week. 

Since we have lived in this part of the UK, it has got a lot milder. Snow is now rare. Last year we had just one snowy day.

Enjoying Cambridge - NOT amateur radio

This morning, my wife, son and grandson went to Cambridge. 

This is my 14 year old grandson enjoying the visit.  

My wife was on her "University of the Third Age" course and my son and grandson went shopping and taking photos.

Rallies this weekend

The following have been notified to me. As always, it is sensible to check before travelling any distance. 

Sunday October 30th - Galashields Radio Rally TD1 3JX. I do not have contact details.

Sunday October 30th- Hack Green Radio Surplus Hangar Sale. Nantwich, Cheshire, CW5 8AL. Contact coldwar@hackgreen.co.uk .

10m FT8 RX (Thursday)

In a few moments I will go on 10m FT8 RX. If things look promising I will switch to 8m QRP FT8 TX on 40.680 MHz. The E-W MUF is creeping up towards 8m! 

UPDATE 1025z:  So far today, 131 stations have been spotted on 10m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1112z: Either there is a problem my end or with PSKreporter as it still shows 131 spots. Other websites seem fine. I must check the shack PC.

UPDATE 1145z:   There was a message on my PC that I have said "OK" to about installing updates outside active hours. . Still says 131 stations spotted. I suspect an issue their end, but I will reboot the PC and install the updates in case this is the problem.

UPDATE 1920z:  QRT.  Updates done. 

New use for T320 network radio

Having owned a network radio for some years, I have found a new use for it.

It looks like a 2m or 70cm handheld with an antenna and PTT, but it is actually an Android cellular phone. With an app called Droidstar it is possible to access DMR and worldwide handheld communication. I cannot see it being widely used for this, but it means I can get on DMR without a special rig or hot-spot. 

Sunspots - Thursday October 27th 2022

Solar flux is 122 and the SSN 78. A=5 and K=2.