Sunspots - Saturday November 5th 2022

 Solar flux is 118 and the SSN 81. A=16 and K=2.

Listenbourg - NOT amateur radio

Apparently, this imaginary EU country first appeared last week as a joke. Since then it has a leader, Formula 1 Grand Prix and National Anthem!

Moral: do not believe all you see on the Internet.

See https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/what-is-listenbourg-new-eu-country-viral-b1037604.html .

23cm transverter has arrived

This came today from Bulgaria complete with a small test 2el antenna. Once I work out what leads I need, I shall try some tests with some locals.

There was, thankfully, no duty to pay.

As you can see in the photo, it is very small for 2W PEP.

Spotted in the USA on 8m ....at last

At last, my 8m QRP FT8 has been spotted in the USA by 2 stations with the furthermost N2OTO in Florida (7094km). I am still on 40.680 MHz QRP FT8. I think this was F2 propagation. It was a matter of time.

Kingsbridge Estuary again - NOT amateur radio

The photo shows another view of the Kingsbridge Estuary in Devon where I lived as a child. This is the view towards Kingsbridge from East Portlemouth. Judging by the fields, it looks like August. 

Oscar 100 activity

My usual peek at activity levels on Oscar 100 yesterday evening in Europe show activity still quiet. My recommendation is still not to bother. 

Getting worldwide QSOs seems easier and far less expensive with an Android phone with Droidstar and DMR.

Sunspots - Friday November 4th 2022

Solar flux is 125 and the SSN 65.  A=26 and K=4.

23cm transverter

According to my tracker, this arrived in the UK on October 24th. It has still to be delivered. It is now November 3rd.

8m QRP FT8 TX (Thursday)

S50B reports he has been spotted on 8m in the USA this morning. It sounds like the E-W MUF went to 8m, which is promising. 

I have gone on 40.680 MHz QRP FT8 TX (first) and RX hoping to be spotted in the USA.

UPDATE 1930z:  No spots. QRT. 

Rallies this weekend

The following rallies have been notified to me. It is always a good idea to check with organisers if going any distance.

Sunday Nov. 6th - Bushvalley ARC Rally, Limavady (NI). BT49 0DF.   No contact details given.

Sunday Nov. 6th - Holsworthy Radio Rally, Devon. m0omc@m0omc.co.uk.

How do you start on 472 kHz (630m)?

This is a question I am often asked. Many people are under the illusion that huge antennas and extensive grounds are needed. This is definitely not true!! I am sure that if you want to work vast distances then these would help, but I have had great success on WSPR around Europe with just my simple QRP transverter and my earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. I have also had some international QSOs with these around Europe.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/homebrew/630m-472khz-transverter .

Old voice recordings - NOT amateur radio

There are some very old voice recordings on the Internet. I have a link to some of these on my main website.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/non-amateur-radio/old-recordings .

DMR - like repeaters?

Monitoring DMR on my Android phone with Droidstar, it sounds like a repeater.  At the moment a Welsh station is chatting with a station in Arizona in the USA. 

Like Oscar 100, it seems the fun is getting the gear going, then it is fine for chats, but people soon get bored with nothing much to say. It is OK to listen to in the background or for nets and skeds.   It does not give me much pleasure.

UPDATE 1212z:  Some transmissions are quite broken up either because stations are coming in via repeaters or packets are being lost over the internet. Some signals are very good indeed. It is amusing to hear stations all over the planet chatting like locals.

Teenage home - NOT amateur radio

This is Kingsbridge in Devon where I lived in my teenage years. The water is the Kingsbridge Estuary. 

10m FT8 RX (Thursday)

At the moment, I am on 10m FT8 RX. At 0910z, 99 unique stations spotted.

Stations spotted
by 0952z

UPDATE 1430z:  864 unique stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX.

Last night's 2m FT8 activity contest

For the first time, I submitted an entry for this 2m FT8 UKAC activity contest. It was surprising not to see a list of affiliated societies. If it was there, I missed it. 

This being the case, I am unlikely to submit an entry in future. The only reason I entered a score was to help CDARC. I could enjoy the activity without submitting an entry.

Sunspots - Thursday November 3rd 2022

 Solar flux is 130 and the SSN 49.  K=14 and K=4.

2m FT8 activity contest (Wednesday)

Starting at 1900z, tonight is the 2m FT8 activity contest (UKAC). Although I often go on with my 5W and omni antenna, I rarely actually submit an entry. I might do this evening.

Stations spotting my 5W
2m FT8 this evening

71 stations spotted on
2m FT8 RX this evening

UPDATE 2045z:  4 QSOs and spotted by loads of stations. 71 stations spotted here.

Cosmology - NOT amateur radio

As part of my University of the Third Age lectures , I am attending a course on Cosmology. It is very interesting, but also very hard.

Like last year, I try to take away some aspect of what I have learnt. My overwhelming thought is "this cannot be right".  Yes, the explanations sound plausible, but we know so very little. My overriding thought is "in 100 years people will say, "did you really believe THAT?"".

It is very enjoyable just being able to learn for fun with no worries about exams  etc..

Next term, I am doing something quite different: the history of the Bank of England.

It is also nice being in Cambridge.

UPDATE 1855z:   It has been estimated that there are 60000000000 planets in the Milky Way galaxy alone that could support life.  There are billions of galaxies in the universe that we know of. So, it looks like somewhere out there there should be life. Mind boggling.

Nice walk - NOT amateur radio

Quite regularly we go for a walk around nearby Anglesey Abbey which is a National Trust property. At all times of the year there is something to see. It has certainly turned autumnal in the last few weeks.

8m QRP FT8 TX (Wednesday)

Later this afternoon, I hope to be on 8m QRP FT8 TX on 40.680 MHz. 10m so far looks pretty promising.

UPDATE 1842z: No 8m spots.

G3XBM history

My interest in radio goes back to 1961. Since then, it was my career and an absorbing hobby. 

After all this time I still find aspects of our hobby totally fascinating. 

Most recently, I have ordered a 2W 23cm transverter from Bulgaria that I hope to use to work some locals and maybe further in the UKAC sessions when portable.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/other-amateur-radio/g3xbm-history .

2m UKAC yesterday evening

As usual, I went on the 2m activity contest organised by the RSGB with 10W pep and my horizontal omni antenna. 6 contacts were had in about 40 minutes before I stopped. 2 QSOs at 105km.

10m FT8 RX (Wednesday)

Any HF user will agree that 10m is good again these days. I am hoping for the E-W F2 MUF to exceed 8m.

My plan for today is to go on 10m FT8 RX and switch to 8m QRP FT8 TX if things look promising later.

UPDATE 1400z:  On 10m FT8 RX 621 stations spotted today.

Sunspots - Wednesday November 2nd 2022

Solar flux is 128 and the SSN 63. A=8 and K=4.

Right wing politics - NOT amateur radio

It puzzles me that many right wing candidates get elected to high office in many countries. Now I know many on the left and right of politics are less than perfect and we are free to elect the candidates we choose in most countries. This is fair. If we don't like the candidate we vote them out.

However, we seem to have a swing to the right in politics in many countries.

Perhaps this is a protest vote and these candidates better represent certain minorities?

All I can say is this. Politicians with extreme values can be dangerous. History has taught us this many times in many nations. Be very careful what you wish for!

My own politics is centralist. I think it is better to be fair to everyone and extreme left or right rarely works.

Where I was born - NOT amateur radio

As a child, we lived in a council house and did not have much money. 

Just after WW2 this big country house was a nursing home, so it is good to be able to say I was born in a grand country house!

8m QRP FT8 TX (Tuesday)

We had thunderstorms earlier, so I disconnected everything. In a few moments, I expect to be on 8m QRP FT8 TX on 40.680 MHz. 

UPDATE 1548z:  No spots after 60 minutes. Apparently the E-W F2 MUF reached 43 MHz this morning.

UPDATE 1726z: No spots today.

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.