At the moment, I am on 10m WSPR TX with 50mW. Indications from the Canary Isles are that I could be at least 10dB weaker (5mW) and still be copied.
Sadly WSPRnet still shows my power at 500mW as I have no way of changing this with my W5OLF beacon. I am actually using this with a 10dB pad right on the output.
My local tests to see if 10mW ERP 8m beacons could be useful have concluded. The results are on my 8m web page.
The conclusion is that 10mW ERP really is useful.
My own reading indicates that anyone in the UK may without a licence operate 40.66-40.70 at 10mW ERP as long as they meet the technical requirements and IR 2030.
Now, I am no legal expert, so you have to make sure of your legality.
See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/vhfuhfmicrowaves/8m-band.
On Mondays, I have been attending lectures in Cambridge on cosmology. This is part of my University of the Third Age course. It is very hard, quite the hardest course I have ever attended
Now, one thing is clear. We really know so very little. Yes, the theories hang together pretty well, but there is so much we do not understand. Take, for example, dark matter. Apparently this has to exist for the universe we know to exist. Sadly, we haven't a clue what dark matter is!
Also, time. We experience this as linear flowing from the past into the future. Some think time itself is an illusion created by man. Some think there are an infinite number of universes.
All we can be sure about is that whatever we believe today will be wrong or, at best, incomplete.
Despite all that I have learnt, I am left with a feeling that some time in the next 100 years a new theory will emerge that we will find hard to fathom at first, yet will soon help to comprehend some of what we do not understand.
It is hard to think about what we don't know about. Early in the last century, the Internet was impossible to conceive. What will the next 100 years bring?
Again, I am on 10m WSPR TX with 500mW QRP from the W5OLF beacon. So far, just the usual spots from the Canary Is.
UPDATE 1223z: Still just spots of my QRP from the Canary Isles. 66 spots of me so far today.
Today I intend to reduce my 8m WSPR power to 10mW ERP and use the call 8M3ISM to see who, if anyone, can still spot me locally. Yesterday, with 5 local monitors, I was widely spotted with 1W WSPR. Judging by the reports yesterday, things will be far harder today.
Although Keith yesterday told me of an easy way to reduce power of the FT817ND by 20dB using the power slider in WSJT-X, I cannot see a way to do this with VOX control and a SignaLink USB, so I will add a 20dB attenuator temporarily.
I need to work out the correct values for a 20dB pad, which will go right next to the rig so there is no radiation risk from the coax cable. As I intend to keep the 1W power setting from yesterday, I need to ensure the attenuator is suitably rated for power handling. Looking at the calculator, I can use 100 ohm resistors in series and parallel to get the values and power handling. The calculator is on the site shown.
See https://leleivre.com/rf_pipad.html .
UPDATE 1215z: 10mW WSPR running with the callsign 8M3ISM.
At the moment I am doing some local tests to see if people can copy 10mW ERP on 8m locally. This is the UK ISM limit. As calibration, I am sending 1W WSPR on 8m before trying 10mW ERP. Initial tests suggests this is too low to be copied, but might just be possible with 2el 8m antennas.
UPDATE 1928z: This is an update on the 8m ISM tests locally so far. At the moment, I expect to switch to 10mW ERP WSPR later this week with the call 8M3ISM. A 20dB pad will be added right next to the FT817ND.
In preparation for my local 8m QRPP WSPR tests later this week, I have now QSYed to 8m WSPR. I am on 40.680 MHz with my WSPR tones at 1500 Hz HF in the middle of the WSPR slot.
This means the actual WSPR transmission is on 40.6815 kHz.
Jason, M0NYW is doing local tests with 8m WSPR at 10mW ERP on 8m under ISM regulations. He is producing a coverage map around the local area. He is doing a blog.
Luckily, there are several online calculators to work out what values of resistor are needed for a given degree of RF attenuation. In the past, I have added attenuators right on the output of my FT817 to get really low power with WSPR on HF bands.
Starting tomorrow, I hope to do some very low ERP tests on 8m locally. Initially, I shall be sending 8m WSPR with my normal power, to make sure locals are looking in the correct place. Later, I am proposing to send 10mW ERP 8m WSPR with a different callsign to see who can still copy me. This should give some idea of what would be possible on the 8m ISM band with very low powered beacons.
Recent OFCOM statements have indicated to me that such operation would be legal without a licence as long as the technical requirements and IR 2030 are met i.e. 10mW ERP at 8m.
If successful, I think many more UK people could legally experiment at 8m on the ISM band albeit with very low power. I know that Jason M0NYW is proposing such tests in his local area. In my view, this is exactly what research is all about. This is not amateur radio, but it is very much radio by amateurs.
Now, I am no legal expert, so you have to decide what the rules indicate.
This evening I am on 630m (472kHz) WSPR RX. So far, at 2125z, 2 unique stations spotted.
At the moment I am on 8m 1W WSPR TX. This is in preparation for my 10mW ERP tests next week. No local spots.
Since several people confirmed that 3 bars o the FT817ND means 2.5W and not 5W even with a 13.8V PSU, it means all my 10m and 8m FT8 QRP spots were with 2.5W and NOT 5W. This is even more pleasing.
You would think after owning FT817s for about 20 years I would know the answer! The Operating Manual is ambiguous, so I would appreciate a definitive answer from someone who definitely knows!
With an external 13.8V PSU and with three bars showing, what is the power on SSB?
The implication is this is 2.5W (not 5W), but I am not 100% sure. Please clarify! To get 5W I think you have to have no bars, but I may be wrong.
If it is 2.5W (not 5W), I may have been using 2.5W pep when I thought I was using 5W!
Since about 0945z, I have been on QRP 8m FT8 on 40.680 MHz. No spots.
An article about 8m has been submitted to Practical Wireless. I hope it will be published early next year. I doubt RSGB RadCom would publish it, which is why I gave them a miss this time. I have written a letter to the editor of RadCom about an amateur band at 8m and it has not appeared.
UPDATE 1350z: Having got no FT8 spots, I have moved over to WSPR at 1W. It is on 40.680 MHz USB dial with the tones on 1.5 kHz higher in the WSPR window. I am transmitting 40% of the time.
UPDATE 2035z: In preparation for my local QRPP 8m WSPR test next week, I have started WSPR transmissions on 40.680 MHz USB dial. My WSPR appears 1.5 kHz HF in the middle of the 200 Hz WSPR slot. My aim is to first ensure everyone is looking in the right place. So far I have had reports from G8CRB (12km). With the reports Steve has given me at 1W, it is unlikely he would copy me at 10mW ERP. Steve is using a fan dipole for 80-12m.
At the moment, I am on 10m WSPR with my 500mW W5OLF WSPR beacon. So far, just a spot by LA3RK (1064km).
Last evening the furthermost was SM6BGP (994km). On my screen it said 1003km, but I am not arguing. I am on 630m RX again this evening. Still using the coax to my 2m big-wheel and a mains plug earth. Tuning is again via the ferrite rod on the shack desk.
The following rallies have been notified to me. As always, check before travelling far.
Saturday November 19th - Wiltshire Radio Rally, Chippenham, SN15 5NJ. rally@chippenhamradio.club .
Saturday November 19th - Rochdale and District Amateur Radio, OL12 7QR. rozallin@gmail.com .
Sunday November 20th - CATS 43rd Radio and Electronics,CR5 1ES. bazaar@catsradio.org.uk .
I am on 8m QRP FT8 on 40.680 MHz. So far today, no stations spotted but I have been spotted by SR4DON (1352km).
UPDATE 1656z: No further spots on 8m FT8 today. My 8m WSPR local tests start on Monday Nov 21st.
UPDATE 1720z: I have just written an article about 8m for Practical Wireless. If they publish it, it should appear early next year. My aim is to try to get a tiny 8m amateur band by NoV and dispel the utterly stupid myth that such a band would be "more of the same".
At the moment, I am trying to drum up local support (near JO02DG) for some very low power WSPR tests in the 8m ISM band.
Following a recent email from OFCOM, it is my view that anybody in the UK may use the 8m ISM band without a licence for beacons as long as they meet IR 2030. This allows 10mW ERP. At first sight, this seems very low, but with WSPR this could well be spotted across Europe from the UK.
These local tests could indicate what might be possible.
Of course, I would much prefer a tiny, digital only, amateur allocation at 8m.
UPDATE 1228z: Interestingly, the majority of my 10m WSPR spots today would have been possible at 10mW ERP assuming the local noise floor permitted.
UPDATE 1630z: Several locals have offered help with my upcoming 8m WSPR tests. The tests should take place very soon, probably next week.
UPDATE 1636z: Of course access to the ISM bands does not have to be just 8m: here in the UK as long as long as IR 2030 is met many ISM bands could be used for beacons legally without a licence is my interpretation. ISM rules vary with countries and I am not a legal expert, so you will have to check yourself.
At the moment I am on 10m WSPR TX with 500mW from my W5OLF beacon. So far, spots from the Canary Is, although I have not been on very long.
UPDATE 1543z: 10 unique stations have spotted my QRP 10m WSPR.
This Qatar satellite has been in geosynchronous orbit for several years now. It has never really caught on. When I monitored last night (European evening) at 1955z there were just a few stations active on the narrowband transponder. It feels people (a very few) enjoy the challenge of getting active on the satellite, then lose interest.
Last evening, I went on DMR briefly. As I have no DMR gear, I used my Android network radio with an app called Droidstar. With this, access to the worldwide DMR network is possible.
DMR is OK to have on in the background, but does not exactly "turn me on". It is OK for skeds, nets, and worldwide chats with a handheld, but is not really my "thing".
My network radio is an Inrico T320. It is ideal as a DMR handheld.
See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/other-amateur-radio/network-radio.
