OFCOM Communications Weekly

Every week OFCOM updates the data it holds about licences etc.. See the OFCOM website for the latest. 

10m QRP WSPR TX (Friday)

The 10m WSPR beacon was turned on about 1555z. My 500mW was immediately spotted in the Canary Is..

UPDATE 1658z:  4 unique stations have spotted me in the last hour.

8m QRP FT8 (Friday)

 At about 1555z, I turned on my QRP 8m FT8 on 40.680 MHz (TX first). At 1605z, no spots.

UPDATE 1635z: Phil EI9KP (649km) has spotted me again. The propagation puzzles me as it is too close for Es and I would have expected the Doppler on aircraft scatter to be too great to decode. He spots me regularly and I am always grateful. Nothing on 8m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1922z: S50B (1220km) has also spotted me. This is probably winter Es.

Amaryllis - NOT amateur radio

As mentioned a few days ago, we have 3 of these on the go. This one is in flower. 

They are magnificent house plants and great fun. 

This one will be past its best next week, but the second one is coming out!

23cm FT8 test

Only one local can TX on 23cms apparently. My best hope of a 2-way SSB QSO looks like G4BAO, but I get the impression John is away. Several locals can listen, but not TX.

So, my plan currently is to TX FT8, probably at an agreed time on Sunday and monitor PSKreporter. I am not expecting QSOs! Even to get a spot would be pleasing, HI.

Sunspots - Friday January 20th 2023

Solar flux is 219 and the SSN 166.  A=7 and K=0. The sunspot count and solar flux have been very good this month and the F2 MUF above 40 MHz on several times towards the USA.

70cm activity contest results

The results of the first 70cm activity contest of the year have just been released. I came near the bottom of the lower power section, so things can only improve, I hope!

Anglesey Abbey Mill Leat - NOT amateur radio

This is quite close to us by car. At the moment, it is dry, cold and sunny. 

WSJT-X or JTDX?

Up to now, I have always used WSJT-X for FT8. There have been some reports that JTDX decodes more stations. 

Do you have view please? I try to use the latest released version.

Ukraine war - NOT amateur radio

 At the height of the cold war I had many SSB contacts with stations all over the world including stations in the USSR. Sadly these days I go on SSB infrequently because of my poor voice. Amateur radio was a way of breaking down barriers.

A report in The Atlantic says there was a Ukrainian drone strike in early December on a Russian airbase some 500 miles south of Moscow. This airbase is supposed to house nuclear weapons. As far as I know, we heard little about this.

Sadly, we live in dangerous times.

In my view, most, if not all, conflicts are based on insecurity. It is much better to talk to avoid conflict than have wars. One of the dangers of wars is that all parties tend to hide the truth.

I very much hope the stupid conflict in Ukraine can be brought to an end quickly. Jaw, jaw, not war war ..... please.

Reminder - ATV net on Oscar 100 live stream

 A reminder that BATC live streams the ATV net on Thursdays at 2000z on Oscar 100. I must remember this and watch!

See https://batc.org.uk/live/oscar100net

UPDATE 2130z:  It worked well, although I was disappointed that there were only G, GW and GI stations on the net, but considering the path was 44000 miles, the quality of the pictures was excellent. There are some very clever people around - far cleverer than me! To get a good TV picture through the satellite requires RF skills, TV knowledge and software skills.

10m QRP WSPR TX (Thursday)

 For about 4 hours, I have been on 10m QRP WSPR with my W5OLF 500mW beacon.

UPDATE 1415z:  So far today, I have been spotted by 19 stations with the furthermost FR1GZ (9724km).

8m FT8 (Thursday)

Been on 8m FT8 for a couple of hours. G4APB (88km) was spotted although nobody has spotted me.

UPDATE 1440z:  No further 8m FT8 spots.

Sunspots - Thursday January 19th 2023

 Solar flux is 220 and the SSN 164. A=15 and K=0.

Doh!! - 8m

 As I was out most of the day I did not go on 10m or 8m. From what I gather, SSB 8m signals were being copied "across the pond". When I try tomorrow it will be dead! 

23cm local skeds needed

Last night, in the 23cm activity contest, I heard and worked nothing! I am hoping for some local skeds to prove all is well. 

At the moment I only have the 2el test antenna pointing out of the shack window. My shack is on a "hill" (which is a relative term in East Anglia!) and 2W.

Anglesey Abbey water mill

 

This was yesterday in the cold sunshine.

Sunspots - Wednesday January 18th 2023

 Solar flux is 219 and the SSN 185. A=6 and K=3.

23cm activity contest this evening

My first test on 23cms TX will be tonight. I have only got the 2 element test antenna and 2W PEP, so I hope I can copy (and work?) any locals that may be on, otherwise I shall have to set up some skeds. 

All is set up. In the past my only (ever) outing on 23cms was on RX only with a borrowed converter and homemade 4 el yagi. Like then (1970s?), everything is indoors firing through the shack window.

These tests are all in the shack. Later this year I hope to try some /P on 23cms.

See https://www.rsgbcc.org/cgi-bin/contest_rules.pl?year=2023&contest=uhfukac .

Surprise visitor - NOT amateur radio

We often get Muntjac deer in our garden, but rarely see them. Imagine my surprise when pulling back the curtains! 

Amaryllis - NOT amateur radio

We have 3 on the go at the moment. This is the first one in flower. 

8m QRP FT8 (Tuesday)

My QRP 8m FT8 was switched on at 1025z. I am on 40.680 MHz with an audio offset of about 1950 Hz. I am TXing first. No spots.

UPDATE 1820z:  No spots all day. Disappointing.

10m QRP WSPR TX (Tuesday)

My 500mW WSPR beacon was turned on at 1025z. So far, no spots.

UPDATE  1255z: 7 unique stations have spotted me today. Furthermost is FR5ZX (9740km).

UPDATE 1822z:  19 unique stations spotting my QRP.

Plans for the day (Tuesday)

 Today, I plan the following:

• 8m QRP FT8
• 10m QRP WSPR TX
• 23cm local tests ( I think tonight is the 23cm activity contest).

Inside my head! - NOT amateur radio

This photo dates from 2011 when I took part in some brain research at Cambridge University. 

Sunspots - Tuesday January 17th 2023

 Solar flux is 228 and the SSN 186. A=14 and K=1.

PF8 Manual - NOT amateur radio

Many will remember this famous transceiver from the 1980s. It was made famous by featuring in the TV series "The Professionals". A copy of the PF8 service manual is available here.

Magdelene College, Cambridge - NOT amateur radio

 

This is the entrance to Magdelene College, Cambridge looking toward the famous Pepys Library.

Cambridge has many fine buildings.

10m QRP WSPR TX (Monday)

So far, I have been on 10m QRP (500mW) TX with my W5OLF beacon. 2 unique stations spotting me.

UPDATE 1352z:  8 unique stations have spotted me.

UPDATE 1845z:  Now QRT. Today my 500mW 10m WSPR was spotted by 9 stations.

8m QRP FT8 (Monday)

 For about 30 minutes, I have been on 40.680 MHz (TX first) QRP FT8. No spots.

UPDATE 1850z:  No spots. Now QRT.  An absolutely disappointing day.

That free Scrapbook

This is now at Issue 3. The link is here .

Sunspots - Monday January 16th 2023

 Solar flux is 234 and the SSN 117.  A=30 and K=1.

DATV via Oscar 100

As mentioned yesterday there is a live stream of the (D?)ATV net on Oscar 100 starting at 2000z Thursdays. I must try to remember this as I have never seen live ATV via this geosynchronous satellite.

See https://batc.org.uk/live/oscar100net .

10m Simple Sideband

Before my 2013 stroke, I was working on a simple rig for 10m. At the time I was thinking of a dead simple DSB transceiver, but these days a better approach might be an SSB transceiver based around an SI5351 or similar synthesiser.

Whatever the approach, I had in mind a very simple, low cost rig on a single PCB.

10m is very good again and should be good for several years. It is good for Es most summers even in sunspot minimum years. It is also good for local natters. Antennas are small and CB verticals work well.

Such a simple design would make a low cost club project. When built, such a rig could be very useful especially if made as a synthesised SSB rig.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/homebrew/10m-simple-sideband.

6m F2?

It would appear that better stations are working into Africa by F2 on 6m. F2 is usually better on N-S paths than E-W. I know of at least 1 serious 6m operator that has 4 x 6 elements on 6m. That is seriously keen!

The sunspot number and solar flux are usually high most days, so the N-S MUF probably goes above 50 MHz briefly.

Want a laugh? - NOT amateur radio

This cartoon was sent to me yesterday. I have no idea where it originated. It made me laugh.

10m QRP WSPR TX (Sunday)

At 0946z, my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon by W5OLF was turned on. No spots yet.

UPDATE 1006z:  Good spots of me from Crete.

UPDATE 1120z:  7 stations spotting my 500mW. Some Es?

UPDATE 1436z:  14 stations have spotted me today.

UPDATE 1735z:  21 stations have spotted my 10m QRP WSPR today.

8m QRP FT8 (Sunday)

At 0947z, my 8m FT8 was turned on. I am on 40.680 MHz (TX first) with 2.5W to a low wire dipole. The audio offset is about 1950 Hz.

UPDATE 1121z:  No spots.

UPDATE 1222z: G4FFC (47km) in Bedford has spotted me.

UPDATE 1742z: Spotted in Puerto Rico and Canada on 8m FT8 QRP.  My power is probably about 1.7W!! Altogether 5 stations have spotted me and 4 were "across the pond". Best day yet on 8m.

Stations spotting my 8m QRP FT8 today

Later today (Sunday)

A listener in Florida, USA got some bursts around 2000 Hz audio offset (probably of an FT8 transmission on 40.680 MHz) yesterday. He has copied me in the past and I usually send around this offset when on 8m FT8. So I shall definitely try 8m FT8 later, even though only QRP.

If on 8m, I shall also go on 10m QRP WSPR TX with my beacon.

At the moment, I cannot get to the shack as I have to walk through another bedroom first, and my 11 year old granddaughter is in there ....asleep!

Burwell church - NOT amateur radio

Most of our local church dates from the 1400s, although parts of the tower are Saxon.

This photo was taken a few days ago in dull January. There are a few signs of new life, but things will be much better in a few weeks when the daffodils are in flower.

Our grandson rings the bells here when in Burwell.