For a change, I am on 8m WSPR today. As the TX is on for longer periods, I am TXing at 1W instead for 20% if the time.
8 Mar 2023
7 Mar 2023
FT-710 and FT8
This afternoon, I shall have a go at getting FT8 working on the Yaesu FT-710AESS. It requires some drivers downloading first. There are several YouTube videos which should help.
Anglesey Abbey earlier - NOT amateur radio
This was the mill and leat at Anglesey Abbey this morning.
Good looking fellow? - NOT amateur radio
This photo shows me when I was young. Not much change on the top!! I have been bald since my early 20s. It did not last long!
E-field probes (EFP)
These are very small RX antennas that can be very effective at VLF, LF and MF. As you move HF, they get less effective. The main issue is that at lower frequencies external noise dominates.
There are several designs around. Important factors are dynamic range (they can be hit with some very strong signals) and positioning away from buildings to minimise noise pick-up.
See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/antennas/e-field-probe-efp .
80m FETer transceiver
One of the challenges in amateur radio is how simple can you make a rig that really communicates? Some years ago I designed and built this unit for 80m CW that appeared in GQRP SPRAT. It is one of the simplest transceivers you can make. It really works!
See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/homebrew/80m-feter-transceiver .
6 Mar 2023
446 radios - NOT amateur radio
How do they makes profits?
Too small - NOT amateur radio
For many years I was a Christian. These days I am perhaps better described as agnostic. I am not sure what I believe.
Christianity seems too small for me in a world of many faiths. Then you have the probable existence of trillions of planets in the universe. There are probably billions of planets in our galaxy alone and billions of galaxies!!
My view currently is that all religions are hints towards the truth. Christianity seems too parochial these days. I cannot believe that all the religions in the world other than Christianity are wrong.
My own view is that we are all capable of evil given the right triggers. We would rather this was not true, but history proves us wrong. Just shortly before I was born, millions were put to death in gas chambers by the people of a civilised country. I can imagine us being just as evil had circumstances been different.
Throughout history, religions of all sorts have been the trigger for evil against fellow men.
In many ways I envy people with strong religious beliefs, but to me, this is not enough.
I am a strong believer of the existence of good and evil. There is clearly evil in the world, but often (always?) this has its roots in evil done to the perpetrator. It is my firm belief that there is far more good in the world than evil. Sadly, good deeds are rarely newsworthy.
All we can hope is we leave this world having worked for some good within it.
10m QRP WSPR (Monday)
As Monday morning is housework time here, I might put my WSPR 500mW W5OLF beacon on for a while.
Upcoming optical tests on 481 THz
It is years since I did optical experiments. My current plan is to do some local tests with QRSS bouncing off buildings. If these are successful, I want to try an "over the horizon" test with G4HJW.
My first task will be to install Spectran 2 software as this will be needed to decode QRSS and to check the signal margins.
Muntjac deer poo - NOT amateur radio
Bet you never expected this!
In recent weeks we have had a lot of these small deer in our garden. They have eaten some plants. When I cut the grass for the first time this year recently I noticed they left me a small "gift".
Club 72?
Some years ago there was a Russian QRP club that was quite active on 20m CW.
At the moment Russia is not in our good books over Ukraine, but I personally have no issues with the Russian people. Indeed, at the height of the "cold war" many Russians were worked and, via the medium of amateur radio, barriers were broken down. All were human beings just like us!
In my view we have to keep politics out of amateur radio. One of the great things about our hobby is we are all equal whether we come for Russia, the USA, Ghana or wherever. If will be a sad day if barriers are ever erected.
Does Club-72 still exist?
Mizuho MX2
This was an SSB/CW 2m 200mW handheld. I think it dates from the 1980s. In its time I worked some great SSB DX with mine when out portable. I still have one, but it has not been used for years. By modern standards it was not too small. As I recall, it was let down by poor battery life.
See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/vhfuhfmicrowaves/vhfuhf-commercial-rigs/mizuho-mx2.
FT8 on the FT-710AESS
One of my aims this week is to try FT8 on my FT-710. As a keen QRPer, I usually run low power and this will be no exception. In the end I overcame my issues with noise on FT8 RX with the IC-705. I hope this is not an issue on the FT-710. If it is, I shall add ferrite chokes on the USB cable between the rig and PC.
5 Mar 2023
Dalham - NOT amateur radio
We like to do a circular walk around the village of Dalham near Newmarket. This is the lane back to the village. Delightful.
Ferrite rod TX antennas
Ferrite rods are commonly used as RX antennas on MW and LW. They are compact and efficient for their intended purpose. Their use as TX antennas is almost non-existent.
As long as the ferrite is suitable for the frequency and as long as the ferrite is not in saturation, they may be used on TX. This implies very low power, but we know on WSPR and possibly FT8, long distances may be spanned with very low power indeed. Certainly great ranges have been covered with milliwatts and microwatts.
Some years ago, I did some TX tests with ferrite rods and the results surprised me.
In absolute terms, I have little idea about their loss compared with, say, a dipole. At 630m and 160m, antenna efficiencies are often -30dBd or worse, so they could be far better than we might expect. They certainly are small! Some people have bundled several rods together. I have not tried this.
This is yet another area in which radio amateurs can carry out useful research. Be careful that the ferrite rod alone is doing the work and you are not coupling into a bigger antenna nearby.
In my view ferrite rods "compress space" within the rod. As such, they could be used as magnetic or loading in E-field antennas.Remeber to keep power very low.
See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/antennas/ferrite-rod-tx-antennas .
8m QRP FT8 (Sunday)
At 0925z, my 8m QRP FT8 was turned on. For a change, I am TXing 2nd. So far, no spots.
UPDATE 1100z: SP5NOF (1406km) and G9PUV (158km) spotted, but nobody has spotted my 8m FT8 QRP. I hope SP5NOF is legal.
UPDATE 1801z: No further spots all day. QRT soon.
Spring? - NOT amateur radio
The birds in our churchyard are getting ready to nest by repairing old nests as the photo shows. Next week could be much colder. They are in for a shock!
10m QRP WSPR TX (Sunday)
At 0925z, my 500mW 10m WSPR was turned on. So far, no spots.
UPDATE 1021z: 13 spots of me from the Canary Is.. Some reports have 22dB in hand, suggesting I could have been copied with just 5mW (or lower) if the RX noise floor was low enough. On previous days, signals have been even stronger at times!
UPDATE 1150z: LA3SP (1049km) has spotted me many times with up to 25dB in hand!! 3 unique stations have spotted me so far today.
Wisdom - NOT amateur radio
Many years ago I read somewhere that there is a great deal of difference between being clever and being wise. My Auntie Kitty was definitely not clever, but she was wise.
This quote was in "The Knowledge" yesterday.
At the 1937 Soviet writers’ congress, Boris Pasternak, author of Doctor Zhivago, faced a terrible dilemma: to speak or not to speak. This was at the height of Stalin’s purges; writers who deviated an iota from the regime’s view risked being “disappeared”. On the final day, more than six feet tall and “incredibly beautiful”, Pasternak went to the lectern. The silence, it was said, could be heard “all the way to Vladivostok”. When he finally spoke, he began with just one word: the number “30”, denoting Shakespeare’s famous sonnet. “When to the sessions of sweet silent thought / I summon up remembrance of things past…” All 2,000 people in the hall rose to their feet and recited the rest of the poem by heart. The sonnet “said everything” – you can’t touch what we hold in our heads.
4 Mar 2023
Sub 9 kHz DX
Some years ago, I was quite keen on amateur radio below 9 kHz. I well remember people saying it was a waste of time and nobody would get beyond the garden fence. How wrong they were!! Some quite remarkable distances have been spanned.
Although for radiated DX below 9 kHz very big antennas are needed for TX, on RX some tiny antennas can work perfectly well such as an E field probe which is tiny. What is needed is very high stability and very narrow bandwidths, usually achieved by locking to a VLF MSK signal or GPS. Some years ago DJ8WX was spotted by locking to a VLF MSK signal (see photo). All this was possible with free software. Sometimes it is necessary for signals to be integrated for hours or even days.
It is some years since I have experimented at real VLF.
8m QRP FT8 (Saturday)
It is now 1625z and I have been on 8m QRP FT8 for about 30 minutes. So far, no spots.
UPDATE 2025z: QRT now. No spots all day.
10m QRP WSPR (Saturday)
When we got back from Peterborough (at about 1550z), I turned on my 500mW WSPR beacon. So far, at 1620z, 5 spots from the Canary Is..
UPDATE 1745z: 6 unique stations have spotted my 500mW WSPR today.
UPDATE 2026z: 11 spots of me today with 9 transatlantics.
Peterborough - NOT amateur radio
Today we went on the train from Ely to Peterborough. This is a nice day out. The train takes about 35 minutes. Peterborough has a fine cathedral with some famous royal burials. Mary, Queen of Scots is buried there and Katherine of Aragon was buried there before being moved.
3 Mar 2023
The rise of FT8
Looking on John's blog I see the recent Bouvet Island DXpedition did not use SSB on some of the major bands, concentrating on FT8 instead.
No wonder some bands appear quiet. Because of my poor voice, I use FT8 quite a bit. However, in the long run, I can see few coming into the hobby by just chancing upon radio amateurs. FT8 needs special (free) software. If our hobby is to be there in 20 years' time, we need something else to attract and keep people.
In truth, far smaller amateur bands could accommodate us in future. I know to say this is heresy, but is it true? Personally, I would prefer more, smaller, bands throughout the spectrum for the Amateur Radio Service. In 20 years'time I can see many differences coming.
ICOM's IC-905 microwave transceiver price
MLS has just announced the expected price of the ICOM microwave transceiver , the IC-905. It is expected to be £3549.95. It covers 2m,70cm, 23cm, 13cm and 6cm. 3cm needs another transverter.
At this price, I really cannot see huge sales. Remember the GPS receiver and a 10 GHz transverter are extras on top. I cannot see change from £4000. This sort of price is only for the well off. Also, microwave antennas are on top as well!
No, I predict this will flop and be withdrawn within 2 years.
ICOM make some very good products and I really hope I am wrong. Sadly these manufacturers and dealers are, ultimately, in business to made profits. I just cannot see how this will make them money. They will sell a few to the well off, but I cannot see this ever becoming a mass seller.
See https://www.hamradio.co.uk/icom-ic-905-vhf-uhf-shf-transceiver-deposit-only .
Rose pruning - NOT amateur radio
Just realised that the roses must be pruned! They will soon be growing.
UPDATE 1547z: Front roses pruned.
OFCOM updates
A reminder that OFCOM updates the data it holds every week. Check the OFCOM website for the latest.
Spectran V2
8m QRP FT8 (Friday)
At the moment I am on 40.680 MHz QRP FT8.
UPDATE 1258z: No spots. Just switched to second period TX.
UPDATE 1333z: Still no spots today.
UPDATE 1940z: Just G9PUV (158km) spotted today. QRT.
Talk ....without the talking
Next Friday, I am giving a "talk" at the Cambridge Radio Club (CDARC). This is a bit of an experiment as I have prepared the slides and someone else is doing the talking. These days, my voice is pathetic!!
CDARC is experimenting with hybrid talks so those of us unable to attend can watch on Zoom. Let's hope there are not too many questions! The talk is entitled, " Fun in Amateur Radio". I have been blessed with over 60 years of fun in the hobby and my greatest wish is that others can have as much fun. We all enjoy our hobby in different ways and that is one of the things that make it great.
10m QRP WSPR (Friday)
As the 10m antenna is available, I am again on 10m WSPR with my 500mW TX beacon. At 0935z, just a single spot from EA8/DF4UE (2876km).
UPDATE 1237z: 3 unique stations spotting the 10m QRP WSPR today.
UPDATE 1535z: 5 unique stations spotting me today.
UPDATE 1920z: QRT. 6 unique stations spotted my QRP today. Quite a poor day.
481THz tests
These days I am just too wobbly to do optical tests "out in the field". However Bernie G4HJW has offered to put up an optical beacon so I can see if I can copy it "over the horizon" 10 miles away at my QTH. It is many years since I did optical experiments and this will be a challenge on many levels.
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