10m FT8 is becoming very popular and this receiver allows 10m FT8 reception without tying up the main rig. It is simple, very low cost and works really well.
I could probably convert it into a full FT8 transceiver!
See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/homebrew/10ft8r-rx .
At various times of the solar cycle our largest HF allocation enjoys most propagation modes. At all parts of the solar cycle it experiences Es openings in spring and summer. It is often open when people desert it. This is where FT8 could prove useful in the quieter years.
It is also good for local chats. At one time modified CB rigs were very popular. With these and a CB vertical ranges of about 30km locally were common.
At the moment, it is a great DX band. It is usually better in the daytime, although when it is really good, it is often open for DX in the evenings.
It is wide enough for all modes. Even digital TV has been tried above 29 MHz.
It remains my favourite HF band.
See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/10m-operation .
In general, the whole preparation for the coronation feels very low key. I am old enough to remember the 1953 coronation of Queen Elizabeth II!! I guess we were still getting over WW2 and this was a bit of light relief.
I remember going to watch the coronation on a neighbour's tiny TV screen in black and white. We did not have a TV until 1957 and that was just one channel and back and white. At the time we thought it was amazing. Before then, we used to watch a snowy TV picture whilst sitting on the floor a a local radio/TV shop. At that time we were about 150km from the nearest TV transmitter.
Quite a good multi-band antenna is the end-fed via a 9:1 balun. At the end of the wire it presents a high impedance and the 9:1 balun drops the impedance to a low SWR, certainly less than 3:1 that can be tuned via the auto-ATU in many modern rigs. On many radios an ATU will not be needed at all. With QRP, RF on the coax is not usually an issue. With high power, more care or a counterpoise may be needed.
At the moment I am using an end-fed antenna. I have not found a counterpoise necessary.
Commercial versions are available (e.g. from Moonraker), although many make their own.
Thus comes to me as an email on Saturdays. It is a precis of amateur radio news and very good it is. There are links to the originating articles.
See https://hamweekly.com/ .
This next week, I hope to restart my QRP tests on 40.680 MHz FT8. I have been off for a few weeks.
The Es season is just getting under way. This season, I may try WSPR sometime probably in the WSPR window at 40.680 MHz (DF 1400-1600 Hz).
It would be good if lots of countries came on 8m FT8 or WSPR this season, ideally TX, but RX if nothing else.
I am convinced that just 10mW ERP WSPR will be copied across Europe on 8m at times. In the UK anybody would be able to TX 10mW ERP WSPR in the 8m ISM band without a licence as long as the technical requirements and IR2030 are met. This is not the Amateur Radio Service. It is an experiment under ISM rules.
Just would like to put on record how amazing the tiny 20-10m QDX digital transceiver is from QRP Labs.
It works extremely well on TX and, as I have found out in the last day, works extremely well on RX down to at least 40m. It will probably go even lower!
If you have no other rig, this tiny transceiver is a real winner. It can be used with WSJT-X on all modes I think. So far, I have used FT8 and WSPR. It is nominally a 5W rig, but my QRP signal is daily copied all over the world.
It is incredible how something this tiny works so very well.
It is intriguing to see how low I can RX on my tiny 20-10m QDX transceiver. At the moment I am on 40m FT8 RX with the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground, which seems to work better at 40m than my end-fed 10m antenna. It would probably work on TX too but the low pass filter is probably ineffective.
Nothing has appeared on PSKreporter, although I can see many stations locally on my screen. Perhaps there is a delay or a reset is needed?
UPDATE 1310z: WSJT-X reset. Still no PSKreporter spots on 40m FT8 RX. Just looked on the "all bands" view and I can see my 40m RX spots - odd.
Just a reminder that OFCOM updates the information it holds every week. There is also a list of its publications. See the OFCOM website.
This is mid-May in Ohio USA. It is one of the biggest amateur radio gatherings in the world. It is often the place where major manufacturers announce new products, even if they are still some way off. I have never been. Let's hope Yaesu do not miss the boat again, or I fear curtains.
See https://hamvention.org/ .
Some weeks ago, these were my aims. Some have been achieved.
Done
Since 0915z, I have been on 10m QRP FT8 with the QDX transceiver. Poor conditions? At 0928z, just 2 stations spotted and just one local has spotted me so far.
UPDATE 1208z: 15 stations have spotted my 10m QRP FT8 today.
Solar flux is 150 and the SSN 136. A=21 and K=3. Conditions seem poor.
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| Stations spotting my QRP FT8 on 15m today |
I believe they bask in the sun, but they cannot be that common. They are most often seen on heathlands and woodlands. They are the only venomous snake in the UK. They are also known as vipers. Their venom is rarely harmful to humans although medical treatment is advised. The photo is attributed to Benny Trapp on Wikipedia.
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vipera_berus .
See https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/reptiles/adder .
The following has been notified to me. As this is an automatic email, it is advisable to check it is on and the information is correct.
Sunday April 30th - Ripon Radio Rally, Ripon, HG4 2PT. Contact https://www.g4sjm.co.uk/contact-us .
On Saturday week, our new King Charles III is crowned. At the moment things feel very muted. For example, John Lewis in Cambridge, a major department store nationally, has nothing for the coronation, that I could see, on display. I guess they are worried about excess stock on their hands in hard times. This small display was at the back of a pub in Ely yesterday.
Personally, I think (just) I am in favour of a symbolic monarchy as long as it is considerably slimmed down.
The Cambridge club (CDARC) is launching a scheme like a mini WAB scheme called "Worked all Cambridge (or is it Cambridgeshire?)". The object is to work stations in all the Ordnance Survey 10km squares in the county. For example, I am in TL56 square. I think it runs for a year, but as I do not have details yet, I have no idea how many squares there are. I can imagine some in the Fens are quite hard. What a fun scheme for a club.
Shortly, I intend to try 10m QRP FT8 with the tiny QDX transceiver.
UPDATE 1110z: 80 reports of my QRP 10m FT8 TX. Now RX only. Panic at first when my SWR bridge showed no power and a high SWR. It turned out it was the lead to the SWR bridge, not the QDX! Stations across the planet spotted on 10m FT8 RX.
UPDATE 1248z: 220 stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX.
UPDATE 1319z: Briefly on 10m QRP FT8 TX with 13 stations spotting me in the last.15 minutes. Now back on 10m FT8 RX only with 261 stations spotted so far today.
UPDATE 1544z: 376 stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX. 106 stations have spotted my QRP 10m FT8 today. I am operating as a beacon and not really after QSOs.
Correspondence with OFCOM in the UK has convinced me that anyone may TX with a WSPR, FT8 or QRSS beacon in the ISM segment of 40.66 - 40.70 MHz without the need for any licence as long as the technical requirements and IR2030 are met. In the UK this means 10mW ERP.
This is NOT the Amateur Radio Service.
Today, on 10m WSPR many stations (with a quiet noise floor) would have copied me with 5mW ERP, so I am convinced that at 8m, such signals could be widely copied. In Australia we know that 5mW of 8m WSPR has spanned 5000km.
What I am advocating is stations check the ISM rules in their country and set up a network of 8m WSPR beacons. If possible, randomise frequencies to avoid interference and stick within the WSPR window 40.680 MHz + DF 1400-1600 Hz. This will give us all maximum chances of being copied on 8m.
In the UK, callsigns for ISM beacons are optional, but I suggest something that WSPRnet can report and QTH locators are essential. This is an experiment and the more people taking part the better.
Judging by the results on 10m WSPR, the Es season has arrived. I must give 8m another go and 4m. As the season gets underway we can expect widespread openings from the UK to Europe and similar distances in North America. On 8m, the main issue will be too few people monitoring.
You can just browse it, download the lot or just the bits that take your fancy. As I always say, I am sure my projects may be improved, so treat these as starting points.
At some point, I must update it as there have been a few changes of late.
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| Behind King's Cambridge |
Just before breakfast, I turned on my 500mW W5OLF 10m WSPR beacon. At 0836z, no spots received.
