Sunspots - Sunday May 14th 2023

  Solar flux is 144 and the SSN 134.  A=11 and K=3.

How do they do it?

Banggood is selling a handheld SSB transceiver covering 40, 20, 15 and 10m for just £95.93.  

I have no idea how they do this for this price and I have no idea of how well it works. I have never heard of this before.

6m QRP FT8 (Saturday)

This is probably not a great idea!  

At about 2000z, I decided to QSY to 50.313 MHz QRP FT8 using my vertical omni V2000 antenna. On RX there were signs of a weak signal, but nobody was decoded and nobody has spotted me. 

I shall turn things off when I go to bed. I was hoping to reach a few locals.

UPDATE 2007z:  No spots. QRT .

BBC weather - NOT amateur radio

BBC weather rant time. 

Today the BBC was saying the clouds would burn back and we would have sunshine and light cloud as they are saying right now!!! 😉 It has been full cloud all day. I know BBC weather is a joke, but I object to my money being wasted on super-computers when looking out the window is free and just as good!! 

Rant over. I feel better 😁😉

Swallows: more? - NOT amateur radio

 

This year, I have already seen more swallows than all of last year. Perhaps I have been lucky.

First cuckoo - NOT amateur radio

This morning, we walked to Wicken Fen. We saw several bird species including stonechat, wheatears, swallows and swifts. We heard reed warblers and cuckoos. We saw highland cattle, and konik ponies in the distance.

See https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/visit/cambridgeshire/wicken-fen-national-nature-reserve .

8m QRP FT8 (Saturday)

My 8m FT8 was turned on at 1145z. I am on 40.680 MHz (DF about 1950 Hz, TX in first period).

UPDATE 1900z:   No spots all day.

Mills on the air weekend

This weekend expect quite a few special stations operating from windmills and watermills. Our local club (CDARC) is operating from Fulbourn windmill near Cambridge as GB2FM. 

See https://fulbournwindmill.org.uk/

Our own windmill next door has free entry all weekend.

See https://burwellmuseum.org.uk/ .

10m QRP WSPR TX (Saturday)

My 500mW 10m WSPR beacon was turned on at about 1145z.

UPDATE 1545z:   No spots.

UPDATE 1634z:  No sure if it is just that propagation has at last been possible or they have just come on, but my 10m signal is being received in the Canary Islands.

UPDATE 1814z: 4 unique stations have spotted me including 2 by Es.

Walk - NOT amateur radio

 The plan is to walk to nearby Wicken Fen, have a snack and a drink and walk back. Will we see any Konik ponies, swallows or even a kingfisher?

Saturday plans

 8m QRP FT8 later (40.680 (TX first, DF about 1950 Hz)) and QRP 10m WSPR TX with the 500mW beacon.  All later, after a walk.

Chocolates - NOT amateur radio

We had a friend stay with us recently. He very kindly bought us some chocolates.

We had a couple last night. They were delicious. 

Sunspots - Saturday May 13th 2023

Solar flux is 149 and the SSN 134.  A=19 and K=2.

XBM80-2 80m ultra-simple rig

This has been on before, I know.

Some years ago, I wanted to see how simple one could make a rig that actually worked. There is no doubt at all that the rig can be made better with more experimentation with values and other things, but I was quite surprised that something this simple worked.

Please do not (ever) be afraid to use my designs as starting points. If you can make something better, great. If it totally fails, just start again! 

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/homebrew/80m-xbm80-2 .

Cold and wet? - NOT amateur radio

Certainly in this part of the UK it has felt colder and wetter this year. It is already May and it feels wet and cold. 

We did some gardening yesterday, but we could certainly not today. 

We popped to the garden centre to buy some new plants, but my wife came inside from our garden as she was too cold!

8m disappointment

This Es season, I was hoping we would see several new countries appearing on 8m. It would have been good if a few stations had been able to get even temporary access to the band around the solar maximum. 

Also, several countries could legally transmit beacons in the ISM band 40.66-40.70 MHz without a licence. We know from Australia that 5mW of 8m WSPR can go 5000km and many times on 10m just microwatts can cross Europe almost daily. If there were lots of QRRP WSPR beacons on 8m just imagine how useful this could be.  Apart from Greece, with ISM rules, I have yet to see any further activity from new countries.

I am quite surprised and saddened. These next few years could be really interesting on 8m.

New HF handheld?

It is over 20 years ago that Yaesu introduced the revolutionary FT817. Since then, absolutely nobody has introduced another handheld for HF/VHF. The nearest were the IC-705 from ICOM and the Elecraft KX2 and KX3. In the meantime we have seen several VHF/UHF FM and digital handhelds come and go. I guess these attract a better return on investment, although I am surprised.

We are overdue a multimode, multiband true handheld. In my view they could do a handheld covering 10m, 6m (with 4m in Europe), 70cm and maybe 23cm. With the right features, this could be a real winner. 10m will be good for several years and the VHF bands could do with a shot in the arm.

Both ICOM and Yaesu have SDR receivers. Can we expect a new multimode/multiband rig?

8m QRP FT8 (Friday)

At about 1045z, my 8m FT8 was turned on on 40.680 MHz (TXing in first period, DF about 1950 Hz). No spots.

UPDATE 1510z:   No spots. So far today, unbelievably quiet on 8m here. It has also been pretty poor on 10m WSPR with just spots from the Canary Islands.

UPDATE 1600z:  Unless things dramatically change (always possible) today has been a disaster on 8m with no spots on RX or TX. I shall leave the gear running for a few more hours "just in case". It looks like 10m and 8m have been affected by disturbed conditions, Maybe tomorrow will be better.

Memo to self, " I must remember 10m WSPR"

Whenever I go on 8m, I forget the 10m antenna is available and that I can go on 10m WSPR TX with my 500mW beacon. Just now I remembered! 

So far, several spots by EA8/DF4UE (2876km).

UPDATE 1822z:  4 unique stations have spotted me today. Two were in Austria and two in the Canary Islands. On PSKreporter one German also spotted me. I am puzzled as I thought everything appeared on WSPRnet. Overall, a pretty miserable day on 10m WSPR.

23cm

This was a band new to me, so a little while back I invested in a transverter from SG Labs in Bulgaria. It is well made and seems to work well. Several people had recommended this 2W transverter.  My idea (when the weather gets better!) is to use it /P from a hill in the RSGB's UKAC activity sessions on 23cm.

Someone very kindly sent me a 3 element yagi, that needs a proper test - thank you so much.

Some people take the band very seriously with high power and big antennas. With these, some incredible distances can be regularly spanned on SSB. As you can tell, I am just "dabbling".  I want to try 23cms without doing much!

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/vhfuhfmicrowaves/23cm .

Dartmoor ponies - NOT amateur radio

Dartmoor ponies are very famous worldwide. They are wild on the moor and are often seen wandering near the roads. I think this photo was taken in 2012.

Plans for Friday

Later, I expect to go on 40.680 MHz QRP FT8. The Es has started and every day has seen me spotted across Europe with 2.5W and a low wire dipole.

Sunspots - Friday May 12th 2023

Solar flux is 149 and the SSN 152. A=26 and K=2.

Human consciousness - NOT amateur radio

Time and again I am amazed by the things that had to happen for me to be here on this planet, at this time, in this country. I am the result of generations and generations of ancestors. If just one had not existed I would not exist. 

The number of planets in the universe is huge. Some estimate this as 100 billion billion billion billion  The number of planets with sentient life is probably huge. On the Earth now there are around 8 billion humans. Yet I exist.

Exactly what is human life? What exactly is self awareness? Why am I here now, in this country, on this planet? 

Some would say there is a religious element. Whilst I understand this, to me the explanation is too small and too Earth centred.

We always think of time going from the past into the future? Is this an illusion?

Rally this weekend

The following rally in Scotland has been announced. Please check with organisers first to ensure the information is correct.

Sunday May 14th - Braedhead Rally, G51 4BN. Contact admin@braeheadradiorally.com. 

8m QRP FT8 (Thursday)

It is now 1140z and I have been on 40.680 MHz QRP FT8 for about 50 minutes. So far, one spot from Poland by Es. So far this year 3 countries have spotted me via Es.

UPDATE 1345z:  3 stations have spotted my QRP 8m FT8 so far today and I have spotted 2. One exchange of FT8 reports was with S77A (1194km).

Thatched cottage - NOT amateur radio

Many of the villages around here have some very attractive thatched cottages like this one.

Last evening on 70cm FT8

As far as I know, conditions last night were normal on 70cm. 

Despite this, 36 stations were copied in the 70cm FT8 activity contest (see map), as far as Germany. And all this was on a 2m omni antenna on RX!  It seems that some sort of troposcatter is possible using FT8. 

Imagine what would have been copied if I had had a typical 70cm beam. If this works at 70cm, what about 23cm or even 13cm? On these bands ERPs of kilowatts are possible with average beams.

No, FT8, has transformed VHF/UHF, making DX possible at any time with very modest stations. If activity was higher people would be making DX QSOs at any time, irrespective of conditions.

Sunspots - Thursday May 11th 2023

Solar flux is 170 and the SSN 154.  A=26 and K=3.

70cm FT8 activity contest

The RSGB activity contest (UKAC) starts at 1900z, but I think the European contest starts earlier.

The map shows the activity on 70cm FT8 well before the UK contest starts! 

My antenna is just a 2m big-wheel omni too!

Ely cathedral - NOT amateur radio

Ely is about 8 miles away "as the crow flies". It is about 12 miles away by road. On top of the hill is the magnificent cathedral that may be seen, like Chartres in France, from miles way. 

At one time, it was surrounded by marshy land hence the name "Isle of Ely".

8m QRP FT8 (Wednesday)

At about 1530z, my 8m FT8 was turned on. I am on 40.680 MHz with a DF of about 1950 Hz TXing in the first period. No spots.

160m QRP FT8 (Tuesday evening)

With SSB bandwidths my noise level on 160m is around S9. On FT8 (50 Hz bandwidth) I have no trouble getting across Europe with 2.5W and my earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. Last night my CQ calls were answered by stations in France and Germany.

If you have noise issues try FT8 (50 Hz) or WSPR (6 Hz).

Oscar 100 - getting better?

Every few weeks I look at activity levels on the narrowband transponder of this geosynchronous satellite. Most times it is a tail of woe with activity levels far below what I would have expected.  My last peek was at 1410z on a weekday afternoon in Europe.

This time, activity seemed better. In fact, I have never ever seen it busier!

See https://eshail.batc.org.uk/nb/ .

Sunspots - Wednesday May 10th 2023

Solar flux is 180 and the SSN 151. A=14 and K=5.

160m QRP FT8

For a change, I am on 160m QRP FT8 running 2.5W to my earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. So far, 6 stations have spotted me with the furthermost ON4RST (371km).

UPDATE 2116z:  12 stations have spotted my 2.5W QRP 160m FT8. (see map).

Frustration - NOT amateur radio

Several times in the last few days I have had to ring about house insurance. After about a minute of time wasting drivel I was asked to say in a few words what my call was about. 

Clearly they were using voice recognition or AI. Without fail my few words were not understood! When asked was I asking about car insurance "is that right?" I replied "no!!".

In the end I was put through to a human being.   I hate AI.  With a poor voice, I am on to a loser every time!!!

10m QRP FT8 (Tuesday)

A few moments ago, I swapped to 10m FT8 instead of WSPR. I am running 2.5W. Both on TX and RX, spots received. Either the band has just woken up or most are now on FT8 rather than WSPR!

UPDATE 1405z:  5 stations have spotted me with the furthermost being 4X1UF (3513km). On RX, all over copied.

UPDATE 1704z:  8 spots of my QRP.

10m Es operation

As we approach the late spring and summer in the northern hemisphere we are entering the Es season. This usually means propagation out to about 1500km is possible on all modes, often with very strong signals. Es is good at any point of the solar cycle at this time of year.

Most days at this time of year 10m and the low VHF bands will open to somewhere. Not every day is good. Some days will be disappointing. Often antennas like CB whips work perfectly well. Usually a few watts is quite enough whatever the mode. 

The simplest antenna is just a low wire dipole, but my Homebase-10 may be useful. It is described on my website. It is essentially a wire halo. It could be scaled for other bands. It is low cost and makes a useful antenna for 10m.

8m QRP WSPR (Tuesday)

For a change, I am on 8m WSPR in the WSPR window just above 40.680 MHz. Yesterday, my 2W 8m WSPR to a low dipole was copied in Germany and Portugal.

UPDATE 1207z:  No spots.

UPDATE 1848z:  About an hour ago, I went back on 8m WSPR. No spots.