Roger G3XBM's (Mainly) Amateur Radio Blog

1 Jul 2023

When is sunspot maximum?

My favourite site for solar data has just updated showing solar maximum as November this year.. It has varied a bit from November to December.

See www.solen.info.

Oscar 100 activity

A few days ago I took a peak at activity on this geosynchronous satellite. It was breakfast time in Europe. Absolutely nobody on!!

Sunspots - Saturday July 1st 2023

The solar flux is 159 and the SSN 87 A=8 and K=2.

30 Jun 2023

Rally this weekend

The following rally has been notified to me. I always advice contacting organisers to check the details are correct.

Sunday July 2nd - Barford Norfolk Radio Rally, Barford, NR9 4AB. Contact radio@dcpmicro.com

Sunspots - Friday June 30th 2023

Solar flux is 162 and the SSN 112. A=17 and K=3.

29 Jun 2023

8m QRP FT8 (Thursday)

My 8m 2.5W FT8 was turned on this morning. At 1728z, just spotted by S50B (1220km) and EA3ERE (1153km).

10m QRP WSPR TX (Thursday)

My 500mW 10m WSPR TX beacon was turned on this morning. So far (at 1719z) 23 unique stations have spotted me.

A couple of my antenna leads with BNC plugs have become intermittent or broken. I first noticed one last night in the 2m CDARC 2m FM net when the SWR was very high. Years ago, this would have been a trivial task. These days it is far more taxing sadly.

Riga, Latvia - NOT amateur radio

I don't think this photo has been on this blog recently. It shows a seaside resort close to Riga in Latvia. We went there several years ago and were expecting a dump. Actually Riga was a lovely city that was once a Hanseatic League city with many fine buildings.

Sunspots - Thursday June 29th 2023

Solar flux is 155 and the SSN 141. A=8 and K=4.

28 Jun 2023

Fossils - NOT amateur radio

We have walked over tiles in the Grand Arcade in Cambridge for years. Only in the last few months have we have noticed the fossils in them. Now when we look down there are hundreds!

How can we live here for so many years and not see these?!! I bet if we missed these, many others have too.

I think this is an ammonite millions of years old.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ammonoidea .

Es poor?

Sporadic-E is, well, sporadic! Some days can be very good and others poor. Certainly up to now (1132z) the Es has been poor here. Most Es seems to be in Scandinavia and Eastern Europe. Even that seems poor. In the northern hemisphere, the best months are usually May, June and July, although Es can occur at any time.

So far, this season has been disappointing for me. There have been some good openings, but my overall impression that this is not a great Es season so far. To get a quick"snapshot" of European Es I now take a quick peek at https://www.tvcomm.co.uk/g7izu/radio-propagation-maps/europe-sporadic-e/ .

8m QRP FT8 (Wednesday)

Although, at the moment, Es is poor, I am again on 8m FT8. So far, no spots at 0805z.

As reported yesterday, another country has granted a small 8m allocation. Personally, I would happily lose 5 kHz off any band in exchange for 5 kHz in the ISM band at 8m. Personally, I think this would encourage self training and research.

UPDATE 1438z: No spots. So far, today has been disappointing. I shall keep trying .... and hoping!

UPDATE 1533z: Just GM0SXQ8 (575km) spotting me. If there were more stations monitoring, over a wide area, I am sure there would be many more spots.

UPDATE 1538z: HC02 (1808km) in Portugal has now spotted me.

10m QRP WSPR TX (Wednesday)

At the moment, Es is poor. Nonetheless I am on 10m WSPR with my 500mW TX beacon. So far, just spots from local G4KPX (14km).

UPDATE 1119z: Just local and Scandinavian spots. Probably Es.

UPDATE 1400z: Just 4 unique stations spotting me today on 10m WSPR.

UPDATE 2130z: 9 unique stations spotting me today. I have noticed this before: later in the Es season I seem to get more northerly reports. Not quite sure why this is.

Plans for today

At the moment, these are my plans. I expect to be on 10m WSPR QRP TX and 8m QRP FT8. This depends on the Es being responsible This evening I hope to be on the CDARC 2m FM net.

Photo books every season - NOT amateur radio

Every season, my wife makes a photo book. She must have done over 50 by now. It is good to look back and see what we did and when. Also, it traces our grandchildren growing up. This is me reading the latest ones.

Sunspots - Wednesday June 28th 2023

Solar flux is 151 and the SSN 141. A=8 and K=2.

27 Jun 2023

Navel gazing

It is very hard to predict the future of amateur radio. There are some things we know, and many more we do not.

These are the things we know:

What excited us years ago are not necessarily what gets people excited today.
People can chat across the world for free with video using the internet.

These are the things we do not know:

What will attract and keep people interested in amateur radio in the years ahead?
As most amateurs age and become inactive, what will become of our hobby?
How many dealers will be around in 20 years?
How many manufacturers will still make dedicated amateur radio products?
How many magazines will survive?
What impact will AI have on our hobby?

In all honesty I have no idea. What I do know is in 20 years' time things will be very different.

Es skip

Usually, Es skip is about 1000km. Recently, there has been some very short skip and some incredible reports. Today, for example, I have had some very strong 10m WSPR spots in the Netherlands and Germany. Yesterday I was spotted in Eire on FT8. I do not think this was aircraft.

365project - NOT amateur radio

As mentioned before, for about 10 years I have taken part in 365project. The idea is to post a picture every day. Unless you are an ace member it is totally free.

This photo was posted today by a friend in the Shetland Isles, which is the most northerly part of the British Isles.

See https://365project.org/lifeat60degrees/365/2023-06-26 .

Yet more Google crappery - NOT amateur radio

I am sure they mean well, but I have just received this:

"We are contacting to inform you of a change to our Google Publisher Policies. To continue to ensure the integrity of the ads ecosystem, we have amended our language to allow IP addresses to be used for the purpose of fraud detection."

As I said, yet more "crappery". What the heck is an "ads ecosystem"?

Plain English please.

10m 500mW WSPR (Tuesday)

My 500mW beacon has been on for about an hour. Already spotted by 10 unique stations at 0947z.

UPDATE 1302z: 50 unique stations have spotted my QRP. Really good. Most look like Es.

UPDATE 2136z: 58 unique stations have spotted me today on 10m QRP WSPR. I think this is a record number.

8m QRP FT8 (Tuesday)

After about an hour, 2 spots of my 2.5W 8m FT8 from Poland already. Es seems quite good today.

UPDATE 1637z: Spotted by 8 stations today so far on QRP 8m FT8. A good day.

10m QRP WSPR TX (Monday)

Since just after lunch my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon has been on. It has been widely copied across Europe and in the Canary Islands.

8m update

Yesterday my 2.5W 8m FT8 was spotted by 6 stations across Europe.

I gather ZF is getting an 8m band permanently. They also have 4m for a year.

Come on OFCOM (and RSGB) and the FCC get into the 21st century. Slowly, more and more countries are getting 8m allocations rather than just saying "no". Their attitude seems stupid.

Sunspots - Tuesday June 27th 2023

Solar flux is 158 and the SSN 158. A=11 and K=2.

26 Jun 2023

8m QRP FT8 (Monday)

Much of the afternoon, I have been on 8m FT8. Quite a good session with spots of me from Eire and Poland.

Plans for today (Monday)

After lunch, I expect to be on 10m QRP WSPR TX and 8m QRP FT8. At the moment, European Es does not look great.

Cockchafer beetle - NOT amateur radio

Last evening I saw what I think was a cockchafer beetle in the garden. I don't recall seeing one since the 1960s.

See https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/how-to-identify-cockchafer-may-bug.html.

Sunspots - Monday June 26th 2023

Solar flux is 155 and the SSN 180. A=15 and K=2.

25 Jun 2023

Last night's concert - NOT amateur radio

Last evening, we attended a concert by the Ely Consort in our local church. It was good, but very hot.

What happens next in Russia? - NOT amateur radio

This is being written on Sunday afternoon and a lot can change very fast. My own reading of the situation is this:

Apparently there was a half-hearted attempt at a coup by someone that at one time was close to Putin.
When this started Putin was worried about being overthrown. At the time there was talk of treason and backstabbing.
Very soon the leader of this coup backed down. He was promised no charges for him and his men if he went to Belarus, the leader of which sides with Putin. This is all very odd.
It is unclear how this will pan out. We could see at least 3 outcomes:

Putin becomes even more tight in his grip on power and purges those around him he sees as a threat.
Putin is overthrown either by someone who is even worse or more liberal.
There could be a lurch back towards communism by the people.

It is a brave man that predicts how this will end, but most think it has weakened Putin. One thing is clear: this has not ended. It may appear to have for now, but what happens next?

In the meantime we just carry on.