OFCOM reminder

Just to remind you that OFCOM publishes updates to the data it holds on licences etc every week. They also list the publications they produce. See the OFCOM website.

Brunch - NOT amateur radio

Before Covid, periodically we went to a local restaurant for a meal with friends. It was called the Merry Monk in Isleham, near Ely.  We went there for brunch this morning. It was great to be back. They have excellent food and service.

8m QRP FT8 (Friday)

My gear has been on since late morning. No spots. 

UPDATE 1515z:  Still no spots.

UPDATE  2044z:  WESSEXSDR (266km) spotted me. Now QRT.

10m QRP WSPR TX (Friday)

 

My 500mW 10m WSPR beacon was turned on late this morning. So far just spotted by a station in Eire.

UPDATE 1300z: No further spots.

UPDATE 1603z: 6 spots including 2 in South America. Yesterday my 1st North American (a VO1) this season, probably by F2.

Sunspots - Friday August 25th 2023

 Solar flux is 144 and the SSN 86  A=9 and K=1.

Old university friends - NOT amateur radio

Today, we met up with old university friends that we have known since the late 1960s. We met up in Anglesey Abbey and they came back here for lunch. 

With old friends we pick up where we left off as if we last met just yesterday.

Rallies this (long) weekend

In England, Monday is a public holiday. I have been notified of the following rallies. As always, I advise checking the information is correct and the rally not cancelled before driving a long way. Where possible, I add contact details.

Sunday August 27th - Torbay Annual Communications Fair, Newton Abbot Racecourse, TQ12 3AF.  Contact  01803 864528.

Sunday August 27th - Milton Keynes ARS, Heron's Lodge Guide Activity Centre, MK8 9AA. No contact details given.

Monday August 28th - Huntingdonshire ARS, St Neots, PE19 2SH. Contact events@hunts-hams.co.uk .

More crapapple jelly - NOT amateur radio

After all the effort I managed just 2 very small jars of crabapple jelly. Really not worth the effort. As my wife said quoting Shakespeare "Much ado about nothing". 

10m QRP WSPR TX ( Thursday)

 My 500mW 10m WSPR TX beacon has been on for about 20 minutes. Spotted by 3 stations. 2 look like F2. 

8m QRP FT8 (Thursday)

 Been on for about 20 minutes. No spots yet. 

Sunspots - Thursday August 24th 2023

Solar flux is 147 and the SSN 99. A=4 and K=0.

Russian plane crash -- NOT amateur radio

It must be clear that Vladimir Putin would never harm his once hero, Prigozhin, the leader of the Wagner group.

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-66599733 .

Crapapple jelly - NOT amateur radio

Yes you read correctly. 

Yesterday I picked the crabapples on our tree. It looked a good crop. Following the recipe in BBC Good Food, I simmered them and dripped them through muslin overnight. The resulting juice was ....... pathetic. If I get just one very small jar I shall be amazed.

I am seeing if I can salvage something, although I am not holding my breath. Perhaps I should stick to radios?

Reach walk - NOT amateur radio

 

We did a nice walk around the village of Reach about 3 km from us. My wife created this collage. Fields of corn are cut and there are blackberries in the hedges.

8m QRP FT8 (Wednesday)

My gear was turned on just after breakfast. At 1050z, only spotted by WESSEXSDR (266km). I assume this is aircraft reflection. 

I am sure the many spots in the past by EI9KP (649km) must be by aircraft reflection. These appear random as there are many so many aircraft on this route.

UPDATE 1254z:  No further 8m spots.

UPDATE 1820z:  Just 2 G spots of my QRP.  Aircraft scatter?

10m QRP WSPR (Wednesday)

The 500mW WSPR TX beacon was turned on just after breakfast. At 0932z, 3 stations spotted. Apart from a local, these look like F2.

UPDATE 1250z:   6 stations have spotted me, mostly via F2 I think.

Sunspots - Wednesday August 23rd 2023

 Solar flux is 151 and the SSN 96.  A=8 and K=1.

Crab apple jelly - NOT amateur radio

Last year we had hardly any crabapples. This year we have loads. The photo shows the crop from our one tree. 

My plan is to make some crabapple jelly as my wife and I love it with pork chops. 

More people on 10m WSPR?

This is definitely not scientific. My impression is that there are more people monitoring 10m WSPR than last year. This year it is not unusual to have spots from over 20 stations in a day. There were far fewer last year as I recall. 

Electric cars - NOT amateur radio

 Every day on social media I seem to get most ads about electric cars. I am interested, but feel we are not quite there yet. Prices are too high. Range is too short. Lithium is in short supply,. Charging away from home takes too long and there are too few charging points. Prices need to be halved, ranges doubled, and a technology that does not require slave labour is needed. 2027?

8m QRP FT8 (Tuesday)

As 6m looked encouraging, I went on 8m FT8 QRP at about 0830z.

UPDATE 1040z: Quite a strong (for me!) spot by HC02 (1808km) in Portugal. 

UPDATE  2018z: In the end, 3 stations spotted my QRP 8m FT8 today. QRT soon.

Dawn - NOT amateur radio

This was the view out of our lounge window at 0500z this morning. 

10m QRP WSPR TX (Tuesday)

It looks like G4KPX (14km) is monitoring as I have already been spotted with my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon. It is only now 0516z!

UPDATE 2011z:   19 stations have spotted me today.

6m QRP FT8 (Tuesday)

Today, I am currently on 50.313 MHz vertical on FT8 with my 2.5W. Already 2 G spots of me shortly after 0500z. My antenna is the V2000 vertical omni. 

UPDATE 0729z: 10 spots of my QRP so far.

8m between seasons

My experimental licence has been held since April 2022. So, I have experienced two Es seasons and F2 last autumn and winter. My 2.5W to a low dipole has been copied widely in Europe by Es and in the USA, Caribbean and Canada by F2. 

On RX I have spotted S.Africans on several occasions. In the autumn it would be great to be copied in South Africa with my QRP FT8. Last summer was disappointing with fewer active TX stations than in 2022.

At the moment, we are between seasons. The big Es openings have all but ended and F2 has not really started. Better equipped stations are tapping in to TEP either directly or with F2 linking up with Es.

Overall, I am disappointed in 8m. I was hoping there would be far more activity by now, but if anything there are fewer stations active on TX. Where are the experimenters?

Sunspots - Tuesday August 22nd 2023

 Solar flux is 149 and the SSN 102. A=9 and K=2. 

Dahlias - NOT amateur radio

 

The dahlia garden at nearby Anglesey Abbey is now open. These are some of them. 

The area in front of the dahlias is grassed and this gets very churned up after wet weather.

The next solar peak

In the past, there has been a lot of doubt and uncertainty over the timing of this. The site I mostly use has been predicting the next maximum in November or December 2023 for some time. 

Quite often we get a second peak after the first. What is clear from other cycles is that conditions could be good for several years after the peak. 

In the past I have worked stations in Argentina on QRP 10m SSB when the sunspot count right at the minimum has been zero. Quite often 10m propagation is there but there is a lack of activity. With FT8, we can now monitor the higher bands and see. Stand alone 5W FT8 transceivers for 10m can be obtained quite inexpensively freeing up "the big rig".

See https://www.solen.info/solar/images/comparison_similar_cycles.png .

Said on FaceBook in 2012 - NOT amateur radio

This was said by me on FaceBook in 2012. Nothing changes!

Bill and Ben - NOT amateur radio

If you are of a certain age (old) in the UK you may remember the TV show for children called "Bill and Ben". In it, two flower pot men were accompanied by a little weed. 

This sunflower poking over a wall on our walk yesterday reminded me! 

8m QRP FT8 (Monday)

My 2.5W gear was turned on just before breakfast. 

UPDATE 2112z:  No spots all day.  My inclination is to concentrate on QRP 10m FT8 for now. If I go on 8m QRP FT8 I must remember to try 10m QRP WSPR TX with my 500mW TX beacon. Now QRT. If anyone needs me on 8m I can be active on 40.680 MHz FT8 TX in minutes.

10m QRP WSPR TX (Monday)

My 500mW 10m WSPR TX beacon was turned on just before breakfast. So far, 2 stations have spotted me.

UPDATE 1355z: 4 stations have spotted me. Most of these look like F2. 

UPDATE 1730z:  6 stations have spotted me.

UPDATE 2100z: 10 stations spotted me in the end. QRT now.

Sunspots - Monday August 21st 2023

Sunspot numbers seem to be a bit lower this month. 

Solar flux is 146 and the SSN 93. A=11 and K=2. 

OFCOM consultation on amateur radio

A reminder that OFCOM is consulting views on amateur radio.The deadline for responses is rapidly approaching, so make your views known ASAP.

See https://www.ofcom.org.uk/consultations-and-statements/category-2/updating-amateur-radio-licensing-framework . 

There is a form if you need it to help make a response. At a guess, just 10 minutes should allow the form to be completed. 

This is important.

10m QRP WSPR TX (Sunday)

At 1346z, my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon was turned on. 

UPDATE 1709z: 4 stations have spotted me. 3 are outside the UK.

8m QRP FT8 (Sunday)

 At about 1340z I switched to 8m QRP FT8 on 40.680 MHz. So far, no spots. I gather there is some TEP. 

UPDATE 1625z: Spotted by EI9KP (649km), I am pretty sure this is not Es . He spots me regularly. As the time varies, I do not think it is aircraft. I suppose it could be random MS, but think this unlikely. It is too far for tropo.

UPDATE 1906z:  The jury is out on the propagation to EI9KP , but it is most likely aircraft scatter. What I had not thought about is that there could be many aircraft on the path.

Classic Car Day - NOT amateur radio

Every year, the museum next door holds a classic car day. It was filled with vintage cars and motorbikes. 

Like radio amateurs, most are geeks!! A very good turn out. The weather was warm and dry.

Getting maudlin - NOT amateur radio

This must come with old age. 

As we get older, we know our time is limited. Certainly it is highly likely that our health will fail. So, every chance to do a walk is a gift to be enjoyed. 

Today we saw, a green woodpecker, blackberries, Ely cathedral and lots more.

TINY Shetland ponies - NOT amateur radio

It is hard to get an impression of size from this photo of Shetland ponies seen on our walk earlier. We walked around the village of Reach.

10m QRP FT8 (Sunday)

My 2.5W FT8 was turned on at 0524z. No spots at 0532z. 

UPDATE 0932z:  28 stations have spotted my 2.5W FT8.  124 stations spotted on RX with the furthermost  YG9EDE (12436km).