Oscar 100 narrowband transponder activity

As you know I take a regular peek at activity levels on the narrowband transponder of Oscar 100. It has been pointed out to me that this has encouraged microwave activity especially in Europe. This is certainly true. 

Personally, I was expecting this to become the de facto way of DXing within its footprint. It promised DX, at any time, without QSB with a small fixed antenna (that could even be at ground level) and modest power.  No tower, expensive beams or linear needed!! Very neighbour friendly. 

In my view, I was expecting it to be far busier. When I last looked at European teatime midweek, activity levels were still quiet. 

One transistor transceiver

My attention was brought to this design yesterday. 

My immediate thoughts were than the TX would be fine, but the RX very deaf. For local QSOs and experiments fine, but it could not be seriously used as the RX would not be able to hear who is on the channel. If the other station TXed first, you would know the channel was clear.

See https://semara.org/tech-talk-a-one-transistor-marvel-transceiver/ .

Yesterday on 10m QRP WSPR TX

My 500mW 10m WSPR beacon was spotted by 24 stations including the German Research Station DP0GVN (13685km) in Antarctica.  I have lost count how many times I have been spotted down there. I expect their noise floor is pretty quiet!

Sunspots - Friday September 29th 2023

Solar flux is 148 and the SSN 109. A=6 and K=2. 

630m WSPR RX (Thursday)

At about 1900z, I QSYed to 630m WSPR RX with the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. Just G1GKN (54km) spotted so far this evening at 1917z.

UPDATE 2015z: 4 stations have been spotted.

Wicken Fen lunch - NOT amateur radio

 

As mentioned in an earlier post, we walked to Wicken Fen where we ate lunch.

6m QRP FT8 (Thursday)

At about 1250z, my 6m QRP FT8 was turned on. So far, at 1255z, spotted by just 1 local G6KWA (22km).

UPDATE 1333z: Spotted by OH7PS (1698km) a burst of Es or even F2? I suppose it could have been random MS.

UPDATE 1417z: 2 locals have spotted me, 1 G further afield and one OH.

Rally Sunday

Sunday October 1st - Welsh Radio Rally, Newport,  NP18 2YE. Contact rackmone@aol.com.  

It is always worth contacting to confirm details.

European Conditions

At the moment, conditions in Europe do not look too promising. At the moment, I am inclined to try 6m FT8, although I suspect most or all of the reports of my 2.5W to the V2000 will be from England.

Wicken Fen - NOT amateur radio

We saw several very late swallows today. These have normally flown on migration by now. 

My wife took this photo of an old boat at Wicken Fen. We usually walk there, have a break in the cafe there and walk back.

We usually see Konik ponies, but we saw none.

Christmas bookings - NOT amateur radio

It is only September, but I am inundated with emails urging me to book pubs meals for Christmas. 

To me the Christmas season does not start until December. This is pure commercialism. I have deleted these emails.

One of the major retailers in Cambridge often puts up Christmas decorations in October. I boycott them!!

630m WSPR RX last night

Last night, 6 stations were spotted. I think I have spotted 8 unique stations on the band this autumn. I must get back on TX!

10m QRP WSPR TX (Thursday)

 My 500mW beacon was turned on at 0726z. So far,just spots from local G4KPX (14km).

Sunspots - Thursday September 28th 2023

 Solar flux is 156 and the SSN 138.  A=15 and K=3.

630m WSPR RX (Wednesday)

Once again, I have QSYed to 630m WSPR RX with my earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. So far, no spots.

UPDATE 2020z: The spots so far this evening are shown in the table.

8m QRP FT8 (Wednesday)

As the Es in Europe looks a bit promising, I have QSYed from 6m to 8m FT8. 

Storm Agnes - NOT amateur radio

This is the first named storm in the UK this autumn. Although it is cloudy and the wind is getting stronger, it is far worse in the west.

OFCOM and mm wave 5G spectrum

OFCOM has announced that it will issue city-wide licence allocations at 26 and 40 GHz for 5G services that will last 15 years. See the OFCOM website for details.

Amazing Ali-Express deal

In case you missed Keith's comment on a post yesterday, you can now buy a complete 40m Pixie CW transceiver kit for just 42p with free shipping!!  They cannot make any money on this at all.

See https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32659942384.html?spm=a2g0o.detail.0.0.798d3e717zW8OZ&gps-id=pcDetailTopMoreOtherSeller&scm=1007.40050.354490.0&scm_id=1007.40050.354490.0&scm-url=1007.40050.354490.0&pvid=cf2c5bcb-d6d5-46a0-82f8-937ee83d86b6&_t=gps-id:pcDetailTopMoreOtherSeller,scm-url:1007.40050.354490.0,pvid:cf2c5bcb-d6d5-46a0-82f8-937ee83d86b6,tpp_buckets:668%232846%238113%231998&pdp_npi=4%40dis%21GBP%214.20%210.42%21%21%214.96%21%21%402101e9a216958169374761959e95a7%2159889805406%21rec%21UK%21%21AB

10m 500mW WSPR TX (Wednesday)

 As I am not using the 10m antenna, I am on 10m WSPR with my QRP TX beacon.  So far local G4KPX (14km) and the 2 monitors in the Canaries. 

UPDATE 1035z: More spots by the same stations.

UPDATE 1249z: 5 stations have spotted me today. Mostly F2 I think.

UPDATE 1351z: Spotted in Antarctica yet again on the German research station DP0GVN (13685km). I think this is the third or fourth time this has happened. USA (SE) spotting me now.

6m QRP FT8 (Wednesday)

This morning, I am on 6m QRP FT8 with my 2.5W and the V2000 vertical omni antenna. At 0831z, I have been spotted by 2 stations and I have spotted 1 station. All these were in England.

UPDATE 0927z: Still just 2 UK stations spotting me. I have spotted 2 stations on PSKreporter and I spotted EI2CN working a French station.

UPDATE 1037z: 3 English stations have spotted my 6m QRP. No further spots on RX.

UPDATE 1250z:  No further spots.

UPDATE 1402z:  5 English stations have spotted me today. I suspect these are by tropo or aircraft scatter? No spots outside the UK.

Our garden - NOT amateur radio

 

Our rowan berries are at their best at the moment. Against a blue sky, they look great. 

The windmill is right next door, about 15m from our house.

630m WSPR last evening

As I have still to fix my 630m transverter, I went on 630m WSPR RX last evening. 4 different stations spotted. 

Sunspots - Wednesday September 27th 2023

 Solar flux is 165 and the SSN 179. A=32 and K=4.

630m (472 kHz) WSPR RX (Tuesday)

At about 2015z, I QSYed to 630m WSPR RX with my earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. So far (at 2027z) just G1GKN (54km) and DC0DX (467km) spotted. 

DC0DX is stronger than I have ever spotted him so far this autumn.

10m QRP WSPR TX (Tuesday)

When I am on 8m FT8, I can also go on 10m WSPR TX with my 500mW WSPR beacon. I keep forgetting! Some of my reports from the Canary Is are very strong.

UPDATE 2020z: 10 stations have spotted me. Now QSYed to 630m WSPR RX.

8m in a few years?

OFCOM (and the RSGB) and the FCC seem to be dead against allocating even a tiny, low power, amateur allocation at 8m. There must be a very good reason for their position, but they seem unwilling to share their reasons. As an outsider, the position seems stupid and illogical. 

It is my hope that, over time, many administrations will allocate 8m to amateurs. As I understand things, most on 8m now, in any country, are interested in propagation and research, not chatting. By restricting modes to narrow digital only (modes like FT8, WSPR and CW) it is extremely unlikely this band would ever be used in this way i.e. for chatting. I cannot see why every administration cannot make, say, 5 kHz in the ISM section available to radio amateurs that apply, especially if secondary, low power, and assuming interference must be accepted and not caused to other services.

Will many more administrations grant amateurs access to 8m? I hope so.

QSYed to QRP 8m FT8 (Tuesday)

10m FT8 was too easy, so I have QSYed to 8m QRP FT8 hoping to catch some F2 propagation. I QSYed at 1423z to 40.680 MHz first period TX.

UPDATE 1818z:  No spots.  There seem to be a lot of people monitoring 8m today (see map).

UPDATE 2043z:  No spots. QRT.

10m QRP FT8 (Tuesday)

This afternoon, I am on 10m QRP FT8. It is now 1250z and I have spotted 37 stations across the planet and my 2.5W has been spotted by 1 station.

UPDATE 1414z: 21 stations have spotted me and I have spotted 166.

How do they do it?

Steve G1KQH has pointed me to this link for a 40m Pixie CW transceiver kit for just £1.36 plus shipping. How do they do it and make a profit?

See https://a.aliexpress.com/_EITEaHH. 

630m WSPR TX

In the end I located my antenna current meter but it was broken and soldering the toroid on again was very hard. Still not on TX. 

I have ordered some more 50 ohm patch leads and more PL259 to BNC adaptors.

Fault finding (despite the difficulty) continues. I hope to be on 630m WSPR TX by the weekend.

Sunspots - Tuesday September 26th 2023

Solar flux is 170 and the SSN 164. A=23 and K=4. Sunspot count still good. 

Fixing my 630m transverter

My very old transverter used a 28.060 MHz local oscillator. I obviously went to 3.2 MHz in my newer design to reduce start-up drift. 

My antenna current meter is still missing. It is somewhere in the shack, probably in a drawer somewhere.

My first step is to see if I can detect my 3.2 MHz oscillator on the newer transverter.

By some means, I want to be on 630m WSPR TX this evening!

10m 500mW WSPR TX (Monday)

My QRP beacon has been on since about 0814z. Just local G4KPX(14km) has copied me this morning so far.  HF conditions appear a bit disturbed?

UPDATE 1006z: Since 0910z, I have been spotted in the Canary Is.. I remain amazed at how strong these F2 signals can be at times. I have received -4dB S/N at times despite running just 500mW.

Repair Cafe - NOT amateur radio

Every month our village holds a repair cafe where they try to repair things that otherwise would be scrapped. I was expecting it to be quiet, but it was busy. They also serve tea and cakes. What a good idea. Repairs are free, but they appreciate donations.

Plans for Monday

 My current plan is to go on 10m WSPR TX with my 500mW beacon and fix my 630m transverter so I can TX on 630m this evening. 

Well that is the plan!

630m WSPR yesterday

Sunday evening 6 stations were spotted as the chart shows.

I must get back on TX soon! Thinking about my transverter, I guess the first thing to try is see if I can receive the 3.2 MHz oscillator on another RX. If this is not going, it would give me a very good clue where to start looking. My problem these days is it is like fault finding in a brain fog! Somewhere I have my very old transverter which I used on 500 kHz years ago.

2012 back of the garage

In the old house most of my building was in the back of the garage as this photo from 2012 shows. 

Sunspots - Monday September 25th 2023

Solar flux is 174 and the SSN 172. A=21 and K=5.

630m WSPR RX

 At about 1845z I QSYed to 630m (472kHz) WSPR RX. So far just G1GKN (54km) spotted.

I have found my old transverter, but not the current meter yet. I hope to mend the transverter this week.

UPDATE 1932z:  DC0DX (467km) spotted.

UPDATE 1946z: SM6NOC (1056km) spotted.