365project - NOT amateur radio

One of the pleasures of 365project, where you add a photo every day, is seeing the photos that other people add. This was added by a friend earlier.

630m QRP WSPR overnight

Furthermost was just GM and PA, but 15 stations spotted my 10mW ERP overnight using the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground (see table).

2m 2.5W FT8

 Using my big-wheel omni antenna, I have been on 2m FT8 since about 0830z. So far, 4 spots today.

UPDATE 0947z: Now GI6ATZ (479km) spotting me. Too easy, even with 2.5W and an omni antenna! I am still unsure if this is aircraft reflection or troposcatter. The reports (decent) suggest aircraft.

UPDATE 1754z:   12 stations have spotted me today on 2m QRP FT8.

10m 50mW WSPR TX (Tuesday)

0.5mW seemed too low yesterday (no spots), so this morning I am trying 10m WSPR TX at 50mW. I am doing this by running my 0.5W beacon directly into a 10dB attenuator. The beacon was turned on about 0830z. My WSPRnet reporting will still say 0.5W (programmed into the beacon), but the actual power is 50mW. 2 stations already spotting me.

UPDATE 1745z:  15 stations have spotted me. Even though the beacon reports 0.5W to WSPRnet the actual power after the 10dB pad will result in 50mW output. Perhaps I should try 5mW tomorrow?

Sunspots - Tuesday November 21st 2023

 Solar flux is 157 and the SSN 127.  A=5 and K=3.

QRP portable

This photo was taken many years ago in my mother’s garden. Also, judging by what hair I have, which was still black, I would guess this in the 1980s. As I recall, I was using the 2m 200mW PEP MX2 with a 1W 10m homebrewed transverter all powered with a 12V 1A sealed lead acid battery pack. As I recall, I got all over the world with this set-up. The antenna was a base loaded whip on the grass.

630m QRP WSPR (Monday)

My QRP  630m WSPR was turned on at about 1730z. So far, spotted by 3 English stations.

UPDATE 1940z:  Spotted by 5 stations this evening. All these are in England.

UPDATE 2110z:  Spotted by 9 stations with the furthermost a station in the Netherlands. In the table 10 are shown as one was this morning.

500uW 10m WSPR TX (Monday)

With no reports today at all, it would seem 500uW is too little to be copied unless conditions are very good. Tomorrow, I might try with 50mW output, i.e. with the PA turned on and an external 10dB attenuator right on the output of the beacon.

Christmas display - NOT amateur radio

 

This was at the entrance to a big furniture store in nearby Bury-St-Edmunds earlier today.

No doubt the little ones love it. All the bears move too.

630m QRP WSPR overnight

 In all, 14 stations spotted me with the furthermost the north of Scotland. No spots on 10mW ERP from outside the UK this session.

2m QRP FT8 (Monday)

 My 2.5W to the big-wheel omni was turned on about 0930z. So far, spotted by 4 stations.

UPDATED 1646z:   Spotted by 8 stations in 4 countries with the furthermost GI6ATZ (479km).

Local walks - NOT amateur radio

If the weather is good, we enjoy a local walk. All were taken within a few miles of home.

This collage shows some of the places seen in the last week. 

Sunspots - Monday November 20th 2023

 Solar flux is 140 and the SSN 51. A=4 and K=2.

Middle East conflict - NOT amateur radio

What happened in Israel on October 7th was horrific. Whilst the revenge sought by Israel is understandable, one has to see the wider picture.

Just bombing the Gaza strip and denying many innocents the basic essentials of life just stokes yet more hatred. What is needed is justice on all sides. Arabs have to accept Israel's right to exist and Israel has to respect its Arab neighbours. This includes the Palestinians living in Gaza and the West Bank.

Hatred, where ever it comes from has no place in the world today. Everyone, of whatever race, colour or creed has the right to live in peace. We all have a duty to respect our differences .... peacefully.

Autumn signs - NOT amateur radio

Today is very dull and windy. This photo was taken a few days ago when the sun was shining. Most of the trees are now bare of leaves.

Broken hearts - NOT amateur radio

Our 16 year old grandson has just had his heart broken over a girl. We have all been there. At the time it feels like the world stops and nothing else matters. 

All we can do, as can his dad and mum, is love and listen without being judgemental. It is hard. Those teenage years are difficult ones.

10m 2.5W FT8 (Sunday)

Having given up on 6m FT8 (and 500uW 10m WSPR) I have QSYed to 10m QRP FT8. Within a few minutes I was spotted by 32 stations across the world. 86 stations have been spotted here.

UPDATE 1445z: 174 stations have spotted my 10m 2.5W FT8 today (see map). It is too easy!!

UPDATE 1615z: 253 stations have spotted my 10m 2.5W FT8 today. In 5 years' time this will seem remarkable when conditions are far worse. For now, enjoy!

630m QRP WSPR overnight

 

In all, 12 stations spotted my 10mW ERP WSPR overnight. No great DX, with all UK stations.

500uW 10m WSPR TX tests (Sunday)

 Yet again, my 10m WSPR TX beacon is on with the PA off.  According to my TinySA spectrum analyser the power out is about 500uW. No spots. As the power from the beacon is pre-programmed to say 0.5W, it will report this even when the output is 30dB lower.

6m QRP FT8 (Sunday)

My 6m FT8 gear (2.5W to a V2000 vertical omni) was turned on about 0940z. So far, absolutely nothing on RX or TX. I would have expected some activity on a Sunday morning if only a few local Gs. I checked that everything was correct: timing, SWR, frequency, antenna, co-ax,  WSJT-X restarted etc.   As far as I can tell, all is fine.

Sunspots - Sunday November 19th 2023

 Solar flux is 127 and the SSN 39. A=3 and K=0.

630m QRP WSPR (Saturday)

My 10mW ERP was turned on just before 1900z. Already several spots of me at 1910z.

UPDATE 1930z: According to PSK Reporter, I am currently the only UK station on 630m WSPR TX! 4 stations have spotted me so far this evening.

UPDATE 2010z:  6 stations have spotted me this evening.

Dark evenings - NOT amateur radio

It suddenly seems to be dark early. Only a few months ago it was much lighter at this time. 

Here we are at 1625z with the curtains drawn in "winter mode". In a few weeks it will stop getting darker and gradually lighter, although it is the end of January before we really notice things changing. 

I like the seasons. There is something good about them all.

70cm QRP FT8 (Saturday)

At about 1610z I QSYed to 70cm FT8 with my 2.5W and the 2m big-wheel omni antenna. No spots.

UPDATE 1914z:  No spots, so have QSYed to 630m QRP WSPR.

10m 500mW WSPR TX

As I am on 2m FT8, I can use my 10m WSPR TX beacon. 

UPDATE 1508z:   So far, I have been spotted by 28 stations on 10m QRP WSPR.

UPDATE 1513z: I have turned off the PA in my beacon. Even though it will report as 0.5W (programmed in), the actual output is 0.5mW (500uW).

UPDATE 1600z:  No spots since turning PA off.

2m 2.5W FT8

My 2.5W FT8 (using the big-wheel omni antenna) is now on 2m 144.174 MHz. So far 11 stations have spotted me. 

Stations spotting me at 1455z

G0LRD has a monitor (see attached). This is about 25km away and is a good check that things are working and the signal is clean.

G0LRD's monitor

UPDATE 1422z: 19 stations in 5 countries have spotted my QRP signal on 2m FT8 today with the furthermost GI6ATZ (479km). See map. This is too easy too!

UPDATE 1528z: Interesting that I am only spotting 5 UK stations. My RX is working properly, so this suggests low activity.

New challenge needed

HF bands present no real challenge. Recent microwatt tests on 10m WSPR have been fun, but I need a new challenge. 

My 2.5W 8m FT8 signal has been received in most of the places I had hoped for, and this is not likely to change until there are a few new countries on the band. At the moment I am inclined to ask for a new 8m permit from April 2024 - April 2025 even though I have to pay to do research, which I find utterly stupid!

Later today, I may QSY to a VHF band FT8 as this is "different" and not something I have tried for a while.

8m going "off the boil"?

In recent days, 8m seems to have lost its attraction a bit. 

The FCC does not want to renew access to the band to USA stations and F2 has probably peaked for now. The main Es season in the northern hemisphere is long over and even 6m has been good for F2 DX.  At the moment, I have moved down to 10m FT8, although this is really no challenge.

We could definitely do with more countries legally TXing on the 8m band.  Even just CW, FT8 and WSPR only at low power 40.680 - 40.685 MHz would be a start. As this would be within the ISM band I cannot see this should be a problem.

Wet King's College, Cambridge - NOT amateur radio

 

My wife took this photo last Tuesday. We missed most of the rain. This is the path up to King's.

How efficient is my earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground on 630m?

My best comparison is with Jason M0NYW who is using the same G3XBM transverter, but I believe a more conventional antenna. He is also reporting his ERP as 10mW. Jason gets better results that me. In the last 12 hours he was spotted by 39 stations, whereas I was spotted by 16.

How much difference is there? Clearly, he is getting better results, so his antenna and ground are better. Most of my reports are quite close to the limit. Also, for some stations, the local noise can put a stop to very weak signals being decoded. When near the limit of decode, a few dB could make a great deal of difference.

So, it is very hard to say how much better Jason's system is than mine.

All I can say is a more conventional setup is better. What I can say is the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground does work and is just about invisible.

10m QRP FT8 (Saturday)

 My 2.5W 10m FT8 was turned on about 0915z. So far, 10 spots of me by what looks like single hop F2. For some reason PSK reporter was not reporting my spots. I have restarted WSPR-X. Since restarting, I am getting spots from all over the world appearing on PSKr.porter.

UPDATE 0950z:  My 10m QRP FT8  has been spotted by 26 stations and 82 stations spotted here.

UPDATE 1012z: 43 stations have spotted my 2.5W 10m FT8 with the furthermost VK8DNT (13807km). 135 stations have been spotted here.  At the moment, 10m really is too easy.

UPDATE 1033z:   57 stations have spotted my 2.5W and 175 stations have been spotted here.

Sunspots - Saturday November 18th 2023

 Solar flux is 120 and the SSN 26. A=3 and K=1.

630m QRP WSPR (Friday)

My 10mW ERP from the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground was turned on about 1855z. So far, 2 UK stations have spotted me.

Black Friday "deals" - NOT amateur radio

In recent years we have seen this import from the USA. I think the original idea was to make consumers buy things over a longer period. Just now I looked on the Asus website for deals and, quite frankly, I think consumers are being taken for a ride.

As a "boring old fart" (BOF) I think this whole "Black Friday" thing is stupid, and this is one more import from the USA that they can willingly have back. 

I am sure it is aimed more at the seller than the consumer. Retail outlets are having a hard time and their business models have to change to compete with online sellers.

However, Black Friday is one innovation we can do without.

Leonid meteor shower

This peaks about now. I have no idea how good it is as an MS propagation mode. What usually happens is the trail causes ionisation that reflects VHF signals.

See https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/leonid-meteor-shower-when-and-where-see-it-uk

10m QRP FT8 (Friday)

 As 8m was poor, I have QSYed to 10m FT8 with 2.5W and my end-fed antenna. The switch was made at 1506z.

UPDATE 1527z:  5 stations have spotted me and I have spotted 112 stations already.

UPDATE 1655z:  35 stations have spotted me and I have spotted 443 stations.

Stations spotting me today on 10m FT8 with 2.5W

UPDATE 1830z:   614 stations have been spotted here on 10m FT8 RX.

8m QRP FT8 (Friday)

My 2.5W was turned on at about 1400z. No spots. 

Rural England - NOT amateur radio

Many think of England as a crowded country, but there are plenty of very nice places. As an example, this is the village of Lode near Cambridge. This is the village cricket green.

630m WSPR (Friday AM)

Probably for the morning, I am sticking with 630m 10mW ERP WSPR rather than trying 8m QRP FT8. In the last hour, 3 English stations have spotted me.

10m 500mW WSPR TX (Friday)

My 500mW 10m WSPR TX beacon is back on 500mW with the PA turned on. It is interesting that the reports today suggest 500uW would not be spotted i.e. with the PA turned off. At the moment, I have decided to stick with 630m WSPR and not go on 8m FT8.

UPDATE 1414z:  34 stations have spotted me today on 10m WSPR.