Sunspots - Friday February 9th

 Solar flux is 185 and the SSN 149.  A=5 and K=0.

Sunday rally

 The following rally has been notified to me. Sorry but I do not have any contact details and always adise contacting before travelling far.

Sunday February 11th - MIDCARS Radioactive Rally, Nantwich, CW5 5DG

2013 at the old QTH

The photo shows me busy in 2013 at the back of the garage at the old QTH.

At the old QTH the operating was done in our grandson's bedroom and building at the back of the garage. 

These days I have a dedicated shack for building and operating .... but the building bit is rarely used!!

Glutton for punishment? - 500uW 10m WSPR (Thursday)

Yet again, I am on 10m WSPR with just 500uW (0.5mW). I am not really expecting spots again, as conditions have to be exceptionally good for this to work .... but you never know!!

UPDATE 1720z:  No spots all day.

6m QRP FT8 (Thursday)

 My 2.5W to the V2000 vertical omni antenna is turned on. After about an hour 2 stations have spotted me on FT8.

UPDATE 1725z:  18 stations have spotted me (see map) with the furthermost DF6HT (806km).

Sunspots - Thursday February 8th

 Solar flux is 188 and the SSN 164.  A=4 and K=1

St Ives near Cambridge - NOT amateur radio

Few people think of the attractive town of St Ives not far from Cambridge. If you live in the UK, you probably think of St Ives in Cornwall.

For us, it is a free guided bus ride from Cambridge of about 20 minutes. The guided bus uses the route of the old Cambridge-St Ives branch railway. The buses run quite fast on special concrete tracks in quiet countryside with no traffic.

Wrong side of history? - NOT amateur radio

This evening, I heard that Mr Netanyahu had rejected the truce proposals in Gaza. I am no expert on the history of the Middle East, but I am sure his response to the appalling events on October 7th will win him and Israel no friends. Until there is a fair and lasting settlement there can be no peace.

In the meantime innocents are killed or maimed. Sadness goes on. Surely the only fair outcome cannot be won by bullets and weapons. 

What I find puzzling is why the USA and UK seem so pro Israel and passive about the people of Gaza. Surely the USA and UK should be working overtime to seek a just peace, or Israel never ever gets support in the future.  Recognising Palestine would be a start.

2m FT8 UKAC activity contest

 At 1900z, the RSGB 2m FT8 activity contest is being held. Already, there is a contest on in Europe, so the 2m FT8 segment is already busy.

UPDATE 2042z:  Over 50 stations in 6 countries spotted and several QSOs made.

UPDATE 2142z: 73 stations spotted as the map shows. I am pretty sure conditions were not "up" and this is normal with FT8. Remember, the antenna is just a big-wheel omni, with no beams!

Old friends - NOT amateur radio

 

Yesterday we met old university friends. I must be old!!

630m WSPR receive with the earth-electrode "antenna"

The table shows the stations received on the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground in the last couple of weeks. For an invisible compromise antenna it is not bad.

Spring is coming

We went to Anglesey Abbey on Monday. There are signs of spring coming with spring flowers starting to appear (see collage).

6m QRP FT8 ( Wednesday)

I QSYed to 6m FT8 from 2m using 2.5W and the vertical omni V2000 antenna. 8 stations have spotted me at 1136z. 

UPDATE 1436z:  11 UK stations have spotted me today on 6m FT8.

2m QRP FT8 (Wednesday)

As my 10m beacon is sending 500uW, my 2m big-wheel, FT817ND and PC are free, so I am on 2m QRP FT8 with 2.5W.  G0LRD has a very useful on line grabber so I can see if my signal is clean.

500uW 10m WSPR (Tuesday)

As the solar conditions seem quite promising, I shall probably try 10m WSPR TX with my beacon PA turned off. I like a challenge! My first thing is to remove my attenuator soldered in line for 22m QRPP tests with the FT817ND.

UPDATE 1000z: My 10m WSPR TX beacon with the PA off was resynced to internet time at 0958z.

UPDATE 1810z:  No spots. It would appear conditions have to be very good for this QRPP to work. It is far easier at 10mW!! As for 500mW - well that's QRO, HI.

630m QRP WSPR overnight

An average period with 18 stations spotting my 10mW ERP from the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. As mentioned before, I suspect this is down on a big antenna and ground system, but it works! Way up in Norway again.

Sunspots - Wednesday February 7th

 Solar flux is 190 and the SSN 175. A=8 and K=1.

UK King's cancer diagnosis - NOT amateur radio

Whatever views you hold on royalty, the announcement yesterday that the UK king has cancer was a shock. Hopefully it has been caught early and it can be cured with treatment. For many now this happens (it is cured) far more times than in the past when cancer felt like a death sentence.

One thing it reminds us all of is that life is finite. Whatever your views are on life after we die, our time on Earth is limited. In every moment there are things around us we have never noticed to be enjoyed. We are all reminded that there is beauty all around us if we look.

Googlese - NOT amateur radio

One of my Facebook memories reminds me of some of the STUPID language used by Google in its communication.

I quote:

Fungus - NOT amateur radio

This fungus on a log at Anglesey Abbey has been on before I think, but this is a different angle.

Postcards- NOT amateur radio

These days people send fewer postcards preferring to send photos by email or WhatsApp. Looking at this shop near King’s College, Cambridge you would find that hard to believe!!

Hellebores - NOT amateur radio

 

Yesterday, we caught up with old university friends we have known since the 1960s (gosh I must be old!!) and went for a walk at nearby Anglesey Abbey. One of the flowers now out are Hellebores. I thought the flowers were meant to face the sun (hence the name), but most of the ones I have seen have heads down!!

HiFer 22m ISM band (Tuesday)

Once again, I am trying my luck with low milliwatts WSPR on 13.5539MHz in the HiFer band using ISM restrictions. For the last 2 days I have been spotted in Europe, but not in the USA. Always hopeful!! 

UPDATE 0944z:  Spots by OE9GHV/Q (871km).

UPDATE 1711z: 3 European spots again, but nothing from the USA.

630m QRP WSPR overnight

18 stations spotted my 10mW QRP WSPR from the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground in the last 24 hours. No great DX, but another decent session.

Amateur VLF DX in 2011

 It’s some years since I did experiments at VLF. This was my first DX on 8.97kHz VLF.

SSTV

Apart from a half-hearted attempt at decoding a SSTV (slow scan TV) picture on my smart phone many years ago, I have not really tried this mode. It sounds fun to try. 

The best software looks like YONIQ which is a derivative of MMSSTV.  I shall install this software unless anyone suggests anything better.

The maximum power I can run is 10W pep. I am not sure if I need more.

UPDATE 0842z: I have seen the comment yesterday by Bas about digital SSTV. I must investigate!

UPDATE 0955z: Before running, try walking!  It looks like the first "baby steps" with SSTV should be trying to receive some images, both analogue and digitally. My first few days will be downloading suitable software and having a play.

Sunspots - Tuesday February 6th

 Solar flux is 173 and the SSN 152.  A= 7 and K=2 .

630m QRP WSPR (Monday)

My 10mW ERP from the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground was turned on at 2130z. 

UPDATE 2215z:   10 stations have spotted me this evening so far.

22m HiFer ISM band

 Again I am trying my luck on the HiFer band. No luck with being spotted in the USA although both OE and DC have spotted my QRPP.

New experiments to try?

As many know, I enjoy experimenting. In recent years, my health has not been too great, so I have been looking at things I can do from home rather than going out and about. In the past I have tried VLF and over the horizon ((NLOS) optical tests, both with great success.

My problem is I am running out of new things to try!  

I have tried 500uW WSPR on 10m (best DX USA) , got to the Caribbean, USA, Canada and South Africa with 2.5W and a dipole on 8m FT8, 630m QRP WSPR (got to Finland) and have tried the 22m and 8m ISM bands with QRPP WSPR.

If you have any ideas, I'd like to hear from you. These are the criteria:

• Must be able to do it from home.
• No complicated antenna erections.
• Not expensive.
• Does not involve fine motor skills as I am no longer good at these sadly.
• Interesting and fun.
• Contributes to knowledge.

I am sure there must be things to have a go with.  What I would really like is something "meaty" that needs doing. With plenty of time on my hands, things can spread over many months.

Some of the things I might try:

• More 137kHz CW and QRSS3 tests.
• 1296MHz  QRP
• FT8 with real QRPP on 10, 12, 15, 17 and 20m.
• 8m this Es season with ISM power and WSPR.

Monday plans

 In a few moments I intend to have another go on 22m (HiFer band) with ISM power using WSPR. This evening my plan is to QSY to 630m QRP WSPR.

630m QRP WSPR overnight

My 630m 10mW ERP WSPR has been spotted by 17 stations in the last 24 hours.

Sophisticated wine tastes? - NOT amateur radio

For a long time I have enjoyed Merlot as my favourite red wine. Today, my wife said she really liked a certain rose wine. 

We must be simple beings as both are among the cheapest wines at our local supermarket!! The red wine is liked by both my sons too. 

All this proves expensive wines are wasted on us!

Sunspots - Monday February 5th

 Solar flux is 170 and the SSN 138. A=6 and K=0.

630m QRP WSPR (Sunday)

My 10mW ERP WSPR from the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground was turned on about 2036z. So far, the usual suspects have spotted me.

UPDATE 2117z: The table shows the stations spotted here in the last 2 weeks. If the earth-electrode "antenna" has directivity, this is hard to discern. Judging by comparisons with others with more conventional antennas and earths, I would assume my antenna is definitely a few dBs worse. Nonetheless, it works!

Ultra QRPP

It seems to me that, when conditions are good, very  little power is needed to be spotted on WSPR. I tried 10m WSPR with 500uW and was spotted in the USA. I tried running legal ISM powers on 22m and, again was spotted widely.

What's next?

Ultimate questions - NOT amateur radio

From time to time I ask myself ultimate questions. As a teenager, I had quite a strong (if unconventional) Christian faith. These days I am far less sure. To me, I cannot square up the Christian faith with a vast universe. Life on Earth seems so tiny. Christianity seems so narrow.

I also cannot square that here on Earth what we believe seems to be an accident of where I live. If I was born in Saudi Arabia I might well have ended up a devout Muslim. If I was born in Israel, I would probably be Jewish. If born in Siberia, I would probably have no faith at all!

There are some mysteries than our human brains just cannot ever understand. My philosophy is try to leave this life making it a little better than we found it and do to others as you would have them do to you.  Be kind to everyone.

Everyone is different and they must be free to believe as they want.

By King's - NOT amateur radio

We walk through the grounds of King's College, Cambridge most Tuesdays on the way to our free lunchtime concert given by students at the university.

22m (HiFer) ISM band (Sunday)

 Keeping to the ISM rules (very low milliwatts) I am on 13.5539MHz USB dial QRPP WSPR.  Any reports (local or DX) appreciated.

UPDATED 1200z: I am totally surprised!  3 EU stations have already spotted me! I was not expecting HiFer spots from Europe.

UPDATE 1225z: The chances of me spotting others is very low. The 17dB attenuator is in circuit on RX too, so if a station is running low mWs it would effectively be running 17dB less for me!

UPDATE 1629z: All my 22m spots (lots!) have been by 3 Europeans. My gear will remain on 22m (HiFer band) for several hours. It is not clear to me when my best time would be to be spotted in the USA. It seems my chances will diminish after dark?  I am no propagation expert.

UPDATE 1714z:  Looks like I have missed my chance of being spotted in the USA on the HiFer (22m) band today. I was quite hopeful as with the same small power I had been successful on 10m every time I tried recently. I guess local noise levels could be more of a problem as the frequency is reduced?  On very weak signals, I could just be buried under noise!

UPDATE 1757z: My last 22m spot was over an hour ago. No USA today then I think!

Window display - NOT amateur radio

One of our local shops,Tina's, sells just about everything to do with sowing:  cotton, buttons, material, you name it. They also do dry cleaning and alterations. 

They always have great window displays. In the photo it shows toy snakes for the children. Our grandchildren love it.