Sunspots - Friday March 22nd

 Solar flux is 127 and the SSN 141. A=27 and K=3.

More LF spectrum for amateur radio?

There is a very interesting piece on John EI7GL's blog about the demise of BBC Radio 4 on 198kHz long wave. 

Gradually, long wave AM broadcast stations are going. There are now very few radios covering LW broadcast bands. The present date for switch-off could be June 2025.

With so much LW spectrum becoming free, I wonder if amateur radio could get any?

2m UKAC (activity) contest in March

The results of this March contest have been released. 

In the low power section, I am about half way up the table. Only staying on for a fraction of the time because of my poor voice and omni antenna, this is quite pleasing. 

Not scientifically, my impression is there is reduced activity in this contest, whereas there seems to be increased activity in the FT8 activity test.

Near Salcombe - NOT amateur radio

Before I was 10, I lived in Salcombe, Devon. This is Starehole Bay, just south of the town.

Shetland Islands - NOT amateur radio

As you may recall, I enjoy 365project where people try to post a photo (totally for free) every day. One of my friends lives in the Shetland Is.. He often posts dramatic photos of landscapes as well as birds. This photo shows Lerwick, which is the capital of the Shetland Is. 

I have done 365project for over 10 years and it is great to look back!

630m QRP WSPR overnight

A disappointing period with just 13 spots of my 10mW ERP. Overall, I am very pleased with my earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground that is almost invisible. As I have said before, neither my XYL or neighbours are even aware it is there! 

Just wish I could try it on 2200m.

My 10m 500uW (0.5mW) WSPR tests

My QRPP 10m WSPR tests continue today. At the moment, I seem to be spotted in the Canary Islands most days.

Continuing monitoring 8m WSPR

Today, I am continuing to monitor 40.680 MHz WSPR. My rig should be on during the daylight hours. Nothing at all was spotted on 8m WSPR yesterday. I am hoping to receive Bernard in Canada.

Sunspots - Thursday March 21st

 Solar flux is 176 and the SSN 120. A=4 and K=2.

630m QRP WSPR (Wednesday)

 Once again, I am on 630m WSPR with my 10mW ERP.   So far tonight I have been spotted by 5 stations with the furthermost just EI.

10m QRPP WSPR (Wednesday)

My 500uW (0.5mW) 10m WSPR beacon is on, but no spots.

UPDATE 1346z:   Much to my surprise, I was spotted at lunchtime again in the Canary Islands when I was running just 500uW (0.5mW). He must have a very quiet electrical environment.

630m WSPR overnight

 

In all, 16 stations spotted my 10mW ERP WSPR overnight withe the best LB1HI (1047km).

Lock-up - NOT amateur radio

Most villages had lock-ups where local villains could be locked-up. The one in the photo is at Swaffham Prior near Cambridge and also housed the local fire engine.

8m WSPR RX (Wednesday)

As a Canadian is doing some transatlantic 8m WSPR tests, I shall be on 40.680MHz WSPR RX for the next few days during the daytime.

UPDATE 1614z:  No spots. I notice there are no other WSPR 8m spots.

UPDATE 1652z: I am wondering about the next Es season on 8m. I was considering using 10mW ERP under ISM rules. FT8 might be a better mode, but is less sensitive. On the other hand the TX burst is only 15 seconds whereas WSPR needs almost 120 seconds, so FT8 would be better on short openings. Operating under ISM rules (certainly in the UK)  implies 10mW ERP and meeting IR2030, but is open to all without the need for a TX permit to beacon WSPR or FT8. I would expect 8m FT8 would be much harder than WSPR, but there might be more monitors? Last Es season I was running 2.5W, so I would be far weaker.  The difference is 24dB, so most of the time I would be far too weak to copy on FT8. Perhaps some local FT8 tests at 10mW ERP are called for?

Sunspots - Wednesday March 20th

 Solar flux is 169 and the SSN 123.  A=9 and K=1.

630m QRP WSPR (Tuesday)

So far, my 10mW ERP from the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground has been spotted by 10 stations with the furthermost EI0CF (602km).

Faroe Islands - NOT amateur radio

These islands are between The Shetland Is and Iceland. They are very remote. A friend on 365project recently posted this photo. 

Red legged partridge - NOT amateur radio

We used to see a lot of these in our garden, but it is a while since I have seen one. 

They can be very tame.

6m QRP FT8

This morning, I am again on 6m FT8 with my 2.5W to the vertical V2000  omni antenna, Mostly UK with some Scandinavian spots on 6m FT8 yesterday.

UPDATE 1646z: 12 spots of me (see map), all in England. 7 stations spotted here (England and Wales).

630m QRP WSPR overnight

 

Either conditions were poor or people are QSYing as only 13 spots of my 10mW ERP WSPR overnight.

10m QRPP WSPR

My WSPR beacon without the PA is on again with 500uW on 10m. Once again, I was spotted in the Canary Islands yesterday. 

My article on these 500uW (0.5mW) tests was in the April 2024 RadCom by the RSGB.

At 500uW (0.5mW) is far harder at the RX end than with 500mW (30dB weaker). I was surprised to get spots at all as many people have a high local noise levels which masks weak signals.

UPDATE 1644z:  No spots.

Sunspots - Tuesday March 19th

 Solar flux is 177 and the SSN 127.  A=6 and K=2.

Swaffham Prior - NOT amateur radio

This sleepy village near Cambridge has two windmills and two churches (in the same churchyard!) as well as some fine old buildings.

630m QRP WSPR overnight

14 stations spotted me overnight. Furthermost was Norway.

Cheerfulness - NOT amateur radio

 

These are on our patio. They smell great, but I notice one flower that should not be there!

Sunspots- Monday March 18th

Solar flux is 151 and the SSN 86. A=2 and K= 0.

630m QRP WSPR (Sunday)

 At about 1906z I QSYed to 630m WSPR with my 10mW ERP. I had been on 8m FT8.

Return to 8m QRP FT8

At the moment, I am on 8m QRP FT8. The antenna appears to be a bit too long and probably needs cutting a bit. I have put on a new PL259 plug.

UPDATE 1730z:   No spots.

EI7GL's blog

John's blog is always interesting. I note he has a fascinating report of a 23cm QSO in Australia by lightning scatter. The blog is always worth a read.

See https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/

Walk yesterday - NOT amateur radio

 

This is a collage of our walk around the village of Reach, near Cambridge, yesterday.

10m QRPP WSPR (Sunday)

My 500uW 10m WSPR is on again.

UPDATE 1050z:  Yet again my 500uW (0.5mW) WSPR has been spotted in the Canary Is.. A reminder that even though my beacon is pre-programmed to report 0.5W it is actually 0.5mW (30dB less) with the PA off in these tests. The station(s) at the RX end must have low noise floors!

UPDATE 1122z:  He has spotted me again. Now 2 spots of me today with 500uW (0.5mW) 10m WSPR. I guess this must be single hop F2.

UPDATE 1153z: The photos show Peter's site and antenna in the Canary Islands and my beacon which is about the size of a pack of cards and needs no PC.

UPDATE  1520z: For a third time today he has spotted my 500uW QRPP!

6m QRP FT8 (Sunday)

My 2.5W FT8 to the V2000 vertical omni is on again. At 0925z, 6 English stations had spotted me.

Stations spotting my 6m
QRP FT8 this morning

UPDATE 1217z: 8 stations have spotted me. It is pleasing to see activity even when there is no DX around. If I can work around the UK with just 2.5W and an omni, imagine what is possible with full power and a beam!

UPDATE 1435z:  No further spots of me, but I have spotted 14 UK stations.

630m QRP WSPR overnight

Overnight 14 stations, including  2 in Norway, spotted my 10mW ERP 630m WSPR.  I shall try again tonight. Being on 630m WSPR TX again over the last few months has been great fun.

Pathfinder - NOT amateur radio

My dad was a Pathfinder in Lancaster bombers in WW2 . He hated the war and rarely talked about those scary night raids over Germany. I am sure that those bombs would have killed or maimed innocent people just like him. This would have always haunted him all his life. Wars are so cruel.

He died in 1987 and loved his quiet life in Devon after the war. He must have been so brave and so scared knowing that on each trip he could have been killed or maimed.

Sunspots- Sunday March 17th

 Solar flux is 144 and the SSN 67 . A=3 and K=0.

630m QRP WSPR (Saturday)

 My 630m 10mW ERP WSPR has been spotted by 8 stations so far.

70cm

Years ago, there was plenty of activity on 70cm FM simplex. I had one of the first synthesised amateur rigs in the country. It was an FM321 based on the Australian UHF CB rig, the FM320. With an indoor UHF TV yagi and 4W much DX was worked on FM. It was very good.

These days, there is little activity apart from in contests. The map shows the contacts made with 10W SSB and my 2m omni antenna in a recent activity contest.

Openings on 70cm were localised, and often tropo openings were more frequent than on 2m. These days, with FT8, amazing distances can be covered. It is a great pity 70cm is so under-used.

Reach - NOT amateur radio

 Today we did a nice walk around the sleepy village of Reach. There has been a fair here since 1201.

630m QRP WSPR overnight

14 stations spotted my 10mW ERP from the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. As on the previous night, the furthermost was Norway.

View of our back garden - NOT amateur radio

This is the view out of the window of our back garden. My shack has probably the best view down the garden.