My 500uW WSPR has already been spotted in the Canary Is. by EA8BFK (2880km). I shall stick with 500uW (0.5mW) today, but yesterday was exceptional.
UPDATE 1116z: EA8BFK (2880km) has spotted my 500uW (0.5mW) WSPR twice today already!
UPDATE 1707z: This afternoon, a station in the USA spotted me again when I was using just 500uW (0.5mW).
My 10mW ERP 630m WSPR is on. So far, 8 stations have spotted me. Yet again, the "antenna" is the earth-electrodes in the ground. At the moment the best DX is only EI.
I was hoping that I might hear a chiffchaff on our walk this morning but I was unlucky.
It was actually quite mild and no coat was needed. Today really felt like spring, after what has seemed a long, wet, dark winter
My 2.5W FT8 to the V2000 vertical omni antenna was turned on early this morning.
UPDATE 1555z: 16 stations have spotted me including IZ0GVZ (1357km).
As I was expecting today to be poor, I started beaconing at 500mW. Then I noticed that EA8FBK (2880km) was spotting me as strong as -2dB S/N, so I turned the beacon PA off at about 0945z and continued at just 500uW (0.5mW). At this tiny power he has spotted me twice by 1425z.
UPDATE 1920z: EA8BFK has spotted me 21 times today when I was running just 500uW (0.5mW). It would seem EA8BFK is a single F2 hop, so he has the best chance. Please note that even though my WSPR beacon is pre-programmed to report 500mW as the power, it is actually 30dB lower (500uW) during these tests.
Overnight I was spotted by just 8 stations which is the poorest this season. Not sure if this is conditions or whether increasing noise levels are making the detection of my 10mW ERP harder.
Today, I am on 6m QRP FT8 with 2.5W to the V2000 omni vertical antenna.
As conditions looked even more disturbed on HF, I decided to increase my power by 30dB on my 10m WSPR beacon. So, today I am trying with the PA on and 500mW for a change.
.PNG)
As I recall, it was about 30 turns of 0.2mm PVC covered wire.
It is still in the back of the garage, I think. It is many years since I did any tests at VLF.
It goes to show how neat "one off" constructions can be, even without a PCB. It is my view that PCBs are not needed for one off designs.
Clearly this is different where many are to be made, such as for a club project. What is always a good idea is a solid ground plane with all RF constructions. Dave is a great fan of me squares. Stuck on a solid piece of PCB material a very neat construction is possible as Dave shows.
See https://aa7ee.wordpress.com/2024/03/22/the-gm3oxx-oxo-transmitter/.
Belgium and Eire have amateur allocations at 8m. Luxembourg may have one soon. South Africa has one. I am unsure about Slovenia and Croatia.
In many countries we have the stupid situation where radio amateurs have to apply for, and pay, to do research and experimentation at 8m.
The RSGB seems dead set against even a tiny allocation by NoV at 8m as does the FCC in the USA.
Much like 6m was in the 1980s, I hope that national authorities see sense and allow radio amateurs to apply for 8m permits. What would be good is if CEPT allowed national authorities to permit amateurs access.
I am pretty sure OFCOM in the UK is parroting the RSGB line.
Personally, I think radio amateurs could really contribute to radio science at 8m. We are not asking for much. Even an allocation just 5kHz wide only, digital only, low power, limited times, by application only, would be a start.
Despite the low height of the dipole, it seems to work pretty well with my 2.5W FT8 reaching all over Europe, South Africa, the Caribbean, USA, Canada and the Middle East, and the Canaries.
I doubt a vertical would be much different.
This is something I have never tried and I have no idea how it compares with WSPR or FT8. The advantage is the signal (often real QRPP) may be viewed as a trace on a screen. and no real special software is needed, although I expect QRSS enthusiasts have their favourites.
I guess even non-licenced people can try this on ISM bands if permitted.
My 8m FT8 2.5W is currently on 40.680MHz (DF about 1950Hz), although I am not hopeful as conditions seem disturbed.
UPDATE 1709z: No spots.
My QRPP 10m WSPR signal is on again, but I am not really expecting spots as conditions seem disturbed today. You never know!
UPDATE 1712z: No spots all day.
 |
| Chiffchaff |
 |
| Rape |
Solar flux is 209 and the SSN 146. A=36 and K=4. I think conditions are disturbed.
This morning Lucy Fraser MP (Minister for Media, Culture and Sport and a member of the UK Cabinet) held an open meeting in our village. Although I have never voted Conservative in a UK General Election, I went along. She is our local MP.
She came across as a woman of honesty and integrity, but as she turned up 5 minutes late for her own meeting and gave typical answers when asked, she has not got my vote and may have lost a few others too. Overall it re-enforced my view that we are ruled by a bunch (mainly) of enthusiastic amateurs.
In view of recent threats to MPs, I was quite surprised just to be able to walk in.
No spots of me today on 40.680MHz FT8, although I did spot ZR1ADI (9777km) in Western Cape, South Africa on FT8. It looks like Bernard VA2CYX was struggling to be copied across the Atlantic. He is thinking of going to FT8. If I try FT8 with ISM rules (10mW ERP) it is doubtful I would be copied on 8m. WSPR would be better, but there are fewer monitors.
UPDATE 1650z: The good news is S50B is back on 8m with a vertical Sirio antenna. Borut had suffered antenna damage earlier.
UPDATE 2300z: No further spots.
The following rallies are due this weekend:
Sunday March 24th - Dover ARC. See https://darc.online/rally
Sunday March 24th - Ripon Rally Great Ouseburn, York,YO26 9RL. See https://radars-g4sim.club.
My 10mW ERP 630m WSPR has been on of about 30 minutes. So far 5 stations have spotted me.
As I was spotted again yesterday with 500uW (0.5mW) WSPR, I am trying yet again today, although I am not too hopeful.
Once again, I am monitoring 8m WSPR hoping to spot the Canadian trying some tests. It is possible I may also copy some Irish and Belgian stations who were on 8m WSPR yesterday.
It is about 10.5 years since I had my stroke and these days I cannot tell what is as a result of this and what is just old age.
One thing I am aware of is what happens when I mishear words. Sometimes I think I hear something and my brain tries to make sense of it.
Another thing I am aware of is problems driving: everything seems to be much faster than it really is. I have experienced this for several years. Everything (to me) seems to be going about 20mph faster than it really is. Also when driving (or being driven) it is stressful as I am constantly on the lookout for hazards.
On an intellectual level, this is interesting. On a personal level it is hard.
This was at the entrance of a large food shop in Newmarket. I guess they are trying to get us to part with our money.
In the summer this beach in S.Devon is busy whereas at this time of year it’s quiet. We can trace our family history continuously continu...
