Sunspots - Thursday March 28th

 Solar flux is 175 and the SSN 114. A=7 and K=2.

630m QRP WSPR overnight

 

My 10mW ERP WSPR has been on since about 2030z. 12 stations spotted me. No great DX.

Nesting time - NOT amateur radio

 

Swans have nested in this spot for many years. I hope they succeed in raising a brood.

8m QRP FT8 (Wednesday)

My 2.5W 8m FT8 to the dipole was turned on at about 1110z.  As usual, I am on 40.680MHz (DF about 1950Hz).  No spots yet.

QRP 6m FT8 (Wednesday)

My own 6m 2.5W FT8 to the vertical omni has been spotted by 10 stations. On RX (TEP?) my best DX is ZS6NJ (9115km).

10m QRPP again (Wednesday)

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).

630m QRP WSPR overnight

A better overnight session with 18 stations spotting my 10mW ERP from the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground.

Sunspots - Wednesday March 27th

 Solar flux is 178 and the SSN 149. A=11 and K=1.

630m QRP WSPR (Tuesday)

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.

Swallows - NOT amateur radio

The first swallows have arrived back in Devon from South Africa. The earliest I have seen them up here in East Anglia is on April 7th, but it is usually later in April.

I was hoping that I might hear a chiffchaff on our walk this morning but I was unlucky.

See https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/swallow .

Spring - NOT amateur radio

This morning we went for a nice walk around the village. I was expecting this morning to be bright but chilly so I put a warm coat on. 

It was actually quite mild and no coat was needed. Today really felt like spring, after what has seemed a long, wet, dark winter

6m QRP FT8 (Tuesday)

 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).

10m 500uW WSPR beaconing

 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.

630m QRP WSPR getting worse

 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.

Sunspots - Tuesday March 26th

 Solar flux is 178 and the SSN 163. A=11 and K=2.

630m QRP WSPR (Monday)

My 10mW ERP WSPR from the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground was turned on at about 2115z.  So far a few spots of me of which the best was by PA1LSB (326km). So far, no great DX.

Archetypal Cambridge - NOT amateur radio

This is a view beloved of visitors. It shows King's College Chapel from the lane in King's at springtime. 

We walk through here most Tuesdays. 

Daffodils were early.

6m QRP FT8 (Monday)

Today, I am on 6m QRP FT8 with 2.5W to the V2000 omni vertical antenna.

UPDATE 2122z:   21 stations have spotted me including a station in Norway and one in Germany. I am unsure of the propagation mode, as there was little propagation on 10m WSPR. Perhaps it was aircraft reflection?

QRO (well QRO for me!) 10m WSPR (Monday)

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. 

UPDATE 1826z:  2 local stations spotted me.  Neither would have copied me at 500uW. There were just 2 DX stations.

630m QRP WSPR overnight

11 stations spotted my 10mW ERP overnight. No great DX but I think one was a new station in Germany.

Sunspots - Monday March 25th

Solar flux is 190 and the SSN 145. A=24 and K=2.

VLF RX loop

This was the RX VLF loop antenna I used for my earth-mode tests when I was fit. It was tuned to the RX frequency that was usually about 8-9kHz. The best orientation was with the loop  on the ground. The pre-amp in the blue box was tuned to the RX frequency.

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.

AA7EE

Dave is a real wizard at home construction.  The photo shows his version of GM3OXX's OXO QRP rig. 

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/.

See https://www.qrpme.com/?p=product&id=MES .

8m CEPT band?

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.

8m dipole

For several years, I have used this wire dipole antenna on 8m. I was considering a vertical this Es season, but my problem is erection.

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.

Not my shack!

 

This photo was on a Facebook group earlier. As I am sure you are aware, this is not my shack!

As well as the modern rig in the centre, there are some nice vintage rigs.

QRSS (very slow beaconing)

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.

See https://swharden.com/qrss/plus/ 

8m FT8 (Sunday)

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.

500uW (0.5mW) 10m WSPR (Sunday)

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.

Migrant birds - NOT amateur radio

As we move into British Summer Time (BST) I look forward to the arrival of migrant birds from Africa. Sand Martins are already in Devon. 

Chiffchaff

I have yet to hear a chiffchaff. Some chiffchaffs winter here and some migrate.  

Swallows are usually seen here in early April, but there are far fewer of these birds these days. Swifts are still common locally, but these are normally seen mid May.

Rape

Although many don't like the smell, when the rape comes out fields are carpeted in yellow and spring is truly here along with the blossom on trees and bushes.

See https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/chiffchaff .

Sunspots - Sunday March 24th

 Solar flux is 209 and the SSN 146. A=36 and K=4. I think conditions are disturbed.

630m QRP WSPR overnight

 

Another disappointing session with 11 spots and no great DX.

Lucy Fraser MP - NOT amateur radio

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.

'Our’ windmill next door - NOT amateur radio

This was ‘our’ windmill next door this afternoon in the spring sunshine.

630m QRP WSPR overnight

Another disappointing session. 11 stations spotted my 10mW ERP and no great DX.

8m FT8 (Saturday)

 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.

10m QRPP WSPR (Saturday)

My 500uW 10m WSPR is on again, but no spots.

UPDATE 1640z:  No spots. 

Rallies this weekend

 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.

Sunspots - Saturday March 23rd

 Solar flux is 198 and the SSN 171. A=11 and K=4.

630m QRP WSPR (Friday)

 My 10mW ERP 630m WSPR has been on of about 30 minutes. So far 5 stations have spotted me.