630m QRP WSPR overnight

 

8 spots of my 10mW ERP 630m WSPR overnight.

Sunspots - Friday April 19th

Solar flux is 227 and the SSN 247.  A=4 and K=2.  

Are we seeing a second peak?

Rallies

 The following have been notified to me. As I always advise, check before going a long way.

• Saturday April 20th -Yeovil ARC 38th QRP Convention, Sherbourme, DT93AA. Contact derekbowen1949@talktalk.net .
• Sunday April 21st - Andover ARC Boot Sale, SP11 0JE. Contact admin@arac.org.uk.
• Sunday April 21st - NARSA (Blackpool  Rally}, Blackpool,  FY2 9AA. Contact dwilson@btinternet.com .

10m QRPP WSPR (Thursday)

My 500uW (0.5mW) 10m WSPR  beacon has been on again today.

UPDATE 1822z: 15 spots (again) by EA8BFK (2880km).

At last a swallow! - NOT amateur radio

At Ely today, I saw my first definite swallow. One may have flown over 2 days ago, but I could not be sure. 

Today was a definite spotting low over the River Great Ouse.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/River_Great_Ouse .

630m QRP WSPR overnight

Not a bad session with 12 stations spotting me with the furthermost Germany 🇩🇪.

Ickworth lambs - NOT amateur radio

 

These were some of the lambs seen at Ickworth yesterday.

OFCOM microwave auction changes

OFCOM is making changes in its auction for 26GHz and 40GHz spectrum to protect radio telescopes near Cambridge. See the OFCOM website for details.

Sunspots - Thursday April 18th

 Solar flux is 217 and the SSN 199. A=7 and K=1.

Ickworth near Bury St Edmunds, UK - NOT amateur radio

We were quite surprised to see lambs so late at Ickworth today. We went for a nice walk and a snack lunch. 

It is owned by the National Trust, so members can walk around the grounds and house.  

If you are not a member, you pay an entry fee.  There are a variety of walks. Some are long and some short.

8m FT8 RX

At the moment (Wednesday AM) I am on 40.680MHz USB dial FT8 RX. No spots. I have yet to repair my 8m dipole, so I have no idea (other than the highish SWR) how it is performing.

UPDATE 1642z: ZR1ADI (9777km) in South Africa was the only spot today. I guess this is TEP.

10m QRPP WSPR (Wednesday)

No luck yet today with my 500uW (0.5mW) 10m WSPR today.

Yesterday there were quite a few spots of my 500uW WSPR by EA8BFK (2880km). The impression I am getting is this ultra low power works on single hop F2 as long as things are settled, but multiple hop F2 is far harder. Based on these results, I am expecting European spots via Es later.

UPDATE 1545z:  No spots today. 

UPDATE 1618z: I spoke too soon! 3 spots late afternoon from the Canary Islands (again).

UPDATE 2050z: EA8 (probably F2) ,OE and DL (probably both Es?) spotted my 500uW QRPP WSPR. If these two were Es, this is probably the start of the Es season.

A better session on 630m QRP WSPR overnight

In total 9 stations spotted my 10mW ERP 630m WSPR overnight including spots from Norway,

Sunspots - Wednesday April 17th

 Solar flux is 199 and the SSN 176. A=31 and K=1.

Laburnum - NOT amateur radio

 

This is coming out now. This photo was taken about 300m from our home.

6m QRP FT8 (Tuesday)

 My 2.5W FT8 to the V2000 vertical antenna is on, but just 5 English spots so far.

10m QRPP WSPR (Tuesday)

My 500uW (0.5mW) 10m WSPR beacon has been on all day. I suspect conditions are not good enough.

UPDATE 1354z:   No spots.

630m QRP WSPR overnight

An average session last night with 8 stations spotting my 10mW ERP (measured) WSPR from the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground with no DX.

Foxton CRG rally postponed this weekend

Because of the ground being waterlogged, the Foxton (near Cambridge) CRG rally has been postponed until the summer.

Sunspots - Tuesday April 16th

 Solar flux is 192 and the SSN 193. A=8 and K=4.

What is reality? - NOT amateur radio

Recently I attended a University of the Third Age series of lectures given by an ex-professor at King's College, London. 

One of the things he said was people had modelled how people see. Our brain "sees" an interpretation of reality. When fed with true reality, it led to societies collapsing!!  Perhaps it is better not to see the whole truth!

Optical illusion - NOT amateur radio

This optical illusion (actually 2 circles) was seen recently. 

It certainly messed up my head! 

10m 500uW WSPR (Monday)

 As for the last few weeks, I am on 10m WSPR with my 500uW beacon. Yesterday was quite successful and conditions today look promising. No spots yet though.

UPDATE 1212z: 5 spots so far today.

Sunday breakfast - NOT amateur radio

 

This was my breakfast yesterday. I have a cooked breakfast 3 days a week usually.

8m FT8 RX

This morning I am monitoring 40.680 MHz RX. I am hoping to spot a station in Bedfordshire. So far, I have had no success on FT8 or WSPR.

630m QRP WSPR overnight

A very average session with no real DX. Just 8 stations spotting my 10mW ERP WSPR from the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground with the furthest GM.

Sunspots - Monday April 15th

Solar flux is 178 and the SSN 152. A=6 and K=2.

Still to see one - NOT amateur radio

Swallows are returning from Africa. There are some about in East Anglia, although I have yet to see one. 

Last year there were fewer. Swift numbers seemed to hold up.

Western values? - NOT amateur radio

In the "west" we seem to value democracy, although the rich get richer and the poor poorer.  Unfettered capitalism is overdone. 

Yes, people cannot rely on hand-outs from a welfare society - they have to forge their own paths and work hard - but in my view, poorer people are getting a raw deal. 

It is my view that the days of those of us in the "west" thinking we are always right are drawing to a close. I hope a fair and just world comes sooner rather than later.  

All systems have faults, but let us get the best from each so that all of mankind can benefit.

70cm activity contest last Tuesday

My entry (never a winning score with just 2 QSOs, 10W, short period on air and a 2m omni antenna!) was submitted this morning. 

It is my view that this 70cm UKAC is on the wane with fewer people active. The 70cm FT8 activity contest on the other hand is "humming". It looks like many people prefer FT8 to SSB these days. FT8 works with far weaker signals, but like so much these days, it has less human interaction. 

We seem to becoming a society with far less human contact sadly.

Am I alone in thinking impersonal AI call centres are a pain?  "Say in your own words what you are calling about". "You want to talk about xxx. Is that correct?".  Say "yes" or "no". Actually I would rather speak with a human being!

Spring flowers - NOT amateur radio

It is great to see the spring flowers. If I am honest, this is my favourite season, although every season has good points.

6m QRP FT8 (Sunday)

My 2.5W to the V2000 vertical omni antenna was turned on at about 0755z. So far (at 0806z) 4 English stations spotting me.

UPDATE 1143z:  9 spots of my QRP including one from Germany.

UPDATE 1535z: 13 spots of my QRP 6m FT8 today (see map).

500uW 10m WSPR (Sunday)

My beacon (with the PA off) was turned on at about 0755z.  I wonder if I shall be spotted in the USA today with QRPP?

UPDATE 0900z: Just a single spot by EA8BFK (2880km).

UPDATE 1548z: 9 spots only from the Canaries so far today (see table).

UPDATE 2155z: 22 spots of me today but all from the Canary Islands.

Marconi

 Without this man things would have been very different. I often wonder, say, if radio had been been discovered centuries earlier.

630m QRP WSPR overnight

 

13 stations spotted me overnight. Quite a decent session for my 10mW ERP from the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground.

Trade mark - NOT amateur radio

When thatchers put new thatch on a roof they often leave a trade mark such as a pheasant, fox or dog made from straw on the roof apex. We saw this on our walk around the village on Saturday.

Sunspots - Sunday April 14th

 Solar flux is 152 and the SSN 115. A=6 and K=1.

630m QRP WSPR (Saturday)

My 10mW ERP 630m WSPR (measured) was turned on at about 2020z. So far, just 2E0ILY/KIWI (209km) spotting me.

It is very disappointing to see I am the only UK station sending 630m WSPR according to WSPRnet at present. 

17 different stations have spotted my 10mW ERP 630m WSPR in the last 2 weeks.

Spring is coming - NOT amateur radio

 

Trees are coming into leaf. It felt much warmer today on our walk around the village. It is windier.

8m dipole

As mentioned before, it looks like my 8m dipole antenna system has an intermittent fault. Recently, I decided to concentrate on 8m TX with ISM restrictions, which means 10mW ERP. WSPR gives me the best chance. I doubt 8m FT8 at 10mW ERP would be enough.

A reminder that, certainly in the UK, possibly elsewhere, under ISM rules 8m beaconing is licence free and open to all. A full T&I 8m TX permit costs £50 annually in the UK. With more countries opening the band for real amateur radio research, I keep my fingers crossed that radio amateurs will eventually be granted restricted access with conditions. I have long said that just 5kHz in the ISM band would do.

For 10mW ERP tests the antenna must be reliable.

The actual antenna and coax are not problems, whereas erection is more of an issue as this requires ladder work. I can probably manage OK as the ladder work is quite low, but I get giddy very easily these days so even a short distance off the ground is harder than it once was.