10m QRPP WSPR (Saturday)

My 500uW 10m WSPR has been on for several hours. By lunchtime, nobody had spotted me. 

UPDATE 1740z:   No spots. Perhaps conditions today are poor or EA8BFK (2880km) is away?

6m QRP FT8 (Saturday)

My 2.5W to the V2000 vertical has been on for several hours. At 1150z, 7 stations in England had spotted me.

UPDATE 1418z:  11 spots of me so far, all in England.

CQ magazine gone

Steve G1KQH informs me that CQ magazine has gone. I understand that they were in financial trouble and have ceased trading. I have no idea about what happens to the CQWW contests.

It’s my sense that more amateur radio magazines will go before too long sadly.

See https://mailchi.mp/62e24f2ccc99/a-heavy-sad-heart.

Not yet - NOT amateur radio

At this time of year I get quite excited about returning migrant swifts. They briefly breed here before returning to sub Saharan Africa. 

Often they are heard screaming overhead first. It’s about now they are first spotted here.

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

Sunspots - Saturday April 27th

Solar flux is 153 and the SSN 154. A=19 and K=3.

8m 10mW ERP WSPR (Friday)

 As I have been away, I only returned to 8m WSPR TX under ISM rules (10mW ERP complying with IR2030) this afternoon.  I am currently doing some local tests, although my dipole antenna is faulty and needs replacing. Until this is fixed I am not expecting to be copied.

10m 500uW WSPR (Friday)

 As I have been away for a few days I have only just returned to QRPP 10m WSPR this afternoon. So far already 68 spots of me by EA8BFK (2880km).

6m F2?

When sunspot numbers and solar flux numbers are high, there is always a chance of the F2 MUF reaching 6m or even higher.  I remember some years ago hearing 6m SSB stations from South Africa and the USA just like locals. At the time I just had a wire dipole.

Shrinkflation - NOT amateur radio

 Instead of putting prices up just make things smaller and hope the consumer does not notice. Yesterday I bought a chocolate bar. In 1996 it was 62.5g. Now it is 51g. This happens with so many things.

Bristol footbridge - NOT amateur radio

This footbridge was erected in 2017. It is in Bristol,UK and is very elegant curving as it crosses the water. 

Sunspots - Friday April 26th

  Solar flux is 167 and the SSN 199. A=3 and K=2.

Clifton Suspension Bridge - NOT amateur radio

 This was one of Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s greatest projects.

Wells Cathedral - NOT amateur radio

 

Wells is one of the finest cathedrals in England.

Sunspots - Thursday April 25th

  Solar flux is 199 and the SSN 283. A=4 and K=1.

HF propagation

At the moment, we are meant to be on the downward slope of cycle 25, although in the last few days, the solar flux and sunspot number have been very high. Even if sunspot numbers are declining, solar conditions will be good for several years. 

One useful tool is https://prop.kc2g.com/ (see map) which shows how good the MUF is across the world.

Echolink

Many times I have tried this, but found distant repeaters  as quiet as the local ones. With access from a PC or phone, I guess it is a way to still enjoy the hobby ....as long as someone is there to talk with! There are "non-ionosphere" alternatives like Hamsphere and CQ100. I personally have found these unsatisfying, but you may think differently.

See https://www.echolink.org/ .

8m monitors?

With my 8m station using only a low dipole, I suspect that stations need to be quite strong to be spotted here on FT8. Compared with the better stations with beams and more height, I guess I am probably 10dB down. On FT8 this means they will often spot stations I cannot.

Also, with the same power on 6m (2.5W), I can usually be spotted across England on 6m, whereas I struggle on 8m. One of the issues is there are too few people monitoring on 8m compared with 6m.

Nonetheless, I intend to experiment with 10mW ERP 8m WSPR this Es season as this will (hopefully!) show what is possible with a very simple system. 

10mW ERP could be generated by a Raspberry PI, I think.  It probably needs additional low pass filters to ensure compliance with IR2030.  At this power everyone in the UK could have a go without a TX permit as long as ISM rules are followed. I cannot comment on the rules within the EU or elsewhere.

Wells, Vicars’ Close - NOT amateur radio

 This has been the home of vicars for 650 years.

Low cost QRP SDR transceiver

Yet again, I am puzzled how they do this for the price. 

Just over £193 pays for a 5W all mode SDR transceiver. You pay a little more for shipping. This is a lot less than an equivalent Japanese transceiver.

There is a shake-out coming. Expect the Japanese to be facing stiff competition from low cost manufacturers. 

China may not be the source in the future as Chinese wages creep up and costs become higher. Canny manufacturers will be on the look-out for countries that can make things for less.

Once again this is via AliExpress.

Sunspots - Wednesday April 24th

  Solar flux is 219 and the SSN 282. A=8 and K=0.

Close call - NOT amateur radio

The oars of this rowing boat narrowly missed this swan.

Thank you - NOT amateur radio

On my blog is a link to buy me a virtual cup of coffee. This is entirely voluntary. 

However, very many thanks to those that have donated. Any money generated will go towards future projects/research. 

My wish is that you all have as much fun as I have had on your journey through the hobby. I have particularly enjoyed finding out new things and experimentation.

Two things : The journey is more important than the destination (learn from your mistakes) and you can have lots of fun without spending much.

Celebrating our son’s birthday - NOT amateur radio

Yesterday we celebrated our son’s birthday. This was my main course.

Sunspots - Tuesday April 23rd

  Solar flux is 227 and the SSN 283. A=8 and K=2.

Pixie transceivers

These are still available at rock bottom prices on eBay. 

I have built versions for 80m amd 40m and had QSOs with each. With something this simple there are compromises. The RX, in some cases, lacks selectivity and can be overloaded by strong broadcast  stations. Nonetheless they do work and they are hard to beat for the price.

The cheapest I have seen is £1.35, which is less than the price of just 1 part if bought in the UK!

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/homebrew/8040m-pixie-and-micro80-transceivers .

Spring in our close - NOT amateur radio

 Spring has arrived in our close.

How do they do it?

Looking on Ali-Express, they sell a Quasheng uv-k5 (8) dual band 5W hand portable for £13.51, with free airmail shipping. 

Both Ali-Express and the original manufacturer, I presume, make a profit!  

I just cannot see how they do it. It is made in the Far East, shipped by air across the planet and easily cloned I am told.

Sunspots - Monday April 22nd

 Solar flux is 217 and the SSN 283. A=19 and K=2.

Ickworth NT last week - NOT amateur radio

 

This is the famous rotunda with wild flowers in the forground.

8m ISM WSPR (Sunday)

Shortly, I shall be turning on my 10mW ERP  8m WSPR under ISM rules on 40.680MHz USB dial. 

This means my QRPP WSPR will be about 1450Hz higher. I am not really expecting any spots as I have yet to sort out my antenna. 

I shall ask locals to check I am getting out.

UPDATE 1436z:  No spots.

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

My QRPP beacon has been re-synced to Internet time, but no spots yet.

UPDATE 1437z: EA8BFK (2880km) has spotted my 500uW 10m WSPR 10 times so far today.

630m QRP WSPR overnight

12 stations spotted my 10mW ERP on 630m WSPR overnight. No real DX.

70cm UKAC activity contest results

You would not exactly say I am a contest nerd. One thing is certain: guess who will never win! If I come half way up the table I'd be very pleased!

I like to submit an entry into the activity contest even though I stay on very little time, use 10W SSB and a 2m big-wheel omni antenna. In the low power section I am 43rd out of 70, which is not bad.

See https://www.rsgbcc.org/cgi-bin/vhfresults.pl?Contest=432MHz%20UKAC&year=2024 .

Sunspots - Sunday April 21st

 Solar flux is 210 and the SSN 240. A=12 and K=3.

6m QRP FT8 (Saturday)

At about 1620z, I QSYed to 6m FT8.  At 1630z, 4 stations had spotted my 2.5W FT8 to the V2000 vertical omni antenna.

UPDATE 1800z: 9 stations have spotted my QRP.  On RX, the furthermost is EA9ABC (1873km) in North Africa.

UPDATE 1825z:  10 stations have spotted me with the furthermost EA5BY (1559km).  When 6m is "open" it is so much easier than 8m as there are more monitors.

UPDATE 2041z: Amazing! Spotted by LU5FF (10958km). This must be a very high MUF and TEP. It is my furthermost VHF spot of all time! 27 spots of my QRP 6m FT8 this evening. It is possible that Es linked up to an F2 hop over the equator as Es (I guess) was good in this direction. See https://prop.kc2g.com/. Not bad for 2.5W and an omni!

Knotted tree - NOT amateur radio

There is a section of the Italianate Garden at Ickworth near Bury St Edmunds, UK where they have lots of old tree trunks. 

This one has no bark left, but is pretty impressive.

8m FT8 RX (Saturday)

Currently, I am monitoring 40.680MHz USB dial FT8. 

UPDATE 1348z:  No spots. 

UPDATE 1621z:  Locally I can see ZS1TX, ZS3/V51PJ and ZR1ADI were spotted but these did not appear on PSKreporter. For some reason, these spots were not uploaded.

10m QRPP 500uW WSPR (Saturday)

My 500uW (0.5mW) 10m WSPR has already been spotted multiple times this morning by EA8BFK (2880km). Perhaps this is not too surprising with the solar flux and sunspot numbers so good.

UPDATE 0948z:  12 spots already.

UPDATE 1808z:  34 spots of my 500uW QRPP WSPR, one with about 20dB in hand!! See table.

UPDATE 1850z:  Now spotted in Italy by IZ2DQB (1033km). First signs of 10m Es?

Ely last Thursday - NOT amateur radio

This was Ely earlier in the week. Ely Cathedral is in the background.

It is called "the Isle of Ely" as it is built on a rare hill in these parts. 

Much of the Fens area is flat for miles. It is one of the most fertile areas in the UK.

Sunspots - Saturday April 20th

 Solar flux is 213 and the SSN 243. A=41 and K=2.