Sunspots - Monday May 6th

 Solar flux is 177 and the SSN 152. A=12 and K=2.

Es so far and QRPP 8m WSPR

There have been Es openings in Europe on 10m and 6m, but nothing yet to suggest my 10mW ERP 8m WSPR would be copied. This is the power that anyone may use licence free with ISM rules in the UK as long as IR2030 is met.

I still have to replace my 8m dipole. I shall probably do this the week after this. Hopefully someone during this Es season will get my 10mW ERP WSPR on 40.680 MHz USB dial. My reluctance is ladder work as I get giddy up ladders!  

There are two factors working against me - the low power and too few 8m monitors. Results on 10m suggest 10mW should be enough, but 8m suffers from too few monitors. However, I remain hopeful. 

Es is usually good during May, June and July. In my experience the season goes on during July, August and September, but it is on the wane by August.

6m QRP FT8 (Sunday)

My 2.5W FT8 to the V2000 vertical omni antenna was turned on at about 0915z. So far, just one local spot.

UPDATE 0950z:  9 spots of me.

UPDATE 1823z:  22 spots of my QRP with the furthermost SE3X (1447km) in northern Sweden.

10m 10mW WSPR (Sunday)

EA8BFK (2880km) has spotted me multiple times (F2?).  At 500uW this would probably not have been possible.

UPDATE 1922z:  So far, just EA8BFK has spotted my 10m 10mW WSPR over 100 times!! This looks like single hop F2. I was surprised nobody else spotted me. Perhaps his noise floor is exceptionally low.

Wicken Fen - NOT amateur radio

 The photo shows the old wind pump at Wicken Fen. It is often thought of as a windmill although it is a pump not a mill.

Still no swifts - NOT amateur radio

On Saturday, we went to Wicken Fen. Although we saw swallows, we saw no swifts. The odd straggler may have arrived, but most have not. Once they arrive they will be quite common.

630m QRP WSPR overnight

 Not a bad session overnight. No great DX spots of me and I continue to be really disappointed by how few people there are on TX in the UK. For now I am staying with 630m QRP WSPR.

Sunspots - Sunday May 5th

 Solar flux is 167 was and the SSN 136. A=6 and K=1.

Homebase 10 antenna

This is on my website and was in Practical Wireless some years ago. With 10m in great shape at the moment you may want to make one.

The photo shows a dual band version for 10m and 6m.

Discovery TX-500

This product looks an ideal radio for SOTA and POTA operation being weatherproof and well featured. It is available from MLS at £1195.  I am unsure where it is made. It is a 10W SDR transceiver covering HF and 6m.

The product looks solid yet very thin. It looks like a military product in many ways.

For details see https://lab599.com/

Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, Ohio, USA

This takes place in a few weeks. It is probably the biggest ham gathering on the planet. 

It is often the place where new products are announced, even before the product is ready!  Why? The USA is probably the biggest market in the world.

One can imagine the pressures on the design teams!  You can almost hear the bosses at ICOM and Yaesu saying, "we MUST have a demo product in time for Dayton". The fallback is a non-working model under a screen so punters can only look. I just wonder if there will be any new products announced this year? There was little announced by the big Japanese manufacturers last year.

FT710 or IC7300?

Both these rigs are solid work horses with very similar specs. In the past I have owned an FT710, but I have not owned an IC7300. There are those who really enjoy these rigs. Both have an auto-ATU and are SDR based. 

There are some very competitive Chinese products on the market although I am still unsure about the quality and consistency of these Chinese products. They will get there. 

The FT710 is a bit less than the IC7300, especially with the Yaesu cashback deal. Mind you, the Chinese products are significantly less expensive. 

Once the Chinese really get their act together, they will definitely be serious competitors to the Japanese.

IC-7300 100000 sold!

This famous ICOM transceiver has now sold over 100k units since it was introduced in 2016 according to the ICOM Japan website and EI7GL's blog.

I wonder if a new version is coming?

Cambridge Botanic Garden flowers - NOT amateur radio

 

These flowers were seen last Wednesday at the Cambridge Botanic Garden.

Wicken Fen

This is not far from here. Good to hear cuckoos and once again . They like reed warbler nests!!

10m 10mW WSPR (Saturday)

 Today, my plan is to go on 10m WSPR with 10mW to see how it goes. If there is some Es, I am hopeful.

UPDATE 1549z: Plenty of Es about with my 10mW 10m WSPR being spotted by several stations. Some are probably Es, although I suspect the EA8 and TA may be F2 propagation.

Bird table experiment - NOT amateur radio

Our last bird table blew over and was damaged beyond repair in a storm. 

Being quite big, we had pigeons and other large birds dominating. As an experiment we now have 2 smaller bird tables hung from the tree. 

Hopefully, pigeons will be too big and fat!

UPDATE 1743z:  A big fat pigeon was eyeing the food on the bird tables and trying to work out how to get  it.... and failing! I just hope the smaller birds now find it.

630m QRP WSPR overnight

This was the best session for a while with my 10mW ERP being spotted by 8 stations. "Not dead yet" seems to be the message.

Sunspots - Saturday May 4th

 Solar flux is 156 and the SSN 121. A=10 and K=1.

Ukraine future - NOT amateur radio

Russia invading Ukraine was clearly wrong. 

What I am unsure about is Russia's intentions afterwards. In the end I suspect some of Ukraine will, in effect, be ceded to Russia or become "independent".

Several questions are begged:

• Why did the West do very little when Russia annexed Crimea about 10 years ago?
• Why did the West not intervene when Ukraine territories in the East were being fought over years ago?

One outcome I can see is:

• Crimea and disputed Ukraine eastern territories are made neutral states with UN protection.
• The people of eastern Ukraine territories and Crimea are offered free elections under the control of a neutral country or the UN acceptable to Russia and Ukraine.
• Russia is told in no uncertain terms that any attack on any NATO country would be dealt with by a massive response by all NATO states.
• Ukraine becomes a neutral country and vows never to join NATO.
• NATO declares never to attack or invade Russia.

We know the Russian people are "fed a line" by Putin and state media.  What we do not know is how "whiter than white" the West is.  I suspect we are not being told the full story.

Invading a neighbour can never be right though.

Cambridge Botanic Garden - NOT amateur radio

 

This photo was taken at the Botanic Garden on Wednesday.

6m QRP FT8 (Friday)

My 2.5W FT8  to the V2000 vertical omni antenna is on. So far, spotted widely across Europe (see map) by 20 stations.

UPDATE 1052z:   38 stations have spotted me.

Stations spotting my
2.5W 6m FT8 today

UPDATE 1529z:   45 stations have spotted me today. Now switched to 10mW 6m WSPR.

UPDATE 1810z: No spots of me on QRPP WSPR.

10m QRPP WSPR (Friday)

Today I am back to 500uW on 10m WSPR. I shall resync to internet time after breakfast.

UPDATE 1807z:  Internet time resync done early this morning. No spots.

630m QRP WSPR overnight

With 4 stations spotting my 10mW ERP overnight on 630m WSPR, the message is ‘not done yet’.

Golden Barrel Cactus - NOT amateur radio

This was seen at the Cambridge University Botanical Garden earlier in the week.

Sunspots - Friday May 3rd

 Solar flux is 142 and the SSN 125. A=44 and K=1.

Last gasp on 630m QRP WSPR

At about 2000z this evening, I shall try 630m WSPR for probably the last time until the autumn. 

I am unsure what nighttime challenge I shall try instead. 

My tests with 10mW ERP 630m WSPR using the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground have been fun. The beauty is that neither my XYL nor the neighbours have any idea it is there!  

From my WSPR tests, I suspect it is only about 2 S-points down on a monster antenna and ground.

Buttercups and cow parsley - NOT amateur radio

Buttercups have been very good this spring. My wife took this photo yesterday at the Cambridge University Botanic Garden,

Es so far

Although I have seen Es openings on 6m FT8, things are average rather than great. 

When Es is in full swing bands like 10m and 6m are open for QSOs with very low power. 

The fact that I am still struggling on 10m WSPR with 10mW speaks volumes. When Es is really good, I would expect to be spotted across Europe with 500uW 10m WSPR. Probably a few milliwatts of 10m or 6m FT8 would suffice.  I must try this!

When things are this good I confidently expect to span Europe on 8m 40.680MHz (USB dial) with 10mW ERP WSPR as long as there are monitors and not too much QRM from local ISM signals. Under UK ISM rules I am sure 8m WSPR is available to all without a licence as long as IR2030 is complied with. It is best to use a callsign of your choosing that WSPRnet can use so you can see who is receiving you, These are ISM rules and NOT amateur radio.

Rallies this weekend

 The following have been notified to me, but please check the details are correct before going.

• Sunday  May 5th - Lough Erne ARC 40th Annual Radio Rally, N.Ireland. BT92 0JZ . Contact argault91@gmail.com .
• Sunday May 5th - Thorpe Camp Hamfest, Lincs LN4 4PL. No contact details.

Electric vehicles - NOT amateur radio

It is my view that there will be a "tipping point"  when most people will drive electric cars. We are not at this point yet. These days the vast majority of people use flat screen TVs and digital cameras, The use of CRTs and film cameras would feel odd for most.

There are several things wrong with electric cars at present. These include:

• Poor range.
• Use lithium ion batteries.
• Too few changing points
• Expensive to buy.
• Insurance costs high.
• Inexperienced garage staff.
• Repair costs high?

This is what may happen:

• The massive research into battery technology will reduce costs and increase range dramatically. One possibility is solid state batteries.
• Prices will drop (possibly with influence from the Chinese).
• There will be far more charging points, although most will charge at home and be able to do long journeys without a recharge.

We are not there yet, but it is coming.   Expect 1000 mile ranges and prices similar to petrol cars.

10m QRPP WSPR

On 10m, I am currently trying 10mW WSPR, but no spots yet today.

As you may recall, earlier I was using 500uW and was pleasantly surprised with my results. At 10mW it should be better.

6m QRP FT8

My 2.5W to the V2000 vertical has been on for about 40 minutes and has been spotted by 7 stations. Some look like Es. 

On 6m FT8 RX I have spotted a station in Norway.

UPDATE 1021z:  19 stations have spotted me and I have spotted 20 stations. Definitely Es.

UPDATE 1246z: 24 stations have spotted my 6m QRP FT8 today.

UPDATE 1551z: My QRP 6m FT8 has been spotted by 28 stations and 27 stations have been spotted here.

UPDATE 1735z:  29 stations spotted my 2.5W 6m FT8 today (see map).

630m QRP WSPR overnight

Last night I gave 630m WSPR a parting shot.  Unlike earlier in the season, just 2 stations spotted my 10mW ERP from the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. A few months ago this would have been 12-15 including some good DX spots.

I think I shall stop until the autumn.

2m FT8 activity contest yesterday evening

It is amazing what may be heard on 2m FT8 when there is an activity contest.  Last evening 67 stations were spotted here despite just using a big-wheel omni antenna and no beams. 

Furthermost was OV3T (694km) in Denmark. 

The map shows the stations spotted here.

Kite (bird) - NOT amateur radio

About 30 years ago seeing a kite here would be unheard of. A few pairs were re-introduced locally and now they seem to be everywhere. They are quite common near roads where they like roadkill. .

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

Sunspots - Thursday May 2nd

Solar flux is 135 and the SSN 104. A=8 and K=2.

630m QRP WSPR

 Since about 2000z I have been on 630m WSPR with my 10mW ERP. So far, just one station spotting me. A few months back I would have been spotted by many more. Let’s see how many by breakfast time.

2m FT8 activity contest (Wednesday)

After working a local, I am now RX only on 2m FT8. The furthermost copied is DK0TR (617km).  With FT8 I am sure we are able to tap into some kind of scatter. My own 2.5W to the big-wheel omni antenna was copied by by 14 stations with the furthermost G7RAU (461km) in Cornwall.

Mysore Trumpetvine? - NOT amateur radio

We saw lots of plants at the Cambridge Botanic Gardens earlier today. I think this is called Mysore Trumpetvine, although I am no expert.