These radios are hard to find these days and batteries rarely work.
Solar flux is 215 and the SSN 207. A=30 and K=2.
Conditions still look disturbed. I don't know how this affects Es.
Once again I am on 10m WSPR with 10mW. There is Es about as I have been spotted in less than an hour by 3 stations.
After a break of a few days, I am back on 630m QRP WSPR with my 10mW ERP from the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. It has been on for about 30 minutes. So far, 6 spots by G8OCV/SDR (65km)
We last visited Bruges in October 2001. We visited here last week and it was heaving with people, so much so that it had lost its charm. It is doubtful if we will ever return, but perhaps in winter?
Among the problems of Belgian 🇧🇪 streets are trams, bikes and cobbles. Since my 2013 stroke, balance has been a problem .This means I am always looking down to ensure the cobbles are OK as I could easily fall.
Crossing the road has always been hard, but it is worse with trams, tram rails and bikes, especially when they come from the wrong direction!!
If you are after a good all round HF, 6m and 4m rig I can recommend it . It can TX on all bands to 75MHz in Engineering Mode without uncasing just with button presses. Mods are fully reversible.
I forgot the 3 year warranty on Yaesu gear which I hope they still do.
As I am away from home, I am able to monitor my local repeater - silent every time I tried!!
A sight that gladdened my heart tonight: swifts screaming and flying overhead. These were the first I have seen this year. All is well with the world. When swifts return as they have for thousands of years I know the world carries on. I know this is a sight I shall not see much more, but it confirms my place.
The earth is being hit by a massive solar storm which is the biggest in 20 years so the aurora is being watched far farther south than normal . This was taken in our village last night at 11.30pm by local G3TFX.
My son has seen a swift in our village so they have arrived in East Anglia. I have not seen any yet.
Years ago I used to work with Steve who created the Cobwebb antenna. I tried to email him using the email on qrz.com Unfortunately it bounced so I was wondering if any readers know his latest email.
Apparently the RSGB is organising a special station with vintage CW gear this summer. I forget what the reason is.
The following is the information I have .Please check if you are making a special trip.
Sunday May 12th - Retrotech UK (BVWS), Coventry, CV8 3FL. Contact info@retrotech.com
After all this time I have come to the conclusion that I am simple. They keep talking about the dark web, but I have no idea how to access it , even if I did.
My 10mW 10m WSPR has been re-synced to internet time. No spots.
UPDATE 1432z: Several spots by local G4KPX (14km). No DX.
UPDATE 1802z: It is quite a surprise to find out I am struggling with 10mW 10m WSPR when on 6m with 2.5W FT8 I am being widely spotted. Once again EA8BFK (2880km) is spotting me. No Es spots.
My 6m QRP (2.5W to the V2000 vertical) is on and 4 stations have spotted me at 0816z.
UPDATE 0838z: 7 stations have spotted me. All of these are in England.
Steve G1KQH has reminded me of this low cost HF kit. Sadly, building it would be beyond my fine motor skills these days, but I see it has a built-in FT8 decoder, so no PC is needed. I am not sure if it can be bought ready built, but Ashar makes some great kit. His designs always use readily available parts.
My intention was to try 8m WSPR with 10mW with ISM rules but I was concerned by the lack of monitors on 8m.
Then it occurred to me that I could try 10mW WSPR on 6m instead during the Es season and be assured of a reasonable number of monitors.
If it works on 6m it would work on 8m in the ISM band. So, my proposal is to try 10mW WSPR on 6m instead of 8m knowing that if it works on 6m it would work licence free on 8m.
My 10mW ERP WSPR from the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground was turned on at about 1845z. So far, 2 stations have spotted me.
There is some Es about, although I have not been spotted yet with my 10mW. The impression is this is not yet at the intensity to regularly support QRPP WSPR.
UPDATE 1730z: No spots of me. It would appear EA8BFK (2880km) is either not monitoring or my signal is too weak.
We go for walks in nearby Anglesey Abbey most months. This is a photo of the main house. The property is owned by the National Trust.
