St Ives - NOT amateur radio

 This was St Ives (near Cambridge) earlier this week .

6m QRP FT8 (Saturday)

My 2.5W to the V2000 vertical omni antenna has been on since about 1940z. 

UPDATE 2035z:  28 stations have spotted me.

UPDATE 2146z:   125 spots of my QRP FT8 today, after a very late start.

10m QRP WSPR (Saturday)

My 10mW 500mW WSPR has been on since we got back from London earlier. So far, 7 stations have spotted me.

UPDATE 2037z:   24 spots of me, mostly Es.

UPDATE 2212z: 39 spots of my QRP 10m WSPR so far, after a late start.

European Es (Saturday)

 Whilst I was in London seeing an Australian friend who had a stroke in the last 30 minutes of a flight (he is in hospital) I gather European Es has been very good ... and I missed it!

See https://www.tvcomm.co.uk/g7izu/radio-propagation-maps/europe-sporadic-e/ .

Sunspots - Saturday June 22nd

 Solar flux is 197 and the SSN 133. A= 5 and K=1.

10m QRP WSPR (Friday)

My 500mW WSPR beacon is on again and there is plenty of Es about.  50 stations have spotted my QRP beacon in the last day with the furthermost Brazil.

UPDATE 1142z:  58 spots of my 500mW 10m WSPR this morning.

UPDATE 2140z:  776 spots of my 500mW 10m WSPR in the last day.

6m QRP FT8 (Friday)

Stations that spotted
my 2.5W 6m FT8 today

My QRP 6m FT8 is on again. In the last day, I have been spotted by 512 stations on 6m, with several in Newfoundland, Canada. I suspect the latter were Es.

UPDATE 1135z:   449 spots of my QRP 6m FT8 this morning. Mostly Es.

UPDATE 2125z:  557 spots of me today.

Early Es

 Today seems to be a good Es day with lots of stations across Europe spotting my QRP on 10m and 6m already at 0631z.

Triffids - NOT amateur radio

 

Our hollyhocks look great right now but the leaves go rusty very quickly. They also self seed everywhere. 

I am sure they can walk!! You can see why we jokingly call them triffids. 😉😉  

Sunspots - Friday June 21st

 Solar flux is 203 and the SSN 138. A=7 and K=1.

St Ives - NOT amateur radio

Many people are unaware that there is also a St Ives in Cambridgeshire as well as in Cornwall. The St Ives in Cambridgeshire is just a short ride away from Cambridge on the guided busway, which uses the route of the old St Ives railway branch line. We went there today by bus. St Ives is a lovely place.

6m QRP FT8 transatlantic (Thursday)

Several spots of my 2.5W 6m FT8 to the vertical omni antenna from stations in eastern Canada. This is the first time this season that I have been spotted in the USA or Canada on QRP VHF.

Anglesey Abbey video - NOT amateur radio

This National Trust house and gardens is about 10 minutes away by car. We went for a walk in the grounds  yesterday. There is something to see at all times of the year.

10m QRP WSPR TX (Thursday)

My 500mW beacon was on overnight, but just spots by local G4KPX (14km). Early Es this morning.

UPDATE 2118z: 38 unique stations have spotted my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon today. See table.

630m QRP WSPR overnight

Just 2 stations spotted my 10mW ERP  overnight. These were 2 old faithfuls. I may try occasionally, but suspect my signal is buried in noise much of the summer.

Sunspots - Thursday June 20th

Solar  flux is 196 and the SSN 181. A =8 and K=2.

630m QRP WSPR (Wednesday)

 My 10mW ERP WSPR has been on since about 1915z.  No spots of me yet.

10m QRP WSPR (Wednesday)

 My 500mW beacon is on this evening and I am being spotted right across Europe by Es.

8m TX permit (UK)

Recently, I carried out a 10mW ERP test on 6m (not 8m) to see how WSPR and FT8 would perform under ISM rules.The test was extremely successful. If it worked on 6m it would mean that anyone could legally beacon on 8m under ISM rules. In the UK this means with 10mW ERP. This is not amateur radio. 

As there is still some of the Es season remaining and we have F2 to look forward to, I applied for a new 8m permit, which will allow me to run up to 5W on 8m. It has been approved and I should get an invoice shortly. All being well, I should return to 8m in early July.

It still seems totally wrong that in the UK we have to pay to do propagation research! In the past OFCOM would have just issued an NoV. It would seem these days many are only interested in money!

Lincoln Video - NOT amateur radio

We went to Lincoln a few weeks ago. This is a video summarising this.

G3XBM QTH

The photo shows where I live. Ours is the bungalow immediately to the left of the copper tree to the right of the windmill. 

Sunspots - Wednesday June 19th

 Solar flux is 193 and the SSN 150. A=10 and K=3.

QMX+ video?

Really, I should make a video of my experiences of using the QRP Labs QMX+ transceiver. My voice is poor, which is why I have been reluctant. 

Really it represents great value and will be even better when the firmware allows SSB, expected later. I use SSB occasionally, but use FT8 far more nowadays.

UPDATE 1855z: Video created. No speaking.

Puzzled - NOT amateur radio

Recently, I bought 2 small hanging bird tables in the hope of attracting smaller birds at the expense of larger ones. 

Sadly, the jackdaws have worked out a technique, but not the pigeons who have spent a long time trying! Let's hope they remain puzzled!

10m QRP FT8 overnight

Much to my surprise my QRP Labs QMX+ on 10m FT8 was spotted several times in Scandinavia overnight. I don't usually use FT8 at night, but when Es is good it can occur at any time.

UPDATE 1027z: 355 stations have spotted my QRP FT8 from the QMX+ in the last 24 hours. See map.

Window 10 issue resolved (I think!) - NOT amateur radio

Thank you for all the help, which I think has resolved my issue. 

I now have "sleep" when connected to a PSU set to "never" in settings, so it should never go to sleep unless I ask it to do so.

Watching the Euros - NOT amateur radio

 

My son made a lamb casserole for a (belated) Father's Day and then watched the Euros (football) on TV.

Sunspots - Tuesday June 18th

 Solar flux is 180 and the SSN 171. A-=11 and K=2.

Issue with Windows 10? - NOT amateur radio

Since doing the latest Windows update, I get the impression that the PC closes down after a certain time. A new sign-in is needed. If correct, does anyone know how to stop this please?  

As you may know, I put the rig beaconing on WSPR or FT8 and monitor on a different PC in the lounge, popping into the shack if anything needs adjusting. To get into the shack takes a few seconds only. 

Is there a default setting that can be turned off?

10m FT8 (Monday)

In the last 30 minutes 33 stations have spotted my QRP from the QMX+ on 10m FT8 QRP TX.

UPDATE 2130z:   303 spots of my QRP 10m FT8 today in 5 continents. See map. Lots of stations were also spotted here on RX. The QMX+ works well on 10m FT8. 

QMX+ more testing

This morning I was puzzled why I was getting no output on 20m FT8 with the QMX+. Disabling the SWR protection solved the mystery as the SWR exceeded 3:1 and this was preventing TX.  I turned the protection back on as 20m is a band I rarely use.

On 6m FT8, I had 4 spots of my QRP from the QMX+.  I am still getting insufficient audio on 6m FT8 RX. This still requires further investigation.

NFD 1950s style

 

This photo was on social media recently.

Flowers in our garden - NOT amateur radio

 

These are in our garden right now.

Sunspots - Monday June 17th

 Solar flux is 167 and the SSN 152. A=13 and K=2.

QMX+ on 6m FT8 (Sunday)

As an experiment I quickly tried the QMX+ on 6m FT8. Power was about 3W and several UK spots were obtained with the V2000 vertical omni. For some reason the RX level on 6m appears too low. Further investigation is needed.

So far, I have tried it on 15m, 10m and 6m.  I wonder if it would work on 8m?  Maybe I should try it on 160m FT8 with the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground assuming the match is good.

QMX+ on 15m (Sunday)

Just for fun, I tried the QMX+  on 15m. It was not for long. Several Es spots of me.  Looking at the bars on the TX monitor I would reckon about 3W power.

Birds - NOT amateur radio

Recently I erected 2 small bird tables with the aim of attracting more smaller birds and fewer large ones. This seems to have failed as the jackdaws have found a way! Robins seem to be very attracted to the dried mealworms. 

It’s too soon to tell if swift numbers are down here, but we have not sat out in the garden much this year.

More QMX+ testing on 10m FT8 (Sunday)

After lunch I want to try my QMX+ on 10m FT8 TX. I was quite surprised that I cannot turn the power down. If you can, I have not found how!  Perhaps it’ll come in a later firmware. 

One good idea would be to automatically reduce power when beaconing WSPR to avoid stress on the PA when the PA can be on continuously for almost 2 minutes.

UPDATE 1540z: Success!  My first transmission with the QMX+ (10m FT8)  resulted in 18 spots across Europe. This was using CAT control. I have a lot more to learn, but this is a good start.

UPDATE 1651z:  3 QSOs in quick succession! All called me on FT8. In all, spotted by 49 stations.

UPDATE 1754z:  The map shows the stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX using the QMX+. 

Hedge trimming finished - NOT amateur radio

 The whole hedge has now been trimmed. I feel more tired than before!!

Father’s Day - NOT amateur radio

Gifts and card from my younger son.