Sunspots - Friday August 16th

 Solar flux is 227 and the SSN 164 . A=6 and K=2.

FT8/FT4 and very brief Es openings

Up to now I have always used FT8 rather than FT4, especially with QRP.  FT4 is quicker, but not as sensitive as FT8. I can imagine with Es out of season, FT4 might catch some openings that FT8 might miss. 

This would apply for other types of propagation too where very brief openings might occur. I can imagine some F2 DX openings might be very fleeting. FT4 might catch these. I am not sure how many monitor FT4, but I imagine far fewer than FT8. 

One useful future WSJT-X enhancement would be automatic detection of FT8 and FT4 speeds so stations could use either modes in either slots. 

Faroe Islands - NOT amateur radio

 

One of the things I enjoy about 365project is seeing other parts of the world. This photo recently appeared.

As I have said before, the idea is to post something every day. 

It is not connected in any way with Microsoft365. It is totally free although for a modest $19.99 a year you may have privacy and more albums. 

I have done it for about 13 years and love it. Some use it  to show their artistic talent. Others use it as a kind of visual diary. I am the latter!

Well equipped stations

As you know the facet of amateur radio that I most enjoy is QRP.  However, I sometimes wonder what having high power, a tower and a big beam would be like.

In a recent 70cm contest I noticed one station working Scotland and France when I could not even hear them! I can imagine that 1000W, a big beam, and a tall tower would certainly help!

70cm UKAC activity contest

I do not submit a log for this but enjoy the activity. It is much easier to copy and work DX on 70cm FT8 than SSB. After working a couple of locals, I was RX only for the rest of the evening and  copied stations all over from France 🇫🇷  Netherlands 🇳🇱 and Germany 🇩🇪 as well as the British Isles. Not bad with 2.5W and a 2m omni antenna.

This underlies just how good FT8 could be on 70cm. If only more would use the band and mode outside contests!

The map shows the stations copied - with a 2m omni antenna!

The human touch - NOT amateur radio

More and more we are losing human interactions.

I can think of several examples: you ring up (almost any business) to be greeted with an AI message like "say in your own words what you want to talk about". With a poor voice I find it almost impossible to be understood. Many supermarkets are replacing checkouts that have humans with auto-tills where you just scan barcodes. You try to talk to your bank and get sent to a call centre on the far side of the planet where you are just a number. Most website chats are just AI bots, not humans.   It goes on and on.

Human beings like talking with human beings. 

For some lonely people it is the only human interaction they get. In my view we are going backwards as a society. Less and less we are able to speak with each other.

Sunspots - Thursday August 15th

 Solar flux is 248 and the SSN 194. A=12 and K=2.

13 years ago on VLF

Before I had my stroke I used to enjoy going out to see how far I could get on VLF earthmode. With 5W 6km was spanned, but much further is possible.

10m 500mW WSPR (Wednesday)

My 500mW WSPR TX beacon has been on for over an hour.  3 stations have spotted me - 1 local, 1 probably F2 and 1 that may have been a patch of Es.  Aircraft reflection is unlikely as the signal has to be present for nearly 2 minutes.

6m QRP FT8 (Wednesday)

This morning, my 2.5W FT8 to the vertical omni antenna is on 6m.  I am wondering, if as on 2m, I am tapping into some sort of troposcatter mode?

As well as the usual G spots I have been spotted in Sicily and Eire. FT8 works with signals even weaker than CW. I guess it could also be aircraft reflection?

UPDATE 1245z: 37 stations have spotted me on 6m FT8 and I have spotted 23. I think this is Es.

UPDATE 1800z: 52 stations have spotted me and I have spotted 31 stations here. See map for stations spotting my QRP 6m FT8 today.

Wildfires - NOT amateur radio

We may argue whether or not this is a short-term blip or a longer-term trend, but the Earth is definitely warmer and the evidence seems to point to the influence of  man.  Wildfires seem more common, oceans are warming and hurricanes seem more common.

There is no doubt, whatever your views on origin, that moving away from fossil fuels will help in the longer term. We need more, lower cost ways of storing renewables. We need electric cars with better ranges that do not depend on mining rare materials, we need to be able to charge far less frequently, we need electric cars to compete with fossil fuelled cars on price.

My view is that when the time is right, we will all be driving some sort of vehicle that does not depend on fossil fuel. I just hope the turning point arrives sooner than later. Imagine if we all still had film cameras and cathode ray tubes and valves! Things change.

Plans for Wednesday

10m seems pretty good on FT8, so I shall learn little. Maybe I shall give 6m QRP FT8 a go?  As the 10m antenna won't be used I could put my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon on.

UPDATE 0806z:  10m QRP WSPR beacon and 6m QRP FT8 turned on at about 0800z. 3 Gs have spotted me on 6m FT8, but no spots of my 500mW 10m WSPR.

70cm activity contest yesterday evening

With 10W SSB and a 2m big-wheel omni I usually struggle in the 70cm UKAC (activity contest), but I usually manage a few contacts. Last night was different. 

Firstly, the impression I had was there were fewer people on.  This could partly be due to the holiday season and people being away.

Also those that were on I could not work. After about 20 minutes I just gave up having worked nobody! Perhaps the combination of higher local noise and fewer people make all the difference to QRP stations like mine.

I should be on the 70cm UKAC next month. We'll see.

Old radios

 This photo was seen recently and shows a collection of old broadcast receivers.

My QTH

 

This photo was taken last year. It shows my QTH. The V2000 tri-band vertical can be seen on the left.

Sunspots - Wednesday August 14th

 Solar flux is 260 and SSN 199.  A=17 and K=4.

Low lightning risk?

It has suddenly turned very dark and cloudy after a very hot and sunny day. It quite took me by surprise.  Looking at the lightning map, the storms look far away at the moment. 

As you know everything will be disconnected overnight "just in case".

10mW?

 As a keen QRP FT8 operator on 10m, 8m and 6m this thought occurred to me.

If you are copied with a plus value S/N (say at 1W, or even 5W) there is a very good chance you would still be copied at 10mW. Of course, this will depend on the noise floor at the RX and finding a clear frequency.

Many have been surprised that licence free 8m 10mW ERP FT8 has been copied right across Europe. It does not surprise me at all. 

What does surprise me is how few have tried this especially in the Es season. Just think, no licence, make up a callsign that WSJT-X and PSKreporter can work with and have fun. 

Remember operating under ISM rules is not amateur radio.

10m QRP FT8 (Tuesday)

My 2.5W 10m FT8 was turned on at about 1015z. One RV6 called me and I was immediately worked. So far, my signal has been spotted by 5 stations.

UPDATE 1056z: Spotted by 19 stations so far today.

UPDATE 1101z:  Some people are very against working Russian stations. I can remember back in the days of the USSR working loads of Russian stations. I have nothing against the Russian people and the more we can break down barriers the better. One Russian station in Moscow emails me most Christmases.

UPDATE 1302z:   So far spotted by 53 stations. 237 stations spotted here on 10m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1830z:  673 stations have been spotted here and I have been spotted by 151 stations including Reunion Is and South America.

UPDATE 1935z:  696 stations copied here today and 153 stations have spotted me.  See map for stations spotting me.  Now QRT.

YouTube Channel

Just a reminder that many of my projects are on my video channel. Together with my main website http://www.g3xbm.co.uk you should find all the data you need on any of my projects.

As I remind people, experiment! Many (most?) of my projects are capable of improvement.

See https://www.youtube.com/@G3XBM

FT290/FT790

Many people around the planet own an FT817 or its successor. 

Before the FT817 became ubiquitous there were the 2m FT290 and 70cm FT790. Even today there are FT290s driving transverters.

I never understood why stupid Yaesu never offered a replacement, but it is now far too late as they have "missed the boat". These days there are plenty of rigs. In 2010 the world was their oyster.

Early morning walk - NOT amateur radio

 

As today is again expected to be hot, we went for a walk before breakfast as it was still cool. In all, we walked about 4km.

Best modes for VHF MS?

Just wondering what the best mode is for MS on VHF?  MS signals may be strong, with Doppler, but fleeting.  

I assume WSPR would be useless as it takes too long. I have no idea about FT8/4 in such conditions. Maybe there is a mode that copes well in these conditions? 

Overnight I was on 50.280 MHz MSK144 RX and this certainly is popular in Europe. This was the Perseid meteor shower. 30 stations from Spain and Italy 🇮🇹 to Sweden were spotted on 6m RX. See map.

Sunspots - Tuesday August 13th

 Solar flux is 272 and the SSN 245  A=122 and K=1.

MSK144 on 50.280 MHz RX

G8SEI (131km) is the only station so far spotted on 6m this evening on MSK144. Although I am no expert in these matters, I thought I would try monitoring 50.280 MHz (Europe) during the night to see if I manage any copy during the Perseid meteor shower. I suspect G8SEI is being copied by normal tropo and not via MS!

Simple regen RX

This site is really, really good. He is so modest and talks through his journey into amateur radio. In this video he is trying to make a simple regen RX better.

Mid-summer in the garden - NOT amateur radio

For several years our grass went brown, before recovering in autumn As we had a wet spring last year and this, the grass is still green ..... for now. 

Today is expected to be very hot, so I don't want to speak too soon! The photo shows part of our garden this morning.

2m activity contest last Tuesday

My mother-in-law would have called me a gunner. Why? Because I am "gunner do this and gunner do that". 

Several days ago I was going to submit my (pathetic) entry into the RSGB organised 2m activity contest (UKAC). I nearly forgot and submitted my entry just now. 

I get the feeling this contest is waning in popularity. Yes, there are still plenty of entries, but I seem to have fewer QSOs than I once did. This could be because urban stations find my 10W PEP harder now with increased local noise?

The map shows the QSOs with 10W PEP and the big-wheel omni antenna. I only stopped on very briefly.

Swifts gone - NOT amateur radio

It looks as if the swifts have largely left the UK on their long journey to central Africa with a return next spring.  You rarely see them go, but look up and notice they are no longer around. The odd straggler might be seen, but most have gone.

On a more positive note, we get migrant birds from the far north, who think we are warmer in winter.  It takes all sorts! 😊

Decorated postboxes - NOT amateur radio

There seems to be a fashion at the moment to decorate postboxes. This one was near our co-op shop at the weekend.

Perseid meteor shower - reminder

 A reminder that this meteor shower is at its peak and may result in enhanced VHF conditions.

10m QRP FT8 (Monday)

 My 2.5W 10m FT8 has been on since just before breakfast. 17 stations have spotted me.

UPDATE 1256z:  88 stations have spotted my QRP with the furthermost OD5KU (3468km). 

UPDATE 1258z: 99 stations spotted here with the furthermost South Africa.

UPDATE 1420z:  104 stations have spotted my 10m QRP FT8 today (see map) and 122 stations have been spotted here.

UPDATE 1811z:  130 spots of me today. 205 spots by me in the last day on 10m FT8.

Sunspots - Monday August 12th

Solar flux is 282 and the SSN 194. A=28 and K=6.

Ukraine war - NOT amateur radio

From the BBC website:

"Ukrainian troops have advanced up to 30km inside Russia, in what has become the deepest and most significant incursion since Moscow began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022." 

Although I don't like commenting on political matters, it would seem correct that Russia has to accept this sort of action. Wars, in the end, do not resolve conflicts. Both sides need to agree to a compromise in which both sides feel winners.

I just wish a ceasefire could be agreed here and in Gaza leading to a peaceful resolution of both conflicts. 

How do they stand the heat? - NOT amateur radio

The museum next door has a blacksmith that comes from time to time. It was one of the hottest days of the year, so in the forge it must have been incredibly hot.

Alcohol free beer - NOT amateur radio

Years ago alcohol free beer tasted dreadful. These days I cannot tell the difference between 0.0 beers and those with alcohol. The processing has come on a great deal.

With limits in many countries on driving with alcohol in the blood, less beer is being consumed. These days there is a real alternative.

I quite like the Guinness 0.0 and Heineken 0.0.

10m QRP FT8 (Sunday)

My 2.5W has been on since before breakfast. So far 7 stations have spotted me and I have spotted 16 on 10m FT8. All were in Europe.

UPDATE 1122z: 59 stations have spotted me. On RX, 146 stations spotted with the furthermost 2 in South Africa.

UPDATE 1857z:  Spotted by 170 stations (see map). On RX 444 stations were spotted with the furthermost RI1ANE in Antarctica (14845km).

Churches visited blog - NOT amateur radio

My East Anglian churches blog has been updated with all three Suffolk churches recently visited.

See https://eachurches.blogspot.com/ .

888 rule - NOT amateur radio

Some time ago I was taught a rule for cutting lavender. 8 inches, 8th month on the 8th. I was overdue, so did it yesterday.

We only planted them to help keep Muntjac deer out of our back garden. Apparently they don't like the smell.  Last year they nibbled quite a few plants.

See  https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/lavender .

Old QSL cards

Amateur Radio Weekly pointed me in this direction. 

Although I have not looked exhaustively at the site, it seems to be an extensive collection of old USA and Canadian  QSL cards. 

I expect somewhere on the net is a collection of old QSL cards from the rest of the world.  UPDATE: See http://www.qslcollection.co.uk/ .

See https://www.oldqslcards.com/ .