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| Stations spotting my 2.5W 10m FT8 up to about 1120z |
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| Stations spotted here on 10m FT8 today |
OFCOM regularly updates the information it holds on licence numbers etc.. Please see the OFCOM website for the latest.
The idea is to post a photo a day. At $19.99 you can have more albums and privacy, but otherwise it is totally free. It has no connection whatsoever with Microsoft.
This photo was taken in the Faroe Islands and recently posted. This is a place I am very unlikely to visit.
Apart from those keen to assemble a ground station (fixed, small antenna, no tower, much of the world in range day and night, no QSB etc.) it has been under-used.
The last peek was a Friday evening in Europe. Once again it was sadly quiet.
It has never appealed to me, but I was quite surprised it was not more popular. Based on this satellite, I can't see another for some time.
By now, I was expecting it to be busy. It is not.
See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/homebrew/80m-xbm80-2
UPDATE 0929z: Spotted by 62 stations already this morning and on RX the furthermost (115 spotted!) is VK6RK (14469km).
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| Stations spotted here in the last day on 10m FT8 |
About an hour ago, I decided to go on 10m FT8 instead of WSPR.
For many in the UK, Monday is a public holiday, so Monday is also a rally day. As always, check the details are correct before going on a long drive.
My favourite site for solar data is now showing the smoothed peak of cycle 25 as this October at 162.8. At one time they were showing a much smaller peak last November.
This suggests good F2 conditions this autumn and spring.
My beacon was turned on at about 0800z.
UPDATE 1525z: No spots. I suspect fewer people use WSPR now preferring FT8. Perhaps I should try 10m FT8 tomorrow?
This really annoys me. It would be really helpful if people put dates when webpages were updated. I can’t tell you how often I have seen data only to see it was created some years ago and the data is out of date!!
As an example CQWW contest website. Dates are shown for 2024, but were these written last year? The last blog update was April.
This has happened so many times. All it needs is a footer saying when the webpage was last updated.
Whilst on 6m, I keep forgetting the 10m antenna is available, so I can use my 10m WSPR TX beacon.
UPDATE 0952z: No spots of me.
UPDATE 1721z: 20 stations spotted. One might be Es.
As I recall, CQ magazine has stopped. At one time the CQWW contests were perhaps the most popular in the world. Even without submitting an entry, it was a way to contact new countries. When my voice was good I used to fill pages in the logbook. In later years, it has become too hard for me.
With the demise of CQ, I wonder what is happening with these contests?
In recent times, I have not been on 8m much, even though I have a UK T&I permit to TX on the 8m band.
The main reason is I know what the band can do with Es. It is possible to span the European continent with just a few milliwatts of FT8 on 8m.
The 8m band, being between 10m and 6m, comes into its own when the F2 MUF just exceeds 47MHz.
With the sunspot count being good recently, it has exceeded 50MHz, especially on N-S paths. Activity on 6m is much higher, so getting spots is easier than on 8m currently.
As the F2 MUF goes down, I expect 8m will be more useful showing how the F2 MUF can reach 8m, but not 6m. I shall probably try again on 8m this autumn It would be great if more PTTs allowed amateur access.
I hope the FCC, OFCOM and the RSGB are listening!
UPDATE 0824z: 12 stations have spotted me. I think there is some Es.
UPDATE 0901z: IS0AWZ (1598km) has spotted me. See map.
Quite often I need to change an image on my blogspot blog. I find this very "hit and miss". Sometimes I can do it easily and other times I struggle. I can't help thinking I am missing a trick and there must be a better way.
Does anybody know a method that just works please?
This was another of my attempts to get something for nothing!
It worked remarkably well, but I struggled with netting the RX onto the TX frequency so I was afraid of clobbering someone else. It was an adaption of a circuit for 40m by W2UW but made even simpler. It appeared in SPRAT some years ago.
Some have duplicated it and achieved some remarkable DX.
See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/homebrew/80m-feter-transceiver .
Crickey - 2008! I must be old HI 😀
See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/optical-nanowaves/over-the-horizon .
We all take instant global communications for granted.
As an example yesterday we had a (free) video call from our son who is staying with his Australian in-laws in Brisbane. The quality was excellent. It was almost as if he was in the next room.
It has not always been easy. I was surprised to read how extensive the telegraph network already was in the mid 1800s. Before that, news was very slow depending on boats, pigeons and dispatch riders. Just imagine life now without the internet. We have grown dependent on it in so many ways.
Just for chatting, we no longer need amateur radio.
I have just finished reading a book about the RAF Pathfinders. My dad was one in WW2. I had no idea how brave they were. On every mission they must have been terrified. No wonder my dad did not want to talk about his wartime that much.
My dad died in 1987. I think his wartime experiences haunted him. Overall, he was a peace loving man who enjoyed his quiet life. What a pity he died before I really understood. RIP dad.
The book by Will Iredale is available on Amazon and I expect it may be ordered by most bookshops.
Most wars serve no good.
My 2.5W FT8 has been on most of the morning.
UPDATE 1032z: So far, spotted by 14 stations mostly in England. The spots in Southern Eire and Norway could be Es.
UPDATE 1336z: Spotted by 19 stations.
There are plenty of designs for regenerative receivers around, but I was pleased with this one. I am sure it may be improved.
See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/homebrew/80m-or-40m-regen-rx .
Most days I watch Times Radio on YouTube about Ukraine It is usually informative.
