6m QRP FT8 (Saturday)

My QMX+ is again on 6m FT8 to the V2000 vertical omni antenna. At 1008z, spotted by 15 stations in England.

UPDATE 1145z:  Spotted by 27 English and Welsh stations. 

UPDATE  1417z:  5 spots of me from the USA and Canada on 6m QRP FT8. 46 spots of me overall. It is good to see F2 E-W opening up on 6m. I suspect this is as the SSN is currently high.  Next year I hope the E-W MUF reaches 8m if not 6m.

UPDATE 1449z:  84 stations have spotted my QRP, which is the most this year, with lots from the USA. 

Stations spotting my 6m QRP FT8 today

UPDATE 1712z:  133 spots of my 6m FT8 QRP, most in the USA. See map.

UPDATE 1933z:  Now QRT with 136 stations spotting my 6m QRP FT8 today. This must go down as one of my best days ever on 6m QRP FT8. 

Our local garden nursery - NOT amateur radio

 This was our local garden nursery earlier this week.

Sunspots - Saturday November 2nd

 Solar flux is 256 and the SSN 210. A=7 and K=1.

Money to burn?

The price of amateur gear surprises me. 

A major UK dealer is advertising a second hand receiver for £3299. 

I am not judging others who have a perfect right to spend their money as they see fit. 

Just count me out!

Grandchildren - NOT amateur radio

This image reminds me just how ephemeral childhood is. 

In a couple of years they will be grown up and "flown the nest".  

We think these days will last forever, but know they will not.

Website reminder

 A reminder that most of my projects are detailed on the G3XBM website. There are some videos on my YouTube channel.

Rallies this Sunday

The following rallies this Sunday have been notified to me. The usual caveats apply.

• Bushvalley ARC annual rally, Limavady, N.Ireland, BT49 0DF.
• Holsworthy Radio Rally, Holsworthy, EX22 6DN. Contact boltoncycles@gmail.com . 

10m QRP WSPR (Friday)

My stand-alone 500mW 10m WSPR beacon has been on since mid-morning and my QRP has been spotted by 52 stations at 1230z including North and South Americans.

UPDATE 1644z:   92 spots of my little 10m WSPR beacon today.

6m QRP FT8 (Friday)

 

Already my 6m QRP FT8 is being spotted in Asiatic Russia and Canada. In total, 58 stations have spotted me by 1227z.

UPDATE 1651z:  65 stations have spotted me today. I was expecting lots of USA and Canadian via F2, but nothing here apart from the station in Newfoundland. I guess this could have been F2 or even Es. I reckon my output is about 3W.

Sunspots - Friday November 1st

 Solar flux is 270 and the SSN 187. A= 9 and K=1.

Cambridge Art Gallery - NOT amateur radio

This was an art gallery in the Grand Arcade, Cambridge this morning. 

They always seem to have unusual paintings on display.

Village History - NOT amateur radio

Yesterday we walked to our village garden nursery to buy some plants. 

Opposite was a plaque to an old Jewish cemetery. It is called "Jerusalem Gardens".  I cannot imagine a Jewish community here centuries ago in the time of King Henry II.

UPDATE Nov 1st:  I did not realise King Henry II was in the 1100s AD.

10m 500mW WSPR TX (Thursday)

 After returning from Cambridge, I turned on my stand-alone 10m W5OLF WSPR TX beacon. Plenty of USA spots plus F61695 (9729km).

UPDATE 2042z:  In all today 74 stations have spotted me.

At last! 6m F2 "across the pond"

 When I returned from Cambridge after lunch, I turned on my QRP 6m FT8.

For the first time in many years this autumn, 6m was filled with USA and Canadian signals on 6m FT8. This looks like F2 propagation.  

Even my 6m FT8 QRP was reaching Canada and the USA. See map. On RX there are several USA stations active.

UPDATE 1550z: My QRP 6m FT8 spotted by 4 Canadian and 1 USA stations today. No QSOs sadly.

UPDATE 2045z:  Spotted by 76 stations so far.

Sunspots - Thursday October 31st

 Solar flux is 270 and the SSN 200. A=15 and K=1.

Village tree - NOT amateur radio

 

Yesterday we did a  nice walk to our local garden nursery to get some plants and passed this tree.

What happens when we die? - NOT amateur radio

It has been estimated that there are 10 billion stars in our galaxy alone. In the observable universe there are trillions of galaxies. The "average" star has at least one planet, meaning that there are a huge number of planets!

Somehow I cannot believe this life alone is "it".  Some estimate there are 10 to the power of 25 planets. This is a truly staggeringly large number.

Most religions are very "Earth centric". What is certain is we only can know very little with our small brains.

10m 500mW WSPR (Wednesday)

 My TX beacon has been on since lunchtime.

UPDATE 1646z: So far today, spotted by 50 stations with the furthermost F61695 (9729km) in the Indian Ocean. This is far fewer than yesterday.

6m QRP FT8 (Wednesday)

My  QMX+ has been on since lunchtime.

UPDATE 1519z: Furthermost is a spot of me by V51MA (8460km) in Namibia. 38 spots of my QRP, mostly in Europe. No sign here of any stations in North America.

UPDATE 1653z: 43 spots of my QRP 6m FT8 today. Although I shall be on for a few hours yet, I do not think I shall see any USA stations on 6m today.

What is DX?

DX means different things to different people. 

To some, it is working a new country in the Pacific. To others it may be being copied in the antipodes with a few milliwatts of WSPR.  To some it may just be working a few kilometres with ultra-simple gear. Thank goodness we are all different.

Just because we do not understand what "turns people on" we have no right whatsoever to judge others.

FT8 in the quiet years

It seems odd to be talking about the "quiet years" when solar conditions are so good. 

However, in about 5 years' time there will be few sunspots and many will (wrongly) assume the higher HF bands are dead.

In many cases this is not the case and a casual listen around 27MHz will prove this is due to a lack of activity and not poor conditions. 

Hopefully FT8 users will stick around on bands like 10m, 12m and 15m and prove the bands are open far more often than is assumed. I well remember working a surprised LU when I was running 10m SSB QRP when there were no sunspots at all at sunspot minimum some years ago. 

FT8 is well monitored and works with very weak signals. Who knows by then we may have an even better mode!

In my experience, N-S paths remain open for DX at all points in the solar cycle. I agree you have to be more patient, but that is half the fun.

Yaesu FTX-1F all mode, all band QRP transceiver

When this was announced at the Tokyo Ham Fair some months ago, there was a lot of hype, but little news. 

It was expected "early 2025", but since then I have heard nothing further. Several dealers are accepting deposits, but I have heard no news about price or specs..

Does anyone know anything? 

It looks like Yaesu's answer to the FT817/818 series and the ICOM IC-705. Without the detailed specs and prices, it is hard to know how this will do. 

I imagine much of the software and hardware is based heavily on other Yaesu SDR transceivers to reduce development costs.

I hope the price is well below £1000 so it is competitive against many other products now around, especially as the Japanese Yen is far weaker than it was against the US dollar and UK pound.

Sunspots - Wednesday October 30th

 Solar flux is 266 and the SSN 220. A=12 and K=3.

Why? - NOT amateur radio

Apparently Israel has passed a law preventing UNRWA operating in Israel. Why?

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cpqd9lr80p8t .

Our bungalow - NOT amateur radio

 Our local museum and windmill are just across the way from us. We have just been to an end of season "mini party" for all volunteers. One photo shows our bungalow (and a bit of the windmill!). It was taken on our way home. The other shows the party.

Last ones? - NOT amateur radio

We like to eat fruit with our breakfasts . This includes blackberries if they are in season. We have a bush very close to us and I thought I had picked my last of this year a few weeks ago. 

To my surprise I collected some today which will do for breakfast today and tomorrow. It has been very mild of late. 

If you do not believe we are living in a warming world, open your eyes. We have lived in this part of the UK for over 50 years and it is definitely milder. Some may argue about causes, but it is definitely warmer.

AM station

When I started in amateur radio most people were on AM (amplitude modulation) even on HF.  

In recent years there has been a bit of an AM revival especially on the lower HF bands. At one time AM was very popular as the gear can be simple and it is an effective mode. 

Its main drawback on HF is it is wider than SSB and power is wasted in the carrier. On the plus side RX gear can be extremely simple yet effective. See my Fredbox and Sixbox transceivers.

I saw this AM station on the internet. It made me feel quite nostalgic. 

Sadly, many have never used AM or experienced it.

6m QRP FT8 (Tuesday)

My 6m QRP FT8 with the QMX+ has been on since just before breakfast. 29 stations have spotted me, mostly in the UK. 

UPDATE 1036z: 33 stations have spotted my QRP. No signs of F2 here.

UPDATE 1200z: My QRP 6m FT8 has been spotted by 38 stations and 49 have been spotted here. All were European.

UPDATE  1810z:  QRT shortly. Spotted by 49 stations all in Europe. No F2 evident here on 6m.

10m QRP WSPR (Tuesday)

My 500mW 10m WSPR beacon has been on since just before breakfast. So far, at 1042z, 19 stations have spotted me. Most look like F2 propagation.

UPDATE 1810z:  105 stations have spotted my 10m WSPR QRP today including many from the USA and Canada. Today has been exceptional on 10m WSPR. Furthermost is F61695 (9729km) in the Indian Ocean.

WSPRrocks by VK7JJ

Where I have been received today.

Queen’s College Cambridge -NOT amateur radio

 This is a 600 year college is in Cambridge.

6m - could we get F2 openings?

With the currently high sunspot numbers there is a chance of F2 openings on 6m. I  shall try again for the USA after lunch. Apparently it was open to Australia but I spotted nothing on my omni vertical yesterday!

UPDATE 1610z: No sign here today of F2 activity on 6m. I shall stick with it as today has been exceptional on 10m WSPR. I have spotted one station on 6m FT8 in the USA this autumn. I suspect now is too late.

Sunspots - Tuesday October 29th

 Solar flux is 255 and the SSN 288. A=17 and K=2.

15m QRP FT8 (Monday)

 At about 1840z, I QSYed to 15m. So far (at 1851z) 11 stations have spotted me, all "across the pond".

UPDATE 2102z: 51 stations have spotted my QRP 15m FT8 this evening. See map.

6m QRP FT8 (Monday) with the QMX+

Since returning from shopping, I have been on 6m QRP FT8 with the QMX+ and V2000 omni vertical antenna. So far, 29 stations have spotted me with plenty in mainland Europe as the map shows. I am hoping I get some spots in the USA on 6m FT8 - you never know!

UPDATE 1615z: 37 stations have spotted me today on 6m QRP FT8. Nothing from the USA.

10m QRP FT8 (Monday)

This morning, I am on 10m FT8 with my QDX transceiver. Stations coming in from across the world and I have been spotted (at 0900z) by 6 stations so far.

UPDATE 0957z: 42 stations have spotted me. Now RX only. On RX 152 stations spotted. I may try 6m QRP FT8 with the QMX+ later after shopping.

End of British Summer Time (BST) - NOT amateur radio

This last weekend we said "goodbye" to BST for another year. For a short while (only!) the mornings seem a bit lighter, but it gets dark far earlier. 

We adapt and get used to cosy evenings with the curtains drawn. I enjoy the dark evenings, but prefer the light evenings we get in spring and summer. Sadly, these seem to last a very short time.

Sunspots - Monday October 28th

 Solar flux is 246 and the SSN 198. A=10 and K=4.

10m 500mW WSPR (Sunday)

 Whilst on 8m, I put my 10m WSPR beacon on. So far today, 58 stations have spotted my QRP.

UPDATE 1553z: 67 stations have spotted me with the vast majority being "across the pond".

UPDATE 1825z:  QRT. 75 stations spotted me today.

October 2024 shack

The photo shows the shack currently.  As you can see, the QDX is very tiny. The box it is sitting on is the 472kHz transverter.

Middle East peace? - NOT amateur radio

It is too early to tell, but there are tentative signs that the Middle East is growing tired of war. I certainly hope a just peace can be forged that is good for all.