Sunspots - Saturday December 14th

 Solar flux is 171 and the SSN 82. A=11 and K=3.

Humour - NOT amateur radio

As someone pointed out , perhaps you should pack a ladder 🪜 if staying at this hotel in Cambridge!😉😉.

Geminid meteor shower

 Throughout the year there are meteor showers. At the moment we are at the peak of the Geminid shower. Often the ionised trails enhance VHF signals.

10m QRP WSPR (Friday)

UPDATE 1455z: 19 stations have spotted me so far today.

6m QRP FT8 (Friday)

 As an experiment I left my QRP 6m FT8 on overnight. 19 stations spotted me in the last 6 hours.

UPDATE 1452z:  55 stations have spotted me in the last 12 hours. See the comment below. It could be linked to MS.

Sunspots - Friday December 13th

 Solar flux is 161 and the SSN 91. A=6 and K=0.

Proud grandparents - NOT amateur radio

One of my granddaughters was awarded a place with the Royal Ballet against very stiff competition. 

Recently she performed at Westminster Abbey in front of 2 future UK kings. It was recorded and is being broadcast on ITV at 7.30pm on Christmas Eve.

I am not a royalist, but am extremely proud, as she is still very young. I would post a photo, but it is probably copyrighted.

Pixie transceiver kits

 A few moments ago I looked at AliExpress for Pixie transceiver kits. The lowest price I found was £1.28 with free delivery from China!! The term "free delivery" seems to be a bit odd as most seem to charge for "shipping". 

I just do not know how they do it and make profits.

Village Christmas Tree - Not amateur radio

Every year a Christmas tree 🌲 is erected outside our post office.

10m 500mW WSPR (Thursday)

My beacon has been on since late morning. At 1334z 17 stations had spotted me with several in the USA and Canada.

UPDATE 1657z: 29 stations have spotted me.

6m QRP FT8 (Thursday)

My QRP has been on 6m FT8  since about 1215z.  At 1230z 8 stations have spotted me, all in England.

UPDATE 1641z:  18 stations have spotted my 6m QRP FT8 today.

Sunspots - Thursday December 12th

 Solar flux is 161 and the SSN 114. A=6 and K=2.

Changing times

Back in the 1960s, 2m was almost exclusively AM and 70cm was the frontier. These days many (probably most)  prefer digital modes like FT8. When first active in the late 1960s people used to come on just to chat. 

These days there are many other ways to do this not involving amateur radio or licences. Radio is no longer magic for most: video chats across the world for free on the internet are easy. My wife talks to a friend in Australia on video as if she is in the next room.

Back in the late 1960s I really wanted a Heathkit Twoer HW30 kit. This was a 5W AM transceiver with a super-regen RX. In those days of very low activity, this was probably all you needed. Selectivity was poor, not that it really mattered most of the time.

Interesting reflection - NOT amateur radio

 

This photo was taken by my wife some years ago. It is of a glass on a restaurant table.

6m QRP FT8 (Wednesday)

My QRP  6m FT8 has been on since about 1100z. So far, I have been spotted by 14 English stations at 1133z.

UPDATE 1444z:  23 stations have spotted me on 6m QRP FT8, mostly English.

10m QRP WSPR TX (Wednesday)

My stand-alone 500mW 10m WSPR beacon has been on for a little while.  At 1125z, I had been spotted by 3 Finnish stations.

UPDATE 1445z:  21 stations have spotted me today.

Optical DX - NOT amateur radio

For years I have been fascinated by mirages and increases in refractive index at optical frequencies. What is often not realised is that how far we can see changes depending on the refractive index .This photo was a Facebook memory from some years ago.

Sunspots - Wednesday December 11th

 Solar flux is 172 and the SSN 125. A=8 and K=2.

Notre Dame, Paris - NOT amateur radio

This was badly damaged by fire 5 years ago (my half French grandchildren cried buckets) but has now been reborn . 

This is it now.

How ignorant we are - NOT amateur radio

 As part of my University of the Third Age course in Cambridge I was studying great physicists. The take-away remark is just how little we know! 

For centuries great minds have tried hard to better understand the universe at macro and micro level, without really understanding it.

Quantum mechanics was only put forward a little over one hundred years ago. All we really know is that everything is stranger than we ever imagined.

I don't think our human brains are capable of fully comprehending this.

Next term I am studying "Computers, the Brain and AI".  Perhaps AI could help?

The other course (totally different!) was about the Balkans.

6m QRP FT8 (Tuesday)

My gear was turned on at about 1005z. Already spotted by 19 stations including many in continental Europe.

UPDATE 1832z:  57 Europeans spotted me today on 6m QRP FT8.

10m QRP WSPR (Tuesday)

My 500mW beacon was turned on at about 1005z.

UPDATE 1837z:   31 stations have spotted me. See table.

Sunspots - Tuesday December 10th

 Solar flux is 173 and the SSN 94. A=16 and K=2.

Rethatching - NOT amateur radio

In the nearby village of Lode there are many thatched cottages. One is having its thatched roof replaced, a job that takes many weeks. The one in the photo has been worked on for about 2 weeks already.

10m 500mW WSPR TX (Monday)

My beacon was turned on at breakfast time. At  0902z, several spots from the Canary Is..  It seems this (I assume) single hop F2 path is usually open.

UPDATE 2005z:  48 stations have spotted me today.

6m QRP FT8 (Monday)

 My gear was turned on just after 0800z. At 0858z already 20 stations have copied me including several in mainland Europe.

UPDATE 1957z:  71 stations spotted my 6m QRP  FT8.

Sunspots - Monday December 9th

 Solar flux is 178 and the SSN 103. A=7 and K=3.

Beware!!

Earlier this afternoon I thought I had ordered a UV K5(8) transceiver from Aliexpress for the bargain price of just £0.98 with free airmail postage. 

At this price (well below the price of a coffee) I thought I could not go wrong. 

Later, I read the reviews. One pointed out that all you got was the antenna, despite it implied you got a full transceiver for this price. This is a total scam.

I cancelled the order immediately.

It must be near Christmas - NOT amateur radio

Today, we put up our Christmas tree and Christmas decorations. It must be the run-up. 

It seems 5 minutes since last Christmas.

10m 500mW WSPR (Sunday)

My QRP 10m WSPX beacon was turned on at about 0800z. At 1006z, 7 European stations  have copied my QRP.

UPDATE 1855z:  47 stations have spotted me today.

6m QRP FT8 (Sunday)

My QRP  6m FT8 was turned on about 0800z. At 1000z, my signal has been spotted by 19 stations.

UPDATE 2000:  55 stations have spotted me with 2 from "across the pond".

Oscar 100 narrowband transponder

Every few weeks I take a look at the narrowband activity on the geosynchronous Oscar 100 satellite. I am disappointed by the lack of activity.

See https://eshail.batc.org.uk/nb/ .

The evolution of languages - NOT amateur radio

My family history can be traced back on my dad's side to the mid 1500s. This was 13 generations. Being generous, it takes about 60 generations to get back to the Roman invasion of England and the birth of Christ. 

Now, I have no idea when certain languages began, but we have so many very different languages in Europe at the present time. Some are right next door as countries e.g. France and Germany. It is estimated that there are between 5000 and 7000 languages on Earth.

What I find so amazing is that our languages can be so different. OK, until about 100 years ago most people did not move far. Nonetheless, I find it incredible that languages can be so different in so few generations.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Language.

New radios

Looking forward, certain things seem apparent to me. These are:

• Manufacturers want to be competitive. This usually means high volumes and low variations between markets. For example products for the USA market should have the same hardware as for Europe and most of the world. Programming with different software is easy.
• People are finding prices high, so are looking for good value and to buy as few products as possible. The "shack in the box" looks attractive.
• Ideally many would like a radio that can do all bands (HF and VHF) in all modes. 
• A radio that could be used in the shack or car/truck means fewer variants, so higher volumes.
• Small size makes fitting in small spaces easier.
• Manfacturers must be mindful of low cost manufacturing areas around the world.

One solution might be a low power product with a separate linear?

So an ideal product might be the ICOM IC-705 or the Yaesu FTX-1F.

In my view the companies that will remain around are the ones that recognise these and develop products accordingly.

Sunspots- Sunday December 8th

 Solar flux is 183 and the SSN 91. A=6 and K=1.

Winter projects

Here in the UK it is now very dark in the mornings and it gets very dark early in the evenings too. We are drawing the curtains at about 4pm whereas it seemed like 5 minutes since we were doing it at 10pm!

With the onset of winter, many people turn to winter amateur radio projects. These days, my fine motor skills are poor, but in the past "rolling something of my own" has given me immense pleasure. 

I cannot describe the thrill of working somebody thousands of miles away on something you have designed and built yourself.  

However small, I can recommend building something. Maybe start with a kit?

Naughty but nice - NOT amateur radio

 This was the advert for breakfast at a local pub. Very nice 😊.

Tangerine Dreams - NOT amateur radio

Despite being re-potted and staked our very tall amaryliss decided to fall over again in the night, so we put it in the sink of the utility room weighed down with.......tangerines! 

Since this it has not (yet) fallen over.

10m QRP WSPR TX (Saturday)

 My beacon has been on since breakfast. At 0943z, 6 stations have spotted my 500mW.

UPDATE 1325z:  21 stations have spotted me so far.

6m QRP FT8 (Saturday)

My gear was turned on at breakfast time. So far, 15 stations spotted today at 0928z. See map.

UPDATE 1322z:  40 stations have spotted me today.