In the shack counting birds! - NOT amateur radio

This was me earlier this week counting birds from the shack window. 

The weather was mixed and windy and there were fewer birds than normal.

Oscar 100 activity

Every few weeks I try to give an update on (in)activity on the narrowband transponder of this geosynchronous satellite. My last peek was shortly after European lunchtime midweek.  

To say activity is almost zero is sad, but true. I appreciate this is just a snapshot, but judging by the levels seen, I suspect this will be the last time we see a geosynchronous amateur radio transponder for very many years. It would not surprise me if this is the last.

See https://eshail.batc.org.uk/nb/ .

Promise - NOT amateur radio

 This is a trough of snowdrops that are just coming out. 

10m 500mW WSPR (Tuesday)

 My stand-alone 10m WSPR TX beacon has been on since just after breakfast. No spots at1109z.

UPDATE 1325z:  8 spots of me.

US Dollar to Russian Ruble - NOT amateur radio

At one point earlier in the month it looked like the Ruble was collapsing against the US Dollar. I am not sure if it is the Trump effect, but it has recovered a lot since then. Maybe the stories of the collapse were premature?

See Dollar to Ruble .

6m QRP FT8 (Tuesday)

 

My IC-705 was turned on after breakfast. 15 spots of my 10W FT8 so far at 1023z.

UPDATE 1103z:  Now spotted by 19 stations. Es or single hop F2? Furthermost is a spot by SM2GHI (2013km).

UPDATE 1328z:  24 EU spots of me.

630m WSPR RX overnight

Using the coax up to my 2m big-wheel antenna via an ATU I was on 630m WSPR RX. 5 stations were spotted with the furthest SM2DJK (1720km) in the north of Sweden. It was good to see 630m WSPR well used.

Map from WSPRrocks by Phil  VK7JJ

Sausage pasta - NOT amateur radio

This is a quick and easy (and low cost) meal we sometimes have. 

Sausages browned first then cut up, added with pasta, mushrooms, cheese, sweetcorn and a few herbs, all in Creme Fraiche. 

Ready in about 10 minutes. Served with a few peas.

DeepSeek AI - NOT amateur radio

There is a new AI program from China that is "upsetting the apple cart".  It is called DeepSeek and is supposed to be better than ChatGPT. When I went to try it yesterday, it was unavailable due to a malicious attack.

There is little doubt that AI will get even better over time and will have a great impact on our lives. In many ways it will be a force for good, but it will cost us jobs and could be dangerous in the wrong hands.

See https://chat.deepseek.com/ .

Remote control of an ICOM rig

It would be good to operate my IC-705 over wi-fi from my iPhone. This would mean I could control the radio whilst in the lounge or even in bed! 

I am sure there are several programs, but I saw this one yesterday. It is not cheap at $36.99. There are versions for the Mac and iPad. 

One could even control the radio over the internet.

See https://ham-radio-apps.com/sdr-control-for-icom/ .

Sunspots - Tuesday January 28th

 Solar flux is 162 and the SSN 146.  A=8 and K=1.

630m WSPR receive (Monday)

As my earth-electrode "antenna" is not connected and  my Tigertronics SignaLink USB interface is faulty, I am RX only using the IC-705 and the coax up to my 2m big-wheel via a ferrite rod ATU. 

So far this evening, 2 stations spotted on WSPR with the furthermost DC0DX (467km).

UPDATE 2230z:  Just 2 stations spotted this evening. I shall leave the RX on overnight.

Receiving commercial services in the UK

In the UK we have some unusual rules. I think you may legally listen to commercial broadcasts (like aircraft bands) but it is illegal to make use of the information received. This was probably done with the best of intention. I guess this was to prevent industrial espionage or terrorism, but it leaves a "black hole" when you just listen or report for fun.

I wonder if anyone has actually been prosecuted here in the UK for infringing this law?

6m QRP FT8 (Monday)

 At about 1340z, I decided to go on 6m FT8 with the IC-705.

UPDATE 1537z:  Spotted just by 6 English stations.

8m QRP FT8 (Monday)

My QMX+ has been on 8m FT8 TX (about 2W to the low dipole) since about 0920z. No spots at 1222z.

I think I'll QSY to 10m FT8 with the IC-705.

Big Garden Birdwatch 2025 - NOT amateur radio

This was organised by the RSPB over this weekend. Lots of UK individuals and schools took part. The idea is to record the maximum number of each species in an hour. Over the years some patterns emerge.

It was quite noticeable how bigger birds now dominate. In my hour I saw not one small bird!! The smallest was a blackbird.

See Big Garden Birdwatch. 

10m 500mW WSPR (Monday)

My beacon was turned on at 0924z.

UPDATE 1710z:  15 stations have spotted me.

“Our” windmill in the rain - NOT amateur radio

After a decent start, Sunday was a miserable day. This is the view from our lounge window.

Sunspots - Monday January 27th

 Solar flux is 171 and the SSN 140. A=3 and K=0.

10m QRP WSPR TX (Sunday)

My stand-alone 500mW 10m WSPR beacon was turned on at about 1058z.  Just EA8BFK (2880km) spotting me.

UPDATE 1320z:  12 stations have spotted me. See table.

UPDATE 1855z:  22 stations spotted me today. Now QRT.

8m QRP FT8 TX (Sunday)

My QMX+ with about 2W to the low dipole was turned on at about 1058z this morning.

UPDATE 1857z:  Just one spot of me by EA7KBX (1661km). Now QRT.

Wicken Fen collage - NOT amateur radio

 

My wife made this collage of our walk yesterday. We are expecting rain later!

Too easy?

As mentioned in the earlier post, I am on 10m QRP FT8 at the moment. At the peak of the solar cycle it is all too easy! 

At solar minimum it will be very different as many will desert the band. In my view 10m would be good for DX at solar minimum far more often than we would have thought. 

I really hope more stick with 10m, even 8m, FT8 for much longer so we can see. 

One useful experiment would be to TX FT8 on 15m, 12m, 10m, 8m and 6m sequentially and see how many stations spot on each band over time. Ideally this should be carried out over several years around solar minimum. An antenna that covers all these bands would be needed.

10m QRP FT8 (Sunday)

As my QMX+ was already on 10m FT8  from yesterday, I decided to try 10m QRP FT8 this morning. 

UPDATE 0936z:   My 3W to the end-fed had been spotted by 19 stations. On RX the furthermost is Japan.

UPDATE 1019z:  141 stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX (see map) and 73 stations have spotted me.

Watery world - NOT amateur radio

One of our favourite walks is to Wicken Fen where we stop half way, before walking back, for a coffee and a bite to eat at the cafe.

It is a watery world. In mid-winter it can be a bit bleak but lovely on a cold winter's day with a blue sky.

Being fenland, it is very flat so we can see our village church in the distance. 

Wicken Fen wind pump - NOT amateur radio

This pump replaced a much older wind pump used to keep water levels in this nature reserve at just the right level. Wicken Fen is (I think) the oldest National Trust property in the UK.

Why are numbers down?

On Friday night our local radio club had its AGM. Some were there in person and many were on Zoom. One of the questions was why membership had dipped 33% in the last 12 months.

To me the answer is clear, although it is not one we want to hear. Amateur radio is mainly a hobby of old men. As we age fewer people want to venture out at night. Some die, go into care homes, become ill, or for some other reason amateur radio is no longer important.

At some point I took a screen shot. Most were grey haired old men! This is not a problem confined to amateur radio. My wife was in a choir for over 30 years that had to fold as most were too old. At the same meeting was a leader of sailing club. He said that there were too few young people joining. Many church congregations consist of old ladies. When they die or go into homes many churches will close as they will be unable to afford the upkeep costs.

With regards to our local radio club I suggested some time ago to hold all talks by Zoom and have a regular social meeting in a cafe or pub. This would mean no room hire costs at all saving several hundred pounds a year.

If amateur radio is to thrive we need to understand what "turns on" younger people.  What attracted us to the hobby (the magic of radio) rarely works these days.

Sunspots - Sunday January 26th

 Solar flux is 182 and the SSN 131. A=3 and K=1.

10m QRP FT8 (Saturday)

 As 8m was quiet, I put my QMX+ on 10m FT8.

UPDATE 2230z: So far, 236 spots of me. QRT now.

10m QRP WSPR (Saturday)

My 500mW 10m WSPR beacon was turned on after our walk this morning.

UPDATE 1443z:  So far, 8 stations spotted today.

Walk this morning - NOT amateur radio

Today, the sun was shining and the wind had dropped, so we went for a walk at Wicken, UK

8m QRP FT8 (Saturday)

After a walk this morning, I turned on my 2W FT8 on 40.680 MHz from the QMX+ to the low wire dipole.

UPDATE 1542z:  No spots.  Probably, I have found out all I need to know about 8m. My main experiment was to find out just how useful really low ERP  could perform on this band. It would appear that my 2W to a low wire dipole is quite enough to reach the Caribbean, USA, Canada and South Africa if the F2 MUF goes high enough. For Es, it behaves much like 6m. I am not sure I shall learn much more now. It is a pity more countries do not allow radio amateurs access to the band. As I have said many many times (I can say it no more!) just 5kHz wide, low power, narrow digital only, would be enough. It would appear the FCC and OFCOM (and probably the RSGB) seem dead set against this sadly. It makes you wonder what our hobby is really about.

UK weather forecasts - NOT amateur radio

 UK weather forecasting is hard as it is where many air masses meet. Despite this, millions have been spent on super-computers to make it better.  On my phone I have 3 weather forecasts. This morning they are all different! Looking out the window it looks sunny but cold. I think I will choose that one!

Why do they pretend?

Sunspots - Saturday January 25th

 Solar flux is 205 and the SSN 131. A=7 and K=0.

Quiet corner - NOT amateur radio

This is a quiet part of our village. Snowdrops are out!

10m 500mW WSPR (Friday)

My QRP 10m WSPR beacon is on.

UPDATE 1807z:  29 stations have spotted me with the furthermost ZD7GB (7607km). QRT.

8m QRP FT8 TX with the QMX+ (Friday)

My QMX+ is TXing QRP FT8 on 40.680 MHz.

UPDATE 1809z:  No spots. QRT.

"Our" windmill late yesterday afternoon - NOT amateur radio

 

This was the windmill next door late on Thursday afternoon. 

The hedge in front is ours. 

We get a good view when we have breakfast and in the lounge where this photo was taken.

Peace - NOT amateur radio

It saddens me that so many who were so badly affected in WW2 (6 million Jews were killed) are now able to inflict such horrors on innocent people in Gaza. 

What happened to the Jewish people on October 7th 2023 was horrific, but nothing, NOTHING, can condone what has happened since.

It seems that mankind is incapable of living in peace. More and more I am saddened that so much hate exists.

How simple can you make a transceiver?

Before my stroke in 2013 I enjoyed seeing what could be done with almost nothing. This circuit was based on an earlier design for 40m CW by someone in the USA. Others made copies and some remarkable DX was  worked.