USA back on 8m (and 4m too)

A person in the USA has obtained an experimental licence for 8m and 4m. 

This is not amateur radio so QSOs certainly with radio amateurs in the USA and, probably overseas too, are not permitted. Probably FT8 and WSPR reports are fine.  

Remember this is not amateur radio.

I hope the FCC sees fit to issue more.

Sunspots - Wednesday February 18th

 Solar flux is 122 and the SSN 63. A=11 and K=3.

Spy transceiver

 

DX Explorer has some truly amazing projects. This tiny transceiver fits in a matchbox.

What gives YOU fun in amateur radio?

 One of the great aspects of our hobby is that it may be enjoyed in so many ways. Some just like a chat, some chase DX, some like ATV, etc..

I think interests change as you get older, so now is perhaps time to reflect.

My interest has always been in the experimental side. I have enjoyed experimenting  sub-10kHz, but I have also enjoyed testing over the horizon at 481THz. I like QRP.

These days I am less mobile, so try to experiment at home, with FT8 and WSPR modes being my favourites as my voice is poor. In the past I would have dashed in my car to carry out some experiment!

Probably I get as much pleasure from listening as I do transmitting these days. Working DXCC with QRP SSB on 10m 40 years ago has something to do with this! Being retired there is always the next day.

In this hobby there is always something new to try tomorrow!

Red Kite (bird)

Not many years ago the idea of seeing a red kite out of the kitchen window would have sounded stupid. They were re-introduced some years ago and they seem to be widespread now.  

Often they are seen beside roads where they feed on roadkill. A long train ride also results in quite a few sightings.  

They can easily be recognised by their forked tail. As far as I am aware they are the only large bird in the UK with a forked tail.

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

10m 3W FT8 (Tuesday)

My gear (10m QDX-M - see picture) was turned on at about 1410z.  It is fed via a series of suitably rated diodes to keep well within the 12V power limit. The output without the diodes is about 4W, I suspect I am running around 3W.

UPDATE 2015z:  666 stations spotted on RX with plenty of stations in the USA, Canada, South America and Africa. I find it amazing something this tiny works so well. With my 200mW 10m WSPR beacon and this rig I get about 95% of my amateur radio fun these days.

UPDATE  2056z:  QRT.

Russian economy

The Russian inflation rate is high and going up and the interest rate is high. In theory, this suggests the economy is in trouble. In the short term this has not been a problem in a war economy.  The longer time goes by the harder it gets.

10m 200mW WSPR (Tuesday)

 My beacon was turned at breakfast time.

UPDATE 1010z:  38 spots by EA8BFK (2880km). The variation in S/N is over 20dB, most of which is probably QSB on the path, but some might be local noise I guess. Some might be QRM from other stations. At time just microwatts would be enough! 

Sunspots - Tuesday February 17th

 Solar flux is 118 and the SSN 69. A=29 and K=2.

UK antenna petition

In the UK planning permission is required for (some?) amateur radio antennas. 

I am strongly opposed to this change, which would allow amateurs to erect towers to 15m and 2 antennas with widths up to 8m to be put up without planning permission!

Imagine that in your next door neighbour's garden!

No!!

Personally, I would rather people "self train" with modest antennas and low power.

Thankfully, this is very likely to fail.

King's College Chapel, Cambridge, UK

 

The picture shows King's College Chapel from 2 different sides.

10m 200mW WSPR (Monday)

 My beacon has been on since about 0900z.

UPDATE 0932z:   Several spots already by EA8BFK (2880km).

UPDATE 1615z:   Spotted by 29 stations so far. 200mW seems quite enough. See table. I must be getting lazy: I just switch on my WSPR beacon (no PC needed) and just  monitor where I am received. I was planning to try 10m 5W FT8, but that will now have to wait until tomorrow!

Nearly spring

This was spotted on the Backs in Cambridge on Saturday. Soon be better weather.

Mini RX

On order, is a really tiny multi-band, multi-mode RX from Banggood. Apparently, as is common, there are copies reported to be less good. Mine is due at the end of March I think.

There is a website worth looking at if you are thinking if getting one.

See https://atsmini.github.io/ .

Someone in Germany has some upgrade software.

Monday plans

 At first I propose to go on 10m 200mW WSPR TX and maybe 10m FT8 at 5W later.

Portable antennas with gain

When operating /P  in a park, beach or elsewhere it is often possible to erect a temporary antenna that has gain in the direction you are targeting. VK3YE has a video that may give you some ideas.

Online MOT checker

If you have a car in the UK on the road you need a valid MOT for insurance to be valid. The status of an MOT can be checked online.

See https://vehicleenquiry.service.gov.uk/VehicleFound?locale=en

I am unsure what the rules are for vintage cars.

Mike Rainey AA1TJ?

When you don't hear about people for a while, you worry. 

A few days ago I chanced upon a circuit by AA1TJ and realised I had not heard any news from Mike in a while. Does anyone have any news please?

Like every person from the USA I have ever dealt with he was kind and generous. 

UPDATE  1910z:  Just had an email from Mike. Great.

Sunspots - Monday February 16th

 Solar flux is 118 and the SSN 65. A=26 and K=4.

10m 5W FT8 (Sunday)

My 10m QRP FT8 was turned on at 1144z.

UPDATE 1149z: So far, spotted by 13 stations.

UPDATE 1252z:  Currently 10m FT8 RX only. 249 stations spotted.

UPDATE 1656z:  662 stations spotted here. See map. Seeing this 5W radio (QDX-M) is about the same size as a pack of cards, i.e. tiny, I am very impressed! Actually it is probably smaller than a pack of cards!  My antenna is just a low end fed. Now QRT.

Archetypal Cambridge

When many think of Cambridge, they think of King's College Chapel, punts on the Cam and weeping willows. 

Yesterday we had all three in one photo ....and blue sky!

IPSOS radio listening survey

In the last week I have been recording the broadcast radio stations that I have listened to as part of an IPSOS survey.  Mostly it is BBC Radio 4 around breakfast time.

OFCOM is consulting on the future of radio broadcasting in the UK.  According to them AM broadcast listeners have been declining.  I am not sure if this is true or as a result of more people listening to traditional broadcasts via smart speakers and DAB. Yours truly is as guilty as the rest!

If traditional AM broadcasts are declining this is a pity as many first came across radio by building simple Medium Wave receivers. My first introduction to amateur radio was hearing some locals on 160m AM. To many, radio was magic whereas nowadays we take it for granted.

70cm activity contest

Just now (belatedly) I submitted my entry for the 70cm activity contest. 

Because of my poor voice and rubbish set-up (10W and a 2m big-wheel omni antenna) I do not stop on very long. 

If I had stopped longer I would have worked far more than the 2 shown on the map. Usually I work over 100km.

Are the days of the major Japanese manufacturers numbered?

Many people in amateur radio get a lot of pleasure from unpacking a new radio for the first time. 

Often these new radios come with some new feature that a person "must have". Sometimes older radios are traded in to pay for the new box.  In reality, this new feature will not be noticed or rarely used.

Of late, the Chinese, Indians and others have been producing transceivers that are superior at much lower prices. In my view, as the demographic of radio amateurs ages, many of the traditional Japanese manufacturers will think twice or even leave the market.

It would appear that many of these Japanese radios are still using conservative designs. In the past, I think I am right, the Japanese have not been so good on innovation.

Maybe the "big three" are about to get a bloody nose?

Sunshine

 

After what has seemed a long wet and dull period we had a lovely sunny day yesterday. 

This was one of the Cambridge University colleges in the sun.

10m 200mW WSPR (Sunday)

 My beacon was turned on at about 0922z.

UPDATE 0937z:  Two spots of me.

Longest line of sight paths

This came as a real surprise to me. I was expecting the longest line of sight paths on the planet to be around 120km, whereas they are over 500km, which I find almost incredible. 

This was a link on the Amateur radio Weekly email that came yesterday.

See https://alltheviews.world/

See https://daily.hamweekly.com/

Sunspots - Sunday February 15th

 Solar flux is 117 and the SSN 60. A=11 and K=3.

Codetalker from AA1TJ

Looking back at my photos from 2009 I came across this innovative circuit by Mike Rainey AA1TJ. It is a voice powered 80m CW transmitter.  Mike has designed some very clever circuits over the years.

See https://web.archive.org/web/20100917032555/http://aa1tj.com/newenglandcodetalker.html .

10m 5W FT8 (Saturday)

At about 1410z I turned on 10m FT8.

UPDATE 1502z:  57 stations have spotted me and I have spotted 195. See map for those received.

Central Cambridge in the sun

It would seem Cambridge was very popular today, probably as after weeks of rain and dull weather the sun shone! 

There are quite a few bikes in Cambridge!

10m 200mW WSPR TX (Saturday)

 My beacon has been on since about 0945z. 

UPDATE 1440z:   17 spots of me with the best a spot from a station in Brazil.

70cm in the early days

This transverter has been on before, but we forget just how much things have changed in 50 years. I built a version of it to get me active on 70cm. It produced about 100mW AM.   It was used with either a 4el or 8el beam made from PCB material.  Best DX was 160km.

Back then 70cm was almost a frontier band with little commercial gear, so if you wanted something you probably had to build it rather than buy it. Most people (like me!) were fixed on a crystal frequency and people tuned across the band to get a contact. In those days, activity was higher , so you had a much better chance of a QSO. Most contacts were AM.  

70cm SSB? Never heard of it back then!

Sunspots - Saturday February 14th

Solar  flux is 117 and the SSN 50. A=14 and K=2.

10m 5W FT8 (Friday)

At about 1440z, I decided to go on 10m FT8 with my QDX-M transceiver. 

Currently I am 10m FT8 RX only.  

On TX it was widely spotted across Europe and North Africa. 

The map shows the stations received at about 1500z.

UPDATE 1848z:  21 stations have spotted me. See map.  Now QRT.

Leper Chapel, Cambridge, UK

This photo was taken from a moving bus earlier this week. The Leper Chapel is the second oldest complete building in the city and dates from the 1100s when it was a hospital.

See https://cambridgeppf.org/leper-chapel/.

10m 200mW WSPR TX (Friday)

 My beacon has been on since about 0940z.

UPDATE 1011z: Just EA8BFK (2880km) spotting me

Sunspots - Friday February 13th

 Solar flux is 129 and the SSN 82.  A=9 and K=2.

Seen on Facebook

 

This was seen on Facebook recently.

UberSDR

Many people get lots of fun from web SDRs experiencing amateur radio in various locations around the planet. Although I have yet to try it, you can also make your own SDR into a webSDR so others can use it too I believe.

See https://ubersdr.org/ .