Wicken Fen, UK

Yesterday, we went for a walk at Wicken Fen and saw our first returning swallows here for the summer before flying back to southern Africa.

10m 200mW WSPR (Saturday)

My beacon was turned on at about 0712z.

UPDATE 1004z: No spots.

Sunspots - Saturday April 11th

 Solar flux is 94 and the SSN 48. A=18 and K=2.

Iran - a very old and beautiful place

Last night I watched a YouTube video about Iran, I had absolutely no idea what a beautiful country this is. It would appear some idiots want to bomb it back to the Stone Age. 

We always see a biased version of facts. I am sure, like many countries, Iran has many faults. However, I always find it sad when idiots want to bomb history they don't like out of existence. 

I felt this about King Henry VIII, Palmyra in Syria and the Buddhist statues in Afghanistan. There are some very stupid people.

QRP transceiver from Sweden

 

This appeared in SPRAT 31 and I believe earlier in RadCom. I must have missed it.

10m 200mW WSPR (Friday)

My beacon was turned on before breakfast.

UPDATE 2002z: Spotted by 4 stations with the best DP0GVN (13685km) in Antarctica. QRT shortly.

Sunspots - Friday April 10th

 Solar flux is 98 and the SSN 79. A=7 and K=4.

Reverse Beacon Network - why no FT modes?

For many, this is a really useful resource often allowing operators to see where they are getting in the absence of a reply. 

It seems odd to me (as far as I can see) that the RBN does NOT monitor FT8, FT4 and FT2.

I know there are alternatives such as PSKreporter, but as very common modes these days and only requiring a few kilohertz of band to be monitored this surprises me. 

If there is a good reason, I would be interested to know why.

See https://www.reversebeacon.net/

10m 200mW WSPR (Thursday)

Today was an early start on 10m WSPR with my beacon turned on at about 0545z.

UPDATE 1242z: 2 stations spotting me with the best FR5DN (9752km) . 

70cm 10W FT8 UKAC yesterday

Last evening was the activity contest (UKAC) on 70cm FT8. 

A couple of people answered my CQs and were worked, but I was not on long. My 70cm gear is pathetic! I run 10W into a 144MHz big-wheel antenna. 

Despite this, I remain amazed how far away I get spotted on 70cm FT8. See the map showing where I was copied last evening in a few short minutes.

Joe Blogs

 This was the Joe Blogs video yesterday.

Sunspots - Thursday April 9th

 Solar flux is 108 and the SSN 103. A=7 and K=1.

Iran war

 In my mind the USA has made a "pigs dinner" of this war. Both sides claim victory.

The war has cost the USA, allegedly, over $11B so far, which is a colossal amount.

Fuel prices are higher (even in the USA) and inflation is likely to move up.  The Strait of Hormuz (which was open before the war) is supposed to be open again .......but Iran controls it and will probably charge a toll. 

Yes, we may have set back Iran making missiles and nuclear weapons a bit. Has the USA gained any friends? I doubt it; they may well have lost a few. Iran still has low cost drones and control over the Straight of Hormuz. US victory? Hmmm.

10m 5W FT8 (Wednesday)

 At about 1515z, I changed to 10m FT8 at 5W. 

UPDATE 1536z:  On TX my best spots are from Israel. On RX here my best is LU8XW(13474km) in Tierra del Fuego.

Coffee in the garden

 

For the first time this spring we enjoyed coffee in the garden in the warm sun. The photo shows the view from the garden seat.

10m 200mW WSPR (Wednesday)

At the moment, I am on 10m QRP WSPR TX.

UPDATE 1118z:  So far, spots of me by just EA8BFK (2880km). See chart.

Tulips

Cambridge is awash with colour at this time of year. 

First of all we see the snowdrops, then the daffodils, then the tulips. 

Also, the deciduous trees have a fresh green, which looks tired by the late summer.

2m activity contest

Last night was the 2m UKAC (activity) contest. As usual, I was running 10W to my big-wheel omni antenna and I could only stay on for about 30 minutes because of my poor voice. 

In all, 5 stations were worked with some at quite decent range. See map.

Enjoying the sunshine

Yesterday in Cambridge, it was sunny and warm. For the first time this year, I abandoned the jumper! 

At this time of the year people do not know what to wear. Some have heavy winter clothes, whereas others are wearing shorts and short sleeves.

Sunspots - Wednesday April 8th

 Solar flux is 109 and the SSN 110. A=9 and K=1.

Trinity College, Cambridge, UK

 

This photo was taken in a previous year. It shows the flowers outside Trinity College.

10m 200mW WSPR (Tuesday)

Very shortly I shall be on 10m WSPR QRP TX.

UPDATE 2025z : Spotted by 6 stations. See table. Now QRT. Furthest is again Antarctica.

Sunspots - Tuesday April 7th

 Solar flux is 116 and SSN 112. A=10 and K=2.

Lighter evenings

We are now in British Summer Time (BST) and nights are getting shorter and the days longer. 

This was about 7.30pm last evening from our house. We have about 3 months of evenings getting lighter.

70cm modules

For a very long time I have held the view that these inexpensive modules could form the basis of a 70cm transceiver. Indeed somebody may have already done so. If my fine motor skills were up to it (they’re NOT anymore sadly), I would have done so. Even as they are, they could make useful local communicators with an external antenna.

There is a wide choice of modules available via Amazon.

If you know of any work published on the internet please let me know.

Horse Chestnut trees

These 2 trees were planted in our churchyard in the 1800s to celebrate the battle of Waterloo in 1815. They are just coming in to leaf. 

For years our children and grandchildren have collected conkers from them as children have for very many generations.

President Trump on Truth Social

On Sunday, the US president published an expletive laden post on Truth Social, threatening Iran with dire consequences if the Strait of Hormuz was not re-opened. 

In my personal view, this was not the sort of post I would have expected by a US president.

Many consider attacks against civilian targets a war crime. This would be contested I expect. 

In my view, this will make the Iranian people more angry and less likely to side with the USA. If you dislike a regime in power, why take it out on ordinary folk?

What is certain is that this is an asymmetric war with might against cunning.

I fail to understand why people cannot live in peace and harmony with everyone. Wars cost a great deal and rarely achieve much good. The common person rarely really wants war. Those that stand to gain have shares in companies supplying weapons and ammunition.

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cm29zmpdj3vt.

10m 5W FT8 (Monday)

My gear was turned on at breakfast time.

UPDATE 0811z:  Spotted by 6 stations.

UPDATE 1630z:  Spotted by 25 stations. See map.  313 stations spotted here on 10m FT8 RX.

Words of the leader of the western world

These allegedly are the exact words of the US president:

"Tuesday will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the Fuckin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah. President DONALD J. TRUMP"

How to win friends across the world? 

NewsThump

This cartoon was on FB on Saturday. 

I think they are concerned about the “thought police “ being offended by some posts and getting banned from FB.

See https://newsthump.com/2026/04/04/galactic-confederation-on-high-alert-after-moron-infested-planet-shows-increasing-desire-to-infest-other-worlds/

Amazing tiny radio

This radio RX is available from China for around £20 delivered. It is an all band, all mode RX and it is really tiny. You can tell by my hand just how tiny it is! It is ideal as a holiday radio and charged via USB-C.

Sunspots - Monday April 6th

 Solar flux is 118 and the SSN 112. A=12 and K=1.

Museum open

The museum next door was open for the first time in 2026. The windmill sails were turning. This is our hedge in front!

10m 5W FT8 (Sunday)

My TX was turned on at about 1045z. 

UPDATE 1148z:   19 stations have spotted me with the best V51F (8209km) in Namibia. On RX 44 stations were spotted with the best northern Australia.

UPDATE 1537z:  Spotted by 90 stations today with 4 being in Brazil and 1 in Argentina. 230 stations have been spotted here. No North Americans.

Easter Sunday

 In the Christian calendar this is celebrated as the day when Jesus was resurrected. Whatever our beliefs or none, we can reflect on kindness that is the most important thing in the world. Happy Easter!!

Joe Blogs video

These videos are usually about economics or politics. I watch them most days. 

UPDATE 1152z:  Apparently the airman was rescued by the USA.

Classic QRP rig

The Heathkit HW8 was a classic HF transceiver. As I recall it was about 2W CW and covered 80m, 40m, 20m and 15m CW with a direct conversion RX. I owned one for a while and (I think) sold it back to the original owner. This was about 40 years ago, so my memory is not clear!

The image was found on the internet, but I cannot remember where!

A few years ago Heathkit tried to make a comeback. The original Heathkits were excellent, but later products were expensive and nothing exciting in my view.

See https://shop.heathkit.com/collections/products.

The advent of Japanese rigs led to there being no real advantage to building a kit.

Ephemeral

Our ornamental cherry tree comes into blossom in the spring.  I can see the white flowers appearing now. 

 Usually it lasts 1-2 weeks only. Whilst it lasts, it is great, but it soon goes.

This photo was from a few years ago.

Oscar 100 geosynchronous satellite - narrowband

It is a while since I gave an update about narrowband activity on this geosynchronous satellite. Activity remains low. 

I appreciate that some have risen to the challenge of producing a microwave base station, but overall I remain surprised how low activity remains. 

The latest snapshot was mid evening in Europe on Easter weekend when I expected activity to be good.

Sunspots - Sunday April 5th

 Solar flux is 128 and the SSN 113.   A=16 and K=3.