Lunch out - NOT amateur radio

My cheese at The Packhorse Inn, Moulton, near Newmarket

We have our Best Man (nearly 45 years ago!) staying with us and he treated us to lunch out today. We went to the Packhorse Inn at Moulton near Newmarket. Yet again the food and service were excellent. We have now been there 4 times and not once been disappointed. I can highly recommend this place, which we found by accident as the pub in the next village was closed. Judging by the numbers of people at lunchtime, this place is on the up.

My XYL and I with medieval bridge behind

Moulton has a fine medieval packhorse bridge.

MLS deal on FT991

With a Yaesu cashback offer of £80 this "shack in a box" is available for £909.95 from MLS here in the UK including VAT. The Yaesu-ICOM price war has started.  Expect the IC7300 price to tumble soon.

See http://www.hamradio.co.uk/amateur-radio-main-equipment-base-station-radio-yaesu-base-station-radio/yaesu/yaesu-ft-991-only-909-95-after-cashback-pd-5621.php.

Aldi Mini Bench Grinder - NOT amateur radio

See https://www.aldi.co.uk/mini-bench-grinder/p/069369016930200.

Steve G1KQH has just bought a mini bench grinder from Aldi for £26.99. This is only available in their stores and not online. Aldi certainly have some low cost items.

FTSE 100 falling? - NOT amateur radio

I see that the UK share index, the FTSE 100, has fallen quite sharply this morning. The last time I looked it was 6093.16 down 1.32%.


UPDATE 1532z:  It seems to be recovering and stands at 6148.79 currently. This is still down but not as bad as earlier.

Upcoming UK Rally

We are entering the main season for radio rallies and I have received notification of this one:-

The following Radio Rallies are coming soon:

Sunday 3 APRIL : HACK GREEN BUNKER RALLY
Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker, Nantwich, Cheshire, CW5 8AL

Sale of electronic equipment, amateur gear, components, military radio sets and vehicle spares. Doors open 10am, There will be trade stands and catering is available on site.

Further details from Lucy on 01270 623 353 or by email to Lucy@hackgreen.co.uk. www.hackgreen.co.uk.

A list of rallies can be found at http://rsgb.org/main/news/rallies/.

OFCOM and the RSGB (via Southgate News)

Southgate News has a link to a recent meeting between the RSGB and OFCOM.

Southgate News usually has something of interest most days.

Return to 10m WSPR

We have a guest, so I was not active overnight, but I returned to 10m WSPR at 0915z this morning. Yesterday 10m was disappointing with just Gs spotted. I am not  too hopeful about 10m today. maybe there will be a little short skip and a few Gs?

UPDATE 0926z:  No 10m WSPR spots as yet.

UPDATE 1536z:  Apart from one spot by G7OKV (61km) earlier, there have been no 10m WSPR spots given or received all day here. Dire.

Sunspots and 10m - Fri April 1st 2016

No April Fools here...

Solar flux is 81 today and the sunspot number is just 11. K=0. The forecast for 10m propagation remains "poor" today. I think we are going to be struggling on 10m this autumn and winter.

QRP Marathon

From Oleg:

Dear Friends,
keep your QRP activity over April
welcome all QRP operators to take a part in the QRP Marathon "Look In the Horizon" over all April month. See rules on the Club 72 web page. Sign-In form will be open at 00 UTC April 1'st.
Honor certificate will be send to all participants.
Wish you good luck with collection of "LUK" points! www.club72.su
Wish you all the best, 72!
Oleg "Mr. 72" RV3GM / KH6OB

Quiet on 10m WSPR today

Although I've been on 10m WSPR TX and RX since mid-morning, I have seen no DX as yet. M0JEK (68km) has been spotted a couple of times, but otherwise it has been very quiet here so far today. Judging by the Doppler, I think the reception of M0JEK was aided by aircraft.

Cynical, me? - NOT amateur radio

OK, I know I am becoming a grumpy old man but I was not impressed by the latest statements that the exchange of nuclear waste with the USA would benefit cancer sufferers. To me, this sounds like "spin" which we can well do without. We are NOT stupid.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-35930906 .

Over 1000km on 472kHz TX (5mW ERP)

It's funny, but I had a feeling that last night was going to be "the night". LA8AV (1035km) managed to decode me on 472kHz WSPR in the early hours at 0020z. This is the best TX DX on 472kHz this season and I was pleased, yet again, to break the 1000km barrier. As before, I am still using the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground.  I find the results incredible. Only 1.5 hours later the PC decided to close, presumably to install updates. On RX, I am using the same earth-electrodes with the barefoot (and slightly deaf) FT817, with no preamp externally.

630m WSPR last night - note LA8AV (1035km) at 0020z

Sunspots and 10m - Thurs March 31st 2016

Solar flux is 83 today and the sunspot number is just 12 (K=3). The forecast for 10m propagation remains "poor" again. I am not yet on 10m WSPR, but will be shortly.

QSYed to 630m WSPR

A few minutes ago I went QRT on 10m and am now active again (5mW ERP 20% TX, 80% RX) on 630m (472kHz) for the evening and overnight.

472kHz WSPR this evening to 2030z

UPDATE 1840z:  Just the single spot on 10m WSPR all day.  Already spots given and received on 472kHz WSPR.

UPDATE 2135z:  LA8AV (1035km) has been spotted 7 times so far this evening at up to -22dB S/N. If he is spotting others then there is an outside chance he might copy me at some point during the night.

IC7300 price

Still I reckon that the UK price of the ICOM IC7300 is too high.

With a simple SDR architecture I believe the price should be some way below £1000, but the dealers will keep prices high if buyers are prepared to buy at the high price. What I am saying is the price is what it is because some in our community want this rig and are prepared to pay. I like the IC7300 at a fair price.

Dealers are not greedy, just following the rules of the marketing jungle.  It is only because some are prepared to buy at a high price that the dealers charge this price. All dealers will plead poverty and say their hands are tied by the Dollar prices and exchange rates.

Charge a fair price (dealers make a fair and reasonable profit) and the IC7300 will continue to sell well.  At some point this year there will be an ICOM-Yaesu price war between the IC7300 and the FT991 . ICOM is better placed to win. In the meantime, I shall wait and I hope others will do too.

See http://www.hamradio.co.uk/amateur-radio-main-equipment-pc-302.php.

As I have said many times, the IC7300 is a nice radio at the right price.

The reviews of the IC7300 should make interesting reading.
See http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/12742 .

EU referendum in June - NOT amateur radio

My intention was to vote to remain IN, although I am less sure than I was. At the moment I really have no idea which way I shall vote. Any result would not surprise me. The IN campaign has been very negative so far. They need to be sending a more positive message or people will vote OUT. There are lots of messages about the risks of leaving and very few about the positives of staying IN.

OFCOM Plan

Well this is reassuring. OFCOM has a plan of work.

Someone said I should go easy on OFCOM as there are administrations that are worse in Europe. Well, let us hope they have improved since I dealt directly with them a few years ago. At that time they were totally useless. I can only judge by what I see and experience. If I am wrong then so be it. I certainly hope they have improved.

See http://www.ofcom.org.uk/about/annual-reports-and-plans/annual-plans/annual-plan-201617/?utm_source=updates&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Ofcom-confirms-its-work-plan-for-2016-17&utm_term=annual%20plan%2C%20ofcom%2C%20strategy%2C%20communications

Cambridge, UK, Concert - NOT amateur radio

My XYL's concert is in Cambridge this Saturday evening. It should be good. Tickets will be available on the door. For the first time they are using the new concert hall at the Leys School, Trumpington Rd..

Clicking on the poster will bring up a larger image.

See www.cambschoral.org.uk .

Gone home - NOT amateur radio

Our "Kent" grandchildren and their mum and dad returned to their home near
Canterbury today after a few days with us. We have our next guest staying tomorrow for the weekend. Busy!

The first photo shows me with the "Kent" grandchildren outside the windmill next to our home.

The other photo  shows him with the "London" grandchildren who came for the day on Monday. 

Sunspots and 10m - Wed March 30th 2016

Solar flux 87 today but the sunspot number is only 13 (K=2). 10m propagation is expected to remain "poor" today. I have returned to 10m WSPR for the day. With such a low sunspot number (but relatively undisturbed conditions) it will be interesting to see what 10m brings, if anything, today.

UPDATE 1010z:   I see that HA9AL (1455km) was spotted at 0930z so there is some short-skip on 10m.

UPDATE 1358z:  No further 10m WSPR spots given or received all day since HA9AL earlier today. At the moment 10m seems dire, but I shall stick with the band until this evening, ever hopeful.

UPDATE 1612z:  Still no further 10m WSPR spots.

Going QRT on all bands shortly

As we have guests, I shall probably go QRT on all bands for the night. I shall be back on 10m WSPR tomorrow morning. Although I am still active on 10m WSPR at the moment, there is now little chance of any DX as it is getting late. There is a chance I may copy some Gs but little else on 10m WSPR this evening.

I shall be on 10m WSPR from mid-morning tomorrow and probably get back on 472kHz (630m) WSPR tomorrow when it gets dark. 

UPDATE 1835z:  Now QRT on all bands. No spots here on 10m all day - a real disappointment.

10m WSPR - still quiet

It is nearly the end of the afternoon and there have been no 10m WSPR spots here all day. We are now seeing the effects of falling solar activity. The band does open from time to time, but it is much harder on 10m than a few years ago. Roll on the Es season!

Stroke - NOT amateur radio

One of the after-effects of my stroke 2.5 years ago is I get profoundly exhausted. Very little physical or mental activity and I am exhausted. As an example, our bird table blew over in the recent winds and fell apart. In years past fixing this would have been trivial but these days it has become a major job and by the end I was shattered.

My fine motor skills are still poor and ladder work is all but impossible.  I seem to be less tolerant these days too.You cannot imagine how frustrating this all is.

Life is much harder these days.

Sunspots and 10m - Tues March 29th 2016

Solar flux is 87 today and sunspot number just 23 (K=3). 10m propagation is again expected to be "poor". I think today will be another disappointing day on 10m, but the band often throws surprises! I have been on 10m WSPR for about 10 minutes so far.

UPDATE 1035z:  No 10m WSPR spots so far.

QRT on all bands

As we have people staying, I decided to go QRT on all bands until after breakfast. I shall probably return to 10m WSPR sometime in the morning. 10m WSPR was very quiet today.

Big Es openings are unlikely before May on 10m and 6m. I shall soon return to using the 500mW 10m W5OLF WSPR beacon so I can use the PC and FT817 on 6m WSPR at the same time.

QRP

More from Oleg:

Dear Club 72 members and friends,

QRP Rendez-Vous weekly report (March 21 to 27, 2016)
See full report with "soapbox" and picture here -
http://qrp-club72.blogspot.ru/

Visitors  of week: UR7VT, OH6NPV, R1CAD, UA1ADF, G6HUI, RD6A, DL8NGC, DL3NAA,  DL1IE,  M6KET, HA7REM, GM0WED/p, OK1ACP, UT2LP, OM6TC, R1OA, UA2FAI,  UA4NU,  RV3GM, UA0SBQ, UA1ASB, LA3ZA, LZ1HM, DL4KE/m, UA9WM, UT7MT, RD6MZ, DF2SJ, DL4FO/p, RU3NJC, SM2FIJ, UI8CM, UA1CEG/p, UT8NR, ON6KZ, DL4HG, UA1CEX, UA4HQM, UR0ET, UR5EFD, RC4A/m

G6HUI, RD6MZ, DL4HG entered in the honor "Frequenters" list
See full Visitors and Frequenters lists - www.club72.su
Welcome  all  QRP  operators to "rendez-vous" each Tuesday, Thursday,
Saturday  at 9.00 UTC on 14060 kHz (alternative 10116 kHz if contest)
+/- QRM, QRL, keep RIT for xtal stn's.

72! Oleg RV3GM / KH6OB "Mr. 72"

Windmill and Museum Open - NOT amateur radio

As it is a bank holiday here in the UK, our local museum and windmill in Burwell, Cambs are open. It is a very fine museum and windmill.

There is an Easter Egg Hunt for the little ones, but there is loads here always to interest youngsters. Our grandchildren love it.

We can see the windmill and museum from our kitchen and lounge. Ours is the bungalow on the left in the photo. As you can see, we are very close!

See www.burwellmuseum.org.uk .

Irish 2m contest

See http://www.irts.ie/cgi/st.cgi?test_calendar .

If you are in range, you may be interested in this contest this afternoon organised by the IRTS in Eire. There is an FM section too. It runs Easter Monday and in August.

Winds - NOT amateur radio

It has been very windy over much of the UK in the last 12 hours. It was worse in other parts than here although Storm Katie was enough to blow over our bird table and I notice quite a few fallen branches on the ground when I walked to our local Co-op shop earlier.

The winds are subsiding as the storm slips into the North Sea, leaving behind sunny intervals and blustery showers. We have all the family due here later.

Sunspots and 10m - Mon March 28th 2016

Solar flux is 88 today. Sunspot number is 23 (K=1) and the forecast for 10m propagation remains "poor".

UPDATE 1635z:   No 10m WSPR DX seen here all day.

10m WSPR all night

Partly because I forgot to QSY to MF night, I stayed on 10m WSPR overnight. I did a resync to internet time at breakfast, although it should do this automatically every 10 minutes.

UPDATE 1005z:  No spots on 10m WSPR since yesterday and even these were just G stations.

UPDATE 1122z:  Just a single 10m WSPR spot from local G4KPX (14km) this morning at -16dB S/N.  No DX.

East Anglian Church Blog Updated - NOT amateur radio

I have just updated the East Anglian Churches Blog with our local church here in Burwell.

It was designed by the architect responsible for the world famous Kings College Chapel in Cambridge.

See http://eachurches.blogspot.co.uk/

Sunspots and 10m - Sun March 27th 2016

Solar flux is 86 today. Sunspot number is 23 (K=3) and the forecast for 10m propagation remains "poor" again. I have not been on 10m WSPR very long.

UPDATE 1104z:  So far just local G4KPX (14km) spotted on 10m WSPR.

British Summer Time - NOT amateur radio

If you are in the UK did you remember to switch to BST? We lose 1 hour but get this back in the autumn. At least we get lighter evenings.

Late switch from 472kHz WSPR

I have only just moved to 10m WSPR from 630m WSPR where the best DX overnight on RX was EA5DOM (1525km). On TX my best DX on 472kHz WSPR was PA7EY (306km).

10m WSPR - spotted in Brazil yet again

Yet again, I was spotted in Brazil, with a late spot at 1928z as well as earlier in the afternoon. 

I have now QSYed to MF for the night until after breakfast.

UPDATE 2012z:   Lots of 472kHz WSPR spots received and given. Best DX on 472kHz WSPR RX so far this evening is LA8AV (1035km). On 472kHz WSPR TX (5mW ERP) the best DX so far is a spot by G3KEV (232km).

More OFCOM rubbish?

See http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/consultations/undueinterference/statement/ .

See the "note to stakeholders". They can't even get their dates right!!

I very much doubt we'll see them reduce the noise pollution in the radio spectrum. OFCOM - get off your backsides and DO SOMETHING USEFUL.

Pronouncements ring hollow. Actions speak louder than words.

Red legged partridges - NOT amateur radio

We frequently get these birds wandering around our close. There are also 3 Mallard ducks that appear regularly. Red legs now far outnumber ordinary partridges. I think red legged partridges were introduced but they are now widespread in the UK.

Last night on 472kHz WSPR

Last night I was active on TX (5mW ERP) and RX on 472kHz WSPR using the earth-electrode "antenna" in the back lawn. My best DX on TX this season was LA3JJ (993km) who spotted me several times last night. This is the second Norwegian (if I remember rightly) station to spot me on the band this year.

Southgate Amateur Radio News

There is often something of interest here and I frequently link to posts that I found of interest. Check it out from time to time.

See http://www.southgatearc.org/news/ .

Sunspots and 10m - Sat March 26th 2016

Solar flux is a low 85 and sunspot number is 24 (K=1). The forecast for 10m propagation remains "poor" again today.

Even with yesterday's "poor" forecast I was spotted in Brazil and conditions today are a bit better today than yesterday. I've been on 10m WSPR for just over 1 hour now.

UPDATE 1346z:  No 10m WSPR spots as yet.

QRP

A bit late to remind you about this Saturday, but it serves as a reminder for the future! From Oleg:

Dear Club 72 members and friends,
new member in the Club 72 -
op. Georgiy R2FAI (# 84)
Also reminder about Saturday QRP Rendez-Vous at 9.00 UTC around 14060,
alternative 10116 kHz if contest QRMs.
72! Oleg RV3GM / KH6OB "Mr. 72"

Return to 472kHz WSPR

Just after dark, at about 1900z, I turned off the 10m WSPR and QSYed down to 472kHz (630m) where I shall remain all evening and night.  Last night the best DX on 472kHz WSPR RX was EA5DOM (1525km). We'll see what tonight brings. On TX (5mW ERP) and RX I am still using the earth-electrode "antenna". I am on RX for 80% of the time.

To Brazil (again) on 10m WSPR

KD0VWO (7412km) monitoring in Brazil spotted me on 10m WSPR this afternoon. With a low sunspot number, it again shows the value of WSPR. Such brief openings would go unnoticed otherwise.  G3JKV (123km) was spotted. The report from Brazil was better than the report I gave G3JKV.

Spring? - NOT amateur radio

There are probably another 6 weeks before we see the trees coated in fresh green, the blossom well out, and fields of yellow rape. Already the first sand martins are returning to Devon and there has even been a report of a returning swallow in Devon. It will probably be into April before I spot swallows up here in East Anglia. Usually I see my first swallows here April 7-14th. Swifts are not usually seen (by me at least!) until the end of April.

These returning migrants bring joy to my heart: long after I am gone they will still be doing this journey as their ancestors have done for thousands of years. I admit there have been times when I never thought I'd see this spring.

Lackford Lakes - NOT amateur radio

Before lunch we visited Lackford Lakes, a nature reserve not far from Newmarket. There were plenty of water birds plus we heard at least 2 chiffchaffs, which have probably just got back from Africa although some of these now over-winter in the UK.  Driving through Lackford there was a red kite overhead. We also saw a tree creeper in the reserve.

Sunspots and 10m - Fri March 25th 2016

Solar flux is 85 today and the sunspot number up a little at 25 (K=1). 10m propagation is expected to remain "poor" today.  I have been on 10m for a few hours now but no spots as yet.

IC7300

See https://twitter.com/Icom_UK?cn=ZmxleGlibGVfcmVjc18y&refsrc=email .

ICOM is now telling the world that the IC7300 is now on sale in the UK.

The picture on the LHS is a cropped version of that tweeted by ICOM_UK.  It will be removed if required as I have no wish to infringe copyright. It is shown here in good faith. I like this radio, but not the price!

2m WSPR?

Yesterday I received an email about 2m WSPR, to which I replied. It has got me thinking. I've not tried 2m WSPR since I had the big-wheel horizontal omni up, so I ought to have another go. The last time I tried was with Bob G3WKW. The main issue was rig drift, even with a TCXO. As I recall, even after a full day we only managed 1 spot! We are about 140km apart. It will need a long test. I guess I can check the frequency by using GB3VHF.

MLS selling ICOM IC7300s from today

Southgate News reports that MLS are selling IC7300 transceivers from today. It looks a nice radio but I think it is selling for too much. My opinion, others may disagree.

See http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2016/march/ic_7300_announcement.htm .