472kHz transverter video

The video I made many years ago of my 472kHz transverter was not on my YouTube G3XBM channel, not sure why. It now is. It is also here.

Architypal Cambridge - NOT amateur radio

Kings College Chapel (see photo in rare sunshine!) is known the world over for the Nine Lessons of Readings and Carols each Christmas. It is many centuries old and one of the finest buildings in the whole world.

Being locals, we get free entry!

10m FT8

In the last few minutes, I QSYed to 10m FT8. After a brief CQ (2.5W) with no spots, I am now RX only (no spots). Just as I came on, there was a weak signal on FT8, but I did not manage to decode it, so there is some activity!

UPDATE 1042z: Just 1 spot so far n 10m FT8  GM4WJA (624km). Es or aircraft?

UPDATE 1303z: No further spots today.

UPDATE 1510z: A few more spots now, although not many. Best DX is DM4KE (956km) on 10m FT8 RX.

UPDATE  1825z: In the end 5 spots. Time to QSY to 160m FT8 RX.

Es'hail 2 operational later this week

Southgate News reports that Es'hail 2, the first working geosynchronous amateur satellite will be generally available late this week. You may recall this is a Qatari  satellite with 2 amateur transponders in addition to the main TV transmitters. There will be webSDRs to see activity via the internet.

See http://southgatearc.org/news/2019/february/eshail-2-inauguration-day.htm#.XF_06fZ2u00
See also https://eshail.batc.org.uk/

160m FT8 RX overnight

A good night on 160m FT8 RX with the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. 23 North Americans, 1 Caribbean and 2 South Americans were spotted. Best DX was HK3W (8507km).

Old Forge - NOT amateur radio

Our village has expanded quite a bit in the last 40 years, but it still has a village feel, which is good. At one time there were 13 pubs and lots more shops. I guess people are more mobile than 100 years ago, with most owning cars. One thing that went many years ago was the blacksmith's forge (see photo). I am not sure when this closed, but it was probably 100 years ago?

Sunspots - Sunday February 10th 2019

Solar flux is 72 and the sunspot number 0.  A=10 and K=2.

160m FT8 RX

About 30 minutes ago I QSYed to 160m FT8 RX. Already lots and lots of Europeans, but nothing yet from "across the pond" (2250z). I shall check again at breakfast time. Best DX on 160m FT8 RX is RG4D (3085km).

2m FT8 RX

This morning, I am sticking with 2m FT8 RX rather than 10m FT8. Already, in the last 6 hours alone 11 stations in 3 countries. spotted. Best DX spotted is DF6PW (673km). Once again using the big-wheel omni antenna.

UPDATE 1155z: Now 22 stations in 5 countries spotted today in last 6 hours on 2m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1342z: Again, quite a decent number of stations spotted on 2m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1546z: Now 37 stations in 5 countries spotted today on 2m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1610z: A brief 2m FT8 CQ (2.5W) resulted in a QSO with M0MVB (33km) and spots by 4 stations of which the best was GI6ATZ (479km). If I worked N.Ireland by any mode on 2m in the past, this would have been a cause for celebration!

UPDATE 2155z: 54 stations in 6 countries today on 2m FT8 RX and now it is time to QSY to 160m FT8 for the overnight period.

Stations spotted today on 2m FT8 RX 

with the big-wheel omni antenna

Love is in the air? - NOT amateur radio

As I put food on the birdtable this morning, I saw these collared doves together on the tree in the orchard next door. Until 1955, these were rare in the UK. Their range spread west and now they are very common here.

Sunspots - Saturday February 9th 2019

Solar flux is 70 and the SSN still zero. A=8 and K=2.

Vegan lunch - NOT amateur radio

Our elder son is a real carnivore, but he decided to "go vegan" for January. Much to our surprise, he is still vegan. He is a good cook and enjoys making tasty meals, so I guess this is a new challenge.

Joining the dots - NOT amateur radio

I am not sure if this is just old age or yet another after effect of my 2013 stroke. A few moments ago my wife said "carnations last for a long time". I thought she said "car engines last a long time". Clearly I misheard!

Return to 2m FT8

Yet again, I have returned to 2m FT8. G7RAU (461km) in Cornwall once more copied my 2.5W call to my big-wheel omni antenna. This happens nearly every time I go on, so must be tropo. Yes, he has a good site, but this is a very long way!

UPDATE 1301z: 6 stations in 4 countries so far spotted today on 2m FT8 RX with best DX DO7JVK (421km).

UPDATE 1440z: Now 18 stations in 4 countries with best DX DK1FG (815km) in Bavaria.

UPDATE 1545z: Now 23 stations in 4 countries spotted today on 2m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 2208z:  Now 32 stations spotted today on 2m FT8 RX.

160m FT8 RX

Quite a disappointing period with only 8 North Americans spotted on 160m FT8 RX (am I really saying this? In the past the thought of just one USA station on 160m would have been amazing!) and nothing from the Caribbean. 2 South Americans were spotted. Best DX spotted last night was PY2IU (9573km) in Brazil.

Also of interest on 160m was S01WS (3043km) in Western Sahara, Africa.

Sunspots - Friday February 8th 2019

Solar flux is 70 and the sunspot number still 0. A=4 and K=2.

Raspberry PI shop in Cambridge - NOT amateur radio

The first Raspberry Pi shop in the world is opening in Cambridge, where it was invented. It is the UK's best computer, selling 55 million units. I have never played with one (yet).

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-47143411

See also https://www.trustedreviews.com/news/raspberry-pi-retail-store-cambridge-3654743?fbclid=IwAR1-n2S5FImPSvQGXNBuvgeIhfNwLCVH-QDpNlch3GpOCK0pXTqa08ygG-M

Visit - NOT amateur radio

Earlier this week we had a visit from one of our nephews who was on a course nearby.

In the background, you can just see "our" windmill.

160m FT8 later?

As 10m seems so dire here today, I shall probably give 160m FT8 a try later. Even with the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground, I am sure 160m RX results are as good as I can expect and even my 2.5W on TX gets spotted over 1000km away on FT8.

Every night that I try, I spot many North Americans on 160m FT8 RX as well as bags of Europeans. Most nights I seem to spot several hundred unique stations on topband. On RX with this "antenna" I have an S0 noise floor, which must help. How much longer?

UPDATE 1606z: I QSYed to 160m about 30 minutes ago. At first I called CQ (2.5W), but got no spots. After a period RX only, best DX DL7CX (868km), I am now calling CQ again. It is still quite sunny here.

UPDATE 1616z: Just M0RTP (116km) spotting me so far.

UPDATE 1715z: Lots of Europeans now being spotted.

UPDATE 1950z: A period of CQ calls resulted in lots of spots with best DX being LB7ZG (1058km) despite just using 2.5W to the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground.

Stations that spotted my 2.5W 

160m FT8 CQ calls this evening.

472kHz WSPR overnight

Last night was average on 472kHz WSPR. In all, I was spotted by 10 stations with best DX PA0O (440km) and I spotted 11 stations.

Then I looked at a well equipped station, EI0CF, who was spotted by 117 different stations including 5 North Americans. So, a decent antenna and ground does make a real difference! Mind you, it proves that even with a very compromised set-up and low ERP like mine results are possible especially with WSPR.

Stations that spotted me overnight on 472kHz WSPR

Stations spotted here on 472kHz  WSPR overnight

10m FT8

Much of the morning I have been on 10m FT8. At the moment, just G4HZW (212km) spotted. A brief CQ earlier was spotted by no-one at all. It looks like this will be another dire day on 10m FT8.

UPDATE 1448z: No further spots. All very quiet on 10m FT8.

SETI - NOT amateur radio

In the visible universe there estimated to be 1 billion trillion stars. And that is just the ones we can see!! If you say 1% of these have planets this is still a huge number. Of these, you would have thought some would have life and some of these intelligent life.

To my knowledge, we have been looking for over 50 years yet found nothing via the SETI (search for extra terrestrial intelligence). Either intelligent life is very rare indeed, or we are looking the wrong way, it is too weak to detect, or it is not there.

Should we ever find out that we are not alone, it should have a profound impact on life on Earth.

See https://www.seti.org/

Sunspots Thursday February 7th 2019

Solar flux is 69 and the SSN 0.  A=10 and K=3.

Bouncing along the bottom of the solar cycle?

BREXIT - NOT amateur radio

The recent statement by Donald Tusk about there being a "special place in hell for BREXITeers" was ill timed and counter-productive. Yes, Theresa May is struggling to get her plan approved by MPs in UK parliament, but this smacks of sour grapes.

Although I voted "remain", I am probably not alone in wishing the EU gets not a penny of the £39 billion the UK was due to pay unless the EU agrees a sensible deal that suits both the UK and EU.

Mr Tusk, think before speaking.

Wicken cottage - NOT amateur radio

This is one of the cottages we saw on our walk at nearby Wicken last week.

More crappery - NOT amateur radio

This appeared on my blog maintenance pages earlier:

"Following the announcement of Google+ API deprecation scheduled for March 2019, a number of changes will be made to Blogger’s Google+ integration on 4 February 2019. "

So the new buzz word is "depreciation". 

USA rally

8-10 FEBRUARY : 73rd ORLANDO HamCation®

Central Florida Fairgrounds and Expo Park, 4603 West Colonial Drive, Orlando, Florida 32808, USA. Over 150 commercial vendors, more than 200 swap table vendors and the largest tailgate area in the southeastern US, will show and sell amateur radios, parts, computer hardware and software and other interesting electronic items for a growing group of radio enthusiasts. Over thirty forums held at the Lakeside Pavilion will present a diverse range of topics including digital amateur radio, new software developments, youth and amateur radio. K1AA will be the operating as a special event station and talk-in station. HamCation® is the second largest ham shows in the United States and third largest in the world after Tokyo and Hamvention with over 22.300 visitors last year. www.hamcation.com.

Good night on 160m FT8

Overnight was good on 160m FT8 with lots of North Americans spotted plus 2 Caribbeans. Even my brief CQ call (2.5W) was spotted by 6 stations in 3 countries

Stations spotted on 160m FT8 overnight with 

the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground.

Stations that spotted my 2.5W CQ with 

the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground.

6m FT8 then MSK144

As no-one has made any suggestions, I am QSYing to 50.313MHz FT8 in a minute. I doubt the activity will be as high as 2m.

UPDATE 0930z: The QSY to 6m FT8 was at 0922z. At first I called CQ (2.5W) and now RX only. So far, no spots!

UPDATE 1018z: A local told me that 50.280MHz MSK144 was the main 6m MS channel, so I QSYed to that mode and frequency. A brief CQ call got no spots, so I am RX only now.

UPDATE 1145z: No spots.

UPDATE 1158z: A CQ call (2.5W to the vertical) bought a spot from M1BXF (13km) of +9dB S/N.

UPDATE 1551z: No further 6m MSK144 RX spots. At the moment I am calling CQ, although 6m seems a dead loss: I have spotted no-one at all and only a local has spotted me! I shall stay on until teatime, then QSY to either 630m WSPR or 160m FT8.

UPDATE 1628z: OK, so 6m MSK144 was a dead loss!! QSYing to 630m WSPR.

Sunspots - Wednesday February 6th 2019

Solar flux is 70 and the SSN 0. A=5 and K=1.

2m UKAC activity contest

Just 5 stations worked last night on 2m SSB with the best DX G4CLA (105km). F, ON and GD heard, but not worked. A station in IO90 was lost. As before, running 5W to the omni antenna.

Stations worked on 2m SSB last evening in the UKAC

Dayton - advanced warning

This is (I think) the biggest amateur gathering in the world.

For your diaries the dates are May 17-19th 2019. This is often the venue when the major companies announce new products. Sometimes the products are very early models. You can imagine the development departments at ICOM, Yaesu and others working overtime to meet the dates! Fail by a few days and I can see sackings.

I have never been there, and probably never will,  but can imagine it is quite something.

Granddaughter - NOT amateur radio

Last weekend we visited one of our sons and family.

This is one of our granddaughters with her cartoon drawings. She loves reading and drawing.

So, HOW do they do it?

Recently, I looked on Amazon and saw 2 rechargeable 446MHz handsets with base chargers for just £20.39 a pair with free earphones and free delivery. That is just over £10 each with free rechargeable battery, charger and earpiece for a UHF handheld. I did not look, but there are probably less expensive ones available. These probably retune to 70cms.>

When I started designing UHF portables in the 1970s, I seem to recall they retailed at about £700 each without the chargers and earphones. I know that the level of integration must be far higher nowadays, but I am amazed anyone is able to make profits at these prices and sent them half way around the world for free!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07M68Q7YM/ref=sspa_dk_detail_2?psc=1&pd_rd_i=B07M68Q7YM&pd_rd_w=yfquf&pf_rd_p=454d2892-a6d1-488a-b5c1-57058b38bc92&pd_rd_wg=SgLOd&pf_rd_r=JAD48SBY9377XPHQHBVJ&pd_rd_r=eba820a8-294f-11e9-a4d6-bbce9bcb58e6

OFCOM - latest

OFCOM has updated it Communications Monthly for January 2019.

See https://ofcom.cmail19.com/t/ViewEmail/i/8AF8E03C104BEE0A2540EF23F30FEDED/952AB8F022CBFC94BA4AF9908B8D85ED

6m digital frequencies in Europe?

During the Es season last year, I was on 6m FT8 a great deal. Since then and "out of season" I have been on 2m, 10m and 160m FT8 mainly and 630m WSPR in the main.

For a change, I might try 6m tomorrow, but I was wondering what the best mode and frequency to try in the quieter months. I guess the best I can hope for is some random MS and aircraft reflections with some chance of tropo.

If you know where I should look on 6m and on what mode, please let me know as soon as possible. Please note EU/UK not North America, which might be different.

2m FT8 today

It is just 1054z, but already 15 stations in 5 countries have been spotted on 2m FT8 RX with best DX DL6BF (479km). As far as I know these are flat conditions.

Stations spotted here on 2m FT8 RX today so far (to 1312z).

UPDATE 1542z: 45 stations in 7 countries with best DX on 2m FT8 RX F6APE (551km).

2m FT8 RX yesterday

2m FT8 never fails to amaze me.

Even with just a big-wheel omni antenna (about 3dB gain horizontal) I was able to copy 64 stations on 2m FT8 RX yesterday in 7 countries with best DX over 800km. Some are aircraft reflections, but many are tropo.

Even calling CQ with 2.5W I get spotted every time at great range. Most of these are tropo. What was once impossible is possible.

Even this morning I am spotting a station in Germany!

Sunspots - Tuesday February 5th 2019

Solar flux is 70 today and the sunspot number 0. A=7 and K=3.

Dalham - NOT amateur radio

At the weekend we did a short walk at Dalham, a village not too far from us. It is a delightful village with many fine cottages. Years ago, many would have been poor hovels for farm workers. These days they are probably very well equipped and very expensive.

New radio?

My Christmas present was a new radio, although I have still not bought one! Main candidates are the IC7300, the FT991A or the FT450D. In my mind the FT818 is suitable, but is really only an FT817 dressed up a bit.  As my voice is poor most of the use would be on FT8. The FT450D is far less expensive. I could almost certainly buy an SDR with this as well.

In my operating, it is unlikely to be run at more than 10W. Sadly, the IC7300S, which is the low power version, in not available outside of Japan. People tell me the IC7300 is a great radio, but I am in no great hurry. For my sort of operating any of those listed would probably do.

If you want to offer any suggestions please feel free. BTW, I have already seen the eHam reviews.

BREXIT - NOT amateur radio

Whatever your views on BREXIT are, we can all agree on one thing. We are entering uncharted waters and the water is rough. The rest of the world must look on us as plain stupid. Only time will tell how things pan out. In the short-term at least, signs are not good.

MLS Yaesu cashback

Every week I get an email from MLS as part of their "Something for the weekend" promotion. This weekend they are telling us about the cashback on certain Yaesu products. I expect other UK dealers are offering similar.

OFCOM latest

OFCOM today told us of a rule change affecting digital broadcasters and that current 700MHz users can apply for financial help to move to different frequencies as this band is being vacated and reallocated here in the UK.

See https://www.ofcom.org.uk/consultations-and-statements/category-1/support-pmse-equipment-owners

"Our" windmill - NOT amateur radio

As this is right next door to us, we get rather possessive! At this time of year when the museum and mill are closed, volunteers are busy with maintenance work. That is why there is filler on the mill side. I expect before the season starts at Easter, the windmill will get a coat of paint.

See http://www.burwellmuseum.org.uk/

2m FT8

For a change, I am on 2m FT8 (2.5W to the big wheel omni antenna). I called CQ but was spotted only by GW4BVE (237km).

Maybe there are fewer stations on 2m FT8 and the bubble has burst? On RX no stations yet spotted. OK, it is a weekday and many will be at work. However, the last time I checked there was plenty of 2m FT8 activity.

UPDATE 1135z: Perhaps I spoke too soon about 2m FT8! Already 11 stations spotted with best DX on 2m FT8 RX DL6BF (479km).

UPDATE 2012z: 52 stations in 6 countries so far spotted today on 2m FT8 RX with best DX DK1FG (815km). A recent call to another station (I was using 2.5W) was unanswered but was spotted by 7 stations including GI6ATZ (479km) near Belfast.

Stations spotted so far today on 2m FT8 RX

472kHz WSPR overnight

An average night with best DX on TX (10mW ERP from the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground was PA0O (440km). A couple of other PAs copied me too. On RX best DX was LA2XPA (1310km). In all, 8 stations spotted me and I spotted 9.

Stations that spotted me overnight

Stations that I spotted overnight

Sunspots Monday February 4th 2019

Solar flux is 71 and the SSN 0. A=11 and K=0

Return to 472kHz WSPR

Most nights I go on either 1.84MHz FT8 RX or 472kHz WSPR TX (20% 10mW ERP, with 80% RX). In both cases, the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground is used. Tonight (well this evening) it is the turn of 472kHz WSPR. I have yet to decide on the overnight period as most DX is spotted on 472kHz well before midnight, whereas transatlantic 160m DX usually come in after midnight. So, I may QSY to 160m FT8 RX at bedtime. G8LCO (58km) has already spotted my 472kHz WSPR transmission, even though it has yet to settle.

UPDATE 1636z: G1GKN (99km) is a good signal again on 472kHz WSPR RX.

UPDATE 2042z: LA2XPA (1310km) is the best DX so far this evening on 472kHz WSPR RX. With my 10mW ERP my best DX on TX is PA3ABK (306km).

10m FT8

Since about 5 minutes ago, I have been on 10m FT8. At first I called CQ (2.5W) and since then I have been on RX only.  Guess what? No spots!

UPDATE 1546z: So far today, just a single 10m FT8 RX spot.: G0OYQ (177km) in Humberside.