At about 0920z, I switched on my 6m FT8 QRP (2.5W to the V2000 vertical). It is now 0930z. Already 1 station has spotted me - G0PQO (50km) on TX and 1 station spotted on RX - G4FKA (207km).
UPDATE 1330z: No others yet.
UPDATE 1457z: Now 2 Gs spotted on RX. Turned up the audio drive from the SignaLink USB, but ALC still not active.
When I worked at Pye Telecom we would struggle to make the charger for this price! Things have changed a lot in the last 20 years. It must be sheer hell being a UK PMR manufacturer these days. I am sure there are even cheaper ones if you look.
Assuming they ship across the world and make a profit, just how do they do it?
At 0930z, my 2.5W to the V2000 vertical was turned on. Just 1 spot of me by G0PQO (50km) so far today.
UPDATE 2125z: Just 1 G spotted me and I have spotted 1 G on RX. Poor. Now QRT.
In the early 1960s my dad bought a DST100 (ex tank radio from) a local garage. It was deaf and weighed a ton. We took it to a local amateur G3CHN who worked his magic on it and it was my main SWL receiver for several years.
Looking back, it copied some impressive DX. It was so heavy that my dad made a special shelf for it. I could not lift it on my own. These days a tiny SDR dongle is probably better!
We can see the windmill from the breakfast table and, as in this view, from the lounge window.
Every day, just about, someone wants a picture of the windmill! This photo was taken yesterday morning.
For some time in the UK a couple of ideas have been considered.
One is an exam (a bit like the old RAE) that would allow people to get a full licence with just one exam. the second is a beginners' licence to allow newcomers into the hobby easily. Some can use licence free gear, e.g. 446MHz gear in the UK without any licence, so the argument is why not a simple transition into amateur radio, perhaps only allowing use of ready built commercial gear on VHF or UHF only?
I have mixed feelings over the latter. Yes,we badly need new blood, but are we happy to dumb down our hobby? This is a hard one.
All these were discussed at a recent RSGB board meeting. You have to be an RSGB member to read these I believe.
Although many countries have allocated the full WRC band to amateurs, the UK has not. Instead, the UK has more allocations, some of which include parts of the WRC allocation.
Personally, I would settle for the full WRC shared band and lower power with fewer other slots in the UK.
Hopefully, the next few weeks will allow me to do some local tests from home.
The gardens are open, but not the house at present.
A friend recently sent me a Bottle Boys video. I later found them on YouTube. Never heard of them before.
It is now 0940z. For about an hour I have been on 6m FT8 QRP with 2.5W and the V2000 vertical omni. No stations yet spotted on RX. My own QRP has been spotted again by G0PQO (50km) on 6m FT8 TX.
UPDATE 1020z: G4FKA (207km) spotted on RX.
UPDATE 1125z: F6HGB (985km) spotted. This could be Es.
UPDATE 1211z: 3 stations spotted so far on 6m FT8 RX.
UPDATE 1852z: In the end 2 G stations spotted me. QRT soon.
According to a piece in Southgate News, amateurs in Finland lost the 23cm band (apart from temporary access by special permit) back in April. They are seeking alternative spectrum, possibly the 220-225MHz band that is allocated in the USA. The prime driver is amateur television.
The authorities are concerned about future interference with Galileo navigation satellites. It is a pity they could not have retained access to 23cms, perhaps with a much reduced ERP on a "non interference" basis.
As far as I am aware there are no similar plans across Europe for 23cms. If the Finns get access to the 220MHz band, I think this would be the first in Region 1.
Personally I would have tried for low band 1, possibly including the 8m band, say 40-45MHz. The bottom could be narrowband and the rest for DATV on a secondary basis. Even if they only allocated 2MHz, this would be useful in under-used spectrum.
At about 0930z, I went on 6m FT8. Although I briefly went on TX (2.5W and the V2000 vertical), I am mostly RX only. It would be great to spot anyone!
UPDATE 0950z: Remarkably, G0PQO (50km) spotted my brief 6m FT8 CQ earlier. Nothing spotted on RX.
UPDATE 1332z: 1 G station spotted.
UPDATE 1845z: 3 G stations spotted.
UPDATE 2052z: At 1915z I returned to QRP TX. Nobody has spotted me this evening.
The blog of John EI7GL reports on some astounding DX on 50MHz (6m). Although reported as multi-hop Es, I have my doubts. This is like the super DX seen every June between Europe and the Far East.
My theory is this is E layer propagation but, importantly, not sporadic E. In my view, at least some of these very long paths are the result of some sort of chordal hop E layer propagation. The EU to Far East June 6m openings are at the time when mesospheric clouds are often seen. I wonder if this was the same in the southern hemisphere? Any thoughts?
See https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/2020/12/remarkable-13000-km-opening-on-6-metres.html
At about 1910z, I QSYed to 2m FT8 using 2.5W and the big-wheel omni antenna. So far this evening just 1 spot of me and nobody yet on RX and no QSOs.
At about 0810z, I turned on the 15m FT8 RX system with the FT817ND and the tiny indoor loop antenna. It is now 0836z and 11 stations spotted so far.
UPDATE 1104z: 181 stations spotted with the furthermost UN7GBX (5566km) in Kazakhstan.
With 967 stations spotted overnight on 80m FT8 RX, it was quite rewarding on the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. Best DX spotted was NR5R (8276km) near the Mexican border in Texas, usa.
Although I am biased, the mince pies are far better than shop ones. The secret is making the pastry as thin as possible.
For a total change, I am on 80m FT8 RX with the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. So far this evening, 71 stations across Europe have been spotted.
UPDATE 2038z: 231 stations spotted. Apart from 2 in North Africa, all are in Europe, I think. I shall leave the RX on overnight to see what is spotted.
Every day, I get loads of emails trapped by Gmail in my SPAM folder. Most days I get emails that tell me how much my account has been credited, that I should buy some bitcoins, that my anti-virus is about to run out (even though I don't use the one stated), and a girl in the Ukraine wants to bed me (clearly she hasn't seen my photo!).
As mentioned before Gmail generally does a good filtering job and I change passwords frequently.
According to the press, the EU and UK are still talking.
I am sure there is brinkmanship on both sides going on, and in the end they want the outcome to look like a victory, hard one, on both sides. Although I am not a betting man I give the odds 60:40 on forging a deal. A no deal would do neither side any good. It would not surprise me if this is after Christmas.
Boris Johnson, the UK Prime Minister is no saint. The EU has been portrayed as protectionist. There is little doubt the EU has done some good for the UK. On the other hand (e.g. Covid vaccines) they seem very slow.
What the UK wants is free trade and less bureaucracy.
It is almost impossible to keep up with rule changes due to Covid-19 in different parts of the UK. The RSGB is taking a pragmatic approach. Basically, follow local rules for Covid.
A friend has reminded me that this contest is this weekend. Entries are for CW and phone contacts. I don't think there is a digital section.
These are the rules https://contests.arrl.org/ContestRules/10M-Rules.pdf
See http://82.71.9.63:8080/cap/ for G0LRD's 2m FT8 grabber.
This morning, I am on 20m FT8 RX using the FT817ND and the tiny loop on the shack windowsill. It is now 0952z and so far 29 stations have been spotted. At 0947z, I had been active for about 15 minutes. The furthermost spotted is RX3LK (4017km) in Asiatic Russia.
We got sent this by messenger. It is seasonal and you may enjoy it.
It is many years ago since I last transmitted on 136kHz. A record of my experiments is on my old website. The links are unreliable as this is my old website.
Finding reliable data on the Covid pandemic is hard with lots of very dubious sites carrying very dubious data. One site I have found consistently reliable is the YouTube channel of Dr John Campbell, that I have mentioned here before. What I like is he deals in facts only and gives the original source of the data. This is his latest video.
The level of activity last evening was lower than the last time I looked. This is a far from scientific look. I just stay a few minutes and get an impression. Really I should look over an extended period.
The Geminids meteor shower peaks on December 14th. Usually this can give interesting results on VHF especially with digital modes.
Southgate News reports on a 4el yagi for the 8m band. This band is gradually gaining traction. It would not surprise me if we got a narrow amateur band here in the future.
See http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2020/december/4-element-yagi-for-40-mhz.htm#.X9TMDmiTLrc
It is very small. I am very impressed, as is my wife. Even with my poor voice, it manages to recognise commands most times.
Like many, we have bought a lot on line recently. My wife ordered some Christmas cards from a well known charity a week ago. They (eventually) came today. We ordered some charity cards via Amazon and they arrived the very next day!
We know Amazon is far from perfect, but we cannot fault them on service. We ordered some sanitiser gell yesterday. It was here before breakfast today.
This Alexa joke came to me yesterday. It made me laugh.
