Nostalgia time

In the 1970s most SSB operation on 2m was with the Liner 2. Later, many used the IC-202 from ICOM. This was a better radio with fewer spurii and a better, cleaner TX. Many are still in use to drive microwave transverters. The IC-202 was a lower powered radio, but it could be used handheld.

No synthesisers, lots of wires, no memories, just clean and simple. These were SSB/CW radios with a very good VXO covering 200KHz with each crystal. To most people it seemed like a VFO with smooth, continuous tuning. I also used mine on QRP 10m SSB as well with a homebrew transverter. I have no idea what became of this transverter, but I worked all over the world with 1W SSB and a wire dipole. It used a Plessey SL6440 IC I seem to recall.

I expect they units are still available second hand. They were replaced by the IC-202S and there was a similar radio for 70cm. Once I worked was down in France from a coastal site in Devon using just the IC-202 with its whip antenna.

A quick check on eBay showed one example at just over £200. There are lower cost examples listed as "not working" or "for spares".  Looking on eBay there was also an IC-212 FM version. I don't remember this and wonder if it was ever on sale here in the UK?

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/vhfuhfmicrowaves/vhfuhf-commercial-rigs/icom-ic-202 .

10m FT8 Grabber

A reminder that you can see what I am seeing on 10m FT8 by looking at the grabber on my website at https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/10m-ft8-grabber .

Grandchildren - NOT amateur radio

The photo shows our 2 granddaughters earlier studying an album together.

BBQ time - NOT amateur radio

For a change this May, yesterday was gloriously sunny. Most of the month has been dull and wet. We had our 2 sons and all 4 grandchildren for a barbecue.

10m FT8 RX (Monday) with the 10FT8R and the indoor loop

I have been on 10m FT8 RX for about 1 hour with the homemade 10FT8R RX with 4 transistors. It is now 1000z and so far today 25 stations have been spotted.

UPDATE 1037z:  35 stations spotted today so far. Not a bad start today on 10m Es with this 50cm indoor antenna and a DSB RX.

UPDATE 1324z:   49 stations spotted.

UPDATE 1520z:  68 stations spotted today with the 10FT8R direct conversion RX and tiny indoor loop. See illustration. OK, it is a rats nest!

UPDATE 1831z: 115 stations spotted on RX as the map shows.

Sunspots - Monday May 31st 2021

 Solar flux is 74 and the SSN 27. A=6 and K=1.

Local museum - NOT amateur radio

The local museum across the road from us has old fashioned dial telephones. The photo shows 3 of our grandchildren trying to ring each other: they are not used to phones which have to be rotated to dial a number!

Crocheting - NOT amateur radio

One of our grandchildren is very talented. Here he is crocheting. Whatever he does he is good at it - painting, sports etc.. 

4m website?

Certainly until last year there was a website dedicated to the 4m (70MHz) amateur band. A casual Google search failed to find it. It may have gone? 

It is many years since I operated on the band, but I can imagine it is an interesting allocation, especially in the Es season with so many countries now active and more rigs with 4m coverage. A few watts of SSB (or even FM) to a wire dipole should be enough to work many of the European countries now active on the band in Es openings.

UPDATE 0853z:  See Colin's comment. It is still there. www.70mhz.org   .

On 10m FT8 RX (Sunday) with the FT817ND and tiny indoor loop

It is now 0807z.  For a short while, I have been on 10m FT8 RX. So far, 15 Spanish stations spotted and 1 Italian spotted.

UPDATE 0819z:  Now 25 stations spotted.

UPDATE 1031z:  101 stations spotted.

Sunspots - Sunday May 30th 2021

 Solar flux is 76 and the SSN 26. A=6 and K=2.

Haircut day - NOT amateur radio

In an earlier post, I showed one of our grandsons "helping" me many years ago. He is now 13 and today he got his very long hair cut. 

I think he looks much better and more good looking. He quite likes it too.

10GHz

 As I have mentioned in the past, some take 10GHz operation very seriously, with big dishes, high power and receivers with really low noise figures. Well equipped stations can operate moonbounce on 10GHz.

Others "play" at 10GHz, for example with low cost HB100 Doppler radar modules. With these low cost modules really no microwave engineering is needed. Some have covered 5km with WBFM with just these modules. Placed at the focus of a dish, over 100km has been covered on ATV with these modules. 

The modules contain 4 PCB antennas. 2 are for RX and 2 for RX.

They can even by bought on Amazon. They are even lower cost on eBay. Their main application is Doppler radar, but they have been repurposed. 

I think there are similar units for 24GHz. These 24GHz units are on sale on Amazon, but I have not looked for WBFM designs using these. Just imagine, a very low cost microwave station!

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/vhfuhfmicrowaves/homebrew/10ghz .

Dead bodies - NOT amateur radio

When I was a teenager at university in my first year of Electronics my white lab coat was pristine. 

I got one of the medical students to take me into the medics dissection room full of dead bodies : they each had one to dissect. This would have been 1967.  Years later I saw my dad's dead body. That was 1987.

All these had one thing in common. What made them "them" was no longer there.

Views on life after death vary widely. Some people believe something of "us" survives whereas others think we just cease to be. Nobody is really sure. 

Help?

This photo was taken in 2012 and shows one of our grandchildren "helping" me in the lab. 

He is now 13.

Muntjac deer - NOT amateur radio

These are small, introduced, deer. They get in gardens and eat plants. Imagine my wife's face when she saw this one at the door the other day!

365project - NOT amateur radio

As some of you may know, I have taken part in 365project since 2013. This has no connection at all with Microsoft's 365. 365project is absolutely free unless you want more albums and privacy. 

I love it and it is great to look back over the years.  Some use it to show off their talent. Mine are definitely not in this category! I use it as more a visual diary.

The following shots of mine have been popular: https://alexisbirkill.com/365project/popularpage/getuserdetails.php?username=g3xbm

10m FT8 RX (Saturday)

Since before breakfast, I have been on 10m FT8 RX with the homemade 10FT8R RX and 50cm indoor loop. No spots yet at 0754z.

UPDATE 0835z: No spots.

UPDATE 1645z: No spots.

At first, I just thought this was a bad day. Then I looked at G0LRD's spots. He has a better antenna, but he had 333 spots, whereas I have none at all!! I have closed the program and restarted it and re-synchronised the time. If it is not this, I am puzzled. I did a Windows update yesterday. Just going to retune the loop in case someone knocked it off tune.

UPDATE 1650z:  Just swapped to the FT817ND RX.

Sunspots - Saturday May 29th 2021

Solar flux is  77 and the SSN 28.  A=3 and K=1.

Shack yesterday

The photo shows the shack yesterday. 

I was monitoring 10m FT8 with the homemade 10FT8R RX on the left connected to the indoor loop which is about 50cm across and sits on the windowsill.

8m beacons

As I have mentioned before, I expect we will see this band (or small part of it) allocated to the amateur service eventually. For several years, I expect certain amateurs in certain countries to apply for limited access, possibly with spot frequencies and low power for limited time e.g. just for the Es season. 

My prediction is that 10 years from now the 8m band will be widely available.

An interesting recent posting on a Facebook page mentioned this is an ISM allocation. The question is there a legal way to get on the band very soon?

There is a new beacon in the west of Eire EI1CAH on 40.016MHz. This is the second Irish beacon. There is also a beacon in Slovenia S55ZMS (40.670MHz) and the South African 8m beacon ZS6WAB (40.675MHz) has been copied in Europe more than once.

A dipole for 40MHz is easy to make.

See https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/p/40-mhz.html .

Kings - NOT amateur radio

This photo was on this blog some years ago. It shows the famous King's College Chapel in the sun with people punting on the Cam in the foreground. 

Hopefully it will be like this again next year. Cambridge misses its overseas visitors, but is as beautiful as ever.

Oscar 100 - quiet

 A few moments ago I did my usual peek at the activity on the narrowband transponder of this geosynchronous satellite. It was Friday lunchtime in Europe. 

Activity? Very quiet. In fact there was just one QSO when I looked! It appears this sort of amateur radio does not appeal. After 2 years there seems to be even less activity!

See https://eshail.batc.org.uk/nb/ .

Outdoor fun - NOT amateur radio

This photo is of the park in Cambridge just behind Drummer Street bus station. It is good to see the table tennis tables out and the cafe spilling onto the grass. Even with restrictions (until quite recently) banning inside meetings in England, people still find ways to have fun.

Yesterday, I had my first indoor coffee in Cambridge for a very long time. Slowly, things are becoming more normal again.

10m FT8 RX with the tiny loop and simple 10FT8R RX

It is now 0825z. I have been on 10m FT8 RX since before breakfast. So far, 21 stations spotted. Mostly Es from across Europe. 

UPDATE 1735z:  183 stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX so far today.  See map.

Slug - NOT amateur radio

This slug (I don't think it was a snail without a shell) was seen at Anglesey Abbey on Thursday . No doubt it was on the path as we had a very wet May in the UK. It has felt more like March than May.

Sunspots - Friday May 28th 2021

 Solar flux is 83 and the SSN 34. A=16 and K=1. 

Hamsphere

Hamsphere is a form of "virtual" amateur radio that uses the internet rather than the ionosphere as the bearer. Unlike "real" radio, it does not need HF rigs or antennas. It is ideal perhaps for those unable to use "real" radio, for example those in flats or care homes. It does not appeal to me.

See http://hamsphere.com/ .

Website

 Please let me know about any issues with the www.g3xbm.co.uk website. Hopefully all schematics are readable. If not, shout. 

Also, if you spot pages with wrong or absent images, let me know so I can put this right. 

Most pages should be OK, but I am only human and am bound to have something wrong. My aim is to correct any errors or omissions as soon as possible. This is only possible if people point these out!  😄

Nearly normal - NOT amateur radio

We went shopping in Cambridge this morning and I had a coffee in Pret a Manger. Things are getting back to normal slowly. 

10m FT8 RX with the 10FT8R and the tiny indoor loop antenna

In a few moments I hope to go on 10m FT8 RX with the tiny indoor loop antenna. 

UPDATE 1306z:   10m FT8 gear turned on 1256z.

Sunspots - Thursday May 27th 2021

Solar flux is 88 and the SSN 34. A=13 and K=4.

Quiet Life - NOT amateur radio

This snail, minding its own business on a leaf at Anglesey Abbey, was photographed this morning.

We have had a very dull and wet May, so we saw quite a few toadstools. These are more common in the autumn. 

10m FT8 RX with the 10FT8R RX and the tiny indoor loop antenna

 For the last few hours I have been on 10m FT8 with the tiny indoor loop antenna and the 10FT8R RX. It is now 1143z and so far today just 4 stations have been spotted on RX. 

UPDATE 1251z:  7 stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX so far.

UPDATE 2105z:   37 stations only spotted today with the tiny loop. QRT shortly.

Angry sky - NOT amateur radio

The photo shows the windmill next door to us with an angry sky behind. 

This was taken last evening.

Website issues

It has been brought to my attention that when I link to my Google drive to embed clearer schematics on my G3XBM website it only works for me. I need to make where I get the files from "open". I shall try to fix this soon.

UPDATE 1315z: As I cannot see an easy way to make a certain Google drive file public, I am putting a link on each page as David shows in the comments. This will take me a while, so please be patient! 

Sunspots - Wednesday May 26th 2021

Solar flux is 84 and the SSN 36.  A=3 and K=1. 

HackRF One SDR transceiver

Elector has a special offer on these SDR transceivers that go from 1MHz to 6GHz!! I do not know what power they put out but I guess mW only. They sell for 249 Euros with a free book.

See https://www.elektor.com/hackrf-one-sdr-transceiver .

Dayton Hamvention (Virtual)

For the second year, because of Covid-19, this was a virtual event. They are already selling tickets for the 2022 event, which they hope is not virtual!

Usually this is a showcase event where new products are shown for the first time. Often these are rushed, pre-production products. We may have to wait a long time before production starts and bugs are ironed out. I have not heard of great new products being announced, although I may have missed this. 

This, outside Japan, is where we first heard of the IC-7300 and IC-705 from ICOM. I was wondering if Yaesu was going to announce a real successor to the FT817 (I don't count the FT818)_......zzzzz wake up Yaesu!!

10m FT8 (Tuesday) - late start!

At 1457z, I turned on the 10FT8R 4 transistor RX with the tiny indoor loop antenna. After under 10 minutes, 20 stations already spotted!

UPDATE 1711z:  191 stations spotted so far today on 10m FT8 RX with the 10FT8R RX and the indoor tiny loop (see map).

UPDATE 1840z:  235 spots so far today on 10m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 2110z: 240 stations spotted on RX today.  QRT soon.

10 years old already! - NOT amateur radio

It is hard to believe that one of our grandchildren is 10 years old today. 

The photo shows her 9 years ago. 

Yesterday on 10m FT8

I was again on 10m FT8 yesterday with the tiny indoor loop and my 10FT8R RX.  In all, 314 stations spotted.

Garden centre - NOT amateur radio

Yesterday afternoon, my wife went to the local garden centre to buy some plants as shown in the photo.

Sunspots - Tuesday May 25th 2021

 Solar flux is 73 and the SSN 29. A=4 and K=1.

10FT8R schematic and Firefox

When browsing my 10FT8R webpage, I have embedded the schematic from Google Drive. It is a much clearer PDF document that opens without issues in Chrome. However, it has been brought to my attention by Steve G1KQH that this does not work in Firefox. I tried it myself getting this message:

"Blocked by X-Frame-Options Policy

This page has an X-Frame-Options policy that prevents it from being loaded in this context.

The browser prevented this page from loading in this context because the page has an X-Frame-Options policy that disallows it."

I do not know how to avoid this. If anyone needs the clearer schematic  please let me know so I may send you one. 

This is a pity as Firefox is a popular browser. I have put the old schematic on as well.

If anyone knows how to overcome this issue in Firefox, please let us know. There may be a way to tell Firefox of exceptions?

UPDATE 0916z: Apparently there is a Firefox extension that may solve the problem. I have not tried it. See https://addons.mozilla.org/en-GB/firefox/addon/ignore-x-frame-options-header/ .

Chelsea Flower Show - NOT amateur radio

 

Two years ago we were bought tickets for the Chelsea Flower Show. 

The photo shows one of the exhibits.

10FT8R - improved schematic

A few people have wanted a clearer schematic. I have now uploaded it to my website. It was produced by Jay W5OLF. 

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/homebrew/10ft8r-rx .

10m FT8 with the 10FT8R and the tiny indoor loop

Since before breakfast I have been on 10m FT8 RX with the 10FT8R and the tiny indoor loop. 26 spots on RX so far (at 0803z). The loop is thin wire just 50cm across, indoors on the shack windowsill. The 10FT8R is a simple direct conversion receiver shown again below. 

As mentioned yesterday, I got the 14.040MHz crystal from 3rd Planet Solar in the USA. It was very inexpensive. The whole RX is incredibly inexpensive as you can see!  

My thanks again to Jay W5OLF for doing the schematic - much better than my hand-drawn effort!

UPDATE 0855z: At 0815z, I changed the thin wire on my tiny loop to 6mm diameter copper central heating pipe. It tunes more sharply so is probably a bit more efficient. At the moment, 52 stations spotted today on RX.

UPDATE 1018z:  Currently, 86 stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX (see map).

UPDATE 1237z:  113 stations spotted on RX so far today.

Sunspots - Monday May 24th 2021

 Solar flux is 79 and the SSN 30. A=4 and K=1.

Museum - NOT amateur radio

Our local museum opened again last Thursday. Today was the first day open on a Sunday. They had the local folk club there.

Slowly things are getting back to normal.