Floodlights - NOT amateur radio

At night, our local church is floodlit. We walk this way once a month on the way to our local History Society meetings in the village. These are well attended. Last time they had a full house and not enough chairs!

10m FT8 RX (Friday)

 Today, I am on 10m FT8 RX. My gear was turned on at 0844z. Very quiet so far.

UPDATE 0908z:  Just 2 spots so far 1 G and 1 PA. Probably tropo or aircraft.

UPDATE 2137z:  Just 62 spots all day. Nothing at all from the Americas. I was suspicious and wondered whether my PC had reset or the internet was off. I don't think this was the case. It could have been at their end.

472kHz (630m) WSPR yesterday evening

For a few hours yesterday evening I went on 472kHz WSPR RX. 10 unique stations were spotted using the coax up to my 2m Big-wheel antenna and the mains earth. 

Sunspots - Friday November 19th 2021

Solar flux is 82 and the SSN 22.  A=5 and K=2.

DMR

 Actually, I have never ever used a digital mode like Fusion, D-star or DMR. I used to have an FT-991A that supported Fusion. Currently I have an IC-705 that (I believe) supports D-star. As far as I am aware I can only access DMR via the internet, but I do not (yet) know how to do this. Actually, these digital modes are a knowledge gap that I should try to plug in the coming months.

Anglesey Abbey yesterday - NOT amateur radio

This collage was created by my wife yesterday at Anglesey Abbey. It looked very autumnal. 

Full moon - NOT amateur radio

 

This was the full moon last night. I think craters are more obvious when it is not full moon.

10m WSPR QRP (Thursday)

As my 10m antenna is again not in use, I am on 10m WSPR TX with my W5OLF 500mW beacon. So far, just local spots from G4KPX (14km) , proving all is working.

UPDATE 1510:  2 stations spotted so far with the furthermost (again) EA8BFK (2880km) who has spotted me multiple times (22 times so far today). This seems to be my "sweet spot" at the moment.

UPDATE 1935z:  QRT now. Still just 2 unique stations have spotted me today.

20m FT8 RX (Thursday)

At the moment I am on 20m FT8 RX using the coax to my 2m big-wheel via the ferrite rod ATU on the bench. This is just a tapped coil on a ferrite rod with the tap with the lowest SWR chosen. Calling it an ATU is being kind, HI!!

Stations spotted at 1337z

UPDATE 1212z:  188 spots on 20m FT8 RX so far.

UPDATE 1337z:  243 spots on 20m FT8 RX today.

UPDATE 1500z:  310 spots today.

UPDATE 1951z:  356 stations spotted today.

Sunspots - Thursday November 18th 2021

Solar flux is 79 and the SSN 33.  A=12 and K=1. 

More Anglesey Abbey - NOT amateur radio

 

These were taken earlier today.  Looking more like autumn now!

Anglesey Abbey walk - NOT amateur radio

The sun was peeping through the trees at Anglesey Abbey earlier. The whole place looked very autumnal. 

Facebook memory from 2012

This appeared as a Facebook memory for today. It was 9 years ago. 

10m QRP WSPR TX (Wednesday)

As the 10m antenna was free, I put my W5OLF stand-alone WSPR beacon on using 500mW. So far, just a local spot from G4KPX (14km).

15m FT8 RX (Wednesday)

Like yesterday, I am again on 15m FT8 RX using the coax up to my 2m big-wheel as the antenna, ad hoc though it is! After about 15 minutes, 23 stations already spotted.

UPDATE 1204z:   176 stations spotted today on 15m FT8 RX today.

UPDATE 1441z:   343 stations spotted on 15m FT8 RX today. I am amazed how well this "antenna" works. Basically, anything will work. On TX too via an ATU if necessary.

UPDATE 1501z:  Just for fun, I went on 15m FT8 TX with 2.5W and this unusual "antenna". Sadly, no spots of me received after a few minutes TXing! Maybe I am being clobbered by a much stronger station, so I'll QSY and try again. After QSYing about 500Hz HF I was spotted at -20dB S/N by SV1ONU (2409km) and at -15dB S/N by K4EA (6742km). 354 stations spotted on RX.

UPDATE 1606z:  395 stations spotted today. After another brief TX period with 2.5W, I was copied by no stations.

UPDATE 1826z:  424 stations spotted on 15m FT8 RX today.

SPAM - NOT amateur radio

Do I look totally stupid? 

Gmail does a very good job of filtering out SPAM. Just occasionally, something is put in SPAM that is not , so it is worth checking. My guess this is maybe 1 in 1000. Obvious SPAMs are when if you just verify your bank details we will deposit huge sums in your account. Others relate to Bitcoins or sexual prowess. Every day I must get 20-30 SPAM emails. All get binned right away.

If in doubt never click a link that you are unsure about. If possible, hover over the link to see if the link is the same as that which appears. Basically if in doubt do not!!

8m experimental licences in the USA

My understanding is that 7 experimental licences have been approved for the 8m band in the USA. One station has already been copied in the UK. With F2 propagation improving and summer Es, it is highly probable that others in the USA will be copied in Europe. 

My own view is that the chances would be greatly enhanced if all experimental stations and beacons at 8m had an FT8 sequence that allowed all to be monitored with one dial setting. This implies that all are within a few kHz of each other.

In the future, 8m could be a really interesting amateur band. If OFCOM can find 2000000Hz of "precious" VHF spectrum for DATV experiments, I hope they can surely find the odd 50Hz of 8m spectrum for propagation research, especially at lower power.

The more temporary permits that are applied for, and obtained, around the world the more useful research can be done.

Small steps....

See https://ei7gl.blogspot.com/ .

Sunspots - WednesdayNovember 17th 2021

Solar flux is 80 and the SSN 35 (going up again).  A=13 and K=2.

15m antenna?

Judging by the results on FT8 RX today with my very improvised 15m antenna, I am tempted to convert my Par end fed antenna to 15m. 

I suppose I could make it cover 10m and 15m by putting up 2 wires. Already today, I have spotted 350 stations on 15m FT8 RX. Don't forget that some of the time the PC had closed down with a flat battery too!  With a "proper" antenna , I would expect even better results.

All that should be needed to cover 15m is a longer wire.

Cyclamens - NOT amateur radio

Every autumn, my wife grows cyclamens as house plants. They add colour through the dark days. 

Batson - NOT amateur radio

Batson is a village near Salcombe in Devon where I come from. As you can see there are lots of thatched cottages. At one time these were hovels, but I expect many are now second homes and very expensive! 

Mostly gone - NOT amateur radio

In our garden, most trees were in leaf a week ago.  All has changed in the last week with most leaves fallen apart from a few hangers on. 

10m QRP WSPR TX (Tuesday)

At the moment I am on 10m WSPR TX using 500mW from my stand-alone W5OLF 10m WSPR beacon. So far,  (at 0930z) 3 spots only from local G4KPX (14km).

UPDATE 0955z:  15 spots so far of me with the furthermost EA8BFK (2880km).

UPDATE 1024z:  36 spots of me so far today. EA8BFK has been getting me as strong as -3dB S/N.

UPDATE 1926z:   QRT.  3 unique spots today.

15m FT8 RX (Tuesday)

As a complete change I am on 15m FT8 RX using the coax up to my 2m big-wheel antenna. The SWR looks quite low without any additional ATU. So far, 28 stations spotted.

UPDATE 1131z: 158 stations spotted on 15m FT8 RX with this daft antenna! 

UPDATE 1213z: 207 stations spotted so far.

UPDATE 1435z:  Doh!! Guess who forgot to turn on the PC charger? The laptop went flat, so I had to turn it on again and check time was synced. 315 stations spotted with lots of USA stations.

UPDATE 1557z: So far today, 373 stations spotted on 15m FT8 RX with the improvised antenna.

UPDATE 1835z:  403 stations spotted on 15m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1929z:  QRT.

Oscar 100 activity

Every few weeks I try to give an update on activity levels on the narrowband transponder on geosynchronous Oscar 100. I last looked yesterday at activity and I can report that there is still plenty of space and activity looked low. The web SDR at Goonhilly is a useful resource.

See https://eshail.batc.org.uk/nb/ .

Sunspots - Tuesday November 16th 2021

 Solar flux is 79 and the SSN 23.  A=9 and K=4.

Sowing - NOT amateur radio

This was a week ago. The fields are being sowed ready for next year. The seagulls behind the tractors are having a field day!

Sound powered TX

Looking back on my emails I see some correspondence from Michael Rainey AA1TJ about a sound powered CW TX he built. I think Michael's TX involved converting sound from his voice into CW RF. I have seen other circuits that convert the action of pressing the Morse key into RF. In theory, this would also work with speech. Of course, physics dictates that low milliwatts only can be achieved.

If you know of ideas, please let me know.

Getting thinner?

Through the post today I got my monthly copy of Practical Wireless. It seems a lot thinner. To my mind this says one thing: they are in trouble and are trying to save money. 

Not looked inside yet. It may be fewer adverts or fewer articles or both.  I have been a faithful subscriber for many years, but may stop.

In Rob Mannion's day I wrote articles for PW.

How much longer will it continue?

UPDATE 1700z: I am puzzled. Several issues have had a similar number of pages, yet it feels noticeably thinner to me. Is it thinner paper?

UPDATE 2156z:  It has been this thin for several months, although this is the first time I have noticed.

10m FT8 RX (Monday)

A few minutes ago, I turned on my 10m FT8 system. So far (at 1137z) 2 stations spotted.

UPDATE 1340z:  19 stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX with the furthermost ZS4JAN (9386km).

UPDATE 2147z:   64 stations spotted today on 10m FT8 RX. QRT soon.

UPDATE 2158z:   QRT.

Time - NOT amateur radio

Time puzzles me. It seems to flow from the past into the future, but this can be an illusion. It could be that all our memories of the past are not there at all, but fresh every day. We make wake up every day with all our memories there, but they are actually new. It may be that my universe is unique to me. It is impossible to know what others experience.

What is certain is just how little we know or can know. Think of Schrodinger's cat. I am pretty certain we will look back in amazement at what we believed, much as we do now about witches and fairies.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schr%C3%B6dinger%27s_cat .

Sunspots - Monday November 15th 2021

Solar flux is 78 and the SSN 23. A=4 and K=1. 

15m Pipit transceiver

This design is now very old. It dates from way before the end of the last century. It appeared in GQRP SPRAT magazine. This was way before digital schematics, so the schematic was hand drawn. It worked some impressive DX.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/homebrew/15m-qrp-cw-pipit .

Futility of war - NOT amateur radio

As I mentioned recently all those who fought in WW1 are dead as are most who fought in WW2. Many fought in Iraq and Afghanistan or other conflicts. 

This is Remembrance Sunday when we think of those who lost their lives or were badly maimed. 

In my view nothing, absolutely nothing is ultimately solved by wars.  When we look back think forwards too: how can we avoid wars in future?

Our house from the air - NOT amateur radio

 

Our house is immediately to the left of the windmill (bottom right) with the white front. Our white car is in the drive. I think the photo was taken recently from a drone.

King's College Chapel, Cambridge - NOT amateur radio

The photo shows the world famous King's College Chapel in Cambridge in November. There are fewer overseas visitors this year. 

About a month ago we had it almost to ourselves!

10m FT8 RX (Sunday)

At the moment I am on 10m FT8 RX. So far (at 1143z) 117 stations spotted with the furthermost 3B8FR (10041km).

UPDATE 1322z: 194 stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1553z:  233 stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX today.

UPDATE 1830z:  238 stations spotted. I suspect this is it for today. 

UPDATE 1950z:   QRT.

QDX digital transceiver

This looks an interesting digital transceiver from QRP-Labs. It is probably beyond my fine motors skills to build it these days and is not available for 15m, 12m or 10m, well not yet. I suspect they will make these bands available next year. It is very small.

See https://qrp-labs.com/qdx.html .

Sunspots - Sunday November 14th 2021

Solar flux is 81 and the SSN 24.  A=3 and K=1.

10m FT8 (Saturday)

At about 1500z, I stopped TXing on 10m WSPR and went instead on 10m FT8 RX. So far (at 1516z)  10 stations spotted with the furthermost ZS6JBZ (9117km). I also spotted a 7Q7, but this was not on PSKreporter.

UPDATE 1843z: 32 stations spotted. I suspect this is it for the day.

UPDATE 2026z:  Nothing further. QRT soon.

UPDATE 2040z:  QRT.

Video Channel

 A reminder that quite a few of my projects are described on my video channel. This video is one example.

2m FT8 QRP (Saturday)

After a brief period on TX with 2.5W to the V2000 vertical omni (spotted by 7 stations with the furthermost M0MST (162km)), I am RX only with the furthermost PA0RDY (309km) with 3 stations spotted.

UPDATE 1438z: 22 stations in 5 countries spotted on RX with the furthermost DD7DAC (520km).

Cambridge - NOT amateur radio

This is a photo of a shop window not far from King's College Chapel in Cambridge. 

6m FT8 (Saturday)

After a very brief period on TX with 2.5W to the V2000 vertical omni (1 G spot) I am now RX only on 6m. So far just 2 Gs spotted with the furthermost G4FKA (207km).

10m WSPR QRP TX (Saturday)

At the moment I am on 10m WSPR TX using 500mW from my pack of cards sized W5OLF stand-alone 10m WSPR TX beacon. So far at 0957z,  9 spots by local G4KPX (14km).

UPDATE 1322z:   6 stations spotted so far today.

Sunspots - Saturday November 13th 2021

Solar flux is 83 and the SSN 39.  A =4 and K=1. 

Wet day - NOT amateur radio

 

This was the view along Trinity Street in Cambridge earlier. It has been raining, but had stopped when the photo was taken.

6m FT8 (Friday)

 After a very brief TX period with 2.5W to the V2000 vertical omni, I am now RX only on 6m.

UPDATE 1826z:    So far today 10 stations spotted on RX and 1 station spotted me first thing in the morning on TX. Al are G.

10m WSPR QRP TX

When not using the 10m antenna I keep forgetting that I can go on 10m WSPR TX with my W5OLF 500mW WSPR beacon. It is on now. 

So far, just local spots from G4KPX (14km).

UPDATE 1835z:  6 unique stations spotted today. Furthermost was EA8BFK (2880km).

Next QRP rig?

Maybe I should consider this as my next QRP radio? 😁