25 Feb 2022
40m FT8 RX
Breakfast - NOT amateur radio
It was fried banana skins (edible and rich in potassium) with onions, garlic, cheese and chutney on a toasted roll.
Delicious.
Graffiti - NOT amateur radio
24 Feb 2022
10m antennas
Some years ago I wanted a simple antenna for the band and the Homebase-10 was born.
See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/antennas/homebase10-10m-halo.
Cartoon - NOT amateur radio
I have no idea where it originated.
40m FT8 RX
It is now 1648z. About an hour ago I QSYed to 40m FT8 RX using the untuned 10m antenna. I guess the untuned 10m antenna is just like sticking an attenuator in, which is no bad thing on 40m. So far, 206 stations already spotted on 40m FT8 RX.
UPDATE 2202z: 684 stations spotted on 40m FT8 RX with the furthermost WP3R (6851km).
Train - NOT amateur radio
As some of you will be aware, we went by train to Ipswich yesterday. The photo shows our train back. On time, smooth and 1 hour.
10m sideband
Before my 2013 stroke, I had every intention for designing and making a very simple rig for 10m sideband. Several ideas were already on the table, but I never had time to do this. Since my stroke I have found it almost impossible to design and make things.
Times have moved on and a synthesised VFO is probably the way to go nowadays. Also, for a single band like 10m, a phasing SSB rig would probably be fine, even if the LSB suppression was not perfect.
In my view, 10m will be a great DX band for many years. I hope somebody else (not me) will take my ideas and design a simple, low cost 10m sideband rig. I can imagine a nice, simple and easily reproduced sideband rig for £20-40 being possible. Imagine, working the world on a simple sideband rig you made.
See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/homebrew/10m-simple-sideband .
10m FT8 QRP (Thursday)
Today I decided to go on 10m FT8 QRP with 2.5W. The gear was turned on at 1002z. So far (ar 1014z) my signal has been spotted in Kenya by 5Z4VJ (6858km). No QSOs . On RX 2 spots so far.
UPDATE 1447z: A brief QRP transmission just before 1400z resulted in no spots of me. On 10m FT8 RX today 60 stations spotted so far. I get the impression that 10m conditions are not as good as they have been?
UPDATE 1532z: A brief 10m FT8 QRP transmission just now resulted in nobody spotting me! On RX 63 stations have been spotted.
Rust - NOT amateur radio
It has some fine old buildings and on the waterfront old warehouses are being replaced with luxury flats.
This means it is a place where old meets new.
Guided bus - NOT amateur radio
The old railway line between Cambridge and St Ives has been converted into a guided bus route. The route is very rural going past lakes and villages. St Ives is a very nice place.
23 Feb 2022
Ipswich - NOT amateur radio
We had been told it was a dump, but our impression was different.
There are some fine old houses and the area by the docks looks quite good these days. People on the train and in Ipswich were kind and friendly. In all, a good day out.
The photo shows The Ancient House.
6m FT8 QRP TX
Very briefly I was on 6m FT8 TX with 2.5W and the vertical omni V2000 antenna and was spotted by GB0SNB/SDR (65km). I am now QRT on 6m.
10m WSPR TX beacon
At the moment I am on 10m WSPR with the W5OLF 500mW beacon. So far, at 0857z, 7 local spots only by G4KPX (14km).
22 Feb 2022
Independent shops - NOT amateur radio
Independent shops seem rarer. This one in Cambridge is there and I hope it stays. It is not far from St John's College.
OFCOM - thank you
It is not often I say nice things about OFCOM.
However, since submitting my application form for an Innovation and Research licence, I have nothing but praise. The person at the other end of my emails responds quickly and he seems to be genuinely as helpful as possible. Thank you.
70cm activity contest results
The RSGB has just published the latest update to the results of the 70cm activity contest (UKAC). Even though I only made a small handful of contacts, my position is up!
See https://www.rsgbcc.org/cgi-bin/vhfresults.pl?Contest=432MHz%20UKAC&Date=&year=2022 .
Quantum mechanics - NOT amateur radio
My 6 week course on an aspect of quantum mechanics as part of my University of The Third Age in Cambridge (U3AC) has ended. It was very hard! It was given by a very well qualified Cambridge University physicist. He is a good presenter.
The takeaway comment at the end of the course was "spooky actions at a distance", Einstein's comment, really do occur. This means that at far ends of the universe things can influence each other instantly. This action occurs instantly and does not depend on the speed of light. This has been proved conclusively by experiments. Einstiein did not want to believe this and did all sorts of things to try and disprove this. He failed.
This suggests what we think of as reality is not. This is totally counter intuitive. All we can say really is there is very much we do not know.
10m WSPR 500mW TX (Tuesday)
As the 10m antenna is not being used, I am again on 10m QRP WSPR with 500mW from the stand alone W5OLF beacon. So far, at 0940z, just 2 local spots of me from G4KPX (14km).
UPDATE 1000z: 12 spots of me by G4KPX. No DX spots of me.
6m FT8 QRP (Tuesday)
At the moment (0935z) I am on 6m FT8 with 2.5W to the V2000 vertical omni antenna. So far, my QRP has been spotted by a couple of Gs on TX and one G has been spotted on RX.
UPDATE 1625z: Just 5 Gs spotted all day. No DX.
21 Feb 2022
70cm Moxon antenna
See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/antennas/70cm-moxon .
6m FT8 QRP (Monday)
At the moment I am on 6m FT8 (initially with 2.5W to the V2000 vertical omni). I am currently RX only. No spots.
UPDATE 1600z: Just a single spot on RX GM4CXM (507km) which could have been a brief MS ping, Es or aircraft scatter. -18dB S/N was not too strong.
UPDATE 1647z: One QSO with M0MIZ (124km).
UPDATE 1958z: QRT.
Solving the climate crisis? - NOT amateur radio
There is no doubt that in the coming years we will all be searching for answers to the climate emergency. Put simply, if we just carry on as we are, then all human life will go extinct.
But don't panic.
On all things like fossil fuels, plastics and food supply, we may already have solutions. For fossil fuels we may be able to generate biofuels from algae. They may also provide alternatives to some of the materials used in plastics. We may also be able to add to cow's feed to dramatically reduce methane. We may well be able to synthesise proteins for food additives from algae. I quite expect there will be breakthroughs in battery technology in the next few years, so we can avoid lithium mining. I can also see solutions to renewable energy storage.
Basically we need to invest in solutions.
Cavendish, Suffolk, UK - NOT amateur radio
He rang at nearby Clare yesterday and has rung bells in 4 towers this week. The photo is of Cavendish church.
Pargeting (decorated plasterwork) is an East Anglian speciality. There are good examples in Cavendish and Clare.
Clare is a fine town with lots of old buildings.
See https://www.visit-clare.co.uk/.
See also https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pargeting .
10m QRP WSPR TX 500mW (Monday)
As the 10m antenna was free, I decided to go on 10m WSPR TX again with the W5OLF beacon. Local spots by G4KPX (14km), but nobody else yet. Perhaps Richard was away at the weekend?
UPDATE 1144z: Still no DX spots of me.
UPDATE 1407z: Just 93 spots of me by G4KPX (14km). No DX.
UPDATE 1725z: W4WLO/B11 (7271km) just copied me.
UPDATE 1755z: Now IW2NKE (1350km) spotting me.
UPDATE 2000z: QRT.
70cm FT8 QRP (Monday)
After a brief period on 70cm FT8 TX with 2.5W to the 2m big-wheel omni, I am on RX. No spots, unsurprisingly. Still it was worth a try. I may try transmitting on 70cm FT8 again later today.
UPDATE 1324z: Just before 1200z, I went on TX again. Still no spots on TX or RX.
UPDATE 1345z: Trying TX and RX with the vertical omni V2000. Very strongly copied by G8CRB (14km). Thanks Steve!
Iris - NOT amateur radio
Last week, my wife bought a couple of pots from a local shop. On had miniature daffodils and one iris. All the iris plants are now out and they look good on the kitchen windowsill.
Oscar 100 activity
Every few weeks I take a peek at the activity levels on this geosynchronous satellite. As far as I can tell, activity levels are broadly similar to a few weeks ago i.e. fairly quiet with plenty of space. My snapshot is not at all scientific! It is more of an impression.
20 Feb 2022
70cm FT8 QRP (Sunday)
One QSO with a local when using 2.5W and the 2m big-wheel omni antenna.
Best spotted on RX was DF2VJ (570km). 70cm in truly awful weather!! Amazing. Is this scatter? No beams here.
This is a revelation: I went on 70cm FT8 expecting to find nobody, but instead had a QSO on FT8 and spotted a German station further away than Luxembourg and all with a 2m omni antenna!
10m WSPR QRP TX (Sunday)
It is now 1504z and I have been on 10m WSPR TX with 500mW with the W5OLF beacon for about 10 minutes. No spots yet.
UPDATE 1615z: It helps to connect the PSU! Still no spots of me yet.
UPDATE 1705z: Still no spots.As it is dark here shortly after 1700z, this may be a day with no spots of me.
UPDATED 1850z: QRT. No spots all afternoon.
2m FT8 QRP (Sunday)
After a few minutes on 2.5W TX to the big-wheel omni antenna (5 UK spots of me), I am RX only. So far, at 1500z, just 4 UK stations spotted here.
A united Ireland? - NOT amateur radio
Politics in Ireland has been complex for a very long time.
Every person I have ever met from Northern Ireland or Eire has been delightful. I had no idea whether they were Protestant or Catholic! To me, it does not matter.
What may change shortly, following May elections, is the First Minister in Northern Ireland may be in favour of rejoining Eire. The unionists, who identify as British, would hate this. Whatever happens in the future is complicated. BREXIT made matter worse.
I do not have answers.
There is some logic in becoming part of Eire, but I can understand the fears of the Unionists. Hopefully a solution can eventually be found that keeps everyone happy.
Will this happen in my lifetime? I doubt it.
Gmail - NOT amateur radio
For almost 20 years now, I have had a free Gmail email address. Overall, it does a good job.
All emails I want to keep I can store in folders and the SPAM folder does a pretty good job of filtering out stuff that is obviously junk. Very, very, rarely it puts stuff in SPAM that isn't, so I always do a quick check before deleting. I usually empty my bin and SPAM folders most days.
Even after all this time, I still have plenty of space. You get 15GB free, which is quite enough for most. Additional space can be bought for a very modest monthly fee.
If need be, one can block certain types of emails by applying filters. Overall, pretty good, especially as one's emails can be checked on any PC or tablet anywhere in the world.
8m licence
Electronically, I have submitted my 8m permit application to OFCOM. They will be sent a paper copy in the post tomorrow.
15m FT8 RX
At about 1300z, I turned on 15m FT8 RX. So far, at 1320z, 70 stations spotted.
UPDATE 1402z: 141 stations spotted today on 15m FT8 RX.
UPDATE 1627z: Have been QRT for a while now on 15m FT8 RX.
Lavenham - NOT amateur radio
Lavenham in Suffolk, UK is a lovely village with lots of timber framed houses. It became rich centuries ago on the back of the wool trade. The photo shows the village church.
19 Feb 2022
472kHz (630m)
With my homebrew transverter (measured ERP 10mW) it was regularly copied in Norway on WSPR. It has been copied in Finland several times.
In every case the antenna was the earth-electrode in the ground. The transverter was in QST some years ago and produces about 10W into 50 ohms. It was designed by me. Several people have made copies.
See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/homebrew/630m-472khz-transverter .
Frustration
Since my 2013 stroke, I have not really been able to do field work. I used to enjoy tests at VLF and 481THz "in the field". Instead, I concentrate on what I can do. Our hobby has many faces and there is so much to enjoy. My main interests are WSPR and FT8, which don't tax my voice.
I still enjoy 2m and 70cm activity contests and go on our club net most weeks on 2m FM.
Building things was one of my pleasures, but sadly my eyesight and fine motor skills make this very hard. I won't say impossible, but it is now far from easy.
15m FT8 RX (Saturday)
At the moment I am monitoring 15m FT8 RX with the 10m antenna. After about 5 minutes, at 1147z, 38 stations already spotted. 15m is a great band!
UPDATE 1208z: 87 stations spotted including 2 in South America.
Innovations and Trials Licence 8m application
Thanks to the generosity of total strangers (thank you all) I now have covered the costs of my application to OFCOM.
My fund raiser is now closed.
Every penny over the licence costs (a few pounds) is going to charity (any suggestions?) and I do not profit at all from this. To do so would have been totally wrong and was never my intention. If OFCOM had just granted me a simple NoV, none of this would have been necessary.
The application is going in today.
UPDATE 1445z: Apparently an Innovation and Trial licence is £50 per month, which is stupid!! I shall apply for an Innovation and Research Licence that is £50 annually.
UPDATE 2140z: A couple of really nasty comments have been received which I have marked as SPAM and I shall not publish. For the record, (1) nobody had to contribute, (2) not a single penny goes to me, (3) my only reason for doing this is to further radio propagation research, (4) in the future I hope all radio amateurs can gain access to this most interesting part of the spectrum.
Storm Eunice - NOT amateur radio
18 Feb 2022
That wind - NOT amateur radio
10m FT8 QRP (Friday)
After a very brief TX period at 2.5W, I am RX only. At 0915z, 14 stations have been spotted. On TX just a single local spot.
UPDATE 1130z: 75 stations spotted.
UPDATE 1842z: 482 stations spotted on FT8 RX.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
