6m FT8 QRP (Friday)

It is now 0840z. For about an hour I have been on 6m FT8 initially with 2.5W to the vertical omni V2000 with just one G spotting me. Since then I am RX only.  Just 2 G stations spotted.

10m WSPR QRP TX (Friday)

When I am on 6m FT8 QRP I keep forgetting the 10m antenna is free and I can go on 10m WSPR TX with the stand alone W5OLF WSPR beacon. Today I remembered! 

After about an hour just spots by G4KPX (14km) and no DX.

Old friends - NOT amateur radio

On Wednesday we went to Anglesey Abbey with old friends we have known since 1968.

Sunspots - Friday March 25th 2022

Solar flux is 112 and the SSN 44.  A=9 and K=3.

Carpe Diem - NOT amateur radio

This means "make the most of the moment".

As we get older, this has more meaning. Basically, it urges us all to make the most of the "now" as we do not know what the future holds for us all.

Enjoy every moment however simple it is.

OFCOM and repeaters for mobile phones

 OFCOM is carrying out a consultation on the use of in-house boosters for mobile phones. See the OFCOM website for details.

Rally on?

According to my information, Sunday March 27th is the Callington ARS rally in Cornwall. Back in the 1960s I went to this rally. It was about 30 miles from where I lived in South Devon.

As always. contact the organisers before travelling any distance is case things have changed.

 Contact Roger 2E0RPH on 07854 088882 for details.

Near us - NOT amateur radio

 

This is the village of Lode, about 4 miles from us. At the moment, the magnolia and daffodils look a picture.

That time of year - NOT amateur radio

It is lovely to be in the garden again in spring, but the grass does grow!

In these troubled times it is great to take pleasure in ordinary things. We have a nice home and food. Some do not. 

6m FT8 QRP (Thursday)

At about 0940z my 6m FT8 system was turned on.  After a few minutes on TX with 2.5W and the vertical omni V2000 (2 G spots, but no QSOs) I am again RX only.

UPDATE  1015z:  Just 3 G stations spotted.

UPDATE 1410z:  11 Gs spotted. No DX.

UPDATE 1952z:  14 Gs spotted today. QRT later.

Sunspots - Thursday March 24th 2022

Solar flux is 106 and the SSN 27. A=7 and K=2.

Anglesey Abbey with old friends - NOT amateur radio

We first met these friends at university in 1968. We met at nearby Anglesey Abbey and they came here for lunch later. 

There were loads of daffodils out and carpets of a blue flower I had not seen before. These had star like petals but they were not aconites. At least, if they were they were a very strange variety.

8m TX permit has arrived!!

 All being well, I should start sending 8m FT8 from April 2nd on 40.676kHz (or close to it). I am also allowed to send CW.  Some crossband QSOs are expected!

WSJT-X and 8m

OFCOM has told me my permit to TX on 8m is coming. My intention is to send FT8 most of the time, with the occasional CW and WSPR.

I know my widebanded FT817ND produces power at 8m and is clean. I also know PSKreporter supports 8m. Then, last night, I had a sudden panic. Did WSJT-X support 8m?  

This morning I checked - it does! I am sure with a hack it would have been possible, but in its standard form it does already. 

I hope to do some local CW crossband tests as well initially. My permit should start in early April and last for a year. 

Dad's seat - NOT amateur radio

One of my FaceBook memories for today was from 10 years ago with me on one of the seats in Devon in 2012. It was erected in memory of my dad who died in 1987. After he retired, he ran a job creation team for the National Trust.  The odd thing is if he walked in the door now, it would seem natural!

6m FT8 QRP (Wednesday)

 At just before 0900z I decided to go on 6m FT8. With my 2.5W and the V2000 vertical omni I was called by G3XDV (45km).  A nice surprise QSO resulted. In all, 4 Gs spotted my QRP CQ.

At the moment, I am RX only.

UPDATE 1026z:  6 Gs spotted on RX.

UPDATE 1716z:  20 stations in 5 countries spotted today. 

Sunspots - Wednesday March 23rd 2022

 Solar flux is 106 and the SSN 81.  A=8 and K=2.

Mousa sunrise - NOT amateur radio

This photo was on 365project a few weeks ago. It shows the sunrise over Mousa in the Shetland Is.

8m QSO between Croatia and South Africa

The EI7GL blog has details of a first 8m QSO between Croatia and South Africa.

See https://ei7gl.blogspot.com .

Geeks - NOT amateur radio

It is good we are all different. 

My thing is radio, but the man in the photo obviously likes model railways. 

This was at the "Burwell at Large" exhibition earlier in the week, where local societies put on stalls.

6m FT8 QRP (Tuesday)

For a change, I am on 6m FT8 QRP. I turned things on (2.5W to the vertical omni V2000) just before 0900z. 2 Gs spotted me on TX, but nothing yet on RX. At the moment, I am RX only.

UPDATE 1025z:   10 G stations spotted on RX.

UPDATE 1120z:    16 stations spotted (mostly Gs) with the furthermost SM5EPO (1344km).

UPDATE 1317z:    23 stations spotted, all G apart from 2 in continental Europe.

UPDATE 1350z:    Still 23 stations spotted on RX. A brief TX period just now at 2.5W was spotted by G0OPQ (50km), but no QSOs. RX only again now.

UPDATE 2108z:   29 stations spotted today on 6m FT8 RX (see logbook). QRT soon.

UPDATE 2137z:   One late QSO with G3YDY (98km). Now QRT.

Sunspots - Tuesday March 22nd 2022

Solar flux is 98 and the SSN 30. A=4 and K=3. 

Sad news

There is a report on Southgate News that Giles Read, who was the technical editor of RadCom, has died suddenly of cancer.

See http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2022/march/giles-read-g1mfg-sk.htm#.YjjIRorP3rc .

Two Beofengs for £22.99

Although I have not looked around, I see you can buy 2 Beofeng 5W UHF hand portables on eBay for £22.99.  On the way somebody makes a profit. I know quality control is a bit hit and miss but these prices are stupid.  They come with batteries, chargers, carrying straps and belt clips. How do they do it and make profits?

Flying Scotsman - NOT amateur radio

A few days ago my son was lucky enough to see the Flying Scotsman steam train going through on an excursion. I think it was going to Margate. 

G3XBM grabber

Some browsers will not allow page embedding for security reasons. 

If you can see embedded pages you may be amused to look at my grabber, that is mostly on 10m FT8 RX.  If embedding does not work on your browser, there is an alternative link. 

As you can tell, 10m is pretty good now and has been in recent days.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/10m-ft8-grabber .

Ukraine - NOT amateur radio

By any standards, what is happening in Ukraine is barbaric. 

Putin will be despised for years to come, whatever "victory" he achieves by brutal force. He will be hated by people who he calls his own. All to recreate a failed autocratic system.  Any threat to Russia is of his own making. Ask yourselves: have recent actions made Russia safer?

In the fog of war, both sides put out propaganda to suite their own ends. However, it is hard to argue with the sheer numbers of refugees fleeing the country and those displaced in their own lands.

I desperately hope a fair and just settlement can be arrived at soon.

Garden frog - NOT amateur radio

This photo was taken in 2016. It shows a garden frog that appeared.  I have not seen one since.

10m FT8 QRP (Monday)

At 0900z, my 10m FT8 RX was turned on. I may try 2.5W TX later. So far today (at 0905z) 21 stations have already been spotted including several in Australia. This is getting too easy! Just turn on 10m FT8 RX and there is the DX.

UPDATE 1010z:   138 stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX. It is interesting how this band has changed in the last 12 months: no longer generally quiet. It is wide open most days now.

UPDATE 1250z:  363 stations spotted.

UPDATE 1312z: A brief TX period with 2.5W resulted in no QSOs, but I was spotted by several stations including HI8RD (7054km) in the Caribbean. 392 stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX today.

UPDATE 2030z:   1017 stations spotted today on 10m FT8 RX. Now QRT.

Starehole Bay - NOT amateur radio

This photo shows Starehole Bay near Salcombe in Devon where I lived for part of my childhood. The photo was taken in 2012. 

Wymondham Station - NOT amateur radio

We visited Wymondham by train a few days ago. The station is an old country one much as it must have been a long time ago. 

70cm UKAC results

On the second Tuesday of the month the RSGB organises an activity contest on 70cm.  Even though I can only run 10W to a 2m omni, I usually go on. This time, I only stayed on for a short while, because of my poor voice, making just 1 valid QSO. One other one was rejected as "not in the log".   Better luck next month?

See https://www.rsgbcc.org/cgi-bin/vhfresults.pl?Contest=432MHz%20UKAC&year=2022 .

Sunspots - Monday March 21st 2022

Solar flux is 95 and the SSN 39.  A=9 and K=0.

Daffodils - NOT amateur radio

At this time of year the path to our local church is lined with daffodils. 

In a few weeks they will be over. 

In the two horse chestnut trees in the churchyard, the crows are busy repairing or building nests.  They have been there for as long as I can remember. Life goes on. These 2 trees were planted in the 1800s to commemorate the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

Burwell at Large - NOT amateur radio

This is an exhibition in which local societies and groups put on a stall to attract new people. It is also a chance to chat with people not seen in a while. 

10m FT8 RX

 At about 0918z, I turned on 10m FT8 RX.  So far (at 0922z), no reports on PSKreporter, but stations all over the world spotted.

UPDATE 1056z:  136 stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX this morning.

UPDATE 1735z:   877 stations spotted.

UPDATE 2003z:  1031 stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX today. 10m is now regularly open worldwide.

UPDATE 2042z: 1056 stations spotted. As there are still South Americans coming in, I shall stay on for a little while.

UPDATE 2140z:  1058 stations spotted. QRT soon.

Wymondham Abbey - NOT amateur radio

Wymondham in Norfolk has a fine abbey. It was far bigger before King Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries in the 1500s.

The approach to King's - NOT amateur radio

This photo was taken 3 years ago. It shows the approach to King's College in Cambridge. 

 

160m FT8 RX overnight

Overnight I was on 160m FT8 RX with the untuned 10m antenna. 232 stations spotted on RX including a few in the USA. 

TETRA decoder

In my days of work, I ran the hardware teams designing TETRA hand portables. I actually knew quite little about TETRA as most was implemented in software. What I knew I have forgotten!

These days, you can get freely available software that can decode modes like P25, DMR and TETRA.

TETRA was very popular with security systems as it was hard to intercept. Not any longer.

See https://www.rtl-sdr.com/tag/tetra/ .

Sunspots - Sunday March 20th 2022

Solar flux is 94 and the SSN 29. A=5 and K=3. 

160m FT8 RX (Saturday)

Even though 10m is still wide open, I have QSYed to 160m FT8 RX with the untuned 10m antenna. So far this evening 30 stations have been spotted. 

UPDATE 2136z:   133 stations spotted. I think I shall remain on overnight.

OFCOM updates

Every month OFCOM updates the data it holds. See the OFCOM website for more details.

Pye PF8 - NOT amateur radio

Back in the 1970s, I was on the design team for this revolutionary product. In its day, it was "ahead of the curve". 

It had an internal antenna, 1.2V rechargeable batteries and a multilayer PCB. From bitter experience we found that the things that got broken were things like antennas, rotary controls etc. So we avoided these in this design. In its day, it was iconic. Some went on 70cm. These days, they are very hard to find.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/vhfuhfmicrowaves/vhfuhf-commercial-rigs/pye-pf8 . There is a PDF copy of the handbook linked on the site. Any issues, contact me and I shall send it to you.

The DC-DC converter it used was a nightmare.

More Wymondham, Norfolk - NOT amateur radio

As mentioned yesterday, we went to Wymondham on the train. The photo is a collage of some of the things and places we saw. 

Wymondham is a delightful place. 

It is a few miles from Norwich. 

Component supplier

This supplier used to attend rallies, but can no longer travel from their home in Cumbria. They are retiring. They still have some components left.

See http://www.harrisonelectronics.co.uk/ . 

10m FT8 RX

It is now 0804z and I have been on 10m FT8 RX for about 30 minutes. So far 35 stations have been spotted. The band seems wide open. 

UPDATE 1204z:   344 spots so far today on 10m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1606z:   815 stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX. A great day on 10m.

UPDATE 1830z:   1066 stations spotted today.  A great day on 10m FT8 RX. QRT soon.

Red-legged partridges - NOT amateur radio

We used to see these handsome birds regularly in our garden, but I have not seen them for a while. They were introduced over a century ago to this country. 

Sunspots - Saturday March 19th 2022

Solar flux is 98 and the SSN 27.  A=4 and K=0.

Yaesu FT-747

This was an HF 100W transceiver that dates from the early 1990s. I owned one for a few years, but never warmed to it. It had a metallised plastic case which was Yaesu's attempt to save money. It was sold a few years later, although I cannot remember to whom.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/commercial-rigs/yaesu-ft747 .

Looking back, it was one of the HF rigs I liked the least.