Every few weeks I take a peek at activity on this geosynchronous satellite. Activity remains low, even on a late afternoon in Europe at a weekend. The photo shows activity on the narrowband transponder. In my view, this satellite is, sadly, a failure.
Once again I am on 10m WSPR TX with my 500mW W5OLF beacon. It is now 1103z and spots have been received from EA8 , 9H1 and OH, presumably by F2.
As someone missed my recent local ISM 8m tests, I am repeating them again with the WSPR signal appearing at 40.6815 MHz.
The callsign at 10mW ERP will be 8M3ISM.
UPDATE 1050z: The 10mW ERP 8m WSPR beacon is ON again. No spots yet.
UPDATE 1620z: G4WSZ (11km) has spotted my QRP 10mW ERP many times. He is using a low 6m dipole.
Next January (January 2023), there is supposed to be a DXpedition to Bouvet. This is in the South Atlantic Ocean and is the most remote uninhabited island in the world. It is owned by Norway. The callsign is meant to be 3Y0J (I think). DXCC chasers will be going mad to work this station. No doubt I shall stand back and leave them to shout! Can you imagine the pile ups?!! Somehow I can imagine those with big beams and big linears will be shouting very loudly! Let's hope the operators like wind, penguins and seals.
The photo attribution is the International Space Station crew, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bouvet_Island.
At least, the lights cheer us all up at a dark time of the year. They say Christmas was originally a Pagan festival.
Another local ham is to do tests on the 8m ISM bands.
Once the weather gets better, he is doing some 10mW ERP tests (using his signal generator) to me across the fens. Hopefully I can receive him. He usually very strong on 2m FM with 25W. I think he erecting an 8m dipole for these tests. Antenna work needs better weather!
It is now 1002z. I am again be on 10m QRP WSPR with 500mW from my W5OLF beacon.
Once again, I am on WSPR QRP TX (500mW) with my W5OLF beacon. The usual spots from the Canary Is, that I assume are by F2. Yesterday, my QRP WSPR on 10m was spotted by 8 unique stations including the USA and Canada. Transatlantic spots are almost daily.
UPDATE 1609z: So far today, 11 spots of my 10m QRP WSPR.
OFCOM has still to come back to me about legal operation in the 8m ISM band and self certification if there is no intention to market a product and the intention is simply research. I expect their lawyers need to be consulted first!!
UPDATE 1616z: Bingo!!! A definitive statement from OFCOM if you comply with IR2030 you do not need to apply for a licence in the ISM bands. These are OFCOM's exact words
"If it is radio equipment intended for telecommunications research purposes it may be possible to obtain an innovation and trials licence from Ofcom.
You can find more details on this here: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/
If it conforms to the usage conditions laid down in IR 2030 you don’t need to apply for a licence. Regarding conformity of the equipment to other requirements, e.g. required for the marketing of products, or any potential liability to comply with those requirements, e.g. whether it is deemed as placed on the market / put into service, etc, isn’t something Ofcom can advise on.
Guidance on this aspect is published by the UK Government here: https://www.gov.uk/uk-market-
OFCOM is consulting on some changes it is proposing on its licence exempt SRD regulations. As far as I can see these affect some microwave allocations. This affects the Spectrum Licensing Regulations. See the OFCOM website for details.
As pointed out in his earlier comment, John Regnualt, G4SWX, who is the RSGB's VHF manager, has directed us to a truly excellent website all about EME (earth-moon-earth) communication.
John is an expert on EME communication and got his 2m DXCC some years ago. As far as I am concerned this is really good experimental work, no doubt having spent some time optimising his EME station.
To have success in EME requires hard work and dedication. By comparison, I am a "fireside fusilier" in that I am gunner do this and gunner do that. It looks like John is not!!
Although WSPR comes in several guises and speeds, I have no idea how QRSS (slow CW) compares with WSPR. Maybe Googling will tell me the answer.
For very low power (QRPP), one of these modes is probably better. WSPR has the advantage of being widely reported via WSPRnet. Certainly very slow WSPR is probably better than QRSS at reasonable speeds.
The answer is probably the same as, "how long is a piece of string?", but any pointers would be appreciated.
Although I am pretty sure that in the UK people can use the ISM bands for research without a licence, as long as they personally ensure conformity to any technical requirements and IR2030, I have asked OFCOM to confirm this. I am awaiting a response. My thoughts are it is easier for OFCOM just to confirm this than ask, "is this legal?".
At 8m this means a beacon can not be more than 10mW ERP. We already know this can cover a local area well on WSPR and could probably be copied in Europe by Es.
What happens in your country is not known.
My FT8 on 40.680 MHz was turned on at 1003z. No spots. Running 2.5W to the low wire dipole.
My 500mW beacon was turned on at 1000z. No spots yet at 1006z.
UPDATE 1235z: 3 stations now spotting me. No USA yet.
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| Stations on 2m FT8 RX last evening |
The other map shows where I was spotted with 2.5W FT8 and the big-wheel omni antenna.
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| Stations spotting my 2.5W FT8 on 2m with the omni antenna |
It usually has pictures of friends, grandchildren, sons etc. She has been doing these since 2012.
It is amazing to see how people change.
There are several companies we could use. You do the layout and upload digital images.
Sadly the antenna collapsed and will not be rebuilt.
This normally peaks in mid December. Usually, the ionised trails result in enhanced VHF propagation during short bursts. MSK144 is often a good mode as signals may be strong, but short lived. Better equipped stations experience better bursts for longer.
This time, I may try 8m MSK144 during the shower.
See https://earthsky.org/astronomy-essentials/everything-you-need-to-know-geminid-meteor-shower/ .
Personally, I find this very useful.
When I remember, I share my current 8m activity so people know where to watch for me. 8m activity is on the 50 and 70 MHz chats.
I see others use it to arrange skeds.
Later I hope to go on 8m QRP FT8. No spots on 8m yesterday. If the MUF goes high enough today, I am in with a chance of reaching the USA again.
Chances of a tiny 8m UK amateur band look slim, even by NoV.
UPDATE 1242z: On 40.680 MHz QRP FT8. No spots.
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| 8m FT8 spots of me today |
Shortly I'll be on 10m WSPR TX with 500mW from the W5OLF beacon.
UPDATE 1113z: Just spots of me from the Canary Isles so far today.
OFCOM has consulted on spectrum for mobile data. See the OFCOM website for details.
Recently I approached the RSGB to enquire about their position on a very tiny 8m amateur band (just 5 kHz wide) by NoV. The response from the VHF manager was to point me to the RSGB's statement back in March. At this rate experimenters will again have to pay to do research on 8m in 2023 in the UK. It sounds like both the RSGB and OFCOM are dead against even a tiny 8m amateur band. To me, this is illogical.
By some means I intend to continue my 8m propagation research in 2023.
Also sought was clarification on research in the ISM bands in the UK from OFCOM. Their reply on this is awaited.
It would be really good if true researchers could gain access to 8m without having to pay, especially around solar maximum when there is so much to be explored.
It would be really good if many more stations and countries were permitted access to the 8m band, ideally FT8 with 40.680 USB dial. More stations would certainly make research more interesting.
Once again, this is about research and self training, which is surely what our hobby is really about?
Personally, I am not particularly interested in 2-way communications at 8m. What interests me is radio science, particularly propagation.
For about and hour or so, I have been on 10m WSPR TX with my 500mW beacon. 6 unique stations have spotted me today.
For about an hour, I have been on 8m QRP FT8. It is on 40.680 MHz but I am TXing second (running 2.5W) in the hope of being spotted in the USA. No spots yet.
UPDATE 1446z: No spots.
Yesterday was the last lecture on cosmology as part of my U3A sessions in Cambridge. We heard some truly staggering numbers which I shall share here.
At lunch I intend to go on 8m QRP FT8 on 40.680 MHz in the second TX period. As many in the USA seem to be TX in the first period, this may help my chances of being spotted over there with my 2.5W and low dipole. Yesterday I was first period and spotted by 2 in England and 1 in Eire.
I also intend to go on 10m WSPR TX with my 500mW beacon.
My current plan is to go on 8m QRP (2.5W) FT8 on 40.680 MHz and 10m WSPR TX with my 500mW beacon. I shall probably turn things on about 1120z. Usually, my regular 10m WSPR spots are from the Canary Isles.
We thought it was worth walking 300m.
See https://archive.org/details/dlarc .
