My 10mW ERP was turned on just before 1900z. Already several spots of me at 1910z.
UPDATE 1930z: According to PSK Reporter, I am currently the only UK station on 630m WSPR TX! 4 stations have spotted me so far this evening.
UPDATE 2010z: 6 stations have spotted me this evening.
It suddenly seems to be dark early. Only a few months ago it was much lighter at this time.
Here we are at 1625z with the curtains drawn in "winter mode". In a few weeks it will stop getting darker and gradually lighter, although it is the end of January before we really notice things changing.
I like the seasons. There is something good about them all.
At about 1610z I QSYed to 70cm FT8 with my 2.5W and the 2m big-wheel omni antenna. No spots.
UPDATE 1914z: No spots, so have QSYed to 630m QRP WSPR.
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| Stations spotting me at 1455z |
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| G0LRD's monitor |
UPDATE 1422z: 19 stations in 5 countries have spotted my QRP signal on 2m FT8 today with the furthermost GI6ATZ (479km). See map. This is too easy too!
UPDATE 1528z: Interesting that I am only spotting 5 UK stations. My RX is working properly, so this suggests low activity.
HF bands present no real challenge. Recent microwatt tests on 10m WSPR have been fun, but I need a new challenge.
My 2.5W 8m FT8 signal has been received in most of the places I had hoped for, and this is not likely to change until there are a few new countries on the band. At the moment I am inclined to ask for a new 8m permit from April 2024 - April 2025 even though I have to pay to do research, which I find utterly stupid!
Later today, I may QSY to a VHF band FT8 as this is "different" and not something I have tried for a while.
In recent days, 8m seems to have lost its attraction a bit.
The FCC does not want to renew access to the band to USA stations and F2 has probably peaked for now. The main Es season in the northern hemisphere is long over and even 6m has been good for F2 DX. At the moment, I have moved down to 10m FT8, although this is really no challenge.
We could definitely do with more countries legally TXing on the 8m band. Even just CW, FT8 and WSPR only at low power 40.680 - 40.685 MHz would be a start. As this would be within the ISM band I cannot see this should be a problem.
My best comparison is with Jason M0NYW who is using the same G3XBM transverter, but I believe a more conventional antenna. He is also reporting his ERP as 10mW. Jason gets better results that me. In the last 12 hours he was spotted by 39 stations, whereas I was spotted by 16.
How much difference is there? Clearly, he is getting better results, so his antenna and ground are better. Most of my reports are quite close to the limit. Also, for some stations, the local noise can put a stop to very weak signals being decoded. When near the limit of decode, a few dB could make a great deal of difference.
So, it is very hard to say how much better Jason's system is than mine.
All I can say is a more conventional setup is better. What I can say is the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground does work and is just about invisible.
My 2.5W 10m FT8 was turned on about 0915z. So far, 10 spots of me by what looks like single hop F2. For some reason PSK reporter was not reporting my spots. I have restarted WSPR-X. Since restarting, I am getting spots from all over the world appearing on PSKr.porter.
UPDATE 0950z: My 10m QRP FT8 has been spotted by 26 stations and 82 stations spotted here.
My 10mW ERP from the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground was turned on about 1855z. So far, 2 UK stations have spotted me.
In recent years we have seen this import from the USA. I think the original idea was to make consumers buy things over a longer period. Just now I looked on the Asus website for deals and, quite frankly, I think consumers are being taken for a ride.
As a "boring old fart" (BOF) I think this whole "Black Friday" thing is stupid, and this is one more import from the USA that they can willingly have back.
I am sure it is aimed more at the seller than the consumer. Retail outlets are having a hard time and their business models have to change to compete with online sellers.
However, Black Friday is one innovation we can do without.
This peaks about now. I have no idea how good it is as an MS propagation mode. What usually happens is the trail causes ionisation that reflects VHF signals.
See https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/topics/leonid-meteor-shower-when-and-where-see-it-uk
As 8m was poor, I have QSYed to 10m FT8 with 2.5W and my end-fed antenna. The switch was made at 1506z.
UPDATE 1527z: 5 stations have spotted me and I have spotted 112 stations already.
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| Stations spotting me today on 10m FT8 with 2.5W |
My 10mW ERP WSPR from the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground was turned on at 1642z. So far, after 1 transmission, 3 UK stations have spotted me. No great DX, but it works!
UPDATE 2015z: 7 UK stations have spotted me.
The following rallies are due this weekend. If you are going a long way, I always advise contacting the organisers first.
Saturday November 18th - Rochdale and District ARS Winter Rally, Norden, Rochdale, OL12 7QR. Contact dave@cardens.me.uk .
Sunday November 19th - Coulsdon Amateur Transmitting Society (CATS) Bazaar, Old Coulsdon, CR5 1ES. Contact bazaar@catsradio.org.uk .
When there are wars on it is very hard to discern the truth as all sides tend to distort the truth. This was true in the Vietnam war and was certainly true in WW2.
At the moment, in the Middle East, it is hard to untangle the facts. Clearly Israel wants to eliminate the threat from Hamas. At the same time, many innocent people are being killed or maimed and their homes destroyed. The best way I have found is to listen to the news from both angles and try to make up your mind on the truth. With the "fog of war", this is hard.
The only thing for certain is that all involved bend the truth!!
My 10m WSPR beacon is still turned on but with the PA turned off. No spots. My beacon is pre-programmed to say 0.5W, even though the power is actually about 500uW.
UPDATE 1630z: Unless things dramatically change, I think spots of my 500uW on 10m WSPR TX are very unlikely today. Tomorrow, I shall probably revert to 500mW, i.e. QRO for me! I guess the issue for many is now a high local noise floor.
My 10mW ERP from the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground was turned on shortly after 1730z.
UPDATE 1736z: 2 spots of me so far.
My 8m QRP (2.5W) was turned on about 0920z. No spots yet.
UPDATE 1442z: An Irish station called me, but we were unable to complete the contact.
UPDATE 1725z: No spots of me today on PSKreporter. Shortly QSYing to 630m WSPR.
A reminder that today I am trying my 10m WSPR beacon with the PA off. According to my TinySA spectrum analyser the output is about 0.5mW or 500uW. This is pre-programmed to show the power as 0.5W even though the power is actually 30dB lower. As yet, no spots.
UPDATE 1720z: No spots all day. I think conditions have to be well up for this to succeed.
As an experiment tomorrow, I may leave the PA turned off on my 10m WSPR TX beacon. It is pre-programmed to say 0.5W, but I would guess the actual power out is microwatts. I must check the difference on a spectrum analyser.
My guess is some single digit reports of me might still be copied if my PA was off. Today, there were several such reports. I guess it also depends on the RX station having a low noise floor.
UPDATE 2150z: Using my TinySA spectrum analyser, it looks like the TX is 30dB weaker with the PA turned off, so the output is about 500uW. I wonder how many will be able to spot this on Wednesday?
My 10m WSPR TX beacon was switched on about 30 minutes ago. Several spots already.
UPDATE 1656z: 54 spots of me today.
Once again, I am on 8m WSPR with my 2.5W and dipole. Of course, my PL259 plug failed and a high VSWR resulted. After resoldering (hard these days), I am back on the air. No spots yet.
UPDATE 1015z: Just local spots of me by G4WSZ (12km).
My 10mW ERP WSPR from the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground was turned on about 1705z.
UPDATE 1720z: 2E0ILY/KIWI (209km) has spotted me.
My 10m QRP WSPR TX beacon was turned on at about 1504z. So far, I have been spotted by 28 stations.
The UK Home Secretary was Suella Braverman. She has been sacked according to the BBC website. The job of Home Secretary is a most important one needing someone in the position who gains the respect of all the people with whom this person interacts.
