Walk - NOT amateur radio

This morning we did a walk around the village and did some shopping. On the walk we saw this tub of flowers.

10m QRP WSPR (Tuesday)

My 500mW beacon was turned on  before breakfast.

UPDATE 0957z: Already 5 stations spotting me including V51RS (8481km).

UPDATE 1334z:  Still the same 5 stations spotting me.

UPDATE 2051z: 77 stations have spotted my 500mW WSPR today. QRT soon.

6m 5W FT8 (Tuesday)

Although I came on well before breakfast today, just 11 English spots so far.

UPDATE 0946z:  62 spots of my QRP so far. 

UPDATE 1136z:  81 spots of my 5W 6m FT8 with the furthest VO1SIX (3933km). See map.

UPDATE 1614z:  242 stations have spotted me. I suspect the station in Newfoundland spotted me by double hop Es. See map.

UPDATE 2117z:  731 stations have spotted me today. 1 station in the Caribbean has been spotted.

Sunspots - Tuesday June 24th

 Solar flux is 122 and the SSN 105. A=8 and K=1.

Gilbert and Sullivan orchestra - NOT amateur radio

As mentioned before, last Friday evening we went to a local performance of the Gilbert and Sullivan light opera "The Gondoliers". 

The photo shows the small orchestra.

Quantum entanglement - NOT amateur radio

Ever since doing quantum mechanics as part of my university course a very long time ago, this has fascinated me and made me realise how little we really know. 

Our grasp on things is really so poor. You just wonder how things will develop in the next 100 years.

This video may (I say "may") help with understanding quantum entanglement. I think the basic thing is to think of objects as a wave function that exists in all space and all time for everything. We think of things as objects that exist in just on place, whereas they may (just) exist everywhere and always, which is counter-intuitive.

All we can be certain of is the universe is stranger than we even thought.

10m 500mW WSPR (Monday)

If I was going on 6m FT8, I thought I might as well turn on the 10m WSPR beacon!  6 stations have spotted me, mostly by Es.

UPDATE 1915z:  Spotted by 22 stations today. See WSPR Rocks map by Phil VK7JJ. Furthest is Namibia in S.W.Africa.

Change of plan

I took a look at PSKreporter and saw lots of Europeans working Far East stations on 6m FT8.  I thought, "just like me, take a day off and miss all the fun". So, I decided to go on 6m 5W FT8 after all. Lots of Es, but no Far East on TX or RX noticed here. 

I think I was too late.

UPDATE 1933z:  241 stations have spotted me.

Day off radio?

At the moment, I have no plans to go on the radio today. If there is a big opening on 6m I might change my mind later.

Hot work! - NOT amateur radio

Our local museum (across the road) has a blacksmith's forge run by Will, the blacksmith. The photo was taken on Saturday when temperatures were 33 degrees Celsius in the shade and very humid. Not the sort of weather to be in a hot forge!

Sunspots - Monday June 23rd

 Solar flux is 125 and the SSN 80. A=9 and K=3.

Banana warehouse - NOT amateur radio

My wife’s great grandfather was a banana merchant in Sheffield who lived from 1857-1927.

10m QRP WSPR (Sunday)

My 500mW beacon was turned on at breakfast.

UPDATE 0917z:  Spotted by 4 stations so far. Usually, I check for spots on WSPRnet, but accidentally left PSKreporter on 10m. Interestingly, just one of the 4 WSPR stations appeared.

6m 5W FT8 (Sunday)

 

My 5W to the V2000 vertical omni antenna has been on since breakfast.

UPDATE 0932z:   40 stations have spotted me. It looks like most are by Es.

UPDATE 1508z: 350 stations have spotted my 5W 6m FT8 with the furthest UN3M (3553km) in Kazakhstan.

UPDATE 2130z: Now QRT but 355 stations have spotted me today - nearly  all European. See map .

Sunspots - Sunday June 22nd

 Solar flux is 125 and the SSN 87. A=10 and K=2.

Lightning maps

Although storms are more likely to occur further north, I like to assess the risks by looking at the lightning maps. At the moment the risk looks very low.

See https://www.lightningmaps.org/#m=oss;t=3;s=0;o=0;b=;ts=0;y=27.9497;x=10.4637;z=4;d=2;dl=2;dc=0;

The fog of war - NOT amateur radio

Recently Israel and Iran have been fighting a war in the air. The Ukraine war has been raging since early 2022. Israel has been at war in Gaza since it was attacked in late 2023.

One common factor is "the fog of war". That is each side tries to outdo the other by spreading often false data. Recently, AI has been used.

All I am saying is this: it is very very easy to believe everything you see whereas it is quite common for this data to be wrong, especially during wars. Caveat emptor.

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0k78715enxo .

10m 5W FT8

My gear was turned on at breakfast time.

UPDATE 1049z: So far,  93 stations have spotted me and I have spotted 52 stations here.

UPDATE 1525z: 170 stations have spotted me today. See map.

UPDATE 1840z: 196 stations have spotted my 10m 5W FT8 today. Although several stations in South America have spotted me, no spots of me from the Caribbean or USA.

Gilbert and Sullivan light opera - NOT amateur radio

In the UK, G&S light operas performed by local groups have become a tradition. These were written back in the late nineteenth century.

Last night we went to a local group performing in the village. They did “The Gondoliers” which is a favourite. My brother was in this in Devon in the late 1950s. 

When we got home it was 10.20pm and it was still just light. The photo shows the windmill next door at 10.20pm.

It was the longest day. Although night get about 1 minute later for a little while, the mornings start to get darker. It seems no time since the winter solstice!

Saturday plans

 Later I shall probably try 10m QRP FT8 with my IC-705 at 5W.

Sunspots - Saturday June 21st

 Solar flux is 130 and the SSN 95.  A=9 and K=2.

Ham radio costs

MLS was supposed to have been on the air earlier on HF.  What bothers me is the impression that is put on people that amateur radio is an expensive hobby. The MLS kit would not give you much change (if any) from £10k.

Let me say you do not need to spend much to enjoy the hobby.  You can spend lots if you want to, but you can communicate across the planet with gear costing a small fraction of the MLS price. 

Now, I have no wish to stop those who wish to spend a lot on our hobby, but this is a choice, not a necessity.

Electric cars - NOT amateur radio

My car is infrequently changed. I do not do long miles in my car: most are about 8 miles return with the occasional trip of about 30 miles return. For longer journeys I take the train. In years past I would have thought nothing of doing a 600 mile round trip.

In the past limited range of an electric car was a concern. This is not a concern any more. 

Important factors for me are (a) reliability (b) insurance costs (c) availability (d) home charging (e) space for the weekly shop and the occasional visitors and their luggage.

Which brings me on to electric cars: these are mostly too expensive to buy, but a lease deal might be better. The prices are dropping, but they still are high. However, home charging might offset this to some extent.

Most low cost offerings come from China such as MG and BYD.

I am still not convinced about battery technology that still seems to rely on lithium batteries. At some point I was expecting prices to drop with the advent of solid-state batteries, together with a better range. As far as I know this has not happened yet. Whoever gets there first will have a huge advantage.

At the moment, I shall probably hang on to my 2018 diesel car, but I expect my next car might well be electric.

6m QRP FT8 (Friday)

 My 5W gear has been on since lunchtime.

UPDATE 1335z:  57 stations have spotted me - mostly mainland Europe by Es.

10m 500mW WSPR (Friday)

My QRP beacon has been on since lunchtime.

UPDATE 1330z:  No spots.

Yesterday on VHF

Stations spotting my 6m QRP FT8 yesterday 

On 6m FT8 987 stations including one in the Caribbean spotted my 5W FT8 to the vertical omni antenna and the Es reached 2m with the furthest on 2m FT8 (sadly RX only) being IT9.

Blue Remembered Hills - NOT amateur radio

“A Shropshire Lad XL” is one of the most profound poems ever written in the English language. 

It speaks of our continual struggle to find memories of times past that can never ever be experienced again. 

See https://poets.org/

Sunspots - Friday June 20th

 Solar flux is 136 and the SSN 113. A=14 and K=2.

2m 5W FT8 Es (Thursday)

It looks like there is a 2m Es event, so I have QSYed to 144.174 MHz FT8.  

Although my 5W to the V2000 has not been spotted by Es, on RX the best so far is an IT9STG (1894km) at +11dB S/N i.e. very strong indeed.

Spots of my 2m 5W FT8 tat 1221z

UPDATE 1221z: 46 stations in 6 countries have spotted my 2m 5W FT8 so far.

Dahlia garden (less dahlias) - NOT amateur radio

The photo shows the dahlia garden at Anglesey Abbey, near Cambridge, UK. In a few months with all the dahlias in it will look amazing.

6m QRP FT8 (Thursday)

My IC-705 at 5W to the V2000 vertical omni was turned on just before breakfast.

UPDATE 0930z:  Spotted by 238 stations already. Es in the main.

UPDATE 1347z:  I decided to go back on 6m QRP FT8. Already 308 stations have spotted me in under an hour!

10m 500mW WSPR (Thursday)

Early Es today!  My beacon was turned on just before breakfast.

UPDATE 0932z:  Already spotted by 31 stations across Europe.

Sunspots - Thursday June 19th

 Solar flux is 137 and the SSN 120. A=13 and K=1.

Yesterday on 6m QRP FT8

 664 stations spotted me yesterday with my 5W to the vertical omni and 659 were spotted here.  Most were Es. At least one was someone fooling around. 

Reconciliation -NOT amateur radio

My brother has just been to hear a group of German singers in Coventry cathedral. During WW2 much of Coventry was destroyed (including the cathedral where they sang) by German 🇩🇪 bombs. Wonderful. Coventry - reconciliation in action.

Birmingham New Street station - NOT amateur radio

We have been through this UK railway station quite a few times in recent years.

I think it was modernised some years ago and I quite like it. 

The photo shows the entrance on the Moor Street station and bus stop side.

10m 500mW WSPR (Wednesday)

 Despite what I said earlier, I decided to go on 10m QRP WSPR after all.

UPDATE 0933z: So far, just a spot by EA1FAQ (1249km). There is some Es.

UPDATE 1245z:   23 stations have spotted me.

6m 5W FT8 (Wednesday)

My QRP gear was turned on at breakfast time. 

UPDATE 1515z: So far, 412 spots of me with the furthermost South Korea. 397 stations spotted here.  Judging by this station's other spots, I think this is genuine.

UPDATE 1935z:  When I first saw that I had been spotted again in the USA I was excited at first. Then I saw the call P5KY in North Korea, so I knew it was a pirate! Otherwise lots of European Es around.

Hope Cove, Devon webcam - NOT amateur radio

 

My family history can be traced continuously to Hope Cove, Devon in the mid 1500s. That is a generation before the Spanish Armada!

I check the weather there on the webcam at the Cottage Hotel in Hope Cove. The photo is a snapshot from the webcam. I have had lunch there and it was very good.

See https://hopecove.com.

Wednesday plans

 Today I think I am going to give 10m WSPR a miss and just go on 6m QRP FT8. On 10m it tends to follow a predictable pattern with few spots early on, some Europeans later (if there’s Es) and V51RS and the Canaries later.

Sunspots - Wednesday June 18th

 Solar flux is 139 and the SSN 97. A=9 and K=3.

Sporadic-E (Es)

 A reminder that this is the best time of year in the northern hemisphere for this kind of propagation. It frequently affects 10m and 6m, sometimes 4m and Band II FM and occasionally 2m and even higher on VHF. Signals can be very strong. 

It is not unheard of for Es to link with other modes meaning far greater distances are possible. I am also a believer in chordal hop E layer propagation, which I believe is responsible for some, not all. very long paths.

See https://www.tvcomm.co.uk/g7izu/radio-propagation-maps/europe-sporadic-e/ .

Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral - NOT amateur radio

 

This was consecrated in 1967 and known locally as “Paddy’s wigwam”. 

From the outside it looks like a concrete edifice but inside the light is spectacular. Whatever your faith, or none, it is well worth a visit.

 It has been upgraded to Grade 1 status, meaning it is one of the most important buildings in the country. Well worth it.

10m QRP WSPR (Tuesday)

 My 500mW beacon was turned on very early, but I doubt I will get any spots for hours! 🥴

UPDATE  0922z:  No spots of me this morning.

UPDATE 1410z:  5 stations have spotted so far today.

Snail - NOT amateur radio

This was taken some years ago and appeared as a memory today.

6m QRP FT8 (Tuesday)

 My 5W gear was turned on early at 0458z. Just UK stations spotted and nobody spotted here.

UPDATE 0545z: 5 stations have spotted me including one in Germany. 

UPDATE 0923z: 26 stations have spotted me. Definitely Es.

UPDATE 1412z:  52 stations have spotted me.

Local supermarket - NOT amateur radio

This is where we do most of our food shopping. It is in Newmarket. 

Sunspots - Tuesday June 17th

 Solar flux is 148 and the SSN 125. A=10 and K=2.

Treeless landscape - NOT amateur radio

One of my friends on 365project.org lives in the Shetland Is. It is pretty treeless up there with a fair bit of wind.

10m 500mW WSPR (Monday)

My beacon was turned on just before breakfast.

UPDATE 1220z:  Just one spot by F/DK4NL.

UPDATED 1858z:  Now 19 spots of me.

UPDATE 2031z:  35 spots of me. 

UPDATE 2055z:  Now QRT.