6m QRP FT8 (Friday)

My gear was turned on late morning.

UPDATE 1748z: 101 stations have spotted me including one in South Africa. Not bad for 5W on 6m to a vertical omni antenna!

UPDATE 1925z:  120 stations have spotted my 6m FT8 QRP including South Africa and Indonesia. The latter seems genuine judging by this station's other spots.

Friday plans

 Assuming we have no thunder, I plan to go on QRP 10m WSPR and 6m FT8 QRP later.

What is reality?

Recently, I have bought non-alcoholic gin and tonic in cans. I could have sworn there were two left. My wife swears they were non-alcoholic beer cans. I think she must have been correct.

This begs the question "what is reality?".  I guess it is what an individual experiences and for everyone this will be different.

By the way, I find non-alcoholic beers every bit as good as beers with alcohol: they have progressed enormously in the last few years.

Rain in East Anglia, UK

Every day for the last few years I have measured the rainfall with a rain gauge . It is easy to forget the rain each month. See attached table. I measure the rain each morning at breakfast time. 

The table shows the rain (going left to right) for 2025 (so far), 2024 and 2023.

Sunspots - Friday August 29th

 Solar flux is 232 and the SSN 201 . A=7 and K=2.

10m 500mW WSPR (Thursday)

My beacon was turned on at about  0830z.

UPDATE  1754z:  Spotted by 49 stations. Map courtesy of WSPRrocks.

2m FT8 (Thursday)

 Very briefly, I tried 2m FT8 in desperation to see why the IC705 was not working on FT8 RX.

UPDATE 0915z:  Spotted by 11 stations in 4 countries in just a few minutes.

6m 5W FT8 (Thursday)

My 5W 6m FT8 was turned on at about 0830z. 

For some reason (although nothing has changed in my settings that were working well yesterday) my FT8 RX is not working with the IC705. Later I shall try a complete reset of the IC-705 and see if that cures it. I have already restarted the PC.

UPDATE 0900z:  So far, 26 spots of me.

UPDATE 1857z: My 6m FT8 RX was not working as the USB input was muted (no idea why). All now fixed.  So far,  54 stations have spotted me.

Heathkit shack

 This was spotted earlier. Heathkit are a shadow of their former self.

Sunspots - Thursday August 28th

Solar flux is 226 and the SSN 227 (high). A=8 and K=1.

10m 500mW WSPR (Wednesday)

My beacon was turned on just before breakfast.

UPDATE 2055z:  Spotted by 96 stations, mostly in Europe. I think this is the best day on 10m WSPR in months.

6m 5W FT8 (Wednesday)

My gear was turned on just before breakfast.

UPDATE 1349z:  255 spots of me. This looks like Es. Mostly Europe with one in Algeria and the Canary Is.. See map.

UPDATE 2051z:  482 stations have spotted me today. One of my best days.

Wednesday plans

 It looks like solar conditions are promising , so I plan to do the same as yesterday with 10m QRP WSPR and 6m QRP FT8. 

Faroe Islands

 

One of my friends on 365project lives in the Faroe Islands and posts some spectacular photos such as this one.

Sunspots - Wednesday August 27th

 Solar flux is 226 and the SSN 193. A=9 and K=2.

What propagation mode?

When we see short-skip on 6m into Europe we often associate this with Es.  But we are near the top if the solar cycle and we often see short-skip into Europe on lower frequencies like 20m, even in the quiet years. 

Now, I am no expert on propagation and wonder what mode of propagation many of these spots are? I presume Es, but maybe I am wrong? 50MHz seems too high for F2.

500mW 10m WSPR (Tuesday)

My beacon has been on since 0912z.

UPDATE 1920z:  12 stations have spotted me. QRT soon.

6m 5W FT8 (Tuesday)

 

Stations spotting my
6m 5W FT8 today

My gear has been on since 0912z.

UPDATE 1918z:  85 stations have spotted me. Widespread across Europe and North Africa. QRT soon. It is interesting that in the last few days I have been spotted by progressively fewer stations.

WISPY RX

This was originally designed as a WSPR receiver but it works equally well as an FT8 receiver with a suitable crystal. It is extremely simple yet works very well. It allows the main rig to be freed for something else.

Lunch

Yesterday, someone put a photo of their lunch on 365project.

It was a lobster roll with chips and coleslaw - delicious 😉.

Time

We are aware of time flowing from the past into the future, but this may be a human illusion. 

As the poet T. S. Eliot said maybe time past, time present and time future are all present now. See the poem Burnt Norton in his Four Quartets.

This ties in to some extent with quantum mechanics.

6m QRP FT8 yesterday

With 103 stations spotting me yesterday I think we can safely say that the Es season is still with us. 6m was filled with European stations . 

The season will end …but not yet!!

Sunspots - Tuesday August 26th

 Solar flux is 175 and the SSN 136. A=8 and K=1.

TX-500MP

The original TX-500 (I think) had a Russian pedigree. I think production was shifted to the Middle East to avoid sanctions. I may be totally wrong on this. If I am wrong, my sincere apologies.

They have produced the TX-500MP which is a handheld with built-in ATU. There is a video about it. I have no idea about price. It looks like a useful product.

Beetles

Yesterday I posted a photo of the display cabinet of butterflies at the Zoology museum in Cambridge. This is the display of beetles.

10m QRP WSPR TX (Monday)

My 500mW  10m W5OLF beacon was turned at about 0815z.  

UPDATE 1902z:  Spotted by 32 stations with the furthest EA8BFK (2880km).

6m 5W FT8 (Monday)

My gear was turned on at about 0815z. 

UPDATE 1921z:  So far, 89 spots of me.  

Monday plans

As 6m QRP FT8 was good yesterday I shall try again today, as well as 10m QRP WSPR.

Yesterday on 6m QRP FT8

Much to my surprise I was copied widely in southern Europe on 6m FT8 with 5W. The band is still in pretty good shape. In all, 186 stations in Europe and Morocco 🇲🇦 spotted me. 

Sunspots - Monday August 25th

 Solar flux is 152 and the SSN 102. A=6 and K=1.

Zoology museum, Cambridge, UK

Living near Cambridge it is all too easy to take everything for granted. In the UK the main museums are free as are bus journeys for old people. So it is possible to enjoy lots without paying a penny!

Take, for example, the excellent Zoology museum we called at yesterday.

We often joke that people come across the planet to see Cambridge. We can see it every day .... for free.

10m 500mW WSPR TX (Sunday)

My beacon was turned on at about 0845z this morning.

UPDATE  1127z: Just EA8BFK (2880km) and one station in Sweden spotting me. 

See https://wspr.rocks/

6m 5W FT8 (Sunday)

My gear was turned on at about 0845z.

UPDATE  1122z:  32 spots of me, many in Portugal and Spain.

Sunspots - Sunday August 24th

 Solar flux is 143 and the SSN 87. A=7 and K=2.

10m 500mW WSPR (Saturday)

My beacon has been on much of the morning.

UPDATE 2040z:  3 stations have spotted me with no sign of Es. Furthest is V51RS (8481km). QRT.

6m QRP FT8 (Saturday)

My 5W to a V2000 vertical antenna was turned on at about 0845z: 

UPDATE 1409z:  26 spots of me so far. Yet again, more northern stations see to be most prominent. This puzzles me: it seems a pattern that repeats towards the end of every Es season. I would be interested to hear any theories as this is too common to be just random.

UPDATE 2043z: 33 stations have spotted me today. If some were Es, it is now less widespread and strong. QRT.

“Blossom always returns”

 This is the motto of a football team. It is a reminder that whatever pain we may be in, life carries on.

Being satisfied

There is a temptation to always lust after the newest shiniest transceiver. 

Steve G1KQH was looking at the ICOM Japan website where they have announced the IC7300Mk2. I think I shall resist it and try to be satisfied with what I have.

Pomegranate

 The photo shows a pomegranate growing at nearby Anglesey Abbey. I have not seen one growing in the UK before. 

No second peak

 It looks like we’re on the downward slope of the solar cycle and there’s little chance of a second peak which sometimes happens. Never mind.

Sunspots - Saturday August 23rd

 Solar flux is 136 and the SSN 51. A=8 and K=2.

10m 500mW WSPR TX (Friday)

My beacon was turned on late morning.

UPDATE 1130z:   No spots of me. I get the impression there are fewer WSPR users and more FT8 users.

UPDATE 1150z:  Just 3 spots by V51RS (8481km). No Es. 

UPDATE 1844z: 9 stations have spotted me.

6m 5W FT8 (Friday)

 My gear (IC-705 and the V2000 vertical omni was turned on late morning after we had been for a walk. 

UPDATE 1127z:   16 stations have spotted me. A very non-scientific observation is that stations in Scandinavia are more common late in the Es season. They are not alone with others elsewhere in Europe if the band is open, but I have observed this now quite often. I wonder if some other mechanism is in play?

UPDATE 1855z:  36 stations have spotted me today.

Our local church

 

The photo shows the inside of our local church. It was probably designed by the same man responsible for King’s College Chapel in Cambridge. Most dates from the 1400s but some parts are centuries older. 

Sunspots - Friday August 22nd

 Solar flux is 121 and the SSN 76. A=7 and K=3.

Good year for fruit in the UK

This has been a good year for fruit. 

For many weeks I have picked blackberrries for breakfast and this pear tree in our village is heavily laden.

10m 500mW WSPR (Thursday)

Just a few spots from a station in Austria.

UPDATE 1400z: 3 stations spotting me with the furthest V51RS (8481km) probably by F2.

6m QRP FT8 (Thursday)

With just 27 stations spotting my 5W QRP FT8 today, I think we have come to the end of the main Es season in Europe. Many of my spots were from the UK and I cannot say the type of propagation on the few Europeans that spotted me. It is possible even these were aircraft reflections.

UPDATE 1404z: Spotted by just 30 stations.

How do they do it?

Steve G1KQH has told me of the latest Banggood portable .  2 (yes 2!!) for just over £23 . 😉

Sunspots - Thursday August 21st

 Solar flux is 120 and the SSN 59. A=13 and K=2.