Sunspots - Wednesday September 24th

 Solar flux is 171 and the SSN 172. A=14 and K=1.

10m QRP WSPR yesterday

As well as all the USA and Canadian stations spotting my 500mW, I was spotted by the German base in Antarctica DP0GVN (13685km) 5 times!

Tuesday plans

 As we have old university friends here, I doubt I shall be on the radio today. I shall try to be sociable!! 😄

6m QRP FT8 yesterday

Yesterday, I remained on 6m FT8 with my 5W to the V2000 vertical. 

Although not at the level in mid-summer, I was still spotted widely across Europe. See map. 

Imagine if I was running 50W to a decent beam i.e. with an ERP 20dB higher! If I can do it with QRP....

Fragility of life

Yesterday my brother was playing a game of golf when his partner just dropped dead whilst walking away from the 1st green. 

We have no idea when our time is up. 

Live life as if this is your last day and enjoy every minute.

Sunspots - Tuesday September 23rd

 Solar flux is 172 and the SSN 157. A=13 and K=2.

10m 500mW WSPR TX (Monday)

My stand alone beacon has been on since about 1312z.

UPDATE 1513z:   22 stations including many in the USA and Canada have spotted me. 

Sixbox revisited

 A few moments ago I had a nice email and video from Marcos PU2MBZ. In it he says he has built the RX of the Sixbox with a few changes, on a PCB. Thank you Marcos!

See  https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/vhfuhfmicrowaves/homebrew/sixbox

6m 5W FT8 (Monday)

My gear was turned on at about 1313z.

UPDATE 1500z:  So far, 8 stations have spotted me with one in Portugal.

Decreasing human contact

Just now I was invited to check my PayPal balance. They wanted to send me a code to my phone to verify it was me. I doubt a human was involved. 

Most chat bots are computers rather than real people.  At supermarket checkouts you are encouraged to use automatic checkouts.  Most bank transactions are getting cash from an ATM. If you are lucky you may get a call centre somewhere on the planet, where a person might understand you and you might understand them! You are just a sort code and account number - no personal contact.

More and more there is less human contact. All this is done in the name of "progress" and to save money or increase profits. 

In my view we are going backwards.

Monday plans

As I now know how 10m WSPR works, my plan is to continue on 6m FT8 QRP as well as 10m QRP WSPR .

Grandson sailing

 

It seems a blink of the eye since he was born! Now he’s sailing like a champ!

10m conditions

It seems we are moving to autumnal HF conditions with afternoon openings across the Atlantic with my 10m 500mW WSPR. These openings seem almost daily. 

I  think it’s very unlikely that my 6m 5W FT8 would make it this autumn, but you never know!

Sunspots - Monday September 22nd

 Solar flux is 176 and the SSN 157. A=6 and K=2.

Windmill fantail shadow

When the sun shines we get some great shadows from the windmill right next door. 

This was the shadow of the fantail on the museum.

4m FT8 RX?

Even though I have no antennas for 4m, I am tempted to try 4m FT8 RX at some point. My recollection was that activity outside of the Es season was low though. I am also unsure of the 4m FT8 frequency these days. 

I might be just wasting my time. I would have to use the V2000 or 2m big-wheel.

10m 500mW WSPR TX (Sunday)

My beacon was turned on at 0932z.

UPDATE 2143z:  Spotted by 24 stations. Now QRT .

6m 5W FT8 (Sunday)

My gear was turned on at 0932z.

UPDATE 2130z:  37 stations from all over western Europe.  I am sure FT8 is catching very brief patches of Es. Now QRT. 

Sunspots - Sunday September 21st

 Solar flux is 166 and the SSN 158. A=5 and K=1.

Optical communications

The last time I did serious field work on 481THz over the horizon optical communication was before my 2013 stroke. Since then I have been too wobbly. 

This photo shows the gear used in these tests.

Micro80 QRP transceiver

This must date back about 40 years! Looking through some old photos, I came across this one of my 80m Micro80 transceiver. 

As I recall my first contact was with a station about 200 miles away and before it was cased and the Morse key was just tapping a wire onto the chassis!

I cannot recall the antenna.

Spitting Image

This was a BBC TV show (1980s?) that made fun with puppets of politicians, who sometimes take themselves far too seriously. It is now available on YouTube.

In my view, it is a good thing to lampoon politicians and is a sign of grown-up leaders and countries.

Corfu 2016

 

We enjoyed this Greek island and went there several times with my brother-in-law and his wife.

10m 500mW WSPR TX (Saturday)

 My beacon was turned on at about 0900z.

UPDATE 1757z: So far spotted by 26 stations . Furthest is V51RS (8481km). Now QRT.

6m 5W FT8 (Saturday)

My gear was turned on at about 0900z.

UPDATE 1756z: So far spotted by 32 stations with the furthest  OH7XM (1714km). Now QRT.

Sunspots - Saturday September 20th

 Solar flux is 160 and the SSN 158. A=3 and K=2.

FX-4c transceiver

This video was on the DX Explorer website. There is now a new version available with a small fan and USB-C socket. It is available via Ali Express for about £500-600. It gets good reviews although I have no personal experience.

Crane Flies (Daddy Long Legs)

In the UK, this must be the time of the year when they mature. Today there was one on the bus and there is another on the lounge window.  They are harmless and fun bumbling into windows. Many years ago we had no less than 15 at once in our bedroom.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crane_fly .

Seasonal photobooks

For many years, my wife has produced a photo-book each season.  It documents what we, our children and grandchildren have been up to. It's surprising how soon you forget.

10m 500mW WSPR TX (Friday)

My beacon has been on since about 1330z.

UPDATE 1739z: So far, 19 spots, all transatlantic apart from a couple in the Canary Is.. and one in Austria.

UPDATE 2017z:  23 stations have spotted me with the furthest  K6VZK (8719km). QRT soon.

6m 5W FT8 ( Friday)

My gear has been on since about 1330z.

UPDATE 1735z:  So far, 19 stations spotting me. Furthest is I3VWK (1105km).

Quiet time

In Cambridge this is a quiet time. There are fewer visitors and the university students are not back yet.

Sunspots - Friday September 19th

 Solar flux is 150 and the SSN 119. A=6 and K=0.

10m QRP WSPR (Thursday)

My beacon was turned at about 1140z.

UPDATE 1805z:  Spotted by 8 stations with several in the USA. QRT soon.

6m 5W FT8 (Thursday)

My gear was turned on at about 1140z.

UPDATE 1804z: 14 stations have spotted me. See map. QRT soon.

Seccumbed

In the end I ordered a UV5r mini (transparent). At the very low price with a discount it was a bargain. Even if it goes wrong after a while it is far less than one meal out. 

Talking of meals out we really like Cote Brasserie which does an excellent fixed price menu.

Thursday plans

10m QRP FT8 yesterday

Yesterday my 10m FT8 QRP was spotted by 63 stations on 4 continents. See map.  

I have not yet decided what to do today, but my inclination is to try 6m FT8 later.

Sunspots - Thursday September 18th

 Solar flux is 147 and the SSN 119. A=12 and K=2.

10m 500mW WSPR TX (Wednesday)

 When I am on 6m FT8, like now, I can go on 10m QRP WSPR as my antenna is available and my beacon does not need the PC.

UPDATE 1343z:   No spots.

6m 5W FT8 (Wednesday)

 At 1330z, I switched to 6m QRP FT8 from 10m QRP FT8.

UPDATE 1344z: Spotted by 4 English stations.

Early Halloween?

This was a shop window in our village earlier this week. It looks like this is a Halloween display. Personally, I think it is far too early.

Beofeng UV5R-mini

This product s available at ridiculously low prices (from China I think), although I have no personal experience. 

Looking at Ali-express, the price varies depending on the colour, accessories and whether you want 1 or 2 units. I am very tempted!

10m 3W FT8 (Wednesday)

My gear has been on since about 0545z.

UPDATE 1236z:  59 stations have spotted me. See map.

Sunspots - Wednesday September 17th

 Solar flux is 135 and the SSN 130. A=21 and K=2.

Sunflowers dying

These have been a real surprise. The seeds came with some flowers my wife got for Mother's Day. I planted some in a tray and some in the ground. Most germinated and have looked good for several weeks, but they are now dying.

Some of the seeds will be kept for next year and the birds will have the rest.

Better Regen RX

Dave Richards AA7EE who makes some excellent projects very neatly has done a regen RX which he will add to his blog soon. He is a real experimenter!

If you want to see neat layouts without a PCB, look at Dave's blog and be inspired.

See https://aa7ee.wordpress.com/

More autumnal

 

The grass has just been cut and it feels more autumnal. We have had high winds and showers and there are more leaves on the ground.

10m 500mW WSPR TX (Tuesday)

 At about 0930z I decided to try 10m WSPR as the antenna was free when I went on 6m FT8.

UPDATE  1030z:  No spots yet.

6m 5W FT8 (Tuesday)

 At  about 0930z, I QSYed to 6m FT8.

UPDATE 1025z:  Spotted by 8 stations, some in mainland Europe.

Gaza

Politically, I have always been a "floating voter"  voting for the party that best represents my views.

Whilst fully understanding the revulsion felt by Israel for the horrific acts by Hamas on October 7th and the wish by its enemies to see the destruction of the state if Israel, I am sickened by the apparent wish to destroy and drive out the people of Gaza. The Israeli government will claim their only wish is to destroy Hamas.

In the eyes of the world, Israel is seen as the aggressor in Gaza. You would think after the sheer horror of the holocaust in WW2, they would not want innocents to suffer.

The aggression and killing must stop. 

The only long-term peace will come from talking around a table. All sides will have to make some compromises.

Does Israel really believe they will defeat Hamas?  Their actions are likely to result in even more people turning against Israel.

Give peace and reconciliation a chance!