WSPR-AXE-CW oddity

A local, David G0LRD reported that my time sync was well adrift despite me doing a reset against internet time very recently. A hard reset (all power removed for over a minute) seems to have fixed the issue, which is possibly a bug in the software.  David suggested it could have been a very short power outage?   In future I'll do a hard reset more frequently. This little beacon has served me well for over 6 months and is often on 24/7.

East Anglian Churches blog updated - NOT amateur radio

This Friday we went by train to Norwich with our "London" grandchildren. We visited the Castle Museum and Norwich Cathedral, which is definitely one of the finest in England.

See http://eachurches.blogspot.co.uk/ .

G4IKZ beaming south on 10m?

My local 10m WSPR reporter G4IKZ (18km) must have his Moxon beam aimed south as he has not spotted me for some hours, even though he is reporting Spanish stations by Es. My 500mW WSPR beacon has not been spotted for some hours now by anyone.  10m is definitely harder going on WSPR than it was. I hope things improve as autumn comes.

At the moment there are 31 stations worldwide shown as active on 10m WSPR. A little while back this would have been 100 or more. There may be more who have not spotted/been spotted in the last 10 minutes, but numbers are down.

UPDATE 1620z:  I QSYed from 6m down to 630m at 1600z. Still on 10m WSPR at same time. No MF WSPR spots given or received on MF as yet.

Back to 472kHz WSPR tonight

As 6m has proved predictable with little in the way of DX around, I shall be going back to 472kHz WSPR this evening. As my ERP is still very low (5mW) I do not expect many to copy me at this time of the year. I shall remain on 10m WSPR at the same time, but may decide to go QRT overnight on the 10m band.

UPDATE 1623z:  I QSYed from 6m down to 630m at 1600z. Still on 10m WSPR at same time. No MF WSPR spots given or received on MF as yet.

UPDATE 1950z:  It is still light here. So far, no spots given or received on 472kHz WSPR. Maybe things will improve after dark?  This s my worst start on 472kHz WSPR this summer.

UPDATE 2056z:  At 2038z G8HUH (250km) was spotted. He is one of the better stations on the band, so not too surprised to copy him. He has copied me on 472kHz WSPR this summer. He is my best DX on 136kHz from the old QTH. I have not tried 136kHz from this QTH with the shorter baseline earth-electrode "antenna", well not yet.

UPDATE 2100z:  I have just been spotted on 472kHz WSPR by G6AVK (78km).

Prices of Japanese radios?

I wonder when the next round of price drops will come on Japanese gear? The big Japanese players such as Yaesu, Icom and Kenwood have had an easy ride of late and been able to dictate prices. Now the competition is waking up, I expect they will be facing tougher times.

The latest exchange rates (UK pound to Japanese Yen) is £1 is worth about 193 Yen. Not many years ago it was less than 130 Yen to the pound. In real terms, Japanese goods should be much less expensive. At the moment both the UK dealers and Japanese are doing very well thank you from a customer base prepared to pay high prices. Expect big falls between now and the year end. This will be partly due exchange rates becoming much better (for those in the UK) and partly due to the increasing threat from the non-Japanese suppliers. Don't you find it amazing how low cost some Chinese hand portables are compared with similar products from Japan? Rip-off come to mind - charge high prices for Japanese goods as long as the suckers pay.

No, the age of UK amateur radio consumers being taken for a ride is ending. The next time you discuss prices with UK dealers remind them of competition and exchange rates! At the moment their margins must be very high. Japanese goods are priced too high in the UK - fact. A few years ago I was more sympathetic, but not any more. UK consumers should pay a fair price with the dealers getting a fair margin, but please don't take us all for mugs. I shall buy when the prices are fair and not before.

If I have this wrong, I shall be interested to hear the dealers viewpoint. Exchange rates have got vastly better and I do not see this reflected in end user prices here in the UK.  Someone is making very handsome profits.

Consumers - vote with your wallets and do not buy overpriced radios.  I have said before, the FT817 is classic example: all development costs were recovered years ago, so the price should be considerably lower than it is. Dealers have dropped the price somewhat, but it is nowhere near what it should be for a very mature design.

Overnight results - 6m and 10m WSPR

Apart from ON7KB (299km) presumably by tropo was spotted a few times in the early hours, it was quiet here on 6m WSPR apart from G0OQK (98km).

On 10m WSPR there was some Es to Spain and Italy around breakfast time.

Sunspots and 10m - Sun August 2nd 2015

Sunspot number is 70 today  (K=3 so more disturbed than yesterday) and 10m is expected to remain "poor" today again.

Overnight on 10m and 6m WSPR

Although I am not expecting great things, I shall remain on 10m and 6m WSPR overnight tonight.   After this, I shall almost certainly switch to MF instead of 6m overnight. I am still hoping for transatlantic Es on 6m WSPR but I have not caught a single Es transatlantic opening in 2 years of trying! The ends just do not justify me continuing this venture as activity levels are too low on WSPR on 6m. In the last few months, apart from CN8 and 4X1, the WSPR spots have all been European.

Yaesu FT991 - first price drop

I see that MLS is selling the FT991 this weekend at around £150 discount. I think, with the favourable exchange rate, we will see further drops this year and I expect the price will be £999 or less before the year is out. This is a nice radio with lots of good features and I will almost certainly buy one when the price drops below £1000, but not before.

Sunspots and 10m - Fri July 31st 2015 (historic)

Sunspot number climbed to 83 (K=4) but 10m conditions remained "poor" yesterday. There was some Es on 10m, but not widespread.