QSYed to 40m WSPR (from 10m WSPR)

I QSYed down to 40m WSPR around 2010z but only EU spots so far.

UPDATE 2238z:  The first USA 40m WSPR spot (of my 2W) was by N2NOM (5581km) at 2110z.

Kingsbridge, Devon passageways - NOT amateur radio

I spent about 10 years living in Kingsbridge, Devon. It has some famous "backways".  I see this paper, of interest to those who know this Devon town, was written by the local U3A (University of the Third Age) group.

See http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache%3ArQmow_WwQ5wJ%3Au3asites.org.uk%2Ffiles%2Fk%2Fkingsbridgeestuary%2Fdocs%2Fkingsbridgepassageways.pdf+&cd=25&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk

USA on 10m WSPR again

Well, I was right. W1VR (6965km) was spotted here on 10m WSPR at 1450z. So, the band did open to the USA today. I was not too surprised. No spots of my signal, well not yet anyway. I am convinced that these brief openings would go unnoticed without WSPR.

UPDATE 1736z:  Still just the single spot of a USA station here today on 10m WSPR.

Morrisons via Amazon - NOT amateur radio

Morrisons is signing a deal to sell its food via Amazon in the UK. Does this spell the beginning of the end of the high street as we knew it?  I have to confess to buying quite a few things via Amazon, but never food.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-35684829  .

Shortwave interval and announcement signals

Nostalgia time!

See https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/15047843/SWintervalsigs.mp3 .

I first shared this some years ago, but I guarantee these sounds will bring a tear to some eyes.

I cannot recall where I found this recording and I hope the originator won't mind me sharing it here.

These are shortwave interval/announcement signals now long gone. For many of us I think these sounds will bring back happy memories. The communist broadcasters tried hard, but I was more interested in the interval signals than their propaganda. 

No, it is not the same these days.

Sunspots and 10m - Mon Feb 29th 2016

Don't forget this is a Leap Year!

Solar flux is 93 today and sunspot number 38 (K=0). Yet again the forecast for 10m propagation remains "poor".  Despite the forecast, I remain quietly hopeful that this will prove to be quite a decent day on 10m WSPR.

10m WSPR overnight

At some point my shack PC decided to close the WSPR programme, presumably to install updates, but I was pleased and surprised to see M0XDC (65km) was spotted in the early hours of the morning. Judging by the Doppler, I think this was aircraft reflection.  Although I'm unsure when the program stopped I turned the PC and WSPR program on again at around 0700z and checked time sync.

QRP Club News (from Oleg)

From Oleg...

Dear Club 72 members and friends,
This  week  QRP  Rendez-Vous visitors: UR7VT, UA1ASB, UA1CEG, SM2FIJ, OM6TC,  DF2IC,  F5SYC,  DL8NBG,  UA1CEX, G3UD, HB9DAX, UR0ET, OH6NPV, RU3NJC, ON6KZ, RA1M, RX3DOE, G6HUI, R2FAE, RW3AA, RV3GM, SP5AKO, RW3X, UA0SBQ, RN4W, M3WCK
DL8NBG became "rendezvous" Frequenter - Congrats!
See full Visitors and Frequenter lists at Club 72 web page.
Welcome QRP operators to QRP Rendez-Vous "round tables", see schedule
- www.club72.su
72! Oleg RV3GM / KH6OB "Mr. 72"

Ebola nurse released from hospital - NOT amateur radio

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-glasgow-west-35683091  .

The British nurse who was in hospital 3 times because of Ebola has been released from hospital. They say she is not infectious.

Still on 10m WSPR

Although the chance of international DX has now passed on 10m, I am sticking with 10m WSPR overnight in the (faint?) chance of catching some GDX or near continentals by tropo or aircraft reflection during the night.

UPDATE 2212z:  No stations spotted on 10m WSPR since 1738z.  It will be interesting to see how soon stations are spotted on 10m WSPR in the morning.

Chippenham Park, Chippenham, Cambs - NOT amateur radio.

This afternoon the sun was shining and we fancied a different walk, so we visited Chippenham Park (sometimes called Hare Park), at Chippenham, Cambs. This is a private property but it is open to the public on certain days. The spring flowers were out. Kings Edward VII and George V came here for shooting parties in the early 1900s.

Don't confuse this with Chippenham in Wiltshire. This park is surrounded by a wall that would have cost a small fortune when it was built centuries ago. The wall is many miles long

AmateurRadio.com

There is some good stuff on these pages. Today, for example, are some tips on how to organise RF connectors. I fall into the "disorganised" category just shoving mine in a drawer, although I do not have that many.

See http://www.amateurradio.com/  .

Solar data link working

See http://www.solen.info/solar/ .

I was very pleased to find this link worked fine today. I find this site a great resource. I hope others do too. Maybe they had a short-term issue? 

Looking at the data, the smoothed sunspot number has almost halved since the peak. 10m conditions are still quite good on many days though and it is far too soon to give up on the band.

Sunspots and 10m - Sun Feb 28th 2016

Solar flux is 90 today and sunspot number 37 (K=2). The propagation forecast for 10m remains "poor" again. I have been on 10m WSPR (was on 40m WSPR) since about 1015z.

UPDATE 1032z:  Unsurprisingly, no 10m WSPR spots, as yet, apart from an exchange with local G4KPX (14km).

UPDATE 1148z:   Only Gs on 10m WSPR this morning. G8VDQ (93km) has just been spotted. 

Return to 40m WSPR

Since returning to 40m WSPR (from 10m WSPR earlier this evening) I have been spotted in the USA several times and have spotted XP3A (3206km) in GP44de a couple of times. This is Nuuk in Greenland.

Kit Building Page of Chuck Adams, K7QO

A useful page explaining kit building techniques at K7QO.

See http://www.k7qo.net/k7qo-kits.html.

Only Gs on 10m here today

Today has been disappointing on 10m WSPR with just G stations copied so far. I shall stay on the band until after dark, but I fear no DX spots will be exchanged on 10m WSPR today. This is a great pity. I am sure a lot has to do with fewer stations and not conditions. I'll be back on 10m tomorrow after breakfast.

UPDATE 1900z:  G4CUI (172km) has been spotted several times this evening by what looks like aircraft reflections on 10m WSPR. I shall probably QSY shortly but I have not yet decided onto what band.

UPDATE 1620z: So far on 10m WSPR just one non G spot by EA8/LA3JJ (2870km) around lunchtime. I also spotted him. I assume this was single hop F2. The question is will we see any USA spots on 10m WSPR later?

Windmill - NOT amateur radio

This is the view from our lounge window. The photo was taken through the glass. The wind is from the east, so cold. The windmill is nearly 200 years old.

The buildings on the right are our local museum open Thursdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays Easter-October. Our grandchildren love it. The windmill forms part of the museum.

See http://www.burwellmuseum.org.uk/ .

Heathkits

The resurrected Heathkit company has launched a dual band antenna.  As much as I want them to succeed is this the best they can do?

They absolutely have to produce decent kits at decent prices or they will not survive. Their offerings so far do not exactly set the world alight. No, the offerings so far have not excited me. Years ago I started out with a Heathkit  Electronics Workshop. Years later I had an HW8 which gave me loads of contacts with small wire antennas.

Please, think of your potential customer base, think about prices, and look at your competitors. I have no doubt a few loyal USA customers will support you, but far far more is needed in the competitive world of the 21st century.

Amazingly low cost Chinese kits

See http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/262131628596?adgroupid=13585920426&hlpht=true&hlpv=2&rlsatarget=pla-131843262066&adtype=pla&ff3=1&lpid=122&poi=&ul_noapp=true&limghlpsr=true&googleloc=1006598&device=c&chn=ps&campaignid=207297426&crdt=0&ff12=67&ff11=ICEP3.0.0-L&ff14=122&viphx=1&ops=true&ff13=80

There are some amazing bargains on eBay. The link above is for a full Pixie 40m CW transceiver kit with sockets, PCB, IC and crystal all for £2.30 delivered free. There are other kits available including the Frog which is more expensive but has more power and a better RX. Last year I bought a 40m Pixie kit from a different Chinese supplier and it worked well first time on the air.

You'd be very hard pressed to buy the crystal for the price of the full kit delivered free.  With these sort of prices it is hard to go wrong.

Shaking off a cold - NOT amateur radio

I have had a cold for a week now. Last weekend I was rough with it and felt really under the weather. A week later, although I no longer feel unwell, I still have a runny nose. It is taking longer to shake off the symptoms. It is some years since I last recall having a classic cold.

Sunspots and 10m - Sat Feb 27th 2016

Solar flux is 89 today and sunspot number 41 (K=2). Predictions for 10m propagation remain "poor" although they were "poor" yesterday and I managed to be spotted, and spotted others, in Australia with 2W on 10m WSPR yesterday! I always treat these forecasts with a degree of skepticism and the band often supports DX when it seems quiet. Use WSPR and find out.

UPDATE 1102z:  So far the only 10m spot this morning is of G8VDQ (93km) who I think was coming in via aircraft reflection judging by the Doppler, from IO91um.

Switched to 10m WSPR

All night I was on 40m WSPR, but since 1007z I switched to 10m WSPR. Several spots from the USA on 40m WSPR again.

40m WSPR

At 1905z, with all chance of 10m WSPR DX gone, I QSYed to 40m WSPR. There have been plenty of spots of my signal but I have only spotted one other station so far tonight because of my high local noise floor.

UPDATE 2240z:  Stations in the USA are again spotting my 2W 40m WSPR to an antenna that is far from any good for DX on 40m. It will be interesting to see how many USA stations spot me on 40m WSPR.

10m WSPR GDX

Since this morning the only spots on 10m WSPR have been G stations with the latest being G8VDQ (93km).  I suspect this is tropo and aircraft reflection. No international DX spots since this morning on 10m WSPR.

7-day high - NOT amateur radio

Last weekend I was away staying with one of our sons with limited internet access. Yesterday, the number of visitors to this blog was at a weekly high again.

In the past I have been able to update the blogs using my Apple iPod Touch 4g and Safari, but this no longer works for some reason. So, unless I take a PC with me I have to wait until I get back home.

Yet another stroke after-effect - NOT amateur radio

I have mentioned this before, but I seem far slower at noticing errors than in the past.

As an example I used the Roman phrase caveat emptor on my blog yesterday. Only a day later when this appeared on AmateurRadio.com did I notice that I had the wrong spelling caveat emtor . On my blog I have corrected the mistake, but I had not seen it! Sometimes it is a keying error, but I should have noticed this.

Sunspots and 10m - Fri Feb 26th 2016

Solar flux is 90 today and sunspot number 26 (K=1). The forecast for 10m propagation today remains "poor". I have been on 10m WSPR since breakfast but no spots given or received as yet.

UPDATE 1030z:  It helps to check the right band on WSPRnet - not 20m.  10m WSPR stations in Australia have been spotted yet again today and I have (yet again) been spotted in Australia this time by VK5AKK  (16231km) and G4CUI (172km) has spotted me.

20m JT9-1

As 10m WSPR appeared dire here this afternoon, I QSYed down to 20m and had a 2-way QSO using JT9-1 with  SP6EIY.  My power was 2W.

I have now gone on 20m WSPR so I can monitor in the lounge and enjoy a cup of tea.  These are the 20m WSPR spots so far.

UPDATE 1830z:  Several 20m WSPR spots from the USA, both received and given. I shall probably QSY to 40m WSPR later.

UPDATE 2020z:   Still lots of 20m WSPR spots from Canada and the  USA. For now, I shall remain on 20m.

UPDATE 2130z:   The last 20m USA WSPR spot was at 2106z from K3SC (5869km), so I am staying on 20m for now, whilst the band is still open E-W.

Migrants trying to reach the UK - NOT amateur radio

Mixed views. I do not like unrestricted EU access into the UK and firmly believe it is up to the UK to decide who can live and work here. At the same time I feel so sorry for the true refugees who have fled war and conflict who wish to come to the UK for a peaceful life. Some of these people are really desperate.  In all conflicts it is the children who suffer the most. One woman is trying to make life in Calais just a little better for some children.  She is trying to raise money to buy a double-decker bus to convert.

If you would like to help just a little see https://crowdfunding.justgiving.com/sophie-besse-bus?comment_id=1325867307439276&fb_comment_id=1324719837554023_1325867307439276#f30de133eed222e

Whatever your views, the little ones are the innocent victims. Life can be cruel and hard. You could help just a little?

More QRP Club News

More from Oleg...

Dear Club 72 members and friends,

just  reminder  about  QRP  Rendez-Vous  round  table  in  Tuesdays,
Thursdays,  Saturdays  at  9.00  UTC  around  14060  kc +/- QRP, QRL,
RIT/xtal (alternative 10116 kc for Contests QRM).
Comments and reports appreciated to "mr72" e-mail

72! Oleg RV3GM / KH6OB "Mr. 72"
 

Continued stroke after-effects - NOT amateur radio

One of the post stroke effects I think I have mentioned before is driving the car.  I have done some quite longish drives in the last year but my brain "feels" like I am going faster than I am. To me, 40mph feels like 50mph and 50mph feels like 60mph. So, I drive at slower speeds than I did.  I have no idea why this should be so. I assume this is to do with the way my brain is processing data.

Also, time seems to be different. I take longer to do things and yet time seems to be going along faster - but this may just be me getting older!

So far, all very quiet on 10m WSPR

At the moment (1242z) this looks like being another very quiet day here on 10m WSPR with no spots at all so far! I remember a few days ago when 10m WSPR seemed quiet and then I got a spot from Texas. I shall stay on the 10m band until this evening, ever hopeful.

If there is no long distance DX, it would be good to see some DX inter-G.  In the past I have spotted, and been spotted, on 10m WSPR out to about 250km by a combination of tropo and aircraft reflection.

After dark, I shall QSY to either a MF or lower HF band.

UPDATE 1344z:  Still no 10m spots.

More on the IC7300

See http://sdr-radio.com/Blog/ArticleID/25/ICOMs-IC-7300 .

The UK pound to Yen exchange rate has deteriorated lately, although I think this will recover.

The blog linked above seems to have a good collection of links and data on the ICOM radio. Although announced, I don't think it on the market yet. Dealers are keen to take a deposit so they know they have "reeled you in".  It also allows them to judge likely demand and quantities to stock. If the price is right, this should sell well in all markets.

But,  please, can we have the 10W version in Europe?

Useful propagation charts

This series of charts (change months and bands as required) is a useful guide to HF propagation. Like all such forecasts, caveat emptor as they said in Rome. I think this comes from G0KYA.  See http://www.infotechcomms.net/propcharts/february/ .

Another source for solar data was http://www.solan.info/solar , but when I last checked this page had gone. I am not sure what happened. All I get now is a link for hotels!

Another source (which works) is http://www.solarham.net/ .

As you know, I try to add current data on my blog most days. This comes from http://www.hamqsl.com/solar.html .

Somewhere in this lot you should find the data you need.

Sunspots and 10m - Thurs Feb 25th 2016

Solar flux is dropping and is 89 today.  Sunspot number has risen a little to 39 (K=2).  The forecast for 10m propagation remains "poor".

UPDATE 1040z:  Unsurprisingly, zero spots on 10m so far today.  I have been on 10m WSPR about 30 minutes so far only.

40m WSPR DX overnight

There were quite a few spots of my 2W 40m WSPR overnight by stations in the USA, although nothing from further afield.  I managed to copy quite  few stations too, presumably when my noise floor was lower locally.

I have now QSYed to 10m WSPR for the day.

40m WSPR DX

Since early evening, I have been on 40m WSPR rather than 10m WSPR. My signals were spotted by W4MO (7272km) and this is the best DX on the band so far. My antenna is very low for 40m.

Guided Busway - NOT amateur radio

Today, my wife and I took the guided busway up to St Ives, Cambridgeshire. With our bus passes the trip was free.

The sun shone and we ate out inexpensively in the cafe at the URC church which is in the heart of the town. Food, service and prices were excellent.

St Ives is on the River Great Ouse and has some fine buildings.

Australia yet again on 10m WSPR today

Yet again, despite the low sunspot number  and "poor" prediction for 10m propagation, I have been spotted in Australia by VK2KRR (16789km) at 0914z. There has been plenty of short-skip activity from Europe on 10m already. 10m is still good.