QST - thank you Rupert

Rupert G4XRV very kindly sent me a copy of September QST. Rupert reads my blog from time to time and saw that I had not seen the magazine in which my recent article appeared. This was very kind and much appreciated. Thank you Rupert.

Counting Sheep? - NOT amateur radio

This was one of my grandsons at our local farm shop and cafe. I wonder if he was counting sheep trying to get to sleep? He is eight, nearly nine.

Fun at the fair - NOT amateur radio

On Monday we went to the Fenland Country Fair.

Our grandchildren (5 and 8 years old) went on the helter-skelter twice. For the younger one, it was her first time.

They go home tomorrow.

Operating today

I decided to go on 10m WSPR (500mW) and 6m JT65 (1W ERP) today. 10m has been very quiet here but I had a number of UK spots of my QRP JT65 signal on 6m.  My best report on 6m JT65 was from G0VUH (157km). So far, I have seen no evidence of Es here yet on either band.

Sunspots and 10m - Wednesday August 31st 2016

Solar flux is 99 and the sunspot number 64 today. K=2. The forecast for 10m F2 propagation remains "poor".

No Internet

Yesterday, we had no internet, so no posts were possible. I am very sorry. It is back today, so I hope to post more later, if the internet carries on working!

10m JT65 - South America yet again

PU2TWU (9572km) spotted me a little while ago on 10m JT65. I spotted EA8 (Canaries) about an hour ago. The latter could have been Es or F2. This is in the same direction as the South American station who spotted me. I am amazed how regularly I get spotted on 10m JT65 in South America with just 2W.  My antenna is low and nothing special, so I hope my results encourage others to try 10m QRP.

Fenland Country Fair - NOT amateur radio

We have grandchildren here this week. Today, we went to the Fenland Country Fair at nearby Stow-cum-Quy, where we have been for several years.

Sadly, the toy Land Rovers (electric cars) were not there. Our grandson enjoys driving these.

They went on lots of rides and enjoyed their ice creams!

QRP and QRPclub

More from Oleg:

"Dear Club 72 members and friends,
Weekly QRP Rendez-Vous report (August 22 to 28, 2016)
Visitors  of  the  week: R2FAE, UR0ET, Z35M/p, OH6NPV, RV3GM, IU4HGH, US3EN,  DL1YAY,  RU3NJC,  R1CAF, OK1KW, EA2DT, IZ8FNY, UA1ASB, G3XJS, UR5EFD,  EW1CY,  UA1CEG,  OK1ITK,  DK5TM,  HB9FAB/p, OE5EIN/p, RD3DN, OH5LP, US5ERQ
OE5EIN became Frequenter of the QRP Rendez-Vous round tables
See full report with comments/pictures on the blog page - http://qrp-club72.blogspot.ru/
Thanks to all for activity and comments! See all QRP stations in next week  Tuesday,  Thursday,  Saturday  at  9.00  UTC on 14060 (10116 if contest). Results, comments, reports, pictures are welcome.
72! Oleg RV3GM / KH6OB "Mr. 72" "

Sunspots and 10m - Monday August 29th 2016

Solar flux is 87 today. Sunspot number is 64. K=2 . Yet again, the forecast for 10m F2 propagation is "poor".

Brazil (yet again) on 10m JT65

https://pskreporter.info/pskmap.html

PU1PJR (9573km) and PT9IR (9662km) were recently spotted on 10m JT65. It remains to be seen if my 2W JT65 on 10m makes it to deepest South America this evening. Most times I've been on in recent weeks I have spotted, or been spotted, deep into South America on 10m JT65.

UPDATE 1930z: LU2FGL (11167km) in FF97 square was the best DX spotted on 10m JT65 this evening at 1902z.

UPDATE 2036z: With 4 different South Americans spotted on 10m JT65 (the latest was Paraguay), this is the best DX on the band for some time. I am still curious about the Es link as there was good Es in the right direction.

Rally today

Milton Keynes Amateur Radio Society 2016 Rally 

Sunday 28th August 2016

The Irish Centre, Manor Fields, Watling Street, Bletchley, MK2 2HX(Opposite Dobbies Garden Centre - see map below)
ENTRANCE FEE £3.00 - FREE PARKING
The Milton Keynes Amateur Radio Society (MKARS) annual radio rally is to be held at this superb new location, which has excellent modern facilities together with free on site parking, indoor catering, a public bar and disabled facilities.
OPEN TO THE PUBLIC FROM 10AM
The new venue is located on the edge of Fenny Stratford on Watling Street.
From M1 Junction 13 - 7 miles (approx. 16 mins)
From M1 Junction 14 - 6.4 miles (approx. 15 mins)
Follow MKARS signs from the A5 roundabout Fenny Stratford 
TALK IN ON 145.550MHZ (S22)
Indoor trade stalls, club stall, electronics components tools and accessories. Antenna and rigging hardware, computer and electronics surplus.
Disabled parking area

AFTERWARDS WHY NOT VISIT THE RSGB NATIONAL RADIO CENTRE AT NEARBY BLETCHLEY PARK

Return to 10m JT65

A short while ago, I QSYed back to 10m JT65 from 6m. There is more chance of  DX on 10m especially this afternoon and evening.

UPDATE 1246z: We had a little rain about 30 minutes ago, but the weather looks good for most of the week ahead. We have grandchildren here, which is good.

UPDATE 1304z: Since returning to 10m I have not been spotted, or spotted, anyone yet!

UPDATE 1500z:  All the 10m JT65 spots were Es at breakfast time, with nothing since, as yet.

Our garden - NOT amateur radio

Our garden is better in spring when the blossom is freshly out.

Our grass is going brown in places as we had quite a decent August after a poor start to summer. It always recovers after some rain.

The picture shows me next to one of our rowan trees in our garden with the windmill in the background. Richard G3TFX took the photo. He thinks I should string a long wire to the top of the mill! Of course the top and sails turn to face the wind. It moves several times in a week. Currently the sails are facing west. In this picture they are facing south.

5MHz

Southgate News reports that the SARL is trying to get a 100kHz slot at 5MHz. I think this is wise. A larger contiguous band would be so much more useful than the 15kHz worldwide allocation that was granted at WRC 2015. I hope CEPT countries try for a 100kHz wide 5MHz band. It could happen that quite a few countries allocate a 100kHz wide band on a secondary basis to the amateur service. In the coming quiet solar years this could become an important band.

New rig - not at the moment

I was going to invest in an IC7300, but, for the moment, I have decided not to bother. The FT817 serves me well and I am not that interested in running more power. If the price drops a lot I might think again.  The FT817 certainly serves my needs on 10m and 6m JT65 even on the middle power setting. I also have a transverter for 630m (see my design in the latest QST). I also have a stand-alone 500mW WSPR beacon for 10m.

Es - don't give up!

With another day with respectable Es on both 10m and 6m, the Es season is not yet over. OK there are probably fewer openings than a few months ago, but there are openings and when these bands are good for Es they are good. I recommend WSPR or JT65 as a way of detecting these openings. I find JT65 better on 6m as the levels of activity are greater. WSPR is theoretically able to work with even weaker signals. JT9-1 works on 10m and occupies far less bandwidth than JT65, which is already quite narrow and much better than CW.

UPDATE 1155z:  Quite a few Es spots from Europe on 6m JT65. I'll probably switch to 10m JT65 shortly.

UPDATE 1825z: 10m Es has returned. Just been spotted in Sweden.

Sunspots and 10m - Sunday August 28th 2016

Solar flux is a respectable 84 today and the sunspot number is 52. K=1. The forecast for 10m F2 propagation remains "poor". With promising Es, all is not lost.

Early Es on 10m and 6m

I stayed on 10m JT65 overnight but switched to 6m JT65 around 0800z. There has been early Es on both bands, which is encouraging.

Chile - best DX tonight on 10m JT65

https://pskreporter.info/pskmap.html

Quite late tonight at 2116z I copied CA3LMO (11745km) in Chile on 10m JT65. This was way after dark too.  The rig is still on, so further DX is still possible.

UPDATE 2145z:  Lots of European Es now. This was very late but it is as good as any day this season now.

Storm risk gone - 6m JT65 in the morning (probably)

The storm risk has moved away over the Wash and into the North Sea. There are still storms in north Norfolk but they are moving away NE. So, I shall remain on 10m JT65 this evening.  I could stay on overnight, but I shall probably go QRT later and come back tomorrow breakfast time on 6m JT65. There are fewer DX opportunities on 6m than 10m but more Gs on 6m than 10m JT65.

10m - an amazing band!

OK, so the sun is less active now but 10m is still filled with surprises! After a fairly average day with a few Es spots on JT65 from Scandinavia I get spotted in Southern Brazil! Now the band is open to Latvia, Sweden, Finland and Belarus to name a few, presumably by Es.

Football - NOT amateur radio

My old "local" team, Plymouth Argyle, had a dreadful start to the football season but have now won the last 3 games and are currently in the play-off places. Mind you, it is very early days. My current "local" team, Cambridge United, is currently at the very bottom of the league. Unless they buck up they could lose their league place at the end of the season.

Brazil (again) on 10m JT65

Another theory bites the dust....

PU2POP (9582km) has copied my QRP 10m JT65 in the last 20 minutes. As there was very little 10m Es here, this suggests F layer only. I was not expecting to reach South America today, although I was hopeful.

UPDATE 1545z:  10m Es now to Sweden and Finland.

UPDATE 1608z:  The storms seem to have missed us, passing over Peterborough and Northampton. Mind you, I am still watching the maps with concern as I think there could be further risks later. New Es from Scandinavia in the last few minutes.

Back on air - 10m JT65

Whilst keeping one eye on the storm map, I have returned to JT65, this time on 10m, hoping to catch some DX to South America. Judging by the lack of Es in the right direction, I'd be quite surprised if my QRP 10m JT65 got that far today.

At the moment, the storms are giving us a miss, although things will get disconnected as soon as the risk increases. See http://www.lightningmaps.org/?lang=en .

UPDATE 1505z:  A few minutes ago I was spotted on 10m JT65 by SM5EPO (1347km). Es I assume.

Rally on Bank Holiday Monday

Monday 29 AUGUST : HUNTINGDONSHIRE ARS ANNUAL RALLY
Ernulf Academy, St. Neots PE19 2SH Further info from rally organiser Malcolm Hirst on 01480 214282 or by email to henry_hirst@hotmail.com

A list of rallies can be found at http://rsgb.org/main/news/rallies/

Remember to contact the organisers to check details if travelling any distance.

Gone QRT

There are thunderstorms moving up the country. At the moment these are tracking west of Cambridge but I have disconnected everything for now. I'll re-assess the risks later.

Before closing down I spotted 4 different UK stations and was spotted by 2 UK stations on 6m JT65. Up to now, I have seen no 6m Es today. When I reconnect things I'll probably come back on 10m JT65.

UPDATE 1240z:  It looks like the storms are passing well west of us and we will miss them. It is just starting to spit the odd rain spot. I'll give it an hour then re-assess things.

UPDATE 1252z:  Presently, the storm is over March up in the Fens and moving away and nowhere near us.

UPDATE 1402z:  We seem to have missed this one. See http://www.convectiveweather.co.uk/forecast.php?date=2016-08-27 .

UPDATE 1408z:  Instead of amateur radio we went picking blackberries, plums, apples and runner beans in the orchard next door. The owner is away and said, "help yourselves".

Sunspots and 10m - Saturday August 27th 2016

Solar flux is 82 today. Sunspot number is 44. K=1. Yet again the forecast for 10m F2 propagation remains "poor".

6m and 10m JT65 today

As most 10m DX seems to be late evening and afternoon, I decided to go on 6m at present. I was briefly on 10m JT65 first thing. Already I have been spotted bt a couple of UK stations on 6m and I have spotted some Gs too including G0GGG (241km).

There is an outside chance of storms after lunch, so I am keeping  a watching brief.

Now QRT - storm risk

With the possibility of storms overnight I have decided to go QRT and disconnect antennas, PC and plugs. Tomorrow I shall re-assess the risks.

Amateur Satellites

Next year, if all goes to plan, we may have an amateur satellite in a geosynchronous orbit permitting long distance propagation at almost any time day or night. As the solar activity declines, this could be a lifeline.  I have little experience of amateur satellites and only had a single QSO via a low orbit satellite. Geosynchronous should mean lower Doppler and hours of operation whereas low orbit satellites go out of range within 20 minutes. Years ago I recall the excitement of hearing US and Canadians on Oscar 6 and 7 on 2m. Being on microwave bands should mean much greater transponder bandwidths. Also, dishes can be fixed as the satellite will always be in the same place in the sky like a TV satellite.

Brazil on 10m JT65 today

Well my theory about Es and F layer over the equator being needed to reach Brazil on 10m at this time of year seems to be holding up, after a fashion.   PY2IQ (9585km) in Sao Paulo was copied at 1916z. There was some Es today, although not much. As the autumn "kicks in" we may see more South Americans by F2.

UK Rally

Sunday 28 AUGUST : MILTON KEYNES ARS RALLY
The MK Irish Centre, Manor Fields, Watling Street, Bletchley, Milton Keynes MK2 2HX (Opposite Dobbies Garden Centre) The doors open at 10am and admission is £3. There will be a talk in station on the air. There will be trade stands, special interest groups and local clubs. A licenced bar and catering will be available on site. More details from Roy, G8RCK on 0786 667 3192 www.mkars.org.uk/mkars/rally

A list of rallies can be found at http://rsgb.org/main/news/rallies/

I get sent this news and reproduce it in good faith, but always advice contacting the organisers before travelling any distance just in case it is cancelled or there is a date change.

10m JT65

With the risk of storms low all day, I turned things back on at breakfast, but nothing on 10m JT65 as yet.

I had trouble with my shack PC initially: it refused to connect to the wi-fi and said it was not set up to automatically connect. I have never had a problem before and in the past it did! Another Windows 10 update? Anyway it is set to connect automatically again and all seems well. I checked internet time sync too.

UPDATE 0916z: I see that I was spotted in Italy on 10m JT65 by IZ0AIS (1506km) about 18 minutes ago. I assume this is Es. He spotted me again later. JT65 is a good mode, especially for me with my very poor voice. As well as beaconing, it also allows QRP QSOs. It is some 10dB better than CW, so ideal for QRP.

UPDATE 1850z:  Just a little Es today on 10m JT65 - a couple of Italians spotted me and I spotted one station in northern Spain. In addition to these, G0LRD - a local - spotted me. As there is a thunder risk tomorrow I shall go QRT tonight and disconnect everything.

Sunspots and 10m - Friday August 26th 2016

Solar flux is 80 today, little changed from yesterday. Sunspot number is 39. K=2.  The forecast for 10m F2 propagation remains (yes you guessed) "poor". As yet, I have seen no Es here.

Low storm risk

According to my maps, the nearest lightning is off the coast of Yorkshire and in the Bay of Biscay, so no risk hereabouts at present. I'll stay on 10m JT65 for now but keep an eye on the storm map, ready to disconnect things if the need should arise.

UPDATE 2204z: The lightning maps show storms coming in our general direction, but still some way off. They may miss us, but I shall disconnect everything just in case.

UPDATE 2212z:  Everything is now off and disconnected, but I found the PC mains was not on so the PC went to sleep and had turned itseld and the WSJT-X software off! So the lack of Es may have been me, due to the PC not being on! Doh! Sometimes me thinks I have a very small brain. Anyway, assuming there is no storm risk tomorrow, I shall be on 10m JT65 at breakfast time.

Swifts gone - NOT amateur radio

It is now several weeks since I last saw (and heard) swifts overhead. I guess they have started their journeys south to warmer climes. For a few months they are an English summer. Then one day you realise they have gone. I miss them and look forward to their return next May.

I think I mentioned before that I had the rare privilege of holding a swift many years ago when one landed accidentally in the road. We kept it in a box overnight and fed it insects. The next day it just flew away. They really are lovely birds.

Farewell and safe journeying over land and sea. See you next year.

Rotten apple - NOT amateur radio

Rotten Apple

Our neighbour has a large garden with an orchard of apples and plums. This rotten apple was on the ground under one of his apple trees.

Windmill next door - NOT amateur radio

"Our" windmill

We are very lucky to have a restored windmill next door. We can see this whilst we eat breakfast and out of the lounge window. Not many have a view of a windmill. This is the view from our neighbour's garden.

Grandchildren

All being well, our "London" grandchildren are here next week. We love seeing all our grandchildren, but I shall be very exhausted by next Friday.

It means amateur radio takes a back seat for the duration, although I shall still be able to use JT65 or WSPR during the day-time. I'll probably be on 10m JT65 day-times.