Slow Slide

Very gradually, we are on the slide to the next solar minimum. As I have said many times, this is NOT the end of the usefulness of our higher HF bands. Even with no sunspots and in the depths of the solar minimum, I have worked real DX on 10m SSB QRP with simple wire antennas. Es (sporadic-E) is good especially in the summer throughout the solar cycle. Of course, as 27MHz CB proves, 10m is always useful for local nets and chats. In my view, 10m is a most (possibly the most) interesting band we have. Sometimes it behaves like a VHF band whereas at other times it is open for worldwide DX.

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

Strange sight - NOT amateur radio

Before lunch we went to nearby Reach for a walk. We were surprised to see a couple of emus walking with chickens in a village garden. It just seemed so very odd.

Swaziland on 10m

3DA0AY (9199km) in Swaziland has been spotted on 10m JT65. Swaziland is completely surrounded by South Africa. I went there a few years ago. 10m is definitely much better than yesterday.

Frosty - NOT amateur radio

Although we have had a few frosts this autumn, the one overnight was the coldest so far. Even now at 1040z, there are still signs of it. I wonder if this will be the end of our sweet peas in the garden? They were still flower and it is already well into the second half of November.

10m JT65

The return to 10m JT65 was just before breakfast. I have been spotted locally by Richard G4KPX (14km) and I have spotted EW4TT (1688km) in Belarus. F2?

UPDATE 1052z:  Now EU7FBB (1931km) has been spotted on 10m JT65.

Sunspots and 10m - Saturday November 19th 2016

Solar flux is 77 today and the sunspot number 28. K=0. Already 10m is looking better than yesterday.

Now QRT

As of a few minutes ago I went QRT. 10m was a great disappointment today. Will it be better tomorrow? 10m is full of surprises.

Autumn (again) - NOT amateur radio

We are fortunate to have several National Trust properties nearby. One of our best is Anglesey Abbey, which is about 4 miles away. In every season, there is something worth seeing in the grounds. At the moment it is the autumn colours. In the next few weeks the first daffodils will be out, then the snowdrops. There are acres and acres of grounds, some formal and some wild. Parts of the house date from the 1100s I believe.

The picture, taken on the "Winter Walk" shows a tree with incredibly tactile bark. Very many people just have to touch it.

Rallies

More UK rallies:

Sunday 20 NOVEMBER : 39th CATS RADIO & ELECTRONICS BAZAAR
Oasis Academy Coulsdon, Homefield Road, Old Coulsdon CR5 1ES This is new venue will open the doors from 10am to 2pm. Pitches are just £12.50 when paid in advance (£15 on the day) and access will be available from 8am. Admission is £1.50 and includes a tea of coffee. There will be traders, a Bring & Buy and a flea market. For more information or bookings, email enquiries@catsradio.org

Sunday 20 NOVEMBER : PLYMOUTH RADIO RALLY 2016
Harewood House, Plympton, Plymouth, Devon PL7 2AS Doors open from 10am to 2pm and admittance is £2. There will be a Bring & Buy, an RSGB bookstall, Special Interest Groups and trade stands. Catering will be available on site. More information from Sheila Hart, 2E0YSH, 01752 668 907, email sheo@fsmail.net.

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

Sunspots and 10m - Friday November 18th 2016

Solar flux is 78 today and the sunspot number 27. K=0. I hope 10m JT65 is good today.

10m JT65

After an evening and overnight on 2m JT65B I have now returned to 10m JT65A. I also checked the PC was synced to internet time. It was.

UPDATE 1245z:  As yet, no spots given or received on 10m JT65. Disappointing.

UPDATE 1658z: Only UK spots of others so far today on 10m JT65. If I am honest, this has been surprising and disappointing as I was expecting greater things on 10m JT65 today. Best spot was G4CJC (73km).

Storm risk gone, so now on 2m JT65B

As the storm risk seems to have moved away, I have gone back on the air on 2m JT65B 144.165MHz. I turned things on at 1943z. This time I remembered JT65B on 2m.

UPDATE 2202z: My thanks to G0LRD (25km) who has spotted me.

Storms later?

The early weather forecasts suggested we might have thunder here later. If so, I shall go QRT and disconnect everything including rig, PC and antenna. The risk may be low, but I am taking no chances. At the moment all is quiet, but things can soon change.

See http://www.lightningmaps.org/?lang=en .

UPDATE 1328z:  I have decided to go QRT.

Rally news

So, there are still UK rallies at this time of the year:

Saturday 19 NOVEMBER : ROCHDALE & DARS TRADITIONAL RADIO RALLY
St Vincent de Paul's, Caldershaw Road, off Edenfield Rd (A680), Norden, Rochdale OL12 7QR Talk-In will be on S22 (145.550MHz). Doors open from 10.30am with disabled visitors gaining access from 10.15am, the event usually finishes around 3pm. Set up is from 8am. The entry is £2.50 with under 12s free. Further details from Dave, G3RIK on 01706 633 400 or by email to rally@radars.me.uk. [http://radars.me.uk/rally.htm]

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

Sweet peas still growing in the garden - NOT amateur radio

It is now the second half of November and we still have sweet peas growing in the garden!

My wife cut some for the kitchen table only today. Normally, these have long gone. We have already had a couple of frosts, but they seem to have survived them. Quite remarkable. I wonder how long they will last outside?

Declining solar activity - don't give up!

There is now little doubt that we are on the slide downwards towards the next solar minimum. If the experts in solar science are to be believed, the next maximum may well be poor.

This is not the end of amateur radio on the higher bands. I have said before that I have worked some real DX on QRP SSB on 10m in years at previous minima and we now have weak signal modes like WSPR and JT65 to catch even the briefest of openings.

Certainly, bands like 10m are nothing like as easy as a few years ago, but there is often propagation when people assume the band is "dead". Also, don't forget Es is good at any point in the solar cycle. It is rare to find a day without some 10m propagation, even in the quiet years. Es tends to peak in the summer months but can (and does) appear at any point in the year as is proved with regular JT65 use on 10m.

Return to 10m JT65

Although I was on 2m JT65 last evening and overnight, I shall shortly return to 10m JT65 and do a manual resync to internet time "just in case". As we have a risk of storms this afternoon, I shall probably go QRT later this morning.

UPDATE 0932z: I have now returned to 10m JT65 and realised I was on JT65A on 2m - doh!!

UPDATE 0948z: EU7FBB (1931km) already spotted on 10m JT65 - promising.

UPDATE 1026z: My 2W QRP 10m JT65 is being spotted in Germany and Denmark.

UPDATE 1128z:  My 2W QRP 10m JT65 is getting spotted widely in northern and central Europe and I am spotting quite a few countries here too.

UPDATE 1328z: South Africa spotted on 10m JT65, but I have now gone QRT.

Sunspots and 10m - Thursday November 17th 2016

Solar flux is 79 today. Sunspot number is 18 and K=1. 10m propagation today? Anyone's guess!

UPDATE 1135z: Well there certainly has been decent European propagation on 10m JT65 this morning.

Now on 2m JT65

As I think the DX opportunities have now closed for the day on 10m, I am about to switch to 144.165Mz (USB dial) on 2m JT65. I shall stay on 2m this evening and overnight.

UPDATE 1847z: Now active on 2m JT65. Any reports would be much appreciated. Please upload to PSK Reporter Maps if possible.

Long-tail Tits - NOT amateur radio

There are fewer small birds around these days in our garden and generally, but some have become more common in recent years. Great tits seem more plentiful and here in East Anglia the long-tail tit is the most common tit to see and hear. Only just a few moments ago when I was sweeping up leaves there was a flock of long-tail tits on the lilac in the garden next door.

See http://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/bird-and-wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/l/longtailedtit/ .

Among the larger birds there are more magpies locally. Going to work, I saw not one in nearly 40 years, although now they are plentiful. Little egrets can be seen all over the place but they were rare before the late 1980s. Buzzards are now widespread in East Anglia whereas they were once a sign we'd reached Devon. Since their reintroduction, red kites can be widely seen again.

There is no doubt that we see different birds these days.

2m JT65 tonight and overnight

As I think the DX opportunities have now closed for the day on 10m, I am about to switch to 144.165Mz (USB dial) on 2m JT65. I shall stay on 2m this evening and overnight.

UPDATE 1847z: Now active on 2m JT65. Any reports would be much appreciated. Please upload to PSK Reporter Maps if possible.

No South Americans (yet) on 10m JT65

It is now 1440z and, as yet, nothing coming through from South America on 10m JT65. I am confident that there will be South American 10m JT65 spots shortly.

UPDATE  1616z: Still nothing from South America surprisingly. It is getting late in the day and it will soon be dark here.

UPDATE 1818z:  It looks like no South Americans today. Maybe this is TEP and there was no propagation to northern Europe? I shall go into the shack just in case there are stations received  on WSJT-X who did not report to PSK reporter. No, everything seems to be in order - internet time sync, software and rig all correct, just no propagation here.

Shed cleaning - NOT amateur radio

Autumn and lots of leaves! Time to put the garden to bed until the spring and clean out the shed. All the spring/summer garden furniture will go away until the spring.

It is hard to believe I got 4 bags of leaves yesterday and 2 today before this picture was taken. And still the leaves fall.

Dalham - NOT amateur radio

On the whole, where we live has few hills. We are on the highest part of our village next to the windmill and museum. Go just a few miles south and east and you are in the rolling hills of Suffolk, with some delightful villages.

This collage shows nearby Dalham, a few miles from Newmarket, Suffolk, with some beautiful "chocolate box" cottages. The picture was taken a few years ago earlier in the year.

Sunspots and 10m - Wednesday November 16th 2016

Solar flux is 76 today and the sunspot number 29. K=1. Today could be a decent day on 10m JT65, although you never know!

ZS spotted on 10m JT65

In all my time I have rarely found 10m without some sort of propagation during the day. ZS6AI (9123km) has recently been spotted here and I expect there will be South Americans again later. OK, it is not as easy as a few years ago, but there is propagation

UPDATE 1230z: ZS6AI spotted my 2W QRP on 10m JT65 about 20 minutes ago.

10m JT65

A few moments ago I returned to 10m JT65 and checked the PC was synced to internet time OK. Yesterday was disappointing with no spots given or received on 10m, although I suspect my PC or software rather than conditions. Let us hope today is more successful!

UPDATE 1050z: My 10m JT65 spots of stations in Spain and Latvia are reaching PSK Reporter Maps this morning. There is clearly European propagation around on 10m today.

UPDATE 1212z: EA3GJO (1180km) spotted my 10m JT65 (2W QRP) about 14 minutes ago. Es?

Google confirm new London HQ - NOT amateur radio

So Google has confirmed its £1billion investment in a new HQ building in London. This is good news in a post-BREXIT UK.

Big companies still see the UK as a good place to do business. There is much right with the UK.

Personally, I think the EU will face difficult times ahead. OK the UK has to find its way in the new world order, but it will. With a political swing to the right (hopefully a blip) I can see other nations wishing to leave the EU. It would not totally surprise me if the Euro loses a lot of its value in 2017. A total collapse of the EU is possible too.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-37988095 .

4m CB in Sweden

Until I read this in the Southgate News today, I had no idea that there is a 69MHz CB band in Sweden. Being just below our 4m band, this is interesting.

Weather today - NOT amateur radio

Today has been miserable. Although mild, it has been dull and "November" all day.  A week ago we visited the Botanic Gardens in Cambridge when it was sunny between the showers. November really can be a dull month.

The photo shows the Cambridge Botanic Garden early last week.

Autumnal garden - NOT amateur radio

In the last few weeks our garden has turned to autumn: leaves have fallen and now it looks autumnal or even wintery. I cannot believe how quickly things have changed. One moment it was summer and it will soon be Christmas again. The evenings start to get lighter in January, and February is short. In the meantime, I enjoy the changing seasons as "each has a beauty all of its own".

"Nature gives to every time and season some beauties of its own; and from morning to night, as from the cradle to the grave, it is but a succession of changes so gentle and easy that we can scarcely mark their progress."

Charles Dickens

See: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/c/charlesdic154061.html

Fuel going down in price - NOT amateur radio

Both Asda and Tesco (big UK supermarkets) have announced they are reducing fuel costs. The barrel price has dropped and this may be the reason. In recent months fuel prices have risen, but not in line with exchange rates worsening since the BREXIT vote. If you depend on your car for work, this is good news. It will help to reduce the inflation figures.

I guess this is a 2-edged sword as it means North Sea oil is worth less in exports. As a nation, we need to buy more UK goods and import less. We have become too reliant on imports.

Sunspots and 10m - Tuesday November 15th 2016

Solar flux is 77 today and sunspot number 26. K=1. 10m seems fine with some F2 propagation.

Back on 10m JT65

Since about 0745z I have been back on 10m JT65, but all quiet so far today with no spots yet given or received on the band. I have checked everything is working!

UPDATE 1035z: RN6 and ON spotted here in the last hour but these spots don't seem to have been uploaded to PSK reporter maps. Maybe I lost internet connectivity?

UPDATE 1918z:  Several South Americans were spotted on 10m JT65 but these spots were not uploaded to PSK Reporter Maps. Maybe there was a bug in the software? I cannot believe this was an internet connectivity issue as the other PCs worked fine. I am using WSJT-X V1.6.  I'll be on 10m JT65 again in the morning.

Doh!

At 2000z I went on 144.575MHz FM in the East Cambridgeshire net. At this time I noticed that I was not on 10m JT65 as the rig had turned off! I should have checked earlier as I may have been off much of the day. It was my fault for not checking sooner. I was looking at PSK Reporter Maps on a different PC.

I have now gone QRT.

Granddaughter's note - NOT amateur radio

Last weekend was our elder grandson's birthday. His sister stared at him and she wrote him this note!

10m JT65

At just before 0730z, I returned to 10m JT65 with 2W QRP. As yet no spots.

UPDATE 1236z: Still no spots given or received on 10m JT65.

UPDATE 1900z: No spots (given or received) all day on 10m JT65. This has been one of the worst days on 10m JT65 this autumn. Mind you, it seems to confirm that if the South Americans are coming through by TEP, you need some means of extending this to northern Europe.

Sunspots and 10m - Monday November 14th 2016

Solar flux is 79. Sunspot number is 13. K=3. Yesterday, quite a few South Americans were spotted here on 10m JT65. Conditions today look broadly similar, albeit the sunspot count is lower.

Beginnings - NOT amateur radio

Flete House, where I was born. Always impresses! Actually it was a nursing home after WW2 for many years. Now posh flats. I like to say I was born in a stately home - well I was! If I bought one of the flats I could die where I was born.

Trump's Wall - NOT amateur radio

Partly a fence now. Mr Trump changing his mind or influenced by his peers? It will be interesting to see his policies when he is in charge.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-us-2016-37969112