Packhorse Bridge - NOT amateur radio

On Monday, I mentioned in an earlier posting that we went out to nearby Moulton for a meal with my brother. Moulton is a small village not far from Newmarket. It has a famous, very old, packhorse bridge as it was once the main route from Cambridge to Bury St Edmunds. Packhorses went over the bridge and horses and carriages went across the ford. The bridge dates from the 13th or 14th century and is a mix of brick and stone.

Geomagnetic Storms?

Southgate News reports that a minor geomagnetic storm (G1) which may result in good auroras is likely.

10m JT65 and overnight on 630m WSPR

Overnight I was on 630m (472kHz) WSPR but nothing new. I did get copied again (many times) by DL-SWL (701km) when using the 5mW ERP, but I am spotting, and being spotted, by the same few stations. There certainly appear to be fewer on this band and mode than this time last year. I wonder if I should try beaconing in JT9-1 on MF? Any advice?

For about 20 minutes now I have been back on 10m JT65 but no spots as yet.

UPDATE 1305z:  No spots yet today on 10m JT65 here.

Sunspots and 10m - Thursday December 8th 2016

My source is around today!

Solar flux is 77 today and the sunspot number has dropped to 18. A=11 and K=3.

10m today? It should be no goos, but I am often surprised.  Keep 10m JT65 or WSPR running as you never know!

Solar data

As I have been  unable to bring you solar data from the normal source today, try this one: http://www.solen.info/solar/ .

Solar data late again

My source of solar data is still showing yesterday's details even at 1344z, so I have yet to update the sunspot and solar flux information. Sorry.

UPDATE 1830z:  Still not updated, so I shall not be showing sunspot and solar activity today, unless I find another source.

Return to 10m JT65

After a reasonable evening and night on 472kHz WSPR, I have now returned to 10m JT65. On472kHz WSPR the best DX least evening on RX was DJ0ABR (983km) and the best DX on TX (5mW ERP) was DL-SWL (701km). As yet no spots on 10m JT65.

UPDATE 1340z: EA8GF (2973km) has spotted me on 10m JT65.

New version of WSJT-X software (v1.7)

If you are like me, you will enjoy weak signal modes like WSPR and JT65. There is a new beta version out, WSJT V1.7-rc3, which includes some new modes. This is still beta so there could still be a few buglets. I shall probably download it later and give it a try.

My thanks to Bob G3WKW for bringing this to my attention. For the last year I have used WSJT-X V1.6 on JT65 and WSPR. It has worked well.

2m UKAC this evening

I could only manage about 30 minutes this evening as my voice was poor and we had a guest staying. Best DX 151km, although I could have worked more had I stayed on. Activity was high. As usual I was using 5W and a big-wheel omni antenna.

OFCOM Updates

OFCOM has produced a Dec 2016 update. Merry Christmas.

See http://ofcom.cmail19.com/t/ViewEmail/i/96987FB7F93EAA95/59D1BD3EA2F08127C67FD2F38AC4859C