137kHz

This winter, I went on 137kHz WSPR RX for the first time at this QTH. I used my earth-electrode antenna in the ground. Really, I ought to try TXing from this QTH. One possibility is my TX transverter on my website (see schematic). I used this at the old QTH before my 2013 stroke with best DX 250km.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/mflf/137khz_tvrtr

Daytime 472kHz

For about 20 minutes now, I have been on 472kHz WSPR RX in the daylight. So far just several spots of G8GPO (36km) and one of  PA3ABK (306km).

UPDATE 1944z: LA2XPA (1340km) is the best DX spotted so far. 8 uniques so far today.

Trumped? - NOT amateur radio

Someone I know works for Qualcomm in California. Apparently President Trump was worried by a possible takeover by Broadcom of Singapore. They have now withdrawn their offer I understand according to the BBC.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-43401675 .

472kHz WSPR RX last night

Yesterday evening I was on 630m (472kHz) WSPR RX. In all, 9 unique stations spotted, although I went QRT at bedtime and did not look overnight.

King's - NOT amateur radio

Living near Cambridge, we see many famous places that people travel the world to see. We can get in free too. One such is the world famous King's College Chapel shown here.

Sunspots - Monday March 19th 2018

Solar flux is 69 today and the sunspot number 13. A=25 and K=4.

Friedrichshafen - June 2018

Although I have never been, this "rally" in Germany is probably the biggest in Europe.  It is often the place where new products are introduced to Europe for the first time. I expect Yaesu will have the underwhelming FT818 there. WiMo will not be there sadly. Perhaps ICOM will announce a new product? The other "big one" is in the USA at Dayton, Ohio. Again, I have never been.

See http://www.hamradio-friedrichshafen.de/ham-en/

630m (472kHz) WSPR RX

A few minutes ago I went QRT on 2m FT8 RX and switched to 630m WSPR RX. To be honest, I now know what 2m FT8 can do and I need a new challenge!

UPDATE 1920z: So far this evening 6 uniques with best DX spotted here HF7A (1294km).

UPDATE 2008z: Now 9 uniques spotted.

Super 6m DX

A reminder than 6m propagation often extends far further than traditional 1 or 2 hop Es. Last summer, even with a modest V2000 vertical I spotted Japanese stations on 6m JT65 many times. I am not a great believer that many of these very long 6m paths are due to multi-hop Es. This may account for some, but not all. Personally I think some other mechanism is at work. One example is reflections due to noctilucent clouds. Maybe we are seeing some sort of chordal hop E layer propagation. There is much we do not know.

I guess next Es season the best mode will be FT8. I shall certainly be monitoring this band/mode.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/vuhf/noctilucent .

That nerve agent - NOT amateur radio

Although the "considered opinion" is that Russia was behind the nerve agent attack in the UK recently, nagging doubts remain. If we could totally trust our government, I might feel differently.

As it is, we need independent proof that this was definitely Russia and not the UK out to cause mischief. One could argue that the Russians would not be stupid to use a nerve agent clearly with Russian origins. On the other hand, Russia does not exactly have a "whiter than white" record.

But, we have to remember that history often shows we are not always whiter than white. Propaganda is a murky affair: one can never be totally sure who is telling the truth. In reality both the Russians and the UK will have secret agendas and the true story is probably hard to discern.

One thing is likely: the Russians will attempt a cyber attack on the UK in the coming days. If nothing else, this is a perfect excuse. Watch out NHS, National Grid and banks.