OFCOM filing consultation

Now, don 't get too exited as it is not good for your heart, but guess what?

OFCOM is consulting about charging for its work on satellite filing!  Now, that is so exciting. Please sit down.

See https://www.ofcom.org.uk/consultations-and-statements/category-1/satellite-filings-cost-recovery

South Devon - NOT amateur radio

A very similar photo was posted here recently. I go back there (on my own) in July to stay with my brother. This photo was taken last month.

Sunspots - Thursday June 14th 2018

Solar flux is 72 and the sunspot number still 12. A=4 and K=1.

A reminder that I get my solar data from http://www.hamqsl.com/solar.html

10m WSPR TX

Yesterday, FY5KE (7110km) spotted my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon 26 times. Today, there is plenty of Es around again. Apart from EA8BFK (2880km) in the Canary Is. these were all Euopeans.

Sunspots - Wednesday 13th June 2018

Solar flux is 70 today and the sunspot number 12. A=4 and K=2.

6m FT8 RX

Apart from 4X4DK (3580km) all 6m spots today have been either Gs, EI and Europeans by Es. No "exotic" DX so far here! Sorry, 7X2TT in North Africa.

Short Waves

As a child, we had low noise levels (apart from LORAN on the top part of topband) and lots of shortwave broadcasters, many in English. These days many (most?) are plagued with very high manmade noise and there are few English language broadcasters. I enjoyed QSLing many stations. Some sent me gifts too as recently as the 1970s.  Much was communist propaganda. Most of this was ignored. What was more important was that QSL card.

As I have said before, you can take a nostalgic trip into the past. The shortwave bands are not the same!

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/interval

UK Pound against Euro - NOT amateur radio

Not quite sure why, but the UK Pound has suddenly jumped against the Euro as if something happened. No doubt I'll find out later. I expect it will fall again tomorrow.

That summit - NOT amateur radio

As readers may have noticed, I am not great fan of US President Trump. However, I think what has happened, so far, in Singapore between him and Kim of North Korea is a step on the road to peace.

North Korea is a strange place, but sworn enemies have to look to the future. The USA and North Korea are very different places and are likely to remain so for quite a while. They need to respect their differences and think of the future.

The meeting could so easily have ended with President Trump storming out. It didn't. I am sure both men want mutual respect and peace.

Stroke after effect? - NOT amateur radio

As I am 70 later this year, I am not sure if this is just old age or yet another after-effect of my 2013 stroke. The worst time of the day for me is after breakfast. Even though I usually sleep well I am always, without fail, very exhausted. After a rest of about 30 minutes, when I usually blog, I am OK.

Another thing I have noticed: I seem weaker. Yesterday we cleaned our carpets and this totally exhausted me. I wasn't so tired last year. Lifting the carpet cleaner felt about twice as hard. Now, this may just be old age, but I think it is something linked to my 2013 stroke.

10m WSPR TX

Since just before breakfast, my 500mW WSPR beacon has been on 10m. No spots yet today.

UPDATE 1030z: Just one spot received today so far. EA8BFK (2880km) in the Canary Is..

UPDATE 1658z: Just 4 spots so far today on 10m WSPR TX.

UPDATE 1832z: FY5KE (7110km) is the best DX spot of my 500mW WSPR beacon on 10m today.

6m FT8 RX

Already, there is some Es to Spain on 6m FT8 RX.  3 Spanish stations (Es) as well as several Gs spotted in the last few hours.

UPDATE 0904z: 12 stations in 3 countries spotted so far on 6m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1029z: 32 stations in 5 countries so far on 6m FT8 RX today.

UPDATE 1346z: Best DX today so far on 6m FT8 RX is FM5AN (6792km) on Martinique, West Indies. Spots suggest he is genuine and not a pirate.

UPDATE 1807z: WP4G (6803km) now spotted in Puerto Rico on 6m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1930z: My best DX on 6m FT8 RX is now PV8DX (7830km) in northern Brazil. As this station is being widely spotted in Europe and North America, I am pretty sure he is genuine. Funny how D41CV (4518km) would be considered "real" 6m DX, but this is small fry compared with PV8DX!

Roses - NOT amateur radio

Last week we visited the David Austin place which specialises in roses. It is near Wolverhampton. I have never seen so many roses! That is me on the left.

Sunspots - Tuesday June 12th 2018

Solar flux is 69 today and the sunspot number remains 0. A=4 and K=2.

How to lose friends? - NOT amateur radio

This beggars belief from "the leader of the free world". Toys, prams etc. come to mind. If China is dumping steel maybe, but the EU and Canada?

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-44434558

Even more simple VHF and up licence?

On Southgate News there is a report about the RSGB's thoughts on activity levels on VHF and UHF bands. Apparently activity levels have dropped badly in the UK and there is talk of an even simpler exam and licence to encourage activity. There is no doubt that the hobby is facing a future crisis as people get older, less active, and die.

Like many things, we seem to try "dumbing down" as the answer. The basic issue is radio is not the magic it was to many in the 1950s and 1960s. These days you only have to look at the magazines for sale in newsagents to see this. Sadly, there are far more gaming, PC and railway magazines with, if you are lucky, just a couple of radio magazines.

Certainly, many on 2m have switched to FT8. A casual tune across the bands would suggest low levels of activity. Some would argue much less wide bands would do.

See http://southgatearc.org/news/2018/june/could-a-new-entry-level-licence-boost-vhf-uhf-activity.htm#.Wx42tPZFzIU

6m FT8

So far, 18 stations in 2 countries spotted on 6m FT8 RX this morning with Es to Spain evident.  A brief TX period (2.5W to my V2000 vertical omni antenna) brought spots from 6 G stations.

UPDATE 1125z: 30 stations in 4 countries so far on 6m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1935z: Loads of Es stations again on 6m FT8 RX with best DX 4X4DK (3580km) who was a very strong 0dB S/N. This looks like E layer propagation, but is it double hop Es or something else?

10m WSPR TX

Although my 10m 500mW WSPR beacon has been on since before breakfast, no spots today so far.

UPDATE 1930z: 113 10m spots today. 11 unique stations with best DX EA8BFK (2880km).

Sunspots - Monday June 11th 2018

Solar flux is 69 today and the sunspot number 0 still. A=4 and K=1.

Younger and thinner! - NOT amateur radio

The photo shows me and the family over 20 years ago. We were all a lot younger and thinner back then!

DX spots map

If you want to see which bands are "open" to where then this site might be of interest. You can select bands, modes and continents.

See https://www.dxmaps.com/spots/mapg.php?Lan=E&Frec=50&ML=M&Map=NA&HF=N&DXC=ING2&GL=N

The great FT8 debate

Like Marmite (here in the UK) you either love it or hate it! I love FT8.

Reading Southgate News today I was pointed to Dom Smith's blog on the subject. My voice is poor these days so I find speech modes hard. I also like seeing what is coming through on a different PC in the house, whilst doing something else. Although I go on FT8 TX sometimes, I use RX mostly.

See  http://www.domsmith.co.uk/blog/2018/06/09/the-great-ft8-debate/

UPDATE 1336z: There is little doubt that FT8 is controversial. Some see it as the end of amateur radio as we knew it: the end of casual chats, leisurely QSOs. They may be right. Certainly FT8 is not a chat mode. Fast(ish) formulaic QSOs yes, but these cannot be received by a casual SWL. On the other hand it has transformed operating for many allowing QSOs where these would not have happened in the past. Every time I go on 2m FT8, even when conditions are "flat" I seem to get spots from over 300km away despite running 2.5W to an omni antenna! Every time I spend a day on 2m RX I seem to spot stations very very far away. It certainly has transformed bands for many. Overall, I think FT8 is a good thing.

10m WSPR TX

For the last hour (I guess) I have been on 10m WSPR TX (500mW, 100% TX, randomised frequencies).

UPDATE 1000z: Still no spots as yet.

UPDATE 1205z: So far today, just one spot from CT1CAK (1438km).

UPDATE 2006z: 19 spots of my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon from FY5KE (7110km) in South America. At times, he was receiving me at -9dB S/N. 15 different stations spotted me today.

6m FT8 RX

I stayed on 6m FT8 RX (50.313MHz) overnight, but no Americans spotted. This morning, so far, quite a few Es stations from Iberia as well as many Gs.

Best DX, so far, is EA8AQV (2989km) in the Canary Is..

UPDATE 0959z: So far, 21 stations in 4 countries today on 6m FT8.  41 countries spotted on 6m in the last day.

UPDATE 1345z: Umpteen stations in 6 countries spotted today on 6m FT8 RX.

Church Fete - NOT amateur radio

Yesterday was our village church fete. Years ago the fete was in the vicarage garden. These days it is in the churchyard and church.

Sunspots - Sunday June 10th 2018

Solar flux is 68 today and the sunspot number 0.  A=4 and K=2.

Afghanistan - NOT amateur radio

In the middle of the 1800s we were fighting in Afghanistan. Recently I read that the Taliban now controls the main city in Helmand province where many US and UK troops lost their lives. Was it worth it? Probably not.

If we have been fighting in Afghanistan for so long, you would think we'd mind our own business. Some battles are not worth fighting. Putting our troops in Afghanistan must have wasted billions. Better we spend the money on something more useful.

FT8

There is little doubt that FT8 is a very big thing.

On 6m FT8 this morning I have spotted well over 50 different stations already. QSOs (albeit basic) are fast and all the activity is concentrated in a few kilohertz on each band. It works with weaker signals than CW or SSB.

What I fear is people will desert SSB and CW and use FT8 instead. A casual tune across bands might lead some to think the band is dead.

What happens when we die? - NOT amateur radio

When we are young, we assume death is a long way off and nothing to think about too much. As we grow older, I guess dying has a greater concern. In my own case, if I see another 20 years I'll be doing well. On my paternal side both my dad and granddad died in their 60s. I am 69.

Basically, we just cease to exist or something of us carries on in some sort of after life. The truth is no-one really knows. It is the deepest mystery of all.

What is certain is that we cannot imagine this: we live in one plain of a multi-dimensional universe. Religions hint at an after-life, yet all are different. In my mind, they are attempts to explain our existence, but all (probably) are incomplete or wrong looking at them with the perspective of history. We still believed in witches not too many generations ago! Some believed in fairies in the last century!

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/zs4k39q#zskdg82

Sibling reunion - NOT amateur radio

The picture shows my wife's siblings at a meal a few days ago. We had a good time, although I found the driving is getting harder.

10m WSPR TX

Already there are plenty of spots from southern Europe of my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon (500mW, 100% TX, randomised frequencies). OZ7IT (853km) was spotting me in the middle of the night!

My strongest report (from Italy) was -9dB S/N. This implies just 5mW would have been enough if the receiving station had a nice, quiet noise floor.

UPDATE 1248z: Best DX today, so far, on 10m WSPR TX is IK0DMQ (1484km).

UPDATE 1522z: Well, I am surprised. Apparently my 10m 500mW WSPR beacon has been copied by 73 unique stations in the last 2 weeks.

UPDATE 1540z: A couple of reports (Italy and Germany) were 0dB S/N. This is very strong. Es definitely. Several hours later DK6UG was spotting me at up to +10dB S/N. Amazing.

UPDATE 1801z: 15 unique spots of my 10m, 500mW WSPR beacon so far today.

10m WSPR TX spots far today

6m FT8 RX today

Although it is only 0836z, there is already lots of Es evident on 6m FT8 RX. Es looks good today.

UPDATE 0858z: Already 12 countries spotted here today on 6m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1136z: Best DX today so far on 6m FT8 RX is 5B4AAB (3185km).

UPDATE 1218z: 21 countries spotted so far today on 6m FT8 RX.

6m FT8 RX so far today

Homebrew videos

Thanks to a recent post on Southgate News, I have seen the homebrew videos by Charlie Morris ZL2CTM. Inspiring.

See https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSNPW3_gzuMJcX_ErBZTv2g/videos .

Sunspots - Saturday June 9th 2018

Solar flux is 68 today and the sunspot number 0.  A=4 and K=1.

Towpath walk - NOT amateur radio

Walking along the towpath of the Coventry Canal earlier this week with a narrowboat along side.  At one time narrowboats were important means of moving goods. These days they are mainly for pleasure. One of our nephews is going to live on a narrowboat during the week to be near his work.

No American DX on 6m FT8 tonight?

Although I shall be monitoring 6m FT8 through the night, I have the feeling that no transatlantic DX will be spotted tonight. The Canary Isles were spotted this morning, but all the spots since have been EU and North Africa. Very recent spots have been UK and Eastern and Southern Europe.

UPDATE 9.6.18 0600z: Indeed no American stations spotted here on 6m overnight.

IC7300 Price

Are the UK dealers playing chicken?

In the UK the IC7300 price is still the same, but now accompanied by all sorts of free extras.

Now, I have little doubt this is a good radio, but I still feel it is being "market priced". By that I mean we buy at the ticket price as there is no real competition from the other big players and most are happy to pay.

The architecture would allow the price to be reduced to less than £1000. Will it happen any time soon?

Toy Car - NOT amateur radio

This toy car was seen a few days ago at a National Trust place near Wolverhampton.

More on our reunion - NOT amateur radio

As mentioned yesterday, every year we meet up with my wife's brothers for a sibling reunion. It is good to get together for a happy occasion. This was the 3 siblings on Wednesday evening.

SAQ (17.2kHz CW) transmissions July 1st 2018

To celebrate Alexanderson Day on July 1st 2018, there will be several transmissions from the historic radio station SAQ (VLF) on that day. There will also be special event stations active on several amateur bands. I think QSL cards will be available. I have one from many years ago.

See http://alexander.n.se/the-radio-station-saq-grimeton/saq-transmissions/?lang=en