Ferns - NOT amateur radio

Ferns are fascinating. Those in the photo were seen at Anglesey Abbey earlier today. They are about to unwind.

10m FT8 again

Yet again, I am on 10m FT8, mainly RX. Yesterday there was plenty of Es propagation on the band and it remains to be seen how things work out today. If there is any "real DX" i.e. South Africa or South America, I don't expect to spot these until after lunch.

An initial CQ call today just after 0800z was spotted by no-one! Let's hope things here improve.

UPDATE 0915z: No spots yet on 10m FT8 RX today.

UPDATE 1415z: So far today, 54 EU stations spotted, presumably Es. As yet, no "real DX" spotted here on 10m FT8 RX.

Stations spotted here today so far on 10m FT8 RX

UPDATE 1850z: 59 stations spotted today on 10m FT8 RX. Most are via Es. It seems unlikely there will be any "real DX" via F2. I shall shortly QSY to 472kHz WSPR.

472kHz WSPR overnight

Not a bad night (for the time of year) with 5 stations spotting my 10mW ERP from the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground with the best being DL/PA0EHG (493km). I spotted 4 stations here. I think the Norwegian stations were not active.

472kHz WSPR here overnight

433MHz superhet modules - dirt cheap

Although my health precludes doing much RF design and construction these days, I see you can buy TX and RX module pairs for 433MHz for about £3 with free postage on eBay.  I guess a half capable designer could build a useful pair of transceivers for local 70cms AM comms for under £10. There may already be designs published, although I've not seen these. If you have, please share a link.

Try looking on eBay for "433MHz RF modules". To a capable designer, these could be quite useful. No doubt with a bit of digging you can get these for even less!

UPDATE 1345z: Check out the YouTube videos by VK3YE who has done some interesting tests with similar modules. It appears you can get FM or AM with these and some useful ranges.

Sunspots - Monday April 29th 2019

Solar flux is 67 and the sunspot number is again zero. A=6 and K=1. Pretty poor!

472kHz WSPR

A few moments ago I QSYed to 472kHz WSPR (10mW ERP from the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground). As usual, I am 20% TX with the remainder of the time on RX.

So far, 1 station has spotted me and 1 station spotted here.

Maggie - NOT amateur radio

Maggie is now a very old horse. She has been a favourite with grandchildren who like to find her grass to eat.

She is in a new paddock. I'm sure she loves attention from children. She is part of our lives.

What polarisation for VHF and UHF DX?

Ever since I started in the hobby I was told, "vertical FM for locals and horizontal for SSB/CW". Now, like many things, I have found that so called "experts" are not! My own, albeit limited, experience on 2m and 70cm is, at best, inconclusive. On 70cm FM I have made some great DX QSOs and also on 2m FM with vertical polarisation.  At the same time I have worked some great DX on 2m SSB with horizontal polarisation.

According to Southgate News, someone has done some recent research. It would not surprise me if there was actually little difference! Funny how old wives tales become facts. Don't always believe what so called "experts" have to say.

Many said my own earth-electrode "antennas" in the ground would not work, but these have now been used from ELF-MF successfully and I am pretty sure at least one VLF grabber is now using such a structure. No, experts are often wrong. Always challenge! That is part of the fun of our hobby.

See http://southgatearc.org/news/2019/april/horizontal-versus-vertical-antenna-polarisation-the-debate.htm#.XMVi2PZFy00

This was a talk on the polarisation of 6m signals given to the Reading club. The link worked for me, even though I am not a club member.

https://groups.google.com/forum/m/#!msg/radarc/3mWN6Pc-Buw/D4OQZi8NBAAJ

472kHz WSPR

Well, I have come to the conclusion that the band is still quite decent, but stations are abandoning it at the moment. Overnight 6 stations spotted my 10mW ERP from the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground and I spotted 7 others with my best DX a spot of EA4GHB (1300km).

472kHz WSPR here overnight

10m FT8

For a change today I am on 10m FT8. A before breakfast time CQ (2.5W) was spotted by no-one, but since then I have been RX only and there is Es evident with several eastern and southern Europeans spotted. So far, 9 stations spotted (0812z).

UPDATE 1526z:  Currently 137 stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX today. Almost all are EU. One supposedly in Morocco has a Spanish EA1 call and may have his QTH locator details wrong. Another is in Ceuta, which is a small Spanish enclave in North Africa. Most of these are Es propagation I think.

UPDATE 1915z:  It looks like just Europe and North Africa on 10m FT8 RX here today. There is no sign of any "real DX" on the band here today. No doubt better equipped stations will do better.