Sunspots - Thursday April 9th 2020

Solar flux is 70 and the SSN 0. A=13 and K=1.

FT7 series

Back in the late 1970s I owned an FT7 transceiver. This produced 10W and allowed me to work all over the planet, mainly on 10m SSB. Contacts included New Zealand, which was about as far as possible. All these were with low wire dipoles - no beams!

Later Yaesu sold the FT7B, which was a higher power version which covered all of 10m. I never owned one of these. About 20 years later you could buy the FT817 which was a 5W portable including 6m, 2m and 70cm as well as FM.

More signs of spring - NOT amateur radio

In these strange days, we try to keep a routine by doing a daily walk. We see very few people and those we do are very good about social distancing. This tree (see photo) is another sign of spring.

Although there are swallows in Devon (migrant birds), I have yet to see any here in East Anglia.

The 2m SSB Liner-2

If you were around in the 1970s, you probably remember the Liner-2. This was the 2m rig that brought 2m SSB to the masses. I had a second-hand one and recall being amazed by how far I could reach.

With a simple loft antenna (HB9CV I think) I could reach stations totally out of reach on QRP AM.

The Liner-2 was a synthesised rig that produced lots of spurii if over driven. In the end mine was sold and replaced by an ICOM IC-202 as I recall. In its day, the Liner-2 was ubiquitous and a "must have" rig for serious 2m operators.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/vuhf/liner2

Adverts I hate - NOT amateur radio

Not sure if this a recent thing, but I am seeing more and more ads that say something like, "UK seniors over 50 are rushing to get this new....".

They are written in such a way that your interest is raised, so you are tempted to take a look. Whenever I see this I do not look. Although most are probably virus free, they are clickbate. Personally I hate these.

Early start on 20m FT8 today

At 0620z I was on 20m FT8 with the tiny indoor loop and 10W. No spots of me yet but one CT copied (0630z) .

UPDATE 0810z:  Although 20 stations so far spotted on 20m FT8 RX, (best spotted here is JT1CO (6662km) in Mongolia), no spots yet received on TX. It appears I was only using about 5-6W, so this has been increased and the frequency moved in case I am being clobbered by a big station I cannot see.

UPDATE 0836z: Just 1 spot of me so far today by UT4EX (2464km). 25 stations so far spotted on RX.

UPDATE 0903z: With 32 stations spotted so far today on 20m FT8 RX, the tiny loop is performing well. On TX I am sure the main problem I have is being obliterated by stations co-channel with me that are much stronger. When the frequency is clear, my 10W tends to get spotted by loads of stations. The trouble is I do not know when this happens as often these signals are not visible here. I always choose, what I think are, free frequencies.

UPDATE 1450z: 27 spots of my 10W so far today.

UPDATE 1747z: The map shows where I was spotted today on 20m FT8 TX with 10W and the tiny indoor loop antenna.

OFCOM updates

As is usual, OFCOM has updated its Communications Monthly with the latest data. See the OFCOM website for details.

The updates include:

• Office of the Telecommunications Adjudicator update
• Television broadcast licensing update
• Radio licensing monthly update
• Clarifications on Wholesale Fixed Telecoms Market Review
• Customer satisfaction tracker 2020, complaints handling tracker 2020 and reasons to complain tracker 2020
• Final directions applying Code powers to Aquind Ltd and Optical Fibre Infrastructure Ltd
• Ofcom's Tariff Tables 2020/21
• Limiting exposure to electromagnetic fields (EMF) consultation FAQ

Sunspots - Wednesday April 8th 2020

Solar flux is 70 and the SSN 0. A=4 and K=2.

iPad question - NOT amateur radio

Although Steve G1KQH kindly solved the problem of my wife being unable to email photos from her gallery, we still have the mystery why the battery now seems to drain so much faster. This suddenly changed.

Although I cannot be sure, it does not seem to be the cells.

I am wondering, as an experiment, if there is a way of loading older software versions to see if this change is, or is not, linked to a software change.

Village walk - NOT amateur radio

This morning we did a nice walk around the village. We covered about 3 miles. We saw 4 buzzards but we have still to see any swallows. The photo shows some of the flowers we saw.

2m UKAC activity contest this evening

At 1900z this evening is the April 2m leg of the UKAC activity contest.

Usually, this attracts quite a few portable stations. This time we may hear more fixed stations.

Activity levels are usually high on SSB and there is no compulsion to submit logs in the contest. I normally do, but if you are free perhaps come on 2m SSB and give a few points away. This is a fun contest.

15m FT8 TX and RX (2.5W to the tiny indoor loop)

Yesterday I tried 10m FT8 with limited successs (just 1 spot), so today with the same rig and antenna I am giving 15m FT8 a go. The gear was turned on at about 0805z.

UPDATE 0840z:  No spots so far on RX or TX today.

UPDATE 1314z: 13 stations (including 1 Brazilian) spotted so far today on 15m FT8 RX, but no spots of me.  It looks like I was only running about 100mW, so this has now been increased to more like 2.5W.

Local walks - NOT amateur radio

One of the good things about the lock down is we are doing more local walks. Most days we go somewhere.

We have probably walked more recently than we would have done. OK we generally walk locally, but it is fun exploring new walks with few people around. Certainly everyone we have seen is observing social distancing.

Chicks - NOT amateur radio

Just in time for Easter, our son and his children has witnessed the birth of chicks as the photo shows. These were born to a chicken they look after at school.

This is a strange time for us all. At least they have the little chicks to enjoy. This is the first Easter we will not have seen the grandchildren in person. Thank goodness for modern video technology.

Online Foundation exam

The RSGB has moved to online Foundation licence exams. This simplifies things, but runs the risk of being abused. At the moment I am unsure if this will be an issue or not.

See https://rsgb.org/main/clubs-training/for-students/foundation/

Elecraft K1 CW transceiver

Many years ago, I built this 4 band HF transceiver from a kit.

A few years ago it was sold.

In its day, it was very good. These days, many HF operators prefer FT8 to CW as FT8 works with even weaker signals but it does need a shack PC to run the free software. The beauty of CW is gear can be very simple! The K1 produced over 5W maximum.

As I recall, mine covered 40, 30, 20 and 15m CW. I am not sure if the K1 is still available new.

SETI - NOT amateur radio

As far as I know, the SETI program ( the search for extra-terrestrial intelligent life) has been going since the 1960s. To this date, I am not aware of any success. I suppose it is just possible that certain governments have kept results secret, but I think this is highly unlikely.

The widely quoted Drake equation predicted we would find many such civilisations "out there".  Oddly, not one has been found!  Something must be wrong with how we are searching. After all this time, surely we would have spotted some evidence?

The evidence for planets around distant stars is growing daily, yet still the hunt goes on. I wonder what the issue is?

As far as I know, we have still to get any evidence of life on other planets at all, whether intelligent or not!

I am not saying stop looking, but I am puzzled.

GQRP SPRAT

Many times before I have mentioned how good SPRAT magazine is.

This comes out every quarter and is now in full colour A5 format.  Most of the back issues are available on a DVD and it is worth joining just for these. If you enjoy simple projects you will find lots to inspire you!

It is only a few pounds to join GQRP and the DVD is heavily discounted for members. Most editions have something simple to make.

Many of the founder members are now SK, but these have been replaced by keen, younger folk.

See http://www.gqrp.com/sprat.htm

Sunspots - Tuesday April 7th 2020

Solar flux is 70 and the SSN 0. A=3 and K=0.

East Cambridgeshire 2m FM net

Most Mondays on 144.575MHz FM we meet at 1900z. Since the Coronavirus pandemic, we seem to have more people. All in the area are welcome to join in.

Boris Johnson in intensive care - NOT amateur radio

The news tonight was that the UK Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has gone into intensive care in hospital suffering with Coronavirus.

Whatever our political persuasion, we all wish him well and hope he gets better.

This is a worrying time for his family and all in the UK government. He was spearheading the UK's battle with Coronavirus. This is a most difficult job.

DX most wanted

As many know, I am not an active DX chaser. If I work any real DX it would be by chance! I see Southgate News has a piece on which DX entities are most wanted. Way back in the 1960s, I copied ZL9 on AM. I had no idea it was so rare!

See http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2020/april/dxcc-most-wanted.htm#.XosEjhnYq00

Stroke update - NOT amateur radio

Most can probably ignore this post. For those interested, read on.

In the last year, nothing has really changed regarding my stroke. In all ways, I think things are broadly as they were last April. My voice remains poor.  It's a darn shame, but life goes on and we have to make the best of things.

Amaryllis - NOT amateur radio

We thought the second bud on this was a dud. For several weeks it did nothing then this! Never give up!

10m FT8

Unfortunately, I have no stand-alone 10m FT8 beacon. Instead, I am on 10m FT8 using 2.5W from the FT817ND with the tiny indoor loop antenna. It is now 0811z and I have been on for about an hour. No spots given or received yet today.

UPDATE 1125z: No spots and no QSOs today on 10m FT8 so far.

UPDATE 1247z: Just a single spot of my 2.5W transmit from DJ3AK (693km) so far today.

UPDATE 1837z:  Now QRT. In the end just a single spot on TX and RX all day.

Cowslips - NOT amateur radio

On our walk yesterday we saw these cowslips. We saw very few people.

481THz speech communications

Long before my 2013 stroke, one of my favourite things was optical communications.

Although my keenest interest was weak signal "over the horizon" signals, so called non line of sight (NLOS), I had one QSO with speech over a path of about 11km with G4HJW using the kit shown in the photo. Sadly my stroke put an end to my optical experiments.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/optical

Sunspots - Monday April 6th 2020

Solar flux is 71 and the SSN 0. A=5 and K=1.

New chicks - NOT amateur radio

Apparently our son and grandson have now got 4 freshly hatched chicks. They emerged from their eggs in the last few days with the last one hatching just a few moments ago. Life goes on.

Walk - NOT amateur radio

This morning we went for a walk on a very quiet country lane. Very few people were seen. The countryside is coming alive again after what has seemed a long winter.

10m WSPR TX

Again I am on 10m WSPR TX using 500mW to the tiny indoor loop antenna. Local G4KPX does not seem to be on. No spots of me yet today.

UPDATE 1310z : G4KPX is monitoring and has spotted me several times No DX spots of me though.

UPDATE 1336z: What is needed now is a stand alone 10m FT8 beacon instead of WSPR!

UPDATE 1910z:  QRT. No DX stations spotted me.

2m FT8 (10W)

As usual, I am on 2m FT8 using 10W and the big-wheel omni antenna. So far today 29 stations have spotted me with the best DX being GI6ATZ (479km).

UPDATE 1305z: 41 stations in 4 countries have spotted me in the last 24 hours on 2m FT8 using 10W.

UPDATE 1932z: Now QRT. In all, 46 stations in 5 countries spotted my 10W in the last 12 hours on 2m FT8 TX. It's hard to think that this is 2m with 10W and an omni antenna! These sort of distances seem to be possible at any time and in any conditions. Also polarisation seems to make little or no difference.

Home - NOT amateur radio

The photo shows our home and front garden a few days ago. The photo was taken on April 2nd.

Ornamental cherry - NOT amateur radio

In our back garden is an ornamental cherry tree. We had this trimmed last year.

At the moment the leaves and blossom are just appearing.

When out, it is a very attractive tree with red fruit, sadly inedible.

Heathkit HW8

Many years ago I owned an HW8 transceiver from Heathkit. This had a direct conversion receiver and a QRP HF CW transmitter. With simple wire dipoles it worked some remarkable DX.

I think it was sold back to its original owner when I bought an FT7 in 1979. In its day it was a fine rig.

Mine was totally unmodified, but there are plenty of "improvements" on the net. In my experience, this was a great transceiver as it is. I am not sure how easy they are to find nowadays.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/hw8

Sunspots- Sunday April 5th 2020

Solar flux is 70 and the sunspot number 11. A=5 and K=1.

At the moment we seem to have a few days with sunspots then several days without. At some point we will have sunspots on most days.

Zoom - NOT amateur radio

It was good to see all the grandchildren today thanks to Zoom. The photo is a screen shot during the video chat.

Cutting the lawns - NOT amateur radio

As the weather was sunny, we had lunch in the garden and I cut the lawns as the photo shows. This is the fourth time this year.

Apple iPad software change?

My wife has had an Apple iPad for some years, but just recently the battery life has suddenly got dramatically worse. It was always very good. Now it seems to flatten the battery far more quickly.  I am pretty sure this is not the cells. Also, she could always send photos from her gallery by Gmail. She has plenty of room in her account on Gmail.

It is almost as if the latest software has somehow been "doctored" so the battery runs down faster and some Gmail things don't work any longer, so you are tempted to buy a new one! I am not saying this is so, just that this is how it appears.

Any whistle blowers know the facts?

New life - NOT amateur radio

New life continues. This is a photo of a new born chick at my son's school. He looks after the chickens.