10m FT8

The last few days have been poor with no Es seen here. Yesterday I was spotted by 5 G stations and no-one else. Everything was turned on today (Sunday) at about 0750z.

UPDATE 1106z: Just 2 local G stations have spotted me so far today and nothing yet spotted on RX.

UPDATE 1320z:  Judging by the number of EU stations monitoring 10m FT8 RX, it looks like they are after Es! No Es or F2 DX seen here today so far.

UPDATE 1718z:  Some Es to Italy around teatime on 10m FT8 RX. So far today, just the 2 G spots of my 2.5W

Tulips - NOT amateur radio

These tulips were seen on a recent walk.

Sunspots - Sunday April 19th 2020

Solar flux is 70 and the SSN 0. A=4 and K=1 .

UK Coronavirus - NOT amateur radio

It is too early to tell, but there are hints that we just may have passed the peak of hospital admissions in the UK. I sincerely hope this is the case.

Wild roses? - NOT amateur radio

We saw these on our walk earlier. They are very early for wild roses.

10m FT8

In a few moments I shall be on 10m FT8 with the tiny indoor loop antenna and 2.5W. It cannot be worse than yesterday!

UPDATE 0910z: All 10m FT8 gear turned on at 0855z. So far just M1BXF (13km) spotting me. No RX spots yet.

UPDATE 1350z: Just 3 G spots of me so far today. No Es here so far today.

UPDATE 1455z: On RX just 1 station spotted PP5JR (10069km).

UPDATE 1824z:  Now 6 stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX including 2 in NE Spain, presumably by Es.

UPDATE 2040z:  QRT. In the end 5 G stations spotted me. No Es here today.

Dull start - NOT amateur radio

For several days now we have had fine sunny weather, so it is a bit sad to see the weather dull here this morning. Next week should be fine again. All being well we hope to collect some garden plants from our local nursery at 9.30am. This has been arranged. With garden centres closed getting bedding plants is more difficult this year. You would have expected garden centres to have massively ramped up mail orders and delivery, but many have missed this opportunity.

UPDATE 0930z: All plants picked up.  Only ordered yesterday! Excellent service. All the plants look strong. We will use Burwell Nursery again next year.

Sunspots - Saturday April 18th 2020

Solar flux is 68 and the SSN 0. A=4 and K=2. Basically poor!

Coronavirus vaccines - NOT amateur radio

The race is on across the world to find a safe and effective vaccine against Coronavirus. Although this could be 12-18 months away, one UK group is so confident that it intends to produce 1 million does by September in parallel with trials.

In the meantime, I certainly hope they can repurpose some existing drugs to help us fight the pandemic.

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-52329659

Shed cleaning - NOT amateur radio

Well there's a surprise! Our garden shed actually has a floor! Being at home means some jobs like cleaning the shed get done.

24GHz WBFM?

These days one can buy very low cost HB100 10GHz Doppler modules on eBay from various sources. There are various ways of using these in amateur projects. I have seen these in ATV kit and I am sure there will be WBFM 10GHz transceiver designs based on these if I look. As there are 24GHz radar modules, I am wondering if there are WBFM designs based on these?

Perhaps some reader can point me in the direction of 10GHz and 24GHz WBFM transceivers based on the HB100 for 10GHz and similar units for 24GHz.

UPDATE 1810z:   Looking on the internet, there are plenty of resources for WBFM 10GHz transceivers based on the HB100.

OFCOM board appointment

Never mind Covid-19, OFCOM provides us all with gripping news. Today we learn that Kevin Bakhurst has been appointed to the board. Such earth shattering stuff. See their website for this and other exciting news.  zzz

10m FT8 after breakfast

After breakfast I hope to go on 10m FT8 with the tiny indoor loop antenna and 2.5W. The last few days have been disappointing.

UPDATE 1337z:  Just M1BXF (Gavin, local) spotting me so far. Everything turned on at 0844z. No spots of others yet.

UPDATE 1728z:  Just 2 spots of me today - worse even than yesterday - and these were local and fairly local Gs!  No Es here today. So far, just 2 Gs spotted here with best DX G6ZYF (70km).

UPDATE 1948z:  3 spots of me today, all Gs. On RX 3 stations spotted. No Es here today.

Optical illusion - NOT amateur radio

This puzzled me! It looks like a spiral, but isn't! I first saw this on a Facebook post some years ago.

SPAM comments removed NOT amateur radio

It would seem someone has been putting adverts as comments on my blogs. As soon as spotted these are marked as spam and deleted.

Thursday walk - NOT amateur radio

In the warm April sunshine we did a nice walk as shown in the photo.

Sunspots - Friday April 19th 2020

Solar flux is 69 and the SSN 0. A=5 and K=1.

Another rally postponed

I have been informed of another rally that has been postponed.

Again, if the background is white and the text hard to see on some screens, I apologise, but this is how I received this. Basically the Kempton rally has been postponed until  November.

Sunday 19 APRIL : POSTPONED until 15 NOVEMBER

WEST LONDON RADIO & ELECTRONICS SHOW (Kempton Rally) Kempton Park Racecourse, Staines Road East, Sunbury on Thames, TW16 5AQ. A talk-in station will be on air. Car parking is free and doors open at 10am with disabled visitors gaining access 10 minutes earlier. There will be trade stands and a Bring & Buy as well as special interest groups and lectures. Catering is available on site. More details from Paul, M0CJX on 08451 650 351, info@radiofairs.co.uk www.radiofairs.co.uk.

A list of rallies can be found at http://rsgb.org/main/news/rallies/

GB3PX 6m repeater

I am not a great repeater user.

Last night, on the CDARC net, someone mentioned the 6m FM repeater GB3PX at Barkway, near Cambridge.

Today, I gave it a try. It is on 50.780MHz with a 500kHz shift and 77Hz tone access.  After a few false starts when I found out how to select the right repeater shift, I managed to access it. It was very quiet. I called several times but no-one was on.

Later, I may see which other 6m repeaters I can access. Somewhere I shall have to find a list with tone access frequencies.

UPDATE 1925z: Although I can access GB3PX very well, every time I called no-one responded. I can just (sometimes) access the Bury-St-Edmunds 6m repeater as well, but no others. A useful resource for a list of 6m repeaters in the UK is https://www.ukrepeater.net/repeaterlist1.htm?filter1=6M

10m FT8 hoping for better luck!

A few moments ago I turned on the 2.5W 10m FT8 to the tiny indoor loop. So far just spot by local G4KPX (14km), although I am hoping for better results than yesterday when I only got spots from 3 locals on 10m FT8 and no QSOs.  There was one Spanish station yesterday that did not appear on PSKreporter for some reason.

UPDATE 1928z: Now QRT. Only spots from locals here and no Es noticed here. If anything, today was worse than yesterday!

Walk - NOT amateur radio

We have just got back from our walk. The photo shows the beauty in ordinary things when we look.

Sunspots - Thursday April 17th 2020

Solar flux is just 68 and the SSN 0. A=7 and K=2.

I thought this was on hours ago!

G4ILO blog

Although Julian has been a SK for many years, his blog is still in place.  Even now, all these years later, I still get visitors via his site. His death saddened many of us and his blog is a fine reminder of a fine person, greatly missed.

2m nets

In these difficult times there seems to be a bit of an upsurge in nets as people find new ways of keeping in touch.

Last Friday, our local Cambridge club (CDARC) had a very successful club meeting "virtually" via the GB3PI repeater with the agreement of the local repeater group.  Tonight it has a net at 1900z (8pm UK) on 145.55MHz FM vertical open to all.

Even though we cannot meet in person, we find ways.

Trump and the W.H.O. - NOT amateur radio

So Trump wants to stop funding the WHO. Such wisdom. It must be so great to have such insights in these strange days. You can see why so many voted him in to office. It must be so great to have such a wise man at the top.😉

2m beacon using the Pluto SDR

Southgate News has a piece on using the ADALM-Pluto SDR as a beacon on 2m. This links to a Hackaday article. As it stands, it is very low power and would need a PA adding.

See http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2020/april/hackaday-144-mhz-beacon-using-the-adalm-pluto-sdr.htm#.XpbMWxnYq00

10m FT8 again

Hoping for some Es, I have again gone on 10m FT8 with 2.5W and the tiny indoor loop. Things were turned on at about 0845z. Already, 2 locals have spotted me (G4KPX and M1BXF). No Es yet, but it is early in the day and season.

UPDATE 1810z: No Es seen here today so far. 3 locals have spotted me.

UPDATE 1832z: This early in the Es season, I guess we will see good days and bad days. At the moment it looks like the latter! Maybe I shall have better luck tomorrow.

Sunspots - Wednesday April 15th 2020

Solar flux is 69 and the SSN 0. A=8 and K=3.

70cm activity contest 1900z (8pm UK) tonight

As this is the second Tuesday in the month, the RSGB organised 70cm activity contest (UKAC) should be tonight starting at 1900z (8pm UK time) for 2.5 hours.

I usually try for under an hour with 10W and my 2m big-wheel omni that seems to match OK on 70cm.  My voice usually objects after about 40 minutes!

Usually I work a few stations. If I am lucky these include G4CLA (105km).  Unlike many contests, this one is fun and there is a good spirit. With the current restrictions I doubt there will be any /P stations, but that leaves plenty of "at home" stations to try for.

Village Cottage - NOT amateur radio

Not sure how old this cottage is. We passed it on our walk earlier.

Chromebook buglet? - NOT amateur radio

Having owned my little Chromebook for about 5 months now, I am so pleased with it. It boots up almost instantly, the battery lasts at least all day, and does everything I want. It beats Windows hands down.

I am aware of just one buglet. When I get a Facebook message I can see the Chrome page headings, but the page remains blank until I reboot the PC. Luckily this is very very quick. I have no idea why this happens.

Trump - NOT amateur radio

Yet again, President Trump has shared his great wisdom. Aren't we lucky to have such a wise and intelligent man at the head of the free world?

Maybe he is better at golf? Maybe not.

You, the good people of the USA elected him!

I still find it puzzling that it seems you have to be an old (preferably very old) millionare to stand a chance of being elected as USA president. Surely you can find someone younger who truly represents the USA on the world stage? Everyone from the USA I have ever met has been kind and generous.

UPDATE 1757z: I have just seen his recent press conference.  Enough said.

10m FT8

As 10m Es was pretty good yesterday, I have decided to try 10m FT8 again today with my 2.5W and uessthe tiny indoor loop antenna. The rig was turned on at about 0834z.

UPDATE 1417z : 2 spots of my 2.5W so far with the more interesting being by MW0ZZK (334km) in NW Wales. Not sure what propagation this was - too near for Es and a long way for tropo. Aircraft? 2 Gs spotted so far on RX plus 1 in Poland.

UPDATE 1435z:  Now CT2EHX (1815km) spotted.

UPDATE 1535z: Now 7 stations spotted here today on 10m FT8 RX. It almost feels like someone has turned on the Es switch. I guess more people are now monitoring.

Stations copied here
today on 10m FT8 RX

UPDATE 1743z: 4 stations have spotted my 2.5W today although IQ3NX (1129km) is reporting the wrong band!! On 10m FT8 RX, 16 stations spotted so far today.

Climbing pound? - NOT amateur radio

Since the coronavirus hit the world, everything feels different.

It almost feels surreal and that somehow life will never, ever, be quite the same again. Right now things seem dreadful. In time, things will get better, but it will take time and hard work.

Since the crisis started the UK Pound fell heavily against the Euro. In recent weeks it has regained much of those losses. Maybe the world sees the Euro under threat as the coronavirus debt has to be paid, probably by the richer north.   With the UK out of the EU, perhaps the UK will be master of its own destiny? At the moment it is still climbing.

The world has never been in this situation before and we are all searching for a way. The hope is in a vaccine (some way off) or drug treatments (possibly sooner).

UPDATE 0840z: Still climbing.

Gecophone 1920s crystal set

When I retired in 2008, I was given a 1920s crystal set as a leaving present.

It was in good condition and was a total surprise.

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

DST100 receiver

Way back in the early 1960s, my very first communications receiver was a war surplus DST100 bought for £7 from a local garage. It was huge and very heavy! It was also very deaf, but Roger Thorn G3CHN managed to breath new life in it and it lasted me for many years.  He probably put in new valves.

It needed 2 people to lift it and was a tank radio made by Murphy. It was certainly built like a tank and could probably have survived a direct hit!

To think now we can get an SDR in a USB stick with better performance and a much wider frequency range.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/dst100

Early voice recordings - NOT amateur radio

It is often thought that the earliest voice recording was by Thomas Edison, but there is evidence that the earliest recording was in fact made in France in 1860. You can hear this at http://graphics8.nytimes.com/audiosrc/arts/1860v2.mp3

See also https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/voice

Sunspots - Tuesday April 14th 2020

Solar flux is 70 and the SSN 0.  A=5 and K=3.

Oil producers agree 10% cut in output? - NOT amateur radio

Although I have yet to see this confirmed, it looks like the biggest oil exporters including Saudi Arabia and Russia have agreed a 10% cut in oil output in the light of a heavy fall in demand.

I think this should help to stem the heavy falls in recent weeks. Whether or not oil prices recover remains to be seen.

See https://www.ft.com/content/5ad12d12-d662-4e5b-88c8-6836dd1fb29a

Codar AT5 transmitter

Way back in the late 1960s, I had a G8 call and used to operate the station of the late G4PJ under supervision. 

Bill had a Codar AT5 160/80m AM/CW 12W TX which put out a good signal. I recall very well working a station about 70 miles away on 80m AM one afternoon.

Although I owned the companion RX (the T28) , I never owned an AT5. I wanted one! The photo shows the AT5 transmitter. We have come a long way since those days.