OFCOM consultation

OFCOM is consulting on the use of spectrum between 100GHz and 200GHz. See their website.

2m FT8

6m is humming with Es. For a change, I am on 2m FT8 hoping for some Es. It is currently 1030z. So far, no Es evident.

UPDATE 1142z:  16 stations have spotted my 10W to the big-wheel omni antenna on 2m FT8 today. 3 QSOs on 2m so far. No Es.

UPDATE 1856z:  IT9GSF worked on 2m FT8 using 10W and the big-wheel omni antenna. 2 Maltese stations spotted. 2m Es.

Reach walk - NOT amateur radio

This morning we did a nice walk around the village of Reach. On the way we saw the flowers in the photo.

6m FT8

Last night I took the unusual step for me of being on 6m FT8 with the auto sequence feature turned off. Usually I work everyone that calls me. In the Es season this means QSOs with stations all across Europe. Last night I was hoping that the band would open across the Atlantic, but if there was any I missed it! At the moment I am NOT on any band (0600z).

UPDATE 1034z:  6m FT8 is buzzing with Es. Several QSOs already too.

UPDATE 2052z: At about 1905z I returned to 6m FT8 and worked some stations in southern Spain.

ICOM IC-705 price

MLS has announced the price of the IC-705 as £1299.95. The release date is now shown as July 2020. Personally, I suspect this will be later. As far as I know it has not yet been released in Japan, although I stand to be corrected.

For a QRP radio this seems very high, although it is a 10W radio with HF, VHF and UHF bands. Like the IC-7300 I cannot see a rush to drop the price.

The FT818 is far less than half price. In my view the IC-705 is market priced as the punters will pay. As an SDR, the receiver should be less expensive than a superhet architecture.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/ic705

Sunspots - Wednesday May 20th 2020

Solar flux is 69 and the SSN 0.  A=5 and K=2. Still poor.

Sheep dressing - NOT amateur radio

One of our local shops has a competition to dress a sheep. The sheep is a toy in the shop window as the photo shows. I think the money raised is for the NHS.

Brain malfunction? - NOT amateur radio

It is nearly 7 years since I suffered a stroke, but a few things have happened recently that have puzzled me. These may be artifacts of my stroke, old age, or not my problem at all.

On a couple of occasions I have heard people say things that I have corrected. My wife is certain that the right words were used. Short of recording the incidents, there is no way of knowing if it was me or not.

One of these was on BBC Breakfast TV earlier, when I thought Nagga had said 8pm by mistake when it should have been 7pm. The other event was a person's name that I corrected only to be told that the correct name was what my wife had said. My hearing is very good, so it is very unlikely that I simply misheard.

I am wondering if what I hear inside my head is sometimes wrong? I am now doubting what I hear. 

Lockdown fun - NOT amateur radio

One of our neighbours is having fun during the lockdown with this creature in the windows!

If you look carefully at the photo (you may need to see it full sized) there is a monster downstairs, with its head upstairs!

6m FT8

Overnight I stayed on 6m FT8. After a QSO late yesterday evening I was RX most of the time. Sadly I saw no transatlantic stations. This morning I am on 6m FT8 TX again still usingy 18 10W and the V2000 vertical omni.

UPDATE 0835z: 39 stations have spotted me so far today on 6m FT8 with my 10W to the omni. Most of these are Es. Not as promising as yesterday, that was exceptional. Only 18 stations spotted here today so far. My noise floor is low, so if they are active, I would copy them.

UPDATE 0922z: Now 42 stations spotting me today.

UPDATE 1314z: 273 stations have spotted me so far today with best DX being OD5KU (3463km). On RX 346 stations spotted here on 6m FT8 RX with the best DX being A45XR (5843km) in Oman.

UPDATE 2012z:  443 stations have spotted me today.  As yet, no transatlantic signals spotted here or spots of my signal. Today seems  even better on 6m  FT8 than yesterday. I am still waiting that elusive transatlantic DX spot.

UPDATE 2112z:  455 stations have spotted me in the last 12 hours. In the hope of being spotted across the Atlantic, I have turned off auto sequencing. With this enabled I work plenty of stations daily, but the WSJT-X reverts to RX only. Overnight this is less ideal. Usually I can be in the shack within seconds to reset WSJT-X. Today, I have lost count of the number of QSOs on 6m FT8.

Sunspots - Tuesday May 19th 2020

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

OFCOM appointment

I am sure you have fallen off your chair hearing the latest news from OFCOM. Alison Marsden has been appointed Director of Content, Licensing and Enforcement.

See the OFCOM website for the details.

Wild flowers - NOT amateur radio

Today is housework day and a trip to the local farm shop for some shopping. On the way to the shop are lots of wild flowers as in the photo. The shop was very quiet.

Living in the moment - NOT amateur radio

In these odd times for most of us it is hard not to be experiencing some sort of stress or anxiety. One thing that I have found helps is living in the moment. We can spend our lives worrying or just enjoy the little things all around us now that make us happy. Luckily, for most of us in the northern hemisphere, it is spring, so any walk brings us blossom and new green. It is surprising what you can see or hear on a short walk.

Strangely, I have noticed more things locally that have given me pleasure than before the lockdown! All I can advise is keep your eyes and ears open and say to yourself, "that is lovely" or similar. You may be surprised.

Antenna ideas

With lockdowns and sunny weather, many people are thinking about outdoor work and antennas. There are several books on this, some of which are online I think. You may get some ideas from my web pages.

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

Wireless power transfer (WPT) - NOT amateur radio

As more and more people convert to electric cars, charging them may become more of an issue. WPT may become widely adopted in the years ahead. How this is done could result in the LF and HF bands becoming widely polluted.

Southgate News has a piece on the IEC rejection of proposals to some ideas. Over time, I can see this becoming more of an issue, especially if cheaper solutions are obtained from abroad and policing of what is imported is poor. You have only to think of switched mode power supplies with inadequate filters to cut costs.

See http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2020/may/wireless-power-transfer-cis-b-737-cdv-rejected.htm#.XsI-PijYq00

6m FT8

Yesterday was a good day on 6m FT8. I went QRT at bedtime so missed the chances of any transatlantic DX overnight. As yet I have not turned things on (0604z).

UPDATE 0748z:  Turned on 6m gear a little while ago (10W, V2000 omni). Loads of Es already. Already spotted by 16 stations, many in southern Europe.  27 stations spotted here. Mostly Es.

UPDATE 0904z:  This is the best day yet this Es season with 126 stations already spotting me with the best being 4Z5AV (3622km). Several Asian stations spotting me today. On 6m FT8 RX 177 stations spotted here with best so far being 9K2OW (4639km). Something tells there will be transatlantic propagation later: I can feel it in my bones. People keep calling or working me!

UPDATE 0924z: Now 158 stations have spotted my 10W to the omni vertical antenna on 6m FT8 with the best being 9K2OD (4637km) in Kuwait. 223 stations spotted on 6m FT8 RX. Several QSOs.

Spots of my 10W FT8 on
6m this morning to 1002z

UPDATE 1002z: Now 202 stations spotting me today on 6m FT8.  On RX 343 stations so far spotted with the best being A71EM (5190km) in Qatar.

UPDATE 1148z: So far today I have been spotted by 309 stations and I have spotted 610 stations this morning. Quite incredible for a VHF band. Quite a few QSOs already today.

Homemade recordings - NOT amateur radio

Some months ago I chanced upon a recording made in the 1960s. It is of my own voice recorded on the plastic lid of a coffee tin made with a school friend! This is pure analogue. My problem is I no longer have a means of playing it.

To this day, I find this fascinating, that just a large horn a piece of plastic or metal and a very loud shout is capable of recording my voice. 60 years later, my teenage voice is still imprinted.

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

Sunspots - Monday May 18th 2020

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

More from our walk - NOT amateur radio

On our walk earlier we also saw these.

Poppy - NOT amateur radio

We saw this poppy on our walk earlier.

WRC-19 final outcomes

There is a publication available summarising the final outcomes of the last world radio conference in 2019 which looked at spectrum issues globally.  As you might expect quite a bit is about satellites.

It is clear that the main focus is now on microwave frequencies with far less on HF.

See https://www.itu.int/en/itunews/Documents/2019/2019-06/2019_ITUNews06-en.pdf

Yesterday's walk - NOT amateur radio

Yesterday we went on a delightful walk around the village of Dalham. The photo shows where we went.

We have done far more walks since the lockdown than we ever did and it has helped us to see the beauty all around us and to live in the moment. It has also kept us fit!

6m FT8

Overnight I stayed on 6m FT8 RX but no transatlantic DX was spotted.

A few moments ago (0620z ish) the TX was turned on but only Gs spotting my 10W so far today.

UPDATE 1315z:  111 stations have spotted my 10W FT8 so far today.  I have lost count of the QSOs today.

Stations spotting me to
1900z on 6m FT8 TX
with 10W 

UPDATE 1901z:  Now 204 stations have been spotted here on 6m FT8 RX.  My 10W 6m FT8 has been spotted by 141 stations in the last 12 hours! Quite remarkable considering the V2000 vertical omni used fed with low cost CB coax. Absolutely not a DXers station. All EU stations, most by Es.

DX Summit

You may find this helpful. Filters can be set so spots on certain modes or bands can be searched.

See: http://www.dxsummit.fi

Sunspots - Sunday May 17th 2020

Solar flux is 69 and the SSN 0.  A=4 and K=1.

Dalham - NOT amateur radio

Dalham near Newmarket is a delightful village. We went for a good walk in this area this morning.

This pub is currently closed like all in this country. In the past we have eaten there.

6m FT8

Stations spotting me at 1156z

Yet again, I am puzzled. Despite just running 10W to a vertical V2000 omni fed with cheap CB coax, I have already been spotted today by 41 stations. In the same period, with a good sensitivity RX and a low noise floor, I have spotted just 12 stations. My only conclusion has to be there are far more RX stations than those on TX.

UPDATE 1156z:  Now 58 stations spotting my 6m FT8 10W so far today.

UPDATE 1855z: Now 88 spots of me.

UPDATE 1907z: For the first time in ages I am spotting more stations than are spotting me.

UPDATE 2124z: Now QRT for the night, but remaining on RX only, hoping for some transatlantic DX!

Young owls - NOT amateur radio

This is a photo of one of our grandchildren with three young owls. He is a natural with all sorts of animals.

JVC - Kenwood

How did I miss this? Apparently as long ago as 2008 these two companies merged. I had no idea!

Sunspots - Saturday May 16th 2020

Solar flux is 68 and the SSN 0. A=4 and K=1.

Sub-9kHz amateur radio

One of the websites I host is the Sub 9kHz Amateur Radio page. This tries to have recent news although many times it is better to look on the .io group in case I miss things. Most work is being done in Germany.

137kHz DX

Today one of my Facebook memories was this screenshot from 2011 of my 50uW ERP signal on 137kHz as received in Holland. I had forgotten this! As I recall it was using the wire loop in the garden.

OFCOM consulting on 5G frequencies

Apparently OFCOM is consulting on the use of some spectrum for 5G services. See the OFCOM website for more details.

As you know, far more base stations are likely for 5G. It would not surprise me to see base stations on several lampposts in every street. I wonder what will happen with 5G in rural areas?

5m (60MHz) in Australia

Southgate News has some encouraging news about possible access to the 5m band in Australia.

It would be good if more administrations allowed access to the 8m (40MHz) band. At the moment there is very limited access in just a  handful of countries to 8m. Sandwiched between 10m and 6m, it would be a great band for true experimenters.

See http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2020/may/60-metres-moves-closer-in-vk.htm#.Xr6HpmjYq00

6m FT8 overnight and Friday

In the hope that there might be an opening "across the pond" I was on 6m FT8 overnight. Although there is early Es on 6m here (even at 0530z), no transatlantic signals were spotted overnight sadly. I had a funny feeling about last night, but I was wrong!

UPDATE 0740z: There must be far more people receiving 6m FT8 than transmitting. My own signal has been spotted by 23 stations yet I have only spotted 7. This is despite me only using 10W to the V2000 omni vertical antenna!

UPDATE 1200z: With 51 stations spotting me, today has been a decent day so far on 6m Es. At the moment the Es seems to be favouring northern Europe.

Sunspots - Friday May 15th 2020

Solar flux is 68 and the SSN 0. A=3 and K=1.

Another rally cancelled

Earlier I had confirmation that the Dunstable Downs National Amateur Radio Car Boot Sale has been cancelled. With everything being so odd at the moment I doubt anyone is surprised!

Iris - NOT amateur radio

On our walk earlier we saw these iris. They bring joy to all of us.

They were beside Burwell Lode. There were two clumps about 100m apart.

News - NOT amateur radio

In recent weeks every time you turn on the news it seems like there is only Covid-19 and nothing else. Yes, we all know that this is important, but knife crime, BREXIT and everything else seem to have disappeared! It is worth remembering that news is the stuff they want us to know about. Often lost are good news stories. Sensational stories sell papers and make people watch certain channels. Cynical, me?