Wicken Fen walk - NOT amateur radio

Our walk today was around the outskirts of Wicken Fen and Wicken village. The photo shows some of what we saw.

2m FT8

Since 0655z my 2m FT8 (10W and the big-wheel omni) has been turned on. 8 spots in the first 15 minutes.

10m WSPR TX beacon

My 500mW 10m WSPR beacon to the indoor loop antenna has been on since 0655z. No spots yet.

ICOM IC-705 details

The spec and other details of this new QRP radio are on the ICOM UK pages.

See https://icomuk.co.uk/IC-705/Mobile_Amateur_Radio_Ham

Sunspots - Tuesday June 30th 2020

Solar flux is 69 and the SSN 0.  A=3 and K=2.

Oscar 100 and SOTA

Southgate News has a piece about a recent SOTA activation using Oscar 100, the geosynchronous satellite between 2 G stations.

See http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2020/june/qo-100-s2s-in-sota.htm#.XvoFkYjYq00

Walk collage - NOT amateur radio

Most days, we try to do a walk. The collage, by my wife, shows the things we saw on our walk yesterday. We try to vary where we walk.

It is surprising how many good walks there are quite close to home.

Skyscape - NOT amateur radio

East Anglia, UK, can be quite flat, but we do get some great skies as the photo shows. This was on our walk yesterday down to the River Cam, near Cambridge.

2m FT8 (1W and 10W)

At about 0845z, my 1W to the big-wheel omni was turned on. So far, 6 spots on TWX with the best being M0NPT (125km) in Nottingham. On RX 6 stations spotted so far with the best being PD4HW (294km) in Holland.

UPDATE 1118z:  So far today my 1W has been spotted by 8 stations with the best being G4RRA (333km)  in Devon. On 2m FT8 RX, 10 stations in 3 countries spotted so far today.

UPDATE 1351z:  So far today, my 1W FT8 has been spotted by 11 stations. G8VHI (127km) in the Birmingham area is showing up on the "all bands" PSKreporter map, but not on the 2m one. I have no idea why this is so. It happened briefly yesterday, but went.

UPDATE 1512z:  Increasing the power by 10dB has resulted in 23 spots of me in 6 countries. Best DX spot of me is GI6ATZ (479km).

UPDATE 2002z:  28 stations spotted me today. Now QRT.

10m WSPR TX

At about 0845z, my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon (into the indoor loop) was turned on. Already loads of spots from 4 unique stations. A promising start. No spots outside Europe on 10m WSPR this year.

Spots to 1250z today

UPDATE 1250z: 12 spots of my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon so far today. Best spot is by SM0FKI (1332km).

UPDATE 1337z:  No spots since 1056z.

UPDATE 1602z:    A spot from GM at 1526z.

UPDATE 2006z:   QRT.

FT991A

The Yaesu FT991A, which covers all HF, 6m, 2m and 70cm has served me well. It has been used on 20m, 17m, 10m, 6m, 2m and 70cm. Most times it is used at 10W.

At this power I am tempted by the IC-705, but not by the price!

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/ft991a

Sunspots - Monday June 29th 2020

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

So when is/was the solar minimum?

My favourite site for solar predictions still thinks we have just passed the solar minimum. This is despite the very low solar flux readings seen in the last few days. I think he calculates the minimum looking at things like polarisation changes. Pages and forecasts are due to be updated later this week.

IC-705 videos

Now this is on sale in Japan there are quite a few videos appearing including one of a teardown that looks inside.

Breezy walk - NOT amateur radio

River Cam

We have just got back from a walk towards the R. Cam. It was very breezy.

10m WSPR TX beacon

Already on 10m WSPR TX using 500mW to the tiny indoor loop antenna. Already spotted in Germany.

10m WSPR spots so far today

UPDATE 1158z:   Already 9 unique stations spotting me.

UPDATE 1400z: 16 unique stations have spotted my 500mW 10m WSPR so far today. At some point OZ7IT was getting me at an incredible +10dB S/N. Considering my 500mW to my indoor loop, this is amazing.

UPDATE 2146z:  QRT.

2m FT8 (1W)

As yesterday, I am on 2m FT8 using 1W to the big-wheel omni antenna. Plenty of stations spotting me.

Stations spotting my
2m FT8 1W so far today

UPDATE 1748z:  After a break of several hours I am again TXing (1W) on 2m FT8. The maps shows where my 1W to the big-wheel has reached today so far.

UPDATE 2040z:  QRT on 2m now.

Salcombe, South Devon, UK - NOT amateur radio

As a young child, I was brought up and lived in Salcombe, Devon. These days it is a playground for rich second home owners. It has been a holiday destination for centuries, although it is still very beautiful, In 1959 my parents sold our terraced house for £1.8k. These now sell for £500-600k to second home owners.

Sunspots - Sunday June 28th 2020

Solar flux is 69 and the SSN 0.  A=7 and K=2.

Wind and rain - NOT amateur radio

A few days ago it was very hot and sunny. Today is very different with strong winds, showers and dark clouds. The garden needs it, but I prefer warmer (not hot) settled sunny days.

2m FT8 (1W)

A few moments ago I QSYed from 6m to 2m FT8, using 1W from the FT817ND into the big-wheel omni. My signal is still between +7 and +9dB S/N on the grabber at G0LRD. So far, 9 spots with the best being by GI6ATZ (479km).

It is amazing how well 1W to the big-wheel omni does on FT8.

Clearly I am having no issues with DIG on the FT817ND on 2m.

UPDATE 1340z: 7 stations spotted so far on 2m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1428z:  13 stations in 3 countries have spotted me so far today on 2m FT8 TX with 1W. On 2m FT8 RX  still 7 stations spotted.

Stations spotting my
2m FT8 1W to 1916z

UPDATE 1916z:  18 stations have spotted my 2m FT8 1W to the big-wheel omni today. Amazing.

60m and WRC15

I rarely use the 60m band.

WRC15 (5 years ago!) allocated a 15kHz band at 60m to radio amateurs on a secondary basis. Some countries have allocated this, but as far as I know the UK has not.  The WRC allocation is low power and the argument is the UK allocations are more generous and partly cover the WRC band. Personally, I would prefer a harmonised band at lower power to the split UK allocations which I find confusing.

See https://rsgb.org/main/operating/band-plans/hf/5mhz/

Buying new radios

When I buy radios, they usually last me for many years. Last year I bought an FT991A, which is a great radio from Yaesu, even though I usually run it at only 10W. With a suitable PSU, it can run 100W.

As a QRP man, I am quite tempted by the new IC-705 which covers all HF, 6m, 2m and 70cm, but am put off by the high price here in the UK. It also supports D-STAR, Bluetooth and wi-fi. It also has its own battery and GPS. Nice radio, but a shame about the price!

At one time it was meant to include 4m, but this has been dropped. It is not clear if this will be available in a later firmware upgrade. An auto ATU has never been offered.

I don't think it will be available in the UK until later in the year. It has just gone on sale in Japan.

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

6m FT8 RX

At the moment, I am concentrating on 6m FT8 RX with the V2000 vertical omni.  So far, mostly EU stations spotted plus 4Z5AV (3633km).

UPDATE 0958z:   186 stations spotted so far this morning on 6m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1245z:  365 6m FT8 stations spotted so far today on RX. Although I get full power on FM, for some reason there is no output on DIG with the FT817ND. On the FT991A all is fine. It worked fine before. I suspect finger trouble, so I shall again later.

UPDATE 1635z: Mystery solved! It appears the FT817ND produces no output above 2.4kHz audio (this may be 2.7kHz) whereas the FT991A produces output to audio frequencies to almost 3kHz. When I set the audio to a much lower frequency it produced plenty of output on 6m.  I found this be accident.

10m WSPR beacon

As usual, I have turned on the 500mW 10m WSPR beacon with the indoor loop antenna. Amazingly, already a spot from Switzerland.

UPDATE 0934z: Already spots received from 5 different stations across Europe.

UPDATE 1935z: 11 unique stations have spotted me today on 10m WSPR.

VERY old photo - NOT amateur radio

This photo first appeared on my blog in 2010. It shows a man who is supposed to have been been born in 1746!

If correct, this must be one of the earliest photos of a human being ever. This is well before the French Revolution, when the USA colonies were still "owned"  by Great Britain and more than a century before the American Civil War.

I have no idea where this first appeared. As I recall, the first photos were taken in the late 1830s or early 1840s.

Sunspots - Saturday June 27th 2020

Solar flux is 68 and the SSN 0. A=6 and K=1.

2m FT8

At about 1235z I turned on 2m FT8. I am using 10W to the big-wheel omni antenna. So far, 8 stations have spotted me and no others have been spotted. A local, G0LRD has a very useful 2m FT8 screen grab so locals can check their signals.

See http://82.71.9.63:8080/cap/

UPDATE 1352z:   21 stations in 5 countries have spotted me already on 2m FT8 TX.  Not a single yet spotted on RX, despite my noise floor being vert low. No QSOs. Best spot was GI4SNA (491km) in N.Ireland. These sort of ranges seem always possible even though I only use 10W and the big wheel omni.

UPDATE 1548z:  QRT - thunder all around.

6m FT8

At 1130z my 6m FT8 gear was turned on.

UPDATE 1229z:  8 stations have spotted my 10W to the V2000 vertical omni.

10m WSPR TX

At about 1130z the 500mW 10m WSPR beacon was turned on dodging the thunder risk. It should be OK for the next hour or so.

UPDATE 1550z:  QRT thunder risk.

Storm risk?

Tree at Anglesey Abbey 

We booked on-line to visit a local National Trust property this morning as the weather forecast was good. In the last 6 hours it has changed twice, at one point predicting thunderstorms! Honestly they have no idea. Now it looks quite good. All my radio gear is disconnected, just in case!

UPDATE 1112z: In the end it was dry and hot. If you want to know the weather look out of the window!

2020 - NOT amateur radio

This photo summarises most countries in the world in 2020 with few if any expecting the impact of Covid-19 to be as it is.

Valve site

G8ALB has a site that is mostly about valves. I arrived on the scene just after transistors came in and I never got to build anything with valves. The nearest I got was a stroboscope.  A VHF RX based on the 955 acorn valve, was on the drawing board, but was never made.

See http://www.tetrode.co.uk/

Folk club - NOT amateur radio

Last night, our local folk club held an outdoor meeting outside the windmill next door. The weather was perfect - warm and sunny. I guess they cannot hold indoor meetings at the moment.

eHam.net

This site is very useful, especially if you are after a review. Seeing how others got on with a piece of kit can be very informative.

See https://www.eham.net/

RSGB

The Radio Society of Great Britain (RSGB) is the UK's national amateur radio society.  Like all national societies, they are far from perfect. Nonetheless, they represent our hobby in the UK. They produce a monthly journal called RadCom.

See https://rsgb.org/

Sunspots - Friday June 26th 2020

Solar flux is 69 and the SSN 0.  A=3 and K=1.

OFCOM updates

OFCOM is planning to update the fees paid for some licences. See the OFCOM website.

More rally news

This came to me earlier. As before, this is as I received it so the background may make it hard to read on some screens.

Saturday 27 JUNE : CANCELLED

HOUGHTON RADIO CLUB FREE RALLY. The Dubmire Royal British Legion Club, Britannia Terrace, Fencehouses, DH4 6LJ. Doors open at 10.15am (10am for disabled) and close at 3pm. The rally is open to trade, clubs and private sellers/exhibitors. Table space is limited so it will be allocated on a first come first served basis. There is no charge for tables and it is also free entry. Donations to the British Legion Club would be welcome. Hot drinks will be available and a licenced bar will be open from 11am. Anyone wishing to book tables please contact Amanda Weston M6LXK by email at: info@cannycomponents.net or call: 07787155745.


Sunday 28 JUNE : POSTPONED until 27 June 2021

33rd NEWBURY RADIO RALLY Newbury Showground, next to M4 J13, RG18 9QZ. There is free car parking. Traders can gain access as 8am and visitors at 9am. Admissions will be £2.50. Car boot sale pitches are £12.50. The show will have a huge selling area with a display area of an amateur radio station, exhibits, special interest groups, clubs and societies. NADARS training instruction will be available to discuss courses for Foundation and Intermediate exams. Catering is available on site. Advance bookings (with discount) at www.nadars.org.uk/rally.asp. Contact by email to NewburyRally@nadars.org.uk www.nadars.org.uk.

IC-705 on sale now in Japan

Apparently the IC-705 is now on sale in Japan although I have no information about it being available in the rest of the world.