6m FT8

It is very late for Es, but my Facebook memories today reminded me that some Es can occur very late in the summer, certainly well outside of the traditional "Es season". For this reason I decided to try 6m FT8.  It is now 0921z and I have been active for about 10 minutes. Surprisingly, already a couple of Gs have spotted my 10W to the V2000 vertical omni antenna. No great DX (best 77km), but life. Nothing yet spotted on RX here and no QSOs.

UPDATE 0929z: Now also spotted by G7RAU (461km) in Cornwall. Not Es, but pleasing. His report of me at -15dB S/N is quite strong. Aircraft?

UPDATE 1525z: My 10W has been spotted by 7 stations so far today with best DX being DK8NE (702km). On RX 7 stations spotted. 

UPDATE 2015z:  Now QRT. 9 stations spotted me today.

Sunspots - Sunday September 20th 2020

 Solar flux is 71 and the SSN 0. A=3 and K=0.

Cromer pier - NOT amateur radio

We visited Cromer last Monday. It is an old fashioned holiday town on the north Norfolk coast. Much to our surprise, it was not "trippy", but had a charm of its own. We were expecting to pay to walk on the pier, but it was free.

2m FT8

Stations spotting my 10W at 1431z today

 A few minutes ago (about 1415z) I returned to 2m FT8 with 10W to the big-wheel omni antenna. Already 35 stations in 4 countries have spotted me! On 2m FT8 RX just 4 stations in 2 countries spotted here so far today (at 1431z). The map shows the stations spotting me at 1431z. 1 QSO so far.

UPDATE 1530z:  47 stations in 6 countries have spotted my 10W 2m FT8 so far this afternoon. Best is a spot by EI2FG (565km) near Cork.

 

UPDATE 2100z: Now QRT.  84 stations in 10 countries spotted with the furthermost being OZ1CCM (796km).  On TX 53 stations in 4 countries spotted my 10W today on 2m FT8.

E-field probe RX antennas

It is total myth that VLF Rx antennas have to be big. They do not!! Very effective VLF, LF and MF RX antennas can be very small indeed. Some years ago I tried an e-field probe antenna on 136 and 472kHz with excellent results.

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

Wireless charging of electric vehicles

Southgate News has a piece about the impact of wireless electric vehicle charging on the amateur and other services. The noise level close to these is way above ITU standards and is going to get worse over time. Wireless vehicle chargers operate between 79 and 90kHz.

See http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2020/september/rf-pollution-from-electric-vehicle-wireless-chargers.htm#.X2XjVWjYq00

Dahlias NOT amateur radio

Our neighbours opposite love dahlias. They had a great show last year and have a good show this year too as the photo shows. 

IC-705 in Europe?

MLS were expecting their first batch of these mid September, but I am not sure if they got these. Does anyone know if it has got CE approval? What I am wondering is is the blockage at the ICOM factory or approval? 

20m FT8 Saturday (4W to indoor loop)

As an experiment I left 20m FT8 RX on overnight. Best DX was 5Z4VJ (6858km) in Nairobi. As usual, I am using the indoor loop. 

UPDATE 0825z: On RX 150 stations spotted in the last 3 hours with best DX ZD7MY (7606km) on St Helena.  4W TX switched on at 0747z. No spots of me yet.

UPDATE 1040z: 248 stations in 4 continents spotted here this morning and 11 stations spotting me.

Sunspots - Saturday September 19th 2020

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

Keeping an eye on the neighbours - NOT amateur radio

Our neighbours were asked to keep an eye on their neighbour's house and garden when they were away on holiday. My neighbour decided to rebuild the fence. I think his neighbours have some leaks! 

20m FT8 (4W to indoor loop)

Since just before breakfast I have been on 20m FT8 with the tiny indoor loop antenna. It is now 1140z. So far, my 4W has been spotted by 14 stations in 2 continents and I have spotted 198 stations.

UPDATE 1545z: 13 Europeans plus 1 on the Canary Is have spotted my 4W 20m FT8 today so far. On RX, 424 stations spotted with best DX YB2HAF (11989km).

Stations spotted in
the last 12 hours

UPDATE 2057z: 708 stations spotted in the last 12 hours and 23 stations spotted my 4W to the tiny indoor loop.

Cambridge Radio Club (CDARC)

In the last few months I rejoined the Cambridge club as a country member. Meetings are currently held as Zoom meetings online and these have been very good. I do not like driving far, if at all, at night these days. Zoom meetings suit me well. This week, we had a joint quiz and social by Zoom with a club in Northern Ireland. This worked out really well.

See http://www.cdarc.org.uk/ 

Coastal erosion - NOT amateur radio

The photo shows the coastal erosion that occurs in some parts of north Norfolk. This photo was taken at West Runton. 

Sunspots - Friday September 18th 2020

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

Return to 20m FT8

At about 1345z, I returned to 20m FT8 using 4W and the indoor loop. So far, in about 12 minutes, 47 stations have been spotted, although no-one yet has spotted me and no QSOs.

UPDATE 1425z: Plenty of DX being spotted with the best being LU4EFC (11336km). 4 continents spotted so far in this session. 88 stations so far spotted this afternoon. 179 stations spotted on 20m FT8 today.

Stations spotted

Stations spotting me

UPDATE 2020z:  437 stations spotted here in the last day in 5 continents on 20m FT8 RX.  20 stations including 3 in the USA have spotted my 4W 20m FT8 TX to the tiny indoor loop. I remain amazed that this tiny antenna works so well.

2m big-wheel omni antenna

As mentioned in the last post, I use a Wimo big-wheel omni antenna for 2m SSB and FT8. This is horizontally polarised and has a slight gain (2-3dB?) in all directions. It works very well. It was erected some years ago by David G0LRD. 

It is also used on 70cms for SSB and FT8. 

It suits my operating perfectly as no rotator or beams are needed.  It is ideal for FT8 and monthly activity contests on 2m and 70cm SSB. For FM I use a vertical V2000.

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

2m FT8 (10W to big-wheel omni antenna)

At about 0940z I QSYed to 2m FT8. Already 41 stations have spotted my 10W in 6 countries (see map). 22 stations in 4 countries spotted on RX (at 1018z). 1 QSO so far on 2m FT8.

UPDATE 1113z: Now spotted by 45 stations and 2 QSOs. It could be aircraft scatter, but this seems too random. I personally think some other scatter mechanism is responsible for the spotting of some of these. Just now, again, I was spotted in 5 countries. A very useful resource is the grabber at G0LRD. David monitors WSJT-X on 144.174MHz. See http://82.71.9.63:8080/cap/. It was G0LRD who erected my 2m Wimo big-wheel some years ago. I see he has one now!

UPDATE 1235z:  63 stations in 8 countries have spotted my 2m 10W FT8. 3 QSOs today on 2m FT8 TX with 10W. 46 stations in 7 countries spotted today on 2m FT8 RX. As I mentioned earlier in the week, 2m seems far from dead. I guess there is now far more FT8 and far less SSB and FM.

Cromer church - NOT amateur radio

A few days ago we visited Cromer in north Norfolk. It has a fine church (see photo) that was sadly locked. You can see the church from miles away. 

20m FT8 Thursday (4W to the indoor loop)

At about 0700z, I turned on my 4W 20m FT8 to the tiny indoor loop. The loop is about 0.5m across, made of thin wire (1mm diameter?) and sits on the shack windowsill. It is hardly a great 20m antenna!! So far, after 15 minutes, 14 stations have been spotted and 1 station has spotted me.

UPDATE 0925z:  So far, 97 stations spotted with the loop on 20m FT8 RX with the best DX being RV0AR (5577km) in Asiatic Russia.  On TX, 6 stations have spotted my 4W (see map).

Yesterday on 20m FT8

A total of 226 stations were spotted with the tiny indoor loop antenna yesterday and 7 stations spotted my 4W. See maps. 

Sunspots - Thursday September 17th 2020

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

20m FT8 (4W and the indoor loop)

As 15m FT8 here was dreadful here, I QSYed to 20m FT8. 

Although I did a total reboot of the PC and reset the clock to internet time just now, still nothing on PSKreporter.  Locally I am spotting loads of stations. 

I wonder if there is a problem, albeit probably temporary, with PSKreporter? My RX and TX spots were fine on 2m FT8 earlier. I am pretty sure the internet connection is fine as I was able to do a time sync.

UPDATE 1506z:  1 spot on TX and 41 on RX now, so all is now fine.

Salthouse beach, Norfolk - NOT amateur radio

A few days ago, as the photo shows, we were on the beach at Salthouse, north Norfolk. This is a shingle beach. Just a few miles away it is sand.

15m FT8 with 4W and the indoor loop

Since 1300z, I have been on 15m FT8. No spots given or received yet. 

UPDATE 1430z:  No spots still on RX or TX. I may try 20m FT8.

Solar Cycle 25

According to spaceweather.com, solar cycle 25 has started.  At the moment it is hard to believe as we have had no sunspots for several weeks. 

The latest NASA/NOAA predictions show the next cycle just a tiny bit better than the last one. They are forecasting a weak cycle and peak.

See https://www.weather.gov/news/201509-solar-cycle

See also https://blogs.nasa.gov/solarcycle25/

Village magazine - NOT amateur radio

Although I don't think that this has been posted before please accept my apologies if it has! Since 1975 we have had a village magazine free every 2 months. It is a mix of local news and adverts. 

Our political leaders

Certainly in the UK, Russia, Belarus and the USA it would appear our leaders are out of touch with reality. I am not a political animal, but it would help if they were honest. Honesty and the ability to admit mistakes seems in very short supply.

As mentioned before, I find it very hard indeed to find anyone in politics these days who is there for anything other than their vested self interests. We desperately need real leaders with backbone and integrity. 

Oh, there's another pig flying by......

Beach Huts - NOT amateur radio

 

These colourful beach huts were photographed earlier in the week at Sheringham,  Norfolk. We spent 5 nights at Sheringham.

2m FT8 (10W and big-wheel omni antenna)

For about an hour I have been on 2m FT8 with 10W to the big-wheel omni antenna. 50 stations in 7 countries have already spotted me. It is now 0955z.  

On 2m FT8 RX 36 stations in 6 countries spotted the furthermost being DL3TW (655km) not far from Denmark. One G QSO so far.

UPDATE 1211z:  67 stations in 10 countries have spotted me with 2 QSOs. On RX 57 stations in 8 countries spotted. 2m dead?

Joint Zoom meeting

Last evening, the Cambridge and Antrim clubs held an informal meeting and quiz by Zoom. It was a resounding success. 

One of the positives of lockdown is the proof that clubs can come together even though they are miles apart. Someone from the Antrim club mentioned that they had had a speaker from the USA on a recent Zoom meeting. 

Sunspots - Wednesday September 16th 2020

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

2m FT8

My 10W to the big-wheel omni on 2m has been spotted by 31 stations already (after about 20 minutes) in 6 countries. So far, just one Welsh station spotted on RX.

Although this could be aircraft scatter, I suspect some other sort of scatter as it seems to work at almost any time. 

UPDATE 2140z:  59 stations in 10 countries have spotted my 10W to the big-wheel 2m omni today.  Now QRT. Although not shown on PSKreporter, the most distant station copied was in Sweden.

Home again

For the last few days we have been in north Norfolk on holiday. I am about to turn on 2m FT8. 

2m activity contest results published

The 2m UKAC activity contest results for September have been published. In the low power section I came 62nd out of 204, despite being on for under an hour with an omni antenna. 

Zoom quiz

This evening the Cambridge and Antrim radio clubs are joining forces by Zoom for a quiz at 1830z. This is one of the positives of the current odd times as people are brought together. Certainly I have seen far more lectures by the Cambridge club by Zoom than I would have if I had had to journey into Cambridge at night. 

Simple pleasures - NOT amateur radio

When in Norfolk we eat at the Old Reading Room in Kelling. This is a second hand bookshop and tea room. The food is nothing special, but it has been run by the same people for many years. These are simple Norfolk folk who are just themselves. One of the pleasures is it never changes. 

Sunspots - Tuesday September 15th 2020

 Solar flux is 69 and the SSN 0. A=11 and K =3.

Old fashioned seaside holiday - NOT amateur radio

The photo shows the ice-cream my wife bought for just £1 in Cromer earlier. 

Cromer Crab Lunch - NOT amateur radio

Lunch today was Cromer crab as the photo shows. It was very good.