UK Airwave switch-off

Southgate News has a piece about the closure of the Airwave system, used by police and ambulance services with TETRA radios in the UK. It is reported that this will stay operational until at least 2024 because of delays to the system due to replace it. 

When I worked for Sepura (I retired in 2008) the UK police TETRA radios were an important part of our business. I am not sure what system they plan to use going forwards. I have completely lost touch in the last 5 years.

See http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2020/october/airwave-closure.htm#.X314akjYq00

Oscar 100 (geosynchronous)

Every few weeks I take a peek at the Goonhilly web SDR to check activity on the narrowband transponder. When I last checked (0810z today) it was still very quiet (just 2 European QSOs) with plenty of space.

See https://eshail.batc.org.uk/nb/

Light wave communication

Yesterday I mentioned that some years ago I bought some Flatlights (very high power LEDs) to allow me to get further over the horizon with light beam communication. Even with quite low powered LEDs I was able to achieve quite decent ranges non-line-of-sight. 

Optical communications is accessible to all and is ideal for homebrewing. All my gear was homemade and all software was free. Also, only very simple test gear is needed. As I recall a multimeter and a bearly lit LED in a dark room is about all you need. This is much simpler than microwaves. 

There is so much to be learned about optical communications. My "thing" was detecting weak signals over the horizon using PC software. What amazed me was there was no sign of the light in the sky, yet the signals were perfectly detectable on the PC as long as the RX was aimed in the right direction. I am sure much further would have been possible.

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

Sunspots - Wednesday October 7th 2020

 Solar flux is 72 and the SSN 0. A=7 and K=1.

Salcombe, Devon - NOT amateur radio

This aerial photo of where I come from in South Devon must be very old. Not sure when it was taken. 

8m band in the USA?

The FCC has received a "Petition for Rulemaking" making the case for an 8m amateur allocation. This is just a first step in what could be a long process. 

Midway between 10m and 6m this could be a really interesting allocation for serious experimenters especially with Es and MS. This was first made in June last year. I have no idea what happened. Even a few kHz and a limited power or ERP limit would be useful. If the FCC is as dynamic as OFCOM I expect the children will not understand how useful to radio science this could be.

Personally I would say 10kHz wide, narrow modes only (CW, digital) , secondary allocation, non-interference, 1W ERP to start with. Wouldn't this be a great FT8 or WSPR (or its replacement) allocation?

See the ARRL website for further details.

OFCOM Communications Monthly update

Every month OFCOM updates its Communications Monthly with the latest data it holds. See the OFCOM website for more details.

Walk collage - NOT amateur radio

This collage sums up our walk around the village earlier. We missed the rain. Most trees are still green. 

Walk - NOT amateur radio

In recent days we have got out of the habit of doing a walk. Today we did one and saw this fungus. It must be all the rain! 

481THz experiments

Many years ago before my 2013 stroke I bought some Flatlights (very bright LEDs) from the USA to enable me to get further with my optical experiments over the horizon. Even with quite low power LEDs I had got way over the horizon. 

Both my RX and optics could have been improved, so I was expecting much greater ranges. Then I had my stroke and I was unable to continue. To this day the Flatlights remain in the drawer unused.

2m FT8 (2.5W and big-wheel omni antenna)

For about 30 minutes (it is now 0828z) I have been on 2m FT8 with 2.5W and the big-wheel omni antenna. So far 7 spots of me and 1 spot of others. No QSOs.

Sunspots - Tuesday October 6th 2020

 Solar flux is 72 and the SSN 0. A=8 and K=4.

OFCOM licences

OFCOM has announced that it is imposing some new conditions when it grants licences to ensure holders know they have to obey international EMF guidelines. See the OFCOM website for more details. 

It would be good if OFCOM had a few people enforcing the law rather than just talking. Oh, silly me, that means people who understand RF.

FCC and 3.4GHz in the USA

According  to Southgate News, the FCC has withdrawn the 3.4GHz amateur allocation in the USA. It would appear the FCC has as many brains as OFCOM in the UK. 

See http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2020/october/fcc-deletes-3-4-ghz-amateur-satellite-service-allocation.htm#.X3sTbUjYq00

Walk - NOT amateur radio

Just after lunch we did a walk around the village. Luckily we dodged the showers. 

Back in the spring we had some great days with plenty of sunshine. 

It seems they are building new houses on every available scrap of land. 

The UK's world beating "Track and Trace" system - NOT amateur radio

The UK Prime Minister said that our Covid-19 "track and trace" system would be world beating. Yesterday we were told that 16000 people had been missed due to a technical glitch. The overwhelming impression is of utter chaos.

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-54412581 .

Our windmill in the 1980s - NOT amateur radio

The photo shows "our" windmill next door in the mid 1980s. It looks much better now with 4 sails and black tar.

Because of Covid-19 people have not been able to go up to higher floors this year sadly. Let us hope 2021 is better. The windmill is 200 years old.

6m FT8 (2.5W to the V2000 vertical omni)

Although the Es season is well behind us, I again decided to try 6m FT8.  

Although I have only been on for about 15 minutes, I have been spotted by a couple of Gs but no DX. On RX, just M0MVB (31km) has spotted me strongly. He is a serious 6m operator who worked some impressive DX this year on the band. By comparison, I am just playing.

UPDATE 1220z:  Still just the 2 spots of me. On RX best DX is OZ3K (703km).

UPDATE 1402z:  Even well outside of the Es season I am spotting signals from Spain and Denmark on 6m FT8. I think these are Es, but they could be aircraft.

UPDATE 1744z:  1 QSO with M0MVB (31km) and 11 stations in 5 countries spotted today on my simple 6m FT8 station. Best DX spotted was IT9RZR (2063km). Not bad for October!

Chinese transceivers

Steve G1KQH has reminded me about a new Chinese amateur radio HF transceiver. 

Many of the things we buy are made in China. It is now hard to find things not made in China. All this is because we demand lower and lower prices. We exported our UK manufacturing base to China. When China gets too expensive, we will look elsewhere. Like King Canute, we cannot stop the tides, but in the end we have to question this on many levels: we are exporting our pollution for example.

Sadly, we live in a consumer driven economy that cannot last for ever. Things are designed not to last too long so we are encouraged to replace items and so fuel our "throw away" mentality. We are all guilty.

Not sure why, but I still have issues with Chinese quality control. In the end the Chinese will get better and their quality control will be as good as the Japanese. The real question is will the Chinese be attracted by the (relatively small) amateur radio market? There are a few players, but no-one has seriously taken on the Kenwoods, Yaesus and ICOMs of this world yet. If they do, I could see some leaving the amateur radio market.

Family collage - NOT amateur radio

This collage of members of our family summarises last week. Some photos have been on before but together they show our week. 

Sunspots - Monday October 5th 2020

 Solar flux is 71 and the SSN 0. A=4 and K=0.

6m FT8

At about 1042z I decided to try 6m FT8 with the FT817ND (2.5W) and the V2000 vertical. It is now 1054z and no spots given or received yet.

There was TEP on 6m yesterday in the Americas, although I think we are too far north.

UPDATE 1443z: 1 spot of me 2 hours ago by a Spanish station EA5ISZ (1573km) who was worked too and 5 stations spotted on RX including 1 in central France.  Even well outside the Es season DX to be worked on 6m with QRP and a simple antenna.

UPDATE 1950z: QRT. 

Noise issues

At the moment I am fortunate in that I am not plagued by too much HF noise. It is high on 160m, 80m, 60m, 40m and 30m, but I have not had problems with FT8. Others have been less fortunate with a worsening HF, and sometimes VHF, noise floor. As time goes by, this could get worse.  In the end, the only noise-free bands may be 70cm and higher.

One person who cured his problem is G4SWX, who had problems from the neighbour's LEDs on his patio. Many problems are due to substandard parts that don't meet EU regulations. Companies cut corners to save a few pence and get away with it as there seems little OFCOM enforcement. If I am wrong, please accept my apologies.

See https://groups.io/g/RSGB-Workshop/message/4797

BREXIT - NOT amateur radio

With Covid-19, people have rather lost track of the trade deal negotiations between the EU and UK. Any trade deal has to be agreed before the year end. At the moment we seem some way from agreement with both sides hanging out for the best deal for them.

In the end, I am sure both sides want a trade deal. It is a case of who blinks first! 

I hope in the end both sides accept compromise and both are able to feel it is fair. The EU does a lot of trade with the UK and vice versa.

2m FT8 - 2.5W to the big-wheel omni antenna

Since 0830z I have been on 2m FT8 again.  7 Gs have spotted me so far and I have spotted just one station F4EMG (193km) in northern France. 

UPDATE 1040z:  11 stations, all G apart from EI2FG (565km), have spotted me so far and 4 stations spotted on RX with best DX F0EYI (465km) in Brittany.

Duet - NOT amateur radio

The photo shows one of our grandchildren singing a duet with her dad yesterday at our home. He is a professional jazz pianist, facing hard times.

Sunspots - Sunday October 4th 2020

 Solar flux is 72 and the SSN 0, A=6 and K=2.

Skateboarding - NOT amateur radio

The photo shows one of our grandchildren enjoying his skateboard outside our house this afternoon. 

The FT7 HF transceiver

The first HF transceiver I ever owned was a 10W FT7 by Yaesu. With this, with low wire dipoles, I worked DXCC on SSB including a station in New Zealand. From memory, this was mostly on 10m.  I sold it years later to a friend. It was VFO controlled, no memories, no synthesisers. It was a great radio - very quiet and a joy to use. It was one of the very best transceivers I have ever used.

For about 20 years we have had 5W multi-band, multimode, transceivers (including VHF and UHF) in the form of the FT817 and FT818 handhelds.  These are about a tenth of the size of the FT7, but with the battery.

Later Yaesu made a higher power version, the FT7B (50W) which is shown in the video below.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/ft7

Medieval graves - NOT amateur radio

Earlier this week we went to Peterborough Cathedral. Around the back were several medieval graves as the photo shows. These were unearthed when some restoration work was being carried out.

2m FT8 Saturday

Since 0817z I have been on 2m FT8. As usual running 2.5W to the big-wheel omni antenna. 

UPDATE 0920z: 7 spots of me so far with EI2FG (565km) as best DX.  2 stations spotted so far on RX here with best being DL9BBE (476km).

UPDATED 1400z:  21 stations in 2 countries spotted with the best being DB9VE (551km). 10 stations have spotted me and 1 QSO.

UPDATE 2215z:  QRT. 

Sunspots - Saturday October 3rd 2020

 Solar flux is 72 and the SSN 0. A=9 and K=2.

Best Man - NOT amateur radio

This week, we have had the best man at our wedding in 1971 staying with us. 

It was good to see him. We see him most years. To think, next year it will be 50 years married!

The photo is in our front garden.

OFCOM

OFCOM has announced it is changing some of the fees for Wireless Telegraphy licences. See their website for full details.

Borrowed time? - NOT amateur radio

As we get older (I am 72 in December) we have a different perspective on life. 

Years ago life seemed to be endless. Nowadays we are more aware of our limited time. Some of our close friends have died in recent months. One of my wife's closest friends has gone in to a care home for people with dementia. A year ago she was fine.

Every day is a precious gift. Tomorrow we could be dead or we could live for another 30 years. I guess the message is count every blessing. We go from children to old people very quickly! We look back and wonder where the years went.

At G3XBM

In all, I have been in the hobby since the early 1960s. It is not possible to do everything, but I have tried quite a bit over the years. Normally I use QRP powers. Using high power, and big beams would certainly make some things easier, but for me the fun is seeing how far low power and simple antennas get. Each to their own. Thank goodness we are all different.

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

2m FT8

 At the moment (it is now 0842z) I am on 2m FT8 with the FT817ND and the big wheel omni antenna. So far, 4 Gs have spotted me and I have spotted nothing yet on 2m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1543z:  9 spots of me today with the best spot being ON6LEO (392km).  On RX 28 stations spotted here with the best DX being EI5ASB (494km).

OFCOM opens access to EHF frequencies

OFCOM has announced access to 18.2GHz of spectrum in the 100-200GHz spectrum. See the OFCOM website for details.

Another rally cancelled

As mentioned on previous weeks, this is as I receive it. The white background may make the post hard to see on some devices.

Sunday 4 OCTOBER : CANCELLED

HAMZILLA RADIO RALLY. Dover ARC striving to alter the date for 2021 and are hopeful for March 21st 2021.

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

1928 sketch - NOT amateur radio

This sketch of Salcombe in Devon where I come from was drawn nearly 100 years ago.  For those that know the place, it shows near the Ferry Inn.