At about 1645z I QSYed to 2m FT8. So far (it is now 1652z) 6 stations in 3 countries have spotted my 2.5W to the big-wheel omni antenna. On RX no-one yet spotted.
UPDATE 1757z: 9 stations in 5 countries have spotted me so far on 2m FT8 today with the furthermost being GI6ATZ (479km). On RX 3 Gs spotted so far.
UPDATE 2055z: 18 stations have spotted me and I have spotted 8 stations.
This afternoon, I tried in vain, to mend my "better" 10m loop antenna. I failed.
Before, there was a distinct peak when tuned and the SWR dipped significantly on resonance. Sadly, just a few minutes of soldering work left me totally exhausted and giddy. I shall have to try again another day. After about 10 minutes of physical or mental work I am just knackered. Whether this is my stroke or just old age I do not know.
At the moment I am still on 15m FT8 on the "poorer" loop.
There is news today of a Covid-19 vaccine. Already the stock markets have reacted positively. Hopefully this will be the first vaccine of many. 2020 has been a nightmare year. Let's hope 2021 is better.
I have been involved in amateur radio for over 50 years and in that time quite a few things have changed. On my main website there is a potted history of G3XBM in amateur radio.
It is now 0916z and I have been on 15m FT8 for about an hour with 2.5W and the tiny indoor loop antenna on the shack windowsill. So far, just 1 station spotted on RX and no-one has spotted me.
UPDATE 0950z: 12 stations spotted on 15m FT8 RX and nobody has spotted me yet.
UPDATE 1040z: 1 station in Germany near the Danish border DJ3LE (666km) has spotted my QRP and I have spotted 21 stations so far today on 15m FT8.
UPDATE 1235z: 3 stations have spotted me so far today.
UPDATE 1340z: So far today, 81 stations spotted on RX and 4 stations have spotted me with the furthermost being UA3D (2519km). With QRP and the tiny tiny loop indoors I am amazed that anyone spots me!
UPDATE 1512z: 4 stations have spotted me and I have spotted 107 stations today on 15m FT8 RX.
Ever wondered if you are related to royalty? Well, certainly in Europe, you probably are.
I can trace my father's line back to the 1500s. Everybody has 2 parents, 4 grandparents, 8 great-grandparents and so on. Going back to the 1500s that means I needed over 8000 people to marry and have children. Going back just 10 more generations, way after Magna Carta, and I have over 16M ancestors, which is far greater than the whole UK population at that time!
Now I am sure some of my ancestors married distant relatives, so the number will be a bit less, but you get my point: if you go back far enough we are connected. If we go back to the time the Romans came to England certainly one of those is in my family tree.
This is humbling. Just think, we are only here now because those people had children. If just one had not, we would not be here now.
Solar flux is 90 and the SSN 40. A=5 and K=0.
Humming again! Not sure what the latest forecasts for cycle 25 are, but we are off to a promising start.
All those that fought in those dreadful WW1 trenches are now dust. How futile this slaughter was.
One of my wife's relatives (see photo) fought and survived WW1, although the experiences haunted him all his life.
Since 1900z I have been on 2m FT8 QRP with 2.5W and the big-wheel omni antenna. So far just 2 stations have spotted me with furthermost PA2M (311km). On RX nothing yet spotted.
UPDATE 2034z: Just 1 station spotted on RX this evening F4HRD (182km), whereas 10 stations have spotted me with the furthermost being G7RAU (461km) in Cornwall many times.
In the last century, our views of physics were radically changed by Einstein and then quantum physics. Things we had believed in for centuries required new ways of thinking. One wonders what our world view will be like in the next century. You can almost hear them saying,"did they really believe that?".
I wonder about time and memory. In our minds we wake up each day with our understanding of the passage of time and the assumption that our (fading) memories are as old as us. It is entirely possible that this is an illusion and each day is unique and the memories we think we have are illusions too. I have already discussed the mystery of human consciousness.
No, in 100 years' time our whole world view could be totally different.
At about 1515z, I switched to 15m FT8 using 2.5W and the poorer indoor loop. Several USA stations already spotted, although they did not appear on PSKreporter for some reason.
UPDATE 1548z: 1 station has spotted me and I have spotted 4 so far with the furthermost being KB8BIP (6266km) in West Virginia.
Several times I have noticed a bug with WSJT-X with FT8.
When I use my Windows 10 machine, it seems not to recognise my SignaLink USB interface until a few minutes after I have switched on. After a while it recognises it and starts to decode OK. Before then, signals on the waterfall look smeared and there are no decodes.
At first I thought it was RF feedback, but it seems to be any band and any antenna. I have still to try the new release candidate version 2.3 to see if this has been corrected.
When I was working, I managed to scan some of my early logbooks. These are available as files on my main website.
One of my winter projects is to join Logbook of the World (LOTW). Another is to update my eQSL entries.
Since 0922z I have been on 10m FT8 with 2.5W and the poorer indoor loop. I must mend the better loop! No spots yet.
UPDATE 1023z: Just a single spot on RX of G0PQO (50km).
UPDATE 1508z: Several stations in southern Spain spotted. Nobody has yet spotted me today.
Solar flux is 90 and the SSN 37. A=5 and K=1 We are definitely climbing out of the solar minimum.
At VLF, LF and MF I have used this at 2 QTHs with great success. My own theory is this acts as a loop in the ground which gets bigger with rising skin depth i.e. as frequency is reduced. I am sure a full sized antenna would be better, but this works way beyond expectations.
See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/antennas/earth-electrode-antennas
One blog reader very kindly sent me a great gift in the post. This was a total surprise and very much appreciated. To avoid embarrassing him, I won't name him, but the parcel arrived safely - thank you so much.
There are some very kind people in this world, certainly far more good people than bad.
It is now 1525z on Saturday days after the US election and still they have not finished counting!! You would think one of the biggest economies in the world could organise this better. Perhaps this goes with the territory and the country that can only find old men to govern them can only find a pathetic system to count votes.
UPDATE 2246z: QRT.
Solar flux is 94 and the SSN 35. A=8 and K=1.
Things are improving fast.
For about 20 minutes I have been on 2m FT8 QRP. So far 22 stations in 6 countries have spotted me with the furthermost being EI2FG (565km).
UPDATE 1825z: 36 stations have spotted me today. G0LRD has a 2m grabber that I find useful (see photo).
UPDATE 2220z: 1 QSO today. Now QRT.
Southgate News has piece about using drones that stay up for 9 days to act as 5G base stations. I guess this could be less expensive than 5G microwave base stations every few hundred metres. It could also offer 5G in rural areas, which otherwise could lose out.
The new Yaesu flagship radio is far too expensive for me to even consider, although for some it is within their budget. It is also not a QRP radio.
This is probably the first of a range of SDR based Yaesu radios. What strikes me is that Yaesu has become a follower rather than a leader.
I have been a Yaesu fan since the 1970s, but at the moment ICOM seems to be the leader. It is almost as if Yaesu is rudderless and drifting. In my mind, they seem half-hearted about the amateur radio market. Come on Yaesu - prove me wrong!
Like many, I started my hobby as a short wave listener (SWL) on medium and short waves. Hearing the sounds of the interval signals of distant broadcast stations was very thrilling. Gradually this changed to listening for amateur signals.
This afternoon I scanned some old photos for an album my wife is making for a 90th birthday present. I tried scanning at high resolution as I wanted some scratches editing out. The Windows 10 was so slow! Compared with my Chromebook that I've had for about a year it is so slow. I am totally impressed with the Chromebook.
OFCOM has agreed a spectrum swap between users at 2.6GHz. See their website for details.
At the moment I am on 2m FT8 RX. So far this evening 18 stations in 3 countries spotted with the furthermost being DD7DAC (520km). In all, 3 Germans spotted.
UPDATE 2300z: QRT.
As I write, the US presidential election could go either way.
Whatever the outcome, the USA remains deeply split. Sadly, I cannot feel a whiff of compromise in the air, just a feeling of, "we are right and you are wrong".
In many countries there is a swing to the right in politics. We should learn the lessons of history. This is how Hitler started.
What amazes me is that in a great nation like the USA the competition is between a 74 year old and a 77 year old. Where are the great younger leaders?
Sadly, the president of the USA also is, by default, the leader of the western world. At this rate the USA is on a downward path to self destruction and irrelevance in the world.
We live in East Cambridgeshire. It has the second lowest case numbers in the country and the R rate has dropped to 1.0 implying the infection rate is neither growing or falling. A week ago it was 1.2, so this is encouraging.
It is now 1354z. For about 45 minutes I have been on 15m FT8 with 2.5W to the indoor loop. Nobody has copied me yet, but I have spotted 15 stations.
UPDATE 1515z: 42 stations in 4 continents spotted so far today. 2 spots of me so far with the furthermost being WE9V (6313km).
