It is nearly finished, but I was unable to pull the 14.040MHz crystals low enough, so I shall have to modify the oscillator slightly when we get back, as we are going out this morning.
I can get within 700Hz with just capacitance in series, but I shall have to add a little inductance too. I was hoping to stick this RX on when out, but I shall have to wait. At least it oscillates!
The UK government amazes me by how totally STUPID it is at times!! It is only now that hotel quarantine is mandatory for travellers from India.
We have known about the problems in India for days and in the meantime lots of travellers have returned, potentially spreading deadly new variants to other adults and children who can spread it still further.
Why did we not impose an immediate ban on Indian flights or at the very least mandatory hotel quarantine, at least for now, as a precaution? This (in)action beggars belief. Some times I am flabbergasted by how stupid we can be!
See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/mflf/472khz_tvtr
"It is much easier to set targets than take action to meet them. "
Personally, I suspect the world will "wake up" when it realises that green energy can actually be lower in cost than fossil fuels and can create jobs.
This is especially true if investment is switched to renewable energy rather than fossil fuels. The main breakthrough needed is low cost storage of renewable energies like wind and solar. This would be an absolute game changer.
I hope we wake up soon enough.
Look at TVs and cameras. 20 years ago who would have envisaged TFT screens and digital cameras? In 20 years from now we will probably look back and think, "did people really drive cars powered by petrol and diesel?".
One thing the Covid-19 pandemic has taught us all is just how well we can communicate without travelling. I suspect more of us with use things like Zoom for meetings rather than travelling for hours by plane, train or car. I also suspect that people will work from home more, maybe Mondays and Fridays and go into offices less often. We will still have offices and shops, but fewer. More of us will shop online.
Changes are coming.
See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-56837927 .
We have had a cold and wet winter. I also suspect that the workmanship last year could have been better and many filled-in potholes would have survived. A classic case of save a few pennies in the short term, but spend much more in the longer term.
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| V2000 Vertical |
UPDATE 1324z: 5 stations have spotted my 2.5W 6m QRP FT8 TX. I have spotted 49 stations in 8 countries on 6m FT8 RX.
UPDATE 2100z: 58 stations spotted on RX and 5 stations have spotted my QRP TX.
Disappointed with the Lyrids. I stayed on 6m FT8 RX overnight but spotted nothing new. Either FT8 was the wrong mode to use or there were few meteors.
UPDATE 0847z: Puzzling. I just resynced to internet time so the internet must be working. Two stations recently spotted did not appear on PSKreporter. Do they have a problem at their end?
UPDATE 0855z: All now working. Not sure what was happening, but 9 stations just spotted and on PSKreporter. Furthermost OE9KFV (855km).
Every day, I seem to discover something new. It seems that now there is an SD card inserted it records both RX and TX. Imagine my surprise when I could play the East Cambs Net from last Monday.
My USB-C lead has come so I hope to try FT8 in the coming days. No doubt there will be some surprises there too!
The next few days sees the peak of the Lyrids MS shower. I am not sure which mode is the best for MS on 6m.
FT8 was chosen and I shall remain on 6m FT8 RX overnight using the FT817ND and V2000 vertical omni. Within a few minutes several stations were spotted with the furthermost EI4DA (578km), although I am not sure of the propagation mechanism.
See https://www.independent.co.uk/space/lyrid-meteor-shower-2021-tonight-b1835168.html
Once a month the RSGB organises a 2m activity contest (UKAC) on Tuesday evenings lasting up to 2.5 hours. I usually manage an hour with my QRP, omni antenna and poor voice. Results have just been published for the year including the April session.
See https://www.rsgbcc.org/cgi-bin/vhfresults.pl?Contest=144MHz%20UKAC&year=2021
Many years ago, the RSGB ran a competition in the quiet years on 10m in the evenings. Even with 10W SSB and a low dipole, I was regularly able to work stations nearly 200km away. With more power, better antennas and modes like FT8 these sort of distances should be easy.
With 4W of FM and a CB vertical 30km was possible to other locals.
What I am saying is do not neglect 10m when there is no DX around. We have plenty of space and much of the time it is under-used.
At about 0914z, I turned on my 10m QRP FT8 with 2.5W and the tiny indoor loop antenna. G0FWX (160km) copied immediately.
I have gone back to the thinner loop wire as I was a bit concerned that the higher RF voltages with the copper pipe inductor, although higher Q and more efficient, could have damaged the matching parts on TX.
UPDATE 1308z: 3 stations spotted with the furthermost OH6EJD (1874km). Nobody has spotted me. I think this is Es.
With a bit of luck, I may have this working by the weekend. It is a DSB RX for 10m FT8. It means the "big rig" can be used for other things and 10m FT8 can be continuously monitored.
Southgate News relays some information on the EI7GL blog that the South African 8m beacon has been copied in Greece. There is even a recording on John's blog. There was a earlier report of it being copied in Portugal. Both these look like TEP.
This afternoon we are meant to be visiting friends for tea in their garden. Even since last night the BBC weather app has changed its forecast! Despite super-computers it would appear nothing beats a look out of the window!
Overnight I was on 160m FT8 RX only and spotted 144 stations. Unlike previous occasions, nothing was copied from the USA.
I am running 2.5W to the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. The return wire is hardly off the ground and buried in shrubs most of the way. Even I can hardly see it and have to check it is still intact!
Solar flux is 78 and the SSN 54. A=7 and K=1.
We have not seen sunspot numbers this high for some years.
The photo shows my pass when I was at Philips Paging in California back in the late 1990s. I worked for Philips Paging for a few years. Unlike Private Mobile Radio, pagers were consumer products. We made more in one night than we made certain PMR products in a product lifetime. Every penny really really mattered as did the slightest of blemishes. We made pagers in Cambridge, Mexico and Singapore.
At 0720z I turned on the FT817ND and indoor loop on to 10m FT8 RX. In the last few days my results have been disappointing. I suspect the loop is quite a bit less efficient than a dipole.
UPDATE 0847z: G0FWX (160km) spotted. As he was quite strong, I wonder if this was aircraft scatter
UPDATE 1330z: 4 stations spotted with some Es in the form of IK7LJZ (1664km). After comparing my RX results with G0LRD who is using just a low dipole on 10m, I think my loop must be at least 6dB down.
Thankfully, I have managed to locate (in the house) a lead that connects the PC to the IC-705, so may be able to try communicating later. This can only be to see if it works as I need the wire for other things. I shall have to buy a suitable cable longer term.
The function of the new icons has been found after reading the manual again. One is speech recording and the microSD symbol flashes when it is being used. Possibly some of last night's 2m net is recorded?
Following the instructions in "The RadioToday Guide to the IC-705", I have successfully upgraded the firmware from V1.12 to V1.24. All appears to have gone correctly. The next thing is to get a suitable interface cable from the rig to the PC and try FT8 and rig control. Some have used cables with ferrite toroids on or isolators to minimise ground loops.
As you can tell, I am taking things very slowly. With my "brain fog" (probably as a result of my 2013 stroke) it is all too easy to make mistakes. Jobs that would once have seemed trivial are now quite hard. Even just unpacking the microSD card from the packaging was a challenge!
UPDATE 2029z: Since doing the firmware update, a couple of new icons have appeared. The SD card is there, but flashing (why?) and there is an adjacent red circle. I am sure I shall find out what these are soon! I was able to have a 2m FM net OK this evening, but avoided touching anything just in case it all went wrong! Investigation needed, HI.
It is comforting to hear the church clock chiming again. Sadly, the chimes are about 13 minutes early! I am not sure how old the clock is.
The main tower bells have not been rung very often in the last year. When they return we will be back to "near normal".
NASA has successfully test flown its helicopter on Mars.
See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-56799755 .
These days, you can buy a whole SDR transceiver covering 160m-70cm with all modes plus Bluetooth, WiFi and GPS in much the same size. Mind you, the AT5 was a lot less expensive!
At 1030z, I turned on the FT817ND with the indoor loop on 10m RX. Comparing results with G0LRD, I think this antenna must be several dBs down. I can't wait to erect a 10m antenna outside again.
UPDATE 1236z: No spots.
UPDATE 1301z: Just G0LRD spotted.
