At 0930z, I turned on the homebrew 10FT8R receiver and the tiny indoor loop. Just M0NKR (27km) spotted so far.
UPDATE 1208z: 7 stations spotted so far today.
Simple QRP projects, 10m, 8m, 6m, 4m, FT8, 160m, WSPR, LF/MF, sub-9kHz, nanowaves and other random stuff, some not related to amateur radio.
At 0930z, I turned on the homebrew 10FT8R receiver and the tiny indoor loop. Just M0NKR (27km) spotted so far.
UPDATE 1208z: 7 stations spotted so far today.
This was my first field test on LF since 2013.
Once again, I am monitoring 10m FT8 RX with the 10FT8R and the tiny indoor loop antenna. No spots yet at 0759z.
UPDATE 1119z: Just one LA spotted so far today. An EA7 did not get uploaded to PSKreporter for some reason.
UPDATE 1230z: Just 3 spots so far today.
I didn't realise that I needed the same connector for my big-wheel and the 10FT8R RX, so I only stayed on 2m for about 30 minutes last evening. 3 stations worked with the best DX being G4CLA (105km) with 10W and the big-wheel omni antenna.
147 stations in all with the tiny indoor loop antenna yesterday with the best DX Sao Paulo in Brazil.
I saw one swallow in early April and none since. I have not seen a single house martin or swift.
At one time these were common, but not any more. This may in part be the wind direction, but I suspect global warming: their food supplies on their long journey north may have reduced as deserts grow.
To me, seeing screaming swifts overhead is an English spring and summer. Perhaps for not much longer?
I have the USB drivers and audio CODECs set up now on the rig, but have not got FT8 working yet.
Years ago this would have been a trivial task, but with my "brain fog" this is like doing it blindfold: tasks that would have been easy in 2012 are now really hard, taxing and exhausting. I also thought a USB-C was the same as a micro-USB!! It isn't! Luckily I had one around.
I think for FT8 on the IC-705 I shall need a lead with isolation as the PC introduces noise I think.
This afternoon, using the very slightly revised circuit (thanks for the circuit simulation Jay) I have been receiving yet more Es signals on the 10FT8R receiver with the tiny indoor loop. 22 stations just copied in southern Europe.
UPDATE 1604z: 67 stations spotted this afternoon.
A proper CAD schematic will follow shortly.
At 0640z I turned on my 10m FT8 RX with the 10FT8R and tiny indoor loop antenna. No spots yet.
As mentioned yesterday, I am working on a new Googles Sites website. All being well, it will "go live" later this week. You will still point to www.g3xbm.co.uk and it will automatically take you to the new pages when they are ready. Most pages have been done, but some remain to be done.
The main difference is pages will be accessed via drop-down menus at the top of the home page rather than the index on the left. It allows some new features including embedding, so my 10m FT8 grabber will be there too. I may be able to use this feature for other things as well.
All being well, there will be some new pages too.
It is now 0948z. I have been on RX for about 25 minutes using the 10m 10FT8R receiver with the tiny indoor loop antenna. So far, just OM0ALE (1431km) spotted.
UPDATE 1014z: Now more stations being received by Es.
UPDATE 1129z: 10 stations received today so far using the 10FT8R RX and the tiny indoor loop antenna.
UPDATE 1547z: 20 stations spotted so far today. The 10FT8R seems to work well, even with the tiny indoor loop.
UPDATE 2128z: 47 stations spotted today on 10m FT8 RX with the 10FT8R and the tiny indoor loop.
Some years ago we went to coastal Albania on a day trip from Corfu. We had a total surprise. We went by coach down the coast to one of their very ancient sites. After lunch we went to a place with the purest, clearest, water I have ever seen.
The main town where our boat landed was filled with empty beaches, awaiting visitors. Prices were far lower than on Corfu. They accepted Euros.
Other parts may still be backward. All I can say is do not let your old views get in the way. Albania is trying to change. We were very pleasantly surprised.
If you are like me you will be keen to see the latest solar data. My favourite site (solan) for solar data has been updated. Numbers have been increased yet again. Hopeful signs. I have no idea what the latest peak will look like.
See https://www.solen.info/solar/ .
UPDATE 0834z: At the moment this solar cycle looks very similar to the last one.
As mentioned in an earlier post, I am working on a new website. Things are progressing well so the new pages could be up soon. All the old stuff should be there plus some new stuff.
For creating "all new" sites Google Sites is very user friendly. It is a pity that just migrating classic sites is appallingly bad.
This morning I turned on my 10FT8R 10m FT8 RX with the tiny indoor loop.
UPDATE 1258z: So far just G3YMW (19km) spotted. I can't wait to get my "proper" antenna up.
UPDATE 2007z: Now 93 stations spotted with furthermost PU4JLV (9202km). If you saw this antenna you would laugh.
As mentioned yesterday, my website has to move to the new Google sites by September. A simple migration did not work! It insisted on being 2018.
Instead, I have decided to create an all new site, hopefully with all the old stuff retained and possibly new stuff added too. I am sticking with Google sites. As soon as the new site is ready, I shall swap over.
As the date is some way off, this gives me time. It was time for a refresh anyway! 😁
Someone in the USA has suggested a small improvement to the audio stages of the 10FT8R following CAD analysis. I shall try this later.
A week early, the coax for the feed to my 10m dipole has arrived.
Assuming my son can help next week, I have all I need to get this up externally. It should be several dBs better than the indoor loop I am using presently.
In September old classic Google Sites have to convert to the New Sites or they close. So, I attempted to convert my old site, but this attempt failed. This may be finger trouble and I shall try again. Why is it that things get worse? When I tried to convert it insisted in showing me my website from 2018 - why?!!
"If it ain't broke don't fix it".
Oh yes!! Like Picasa going and so much else. Why is it that so many things get worse over time and not better?
If all else fails I may revert to my Virgin Media webspace under www.g3xbm.co.uk .
Also, some time ago, Google tried to get all bloggers to use their new editing tool for blogs. This was fine on my PC, but it was sooooo SLOW on a phone it was unusable. They have since fixed it.
The "attempt" at site conversion was dreadful!!
UPDATE 1525z: It appears I am not alone having issues. I may just create a totally new site in New Google Sites as I have several months.
It looks like I can do this on Google New Sites with embedding. For now, I have a temporary page.
On our visit to Anglesey Abbey after lunch we heard one.
They often lay a single egg in a reed warbler's nest. I suspect the one we heard was beside the water. It was very clear.
See https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/cuckoo/ .
Before long, I would like to add a grabber on my website to show the stations I am spotting on 10m FT8. The page is already there, but I don''t yet know how to do this! 😁
As a PC novice this has to be really, really simple. Steve G1KQH is also after the answer.
If you know a very easy way to do this, please let me know!
What I really want is to be able to show the PSKreporter map screen that I can see.
See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/10grab .
At the moment, the grabs are being manually uploaded.
At 0555z I turned on my 10m FT8 RX with the tiny indoor loop antenna. The 10FT8R RX is again being used. No spots yet.
UPDATE 0906z: 3 spots so far today with the best OZ (Denmark).
UPDATE 1520z: 42 stations spotted so far today with the 10FT8R 10m FT8 RX on the tiny indoor loop. See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/10grab .
There have been Es openings in Europe on 10m and 6m, but nothing yet to suggest my 10mW ERP 8m WSPR would be copied. This is the power that ...