Operating patterns

 It would appear I am a creature of habit! 

I seem to go on 10m FT8 RX most of the day with a few minutes of QRP TX early on. Occasionally my QRP is spotted. More often than not, it isn't!

Just when it gets dark, I QSY to 630m WSPR RX for the evening. If I can fix my transverter I hope to TX again this winter as there seems to be fewer people TXing, but plenty RXing.

472kHz WSPR RX

At 1814z, I QSYed from 10m FT8 RX to 630m (472kHz) WSPR RX. So far, nobody spotted. I am using the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground.

UPDATE 1943z:  Still no spots.

Facebook memories from 6 years ago - NOT amateur radio

How time flies! This was 6 years ago and feels like yesterday. 

Crystal set DXing

One of my aims was to make a crystal set that covered VLF  to VHF. This would probably have had to been several RXs in one box or at least the RF parts separate.

Crystal sets can be great fun. They are simple to make and need no power. On HF, some remarkable distances can be heard with patience. 

These days there are far fewer English language broadcast stations on HF. Many are now internet only. Despite this, the challenge remains. My crystal set DXing website may give you some ideas.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/crystal-set-dxing .

Web SDR RXs

A reminder that there are lots of web SDR RXs on the air, so you can see what shape the bands are in in other places. If you have a high local noise level, these are also useful.

See http://www.websdr.org/ .

10m FT8 QRP (Sunday)

As usual, after a few minutes on 2.5W TX, I am RX only on 10m FT8. No QSOs. Nobody spotted me on TX and just MU0WLV (374km) on 10m FT8 RX. This latter could be aircraft reflection. 

UPDATE 1345z:  6 stations spotted today so far. Very little Es evident.

Last evening on 472kHz WSPR RX

The map shows the stations spotted last evening on 472kHz WSPR RX. 

Little Morton Hall - NOT amateur radio

This is a centuries old country house in Cheshire that we visited some years ago. 

Sunspots - Sunday September 12th 2021

Solar flux is 92 and the SSN 93.  A=7 and K=2.

472kHz WSPR RX

Since about 1805z I have been on 472kHz WSPR RX using the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. 4 spots so far this evening.

UPDATE 1946z:  Swapped to the Wellgood active loop RX antenna to compare against the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground.  The active loop is only 1m across and just stuck to the shack window.

UPDATE 2103z: After an hour on the active loop without spots, I have gone back to the earth-electrode "antenna" and immediately spotted G8HUH (250km) and 2 French stations. My conclusion is the ground-electrode "antenna" is somewhat better. By how much is not clear. With the active loop optimised in position and direction I think the difference might be smaller.

UPDATE 2118z:  More spots, suggesting the earth-electrode is several dB better than the active loop in its present configuration.

UPDATE 2218: 7 unique stations spotted this evening. The latest is EI0CF (602km).

UPDATE 2240z:  QRT.