Weather in April

April is an odd month in the UK. Some days can be hot and sunny, whereas other days can be cold and wet. 

No wonder we like to talk about the weather in the UK! This was this day some years ago, whereas today it is very sunny.

10m 3W FT8 (Monday)

Currently I am on 10m 3W FT8. I have been on since breakfast.

UPDATE 1118z:  Spotted by 4 stations. Currently RX only with 32 stations spotted in 4 continents. See map.

VLF earth mode

Many years ago I did quite a bit of experimenting below 10kHz. This was reception of G6ALB at 3km on 8.97kHz. I think he was running about 40W. This was 2011.

See https://sites.google.com/site/sub9khz/vlf-using-earth-mode.

Windmill next door

Several times I have mentioned that we live right next door to a fully restored windmill. It is usually open (along with the museum it is next to) from Easter to late October at weekends and bank holidays. It is well worth a visit. 

Our hedge is at the front of the photo. That's how close we are!

See https://burwellmuseum.org.uk/

Sunspots - Monday April 27th

 Solar flux is 156 and the SSN 137. A=14 and K=3.

Tea in the garden

Yesterday was the first time we could have tea in the garden. It was warm and sunny. It should be similar today. 

FAST or China's Sky Eye

This news came to me via Amateur Radio Weekly.

Some years ago the huge radio telescope at Arecibo in Puerto Rico failed terminally when some of its cables broke. It is not going to be repaired.

China has built a larger and more sensitive dish in a project called FAST. I had no idea about this. As far as I can tell, it puts China far ahead of the USA in space exploration. It is built in a remote region of China and has a radio-quiet area of 5km around the dish. It can detect very weak signals, far weaker than those that could be detected at Arecibo.

10m 3W FT8 (Sunday)

Today, I am on 10m 3W FT8.

UPDATE 0802z: 4 English spots of me and I have spotted 6 stations here today.

UPDATE 1019z:  Currently RX only with 28 stations spotted here.

UPDATE 1040z:  Back on TX again with my best spot by V51F (8209km) in Namibia. 29 stations spotted here on RX.

UPDATE 1329z: RX only again. 75 stations spotted here. See map.

UPDATE 2013z: RX only currently. 145 stations spotted here. QRT soon.

Are we heading for an economic crash?

It seems highly likely we could be heading for a market crash worldwide. Anything that depends on share values could be affected.  Even the Bank of England is firing warning shots.

Sunspots - Sunday April 26th

 Solar flux is 148 and the SSN 154. A=9 and K=2.