8m FT8 RX (Sunday)

As Es seemed good on 10m and 6m, I thought I'd try 8m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1442z: So far, EA3GCV (1231km) spotted using the well off tune V2000 vertical.

UPDATE 1513z:  3 stations in Spain and 1 in Sardinia spotted.

PC fixed

 My shack PC was not TXing. Following several suggestions (thank you) I reset the TX USB auiod to default and that seems to have fixed it. As far as I could see the output and sound mixer settings were correct beforehand!  Anyway, it is now working again.

I went briefly on 6m TX and was widely copied in Europe and the Canary Isles with 5W.

QRP operation

How we enjoy amateur radio varies from person to person. 

We are all different, so how we enjoy the hobby varies greatly. This is healthy. It would be a sad world if we all liked the same things!

I quite enjoy QRP (low power) and like finding out how far really low power goes. 

As an example, today one station was giving my 200mW WSPR beacon a report of -3dB S/N suggesting the even microwatts might have been enough. 

I have been a member of the GQRP club for very many years. Their quarterly SPRAT magazine (A5 colour) is usually packed with ideas for simple circuits. As I have said many times, if all other radio magazines had to go, SPRAT would be the one I would keep. 

Back issues of SPRAT are available on a flash drive.

The RSGB has a page about QRP. See https://rsgb.org/main/technical/qrp-low-power-operating/

Exhaustion

It must be a combination for several things, but most times doing anything I get exhausted. In the UK we are experiencing a heatwave (>30 deg C), I am getting old and I experienced a stroke some years ago. It is probably a combination of all three!

What seem to be best for me is short, sharp periods of activity followed by rest.

Things that were done quickly often wait until tomorrow. My PC does not TX FT8 for example. I could have looked yesterday or today. Instead, it has to wait until I gather energy. Maybe tomorrow?

Iran

To me, it seems that the USA and Israel have come out far worse from their war with Iran than had they not started it. Few dispute that the regime there is bad, but I fail to see how this can be classed as a win for the USA/Israel. By most measures the outcome is worse than the 2015 agreement that President Trump  did not agree with!

Dandelions

 

Our lawns are a mass of dandelions. If they become dandelion clocks the seeds spread far and wide!

The lawns are regularly cut ... but the dandelions seem to grow the next day!

One of the pleasures of life. Lovely and free. 

10m 200mW WSPR (Sunday)

My beacon has been on all morning.

UPDATE 1321z:  74 European spots of me, presumably by Es plus EA8BFK (2880km).

Sunspots - Sunday May 24th

 Solar flux is 137 and the SSN 86. A=3 and K=1.

Strait of Hormuz - what next?

It seems certain that the world has suffered a shock by the closure of these straits controlling access to the Gulf though which 20% of the world's oil flowed, to say nothing of jet fuel, natural gas, diesel and fertilisers.

Oil products are limited. Even if we use them sensibly, they will be exhausted eventually.

To some extent the world will adapt, but I think it will take years and years, if ever, for the USA to come back as the beacon of liberty and democracy it once was. In my view, they have made a huge mistake on the world stage. They have made no new friends and, sadly, alienated many, who will not forget.

Solid state batteries

Recently a battery manufacturer in Taiwan (ProLogium) opened its doors. They seem to have made breakthroughs in  solid state batteries. 

I am unsure about how this ties in with getting rid of rare earth materials like lithium. Must watch the video again! The ultimate would be a solid-state battery without using rare earth materials.