This was me with my brother in Devon earlier.
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.
Looking at mainland Europe, it seems there is a move to the right politically. Many right wing politicians reflect a view that is shared by many.
In the UK 🇬🇧 we seem to be moving to the left having had a right of centre party in power for 14 years.
As you may recall I ran some 500uW WSPR tests this Es season, but was expecting better results. When Es is good signals can be strong so I was expecting plenty of spots.At 10mW I had few issues whereas at 500uW just a few spots. Maybe at this power I was below the local noise floor? Also, there may be fewer monitors on 10m WSPR these days as FT8 is a QSO mode.
Overall a worthwhile experiment even if the results were unexpected.
As I am with my brother in Devon for a few days, I cannot operate. How nice!!
Just got this from OFCOM......
Hi @Roger Lapthorn,I’m afraid we can’t make any changes to the application.
We simply go of the dates provided in the application – You can of course apply again in the new year if you need more time for your project.
In the time I am away, I have ordered another USB-C to USB data lead as Ken's cure (suggested in a comment yesterday) did not work.
To rule out the possibility of a lead problem, I shall replace the lead. This will have to wait until next week before I can try this.
All being well, I hope to travel to South Devon tomorrow by train to see my brother. My wife is staying here. I am coming back on Monday.
This will mean fewer posts on this blog and means I cannot be on the radio.
More than ever, I am convinced that amateur radio will die out. It can't be long before many PTTs tire of amateur radio as it ties up people and generates no revenue.
I can see the day coming when CB and amateur radio merge and callsigns are allocated (if at all) by national societies. It would not surprise me if all non-licenced things are merged at the same time e.g. ISM. The golden rule is no harmful interference must be caused and any interference accepted.
Personally, I am not bothered as long as I can continue experimenting.
Fewer and fewer "amateur" radio operators know how their rigs work and even fewer actually experiment i.e. they are much like CB operators.
The number of countries with permanent amateur access to the 8m band is growing. Last week, the Cayman Is (ZF) joined the list.
This reminds me of the early days on 6m in Region 1. Slow steps....
This was a photo posted on 365project by someone who lives there. I imagine it is nice there when the sun shines.
On June 17th I was told my 8m TX licence was ready and would be emailed to me if I paid £50. Of course I was interested (I would have preferred to pay nothing and just be issued with a NoV to my amateur licence), but I could not be sent the licence until the invoice was settled. The date of the licence (when it eventually came) was from June 1st - well in the past!! I have asked for the dates to be changed to when I can actually do some research.
Perhaps engage brain next time or send me a copy of the licence marked "not valid until invoice paid" or similar? No, that would involve thinking.
It would appear they are only interested in taking money!
Recently, I bought a QMX+, ready built in a case, from QRP labs. It arrived as promised and worked well. When I hit some issues I did a factory reset. With some help from Hans Summers it now covers the right bands and the CAT works. When I first got it, it recognised the audio codec in the QMX+. Not any more!!
I think I have now tried every combination but my Windows 10 PC refuses to recognise it. Apparently this is a known issue with Windows but not on Linux or Mac OS. Until it is fixed I cannot use the rig.
I have applied to join the QRPLabs IO group and, once approved, I will enquire if others had the issue and if they know what to do. As the software is the same as that on the QMX (I think) others may have had the same issue.
Help!!
It is a nice rig, but this is far harder than it should be. I was expecting it just to recognise the codecs in the QMX+ and just work.
If you know what to do, please tell me.
It appears to be linked to the formation of noctilucent clouds in the mesosphere. These are forming more frequently now because of global warming. With weak signal modes like FT8, these are being spotted more often.
I have copied Far East stations on 6m several times now, although my 2.5W has never been enough!
See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/vhfuhfmicrowaves/super-dx .
In the spring and summer Es certainly helps short skip on many bands including the lower VHF bands such as 8m, 6m and 4m. It occasionally reaches far higher, although these openings are far less frequent.
Occasionally, far further may be covered on 6m by Es, although personally I think this is far more likely to be some sort of chordal hop E layer propagation. Some of these paths seem too long to be multi-hop Es. Some may be by multi-hop Es, but I somehow doubt this is the main propagation mechanism.
See https://www.tvcomm.co.uk/g7izu/radio-propagation-maps/europe-sporadic-e/ .
My priority today is to get my QRP Labs QMX+ fully working again.
Last week I attempted a factory reset, but it only covered 80-10m afterwards!
Having discussed this with Hans Summers of QRP labs, I got a very helpful answer in which he pointed out that for QMX+ the band limits can be set to cover 160-6m by rotating a knob. I did not know this. I do now!
Also, with Windows only (not Linux or Mac) the order in which things are turned on can affect the QMX+ audio being recognised (see later post today).
Later this week I am off to see my brother in Devon, but my XYL will still be here.
I was hoping to erect my 8m dipole so I would have a few days operating before Thursday. I failed, so I am using my Par end fed that has a high SWR on 8m.
When I get back I hope to be on properly. For now I shall probably be on RX most of the time.My 8m TX permit runs to June 2025.
UPDATE 0830z: Already spotted in Spain by EA3ERE (1153km) which is a great start!
UPDATE 0939z: QSO with EA3ERE. No more QSOs, but I have been spotted in 2 countries and I have spotted 3 countries here on 8m FT8 RX.
Early Es spots of my 2.5W FT8 to the V2000 vertical omni antenna this morning on 6m.
If you are like me, you turn to the internet if you want to calculate anything. Most sorts of calculators are there just waiting for your input. Years ago, we had to find the answer in a textbook. Nowadays it is just there at our fingertips!
See https://www.omnicalculator.com/physics as an example. There are many around.
Amateur Radio Weekly has a piece by G7UFO showing how to use your QSL card as the IC-705 start-up screen.
Basically you have to save the file at the right size as a BMP file on an SD card.
We will soon need a bigger shelf!
Probably we will soon be moaning it is too hot. Well, we are English! Moaning about the weather is in our blood.
Yesterday we visited an old university friend who lives in Australia. He was flying to the UK to join us in a reunion of old university friends in Liverpool and to go on a cruise. In the last 30 minutes of the flight ending he had a stroke and is now in Charing Cross hospital in London where he has been for 3 weeks so far. He has a way to go yet to return to fitness. We also heard of a friend who is only 51 years old who had a sudden heart attack.
The moral is to live every moment as if it was your last as you have no idea what is around the corner.
It looks very promising with lots of Es to central Europe.
See https://www.tvcomm.co.uk/g7izu/radio-propagation-maps/europe-sporadic-e/ .
UPDATE 0920z: In the last hour alone 27 stations have spotted my QRP 10m WSPR beacon.
UPDATE 1346z: 33 spots of me today.
My impression is that I get better results on 6m FT8 than I do on 10m WSPR.
Yes, on 6m FT8 I use 2.5W whereas recent tests on 10m WSPR have been at 500mW.
Now, FT8, is supposed to be less sensitive at picking up weak signals than WSPR but WSPR needs almost 120 seconds whereas FT8 needs just 15 seconds. I suspect FT8 catches more, shorter, openings. Also, I suspect there are more FT8 users.
It is always good to see others trying their hand at my designs. DX Explorer has a video of him breadboarding my 2 transistor 80m transceiver. My designs are always a starting point. Pretty sure you will be able to improve them!
See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/homebrew/80m-xbm80-2 .
My 2.5W to the V2000 vertical omni antenna has been on since about 1940z.
UPDATE 2035z: 28 stations have spotted me.
UPDATE 2146z: 125 spots of my QRP FT8 today, after a very late start.
Whilst I was in London seeing an Australian friend who had a stroke in the last 30 minutes of a flight (he is in hospital) I gather European Es has been very good ... and I missed it!
See https://www.tvcomm.co.uk/g7izu/radio-propagation-maps/europe-sporadic-e/ .
Stations that spotted my 2.5W 6m FT8 today |
Our hollyhocks look great right now but the leaves go rusty very quickly. They also self seed everywhere.
Several spots of my 2.5W 6m FT8 to the vertical omni antenna from stations in eastern Canada. This is the first time this season that I have been spotted in the USA or Canada on QRP VHF.
This National Trust house and gardens is about 10 minutes away by car. We went for a walk in the grounds yesterday. There is something to see at all times of the year.
My 500mW beacon was on overnight, but just spots by local G4KPX (14km). Early Es this morning.
Just 2 stations spotted my 10mW ERP overnight. These were 2 old faithfuls. I may try occasionally, but suspect my signal is buried in noise much of the summer.
My 500mW beacon is on this evening and I am being spotted right across Europe by Es.
Recently, I carried out a 10mW ERP test on 6m (not 8m) to see how WSPR and FT8 would perform under ISM rules.The test was extremely successful. If it worked on 6m it would mean that anyone could legally beacon on 8m under ISM rules. In the UK this means with 10mW ERP. This is not amateur radio.
As there is still some of the Es season remaining and we have F2 to look forward to, I applied for a new 8m permit, which will allow me to run up to 5W on 8m. It has been approved and I should get an invoice shortly. All being well, I should return to 8m in early July.
It still seems totally wrong that in the UK we have to pay to do propagation research! In the past OFCOM would have just issued an NoV. It would seem these days many are only interested in money!
We went to Lincoln a few weeks ago. This is a video summarising this.
Really, I should make a video of my experiences of using the QRP Labs QMX+ transceiver. My voice is poor, which is why I have been reluctant.
Really it represents great value and will be even better when the firmware allows SSB, expected later. I use SSB occasionally, but use FT8 far more nowadays.
UPDATE 1855z: Video created. No speaking.
UPDATE 1027z: 355 stations have spotted my QRP FT8 from the QMX+ in the last 24 hours. See map.
Thank you for all the help, which I think has resolved my issue.
I now have "sleep" when connected to a PSU set to "never" in settings, so it should never go to sleep unless I ask it to do so.
My son made a lamb casserole for a (belated) Father's Day and then watched the Euros (football) on TV.
Since doing the latest Windows update, I get the impression that the PC closes down after a certain time. A new sign-in is needed. If correct, does anyone know how to stop this please?
As you may know, I put the rig beaconing on WSPR or FT8 and monitor on a different PC in the lounge, popping into the shack if anything needs adjusting. To get into the shack takes a few seconds only.
Is there a default setting that can be turned off?
This morning I was puzzled why I was getting no output on 20m FT8 with the QMX+. Disabling the SWR protection solved the mystery as the SWR exceeded 3:1 and this was preventing TX. I turned the protection back on as 20m is a band I rarely use.
On 6m FT8, I had 4 spots of my QRP from the QMX+. I am still getting insufficient audio on 6m FT8 RX. This still requires further investigation.
As an experiment I quickly tried the QMX+ on 6m FT8. Power was about 3W and several UK spots were obtained with the V2000 vertical omni. For some reason the RX level on 6m appears too low. Further investigation is needed.
So far, I have tried it on 15m, 10m and 6m. I wonder if it would work on 8m? Maybe I should try it on 160m FT8 with the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground assuming the match is good.
Just for fun, I tried the QMX+ on 15m. It was not for long. Several Es spots of me. Looking at the bars on the TX monitor I would reckon about 3W power.
Recently I erected 2 small bird tables with the aim of attracting more smaller birds and fewer large ones. This seems to have failed as the jackdaws have found a way! Robins seem to be very attracted to the dried mealworms.
It’s too soon to tell if swift numbers are down here, but we have not sat out in the garden much this year.
One good idea would be to automatically reduce power when beaconing WSPR to avoid stress on the PA when the PA can be on continuously for almost 2 minutes.
UPDATE 1540z: Success! My first transmission with the QMX+ (10m FT8) resulted in 18 spots across Europe. This was using CAT control. I have a lot more to learn, but this is a good start.
UPDATE 1651z: 3 QSOs in quick succession! All called me on FT8. In all, spotted by 49 stations.
UPDATE 1754z: The map shows the stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX using the QMX+.
Pretty sure these first became available in the 1970s. They were based on a 10m rig and they revolutionised 2m.
I got one second hand and was amazed how far I could work on a very basic antenna. Prior to getting my Liner-2, I had only used QRP AM and FM rigs. Most nights I found I could contact stations hundreds of kilometres away.
Later many used the ICOM IC-202 with a 30W amplifier and Tonna 9 el antenna.
These days the bands at VHF are far quieter as people have other ways of chatting (the internet) and working DX (FT8).
See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/vhfuhfmicrowaves/vhfuhf-commercial-rigs/belcom-liner-2
So far I have not tried TX.
At the moment I am familiarising myself with the menu system. So far, so good. It would appear that the diodes in the supply line drop the voltage to the rig to a safe 9V.
Tomorrow, I hope to try 10m or 6m FT8 or WSPR TX.
Amateur Radio Weekly brought to our attention the Rigpix database. If you have not noticed it, it is a very useful site for information about rigs including photos and specs..
See https://www.rigpix.com/ .
Once again I am trying 10m WSPR at 10mW. So far, 2 spots by EA8BFK (2880km). This looks like F2 rather than Es.
UPDATE 0935z: No further spots of my 10mW 10m WSPR TX.
In the UK, the NHS, providing free health care at the point of delivery, was created in 1948. It revolutionised health care. In recent years, the NHS has struggled. Waiting lists are long and people are living far longer. In many other countries the health service is better.
In my view the UK NHS is a great idea, but it needs a root and branch review looking at health services across the world to find what works best for everyone. We need to aim that the UK NHS should be the very best in the world.
In the past, I have personally experienced the NHS at its best and worst. In my view, throwing more and more money at it is NOT the answer.
Both health and social security need serious attention.
In the last 12 hours I am amazed how many stations have spotted me, despite the very low power. My beacon is pre-programmed to report 0.5W, even though with the external attenuator it is actually far less. If the band is open with Es, 10mW seems quite enough, whereas 500uW is much harder.
In the last few weeks we have received 3 letters through the post from Anglian Water saying how much we owe them or are in credit.
The good news is that all show us in credit. The bad news is they are all different! I am pretty sure all are generated by a computer, without human involvement.
What will the next bill be? I expect it will say we owe them hundreds!
This was made about 12 years ago . It was later cased and blown up by mistake!! It has been on before but shows things don’t have to be complex.
October 11-13th - RSGB 2024 Convention, Milton Keynes. See rsgb.org/conventon .