“Our” windmill - NOT amateur radio

 

This has been on many times, but this was the view from the lounge on a nice, sunny afternoon just now.

At one time some of our grandchildren thought the area in front of the windmill was part of our garden! We own the hedge you can see in front, but not the windmill!

The windmill is fully restored and the sails go round sometimes.

Lightning risk?

 This weekend there are some advanced warnings of thunder and lightning in the UK. At the moment these storms are a long way off, but if they get close I shall go QRT and disconnect things.

See https://www.lightningmaps.org/#m=oss;t=3;s=0;o=0;b=;ts=0;

Church roofs - NOT amateur radio

A few days ago we were in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. These were some of the magnificent church roofs we saw.

10m QRP FT8 (Friday)

 

This afternoon I decided to concentrate on 10m QRP FT8. At 1442z, 85 spots of my 2.5W. See map.

UPDATE 1724z:  So far today my 2.5W 10m FT8 has been spotted by 171 stations across the planet. I have spotted 400 stations here.

Moon - NOT amateur radio

This was the moon in our close on Wednesday evening. 

Sunspots - Friday September 20th

 Solar flux is 161 and the SSN 109. A=20 and K=1.

The Faroe Islands - NOT amateur radio

As mentioned before, one of the things I like about 365project (NOT at all connected with Microsoft) is seeing places I am never likely to visit, such as this view from a friend in these far-flung islands between Scotland and Iceland.

Sepura SCL3 - NOT amateur radio

It  seems amazing that I have been retired from Sepura for 16 years now! These days I am totally out of touch, but they seemed to have moved on a lot. 

Take for example the SCL3 portable (shown in the photo) that looks like a fusion of TETRA and 4G/5G technology. It looks just the product mission critical services would need. 

It looks more like a mobile phone than a traditional TETRA transceiver. I hope it is successful.

See https://scl3.sepura.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/SCL3_Brochure_converted_compressed.pdf.

6m QRP FT8 (Thursday)

Just 5 English spots of my 2.5W 6m FT8 so far today.  See map.

UPDATE 1627z:  So far today, my QRP 6m FT8 has been spotted by 14 stations including one in the Baltic that could be Es.

Rallies this weekend

The following have been notified, but always check details are correct before going far.

• Saturday September 21st - East Midlands and Electronics Rally, Doncaster, DN10 4FX. Contact www.g0raf.co,uk/rally . Please note this is a 1 day event, not 2. The location is actually nearer Gainsborough.
• Sunday September 22nd - Weston super Mare Radio Society 9th Radio and Electronics Rally, Worle, Weston super Mare,  BS24 7DX. Contact westonradiosociety@gmail.com .

Interesting how many radio rallies have broadened their appeal to include a wider audience than in the past.

10m 500mW WSPR (Thursday)

 Just 13 spots of me by EA8BFK (2880km) in the Canary Islands, presumably via F2. 

UPDATE 1146z:  YOs also spotting me. This is probably F2 as well. See table.

Sunspots - Thursday September 19th

 Solar flux is 163 and the SSN 106. A=12 and K=2.

Advertisers and radio magazines

Today I received my copy of the RSGB RadCom. One large UK dealer has most of the advertising space. I have no idea what this must cost, but it must be a lot. If this major dealer decided to stop advertising, or advertised far less, it would have a major impact on the RSGB and the remaining UK radio magazine available on newsstands.

Without this one dealer, I suspect RadCom would have to shrink in size and the one remaining magazine radio amateurs could  buy in newsagents would enter terminal decline.

I hope I am wrong.

History Society - NOT amateur radio

 

We have a very busy history society in our village. Tonight was the first meeting of the season and was on Fen Skating which is in decline as a result of global warming.

10m 500mW WSPR TX ( Wednesday)

 Although my beacon has been on all day just 2 stations spotting me. See table. 

Sunspots - Wednesday September 18th

 Solar flux is 165 and the SSN 140. A=71 and K=1.

With my brother - NOT amateur radio

Although we message daily on WhatsApp, we see each other face-to-face a few times a year if we are lucky.  He lives in Devon and I am in Cambridgeshire.

Yesterday, we visited Bury-St-Edmunds. The photo is of us in the Abbey Gardens, with the ruined abbey behind.

Radio Magazines

 Already this year we have seen the disappearance of CQ and Radio User (at least as a separate magazine). Others may follow. 

At one time you could pop into a UK newsagent and see several radio related magazines. Not any more. Over the years more and more have closed or maybe gone online only. If you want a magazine about PC games or steam trains there are several to choose from.

It is as if few people are interested in radio technology any more, sadly.

10 years' time? The best we can expect is a few pages in a magazine about technologies in general. 

I have made my view plain in the past. Am I right or am I right?

Fewer EU openings today?

 It looks like there are fewer European openings today, which may account for just English reports so far (1039z) on 6m FT8.

See https://www.tvcomm.co.uk/g7izu/radio-propagation-maps/europe-sporadic-e/ .

Brother's visit - NOT amateur radio

As mentioned before, my brother and his wife are visiting us from Devon. Yesterday we went to Bury St Edmunds and today they have gone to Norwich. The photo shows some of the day yesterday.

4m

This is a band that is gaining in popularity. It is very good when there is Es, but it is also good for inter-G working. I am sure that with reasonable power and FT8 the whole of the British Isles would be in range. The new Yaesu FTX-1F is supposed to include this in European versions.  I would expect 6W and a dipole to reach widely on FT8 especially.

A while back I designed and build a 4m transverter that is on my website. It is only low power but managed to work well. It was in  GQRP SPRAT some years ago.

10m 500mW WSPR (Tuesday)

 So far today, no spots on 10m QRP WSPR.

UPDATE 1145z:  Local G4KPX (14km) seems to have stopped at breakfast time. EA8BFK (2880km) is now spotting me.

6m QRP FT8 (Tuesday)

My QRP 6m FT8 was turned on at about 0905z. 

UPDATE 1140z:  So far, spotted by 12 stations including 1 German.

UPDATE 1505z:  Spotted by 18 stations so far today. See map.

Sunspots Tuesday September 17th

 Solar flux is 170 and the SSN 103. A=23 and K=6.

Where my son got married - NOT amateur radio

 This is where my younger son got married. It is St Mary’s in Bury St Edmunds and has the longest nave to n the country.

Tuesday plans

Tomorrow I think I shall go on 10m QRP WSPR and 6m QRP FT8.

Bury St Edmunds

This is a delightful market town in Suffolk. Unlike Cambridge where many people are foreign visitors, most in Bury St Edmunds seem to be East Anglian,   The old abbey was sacked centuries ago. The photo shows a view of the cathedral from the Abbey Gardens.

10m QRP WSPR (Monday)

Today I am concentrating on 10m WSPR TX with my 500mW beacon . So far, just G4KPX (14km) spotting me.

UPDATE 1352z: 3 stations have spotted me today.

Brother’s visit - NOT amateur radio

My brother and his wife have come up from Devon for a few days.

Sunspots - Monday September 16th

Solar flux is 173 and the SSN 68 . A=19 and K=3.

10m QRP WSPR TX (Sunday)

As there were no spots at all on 8m RX or TX, I have QSYed to 10m 500mW WSPR with my tiny beacon. Apart from time synchronisation at the start, it is totally stand alone and does not tie up a PC. 

UPDATED 1525z:  Already spotted 10 times by EA8BFK (2880km).

Smelling diseases - NOT amateur radio

 When our children were young they had a "poorly smell". It was not unpleasant at all, but both my wife and I were aware of it. Maybe it is a parental thing that nobody else is aware of. 

Today I read of a nurse who has a remarkable sense of smell. She can literally tell if a patient has early signs of a disease by smelling their breath or even a swab. Her success rate is extremely high.

WebSDRs

There are huge numbers of these, enabling you to hear what bands sound like in other parts of the planet. It is interesting to listen via some of these.

See http://websdr.org/

Reach - NOT amateur radio

 

This sleepy village 2 miles from us has some fine walks. There has been a fair here since the 1200s.

8m QRP FT8 (Sunday)

 Today, I am concentrating on 8m QRP FT8 (40.680MHz USB dial). As the match on my end-fed Par antenna is poor on 8m, I shall have to have breaks to let the PA cool.

Crystal set DXing

 

Many years ago I tried making and using a short wave crystal set. It is on my website.  As you can see, it does not cost much to have fun. I had aims of making a crystal set that covered VLF to VHF. Then my stroke scuppered plans!

Short wave radio is changing and there are far fewer English language broadcasters. I was pleasantly surprised by what I could hear back then. It is not just broadcast stations you can hear.

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

Nice sunrise - NOT amateur radio

It  looks like we’re in for a decent week with a big high pressure system over UK.

Oscar 100 narrowband activity

To say I am disappointed is an understatement. 

It certainly has encouraged some to assemble a ground station, but general activity is way below what I would have expected. 

My last "peek" at the narrowband webSDR at Goonhilly Down was mid evening in the UK on a Saturday evening, when I would have expected activity levels to be good.

Based on the activity levels seen, I think it is very unlikely we will see another geosynchronous amateur satellite in a hurry.

See https://eshail.batc.org.uk/nb/.

Sunspots - Sunday September 15th

 Solar flux is 172 and the SSN 136. A=24 and K=2.

8m QRP FT8 (Saturday)

 At about 1554z, I QSYed to 40.680MHz QRP FT8. No spots. There are far more 8m monitors.

UPDATE 2030z:  Spotted 1 Italian, but I was unable to work him. Now QRT.

Es or F2 or F2 backscatter?

Today, my QRP 6m FT8 has been widely copied in SE and central Europe. At the last count, 89 stations had spotted me. Now Es can occur at any time of year, but I wonder if these spots are related to F2 propagation?

I am definitely not a propagation expert, so would appreciate your thoughts.

The latest Es map suggests it is Es. See https://www.tvcomm.co.uk/g7izu/radio-propagation-maps/europe-sporadic-e/ .

Last Tuesday on 70cm QRP SSB

Once a month I try my luck with 10W pep on 70cm in the activity contest UKAC. Because of my poor voice I rarely stop on more than 30 minutes. 

Also, I only have a 2m big-wheel omni antenna. Talk about making things hard, HI! 

In all I made 3 QSOs with the furthermost G4CLA (105km). He must have great antennas and ears.

Blackberry picking - NOT amateur radio

Autumn can be a great time of year. It is usually not too hot and the wild fruits are maturing in the hedgerows. When the sun is shining it is a perfect time to pick blackberries. 

Although we really should have gone last week, we still managed plenty for a blackberry and apple crumble and breakfast.

80m FETer transceiver

Years ago I was inspired by a circuit for a 40m transceiver by W2UW who is now a SK. My challenge was to see if I could make an 80m version with even fewer parts. 

This is a complete transceiver using just a single FET and very few components. It is detailed on my website.

10m 500mW WSPR TX

My tiny stand alone W5OLF 10m WSPR beacon has been on since just after breakfast. So far (at 1100z) 11 unique stations have spotted me.

UPDATE 1438z:  26 spots of me. See table. Usually I look on WSPRnet for spots. I am not sure how PSKreporter works but it seems to miss many WSPR spots.

6m QRP FT8 (Saturday)

Stations spotting
my 2.5W 6m FT8

My 6m 2.5W FT8 has been on most of the morning. 51 stations have spotted me. 

It looks as busy as in the peak Es season! All my spots are in Europe.

UPDATE 1458z: 89 stations have spotted me. See map.

Malta - NOT amateur radio

This was Malta last week. The photo makes it look lush. Actually mostly dry and barren.

Sunspots - Saturday September 14th

 Solar flux is 186 and the SSN 127. A=37 and K=4.

Eco-Worthy batteries

MLS is doing a promotion  of /P gear including the IC705, no doubt expecting many IC705s to be traded for the new Yaesu field portable transceiver next year.

One of their items is the Eco-Worthy 30A, 12V lithium battery pack for use with the IC705 out portable. I was about to blog how expensive this was. Then I checked on Amazon and the battery was £99.99 to which you have to add the charger. Overall, not a bad price from MLS with the charger if you really need a 30A battery. However, there are lower capacity batteries and chargers available from other suppliers for far less.

UPDATE 0827z Sunday:  Steve G1KQH says the same capacity battery may be bought elsewhere for far less. Shop around?

Memories - NOT amateur radio

Something just occurred to me. We assume time passes from the past to the future. and that we remember things in the past.  Altogether I can recall about 200 things from before the age of 5 as can my wife.  Many cannot.

What if this is all an illusion?  Perhaps every time we wake we think we have lived in the past but our brains have a finite memory that is in the here and now and not in the past? What I am wondering is time really there at all? We think we have a past, present and future, but this could all be an illusion.

In the world of quantum mechanics we have come to realise that things are stranger than we think. There is so much we do not know.

All we can do is keep an open mind and realise our brainpower is very limited. I wonder what our memory capacity has been estimated as? I imagine it must be well in the TB region and probably much much bigger.

UPDATE 1230z:  Googled it!  Estimated as 2.5 million Gigabytes. Huge! I wonder what the biggest super-computers in the world have by way of memory. As memory increases I wonder what will be possible in 20 years' time.

6m QRP FT8 (Friday)

My 2.5W FT8 to the omni V2000 antenna just spotted by 9 English stations so far with 3 English stations spotted on RX.

UPDATE 1225z: 20 stations have spotted me on 6m QRP FT8 today. See map for stations spotting me.

UPDATE 2045z:  QRT.

10m 500mW WSPR TX (Friday)

 o far just EA8BFK (2880km) spotting my beacon. I am pretty sure this is F2 propagation. I

UPDATE 0845z:  Interesting that even with the disturbed HF conditions my QRP WSPR beacon still makes it to the Canary Isles. Still just spots by EA8BFK. There is 9dB S/N difference between my best and worst report. I am not sure if this is QSB or local noise. 

UPDATE 1105z:  Now 2 stations spotting me (EA8 and YO). Pretty sure this is F2.

UPDATE 2019z:   4 stations spotted me today. See table.

UPDATE 2028z:  QRT.

Sunset last night - NOT amateur radio

This was the sunset last night taken through the windscreen of a moving car.

Sunspots - Friday September 13th

 Solar flux is 201 and the SSN 160. A=67 and K=3.

10m QRP WSPR (Thursday)

 My 500mW 10m WSPR TX was turned on just after 1700z, So far, just spotted by EA8BFK (2880km).

Rallies this weekend

 The following have been notified to me. As always, please  check bore going a long way.

• September 14th/15th - Broadcast Engineering Museum open days, Near Gainsborough, DN2 15XS. Contact contactus@becg.org.uk .
• Sunday September 15th -  British Vintage Wireless Society Swapmeet and Auction, Biggleswade,SG18 8JH. Contact secretary@bvws.org.uk .

OFCOM and shared rural coverage in the UK

OFCOM agreed certain targets for rural mobile phone coverage with the major UK mobile operators. It looks as if these targets have been met, but not in Scotland yet. See the OFCOM website for details.

Anglesey Abbey - NOT amateur radio

 

This National Trust property is not far from us. We went for a walk there earlier. 

In each season there is something to see. At the moment, it is a good time to see dahlias.

8m FT8 RX (Thursday)

My "proper" 8m dipole has still to be erected as I need some help putting it up as I am very giddy now on a ladder. 

Instead, I am on my endfed Par antenna on 8m FT8 RX where the match on 8m is not very good. This was the antenna with which I worked 2 Spanish stations on 8m FT8 over the summer. As the match on 8m is poor, I do not like to TX on 8m FT8 with this antenna for too long.

I hope to be on 8m QRP FT8 TX very soon with the dipole and a good match.

Stations monitoring
8m FT8 today

UPDATE 1435z:  No spots on TX or RX. I am briefly on 8m QRP FT8 TX. It is encouraging to see so many stations in Europe now monitoring 8m FT8 (see map). If you want to monitor this autumn 40.680 USB dial is where the FT8 activity is. The European DX record with just 10mW and a 35m longwire is now HA to EA8 (Canaries) which is a long way! Under ISM rules you do not need a permit, licence or even a callsign (certainly in the UK). In the UK ISM rules mean 2-way contacts are not the intention although I imagine OFCOM are unlikely to police this, especially if the intention is scientific research.

UPDATE  1723z: ZS3/V51NJ  in Namibia spotted calling CQ. No spots of me.

70cm FT8 activity contest

Last night was the September 70cm activity contest (UKAC). I usually TX for a short while and then go RX only. I usually do not submit an entry for this contest, coming on for the activity. 

It never fails to amaze me what distances can be spotted at any time on 70cm. My antenna is just a 2m omni big-wheel. Imagine if I had a 70cm yagi on a mast! It is a great pity 70cm is underused. Especially with FT8, I would expect it to be a great band for working Western Europe and the UK.

The disappearance of AM broadcasters

Many AM broadcasters are closing down. 

In 10 years' time the MW and LW broadcast bands may be empty of AM stations. This is a great pity as many of us came into RF via simple MW and LW crystal sets. These are easy to make.

Many AM shortwave broadcasters are also closing down as many now prefer to access these stations via the internet. This is also cheaper.

In 20 years' time I wonder what MF and HF will sound like? I suppose much of this spectrum will be kept by the military "just in case" it is ever needed if the satellites were jammed or destroyed.

It seems the shortwaves will largely be abandoned. In this case, I do hope amateurs (or licence free services) are granted access to a wider array of frequencies. Not that I can see it ever happening, but wouldn't it be great if we were granted access to all of HF at low power on a non-interference basis?

Sunspots - Thursday September 12th

 Solar flux is 207 and the SSN 179. A=8 and K=4.

365project - NOT amateur radio

One of the pleasures of 365project.org is seeing some wonderful photos from around the world. 

One of my friends is Elizabeth Saeter who lives in Norway and posts some splendid photos especially of sunsets. As an example, see the photo attached.

Tomatoes- NOT amateur radio

When we got back from holiday we found these growing in our two tomato bags. Home grown always smell and taste delicious.

Holiday over - NOT amateur radio

We returned from our week in Malta yesterday to the cold, rain and green countryside. Everyone we met was kind and helpful. It was hot and sunny almost all the time we were there. The hotel and food were excellent.

However, Malta is very built up (the most dense in Europe) and what little countryside there was was rocky and barren.

If you go on holiday for sun, swimming pools and food it might suit you. Overall, I am glad we went, but I doubt we will return.

70cm activity contest entry

Often I forget to submit my entry into this UKAC session. With my pathetic score I shall never even be close to winning, but it is good to show my support. 

It is great to see the activity. The "real" stations were working some serious DX.

6m QRP FT8 (Wednesday)

Just 3 stations in the UK spotting me so far today.

UPDATE 0940z:  Just 5 UK stations spotting me.

UPDATE 1445z:  16 stations have spotted me today, including several in mainland Europe. See map.

UPDATE 1840z: 25 stations have spotted me. See map.

10m QRP WSPR (Wednesday)

My 500mW beacon has been on since just before breakfast. Just EA8BFK (2880km) spotting me multiple times. I assume this is F2 propagation. 

UPDATE 1427z:  16 stations have spotted me today. A lot of these are in the USA. See table.

UPDATE 1855z:  23 stations have spotted me today. See table.

WSPY and 10FT8R

 One of my Facebook memories today was the circuit for my 10m WSPR RX on which my 10m FT8 RX was based. See my website for details.

Sunspots - Wednesday September 11th

 Solar flux is 205 and the SSN 147. A=7 and K=1.

Malta cathedral - NOT amateur radio

This was St John’s Co Cathedral in Valletta yesterday. I prefer East Anglian simple churches! It seems there is gold leaf everywhere.

Most churches on continental Europe seem highly decorated - not to my taste.

6m QRP FT8 (Tuesday)

My 2.5W 6m FT8 has been on for the last few hours. Spotted by 7 stations (mostly England) with the furthermost DK8NE/6 (702km). See map.

10m 500mW WSPR (Tuesday)

Since returning home again from Malta this afternoon, I have been on 10m QRP WSPR with my little beacon. Already spotted by 5 stations with the furthermost the German research station in Antarctica.

70cm activity contest

 This is this evening starting at 1900z. I usually go on for a short time with 10W to the 2m big-wheel.

UPDATE 1956z: I did not stay on long, but worked 3 stations with the furthermost G4CLA (105km). It was a miserable evening with lots of rain.

Sunspots- Tuesday September 10th

 Solar flux is 215 and the SSN 213. A=9 and K=3

472kHz transverter

 It will soon be time to go back to 472kHz. For some reason a myth has grown up that you need very big antennas and extensive ground systems. Also that high power helps! Nothing could be further from the truth.

I can only speak from personal experience. My transverter produces about 10W into 50 ohms and gave about 10mW ERP into my earth-electrode antenna in the ground. My earths are about 10m apart. It has been received on WSPR as far away as Finland and I got spotted in Norway most nights. It was in QST about 10 years ago. It is also described on my website.

Valletta- NOT amateur radio

 We visited the capital of Malta called Valletta. We had torrential rain ☔️ earlier but it was hot and sunny ☀️ whilst we were there. Home tomorrow where I gather it’s turned autumnal.

VLF converter

 Many people want to have a dabble at VLF reception and want to know what is down there but most receivers don’t go that low. Many years ago I designed and built this up converter so I could take a listen. Receiving commercial stations such as time signals and MSK signals is easy . Reception of AMATEUR VLF signals is highly unlikely to work as this usually needs very narrow bandwidth and precise frequency setting. Details of this upconverter and how to improve it are on my website.

Malta rain - NOT amateur radio

 

All week we’ve had hot sunshine ☀️ until today when we had heavy rain.

Sunspots - Monday September 9th

Solar  flux is 228 and the SSN 176. A=9 and K=2.

Marsaxlokk, Malta - NOT amateur radio

 Today we visited the fishing “village” of Marsaxlokk in SW Malta famous for its colourful fishing boats. It was not what I would call a village!

Over the horizon optical tests

 It’s many years since I last did these tests and I remember being amazed that on a cloudless night I could clearly receive my 481THz beacon way over the horizon without any signal visible. Had my stroke not got in the way, I am sure much much further would have been possible even with my simple QRP system. The receiver I used is attached. It was also in RadCom. It is also on my main webpages.

Typical on Malta - NOT amateur radio

 It’s probably fair to say the countryside on Malta 🇲🇹 is barren. In the hot summer months it looks dry and arid. This cactus 🌵 is typical of Malta.

Original 10m WISPY TX

One of my Facebook memories today was of the original breadboard version of my WISPY WSPR TX on 10m. The date was 2012. I think the PA originally had a 2N3866 which I later replaced with several 2N3904s in parallel which was far less expensive.