Swifts have arrived - NOT amateur radio

 My son has seen a swift in our village so they have arrived in East Anglia. I have not seen any yet.

Ghent, Belgium 🇧🇪 - NOT amateur radio

 This was Ghent yesterday.

Steve Webb G3TPW

 Years ago I used to work with Steve who created the Cobwebb antenna. I tried to email him using the email on qrz.com Unfortunately it bounced so I was wondering if any readers know his latest email.

Special vintage station

Apparently the RSGB is organising a special station with vintage CW gear this summer. I forget what the reason is.

Sunspots - Friday May 10th

 Solar flux is 233 and the SSN 170. A=6 and K=3.

Rally this weekend

The following is the information I have .Please check if you are making a special trip.

Sunday May 12th - Retrotech UK (BVWS), Coventry, CV8 3FL.  Contact info@retrotech.com

Dark web - NOT amateur radio

 After all this time I have come to the conclusion that I am simple. They keep talking about the dark web, but I have no idea how to access it , even if I did.

Eurostar yesterday- NOT amateur radio

This was the meal on Eurostar under the English Channel yesterday. No delays at all.

Sunspots- Thursday May 9th

Solar flux is 227 and the SSN 142. A=7 and K=2.

Sunspots- Wednesday May 8th

 Solar flux is 204 and the SSN 144. A=7 and K=2.

630m QRP WSPR overnight

 My 10mW ERP 630m WSPR was spotted by 4 stations only.

Cambridge Botanic Garden - NOT amateur radio

These bluebells and forget me nots were at Cambridge Botanic Garden last week. 

10m 10mW WSPR (Tuesday)

My 10mW 10m  WSPR has been re-synced to internet time. No spots.

UPDATE 1432z:  Several spots by local G4KPX (14km). No DX.

UPDATE 1802z:  It is quite a surprise to find out I am struggling with 10mW 10m WSPR when on 6m with 2.5W FT8 I am being widely spotted. Once again EA8BFK (2880km) is spotting me. No Es spots.

6m QRP FT8 (Tuesday)

My 6m QRP (2.5W to the V2000 vertical) is on and 4 stations have spotted me at 0816z.

UPDATE 0838z:  7 stations have spotted me. All of these are in England.

UPDATE 1430z:  40 stations have spotted me. Plenty of Es.

UPDATE 1826z: 49 stations have spotted my QRP FT8 today.

sBitx V3

Steve G1KQH has reminded me of this low cost HF kit. Sadly, building it would be beyond my fine motor skills these days, but I see it has a built-in FT8 decoder, so no PC is needed. I am not sure if it can be bought ready built, but Ashar makes some great kit. His designs always use readily available parts.

See https://www.hfsignals.com/.

Sunspots - Tuesday May 7th

 Solar flux is 171 and the SSN 148. A=15 and K=2. 

630m QRP WSPR overnight

 No great DX but 7 stations spotted my 10mW ERP overnight.

8m or 6m 10mW WSPR?

My intention was to try 8m WSPR with 10mW with ISM rules but I was concerned by the lack of monitors on 8m. 

Then it occurred to me that I could try 10mW WSPR on 6m instead during the Es season and be assured of a reasonable number of monitors.

If it works on 6m it would work on 8m in the ISM band. So, my proposal is to try 10mW WSPR on 6m instead of 8m knowing that if it works on 6m it would work licence free on 8m.

630m QRP WSPR (Monday)

My 10mW ERP WSPR from the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground was turned on at about 1845z. So far, 2 stations have spotted me.

York - NOT amateur radio

We like the city of York. It has many narrow and very old streets and a magnificent minster. It also has a famous railway museum. The photo shows the railway station in a photo recently posted by a friend on 365project. The approach to the railway station is currently being changed.

See https://visityork.org/ .

10m 10mW WSPR (Monday)

There is some Es about, although I have not been spotted yet with my 10mW.  The impression is this is not yet at the intensity to regularly support QRPP WSPR.

UPDATE 1730z:  No spots of me. It would appear EA8BFK (2880km) is either not monitoring or my signal is too weak.

Wicken Fen - NOT amateur radio

This is a very old National Trust piece of land. In the UK, members can visit any National Trust property for free. Others pay an entry fee. NT properties include old houses, clifftops and other land of interest. It is a great resource.  I think Wicken Fen was the first NT property in the country. We visited here on Saturday. 

We heard lots of cuckoos. Cuckoos like reed warbler nests - there are plenty!  Cuckoos are often heard and not seen.

See https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/cuckoo .

6m QRP FT8 (Monday)

With spots of my 2.5W 6m QRP FT8 to the vertical omni antenna from Germany 🇩🇪 , France and Denmark already, there looks like Es is about.

UPDATE 1131z:  23 spots of me. Plenty of Es.

UPDATE 1653z:  34 spots of my QRP so far today. See map.

630m QRP WSPR overnight

 

8 stations spotted my 10mW ERP WSPR overnight . No great DX, but better than I expected really.

Sunspots - Monday May 6th

 Solar flux is 177 and the SSN 152. A=12 and K=2.

Es so far and QRPP 8m WSPR

There have been Es openings in Europe on 10m and 6m, but nothing yet to suggest my 10mW ERP 8m WSPR would be copied. This is the power that anyone may use licence free with ISM rules in the UK as long as IR2030 is met.

I still have to replace my 8m dipole. I shall probably do this the week after this. Hopefully someone during this Es season will get my 10mW ERP WSPR on 40.680 MHz USB dial. My reluctance is ladder work as I get giddy up ladders!  

There are two factors working against me - the low power and too few 8m monitors. Results on 10m suggest 10mW should be enough, but 8m suffers from too few monitors. However, I remain hopeful. 

Es is usually good during May, June and July. In my experience the season goes on during July, August and September, but it is on the wane by August.

6m QRP FT8 (Sunday)

My 2.5W FT8 to the V2000 vertical omni antenna was turned on at about 0915z. So far, just one local spot.

UPDATE 0950z:  9 spots of me.

UPDATE 1823z:  22 spots of my QRP with the furthermost SE3X (1447km) in northern Sweden.

10m 10mW WSPR (Sunday)

EA8BFK (2880km) has spotted me multiple times (F2?).  At 500uW this would probably not have been possible.

UPDATE 1922z:  So far, just EA8BFK has spotted my 10m 10mW WSPR over 100 times!! This looks like single hop F2. I was surprised nobody else spotted me. Perhaps his noise floor is exceptionally low.

Wicken Fen - NOT amateur radio

 The photo shows the old wind pump at Wicken Fen. It is often thought of as a windmill although it is a pump not a mill.

Still no swifts - NOT amateur radio

On Saturday, we went to Wicken Fen. Although we saw swallows, we saw no swifts. The odd straggler may have arrived, but most have not. Once they arrive they will be quite common.

630m QRP WSPR overnight

 Not a bad session overnight. No great DX spots of me and I continue to be really disappointed by how few people there are on TX in the UK. For now I am staying with 630m QRP WSPR.

Sunspots - Sunday May 5th

 Solar flux is 167 was and the SSN 136. A=6 and K=1.

Homebase 10 antenna

This is on my website and was in Practical Wireless some years ago. With 10m in great shape at the moment you may want to make one.

The photo shows a dual band version for 10m and 6m.

Discovery TX-500

This product looks an ideal radio for SOTA and POTA operation being weatherproof and well featured. It is available from MLS at £1195.  I am unsure where it is made. It is a 10W SDR transceiver covering HF and 6m.

The product looks solid yet very thin. It looks like a military product in many ways.

For details see https://lab599.com/

Dayton Hamvention, Dayton, Ohio, USA

This takes place in a few weeks. It is probably the biggest ham gathering on the planet. 

It is often the place where new products are announced, even before the product is ready!  Why? The USA is probably the biggest market in the world.

One can imagine the pressures on the design teams!  You can almost hear the bosses at ICOM and Yaesu saying, "we MUST have a demo product in time for Dayton". The fallback is a non-working model under a screen so punters can only look. I just wonder if there will be any new products announced this year? There was little announced by the big Japanese manufacturers last year.

FT710 or IC7300?

Both these rigs are solid work horses with very similar specs. In the past I have owned an FT710, but I have not owned an IC7300. There are those who really enjoy these rigs. Both have an auto-ATU and are SDR based. 

There are some very competitive Chinese products on the market although I am still unsure about the quality and consistency of these Chinese products. They will get there. 

The FT710 is a bit less than the IC7300, especially with the Yaesu cashback deal. Mind you, the Chinese products are significantly less expensive. 

Once the Chinese really get their act together, they will definitely be serious competitors to the Japanese.

IC-7300 100000 sold!

This famous ICOM transceiver has now sold over 100k units since it was introduced in 2016 according to the ICOM Japan website and EI7GL's blog.

I wonder if a new version is coming?

Cambridge Botanic Garden flowers - NOT amateur radio

 

These flowers were seen last Wednesday at the Cambridge Botanic Garden.

Wicken Fen

This is not far from here. Good to hear cuckoos and once again . They like reed warbler nests!!

10m 10mW WSPR (Saturday)

 Today, my plan is to go on 10m WSPR with 10mW to see how it goes. If there is some Es, I am hopeful.

UPDATE 1549z: Plenty of Es about with my 10mW 10m WSPR being spotted by several stations. Some are probably Es, although I suspect the EA8 and TA may be F2 propagation.

Bird table experiment - NOT amateur radio

Our last bird table blew over and was damaged beyond repair in a storm. 

Being quite big, we had pigeons and other large birds dominating. As an experiment we now have 2 smaller bird tables hung from the tree. 

Hopefully, pigeons will be too big and fat!

UPDATE 1743z:  A big fat pigeon was eyeing the food on the bird tables and trying to work out how to get  it.... and failing! I just hope the smaller birds now find it.

630m QRP WSPR overnight

This was the best session for a while with my 10mW ERP being spotted by 8 stations. "Not dead yet" seems to be the message.

Sunspots - Saturday May 4th

 Solar flux is 156 and the SSN 121. A=10 and K=1.

Ukraine future - NOT amateur radio

Russia invading Ukraine was clearly wrong. 

What I am unsure about is Russia's intentions afterwards. In the end I suspect some of Ukraine will, in effect, be ceded to Russia or become "independent".

Several questions are begged:

• Why did the West do very little when Russia annexed Crimea about 10 years ago?
• Why did the West not intervene when Ukraine territories in the East were being fought over years ago?

One outcome I can see is:

• Crimea and disputed Ukraine eastern territories are made neutral states with UN protection.
• The people of eastern Ukraine territories and Crimea are offered free elections under the control of a neutral country or the UN acceptable to Russia and Ukraine.
• Russia is told in no uncertain terms that any attack on any NATO country would be dealt with by a massive response by all NATO states.
• Ukraine becomes a neutral country and vows never to join NATO.
• NATO declares never to attack or invade Russia.

We know the Russian people are "fed a line" by Putin and state media.  What we do not know is how "whiter than white" the West is.  I suspect we are not being told the full story.

Invading a neighbour can never be right though.

Cambridge Botanic Garden - NOT amateur radio

 

This photo was taken at the Botanic Garden on Wednesday.

6m QRP FT8 (Friday)

My 2.5W FT8  to the V2000 vertical omni antenna is on. So far, spotted widely across Europe (see map) by 20 stations.

UPDATE 1052z:   38 stations have spotted me.

Stations spotting my
2.5W 6m FT8 today

UPDATE 1529z:   45 stations have spotted me today. Now switched to 10mW 6m WSPR.

UPDATE 1810z: No spots of me on QRPP WSPR.

10m QRPP WSPR (Friday)

Today I am back to 500uW on 10m WSPR. I shall resync to internet time after breakfast.

UPDATE 1807z:  Internet time resync done early this morning. No spots.

630m QRP WSPR overnight

With 4 stations spotting my 10mW ERP overnight on 630m WSPR, the message is ‘not done yet’.

Golden Barrel Cactus - NOT amateur radio

This was seen at the Cambridge University Botanical Garden earlier in the week.

Sunspots - Friday May 3rd

 Solar flux is 142 and the SSN 125. A=44 and K=1.

Last gasp on 630m QRP WSPR

At about 2000z this evening, I shall try 630m WSPR for probably the last time until the autumn. 

I am unsure what nighttime challenge I shall try instead. 

My tests with 10mW ERP 630m WSPR using the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground have been fun. The beauty is that neither my XYL nor the neighbours have any idea it is there!  

From my WSPR tests, I suspect it is only about 2 S-points down on a monster antenna and ground.

Buttercups and cow parsley - NOT amateur radio

Buttercups have been very good this spring. My wife took this photo yesterday at the Cambridge University Botanic Garden,

Es so far

Although I have seen Es openings on 6m FT8, things are average rather than great. 

When Es is in full swing bands like 10m and 6m are open for QSOs with very low power. 

The fact that I am still struggling on 10m WSPR with 10mW speaks volumes. When Es is really good, I would expect to be spotted across Europe with 500uW 10m WSPR. Probably a few milliwatts of 10m or 6m FT8 would suffice.  I must try this!

When things are this good I confidently expect to span Europe on 8m 40.680MHz (USB dial) with 10mW ERP WSPR as long as there are monitors and not too much QRM from local ISM signals. Under UK ISM rules I am sure 8m WSPR is available to all without a licence as long as IR2030 is complied with. It is best to use a callsign of your choosing that WSPRnet can use so you can see who is receiving you, These are ISM rules and NOT amateur radio.

Rallies this weekend

 The following have been notified to me, but please check the details are correct before going.

• Sunday  May 5th - Lough Erne ARC 40th Annual Radio Rally, N.Ireland. BT92 0JZ . Contact argault91@gmail.com .
• Sunday May 5th - Thorpe Camp Hamfest, Lincs LN4 4PL. No contact details.

Electric vehicles - NOT amateur radio

It is my view that there will be a "tipping point"  when most people will drive electric cars. We are not at this point yet. These days the vast majority of people use flat screen TVs and digital cameras, The use of CRTs and film cameras would feel odd for most.

There are several things wrong with electric cars at present. These include:

• Poor range.
• Use lithium ion batteries.
• Too few changing points
• Expensive to buy.
• Insurance costs high.
• Inexperienced garage staff.
• Repair costs high?

This is what may happen:

• The massive research into battery technology will reduce costs and increase range dramatically. One possibility is solid state batteries.
• Prices will drop (possibly with influence from the Chinese).
• There will be far more charging points, although most will charge at home and be able to do long journeys without a recharge.

We are not there yet, but it is coming.   Expect 1000 mile ranges and prices similar to petrol cars.

10m QRPP WSPR

On 10m, I am currently trying 10mW WSPR, but no spots yet today.

As you may recall, earlier I was using 500uW and was pleasantly surprised with my results. At 10mW it should be better.

6m QRP FT8

My 2.5W to the V2000 vertical has been on for about 40 minutes and has been spotted by 7 stations. Some look like Es. 

On 6m FT8 RX I have spotted a station in Norway.

UPDATE 1021z:  19 stations have spotted me and I have spotted 20 stations. Definitely Es.

UPDATE 1246z: 24 stations have spotted my 6m QRP FT8 today.

UPDATE 1551z: My QRP 6m FT8 has been spotted by 28 stations and 27 stations have been spotted here.

UPDATE 1735z:  29 stations spotted my 2.5W 6m FT8 today (see map).

630m QRP WSPR overnight

Last night I gave 630m WSPR a parting shot.  Unlike earlier in the season, just 2 stations spotted my 10mW ERP from the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. A few months ago this would have been 12-15 including some good DX spots.

I think I shall stop until the autumn.

2m FT8 activity contest yesterday evening

It is amazing what may be heard on 2m FT8 when there is an activity contest.  Last evening 67 stations were spotted here despite just using a big-wheel omni antenna and no beams. 

Furthermost was OV3T (694km) in Denmark. 

The map shows the stations spotted here.

Kite (bird) - NOT amateur radio

About 30 years ago seeing a kite here would be unheard of. A few pairs were re-introduced locally and now they seem to be everywhere. They are quite common near roads where they like roadkill. .

See https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/red-kite.

Sunspots - Thursday May 2nd

Solar flux is 135 and the SSN 104. A=8 and K=2.

630m QRP WSPR

 Since about 2000z I have been on 630m WSPR with my 10mW ERP. So far, just one station spotting me. A few months back I would have been spotted by many more. Let’s see how many by breakfast time.

2m FT8 activity contest (Wednesday)

After working a local, I am now RX only on 2m FT8. The furthermost copied is DK0TR (617km).  With FT8 I am sure we are able to tap into some kind of scatter. My own 2.5W to the big-wheel omni antenna was copied by by 14 stations with the furthermost G7RAU (461km) in Cornwall.

Mysore Trumpetvine? - NOT amateur radio

We saw lots of plants at the Cambridge Botanic Gardens earlier today. I think this is called Mysore Trumpetvine, although I am no expert.

10m 10mW WSPR (Wednesday)

Apart from a single spot by OE3GBB (1233km), there have been no spots of my 10mW WSPR today. I expect this was a brief patch of Es.

UPDATE  1830z:   EA8BFK (2880km) has now also spotted me.

630m WSPR going "off the boil"

With only 3 stations spotting my 10mW ERP 630m WSPR overnight it looks like 630m WSPR is getting worse. I shall try again overnight, but it would appear only the true diehards are still monitoring. Also, noise levels are probably higher as we approach summer, making copy of weak signals harder.

Beetle - NOT amateur radio

This small beetle was seen in the Cambridge Botanical Gardens earlier. At a guess I would say it’s about 1cm long.

Police and crime commissioner - NOT amateur radio

This Thursday in the UK there are some local elections and the election of new police and crime commissioners. As in 2016, I have no idea who my police and crime commissioner is and I have had nothing through the mail.

In my view, police and crime commissioners are a total waste of time and UK tax payers money. I shall NOT be voting for this government quango.

Sunspots - Wednesday May 1st

 Solar flux is 130 and the SSN 85.  A=12 and K=2.

Oscar 100 activity

It seems ages since I gave an update on Oscar 100, which is the Qatari geosynchronous satellite. When I looked mid afternoon UK time there was some activity, but it was hardly busy. 

I look on the narrowband web SDR at Goonhilly Downs in Cornwall, UK.

Probably the lack of "black box" solutions puts many off, although it allows much of the planet to be worked without QSB and with a small fixed antenna at any time. I remain surprised that it is still so quiet. No need for linears or towers!

Sadly, many in the amateur radio community are "black box" operators who would rather spend money than experiment. In my view this will lead to the death of the hobby.

Solar predictions

Usually, near the start of the month my favourite site for solar data has a major update. This last few weeks have seen days with high solar flux and sunspot numbers, so it will be interesting to see if forecasts have changed much.

Internet speeds - NOT amateur radio

When I first had the internet and a website (mid 1990s) my download speed was 2.5k and I had to pay for a phone connection (long distance) to London.  My website is still on the Wayback Machine. It was first created in 1996.

My download speed is now over 100M and many with full fibre have download speeds of around 500M or even greater. How times change.

One wonders what our grandchildren will experience. My father, who died in 1987, would have had no concept of the internet or mobile phones. It is impossible to conceive of something we can have no concept of at all.

Leak - NOT amateur radio

We have a leak in the pipe between the meter in the pavement and the house. It is not covered by my insurance so we are having a new pipe fitted. Tomorrow (all being well!) the plumber is coming to fit the new pipe. Oh joy! 

UPDATE 1332z:  It looks like it could be an issue with the water meter, so no new plumbing may be needed.

Still no swifts - NOT amateur radio

 

They usually arrive here soon and stay a few months. Every day I scan the skies, but nothing yet. 

Once they arrive they are very common overhead. 

Often they are heard screaming first.

Many of their traditional nest sites have gone and numbers are down. Once they arrive, I feel life is still OK.

Shetland spring - NOT amateur radio

One of my friends on 365project recently posted this photo. The idea is to post a photo each day. 

Some use it to improve their photography. We use it as a visual diary. 

It is totally free, although access may be made private for a small annual fee. 

My wife and I have each done it for 13 years. It is good to look back over the years. I love it.

630m interest waning?

Last night I was spotted by only 5 stations. I was late on but the impression I am getting is interest in the band is waning as we approach the summer.

10m WSPR at 10mW (Tuesday)

Late yesterday afternoon I decided to try 10m WSPR at 10mW which is some 13dB up on the power used in recent weeks. Spotted by EA8BFK (2880km) yesterday. I think the extra power must help. Probably stay at this power level to see how it goes in the Es season.

UPDATE 0821z:  No spots this morning.

UPDATE 1325z:  Spotted by 4 stations. Interestingly, at 10mW all 4 copied me, whereas at 500uW (0.5mW) only EA8BFK would probably have spotted me.

UPDATE 1442z:  Now 5 stations are spotting me with 10mW. Note my beacon is pre-programmed to report 0.5W, even though with the attenuator in it is actually 10mW.

Sunspots - Tuesday April 30th

Solar  flux is 138 and the SSN 88.  A=6 and K=0.

How it was

We can imagine this is how amateur radio looked 100 years ago. 

All gear was homemade back then. No Japanese or Chinese transceivers!  Real experimenters.

630m QRP WSPR (Monday)

 Once again I am on 630m WSPR with my 10mW ERP. I was puzzled that nobody was spotting me then I realised: in the settings I still had the callsign used for 8m ISM. Now plenty of spots!

Muntjac deer - NOT amateur radio

This afternoon I cut our front laurel hedge.  

Suddenly a Muntjac deer appeared and I just managed a hasty photo. At one point it was only about 3m from me. 

It was near the windmill next door.

Muntjacs are quite common. Luckily, they have not managed to get into our rear garden. They are about the size of a medium sized dog. They make a very boring bark!

South Hams, where I grew up - NOT amateur radio

This is where I grew up and lived until I got a job in Cambridge. It is still very beautiful. 

This is Bolberry Down.

10m QRPP WSPR (Monday)

 My 500uW (0.5mW) 10m WSPR is on again.  No spots.

40.680 MHz QRPP WSPR

My dipole for 8m has still to be replaced, but I am again on 40.680 MHz QRPP WSPR under ISM rules. My power is 10mW ERP.

630m QRP WSPR overnight

 

7 stations spotted my 10mW ERP 630m WSPR yesterday with the furthermost the north of Scotland.

Wells market last week - NOT amateur radio

 

This colourful display was in Wells market last week.

10m QRPP yesterday

 

People spotting my
500uW 10m WSPR yesterday 

Yesterday was a great day on 10m WSPR with 500uW (0.5mW) with some Es around. 

Based on these results, this tiny QRPP power should be copied across Europe when Es is good.

Map courtesy of Phil VK7JJ at WSPR Rocks!

Sunspots- Monday April 29th

 Solar flux is 140 and the SSN 119. A=6 and K=2.

10m 500uW (0.5mW) WSPR (Sunday)

 

So far today my 500uW has been spotted by 2 stations (see table).

8m - more and more countries on TX

Yesterday a club station in Malawi was reported to be TXing on the 8m band. Several countries have issued experimental licences for the band. Some stations, where the licencing authority is rather poor, have come on the band illegally.

What is becoming clearer and clearer is that more and more countries are supportive of research at 8m. 

It seems odd to me that places like the USA and UK seem so backward on research at 8m. Just a 5kHz slot with limited power by NoV or equivalent, narrow digital only, with no interference created is surely not too much to ask?

Why the negativity?

Xiegu G106 price reduction

Steve G1KQH has pointed out that MLS has significantly reduced the price of this 5W SDR based HF rig. 

It was good value before, but even better value now. I can see many people buying this. Yaesu and ICOM must be seriously worried. Even I am tempted! 

If the quality is good this is a serious player much like the Yaesu FT817 was nearly a quarter of a century ago.

It is my view that within 5 years the Chinese will be very important in the amateur radio market. At the next sunspot peak, it would not surprise me at all to see Chinese products becoming far more common than Japanese. If they are to survive in the amateur radio market, I can see the likes of Yaesu and ICOM designing in Japan, but manufacturing elsewhere where costs are lower.

See https://www.hamradio.co.uk/g106 .

See also https://www.cqxiegu.com/ .

Wells last week - NOT amateur radio

Last week we had a few days in Bristol and went to Wells on Wednesday. 

The photo shows part of the moat around the Bishop's Palace.

2-way or 1-way?

Perhaps it is because my voice is poor these days, but I actually am quite happy to get 1-way reports on WSPR or FT8. Seeing where my signal gets is quite enough nowadays having worked QRP DXCC way back in the 1980s on 10m SSB.

Some chase DX QSOs, but this is not important to me.

2m QRP FT8 (Sunday)

 

For a change, I am on 2m FT8 with my 2.5W to the big-wheel omni antenna. I cannot believe conditions are "up" at all.  2m FT8 seems very busy. There is an MGM contest on. Furthermost is EI9KP (649km)

UPDATE 1410z:  36 spots of my 2.5W 2m FT8.

Reality? - NOT amateur radio

On a couple of occasions recently I could swear I was told something in a WhatsApp message. 

However hard I try I have been unable to find the message and there is no proof saying the sender had deleted it. 

My only conclusion is that I must have had a dream. This has happened more than once in the last few months. It is as if reality and dreams are sometimes merged. It makes me question reality.

Forces of evil? - NOT amateur radio

For all of my lifetime I have lived in peace, although until 1989 we lived under the shadow of nuclear war.

These days I sense evil is abroad. Russia has invaded Ukraine. Israel has hit Gaza hard in response to the Hamas attack of October 7th. China is threatening Taiwan where I have been twice. In many countries there is a move to the right. There is every possibility of Mr Trump being the leader of the USA for the next 4 years.

The world seems more unstable than at any time I can remember, perhaps with the exception of the 1962 Cuba crisis.

Western democracy is far from perfect. Unhindered capitalism has many faults. What I hope is that across the world a fairer society emerges.

630m QRP WSPR overnight

Just 7 stations spotted me overnight. I suspect people are looking elsewhere.

Sunspots- Sunday April 28th

 Solar flux is 153 and the SSN 126. A=12 and K=2.

Back on 630m QRP WSPR (Saturday)

 For the first time in about a week I am back on 630m WSPR with my 10mW ERP from the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. So far, at 1805z, just spotted by G8OCV/SDR (65km) 14 times.

8m antenna replacement

All being well, I hope to replace my 8m dipole in the coming days. 

This Es season, as an experiment, I am trying 10mW ERP WSPR under ISM rules. This power should certainly get me into Europe on better days, but will there be people monitoring 40.680 USB dial WSPR? 

When the band is really "open" I shall be competing with other ISM sources! At the other end, there is no knowing what interference levels I shall be competing against.

The MFJ announcement

 As mentioned, there was a major announcement about the future of MFJ. The owner is now aged 80.

See https://mailchi.mp/62e24f2ccc99/a-heavy-sad-heart .

The future of amateur radio

In an earlier post I mentioned that CQ magazine was ceasing production. MFJ can no longer be competetive making on-site.

In my view, amateur radio is reaching a critical point. There is no denying that amateur radio is a hobby that (mainly) appeals to older men. There are a few younger people interested and there are now very few radio magazines on sale in newsagents, whereas there are many about PCs and gaming. In the main, much as many would wish otherwise, younger folk get "turned on" by other things. Younger people are not fascinated by the magic of radio.

As we age, fewer pieces of commercial gear will get made (fewer profits to be made), fewer ads will appear from  dealers, magazines will have less revenue, these will shrink or disappear and amateur radio as we knew it will cease to be.

This sounds gloomy and I hope I am proved wrong, but, so far, everything I expected is coming true.

What will the future look like? Many PTTs are losing interest in amateur radio, preferring to  concentrate on things that can make them money.

If I had to guess, these are what I expect will happen in the coming years:

• Fewer new products dedicated to the amateur radio market will be produced.
• Fewer dealers will remain around.
• Fewer magazine adverts will be needed.
• Fewer magazines will exist.
• Those magazines that survive will become smaller.
• PTTs will "wash their hands" of amateur radio.
• Amateur radio will become a free-for-all.
• National radio societies will issue callsigns to those that want them.
• CB and amateur radio (possibly ISM) will become the same thing.
• All amateur radio frequencies will become CB frequencies and licence free.
• Creating no interference to revenue generating services will be the important thing.

Is it all bad? I don't think so. To many people CB and amateur radio are different ways of chatting. Experimentation will carry on.

Leftover from Easter? - NOT amateur radio

 

This knitting was on the top of a postbox near here.