6m QRP FT8 (Friday)

 My 5W gear has been on since lunchtime.

UPDATE 1335z:  57 stations have spotted me - mostly mainland Europe by Es.

10m 500mW WSPR (Friday)

My QRP beacon has been on since lunchtime.

UPDATE 1330z:  No spots.

Yesterday on VHF

Stations spotting my 6m QRP FT8 yesterday 

On 6m FT8 987 stations including one in the Caribbean spotted my 5W FT8 to the vertical omni antenna and the Es reached 2m with the furthest on 2m FT8 (sadly RX only) being IT9.

Blue Remembered Hills - NOT amateur radio

“A Shropshire Lad” is one of the most profound poems ever written in the English language. 

It speaks of our continual struggle to find memories of times past that can never ever be experienced again. 

See https://poets.org/

Sunspots - Friday June 20th

 Solar flux is 136 and the SSN 113. A=12 and K=3.

2m 5W FT8 Es (Thursday)

It looks like there is a 2m Es event, so I have QSYed to 144.174 MHz FT8.  

Although my 5W to the V2000 has not been spotted by Es, on RX the best so far is an IT9STG (1894km) at +11dB S/N i.e. very strong indeed.

Spots of my 2m 5W FT8 tat 1221z

UPDATE 1221z: 46 stations in 6 countries have spotted my 2m 5W FT8 so far.

Dahlia garden (less dahlias) - NOT amateur radio

The photo shows the dahlia garden at Anglesey Abbey, near Cambridge, UK. In a few months with all the dahlias in it will look amazing.

6m QRP FT8 (Thursday)

My IC-705 at 5W to the V2000 vertical omni was turned on just before breakfast.

UPDATE 0930z:  Spotted by 238 stations already. Es in the main.

UPDATE 1347z:  I decided to go back on 6m QRP FT8. Already 308 stations have spotted me in under an hour!

10m 500mW WSPR (Thursday)

Early Es today!  My beacon was turned on just before breakfast.

UPDATE 0932z:  Already spotted by 31 stations across Europe.

Sunspots - Thursday June 19th

 Solar flux is 137 and the SSN 120. A=13 and K=1.

Yesterday on 6m QRP FT8

 664 stations spotted me yesterday with my 5W to the vertical omni and 659 were spotted here.  Most were Es. At least one was someone fooling around. 

Reconciliation -NOT amateur radio

My brother has just been to hear a group of German singers in Coventry cathedral. During WW2 much of Coventry was destroyed (including the cathedral where they sang) by German 🇩🇪 bombs. Wonderful. Coventry - reconciliation in action.

Birmingham New Street station - NOT amateur radio

We have been through this UK railway station quite a few times in recent years.

I think it was modernised some years ago and I quite like it. 

The photo shows the entrance on the Moor Street station and bus stop side.

10m 500mW WSPR (Wednesday)

 Despite what I said earlier, I decided to go on 10m QRP WSPR after all.

UPDATE 0933z: So far, just a spot by EA1FAQ (1249km). There is some Es.

UPDATE 1245z:   23 stations have spotted me.

6m 5W FT8 (Wednesday)

My QRP gear was turned on at breakfast time. 

UPDATE 1515z: So far, 412 spots of me with the furthermost South Korea. 397 stations spotted here.  Judging by this station's other spots, I think this is genuine.

UPDATE 1935z:  When I first saw that I had been spotted again in the USA I was excited at first. Then I saw the call P5KY in North Korea, so I knew it was a pirate! Otherwise lots of European Es around.

Hope Cove, Devon webcam - NOT amateur radio

 

My family history can be traced continuously to Hope Cove, Devon in the mid 1500s. That is a generation before the Spanish Armada!

I check the weather there on the webcam at the Cottage Hotel in Hope Cove. The photo is a snapshot from the webcam. I have had lunch there and it was very good.

See https://hopecove.com.

Wednesday plans

 Today I think I am going to give 10m WSPR a miss and just go on 6m QRP FT8. On 10m it tends to follow a predictable pattern with few spots early on, some Europeans later (if there’s Es) and V51RS and the Canaries later.

Sunspots - Wednesday June 18th

 Solar flux is 139 and the SSN 97. A=9 and K=3.

Sporadic-E (Es)

 A reminder that this is the best time of year in the northern hemisphere for this kind of propagation. It frequently affects 10m and 6m, sometimes 4m and Band II FM and occasionally 2m and even higher on VHF. Signals can be very strong. 

It is not unheard of for Es to link with other modes meaning far greater distances are possible. I am also a believer in chordal hop E layer propagation, which I believe is responsible for some, not all. very long paths.

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

Liverpool Metropolitan Cathedral - NOT amateur radio

 

This was consecrated in 1967 and known locally as “Paddy’s wigwam”. 

From the outside it looks like a concrete edifice but inside the light is spectacular. Whatever your faith, or none, it is well worth a visit.

 It has been upgraded to Grade 1 status, meaning it is one of the most important buildings in the country. Well worth it.

10m QRP WSPR (Tuesday)

 My 500mW beacon was turned on very early, but I doubt I will get any spots for hours! 🥴

UPDATE  0922z:  No spots of me this morning.

UPDATE 1410z:  5 stations have spotted so far today.

Snail - NOT amateur radio

This was taken some years ago and appeared as a memory today.

6m QRP FT8 (Tuesday)

 My 5W gear was turned on early at 0458z. Just UK stations spotted and nobody spotted here.

UPDATE 0545z: 5 stations have spotted me including one in Germany. 

UPDATE 0923z: 26 stations have spotted me. Definitely Es.

UPDATE 1412z:  52 stations have spotted me.

Local supermarket - NOT amateur radio

This is where we do most of our food shopping. It is in Newmarket. 

Sunspots - Tuesday June 17th

 Solar flux is 148 and the SSN 125. A=10 and K=2.

Treeless landscape - NOT amateur radio

One of my friends on 365project.org lives in the Shetland Is. It is pretty treeless up there with a fair bit of wind.

10m 500mW WSPR (Monday)

My beacon was turned on just before breakfast.

UPDATE 1220z:  Just one spot by F/DK4NL.

UPDATED 1858z:  Now 19 spots of me.

UPDATE 2031z:  35 spots of me. 

UPDATE 2055z:  Now QRT.

Quiet close - NOT amateur radio

This is a quiet green in our village, surrounded by houses. We like to photograph this in the autumn when the trees lose their leaves.

6m QRP FT8 (Monday)

My 6m FT8 was turned on at 0600z. 

Stations spotting me at 0830z

UPDATE 0850z:  65 stations have spotted me. It seems to me that those interested in 6m have now got bored with Europeans and are coming on the band to work "super DX" from the Far East, North and South America, Africa and the Caribbean. They do this by being alerted and not coming on so often casually.

UPDATE 0924z: 75 spots of my 5W QRP to the vertical omni. I suppose we occasionally get Es linking with TEP further sound bringing stations far further south in Africa and South America within range on 6m.

UPDATE 1641z:  289 stations have spotted me including DS1JFY (8751km) in South Korea.  Judging by his other spots, this could be genuine. 196 stations spotted on 6m FT8 RX.

UPDATE  2034z: 328 spots of me. QRT soon.

UPDATE 2050z:  Now QRT.

Sunspots - Monday June 16th

 Solar flux is 148 and the SSN 141.  A=11 and K=2.

Crystal receivers

This was one area of radio that fascinated me, although I have not explored it recently. At one time, my ambition was to build a crystal set that covered VLF to over 1 GHz with maximum sensitivity. 

Remember, crystal sets are passive receivers generating all their power from the TX. Some designs use the rectified signals from many stations to bias the detector on or to power a small amplifier.

These days there are fewer English language broadcast stations on short wave.

In my time I have received stations from all over the world, not via relays that can be much nearer. I have heard amateur and commercial stations too.

Most crystal sets can copy about 1mV signals, although I expect optimised systems can receive far weaker signals.

There is a page on my website about these.

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

Galloping - NOT amateur radio

 

The horses were seen from the top of a bus last week in Stratford upon Avon, UK.

Father's Day - NOT amateur radio

It may be different across the world, but in the UK it is Father's Day. 

One of my sons bought me some red wine and a special card.

10m 500mW WSPR (Sunday)

 My beacon has been on since breakfast and just spotted by EA1FAQ (1249km).

UPDATE 2053z: Also spotted by V51RS (8481km).

6m QRP FT8 (Sunday)

My 5W FT8 was turned on at about 0645z.

UPDATE 2051z:   My 5W 6m FT8 has been spotted by 122 stations around Europe and the Canary Is..

Sunspots - Sunday June 15th

 Solar flux is 151 and the SSN 136.  A=24 and K=2.

Trains - NOT amateur radio

This was part of a photo on 365project.org earlier. 

Apparently the North York Moors Railway (a private preserved railway in the UK, usually steam) has a diesel weekend.

10m 500mW WSPR TX

My QRP 10m WSPR beacon has been on since 1115z.

UPDATE 1232z:  No spots of me. I am rapidly coming to the conclusion that 10m WSPR is rarely worth the effort.

UPDATE 1341z: Just EA1FAQ (1249km) spotting me today.

UPDATE 1850z:  13 stations spotting me around Europe.  WSPR gets me spotted around the planet, but I always get far more spots on 6m FT8. I get the feeling that if the noise floor is poor it is harder for the RXing station with WSPR. Signals are buried deeper in the noise. QRT soon.

6m 5W FT8 (Saturday)

My gear was turned on at about 1115z. 

Stations spotting me

UPDATE 1853z: Spotted by 255 stations. 282 stations spotted here on RX. See map for stations spotting my QRP. Most look like Es. Furthermost on RX is OD5KU (3468km).

UPDATE 2108z:  On 6m FT8 RX D2UY (6525km) and many stations in Florida spotted here. Now QRT.

Seen on our walk earlier - NOT amateur radio

These flowers were seen on our walk around the village earlier.

Sunspots - Saturday June 14th

Solar flux is 143 and the SSN 134.  A=66 and K=3.

6m DX

Way back in 2007, I worked a station in the USA on 6m CW with just 1W to my vertical V2000 colinear. I see Lofty had a big antenna which must have helped!

As yet, I have not seen any Far East stations on 6m FT8 RX. This regularly happens about now and is thought linked to the formation of noctilucent clouds.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/vhfuhfmicrowaves/super-dx .

Lightning risk

So far this year, we have escaped thunderstorms and torrential rain. As thunderstorms could strike us overnight, it is probably wise to disconnect everything. Of course, if I do this we'll get no rain and no  thunderstorms! It is worth checking the lightning maps to assess the risks.

See https://www.lightningmaps.org/

Is WSPR declining in popularity?

When I go on 10m WSPR it is not uncommon to get few spots these days. On the other hand my 6m 5W FT8 gets loads of spots. The difference in power means that they are about equal in S/N ratio at the receiver as FT8 is roughly 10dB less effective than WSPR. Perhaps WSPR gets buried in local noise more often?

The major reason for using 10m WSPR is the PC is not needed and the 10m antenna is available when I go on 6m FT8.

I am seriously wondering if it is really worth carrying on with 10m WSPR.

Visiting a new place - NOT amateur radio

When we go somewhere new we like to go around on a "hop on, hop off"  bus to get the "feel" of a place and then stopping off later where we know what to see. 

This week we went to Stratford upon Avon and this is one of the bus stops. We bought a ticket that lasted a day.

10m 500mW WSPR

 Well, if you turn the PSU on the wall it helps. Yesterday, I got no 10m spots at all .I can see why now!

Today my 500mW beacon has been on since early morning with the PSU on!

UPDATE 1103z:  So far, just EA1FAQ (1249km).

How embarrassing!

The latest GQRP magazine SPRAT has arrived and I see there are 3 articles of mine! I was hoping they would spread them out. They must be desperate for articles. 

Usually SPRAT is excellent as a quarterly A5 colour magazine full of ideas. 

It is entirely done by volunteers without payment. As I have said many times before, if every magazine had to stop this would be the last to go. Perhaps not this one though!  

See http://gqrp.com/sprat.htm .

6m 5W FT8 (Friday)

My gear was turned on at about 0846z.  So far, spotted by 12 Europeans, presumably Es. 

Incidentally,yesterday I forgot to turn on the PSU so I assume yesterday it was 50% of 5W, so about 2.5W FT8.  Not that I noticed!

UPDATE 1628z:  92 spots of me. Most are Es. 52 stations spotted on RX.

Sunspots - Friday June 13th

 Solar flux is 141 and the SSN 133.  A=18 and K=3.

10m 500mW WSPR (Thursday)

 Although my stand-alone beacon has been on since mid-afternoon, no spots of me.

6m QRP FT8 (Thursday)

 

52 stations have spotted my 5W since arriving home mid-afternoon. Most were Es. See map.

What a disappointment!

 This was my grandson in 2010 when I had hopes of him becoming an electronics engineer like his  grandfather. I failed!

Anne Thathaway - NOT amateur radio

This was where Shakespeare’s wife lived before they married.

11 years ago

 Looking back I came across this photo from 2014 showing my loading coil for use at 472kHz.

Sunspots - Thursday June 12th

 Solar flux is 141 and the SSN 133. A=18 and K=3.

Sepura - NOT amateur radio

Before I retired in 2008 I was high up in the Development Department at Sepura and they have, unsurprisingly, managed very well without me!!😉

River Avon - NOT amateur radio

 

This is the River Avon in Stratford upon Avon,

Sunspots - Wednesday June 11th

 Solar flux is 129 and the SSN 105. A= 9 and K=2 . 

Declining sunspots

 Unless we have a sudden change, it looks like we are on the slow decline to the solar minimum. Numbers are dropping.

Shakespeare’s church

This is the church where he is buried in Stratford upon Avon, UK.

Shakespeare’s birthplace - NOT amateur radio

 This was where Shakespeare was born in Stratford upon Avon .

Old QSL card

This dates from 2003 and shows me using the Miracle Whip antenna on the FT817. The best contact was Argentina on 10m SSB with QRP.  Especially on the higher HF bands it worked remarkably well.

Western Canada - NOT amateur radio

We went to western Canada in June 2012. We expected good weather, but had snow on the ground!  It was a good holiday combining the Rocky Mountaineer train from Vancouver with a week of car hire. 

The west is far better than the east.

Sunspots - Tuesday June 10th

 Solar flux is 120 and the SSN 82. A=15 and K=1.

Crab apples - NOT amateur radio

We have just one crab apple tree. 

After masses of flowers in the spring, there are now lots of fruit. These are about 1cm diameter.  

All being well, I shall make a couple of jars of crab apple jelly as in past years. It is delicious with some meats.

See https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/crab-apple-jelly .

10m 500mW WSPR TX (Monday)

My W5OLF beacon was turned on at 1124z.

UPDATE 2114z:  Spotted by 4 stations in mainland Europe. Looks like Es. QRT soon.

6m 5W FT8 (Monday)

At 1120z, I QSYed to 6m FT8.

UPDATE 2112z: 60 stations have spotted me. Presumably Es. See map. QRT soon.

10m FT8 QRP (Monday)

My IC-705 was turned on at 5W just before breakfast.

UPDATE 1118z: 107 spots of my QRP.

Comparing 6m and 8m

It is over a week since my 8m TX permit expired. Instead, I am concentrating on 6m FT8.  There are several differences:

• Activity on  6m FT8  is vastly greater than on 8m. This is because there are far fewer stations permitted to TX on 8m and few PTTs seem to be bothered.
• In the Es season it is quite easy to get all over Europe and with low power. This is almost certainly true on 8m, but there are far too few on the band.
• The MUF  seems to reach 8m far more often than 6m. This is especially true around sunspot maximum.
• I would imagine aurora would be better than 6m.

Sunspots- Monday June 9th

 Solar flux is 115 and the SSN 87. A=15 and K=4. 

6m QRP FT8 (Sunday)

At about 1510z, I decided to go on 6m FT8 with my 5W to the V2000 vertical omni antenna.

UPDATE 1922z:  So far, 7 stations in 7 countries have spotted me. I have spotted 12 stations. Best DX spot is by SM6KKX (934km). See map.

10m 500mW WSPR (Sunday)

As I decided to try 4m FT8 RX using the V2000 vertical omni, I decided to try 10m QRP WSPR with my beacon on the endfed antenna.

UPDATE 1705z:  No spots of me.

4m FT8 RX (Sunday)

Apparently the FT8 frequency to monitor on 4m is 70.154 MHz. So, using my endfed antenna used 10m-17m I have set my IC-705 to 70.154 MHz RX to see what happens. 

No idea at all how this antenna performs on 4m! It may work or may be incredibly lossy!

UPDATE 1337z: G3YHM (168km) spotted so it must be doing something.

15m QRP FT8 (Sunday)

For a total change I tried FT8 at 5W on 15m. It was too easy with spots on RX and TX from across the planet. 

Station rationalisation

At the moment my main activities are 6m and 10m FT8, 2m and 70cm SSB in the UKAC activity sessions, 2m FM in the local net and 10m QRP  WSPR with my W5OLF beacon.  

It occurred to me that all could be done with the IC-705, although the stand-alone 10m WSPR beacon (500mW) is useful when I am on 6m FT8.

So, for now, I have rationalised my set-up.

27 MHz CB

When CB was first legal in the UK, it was very busy. I seem to recall monitoring, but don't think I ever transmitted on CB. 

I still have pair of 1 channel CB handhelds that I used once many years later. These were going to be converted to 10m FM on 29.6 MHz, but never were.  A range of 1 km back-to-back was achieved that surprised me. 

These days I think it is much quieter with advent of the internet and 446 licence free. In the last century we also had a 934 MHz CB band in the UK! 

These days there are far fewer users as these alternatives exist for chatting, leaving the CB frequencies for farmers and any enthusiasts left.

CB gear is low cost as there is lots around ....and probably not selling!

FT8 on CB?

Is FT8 legal on CB in Europe including the UK?  I gather there is some activity around 27.265 MHz. 

When solar conditions decline there is often far more activity on the CB frequencies than on the 10m amateur band suggesting it is a lack of activity rather than poor conditions.

In the UK I believe you do not need a licence to operate CB gear, but I think you must use CE marked gear?  It is a bit vague if you use compliant gear that is not marked. Also, I presume you can make up a call!

I doubt CB is policed and I know many use beams and (illegal) high power. I am just wondering if I should monitor and possibly TX?

10m QRP FT8 (Sunday)

My 5W was turned on at about 0900z.

UPDATE 1034z:  50 spots of me on TX and 24 stations spotted on RX. Mostly Es?

Sunspots - Sunday June 8th

 Solar flux is 121 and the SSN 103. A=20 and K=2.

10m QRP WSPR yesterday

 In all, 31 stations spotted my 500mW WSPR yesterday. All were European, probably mostly via Es.

6m pirates?

Earlier, when I went on 6m FT8, I was supposed to have spotted stations in Somalia, Asiatic Russia and North Korea. 

Somehow I don't think so!

10m 500mW WSPR TX (Saturday)

 My beacon was turned on about 1014z.

UPDATE 1020z:  No spots.

UPDATE 1106z:  If helps if you turn on the PSU too. Doh!! PSU turned on at 1104z.

6m QRP FT8 (Saturday)

 At about 1012z I QSYed from 10m to 6m FT8.

UPDATE  1641z:  101 spots of me with the furthermost the Canary Is.. 

Leaving the market?

SteppIR, who are famous for their automatically adjustable beams, have announced they are leaving the amateur radio market in August. They made high-end products I have never owned.

Now I know this is not true everywhere, but it is probably mostly true that ours is a hobby of "mature" people. Indeed this is one of the reasons SteppIR has quoted for leaving the amateur radio antenna market.

It is my view that many who have been in the amateur radio market for many years as manufacturers or dealers are wondering if this is really for them.

It would not surprise me at all if we see a shake-out in the coming years.

Did Yaesu release a product too early?

This podcast seems to back up my assertion that the FTX-1 was launched in a hurry. 

Many are very happy with it, but I still think it is far too expensive.  It is even more expensive when you add features the IC-705 has had for years!

At £999 I might have considered it. As it is, like many, I will stick with my IC-705. With the recent price reduction the IC-705 looks far better value. 

I am puzzled that the Yaesu FT710 is far far less that the FTX-1. On the first Sherwood tests it is way down on the FT710 performance. Personally I think Yaesu is struggling and finding it hard to stay in the amateur radio business. If they were hoping the FTX-1 would be their saviour, I hate to disappoint them!

It is normal to see software bugs that are corrected, but this product look like it was released far too early. Some of these issues will be fixed in software updates. I hope they haven't got to do hardware changes too.

10m 5W FT8 (Saturday)

At the moment I am om 10m QRP FT8. The gear was turned on at about 0822z.

UPDATE 0855z:  16 spots of me. See map.

UPDATE 0949z:  35 spots of me with the furthermost South Africa.

UPDATE 1004z:  43 spots of me.

Sunspots- Saturday June 7th

 Solar flux is 128 and the SSN 76. A=8 and K=2.

10m QRP WSPR (Friday)

My 500mW W5OLF beacon was turned on at about 0645z. 

UPDATE 1430z:  14 spots. Mostly Es I think although V51RS (8481km) was clearly not.

6m QRP FT8 (Friday)

My 6W 6m FT8 was turned on at about 0645z this morning.

I see that one of my 6m FT8 spots yesterday was a station in Brazil PY2RN (9551km).

UPDATE 1746z:   So far, 239 stations have spotted me and I have spotted 171.

QDX transceiver

This tiny digital transceiver amazes me. It is about the size of a pack of cards.  

In my case I added a number of suitably rated diodes to drop the supply voltage so the power output is probably about 3W, at most, on 10m. 

Despite this I have been copied all over the planet on 10m QRP FT8 with a simple, low, end-fed antenna. It is all you need really if you are only interested in digital HF. It is available as a kit or ready built. You can choose a version covering the lower or higher HF bands. There are also single band versions at a slightly lower price. 

Excellent products and excellent value. I am highly impressed.

See https://qrp-labs.com/qdx.html.

Baby squirrel - NOT amateur radio

One of the joys of 365project is seeing the photos other friends have posted. 

Take this one from someone in the USA. You could imagine the baby squirrel was really frightened.

Also, the discipline of posting a photo a day is interesting, especially looking back many years.

Last Tuesday in the 2m activity contest

 

Although I run just 10W to an omni big-wheel antenna and stop on for about only 30 minutes because of my poor voice, I like to submit an entry. The map shows the stations worked.

Sunspots - Friday June 6th

 Solar flux is 128 and the SSN 92.  A=12 and K=2.

10m 500mW WSPR (Thursday)

 My W5OLF beacon was turned on mid morning.

UPDATE 1046z:   No spots.

6m 6W FT8 (Thursday)

 My gear has been on since early morning.

UPDATE 1358z:  199 stations have spotted me and I have spotted 85 stations here.

Immigration - NOT amateur radio

Some people are fearful of losing their national identities in a flood of immigration. 

However, in many countries we are seeing falling birthrates and a fear of how we will finance things in future. 

Being seen as tough on immigration is a vote winner. This is being exploited in many countries by the hard right parties.

In the end I do not have an answer. As the planet warms up, we can expect more migration to milder countries from those that are very hot. 

The answer in the end is probably to acknowledge that some controlled migration is a good thing.

It is important that people are well accepted by their new countries and that they learn to integrate. At the same time, they bring new ideas with them which we, in turn, must learn from. Think of the USA in past centuries and the Huguenots coming to England.

6m FT8 RX yesterday

 

In the 1032 stations spotted here on 6m FT8 yesterday there were 2 deep down in Brazil. 

This means I have spotted North and South America,The Caribbean, Africa, Asia and Europe on 6m FT8 RX in recent weeks.  

Not bad for the vertical colinear via CB RG58 coax!  See map.

Non-alcoholic gin and tonic - NOT amateur radio

Certainly non alcoholic beers have improved vastly in the last 10 years. Certainly the two I like taste just the same as their alcoholic equivalent. These days there is plenty of choice.

So, I thought I would give the G+T a go without alcohol, so bought some at the local supermarket.

I couldn’t tell any difference.

End of the good times? - NOT amateur radio

Increasingly I am fearful of the future. 

In the West we depend on long and complex supply chains chasing ever lower costs. Much of our energy (including electricity) depends on gas.

Just imagine if a terrorist or state actor seriously disrupted our gas supply or food supply chain. In the worst case, lots of things could fail: electricity for traffic lights, water pumping, sewage, internet, cash machines, banks, airlines, trains, etc.. Think about what happened in Spain!!

What I am saying is we are very vulnerable to a cyber attack, more so than we realise.

Is it all bad?  No, a new realisation of how things work would, ultimately, be good. Humans do adapt. Longer term, we might realise just how inter-connected these things really are and how we need, as individuals, to build up some resilience.

What can we do now?

• Increase vigilance against cyber attacks
• Make sure batteries are charged.
• Have some emergency food stuffs.
• Grow some food.
• Have some cash.

Hopefully, we will be stronger in future.

630m (472 kHz) QRP WSPR

For a few years I have not been on 472 kHz. This video was made some years ago and shows the results using just my earth-electrode "antenna" in the garden.

Sepura portables

A long time ago now (2008), I designed TETRA portable transceivers with Sepura. To be accurate others did the design and I managed the teams! 

Since then, things have inevitably moved on. These days I am very out of touch with my old company.

See https://sepura.com/

Sunspots - Thursday June 5th

 Solar flux is 134 and the SSN 92. A=26 and K=3.

Kierkegaard or Descartes? - NOT amateur radio

 This famous quote is, I think, written by Kierkegaard and not Descartes. Whoever said it was correct.

"Life can only be understood backwards but must be lived forwards"

Cambridge art shop - NOT amateur radio

This was in the Grand Arcade Cambridge yesterday. 

6m 6W FT8 (Wednesday)

In the last hour 31 stations have spotted me on 6m FT8 quite early in the morning. 

UPDATE  1336z:  So far today, my 6W 6m FT8 has been spotted by 858 stations.  Lots of Es. At this rate I could be spotted by over 1000 stations today.  Not bad for QRP on a VHF band with an omni vertical.

UPDATE 2035z:  959 stations have spotted me today. Best with 6W FT8 TX is Kuwait and on 6m FT8 RX Oman, all with the V2000 vertical omni antenna. See map of stations that have spotted me today.

10m 500mW WSPR (Wednesday)

In the last hour 3 stations have already spotted me. Overnight my beacon was running and it was surprising how many spots there were in the middle of the night, when most are asleep. My beacon is on.

UPDATE 1329z:  67 stations have spotted me today. See table.

UPDATE 1947z:  78 stations have spotted me with the best Brazil.