These last few days I have been in South Devon visiting my brother.
For some reason it feels different. For many years I have tried to recreate some memories from years ago. This time I have accepted these as good memories that I can never repeat, just accept.
This is the biggest gathering of radio amateurs in Europe. An old work colleague who lives in Devon goes most years. I was hoping to see him in Devon, so need to change when I come in 2026.
As I said several days ago, my dad was a flight engineer in a Pathfinder squadron in Lancasters in WW2. He was a very brave man who did not like to talk about the war. This is the cockpit.
This new Yaesu radio has really disappointed me.
It is far too expensive and lacks features the IC-705 has had for years. Before it was released I seriously considered trading my IC-705 in for this new radio. Like many, I shall stick with the IC-705.
I really think Yaesu is floundering around.
It is not yet available in Europe and just a few weeks after launching it in the USA, they have released a firmware update. I am not at all impressed. Even the firmware update looks messy.
Yaesu get your act together, and very soon, or the market will judge you harshly.
At that time he asked me (yes me!!) for advice on antennas!
On the subject of Sinclair, I recall a Micromatic kit being donated as a raffle prize in our radio club dinner in the late 1960s. Anyone make one?
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Of course with hundreds of watts and a bigger earth-electrode baseline some radiation is likely, so hundreds of km becomes possible. With earth-mode most of the signal is conducted through the ground.
I had to stop when I had my stroke, which stopped me doing all sorts of field experiments. These days I hope others are carrying on where I stopped. Meanwhile I experiment, on something else, at home.
At the moment I am spending a few days with my brother in Devon where I used to live. It is filled with memories.
One thing I have to learn is memories are just that: they happened long ago and cannot be got back. They are memories that cannot be recreated. They’re to be remembered but cannot ever be brought back.
I think this is important as we spend too much time of our lives time chasing these.
This was me at my old QTH on 10m CW in the garden with a loop on the FT817. I think it was 2012.
Last week, the USA used expensive "bunker busting" bombs on at least one Iranian nuclear site. The US president said it was highly effective and has put Iran's nuclear program back many years.
A leaked intelligence report is more guarded. The know-how still exists and much of the highly enriched uranium may have been moved beforehand.
If the US president is wrong the implications could be enormous. I find it hard to accept that the presidents of the USA and Israel can be so sure, allegedly, unless they really do have incredible intelligence and spies.
Personally, I always prefer talking rather than "bully boy" tactics.
Overnight I stayed on 6m FT8 RX but without success. My 5W FT8 TX was turned on before breakfast and has been spotted by Es already at 0700z.
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We went in early summer and saw these barnacle geese with young. In the UK they are a winter bird so it is interesting to see young.
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My 500mW beacon was turned on before breakfast.
UPDATE 0946z: 62 spots of my QRP so far.
The photo shows the small orchestra.
Ever since doing quantum mechanics as part of my university course a very long time ago, this has fascinated me and made me realise how little we really know.
Our grasp on things is really so poor. You just wonder how things will develop in the next 100 years.
This video may (I say "may") help with understanding quantum entanglement. I think the basic thing is to think of objects as a wave function that exists in all space and all time for everything. We think of things as objects that exist in just on place, whereas they may (just) exist everywhere and always, which is counter-intuitive.
All we can be certain of is the universe is stranger than we even thought.
At the moment, I have no plans to go on the radio today. If there is a big opening on 6m I might change my mind later.
My 500mW beacon was turned on at breakfast.
UPDATE 0917z: Spotted by 4 stations so far. Usually, I check for spots on WSPRnet, but accidentally left PSKreporter on 10m. Interestingly, just one of the 4 WSPR stations appeared.
UPDATE 0932z: 40 stations have spotted me. It looks like most are by Es.
UPDATE 1508z: 350 stations have spotted my 5W 6m FT8 with the furthest UN3M (3553km) in Kazakhstan.
See https://www.lightningmaps.org/#m=oss;t=3;s=0;o=0;b=;ts=0;y=27.9497;x=10.4637;z=4;d=2;dl=2;dc=0;
Recently Israel and Iran have been fighting a war in the air. The Ukraine war has been raging since early 2022. Israel has been at war in Gaza since it was attacked in late 2023.
One common factor is "the fog of war". That is each side tries to outdo the other by spreading often false data. Recently, AI has been used.
All I am saying is this: it is very very easy to believe everything you see whereas it is quite common for this data to be wrong, especially during wars. Caveat emptor.
My gear was turned on at breakfast time.
UPDATE 1049z: So far, 93 stations have spotted me and I have spotted 52 stations here.
UPDATE 1525z: 170 stations have spotted me today. See map.
UPDATE 1840z: 196 stations have spotted my 10m 5W FT8 today. Although several stations in South America have spotted me, no spots of me from the Caribbean or USA.
In the UK, G&S light operas performed by local groups have become a tradition. These were written back in the late nineteenth century.
When we got home it was 10.20pm and it was still just light. The photo shows the windmill next door at 10.20pm.
It was the longest day. Although night get about 1 minute later for a little while, the mornings start to get darker. It seems no time since the winter solstice!
MLS was supposed to have been on the air earlier on HF. What bothers me is the impression that is put on people that amateur radio is an expensive hobby. The MLS kit would not give you much change (if any) from £10k.
Let me say you do not need to spend much to enjoy the hobby. You can spend lots if you want to, but you can communicate across the planet with gear costing a small fraction of the MLS price.
Now, I have no wish to stop those who wish to spend a lot on our hobby, but this is a choice, not a necessity.
My car is infrequently changed. I do not do long miles in my car: most are about 8 miles return with the occasional trip of about 30 miles return. For longer journeys I take the train. In years past I would have thought nothing of doing a 600 mile round trip.
In the past limited range of an electric car was a concern. This is not a concern any more.
Important factors for me are (a) reliability (b) insurance costs (c) availability (d) home charging (e) space for the weekly shop and the occasional visitors and their luggage.
Which brings me on to electric cars: these are mostly too expensive to buy, but a lease deal might be better. The prices are dropping, but they still are high. However, home charging might offset this to some extent.
Most low cost offerings come from China such as MG and BYD.
I am still not convinced about battery technology that still seems to rely on lithium batteries. At some point I was expecting prices to drop with the advent of solid-state batteries, together with a better range. As far as I know this has not happened yet. Whoever gets there first will have a huge advantage.
At the moment, I shall probably hang on to my 2018 diesel car, but I expect my next car might well be electric.
My 5W gear has been on since lunchtime.
UPDATE 1335z: 57 stations have spotted me - mostly mainland Europe by Es.
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| Stations spotting my 6m QRP FT8 yesterday |
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.
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| Spots of my 2m 5W FT8 tat 1221z |
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!
Early Es today! My beacon was turned on just before breakfast.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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/ .
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.
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.
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.
My beacon was turned on just before breakfast.
UPDATE 1220z: Just one spot by F/DK4NL.
My 6m FT8 was turned on at 0600z.
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| Stations spotting me at 0830z |
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
My beacon has been on since breakfast and just spotted by EA1FAQ (1249km).
UPDATE 2053z: Also spotted by V51RS (8481km).
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..
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.
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| Stations spotting me |
These flowers were seen on our walk around the village earlier.
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.
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.
This week we went to Stratford upon Avon and this is one of the bus stops. We bought a ticket that lasted a day.
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).
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!
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.
Although my stand-alone beacon has been on since mid-afternoon, no spots of me.
