Elections in UK - NOT amateur radio

At the moment the FTSE 100 share index is over 7100 - giddy heights! With the UK General Election not many weeks away and a very close run contest, I expect the markets to tumble with the uncertainty of the outcome.

The last poll I saw showed Conservatives and Labour neck and neck. The UKIP vote could lose Conservative votes.  I am definitely not voting UKIP who seem to want us out of Europe only. To me, they are not a credible party, more of a protest vote party.

We live in a democracy, so we vote for the party of our choosing.

I shall probably vote Lib Dem again. In a coalition government they could (again) be a good moderating influence whether the major party is Conservative or Labour.

6m WSPR - no luck today so far

6m WSPR has again been a disappointment. No spots given or received so far today on the 6m band.  F2 propagation is, so far, absent for me even on 10m, so I guess the only hope on 6m is some Es (unlikely) and tropo/aircraft reflection.  I shall probably stick on 10m and 6m for the rest of the day whatever.  Es (if it occurs at all) is normally best around lunch and teatime, so rather too early in the day for this mode I guess anyway.

Lawns need cutting, so WSPR can run in the background.

UPDATE 1022z:  With just a handful of stations shown as active worldwide on 6m WSPR, I shall be lucky to see any 6m spots today!

UPDATE 1315z:  Still no 6m spots today.

UPDATE 1950z:  At last a 6m spot! My 1W ERP was spotted weakly by G6AVK (78km) about an hour ago. As the drift was quite high, this looks like tropo with aircraft reflection.

Sunspots and 10m propagation - Wed April 15th 2015

Sunspot number has climbed to 97(K=3) but 10m propagation is forecast to remain "fair" only.

UPDATE 0823z:  So far just local G4IKZ (18km) spotting me on 10m WSPR, but it is still very early. Obviously conditions are not right yet or my 500mW is too low.

UPDATE 1015z:  Still just G4IKZ spotting my 500mW 10m WSPR. WSPRnet shows 49 active stations worldwide on 10m WSPR.  Several would normally be in single hop F2 range.

UPDATE 1100z:  CT1JTQ (1843km) and EA8BVP (2986km) now spotting me on 10m.  Could be Es but probably single hop F2?

UPDATE 1312z:   Just G4IKZ for ages now on 10m WSPR.  I suspect CT1JTQ and EA8BVP may be Es?

432MHz UKAC tonight

Stations worked with 5W/5el tonight

I was late starting this evening and my stroke affected voice means I stay on for quite a short time. Best DX with 5W/5el (hand rotated) from home was 199km and I managed to work 4 QTH locator squares.

East Anglian Churches blog updated - NOT amateur radio

Today we visited Cavendish in Suffolk and I have added this fine place to the church blog.

See http://eachurches.blogspot.co.uk/ .

6m disappointment

Despite being on 6m WSPR for most of the day, it was useless, with not a single spot given or received. Outside the Es season the band can be very quiet. I had to double-check all was working and that the PC had not crashed.No,everything was fine. As I write this at 1845z there are just 14 active stations in the entire world on 6m WSPR, so my chances are slim!

USA 10m WSPR spots today

Well, 10m did open to the USA, but quite late with KD6RF (7547km) spotting my 500mW WSPR at 1730z. Since then, there have been a few others too.

UPDATE 2132z:   The last USA station to spot my 500mW 10m WSPR was KZ8C (6290km) at 1902z. This turned out to be a short-lived affair. Signal report was not bad at -19dB S/N but the opening just died to the USA. G4IKZ, CT1JTQ and EA8BVP have all spotted me since.

Sunspots and 10m propagation - Tuesday April 14th 2015

Sunspot number is 68 today (K=1) and 10m propagation is expected to be "fair". Not quite sure how 10m will be today.

UPDATE 1003z:  G4IKZ (18km) and EA8BVP (2986km) are the only stations spotting me on 10m this morning. I am still using my 500mW WSPR-AXE-CW 10m beacon. I have just switched from 630m to 6m on the FT817 and PC, running 10m and 6m together but on different rigs.

QSYed to 472kHz for the evening/night

As of about a minute ago, I have moved from 6m to 630m.  6m was very quiet today.  I am still using 5mW ERP and the earth-electrodes on TX (and RX) on 630m (472kHz) WSPR. As yet no spots on MF but the night is young.

UPDATE 2008z:   Starting to give and receive 472kHz WSPR spots.

472kHz WSPR so far - only been active about 25 mins

UPDATE 2036z:   Plenty of 472kHz WSPR spots now.

472kHz WSPR - first hour

UPDATE 2130z:   Even more spots.

472kHz WSPR - this evening so far.

6m - a total blank

I have been on 6m WSPR all day (V2000 vertical, 1W ERP 20% TX, 80% RX). As of now (1720z) I have spotted no-one and no-one has spotted me either. I shall be on 6m WSPR most of the evening, although I suspect that if there are any spots these will be locals.

UPDATE 1942z:   As I am drawing a blank today on 6m, I think I am going to go back on 630m shortly.