Return to 630m (472kHz) WSPR

For about 30 minutes now I have returned to 630m after a day on 10m WSPR. The first and second stations spotted were in Norway and Germany. Both these were stations I have seen before.

472kHz WSPR spots so far this evening

UPDATE 2222z:  Best DX on 472kHz WSPR TX (5mW ERP from earth-electrodes) so far tonight is PA7EY (306km). Best DX on RX so far is LA1TN (1269km).

U3AC - NOT amateur radio

Mondays this term I have been attending a University of the Third Age course in Cambridge. I go into, and out of, Cambridge on the bus using my (free) bus pass.  I am doing a course called "Living with less". Although I often disagree with the lecturer, I find the course informative.

As I usually have some time after the course, I get a bite to eat in different places in the city. At the moment my favorite is Le Patissier, opposite St John's College. This is a small place, but prices are reasonable and I have found the service very good.

Spring at last

Rear lawn after first grass cut

The Met Office (our UK weather bureau) treats the start of spring as March 1st. Well, there was no doubt that here it is now spring. Today I cut the back lawn for the first time since the autumn.

It was a day of b's: bench, beer (on the garden bench after doing the lawn), buzzard (overhead), bees, butterflies, blooms and blossom. Today really felt like a spring day. We have had a mild, wet winter but it has seemed endless. Today, the garden was calling.

Oh to be in England now that spring is here.  Honestly, there were times when I thought I would not see it.

This is another view of the rear garden in which you can see the V2000 (6m, 2m and 70m vertical) and the big-wheel (2m horizontal omni) antennas. If you click on the image you may be able to make out the 2m halo and maybe my wire for 10m, 20m and 40m. Not visible is the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground which I use on 472kHz TX and RX.  With 5mW ERP using the earth-electrode "antenna" on 472kHz WSPR I was received in Norway again last night.  Next autumn I must get a long wire for LF/MF strung up!

Another OFCOM cock-up? - NOT amateur radio

Southgate News reports on what some will see as another sign of OFCOM incompetence. Why did we chose the old standard?

See http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2016/march/millions_of_tv_sets_may_become_obsolete.htm .

OFCOM? Fruitcakes.

Stroke update - NOT amateur radio

It is hard to see any improvements now 2.5 years after my cerebellum brain bleed. If improvements are occurring then they are so small they are not noticeable. I still feel giddy on my feet and I still feel sick most of the time. My liquid swallow is still poor as is my voice. I still get exhausted very quickly.

If any improvements now come, they are a bonus, but I guess I have to adapt to life as it is now, much though I would like my "old" self back. It means I am very restricted when using voice modes like SSB and FM on the air: every QSO is hard work. This is one reason why I am a fan of WSPR: I don't have to use my voice. Field experiments and building have had to take a back seat, although who knows in the future?  We are blessed with a great hobby and, despite my poor health, I am able to enjoy it still.

A very simple QRP transceiver for 80m CW - the XBM80-2

I received this yesterday from Martin G0PJO:

Hi Roger,

G0PJO's rig in the field

I thought you might like to know that the QRP rig works and I’ve just returned from the field (the only place I can put up my 80m dipole) having had a successful QSO with G3XVL just over 4.5 miles away in Ipswich. He gave me a report of 599. The only issue that I had was with the audio level on receive. I’m using a crystal earpiece and I really had to listen but we managed a 30 minute+ QSO!

Many thanks for publishing the design.

Martin

G0PJO

This very very simple transceiver for 80m CW is on my website. See the direct link at  https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/80m_xbm80.  There is also a video link. 

For all my projects go to http://www.g3xbm.co.uk . Because of my poor health I have not built anything original for some years.  I very much hope to get back to experiments soon.

Sunspots and 10m - Sun March 13th 2016

Solar flux is 95 today and sunspot number 56 (K=1). The forecast for 10m propagation remains "poor".

UPDATE 1100z:  So far this morning on 10m WSPR I have just been exchanging spots with G4KPX (14km). No DX seen on 10m WSPR as yet. With moderately undisturbed conditions and quite respectable sunspot numbers and a solar flux of 95, we should expect some DX on 10m WSPR.

UPDATE 1435z:  Best DX so far today on 10m WSPR is G4CUI (172km). No real DX seen yet.

UPDATE 1708z:  Apart from a couple of spots of my 2W 10m WSPR by KD0VWO (7412km) monitoring in Brazil, there has been no DX on 10m WSPR here today.

Jews - NOT amateur radio

I have great respect for all people whether they are Jew, Muslim, Christian, Buddhist or whatever. But, I must relate an incident yesterday.

We were in NE London and my wife was taking a very innocent photo of a squirrel up a tree. We happened to be outside a synagogue. A Jew driving a car stopped us and asked us to stop taking photos. My wife was very angry. Clearly the person was fearing we were taking photos with a view to attacking the synagogue. Nothing could have been further from our minds.

If any race in the UK wants to minimise risks they should blend into our culture and not try to be a race apart: NE London is full of Hassidic Jewish people in their unique dress. In 15 minutes of trying I managed to get 2 Jews to acknowledge my existence. They prefer to live separate lives. No, the Jewish community is its own worst enemy sadly.

One of my good friends is Jewish. In my illness she has been kindness itself.

By the way I managed to shake hands with the man. Shalom my friend.

10m WSPR so far today

Most 10m WSPR spots have been of G stations with the odd short-skip Scandinavian (Sweden and Finland), So far today, nothing outside Europe spotted or spotting me. I guess this is a combination of falling solar activity and disturbed conditions today.

A friend of mine G3TFX worked an Israeli early lunchtime on 28.495MHz SSB on an otherwise empty band.

The SLOW road to 136kHz and 472kHz operation in the USA

Some things are just unbelievable. Take for example the USA which still has no general access to the 136 and 472kHz bands, which many nations have had for years. This is supposed to be the greatest nation on earth.  Not if the FCC has anything to do with it.

See http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2016/march/2200_and_630_metre_operation.htm .

As my own limited tests with very low ERP have proved time and time again, even a very low ERP limit would be useful on these bands. No, the FCC has blocked all general access to these bands. I have had an article for QST accepted awaiting the release of the 472kHz band in the USA. At the last count, they have held this for 3 years already! No, I am not impressed with the FCC. Like OFCOM over here, they seem to be a bunch of bureaucrats who are afraid of doing anything.