Our weekend - NOT amateur radio

Yesterday we did a walk at the nearby village of Reach and were amused to see there are still a couple of emus in a garden! You can imagine these poking their heads in the kitchen and saying, "hey what about some tea?". These have been here for several years now, along with the chickens. Emus are very much not native birds.

Today, my brother-in-law and his wife popped in on their way home from seeing their son and family in Suffolk.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emu

Stupid man! - NOT amateur radio

In my view, war is a wicked waste of human lives. 100 years since the end of WW1, people still fight wars and innocents are lost.

This is a view of the sky over our local church at 11am.

10m FT8

During today, I am again on 10m FT8, mainly RX, although I'll probably try a few CQs. A few eastern and southern Europeans spotted so far.

UPDATE 1218z: Amazing number of Europeans and Russians spotted on 10m FT8 RX today. This proves 10m is open far more often than people once thought.

UPDATE 1405z: PU1VBR (9314km) in Brazil spotted on 10m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1556z: Two South Americans spotted earlier on 10m FT8 RX. I suspect that is it for the day now with "real DX".

Overnight on 160m FT8 RX

Just a couple of North Americans spotted last night on topband FT8 RX. Lots of EU and Asiatic Russians spotted. Again, using the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. I am surprised how effective this is on 160m.

Sunspots - Sunday November 11th 2018

Solar flux is 68 today and the sunspot number still zero. A=13 and K=2.

WW1 - NOT amateur radio

All the people who fought in WW1 are now dead and gone. Looking back, this must have been the stupidest waste of human life ever in history.

Surely by now you would have thought that fighting wars would be seem a futile waste. Yet still innocent lives and families are wasted over and over again. To name just 2 think of Syria and Yemen.

In my view, war is an outdated concept. It is high time jaw, jaw replaced war, war.

Cracks - NOT amateur radio

About 300m from our bungalow is a cottage with a clunch (a kind of chalk) out-house that may have been a dovecote. In the summer heat, the walls have cracked and they are trying to repair it.

160m FT8 again

As topband was so incredible in the last day, I am QSYing from 10m now.

Within a few minutes the best DX on 160m FT8 is RN9N (4605km). Again, the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground is being used. I am amazed by how busy 160m FT8 is with lots of Europeans and Asiatic Russians.

UPDATE 1812z:  A very similar log to last evening. Frankly quite amazing.

UPDATE 2110z: WU1ITU (4831km) copied on 160m FT8 RX - this is the first transatlantic this evening.

Sunspot cycle 25 start?

Some forecasts are suggesting that cycle 25 will start this year.

This image is at http://www.solen.info/solar/images/cycles23_24.png.

See https://arxiv.org/abs/1808.04868

10m FT8

10m FT8 has plenty of stations on RX today. This includes VO1NE (3925km) in Newfoundland. Sunspot minimum?

UPDATE 1534z: South Africa, South America, North America, Europe all spotted on 10m FT8 RX today. The power of FT8. It certainly proves 10m is open far more often than you think. If this sunspot minimum with a poor 10m antenna what will sunspot maximum with a decent antenna bring?