Winter colour - NOT amateur radio

In our back garden we have some winter flowering pansies to add a bit of colour. They already look cheerful. 

We have not had any real frosts yet. Last winter we had very few.

Cactus - NOT amateur radio

Every year about now this cactus bursts into flower. It is a Christmas cactus although I cannot remember how long the flowers last. 

2m FT8 QRP

It is now 1047z. I have been on 2m FT8 with 2.5W and the big-wheel omni antenna for about 25 minutes. So far, I have been spotted by 5 stations with the furthermost being GI6ATZ (479km). I was also spotted by G7RAU (461km).  Just a single station spotted on RX.

I still find this too random for aircraft scatter. Random times? 2.5W? Omni antenna? To me, this feels like some other form of scatter that FT8 enables. Yes, some may be aircraft scatter. There is never a day when I go on 2m FT8 QRP when I don't get spotted at massive distances. For me, FT8 has totally transformed 2m.

UPDATE 1410z:  9 stations have spotted me so far on 2m FT8 QRP.  I have spotted 3.

UPDATE 1846z: 13 stations have spotted me and I have spotted 19 stations on 2m FT8 today.

Sunspots - Monday November 16th 2020

Solar flux is 79 and the SSN 0.  A=4 and K=0.

Trump - NOT amateur radio

Twat according to every person I have spoken with. Yes, everybody. 

Honestly, I have spoken to many, many people. Not a single person, not one, has had a good word to say for him. What amazes me is how many actually voted for him.

2m FT8 QRP

After a fruitless day on 6m FT8, I have QSYed to 2m FT8 QRP with 2.5W to the big-wheel omni antenna at 1710z. 

So far (at 1725z) nothing spotted and no-one spotting me, which is unusual. As I was suspicious I restarted the program and checked my signal at http://82.71.9.63:8080/cap/, which is the grabber at G0LRD. Everything there from me looks fine.

UPDATE 1735z:  Just G0LRD (26km) and M0KKM (37km) spotting me so far on 2m FT8. Unusually quiet. Nothing spotted on RX.

Bravery - NOT amateur radio

Although quite a few people have been been to space, it is still hazardous. Later, a crew is blasting off to the International Space Station on a private Space-X rocket. Rather them than me! 

There are quite a few apps that allow you to see where the ISS is and what can be seen from their cameras.

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-54938444

BREXIT trade deal? - NOT amateur radio

Now, not being a politician, I have no idea what is really happening between th EU and UK on a post-BREXIT trade deal. 

However, I expect both sides are playing bluff to see who blinks first. Time is getting short and it is time for brinkmanship to be replaced by compromise on both sides. A good trade deal is in everyone's interest.

Spectrum issues 2025-30

Southgate News has a piece on a recent meeting that the IARU attended on this subject. I think the regulators are trying to see what issues are on the horizon in region 1. I have not yet read the minutes.

See http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2020/november/iaru-r1-attends-radio-spectrum-policy-group-workshop.htm#.X7E9Q7uTLrc

WSJT-X release candidate

There is a "release candidate" version of WSJT-X that introduces some new modes. Normally, these are issued as fully released versions soon when they have been beta tested and bugs removed.

See https://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/k1jt/wsjtx-doc/wsjtx-main-2.3.0-rc1_en.html