All quiet - NOT amateur radio

Every month my brother does part of the bird count on the Kingsbridge Estuary in Devon. 

Today it was very quiet. 

10m FT8 RX (Sunday)

It is now 0820z and I have been on 10m FT8 RX for about 10 minutes. So far, 3 stations spotted with the furthermost IK8UKA (1649km).

UPDATE 0920z:  11 stations so far spotted on 10m FT8 RX today.

UPDATE 1038z:  28 stations spotted. 

UPDATE 1744z:  77 stations spotted. All in Europe so far. Furthermost is SV1EBV (2263km).

UPDATE 1826z:  92 stations spotted with the furthermost PY2XYZ (9585km) in Brazil.

Kitten sitting - NOT amateur radio

As my son is away this weekend, I am popping down to feed his playful kitten. The photo shows the kitten in the empty bath, which he jumped out of shortly afterwards. 

He is very lively!

ICOM IC-9700

 If I had money to burn, this is a VHF/UHF rig that I might consider. It covers 2m, 70cm and 23cm, all modes. It is an SDR transceiver. It is similar to the IC-7300 in ergonomics. I have an IC-705 that seems to do all I want.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/vhfuhfmicrowaves/vhfuhf-commercial-rigs/ic-9700 .

Sunspots - Sunday Sept 19th 2021

Solar flux is 74 and the SSN 11.  A=11 and K=0.

Brighton collage - NOT amateur radio

For about a day now, we have been back home after a short break in Brighton travelling by train. The photo shows some of the scenes. We had a good break. 

Coronal mass ejection (CME)

 At the moment, we have a CME hitting the Earth. This looks minor.

Internet over free-space optical - NOT amateur radio

The BBC has an interesting piece about the use of free space optical communications to bridge the River Congo in Africa where optical fibre is impractical. This gives very high (not perfect) reliability and, in this case, is destined to carry internet traffic. Of course, this would not be suitable for places where fog is common, such as the bay area of San Francisco. 

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-58583600 .

10m FT8 QRP (Saturday)

The Es season is over. Although there will still be openings via the E layer, these will be more sporadic and short-lived, unlike a few months ago. 

This morning, I am again on 10m FT8 (with 2.5W TX initially) although mostly on RX. Just one spot of me so far by local M0NKR (27km). On RX, no stations spotted so far, although it is only 0852z.

UPDATE 0920z: 4 stations spotted with the furthermost EA1FIR (1263km). The very strong signal report (+4dB S/N) suggests aircraft reflection rather than Es. Other spots have been more local.

UPDATE 1153z:  17 stations spotted with the furthermost ZS6BJU (9116km). 10m is again moving to a DX band.  As time goes by it will get even better!

UPDATE 2030z:  59 stations spotted including a clutch of South Americans. QRT soon.

160m FT8

As an experiment I tried my earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground on 160m FT8. The match is very good and with QRP I have been spotted all over Europe and I've spotted plenty of stations in South America and North America. If anyone tells you that they have no 160m antenna don't believe them! My 160m antenna is invisible to the neighbours and XYL. 

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/other-amateur-radio/160m-ft8 .