OFCOM consultation

OFCOM is consulting on extentions  to the Ku band spectrum available to satellites. See the OFCOM website for details.

10m QRP WSPR TX

My QRP (500mW) beacon was turned on at 0808z. No spots yet of me. Yesterday, I only had spots from the Canary Isles on 10m. These could have been F2.

UPDATE 0824z:  One spot from Denmark.

UPDATE 1326z:  11 stations have spotted my QRP WSPR today. These look like Es.

UPDATE 1905z: 38 unique stations spotting my 10m WSPR today. Not bad.

8m experiment (Tuesday)

 My QRP TX was turned on at 0807z on 40.680 MHz USB dial FT8.

UPDATE 0815z: No spots.

UPDATE 1257z:  3 stations have spotted me so far on 8m FT8.

UPDATE 1920z:  6 unique stations have spotted my 8m FT8 TX today. I have now been spotted in 11 countries. Not bad for a few watts and low wire dipole. I just wish the UK had a very small 8m amateur allocation by NoV, digital only. Stupid, short-sighted, OFCOM and stupid, short sighted  RSGB. We need self training and research....and real RF engineers!! 

UPDATE 1932z:  This will probably not happen with my low ERP, but I still hope for an FT8 spot by a station in the USA. I live in hope!!

East Anglian skies - NOT amateur radio

East Anglia is famous for not having hills. Well, there are some! 

However, we have some great skies as the photo shows. 

Super DX at VHF, UHF and microwaves?

On my website there is a page about super DX on VHF and UHF. Most, or every, summer there are 6m openings from Western Europe to the Far East. These are thought to be linked to noctilucent clouds in the mesosphere. It is possible these openings may occur at far higher frequencies. I am surprised nobody seems to be trying as there could be new records galore. 

I am not sure how FT8 works with noctilucent clouds, although I have certainly copied Japanese stations on 6m FT8 by this mechanism with a very poor setup. 

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/vhfuhfmicrowaves/super-dx . 

Sunspots - Tuesday June 21st 2022

Solar flux is 137 and the SSN 112. A=10 and K=2.

Back lawn in June - NOT amateur radio

The rear lawn is still green, but starting to turn brown. It usually recovers in the autumn with dew and rain. 

8m experiment (Monday)

Just EI9KP (649km) spotting me today. Certainly here, I am seeing no evidence of Es propagation from mainland Europe. The same is true of 10m. As I am spotted by EI9KP on 8m FT8 frequently, I am wondering if this really is Es?

Loose ends - NOT amateur radio

At the moment, I seem to be busy with loose ends. 

Last week, we had my wife's 19th sibling reunion. Rather than take it in turns at our homes we went back to stay in an hotel in Barnsley, where they all grew up. It was a very successful get-together, but my wife said it was her last time in Barnsley. She also says she will never go to Devon again. I am compiling my legacy book of projects.

It looks like we are preparing for the worst!   Any one of us could be dead tomorrow. On the other hand, we could live for many years. We just don't know.

The moral seems to be to live, and enjoy, every day as your last.

10m QRP WSPR TX

 At about 1330z, I turned on my 500mW WSPR beacon. So far, no spots of me.