Another website - NOT amateur radio

 As a sideline, I maintain another website http://www.burwellhistory.org which is our village history society. This meets every month and meetings are well attended. Visitors are always welcome for a nominal sum.

10m QRP FT8 (Friday)

My 10m FT8 at 5W was turned on at about 0830z. 

UPDATE 0920z:   So far, 90 stations have spotted me today, all in Europe.

UPDATE 1233z:  360 stations have spotted my 5W 10m FT8 so far with the furthermost A71AE (5195km) in the Gulf. See map.

Sunspots - Friday May 23rd

 Solar flux is 122 and the SSN 99. A=8 and K=1.

Goodbye 8m

 Today, I took down my 8m dipole. This means I can no longer go on 8m TX. It marks the end of my campaign and experiments on the band. Everything I sought to find out has been completed and I refuse to pay £50 a year to continue. Instead I am QSYing to 6m and 10m.

It is a sad day, but life is too short to continuing my battle with the RSGB and OFCOM. In my view, their attitude is disgraceful.

10m QRP WSPR (Thursday)

My beacon was turned on at about 1037z.

UPDATE 1255z:  14 European stations spotting me.  Es I assume.

2m FT8

At 1037z I QSYed to 2m QRP FT8 using 5W and the big-wheel omni antenna. I am also on 10m WSPR TX with my 500mW beacon.

UPDATE 1333z: 26 spots of me on 2m FT8. Best DX is EI3KD (583km). It never fails to amaze me how far my 2m QRP FT8 gets!

No mow May - NOT amateur radio

One of our neighbours does not cut the middle of his lawn to encourage wild flowers to grow. 

It looks great: a mixture of kept, yet wild. The garden looks really good.

10m QRP FT8 (Thursday)

At the moment I am on 10m FT8 with 5W from the IC-705.

UPDATE 1028z:  46 Europeans spotting me.

UPDATE 1408z: Back on 5W 10m FT8.

UPDATE 1855z:  303 spots of me today. See map.

UPDATE 2112z:  325 stations have spotted me today. QRT soon.

Ferrite rods as TX antennas

Overnight I tried TXing at 3W on 30m WSPR with just a ferrite rod antenna fed via a Z-match ATU. 

Although I had plenty of RX spots I only saw one on TX from an HB9. Previous attempts on FT8 were unsuccessful with just a couple of RX spots and none on TX. 

The ferrite rod was configured as an E field vertical without any earths. I suspect the ATU was lossy, but it does show that even a ferrite rod just a few centimetres long does work on TX.

Triple diversity RXs

 

This array of AR88 receivers was a triple diversity receiving station in Canada. 

After WW2 a lot of AR88s came on the market as surplus. A lot were bought by radio amateurs.