Shield bug - NOT amateur radio

 

This says today, but it was first on Facebook in 2017. 

Sunspots - Sunday October 13th

Solar  flux is 214 and the SSN 95. A=20 and K=1.

Granddaughter's visit - NOT amateur radio

Our granddaughter is sleeping here tonight. 

This photo was taken whilst she was watching "Strictly Come Dancing" on TV.

Pititico ultra simple transceiver

As far as I can tell this ultra-simple transceiver has a passive receiver. It was designed initially by PY2OHH and this version appeared in this Canadian club magazine. Others have made versions for other bands. 

Clearly with such an insensitive receiver, it is better to call others calling CQ as you may not hear others on the frequency. The RX sensitivity will depend how good the headphones are.

See https://www.calameo.com/read/0076654746ade7e23a716 .

See also https://hackaday.com/2024/07/12/tiny-transceiver-gets-it-done-with-one-transistor/ .

"Never knowingly undersold" - NOT amateur radio

Earlier this week my wife had a little time to kill in Cambridge, so she went into a famous shop. Certainly in the past they used the phrase "never knowingly undersold" meaning if you could find it cheaper they would refund you. I think they have dropped this now with internet competition. 

They run as a worker's co-operative with staff sharing in profits. They seem to charge huge amounts for goods and they must be struggling in the fierce retail market. 

It would not surprise me if they do not survive in their current form. It is a nice shop, but they charge silly prices.

QDX or QMX+?

Both these QRPlabs products are excellent rigs and I have them both. 

QDX

Most of my operating is either WSPR or FT8 on either 15m or 10m. I cannot recall when I last used SSB on HF because of my poor voice. The QDX is much smaller than the QMX+, but has no display and does not include 6m. Later versions of QMX+ software promise SSB too.

Now, with my limited ability to use SSB, I am questioning if I should keep the QMX+ rig. I probably will for now, but really the QDX would do all I need in the size of a pack of cards.

UPDATE 1806z:   It has been such a long time since I used the QDX that I have forgotten the sequence in which things are connected. There is a known issue with Windows, but not with Linux. For some reason the QDX is not recognised at first.

Autumn - NOT amateur radio

In many ways, this year seems to have gone fast. As mentioned yesterday, our perception of the passing of time may alter as we age.

Autumn seems just a few weeks after last Christmas!  Where did the year go?  At the moment in our garden, trees are looking tired, but most are still in leaf. A few weeks, a few autumn gales will soon change things!

8m QRP FT8 (Saturday)

My 2.5W FT8 to a low dipole has been on since about 0910z. Surprised to see a very strong spot of me from ON5SE (473km). I guess this was aircraft reflection.

UPDATE 1114z:   Right on time, stations in South Africa are coming through (via TEP?) on 8m FT8.

UPDATE 1304z:  Spotted by 2 stations in Europe. No luck calling the South Africans earlier.

10m 500mW WSPR TX (Saturday)

My QRP WSPR beacon was turned on at about 0910z.

UPDATE 1351z:  17 stations spotting me. The USA is coming through and spotting me, although I have the feeling things have been much better on other days.

Saturday plans

Although conditions again look disturbed, my plans currently are to try 8m QRP FT8 and 500mW WSPR TX.