10m JT65 all yesterday evening and overnight

Instead of moving to MF WSPR, I decided to stay on 10m JT65. I am still on 10m now. Perhaps none too surprisingly, nothing spotted overnight.

Most (sensible?) people QSYed or went QRT.

QRP and QRP Club

More from Oleg:

WQR Report (December 18, 2016)
Visitors  of  the week: US3EN, SQ7SAU, OH6NPV, DK1HW, UA1ADF, UR5EFD,
UR7VT,  ON6KZ,  OK2PDT, US5ERQ, EW1CY, RU3NJC, DL3HXX, HA5AEK, R1CAF,
UA1AQC, RA1M, LZ2RS, G3XJS, OK1AQW, UR0ET, RW3AA, UU1CC, F5IN, DJ2DW,
UW5EKR,  UA0SBQ,  DK2SC,  R2FAE, YU7SOL, DF9QV, UY1IF, OH5LP, UA1AQS,
RX3DFU, RV3GM
Congrats!
OK2PDT,  DL3HXX,  UA1AQC,  F5IN,  DJ2DW,  UW5EKR,  DK2SC became Honor
Frequenters (regular visitors) of the "rendezvous"
See full Frequenters and Visitors lists on the Club 72 page -www.club72.su
Comments...
See full report with comments and pictures on the blog page -http://qrp-club72.blogspot.ru/

72! Oleg RV3GM / KH6OB "Mr. 72"

This is a periodic Newsletter of the Club 72. Don't reply to Newsletter address! Send any requests or news to mr72@club72.su please.

Local Pub - NOT amateur radio

Our local pub is the "Five Bells". It looks very Christmassy with the lights tonight.

Climate Change - NOT amateur radio

At the moment, the jury is still out, but most seem to be saying the Earth is getting warmer and that this is largely down to Man in recent times. Some argue this is just natural variation and we should ignore it. A recent Guardian article makes you wonder.

See https://www.msn.com/en-gb/weather/other/arctic-ice-melt-could-trigger-uncontrollable-climate-change-at-global-level/ar-AAkJqic?ocid=spartandhp

In the USA, there seems to be a "Canute" attitude: it is all a Chinese conspiracy and it will just go away. I am far from convinced! We ignore these worldwide risks at our peril. Some cities and island states could be inundated and we should get all the facts and act accordingly.

New radio - later

As you may recall, I was thinking about investing in either a KX2, FT991A or IC7300. At the moment, the IC7300 is the favourite, although I am still expecting the price of this rig to drop next year, despite the exchange rate.

To me, if the FT891 and FT450D are much lower priced, then so should be the IC7300, which has a much less complicated RX architecture.

At the moment, I am in no great hurry. Once the FT991A starts to make inroads, the IC7300 price will drop. Sub-£1000 is definitely likely in my view It is only at the current price because people are prepared to buy it at the current price.

At their present prices most users can't see a real difference between the IC7300 and the FT991A. OK one has 4m (IC7300) and one has 2m and 70cm (FT991A), but to the end user, the architectural differences mean nothing.

Sunspots and 10m - Sunday December 18th 2016

Solar flux is 71 today. Sunspot number remains zero. A=6 and K=2. Not great for the higher HF bands?

Stroke and taste - NOT amateur radio

It is fascinating (as well as very frustrating!) how my stroke 3 years ago is still affecting me. The worst aspects are feeling giddy all the time when on my feet (I think the giddiness makes me tired), poor voice and taking a long time with drinks.

My taste is also affected. Before my stroke, I always had a little sugar in tea and coffee. These taste sweet in their "naked" form these days, so no sugar is added.

Most people say how well I look and they are pleased I can do so much. This is how I look on the outside. Inside me it still feels odd. I'd be very pleased to return to the "normal", pre-stroke me, but I guess I have to come to terms with the "me" I am. No, things are still very difficult.

Solar updates

At the moment, my source of solar data has not been updated, so I am unable to update on this blog. I'll do this later in the day, all being well.

10m JT65 since breakfast

Although I have been on 10m JT65 all morning, no spots given or received as yet.

UPDATE 1212z: G4CJC (73km) has been spotted on 10m JT65, but no DX as yet.

UPDATE 1426z: G0LRD (25km) is spotting me on 10m JT65, but still no DX.

UPDATE 2115z: 2E0XXO (120km) has been spotted this evening on 10m JT65. I shall stay on 10m JT65 overnight  "just in case".

Return to MF

At about 2024z I QSYed to 472kHz (630m) WSPR. So far, 4 UK stations have spotted me.

Return to 10m JT65

After an evening and night on 630m WSPR, I have returned to 10m JT65.

There was no new DX on MF last night with my best TX DX (5mW ERP) being DL-SWL (701km) again. No spots from Norway sadly.

UPDATE 1115z:  Nothing as yet on 10m JT65.

UPDATE 1204z:  Still no 10m JT65 spots.

UPDATE 1530z: Still nothing on 10m JT65.

Lighter evenings - NOT amateur radio

Although mornings get darker until early January the sunset gets later from December 18th here. Winter Solstice is Dec 21st.

At first the change is very slow, but at least we are moving in the right direction! We'll blink and it will be the longest day.  By the end of January the sun sets almost an hour later. I enjoy all seasons but look forward to lighter evenings.

Sunspots and 10m - Saturday December 17th 2016

Solar flux is 72 today and the sunspot number is zero. A=2 and K=1.

Family Clock - NOT amateur radio

My brother-in-law recently had this grandfather clock restored.  It has been in their family since it was made in the late 1700s. It is wonderful to imagine how this has been in their family for well over 200 years and to think of all the generations that have gazed at its face down the years.

Alibris - NOT amateur radio

Well, I have had a moan about this company before.

Every week it seems they have a sale with at least 10% savings. To be honest it is a joke and their emails get deleted right way. If you we ever want to buy something from them, you can be sure it will be cheaper next week or later the same week!

Decision time?

Tomorrow, I shall probably ring around the UK dealers to see who can offer me the best cash deals on the IC7300, the FT991A and the KX3.  I have read the reviews, so I need a good deal on price and guarantee.

Back on MF WSPR

At around 1924z I returned to 472kHz (630m) WSPR. At the moment G4FTC (123km) in IO91 is the best DX on TX with 5mW ERP. As yet, we are seeing no skywave reports.

6m JT65 and 10m WSPR

Since breakfast, I have been on 6m JT65 and 10m WSPR. So far, nothing on either band.

Sunspots and 10m - Friday December 16th 2016

Solar flux is 72 today and the sunspot number 12. A=3 and K=0

OFCOM

OFCOM are holding some public meetings to review their plans for 2017.

See http://ofcom.cmail19.com/t/ViewEmail/i/E6E549BF4512C7DC/59D1BD3EA2F08127C67FD2F38A

They are also consulting on commercial gateways.

See http://ofcom.cmail19.com/t/ViewEmail/i/B66A67CA9536B759/59D1BD3EA2F08127C67FD2F38AC4859C

Back on 472kHz WSPR

For the evening and overnight, I have returned to 472kHz (630m) WSPR using 5mW ERP.  So far, just local spots out to 80km.

UPDATE 2015z: G4FTC (123km) in IO91 spotted me as the best DX spot so far.

UPDATE 2242z: PA0RDT (243km) is the best TX DX so far this evening on 630m.

10m JT65 now and MF overnight

About an hour ago I stopped 472kHz (630m) WSPR and started up again on 10m JT65, but no spots as yet on 10m.

Last night on MF G3XIZ (46km), G4FFC (45km) and best DX this season so far LA3JJ (993km) spotted me on 472kHz WSPR. As usual, I was using 5mW ERP from the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground on 472kHz (630m). All great - thank you! So far, I think I have been spotted by 24 unique stations in 5 countries this season on 472kHz WSPR.

UPDATE 2010z: DG0OPK (730km) spotted me on 10m JT65 3 hours ago. No "real" DX though.

Screening for aortic aneurisms - NOT amateur radio

Apparently men in their 65th year are eligible for free screening for aortic aneurisms. I was never informed! Today I found out about someone who died suddenly abroad from this treatable condition. Locally, the contact is via http://www.cuh.org.uk/abdominal-aortic-aneurysm-screening .

UPDATE 1850z: So I rang the help desk and was told they had my results from 3 years ago! Well, it was not me as I have never had this test. NHS efficiency??

Sunspots and 10m - Thursday December 15th 2016

Solar flux is 71 today and the sunspot number 25. A=4 and K=1.

Visible Aurora

The Space Weather website reports on a world famous surfer who sees a visible aurora in Norway.

See http://www.smh.com.au/sport/surfing-great-mick-fanning-seeks-new-adventures-20161213-gtaaxn.html

ULF amateur success

Stefan DK7FC has successfully decoded his radiated signal at 65km on 2.97kHz. He refers to an attachment that is not included here.

"Hi ULF,

My post-processing of the 4 day recording is still running, almost 50% of the data is shown on the spectrograms now.
I'm happy to confirm the successful decode of a 5 character EbNaut message over 65 km on the 101 km band, with a BIG SNR! It's the one which started on 08.DEC, 7 UTC. First there was no decode until i found that i made a mistake, the actual start of the transmission is 6:58:40 UTC, an offset of -1 symbol.
Capture in attachment. I also attach the wav file, if someone wants to play with it, the size is very small.

73, Stefan"

For EbNaut resources see: http://www.abelian.org/ebnaut/

10m JT65

I have returned to 10m JT65 (2W QRP). So far, I have spotted one G in IO93 and SV4RRK (2194km). So far, no-one has spotted my QRP. Are we seeing the start of the small winter Es peak?

Sunspots and 10m - Wednesday December 14th 2016

Solar flux is 71 today and the sunspot number 14. A=4 and K=0.

472kHz (630m) WSPR

So far, I have now been spotted by 21 unique stations in 4 countries this autumn using 5mW ERP from the earth-electrode "antenna" on 472kHz WSPR. I have now QSYed to 10m JT65.

UPDATE 1938z: I am about to go QRT on 10m JT65 and QSY to 472kHz (630m) WSPR.

70cm UKAC

As this was the second Tuesday in the month, it was the 70cm leg of the RSGB's activity contest. I was only running 5W to a 2m halo fed with lossy coax. Best DX tonight was just 105km, although I was only on for 20% of the time because of my poor voice.

IC7300, FT991A or KX2?

I am thinking of getting a new radio. The choices are the above. The KX3 is just too expensive in the UK. Any views?

5W would be enough for me, but sadly the ICOM and Yaesu transceivers are not available in QRP versions in Europe. At the moment I favour the FT991A, if the price is right. It would rarely be used at 100W but having 430MHz could be useful.

60m in Finland

Southgate News reports that the 60m WRC band (15kHz wide) is being allocated in Finland a year early. It is a great pity that a wider allocation is not being made in CEPT countries. 100kHz wide would have been so much better. Still, the 15kHz band will be allocated world-wide in the end. Of course, the FCC in the USA might eventually allocate this band, maybe in 2020? I joke not. The FCC has been unbelievably slow with the 137kHz and 472kHz bands.

Luddites? - NOT amateur radio

One can't help feeling really sorry for Southern Rail passengers who pay over the odds for season tickets and get a rubbish service, with crowded trains, cancellations and strikes. The dispute is over who oversees the closing of doors!  In this case my sympathies are with the commuter who is getting a poor deal. The unions are wrong. 

It is beholden on unions to act on behalf of their members, but they have to act responsibly. Yes, I know they are concerned about jobs, but this is plain stupid. If I was in charge I would sack them all (union members that is). Normally my political sympathies are left of centre. We cannot behave as if we lived in the 1800s. This is the 21st century for goodness sake.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-38296623 .
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luddite . The Luddites were textile workers and weavers who destroyed machinery in the hope of preventing job losses. We have to be efficient - end of story.

Southern Rail union members - grow up!!

Sunspots and 10m - Tuesday December 13th 2016

Solar flux is 70 today and the sunspot number 13. A=6 and K=1.

10m JT65

Around 0815z, I went QRT on MF WSPR and started up on 10m JT65 again. FR1GZ (9724km) has already been spotted. It remains to be seen whether or not he spots me too. FR1GZ is on Reunion Island in the south Indian Ocean not too far east of Madagascar.

UPDATE 1326z: No other DX on 10m JT65 so far. I think this is more to do with a lack of activity than conditions. Please, use 10m. G4CJC (73km) has been spotted on 10m JT65 -  either tropo or aircraft reflection.

MF TX so far this season

So far this autumn on 472kHz (630m) WSPR I have been spotted by 20 unique stations in 4 countries (G, F, PA and DL). I am running 5mW ERP from my earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. I think this is fewer than last year, although I started much later this year.  My impression is that there are fewer active stations, although I may be mistaken. It will be interesting to see the total by Easter. Best DX is DK6XY at 723km.

PC update and 630m WSPR

My shack PC needed an update. When this happens it does not sync to an internet time server. This occurred during the day (probably after lunch) so no South Americans on 10m JT65 may have been because of timing being out rather than propagation.

Anyway, the PC is now updating and I shall be on 472kHz (630m) WSPR for the rest of the evening and overnight.

Smallest APRS TX

See https://git.scd31.com/laptopdude90/smallest-aprs-transmitter .

Looking for a small APRS transmitter? You might like this, which was on Twitter earlier. Although I have a Twitter account I rarely use it, but I get emails about Twitter most days.

The mystery of MH370 - NOT amateur radio

It is almost 2 years since this Malaysian Airlines plane just disappeared. Now relatives are looking for clues as the official authorities seem to have all but given up. One can imagine the nightmare these people have been though.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-38257433 .

Sunspots and 10m - Monday December 12th 2016

Solar flux is 71 today and the sunspot number 13. A=15 and K=1.

Although the 10m propagation forecast is "poor" I have been spotted well over 9000km away using 2W 10m JT65 QRP and a very average wire antenna.