Sunspots - Monday May 13th 2019

Solar flux is 77 and the sunspot number 24. A=4 and K=1. Still looks (to me) like we have passed the solar minimum.

Oranges - NOT amateur radio

Today was hot in Portugal! Earlier in the week we had had rain and clouds, but today could hardly be more different. Even at midnight it is expected to be 24 deg C. On the way towards Lisbon we stopped at Obidos where these oranges were on display.

Lightning maps

Periodically I take a look at the lightning maps to see how near storms are. At the moment they are well away.

See https://www.lightningmaps.org/blitzortung/europe/index.php?lang=en

Sunspots - Sunday May 12th 2019

Solar flux is 76 today and the SSN 25. A=8 and K=3.

The Moon this afternoon - NOT amateur radio

This was the Moon at about 1430z this afternoon near Viseu, Portugal. And to think men walked on here in 1969.

Who do you believe?

When it comes to solar forecasts it is hard to know who to believe. For some years I have been following this forecast and at the moment it seems to be accurate.

Sunspots - Saturday May 11th 2019

Solar flux is 76 today and the SSN 25. A=8 and K=3. Certainly these figures suggest we are starting the climb.

Amateur radio antennas

When abroad on holidays I do a very sad thing. I count the number of HF and VHF beams I spot. In the USA and South Africa I spotted quite a few. So far in Portugal I have seen none. Well, I did say "sad"!

Angry sky - NOT amateur radio

We are on holiday in Portugal. So far, we have had lots of rain, although it is already much sunnier and drier. Tomorrow is expected to be warm (24deg C) and sunny.

Plenty of swifts, swallows, house martins and sand martins about.

Yaesu's flagship

Although far more than I am willing to pay for amateur radio gear, Yaesu is trying hard with their new flagship, SDR based radio called the FTdx101D being demonstrated at Nevada according to Southgate News.

I hope they introduce a real FT817 replacement later this year, SDR based. We should know next week.

If they "miss the boat" again, I give them 5 years or less before they quit this market. Of late, they have been followers rather than leaders. It is almost as if they have lost their way and are in "catch-up" mode. Over the years I have been a keen Yaesu man and it pains me to say this. If I was to say who might survive, my money is on ICOM.

See http://southgatearc.org/news/2019/may/demonstration-and-talk-on-the-new-yaesu-ftdx-101d-transceiver.htm#.XNUQDfZFy00.

See also https://www.nevadaradio.co.uk/amateur-radio/

See also https://www.hamradio.co.uk/amateur-radio-base-station-radio-yaesu-base-station-radio/yaesu/yaesu-ftdx101d-pd-8964.php

Sunspots - Friday May 10th 2019

Solar flux is 75 today and the SSN 25. A=7 and K=2.

Porto - NOT amateur radio

It rained today in Porto, northern Portugal. In fact as I write it is probably typically English weather - a mix of mist and rain!

One of the joys today was a visit to the cellars of Cockburn's who make port and have done for centuries.

Anywhere looks drab in bad weather. Certainly Porto is not a place I would rush to return to.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Porto

Dayton Hamvention

This ham gathering is perhaps one of the biggest in the world and a place, traditionally, where the big manufacturers launch new products, often long before they are actually available. You can just imagine the engineers rushing to meet Dayton deadlines: you must meet these dates!

I am expecting several SDR based offerings. It would be nice to see a real FT817 replacement. The FT818 was a great disappointment. It was clearly aimed at keeping Yaesu factories going and not offering the features many expected.

Dayton dates are May 17-19th 2019.

See https://hamvention.org/

Crystal replacements

It is a very long time since I was fit enough to do serious project building work, but I know that buying crystals, unless you are buying very common frequencies, is expensive. Many now use synthesised sources instead as this can be much less expensive. Sadly, health issues have precluded me doing my own experiments. At one time, synthesised sources could be noisy, although I expect things have improved in the last 10 years. If you have used synthesised "crystal replacements" I'd be interested to hear what good solutions there are now.

Many years ago, I had ideas for a low cost 10m DSB rig. With the sunspot count likely to soon be on the up, perhaps it is time to dust this off.

Sunspots - Thursday May 9th 2019

Solar flux is 78 and the SSN 27. A=5 and K=0.

DX VHF FM QSO

The IARU VHF/UHF Region 1 Newsletter has details of the FM 2m QSO between ZS3 and ZD7,

See https://www.iaru-r1.org/index.php/vhfuhsshf

Southgate News

Southgate News is a good source of information about amateur radio, Today includes news of a big solar flare amongst other snippets.

Swifts - NOT amateur radio

Today, I saw my first swifts (birds) this year. They migrate up from Africa, returning in August. The only problem was these were in northern Portugal! What is amazing is these could be the very same ones we see in our village stopping for a "pits stop" to re-feed before flying on northwards. When I see swifts I think summer.

Sunspots - Wednesday May 8th 2019

Solar flux is 78 today and the sunspot number 27 (quite decent for this part of the cycle). A=5 and K=0. It looks to me as of we have passed through the minimum, although this could be just a blip. At the last minimum we went months without spots.

2m activity contest this evening

As this is the first Tuesday in the month, it is the RSGB's UKAC activity contest starting at 1900z for 2.5 hours. Activity levels are usually high on SSB. This is a fun contest.

Sunspots - Tuesday May 6th 2019

The solar flux is 75 today and the SSN 14. A=4 and K=1.

OFCOM - Communications Monthly Update - April 2019

OFCOM has produced its monthly update of this. See their website.

First cuckoo heard - NOT amateur radio

At about 10am today UK time, I heard my first cuckoo this year up here. They have been around for a few weeks, but this was my first heard. This one was not too close. They quite like reed warbler nests.

6m FT8

Plenty of Es about early today. Already 20 stations spotted by 0830z with best DX spotted SP5AOZ (1398km).

Sunspots - Monday May 6th 2019

Solar flux is 75 today and the SSN 14. A=4 and K=1.

G3WMS SK

Yesterday I mentioned my happy days at Liverpool University and how one mad keen radio society member had done great things and gained an MBE. That amateur was Ian Vance, G3WMS (wild man of Somerset). Sadly today I found his obituary:  he died over a year ago. At one time he was the boss of STL. RIP Ian.

10m WSPR TX (500mW)

At about 1130z, I QSYed to 10m WSPR TX. It usually takes about 20 minutes to settle. I am running 500mW, 100% TX, randomised frequencies.

UPDATE 1630z: No 10m WSPR spots so far today.

UPDATE 2025z: Just a single 10m WSPR spot all day!  This was by DK6UG (633km) at 1802z.

6m FT8 RX

At about 1130z I QSYed to 6m FT8 RX. So far, just G spots.

UPDATE 1552z: Some Es about with a couple of Italians spotted at lunchtime. 21 stations spotted so far today with the best DX on 6m FT8 RX IZ2CPO (1004km).

UPDATE 2027z: Quite some Es today on 6m FT8 RX with a total of 32 EU stations spotted.

Stations spotted here today on 6m FT8 RX

Choir

Last evening, my wife's choir was singing in the chapel of Trinity College, Cambridge, UK.

See www.cambschoral.org.uk

On 10m FT8 again

Later, I might try 6m FT8 and 10m WSPR (100% TX, 500mW), but for now I am on 10m FT8 RX. There are already 14 stations spotted with evidence of widespread Es propagation.

UPDATE 1121z:  So far, 23 stations spotted today on 10m FT8 RX. All EU stations, mostly Es.

Sunspots - Sunday May 5th 2019

Solar flux is 74 and the SSN 12.  A=10 and K=1.

G3OUL

Many years ago I was a student at Liverpool University. At the radio club was a very keen amateur from Nailsea, near Bristol. He got a 2:2 degree, but went on the get an MBE and was a director of a very large UK company. In his career he was very successful. In my mind he had that rare gift: an instinctive "jizz" for RF design. In my experience very very few people have this. I am not in the least surprised he did well.

I realise I have not seen him in over 40 years. He might even be dead now. What I realise is how we age. He must be over 71 now, yet in my mind he is still that mad keen amateur back in the late 1960s.

Oscar 100 - still bags of space

This geosynchronous satellite has been operational for nearly 2 months. Using the Goonhilly SDR, I took another look at the narrowband transponder a few minutes ago. I know it takes time assemble suitable microwave gear, but I am still surprised by the low level of activity.

It is the weekend when I might have expected more activity, yet I only counted 8 stations at one time. An EA8 was calling CQ and getting no takers! A round trip of nearly 45000 miles is needed for the up and downlinks, but dishes are fixed and DX from South America to Thailand is available at any time without QSB, I remain surprised it is not really busy. Just a few watts seem to be enough.

TM1MOON (IN78) seems to be working quite a few stations from Brittany with 5W and a 70cm diameter dish.

Storms?

As usual, I get quite nervous when there are storms about, ever since a work colleague who lived in a very ordinary house, not too high, in the middle of a housing estate had his house hit doing huge damage. Whenever there are storms in the area, I disconnect rigs, PC, PSU and antennas "just in case". Consulting the thunder maps a short while ago suggested the storms were moving away, but I shall disconnect if there is any chance.

See https://www.lightningmaps.org/blitzortung/europe/index.php?bo_page=map&bo_showmap=uk&bo_period=2&lang=en

Rain! - NOT amateur radio

This afternoon we actually had some rain!

There was rain briefly yesterday and again today, but we have hardly had any rain at all this spring. The soil is very dry.

Although I hope for a decent warm summer, I hope it is not very hot and very dry as it was last year. What would be ideal is warm, dry days and plenty of rain after dark!

Miracle antennas

This was originally the idea of someone from Canada who is now a SK. For some years these were available commercially and I think they are still available from other sources as clones.

The idea was to simply attach to the rig and then match the short whip by rotating the knob. They always work much better with a decent earth or counterpoise. They can only work as well as a short whip: there is no magic. Having said that, I have worked Argentina from indoors on 10m with 5W SSB using just a Miracle Whip antenna on the back of an FT817 and a central heating ground.

On the higher HF bands, when used with a counterpoise or ground, they are only a few S points down on a dipole.  On QRP SSB they should be fine for some Es QSOs. They certainly are convenient. Years ago, when I still had my IC703 10W transceiver, I even worked an LA on 80m SSB indoors. With the internal ATU on the IC703 I managed to get a match on 80m!

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/antennas/mwhip

Annual concert - NOT amateur radio

Every year, my wife's choir performs a major choral work (or works) in a well known venue in the Cambridge area.

Tonight, at 7.30pm, they are in the wonderful chapel of Trinity College, Cambridge. This is a very central location and tickets can be bought at the door. It should be a very enjoyable evening.

If you are in the area, you may want to come along.

See www.cambschoral.org.uk

10m FT8

Although I remained on 10m FT8 RX overnight (laziness, not intent!), no spots today yet.

UPDATE 1442z: 23 stations in 7 countries spotted so far today on 10m FT8 RX. Yesterday was very good on 10m FT8 RX with 276 stations spotted including 22 South Americans. At the moment today does not appear so good. Best DX so far today is IZ8VYU (1604km). The Es today seems much more limited.

Station spotted here yesterday on 10m FT8 RX

UPDATE 2200z: Yet again, South Americans were coming through on 10m FT8 today. In all 33 stations were copied, far fewer than yesterday.

Sunspots - Saturday May 4th 2019

Solar flux is 68 and the sunspot number zero. A=12 and K=0.

Ely - NOT amateur radio

This lunchtime we were treated to a meal at the Almonry in Ely next to the cathedral. The Almonry dates from the 1300s. The cathedral is known as "the ship of the fens".