9 Jun 2015

70cm UKAC is today, not yesterday!

Confession time.

Last night I checked my 5el 70cm beam would turn OK and I plugged in the antenna to the rig and tuned around the SSB part of 70cm. NOTHING heard at all. Very odd, as I was at least expecting to hear some of the locals. Then the penny dropped. It was a Monday evening and the UKAC sessions are on Tuesdays! For some reason I had it in my head that yesterday was Tuesday. Nor only that, but I was 35 minutes late for our regular Monday evening net on 144.575MHz. By the time I appeared all had gone.

All being well I shall be on the 70cm UKAC session tonight, Tuesday. Yes, double check, today is Tuesday, June 9th 2015.

Some times I feel such a fool.....

UPDATE 2200z:  In the end on the right night, I entered the 70cm June leg of the RSGB UKAC contest. In all 5 stations (only) worked.  Although I heard GW, I was unable to raise him.
70cm UKAC June 9th - stations worked tonight with 5W/5el

8 Jun 2015

Ebola - NOT amateur radio

Certainly here in the UK, and I suspect the USA, Ebola went out of the news late last year.  Although the West African outbreak was the worst on record, it is sad that it soon became not newsworthy. It looks like the outbreak is now under control but it is a sad indictment of our society that when things go "off the radar" we hear little about them. It is a warning that what is considered "news" is filtered.

As Steve G1KQH mentions in the comments there are always new deadly viruses to be worried about. Back in the 1950s it was polio, although thankfully that was largely beaten in the 1950s. Sadly it is still endemic in a few nations because of ignorance and politics.

10m Es this morning

There were both German and Italian spots of my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon mid-morning. As yet, no 10m Es seen here this lunchtime.

UPDATE 1552z:  No further Es (or F2) seen on 10m (or 6m) WSPR since the spots this morning. All very quiet.

UPDATE 1638z:  I see there is teatime Es on 10m WSPR (I have been spotted in Germany and Holland) but no signs as yet of any Es on 6m WSPR since the OK spotted this morning.

6m Es this morning

OK1DX  (994km) was spotted at 1024z this morning on 6m WSPR very strongly at -2dB S/N.   Hopefully there will be others soon on 6m.  Still waiting "for the big one" on 6m.

JAs on 6m?

It is the time of year when we tend to see the better equipped Western European 6m stations working Japan. This is a long way. The popular theory is this is multi-hop Es. Sorry, I just don't believe this.

Far more likely is reflections off noctilucent clouds that return strong VHF radar echoes. Noctilucent clouds are most common in high latitudes at this time of year and are 50-80km up.  The coincidence is just too great.

Sadly, there were no JAs active on 6m WSPR, so this weak signal mode is not going to help. Not sure if the Doppler on these weak signals would be too great anyway. It is a pity stations are not trying higher (even microwave) frequencies on this path. Fascinating. We still have a great deal to learn, but this is one mode that I am sure is under-used.

I know I mentioned this recently (blog entry June 3rd 2015), but when possibly new propagation modes are seen it is very important they are properly explored.  I have the feeling this is very important stuff. Imagine working Japan from Western Europe on 23cms or even 3cms. Wow!  Of course the same sort of path lengths would be possible in Canada and the USA. Get out there and explore!

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/vuhf/noctilucent .

Sunspots and 10m - June 8th 2015

Sunspot number is 136 today (K=4) and 10m is expected to be "fair".

Already there have been 10 spots on 10m of me by EA8BVP (2986km) before breakfast. This is early and F2 propagation I think.

All quiet here on 6m so far. This is the time of year for 6m JA openings (noctilucent clouds?) but there are no JAs active on 6m WSPR. This is disappointing (see next blog entry).

UPDATE 0935z:  All quiet on 10m.  No further spots from EA8BVP since before breakfast (gone to the beach?) and no early 10m Es.  6m quiet too with just G spots.

7 Jun 2015

So far at least, disappointment on 10m and 6m WSPR

There is still time for both 10m and 6m WSPR to spring into life, but so far today both bands have, again, been disappointing with no Es on 6m and very little on 10m. So far, no evidence at all of F2 propagation here on 10m WSPR. I know my 10m antenna could be better, but Es conditions seem to have been poor this season on both 10m and 6m. Things could yet change, so I remain ever hopeful.

UPDATE 1848z:  DK0SC (827km) spotting me on 10m WSPR by Es. 6m still quiet - no Es seen here.

UPDATE 1915z:    EA8BVP (2986km) yet again has spotted me! This is (I think) F2 at 1912z.

UPDATE 2200z:  EA8BVP has spotted me 41 times this evening.

WISPY 10m WSPR rig

Some years ago (in my fit days) I build a simple DSB WSPR rig for 10m based around a low cost 14.060MHz crystal bought from the GQRP club.  The idea was to pull and double this crystal and use it in a simple DSB TX and direct conversion RX.  Both TX and RX have been built separately, but I was ill before I got around to combining the 2 into a 10m WSPR transceiver. Both parts worked well.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/wispytx .

Bells - NOT amateur radio

Our "London" grandchildren just love Burwell church and bells, even though they do not attend church in London. Their parents have Buddhist tendencies. I put the video on YouTube as it is too large to send to them by email. I know others may be interested too. There are quite a few bell videos on my G3XBM channel as well as lots on my amateur radio projects (from the days when I was fit). This video was taken in our back garden. We are about 350m from the church.

Autumn projects

OK, it is only just summer according to the Met Office and already I am thinking about autumn projects. A lot depends on my health - particularly my stamina and giddiness. Some antenna work will need help from local friends unless I make some dramatic improvements. Things on the list include:
  • A stacked big wheel antenna for 2m SSB/CW/WSPR, This would be instead of the hand-rotated 3 el yagi. About the same horizontal gain but omni, so better for beacons and contests?
  • A decent antenna and ground for LF/MF.
  • Some field tests on VLF/136kHz/optical (currently unlikely because of health).
  • A better dedicated antenna for 10m WSPR (possibly a magnetic loop).
Overall, I want to make my home set-up as effective as I can before the winter. My health is still my biggest drawback, preventing much practical constructional work.

Sunspots and 10m - Sunday June 7th 2015

With the sunspot number now back at 129 (K=2) and 10m propagation expected to be "fair" we are in a battle between summertime 10m conditions (some Es and some N-S F2) and rising sunspots. Even though conditions are notionally somewhat better it would be naive to expect decent 10m propagation to suddenly return. I suspect we will have one more decent autumn and winter on 10m before we start to head firmly downwards in the solar cycle. Conditions have been pretty good on 10m overall. All I urge is for people to stick with 10m WSPR as conditions dive downwards as this will be when WSPR will prove so valuable.

UPDATE 1322z:  Some European Es on 10m but no evidence here of F2 as yet.]

UPDATE 1334z:  Just the usual suspects exchanging 6m WSPR spots inter-G. No sign, here at least, of any 6m Es or F2. So far this season, 6m has been disappointing regarding WSPR Es.

UPDATE 1618z:  10m Es at lunchtime but only G4IKZ (18km) since then and only GDX on 6m WSPR all day.  No Es on 6m so far today.

6 Jun 2015

Icom IC703

One of the best rigs I once owned was the 10W Icom IC703. This was a well equipped QRP radio with a decent receiver, DSP and auto ATU. I sold it to a local amateur who was a poor pensioner but I regret selling it now! No fan needed at 10W.  Just a first class rig.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/ic703 .

10m and 6m disappointment

Recent 6m WSPR spots today
Having posted this I suspect 10m and 6m will now burst into life!

So far today, both bands have been disappointing with only a little Es on 10m (just EA8BVP by F2) and none seen here on 6m. Sunspot count and K index suggested we might have expected some decent DX, but I missed it here!

UPDATE 1748z:   Still pretty quiet on both bands.  Even did a full reset of the 10m beacon to make sure things were working.

UPDATE 1846z:  There was nobody spotting me on 10m WSPR between 1234z and 1820z. Either my beacon was not sending WSPR and not frequency hopping (this has happened before) or G4IKZ (18km) was not on or beaming elsewhere. Having done a hard reset on the beacon (power off totally for over a minute) I suspect my beacon was at fault. Anyway it is on now and being spotted again by G4IKZ.  No great DX sadly.

UPDATE 1916z:  Sadly no DX stations spotting me on 10m WSPR.

UPDATE 2012z:  I see that EA8BVP (2986km) has spotted me several times this evening.

UPDATE 2112z:   EA8BVP has spotted me 28 times so far tonight on 10m WSPR since 1940z.

British Gas - NOT amateur radio

A few weeks ago we were due to get a free Smart Meter upgrade and we waited in all morning for the appointment that never happened. Subsequent emails, despite a request that they ring me, resulted in them (or their not joined up computers) arranging 3 inconvenient new appointments by email.  Really they are an utter basket case! Trouble is I suspect the alternatives would be as bad.

Nearly a month later and I have still not been told why the first appointment did not happen. Hopeless.

Yaesu FT991

FT991 at www.hamradio.co.uk
There is only one commercial rig that I fancy and that is the FT991 from Yaesu.  This covers all HF including 50MHz as well as 144 and 432MHz. It does NOT cover 70MHz.  It also supports C4FM, not that this bothers me. For a 100W radio (it would get used at much lower powers) it is quite small. It is rated as a 50W radio on 144 and 432MHz.

Price in the UK is still too high at £1279.95. I am quite prepared to wait until the price reaches £999 or less. A price war will erupt soon between the main suppliers forcing prices downwards. Certainly by Christmas I expect it to be £999 with VAT. I can wait and wait. Of course, I suspect a cash price is already well below £1279, but I have not asked.

Of course, I'd prefer a 5W rig and if an FT817 replacement appears in the meantime that might well be considered at the right price. It is a pity they don't sell the 30W version which I suspect is available in Japan. Usual these are the S versions so keep an eye out for the FT991S. A true QRP version would be even better.

It appears there may have been some teething issues with the very first radios, but  these appear to have been resolved now. Most recent reviews on eHam have been very good.

See MLS at http://www.hamradio.co.uk/amateur-radio-main-equipment-base-station-radio-yaesu-base-station-radio/yaesu/yaesu-ft-991-hf-50mhz-vhf-uhf-base-station-transceiver-pd-5621.php.

For eHam reviews see http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/12025 .

Sunspots and 10m: a better day ahead? - Sat June 6th 2015

Sunspot number has climbed back above 100 to 105 (K=1) and for the first time in a long while 10m propagation is expected to be "fair" rather than "poor". So there is a chance of some F2 DX on 10m today as well as Es propagation.

UPDATE 0955z:  Already I have been spotted by EA8BVP (2986km) by F2 and in Germany by Es on 10m WSPR. Yes, we are in for a better day on 10m!

UPDATE 1837z:  Well, so far at least,  10m has been disappointing with little to get excited about.

5 Jun 2015

Stroke update - a disappointing day

Today I found a recording of my voice dated last August. My XYL heard it and thought it was a recent recording.  So, it really means my poor voice has not really improved since last summer. I was gutted. I still feel very giddy, am breathless whenever I try to speak, have poor thin liquid drinking,  although I think I am less tired than I was. I will never give up, but this is a real setback.  Am I really getting better or are my disabilities that remain with me for ever now? I certainly want to get better as I feel so unwell still.

6m - no Es here so far today

6m has remained quiet here, so far, apart from the usual G stations by tropo and aircraft reflections. No Es seen here on the band, yet at least. Their is a lot of time left today though, so things might change.

On 10m there has been some Es to Scandinavia, but Es even on 10m is below usual levels so far this season.

Thunderstorms - missing us?

At the moment, it looks like the worst of the thunder and lightning is missing us and passing up through the east of East Anglia, UK.
Add caption
See http://www.blitzortung.org/Webpages/index.php?lang=en&page_0=12 .

Sunspots and 10m - Friday June 5th 2015

Sunspot number has climbed to 80 (K=1) but 10m forecasts are still "poor". With thunder and lightning forecast for this part of the UK today it is likely I'll have to switch off equipment during the day. The best we can hope for on 10m and 6m WSPR is some short skip by Es.

UPDATE 2005z:   Very few 10m Es spots of me today.  Just Scandinavians earlier and G4IKZ (18km) since then.  In all, a very disappointing day on 10m and 6m.  No sign of any DX from outside Europe, not even spots from EA8BVP who has spotted me for months.

Early Es on 10m WSPR - June 5th

LB9YE (1533km) was spotting my 500mW WSPR beacon on 10m at 0834z.

4 Jun 2015

10m/6m F2 and Es today

EA8BVP (2986km) has yet again been spotting me on 10m by F2 propagation. I see some very recent evidence of Es with OE6PWD (1232km) spotting me a little while ago.

UPDATE 2146z: EA8BVP has spotted me 36 times today so far.

UPDATE 2148z:  Again, no evidence of 6m Es here today.

London's West End Theatres - NOT amateur radio

Waiting for the coach outside the Aldwych Theatre
London has some excellent theatres, but they are expensive. Our village (60 miles from London) arranges theatre coach trips which are excellent value as they take you door-to-theatre door (just about) with plenty of time for a meal before the show and the price includes the coach and the theatre ticket (good seats too).

472kHz (630m)

This is a fascinating MF band. I am truly amazed how slow the FCC has been releasing this band and the 136kHz band in the USA. Do they sleep all day?
Simple, small, 472kHz transverter
Even with just 5mW ERP from a just a short baseline earth electrode antenna (earths 12m apart) I have been copied on WSPR more than 1000km away. Copy at shorter range is very easy. I use my transverter with the FT817. The ARRL was due to publish the circuit over 2 years ago, but are still waiting for the FCC release. For goodness sake wake up FCC! You look total fools to the rest of the world!

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/mflf/472khz_tvtr .

Sunspots (creeping up) and 10m - June 4th 2015

Sunspot number is creeping up again and stands at 55 (K=1) today. 10m propagation is expected to remain "poor" so we depend on Es to liven up 10m and possibly 6m. So far, Es is quiet with no evidence here of the overnight Es we had a day earlier.

3 Jun 2015

6m Es - yes! 6m super DX?

6m WSPR has come to life with spots exchanged several times this afternoon with EA1KV (1304km).  DL4MFC (916km) spotted me on 6m WSPR at 1356z. Perhaps the 6m Es season is taking off at last? I notice there is thunder over central Europe. I wonder if this is helping? Sprites? I know one of the theories for Es involves thunder activity and upward movement into the E layer. Es is pretty complex.

No idea if the better equipped stations are working from Western Europe to Japan on 6m. This path seems to open every year around now, and some theories suggest reflections from mesospheric noctilucent clouds which are more common around this time of year. I suspect reflections would be possible right up to microwaves, but I doubt anyone is trying. See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/vuhf/noctilucent .

I am very suspicious of some of the multi-hop explanations for very long path Es. To me, there has to be a better explanation. Es yes. Multi-hop? Really? I have my doubts.  Some Europeans may indeed be multi-hop but some of the openings to South East Asia, Africa and South America?  I really doubt that many of these are multi-hop Es in the way most understand this. Some sort of chordal hops perhaps?

Optical mirages - NOT amateur radio

These have fascinated me for years. When I first created this page many years ago there was very little on optical mirages on the internet, but now there are lots of resources.

There are some indications that some extreme amateur optical DX may be influenced by optical refraction. The most extreme "over the horizon" (NLOS) amateur optical DX is by cloud bounce when signals are reflected off the base of clouds.

Under very favourable conditions places way beyond the normal horizon become visible. This is most common in conditions when warm(er) air passes over very cold water. The common mirages seen over roads, that look like puddles are just the opposite (hot roads and cooler air above).

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/optical/mirages .

10m - LOTS of Es early today

Today looks very promising on 10m WSPR with lots of Es propagation very early.

So far, 6m has been just GDX but I am hopeful that with 10m WSPR being so lively 6m will come to life with some Es later. We will see!

PY2OHH pages

One of the best web resources is on the pages of PY2OHH.  Many pages are now in English and the site is filled with good ideas for simple circuits. If you are a home brewer then please do check this out. You will not be disappointed.

See http://py2ohh.w2c.com.br/ and look for the English translations.

Sunspots and 10m - June 3rd 2015

Sunspot number is 39 today (K=1). 10m propagation is expected to be "poor" again. Several 10m Es spots overnight from Italy and Germany.

2 Jun 2015

Thunderstorms

According to the Met Office (by the way, time you bought new seaweed as a piece of wet seaweed would be nearly as good as your super-computers I think) we are due to get thunderstorms in south east England on Friday.  Very useful maps for tracking thunderstorms are available at http://www.blitzortung.org/Webpages/index.php?lang=en&page=1 . Last year, I used these maps to help me with early warnings of thunderstorms in the UK that required me to safeguard rigs.

Poor Es season so far?

Maybe it is just a lack of activity on WSPR on 10m and 6m but so far this Es season has been poor. I am sure things were better last year. Up to now there has been very little Es activity on either band. So far, hardly anything outside Europe. I certainly hope things improve on both bands.

Field tests?

Although I still have several of my stroke-related symptoms, I do, on the whole, feel less tired than I did. I still get tired but seem to recover more quickly than I once did. I still feel very wobbly when doing anything on my feet (although I do not fall) and my thin liquid swallow and voice are still poor.

I am hopeful that field experiments can resume soon. My only field test was a VLF test a few months ago and that was a total failure in that what was a good location before was a "non-event" from the new QTH. I did do a quick at-home optical test bouncing a signal off our windmill, but that hardly counts. The signal was very strong and easy to find.

6m WSPR - only GDX so far today

Although I am spotting, and being spotted, by lots of G stations, I have seen no signs, yet anyway, of any Es on 6m WSPR today. Things could well change later, especially around teatime when Es often peaks.

UPDATE 1305z:  I see that I am now being spotted in Sweden on 10m WSPR.  Alas, only Gs still on 6m.

Eddystone EC10 receiver

When I was young (that is now a very long time ago!) I coveted the Eddystone EC10 all transistor receiver. When I first had my call I had one on loan from a local SWL. I used it on 160m AM and CW.  A few years later a friend at work managed to get me one from his dad who worked for Eddystone. This was a pre-production unit. I used it as a tunable IF for several years.

Looking back it was rubbish!  On 10m the whole band was about 0.5 inches on the dial. On MW and bands up to about 6MHz it was OK. It had a low IF and germanium transistors (OC171s). It was mechanically a nice radio, but almost all modern receivers are a lot better.

Prices on the second hand market for EC10s are very high. Even though a far from great radio they are still sought after receivers.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/ec10 .

Sunspots and 10m - June 2nd 2015

Sunspot number today is 38 (K=1) and 10m is again expected to be "poor". Breakfast time Es livened up 10m WSPR with spots from Germany and Italy, but otherwise very quiet on the band.

UPDATE 1600z:  SA0CAM (1352km) in Sweden has been spotting me lots of times this afternoon via Es. Still no F2 DX on the band. I guess we are now in summertime conditions although I was hoping for more N-S F2 DX on WSPR. Still not spotted, or being spotted, outside Europe via Es, on 10m or 6m, this summer. 4X1RF (3519km) spotted me on 6m a few weeks ago. This was probably Es although it was a long way, so just could have been F2.

UPDATE 1618z:  I see that DK6UG (633km) is now spotting me on 10m WSPR by Es.

UPDATE 2050z:   At 1938z and 1950z EA8BVP (2986km)  was yet again spotting me on 10m WSPR. As far as I can see this was just a short opening (just 2 spots) but yet again he has spotted me. Pretty sure this is single-hop F2 and not Es.

1 Jun 2015

Coat hanger 70cm beam

Some years ago, I was in need of a 70cms antenna for portable use and had to improvise by raiding my XYL's wardrobe!  The result was a 2 el Moxon antenna made in about 30 minutes which worked some impressive QRP (2.5W) DX into France on 70cms. Gain is quite low but all you need is a wire coat hanger and a few bits for insulation and to attach the coax feed. Simplicity! It does not look pretty, but it works. The mast was made from a short length of PVC pipe.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/antennas/70cm_moxon .

Lawns - NOT amateur radio

Usually our lawns look pretty good and weed free. They ought to as we pay Green Thumb a decent amount each month to treat, scarify and tine.  The last time they treated the lawn they scarified and removed a fair bit of moss. I have removed the dead moss and reseeded in places, but there is a lot of course grass and there are brownish patches.

Reseeded patches
My wife is very cross and wants them back to fix the lawn, which looked far better last year. They are coming again on Friday and have promised to put things right. We shall see. If not, they will lose our business and I am pretty sure my XYL will "go viral" with her displeasure. They ought to have done a better job as lots of people have looked over the wall and asked, "what happened to your lovely lawn?". The front lawn is right next to the local windmill and should be a showcase for Green Thumb.

6m/10m Es

There was some 6m Es earlier on 6m WSPR.  At 1344z IV3APH (1162km) was spotting me on 6m.

On 10m WSPR, over lunchtime, I see my 500mW beacon was copied  in Spain and Germany. No great DX as yet on either 10m or 6m.

UPDATE 1800z:  CT1JTQ (1843km) was spotting me on 10m a few minutes ago by Es.

Sunspots and 10m - June 1st 2015

Sunspot number has climbed to 47 (K=1) and 10m propagation is expected to be "poor" again.