QRP on Wikipedia

This link has been posted before but it is worth repeating. This is the Wikipedia link all about QRP.

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

I am a firm believer in QRP. Simple gear can span the globe, although rising noise floors are making it tougher for some, especially in cities and towns. In theory, 5W is just a few S-points down on a 100W rig, but these days the limit is more likely to be man-made noise sources at the receiver especially on LF, MF and the lower HF bands. Up to now, I have been blessed with a low RX noise floor here. I am still lucky.

A second chance - NOT amateur radio

A very moving, and uplifting, account from a Paris hostage.
See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-34889539 .

"We've been given a second chance - we have to live life to the full!"

USA spots on 10m

K9AN (6505km) was the first USA station, and so far the only one, to spot my 10m 500mW WSPR this afternoon at 1418z.

UPDATE 1540z: Still just K9AN spotting me on 10m in the USA this afternoon.

UPDATE 1715z: In the end I got spots from 4 different USA stations on 10m WSPR. I have now gone QRT on 6m (where G8VDQ at 93km was spotted a few times) and on 10m WSPR and am back on 630m (472kHz) WSPR for the evening and night (5mW ERP TX 20%, 80% RX no preamp). So far, on 630m G7NKS (46km) has been copied at -11dB S/N. Still using the earth-electrode "antenna". G7NKS copied me at -22dB S/N. Also copied on 630m WSPR was DK7FC (669km) at -25dB S/N.

No snow - NOT amateur radio

We seem to have missed the snow. Although there is a biting cold north wind, it is dry and the sun has come out. It would not surprise me if we got a frost tonight. This would be the first time this autumn. Up to now it has been very mild.

This afternoon, a walk is called for, although we will have to dress in warm clothes!

UPDATE 1540z:  We walked around the village.

Sunspots and 10m - Sat Nov 21st 2015

Sunspot number is 52 (K=1) and 10m conditions remain "poor" according to the forecasts. Solar flux is a respectable 111. Often I find I get good 10m WSPR spots when conditions are supposed to be "poor".  Not sure why this is!

UPDATE 1204z:  So far, just spots from Russia and nearby areas on 10m WSPR. No great DX on 10m WSPR as yet. All quiet on 6m WSPR.

In praise of Jay W5OLF's WSPR beacon

I received this email from Jay W5OLF:

"Hi Roger,

I was catching up on your blog and saw the comment about how much you like the 10M beacon. That warms the heart.  We all try and make a contribution to the hobby and guess I at least made one.

Cheers, Jay, W5OLF"

W5OLF WSPR beacon

To which I replied, with great pleasure:

"Hi Jay,

I can honestly say I have had more fun from your 10m WSPR beacon than from ANYTHING in all my time in amateur radio. Thank you!

73s
Roger G3XBM"

I was an SWL in 1961 and had a licence since 1966. The beacon needs no PC and is totally self contained. As a routine I reset to internet time every day but you could use a radio for this and once a day is probably far more frequently than necessary.  As you can see, it is very small. The last time I looked there were 1W beacons for 30m and 20m and a 0.5W one on 10m. If you enjoy this mode, I can recommend these. It never fails to amaze me how something so small to a small, low, wire antenna regularly gets spotted around the planet.

See http://w5olf.com/2014/12/18/new-wspr-axe-cw-beacon/ .

Late QSY

Much later than usual, I have closed down on 630m (472kHz) WSPR and am now active on 10m and 6m WSPR for the day. I did the QSY at around 1040z, which is much later than normal. Overnight I was on 472kHz RX only with the preamp in circuit. 472kHz is definitely suffering this autumn from a lack of transmitting stations in Europe. The is no shortage of stations on receive. Tonight I shall be on 472kHz TX again. Last night I copied all the usual 472kHz WSPR stations in range. We could do with some new stations!

472kHz WSPR - now RX only with preamp

Since 1954z, I have gone RX only on 472kHz WSPR with the preamp in circuit, so the FT817 is running at maximum sensitivity. This will be on overnight all being well.

Sunshine - NOT amateur radio

Even if it is very quiet so far on the amateur radio front, at least the sun is shining. We have friends joining us for lunch. The wind is turning and it is definitely getting colder. Not that I have much faith in the weather forecasts, but there is an outside chance of snow this weekend here.

All quiet on 10m and 6m WSPR here so far today

As yet, not a single spot on 10m or 6m WSPR here. By now, I would have expected to have got some spots. Solar conditions don't look bad. Patience!

There are regular, strong, traces on the 6m WSPR screen, but these have too much Doppler to decode. I suspect this is G8VDQ (93km). If there was a WSPR mode with 1 min TX period, I suspect he would decode. JT65 or JT9-1 would probably work.

UPDATE 1715z:  There were USA 10m WSPR spots this afternoon. The last USA spot was at 1600z.

UPDATE 1720z:  G8VDQ (93km) was decoded on 6m a couple of times around lunch, presumably aided by aircraft reflection.

UPDATE 1725z: I have gone QRT on 10m and 6m WSPR and am now QRV on 630m (472kHz) with 5mW ERP again (20% TX, 80% RX, no preamp,earth-electrodes). M0LMH (223km) has copied me on 472kHz WSPR and DK7FC (669km) has been spotted.

Terrorist attacks - NOT amateur radio

The FTSE 100 is recovering but it would only take a successful terrorist attack in the UK or USA to send both the FTSE 100 and the Dow into downward spirals.

Back on 10m and 6m WSPR. QRT on 630m (472kHz) WSPR.

As is my normal routine these days, I have QSYed from 630m to 6m WSPR and turned on my 10m WSPR beacon and synced it to internet time.

UPDATE 1015z:  No spots on 10m or 6m as yet.

Sunspots and 10m - Fri Nov 20th 2015

Sunspot number has risen to 51 (K=3) but 10m propagation remains "poor" according to the forecast.  Solar flux is 107 which is still respectable.  Yesterday was another day without USA spots of my 10m WSPR beacon.

QSY to 472kHz (630m) WSPR

10m and 6m WSPR were closed down at 2030 and I have now moved to 630m (5mW ERP 20% and RX 80% without the preamp). Still using the earth-electrodes.

UPDATE 2205z:  All the usual 472kHz "suspects", i.e. the active stations in western Europe, are being copied including lots of spots of EA5DOM (1525km) on the barefoot FT817 without the preamp. I think I'd spot him more often and at better S/N with the preamp in use.

Smart Meters - NOT amateur radio

This amused me as my energy supplier contacted me to arrange an appointment to fit smart meters but failed to turn up! I asked for a human being to contact me, but months have passed and they don't do humans. It seems their computers don't communicate!

This came via Steve G1KQH:

"Why they really want you to have a SMART Meter:

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/bills/article-3322658/The-great-smart-meter-rip-UK-energy-giants-use-devices-DOUBLE-cost-power-need-most.html

A Smart meter is NOT compulsory:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-34831046"

5MHz amateur band - it is now official

WRC-15 has ratified the first new HF amateur allocation since 1979. Although only 15kHz wide it was agreed internationally. I hope that CEPT allows a wider contiguous allocation. I am sure I cannot be alone in finding all these non-contiguous 5MHz allocations very confusing.

From the RSGB report on WRC-15:
"Z8 has now officially been agreed as the prefix for South Sudan and will be formally entered into the Radio Regulations. Meanwhile the revised Radio Regulations from WRC-15 will officially come into effect from the 1st January 2017. "

Another UK Rally

I've been notified of the following UK rally this weekend:

Saturday 21 NOVEMBER : ROCHDALE & DISTRICT ARS TRADITIONAL RADIO RALLY
St Vincent de Paul's, Caldershaw Rd, off Edenfield Rd (A680), Norden, Rochdale OL12 6BU. OT 10.15/10.30, £2.50 (concessions U12 & seniors), TI S22, C. Pitches £5. Dave, G0PUD, 0161 285 1600, dave.shaw1@sky.com. www.radars.me.uk.

A list of rallies can be found at http://rsgb.org/main/news/rallies/

Back on 10m and 6m WSPR

As the previous post showed, I am back on 10m and 6m WSPR. I went QRT on 630m (472kHz) around breakfast time. G8HUH (250km) was copied on 472kHz WSPR at 0830z a few minutes before closing. This path was in daylight.

Sunspots and 10m - Thurs Nov 19th 2015

Sunspot number is 36 today and K=2. Solar flux is 107 but the forecast for 10m propagation remains "poor".

UPDATE 1020z:  Just Russian and Sweden spotting me on 10m WSPR and no spots given or received yet on 6m.

Getting fun from amateur radio

My current operating is almost exclusively WSPR. I go on the 8pm East Cambs net on 144.575MHz FM on Mondays and Tuesday UKAC contests (especially on 2m)  but my voice struggles. I tend to go on MF WSPR at night and 10m and 6m WSPR during the day.

On all bands I do not use very good antennas. I quite like the way I operate: it is a "low intensity, low cost" way of enjoying the hobby. I miss my field work but I am just too wobbly still.

QSYed to 472kHz

I have now gone QRT on 10m and 6m and am active on 630m (472kHz) WSPR instead for the evening and overnight.  As for last night, I am on 472kHz WSPR TX 20% 5mW ERP and RX 80% without preamp. I am still using the earth-electrode "antenna".

Early evening 472kHz WSPR

So far G4KPX (14km) has spotted me several times, M0LMH (223km) has spotted me once, PA7EY (306km) has spotted me once but I have copied no-one yet. It is nice to be copied by 3 different stations before 1900z.

UPDATE 1855z:  DH5RAE (995km) has just been spotted.

10m USA WSPR spots

KK1D (5455km) was the first station in the USA to spot my 10m WSPR beacon at 1420z.

Australia (again) on 10m WSPR

As well as spots from Brazil and Russia there are spots from 2 different VKs this morning of my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon. As expected, today is another good 10m day, despite the 10m forecast being "poor".

472kHz - an analysis of EA5DOM with and without RX preamp

The night before last EA5DOM (1525km) was copied 45 times on 472kHz with the preamp in circuit, so the FT817 was at maximum sensitivity. My best report of him was -16dB S/N.

Last night he was copied again but without the preamp. Last night I copied him 35 times with a best sensitivity of -19dB S/N.

Although conditions may have been different, I think the 472kHz preamp is worth having. It allows signals too weak to copy to be successfully decoded. Incidentally, EA5DOM was copied as late as 0740z today at -26dB S/N without the preamp on 472kHz WSPR.

Sunspots and 10m - Wed Nov 18th 2015

Solar flux is 106, which is quite good still. Sunspot number is 33 (K=2) and the forecast for 10m remains "poor". Since turning on the 10m WSPR beacon before breakfast, no spots yet received. On 6m I have spotted G8VDQ (93km) twice but nothing else as yet.

With relatively undisturbed 10m conditions it would not surprise me if this turns out to be another quite decent day on the band.

QSYed to 472kHz WSPR (TX and RX)

472kHz station. Transverter is box with yellow LED on top shelf.

Both my 6m and 10m WSPR stations have been closed down for the evening and night and I am active again on 630m (472kHz) both TX (5mW ERP) 20% and RX 80% without the preamp. Note the strong trace on the PC from DK7FC (669km) at -16dB S/N at 1920z shortly after turning things on.  Still using my earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. I match my transverter to the earth-electrodes with a 42mm diameter step-up 3C90 toroid. This is located to the RHS of the transverter. Also visible is the current meter from which ERP is calculated. At the old QTH this matching transformer was not needed. Here, at the bungalow, the soil/rocks must be different. The earth-electrode spacing is also quite a bit less here. Who said 472kHz has to be complicated? Mine is a simple station, including the "antenna" which isn't!

UPDATE 2200z: The  best DX reports of my 5mW ERP are from Holland PA3ABK and PA7EY (both 306km). On receive the best DX is (again) EA5DOM (1525km).

Blog visits - NOT amateur radio.

It puzzles me who visits my various blogs. Already today, the number of people visiting this blog is more than for the whole day a few days ago. I try to include items that appeal to others, although I confess it is as much a diary for me: it records what I have done and the things that matter to me.

Anyway, thank you for visiting and reading this and my other blogs. If you find any postings not to your liking you have some choices. One is to not read similar posts in future or you can tell me! I cannot please everyone but I hope, on the whole, you approve of the things posted.

For the record, my other blogs are:

East Anglian Churches - usually updated every few weeks. East Anglian churches we have visited.
Miscellaneous Musings - updated several times a week. Miscellaneous thoughts.

More on 5MHz

This is on the RSGB's WRC-15 pages:

"Progress is slow but steady…

5MHz: The 5 MHz item has cleared another hurdle and hopefully it will be tabled at a Plenary meeting scheduled for Wednesday, when it will receive two readings. The approval of the last reading is a key milestone, subject of course to the final signing and national administration processes.
50MHz: The revised future agenda proposal for 50-54 MHz has been resubmitted and may be considered at a meeting of Working Group 6B during Tuesday afternoon.
47GHz: It seems that the Primary amateur and amateur satellite service band at 47-47.2 GHz is strongly being considered as a candidate band for IMT (5G) for the next WRC study period, although opinions differ over the definition of ‘candidate’. We are closely following this development.
Small Satellites: Meanwhile the focus has now shifted to the subject of identifying Space Operations Service spectrum below 1 GHz for small satellites in Non Geo-Stationary Orbit (NGSO). Needless to say this is generating a considerable amount of discussion, especially where frequencies around 144 MHz and 430 MHz are concerned.

73
Colin, HB9/G3PSM
NB: Further background and updates are at rsgb.org/wrc-15 and in our news"

A 15kHz wide allocation across the world! Well, I suppose it is a start assuming it is finally approved. It is great pity this is not a 200kHz wide band. 15kHz is very very small. Let us hope that in CEPT countries, at least, they let us use more contiguously. Some countries have already allowed wider contiguous secondary amateur allocations.

Terrorism - NOT amateur radio

One of the answers to the recent spate of terrorism is to work on the false certainty of those willing to die as "martyrs".  In any religion, anyone who sets out to kill innocents would not be a martyr at all. No, they face hell or nothingness and their cause is reduced to pure criminality. We need to understand what really motivates these individuals. They have a grievance that must run very deep.

Yes we need fair societies in all countries but violence is not the answer.

G8VDQ spotted on 6m WSPR

G8VDQ (93km) been spotted several times this morning on 6m WSPR at good strength. As yet, no DX from outside the UK and no-one has spotted me on 6m.

UPDATE 1600z: G8VDQ's signals (often not decoded) have lots of Doppler on them, suggesting multi-path and aircraft involvement. There is a direct signal too but I think the multi-path causes WSPR decodes to fail. If the 'planes are moving in the right direction then decodes occur. The direct (tropo) signal is much weaker and subject to heavy QSB.

Australian spots (again) on 10m WSPR

VK2EMA (16558km) spotted my 10m 500mW WSPR beacon at 1028z. This is (I think) the 5th day this autumn that my little WSPR beacon has been copied in Australia. So much for the "poor" 10m propagation! As long as conditions are not too disturbed, WSPR seems to get through on 10m.

UPDATE 1107z:  VK2KRR (16789km) has also spotted my little 10m WSPR beacon several times this morning. So far, 5 spots from Australia on 10m WSPR ths morning.

UPDATE 1205z:  I think the 10m opening to VK has ended as I am only being spotted in Russia at present. Things look hopeful on 10m WSPR for South and North American WSPR spots later. On 6m I guess there is an outside chance of some nearer Europeans by tropo and some more Europeans via Es, although we are well "out of season" now.  I seem to average a single European about once every 2 weeks on 6m WSPR currently.

UPDATE 1225z:  Almost as I was writing the above, my 10m 500mW W5OLF WSPR beacon was spotted on 10m WSPR in Brazil. I have the feeling today is going to turn to be quite a good day on 10m WSPR.

UPDATE 1230z:  I cannot begin tell you how much pleasure this tiny little 10m WSPR beacon has given me. Apart from syncing the beacon time, no PC is needed as the beacon is fully stand-alone. For the timing, I could use the pips on the radio. There is no doubt at all that this has given me more fun than anything in all my years in the hobby and that goes back 53 years. It is excellent value and is very small. It still amazes me that with a low wire antenna this is copied on the far side of the planet.

UPDATE 1345z:  My little 10m WSPR beacon has been copied 6 times already in Brazil today. No USA spots yet.

UPDATE 1458z:  First USA spot was KC1AWS (5308km) at 1444z, which is quite late.

UPDATE1808z:    There have been no USA 10m WSPR spots of my signal since 1500z.

EA5DOM (1525km) on 472kHz overnight

EA5DOM (1525km) was spotted 45 times through the night at up to -16dB S/N. He must be well equipped to have such a good 472kHz WSPR signal. My conclusion is the preamp does help with weak signals. Although EA5DOM would definitely have been copied last night without the preamp, having it in circuit meant I could still copy him when he was weak. There were at least 3 times (maybe more) when he would not have been copied without the preamp.

Sunspots and 10m - Tues Nov 17th 2015

Solar flux is 105. Sunspot number is 44 (K=1 so relatively undisturbed today). The forecast for 10m propagation remains "poor" today. We'll see!

I QSYed back to 10m and 6m WSPR a few minutes ago and turned off 630m RX until tonight. I usually takes about 10-15 minutes for the 10m 500mW WSPR beacon to stabilise after being off all night. I think the reference has to stabilise.

QSYed

My 10m and 6m WSPR stations have now been closed down. I have turned on my 630m (472kHz) RX kit on for the evening and overnight, this time I am RX only with the preamp. My antenna is again the earth-electrodes in the ground. My view overall is the preamp helps with weak signals but most stations are not too weak!  In theory it would be good to have some very weak stations active on 472kHz WSPR. Really, I should give OPERA another try.

My 630m (472kHz) RX was turned on about 1945z.

Winter projects

At this time of the year I like to set out some project objectives for the months ahead. Sadly, my poor health means I cannot do that much without getting very exhausted. The only project I can possibly manage is the erection of a MF loop antenna at some point. Even this will really tire me but I shall have to try. Maybe my son can help me with the ladder work?

5MHz band

This is from the RSGB pages:

"5MHz: An allocation at 5351.5-5366.5 kHz was agreed with regional variations in power between 15 W eirp/20 W eirp and 25 W eirp. In Region 1 this equates to a power output of 60 W. This was passed up to the next stage to Committee 4B where it was approved with minor changes to which geographical areas have what power limits. The next stage is for approval by Committee 4 which should take place on Monday and finally by a plenary meeting next Wednesday. While not an ideal solution, it has at least obtained an international allocation across all three Regions which is common or close to a number of national assignments. Everyone is equally unhappy, which is usual for a World Radio Conference."

Assuming this is approved, this is a tiny harmonised band and much smaller than we wanted. I am not sure if this is "it" or whether there is still a chance of larger harmonised bands in each region which is far from ideal but would be better than nothing, or a only a very small band.

Death - NOT amateur radio

This remains a total mystery. Many religions talk about "life after death" and who knows? With talk of multiverses who knows, maybe the universe is unique to us only and everyone else experiences something different. Maybe what we experience when we die is a total absence of life, much like we before we were born. The only thing we can say with any certainty is no-one really knows.

USA again on 10m WSPR

It was a late start on 10m WSPR today with KK1D (5455km) being the first USA station to spot my 500mW WSPR beacon at 1446z. Since then quite a few other USA stations have spotted me including KD6RF (7571km) who I think is in Texas. At present, this is my best DX report from the USA today.

UPDATE 1730z:  Best DX (from the USA) today is K5XL (7660km).

UPDATE 1922z: The last USA 10m WSPR spot was WB2TQE (7097km) at 1604z.

Cooking - NOT amateur radio

Before the orzo added

On Mondays, my wife goes to her U3AC course in Cambridge and I have her lunch ready when she gets back. My "speciality" is orzo, which is a pasta that looks like rice. I just throw it in a frying pan for 8 minutes onto anything that has cooked, like bacon, peppers and mushrooms. You add boiling water and some cheese and seasoning. Usually there is too little pasta.

See http://allrecipes.co.uk/recipes/tag-3951/orzo-recipes.aspx  .

Sunspots and 10m - Mon Nov 16th 2015

Solar flux is 107. Sunspot number is 63 today. K=3 and 10m propagation is again expected to be "poor". This morning on 10m WSPR there were single hop F2 spots from Eastern Europe including Russia. No sign of 10m WSPR spots (yet) from further afield.

On 6m, just the usual spots of G8VDQ (93km) and nothing else.