IC7300 video

This video is available on YouTube. It is an in depth look at this new ICOM IC7300 transceiver.

Sunspots and 10m - Mon April 4th 2016

Solar flux is 82 today and sunspot number higher at 38 (K=3).  The forecast for 10m propagation is still "poor" but 10m looks a little more promising than yesterday, which was dire here.

I am about to switch on 10m WSPR.

UPDATE 1735z:  No 10m WSPR spots all day.

Redgrave and Lopham Fen, Suffolk - NOT amateur radio

River Waveney

A few weeks ago a friend very kindly gave us a pack of "Easy Going Trails" in Suffolk. She thought I might like them. So far, we have done 3 of these.

Marsh Margolds

Today we went to Redgrave and Lopham Fen which is located about 3 miles west of Diss. I have yet to work out how far I managed but we saw or heard lots of birds including snipe as well as seeing several Konig ponies and marsh marigolds. It was a round trip of 73 miles in the
car. Although I enjoy the walks, I get very tired by the end.

QRP

More from Oleg:

Dear Club 72 members and friends,
See  full  QRP  Rendez-Vous weekly report (March 28 to April 3, 2016)
including   comments  and  picture  at  the  Club  72  blog  page  - http://qrp-club72.blogspot.ru/
Visitors  of  week:  HB9DAX,  UR7VT, EA5IGL, DL6YAU, HA5AZC/p, RV3GM, UA1CEG/p,  UR0ET,  ON6KZ,  RU3NJC,  EW1CY,  R6TQ, F8DGY, OH5LP, R1OA, GM3OXX,  RD7K,  OM6TC,  OK1KW,  UA1ADF, R4NX/p, UA4NU, UA1CEX, SM6NT, UA1ASB,  DL4HG,  RA1M, OH6NPV, UA0SBQ, UR4MME, LY2H, MM0CYR, EA2AO/m, R4AAR, RW3AA, EA8YV, G6HUI, OH7QR
See full Visitors and Frequenters lists at - www.club72.su
Schedule of QRPRendez-Vous "round tables" on the Club 72 page.
QRP   Marathon  "Look  In  the  Horizon"  is  continue now. To become
Marathon'ers  visit  Club  72 page and create account on the Marathon
page.  You  can do it during all April. Enjoy QRP and have a Marathon
certificate in May.
72! Oleg RV3GM / KH6OB "Mr. 72"

Fair well - NOT amateur radio

Our best man 45 years ago (we married in 1971) has left after a few days with us. He is a good friend and guest and we always pick up as if we saw each other just yesterday. He live 200 miles away and it is often 6 months or more since we last met.

Here he is packing his car outside our home standing next to my wife.

G3XBM Projects

Yesterday, Steve G1KQH mentioned in a comment how he missed my projects. I do too!

As many will be aware I suffered a stroke 2.5 years ago. I expected to make a full recovery, but it has not worked out that way. Even now, although people tell me how well I look, I still feel giddy most of my waking hours and I tire easily.  My voice is poor and I have trouble with drinks. My fine motor skills are not good. Basically, I have struggled with things that were easy in the past. I really miss just fiddling and building. Life is much harder.

Sunspots and 10m - Sun April 3rd 2016

Solar flux is 81 today and sunspot number 11 (K=3). Conditions look a little worse than yesterday. The forecast for 10m propagation remains "poor". Although  I am expecting little, this band has a habit of throwing surprises.

10m WSPR

For the last 30 minutes I have been back on 10m WSPR.  I hope 10m is as good as yesterday, which was very good on WSPR despite the low sunspot count and declining solar conditions.

WSPR is excellent in the declining 10m conditions. If there is a brief opening it will be found on 10m as long as people continue to use the band and mode. 10m is often open when the band seems dead. My strong recommendation is use WSPR. It only needs low power and can be run in the background. Using 10m WSPR really helps radio science.

UPDATE 1035z:  No 10m spots as yet.

UPDATE 1220z:  Still no 10m WSPR spots.

UPDATE 1900z:  Just G8VDQ (93km) spotted lunchtime aided by aircraft reflection. No DX at all today here on 10m. After yesterday, a really disappointing day.

A brilliant day on 10m WSPR

Despite the low solar activity, today turned out to be a good day on 10m with spots of stations in North and South America as well as European short skip. I was spotted in the USA. And I was expecting to copy nothing today!

UK Football - NOT amateur radio

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/tables .

The English Premier League seems more to do with money these days with many players and managers from outside the UK. I can understand this but feel sure we have untapped talent. The lower leagues are less glamorous and get far less TV coverage.

When it comes to football I admit to being a "fireside fusilier" in that I'm gunner do this or that, but rarely go to a match. I follow the fortunes of Plymouth Argyle and my local team Cambridge United and check where they are in their League (League 2). At the moment Plymouth are doing quite well and have a chance of automatic promotion at the end of the season. Cambridge are also doing pretty well too.

UPDATE 1557z:  71 minutes in Argyle were 0:1 up. In the end they lost 2:1. Had they won, they would have had a very good chance of automatic promotion, but they threw it away. Football!!

Cambridge Concert Tonight - NOT amateur radio

A final reminder that my wife's concert is at the Leys School, Cambridge at 7.30pm tonight, April 2nd 2016. The venue is a new one and tickets are available on the door if you don't already have any.

Thunder later?

I plan to stop TXing and RXing on 10m WSPR later this afternoon. Thunder was forecast and as a matter of course I prefer to disconnect things to minimise risks. At the moment, no thunder is shown on the forecasts, but I prefer to edge on the side of caution. 10m WSPR can be done at any time, so I'll not miss much.

April 2nd - NOT amateur radio

Although I quite enjoy the humour is some April Fools articles I am quite glad we are now April 2nd: any articles today are serious and could be true, whereas on April 1st one can never be quite sure.

Many of the great ideas turn out to be jokes if published on April 1st. All I can say is caveat emptor. It is quite common to be caught out with many serious replies to obviously spoofs. The trouble is you are often not quite sure.

In the past I have been taken in and sometimes good ideas are taken as spoofs.

Sunspots and 10m - Sat April 2nd 2016

Solar flux is 81 today (low). Sunspot number is also low at 11 (K=1). The forecast for 10m propagation remains "poor". On the face of things, conditions are slightly worse than yesterday, and that was a bad day on 10m WSPR here.

Return to 10m WSPR

I reconnected the 10m WSPR kit at 0900z, but may turn it off later if there are storms. Thunder is a possibility tonight.

UPDATE 0933z:  No 10m spots so far, although I am not at all surprised. The best I can really expect is Gs and maybe some early short skip.

UPDATE 1350z:  Still not a single spot given or received on 10m WSPR. Dire indeed!

UPDATE 1628z:  Still not a single spot on 10m WSPR all day. Soon be going QRT.

UPDATE 1645z: A late surprise on 10m WSPR: PU3WSF (10416km) has been spotted a couple of times. Even with a very low sunspot number and low solar flux the band still comes to life if you look. 10m is another "magic band" that throws surprises.

QRP

A reminder from Oleg:

Dear Club 72 members and friends,

QRP Marathon "Look In the Horizon" started today.
To become a participant visit www.club72.su - "QRP Marathon" in menu -
click  "LITH"  knob  and  click  "Create  account" link. Add all your
data and click "Send". After you get the e-mail request click the link
in  message  to  activate your account. Add your QSOs in the Marathon
base and enjoy collecting"Luk's" (points)
You can connect to Marathon in any day in April. Good luck!

Also,  remind  about  Saturday's QRP Rendez-Vous at 9.00 UTC on 14060
(alt 10116 if contest QRMs).

72! Oleg RV3GM / KH6OB "Mr. 72"

Satellite collision

See http://www.amateurradio.com/ao-73-funcube-and-ao-85-fox-1-satellites-collide/#comment-156869

Note the date of this post.

Lunch out - NOT amateur radio

My cheese at The Packhorse Inn, Moulton, near Newmarket

We have our Best Man (nearly 45 years ago!) staying with us and he treated us to lunch out today. We went to the Packhorse Inn at Moulton near Newmarket. Yet again the food and service were excellent. We have now been there 4 times and not once been disappointed. I can highly recommend this place, which we found by accident as the pub in the next village was closed. Judging by the numbers of people at lunchtime, this place is on the up.

My XYL and I with medieval bridge behind

Moulton has a fine medieval packhorse bridge.

MLS deal on FT991

With a Yaesu cashback offer of £80 this "shack in a box" is available for £909.95 from MLS here in the UK including VAT. The Yaesu-ICOM price war has started.  Expect the IC7300 price to tumble soon.

See http://www.hamradio.co.uk/amateur-radio-main-equipment-base-station-radio-yaesu-base-station-radio/yaesu/yaesu-ft-991-only-909-95-after-cashback-pd-5621.php.

Aldi Mini Bench Grinder - NOT amateur radio

See https://www.aldi.co.uk/mini-bench-grinder/p/069369016930200.

Steve G1KQH has just bought a mini bench grinder from Aldi for £26.99. This is only available in their stores and not online. Aldi certainly have some low cost items.

FTSE 100 falling? - NOT amateur radio

I see that the UK share index, the FTSE 100, has fallen quite sharply this morning. The last time I looked it was 6093.16 down 1.32%.


UPDATE 1532z:  It seems to be recovering and stands at 6148.79 currently. This is still down but not as bad as earlier.

Upcoming UK Rally

We are entering the main season for radio rallies and I have received notification of this one:-

The following Radio Rallies are coming soon:

Sunday 3 APRIL : HACK GREEN BUNKER RALLY
Hack Green Secret Nuclear Bunker, Nantwich, Cheshire, CW5 8AL

Sale of electronic equipment, amateur gear, components, military radio sets and vehicle spares. Doors open 10am, There will be trade stands and catering is available on site.

Further details from Lucy on 01270 623 353 or by email to Lucy@hackgreen.co.uk. www.hackgreen.co.uk.

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

OFCOM and the RSGB (via Southgate News)

Southgate News has a link to a recent meeting between the RSGB and OFCOM.

Southgate News usually has something of interest most days.

Return to 10m WSPR

We have a guest, so I was not active overnight, but I returned to 10m WSPR at 0915z this morning. Yesterday 10m was disappointing with just Gs spotted. I am not  too hopeful about 10m today. maybe there will be a little short skip and a few Gs?

UPDATE 0926z:  No 10m WSPR spots as yet.

UPDATE 1536z:  Apart from one spot by G7OKV (61km) earlier, there have been no 10m WSPR spots given or received all day here. Dire.

Sunspots and 10m - Fri April 1st 2016

No April Fools here...

Solar flux is 81 today and the sunspot number is just 11. K=0. The forecast for 10m propagation remains "poor" today. I think we are going to be struggling on 10m this autumn and winter.

QRP Marathon

From Oleg:

Dear Friends,
keep your QRP activity over April
welcome all QRP operators to take a part in the QRP Marathon "Look In the Horizon" over all April month. See rules on the Club 72 web page. Sign-In form will be open at 00 UTC April 1'st.
Honor certificate will be send to all participants.
Wish you good luck with collection of "LUK" points! www.club72.su
Wish you all the best, 72!
Oleg "Mr. 72" RV3GM / KH6OB

Quiet on 10m WSPR today

Although I've been on 10m WSPR TX and RX since mid-morning, I have seen no DX as yet. M0JEK (68km) has been spotted a couple of times, but otherwise it has been very quiet here so far today. Judging by the Doppler, I think the reception of M0JEK was aided by aircraft.

Cynical, me? - NOT amateur radio

OK, I know I am becoming a grumpy old man but I was not impressed by the latest statements that the exchange of nuclear waste with the USA would benefit cancer sufferers. To me, this sounds like "spin" which we can well do without. We are NOT stupid.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-35930906 .

Over 1000km on 472kHz TX (5mW ERP)

It's funny, but I had a feeling that last night was going to be "the night". LA8AV (1035km) managed to decode me on 472kHz WSPR in the early hours at 0020z. This is the best TX DX on 472kHz this season and I was pleased, yet again, to break the 1000km barrier. As before, I am still using the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground.  I find the results incredible. Only 1.5 hours later the PC decided to close, presumably to install updates. On RX, I am using the same earth-electrodes with the barefoot (and slightly deaf) FT817, with no preamp externally.

630m WSPR last night - note LA8AV (1035km) at 0020z

Sunspots and 10m - Thurs March 31st 2016

Solar flux is 83 today and the sunspot number is just 12 (K=3). The forecast for 10m propagation remains "poor" again. I am not yet on 10m WSPR, but will be shortly.

QSYed to 630m WSPR

A few minutes ago I went QRT on 10m and am now active again (5mW ERP 20% TX, 80% RX) on 630m (472kHz) for the evening and overnight.

472kHz WSPR this evening to 2030z

UPDATE 1840z:  Just the single spot on 10m WSPR all day.  Already spots given and received on 472kHz WSPR.

UPDATE 2135z:  LA8AV (1035km) has been spotted 7 times so far this evening at up to -22dB S/N. If he is spotting others then there is an outside chance he might copy me at some point during the night.

IC7300 price

Still I reckon that the UK price of the ICOM IC7300 is too high.

With a simple SDR architecture I believe the price should be some way below £1000, but the dealers will keep prices high if buyers are prepared to buy at the high price. What I am saying is the price is what it is because some in our community want this rig and are prepared to pay. I like the IC7300 at a fair price.

Dealers are not greedy, just following the rules of the marketing jungle.  It is only because some are prepared to buy at a high price that the dealers charge this price. All dealers will plead poverty and say their hands are tied by the Dollar prices and exchange rates.

Charge a fair price (dealers make a fair and reasonable profit) and the IC7300 will continue to sell well.  At some point this year there will be an ICOM-Yaesu price war between the IC7300 and the FT991 . ICOM is better placed to win. In the meantime, I shall wait and I hope others will do too.

See http://www.hamradio.co.uk/amateur-radio-main-equipment-pc-302.php.

As I have said many times, the IC7300 is a nice radio at the right price.

The reviews of the IC7300 should make interesting reading.
See http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/12742 .

EU referendum in June - NOT amateur radio

My intention was to vote to remain IN, although I am less sure than I was. At the moment I really have no idea which way I shall vote. Any result would not surprise me. The IN campaign has been very negative so far. They need to be sending a more positive message or people will vote OUT. There are lots of messages about the risks of leaving and very few about the positives of staying IN.

OFCOM Plan

Well this is reassuring. OFCOM has a plan of work.

Someone said I should go easy on OFCOM as there are administrations that are worse in Europe. Well, let us hope they have improved since I dealt directly with them a few years ago. At that time they were totally useless. I can only judge by what I see and experience. If I am wrong then so be it. I certainly hope they have improved.

See http://www.ofcom.org.uk/about/annual-reports-and-plans/annual-plans/annual-plan-201617/?utm_source=updates&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Ofcom-confirms-its-work-plan-for-2016-17&utm_term=annual%20plan%2C%20ofcom%2C%20strategy%2C%20communications

Cambridge, UK, Concert - NOT amateur radio

My XYL's concert is in Cambridge this Saturday evening. It should be good. Tickets will be available on the door. For the first time they are using the new concert hall at the Leys School, Trumpington Rd..

Clicking on the poster will bring up a larger image.

See www.cambschoral.org.uk .

Gone home - NOT amateur radio

Our "Kent" grandchildren and their mum and dad returned to their home near
Canterbury today after a few days with us. We have our next guest staying tomorrow for the weekend. Busy!

The first photo shows me with the "Kent" grandchildren outside the windmill next to our home.

The other photo  shows him with the "London" grandchildren who came for the day on Monday. 

Sunspots and 10m - Wed March 30th 2016

Solar flux 87 today but the sunspot number is only 13 (K=2). 10m propagation is expected to remain "poor" today. I have returned to 10m WSPR for the day. With such a low sunspot number (but relatively undisturbed conditions) it will be interesting to see what 10m brings, if anything, today.

UPDATE 1010z:   I see that HA9AL (1455km) was spotted at 0930z so there is some short-skip on 10m.

UPDATE 1358z:  No further 10m WSPR spots given or received all day since HA9AL earlier today. At the moment 10m seems dire, but I shall stick with the band until this evening, ever hopeful.

UPDATE 1612z:  Still no further 10m WSPR spots.

Going QRT on all bands shortly

As we have guests, I shall probably go QRT on all bands for the night. I shall be back on 10m WSPR tomorrow morning. Although I am still active on 10m WSPR at the moment, there is now little chance of any DX as it is getting late. There is a chance I may copy some Gs but little else on 10m WSPR this evening.

I shall be on 10m WSPR from mid-morning tomorrow and probably get back on 472kHz (630m) WSPR tomorrow when it gets dark. 

UPDATE 1835z:  Now QRT on all bands. No spots here on 10m all day - a real disappointment.

10m WSPR - still quiet

It is nearly the end of the afternoon and there have been no 10m WSPR spots here all day. We are now seeing the effects of falling solar activity. The band does open from time to time, but it is much harder on 10m than a few years ago. Roll on the Es season!

Stroke - NOT amateur radio

One of the after-effects of my stroke 2.5 years ago is I get profoundly exhausted. Very little physical or mental activity and I am exhausted. As an example, our bird table blew over in the recent winds and fell apart. In years past fixing this would have been trivial but these days it has become a major job and by the end I was shattered.

My fine motor skills are still poor and ladder work is all but impossible.  I seem to be less tolerant these days too.You cannot imagine how frustrating this all is.

Life is much harder these days.