Evening stroll - NOT amateur radio

We are lucky that where we are staying is very near the coast. This evening we did a short stroll and got these views. Southernmost Devon really is the best place, although I am a bit biased!

Dad's seat - NOT amateur radio

My dad worked for the local water board in South Devon until he was 60, Then, for a few years he worked for the National Trust supervising youngsters on a job creation scheme restoring coastal footpaths. When he died the NT erected a couple of seats on the coast path in his memory. This is me sitting on one of them earlier.

 On the path it is quite common to see dung beetles and, of course, spectacular coastal views.

Kites (birds) - NOT amateur radio

At one time to see a kite outside Wales was rare. These days they seem to be everywhere. We saw one in the Cotswolds on our way to Devon on Friday.

I have seen a few swallows in South Devon as well as swifts, but I am sure there are fewer swallows about.

5GHz amateur band for wi-fi?

Southgate News has an item about the use of the 5GHz amateur band for wi-fi. This would be a controversial move, although in this case I have some sympathy with OFCOM. There are not many amateur users of this band and there would be widespread use of wi-fi.

See http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2016/may/ofcom_propose_using_ham_radio_band_for_wifi.htm

Sunspots and 10m - Sun May 15th 2016

Solar flux is 102 today. Sunspot number is 88 (K=2). The forecast for 10m propagation remains "poor".

UK Rallies

Sunday 15 MAY : 1st NEWTON-LE-WILLOWS ARC RALLY
CANCELLED


Sunday 15 MAY : LAMFEST
Elescar Heritage Centre, Wath Road, Elsecar, Barnsley S74 8HJ Doors open for traders at 7am and tables are provided free of charge. The public gain access at 10am and admission is £2. All monies raise will be donated to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance. Further details from Ian O'Donnell, M0IOD on 0191 604 0255, 0748 212 3223 or sales@hamradio-shop.co.uk.

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

Coast walk - NOT amateur radio

So, I was going to do some radio operating from a bench on the coastal path but instead we went for a walk along the coastal path in the glorious sunshine. In all I walked about 3.5km, which in my current state is quite good. Years ago this would have been trivial.  This is Thurlestone, Devon looking towards Burgh Island.

Salcombe, Devon - NOT amateur radio

Many years ago, I was brought up in Salcombe, Devon. At the time I had no idea how lucky I was. This week we returned. During my illness over the last 3 years there had been times when I thought I would never ever see Salcombe again. Thankfully I have been back now and there is every likelihood we'll visit again in the future. The area is very beautiful.

The photo show the main street. Sadly, Salcombe has many second homes that are empty much of the time. Locals are priced out and many of the local shops are replaced by clothes shops catering for the well heeled. Will Salcombe follow St Ives and stop new second homes?

10m Es today?

Later, I may get a change to do some portable clifftop radio with the FT817ND from a location in Devon. Let's hope for some Es!

Sunspots and 10m - Sat May 14th 2016

Solar flux is 96 today and sunspot number 76 (K=2). The propagation forecast for 10m remains "poor".

50 years ago to the day

It is exactly 50 years ago to the day (Fri May 13th 1966) that I took my RAE (Radio Amateurs Exam) in Plymouth. Passing this was my start in transmitting in amateur radio. In those days we only had access to 70cms and above (not 2m) with a G8 call, but you were allowed to operate a full licensee's station under supervision. I used to operate G4PJ under Bill's instruction when I had a G8 call. I took my Morse test when at university in December 1967 and got my G3XBM call shortly afterwards.

Sunspots and 10m - Fri May 13th 2016

Solar flux is 95 today (creeping up) and sunspot number 67 (K=2). The 10m propagation forecast remains "poor".

6m Es and DXTV

There seems to have been a little Es in evidence on 6m WSPR this lunchtime with DL3NGN spotted in the UK. Certainly later in the season we can expect 6m Es most days.

In the old days, DXTV on Band 1 was an almost daily occurrence with RAI (Italy) and TVE (Spain) often seen. These were 625 lines whereas Band 1 TV in the UK was 405 lines. French 819 line TV appeared as 2 visible signals side-by-side on unmodified UK sets. I can remember to this day the Es signal from the South of France broadcasting "midi-Pyrenees". At times it was just like a local!

10m Es

Yet again, 10m WSPR has shown Es propagation in Europe this morning. I guess 10m Es will be with us most days now until late summer. I certainly livens up the band, which can seem very quiet compared with a few years ago.

Southgate News - NOT amateur radio

Southgate News (always worth a look every few days) reports that a NASA commercial cargo spacecraft touched down in the eastern Pacific with a valuable cargo from the ISS.

See http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2016/may/dragon_spacecraft_splashdown.htm .

Nuclear Fusion - NOT amateur radio

There is lots of research going on into nuclear fusion.

Unlike nuclear fission which is used today and results in long-term nuclear waste, nuclear fusion could use the almost endless supplies of non-polluting deuterium in seawater. It is probably decades away from being commercially possible as the technical challenges are immense. Research is starting to yield results though.

Nuclear fusion holds the potential for almost endless, low cost, energy. It could hold the keys to the future, but it is not yet possible, although the research must continue. This is one area where worldwide collaboration would benefit us all.

As for electric cars, although a "good idea" I think range is a real killer. Most journeys are short, I know, but ranges of several hundred miles on a charge are really needed and I just can't see this even with the best battery technology likely in the next few decades. Replacement batteries for electric cards are very expensive. No, this is an area where a lot more research is needed both in transport for the masses in an age beyond carbon and in battery technology. We need some "thinking outside the box" in these areas. Cars that do not need diesel or petrol are essential. We have to crack this one and come up with good solutions.

Sunspots and 10m - Thurs May 12th 2016

Solar flux is 91 today. Sunspot number is 72 (K=2) and the forecast for 10m propagation remains "poor". Some 10m N-S F2 is possible as is short-skip Es.

BBC programmes under threat? - NOT amateur radio

Who doesn’t love CBeebies? Kids love it, and so do parents. BBC children’s programmes, like CBeebies, allow us those precious few minutes in a day to make a cup of tea. And we can trust that our kids are watching quality TV.

But children's TV as we know it is under threat. It's being reported that the government plans to take money away from the BBC’s children’s programmes. They want to give money-making channels a chance to compete for children’s shows.

The government is expected to announce the cut to the BBC children's budget this Thursday. So a big petition, standing up for advert-free BBC children's television, will show that there's huge public opposition to the government's plans. Please can you sign the petition to save BBC children's television?  See  http://38d.gs/21NJSjN

Personally  I have a problem with children being bombarded with adverts for things they do not need. The BBC is good as it is. There is a danger our government will ruin it.  Save it!

Garden - NOT amateur radio

Another view of the back garden

Not visible are my earth-electrode "antenna" for 630m (are you surprised?) and my end fed wire Par antenna covering 10m, 20m and 40m. This antenna works on other bands with an ATU.  Also out of sight are my 6m, 2m and 70cm vertical V2000 and my 2m horizontal big-wheel omni and 2m halo.

As you can tell, I do not like big, ugly antennas! The garden would fit a 66 foot long wire - maybe next winter?

6m and 10m WSPR

At 1236z I moved to the 10m WSPR beacon (500mW 100% TX) and 6m WSPR (1W ERP 20%, 80% RX, V2000 vertical antenna) simultaneously. It will be interesting to see if there is Es in evidence on 6m too. With 6dB less power on 10m, I expect to get spotted less often.

UPDATE 1325z:  EA1FAQ (1249km) has spotted my 500mW 10m WSPR 2 times so far. Still quite decent reports too.

UPDATE 1445z:  EA1FAQ is now spotting my 500mW 10m WSPR at -12dB S/N, implying that a few milliwatts would have been quite enough. My reports from him are getting better.  No spots yet on 6m WSPR.

10m Es

Within minutes of going on 10m WSPR I am spotting Hungarian stations well by Es. A promising start to what I think will be a good day on 10m.

10m WSPR so far

UPDATE 0934z:  HA9AL is coming in here at a very strong -2dB S/N now. 10m is very good currently to central Europe. This is quite early in the day for Es. 6m is probably good too.

UPDATE 1134z:  Plenty of 10m WSPR Es with lots from central Europe.

The morning on 10m WSPR - clearly Es season!

472kHz (630m) WSPR overnight

Last night I stayed on 472kHz WSPR overnight. I was going to try WSPR on a different band but decided after all to go back on MF.  There are now far fewer active stations than back in the better months. Activity will pick up again come the autumn. No DX spots given or received on 630m WSPR. I think it is now really is the time to pull the plug on 630m WSPR until the autumn.

Sunspots and 10m - Wed May 11th 2016

Solar flux is 90 today. Sunspot number is 70 (K=2) and the forecast for 10m remains "poor" yet again. We might see a little N-S 10m F2 propagation. We live in hope.

At 0910z I switched from 630m WSPR to 10m WSPR.

70cm UKAC tonight

I very briefly listened on 70cm in the 70cm leg of the RSGB's activity contest - the UKAC that runs for 2.5 hours on Tuesday nights. Very few stations were heard, so I've given this one a miss. Really I have no suitable antennas for 70cm at the moment. On the last 70cm UKAC I just used my 2m halo.

Corsican wind? - NOT amateur radio

Years ago we spent a couple of great holidays on Corsica.

My wife is trying to do a quiz in the newspaper and is stuck on a wind in north east Corsica with the second letter "i" and the last letter "t". She is adamant these letters are right. I tried Googling to no avail. I thought I knew this, but obviously I don't.

Any thoughts?

The quiz was in yesterday's Daily Telegraph which we got free with our shopping.  I try to vary the paper and sometimes get The Guardian or The Times. I only get them as they cost us nothing - well some will (rightly) argue we pay through Waitrose's high prices. Aldi is certainly less expensive, but our local store is some way away.

American hotels and breakfast - NOT amateur radio

One of my first surprises on trips to the USA was that few (no?) hotels offer breakfast. They expect you to get this down the road. Most have places to eat very nearby, but if you are not used to this it comes as a surprise. I have an old work colleague who is in Indiana for a conference and he was caught out. The hotel and conference centre was a place to meet and sleep, but little else.

Once, in eastern Canada, we stopped for breakfast at a roadside cafe. There were 6 fried eggs and lots more on the plate. It was huge. We did not go hungry!

Arecibo EME in 1964?

Way back in my youth, I recall that USA amateurs got access to the huge 1000 foot dish at Arecibo in Puerto Rico for early EME (moonbounce) tests. This was extensively reported in QST and the RSGB Bulletin at the time. I think this was 1964 or 1965.  As the dish was huge, it gave smaller stations a chance with EME. EME started soon after WW2 I believe but for many this was their first chance.

In more recent times there have been other activations. EME takes real dedication but recent advances in digital techniques have made EME more accessible to smaller stations. It still needs a lot more power and antenna gain than I have!  Some of these activations are on YouTube.  See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1agnioRKJw .

Rain - NOT amateur radio

Well, perhaps we have had the good weather for the year!  Our nice dry and warm spell came to an end after dark last night with rain. The big high we had has slipped away and we are now (once again) in a stream of wet and windy weather dominated by low pressure systems. It is not that cold but several degrees lower than the highs we saw in the last few days. The sun has gone.

Part of the rear garden yesterday

Returned to 10m WSPR

About 20 minutes ago I returned to 10m WSPR (2W TX 20%, 80% RX) hopeful of some Es or even F2 propagation on the 10m band.  As yet, no 10m spots given or received.

Just G8LCO (58km) was spotting me on 630m WSPR. I have now gone QRT on MF (630m). It is doubtful I shall bother with this band again now until the autumn in better conditions with a lot more active stations.

UPDATE 1056z:  Still no spots on 10m WSPR, although it remains early in the day.

UPDATE 1115z:   Still no spots on 10m WSPR. If there is to be any Es on 10m today, then I would expect it soon.

UPDATE 1348z:  OH5XO (1943km) spotted a few times around lunch on 10m WSPR, so some Es today again. No F2 seen here today. No Es since lunchtime.

UPDATE 1922z:  EA1FAQ (1249km) spotted me very strongly on 10m WSPR at teatime. Es definitely. Against my better judgement I have returned to 630m WSPR (QRT on 10m now) and am being spotted on 630m WSPR by M1GEO (65km) and G8LCO (58km). I think M1GEO is a new reporter.

472kHz overnight

Last night I went on 472kHz WSPR again overnight. Unlike earlier in the year when I spotted lots of stations and lots spotted me, I only spotted one station last night (a German) and just one station spotted me. At this time of year and through the summer I think I am wasting my time. Maybe I should chose a different band for WSPR overnight now?

Sunspots and 10m - Tues May 10th 2016

Solar flux is 88 today and the sunspot number 68 (K=4). The forecast for 10m propagation remains "poor", although there was F2 propagation on 10m WSPR yesterday.

Life on Mars? - NOT amateur radio

See http://www.theworldweekly.com/reader/view/magazine/2014-12-18/there-may-be-life-on-mars-after-all/2909 .

It is just possible there is life on Mars.

My website and blogs

Every now and again I like to remind people of my main website and blogs. My main website (not updated too often) has details of my projects. The blogs get updated most days and are where I put news or things that are of interest to me.

www.g3xbm.co.uk  - Main website
g3xbm-qrp.blogspot.co.uk/ - Amateur radio (mainly) blog - updated most days
qss2.blogspot.co.uk/ - Miscellaneous Musings blog - updated most weeks
eachurches.blogspot.co.uk/  - East Anglian churches blog - updated when we visit a church in the area

Back on 10m WSPR

At about 0936z I resumed my 10m WSPR activity. It will take a few minutes before I am ready to give and receive spots.

Let us hope today is better than yesterday, which was dire here. At least the sun is shining, although this has nothing to do with Es!

There has been some work correlating some thunder activity with sprites and Es, but I don't know the details. Es is fascinating and there is still a lot to learn. May, June, July and August are the best Es months in the northern hemisphere with a much smaller peak December and January. Es can occur at any time though, to a lesser extent which is another good reason to use WSPR.

Years ago I remember getting into trouble with my mum and dad when I used the one domestic TV we had to hunt for Band 1 DXTV by Es.  In those days (1960s) you could see all over Europe on Band 1 TV in the summer months. On tropo I could always see the Band 3 819 line transmission (weakly) from Brittany. The antenna was totally in the wrong direction. On a 405 line TV (unmodified) there were 2 pictures side by side.

10m WSPR so far today

UPDATE 1142z:  Some Es on 10m WSPR. No F2 seen here.

UPDATE 1642z:  Much to my surprise, I exchanged spots with FR1GZ (9724km) this afternoon and spotted PU3WSF (10416km) this afternoon by F2.  I was not expecting F2 today.

Sunspots and 10m - Mon May 9th 2016

Solar flux is 83 today. Sunspot number is 42 (K=4) and the forecast for 10m propagation remains "poor".

I have yet to turn on my 10m WSPR. I shall probably use 2W TX on 10m and listen for others 80% of the time. Although F2 is very doubtful, Es is more likely on 10m today.

Declining swallow numbers - NOT amateur radio

See http://www.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/discoverandlearn/birdguide/name/s/swallow/population.aspx

Certainly over here in East Anglia there are fewer swallows about than previously.  They have appeared on sightings in Devon, but I have seen very few so far. Swifts seem to be plentiful. I think I have seen as many house martins as swallows and that is just a handful. The RSPB says swallow numbers have been declining since the 1970s. As a harbinger of summer, I hope this is just a blip. Certainly we had a mild, wet winter but spring was late.

Gs only on 10m and 6m WSPR

On 6m WSPR I have been spotted by G4MLA (53km) and on 10m WSPR just G0LRD (25km) spotting me. No F2 DX and no Es here all day on 10m and 6m.

New rigs?

At the moment I am happy with the rigs I have, so I can wait to replace rigs.

At the moment the IC7300 looks a favourite over the FT991, but a decent FT817 replacement at the right price might fit the bill. All decisions on future investments are predicated on the price being right. I want dealers to make a fair margin, but I do not like being ripped off.  On the IC7300, dealers are making a mint out of early adopters who want the rig at any price. Later, the IC7300 price will drop.

I am awaiting Dayton to see if Yaesu really does replace the workhorse FT817. I have my doubts. As you know, 5-10W is quite enough for me.

Sunspots and 10m - Sun May 8th 2016

Solar flux is 87 today. Sunspot number is 51 but K=7. The forecast for 10m propagation remains "poor". With very disturbed conditions it is unlikely 10m will be any good today, although Es may liven things up. I have been on 10m WSPR and 6m WSPR since before breakfast.

UPDATE 0858z:  Unsurprisingly, no spots so far today! Maybe I'll spot, or get spotted by, some locals?

UPDATE 1454z:  Still no spots at all on 10m WSPR and 6m WSPR. Dire.I may go on 472kHz WSPR tonight.

ICOM IC7300 first reviews

Steve G1KQH has brought to my attention the first reviews on eHam of the IC7300.

Because of the wide front end filters, some have reported front-end overload issues. Software/firmware updates will not fix this as it is an inherent issue with wide front-end filters: nearby BC or amateur stations can swamp the front end and the rig sensitivity nosedives. As long as the overload does not occur it is a fine rig. I can see no good reason why this rig should be any worse than others that use sub-octave filters rather than narrow bandpass filters for each amateur band. Such designs are common nowadays in front ends.

I think sensitivity starts to collapse if the rig sees more than 70mV in the front end. If you have a nearby 1kW station operating in the same band, you could have problems. You might also have problems with multiple very strong BC band stations.

Although without 2m and 70cms, the European version does have 4m, which is good. I still just prefer the IC7300 to the Yaesu FT991. The price needs to drop though!

Eham reviews point to an overload in the front end:

http://www.eham.net/reviews/detail/12742

73 Steve
http://www.g1kqh.talktalk.net/