QSY to 630m WSPR

As of a few minutes ago, I have QSYed to 630m WSPR transceive (10mW ERP, 20%).

UPDATE 2118z: So far an average evening on 630m WSPR with my QRPP being spotted by 4 unique stations. I have managed to spot 4 uniques too.

UPDATE 2300z: Best RX DX on 630m WSPR this evening is IW4DXW (1190km).

A good God? - NOT amateur radio

As I write, my son's brother-in-law is clinging to life after suffering horrific injuries in Australia whilst a pedestrian crossing a road on green. A car struck him with the driver going through a red light whilst fiddling with her phone. He is dying.

It is hard to believe in a just God at these times. The sisters and parents are living in limbo and clearly are in a living hell. In history, the past is littered with cruelty such as the mass extermination of Jews in Europe not that long ago.

Can someone please explain to me how God is good? All the evidence is life is random and at times deeply cruel.

10m FT8 RX

Since breakfast, I have been on 10m FT8 RX. A few Europeans spotted with the best DX being UN7AB (3825km) near the Caspian Sea in Kazakhstan, presumably by F2.

UPDATE 1938z: For the first time in many weeks, 10m FT8 resulted in just Europeans and Russians - no ""real" DX. Shortly, I shall QSY to 630m WSPR.

630m WSPR overnight

Overnight I was again on 630m WSPR (10mW ERP, 20%). In all, I was spotted by 14 unique stations with best DX LA3EQ (769km) in Norway. In turn, I spotted 12 unique stations.

Sunspots - Tuesday October 31st 2017

Solar flux is 75 today and the sunspot number is 22. A=3 and K=0.

630m WSPR

As usual, I have QSYed to MF WSPR (10mW, 20%). So far, 4 spots of my QRPP with best DX spot of my signal by PA0RDT (243km).

UPDATE 2017z: For a brief period after 2000z I tried calling CQ on 630m FT8 hoping for a 2-way QSO.  Sadly no-one heard me! Just before, I did see the trace of a weak FT8 signal. Obviously I was just too weak. I have since gone back to WSPR.

In the field

Southgate News links to a very informative video from OH8STN on operating in the field i.e. out portable away from the home QTH.

See http://southgatearc.org/news/2017/october/getting-started-in-amateur-radio-field-communications.htm#.WfdYILp2vIU .

Lack of 10m DX?

Today, there has been a distinct lack of real DX on 10m FT8. Although I saw plenty of Russians and Israelis this morning, I have not (yet) seen any Africans or South Americans on 10m FT8. There is still time for this to change.

UPDATE 1640z:  Just one South American, so far: LU6HWT (11346km) in Cordoba, Argentina.

UPDATE 1652z: Maybe conditions or post CQWW blues, but definitely less activity on 10m FT8 today.

Who can you trust? - NOT amateur radio

Quite a lot of politicians and their associates across the world it seems cannot be trusted. They are in high office and should be "whiter than white". Time and again we find out they are "dodgy". I am sure some seek high office for the right reasons, but sadly not all.

I am a great believer in "innocent until proved guilty". Too many have had their good names ruined even before any offence is proven. As they say, "mud sticks".

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-41804740 .

Autumn leaves - NOT amateur radio

"Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness" and all that. Today we went for a stroll at Brandon Country Park, Suffolk, UK. It was quiet and there were definite signs of autumn, as the photo shows.

Overnight on 630m WSPR

As usual, I went on 630m WSPR (10mW ERP, 20%) overnight. My own QRPP signal was spotted by 11 unique stations and I spotted 15 unique stations on RX. There seem to be a few more active stations on 630m WSPR.

Sunspots - Monday October 30th 2017

Solar flux is 76 and the sunspot number 23. A=4 and K=1.

10m FT8 RX

As usual, I am on 10m FT8 RX for the day. So far, 8 Russians with best DX R9CU (3878km). I presume these were F2 propagation. In addition some Gs and a PA which were either tropo or aircraft reflection. I am using the latest released version of WSPR-X V1.8.

QSY to 630m WSPR

I've left 10m FT8 and am now on 630m WSPR transceive (10mW ERP) until breakfast tomorrow.

CQWW SSB contest

There were a few South Americans coming through on 10m SSB earlier and I worked EF8R in the Canary Is whilst using my 5W on 10m SSB. To be honest, these days my voice is not up to SSB contests, so I returned to 10m FT8 digital .

10m FT8 RX

I have been using the latest formal release of WSJT-X (v1.8) in the last few minutes. Best DX is EA3KU (1265km).

UPDATE 1254z: VK6XN (14463km) is currently the best 10m FT8 RX DX. So far, 4 continents spotted on 10m FT8 today.

UPDATE 1605z: 5 South Americans now spotted on 10m FT8. 5 continents spotted on 10m FT8 today so far.

Sunspots - Sunday October 29th 2017

Solar flux is 76 today and the sunspot number 23.  A=6 and K=1.

WSJT-X V1.8 now properly released

For some time various release candidate versions have crept out, but V1.8 is now formally released. I have just got this for my Windows 10 shack PC.

See http://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/k1jt/wsjtx.html

Be sure to get V1.8 and not V1.7.

4m (70MHz) allocations

It is some years since I last tried 4m using my homebrew transverter and a wire dipole in the loft. Since those days many more countries are on the band. I imagine working Es DX in the summer is quite fun on the band.  The IC7300 even has 4m coverage.

I am not up to date with which countries have 4m, but I seem to recall a CEPT move to allow national organisations like OFCOM to allocate (part of) 4m to amateurs.

With the lower VHF bands being less popular with commercial users (big antennas on portables and Es interference), the chances of more countries allocating 4m to amateurs must increase.

In the USA the FCC might even allocate the band - well, by the 22nd century!

See http://www.70mhz.org/ .

QSY to 630m WSPR transceive (10mW ERP)

A few moments ago I QSYed from 10m FT8 RX to 630m WSPR transceive. My first transmission got spots from 4 unique stations even though the transverter crystal was still drifting. Encouraging. Best DX was F5WK (364km).

UPDATE 1954z: LA3EQ is active and has spotted me before this autumn. Let's hope he stops on until the middle of the night and spots me again. With the earth-electrode "antenna" my best DX on TX was over 1000km. It would be good to better this this season.

UPDATE 2045z: Now 6 unique stations have spotted me and I have spotted 12 unique stations so far this evening on 630m WSPR. EA5DOM was regularly spotted here on 630m WSPR earlier this season and was always a good signal with me, although I have not spotted him recently. Either he is using a different mode or a different band.

Parkin making - NOT amateur radio

The picture shows our younger grandson (8) in our kitchen making parkin with my wife. He was really keen, eating much of the first lot.

See https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1940684/parkin .

CQWW Contest and 10m FT8

Looking this afternoon on 10m SSB, I heard nothing at all, whereas 20m was very busy with contest stations. I'll look again tomorrow.

Sorry, but I have no interest in contest exchanges on 20m SSB. In the meantime, I have gone back to 10m FT8 RX.  Perhaps all the keen 10m operators have moved to FT8?

UPDATE 1534z: So, most think 10m is dead and have moved to lower bands for the CQWW SSB contest. Meanwhile, plenty of DX on 10m FT8 as the photo shows.

UPDATE 1558z: More South Americans and best 10m FT8 DX (currently) LU7DAF (11197km).

Gove - NOT amateur radio

He is a satirist's dream. This UK politician has (allegedly) put his foot in it again.

For some reason, I always think of him with a school cap and school satchel. I am sure he is really an astute politician.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-41787710

Dad's seat - NOT amateur radio

My dad died in 1987. In his last years, he worked for the National Trust running a job creation scheme with young people maintaining the South West Coastal Path.

He loved this part of Devon and when he died they erected a couple of seats in his honour.

This picture was taken a few years ago and shows me sitting on one of them on Bolberry Down.

10m FT8 RX

Although I am on 10m FT8 RX at present with best DX RA6HN (3245km), I intend to go on 10m SSB later in the CQWW contest. As my voice is poor, this will probably just be short periods today and tomorrow.

UPDATE 1348z:  Best DX on 10m FT8 RX today is ZS2I (9845km) in South Africa. A 5 minute TX period by me at 2.5W got no spots!

Sunspots - Saturday October 28th 2017

Solar flux is 75 today and the sunspot number 23. A=5 and K=2.

QSY to 10m FT8 RX

After a day on 6m, I have switched to 10m FT8 and will be on overnight. If there is any early 10m FT8 DX, I have a chance of spotting it.

6m produced just a single DX spot from northern Spain, although several Gs were spotted on 6m FT8 at quite decent ranges.

CQWW SSB

Just in case you missed my earlier reminder, this weekend is the CQWW SSB contest. Although I am unable to join in as I once could, this is always a chance to work some new countries, even if you do not submit a score - I never have. Funny how bands which seemed "dead" come alive.

Catalans declare independence from Spain - NOT amateur radio

Although I have not yet checked the Euro, the declaration of independence from Spain of Catalonia is likely to spark a crisis. Catalonia now, Basques later?

Spain is in deep trouble.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-41780116 .

FT8 - the "new" digital mode?

So far, I have used FT8 on 630m, 10m and 6m. It is very quickly becoming the de facto digital mode allowing quick exchanges of basic QSO data whilst still using very little spectrum. It is not really a mode for chatting.  It seems to have transformed 10m. Spots on 10m have amazed me.

Complete QSOs can be completed in a very short time. As far as I know, unless things have changed in the last few days, it is still a "release candidate" rather than a formal release. At the moment I am still using rc2 although rc3 is available.

See https://physics.princeton.edu/pulsar/k1jt/wsjtx.html .

Proper food (pasties) - NOT amateur radio

Yesterday we went to Norwich with our son and grandson. We went by train. I was pleased to see real food (pasties) on sale in the station!

6m FT8 RX

After a period on 10m FT8, I have switched to 6m FT8 for a change this morning. As yet, no spots.

UPDATE 1312z: Best DX today on 6m FT8 is EA2DLX (1025km) in northern Spain.

Sunspots - Friday October 27th 2017

Solar flux is 76 today. Sunspot number is 23. A=20 and K=1.

Sunspots - Thursday October 26th 2017

Solar flux is 77 today and the sunspot number 24. A=24 and K=4.

10m FT8 RX - Thursday, October 26th 2017

Well, there is little doubt that FT8 has transformed 10m. Looking at the map of spots for today on 10m, you could be excused for thinking this was sunspot maximum rather than way on the downward slope to the next minimum. Best DX today was VK8NSB (13800km) in Northern Territory, Australia.

OFCOM and spectrum at 3.6GHz

OFCOM has issued a statement about 3.6GHz spectrum.

See http://ofcom.cmail20.com/t/ViewEmail/i/C2AD8437ED18A39A2540EF23F30FEDED/59D1BD3EA2F08127C67FD2F38AC4859C

Trinity College, Cambridge - NOT amateur radio

Living very close to Cambridge, it is very easy to take some wonderful places for granted. This is a picture of the entrance to Trinity College. There is a proctor in the photo complete with bowler hat (bottom left in the shadows). As a local we get free entry into the colleges, which some cross the world to see. With bus passes these are totally free. What a privilege.

630m transformer

When I moved to the "new" QTH 4 years ago I found I needed a step-up transformer to match my 630m transverter to the earth-electrode "antenna". For this I used my traditional method - try it and see what works.

An auto-transformer was wound on a 3C90 42mm toroid core (at least I think that is what it was). It worked and seems to give a decent match.

Of late, I have used the coax up to my 2m big-wheel antenna as a Marconi, tuned against ground with a ferrite rod ATU. So far, best DX is Norway (769km) with 31 unique spots of my 10mW ERP.

10m FT8

Amazing again!  Already loads of Europeans copied and 5 continents spotted on 10m FT8 RX when the sunspot count is low. FT8 - pure magic! This proves it is often a lack of activity rather than conditions on 10m. With FT8 all users are in a narrow slot, which helps.

UPDATE 1746z: 65 countries spotted in the last week on 10m FT8. No North Americans today so far.

10m FT8 RX today - dead?

UPDATE 2138z:  I've been on 630m WSPR for some hours now. When I left 10m FT8, there were still loads of South Americans coming through. And to think 10m is meant to be "dead".

Sunspots - Wednesday October 25th 2017

Solar flux is 77 today and the sunspot number is 23. A=18 and K=4.