Snowflake - NOT amateur radio

This was in Rose Crescent, Cambridge today. It makes a good seasonal decoration. Sadly, Kings College was closed.

All day on 160m FT8

Today, I have remained on 160m FT8 all day and I'll remain on 160m until the morning after breakfast. As on previous evenings, there are lots of Europeans being spotted. Usually WU1ITU is the first North American to be spotted. This station is usually first copied between 2030z and 2130z.

UPDATE 2246z: this station came through at 2047z tonight  :-)

Best Prices?

When looking around for good prices on amateur radio gear I looked at XBS Telecom. Their prices include VAT and a 2 year warranty and are much lower than the UK dealers prices. As far as I can tell the price in Euros is lower than the UK price in pounds. Someone, in the UK is a tad greedy?

See https://www.xbstelecom.eu/shop/en/

160m FT8 RX overnight

In all, 7 North Americans and 1 South American spotted, with best DX PU0FDN (6957km) on Fernando de Noronha off Brazil. This station was spotted in North America, Europe and South Africa, so is probably genuine.

UPDATE 1009z: Most of the DX has now gone, although OK6DJ (973km) was spotted in the last 15 minutes.

New QRPclub magazine

The latest QRPclub magazine is available for download.

See http://club72.su/vestnik/qv17.pdf

Sunspots - Monday December 31st 2018

Solar flux is 69 and the SSN 0. A=10 and K=3.

Grandchildren - NOT amateur radio

At the moment we have our "London" grandchildren staying. They miss their kitten. We bought them some toy cuddly kittens which were a hit at bedtime.

Return to topband

At 1553z I returned to 160m FT8. I called a German station, without luck, but spotted by G0LUJ (279km) and another G.

Since then, I have been on RX only. Lots of Europeans spotted. Best DX so far this evening is UA4HBW (3325km).

More amateur satellites

According to Southgate News a recent Soyuz (Russian) launch has placed more amateur satellites into orbit.

See http://russianspaceweb.com/kanopus-v5-v6.html

Baking - NOT amateur radio

Our granddaughter loves baking. Here she is busy making Yorkshire Pudding earlier today. She is pretty good.

472kHz WSPR overnight

In all, 19 different stations spotted on 472kHz WSPR overnight with best DX EA4GHB (1300km).

Panto - NOT amateur radio

Last night we went with our "London" grandchildren to the panto in Ely with their mum and dad. It  was "Jack and the Beanstalk".

Sunspots - Sunday December 30th 2018

Solar flux is 69 and the sunspot number 0. A=11 and K=2.

10m FT8

Quite decent winter Es on 10m today, with lots of EU spots on 10m FT8. Nothing outside Europe spotted so far. My own brief call (2.5W) to an EA4 was not spotted by anyone.

UPDATE  1441z: Now 33 stations in 14 countries on 10m FT8 RX today. All European.

QSY to 472kHz WSPR RX

Although not quite dark, I have QSYed to MF for the evening and overnight. Results usually pick up after dark, although there is at least one station coming through with QSB. As I was just turning on, I was not able to ID it, yet.

Getting a bit lighter in the evenings - NOT amateur radio

Although the mornings get a little darker here until later next week, the evenings are already a little lighter. According to https://www.timeanddate.com/sun/uk/cambridge it is already 5 minutes better at sunset. By the end of January, it is about an hour later getting dark.

Online radio magazines

Amateur Radio Weekly has reminded us that several radio magazines (some very old) are available online.

Although this is an American website, quite a few magazines are from other countries.

See https://www.americanradiohistory.com/

160m FT8 overnight

Just 5 North Americans and 1 Caribbean station spotted overnight on 160m FT8. Best DX was again KC6AWX (8553km) in California, USA.

10m FT8

Since 0959z I have been on 10m FT8. For a few minutes I called CQ (2.5W) with no spots. Since then I have been RX only with just 2E0XXO (121km) spotted so far.

UPDATE 1340z: 5 stations in 4 countries spotted on 10m FT8 RX today.

UPDATE 1552z: Now 8 stations in 6 countries so far today on 10m FT8 RX. There may be the odd station still on 10m FT8 RX, but I shall probably QSY to MF (either 630m WSPR RX or 160m FT8 RX) when it gets dark.

Another grandson artwork - NOT amateur radio

Our 9 year old grandson at it again, this time sketching a parrot.

Sunspots - Saturday December 29th 2018

Solar flux is 68 and the SSN still zero. A=24 and K=3.

9 year old's picture - NOT amateur radio

At the moment, we have one of our sons and his children staying here. His son (aged 9) painted this picture of our old house. It is now in pride of place in our bedroom.

No DX in the light on 160m?

Once it gets light the 160m FT8 seems to disappear. In the last 3 hours just one 160m FT8 station spotted, whereas 6 hours ago I was still spotting stateside stations. As an experiment, I am on 160m through the day as well.

160m FT8 RX last night

Not a bad night again with 30 North Americans and 1 Caribbean stations spotted on 160m FT8 RX with the best DX again on the west coast of the USA - KC6AWX (8553km).

Sunspots - Friday December 28th 2018

Solar flux is 69 and the sunspot number 0. A=4 and K=1.

NHS Hospital parking - NOT amateur radio

In England, you have to pay to park at hospitals run by the National Health Service. Some of these fees have gone up. Whilst many plough money back into the NHS, this is yet another "kick in the teeth" for people visiting friends or loved-ones in hospital. This is cruel.

I think parking is free in Scotland and Wales. We are lucky in that we can park for free at a nearby "park and ride" site and with a bus pass busses are free after 0930z.

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-46687272 .

Oh I forgot, "we are all in this together", said with lots of sarcasm! Sounds like yet another tax on the poor to me.

10m FT8

Well, I have been on 10m FT8 for about 10 minutes. At first I called CQ (2.5W). As yet, no spots either RX or TX. Now I am RX only on 10m FT8.

UPDATE 1315z:  Just a couple of G spots so far today. Best DX is G0NGL (222km). Poor!

UPDATE 1406z: PA8MC (404km) in Limburg spotted on 10m FT8. Aircraft reflection?

Anglesey Abbey - NOT amateur radio

We visit this National Trust property most months. Although it is in the top ten National Trust places in England and often busy, the grounds are so big you can often find yourself alone and far from crowds.

160m FT8 RX last night

In all, 40 North Americans and 1 Caribbean spotted here overnight on 160m FT8 RX as well as loads of Europeans again. Without doubt, the very best night this season! Best DX was K7RL (7605km) on the west of the USA. The earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground works fine.

Stations spotted overnight 

on 160m FT8 RX. Best yet!

Joule thief

If you have partially drained batteries, you may be interested in this idea. It can power LEDs from almost drained batteries, although with a bit of thought I am sure you can think of other uses.

This photo is on Wikipedia. The basic schematic is simple.

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

Reconnecting Korea - NOT amateur radio

Nearly my entire life Korea has been divided.  Years ago I went to South Korea for work, but never to the north.

I gather there are holidays in North Korea to include visits to potato farms and processing factories - not exactly my "cup of tea".  😉

Now there is a project to join north and south by rail and road. I really hope people divided by war can move freely and see long lost relatives.

North and South Korea are very different places these days. Seoul, the capital of South Korea, is a capitalist city, oozing wealth. The northern state capital, Pyongyang, is very communist and controlled.  Let the people of Korea decide how to move forward.

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/world-asia-46686428/north-and-south-korea-ceremony-held-for-transport-re-connection .

Sunspots - Thursday December 27th 2018

Solar flux is 68 and the SSN 0. A=3 and K=2.

Pye PF1 UHF handhelds

If you can find these, they can be converted to the 70cm amateur band, but they are hard to get hold of these days. TX power was 50mW. Perhaps they appear at rallies from time-to-time or on eBay?

My first project at work was converting these to 12.5kHz channel spacing. This was a task set by the late Mike Gotch, M0IMG. 

At the time I had no idea Mike was a keen amateur. Years before he had been a pirate and lost his licence I believe. In later years he was a keen 6m man. He retired early to care of his partner, who had cancer. Mike died as a result of the after-effects of a stroke.

The 12.5kHz version was never introduced commercially, but the exercise was a good one for me. The PF1, a product of the 1960s, transformed communications for the UK police. It was in 2 units, one for RX and one for TX. Even now, it still looks good.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/vuhf/pf1 .

160m FT8 RX

At 1510z I decided to QSY from 10m to 160m FT8 RX. As usual on 160m, I am using the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. It is now 1517z and nothing spotted yet. Once it gets dark, this will no doubt change!

UPDATE 1556z: Getting dark here now and already 14 stations in 10 countries spotted on 160m FT8 RX. Best DX spotted so far is RZ6LY (2943km).

UPDATE 1840z: Absolutely loads of Europeans spotted on 160m FT8 RX again. Results on this band have far exceeded my expectations with all over Europe and North America spotted every night.

Stations so far spotted here 

this evening on 160m FT8 RX

UPDATE 2006z: WU1ITU (4831km) was first spotted at 1958z. This is the earliest yet.

UPDATE 2310z: With 10 North Americans spotted already on 160m FT8 RX this evening, this could be the best night yet this season. I'll check again at breakfast time.

E-field probe RX antennas

These are RX only antennas, but they can be remarkably successful on VLF, LF and MF. Years ago I made my own, but these days building and erecting is much harder.

A while back I bought an EFP from Roelof PA0RDT, although I have not got it erected yet. Roelof gets good results with his, although they need careful sighting to avoid noise pickup. If you are interested in the lower bands RX only, these antennas may be your answer.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/antennas/efp .

Rally

Friday 28 DECEMBER : YEOVIL ARC TABLE-TOP RALLY

Sparkford village hall, Church Rd, Sparkford, Somerset BA22 7JN (on the A303 north of Yeovil). 10 Tables, light refreshments, off road parking, wheelchair friendly. £2 admission.10am till 3pm. Contact Bob Harris, G8UED, 01963 440167, wjh069@gmail.com.

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

Birthday - NOT amateur radio

A couple of days before Christmas I turned 70. To be honest, it only seems 5 minutes since I was 18. This photo shows some of my cards.

Winter Es?

As is my usual pattern, I am monitoring 10m FT8 RX this morning. So far 3 stations spotted in 3 countries, all European. I am wondering if this is winter Es (sporadic-E). It could be aircraft reflection. If it is Es, maybe there will be more southern Europeans later?

UPDATE 1458z:  Now 8 stations spotted in 7 countries so far on 10m FT8 RX today.

UPDATE 1510z: As 10m is just average today, I shall probably QSY to 160m FT8 RX shortly.

Miracle antennas

It is some years since I last used my Miracle Whip, but they have their place. If you are after a compact antenna that is easy to tune, these may fit the bill, especially with a counterpoise and on the higher HF bands, when they may be just a few S points down on a "real" antenna. They are no miracle and can only ever be as good as a small whip brought to resonance.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/antennas/mwhip .

Ba Humbug - NOT amateur radio

Christmas is meant to be a jolly and happy time.

At this moment my wife is playing a Christmas CD that is driving me insane!! Yes, I know it is a great time for children and getting together, but somehow things always seem more poignant at this time. Bad things always feel worse and I feel sorry for those in hidden pain (physical or mental) at this time.

To be honest, I am glad when it is all over and things get back to normal.