Figs - NOT amateur radio

On a walk around the village earlier we saw these figs growing beside the road.

Miracle Antennas

The other day, I tried to find my Miracle Whip. I have not used this for many years. With a decent earth or counterpoise it is not that bad on the higher HF bands. It certainly is convenient and easy to match on all bands from 40m to the VHF bands. It fits on the back of the rig.

Years ago I even managed an 80m SSB QSO with it using the auto ATU in the ICOM IC-703 to help match the whip.

I searched high and low and failed to find the miracle whip. It is probably in the loft.

Originally these were made in Canada, but the designer has been dead for several years. Several people are offering similar antennas.

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

OFCOM interim chief executive

OFCOM has announced the appointment of Jonathan Oxley as interim chief executive. What thrilling, earth shattering, news. See their website, if you can contain your excitement.

10m FT8

I have QSYed to 10m FT8, mostly RX, for the day. When I switched on I called CQ on FT8 (2.5W) but no spots resulted. For the first time, I am seeing interference on 10m. I get vertical lines every few 10s of Hertz. I have no idea  if this is local or not.

UPDATE 1231z: Still no spots. A very recent 2.5W FT8 CQ was spotted by, you guessed, no-one. At the moment, 10m is looking dire.

UPDATE 1530z: Just one spot of F5PBG (548km) on 10m FT8 RX all day, well at least so far.

472kHz WSPR TX overnight (10mW ERP) again

Yet again I was on 472kHz WSPR TX overnight and last evening. As usual I was running 10mW ERP from my earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground as described in a recent RadCom. Best DX spot was by LA9IY (1374km). 16 spots in all including 2 from Norway and 3 from Germany and EI0CF.

Stations that spotted my 472kHz 

WSPR (10mW ERP) overnight

472kHz (630m) is so much more productive than 28MHz FT8. At night 28MHz is a dead loss at this part of the cycle and outside of the Es season. In the summer months 28MHz QRP SSB often brings EU QSOs at good strength.

OFCOM Communications Monthly

As usual, OFCOM has updated its Communications Monthly with its latest data. See the OFCOM website.

Barclays Bank - NOT amateur radio

Apparently in the UK, Barclays Bank has had a change of heart and decided, after all, to continue to allow people to get cash from their local post office. This was due to end at the end of the year.

Unless I am mistaken Barclays usually makes billions each year in profits.  Our local branch of Barclays closed over a year ago and getting cash from the Post Office has been a real help. The Barclays Banks in nearby Newmarket and Cambridge are huge. We know about one disabled lady who would have to walk twice as far for cash if the Post Office stopped its link with Barclays. I suspect Barclays go lots of complaints.

Barclays - you must have been stupid!! My personal opinion and others are free to disagree.

Sunspots - Wednesday November 6th 2019

Solar flux is 70 and the sunspot number 0 . A=5 and K=1.

UPDATE 1400z: After a very brief blip with the SSN peaking 13 at the start of the month SSN has returned to 0 again. If we are to climb out of this minimum any time soon, I would expect to see sunspot numbers starting to rise a bit. At the moment we still seem to be bouncing along the minimum.

472kHz WSPR TX (10mW ERP) again

As I have done on several evenings recently, I have QSYed to 472kHz WSPR TX for the evening and overnight.  Already 8 stations have spotted me.

2m UKAC (activity contest) tonight at 2000z

As usual, there is an SSB (mainly) contest this evening. I usually run QRP and stop on for under a hour, although the contest lasts for 2.5 hours. Although I usually submit a log, I really come on just for the fun. This is a friendly contest and activity levels are normally high.

UPDATE 2125z: 8 QSOs with 10W SSB and the big-wheel with best DX Isle of Man. I only stayed on for 35 minutes because of my poor voice.

Stations worked this evening with 

2m QRP and the big-wheel omni antenna.

OFCOM decision on mobile phone repeaters

OFCOM has made the rules for in-car mobile phone repeaters easier.

Starter homes - NOT amateur radio

From the start of the UK election campaign, I'd like to be as neutral as possible. I am a floating voter and have still to decide.

We all know only too well that politicians of all colours make promises that are unlikely to be kept. It seems to me that most politicians become politicians to "feather their own nests" rather than for the common good. There are a very few exceptions.

I was dismayed to read on the BBC News Page that an independent watchdog (the National Audit Office) has concluded that the present government's promise to build 200000 starter homes has completely failed with not one being built. Caveat emptor.  Pie crusts come to mind as in "promises are like pie crusts" i.e. thin and easily broken.

With over a month to go to the UK election, I forecast a hung parliament with Boris Johnson's Conservative party forming a minority government yet again.  So, the mess continues. Whatever your views on BREXIT are, this is like a stuck record.

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-50296672

False dawn?

At the moment the solar numbers just aren't clear. We may be starting the climb out of the solar minimum, or this could just be another blip and we are bouncing along the bottom of the solar cycle still. It will be some time (a year?) before we can be sure. I hope conditions start to improve soon.

See http://www.solen.info/solar/

Oscar 100 from Sweden with 100mW

Apparently, according to Southgate News, Swedish amateurs are restricted to 100mW on 2.4GHz, yet still they can activate the narrowband transponder on this geosynchronous satellite.

See http://southgatearc.org/news/2019/november/qo-100-geostationary-satellite-with-just-100-milliwatts.htm

Old cottage - NOT amateur radio

A few years ago this very old cottage in our village was tastefully extended. It is very hard to tell the extension from the original.  We are blessed with quite a few old houses in Burwell, our village.

Here I am trying to take a photo on my phone! I have no idea when this cottage dates from, but I'd guess the early 1800s. Some old houses date from the 1200s - that is old!

10m FT8

At about 0830z, I QSYed to 10m FT8 calling CQ with 2.5W briefly. Since then I have been on 10m FT8 RX. Not entirely unexpectedly, no spots this early.

UPDATE 1003z: Still no spots.

UPDATE 1315z: Just 2 spots on 10m FT8 RX so far - G0OPI (229km) and MM3NRX (516km).

UPDATE 1657z: Just 4 UK stations all day. Very disappointing on 10m FT8 RX. Soon be time to QSY to MF.

3Y0I Bouvet Island

Southgate News reports on a possible second attempt to activate this very rare DXCC country as long as funds cover it.

It appears that mounting such DXpeditions to inaccessible places is very expensive. If you are a DX chaser (I am not) you may want to considering chipping in.

See http://southgatearc.org/news/2019/november/3y0i-bouvet-island-dxpedition-news-preparations-resumed.htm

472kHz WSPR TX (10mW ERP)

Overnight and last evening my 10mW ERP from the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground was spotted by 14 stations with best DX being LA9IY (1374km) up in Norway. The table is arranged in distance order.

Sunspots - Tuesday November 5th 2019

Solar flux is 71 and the SSN 0. A=4 and K=1.

472kHz WSPR TX (10mW ERP)

As 10m is probably of little good now, I have decided to QSY to 472kHz (630m) WSPR TX with my 10mW ERP from the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. I have just QSYed at about 1840z. In among the first 4 spots was DL/PA0EHG (493km).

With 7 unique stations spotting me within 20 minutes, this is looking promising.

Every time I TX on 472kHz WSPR about 3-5 stations seem to spot me. In the last hour 8 different stations have spotted me.

UPDATE 2150z: So far this evening, 12 stations have spotted me on 472kHz WSPR. See table arranged in distance order.

BREXIT and UK elections

Basically I have given up on our politicians Just before an election they all make rash promises that rarely get changed into actions. They are all guilty of it! As my mother-in-law said their promises are like pie crusts.

As for BREXIT, most have lost the will to live, whether we voted "remain" or "leave" the EU. It seems few in politics or the UK can agree or even agree to disagree!

Mothercare - NOT amateur radio

When our children and grandchildren were very little, Mothercare was a great High Street shop. Today we hear they have called in administrators and 2500 jobs are at risk.

It seems nowhere in retail is safe on the High Streets in the UK and probably elsewhere. There is no doubt our shopping habits are changing as more and more of us shop online for more convenience and often better prices.

Only today my wife chose to buy a new tablecloth online. Otherwise it would have been a 26 mile round trip only to find out it was probably not in stock anyway.  The whole order online took 3 minutes and the tablecloth will be here this week. We ordered some leather balm online on Saturday and it was here Sunday.

No, our retail habits are changing.

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-50287153

Miracle Antennas

For some years now I have hosted Yahoo Groups on Sub-9kHz amateur radio, VHF AM and Miracle Antennas. Yahoo is effectively ending its groups, so new groups have been created at .io . As an example see https://groups.io/g/miracleantennas.

To migrate a group costs $110 in the first year, whereas starting a new group is free. Of course you lose the message archive, photos and files unless these are manually transferred when a new group is created.

Windows or Chromebook?

Our lounge PC is an HP Pavilion running Windows 10. We have had it for several years now (I cannot yet find out when we got it - does anyone know how to interrogate the PC to tell me?) and it is mainly used for web surfing and local picture storage (these are backed up). I am seriously tempted by a Chromebook as I think this would serve this purpose fine. I'd need to add a big memory micro SD card for local picture storage.

I do not run any amateur radio stuff on this PC. I know the Chromebook would not run Windows programs; there may be a way, but I have not looked i.e. a bit like Wine on Linux OS. The advantages of the Chromebooks would be fast boot-up, few viruses (if any), much less bloatware and low cost.

Anyone got any views they'd care to share?

UPDATE 1220z: The BIOS of the Pavilion is late 2016.

LF and MF RX

Over a year ago I bought an E-field probe from PA0RDT. It has still to be erected!

In the meantime I have been busy on 472kHz WSPR using my earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground using 10mW ERP.

My idea was to concentrate on 136 and 472kHz RX with the EFP high up in a tree. As ladder work would be needed, and I am no good on ladders these days, this may have to wait.

The tree I want to put the EFP up at the top of is the silver birch, which has still to shed its leaves. See photo. It is furthermost from all nearby houses.

See  https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/mflf/winter

WRC-19 Egypt

As many know, WRC-19 is taking place currently in Egypt to discuss spectrum issues, some of which have an impact on amateur radio. Discussions have just started and there are several weeks to go.

See https://rsgb.org/main/blog/news/gb2rs/2019/11/03/wrc-19-day-5-dont-count-your-chickens/

FT8 (and other digital modes) frequencies

If you are like me, you forget frequencies of various digital modes and need reminders. As an example when I went on 10m FT8 at first I went on 28.174 whereas the correct FT8 frequency is 28.074MHz. When in doubt I look here. He has a series of frequencies listed by mode.

See https://www.qsl.net/sv1grb/psk31.htm

10m FT8 RX

Although I briefly called CQ with 2.5W, I am now on 10m FT8 RX. As yet, no spots.

UPDATE 1005z: Just one spot so far: G0OYQ (177km).

UPDATE 1105z: Now 2 10m FT8 RX spots with best DX being RA2FL (1343km).

UPDATE 1209z: So far 4 stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX today. 3 are Gs.

UPDATE 1430z: 5 stations in 3 countries spotted so far today on 10m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1848z: Now 7 stations in 3 countries spotted today on 10m FT8 RX. I noticed an EB8 earlier calling a W6 that did no make it to PSKreporter. In the "good old days" W6 would probably be California. These days it can be anywhere in the USA. Stupid FCC I assume.

472kHz WSPR overnight (10mW ERP)

Although I did not reach Norway last night, 14 stations spotted me as the table shows. Not a bad night, once I had my setting correct!

River Ouse, Ely - NOT amateur radio

As I mentioned yesterday, we went for a walk in Ely yesterday. This is a view of the River Ouse which runs through the city. Delightful even on a dull day.

Sunspots - Monday November 4th 2019

Solar flux is 69 and the SSN 13.  A=2 and K=0.

Julian G4ILO's blog

Julian died 5 years ago from a brain tumour. He was a great amateur who was well liked. Even now, I still get people coming here having read his blog! His blog is still there and it is a fitting tribute to a brave man.

472kHz WSPR TX (10mW ERP)

Although I have not got "split" working currently on the FT817ND, I am on TX again, with the antenna current back to what I expect on DIG. I am still awaiting spots to confirm TX is working correctly.

UPDATE 1807z: Although everything seems OK, I have got no spots so far. Antenna current looks normal, the transverter PA is running cool as normal. Time has just been resynced. Anything else wrong? Is the WSPRnet website not working properly?

UPDATE 1927z: At last some spots! When I did the reset I had to select DIG as USB-U. Before it was something else, so I was probably on the wrong frequency, which probably explains why I was getting no spots. Split still does not work on the FT817ND, so I am just on WSPR TX this evening and overnight. So far, 5 stations have spotted my 472kHz 10mW ERP WSPR. Best DX was a spot by 2E0ILY (209km). With brain fog it has been very hard getting to the bottom of why things were not working.

UPDATE 2015z: 7 stations have spotted me so far this evening with the best being in The Netherlands. I am really pleased I found out why I was getting no spots.

UPDATE 2207z: Now 11 stations have spotted me this evening with best DX being a spot by PA0LSB (326km).

2m FT8

On TX several spots again with best DX The Netherlands and the Isle of Man. On 2m FT8 RX 6 spots so far (to 1611z).

UPDATE 1636z: Now 7 stations spotted with best DX spotted PD3FRA (408km).

Repairs

I soldered several joints on my 472kHz ATU but still nothing in DIG mode from the FT817ND. On AM, it works. So, either I have some "finger trouble" with the FT817ND in digital mode or there is fault. I tried both front and rear connections and both seem the same (works on AM but not on DIG). I also tried "split" mode, making sure both RX and TX were on DIG. Still it insisted on 474.2kHz TX whereas TX should be on 80m. At the moment I still hope this is me rather than the rig. My brain is so fuzzy. For now I have left it.

UPDATE 1552z: Well I think one fault has been found. When I moved the lead from my SignaLink USB to different rig the plug would not go in. After bending the lead, it inserted fine. I suspect this is why the DIG was not working. I shall try on 472kHz WSPR TX tonight. It is quite hard when you have brain fog.

Ely - NOT amateur radio

It was not raining, so we decided to do a walk around Ely this morning. This is a delightful city (as it has a magnificent cathedral) with some lovely walks by the river and up to the cathedral. The first photo shows the view from near the Maltings towards the city. The River Ouse is just behind us.

The second photo shows the cathedral from a nearby meadow.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ely,_Cambridgeshire

The next solar peak (cycle 25)

At the moment the indications are for the next solar peak to be the same or slightly larger than cycle 24. Of course it is still too early to be sure, but I hope the signs that we are not going to experience another Maunder Minimum are correct.

Compared with several years ago the solar peaks are much smaller, but at least 10m was pretty good for several years around even the last peak.

See https://solen.info/solar/polarfields/polar.html

FT817ND split

Someone has reminded me that the "split" mode on the FT817ND only works if VFOa and VFOb are on the same modes. It is just possible that after the resets I forgot to put the TX frequency on to DIG. Later I will try again. It is far more likely to be "finger trouble" than a fault. I do hope so.

UPDATE 1608z: Split still not working!

Sunspots - Sunday November 3rd 2019

Solar flux is 71 and the SSN 13. A=2 and K=2.

Brain fog - NOT amateur radio

This may be old age creeping up, but I think it is another artefact of my 2013 stroke.

I am nearly always tired and my brain feels foggy, as if living in a bit of a daze. Of course, others are unaware, but I find physical or mental tasks much harder. Years ago, with a clear head, I would apply logical thinking to problems. It is much harder now.