160m FT8

As 6m was quiet, I have QSYed to 160m FT8 using the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. Best DX on RX is RU1AB (1966km). At the moment (1744z) 29 stations have been spotted on 160m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1839z: Now 70 stations spotted on 160m FT8 RX with best DX RV6ADY (2980km).

UPDATE 2209z: Very early spots of VO2AR (3823km). So far this evening 348 stations spotted. Best DX on 160m FT8 RX is RV0AR (5577km).

Sub-9kHz amateur radio on TV

How good is your German?

A recent ARD TV program had a bit on sub-9kHz amateur radio. Even though my German is almost non-existent it was good to put some real faces to people I had previously only known as callsigns. Even without any German language skills you can look at the pictures!

See https://www.ardmediathek.de/ard/player/Y3JpZDovL2JyLmRlL3ZpZGVvLzJlYWUzYWMxLWVhZDAtNDI2Ni05YjY2LWQ1NWQ1MDE3ODk5Ng/?fbclid=IwAR1SCzy2H_dqRGZwg1eEG60bDYAaIJvoKFI05cO0SgL1JGkD-uZlD2qJpA4

MX-2 - 2m SSB portable

Somewhere, I still have my MX-2 SSB handheld for 2m. The last time it was used must be 7 years ago! I had a lot of fun with mine.

It was used as a handheld on 2m and to drive a homebrew 10m 1W transverter. As I recall, for a while it was the only rig I had. Plenty of DX contacts were had on 10m and some handheld DX with just a whip on 2m SSB. The battery did not last long and by modern standards it would be considered slightly large.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/vuhf/mx2

The end of winter is in sight - NOT amateur radio

A few days ago we visited nearby Anglesey Abbey. Although we are in the middle of winter, there are already signs of new life appearing, as the collage shows.

2m FT8 with the vertical antenna

Overnight I remained on 2m FT8 RX with the vertical omni antenna. The height of the big-wheel and V2000 are similar as are the gains on 2m for the big-wheel and V2000.

In all, 34 stations in 4 countries were spotted in the last 6 hours on 2m FT8 RX. This is very similar to the results with the big-wheel, suggesting many stations come in via aircraft scatter, where the polarisation is randomised. Staying on overnight is a waste of time as most stations were spotted in the last few hours.

Conclusions? I agree with Martin that much of my "real DX" on 2m is via aircraft scatter.

6m FT8

At about 0930z, I swapped to 6m FT8.  Initially I called CQ (10W to the vertical V2000). As yet, no spots given or received.

UPDATE 1146z: Just a couple of Gs spotted so far this morning.

UPDATE 1340z: A recent 6m FT8 CQ (10W) was spotted by just a single G: G0GGG (211km). It would appear that he is the only G able to copy me. He has now spotted my CQs twice, although no QSO.

UPDATE 1520z: Just 4 G spots today only.  My CQs have been spotted by a couple of Gs, but nothing from continental Europe.

Sunspots - Wednesday January 22nd 2020

Solar flux is 72 and the SSN 0. A=6 and K =2.

Antennas

One possibility I have is to erect a BuddyPole or similar multi-band /P antenna in the garden when needed. This cannot be as effective as a larger antenna, but would give me multi-band capability. I imagine on 10m, 12m and 15m they could be quite effective.

Certainly on FT8, they should work. This might solve my antenna erection issues. I could put it out when required and put it away when not needed.

If you have any views, please let me know.

UK earthquakes - NOT amateur radio

Thankfully, we get few serious earthquakes in the UK. Big ones are rare. The website below keeps records of those that have occurred recently.

See https://earthquakes.bgs.ac.uk/earthquakes/recent_uk_events.html

Homeless in Cambridge - NOT amateur radio

In recent years we seem to have seen an increase in rough sleepers on the streets of Cambridge. For a fact, some are "on the make", tapping in to the many tourists we see here. Some are mentally ill people who seem to have fallen through the cracks and are rough sleeping.

With so many jobs locally, people should not need to rough sleep. "Can you spare a few pennies please?", is the call. Rather than give directly to people who may spend the money on drugs, I prefer to regularly donate to a homeless charity. This way you know the money is really helping. There is little doubt that, for whatever reason, there are some genuine people who need help.

2m FT8 RX - aircraft scatter?

At the moment I am on 2m FT8 RX using the vertical antenna (V2000 omni).  My theory is that if signals are coming in mainly by aircraft scatter polarisation won't matter, so I should see as many stations in the log as with the big-wheel horizontal omni.

At the moment (0947z) I have spotted 59 stations in 8 countries. Yes, I appreciate conditions could be different on a different day, but this would suggest many stations are being received by aircraft reflection. I know this is not definite proof.

UPDATE 1020z: A recent 2m FT8 CQ (10W to the vertical omni V2000) was spotted by 25 stations. 2 QSOs resulted with the best QSO being PD4KK (287km). It would appear results with the vertical omni match those of the horizontal big-wheel for "real DX".

Stations so far spotted today on
2m FT8 RX with the vertical omni

UPDATE 1640z: So far today with the vertical omni antenna 138 stations in 9 countries spotted on 2m FT8 RX. I think the K6 (supposedly in New York) was a pirate in the UK as all his calls were spotted in the UK.  I think these spots confirm that a good proportion of the spots I receive are via aircraft. With 15 second transmissions, Doppler was not visible on my waterfall, even with stations on for several minutes.

UPDATE 1926z: 160 stations in 9 countries so far spotted in the last 12 hours on 2m FT8 RX using the vertical omni.

Stations spotting my 10W FT8 CQ 

on 2m on the vertical omni this evening

UPDATE 2034z: I recently called CQ (10W to the vertical omni) and was rewarded with 34 spots of my signal and several QSOs. Sadly my old work colleague Bob G3WKW called me, but did not hear me calling him 4 times!

Sunspots - Tuesday January 21st 2020

Solar flux is 71 and the SSN 0. A=2 and K=0.

Aircraft scatter?

Martin G8OFA thinks that most random DX over 200km on VHF and UHF is due to aircraft scatter. I am unsure, but he points to the very high number of planes in the air. Certainly on the approach to the USAF airbases here and to Stansted, there will be lots of planes in the air nearly always.

I guess, without an SDR to help look at Doppler, my best bet would be to compare my vertical against my big-wheel. If many of the DX stations are coming though off aircraft, I assume the polarisation would be random. I seem to remember trying this some years ago and being surprised by the number of DX stations still being copied.

UPDATE 2046z: Maybe he is correct. I just connected the vertical omni V2000 and worked PD4HW (294km). Maybe I am consistently seeing aircraft reflections and there is always a very good chance of reflecting off aircraft. If I had a beam, I might expect better results then if I was beaming south towards the stack over Stansted Airport?

Monday evening 2m FT8

A few moments ago I called CQ on 2m FT8 (10W to the big wheel omni). 33 stations spotted me with one QSO. I shall have to go QRT for about 30 minutes as I join a 2m FM net (if people remember!).

Spots in response to a
recent 2m FT8 CQ (10W)

UPDATE 2015z: A very recent FT8 CQ was spotted by 34 stations (1 QSO with G0JEI at 142km) with the best DX spot being by F6DBI (501km) in Brittany.

1950s UK TV - NOT amateur radio

Quite a few readers were children in the UK in the 1950s and may like a dose of nostalgia!  You may well enjoy this link.

See http://www.whirligig-tv.co.uk/

Monday morning on 2m FT8 TX

A short while ago I transmitted a CQ (10W to the big-wheel) on 2m FT8. Although no QSOs resulted, I was spotted by 14 stations in 3 countries with the best DX being a spot by EI3KD (583km).

Stations spotting my 10W 2m FT8 CQ this morning

2m FT8 RX overnight

Overnight (mostly last evening) 85 stations in 9 countries spotted on 2m FT8 RX with the FT817ND and big-wheel omni antenna. This is pretty typical.

2m FT8 RX here - mostly last evening

Our village yesterday - NOT amateur radio

As it was so sunny yesterday, we did a short walk around our village, as the photo shows.

High Street shops - NOT amateur radio

This is probably the same in most countries.

Our High Street "physical" shops are losing customers as more and more of us shop "on-line". It is often cheaper and more convenient. My trips to banks are very infrequent apart from "holes in the wall" (cash machines) to draw out cash. We even use less cash these days!

In 20 years time the high streets will be very different. I guess they have always evolved, but few retailers will survive unless they radically alter their business models. We could see more big names disappearing. Independents are trying to plug gaps, but I cannot see many of the coffee shops remaining for more than 5-10 years.

It is hard to look into the future. All we can definitely say is that things will be very different in years to come. If you ask me, I would say we may go to some places to look, then ordering on-line for home delivery. What is certain is the retail trade is changing.

We are all guilty of making this happen. Whilst I like to support local, independent shops, it is hard to resist on-line when the local shops don't have stocks, don't intend to stock and are more expensive than online retailers who deliver to your door the next day for less than you pay in "physical" shops. Oh, to place the order from the comfort of your armchair takes 30 seconds!

Sunspots - Monday January 19th 2020

Solar flux is 72 and the SSN 0. A=3 and K=1.

2m FT8

This evening I am on 2m FT8 using 10W to the big-wheel omni antenna. A recent CQ was spotted by 15 stations in 4 countries with best DX a spot by GI6ATZ (479km). On RX, 20 stations in 4 countries spotted so far.

UPDATE 1935z: So far this evening, 24 stations in 5 countries have spotted me on 2m FT8 TX.  On 2m FT8, RX 52 stations in 7 countries spotted.

UPDATE 2004z:  37 stations in 7 countries have so far spotted my 10W 2m FT8 TX to the big-wheel omni antenna this evening.

Stations spotting my 2m FT8
(10W) so far this evening

UPDATE 2107z:  68 stations in 9 countries spotted this evening on 2m FT8 RX. Isn't FT8 amazing?

UPDATE 1015z: 78 stations in 9 countries spotted on 2m FT8 RX this evening.

6m FT8

At about 1018z I QSYed to 6m FT8 from MF WSPR. On 6m I am using about 10W to the V2000 vertical omni antenna. An initial CQ resulted in no QSOs, but was spotted by EI2FG (565km). Judging by the report I do not think this was aircraft reflection. On RX no spots as yet today.

UPDATE 1042z: Although this has not happened today so far, I have noticed several spots of me appearing some time after my transmissions have stopped. I guess these people are not using WSJT-X as I thought this sent spots to PSKreporter immediately.

UPDATE 1156z: Just 2 fairly local Gs spotted so far today.

UPDATE 1450z: A recent FT8 CQ was spotted just by G4YKQ (104km). Best DX on 6m FT8 RX is EB1DJ (1279km).

UPDATE 1538z: A recent 6m FT8 CQ (10W) was copied by 2 fairly local G stations and nothing from further afield. Still just 9 stations spotted on 6m FT8 RX today.

Floods - NOT amateur radio

Yesterday we went from Cambridge to St Ives (Cambridgeshire) on the guided bus. Many of the fields were flooded and the river was far higher than normal. One car-park (see photo) was totally under water. I was not expecting this at all.

2m cumulative contest results

The RSGB has published the results of the first 2m UKAC cumulative contest held on first Tuesday evenings. I am about mid-table in the low power section (AL). See the RSGB's website for details. Because of my poor voice, I am rarely on for more than 40% of the time and I only use the big-wheel omni antenna.

472kHz WSPR TX overnight

Stations spotting my 10mW ERP in the last 12 hours 

Last night was quite a good one with spots of my 10mW ERP by 24 stations.  Overnight just one more station spotted me.

UPDATE 1015z: Now 28 stations have spotted my 10mW ERP 472kHz WSPR in the last day.

Sunspots - Sunday January 19th 2020

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

Promising evening on 472kHz WSPR TX (10mW ERP)

Already 12 spots from Norway this evening and spots by 17 different stations!  This is looking very promising.

UPDATE 2235z: 19 stations have spotted my QRPP 472kHz WSPR TX so far this evening. I shall run until well light tomorrow.

Stations spotting me this evening

By guided bus to St Ives - NOT amateur radio

Many people in the UK know about St Ives in Cornwall, but fewer know of the St Ives in Cambridgeshire. This is a delightful market town on the banks of the River Ouse. It has lots of independent shops, a market and plenty of places to eat.

For some years now you can reach it on the guided bus from Cambridge. Special buses run on special guides (see photo). It uses the route of the old Cambridge - St Ives branch railway.

When in Cambridge and central St Ives they can behave as ordinary buses on ordinary roads. The service from Cambridge is fast and traffic-free. If you have a bus pass it is also free! It goes through some fine countryside and lakes.

472kHz WSPR TX overnight

Overnight, I was again on 472kHz WSPR with the 10mW ERP from the earth-electrode  "antenna" in the ground (see post on this "antenna" a few days ago). 18 stations spotted me including 24 by Jan in Norway.

Stations spotting my 10mW ERP 

on 472kHz in the last 24 hours

Miracle antennas

Miracle whips and similar antennas are only as good as the whip length they are. The trick is an effective ground or counterpoise and matching them effectively. Although not miracles, the miracle whip is a good compromise. Using mine indoors, my best DX on 5W SSB is 11000km to LU. On 10m SSB QRP I expect they are very good for Es working in the Es season.

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

10m Tenbox transceiver

Like many of my projects, this came to an abrupt halt after my 2013 stroke. I just hope someone, or some group, can take it further. It would not be suitable for DX working, but could make a nice, simple, club project if finished and a PCB made.

If anyone has finished this, please let me know as I am very happy for this to happen. All the data is freely available on the website below. Copy and feel free to change!

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/tenbox

Groups .io

Quite a few amateur radio related groups have migrated to groups.io from Yahoo. The latter has made changes which seem to be a backward step.

You may want to search to see if your favourite groups have moved. Just starting a new .io group is free, but migrating an old Yahoo group across (complete with messages, file and photos) can cost money. Most have created new groups.

See https://groups.io/

Sunspots - Saturday January 18th 2020

Solar flux is 70 and the SSN 0. A=3 and K=2.

Thunder?

Whenever there are storms around, I disconnect everything "just in case". Usually I disconnect antennas, mains plugs from rigs and PC.

 According to the BBC weather, there was a chance of thunder and hail, although the storm maps do not show any risk at present.

At the moment, all is still connected.

BREXIT - NOT amateur radio

Whatever your views on BREXIT are we can all agree on one thing: it has taken a very long time! In the 2016 referendum I voted narrowly to stay, despite there being a lot wrong with the EU. I thought it was better to fight for change from inside the EU than from outside.

We narrowly voted to leave and we do this at the end of January, although there is quite a long period when things won't change much. Getting a good trade deal with the EU is likely to be harder than many expect: the EU will not want us to have a favourable arrangement outside of the "club". At the same time, they will want our trade. At the moment, the UK Pound is quite reasonable against the Euro.

The longer term outlook for the UK economy is hard to discern.  We could do well, but it is hard to know.

Speech changes - NOT amateur radio

At one time I would have been appalled by the overuse of "like" and the fact that younger people tend to go up at the end of sentences.

Then I realised that speech and language are always changing!  You have only to observe how much speech has changed in the last 100 years. I expect if we heard speech from 500 years ago we would struggle to understand it.

And to think how languages have evolved in the last 1000-2000 years! No, we have to accept that speech and language will be forever changing.

OFCOM updates affecting wi-fi

OFCOM has announced opening up 100GHz frequencies for wi-fi. I have no idea how well such frequencies go through doors and walls. I hope someone has done some research. See OFCOM's website.

Not quite spring - NOT amateur radio

We still have several weeks of winter still, but at nearby Anglesey Abbey there are now several snowdrops, a few daffodils and a few hellebores. Those in the photo are examples seen.

Another good session on 472kHz WSPR TX

Last night I was on 472kHz WSPR TX (10mW ERP). 23 stations spotted me including 32 in Norway by Jan. As usual, still using the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground (see yesterday for details).

Stations spotting my 10mW ERP on
472kHz WSPR TX overnight 

Peter Skellern RIP - NOT amateur radio

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
uk-england-cornwall-39006899

Peter Skellern was a unique British piano player and singer. He died a few years ago sadly. Often he was accompanied by brass bands. His sound was original.

Shortly before he died (a brain tumour) he became a priest. He lived in Cornwall and was born in Bury, Lancashire.

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