160m FT8

Rather later than usual I have QSYed to 160m FT8 RX. This happened at 2240z.

80m ferrite rod TX antenna

Jay W5OLF has kindly said keep the antenna. So, later in the week I shall try to resonate it on the correct WSPR and FT8 frequencies and try some NVIS and other TX tests.

Nearly every American I have dealt with has been kind and generous. Jay, thank you!

Football money - NOT amateur radio

Writing in The Times newspaper today, Matthew Syed argues that owners and not clubs should be banned. Recently, a famous UK soccer team was banned from a European competition for 2 years for breaking rules. Syad states (allegedly) that one of Manchester City's owners, a wealthy middle east sheikh, has not attended a club game since 2010!

This is the trouble with some sports these days: it is more about profits than gamesmanship. Owners can be detached and have little knowledge of, or interest in, the game.

Personally, I would like to see limits on ownership and caps on wages for players. If this results in smaller profits so what? Surely there is enough untapped talent around.

I would like to see a ban on owners purely interested in personal gain. No idea on policing, but I have a hatred of people in it for personal gain. Soccer is a game, not a business.

Angry sky - NOT amateur radio

This morning, the sun was shining. Now it is changeable with some sun then angry clouds. A few moments ago the sky behind "our" windmill looked very dark and threatening. Now we have blue sky again!

Giddiness - NOT amateur radio

Whilst at Chippenham Park to see the snowdrops before lunch I was able to compare how I felt last year with this.

Driving there and back feels much more stressful than it was. 45mph feels to me like 60mph! I feel more tired and giddy than I remember a year ago. It is hard to tell whether these things are just old age or as a result of my 2013 stroke.

I feel older than I did. Now that is a daft thing to say! What I mean is I feel older in myself. Yes, I know we all get older all the time!  😀

Snowdrops - NOT amateur radio

Today we went to Chippenham Park near us to see the snowdrops. There were plenty out as well as daffodils, but they will soon be past their best.

2m FT8

At about 0920z I QSYed to 2m FT8. My initial CQ was spotted by 6 stations including 2 in Cornwall.

As usual running 10W to the big-wheel.

UPDATE 1453z:  Recent 2m FT8 CQs (10W) were spotted by 16 stations in 5 countries. On 2m FT8 RX quite quiet with just 11 stations in 4 countries spotted so far. I guess some people are at work.

UPDATE 1606z: G0LRD has a very useful real-time FT8 grabber allowing me to see my 2m FT8 signal in real time. It looks relatively clean, although it is hard to be sure when it is very strong.

See http://82.71.9.63:8080/cap/

Stations spotting my 10W
2m FT8 today to 1705z

UPDATE 1705z: Now 21 spots of my 10W 2m FT8 signal today. I have been called several times in the last hour, but sadly no 2-way QSOs.

UPDATE 2043z:  Now 30 stations in 6 countries spotted my 10W 2m FT8 today.

160m FT8 overnight

Overnight was another good session on 160m FT8 RX. Plenty of stations spotted in North America and South America as well as elsewhere. Overall 408 stations were spotted.

160m FT8 RX overnight
- stations spotted here

G3XBM history

Although this has been on before, some may be interested in how I got into the hobby. Even now, nearly 60 years later I still get fun from it.

Amateur radio means different things to different people. Some just like chatting, some ATV, others repeaters, others satellites, others QRP, others moonbounce and so on.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/history

Evolving language - NOT amateur radio

At one time the over-use of "like" and going up at the end of sentences really grated on me. Then I realised that speech and language have always been evolving and that I should just shut up. I guess as we become more global, language will be increasingly evolving. Oh, I really am a grumpy old man!

60m beacon

Southgate News reports that the 5MHz Westmorland beacon is to close, leaving just GB3RAL active in the UK on that band. I guess these days people can use FT8 or WSPR to check propagation. Personally I prefer FT8 to beacons. WSPR would be better still, but there is less activity.

See http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2020/february/uk-5-mhz-beacon-to-close.htm#.XkmeiI6TK00

Sunspots - Monday February 17th 2020

Solar flux is 71 and the sunspot number 0. A=3 and K=1.

160m FT8

At about 1700z, I QSYed to 160m FT8. Already, 10 spots of my 10W to the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground with the best DX being DG9BBC (522km).

UPDATE 1740z: 15 stations have spotted my 10W FT8 TX so far with best DX spotting me being OE9GHV (869km). On 160m FT8 RX 61 stations spotted so far.

UPDATE 1815z: 17 stations spotting me this evening on 160m FT8 TX (10W).

UPDATE 1935z: Now spotted by 26 stations on 160m FT8 TX (10W) with best DX being EA1JO (1167km).  On 160m FT8 RX 204 stations spotted with best DX spotted being RW9JZ (4318km).

UPDATE 2027z: My recent 160m FT8 CQ (10W) was spotted by 23 stations in Western Europe. See map.

Stations spotting my last 10W 160m FT8 CQ 

UPDATE 2056z: After spotting 284 stations on 160m FT8 RX, I have moved to 1908kHz RX in the hope of spotting a few Japanese stations in the next few hours. I shall move back to 1840kHz FT8 RX overnight.

UPDATE 2312z: Back on 1840kHz. A recent FT8 CQ was spotted widely in Western Europe. As yet no North Americans spotted. No Japanese tonight on 1908kHz.

The arrow of time - NOT amateur radio

Our everyday experience is that time moves from the past to the future. This is also the basis of all physical laws I think.

Our whole experience of time may be an illusion. What we think are our memories of the past may not be so.

I often wonder if the arrow of time could be reversed.

UK floods - NOT amateur radio

For about 50 years I have lived in East Anglia. For most of that time, it was the driest part of the UK. For several years now it has been much wetter and milder:  now snow and frosts are quite rare.

Whatever the reason, the climate is changing. My personal view is that this is to a great deal due to our influence. There is a certain wise (?) American who thinks that climate change is all a Chinese hoax.  Only today my brother sent me a video of the floods at his home in Devon.

80m ferrite rod TX antenna

Jay, W5OLF has very kindly loaned me a ferrite rod TX antenna that he had been using with 100mW WSPR as a TX antenna in Texas.

Sadly, on a couple of rigs this seems to peak too high in the band. From past experience adding a large capacity across the 50 ohm winding transforms to a much smaller capacitance across the secondary winding. So, I would have expected the resonance point to have shifted LF. I tried a 220pF across the 50 ohm winding but I could not detect an LF shift! The last thing I want to do is alter the antenna itself. At the moment I am puzzled. Maybe the capacitance needs to be much larger. I shall try this next.

If made resonant, I was going to try this on 80m WSPR and FT8.

Some years ago I was surprised how effective a ferrite rod could be on QRP TX.

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

UPDATE 1105z: I tried 790pF across the 50 ohm winding and the resonance showed no visible change. I suspect Jay has configured this as a vertical Marconi and not as a conventional ferrite loop. The antenna is encased in heat shrink, so I am unsure of his configuration. Both he and I had assumed a "plug and play" situation!

2m FT8

Just before breakfast, I QSYed to 2m FT8. An initial CQ was spotted by 3 G stations. On 2m FT8 RX 5 stations in 3 countries spotted so far.

Still using 10W to the big-wheel omni antenna.

UPDATE 1005z:  At present, 7 stations spotting me on 2m FT8 TX with the best spot being by DF6PW (562km). No 2-way QSOs yet on 2m FT8.  On RX 12 stations spotted so far. It never fails to amaze me how far my simple station gets on 2m FT8 TX.

UPDATE 1128z: Now 21 stations in 4 countries spotted today on 2m FT8 RX. On TX, 21 spots so far of my 10W in 3 countries with 1 G QSO.

UPDATE 1221z:  22 stations have spotted me so far today on 2m FT8 TX.  Three 2m FT8 QSOs today so far.

UPDATE 1410z:   Now spotted by 30 stations in 5 countries so far today on 2m FT8.

UPDATE 1650z: The map shows where my 10W 2m FT8 has been spotted today so far.  In total 5 QSOs and 36 spots on 2m FT8 TX with 10W and the omni antenna.

Weaver's cottage - NOT amateur radio

This cottage in Canterbury dates from 1500.

Weaver's Cottage, Canterbury 

5MHz in France

Southgate News reports that France has authorised the use of the WRC15 60m band.

See http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2020/february/wrc-15-60m-band-now-authorized-in-france.htm#.XkkKG46TK00

160m FT8 overnight

Overnight I was on 160m FT8 RX again. Overall it was quite a good night with stations spotted in North America and South America as well as several others including Japan last evening. As usual, still using the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground.

Stations spotted on 
160m FT8 RX overnight 

Sunspots - Sunday February 16th 2020

Solar flux is 71 and the SSN 0. A=5 and K =1.

160m FT8

For the last few hours I have been on 160m FT8 using 10W and the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. At 2300z 159 stations spotted so far. An earlier CQ was spotted widely in western Europe.

At the moment I am monitoring 1908kHz in the hope of catching a few Japanese stations on FT8. A few Europeans are operating up there, but nothing spotted from Japan as yet.

UPDATE 2212z: The first Japanese station JA4LKB spotted on 160m FT8. Yet again, for reasons I do not understand, this was not reported on PSKreporter.

UT1FG/MM

A recent 2m FT8 CQ got a reply and QSO with UT1FG/MM. I am not sure where he was located, but it was good to get called by a /MM station on 2m. I did not see this station on PSKreporter. He was calling several German stations later, so I guess he is somewhere in the southern North Sea.

Not an amateur radio tower

I have never had a head for heights! Luckily, this is not one of my amateur antennas!

Westgate, Canterbury - NOT amateur radio

The photo shows the 1379 Westgate in Canterbury, UK. This is the oldest intact medieval gate in the country.

We stayed near here earlier this week.

Canterbury Cathedral is covered in scaffolding.

New ICOM IC-705 video

Apart from the price, many of us are lusting after the new 10W HF, VHF and UHF radio about to be released by ICOM. In my view this will become a classic in the mode of the FT817. ICOM has tried very hard to make a radio that many of us will want to buy.

2m FT8

As it is Saturday morning, I decided to try 2m FT8.  A recent 2m FT8 CQ was widely spotted from as far apart as Cornwall and Germany . Best DX was a spot by DF6PW (562km) with 1 QSO. On 2m FT8 RX 5 stations spotted so far.

As usual, using 10W and the big-wheel omni antenna.

UPDATE 1127z:  Recent 2m FT8 CQs  have been  spotted by 14 stations in 3 countries. On 2m FT8 RX 14 stations in 2 countries spotted so far.

Stations spotted on 2m FT8
RX so far today

UPDATE 1314z:  31 stations in 5 countries spotted so far today on 2m FT8 RX. An average day today so far. I suspect many of these stations are via aircraft scatter rather than tropo.

Stations spotting me today 

on 2m FT8 TX so far

UPDATE  1416z: 21 stations have spotted me so far today as shown on the map. On 2m FT8 even with 10W and the omni antenna, Germany is in reach every day! FT8 has transformed 2m for me.


UPDATE 1607z:  My most recent 2m FT8 CQ was spotted by 18 stations in 5 countries. So far today, 25 stations in 6 countries have spotted my 2m FT8 TX (10W) today.

Old Lapthorn? - NOT amateur radio

This "photo" is probably about 160 years old. It is on a hand tinted metal plate found when clearing my mother's house when she died some years ago. I had no idea it existed. She looks like a distant relative - maybe my great great grandmother. She certainly looks like a Lapthorn.

Some years ago I met a Lapthorn who moved away from South Devon (where most Lapthorn's are found and where I come from) in the 1700s: he looked just like my uncle!!

We can trace our family history back to the mid 1500s continuously and know we were around in the South Hams of Devon in 1427. We were probably around much earlier in these parts, in prehistoric times.

160m FT8 overnight

Quite a decent session with 670 stations spotted including 10 in North America plus some in the Caribbean and South America.

160m FT8 RX overnight
- stations spotted 

Sunspots - Saturday February 15th 2020

Solar flux is 71 and the SSN 0. A=3 and K=0.

160m FT8

As I am now back home, I chose to go on 160m FT8. My initial 10W FT8 CQ was spotted by no-one. On 160m FT8 RX 12 stations spotted so far. A more recent CQ was spotted by 2 G stations. As usual, I am using my earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground.

UPDATE 1740z: Now 67 stations spotted on 160m FT RX. Best DX is RW0AR (5585km).

Rallies

My apologies if the rally data is hard to read. In the last few weeks the text I simply import has a white background that many users find hard to read on a web browser. Manually, I could attempt to change this, but it is too time consuming.


Saturday 15 FEBRUARY : BALLYMENA ARC RALLY

Ahoghill Community Centre, 80 Cullybackey Road, Ahoghill BT42 1LA. Doors open at 10.30am and admission is £3. There is free parking on site. There will be traders a Bring & Buy and a prize draw will operate. Light refreshments will be available. Tables are free but must be pre-booked by email to HKernohan@aol.com. More details from Hugh, GI0JEV on 0282 587 1481.


Sunday 16 FEBRUARY : RADIOACTIVE RALLY

Nantwich Civic Hall, Cheshire, CW5 5DG. Free car parking, doors open 10.30am. There will be a Bring and Buy, as well as traders and an RSGB book stall. A single raffle ticket is included with the entrance programme; additional tickets available. Catering is provided on site. Contact Stuart Jackson on 0788 073 2534.


Sunday 16 FEBRUARY : LOMOND RADIO CLUB BRING-n-BUY EVENT

John Connolly Centre, Main Street, Renton G82 4LY. Doors open at 10am. There will be a Bring & Buy, traders and refreshments will be available. Contact Bill at mm0elf@blueyonder.co.uk.


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

A VERY long time ago! - NOT amateur radio

This is a photo of me in 1968. I had hair then!

Sunspots - Friday February 14th 2020

Solar flux is 71 and the SSN 0. A =3 and K=2.

OFCOM updates

On the OFCOM website there is more earth shattering news. They now have a new chief executive and director of emerging technologies. Guess it keeps them busy.

Canterbury Cathedral - NOT amateur radio

As we were in Canterbury and it was raining, we visited the cathedral. The photo shows the cloisters. There was lots of scaffolding around.

Sunspots - Thursday February 13th 2020

Solar flux is 72 and the SSN 0. A=4 and K=1.

St Pancras - NOT amateur radio

We went to Kent to see one of our grandchildren on the stage. We stopped at St Pancras for a coffee. The photo shows the roof. The Eurostar trains to Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam leave from here.

70cm

Activity levels on 70cm are much lower than a few years ago. On my website at www.g3xbm.co.uk is a page about 70cm operation. This was written several years ago and since then activity levels have reduced. Personally I think this is sad as in many ways it is a more interesting band than 2m. Tropo openings seem better than on 2m.

Kitchen view - NOT amateur radio

This photo appeared as a Facebook memory from 6 years ago. Since then the hedge has grown well, but the view is much the same from the breakfast table. We can view the windmill whilst munching our toast. It is also visible from the lounge window.