What is reality? - NOT amateur radio

As many know, I had a stroke in 2013. In many ways I recovered, but I am still left with some quite severe impairments. It is hard to know if some of these are just me getting older or are due to the stroke.

Poor balance and giddiness are with me most of the time. My voice is poor and I get very frustrated when some people treat me as being a simpleton. Also frustrating is being unable to speak, as I used to, to put over my point of view.  Just joining in casual chats is hard. Often it would be hard to get my point across, so I say nothing.  When speaking to others I often have to repeat myself.

My comprehension of time and speed are different. When driving at a certain speed it feels, to me, as if I am driving much faster: the dial says 45mph whereas it feels like 60mph! Likewise my perception of time is different: time seems to pass more quickly. The bus ride to Cambridge takes an hour, but to me it seems much faster.

Now, it is hard to know if these are just old age or artifacts of my stroke.

What it has told me is that what we perceive as individuals is different. On the BBC radio today someone said that our perception of colour is in the mind: how one person sees the world differs from others.

All this brings me to one thought. What is reality?

Time and space we take for granted, but these could be illusions. Likewise, we assume past memories are real. One thing is certain: how we see the world is limited by our brains.

South Devon again - NOT amateur radio

Yesterday I mentioned that I come from South Devon. The photo shows another view of where I come from.

10m FT8 RX

At the moment I am on 10m FT8 RX using the tiny indoor loop antenna.

UPDATE 0950z: Nothing yet spotted on 10m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 2035z: No spots all day. Maybe tomorrow I shall try 17m FT8 RX with the tiny indoor loop?

Disappointment on 160m FT8 RX overnight

Last night was the poorest one this season with no transatlantic DX at all overnight. I checked that things were working as I thought something was wrong!

Sunspots - Tuesday February 25th 2020

Solar flux is 70 and the SSN 0. A=4 and K=0.

160m FT8

So far today in the last few hours 63 stations spotted. See map.

160m FT8 spots
 so far this evening 

With a granddaughter - NOT amateur radio

The photo shows one of our granddaughters with me at the weekend. She went home with her brother yesterday.

Harvey Weinstein guilty - NOT amateur radio

According to the BBC website, I understand that, allegedly, Harvey Weinstein has been found guilty by a jury in New York of sexual assault and rape. He was once a very powerful man in Hollywood.

At the moment, I do not know what his sentence will be. It proves none of us is above the law and we cannot ever abuse our position or power.  It would not surprise me if he faces many years in prison.

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-51621041

OFCOM and licence revalidation

Just now I tried to log on to the OFCOM website to revalidate my amateur licence. Problem 1 was I could not remember the password. Then I saw something pointing me to a page where I could revalidate my licence online. Worth a try except (problem 2) when I got to this page there was no mention of revalidating amateur licences!!  I have requested a new password in the hope that I can then log in, but received a response (from a computer) advising me they were very busy (knitting?) so expect a delay (problem 3).

Overall I remain totally unimpressed. Surely if a computer can send me an email saying expect a delay then it could just as easily send me a reset password link! Doh! Surely I can be excused for not being too impressed.

Ferrite rods as TX antennas

Now, I am no expert and this is based on personal experiences.

As TX antennas ferrite rods should work. Indeed, my own tests at 80m, 40m and 30m rather prove this. Yes, they will be many dB down on more conventional antennas and can only be used with low power to prevent the ferrites saturating. However, with modes like WSPR they do work. I urge you to try sometime!

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

Early days on VHF SSB

My very first experience of 2m SSB was in the late 1960s when our university club station at Liverpool G3OUL had a sked. As I recall we used 20W from a homebrew transverter designed by Ian Vance G3WMS who later was in charge at STL. He was a modest man, but clearly very clever.

Later, the Liner-2 brought 2m SSB to the masses. For several years SSB 2m DXing was very popular. In the UK this was at the time when G8s were allowed on 2m for the first time. Before that they were only allowed on 70cm and microwave bands.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/vuhf/liner2

Solar weather forecast videos

Southgate News links to the video solar forecasts by Dr Tamitha Skov.

See http://www.southgatearc.org/space-weather/index.htm#.XlOwvI6TK00

Corona virus fears - NOT amateur radio

This morning, many stock markets have tumbled, probably because of the fear that a coronavirus pandemic could badly impact world trade.

We have yet to see the impact of Chinese lock-downs on their exports. Most goods now say, "made in China", so the impact of goods not being shipped from China could be very disruptive.

As I understand it, the virus can be easily passed on, although the death rate seems less severe than in flu for example. I guess the great fear is that it could mutate into something worse. As you can tell, I am no virologist!

These days, the world is far more interconnected than in the deadly flu pandemic after WW1.

UPDATE 1150z:  I see that oil prices are down over 4% suggesting demand has fallen.

160m FT8 overnight

It is getting less good. Overnight 15 North Americans copied and one Caribbean. In total just 192 stations spotted on 160m FT8 in the last 12 hours.

160m FT8 RX overnight 

South Devon - NOT amateur radio

As many know, I was born and brought up in South Devon. The photo shows where I come from. We owned land near here in 1427 and can trace our family history continuously back to the mid 1500s.

Sunspots - Monday February 24th 2020

Solar flux is 70 and the SSN 0. A=4 and K=2.

160m FT8 RX

A few moments ago I QSYed to 160m FT8 RX from 2m. Once again I am using the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground.  At the moment 26 stations spotted. So far, the best DX spotted is OX3LX (3317km).

Daft video - NOT amateur radio

It is amazing how tech savvy our 8 year old grandchild is compared with us. This is a video of me that she made yesterday.

Trump and another 4 years - NOT amateur radio

Looking at the USA from a European perspective President Trump seems a disaster. He comes across as inept, stupid, and a poor choice. However, he was elected and the US economy looks quite good. The most likely candidate to stand against him is 78 years old I believe and had a heart attack last year I think.

It seems to me as if President Trump could get another 4 years in office. Personally I cannot understand how he could have been chosen. Maybe the voters who voted for him wanted to be listened to and these people were fed up with their leaders in the past.

Waters and Stanton on YouTube

Waters and Stanton, who seem to have teamed up with Nevada these days, have a YouTube channel with some interesting videos including this one.

Family - NOT amateur radio

The photo shows my wife with one of our sons and two of our grandchildren.

Quiet again - NOT amateur radio

We love seeing all our little grandchildren.  As they have all gone home, our house is quiet again.

The photo shows one of our grandchildren making a film yesterday. She is 8 and far more PC savvy than her grandparents!

2m FT8 yesterday and today

It is sad when 2m FT8 DX goes unreported. A brief 10W FT8 CQ yesterday was widely spotted. Later today I shall probably try 2m FT8 again.

UPDATE 1212z:  A brief 2m FT8 CQ was spotted by 16 stations with 1 2-way  G QSO. As usual running 10W to the big-wheel omni antenna. Best DX was a spot by DF0MU (475km).

UPDATE 1522z: So far today, 28 stations in 4 countries have spotted my 10W FT8 signal on 2m. 4 QSOs have resulted.

UPDATE 1800z: 34 stations in 7 countries have spotted me today so far.

Stations spotting me 

today on 2m FT8 TX 

80m WSPR with the ferrite rod antenna

In all, 46 stations were spotted on 80m WSPR using the ferrite rod antenna. Just one station spotted my 2.5W. There was far more 80m WSPR activity than I expected.  See table below:

80m WSPR spots with
the ferrite rod antenna

Sunspots - Sunday February 23rd 2020

Solar flux is 72 and the SSN 0. A=9 and K=0.

Back on 80m WSPR with the ferrite rod antenna

Yet again I am on 80m WSPR using the ferrite rod antenna. As of now I have still to get a single spot on TX! I suspect the signal is just too weak to be copied above the radio smog at many urban locations in Europe.

UPDATE 1842z:  Lots of WSPR stations spotted but still no spots of my signal on TX.

UPDATE 2025z:  At last! 3 spots of me by DK6UG (633km)!  At - 30dB S/N is marginal but with such a tiny antenna this is not bad.

Granddaughter - NOT amateur radio

This was our granddaughter earlier. She is 8 and keen on reading... oh and the iPad!

Grandson yesterday - NOT amateur radio

Our elder grandson climbing a tree at Hare Park yesterday.

No success on 80m WSPR TX with the ferrite rod antenna

Even though I remained on 80m WSPR overnight, not a single spot of my 2.5W transmit bursts received. It works well on RX but must just be too weak to be copied. I shall try for longer but fear it will be unsuccessful.

The table shows the unique stations spotted. Note that many were spotted multiple times.

Stations spotted on
80m WSPR RX overnight
with the ferrite rod antenna 

Sunspots - Sunday February 22nd 2020

Solar flux is 71 and the SSN 0. A=14 and K=3.

80m ferrite rod TX antenna

After removing the tape, I was able to resonate W5OLF's ferrite on the 80m FT8 frequency. On RX it is copying lots of stations (45 so far) with best a Russian at 3300km.

No spots yet on TX (1W) but I shall keep trying. Both the ferrite and fixed capacitor are cold suggesting the ferrite is well below saturation. The ferrite is just sitting on the shack bench oriented for best NVIS pickup. See photo.

UPDATE 1902z: 211 stations spotted on 80m FT8 RX with the ferrite rod on the shack bench. No TX spots. Power increased to 2.5W. Still NVIS orientation.

UPDATE 1912z:  Changed orientation of antenna to vertical. Still no TX spots. Remember that FT8 is about 10dB less sensitive than WSPR.  Surprised that not a single spot yet received.

UPDATE 2012z:  264 stations spotted on 80m FT8 RX, but no spots on TX (2.5W) so far.

UPDATE 2023z: Switched to 80m WSPR at the same power although I am unsure how much WSPR there is these days on 80m. SWR is excellent.

UPDATE 2100: I am puzzled. I reset the WSJT-X program and copied a DL station on 80m WSPR RX, but this failed to upload to the WSPR database. I am pretty sure that my internet is working. On another site all seemed well. No TX spots on WSPR. HB9AFZ (900km) was a strong -14dB S/N on WSPR just now. Also copied were a couple of German stations. None of these stations appeared, so I am wondering if the fault is at the WSPRnet end?

UPDATE 2124z: Fault found!  I had my callsign with a space behind the last character. When this was removed the RX spots appeared. Still no TX spots, but I am pleasantly surprised by the number of WSPR stations active on 80m.

UPDATE 2230z: Just gone back to horizontal orientation on the shelf above the rig. No TX spots. I shall leave things running overnight. Rechecked the match is best. As I have received not a single TX spot all evening with the antenna vertical and horizontal, I am wondering if my signal is just too weak to be copied in the noise smog that many stations suffer from? If there are any automatic RX stations spotting through the night when noise tends to be lower, I might get the odd spot.

Eating lunch at the local farm shop - NOT amateur radio

After visiting Hare Park, Chippenham near us in Cambridgeshire, we visited our local farm shop for lunch. It was very busy. The photo shows our elder grandson tucking in.

Simple 10GHz wideband FM transceivers

With the availability of very low cost HB100 10GHz Doppler radar modules on eBay, many are trying their hands at very simple WBFM transceivers on 10GHz.

It should be possible to make a complete 10GHz WBFM transceiver with no 10GHz engineering at all.

In Italy, some have put these at the focal point of parabolic dishes and achieved some incredible ranges on ATV.  If I was a bit fitter this would be something I would have a go at (WBFM). A pair of HB100 10GHz modules could be bought for less than £5! The cheapest I have recently seen is just over £5.

See https://www.allaboutcircuits.com/news/teardown-tuesday-hb100-doppler-radar-module/

2m FT8

As of about 1300z, I QSYed to 2m FT8 calling CQ initially, now RX only.

UPDATE 1350z: 10 stations spotted my CQ call with best DX a spot by GI6ATZ (479km). So far, nothing reported to PSKreporter on RX, although the internet has been off.

UPDATE 1520z: A solid 2-way QSO with GI6ATZ just now on 2m FT8. Aircraft reflection or flat band tropo? Whatever, this is amazing range possible at almost any time on 2m. On 2m FT8 RX it shows no spots on 2m today on 2m FT8. This is rubbish as I have copied Germany and several Gs already. Perhaps my upload is not working? Time for a reset!

UPDATE 1550z: Reset done. RX spots being reported now to PSKreporter. 5 spots in the last 15 minutes.

OFCOM and 5G

OFCOM has published details of its spectrum measurements which now include 5G frequencies. See the OFCOM website.

Roundhead and cavaliers - NOT amateur radio

Yesterday we went to Oliver Cromwell's house in Ely. In one of the rooms our grandchildren enjoyed a sword fight.

160m FT8 RX overnight

An average night. JT1CO in Mongolia seems genuine judging by where he was spotted, but fewer from the Americas. Are things getting worse or is this just conditions? Again using the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground.

Stations spotted on 160m
FT8 RX overnight 

Sunspots - Friday February 21st 2020

Solar flux is 71 and the SSN 0. A=8 and K=3.

Rallies this weekend

Again, my apologies for the white background on these. I simply reproduce these as I get them.

Sunday 23 FEBRUARY : RAINHAM RADIO RALLY

The Victory Academy, Magpie Hall Road, Chatham, Kent, ME4 5JB. Doors open 10am to 4pm, admission £3, children free. Local and national traders, BRATS Kitchen, BRATS Interactive Zone for Kids, BRATS Junk, talk in station on 145.550MHz using GB4RRR. Contact 0782 583 8877 or rally-coordinator@brats-qth.org.


Sunday 23 FEBRUARY : RED ROSE WINTER RALLY

St Joseph's Hall, Chapel Street, Leigh WN7 2PQ. Doors open 11am. Trade, individual and Club stands as well as a Bring & Buy. Details on www.wmrc.co.uk.


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

Granddaughter - NOT amateur radio

When they come to stay with us our grandchildren have a great, happy, time. The photo shows our "London" granddaughter enjoying things today.

Granddaughter today