Gecophone 1920s crystal set

When I retired in 2008 my leaving gift was a 1920s crystal set called the Gecophone. It works well considering it is almost 100 years old. On mine, it received BBC Radio 5. It is some time since I last tried it.

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

Granddaughter - NOT amateur radio

A photo of our elder granddaughter taken last weekend.

Previous Life - NOT amateur radio

In 2008, after many years in the empire that started as Pye Telecommunications, I retired. Over the years its name changed as did the products we designed and made.

I ended up in Sepura designing world beating Tetra radios that were widely used across the planet.

At one time I worked for Philips Paging where we made vast quantities every day in places like Mexico and Singapore.  For a time I worked in California for Philips Paging. My abiding memory of California is the always blue skies! In Mexico, the factory was very modern, but just outside the gates there was poverty everywhere.

There is a good website on the history of Pye Telecom.

See http://www.pyetelecomhistory.org/index.html

Sunspots - Wednesday June 17th 2020

Solar flux is 69 and the SSN 0. A=5 and K=2.

20m WSPR RX

An old friend, Ted G4NUA, built a 20m WSPR beacon using a Raspberry Pi. It produces 100mW. He has already had spots from the USA over 5400km. He is about 13km from me. Still not spotted him yet. I am using my indoor loop antenna.

UPDATE 2127z:  Overnight, I shall stay on 20m WSPR. At the moment, just a few Germans being copied. Hoping to copy G4NUA tomorrow early.

10m WSPR (500mW to the tiny indoor loop antenna)

The 10m WSPR beacon was turned on just after 0800z. Already 4 different stations spotting me at 0828z.

UPDATE 1440z: 19 stations across Europe have spotted my 10m WSPR beacon today so far.

Passed the solar minimum?

The indications are that we have passed the minimum at last. I hope this is so.

See https://solen.info/solar/images/Cycles_24_25_minimum.png

Ferrite rods as TX antennas

Something similar has been on before, but I make no apologies for this gentle reminder!

Ferrite rods will work on TX as long as the ferrite does not saturate and the material is fine for the intended frequency.

Low power usually means millwatts or low watts. Some years ago I gave it a try with a random ferrite rod (characteristics unknown) on WSPR with great success. To be honest, it was far better than I expected. I think of ferrites as distorting space with the effective size being proportional to the effective permeability of the ferrite.

I wonder what would happen on 7MHz FT8?

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/antennas/ferrite_tx
See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrite_core

UPDATE 1344z: Well I had to try 40m FT8 with the ferrite rod on TX!! With no earths connected and no HF antennas here apart from the highly tuned 10m indoor loop, I have 8 spots already using the FT817ND at 2.5W. Best DX spot was  -7dB S/N from F5NK (936km). Highly impressed! This is the first time at this QTH with this antenna.

UPDATE 2003z:  12 spots of me today so far on 40m FT8 with just the tiny ferrite antenna. I guess the biggest problem is being buried by bigger stations on the same frequency without realising.

Gilbert and Sullivan - NOT amateur radio

Every year a nearby village does a G&S production and we usually go. This year they cannot sadly. The photo shows the production some years ago of the "Pirates of Penzance".

Museum visit (2017) - NOT amateur radio

Most weeks in the summer months our local museum next door gets school visits.

At the moment these are not possible. Hopefully they can happen next year. The photo shows one such visit in 2017.

Another shack view

The photo was taken yesterday and shows the operating position in the shack. The tiny WSPR beacon is on a lower shelf and probably not clear.

Sunspots - Tuesday June 16th 2020

Solar flux is 70 and the SSN 11. A=4 and K=1. The sunspot number is still not zero, which may be a good sign.

10m WSPR TX (500mW to the tiny indoor loop antenna)

At about 1300z the 10m WSPR beacon was turned on.  No spots yet.

UPDATE 1630z:  No spots.

UPDATE 1802z:   Spotted in Italy and Switzerland.

UPDATE 2020z:   QRT. In all, 4 unique stations have spotted  me.

Recent lockdown walk - NOT amateur radio

On Friday we did a nice walk around the village of Reach. The photo shows what we saw.

Hepburn tropo forecasts

This is a resource that I rarely use, but it looks useful for looking ahead at VHF tropo conditions.

See http://www.dxinfocentre.com/tropo_eur.html

Online 2m FT8 screen-grab

A station near Cambridge, G0LRD, has a very useful screen-grab of 2m FT8 activity as seen at his QTH. I find it useful to check my signal is clean and as expected. He gets me strongly. He seems to see very similar stations to me.

I still find 2m FT8 amazing. My low ERP signal seems to get spotted far and wide irrespective of conditions. I am convinced these are not aircraft reflections as these sort of ranges seem possible at any time even with low ERP. It is so easy that I hardly bother these days.

Soon, I think I should try harder on 70cm FT8 to see what is possible.

See http://82.71.9.63:8080/cap/

What is this? - NOT amateur radio

On our walk yesterday we saw this plant. It looks like a dandelion but is about twice as big.  Any help greatly appreciated.

2 weeks on 10m WSPR TX (500mW to indoor loop)

This surprised me!

I did not expect many to be on 10m WSPR and I was even more surprised how well the indoor loop performs.

In all, 51 stations have spotted me so far in the last 2 weeks on 10m WSPR, despite the 500mW and the indoor tiny loop.

The beauty of 10m WSPR is that I can run this totally separate from the PC using the WSPR beacon TX which is about the size of a pack of playing cards and was designed by W5OLF. It has given me years of great service.

This means I can run 10m WSPR "in the background" whilst going in 6m or 2m FT8 at the same time.

East Cambs net

Every Monday at 1900z (8pm BST) we meet on 144.575MHz vertical FM in the all modes section of 2m for the East Cambs net. Anyone in the area is very welcome. The oldest is 96 but I do not know the age of the youngest!

Gin and tonic - NOT amateur radio

At about 9pm UK local time yesterday I sat out in the back garden with a gin and tonic. Another week or so and the days will start to get shorter again. Yesterday was warm and sunny.

Sunspot going?

The only sunspot on the side of the Sun facing us looks like it is rotating out of view. When I looked last night it was still there, but about to disappear. Unless there are others rotating into view or others bubbling up, we could be in for a quiet few weeks.

Sunspots - Monday June 15th 2020

Solar flux is 70 and the SSN 11. A=2 and K=1.

6m FT8 (10W and V2000 vertical omni)

At about 1530z, I turned on 6m FT8. So far, nothing spotted on RX and 2 G stations have spotted me. No QSOs yet.

UPDATE 1803z:  Now spotted by 52 different stations so far.

UPDATE 2035z:   QRT.  In the end I was spotted by 84 different stations.

2m - signs of the times?

The 2m PW QRP contest netted me just 3 local contacts. With the same power and antenna (10W and the big-wheel omni antenna) 2m FT8 got me 19 spots with best DX being PE1OPK (378km) within a few minutes. Sad.

UK hereditary peers - NOT amateur radio

Heard today that most UK hereditary peers with vast riches are still living off their compensation for having to free slaves years ago! And they get paid for turning up to the House of Lords!! I am not in favour of revolution, but hearing this crap you do wonder. Personally I would put a windfall tax on all major landowners.

Pre-war TV in the UK - NOT amateur radio

At first, the BBC broadcast 30 line TV.  Later in the 1930s (1936?) they started 405 line transmissions which closed during WW2. Most viewers were in London. YouTube has some historical stuff from 1937.

Polish - Czech border "incident" - NOT amateur radio

The BBC has a piece about a strange incident that was a misunderstanding and was easily fixed. By mistake, Polish guards were guarding a Czech church!!

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-53034930

Optical communications

One of my Facebook memories today was from 7 years ago when I had built the Finningley optical transceiver. Shortly after this I had my stroke, so it never got used.

Yesterday on 6m FT8 TX

Last evening my 10W to the V2000 vertical omni was spotted by FG5GH (6691km) in the Caribbean. On 6m FT8 RX the best DX was W2AAU (5424km).

Early start on 10m WSPR TX

As I was awake early, the 10m WSPR beacon was turned on. Even at this hour (it is now 0505z) I am getting spotted by G4KPX (14km). No Es yet.

UPDATE 0726z:  Still just G4KPX so far spotting me.

UPDATE 1245z: 5 spots of me so far today.

UPDATE 1928z:  I wonder if the small amount of drift seen on some spots is due to Es clouds moving? Usually my drift is highest for the first 20 minutes as things settle, but after than it is very stable.

UPDATE 1950z:  7 different stations have spotted me today so far.

UPDATE 2055z:  QRT.

Friedrichshafen

One of the biggest events in the European amateur calendar is the Friedrichshafen exhibition in Germany. A few weeks ago I was told this had been cancelled. This is unsurprising in the current lockdowns and restrictions caused by Covid-19.

As mentioned before, this is a showcase event, much like the Dayton Hamvention. It is a big event and attracts visitors from all over Europe.

Like Dayton, it is often the place where the big manufacturers show their new products. I guess they will miss this.

Grandchildren - NOT amateur radio

Yesterday one of our sons visited us with 2 of our grandchildren. We had not seen them in the flesh for months because of lockdown. We had only seen them via Zoom.

We had lunch in the garden on a nice sunny day and did our best to maintain social distancing. It was good to see them again.

Sunspots - Sunday June 14th 2020

Solar flux is 69 and the SSN 11. A=3 and K=0. Are we through the minimum? Sunspot count is not zero, but the solar flux is still low.

Practical Wireless QRP contest this Sunday

This is this Sunday, June 14th. As portables are unlikely to be on, for this year only the power allowed has been increased to 10W. I believe you can operate for any 4 hour period in the contest hours. Rules are in the June 2020 copy of PW. I expect they are on the web too. If I remember, I intend to come on for a little while. Quite often I am away and miss this. Not this year!

10m WSPR TX

There is quite a lot of Es around already today so I am quite hopeful that 10m WSPR will be productive later. Gear (500mW to the tiny indoor loop antenna) is turned on, but no spots yet.

UPDATE 0752z:  Already spots from 4 different stations, 3 by Es. This very early start bodes well for the day. Some Es spots are very strong e.g. OZ7IT has given me 0dB S/N  which implies he could copy me with 0.5uW (microwatts!!) on a noise free band and this is with me on the indoor loop!! There is a photo of the loop on the previous 6m post.

UPDATE 1824z: 10 different stations have, so far, spotted my 500mW 10m WSPR signal.

UPDATE 2045z:    QRT.

6m FT8 today

Just before 0600z 6m FT8 was turned on. As usual I was running 10W to the V2000 vertical omni antenna. The photo shows another view of the shack.  So far, at 0630z, 37 stations have spotted me right across Europe. No QSOs yet.

UPDATE 0808z:  Spotted by 100  different stations so far. A QSO with an SP9 could not be completed.

UPDATE 0956z:  173 different stations have spotted me today so far.

UPDATE 1853z:  259 spots of my 10W FT8 6m signal today so far.

UPDATE 2055z: Several European QSOs, but nothing further afield. This is where additional ERP can really help.  Some stations with more power, beams and high antennas may be 20dB up on me. I cannot, and do not expect to, work the DX they do.

Blackbird death - NOT amateur radio

A few days ago I was in the kitchen when there was an almighty bang: a young blackbird had crashed into the window. I was unsure if it was just stunned, so I left it on the lawn hoping it might recover and fly off.  Sadly, it died.

As often, this makes us consider our own mortality. In an instant this bird was dead, as we all will be one day. As a youth I had quite a strong faith. Now I am more unsure. What I do realise is how little we know. One has only to think how our understanding of the universe and evolution has changed in the last 200 years to realise this.

In the case of this blackbird, it saddens me to think of all the effort of the parents just snubbed out in a second. They probably spent days on making the nest, then days feeding it.

See the poem "Spring and Fall" by Gerald Manley Hopkins.

Poppies - NOT amateur radio

On our walk yesterday we passed this field of poppies. It was a sight to gladden the heart.

Certainly since our lockdown we have appreciated simple things more. It is not all bad.

Excellent talk

Last night the Cambridge club had a virtual meeting in the form of a Zoom talk about secret listeners in WW2. We had about 31 people watching the slides. The speaker would have had to travel a long way if this was a "real" talk. In many ways this was better for me than attending the club in person.

Sunspots - Saturday June 13th 2020

Solar flux is 71 and the SSN 11.  A=4 and K=0.