Sunspots - Tuesday August 11th 2020

Solar flux is 74 and the SSN 12. A=3 and K=1.

Rear garden in August - NOT amateur radio

The photo shows our rear garden in August.

We get most colour in Spring and about now. Our grass is suffering in the heat. They used to say, "don't water the grass as it will recover".

Until recently, I followed this advice. Then in 2018 a third of my front lawn just died and never recovered. Since then, I have watering particularly dry patches for almost an hour most dry nights. Hopefully my lawns will recover in the autumn when the dew returns.

More damselflies - NOT amateur radio

Yesterday, I showed a photo of two damselflies. Today, here are two mating. This was again at Cavenham Heath yesterday.

Amateur VLF

There is a myth that VLF antennas are big. For RX they can be very very small!! So, for RX only, amateur VLF is remarkably accessible.

For TX high power and big antennas certainly help.   DK7FC has had some excellent results with long distances using earth probe antennas. These don't require very huge loading coils.

VLF amateur work requires dedication, although VLF earth-mode can give good results with quite simple kit. This is certainly one of the frontiers ripe for experiments.

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

Stone curlews - NOT amateur radio

Stone curlews (see the poor photo) are rare in the UK. Cavenham Heath where we walked yesterday is one of the best places to see them. Most migrate in October. We saw 12 yesterday.

See https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/stone-curlew/

10m FT8

It is now 0811z. A few moments ago my 4W to the indoor 10m loop was turned on in the hope of some Es. 2 Es spots on RX but no spots of me yet.

UPDATE 0917z:  Now 9 Es spots of me already and 16 spots on 10m FT8 RX. Promising.

UPDATE 1235z:  23 spots of my 4W 10m FT8 to the indoor loop.

UPDATE 1807z:  24 stations spotted me today. On 10m FT8 RX the best DX spotted was PU5BOY (9961km). In all, 67 stations were spotted today.

Yesterday evening on 10m FT8

Yesterday evening I swapped from 6m FT8 to 10m FT8 with about 4W to the tiny indoor loop antenna. Quite a few Es spots of me and many southern European stations spotted on RX as well as a QSO via Es

IC-705 on the ICOM Japan website

The ICOM Japan website has more on the IC-705. Under "Optional Accessories" it mentions an antenna tuner at a later date (see yesterday's post).

See https://www.icomjapan.com/lineup/products/IC-705_eur/

Sunspots - Monday August 10th 2020

Solar flux is 74 and the SSN 13. A=3 and K=1.

IC-705 auto ATU?

According to the IC-705 Facebook page, ICOM is working on an auto-ATU to match the IC-705. They hope to release it this year. This is a stand alone external unit covering 1.8 to 50MHz.

Inter S51 QSO on 8m

Apparently the first QSO between stations in Slovenia has taken place on 8m. I hope we can all join in on 8m in the near future.

Cavenham Heath - NOT amateur radio

Cavenham Heath is about 15 miles from here. It is a national nature reserve and a great place to see rare stone curlews. We saw 12 but they were about 400m away. The heather will be at its best in about 2 weeks. There were damselflies (see photo) everywhere.

Rye - NOT amateur radio

In 2012 we went to Rye in Sussex. It's a delightful place with old houses and cobbled streets. We were fitter then!

10m WSPR

Since just before lunch I have been on 10m WSPR TX with the 500mW TX beacon. As yet (1342z) no spots so far.

6m FT8

Just before lunch my 10W and V2000 sending and receiving 6m FT8 were turned on. It is now 1326z. So far, 2 stations have spotted me today and I have spotted 6.

UPDATE 1500z:  7 stations have spotted me and I have spotted 14.

Reach Village - NOT amateur radio

Reach, shown in the photo, is a sleepy village some 9 miles from Cambridge. We like walking around here. In Roman times it was an important port. It is at the northern end of a defensive earthwork.

Sunspots - Sunday August 9th 2020

Solar flux is 75 and the SSN 11. A=5 and K=0.

My antennas

For 6m, 2m and 70cm vertical I use a "white stick" vertical omni called the V2000. I have probably has this for at least 15 years! It is fed with low cost, CB, 50 ohm coax. On 70cm I could gain several dB if I replaced this with half decent coax. On 2m and 70cm SSB and FT8 I normally use the 2m big-wheel omni.

On the photo, the V2000 is on the left. The big-wheel is above my head and slightly right.

Not shown are the 10m loop (in the shack) and the earth-electrode "antenna" which gives me very good results on 630m WSPR. Norway is reached most nights despite the 10mW ERP on 630m.

Different PC

Since just before lunch I swapped the shack pc to a different one. It seems to be working fine on 10m FT8.

Perseids meteor shower

Many people like to make VHF contacts in meteor showers. Modes like FT4 and FT8 should be particularly effective I think. Signals are often strong, but short lived.

I see Southgate News has a link about this.

See http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2020/august/perseid-meteor-alert.htm#.Xy570jfYq00

New blog editing interface - TOTALLY CRAP!!!! - NOT amateur radio

In the end I had to revert to the old interface to edit this blog as the new interface is unusable!

Like Bas yesterday, I have sent them my feedback. If you have a blogger.com blog please send them your feedback too. The more people the better.

The old interface is fine, whereas the new is painfully slow.

Our walk earlier - NOT amateur radio

The photo collage shows our walk earlier when it was still cool at about 0630z. This is one of our favourite walks.

Zebra? - NOT amateur radio

Earlier, we saw this horse in a field on our walk. It had a coat on with zebra stripes.   I think the owner must like zebras!

10m FT8

At about 0845z my 10m FT8 gear was turned on. As usual I was running about 4W to the tiny indoor loop antenna. So far, 10 stations spotted and 8 stations spotting me.

Stations that had received
me to 1145z on 10m FT8

UPDATE 1147z:  Already today I have been spotted by 28 stations despite the 4W and the indoor loop. On 10m FT8 RX 38stations have been received so  LWfar today. I am amazed how strongly some people are receiving me despite the low power and indoor loop.

UPDATE 1702z:  Amazingly, 67 stations have so far spotted my 4W 10m FT8 to the loop antenna. On 10m FT8 RX the best DX so far today is LW2DAF (11213km) in Argentina.

UPDATE 1950z:  Now QRT. 233 stations spotted today on 10m FT8 RX and 75 stations spotted me on 10m FT8 TX today.

Sunspots - Saturday August 8th 2020

Solar flux is 74 and the SSN 14.  A=4 and K=2.

Sumac tree - NOT amateur radio

The photo shows next door's sumac tree against a blue sky.  Today was very hot.

Shack photo

The photo shows me in the shack earlier.  It has been very hot today.

"If it ain't broke don't fix it" - NOT amateur radio

For years I have used an interface for this blog that seemed to work fine. Now Google has changed this and I find it is far slower. I also found out that sometime in the next year I have to change all my websites to their new format. Now I am sure there are some upsides, but the overall impression is they make things worse, not better. 

A few years ago they stopped supporting Picassa, so it is now far more involved to post people photos. One step forwards and two steps backwards!! 

It is like clothes - made to a price, so thinner material, poorer quality. We bought a coat recently to replace one that was many years old. You guessed - fewer pockets and thinner material. 

We thought about buying a new bag from the National Trust. You guessed - fewer pockets and poorer material.

Why?

Hot - NOT amateur radio

Hot! We usually do a walk most days but decided not to today as it is too hot. Instead we are reading books in the shade in the garden. 

10m FT8

 Since mid-morning, I have been on 10m FT8 with about 4W and the indoor loop.  It is now 1230z. Up to now, 23 stations, all in Europe, have spotted me. On RX 67 stations have been spotted here. Best DX on RX is 5T5PA (3791km).

UPDATE 2049z: In the last half day, 104 stations were spotted on RX and 39 stations spotted my 4W and indoor loop. Now QRT.

Swifts - NOT amateur radio

Although I have been in the garden all morning not seen a single swift has been seen. Most have now gone. They don't stay long.

UPDATE 2042z:   We spent much of the day in the garden. Not a single swift was spotted all day.

Sunspots - Friday August 7th 2020

Solar flux is 73 and the SSN 14.  A=5 and K=2.

10m FT8

At about 1417z I swapped from 10m WSPR (500mW) to 10m FT8 (4W) using the indoor loop in the shack.  No spots yet.

UPDATE 1830z:  6 spots of me so far, all in Europe. Probably Es. Just 3 spots on RX.

Open! - NOT amateur radio

Our local museum has now opened one day a week. It should have opened at Easter. So good to see it in action again.

23cm

This is a band I have never transmitted on. Many years ago I borrowed a RX converter and had a play one evening with an indoor home-made 4 el antenna. Quite a few people have played around on the band with the SG labs 2W transverter that comes with a PCB HB9CV antenna.

Some erect serious stations with big antennas and linears with far more power. These people can access scatter modes and get ranges that some would consider amazing for a microwave band.

I guess the trouble is that we cannot do everything as time and money are limited.  There is so much I would like to try!

See http://www.sg-lab.com/TR1300/tr1300.html

Pye - NOT amateur radio

For a long time in the last century, Pye was a very big name in the electronics world. Pye made a diverse range of products. Now there is a website and permanent exhibition to celebrate this.

See https://www.pye-story.org/

UK economy - NOT amateur radio

In the last few hours the Bank of England has produced revised predictions for the UK economy. Although the fall-out from Covid-19 will have grave consequences for the whole of the world, the predictions of the UK are not quite as dire as they once were. Yes, the dip into recession will be bad and the recovery slower, but things could have been much graver. It says something when a dip of 9.5% in economic activity is considered good news!

10m WSPR

As it is there, I have turned on the 10m W5OLF 500mW WSPR beacon using my indoor loop. No spots of me yet today (it is now 0805z).

If 10m WSPR remains quiet, I may try 10m FT8 later.

6m FT8

A few moments ago (it is now 0802z) the 6m FT8 gear was turned on (10W to V2000 vertical omni antenna). So far, nothing yet spotted on RX and no spots of me on TX. Although the main Es season is over, there could well be some Es at some time in the day. The main trouble is many just assume it is all over and desert the band!

UPDATE 0819z: Just a single spot of me so far by G4IFX (146km). On 6m FT8 RX nothing.

UPDATE 0923z:  3 stations spotted on 6m FT8 RX. With 1 Italian spotted the looks like there is some Es around.

Pig statues - NOT amateur radio

"Each to their own", they say. Well, I was surprised to see 2 pig statues in a local garden yesterday. Well I guess it is a change from pixies and garden gnomes!