2012 - NOT amateur radio

At the moment it is very mild here unlike in 2012 when it was cold and frosty. 

The photo was taken at nearby Anglesey Abbey on this day in 2012. 

10m FT8 QRP (Tuesday)

About 30 minutes ago I turned on my 10m QRP using 2.5W from the FT817ND to the tiny indoor loop. In all honesty, I was not too hopeful. Already my QRP has been spotted by MM0ZBH (482km) and I have spotted 9 stations mostly in eastern Europe.

UPDATE 1303z: So far today, 11 stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX with the tiny indoor loop and just the single spot of my 2.5W QRP FT8 TX.

Just looking - NOT amateur radio

The photo shows our son with his son looking at one of the oldest houses in the village. 

WSJT-X v2.3.0

Today the released version of WSJT-X V2.3.0 was made available. Previously just release candidates were available.

With Windows 10 I had all sorts of issues as it tried to block the download in case it harmed the PC. I said "keep" and "install anyway".  Only then could I go ahead.

Sunspots - Tuesday February 2nd 2021

 Solar flux is 74 and the SSN 0. A=5 and K=4.

2m FT8 QRP (Monday)

It is now 1827z. A few moments ago I QSYed to 2m FT8 QRP running 2.5W to the big-wheel omni antenna. Already 8 spots of my QRP TX and 2 stations spotted here on RX after about 10 minutes.

UPDATE 1910z:  15 stations have spotted me on TX and 8 stations spotted on RX.

Breaking ice - NOT amateur radio

Have you noticed how very young children love puddles? 

Even my 13 year old grandson still seems to like them, especially if icy. 

This was him yesterday on our walk. It was very muddy with the puddles icy.

17m FT8 QRP (Monday)

It is now 1420z. A few minutes ago I QSYed to 17m FT8 with 2.5W and the tiny indoor loop antenna. So far today, 43 stations spotted on RX, but no spots of my QRP TX.

UPDATE 1448z:  72 stations spotted so far on RX, but nobody has yet spotted my QRP TX.

UPDATE 1535z:  106 stations spotted so far on 17m FT8 RX and just one spot of my 2.5W on TX. I think one of the issues is being clobbered by co-channel stations running far more ERP. Although a channel appears clear here, it may not be.

Stations spotted on
17m FT8 RX today

UPDATE 1802z:  189 stations spotted today on 17m FT8 RX.  QSYing to 2m FT8 QRP shortly.

The EU and vaccines for Covid-19 - NOT amateur radio

There seems little doubt that the EU was very slow ordering vaccines. For example, they ordered AstraZeneca vaccines 3 months after the UK and have only now approved its use!  It seems the EU bureaucracy really slowed down the roll-out in Europe. 

This is one reason why so many voted to leave the EU in the UK. In my view, this was a "shot in the foot". The UK government is far from perfect, but on vaccines they got it right.

10m FT8 QRP (Monday)

It is now 1116z. For about 30 minutes I have been on 10m FT8 with 2.5W and the tiny indoor loop. No spots yet today.

UPDATE 1405z:  Just one station (a local) spotted on RX.  No spots on TX. QSYing to 17m FT8.

Operating from South Georgia and British areas in Antarctica

Until 2020, the Falkland Islands issued licences for these areas, but this stopped last year. This would affect DXpeditions to these South Atlantic areas.  There may be some clarity now. For some time you just had to self-declare competence and a VP8 call was yours!

See https://www.openfalklands.com/ofcom-update-on-vp8-amateur-radio-licences-in-british-antarctic-territory-south-georgia-and-south-sandwich-islands/

Ferrite rod TX antenna experiments in Italy

Riccardo IU1OPK has been doing some very successful tests with ferrite rod TX antennas. on 40m.  For many this may be an answer to compact antennas. We fully accept that a bigger antenna would be better, but these results are good. Below is an extract from the email he sent me. The photos show his arrangement.

"Today I tested the ferrite antenna with WSPR on 40m and it worked well, with power from 2 to 5 watt.
I changed a little bit the design and I found that with a “short circuit” of the upper coil the signals are much stronger... below my scheme and the wspr spots (up to 2600 km).
I attempted some FT8 QSOs with no results but I have been received looking on pskreport website, so even with FT8 some qso should be possible. 

My tests were done both indoor and on my balcony so no strange coupling is noticeable, the antenna was placed vertically, I think that it works like a loop antenna oriented horizontally (not a vertical loaded one since my upper end is grounded).

The “strange” good results around midday and early evening when the critical frequency was around 7 MHz seem confirming a sort of NVIS transmission (quite strong signals and local receivers).

Riccardo's 40m
spots on WSPR

Excellent work Riccardo. Well done.  At the frontier where radio amateurs should be.

Often it is best to ignore experts and just experiment to see what works. Often the so called experts do not know and are just spouting myths they were (wrongly) told years before.

 

Solar data

At the start of each month my favourite site for solar data is updated. We are now a year after the solar minimum and we are looking for indications for the solar cycle 25. In particular, we are looking for forecasts of how big (or small!) it might be. As the cycle progresses, we have a better idea.

See https://www.solen.info/solar/ .

UPDATE 1550z: I see it has been updated already. See https://www.solen.info/solar/images/cycles23_24.png

Talent - NOT amateur radio

Our younger grandson is very talented. He is 11 years old. He is good at sports, art and now crocheting! He is also very good with people. He is not shy.

The photo shows some examples of his work.

Sunspots - Monday February 1st 2021

 Solar flux is 73 and the SSN 0. A=1 and K=2.

Online resource

Some years ago I was pointed to this resource by Steve G1KQH.

See http://www.n5dux.com/ham/files/pdf/

2m FT8 QRP (Sunday)

At about 1744z I QSYed to 2m FT8 with 2.5W and the big-wheel omni antenna. Alredady spotted by 3 stations including EI2FG 565km). No spots yet on RX.

UPDATE 1904z:  11 stations have spotted me this evening on 2m FT8 QRP TX.  8 stations spotted on RX. No QSOs.

UPDATE 2005z: 14 stations have spotted my QRP on 2m FT8 including GI and EI again. 10 stations spotted on RX.

EMF calculator

Southgate News has a piece about a new EMF calculator produced by OFCOM and the RSGB. At some point we may have to show OFCOM that our ERP is within certain limits, for example if a neighbour made a complaint.

See http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2021/january/updated-rsgb-ofcom-emf-calculator.htm#.YBbCt_GTLrc

Grandchildren - NOT amateur radio

This morning we did a "socially distanced" walk with one of our sons and his children. This is a photo of them earlier.

Our village - NOT amateur radio

This was a view of our village earlier.  The foreground is Spring Close meadows which is an 11 acre wild meadow bought for the village some years ago. It has Roman remains and castle remains dating back to King Stephen. In the distance is Burwell church.

Quiet corner - NOT amateur radio

Although our village has grown a lot, it still feels like a village and it has some lovely quiet corners. This is Mandeville, near where the British Foreign Secretary used to live. There are lots of snowdrops in flower near here.

10m FT8 QRP (Sunday)

Since 0825z, I have been on 10m FT8 with 2.5W and the tiny indoor loop. No spots so far at 1030z. The photo shows the loop antenna on the windowsill on the right.

UPDATE 1240z: No spots on RX. 1 spot of my QRP TX by EA8BFK (2881km).

UPDATE 1435z: Still no further spots. I did copy an OD5 (Lebanon) on RX, but this was not uploaded to PSKreporter for some reason.

UPDATE 1740z:  No further spots all day, so will QSY to 2m FT8 shortly.

RSPB big garden birdwatch - NOT amateur radio

Just finished the RSPB Big Garden Birdwatch.  

You have to record the maximum number of each different species seen in any hour. 

In all, 10 different species seen. Those missing, but often seen, include goldfinch, great tit and thrush.

See https://www.rspb.org.uk/

Sunspots - Sunday January 31st 2021

 Solar flux is 74 and the SSN 0. A=2 and K=0. 

2m FT8 QRP (Saturday)

 Shortly, I shall be QSYing to 2m FT8 QRP using 2.5W and the big-wheel omni antenna.

UPDATE 1700z:  QSYed at 1651z. 6 stations in 2 countries have spotted my 2.5W QRP FT8.

UPDATE 1740z:  11 stations in 4 countries have spotted me today, so far, on 2m FT8. The furthermost is EI2FG (565km).

Cheer-up time! - NOT amateur radio

 In these odd times, you might enjoy this video.

17m FT8 QRP (Saturday)

It is miserable outside - sleet and cold!!

At the moment I am on 17m FT8 QRP with 2.5W and the tiny indoor loop. 66 stations spotted on RX and  6 stations have spotted me on TX already.

UPDATE 1640z:  19 stations have spotted my 17m FT8 QRP today using just 2.5W and my tiny indoor loop. The map shows where I was spotted today.

Sunspots - Saturday January 30th 2021

 Solar flux is 76 and the SSN 0. A=3 and K=1.

2m FT8 QRP (Friday)

At 1835z I QSYed to 2m FT8 QRP with 2.5W and the big-wheel omni antenna. 7 G spots so far of my 2.5W QRP on TX. 4 spots in 3 countries so far on 2m FT8 RX with the furthermost being DL6YBF (410km).

UPDATE 2220z:  12 stations have spotted me on 2m FT8  TX. Now QRT.

481THz optical beacon

 

One of my Facebook memories today was this photo of my 481THz optical beacon. This was made in 2012 I think. 

I still have it and hope to use it again. It uses a K1EL keyer to produce either CW or QRSS. My first test is likely to be some sort of reflection test, possibly off trees.

It seems I like to experiment at the extreme ends of the spectrum, HI.  Either VLF (sub 9kHz) or optical comms (481THz)!

Winter walk - NOT amateur radio

Stirrings. 

On a winter walk, these aconites are coming into flower. There are a few daffodils on the way, but few out yet.

17m FT8 QRP (Friday)

It is now 1216z.  For a few minutes I have been on 17m FT8 QRP with the FT817ND (2.5W) and the tiny indoor loop. So far today I have spotted 10 stations on RX and 2 stations have spotted me on QRP TX in southern Spain. I am amazed that anyone spots me on 17m with such low power and such a tiny antenna!

Covid-19 injection - NOT amateur radio

We just went to a nearby town for our first AstraZeneca Covid-19 injection. They were very well organised with loads of people helping at every stage. The injection itself was totally painless. Within 3 weeks the immunity should build.

Another CDARC Zoom talk

The Cambridge radio club has another Zoom talk at 2000z tonight. These have all been excellent. 

Tonight's talk is on "Operating from South Atlantic Islands" by Martin G3ZAY.  I think he writes the HF column in RadCom, the RSGB magazine.

I have been pleasantly surprised how effective these talks are. We can all see each other and most sessions have at least as many people as a face-to-face meeting, with the added advantage that those people far away can still take part.

Some months ago we had a quiz with a club in N.Ireland and we have had members in Canada and Germany at times.

Details of CDARC are on the website.  See http://www.cdarc.org.uk/ .

8m band?

 Although 8m is allocated in EI and a very few other countries, some in other countries have asked for special permission to TX on this band. 

I have lost touch who has permission. This allocation between 10m and 6m would be especially useful for Es and MS.

It may be some years before this is more generally allocated (if ever), but I expect more keen amateurs will seek special permits to TX, maybe for a limited time, with limited power, on spot frequencies on a non-interference basis i.e. as long as you don't cause trouble, you can proceed.

Haircut time - NOT amateur radio

Yesterday, we had our silver birch tree trimmed. It was getting very tall. 

It should rapidly regrow, although we hope slowly! 

2m FT8 QRP (Thursday evening)

Stations spotting my 2m FT8
QRP Thursday evening

Last evening I was again on 2m FT8 with my 2.5W and big-wheel. 

9 stations in 5 countries spotted me and I had 1 QSO.  Yet again, I was copied in EI and GI.

Sunspots - Friday January 29th 2021

 Solar flux is 76 and the SSN 0. A=5 and K=2.

Lower cost HF rigs

Steve G1KQH and I have been discussing lower cost HF rigs. At the moment it would seem this market is being left to the Chinese and kits like the Indian uBITX. 

Most modern rigs from the Japanese people like ICOM, Yaesu and Kenwood are expensive and there is a dearth of lower cost "entry level" products lacking many of the fancy features. Whilst some can afford expensive toys, many cannot. 

In a way I am surprised that the uBITX design has not been bought by one of the big 3, improved, made in China and sold at an entry level price. It seems this is a market ready to be exploited. If the Japanese don't grab it, the Chinese surely will.

17m FT8 QRP (Thursday)

 As 10m was not good, I QSYed to 17m FT8 QRP at about 1353z. I am running 2.5W to the tiny indoor loop. 

At 17m, this is even smaller as a proportion of wavelength than 10m. Nonetheless, 11 spots on RX (including several from the USA) and 1 on TX.

UPDATE 1415z: 21 stations spotted so far on RX.