Sunrise - NOT amateur radio

We were treated to a nice sunrise this morning. 

Kent snow - NOT amateur radio

Our son sent us this photo of the snow near Canterbury yesterday. It looks quite picturesque. Our son and his children have been sledging.

Sunspots - Friday February 12th 2021

 Solar flux is 76 and the SSN 0. A=4 and K=1.

2m FT8 QRP (Thursday)

At 1842z I QSYed to 2m FT8 with the usual 2.5W and the big-wheel omni antenna. At 1850z, I have been spotted by 6 stations on TX, although no stations yet spotted on RX here.

UPDATE 1935z:  1 station spotted on RX and 9 spots of my QRP on TX with the furthermost again being EI2FG (565km). The latter is every day.

Rallies cancelled

As we are still in the grip of the Covid-19 pandemic, a couple more rallies have been cancelled. The ones just cancelled are the Ballymena ARC rally on Feb 13th and the Harwell Radio and Electronics Rally in Didcot on February 14th.

See http://rsgb.org/main/news/rallies/ .

More on our walk - NOT amateur radio

 

This collage summarises our walk today around the village. It was cold and sunny. 

Most of the snow has gone, although there are still patches in the shade.

Winter walk - NOT amateur radio

As the pavements were mostly clear of ice and snow and it was sunny, we did a nice walk around the village. It was good to be out, but I feel so giddy. 

15m FT8 QRP (Thursday)

 In a few moments time, I intend to switch on my 2.5W QRP  to the indoor loop.

UPDATE 1037z:  Gear turned on and 4 stations spotted on RX and 1 spot of me already on QRP TX - EA8BFK (2881km).

4m transverter

One of my Facebook memories today was this photo of my QRP 4m transverter designed and made in 2011. I have not been on 4m for a very long time.

The band is being covered on far more commercial transceivers now and there are far more countries on the band. It is ideal for summer Es.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/vuhf/4m_tvtr

G0KSC website update

As you may know, I like simple and small antennas that do not need towers and rotators. These have the advantage of being neighbour friendly.

Luckily we are all different which is one of the joys of our hobby. To many, big antennas help with DXing or EME. Each to their own.

The G0KSC website has been updated and this has a lot about antennas.

See www.g0ksc.co.uk

Reflections - NOT amateur radio

This is not one of my photos! It appeared on 365project earlier. It is a great shot which is why I am sharing it.  

I do 365 every day. Each day you post a photo, however mundane, and it is great fun. Looking back it is interesting to see how much the grandchildren have changed over the years. I have been doing it for 8 years. Some use it to show how good they are at photography, whereas to me, and many, it is just a visual diary. There is no way I would win prizes for great photos! Many of mine are very boring! What I am saying is there is no need to be a good photographer: this is for you. Others can enjoy your photos if you want or you can keep them private. You can join for free or pay $19.99 a year if you want more albums and privacy.

See https://365project.org/g3xbm/365 for my photos. 

See www.365project.org to join.

Sunspots - Thursday February 11th 2021

 Solar flux is 74 and the SSN 0. A=3 and K=1. 

Rant time - NOT amateur radio

Have you noticed that some things get worse over time? 

My wife has a coat that she got many years ago, so she decided to buy a new one. It is thinner and has fewer pockets. She recently bought me some new pants - they are thinner and shorter. A new National Trust bag has fewer pockets. I could go on and on....

You can see what happens. The buyer tries to get the best "bang per buck" and has a fixed price. He asks the supplier to keep the price down so accepts some compromises to hold the price, hoping the consumer won't care. 

Result? Thinner, poorer, material, fewer pockets. Basically poorer.

Rant over.

Snowy walk - NOT amateur radio

Just now we went for a walk. The forecast was full sun, so it snowed! 

Recently seen flowers - NOT amateur radio

Already, the nights are getting shorter and there is a promise of spring, although we are still in the depths of winter. My wife took these pictures a few days ago.

Yesterday's snow - NOT amateur radio

We had snow yesterday. Most of it had gone by late afternoon, which surprised us.

It is sunny, but icy, this morning. Wind has dropped.

When we get a drop of snow here in the UK we all panic. I can only imagine what people in New England and Canada think of us!  To us, 0 deg C is cold!

The last day on 2m FT8 using 2.5W

In the last day, 30 stations have spotted me on 2M FT8 using 2.5W and the big-wheel omni antenna. Irrespective of conditions these ranges are always possible.

2m FT8 QRP (Wednesday)

The 2m FT8 gear was turned on early this morning. I am again running 2.5W to the big-wheel omni antenna.

UPDATE 0925z:  8 spots of my QRP including EI2FG (565km) again.  If this is aircraft scatter (I have my doubts), it is there very often, which is why I wonder if some other form of scatter is involved on some paths.

UPDATE 1001z:  7 stations spotted here so far. At the moment I am RX only on 2m FT8 with the big-wheel omni.

Elephants - NOT amateur radio

My wife took this photo last week when we had plenty of sunshine. It was taken at the entrance to the walled garden at Hare Park, Chippenham near Cambridge.

 

Sunspots - Wednesday February 10th 2021

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

15m FT8 yesterday

Stations spotted on
15m FT8 yesterday 

In the end, my 2.5W 15m FT8 was spotted by 3 stations. in Europe and Africa.

All over the world was spotted on RX. 

This was just with the tiny indoor loop antenna. 

Alexa - NOT amateur radio

A few months ago we bought an Amazon Dot at half price from Amazon. I bought it as it was so inexpensive: if it was no good, I would not have wasted that much.

What has surprised me is how effective the voice recognition is.  Even with my poor voice, it seems to understand me most times. When not in use we turn it off at the mains to prevent it picking up unintentional conversations. 

When it arrived it was much smaller than I expected. At first I wondered if they had only sent the PSU.  At a guess I reckon it is about 10cm across. Sound quality is much better than expected. It is very good.

You can say things like, "play BBC Radio 4" or "play a 1930s mix".

I am impressed. It is much better than I expected. My wife enjoys it even more!

New museum shed - NOT amateur radio

Funny how being locked down you get excited by silly things! Years ago we would go on overseas holidays, but I guess we just have to wait....

Today, we had major excitement when a new shed was delivered to our local village museum. Imagine that! A new shed!!! 😄 Gosh! 

A lorry drove up and lots of helpers were on hand to help erect it. A year ago this would have been ignored!

70cm activity contest this evening

70cm 10W SSB QSOs
this evening

Being the second Tuesday in the month, this evening is the February leg of the RSGB organised activity contest on 70cm (UKAC). These start at 2000z and last for up to 2.5 hours. Usually I am on for far less than 1 hour with my 10W and 2m antenna (I use a 2m (144MHz) big-wheel omni that seems to match OK at 70cm).

Activity levels on 70cm SSB are better than most times, although with a lack of /P stations is a pity. Unlike many contests, these don't feel like contests and are very friendly. Despite my poor set-up on the band, I seem to be able to work over 100km most times. It is a good chance to work a few new squares.

UPDATE 2102z: 5 QSOs this evening.

Ads I hate - NOT amateur radio

There are some adverts in particular that I just hate! Those that say something like, "taking the UK by storm" or "seniors are missing out". These are obviously designed to draw us in. Sorry, here these are just deleted, unread.

Dust cloud "moons"? - NOT amateur radio

Southgate News has a piece on the dust clouds that appear to be circulating the Earth at about the same distance as the Moon. 

I do not think this is fake news! If it is please tell me.

See http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2021/january/science-confirms-earth-has-more-than-one-moon.htm#.YCJWwiuTLrc .

2m FT8 QRP (Tuesday)

Today, I am again on 2m FT8 QRP with 2.5W and the big-wheel antenna. Already at 0930, 8 stations have spotted my QRP including (again) EI2FG (565km). The grabber at G0LRD is very useful.

See http://82.71.9.63:8080/cap/

UPDATE 1018z: 11 stations have spotted my 2m FT8 QRP.

UPDATE 1118z: 12 stations have spotted my 2m FT8 QRP this morning. I guess most that can spot me now have. On 2m FT8 RX,  8 stations spotted here so far.

Stations spotting
me at 1212z

UPDATE 1212z:  So far today, 14 stations in 4 countries have been spotted on 2m FT8 RX. On 2m FT8 QRP TX, I have been spotted by 15 stations in 3 countries.

UPDATE 1827z:   42 stations in 7 countries spotted here on 2m FT8 RX. On QRP 2m FT8 TX 23 stations in 6 countries have spotted me.

Last evening on 2m FT8 QRP

Last evening I was again on 2m FT8 with 2.5W to the big-wheel. Yet again, plenty of stations were spotting me including EI and GI.

Overnight snow - NOT amateur radio

Although it snowed again overnight here in Burwell, I suspect it is much worse to the east. We have some fresh snow on the road and plenty of ice, but it could be much worse. This is the coldest winter here for some time although nothing like 1947 or 1963.

Sunspots - Tuesday February 9th 2021

Solar flux is 74 and the SSN 0. A=6 and K=2.

2m FT8 QRP (Monday)

At 1844z I turned my 2m QRP using the FT817ND at 2.5W and the big-wheel omni antenna. So far this evening 5 stations have spotted me in 2 countries.

SSB out-of-band?

There is an interesting piece on Southgate News about transmitting out of band. This is particularly important on 60m where the allocations are very small. The important thing is that the dial frequency may be in band but some of the modulation may not be! 

See http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2021/january/how-far-you-can-turn-the-dial-when-transmitting-ssb.htm#.YCEkAyuTLrc

Snow in Kent - NOT amateur radio

 

They have had plenty of snow in Kent as the photo shows.

You can see they are having fun!

Snow in Burwell - NOT amateur radio

At last in this cold snap we had snow overnight and there are slight snow flurries now. 

This winter is proving colder than for several years and this is the second "proper" snowfall. It is much worse to the east of us. 

At least the children can go sledging and build snowmen. These are rare treats nowadays here.

15m FT8 QRP (Monday)

Shortly, I shall go on 15m FT8 with 2.5W and the tiny indoor loop. 15m seems a good compromise at the moment: open more than 10m, but the loop is still OK.

UPDATE 0940z:  Gear turned on. Much to my surprise, already my 2.5W has been spotted in Finland on TX and I have spotted 5 stations on RX. This is after 8 minutes!!

UPDATE 1112z: 2 spots of my QRP TX so far.  On RX, 46 spots as far away as Australia. The furthermost is VK8NSB (13781km).

Sunspots - Monday February 8th 2021

 Solar flux is 73 and the SSN 0. A=21 and K=1.

2m FT8 QRP (Sunday)

At 1655z I QSYed from 15m to 2m FT8 QRP using 2.5W and the big-wheel omni antenna. So far this evening, I have been spotted on TX by 5 stations in 2 countries after just a few minutes. On RX 5 stations spotted here. It is now 1708z.

UPDATE 1940z:  So far today, spotted on TX by 16 stations with the furthermost being EI2FG (565km). Every day I seem to be spotted by EI2FG. Although this could be aircraft reflection, this seems to be too random. I still find it amazing that with simple, QRP 2m gear and an omni-directional antenna, these sort of ranges are possible every single day.

No snow.....yet - NOT amateur radio

Although we have snow to the east of us, there is no snow here yet. I expect we will see some this week, although it often manages to just miss us.  Snow looks nice for a few days, but icy pavements can be a fall hazard best avoided.

UPDATE 2000z:  Still no snow here.

Quantum RX

Southgate News has a piece on some army research into quantum receivers that can look at the entire 0-20GHz spectrum in one go.

See http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2021/january/new-quantum-receiver.htm#.YB_2lyuTLrc .

Hare Park Chippenham - NOT amateur radio

 

This is another view of Hare Park, Chippenham, near Cambridge last week. 

This is definitely the best snowdrop display in the area.