WISPY TX

My original 10m WISPY WSPR TX beacon shows the PA arrangement using paralled 2N3904 transistors. More can be added to get higher RF output. The same arrangement is to be used in my 10FT8 transceiver. 

Oscar 100 narrowband activity

Every few weeks I look at the web SDR at Goonhilly in Cornwall to assess the activity level on the narrowband transponder of this geosynchronous satellite. My latest look was just after lunchtime in Europe. My "peek" suggests activity levels are still low even after 2 years.  

I guess getting a signal though this geosynchronous satellite is too hard for most "black box" operators. Even if someone sold a special Oscar 100 transceiver they would still have to point the dish, which would be too hard! 

I believe BATC is also streaming TV activity through Oscar 100, but I have not yet looked.

See https://eshail.batc.org.uk/nb/

Village - NOT amateur radio

There are still some delightful spots in our village as shown in the photo. 

The village has grown a lot since we came in 1975, but it still feels like a village.

Very old family photo - NOT amateur radio

My wife is doing a photobook on the history of one side of her family. 

One ancestor is believed to have fought at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. More recently her ancestors have been shopkeepers and run a banana warehouse in Sheffield.  Doing a book is a good idea both for her and generations to come so these memories are captured.

The restored photo probably dates from the late 1800s or early 1900s.

70cm FT8 QRP (V) Wednesday

Just did a quick test and the VSWR with the FT817ND and big-wheel was high, so I have connected the V2000 vertical up instead.  Now on 70cm FT8 with 2.5W and the V2000 vertical. 

I intend to use this from 1700z this evening with a short break for the CDARC net on 145.55MHz FM at 2000z. I may try the latter on 2m FM with the FT817ND to see how it performs (I did).

UPDATE 1647z: No spots. I guess my chance of any spots on 70cm FT8 is low until 1700z as there will be few on at the best of times. My own view is that DX via troposcatter or aircraft reflection might be better on 70cm  than on 2m. For this we need activity.

UPDATE 1938z: 11 stations spotted so far with the furthermost PD1JFB (306km). 2 QSOs so far on 70cm QRP FT8.

UPDATE 2056z: 13 stations spotted with 4 Dutch stations despite my vertical antenna.

UPDATE 2230z: Now QRT. In all, a very decent, respectable, evening with 2.5W and a vertical omni antenna. The furthermost on TX was a spot by G7WIR (98km). The map shows the stations spotted here on 70cm FT8 RX this evening.

OFCOM auctions

OFCOM has announced that the auctions of spectrum at 700MHz and 3.6GHz start this week. See the  OFCOM website for more details. 

If you have a few billions spare........

70cm FT8 activity contest tonight

Ron PA2RF has reminded me there is a 70cm FT8 activity contest this evening. I shall definitely be on RX with the 2m big-wheel and may be on TX with 2.5W. The contest starts at 1700z and exchanges are just reports and Maidenhead locators. We are asked not to use the FT8 contest mode!

I have no idea about FT8 usage on 70cm on normal days.

On 70cms the main FT8 frequency is 432.174MHz in Europe.

See https://www.ft8activity.eu/index.php/en/

See https://rsgb.org/main/operating/band-plans/vhf-uhf/432mhz-band/

Sunspots - Wednesday March 10th 2021

 Solar flux is 84 and the SSN 23. A=3 and K=0.

2m FT8 QRP (Tuesday)

 At about 2040z, I decided to go on 2m FT8 QRP with 2.5W and the big-wheel omni antenna. So far, 10 stations have spotted my QRP and I have spotted 3 stations on RX so far.

UPDATE 2300z : Now QRT. 1 QSO this evening. 

70cm activity contest (UKAC)

With 10W and my 2m big-wheel omni antenna I entered the 70cm activity contest organised by the RSGB. I was only on for 30 minutes before I had to stop because of my poor voice. I made just 3 QSOs with the furthermost G4CLA (105km). I work him most times. With a beam and stopping on longer, I could work far more.

Private golf course - NOT amateur radio

 When my brother's in-laws died he was left a big piece of a field behind his house which is now an orchard and private golf course as shown in the photo.

Not many can say they have a golf course in their back garden! 

17m FT8 QRP (Tuesday)

About 10 minutes ago (it is now 1022z) my 2.5W to the indoor loop was turned on. So far, 2 stations have been spotted on RX but nobody has yet spotted my QRP on TX. Things seem very quiet today. On RX the furthermost is 4Z4DX (3561km).

UPDATE 1450z: 2 spots of my QRP TX on 17m FT8 today.  83 stations spotted on RX.

Tree work - NOT amateur radio

Recently, I showed our local meadow we call the cowfield. This is a different view showing some tree work. 

Pye Telecom PF1 NOT amateur radio

One of my first professional jobs was to convert the PF1 units to 12.5kHz channel spacing. This was for Mike Gotch who I heard much later was M0IMG. I think this was a test of my capabilities. 

Mike took early retirement to look after his sick partner. He sadly died later following a stroke.

PF1 units were low power and some were converted to 70cm. 

Sunspots - Tuesday March 9th 2021

 Solar flux is 80 and the SSN 14. A=6 and K=1.

More "brain fog" - NOT amateur radio

As reported earlier, I got my E-field probe working on LF.  In the past, this would have been totally trivial, but I am exhausted just putting dry cells in the EFP and old FT817. Just undoing a few screws tired me out! 

Miracle antennas

These were popular some years ago, but I have no idea if they are still available. 

Like all sorts of small antennas, these are a compromise. On the higher HF bands, when used with a good ground or counterpoise, they can be quite effective, being within a couple of S points of a full sized dipole. I used mine with a central heating ground and worked some remarkable DX on 10m SSB QRP. They fitted directly on the back of the rig and were very easy to tune.

I suspect mine is in the loft as I have not seen it for 7.5 years! I am too wobbly these days to go up there!

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

136kHz E-field probe found

With a fresh battery, I think this will still work. It was re-found yesterday. 

If it does, it means I can do some local tests with my beacon into the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground. I already have a local RX test site in mind.

UPDATE 1540z:  A short range test in the house shows the EFP still works. 

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqr

p3/antennas/137efp

That royal interview - NOT amateur radio

Today, people are talking about 2 things in England. Firstly, all school children are returning to schools. Secondly, Oprah Winfrey interviewed Meghan and Harry, who now live in California.

Views on the royal family are very wide. My personal view is that they have to change. Wealth and privilege as a result of who your parents are or were has no place today. I am not a republican, but feel change has to occur or the UK monarchy will end in the next 50 years.

Why do we need to spend millions doing up a cottage in Windsor Great Park? 

Yes, our royal family and palaces are probably worth millions in tourism each year. We can still have this without the silliness that goes with it. Get real royals!

Maltings - NOT amateur radio

Many years ago maltings were places where hops were dried to make beer. 

We have a maltings building in our village, but these days it houses offices.

17m FT8 QRP (Monday)

It is now 0907z. Shortly, I intend to go on 17m FT8 again with 2.5W and the indoor loop. 17m seems a good daytime band. Even with my QRP and tiny indoor loop, I was spotted in the USA on that band again yesterday.

UPDATE 1139z: 43 stations spotted on RX, and 1 spot of me on TX by UA3PRS (2481km).

UPDATE 1200z: 60 stations spotted here today on RX.

UPDATE 1425z: 115 stations spotted.

UPDATE 1607z:  2 stations have spotted my 2.5W to the indoor loop on TX. 131 stations spotted on RX. No South Americans today so far.

sBITX?

Steve G1KQH sent me an email yesterday in which he mentioned that the inventor of the uBITX, Ashar Farhan VU2ESE, is working on an SDR version. I have no details of when this will be available, but can imagine it being low cost and very interesting.

The original uBITX is available from India, with most of the hardware built (he uses a woman's co-operative to build and test the main assembly).  It is a very inexpensive way to get on the HF bands.

See https://www.hfsignals.com/index.php/ubitx-v6/
See https:ex//qrparci.org/fdim

Sunspots - Monday March 8th 2021

Solar flux is 78 and the SSN 14. A=10 and K=1.

2m FT8 RX (Sunday)

Earlier this evening, I decided to go on 2m FT8 RX with the big-wheel omni antenna. So far (2140z) 19 stations in 4 countries spotted. The furthermost is DL6BF (479km).

UPDATE 2217z: No further stations spotted this evening. QRT soon.

10FT8R 10m FT8 RX

As mentioned before, my aim, despite my "brain fog", is to build a full FT8 transceiver for 10m.  This will be done in stages, starting with the RX. 

This photo shows the original WISPY 10m WSPR RX, which I want to base the design on, although I am still looking for the actual thing. I am not sure I still have it even! At least the photo will help with pad placement. 

IC-705 and FT8

One of the things many ICOM IC-705 owners will want to do is run FT8. As I understand it, you can use the single USB cable for both audio and CAT rig control. I see there is a YouTube video about this.

Schools in England - NOT amateur radio

March 8th sees the return to school of all children in England. 

The person in charge of education at ministerial level was interviewed on the BBC and Sky earlier. One option reported as being considered is longer school days and shorter holidays. 

One of my sons is a teacher and he has had to do online teaching as well as classroom teaching. I hope they discuss proposals with teachers first! 

Yes, school children must catch up, but in most cases teachers are near burn out. Imagine being told you have shorter holidays and longer days. I can see even more early retirements and people leaving the profession. Government in the UK - open your eyes!!!

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-56311723 . 

Ailunce HS2

This radio, the Ailunce HS2, costs just under £650. The adverts don't mention the power (at least I couldn't find it), which I assume is 5W.  It is available from Radioworld in the UK Midlands. 

At this price, it must be Chinese. I would be concerned about quality control and warranty, although on paper it looks good. As this is preliminary data, perhaps they are testing interest?

As I have said many times before, once the Chinese get interested in this market (will they?) the Japanese will really notice.

It is much smaller than it looks. At a guess I'd say it looks FT817 sized.

17m FT8 QRP (Sunday)

 At about 0835z I went on 17m FT8 with 2.5W and the tiny indoor loop. It is now 0932z. So far, 2 stations have spotted my QRP TX with the furthermost being UR7IM (2631km) and on RX 28 stations spotted here with the furthermost HL5BLI (9059km) in South Korea.

I remain amazed how well this simple QRP set-up works. Later, if I have the energy, I may try thicker wire for the loop. Somewhere in the garage is the roll of central heating pipe that I might use. Failing that, just thicker copper wire or a parallel stretch of copper wire might make things even better.

UPDATE 1208z: 89 stations spotted so far on RX.

UPDATE 1430z: 138 spots of me in 5 continents today on 17m FT8 RX.  4 spots of my QRP on TX.

Shack

This photo may have been on before. If so, my apologies.

It shows me in the shack checking the birds in the garden with binoculars. Building is done on the left and operating on the right.

The photo makes the room look much bigger than it is. 

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

Did we really have holidays? - NOT amateur radio

This photo shows a crab lunch (excellent) we had last September when we were in North Norfolk. 

Things felt almost normal. 

Sunspots - Sunday March 7th 2021

Solar flux is 77 and the SSN 23. A=16 and K=1.

They are coming - NOT amateur radio

Looking at the latest Devon bird sightings, I see that sand martins have started to arrive. These birds are among the first migrants to come.  Swallows usually arrive here in East Anglia in early April with swifts early May. The photo shows a sand martin.

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

Flower pot antenna

Steve G1KQH recently sent me an email with some useful links on how to make 1/2 wave verticals. I am sharing it with you in case this gives you ideas.

"The latest G4NSJ video pointed me to investigate..

Cheap to make for anything from 28MHz to UHF I guess.. Ideally a starting point is to make one for 2m

Gain 1dB over 1/4 Wave

Details here: 

http://vk2zoi.com/articles/half-wave-flower-pot/

You can even make it Dual band:

http://vk2zoi.com/articles/dual-band-half-wave-flower-pot/

There is even an online calculator:

https://nomonsuhendar.blogspot.com/2020/12/flower-pot-antenna-calculator.html

73's G1KQH"

17m FT8 QRP (Saturday)

At about 1130z, I went on 17m FT8 with 2.5W and the tiny indoor loop. It is now 1141z and 3 stations spotted on RX with the furthermost EA8WU (2985km) and nobody has spotted my QRP on TX. 

UPDATE 1145z: So far, 4 stations spotted on 17m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1259z: 15 stations spotted so far on RX. Nobody has spotted me on TX.

UPDATE 1400z:  2 stations have spotted me on TX and 37 stations spotted on RX.

UPDATE 1555z: 4 stations have spotted my QRP TX and 65 stations spotted on RX with the furthermost YB1AR (11781km).

UPDATE 1820z: 72 stations spotted today on 17m FT8 RX today. QRT soon.

630m WSPR TX 4 years ago

 

The table shows the stations spotting my 10mW ERP from the earth-electrode "antenna" in the ground in 2017. At the moment my transverter is faulty on TX, so I am restricted to RX. 

The tiny indoor loop

This is the inside of my loop antenna used successfully on 20m FT8 to 10m FT8. I am amazed how well it works. 

The wire used for the loop is quite small and I might try much thicker wire. Tuning should be sharper, but efficiency should be higher. My concern is higher Q means higher voltage at the high impedance point. 

Sunspots - Saturday March 6th 2021

Solar flux is 73 and the SSN 14.  A=5 and K=1.

2m FT8 QRP (Friday)

About an hour ago I QSYed to 2m FT8 QRP using 2.5W and the big-wheel omni antenna. It is now 2022z and so far tonight 19 stations have spotted me and 1 QSO.

UPDATE 2145z:  2 QSOs and 25 spots of my QRP TX this evening in 4 countries with the furthermost EI2FG (565km). 36 stations spotted on RX.

UPDATE 2240z:  43 stations spotted on RX and 25 stations have spotted my QRP on TX. QRT soon.

Covid 19 humour - NOT amateur radio

 Well, it made me giggle.