10FT8R Schematic

I am sorry this is hand drawn for now. With my addled brain it is much harder to learn new schematic drawing packages. I thought it better to put up a hand drawn sketch than nothing.  Even doing the schematic by hand was hard.

The inductor next to the crystal was added to pull low cost 14.040MHz crystals down to 14.037MHz. In my case I used a T37-6 core with about 6uH inductance. I DC isolated the connections to the PC mic input.

I use the shack 13.8V PSU, but it will probably work with batteries with lower voltage although I have not tried this. Some resistors may have to change in value.

The Polyakov mixer diodes could probably be replaced with matched germanium ones.

If you can improve it please let me know!

OFCOM changes

 OFCOM has changed some licence exemption conditions for short range devices. See the OFCOM website for details.

Rally postponed

The Dartmoor rally, which was due to take place May 3rd, has been postponed to July 4th. Let's hope that by July things are far more normal.

Buttercups - NOT amateur radio

The green near our post office is a sea of buttercups. 

10m FT8 RX

Most of the morning I've been on 10m FT8 RX with the tiny indoor loop antenna and my homebrew 10FT8R RX. It is now 1052z and nothing spotted yet today. 

UPDATE 1458z: No spots so far.

UPDATE 2113z: Just one German spotted. QRT soon. 

Photographing Bluebells - NOT amateur radio

A few days ago we went to a bluebell wood. The photo shows one of our sons taking a photo on his phone. 

External 10m antenna

Small steps....

• The first stage was to drill a hole for the coax into the shack.  This needed a long masonry drill bit, which I had. It turned out to be far less difficult than I was expecting. DONE.
• The next stage, which will need help from my son, will be erecting the wire dipole. Both supports will need ladder work, which I can no longer do. If I attempt it I am likely to be giddy. This involves cutting the dipole wire to the correct length and running the coax into the shack.
• The final part will be attaching the BNC plug and testing the antenna.

But, I do not have coax! I thought I had a reel, but will have to buy some. I guess I need about 5-6m, so 30m from Amazon should be fine.

Sunspots - Thursday April 29th 2021

 Solar flux is 78 and the SSN 42. A=3 and K=2. 

"Some external links page" on my website

Originally, this was on my very old website, but it is now on my current site. 

As it was created originally many years ago, some of the links will not work, although you may well find archived copies of these on the "Wayback Machine". 

It is surprising what you find there! I found one of my first websites from the 1990s! This site was first created in 1996! At the time I am waxing lyrical about the Philips Velo with its built-in 19.2k modem. We have come a long way.

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

GQRP Club

I have been a member for a very long time! It is run by volunteers and produces an excellent colour A5 magazine called "SPRAT" every quarter. This is filled with ideas and projects.

Joining GQRP club allows you to buy parts from member's sales, which includes nearly all the past SPRATs on DVD or flash stick. It is worth joining just for this! 

Many times in the past I have said that, if I was suddenly poor, SPRAT would be the last magazine to go. I still feel this way.

See http://www.gqrp.com/ .

Does the UK prime minister lie? - NOT amateur radio

To many outside the UK the heated discussions over who initially paid for renovation work on the UK PM's flat must seem odd.  Indeed they are, but at the heart is a question over whether Boris Johnson tells lies. If he tells lies, should we trust him? 

There is no doubt the the recent pandemic crisis has taxed us all with many things in life quite different. In many ways he has tried to "steer the ship" in very choppy waters and has done quite well, even though the death toll in the UK is high. He has definitely made mistakes and I just wish he would accept this and be honest with us.

Sadly, openness and honesty are in short supply with politicians.

No, what is at the heart of this is how honest is the UK PM?

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-56915307 .

Overseas holidays - NOT amateur radio

Many people are anxious to travel again. Since the Covid-19 pandemic few have been able to do so. The main worry is spreading the virus and one possible answer is Covid digital certificates. An EU wide scheme is being trialled in Spain in May and may be rolled out in time for the summer holiday season.

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-56912667 .

The South Hams - NOT amateur radio

As a child I grew up in a most beautiful area of England. This aerial view shows Slapton Ley.  

These sands were used as practice areas for the D-day landings in WW2. It was where the tragic disaster known as "Operation Tiger" took place. Hundreds of American servicemen were killed. For a long time this was hushed up.

Several times in recent storms the road on Slapton Line has been damaged. Eventually the sea will break through and the road will have to be on the other side of the Ley.  All my life the A379 road has run along the sands. What is my lifetime? Just a blink in history.

It's arrived!

My 10m Phaser kit has arrived from the USA. This is a 4W SSB rig for 10m FT8. 

No duty or VAT was payable. It will get built in the coming weeks.

It is designed by Dave Benson K1SWL.

See https://midnightdesignsolutions.com/phaser/

Shopping Again - NOT amateur radio

Today we went into Cambridge shopping again. 

This was the first time since last summer that we have been into the city with the shops fully opened.  All the non-essential shops are now open again.  

It was nice to see buskers and collectors with their tins again! I never thought I'd say that!

Several places have gone for ever. Most are still there.

Slowly things are returning after dark days...

More bluebells - NOT amateur radio

As mentioned yesterday, we went bluebell hunting. Bluebells come out in the English spring and can look beautiful on the floor of woodlands, carpeting them in blue. We found one particular wood that looked stunning.

10m FT8 RX again

Once again, I have my 10FT8R RX turned on connected to my (poor) indoor loop antenna. I am monitoring 10m FT8. It was turned on at 0833z.

UPDATE 1258z: Just one European spotted so far today 9A6R (1542km).

UPDATE 1420z: So far today, 5 stations spotted. I really need that outside antenna!

UPDATE 1725z: 8 stations spotted so far.

UPDATE 2110z: 17 stations spotted me today. QRT shortly.

Sunspots - Wednesday April 28th 2021

 Solar flux is 79 and the SSN 47.  A=8 and K=1.

Garden blossom - NOT amateur radio

At the moment the garden is filled with blossom. This does not last long, but looks great whilst it lasts. 

In my opinion the garden looks its best in the spring.

Amplitude Modulation

Although I have not used AM recently, partly as a result of my poor voice, I can see the attraction of the mode. It lends itself to home brewing and in the past I have designed and made several AM rigs. At one time they were practically giving away ex PMR AM rigs.  

The Fredbox and Sixbox are examples of AM rigs I have designed and made in the past.

Southgate News has announced the formation of an AM Amateur Radio Society.

See http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2021/april/announcing-the-formation-of-the-amplitude-modulation-amateur-radio-society.htm#.YIgZpGjYrrd .

My thanks to Steve G1KQH for pointing this out.

Bluebell hunting - NOT amateur radio

This morning we went bluebell hunting and saw this tree. 

We also saw plenty of bluebells. 

This Waresley Woods near Sandy, Bedfordshire.

Happier times - NOT amateur radio

 

The photo shows happier times when we ate out. I cannot recall when or where. It looks good.

10m FT8 RX

My 10FT8R RX (homemade) for 10m FT8 RX was turned on at 0739z with the indoor loop. Later today I hope to create a schematic for this 4 transistor RX, which works well.

UPDATE 1540z: No spots.

UPDATE 1700z: Just 1 spot so far - G4NBS (22km). I notice David G0LRD has spotted 67 stations today on 10m FT8.

70cm activity contest (UKAC) published

The RSGB has published the results of the April 2021 contest. Despite limited time, limited power and just a 2m omni antenna, I have climbed in the results. I only come on for the fun and never expect to do anything!

See https://www.rsgbcc.org/cgi-bin/vhfresults.pl?Contest=432MHz%20UKAC&year=2021 .

OFCOM spectrum auction final results

OFCOM has announced the final results of recent auctions of 700MHz and 3.6GHz spectrum. See the OFCOM website for details.

Sunspots - Tuesday April 27th 2021

 Solar flux is 80 and the SSN 54.  A=14 and K=3.

Phaser 2 kit - on its way

A few days ago I queried where this was. 

For some reason the email went into spam (not any more!) and I was informed the kit is in the UK and on its way to me by UPS. It must have shipped by air.

This is a 4W SSB transceiver for 10m FT8. With the Es season just upon us, it could be very effective.

See https://midnightdesignsolutions.com/phaser/index.html .

Fewer swallows? - NOT amateur radio

Like many, I keep my eyes open for the first swallows (birds) returning from Africa. Usually I see my first ones in early April. Although I have seen some, I am sure there are fewer. This may be because more perish on the journey due to lack of food.

We still see swifts, although these are later to arrive. To me they make a late spring or early summer evening. Usually you hear their screaming, look up and see them overhead hunting. Swifts are about, although I have seen and heard none yet.

Cuckoos used to be commonly heard, although I heard none last year. They tend to lay their eggs in the nests of willow warblers. Just occasionally they can be heard. More rarely, they can be seen on wires overhead.

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

Sporadic-E (Es)

In the northern hemisphere we are entering the Es season. With Es, stations up to about 1500km can often be worked on 10m, 6m  and 4m (and occasionally 2m). The most common times are May, June, July and August, although Es openings can occur at any time. 

Often quite low power is needed and signals can be very strong. Es tends to happen just as well in sunspot minimum years as sunspot maximum. 

Occasionally openings can occur over far greater ranges, although I suspect many of these are a different E layer mechanism.

Es is great fun.

Brain fog - NOT amateur radio

Since my 2013 stroke, I have suffered with what can best be described as "brain fog". 

Although I am mostly fine, I get exhausted quickly and my whole waking life is like walking through treacle: it is as if it is a dream, with me not fully there. 

It is hard to describe, but makes me seem lazy and fuzzy minded. Everyday tasks, physical and mental, are far harder. I can still do them, but things are not as clear or easy. 

My main issue is giddiness: all the time it feels like I am about to fall, although I rarely do.

Overall, I am luckier than many. Most people are totally unaware of my hidden disabilities.

ICOM IC-705 USB drivers

This afternoon I had every intention of loading the USB drivers for the IC-705 on my shack Window 10 PC. However, every time I tried recently it said the site for ICOM Japan was "not available" and I got pointed to the Wayback Machine.

This must be a temporary glitch as I managed to upgrade the firmware OK from this site recently. I can wait.

Perhaps I should learn a new schematics capture package instead!

UK sub-postmaster scandal - NOT amateur radio

If you live in the UK, you will be aware of the scandal that has engulfed the Post Office. 

The Post Office installed a new (at the time) computer system that was faulty.  Many sub-postmasters were wrongly accused of fraud and some lost homes or were even imprisoned. It amazes me the PO did apparently nothing. Surely alarm bells would have rung when so many were accused of fraud?

Apparently the once boss of the PO has resigned from some directorships she held.

In my view, those in charge of the PO at the time should face the full force of the law. This scandal ruined many lives and those in charge deserve to be prosecuted for gross incompetence.  At the very least, some should face heavy fines and possible imprisonment. 

I sincerely hope that all the people affected by the scandal are very generously compensated. If it was me in government, I'd make those in charge at the time pay and hopefully they would be made bankrupt. Let them feel (really feel) the consequences of their gross inaction. Others suffered. Why should the helpless suffer and not those responsible? Sorry, but this makes my blood boil.

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56882496 .

The right antenna helps!

My 10FT8R 10m FT8 RX has just been turned on.

Only now do I realise that all yesterday I had my V2000 vertical for VHF and UHF connected to it and not my 10m loop!! It could account for why I drew a blank yesterday. Doh!  😊

So far (with the correct antenna), no spots at 0929z.

UPDATE 1420z:  4 stations spotted with the 10FT8R RX including 3 in Norway with the furthermost LB5SH (1366km). I think this is Es. 

UPDATE 2110z:  26 stations spotted today with the 10FT8R connected to the tiny indoor loop. I am sure with a half decent external antenna far more would be spotted.

King's College, Cambridge - NOT amateur radio

The photo was taken earlier in the month right outside King's College in Cambridge. 

Usually it is busy with foreign visitors. Not this year. It is good to see those visitors that are here meeting social guidelines and sitting well apart!

Coax line isolators

Although I have never used these, they seem a good idea. As I understand it, interference and RF can travel back to the rig on the coax outer.  In some cases this can mess up the SWR reading, add to RX noise and cause RF burns. So the idea is to choke off these with a line isolator. Presumably clip on ferrite beads might make a difference. The basic idea is to choke off RF currents flowing on the coax outer whilst leaving the inner untouched.

See https://wb3gck.com/2015/11/08/line-isolator/ .

Sunspots - Monday April 26th 2021

Solar flux is 79 and the SSN 57.  A=20 and K=4.

10FT8R schematic - my apologies

This weekend I was intending to put the schematic of my 10m FT8 RX on this blog. Sadly, I had no time. The weather was dry so I was gardening. 

Hopefully it will be up within the next few days. Please accept my apologies. If I had found my SPlan CD I could have done it. I have to master a new tool first!

Ickworth Lambs - NOT amateur radio

For several years we have managed to miss the lambs at Ickworth. This year, we managed to see some.

Ickworth is a National Trust property with extensive grounds.

10m Phaser SSB transceiver

This kit is on order, but it has not yet arrived.  It is a 4W SSB rig for 10m FT8. 

It should fit my needs well freeing up the "big rig" for other things.  It was designed by Dave Benson K1SWL, so should be good. SMA parts are already fitted. 

4W FT8 on 10m will get me worldwide QSOs.

See https://midnightdesignsolutions.com/phaser/

More blossom - NOT amateur radio

 

The photo shows my wife under a tree in blossom on our walk yesterday. It is soon gone! 

This is the causeway in Burwell, a route used centuries ago by monks walking to Ely Cathedral.