Sunspots - Friday June 25th 2021

Solar flux is 81 and the SSN 11. A=5 and K=2. 

Windows 11

Apparently Microsoft has announced Windows 11. No doubt this will mean another long download and quite possibly a period whilst they sort the bugs out and yet more downloads. Even if I delay updating as long as possible I expect we will all have to in the end. 

Cambridge bikes - NOT amateur radio

Cambridge is famous for its bikes. You would think with fewer overseas people there might be fewer. Not what I saw! 

Another rally postponed

 The Newbury rally, due on Sunday, has been postponed until next June.

10m FT8 RX

It is now 1020z and so far today 12 stations spotted on R.X with the tiny indoor loop antenna.

UPDATE 1237z:  30 stations spotted on RX so far today.

UPDATE 1840z:  222 stations spotted on RX today. 

UPDATE 2125z:  QRT soon. 312 stations spotted today (see map).

PYO strawberries - NOT amateur radio

This morning we went strawberry picking. We got 4 large punnets.

As well as the fresh ones I can see a few crumbles in the freezer! Raspberries ready next week. 

Sunspots - Thursday June 24th 2021

 Solar flux is 80 and the SSN 11. A=4 and K=1. 

Friedrichshafen (Germany) cancelled

The big Friedrichshafen rally, due soon, is cancelled in case you did not know. Look out for virtual events instead. I hope it returns next year as it is an important gathering for many.

Windows 11?

Microsoft is about to make a big announcement according to Verge.  Windows 11 maybe?

See https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/2/22465126/microsoft-windows-event-june-24th .

Windows 10 is OK, but painfully slow on my machine bought 4 years ago and, it seems, always needing updates. If it is so good, why? 

Surely if it is so great, why does it not clear rubbish slowing it down and do updates quietly in the background? My virus protection is by Avast.

Overall, I am not impressed by Windows.

I have a Chromebook and it is both lightning fast and does updates and virus checking in the background. For almost everything it is perfect. By comparison it makes Windows seem poor.

The next solar peak

Jay, W5OLF has sent me an article on the next solar peak suggesting it could be good. The last forecast I saw suggested it could be similar to the last one. Sadly, I think it is too early to tell.

See https://www.unknowncountry.com/headline-news/termination-events-may-mark-the-end-and-the-beginning-of-solar-cycles/ .

10m Es

In the northern hemisphere we have the sporadic E (Es) season, which offers good QSOs on all modes on bands like 10m, 6m and 4m.  Occasionally, it is also good on 2m, but this is far rarer. Skip is usually 800-1500km.

As a child, I used to see what DXTV came through on Band 1 TV.  I well recall the lunchtime watching Midi-Pyrenees via Es on 819 lines. On a standard 405 line TV we got 2 images side by side with a black band in the middle. There is far less TV on Band 1 these days. I am not sure which countries still use it.

As is often the case, I am on 10m FT8 RX with the tiny indoor loop antenna. So far today, 5 stations spotted. 

UPDATE 1015z: 16 stations so far spotted today on 10m FT8 RX.  All Es I think. 

UPDATE 1450z:  87 stations spotted so far today on 10m FT8 RX. Furthermost is 5T5PA (3791km) in West Africa. Nothing yet seen from the Americas.

UPDATE 2016z:  116 stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX with the furthermost CE2SV (11716km) in Chile.

Call me sir? - NOT amateur radio

This stately home was a nursing home after WW2. It is where I was born. If you insist, then call me Sir Roger 😉😉. 

Sunspots - Wednesday June 23rd 2021

 Solar flux is 81 and the SSN 12. A=7 and K =2. 

Cambridge Market - NOT amateur radio

The photo shows Cambridge Market earlier. 

The statue in the foreground is in memory of Snowy, who was a famous local character who raised a lot for charity. We used to see him often.

The church in the background is Great St Mary's, the university church.

Mating? - NOT amateur radio

 

These look like they are holding hands, but I suspect they are mating.

160m antenna

There is a misconception that 160m antennas and grounds have to be big. This antenna fitted in a small attic and results suggest it does very well. 

Most people have high noise levels on the LF and MF bands these days, but I find FT8, with its effective 50Hz bandwidth, is still effective. 

You may be surprised by results. I was.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/antennas/160m-loft-vertical .

10m FT8 RX (Tuesday)

At 0718z, I turned on 10m FT8 RX using the tiny indoor loop. So far, 3 spots at 0822z.

UPDATE 1305z: 71 stations spotted so far with the furthermost VO1CH (3737km).

UPDATE 1810z:  96 stations spotted so far today.

10m FT8 RX yesterday

425 stations spotted yesterday on 10m FT8 RX with the indoor loop antenna including both the USA and South America. Lots of EUs by Es of course! 

Optical link changed

 A reminder that if you find any errors or omissions on my new web pages, please let me know so I can address them. Mike pointed out an old link that I have (hopefully!) corrected. I am sure there are others.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/optical-nanowaves/over-the-horizon .

Sunspots - Tuesday Jun 22nd 2021

 Solar flux is 79 and the SSN 11. A=4 and K=3.

Family outing? - NOT amateur radio

 

These swans and cygnets were seen at Anglesey Abbey this afternoon.

Millionaire - NOT amateur radio

 If some of the SPAM emails I get (filtered out) were true I would be a millionaire many times over. Every day I get told there is nearly £300k coming to my account if I just share my details. As for Bitcoin, I get told every day I am due for so much! 

I do not share my details!!

All of these are, of course, scams.

Oh, and how to get a 15 inch penis......😁

10m FT8 grabber

 One of the new features that is possible on the new Google Sites is embedding. Some browsers do not support this for fear of viruses or malware on the embedded sites. I have embedded PSKreporter maps on my new web pages  which normally points to what I see on 10m FT8 RX.  So you can see what I am spotting here.

Just occasionally I may be looking at something else.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/hf-mf-and-lf/10m-ft8-grabber  .

Storms

Amateur radio gear can be badly affected by nearby storms. Often, when there are storms nearby, there can be damaging power surges. I am always nervous with nearby storms. My normal practice is to disconnect everything until the storms have well passed. At the moment, the immediate risk seems to have passed.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/other-amateur-radio/lightning-maps  .

10m FT8 RX

As usual, whilst doing some housework, I am monitoring 10m FT8 RX with the tiny indoor loop.  At 1030z, 106 stations spotted.

UPDATE 1104z: 136 stations spotted with the furthermost CT3MD (2521km) on Madeira.

UPDATE 1902z:  402 stations spotted on RX with the furthermost PT2GTI (8866km).

Rain - NOT amateur radio

 The BBC weather is often wrong unless there is a big high pressure system over us. The weather radar app has rainfall forecasts in mm to 3 decimal places for hours to come. My own view is a wet finger and look out of the window is often just as good. 

East Anglian skies - NOT amateur radio

In this part of the UK we get great skies as the photo shows. 

Sunspots - Monday June 21st 2021

 Solar flux is 76 and the SSN 13. A=4 and K=1. 

10m FT8 RX

There is widespread Es on 10m this morning. A few moments ago (it is now 0917z) I turned on 10m FT8 RX with the FT817ND and the tiny indoor loop antenna. Already, 49 stations have been spotted.

UPDATE 0948z:  85 stations spotted on RX.

UPDATE 1214z:  198 stations spotted on RX. The furthermost is VO1CH (3737km).

UPDATE 1604z:  325 stations spotted on RX.

UPDATE 1904z:  467 stations spotted on RX with the furthermost PY5BH (9903km).

UPDATE 1954z:  514 stations spotted on RX today.  See map.

UPDATE 2130z:  547 stations spotted today. Soon QRT.

Facebook Photo - NOT amateur radio

This photo was on Michael Rainey's Facebook page earlier. I thought it was worth sharing here. 

G3XBM videos

A reminder that a lot of the projects on my main website have videos on my video channel. These often provide more detail. The video below , of my Sixbox, is an example.

See https://www.youtube.com/user/G3XBM

Sixbox 6m AM QRP transceiver

This was missing from my main website. It has now been added. I did not realise it was missing!

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/vhfuhfmicrowaves/homebrew/sixbox

Laurel hedge cutting - NOT amateur radio

We have a laurel hedge at the front (about 30m long), that we planted 8 years ago. Usually I trim it twice a year. It has grown a lot! 

Whereas I could do it all in one go, I now have several goes over several days. I am getting older and get tired more quickly. After about 10 minutes, I need a rest.

The laurel hedge provides a good screen from the path by the windmill, but it is hard work! 

Sunspots - Sunday June 20th 2021

 Solar flux is 77 and the SSN 25. A=4 and K=1. 

Pasties - NOT amateur radio

A few weeks ago I tried my hand at making my own pasties. They turned out well. Just a pity I am on a diet and cannot have them at the moment.

As a Westcountryman, I like my pasties! The ones shown in the photo are vegetarian, but I also tried meat ones.

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/non-amateur-radio/pasties.

"Over the horizon" optical experiments

Since 2013, my health has precluded proper field experiments at 481THz or thereabouts (optical). I am just too wobbly. I tried once, but I just could not manage it sadly.

One of the things I enjoyed was experimenting with weak signal optical signalling over the horizon. My own tests used QRSS (slow CW) received on a PC . There was absolutely no sign of the optical signal in the sky, yet there was a clear trace visible on the PC. 

Had I been well, these experiments would have continued and far greater ranges would have been possible.

 See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/home/optical-nanowaves/over-the-horizon  .

Watery - NOT amateur radio

East Anglia is famous for being flat.  Actually, there are hills, especially in Norfolk and Suffolk.

However, we get some great skies and there is a unique beauty as the photo collage shows. 

These are the various waterways near where we live.

10m FT8 RX yesterday with the tiny indoor loop antenna

In all, 380 stations spotted yesterday. Not too bad. 

I am still not sure how far down the loop is compared with a reasonable outside antenna. 

Dealer profits

For a long time I have thought dealers aimed to make excessive profits. We all know that they have costs such as wages, premises etc.

Maybe I am being unfair? 

I am all for fair profits (after all, this is their business), but I object to excessive profits. In my opinion many dealers and magazines will go out of business in the coming years as most amateurs get old and buy fewer radios. Magazines will suffer as there will be fewer dealers and less revenue.

Maybe the strategy is to make as much money as possible whilst they can? 

Sunspots - Saturday June 19th 2021

 Solar flux is 77 and the SSN 24. A=7 and K=1.