As the 10m antenna was free, I put my W5OLF stand-alone WSPR beacon on using 500mW. So far, just a local spot from G4KPX (14km).
17 Nov 2021
15m FT8 RX (Wednesday)
Like yesterday, I am again on 15m FT8 RX using the coax up to my 2m big-wheel as the antenna, ad hoc though it is! After about 15 minutes, 23 stations already spotted.
UPDATE 1204z: 176 stations spotted today on 15m FT8 RX today.
UPDATE 1501z: Just for fun, I went on 15m FT8 TX with 2.5W and this unusual "antenna". Sadly, no spots of me received after a few minutes TXing! Maybe I am being clobbered by a much stronger station, so I'll QSY and try again. After QSYing about 500Hz HF I was spotted at -20dB S/N by SV1ONU (2409km) and at -15dB S/N by K4EA (6742km). 354 stations spotted on RX.
UPDATE 1606z: 395 stations spotted today. After another brief TX period with 2.5W, I was copied by no stations.
UPDATE 1826z: 424 stations spotted on 15m FT8 RX today.
SPAM - NOT amateur radio
Do I look totally stupid?
Gmail does a very good job of filtering out SPAM. Just occasionally, something is put in SPAM that is not , so it is worth checking. My guess this is maybe 1 in 1000. Obvious SPAMs are when if you just verify your bank details we will deposit huge sums in your account. Others relate to Bitcoins or sexual prowess. Every day I must get 20-30 SPAM emails. All get binned right away.
If in doubt never click a link that you are unsure about. If possible, hover over the link to see if the link is the same as that which appears. Basically if in doubt do not!!
8m experimental licences in the USA
My understanding is that 7 experimental licences have been approved for the 8m band in the USA. One station has already been copied in the UK. With F2 propagation improving and summer Es, it is highly probable that others in the USA will be copied in Europe.
My own view is that the chances would be greatly enhanced if all experimental stations and beacons at 8m had an FT8 sequence that allowed all to be monitored with one dial setting. This implies that all are within a few kHz of each other.
In the future, 8m could be a really interesting amateur band. If OFCOM can find 2000000Hz of "precious" VHF spectrum for DATV experiments, I hope they can surely find the odd 50Hz of 8m spectrum for propagation research, especially at lower power.
The more temporary permits that are applied for, and obtained, around the world the more useful research can be done.
Small steps....
Sunspots - WednesdayNovember 17th 2021
Solar flux is 80 and the SSN 35 (going up again). A=13 and K=2.
16 Nov 2021
15m antenna?
Judging by the results on FT8 RX today with my very improvised 15m antenna, I am tempted to convert my Par end fed antenna to 15m.
I suppose I could make it cover 10m and 15m by putting up 2 wires. Already today, I have spotted 350 stations on 15m FT8 RX. Don't forget that some of the time the PC had closed down with a flat battery too! With a "proper" antenna , I would expect even better results.
All that should be needed to cover 15m is a longer wire.
Cyclamens - NOT amateur radio
Every autumn, my wife grows cyclamens as house plants. They add colour through the dark days.
Batson - NOT amateur radio
Mostly gone - NOT amateur radio
In our garden, most trees were in leaf a week ago. All has changed in the last week with most leaves fallen apart from a few hangers on.
10m QRP WSPR TX (Tuesday)
At the moment I am on 10m WSPR TX using 500mW from my stand-alone W5OLF 10m WSPR beacon. So far, (at 0930z) 3 spots only from local G4KPX (14km).
UPDATE 0955z: 15 spots so far of me with the furthermost EA8BFK (2880km).
UPDATE 1024z: 36 spots of me so far today. EA8BFK has been getting me as strong as -3dB S/N.
UPDATE 1926z: QRT. 3 unique spots today.
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