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Roger G3XBM's (Mainly) Amateur Radio Blog

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10m QRP FT8

Posted: 19 Jul 2022 01:46 AM PDT http://g3xbm-qrp.blogspot.com/2022/07/10m-qrp-ft8_19.html


Since before breakfast I have been on 10m FT8. Lots of spots already on TX and RX.


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Sunspots - Tuesday July 19th 2022

Posted: 18 Jul 2022 10:41 PM PDT http://g3xbm-qrp.blogspot.com/2022/07/sunspots-tuesday-july-19th-2022.html


Solar flux is 152 and the SSN 125. A=8 and K=3.

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10m FT8 QRP - like a different band?

Posted: 18 Jul 2022 12:46 PM PDT http://g3xbm-qrp.blogspot.com/2022/07/10m-ft8-qrp-like-different-band.html


For the last few minutes. I have been on 10m FT8 QRP with the FT817. It is
like a different band. Already, I have been spotted by 19 stations. On RX several South Americans spotted.
UPDATE 1945z: Spotted by 24 stations so far on 10m FT8 QRP. All these were
in Europe apart from 1 in Israel. No spots from South America. Although
there is a "hard core" of 10m WSPR monitors, one gets the feeling most are
now using FT8.

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10m QRP WSPR TX (Monday)

Posted: 18 Jul 2022 05:44 AM PDT http://g3xbm-qrp.blogspot.com/2022/07/10m-qrp-wspr-tx-monday.html


So far, just one station in Denmark spotting my 500mW QRP WSPR beacon.
There are good days and bad days of Es. Up to now, today has been a bad day. UPDATE 1243z: 5 unique stations have spotted me today with the furthermost EA8BFK (2880km).

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8m experiment (Monday)

Posted: 18 Jul 2022 08:12 AM PDT http://g3xbm-qrp.blogspot.com/2022/07/8m-experiment-monday_18.html


I get the feeling that the 8m experiment is losing interest. There are
still some monitors, but the Es season is coming to an end. There are still openings, but these seem less frequent. I have been on 40.680 MHz USB dial
QRP FT8, but sadly no spots on TX or RX.
UPDATE 1514z: Still no spots today. I am beginning to think I can learn
little more until a lot more stations are active.





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Sunspots - Monday July 18th 2022

Posted: 18 Jul 2022 12:18 AM PDT http://g3xbm-qrp.blogspot.com/2022/07/sunspots-monday-july-18th-2022.html


Solar flux is 166 and the SSN 166. A=6 and K=1.

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Es bad day?

Posted: 17 Jul 2022 01:38 AM PDT http://g3xbm-qrp.blogspot.com/2022/07/es-bad-day.html


It is still quite early, but I get the impression that Es will be
infrequent today on 10m and 8m. Of course, things can rapidly change!

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90MHz or 90 MHz??

Posted: 17 Jul 2022 01:21 AM PDT http://g3xbm-qrp.blogspot.com/2022/07/90mhz-or-90-mhz.html


After nearly 40 years as a professional RF engineer you would think that I should know!!
Should there be a space after the number before the kHz, MHz or GHz or not?
Can either be used? I should try to use the correct format.
One thing is clear. Most engineers don't care!

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Sub 10 kHz amateur radio

Posted: 17 Jul 2022 12:55 AM PDT http://g3xbm-qrp.blogspot.com/2022/07/sub-10-khz-amateur-radio.html



This photo was a Facebook memory from 2011 and shows my earth-mode signal
at 6km away.


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10m QRP WSPR TX

Posted: 17 Jul 2022 08:04 AM PDT http://g3xbm-qrp.blogspot.com/2022/07/10m-qrp-wspr-tx_17.html


The 500mW W5OLF WSPR beacon was turned on at 0601z.
UPDATE 1500z: There seems less Es today. Is that why I am seeing FR1GZ (9724km)?

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8m experiment (Sunday)

Posted: 17 Jul 2022 12:44 PM PDT http://g3xbm-qrp.blogspot.com/2022/07/8m-experiment-sunday_17.html


The FT8 QRP gear was turned on at 0601z on 40.680 MHz USB dial.
UPDATE 1501z: No spots all day on 8m FT8 here. On again at 1530z.
UPDATE 1710z: No 8m spots here all day. QRT soon.

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Sunspots - Sunday July 17th 2022

Posted: 16 Jul 2022 11:28 PM PDT http://g3xbm-qrp.blogspot.com/2022/07/sunspots-sunday-july-17th-2022.html


Solar flux is 176 and the SSN 153. A=6 and K=1.

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Raspberry Pi with wifi

Posted: 16 Jul 2022 06:57 AM PDT http://g3xbm-qrp.blogspot.com/2022/07/raspberry-pi-with-wifi.html


One of the areas missing from my experiments is computers. When it come to Raspberry Pi devices I know nothing.
Apparently a Raspberry Pi Pico is soon to be available for $6 that includes 802.11 wireless support.
It won't be long before some enterprising amateur does a complete 2.4 GHz transceiver on a Pi board!

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10m WSPR QRP (Saturday)

Posted: 16 Jul 2022 01:53 PM PDT http://g3xbm-qrp.blogspot.com/2022/07/10m-wspr-qrp-saturday.html


As the PC, rig and antenna are free, I am on 10m WSPR TX with 500mW from
the W5OLF beacon. So far today, just spotted in northern Spain. It is now 1000z.

UPDATE 2040z: 9 unique stations have spotted my 10m QRP WSPR beacon today. Activity on FT8 is greater, but I am pleasantly surprised by the WSPR
activity. On WSPR, most spots of me are by Es in Europe.








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8m experiment (Saturday)

Posted: 16 Jul 2022 12:43 PM PDT http://g3xbm-qrp.blogspot.com/2022/07/8m-experiment-saturday_16.html


Yet again I am on QRP 8m FT8 TX on 40.680 MHz USB dial. So far, spotted by EA3ERE (1153km). Nothing on RX.
UPDATE 1830z : 2 spots of my 8m QRP FT8 TX today (see map). Now QRT.




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Rally this Sunday

Posted: 16 Jul 2022 12:45 AM PDT http://g3xbm-qrp.blogspot.com/2022/07/rally-this-sunday.html


The following rally is due tomorrow Sunday July 17th. Check with organisers before any significant travel.
McMichael Amateur Radio Rally
https://mcmichaelrally.org.uk


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Sunspots - Saturday July 16th 2022

Posted: 15 Jul 2022 10:45 PM PDT http://g3xbm-qrp.blogspot.com/2022/07/sunspots-saturday-july-16th-2022.html


Solar flux is 171 and the SSN 141. A=5 and K=2.

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10m QRP FT8 TX

Posted: 15 Jul 2022 08:33 AM PDT http://g3xbm-qrp.blogspot.com/2022/07/10m-qrp-ft8-tx.html


As 8m wasn't looking very promising here this afternoon, I have QSYed to
10m FT8. My QRP TX signal has been widely copied in Europe and on RX I am copying the stations shown on the map.

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