AmateurRadio.com

G1KQH informs me this Chinese transceiver is available for an introductory prce of £399.99. Personally I think this is MORE than I would expect. To me it still looks like a “back shed” design. I notice this supplier has sold out.

See http://www.sinotel.co.uk/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=20&products_id=183&zenid=oi6qsdgfla6p73q0c5vhs40kj3 .

This is an introductory price for the basic version without TCXO and noise blanker. The FT817ND is now available for well below £500 with cash back offers and, to my mind, is a well proven MF-UHF design.

The X108 claims ” minimalist industrial design”. Read NO industrial design in my book! Still waiting for the Chinese “killer” radio to out-smart the Japanese. This, in my opinion, is not it.

My 6m 1W ERP WSPR signals are yet again being spotted in Israel.

I think this is now 5 days this season he has spotted me at this incredible distance. In all I must have had around 20 spots if not more from him?  The considered wisdom is this is Es, but I do sometimes wonder what the propagation mechanism is. The lack of stations at intermediate distances may be because few are active on WSPR, but it “feels” like a single long hop, not unlike F2. My station and antenna are basic.

People who know better than me tell me it is not F2. Whatever, I am very pleased to have my QRP station being spotted so often in Israel.

 Today, starting at 0704z,  he has spotted me 6 times already by 0846z.

6m spots by 4X1RF (1W ERP here) to 0830z today

Most Es spots seem to be from Scandinavia currently, just 1 from Italy.

UPDATE 0942z:   Just Scandinavian Es for the last hour here.

UPDATE 1530z:  Another spot from Israel of my QRP 6m signal at 1314z. That makes it 7 just today!

http://images.nevadaradio.co.uk/large/banners/Liberty-bannerV3.jpg

For WSPR, 5W or less is quite enough on 10m, even with my “compromise” 3 band PAR antenna. In the quiet years ahead, a bit more power would be helpful on SSB, AM, CW and FM.

I am now getting very tempted to buy a Lincoln President II (version 3) which can run up to 31W pep on SSB. Probably it would run far less most of the time. Nevada have reduced their price by £10 to £249.95, I hope that includes free delivery for cash.

This is a dedicated 10m radio, although it can also cover CB bands with a simple (but illegal) internal wire cut.  If I bought one, I would only use it on 10m only: I have no interest in CB.  I think the latest mods turn this into a good rig. On my original Lincoln President – sold years ago – some impressive DX was worked in quieter years even from the car on SSB. 

Yes, it is a glorified CB rig, but with some very useful features for amateur use and about half the price of the lowest cost amateur radio transceivers. There are other contenders too but these seem to have fewer useful features.

As my main interest (outside the 6m Es season) is 10m, this may be a wise buy.

Today I unpacked this kit which I’ve had a couple of months. I have been waiting until I feel a bit better (less wobbly and clumsy) but now feel well enough to start the build.

Ultimate 3 beacon kit – received from Japan

I’ll build the TX low pass filter for 10m first as this looks “do-able”. The other parts may have to wait a few weeks. I want the kit building but want to do it when I am fit enough. The big issue will be boxing it. My brain bleed makes drilling cases a nightmare for me.

I was surprised to find no enclosed instructions. Guess one is meant to look on the net. Only unpacked the LPF module so far.  Being very careful.

Today we went on a day return by train to London to be with our son Tim, his wife Jo and our grandchildren Lucien and Amandine. Tim met us and took us back to Kings Cross. Booking in advance and with Senior Rail Cards if works out cheaper than driving. At present I cannot drive because of my brain bleed last year.  It was good to spend time in their home again after so long.

With the grandchildren in London today

Totally by accident, we sat next to Nick G4IKZ on the train back from London. I’d not seen Nick since work days over 6 years ago. Many years ago we worked together in several Cambridge companies. Nick is one of the brightest minds I’ve had the privilege to know. There are few better RF engineers. We compared notes on 6m WSPR of course. He confirmed his 6m antenna is a horizontal Moxon.

Being late back, I decided not to turn the rigs on tonight.

The excellent Southgate News page reports that SSB and AM is now legal on UK CB from June 27th 2014.

I have only briefly operated on CB many years ago and was very disappointed.  I suppose 12W pep of SSB will greatly increase the DX potential on CB. AM is also legal.

We need to watch out for more reports of TVI and hi-fi breakthrough as FM, especially at 4W legal limit, is rarely a problem whereas SSB and AM make such issues more probable. Of course,  some CBers like to use (illegal) add-on amplifiers making matters worse.

I don’t think this move will encourage me onto CB any time soon, but it may result in lower cost 10m rigs.

UPDATE 2015z:  Nevada are now selling the President Lincoln 2  (3rd improved version of this model) covering 10m only (as sold – but expandable illegally to cover CB bands) with a £10 discount.

There is little doubt now that we have passed the solar peak and we are now on the way to the minimum. This is still years away mind you. This graph (located at http://www.solen.info/solar/images/solar.png) illustrates this well. As I said before, it is too early to say just how poor HF conditions will get.

http://www.solen.info/solar/images/solar.png