Biking

This weekend we were having a few holidays to the Veluwe. A very nice Dutch National Park. My son wanted a Tandem (1 bike, two seats) so here we are. And yes, again we had a lot of rain... but this summer is the worst (wet) summer since 1906. Maybe next year better weather conditions. My daughter was having a pony camp on the Veluwe. The XYL, my son and me were staying in a nice hotel in Hoenderloo. Below you can see my latest activities on HF. I do a lot of CW lately, I like that mode very much.

Cartoon

I like this cartoon, saw it somewhere and I want to share it with you.

some CW

I did some CW on 40 and 20 meter. On 40 meter I worked Ingvar SE7M a light house station from Malmö, Sweden. Also on 40 m Slave OK1FMG.



On 20 meter I came across EF4RCH, a nice qsl card. And EA5NI Pedro. So enough for today...

Weekend activity

My weekend activities, a lot of SSB, nice opening Friday night on 6 meter.

Watching a solar storm

For the first time, a spacecraft far from Earth has turned and watched a solar storm engulf our planet. The movie, released today during a NASA press conference, has galvanized solar physicists, who say it could lead to important advances in space weather forecasting. [Source]



Is dit nu toegestaan of niet? Click on photo to play mp3 file.

Download Publications

On my download page you can find links for several publications or books via Zshare.net about Amateur Radio.



It will take 45 seconds before download starts, if not registered. Please report dead links. A file which is not downloaded for a long time, will be deleted at Zshare.

Quality Time

WSPR is a fair and honest system; it doesn’t exclude non-DX stations. Just like all reverse beacon systems, all is welcome. When they hear me, I get immediately a report. I am tired of QRO guns, ‘outside Europe’ and ‘only DX’. WSPR gives a good indication what can be done with QRP power and present propagation. In the mean time I can read a book, do some shopping, spent time with the family, or watch a film. That’s what I like about WSPR. For the years that are left for me is quality time a big issue. Not wasting time with nonsense. Just do what feels good for me.

Counting Meteors

I always try to watch the Perseids meteor shower with the peak date of August 12. But this year I was too cloudy to watch the shower. I tried to ‘hear’ them with the help of a carrier BRAMS in Belgium on 6 meter (49.970 MHz) but I am too ‘far’ from the carrier to hear the pings. Via Spaceweather.com I know that the Air Force Space Surveillance Radar (USA) is scanning the skies above Texas. When a meteor or satellite passes over the facility--ping!--there is an echo. Using Argo V1 I can see the pings also and because of capturing I can count the meteors. The difference between my local time and Texas time is -7 hours. Best time to count meteors is in the early morning, the best chance to catch the maximum of meteors. With a time difference of -7 hours is for me around lunch time. Today I counted 69 meteors in one hour. If they all belong to the Perseids, I don’t know, because Kappa Cygnids peaks at August 17. But the Zenithal Hourly Rate for the Perseids is 90 at the peak. And the ZHR of the Kappa Cygnids is 3. So I think the most are Perseids pings. On the left photo I heard a nice ‘classical’ ping. On the right photo it sounded as a whistle. The vertical line on the photo is a carrier.



This morning I didn’t receive any signals on 20 meter with WSPR, though my signal was spotted by VK6ZT. That is very strange. Best distance on 160 meter last night WSPR was F5JNV 636 km.



Last night I made a qso on 40 m with PSK31 with F/PD2OPA Henk from France.

Almost Alaska

KL7J heard my CQ call on the 20 meters band. As can be seen, he came back for me. On Hamspots I saw that he could hear me all with -10 and -11 db. Yet the QSO failed. You'd think it should just work. Then I called CQ for a while but nobody came back for me. On Hamspots I saw several stations from Europe heard me, why no one comes back for me, I do not understand. I suspect that they are only willing to work DX. Nobody is waiting for a station from the Netherlands I suppose. ;-)

All back to normal

All is back to normal again; we had a rainy vacation and an emotional funeral. But all is as it is. We have to deal with the things as they come. I made a few qso’s, not too much. Mainly with PSK31. Mainly short skip. On photo you see G3YJQ Fred. We had a nice qso on 20 meter. 2 QSO’s is enough for today. The sun is shining, so I go for a walk or biking this afternoon.

Rain, and rain again

The rain & wind and 15 C at day time has ended our summer vacation 2 days earlier. We have too much rain and wind and the vacation house is small and we have leakage here. So we are going back tomorrow. My equipment is already packed. An aunt of the XYL died so we go Friday for the funeral to Brabant.

Echolink

I was just trying my indoor magnetic loop on 20m meter. I spotted VK2XN, JE5FLM and W5KCM. Best distance for me was VK2XN in return. The noise level here on the island is extreme low, S1, at home it is S8 on 20 meter. Or is it the magnetic loop which is maybe low in noise? I made a QSO on 70 cm repeater with PA3BIC Frank, he lives here on the island of Ameland. I also worked Hennie PE1HB on 70 cm. I am happy that Echolink works fine with my old laptop, so I worked PA3FAH via the 70 cm repeater Leeuwarden on 340.100 MHz. It was a surprise that VY2AS Andries (Andy) shows up on the frequency. He moved in the fifties to Canada and lives on Prince Edward Island. We had a nice chat. My Echolink node is 512796.

Whirlwind

When we arrived on the island of Ameland we had a lot of rain and strong whirlwind (almost a little tornado). See video. The water came into our little house. No good start for a summer vacation, hi. I can't use my end fed wire. No space here. So my magnetic loop works OK but indoors for the time being. I worked EW8CM and M6DRS with PSK31 on 20 meter.

IOTA EU-038

From August 7 till August 12, I am on the Island of Ameland, IOTA EU-Ø38. I take with me my FT817, Quansheng Dual band 2 meter / 70 cm. End Fed wire for 20 meter, and portable Magnetic Loop for 40 meter and several whips also for 6 meter. A few years ago I worked Italy with a whip antenna on 6 meter, so you’ll never know. I am without internet in the island. So I will complete my log when I am home again. Modes that I will use are SSB, CW and PSK31. Hope to catch you from Ameland.

Latest report

I do a lot of PSK31 lately. Using Digipan, which I like also because I can view instantly the multichannel window while I am working. With HRD or Fldigi you'll have to switch. Or when I use the mouse I must click for the window to appear again. Today I will pack my FT817 and all the other things I need for the mini expedition (HI) to the island of Ameland tomorrow.

Geomagnetic storm is on its way

SOLAR ACTIVITY: For the third day in a row, sunspot 1261 has unleashed a significant M-class solar flare. The latest blast at 0357 UT on August 4th registered M9.3 on the Richter Scale of Flares, almost crossing the threshold into X-territory (X-flares are the most powerful kind). Also, at least two coronal mass ejections are en route to Earth, and they could provoke mild to moderate geomagnetic storms when they arrive on August 4th through 6th. High-latitude sky watchers should be alert for auroras.

Vacation time

It is vacation time for the kids, so I have to give attention to the kids as well. So now and then some radio. Yesterday I made a QSO with SI5B/7P on 40 meter with SSB. Jamboree on the air in Lomma, Sweden. Operator was Mikael SM5YMS, we had a nice talk. This morning I heard HB9TZA/P calling CQ on 40 meter with SSB.(see Photo) It was difficult for Augusto to pick up my signal but he tried. He only was not able to hear the report I gave him. So I sent him an email. It was nice weather yesterday, temperatures up to 25 C. We had a BBQ with friends in the evening. Today the weather will change, less warm and rain showers again. Have a nice day.