21 May 2026

Trump and Iran

Most days I take a look at the Trump Report. Recently President Trump visited China. I was left underwhelmed. 

Although the USA claims victory in Iran, why are so many ships unwilling to transit the Strait of Hormuz?


10m 200mW WSPR (Thursday)

 My beacon has been on for hours.

UPDATE 0844z:  So far, spotted by just DK6UG (633km).

Sutton Hoo

We visited here yesterday. This is a famous ship burial from Anglo-Saxon times. 

It is located near Woodbridge in Suffolk, UK. 

It was excavated in 1939. 

QRP fun

To the uninitiated running QRP is like a masochistic activity! 

Actually, it is surprising how little difference running low power makes. 100W down to 5W is only a couple of  S points which most times would not be noticed. 

With modes like FT8 and WSPR the world can be spanned with amazingly low power levels.

Sunspots - Thursday May 21st

 Solar flux is 114 and the SSN 67. A=8 and K=3.

20 May 2026

Russian sanctions

Apparently the UK government is to loosen sanctions on refined Russian oil coming from third  countries like India destined for diesel and jet fuel. They are obviously concerned about supplies later in the year. Thinking about the war in Ukraine, this seems like a kick in the teeth to Ukraine with Russia benefiting.

It is my view that we will see certain fuels and food rationed by this time next year. 

I cannot see a quick end to the war between the USA with Israel and Iran.

Trump in a pickle

It would appear that President Trump is in a right pickle: he got into a war with Iran and does not know how to get out of it, allegedly, without losing face. I think he is looking for a way out in which the USA is seen as the winner.


10m 200mW WSPR (Wednesday)

My beacon was turned on at about 0820z.

UPDATE 2215z:   Spotted by 22 stations. You can tell we’re well in the Es season.

Always changing

For several mornings we’ve been woken early by a tuneful blackbird singing the first lines of “Lavender Blue”.  I have not heard it for several mornings. 

It may have moved, started to sing something else, stopped singing or been killed by a cat or something else. 

One thing is certain: nothing is forever. We enjoyed it for a few short days.

Sunspots - Wednesday May 20th

 Solar flux is 106 and the SSN 72. A=19 and K=3.

19 May 2026

Windswept lupins

One of my memories of our trip to Iceland in 2011 was seeing lupins all over the place. I was expecting a wild, volcanic landscape.   Instead it was green with lots of flowers and very unspoilt.

These lupins were in London yesterday. Normally, the collective name is a "choir of lupins". I don't think these were told!

IC-705 versus FTX1


In my view there is no contest at all. The IC-705 beats the Yaesu rig hands down. 

Following recent price drops the IC-705 is even better! The ICOM rig has far more features in the product already that you have to buy as extras in the Yaesu rigs.

Iran and the Strait of Hormuz

It looks like Iran has woken up to the power it has by controlling the Strait of Hormuz. This could have enormous impacts on the world economy.


Victorian train - London to Edinburgh

This is an AI video showing a train journey from London to Edinburgh in Victorian times. There are some clear errors but, overall, it is very good. 

I am very impressed with these historical AI videos as they give a good insight to what it must have been like.

Apparently you have to watch the video on YouTube.


10m 200mW WSPR (Tuesday)

My beacon has been on all morning.


UPDATE 0930z: 
4 stations spotting me so far, all by Es I think.

UPDATE 2124z:  Spotted by 12 European stations. Now QRT. We have a friend staying until Saturday so my PC issue will have to wait 🥴. 

Free project scrapbook PDF


My interest in radio started in the early 1960s. It has given me a fascinating and varied hobby, and a career. I hope others can get as much fun as I have had.

To this end I created a PDF project scrapbook that is a free download. It contains the projects that have fascinated me over the years. It needs updating!

My aim has never been to make money. All I want is to share the enjoyment I have had. Feel free to take a look and print out anything you want. My message has always been to have fun! 

See https://sites.google.com/view/g3xbm4/book .

Sunspots - Tuesday May 19th

 Solar flux is 105 and the SSN 77. A=9 and K=3.

18 May 2026

"Boomers" lucky?

 "Baby boomers" is a term (certainly here in the UK) to describe the children growing up after WW2 into the 1960s. Later generations have been termed Gen Z, Millennials, etc..

We were lucky enough in many cases to have final salary pensions, come out of university without debts and the ability to afford houses. Jobs were often for life.

Certainly here in the UK things are harder. Few people have guaranteed pensions and few can afford houses without rich parents. Most leave university with huge debts. Jobs are hard to find.

At the same time, what is accepted by one generation is different. When I was young we had no phone, no car, no microwave, no mobile phones, no takeaways, no fridge and one TV channel (by the way no TV at all until I was aged 8!).

Yes, overall I think we were lucky, although the threat of nuclear war was always there. 

I think life was simpler and we were happier than the young of today. I think we owe the next generations all the help we can give them.

Hallicrafters

This was a very popular company back when I was young. 

This (very American!) video looks into the history of the Company. Back in the early 1960s I nearly got a Hallicrafters RX from G4PJ.

"Just Have A Think" on climate change

In recent times there have been a raft of scientific papers about climate change. Many point to a world that is warming faster than we once thought.

I get very annoyed with those who deny climate change as "fake news" when the evidence is self-evident.  We risk leaving our children and grandchildren a damaged world.

The "Just have a think" video is about this this week.


Is Russia in trouble?

The Russians have published figures which downgrade the growth in the Russian economy. Structural weakness?

YouTube AI

It is sad that what you view these days may not be true. 

Using AI videos supposedly by a famous person may not be by this person at all! This is why I never trust a channel I don't know to be genuine as there are a lot of fakes around. 

People can make lots of money by visits to their sites, even if the contents are a load of rubbish.

10m 200mW WSPR (Monday)

 My beacon was turned on just before breakfast.


UPDATE 1335z: 
Spotted widely by Es. So far, spotted by 17 stations.

Sunspots - Monday May 18th

 Solar flux is 104 and  the SSN 86. A=8 and K=2.

17 May 2026

10m 200mW WSPR (Sunday)

 My beacon was turned on at about 0905z.

UPDATE 1730z:   3 European stations spotting me.

We haven't seen anything yet

We can all agree (I think), that the world is now more dangerous than at any point in the lives of most people born after WW2. It is my view, sadly, that things are going to get far worse.

Most trade is now dependent on long supply chains. If any link in the chain is disrupted or broken the trade collapses.  

Likewise energy. Many things depend on energy. As well as food, think about transport, the internet, water, sewers, money, etc.. If one link collapses the whole of society could collapse.

I sincerely hope we don't reach this stage, but we are far more interconnected than we think.

Let's hope we wake up.  The model that has served us for many years is creaking.

Meshtatic, Meshcore and LoRa

It seems to me that very few radio amateurs now experiment. 

Most just want to talk or tick off more DXCC entities using modes like FT8. Most have no idea how their expensive black box works! Sadly, very few now embody the true spirit of amateur radio. 

In 20 years there will be little left of our hobby.

The new challenge seems to be LoRa, Meshcore or Meshtatic . This is licence free technology. It seems to be in its infancy, much like amateur radio was in the early days. I have not dabbled in this...... yet. 

The problem at the moment seems to be there are few nodes in rural areas. As this system relies on meshes, not the internet, the more users the better.

USB issues on PC

 Yesterday, I tried a different transceiver with my Windows 10 PC. That didn't work either! 

I have come to the conclusion that my USB connector is not working, or working correctly. This needs further investigation. At the moment it means I cannot use FT8, just WSPR with my 200mW beacon.

Sunspots - Sunday May 17th

 Solar flux is 109 and the SSN 83. A=34 and K=2.

16 May 2026

10m 200mW WSPR (Saturday)

My beacon was turned on at about 1445z.

UPDATE 2131z: No spots of me today. Now QRT.

Crisis in Cuba?

It would seem that Cuba is now in deep crisis. It was dependent on fuel from Russia and then Venezuela , both of which have essentially gone. 

It goes to show how heavily dependent we are on energy. It could happen in the UK and the EU.

Quantum computing

Whoever gets there first will have an enormous advantage, being able to run calculations so much faster than conventional computers and do analysis fast on a truly huge scale.

Perhaps Microsoft is first? I did not realise this was a year ago!!

See https://news.microsoft.com/source/features/innovation/microsofts-majorana-1-chip-carves-new-path-for-quantum-computing/


UPDATE  1112z: Some scientists appeared to be sceptical about Microsoft's claims pointing to Google's Willow chip. I do not know, but can understand just how important a breakthrough will be to companies and governments.

8m FT8 RX (Saturday)

For fun, I might go on 8m FT8 RX later in the hope of spotting some EAs by Es. If things are dire I may try 6m later.

UPDATE 1225z: Monitoring 8m FT8 RX. Nobody spotted. I may try 6m FT8 later. For now, I shall continue on 8m FT8.

10m FT8 (Saturday)

Today I hope to get to the bottom of why there is no TX audio on FT8 using the IC-705.

Xi and Trump

To me it is clear China is in the ascendancy. For once President Trump, arguably, met his match.

Sunspots - Saturday May 16th

 Solar flux is 101 and the SSN 46. A=35 and K=5.

15 May 2026

UK politics

The ruling Labour party has a huge majority. It gained power about two years ago, but it has disappointed many people. 

Many were expecting them to come in and enact radical powers which would help ordinary people. Instead they have dithered and enacted some policies at odds with Labour traditionally. The winners have been the Reform party which has a right wing agenda. As with Brexit 10 years, people have flocked to Reform,  thinking they will return the UK to as it was in the middle of the last century. They think they are listening.

Many have pinned their hopes on Andy Burnham coming back into government and becoming the new Prime Minister. He is the mayor of Manchester and is well liked.

His policies are left wing and if he was elected the bond market and UK pound might suffer.

Iran and bonds

In my view President Trump was foolhardy to go to war with Iran. The ramifications on the world are huge and dangerous. I really hope he can extricate the USA soon.


10m 3W FT8 - NOT!!

Until I can fix my PC I am unlikely to be on 10m FT8. Hopefully it is something stupid that I can fix. 

I have reinstalled WSJT-X so I know it is not that. Next thing to try is to make sure the TX audio is getting to the USB port. It will be fixed soon, but at the moment I am too tired.

10m 200mW WSPR (Friday)

My beacon is on.

UPDATE 1613z:   13 stations have spotted me today, by Es I think. 20 spots of me in the last day. 

UPDATE 2002z:
14 stations spotting me with furthest EA8BFK (2880km). QRT now. See table for those spotting me today.

Is Russia in trouble?

The Joe Blogs video today looks inside the Russian economy. It postulates that the Russian wartime economy model is running into trouble.

ICOM announcements at Hamvention

 This was a video of a live stream to the media at Hamvention.

Sunspots - Friday May 15th

 Solar flux is 106 and the SSN 60. A=5 and K=1.

14 May 2026

10m 200mW WSPR (Thursday)

 My beacon has been on this afternoon.

UPDATE Friday 0633z:   Spotted by 11 stations in Europe probably by Es.

Rain (or lack of)

 East Anglia is usually quite a dry area of the country, but yesterday we had only the first rain ☔️ this month after a very dry April. I hope we get some more ….at night! 

FT8 issue?

 Earlier I planned to go on 10m FT8. My Windows 10 PC had other ideas. 

Last night it did a Windows update and refuses to TX! I need more disk space to upgrade to Windows 11 or recover to an earlier date. I shall try reloading WSJT-X first and see if that cures it 😢

UPDATE 0930z: Reinstalled WSJT-X. Still no TX .

Sunspots - Thursday May 14th

 Solar flux is 103 and the SSN 56. A=10 and K=2.

13 May 2026

70cm FT8 activity contest

Stations spotting me on 70cm FT8 this evening

It never fails to amaze me how well 10W FT8 and a 144MHz big-wheel omni does on 70cm . Tonight was the 70cm FT8 activity contest. Every contest I seem to be copied in continental Europe and was spotted at considerable range within the UK. See map.

I was only on about 10 minutes.

EV batteries

CATL is the biggest battery manufacturer in the world and has announced some remarkable advances. In my view we are on the cusp of a transport revolution leaving fossil fuel vehicles left in the Stone Age. 

Wake up USA, or you will be left far, far behind.


10m 3W FT8 (Tuesday)

 So far, the thunder has missed us, so I have gone on 10m FT8.

UPDATE 1518z: Spotted by 65 stations.

Thunder?

Our weather forecast is a mix of sunshine and showers. We may get some thunder so I think that radio will "take a miss" today.

See  https://www.lightningmaps.org/#m=ses;t=3;s=0;o=0;b=;ts=0;y=50.6166;x=0.7725;z=7;d=2;dl=2;dc=0;

My son and jazz

 My son is a professional jazz pianist playing all the major London venues (Ronny Scott's, 606 club etc.) and across the country and abroad.


70cm activity contest yesterday

 Last night was the May leg of the UKAC activity contest.With my poor voice, 10W and 144MHz big-wheel omni antenna it’s hard work, so I don’t stay on long. Just 2 stations worked.

Sunspots - Wednesday May 13th

 Solar flux is 111 and the SSN 58. A=4 and K=1.

12 May 2026

10m 200mW WSPR (Tuesday)

 The 200mW beacon was turned on at about 1900z. 

UPDATE 1948z:  Many spots of me by EA8BFK (2880km). At the peak I had about 28dB in hand!

Fiddling as Rome burns?

In the UK there is a debate about whether the Prime Minister should be replaced. To me this seems like "fiddling as Rome burns".

Within 12 months we could have rationing of some foodstuffs and fuel, and live in a world that is radically different. 

With Ukraine, Iran, Gaza, Taiwan, Sudan etc, not forgetting climate change and a widening gap between rich and poor, the world has a great deal to think about and act upon.

Government Bonds

Government debt is financed by investors putting money in government bonds.  These are usually considered a safe haven with a certain yield over a given period. 

The trouble is currently interest rates are much higher than a few years ago, so governments have to pay a large amount of their budget on servicing this debt as is the case in the USA and UK.

 The danger is foreign investors think twice about buying this debt in the future. 

At the moment the US $ is the world's reserve currency. For how much longer?



8m FT8 RX (Tuesday)

Once again, I am monitoring 8m FT8.

UPDATE  1206z:  No spots. This will probably be my last day concentrating on 8m FT8. I am disappointed in 8m activity.

UPDATE 1822z: Just EA3ERE (1153km) spotted. QRT soon.


Sunspots - Tuesday May 12th

 Solar flux is 116 and the SSN 79. A=5 and K=1.

11 May 2026

8m FT8 RX (Monday)

Although I no longer hold a UK TX permit for 8m, I still monitor 8m FT8  from time to time. 

I am monitoring today.

UPDATE 1308z:   Just G8VER (64km) spotted.

10m 200mW WSPR (Monday)

My beacon was turned on at about 0545z. 

UPDATE 1306z:   No spots.

Friedrichshafen


In late June is the big German exhibition, which I think is the biggest amateur radio gathering outside of the USA. I have never been.

UK politics

In the last week we have had several English council elections as well as elections to the devolved parliaments in Wales and Scotland.

One thing is clear: people want a change. 

We are seeing the end of the 2 ruling parties (Labour and Conservatives) that have governed the UK for about 100 years. The parties coming to the fore are Reform and the Greens.

Often, local elections are protest votes against the ruling party.

Reform is on the right politically whereas the Greens are on the left.

Reform has a charismatic leader. Sadly, the current Prime Minister, is a principled man, but not very charismatic. I suspect Reform would be badly affected if anything happened to Nigel Farage.

Kaliningrad

This is an isolated part of Russia bordering the Baltic. Lithuania is stopping transit across its territory because of EU sanctions. Russia is unhappy but knows Lithuania is in NATO.


Joe Blogs

 This is an analysis of the world economy yesterday. Worrying.  I think President Trump has made a huge mistake and the world will not forget.

70cm FM FM321

This was an amateur radio version of an Australian UHF CB rig. I owned one and it was excellent. 

This must have been in the 1980s and some excellent simplex  QSOs on 70cm FM were made.  Often  70cm opened up when 2m did not.

It was one of the first (if not the very first) synthesised rigs.

K9YA Telegraph has a USA advert on its FaceBook page. 

Sunspots - Monday May 11th

 Solar flux is 126 and the SSN 89. A=5 and K=2.

10 May 2026

10m 200mW WSPR (Sunday)

At about 1540z I switched to 10m WSPR.

UPDATE 1728z:   One spot from a station in Kenya I presume by F2. One European spot by Es (I think). EA8BFK (2880km) could be F2 or Es.

UPDATE 1910z:  10 stations have spotted me. See table.

UPDATE 1954z:  16 stations have spotted me.

Granddaughter

Overnight Saturday/Sunday we had one of our granddaughters sleeping here. 

All the grandchildren are growing up (too) fast!

Es in full swing

This morning, I am on 10m 3W FT8. It is clear, with lots of spots on TX and RX, that the Es season is well underway.

UPDATE 1640z:  184 stations spotted here on RX and I have been spotted by 112 stations.

Wetherspoons

In the UK, this is a popular pub chain selling food. It is low cost and often gets a bad press. I stayed at a Wetherspoons in central Salisbury and was impressed by the accommodation, food and location. 

I see from this video that the presenter was also impressed with this Wetherspoons in London.

Just because it is low cost do not write it off.

See https://www.jdwetherspoon.com/


Another new transceiver

 


This VHF/UHF transceiver is being sold by Moonraker in the UK.  I see that some other dealers are selling it too. Are they linked up? 

This news came to me via Steve G1KQH.

Declining sunspot numbers and solar flux

This is just a reminder that the downwards slope of the solar cycle is usually much gentler than the climb to the next maximum. 

This means the higher HF bands remain good for quite a while after the maximum. 

Just a reminder, I have worked South America right at the solar minimum on QRP (10W) 10m SSB with simple wire antennas. Never give up!

The MUF is often higher on N-S paths. Occasionally you get Es linking with F2 nearer the equator.

See https://www.solen.info/solar/

Hamvention next weekend

A reminder that next weekend sees the Hamvention in Ohio, USA.   This is, I think, the biggest amateur radio gathering on the planet.  

It is often the place where new radios are seen for the first time. Often these are very early prototypes to test the market.

I have never been and probably never will now.

See https://hamweekly.com/

Sunspots - Sunday May 10th

 Solar flux is 122 and the SSN 81. A=5 and K=0.

9 May 2026

Very old videos

 Some of these have been colourised in part. I hope they are genuine. They look as if they are real.

No mow May

Many stick with this so flowers can pollinate and spread.  Also many places look much better with the wild flowers. 

Some cut their lawns around the edge, but leave the middle to grow. This way lawns look still tended.

The photo shows the green in our close this morning. I hope it is not cut.

10m 200mW WSPR (Saturday)


My beacon was turned on at 0528z.

UPDATE 0959z: 5 stations have spotted me this morning. See map by VK7JJ of WSPR Rocks.

New life

 

One of my friends on 365project posted this photo. 

It shows a baby bird in Iowa, USA.

AI

Yesterday I asked Google AI (Gemini?) about G3XBM.  To my surprise it was accurate. Previous attempts have often included mistakes. I guess in the last few years AI must have improved.

Where will AI be in another 10 years?

Sunspots - Saturday May 9th

 Solar flux is 120 and the SSN 75. A=12 and K=2.

8 May 2026

UK politics

At the moment in the UK we are in the middle of council elections in some parts of England and elections for the devolved governments in Wales and Scotland. The latter two have only just started counting.

Results in England so far suggest people are turning away for the two parties that have traditionally been in power for about 100 years. 

Instead people are turning to Reform, the Greens and Liberal Democrats. Reform is generally considered more right wing than the Conservatives, whereas the Liberal Democrats and Greens are more left leaning.

Often these elections are seen as a protest vote, but we do seem to be seeing a swing in how people vote.

10m 200mW WSPR TX (Friday)

My Zachtek beacon has been on since breakfast.


UPDATE  2020z: 
13 stations spotted me, presumably Es. See table.  Now QRT.

Iran

There is little doubt that this war has not gone as President Trump expected. 

I am sure now that he wished he had not started it and his popularity at home and across the world has  dropped. 

The USA was once considered a beacon of democracy, but not anymore. The damage done to the reputation of the USA could last generations.


The joys of homebrewing

This video is several years old. The message is clear: don't be afraid to "roll your own". It may not work first time and you may have to find out why. There are a whole variety of things you can try. 

Speaking from personal experience, start with something simple. This is more likely to work first time. If not, it will be easier to find out why.

Overall, have fun!!  It is much more satisfying than "flashing the cash".


King's College Chapel, Cambridge, UK

People come across the planet to see this fine building that is centuries old with amazing fan vaulting and stained glass windows. 

Living near Cambridge we can see all this for nothing, every day if we want. 

It is all too easy to take this for granted, but we do not.

Often when we go away we comment on how good the place is. 

Then we joke that we must go to a nice place called Cambridge sometime!! I suppose we could even be back for lunch!

10m 200mW WSPR yesterday

You can tell we are now in the Es season with 25 (mostly European) stations spotting me yesterday. 

I like 10m WSPR as I just switch it on and observe elsewhere in the house by looking at WSPRnet.

In the last 12 hours 21 stations have spotted my 200mW!  See chart.

First swifts seen

Although they have been around for about a week, yesterday I saw my first swifts this season. 

They are back from Africa, but stop just long enough to breed, i.e. just a few months. By mid July most have gone south again until next spring.

Often they are heard before they are seen. They scream around the sky in feeding parties.

Sunspots - Friday May 8th

 Solar flux is 117 and the SSN 59. A=7 and K=2.

7 May 2026

10m 3W FT8 (Thursday)

 Very briefly, I went on 10m 3W FT8 just after breakfast, although I have been on 10m WSPR most of the day including now.  It is evident that we are now in the Es season.

Trump and Times Radio

It appears President Trump thinks a peace deal in Iran is very close. 

I seem to remember he said he could stop the Ukraine war (sorry special military operation) in 24 hours. Four years later we are still waiting....

Politics is complicated and advisors advise for a reason.


Anglesey Abbey, UK

 


This is Anglesey Abbey this morning. This is the water mill and its mill leat.

What is the best entry level HF transceiver?

People often question what HF transceiver is the best to buy at entry level. Now the IC7300 is available as a Mk2, the Mk1, which has sold over 100k units worldwide, is available readily on the second hand market.


10m 200mW WSPR (Thursday)


Most of the day I have been on 10m WSPR TX.

UPDATE 1725z: 16 stations have spotted me, mostly European by Es. Furthest is 4X1DA (3592km).  See map.

Sunspots - Thursday May 7th

Solar flux is 120 and the SSN 105.  A=3 and K= 0.

6 May 2026

10m 200mW WSPR (Wednesday)

 At about 1905z, I went on 10m WSPR. It is probably too late.

UPDATE 2004z: No spots.

Is Russia hurting?

 The indicators appear to be indicating this?

Iran

It seems to me that this asymmetric war is going nowhere. The best outcome would be de-escalation and a face-saving deal in which both sides feel they have won. The USA clearly has the military might. Iran has the drones.


10m 3W FT8 (Wednesday)

Although I was RX only most of the time, I was on TX until breakfast and spotted by 6 English stations.

UPDATE 1928z:  Spotted 144 stations here. See map.  Now QRT.

Sunspots - Wednesday May 6th

 Solar flux is 128 and the SSN 119. A=12 and K=0.

5 May 2026

2m activity contest

Running 10W to a big-wheel omni antenna I worked a couple of stations at decent distances. Because of my poor voice I only stayed on for under 30 minutes, as usual, this evening .

WSPR and FT8

In the Northern Hemisphere we are now, once again, in the Es season.

My main activity is 10m QRP WSPR and 6m QRP FT8.

Although I do not claim anything scientific, my impression is that FT8 is now more popular than WSPR. Although WSPR works with far weaker signals, this is less important with Es where signals can be very strong and fleeting. 

I have not tried FT4 or FT2. Also WSPR needs about 120 seconds TX, whereas FT8 needs just 15 seconds.

Plan ahea.....d?

The war in Iran seems to be, allegedly, without a plan of how it might end. 

It is clear that fuel prices across the world have dramatically increased and it is very likely inflation will go up. 

In my view, we have seen nothing yet with jet fuel and diesel running short.

Far worse impacts are possible.

Always listen to experts!

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c1wz2ld4535t .

10m 200mW WSPR (Tuesday)

My beacon was turned on at about 1015z.

UPDATE 1405z:  Just OH6BG (1718km) spotting me.

6m 5W FT8 (Tuesday)

My gear was turned on at about 1015z.

UPDATE 1407z: 17 spots of me, many by Es. See map. 21 stations spotted here.

Is 8m "going off the boil"?

As many know, I held a UK TX permit for the band getting all over the world with just a few watts and a low wire dipole. I was considering getting a new permit, despite the £50 price tag for the pleasure. In the end I decided not to bother, but to concentrate on 10m and 6m instead.

As the sunspot numbers decline, I reasoned that radio science, and me, would learn nothing new. 

Also, I was extremely disappointed by the very negative attitude of many PTTs, when even temporary access to the band around sunspot maximum could have taught us so much. It is, arguably, too late now.

Faroe Islands


One of my friends on 365project lives in the Faroe Islands. This far north it must be cold and dark in winter and the days short. This is one of his photos.

Oscar 100


Periodically I give an update on the narrow-band transponder of this geosynchronous satellite. Sadly, activity on a Monday in a European evening, was still very low.

Sunspots - Tuesday May 5th

 Solar flux is 138 and the SSN 143. A=26 and K=5.

4 May 2026

What a mess

News from the Middle East is confusing if nothing else.  

The USA claims 2 merchant ships have passed the Strait of Hormuz whereas Iran flatly denies this! In the fog of war we cannot know who is true at the time of writing.

This much is certain. The impact on the world economy is immense. Even if the war stopped tomorrow, it could take a long time (years?) to recover. The USA does not want Iran to ever have a nuclear weapon. Arguably, the USA is a declining world power and China is growing.

Are we at a tipping point in electric cars?

It seems to me we are nearing a "tipping point" in electric cars.  The recent war in the Middle East may have concentrated minds, but battery technologies have moved ahead at a breathtaking pace. If we are not there now we very soon will be.

These days I do not do many miles in the car.  Even I have considered an EV for the first time. The days when range was a real issue, as was charging time, are behind us and EV cars no longer need rare earth materials like lithium.


ICOM portables


In the late 20th century, ICOM produced a range of VHF and UHF portables, that worked on SSB and CW. Their style was very military. 

I owned the IC202 which covered 200kHz on 2m using a very clever VXO. Using a home-designed transverter it worked the world with 1W SSB on 10m with simple wire dipoles or a CB vertical.

On 2m it worked some amazing DX handheld using just the whip on the rig.

6m 5W FT8 (Monday)

 My gear  has been on since just before breakfast.

UPDATE 0830z:  Mostly English stations spotting me with just one in Austria.  Currently RX only.

UPDATE 1409z: 25 stations spotted around Europe. See map.

10m 200mW WSPR (Monday)

 My beacon was turned on before breakfast.

UPDATE 0816z:  No spots.

UPDATE 1422z: Spotted 4 times by IW0RQJ (1379km). I assume this was Es. Also spotted by EA8BFK (2880km) and this could be F2.


UPDATE 1507z:
Now being spotted in Israel. See table.

Sunspots - Monday May 4th

 Solar flux is 143 and the SSN 138. A=8 and K=2.

3 May 2026

6m 5W FT8 (Sunday)

 As the V2000 is available, I am on 6m 5W FT8  from 0938z.


UPDATE 1113z: 
 35 stations are spotting me. Now RX only. Clearly some Es!

UPDATE 1856z:  Back on TX again. Just English spots.

UPDATE 1954z: QRT.

10m 200mW WSPR (Sunday)

At 0937z I went on 10m QRP WSPR TX.


UPDATE 1116z:
  Spotted by 7 stations with the best OH6BG (1718km).

UPDATE 2200z: Now QRT. We are now clearly in the Es season as lots of European spots today.

Iran war latest

To me, it would appear that the USA is looking to exit the Iran war believing it has won. Clearly in this asymmetric war Iran has emerged stronger than many expected. The damage to the world is immense. 

10m 3W FT8 (Sunday)

My gear was turned on at 0540z.

UPDATE 0922z: 10 spots of me and I have spotted 23. Clear signs of Es now. Currently RX only.

Sunspots - Sunday May 3rd

 Solar flux is 159 and the SSN 133. A=7 and K=3..

2 May 2026

Joe Blogs video

These are mainly about economic matters. They are always informative.


Bedroom view

This was the view of the garden from the bedroom window yesterday. 

There are signs of new life everywhere.

10m 200mW WSPR (Saturday)

My beacon was turned on just after breakfast.

UPDATE 1942z: No spots of me today. Now QRT.

Sunspots - Saturday May 2nd

 Solar flux is 145 and the SSN 158. A=14 and K=2.

1 May 2026

MLS prices

 Just now I opened the MLS email. Even a second hand FTX1-field was £1099!!! It's  amazing how expensive some gear now is. 

Now, each to their own and it is up to you to decide how you spend your money. It is worth remembering that lots of fun can be had for far less!



End-fed antennas

These are very popular antennas as they cover many bands and are fed from the end making them ideal for /P operation. 

As the end of the wire is often a very high impedance a transformer is needed to reduce this to closer to 50 ohms. 

I see there is a new video about an end fed long wire on the DX Explorer video channel.


10m 200mW WSPR (Friday)

My beacon was turned on just before breakfast.

UPDATE 0957z: Lots of spots of me by EA8BFK (2880km). Some are very strong with 19dB variation between the strongest and weakest report. Even the weakest has about 13dB in hand.

Revolution coming?

Probably after I am pushing up daisies, I can see revolutions occurring in many western nations. 

The gap between rich and poor is generally widening and at some point this is due for a correction.

In my view, people may flirt with right wing parties, see they do not provide the answers and then swing to the left, seeing that the very rich getting richer still and the poor poorer still is basically wrong. 

I hope this occurs peacefully.

Overall, societies have to be fair and just, with everyone able to do their best.

Sunspots - Friday May 1st

 Solar flux is 143 and the SSN 130. A=15 and K=4.