What does my stroke feel like - inside?

People who see me say, "you do look well" and similar.  I have then to explain how I feel on the inside.

Outwardly I do look pretty good: I have put back lost weight, got colour back in my cheeks and am looking more and more like my "old" self.  Inside it is (still) a very different story. The best way to describe how I feel is by saying I feel wobbly all the time when walking - like I have had 8 pints of beer -  always giddy and unsteady when on the move. Any physical exertion, like a tiny bit of gardening, leaves me shattered and in need of a sit-down and rest. I also feel near constant, low level, nausea in my stomach and gut.

Overall, I am making progress but this is too slow: I desperately want to be "normal" again . At present, it seems 3 steps forwards and 2 backwards. I should be off the stomach (via peg) liquid feed by June/July and already the amount through the peg is vastly reduced compared with when I first came out of hospital. I think my giddiness and sickness/nausea are slowly improving. I am eating more by mouth.

So, I may look OK but inside I still feel rough at the moment. Normality is a way off yet still, sadly. Thankfully I sleep very well: when I drop off it is (usually) a long and good quality sleep. Sleep is the only time in the day I feel properly OK. The rest of the time is still a struggle.

Amateur radio remains a Godsend. I tend to use WSPR as I don't have to speak and can monitor progress from the lounge if I want. I am also enjoying beacon hunting on 2m and 70cm with the new small beam. Using SSB in the 2m UKAC last Tuesday evening was a struggle, as is speaking on the local Monday 2m FM net. My voice is still poor and I get breathless. I have appreciated visits from friends and the help of Andrew G6ALB with antennas.

The days are long and I miss not driving currently. With hard work, things will get back to normal again. I have no limb paralysis, hearing and sight are fine, my intellect is intact, so really I have a lot to be grateful for compared with many. The fact I have a good prospect of a full recovery keeps me going.

10m- only average today?

So far today it has been the usual reports from 4X1RF, a few Europeans and a local copying me, all on WSPR.  Just now PY2RN has spotted me so may be conditions will open to South America this afternoon and even North America later?

Sunspot count is 123 and the 20-30MHz forecast is "good".  Up to now conditions seem very average. Earlier there was a ZS1 and a VK6 coming through on JT65, although not worked, on 10m.

10m coming to life - late

After a pretty quiet day on the 10m band,  I have just exchanged strong WSPR reports with PY2RN (Brazil). It looks like the band has suddenly woken up. This is 10m and this sort of thing does happen. Judging by the drift I'd say TEP mode.

UPDATE 2050z:   Only decent DX has been PY2RN.  Several recent spots from GM4WJA (624km) in mid-Scotland, an odd distance really and I am still unsure of the mode as too close (?) for F layer and too regular for Es?

Cornish 2m beacon GB3MCB

I have still to copy this beacon on my FT817ND and 3el from a decent site!  Beam heading is right, so I guess it must be too weak to copy except in lifts. I could copy GB3CTC years ago, weakly but 100% of the time, from a poorer site in this village on a 5el with more lossy coax.  Is GB3MCB much weaker in East Anglia or is it me? I am listening on 144.4690MHz with a 250Hz filter, so very surprised not to have had even a brief ping to ID it by. Is the beacon GPS locked? Is the 2m beacon transmitting even? I am beginning to think it is off-air.

By contrast GB3NGI (further away in N.Ireland) is nearly copyable all the time.

Good start on 10m today - disappointment later

Sunspot count 124 and 20-30MHz conditions supposed to be only "fair" so not expecting great things today.

10m WSPR 9.5.14 early morning

However, HS1EAX (9858km) was spotted on WSPR at 0902z and 4X1RF spotting me at good strength, so things are promising to the east.  Let us see how the remainder of the day develops. This 10m , so conditions can rapidly change.

UPDATE 1647z:   Well,, it looks like HS1EAX was the only excitement here on 10m today, with just 4X1RF, 4X1DA and European stations in evidence otherwise.  So far, disappointment.

UPDATE 1800z: Conditions 20-30MHz now shown as "good". Perhaps things on 10m will get better tonight?

UPDATE 1915z: Very strong signal from PY2RN (9550km) suggesting TEP.

Small 2m beam or a pair of stacked big wheels?

At the moment I am enjoying 2m and 70cm horizontal using a small yagi with 3 elements on 2m and 5 elements on 70cm. Both sets of elements are on the same boom and fed with a single 17m length of Westflex low-loss coax. Last Tuesday was the first chance to try the beam in a 2m contest. Although I have still to try the beam in a 70cm contest, I am wondering about 2 stacked big-wheels just for 2m.

A pair of big wheels are reported to have a horizontal gain of around 5dBd, which is comparable to the gain of my 3el beam, but without the necessity to rotate the antenna. In a 2m UKAC contest this arrangement may well be better? With the beam I was constantly wanting to adjust the beam direction. On my little halo (and big-wheel) I'd  have no choice.

For now, I shall stick with the dual-band beam, but I would be interested to hear your views on big wheels as gainy 2m horizontal antennas. I could probably mount the big-wheels slightly higher too.

Unlike many, I am not so keen that I want huge beams and high power. My interests are beacon hunting and casual contesting. In the last UKAC 2m contest I ran 5W.

10m today - a washout?

Apart from multiple reports from 4X1RF and a scattering of European reports, today, so far, conditions have been worse today than I can recall in a very long time. This is 10m and things can quickly change but the most probable summary for 10m today is a WASHOUT!

Yesterday was generally better, but far from brilliant.  I think we are being reminded that we are approaching summertime when 10m conditions fall off. N-S conditions may still be reasonable, but E-W openings will be rare.

Bird migration and man-made electronic noise

See http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/vaop/ncurrent/full/nature13290.html .

Evidence that bird migration is affected by human EM noise pollution - article in Nature journal.

10m Maritime Mobile and lack of DX

W3PM/M was being spotted here this morning on 10m WSPR. This ship was 1982km out in the Atlantic in HN68lf square. As far as I remember, this is the first 10m maritime mobile WSPR station I have copied.

UPDATE 1400z:   4X1RF (3519km) has just spotted me on a day with no DX worth noting in evidence so far.

UPDATE 1500z:  Still no DX (e.g. South America) here.

UPDATE 1735z:  Conditions are still appalling here on 10m. Just 4X1RF and EU stations by Es.

UPDATE 1905z:  Conditions STILL poor on 10m with just 4X1RF spotting me now.  Little chance of 10m DX today I fear unlike yesterday, that turned out quite well in the end, with long-path open to Tasmania (VK7) at 2208z (around 20000km over the Pacific). Based on last night's surprises, I shall be monitoring 10m way past midnight in case of late openings.

10m WSPR this afternoon/early evening

10m - Australia late at night

VK7AM (17366km) Tasmania, Australia running 5W was spotted on 10m WSPR at 2208 last night and I am wondering if this was long-path over the Pacific? At this time the WSPRnet database often shows stateside stations being spotted in Australia. This was a total surprise as conditions on the band did not seem that brilliant really. It goes to show that 10m really is a band filled with surprises!  Even from hour to hour, conditions change and results can be surprising. I guess it is a reminder never to give up on the 10m band.

This morning so far just Italians copied, sunspot count is a more modest 105 with 20-30MHz propagation forecast to be "poor".