Cambridge on a winter day

Cambridge Punts

Every Tuesday I travel into Cambridge for my weekly U3AC course called "Maps in the Computer Age".  I am enjoying the course very much.

Usually I drive to the "Park and Ride" car park at Newmarket Road and get the bus into town. The U3AC course is at the U3AC headquarters in Bridge Street, which is about 30m from where the punts are on the River Cam.  At this time of the year the punts are quiet. Come the summer and this spot is very busy. Cambridge has lots of foreign visitors when the usual students go home. If you see a foreigner with a map wobbling along on a pink bicycle it is a good idea to be well clear!

Round Church - very old building

From the punt place you can punt right up via St John's, Trinity, Clare and Kings College.  Kings College Chapel is lovely from the river.   The secret is not to leave your punt pole behind. It is easily done. Luckily the Cam is not too deep. If you prefer, you can pay someone else to do the punting so you can just sit back and enjoy a timeless Cambridge moment.

Bridge St,  Cambridge

Some of the views have not changed much in centuries. The Backs in Cambridge are very beautiful and it is little wonder people travel from all corners of the Earth to visit this beautiful centre of learning.  It is all too easy just to take it all for granted. Certainly, when I worked in the city, I did.  Now being retired, I properly enjoy it. It is still a very beautiful city with fine very old buildings and the River Cam winding its way up behind the colleges. If you have never been, you are unlikely to be disappointed.

Many years ago I was with a friend who parked at the multi-storey car-park just off Bridge Street. We worked a VK6 (S.W. Australia) from the car on 10m SSB.

10m USA WSPR spots today

KE2N (5934km) was the first USA station to spot my 500mW beacon today at 1318z. Compared with yesterday, 10m conditions appear way down. We'll see how the afternoon progresses.

UPDATE 2002z:   K9AN (6505km) was the last USA station to spot my 500mW beacon on 10m WSPR today at 1752z.

Sunspots and 10m

Sunspot number is 82 today and 10m propagation expected to be just "fair".  Yesterday 10m was (for me) exceptionally good.  I very much doubt they can be as good today.

Radio Shack files for bankruptcy protection

So Radio Shack has filed for bankruptcy protection.

See http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/breaking/chi-radioshack-sprint-shops-bankruptcy-20150206-story.html .

This had been on the cards for some time, but the USA's famous radio store has been in trouble for some while. It was formed firstly in 1921. Radio Shack filed for bankruptcy protection last Thursday.

10m USA WSPR spots today (and South America)

The first USA station to spot my 500mW 10m WSPR beacon was KC1AWS (5308km) at 1214z today. With all the DX spots from Australia this morning, it make the USA seem like just the back door and hardly DX at all!

UPDATE 1420z:  10m is wide open today.  YV5ESN (7294km) spotted my 500mW beacon at 1412z.

UPDATE 1900z:   USA stations are still spotting me, The last was W9ZOC (6259km) at 1854z. This may not be the last.

UPDATE 2115z:   W9ZOC at 1854z was the last USA station to spot me from the USA today.

Handheld of the future?

See http://www.southgatearc.org/news/2015/february/ht_of_the_future_at_orlando.htm#.VNi6BC4WKPc .

Southgate News reports that Bruce Perens K6BP will be demonstrating a handheld platform that can cope with many modes at VHF/UHF at the Orlando Hamcation in Florida. This looks like a demonstrator at 100mW RF. With SDRs, quite a flexible, and low cost, architecture is possible.

I wonder which of the "big names" will be first to market with a real SDR design? This could enable them to sell very low cost units, but maybe they would rather shaft us and make big profits?

10m WSPR - multiple spots from Australia

It is now 1140z. Already this morning VK6XT (14719km) in Western Australia has spotted my 500mW 10m WSPR 13 times so far on 10m! This is far from over too! This is now. In a few years this will be stuff of dreams. In the last few minutes he has spotted me yet again.

UPDATE 1246z:  VK6XT (14729km) has spotted me 21 times so far today. This for 500mW seems amazing, but WSPR is amazing. That the WSPR beacon is totally contained in a tiny box (no PC needed) I find quite staggering. As you can see, most of the reports were good ones, certainly not "on the edge" at all.

472kHz WSPR this morning

I am being spotted well by G8HUH (250km) this morning. I know he has a good system as he has even copied me on 136kHz from the old QTH. If I can succeed on 472kHz with no antenna in the air, then I am sure anyone can! Mine is a far from optimum set-up.

Early morning on 472kHz WSPR (5mW ERP earth-electrode "antenna"

Sunspots and 10m

Sunspot number has risen to 94 today and 10m propagation is expected to be "good".

I have only just switched on my 10m 500mW WSPR-AXE-CW beacon, so it is still stabilising. My first spot (still showing stabilisation) was at 0916z from local G4IKZ (18km). To avoid drift and interference, the beacon is on TX 100% but the frequency is randomised to avoid warm-up drift and the risk of sitting under a stronger signal all day. This works well. Even on my 10m version there is no drift after the first 20 minutes..

UPDATE 0954z:  Surprisingly,  no spots yet from Israel, Russia or continental Europe and only a single spot (so far this morning) from G4IKZ.

UPDATE 1008z:  Spots are coming thick and fast now with best report so far from VK6XT (14719km) in Western Australia at 1002z.

UPDATE 1012z:   OH7AZL (2000km) was spotting me at 1006z at an enormous -2dB S/N. I think this was F2 propagation. Such strengths suggests he might still have spotted me at the uW power level rather than the 500mW I was using.  So far today, he has spotted me 5 times already. Other stations in Finland are also spotting me very strongly.

Stroke update

I went for more blood tests last week.  Results should be back late this week.

I still have trouble speaking, swallowing thin liquids, feel drunk when walking and I tire easily with any physical activity. Although I am still mending it is taking much longer than I was expecting. To be honest, I am frustrated at the slow progress. My wife and I want the old "me" back.