Young amateurs?

When I was fit and healthy, I gave quite a few talks to radio clubs in East Anglia. One thing is very apparent: our hobby is mainly an interest of men and older men at that. Of course, there are the odd exceptions. In some clubs membership was good, whereas in others not so good.

What is very clear is that unless young blood is soon attracted and kept, our hobby/interest will die out within 20-30 years. I notice that this was a topic on the Southgate News Page today. I don't think this is just a UK thing, although in the USA I see licence numbers are at an all time high.

Certainly, the pure magic of radio we experienced when my generation was young is no longer a draw: it is possible to Skype video across the globe instantly via the phone in your hand nowadays. In my youth, the only way to communicate around the world really was by amateur radio and for that you needed to pass the RAE.

No, we need to find what fascinates the younger generation and use that as a lure. It is the whole future of our interest that is at stake here. To me, radio is still magic, especially QRP.  However I can see this is not a source of fascination to today's youngsters, to whom texting and mobile internet are second nature.

What would draw in and keep young people fascinated by our hobby today? I think the word "fascinated" is important. As a youngster, radio communications fascinated me and has kept me interested for a lifetime. It is this fascination that is missing today I think.

472kHz and 28MHz WSPR beacons now ON

In the last 30 minutes, both of these have been switched on.  5mW ERP (20% TX, 80 % RX) on 472kHz WSPR and 500mW (100% TX) on 28MHz WSPR.

Best DX on 10m so far is 4X1RF (3519km) and on 630m I have yet to be copied or copy anyone.

UPDATE 1125z:  G3YAC (12km) has now spotted me a couple of times on 472kHz (630m) WSPR, but not too strongly.

UPDATE 1146z:   Apart from locals G4IKZ (18km) and G3YAC (12km) very little so far on 10m WSPR although 4X1RF (3519km) has spotted me 4 times so far this morning. Activity on 10m WSPR is moderate with 60 active stations worldwide when I last checked.

Sunspots and 10m - Mon March 9th 2015

Sunspot number remains low at 23 today.  10m propagation is expected to be "fair".

As yet, I have still to turn on my 10m 500mW WSPR beacon. It is now 1000z. I intend to have it running shortly but it takes about 20 minutes before it fully stabilises.

472kHz records

Last night LA4ANA (1042km) copied my 5mW ERP from the earth-electrode "antenna" for the second time. OR7T (337km) also copied me for the first time last night when I was using the earth-electrode "antenna".

In the last 2 weeks alone, 29 unique stations in 6 countries have spotted my 5mW ERP when I've been using the earth-electrode "antenna". The overall total is greater.

Unique stations who spotted me in last 2 weeks on 472kHz WSPR

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Sunspots and 10m today - Sun March 8th 2015

Today has been a non-radio day.  We went to Canterbury by train to see our son, his wife and our "Kent" grandchildren. If going for the day Sunday travel by train works out as cheap as by car. We have done this several times now since I was ill, I would not want to drive that far.

Sunspot number has fallen further to just 20, the lowest for some time, and 10m propagation was expected to be "fair".

I see from WSPRnet that 10m opened to the USA from G although none of radio gear has been on today.

472kHz WSPR this evening

So far, no great TX DX on 472kHz this evening although G3XKR (347km) in North Devon is copying my 5mW ERP from the earth-electrode "antenna". It would be good if this evening or overnight I was copied again over 1000km. Last night the PC crashed just after midnight so all DX overnight was missed.

UPDATE 2140z:  PE1RKT (285km) has spotted me a couple of times this evening.

Sunspots and 10m - Sat March 7th 2015

Sunspot number today is 37 and 10m is expected to be "fair". Already the 10m band is well open to the USA and there was some decent stuff coming through on 10m well before lunch.

Over 1000km on 472kHz TX with earth-electrodes

Last night LA4ANA (1047km) copied my 5mW ERP from the earth-electrode "antenna" on 472kHz WSPR. This is my best DX yet on the non-antenna, nearly 300km further than my best previous TX record.  I was also spotted by DL4YHF (556km) for the first time on the earth-electrode "antenna".   My PC decided to crash some time after midnight last night, so I missed any DX overnight. These spots were during the evening period.

In the last 2 weeks alone I have been spotted by 28 different stations when I've been using 5mW ERP from the earth-electrode "antenna" on 472kHz WSPR.  Let no-one say 472kHz is out because they cannot fit an antenna! If my signal can span over 1000km with WSPR then you can surely do better. I make no claims for the earth-electrode "antenna" but if you are unable to erect a proper antenna give it a go.

I have still to try it at this QTH on 136kHz but at my old QTH I managed to be spotted at 250km with very low ERP.

10m WSPR - North American spots Sat March 7th 2015

KB4SC (6560km) was the first USA station to spot my 500mW WSPR signal at 1222z (quite early). Quite a few others have been spotting me since. TJ1TS (5478km) in Yaounde,Cameroon was spotting me very early, at breakfast time1 UPDATE 1848z:  Best USA DX is a spot from AE7YQ (8533km) in DM41kx, which puts him in southern Arizona.'' UPDATE 2012z:    At the moment the Canadians are still copying me. VA3XCD (5496km) is not the last I am sure from North America tonight. UPDATE 2138z:   N2NOM (5581km) was the last North American to spot me today at 2016z.

Stroke

My brain is still exhibiting some bizarre effects. I still have problems with drinking thin liquids, speaking, getting tired and feeling drunk when walking, but it is not seeing obvious errors with words on my blogs that is fascinating. My problem, back in Sept 2013, was a cerebellum brain bleed, that was operated on.

http://www.healthline.com/human-body-maps/cerebellum

For example, in my last post on this blog I wrote "as" instead of "has" but it took a long time to realise this was wrong. It is as if my brain does not process words quite correctly, or at least not quickly. It is not a serious issue and I correct the errors as soon as I do spot them. It happens quite a bit so I think it is real and not just me being paranoid.

I am finding it harder to get absorbed in TV dramas too. It is as if my memory has been affected in some way. My basic intellect is still sharp, but recalling some things can be a problem. Maybe this is just age? I am desperate to get my "old self" back, but know it could be a long road. Knowing now how bad I was I guess I was pretty lucky and I could have ended up a terrible mess.

Richard G3TFX told my XYL to get me into hospital fast in Sept 2013. Looking back, this probably saved my life.

See http://www.healthline.com/human-body-maps/cerebellum.