70cm UKAC activity contest last night

Last night was the 70cm UKAC activity contest which is a monthly event organised by the RSGB.  I started out (5W pep) using my 2m big-wheel but swapped to the 2m halo as the match was better on 70cm. This maybe because the coax feeding the halo is far more lossy than that to the big-wheel.  It meant my ERP was even lower because of the feeder loss.

In all I worked just 3 stations before going QRT after less than 1 hour because of my poor voice. There were very few portable stations heard. No great DX was heard or worked on this occasion.

Some of the locals who were doing "search and pounce" such as G2XV. The CDARC station was strong but they were moving so I did not work them. A few others were missed too. I expect there will be more out on hilltops when the weather gets better.

China meltdown? - NOT amateur radio

Is China's stock market a threat to the whole world? This video is frightening.

Broadband - NOT amateur radio

Just had a free upgrade on broadband from Virgin Media on their cheapest package. I am pleased. It was even faster when I tried it earlier - and this is over a wi-fi connection for the last bit. The TV internet connection is separate and not included, so this is the speed on a laptop in the lounge. It is more than enough for us.

EU referendum - NOT amateur radio

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-35751919 .

It seems a bit suspicious that the banks and big business want us to vote IN. At the moment I am in favour of IN, but I could well be persuaded otherwise if the facts are clearly presented without the spin.

ICOM IC7300 UK Price

I am certain the UK price will fall once the "early adopters" have had theirs.  Considering the architecture, this price is high.  Even with a less favorable exchange rate than of late, they have room to shave a few hundred pounds I am sure and still make good profits. It will depend how well it sells at the £1049 price. There is sure to be a price war against the Yaesu FT991. Both rigs have merit.

This came to me via Steve G1KQH. 

7300= £1049

73 Steve
http://www.g1kqh.talktalk.net/

Enormous Jordanian refugee camp - NOT amateur radio

The size of this is truly staggering.

See https://www.facebook.com/bbcshorts/videos/1140808579272340/ .

2m VHF beacons

So far, I have not tried listening to the 2m Cornish, N.Ireland and Scottish beacons with the big-wheel horizontal omni antenna. I must give these a try. I expect I shall only hear them via MS or lifts and possibly aircraft reflections. On my 3el 2m beam the N.Ireland beacon was right on the edge. Normally I can copy the Kent beacon as well as beacons in Holland and Belgium.

GB3NGI (N.Ireland) 144.482MHz Ballymena
GB3MCB (Cornwall) 144.469MHz St Austell
GB3ANG (Scotland)  144.453MHz Angus

See http://www.microwavers.org/maps/2m.htm .

UPDATE 1517z: A casual listen on each frequency (probably not for long enough) and none was detected. I shall try again and listen for each for longer. I remember the GB3RMK Scottish beacon on 6m could always be copied by MS pings for a few seconds every 10-15 minutes. I was using a wire dipole at the time.

FTSE 100 - NOT amateur radio

At the moment the UK share index, the FTSE 100, is down 0.83%, although it is trying to come back. Further falls are likely as there is so much uncertainty about. At the moment it is bouncing around  6130.83.

UPDATE 1610z:  At the moment it is sliding again and stands at down 1.17%.

How did I miss this?

This is a quote from Wikipedia:

In March 2012 Hytera acquired the German company Rohde & Schwarz Professional Mobile Radio GmbH from the German electronics group Rohde & Schwarz, which is now known as Hytera Mobilfunk.[3] In addition, there are Hytera subsidiaries in the USA and in the UK.

This was news to me. I am not sure how I missed this. In my business life we bought quite a bit of test gear from Rohde and Schwarz. I assume they only bought the mobile radio business.

Returned to 10m WSPR

After being on 630m (472kHz) WSPR overnight with a few new people spotted and spotting me, I returned to 10m WSPR at breakfast time. So far,  no spots given or received on 10m WSPR.

UPDATE 1616z: So far today, the only 10m spot has been G4CUI (172km). All very quiet.