365project - NOT amateur radio

For several years now my wife and I have (separately) taken a photo every day and submitted them to 365project. For $19.99 a year you can make the images private so only the people you choose can see them. You can then also have more albums if you want.

Some of the photos sent in are "arty", but many are just a record of ordinary life. Looking back over the years, you can see what you were doing.

Often the most mundane subject matter is popular. Some years ago I remember a photo of mine of a mole hole being widely viewed whereas something I thought would interest many turned out not to be popular in the least.

We mainly do this for a record of what we did rather than to be particularly popular. It is great fun.

Auroras?

See http://spaceweather.com/ .

We could be in for some auroras with a strong blast of solar wind over the next few days. This could lead to some auroral DX on VHF.

Heathers - NOT amateur radio

At this time of the year, heathers are in flower in UK gardens. This show was in a nearby garden. Sadly, they do not look so good all year around.

10m JT65 (2W)

Although I have been active on 10m JT65 since breakfast, no spots given or received on 10m so far.

A reminder that my webpage about 10m JT65 is at https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/10mjt65

This is a most effective mode for basic QSOs and beaconing. If propagation is there, this mode will find it, even with QRP.

UPDATE 1635z: No 10m JT65 spots so far today here. I shall be on for a few more hours hoping to catch a few locals if no DX.

UPDATE 1928z: With zero JT65 10m spots all day I shall shortly go QRT.

Sunspots at last! - sunspots and 10m Wednesday March 22nd 2017

Solar flux is 71 today and the sunspot count is 11. A=26 and K=3. This is the first day with sunspots in several weeks.

IC7300 - price drop time?

To my thinking, the IC7300 is still way over-priced.  It uses a much simpler architecture than the FT991A and the true price, even with the dealers taking a decent margin, should be well below £1000 especially with the retail price of the FT891 being what it is. Yes, I know they are different radios, but I want to see the IC7300 at a fair price. Dealers are clearly trying to make handsome profits whilst they can.

2m WSPR webpage

Based on my experiences with 2m WSPR, I have written a short webpage on my main site at www.g3xbm.co.uk . This is not a mode well suited to 2m and I recommend other modes.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/vuhf/2mwspr .

Triggering Article 50 and leaving the EU - NOT amateur radio

On March 29th the UK government will trigger Article 50, which signals the start of the process to leave the EU.

Although it is in the interests of both the UK and the EU to come to a decent deal, the outcome is not known. I am sure that the people of the UK would have stayed in the EU if the EU had been prepared to "think outside of the box".

I am sure most in Europe want free trade but are nervous about uncontrolled free movement. The UK has a proud history of helping refugees fleeing from conflict. I am sure the EU is worried about other member countries leaving "the club". To me, this is old-fashioned thinking.

If the EU supported free trade and not free movement or political union, then the EU would have a rosy future. As it is, I think the EU faces a difficult future.

Rare sunny day - NOT amateur radio

We live in the last bungalow on the left overlooking the restored windmill. The windmill is nearly 200 years old. Today we have had a rare sunny day, although the rest of the week looks rainy. We are lucky to have a nice spot.

The museum, of which the windmill is a just a small part, goes on and on. It must be one of the very best local museums in the whole country. It is open from Easter to late October on Thursdays, Sundays and Bank Holidays. If you visit, you may be surprised by what is there.

See http://www.burwellmuseum.org.uk/ .

Sunspots and 10m - Tuesday March 21st 2017

Solar flux is 72 and the sun remains spotless yet again. Dire! A=2 and K=4.