4m Allocations Worldwide

Certainly in Europe and in a few countries elsewhere, the 4m (70MHz) band is being allocated to the Amateur Service. Lower VHF is not so popular for PMR users as antennas are quite large. There is a real chance of more widespread amateur allocations at 4m. This is an interesting band which has decent tropo ranges and Es openings especially in the summer months.

See http://www.70mhz.org/

M.E. petition - NOT amateur radio

See https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/190618 .

The current treatment for M.E. is ineffective. This petition aims to get the UK government to "wake up" to this debilitating condition. If you agree, please consider signing it.

Heathkit Lunchboxes

These simple rigs for 10m, 6m or 2m were kits sold by Heathkit mainly in the 1960s. The limitation was the super-regen RX. I liked the styling and simplicity: no memories, AM only and just one crystalled channel on TX. It has long been my aim to make a modern version with similar styling.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/vuhf/lunchbox .

Sunspots and 10m - Thursday April 27th 2017

Solar flux is 78 today and the sunspot number 36.  A=9 and K=3.

10m?  Maybe we'll see some Es? I doubt there will be any N-S F2 propagation.

New patio - NOT amateur radio

Our new patio has just been completed. Hopefully we will be able to use it this weekend if the weather is dry. It is about twice as big as the old one so should be far less cramped when the patio table and chairs are in place.

Back on 10m and 6m WSPR

This morning I have returned to 10m WSPR (100% TX, 500mW) and 6m WSPR (1W ERP 20% TX, 80% RX) hoping to see some Es.  Late last night I realised I was on the wrong 6m frequency, so I would have missed any activity. This morning, all is correct! As yet, no WSPR spots here on 10m or 6m.

UPDATE 1655z: No spots here on 10m or 6m WSPR.

UPDATE 1905z: Now QRT on all bands. No WSPR spots all day! Might try again tomorrow.

More stroke news - NOT amateur radio

No-one, and I really do mean no-one, seems to understand how I am inside. Most of the time when on my feet I feel giddy and exhausted, but outwardly I look well. I cannot begin to explain how hard this is.

Anything mental or physical taking over 15-20 minutes and I am done in - totally exhausted.  Until my stroke I had no idea what total exhaustion was. After a rest I am back to "normal".

My short-term memory is also poorer.  It is now over 3.5 years since my cerebellum brain bleed, but I think there has been little improvement over the last year or so.  Walking on pavements with traffic is very hard.

In many ways my symptoms mirror those of M.E. in that I feel profoundly tired at times, a tiredness like nothing I have ever had to deal with before my stroke. What is so disappointing is there is little sign of any improvement. I struggle on, but it is very tough.

ESEO satellite

Southgate News reports on testing of the ground control for this upcoming satellite. It has an FM transponder planned for 23cms to 2m.

See https://amsat-uk.org/satellites/communications/eseo/ for more about the satellite.

East Anglia - NOT amateur radio

We have well over 1000 medieval churches in our part of the world. Some are real gems. With aging and falling congregations it is far from clear how these will be maintained in future years. At the moment most are looked after and many are open.

Whatever you are a Christian believer (or not), these are well worth a visit. We are lucky as most are less than 90 minutes drive away. We try to visit many of these and those we do I record in another blog. See http://eachurches.blogspot.co.uk/ .

Alibris - NOT amateur radio

Yet again, I am getting "never to be missed" discounts every week it seems. Do they really take us all for morons? As a marketing ploy, I am tired. Just reduce your prices and put us out of our misery.

If you ever buy books from this lot do wait for an offer. These come around so often that it is never worth buying without using an offer.