Painted Pebbles

This was the painted pebble my granddaughter found this morning. It will be re-hidden. Finding these painted pebbles has become a craze, especially with youngsters.

Getting colder - NOT amateur radio

It is a bright and sunny day, but it is cold. This was the ice from the bird bath at noon.

2m FT8 RX

It is still good this morning. I am amazed by the stations I am spotting. It is loads and loads. Already today 20 unique stations spotted in 4 countries. Best DX is currently PD0HCV (420km).

UPDATE 1235z:  33 uniques in 6 countries so far today on 2m FT8 RX.

UPDATE 1517z: 40 uniques in 6 countries in the last 12 hours. 12 uniques in 3 countries spotted in the last hour. 144.174MHz USB dial is the spot.

UPDATE 1830z: DF7DX (564km) is the  best DX currently on 2m FT8 RX.

At Chippenham Hall - NOT amateur radio

This could almost be a Greek vase, but we saw it last week at Chippenham Hall, near Cambridge. The grounds were filled with snowdrops.

Sunspots - Sunday February 25th 2018

Solar flux is 70 today. Sunspot number is still zero.  A=9 and K=1.

Cold snap - NOT amateur radio

OK, I know our friends in the USA and Canada will be having a laugh, but apparently we are in for a cold snap in the UK with a good chance of snow in the east. This is all due to a big high pressure system out east feeding Siberian cold winds in the direction of the UK.

We seem to get few really cold snaps these days with little snow. Although this winter has been colder than for a while, it is nothing like 1947 and 1963 when it was very cold and snowy for months.

There is little doubt that the climate is changing and generally things are getting warmer, even if we do get a cold spell now for a while.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-43167583 .

Growing - NOT amateur radio

Our amaryllis from last winter continues to thrive.

This picture was taken a few minutes ago. Barring any disasters (like the grandchildren tipping it over) it should flower in the next few weeks.

And to think we nearly gave up on it!

Maplin

There are rumours going around that Maplin is in trouble. Over the years I have bought the odd things from their Cambridge store including coax.

These days you can buy many things directly from China at lower cost, often with free postage. In the last week I bought 3 lens caps for a camera from Hong Kong for a total price of £2.97 with free airmail postage. They fit perfectly and I cannot fault the service. A while back, I bought a 40m CW Pixie transceiver from China for less than the price of just the crystal here in the UK.

If Maplin goes it will be a sad day. However, the retail market is changing. If we don't use these shops they will close, like bookshops, Woolworths, BHS, banks and other stores. Those that adapt have some chance. Those that do not, or cannot, will fail.

472kHz

For the last few nights I have given this band a miss. I seem to spot the same stations again and again. Someone pointed me towards 2m FT8 and that is where I have been looking lately. There is no doubt I shall return to 136kHz and 472kHz, but I think I need to sort out a better antenna on these bands!

2m FT8 RX

Overnight, I stayed on 2m FT8 RX. Even in the last hour I have copied 13 unique stations in 6 countries with best DX DK2DTF (644km).

The map shows the stations copied on 2m FT8 RX in the last day.

UPDATE 1212z: 26 unique stations in the last 6 hours!

UPDATE 1325z: Now 30 uniques in last 6 hours..

UPDATE 2100z: Just checked clock is sync'd to internet time, so I can remain monitoring overnight on 2m FT8. Still spotting lots of stations.