Yaesu FT818

Sorry, but I have no further news of this transceiver. All I can say, again, is that the very future of Yaesu rides on this, in my view.

If it turns out to be just a minor upgrade to the FT817 then I expect Yaesu to be dead in the amateur market within 5 years. This has to be something exciting. From the early press releases, this does not look anything special. As a loyal Yaesu fan for almost 40 years I desperately hope I am wrong.

Only the FT817ND (not the FT818) is mentioned on the Yaesu, Japan website.

See http://www.yaesu.com/jp/en/products/pdf/Amateur2011_EN_1104.pdf

M0PNN has provided a link - thank you - https://www.yaesu.com/indexVS.cfm?cmd=DisplayProducts&ProdCatID=102&encProdID=36B7B98621AF7554C9A03C8B190C5079&DivisionID=65&isArchived=0

From what this says, I reckon Yaesu is doomed if this is the best they can do. I for one will not be buying one! What a pathetic offering. Back to the drawing board, or is it the Japanese equivalent of administration in 2019?

Overnight on 630m WSPR

Overnight was disappointing on MF. In all, 15 unique stations spotted, so no more than I received last evening. Again, all were EU with none from the USA.

I may try a different band tonight for a change.

Sunspots - Thursday March 1st 2018

Although we are at the start of meteorological spring, it still feels very much like winter with snow and bitterly cold winds.

Solar flux is 70 today and the sunspot number 11. A=6 and K=1.

10m FT8 RX

Although I have been on 10m FT8 RX since before breakfast, all is quiet with no spots here. Others with better setups may be more lucky.

UPDATE 1600z: No spots at all here all day so far. About 20 minutes ago I tried a CQ call, but no-one spotted me sadly.

630m WSPR RX this evening

For most of the evening I have been on 630m WSPR RX. So far, 15 unique stations have been spotted, which is quite good for this time. As the shack PC battery is almost fully charged, I shall be looking almost until breakfast. I am surprised not to have spotted a single USA station when most EU stations are being copied on the earth-electrode "antenna".

Snow showers - NOT amateur radio

Most winters these days are mild. This has been the exception with quite a few frosts. Today we have about 3 inches of snow (6-8cms). It has been snowing on and off much of the day. At the moment it looks nice.

The EU and BREXIT - NOT amateur radio

So the EU has published its draft bill on the UK leaving the EU. Since it was published, the UK pound has lost value against all major currencies. No doubt it will recover, but at the moment the UK seems to be fumbling around over what it really wants once we leave.

Why did we not say the referendum would not be binding unless the majority was x %? As it is the margin of "leave" over "remain" was a small 4%, with almost a half not wishing to leave the EU. I suspect fewer would vote leave now. Many want controls over immigration but still want the tariff-free trade with the EU.

UPDATE 2152z: At the end of the day, the UK pound was 0.76% weaker against the euro

Maplin administration

Allegedly, Maplin has gone into administration.

I was in a company that went into administration many years ago. It is very unpleasant as it means your pensions and severance deals can count for nothing. I expect the administrators are trying to find a buyer for, at least some of, the stores.

Sadly, Maplin is another example of the way we shop now. Fewer go into stores and more and more of us buy online at lower prices, often from the Far East with free postage.

As I have said many times, those that adapt have some chance, whereas those that do not adapt will fail. I suspect those that will survive have a good online store and a high street chain to allow browsing. John Lewis comes to mind.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-43223175 .

Amazon failure - NOT amateur radio

As part of my wife's Christmas presents I ordered a CD from Amazon on Nov 11th 2017. Despite many new dates it has still not arrived.

If this was a rare CD of Mongolian folk music I could understand this, but this is a very simple CD of common music. I am still struggling to understand why this should take so long.

In this time (nearly 4 months) this could have been handmade in China! At the very least "a human" (these seem in short supply) could have said they cannot get it, sorry. As it is, they are still trying to get it.

Maybe Christmas 2019?

OFCOM and short range devices

Today, OFCOM published a new document about short range devices.

I have no idea if this affects the access by amateurs to different parts of the radio spectrum, but I think not. OFCOM would have to think, and make decisions. Surely not possible!

Like many OFCOM documents it looks like it was written by a 1st year Law student who hides behind the law as he/she knows nothing about RF. If I am being grossly unfair, I am sorry, but that is how I read it.

See https://www.ofcom.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0023/111677/Implementing-the-Commission-Decision-on-Short-Range-Devices.pdf