Beetle - NOT amateur radio

This was another insect seen on our recent Devon walks.  Although probably a very common sort, I have no idea what this beetle is.

Despite the recent hot weather in the UK there were lots of muddy paths. These were mostly in shaded spots. This one was on a dry path.

A built 10W SDR HF transceiver for less than £400?

A friend, Steve G1KQH, has passed this link on to me. This was the transceiver (imported from China) that MLS decided not to sell as it was a rip-off of a UK design that the inventor failed to register. At this price, it is hard to ignore. It is called the r928-plus.

See https://www.radioworld.co.uk/hf_transceiver/radioworld-hf-transceiver/r928-plus-full-hf-with-sdr-portable-qrp-transceiver

Sunspots - Wednesday May 9th 2018

Solar flux is 70 today. Sunspot number is 25 (the highest for a long time). A=14 and K=3.

Maybugs - NOT amateur radio

By Jost Jahn - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0,

https://commons.wikimedia.org/
w/index.php?curid=56033607

Two things today got me thinking of cockchafer beetles. As a child, these were a regular sight on May evenings in the UK and I recall one morning (May 1960?) when we had about 50 caught in spiders webs.

I spotted a dead one earlier today. Also I read in the paper that the nickname of the bumble bee was dumbledore, which I always assumed was the country name for the cockchafer beetle. Apparently, that is the doodlebug, so there you go!

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cockchafer

That elusive sunspot cycle 25

We still have a few years to run before cycle 24 ends (around 2020), but already there are new cycle 25 spots appearing. These are high latitude spots and only clear to those who know.

The "experts" seem to be saying cycle 25 will be similar to cycle 24. As with all these things experts are often wrong and it may be several more years before we get more meaningful predictions. I hope I am around to see it.

Chris Lorek G4HCL dead

A couple of people sent me a message to say Chris Lorek G4HCL had died suddenly. Many years ago I worked with Chris. Apparently he picked up an infection in Morocco and died of septicaemia in Goa.

See https://www.facebook.com/theRSGB/posts/1899999773624537

Es'hail 2 amateur satellite

It is some time since I last heard news of this satellite from Qatar. As far as I know it has not yet launched. It was due to carry a geosynchronous amateur satellite. It was due to be launched (I think) in late 2016, but was delayed.

River Avon - NOT amateur radio

There are several Avons in the UK. This is the Avon in Devon at Bantham. It is believed tin was floated down from Dartmoor and traded with continental people here 1000 years ago. At one time, Bantham was a busy port. There are remains going back to the Iron Age nearby many thousands of years ago. A few hundred years ago it was a centre for smuggling.

Yet more amateur VLF TXing from Italy

Near 8.27kHz is the frontier these days! News has come in of yet more tests from Italy close to this frequency by Riccardo. BTW Lubos is in the Czech Republic.

"Lubos,

many thanks for your report!

I'm testing the coil for long transmissions; I have observed, for my first time, that atmospheric conditions affects antenna current: for example, today it's been a sunny and dry morning, in fact I reach 625mA; in the afternoon the sky was so cloudy and I have measured only 570mA. Now the value is stabilized around 590mA (relative humidity's still high: 86%).

I'm preparing an EbNaut setup for next days: I will announce details soon."

Feeding from my hand

Last night, we went to my brother's house for a meal. It was great to be able to feed wild pheasants by hand in his garden (see photo). There is something rather wonderful when a wild bird trusts you enough to eat food directly from your hand. I have never been so close to live pheasants ever.