Angry sky - NOT amateur radio

We are on holiday in Portugal. So far, we have had lots of rain, although it is already much sunnier and drier. Tomorrow is expected to be warm (24deg C) and sunny.

Plenty of swifts, swallows, house martins and sand martins about.

Yaesu's flagship

Although far more than I am willing to pay for amateur radio gear, Yaesu is trying hard with their new flagship, SDR based radio called the FTdx101D being demonstrated at Nevada according to Southgate News.

I hope they introduce a real FT817 replacement later this year, SDR based. We should know next week.

If they "miss the boat" again, I give them 5 years or less before they quit this market. Of late, they have been followers rather than leaders. It is almost as if they have lost their way and are in "catch-up" mode. Over the years I have been a keen Yaesu man and it pains me to say this. If I was to say who might survive, my money is on ICOM.

See http://southgatearc.org/news/2019/may/demonstration-and-talk-on-the-new-yaesu-ftdx-101d-transceiver.htm#.XNUQDfZFy00.

See also https://www.nevadaradio.co.uk/amateur-radio/

See also https://www.hamradio.co.uk/amateur-radio-base-station-radio-yaesu-base-station-radio/yaesu/yaesu-ftdx101d-pd-8964.php

Sunspots - Friday May 10th 2019

Solar flux is 75 today and the SSN 25. A=7 and K=2.

Porto - NOT amateur radio

It rained today in Porto, northern Portugal. In fact as I write it is probably typically English weather - a mix of mist and rain!

One of the joys today was a visit to the cellars of Cockburn's who make port and have done for centuries.

Anywhere looks drab in bad weather. Certainly Porto is not a place I would rush to return to.

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

Dayton Hamvention

This ham gathering is perhaps one of the biggest in the world and a place, traditionally, where the big manufacturers launch new products, often long before they are actually available. You can just imagine the engineers rushing to meet Dayton deadlines: you must meet these dates!

I am expecting several SDR based offerings. It would be nice to see a real FT817 replacement. The FT818 was a great disappointment. It was clearly aimed at keeping Yaesu factories going and not offering the features many expected.

Dayton dates are May 17-19th 2019.

See https://hamvention.org/

Crystal replacements

It is a very long time since I was fit enough to do serious project building work, but I know that buying crystals, unless you are buying very common frequencies, is expensive. Many now use synthesised sources instead as this can be much less expensive. Sadly, health issues have precluded me doing my own experiments. At one time, synthesised sources could be noisy, although I expect things have improved in the last 10 years. If you have used synthesised "crystal replacements" I'd be interested to hear what good solutions there are now.

Many years ago, I had ideas for a low cost 10m DSB rig. With the sunspot count likely to soon be on the up, perhaps it is time to dust this off.

Sunspots - Thursday May 9th 2019

Solar flux is 78 and the SSN 27. A=5 and K=0.

DX VHF FM QSO

The IARU VHF/UHF Region 1 Newsletter has details of the FM 2m QSO between ZS3 and ZD7,

See https://www.iaru-r1.org/index.php/vhfuhsshf

Southgate News

Southgate News is a good source of information about amateur radio, Today includes news of a big solar flare amongst other snippets.

Swifts - NOT amateur radio

Today, I saw my first swifts (birds) this year. They migrate up from Africa, returning in August. The only problem was these were in northern Portugal! What is amazing is these could be the very same ones we see in our village stopping for a "pits stop" to re-feed before flying on northwards. When I see swifts I think summer.