Honest to God - NOT amateur radio

This was the title of a book that I read when I was younger. At the time it caused quite a stir, but I quite liked it. By many traditionalists it was considered heresy.

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

4m transverter

Although this has been on the blog before, it is worth repeating it as it may spark ideas in some people. I have to confess it is some years since I tried this in a 4m contest with a hastily erected wire dipole.

Before that, my last 4m operation was working ZB2VHF from the shack of G3OUL (Liverpool University club station) with 4W AM on 70.26MHz. I think that was 1969, so quite a while ago!

The transverter certainly works, although I am sure it can be improved. These days I am too feeble and wobbly to try to make it better. It appeared in GQRP SPRAT, although I cannot remember which one. I guess it would have been in a 2012 or 2013 edition.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/vuhf/4m_tvtr

Sunspots - Tuesday September 24th 2019

Solar flux is 66 and the sunspot number still 0. A=3 and K=3.

Storm risk?

At the moment we have some heavy, thundery, downpours forecast for Tuesday. As a precaution, I have disconnected all antennas, the PSU and the PC. Only if things improve will I reconnect things tomorrow. Tomorrow might be a quiet radio day!

See https://www.lightningmaps.org/blitzortung/europe/index.php?lang=en

2m FT8

Stations spotted so far today on 2m FT8 RX 

with the big-wheel omni antenna (to 1350z)

All day I have been on 2m FT8. On RX, 30 stations in 6 countries spotted so far.

A recent 10W FT8 CQ with the big-wheel omni was spotted by 11 stations in 4 countries with DG1KDD (472km) as the best DX spotting me. Sadly, no QSOs resulted. I did call a French station without success.

ICOM IC-9700 book

Southgate News reports that there is a new book out about this popular VHF/UHF transceiver that covers 2m, 70cm and 23cm. In many ways it is similar to the IC-7300.

See http://southgatearc.org/news/2019/september/new-book-on-the-icom-ic-9700.htm

Rather them than me! - NOT amateur radio

Today, "our" windmill next door looks rather different.

In the photo you may be able to see someone who has climbed the ladder and a sail to do some work where the sails meet. At one point there were 2 people up there. All I can say is, "rather them than me".

Windmill 1931 - NOT amateur radio

We think this photo of the windmill next door was taken in about 1931. I have no idea who took it. Our bungalow was built about 40 years later and is behind the shed on the right.

Today the windmill is fully restored and has 4 sails which occasionally rotate, usually on special occasions. The tail wheel turns regularly and we can tell the wind direction by the way the main sails are orientated. The windmill is part of Burwell Museum, which is very extensive and one of the best local museums in the UK.

In the video below, the hedge is in our garden.

See http://burwellmuseum.org.uk/

Yet more houses - NOT amateur radio

We moved to this village in 1975 when the population was just over 4000. It is now over 6000.

Wherever there is a gap more houses get built. These cater for the well healed and rarely for ordinary workers. For example, the space in the photo has recently been built on. At one time it was a pub carpark.

XBM80-2 transceiver

This was a very simple 80m CW transceiver that I designed and built many years ago, apparently in 2010.

Like all my designs please take this as a starting point as you may very well be able to do much better. As you can see this was just experimental. At the time it was fun. These days, such experimental work is probably beyond me since the 2013 stroke.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/hf/80m_xbm80