365project - NOT amateur radio

Firstly, to avoid all confusion, this nothing at all to do with Microsoft Word 365! If you want, it can be totally free. For not much you can have total privacy and multiple albums.

For many years my wife and I have sent a picture a day to 365project.org. I think we both started in 2013. Some use this as a way of posting wonderful photographic creations. Others, like my wife and I, just use it as a visual diary. We would win no prizes!

If you have grandchildren, it is good to look back every day and see how they have developed. When we have visitors we can say exactly when they last came! You can look back each month right back to when you started.

You can also, if you want, look at other people's photos. No great photographic masterpieces are needed. Photos can be uploaded by email if you want. Altogether great fun. My user name is g3xbm and my wife foxes37.

The photo shows the snapshots for August 2019. Clicking the individual photos on 365project brings up the full sized images.

See https://365project.org/

481THz

This popped up as a Facebook memory from 2012. It shows G4HJW's optical signal received on my kit "over the horizon". There was no signal visible. This encouraged me to carry out my own experiments.

17m FT8

Last night I decided not to go on any band although this morning I am on 17m FT8 RX with the tiny indoor loop antenna.

UPDATE 1032z: 21 stations spotted so far today on 17m FT8 RX. Best DX spotted here so far is 9K2HN (4632km).

17m FT8 RX spots to 1300z today

UPDATE 1300z: Now 40 stations spotted today on 17m FT8 RX with best DX spotted being HS5XWY (9469km).

UPDATE 1327z: I have just decided to try 17m FT8 TX (2.5W) with the tiny indoor loop antenna. Already I have been spotted well in the Canary Islands by EA8BEV (3126km).

Cambridge bookshops - NOT amateur radio

When I first came to Cambridge about 50 years ago, there were far more bookshops than now. The biggest was Heffers with several shops scattered across the town. Heffers is now owned by Blackwells of Oxford I think.

I guess many people buy their books on the internet instead (in the main, I do), although browsing through books is still a pleasure. In 20 years' time what will we do?

There are still a few independent second-hand bookshops around. One of these is David's shown in the photo. This has remained much the same over 50 years.

Sunspots - Wednesday February 26th 2020

Solar flux is 71 and the sunspot number 0. A=3 and K=1.

2m FT8

Since returning from Cambridge I have again been on 2m  FT8 with 10W to the big-wheel omni antenna

So far, 7 spots of me in 3 countries with the best being a spot by GI6ATZ (479km) in N. Ireland. It seems nearly every time I go on 2m FT8  he copies me!

Fewer stations spotted here. Tropo conditions seem dire.

UPDATE 2105z: 12 stations in 4 countries have so far spotted me on 2m FT8 this evening. Best DX is a spot of me by EI3KD (583km).

UPDATE 2318z: QRT.

OFCOM - thank you!

OFCOM is usually an organisation I complain about, but today I want to say thank you. Yesterday I forgot my password. Today I got an email to get a new one and an email to say my amateur licence had been revalidated to 2025. The person who handled the query showed initiative - thank you!

Honesty - NOT amateur radio

After my U3AC course in Cambridge I decided to have a coffee at Pret a Manger in Market Street. About 5 minutes after someone dropped some change on the floor a shop assistant just picked it up and put it in the charity box. Excellent. At 99p filter coffee here is good value and the service is very good.

Q900 QRP rig

The IC-705 already has a Chinese competitor at about one third of the price according to DXzone.com. Pretty sure this is genuine.

It surprises me that we have not seen many more Chinese radios yet. Once they get the quality right, they will undercut the Japanese big time.

See https://www.dxzone.com/q900-sdr-transceiver

UPDATE 2100z: You get the feeling this is a "test the market" prototype. At least one YouTube review is raising questions. For now, I have sufficient doubts not to buy one. In time, the Chinese could become a big threat to the Japanese manufacturers, but not yet.

Almost spring - NOT amateur radio

Flowers on sale on Cambridge Market earlier.