Zoom - NOT amateur radio

A few weeks ago I had not even heard of Zoom. Now, I have been to 2 online meetings of the Cambridge club (CDARC) and Zoom video has allowed our family to get together virtually at Easter. Certainly many of us have enjoyed the benefits of video conferencing.  Like never before, online video is important.

Where did I go wrong?

One of my Facebook memories from many years ago was this photo of my grandson taken 7 years ago. It shows him making his first circuit. He is now 12 years old and has no interest in the hobby.

Sunspots - Monday April 13th 2020

Solar flux is 71 and the SSN 0. A=7 and K=1.

Network radios

About 2 years ago I bought a network radio. We were entering a time with low solar activity and this, at the time, seemed a good idea.

The handheld has hardly been used. I prefer "real radio". Echolink contacts are strangely unsatisfying to me.

In these odd days other people may think differently.

Basically these are Android phones with an antenna and PTT. They use the internet but feel just like a VHF handheld. In many ways you would think they would be more popular.

See https://sites.google.com/site/g3xbmqrp3/network

Lode walk - NOT amateur radio

As it was cooler this morning we did an early walk along Burwell Lode, an ancient waterway made by the Romans. We saw plenty of geese and swans as well as konik ponies , but no swallows.

10m FT8

Since returning from our walk I have been on 10m FT8 with the tiny indoor loop antenna.

UPDATE 1330z: 6 Southern Europeans spotted but just local G4KPX (14km) spotting me so far today. Thanks Richard.

UPDATE 1340z:  Now 10 stations spotted and my 2.5W has been spotted by 3 stations including a couple in Southern Europe, suggesting Es.

UPDATE 1715z:  96 stations spotted on RX and 11 stations spotted my 2.5W, mostly in southern Europe. Then I had to unplug everything because of thunder and lightning. The BBC weather forecast made  (as usual), no mention of this.

UPDATE 1802z: The storms have passed, so I have reconnected things. At the moment the storms are near Norwich. Now 97 stations spotted on 10m FT8 RX today.

UPDATE 2138z: Now QRT.  101 stations spotted today on 10m FT8 RX.

Easter video - NOT amateur radio

This will be a strange Easter with many families trying to hook up by video rather than face to face. We hope to chat later.

Ornamental cherry - NOT amateur radio

The blossom on our cherry tree is not around for long, but lovely for a few days. I see other trees now with green shoots.

Sunspots - Sunday April 12th 2020

Solar flux is 71 and the SSN 0. A=6 and K=2.

More from yesterday's walk - NOT amateur radio

This was the view at the start of the walk yesterday along part of the Devil's Dyke in Cambridgeshire