13 Oct 2020

Free video editing software for Windows PCs?

At one time Windows came with a free package (Moviemaker?) that allowed quite a lot of video editing. I do not think this is available free any more. What do people recommend? 

Like many, I want to send videos and video clips by email, so the main requirement is to make the videos smaller, possibly also adding titles and shortening.

The package needs to be free and easy to use on Windows 10.

Sunspots rising?

 A year from now we will look back on 2020 as a bad year. We have all been put out of sorts by the Covid-19 pandemic and solar activity has been poor. 

At last there are hints of better days ahead. This time next year the Covid-19 situation should be better and sunspot numbers should be climbing. We are in for a rough period, but thing will be better. Hang on in there and stay positive as the "sunlit slopes" await us! 

USA presidential elections - NOT amateur radio

These are getting very close now. 

President Trump has been out on the campaign trail just 2 weeks after being hospitalised with Covid-19. I have no idea what the election out come will be. The people of the USA will elect the president they want to lead them.

See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/election-us-2020-54516324

2m FT8

It is now 0756z.  For about 10 minutes I have been on 2m FT8 using 2.5W and the big-wheel omni antenna. Already 4 Gs (best in Devon) have spotted me and I have spotted 1 F.

UPDATE 0850z:  Best DX on 2m FT8 RX is DL6YBF (471km).

UPDATE 1000z:
Spots of me at 1000z
10 spots of me so far with G7RAU (461km) as best DX spot so far.

UPDATE 1435z: My QRP 2m FT8 has yet again been spotted in N.Ireland, the Isle of Man and Cornwall. I remain open minded on the mode: aircraft, some other sort of scatter or tropo, but I consistently get spotted at great range on 2m FT8 every single day.

Sunspots - Tuesday October 13th 2020

 Solar flux is 74 and the SSN 15. A=4 and K=1.

12 Oct 2020

East Cambs net

At 8pm UK time on Mondays we hold the East Cambs net on 144.575MHz FM. This usually lasts about 30 minutes although some stay on to chat longer. At least one person cannot make Monday nights, so a change of nights is being considered. 

One possibility is to combine this with the Wednesday night net held by the Cambridge club (CDARC). All in the area are most welcome.

2m FT8 (2.5W to the big-wheel omni)

 

At about 1406z, I QSYed to 2m FT8. So far just 2 spots of me by G4MSA (222km) and G0LRD (26km).  The photo shows my signal on G0LRD's grabber.

See http://82.71.9.63:8080/cap/

UPDATE 1455z:  GI6ATZ (479km) has spotted me.  One RX just 1 spot.

UPDATE 1612z: 3 stations spotted today on 2m FT8 RX with best DX F0EYI (465km) in Brittany.

UPDATE 2005z:  QRT. 

FT8 QSOs and power

Most of my FT8 QSOs are with 2.5W and very simple antennas. Although I own an FT-991A, I was considering trading this in for an IC-705. This ICOM radio runs 5W off the battery and up to 10W with an external PSU. This would be more than adequate for me. Most of my FT8 QSOs are with 2.5W and the FT-817ND.

Most of the time I use resonant antennas, so the internal auto-ATU on the FT-991A is not essential. Some worry about the extra loss in ATUs, but this usually just a fraction of an S-point. The IC-705 was going to cover 4m but no longer does on TX. It does not have an internal auto-ATU and is very expensive. Maybe later, when the price drops and the initial bugs are resolved.

Our view - NOT amateur radio

We are lucky to live next door to a fully restored 200 year old windmill. We can see it as we have breakfast and from our lounge.  Not many can say that!

Windose - NOT amateur radio

In 2017 I bought a Windows PC. I have just waited and waited as it booted up, installed updates and did its thing. Meanwhile my Chromebook booted up within seconds.

Now, I am aware that the windows machine probably has lots of bloatware and will need a defrag. My question is why? I am totally delighted with my Chromebook. Compared with the Windows machine it is so much better. Comparing the Chromebook and the Windows 10 machine it is "chalk and cheese": the Windows PC is so slow!

If you are thinking about getting a new PC think about a Chromebook.